Page 19 of Magic Blooms

eighteen

After a quick breakfast, Lorraine sent me up to my room to rest until Fawn needed me. While there, I took stock of the few possessions I’d collected during my time here. The dresses. The lost and found items. A brush. A small handheld mirror.

How I wished I could bring them back to Vilea as mementos of my time here, but Jasmine had made it very clear that the more we tried to shove through the portal, the shakier the magic holding it open would become.

This was it.

I was finally going home, back to my parents and my future with Dante, and leaving all I had gained here firmly in the past. I hated that my time here was ending with Fawn rather than my new friends, whom I probably would never see again.

Would I leave behind the new aspects of myself I’d discovered? The bravery? The purpose? I couldn’t imagine I’d have much use for them at home, or that Dante would want a strong-headed wife who wasn’t afraid to ask questions, take action, pursue goals at any cost.

My only hope now was that I had made a difference in this place, that despite not liking her methods, my aiding Fawn would save Peach Plains from a grim future.

What’s done is done, Joshua had said.

A gentle knock sounded on my door, and I turned to see Lorraine and Jasmine on the threshold. Their serious faces told me why they’d come even before either spoke a word.

“Fawn is ready for you,” Jasmine confirmed with a nod.

Lorraine tightened her lips. “She’s waiting on the porch.”

So this was it then. I may not get more time with them, other than the briefest of moments before I jumped through the portal that would take me home to Vilea.

I pointed to the pile I’d set out on the bed and held back the sudden surge of tears I felt pushing at the edges of my eyes and threatening to spill. “Since I can’t take any of this with me, will you give it to the next wanderer you find in the woods?”

Lorraine stepped forward and started to undo a strap on her wrist. “Here’s my watch. You can use it to make sure you get back in time.”

“What will happen if I’m late?” I asked, already knowing but needing the confirmation.

“The power will be greatest when the moon is at its apex,” said Jasmine.

Her voice was logical as always, but even she seemed sad to see me go.

“The apex is at eleven. From then on, we’ll just be pressing our luck.

I’d be comfortable attempting it for maybe ten more minutes.

I don’t want to send you through an unstable portal.

If we don’t… If we can’t make it in time, we’ll have to wait until the next full moon. ”

Okay, so eleven it was. I fastened the watch Lorraine gave me and glanced at its face. The little arm pointed toward 1, which meant I had ten hours. “I think we should be fine. I doubt Fawn’s ritual will last ten whole hours.”

“Well, actually—” Jasmine began, but Lorraine silenced her with a stern glare.

So she also had doubts. Never matter. I’d find a way to make it work. “I want to say thanks for—”

Lorraine held up a hand. “We’re not doing goodbyes right now. You’ll be back in plenty of time for that later.”

I could only hope. I had to imagine Fawn wouldn’t be much of a talker.

I tried to shake off the feeling that I was marching off to my doom as I left my room behind, trod down the stairs, and out the front door.

Fawn stood waiting on the front porch, her eyes closed in what appeared to be a type of meditation.

“Hello,” I said hesitantly as I approached. “You requested my help today?”

“I didn’t request anything,” she said in that same low, echoing tone she always used. “I ordered. Grab the supplies and come. We have much to do.”

Her edict spoken, Fawn glided down the stairs and toward the forest, leaving me no choice but to grab a zipped-up tote bag she’d left on the porch and follow in her wake. I had to double my normal pace to first catch up with her—and then to keep up as well.

“Where are we going?” I asked as items in my bag clinked together inside, revealing its fragile contents.

She didn’t bother to answer.

“Is it far?” I remembered that Joshua’s cabin hadn’t seemed far but had actually required a two-hour walk. What if Fawn was taking me somewhere even farther away from Fox’s End? If we spent all our time today walking there and back, would that leave enough to perform her ritual?

Once again, my question was met with an icy silence.

“How do you know this will work? “

Nothing.

“You’re not planning to kill anyone else, are you?” I asked with a nervous laugh. “Because I can take you in a fight,” I lied.

Fawn stopped, her shoulders tense. “This will go much more quickly if you follow in silence,” she snapped before continuing on her way once more.

As much as I didn’t appreciate the lack of transparency, I supposed it was better than having to carry on a conversation with the woman. I wasn’t exactly sure I could keep my true opinions to myself if I was forced to exchange more than just a few quick sentences with her.

The journey grew tense despite the continued silence, and soon our previously firm footing gave way to the moist swampland. I glanced around for any sign of the gators but couldn’t see them. Still, thanks to Joshua’s impromptu tutorial the other day, I knew they were there.

Watching.

Waiting.

Maybe they would rise up from their hiding places to snatch Fawn away from me. I already knew I could handle myself, but could she?

I struggled to keep up, having a difficult time balancing the fragile contents of the bag while navigating the softened terrain.

“Umm, how much further is this little walk going to be?” Even as I spoke, my feet started to sink deeper into the mud, each step threatening to rip off my new shoes. It would be much harder to run back to Fox’s End if I had to do it barefoot.

“I’ll know when I’m there,” answered Fawn, gazing out at the land around us and taking in a deep breath, as though savoring the damp, sticky air.

I couldn’t help but notice Fawn had changed over the course of our walk. Small hints of color had returned to her corpse-like body. A pale pink graced her cheeks, and her lips had shifted from blue to nearly white. Even the network of veins had receded fully from view.

Was it the land? The time of day? The approaching ritual?

I didn’t like the thought of her becoming stronger when she could already so easily overpower me, if that’s what she intended.

Still, I said nothing, continuing behind her but watching very carefully.

Fawn veered off path and took a step into the thick swamp, then another.

I lifted the bag high and followed, until soon the water neared my knees.

A symphony of plopping noises swelled as various swamp creatures drew close to watch. Still no sign of any gators, though.

Once the water reached our hips, Fawn finally stopped.

“This should serve us well.” She took off her cloak, which had long since started soaking up the dark brown water, and handed it off to me.

I dutifully took it from her, struggling to keep my balance as I added the water-weighted cloak to my load.

Now Fawn wore only a simple black dress with long bell sleeves. Not exactly what I would’ve picked to wear out in these conditions.

“I see you’re sticking with the black and white color palette,” I murmured.

She looked over her shoulder at me and narrowed her eyes. I knew she was trying to figure me out. Well I suppose that was fair, given that I was doing the same to her.

“The clothing is immaterial. I have gathered my strength for today. I’ll need every ounce I can muster to complete the ritual satisfactorily. Now open the bag, and let’s begin.”

I glanced up to where the sun was still hung high in the sky. This was good. If she was starting now, we should be done plenty early. I passed the bag over to Fawn, but instead of accepting it, she just stared at it as though it was beneath her to even consider touching it.

“I said open it.”

I tightened my lips but didn’t fight her. I dutifully opened the bag, unsure of what to do next.

“Now open the jars, and hand them to me one by one.”

I had to balance the handles of the bag on one of my arms so I could free up my hands. There were four jars inside, and I had no idea what they might contain. “Is there any particular order you need these?”

“No more talking,” she said in a deeper voice than normal, jutting out a hand in my direction. So much for precision.

I grabbed the first jar I came across. Its glass let off a soft blue glow. It had been filled with a black jam-like substance. I carefully twisted off the lid, surprised by the almost pleasant smell, something like a fruit that wasn’t quite ripe yet.

Fawn grabbed the jar as soon as I offered it and emptied the contents into the swamp, tossing in the container after it.

“The crushed fruit of nightshade,” she recited. I wasn’t sure if she was speaking to me or this was part of her spell, but I stayed quiet, eager to get the whole thing over with.

The next jar proved even stranger than the last. It was full of small white flowers. I handed it over, and she dumped that as well, the little petals cascading across the surface of the black water.

“Hemlock to sweeten the poison.”

There was no mistaking what the next jar held. I handed that one over as quickly as possible.

“Blood of the innocent,” Fawn proclaimed as she emptied it into the mix. The dark red spread out, pushing the petals further away. This must be what she got from Karen at Art’s office. This very ritual was what that poor woman had died for.

The last jar was the most surprising of all.

Its contents were solid and metallic.

Fawn extracted the small metal knife from inside and dropped the glass jar into the swamp. She glanced at me for only the briefest moment as she grasped the hilt tightly in her hands.

Breathing steadily, she closed her eyes.

“And this is my sacrifice. I add my own offering to the poisons and the innocent. Take these blessings and show me what I desire. Show this threat, and allow me to fight it before we’re beset.”

Then without hesitation, she plunged the knife into her abdomen and fell backward into the dark, inky water.