A Nameless Witch Read online

"I am dressed."

  "I think not. You're barely covered at all."

  I explained that this was all Ghastly Edna allowed me to wear. He quacked his displeasure. We walked the path down to the lake. Newt had a peculiar way of walking. His bowlegged swagger seemed more ridiculous than a traditional waddle. I'd told him once, and he'd told me to mind my own business. So I did. Even if he did walk like a bird with a rash between his legs.

  When we got to the lake, I hesitated to do as I was told. I'd spent most of my life in the dark. I'd bathed in the lake many times before, but always at night. Not that the sun was a true danger. I just wasn't used to it. It was so bright, and I would be so exposed.

  Newt sighed. "Get on with it, would you?"

  I pulled my hat tighter on my head and slipped off my dress.

  Newt sighed again. "Dark gods, girl, you're beautiful." It was not intended as a compliment.

  I quickly immersed myself up to my chest, hiding from the warm sun beneath the cold water. "It's not my fault."

  "Have you tried eating lard?"

  I nodded.

  "And it didn't do anything?"

  "Nothing does anything."

  He paced back and forth a safe distance from the shore. He didn't mind water, but only in shallow tubs and puddles.

  "Self-mutilation. A nasty scar or two couldn't hurt."

  "I don't scar," I replied sadly "I considered sawing off a limb once, but the mistress said it would just grow back. She says as long as I live, I'll look like this."

  "Bad luck."

  Newt pushed his wings up in a duckly shrug. In this particular matter, he could sympathize. Just as I was too pretty to be a witch, he was too white and fluffy to be a creature of fear.

  My bath didn't take long. I was just emerging when Newt raised his head and glanced around the woods. "I think there's somebody out there."

  "There's nobody out there," I replied, even as I slid on my dress to cover myself. It hid little. The cloth clung to my damp skin.

  "I think there is," he said.

  I joined him in scanning. At night, I could've seen everything. During the day, my eyes suffered. I didn't see anything or anyone, but I felt something. I wondered if this was perhaps the magic finally talking to me. Ghastly Edna said that it talked to everyone, but most were unwilling to listen.

  "I think we should get back," I said.

  I refused to allow myself to run back to the cabin. I wanted to flee to my sanctuary from the light and phantom eyes. But I was not about to give in to the dread. The farther we got from the lake, the better I felt. My sense of foreboding ebbed, then rose as the cabin came into view.

  "That was a complete waste of time." Newt stopped and peered at me. "Are you crying, girl?"

  I wiped a tear away. I didn't want to go back. I told myself if I didn't go on, if I just stayed put, then Ghastly Edna would never have to die. I knew it wasn't true, but it was the only thing I could do.

  "Why are you crying?"

  I pushed away my tears. Witches weren't supposed to cry

  "What is it?" Newt demanded.

  "She's dead."

  "What?"

  "I should've stayed."

  "What are you talking about?"

  "She's dead."

  "Why would you think that?"

  "Because she told me she would be."

  Newt spread his wings in alarm. "She told you! She didn't tell me! Why didn't she tell me?" He dashed toward the cabin in a speedy, flapping skip. "Why didn't she tell me?"

  I ran after him, overtaking his short strides and reaching the cabin before him. I threw open the door and stepped inside.

  Ghastly Edna lay on the floor, a sword blade buried deep in her back. A scraggly man, hairy and dirty, poked around the cupboard. He turned, revealing a scarred face.

  "What have we here?"

  He leered. I'd never been leered at before, and I didn't like it.

  He rubbed his grimy hands together. "My, what a healthy young girl we have here."

  A second brute emerged from my room. "Hey, look what I found. I think someone else lives here."

  "I'll say."

  The brute laid eyes upon me and wiped his mouth. The two killers advanced, no doubt intending to force themselves upon me. Newt strolled in between my legs. He took one brief glimpse of Ghastly Edna and turned on the killers. His eyes glinted in a way I'd never seen before.

  "What'cha gonna do, girl? Sic your bird on us?"

  Newt bellowed a monstrous quack, deep and bestial. It wasn't very scary, but as scary as any quack could be. The demon rose within him, and he pounced. A storm of webbed feet, slashing bill, and slapping feathers tore into the killers. They ran screaming out the door. Newt chased after them, squawking curses. I left the murderous scum to their executioner and checked on Ghastly Edna.

  I pulled the sword out of her and rolled her over. She looked so peaceful. It was almost a shame to bother her, but it was her last order.

  My ability to talk to the dead was a gift of my curse. Witches knew ways to speak with the deceased, but it was complicated magic. On the other hand, I could awaken the soul of a fresh corpse with just a touch. Provided the soul was still in the flesh. The spirit usually remains for a few minutes, just to be certain that the body has really expired. Ghastly Edna, knowing I would be back, would certainly still be waiting.

  Newt strolled back into the cottage. He was covered in blood, none of it his own. He left scarlet, webbed footprints behind him.

  "They're dead."

  I was not as comforted by this as I would have thought. The killers being dead didn't bring back my mistress.

  "You should've seen it. I speared out the big guy's heart and showed it to him before he died. And the little one, sliced off his head with three slashes of my bill. I don't mean to brag or anything, but it was something to behold." He grinned, but the grin vanished quickly. "Ah, damn it. I can't believe she's dead."

  "Quiet. I need to concentrate."

  I laid a hand on her stomach and dug around for Ghastly Edna's soul. I wasn't certain I could do it. I'd only practiced on animals up to now: rabbits, squirrels, sparrows. But my first person wasn't much harder. It took only a moment, and there was no resistance.

  Her eyes snapped to life. "Hello, child."

  She squirmed stiffly on the floor.

  "Be a dear and help me up, would you?"

  Getting her to her feet proved difficult. Her corpse and her spirit were barely connected now, and she hadn't been very graceful when alive.

  She wiggled her fingers mechanically. "Excellent work, child. Now help me to the table."

  On rigid legs, she clomped to the chair and sat down. Her knees cracked. She patted the chair beside her.

  "Quickly now My body is a leaking vessel, and we haven't much time before I must take more permanent leave of it."

  I sat, and Newt hopped on the table.

  "Dear boy, you're a mess."

  "I am anointed in the blood of your murderers. You have been avenged."

  "Hardly." Ghastly Edna smiled. Or perhaps the left side of her face twitched without her knowledge. "Those two were merely the tools of another. But I appreciate the effort just the same. It's the thought that counts." Her face went blank again for a moment. "Now the girl and I have matters we must discuss. Things you need not hear. Besides, you're dripping all over my floor. Go outside, and clean yourself up."

  Newt, like I, didn't question Ghastly Edna. He quacked, turned up his bill, and left.

  I took Ghastly Edna's hand. She'd always been ice cold to the touch, even alive, and I'd found comfort in that before. But not today

  "I should've stayed."

  "Then you would have been killed as well."

  "But they were just brutes ..."

  "Brutes or not, a witch was to die here this day That was what had to be."

  "The past yet to be," I said.

  "Close, but no. This was the present that would be, but need not be as it would."

&nbs
p; I didn't understand, and this last bit of confusion weakened my will. I started to cry. Just a few tears. I expected Ghastly Edna to chide me for the display, but she brushed the tears from my cheek. She ended up poking me in the eye too, but this was merely an accidental twitch of her inflexible arm. The jab made me cry harder.

  "The time has come, child, for you to strike out on your own, find your own destiny. I know you're scared, but you'll find the world is not so frightening. And you've got a lot going for you. You've a good heart and good sense. This undead business is rather minor really, and you're an accomplished witch. Accomplished enough to overcome your unfortunate physical defects."

  "I don't want to go. I want to stay. Here. With you."

  She laughed. Her bouncing corpse nearly toppled from the chair. "Unfortunately, I must be leaving soon. And so should you. Things change, dear. Even for the ageless. You can't hide away from the world forever. I know you'll do fine. In fact, I know you'll do me proud."

  She winked. Her eye held shut.

  Her voice became a whisper. "Before I leave, I offer you these three pieces of advice. First, be wary of mortals. They may be small in power, but they are large in number.

  "Second, remember that people, human or otherwise, are, with rare exception, basically good at heart. Treat them as you would be treated, and you'll almost never go wrong.

  "And thirdly, and this is something you should never forget, feed a troll and you'll never be rid of it."

  She laughed again.

  "Almost time. When you leave this place, follow the trail around the lake and through the hills. When you reach a fork in the path, youll have a choice to make. Head east and you 11 take the first step toward truly avenging my death. Or dying horribly yourself. Or possibly both. The magic is not entirely clear on this.

  "Head north, on the other hand, and you'll find a life of quiet contentment and simple pleasures. More happiness than most people happen on, but less than you might find to the east. Even with that horrible death possibility On this, the magic is quite clear.

  "I wish you well whatever choice you make. Now, give me a hug before I go."

  Years of living with Ghastly Edna left me ill-prepared for this last instruction. Displays of affection were not, strictly speaking, against the witch's code, but she had never been very affectionate. Not in a touching, doting way.

  "Come now, child. I don't have all day."

  I wrapped my arms around her ample frame for the first time ever. She was a large, lumpy woman. I'd never realized just how lumpy. She hugged me back with the one limp arm she still had some power over.

  "I love you," I whispered.

  It was another first.

  "I know, dear. I love you too."

  She shivered as her soul slipped from her flesh. I felt it go. It floated down to the cool embrace of the earth where any good witch's soul went.

  I couldn't bring myself to let her go. I held her corpse tight, and even if it was an unwitchly thing to do, I cried for a good long while.

  3

  Newt splashed around in a barrel of fresh rainwater. Though he disliked his waterfowl origins, he was duck enough to enjoy a good bath. I shaded my eyes from the light of day.

  He stopped preening his wing long enough to raise his head and ask, "Well?"

  "She's gone."

  "I assumed as much, but what did she say?"

  I told him of the path and the choice I must make.

  "That's it?"

  "No. She also told me to be careful of feeding trolls."

  "That's just common sense." He briefly dipped his head below the water. "Anything else?"

  "She said she loved me."

  Newt frowned. "That's it?"

  "Yes."

  "Nothing for me?"

  I shook my head.

  "That's a fine thing." He jumped from the barrel and shook dry. "I was her familiar. I'd known her a good many years longer than you. And she breaks witchly protocol by admitting she loves you and doesn't even say a word to me. Not an 'I'll miss you' or 'Thanks for the years of loyal service.'"

  UP » Sorry.

  "That's quite all right. I'm used to it. Life of a familiar. Always get taken for granted. Still, I'll miss the old bat."

  My eyes followed the trail of blood from the cabin door to the corpses of Ghastly Edna's killers. Newt had finished them off before they'd gotten twenty paces. I was surprised they'd made it that far, given the severed body parts Newt had sliced away. An ear here. A nose there. One forearm had been torn away with enough force to fling it onto the cabin's roof. The bodies were hardly recognizable, hacked and mutilated as they were. I was impressed with how thoroughly Newt had done away with them in such a short time.

  "You did an excellent job," I complimented.

  His inner demon flashed a pleased grin, hampered only by his lack of teeth. "They're the first men Fve killed. I slew a bear once. And a couple of badgers too. Purely for reasons of self-defense, I assure you. These two were a good deal easier. If I'd been here, I could've saved her."

  I didn't contradict him, but I didn't think this true. Something told me Ghastly Edna's death couldn't have been averted. Perhaps it was the magic that told me this. Perhaps the simple logic that my mistress wouldn't have sent Newt and I away if we could have been of some help.

  A witch was to die here this day I supposed this meant that if I'd stayed behind, I would've perished. I couldn't know this for certain, but I suspected it was true. Ghastly Edna had sacrificed herself for me.

  Again, I wondered if the magic told me this. I listened. Hard. All I heard was the wind rustling the leaves.

  "So I guess I'm yours now," said Newt.

  "Yes."

  "What now, mistress?" He chuckled lightly at the title. I ignored that for the moment.

  I glanced back to the darkened cabin. It was the only home I'd known since crawling from my parents' musty cellar. But now it seemed an empty box without Ghastly Edna's cool, comforting presence. Leaving it behind would not be so difficult. Only fear of what lay outside these woods held me back.

  "Fear is not a bad thing," Ghastly Edna had once explained. "Among everyday creatures, it is a great motivation. Fear of being eaten, or of not getting enough to eat, are why men gather together in villages. Villages which become towns. Towns which become cities. Cities which become countries. Countries which become civilizations. Remember this, child. Even the greatest kingdoms are founded, however distantly, on fear.

  "But we are witches, and we are not of civilization. Not the mundane civilization of men at least. We understand fear. We know when to listen to its whispers and when to ignore its shouts."

  Remembering this put a smile on my lips. Ghastly Edna was not gone. She was always with me now. If it wasn't technically magic, it should have been.

  "We leave within the hour. Get your things together."

  Newt quacked. "Things? What things? I'm a duck."

  I ignored him again and went inside to prepare. I stuffed as much as I could into two old satchels. Mostly clothes, a handful of herbs, a small box of witchly implements, the locket my mother had thrown lovingly down the stairs on my fifth birthday, and a moldy squirrel hide Ghastly Edna had tacked on the wall to brighten my room. Witches travel light.

  I spent the rest of the hour getting dressed. I buried myself beneath layers of clothing. Any traces of the svelte creature underneath were soon obscured to my satisfaction. I put on my crooked, pointed hat and smeared some soot on my face. I grabbed a broom and held it, handle down, as if necessary to balance my weight. For a finishing touch, I wrapped a billowing vomit green cloak around my shoulders. I measured myself in the mirror. It was adequate, but I would never be as good a witch as Ghastly Edna.

  I cast one last glance at my mistress, sprawled facedown across the table. I was proper this time and didn't weep.

  I limped from the cabin. There was no one around to appreciate the act, but it was good practice. Newt waited by the door, and a pack of wolves had gat
hered around the mangled bodies of Ghastly Edna's killers. They had not been drawn here by the scent of blood.

  The leader, a thick brown hound, approached. "It is time for another to return to the earth."

  Talking to beasts was the first trick Ghastly Edna had taught me. "She's inside."

  "Very good."

  The leader barked, and his pack filed into the cabin. The sounds of tearing flesh issued forth.

  "I would ask a favor of you. Please do not eat those two." I nodded toward the dead killers. "They do not deserve the honor of your stomachs."

  The wolf bowed his head. "As you request, but you need not have asked. They are false flesh, not true men at all."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Just as I say." He shrugged. "I cannot explain. I am, after all, only a wolf, and can only understand the world through a wolf's eyes. And nose. They do not smell of men. Or of anything natural. I would not eat them if I were starved half to death."

  A good witch heeds the wisdom of beasts, and I thanked him for his insight.

  "You're quite welcome. My sympathies for your loss. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm famished."

  "Certainly."

  He strode inside and joined his family in their meal.

  I checked the bodies. They looked of real flesh and blood. But then again, not quite. It was hard to tell with the condition Newt had left them in, but I trusted the wolf's nose. Something larger was at work here than two thugs happening upon a cabin in the middle of nowhere. Something more sinister.

  "Perhaps you should try to raise them," Newt suggested.

  "Too late for that. Their souls must be gone already. Even if they remain, you left little to work with."

  "Sorry. Guess I got a little carried away."

  "Quite all right."

  He milled about in an embarrassed fashion. "It's the demon in me. I can't always control it."

  "I understand."

  "I'll try to be more careful in the future."

  "Very good. Come along, Newt."

  I limped away from the cabin and my old life. And I didn't look back.

  WE WALKED IN SILENCE. The woods were deathly quiet. There was no wind off the lake, no singing birds, not even the rustling of leaves. The forest mourned Ghastly Edna. Neither Newt nor I broke the silence. Only after the wind returned did we know it respectful to speak.