“For what? A cute little forest creature? I think most are hibernating.”
“I don’t care if you summon a leaf,” Bridget growled through gritted teeth. “Just trysomething.”
Archer rolled his shoulders and then flicked his wrists in the air. Eyes closed, he muttered a spell under his breath. After a gust of wind almost blew Bridget’s beanie off, a mud-covered leaf slapped her hard in the forehead. Beside her, Nylah laughed. Glaring, Bridget flicked it off and threw it at her sister.
Gazing around the still empty, Archer shrugged. “I don’t think it’s me that is going to get his attention. Try touching the gate. That’s what you were doing last time.”
But she’d also been crying and trying to talk to Cade. Neither of which she wanted to do in front of Alexia. Despite her misgivings, Bridget took a step toward the gate. Then another. Her chest twisted when she stood inches from the carved stone. She wished she knew what the symbols meant. Behind her, Nylah coughed. It sounded rough and full of phlegm.
“You hear that? We haven’t got all day,” Alexia berated. “This trip was a waste of time. Just get the Warlock to perform the blood spell so we can finally cross. I’m sure there’s someone nearby in the woods we can find.”
“You catch more bees with honey than vinegar, you know,” Archer clucked, crossing his arms.
Not looking back at either of them, Bridget clenched her jaw and slammed her hand against the stone, directly over the crack. Nothing happened. No buzz or vibration or explosion of magic burst from the rock. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, a movement caught Bridget’s attention. She swirled her head to the right, gaze darting erratically until it finally settled on a figure standing between two bare, dead trees.
Bridget’s entire body went numb.
The girl was back. And no one else seemed to notice the other person clearly watching them. If she were real, they would. Her long, medievallooking pale pink dress looked out of place in the forest, and her striking features and black hair would make anyone stare.
The longer Bridget looked at her, the more the girl’s smirk widened.
Without thinking, Bridget pulled a dagger from her boot and threw as hard as she could. The second it was out of her hand, the girl laughed and disappeared. Bridget’s stomach dropped as she watched the weapon slice through thin air before it lodged itself in a tree trunk.
Beside her, Archer ducked and exclaimed, “What the hell? I thought we wanted to talk to the Shaman, not stab him.”
Bridget shook her head and ran over to grab her dagger. “I didn’t see the Shaman. Someone else is here,” she said, frantically waving her hand between the two dead trees. Nothing but air sliced between her fingertips.
Nylah grabbed her flailing hand. Gently squeezing her fingers, her sister worriedly stared up at her. “Are you okay? There’s no one there. It’s just us.”
Unable to stand the concern in Nylah’s eyes, Bridget stepped away from her. Hands shaking, she took a deep breath. It had to be a trick of the Shaman. He had to be inside her head, making her see things. Into nothingness, she screamed, “I know you’re here.”
“Yelling is pointless,” Alexia interjected. “Between your hallucinations and the Warlock’s faulty potion, we’ll never get back to Andarre. We should have gone back to the Salem coven for help.”
“My potion was brewed to perfection, thank you very much.”
“Have you forgotten I lived with a coven for over a year? I know what an effective potion looks like.”
Just before Bridget strangled them both, Nylah fell to her knees and gasped for breath. Seconds later, hoarse coughs exploded from her tiny chest. Bridget dropped to the ground beside her and rubbed her back.
“Both of you, shut up,” Bridget growled. Anxiety twisted her stomach. Once Nylah’s breathing evened out, she glared venomously at Alexia. “Yousaid whatever you gave her would affect her slowly. It’s only been a few days.”
For once, Alexia looked at a loss for words. Her dark eyes widened, and her mouth opened and closed as she stared at Nylah. “It shouldn’t be making her this sick. I saw Cora use it on another human once. It was months before he noticed he was sick. I swear.”
“Magic works differently here. Surely your precious Cora must have told you that,” Bridget snarled. “You must have messed up whatever ingredients you found.”
“I…”
“You didn’t listen to my warning,” a deep voice grumbled.
Bridget whirled around and pushed Nylah behind her. Still crouched on the ground, she registered torn jeans, a plaid covered chest, and then a gasp from Alexia. Swallowing hard, Bridget slowly gazed up to meet the bright blue eyes of the Shaman.
Below her arm, Nylah quietly exclaimed, “Woah. He just appeared out of nowhere.”
Holding the Shaman’s stare, Bridget raised her chin. He looked different than before. Without the fake park ranger uniform, he looked younger. His long blond hair was slicked back, and a silver earring hung from his left ear. After a long moment, Bridget dared to say, “Well, you didn’t specifically mentionthisgate.”
Face hardening, the Shaman turned to leave. Panic flooding her, Bridget rushed after him. “We need your help. My sister was poisoned. You have to send us through the gate so we can get the cure.”
Before she could complete her sentence, the Shaman tossed a small vial at her. “It’s not a cure, but it will keep her well. For now.”
