“I think my theory was off,” I said. “We have to skedaddle. Like ske-really-fucking-fast-daddle. Come on.”
“Hey, he said wait—” A burly looking guy from the back took a step towards us.
Abigail drew her gun and pointed it at him.
There slowly building tension skyrocketed stretched taut, about to snap at any moment. I saw the mind fog behind their eyes clear. Greg’s father frowned, then narrowed his eyes on me. His mom did the same. They recognized me, but just weren’t able to put a name to the face yet.
“Shin?” Abigail said, using my middle name. “I believe you said we have to leave?”
“They’re not from her at all. They’re thieves,” one of the women whispered.
I inched towards the basement stairs leading above, keeping them in my view. I heard lumbering paw-claw-feet skip up the stairs. Hidebehind, most likely.
“Who are you?”
“If I were you,” I said very slowly. “I’d forget everything that happened here. The branches. This… master of yours.”
“People died because of you,” Greg’s mom hissed.
“Me?” I almost laughed.
Was this real life? Was she really blaming us for their dead friends? Just how did that logic work?
“I have cameras,” Gregory said, his voice trembling. “It got all your faces. I’m going to call the cops. You kids look young. You don’t want that.”
A few days ago, his words might have scared me. Not anymore.
“Your lawyer can call my lawyer,” I said. Mina and Seoul pushed past me, going up the stairs.
“Go, Jain,” Abigail said, her gun still pointed in their direction.
“They’re practitioners. Like her,” another person said, awe creeping in their voice. “I think… do you see that? The cat? The fish?”
Without answering, I limped up the stairs, leaning on the walls for support. After taking a few steps, I saw Abigail come up after me, closing the door after her.
“Shit, they saw my face,” I muttered. “Do you think he’s really going to call the cops?”
“He can try,” Abigail said. “But it won’t play out the way he thinks it will. He’s already set foot in this side of the world. Its laws won’t apply to him.”
“Like culturally?”
“Yes,” Abigail answered, giving me a soft push up the stairs.
“And Karmically, as well, Practitioner,” Wol said.
I left it at that, deciding this was an issue I could tackle later.
It didn’t take long for us to reach the living room. The Lost Place was completely gone now. Expensive paintings, ornaments, statuettes; it was just another rich person’s living room.
“Come on,” I said and immediately headed towards what looked like the kitchen.
Mina stopped. “Hallow, the door is that way.”
“We’re leaving through the backdoor,” I said, not stopping.
The footsteps behind me told me that everyone was following.
Wol clambered up onto my backpack, forcing me to shift my balance. “Practitioner, I need to look at your wounds. It’s not… it’s affecting you in ways you do not understand. You only feel better. But you’re not actually better,” Wol said.
“I know it’s magic, but without it, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be walking right now,” I said. “And I need to be able to walk.”
“You’ve bound things.” Wol said, drifting off on a tangent. He peered behind us without actually looking. “Made pacts.”
Mina reached out with a hand towards my backpack. “Cute teddy bear.”
“Don’t,” I said. “It’ll give you nightmares.”
She snatched her hand away. “You bound it? The thing in the basement?”
“How else do you think I woke everyone up? And got these killer scars?” I said, then shook my head. “Less talking, more walking. We need to leave.”
We passed through the kitchen. One entire side of the kitchen was made of glass panels with a sliding door leading to the backyard. Finding it unlocked, we quickly got out of the house.
“Hwari, go check the front of the house and see if anyone or thing there,” I said.
‘Done,’ Hwari said and disappeared. She appeared a moment later. ‘Nothing there,” she said.
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
“Now what?” Mina asked.
“We need to get to the Hudson Witch,” I said. “Abigail, are you able to?”
She was already tapping away at a pager. She saw me looking and said, “Snipers.” Like that was supposed to explain things.
What the hell was up with magic, phones, and snipers? Was this just my life now?
“It’s waiting out front,” Abigail said after a moment.
We walked single file to the car, Abigail in the front and Mina bringing up the rear. I didn’t mean for myself to be protected by them like that, it just worked out that way. I waited while Abigail and Mina got in the car, so that I could have a moment to myself.
“Hidebehind,” I hissed in the air.
A growl answered me from somewhere near the fence of a neighbor.
“Are you able to keep up with a car?”
“Me cannot.”
“You know the forest where you started following those people?”
“Me do,” he growled.
“I’ll meet you there. Got it?”
There was a moment of hesitation. “Yes.”
“And once this is all over, I’m going to keep my promise to you and your brothers.”
“And me too?” chimed a voice somewhere next to me.
Tagalong.
“Crap, I didn’t even notice you were here. Want a ride?” I offered.
“I-I’ve been walking with you and y-your friends the whole time!” he said. “N-no. But I’ll find you! And your friends! I’ll j-just tag along with my brother.”
Hidebehind growled. “Good hunting, Shaman.”
“Have a nice adventure!”
Nodding, I shoved myself into the car with Wol and Hwari. Once I was in, the limousine started moving.
“Ok, now are you going to explain what’s happening?” Mina asked. “Because you’ve basically won the trial, but you’re acting scared and it’s making me nervous.”
“She. They said the master is a she,” I said.
Mina was the first to speak up. “I heard that too. But if the Wickerman was wearing a cloak, he could’ve changed his voice. Maybe the Egregoire spoke.”
“…Those people downstairs. They didn’t have familiars. Or staffs,” Abigail said from the other side.
Mina opened her mouth then closed it. The girl was thinking. “Are they supposed to?” She asked at last.
Abigail nodded. “It’s one of the first things the Wickerman promises them upon initiation.”
Mina frowned. “What does that mean?”
“It means I was wrong,” I said and felt goosebumps break out over my upper arm, and it wasn’t because of the cold. “Mina, when did your family find out about this trial?”
“A few months ago. Why does that matter?”
“Because thats when everyone else found out about this trial too,” I said, fighting the urge to bite my nails. Or scratch under my cast. Kick at the lumps of ice. Something. “Here’s what I think. They said a she. This woman has to have enough influence over society to get people jobs and connections. They also have to have to be powerful, or influential enough, to launch an attach on the Mother Tree. I’m also starting to think this whole thing was a plan months in the making. Anyone come to your mind yet?”
“Yeah, your mother.”
“Except she’s dead,” I snapped. “And she was dirt poor as far as I knew.
Wol shifted uncomfortably.
“The vampire spawn. Valstein.”
“She doesn’t strike me as the risk taking type,” I said. “Third time’s the charm, Mina.”
Mina bristled. “I’m not going to say it, Hallow.”
“Charlotte Valentine,” Abigail said immediately.
“No,” Mina shook her head. “I… you’re being crazy.”
“Is one of Charlotte Valentine’s practice Divination? Because her familiar was in a mirror. Mirror-creatures are often associated to things like scrying, seeing the truth, and divination,” I said, recalling my readings. “Also, aren’t the Valentines full of evocators? Who could potentially kill the Mother Tree?”
“It fits because you want it to fit,” Mina burst out. “Anyone else could have done those things. You’re naming a Society Practitioner just because she’s involved. Besides, if Charlotte was involved, then why isn’t Victor here already?”
I didn’t back down. “Because the house became a Lost Place. So they couldn’t scry it. The one thing Charlotte didn’t count on is that these people would be followed, then haunted. You can’t find Lost Places, unless you know the rules to get in, or you either accidentally stumble in.”
“Ok, fine. Explain how she’s been contacting them through all these months.”
“Someone’s working with her,” I said.
Mina snorted. “Who?”
“I didn’t think that far,” I admitted.
“It could’ve been anyone. The Wickerman comes to mind,” Abigail offered. “A board member of Seiryo Holdings. Anyone who has a grudge against the Hudson Witch, Jain. I think your theory makes sense.”
Mina whirled on Abigail. “Shut up. Shut your filthy mouth. You’re just saying that because your kind was abandoned, and you still hold a grudge. How dare you sugest that a Society Practitioner is responsible for this?”
Abigail glared at Mina. Her hand inched towards her other thigh, the one without the gun.
“Mina, what the fuck? That’s not—”
“Let them, Practitioner,” Wol stopped me from speaking in Abigail’s defence.
But Mina didn’t hold the stare down, turning to my instead. “Your whole theory is based on the fact that the dabbler said it was a she.”
“Look,” I said. “The Hudson Witch’s words weren’t just to find the killer. But it was to bring them to justice. And to bring them to justice, I need to know for sure who it is. Whether it’s the Wickerman or Charlotte or someone else. That’s why I’m heading back to the forest.”
“Why?”
“Because if it’s a member of the Table, I need to let the Hudson Witch know. I don’t think she had it in mind that Victor or I would have to do that. Or if it’s Charlotte, she needs to know that the trial is basically fixed.”
“But you’re guessing, Jain.”
“That’s also why we’re heading back to the forest,” I said. “Whoever stole the branches should be able to track them. Or question Greg’s parents and follow after us. The Lost Place is gone.”
“Jain Shin Hallow. You’re setting a trap,” Abigail said.
“Against the Valentines? The Wickerman?” Mina sounded excited.
“Less of a trap, and more of a hopeful theory that we all happen to meet the Hudson Witch at the same time.”
While we’d been talking, Wol had nudged me to shift positions. He lifted my shirt with a paw.
“Hey,” I protested.
“It’s not as deep as it looks,” Wol said. He glared at me with feline eyes. “Practitioner, you cannot accept help like this without considering the consequences.”
“I wasn’t really conscious,” I said. “Is it really that bad?”
“A lot of stories start out this way, Practitioner,” Wol said. “Humans accepting help from others who are not human. Each help, each favor, each exchange leads them down a path that’s less human than before. Many things can trace their roots back to being human, just making wrong choices.”
I looked to Mina.
“I personally would never accept help like that,” she said and shot a pointed look towards Abigail.
I looked down at the greenish-mulch lining my wound. Was what Wol was saying possible? That each time accepted a help like this that changed my body, was I becoming less human in the process? The idea seemed so far-fetched, but Wol and Mina agreeing on it did send a wave of worry through me.
“I’ll uh, wash it off when we get the chance. But right now, it’s the only thing keeping me going.”
“That’s exactly the problem,” Mina muttered.
“Let me see your back too,” Wol meowed. “Child, you are well-versed in these matters. Take a look for me.”
I turned around.
“Not deep. It’s just… long. Like it was done deliberately to cause you pain,” Abigail said.
Wol must’ve seen the worry on my face. “Do not worry too much, Practitioner. Many times, those choices and exchanges are done with intent to change, with both parties being aware of the consequences. Just… be wary of accepting too many help like this.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said, covering myself up again.
I looked out the window. The snow had stopped.
The only thing left to do was wait till we got to the forest.
Then this would all be over. One way or another.