A Witch's Rite Read online

  Location aside, there was one connection that was starting to make sense. The plant in my office was exactly like these rhododendrons and had magic I had never seen before. When we had found the area where the snails were killed, Michelle had said there was strange magic. There was a good chance the two were connected. It was a shame I would need to find Michelle before the theory could be tested.

  All of this thinking was getting me nowhere, so I returned the container of nuts to my backpack, took another drink from my canteen, and stood up. Shouldering the pack, I checked my surroundings. This corridor looked much like the rest.

  As I started forward, I began to question how large the maze really was. It could be much smaller than it seemed if it was playing tricks on my mind. If that was the case, the walls could be moving and I could be walking in circles.

  I scuffed an arrow in the dirt. A mark in the dirt was easily erased, so I broke a twig on the bush. The branch cracked easily, which puzzled me. If there was magic in these things and Michelle's power hadn't been able to get through them, how was I able to damage one so easily?

  Testing out a theory, I backed away from the wall. A moment later the area blurred, and the branch I had broken was whole again. Looking at the ground, I saw that my arrow was still there. I tried to ask the rhododendron how it had healed the broken limb, but as usual it would not answer my questions.

  I had felt the wood in my hands. I had felt it bend and snap. How had it returned to an undamaged state?

  That question had one answer, and I did not like it. Ned, or a fellow of his, was experimenting with magic that was not natural. Perhaps they had infused the rhododendrons with extraordinary abilities, or they could be clouding my mind, but either way, it seemed unlikely that I would be able to track my path through the maze.

  With a sigh, I started walking. I had to find Michelle. Together we might be able to do what neither of us had been able to manage while working alone. That was assuming she was still alive. Considering how easily Wells had been killed, I was worried that something had happened to her. Unless the maze was truly immense, I should have seen some sign of her by now.

  When I came to another intersection, I selected the left path. If my sense of direction could be relied upon, which was a legitimate question in these circumstances, going in that direction would take me closer to the center of the maze. Perhaps I would even manage to find my way into Michelle's half of the maze.

  I rounded a switchback and stopped. There was a cow lying in the path. Due to the horns, its head was at a sharp angle, but that was not the most concerning thing. It had a plastic sheen, and it appeared as though blood was dripping from its neck.

  Twisting my wrist, I summoned my sword before carefully approaching the cow. With what had happened at the pond, I did not trust this to be as it appeared. Unsavory things were afoot in the maze, and I had no intention of falling victim to one of them.

  Ready to run, I poked the bull with my sword. It made a hollow thud, and the tip gouged a chuck of plastic out of the body. It did not move.

  I took a couple of steps back. This was out of place. A plastic cow did not belong out here, especially not one that looked as if it was bleeding. Well, before I could make any more decisions about its sun-damaged form, I needed to get a closer look at the blood.

  Treading softly, I navigated around the bull, careful to avoid touching it with my feet. It still did not move. Kneeling next to its neck, which was gaping open to reveal white plastic and a hollow core, I touched my fingers to the blood. It was warm, wet, and thick. I lifted it to my nose. It was real blood.

  Rubbing my hands against the grass, I quickly put some distance between the bull and myself. That was strange, even for this place. How would this cow have gotten here? How would it have come to be in this condition? This was not a thing of nature or magic but a product of humans.

  I looked around, trying to determine if there was anything else in the area that should concern me. After all, a sight like this could be a trap. It would be an excellent distraction, giving another attack a better chance of succeeding.

  When I returned my attention to the bull, the blood was gone. Not only that, but the slice in its neck had vanished. Only my fingers, which were still smudged with the blood that had been on the ground, showed any sign of what had been there.

  Tightening my grip on my sword, I backed up. The bull blinked and surged to its feet. It swung its head back and forth before focusing on me.

  I held out my empty hand and spoke softly. "I do not wish to hurt you. I did not put you in this place."

  The bull snorted.

  "Please, leave me in peace. I simply wish to find my friends."

  The bull lowered its head and charged.

  I turned and sprinted for the next part of the maze. There was a chance it was bound to a particular area and I would move out of range, or it could become trapped in the hedge. Either would work, as I did not know how to fight a plastic bull.

  With each thundering step, the bull was gaining on me. I could see a turn ahead, one that I should be able to navigate more easily than a bull. That was my goal. I had to get there.

  The pack bounced, and I considered dropping it. While that might not slow down the bull, it would let me run more quickly. However, if I was going to be trapped in this place overnight or longer, the pack contained things I needed.

  Glancing back, I saw horns and flared nostrils far too close for my comfort. I looked back at the turn, but it wasn't there. The hall I had planned on turning into was gone. There was nowhere for me to go. I would have to fight the bull.

  Dismissing the sword, I shed my pack. I heard a grunt, and the rhythm of hoofbeats changed. It sounded like the bull had tripped over the pack. Summoning my sword, I turned and got ready to do as much damage as I could.

  The bull had kicked the pack to the side of the corridor and resumed his charge. Now that I was looking at him like he was my adversary, I noticed the plastic horns came to a point. While I doubted they were as deadly as the real thing, they were more than capable of killing me.

  When it was within steps of me, I pivoted, my sword slicing through the air. One horn separated from its body. It squealed as if in pain, but I paid it no mind. This creature was not real. I would not be moved by its pain when it stood between my Michelle and me. I didn't have much time, so I quickly moved back, putting more distance between the two of us.

  It got tangled in the rhododendron as it spun. The bull was simply too long to be able to turn comfortably. While it rearranged itself, I reevaluated my tactics. It was not enough to wound it. I needed to permanently disable the creature.

  It pawed the ground.

  I moved to the center of the corridor, giving myself as much room to dodge as I could, given the situation.

  The bull thundered toward me. I could see its head tilt, the creature clearly expecting me to dodge in the same direction I had before. Instead, I quickly pivoted around its other side, dropping my sword low and catching its leg.

  With a moan, it crashed onto its chest. The bull's other foreleg twisted under it, and its hind end kept traveling forward, flipping it over. The leg I had sliced had folded back and was hanging on by a narrow strip of plastic. There was not a drop of blood in sight.

  The bull thrashed and moaned again. I took careful steps, watching to see if it would somehow repair itself. It continued to thrash and make pained noises as I approached. Watching the animal closely, I raised my sword.

  "I am sorry. I had no wish to do this."

  The head separated cleanly from the body. With that, it stopped moving. I leaned against the hedge, taking deep breaths. I thought about dismissing the sword but decided to be cautious. Moving to examine my pack, I kept one eye on the bull. My pack was in surprisingly good shape, and I put it on after vanishing my sword.

  After resummoning my sword, I examined my adversary again. I did not trust the bull to stay dead, not even in two pieces. Especially since it had yet to produc
e any blood. I was increasingly convinced that its initial appearance had been some type of trick designed to lure me in close so it could kill me. Only magic could allow it to do something like that, which in a different situation might have been suspicious, but there seemed to be plenty of magic at work in this area. What was a little more to create a killer plastic bull?

  Chapter Seventeen

  Michelle

  I woke up with the sun in my eyes. My body was a little achier than it had been, but the spell had saved me from more serious damage. As I rose onto my elbows, the ground squished under me. I'd need to return the ground to its normal state once I got my bearings.

  Patrick was to my left and still out of it. When he got knocked unconscious, he sure stayed that way. Looking around, I didn't see the possum. Hopefully it hadn't been badly hurt and had scooted off to find a new place to live. That was one surprise I didn't want to experience again. Giving up on the critter, I crawled over to Patrick, the earth giving under my hands and knees. There was a small abrasion on his forehead and little blood, but it really didn't look bad.

  "Wake up." When he didn't move, I pulled my pack over. I didn't feel like putting much effort into waking him, so I opened a canteen and filled my palm with water and dumped the handful of water on his face.

  Patrick jerked sideways, wiping his face. He glared at me. "Why?"

  "You're hard to wake up." With the way he was moving, I figured he was fine.

  "So you wasted water?"

  "It was a maybe two ounces. How's your head?"

  "Not too bad. I feel fine, maybe a small scrape." He patted the side of this face.

  "It's a little swollen but not much. I'm worried that you got a concussion." Digging around in my pack, I tossed him a minor healing charm. "This should help with the damage."

  "Thanks." He activated it and stuck it in his shirt pocket. "How long was I out? What happened?"

  "To your first question, too long." I motioned in an upward direction. The sun was much lower in the sky than it had been when we made our escape attempt. When I considered how long it had taken us to hike up here, we didn't have much time to escape the maze, find Elron and Wells, and rescue Gudger if we wanted to get out of here before dark.

  The more I thought about it, the more it seemed as though we would be in here overnight. I still wasn't sure how to get out of the maze, and it had been hours since we'd spoken to Elron and Wells. They could be miles away by now.

  "The rest is a bit of a story." I told him about the possum and how it was responsible for both of our falls.

  "Where's the possum?" Patrick asked, glancing around.

  "It was gone when I woke up."

  "Did it bite you?"

  "No."

  "Good. It's rare for them to be out in the middle of the day. It might have rabies."

  "The thought had crossed my mind. It wasn't foaming and didn't have contact with us, so I don't think we should worry about it too much."

  "Agreed." Patrick grabbed his pack and pulled out a sandwich. "What do you think about a food break?"

  My stomach rumbled. Laughing, I said, "Well, I think that settles it."

  The conversation halted while we munched on our food.

  "Does the series of events on the hill bother you?" I asked.

  Patrick looked at me, mouth full of food, and shrugged.

  "No, think about it. What are the odds that there would be a possum there? It's basically a cliff. How did it even get there? Plus it caused both of us to fall but had vanished by the time we woke up. That's a little odd too. I mean, we were out for a while, but once they start playing dead, they can be frozen for up to four hours."

  "And as little as forty minutes."

  "Fine, but how did it get there? There's no path. Other than a couple of narrow ledges, there's nowhere for it to walk. It's not a goat. It needs something to walk on."

  "All right, it's weird, but what's your point?"

  I sighed. "Since we found that first trap, everything has been odd. Ned, the snails, Gudger being taken, and this maze. I feel like I'm missing things."

  "I'm with you, but you said you didn't detect any spells on us. I've looked. I can't find any. When I search for active magic around us, I can't find anything. This whole area feels a lot like it did back at the stream, but we never did figure out what was going on there."

  "There was some type of magic there." I closed my eyes and let my power explore the area. "There are the tiniest traces of the same stuff, but mostly I feel like there's a fog around here. There's something going on, but I can't identify it."

  "I don't know what to tell you."

  "Me either." I capped my canteen and looked around. "We should keep moving. Sitting here isn't accomplishing anything, and we need to get Gudger back."

  After a short discussion, we took turns going around the corner to use the bathroom. We wouldn't be going back that way, so it seemed like the best spot. I finished my turn, even more grateful than before for Elron's overpacking. Thanks to him, I had hand sanitizer. Considering the circumstances, this was the good life. While Patrick was using our makeshift bathroom, I solidified the ground.

  We headed out, the cliff continuing to our right. A little bit down the corridor, I found that we were staying close to the hedge. It wasn't a conscious decision. I couldn't speak for Patrick, but I didn't have any good feelings about the cliff.

  I kept my eyes to the rhododendrons. There were some odd shadows up ahead, and I thought there might be two openings. If I was right, we'd have to choose between them. At this point I didn't have any idea which path would be the best. I'd picked most of the turns so far, and that hadn't been particularly helpful. Maybe I could talk Patrick into picking where we went next.

  The ground trembled and started moving under my feet. Tiny sections were rising up with others moving down, almost like a wave was traveling through the earth. Patrick and I ran forward, trying to get to an area that wasn't moving. As soon as we were on stable ground, Patrick stopped to look back at me. I grabbed his arm and pulled him farther away from the rippling dirt. I didn't need to look back to know that the earth moving was bad.

  "Michelle, stop. The rhododendrons." Patrick yanked his arm away.

  I turned around. Part of the hedge had swung open, much like French doors. It looked like the plants had moved, roots and all, which was why I'd felt the ground lifting. The logic didn't bring me much comfort. We'd been in the maze for hours, and that was the first time we'd seen it move.

  "Maybe we should go through the doors," I mused. My chest felt like there was a weight against it again. If we got out of here alive, I'd worry about my chest problems. "Or maybe we should run."

  "It just moved. Nothing bad has happened."

  "Nothing bad has happened yet," I corrected.

  Though strictly speaking, that wasn't true, I thought as I eyed the opening. Between being spelled, separated from Elron and Wells, Gudger's abduction, and falling off a cliff, bad things had definitely happened.

  The gap in the hedge was still empty. If it stayed like that much longer, we would have to decide exactly what we wanted to do: investigate or find a different path.

  "I think we should take a look," Patrick said. "It's the first true interaction we've had so far. That has to mean something."

  "Past experience has told me that interaction is bad."

  "That's not always true."

  "Name a case where strange things deciding to be 'interactive' was good."

  He opened his mouth and closed it. A moment later, he started to speak, but only a hiss of sound escaped.

  "That's what I thought."

  "You've never had odd magical things turn out to be good?"

  "By the time y'all call me, it's past that point."

  I heard a rumble filled by the sputtering put-put of an engine. A cold lump of dread landed in my gut. If I were a lucky person, that would be the sound of Elron and Wells riding to our rescue. Given my track record, that was much more li
kely to be the herald of bad things.

  "What would a car be doing out here?" Patrick asked.

  Shrugging, I moved on to the important point. "How are you feeling? Are you able to run?"

  He groaned. "I'll manage."

  "Sorry." I wasn't really sure what I was apologizing for, but I said it anyway.

  "Not your fault."

  The sound got closer. I tightened the strap on my backpack and summoned my wand. I'd try a spell first, but if that didn't work, there would only be one good option.

  A rusted green grill rolled into view. That sound, with that nose, could only mean one thing—an old tractor. There was a tiny part of me that still wanted to believe that could be good for us, but the rest of me knew better.

  The tractor chugged out of the gap—narrow tires, an angular nose, and an exposed cab with one of those metal seats. Rust spots had eaten away at some of the paint, but that damage wasn't changing its performance.

  Under other circumstances I'd say it was odd to see a 1930s tractor way out here. Today that part didn't even register. It was functional, which would've been odd enough, but it was also moving around without a driver. Plus it had a post and crosspiece attached to the nose. The vertical post ended slightly above where a driver's head would be, with the crosspiece about a foot and a half below that. As odd as that was, I knew why it was there. The tractor was set up to clear spiderwebs before the spiders had a chance to attack the poor driver. I quickly probed for magic, and I found plenty, but like the magic on the hedges, it wasn't the type of magic I was used to encountering.

  The hedges near the tractor blurred, or maybe it was my eyes. Blinking rapidly to bring things into focus, I had to work to keep my mouth closed. The opening the tractor had come through? Gone. And the corridor behind the tractor was now a dead end. Now we couldn't get back to any of the places we'd been before, including the area where we'd first awakened.