Page 12

There was nothing she could do for Alesia. She had tried everything, had maybe even risked her own life. Life and death were an inevitability, and she’d long ago accepted it after her parents. But one thing she would do was save this creature she’d never seen before.

She worked tirelessly throughout the night to follow the handwritten instructions on the parchment. There was a special footnote, but it wasn’t something she’d ever needed to add before.

Once she had all her candles ready and had drawn the correct symbols on the ground, she wrapped the lizard in the towel so it couldn’t escape. She placed it in the middle of the spell drawing, and it started struggling just like she had expected.

She started chanting. Amalia hated removing hexes because it made her tired, but that was a part of her job as a good Witch. The creature was still glowing and would continue to glow until the sun rose, but it meant she would be able to see if she removed the hex.

A swirl of magic came from the chalk circles she’d drawn on the ground surrounding the creature, and she felt the energy pulsating all the way up to the very end of the chant. Then it burst out with a gust of wind, telling her the spell had completed.

With a smile, she picked up the lizard and unwrapped it.

Her smile fell when it bit her. Not because of the bite, but because she could still see the hex on it.

But I followed the instructions. I have never been unable to remove a hex by those pixies.They always placed them on animals they wanted to eat, and Bala would sometimes get to them first and bring them home.Why did it not work?

She eyed the parchment, making sure she did everything correctly. When she knew that she had, she eyed that footnote – the one she’d always ignored.

“I should not...”

Then again, how much trouble could she get herself into?

As long as nobody finds out... I should be okay, right?

Its eyes widened when she wrapped it in the towel again and placed it in the circle. Unlike before, she brought a knife with her.

She started the chant like she did before, but this time she brought the tip of the knife down her wrist to let her own blood drip into the circle she’d drawn.

Swirling energy started back up, pulsating with more magic than before since she had added her own essence into it. Along with that burst of magic wind at the end of her spell was a small burst of flame.

The circle charred into the wooden floor of her cottage, carving into it permanently with scorch marks.

Without care for her floors, she scooped up the creature and unfurled it from the towel. It was far angrier now, refusing to allow her to hold it as it clawed and bit rapidly. She bit back her cry of pain when it latched on, trying to ignore the panicking animal as she searched its back.

She no longer saw the hex symbol on it.

“It worked,” she whispered as she immediately started to feel unwell. “I lifted the hex. I should be able to heal you now.”

The creature stopped its attack. It tried to look over its shoulder like it had an understanding of what she’d said.

She started lathering it in the ointment. Even without the sun, it should still work, and she’d add another layer in the morning.

“I do not feel so good,” she mumbled when her vision began to waver.

She’d never felt like this before as her sight split into two, and her ears felt like they were stuffed with cotton.

She stumbled with the lizard in her arms and almost dropped it.

Her mind felt dizzy, her energy completely drained. She made her way to the birdcage and placed it inside to make sure it was safe from Bala. She didn’t know how the cat managed to do it, but he would somehow get inside her cottage when she wasn’t looking.

Just as she locked the cage door, she fell. Her eyes rolled back, and she knew she was fainting from the deafening sound that roared in the silence of her room.

She passed out before she even hit the hard ground.

Amalia woke with a start by the worst sound she’d ever heard. It was right there, right next to her ear,screamingat her.

“Bala, you absolute pain in the ass. Shut the hell up!” The whining cat stopped and instead hopped up to stand on her chest, which weighed her down. She opened her eyes and picked up the big cat by cupping his chest. “Why? Why are you like this?”

It pawed at her head, smacking her with quick taps. She could barely defend herself as she threw her head side-to-side in a failed attempt to dodge.