The witch inhaled sharply.“So…you know about the lake too?”
“It’s luring townsfolk in, and no one knows why,” Sebastian said plainly.“And they seem to think you’re involved.”
Kieran quickly cut in, “B-but we don’t believe that, obviously.”
“You should,” the witch said, voice cracking.“It’s my fault.”
Kieran’s mind whirred as he tried to think of a nice way to say it probably wasn’t her fault, but he never got the chance.The next moment, seemingly out of nowhere, the witch behind the door sniffled and then burst into tears.Sebastian’s brow furrowed while Delilah and Briar exchanged a wide-eyed look.
Ever so gently, Kieran reached out and pushed the door the rest of the way open.It revealed a short, stout woman with auburn hair and freckles who appeared to be in her early twenties.She wore a stained dress, and as soon as the door was open, the smellof body odor began to seep out.Clearly, she hadn’t showered in some time.
She snorted up phlegm, rubbing tears from her eyes.“A-are you serious?About helping me?”
Kieran had to actively stop his lip from curling at the smell.The witch was short, and Kieran could see over her head into the shack.Dirty dishes were piled on different surfaces, along with unwashed clothes and moldy, dying potted plants.
Doing his best to keep his voice even as he breathed through his mouth, Kieran said, “We can certainly try.”
“Perhaps we could speak inside?”Sebastian offered, seemingly unfazed by the scene before them.
The witch sniffled, then nodded and stepped aside.
“Come in.I’ll tell you everything.”
The witch’s name was Hattie Pren, and for the first time in a while, Kieran was starting to think he’d finally found someone who was having an even worse few months than he was.
After some quick introductions, Hattie led Kieran, Sebastian, Briar, and Delilah to a seating area in front of a woodburning stove on the left side of the shack.Kieran was grateful for how quickly he went nose-blind—it was quite clear that Hattie hadn’t been taking care of herself or her home for some time now.The four stood and watched as Hattie moved to grab the piles of clothes on her couch, hastily tossing them onto her nearby bed.Hesitantly, everyone took a seat whileHattie tucked herself into a rickety old rocking chair next to the stove.
“So,” Kieran said, breaking the silence after a beat.Great leadership.Keep it up.“You’ve been closed for business for a while, eh?”
Hattie looked down at her hands.“It’s been six months since I got the town into this mess.”
“You know,” Sebastian said gently, “you don’t seem the type to curse a lake into luring townsfolk to their doom.I’m…assuming that was a mistake?”
At Sebastian’s assessment, Hattie’s pale, freckled cheeks turned pink.Kieran had to stop himself from rolling his eyes.Socially awkward my ass.Sebastian could woo a wall if he smiled at it long enough.
Hattie nodded.“I’ve only been the Raven’s Roost village witch for a year or so.Before that, my dad oversaw helping all the townsfolk.He was the most talented potion maker this side of the Slicetooths.His brews could cure everything from cramps to baldness.
“He died unexpectedly—had an allergic reaction while he was out in the woods where no one could help.Suddenly, I was supposed to take over as village witch, but…I never wanted the job.I just wanted to work on my inventions in peace.”
“Inventions?”Kieran repeated.“What do you mean?”
“Just little things, mostly.”Hattie reached into her dress pocket and withdrew a small metal tube that had several joints soldered together so it could twist and bend.As Kieran squinted at it, he realized it had a small triangular head with metal eyes.It took hima beat to put two and two together and realize it was a tiny metal snake.
“I channel my magic through toy making,” Hattie went on.She tapped the snake’s head twice, and suddenly it began to slither up her arm.Delilah let out a shriek she was barely able to contain by slapping a hand over her mouth.Briar, meanwhile, laughed with glee.Kieran, admittedly, was more on Delilah’s side—he didn’t want to be on the receiving end of a rusty bite from a magically animated toy.
Sebastian pointed at the snake.“Fascinating.What’s its purpose?”
“Purpose?”Hattie blinked.“Um.Companionship, I suppose?It’s not sentient or anything, but it’s nice to feel like there’s something else here.”She looked down at her arm where the metal snake had wrapped around her biceps like a bangle.“I get kind of…lonely out here all by myself.”
“So you create children’s toys to fill the social void where friendship used to be?”Sebastian said, perhaps not realizing how cutting the words were.Hattie jerked back while Kieran had to withhold a laugh.Ah.His script ran out.Now I get it.
Before Hattie could try to defend herself, Kieran jumped in: “I think what he means is there’s a whole village on the other side of the lake.Why not go see them?”
Hattie hung her head, a few pieces of her auburn braid falling into her eyes.“Well…I guess it makes sense to tell you.See, legend has it that there’s a benevolent spirit that lives in the lake.Making an offering to the spirit is supposed to grant small wishes, so for centuries now, the townsfolk have been leavingthings on the shore for the creature.For generations, their wishes came true.
“When my father passed, I spent a lot of time wandering the woods, trying to walk off the grief.”Hattie’s fingers tightened where they rested atop her thighs.“During one of those walks, I found the hilt of something embedded in the ground.I’d walked that path a thousand times and never once seen it until that morning.The second I touched it, I knew it wasverymagically charged.I decided it must be some sort of…good omen.I thought maybe if I offered it to the spirit, I could wish to speak to my father one last time.”She sniffled.“To get closure.”
“But something went wrong,” Kieran said, mostly to himself.
