Witch Born(52)
She picked up her skirts and hurried towards one of the staircases that cut across the surface of the cliffs. One step at a time, she started climbing, moths curling behind her like a wind-blown cloak.
Reden started after her. “Senna! Wait!”
Joshen stared up at her. “What’s wrong with her?”
Senna tipped her face up to the moonless night and laughed. There was nothing wrong with her. For once, everything was right. Stepping to the edge of the carved stairs, she called the wind to her. It thickened around her, pulling her hair and clothes up.
“What is she doing?” Joshen shouted.
Prenny tore at the vines, her fingers bleached white. “She’s drunk.”
“Drunk?” Reden helped cut Prenny free.
“An occasional side effect of the barbus.” Prenny yanked a vial out of Senna’s seed belt. She threw it at Senna but missed. It shattered against the cliffs. Cool drops splashed her cloak and soaked through to her skin. The scent of flowers engulfed her in a wave.
“What was that?” Joshen asked.
“More barbus extract,” Prenny said.
“You gave her more!” Joshen said in outrage.
“I didn’t have a choice!”
Warmth and drowsiness enfolded Senna. The wind waited for her command, but she no longer remembered what that command was. It listened a moment more before growing distracted. She felt herself slipping. Into darkness. Into dreams.
“She’s going to fall!” Joshen shoved Prenny out of the way and started running.
Prenny sounded close to panic. “She isn’t supposed to be able to circle the wind outside of the Ring of Power, let alone one that strong!”
Senna tipped forward. Her muscles turned to liquid and she splashed over the side of the staircase like spilled wine.
16. Joshen
Joshen sprinted forward, his heart tearing in two as Senna swayed on the edge of the cliff. He watched from below as she crumpled and tipped over the side, her body as limp as a rag doll.
He tried to catch her, but she slammed into him with such force it knocked him to the ground. For a moment, he couldn’t breathe. Holding her to him, he lay there, trying to decide if anything was broken.
“Hold your breath!” Prenny, her face red, ripped Senna’s cloak off, crumpled it in a ball, and threw it. She gasped in a lungful of air. “I don’t smell barbus.”
Reden knelt over them. “Is she all right?”
Joshen groaned and sat up.
“She’s unconscious.” Prenny’s fingers searched Senna’s dress. “It appears most of it was on her cloak.”
Senna wasn’t glowing anymore. For that Joshen was relieved, but her neck was bent back at an awkward angle, her body wilted in his arms. He gently tipped her head into his chest, cradling her to him. He felt the reassuring puff of her breath against his skin. He glared at Prenny. “What did you do to her? Why did she run? By the Creators, why was she glowing?”
Prenny pulled another vial from her pocket and ran it under Senna’s nose. She shifted away from the foul-smelling stuff, snuggling deeper into Joshen’s chest.
He brushed some of her hair away from her face. “Senna?”
Prenny sang.
Awake my child, it’s time to rise.
Find the life within and open thine eyes.
On the song’s fourth repetition, Senna’s eyes fluttered open. She stared at Joshen in obvious confusion, her eyes glassy.
“It’ll take her awhile to shake off the effects. She’s basically still asleep.” Prenny lifted the spectacles hanging from a beaded chain around her neck. She pulled down the rose-colored lens and stared at Senna. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Coyel stepped forward, her face unsure. “I think we should stay with you.”
Prenny grunted. “She’ll be out for the rest of the night with that much barbus, and we’ve only a few hours till sunrise. We need that pollen, Coyel.”
Coyel seemed to waver. “All right. Let’s go back to the harvest. Quickly now.”
Reden helped Senna to her feet. “How is this possible?”
Prenny waited until the other Heads had slowly filed away before studying both Guardians, her expression pensive. “She’s sleepwalking.”
One of the Apprentices hadn’t left, though. She was watching Joshen, her face set. Her hands were tied behind her back with what looked like some kind of plant. Sometimes Witches baffled him. Why couldn’t they have just used rope?
“What about me?” the girl said.
Prenny made a noise low in her throat. “You were on shaky ground before, Mistin. You’re not an adept student, and you’re song is barely above a Wastrel. Now you’ve attacked the Heads. They’ll banish you.”