The Witch in the Woods by Jessica Lynch

Author:Jessica Lynch [Lynch, Jessica]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-10-31T05:00:00+00:00

Part III

Hekate

I’m awakened by the sounds of barking dogs.

And they’re near.

I come to with a start, sloughing off the sleep as easily as a second skin. Even so, it’s the first deep sleep I’ve had in weeks. I had to be pushed past the point of grief and exhaustion at last to succumb to it, otherwise I’d be dozing half awake to make sure I survived another night out here.

My whole life, I lived in New York. The largest critters I had to deal with were rats. In the Other? There’s no rats. If there were, they’d be a mouthful for some of the beasts I’ve seen trample through these woods.

With Cassandra’s memories crowding my head, I absolutely refused to sleep inside. Luckily, for my sake, the temple’s protection extended just outside the pillars. As long as I stayed close, I was safe. Angry, bitter, and alone, but safe.

So I stayed. I’m not sure how long it’s been. Days pass. Weeks pass. I’m too stubborn to leave. Where else would I go? Apollo’s magnificent palace?

I’d rather be eaten by one of those too-many legged critters that scurry around at night.

Though there’s nowhere left for me to go to, I’m not sure why I linger here. After Apollo slipped through the portal, I waited at Athena’s temple for him to come back. I really—stupidly—thought he would.

He didn’t. Even when I gave up hope that he’d return, I didn’t leave.

I might be drawn to the empty temple. It still gives off an eerie sense of warning. No matter how chilly it gets out here, I hover outside, leaving my vigil for only as long as it takes for me to forage in the woods, searching for water or finding some berries.

As a city girl who was whisked away to Apollo’s fortress as soon as I arrived here, I know nothing about gathering berries. I poison myself twice before I learn that the big blueberries are good, if they leave me a little punch-drunk, and the juicy red ones are not raspberries, even if they look like them.

At first, I think it’s my thirst that’s woken me up. I really was feeling sleepy earlier and, for once, I let my guard down enough to wrap up in my cloak and fall asleep with my back up against a pillar. My mouth is dry, my back stiff from the chill.

Another howl, followed by two more. There’s a pack out there, not too far from where I am.

As my heart leaps into my throat, I leap to my feet. My mouth isn’t dry because I’m thirsty—it’s because the rude awakening and the threat of wild dogs has me terrified.

I think about running, but that’s pointless. No way I can outrun a pack of dogs. Should I seek safety inside of Athena’s temple? Cassandra suddenly screams in my head and I realize that there’s no way I’ll be able to drag my body across the threshold if she won’t allow it.

Ever since Apollo left, I sense Cassandra’s presence almost all of the time.

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