Page 14 of Spirit Witch

My head lolled backward, and I noticed his wings were gone.Mine were too, so maybe it depended on what dreamscape I was in.But wait.I wasn’t dreaming.

Was I?

CHAPTER6

It wasall unclear as his heavy footsteps resounded in the static filled air.The path he was walking appeared too narrow, and I wondered where we were going and why I trusted him so completely with my person.Fighting fatigue, I used every last bit of strength I had to hold my head up enough to ask one crucial question.

“What’s your name?”

“Names are powerful, Nizhoni.”

“I already told you mine,” I pointed out groggily.

“I know your name, Nizhoni.”

“I just said that, and it’s still Enid,” I grumbled.

“Sleep now.I will get you back home.”

He cradled me close and instead of my head falling back, it pressed against his hard chest.His skin was warm, and he smelled good, like fresh air and clean earth.I knew I was forgetting something again, and it bothered me this time.Like I wanted to weep with every bit of my soul.But I was way too tired.Drained, really.So I fell asleep in the arms of a guy I’d dreamed up, and it was the best sleep I could ever recall having.

I didn’t know how much time had passed, but when I woke up, I was in the infirmary.I recognized it from the antiseptic smell and the white sheets.I never used white sheets anymore.Not since I was a kid in the foster care system.A lot of the homes I’d been sent to had very strict rules about cleanliness.

White sheets.White walls.White towels.

I never got around to painting my dorm room, but my sheets were a turquoise and purple mosaic.The pattern was bright and intricate, and I loved everything about it when I ordered it from a catalog Maia had left on the table one day.I’d been given a small living allowance as part of my scholarship to Westwood and about eighty percent of it was spent on that bedding set.

“She’s awake!”

Jade came running into the room, followed by the rest of my roommates.They all looked worried, especially Mabe.I wondered when she got back from her outing with Fin.

“What time is it?”

“Um, it’s three in the afternoon,” Jade said, still frowning.

“Did I miss class?”I asked, sitting up and accepting the glass of water the earth witch held out to me.

My throat felt like I’d swallowed a handful of gravel.It was dry and scratchy and it tasted awful.As if sensing that, Jade handed me a bowl and a cup of mouth rinse next.I normally would not have used them in front of people, but it was a total emergency.

“There, there.Take it slow, Enid,” she whispered, giving me a damp washcloth next which I used to wipe my face.

“What’s going on?Why do you all look like that?”I asked, wondering at the five worried faces in front of me.

“You’ve been out of it for a week, Enid,” Mabe finally told me.

“A week?That’s not possible.”I shook my head, starting to freak out about what they were telling me.

It seemed after the incident with Dram, I’d had some sort of freaky seizure and yeah, I levitated again, which sent Stolbright into a frenzy.She’d called the Council.While I was unconscious, they ran a myriad of tests, which my roommates loudly objected to since I was not awake to give consent.

Didn’t matter, though.The Council of Covens did not have to ask permission when magic was a concern, and since they believed I was the one who’d hurt Dram with my powers to begin with, my guilt was assumed, and my rights, whatever they were, discarded.

“But look, Enid, Fin and I were able to find the Lorekeeper.We questioned him and he sent his grandson to help.I went to Helga and got permission for him to be here,” Mabe continued.

I winced at her use of her aunt’s first name.She no longer bothered with the whole headmistress thing, but for some reason, Mabe couldn’t bring herself to call her by her formal title of Aunt Helga, either.

Anger, a sense of betrayal, and confusion warred within me, but that all took a back seat when someone stepped into the room.Tingles of awareness started low in my body and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

“Enid, this is Judge Dusek.He’s a Spiritwalker,” Mabe told me with a big grin.

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