Witches' Rock
Alexandra didn't think even werewolves could catch her in her Seven-League Boots. But as she ran, she wondered how Yuhzhee Redhorse had been planning to keep them safe. Did the medicine woman know a calming spell to soothe werewolves? Was she somehow able to keep them inside the stone hogan?
Let loose, how far would the werewolves roam? The nearest town was many miles away, but it would be a long night. And what about the isolated homesteads she had passed on her way here? There weren't many people out here in the desert, but if the lycanthropes sought out human prey, they'd find the few who were around.
Which made her think of the two Dark Wizards she'd left unconscious and paralyzed on the ground, not far from Yuhzhee Redhorse's body.
She skidded to a halt, digging her heels into the earth and spraying rocks and dirt. Overhead, Charlie cawed.
From behind her came a long, bloodcurdling howl.
Alexandra looked to the northeast, where the valley she had seen earlier on her map was now visible, a wide river of dark black and blue sandstone in the moonlit shadows. There had been no towns on the map, and Alexandra doubted anyone lived there. It was too sparse for sheep grazing.
She turned back, and Charlie immediately flew in front of her.
–Stupid!†Charlie cawed.
–I know,†Alexandra said, but she trotted back toward the hogan as more howls and snarls emanated from within. She stopped when she was far enough away that she could still turn and sprint faster than any creature could close the remaining distance.
The stone structure was certainly not going to contain the werewolves for long now. The wooden door trembled as claws scored it and bodies smashed against it from within.
Alexandra leveled her wand. Behind her, Charlie's wings flapped much too close to the ground.
She spoke in a voice of command: –Charlie, fly!â€
The first werewolf came smashing through the door. It was a large, round creature with gleaming yellow eyes almost buried beneath folds of flesh. Alexandra thought it was the teenage girl. Its eyes met hers, and it snarled.
–Stupefy!†Alexandra shouted, putting everything she had into the spell.
The red beam struck the werewolf square between the eyes. It shrieked as it was bowled over on top of the creature behind it.
Another werewolf emerged, almost with a sense of dignity, and half-stood on its hind legs, raised its snout into the air, and sniffed.
–Petrificus Totalus!†Alexandra yelled. The werewolf jerked as the spell struck it, then toppled over.
The large, plump werewolf was picking itself up off the ground, shaking its head woozily. One eye was fluttering; the other was wide open, glaring in Alexandra's direction.
The other five werewolves came clawing and scratching their way over the dazed one, and paused for just an instant as they faced the girl standing a hundred feet away. Their eyes were hot and yellow, jaws slavering. Then the smallest one - it looked like a cub, though it was the size of a German Shepherd - began charging toward her, baying hoarsely. The others followed. The one Alexandra had tried to immobilize with a Full Body-Bind Spell was rolling over.
–Fly, Charlie!†she repeated, and then she was running off across the desert with the werewolves on her heels.
It would be really nice if the Aurors would show up about now, she thought.
No one did. Alexandra kept running. The wolves loped after her, snarling and howling their fury, but with her Seven-League Boots she outdistanced them until they were almost lost in the gloom behind her. When she had a suitable lead, she turned and sent a swarm of golden hornets streaming through the air into the darkness. She heard yelps and snarls when the hornets reached the pursuing pack.
Charlie caught up to her, cawing a warning.
Alexandra had succeeded in drawing the lycanthropes' undivided attention. Now she just had to stay ahead of them until morning.
She ran on, approaching the valley. She could not run all night. Her mind was scrambling for a plan. If she led the werewolves into the valley, maybe they would stay there. She could let them chase her for a while before ditching them by fleeing up the far slope. Maybe at some point during her game of playing the rabbit for werewolves, she'd find a spell that could actually slow them down.
The descent to the valley floor seemed gradual from a distance, but when she came to a bluff above the valley, it sloped down at a steeper incline than she'd assumed - steep enough to make running headlong downhill perilous.
A few miles away was a towering rock formation, standing alone in advance of the mountains behind it like a stone sentinel positioned before the main army. It wasn't as impressive as Orange Rock - not as high, nor as massive - but its tall, black spires gave it an eerie, sinister appearance. The full moon seemed to be shining directly down upon it, and Alexandra could see a flat terrace halfway up, well below the highest point of the rocky spires. It was much too high to reach by scaling the vertical rock face. In short, it looked like the perfect place to take refuge if one wanted to put oneself out of reach of werewolves. If she could reach it.
She looked over her shoulder. The lycanthropes had come into view again, snarling eagerly as they caught sight of her.
Miles to go - one long sprint - and then, hopefully, rest and safety.
–Let's go, Charlie.†Alexandra grinned encouragingly, and was about to begin descending the slope at a fast but not breakneck pace when her grin froze on her face. She had caught sight of something else on the valley floor: moonlight reflecting off of metal.
There was, she could see now, a road running along the desert valley. Not much more than a narrow band of bare dirt, ghostly silver in the moonlight, but there was a truck sitting right there in the middle of it, between her and the tall rock formation.
It has to be abandoned, she thought. She took one step and then another down the slope. There can't be any people around.
She waved her wand to fling rocks behind her as she ran. She didn't aim them, just levitated the largest ones she could see and sent them flying. She took longer steps, sailing down the slope and keeping her footing only thanks to the magic of the Seven-League Boots. Her speed was great enough to make her worry about the abrupt deceleration at the bottom, but she had to put as much distance as she could between herself and the werewolves.
Charlie seemed to know where Alexandra was going. The raven began gliding toward the distant rock spires.
A final bounding leap carried Alexandra to level ground. She winced as the shock of landing ran from her ankles to her teeth, but she didn't waste time catching her breath. Instead, she sprinted ahead, the wind howling in her ears louder than the werewolves, deafening her to Charlie's cries.
She reached the truck in a minute. She hoped she would find it was an abandoned, rusted hulk. It wasn't. It was dusty and dirty, but there was a fresh license plate and enough paint to tell her it hadn't been sitting there for long.
Maybe someone had decided to go hunting, though Alexandra had no idea what you could hunt out here at night. She felt a desperate hopelessness. There was no way she could find someone wandering out there in the desert before the werewolves did. Then she noticed that the truck's windows were fogged.
She ran to the driver's side and looked in. Though the windows were steamed up, there were definitely figures inside. She rapped on the window loudly. –Hey! Open up!â€
Startled voices, squeals, and curses came from within, accompanied by the sounds of frantic motion.
Someone sat up and rolled down the window, and Alexandra was no less surprised than the boy who stared back at her: it was the ringleader of the teens at the Orange Rock Library.
He could only gape in open-mouthed astonishment at the sudden appearance of this white-haired girl in the middle of the desert, miles and miles from the nearest town. He was flushed and sweaty and his clothes were in disarray, but not as much as those of the girl in the cab with him - another one of the teenagers from the library.
–Start the truck,†Alexandra said. –We have to get out of here now!â€
–W-what?†the boy stammered.
–Start the truck!†she shouted.
He became annoyed. –Okay, look -â€
Some distance away - but not nearly far enough - wolves howled. The girl sucked in a quick, startled breath.
–Those are werewolves,†Alexandra said. –Real werewolves. And they're coming this way.â€
The girl let out a little shriek. –Oh my God!â€
The boy glanced in the direction of the howls and said, –Werewolves aren't real.â€
Alexandra pointed her wand at a stunted juniper a few yards away and said, –Incanderus!†Flames shot from her wand and set the juniper on fire.
–Jesus!†exclaimed the boy, then he flinched when Alexandra pointed the wand at him.
–I'm a witch,†she said, –and if you don't start the truck right now, I'll turn you into a beetle.†She flicked her wand and conjured a beetle, which buzzed about and made him flinch again before it flew off into the night.
–I - I - I can't!†the boy gibbered. –It won't start!â€
–What?†the girl next to him exclaimed. –You mean you really did run out of gas? You idiot!â€
–No!†he said. –It's just the battery... it dies sometimes in cold weather, but I was gonna get it replaced. My Uncle Nashi will find us tomorrow morning. He always drives this way just after sun-up, he lives over by -â€
–You planned to stay out here in the desert all night with a dead battery?†the girl demanded. –What if your uncle didn't come by?â€
–Your Uncle Nashi is going to find your bodies,†Alexandra said.
–Usually it just needs a jump start!†The boy was terrified now as the baying of the pack came much closer.
–Alexandra! Alexandra!†shrieked Charlie from above. The teenagers in the truck both shivered and looked skyward.
Alexandra moved to the front of the truck. –Open the hood. Show me where the battery is.â€
The boy got out, moving slowly, in a bit of a daze.
–Just so you know, I can outrun them,†Alexandra said. –So don't hurry on my account.â€
He moved more quickly, raising the hood and pointing. Alexandra wished Archie had taught her something about car engines, though she knew that was unfair; she'd shown no interest in them before. –So if it gets charged with electricity, it will start?â€
–Well, yeah, kind of.†The boy gulped as a howl came from less than a mile away, and then he almost grabbed Alexandra when Charlie called to her again. –You attach jumper cables and, uh... I have to be trying to start the engine while -â€
–Okay, get in and try to start it,†Alexandra said.
–You're kidding.â€
Much louder howls echoed across the valley.
–Werewolves,†Alexandra repeated.
The boy ran back to the cab and got behind the wheel. The girl was looking at Alexandra through the windshield, eyes wide in the darkness, and Alexandra could hear her crying. Alexandra pointed her wand at the battery. She had no time even to think of a doggerel verse, but she could throw lightning from her wand. She knew the theory behind summoning lightning in a more controlled manner. The theory was complicated; fancy tricks involved lots of Arithmancy and lots more practice.
The boy turned the key in the ignition, and the truck engine made a horrible grinding sound. Alexandra whispered words that were as much prayer as incantation, and electricity flashed from her wand and flickered over the engine. The entire truck jerked and spasmed, and then the engine caught and started. So did a fire. Alexandra hastily cast an Extinguishing Charm to put out the flames and slammed the hood shut. She ran past the driver's window and vaulted into the back of the truck.
–Drive!†she shouted.
Wolves howled. Alexandra saw dark furry bodies dashing across the desert toward them. She pointed her wand and conjured wind to hurl sand and rocks at them, though all it would do was sting their eyes and perhaps blind them for a second or two.
The wheels of the truck screeched as the boy floored the accelerator, and Alexandra was thrown face-first into the truck bed as it took off. She rose to her hands and knees and hurled Stunners, hexes, a stinking black cloud, and more golden hornet swarms back the way they'd come. The truck bounced violently, almost throwing her out several times, but she just kept shouting, –Drive! Drive! Faster!â€
They left the werewolves behind. They weren't going as fast as Alexandra in her Seven-League Boots, but they were going fast enough to come to a messy end if the driver lost control of the vehicle.
Alexandra smelled something burning before she felt the truck start to shake. She looked over her shoulder. Smoke was spilling out from under the truck's hood. The girl in the front was screaming: –Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!â€
Alexandra yelled, –Keep going!â€
The truck continued bouncing and jerking along over the desert, but she could feel the engine giving out. They were racing along what passed for a road; up close, it was barely visible at all. On their left was the tall, black rock formation to which she had originally planned to flee. She wasn't sure if the truck could make it that far, but if they stalled here in the open, they were certainly all dead. Or at least, the two Navajo teenagers were. And what could she do - run away and leave them to their fate?
–Why don't you Trace me now?†she shouted angrily, hurling a bolt of lightning that crackled and spit her anger up at the sky. It also made the girl in the passenger's seat scream in terror. It did not, however, bring any Aurors to the rescue.
Alexandra scrambled around to grasp the edge of the truck bed and lean forward so she could shout at the boy behind the wheel: –Drive to that rock! As fast as you can!†She pointed at the tall column of rock, which looked even darker and spookier from here on the valley floor.
–That's Witches' Rock!†the boy said.
–It's our only chance!â€
–It's haunted! There are ghosts and witches up there -â€
–Now you believe in ghosts and witches?â€
His eyes rolled in her direction, showing their whites. –Well, I didn't believe in werewolves either!â€
The girl covered her face and cried in terror.
–How much further will this truck take us?†Alexandra asked. –If it dies out here in the middle of the desert, I'll jump on my broom and fly away.†She held her wand in a clenched fist outside his rolled-down window. –Now head for Witches' Rock!â€
He gulped and turned the wheel. They swerved off the poor excuse for a road and immediately went over a rock that almost threw Alexandra out of the truck. There was no way she could stay in the truck bed while the vehicle bounced across the uneven rocky terrain, trailing smoke from its hood. She took a deep breath, swung her legs over the side, and dropped, trying to run as she hit the ground. She stumbled and almost spun about completely, but the magic of the boots kept her on her feet, though with ankles that felt as if they'd just been put into a vice. She turned about and ran after the truck, shouting at the boy to keep going - he'd started to slow down when he saw her fall out.
He stared at her in wonder as she ran alongside the truck, which was doing almost thirty miles an hour even off-road.
–Keep going until you reach the rock!†she shouted. –Don't stop if you want to live! I'll catch up to you!†Then she stopped running, bent over, put her hands on her knees, and took long, deep breaths.
Charlie landed on her shoulder and screeched in her ear: –Wicked!â€
Wolves howled. They came bounding over the horizon beneath the full moon. Alexandra had hoped she might have slowed them down with her spells. It seemed more likely she'd only pissed them off even more. She looked over her shoulder and saw the taillights of the truck receding toward the rocky spire. Smoke billowed out of the engine. She wondered if the driver could see at all.
She stood up. The werewolves were tearing down the road toward her. They seemed tireless.
–Come on then,†she said, and she hurled a fireball at them. The lycanthropes scattered, and she screamed a curse that filled the air with sharp thorns, bouncing off rocks and embedding in the werewolves' fur. They cried, yipped, and howled in anger, then snarled with the fury of a hundred rabid wolves and surged toward her again.
She ran across the desert, away from the towering rock where she'd sent the truck, toward the far side of the valley, with the werewolves baying and howling at her heels.
Her Seven-League Boots carried her to the far slope in minutes. She turned and sent up flares and sparks from her wand, just to make sure the werewolves knew where she was - and to help any Aurors who might be in the valley find her as well, though she held out little hope of that.
She'd left Charlie behind, so she was alone for a few moments. She spent the time resting, preparing herself for the next leg of the chase. Her feet hurt terribly, and her legs were more tired than they'd been after Ms. Shirtliffe's most brutal work-outs. She shifted the pack on her shoulders; the straps were beginning to cut into her flesh. And she was cold, though she'd hardly noticed while running and sitting in the back of the truck. She wasn't dressed for the desert night in winter. She ran a hand over her face. A magic potion to banish fatigue would be nice right now. Or just a glass of water.
While I'm wishing, how about a spell that will actually stop a werewolf?
The lupines loped into sight. They must have been getting tired also; they weren't running at the frantic pace they had been earlier. Their eyes brightened and they dashed forward when they saw her, growling with inhuman sounds.
–Levicorpus!†Alexandra said, and the lead werewolf yowled as it flipped and floated upward, pawing helplessly in the air. She hit another one with a blistering acid hex. She felt guilty as the creature pawed at its nose - she thought it was the old woman - but she didn't hesitate before casting a Deadweight Spell on the smallest werewolf, the one who had been a little boy. He yipped and continued dragging his oversized paws toward her, but at least it slowed him down.
The others were closing too fast. Alexandra took a breath and a running leap, and sailed over their heads. Even the lycanthropes looked amazed as she leaped higher and farther than any human being should be able to. She spun and cast another Deadweight Spell, this time on the werewolf who'd been bringing up the rear, hobbling along on three legs, though still fast enough to overtake a fleeing girl who wasn't wearing Seven-League Boots. The beast snarled and turned toward her, but she ran away before any of them could close the distance again.
Once again she left them behind, this time running in a straight line across the valley, toward Witches' Rock.
She found the truck a hundred yards from the rock formation, with the teens huddled in the cab. The boy had his arms around his girlfriend. Oil and rubber were still smoking beneath the hood.
They both jumped when Alexandra banged her fist on the window and shouted, –What are you doing?â€
The boy opened the driver's side door, and spoke with infuriating calmness. –The engine's dead.â€
–Get out! Run for that big rock tower, now!â€
They both stared at her, wide-eyed with terror.
–You want us to g-go to Witches' Rock?†the girl asked. Then she screamed and put her hands to her ears when a chorus of unearthly howls reached them.
–Do you understand that those are werewolves?†Alexandra shouted. –Stay here like idiots, or take your chances with me.†When they continued staring at her, she added angrily, –I don't even have to save you!â€
Charlie came swooping out of the sky. She made a quick gesture with her free hand, and pointed. –The rock, Charlie! We're going there!†The raven cawed and rose into the air again, flapping toward Witches' Rock.
–You talk to ravens,†the boy said.
–And I'm a witch.†Alexandra brandished her wand. –Now start running.â€
He ran, trying to help the girl along. Neither of them ran very fast. Alexandra wanted to give them a hotfoot or a Stinging Hex to their behinds to encourage them to move faster, but she gritted her teeth and followed them with easy paces, checking over her shoulder and trying to guess how long it would take for the werewolves to catch up to them. At least she knew the lycanthropes were getting tired too.
Up close, the immense column of rock was not black at all, but orange and red like the rest of the landscape. It was still a formidable, spooky presence. Though just a small spur compared to the mountains behind it, it rose at least a thousand feet above the desert. Alexandra realized that the shelf she'd been planning to use as a refuge was much higher than she'd thought looking at it from above.
The bloodcurdling howls were closer now. The two older teenagers trembled.
–What are you going to do?†the boy asked. He held the girl, whose face was buried in his chest.
Alexandra unslung her pack and pulled out the Skyhook. High above their heads was a crack in the sheer rock face, not a shelf or even a proper recess, but a couple of people might be able to perch there, at least for a little while. It was well below the much loftier height she wanted to reach, but she thought it was just within reach of her throwing range. She began whirling the Skyhook around at the end of its rope, and then, with all her strength, she hurled it into the air. Just as it reached the apex of her throw, and an instant before it began to fall back to the earth, she tugged the rope and hooked the Skyhook in the air.
The boy looked up, squinting. Alexandra told him, –Climb.â€
–You sure it's anchored up there?â€
She made green flames ripple around her wand. –Stop arguing with me!â€
The girl began moaning something in Navajo. He shook her. –Come on, Trish. Climb up the rope.â€
–I can't climb a rope!†she sobbed.
–You go first,†Alexandra said.
He opened his mouth, looked at her wand, closed it, took a deep breath, and opened it again. Alexandra knew he wanted to send his girlfriend up the rope first. She said, –You go first so you can help her reach the top, dumbass.â€
He blinked, nodded, and grabbed the rope with both hands. Alexandra cast a Featherweight Charm on him, and he gasped in surprise when he was able to pull himself up the rope as if he weighed practically nothing.
Alexandra cast the spell on the girl next. –Now you go.â€
–I can't!†she protested.
Alexandra slashed the air with her wand and split the earth at the girl's feet with a curse. The girl screamed and jumped away from the wisps of smoke.
–Climb up that rope or I'll steal your heart!†Alexandra shouted.
Trish shrieked and clawed her way up past Alexandra's reach before she even realized how high she'd climbed. She squealed in surprise, then kept climbing when Alexandra shot sparks from her wand.
–Hey!†the boy cried frantically from above. –It - it's not anchored to anything! It's just - hanging in mid-air!â€
–Step onto that little niche up there, and help your girlfriend up,†Alexandra shouted. A black shape perched on the rocks above their heads cawed. The girl screamed again, and Alexandra sighed. Then howls drowned out all other sounds, and Alexandra listened, trying to guess the distance. The werewolves weren't visible yet, but she doubted they had many minutes. She began climbing the rope.
She wished she could cast a Featherweight Charm on herself, but that violated Newton's Hidden Law. Mr. Adams said it was like picking yourself up by the seat of your pants, and that a more advanced expostulation explained why there was no such thing as a Flying Spell. So she had to pull her full weight up the rope. It was a distance she'd climbed without much difficulty in JROC exercises, but that was when she was well-rested, well-fed, and not covered with bruises. By the time she reached the Skyhook, dangling in the air, her arms were as tired as her legs. The two Navajo teenagers were squeezed into the angular gap splitting the surface of the rocky face before her, trying to force themselves back as far as they could go - which was no more than a couple of feet. Their legs dangled and Trish was taking deep breaths and trying not to go into hysterics.
Alexandra tried to join them on the ledge, and realized that it was taking all of her remaining strength just to hang onto the rope. She didn't think she could go much further. She reached a hand out, clinging to the rope with her other hand, and said, –Help me over there.â€
The boy gave her a long look, then reached out his hand and pulled her onto what was left of the tiny lip of rock for her to stand on. Alexandra flipped the Skyhook free, and pulled up the rope.
–Now what?†the boy asked breathlessly.
–We have to go higher.†Alexandra could just barely keep her balance where she stood. –Hold onto me while I throw the hook up again.â€
–You mean we have to climb higher?†the girl cried.
Alexandra looked across the desert. From their vantage point, the truck was a metallic shell sitting in the moonlight like a smoking beetle, and wolfen forms were closing on it, their eyes gleaming brightly. Already, their snarls were audible.
–We can't sit here all night,†she said. And I don't know how high werewolves can jump. But her arm trembled as she lifted the Skyhook.
–Let me throw that thing,†the boy said.
–No.â€
He grimaced. –Please don't threaten to turn me into a beetle again, but I am a man.â€
A boy, she thought. –So?â€
–I'm on the varsity baseball team. Look, you're what, thirteen?â€
–Almost fifteen.â€
–I can throw farther than you.â€
Alexandra forced down her automatic impulse to argue. The Indian boy was bigger than her, more muscular, and he hadn't been running around all day and all night. She clenched her jaw. –There's a trick to making it hook - I don't have time to teach you.†She handed the Skyhook to him, then took hold of the rope below his clenched fist and held it loosely. –Once you throw it, let go.â€
It was awkward and precarious. Alexandra had to lean back against the rock and hold onto his sleeve while he leaned outward in order to give himself room to swing the Skyhook. They persuaded Trish to hold onto his knees. Only because of the Featherweight Charm was Alexandra confident of keeping him from toppling over the side. He swung the hook in a circle, making a fierce hum, and then hurled it with all his strength. The rope slid through Alexandra's hand, and she felt for the tell-tale moment just before it started to go slack and yanked it against the air above. It hooked. The boy looked upward. –How the heck does it do that?â€
–Magic.†They heard snarls and a crash from the desert below. The werewolves had flipped the truck over and were tearing it apart. –Time to start climbing.â€
While the older girl wept at Alexandra's feet, the boy climbed, still with feather-lightness thanks to Alexandra's spell. He scrambled up the rope and said, –There's another ledge here - it's pretty narrow.â€
–I can't,†Trish sobbed. –I can't climb again.†She cringed as Alexandra leaned over her. –Please, don't use witchcraft on me!â€
–I won't,†Alexandra said. –But the spell that makes you so light will wear off, and then you won't be able to sit here, and you'll fall down there.â€
As if to underscore her point, the wolves came charging at the vertical rock surface, and with a running start, the largest of them hurled itself up the rock, claws digging into the tiny fissures below the larger crack where the two girls were poised. For a few seconds it actually clung to the rock and snarled at them. Its face was pure bestial rage; it gnashed its teeth as if already tasting their flesh.
Alexandra pointed her wand and sent a green ball of light practically flying down the werewolf's throat. It tumbled to the ground with an impact that would have broken the back of a normal person or wolf. She didn't have a second to worry - the lycanthrope shook itself off and rose to its feet, while the other six began also trying to claw their way up to them. Alexandra became aware belatedly that the girl next to her was screaming incoherently.
–Climb,†Alexandra told her. –Then we'll be safe. I promise.â€
Trish sniffled, wiped her nose, and took the rope in her hands. She was shaking so badly Alexandra worried she wouldn't be able to climb even with a Featherweight Charm on her, but the sight of more werewolves snarling and howling only yards below her feet gave her motivation, as did her boyfriend calling to her.
Alexandra took the time to cast Deadweight and Full Body-Bind Spells on each werewolf in turn. It didn't immobilize any of them - even the cub was still thrashing about - but it took some of the spring out of their leaps. Then she climbed up the rope. It was harder the second time, and she had to pull herself up one body-length at a time like an inchworm. Charlie began circling around her, calling her name. When she reached the ledge the boy had mentioned, she found it was hardly a ledge at all. There wasn't enough room for her to join the two teenagers. She hung there, wondering how long she could hang on.
–Come on,†the boy said. –I can hold you up.â€
–Not for long you can't.†Alexandra swallowed, and began swinging.
He boggled at her. –What are you doing?â€
–Close your eyes.†The next time she reached the end of her swing, Alexandra pointed her wand and said, –Defodio!†and blasted a hole in the rock face two yards from the ledge where the teens stood.
–Jesus!†the boy said as stone chips showered them.
She swung back and forth like a pendulum, and enlarged the breach three more times until it was large enough for her to stand in, whereupon she kicked and spun at the end of the rope until she maneuvered herself into the niche and crouched down, catching her breath.
–Um, why don't you... use your broom?†the boy asked.
Alexandra closed her eyes. –I was lying about having a broom.†What she wouldn't give to have her broom right now.
She shook the Skyhook loose and considered it. She couldn't let the boy throw it this time - she had to have her hand on the rope to make it hook. She couldn't throw it up high enough. Unless...
–Charlie,†she called.
–Who's Charlie?†the boy asked, before the raven answered him with a caw. Charlie landed on the jagged lip of rock Alexandra had just created.
She cast a Featherweight Charm on the Skyhook, and it weighed no more than a pin or a paperclip. She cast the same spell on the rope.
–Charlie,†she said, –I need you to carry this higher - as high as it will go.â€
A scornful squawk expressed the raven's opinion of that idea. The chunk of metal was much larger and normally heavier than Charlie.
Alexandra murmured:
–Charlie save us, or we'll die,
Take the Skyhook, take it high.â€
It wasn't really a spell. Whatever else magic could do, she didn't think she could make Charlie understand and obey her unless the raven wanted to.
She stood and began twirling the hook. It whipped through the air much faster when it weighed so little. She watched her familiar, hoping she could communicate her intent. The bird's eyes were fixed on the spinning hook, entranced.
–Please, Charlie,†she whispered.
With a caw, the raven took off.
Alexandra hurled the hook into the air. It flew half the length of the rope and started to fall. Then something caught it, and with a shriek from above, the rope began sliding through Alexandra's hand.
Charlie continued flapping furiously until the rope was almost at its limit. Even with a Featherweight Charm, the Skyhook and fifty feet of rope was a lot of drag for the raven to fight against. Alexandra held her breath and gave the rope a snap, and when she could just feel it losing its tension, she yanked downward. The magic of the Skyhook did not obey the laws of physics, but it did obey the magic that had forged it and made the rope, and if things were not done properly, it would not work.
When she pulled, the Skyhook held, and she let out her breath. She said to the other two: –I'm going to toss you the end of the rope. The two of you can climb higher.â€
–What if there's no ledge up there?†the boy asked.
–How long can you stand where you are? Especially when you start to weigh what you should again?†She tossed him the end of the rope. It didn't come back.
–Can't you cast that... spell again?†he asked.
–Maybe. I don't know if I can keep it up all night.â€
Alexandra heard movement, whispering voices, sobs. The boy was at least adjusting to the situation after his initial panic, and doing his best to keep his girlfriend calm and moving. He began scrambling up the rope. After a few minutes, he said, –There's a ledge up here - not just a ledge, but a slope! Almost a path going up the rock. It's pretty steep, but I think we can go higher on foot, if we're careful.â€
Trish groaned. Alexandra crouched, resting her weary limbs. Charlie descended to land on her knee and make soft warbling sounds. From below, the werewolves were still frothing and snarling, but Alexandra didn't think they were any longer a threat.
–C'mon, Trish,†the boy said.
–I can't, Johnny!†Trish said.
Alexandra listened to the couple argue, and finally Johnny persuaded Trish to grab the rope, hold on, and close her eyes. Having figured out that the rope and Trish were both feather-light, it wasn't hard for him to pull her up as if reeling in a fish.
Minutes later, the rope snaked down the rock face and dangled next to Alexandra. –You can climb up now,†Johnny called.
–I don't think I can,†Alexandra said.
–Fly, fly!†Charlie said.
–Can't do that, either, Charlie.†Alexandra leaned her head back against the rock. The full moon seemed to be shining directly on her, and she thought perhaps she could just sleep here. She could perhaps use a Sticking Charm to keep her from rolling off the ledge, but what else could she do?
–Come on,†Johnny said, raising his voice so it would carry down the cliff and above the snarls of the wolves. –You've been yelling at us and telling us not to quit all night.â€
The werewolves suddenly sent up a howling, and Alexandra waited until they were done before calling back, –Find a safe spot and stay there. I'm pretty sure someone will be along eventually. I'll be fine. I really can't climb the rope again. I can't make myself lighter like I made you, and I'm just too tired.â€
Johnny thought about that a moment. Then he shouted, –Grab the rope, tie it around yourself, and hang on.â€
–What?â€
–I'll pull you up.â€
–I just told you, I can't make myself lighter!â€
–What do you weigh, a hundred pounds soaking wet? We can pull you up. Come on, we can't leave you down there. What if you fall?â€
What if you let go? Alexandra thought. But it was very uncomfortable sitting here, and she hated feeling helpless. She took the rope and slowly curled it around her arms - all that the length that reached her would allow.
–Are you sure about this?†she asked.
–You got it? Hang on.â€
Her arms burned as she was pulled upward, until after a few yards she was able to let out some slack and loop it and hook one leg through it. She dangled and bumped against the rocks precariously, while Johnny exhorted Trish to hold on and keep pulling. When she could brace a foot against the rock, Alexandra helped by pushing herself upward. Below, seven pairs of yellow eyes glared at her in helpless fury, and the werewolves continued to bay and snarl. Charlie flew up and down the rock face as if supervising the task.
It seemed to take a very long time before the two Navajos pulled Alexandra over the ledge. They were still less than two hundred feet off the ground, and hundreds of feet below the flat plateau Alexandra had originally hoped to reach - a destination she now realized she could never have reached on her own. But Witches' Rock split into multiple outcroppings and formations and ridges a quarter of the way up its length, and as Johnny had said, they had reached a point where it was possible to hike to higher ground, though there was very little leeway for a slip or a tumble. Trish was still shaking and trying to wipe her tears away, so Johnny put an arm around her, but he looked at Alexandra with something like admiration.
–You really are a witch, aren't you?†he said. –I mean, the Wizard of Oz kind, not the Navajo kind.â€
–Something like that,†Alexandra said wearily.
–I'm, uh, sorry we gave you a hard time in the library.â€
–I'm sorry I sabotaged your friend's car.â€
Johnny's eyes widened. –You did that? Do you know how much it's going to cost Ron Pete to replace an engine?â€
Alexandra just looked at him, apologetic and resentful at the same time.
He ran a hand through his hair. –So, uh, what now?â€
Trish shuddered as the werewolves began howling again. They sounded further away. Alexandra cautiously approached the edge, and looked down to see that some of them were moving away from the rock.
–Oh, crap,†she said. She pointed her wand and sent a cloud of needles raining down on them, followed by more glowing hornets. She aimed into their midst and said –Barak!†Johnny and Trish both jumped and Johnny almost lost his footing as the lightning bolt crackled from Alexandra's wand and struck the ground below. The lycanthropes scattered and then began running around the base of Witches' Rock, howling their fury.
–What the hell are you doing?†Johnny exclaimed. –Are you crazy?â€
–How far away does your Uncle Nashi live?†Alexandra asked.
–Ab - bout twenty miles,†Johnny stammered.
–And the nearest town?â€
Johnny frowned. –Little Creek is thirty miles... Orange Rock a little over fifty.â€
–We've got about eight more hours of full moon,†Alexandra said. –Do the math.â€
The Indian teenagers both turned pale.
–Let's go,†Alexandra said. –From up higher, maybe I can see further.â€
They had to climb. It was not a trail, just a series of gaps and ledges and large cracks in the rock, and it was slow, arduous going. For the better part of an hour, Alexandra would now and then pause to listen for the sounds of the werewolves, and then she would point her wand and send a volley of loose rocks hurtling over the side to rain down on them. This seemed to have the desired effect of provoking the creatures so they remained fixated on the humans whom they could hear and smell, but not reach.
Charlie flew from one precipice to another, each time perching on a spot that the teenagers could reach without having to fly. Johnny and Trish were both awed and intimidated by the raven, and by Alexandra, but they didn't ask any more questions until they were almost at the hollow recess in the middle of Witches' Rock. Johnny shuffled to a halt and turned to Alexandra. Trish had not stopped crying. All of their hands were now cut and bleeding, and their knees and elbows battered and scraped raw.
–So, the other kind of witch,†Johnny said. –They don't really exist, do they?â€
–What other kind of witch?†Alexandra asked. –You mean ant-eenies?â€
–’Ãnt’įįhnii,†Johnny said. –Navajo witches. Skinwalkers and medicine men who use corpse-poison and follow the Witchery Way.â€
Trish abruptly began speaking to Johnny in Navajo. She clutched at him in near-hysteria. He tried speaking reassuringly to her, but the whites of her eyes were visible in the moonlight, and she wouldn't take her eyes off Alexandra as they ascended the last series of rocks they had to climb to reach the miniature summit.
–You can't really steal our hearts, can you?†Johnny asked.
Alexandra looked around, engrossed by the flat rocky surface which was almost like a giant dueling platform, surrounded by sharp spires thrusting even higher into the sky, rising to pinnacles hundreds and hundreds of feet above their heads. To the south, the desert was an endless ocean of blue and silver beneath the moonlight. To the north were mountains, brooding and black and immense enough to contain an entire Lands Below within. To the east and west were more desert - a little redder to the west, and in each direction were distant peaks of smaller mountain ranges, and here and there a solitary monolith or small mountain standing on its own within Dinétah. Alexandra looked in the direction of Orange Rock, but could not see that massive formation, probably because of all the valleys between them and the band of shadow that swallowed the horizon.
She turned back to the older kids, who had not moved.
–You think I did all this to lure you up here to steal your hearts?†she said. –I'm not even an Indian - how can I be an ansheesh-chee?â€
–Any stranger can be a witch,†Johnny said.
–Well, if you're afraid to stay here with me, feel free to take a flying leap.†It had been cold down on the ground, and it was even colder up here, with the wind blowing unobstructed amidst the pillars of stone and making a wailing sound. Alexandra's thin clothing gave her little protection, and she was shivering, tired, and feeling a little resentful at being given the evil eye by a couple of Muggles she'd just saved from being eaten by werewolves.
Johnny pulled Trish to the other side of the level rock and sat down with her. They kept their eyes on Alexandra, and Johnny spoke soothingly to the other girl. Alexandra watched them for a moment, thinking that Johnny was kind of a nice guy for a jerk. She wished someone would let her sit down and just tell her it would be all right. She walked to the edge and looked down. She couldn't see the werewolves.
–Crap.†She leaned against a rock, and muttered incantations that produced a cascade of fire, burning ribbons of light, and howling pinwheels that sparked and bit the air. Rocks and sand flew and plants burned where they struck the ground, but the next wolfish howl that disturbed the night came from too far away for the howler to be seen.
–Crap,†she said again. She looked up at the moon, and hoped the werewolves would not get too far before it set. Orange Rock? Probably not. Little Creek? Only if they made a beeline for it. Johnny's Uncle Nashi? She didn't know. How could she know who else might be driving, camping, hiking, or living in a remote hogan far from the nearest community? She slid to the ground and wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. Charlie hopped across the stone to her. She flicked her wand and cast a Warming Charm on the rock she was sitting on and the rock she was leaning against, and let Charlie hop into her lap.
She didn't know what woke her up, but her eyes were already open when two figures materialized out of the air, like smoke congealing out of nothing. A pair of men in painted masks and furs stood there, holding wands.
Charlie stirred. Alexandra's hands were on the bird in an instant - she didn't squeeze, just held on tightly, and though Charlie resisted a little, the raven made no further sound. One of the men tilted his head, but the moaning wind carried away the sound of Charlie's fluttering wings. Then he said, –Where's Manuelito?â€
Alexandra slowly turned her head. The moon was behind her, and thus it put her directly in the blackest part of the shadow cast by the towering rock behind her. She could barely pick out the forms of Trish and Johnny, who were likewise huddled against a stone spire on the same side of the flat rock as her, but twenty feet away. She could just see the light gray of Johnny's socks and something reflecting in Trish's hair. If the men looked in that direction and squinted long enough, they would probably notice something in the shadows, but with a quick glance they could easily miss the teenagers.
The other man spoke. –Nothing is going right.†Then he said something in Navajo; it sounded like cursing.
Alexandra heard a startled gasp, and then Trish screamed.
The men spun around and pointed their wands. Johnny leaped to his feet with a startled exclamation.
Alexandra struck the nearest wizard with a Porcupine Quills Curse. Spines erupted all over his body, perforating the furs he was wearing and causing him to drop his wand. Alexandra used a Spinning Jinx to lift him off his feet and hurl him into his companion. The second man screamed as the spines pierced him. While they were both thrashing in pain on the ground, Alexandra proceeded to Stun them until their bodies stopped twitching with each burst of red light from her wand.
It all happened in seconds.
–Who - what -?†Johnny babbled, while Trish continued screaming.
–Shut up!†Alexandra pointed her wand at Trish and said, –Silencio!†This did not make the other girl any less hysterical, but Alexandra could no longer hear her. She held out a hand, while Charlie took to the air.
A whoosh of air announced another person Apparating to the summit. Alexandra turned and blasted the masked figure off his feet before he'd completely settled on the ground, then Stunned him repeatedly as she had the other two.
She heard a crack and a thump behind her, and whirled to see Johnny standing over a fourth man, holding a rock in both hands. Johnny dropped the rock when he saw Alexandra's wand pointed at him.
She lowered her wand, paused, listened, and then used a Stunning Charm and a Full-Body Bind Spell on the man Johnny had just bashed over the head.
–These are antizizis,†she said.
Johnny shook as if he might be about to faint.
–Wicked! Wicked!†screamed Charlie, and Alexandra felt the presence behind her before she heard it.
Her natural impulse was to turn and fling a hex, but some other instinct told her it was too late - instead she said, –Protego Totalus!†The Shield Charm glowed in the air before she turned, and glistening purple goo splashed against it and bubbled when it dripped to the rock at her feet.
John Manuelito stood facing her. He was not wearing a carved wooden mask like the other Navajo witches; his face was a mask of mingled fury and disbelief.