The Wherewood

by Gabrielle Prendergast

  Salix nods. “Not for a long time anyway. But I do want to grow up. I think if I grow up I might stop being so…you know…messy.”

  I know he doesn’t mean messy as in having an untidy room. He means messy as in nearly getting your friends killed. I wonder what I would do if I had the choice of whether to grow up or not. I don’t enjoy being a teenager very much. But on the other hand, it might be nice to have enough time to get good at it. By the time I finish thinking about this, I’m not mad at Salix anymore. I feel sorry for him. I’m sure if I had to stay a kid for a hundred years I’d be messy too.

  I’m about to apologize for yelling at him when he looks over my shoulder. His face lights up.

  “What is it?” I ask, turning around.

  “It’s a Will-o’-the Wisp!” Salix says. “Come on!”

  Chapter Eight

  A Will-o’-the-Wisp! The witch had said they like swampy places. I am hoping they might show us the way to Merwood. Rosa and I run after Salix as he follows the tiny glowing light. It takes us down to a narrow creek. The creek cuts through the mountains. I see a crack of greenish light in the distance.

  “That’s it!” Salix says. “I know that! I recognize it!”

  He starts to run. Rosa barks. We hurry to catch up to him. The gorge widens. The Will-o’-the-Wisp zips away into the bright light. Salix stops right where the rock cliffs open. The creek tumbles over the rocks in a waterfall.

  A valley lies in front of us. The ground slopes down into the trees. It’s a wild, green, steamy jungle. Colorful birds flutter through the branches.

  “Is this Merwood?” I ask.

  “No,” Salix says. “But we’re close. We just have to follow the creek. We’re nearly there!”

  Salix picks up Rosa and jumps off the cliff with her. He lands gracefully in the thick undergrowth below us. I have to climb down the rocks under the waterfall.

  Once I’m at the bottom, we start to follow the burbling creek into the jungle. The trees close in around us.

  “We’re not in Wherewood anymore?” I ask.

  “No,” Salix says. He’s smiling brightly, excited. “I mean, kind of. This is part of the Crosswood. It’s a place where you can cross into Merwood. But this crossing was lost when Merwood was cursed.”

  “A hundred years ago?” I ask.

  “Exactly,” Salix says. “During the war, some of us escaped into the Crosswood. To be safe. But then—”

  “A whole chunk of the Crosswood just disappeared?” I ask. “You lost your way back home?”

  Salix looks sad again. It’s messed up that things like war and refugees happen in the Faerie world too. You’d think being able to do magic, they’d be nicer to each other. I guess not.

  Salix tugs back a thick bundle of fronds.

  “This is it!” he cries, pushing through the leaves. Before Rosa and I even get through, I hear a splash.

  We emerge at the edge of a perfectly round pond. Trees form a canopy over it, like a roof. Salix is paddling around. His face is a picture of happiness.

  “So what do we do?” I ask him. “We just dive down?”

  “Yes!” he says. “Don’t forget to drink your potion. Then dive in and follow me!”

  The potion is in my backpack. I dig it out and pour a sip into my palm. Rosa laps it up easily. Then I drink the rest.

  All I feel is a kind of green sensation. And a very strong urge to get into the water. Rosa tugs on her leash. We both dive in.

  I can see clearly under the water. Salix is at the center of the pond. He’s about ten feet under the surface. Rosa dives deeper and swims toward him, pulling me along.

  There’s a glowing green light coming from the bottom of the pond. Salix flips over and swims down into the water. I think about going up to take a breath. But then I do take a breath. Of water! I’m breathing underwater!

  We swim after Salix, into the green light.

  It’s kind of like traveling through the ground into the Crosswood. Only this time it’s vines and pondweeds that tangle around us. In seconds we pop out on the other side.

  Through the weeds I see Salix literally dancing with joy underwater. He swirls and swoops like a dolphin. His mouth is open in a wide, happy grin.

  This must be Merwood!

  Rosa barks out a cloud of bubbles and paddles after him.

  Suddenly a dark green weed slithers up from the bottom of the pond. It winds around Rosa’s neck. I push through the water, trying to grab for her. But the weed pulls her down! Her leash slips from my hand!

  “Salix!” I yell underwater.

  He spins. His eyes go wide.

  One of the weeds curls around my ankle. I fight against it. I grab Rosa by her furry scruff, but the weeds still have us. I try to reach for the ghost sword, but my wrist is tangled.

  The weeds yank us down. I catch a glimpse of Salix getting caught too.

  The weeds suck us into complete darkness. I cling desperately to Rosa’s fur. It’s the only thing that seems real. Finally we are flung violently out of the water. We land in a tangle of vines. The vines slither and wrap around us.

  “Salix!” I yell. “Salix!”

  Rosa barks and clambers into my lap as the vines completely capture us.

  “Where are we?” I say. “Salix? Are you here?”

  We seem to be in a dark forest made of oily, tangled vines. The ground feels like sludge. And it smells rotten. Like a compost heap.

  Rosa whines. I try to wrap my arms around her. “Are you okay, girl? Are you hurt?”

  “Blue?” a voice says. I know that voice. I can’t believe it.

  “Violet?”

  A little golden head pokes out of the tangle of vines wrapped around the next tree. “Blue!” Violet says. “How did you get here?”

  “How did you get here?” I ask. “You’re supposed to be in Nearwood.” Violet has a whole squadron of guards in Nearwood. They’re to keep enemies away from her but also to keep her from running off. Which I just know is what she did.

  “Someone grabbed me in the Crosswood,” she says. “I was sneaking back to Mom’s place to get my calculator.”

  “Your calculator? Violet! You can’t sneak around Faerieland on your own. You can’t sneak anywhere on your own. Why didn’t you send a messenger or something?”

  Violet sulks. “I’m not allowed to have a calculator. Oren is teaching me number spells. But he wants me to add things in my head.”

  I sigh. Even as the queen of Nearwood, Violet is a brat. It’s amazing.

  Twisting in the vines, I manage to get my hand on the hilt of my sword. I swish it out and cut through the vines. Rosa and I flop onto the ground.

  “Whose dog is that?” Violet asks as I cut through her vines.

  “Long story,” I say. “Is Salix here?”

  “I haven’t seen him,” Violet says. “I’ve been here for hours.”

  “It was Olea,” I say angrily. “I know it. Somehow she got to us. She tried in the Wherewood. But this time she succeeded.”

  Violet looks grim. The dark forest seems to press in around us.

  “If Olea did this, then she might have Salix with her,” Violet says. “And the only place she could be is in Witherwood.”

  Chapter Nine

  Witherwood. Even the name gives me the creeps. Witherwood is like a prison for bad Faeries. I don’t know much else about it. Olea was sent there “hereafter and ever after.” Forever, in other words. It was punishment for killing Oren’s father. He was Olea’s husband for a time. Violet and Indigo are their children.

  Families in Faerieland are complicated.

  “We have to rescue Salix!” I say desperately. I know a few hours ago I was mad at him. But I’m over that now. “Can we get into Witherwood? Where are we anyway?”

  Violet looks very serious. “This is Fenwood,” she says.

  “Fenwood? That’s one of the woods that was cursed after the war, right?”

  She nods solemnly. “Merwood’s curse has expired. But Fenwood was
cursed for a thousand years. It still has nine hundred years to go.”

  I look around at the drooping, oily vines and spindly trees. It’s not cold, but I get a chill. Rosa whines and presses into my leg.

  “What does it mean to be cursed?” I ask.

  “I’m not sure,” Violet answers. “But I’ve heard that some of the Faeries who are still loyal to Olea have come here.”

  This is terrible news. Violet took Olea’s crown. She took the throne of Nearwood and banished Olea to Witherwood. If there are Faeries here still loyal to Olea, they will want Violet dead.

  “We need to get you out of here,” I say.

  “Not before we rescue Salix,” Violet says. “As a queen of the Faerie Woods, I am responsible for him.”

  I don’t even try to argue with her. Where Indigo is impulsive, Violet is stubborn. And anyway, I want to rescue Salix too.

  “How will we get into Witherwood?” I ask. “Is it hard?”

  “Not hard,” Violet says. “But it might be dangerous.”

  “What isn’t in Faerieland?” I say.

  Violet smirks. “True enough,” she says. “We need to look for a Faerie circle. I don’t think one will be hard to find here.” She looks around uneasily and shivers. I slip my hoodie off and give it to her. She puts it on without a word. It’s much too big on her. But at least she’ll be warm.

  “What are we looking for?” I ask as we start picking our way through the vines. “What does a Faerie circle look like?”

  “It’s a circle of mushrooms or toadstools,” Violet says. “They like damp, dark places. Look under fallen logs or in shadows.”

  Violet is right. Not ten minutes have passed when we find a perfect circle of vile-looking mushrooms in a clearing.

  “Now what?” I ask.

  “Now we jump in,” Violet says. “We should hold hands.”

  I take Violet’s hand in one of mine. With my other hand I hold on to Rosa’s shaggy scruff. We jump into the circle.

  Nothing happens.

  “I was afraid of that,” Violet says. “I think we might need to eat the mushrooms.”

  “Eat them?” I know about eating wild mushrooms. How it’s usually a very bad idea. With our living in the forest, it is something Mom warned me against. “What if they’re poisonous?”

  “They won’t be poisonous,” Violet says. “The Faerie Woods aren’t like that. But they will be magical. Anyway, I have an antidote spell. Oren taught it to Indigo and me. In case you ever accidentally ate Faerie food.”

  “That was thoughtful of him,” I say. “Okay then. Let’s do it.”

  Violet picks three mushrooms. She swallows hers quickly. I eat mine and give the last one to Rosa. She chomps it down.

  Almost immediately my vision goes funny. Rosa growls and shakes her head like she has something in her ear.

  “Ready now,” Violet says. “Take my hand.”

  I grab her hand and Rosa’s scruff.

  And we jump.

  Yep. That worked. The oily, damp forest disappears. We’re plunged into darkness. Nothingness. It lasts a long, long time. I can’t move or speak. Or see. Or hear. Thank goodness I can still feel Violet’s hand in mine. And Rosa’s scruff. If not for that, I think I’d go mad.

  At last I feel something else. It’s a terrible pain in my stomach. Rosa howls as I bend over and throw up. I blink, and the world comes into focus. I’m kneeling on the ground. Poor Rosa is retching and vomiting next to me.

  Violet helps me stand.

  “I’m sorry, Blue!” she cries. “I had no idea it would take so long. You’ve been in a kind of trance. Rosa too.”

  “What?” I ask.

  Violet has tears on her face. “I tried the antidote spell as soon as we got through,” she says. “But maybe it wasn’t strong enough or…I don’t know. You’ve just been standing there like a zombie for ages. Then you fell down and started barfing!”

  I take a step. My bones and muscles are stiff. “For how long?” I ask.

  “Hours!” Violet says tearfully. “I thought you were going to die!”

  Then she starts to cry again. I loop Rosa’s leash around my wrist and gather both of them into a group hug.

  When we’re all feeling better, I look around. Now I can see that we’re in the strangest forest I’ve been in yet. Instead of trees there are only shadows. Like ghost trees. And the ground is completely smooth and gray. There’s no undergrowth, no moss. Nothing. It’s like a polished stone floor. The air smells…electric. Like just before a thunderstorm. And there’s no sun that I can see. The light is dim and hazy. It comes from glowing patches on the trees.

  We’re in Witherwood. There is no doubt in my mind.

  “We need to find Salix,” I say. “Now.”

  We don’t have to look for long. But it’s long enough for me to know I never want to come to Witherwood again. Strange creatures peer at us as we walk. Bony hands reach out from behind the shadow trees. Rosa growls at them and they retreat. Stepping over a deep trench—maybe it’s a grave—we’re confronted by three dim figures. They’re very tall and almost transparent.

  “Let me pass,” Violet says bravely. “I’m Queen of Nearwood.”

  The figures drift away like living cobwebs.

  Finally we come upon Olea’s court. Or at least the court she’s trying to have. It’s in a clearing surrounded by foul-smelling torches. They burn with blue flames and give off thick red smoke. Olea sits in the center on a throne made of jagged rocks. Three guards stand behind her. Instead of swords they have rough stone axes that look handmade.

  In front of Olea, a large bubble of water hovers in midair.

  Salix is floating inside the bubble! As I step into the clearing, he drifts around and sees me. He presses his hands on the sides of the bubble. It’s like some kind of fish tank. And he’s trapped!

  “Let him go,” I say.

  Olea looks at me, bored.

  “Took you long enough,” she says. “What will you give me if I free your little froggy friend?”

  I rest my hand on the hilt of my ghost sword. “I’m not playing that game with you,” I say.

  “Shame,” she says. “Little froggy will need to breathe air soon.”

  I draw my sword. Olea’s guards step forward, axes raised.

  “Blue, no!” Violet says. She yanks me back.

  Salix twitches inside the bubble. His cheeks puff out. He needs air.

  “It’s me you want,” Violet says to Olea. “If you let Salix go, I’ll stay here in Witherwood.”

  “What?” I yell. “Viol—”

  But Olea says, “Deal.”

  The shadowy trees shimmer. I know what that means. The Faerie Woods have accepted the pact.

  The bubble pops, spraying water everywhere. Salix lands in a wet pile, gasping for air. He’s alive, at least.

  But now Violet is stuck here in Witherwood.

  Chapter Ten

  Once the deal is done, Olea and her guards lose interest in us. Violet and I help Salix up and drag him away. Rosa follows us, barking. No one tries to stop us. We retreat through the shadowy trees. I want to get as far away from Olea as possible. Then we need to talk about what to do.

  “You and Salix could leave,” Violet says. “There’s no magic keeping you here. Once Salix is strong enough, you should be able to slip back to—”

  “No,” I say quickly. “I’m not leaving you here. We are not even discussing that.”

  Down a hill, by a creek that runs with sickly gray water, we find a small cave. Violet flicks a spark of magic inside, lighting it up. The cave is empty. It looks relatively dry and safe.

  Exhausted and weak, Salix curls up and goes to sleep. Violet waves sparkles from the tips of her fingers over the cave entrance—some kind of protective magic.

  “You should sleep too,” she says when she’s done. “I’ll keep watch.”

  I don’t answer. I just let her crawl out of the cave and sit at the entrance. She knows how angry I am at her for m
aking a deal with Olea. She knows I don’t want to talk.

  I try to sleep. When that fails, I try to calculate how many hours I’ve been awake. But it’s impossible. Days and nights have lost all meaning.

  I have to get Violet out of here. The problem is, this is the Faerie world. In my world I might be able to call the police or child protective services. If we were in Farwood or the Crosswood, we might be able to get help from Oren.

  But this is Witherwood. I don’t think any rules apply here. I just don’t know enough. Even though I’m still furious with her, I need to talk to Violet.

  She looks back at me as I crawl out of the cave.

  “I left Rosa watching Salix,” I say.

  She nods, looking at the gloomy forest of shadows.

  “I should have known this would happen,” Violet says.

  “W hat?” I don’t know what she’s talking about.

  “Olea has made herself Queen of Witherwood,” Violet says tightly. “I should have predicted that. I didn’t think it was possible.”

  “What does that mean?” I ask.

  Violet sighs. “Faeries get their magic from the woods. If a wood accepts someone as king or queen, that Faerie becomes powerful.”

  “Olea is Queen of Witherwood?” I ask. This is more terrible news.

  “She must be,” Violet says. “Otherwise how could she capture us? Or put Salix into that bubble? She should barely be able to do magic at all.”

  I think about this. “But if becoming king or queen of a wood makes someone powerful, you must be powerful, Violet. You’re Queen of Nearwood.”

  “I am powerful,” she admits. “But I don’t know how to use it yet. Half the time, things just catch fire. Or explode. Or disappear.”

  “If only I could command Olea again,” I say.

  “You can’t,” Violet reminds me. “You used up your three wishes with her. And that magic only works once.”

  “What if I commanded Salix or you to get us out of here?” I ask.

  “Salix is still too weak, even for that kind of magic,” Violet says. “And heaven knows what my magic would do. Anyway I’m not sure the wood would allow it. Or it might decide that killing us is a way of getting us out of here.”