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When I step foot onto the grass, I see Olivia waving me over out of the corner of my eye. I silently jog to her, and we begin our journey to the woods.
All of Society is surrounded by a dense forest full of a variety of trees that was planted by the Elders after the Dark Eldersattempted to overthrow them. Therefore, it falls in a perfect circle around our community, the majority of it falling within our borders. This can make it harder to know where to go if you are attempting to leave the confines of our community, but the hunting trail is almost perfectly aligned with the view of the mountains outside of the bounds of the Society. This makes our task easier, as the mountains only peer over the forest on one side.
One bad thing about some of the chosen trees is that they do not offer much coverage. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was planned by the Elders; if the Dark Elders breached the barriers, they would be more easily seen. However, for us, with the blanket of night this should not be as much of an issue.
The walk to the woods should not take too long, as official homes are all located at the forest’s edge nearest the mountains. This was planned, as officials are the first line of defense against the Dark Elders. Our Elders’ homes and sacred sites are also close, but they are positioned nearer to the center of the community than along the borders. To get to the hunting trail, it will take us ten minutes at most.
Olivia glances over to me. “Are you sure you want to do this? There’s a lot at stake.”
I swallow the fear that sparks and nod curtly. “Yes. There’s no other option, Olivia, at least not from where I’m standing. I need to know what’s going on.” I need to know why he makes me feel this way.
She simply nods back, and we continue the rest of the way in silence. I know she’s worried about me, but I also know that she won’t push me into something I don’t want. She’s the most loyal person in my life. I just hope she doesn’t feel that I’m taking advantage of that, as I already feel bad enough for putting her in danger’s way.
As the forest edge comes in sight, there are quiet murmurs of the guards nearby. My breath catches, eyes wide and fixed on the direction the voices came from, and Olivia has my hand in a white-knuckled grip. This is where things get a bit tricky.
When we are safely in the woods, we hike halfway through the trees until no guards can be heard. This is where we stop to enact our first bout of magic. The initial step is a spell of invisibility—it doesn’t truly make you invisible, just…unnoticeable. The guards simply won’t recognize that we are there if we run into them, as long as we stay quiet. When we were too young to read, we always thought that spellwork worked like those old fairytales, all glitz and glam. In reality, the shifts in energy are almost imperceptible. Magic works with nature, not against it.
This makes me enjoy magic even more. It takes effort and mental power to effectively maneuver, and every time I succeed, I feel a sense of pride. It not only means that I’ve learned a new trick, but that I’ve bettered myself in the process. The Elders are able to maneuver more easily, a bit closer to those fairytales, but the reasoning behind that is that centuries ago, the Elders were humans who went through dire trials of the mind and body to achieve their immortality. None of this is confirmed, however.
Though the Elders say they outlawed the use of magic for our benefit, part of me wonders if they chose this to keep us from having the ability to ascend. A silly thought, really, but one that plagues me, nonetheless.
Olivia turns to face me, and I pull out some Amaranth buds from my pocket, the herb we will use for invisibility. I place some in both of my hands and hold them upturned for Olivia to take. She grips my hands and we both close our eyes, quietly murmuring to ourselves the spell in a repeated fashion,
“No matter who comes our way, unnoticed we will stay.”
Using words in spells is not required, much like herbs, but it is helpful to raise the correct energy, as words hold power. It is alsovery helpful when one does not have much training with energy work, such as Olivia, so by using the phrase she will be able to place more energy behind the spellcasting. This will also place less energetic work on me so that we can replenish more quickly.
Once we feel a change in our energy and the air around us takes on a distinctive violet shimmer, only visible for a moment as the spell activates, we let go of one another and I pocket the herbs again for safekeeping. Now, all we have left is the trek to the outer part of the woods. When we get there, the protective field will again require both of our magical strengths to break through. I can tell that the one spell has taken a toll on Olivia, based on how she walks a bit more sluggish, but luckily, we don’t have to do too much damage to the protections to allow me through. It’s important that we only bend the field enough for me to slip through undetected; any more and we may tip off the guards.
I’m so deep in thought that I don’t notice the guards’ murmurs getting louder again. This becomes a problem, however, when I don’t pay attention to where I’m walking and loudly snap a twig under my feet. My adrenaline spikes when I hear the guards stop and turn abruptly.
“Hey! Who’s there?!”
Olivia and I stay in place, and I can feel her shaking next to me. I grab her hand to help calm her and we keep as still as possible; so long as we don’t move, they should look right over us.
About a minute later we see the flashlight of a guard. He slowly shines the light over the trees, and I close my eyes when it reaches us, but he does not stop. He doesn’t notice us. I let out a breath as he turns to go back to his base, shouting something to his partner about animal crossings.
I glance at Olivia and apologize silently before we continue. This time, I am more careful with each step. It feels like alifetime has passed by the time we reach the end of the woods, but in reality, it had only been about fifteen minutes.
I clear my throat nervously and turn to Olivia. “This is it. You ready?”
She nods, though I still see a twinge of fear in her eyes. I make a note to myself to find a way to make this journey alone next time; she shouldn’t have to take these risks for me. We’ve both always had a bit of a rebellious streak, what with never feeling completely happy in our roles within the Society, but breaking out of our borders is a whole other level compared to sneaking out to have fun with friends in the woods. Or, in my case, practicing magic secretly in my room and learning a few parlor tricks. Though that is seen as a major offense, more so than kids just having fun, it still does not compare to leaving.
I take out another mixture of herbs that was in my unused pocket and we assume a similar position to earlier, though this time looking toward the protective field.
We murmur the next spell,
“Protect us no more with your concealed door. With just enough to sway, let this field give way.”
With each word the field grows in visibility, something akin to clear glass, and finally gives way.
It’s easy to know where the spell has broken, as the glass-like structure now appears to have a jagged, broken pathway, as if we had shattered it with a bat. Just enough space for me to slip out.
I grin and hug Olivia. “Thank you. I promise I won’t be long—an hour, at most.” An hour is all I have, because that’s when the spells will wear off. This is due to a couple of reasons. First, Olivia is not used to magical currents, so it is not possible for her to enact a lengthy spell at this time. Second, creating a short-term spell will allow me to keep energetic reserves, in case I need to re-enact tonight’s endeavors.
She smiles back and nods, letting out a loud breath. “Be careful.”
When I start to roll my eyes, her eyes harden.
