Witchy Tales: A Wicked Witches of the Midwest Fairy Tale by Amanda M. Lee Page A

support. If Landon was going to listen to anyone it would be him. “Marcus, what do you think we should do?”
    The grim set of Marcus’ jaw told me he wasn’t thrilled with the question. “I don’t like the idea of the kid being out here alone either.”
    I shook my head, frustrated. “But … .”
    Marcus cut me off. “But we’re not here for this. It’s another distraction,” he said. “We need to go back to the road and keep going. We’re wasting time here.”
    Landon tightened his grip on Daniel’s shoulder. “I know you’re right. It’s just … it feels wrong.”
    I understood why Landon was the one drawn into this tale. It was something I often worried about where he was concerned. He cared more than any person should – or feasibly could – when it came to the safety of others. He was overcome by the need to save everyone.
    I reached out to him tentatively. Instead of pulling away as I feared he would, though, he grabbed my hand and took a step away from Daniel. “Try to stay safe,” Landon said.
    Daniel rolled his eyes. “I’m always safe.”
    “Watch the sheep,” Thistle said. “That’s your job, and you need to do your job.”
    “I know,” Daniel said.
    Landon let me lead him away, and we were almost through the trees when his belief in me came crashing down.
    “Wolf! Help! Wolf! It’s going to eat me!”
    Landon jerked his hand from mine and turned, running back in the direction of Daniel’s screams. I didn’t hesitate to follow him, and when we returned to the field Daniel was standing right where we left him. He was alone, other than the munching and dumping sheep, of course.
    “Where’s the wolf?” Landon asked, scanning the field.
    “I saw him for only a second. “He had glowing red eyes and fangs that were this big,” said Daniel, spreading his arms wide for emphasis. “He was going to eat me.”
    Landon exhaled heavily before turning back to face me. “You were right.”
    “It’s not about being right,” I said. “This is the world Aunt Tillie created. We could leave this field a hundred times. Each one of those times he’s going to try to stop us by screaming and carrying on about wolves. We’re never going to see a wolf. Not in this tale.”
    “I’m sorry,” Landon said. “I should have left.”
    “You’re not the type of person who abandons someone,” I said. “Even when you didn’t know me, you never abandoned me. I seem to keep forgetting that. You got shot for me, and you had no idea what kind of person I was.
    “I know you want to save everyone,” I said. “That’s not what’s happening here, though.”
    “I know,” Landon said, weary. “Let’s get moving. I’m sure there are other horrors waiting around the next bend.”
    “That’s something to look forward to,” I teased.
    “It is,” Landon agreed, grabbing my hand.
    We were almost back to the trees when Daniel decided to speak again. “Wait … you’re not going to leave me here with the wolf, are you?”
    “I guess so,” Landon replied, refusing to turn around. “Try to stay safe, kid.”
    “But … .”
    Daniel didn’t finish whatever he was about to say. Instead, he let loose with a blood-curdling scream. Even though I knew it was a game, I couldn’t stop myself from turning around. Instead of Daniel’s mischievous smile, though, I saw his look of terror as a large monster descended on the boy.
    “Holy crap!”
    Landon whipped around, stunned.
    The wolf paid us no heed, instead grabbing Daniel around the waist and hoisting him over his shoulder. Daniel was right. This was no normal wolf. It walked on two legs and its eyes were … human. They were full of malevolence, although they weren’t glowing and red, but they were still human.
    “Help me,” Daniel screamed, pounding on the wolf’s back.
    We couldn’t do anything but stand there, though. We were frozen in place and we watched the wolf carry Daniel into the woods. Just like that … he was gone.

 
     
    If