Page 88 of Witches of Dubious Origin
“Why don’t you two walk the maze while I open the grimoire and see if it will show me the pages it wanted me to see,” I said.
“Don’t you want help?” Olive asked.
“I think this is between me and the grimoire.”
“Fair enough.” Olive nodded. She gestured to the maze and said to Eloise, “After you.”
“All right.” Eloise stepped into the opening. Olive waited a beat and then followed, choosing a different path and leaving me standing on the perimeter.
I pulled off my backpack and grabbed the zipper, but then hesitated. Something felt off. I shook my head. I was being ridiculous, probably because this entire trip to the island had been highly stressful and I had eyes that made me look like a sideshow freak, but whatever. I shook it off and stepped into the circle, planning to use one of the entrance boulders as a makeshift bookrest.
A wave of powerful emotion washed over me, then rose up inside me like a cresting wave, making me catch my breath as my knees buckled. I clutched the backpack to my chest, with the grimoire still inside, and tried to keep my legs beneath me. The closest thing I had ever felt to this was a rush of joy, but this wasn’t that. There was no euphoria here. This, whatever it was, had darkness and a razor-sharp edge to it.
Olive and Eloise were deep in the circle, but neither of them seemed to notice the surging current that thrummed allaround us. Was it just the energy of the circle? Were they both used to this sort of thing?
I stepped up to the boulder with intention, trying to be aware of the crunch of shells beneath my feet, the sun on the top of my head, and the scent of the briny sea beyond the trees in an effort to ground myself in this moment. I tried to clear my mind, but I kept getting pulled back to the symbols my grandmother had drawn in the sand and the words she had taught me. It felt imperative that I remember all of it.
Mater matrishad been two of them. I knew it meantmother’s motherorgrandmotherbecause it was the same in Latin, but what did the rest of the words mean? And why couldn’t I, with my exemplary memory, remember all of them?
A shadow passed over me and I glanced up to see a raven in flight. The sight cheered me and I wondered if it was my friend even though I knew that was impossible. According to my research, ravens couldn’t fly that far. We were miles offshore and ravens did not hitch rides on ferries. It had to be a coincidence, but it made me feel better nonetheless.
Glancing away from the raven, I reached for the zipper on my backpack. I could hear Eloise muttering under her breath and I wondered if she was using a visualization technique to clear her mind. I took a deep breath, determined to do the same. I knew I had to focus if I wanted to be able to communicate clearly with the grimoire.
The raven made a sudden dive right in front of me, forcing me back toward the entrance. I watched him soar back up to the sky again. What the hell? Mere moments passed and I watched him dive again, this time sending Eloise back on her heels. She let out an indignant cry of alarm and swatted atthe bird. I couldn’t blame her. It was no small thing to have a raven come straight at you at full speed.
Olive stopped walking and frowned when Eloise cried out. She glanced up at the raven and down at the circle. The raven swooped low in front of Olive, but it wasn’t dive-bombing, rather it was as if Olive and the raven were communicating in some way Eloise and I couldn’t understand. I would not have been at all surprised to find out that Olive could speak to birds—nonverbally, no less.
As I watched, Olive stepped out of her lane and darted across the circle toward me. “Ziakas, run!”
“What? Why?” I cried.
“Because this isn’t a meditation maze,” Olive said. “It’s a summoning circle.”
26
“What do you mean?” I cried. “Summoning what?”
As if in answer, a hand shot up from the dirt at our feet. It was bare of skin, and the bones clacked together as the fingers tried to grab us.
I let out a small shriek and stood locked in place as if it wouldn’t find me if I didn’t move.
“That! That’s what’s been summoned!” Olive shoved me, but she was too late, as the bony hand grabbed my foot in a tight grip. I tried to kick it off, but another dirt-encrusted skeletal hand snagged my other foot.
“Olive!” I reached for her but noticed she was in the same predicament, as her ankles had been caught by another pair of bony fingers.
“Eloise, go get Jasper!” I glanced up to see if Eloise had seen what was happening. She had. She was striding toward us with a look of purpose on her face and I felt my panic ebb. She would get Jasper and we’d get out of this. Except she didn’t.
With her hand outstretched, Eloise ordered, “Give me the book.”
I jerked back. Her hazel eyes had changed color to a vibrant green. They were so bright they almost glowed, and not in a friendly way either. I clutched my backpack more tightly to my chest. I glanced at Eloise’s outstretched hand and noted that she’d removed her gloves, and her missing finger was back. “Eloise, what’s happening to you?”
“I’m sorry, Zoe.” Eloise’s eyes flashed back to their original shade. “Shewatched me die and then brought me back and took possession of my body and my power.”
“Who? Mamie?” I shook my head. “I don’t understand. Eloise, what’s happening? Why did you bring us here?”
An expression of anguish passed over Eloise’s face. “I didn’t want to leave this way. Goodbye, Zoe. Try to forgive me.”
Her eyes rolled back in her head and her body began to slump to the ground, where greedy, bony hands were just waiting to snatch her.
