Nathan retrieved a granola bar from his pack. “If we stay here for a few minutes, your eyes will adjust to the darkness. You’ll be able to see better.”
Oddly, Raya wasn’t hungry. The chill of the stones seeped into her skin, setting off goosebumps. She imagined herself wrapped in her new leather jacket, which she’d left behind to keep it safe. The thought brought a smile to her lips but did nothing to alleviate the cold.
Lizzy sat next to Nathan on a boulder, not quite close enough to touch, and delicately removed the burrs that had hitched a ride on her clothing.
He finished his granola bar and tucked the wrapper into his pack.
Outside, the darkness became complete.
They resumed the hike.
Despite knowing the forest contained nothing that hadn’t been there an hour ago—when it was still light—Raya couldn’t help flinching at unfamiliar noises. Without a hiking pole, she would have tripped more than once.
Her eyes adjusted. The forest itself appeared limned in moonlight, almost like a photo negative. The leaves rustled in the night breeze.
The path opened up to a clearing. In the center of the clearing, on a small rise, stood what appeared to be a miniature castle, its four turrets silhouetted against the night sky. A steep stone staircase led up to the castle.
Raya stopped at the bottom of the steps and stared up at the castle. “What is that doing here?”
“It’s an observation point. Built about a hundred years ago.” Nathan removed his pack and set it on the stair.
Lizzy placed her pack on the ground and knelt, stroking the stone stairs. “Rebuilt after it was destroyed.”
“After an ‘earthquake.’” Nathan made exaggerated quotation marks in the air, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Lizzy shook her head slowly as she continued to run her hands over the stairs. “Not an earthquake.” She smiled, her even white teeth glinting in the moonlight. “Come here, Raya.”
Raya set her pack and hiking pole down and knelt next to Lizzy on the stairs.
Lizzy placed one hand on the step, then took Raya’s hand and laid it over her own. “Feel it.”
Raya felt the vibrant sparkle of Lizzy’s magic through her hand. She closed her eyes and let Lizzy’s hand conduct the magic hidden within the stones. Raya felt the power trickle through, and with it, a sense of what had happened long ago. She opened her eyes. “There were witches here before.”
“Attempting the same thing we are.” Despite the cold, Nathan removed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves.
Raya stood up. “But—the original structure—it was destroyed?”
“They lost control,” he said. “We won’t.” He took a Swiss Army knife from his pocket. “We need supplies. Lizzy, set up, please.” Nathan walked away and disappeared into the dark edge of the clearing.
Lizzy hopped down from the stairs and picked up her pack. “On it.”
Raya looked up at the turrets. “It must have been a lot of power.”
“Come on. Last one to the top’s a rotten egg!” The blonde witch’s hair bounced as she ran up the stone steps.
There was no way Raya was going to run up those stairs with a full pack. She trudged after Lizzy, reminding herself again that it would all be worth it.
From the top of the miniature castle, the forest lay below her like a carpet worked in shades of midnight. She turned away from the castle walls and found Lizzy laying out the tools of their trade. “Where’s your wand?”
Lizzy shimmied a little and pulled a crystal-topped stick from under the neckline of her blouse. “Mama always said to keep it in a safe place.”
Raya laughed despite herself.
Lizzy tucked her wand behind her ear like a stray pencil. “So here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to work together, like we did on the stairs. I’ll hook into the source of the power, and you draw it out.”
“Then what?” Raya imagined the amount of power it would have taken to collapse a building of this size.
“Nathan will direct it.”
