Witchy Sour(60)

“Then tell me what I need to know.”





Chapter 20



Another hour and two cappuccinos later, Liam had given me the pep talk of a lifetime. He’d explained that anything slithering with a red body was not harmful at all. In fact, those snakes could be used for healing powers.

However, the innocent-looking rabbits with the violet eyes—those, I needed to watch out for. One glimpse of violet eyes, and I’d almost certainly be dead in seconds. Trees with seven-sided leaves needed to be given a ten-foot radius, or they’d lure me in with their spell and lull me into a dream-like state of sleep, leaving me vulnerable for all of the other creepy crawlies lurking just beyond the darkness. And that was just the introduction.

My head swimming with knowledge, Liam and I bid farewell when our final cappuccinos were drained. I feared sitting with him any longer would bring on a wave of emotions I didn’t want cropping up as I set off into The Forest. Between the excessive amounts of caffeine wiring my nervous system and the impending doom of disappearing into the darkness, I was already shaking.

Instead of heading toward the Lower Bridge, the safest, most well-traveled route back to the West Isle, I took the beach path north. Intentionally, I took the scenic route, which wound its way around the shore of the East Isle. I needed some time to calm down and think. My hands shook with nerves while all of Liam’s information whizzed around like a sack of bouncy balls let loose in my skull.

As I walked, the sand glittered under the sun and the waves made for a soothing background track. The advice from Liam began to sink in as I ran over his words again and again. By the time I reached the Upper Bridge, I was feeling nervous, but ready. As ready as I could ever hope to be for my first venture alone into The Forest.

Unlike the Lower Bridge, the Upper Bridge was not scenic. There were no vibrant orange goldfish dancing, or dolphins and sharks circling as friends. Here, the water was dark and barren, as if even the fish had decided it wasn’t safe. The sunlight shone on only half of the bridge. The path in front of me lay buried in shadow.

The coolness hit my shoulders, and I shivered the second I crossed from light to darkness. Simultaneously, a loud splash rang out to my left and I leapt to the opposite side of the bridge, watching in horror as a large, ugly fish that resembled the love child of a semi-truck and a pug—with fins—leapt from the water and snatched a butterfly from the air. My heart pounded, and I raced toward The Forest without looking back. If I didn’t continue now, I’d never go at all.

A few steps into The Forest and the immersion into darkness was complete. This was a different world than the airy, vacationy portion of The Isle. The sun failed to battle its way through the thick tree branches, and the fresh lake air might as well have been miles away.

Inside The Forest’s grasp the air was cool and heavy, damp with the weight of moss and dew. It was stifling. I struggled to take a deep breath as I hurriedly glanced around to make sure there were no seven-sided leaves nearby.

It took a few seconds, but eventually my eyes adjusted to the dark, my breathing adapted to the thickness of the air, and I took a step forward. The hefty layer of growth over The Forest floor muted my footsteps, giving off the eerie sensation that I didn’t really exist at all.

It didn’t take long before I could no longer see the bridge. Panic rose in my chest, and for a moment, I was sure I couldn’t take another step. Then, like a flashlight in the darkness, I remembered Liam’s words. Going into The Forest takes purpose. I forced myself to think about Poppy. Focus on the missing ingredient. Recall the instructions to harvest Dust of the Devil.

I repeated these steps over and over again to myself.

Under the branches of the trees in bloom…

Everything around me was green or black. Leaves and moss grew everywhere except for the air, and the open spaces were seas of darkness.

Then I noticed the scent. It started subtly, as if it’d begun seeping into my consciousness without my realizing it. I sniffed, and the smell grew stronger. The more I focused, the stronger and stronger it became, guiding my feet forward as if someone else had control of them. Before I knew it, I’d gone deeper into The Forest, and my surroundings began to change.

I focused on that scent like it was the light at the end of a deep, dark tunnel. Continuing forward, I paused only when a crack in the distance or a rustle underfoot broke through my concentration. The seconds morphed into minutes as time itself turned into an elusive entity. Like Liam’s directions, I sensed that minutes and seconds and hours were but a fickle thing inside The Forest. Time moved lightning quick one second and as slow as molasses the next.