Abducted [W&W Book 3]

Chapter 36

Maxine and Ildri each carried a lantern and a basket as they walked into the dark forest. Ildri suppressed a shiver, being in the woods when it was so late brought all of her anxiety rushing out.

"Couldn't we do this in the morning?" Ildri pleaded, her voice still sounding oddly deep.

"Sorry, but starflowers need to be harvested on a clear night like tonight. They close during the day."

"And why do we need starflowers?"

"They're one of the main ingredients for the tester potion. You need to know this, because every witch eventually experiments on her own. Especially once they have a familiar, since every familiar's magic has a different effect. Since we're awake anyway, it might as well be tonight."

They continued walking for a while through the woods following the trail. Maxine broke the silence. "Are you going to look for a familiar?"

"I don't know. I hadn't thought about it. How do you find one?"

"You don't. It's usually the animal who finds you. When one does, if you want to, you simply tie its magic to yours. Simpler than Dredil's solution, I assure you. And if the animal doesn't want you to, you won't be able to, so don't worry about that."

"I'll think about it." It seemed nice, the way that Maxine had her rabbits and Ty had Farrel. Maybe she would find one somewhere.

Maxine nodded. "The animal benefits, too. They live longer. Oh, here we are."

"I've never seen these before," Ildri commented as she examined the large white flowers growing everywhere on the ground.

Maxine reached down and plucked one. "They wrap themselves up during the day. Remind me to show you what they look like when it is light out."

Ildri and Maxine plucked the plants until their baskets were full and then they headed back to Maxine's cottage. The plants were left for use in the morning and Ildri dragged her weary body up to bed.

* * * * *

Ildri slept in. She groaned to herself and pulled on her clothing which were too tight. She had forgotten about her unexpected disguise.

Maxine had a mirror in her room, so Ildri made her way there. She looked into the glass and saw that Maxine had told the truth. She looked like a young man. She peered at her face. If she shaved off the patchy stubble on her face she would probably be the sort of young man Hanna might find attractive.

She was not going to attempt to shave her face. She did not care if she looked like a scruffy bear until she returned to normal. She was not doing it.

She figured that Allan would be off doing whatever it was that Allan did and that Maxine would be in the shed. She quickly ate the breakfast that Maxine had left for her and then pushed open the door.

The sun hit her eyes and the sound of talking was apparent.

"It won't last for that long. Please, Allan. It's in the interest of knowledge. I just want to see if it works," Maxine pleaded in an engaging voice.

"I'm sorry, but I absolutely will not, Maxine."

Then the talking stopped. "Good morning, Ildri," Maxine chirped.

"You really were telling it like it was. She's—" Allan's face had dropped into a look of wide eyed shock. "That can't be—"

"I'm going to work now," Ildri said with real irritation. She was not an experiment to be observed. She walked away from them. She could hear Maxine making her case as she neared the shed.