BOM

I was dazing of as I touched my lips with fingers. The touch of Luhan’s lips was still there. I felt warmth and….. pain in my heart. Was I stupid to leave him?

“It’s here.” I heard as we stopped in front of a huge, old tree. The tree looked dead and there were no other plants growing near it. The wood had pitch black color so it was hard to notice it as it was still some time before the dawn. I analyzed the tree trunk and had no idea how is that supposed to be the place where we’ll find that witch.

“Where?” I asked.

“Long time ago she was a very powerful witch but ever since I came back to Earth I haven’t felt her presence anymore or even hear about her. She used to live here…” Earth Mother said and started tapping the trunk until both of us heard a thud. Then she touched that place with her hands and started mumbling some words in an unknown language for me.

After few minutes there were no results. Nothing  happened and she looked so frustrated it made me smile.

“This tree is protected by black magic and I can’t break that spell.” She said.

“We should’ve take an axe with us.” I said.

“It’s not that easy Bom.” She said. “All I was able to do is to lull that three’s lethal behavior. It can’t see or sense our presence because I’m protecting us. Can’t you see that we’re not the first intruders here?”

I looked at the tree again and gasped. The trunk was full of wooden faces, the roots were human’s legs and arms bind together.

“It consumed their bodies?” I asked but it was obvious.

“Yes…” she answered.

As she went back to searching for the right spell I couldn’t stop staring at the wooden faces. By the features I recognized that there were mostly women. Beautiful, young with full lips and sharp jawlines. It was scary but I couldn’t take my eyes off their beauty.

I took notice that in that bodies entanglement one piece was off –  an old woman’s face full of wrinkles. The wood on her face was rotted and crumbly.

Unknowingly I pulled out my hand to touch it. When skin on my fingers touch her cheek she instantly opened her eyes. It felt as if her yellow pupils were looking right though me. I started backing away but one of the branches turned into a long, skinny hand and grabbed my wrist. I screamed.

“It’s …….you….” the wooden monster howled. I screamed again and tried to release myself from her grasp. Thankfully the Earth Mother heard me and came to rescue.

When she grabbed the wooden wrist it disintegrated instantly.

“Aghhhh!!!” the monster let out a whine but my…. Grandma grabbed that thing’s throat and started pulling.

“What are you doing to me?! Can’t you see I’m powerless now?” the monster whined again when she fell on the ground in front of us.

She looked so small. Her wooden skin changed into human one but her pupils stayed the same.

“You’ve killed my daughters!” the Earth Mother yelled.

That moment the witch looked at her and I saw fright on her face. She looked nothing like the witch from Luhan’s memories. Her hair was grey and there were bold places on her head.

“No! No!... I just fulfilled his orders…” she said and her dry lips. “He promised….. he promised me …” she started swaying her body back and front.

“What did he promise you?” the Earth Mother asked but this time her voice was more gentle.

“He said that I’ll stay young and beautiful forever…” the witch said and touched one of the wooden faces. “He promised and then thrown me away like a piece of garbage…”

“It’s all because of you.” she added and pointed at me. Her unnaturally long nails and madness in her eyes made my shiver.

“What do you mean?” the Earth Mother asked “Tell us everything…”

The witch looked at me and her lips again showing of how many teeth were missing in .

“He was always insatiable. Being a prince and later the fire king was not eno