But, time was running out.
She had to do something!
She s.n.a.t.c.hed up one of the reeds at her feet. She raised it in the air, and drew with her other shaking finger, as though coloring it like a picture. "Initio Infra!"
Poof!
The reed transformed into a long rapier.
Okay... she was going for a gun, but it would have to do. She"d never held a sword let alone used one. But there was no time to worry about that.
The glint of the steel must have caught the snake"s attention.
It narrowed its yellow eyes and headed straight for her.
The shine of its enormous fangs almost blinded her.
Luckily the rapier had a life of its own, by enchantment or prayer it made a wild slash in the air, slicing the snake"s head off.
It flew into the bog in a spray of blood.
The body flopped to the ground like a giant piece of spaghetti.
"Whoo hoo!" Abby cheered. "Way to go!"
Evelina"s finger burned.
Her breath came hard.
A crippling pain shot to her chest.
She dropped to her knees.
Everything went black.
Chapter Eleven.
Evelina woke to swirls of green and blue.
Her pulse raced.
She must be underwater.
She must be drowning!
She blinked and her vision cleared.
She expelled a gasp of relief, realizing she was staring into the eyes of Dr. Proteus Pringle, who held the particular distinction of possessing one hazel orb and one blue.
She squinted against the light, streaming past his blond head, as she rose up on her elbows. "Where am I?"
He smiled, displaying brilliant white teeth. "My office, of course." He said it so casually, as though everyone had their temperature taken on a canvas cot, in a palm thatch hut, by a mad scientist in a Hawaiian shirt. "How do you feel?"
"Fine." Evelina scanned the hut, from the top of the multi-drawer medicine cabinet to the exotic floral pillows on the rattan settee. "How did I get here?"
He didn"t appear surprised by the question. "Burble brought you in the wee hours." His gaze narrowed. "Don"t you remember?"
Evelina searched her memory.
"I remember a giant snake."
"Good." He nodded. "Anything else?"
She thought for a moment, but the whole thing seemed fuzzy. "I"m not sure."
"Let"s have a look." Proteus fetched his wand from the table scattered with bubbling test tubes. He held the wand, a white circle on a stick, against one of her ears, then the other. Then, very carefully, he folded each ear over, peering behind them. "Nothing there. Perfectly clean."
Evelina came upright on the cot. "Of course they are!"
"Hmmm... unrequited love I see," he said, holding the wand in front of her face. "That could be it."
"What?"
He rubbed his chin between his thumb and two fingers. "Perhaps, that"s why all you remember is the snake."
"Ha!" Evelina expelled a huff of exasperation. "Of course it isn"t. What do you mean?"
He smiled, spreading his hands wide. "Just saying."
Evelina"s temper sparked. What did he mean prying into her life like that? Was nothing sacred? Being a Water Witch had its advantages, but privacy sure wasn"t one of them. "I thought you were a doctor, not a Soul Sifter?"
He tilted his head to one side. "Difficult to say. The mind and body work in tandem, so I suppose I treat both." He stared off into s.p.a.ce. "I had thought of becoming a Soul Sifter once, but my heart led me in a different direction, that, and a certain fascination for microbes, due to an irritable bowel. Not very pleasant I must say."
"Right." Too much information. Moving right along. She swung her legs over the side of the cot. "I"m sure it will all come back to me eventually."
"I wish I could help, but having been awakened from a rather vivid and distinctly disturbing dream involving an ill-tempered Morwitch I was in a bit of a fog."
Fog?
Evelina searched her memory with studied concentration-something about fog. Or was it a bog! Yes, that was it. The Putrid Pothole. "Now I remember." It slowly came back to her-the uber large snake-the sinking sludge sucking them down. "Abby and Tally! Are they okay?"
Poof!
Burble appeared.
"They"re fit as fiddles," she lilted. "Eager for you to join them at the compet.i.tion."
That"s right. It was morning. The compet.i.tion started at nine sharp. Panic seized her. "Oh no! I"m late!" She had to get there fast.
"Not to worry, my dear," Burble carolled with conviction, turning to Proteus. "What say you, Doctor? Is she fit to fly?"
Proteus swung round, test tube in his hand. "Just as I thought." He examined it at eye level. "Ghost Ray venom. All the symptoms. Now it"s confirmed. I couldn"t find the barb, however."
"I took it out," Evelina said, wondering if that was what she"d seen in the ocean the night she tumbled from the pirate ship.
"A good thing you did." Proteus" tone grew serious. "It wasn"t in long enough to do much damage."
"And if I hadn"t?"
"You"d be dead."
A shiver rattled up Evelina"s back.
"But you"re not!" Burble trilled. "Thank heavens for that," she said with great feeling. "Now, we must be off." She marched for the door of the hut, saying over her shoulder. "Thank you, Doctor. Send your bill to the Witches" Council, if you please."
"Thanks!" Evelina waved to Proteus as she hurried after Burble. She didn"t want to miss a moment of the compet.i.tion. She told herself that it wasn"t because Frankie would be there, only simple curiosity. But deep down, she knew that it was. Frankie Holler had a hold on her she couldn"t seem to shake.
She hadn"t clamped eyes on him since he hauled her out of the water at the wharf. It felt like an eternity ago. Her heart seemed to call for him, despite how many times she told herself to let go.
"What"s a Morwitch?" Evelina said when they reached the beach.
"Shh!" Burble spun round, appearing to search the dunes behind them and the jungle of palms beyond. "Where did you hear that?"
"Proteus said he had a dream about one."
"Did he?" Burble firmed her lips. "I see. Most unfortunate. They are dark creatures, existing between life and death." She shifted her gaze right, then left. "Best not to speak of it."
"Why?"
Burble leaned closer. "Speaking of them," she said in hushed tones. "Even thinking of them, might summon them from the shadows. At the very least it brings ill luck."
Evelina swallowed hard.
Burble clasped both of Evelina"s hands. "Ready?"
Evelina nodded.
They shot up into the air.
Wind rushed in her ears.
Bubbles of excitement percolated in her belly, rising to her chest, through all four limbs, rushing tingles over every follicle of hair-every inch of flesh.
They soared higher and higher, into the clouds.
A smile spread through her body like a bright ray of light.
Wind battered her cheeks.
But the thrill ended all too soon.
They touched down on the sand, like being sucked down a funnel.
It was the quickest flight yet.
"It"s about time!" Abby set her hands on her hips. "I thought you were going to miss it."
"Me too." Evelina gazed around, taking in the picnic baskets and beach towels on the beach. "What"s up? What are we supposed to do?"
"Nothing," Abby said, striding for an emerald umbrella.
"Just watch," Tally agreed following along behind.
"Really?"
As if to confirm it, a swarm of sparkling Sun Fairies flew up to them, offering coconut sh.e.l.ls br.i.m.m.i.n.g with ice cold lemonade.
Evelina did a double take. For retired Moon Fairies they moved fast. They were pretty strong too. The paper cups had to be three times their size.
"Thanks." Abby accepted a cup. "It"s more of an exhibition."
"It"s a race." Tally scrambled down between them on the striped towel like a child between two parents. "But it doesn"t count. Each tribe is in their own war canoe."
Canoes?
Was that it?
Just some paddling race?
Abby was right.
It sounded boring.
"Come on!" Abby hopped to her feet to head toward the crowd at the sh.o.r.e. "It"s about to start."
"The entire tribe takes part-including apprentices and mentors." Tally huffed and puffed keeping pace beside them. "It"s a beating of the chest thing. Even though it doesn"t count in the compet.i.tion, the winning tribe gets bragging rights."
"It"s a tradition," Abby piped in. "It psyches the other teams out."
Evelina stood on her tip toes, craning her neck to see if she could spot Frankie and Cliff.
"There"s Cliff!" Abby pointed over her head. "In the canoe with the dragon at the bow." Abby gave a bright bark of laughter. "Looks like he"s really into it."