Page 14
Story: Bewitched
How long will it take for anyone to find us?
Around me, the jungle seems to literally darken with my thoughts. I touch my head, wondering if beyond the memory loss, I sustained some trauma to it. It’s only when I see a band of deep-blue magic twisting through the trees that I realize I’m not imagining things at all.
The sight of magic out in this jungle should frighten me; it certainly looks ominous as it creeps between the trees. But it stirs something in me, something is right there, at the edge of my mind—
Empress…
My skin pricks. That voice again!
Come to me…
Without thinking, I rise to my feet. I’ve heard of sirens luring people to their deaths; this must be what it feels like. There’s a stirring in my blood at the call of that voice. I don’t know what it wants with me or if it means to do these other passengers harm, but I have the pressing need to draw closer to it.
And so I do. Before the doctor or anyone else can come check on me, I slip away into the rainforest, letting the trees and the shadows swallow me up.
* * *
I don’t know how far or how long I walk. I’m in a daze, pulled by the intermittent calls of that voice and the ribbon of dark blue magic that seems to be leading me onward.
Part of me is almost painfully aware that following strange voices and unfamiliar power is a bad idea, and yet there’s an entire other part of me held captive by this beckoning magic.
I run my fingers over a waxy leaf and duck under a vined plant dangling from a branch, swatting away an insect that’s been buzzing around me. I’ve been in this jungle for less than a day, and I can already tell that the world’s freakiest bugs live here, I’m certain of it. I’ve seen at least one spider as big as a salad plate, and not five minutes ago, a beetle the span of my palm skittered by.
I wipe the sweat from my forehead.
The trip’s gone tits up, but hey, Iamgetting the whole magic quest experience.
I glance over my shoulder, wondering not for the first time how I’ll manage to find my way back to the crash site. Undoubtedly, I’ll have to use more magic. I assumed I’d follow the magic for twenty paces or so and find the mysterious being behind it all, but that hasn’t happened.
The prolonged walk does give me time to think, namely about the freshly lost memories. There’s no way for me to know which ones or how many of them burned away with the spell. That knowledge is haunting—because I could’ve lost something formative or wonderful or important, and I wouldn’t know it. On the other hand, if I don’t know what I’ve lost, it’s hard to grieve it.
I feel a tingle of power along my skin, distracting me from my thoughts. At first, I think it’s the same magic that has been calling to me, just, well,louder.
But it feels different in some intrinsic way. I halt when I see the magic itself. Unlike the indigo power I’ve been following—which even now lingers above me—this magic glints like iridescent dust motes in the air. As I stare at it, the magic coalesces, thickening around me.
My queen…
The compulsion in those words nearly gets me moving again, but I can’t seem to look away from the magic right in front of me. Movement catches my eye, and I lift my gaze just as a massive shadow leaps from the tree directly in front of me, lunging right for my body.
I don’t have time to move or scream. It slams into my chest, throwing me to the ground and pinning me beneath its weight.
Can’t breathe.
A massive set of black paws rests on my sternum, holding me in place. I let my eyes drift up, taking in the silky dark fur that coats the animal’s forelegs and chest. My attention snags on the creature’s terrifying serrated teeth for a moment before my eyes rise the rest of the way, and I meet the amber-green gaze of a panther.
CHAPTER5
Oh,my fucking goddess on high.
This strange magic led me right to apanther. I repeat, apanther.
I would scream, except my throat isn’t working.
I’m going to get eaten and then shit out by this ferocious hellcat, and no one is ever going to know what happened to me.
Pull yourself together, Selene. You have magic at your disposal. No overgrown pussycat is going to end you, no matter how terrifying it is.
The panther opens its jaws slightly—enough for me to get a whiff of big-cat breath, which is as awful as it sounds.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14 (Reading here)
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 128
- Page 129
- Page 130
- Page 131
- Page 132
- Page 133
- Page 134
- Page 135
- Page 136
- Page 137
- Page 138
- Page 139
- Page 140
- Page 141
- Page 142
- Page 143
- Page 144
- Page 145
- Page 146
- Page 147
- Page 148
- Page 149
- Page 150
- Page 151
- Page 152
- Page 153
- Page 154
- Page 155
- Page 156
- Page 157
- Page 158
- Page 159
- Page 160
- Page 161
- Page 162
- Page 163
- Page 164
- Page 165
- Page 166
- Page 167
- Page 168
- Page 169
- Page 170
- Page 171
- Page 172
- Page 173
- Page 174
- Page 175
- Page 176
- Page 177
- Page 178
- Page 179
- Page 180
- Page 181
- Page 182
- Page 183
- Page 184
- Page 185