by M.E. Timmons
Chapter 18
The first thing Selene saw when she reached the bottom of the stairs was a ball of yellow fur flying at her. She cried out with surprise as it hit her, nearly knocking her off her feet. There was something awfully familiar about it as it hugged her.
“Andy?” she inquired cautiously.
He lifted his face up and beamed at her, but he didn’t let go.
Just seeing him made her feel better, and brought a responding smile to her face. Still, she wondered how he had come to be in Amber’s cellar. “Andy, what are you doing here? How did you get out of the forest?”
“I never went back in,” he admitted, finally letting go of Selene and stepping back. He moved over to a set of old chairs that were in the corner. Aside from a worn coffee table, they were the only pieces of furniture in the musty cellar, and they looked strange surrounded by a dirt floor and stone walls. “None of us wanted to go back, but we were being watched. Before we got to the woods, Max told me to run and I did. I hid behind a wood pile, and I stayed there for a while. Then all of the other beasts were gone and Wicesla was by the forest and she looked distracted, so I left to find somewhere to go. Amber found me, and I thought she was going to tell on me, but she took me here and she’s been feeding me.”
“You should have seen the look on his face when I found him hiding behind the barn. He looked like he thought I was going to kill him or something,” Amber said, her expression grim.
“Why did you protect him?” Selene asked. She couldn’t make sense of it herself. Amber hated the beasts, or at least she acted like she did.
Amber wasn’t even entirely sure. “When I saw him my first thought was to report him, I’ll admit. Somehow, I couldn’t do that. There’s just something about him, you know? As far as beasts go, he’s actually kind of cute, with his bright yellow fur and all. He looks like a little sun. Even though I knew it was a huge risk for me, I couldn’t let him get in trouble, so I took him here. Then he told me he was your brother.”
Selene hugged her, which caught her by surprise, but she hugged Selene back.
“I don’t suppose you forgive me?” Amber asked hopefully.
Selene frowned and pulled back. “Not really. I still don’t trust you either, and I doubt that I ever will. Still, I’m grateful that you’ve helped my brother. I’m surprised that he managed to stay out here without Wicesla’s knowledge.”
“I guess she just isn’t that powerful,” Andy said, smiling. “Can I go home with you, Selene? Amber’s been nice and all, but I don’t like being stuck in her cellar.”
“Well, you can’t just go walking around in the open. People could see you, and if they talked you’d be in a lot of trouble, as well as anyone involved in hiding you. Plus, we don’t really have room for you in our house, and the journey to get there would be dangerous. We would need a way to keep you from being seen.”
Andy’s normally bright expression drooped slightly, though he refused to give up all hope. “Maybe you can bring our parents to me instead. I really want to meet them. It would probably be safer for them to come here to visit than for me to go there.”
“That can be arranged if Amber’s okay with it.” She turned to her. “Would you mind keeping him here, at least for a little while until we can figure something out? Can I bring my parents to see him?”
Amber didn’t hesitate. “Of course he can stay here. I really don’t mind, and no one ever comes down here anyway. You can bring your parents, too, but only when my parents aren’t home. They don’t know he’s down here. I’ll let you know when they’ll both be out.”
“Sounds good,” Selene said, and Andy nodded in agreement.
Selene didn’t stay long. The sun was going to come up soon, which meant people would be getting up. She talked to Andy for a little while, and by the time she left she was under the impression that he was no more free than the beasts in the forest. In fact, his prison was smaller, though at least he still had contact with his family. Still, she knew he deserved a better life.
When Selene quietly snuck into the living room just before dawn, Jenson was still fast asleep in the same position she had left him in. She quickly checked under the couch to make sure the box was still there, and it was. Finding out that Andy had escaped being in the forest did nothing to lessen her conviction. She still planned on activating the amulet as soon as possible. She believed it was the only way the men could be free forever, if things worked out well. It could, however, wait until later in the morning, so Selene laid down on the couch and fell asleep almost as soon as she closed her eyes.
Of course, her sleep didn’t last long. She was woken up by the sounds of people talking only an hour later. Henry and Dahlia were in the kitchen, and they were discussing money. They weren’t speaking loudly, but it was loud enough to wake Selene. When she looked over at the corner of the room Jenson was just waking up as well. He was stretching, and he smiled at her lazily when he saw her watching him.
“Are you working today?” Selene asked.
“No, not today. The bank isn’t open on Sundays, though that’s the only day they’re closed. We can spend the day together, if you’d like.”
“Sounds good to me,” Selene said honestly. The prospect of spending the day with Jenson was quite appealing. She hoped it would get her mind off of her problems. “I’ll have to see if Mom needs my help first. I don’t want to abandon her.”
Jenson nodded. “I understand.”
They both got up and went into different rooms to change for the day and get washed up. Selene found her mother upstairs. She asked if she needed help, and Frieda said she could do without her. That put Selene in a good mood, so she went downstairs with a smile on her face; her dream from the night before almost forgotten.
After a quick breakfast, Jenson suggested a walk, since it looked like it would be a sunny and hot day outside. Selene, though tired from being up at night, agreed that it sounded like a lovely idea. She looked out the window and saw the sun rising over the mountains, casting a strong glow over the land that brightened all the wildflowers and made them look more alive. It seemed like the entire valley was colourful and cheery. Selene wished the place was as happy as it looked.
“What was your life like before you met me?” Selene asked once they were walking along the road. They had no particular destination, but they walked in the direction of the village square, since that was where the main road led.
Jenson frowned and thought for a moment before answering. “Well, it wasn’t very exciting. I was somewhat of a bookkeeper. I was in charge of keeping track of all the food we had, since we always had to know if there’d be enough for the winter. I sometimes kept records of trades as well. It was boring work, but someone had to do it. I did a bit of log-cutting too.”
“What about your social life? What were things like in the forest?”
“Everyone knew pretty much everyone,” Jenson told her. “I didn’t know everyone well, but I got to meet most people through my job. People came to me often when they needed help, and I was always happy to do so. I was friends with quite a few people, including Tornado. He never told me about you, though. I don’t think he told anyone until the day you walked into our camp.”
At the mention of his name, Selene fell silent for a moment, just remembering him. She missed him so much. “Do you miss living there?” she asked eventually.
“I haven’t been gone for very long, but I’m starting to. Things are more stressful here. It’s awfully difficult to make money, and yet you need money to survive. I miss my friends, too, but I like a lot of the people here as well. If Wicesla hadn’t shown up, we might all be together.” Jenson scowled at the thought.
Selene decided to tell him the truth. She didn’t like keeping things from him. “My mother gave me something yesterday that could help break the curse,” she admitted. “It’s a spirit amulet, and with it I can bring Varla’s
spirit to me. She’s the only one who knew how to break the curse, other than Wicesla. Mom told me not to use it until I had no other options, and I’m tempted to use it now. I almost activated it last night.”
Jenson stopped walking and turned to Selene; his eyes bright. “That’s wonderful news,” he said. “I hope she really can help and is willing to do so.”
Selene nodded. “I hope so too. I’d like to activate it today, if possible, and preferably somewhere with some privacy.”
“Can you do it now?”
She shrugged. “I don’t see why not. I’ll just have to be careful to sneak it out of the house without Mom seeing me. After that I don’t know where to go.”
“Let’s go to the meadow. It isn’t exactly private, but it’s out of the way to some degree,” Jenson suggested.
“That’s where I was going to do it last night,” Selene admitted. “I suppose it’s the best place around here anyway.”
“Did you actually get up and go to the meadow last night?”
“Um, yeah. I couldn’t sleep.” Selene was reminded of her dream, and she shuddered at the memory. She automatically glanced at the forest to make sure it wasn’t on fire.
As they turned and walked back to the house to get the amulet, Selene told Jenson about her dreams. He didn’t like the idea of Wicesla being in her head while she was sleeping any more than she did.
“It’s a scary thought,” he said. “I wonder if she can only do that to other witches, or if she can get into anyone’s dreams.”
“She can probably get into anyone’s. I would imagine it would be more difficult to get into a witch’s mind than a normal person’s.”
“That’s not fair,” Jenson said, though he smiled as he spoke.
“You know, I think I actually learned something from Wicesla when she spoke to me in my dream,” Selene told him. “She told me that she was cursed by Varla, and she couldn’t break the curse. I wonder if that’s true. I should ask Varla about it if the amulet works.”
“That’s certainly an interesting thought,” Jenson said. “They did get into a duel, and no one ever knew what it was about. Maybe it had something to do with that curse.”
“Surely Varla had some reason to put the curse on her in the first place,” Selene reasoned. “Maybe Wicesla did something to her. I wonder what the curse is. It must either be very powerful or very difficult to break, or both, if Wicesla can’t even stop it. She’s the most powerful witch alive.”
They reached the house. Dahlia was no longer home, but Frieda was in the kitchen. She didn’t even hear Selene enter the house. She was humming to herself as she ground some potion ingredients. Selene was able to grab the box and get out of the house without being noticed.
“It’s in that box?” Jenson said questioningly when Selene came back outside. “It certainly does look old. Wouldn’t it have been easier to just take the amulet?”
Selene shook her head as they began walking toward the meadow. “No, I need the box. The spell to activate the amulet is carved on the inside of the lid.” She didn’t see anyone around who would care, but she tucked the box under her apron to keep it out of sight. It was an awkward way to carry it though, and it created a very noticeable bump.
Jenson took off the brown vest he was wearing over his white shirt and gestured for Selene to give him the box. She did so gladly since her wrists were starting to ache. He wrapped it in his vest and carried it under his arm as if it were just a normal package. They looked like a young couple going out for a picnic.
“I suppose that works much better,” Selene said.
“So what was your life like before I came along?” Jenson asked as they kept walking. “I feel like we only talked about me before, and there’s still so much I don’t know about you.”
“We did talk about me. I told you about my dreams, didn’t I?” Selene pointed out. She continued anyway. “My life was almost the same as it is now. I helped mother with making potions, and I performed spells for people in the village. I also helped with things at home, like cooking and cleaning and sewing. I still do all of those things. The only real difference, other than your presence, is that I’m no longer sneaking off to the forest at any chance I can get.”
“You really miss him,” Jenson observed.
Selene nodded and felt a lump in her throat. “I feel kind of lost without him. If I didn’t have you with me I don’t know what I would do.”
Jenson could hear the pain in her voice, and he stopped her by placing a hand on her arm. He turned her to face him, carefully keeping the box under his other arm. Then he leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips.
The sweet kiss took her breath away and wiped all thoughts from her mind. When he pulled away she protested and put her hand behind his neck. She kissed him in return, and he reached up and cupped her cheek in his palm.
When they separated, Selene smiled brightly. Jenson liked the way the expression met her eyes and seemed to make them sparkle. He couldn’t help but smile in return, and he felt the tug that the girl had on his heart. He couldn’t imagine ever losing her.
Selene wanted to kiss him again, but they had work to do. She grabbed his free hand and started pulling him to the meadow, which was only a few steps away. The bright sun really did make the flowers seem more vibrant.
There was a little girl in the meadow by herself picking wildflowers. She looked up at them as they approached. She vaguely knew Selene, so she waved. She could tell that they probably wanted to be alone, so she continued on her way.
Once she was gone, Selene and Jenson sat down in the grass near the edge of the forest. Jenson took the box out from under his arm and unwrapped his vest. He handed the box to Selene and then put his vest back on.
Selene set the box on the ground and opened it. The amulet was still there, looking as tempting as ever. She couldn’t see the glow it had emitted during the night because it was too bright outside, but she could somehow sense the power that was pulsing within the stone.
“It just looks like a nicely carved rock to me,” Jenson said, looking at the amulet. “Why is it shaped like a violet?”
“It was Varla’s symbol. It’s on everything we have from her,” Selene explained.
“Do all witches have symbols?”
Selene smiled. “No, only the powerful ones. There’s a spell you can do to find out what your symbol is, but it’s difficult to perform. I certainly don’t know what mine is, and probably never will.”
“What’s Wicesla’s symbol? A snake?” Jenson asked, grinning.
“No, it’s actually a rose, oddly enough. I could see one on her staff the other day. It seems odd for such an evil witch to have such a majestic symbol, but it’s fitting in a way. Wicesla is beautiful after all, and she certainly has her thorns.”
“I see,” Jenson said.
Selene picked up the amulet. She could feel her heart rate starting to increase, and she wasn’t sure if it was because she was excited, or if it was because she was nervous. It might have been a combination of the two.
“Are you ready for this?” she asked Jenson, although she was really asking herself. When he simply nodded in response, she took a deep breath. She pictured Tornado’s face in her mind, and that was all she needed to gather her strength. She held the stone in her hands as she recited the spell from the lid of the box. It was difficult to read, but she could make it out.
I call to you now,
Spirits of those who have passed.
I seek the soul of one,
From your sea of souls so vast.
This stone was her creation,
And her power it does hold,
Sacrificed to continue,
For the rest of her story is untold.
It is the soul of Varla that I seek,
For only she can help me.
I am in need of her guidance,
And then I will set her free.
It wasn’t visible, but Selene could feel a sudden drain in her own energy as it poured into the amulet from her hands. Then the stone’s glow became apparent, and it grew hot in her hands. She was tempted to let it go before it started burning her, but she didn’t want to interfere with the spell, so she held on as the spell took effect.
A wispy cloud of silver smoke rose from the amulet. It grew in size and moved to the ground beside them, where it started to move around. It only took a few seconds to form into the silvery shape of a woman. Her eyes, though transparent, were penetrating as she spoke.
“Why have you called upon me?”
