Page 6 of Magic in the Woods
I wasn’t eating.
My body was no longer absorbing water.
But still, I kept my feet moving, let the pull of the Coven guide me. The pull was getting stronger, and I had assumed that meant I was getting closer. Ihadto be getting closer. I couldn’t last much longer.
No. Iwouldlast. Ihadto. If I didn’t make it, my mother would thaw, and everything would resume as she’d planned it. With both me and my grandmother gone, she’d still be Prime.
Leaving no one else to challenge her.
I would keep going.
As I crested a steep hill, I spied a large silver rectangular box, its sides worn and weathered, in the distance. It had a door and a couple of windows.
I laughed.
I might’ve cackled. The way the sun glinted off the sides of the box made my eyes squint. This had to be some sort of joke—a mirage, perhaps. We were in the middle of the woods, with no signs of civilization in any direction. I reallywaslosing it.
A silver house in the middle of the woods.
Good one, Dafni.
I just needed to rest for a bit, close my eyes for a second to clear my mind. When I opened them, the silver house wouldn’t be there—maybe I wouldn’t be here. Maybe this would all be some weird fever dream and I’d wake up with a cold washcloth on my forehead and my grandmother’s homemade chicken broth being spooned into my mouth.
The woods were quiet. Or maybe my hearing was going. With my palm still on the handle of the pail, I leaned against a tree, its papery bark tickling the exposed skin on my upper backand shoulders. I tucked the skirt of my green sundress under my legs and closed my eyes—just for a minute.
“Are you okay?” I could hear a deep baritone voice.A man. My eyes, though, refused to open. They felt gritty, like a mix of sand and water had pasted them shut.
“Let’s try to get you sitting up against this tree,” I heard him say.
Aren’t I already sitting?The thought came to me as I realized my head was currently pressed into the ground. I must’ve tipped over at some point after passing out.
“I’m going to have to touch you, okay?”
To my surprise, he waited for a response that I couldn’t give him. Eventually, rough hands scooped under my arms, and my head fell to my chest as my body became more vertical.
“There.” I felt his rough fingers beneath my chin, my ears ringing as he righted my head into the correct position atop my neck. His fingertips were warm against my cheeks. His thumb reached above my cheek bone, dipping into the hollow of my eye socket beneath my lower eyelid. Pulling down, he cracked the gritty paste holding my eye shut. Bright light I wasn’t ready for flooded my pupil.
My reaction was less than perfect. I slapped his arm and attempted to headbutt him. He easily dodged my head, my movements comically slow as I tipped forward. I took a minute to catch my breath, bent over on all fours in the dirt.What an embarrassing demonstration of strength.
Tucking my feet beneath me, I slowly stood, making it about halfway up before I wobbled.
“Hey, careful.” He reached out to steady me, his hand brushing against my arm.
I swatted at him again, an unintentional hiss leaving my lips.
He backed up with his hands raised in front of him. “I don’t have time for this, okay? I’ve got to get to work.”
He looked as though he might’ve been telling the truth. He wore tan leather work boots that went up over his ankles. Both his pants and shirt were a thick cargo material. His hands lowered, his eyes trying to focus on my own bobbing eyes. I didn’t make it easy—there was too much to take in. The forest, my weak body failing me, the man standing in front of me.
The woods. I’d been in the woods and had seen that…silver house. I glanced behind him. The metal house was still there…
“Hey.” His voice brought my eyes back to his. They were green, like mine. Shaggy blond hair fell across his forehead. He had it swept to the side like he was due for a haircut, but just like dealing with me, he didn’t have the time. The lines across his forehead made me think he either worried too much or was several years older than me. Probably both. “Are you going to be okay?”
I tilted my chin in a nod.I’ll be okay…I think.Pressing into my heels, I straightened my legs, trying to stand upright.
“Can I carry that for you?” He reached for the pail beside me, its handle stuck upright like a rainbow.
“No!” With one hand, I channeled my air magic, pushing the man away from me. Like a rag doll, he flew backward, landing on his butt ten feet away. With my other hand, I used my water magic to refreeze my mother. This was the closest she’d been to being thawed out completely. Bright-orange fur, although wet, had stuck out from the ice block. The tip of her tail had been flicking back and forth above the water.
