The Dragon and the Witch (6 page)

Chapter Ten

I wasn’t sure what brought me from the darkness back into the light, but Piku’s fur tickled my fingertips as my arm hung over the bed.
Bed?
Piku wasn’t allowed in my room, according to Father and so, those two words—
room
and
Piku
—forced my eyes to open. I squinted against the light coming through the window.

Piku’s head lifted at my sudden movement and he stood, sniffing and licking my face with his huge, rough tongue.

“What are you doing?” I asked, trying to push his face from mine.

“Making sure you’re okay, of course,” he said.

I glanced around the small one-room adobe-type hut, trying to find something that looked familiar. “Well, I’m okay now. But what happened to me?”

“You fainted, I guess.” Piku sat down next to my bed and licked my hand.

That was one thing about big cats, if they could find a way to clean you, they would. “Stop licking me, Piku.” I tried to determine where I was.

“I thought I was going to have some explaining to do to your father.”

“Well, you don’t. I’m fine.” The far wall had a wooden makeshift table low enough to the ground to be an old weathered tray. Old vials with colorful liquids filled the various containers to different fill lines. “Where am I?”

Piku swallowed… hard, and that made me raise my eyebrows.

“Well?” I asked.

He cleared his throat. “You’re not going to stop until you find out what you are, so I brought you to a witch doctor.”

“Witch doctor? Why would you bring me to a witch doctor?”

“Because you think you’re a witch.”

I released a loud sigh and narrowed my eyes at the white tiger. “And this doctor is going to cure me of that thought, Piku?” I asked sarcastically. “We don’t even have a witch doctor in Golth. So, where is this place?”

“I was carrying you on my back—by the way, you’re heavy—and I saw this place lodged between some of the trees.”

“So, you brought me to a stranger?” I sat up quickly and then braced myself because I felt dizzy.

“Better than to your house. I don’t feel like becoming anyone’s barbeque. Besides, he’s been on this land longer than any of us. Even longer than Tolbalth.”

I kicked my legs to the side of the bed and tried to stand, but again the dizziness caused me to sit back on the edge of the bed. “And he told you this?”

Piku nodded.

“You’re so gullible.” I waved my hand in the air. “It doesn’t matter. We’re leaving.”

My lovely white tiger raced me to the door and stood in front of it with a rumbling growl in the back of his throat.

I laughed. “Is that supposed to scare me?”

“Zadie, just talk to the guy. Maybe he can cure you of this nonsense of being a witch. It’s worth a try, isn’t it?”

“Hmmm,” I tapped my finger across my lips and stared up at the ceiling as if I were thinking. “I can see the headlines now: White tiger takes insane girl to a witch doctor for help, but both wind up dead in the gully of bones.”

Piku gasped, which made me giggle. “Contrary to what you might think, Zadie, I do scare most people.”

“Yeah, yeah. So, where is this mysterious witch doctor that put up shop in the middle of our land without any of us noticing?”

“He went out to fetch some herbs, but he should be back soon. He’s been gone for hours.”

That statement alarmed me. Glancing out the window, the sun was close to kissing the top of the mountain. Nightfall would come soon and Tolbalth would be home, searching for me. “Piku, how long have been unconscious?”

“Six hours.”

“Nightfall will be here soon. I have to get home. My father will kill me if he finds out that I’m with this witch doctor or whatever he is. He specifically told me to stay near our place.”

An old shaky voice filled the room before the man followed. “Tolbalth still struggles with patience and understanding, I see.”

When the man came into sight, he had hazel green eyes, long gray hair tied back at the nape of his neck and a long goatee to match. It wasn’t until he turned to stare my direction, did I realize that he was blind.

“My father is just protective.”

“What is he protective over, child?”

I glanced from Piku to the old man. “Over me, of course.”

He shuffled his feet along the dirt floor as if he could see every particle on the ground, even stepping over a small branch that was strewn across the dirt until he stood inches from me.

I stepped back, uncertain who he really was. But having Piku at my side made me feel protected around this stranger.

“Or maybe he’s protecting something else?” He leaned forward and flashed a set of yellow-stained teeth.

“What does that mean?” I narrowed my eyes. “Who are you? How do you know my father and why am I here?”

“You’re here because your pet brought you to me. I did not seek you out. You sought me out.”

“Then tell me what I need to know so I can get home before the sun falls from the sky.”

“And what do you need to know, child?”

I lifted my head and pressed my shoulders back. To utter these words to anyone could have serious repercussions, but I needed to know. “Am I a… witch?”

There was a tug at the corner of his lips. A tug that made me feel even more uncomfortable. His clouded eyes stared at me as if he could actually see me and yet, I knew he was completely blind.

“Give me your hand,” he said, reaching out for mine.

I shook my head, knowing damn well he couldn’t see me do it. But as if he heard the whisk of the wind when my head moved from side to side, he reached out and took it, his grip firm yet gentle. His aged hands were covered in brown spots and skin that was wrinkled around knobby knuckles. His fingernails were long and yellow, yet thick and strong.

My heart raced. Anticipation of what this old man would conjure up to tell me as well as a nervous fluttering in my stomach while I waited for him to speak. Either way, I didn’t pull my hand away.

“Child.” His eyes opened and the once-clouded irises were now all white. Then they closed again. “Your future is short. Disturbingly short.”

“What?” I nearly shrieked.

“But your past is full of love. And that love is what will stand in the way of your future.”

“What does that mean?” I asked, my eyebrows forced together at the bridge of my nose. My heart relentlessly pounded at my chest.
It’s not every day someone tells me that I’m going to die soon.

When he opened his eyes again, the white irises were once again filled with a cloudy hazel color. “He has always loved you. There will be a time that you question that love.”

“Who?”

“The one you call Father. Tolbalth.”

“How do you know my father’s name? Who are you?”

“I was mentored a wee dragon who was a curious boy.” The old man turned and walked toward a shelf where he rearranged a row of books. “He absorbed everything I taught him and he grew to be a great leader.”

“Chay? But how? My father said you’re dead.”

He turned to face me, his hands resting on the back of a chair. “Death means different things to different individuals, Zadie. My body is gone, but as you can see, I’m still alive and well.” He lifted his arms to display his place.

“Have you always been here?”

“For centuries. You just couldn’t see me until now.” He glanced from Piku back to me. “Your tiger doesn’t have the ability to see me unless it’s through your eyes. He carried you on his back and so the connection between you two is very strong.”

“Why can I see you now?”

“You’re eighteen. You’ve come into your powers and yet, I can tell those powers confuse you.”

“What am I? Why did my mother leave me? Did she not love me?”

“Don’t ask questions that you don’t want the answer to, child.”

I grabbed my braid and twisted it over my shoulder. “I need to know and no one will tell me.”

“And in knowing, will that change who you are?”

“No, of course not. But I have powers I don’t understand and dreams of my mother that make no sense. So, tell me what I am. I need to know, so I can understand these changes. I’m not a dragon. I’m not an animal and yet, I can talk to them, and I’m not a human because I can do things humans can’t do. So, what am I?”

The old man took a deep breath and turned around again, running his fingertips over a small, wooden carved statue of a dragon.

“It matters not,” he said with his back toward me.

“It matters to
me
.”

“Yes, I suppose it would.”

“Then tell me, please.” I went to him with my hands clasped together, begging him to give me the knowledge I needed to know and understand. For the first time, I believed I’d found someone who could tell me what I was and what my life meant.

He turned slowly and when I looked into his eyes, I saw a sorrowful tenderness that made me feel uneasy. I wasn’t sure if it was a sense of sadness for the past or for the future to come, but either way, this man was reluctant to tell me what I wanted him to share with me. Finally, he clasped his hands and whispered, “You’re a witch, child. You come from a bloodline of powerful witches.”

Chapter Eleven

His words punched me in the gut. I wasn’t sure why. In my heart, I believed that I was a witch. I’d even told Piku that earlier, but to hear him say those words, it took my breath away.

I stepped back, my legs hit the bed and my bottom landed on the edge. My heart pounded against my chest as if it were trying to find a way out of my body. The world I called my own had caved in around me. I remembered Tolbalth talking about witches and how despicable they were, but he’d never told me why he felt that way.

Then the thought hit me like a ton of bricks.
If Tolbalth knew I was a witch, he’d stop loving me the way my mother stopped loving me. I’m sure of it.
I couldn’t breathe at the thought of such a thing.

“It’s not true. It can’t be.” My eyes scanned his face for that underlying reassurance that it wasn’t true. It was different when I had first thought it was true and Piku had tried to talk me out of it. But having the witch doctor confirm what I thought, it nearly tore me in two. That glimmer in his expression that would relieve my mind and tell me this whole thing was part of an elaborate scheme to make me feel uneasy wasn’t there. I glanced at Piku. He stared at me oddly, probably trying to pull his thoughts together, too.

“Don’t stare at me like that,” I told my white tiger.

The old man tightened his lips into a straight line. “It is true, Zadie.”

“My mother was a witch. Is that what she’s trying to tell me when she comes to my room on the nights surrounding my birthday? Why doesn’t she come at any other time?”

“Your birth was the one and only time she saw you. The only time she was able to hold you in her arms and caress your skin. She can visit you through her memories, but her memories of you are limited to that one event. So, each year, during the days surrounding your birthday, she comes to you.”

“Where is she? Why did she leave me?”

“There are some things better left unanswered.” He moved closer to me and took my hands again. “Tolbalth loves you like his own child. Bask in that knowledge, child. Stop searching for an answer you don’t want the answer to.”

I shook my head. “I think you’re a fool, old man.” Stepping closer to the door, I knew my manners were misplaced, so I turned around one last time and said, “But I mean that with no disrespect.”

Piku stood by my side as I turned to storm out the door. But when I stepped out, I heard the last words the old man said to me, “He has always loved you, but there will come a time when you question that love, Zadie. Don’t let the past consume the present!” He yelled toward my back as Piku and I moved through the forest on our way home.

His words kept replaying in mind. What did he mean? Why couldn’t my mother find me? My mind was stuck in this fear that my father would walk away from me in the same way my mother had.
Maybe, she knew I had this thing inside of me. Was it evil?
I’d only heard Father talk about witches a couple times in my life and it was never favorable.
He’d hate me for sure.

The trek through the forest allowed me to process everything the old man had said. Was any of it true? How could it be? What did he know? But what if it was true? I stopped.

Piku stopped and turned toward me. “I didn’t know, Zadie.”

“What? That I had this witch inside of me? This thing growing in my body like a creature with powers?”

“A witch doesn’t grow inside of you, Zadie.” Piku glanced out toward the sky. “We need to get you home. Tolbalth will be on a rampage searching for you if you’re missing when the sun goes down.”

I knelt down next to Piku and stared into his eyes. Running my hand along the side of his face near his mouth, I gave him an endearing smile. “I’m lucky to have you by my side, Piku. I know I’m not always easy to get along with, but my intentions are honorable.”

Piku’s blue eyes stared back at me with love. Then, he slowly nodded and let his large tongue slip out of his mouth as he licked the side of my face. “We should go. It’s not you who scares me, Zadie. It’s your father.”

“You’re right. It’s starting to get dark. And my father will make my birthday dinner tonight.” I glanced down at the ground for a minute. “Piku, let’s not say anything to him about the witch thing. I’d rather he didn’t know. Let’s just keep it between us. Okay?”

“Anything for you, Zadie. You’re my best friend.” He took the lead and I followed just behind him as we headed home. I watched the sun start to slip behind the mountain peak, creating an orange glow across the sky.