"Aren't we there soon?" Brooklyn groaned.
"According to Bryn's description we should be there pretty soon", Sandra answered. "We've passed four of those rocks already and he said that there would be five of those between the Huldra's glade and the Huldra's house."
"I hope Toby's alright", Hazel said.
"Don't worry, he's probably taken care of by the Huldra's loving..."
"Brooklyn!" Sandra interrupted, glaring at the younger girl. She glared back.
"I'm tired and I'm hungry, alright? This happens then!"
"Five", Hazel suddenly said and stopped. To her right was another stone marked with the same peculiar mark as the ones they had previously passed; the Huldra's mark. In front of them they could see the edge of the forest and as they walked up so that they stood by the trees in the final line they looked out over a new glade, much bigger than any of those they had previously passed. The majority of it was, however, a lake, its waters dark and the surface as clear and still as a mirror. A path made of stones ran through the lake to an island in the middle of it, which at first look seemed to be covered in trees. After some more thorough inspection, however, the three girls could however see that among those trees lay a house.
"Well, this looks like a very simple task", Brooklyn said. "Very simple indeed."
"The Huldra is obviously keen on keeping people out", Sandra said and looked down into the waters of the lake.
"There's got to be some way to do this", Hazel said. "We've come this far; we can't just give up!"
"I'm not saying we should, I just said that this might not be as simple as we first thought", Brooklyn pointed out. Hazel glanced over at Sandra, who was still staring down at the water.
"Sandra, are you alright?"
Her friend quickly looked up and smiled briefly.
"Yeah, sure."
"So", Brooklyn said and sat down on the ground, "what's the plan?"
"We'll distract the Huldra and you'll sneak up on her", Sandra said. "That's the theory, anyway. How to actually do it... well, that's certainly not that simple."
Hazel led the way across the stones towards the island. It was a hard task as they were quite slippery and not exactly flat, and sometimes they were not too close to one another either, forcing the ones crossing to jump. Sandra was slower and seemed to hesitate every time she faced such a jump, but so far she had completed all of them and they were almost there. The island with the Huldra's house. Hazel could feel her heart pounding and adrenaline surging through her veins. In her left hand she held the bow she had picked up out of the sack and in her right was an arrow. Huv had remarked that the feathers of the arrows were not perfect, but then again she had no idea how to be a good marksman. She had tried out a few arrows back at the camp and been close to hitting her target, but she doubted it was some hidden skill; probably just luck. Still, an arrow sizzling by the Huldra might distract her long enough for Brooklyn to sneak up behind her and cause her to turn around and show Toby her back.
Hazel tried to land as quietly as possible on the frozen grass, a very difficult task as the straws bent and cracked beneath her shoes. Some seconds later Sandra landed next to her and let out a relieved breath.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Hazel asked, noticing how pale her friend had become. Sandra nodded and drew the sword she had acquired.
"Let's go."
They made their way in through the trees and up to the front door of the wooden house. There were soft voices emitting from the inside, but it was impossible to tell who was speaking or what was being said. After exchanging glances with one another, Sandra reached out towards the doorknob. She mouthed 1, 2, 3 before she turned it and they both burst inside, weapons ready.
However, when they got inside they remained standing by the door. The room was empty.
"Okay, what is going on?" Sandra asked and looked around. There was a narrow bed in one of the far corners and a cooking pit in the centre of the room, with a hole in the roof letting out smoke. Bundles of dried herbs and plants were hanging from hooks attached to the ceiling.
"But... we heard voices", Hazel said and looked around the now quiet house. "There's got to be someone here."
Sandra absentmindedly poked around the coals in the pit, causing smoke to rise up to the roof. However, it did not escape out through the hole.
"Out, now", she said. Hazel was already out through the door and once Sandra got there as well it closed behind her with a bang.
"Someone obviously does not want us here", Hazel said. "Where there no ways to call the Huldra in that book you read?"
"Not that I remember", Sandra answered. The voices had started up inside the house once more.
"Could a Huldra use that kind of magic?" Hazel suddenly asked.
"I don't know", Sandra answered. "The book didn't say, really. Do you think she's making Toby do it?"
"He showed me something like that about a month ago", Hazel admitted. "He transformed Professor Sinistra's office so that it looked like a bookshop with a tea table in the middle."
"He must have read about it in some book he found at the library because I surely do not remember it from anywhere", Sandra said and looked at the house again. "Was there any way to break the spell?"
"I don't know, he didn't use it verbally", Hazel answered.
"Damn it", Sandra muttered.
"Remember that we're not giving up?" Hazel asked.
"I'm not giving up; I'm just annoyed that our first plan didn't seem to work and I don't know how plan B might look."
Hazel rolled her eyes at her friend before she walked back up to the door and opened it once more. The illusion of the empty room appeared before her at once.
"One thing about illusions is that they only work on the eyes", she said, her voice raised. "If I were to walk around in here and bang my toe against something the illusion would break. I hope you're all aware of that!"
As she turned towards Sandra her friend blinked in surprise, before following her in through the door once more.
"I guess that is plan B, then", she said. Hazel smiled before the two split up and walked along one wall each, using their hands and feet to locate unseen things. It was as if they were both blind.
"Very clever", a female voice suddenly said. They both spun around as the door closed and, with that, the illusion broke. Between them and the door stood a tall woman. Her hair was fiery red and flowing all the way down her back to the floor, her skin was as pale as snow and her eyes were black. She wore a simple, grey dress with red roses embroidered along the hem. The top buttons were unbuttoned, causing the shoulders to fall down on her arms and the top of her chest to be out in the open. On her head she also wore a crown of white pearls that seemed to glow in the dark house.
"What a pleasant surprise to see you two here", the woman said. "You must be some of Toby's friends."
She smiled at something behind their backs, causing them both to turn. Toby stood not even a meter behind them, but he looked different. His shirt was unbuttoned, his skin looked paler and his eyes, the ones that had previously been dark brown, were now white.
"Toby", Hazel said and took a step towards him. He immediately raised his wand.
"Let him go, Huldra", Sandra said.
"Why should I?" the Huldra asked and walked around them so that she stood behind Toby. "He's a very clever boy and I do need him. I want him to stay."
"I want to stay", Toby said, his voice hollow and without emotion. The Huldra smiled and kissed his cheek.
"Of course you do, dear."
"Toby, this isn't you", Hazel tried. "Don't you remember us? Don't you remember me? It's Hazel, Toby. I'm here."
Toby's head turned towards her and, for a brief moment, his eyes seemed to darken as if he had returned to his old self, but then he reassumed his former position.
"I am me", he said. "I am with my wife."
"Good boy", the Huldra said and moved so that she was standing in front of him, with her back towards the two girls. "It is a shame we have not yet consummated our marriage, but now we have an opportunity to rid ourselves of the burdens keeping you from me. Do you want that?"
"Yes", Toby said. "I want that."
"Good, good", the Huldra said and raked her hand along his chest. "I want you to do something for me, love."
She moved around him again while whispering something in Toby's ear and keeping one hand on his chest. His eyes had closed when she touched him and he did not open them again until she let him go. He then started to walk forward.
"Toby, no", Sandra said and placed herself between him and Hazel. "Don't do this. It isn't the Huldra you love, it's Hazel. You hear me? It's Hazel!"
"Oh, the valiance of close friends", the Huldra said. "Toby, dear, take care of that talkative one. I'll keep the other."
"I will", Toby said and suddenly lunged at Sandra. As she threw herself aside the Huldra reached forward and grabbed Hazel, pulling her back from the fight.
"Sandra!" Hazel screamed as Toby pushed Sandra through the door, shattering it. The Huldra laughed silently.
"Don't worry, dear. You'll join her soon enough."
"I won't let him kill her!" Hazel said and used the small knife she had hidden in her pocket to stab the Huldra behind her. The Huldra screamed in an unnatural way and Hazel quickly fled out through the gap in the door. Sandra was back up on her feet but was bleeding from a several wounds.
"Come on, then, Toby!" she yelled. "Maybe you being possessed by the Huldra has rendered you into a fine Quidditch player!"
Toby lunged at her again and pinned her to the ground, his hands moving up to close around her throat before he, with a howl, rolled off and grabbed the arrow sticking out of his right shoulder. Hazel did not know how but somehow she had managed to fire it and actually hit what she was aiming at.
"Good shot!" Sandra called as she got back up on her feet.
"Yeah, don't expect more of those!" Hazel called back. The next moment she was pulled back to the wall of the house by strong, grey vines shooting up and out of the ground.
"Hazel!" Sandra called and started to run towards her, but Toby tackled her from the side. The Huldra smiled as she walked out through the ruined door.
"You two certainly are harder to kill than you look like you should be."
"Let him go!" Hazel yelled. "Please, let him go!"
"Oh, I can't", the Huldra said, still smiling. "He is my little Latin boy. I do love hearing him speak in Latin."
In that moment, Toby somehow managed to grab Sandra and toss her so that she landed with her head on one of the stones in the water. Not one of those they had used to walk there, but one leading to the island from a different path with the final stone close to the shore. Her eyes fluttered slightly before her head slipped down from the stone and landed in the water. Hazel screamed in terror as Toby grabbed the limp body and held it down beneath the surface.
"Surprise!" someone suddenly yelled. Hazel looked at the Huldra who, in turn, looked up just as a figure jumped down from the roof. A sharp sword cut through the Huldra's thick, red hair and the Huldra screamed in anger as her hollow back was revealed.
"You know, that's a much better haircut for you", Brooklyn said.
"Where am I?" Toby suddenly said. As the girls looked over at him they could see that his skin had returned to its normal color, along with his eyes. The Huldra shrieked again before vanishing in a puff of smoke. The vines immediately let go of Hazel and she rushed down to the shore.
"What happened?" Toby asked, looking up at her. "What..."
"Just pull Sandra up out of the water, please", Hazel begged. Toby frowned at her and then looked at his hands. Neither of them were holding someone down in the water. Hazel gasped and looked down into the lake. There was no body anywhere to be seen. She was gone.