There had to be a trail.
And I would find her… regardless of the cost.
Chapter 6
Aurora hurried down the corridor with only seven witches trailing behind her, not including Janus. Her face was marred with what appeared to be concern. “Nova… High Priestess. I come with news. I believe we should speak in private.”
I stepped toward her and glanced around at the witches’ present. This was not what I had asked for. “What is this about?”
She touched my arm, her lips pressed into a thin line. “Come, we shall speak inside Sadie’s chambers.”
“We can’t disturb… All right, but we must be mindful of… You will see. I wanted you to be the first, anyway.” I stepped inside and held the door open for her to enter and then closed it, chanting a silencing spell so no one would be able to hear our conversation. Once done, I leaned against the door and attempted not to breathe through my nose.
Aurora grabbed my hands and peered into my eyes. “It is the elders, Nova. They are saying Sadie is dead.”
“How would they know when no one but me has seen the evidence of her attack? This is preposterous. Am I not the leader of this coven? Am I to be dismissed without question? I will not stand for it, Aurora.” I removed my hands from hers and motioned toward the chaos that was Sadie’s room. “Look around you. Can you not see for yourself? I do not care what they say. Until such time one of their wrinkled asses is prepared to do a proper inquiry and look for themselves, I hold no stock in their decree.”
“But Nova, they are the elders. Do you not understand what this means?” Her voice was pleading, but I could no longer give a shit.
“I understand precisely what it means, dearest Aurora.” I edged closer to her and folded my arms against my chest. “It means they wish to blame dragons for a death that has not been proven. Just as they blame dragons for Mother’s death. All of which is bullshit.” I spat out that last word, and Aurora’s hazel eyes widened.
“Such language, Nova. I understand you are upset, but this is unbecoming of—”
“If they will not find her, then it’s up to me. I have no care for my language at this point in time. I’m furious. Sister Cloris made it quite clear how she felt, and I knew she would attempt to poison the elders against me.” I leaned against the wall for a moment to pause. I needed a plan.
“What do you mean, Nova? She is only one witch. She cannot—”
“But she can. Here’s what I propose. You and I are heading into the elder’s sanctuary, after we complete a location spell. I’ll share my plan on the way.”
She seemed frightened, but I couldn’t care. I had to do what was best for the coven, and I would not allow the elders to instill fear amongst my people. “As you wish. I will… gather the witches in the corridor.” Her face paled as soon as I lifted the silencing spell.
I needed twelve witches, but nine would have to do.
Aurora opened the door and ushered the witches inside, each seeming to hold their breath. “Come, come, we haven’t much time.”
I nodded toward them as they stepped into the room. “Please, gather around the bed, but be careful of the blood.” After Aurora closed the door, I chanted another silencing spell and removed the sacred blade from my robe. “Each of you clasp hands and focus on the kingdom in your mind’s eye. Upon my word, send out your senses for Sadie’s aura. My and Sadie’s combined blood will deliver her location after it’s blessed and brought forth into the power of the circle.”
As the witches murmured their agreement and closed their eyes, I placed my hand in Sadie’s blood near the bed, stood, and then sliced my palm, allowing our essence to intermingle as one.
“Blessed goddess, hear me.” I raised my hands toward the heavens, and my magic surged in and around my body with multicolored light. “Accept this blood to locate our lost sister, your daughter of the sacred silver moon. With your love and guiding light, show us Sadie’s plight. Our sacred vow, our sacred plea, with your power, blessed be.” I slammed my hands together and silver light encased the room, spreading from my palms outward.
I lowered my arms, my palms aglow with the magic of the goddess, and pushed it toward the center of the circle. Wind swept through the room and magic rose in the copper-scented air. A map of the kingdom then appeared, hovering over Sadie’s bed, and the witches’ eyes snapped open.
With Aurora near the headboard, I made eye contact, and together we followed the map. A blue dot, the color of Sadie’s aura, emerged, moving at first, and then settling in the middle of what appeared to be Silver Moon Grove.
A round of gasps sounded throughout the room, but then the dot moved again to Granton Village, located on the other side of Puck Lake and our coven, near Niverwe Bay. It made no sense. A human village?
“Dragons,” one of the younger witches, Francoise cried out and covered her mouth with her hands.
I had to restrain myself. It seemed dragon fever had been brought on by the damn elders. I waved my hand, and the magic ceased, the map coming to rest on the bed. “We now have Sadie’s location. Thank you for your assistance. And until we have concrete proof of whom or what has taken our dear Sadie, there will be no talk of dragons. What has happened in this chamber must remain in this chamber. Have I made myself clear?” I turned to each witch in the room, and they nervously inclined their head. “Very well.” I removed the silencing spell and opened the door. “You may all head back to the celebration if you wish.”
“Thank you, High Priestess.” There was an echo as the witches fled the room as though their asses were on fire.
I then glanced toward Aurora after the final witch had vacated. “We have an unscheduled meeting with the elders, and the location spell proves Sadie is, in fact, alive.” I rolled up the map and slipped it inside one of the folds of my robe.
Aurora’s face appeared a bit green, but it was no matter. She would be all right. My eyes may have been a bit wide with what could have appeared as madness, but, in reality, it was the fact I had been right. And I simply couldn’t wait to see the old hag Cloris as I told her my “tainted blood” had located our not-dead Sadie.
I would be the one doing all the talking once inside, anyway. Aurora only needed to be present as my witness.
With a somewhat gleeful and inappropriate smile on my face, I turned on my heel and marched out of Sadie’s chamber.
I was on a mission to tell the elders exactly what would happen next. And if they didn’t care for my plan, they could chew on a bundle of mugwort Sadie and I had gathered earlier.
And choke on it.
Chapter 7
“We cannot just barge into the elders’ sacred sanctuary, Nova. It simply isn’t done.” It seemed Aurora had finally found her voice.
I turned toward her and continued walking. “But we are, or at the very least, I am, and I only need you as my witness. You will be surprised by the bit of information I’ll be sharing with our dear elders.” I slowed my pace so she could keep up. “Aurora, I don’t understand how you’re not upset by what they’re insinuating, that Sadie is dead, when we know the truth—that she is very much alive.”
“Nova, that is not the case. I only wish to keep coven business separate from the elders. But”—She threw her hands up in defeat—“I suppose you are right. They must know she is alive and well, so they’ll stop with this dragon business. Honestly. Perhaps they will aid in a proper search for her now.”
I wasn’t counting on it. “Perhaps. We shall see, and if not, I have a plan.”
She pulled on my robe to halt me in my tracks. “What is it you’re thinking of doing?” She tilted my chin with her fingertips. “When your mother died, I made a vow to watch over and protect you, and I cannot do that if you put yourself in harm’s way, High Priestess or no. You must make your own path and leave your mother’s legacy in the shadows. I respect you, and you know that, but you are also like a daughter to me. You must heed my warnings when it comes to the elders. Please, do not up—”
Aurora sighed. “You’re right. You are so much like your mother: strong-willed and stubborn to the core. If you will not see reason, the least I can do is stand by your side as your maiden.”
“And that’s exactly why I need you there, dearest Aurora. I cannot trust anyone else.” I pulled her into an embrace. “Now, let’s be on our way. Time is of the essence.”
We left the keep and headed across the main courtyard toward the elder’s sanctuary.
Aurora trailed behind me. The grounds of this coven had been my home, my safe space. In these halls, I could almost hear my mother’s voice. She’d taught me never to give up, never to disregard my intuition. My mother taught me resilience, honor, and courage.
Perhaps with Aurora backing me, the elders would understand that we needed to search for Sadie. The map had told me everything I needed to know, with or without them.
We swished through the large wooden doors. An ornate fresco decorated the ceiling, depicting the moon goddess gifting the sacred stones to the coven.
They were practically plotting. It didn’t seem as though they were trying to solve anything at all. As though Sadie’s disappearance was indeed a murder. Damn dragons. That was fine. I would make them see reason, and if not, then I would take matters into my own hands as planned.
Sister Cloris took the lead. “We know that you are in distress, Nova, but the elders know things of which you may not be aware. Your issues have created overzealous havoc and chaos.”
“My issues? Chaos?” They judged my every move. They neither wished to hear nor see anything I could present to inform them that they were misguided. “Our sister is missing, and it is our responsibility—no, our duty to retrieve her. She was not killed by dragons as you’ve rumored about the coven. I know of the location where Sadie’s being held. We only have to find her.”
One elder after another turned their back to me. Sister Cloris steepled her hands before her and bowed her head as if in a pose of submission, but there was no docility there. “We have made up our minds, High Priestess, and to go against our decree would ensure the wrath of the goddess.”
I chuckled at that. Sadie was my sister in every way but blood. “If you refuse to take action, then I’ll search for her myself. It is what my mother would have done, and she would not assume without proper inquiry that a sister was murdered by an unseen foe.” I could feel my magic surging in and around me, my temper rising with each word spoken. “And the wrath of the goddess? Because you have decreed it so? I’ll take my chances, Sister.”
Again, I was ignored, and Sister Cloris set her eyes upon me. “Should you leave this compound, you leave it up to us to protect your coven. A coven abandoned, there are consequences of the highest nature.”
“I am not leaving the coven unprotected. I will leave it under the care of Sister Aurora, who will act as High Priestess in my absence.” Aurora then squeezed my hand and nodded.
“You understand that you relinquish control, and it will be Aurora’s choice to return the coven to your care. Should you abandon your duties, your position will be stripped from you unless rebaptized by the coven’s new High Priestess.” Cloris paused heavily. “Consider what you’re doing.”
So, they wanted to strip me of my title. Fine. It was but a title. I was my mother’s daughter, and I would do what was necessary to protect my coven. “I know exactly what I’m doing and need not be reprimanded.” Sadie’s safety was of the utmost importance at this moment.
Sister Cloris thrust out her hand, requesting the high priestess pendant pierced to my robe. I took a deep breath and finagled it free. I honored my mother by caring for those in my fold—all of them. I gave it a final glance—the opaque moonstone appeared to radiate a bright white within my palm—and then placed it in her gnarled hand. I took another measured breath to steel my nerve and calm myself.
“Elders?” Sister Cloris beckoned, and they rose to their feet, then turned to bless Aurora. Sister Cloris then ushered Aurora over to her. “The moon shines upon you. The goddess Selenaia blesses and leads you, our new High Priestess.” Cloris pinned Aurora, and the elders bowed. “We bless you, High Priestess of the Silver Moon Coven.”
I could have sworn that I saw a smile cross Aurora’s face, and tears well at the corner of her eyes.
Aurora caught my stare, moved over and placed a chaste kiss on my cheek. “Go now, dearest Nova, and bring my daughter home.”
And that was exactly what I planned to do.
I turned on my heel, and without a backward glance, headed toward the coven’s keep.
Back in my chambers, I tossed off the purple robes of high priestess, and quickly changed. I gathered the map, a few garments from my wardrobe, and stuffed them into my satchel for the journey ahead. My plan was simple: head through Silver Moon Grove, toward Granton Village located just a stone’s throw from Adrastea Castle, as that was the direction where I’d seen Sadie on the map.
The coven rarely interacted with the townspeople, except the occasional odd holiday or gathering. I needed my wits about me. If I lingered in the shadows, or at least blended in, the better likelihood I would have of learning where Sadie might have disappeared. I only needed to track her movements.
I draped my everyday black cloak over my light-weight leather body armor, then tucked my hair under its hood. The coven had always been my home, and I would return with Sadie in tow.
Tucking my mother’s gem-encrusted sacred blade into my boot, and with a final caress of her amulet that I still wore around my neck, I raced out into the night.
Nothing would stand in my way of saving Sadie, not even the elders. They may have stripped me of my title in name, but a High Priestess I would remain.
Chapter 8
I made my way through the thicket of trees. The goddess allowed the moon’s radiance to guide my way. Shadows everywhere, I steeled myself against what had once been rumored to exist outside these walls.
The elders had always warned us against leaving the confines of the coven at night, unaided, as beasts and monsters were known to prowl and seek out the blood of a sorceress.
I knew it to be a lie, though. Unlike many, I’d tramped through these woods many days and nights, with a father who was not supposed to be. Again, missing my mother panged me. She’d chosen love, and for that reason, the man who was not allowed to live in the confines of the all-female coven had resided on the boundary of Bogberry Stream until his death.
I unfurled the map, and Sadie’s blue dot seemed almost erratic, but I knew at the house near Bogberry Stream I would find the provisions I needed before heading into town. It was the place my parents had always made sure to stock with all things that could protect, both magic and weaponry.
Mother had once told me the story of how, many moons ago, a primordial giant had appeared, but he was no ordinary soul. He crashed like a stone from the heavens right into this very grove. The hair on his body created the towering trees. From his shattered and broken body, the hills and the mountains formed. His last breath created the clouds, and his love for the goddess sparked the stars, which now graced the skies. The goddess, seeing his love, released one lone tear, and it birthed the Land Wights of the Silver Moon: spirits that guarded the heart of the grove, and were said to even guard my father’s cabin.
Fireflies illuminated my path. The further I entered into the grove, the more alive it seemed: crickets chirped, owls hooted, mice scurried through the underbrush. The woods also harbored predators: those creatures forced from the mountains down to the valley and into the sacred grove.
With that thought in mind, I hurried.
“My lady, you rush through these woods as if you’re being chased.” Out of the shadows stepped a man fully clad in leather
with the king’s seal embossed thereon. “One of your caliber should not be out in these woods alone.”
He smelled of death as if it had seeped from his marrow. On his hip rested his sword, and he rubbed its ornately carved pommel. His voice dripped with lust, and his aura shone an icky teal. He had neither good intentions nor hygiene.
“Sir, I fear you may have mistaken me for one of your lost drivels from town.”
“No, my dear, you look delish and like you could use a nice plucking.” He clicked his tongue and leaned against a tree. I was not too fond of the way his eyes roamed over me, as though he searched for treasure, and my body his map.
“I fear, sir, you’ve traveled off of your path. You should be on your way before you encounter your own trouble in these woods.”
“I am taking a short pause in my search. This journey grows long, and hard. I could use some of your womanly comfort.”
He moved forward, and I took a step back. Oh, he’d just pissed me off further. “The comfort you seek cannot and will not be found in my grove.” I cocked my brow, daring him. I felt brazen enough.
“There is a dragon in this forest, an enemy of the king, and a monster that will easily gulp you down bit by bit.” He chomped at me as if taking a bite. Vile man. “But a strong knight like me, well, I could keep you safe until sunrise.”
I had more to fear from the lout standing across from me than anything in these woods. He wished me nothing more than harm. Hell, I was brazen enough. Let him try and lay a hand on me.
“You’re a love ‘em and leave ‘em sort?” I was drawing him out. To use magic against a king's guard would bring the king’s wrath upon the coven. But I didn’t need my own magic.
“Enough talking.” He snatched my arm in a vice-like grip, yanking it behind me, to lead toward a tree. I knew what he planned, the asshole. “I am honor-bound to return to my post by morning. If you are pleasant enough, I shall let you continue on your way. Displease me, and I won’t be too nice in my admiration.”
Queens of Wings & Storms Page 4
