“No kidding,” I agreed.
We approached the home and I marveled at the meticulous landscaping. Rows of flowers in every color of the rainbow surrounded the house. Hummingbirds and fuzzy honeybees busied themselves in the blooms. It was calming and peaceful, and despite the nervous feeling about meeting a powerful outcast witch, I found myself enjoying the beauty of her home.
“Wait here,” Sheila said when we reached the stone path that cut through the witch’s garden.
I had no problem waiting for her to go first. While she walked to the witch’s front door, I checked on Alec again. He didn’t look any better, but I didn’t think he looked worse, so I guess that was as good as it was going to get right now.
After making sure he was breathing and had a pulse, I set my palm on his forehead. He was burning up. I looked up at Malcom, who was holding Alec like a bride. His expression changed as he read mine.
“What is it?” Malcom asked.
“He’s got a fever,” I said.
“She’s ready for us,” Sheila called.
I turned away from Malcom and looked toward the house. Sheila was standing in the doorway, waiting for us.
Malcom walked ahead, cradling Alec in his arms. I lingered behind, waiting for him to get through. Kyle moved next to me. “He’s going to get the help he needs now.”
“I hope so,” I said.
“He’s tough, he’ll fight through,” he assured me.
I reached for Kyle’s hand and squeezed. “Thank you, for everything.”
“It’s my job,” he said.
“It’s more than that,” I said.
He smiled, then walked forward toward the house. I followed him, steeling myself for whatever would happen next.
The interior of the home took the exterior up a notch. It was like walking into a palace. The outside was fairy tale cottage, inside was fairy tale castle. Overstuffed cream-colored couches, vases of flowers on marble tables, pale blue velvet curtains hanging in the windows. Every detail was meticulous and lavish.
The polished wood floors had tastefully placed thick, expensive looking rugs covering main walkways and in the center of rooms. And there were a lot of rooms.
We were standing in a foyer that looked too impossibly large to fit inside the cottage we’d entered. To my right, was a formal dining room with a table long enough for at least a dozen people. To my left was a sitting room. Ahead of me, I saw the hallway splinter into several other rooms.
It was clear the magic of the meadow extended into the house itself. It might as well have been a fucking castle. Sheila led us down the halls, past closed doors, and down a set of stairs.
“You doing okay, Malcom?” I called. He was still carrying an unresponsive Alec.
“I’m good,” he grunted.
The staircase seemed to go down forever, taking us deeper into the ground. There was a damp chill in the air and despite the lights on the wall, it felt like it was getting darker.
“We’re not going to a dungeon, are we?” I said, only half joking.
“It’ll get weirder,” Sheila promised.
“Can’t wait,” I said.
We finally emerged into a sprawling underground space that resembled a cave far too much for my liking. Stone walls lined the room and the ground was dirt. Lamps flickered, providing some light in the dark room. It was a huge space, but it felt like it was getting smaller by the minute.
Aside from the strangeness of the room itself, the objects in here added to the mystery. Tables covered in bottles and jars with a mix of mysterious tools and instruments lined one wall. Against the other were rows and rows of plants. Orange lamps hummed above the plants, casting the plants in an eerie glow.
In the back of the room, there was a single white door. It opened and a teenager emerged. She was wearing torn jeans and a faded Nirvana tee. Her jet-black hair was cropped short and worn in jagged spikes on top of her head. Around her neck, she had several beaded necklaces that shimmered in the unusual light.
This couldn’t be the witch. She looked nearly normal, and she was far too young. The young woman looked up and I noticed her eyes for the first time. They were pure white, no iris, no pupil. Just a bright, nearly florescent white. It was impossible not to stare. I’d never seen anything like it.