The Faceless Woman by Emma Hamm (i love reading .txt) 📕

We’re sneaking into the Otherworld. It’s not that easy.”

“I don’t need to sneak into my own home, and I don’t care who knows I’ve passed. I can go through a faerie-made portal and not risk my neck.”

“But I can’t.” She hesitated, staring at the portal as if it might bite her.

“What is it?” He stepped so close she could feel the heat of his chest against her back. “Are you frightened of your own spell?”

She swallowed, staring at the red mass of liquid. Memories plagued her of an ancient woman smiling at her with a warning on her lips. “My grandmother always said everything would change if I went to the Otherworld. She warned me against ever stepping foot in these forbidden lands.”

“You live with another witch stuck in the form of a cat. You beg for scraps because no one pays you for your services. And the townsfolk tried to burn you alive. Would change really be so bad?”

He had a point.

What did this life give her? She had free reign to perform whatever magic she wanted, but the shackles of human knowledge chained her. They couldn’t understand her desire to create, give life, use magic wherever she went without guilt or fear.

The Otherworld was filled with people who used magic. They weren’t like her, but no one could see her face. Was it really all that dangerous?

Her grandmother would say yes. She’d never told Aisling what would happen if she went there. She only said time and time again that her life would change forever.

Aisling blew out a breath and nodded. “You’re right.”

“No reason for hesitation.”

“Not at all.”

“Just jump right through that portal, and we’ll break this binding curse.”

“All I have to do is jump.”

The Unseelie scratched the ground with a talon. “You aren’t jumping.”

“Shouldn’t you go first?” She looked over her shoulder at him. “I’ve never been to the Otherworld. Who knows what might be waiting for us?”

“Where did you put the portal?”

She shrugged. “Wherever there was a spot for it. Somewhere in Unseelie, considering that’s where you wanted to go.”

Aisling watched him swear, grumble, and then turn toward the portal with a livid expression.

“Unseelie isn’t a safe place. You can’t put us just anywhere.”

“Well, that’s what I did.”

“It’s a foolish decision, although I suppose I should have expected it to come from a witch who curses people without discretion.” He paused at the edge of the portal and pointed at her. “You follow me in the next few heartbeats or we’re both dead. Got it?”

“Painfully.”

“Good.”

He stepped forward and the red liquid laced up his legs. Tendrils pulled down on the fabric folds of his clothing. The last thing she heard was his cry of disgust before he was sucked down into the writhing mass.

Aisling glanced down at Lorcan. “No time to hesitate.”

“It has to be better than death, right?”

She wasn’t so certain of that. Still, she swung the Unseelie’s pack onto her back, held her breath, and jumped through the portal.

The Blood Of A Dead God

Aisling opened her mouth in a silent scream as the portal hurtled her between worlds. The red fluid squeezed, wrapping around her ribs and chest like a snake tightly coiling. She couldn’t breathe, think, exist in this pulsating pain.

She tried to call out for Lorcan but couldn’t force sound through her throat. He had to be here with her. He had to make it because he was the only thing she had left. Aisling tried to struggle against the cords of magic, but it only made the vise around her chest tighten even further.

And then all pain disappeared as she was spit out onto the ground.

Coughing, she rid her body of the lingering magic that stuck to her. The muck slid back toward the open portal in a sluggish crawl.

It spat a furred body at her that she caught against her chest. Lorcan scratched wildly, hissing and cursing magic for all he was worth.

“Shhh” she soothed. “We survived it Lorcan. Enough.”

“Get off me!”

“Stop trying to run. We don’t know where we are.”

“Let go!”

The Unseelie’s raspy voice broke through their argument. “I’d let the cat go if I were you, witch.”

“He’s going to run off and we’ll never find him again, Unseelie.”

“I can feel every scratch he’s opening up on your body, and I don’t appreciate the annoyance. Let him go, now.” The steel in his voice warned he was about to get angry.

Considering they were in the Otherworld, she had no idea what he could do. Were faeries more powerful here? She was loathe to find out.

She released her grip on Lorcan, who took off through the thicket like something had caught his tail on fire. Glowering, she stared up at the Unseelie even though he couldn’t see her glare.

“See?” she snapped. “Now he’s gone, and we have to wait for him to find us.”

“I think he’ll catch up.”

“I’m not leaving him here.”

“Would you stop talking for a moment, witch, and look around you? You’re in the Otherworld for the first time. Enjoy it.”

She bristled at his tone, but curiosity got the better of her. Sighing, she glanced around, and the sight of the Otherworld stole her breath away.

Trees with trunks wider than houses grew tall and strong. Their branches were not the tangled mess of twigs she knew, but instead grew in recognizable patterns. Branches formed into outlines of flowers, leaves, and tiny creatures. Leaves burst throughout the patterns, giving the animals furry outlines and the plants a lifelike quality.

Under her hands, the earth was soft and loamy. She dug her fingers into the moss and gasped as it released a puff of sweet pollen into the air.

Everything was so green. It stung her eyes until they watered. A spear of light illuminated the forest while golden orbs danced in its light amidst dust and magic. Moss covered the ground, stretched up the trees like a crop of emeralds. Dew drops glittered like pearls strewn across the ground and trees.

“Oh,” she whispered in awe.

“What