Page 16 of Wandering Witch

When I tried to wriggle free, he just growled at me, and I had to watch him drag me closer to the line. I had no idea what would happen when I was forced across. I was always too afraid to do so. So when my legs brushed the line, I closed my eyes and trusted that the bear knew what he was doing.

A couple of steps later, I thought I felt something in my chest shift just slightly, but other than that, I just hung in Locke’s jaws.

He carried me like that for far longer than I thought it would take to force my ghostly ass through an invisible wall when I decided to risk opening my eyes.

What I saw shook me. I didn’t recognize where we were. I didn’t recognize where we were.

I knew every inch of my home turned into a national park. From the newest saplings to the towering trees that were ancient when I landed in the New World generations ago. But these trees around us now? I didn’t know them. Many of the species were the same as what I knew, but the growth patterns were all different.

I was in a different location than where I was trapped for the past several hundred years.

What did that bear manage to do that no one else could?

“Um, I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. But where the hell are we? What the actual fuck is going on?” I asked.

“We are just about to the foothills on the eastern side of the Appalachian Mountains. On our way south, Locke and I discussed the best route back north and agreed the mountains would provide the best cover. Besides, both of the remaining locations are either right on the range or just a short jaunt from there by bear,” Fare answered distractedly.

I tried to look around to see her, but the only things in my line of sight were the broader and hairy shoulders of the bear and his slightly less broad and far hairier chest.

“Fascinating. But I have just one more question before we start climbing the mountain then.” I tried to keep my voice fairly neutral and droll sounding, even though I was buzzing with excitement on the inside.

“Yes?”

“Is there any chance that Locke can let me go long enough for me to, oh I don’t know, climb on his back or find some other more comfortable position?” I could not resist my snide comment any longer.

She laughed as the bear above me chuffed before he slowed to a stop and lowered me so my feet could touch the ground. Once he was sure I had my balance, he released my shirt, and I was able to stumble away from him.

I took a little time to straighten my shirt as I looked around at the surrounding woods. Somehow that bear was able to take me from my death spot and allowed me to stay with them.

I sniffled a little while I was still faced away from my new party companions before I turned around and found Fare trying to scoot forward enough that I may fit behind her.

“Here, let me help.” I offered as I floated towards her and guided her into her new position before I grabbed fistfuls of bear fur and pulled myself up behind Fare. “This isn’t too different from riding a horse after all. Amazing!”

Our mount grunted and turned his head to shoot daggers at me.

“I mean in terms of mounting and seating. When it comes to speed, you are clearly second to none to have covered so much ground so fast. And I have to admit, I feel far more powerful with you than I did with any horse. I’m really understanding why the media started having strong warriors ride battle bears. Imagine if we found someone to craft armor for you. You and your rider would be unstoppable and strike so much fear into your enemies that battles would practically be over before they could even begin!” Okay, so what started as nervous rambling to appease the giant bear turned into the filter between my mind and my mouth failing spectacularly. I ran on with my muses for a while as Locke carried us deep into the mountains that I thought I would never see in person.

Fare just laughed at me as I started to spin tales based on the stories, movies, and games that campers had ‘shared’ with me over years of beautiful battle maidens and their fierce guardian mounts. She didn’t say it out loud, but I think we were both in agreement that stories that featured brave crimson-haired women taming colossal bears were our favorites.

Farren

It almost took us longer to cross the mountainous terrain of the Appalachians than it did to cross the bulk of the continental United States. My guess was the weight of a third person paired with the dense woods riddled with backpackers didn’t help at all. But the overall mood was much brighter as Roan didn’t like to let silence reign.

He chattered away about anything and everything that came to his mind. I didn’t know exactly what Locke did to release him, but I won’t deny that I was delighted he did. My heart had broken at the thought of leaving him behind with no promises that I would ever see him again.

As we neared the final circle, the topic of Roan’s rambling changed to what he thought we might find. He started naming off all the various legends that had made the news over the years.

“Yes, but how many of those actually involve this part of the U.S.?” I asked as I held up the map so he could see over my shoulder.

We were once again astride Locke’s back while we got an idea of what we could expect to see waiting for us. So far all his guesses were either about locations nowhere near the circle or events that weren’t relegated to our specific area.

“Fair enough, Fare. If you want to particular, there’s really only one place that comes to mind. Not that it was active for long. At one point there was a section of woods where a good-sized handful of people went missing. During that short time, the thing that tied the victims together was that at least a couple of them wore bright red coats and were alone. Though, the most I really could tell you about that whole thing was that one of the early people was the daughter of some rich prick. That’s all the campers and reporters wanted to talk about. A girl went for a hike one school break and was never seen again.”

A tremor went through me at his summarization of the event he thought we might be exploring. Got it. No wandering off alone while we were there. Beneath us, Locke grumbled in what I thought was meant to be reassuring.

The heavy topic had one slightly pleasant side effect though. It quieted Roan down for a few minutes. Not that I didn’t appreciate his attempts to lighten the mood after long hours of riding, but I was so accustomed to traveling in silence that his running commentary got exhausting after some time.

“So, I’ve been wondering for a little time now, any ideas about what’s with the star on the map?” he asked, and I didn’t even have to see Locke’s face to know we shared an eye roll at our companion’s need for chatter. “I mean, I kinda get that the circles marked places you need to visit to find the ingredients to break your curse. But that star seems oddly placed to me.”

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