Page 75 of Magic in the Woods
“Let me see those.” Matilda stalked toward her sister ripping the papers from her hand. She flipped through the pages, dropping each to the ground after she’d read it.
The walls shook, dirt now raining from the ceiling.
The witches behind the work benches looked around the cavern and then at Matilda. Their home was falling apart around them.
I pushed another bout of mist from my potion into the air, letting it settle among the witches in the bleachers.
The cavern rumbled. I looked up at the ceiling, expecting an avalanche of dirt.
But this time, it wasn’t the walls. It was the witches.
They came down from the bleachers, hands extended in front of them, teeth dripping with poison. The water magic witches climbed over the work benches, scalding themselves on their potions to get to Matilda.
She backed away, her hands held up, feigning innocence. “You can’t do this! You don’t want to do this! We’ve had such a nice life here!”
The walls vibrated again, more dirt falling.
“What can I do? Would you like supervised outside time?”
The witches continued to surround her.
“Stop this instant!” Robinson jumped in front of Matilda, pointing his fingers at the surrounding witches, jumping back and forth, not knowing who to point them at. There were too many.
“Just give me another ch—” Her voice becamemuffled under the swarm of witches that attacked. They climbed over and under each other, each looking for a piece of her. The top half of Robinson’s body popped out of the pile only to be dragged back in, the witches taking him down as well.
I stood there, watching, shaking, some of the rage left in my body. She was my mother, but this wasn’t about me. There were witches here who had known her longer than me. Witches she’d tortured and trapped here their entire lives. Their rage was strong and needed to be released. I could give that release to them.
A large hand settled on my shoulder, followed by an arm resting against the back of my neck.
“You could’ve ended her yourself,” Gideon said as we watched the swarm.
I nodded. I could have. “I wanted to give them this.”
He pulled me closer against the side of his body. “I didn’t know cutting the power would release your mother.”
“How could you have?”
The cavern shook again. A few witches on the outside of the pile stopped attacking and looked up. The ceiling seemed lower somehow, the dirt falling in bigger clumps.
We’d have to leave—soon there wouldn’t be a cavern…or even an underground Coven.
“They did it,” I whispered. “Their rage destroyed the Coven.”
“That and the potion,” Gideon said, his lips brushing my ear. “You did it, Dafni. You created rage.”
Slowly, the witches pulled themselves from the pile, smoothing their shirts and skirts as they stood. There was nothing left of my mother or Robinson. The witches’ poison had disolved everything. They looked around the cavern, cowering every time the walls shook.
“And now I have to harness it,” I said.
“You’ve been leading these witches since I met you. Rescuing Brooke, pulling the witches from the sand, standing up to your mother—they respect you.” Gideon motioned to the witches as they nudged each other, nodding toward me and staring. “They’ll follow you.”
Their faces were marked with the sores and growths from their time here. They still looked a bit sullen and sad, but there was a glimmer of hope on their faces.
The entire cavern shook again. I grabbed on to Gideon’s arm so I wouldn’t lose my footing.
We had to get out.
Something wet nudged my thigh. I looked down to find Luke in his wolf form trying to get my attention.
