Lenesa chased after the scream, feet flying across the forest floor. Was it Audeste who had hurt someone? Or that Turned faun that followed her—Parnelius?

Her breaths came out in short pants as she ran, Shwei bounding at her heels in fox form.

"You!" she creid when she finally came across the attacker. It was a Turned witch, but not Audeste. The woman looked up at Lenesa's outburst with clouded white eyes and hands dripping red. Lenesa hadn't seen her before—perhaps she lived on a different mountain.

"Get away from her!" Lenesa shouted, looking to the still figure on the forest floor.

The victim, a middle-aged woman with a handbasket similar to Lenesa's, was sprawled on the ground behind the Turned witch, unmoving in a scattered array of spilled berries. Most likely she had braved the forest to pick a few for the Midsummer Week festival. Lenesa just hoped it hadn't been the woman's last thing to do in this life.

"I said step away," Lenesa warned, echoed by a growl from Shwei. The other witch rose up with a hiss, tattered mud-green cloak sweeping back from the woman's body. Lenesa's heart jolted at the blood on the ground that was revealed at the motion.

"It'sss miiine," the witch hissed. "Kill them all. They poison our lands with hate and kill everything they touch."

Lenesa swallowed against the bitter memory of her own killings. "And you don't?" she challenged.

Rather than respond, the witch cocked her head to the right in a sudden, jarring twitch. Her eyes were still fixed on Lenesa, eerily unperturbed, but then she turned and abruptly fled into the trees.

"Get back here!" Lenesa shouted, taking a step to follow, then turning back, remembering the witch's victim. After a beat of indecision, she let it go with a frustrated hiss and ran over to check the woman lying on the ground instead.

It was a lost cause. Now that Lenesa could see clearly, the woman had been cut through the abdomen, bright red blood pouring out of the wound and soaking into the woman's dress. It reminded Lenesa of another injury she had seen, but rather than turn away and give into the urge to block out the vision, she forced herself to stay. Somehow, the woman was still conscious, and was gasping up at Lenesa in wide-eyed fear, hands weakly scrabbling backwards at the ground to escape.

"Are you—" the woman stopped at a blood-spattered cough, "death?"

Lenesa slowly crouched down and took one of the woman's hands in her own, rubbing the back of it gently with her thumb.

"No," she said, voice barely a whisper. "I'm not here to harm you." She noticed how the woman's eyes fearfully darted to the glowing blue fox at her side.

"You're a witch," she gasped, trying to jerk out of Lenesa's grasp. "That's a witchlight."

Lenesa ignored the rude term, and Shwei likewise held back a snarl. "Shh, I'm not going to hurt you," she repeated.

"It hurts," the woman whimpered, scrunching her eyes shut. "Can't you do something?"

Lenesa was thankful the woman wasn't looking, as she was unable to help the tears that fell at the words. She was in the same helpless situation that had haunted her for over the past decade, but this time, she knew better than to intervene.

"I'm sorry," she said, voice cracking. "I can lessen the pain, but that's all."

The woman still had her eyes closed. "Then do it," she demanded, voice raising into a cry. "I don't care if you use magic or not. Oh, of all the realms, it hurts!"

Lenesa choked back a sob and forced herself to say the words that would bring on the spell. Almost immediately, the woman's breathing evened into a shallow rhythm, but Lenesa braced herself for the pain she knew was sure to come. Soon enough, it ripped through her in a sudden force, leaving her breathless as she took on the woman's pain as her own.

Lenesa tensed as she continued the chant, fixing her eyes on the woman's chest as it rose and fell...rose...and fell. It was only when the breaths stopped and the hand in her grip went limp that Lenesa broke away, gasping as the pain vanished in a rush that left her dizzy.

"Over there, men! It came from that way!"

Fighting against the aftereffects of the spell, Lenesa struggled to make sense of the voices coming her way. Shwei nudged her shoulder and gave a concerned hum, then growled when Lenesa gave no immeditate reaction.

"Oh!" Lenesa blinked to clear her vision and struggled back to her feet, gripping her stomach at a last spasm of the phantom pain. The witch hunters must have heard the commotion and come to investigate. She had to leave.

Snatching her basket off the forest floor, Lenesa staggered into the trees, away from the sounds of stomping feet. Shwei scurried ahead, making small noises to warn Lenesa of any rock or stick that might trip her in their escape.

"The creature went that way!" she heard a man called out from behind her, sending her heart racing even faster. Disregarding all care for a quiet escape, Lenesa opted for speed, crashing through vines and leaves in her haste to put some distance between herself and her pursuers.

Just when she thought she might have a chance at escaping, a large dark shape barreled out of the trees on her left, crashing into her and sending her flying through the air. Lenesa landed with a pained cry, her right shoulder catching the brunt of her fall and giving a loud pop.

A few feet away, Shwei growled, and Lenesa looked up to see a Turned faun stalking towards her. It was bigger than Parnelius, with longer claws, but there was no sharpened staff or other weapon.

"You dare to intervene, traitor?" the faun spat, hooves crunching across the ground as it approached her. Lenesa struggled to sit up, gasping and clutching her shoulder in pain. Desperately, she looked around for her basket. She didn't know how she had killed the guards at the gate without Turning, but if she had to kill again, it couldn't be with her magic. The dark marks were still on her skin—she was dangerously close to becoming like Audeste and that other witch she had just seen.

Shwei attacked first, jumping into the air and morphing into an owl mid-leap. He went for the faun's eyes with outstretched talons, and the creature backed away, shrieking and futily swiping at the air.

"Shh! You'll attract the witch hunters!" Lenesa warned, but the faun paid no notice. It let out a final anguished cry before turning and running off into the trees. Shwei gave a single hoot Lenesa's way before flapping his wings and chasing after it.

There was no time to waste. Lenesa leveraged her back against a tree and struggled to her feet, pulling herself up with her good arm. She located the basket after a moment and secured it in the crook of her elbow.

"This way!"

Lenesa spun, cloak whirling around her legs at the sudden turn as she faced the shouts. She had to hurry. The witch hunters' shouts were getting louder again, and she could only hope that Shwei would be able to stay safe. With only a last glance in the direction that the faun and wisp had gone, Lenesa hurried off in the opposite direction, towards the city.

It was her final trip—she had promised herself before leaving that day. It had to be. Once she had finished going through the list of people who needed her help, she would never come back. It was too dangerous to make the trips any longer.

The guards were on high alert when she made it to the gates, no doubt spooked by the recent attack. Lenesa tugged down the brim of her new hat with her good hand and awkwardly tried to balance the basket against her injured arm as she rummaged around inside for what she was looking for. She was still shaking with nerves from her earlier encounter, and could only pray that no one would notice.

"Papers! Show your papers! Only entry to citizens!" one guard shouted.

Lenesa pulled the required documents out of the basket just in time, thankful for her father's foresight in giving her the forgeries on her most recent trip.

The guard snatched the forms from Lenesa's grip and squinted down at them. A moment of silence passed, and Lenesa held her breath.

"Welcome back, Miss Eltwen," he finally said, shoving the papers back into her hand. Lenesa's breath caught as the action jarred her injured shoulder, but she nodded and wordlessly continued on, passing under the shadow made by the gate archway and stepping onto the familiar cobblestones of the Patachal City streets.

It had worked! The rush of adrenaline left her feeling almost giddy.  She had been apprehensive of the new system when the bookkeeper had first told her of it, but now it seemed almost easier than the old way of convincing the guards to let her in.

Pushing aside her fatigue and pain, Lenesa hurried down the familiar route to the bookstore, eager to share the news. Maybe she could still use her magic to help people in the city for a little longer, yet. She felt official, like a real, normal person. Was this what it was like for everyone else? She would have to ask.

Lenesa rounded the final corner, only to come up short. The bookstore windows were dark, its door closed and curtains drawn.

Slowly, Lenesa approached, fear rising in her chest and threatening to escape in a panicked cry. What had happened?

She forced herself to remain calm. Maybe she was just jumping to conclusions. Maybe it wasn't as bad as she thought.

She tried the door—locked. Anxiety rising, Lenesa knocked on the door, and when that failed to get a response, she began pounding against the wood.

"Hello? Hello, is anyone in there?" she called, voice breaking. "Hello? Somebody?"

"You must really need a book today," a voice commented behind her, sounding a bit amused at her desperation.

Lenesa jumped and whirled around, unable to stop the startled gasp that left her lips when she saw the man standing behind her, calmly smoking his pipe.

The stranger nodded at the bookstore behind her. "Mr. Eltwen's been taken away," he said matter-of-factly. "I was going for my regular stroll earlier this morning when I saw it happening."

"Taken away?" Lenesa knew she shouldn't speak, not when she couldn't keep her voice from shaking, but she had to know. "By whom?"

"The witch hunters," the man replied with a shrug. "There've been rumors that the man's associated with witchcraft. Looks like someone snitched on him at last."

Lenesa only just managed to press her lips together and hold back the desperate sob that threatened to spill out. "Who are you?"

"Bel Whilen," the man said. "I'm the cobbler from a few streets over. Funny, I haven't seen you around here before." His gaze sharpened, as though trying to see beneath the shadows of Lenesa's hat, and she drew back.

"I—live on the other side of the city," Lenesa said. "I go to a different cobbler."

Bel raised an eyebrow. "But you come all the way here for this bookseller?"

Lenesa scrambled to think of an excuse. "There's a more diverse selection here. I've read all the books at the place closer to my house already."

Bel exhaled, sending a cloud of tobacco smoke into the air that made Lenesa's eyes water. "I see," he said. "Well, looks like you'll have to make do with rereading for a while. Nice meetin' you."

He gave a nod and turned away, striding off with a relaxed, steady gait. Lenesa watched him go, waiting until the man had disappeared down the street before she turned back to face the door of the bookshop.

At first, she waited, expecting it to open at any minute, hoping that it was all just a lie, but when nothing happened, she waited for the tears to come. That expectation was a let-down as well. Instead, she could only stare at the painted wood in front of her, feeling hollow-hearted and numb to her surroundings.

She didn't know how long she stood there, feeling lost, forgetting about anything else but this living nightmare she was in. It was a brutal cut, like the removal of a limb, and she still felt as though she could step through the door at any moment and the bookkeeper would be there, ready to greet her with a smile.

Lenesa slumped against the door, sliding down to sit on the front step and putting a hand up against the wood. There was no warmth coming through the door from inside the building like there usually would be. It was as the cobbler had said—the bookkeeper was gone, and his bookshop empty.

She lost track of how long she stayed there.  The sun sank lower in the sky and strangers passed by on the street, occasionally daring to glance at the strange woman huddled against a blue-painted door. Perhaps they wrote off her actions as a prelude to the festivities starting that night—a partygoer who had already had too much to drink. Lenesa paid them no notice, instead staring unseeingly at the space in front of her.

She was only broken out of her daze by a light touch on her good shoulder. Stiff from sitting for so long, and still hindered by her injury, Lenesa barely managed to stir, slowly turning her head to look at the person who had joined her. If it was one of the witch hunters finally come to take her away, she wouldn't fight it. She no longer cared.

"Oh, Lenesa," a scarlet-clad woman replied. Her blueish-gray hair was hidden beneath a horsehair wig and her eyes were charmed brown, but she was still recognizable. "I'm so sorry."

Lenesa's lips parted, tongue unsticking from the roof of her mouth. "You knew?"

Kivirra crouched down to face her, shaking her head. "I didn't see until a little while ago. I came as soon as I found out."

"They took him," Lenesa whispered. "It's all my fault."

Kivirra didn't bother to dispute her. "Come on," she said, helping Lenesa to her feet. "You can't stay out here, especially when the festivities begin."

"What's the use?" Lenesa muttered. "Let them discover me. See what I care."

"Stop it. You don't mean that."

Lenesa let herself be led into an alleyway, coming to a stop when Kivirra did and watching dully as the older woman rummaged in her bag for something.

"Take off your hat," Kivirra ordered, sparing a glance up from her bag.

Lenesa hesitated. "Why?"

But Kivirra had gone back to searching for whatever it was she was looking for, and after a moment, Lenesa did as instructed. A spark of fear shot through her veins before she reminded herself that it didn't matter if she was caught anymore, and besides, they were in an alleyway with no one around.

A moment later, a length of shimmery red fabric spilled out of the bag, and Kivirra whirled it above their heads, settling it down over the both of them. It took a while for Lenesa's tired brain to recognize it for what it was—the invisible goblin cloak.

"This way," Kivirra said, putting a hand on Lenesa's back and guiding them back out into the street.

"We can't escape the city like this," Lenesa replied in a monotone, not particulary caring if they were overheard. "The guards are spaced too closely together for both of us to sneak past side-by-side like we are now."

"We're not leaving the city just yet," Kivirra said. "I've forseen all the different decisions we could make at this moment, and I know which one we have to pick. Trust me. You won't like it, but it leads to the least amount of bloodshed. Oh, and hold on for just a little longer."

Lenesa was about to ask Kivirra what she meant by that last statement, but found she didn't have enough energy to ask. As it was, she barely could keep her feet from dragging across the cobblestones. She would find out the answer soon enough, and besides, it was probably best if they didn't start a rumor that the air in Patachal City had a habit of talking to itself.

It was cramped underneath the cloak, and Lenesa stumbled as the ground shifted uphill, only held upright by Kivirra's firm grip. Her shoulder throbbed with an ever-worsening pain, and her fatigue in the last few hours was finally beginning to catch up with her.

"Pay attention," Kivirra whispered, and Lenesa gave a start upon realizing that her eyes had been drifting shut. Somehow, Kivirra was keeping them both upright despite the fact that Lenesa was starting to lean more heavily on her for support.

They turned down a row of houses, and Kivirra guided them in the direction of one in particular, stopping at the door and giving three sharp raps against the wood. Darkness was eating away at Lenesa's vision, and she swayed on her feet as they waited for the door to open. Who had Kivirra brought them to see? She wanted to ask, but couldn't find the strength to do so.

"Not yet," Kivirra urged, sensing Lenesa's fast-failing strength. "Just a moment longer..."

The door opened, but not soon enough. Before Lenesa could see who was on the other side, she toppled forward and gave in to the encroaching darkness.