“Well, I don't know about magic, but I do have a few ideas on how to get started...”
“It's not meditation, is it? Cause I'm pretty sure I'm the worst ever at that.”
Luxeos chuckled, walking over to the side of the cottage and picking up an ax that was leaning against a stack of wood. Josselyn threw her hands up in front of herself.
“On second thought, I could meditate.”
Luxeos held out the ax. “I'm not going to cut it out of you or anything, you ninny. I'm just going to have you chop some firewood.”
“Chop wood?”
“That's right, chop wood. I need some more kindling for the fire.”
“And chopping wood... that's going to help me 'sort myself out'?”
Luxeos nodded, smiling as she added, “And help me cook dinner tonight.”
Josselyn shrugged, taking the ax and walking over to the wood pile. “You're the expert.”
And so she chopped wood for the next several hours, perspiration causing the fabric of her borrowed tunic to stick to her skin. Every time she thought she was finished, Luxeos set another stack of logs beside her, saying something about being prepared for anything.
The sun was starting to make its descent when Josselyn finally sat down, body aching, and looked up to see Luxeos walking over to her, a drink in her hand. Her throat burned with thirst, and she reached for the glass eagerly, gulping it down in a few big swallows before spitting the last few drops out as the bitterness of the liquid fully hit her.
She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
“What in Lehi is in this?!”
“Oh, a little of this, a little of that...”
Josselyn felt the glass slip from her fingers as the earth began to spin, a heaviness settling in the pit of her stomach, pushing her backwards and pinning her to the ground. Grass grew up over her body, wrapping her in their blades as she felt herself being pulled deeper into the soil. She tried to call out for help, but her mouth filled with dirt when she opened it. Darkness surrounded her as she was pulled completely under the surface.
Alex...Lily... I'm sorry...
As she struggled in vain to free herself from her earthy coffin, the ground underneath her began to shift, and she found herself falling through the air, the brightness of the sun blinding her as she floated down like a feather, landing gently in an open field of tall, wavy grass. Sitting up, she saw a narrow stone tower rising up in front of her. The tower stood alone in the middle of the field, with nothing else in sight as far as the eye could see.
Josselyn took a hesitant step in its direction, taking in its somewhat dilapidated appearance. The top of the tower seemed to lean ever so slightly to the left, and the stones had cracks running through them. A vibrant, green moss crept over the stones in a spiral, twisting around the tower from top to bottom. A single, wooden door stood at the base of the tower. As she cautiously made her way closer, the door creaked open on rusty hinges.
She jumped back, waiting for something to come out, but when the doorway remained empty, she grit her teeth and forced herself forward, stepping across the threshold with her heart beating a rapid staccato.
“Hello?”
She peered around the tower, looking for signs of life, but it didn't take more than a cursory glance to see it was empty. Stepping into the center, she turned her face upward, following the stone wall all the way up to the very top of the tower. There weren't any stairs or additional floors. Just the one, empty room at the bottom.
“Well, this seems rather pointless.” She walked over to the wall and gave it a little kick. “Why would you make such a tall tower, if there's only one room inside it? And what the heck am I even doing here?”
She started to circle the room, letting her fingertips trail across the stone wall on her right as she moved. About halfway around, she felt one of the stones under her feet give a little.
“Oh? And what do we have here...”
She pressed down on the stone. A loud, grinding noise filled the room as the floor in front of her sank down, morphing into a flight of stairs that went down underneath the tower.
“This is such a bad idea.”
She made her way down the narrow steps, wishing she had a torch or something to help light the way. The sunlight from the main floor soon gave way to darkness, and she swallowed nervously. The air at the bottom was cool and damp, with an earthy scent clinging to it. As she stepped into the room, her feet sank a bit in the soft soil of the floor.
“He...hello? Is anyone here?”
She strained her eyes in an effort to make anything out in the dark room, stretching her arms out in front of her as she inched forward. A deep voice off to the side brought her up short.
“Monster,” it growled at her, its breath crawling down her neck. “Why have you come here?”
She let out a startled gasp as another voice hissed in her ear from behind.
“Murderer. You let your beast rip me to shreds in that forest, after taking the life of my comrade with your own hands.”
More voices began to call out, condemning her for their deaths.
“I... I did what I had to do. You were going to kill Alex. I was protecting him.”
Another voice cut through the others, causing her to whip her head in its direction.
“And what about me, princess? I was fleeing for my life when your beast ran me down. Who were you protecting then?”
“You attacked us... there was nothing I could do...”
The voices grew louder, hurling their taunts at her.
“You wanted to kill us.”
“You enjoyed seeing us die, didn't you?”
Conrad's voice rose over the others, grabbing Josselyn's attention. “How many men have you stuck that dagger into now? Do you like it, the way it slides through their flesh like butter, bringing them such sweet pain? And I thought I
