My hands came up to cover my mouth as I watched Turi lift from the ground, rising over the heads of the gathered witches.
They continued their ominous chanting and swaying, and Turi, thankfully, stayed silent.
In fact, she didn’t even seem to notice, which was probably bad. She was under a spell or perhaps even connected to the group already in their deep trance.
As soon as her body left the circle though, the chanting stopped, and the Earthwives opened their eyes all at once, looking around.
One of them spotted Turi’s body hovering nine feet off the ground, moving toward the treeline. Pharis’ shadow glamour shot out and covered her, obscuring her from their vision, but the dark cloud itself was visible in the firelight.
“Elven magic!” one of the women shouted.
“They must be close,” another one said, and another yelled, “Where are they? I don’t see anyone.”
There was a bit of running around and chaos before one witch silenced the others.
“Gather round, quickly,” she said. “Form the circle again.”
The others did as she instructed, and the chanting and swaying began anew. Just then the breeze picked up, turning into a strong wind and then a gale.
Leaves and twigs and debris flew through the air. The grasses and wildflowers in the field whipped to and fro.
Saplings leaned in all directions as the strange wind blew not from north to south or east to west but outward from the circle of women in the center of the clearing.
I squinted instinctively to protect my eyes, and Kem bent her head, covering her face.
She started coughing, and then so did Stellon and Pharis. Beside me, Pharis began to wheeze.
“What is it?” I asked, alarmed. “Are you okay?”
“There are remnants of fireweed in the air,” he said in a strained tone. “The wind is carrying it.”
Whipping the kerchief out of my skirt pocket, I offered it to him, and he covered his nose and mouth.
Kem took off her apron and gave it to Stellon so he could use it as a dust mask. Then she lifted the front of her skirt and covered her own face.
For me, the wind was uncomfortable, but I was still breathing just fine, a benefit of my human half.
Stellon fell to his knees, struggling for air. Pharis was still standing, but he was obviously suffering and weakening rapidly. I prayed his Levitation glamour wouldn’t drop Turi.
“Can you compel them to stop?” I asked him.
He shook his head. “Not from this distance. It requires eye contact and speaking to someone.”
“Where is Turi now?” I looked around in a panic. She was still cloaked in shadow glamour and blending in with the dark night.
“She’s almost here,” Pharis said.
Within moments, my sister appeared in the forest, still floating in the air but hidden by the tree branches andunderbrush. Pharis gently lowered her to the ground, and I dropped to wrap my arms around her.
“I’m here, I’ve got you,” I said. “Turi, it’s Raewyn. Do you recognize me?”
She seemed groggy and confused but she nodded and hugged me back. Pharis knelt beside her, speaking between coughs.
“Hi Pollywog. You’re safe now. This is Kem. She’s going to get you and Raewyn out of here.”
I looked at him sharply.
“What about you and Stellon?”
