In the corner of my dark, damp cell, I sat on the sticky floor, rocking forward and back with my arms wrapped around my knees. I couldn’t slow my breathing or stop my tears, and I’d already emptied my stomach in the other corner. The collar around my throat dug into my skin, making me feel like I was constantly choking.

I’d been found out. I’d always thought one day they’d accuse me as a witch because of that night six years ago, plus the fact I just didn’t fit in—I’d never even been on a date, which was already suspicious on its own to these people—but I never thought it would be through no fault of my own. That seemed particularly unfair. The Maker had cursed me as a witch from birth, but I’d ignored it all as much as I possibly could. Maybe I’d had it too easy, and now he’d gotten impatient. Maybe I’d been spoiling his fun.

My execution wouldn’t be long. They didn’t like holding witches. The rest of this cell block was empty. Maybe they’d wait until morning to have an audience, or they wouldn’t risk waiting, and I had an hour left at best.

I finally started to get my breathing under control with two realizations: at least I’d be joining my parents soon, and Kalay would be free to live his life without worrying about me.

The door to the hallway opened, and faint torchlight cast barred shadows across the cell block. Two guards shoved someone—a man—inside as he struggled against their grip.

“You’re fucking everything up!” Kalay’s voice bellowed, and my blood ran cold.

The guards threw him into the cell across from me and stepped back out into the hallway, leaving the block in total darkness again.

“Why?” I whimpered.

Metal rang as if Kalay had kicked the bars of his cell. He breathed heavily and took a minute before he spoke. “It was Ninau,” he said softly. “She poisoned everything you gave the lord. She’s a witch.”

“But why did they arrest you instead of her?”

“I tried to get her to confess, but she got away. Now they just think I’m lying to cover for you. Said there’s no way she could have added any poison without someone noticing. They’re so fucking stupid. She’s a witch! You can’t see how she does it!”

He kicked the bars again, and I flinched. He hadn’t been this angry in six years, not since the night we protected each other from our “caretaker”.

The cell block’s door opened again, and Penad’s guard captain, with his full suit of armor, stepped through carrying a torch, followed by three other guards. The captain stopped before my cell, his armor glinting in the torchlight. “Since Lord Arenda is indisposed, Lady Arenda has decided to hold your execution until morning,” he said with a smirk. “She wants to put on a show with you. In the meantime, we can’t let your stay be too comfortable.”

He gestured to Kalay’s cell, and two guards unlocked it. Kalay charged, but the two pushed him back to the floor. Then the beating started. They kicked at him from both sides, while he curled up and protected his head. Just like six years ago.

“Stop!” I screamed, and I leapt up to grip the bars. “He didn’t do anything!”

“Your turn,” the captain said. The remaining guard entered my cell and slapped me with the back of his gauntleted hand, knocking me sideways into the bars. Everything spun, and I slumped to the floor, tasting blood in my mouth. Then he kicked me in the gut, and I doubled over, drawing my knees up to my face and curling my arms over my head, mirroring Kalay. He kicked me again, and again, but the only thing I paid attention to was the sound of Kalay’s wet coughing. Why did they have to drag him into this?

A man screamed, followed by the torch clattering to the floor and the other guards’ confused shouts. The kicking stopped, and I peeked between my arms. An ape outlined in light, with its hulking muscular form, stood over the bloodied corpse of the guard captain, his armor caved in and punctured at multiple points. The guard standing over me stepped back, away from the cell door. Without the captain’s keys, he was trapped in here with me. But the ape reached between the bars, grabbed the man by the arms, and pulled sharply, slamming his head against the metal several times, long after he’d already gone limp. The ape let him drop, and I screamed as his caved in face turned to the side toward me.

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The ape ignored me, instead turning to the other two guards cowering against the wall in Kalay’s cell, their eyes darting side to side as they searched for the invisible attacker. One slid to the floor and began praying to the Maker to save him from demons. The witch’s familiar phased through the cell beside Kalay’s, reached through the bars, and ripped the standing guard’s head off in one quick motion. The body fell forward to the floor, his blood pooling and soaking Kalay’s clothes.

The final guard stared at the head rolling toward him, his hands pressed to his cheeks, his horror leaving him silent. The ape stepped over Kalay, grabbed the guard by his uniform, and lifted him up against the wall. Then it bit into his neck with its many sharp teeth, tearing away a large chunk of flesh, and flung the body to the floor.

Kalay still laid curled up on his side, not daring to move. “Don’t hurt him,” I begged, kneeling at the bars of my cell. “Please don’t hurt him!”

The ape turned to me, spitting out flesh and blood. It slowly phased through Kalay’s cell and approached mine, but another, much larger ape raced into the room and tackled it, throwing it into the far wall. By the Maker, what was happening? The smaller one jumped to its feet, snarling, but the larger stood tall and reached its arms wide, daring the other. The smaller ape grumbled, and crept low past the larger, which never took its eyes off it. The smaller paused beside the guard captain and unhooked the cell keys, holding them out to the larger without looking it in the eyes.

They were helping us? Who was controlling them?

The larger huffed and jerked its head toward Kalay’s cell, but the smaller unlocked mine instead. It reached an open hand toward me, but I fell back with a gasp. It acted like it wanted to help me, but I couldn’t bring myself to touch it. The ape flinched and withdrew its hand before turning to Kalay’s cell and unlocking it, too.

I forced myself to my feet, ignoring the sharp pain in my sides, legs, and arms, and the two apes stepped back out of my way. “Kalay,” I said. “Kalay, are you awake?”

He turned his head to the side, eyeing me from behind his arms. His breathing was ragged and shallow, but at least he was conscious.

“Get up,” I said. “We have to go.”

He pressed a hand into the widening pool of blood and tried to push himself up, but he groaned and rolled onto his back. I wasn’t in any shape to help him up and didn’t know what to do. Desperate, I looked to the apes.

The larger one moved to stand over Kalay and grabbed his arm, making his eyes widen in terror. But the ape only pulled him to his feet as he cried out in pain.

He took a moment to find his balance, leaning against the bars and wrapping his arms around his sides. He coughed violently, spitting up blood, and almost fell again. The ape caught him.

“This is weird,” Kalay mumbled. “Who’s doing this?”

“I don’t know,” I answered. “But we really have to go.”

I almost screamed as the smaller ape phased through me and then through the door. I followed after it, and Kalay after me, with the larger ape keeping an eye on him. We stepped out into the prison’s hallway to find more guards lying dead on the floor. The smaller ape gestured for us to follow.

We stumbled out into the dark with no one in sight, and our guide led us out of the city, careful to avoid any night shift guards. Reaching the open wasteland, the wind’s chill made me shiver, worsening my pain, but I trudged through it. The larger ape barreled ahead of the other and took the lead, taking us toward a rock outcropping in the distance. Who was waiting for us there?

Once we were close, the larger ape dissipated into strings of light that faded and vanished. I heard someone’s feet shuffle in the dirt but couldn’t make them out in the dark.

“What do you want?” Kalay asked, stopping beside me.

“Well, that’s rude after I just rescued you two,” Ninau’s voice said.

“You!” Kalay stumbled forward, growling.

“Ah! Don’t make me attack you again.”

She attacked him? She’d pay for that. “Why would you help us?” I asked.

“Maybe I feel a little bad for setting you up. Just a tiny bit.”

“And whose familiar is this?” I jerked my thumb behind me, where the ape that killed the guards still stood, its teeth bared in Ninau’s direction.

She shrugged. “No idea. But I have this under control,” she said loudly. “You can go now.”

The ape grumbled and dispersed, but its light reformed into a small hawk. It soared overhead in circles, not going anywhere.

Ninau gasped. “She has a geran? That’s… wow.”

She even knew what these creatures were called. This was a girl who embraced being a witch. She couldn’t be trusted, but what choice did we have?

“Anyway, we should go before any guards start looking for you. Thanks to your mystery friend, they won’t have any doubt that you’re a witch now.”

“And where are we going?” Kalay asked.

“You’ll see.”

With no other option, Kalay and I followed the sound of Ninau’s footsteps. She sent some kind of wolf ahead to lead the way through the dark. I wondered what this one was called, but I refused to show any curiosity in these things. I would never embrace being a witch like she had.