5

When Kayla arrived back at the cottage, Doc and Gus were outside. They were apparently about to go out on a search and rescue mission.

Kayla stepped out of the cab and fell to the ground.

"Shit!" Gus exclaimed. "What the hell happened?"

"A wolf," she said weakly.

"Did the driver see it?" Doc asked her.

She nodded her head.

"Holy shit!" Gus said again and walked over to the driver's window. The driver was still scared to death, and apparently, the thought of just speeding away had not occurred to him. Gus looked in at the driver and said a few words. Then he took a handful of dust from his pocket and threw it in the cabbie's face. Kayla was surprised when the cabbie got out of the car and retrieved her bags from the back. He placed them on the ground next to her.

"Have a great day, miss," he said to her cheerfully, not acknowledging that she was on the ground and her arm was covered in blood. He got back into his cab and drove away as if nothing had happened.

"What did you do to him?" she asked Gus.

"Memory dust. I got it from a fairy. Works every time."

"Let's get you back in the house, and you can tell us all about your adventure," Doc said with more than a little irritation in his voice.

After Kayla had washed up and slipped into a pair of shorts so she could bandage her bleeding thigh, she walked out to the living room, where seven sets of eyes were boring into her, waiting for an explanation.

"I'll start," Gus said. "What the fuck were you thinking?" Violet put her hand on his arm, trying to get him to calm down.

"What he means is why did you go out in the first place? We could have gotten you anything you needed," Joy said with a smile that indicated concern and genuine curiosity.

Kayla sat down on the couch and told the coven the entire tale of why she had left and what had happened at the mall. They all sat in silence, listening intently. When she finished, Doc had a few questions of his own.

"Are you sure that the wolf in the desert didn't bite you?"

"Yes, he only scratched me. Am I going to turn into a wolf?" she asked fearfully.

"No dear. You may have some extra abilities for a few full moons, but it takes an actual bite to turn you completely," Joy said reassuringly.

"Well, that's good to know, at least," Kayla sighed with relief.

"Although it may be a little different for you, I’m concerned that it’s taking so long to heal."

Doc impatiently jumped in to get answers to the rest of his questions before Joy continued.

"Did he tell you that Carolyn sent him?"

"No, but I have to assume she did after what Mooney heard in the bar," she replied.

"Why does she want you dead, Kayla?"

She went back to her room and retrieved the printed documents that she had found in Carolyn’s altar room and handed them to Doc.

"Well, I guess a million dollars is as good a motive as any."

"I guess,” Kayla said with a sense of defeat.

Doc walked up to Kayla and, to the best of his ability, stared her directly in the eyes.

"Kayla, you cannot leave this house again. No matter what happens, no matter what you need, you have to stay inside this house at all times. Do you understand?"

"Yes," she said as she bowed her head and fell into the sofa like a child being scolded for not following directions. Doc seemed to feel bad for chastising her, and he put his finger under her chin to lift her tear streaked face.

"Don't cry, honey. This is all for your own good."

"I know, Doc. It just seems like I'm trapped in some fucked up fairy tale. Now, I managed to get myself locked in a tower," she chuckled in spite of her despair.

"It won't be forever, I promise. Just until we find a way to defeat Carolyn."

"How is that going?" she asked the room of little witches.

"We are making some progress, but haven't found anything quite strong enough to bind her powers," Daisy reported.

"Is that what we're trying to do, bind her powers? She won't stop even if she has no powers. She'll still try to kill me. She won't ever give up. If that crazy bitch is anything, she's persistent. I've seen what she'll do for the last piece of cake; I can only imagine what she'll do for a million dollars."

Daisy snorted and then charged ahead into a violent sneezing fit. Everyone waited for her to stop so they could continue.

"Sorry, guys. Damn allergies. I'm afraid one day I'm going to sneeze my brains out," she apologized as she wiped her nose.

"I think you just gave me an idea, Daisy!" Jess suddenly exclaimed. "Kayla, is there anything that she is afraid of? Like really afraid of?"

"Getting old. She buys every anti-aging cream and potion that she can find. She always makes comments about how her skin used to be nicer than mine, and how we could be sisters. Blah, blah, blah." Kayla made a talking gesture with her hand and rolled her eyes.

"Why don't we try to use that against her?" Jess looked at the blank faces of the group and decided they needed a visual aid. He grabbed the old spell book off the coffee table and began flipping pages. He found what he was looking for and laid the book out on the table. Everyone huddled in to look at the spell.

"Like instant karma?" Kayla asked.

"Every time she thinks of doing something bad to you, something bad will happen to her. We should be able to tailor the spell to fit her fear,” Jess explained with a little gleam in his eye.

"That could work." Doc was turning the possibilities over in his head. "We do it tonight."

Kayla sat down at the table, removed from the coven.

"What are you doing way over there?" Joy smiled at her.

"Just watching.” Kayla smiled back.

"Oh, no. This one involves you, too,” Gus said as he took her hand and led her to the chair Violet had set in the middle of the room.

Mooney was awake and busy sprinkling herbs into a large bowl. He seemed to be in some kind of meditative trance. He shot a look to Gus, and Gus nodded back. He walked behind Kayla, and she felt a sharp pain in the back of her head. She jumped and grabbed her sore scalp, turning to Gus.

"Did you just pull my hair out?" she yelled, stunned and a little pissed.

Gus just shrugged and dangled the little clump of dyed black hair before he took it to Mooney, who added it to the bowl.

She rubbed her head and glared at the two men. As Mooney dropped the last of her locks into the bowl, a puff of smoke erupted like a miniature volcano.

"Ready!" he shouted to the rest of the dwarves, who filed into the room with serious looks on their faces. They gathered around Kayla, forming a circle and joining hands.

Doc began reciting what Kayla assumed was a spell.

"Dea petimus benedictionibus vestris. Proin est nobis in tempore necessitatis,” Doc chanted.

"Blessed be," the group responded in unison.

"Cum anima innocens mittit mala, tum adversus malos male operans."

"Blessed be."

"Aequalis ei malum, ita et tempus accurrere."

"So mote it be."

Daisy brought the bowl to Kayla and sat it in front of her chair. Kayla looked at her questioningly. Daisy silently indicated for her to be still and quiet.

As Kayla sat motionless, a small light began shining from inside the bowl. It steadily grew in volume and brightness until she was forced to cover her eyes. Even with her eyes shielded, she could tell that the light was continuing to consume everything in the room.

"What's happening?" she asked anyone who might answer her. No one did. The witches continued chanting something Kayla couldn't understand. As strange as it seemed, she could actually feel the light pushing on her, and it felt great and awful at the same time, like she was being crushed and cradled simultaneously. She tried catching her breath, but found that she was unable to breathe at all. Just as she was skirting a serious case of panic, the pressure on her lungs released. She took a long, deep, heaving breath and was surprised at how cold that air felt to her lungs.

She opened her eyes and looked around. She was no longer in the comfortable living room of the little people; she was apparently in the middle of a snow-covered forest. A blanket of white powder extended for miles in every direction. She could see a few trees covered in ice, their dormant branches straining under the weight of the pure white snow.

Shaking, she rose from the ground and took a tentative step forward. The snow was dense and thick, easily supporting her weight. She took a few more steps before calling out.

"Hello? Is there anyone here?" She looked all around, trying to spot any signs of life. She got her wish after a few more steps.

The low growl came from closer behind than she would have liked. Kayla slowly pivoted in a half circle, and the wolves bared their teeth and growled even more loudly. Their yellow eyes locked on hers, and she frantically tried to plan a getaway. The lupine trio was no more than five feet away from her. She knew running from them was not a viable option, but they looked like they were getting anxious. Every time she took a small step back, the lead wolf took a step forward. The leader of the pack growled again and then snapped its powerful jaws in a loud snarl. Just as Kayla was about to risk running away, a figure dressed in a long, hooded robe stepped out from behind a tree and walked toward the wolves. He was tall and muscular. Kayla could see a hint of long blond hair peeking out from under the draped hood that hid his face. He seemed familiar to her, but she could not place where she might have seen him before.

To her amazement, the wolves immediately lay down in the snow. Even though they kept their watchful eyes on her, they seemed afraid of the hooded man. Kayla knew the feeling. She was about to bolt off in the opposite direction when the huntsman put his hand out to her. She could hear someone shouting off in the distance, but couldn't make out what they were saying.

The huntsman took the hand he had held out to Kayla and placed it on the coat of the lead wolf. He slowly stroked the grayish brown fur and whispered something to the wolf that Kayla could not hear.

She knew this had to be some kind of hallucination or dream, but she was frustrated at her inability to discern what anyone was saying, or to make heads or tails of whom this man was. She watched him carefully, wondering what fate that whisper might bring to her. She didn't have to wait long.

Without warning, the lead wolf lunged at her, knocking her to the ground. She felt the air leave her lungs and a rock on the ground connect with her temple. As the world swam out of focus, the cloaked figure crouched beside her. He pulled the hood away from his face and looked at her with sharp blue eyes the color of the clearest waters. She still had that feeling of familiarity that nagged at her failing consciousness. As the blackness moved in from the corners of her fading vision, she had a realization that sent her reeling into darkness. The huntsman scooped her up into his strong arms and lifted her body from the cold snow, and a final word passed her lips before she fainted completely away.

"Daddy?"