In the old part of Lonkon, there’s an eerie place known as the Witches’ Staircase. An ancient tower once stood there, but now all that remains are a few worn steps and a wall that looks like a broken fang.
Every year, after the winter rains, the wall crumbles more and more. So, the city authorities put a fence around the ruins and posted a sign that reads, “Do Not Enter!”
Back in the Middle Ages, this was where the city authorities brought women suspected of consorting with dark forces. According to legend, they weren’t executed—what use is an execution to a real witch? She’d just turn into a black dove or a swift little mouse—and then, good luck catching her.
The only ones who could deal with these witches were the Bronze Twins, sorcerers with faces like ancient theater masks. They didn’t kill the witches; they would bring them to this staircase and . . . who knows what happened next? Did they dissolve them? Send them to another dimension? All that would remain on the wall was a blurry imprint, like an old fresco.
It’s said that the Witches’ Staircase once almost rose to the sky, its walls bearing the figures of dozens of women: a grim procession, a dance of sinners.
Now, only one woman remains, one with wild black curls, a wide mouth, and deep dark eyes. She stands like turning around at someone’s call—“What do you want now?”—and that’s where her story ended.
Her beauty is rough, as if she could be the head of a gang of bandits. She wears a long dress and a twisted scarf around her neck, probably filled with magical herbs. The tattoos on her arms have faded too much to tell which guild she belonged to.
Until recently, abandoned wives would come to this witch to vent their anger. It seemed helpful to have someone gazing at the world alongside them with a fiery, dragon-like stare.
But the Witches’ Staircase probably won’t survive another winter. When the wall finally collapses, a shopping mall will be built there, complete with an arcade and underground parking.
Read The Girl from the Labyrinth fantasy novel by Elvira Bary
