Guilt tightened its grip on my guts. What if I failed? It wouldn’t exactly come as a surprise, but if I was the first human in centuries to cross the rift, how long would it be before another came along? How many people would suffer and die in that time? I pressed my lips together and dressed in silence. The garments, identical to Pansy’s, fit perfectly and were as soft as butter. Several items remained in the basket, a blanket, a belt and some gloves. The day was shaping up to be mild, so gloves would prove useless, and I had no intention of lugging a blanket around. I left them in the basket. When I emerged from my hiding place, I couldn’t help but grin as I lifted my arms to show off my outfit.
“Ooh, it looks wonderful!” Pansy said, ushering me to the mirror.
My smile faded. Not only did my hair clash horribly with the greens and browns, but my skin carried a ghostly pallor. Tiredness or dread? Whatever it was, I looked halfway to the grave already. I didn’t believe in signs, but then again, I didn’t believe in magic either, yet here I was.
Pansy disappeared behind the screen, leaving me to scowl at my reflection. When she emerged a moment later, she was armed with the basket. Despite my reluctance to carry it, I kept my mouth shut as she draped the blanket over my shoulder and slid in front of me, adjusting the folds and tweaking the fabric. She fastened the belt around my waist, holding the blanket in place around my shoulders, but leaving my arms free.
“There,” she said. “It will keep you warm, and you can lift it over your head if it rains, and at night you can unfasten it and use it as an extra blanket. And look, gloves too.”
I pulled them on obligingly. The cuffs came halfway up my bare forearms and, despite being entirely impractical, they were sort of cute. I twisted, admiring my reflection from different angles. Even I had to admit, it looked pretty good, like a costume from a movie. I could just picture myself traipsing through the woods on my epic quest. All I needed was a bow and arrow and a wolf trotting at my side.
“I love it,” I said truthfully. It was better than Isobel’s hideous trekking outfit, that was certain. The thought of her orange fleece brought a smile to my lips. One day soon, I’d see her again, and I would never complain about her annoying tendencies again, not unless she tried to make me go hunting for fairies. That would be stamped out at once.
“I’d better go and finish getting myself ready. We’re leaving soon. I’ll come and collect you when it’s time. Bye for now!” Pansy gave an enthusiastic wave as she disappeared through the door.
I couldn’t summon any of her excitement. The clock continued to tick. Somewhere, witches were dying. Were my remaining moments numbered too?
When the witches summoned me for our departure, I slipped my phone into the deep pocket on the thigh of my new trousers. I didn’t know why I bothered; it hadn’t shown even the faintest glimmer of life since I’d crawled out of the river, but it felt wrong to leave it behind. I knew Mum and Dad, maybe even my friends, would still be trying to call me, hoping that, this time, it would connect, and I’d answer. I held absolutely no hope of the damn thing waking up, but it was a link to home. To the people who loved me. They were just on the other side of that stubbornly dark screen.
The castle was busier than it had been yesterday. I passed several groups of witches on my way downstairs, each armed with crates stuffed full of candles. They all paused to watch me pass. Some even wished me good fortune. I offered only thin-lipped smiles in response. It would take more than a few well-intentioned words of encouragement to get me through my coming ordeal. Had I been an idiot to sign myself up for this quest? Had I signed my own death certificate?
A group of nine witches dressed in identical uniforms to my own waited in the entrance hall. Most, I didn’t recognise, but Sage was among them, her blonde mane woven into a thick braid, and sure enough, Pansy beamed at me from her mother’s side as I descended the stairs.
“There you are.” Sage spoke with a tone suggesting she’d been kept waiting for forty minutes. She strode to meet me at the bottom of the stairs, pulling a belt from around her waist. “These are for you.”
Without waiting for my consent, she strapped the belt around me, over the wrap. A pair of daggers hung at each of my hips. I extracted one from its sheath. The evil-looking blade was as black as night, though the handle, predictably, sported a large crystal in a sickly shade of green. One edge of the blade was serrated, bringing to mind images of the internal damage they would inflict if used.
“A matching pair,” Sage explained, “and very old. A relic of the first fae queen, in fact. Do try not to lose them.”
Lose them? I didn’t even know how to use them. I knew how to handle a scalpel, but I had a niggling suspicion that hand to hand combat with twin daggers might prove slightly different. Still, heading into monster infested territory was slightly less daunting now that I was armed. With great care, I slid the blade back into place and followed Sage to the waiting group.
“You already know Sisters Hyacinth and Pansy. This is Hazel, Aspen, Clover, Laurel, Daffodil and Meadow.”
The last witch was short, even by witch standards, with dark angular eyes that crinkled as she smiled at me.
I returned the gesture but didn’t have the chance to speak before Sage continued. “We head for Tir o Haf. Make no mistake, the journey will be dangerous, and discretion will be vital. It is likely Maelgwyn’s shades have informed him of the presence of a human here in Nairsgarth. He is likely to focus his attention on the castle, in which case, luck may be on our side if we remain undetected. Our aim is to arrive unnoticed, retrieve the princes, and leave as quickly as possible.” She approached a heap of hiking packs piled near the bannister and shouldered one. “I have my warp crystal to return us to Nairsgarth, though the princes may prefer to teleport us to Tir o Gaeaf, which would be safer in any case. Once they wake, we concede to them, but until then, Granny has placed me in charge.”
Nobody voiced any reservations about Sage’s appointment as group leader, so I swallowed my own complaints. The witch was efficient. Maybe that was exactly what we needed. Instead, I asked, “What about the castle? Will the shades come back?”
“Yes. Our wards have been reinforced to protect against Maelgwyn himself, and we are increasing light within the castle to guard against shades. There will be no dark corners in Nairsgarth come nightfall.”
That was something, at least. The remaining witches would be safe enough, but despite Sage’s plan of discretion, I couldn’t find the same relief for me and my party. The sooner I broke the curse, the sooner we’d be safe. “How do you know where the princes are?”
“I don’t.”
My blood plummeted to my legs, leaving me cold and light-headed. “What? So, we’re just going to Tir of Haf on the off chance? Shall we knock on the palace doors and ask for directions?”
Moss green eyes narrowed in my direction. “Do not mistake me for an idle-brained idiot, girl. What do you think I’ve been doing these past centuries?”
Stealing candy from children? Pulling wings off butterflies? Practising her not-so-resting bitch face in the mirror?
“I have been studying past attempts to break the curse, looking at what went wrong, searching for patterns and discrepancies, themes and clues. I have travelled the courts testing my theories as far as I was able without a human to–”
“Sacrifice?” I suggested.
“Aid me. Several decades ago, I discovered an area of Tir o Haf that bears an unusual energy. Some strange power is woven into the air. Unnatural creatures dwell there, beasts that should not exist. I believe that is where we will find the princes, though I could only progress so far without you.”
Despite what Hyacinth had told me, I couldn’t quell the hope that the lost witches would be saved if I actually broke this God-damned curse. Maybe there was still time. Still a chance.
“Okay, that sounds promising,” I admitted. “Are we leaving after breakfast?”
Sage gave me a rare, sly smile, but Pansy darted to a console table, retrieving a cloth covered parcel from a stack of its fellows and handing it to me with a beaming smile. It was warm and soft.
“I assume you are able to eat and walk at the same time?” Sage asked. “This will not keep until after breakfast. Sisters, come.”
Talk broke out at once as the party divided into what I assumed were friend groups. While the witches retrieved the packs, I unwrapped my parcel. The suffocating stench of charred bacon escaped the folds, and my heart sank. Inside was a fluffy flatbread wrapped around bacon, eggs and some sort of salad.
“I don’t suppose there’s any without meat?” I called over the clamour of activity and conversation.
Sage stiffened, and though she had her back to me, I had no problem picturing the disapproval on her face. After a moment of rigid stillness, she whipped around. “Mother above! What’s wrong with the bacon?”
“Nothing, only… I’m a vegetarian. I don’t eat any meat.”
The witch shucked off her pack and rummaged inside one of its many compartments. She straightened, proffering a shiny, red apple. “Here.”
Hyacinth laid a placating hand on her arm. “Sister Sage… Aliza needs her strength. We can afford a small delay, and I’m certain the kitchens won’t mind making her a new breakfast. Besides, we will have to adjust our supplies if our human can’t eat meat.”
