Page 94 of The Noldrin Witch

“Morgaine! Morgaine!”

Elise’s frantic voice rang out from the mirror.

Morgaine fought to keep a straight face as she struggled to sit upright.

“What happened, dear? Don’t tell me the demon showed up for another kiss.”

“No, it’s not Seth. I had my first vision!” Elise rasped.

A muffled caw came from the mirror. It was as though Bruno wholeheartedly agreed with every word Elise said.

Morgaine did not say a word. She simply let Elise continue explaining what had her so ruffled.

“The image was so vivid I felt as though I were really there. It happened just as I was falling asleep. It was as though I were caught somewhere between waking and dreaming. It hit me like a slap to the brain. The vision took complete possession of my mind for a few seconds.”

Another muffled caw came from the mirror.

“What exactly did you see?” Morgaine asked, already fearing the foretelling was something dreadful.

Even through the tiny image in the mirror, she could tell Elise had been crying. The girl wiped away a few tears and let out a couple of whimpers.

“It was Kurt,” Elise whispered. “I saw him bedridden. The vision continued with people trying to save him. I saw bandages. Wounds all over his body. Then...I saw the life leave him, Morgaine! I saw his hand hanging lifeless over the side of the bed.”

Elise broke into desperate sobs. One would have needed a complete lack of heart not to feel for the poor girl.

Morgaine, hesitant as she had been about meddling in war, was hardly one to leap at the chance to intervene. But compassionate as she was, she could not stand by a moment longer while Elise suffered, even with the boar making every movement feel like an impossible task.

“Calm yourself, dear. Death deserves better evidence than a vision. Perhaps there’s still time to prevent this tragedy.”

Elise brightened immediately, and Morgaine felt a measure of relief.

“If he’s dead, he’s dead. There’s no potion that can revive him. But if he’s still alive, we can find a way to help him.”

Morgaine saw the miniature image of Elise nod eagerly as she threw on her cape and slipped into her shoes. It was plain she was ready to come to her house and set out at once in search of Kurt.

“I’ll be there soon,” Elise murmured before lowering the mirror.

“No, no, no,” Morgaine muttered. She couldn’t let the girl travel through the forest in the dead of night. She still hadn’t mastered her powers well enough to earn her broom, and they’d need one if they hoped to reach the duke in time.

“Wait for me at the castle!” Morgaine urged. Thankfully, Elise lifted the mirror again, her whole countenance now softened with renewed hope.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

“Of course, dear.”

The mirror went dark, and Morgaine set off.

It took an inhuman amount of effort to get out of bed, but once she did, she wished she hadn’t dared to move.

It was the worst discomfort Morgaine had endured in the last century. Something was terribly wrong with her gut. Every step felt like a punishment. The greatest challenge, however, proved to be fastening the button of her skirt. The waistband sat a good five inches from the buttonhole.

“I’d better go to the Potion Room first.”

Once inside the blessed room, Morgaine drank three whole vials of her Elixir of Fine Form.

“By earth and breath, take a delicious shape.”

She jumped as she felt her waist lose a few inches, but the button still refused to close. She drank the last vial of the remedy. Another inch vanished. Holding her breath and with a titanic effort, she finally forced the button through the buttonhole.