A Witch's Rite

by N. E. Conneely

  The words had hardly left my mouth when Burly sprinted around the rhododendron bush. Hopefully the door itself wasn't very sturdy and Burly would be able to break it down, destroying the spells in the process. Since magic didn't work well on minotaurs, he shouldn't have too much trouble.

  Patrick fed me a little more power and broke the link. I sprinted after Burly. If I got closer, I might have better luck removing the spells. It was always more difficult to do complex work from a distance. Ahead of us, I could see a small building with a positively average-looking door. Hopefully it was as flimsy as it looked, but I had a feeling this was a case where looks could be deceiving.

  Burly reached the door and planted a mighty kick. The door shuddered but didn't break. I slid to a stop behind him and started looking for a faster way to get around the spells. If I could change how they functioned, I should be able to get us into the building without going through the effort of removing the magic.

  The ground trembled, and I lost my connection to the spells as my feet slipped. I went down hard on one knee, landing on a rock. That was going to bruise. My gaze darted around, trying to find a reason for the ground to be moving. What was that large reddish-brown thing? It seemed to be moving.

  Oh no. It was doing more than moving, it was running right at us. Each time it took a step, the earth shuddered. That wasn't just any creature—it was a golem. That was going to be a problem. Golems were creatures of the earth, made from the earth. And by their very nature they were highly resistant to magic and elven energy, for that matter. I was a little fuzzy on how one would kill or control them because they were really uncommon. Not quite as uncommon as demons but close.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Elron charge out of the trees. Wells and Patrick were right behind him.

  "What is that thing?" Patrick shouted.

  "A golem." Elron's yell echoed my own.

  I risked a quick probe, just enough to touch the golem and get a feel for what was holding him together. There was magic there all right, but not magic in the way I was familiar with it. It reminded me of something Varro, an old fey mentor of mine, had talked about. Long ago, magic was channeled and controlled differently than it was today. This felt more like that, a primal force shoved into a physical form.

  Burly kicked frantically at the door, drawing my attention away from the rapidly approaching danger. If we could get inside, there was a chance the golem wouldn't be able to follow. What I needed was time. Time to figure out the spell on the door without a golem trying to kill us. I was a witch. I could buy us that time.

  "Algiz!" Ropes sprang into being, quickly pulling the golem's arms and legs together. The golem rocked from side to side before toppling to the ground. For a split second I thought the spell would work, but then the golem started oozing out from between the ropes, reforming body parts as soon as they were unencumbered. At the rate it was moving, this was only a few seconds' delay.

  "How do we kill it?" Wells's voice cut through the air.

  Elron's voice was grim. "Carve a mark of death between the creature's eyes or unmake the magic."

  That sounded simple, but I had fuzzy memories of learning about golems in school. It was never as easy as it sounded to kill an old magical creature. "How hard is it to make the mark of death stick?"

  "I doubt it will be easy. As you have seen, it can remake itself."

  The pile of empty ropes was growing, and the golem was looking more like himself when Patrick grabbed my hand and forced a link between us. I formed a freezing spell, and as soon as it settled on the golem, I handed control off to Patrick. While the spell was still pulling energy from me, Patrick would be able to monitor it and control how much power it used. The freezing spell wasn't totally effective. The golem was still moving, just much more slowly.

  Trusting Patrick to do his part, I focused on the small area between its eyes. Using my wand, I sketched the rune for death. I was starting on the last line when I realized that my previous marks were fading. I finished it but not quickly enough.

  Shaking my head, I worked on a different way to get the rune on it. Patrick's face was red, and I could feel how much power was going into the freezing spell. Whatever I did, I needed to be quick about it.

  Realizing I could draw the rune and then force it into the golem's forehead fully formed, I started over. This time I sketched the rune in the air before sending it toward the golem's head. The rune was right on course to settle between the golem's eyes when the creature's head simply melted away. The rune flew through the air where the golem's head had been and headed right for an old oak tree.

  I blasted the rune to pieces before it could kill the poor tree.

  "Hurry." Patrick looked at me, face red with strain. "Can't hold this much power."

  Swearing, I cut off the link. Patrick's eyes rolled back in his head, and he fell to the ground. Damn it, he'd held on too long.

  "Michelle, the door," Wells screamed. He slung Patrick over his shoulder, carrying him away from the fight. Patrick had done his best, but it would be a little bit before he was awake. He'd moved as much energy as he could and had bought us time.

  I ignored Wells and jabbed my wand at the clay monster. "Sowil." The containment spell popped up around the golem.

  "You can't fight that! I have to figure out something." Even as I said it, I knew he had a point. If we didn't get through the door, there was no hope of us succeeding.

  "I can manage the golem." Elron's voice was steely. "You are a witch. You can get us through the door."

  Grabbing his arm, I forced him to look at me. "Are you sure?"

  He didn't blink. "I am."

  That wasn't what I'd wanted to hear, but I knew he was right. We had to play to our strengths. He was of the earth and I was of energy.

  With a curt nod, I agreed. He pulled away from me, jogging out to meet the golem. I turned to the door, unable to watch. If he said he could handle this, I had to believe him… even when I didn't.

  Focusing on the door, I reexamined the spells. My efforts against the golem had used a lot of energy, leaving me weaker than I would've liked. So far Burly's best efforts had put a foot-wide hole in the door but hadn't actually broken it down.

  Luckily, the damage to the door had fractured some of the spells. I found a hunk of magic attached to the door and pulled. Some of the spells came off, and two new ones activated. Those new spells were very specific. As I looked at how the remaining magics worked together, I noticed a flaw.

  There. That was the weakness. The spells didn't extend beyond the points where the door attached to the frame. The doorframe itself was venerable. "Kick the doorframe."

  I backed out of Burly's way and hoped it worked. My energy reserves were low, and we still had to capture Ned. There was one way I could regain energy, but I didn't want to do it unless I had to. I gave the door one last look, hoping Burly's hoof was the solution so I didn't have to dirty my soul.

  Burly nodded, backed up, and sent his dinner-plate-sized hoof flying at the frame. It buckled in but didn't break. I waved him off. I was going to have to do something about those spells after all. Gritting my teeth, I reached out, grabbed all the spells, and started pouring energy into them. One by one they overloaded, exploded in a shower of sparks, and died.

  Tipping my head toward the door, I signaled Burly to try again. This time when his hoof hit the door, it broke. We were in, but I was almost out of magic.

  "Go, Michelle," Elron screamed. "Save Gudger."

  I turned back to Elron, but Wells grabbed my arm and shoved me inside. I didn't even get to see how Elron was holding up against the golem.

  I wanted to go back outside, but Wells kept a bruising grip on my arm. "This is your job. Let Elron do his part."

  "That's my boyfriend. And he needs my help."

  "Listen to me," Wells snarled. "Westmoreland did his part. Now Elron is doing his part, and you have to do yours. Ned is too dangerous to be allowed to escape."

  I desperately
wanted to argue, but I couldn't because I knew he was right. I sent a prayer to the earth to help Elron and hoped he would make it. Then, even though it broke my heart, I turned around and started doing my job.

  Inside Ned's home was one of the creepiest things I'd seen. One wall had floor-to-ceiling shelves covered in tanks of snails. The snails closest to the door were small, and there were several of them in each tank, but down the wall, the snails grew larger and the populations of the tanks decreased.

  The other wall had long tables, one of them holding a very large tank with four big snails. Papers were tacked to the wall, some showing the anatomy of a snail, and others were feeding schedules and maps of the mountain. There was an area that was set up like a desk, with papers and a bowl of water. Ned had been scrying someone.

  On the far side of the desk was a small table in the corner. A cut-open snail was pinned to a tray. Its shell was lying in pieces beside its body, and there was a mortar and pestle filled with powder. The small spray bottle to the side contained some type of liquid, but I couldn't tell if it was a cleaning agent or what Ned was using to treat the shells.

  If he had this many snails still alive, there was every chance that there were more dead ones. He could have pounds of this powder. And here I was, almost without magic.

  I heard a huff of air and pivoted just in time to see powder flying into Burly's face. He stumbled back, inhaling sharply, and that powder went right into his system. He wasn't going to be immune to Ned's power, not with it inside him when it started to work.

  I summoned a puff of wind, pushing the remaining powder away from us, but there was nothing I could do to help Burly.

  Ned's voice was soft, but that didn't stop me from hearing the words. "Enrage. Attack."

  I swore. Without magic, I wasn't going to be able to stop Burly, and Wells wouldn't have a chance. I reached out for the source of magic I'd never wanted to use: the snail powder. It didn't matter if it drained me or if I ended up addicted. I had to stop Burly and capture Ned.

  I could feel the power in Ned's pocket, but that had already bonded to him. However, under the floor there was a huge, lightly shielded container of powder. Smiling, I did what a desperate witch could do. I broke the shield spell and pulled the magic right out of those shell bits.

  It started a tingle in my fingers and toes, then it was burning in my hands, and suddenly my body was filled with a white-hot energy that poured into every part of me. Every nerve on was fire, and red-hot electricity licked across my skin. A weaker witch would've screamed and released the power, but I just grinned. With this much power, I could eradicate every trace of Ned and his sickness off the face of the earth.

  Burly turned to face me with pain-filled eyes. His hands balled into fists. One big arm pulled back, smashing into the wall. "Run. Kill me. I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to be like this."

  His eyes closed, and I saw one tear slide down his face. When his eyes opened, he took one shuddering step closer to me.

  I wasn't going to let Ned destroy this good man. No, I was going to make sure that all of us were saved. Behind Burly, I could see Ned readying more powder, but I didn't want to know what that could do to us.

  "Ingwaz." Wind, be steady and force the air past us. The puff of air I'd summoned before was nothing compared to this never-ending gust. Papers were torn from the wall, and some odds and ends were flung to the floor where they slowly worked their way toward Ned.

  Burly's fist swung at me, and I stopped it in midair with a disk of pure energy. I knew what I was about to do would hurt him, but I hoped he would forgive me. I changed the energy into a flame that licked over his knuckles, burning away the hair and first layer of skin. The flames were purely physical even if they had been created from magic, so none of his natural defenses would stop them.

  Bellowing in pain, he tried to pull back, but I made the flames follow him until I could force my own power into his body. There were no runes for the spell I was creating; it simply existed as a series of ideas in my mind. Ned would have no hold on Burly. He would be safe from Ned's magic and free to make his own choices. I added a touch of healing to repair the damage I'd done. I hoped it worked. My healing spells weren't very good.

  Burly sagged against a wall before crumpling to the ground. He shattered a tank of snails on the way down, but his pain-filled moans had nothing to do with the glass and everything to do with what I'd done to him. Between lowing, he licked his hand.

  Ned turned and started to run farther into the building.

  "Wall." I didn't need the words, but I wanted him to know what I was doing.

  There was a soft crack as he ran into the barrier I'd thrown up. When I reached him, I could see blood pouring out of his nose. Reaching out with a hand still white-hot with all the energy, I grabbed his arm. He screamed as my hand burned right though the clothing and into his flesh. I poured energy into him. This time I didn't say a single world out loud. This part I wanted to keep to myself, especially with the cops in the building.

  Without any remorse for the damage my hand was doing to him, I continued feeding power into him until I had enough to accomplish my goal. I blocked his ability to use magic. Not even a charm would respond to him after this. He would live a life free of any magic as all of it would be drained into the earth the moment he attempted to interact with it. I erased every part of his memory relating to the snails and how he'd gotten magic out of them. Before I finished, I anchored him to this spot, making sure he wouldn't move until he was in handcuffs.

  When I was finished, I leaned down and whispered, "You are nothing now."

  I lifted my hand from his arm, leaving a black, blistered mark behind.

  Sweeping past him, I found Gudger on a cot. A single touch left no doubt he was dead and had been for some time. He had been a good man, a good cop, someone I would miss. I'd been too late to save him, a regret I would always carry with me. There was nothing I could do for Gudger, but there was one more person in danger, someone I could save. I pushed past Wells, stepped on Ned, and raced outside. My love needed me.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Elron

  I did not look back to see if Michelle followed my orders. I would know soon enough, and I had to find a way to manage the golem. While the others might not think it could follow them into the building, I knew otherwise. It had the ability to change shape and size, and that door was hardly a challenge.

  Even though I had my sword in my hand, killing the golem was not my first choice. If possible, I wanted to befriend the golem. Whilst I had never heard of such a thing being done, it was theoretically possible. The golem was a creature of the earth, and as an elf I had a connection to the earth.

  Although I could sense the golem, it was distant, as if I was seeing a shape though a heavy fog. That would not do. If I was to have any chance of altering this creature's behavior, I needed to have a much clearer way of interacting with it.

  Even though the connection was faint, I tried to tell it that it was in no danger, that it could stand down.

  If the creature heard me, it did not listen. Instead, it attempted to follow the officers and Michelle into the building. I blocked its path. It attempted to go around me, but I kept moving, always staying in front of it.

  After the fifth try, it swung an open hand at my head. I rolled under its arm, springing to my feet behind it with my sword already in motion. Slicing through what on a humanoid would be the hamstring, I waited to see if that would cripple the creature.

  When it attempted to move forward, its leg did not want to work. The creature paused for a moment, and the damage vanished. It would take more than a sword slice to hold it, though there was a chance I could put the death symbol between its eyes. I would need to be quick, but it was possible.

  The creature must have decided that I was no longer a threat, because it continued in the direction of the door. Taking advantage of its inattention, I took up position behind it, tightened my grip on my sword, and swung at a k
nee. The sword went into the clay just fine but started to slow almost immediately. I did not relent, continuing the motion until the sword came out the other side.

  I darted back, and the golem wobbled, and then its body seemed to shift, centering itself over the remaining leg.

  Since the creature was still facing the building, I repeated the attack, this time aiming for an elbow. The sword went through without any trouble, and the arm joined the leg on the ground.

  I had hoped that would be enough to permanently disable it, but when parts of it began shifting around, I knew that it would take more than a couple of missing limbs to halt this creature.

  First the foot moved, and where there had been a heel there were toes. The knee swirled around, and I leapt into action. Taking a deep breath, I dragged the sword through the remaining arm, severing it from the body. While that would delay any attack the golem wished to make, it did not actually halt the creature.

  I quickly regrouped and swung at the remaining leg. As my sword cut into the clay, the leg swelled, growing larger. My sword was barely halfway through the leg when it stopped. I pulled it free. As I repositioned to swing again, I noticed the arms and leg on the ground were melting into a puddle of clay. Undeterred, I hacked at the leg. It took two more strikes before I was able to separate it from the body.

  With its final leg gone, the golem fell forward. It landed with its face pressed against the ground. Now I had a conundrum. How to etch the symbol between its eyes when I could not reach the eyes?

  Frowning, I took up a stance, and in one hard blow severed the golem's head from its body. With a twist of my hand, I vanished my sword. Kneeling down, I rolled the head over. Mud covered my hands. There was no face.

  I quickly got to my feet and backed up. The puddle of clay that had formed from the severed arms and leg had flowed back to the main body. As I watched, the trunk of the body absorbed the clay and sprouted an arm. The head flowed back to the body and reformed, though there was no face.