Jungle Witch

Stories

### Chapter 1: Chapter 1

The father's crimes are his daughters crimes. Ebony was banished from her home after her father's death. Years later, she is brought back to help end a curse. Can she help before the city kills her?

Complete Chapters 18

Rating 4.8 ( 120 reviews ) Age Rating 16+

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Chapter 1

Naveen Mista stared at the wooden sign. It was a little crooked and the paint had dripped down the scarred wood before drying. He read, 'Basilisk Jungle: Humans Not Welcome.' How very reassuring.

He looked at the path leading into the jungle. It was overgrown now, because most would rather risk the wetlands than go into Basilisk Jungle.

"I'm not so sure this is a good idea," he told his commander with some misgivings.

Commander Abhay of Rivera's guard looked at the boy, who'd turned fifteen within the last lunar cycle. "It's this, or risk killing someone during your transformation."

Naveen scowled at the trees of Basilisk Jungle. The shadows beneath the branches seemed to dance, and he could have sworn that there were eyes watching him. Somewhere in those shadows lived the Jungle Witch, a figure that haunted the horror stories of his youth and scared children into behaving.

Fear bubbled into his throat, but Naveen swallowed it. "Let's get this over with."

Naveen reluctantly followed his commander into the jungle. Once under the trees, everything was eerily silent and absolutely nothing moved. Naveen found himself trying to look everywhere at once for anything that wanted to eat him. His heart thudded in his ears and his muscles were tied in knots. A bush shook, making him jump into the air. A rabbit hopped out from the leaves and scurried into a hole.

"It was only a rabbit," Abhay said with just a hint of scolding.

"The Jungle Witch could have given it fangs," Naveen pointed out sullenly.

Abhay shook his head but said nothing else. The boy really had to learn to quit being such a coward. Right now, there were more pressing matters to handle, such as the curse on Naveen's family.

A howl erupted into the air. Naveen jumped again and spun around towards the sound with a hand on his sword. Nothing was there.

"Keep calm, Naveen," Abhay ordered, careful to keep his own hands clasped behind his back, mostly to help keep Naveen calm.

Leaves rustled, and somewhere something growled. Another howl ripped through the silence. Above them, a tree branch moved as if new weight was added. Twigs and nuts began to pelt Naveen and Abhay from the trees.

"Ouch," Naveen shouted, rubbing at a new bruise as he searched the trees for their attackers. To his surprise, he saw squirrels. With more bravery than he felt, he said, "It's only squirrels."

The moment the words left his mouth, a low growl erupted from beneath the trees. A pack of wolves slinked out of the shadows. Their golden eyes were narrowed and their very impressive fangs were displayed for their prey to see.

Naveen stumbled back and grabbed his sword hilt again. "Commander?"

"Keep calm," Abhay ordered again. He placed a hand on his own sword and shifted into a fighting stance.

Hackles rose as the wolves prepared to pounce.

"Wait," a voiced hissed out of the shadows. "I want to hear what they have to say."

The wolves kept growling, but they didn't attack.

Naveen looked in the direction of the voice and saw someone stepping out from beneath the trees.

If not for all the dirt, she would have looked like a normal girl, except for her eyes. Those eyes were as dark as a panther's coat with absolutely no color. They seemed to absorb the light around them, and it made her appear inhuman.

She wasn't what he'd expected, although still quite terrifying. Instead of an old hag - which he should have known better than to expect - she was only about eighteen. Her slim frame would have came across as fragile, if not for the way she met his eyes. There wasn't even a flinch when a wolf brushed by her. This had to be the Jungle Witch. Naveen couldn't help but think they had been better off with the wolves.

"Humans," she said the word as if it were a curse.

He realized that her voice hadn't been the one that had ordered the wolves to stop their attack. There was someone else in the shadows.

Naveen swallowed around the lump of fear in his throat. Something moved near the witch's feet. He saw a small brown rabbit rub against her leg. The witch leaned down and picked it up. She cradled it in one arm and stroked it gently with the other.

Maybe she wasn't so bad, Naveen thought. The rabbit didn't seem afraid of her. The animal turned it's cute little head to him. Just when his shoulders relaxed, it bared vicious fangs. Naveen stumbled back with a yelp.

The witch chuckled a little as the rabbit's teeth returned to normal. She set it down so it could return to its burrow.

Ebony Desai examined the two humans with suspicion and irritation. She hated humans and had since she was nine years old. As far as she was concerned, they were a worthless species with an unreasonable fear of anything and everything. She was surprised these two braved the wilds of Basilisk Jungle. It made her wonder just what was so important to them.

"Are you Lady Ebony?" the younger of the two humans asked with a quiver to his voice. He seemed very pale and shaky, though he was doing his best to hide it.

She tilted her head slightly. He'd used her title, something she hadn't heard in years. Most of the time she forgot she had one. Hearing it now made her feel like she was being stuffed into a skin that didn't quite fit.

Her eyes scanned him up and down, taking his measure. He was about her height, which would be short for a man. Well, calling him a man might be generous. By the look of him, he was probably a few years younger than she was. Maybe around fifteen give or take a year, she estimated. The clothes he wore, while plain, were well made, which told her he came from wealth.

His wide, brown eyes held both awe and fear, something she received from most humans. His skin had a gray cast to it, as if he were a little ill. That was probably the fear. She got the impression he thought she'd turn him into a toad or something equally terrible. A thought process she didn't discourage because it kept the humans out of the jungle...most of the time.

She was never sure why humans always thought she wanted to turn them into toads. Not only would that be a waste of her time, it would insult toads everywhere. If she turned them into anything it would be something inanimate, like a rock. She was sure some bugs would enjoy having a new place to hide.

"What do you want?" She didn't bother hiding her hostility. Why should she? It was justified. The humans had chased her out of her home just days after her father's murder. Was she supposed to just ignore that?

The older man shifted at her tone into a defensive stance. Despite his stance, he seemed very calm. In fact, she'd almost swear he wasn't afraid of her at all. That was completely new to her and stirred curiosity and concern. Those who were afraid behaved themselves while here.

He was built like a bear, all muscle and enormous in size. Even his hair made her think of a bear's pelt in coloring. He was older than she was by at least a decade. The man wore the uniform of the soldiers from her home city of Rivera, which consisted of brown pants tucked into black boots and a white long sleeved shirt tied shut with a deep red sash. Judging from the patch of a black circle with a star in the center on his upper arm, he was a high ranking soldier. Something about his face triggered a memory that she couldn't quite bring to the surface.

"We...well you see..." the scared one stuttered out as his gray skin turned pale.

The soldier gave the boy a calm stare that sent some sort of message to him.

The scared one took a deep breath to calm himself, then tried again. "We need your help."

"That would never happen," the alpha of the wolves snarled, baring his fangs at the humans.

In full agreement Ebony simply stared at the humans for a long moment. Slowly she asked, "By which god's name would I want to help you?"

The boy shifted uncomfortably, keeping a wary eye on both her and the wolves. If he didn't know better, he'd swear they were talking to her.

"You know that Lord Bura was responsible for keeping a curse from taking hold of my family, right?"

She didn't even know what family he was talking about, though that didn't really matter. Her father hadn't been known for a good or generous heart. She shook her head, still glaring at them.

"Well, he did. In exchange for that, many of his..." He paused to come up with the right wording. "...shortcomings were ignored."

That makes much more sense, she thought. Holding things over someone's head like that had given Bura a thrill like no other.

"Without his magic to keep it at bay, someone in our family will turn into a bloodthirsty beast once every tenday." The boy was talking really fast now, as if saying it quickly would somehow make her agree. The content didn't quite make sense to her since she had no clue what he was talking about. "One of my younger sisters was almost killed once. My older brother has severe damage to his hip. I'm next, and I don't want to be the one to kill someone. You're our only hope."

"That doesn't answer my question." She wanted to walk away but didn't dare turn her back on them. Along with being worthless, humans were a traitorous and cruel species. "Why would I want to help you? Better question, why should I?"

"Because it's the right thing to do," the boy said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Now you care about right and wrong? Now, after your city chased me out of my home just days after my father's death," she snapped. Her rising temper made her black eyes glitter like onyx. Unlike the two standing before her, she wasn't entirely human on either side of her family. "There is nothing that would convince me to help any human."

"What about permanent protection for this jungle and the creatures in it?" the soldier asked, his expression completely neutral and his muscles relaxed.

She whirled on him. "You won't touch this jungle."

The air seemed to gain weight as her magic filled it. There was a sudden drop in temperature, as if she was absorbing the heat around them.

"It wasn't a threat, merely a suggestion." The soldier kept his tone even as if talking to an angry animal, lest she decide to attack. "Every season you have hunters and travelers come through here. A great deal of your power is currently spent protecting this place. What if we ban any hunting or logging here in exchange for your help?"

She hesitated. What she wouldn't give to be able to pace. She thought better when moving, but both men were carrying swords. Her weight shifted from one foot to another, her eyes thoughtful.

"Sith, can I let the wolves have them now?" she asked the basilisk still hidden in the shadows.

"The proposal has merit," his whisper-like voice replied.

At the sound of Sith's voice, the soldier's muscles jerked slightly with surprise, but he kept himself under control. He clasped his hands behind his back to keep from touching his weapon.

The boy jumped three feet in the air and stared into the shadows. That was the same voice that had ordered the wolves to stop their attack earlier.

"Who's there?" the boy demanded.

Ignoring the boy, Ebony gave Sith an incredulous look.

She could just make out his lizard-like figure hidden within the shadows of the closest tree. Sith the Basilisk stood eight feet tall standing on his hind legs with a beaded hide and the eyes of a snake. Right now, he was being very careful to keep out of view.

"It does?" she asked him, her tone making it obvious she didn't believe him.

Sith, choosing to ignore her, answered the boy. "Forgive me for hiding, but I am shy."

Ebony snorted. Sith was not shy. He was what the Fae called a 'monster,' which simply meant a magic based creature. As a basilisk, Sith definitely qualified as a creature. The humans would also call him a monster, but with more sinister meaning. That was the real reason he stayed hidden.

"My name is Sith, and I am Ebony's guardian." He left off what he was for the same reason he stayed hidden.

"I want to see you," the boy said staring into the shadows with fear. There was no telling what kind of monster had raised the Jungle Witch.

"Well we don't always get what we want," Ebony informed him rather rudely.

"Ebony," Sith said in a warning tone. "They've come in peace."

She muttered a few oaths she'd learned from a bear right after he woke from hibernating. No one was more creative with curses than a grumpy bear still waking up from his winter's sleep.

"Ebony." This time it was said in a snap of disapproval. Sith had excellent hearing.

To the human visitors, the basilisk said, "I apologize, but I cannot come out. My appearance may cause you discomfort."

"So you are a monster," the younger human snapped out, fear making him back up several steps.

Ebony's eyes blazed. She knew he didn't mean the elvish definition of the word. "Don't you dare call him that. He is the kindest person in the world. He's only taking your feelings into consideration and trying not to cause you fear." She sneered at the coward. "Something I wouldn't bother with."

"Leave the boy alone, Ebony," Sith reprimanded her, but there was a softening to his voice that said he was pleased she'd defended him.

She crossed her arms and merely glared at the boy. "Who are you two anyway?"

"Forgive our rudeness," the soldier said with a slight bow. "My name is Abhay Rajan." He gestured towards the boy. "This is the youngest son of Lord Devdan and my trainee, Naveen Mista."

Her eyebrows winged up at the name Mista. They were a very prominent and rich family of Rivera. In fact, Lord Devdan was the leader of the Western District. That made this young coward a noble.

Dismissing Naveen for the moment, she turned back to the soldier.

"Abhay? Why does that name sound familiar?" she said, more to herself than to the two men. Then it came to her. "You're Commander of Rivera's guard."

She hesitated again. Everyone who'd ever lived in Rivera knew about Commander Abhay. He'd been the one to rid the city of its monster, her father. She witnessed the entire thing from her bedroom window and still had nightmares about it. Part of her didn't blame Abhay for what he'd done, the other part wanted to hate him in order to cover her own guilt.

"I think you should help them, if only to guarantee our safety," Sith advised her.

Ebony knew he was right, but the very idea of going to the human city again gave her the chills.

"What if they don't keep their end of the bargain?" she asked Sith, careful to keep her tone respectful.

There was no one she loved more than Sith. He'd been the one to save her from her own grief and guilt when she'd run into the jungle almost nine years ago. In a way, he'd become her second father. He'd taught her how to use the magic she'd been born with, soothed her when she cried, chased away her nightmares when she woke screaming, and had shown her how to live in the lush green jungle that often killed strangers.

"Then you'll simply curse them again," he replied with a cool logic most reptiles possessed.

Naveen opened his mouth, but Commander Abhay gave him a sharp look that clearly told the young man not to speak. Naveen closed his mouth but shot the still debating witch a glare. It irked his parents that this witch was the only one who could help them. Considering the stories he'd heard about Lord Bura, he couldn't blame them. She was that monster's daughter after all.

"I'll try to help," she agreed with obvious reluctance. "But I can't promise to lift the curse. I'm not sure I can."