A Fork of Paths

“It’s going to take far too long,” I dared to complain. “Let me go and get the witch. I’ll try to convince her to come down here.” I eyed the jinni cautiously.

Aisha paused, then to my relief, she nodded. “I’ll wait here by the box. But don’t take too long, or I’ll come after you.”

“Okay,” I said, thankful that she had agreed without fuss. Aisha waiting here was best for many reasons. For one, the presence of the jinni would only get the witch’s guard up and make it more difficult for me to persuade her. Aisha was so prickly, I was sure that one misplaced comment from either of them would blow the whole deal.

Secondly, and more importantly, I would be freer to steer things in the direction that I needed them to go without the jinni breathing down my neck and listening in on every word I spoke during the initial meeting… assuming I was even going to be able to get one.

Before heading off, I waded into the ocean to wash away the worst of the filth from my body, so that the witch wouldn’t slam the door in my face in disgust the moment she opened it. Then, even as it pained me to leave Braithe alone with Aisha, I turned my back on her and the ocean and began racing up the hill toward the witch’s medical center.

It was early in the morning. I guessed that the witch sisters would be asleep. I hoped that they wouldn’t be too angry at my disturbance.

Arriving in front of the castle, I moved cautiously toward the front door. I placed my ear against the wood, listening for any sounds indicating that someone was awake inside. All was quiet. Waves crashed against the shore in the distance.

I knocked loudly, five times, then waited for several moments. I took a step backward, craning my neck to look up at the tall building. All the windows were dark, which worried me. I hoped they were home. And I didn’t want to be forced to break in to verify it. It would make my task of convincing her to help us ten times more difficult. I knocked again, and waited some more.

From the corner of my eye, I caught a light flickering on in one of the downstairs windows. Yes!

Footsteps sounded on the other side of the door, which swung open. Standing before me could only have been Uma, the witch doctor herself. She bore much resemblance to her sister, who acted as her receptionist and whom we had met before. She shared the same bouncy auburn hair, light blue eyes and rounded features, although she was taller and more slender in build than her sister. She wore a purple velvet nightgown and her long hair was bound in a braid that hung down one shoulder.

Her brows furrowed as she looked down at me. “Who are you?” she asked. “And what brings you here at such an early hour?”

Although I had visited her castle with Benjamin, Arron, and Aisha, due to my getting rid of the merflor, we hadn’t actually met the doctor herself. Only her sister.

Now that she stood before me—clearly I’d woken her up—I’d expected her to sound more irritated. She just seemed mildly surprised. “My name is Julie,” I said. “Julie Duan.”

I took a moment to shoot a glance behind me, anxious that Aisha might be stalking me, wanting to listen in on my conversation with the witch. But it was just my paranoia. I could make out her form still hovering on the beach in the distance, next to the white box. And something told me that she would remain at the beach and wait for my return, because jinn avoided witches like the plague—and vice versa. The only reason Aisha had ever agreed to Arron’s idea of letting the witch operate on Benjamin before was that she had believed that there was absolutely no other way to release him from the Elder’s curse.

My eyes returned to Uma, then darted over her shoulder toward the inside of the building. “I’m very sorry to disturb you at this rude hour, but may I come in? I have a very… urgent situation.”

The witch stiffened, looking me over with slight suspicion, but then she took a step back and opened the door wider for me to enter. After entering, she closed the door behind me and led me across the entrance hall to a door behind the desk where her sister usually sat. She opened it, and we emerged in what appeared to be her potion room. It was huge—far larger than even the spacious entrance hall—and there was barely an inch of the walls that wasn’t covered by shelves filled with bottles of exotic-looking substances.

She led me over to a small table and gestured that I pull up a chair. We sat down opposite each other.

Clasping my sweaty hands together, I began, “I’ve discovered what I believe is a new species of supernatural… And you’re the only person I could think of who could help in understanding what it is exactly.”

She stared at me, disbelieving. “A new species? Where and what?”

I began to describe to the best of my ability the characteristics of the creatures, based on my observations of them so far, as well as the meager scraps of information the Elder had thrown us. By the time I was finished, the witch’s mouth was practically hanging open. “You’re joking with me,” she said.

I shook my head. “I swear to you, I’m not here to waste your precious time,” I said, looking earnestly into her blue eyes. “Besides, you don’t need to believe me—I can show you.”

“And where did you say you found them?” she pressed.

I hadn’t said yet. I’d been skirting around the subject until now. “I got stranded with a friend in the ocean—long story—and we found them aboard a ship. My friend got taken by them and turned, leaving me alone. As I mentioned, I have brought a specimen to show you and will happily hand this over to you for inspection, but I must ask for something in exchange.”