Queen Witch

by Elle Middaugh

  Oh my God! My prince ran away!

  What the hell was I supposed to do?

  Nerissa—the only one of my siblings who’d been awake before I got there—strolled through the halls, rushing us along. She was a few feet from where I stood when she shot me an exasperated look.

  “Well?” she asked with a shrug. “Where’s your prince? He’s the last one we’re waiting on.”

  “Oh, Gage?” I said, stalling with an overly wide smile. “He’s gone. I mean, not gone gone, just already up and about. He went for breakfast. He’ll meet us there.”

  She nodded curtly and a smile touched her lips. “Good. Let’s go, then.”

  During the limo ride to parliament, my nerves rattled like needles, pricking my skin. Where could that man possibly be? Had he tried to return to his own realm? Had he succeeded? Would I ever see him again?

  My heart ached, a dull sensation that pumped sorrow through my veins. I didn’t want this to be over before it even started. We had a connection that deserved to be discovered. I’d give almost anything to see where our relationship could go.

  Laken nudged me with her elbow, startling me from my worries. She opened her palm to reveal a tiny yellow flower. A buttercup. I took it with a curious frown, but she merely winked at me.

  Ah. I must need it for my face.

  Not that I wasn’t plenty beautiful enough, but fear and worry were clearly not helping my cause. And we were about to make a public appearance. Princesses always had to look their best, regardless of whatever inner turmoil they were dealing with.

  I pulled the energy out, and the tiny flower disappeared. I then directed the magic into my palms and used it to softly scrub my face.

  My skin instantly felt brighter. Any dark bags under my eyes would have promptly vanished. Any flaws on the surface would have smoothed out. Flowers were beautiful, and were therefore the perfect source for creating beauty. A teensy tiny flower would have fixed my features far better than a large animal, or even a large flowerless plant. Source consideration was something I’d recently started paying more attention to. I seemed to be becoming more informed in my adult life.

  “Thanks,” I whispered to Laken.

  She smiled sweetly and nodded her head from its perch on Nathan’s shoulder.

  Seeing her prince made me nervous about mine all over again. Hopefully this time the worry at least wouldn’t show on my face.

  We pulled up to the parliament building and scurried to the stone steps where everyone sat waiting. Thankfully, we weren’t the last ones. The three Arctimo Princesses had yet to arrive.

  Julian leaned into Nerissa’s ear, but his voice was so deep that I heard him too. “My sisters are always late. They care more about their looks than their ability.”

  Nerissa gave him a knowing smile and nodded.

  Was he tipping her off? Letting her know she didn’t need to focus on his sisters because they were shit at magic? Just in case, I tucked that information away into my own mind.

  The Arctimo girls and their princes pulled up a few minutes later, and the ancient witch took her place before us.

  “Welcome to the Second Trial. I trust you’re well rested after your night out.”

  Sniggers echoed through the crowd. Apparently they’d gotten more action than me. My prince had walked me to my room, kissed my cheek, then disappeared forever.

  Anxiety ratcheted up in my chest at the mere thought of it. What if this trial was a partners thing? What if I absolutely needed Gage to be here in order to participate? I’d be so fucked!

  I stole a nervous glance at the street where cars and people were zooming by, gawking in awe at our gathering on the steps. Gage was not amongst them. My eyes drifted to the sky. He was a dragon, after all. Would he risk flying in front of thousands of people who had no clue magic existed? I had no idea. Regardless, the sky was empty save for some noisy seagulls circling.

  Suddenly a hand slid up my back and rested carefully on my shoulder.

  “What’d I miss?” he asked, as he tucked himself onto a step beside me.

  “Gage!” I whispered breathlessly, spinning around. “What are you doing here?”

  He blinked and looked around. “Was I not supposed to be? Looks like all the other guys are here.”

  “No. I mean, yes. You’re supposed to be here. But, I just thought....”

  He cocked his head and flashed me his dimples. “Thought what?”

  The ancient witch chose that moment to speak, saving me from my embarrassing response.

  “This trial is a race. Points will be awarded in chronological order of who finishes fastest.” The white-haired woman took a moment to scrounge through a canvas bag, then lifted up another potion—shimmering purple this time. “Your familiars are trapped at the other end of this capital maze.”

  Shocked gasps hissed all around me.

  Catfish! Oh my God, I should have realized something was up when he hadn’t yet returned by morning. I was such a shitty person, but I’d try to make it up to him by busting his ass out of there faster than anyone else could.

  “To make it fair,” the ancient witch continued, “everyone will drink a potion that alters the very fabric of the world. Even the locals will be lost when the serum takes effect. Remember, your familiars are scared and confused. You must get to them as quickly as possible. There, you will find the antidote to this serum.”

  Gage squeezed the muscles between my neck and shoulders. “It’ll be okay. You got this.”

  I bit my lip and shook my head, heart hammering wildly in my rib cage. “You didn’t see what I saw....”

  The image of Gage stabbed and bleeding filled my chest with dread.

  “It doesn’t matter,” he said, smiling just enough to set me at ease. “I believe in you. You want it too badly to lose. And you love that damn cat. You’ll get him back.”

  I chuckled despite it all. “Thanks. And thank you for not running away.”

  His smile stretched until it tickled his eyes. “That’s what you thought? That I’d bailed on you in the middle of the night?”

  I nodded, certain that if I tried to speak, tears would start rolling.

  He took a deep breath and brushed a brown wave of hair away from my face.

  “I woke up early to get some fly-time over the sea,” he said softly. “That’s all. The thought of deserting you never even crossed my mind.”

  He eyed me carefully, trying to communicate something my brain was clearly not picking up on. All I knew was that it made me feel a hundred times better. My fear eased, and the nervousness dissipated. I could stare into those clear blue eyes for days.

  “Your turn,” the ancient witch said, coming out of nowhere and thrusting the purple potion under my nose.

  It smelled sweet, but also citrusy. I handed Gage my bag, then took a deep gulp. It was scratchy to swallow, like glitter mixed with a bit of honey, and tasted much worse than it smelled. There was a very strange chemical tang. It made me wonder if she’d added bleach or something.

  And just like that, shit started changing.

  A purple veil floated down from the sky, turning morning into the deep dark of night. All the buildings morphed from bright sandstone to ebony steel. Music began pumping loudly through the air. I could feel the bass in my heels, rattling up my legs. Lights appeared, some flashing, some fixed, all vibrant shades of neon and florescence. Ultraviolet waves made the colors stand out boldly against the black, and I noticed each competitor had a radiant white number on their outfit—which were no longer the gowns we’d worn there.

  I was dressed in sneakers, tight denim jeans, and a t-shirt with a number seven in the middle.

  I spun around and looked at Gage. His skin shone a surreal color, a mixture of purple, blue, and black—much like his dragon scales had. His eyes were dark now.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, carefully holding up his hands between us.

  I must’ve looked like I was on the verge of snapping.

  Licking my
lips, I willed myself to physically calm down. “Sorry, this is just... really weird. I feel like I’m in some nighttime videogame world or something. Everything’s all fucked up.”

  The ancient witch’s voice cut loudly above the background music.

  “On your marks.”

  What? No!

  I wasn’t even close to being prepared yet.

  “Get set.”

  How the hell was I supposed to find my black-striped cat in this crazy-ass darkness?

  I’m not set, I’m not set at all.

  “Go!”

  Chapter 8

  I darted down the stairs and hit the streets, lost in a chaotic blur of vivacious colors. If it wasn’t glowing outlandishly, then it was dark as hell. There was no in-between.

  Up ahead, pink arrows flashed at the end of a street that I was certain didn’t exist. They pointed to the left, and I could only assume that was the way I should run. Nerissa seemed to agree. She darted out ahead of me, gaining speed with every step. She was definitely using magic, as I clearly should’ve been.

  I looked around for a potted plant or a tree-lined street, but I honestly wasn’t sure what I was looking at anymore. People strolled down the sidewalk, but not all of them looked like actual humans. Some had strange snouts on their faces, or massive black eyes, or tentacles for limbs.

  To my right there was a wavering yellow light, like illuminated smoke but with a gelatinous consistency. It stood outside the door of a dark shop. Was it a plant?

  I had to try my luck.

  “Um...,” I said, feeling the pressure of doing this quickly and correctly. “Plant so very strange indeed, lend me power for some speed.”

  The yellow smoke disappeared like sand on a breeze and I felt a quick burst of energy. It lasted about a block, then petered out. Scanning my surroundings, I searched for another yellow plant, but I didn’t see any. I couldn’t even see Nerissa, who must’ve already taken a turn somewhere up ahead. A few other princesses passed me by.

  Shit!

  Strange little semitransparent blobs slunk along the sidewalks. Rodents from the nearby park? As much as I disliked the idea, I was running out of options.

  “Creature slinking down the street, give me speed to fuel my feet.”

  One of the blobs vanished as the magic zoomed over to me, pushing my legs into overdrive. I rocketed ahead of the princesses who’d passed me a moment ago. It was like my sneakers were on fire. When I glanced over my shoulder, I was shocked to find a line of green flames trailing after me.

  But then I realized... reclaiming second place was cool and all, it just didn’t really matter much if I had no idea where the hell I was going. Which I didn’t. The finish line was where Catfish was, and that could be virtually anywhere in the city. The race wasn’t linear; it was temporal. Whoever found their familiar first was who ultimately won the Second Trial.

  I slowed to a stop and glanced around, wracking my brain for a way to quickly locate him. A location spell? I’d never used one before, but it seemed like a good place to start.

  I entered the nearest store, which, under the strange potion-induced mask, appeared to be a black cave full of miniature witch-eating monsters. If it weren’t for the chirps, barks, and timbered scent of cage bedding, I never would have guessed I was in a pet shop.

  Before I could change my mind, I took a pet bird into my hands and said, “Bird I don’t know where I’m at, give me sight to find my cat.”

  The tiny body in my hands disappeared in a puff of dust, but absolutely nothing seemed to be happening. No visions came. No gut feelings on where to go. I tapped my foot and chewed my lip.

  Maybe I just needed to find another crystal ball? Or something reflective at the very least. But where would I find something like that in this chaotic mess? Then it hit me—I could use a mirror from the vanished bird’s cage. Snatching the first flat object that felt glassy, I held it in my palm and looked down at myself.

  A wild-looking girl stared back at me. Her electric-blue hair floated upward like seaweed, soft henna tattoos littered her glittering silver skin, and her eyes shone bright as stars. I turned my head and the reflection copied me flawlessly.

  “Mirror mirror, in my hand, show my path across this land.”

  My face quickly disappeared as the scene panned out into a bird’s-eye view of the capital. But just as quickly as it had come, the image zoomed back in and showed nothing more than my strange face.

  I needed more magic.

  I swallowed hard and grabbed another animal. It was wrinkly and whimpered pitifully in my hands. A puppy. My chest squeezed and my stomach rolled as immediate nausea set in. The thought of draining it of life almost killed me.

  But the alternative....

  Images from the crystal ball again assaulted my vision. Nerissa laughing, Gage slowly dying, Catfish shaking and terrified, children caged.... Then my frightened mind added new images to the mix. Spirits whispering secrets in Nerissa’s ear, zombies rising from the earth to do her bidding, humans scattering in horror and dropping like flies. All I could think was, I have to win, no matter the cost.

  My eyes closed and tears slid down both cheeks. “Precious puppy if you may, help the mirror show my way.” And with a final whine, the sweet little thing crumbled into dust in my grasp.

  A gritty sob escaped my throat, but through the fluid blur of tears, I saw the mirror pan out and highlight a path through the streets. I blinked to get a better look, but the image had already started fading.

  “No, damn it!” I shouted with a cracking voice.

  I’d destroyed at least three innocent animals so far, but I still needed more power. The Second Trial was beginning to feel impossible.

  I stumbled from the pet store out into the ripe smell of asphalt and vehicular exhaust. Rafts, small spaceships, camels, unicycles, and God knew what else all sat bumper to bumper at a traffic light. From what I recalled of the mirror-map, I needed to cross the street and keep going straight for a few blocks. Pushing my legs as fast as they’d go, I weaved through the vehicles as they honked their horns in irritation.

  Suddenly, a gong echoed across the entire skyline, and the soft robotic voice of a female filled the air.

  “First place. Nerissa Strand.”

  “Fuck!” I growled, as I reached the sidewalk on the other side. Immediately, the strange-looking bystanders turned to me and cocked their heads.

  I’m already losing, I realized through a trickle of more tears. I had to do something, and fast. I have to win, no matter the cost.

  I sniffed and wiped my cheeks. I needed a bigger source of energy. One I wouldn’t kill, but would rather weaken. And then it dawned on me. We were racing through the capital, a city teeming with thousands of people. A healthy human wouldn’t die from a little energy siphoning. At best, they’d probably get a headache and some fatigue. At worst....

  I ran my trembling fingers through my hair. My nails glowed in graffiti-like patterns.

  I’d never used a human source before. I’d always tried to be a good witch. Not that using humans automatically made one evil, but it seemed like a gateway to an addiction I never wanted to start. I had no idea what might happen. Incurable illness? Cancer? Heart attack? Aneurism?

  The gong sounded again.

  “No!” I cried, as the soft robotic voice announced another name.

  “Second place. Sasha Azikizon.”

  Fear of falling too far behind jolted me into reckless action.

  “Person with a squid-like face, give me help to win third place.”

  All at once, the mirror in my hand illuminated brightly, while the man I’d borrowed energy from bent over and squeezed his knees like he was dizzy or sick.

  He’ll be okay, I promised myself half-heartedly. I couldn’t bear to think otherwise.

  With the path finally shining clearly and with time quickly running out, I forced myself back into a run. The squid-man’s energy burned through my veins, fueling my legs with vicious speed. Before I
knew it, I was rounding the corner, and blazing up a set of steps that looked like glowing green orbs strung together like creepy pearls.

  At the top, colorful umbrellas shrouded the doorways to different apartments. I checked the mirror-map, and turned right. Bubbles drifted through the street from no apparent source. The air was colder over here, and the sounds of an angry sea crashed wildly in the background.

  I conjured up the image of Catfish, shaking and alone, and tried to get a feel for the vision’s setting. If I remembered correctly, he was curled on the edge of a rickety dock, next to an old cloth sail. The sound of crashing waves grew louder. This had to be the way.

  I inched closer, making my way through the bubbles as they popped, and quickly caught sight of a dock bobbing dangerously in the waves. A terrified mew echoed high above the crashing surf.

  Catfish.

  “Cat!” I shouted, throwing caution to the wind and sprinting to the dock.

  A gust of wind knocked me off-balance, dropping me to my knees as I clung to the planks beneath me.

  “Eliza?” he called back, voice quavering. He was still shaking from his makeshift nest in the sail.

  “I’m coming, Cat, don’t you worry.”

  “Eliza, be careful. It’s high as hell up here.”

  Obviously, I had no idea what he was talking about. We were seeing two very different worlds, after all.

  Slowly, I crawled across the dock as the sea sprayed my face and the wind whipped my hair. Lightning flashed, and I saw the antiserum tucked into Catfish’s nest. Thunder boomed, and the dock creaked ominously. Would it hold long enough for me to get to him?

  I lurched forward, snatching the vial as if it were a frog that might hop away. My fingers found the cork and popped it off, and I quickly downed the potion as the third gong sounded.