They set off at first light. The clouds converged to cover the sun, and the air chilled the bone. Hekate's death had created change in the natural order, for the worse.
The house was in a remote area, far from most villages. The risk of confrontation decreased as they walked further and further away from civilization.
It had been days since they'd left, and the trip had been difficult. But the thought of finding Yggdrasill urged them on.
"This house really is far out, isn't it?" Styx wondered aloud. Adreanna stared at their surroundings. It seemed the further they went, the worse it got. They were surrounded by dead forest. Trees twisted and turned in the breeze. The leaves were dry, covering the cold, hard earth.
The most fauna she saw were raucous crows landing to feast.
"Well, we're getting close. There should be a lake right about here, and a boat."
Styx stared at her. "Who'd leave a boat in the middle of nowhere?"
She had considered that. Still, the owner of the house would have to go back and forth, right? But would it still be there? Who knew how long ago that execution was?
She stared at the lake. It was ghostly silent. There was the boat. It was not well-maintained; the wood slightly rotten. But it seemed to be safe enough to last the trip.
She looked around. Water as far as the eye could see. How long would it take to go around it? How far away was the next village? Close enough for an execution.
"Well, not like we have much choice." She remarked, settling in. She gasped as it rocked back and forth. Styx changed into raven form, lightly landing on the seat.
"Be careful!" he said.
She nodded. She had never been on a boat before.
Again, not much choice.
She began to row. At first, she felt that any moment would be her last. But soon she settled into a routine. The sky above them seemed fit to cry. Ever since Hekate died, that had been the norm.
She continued. They passed several trees, having to row through narrow rocks. Sometimes, she caught something in the water, staring up at her with a wide smile. This was no ordinary lake.
They had been rowing for hours. Yet no sign of land beyond the rocks and stones, and the occasional fallen log. Were they stuck here, doomed to row until their deaths?
They nearly fell forward when the boat collided with land.
Her heart sank.
All around them lay death and despair. The ruins of what seemed to have been a strong, large mansion lay scattered in the grey sand. The shrieks of ravens filled the air, worse than ever as she walked forward.
She reached down, trying to pick up the sand. She winced.
Blood flowed freely from her finger. Something sharp hid underneath those grains, and she had no intent of finding out what.
There was no point in continuing on. "Come on Styx." she said. "Let's go. Styx?"
She turned around.
Styx, this isn't funny.
Something was wrong.
Their link was intact, the pact holding strong. But it was like something was blocking it, damaging the connection.
"What in the name of Opulentia's ugly-"
A smash resounded in her ears as the sounds of wood shattering filled the air. The remains of her boat lay wrecked on the shore, damaged beyond repair. What monster had done this?
The dread she felt when Hekate died had returned. Every shadow hid something sinister.
Styx, I need to find Styx.
"Hello there..." A shrill, high-pitched voice whispered. Stabs of cold pierced her skin as she felt a hand on her shoulder. The stench of rot filled the air.
She ran. Sprinting faster and faster as ancient, primal fear took her. She sped past trees, running across ruins of old buildings and sprinting through thorny brambles. All the while, the sounds echoed around her, an unholy choir of voices speaking together in dissonant unison. They screamed at her to return, shrieking fit to wake the dead.
Somewhere in the distance, an unseen audience laughed at her suffering.
The voices all stopped as she plunged into the Earth. She sputtered, coughing until her chest hurt. Her legs felt weak, as if made of soft tree resin. She stared at what seemed to be a shrine. She approached the altar, the pieces all coming together.
Like all witches, Adreanna believed in the concept of animism. The belief that all objects had a spirit. Most of these spirits were asleep, but some were wide awake. The spirit of this island was no different. It was awake. And hungry.
Why had her spell led her here? It made no sense.
Unless...
Her heart sank. She hadn't even considered it. The memory was a fake, cleverly planted in to hide the real ones. She hadn't even stopped to think, the idea of escaping this wretched world overpowering logic.
"Damn it." She muttered, staring at the altar. This spirit was once worshiped as a god, though, of course, it was never a true deity.
Based on the contents of the altar, the spirit had become accustomed to human sacrifices. Still, why did it not come near this place? After all, this was its area of worship, where it's power was strongest.
That led her to a second conclusion.
It was not one, but two spirits warring over the land. If so, one was winning. She had not felt a sliver of another spirit's presence. Even here. Still, whatever this thing was, it was cautious and would not approach its rival's domain. She considered her options.
How could she leave? Could she try to make peace with it?
Unlikely. If it wanted peace, it would have asked. This one was hunting her.
For now, she was safe, but for how long? Her magic could sustain her far beyond mortal limits, but even her powers had constraints. No witch could live forever, sustained only by air.
The only reason she was safe at all was because the spirit feared this place. If it grew braver, stronger...
The island was its property. It owned every grain of sand, every drop of water. It knew all that went on here. It knew where she was.
Could she appeal to the rival spirit?
I don't even know the thing's name.
She stared around her, wondering what she could do. She had limited options. Even if Styx was here, they had no boat. Could she use magic to assemble one?
Plan after plan went through her mind, each more desperate than the last.
Until I deal with this thing, nothing I do will work.
A blood-curdling scream shook her out of her thoughts.
It was Styx.
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