by Dianna Love
Storm thought a moment. “Are you talking about the Khan witch hunts?”
“No. Those events were quite public and the Mongols did not fear going after those witches because the public was aware of them.
“Over the years, just to protect their identities and location, the KievRus coven fed rumors to convince the general public they were only a myth. But one witch got a burr up her backside, probably because she was not powerful enough to ever hold a position of leadership. She betrayed them.”
“Got it.”
Adrianna continued, “Mongol soldiers were sent covertly to behead the coven members, and the soldiers returned after being gone for four months, claiming to have killed the entire coven. But they did not bring back even one head, nor could they recall the path of their journey. Things were quiet, so everyone believed they’d been successful. They weren’t, but the coven lost its leader—the one who wielded Witchlock—and at that point they truly became more myth than reality. They took what was left of their group and went underground.”
Adrianna looked introspective for a moment before going on. “Fast forward to the late twentieth century. Two decades ago, rumors circulated that the KievRus coven was active again. Across all this time, elders in the Sterling coven have refused to dismiss an ancient foretelling that a leader would arise to once again wield the power.”
Storm asked, “They haven’t had another to wield Witchlock in all this time?”
“Not until now. The new leader has arisen, and the time approaches when she will come into power. She’s called Veronika, and she’s a direct descendant of Heide. Publicly, the KievRus refused to involve themselves in the world or its politics. But many Sterling elders suspect that the KievRus have always had a hand in directing world events from wherever they hid during each century, and that their majik has ultimately influenced many changes in the mortal world. Now Veronika is in position to take control.”
“You’ve met her?”
“Yes. As I mentioned, the Sterling family line has Norse origins just as KievRus do. Veronika and some of the Sterling coven share blood.”
Storm leaned forward. “I hope I’m wrong about where you’re going with this.”
Adrianna glanced at Storm, then back at Evalle before she answered.
“When Veronika’s family surfaced again twenty years ago, they stated that the new leader had been born, and offered to allow the Sterlings to continue to exist without threat from Veronika once she came into power if the Sterlings would hand over blood in exchange when the time came to pay up.”
Storm breathed a soft curse. Sometimes it sucks to be right.
“Your people sacrificed someone in their own coven to Veronika?” Evalle asked, clearly appalled.
“Blood wasn’t actually shed, but an agreement was struck and blood was handed over,” Adrianna explained. “When Veronika came to collect, she demanded the most powerful of our next generation. That is my sister, Ragan. Veronika locked her into a timeless stasis so Veronika could draw on Ragan to form the power nucleus for the rebirth of Witchlock.” Adrianna paused, then added, “At least, I originally thought the stasis was timeless.”
Evalle sat forward again, obviously thinking it through. “Why would they do that? Hand over their most powerful resource to another coven when that leader hadn’t come into power yet?”
“The elders believed the foretelling and that Veronika would be the one to wield Witchlock. They knew that if they didn’t take her deal, she’d find another coven who would, and even Ragan’s power would not be enough to protect them. They saw it as win-win.”
Evalle huffed at that. “The only losers being you and your sister.” She rubbed her eyes under the glasses again. “You said the KievRus were altruistic. How…?”
“I said they started out that way. When they went underground, something changed, apparently. They still talk the talk and maybe some of them actually believe that Veronika is meant to do great things for humanity, but I can feel what she’s doing to Ragan, and I can tell you that what she means to do…there’s nothing good about it.”
Storm shook his head. This was not good. He reminded Adrianna, “You have yet to say what Witchlock is specifically.”
“The Sterling historians explain it as the ability to take possession of another being’s power and control that person’s gifts or abilities. The term Witchlock comes from a convoluted translation of ancient Slavic words, which basically means for a witch to lock onto any energy and take control.”
“The drain on your sister notwithstanding, I’ve never heard of a witch that powerful,” Storm argued.
“I had not either,” Adrianna agreed. “Not until I saw the Sterling coven, which is feared by all who know them, hand over their next leader just to protect themselves.”
No wonder Adrianna never said much about being a Sterling. Storm cheered her decision to turn her back on that family. He had his own dark genetics that had almost sucked him into a bottomless abyss.
If not for Evalle, he’d be there now.
He kissed her head and felt her smile wrap his senses.
“How tough can this Veronika be?” Evalle asked.
Adrianna said point blank, “Although she’s dangerous in her own right even now, her current powers are nothing compared to what they will be when she takes possession of Witchlock. At that point, she’ll be pretty much invincible.”
“Not to a god or a goddess,” Storm qualified.
“I honestly can’t say, Storm. Veronika is descended from Heide, and Heidi is suspected of actually being Gullveig, who was burned three times and still came back to life, Veronika is not to be underestimated. And as I said, she may also be part fae. There are some things no one outside the KievRus coven will ever know.”
Storm ran a hand over his face, trying to wrap his head around the threat Adrianna clearly believed was imminent. Hard to argue with her when every word she spoke rang true to him.
Evalle sat up and started tapping the table with her fingers in a fast rhythm. “Where’s this place your sister’s being held?”
“She’s in a realm called Jafnan Mir, which is both Nordic and Russian. The words translate into Forever World. It’s similar to Iron Wood in Norse mythology, but Veronika’s ancestors created the Jafnan Mir realm.” Strain peeked through Adrianna’s calm exterior when she stifled a yawn.
Evalle asked, “How long has this been going on?”
“Ragan was taken seventeen months ago.”
“Your sister has been a prisoner for seventeen months? How can you be so calm all the time?”
Adrianna didn’t say a word at first, but her fingers curled into tight balls. “It takes every ounce of my control to remain as calm as possible. Ragan and I are twins, but we’re more than that. We were bound with majik while in the womb because we were the seventh daughters of a seventh daughter. The Sterlings knew we would be extremely powerful, but they were afraid two baby girls would divide the power. They were wrong.”
Storm understood. “You were double the anticipated power, right?”
“Correct, but Ragan and I kept it a secret for a long time so that they wouldn’t separate us.” Adrianna kept talking at an easy pace, but her fingers remained fisted so tightly her knuckles were bone white. “My sister has been locked inside her own mind for seventeen months. Like being frozen while wide awake. I can hear her every minute of every day. I can feel her breathing. If I’m upset, she feels it through the bond and my agitation would increase her stress, but she has no way to release it. For that reason, I must remain at peace to help her survive. She would have given up living immediately if she could have. She has no control over anything and when it’s bad she ... ”
Evalle whispered, “She what?”
“She screams. She rarely sleeps. She moans constantly, but it’s the screaming that is so ... difficult to endure.”
Storm had run for hours to get here and had been angry to find Evalle left alone to fight a demon, then he’d been terrifi
ed to find her falling off a mountain. He was not looking forward to the circus in her apartment when they went home, and definitely not ready to let her near a bunch of dark witches, but hearing Adrianna’s story made all of his problems appear trivial and manageable.
He couldn’t say that he would have been able to maintain the quiet calm she exuded every time he saw her. He asked, “What do we have to do to reach Ragan?”
Adrianna’s gaze faltered for the first time. She was hiding something. She stretched her fingers and clasped them loosely again. “Veronika’s ancestors will stand in the way to prevent us from reaching the center of the realm. I know where Ragan is only because she was placed in the realm before Veronika blinded her. If we do get past the guardians, the minute Ragan realizes I am near, Veronika might also know. I’ve searched and traded favors for any bit of information, but I don’t know everything. The one thing I do know is the guardians are there to keep anyone from touching Ragan. If you’re going to walk away, now is the time to do it.”
Time to wrap this up. Storm could smell the food almost ready to come out and Evalle’s stomach growled.
Storm said, “To avoid arguing, let’s say that we’re both on board to go after your sister and getting her out of there. You said you’d like me to stand guard. Why not take me?”
“To travel there takes stepping out of our bodies and crossing through a different plane.”
Evalle’s face fell. “Is this going to be like me doing that astral travel thing to find Storm in Mitnal?”
“Similar, but no. I’ll be guiding you instead of unknown spirits. With Storm staying behind to protect us, he can help send us there and insure you get back.”
“How does he do that?”
Adrianna pointed at Evalle’s chest. “You’re wearing something akin to a chakra stone, right?”
Evalle’s hand moved to her chest. “He glued an emerald on me.”
“I did not glue it,” he corrected her. “I used majik.”
Rolling her eyes, Evalle said. “He majik-glued a stone on my chest to use like a tracking device.”
He scowled. “That’s not–” Then he caught Adrianna’s smirk and looked over to find Evalle grinning. He leaned close to Evalle’s ear and said, “You’ll pay for that.”
She murmured, “I sure as hell hope so.”
“Anyhoo,” Adrianna stressed, eyes twinkling for a moment before turning serious again. “If we can’t leave the realm on our own, I’m banking on Storm jazzing up the majik on that stone so that you can alert him that we’re in trouble. He’ll pull you out the minute he senses it.”
Now Storm understood why Adrianna wanted him to stay behind. She was creating a safety net for Evalle. Evalle could hold her own with pretty much any supernatural being, but if she got into real danger, the stone would alert him and he’d yank Evalle out so fast she’d lose a day of time.
That was if he went along with her going, which was still a no in his book.
The other thing he’d noticed about Adrianna’s plan? She had no safety net for herself. “Would I be able to pull you both out?”
“No. You’ll only be withdrawing one person.”
Caught in the middle of another yawn, Evalle snapped her jaws shut and gave Adrianna a hard look. “What are you really saying?”
Adrianna had returned to her subdued self, fingers steepled and tapping silently against each other. She stilled all her motions and addressed Storm. “We need to do this. Veronika would have a battle taking over your power, Storm, but she wouldn’t tackle that fight first. She’d go after Evalle, who is vulnerable.”
Evalle said, “What? I’ll show you and Veronika vulnerable with my boot.”
“You misunderstand me, Evalle. I’m not saying you’re weak. I’m saying that you are vulnerable because you care for so many people. The KievRus majik preys on emotional vulnerabilities. When Veronika possesses Witchlock, she’ll learn everything about every powerful being that she chooses as prey. She’d especially want someone like you with Belador and Medb blood, plus you’re a gryphon to boot. When you least expect it, she’ll set a trap and catch you with your mental shields down. Once that happens, she’ll use your powers and your gifts to kill everyone who trusts you ... starting with Storm.”
Chills crawled up Storm’s spine at what Adrianna described. If she had her information right, that would be catastrophic and he could see why Evalle would be a prize to capture. “How do we stop her, Adrianna?”
She inclined her head toward him, indicating he’d finally asked the right question. “Veronika has only one weak spot right now and it’s her connection to Ragan. We have to use that link to destroy her no matter what.”
Evalle sat up as the waitress arrived.
Once the young lady left, Adrianna dipped her tea bag into the mug of hot water and continued in a low voice. “We have very little time.”
“Explain,” Storm said and took a bite of his baby back ribs. They tasted damn good, and he was starving.
“Witchlock requires specific astronomic and astrologic conditions to come into full power. Those conditions happen no more than once each millennium and not always then. Veronika’s people kept the time frame secret for many reasons, but mainly so another coven wouldn’t tamper with the power. I’ve spent every free minute trying to pin down her end game. I now have that. We have until the upcoming solar eclipse to stop her. It’s directly following a blue moon.”
Storm had just lifted his fork, but lowered it before asking. “Do you mean–”
“Yes. The solar eclipse is in two days and will be visible in this hemisphere. If we miss that window, Veronika will have no more use for Ragan. At that point, everyone with any power will be at risk, including some of the gods and goddesses. If I can get to my sister before that and open the bond link, she’ll trust me to do whatever I have to do at that point.” Adrianna put her tea bag down and dried her fingers on the napkin, then lifted her chin to face both of them.
Evalle toyed with her napkin, but she had deep thought lines marring her forehead. “Where is Veronika right now?”
“My sources say she’s in the KievRus compound in Ukraine, but the best view of the total eclipse will be in the US, so she’ll be on this continent in time for that.”
Storm considered all the things that could, and would, go wrong on any mission, especially one with little confirmed intel. “What if you can’t get Ragan out of the realm, Adrianna?”
“I have a backup plan.”
Evalle said, “Which is?”
“I’ve kept the link between Ragan and me shut down to a bare minimum connection so that Veronika doesn’t catch me not looking and find a way to latch onto my powers, too. If I can’t get Ragan out alive, I’ll open that link all the way to bond completely with her again. Together, we should be able to destroy Ragan’s connection to Veronika. That may not stop Veronika from accepting ownership of Witchlock, but it will significantly limit her range of power.”
“That might kill Ragan,” Storm pointed out.
“There’s no question that it will.”
“I hate to point out the obvious, Adrianna,” Evalle said in a sarcastic and weary voice. “But that means you both die. How is that a good plan?”
Putting her tea aside, Adrianna replied, “If I don’t stop Veronika, my sister will turn into a shade, plus none of us will be able to defend ourselves against Witchlock. Even the Medb may be vulnerable, but their new queen might just join sides with Veronika against the Beladors. I’m not suicidal, and I want to free my sister more than anything, but I’m accepting the responsibility to do what I have to if this doesn’t work.”
Storm had heard enough. “I’ll go with you, but not Evalle, and the plan will be to rescue your sister and return both of you here.”
“Wait a damn minute,” Evalle said, lighting into him. “You don’t get to say what I can do and not do.”
Adrianna said, “I haven’t told you–”
“I’m not dictating your li
fe, I’m trying to keep you safe,” Storm told Evalle, who had moved so that the light shining on her face showed the dark shadows of exhaustion. He hated for her to be run so hard and could tell how close she was to going ballistic mainly because she was too tired to prevent it.
Storm held his temper and kept his voice low. “I’m the most qualified to go with Adrianna since I carry very strong witch blood and powerful shaman blood.”
Adrianna leaned in. “If you would just listen–”
“No, he won’t listen to anyone,” Evalle snapped. “Especially me. What I say doesn’t count all of a sudden.”
“That’s not true,” Storm argued.
“Yes, it is. I’m telling you I’m just as qualified to kill anything out there as you are and you know that. But you’re dismissing me outright.”
Storm wiped a hand over his mouth. “I need you to–”
“Shut. Up!” Adrianna said just loud enough to cut through their angry words.
He turned to her and could feel Evalle’s frustration roll into anger, ready to lunge at the witch. He put his hand on Evalle’s arm and felt the pulse of her temper beating hard beneath the thumb he rubbed back and forth over the vein to calm her. She was upset because of him, not Adrianna, and the Sterling witch didn’t need Evalle’s misdirected anger at this point.
She stayed there an extra second, then quieted and sat back in her seat.
Adrianna leaned in, hands clutched together. “I’ve spent a very long time researching this and I get one shot at making it happen. I am not going to let whatever issues you two have get in the way of going after my sister. You said you’d help. If Evalle isn’t going, then tell me now, because I’m running out of time and I have to know.”
Storm held back his thoughts, allowing Evalle a chance to reply first.
Maybe he was being overbearing, but he would not lose her.
Evalle said, “I fulfill my commitments and I told you I would help you when the time came. I’m in.” She turned to Storm and her silence challenged him.
He gave in for now. “We’ll both help you.”
