And yet, I hesitated.
“Where should I go?” I asked.
“Find Mallory O’Grady,” she said. “She’s a school friend of your mother’s and mine. She’ll help you settle in, meet the people you wish to meet.”
“And she knows—"
“She knows nothing, and it needs to stay that way.” Alison arched a brow, a warning. She didn’t want me to say too much, which I understood.
I pressed my lips together, trying to remind myself that one slip and I could risk my life and the lives of my sisters. If I wasn’t careful, it would be all over before it began.
I nodded, loosing a breath. Okay. I was really doing this. I had to.
“And here.” Alison reached inside of her purse. “You’ll need some money.” She pulled out something and shoved it at me. I took it in my hands and realized it was a small coin purse, heavy to hold. .
“Thank you.” I didn’t know what was in it, or how much it equated to, but I trusted her when she said I needed it. I trusted her that it would be enough to get me through my journey, or at least until I was able to make more. “For everything.”
I looked up at her. She stepped forward, and for a moment, I thought she was going to hug me. My body tensed just thinking about it. Not because I didn’t want her to hug me; I was just unused to physical affection. Mother was not the sort to offer such things freely.
Alison seemed to notice my hesitation so she respectfully kept her distance, but offered me a small smile.
“Okay,” she said. “You’re ready.”
I took a deep breath and focused on the witches symbol in front of me. It was a five-point pendant with the moon over the first point, a flame for the left point, a water drop for the bottom left point, a leaf for the bottom right, and a swirl for the right point. Mother taught me about the Witch’s Star, in that the moon represented magic and the rest of the points represented the different elements. Mother had made me and my sisters draw it over and over again. I had never actually seen one in its natural position, however. My body tingled with anticipation.
This is it! The start of my future. The destiny I’ve dreamed about since I was a child, since I knew it existed.
I stepped forward, partly expecting the bricks to stop me. To bruise my flesh and push me back. Instead, the bricks absorbed me like a swimming pool, sucking me deeper into the dark depths. It felt like suction on my skin, dragging me forward. Part of me resisted just out of instinct. A flash of worry took over me. I didn’t want to drown. I didn’t want to be smothered by some unknown entity.
I kept moving straight through the portal, into a dark realm where I could see absolutely nothing. The suction was gone now. My vision was impaired. I couldn’t feel anything, nor could I speak. I stopped, unsure if this was right, if I should keep going. I rubbed my lips together and turned around. Was going back even an option?
“Keep going!” Alison yelled from somewhere behind me, but she sounded far away.
I shook off the hesitation. If I wanted this, I had to listen to Alison. I had to keep going, just like she told me.
I forced myself to take a step forward and warmth spread over my lower leg. I took another step and everything suddenly burst into color. Like Dorothy crossing the rainbow. A thrill of excitement shot through me.
“Wow!” I looked to my left and then to my right.
I was in a town, similar to the one I had just travelled from.
Fresh air filled my lungs and hot sunshine filtered down upon me. I gave myself a moment to enjoy it. Closing my eyes, I tilted my face up to the sunshine. A sense of hope filled me. A sense of rightness. Like this was where I belonged. My body knew it. My magic knew it.
I released a contented breath and opened my eyes. This place looked so much like the small town I’d just left. Same sort of roads, a large park. A bench to sit on. Streetlights. But there were things that were different too.
For one thing, there were no cars. Only people walking along the streets littered with houses, shops, and... was that a wolf? Walking along the road, in the middle of the day?
I swallowed the scream that rose and clung to my coin purse. Everything inside of me wanted to run, to get away as fast as I possibly could. However, glancing around showed me that no one else was scared. No one was running. No one even batted an eye. Which meant this was a totally normal situation.
I really was in the land of Oz...
I shook my head and refocused on the street in front of me. I wasn’t worried about the lack of cars, not when I could transport from place to place.
I also couldn’t worry about peaceful wolves taking a stroll in broad daylight with other people. No. I needed to remember why I was here in the first place.
My only goal now was to find the Wizard.
Chapter 5.