Page 43 of The Wonder of You
I see the way Phoenix and Lukas tense up immediately in their shock, it takes them a second to even respond to the situation.
“Get her off me!” Henry shouts. Finally, Phoenix and Lukas attempt to pull her away. I notice the way the fabric from her coat seems to tear off in their hands. A look of disgust takes Phoenix’s features for a brief second, but he’s intent on getting this woman,this thing, off his friend.
Maudie starts screaming. The shock in my body prevents me from stopping her turning around and witnessing this chaos. Her eyes widen so much it looks like they might pop out her head.
The witch continues to strangle Henry. She clearly doesn’t have enough strength to be at risk of killing him, but she still may be able to hurt him. The fact she has enough power within her to hold a man like Henry down is alarming.
“Help!” Henry calls out.
“I’m trying!” Phoenix shouts back, but the fabric keeps coming off in his hands and he seems reluctant to put his arms around the witch to drag her off.
It doesn’t matter, though. Like a giant bird, Toni flies down the hill and tackles the witch away from Henry. She rolls further down the hill with her. We all watch in disbelief as they keep rolling.
Henry stands up, patting down his suit. We watch as Toni throws the witch into the river.
“Do not come back!” she screams as the witch swims away. If it wasn’t for the fear slamming through my body, I’d jump up and down in excitement at how amazing Toni is. What a woman!
“Maudie, why did you come down here?” Lukas shouts. She turns into me again and cries.
“Please don’t be angry at her,” I say weakly.
“I don’t want to be angry, but she could have taken you, Maudie, she could have taken you.” He looks like he might throw up as he repeats it.
“I’m sorry, Daddy!” She lets me go and throws herself into Lukas’ arms. The anger on his face leaves as she wraps her little arms around his waist. He picks her up and hugs her tight.
“It’s okay, baby, but don’t do that again, okay?”
Toni walks back to her cabin casually, as if she didn’t just tackle a woman down a hill gorilla style. Lukas carries Maudie back up the hill, talking softly to her, but I feel rooted to the ground.
“Are you okay?” Phoenix puts his hand on my cheek and examines me.
“I’m okay, I just feel a bit worked up. I didn’t know how I’d fight her away and protect Maudie.” I shake my arms at my side, attempting to shake off all the concern and fear. Phoenix kisses my forehead and I feel the adrenaline rush leaving my body as he calms me.
“Do not ever go near them, okay? I understand that was for Maudie. I don’t blame you at all for running to her rescue. But if you ever see them about, leave it to usguys,” he says firmly. I take a deep breath. “Leave it to you guys? I think I’ll leave it to Toni!”
We both laugh anxiously as Phoenix leads me back to the cabin, but I stop in place. I can’t help myself with the fear still working its way around my bones and bloodstream.
“How did she have that strength, Phoenix? She’s a little old lady.” I question. Phoenix turns and faces me. His expression serious, which only makes all this more concerning.
“She’s also a witch; they all possess some level of magic. It was just a scare tactic.” He reminds me, sending fear immediately to my chest, making me want to throw up all this emotion.
“Okay but what if next time isn’t a scare tactic? What if they come back in force? The stories I heard as a kid, some made out they were powerful in groups. They’ve practised magic for years. They could use it to cause damage. To causeusdamage.” My voice cracks. I turn and watch as Lukas carries Maudie into their cabin. Her little fingers are digging into his back with all the fear she holds. Henry is still patting himself down from the attack. Could these witches hurt my family? Could they ever posses enough power to hurt someone like Toni if they came back in a group?
“Renée, stop.” Phoenix puts his hands on my cheeks. “They can come here and try to frighten us, but they won’t be able to do anything more.”
“They could have taken Maudie. What if I hadn’t been looking for her?”
Phoenix scans my face as he rubs his thumb on my jawline. The sensation calms me, but not enough. I stare at him waiting for his answer.
He sighs. I know he can’t provide one.
“But they didn’t.”
I go to speak, to argue his point that theycouldhave done, but his thumb lands on my mouth shushing me.
“I know. I know how it could have been. But it didn’t happen, and it won’t happen. Lukas won’t let Maudie out of sight now.”
He kisses my forehead and holds out his hand. I take it and follow him back to our cabin. I need to sit down; I need a drink. I want to believe him. I want to believe that perhaps Toni has scared them away for good. Perhaps the witches are weak and just caught Henry off guard.
