They were trapped in the dark bubble of sweltering heat. Though he was strong, Hayden’s legs soon began to shake from the strain of holding Nissa on his back and Gracie in his arms. But he refused to set either of them down. The floor of the oven was unbearably hot. He could tell his feet were blistering within his boots as the heat from the walls pressed in on them.
Stand, he told himself, and gritted his teeth while sweat poured down his face and slicked his sides.
Emerald fire flickered around the door, trying to find its way inside. Whenever a tendril of green won through one of the cracks, he heard Nissa mutter a spell, and it vanished.
At last, the heat was too much. He swayed, his legs beginning to buckle.
“Climb up on me, when I fall,” he whispered hoarsely to Gracie.
“Never.” She gave him a fierce look. “It’s almost over.”
Almost wasn’t soon enough. With agonizing slowness, he collapsed.
“No!” Nissa cried.
He felt the weight of her leave his shoulders, even as Gracie squirmed out of his grasp. Light assaulted his senses as she kicked the door open. His palms hit the searing floor, but he was too tired to do more than hiss in pain.
“Come on,” his sister said, yanking at his shoulders. “Move, you big oaf!”
Then Nissa set her hands to his backside and gave him a mighty push. The three of them tumbled out of the oven, onto a carpet of charred black grass.
The eldritch fire was gone.
Numbly, Hayden flopped onto his back and stared at the sky. Clouds still roiled over the clearing, but they were a normal, sullen gray. Even as he watched, the wind pushed them apart, showing glimpses of blue beyond.
“Get his boots off,” Nissa said, already untying Hayden’s laces. “I can heal the damage, if it’s not too late.”
Gracie joined her, the two of them working quickly. When they pulled his shoes off, agony shot through him. He caught the scream behind his teeth, refusing let it out, and kept his gaze focused on Nissa’s face. He heard his sister whimper at the sight of his ravaged feet, but the witch never flinched.
Holding her palms just above either foot, she began to chant. Cool blue light gathered on her hands, then began to drift down over his soles. Fire turned to ice, the relief from pain almost as shocking as his injury. He pulled in a sharp breath of wonder.
“It’s working,” Gracie said, staring at the witch’s hands.
Silently, Nissa nodded. She remained at his feet a moment more, then began working her way up his body. Wherever her light fell, ease followed. His scalded palms cooled, the fierce burns upon his skin receded.
When her hands skimmed his cheeks, he reached up and caught her fingers. Startled, her gaze met his, her white-gold hair falling in a curtain about her face. The blue light faltered, her intent expression easing as the spell faded. She did not try to move away.
“Why?” she asked, her voice low. “Why did you save me?”
“I couldn’t let you burn.”
A shadow of wings fell over them, and with a whistle and a chirp, the magpie landed beside Nissa on the charred grass. It was all white, now, except for a few black feathers along its wings.
Blushing, the witch pulled her hands from his and looked at the bird.
“Hello, old friend,” she said to it. “I’m glad to see you survived, too.”
“Who is it?” Gracie asked, scooting to his side as Hayden levered himself to sitting.
“The former Witch of the Woods,” Nissa said.
Frowning, Gracie glanced from her to the magpie. “But we broke the curse. Didn’t we?”
“We certainly broke the house,” he said, glancing over at the wreckage that used to be the magical, garden-surrounded treehouse. “Is it ruined?”
“The cycle is broken.” Nissa stared at the tree, a deep melancholy in her expression. “The Stone’s power is gone. I am the last Witch of the Woods.”
The magpie hopped forward with a cluck, as if in agreement.
“If the Stone is broken,” Gracie asked, “then why is she still a bird?”
“That’s my fault.” Nissa reached over and gently stroked the magpie’s back. “Like you, I could not bear to simply stand by and watch as the Stone took its sacrifice. But unlike you, I could not save my mentor. At the very moment when the fire consumed her and the magic came to me, I cast a spell, binding her spirit to this place. I suppose you could call it a curse, though she has never hated me for it.”
The bird hopped up into Nissa’s lap and chirped once, its bright eye fixed upon her face. She let out a sigh, then looked back at him.
“You are free now, too,” she said softly. “The Stone has crumbled, the barrier is gone. There is no reason for you and Gracie to stay.”
“There is every reason,” Hayden caught her gaze. “I can’t speak for Gracie, though I think she’ll agree, but everything I need is right here.”
From the corner of his eye, he saw his sister nodding vigorously.
“But the garden is gone,” Nissa said, sounding confused. “The rooms are all destroyed.”
Gently, he reached and took her hand in his. “You’re still here.”
Her brows drew together. “What could you possibly want from one ill-tempered witch?”
“I’d like to see what kind of life we might make together.”
Their gazes locked, and he saw some of her sorrow and loneliness recede, replaced by a tentative hope.
“Please?” he said softly. “Will you try? We could be a family, the three of us.”
After a long moment, she nodded. “I will. You and Gracie have become dear to me.”
“Hooray!” Gracie cried, then rose and tried unsuccessfully to brush the soot off her clothing. “I’m glad you’ve both come to your senses. But we should get to work. There’s a lot to do to repair the house and gardens.”
At her words, the magpie took to the air, brilliant white against the blackened devastation around them. As it flew, it began to sing – a lilting, liquid sound of hope, and redemption. It circled the clearing, and in its wake the grasses greened and small daisies opened their white petals, as though awaking from a slumber.
Hayden stood and pulled Nissa to her feet, then took his sister’s hand. The three of them watched in amazement as the bird flew in wide spirals around the tree. The broken branches mended themselves, the withered leaves returned to a glossy green. Starting at the bottom, the shattered steps mended, vines springing up and winding in a profusion of blossoms and berries around the railing.
The pots and baskets jumped back into place, burgeoning with vegetables, the cracked windows of the common room gleamed anew. Before their eyes, the treetop aeries reformed, their sweeping angles and high roofs reappearing as if they’d never been dashed to the ground by furious magic.
The magpie took flight, still singing. As it passed, every branch and board, every plant and flower was restored. It paused at the very top of the oak for a moment, letting out a final, high trill that shook glittering motes of light over the tree, the house, the clearing, and the upturned faces of the mortals below.
Then, between one blink and the next, it disappeared.
“Goodbye, my friend,” Nissa whispered, her eyes bright with tears. “Thank you.”
“Is she really gone?” Gracie asked.
“Yes. She is freed at last. And so am I.” Nissa turned to Hayden, sorrow and worry echoing in her eyes. “She spent the last of our shared magic to restore our home. I… am no longer the Witch of the Woods.”
He smiled down at her. “That doesn’t matter. You’ll always be the woman I want to spend my life with.”
Then he bent and kissed her softly on the lips.
A warm breeze, redolent with roses and raspberries, wound about the clearing. The last spark of magic brushed the cheeks of the three humans standing before their enchanted home, then swirled up to gently shake the leaves of the oak tree in farewell. Then up, higher still, above the dark evergreens of the forest, above the small hut at the far edge where a widower wept for his lost children, above the land where the snow drifted softly and people laughed with relief around their bountiful tables.
It soared higher, above the clouds, to the place where light gives way to dark. Up, and up, until it was only a bright speck in the sky—a new and nameless star, shining its quiet blessing over the shadowed world below.
* * *
For more fairytale retellings, check out Anthea’s collections Faerie Hearts and Mermaid Song, available at fiddleheadpress.com or wherever books are sold.