In the following days, the witches were quite nervous, especially Mnou. The terrifying discovery kept her awake at night. A human soul inside a dog's body? How could something like that even be possible? They discussed it, but they couldn't come up with any reasonable explanation.
At first, Mnou tried to convince herself that it must have been some strange coincidence, some kind of anomaly, but a few days later she heard that someone in the village had spotted a headless fox wandering confusedly around the docks. That definitely ruled out the idea that it was an exception. Something strange was happening on the island.
Mnou decided to visit Coris to make sure he was all right. She was starting to get worried about him. She didn't want him to be living alone, especially in these strange times, but despite her constant urging for him to move in her house, he kept refusing. It drove her mad.
This time, she went alone. Esme, despite the recent encounter with the undead dog and the thickening atmosphere in the village, had gone to visit Azra and his mother. The little girl claimed she was working on something and told Mnou that it is a surprise. Although the master didn't like letting her go off on her own, she kept reminding herself that Esme was definitely not defenceless or helpless. She could probably handle whatever might happen much better than anyone else in the village.
To Mnou's relief, Coris was fine. It seemed that his condition had neither worsened nor improved, but she had gotten used to that. She was just happy to see him again. She even decided to cook him something warm. There wasn't much to choose from, since he didn't have a lot of ingredients, and most foods he couldn't even chew properly anymore. In the end, she decided on a creamy carrot soup.
While she was cooking, conversation flowed between them slowly and pleasantly, like a mountain stream. The topic often shifted to Esme. The old man admitted he would love to see her again, and Mnou promised to bring her along next time.
She also told him about Esme's progress in her magical training, and even about ordinary tasks like cooking or milking, in which the girl had already become quite an expert. Coris listened closely, his eyes closed and a smile on his lips.
Mnou served the soup, and they both started eating. For some time, the only sound in the quiet little cottage was clinking of the spoons against wooden bowls and the slurping of soup.
Suddenly, the old man spoke up.
"Oh, I just remembered there's something I wanted to ask you. I thought, since you're a witch, you might know something about it."
The spoonful of hot soup froze halfway to Mnou's mouth. She immediately tensed up and furrowed her brow. She didn't like where this was going; it usually wasn't good news.
"Yes?" she prompted him cautiously.
"Recently, I've been hearing a voice in my dreams. It's not tied to any particular dream—it just sneaks in. Like an intruder. Sometimes, I even get the feeling it's not really speaking to me."
The spoon slipped from her fingers and splashed back into her bowl, sending orange drops flying onto the white tablecloth and her dress, leaving small greasy stains. But she didn't even notice that. She was staring at the old man intently, her mind racing in panic. A voice in dreams? An intruder? She didn't like this at all.
"And what... what does that voice say?" she asked in dreadful anticipation.
"It says—body, body, all weak... witch... I need. Do you know what it could mean?"
The girl leaned back in her chair wearily and rubbed the bridge of her nose. To her great frustration and horror, she had absolutely no idea what it could mean. Body, body, all weak... witch... need? What on earth is that supposed to mean? She had been bracing for something bad, but... something about those cryptic words terrified her. When she repeated them in her mind, it felt as if a cold finger of fear was trailing from the top of her head down to her belly, where it spread like icy water. Witch? Why witch?
Coris's concerned voice tore her out of her grim thoughts.
"Are you alright, Mnou? I didn't mean to upset you. I'm sure it's nothing."
Mnou quickly glanced at the old man and realized that he looked much calmer and more composed than she probably did at that moment. And yet he was the one hearing the voice.
"You see, Coris... I'm sorry, but I have no idea what it could mean," she admitted. I should know this! This is exactly the kind of thing I should know! she scolded herself inwardly.
"Never mind, don't worry about it. I'm sure it's nothing," Coris repeated soothingly. "Now, you better eat up your wonderful soup before it gets cold," he encouraged her.
But Mnou couldn't even think about soup now. Could it be a curse? Impossible—who here on the island would even be capable of cursing him? And even if it was a curse, she would have felt its presence on him right away. Could someone be trying to control him like a puppet? No! That would require advanced magic, and she would definitely have sensed such a powerful mage's presence. And more importantly, why would anyone, or anything, want to curse or control such a helpless, solitary old man like Coris? None of it made sense.
Then, suddenly, a thought struck her. What if it had something to do with what was happening with the souls of the dead? What if... what if some spirit was trying to get into his body? Or... into a witch's body?
Esme! The name appeared in her mind, and she shivered with cold when she realized what it could mean. What if the voice was after Esme?
Mnou shot out of her chair like a spring, accidentally pushing the table and spilling soup over the pale tablecloth again. Coris started coughing. Mnou tried to gather her racing thoughts and calm herself. Calm down, Mnou, you don't know anything for sure yet, and more importantly, there's no sign she's in immediate danger. But I still don't understand why Coris is the one hearing the voice, if it must be about one of us.
The old man's heavy coughing snapped her back to reality. She rushed to him in fright.
"I'm... I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you like that!" she babbled frantically, hovering around him, unsure what to do.
"It's... it's alright, I just... the soup went down the wrong way," the old man explained between coughs, though he seemed to be calming down. Mnou gently patted his back, and eventually, the coughing subsided.
"Thank you," he rasped, and moistened his throat with rosehip tea that Mnou quickly poured for him.
"No, no, there is nothing to thank for. I'm so sorry," she mumbled miserably, but her mind was still racing toward the reason why this whole scene had happened.
I must find Esme! I must make sure she's safe. She quickly made an excuse that she had tons of work to do at home, even though she felt a bit guilty for lying. She didn't want to burden Coris with all of this.
She set off at a brisk trot at first but soon switched to levitation magic. She didn't use it very often because it was difficult and drained the body much faster than ordinary running or walking. But now, she had no time to spare.
A wet, heavy fog had fallen over the landscape, wrapping her in its cold embrace. All sounds disappeared, mercilessly swallowed up—as if someone had strangled every singing bird, silenced every shouting animal, stilled the wind, and stopped the sea's waves. A bizarre image popped into Mnou's mind: a motionless sea, not even rippling. It was just a silly thought, something to distract her from the horrific scenarios her mind kept racing through about what could have happened to Esme. It was the silence that made everything feel so eerie. It was like being trapped in a strange capsule, cut off from the rest of the world.
Mnou's panicked mind even began to associate the unnatural thickness and coldness of the fog with the situation. Even though she knew perfectly well she had experienced this kind of fog dozens of times before. Still, she began to fear she might get lost. In such thick fog, it could happen easily. She struggled to orient herself by the walls and crossroads she knew by heart.
She had to slow down, afraid she might drift off course—and if she did, she might not find her way back. She also started to feel the exhaustion from levitation catching up with her.
Her head was spinning, and—absurd as it seemed in that situation—she realized she was terribly hungry. She felt like she could eat the entire pot of soup she had made for Coris.
Suddenly, she slammed full speed into something and bounced back sharply. Her tired eyes and mind hadn't registered it in time. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a human silhouette.
But she hadn't collided with the person—they had been protected by something invisible. There was a distinct scent of magic in the air.
"Master? Master!" a small, urgent voice called above her.
Mnou still saw dancing stars before her eyes and struggled to focus on the face leaning over her, but she already knew she had found the person she had been so desperately searching for.
"Esme? Are you alright?" she managed to croak, fumbling around for her hat and staff.
The girl stared at her in disbelief for a moment and then burst out indignantly: "You're asking me if I'm alright? You ran into me full speed and flew several meters away! I'm sorry about the magic shield, I cast it instinctively when someone came charging at me out of the fog."
"Of course, no problem. I'm actually glad you reacted so quickly," Mnou said as she staggered to her feet—and would probably have fallen again if her apprentice hadn't helped steady her.
"What are you even doing out here?" Esme demanded answer, arms akimbo, with a very parent-like expression. "And why are you wobbling around like you're drunk?"
"Hey, where did you learn to talk like that!?" Mnou scolded her, adjusting her hat authoritatively. She didn't wait for an answer. "It's the levitation. It always leaves me completely drained.
And to answer your question—I was looking for you."
"And why? I'm not even late. In fact, I left a little earlier than usual."
At that moment, Mnou realized how ridiculous her reason sounded. If it weren't getting dark and if the fog weren't so thick, Esme would surely have seen how red her face was from blushing.
Why did I overreact so badly? she scolded herself angrily. Well, whatever. The important thing is that Esme is here and she's safe.
She decided there was no point trying to explain everything. At least not until she had more convincing evidence. Still, just to be safe, she asked the little apprentice if she had had any strange dreams lately. Luckily, her answer was exactly what Mnou had hoped for. She didn't even mind that on the way home, she had to listen to a long story about how giant gingerbread men were chasing Esme in her dreams.