WIZARD OF OZ
SNOW WHITE
PETER PAN
URBIS
25th November
S unlight touched my cheeks, waking me from my bed of moss. I blinked, unable to remember when I’d fallen asleep. Last night was fuzzy. I recalled reaching the Nixies and greeting their leader before they led us to the pile of moss I now rested on. An eerie song filled the air.
I felt as rested as I had when I’d woken in the sirens’ garden, and I lifted my arm to find the bandages, and my wounds were gone. Whatever laced the air around creatures like the Nixies and the sirens had healed me again, fortunately. I would need my strength, and so would Bay.
Sitting up, I peered around. The glimmering pools of water remained where they had been, every weeping tree’s branches skimming the reflective surfaces in a light breeze. Calm as it seemed, something ominous lurked. My heart thumped.
Bay and Whisper. They weren’t in sight.
“Worry not.” A voice rose from one puddle orifice, and a Nixie followed, the same from the night before, I think. But it was difficult to tell. They all looked so similar with large, regal foreheads, scaly green and blue skin, and glowing eyes. “Your friends have gone on ahead.”
Ahead? Ahead where?
Nerves bundled in my stomach as I glanced at the golden temple. In the sunlight, it looked even more imposing. At night, gleaming with silver and swallowed by darkness, it hadn’t appeared quite as large. Now, just looking at it directly was blinding.
“Why didn’t they wait for me?” I asked, throat tight.
“It would not have mattered. They must face their nightmares alone for now, though only you must succeed alone.”
“Wow. Thanks,” Skye droned, and I jumped, finding him hovering beside the Nixie, arms folded. She looked at him, meeting his nasty frown. “Am I or am I not going with her?”
The Nixie’s lips pursed, and some spattering of knowledge flashed through her eyes before she smiled. It was a moist, dreadful thing. “Yes, well. You will see what I mean.”
He flinched, flitting to my side and standing on my shoulder. “I’m not sure we want to…”
Her laughter was like a bubbling brook, soft and cheerful, but a film closed over her eyes when she blinked, and a chill shot down my spine. “I agree with Skye.”
“You have done this before.” She tilted her head, and her wet hair slapped against her cheek like seaweed. “These temples were erected by the first natives with a magic more powerful than what this world or yours remember. The souls of any who have stepped foot within linger in fractals, ready to test the next guest. You will face your own mind in a quest each of you must overcome if you are to make it out alive with the answers you seek.”
“It relies on all of us?” Air stuck in my chest.
