Everwild (The Healer Series, #1) (11 page)

“Why didn’t you say so before?” Willow
whined.

“Didn’t seem necessary,” the Faker smiled.
“Now, if we’re done with the explanations, please follow me.”

Willow looked at Declan. He was brooding with
his arms crossed and a dark look on his face. They didn’t have a
choice but to follow the Faker, as he was already getting away from
them. Willow followed the Faker with Declan bringing up the rear.
She looked back at him a couple times, but he didn’t say a word.
She caught a glimpse of him holding his side, but then his eyes
darted to hers and she turned around quickly.

Something wasn’t settling with her about
Declan, so she decided to make small talk with the Faker. “What did
you say your name was?”

“I didn’t,” the Faker looked snidely back at
her and then flew forward, its wings slowly expanding and
contracting, buzzing softly like a fly.

“I bet it’s a lovely name,” Willow prompted.
Suddenly, the Faker flew forward so fast he was gone. He blended in
so well with the surroundings that he vanished right before her
eyes. Willow gasped in surprise and almost started chasing after
him when he appeared right beside her shoulder.

“Actually it’s not a very attractive name,”
the Faker said, making Willow jump again.

“Will you stop doing that?” She insisted. “I
thought you left us!”

“Duffleganger-Griply the Third at your
service,” the Faker said. “But mostly I’m called Duffy.”

“Duffy?” Willow said suppressing a laugh.
“What an odd name!”

“And I suppose being named after a tree and a
flower isn’t odd?” Duffy scolded her. Willow looked at him wide
eyed. “Shall I start calling you what your name literally is?
Tree-Flower? Or do you prefer the scientific name
Salicaceae
-Rosoideae
?
Either way doesn’t matter to me.”

She heard Declan snort behind her and Willow
huffed. “I’d rather be called just Willow.”

“Well, I’d rather you not laugh at my name,
just
Willow,” Duffy said faking hurt and sniffling. How he
did that without a nose, Willow couldn’t figure.

A long pause followed that conversation. They
continued walking well into the evening hours, and the wilderness
of the Everwild grew ever darker. Willow’s feet burned in agony and
she longed to stop and rest, but Duffy took them through narrow
paths that twisted and winded through the trees. The light died
under the cover of the leaves, and the temperature dramatically
decreased. Willow was still wearing the dark green t-shirt and
jeans Millicent gave her. The t-shirt was still stained with her
blood and had holes in it from where Old Man Willow attacked her.
When the wind blew, it went straight through the holes sending a
wave of chills on her skin. She felt exposed, and knew she could
put the spare shirt on that was in the backpack, but it wasn’t like
the shirt was entirely ruined. She would try to make it last, at
least through the night.

“Duffy,” Willow said contemplating on
something he said earlier, “What did you mean when you said you
could smell me from a mile away?”

Duffy flew left and right staggering as if
drunk. She then heard a soft snore coming from him. Was he
sleeping? “Duffy,” Willow said louder. “I know you’re not sleeping.
Please answer me.”

“Oh fine,” Duffy said and dropped back to fly
near her. “I suppose you won’t give up until I tell you, correct?”
Willow smiled and shrugged. Duffy smiled also, but his smile
stretched up his face and his sharp teeth made him look frightening
in the dark. It was like his smile wasn’t a real smile, but a
grimace. Willow rolled her eyes. Even his smile was a fake!

“Every magical creature has a particular
smell to them,” Duffy explained. “Werewolves smell like wet
dog-that’s a give in, vampires smell sweet to attract their prey,
ghouls smell like death, goblins smell like stinky feet. You get
the picture. As a witch, you smell like sulfur, almost like a
potion brewing or something. But you’re also a Healer. Very rare.
With that comes more than just witch stink. You smell
good
.
Like really good, I want to eat you delicious, yummy in my tummy,
honey mixed with flowers and sugar, and--”

“Okay, I get it,” Willow said stopping his
tangent. Being labeled as food items was highly upsetting to her
and she looked around paranoid.

“Word of warning, Healer,” Duffy said. “Be
careful. You’re like a natural attractant to everything, and
everything in the Everwild is not what you want to meet.”

A shiver cascaded down Willow’s spine. She
shrunk back towards Declan, a strong, silent presence at her side.
She looked around at the shadowy trees. What if something was
watching her now? What if something was coming for her? Would they
kill her? “What do they want me for?” she choked out.

“To heal them,” Duffy shrugged, “or for
some…a sweet snack,” he giggled and flew forward several feet,
muttering something about brainless witches and warlocks.

“Declan,” Willow shivered again and closed
her eyes briefly. Her voice came out shaky and insecure. “I’m
scared.”

Declan adjusted the backpack and nonchalantly
stepped closer to her. “I know,” he said. A soft hand came and
closed around hers and squeezed. His hand was warm and smooth and
held hers with an unfamiliar, but soothing comfort. Willow didn’t
pull away or scold him this time. She needed reassurance, even if
it was from Declan. They were in this together. He seemed to know
this when he looked down at her. “I’ll do everything I can to keep
you safe,” he said softly. Gazing into his dreamy hazel eyes, in
the quiet of the woods, with the promise of danger close, and
following a creature that could possibly lead them astray, Willow
believed him.

It was evening in the Everwild. The black
turned even blacker as the night droned on. The Everwild never
stayed lighted for long. Duffy was barely visible in front of
Willow, and she was beginning to think he was wearing them out on
purpose. It had been over a day since she had any sleep, and her
eyelids burned with exhaustion. She was incoherent from lack of
sleep and walked like a zombie. Her feet were so tender that
everything she stepped on felt like jagged knives cutting deep into
her skin.

“We have to stop,” Willow said finally. “I
can barely move.”

“Well that’s not good,” Duffy said parting
the small hedge in front of him. They came to an area so thick with
leaves and bushes that it was impossible to see past it. The tall
hedge stretched for miles in front of them.

“No, it’s not good at all. My feet hurt so
bad they may fall off! Is it possible to die of exhaustion?” Willow
complained.

“It’s possible,” Declan said gruffly beside
her. He was probably doing worse than she was, although he’d never
admit it. She kept checking on him from time to time and noticed
there was a large blood stain on his shirt. It was the same side he
was gripping earlier. The blood looked fresh, and Willow was
itching to heal him. He wouldn’t let her though. Stupid, stubborn
warlock.

“Not that I don’t care about your bodily
functions,” Duffy said looking back at them, “but I would think
you’d be more concerned about the group of ghouls down by the
riverbank than your current ailments.”

“What?” Willow hissed stepping closer to
Duffy. Declan stepped closer to her and gripped the hilt of his
sword. She parted the foliage in front of her and her eyes
instantly fixated on a small bonfire dancing in the darkness
several yards away. At least twenty ghouls were milling about the
fire swaying idly back and forth. Willow could only stare
dumbfounded at the monsters before her. They were all creepy gray
skinned, were varying heights, but they all had the same features.
Barely there strands of black hair sat atop their balding
corpse-like heads. Their skin was wrinkled and they wore loin
cloths around their bottom half. The rest of their bodies were
naked, having defined muscles with protruding blue veins.

The ghouls’ heads were much larger than any
human, and their all black eyes were sunk in the back of their
head, making their cheekbones stick out profoundly. They had a nose
like a mummy and big black lips that dripped dark colored saliva.
They were grotesque, and looked like they had just walked out of
the morgue after being dead for several centuries. But the
strangest thing was they didn’t touch the ground-they hovered over
it, almost floating in the air like ghosts. The fear it brought
Willow just by looking at them made her blood run cold. The ghouls
were unaware of the trio standing just a few feet away in the cover
of the trees, and she wanted to keep it that way. If they could
sense heartbeats, though, she would probably be dead about now,
because hers was quivering wildly in her chest.

Looking past the swaying ghouls, she spotted
the river. The dark, steady stream of water was nearly thirty feet
wide, endlessly winding and bending through the forest. There was
no rippling waves or rocks or boulders breaching the surface. The
river was as calm as flowing sap. No sound came from it. But Duffy
had kept his word. They made it to the river!

Turning to Willow and Declan, Duffy put a
small paw to his lips in a gesture to be quiet. He turned around
and went the opposite direction of the river. They walked for a
ways until Duffy felt it was safe to talk.

“I must leave you now,” he said, his neon
green eyes burned into her, “The river is that way,” he pointed to
his left, “follow it north. However, by my reckoning, you’re still
a long way from the crystal cave. I’d keep going for a while if I
were you, though. You do not want to run into those ghouls. Hungry
little devils they are. They eat any and everything they get their
grimy hands on. I just hope they didn’t catch your scent. But
they’re thick-headed and may not know what to smell for. I tell you
again. Be careful. I’m sure Carmela warned you of not using magic?”
Willow nodded. “Good. Because when you do, it’s like sending a
flare in the dark. Even using your healing power is highly
dangerous. You won’t be safe from anything.”

“I’m not safe anyways,” Willow muttered.

Duffy snickered. “Good luck, Healer. Oh, can
you do me one favor before you go?” He put his paws together as if
praying. “Pretty please with a cherry on top?”

Willow’s eyebrows shot up in question. “What
is it?”

“Would…” he paused and sniffed sadly, “would
you heal my broken heart?” Duffy asked his eyes blurring with
unshed tears. When Willow just stared at him, he laughed quietly,
his mouth stretching up to his ears. “What? You don’t believe
me?”

“Would you just leave already?” Declan asked
angrily.

“A thank you would suffice,” Duffy growled
back at him, changing moods in the blink of an eye.

“Thank you Duffy,” Willow said. “Don’t go
breaking any hearts out there.”

Duffy nodded his head, and said, “No
promises.” He then buzzed off laughing into the night singing “Oh
Happy Day.”

“Thank God,” Declan sighed beside her. “He
was so annoying! I wanted to kill that stupid thing. If I ever come
across another Faker in my lifetime, it would be too soon.”

Willow leaned up against a tree, exhaustion
tugging at her. She wanted to curl up in ball and sleep for weeks.
Declan came up to her. Their bodies almost touched he was so close.
Almost. His pretty eyes sought hers out. “You okay?”

“Just really tired,” she answered.

Declan handed her a water bottle. “Me too.
But I think that Faker was right. We need to get away from those
ghouls and get out of here. I don’t want to be eaten if I can help
it.”

Willow breathed in deeply and rubbed her eyes
trying to wake up. She pulled the hair away from her face and
rubbed her arms. Now that darkness was here, it was cold. She
shivered, wanting to use her magic to warm her. But she resisted
the urge and trudged after Declan, one step closer to her
talisman.

Time seemed to slow down in the Everwild. The
forest was strangely silent. There were no birds chirping, or any
sign of animal life whatsoever. Willow’s feet continued to burn.
She was hungry and needed to go to the bathroom, but Declan didn’t
seem to care. He trudged through plants and vines as if they
weren’t there. He didn’t use his sword, just pushed and shoved them
aside with vengeance. Willow tripped and fumbled trying to keep his
pace. It wasn’t like they were being pursued. Those ghouls didn’t
even sense their presence earlier. What was his problem?

“Declan,” Willow hissed behind him. “Can we
stop? Please? I’m so tired! I need to rest. You’re walking so
fast!”

“Calm down,” Declan turned his head slightly
but kept walking. “I’m trying to find a place we can stop.”

“We won’t find any shelter, Dec. I don’t know
what your problem is,” Willow complained. “Let’s just stop
now.”

Suddenly, Declan gripped his side and keeled
over, collapsing to the ground. “Declan!” Willow exclaimed rushing
up to him. He landed on his stomach, the bulky backpack blocking
her view. She knelt down and tried rolling him over, but she only
managed to get him to lie on his side. Willow shook him
frantically, “Declan,” she said shakily, “Declan wake up!” No
response. She leaned in closer. His breathing was uneven and
shallow. He broke out in a cold sweat and was shivering
uncontrollably. Her panic heightened. The wound Declan received
earlier today from Old Man Willow was still bleeding, his shirt was
soaking wet with blood.

Sighing heavily, Willow loosened the backpack
strap closest to her. Then, she bent his arm to take it off. She
rolled him on his stomach and took the other strap off, which was
more difficult since she didn’t want to roll him on his injured
side. Finally, with the backpack off, she searched for the healing
elixir. Popping the cork off the top, she carefully rolled Declan
on his back and laid his head in her lap. He moaned in pain, his
eyes were shut tight and his hair and forehead was dampened with
sweat. Opening his mouth, she dumped the elixir down his throat. He
coughed and sputtered but swallowed most of it.