Chapter 9

It was the afternoon and luckily it was warm, so Twillow set out to find food. She finally found a blueberry bush at the edge of a clearing and began eating the sweet offerings. Suddenly, a twig snapped and just before she could turn, something sharp pierced her shoulder muscle. She cried in pain, falling to her butt and scooting backward, eyes wild. Stuck in her shoulder was a sharp looking object no bigger than a twig. The end sported a bright red feather. It almost resembled a tiny arrow. Fearfully she tugged the piercing object from her shoulder and threw it away. But in seconds it felt like her senses were stuck in sap; slow and sticky. She tried to fly but she couldn't get her wings to flutter in sync so she merely buzzed along the ground like a wounded dragonfly. Finally, she felt her muscles go limp and she collapsed, unable to move or tap into her magic.

She could still see and hear, but whatever that dart was had rendered her muscles immobile. As she laid on the ground, thre