“That sounds too simple. It has to be more complicated, or lots of people would come in here.”
“No one can come here. You are here because of me and Harold. Others could not enter without permission, or they would never be able to leave.”
I stood, and Ranth kept his hand on my shoulder.
“Mom?” I called out. A glimmer of silver flashed through the shadows.
“Mom?” I called louder. And the specter flitted closer, its shadowy outline tattered at the edges. In the center was the silver flash.
“Mom?” I lowered my voice this time, holding out my hand as if to a timid stray. The specter came closer and closer until it curled around my palm like before.
I called out in the language of the whispers, “I wish to take her with me. Bargain with me.” The whispers responded, but this time I didn’t fight it.
“Your life force, one for one.”
“You can take my power instead, but I do not offer my life.” My chest tightened. I knew what I was doing, what it would mean. I had to do this.
“We don’t believe you.” The whispers gathered around me. They had to believe me. I had to find the right words. Would I give my power up to get my mother back? Would she forgive me? The Sisters had to think the words were true...
“You’ve taken something from me. If you let my mother leave here, then you can take my power.” And silently I added,but not unless I give you permission. I swallowed, as if I were actually considering it.
“Unfettered? A promise?” they asked, sweeping around me.
“An offer, a bargain,” I replied as the whispers prodded me.
“We agree. You may go, but your powers stay with us.”
“My power is yours to take if you let my mother leave with me,” I whispered my assent, and the buzzing receded. This was our chance. I reached for the specter, and this time it didn’t pull away.
The tatters were like a cold breeze blowing over my fingers. I could sense but not touch them. “How can I take her if I can’t touch her?”
“You have to grab her heart,” Ranth whispered in my head. The flickering silver flashed in front of me and then disappeared again in the folds of darkness.
I darted forward to reach the flash, but two times I failed. The third time, my fingers grabbed the cold silver heart which had the weight of origami paper.
“Your power now, witch.”
“You can have what you deserve,” I shouted, crushing the leaf in my other hand and screaming the power words at them.
Shrieks from the Sisters knifed through me, shredding me from the inside.
Blood trickled from my nose, but I kept chanting the power words with the leaf pressed flat against one palm. The outline of a frozen heart seared into my hand. I was not letting Mom go.
My throat was raw as I repeated the words over and over. The energy from the leaf was almost gone.
With a silver flash, the cave darkened and then dropped away. Ranth’s hand gripped my shoulder as my insides sloshed, and my head throbbed. When my vision cleared, there was blue sky.
The Garden.
Ranth’s hand left my shoulder, and my teeth chattered.
“You can let go. Your mother can’t escape here, and the Sisters cannot reach her.”
With the trust of someone who has just rescued their mother from death, I let go of the burning silver heart. I sank to the ground, wrapping my arms around myself as the specter twirled upwards, then whipped away toward the shadows of the trees.
“Mom!” I yelled, about to race after her into the trees, but Ranth pulled me back.
His touch sent waves of warmth through me. “Wait, let her go for now.”
