Witch's Sacrifice

by Emma L. Adams

  From the way Isabel and Asher both avoided my gaze, I could read between the lines. If the caster was dead, the odds of me breaking the curse plunged below zero.

  “Give your arm here,” said Asher. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  I held out my hand. As the bark-like texture caught the light of the tattoo pen, it glowed with green light, and the outline of faint symbols lit the veins under my skin. It took everything I had not to jerk my hand away.

  My heart thudded against my ribcage while Asher worked, as though my very organs and bones knew my days were numbered.

  I can’t let it end like this. I won’t accept it.

  Asher finished drawing the last symbol, and I lowered my arm. “Thank you.”

  “That should stop it from spreading,” he said. “It’s the best I can do. As I said—you’ll need to talk to the person who put it on you.”

  “It’s appreciated.” I pulled my sleeve down. “I’m going to make one last effort to find out what Lady Harper and the Briars knew, because they were definitely in on the curse. And Lady Harper’s dead, so she can’t remove it.”

  “Let me know what you find out,” said Isabel, her mouth tight with concern. “I’m still working on the tracking spell to find Ivy. I think we should be able to do it.”

  “That’s one piece of good news,” I said. “I’ll head back to the guild and update you later, okay?”

  Lloyd accosted me when I entered the guild’s lobby. “There you are, Jas. Answer your phone next time.”

  “I didn’t see your message.” Probably because my mind was stuck on the Hemlocks’ curse and the ticking clock beneath the marks on my wrists. “Sorry. Have you seen Vance or Wanda?”

  “I don’t know about Wanda, but the Mage Lord is in the mirror room with the boss,” he said. “That is, if he hasn’t gone storming through into the dragons’ realm again.”

  Great. I doubted Vance had had the chance to look into Lady Harper’s family tree after Ivy’s disappearance, but perhaps it might serve as a distraction.

  More voices than I’d expected came from the mirror’s room, and I entered to find half the council assembled in front of the shining piece of glass.

  Drake waved me over. “Hey, Jas. The mages elected their new leader, Lord Addison. He’s demanded we return the mirror.”

  Oh, shit. “Don’t they know our friends are trapped on the other side?”

  “Yes, but they claim to be the legal owners of the mirror,” said Vance. “We’ve been ordered to hand it over by tomorrow.”

  I swore. “Are they trying to invite the Ancients into their headquarters again?”

  “If you plan to start a feud with the local mages,” said Lady Montgomery, “I would prefer you to leave my guild out of it. Jas, I appreciate your concern, but the newly elected mages have been extensively background-checked.”

  “That’s not all that’s worrying me.” I pushed up my sleeve, revealing the bark-like marks. “Unless I find Evelyn, I’m going to end up like those witches trapped in the forest. So that’s three allies you’ll have lost. And there’s no guarantee my death will stop the Ancients from coming here anyway.”

  “Shit, Jas.” Lloyd stilled, gaping at the marks. “You never said.”

  “It came on fast.” I looked Vance in the eyes. “Have you made any progress in looking for the Briar witches? Lady Harper’s relations?”

  “Briar?” said Lady Montgomery. “You mean Agnes Briar?”

  I turned in her direction. “You know them?”

  “The only witches I know with that surname are Agnes and Everett Briar,” said Lady Montgomery. “They’re not local.”

  I pulled down my sleeves to cover the marks on my wrists. “Did you know they were part of the coven who looked after me as a baby?”

  Lady Montgomery blinked. “There are only two of them. Not enough for a coven, I presume. Is this relevant?”

  You might say that. “The Briars were close to the Hemlock Coven, and they’re mentioned in Lady Harper’s journal. If I meet the Briars in person, I can find out if they can help me with the Hemlock curse. Since it’s spreading fast, I assume I don’t have much time.”

  Vance’s face was grave as his gaze flickered over to my wrists. “Yes, Agnes and Everett Briar are Lady Harper’s relations. I believe Agnes is her cousin. If I’d known, I would have got in touch, but…”

  “They’ve been out of contact for weeks,” said Lady Montgomery. “Months, even.”

  “Do they live in Foxwood, by any chance?” I asked. “That’s the addressed that showed up when I tried to search for them before.”

  “Yes,” said Morgan, entering the room behind Lloyd. “What? You never said this was a top-secret meeting.”

  “Do you mean to say everyone knew who this Agnes Briar was except for me?” I looked between the mages in disbelief. “How many witches with the surname Briar do you know?”

  “I didn’t know,” Morgan protested. “As long as I’ve known them, they’ve always been Agnes and Everett. Ilsa knew them better than I did.”

  You might know it. “I need to get in touch with them,” I said. “I think they’re the key to fixing the mess the Hemlocks left behind, and they’ll know how to find Evelyn and the others. Why might the Briars have dropped off the radar? Are they in hiding?”

  “They guarded the mirror,” Morgan said. “Right?”

  “Right,” said Vance. “They did. The mirror, however, ended up in the Orion League’s old lab in the Highlands at some point in the last few months. We’ve been unable to contact them since.”

  “Shit.” I clapped a hand to my mouth. “Lord Sutherland. He did something to them, didn’t he?” Or his allies had, anyway.

  “The Mage Lords have formed their new council,” said Lady Montgomery. “I may be able to persuade them to allow you to visit the jail and speak to the former Mage Lord, Jas, but that’s as much as I can do for you.”

  So this was it. Stopping the Hemlocks’ curse and finding Evelyn might well hinge on my ability to convince the guy who’d ended up rotting in a cell because of me that helping us would be in his best interests. No pressure there, Jas.

  Lord Sutherland watched me through the barred window set into the door of his cell. The tall mage didn’t look too diminished, but the shadows masked his once-constantly spelled face, now wrinkled and tired. While I’d hoped to find him in a less comfortable setting than a relatively clean-looking room, seeing him imprisoned in his own dungeon, where I’d defeated an Ancient he’d summoned, brought me some measure of satisfaction.

  “You,” he said. “Jacinda Hemlock.”

  “It’s Jas Lyons,” I said. “I’m here to talk to you about the Briar witches.”

  No sense in beating around the bush. My friends were counting on me.

  He cocked a brow. “About who?”

  “Don’t pretend not to understand me,” I said. “What did you do to Agnes and Everett Briar?”

  “I traded them away, of course,” he said. “Gave them to the dragons.”

  “You did what?” I stared at him. “Why?”

  “A gesture of goodwill,” he said. “In case I need the dragon shifters as allies in future. They had need of a witch, and I provided two of the country’s finest.”

  Shit. I didn’t know.

  “You wanted them out of the way,” I scanned his wrinkled face and saw only cruelty and righteousness, not a hint of regret. “Are they even still alive?”

  “Last I heard, they survived,” he said, “but I cannot say I monitored the situation closely. I had more important things to be getting on with.”

  “Like letting the Soul Collector take over your body. And capturing people from the necromancer guild and offering them up as sacrifices for your witch allies.”

  His list of crimes seemed endless, and I would never forgive him for everyone he’d hurt. He’d come close to ensuring Keir would never see his brother again. He’d summoned me, like a spirit, as a human sacrifice to call the shadowy fury
. And he’d got rid of the two people who might be able to help me stop Evelyn before she did any more damage, and undo the curse creeping through my blood.

  “The Briars are powerful,” he said. “Too powerful. They would have threatened my position as leader.”

  “You managed to ruin it by yourself anyway,” I said heatedly. “I wouldn’t say your rule would have been solo, either, considering you decided to share your position with the Soul Collector.”

  In the darkness, I couldn’t see the marks on his arms where he’d worn the blood magic symbols binding his soul to the god’s, but his eyes darkened at my words. If he’d been free, the air would have crackled with static, and the earth would have trembled under my feet. But his mage power was bound by a band-shaped spell on his wrist, the same type he’d almost forced every witch in the city who refused to support him to wear.

  Jail was too good for him, far too good.

  “I have no regrets, Jas,” he said. “I did what I needed to in order to protect this city. Now, the consequences of your actions will be on your heads.”

  “You’re conveniently forgetting that the reason the gods are pissed at us is because you locked them in a lab and experimented on them. Or the Orion League did. To be honest, I have trouble separating the two of you.”

  “I suppose you do,” he said. “From what I hear, your coven did far more to anger the gods than I ever could.”

  Stop it. He’s trying to bait you. There’s nothing he knows that the Briars don’t.

  Assuming they’d survived being trapped in the city of dragons. How long had passed in the other realm since then? If they’d died, I’d have to come back here and probe him some more. For now, I wouldn’t allow him the satisfaction of making me beg.

  “Pleasure speaking to you, Lord Sutherland,” I said. “Just be thankful I took the Ancient out of your body before he could destroy your soul.”

  More’s the pity. The Soul Collector himself had taken the coward’s way out and hopped through a tear in the spirit realm into the other world during the battle. For Mackie’s sake, I hoped we’d seen the last of him, but he was in no danger from Evelyn. She needed a living Ancient to destroy, to use its blood to make herself anew.

  I turned my back of Lord Sutherland and walked away. On my right, I passed the cell containing Lord Sutherland’s son Neil and gave him a little wave. The apprentice served a shorter jail sentence, much to my annoyance, but I didn’t have any fucks to spare for him.

  If his father really did murder the Briar witches, I’ll use him for target practice.

  Isabel waited for me at the top of the stairs. “How was it?” she asked, her eyes wide and anxious.

  “They’re in the other realm,” I said. “With the dragons.”

  10

  “Well, this is a conundrum,” said Drake.

  “No shit,” I said. Isabel and I had returned to the guild to find the council still arguing over the mirror. “Are you positive you didn’t see any signs of the Briars in the other realm?”

  “We didn’t get far enough to see,” Vance said. “Perhaps that might explain why the dragons attacked us.”

  “Because they don’t like mages,” Drake responded. “I told you. Vance, you’re going to have to sit this one out.”

  The Mage Lord scowled. “I’ve met Agnes myself more than once. I know her.”

  “The dragons tried to burn us to a crisp last time we were there,” Drake interjected. “Might I add that our mage powers aren’t as effective in that realm? The dragons aren’t open to negotiation. Jas is the only person they haven’t outright attacked.”

  “The dragon who Evelyn let into the city a few months ago didn’t attack anyone,” I added. “Only the zombies.”

  Which suggested that the dragons might have taken her side. Please, no. Evelyn would have good reason to take the Briar witches out of the picture, too, but she might not even know they were imprisoned somewhere in that realm. She and Lord Sutherland sure as hell hadn’t been allies.

  “They’ve attacked mages, but not witches,” said Isabel. “I’ll go with you, but we’ll need to be careful not to do anything to spark their anger.”

  “Believe me, I’m not that keen on being eaten,” I said. “Also, considering Lord Sutherland wanted the Briars out of the way, it’s safe to say they know something useful that might help us win this war. Tell the new Mage Lord that, if he questions why we keep using the mirror. We need to do this.”

  “Agreed.” From the stubborn set of Isabel’s jaw, she was about ready to march up to this Lord Addison and demand we be allowed to keep the mirror. “I’ve created a powerful tracking spell. If any of you have anything that belongs to the Briar witches, I can use it to find them.”

  A moment passed, then Lady Montgomery extended a hand. A pendant dangled from her fingers, an orange gemstone that shone with golden light. “Agnes left this behind the last time she was at the guild. It’s valuable, so try not to lose it.”

  I took the pendant from her and passed it to Isabel. “Thank you.”

  Isabel pocketed the pendant. “We’d better move fast. The tracking spell has a time limit on it.”

  I hope this works. I might be cursed to end up in the forest no matter what, but Isabel had a whole coven depending on her to make it back in one piece. I didn’t want to drag her into the dragons’ realm alone, but losing Ivy had set a new determination burning in Isabel’s eyes.

  My phone buzzed with a message from Keir, wishing me luck. I’d known he wouldn’t be pleased when I’d texted him explaining our plan, but rescuing Agnes and Everett from the dragons would be risky enough without dragging any more people along with us.

  I nodded to Isabel as we approached the mirror. “Ready?”

  “Ivy’s saved my neck too many times to count,” she said. “I won’t let this be the end of us.”

  The two of us passed through the mirror’s surface and stepped out onto the hillside. The stone construction loomed overhead, and Isabel stared wide-eyed at the fog-drenched landscape. “This was on the other side of the mirror all along?”

  “I guess you didn’t have the chance to look around last time.” I pointed to the left. “That’s the way we went before. Evelyn ambushed us, but we did see a dragon statue, so I’m assuming the dragons’ city wasn’t far off

  “Or I can do it this way.” She lifted up her sleeve, revealing an array of symbols inked onto her warm brown skin. I recognised one—an amplifying rune. “This will amplify the tracking spell.”

  She pulled a band off her wrist, activating it. The band expanded to a circle on the grassy hillside, and she dropped Agnes’s pendant into it and leaned over its glowing edges. An unexpected spasm of longing shook me at the sight of the spell’s light glowing on her arms. The loss of my magic hadn’t taken my ability to use spells—just create them—yet an ache grew in my chest to see her effortlessly become one with the magic flowing around the spell circle.

  Isabel lifted her head a moment later. “I couldn’t see anything recent, but the spell did work.”

  “Guess witch magic does work in this realm after all.”

  Isabel and I walked down the sloping hillside, following the route Ilsa, Ivy and I had travelled last time. Without the map, I hoped I’d remember the way back, but if all else failed, maybe we could get the dragons to give us a lift. Hey, it had worked once before.

  Isabel hissed out a warning as a fury-shaped shadow flew overhead. I grabbed a knife, while Isabel raised her hands. Threads of silvery magic shot from her palms and knocked the fury out of the sky, where it landed with a thump on the hillside.

  “Whoa,” I said. “Nice job.”

  “It pays to be prepared.” She scanned the fog in front of us. “No more of them, but I think I see that statue you mentioned.”

  Sure enough, the impressive golden dragon statue came into view. I walked closer, and the sound of beating wings rustled overhead.

  A reptilian beast slammed onto the hillside with enough force to
stir the fog itself. Not a fury this time. The blue-white scaled dragon dug its claws into the grass, and my heart lurched in my chest. Beside him, his golden counterpart looked puny, two-dimensional. Then recognition flared in his grey eyes.

  Oh, good. I know him.

  “Hey,” I said. “Uh, you might remember me… I’m the one you helped a while ago. You flew me back to the Moonbeam…”

  The dragon paced around the two of us, his nostrils flaring as though sniffing to see if we meant him harm.

  Then the blue-white dragon disappeared, turning into a tall, muscular man with auburn hair and the same striking grey eyes as his dragon counterpart.

  “Ah.” I tensed. “So you really are a shifter. I did wonder.”

  “What do you want?” His gaze flicked to Isabel. “You smell like witches.”

  “We are witches,” Isabel spoke up. “We’re looking for some friends of ours who were captured and given to the dragons. To you. Have you seen them?”

  Surprise flickered in his eyes. “Humans from Earth? No… the only humans I’ve seen aside from you two are my friends, who were already here.”

  There are humans living in this world? More to the point, his accent was English. Unless this world was a mirror of ours with precisely the same accents and the same geography, he must be from Earth.

  “I don’t know if you ever met Mage Lord Sutherland from Edinburgh,” I said, “but he turned into a power-hungry despot and traded away two friends of ours to the dragons. I take it he didn’t mean you?”

  The man’s grey eyes turned orange-red, as though backlit from within. It wasn’t hard to guess they were a sign the dragon was majorly pissed off.

  “I met Lord Sutherland once,” he said, his voice a low growl. “I can’t say it comes as a surprise to learn of his treachery, but I’m afraid I don’t know where your allies are held captive.”

  “You must know.” Urgency rose. “Please. I’m not exaggerating when I say it’s life or death.”

  His mouth tightened. “The other dragons are in the city. If your friends are indeed imprisoned in this realm, then that’s where you’ll find them.”