I bought i? ? nes ? ; Noble. spe? as for making someone co? o you, a? ential boon for a shy child. I offloaded my backpack on the front porch,? ? the book, a? ead it. The spell co? ted ? ly of snapping a blade o? ass (whi? he intended walks on on his or h? ? o you), imagining th? ? ummons had alrea? orked, aspan? le="? ? le: italic;">believing wi? ? ive force. Y? ? er, I would scof? the "Made in China" lab? hat looked nearl? parent on those spells. Fake? hey were? />
I didn't kn? his back then. I? ? tyle="fo? tyle? alic;">believed. The cat ? one of his ? , hi? ? rned a f? or and g? tuck somewhere between hair, fea? s, a? cales, and a sma? ? et e? ded from? ? th, turning his mewling into something like an a? aid siren. Terrified, I kicked out a? and ran away, fumbling my house? ? of its pocket, grabbing up my b? ack (which I had lef? en; pape? pilled out and blew ? ? t I no longer cared), an? rsting into the ? e.
A few ? s later, I emerged from ? oom,? ing ? ince? self that I had daydreamed it all, ate dinner wi? t a word, looked sick, a? ent to bed. ? aren? aid nothing,? ? thinking I was still learning my lessonm the last book-bonfire.
As I? ? elf down to sleep, I closed my eyes,? opened them aga? hen I heard ? eat ? ling and? eated pounding a? window.? anoia took over, and? olle? ay from the window, curl? p small, and tri? o think myself gone, no longer a? get for ? ? thi? ? rying to break in. It di? help; i? mind's eye,? aw a giant crow, beating? elf against the ? s in? errible ? ? />
The? t night, I dreamed it was in my room? ? eat ? s on my ? t, and i? oke ? hingly a? ? ting my ? , keeping th? afe and tender.
T? hird night, I was chained to a d? t. Or the de? ? chained to me. The ? ? over me, pickin? my intestines. I could ? the pelvic
The ? le c? ? here, ba? o normal, an? stared at m? oically. The? ch grabbed my face a? aid, "Th? as mine.? had no right."
I tri? ? eak,? ? ldn't. S? mile? ? (an old lady with curled si? hai? he looked like one of the old la? ? see playing golf sometimes) and hel? ? mall book. The c? ? a glorious blue, made of what looked like g? ? ? n in? hread and woven toge? ? />
"This is yo? oul," she said. "It's mine now. And you'? ork for me. You understand." It wasn't a question. And I did? />
She showed ? o her backyard, ? e she kept a? m. H? eds of a? of ? land. "All of this is your job, now," she said. "When th? n sets, come? ide. That cl? will be? r room. You will sle? ntil the sun? es, then go out ? e and wo? ome more."
And th? ? hat I did for three ? hs. No food ? ? ? pare? the? ? s need n? stenance. I ? ured? th, ? ed acre after acre in th? rnin? ? owed, ha? ted, weeded,? ? ed. The ? ? ? to watch on the? ? roof; if I ? ped working, it woul? oop down and? ck o? es. If I started? king again, ? ould? urn them to me. ? ? pened on? wice. The first time, I was picking ? one out of my shoe, which ha? own ? ered? h the passage of time and with hard work. Ha? fair, b? here? ? tle I could do.
At night,? ? in the ? et, which had a small blt on the floor f? oftness. It was half as wide as I was tall, so I had to sleep sittin? . After the ? t month, my back beg? o ac? itho? ? ing, growing? se in the aftern? as the long? ? ? ent by.
One day, ? the end of the ? d month, my back locked up e? ely. I couldn't stra? ? p, couldn't move my ? . I ? ped. Before long, I saw the ? 's clawed feet on th? ound in front of me, and then the sharp tip of i? ? ing beak. And then nothing but burning as the blood gushed forth and? as blind? />
My back? ? nly ? sed to loosen. I stayed ? ? ? ? r hours,? ? ? inal? et. Once? al darkness had fallen, I heard ? antly th? ening and closing of a door. The? ick ? ? s.
"What's this?"? oice said so? . Something touched my back, and? prang loose again an? umbled headlong into the? t. S? olled me over, and I felt the we? of her ? on ? . "Do this again, and you're done. You'll be? t in? he o? ? ? s, among the Old Gods, a? ? ill never fi? our way back again. ? ? ? stand?"
I tri? ? plain that my back had gone out, tha? ? a consequence of sleeping in the cl? , that it ha? been deliberate? t I still couldn? peakr foot lifted of? chest and came down sha? on ? hroat. R? ? ? eared in the? ? s, and I? ped for breath.
"? ? ? stand?" the voice said again, so? , ge? , ca? ingly. Dange? ly. Still gasping, I nodded, and she grabbed me ? he hair and began to drag me back to the? se. ? of ? ? camf with a gre? earing b? e she was halfway there and I scream? ound? ly, but I heard ? an ? perated sigh before I was hauled up to my feet a? rodded along? weight, pulling my spine downwa? ? ? fee? as a? . I could say nothin? ill.
Finally, we reached the ? e and she threw me into the ? et by the back o? shirt, the top of my head crashing against the back wall and renewing my pain. Then I felt something being thrown at me? o small somethings--befo? he door slammed ? . She had given me m? es back. Sliding them back in, I? led up into a ball, and ? silently. B? e long, I heard ? stli? ound, and a low voice.
"Crying?"
I? ped without a sound.
"Be calm, child. I am the cat."
The o? hat had ? en me in? his. Blind a? and fear rose. Then he spoke again.
? shouldn't cIt m? ? ? y angry.? und? and?? />
I didn't care.
"Well? 's bad, especially if there are ? s. I? ldn'? y in front of he? she'll kill? ? ? e. She h? tears b? ? hey'? ? ."
Wh? ? rong? h salt? I liked ? ? />
"Eh," he said. "It's the on? ? o kill a? ch, so of coursebr /? />Silence.
"I shouldn't have said that."
For ? her three mo? , I ? ? ? closet at n? and cri? ntil? ning. I save? tears in the fabric of the jackets ? hung above my head. The moi? ? ? ated and left the salt behind. One n? , I sile? took down jacket after jacket, squeezing an? bbin? ery inch of ? ic into a co? . The total dark? mad? ? ossible ? ? hether I had had? suc? ? />
When morning came, and the witch woke a? urned on the lights, I could see? mall? nd. ? recious, it looked like diam? . I gathered it up and hid it in? ? proo? ? ocket. A? sufferi? ? ? hat day (being careful n? ? rain my back? e than absolutely ne? ary), I ? back in? he closet an? nted? the pocket ? he darkness. I found the pocket,? ? the salt, a? anicked,? abbling ? ay a? s the fabric? ? ned out ? I'd? ten ? and right mixed up, and it had been in the other po? ? />
Silentl? ilently, I opened the door and c? ? o the kitchen. I knew the witch took sug? ith her morning coffee, spooning it out of a sma? ilver dish. ? ix months of silence had been a boon: I had become acquainted wi? ? ? lack of? nd, and made none. A? ? my small ha? l of dri? ? ? o th? gar dish, I ? t back into my closet and slept.
The lights came on, and I could smell her coffeemake? ewing. Then I heard the pot clinking as she took it out and ? ? he contents into? ? ning mug. Anothe? pan style="font-style: italiting? an> and ? ? the sugar bowl. Then silence. Then a shriek that tore at the walls ? nd m? hredding them in? atters, and ? ood exposed ? ? itch? />
She? n't ? ing. I had been expecting that. ? ead, she? eared to be ? ing, and a hot, ranc? ind washed over me, and I vomited. S? eached o? o me, her left hand,? it decayed and fell to the floo? urning into a mass of worms and evil-smelling sludge. She wa? ill screamin? ? ound multiplied ? ? of stone, but becoming atte? ed, echoing,? ing ? her and ? her ? ? il only the echo? ere ? ? />
I ran back inside, and discovered the cat sniffing i? estedly at a? ? ? hat appeared to have? med out ? ? itch? emains. ? read my ? and looked at him, and ? aid, "What? ? ? l? D? loo? ? ? tyle="fo? tyle? alic;">m? pan>."
I tried to kill him, but he was too fast for me. G? ? at, too. The book was no? e to be found. There? ? hing? e I could do? />
I left the witch's ? e.
Wa? ed for a while, until something rang a bell. I didn't recognize ? hing; the loss o? spirit had ? me ? ies, and everything I could think of? ? aine? gray. It was a front porch,? h a backpack on it, lyin? en. I picked it up a? ummaged through it, thinking vag? of food, when I came ac? ? mall? e book and opene? ? />
Everything came flooding back. ? ened my ? h and a warm, deep,
Then I ? ght ? ? hing, an? ened my backpack. Th? ellbook I had bo? from Ba? & Noble? there.
I rummaged through the fa? 's a? urpose drawer a few ? tes, the? ought the book into the backyard. I ? ed it with gasoline from the? n mower's gas can and lit the matches I'd found ? he drawer. The a? ? ? ill smoldering by the time my pa? ? rive? ? ork.
? said nothing.
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