Eleri walked back across an open field slowly and with a lightness to her step that she'd not experienced before. She looked up into the trees and saw the wind in the leaves. She saw it blowing the grass.
But her feet didn't feel the grass. In fact, she didn't even feel the earth when she took a step. As she looked down, she struggled to tell if she was actually pressing into the dirt.
She breathed deeply next, checking for a point of reference. The motion of her ribcage felt normal, though she didn't feel the oxygen passing through her nose and mouth.
Strange, strange days.
As she walked farther, the tug in her belly got stronger and stronger. It kept her moving forward at a fast clip until she saw the light in the distance.
It was the blue fire from the bowl she had lit. The urge was strong, and she picked up her pace, even as time passed sloppily.
Suddenly, she was there, standing over herself, lying on the ground. Donovan hovered, checking her pulse, turning her head side to side, leaning his ear down next to her chest—though what specifically he was listening for, she didn't know. Maybe breathing.
He seemed worried, but not frantic.
Good.
The tug in her gut became overwhelming.
The flames in the blue bowl flared, catching Donovan's attention. He turned and stared at the change. He should have seen her here in the field but, somehow, he didn't.
Eleri wondered why the flames continued to burn when she was no longer stoking them. She watched as individual spikes of fire reached out and pulled her closer and closer with an urge she couldn't fight.
Her feet remained on the towel she’d laid out. The makeshift stage for the spell from her great-great-grandmother's book was still set, even though she had apparently passed out.
Suddenly, everything around her warped, the tug in her belly taking over. The decision was no longer her own.
In a moment that felt almost as if she’d fallen asleep and jerked her head back awake, she opened her eyes. The air rushed into her lungs. When she jerked, she felt the ground materialize behind her, almost as if she’d fallen into her own body. Her eyes flew open.
“Eleri!” Donovan turned toward her, his eyes pulled from the now-dancing flames.
She smiled.
“Oh, thank God. You're back.”