Page 37 of With the Potion in the Courtyard
"Almost there," Robbie reached the other side and turned to watch us.
One step, then another. Ikept my gaze fixed on Robbie's outstretched hand. And finally, with a last wobbly step, I reached solid ground again.
Jessie joined us moments later, and we shared quick, relieved smiles. We'd crossed the bridge to who knows where, but we'd done it together. That had to count for something.
The moment we stepped off the bridge, a wind kicked up, almost like something propelled by magic. It wasn't any breeze; this was the kind that could snatch you off your feet and toss you around like a leaf. I was scared to even take a step, terrified that my foot leaving the ground would be enough for me to be snatched off the ground and thrown into the abyss.
"What do we do?" Robbie shouted over the wind.
Jessie looked panicked. "Let me think."
My mind started working too, and an idea began to form. I wasn’t some expert fairy godmother, but I thought I had an idea that could save us. My heart thudded against my ribs as I clenched my wand tighter, focusing on the spell I'd learned in class.
"Protect us from the wind," I whispered, and then Ibegan to work my hips while moving my wand around, just like I’d done in class.
A protective barrier formed around us, a column of calm in the chaos. The fierce gusts battered against my barrier but couldn't break through. Robbie and Jessie looked at me with wide eyes, but we were safe for now.
"Nice work, Cendi," Robbie said with a grin.
"Thanks." I let out a shaky breath, proud that I remembered how to conjure the spell under pressure.
"You’re a quick study." Jessie grinned. "That’s good to know."
We started forward, climbing up a small hill before coming to the other side. There, we stood frozen, staring in shock at the scene before us. Just ahead, the path was lined with plants straight out of a nightmare. They were round brown balls, and had jaws bigger than my head, with tendrils that writhed like snakes connecting them to the ground. Like Venus fly traps, only the size of giraffes. One snap from those things, and it would be game over.
"Do you think those things will eat us?" I asked.
"Those are definitely meat eaters," Robbie said, looking a little pale.
"There’s nowhere else to go."
"Yeah, we have to go through these plants," Jessie said, her voice a pitch too high.
"Let me try something," Robbie said. He pulled out his wand and wiggled around. I watched as a boulder lifted from the ground, hovering for a second before he sent it rolling down the path in front of us.
The plants went wild, snapping and spitting as the rock rumbled by. But it seemed to take them a long time after snapping at the boulder to be in an attack position again.
"This, we can use," Robbie said. "But we’re going to have to be fast and stay together. We only have a matter of seconds after they attack where they don’t seem to be capable of attacking again."
"Well, this sounds fun," I muttered.
Robbie waved his wand again and sent another boulder rolling down the path in front of us. Again, the plants attacked. Their attention fixed on the new toy, giving us the openingwe needed.
"Now," Robbie yelled, and we dashed after the boulder.
It was like running an obstacle course where everything wanted to eat you. Robbie dodged and weaved, and I did my best to copy his moves. Left, right, jump, a dance with death on either side. But Robbie led us through, never missing a step.
"Keep moving," he said, and we pushed forward, past the gnashing teeth and venomous vines, until the danger was behind us, and the path cleared once more.
"Everyone okay?" I panted, glancing back to see Jessie nodding, her face flushed with exertion.
"Let's not do that again," she said, and I couldn't have agreed more.
We walked for a while, realizing that we’d somehow found ourselves in a garden of giant plants. Luckily, not all of them seemed to want to eat us. We stopped for lunch on the ground near some giant flowers that looked like purple sunflowers, and then continued until we reached, yet more, of the deadly plants.
Robbie got his wand out and ran boulders ahead of us once more. Onlysomething was different. Something had changed. The deeper we got into the twisted garden, the more I realized Robbie's boulder trick was losing its magic. Some of the plants weren't even glancing at the rolling stone anymore; their hungry eyes, or whatever passed for eyes on these monstrosities, were fixed on us.
"Jessie," I whispered, "Got any tricks up your sleeve?"