I turned to Elron. "What do you think?"
"This is not something I have seen before. It will be a challenge."
Looking to Bethany, I said, "Let's get to it."
We approached the greenhouse, stopping to introduce ourselves to Officers Washburn and Hartaway. Washburn was a round human with pale skin and pink cheeks. Hartaway, a vampire, was as lethal in her uniform as Washburn was amiable.
"Would you mind standing back? I can't be sure how this will go, and the fewer people next to the greenhouse, the better," I said.
Hartaway looked at Washburn and Bethany. "We'll stay out of your way."
"Thank you." I summoned my wand and looked at Elron. "How do you want to do this?"
"Could you shield me? I do not know if that would be effective with the amount of energy in this place, but I would prefer to remain unmolested by the plants."
"I can shield you. Do you want to be anchored to one spot or be able to move around?"
He studied the greenhouse. "I need to be able to move around."
"Hold still," I told him.
Using my wand, I sketched five shimmering runes in the air before directing the power and finishing it off with two more spoken runes. It had taken me two days to figure out how to shape the spell with seven runes, but I'd done it without increasing the amount of magic needed to fuel the spell.
"All done," I said, sucking in a deep breath of air. Dad was right, I had a bad habit of holding my breath when I was uncertain of a spell's outcome.
Elron was encapsulated in a spell that hovered four inches over his skin. As he moved, the spell moved to maintain that distance around him. He took a step forward, and the shield moved with him, not impeding his progress at all.
Elron pushed open a wood door with a glass window in the top half. As I followed him through the door, I cast a spell on myself. It was easier than the one I'd used on Elron and basically electrocuted anything that touched me. Poking my arm, my finger tingled; I was satisfied that it was working.
Inside, I knew my imagination hadn't lived up to the reality. Whatever these plants had once been, they were something else now. In front of us was a wall of greenery. Vines thicker than my wrist vanished into the rest of the greenhouse. Some of the leaves were as large as my torso, and I could just see where a tree trunk had pierced the glass roof.
The scale was intimidating, but the space took on a sinister air when the plants began moving. At first I thought they were growing, but after several seconds I knew better. Growing plants moved in predictable ways—in the direction of light, lengthening and thickening, flowering, and branching off into new directions.
These plants didn't do that. The tip of one runner swung back and forth before inching forward and repeating the motion. To my left, a branch bearing leaves the size of my head swept from side to side. It brushed another plant, and the leaves shifted their position to keep in contact with the other plant as long as possible.
When I focused on the mass of plants, I could see them moving, twisting, and shifting position. When Bethany called and told me a greenhouse had swallowed an elf, I'd thought she meant that he'd run afoul of something magical, not that the plants had gone crazy.
Reaching out with tendrils of power, I felt around, trying to determine the cause of this. There was definitely something magical going on, but the source wasn't apparent. Magic had permeated every plant at low levels, levels I wouldn't have credited with this type of mutation. The leaf I was examining curled up and was sucked backward, vanishing.
I reeled in my power. That was a level of self-awareness I hadn't been counting on.
"Elron, tell me you can do something about this."
He frowned. "I am not sure."
That wasn't the answer I'd wanted to hear. "Why not?"
"The magic has changed them. I cannot be sure that they will react in a predictable fashion. Give me a moment." He closed his eyes and rolled his shoulders before inhaling and exhaling.
I watched him for a moment before returning to my explorations. My power snaked around the plants, and though I did my best to prevent it from touching anything, as it moved farther back, my magic collided with more plants. They pulled back, actively moving away from me.
When my magic touched a person, I halted its forward progress. Sure enough, it felt like an elf. He was alive. Breathing a sigh of relief, I continued my examination. Alive, yes; in a good situation, no. The elf was unconscious, and it felt like he was being held in place by the plants.
Expanding my power, I felt around him, only finding plants, several of which were wrapped around his arms and legs. With that limitation in mind, I constructed a shield around him. It wouldn't do much for the plants that were inside it, but it would prevent other things from getting in. Between the distance, lack of sight, and uncertainty about the area, it wasn't my best work, but it would have to do until Elron or I could get to him.
When I opened my eyes, I saw Elron looking at me.
"The plants were fed an excess of Magic Grow and something else, but I believe I can manage them. I also felt the officer. He is alive," he informed me.
"I found the officer too and put a shield around him. It's not my best work, so I don't know how much good it'll do."
"It is better than what he had. I will manage the plants if you can retrieve the police officer."
"I can do that." Hopefully. I didn't want to live with the consequences of fumbling my role in this rescue.
Elron nodded and squared up to the wall of plants. While we'd talked, it had moved a couple of inches closer, giving me the impression that it was trying to force us out of the greenhouse one step at a time.
I don't know what he did, but one runner shrank and vanished. Elron wobbled before regaining his stance.
"Are you okay?" I touched his arm and felt energy pulsing along his skin. Elves weren't designed to handle power at that level, so I pulled most of it off him and into me, leaving enough to make him feel energized.
He shook his head. "Thank you, that is better. I can work with the plants, but I cannot drain the energy from them, and they will not return to a normal size unless the energy is removed."
"Drain the…" My voice trailed off.
Stepping away from Elron, I knelt down and grabbed ahold of a runner. The energy flowing through the plant made my teeth itch. The three-inch-thick runner thrashed and wobbled, pulling out of my hand.
Rocking back on my heels, I chewed on my lip. Not only had these plants had Magic Grow, but it had been mixed with some type of magic intended to energize and awaken. From the look of things, the Magic Grow had amplified the other spells while it was supersizing the plants. This was why items like Magic Grow came with big warning labels saying how dangerous it was to mix them with other spells.
I got up and went back to Elron. He looked better than he had, but the corners of his eyes were still narrowed and his brow was furrowed.
"Are you up to trying again? If you manage the plants, I can manage the energy."
"I will try." He offered me his hand.
Sliding my hand into his, I felt the link form between us. Ideally, I would work through him. Elron would pull the energy off the plants, and I would drain it off of him and into the earth. In reality, that wasn't going to work, not for a job of this size. I could move that much energy without repercussions, but Elron wasn't a witch. The next best thing was to wait until he had the plants' cooperation before doing my job. That's what I was going to try first, because I didn't want to hurt Elron.
A side effect of the link was limited thought sharing. He was in pain, frustrated with the plants for hurting him, and embarrassed. For some reason, I didn't think those were the thoughts he would've chosen to share, and I was glad I didn't know what he was picking up from me.
Elron started persuading something with large green leaves to return to a normal size, and I focused on my task. As soon as the plant became amenable, I started stripping away the energy. Even before it agreed to
shrink, the energy depletion had reduced its size.
I continued siphoning off the energy until I felt Elron softly push me away. Releasing the plant, I reassessed the difficulty of the job. If that plant was any indication, each of these had enough energy to create a new Ty. Considering the amount of vegetation we were facing, it was going to take us hours to make our way to the officer.
He transitioned to a different plant, and I drained as much energy out of it as I had the first. When it had been reduced to a normal size, we went on to the third. By the fifth plant, I had a rhythm going and didn't need any help determining when to stop draining them.
I'd lost count of the number of plants Elron had cajoled into decreasing in size when I heard a rasping. Looking around, I couldn't see anything that would make that sound. It was like someone was rubbing sandpaper against a block of wood. I'd been keeping tabs on the officer, and he was still unconscious. If he, Elron, and I were the only ones in here, who was making that sound?
"Michelle," Elron hissed.
"Sorry," I muttered, turning my attention to the bushy shrub he was working on. Once I'd connected to it and had the energy flowing into me at a steady pace, I looked around again. If there was anything there, it was too dark for me to see it.
I sent a witch light to hover over us. The additional light was helpful, but it only illuminated the area directly around us, and the sound was coming from farther away. The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and I dropped the channel to the earth, building up my energy reserves with the power from the shrub. By the time I released the link, I had more energy than was comfortable, but I wanted to keep it that way until we were out of this place. If something was going to attack us, I wanted to be prepared.
The rasping stopped, and I took a hard look around us. Anything outside a couple of feet was hidden well enough that I couldn't see it.
Elron released the plant, sitting back on his heels. He twisted to look at me. "Can you continue?"
"I think something is here."
He came to his feet in one graceful movement, studying our surroundings. "I only sense us, the officer, the plants, and some insects."
Turning my head, I tried to determine what was giving me the creeps. "There was a sound."
"I hear nothing."
Before I could try to describe what I'd heard, the sandpaper sound returned.
Elron twisted to the left and back to the right, but he didn't seem to be able to identify its origin either.
"What is that?" I asked, adjusting my grip on my wand.
He shrugged. "It could be two plants with rough bark rubbing against each other or a tool getting knocked around as the plants move. Do not worry about it."
Shrugging one shoulder, I didn't argue. He was right, it could be nothing. Dealing with the clans had left me jumpy and suspicious.
Elron knelt next to a strand of ivy. Its diameter was greater than my arm, and its leaves were as big as salad plates. He grunted and began tumbling against my legs. As I reached down to help him up, I saw something pink and white vanish into the wall of flora.
"I stand corrected. There is something else here," Elron said.
"You think?"
"My apologies. I—"
"Not now, elf. Can we shrink these plants as a group?" I kept my wand up, the extra energy I'd absorbed itching to be used.
He tightened his grip on my hand and deepened the link between us. Our abilities mixed and mingled until it was hard to tell where one of us ended and the other began. Elron convinced most of the plants to cooperate in seconds and then forced the rest of them to allow me to drain the energy.
It was difficult to take in just enough rather than too much, so this time when I pulled the energy, I set it to drain directly to the earth, unwilling to have that much power moving through me.
Before he'd deepened the link, I'd gotten some of his emotions, and now I was getting all of them. Any doubts I'd had about his feelings for me in the wake of his wife's death were washed away. He cared deeply for me and at this moment was determined to protect me from whatever else was in the greenhouse.
I started releasing plants that had been returned to a normal state, holding on to the ones that were still excited until they started to calm down. When I was down a few problem plants, I started dismantling the siphon. After draining excess energy, I finished taking apart the link to the earth. I was letting go of the last plant when I found myself torn away from Elron and flying through the air.
Chapter 19: Michelle
I heard an angry hiss, and that same rubbing sound. Whatever was out there was not a fan of mine. Still flying through the air, I curled into a protective ball and tried to will the ground to soften under me.
I hit the earth shoulder first, followed by my head, which didn't appreciate getting smacked against the ground, and the rest of me. From the way the ground sagged under me, I knew it had softened, but soft ground was still ground.
Blinking rapidly, I tried to clear the bright spots out of my eyes. I could hear distant shouts, but my brain couldn't make sense of them. No part of my body was happy to have hit the ground, but I didn't seem to have any serious injury. I moved up to a sitting position and rolled my shoulders. Nothing was broken.
Flexing my hands, I realized I'd lost my wand. I was on my knees when I got dizzy and had to sit down. Since it would be a moment before I could go anyway, I tried the trick that had worked in the forest. I twisted my hand, willing my wand to vanish before summoning it. It appeared in my hand like it had last time.
If I'd felt better, I would've done a little dance, but I had bigger problems. Elron was alone with whatever had tossed me across the room.
I kept my eyes on the rest of the room as I got to my feet, but it didn't do any good. It was too dark for me to see anything. I uttered a couple of words, and a large orb appeared near the roof, giving enough illumination for me to decipher what was going on.
Most of the plants were small, though I couldn't vouch for how many would survive the experience. Broken and tipped-over pots were strewn across the benches that lined the walls and the floor. The vegetation spilling out ranged from a couple of inches to over two feet in height. There were still a couple of extra-large plants along the walls and in the far corners of the room, but they weren't the primary attraction.
An eight-foot-tall white-and-pink something hovered in front of me, making that dreadful scraping sound. It looked like a bizarrely shaped orchid, but I'd never seen an orchid with eyes. The thing's wings fluttered, and it leaped away from Elron.
Elron had his sword out, but he wasn't attacking the creature. Beside him I caught sight of the police officer, still protected by my shield bubble but lashed to a table with vines. Falling back on the original plan, I dashed over to Officer Bale.
I looked at Elron and nodded. He squared off with the pink thing, and I removed the shield from Bale. I patted his cheek and shook him, but he didn't even twitch. He was out cold. There would be plenty of time to figure out what was wrong with him when we were safely out of the greenhouse, so I focused on freeing him. The table he was lashed to was sturdy, with thick wooden legs and a top that was a half inch thick. The best way to move him was to get the plants to release him.
Since I didn't have Elron's gift with plants, I took a more direct approach. Shaping my power into a knife, I cut through the vines on his leg and tugged them off before moving to his other leg.
The pink monster raised its wings, holding them upright. The sound started again, and it lashed out with what looked to be an oddly shaped petal. Elron jumped back, dodging the swipe, but he didn't attack.
With the second leg out of the way, I went to work on his arms. I'd gotten the right arm free when Elron screamed, "Look out!"
Ducking, I turned, wand ready, but the creature had jumped clean over me and landed on the other side of Bale. As I tugged at his left arm, which was still tied to the table, I got a good look at its mouth. No matter how flowery it looked, it was def
initely a creature.
I shot a stun spell at it. The beastie paused before the scraping sound returned at a quicker tempo. It reached for Bale again, and I had a feeling he was on this thing's menu.
"What is it?" I yelled.
"A type of mantis," Elron replied as he came up next to me.
"A what?"
"Think praying mantis."
I swore. Those things were carnivorous, and one this size would consider any of us a tasty dinner.
The mantis stepped closer to Bale, and Elron leaped forward, sword slicing through the air. I had my wand up but couldn't figure out what spell to use. If there was a magical equivalent of bug spray, I didn't know how to make it. As I was deliberating, the mantis snatched up the police officer.
Elron shifted his weight, stumbling as he pulled the attack, unwilling to risk injuring Bale. The policeman didn't look to be doing great; his arm was at an awkward angle, and the table was starting to scoot after him.
There might have been an advantage to keeping him tethered, but I wasn't willing to see what the mantis would do when it realized that its toy was stuck in one spot. I needed to free Bale before the mantis did any more damage to his arm.
I found a good angle where I could work on the vines against the table rather than against his skin and used magic to burn through the lashing. It fell away, and the deputy's arm fell into a natural position. With any luck, nothing was broken.
The mantis skittered away, still clutching Bale. It was headed for the back of the greenhouse. Elron lashed out with his sword, and part of a wing fell to the ground. The scraping stopped, but the mantis tucked its chin and danced from side to side.
Grateful that it wasn't going to be flying anywhere, I enacted my part of the plan. Pointing my wand at the ground under the mantis, I shouted, "Orzu."
The ground softened, and the mantis sank all the way up to its first leg joint. It thrashed for a moment, keeping ahold of Bale and earning it points for determination, before it got one foot on solid ground and started to pull itself out.
A Witch's Concern (A Witch's Path Book 4) Page 15