Page 43 of Magic Blooms
Its contents were solid and metallic.
Fawn extracted the small metal knife from inside and dropped the glass jar into the swamp. She glanced at me for only the briefest moment as she grasped the hilt tightly in her hands.
Breathing steadily, she closed her eyes.
“And this is my sacrifice. I add my own offering to the poisons and the innocent. Take these blessings and show me what I desire. Show this threat, and allow me to fight it before we’re beset.”
Then without hesitation, she plunged the knife into her abdomen and fell backward into the dark, inky water.
nineteen
I fumbled and dropped both Fawn’s cloak and the now-empty bag into the murky swamp.
What had just happened?
My pulse raced as I tried to make sense of what I had witnessed. Fawn had stabbed herself! Was she dead? Should I do something to check? To help?
The waters of the swamp rose up and enveloped her body. First her arms, then her legs, and finally her chest, until only the small sliver of her face remained above the surface.
Her eyes remained wide open, but her pupils had vanished, leaving behind an opaque white. This was some seriously dark magic.
Was the ritual done? Had it gone as planned? And why had she even needed me? Just to carry her bag and hand off ingredients?
I glanced toward the horizon. The sun still hung high, but I had no idea where we’d gone or how to get back to Fox’s End. Should I venture out on my own and see if I got lucky? Or would it be better to wait here and hope that Fawn woke up?
I glanced over at her again. Her face had now sunk beneath the waters, but she remained close to the surface, floating unnaturally, easily visible.
This had to have been her plan. Maybe I was here so that I could pull her out of whatever trance she was in when she needed me. I might as well try to be patient and hope she’d return to me soon.
I used Lorraine’s watch to keep track of how much time had passed, the hours ticking away one by one. I left the embrace of the swamp and sat on a low tree branch near the shoreline as I waited. Worried.
Time seemed to phase in and out. I leaned my head against the bark of the tree, but every time I got too relaxed, more of those little bloodsucking bugs I loathed would appear to force me back into concentration.
The air began to cool as the sun sunk lower and lower in the sky. This was ridiculous. What was she waiting for? What was I?
I’d given this my best shot, but now I needed to hurry back to Fox’s End to meet up with Jasmine and the others, to start the ritual that would send me home. I could only hope that my internal compass would lead me where I needed to go, which even with my desperate sense of optimism was definitely a long shot.
There was still some time left, but not much.
I’d give Fawn ten more minutes to snap out of whatever trance she was in, and then I was out of here.
Maybe it was better the goodbyes with my friends would have to be quick rather than long and painful. Our last memories of each other shouldn’t be sad ones. In fact, I wanted to remember Lorraine as the strong and stubborn woman she was. Jasmine as the coldly logical magic expert, and Joshua as… Well, I supposed he’d always be that surly handyman helping me search for pigs in the rain.
I smiled and rested my head against the tree’s trunk. I wasn’t looking forward to telling them what had happened to Fawn, but at least I’d tried to offer the help she needed. I’d done right by this town.
Maybe Fawn had been wrong about all of it, wrong about everything.
When my ten-minute waiting period ended, I carefully climbed down from my perch and over to the water’s edge.
Immediately all of my muscles protested. Apparently I’d been sitting still for too long. I wasn’t excited to get myself wet again, but I was looking forward to getting out of here. Looking forward to going home…
“Fawn?” I asked cautiously as I waded out to her.
She lay floating in the exact same position she had all day. Even the hemlock flowers still floated around her, close as if drawn in by a magnet.
“Fawn? Are you all right?” I asked, leaning in closer.
I could no longer see her features clearly. The water had darkened, and all I could make out was her vague form, just like the first time I’d seen her outside Art’s office.
