Nature of the Witch Page 16
Kiera wasn't the only one moving silently through the darkness. He had no need of spells. He had learnt to be as one with the night many moons ago, at a time when the earth was much younger. He didn't need to see Kiera to know where she walked, he could smell her. He smelt the blood in her veins and his body shuddered in anticipation. It had been so long since he had tasted the sweetness of a witch's blood, there was nothing like it. He knew he should wait. It wasn't time yet. After all, she wasn't fully trained, so there would be no fight, and the battle was half the fun. But the waiting was getting harder, especially at times such as this when she was so close.
Witches thought they could harness nature when, in reality, he was nature. He and his kind were the embodiment of nature, in all its savagery. There were none more powerful. He had proved that before and he would prove it again.
The more he thought about the witch the more he liked his plan. Tonight was the night, there would be no more waiting. He would rip off the witches head to show the Gwithiaz before he slaughtered them too. He could almost taste the blood on his lips and he quickened his pace.
Jack flicked on the light and looked at his watch. He frowned as he thought about Kiera. He couldn't shake the feeling that she had been hiding something earlier. He rose from his bed and pulled on a T-shirt. He stepped out on to the landing and listened. The only sound was the wind outside. He didn't switch on any lights but made his way quietly across to Kiera's room. When he came to Kiera's door he paused and listened again. Then he slowly pushed the door open.
He peered in and, once his eyes had adjusted to the darkness in the room, he looked down at the bed. Although he couldn't make out Kiera's features he saw the rise and fall of her breath under the duvet.
He smiled and felt reassured. Of course she was asleep, where else would she be? He turned and made his way back to his own room. He pulled the t-shirt over his head and climbed back into bed. He closed his eyes but sleep still wouldn't come. Despite everything he still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.
Although the walk had warmed her a little, Kiera entered the copse of trees and was glad of the shelter from the wind. The trees looked sinister in the dark, bereft of leaves and twisting upwards into the black sky above.
The oak tree she had spotted stood proudly in the middle. The other trees gathered around and seemed to bend in almost reverently towards it. Its girth was larger than all the other trees and it loomed higher; in fact Kiera couldn't see its top, it disappeared into the black night as if it led directly into the sky.
She spent a moment feeling the gnarled trunk of the tree beneath her fingers. Then she took a deep breath.
'You will find it at the top of the most ancient trees.' She jumped up and grabbed hold of the lowest branch. Then she hoisted herself up and began to climb.
It was a difficult climb. There wasn't an obvious path up the tree. Sometimes it seemed as though the next branch was too far away, but she was nothing if not determined, and slowly she was able to pull herself upwards. The trunk rubbed and cut at her skin and was made more painful by the cold, but eventually she neared the top.
She paused to catch her breath, careful not to look down for fear the sight would knock her off balance.
She was checking a graze on the palm of her right hand when a voice suddenly croaked out through the darkness and she almost toppled off the branch in shock.
“As a witch you should know that it's polite to ask first.”
She froze and looked all around but saw no-one. Who else would be spending their New Year at the top of an oak tree? For a moment she just sat and waited and listened, but the only sounds were the wind, sounding strangely distant as it billowed between the trees, her own panting breaths and her heart crashing in her chest. When all else seemed normal she shook her head. She must have imagined it. She just needed to get the flowers and get home.
She looked closer at the tree. She couldn't be sure whether it was her eyes playing tricks on her but it looked like a face was etched into the bark. It appeared to form a wrinkled nose and mouth. She edged even closer when suddenly two large eyes opened and stared straight back at her.
She screamed and in her frenzied attempt to move away she lost her grip on the branch and fell. She clawed desperately at the air trying to grab hold of something when with a loud creaking noise the tree swooped down with one of its branches and took hold of her as though its branch was a giant claw. For a strange moment she dangled upside down and had an odd view of an upside down face peering at her from out of the tree trunk, a bemused expression on its gnarled features. Then she felt herself being placed carefully back on to a branch.
She wrapped her arms and legs around the branch. Her heart was hammering so loudly in her chest that for a few seconds she didn't dare to move in case she was having a heart attack. When she didn't keel over she unpeeled herself and looked up. The face in the tree had transformed into an entire person, who was perched next to her staring down with a kindness that was at least a little reassuring.
The old man's skin was as brown and wrinkled as the trunk of the tree and he wore a long robe. Kiera was captivated by his dark eyes which reminded her of an owl, they twinkled with a spirit that seemed to contradict his twisted form. His hair, although long, clung to his head and in fact wasn't hair at all but seemed to be made from twigs.
They sat in silence whilst he watched Kiera and whilst Kiera wondered whether perhaps she had fallen from the tree without realising, and was now suffering some sort of concussion. Eventually the old man spoke to her in a slow, hoarse voice, “I would say again that as a witch you should know to ask before you start climbing a tree, but I can tell now that you're still new at this.”
He smiled pleasantly, “I had heard whispers of a witch in these parts. It's been many years since one came to visit me.”
With shaky hands Kiera pushed herself upright until she was sitting next to him. She cleared her throat and with a steady a voice as she could muster asked, “Who are you? What are you?”
The old man smiled patiently, “Why, I am a tree spirit so in essence I am the tree itself.”
Kiera nodded and racked her brains. She had read something about tree spirits in one of her books. It had talked about tree spirits being the 'living soul' of a tree. However, she hadn't imagined that by 'living' it had actually meant 'living.' She had thought it was just being poetic.
She searched for something remotely intelligent to say. After all, she was a witch so she was supposed to know what to do in these types of situations. She cleared her throat again, “I'm sorry that I didn't ask you first.” It was the best she could do.
He nodded and seemed pleased with her apology. Then he looked past her, out into the trees and frowned. He said softly, “You know you're being hunted don't you?”
Kiera was startled and followed his gaze into the darkness around her. Apart from the shadowy figures of the other trees, she couldn't see anything. Stories about the Kasadow sprang unwelcome to her mind. She had been assured that they were all dead. Then again, at one time all the witches and Gwithiaz were dead so surely it was feasible that they too might return?
“Hunted by what?” She asked fearfully.
The old man didn't answer but continued to stare out as though he could see something that she couldn't. Then he turned his deep gaze back to her, “Why are you here?”
He glanced up towards the top of the tree and shook his head as though he already knew the answer to his question, “Do you know what my job is?”
Kiera was still distracted by the idea that she was being hunted but she thought back to her teachings, “Erm…you look after the tree?”
“I am the guardian. Not just for this tree. I look after all these trees,” he nodded at their surroundings, “I have stood here for more years than I care to remember. At one time there were many more of us but over the years we were cut back and this is what remains of my family.”
Kiera smiled, it seemed strange to th
ink of the trees as a family.
“Some of the young whipper-snappers like to think they know everything but wisdom comes with age,” he said, “and age is something I most certainly have. I watch their spirits dashing around. That was me once, a long time ago, but now I've realised that life is better when you take things slow. It allows you to enjoy it more”
He emphasised his point by speaking his words slowly and carefully. She nodded in agreement, deciding it was probably best not to disagree with a talking tree-man.
“They look to me to protect them,” he continued, “and I do. I protect them from the very thing you have come to collect this night.”
“Grim seed?” Kiera asked him quietly. “My book seems to think it's a little dangerous.”
“More than a little,” the old man said sternly, “why do you think the flower can only be found at the top of the most ancient trees?”
He continued before Kiera could attempt an answer, “If left to grow unchecked it causes devastation, entire forests have been destroyed by the plant.”
“How does it do that?” Kiera asked perplexed “Some sort of disease? I've heard of diseases that spread between trees.”
“A disease of sorts,” the old man sighed, “it is a flower that only takes. It steals souls and leaves darkness behind.”
Kiera shook her head, “I don't understand, how can a flower steal souls?”
“It drains them from any living thing nearby leaving black holes in its place. It has caused the death of many a tree spirit, and once the spirit dies so does the tree,” he said sadly, “only trees such as myself can contain and control the flower's destructive power. I keep it tucked away at the top of my branches and I make sure it doesn't hurt my family. Thousands of years ago many forests fell victim to it. This is how we stop that happening again.”
Kiera was silent for a moment whilst she mulled over his words, “I don't understand; you say it's a flower that only takes and yet it will give me something back.”
“But at what cost?” The man moved closer. “The Grim seed is only used in dark magic. Once you perform a spell with this flower it will chip away at your soul and leave only darkness behind. You want the seed so that you can bring back a loved one?”
“My dad,” Kiera said softly.
“If he knew the consequences of this spell, the effect it will have on your soul, would he want you to do it?”
Kiera knew the answer. Her dad loved her. She wiped away a stray tear that fell suddenly, taking her by surprise and sniffed, “It's just that if it were the other way round I think he would do it for me. It was always just the two of us you know, and it seems so unfair that…”she paused and quickly wiped away another tear “…so unfair that he was taken like that. He should have had more life to live and…and I shouldn't be here on my own.”
She felt the rough skin of the man's hand as he gently wiped a tear from her cheek. More tears escaped but it felt good to unburden herself to someone. She had never talked about her dad, not to anyone, “It still seems so strange that he's dead, most of the time I can't quite believe it. He was always there for me my whole life. And I took him for granted. I never really got the chance to thank him for everything he did for me, to say sorry for times when I made him angry or to make sure he knew how much I loved him. I can see him so clearly in my mind, as though I saw him only yesterday. But it wasn't yesterday. It was almost a year ago and if I don't do something I'll never see him again…”
She stopped speaking and bit her lip in an attempt to stem the sudden surge of grief she felt. A few more tears escaped and she dabbed at her eyes.
“I can bring him back and give him life again, “she explained, “it seems wrong not do it when I have that power now.”
“Just because you have the power to do something, doesn't mean you should,” he said quietly, “you talk about bringing him back but why do you feel that he's gone?”
Kiera frowned in confusion before rolling her eyes, “Are you going to tell me that he's watching over me always? Or that I carry him in my heart? It doesn't help. It's not the same. The heart is just an organ that pumps blood around the body.”
“Not your heart,” he gave her a sad smile, “when you truly love someone do you think it's possible that they would leave this world without making some sort of physiological impact? But not in your heart,” he leaned in closer and said to her earnestly, “in your very soul. That is where you remember him and all he taught you, that is where you carry him always. The very place you will destroy if you do this spell.”
Kiera sat quietly. If she didn't pick the flower now then the opportunity would be gone for another year. On the other hand, if she picked the flower she was risking her soul. She wrung her hands, “If I pick the flower then it will destroy my soul?”
The old man shook his head, “No, not when you pick the flower but eventually it would and it could hurt those around you. Andusing it in magicwill release its destructive power almost instantly and its darkness is magnified. You're soul would blacken soon after.”
“What does a darkened soul look like?” Kiera asked. “What does it mean?”
“It changes who you are, the very things your dad would've loved about you. A witch who embarks on a path of dark magic only gets darker. Many a witch strayed from their true path because of spells such as this.”
“What if I don't let it change me?” Kiera asked hopefully. “What if I don't let my soul go black? I'll stay true to who I am.”
The old man shook his head. Kiera felt despondent, “So you don't want me to pick the flower?”
The tree-spirit studied her carefully before answering, “You should not pick the flower.” Kiera sighedbut then he continued speaking, “However, if you feel determined then I will agree not to stop you. But only if you promise that you will think over what I've said before you use it.”
“Yes I'll…” Kiera began.
“AND…” the man interrupted her “…I have another condition. You must do something for me.”
Kiera raised an eyebrow. What on earth would a tree spirit possibly want from her? But before he even spoke she knew that she would agree to it.
Chapter Twenty Three
He sniffed at the air. The witch was out of sight up one of the trees. Something moved out of the corner of his eye. Tree spirits. The copse was rife with them. He glimpsed them moving in the darkness. They didn't bother him. They were harmless.
He sniffed the air again. However, there was something else hidden amongst the trees. Something more sinister. He could smell it. He paused. He could still take the witch tonight; his plan didn't have to change. Whatever was hidden would be no match for him.
On the other hand perhaps he should wait and see what she was up to. Maybe he'd let the witch live a little longer. He turned back and slowly moved away.
“What do you know of fay?” The old man asked.
“I don't know who she is,” Kiera replied confused.
A frown appeared on the man's ancient features, “Fairies.”
“Oh, fay, faeries, erm…” Kiera's brow furrowed. Childhood images of little people with wings sprinkling magic fairy dust, and possibly collecting teeth, sprang to her mind. She remembered reading that real faeries were more mischievous but she couldn't recall exactly what the book had said, “I'm not sure.”
“I'm still learning,” she added defensively, “I've only been doing this for about six months and I have thousands of years' worth of spells and history to catch up with.”
“There are different types of faerie,” he explained to her, “you don't often see them in this world…”
“You don't often see tree spirits either,” Kiera pointed out with a smile.
“You may not see us but we're there,” the old man smiled back, “fay on the other hand tend to reside in the faerie world. They visit us occasionally but they are rare. They can be summoned, although you should always be careful about making deals with faeries.”
Kiera nodded
and wondered why he was telling her this.
The man paused and then he spoke in a whisper, “There are faeries here now. They have attached themselves to my family and I want you to rid us of them.”
“Okaaay,” Kiera said slowly, “why do you want rid of them and how on earth do I do that?”
“Do you know the difference between tree-spirits and faeries?” He asked her.
Kiera thought for a moment, “You are attached to the tree, guardians of that tree. Faeries are…” She stuttered. She definitely needed to crack on with her studies when she got home.
“Tree spirits are interlinked with their trees. We cannot venture far from our tree, we are bound to it and our fates are the same, for one cannot survive without the other. Faeries are magical beings that may go wherever they please. Sometimes they can attach themselves, either to a living thing in nature or even to someone's home. At one time their kind resided free in our world but they used their magic destructively, and people turned to witches to help with the fairy problem. Some of the witches found a way to create the fay realm and banish the faerie folk to live there. The spell worked well. The fay liked their new world and mankind was not plagued by their mischievous ways. However, they weren't able to seal the door between the two worlds. Sometimes they still pass through and cause trouble.”
“How are they causing you trouble?” Kiera asked him, glancing around furtively in case Tinkerbell should jump out at her at any moment.
“They care only for themselves,” the tree-spirit said bitterly, “trees have very magical properties. The fairies are drawing our energy to make their spells. They don't care that it weakens us, they will sap at our strength until we all die and then just move on to somewhere else. They grow more confident too. I fear for people's safety nearby. Faeries can be very cruel.”
“What do I need to do?” Kiera bit her lip, it sounded like she would need magic that was beyond her capabilities. She couldn't remember reading anything about ridding a place of a faerie problem.