Back to tie this fanfic up.

As always, the characters in this story are derived from Hilari Bell's Goblin Wood, and are not mine.

Chapter 16

The Hedgewitch:

Makenna watched her knight and the priest whispering across the room. Tobin's eyes were tired and darker than she had ever seen before. It worried her. The priest's gaze was warm and kind, but she couldn't help feeling on edge around him. Even though Tobin had reminded her that this wasn't just a priest, that it was St. Agna, she was reticent to trust anyone who claimed that title. Tobin was explaining all that had transpired in the days since their arrival to Otherworld. Moments before, he'd told her of all that had happened while she was unconscious. The end of the battle, the trip to Ferkai, and meeting the calculating King Erol. She was more than glad that Tobin had been wary of the centaur king. After all they had been through, her goblins had a right to choose for themselves what they wanted. For the first time, she was beginning to feel as if her time making those choices for them was coming to an end.

Every so often she could catch a word from their exchange, something about the centaur or her goblins, or even a word or two about the Old Realm. It took a long time for him to relay the full tale, for their stories were long and filled with dark details. She had a hard time paying much attention to it after a while. The vivid colors of the cozy cottage, the glorious scent of herbs hanging along the rafters, the curve of the ancient tree that filled the walls, and the warmth of the roaring hearth amazed her like a new born babe. It was as if she'd been given a second sight into the fabric of the world. Her isolation had indeed been a prison, one that the old sorcerer had chosen well, but now that she was free, she felt as if in a strange way it had enabled her to appreciate the beauty of this world as never before. Even if her body ached and the skin along her collarbone and chest and belly crawled from where the curse had been, she was gladdened to be back. She wrapped the blankets around her a bit tighter and watched the fire with unashamed fascination. It reminded her of the fires her goblins had set on the sorcerer's tents, and for a moment she was entrapped in that memory as if it were a dream. Someone calling her name brought her out of the daze.

"Lady Makenna?" The priest asked. Makenna watched as he took a seat by her across from her cot.

"Can I ask you a few questions?" He asked. Makenna made confused a face at him.

"Don't call me that. Makenna will do." She said, watchful of him.

Agna, who was not so old as she would have thought he'd be, smiled in a gentle patient manner. By now Tobin had taken a seat by her side. His hand rested on the edge of the cot by her own, his pinky finger touching hers ever so slightly. She could feel his gaze on the side of her face. The sensation shocked her so much that her heart beat quickened.

"It was well that your knight brought you here when he did, for you may have died otherwise. What do you remember since the battle with the sorcerers?" He said, in earnest.

Makenna began the tale. She explained all that she saw while fighting the sorcerer, from his patchy hair to the dark coiling mass he'd thrown at her. Then how he'd cursed her without using runes. Next, she detailed her time in the dark prison. She described how time didn't pass, how she was assaulted mind and body by a force of hatred. How she could feel the outside world at moments, and then would go utterly numb. How she was beginning to lose hope until she heard her knight speaking to her through the abyss. How the darkness had begun to feel worse despite this, as if something was following her. Tobin's eyes were downcast in thought as she spoke, his hand balling into a fist.

"When I snapped awake, the next thing I remember is seeing Tobin, standing over me." She said. Tobin looked up, his cheeks flushed, whether with anger or something else she did not know.

"Can you make anything of that?" Tobin asked, turning to Agna.

Agna didn't look at them. Instead and stood and began to pace, hand passing over his mouth in thought. First, he strode over to the mantle and reached for a bundle of herbs hanging over it, and then muttered to himself, retracting his hand. Robes billowing behind him, he wandered over to his wash basin and work table and began mixing together various colored and shaped vials. He sniffed the concoction and cursed, setting it aside to pace more. Tobin and Makenna exchanged a worried glance. Agna faced them, standing still.

"He used a very powerful curse on you, one that would not have been dispelled by any ordinary means." Agna said, taking a seat across from them by the fire.

"From what you've said, I believe he cursed you with a wraith. Wraiths are as ancient as the world itself, they serve the Dark One in the underworld. They are made of an evil, ruthless kind of magic. They can only be summoned when the someone is about to die, someone who has a life grudge to be carried out." He said. Makenna wracked her memory for anything she'd heard about wraiths, but came up empty. She only knew their name invoked fear.

"So, is it the Dark One's magic?" She asked. Agna nodded.

"In a manner of speaking, yes. It is more primal than magic, it is a sheer willful evil. A wraith curse is not like a skin rash or a plague curse. You cannot apply a salve or a spell of healing and expect it to vanish. It follows you, it waits for when you are most vulnerable. Had I been able to keep my sanctum books, I could tell you more, but as it stands, that is all I recall. You may always have the mark of the wraith, despite that it has been banished and can no longer hurt you. The most important thing now is that you remain hopeful and recover. That lightness will blind it's evil and give it no power over you anymore." He said.

Agna stood up and began to prepare them a tisane while they mulled over his words. She watched as he plucked lavender and echinacea from his dried herb collection. She wondered at his words, tucking away his statement about his sanctum books in the back of her mind for later.

"Makenna, if anyone is an expert, it's Agna. I saw him banish the wraith myself. The minute he did, you woke. He saved you." Tobin said in a low whisper. Agna returned with their cups of tisane and a plate of sweetbread.

"I would say otherwise, knight." Agna said, eyeing Tobin. He continued.

"You saved her. You brought her here, you spoke to her and stayed by her side. Had you not helped her see hope while she was trapped, she may have never have woken, even with the wraith gone." He said. Tobin's face was awestruck. Makenna smiled, knowing full well it was true.

"It seems that we're even now, knight." She said with a grin.

Tobin faced her, silent and dumbfounded, unable to find the words. Agna took a sip of his tisane, eyes glimmering while he watched them over the top of his cup. Makenna, filled something resembling joy for the first time in too long, faced the priest with a painfully hard to maintain sour expression.

"Don't look so pleased with yourself, priest. I've got a few questions for you too. How have you been living here all this time? What else do you know of the sorcerers and barbarians here?" Makenna asked. Agna's grin fell and he turned sheepish at her chastisement.

"I'm afraid I can't explain that all in one night or day for that matter, Makenna. However, I will exchange you that tale in return for one of your own, such as how a young green witch came to open a portal to this realm and lead goblins." He said. For a moment Makenna couldn't help but think he sounded just like Master Erebus.

"That's a fair bargain, but the tale might be better told by others. My goblins would have a few things to say about that day." She said, tone bittersweet. Agna nodded.

"On the morrow, I will prepare you a tincture to restore your mind and body and we can discuss your return journey. Tonight, I will set a rune of protection atop the warding stones to ease your mind. For now, I suggest you rest. " Agna said.

When Agna stepped out the front door to set the runes, it took all of Makenna's willpower not to get up and watch him like a curious child. As he worked Makenna could feel the calming hum of the wards around the cottage. Outside the light was faintly tinted purple for a moment. It felt strong and stable. Agna returned with fresh feathery snow piled on his shoulders, teeth chattering. Not long after, he bid them goodnight and climbed up the ladder to the loft with his robes tucked into his belt. Makenna smiled as his skinny ankles disappeared in the room above. When he was gone, the silence that followed, save for the crackling fire, imposed itself on her senses. She looked outside to see the snow falling just passed the round window.

Tobin got up to toss another log into the hearth. His leather vest looked worn, his linen filled with patches where there were once holes or rips. Makenna pulled her blanket out from where it was tucked under her and offered it to him when he sat back down. They watched the fire together, tucked into the cot, backs propped up against the wall.

"Thank you," Makenna said, breaking the silence. Tobin nodded, but said nothing. Makenna looked at him, curious, but he looked away.

"Don't thank me, it's my fault for distracting you, I'm the reason the sorcerer caught you off guard." He said. Makenna bristled.

"You must think highly of yourself to say you're that much of a distraction." She said in a tart tone. Tobin's face went red, but he held his tongue. Makenna continued.

"No, it was the sorcerer's fault this happened, not yours. In a strange way, after being trapped in my own body for so long, his soul or wraith or whatever overwhelming me, I feel like I know him. He was full of a fathomless hate. The way I hated the Hierarchy and humans before, it was a little too familiar. I'm glad you were there." Makenna said. Tobin watched her now, there was a softness that hadn't been there before.

"Would that I could kill him all over again, for doing that to you." He said in quiet tone, a bite to his words. Makenna smiled bitterly.

"Thank St. Agna. It's a good thing he wasn't a necromancer." She said. Tobin in turn laughed.

"I wonder what the goblins would think of that." He said. Makenna shrugged.

"As much as they think of any other human I guess, not very much. Unless they'd trade them a pinecone or two, that is." She said.

Tobin chuckled. It felt good to speak of the goblins. Before long, Tobin was relaying how vital Mourry had been to him in the centuar city. They briefly discussed plans to return home. He also told her of how Zvonmir had risked his livelihood to get Tobin, Makenna, and the goblins out of the unfolding civil conflict between the centaur tribes, which she would not soon forget. The centuar's internal problems might still impact the goblins in the future, but with at least part of the sorcery threat dealt with, she couldn't help but feel a sense of relief. As they began to wander towards more mundane topics, Makenna felt her interest beginning to wane. Her eyes were heavy and soon enough she was dozing off between the knight's words. Not long after, he stopped speaking altogether. Makenna leaned against him in the cot. Tobin wrapped his arm around her. Face flush and heart beating, he was certain he wouldn't get a wink of sleep.