Page 8 of Wandering Witch

“What troubles you, my Fare one? Never fear, for with us now joined, neither of us shall know terror or lonesomeness again!”

I barely had enough time to register that he was holding my hands before he pulled me into a tight embrace. He buried his nose into the top of my hair and inhaled deeply once before he shifted his head so his cheek now rested on me.

My throat tightened at his actions. What was going on here? His words offered me a comfort that I hadn’t realized I needed. I was very young, only nine years old when my mother was taken. Father stayed with me only long enough to see that I made it safely to a new location before he left.

That was the last time anyone had stood at my side.

“You don’t really mean that,” I murmured. “You don’t even know me. We just met so what makes you think we’re mates?”

He moved to hold me at arm’s length and looked me right in the eye. I found myself lost in the dark depths as he took in my measure.

“I will admit that I know nothing of how witches discover their mates. However, shifters know their mates at first scent, and my dear, that would be you.” The serious look on his face caused shivers to race up and down my spine. “Your past matters not now that we are one. Whatever shades haunt you, we shall together, face and defeat them.”

With that, he pulled me back into a crushing embrace. I was completely speechless, was he serious? While I was strongly tempted to push myself back and break his hold, an even more powerful instinct told me to wrap my arms around his torso and accept the comfort he offered.

Just as I surrendered to that weaker side of myself and rested my head on his chest, the air shifted sharply outside the building. I squeezed my eyes as tightly as I was able and hoped that his senses weren’t fine enough to pick up on the change.

Unfortunately, he appeared to be even more in tune with the environment than I was. Before I could even begin to respond, his arms banded tighter.

“I am sorry my Fare one, but we must make haste. We have run out of time. A storm the likes of which I have never encountered before will bear down on us. There is a rage to this tempest that disturbs my bear. He and I agree that it would be best for you if we leave this forsaken town. Now.”

And as if that was all there was to be said, he released me and rushed from the room. I froze for several heartbeats as I tried to wrap my head around what had just happened before I stooped to gather all my belongings together. Once everything had been packed away, I stepped from the room to see Portlock waiting for me.

“The storm is coming from the north. Our best chance is to head south. Unfortunately, since I am unfamiliar with this storm pattern, I cannot say for sure how far we will have to go until we are safe.” Concern shone in his eyes and that was the only thing that stopped me from scoffing at the idea of safety.

“It’s after me.” Concern was quickly replaced with confusion. “This storm is following me. Hunting me, if you will. Not that I know why it does, just that it has stalked my family for generations. There is no true safety from it. All I can do is flee for a time, but eventually, it always catches back up to me and destroys everything in its path.” I looked away before he could see the sorrow and loneliness in my eyes as I pushed my way around him.

“Then we shall have to seek shelter long enough to find a way to beat your curse. Every curse can be broken eventually. We just need to look into the source of its power to find out how best to destroy it.” In an instant, his mood had shifted once again. This time he pulled me close enough to plant a kiss on the side of my head before pulling me behind him.

Outside the cannery, the darkness had gotten close enough that I could feel its tendrils lashing at my skin. I froze in terror as this was the closest I’d been to my death since my mother was devoured. I was then eternally grateful for Portlock at that moment, as the nearness of our demise didn’t hamper him in the slightest.

He paused only long enough to see just how close it was before starting to run with my hand in his. As we neared the center of town, he slowed down just enough to shift back into his bear and gestured that I should mount him. A different sort of fear flooded me then. I had never ridden an animal of any kind before.

I guess this is my sink-or-swim moment. I thought as he lowered into a crouch that was still a hassle for me to pull myself onto his back. But the adrenaline in my veins gave me the strength to swing a leg over his back and barely grab fistfuls of his scruff before he took off in a run.

Farren

We rode for several days, hardly ever stopping for anything longer than the most necessary of breaks. Portlock’s bear was able to move faster than I ever would have thought possible. Could that be because he’s not a pure shifter? Could he be part something other? I tried to put more thought into that idea, but exhaustion was eating away at me as he slowed his full run to more of a trot.

He must have sensed there was some kind of shelter close by as he veered from his current path and carried me deeper into the woods. The closer the trees around us grew, the slower his gait became until he was reduced to a lumbering fast walk. The steady, rocking motion of that, paired with long days of traveling on the bear’s back, lulled me into a light doze as Portlock carried me away.

My eyes refused to move as the sound of the rushing wind roared in my ears. I tried to squeeze my eyes closed tighter as what felt like fur caressed my cheek.

“Five more minutes,” I murmured, not wanting to awaken at all. All of my running around had left me exhausted and now I just wanted to sleep.

A golden flash of light flared and wrapped me in a warm embrace before it ebbed away. That chill proved to be enough that I forced one eye open to see a large map before me.

It was almost identical to the one that had led me to Portlock, but where his circle was, now stood the outline of a bear’s paw. Furthermore, the star over the northeast had the left two spokes shaded in. Yellow in the upper one and green below it.

A flicker of silver caught my eye as I saw a small silver bird fluttering its wings as it hovered on the far end of a line that was connected to the southernmost circle.

The bird’s cry startled me as it flew off the map and into my face. I screamed as I tried to block my face from the talons that tore at me, but at the moment they should have made contact with my skin, they exploded into gusts of wind that wound around me and pulled at my clothes.

When the wind faded, I was once again staring down at the foreboding town, but something had changed. The dark aura had grown even more potent and I saw signs of the darkness that had been stalking me encroaching on the edges.

Something big was coming. But why was I getting this warning? What was I supposed to do with this information? Just as I was mulling over the details revealed to me, a thick, dark tentacle lashed out to wrap around my arm.

I screamed as pain raced up my arm and shot into my chest.

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