Changeling Witch

(S2) Eda's Problems

After spending a few minutes wallowing in confusion and disappointment, Hooty regained his senses and moved onto helping Eda. He knew that she couldn't get stronger if she was bone-tired, so he needed to find a way to get her to get some rest and take care of herself. If she wasn't going to cool down, then the Owl Beast was going to come out—and he didn't think anyone was going to be ready for that.

Of course, getting her to sleep would have to take cunning, resourcefulness, and baking skills. And Hooty was ready to employ all of that.

.................

"Me? Sleep? Ha!" Eda crowed, her hands shaking. "Not until I can call myself the most powerful witch in the Boiling Isles once again!"

Her instincts told her that that was a bad idea. Thankfully, she barely ever listened to her instincts, especially in a situation like this.

As she headed to her room—not to sleep, to get some privacy in order to study more—she noticed that someone had laid out a table with a plate of cookies on it in front of it.

She picked up the note and squinted at it, causing the clothespins to pop off. "'A reward for all your hard work, love, Hooty?'" She shrugged. "Huh. Not a bad idea. I could use the fuel."

Eda picked up one of the cookies and munched on it, marveling at the surprisingly good taste. "Damn, owl boy can bake."

As she continued to chew, she felt an odd sensation come through her body—a sensation that she didn't even register at first, since she was already chock-full of it.

It was exhaustion.

She looked back down at the cookie, noticing the little sparks coming from it. "Sleeping nettles?"

"Yup!" Hooty burst through the floor, beaming. "One bite will put you to sleep for hours!"

How is he THIS idiotic?!

"Sleeping nettles don't just put you to sleep, they heighten your dreams!" Eda snapped, struggling to keep her eyes open. "Do you realize who you just stuck me with?"

A growl sounded from behind her... a growl that she only ever heard in her nightmares.

She whipped around and saw that all of the lights had shut out. "Hooty, don't let me fall asleep," she begged, turning back around.

Hooty fell backward as just a tube, his hollow inside exposed. "Yep! One bite will put you to sleep for hours!"

Hours!

Hours!

Hours!

The growls sounded again, sounding even more unhinged than before.

"You know, maybe this is an opportunity," Eda said under her breath, slowly getting into a fighting stance. "The Owl Beast is why I ran away from home. The Owl Beast is why I never got close to anyone. And the Owl Beast..."

The shadow of a feathered creature swept by her, disappearing behind a doorway.

"Is why I don't have magic."

The Owl Beast stepped into view.

It was far more monstrous than Eda's cursed form ever was. Its feathers were shaggier, its legs were crooked, its claws were huge, and its face, instead of just being Eda's with black eyes, was actually that of an owl—round, a sharp beak instead of a fanged mouth, and eyes that always reminded her of empty black pits.

Every time she transformed, it haunted her. And nearly every night before she'd brought King home, and only a few nights since she'd taken in Hunter, it stalked her in her dreams.