Black Wood (A Witch Rising) (14 page)

The flame grew bigger, eating
through the ties around Emily’s wrist, its heat warming the air and
scorching her skin. Crying out, she pulled her hand and the
remaining thread gave in.

The fire spread toward the rest
of the maze. It was now or never. She touched the ties around the
other wrist, and like before, the flames etched away. With all her
might she pulled until the singed thread tore and she plummeted
forward, dangling facedown a few feet above the ground.

With both hands free, the ties
around her legs were easy to remove. She landed on her side, the
impact knocking the breath out of her, but even the pain couldn’t
dampen Emily’s excitement. She wasn’t going to be turned into
dinner after all. Not if she managed to escape before that thing
returned.

Emily scrambled to her feet and
didn’t stop running until she reached the staircase, her heart
beating faster and faster. She had what she came for, now she’d get
out of there. She was two steps down the stairs when she heard the
creature’s screech from below. She froze on the spot. There was no
way she could squeeze in between this thing and the stairs, but the
staircase was the only escape route.

Something shoved her hard and
she fell to her knees.

“Dinner,” the creature hissed
behind her.

Emily spun, her palm
outstretched, the flame casting a golden glow on the creature’s
long, hairy legs. She opened her mouth, but her cry didn’t find its
way out. For a long moment, she could only stare at the biggest
spider she had ever seen. Her biggest nightmare just came true.

Like long tentacles, the
spider’s black legs moved forward, making that sucking noise from
before. Ever so slowly, Emily’s hand moved to the backpack and she
pulled out the dagger. Did spiders bite or sting? Should she dare a
quick look at its head? Or concentrate on the legs? Swallowing down
the lump in her throat, Emily lifted her trembling hand so the
flame fell a little higher and she gasped.

This wasn’t just a spider.
Perched on top of countless legs was the body of a man with skin
black like coal, long blond hair and bulbous, shimmery eyes. His
ribcage stood open, and there, in between thin, white threads,
pulsed something black and the size of her fist.

His mouth opened, revealing
sharp, pointed teeth. “No one escapes Spyros’s net. Not even a
little witch like you.”

Emily blinked, her grip
tightened around the dagger. Maybe she could bluff her way out. “My
magic is stronger than yours. Move or I’ll turn you into a
toad.”

Spyros laughed. The sound turned
into a hiss. “I’m the keeper of the Queen’s magic. No one could
ever turn me into a toad.”

With his iridescent eyes fixed
on her, the spider’s legs moved forward and Emily jumped back, her
mind searching frantically for a way out. Bolting for the stairs
was out of the question. She’d never measure up to a spider’s
speed.

Maybe she could blind it with
her flame. She chewed on her lip when her eyes fixed on the black
thing beating in between Spyros’s chest, and she felt a sudden
chill run down her spine. It was black and it beat like a heart.
Don’t think, just act.

Breathing in, she gripped the
dagger tight, minding its deadly tip, and darted for one of the
creature’s legs. She climbed up as fast as her tired muscles would
allow, her hands hanging on to Spyros’s long limbs as jagged hairs
cut into her skin. She bit down on the sudden pain running through
her arms as she scrambled higher.

Spyros screeched and kicked his
long legs to shake her off, but Emily wasn’t going to let go. As
she reached the spider’s ribcage, she struck hard. The dagger’s
sharp edge cut through white thread, entering deeper. Black,
foul-smelling liquid oozed out. Emily’s stomach turned.

The creature’s screech grew
shriller as it lifted several legs off the ground. She pulled out
the dagger for another blow when she lost her grip and fell to the
floor, the dagger clattering next to her. With another screech, the
spider fled toward the tunnels. Spyros’s hiss echoed through the
silence long after he was gone.

She had to get out now before
that thing came back. Emily forced herself to her feet and down the
stairs. Her joints ached and her left arm throbbed, but she didn’t
care. She stumbled forward until she reached the hall below and
then stopped to kindle a flame.

Where was the door now? Taking
small steps, she scanned the high walls when her gaze fell on
several bookcases on the far end of the room. She pulled out a
black, leather-bound book with golden letters on the spine, blew
the dust off the cover and scanned its content.

How to find lost objects. How to
make a pig fly. How to start a fire without matches.

One spell after another, a
souvenir she could certainly use. There were so many books, surely
one wouldn’t be missed. Emily pushed the book inside her backpack
and continued searching for the door. When she found the hook, she
spoke the magic words and the wall opened.

Outside, it was still dark. A
fresh breeze carried the smell of damp wood and winter. How much
time had passed? A day or maybe two? Emily stepped out into the
forest and hurried toward the path in the direction from where she
had come. She kept on walking until she reached a clearing where
she stopped for a sandwich and some rest.

The sky was still littered with
stars when she continued her journey even though her body was sore
and blisters had formed on her feet. The trees grew sparser, but
there was still no sign of birds or other animals.

When she heard the soft rushing
of water, she turned that way, careful to stay away from the water
and the nymph. Eventually, the path grew wider and she reached a
forking. But was this the same? Would the portal open here?

With shaking hands, Emily closed
her eyes and spoke the words. Nothing happened. She frowned and
tried to clear her mind, let her magic flow. She opened her eyes
and saw a spark flying through the air, illuminating the wood to
her left and right and revealing a wood hut not far away. And then
the portal started to open. Emily let out a cry of joy. She’d be
home soon.

A last glance toward the hut,
and she stepped in. At the same time the light went on inside the
hut, and a plump woman with orange-dyed hair opened the door.

“Grandma?” Emily cried out, but
the portal sucked her in, making her head spin. When she opened her
eyes, she lay sprawled on the attic floor with Sam and Clifford
around her.

Sam pulled her in an awkward hug
and punched her shoulder. “You’re back.”

Emily blinked. “Where’s
Muriel?”

“She disappeared. Just like
that.” Clifford snapped his fingers, his eyes bulging out of their
sockets. His face was as red as always when he looked at her. “I
mean, one moment she prepared Mr Jones’s tea in the kitchen, and
the next she dissolved into fog.”

“Mum’s called. She’ll make it in
time for Christmas after all.” Sam helped her to her feet, but
Emily wasn’t listening. She had to open the portal again to see
whether the woman was her grandmother.

She pushed the boys out. “I’ll
be downstairs in a minute. Just need to do something.”

Sam frowned, but he didn’t
argue. She waited until their steps retreated, and then turned
toward her reflection in the mirror, speaking the magic words in a
haste. The mirror glazed over, but the portal didn’t open.

Maybe she was too tired and her
magic needed to replenish. She sighed and turned away when a face
appeared on the other side. A troll with brownish, shaggy hair, the
most sparkling blue eyes and warmest smile stared back at her. Her
heart did a flip-flop as she gazed into those eyes, unable to move,
until the image dissolved, returning the mirror to its glossy
surface.

A week later, things had
returned to normal for Emily—well, almost, since she still had that
butterfly-feeling in her stomach whenever she thought about the
troll-boy with the blue eyes.

Her dad was still enchanted, but
with the help of Aurelie’s awful brews Muriel’s hold on him
weakened. He still asked about Muriel though.

When showing her mentor the
golden apple, Aurelie had no idea what it was, but she vowed to
keep it locked until she found out.

There were only one thing left
for Emily to do: wait for her magic to grow so that she could open
the portal again, and bring her parents back together. With
Christmas near, she hoped her wish might finally come true.

On the last day of school, Emily
sat at her table, staring out the window. Her mind wandered toward
the troll with the blue eyes, while the Science teacher recounted
something about volcanoes. Before her eyes, thick, dark clouds
gathered over the schoolyard and the sky turned black.

A wind blew the few remaining
December leaves about the ground, lifted them up and whirled them
in a circle as though playing with them. The air seemed to sizzle
with foreboding. Something was happening. Emily craned her to get a
better look. And then someone moved out of the shadows, a tall
figure clad in black, half his face covered by a hood.

Her heard pounding hard, Emily
shot a glance at the teacher but she didn’t seem to notice. The
door sprang open and the headmistress barged in. “Emily Jones,
someone’s here to see you.”

Emily didn’t move, just
continued to stare out the window as the hooded figure inched
closer to the window, his pale skin beautiful in the eerie
semi-darkness.

“Emily? Are you listening?” the
teacher said.

Why couldn’t they just let her
be so she could see what was happening outside? Sighing, Emily
accompanied the headmistress out the door where Aurelie, wrapped in
a thick, checked wool coat, with Clifford waiting by her side
leaned against the wall.

“What’s going on?” Emily asked
as soon as the headmistress disappeared around the corner.

Aurelie’s brows furrowed as she
shook her head. “What else did you take from Black Wood? Whatever
it is, you need to take it back, Emily, for it has disturbed the
balance.”

What was she saying? Emily
stared at her. “What’re you talking about?”

“The portal’s open, and Black
Wood’s creatures have started to pour in. Do you have any idea what
this means for the world?”

“We’re dead,” Clifford
whispered.

THE END