“Thia.”
Callista gave a little bow. “A pleasure, Thia. To the Mage King then?”
Thia dug her toes into the ends of her slippers. “He’s the only one who can help me?”
The woman inclined her head. “Undoubtedly.” She ran a delicate finger over shard, where it rested against Thia’s breastbone.
Thia shifted, uncomfortable with the proximity. “You’ll take me to him?”
“It is a long journey,” Callista responded. “I will guide you as far as—”
Thia never learned how far exactly the sorceress planned to guide her because, at that moment, the sky ripped in two, and a cloaked figure tore through the crack on a broomstick. Its body and face were obscured by the robe, but a pair of poisonous green eyes glowed beneath the folds of its hood.
The figure bore down on them, cloak billowing behind it. Its voice snaked through the air. “Murderersssss!”
Callista paled. “Fair Havens.I was afraid of this. You must go.”
“Go?” Thia said, staring. “Where?” The hair on the back of her neck bristled as the creature’s green gaze landed on her.
“Into Black Forest,” Callista yelled, sweeping her long arm in the direction of the trees beyond the nÿgens. “Quickly. I’ll hold her off.” Silver sparks danced on her fingertips.
“Her?”
“Asha’s sister, Xercae. She’ll be in want of vengeance.” The woman offered Thia only a quick glance. Whatever light demeanor she’d had was gone, as her face became a mask of steel. “Go!” She struck upward with her palm, releasing a ball of white fire at the witch.
Xercae rolled out of the way, the flames narrowly missing the tail of her broomstick. “You shall pay, Callisssssta!” she hissed.
Thia’s jaw dropped. “You know each other?”
She never got her answer. A ball of green shot from the witch’s hands, and Thia had no choice but to dive out of the way and down the hill toward the forest. She rolled to her feet as another blast of heat landed just where she had been.
“Go, Thia!” Callista yelled. “To Cyning, the Mage King’s capital north of the wood. When you reach the end of the trees, follow the pillar of light that flashes just after sunset. I will meet you—”
The witch launched herself off her broom and tackled Callista, hood slipping back to reveal crusted gray skin, patches of white hair, and two deadly fangs.
“GO!” Callista yelled, holding the witch off with a shield of pink magic. “Find me in the mirror if you need me!”
“How do I—” But the sorceress was already yelling her next spell. A gust of wind rushed down the hill toward Thia, something in it so foul her nostrils burned. Covering her nose to stifle a gag, she ran.
FIVE
THIA SPRINTED FOR THE FOREST,REGRETTING EVERY SPORT SHEdidn’t join, every gym class she’d skipped to study harder for whatever academic milestone she’d felt obligated to at the time. Her short, round legs were painfully slow as she cut through tall grass, heat from magical fire blazing at her back.
She slowed only when she reached the nÿgens, still frozen from Callista’s spell. Some were stuck wrestling each other for witch parts, gray-pink snouts smeared black and red, and—to Thia’s horrified curiosity—green.This close, she could see the beady red eyes Callista mentioned; they seemed to follow her with hungry reverence as she picked her way around the circle.
Reaching the forest sweat-soaked yet shivering, Thia cast a fearful glance back up at the hill. The witch and sorceress were now tiny specks atop the slope, their battle a splash of light that arched across the sky in the distance.
In contrast, the forest was pitch-black. The trees were like none Thia had ever seen, the trunks too thick for her arms to encircle, branches forming a dense canopy that completely blocked out the sky. She allowed herself ten seconds to breathe, which turned into a ten-second mental chorus of cursing as mist crept around her ankles and cool air settled over her. She didn’t evenwantto know what lived in here, if nÿgens and witches were anything to go by. Why couldn’t she have fallen through a portal to a land of rainbows and unicorns?
But if this wasn’t a dream, or a state of delusion, and she really was stuck here, the Mage King was her only hope. So there was no choice, not really. Clenching her fists, she took one last breath, stepped forward, and let the canopy of leaves devour her.
The scent of cool pine washed over her, mingling with something sour and earthy. A bog perhaps. She traipsed carefully, feeling her way blindly from tree to tree, her slippers painfully thin over the damp, uneven ground. It wasn’t long until her feet were soaked.
The forest was alive with sound; the leaves above her rustled, and a strange groaning creaked periodically. She told herself it was just the wind, but with her heart in her throat, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she wasn’t alone.
She glanced over her shoulder and saw nothing in the darkness. Her teeth chattered against the cold, her sweatshirt and pajama shorts laughably inadequate against a climate much cooler than Kansas’s. She wrapped her arms around herself and pressed on.
This really was the stupidest thing she’d ever done. Even if she wasn’t attacked, she had no idea how large the forest was, or if she was even heading north. She would probably get lost and die of dehydration before she managed to escape the trees to see that pillar of light Callista mentioned. She should have waited at the edge to see if the sorceress won the battle.
