The Witch of Storn

Chapter 27

It was a great morning. The sun was warm on her skin, the wind was just right and her belly was pleasantly full. Things were definitely looking up—

“Why are you so smiley?” Zaria grumbled as she walked past Rey, who was sitting in Zaria’s rocking chair, looking on as her hostess laid out herbs to dry in the sun.

“I don’t know, I just feel like today is going to be a good day,” Rey said, shrugging and still smiling.

Zaria didn’t reply but she squinted at Rey over her shoulder before going back to work, muttering something under her breath. Rey understood the woman’s grumpiness  a little. Zaria had to be up early to carry out her tasks – what exactly did she do for a living? – and she also had to prepare food for the two of them since Rey was unfamiliar with the ingredients. On the other hand the person who was taking up your time, space and resources wasn’t very useful, but that person was looking so cheerful in spite of it.

 She couldn’t help it though; things had not gotten better all of a sudden, she was still miles from where she was supposed to be and she had no idea if it was even safe to leave, but she could drop the weight she’d been carrying around ever since her death. She wished she could have said a proper goodbye to Helene, maybe talk to her for a bit, but she would take what she was given.

Some events were also making a lot more sense now that she knew she’d been here before, as Rhaenar. She had finally accepted that she was Rhaenar now, even if she still had a slight case of amnesia. And finally there were books she could read! She had finished Mythical Tales a while ago, but Zaria hadn’t found the time to get out the other books which were in her room, which she forbade Rey from entering. So Rey had been bored beyond belief every time Zaria left the house, waiting in the parlour like a dog missing their owner. At last Zaria had caved to Rey’s constant nagging and brought the books out of her room so Rey would leave her alone.

Things were definitely looking a lot brighter for Rey.

Things were not looking good for Rey. Well, it wasn’t that they weren’t looking good. It was more like she had been taken out of a simmering pot of water, then left to dry for a while. Just when she had thought the chef had forgotten about her, they picked her up again and dropped her into a sizzling pan of oil. It felt like that to her, at least.

Zaria, on the other hand, was looking cheery.

“I don’t know why you’re frowning, things are not as terrible as you’re making them out to be,” she said.

Rey stopped and glared at her back for a good while. She resumed walking when Zaria turned round to check on her, gritting her teeth when the older woman’s smile grew wider at the sight of Rey. In Zaria’s defense, it really was a sight. Anyone who walked by them would wonder who really was the old woman, with Zaria looking as spry as a teenager and Rey hobbling after her with the aid of her well-used stick.

“Easy for you to say; you’re not the one with a crippling injury.”

Zaria stopped and turned around. She raised an eyebrow at Rey as she approached Zaria.

“I’m perfectly certain your injury isn’t crippling, because if it was you wouldn’t be walking at all. You’re just being overly dramatic, as usual.”

Rey had reached Zaria by this point, and together they set off again, Zaria matching her strides to Rey’s.

“Well, yes,” Rey said, “but still! I don’t really need to escort you – we’re not going anywhere past this island.”

“aw, and here I was trying to be nice, thinking you would appreciate some sun and good exercise after being cooped up in the house for so long,” Zaria said, holding a hand to her chest and looking hurt.

Rey retorted, “I get enough exercise going up and down the stairs, thank you very much. If I wanted sun I would just sit outside or open a window. And I wasn’t bored! I had books I wanted to read!”

Zaria’s sad face disappeared, a smile replacing it just as quickly. “The books aren’t going to run away; they’ll still be there when you get back, brat.”

Rey muttered something under her breath and said no more. Zaria wasn’t going to let her go back – she had already tried. Any other arguments were a waste of energy shestill needed.

They trudged on in silence for a good while before Zaria said it was fine to stop. Rey looked around. They had walked off the original path and into the woods proper, where it was just plant life all over. It was quiet, as if all the chirping, scurrying and their like had been muted the moment they stepped into this area. She turned to Zaria, who held up a hand to stop her from speaking and then brought the index finger of that hand to her lips. Rey nodded. Zaria walked off, gesturing behind her to Rey to follow. They walked off, footsteps crunching the dead leaves under foot. Rey's heart beat at twice the normal speed. They were being so loud; Zaria wasn't going to do anything about it?

A little while later they stopped at the foot of a gigantic tree. Zaria dropped her basket and stretched with a loud yawn, bursting into raucous laughter when Rey shushed her hurriedly.

"Shh!" Rey hissed furiously, "Aren’t we supposed to the quiet?"

Zaria chuckled and patted Rey on the shoulder.

"We were; now we don't need to be," she picked up her basket again, "come on, our objective is right here."

Rey frowned at her hostess but followed anyway, clutching her own basket tight in one hand. They moved closer to the tree, and as they got closer Rey saw that its trunk was riddled with holes. They were as large as her palm and looked like there was no bottom to them, extending into inky darkness forever. She leaned forward to look into the holes, paused and moved back.

She turned to Zaria, who was watching her with a strange look in her eyes.

"Is it—" she waved her basket-holding hand in the direction of the tree, "— safe?"

Zaria smiled. "You're learning, praise the Spirits. No — you may touch, but looking into those holes will rot your brain and turn you into a mindless zombie."

"Oh. Wait, zombies exist?"

Zaria shook her head at Rey. "I had assumed this was standard knowledge for all, even if you are Revonan." She muttered to herself, "What do they teach them nowadays?"

Rey felt the urge to defend herself but even if she hadn't held back, there was no point. It wasn't an argument she would never win, knowing almost nothing about this new world. She didn't even know what it was called!

Zaria said, "Zombies exist — it is a miracle that you even know what they are," Rey groaned inwardly as Zaria slipped into lecture mode, "usually they are raised by necromancers to do their bidding, but this tree does the opposite. It turns already living beings into mindless zombies."

Rey looked at the now menacing tree and scooted away from it and closer to Zaria. When she was sure Zaria was completely between her and the tree she asked an amused Zaria, "I thought zombies were supposed to be already dead to be zombies?"

Zaria nodded. "They are, but as I said, the Sif does the opposite. It needs more nutrition than it can get by just basking in the sunlight, so it sends out its slaves to do its work. Look, here's one now."

Rey whirled round, inching closer to Zaria as she watched the squirrel crawl its way to the tree, dragging a bloody bird behind it. The two watched as it approached one of the lower holes. It tugged at the corpse with all its might until the bird was halfway into one of the holes. Then it pushed it into the hole, where it became one with the darkness without even a tiny sound.

The squirrel stepped back, its task completed. The tree wasn't done with it though. Out of the blue it shot forward into one of the holes. It managed to grab hold of the rim of the hole, trying to escape but instead it was sucked forward into the darkness and all was quiet once more.

Rey's wide eyes stared at the innocent-looking tree, and then at Zaria.

"Zaria," she said.

"Yes?"

"What exactly are we doing here?"

Zaria placed her hand on her forehead. "Oh my, I almost forgot! I have need of a certain part of this tree."

Rey glowered. "And why did I have to accompany you?"

Zaria patted her arm.

"Because you need to get out of the house, and also because I would rather not do my harvesting alone if I can help it. I might be a qualified witch but it is best not to take any risks."

"Risks more dangerous than touching a carnivorous, zombie-making tree with your bare hands?" Rey's arms were folded at this point.

"The only thing more dangerous than touching the Sif is being completely alone with the Sif. If anything happens to me you will be able to pull me away..."

She trailed off as Rey held up her walking stick, face deadpan.

"I see. I may not have thought this through thoroughly..."

Rey rolled her eyes and folded her arms again.

"Exactly. So can we go back now? All this standing around is making my knees ache."

Zaria shook her head.

"No, we're already here. We might as well make the most of it."

There was no reply. Rey stared at Zaria, who stared back. The contest of wills was ended at last by Rey looking away.

"Fine, but don't blame me if something happens and I'm not able to help you."

Zaria chuckled. "You do realize that without me you would starve to death?"

Rey did not deign to answer the question. She just raised an eyebrow at Zaria. Zaria rolled up her sleeves neatly in reply, saying, "Let us begin."