Rise of the Night Witch

Chapter 1.5 - Secret Keeper

Recap: Last time, Marissa and her friends defeated two monsters with a lot of effort. However, now, they're trapped in another world and they don't know how to get back.

Walking away from the smoke, I had room to breathe. Literally and figuratively. I still felt the tendril around my chest, the hound biting my arm, and the magic invading my mind. I survived. My body shivered from the after-effects.

"Breathe in, count to four, and then breathe out," Siris said. "That's how they breathe in the army to calm down! Okay, many people in the army still get PTSD, but it's worth a try."

Closing my eyes, I followed Siris' advice. My mouth was dry as paper, but at least I could still inhale normally.

"And now you strike a pose and drop a badass one-liner," Siris added.

"Em, what?"

"That's what they do in the movies to calm down. Plus, it always breaks the bad guys' concentra-!"

Siris dissipated before he could finish. Stupid, stupid venom. But I can push on. It's nothing. Right now, Isa had it worse than me. The excess aether in her soul turned her comatose. Now, she was lying in the mud, sleeping next to the brambles like Aurora. Her skin looked as sallow as that of a hospital patient and her eyes like they had been deprived of sleep for ten days.

I rubbed her face, cleaning it from the mire that covered it like a mud mask. Why did she have to come here in the first place?

I shook her body.

No reaction.

To my surprise, Simon had regained his composure. He stood straight like a pencil amidst the crushing darkness around him. He didn't walk like a zombie anymore and light had returned to his eyes. He still looked weary, sure, with dirt on his clothes, and tired bags around his eyes, but nothing a good night of sleep couldn't fix. Overall, he seemed more relaxed than me.

Even normal humans occasionally performed very basic magic tricks. They couldn't channel their life energy so well, sure, but having the right tools helped. With the horseshoe, he could ward off creatures averse to iron. And while mind magic was powerful, it was easy to disrupt.

Still, how did he even know to bring such an item? Perhaps I didn't know him long enough. He seemed sweet enough in a "boy next door" manner, not the threatening or creepy type who takes advantage of anyone. Like Isa, I first saw him about two years ago on the Paranormal Pals Discord server. Unlike Isa, who attributed 99% of phenomena to aliens, demons, or witches, Simon appeared like the scientifically minded type. Not the type who believed in anything as silly as monsters.

Unless he was a practitioner himself. Which was a possibility. Given that the Veil existed, he couldn't have told me about it unless he knew I was one, too. And, thinking logically, he can't have been stronger than an apprentice. So, there was no reason to be afraid, even if my irrational brain believed otherwise. I'd have loved to ask him, once we were safe.

This black mire expanded – which Siris said came from the Otherworld - while I was still fighting and swallowed the entire room. A vertical wall of mud had formed which blocked our exit.

My cellphone still didn't work! Could I call someone with Isa's?

"I'm afraid that calling the mundane authorities is something I can't allow," Siris said. "Even if I knew the number of the magic cops, they couldn't help you. You are trapped in another world at the moment."

"You mean, like, the Otherworld?" I asked.

"No," Siris said. "Worse than that. We might be in a Domain."