Abandoned Witch (Shadow Claw Book 6)

by Sarah J. Stone

  Viria fell into her bed in frustration. She tried to breathe deeply to calm herself. Meanwhile, Rye was telling Ivanna something to which she nodded.

  “Viria, listen to me,” Ivanna shook her knee, “Hey, listen. Let’s keep quiet about this and wait it out. See what else we can discover. You focus on your classes with her while I start building connections around. Among the other paranormal beings. I have contacts that can make things easy for me. That’s what I’d been doing when I stumbled onto you in the woods. There was a community of bear shifters, the Shadow Claw pack. Their Alpha, Dorran, has pledged full support to me after finding out I trained under Morrigan. He doesn’t know how evil she is, though, but he will definitely help when it comes to taking a stand. I’ll continue to build personal alliances with other shifters, but it will take time. Probably a few years.”

  Viria pushed herself upright. “That is a very long time. Will we be okay?”

  “I survived under her for five years, so yeah,” she chuckled. Viria huffed, but nodded.

  “Let’s hope this turns out well for all of us soon enough in the future…”

  Chapter 11

  “Can’t believe you’re already fifteen!” Morrigan cried as she held her, “You’ve grown so tall, too!”

  Viria gagged quietly over Morrigan’s shoulder as she held her and Ivanna concealed a laugh.

  “I was fifteen when I first came here,” Ivanna recalled, “but Viria had pretty much surpassed me at the age of ten back when she first arrived.”

  “How time flies…” Morrigan sighed as she pulled back to rub Viria’s arms. She pushed back a long lock of light brown hair delicately from Viria’s face. “Look how beautiful you’ve become. The boys must be all over you.”

  “Ha!” Viria and Ivanna scoffed at the same time, then looked at each other and laughed mischievously before Viria explained, “The boys are afraid of me Morrigan. Men intimidated by strong women are not worth my time.”

  “I’m glad you have your priorities set, sweetheart.” Morrigan chuckled, “but there are more important things to address at the moment. Like, well, where do you want your birthday party to be this year?”

  She sighed. “Like always, Morrigan, you don’t have to.”

  “We’ll just have a birthday dinner here again then!” Morrigan replied with a cheery clap of her hand, “Now that that’s settled, I’ve decided to give you the whole week off from training.”

  “A whole week!” Viria claimed.

  “Well, you’ll still be busy,” she admitted, “There are a few candidates from the first batch who have passed through all regulatory tests for kinetic witchcraft. All that is left is the interview and you shall be conducting them!”

  “Wow, hey, I can do that!”

  “Exactly,” Morrigan cheered, “and since you’re the one who discovered and introduced this combat technique, who else is better to judge who learns them than you?”

  “Sounds great, Morrigan,” she agreed. “When do they come in?”

  “In two days. We’re still shortlisting people.”

  “I’ll take it up, but where will you be?”

  Morrigan smiled secretively. “I have a few errands to run and things to check up on in the other communities.”

  Viria only smiled and nodded. Morrigan gave her a pat on the back and let Ivanna and her off, reminding them the dinner party would be at eight in the evening that day.

  “Should I follow after her?” Ivanna asked Viria when they got home. Viria shook her head and smirked.

  “She’s shared her essence with me,” she revealed, “which explains why I keep trying to excuse her behavior and form a bond. But that also means I have access to her consciousness that I can visit while meditating.”

  “But won’t she know? You taught her everything you knew,” Ivanna said, but rolled her eyes at Viria’s cheeky smile, “You’ve been a step ahead this whole time, haven’t you?”

  “I mean, I can’t just teach someone my ways and allow them the capability to destroy me in any way, can I?”

  “Wow.” She sighed as Viria grinned and got comfortable in her seat and turned the radio on. “Really, Viria, wow. Now what next?”

  “I tap into her consciousness while I meditate and see whatever she does,” she stated simply, “Undo it all behind her back if possible. We need to make sure her alliances aren’t too strong. We need to weaken her support base. Everyone operates on fear. Fear almost never works out for the person in power. We’ll turn it on her.”

  “Please don’t talk like that, oh, my God.” Ivanna sighed. “You sound ridiculously old.”

  Viria only laughed. They reached home and the two already knew what to expect. The confetti was popping the second they walked through the door, and their mom and dad jumped out with cake and presents. The girls’ familiars bounded toward them and held on excitedly, especially the cubs.

  “Get creative already, guys.” Ivanna laughed.

  “Hey, we took you to the resort last year, didn’t we?” their dad retorted, “That was creative.”

  “Viria, do you want to go anywhere this year?” their mom intervened, “You hardly receive any presents.”

  “Well, I’ll be pretty busy this whole week, honestly,” Viria admitted, “so maybe some other time?”

  “You always say that!”

  “I like home better than any other place, trust me,” Viria said, “So let’s just watch movies together tonight after I’m back from the dinner party.”

  “Sounds good.” Their dad nodded. “Want to eat anything in particular while at it?”

  “Let’s have lasagna.”

  “Done!”

  ***

  It wasn’t as tense as it was five years ago on her tenth birthday party. Mrs. Grippin had grown soft over the years for Viria and was probably one of the most resourceful people Viria had come across. Mrs. Grippin took out the time to train with her, being the most powerful witch in vicinity. For all they trained, it was found that Viria had a deficiency of qi within her because of her past that the life tree locked away insistently, not allowing her to deal with it. Mrs. Fae understood the good reason behind it, knowing how cruel Viria’s experiences could turn her. The tree knew now was not the time. Viria had let her access the brutal memories through the scars she held. And it was too painful to watch, but she saw it all.

  Mrs. Fae understood more than anyone did. Mrs. Grippin on the other hand was sour about it, knowing the potentials Viria could reach if only she tried to come to terms with her past. But she didn’t understand how young she was and despite the way she talked about the world, she wasn’t emotionally as adept and mature.

  “Have you decided what to do with the birthday bonus you’ll receive?” Saun, one of the wizards in the High Council asked, “I hope you don’t stow it away again like every year.”

  “Guess that’s what’s going to happen this year, too.” Viria laughed, “I’m not very creative when it comes to birthdays.”

  “Isn’t there anything you want at all, though?” came Yale’s question. Yale was one of the quietest people in the Council, but that would change around Viria.

  “I already have all that I could ask for, really,” Viria replied, “What more could I want? Anyway, I’m hoping the money will come to good use in the future, so gotta be prepared.”

  “Goodness, what could you be planning to do?” Morrigan laughed, and the others followed suit. Viria and Ivanna laughed, too. The dinner proceeded smoothly, everyone wishing her well and discussing their own lives with an ever curious Viria.

  Because of the High Council, she’d gained a respectable reputation in the community and created an image for herself. To say she was admired would be an understatement. The kids aspired to be her. There were times she would head to the school some mornings to drop by the student lounge and have a chat with the members of the High Council and deliver messages from Morrigan before she left for the headquarters for training. The
kids would watch her in her flowing black silk robe that indicated her status in the eyes of the High Council. It awed them to see how someone so young had come to earn such a name and status for herself. Her intelligence was obvious in the way she spoke, walked, and looked.

  But not everyone was admiring her. Some were downright envious. Mostly children who were acquainted with the High Council through family or parents. They’d trained hard to be prodigies, to be legends. And this one scrawny little thing came in and snatched it all away.

  The disrespect was real, but so was Viria’s wit that left the students in hallways falling to their knees with laughter, or bursting with “Ooh, burn!” every time. She had grown very cheeky over the years, and some of the younger mischievous ones were taking notes.

  “You’ve started some trend here,” Mrs. Fae laughed, “about being savage or something to be cool. Oddly enough, it’s putting everyone in their place. The kids aren’t as rude even with their occasional burns.”

  “Glad to know my shitty personality has done some good.” Viria smirked. “So, about the list of candidates…”

  “Ah, yes!” she exclaimed and opened her locker, handing her a file, “They’ll come in the afternoon. There’s a classroom arranged for you. Room eighteen. Best of luck!”

  “It’s these kids who’ll need it more,” she waved the file. “I won’t go easy on them.”

  “Don’t be so cruel,” Mrs. Fae laughed. Viria smiled and left her office.

  Mrs. Fae knew she’d be absolutely brutal.

  The disrespect was real, but so was Viria’s wit that left the students in hallways falling to their knees with laughter, or bursting with “Ooh, burn!” every time. She had grown very cheeky over the years, and some of the younger mischievous ones were taking notes.

  “You’ve started some trend here,” Mrs. Fae laughed, “about being savage or something to be cool. Oddly enough, it’s putting everyone in their place. The kids aren’t as rude even with their occasional burns.”

  “Glad to know my shitty personality has done some good,” Viria smirked, “So, about the list of candidates…”

  “Ah, yes!” she exclaimed and opened her locker, handing her a file, “They’ll come in the afternoon. There’s a classroom arranged for you. Room 18.Best of luck!”

  “It’s these kids who’ll need it more,” she waved the file. “I won’t go easy on them.”

  “Don’t be so cruel,” Mrs. Fae laughed. Viria smiled and left her office.

  Mrs. Fae knew she’d be absolutely brutal.

  “Why do you want to learn this technique?” Viria inquired. She had no questions prepared for any of them. She simply wanted to see how their brains worked.

  “Well, to be stronger for our community, of course.”

  “Any aims for yourself?”

  “Not really.” The young wizard shook his head. “My community is everything.”

  She hoped to God the guy was lying, but she’d reject him either way. Two things she did not want in her students was complete abandon of self, and dishonesty. He defied a category in ways she knew could not be changed. He would be used by Morrigan easily and would be giving up more than self-importance - which, according to Viria, he had none of.

  She discreetly crossed out his sheet. Rejected. “Interesting,” she feigned approval, “Well, I think that’s all for today. You’ll receive the results in a week.”

  “Thank you,” he said.

  “You may leave.”

  He gave a small bow of his head before he left the room.

  “Idiot,” she muttered at the wizard under her breath. “What do these kids go about thinking of themselves!”

  Out of the six people she interviewed, she’d only approved of two. She figured it was good enough a start, and hoped more capable witches and wizards would show up. But the remaining fifteen that came and went proved to be disappointing, save for one.

  She was an innocent little thing who’d kept to the shadows for most of her life. She didn’t like the community’s rude demeanor and followed her personal beliefs, keeping out of the way of contradictions. And she handled them well whenever she came across any. This girl was a prime example of who she wanted with her. At mind, though, she was still slow. But she was still better than the rest.

  She had selected two wizards and a witch to pass and gathered their reports in a separate file, shredding the rest that had been rejected. And she was on her way to the HQ from there. She dropped by Ivanna’s office to give her the files and plopped onto the couch there, closing hr eyes.

  “You’re tired already?”

  “They drained my energy with their low IQ.” Viria sighed. “We have three potential people, though.”

  “Three is good enough, to be honest,” Ivanna admitted. “Too many people are too shitty to be given such power.

  “Totally,” she agreed sleepily. Ivanna flicked her wrist and brought over a blanket onto Viria small and frail form.

  “I’ll wake you up when Grippin comes over to train with you,” Ivanna told her. “Sleep tight, little one.”

  “I’m not little.” She yawned. Ivanna only laughed.

  “You’ll always be the little one to me.”

  Chapter 12

  Morrigan seemed upset. Viria felt her raw disappointment as she tapped into consciousness to what she was doing.

  “We’ve lost track of Nina again,” someone said to her from across a huge bowl brimming with red liquid. Morrigan lifted her head to a wizard.

  “I know,” her voice echoed in Viria’s head, “but try again.”

  The wizard nodded and spread his hands over the crimson liquid, chanting darkly as he dipped his finger into it and drew out a symbol that glowed ruby red against the liquid. By the looks of it, Viria was sure it was blood. Whatever was happening, she knew that Nina had managed to create a barricade between herself and Morrigan’s essence in her head, keeping her from being located. And so Morrigan had turned to the dark arts. Creating an essence within another was dark arts in of itself. Morrigan was involved in a lot of it, but everyone was too blind and dumb to see it. Ivanna didn’t know a lot of the truth until Viria came around to explain it. Viria found out more in five years than Ivanna had in ten, and the other member of the community had in…never. She didn’t blame the community, but the people could be made to take responsibility for their own actions at least.

  The surface of the liquid became clear, and then foggy just as instantly. Morrigan sighed and turned away. “It’s all right. Just keep watch and inform me on the slightest hint.”

  “Will do.”

  Viria pulled herself from Morrigan’s consciousness, then out of her meditative state.

  “What did you see?” Ivanna whispered.

  “No one’s here to listen, Ivanna.” Viria chuckled. “Anyway, she was looking for Nina. She seemed pretty heartbroken at failed attempts.”

  “I thought she’d put her essence in Nina and could find her.”

  “Then she would have brought her back by now,” Viria stated coolly. “Sure, she must be great at escaping her before. Morrigan’s only started using blood baths to look for her. Something must’ve happened to Nina to barricade her essence in her head, but not diminishing it.”

  “Any idea what it could be?”

  “She definitely formed some kind of a bond with someone that’s causing the interference,” Viria said. “I’d say she’s been mated or something… what’s the deal with Nina, anyway?”

  “Ah, her?” Ivanna started, “She was a prodigy and next in line before she ran away. Then I came along to take Morrigan’s place for the future. I’m pretty sure she found out all that you did and decided she couldn’t deal with it.”

  “That was a dumb as fuck move, oh, my God.” Viria sighed in exasperation.

  “She had her reasons, I guess,” Ivanna tried to defend, “Don’t judge her. She was super nice and a good friend to me.”

  “Still dumb,
Ivanna,” Viria said pointedly. “No offense, though.”

  “Anyway,” she continued dismissively, “Nina has been run this whole time.”

  “No,” Viria interrupted, “She just got away. Been a few weeks, I’d say. She’d been up in the Inner Circle, never the High Council.”

  “Wait, what?”

  “I suppose, she tried running away a few years ago,” Viria said, calculating her analysis. “Morrigan had sent the High Council after her and never told us. Grippin and the rest aren’t just about combat, they’re witch hunters, too. I saw their equipment when they came back that day whispering about catching a stray. They never say her name around here.”

  “Well, I don’t see why they should.” Ivanna sighe., “She broke Morrigan’s heart when she ran away from her. Morrigan loved her and she insisted Nina call her Mother.”

  “She was probably obsessed with Nina’s power,” Viria stated. “Morrigan is incapable of love. Her soul is in tatters.”

  “Nevertheless, she’s still wants Nina to take her place.”

  “I sure hope Nina keeps running, then.”

  “There’s still a problem with her, though,” Ivanna stated. “I heard she’s threatened to destroy the community.”

  “Best believe it’s a rumor ‘cause anyone from the Inner Circle would know how dumb of a move that may be,” Viria snorted.

  “The members of the High Council said so!”

  “They’re conditioned to believe what Morrigan tell them.” She sighed. “It’s an incentive to get the reaction she wants from them. Goodness, Ivanna, five years with me and I thought you would’ve figured how this all works by now.”

  “Are you calling me incompetent?” Ivanna huffed.

  “I’m calling you an idiot and that does not equate to incompetence, mind you.” Viria wagged a finger at her. “Anyway, Nina has no such plans but she is definitely awry of the community with the way she keeps running away from Morrigan. Actions of one tend to be representatives of the majority in an idiot’s eye.”