Mirai

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I stared after them longer than I should have. It felt so strange. Just days ago, no, not even days, hours ago, I had felt as if I couldn't manage anything on my own and relied on their, and others, help in all things. Now I willingly sent them away. More than willingly, I had pushed them to leave.

The Man of the Maze had said that all that came out of the Maze were different compared to when they stepped inside. That felt very true for me in that moment.

I turned back to the forest. The wind blew my hair in front of my face. The darkness had started to settle and that decided my course of action. I would walk as close to the coven's prison as I could, then wait until the dead of night to break in and get Tamah out of there.

I walked slowly through the woods. Had my eyes mainly on the ground to avoid stepping on a twig that might snap. Throughout the walk, I felt myself drawn to the east and I followed that.

The longer I walked, the more paranoid I became. Every movement I heard I thought was a witch. Every rustle of a leaf was the swishing of a spell. Every shadow that shifted was someone about to attack me. I knew in my heart that I was safe, that I would know if someone were to attack me before the attack came. But it was hard to listen to that when my heart also pounded so much that people had to have been able to hear it from kilometers away.

I reached the end of the forest line and saw that I had been brought to right by the prison. It stood in a corner of the space that was surrounded by the trees, and it looked like a block of cement, a very typical prison. I had never been in there, so I had no idea what to expect. I had always been told that it was out of use, and I hoped that was the case with the exception of Tamah. I didn't want to have to walk past other prisoners, unable to free them.

I stayed in the protection of the trees. Observed as total darkness settled. I saw the Priestess approach the prison. One witch came out. I was too far away to hear the whole conversation. But I picked up my own name and Lamia among the words. The Priestess left, and I continued to wait.

I knew I waited for something. A sign of that it was time. I had no idea what the sign could be, but all the same, I knew I would recognize it as it came.

It probably took several hours, though I was barely aware of the time. All had been silent for long and it continued to be so. But it felt like something changed in the air around me and I knew it was time.

I had hunched among bunches and as I stood up, I knew why it was the right moment. I simply knew that it was 03:23 and my mark had changed to twenty-six.

All were asleep, but I was still careful to not step on any twig as I walked forward. In the distance, I could hear the hooting of an owl and even that sound I wished would disappear for fear that it would wake someone up.

I came up to the door. I knew it was locked, had seen the Priestess lock it. But a locked door was no problem. I couldn't help but be surprised as I realized it. Most covens would make it impossible to use witchcraft within their prisons. It was a way to stop people from escaping. But ours wasn't protected like that.

I felt bitterness as I understood why. Of course, they wouldn't see any use in that, in fact, they would probably see it as a disadvantage. Tamah was the only prisoner and they didn't know that she had originally been just a witch. They saw the monster and thought it better for them to be able to protect themselves by all means possible.

I backed away slightly and took a deep breath. I only had one chance, if I screwed this up, I'd never be able to get to Tamah. All needed to go perfectly.

I closed my eyes and tried to reach out with my inner sight. It again felt more like whispers. This time telling me what spell to use on the door and where to aim the next one as soon as the door was opened. Further, it didn't tell me what to do, but it was as if it illuminated the path one step ahead.

I drew the pattern the spell needed in my mind and when I was done, I opened my eyes and moved my hands forward. Released the spell.

The door exploded in a bang loud enough to awaken the whole coven. Smoke filled its place, and I ran forward while releasing another spell somewhat to the left.

A yelp and then a thud. I had taken one of the guards down. When I reached the smoke, I shot another spell, that one more to the right, and another thud followed.

When I was through, I saw the two witches on the floor.

I had expected there to be more, but there wasn't. I looked down the corridor, but also knew Tamah wasn't there. It wasn't just my sight that told me so, but also the feeling in the prison. It wasn't cold enough.

I moved forward, but only got two steps before I stopped. On the wall to the side was a stone with the shape of a serpent carved into it. I pressed on the stone and the wall swung open to reveal a stair.

It looked dark. Completely pitch black. And the coldness hit me like needles. That was where she was. Down that stair.

I took a step forward. Walked two steps down. The wall closed on me with a loud click that made me jump. It also took the little remaining light with it.