by M.E. Timmons
Chapter 23
Selene’s heart immediately tightened painfully in her chest. She wasn’t sure how many failures she could take. “Why not?” she asked as calmly as she could, even though she felt like there was a storm welling up inside of her. Her blood pounded in her ears, and she started feeling a bit dizzy.
Wicesla smiled, and there was nothing evil about the expression. It was almost kind, and oddly comforting. “You don’t need my help, or I would give it to you. I do owe you, after all. Believe me, now that I’m free of my curse, I’d like to have some normal men around. I just think you’re going to break the curse on your own. I don’t have to tell you anything.”
“But I don’t know how!”
“You don’t need to. I removed the spell around the forest this morning, just before you arrived. That should be all the help you need from me. Good luck.”
With that, Wicesla turned and started walking away, heading down the hill to the road. Selene had no idea where she was going, but at that point she didn’t really care. She didn’t want to have to see the woman ever again. Wicesla had killed her best friend, after all.
“Thanks for that,” she called softly, referring to her removing the spell around the forest. It was a start, at least. Now things were really back to the way they were. It was thoroughly maddening.
Selene blew out a breath, trying to let out some tension. She felt like she was letting Tornado down, and not for the first time. It was still painful.
The spell that had surrounded the forest really was gone. As Selene stepped from the meadow to under the trees, she felt nothing. There was no longer anything stopping her from entering, so she did, almost by habit. She moved further into the forest, not really sure what she was doing. She found her path, and she followed it to the clearing.
In the muted light of early morning, the clearing still looked almost the same as it always did. There was the mossy area in the middle, the canopy of leaves overhead, and the great willow tree across from her favourite rock. Next to that rock was the fallen log, which had a spot near the middle that was worn down and smooth from years of someone sitting there. It brought tears to Selene’s eyes.
There was one very important difference in the clearing that day. Bunches of flowers were lain out on the ground around the log, along with a very familiar bow and quiver of arrows. Someone had even carved a name in the log, along with a heart.
Selene sat on her rock, right next to the pile. It warmed her heart to see that she wasn’t the only one who cared. The beasts had lived with him and been his family for all his life, so he meant as much to them as he did to her. She wished she had flowers with her to add to the rest, but she had nothing except her own thoughts and the love in her heart.
Then she realized that she also had magic. As her way of adding to the memorial, she performed a complicated spell by memory. When she was done, the words on the log had been transformed and added to. They were now even and deep black in colour, and she had added ‘you will be missed’. She had also left something else on the log, and it was an image of Tornado’s face, just as she always remembered it. Just looking at it made her smile. It was well worth the energy it took.
She sat there for a long time, with her eyes closed and her ears alert. To her, being in the clearing was like returning home only to find out it was robbed. A place loses its value when something bad happens in relation to it, no matter how many memories you have. They’ll always be tainted by the awful truth. For her, it was that Tornado would never sit under the canopy of leaves with her again. The memories of him in that place were polluted by the memories of his death. It was sometimes hard to separate the two.
Eventually Selene heard the sounds of someone approaching, so she raised her head and opened her eyes. Jenson had entered the clearing, and he was looking sadly at the pile of flowers by the log. He smiled at the picture though, just like she did. He turned to Selene.
“It’s nice to be able to get into the forest again,” he said. “Was that Wicesla’s doing? Did she do anything else?”
“She did remove the spell around the forest, but no, she didn’t do anything else,” Selene told him sadly. “We really are back to where we started. The only plan I have now is to get the beasts out of the forest and ask Varla for help again. Who knows, maybe she’ll be satisfied with Wicesla being powerless. Somehow, I doubt that though.”
Jenson grinned unexpectedly. “When?”
“When what?” Selene asked.
“When are you going to get the beasts out of the forest? Now?”
Selene shrugged. “I guess it’s as good of a time as any. I’m sure Mayor Thornwood will have a fit whenever it happens anyway.”
“The villagers did vote for them to be out of the forest. I know that doesn’t actually mean anything legally, but it means we have the support of the people. There’s nothing the mayor can do, unless she does call for backup.”
“Right. Do you want to start bringing people out? I’m going to go have a chat with Varla,” Selene said.
Jenson nodded. “My pleasure,” he said. He gave her one last smile before heading off to the main camp to find the beasts.
Everyone was up and getting ready to leave when Selene arrived back home. Her mother and sister were in the living room drinking tea when she entered, and the men were still upstairs, except for Andy, who was in the kitchen. Her mother asked her what she was doing outside in her nightgown, and she just shrugged, saying she wanted to get some fresh air.
“Want to go out and pick some flowers with me?” Dahlia asked. “I feel like we haven’t been spending a lot of time together lately. It might be fun.”
Selene was anxious. “Maybe later,” she said. “There’s something I have to do first.”
She went over to the couch and pulled out the box; not bothering to hide anything, since she was tired of doing so. Her mother saw it, and her eyes went wide.
“Selene!” she exclaimed.
She was already at the door. “I’ll be back soon,” she said, and she left before her mother could protest any further.
Selene only went as far as the barn. The cow was outside, so there was plenty of room inside. She wasted no time in opening the box and taking the amulet out. Varla appeared immediately, looking annoyed.
“How long did you keep me locked up?” she asked. She had her hands on her hips and was staring at Selene with her sharp eyes.
Selene refused to be intimidated by a spirit. She’d had enough of people pushing her around and walking all over her. She was tired of all of it.
“Less than a day,” she informed Varla. “I needed time to think and plan what I was going to do, and I’ve already done it.”
“You killed her? Where’s the proof?”
Selene scowled. “Of course I didn’t kill her. I’m not like you, and I will never be like you, or her. I don’t believe in killing, no matter what someone has done or how much they may be in my way. It’s not up to me to decide who dies, and it never will be. It isn’t up to you either. I did the best thing I could think of to do instead. I took away her powers. She’s still alive, but she’s not really the same person she was before.”
Varla growled. Her eyes gained a heat that was almost piercing with her rage. “You just removed her curse. That’s not what I wanted at all.”
“I made her powerless, and she’s no longer immortal. That should mean something to you. I’m asking you one last time: please help me end the curse.”
Varla laughed coldly. “I wanted her dead, and all you did was break the curse that I put on her myself. Do you honestly think that I would help you? You’re just a stupid girl who has no idea how to survive or get things done in this world. You can’t get by without making sacrifices, no matter how big they may be. You’re on your own-”
That was the last word she got out before Selene threw the amulet against the wall of the barn, where it s
mashed into a dozen pieces. Varla’s form flickered and died, never to be seen again.
Selene wasn’t used to losing her temper, but she just couldn’t listen to people telling her ‘no’ anymore. If she was on her own, that was fine. At least she didn’t have to deal with people, or spirits, who wanted to do nothing but manipulate her and use her for their own gain. Even Wicesla was more helpful than Varla was. She had to wonder who was really the evil one.
She may have regretted breaking the stone just a little bit once she calmed down. She picked up the pieces, which were useless, and put them back in the box, which no longer featured a magic meter. It was quite a waste.
Frieda was outside looking for her Selene when she left the barn. “I thought I told you not to use it unless you needed it. That stone has been in our family for generations. We haven’t even broken the spell around the forest yet!”
“Well, that much won’t be necessary anymore,” Selene said. She pointed off into the distance, where dozens of figures were emerging from the forest.
