The 13th Witch Complete Trilogy

by Thompson-Geer, Stacey

  “Will this Oracle send him there?” I didn’t know if I wanted to know more. “No, but he may get someone to go for him.” He took a breath. “I need you and Conner to go there and make sure he never does.”

  “How do we do that?” “You have to find the Halfling. The oracle knows more than I do. You’ll have to talk to her about what it is and where to find it.” He held out a piece of paper to me. “This will tell you where she is.” He finished his food and gave me a hug. My dad knew better than to stick around and lead my biological family to me. ***

  I held the paper in my hand, wondering if I should tell Conner what my father had said. This could bring us back together, but it could also come to tear us apart. I loved this man, but didn’t know if I could truly save him.

  Finally, I made my way back out to the gazebo where I had first fallen in love with him. He was sitting on the chair just staring at the ingredients he had tried to use for his spell.

  I waited for him to notice me before I spoke. “My dad came by today.” I waited for him to say something, anything. “He wants us to do something. Do you want to go?”

  “Where?” He didn’t look at me.

  “To an Oracle.” I wanted him to explain, but he just glanced up at me.

  “He wants us to go to another world, why?” I explained what my father had told me and waited for him to explain more. He didn’t say much, but he seemed to brighten up. Maybe this is what we really needed.

  Two

  The paper my father had given me simply held an address for the Oracle. I had no idea what this person was or how they could transport us to another world. Until today, I had no idea there even was another world.

  “This is it,” Conner said opening the car door. The house was old and sat on a corner in the almost non-existent town of Bartlett, Iowa. I’d only been here a couple of times before.

  The house was white in color with paint peeling off the sides. I wondered to myself if anyone really lived there. The windows were painted an odd green color and seemed not to match the rest of the vibe of the house.

  Conner was first at the door and rapped hard. There was a shuffle as someone came to answer. “I knew you would come eventually,” a younger woman with long blond hair said with a smile. She didn’t look much older than I was and I couldn’t believe she could have enough power to move people through the worlds.

  Conner stepped in first, leaving me for a moment to think about what I was doing. Did I really want to do this? My family had been ripped apart by this magic stuff and here I was wasting time dealing with it again. Why didn’t I just leave it alone?

  “I have everything already set up for you two.” She looked at me before moving her gaze to Conner. When I looked to the floor, I could see a white chalk line with a small amount of salt intertwined. There were also symbols on each side of the circle to represent each of the elements.

  You could feel the power that rolled off the circle she had created. It wasn’t subtle and I got the feeling it wasn’t supposed to be. “What do we need to do?” I asked, unsure as two why I was even here.

  “You will just need to let go. I’ll do the rest.” She smiled as she spoke and I felt somewhat more at ease. “You will need to sit in the circle and relax.” She again smiled at me before moving her gaze to Conner.

  “What are your plans when you get to the other world?” She didn’t look at me, only to him. “I don’t know. James said you would know why we’re here.” He glanced back at me and I knew there was something he wasn’t telling me.

  She smiled and faced me fully. “There is a half witch in the other world. That is who you must find. If you don’t and Eric does, we will be doomed.” She didn’t move her gaze from me. I felt a warmth radiate through my body. I broke my eye contact and looked at the floor again.

  The oracle let out her breath and walked to the edge of the circle. “I won’t be able to be with you in the circle, but I’m not going. I’ll open the door and you will need to walk through it.” She lit some white candles as she spoke. “When it’s time to come back, you will know and you will be here, in this room once again.” She smiled, waiting to see if we had any questions. “Be careful and get your mission done fast. The longer you stay in that world, the harder it will be to come back.”

  I sat in the circle, Conner following close behind. He didn’t offer to hold my hand or make me feel more able to handle what was going on. It was almost like he didn’t care about my sanity anymore. I felt as though he blamed me for everything.

  I glanced one last time at the Oracle and closed my eyes. My heart raced and every sensation seemed to be more than it was before.

  The air was pulled from my lungs, causing me to panic for a slight moment, until it finally let go. I gasped and coughed, trying to get my breathing back to normal.

  When I opened my eyes, I saw the blue sky, clear and bright above us and trees standing tall to the right. I turned my head to the left and could see rows of yellow wild flowers standing at least three feet tall.

  I glanced down to my feet and realized the wood floor of the Oracles home remained.

  Connor pulled himself up and looked to the trees. “That’s the direction we need to go,” “How do you know?” I asked, slightly confused. “I can feel the magic in the air, can’t you?”

  “I don’t have any magic anymore, remember,” I said with a bite. I gave up the very thing I felt like I now needed. While visions of the future weren’t helpful in a fight, they were helpful to know what was coming at me.

  Connor didn’t say anything. He just started walking. I sighed and followed behind him. The last thing I wanted was to be left behind in a world I knew nothing about.

  As we walked, I took in the beauty around me. This place looked untouched by wars and stupid people. It was nature at it’s best.

  The grass grew tall and wild, while the sun created pinks and purples in parts of the sky. The rest remained an unchallenged blue. The trees were old and twisted, but the branches held only the greenest of leaves.

  Connor stopped suddenly, causing me to bump into him.

  “What are you doing now?” I snapped at him. He held his hand up to silence me. It just made me more annoyed. Until he pulled me down into the untrimmed grass.

  I looked at him, confused. He just watched the distance. I turned my head to the same direction to see what in the world he was looking at. That was when I saw the young girl. She wasn't much older than thirteen, if at all. Her blond hair fell in curls down her back. She was wearing a long white dress that glittered when she took a step.

  I glanced at Connor, who was watching intently. "She's a fairy," he said, not meeting my eyes. "A what?" I didn't mean for my voice to carry like it did, but when Connor snapped his head to look at me, I realized I'd spoken too loudly.

  I carefully looked to where the girl was standing not five seconds ago, but there was no one there. "What are you doing here?" The voice was small and light, but it carried an edge with it that made my hair stand up on end.

  I turned slowly and met the bright blue eyes of the girl we were watching just a little while ago. I tried to look away, but she was even prettier when she was close to you.

  "You didn't answer my question. What are you doing here?" She said, the edge a little clearer in her voice.

  Connor spoke up first, "we're looking for someone."

  She watched us for a minute before smiling. "Did the Oracle send you?" She said sweetly. "Why is that important?" I didn't like being talked around and this whole situation was as important to me as it was to Connor.

  She just giggled. "If you tell me the name of the person you're looking for, I might be able to help you find them," she said, giggling a little more.

  I didn't say anything right away. I just watched this beautiful looking creature. A part of me wondered what she was truly capable of. This sweet little package most likely had a dark and scary secret. My body tingled at the thought and a little feeling of fire burned inside my stomach.
I didn't understand it, but she seemed to and smiled as we watched me squirm a bit.

  "We're looking for a Halfling. That's all we seem to know," Connor said, pulling me back a couple steps from the fairy.

  "Oh, there are a couple of them, but Eli is the most irritable and the easiest to find." She was full of bubbly enthusiasm. "I can take you to where he hangs out, but you'll have to approach him carefully. He's not too nice to outsiders."

  "I'll keep that in mind," I said glancing back to Connor. He made a face and looked at his watch. "We've already been here for an hour. Too much longer and we won't be able to get back easily," he said taking a step forward.

  "Then let's not doddle." the fairy said turning her back and kind of skipping through the rest of the meadow. She stopped and looked back at the pair of us, "by the way, the name is Onimatia, but you can call me Oni."

  Connor and I both looked each other, eyebrows raised. I never thought I would meet a fairy. I honestly didn't think there was such a thing and now I'm following on through a meadow to find some kind of mystical being that could be in danger from my birth father. Yeah, I think I might need therapy after this one.

  We followed her for awhile, through a forest of sorts with trees that reminded me of the Wizard Of Oz, and then through a second green meadow until I could see the torch lamps up ahead. We were heading for some kind of town.

  "Where are we?" I asked at the edge of the little town. I could see the torches lining the roads as the sun was starting to fade behind the trees. The buildings looked more like cottages you saw in the old fantasy movies than anything in my world. The grass was neatly trimmed around the base of each building and as we got closer, I could see there were more than just places to live. There was a building for every need and a Fae to help you out with it.

  "This is Riverland. It's a small town of good Fae. To many politics in Northland," Oni answered, walking through the town.

  We followed her, but my eyes kept getting caught up in the world around me. It was like nothing I'd ever seem before.

  The sun was starting to go down so the torches were brighter against the darkening sky. I could see each little house, built as though they were from a fairy tale. The people walking past Oni, Connor and I were watching us curiously.

  We passed several little houses before she stopped suddenly. “He’s probably at the market. It’s that way,” she said pointing to a path off to the left of the town. “It’s not to far.”

  Connor stepped in front of me and glanced back to Oni. “Thanks for your help.” She smiled brightly and turned away from us. “We have to hurry. It’s already been longer than I like.”

  “What happens if we don’t get back soon?” I asked, following him down the path towards the market. “We may not be able to get back,” he answered without looking at me. “We just need to get this guy and get out of here.”

  We walked for a little while until the sun was down behind the mountains to the left of us. I finally could see the light of the torches in the distance and knew it had to be from the market.

  We went from booth to booth, looking at the different items and asking about this Halfling, Eli. Only one would really talk to us about him.

  “He’s probably down by the river,” the fat man said grabbing more vegetables and putting them on his table. “The market is about over for the night and the younger ones like to go down there for relaxing or something.” He didn’t really glance at us, but kept a smile on his face.

  “Can you tell us where the river is?” I asked without really thinking. It earned me a sharp look from Connor who apparently didn’t want me doing much of the talking. Typical.

  “You don’t live around here, do you?” The man finally looked up at me and his smile shifted a little brighter. I didn’t understand what he was seeing, but didn’t feel it would be polite to ask either. “The river is just over that little hill there,” he said, pointing towards the back of the market. I could see the hill and looked back to him.

  “Thank you.” I didn’t wait for Connor or him to say anything else to me, before heading in that direction.

  Three

  “You can’t just run off. There aren’t just good things in the woods, you know.” Connor walked up behind me. He seemed slightly upset with my forcefulness.

  “You said yourself we needed to get this guy and get out of here,” I snapped.

  “I know, but it’s because I also want to get back,” “I know, to finding your sister.” I spun on him. “I’ve told you before, you can’t get her back, but you have family still.” He looked away, but I’d clearly hurt him. I just sighed and turned back towards the hill.

  Once we were over the hill, the river came into sight. It was like a black mirror with lights around it. I could see the younger Fae gathered at the waters edge, tossing something into it’s darkness. When we got closer, they stopped to stare at the humans coming towards them. I wondered if most of them had seen people like us before, but I didn’t dare ask.

  “Which one of you is Eli?” I didn’t wait for Connor to ask. “I’m Eli,why?” a young man with blond hair answered. He was still standing close to the water and threw a stone in, causing ripples in the darkness.

  “Can I talk to you?” I didn’t want to just blurt out our reason for being here, but he did need to know. What if Eric found him and used him against us.

  He didn’t move, but the others started walking past us and back to the market. It seemed odd that there would be a market at this time of night, but we weren’t in our own world. A part of me wondered if it was dark back on Earth.

  I walked closer to the edge of the water and gazed into it. A part of me found it comforting and warm. I bent down and let my fingers skim the surface. The dark water lit up where my fingers touched it, leaving a trail of white light inside the darkness of the water. I smiled at it. This really was a great place and this was probably why so many people decided to stay. Even if they were considered outsiders.

  “What do you want?”the blond said, standing over me. I finally got a good look at him and was not prepared for what I saw. He was handsome in every way. His blond hair hung loose around his face. It was slightly shabby, but in a kind of sexy way. He wore dark slacks and a light blue shirt. It shimmered slightly and I wondered if it was some kind of silk.

  I lost my thoughts for a minute, until Connor spoke up for me. “There are some serious bad guys looking for you. We came here to help you.” I hadn’t realized he was standing next to me until he spoke. “You have to come to the human world for a little while.”

  “How long?” he said, looking at me instead of Connor.

  I stood before I answered him. “Hopefully, not too long. Just until it’s safe.” He glanced back to Connor before looking my way again. “I don’t know anything about you two and I’m just supposed to agree and go?”

  “I’m sorry to ask you this, but we just don’t have that much time. If we stay here too long, we may not be able to get back.” I looked back at the water rushing past in the river.

  “Do you really want to go back?” His words cut through me. Did I? All the last couple of months had brought was pain and I wasn’t sure I was ready to keep dealing with it. I glanced up and met his eyes. He raised his eyebrows in response.

  “It really doesn’t matter if we want to go back, we have too,” Connor said for me. “The new moon is coming. That will be the best time for Eric to get what he wants. It’s best if you and us are not even on this plane.”

  “Do you think he’ll look in the human world?” I hadn’t thought of that possibility and a little bit of panic started to take over. Last time he hatched a plan, I’d been the missing piece. Now it was Eli. I didn’t know him, but I also didn’t want someone hurt because of my family.

  “You can’t control what your family does, only you,” Eli said, as though he could read my mind. I glanced at him and gave him a confused look. He answered with a half smile.

  “I don’t think Eric will figure we we
nt looking for Eli.” He made a face at the blond and reached for my hand. He practically dragged me to the dirt path before turning around to face me.

  “I don’t trust him,” he blurted out. “I don’t like the way he looks at you.”

  I couldn’t help but smile. “Are you jealous?” He turned away a little faster than he should have and stomped back to Eli. “Look, you have two choices. You can stay here and wait for Eric and his guys to grab you or you can come with us for a few days and then come back home in one piece. You pick.” Connor was clearly getting tired of the back and forth game.

  Eli took a breath and glanced at Connor first, then me. “I’ll go on one condition.”

  “What’s that?” Connor said, crossing his arms. “She stays close by.” Eli didn’t elaborate on that, but something told me, it would be a whole lot of trouble.

  Four

  We didn’t walk long before we were at Eli’s home. He needed to pick up some things and assured us it wouldn’t hurt anything. His home was a lot like the ones in town. It was small on the outside with brown brick creating the walls, but when you opened the door, you could see it was much bigger. I couldn’t help but smile as I stepped in the door behind Eli.

  The first thing I noticed was the table and chairs sitting off to the right of the door. It was made from the trees and still looked like the branches of an oak tree. I ran my hand over the wood and realized how smooth it was to the touch.

  “We make our own furniture here. Really, we make everything,” he shouted from around the corner. Eli walked out a few seconds later with a small duffel bag on his arm. He seemed a little distracted, but quickly got over that. “I can’t forget anything. Once I go to the human world, my magic won’t be as strong.” He glanced up and me and then Connor, who was messing with some kind of statue near the door. “Need to be prepared for anything.”

  I wasn’t sure what he meant, but the Fae seemed to know what they were talking about. Even Oni was more aware of things than I ever was.