Chapter 4

  The Waffle Witch

  “Who the hell sets up a Waffle Hut in a place like this?” Ari asked, beyond incredulous. “Boreal! Why the hell is there a Waffle Hut?”

  There was no reply.

  Ari stood at the treeline, unsure what to do. The Waffle Hut was giving her a fairy-tale-witch’s candy cottage vibe. It came out of nowhere. Even through the dense fog the yellow sign’s glow should have been visible the night before, especially with how close they’d set up camp. Ari shook her head and turned around. There was no way this wasn’t a trap. Returning to camp and waiting for Boreal to return would be the smartest idea.

  She stepped back into the brush but stopped when her stomach growled angrily. The scent of bacon and fried batter was suddenly stronger, more tantalizing. Rubbing her aching stomach, she glanced over her shoulder at the Waffle Hut. It had only been a day and a half since her last full meal, but it felt more like five. Were waffles worth the risk? She looked down at her hands and had a sudden realization.

  “Wait, I’ve got fire magic. If there’s anything creepy in there I’ll just burn it,” she said, hands curled into determined fists.

  The mysterious diner hid nothing. Several large windows and a glass door revealed a gleaming tiled floor, white walls, and a long, shiny metal bar with stools lined up in front of it. All the red pleather booths were empty and no one sat at the bar. The only person Ari could see inside was a blonde woman standing behind the register, cleaning a glass with a crisp white towel. She was smiling, bobbing her head as if she were listening to music. She looked perfectly human to Ari, but if the fairy tales she’d read growing up had taught her anything, it was that looks could be deceiving.

  Taking a deep breath, Ari opened the door to the Waffle Hut, and stepped inside. The tinkling bell above the door drew the woman’s attention away from the glass she was cleaning. Her warm brown eyes fell on Ari and she smiled brightly.

  “Welcome to the Wild Waffle Hut. My name is Cynthia. What can I get you today?”

  “I . . . uh,” Ari fumbled, realizing only then that she had no money. “I, uh, just wanted to ask if you’ve seen a glowing blue bear pass by?”

  Cynthia pursed her lips and tilted her head to the side as she thought.

  “I haven’t seen any bears. You’re the first customer I’ve gotten today. Are you sure you don’t want to get something to eat? You look hungry,” she said.

  Ari rubbed the back of her head, cheeks burning with embarrassment, “I don’t have any money, sorry.”

  “Oh that’s no problem, Sweetie. Money has no value here, but there are lots of ways to pay. Do you have a secret? One you’ve told no one else?” Cynthia asked.

  “Uh, yeah, who doesn’t?

  “Exactly. One secret, one meal. If it's a juicy one I’ll even throw in a free appetizer,” Cynthia said, holding out a laminated menu. “Why don’t you take a look at the menu and think about it, hmm?”

  Ari hesitated by the door.

  “What do you do with the secrets?”

  “Keep them. I’m very good at keeping secrets,” Cynthia said.

  Ari nodded and cautiously approached the register. She accepted the menu from the smiling woman. She sat at the bar and looked it over, thinking about the handful of secrets she had, and which of them she was willing to share. There was definitely something strange about Cynthia, the buzzing energy in the air was louder around her. Ari didn’t want to give her anything she could use against her.

  “Do you get a lot of customers?” Ari asked, stalling for time.

  “Oh yes, all sorts come through here. So many people get lost in the Meridian and find themselves cold and hungry. Those who aren’t lost find themselves cold and hungry too. I’m just here to help and I love meeting new people,” Cynthia said as she slid a glass of water down the bar. It stopped right next to Ari’s hand. “Have you thought of a secret?”

  Thinking for a few silent moments, she nodded. There was no way anyone on Earth would get word of anything she said here, so it wasn’t like it mattered. Cynthia leaned on the bar expectantly. She seemed almost hungry. Ari shifted uncomfortably in her seat and confessed.

  “When I was little I was obsessed with shiny things. I'd collect anything shiny I could find and hide it under my bed. Once, when my dads and I were living in Rome while he was doing some side work repairing old books or something. Hamza and I were out seeing the sights and along the way we passed this couple. They were both really drunk. I think they might have been on their honey moon or something. Anyway, the woman was wearing a silver bracelet with a big emerald. Her wrists were thin though, so it was hanging off a little. When we passed them, I just, slipped it off. I did it so fast she didn't even notice. I still have it-- or had it. Its hidden in my room. I don't know why I did it. I'd never stolen anything before."

  Cynthia tapped a few buttons on the register. It chimed and she nodded, smiling coyly. “Just show me what you want off the menu, Little Thief.”

  Ari blushed and hid her face behind her menu. With a stumbling voice she ordered a plate of sausage, eggs, and waffles. The second Cynthia had her order, she swept around the kitchen, preparing everything herself with a swiftness that was both mesmerizing and unnatural. Ari did her best to keep her guard up as she waited. The open layout of the kitchen ensured that Cynthia couldn’t tamper with the food without being caught. This eased the lingering tension that gripped Ari’s shoulders. There had been no indication of danger so far, just general strangeness, and Cynthia seemed nice enough. Perhaps this waffle witch wasn’t anything to be afraid of.

  In a matter of minutes the food was plated and served. Ari tore into the eggs and waffles, saving the sausages for last so she could dip them in the leftover syrup. Cynthia returned to cleaning cups with her crisp white towel.

  “You know, when I first saw you, you almost had me fooled,” she said out of the blue. Ari paused with a sausage halfway raised to her mouth and looked at Cynthia.

  “Huh?”

  “You’d fool a passerby perhaps, but if you’re trying to pass for human, you’re going to have to try a little harder,” Cynthia explained.

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  Ari set down the sausage, her brows knit in confusion.

  “What are you talking about? I am human.”

  Cynthia laughed. “Of course, of course. Though, all the humans I’ve met haven’t had scales or eyes like yours.”

  Ari gave her a bewildered look and Cynthia pointed to the back of her neck. Ari touched the spot she’d indicated, her fingers hitting the border between soft skin, and something smooth and hard. A sudden wave of cold washed over her.

  “Do you have a restroom?” she asked.

  “Sure, right over there,” Cynthia said, pointing to a door tucked away just around the corner. Ari rushed into the ladies room and skidded to a stop in front of the long mirror hung behind a row of sinks. She twisted her head left and right, trying to get a clear view of the thing on her neck. When that didn’t work, she dug into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out her cellphone. To her relief, it had a crumb of battery left, and after a bit of struggle getting the angle right, she was able to get a clear picture of the thing she’d felt on the back of her neck.

  She gazed at the screen for a long while. A thin spread of spade-shaped, golden scales poked above the collar of her t-shirt. She touched the spot again, her fingers confirming what the phone displayed. Her mind was wrenched back to the moment the bullet hit her back, but did not kill her. She felt something then, when she pulled the crushed bullet out of her shirt, but hadn’t had the time to think about it. Feeling around, she found that the scales coated most of her upper back. The border between skin and scales was hot and prickling.

  Looking up from the phone’s screen, Ari met her reflection’s gaze, and gasped. Her cellphone clattered against the cold white tiles. The reflection’s eyes were a deep amethyst hue, with pupils sharp as a cat’s. These weren’t her eyes. Her eyes were supposed to be brown. Heart racing, she turned from the mirror, and ran out of the restroom.

  Back in the dining room, Cynthia had moved on from cleaning glasses to sanitizing the stove, humming to herself as she worked.

  “What the hell is going on?” Ari demanded, clutching a ball of flame in each hand.

  “Is something wrong?” Cynthia asked.

  “What did you do to me? What was in the food?”

  Cynthia paused to think and then raised a hand, counting off the ingredients on her fingers. “Lets see, flour, milk, eggs, sugar--”

  “No, that’s not what I mean!” Ari said sharply. She gestured to her eyes and neck. “Why is this happening?”

  Cynthia stared at her for a long time, her persistent simile replaced by a confused frown. A moment passed and then her lips parted as understanding settled in.

  “Oh, Sweetheart. You’re new aren’t you?” she asked, voice dripping with pity. Ari’s blazing gaze demanded further explanation. Cynthia sighed and set down the washcloth she was using to clean the stove.

  “The magic of the wilds is pervasive and strange. It can have transformative effects on those who cannot resist it. Humans are particularly susceptible. Some make it through unchanged, but the longer they bathe in the magic of the wilds, the less human they become. Then metamorphosis takes them and they become one of the Weird.”

  “Just being here can do stuff to you?” Ari asked.

  Cynthia nodded. Ari frowned and examined the woman anew. Was she one of the Weird? She looked completely normal, but she moved a little too fast, and the buzzing magic in the air around her hummed at a different pitch.

  “Is that why I’m growing scales?”

  Cynthia frowned again and leaned in closer to Ari, squinting at her. “Hmmm, it’s hard to say. Your aura is shifting so much that I can’t get a read on it.”

  “My aura?” Ari asked dubiously.

  “Yes. All beings have an energy field around them called an aura. Humans have weak ones that are easily manipulated. Yours is . . . flickering, one moment it's dull and small, and the next it's blazing bright. Humans with the curse have shifting auras, but it's usually more subtle. There’s magic in you, that’s for sure, and you are undergoing some kind of change.”

  “What do I do? How do I stop this?”

  “I’ve heard there are ways to protect yourself from the weirding and it can be reversed in the early stages. The freeholders seem to know how. If you go to them, they may share their cure with you, but be warned, they could choose to kill you instead.”

  Ari recalled Ezekiel Evangel and his harpoon-toting band. The Obscureous officer called them freeholders. The thought summoned his corpse from the depths of her mind. She shuddered.

  “They’re a nasty bunch. They’ll kill anything that isn’t human whether it's friendly or not. A small band of them set up camp not far from here. I spotted them while I was out picking berries early this morning.”

  Ari’s eyes widened.

  “Seems like they’ve had quite the haul. Cages on carts filled with spirits and demons, smaller ones, that is. Only three men strong, not enough to hunt anything too big,” Cynthia went on, only pausing once she noticed Ari quaking behind the counter. She waved a dismissive hand and smiled reassuringly.

  “Don’t fret, Sweetheart. People can only find my diner if I want them too. We’re safe here.”

  “Oh,” Ari said, shoulders falling as the muscles holding them eased. She sighed and then realized she was still clutching two balls of fire. After a moment of thought, she pulled the magic back, extinguishing the flames. Ari still wasn’t sure exactly how she felt about the strange woman, but they shared a common enemy, and she’d only been helpful so far.

  Taking a deep breath, Ari forced herself out of the mire of her fear to plan her next move. There were hunters nearby. They were catching spirits. Could they have caught Boreal? She didn’t want to believe it. She’d seen him fight, he was too tough for three normal dudes to take down. Then again, these were men experienced in killing and capturing monsters, not just some buck hunters out in the sticks. Ari swore under her breath and turned to Cynthia.

  “I had a friend I was traveling with, a glowing bear . . . spirit thing. He disappeared sometime after I fell asleep last night. Do you think the hunters might have caught him?”

  “If they did he won’t be alive for long unless they’re planning on carting him back to a Freehold. Many spirits and demons have parts that can be used to make medicines and potions. Certain magi and alchemists will pay good money to get their hands on them,” Cynthia explained.

  Ari nodded. “How close is the camp from here?”

  Cynthia stared at the girl. “You’re not . . . thinking of looking for them are you?”

  Ari glanced over her shoulder, her face set with a look of determination. Cynthia frowned, her calm slipping for the first time, and shook her head.

  “They’ll kill you, Sweetheart. Why don’t you stay here with me, I could use the company.”

  “You said that hunters have a cure for the weirding curse right? If I find them there’s a chance I’ll find my friend and the cure. Two birds, one stone,” Ari said, holding up two fingers.

  “And what if they don’t have the cure?” Cynthia asked.

  “I can’t find my way through the wilds without my friend. Even if I can’t fix this,” Ari gestured to the scales on her neck. “I can at least save him and get out of here.”

  “But you don’t even know if they have him,” Cynthia protested.

  “There’s nowhere else he could be. He didn’t just run off, he made a promise to my father,” Ari said, turning to face the Waffle Hut’s exit. She took one deep breath, holding it for a moment before taking a step toward the door.

  “Wait, wait, don’t go yet. I have something,” Cynthia said.

  Ari stopped and turned around in time to see the woman duck behind the counter. The sound of clattering pots and pans and hurried shuffling followed as Cynthia dug around for something. A moment later she popped back up, a small, round medallion clutched in hand.

  “Hunters carry aura compasses to help them track magical beings. This will mask your aura so they can’t detect it.”

  “Are you sure I--” Ari began, her words faltering as Cynthia slipped out from behind the bar. From the waist up she was a normal woman, but below the hem of her skirt stretched the body of a snake, copper scales gleaming dully in the diner’s fluorescent lighting. She slithered over to Ari and handed her the medallion.

  “Ah, uh, are . . . are you sure I can take this?”

  “I don't need it and you certainly do. Let's call it a favor and you can pay me back with more secrets some time,” Cynthia said.

  After a moment of hesitation, Ari nodded, and accepted the necklace. She slipped it over her head and was instantly struck by a cold rush, like she'd jumped back into the fog from the night before. The medallion was cool to the touch and the metal seemed to vibrate slightly.

  “I hope you’re as clever as you are brave. Good luck,” Cynthia said.

  Ari gave the woman a smile. “Thanks for the waffles, they were really good.”

  Cynthia grinned. “The best in the wilds.”

  With that, she slithered back behind the counter. Ari took a deep breath, savoring the familiarity of gleaming tile and electricity for one last moment before opening the glass doors, and entering the embrace of the wilds.