Witch Magic (The Cindy Chronicles) (6 page)

Leo grabbed me around the waist. “Don’t move,” he whispered, his voice intense. He pressed my body against his. I held my breath. Worried about the way my body so easily responded to him. It felt like I was cheating on Gabe, even though the jerk told me he never wanted to see me again. Leo took the hourglass between his thumb and first finger. “Ready?” he asked.

I looked away. “Sure.”

He pulled me closer. My body didn’t seem to mind one bit. In fact his body seemed made for mine. At the thought, I put my hands on his chest, trying to put a little space between us. Leo winked.

We began to move and as we did the dust inside the hourglass slowly
rose. Like diamond dust, it slowly swirled from the bottom to the top.

If that was
n’t strange enough, as we moved we entered a misty fog. The air changed and I knew we were no longer in Abernathy’s cave, but somewhere else. It churned around us like it wished to claim us.

W
hispers could be heard all around, tiny voices speaking in a language my mind tried to understand but couldn’t. Almost like the wind was speaking.

Dozens of feathery touches brushed against my arms, my neck, and even pulled at my hair. I glanced up at Leo, curious about what was happening. His features were focused. He concentrated on something beyond what I could see.

I turned so my back was against his chest. Leo’s hand held me tightly and his clean-shaven jaw pressed against the side of my head.

“Almost there.” He spoke through clenched teeth.

As we moved the air changed several times. From the clingy stench of Abernathy’s cave to wet mists to a dry heat, so hot it was hard to breathe. The landscape changed as well. Darkness turned to grayish-black mists to fiery lava. When we finally stopped, it’d changed again.

It felt like I’d arrived in Wonderland.

Electric pink and purple flowers grew from vibrant green branches. Poppy orange and lemon yellow blossoms sprang from the ground in droves. Overhead was a bright violet-blue sky. From Leo’s arms I could see two moons with bubblegum pink rings. Birds sang in the branches and insects buzzed in the lush foliage.

“What is this place?” I asked, stepping
away from Leo.

“This is Polonias,” he said, coming to stand next to me.

“It’s beautiful.” A delicious breeze licked the back of my neck and my arms. It was the perfect temperature. “How many moons does Polonias have?” I pointed to the two I could see.

“There are six moons total.” Leo’s arm brushed against mine, and I shivered. 

“What about those mists we passed through?” I bent and picked one of the orange flowers. Then brought it to my nose. The petals were shaped like pansies and smelled like tangerines.

“These flowers are called
tigerpaw.” He plucked the flower from my hand and spun it between his fingers.

The color was that of a tiger’s fur. “Why
tigerpaw?”

He turned the flower over and gently t
ouched it against my wrist. “Its petals leave a paw print. See?” He moved the flower and sure enough it looked like a paw print.

“Cool,” I breathed.

Leo smiled, his eyes studying my features. “May I put it in your hair?”

My lips parted slightly and my heart lurched. I needed to be careful. It was obvious Leo knew how to say what a girl wanted to hear. “Sure,” I finally said.

He stepped close and slid the flower through my hair so that it rested behind my ear. “Beautiful,” he said.

“Thanks.” I rested a hand on his chest. “Now about the mists. What were they?”

Leo’s features darkened. “Those are the Witch Mists. Travelling from Earth to our land requires we go through them. Never do so without me, at least the first few times. Okay?”

“I heard whispering and something like feathers touching me
as we passed through them.” Remembering made me shudder.

He gave me a sharp look. “You heard them? Felt them?”

“I-Yes, I think so.” I stepped closer to him, suddenly afraid. I knew nothing about where I was.

Leo placed his hands on my bare arms. “Those
are the Fallen: creatures who turned their backs on Polonias, and the goodness of the magic in the land. They are like the demons of your world. Some are desperate for a way out of the darkness, while others seek to pull unsuspecting travellers in. They are the cause of the Sickness.” He shook his head. “Did you understand them?”

“No,” I answered firmly. No sense telling him it felt like I should’ve un
derstood their language, that it felt like I was close.

“Good.”
He nodded like that was the end of it.

The air was fragrant with flowers and I stepped to one of the blooms on a low hanging branch. Near the middle it had burgundy freckles. “These are beautiful,” I said, reaching out to touch one.

Leo stepped beside me, and put a hand on my finger. “Careful, they’re Huggers.”

“Huggers?”

“Watch.” He placed his first finger on one of the petals and it curled around his finger. The other petals lengthened and reached for his finger as well, wrapping around it until it was no longer visible. 

I was momentarily scared. “Does it want to eat you?”

Leo chuckled. “No, the petals are drawn to warmth. But they won’t let go until you scratch or tickle it near the stem, like this.” With his other hand, he scratched the bottom of the flower like one would scratch behind a dog’s ears. The flower immediately released Leo’s finger and sighed. “I just thought you’d want to know before you thought it was attacking you.” He smiled, flashing one dimple.

“Yeah, good call.”

“Want to try it? The petals are soft.”

I shook my head. “Maybe later.”

He scratched a few more blooms the way he had the first. Each sighed in delight.

“They like you.”
I laughed, thinking he had everything swooning at his touch, not just me.

“Nah, they just liked to be
caressed.” He shrugged and started walking through the orange and yellow flowers. At first his steps seemed random, but almost like magic an ebony path appeared.

“How did you…
” I began, then stopped. Of course he’d used magic.

Leo turned back and smiled. “Come on. There’s someone I want you to meet.”

We followed the ebony path for a long time through the forest. It almost seemed alive. The more we walked the deeper into the forest we went until the path barely allowed us room to get through on either side. Tall, skinny trees with furry silver trunks grew tightly on either side of the path. Or maybe they hadn’t grown there, but moved to make room for Leo’s magical path. It seemed possible.

“Where is this person?” I finally asked after more than thirty minutes
of non-stop walking. Sure I had on my wedge sandals, the most comfortable heels around. Still. Enough was enough.

“In the Center,” he answered, but didn’t elaborate.

So I kept walking, admiring the vegetation, the colorful flowers, and the random animals and birds we startled.

Probably an hour later I was tired, hungry, and my feet hurt. Leo finally stopped.

“We’re here,” he said.

Here
was truly magical. A mountain wall shot straight up so that I couldn’t even see the sky. About midway up tumbled five different waterfalls. The sound should’ve been deafening, but it wasn’t. Instead of a roar, it was like the sound of heavy rain. It slapped against flat rocks and meandered down until they all came together and emptied into a pool of aqua water. Colorful dragonflies flitted around the edges, landing on flowers in lavenders, pinks, bright yellows, and reds. The atmosphere was heady, making me feel relaxed and happy.

To the right of the pool was a gigantic rose. It seemed to bloom from the ground, not a rose bush, and was the size of a
full grown golden retriever. Its petal coloring was a mixture of mauve edges, then buttery and cream.

“That. Is. Incredible,” I said moving toward it.

“
That
is Polly,” Leo said, almost reverently.

“The flower has a name.” The closer I got, the more glorious the flower became.

“She goes by many names. She is the heart and soul of Polonias.”

I stopped directly in front of the flower. “Well, she’s very beautiful,” I said, confused about why he would bring me all this way to see a flower, even if it was the biggest, most beautiful
flower I’d ever seen.

Leo
stepped next to me. “She is beautiful. And she needs you. See, she’s dying.” He sounded sad, and I glanced over. His eyes were filled with tears.

My heart melted. It was sweet he cared so much about the end of a flower. But that was how flowers worked. They began as a seed. Grew into a bud. Bloomed. Flourished a while. Then died. Hell, it was how life worked.

I patted his arm. “How can I help? Does she need more water? I’m confused,” I said shaking my head.

“Speak her name, and let her tell you herself.”

At his words, my head snapped toward the flower. “The flower can talk?”

“Yes, Cinderella.
Because she’s more than a flower. Say her name.”

“Okay.” I wiped my hands on my jeans. They were sweaty and I was instantly nervous. “Uh, Polly.” I glanced at Leo and he nodded encouragingly. “Polly, would you mind speaking to me?”

The petals shuddered and shifted. Instantly a young woman, my height, with hair the color of cream and blush pink eyes stood before us. In her hair was a small rose, the color of the rose petals, and she wore a dress made of petals.

“Hello, Cinderella. Thank you for coming to see me.”

I tried to speak a few different times, but nothing came out. I’d seen a lot of strange things, but the term
flower girl
took on a whole new meaning.

“Hi,” I raised my hand in a lame wave.

She smiled, walked over to the edge of the pool, cupped her hand and lifted water to her lips. “Nothing better than drinking water,” she said in a voice that sounded like music from a music box.

The tips of her fingers looked bruised. Deep purples and navy. Polly followed my gaze and held her hands out in front of her. “Oh, dear. It’s getting worse.”
She turned her hands back and forth, studying them intently.

“Why are they bruised? Did you hurt yourself?” I asked, abruptly filled with concern.

“The Sickness. It’s getting stronger. I can’t hold it off much longer.” Polly looked at me and my heart broke. Her eyes were filled with terror, sadness: the hopeless look of a person who knows they are going to die and can’t do anything about it. I’d seen that look once before in my grandfather as stomach cancer took him day-by-day, hour-by-hour, second-by-second. It was the most difficult thing I ever had to watch.

“What can I do?” I asked, taking h
er hand in mine without thinking. As soon as I touched her, the bruises left her fingers. I gasped and pulled away.

Polly smiled. “It is you.” She took my hands in hers. “Will you help me, Cinderella? Please?”

I glanced at Leo, who was standing to the side, his features rigid. Both he and Quilla had asked me to come and I’d turned them down. But Polly? I sensed her magic, her natural goodness. She needed my help.

“Yes,” I answered, and knew in that instant everything i
n my life was about to change.