The Witch

by Calle J. Brookes

  She stood and shivered in the cold wind. Her shirt was ripped and ragged, he could see pale strips of her skin exposed to the harsh Evalanedean weather. Her blue pants were thankfully intact.

  “Where are we going?”

  He looked out at the sea behind them. This part of the continent had once been prone to extremely harsh and violent windstorms, made worse when those storms built over waters. He strongly suspected that hadn’t changed in five thousand years. “As far from the coast as we can get on foot. Come.”

  He held out a hand for the pack she still wore on her back. How had she managed to pull him from the sea with what had to be fifty pounds or more strapped to her back? She was far stronger than she looked. “Give me the bag. You keep your sword.”

  She nodded, then looked around. But she gave him the bag. “I don’t really know what we are supposed to do now.”

  “And here I thought you had all the answers, trusted your precious destiny to guide you.” The stubborn look returned to her face immediately. Like he’d known it would. He did not like to see his female looking so defeated. If he had to pester her to get her spirit back, then he would do so. And ask her forgiveness later.

  “You truly do not understand destiny…or faith, do you?”

  “The two are not one and the same. I will be no one’s bitch puppet on a string. I make the choices I make not because some isolated nothing on a rush of power decrees it.”

  “You resent the Fates, don’t you?” She gripped the hilt of his brother’s sword with one hand, but she accepted the one he held out to her. He helped her over the rough igneous rocks that lined the shore, her acquiescence concerning him. She’d been confident and a leader, strong and assured, since the moment their journey had begun. But now…

  Now she looked like a confused young girl, frightened and almost frail. Every protective instinct he had ever possessed was rearing its head, demanding he put her someplace safe, while he went and slayed the dragons they both faced.

  But he knew her well enough now to know she would never welcome such from him. “I do not resent the Fates you follow so closely, but I do not allow them to decree my path. They’ve screwed with my life enough as it is. Yet I am beginning to question my beliefs on destiny in recent days.”

  “Yet some could argue that every action we make leads to our destiny.”

  “Do you really believe such foolishness?” And why were they having this discussion now? All of their energy should be focused on finding shelter and sustenance for the night. Though he was certainly skilled enough to find a fish or two for her to eat. And the coast of Evalanedea’s waters had always had plentiful supplies of root vegetables and berries sweeter than any he had ever tasted.

  How he had missed the foods of his homeland these past thousands of years.

  It was a few moments before he realized he was actually looking forward to the rest of the night.

  He was home.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Loren watched him for a moment, making sure he wasn’t injured more than he let on. “What do we do now?”

  “We find a place to wait out the storm.” He pulled her to her feet and they hurried off the shore. “If this continues it will get nasty. I do not want you caught out in it.”

  “We need to find Deki.”

  “My brother will be fine. I doubt he was caught in the same trap that were we.”

  “I hope so. Do you think he’s here? The Dark Sorcerer?”

  He didn’t say anything for a long time. “I do not know. Why would he be? It has been so long. Did he not get what he wanted from Evalanedea and move on to other worlds? I feel that is more likely.”

  “So what was that?”

  “Some sort of curse or spell designed to deter anyone from finding something. Something he finds important.”

  “And what would that be?”

  “I do not know. But we will return after the storm and find for ourselves.”

  Loren looked at him. “Thank you. For being here with me.”

  “I would not rather be anywhere else.”

  For the first time she thought he meant it. There wasn’t even a hint of a joking undertone this time. Was it just because of the Fates that he said it, though?

  Hopefully they would live through this and they could figure out what that meant between them. “Shelter. Any suggestions?”

  “At one point this place was littered with caves just above the hide tide line. I do not know if they still exist. The only other option is to find a cottage or something. And with the condition that the true Darda city was in I do not think that would be a good choice.”

  “Cave it is, then.” The idea almost nauseated her. To be caught underground for hours was a particular nightmare of hers. From what she remembered of her father, it was a common one of most Druids.

  Druids were meant to be where they could see the sun and the sky.

  “I know, little witchie, but you will have me to keep your mind off the fears.”

  They got lucky and found a decent size hole halfway up the cliff. It had a small, narrow opening that he had to turn sideways to enter, but the initial cavern opened up to be about seven feet by ten feet. Small and cramped, but drive. And hopefully safe.

  “You are to stay here. I will return to the shore, find something for us to eat. I trust you can control a small bit of fire, enough to warm a fish or such?”

  “Of course. But…I don’t like the idea of you going out there alone.”

  “I will return shortly. I know this place, or at least I did. And I can move more quickly alone. Stay here.” He grinned at her. “Make our happy home until your male returns to you.’

  She could have pressed the issue but didn’t. “Just hurry, please. I can hear the storm getting closer.”

  **

  Jushua hurried. It was a simple matter of returning to the shore and gathering enough clams for them to enjoy. There were trees nearby that were fruiting, with the types of fruits that were both savory and juicy. They could roast some and drink the juice of others.

  They would not go to sleep hungry this eve.

  The storm was blowing in faster than he wanted to consider and he feared the little nest he’d found for them would not suffice. They would have to find a way to block the opening, to prevent water from running in from the cliffs above.

  He solved the problem by grabbing a handful of large palm leaves from the fruit tree and rolling them together. They were half as big as he was and thick. They would do. He grabbed a few more to carry back to the witchie. She could use them as bedding. And he would be there to keep her warm, if needed.

  Something had changed between them when they’d been hurtling through the atmosphere, hadn’t it? Some softening on her part to him, some determination and hope on his.

  She was for him, just as surely as the witchie Cass was for his reborned brother. She was his. And it was his right and duty to protect her.

  That was where he had almost failed her earlier. A mistake he would not be letting happen again.

  Jushua picked up his pace and hurried back to her.

  She had a small, magical fire going near the entrance. Perfect, and self-contained with a magical dome to filter any smoke from filling their air. She looked up at him, concern on her face. “You are soaked.”

  “Yes. But I will dry.” He attached the palm leaves to the opening by ripping the edge of one leaf and squeezing out the thick glue-like liquid. It would dry quickly, if he recalled correctly, and the leaf door would help trap the heat from her fire. “I brought sustenance, my queen.”

  “Don’t be a dork.”

  “I am not familiar with this term…dork. What is it?”

  “A dork is…forget it. Let’s eat, and try to come up with a plan.”

  “We shall do so.”

  They did exactly that, though the planning state of things wasn’t what Jushua would have wished. But he understood; there were so many unknown concerns that a truly working plan could n
ot be created. He would just have to deal with that.

  She fell asleep earlier than he would have expected, attesting to the strain the events of the day had put upon her. He watched her for a long while, then when she turned restless from what he knew had to be nightmares he pulled her into his arms.

  “Loren…you do not need to fear anymore. I am here. You no longer face this alone.” He whispered the comfort though he knew she was asleep and most likely did not hear him. She turned and slipped an arm around his shoulder.

  She snuggled into him, pressing her feminine body against his, even in her sleep.

  Maybe her subconscious self knew that what would lay ahead for them, between them, was what was meant?

  He kissed her, unable to help himself. He could have lost her this day, had he not grabbed ahold of her the last second, would he have?

  He did not want to think about it.

  Jushua remembered his mother in the early days after the loss of his father. Eaudne had been so broken.

  He and Loren had had nowhere near as long with each other as his parents had had, but he would not—could not—begin to think about that kind of loss.

  He did not know if he loved her—he was not so foolish as to discount the short amount of time they had been together—but the threat of that loss terrified him.

  He could not lose her. He just couldn’t.

  Jushua held her while she slept, until he too drifted off.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Loren woke before Jushua did, and it was with the knowledge of what she needed to do. And it did not involve the man who held her so closely throughout the night.

  She’d awakened a few times, and he had been there each and every one. She felt a blush hit her cheeks when she recalled the things he’d done to her during some of those times.

  They hadn’t made love—she wasn’t ready for that, yet—but they’d engaged in some seriously heavy petting and making out. Enough for her to know in her soul that a part of her had already made a conscious choice to be with him.

  Provided she survived the next twenty-four hours.

  If he did.

  That thought had her stopping.

  Leave him. It is not his path to take these next steps. It is yours.

  The sword again. She was almost used to it giving her directions at the time when she needed it most. It was still a little bit creepy, though.

  Creepy or not. This is your destiny. So kindly get to it.

  She gave one last look at the big male sleeping next to the fire, and knew exactly what it was she had to do.

  **

  Jushua woke the moment she removed the leaves hiding the door, and fear filled his heart faster than it ever had in his lifetime. He followed her, hastily grabbing his bag of supplies.

  She knew where she was going, and he followed as fast as he could.

  There was something hampering him, a spell of some sort similar to the fog Dekimos had used against him a few days earlier, and similar to that which Nalik the Reborned had described to Jushua months ago.

  How had the reborn one managed to shake it off? Was it something only a Laquazzeana could manage?

  Whatever it was she’d done to him, he could barely move to keep her in sight. Only his determination allowed him to manage at all.

  Why had she left him?

  Did she not trust him? Or was it something else?

  She picked her way straight down the coast, moving at a speed that should not have been possible. Her speed was just enough to separate the distance between them even more. He could barely see her as she made her way unhindered straight into the old Darda city, toward the very ruins they’d been expelled from the day before.

  What was she about?

  **

  Loren could feel him behind her and that spurred her on even faster. This was something she had to do by herself. She knew it.

  Take me to the center of the gardens of my mother.

  She obeyed. “What am I supposed to do when I get there?”

  You will know.

  “Will this kill you?”

  I do not know. But it is my path, and one I have waited so long to follow. This is meant. Do not question, Nelanora. This is meant. You cannot follow the Fates some of the time, and disregard them the rest. Balance must be everything.

  “Will this kill me?”

  She could almost feel the sword’s hesitation. I do not know.

  “Well, I appreciate your honesty, at least. Not like I haven’t died before.”

  Jushua follows.

  “I know.” He was what she regretted most of all. “I’m sorry about him. I wish I hadn’t found him.”

  Jushua’s path will be met by his choice. Regrets have us all. Do not wish your time together away. You are fortunate to have even a single eve together.

  The sword was hurting. For itself, and for Jushua. “Where’s Deki? Do you know?”

  Dekimos is fulfilling only a part of his destiny. He will be where he is needed most, soon.

  Loren didn’t know what to say to that. So she just kept walking. The spell she’d put on Jushua would wear off soon, and she didn’t have too much time left. Not if she wanted to keep him safe from whatever was to come.

  The Dark Sorcerer wasn’t—at least, she didn’t think he was. He hadn’t been in this world in a very, very long time. What they’d run into yesterday had been a residual curse the Dark Sorcerer had used to protect something.

  It was her fate to find that something.

  Because it was needed to stop him. “Tell me. What am I looking for.”

  A stone circle, no taller than your ankle. Inside will be a citrine the color of my brother’s eyes, if you wish to get so poetic. It is the last blood of my fallen father. Put me into it.

  “Ok, all Sword-in-the-Stone-ish. I get it.”

  Not all Gaian myths are Gaian in origin. Some are the results of our prognosticators telling our own legends. Sometimes our stories get…adopted. Gaians are thieves, you know.

  “Got you. So this is all preordained? I can deal with that. Arthur lived, I guess.”

  It took her a scant twenty minutes to find the piece the sword spoke of. Why had it been so easy?

  Because I have made it so. The Dark Sorcerer was not the only one who possessed strong gifts. There were others.

  “And you were one of them. I get that.”

  Lift me. Drive me through the citrine and say this…

  She repeated the Evalanedean words he told her until she had them memorized.

  She took a deep breath and looked over her shoulder. She could see his blond head in the distance. Jushua was getting closer.

  Now. Do it now.

  Loren lifted the Sword of Estacles and drove it into the jewel.

  Someone screamed, from somewhere far, far away. Loren knew who it was in that moment.

  The Dark Sorcerer. Somewhere.

  The world fractured around her.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  The gardens collapsed under her, bringing her and everything around her down to a cavern that had to have been beneath the gardens for thousands of years.

  Loren crawled free of some of the rubble and looked around.

  Terror filled her.

  She’d been wrong. The Dark Sorcerer had tied his soul to this world somehow. And when she’d broken the Stone of Cres, Jushua’s father’s citrine stone, it had brought the Dark Sorcerer back to here.

  Where he was now. Right in front of her.

  He’d been risen for far longer than anyone had expected, hadn’t he?

  Her dreams had been so, so wrong.

  She hadn’t been the one to bring him out of the confines he’d been trapped in, she’d been destined to bring the knowledge of his waking to the rest of the worlds. To do that, didn’t she need to survive?

  Some of the guilt in her heart lessened. She had always thought she would be the one responsible for so many lost lives at this monster’s hands.

  But that was not what
the Four Fates had had in store for her.

  And for the first time in more lifetimes than she cared to think about, she felt…

  Hope.

  And that had her grabbing the hilt of the Sword of Estacles and lifting it with the surety that the original owner had tried to instill in her heart when she was Nelanora.

  “For all the worlds, my blade will feel your blood soak within it.”

  He smirked at her, a tall lean man with black hair and frozen green eyes. He was bigger than Dekimos, but she didn’t think he was larger than Jushua. But there was strength there, and there was power.

  Evil.

  She could feel it wafting off him.

  “Think you a mere girl can defeat me? That was your downfall before, wasn’t it? I did not want your blood, would have been content to keep you as concubine. Even then. Still might be.”

  “I’ll cut off your head—both of them—before you ever touch me. But do we just stand here, playing the talking game? Or should I just cut off your damned head and then go home in time to watch Lord of the Rings for the hundredth time?”

  “You have matured. Your body is not so childish, but your blood…diluted with human and other pieces of refuse. Pity.” He stepped through the stone archway, closer to her than ever. “Had it not been for that…your ancient lineage would make you quite valuable. Evalanedea has changed in five thousand years.”

  “Not much.”

  “No. But enough that one of the original families’ heirs would fetch a goodly amount of gold. Either to breed you, or remove you as a threat to the throne.”

  “What? Isn’t the throne your potty chair? Wasn’t that why you killed my family?”

  “I killed them because they were in my way. It was as simple as that.”

  “In the way of what?”

  He was down the first step now. Loren forced herself to breathe calmly, to wait, to prepare.