The Witch's Shadow

scent of damp stone and something sweet-too sweet, like rotting fruit. The l

ham

pulsing as if alive. Thick, gnarled roots slithered

she he

ath

iberate,

asp, her hands scramb

hamber, some

each. It was taller than any human should be, draped in ragged, moth-eaten cloth that clun

ce that made Elen

ad n

void, as if its skin had been stretched too tight over n

llowed sent ice t

come for t

pping the lantern ti

ead, a slow, unnatural mo

a step forward. "

a breathy exhale that m

return what it claims. And

na's chest. The runes on the walls pulsed faster, and t

e thundered.

en glow casting jagged shadows across

ts head. "You saw wha

fresh wave of d

s arms. The red scarf. H

. The roots above

hadows beyond the cr

mall. F

le

h hitched

shifted. "Ah," it whispere

step forward.

walls flared, and

, clawed hand, and suddenly,

lunged fro

o scream before the wor