Snapping my witch's kit shut, I scrambled to my feet. Mom's implied threat of disownment echoed in my thoughts, but I forced myself to ignore it. I would be home before Leo could catch me.
Legs pumping, I sprinted alongside the stream. Low branches and tall thorn bushes snagged my shirt. One cut my arm, but I couldn't slow down to check it out. Sweat trickled down my back as I leapt from one mossy rock to another. My sides ached already. I'd never get home in time at this pace.
Gritting my teeth through the stitch in my side, I pushed myself harder. One rock wiggled underfoot, nearly tipping me into the stream. I jumped to another rock. A cool breeze flicked my hair back, and I stiffened, balancing on one foot. Magic sparked on that breeze. Strong magic, like I'd never smelled before. If the wand had been a campfire, this was molten lava. Whatever it was, it came from across the stream.
I should ignore it and keep running. It could be dangerous. At the very least, stopping to check it out would slow me down. But that smell...
Even before I consciously decided to follow it, my feet had carried me to the opposite bank. I stumbled through the trees in a daze. Every step made the smell grow stronger. It was richer than chocolate, more refreshing than lemonade, and so strong I could've followed it blindfolded. What could possibly put off that much magic?
My foot hit a squishy mound of dirt, and my ankle twisted beneath me. I hit the ground with a grunt. Pain distracted me from the magic smell long enough to remind me I had more important places to be. Leo was looking for me right now. I pushed myself to my feet.
"Owww."
Had I said that? I was pretty sure I hadn't. Maybe I had. The smell was making it hard to concentrate. Though, I was pretty sure my voice was higher than the one I'd heard.
"A little help?" someone asked in the barest of whispers. That was definitely a guy's voice, not mine. Where was he?
All I could see was a mound of dirt, covered in clovers. A flicker of movement drew my attention to the far end of the mound. What had moved? There was it again, just a little flicker and--eyes! Two eyes peering out of the dirt, staring at me from behind violet-tinted glasses.
"What the-"
A mouth slit opened under the eyes, and he shushed me. "Quiet, Lilly, or it'll hear you. It just fell asleep."
A million questions swarmed through my brain. What was it? What was he doing in a pile of dirt? Why did he need help? How did he know my name? More importantly, why did he smell like a warehouse full of ice charms? Witches and magical animals gave off some magic scent, especially when they were actively using their powers, but they never smelled this strong.
Not even the entire contents of Grandma's potion lab smelled this strong. If Mom was here, she would be screaming and running for the hills. I, on the other hand, couldn't help but lean closer.
What if- what if he was an Otherworlder? That would explain the magic smell and the seamless glamour making him look like a pile of dirt. I shivered, partly from fear and partly from excitement. Otherworlders were the bane of Mom's existence. She thought magical creatures from other planets should stay on other planets and leave respectable nomahus (non-magical humans) alone.
Grandma said Otherworlders had been living on Earth for centuries, and she had the fairytales to prove it. Of course, you couldn't believe everything in fairytales. Most Otherworlders were relatively normal, non-murderous, non-baby-stealing people. According to Grandma.
I wasn't sure what to think. This guy didn't seem murderous, though admittedly, he was pretending to be a pile of dirt--and I couldn't imagine any reason to be a pile of dirt unless you were planning to jump out and attack someone. Then again, he'd asked me for help politely, and even Grandma admitted Otherworlders could be aggressive if you offended them. I wasn't about to brush him off without a concrete reason.
"Why do you need help?" I asked in a low voice.
The Otherworlder groaned. "Haven't you been listening?"
Apparently, he'd been talking while I was contemplating the rammifications of talking to a real, live alien. Wow, I couldn't believe I was actually talking to a-
I had to get myself together. This was serious.
"Not really," I said. "Could you repeat all that?"
"Look over there." His head--or at least what I assumed was his head under all that dirt--jerked a little toward something over my shoulder.
I looked. There was a boulder with a heat shimmer rising off it and a forest full of trees.
"What am I supposed to be looking at?"
He chuckled nervously. "You can't see- of course not. Forget that. It's just- just my friend, playing a practical joke. He's hiding, but if you make too much noise, he'll come and... throw mud on us. Yeah. So I need you to free me from this trap before he comes back."
"Uh huh." That was the worst lie I'd ever heard. He was obviously terrified, and it wouldn't have surprised me if there was some kind of glamour-cloaked monster on the big rock. I swallowed. Monsters scared highly-trained witches. I didn't even have a familiar. Should I really get in the middle of this?
"I swear, if you get me out, I'll owe you." His eyes darted toward the boulder. "Whatever you want, just name it--as soon as we're out of here."
Oaths from an Otherworlder were supposed to be magically binding, so he couldn't go back on his word even if he wanted to. He had to be desperate to give me such an open-ended promise. I couldn't just leave him here if he was in serious trouble.
Besides, at this point, my chances of getting home before Leo tracked me down were slim to none. The Otherworlder was powerful. With his magic, he might be able to "convince" Mom that I'd accidentally wandered through the estate barrier. Or better yet, he could convince her that I'd never left the estate at all.
I crouched next to him. "We'll talk about what you owe me later. What should I do?"
"You see those sticks in a circle?"
A low teepee of sticks stood a couple feet away from him. Two almost invisible fishing lines led away from the sticks. One line headed straight up a tree. The other connected to a spear-like stick embedded in the ground inches from the guy's side. Talk about a sticky situation.
"Yeah, I see them."
He let out a short breath. "Grab the line coming my way. Keep it taut between you and the circle of sticks. Don't pull it tighter, and whatever you do, don't let go."
I put my trunk aside and touched the line, then stopped. "Is this thing going to shoot spears on us if I don't hold it exactly right?"
"No, no, it's just a game." His mouth stretched into an uneasy smile.
Sure. Just a game with deadly spears and mysterious heat shimmers hiding who knew what kind of creature. What had he done to get in this mess?
"If this spears me, you'd better heal me," I muttered. With both hands, I grabbed the tripline and held it in place. Nothing happened.
"Stay very still," the guy murmured.
I didn't even risk turning my head to look. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him rip the spear out of the ground with a hiss of pain. Had it been stuck in some invisible body part, like a tail or a wing? If only I was wearing my glamour glass, I could see what he really looked like.
With the stick out of the ground, his real appearance was the least of my problems. The stick had been keeping the line taut. Without it, the thin line slipped through my fingers, cutting into my skin.
"You done yet?" I frantically tried to wrap the line around my wrist. It slowed the line, all right, but it also cut so deeply that I yelped.
"Almost done. Just a minute-"
I couldn't see him anymore. Worries raced through my thoughts. Even if he'd promised to give me whatever favor I asked for, he didn't have to keep that promise if I got speared and died. What would stop him from leaving me?
"What're you-"
Shushing me, he crouched on my right. His smell was stronger than ever. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. That was the stuff. Who cared about traps and Otherworlders when you had magic?
The guy said something, maybe a curse, but I blocked him out.
Strong hands grabbed me by the shoulders and ripped me backward. Before I could protest, I was slung over the guy's shoulder, and he was running with my witch's kit in hand. Trees rushed past at superhuman speeds, and it almost felt like I was flying. The Otherworlder was carrying me to who-knew-where, but it didn't matter. Only his magic mattered.
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