Abandoned Witch (Shadow Claw Book 6)

by Sarah J. Stone

  “I…I don’t know,” Viria said, “I really don’t remember.”

  Morrigan turned around with the book cradled in one hand, moving closer and raising her other hand to Viria’s forehead, “If you let me, I can bring those memories back. Look into them and help you cope with them. When you gain control over what hurt you, you grow a step closer to power.”

  Viria looked at her curiously in a daze. Power…

  “You want that, don’t you, Viria?”

  The girl nodded. And she regretted it in the next moment as pain seared right through the center of her head. She screamed, feeling her brain rip apart in halves, skull splitting and seeing a flurry of sparks and colors that blinded her.

  And just as it had started, it was gone. She fell to the ground in a heap, breathing hard for the air that she felt had been literally crushed out of her lungs. Morrigan was faring no better. She had stumbled back and crumpled to her knees, holding her head while gasping for breath. Viria didn’t know if it was her ears playing, or if Morrigan was really crying. But Viria knew she herself was. Because it all came back in a flood. The memories, the pain, the hurt. And not a sound came out of her mouth. All she had to spare were tears.

  The last of them.

  But they dribbled down her skin in streams as she lay there trying to get a hold on herself. She saw Morrigan’s shoulders shaking as she held herself.

  “All that pain locked up in there,” she wheezed, “How have you not gone insane?”

  “Ah, well,” Viria tried to be as casual as possible through her breathlessness. “The life tree? It did a good job, no?”

  “Certainly…” She sighed and wiped at her eyes, pushing herself onto her feet and walking over to Viria, reaching down and offering her a hand which was gratefully accepted. She hauled her up and gently pulled her into a soft embrace. “You will be a very strong one, I can tell.”

  “I hope so,” Viria whispered.

  “You can be,” Morrigan said, catching it. “I can help you.” She pulled back and looked into her eyes, “I can make you one of the most powerful ones out there if you wish. You’ll train under me. I know about what you do more than anyone.”

  “Really?” she breathed and Morrigan picked the book she had dropped and handed it to her.

  “It’s all in here,” she explained gently as she held her shoulders, “the answers to what you do. And there is so much more to learn. And you’re very capable. And others can learn from you. You’ll be one of the best witches the community will have ever seen. Respected and feared. Everyone will know you and obey you. You will have so much power. Train with me, Viria. I’ll make you the leader of the most powerful witches I have and they’ll do all you say.”

  Viria gave it a quick thought, giving into her desires for it all. She nodded. Morrigan smiled proudly.

  “You’ve made a wise decision, Viria,” she told her. “You’ll make us all proud.”

  Chapter 10

  It was late in the evening when they left the headquarters. Ivanna drove silently, restless. She didn’t know how to make Viria understand or forgive her. She was just a child. How could she deal with what she had put her through? What she had made her see? She’d betrayed her trust without meaning to and it really hurt for some reason. Maybe she really had gotten attached to Viria for real after all. And it had only been such a short while.

  “Viria, you know I didn’t mean whatever happened back there,” she pleaded. Viria didn’t speak. She was still very much upset, and also very tired. She didn’t want any confrontations. She only wanted sleep.

  “You promised you’d try to understand, little one,” Ivanna continued, “You think I’d just turn on you like that? I really wish you’d understand how important it is to keep an image—”

  “That will only make everyone feel betrayed once it’s off,” Viria cut in, “after you take Morrigan’s place.”

  That stung. A lot. This was not the mouth a child was supposed to have and Ivanna realized she could not treat her like a child anymore if she wanted her to understand.

  “I didn’t think of it that way.” She sighed. “But it’s too late, anyway.”

  “Nope,” Viria popped her p, “you can reveal your true nature little by little over time. Not in the way you speak, but in the way you act. Keep the hard demeanor and the cruel look. They can come later when the public accepts your heart.”

  Ivanna didn’t know how to feel about the fact that a ten-year-old was giving her such advice, but she nodded because it made sense.

  “This personality you have put up for the world won’t last long, Ivanna,” Viria said as she looked out the window at the trees, “I’m saying this because mine is breaking with each day here. And I’m sure the other people in this community don’t want to be the way they are, either. It’s all an act to fit in with each other. Everyone has put up a false image. To look tough, unafraid, not intimidated by anyone. They’re all cowards, though. They can’t be real without caring of what others think. They can’t live without people’s approval.”

  “They won’t respect me if mine breaks. I won’t have the power over them.”

  “There is no power in the first place, Ivanna.” Viria gritted her teeth “You’re not powerful. No one here is powerful. Everyone here is controlled by each other willing to be accepted, respected, and listened to. You want to know real power? Be yourself and see how you stand when the world turns against you. See how it affects you when you have no one but yourself, and you’re still holding on. See how you use that strength and make people listen past their inner bias of you. Power is not people, Ivanna. It’s you.”

  The car screeched to a halt. Ivanna’s hair whipped over her shoulder as her head turned abruptly to look at Viria with an accusatory gaze, “Then why did you accept Morrigan’s offer? I heard everything that had happened. I heard you scream and came rushing to the door. I saw it all happen.”

  Viria turned to her and smirked, and Ivanna saw a side to her she hadn’t before. Viria was no innocent, ordinary kid. She’d been underestimating this witch. It intimidated her. Just what was she thinking?

  “You think I’m doing this for others’ approval? This is not about making other people obey me. This is about me reaching my full potential, not for people to respect me, but for me to protect myself against those who won’t. I wasn’t thinking about other people and what to do with them when I said yes to her, I was thinking of what to do with myself for myself. What other reason could there have been? Tell me how you think people work, Ivanna.”

  But Viria knew Ivanna had nothing more to say. They both knew Viria had unlocked the roots of the community’s mechanisms. Even Ivanna hadn’t thought of it the way Viria had. And she was astounded. At this point, Viria was as dangerous as a grenade. Just a pull of the pin away from having it all under her control if she wanted.

  “Morrigan has you fooled if you think she’s doing anything for the community’s benefit,” Viria chuckled darkly. “She may seem like the nicest person, and I admit I was entranced until she ripped into my head and broke her own spell, but she is probably the worst person alive. Makes the people here seem like playground bullies.”

  Ivanna blinked at her, wondering if she was really seeing the true Viria. Her eyes inspected her every move, and she knew she wasn’t playing one bit. It was completely honest. She’d always been honest and Ivanna deemed it her second best trait to her intelligence. She decided it was safe to open up to her.

  “I don’t support her,” Ivanna said. “I really don’t. I’m just waiting for her to retire so that I can take over and fix this place without too much trouble.”

  Viria scoffed and shook her head. “Naïve of you to think she won’t intervene even after stepping down. That woman has been alive for centuries and isn’t dying anytime soon. She reeks of darkness and death, and I’ve been around animals long enough to understand that. She’s a corpse and a disconnected soul held together by dark magic.”
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br />   “How do you know so much already?” Ivanna asked absolutely awestruck. Viria smiled again and it sent a shudder down her spine.

  “The school library is a haven of knowledge,” she admitted with a nonchalant shrug, “People here are so stupid. They don’t read them. Someone had to.”

  “Is that why you missed last period yesterday at school?”

  “Hey, I lost track of time, okay?” she pointed out. “We get a ten-minute break between each class and I wanted to be productive. It kinda just slipped out of my mind that I had a class to get to.”

  “Good grief, Viria.”

  “What?” she exclaimed, “Not like I’ll be going there anymore, anyway. Training with Morrigan starts tomorrow.”

  The atmosphere eased as Viria smiled at her. Ivanna could see she had gotten comfortable and slipped into a skin more natural to her.

  “Let’s go home, Ivanna,” she said making her heart flutter. “Mom promised us pizza for dinner, didn’t she?”

  It was nice to hear her already treat them as her family. Ivanna smiled and nodded. Viria grinned and sat back, jumping lightly in her seat. “Off we go!”

  Ivanna knew she had been forgiven for now.

  ****

  “Already becoming the favorite, are you?” Mrs. Grippin scowled. Viria had run into her in Ivanna’s office at the headquarters after training with Morrigan. Viria only grinned cheekily at her.

  “What? Jealous?”

  “Why you little—”

  “Hi, Ivanna,” Viria cut Grippin off as Ivanna came through the bathroom door, “Morrigan will hold a meeting in ten minutes, so we have to attend it before we leave.”

  “Sure thing,” she replied tiredly, “Grippin, I asked you to leave my office and head over to Morrigan. And please take your copy of issued warning with you and make sure to have it placed in your file.”

  Grippin’s droopy old face turned red in embarrassment. Viria said nothing, but her cheeks blew up in an attempt to contain her laughter. Gripping bared her teeth at the girl and stomped past her, slamming the door shut. Ivanna fell into her seat with a sigh, rubbing her temples, “She is absolutely exhausting to deal with.”

  “Not gonna deny it,” Viria smirked. “She’s still mad at me for kicking her ass the other day, isn’t she?”

  “Her ego is as fragile as it is big, really.”

  “Want me to make some coffee?”

  “Yeah.” Ivanna nodded. She could definitely use some. Viria set up the kettle with a few simple motions of her wrist, and was pouring it out into a cup minutes later. She went over to the seat before her table and plopped onto it, sipping it carefully. Ivanna stared at her, eye brow raised. Viria noticed.

  “What?” she said cheekily.

  “Where’s my cup?” Ivanna deadpanned.

  “Oh, you wanted some?” Viria smiled. “I only asked you if you wanted me to make coffee, but not for you.”

  Ivanna groaned and hit the back of her head repeatedly against the backrest of her seat with a whine, “Viriaaaaaaa!”

  “I’m kidding.” She laughed, “I made you some, too. Wait.”

  Ivanna couldn’t believe she was her favorite. She was infuriatingly cheeky about everything, always a mischievous bullet looking for trouble. She’d tested Morrigan’s patience in the morning when trying to teach her the movements to the symbols. Morrigan had let her hands and feet glow to trace her movements in the air to make sure they matched the drawing of the symbols.

  “Well…” Viria had sighed. “You’re not much of an artist, that’s for sure.”

  Morrigan could only hold the bridge of her nose and force herself to be nice to Viria so that she would keep co-operating as much as she already was. She’d never met anyone as sarcastic as Viria, though.

  “Can’t you establish a connection with your life tree so that it can teach it to you?” Viria had inquired absently, but she noticed Morrigan stiffen at the question. That gave answers to most of Viria’s suspicions. Since the witch was supposed to be dead ages ago, her tree would have died with her in her allotted time. Cheating death did not leave loopholes for the life tree.

  “Mine is too far away to do so,” she had huffed, so Viria shrugged it off, seemingly nonchalantly. Morrigan didn’t even suspect her of anything from what Viria and Ivanna had both observed. All was going as well as it should have been.

  Viria was in bliss. She received plenty of gifts, praises, and love from Morrigan. She felt bad for Morrigan sometimes because she could see her affection was very genuine. She also gave Ivanna just as much importance. But despite her love, they knew they could not be blinded to her true nature by it.

  It was much to Viria’s luck that she had left the High Council’s room late from reading that she felt the urge to go to the highest tower and see what it held. She knew Ivanna still had an hour’s worth of paperwork to skim through, so Viria decided to use the time to quench her curiosity. Finding the stairway that lead above, she brought herself to float and sped all the way to the top. It took around five minutes, and would have easily taken her around twenty because she hated stairs.

  A door awaited her. It was old and decaying, wood chipping away from here and there. It was left slightly ajar, only a small crack to spare. Someone was definitely in there and she didn’t want to alert them in case of angering them for wandering in places that she shouldn’t, so she stepped away until she noticed how shiny the hinges were in comparison to the rotting door.

  Someone doesn’t want people to hear the door open, she realized. Deeming it safe, she opened the door carefully. It moved soundlessly and she enchanted herself into invisibility and slipped inside.

  It was a barren room smelling of dust and moss, damp and cold. It seemed empty except for whatever was happening right in the middle of it. A red symbol glowed on the ground where someone floated in the center of it, bound by chains. His neck and wrists were red and was dressed in nothing but dirty rags barely hanging off one of his shoulders. There were seven smaller symbols around the larger one within which the man floated, each symbol occupied by a member of the High Council chanting something in unison as they themselves floated. It sounded sinister. Downright evil. She wasn’t sure if she should be here but she couldn’t get herself to move.

  Right, this was not a good idea, she thought as she watched on. The man’s whole body started turning red, and he thrashed around in his bounds trying to escape. His mouth opened in pain for a scream, but absolutely nothing came out. Morrigan was right before him on her symbol, and she gently levitated forward toward him, her voice growing louder, her chants different from the other. Viria could not completely make out what she was saying but she could translate a few words.

  To collect.

  Extract.

  Dark magic.

  Soul to be perished.

  Viria did not understand. But the more she watched, the more it made sense as to what Morrigan’s life force was. She saw a ball of dark energy, tainted with sin surface from the wizard’s chest and fall into Morrigan’s hands, and all the life left the man. But they all kept chanting until the man turned blue, then black, fading away into ashes.

  Morrigan’s symbol moved from its place and toward her at the center of the circle, where she stood chanting. And when the symbol was right under her, she lifted the ball to her mouth and sipped it all into herself in one go. And that was something that – according to what Viria had studied – should have killed her.

  But it didn’t. And that was all she felt she needed to see before she darted out of the room and downstairs. She didn’t want to wait until the whole ritual was over. She did not want to be discovered.

  ****

  They got home late that evening and denied dinner. Viria pulled Ivanna into her room and told her everything she had seen.

  “That’s why she stinks of death and darkness!” Viria threw her arms in the air, “It keeps her going!”

  “So, she’s immortal?” Ivanna
said asked. Rye sat silently curled around her shoulders, listening carefully.

  “Yes! She needs to be killed somehow if you’re ever going to put your plan into action.”

  “Not killed, Viria. Restrained,” she explained gently, “I need her alive to extract all the essence and memories that I can before she can be executed. I need to know if there are people outside the community affected by her.”

  “Then what about the squadron?” Viria insisted, “Grippin, Fae, and all the other instructors were there aiding her!”

  “Very much against their will, I assure you,” she put a hand on her shoulder, “They’re fine. They’re waiting for me to take over and release them from that hell-hole.”

  “So what are we going to do?” Viria sighed. The cubs sensed her discomfort in their sleep and were quick to stumble their way to her and settle into her lap. It relaxed her considerably.

  “Hey, what’s with you?” Ivanna reprimanded, “You’re the genius here. Think!”

  “All right,” Viria breathed. “From what is pretty obvious to me, she’s put some of her essence in you that keeps you two connected without any invasion of privacy except for the fact that you can trace the other’s location easily.”

  “Ah, she’s done that with Nina,” Ivanna muttered to herself.

  “Whoever Nina is, she comes later,” Viria snapped, “Now what we need is to make sure we turn the heads of other communities against her.”

  “I don’t think they’re very clean themselves.”

  “The other community heads have been following consistent life spans, Ivanna,” she explained, “You walked the Hall of Witchcraft Community. They have everyone’s picture there. But there hasn’t been another picture in our community’s aisle for centuries. All the other’s do. My guess is Morrigan’s seen about six reelections already in each community from her time since she was head. Three centuries as head of this community, although God knows when she started this ritual.”

  “I have no influence upon them unless I take Morrigan’s place.” Ivanna sighed. “And I can’t for the time being. We need another approach.”