With one last prayer that the kids were dealing with the Pirate, Artemis flung the branch as far as she could into the forest.
The gryphon stood up at the first waggle of the branch, its eyes fixed on Artemis' movements; it pawed the ground eagerly, tail swinging with excitement, wings shifting -- but when Artemis flung the branch deeper into the forest, the beast bounded forward only as far as the iron barrier. It would not, or could not, enter the forest.
The gryphon whined, fussing at the edge of the witch's property, upset that the stick was out of its reach. It stuck its beak over the barrier, then pulled back and fussed again, flapping its wings in frustration. Its fear of the woods was far greater than its desire to play.
Meanwhile, the Kith children sprinted off around the outer edge of the barrier, circling closer to the Pirate.
The Pirate had just fixed a part of the saddle, and was examining his work when a squishy, yellow-glowing fruit dropped onto the saddle and burst. Sticky, glowing goop coated the saddle and sprayed his face with the impact. The pirate stood up, wiping his face, when another fruit burst messily against his chest. He looked out angrily to find a couple of Kith brats chucking fruit at him from the edge of the forest.
"Trashy pirate-face!" the little mouse-girl squeaked, flinging another fruit. The cat-boy threw one a bit harder. "Kid-killer!" he squawked. "Go home!"
The pirate dodged a few more squelching projectiles, drew his sword and marched toward the offending Kith. "Turn around before I skin you," he threatened.
Behind him, within the Witch's house, something screeched a metallic alarm. There was a flash of light, and the Witch was gone.
"I will free the dead," she stated determinedly. "None should be forced to remain if they have the desire to move on."
"But the only way to do that," Peck said, his brow furrowed, "is to kill the Lord of Shadow -- or convince him to let them go, and I don't think that will ever happen."
The blade widened the fissure only slightly; it was only a crack, not a door, and only a great deal of power would widen it enough to remove the Lantern inside.
Something below them groaned and scraped with slithering movements against the wood; Peck reached out suddenly and grasped Anise's wrist to stop her -- but he was too late.
A branch of dead wood suddenly snapped out and wrapped itself around Anise's waist, yanking her away from the fissure and dangling her in midair. Peck scrambled to keep his balance, staring at Anise with wide eyes as the tree branch twisted itself around her securely.
Below, the Witch frowned up at Anise. Her hands were raised, controlling the tree. "I've had just about enough of you," she called up to Anise. "I've had just about enough of this day." The Witch was in a foul mood, and had absolutely no patience for games or conversation. She would make sure Anise didn't cause any more trouble than she already had.
It was quick like a blow to the head.
Hot, crippling pain exploded in Aslynn's skull. A piercing light flashed behind her eyes. A terrible, trembling horror ripped through her like knives of ice. Blinded, she would feel as if she were falling from an impossible height, down and deep into a hungry hot chasm stretched wide to receive her like the great maw of a beast. Its damp swirling breath smelled bittersweet, like chocolate laced with a hint of cinnamon.
And then she woke up.
Aslynn was lying in the dirt, deep in a forest at night. The air was fresh and scented with flowers and sap; branches, heavy with leaves, moved and rustled overhead.
Beside her in the grass, a toppled lantern glowed bright violet; it illuminated her surroundings in a soft purple light, though there was no flame inside. The lantern's casing was thick iron, decorated with carved symbols; the iron encased an oblong shape of glass. Inside the glass was an egg, which was producing the violet light.
Behind her, a child screamed and sobbed.
A little boy -- dressed in leather and dented armor -- had been tied to a tree with several lengths of rope. Tears streaked down his ruddy face.
Two older children stood over him, laughing. "Gonna grow up to be a great Kith-killer, hah?" one of the older kids mocked. The two older children were each dressed in simple gray clothes, barefoot, with white wooden masks covering the top part of their faces. One of the masks resembled the face of a deer, while the other was the face of a songbird. The girl with the deer mask was speaking, her arms crossed haughtily.
"What were you gonna do with your little sword and your lamp?" she mocked the tied-up child. "This is
our territory. You know what we do to trespassers."
The little boy tied to the tree wailed again.
None of them had seen or noticed Aslynn.
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