Theiden hurried to keep up with the witch's fast pace. Aside from the daily walks and the unexpected sparring match the other day, he had been restricted to the cottage for an entire week. He felt almost euphoric at this break in routine, despite not knowing the cause for it.

Of course, he would have felt better if he hadn't been stuck in the rain with a witch for company.

Theiden narrowed his eyes at the swiftly-moving figure before him. Now that he knew what stalked the mountain forests at night, he would have to be more careful in getting back home. But that did not mean that he had given up on escaping altogether. Since the witch was more skilled in fighting than he was, brute force would not work in overcoming her.

The last night's events had given him an idea—to gain her trust, learn all of her secrets, and then strike her down. She had, after all, let down her guard for a moment while he had tended to her shoulder. And after a few more sparring sessions and question-trading, perhaps he would learn enough to defeat her and return home. And once the news of his escape from the witch spread through the city, he'd be able to join the witch hunters for certain.

At this thought, a branch nearly swatted Theiden in the eye as he made his way through a thick cluster of trees. Upon hearing his surprised intake of breath, Lenesa paused and turned around, backlit by the wisp's bluish glow.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"Just peachy," Theiden grumbled, shaking some of the water off his cloak and pulling his hood lower.

Lenesa raised a brow but continued on without another word, leaving Theiden to his thoughts once more.

Perhaps he wouldn't kill the witch, Theiden mused, since she had, after all, defended him from having his heart ripped out the previous night. Still, the entire fight had seemed to Theiden like that of two wolves fighting over a scrap of meat. Although his captor did not intend to end Theiden's life in the way the faun did, she had cut off his ties to his family and friends, and that was almost the same thing. He should at least maim her.

Fat raindrops drove in under Theiden's hood and splashed against his face. Blinking, he looked around to find that Lenesa had led them out from beneath the canopy of trees and to the high edge of a ravine. Water roared below, gushing through the chasm in foamy white waves. Tall beige pillars of rock jutted out from the water, some of their wide tops just level with the ledge they stood on. Theiden glanced over the steep side and sucked in a breath.

"Well, are you coming?" Lenesa called. Theiden looked up to find her standing several steps away, one foot on the edge of the ravine and the other on the top of the closest column of rock sticking up out of the roaring river below.

"What...are you doing?" Theiden managed to ask, half-wondering if he was seeing things correctly.

"Think of them as stepping stones," the witch said. She pointed to a pillar beyond the one she was half on, and then another farther away, both at about the same height. "It's like a stepping stone bridge."

"Do you want to die?" Theiden said incredulously. Maybe he didn't need to worry about killing the witch—she would complete the task for him.

"It's not so bad," she answered. "I've done it once before...I think I know which route to take."

Theiden looked out at the tall islands of rock sticking up from the ravine like quills on a porcupine. Some were spaced far apart, while others were closer together. A few tilted precariously, and all were narrower at the bottom where the water had worn away the rock—a sure sign of instability. It looked as though a giant had shaved off strips of the mountainside and dumped them upright into the ravine.

"You think," Theiden echoed. Then another thing Lenesa had said caught up with him, and he turned back to face her in alarm. "Wait. You've only done this once?"

But the witch was already two columns apart from him, Shwei bobbing by her side.

"Yes," she answered over her shoulder, before focusing on her next jump. "Although it wasn't raining and there was someone else to guide me. My great-aunt, actually..." she trailed off to give more focus to her balance and leapt to the next outcropping of rock. Theiden held his breath, but she managed to land on her feet. Just one small slip, and she would have fallen several stories before hitting the rapids below.

"You expect me to believe that your great-aunt jumped across these rocks with you?" Theiden called out. She had mentioned her aunt during their sparring match as well, but it was hard to believe that the witch had any family.

Lenesa turned around and put a hand on her hip. "Stop complaining and start moving. You wanted to come with me, so stay quiet and keep up like you promised."

Theiden took a deep breath and edged out onto the first column that he had seen Lenesa take. This one was wider than almost all the others—enough for two horses to stand on with room to spare—but he still held his arms out for balance, just in case.

"So why don't you magic-build a bridge or something?" Theiden asked before lunging to the next uneven surface. Lightening flashed, startling him off-balance for a split-second. He sucked in a deep breath, arms pin wheeling backwards.

Shwei squeaked in alarm and flew over, bumping him right between the shoulder blades and firmly back onto the rock. Theiden immediately bent over with his hands on his knees, taking deep breaths. That had been too close.

Thunder sounded, and the wisp slowly came around to hover by Theiden's shoulder. This close to the glowing creature, Theiden could see that the witch had summoned a sort of transparent shield over the wisp, acting as its own type of cloak against the elements.

"Thank you," Theiden managed after he had finally caught his breath, and Shwei hummed a reply before zooming ahead. Theiden straightened back up, only to find Lenesa staring at him from two columns away.

"No more talking," she said once their eyes met. "Focus."

Theiden frowned. "I was just wondering why there wasn't a bridge—"

"It's because this is not my territory, and I am not usually welcomed here," Lenesa replied tartly. "No more questions." She pointed at the rock in front of him, which was a sizeable distance away from the one he was currently standing on. In-between the two pillars, there was nothing but cold rain and air.

Lightening tore through the sky again, illuminating the rushing current below. Theiden closed his eyes for a brief moment, wondering just what he had gotten himself into. If he managed to get across the chasm this time, he would still have a return trip to worry about.

The thunder sounded, closer this time, and Theiden opened his eyes.

Fine, then, he thought. Let's get this over with.

He focused and launched himself onto the next outcropping. The rain was making it difficult to see, but he at least managed to keep his footing once he landed. Lenesa was three pillars away from him now, and about to jump to another one. Theiden concentrated on his next move, and then the next. If he ignored the steep drop below, he could see how Lenesa's statement had been true: it was almost like stepping stones—only, he'd get more than just wet feet if he took a misstep.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, Theiden stumbled onto the other side of the ravine. But there was no time to rest—as soon as Lenesa had seen both of Theiden's feet on the ground, she had turned and walked off into the forest. Theiden groaned and hurried after her.

The forest was wilder on this side, with rough chunks of rock littering the ground and trees growing more thickly together. Footing was made even more treacherous with a thick coating of slick green moss on almost every surface. Lenesa blended into the surroundings almost perfectly in her jade-colored outfit, and Theiden tried not to think too much about how the color reminded him what the witch had done to his daughter.

Their route turned up a steep incline, and then leveled out again before Lenesa finally stopped.

"Are we—" Theiden began.

Then he saw the body.

Theiden's breath caught in his throat and he took a step forward, but Lenesa held out a hand to stop him.

"The darkness surrounds her still," she explained in a low voice. "It is best not to get too close."

Theiden's gaze swept over the muddied boots, the torn stockings, and the wrinkled dress before settling on the mess of dark curls. The girl's face was turned away from them, but there was an undeniable familiarity about the figure. He had seen her, several times before.

"I know her," he choked out. His daughter's best friend. How could he not?

Lenesa turned and studied him with an unreadable expression.

"Then I am sorry," she said quietly.

Theiden tried to step around the witch, but she blocked him.

"There is nothing you can do," Lenesa explained. "She's gone."

"Then what are we even doing here?" Theiden shot back.

Lenesa shook her head. "We must wait."

"For what?"

A twig snapped behind them, cutting through the drone of pounding rain. Theiden spun around in alarm.

"For me," a woman said, stepping through the trees.

Theiden tensed, ready to fight or flee at a moment's notice. Judging by the large orange wisp at the woman's side and the stormy blue-gray locks of hair spilling out from under the hood of her cloak, she was another witch. The woman was slim and solemn, with a few light wrinkles around her eyes and mouth. Theiden guessed her to be in her mid-sixties, but with witches it was hard to tell—she could have been a century old, for all he knew. Was she the murderer?

The woman's lilac gaze fell upon the witch behind Theiden. "Well, Lenesa Evergreen," she said, "It has certainly been a while. I can't say it's a pleasure, but thank you for coming on such short notice, and in such weather. As you can see, a healing witch's presence was needed." Those unnerving eyes then fixed themselves on Theiden. "Who is your guest?"

Lenesa took a step forward to stand beside Theiden and gave a low curtsey. "Kivirra Rosewood, may I introduce you to Theiden Guster."

"From the city, I see," Kivirra remarked, crossing her arms. Her gaze raked over Theiden's muddy boots, worn trousers, and hastily-buttoned jacket.

"Yes," Lenesa said. "There was an intruder last night, and he felt that it would be safer coming with me."

Theiden frowned. She made him sound like a coward! "I—"

"Utter nonsense, of course," Kivirra said. "But I suppose it would have been more trouble than it was worth to get him to stay."

Theiden glanced at Lenesa, but the witch's expression was unreadable.

"Yes," Lenesa said. "At any rate, I thank you for welcoming us on your grounds."

"Well," Kivirra said, turning away from them with all the attitude of a cat that had lost interest in its current entertainment, "Let's get this over with, then. We'll have to get rid of the darkness before it spreads further."

As the older witch approached the prone form on the ground, Theiden took a hesitant step forward. "Wait..."

A hand wrapped around his arm, stopping him. Lenesa. Theiden met her gaze, but the witch only shook her head.

"What—what happened to her?" he choked out.

Lenesa turned away from him to survey the scene before them. "Can you not feel it?" she whispered, her voice only slightly louder than the whisper of the leaves in the trees around them.

"Feel what?" Theiden asked.

The witch kept her hand on his arm, and her fingers dug into his bicep. "The despair," she began, "and the anger. It saturates this place with pain and chokes any hope that remains. Fear and hatred is a deadly thing."

Theiden yanked his arm out of the witch's grasp. "What does that have to do with this?" he growled. "Are you telling me Helaine was killed by feelings?"

"Helaine," the witch echoed softly. "No. She was killed by those who were too weak to see anything other than a future of darkness." Her unnatural, mesmerizing gaze turned back to Theiden. "She was killed by the monsters in these mountains."

"Monsters like you and that other witch?" Theiden spat, stepping back and jerking his head in the direction of the older woman kneeling by Helaine's body.

There was a flicker of a small, sad smile.

"No," she replied. "Not yet."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Theiden snapped. His captor gave no reply, and instead moved past him to stand by the older witch. He could do nothing but watch as the two stood together and began to chant in a foreign tongue, the sound buzzing in his ears and making his head spin with its intensity.

Theiden shied away and held his hands over his ears to block the sound. Yet he was unable to look away as the witches continued their work. The rain softened to a drizzle now, but the wind picked up instead, tearing at Theiden's cloak and rattling the pine needles in the trees.

Can you not sense it? Lenesa's words echoed in his mind. Fear and hatred is a deadly thing.

Even though Theiden had not moved his hands, muffled sound from the incantation still reached his ears. Lenesa's tone, soft and smooth like a lullaby, joined with Kivirra's higher, rougher pitch. Branches creaked and groaned angrily under the force of the wind. Was it just his imagination, or were the shadows beneath the trees growing, stretching up and out to cover every inch of the rocky, moss-covered ground?

Theiden focused on the back of Helaine's head, thankful the body was facing the other way. It shook him to think how such a harmless trip had turned into something so deadly. How long had she run through the forest? Judging by the state of her clothes and the welts on her arms and hands, Helaine had struggled for a long time, trying to escape whatever had pursued her. How had she managed to get this far?

She was killed by the monsters in these mountains.

Theiden scrunched his eyes shut, focusing on his breathing, of his heartbeat echoing in his ears. How close had his daughter come to meeting an end like this? How close had he?

What monsters were out there? Theiden thought of the faun from the previous night, and its thirst for his death. For a fleeting moment, he thought that perhaps it was fortunate he had only run into a witch, after all.

Theiden shook his head, eyes still closed. Even though the faun had not killed him, Lenesa was just as bad. What was it she had said when they first met?

You will come with me, to live or die as I see fit.

There were no differences, really, between witches and the other creatures who dwelt in the mountains, except perhaps in their methods of execution. Either way, both were focused on snuffing out life. And now, with the two women bent over poor Helaine's corpse, chanting their mysterious nothings, it was evident that witches were more dangerous in groups. They could not be trusted.

A sick feeling hit Theiden in the stomach, and his world began to spin. The strange murmurs around him faded away, and then nothingness overtook him.

~~

Late night hasty post.  Please vote or comment and let me know your thoughts!  As always, thanks for reading!