“You wouldn’t say that if something happened to your Rohan and Paxx,” said Hedy.
“Maybe not. But I hope that I would recall what it is that I feel now. They are my life, my blood. They have given me strength and protected me, and Circe. I’ve only known them for days and yet it feels like I never lived until they walked into my life.”
“I’m happy for you, Sera, really I am,” said Hedy. “But the Sisterhood is based on a community of women. We are independent and we shield ourselves from the hurt that comes with love.”
“The Sisterhood denies themselves one of life’s great pleasures. And without the Ritual, you would not have lived this long, I’ll warrant.”
“No. You have that right. I lived long enough after the death of my mates, in fact, that the Crones no longer recalled who I was or what I’d done. They welcomed me with open arms, for my skills. And for generations I’ve protected Ealdor and its inhabitants.”
“And for that I’ll always be grateful, and so will Circe. But now you need our protection. Whether I’m one of you or not, you need my help, Hedy. Melina and the Guild will come down on us soon, and they will not be merciful.”
“We Crones will fight them,” said Hedy. “We will protect the Aspirants.”
“I’m not sure that you can. There will be many of the men, the shifters. Paxx has warned me. And I know that your powers are fading. We all know.”
Hedy heaved a deep sigh. “Ever since Rohan stepped into Ealdor I’ve known that this day would come. That this battle was imminent. It’s not his fault, of course, or Paxx’s. We need to turn the tides on this place, to ensure that the future for this land isn’t bleak, ruled by the powerful who lord over the weak and vulnerable. But I must first talk to the Crones. They don’t yet know what you’ve done.”
“Let me,” said Sera. “And to the Aspirants. Let me tell them what I’ve seen, and perhaps they’ll listen.”
“All right,” said Hedy. “We’ll need all the help we can get.”
Overhead, a vulture soared and then turned away, heading towards Salem.
* * *
Inside the cave, Sasha, Guilana and Decca waited for Hedy’s return. Each of the Crones was an indefinable age and each possessed a different set of skills. Guilana had mentored Melina in her youth, teaching her offensive spells to do harm to others. These were called black magic by most, but for Guilana they were called “Offensive Defence;” protective spells in case of an encounter with a hostile animal or, worse, a hostile man.
Melina had been a sweet thing as a child, or at least she had appeared as such, and Guilana was taken in by her enthusiasm and joy, spending many hours with the young girl. When Melina had left the Sisterhood, the old woman had been shocked. She’d always thought the young woman would follow in her own footsteps, oblivious to her ambition.
Hedy was the only one who hadn’t seemed surprised, as though her Sight had offered her the ability to see Melina’s mind. But she had never disclosed her findings. And no one had reprimanded her for it; after all, Hedy wasn’t meant to control the course of the world.
And now she was handing over some of the power to Sera, who was no longer one of them. And yet, unlike Melina, she remained loyal, protective and responsible. Perhaps the Sisterhood needed more allies like her.
“Attention,” said Hedy, addressing the Crones as well as the many younger Aspirants milling about the cave. “Serafina has a few words for you. I’d suggest that you listen, as they will affect all of our fates.”
“You may or may not know by now,” Sera began, “That I have…bonded…with two men. A Shape-Changer and a shifter. One is from another time and place.”
Among the Aspirants came light chatter, but from the Crones, silence.
“This means that I am no longer eligible to be part of the Sisterhood, I know. I chose to engage in the Ritual after Circe was taken, in order to strengthen myself. But in truth I chose it for other reasons, as well. I had grown attached to the two men in question. They are good and kind, and would give their lives to protect me. And all of you. But it is my hope that they never need to.”
“So are you proposing to offer their help?” asked Decca, leaning on a crooked cane of solid wood.
“I am,” Sera said. “Their help and mine, if you will accept. When the Guild descends upon us, the young Aspirants who have not yet bonded will be vulnerable. I believe that Rohan has a plan for their safety. As for the rest of us, we will need to fight. And there may be deaths.”
“On their side, of course,” said Hedy reassuringly.
“Of course,” said Sera. “We are powerful women. Their strength is largely physical; muscular, though Melina and her mates will prove a challenge. She has already defeated my powers once, though that was before the Ritual. It’s possible that I could take her now, but I may need your help.”
“And let’s say that we defeat them,” said Decca. “What then? Will the witch hunts cease and the hangings along with them?”
“That’s my hope,” said Sera. “Paxx was a member of the Guild and he says that there are others who, like him, disagree with their methods. If he can get back and speak to them, it may make things easier for all of us.”
“I’m not sure about any of this,” said one of the Aspirants. Her name was Alana and she had bonded, granting her a certain amount of strength in the Craft. “How are we guaranteed safety after all is said and done?”
“We aren’t,” said Hedy, stepping forward. “There are no guarantees in life; none. But I can assure you of this: without the help of Serafina and her mates, we have no chance. She is now the most powerful among us, even if she no longer bears the title of Aspirant.”
“What can you do?” scoffed Alana. “How has this ‘Ritual’ made you any better than the rest of us?”
“I’m not better,” said Sera. Nyx, in ferret form, unraveled from her neck and slid down her arm, bouncing to the floor. He stepped up to Alana and, staring up at her, shifted into the form of a lion. “Well, all right,” said Sera. “He may be better.”
Sera quickly drew a rune in the air and, to the surprise of all, the fiery outline of a door appeared on the side of the cave.
“Go ahead,” she said. “Open it.”
Alana pushed the stone door open easily. Outside was Salem: the old church, the wooden houses, people wandering about, looking tense and terrified as always.
Sera held up her hand, shutting the door as Alana gaped at the scene.
“Well, that was something,” she said, surrendering. No Aspirant had ever pulled off such a trick.
“One of my mates is a Leaper,” said Sera. “He can move through time and space. And I have been learning how to apply that magic to my advantage. I can create doorways to other places, making it easier for us to move about.”
“Could you bring us to the compound?” asked Guilana.
“Yes, I suspect that I could, if that’s what you want.”
“We should take the fight to them. Surprise them.”
“No,” said Hedy. “We should prepare here. We have the advantage in this place. We know the land and there is only one entrance to this cavern, provided that you don’t include Sera’s ability to draw doors all over the place.”
Sera laughed. “So, are you in?”
“We’re in,” said Hedy. “As you know well. You have remained loyal to us, and we will return the favour, Sera.”
“Good.”
Sera turned to the wall and, with a few swipes, drew another door. “I’ll be back in a little,” she said. “Watch for us.”
She pushed the door open and, disappearing through into the interior of a small house, shut it once again.
* * *
After she’d spoken to them, Sera made her way with the men back to the cave in the woods. There was no doorway created this time; she wanted to show them the lay of the land so that they could learn to strategize; memorize the woods, potential hiding spots and weak spots.
“I’ll take the Aspirants
to Dundurn,” Rohan said as they walked. “There’s plenty of room for them, though I must warn you: there is an entire army of shifters there, who rarely get to spend time with young women.”
“They’ll be all right,” said Serafina. “They’re mostly just as stubborn as me, and they’ll slap anyone who makes advances.”
“Well, Dundurn’s men are respectful, at least. They are nothing like the nastier Guild members. But they may issue a lot of admiring glances.”
“That’s acceptable.”
“Phist,” said Paxx. “Would you go with them? Look after them?”
“Really?” replied his brother. “But what about you? You’ll need me…”
“You’re an Aspirant too, of a sort. You can’t yet shift, and as such you’re vulnerable.” Though Paxx’s words may have seemed patronizing, he was focused particularly on one item: getting Phist to Circe. He could tell that his sibling had pined for the young woman ever since her departure, and having been through a similar fate with Serafina, he understood.
“I can fight,” muttered Phist.
“I know you can, Brother,” said Paxx, slapping his shoulder. “But fighting sometimes means protecting. Do this for the Sisterhood.”
With their arrival at the cave, the men remained outdoors while Serafina entered to speak once again to the Crones. A few minutes later she emerged with the younger members of their clan.
“This is Rohan, and Phist,” she said. “They’ll take you somewhere very safe, among friends. Though they’ll no doubt look like Guild members they’re nothing of the sort—these are the noblest of shifters. Don’t worry.”
The young women looked at the two men, curious. So rarely did they interact with anything male that each in turn appeared timid, shy, in spite of their usual confidence.
“If you’ll all link arms,” said Rohan, “And be sure that your Familiars are with you. Phist, put your hand on my shoulder.” When all of them were in contact, Rohan pulled them away and in a flash they were gone, only a patch of footprint-infused dirt revealing any evidence of their existence.
“Serafina,” said Paxx. The two were alone now. “They’re coming.” He pointed to the sky, where two vultures circled, crying out, signalling that they’d found what they were looking for.
Chapter 30
Battles
“Go,” said Sera. “Do what you need to. I’ll stay and warn the others.”
Without a word, Paxx shifted into his ghostly form, skulking into the woods to sniff out any threat that might come near. Until Rohan returned, he would be their only frontline defence.
Sera went once again to the mouth of the cave, preparing herself for what was to come. She did not have the gift of Sight, but it didn’t take such gifts to know that Melina would waste no time in coming to her. She wouldn’t trust her men to do her own dirty work, either.
Hedy joined Sera, standing at her side, her hunched shoulders indicating her age and exhaustion.
“When I was young I felt that I could take on the world,” she said. “And in many ways I did just that. But now it’s your turn, and Circe’s, and the other Aspirants’. I think the time has come, Serafina, for the tides to turn. For the Crones to fade and for the Sisterhood to evolve into something suitable for the modern day.”
“The modern day is a strange concept to me now,” said Sera. “When your mate can move to any time he desires, time is no longer of consequence.”
“It will always be of consequence. We live, we die. What era we live in doesn’t matter so much as what we make of our lives.”
Hedy’s words seemed to take on a certain gravity that Sera was unaccustomed to hearing from the Crone. “Promise me, Sera, that you will lead the Sisterhood down their new path when the time comes.”
“But I’ve been expelled,” she said. “How can I lead them anywhere?”
“You will find a way. And you will find that they need you, as you need them. As you and your mates need each other.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter,” said Sera. “You’ll be by my side to help.”
“The only way that the old woman will be by your side is in death.” Sera bristled, turning her head; the voice was one of ice and foreboding.
It was Melina’s.
She stood now before them, at the edge of the woods, her keen eyes examining the cave’s entrance.
“I remember this hiding spot,” she said, pacing on the grass like a tiger contemplating its prey. “From years ago. A little foolish to still be using it, but then you Crones never were as clever as all that.”
“We Crones never expected one of our own to betray us as you’ve done, Melina,” said Hedy.
Sera braced, her hands clenching as she prepared for what was to come.
“Well, isn’t this interesting?” Melina asked, taking a few steps forward. “Three women, all of whom have engaged in the Ritual. All of us powerful. But who do you suppose is the strongest?”
Sera stepped forward, but Hedy thrust an arm in front of her to stop her.
“Don’t,” she hissed. “Stay back.”
“The strongest will always be on the side of good,” said the old woman, advancing so that she stood only a few feet from Melina. “Your type of power is corrupted, infected. Whatever you think, you will never win.”
“Won’t I?” With the words, Melina flung a hand out into the air before her and Hedy fell to the ground with a thud.
Sera ran to her side, crouching beside her. “Hedy!” she cried. Hedy’s eyes moved, but no other part of her seemed able as she appeared to have been adhered to the soil, a great weight seemingly pushing her downwards.
“Let’s see if you can fight off my infected power, old woman,” laughed Melina. “Oh, that’s right. The Ritual only empowers you for so long, and then you wither as everything else does. And don’t forget: you are ancient. Your bones are brittle. Or do you need reminding?”
Hedy winced in pain as the force grew, the invisible pressure that Melina was exerting crushing her, thrusting her frail body into the ground.
“Stop it!” yelled Sera, running at the Sorceress. She shoved the woman, who turned to her for a moment, an amused smile on her face. Nyx, accompanying her, growled at Heck, Melina’s Familiar, who’d altered into the form of a snake.
“Really now, Serafina,” said the woman. “Is that your tactic? To push me about as a child would?”
“How can you do this? How can you hurt one of our own?”
“Quite easily, as it turns out.”
Sera reached into her bag for a rune stone, glad to have remembered to gather them from the house. Quickly, she flicked her thumb over its surface.
“So that’s how it will be, will it? Magic stones?” said Melina. “You do realize that tricks of the mind are far more powerful than trinkets.”
The bag fell away to the ground, its strap torn, the stones scattering about near Hedy’s helpless body.
“Sera.”
The voice came in a rasp, Hedy barely able to move her lips.
“What is it?” Sera asked, moving towards her old friend and mentor.
“Learn from Melina. She’s right. Use your mind, not the stones. Remember that your mind is all that you need. And yours is greater than hers by far, my Serafina.”
Hedy’s eyes closed.
“No,” said Sera. “Stay here, with me. Please.”
She stood and turned to her foe, Nyx on the ground next to her, converted into his panther form. He seemed to grow to the size of a Great Dane, pacing around his Magistress’s legs. Meanwhile, the calico Familiar Heck transformed into a tiger, doing the same. It seemed that the two companions were to have a battle of their own.
But Sera’s focus was on Melina.
By now, the Crones had gathered in the cave’s doorway, watching quietly, as though they knew their place. None of them had the strength to take on a sorceress of Melina’s strength, and Serafina, who stood tall and strong, was their only hope.
“What will you do?” asked
Melina. “You helpless, weak little thing.”
“Not so weak, and not so helpless,” said Sera, thrusting a hand forward.
In the air she drew a rune: Algiz, the rune of protection. With it she cast a shield over Hedy’s body. Next came Isa, the rune of freezing. And for a moment Melina seemed to solidify into stone, the rune making its way through the air towards her frozen form, seeming to burn itself into her flesh.
And then Sera tried a new tactic, her fingers moving adeptly at her mind’s command, rapidly painting images, illusions on the air: a flock of angular birds, which flew at their target like missiles, penetrating Melina’s icy body in rapid fire. She fell back now, hitting the ground hard, blood trickling from various points.
“I am a healer,” said Sera, stepping forward. “Above all. But I will not heal you, you unholy Witch. There is no cure for your brand of evil.”
Moving slowly, each inch a massive effort, the Sorceress drew a hand up once again and attempted to use what seemed to be her only trick on Sera, who felt a sudden weight pulling her towards the earth.
“Sowulo,” Sera said softly, easily resisting the spell now.
A flash of light shot towards Melina’s eyes, blinding her so that she pulled her hands to her face to shield it. Sera’s victim was breathing heavily, but she persevered, her hand rising again to cast one of her offensive spells.
But she was already defeated.
Sera’s hand moved horizontally in one quick stroke, drawing a flaming spear on the air. And as she thrust her arm forward the spear shot forward, plunging into Melina’s chest.
The Sorceress was gone.
* * *
The Guild’s men advanced through the woods, its members attempting to take on the wolf who appeared only for a moment at a time, attacking relentlessly before disappearing again. Paxx was relatively new to fighting but found that it suited his déor extremely well.
It took Rohan a little while to find his ally and partner, but when he did he was impressed to see the ghost wolf lunging through the air, bright eyes flashing as he tore into his victims. Paxx had started with the fully-fledged shifters; those who were the greatest threat.
Illusions: Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance (The Seekers Book 1) Page 20
