back.
The truth was, I had no idea where to start. At least this side of the island was bordered by forests, but I couldn’t start yelling out in case Rhys heard me. No, I had to travel further away from here where I could raise my voice without fearing being overheard. Rhys was not a vampire or a werewolf, so I hoped that his hearing would not be sharp enough to pick up on me from miles away.
The sand whipped against my heels as I raced forward across the beach. I kept my eyes on the lines of trees, hoping that they would start thinning the further I ran. But they were showing no signs of disappearing. Heck, if anything, it appeared that they were growing thicker. My heart sank as the sand gave way to piles of rocks. I could still climb over them, but it would not be as fast as running across flat sand. Heaving myself up, I began clambering along, careful not to slip and injure myself in the process. At least there are no giant crabs.
Instead of trees to my left, now there was just a solid wall of rock—I was at the foot of a cliff. I craned my neck upward and paused for a moment. I moved along the rocks and tried to approach the wall of the cliff, but found that I met an invisible barrier about three feet away. I’d been hoping to climb up it. No chance. I had no choice but to continue forward in the same direction.
About a mile up, the rocks gave way to more sand—and yet more trees. The trees were no thinner than before, but as I stopped to listen, I could hear distant talking. There were people not too far away. I felt that I was at a safe enough distance to begin calling out. I crossed the sand and walked as close to the woods as I could without hitting the barrier and began yelling at the top of my voice:
“Hermia Adrius! I need to speak to Hermia Adrius!”
I yelled for what seemed like five minutes straight until my voice felt hoarse. I looked up and down the shore, hoping that someone would come. But nobody did.
Either nobody heard me, or they were ignoring me. I doubted the former was true—if I could hear them, they should have been able to hear me screaming unless the barrier was soundproof. But I didn’t see any sense in that—it would only block them off from warnings of an attack.
It seemed that there was only one way to find out.
Time to try a different tactic, I think.
“The Sanctuary is under attack!” I screamed, in as panicked a tone as I could. “The black witches are here! You are all in terrible danger!”
That should get someone’s attention…
And sure enough it did. Only one minute after I stopped yelling, an elderly-looking warlock emerged through the trees behind the boundary. His eyes were wide with worry as he looked me over.
“Who are you?” he asked.
“I am Rose Novak, an acquaintance of Hermia Adrius, and she will be furious with you if you do not escort me inside the boundary and bring me to her this instant.”
“Novak, you say? How do I know you are who you say you are?”
I was about to suggest that he just go and fetch Hermia and bring her to visit me, but I didn’t like the idea of losing sight of him in case he disappeared and decided not to return. I wanted to be taken to that witch, and I wanted it now.
“Do I look like a black witch to you?” I asked, cocking my head to one side.
He shook his head.
“Then what are you afraid of? I’m just a girl. A human. I am no threat to you.”
When he still hesitated, I lost my patience. “Look, warlock, I saved the life of the sister of your Ageless. The least you can do is let me inside.”
He still appeared doubtful, but to my relief, he stepped forward, crossing the boundary and grabbing my hand before pulling me inside.
He was looking at me as though I was about to wield some magic on him, or perhaps transform into a black witch.
“It’s okay,” I said. “I am who I say I am.”
“I will take you as far as the Adriuses’ palace. But I will not bring you inside. You will wait outside the
The truth was, I had no idea where to start. At least this side of the island was bordered by forests, but I couldn’t start yelling out in case Rhys heard me. No, I had to travel further away from here where I could raise my voice without fearing being overheard. Rhys was not a vampire or a werewolf, so I hoped that his hearing would not be sharp enough to pick up on me from miles away.
The sand whipped against my heels as I raced forward across the beach. I kept my eyes on the lines of trees, hoping that they would start thinning the further I ran. But they were showing no signs of disappearing. Heck, if anything, it appeared that they were growing thicker. My heart sank as the sand gave way to piles of rocks. I could still climb over them, but it would not be as fast as running across flat sand. Heaving myself up, I began clambering along, careful not to slip and injure myself in the process. At least there are no giant crabs.
Instead of trees to my left, now there was just a solid wall of rock—I was at the foot of a cliff. I craned my neck upward and paused for a moment. I moved along the rocks and tried to approach the wall of the cliff, but found that I met an invisible barrier about three feet away. I’d been hoping to climb up it. No chance. I had no choice but to continue forward in the same direction.
About a mile up, the rocks gave way to more sand—and yet more trees. The trees were no thinner than before, but as I stopped to listen, I could hear distant talking. There were people not too far away. I felt that I was at a safe enough distance to begin calling out. I crossed the sand and walked as close to the woods as I could without hitting the barrier and began yelling at the top of my voice:
“Hermia Adrius! I need to speak to Hermia Adrius!”
I yelled for what seemed like five minutes straight until my voice felt hoarse. I looked up and down the shore, hoping that someone would come. But nobody did.
Either nobody heard me, or they were ignoring me. I doubted the former was true—if I could hear them, they should have been able to hear me screaming unless the barrier was soundproof. But I didn’t see any sense in that—it would only block them off from warnings of an attack.
It seemed that there was only one way to find out.
Time to try a different tactic, I think.
“The Sanctuary is under attack!” I screamed, in as panicked a tone as I could. “The black witches are here! You are all in terrible danger!”
That should get someone’s attention…
And sure enough it did. Only one minute after I stopped yelling, an elderly-looking warlock emerged through the trees behind the boundary. His eyes were wide with worry as he looked me over.
“Who are you?” he asked.
“I am Rose Novak, an acquaintance of Hermia Adrius, and she will be furious with you if you do not escort me inside the boundary and bring me to her this instant.”
“Novak, you say? How do I know you are who you say you are?”
I was about to suggest that he just go and fetch Hermia and bring her to visit me, but I didn’t like the idea of losing sight of him in case he disappeared and decided not to return. I wanted to be taken to that witch, and I wanted it now.
“Do I look like a black witch to you?” I asked, cocking my head to one side.
He shook his head.
“Then what are you afraid of? I’m just a girl. A human. I am no threat to you.”
When he still hesitated, I lost my patience. “Look, warlock, I saved the life of the sister of your Ageless. The least you can do is let me inside.”
He still appeared doubtful, but to my relief, he stepped forward, crossing the boundary and grabbing my hand before pulling me inside.
He was looking at me as though I was about to wield some magic on him, or perhaps transform into a black witch.
“It’s okay,” I said. “I am who I say I am.”
“I will take you as far as the Adriuses’ palace. But I will not bring you inside. You will wait outside the
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