A Witch's Rite Read online

  As much as it hurt, I focused on practical matters. I would not be able to carry both backpacks, so I needed to consolidate. Going through his pack, I pulled out the food and the clothing I thought would fit me. It brought me no pleasure to take Wells's things, but if the rest of the maze was going to be like this, I needed every advantage I could find to help me get back to Michelle. Wells's water was transferred into my own canteens, I took two of his canteens and filled them in the stream that ran into the pond, then treated them with the iodine tablets. By the time I used the rest of the water, they would be ready to drink.

  Before I left, I closed up his pack and set it adrift in the stream. Watching the water carry it away, I said, "May the earth hold you in her warmth and cherish your memory for season upon season."

  It was not much of a send-off, but it was what I could do. I turned away from the waters. It was time for me to continue this journey. I found two maze openings on the upstream side of the pond. In honor of Wells's desire to search for new things, I took the left path.

  This time I did not reflect upon the strange properties of the walls or the sample in my office but on my surroundings. I could not afford to fall victim to a trap. I had to find Michelle and carry news of Wells's death to his fellow officers.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Michelle

  We turned a corner, and the right hedge wall dead-ended against a cliff. It wasn't a rock but a vertical face of clay interspersed with stones.

  I gave it a once-over. "Well, that's new."

  "Do you think we could climb it?"

  "I was wondering the same thing." It was only about twenty feet high, and there were a couple of places that looked large enough for us to stand. The problem was, it wasn't really a solid surface to climb. This type of formation was prone to crumbling. We would never know if our foothold was about to go.

  Another issue was that I couldn't really see the top. With the hedge behind me, I couldn't back up enough to get a good view. I knew it was sloped, and somewhere up there trees started growing again. We might be able to get out of the maze, but there was no guarantee that up there was any better than down here.

  Patrick poked the clay. "It's not really the right stuff to climb."

  "And we don't know what's up there."

  "Maybe it's not worth it."

  "I think it is. What's our other choice? Wandering around in here forever? I know we need to rescue Gudger, but I'm not sure going through maze is the best way to do that. Eventually we'll come across something more thrilling than big rhododendrons, and I doubt it will be interested in our health and well-being."

  "You're right, but…" Patrick sighed. "If we leave the maze, how are we going to find Wells and Elron? What if Ned just kills Gudger?"

  "I don't know. I don't know what will happen to Gudger or how to find the others, but I think we'll have better luck figuring this thing out from the outside. It doesn't make sense that I couldn't hear Elron and you couldn't hear Wells. There has to be some spell or effect of the hedges that I'm not detecting. If we leave the maze, we'll be on the outside of the magic and I should be able to get an idea of what we're up against."

  "True." He stared up the cliff again, then turned back to me. "Look, I'm sorry I'm not being very helpful. I'm not sure why I'm even here. With you around, my skills are unnecessary. I've been useless as a cop and as a hedge-practitioner."

  I wasn't entirely sure what to say to that, so I settled for the best truth I had. "It's not like being a witch has done marvels for me. I'm stuck in the maze same as you."

  He snorted. "I hear ya."

  Nodding, I said, "Good, because as it stands our partners are in just as much trouble as us. We need to rescue ourselves so we can rescue them. Besides, you have the trap and documentation of the snails. If we can get those out of here, we have proof of crimes and something to study."

  "And in the justice system, documentation is king." He gave me a self-deprecating smile. "We must save the evidence."

  "That's the spirit." Or close enough considering our circumstances. I pointed the conversation back in the proper direction. "Here's my theory on getting up that thing. I don't think it's safe to do that with a pack on, but I've got some cord and we can tie that to the packs and to us so when we get to the top, we simply pull the packs up after us. How does that sound?"

  Patrick looked at the cliff and our packs. I hoped he didn't see the parts I'd left out, like the fact that the climb wasn't going to be truly safe no matter how we went about it. The only good way to scale something like that was with an anchor at the top and a belay, but we didn't have any way of setting that up.

  "It's probably the best plan we're going to get."

  With that, I dug out the coiled rope, nice strong stuff that could support both our weights if it had to, so the weight of the packs wouldn't be an issue. Luckily, Elron had overruled my protest and shoved two twenty-five-foot bundles in my pack. I tossed one to Patrick and set about getting my own cord firmly tied to myself and my pack. I didn't want to get to the top only to find that a knot had worked loose.

  "I'll go first," Patrick said. "Don't climb directly under me. Move at least a couple of feet to the side."

  "Got it." I'd already planned to do as much, but he didn't need to know that right now.

  Patrick jammed his foot into the clay, found a handhold, stepped up, and kicked his other foot into the dirt. Bits of earth crumbled under his foot. He moved his hands and repeated the procedure.

  When he was about five feet off the ground, I wedged my foot into the wall. I had my handholds picked out, so I got as good of a grip as I was able and started up the cliff. The handholds were fairly easy. There were small clumps of grass and lumps of earth I could hold on to, but most of them crumbled if real force was applied. One disintegrated under my hand, and I had to stretch to reach the next one.

  Since the lumps weren't solid enough to support weight, I had to keep digging my toes into the clay. I was really grateful for the steel toes in my boots. Not that it was overly fun or comfortable to smash a foot into solid earth, but at least it wasn't pressing against my toes.

  I was about eight feet off the ground and looking for my next handhold when movement at the edge of my vision caught my attention. There was a gray shape shifting around only inches above Patrick's head.

  "Patrick, there's something above you." I kept my voice low and calm.

  He froze. "Is it a snake?"

  "I don't think so. It looks gray and furry."

  "Is it coming closer? What's gray and furry?"

  "Not yet. A lot of things are gray. I'm having trouble seeing it clearly. It's behind a rock and mostly in the shadow."

  "Do I keep going up?" Patrick asked.

  "That's your choice. Maybe if you stay there, it'll move off." I kept an eye on it, but it seemed content to shuffle around where it was.

  "I can't stay here forever."

  "Well, I don't know what to tell you." I had to work to keep the exasperation out of my voice.

  "Can you spell it?"

  "Sure, I'll just let go of the cliff, whip out my wand, and start blindly casting spells while I dangle above the ground."

  "I didn't ask for the sarcasm."

  "It's free of charge."

  A moment later Patrick said, "Well, I have to move, so I'm going up."

  "Good luck." I lifted my foot up and jabbed it into the clay. Looking around for a handhold, I saw the rock above his head wobble. "Patrick, duck!"

  My warning was too late. The rock tumbled off the side of the ledge, bounced off a lump of dirt, and glanced off his head as it plummeted to the ground.

  Patrick's grip loosened, and he started to fall. I stretched out a hand, but I was too far away.

  Everything slowed down as I watched him fall. I had to do something. Magic. I had magic. My power shoved the rock and pack out of the way, and I thought of the one spell that could save his life.

  "Orzu." I couldn't be sure exactly where he would
land, so I aimed the spell at a fifteen-foot length of ground. While I couldn't see a difference, the earth under him should be soft, almost like a trampoline.

  I heard soft sound above me and looked up in time to see a possum hurling in my direction. Possums were nocturnal. Since it was out during the day, it might have rabies. Screaming, I ducked and leaned away. The possum zipped past me, and I could see that its eyes were partly closed and its lips were pulled back to show its teeth.

  Sucking in a deep breath, I relaxed incrementally. It wasn't attacking me. The poor thing had gotten scared, played dead, and fallen off the ledge. Though that didn't dispel the possibility of rabies. It shouldn't have been out this time of day.

  I looked below me, and sure enough, Patrick was on the ground. Nothing appeared to be bent at odd angles, but from my position, it looked like he was out cold. I hoped he was all right, or as all right as anyone could be after a fall like that.

  The possum hit the ground and bounced a couple of times, ending up on solid ground about ten feet to my right. Thankfully it was well away from Patrick.

  My foot slipped, and I pulled it out of the hole and jammed it back in. The foothold gave way. My hands clenched, trying to keep me on the cliff face. The other foothold shed some dirt, and I tightened my grip as I tried to dig my foot back into the clay. My foot bounced off a rock, and I swayed to the side. Then I was falling, holding dirt in one hand and a clump of grass in the other.

  This wasn't one of my better days, I thought, as I fell back into the maze.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Ned

  "Ned? Ned, come here."

  That was Hayato's voice. I jumped to my feet, glanced at the still-sleeping shifter, and hurried to my desk. Hayato was glaring at me from the bowl of water. "Is the captive awake yet?"

  "No. He hasn't stirred." I kept hoping he would wake up because watching someone sleep was not particularly fun.

  "Have you tried to wake him?" Hayato scoffed.

  "Yes. Short of using more dust, he isn't going to wake up quickly."

  Hayato tapped his fingers. "As soon as he wakes, inform me and send a package of the goods to the witches."

  "Now?" I tried to keep the surprise off my face. "I thought you wanted the entire shipment at one time."

  The tempo of the tapping increased. "If your guests are who I believe them to be, I need to make arrangements, including getting some of your precious powder."

  "Of course." I could manage that, though I didn't like the idea of putting my creation in the hands of those witches. They hadn't been doing a good job lately, what with lost and seized shipments. "The usual spot?"

  "Yes."

  "Is there anything else I can do for you?" My words were polite and unconcerned, though I was neither of those things. None of these developments had been good news, and I dearly wished I could go back in time and simply get rid of the hikers who'd sent the police up here.

  Hayato nodded. "Inform me as soon as the captive wakes up."

  "I look forward to contacting you with good news." I wasn't sure if he heard the last words because his picture faded away.

  Taking a deep breath, I focused on the current issues. I needed to move the snails, get the product to the drop point, and watch the officer. While I could wait to do the first two until after my guest woke, I had a limited amount of daylight and needed to make the best use of it.

  I checked on the hostage, but he was still out. With a frustrated sigh, I went back to my workroom and grabbed two four-pound bags of powder and set them in a backpack. These bags of powder were the blend I'd sent Hayato before and claimed was pure indoor-snail dust. It should be enough to keep him happy. If it wasn't, I could always give him more, claim it hadn't been safe to move a large quantity with the police around.

  The doorknob turned, and a second later there was a quiet knock. "Ned, I can't open the door."

  "Coming." I hurried to remove the spell and bar from the door. Bella could be the answer to some of my problems. I opened the door and motioned her in, ignoring the slight trail of water she left behind. It wasn't her fault nixe always had damp clothing hems. It was simply how she was made.

  Bella leaned against a table, brushed her long golden hair over her shoulder, and batted her blue eyes at me. I still couldn't decide if the blue tint to her skin made her eyes brighter or if her eyes made her skin color more noticeable.

  "One of the officers is dead. I drowned him in the pond. Though he put up an awful fight, and the elf kept interfering." She made a face. "I'm afraid I lost track of the body."

  I waved off her concern. "No matter. We have one less policeman running around, and that is progress enough."

  She heaved a sigh. "And here I thought you would be annoyed that I lost the body."

  "While the body would've been nice, I need you to do something else for me." Though at some point I would have to explain to Hayato what happened to the body. He'd specifically requested that I keep the remains of any of the group if they did not survive the maze.

  She tipped her head back and smirked. "How may I best assist you?"

  Knowing her distaste for boring work, I tried to make it sound interesting. "Can you keep an eye on the officer? He's a very dangerous man, and I can't have him escaping. I would do it, but there are some other things I need to attend to, and there's someone I simply must speak to as soon as my guest is feeling talkative."

  Her eyes darted between my face and the bedroom. "You want me to watch someone sleep while you frolic?"

  I gave her a charming smile. "It's important."

  "No," she said tartly. "I could be out having fun with the guests who are occupying the maze."

  "Bella, my darling," I cajoled. "All you have to do is watch the officer and inform me when he wakes."

  "Fine, but what do I do if you get a call?" She glanced at the bowl of water.

  I held back a sigh. "Ignore it. I'll deal with it when I return. Right now I need to tend to the snails, and I can't do that if I'm here."

  "Yes, yes." She rolled her eyes. "They're important."

  I pulled her against me. "You're important to me too."

  Bella smiled up at me. "Am I?"

  Ignoring the damp sleeves, I set her arms over my shoulders. "Yes, and I'll show you just how important when we're finish with this little mess."

  She giggled and pulled back. "Then you should hurry."

  Nodding, I motioned her toward the bedroom. When the door closed behind her, I picked up a backpack and hurried out the front.

  While the snails did need my attention, they were farther down on my list. First I had to get the powder to the drop point. I hurried into the woods, making sure to walk in a different place than I had last time. The cabin was one place I didn't want to create a path to, which meant I had to weave my way through the trees and dodge deadfall.

  My destination wasn't terribly far away, but it was going to take some time to get there. For the entire walk I kept an eye out for anything strange, but I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. After I'd walked for nearly an hour, the trees ended abruptly.

  I knelt down and took the bags of powder out of my backpack. Reaching inside a hollowed-out tree, I retrieved a zippered bag. The bags of powder went inside. I still wasn't sure exactly what the witches had done to the bags, but it was the only way to ensure that my deliveries would get to them unharmed.

  I carefully approached the edge of the trees, knowing the hill dropped away and left only exposed rock. When I was within feet of the drop-off, I tossed the bag into the air and watched it fall. I didn't know what those witches were doing with the powder, but I knew they were where my money and supplies came from. Though I did need to talk to Hayato before I handed over the large shipment—some of the magical items supplied by the witches were failing, and I wouldn't tolerate inferior goods.

  Taking a deep breath, I grabbed the backpack and headed out. I still needed to evaluate a new location for the snails and get back to my captive. Bella need
ed to return to the maze, and I had to get the officer talking. If he didn't wake soon, I would force the issue. Hayato wanted to talk to him, and I would make sure that happened.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Elron

  I capped the canteen. There had to be a way to reach these rhododendrons. They were plants. I was an elf, one who typically had a good relationship with flora. Reaching out, I tried to coax them into a conversation. I inquired as to how they were, if they liked where they were planted.

  Nothing.

  I repeated the questions in different ways, with and without magic. Time after time they ignored me.

  Shaking my head, I gave up. Ned, or someone working with him, had tampered with these plants. I surveyed the rhododendrons around me. That was a massive undertaking, even for an elf. How long had it taken to change the nature of all these plants?

  If I were to do such a thing, which was violation of these rhododendrons' basic nature and ability to integrate into their natural habitat, I would either have to start with them as seedlings in an area permeated by my magic and begin the changes when they sprouted, or I would need to visit each adult plant individually and work them through the changes. Either way, it was a sizable task, especially when coupled with the scope and design of this maze. It should have taken years to complete, but the first report of unusual activity had come only a day ago. Even in this area there were enough hikers that it would have been discovered long ago unless it had only recently shown up.

  That was a possibility that I did not want to seriously entertain. Anyone with that much spare power was a person that Michelle and Patrick were not going to be able to subdue, at least not easily. From what I knew of Michelle's ability, she would need supplies that were back at the lodge to deal with this mess.

  Taking another look at the rhododendrons, I had to admit that it was possible that I had been moved a great distance and was no longer in the part of Cohutta we had started in. I had no way to know how long I had been unconscious or how far I might have traveled during that time.