mythean arcana 07 - witchs fate

by Linsey Hall

  Lying next to her last night had been a revelation. Truthfully, the last few days had been a revelation.

  He wanted her more than he wanted the power. He wanted her more than he wanted anything. But he’d done wrong by her. Guilt clawed at him for his role in her village’s dire straits.

  He was to blame for this. No question—he’d have to do everything in his power to see that these people stayed safe.

  And Sofia… If he wanted any chance at convincing her to stay with him, he was going to have to find a way to shed his Oath Breaker curse. Which meant getting rid of his warlock powers.

  He clenched a fist. The idea of giving up his power made him sick. But even worse was the idea that there might not be a way.

  “We’re almost there,” Sofia said.

  The jungle was alive around them, giant trees on all sides and night animals rustling and filling the air with screeches and growls. The path opened up to a clearing that was bordered on all sides by enormous jungle trees. In the middle, thirteen tall, flat stones rose toward the air. The six faction leaders who made up the council each stood in front of a stone, waiting. All were positioned on one side of the circle.

  He’d thought stone circles were primarily found in the British Isles. “Who built these?”

  “Our ancestors,” Sofia said. “A long time ago. This isn’t the only stone circle in Brazil, but it’s the only one built by Mytheans. It’s a place where we can come to contact the dead. To be closer to those we’ve lost.”

  He followed her into the circle. Aleia and Inara stood near the middle. Sofia greeted the council members who’d taken up their positions in front of the stones, then turned to Aleia and Inara.

  “I’m going to open a portal to our afterworld, then I’ll call my ancestors forth. Inara, since you’re a world walker, perhaps you can assist me.”

  “I can use my magic to amplify your call,” Inara said. “Just tell me the names of those we’re calling.”

  Sofia repeated the names of her ancestors, then turned to Malcolm. “Could you do the same?”

  He nodded.

  “All right.” She glanced toward the east, where the sky was beginning to turn brilliant pink and orange, the colors bleeding across the sky. “We can begin.”

  She turned to face the other side of the circle, toward the seven stones that had no one standing in front of them. Kitty sat at her right and Inara stood at her left. Aleia drifted back to stand in front of a stone.

  Malcolm could feel the gazes of the observing council members at his back, and though he didn’t usually like putting his back to other powerful Mytheans, there was no helping it now. He’d committed himself to doing whatever Sofia needed from him. He stepped up to stand next to Kitty.

  Sofia swept her black cloak away from her shoulders and raised her wand. She murmured quiet words under her breath, so whisper-soft that he couldn’t make them out. Her wand moved in a square pattern, the tip alight.

  As the sun broke over the trees, a glowing space—like a doorway with no door—opened on the other side of the circle. Magic trembled in the air, quieting the jungle animals until all he could hear was the breeze.

  Sofia raised her voice, calling the names of her ancestors. Malcolm and Inara joined her, repeating the names she’d told them just moments ago.

  “Laís, Karajá, Nauquá, Panenoá, Aparai, Oriva,” The strange, ancient names echoed through the jungle.

  The empty, glowing doorway pulsed, its light going from bright yellow to pure white. Malcolm’s skin prickled from the power that radiated outward.

  The pulsing glow ceased, halting on pure white. A figure approached the door, cloaked in black and appearing as a Crone. She shimmered slightly. She was a soul given form, not an actual body. She stepped through the door and out into the jungle.

  “Mother,” Sofia said, joy in her voice.

  “Daughter. How I’ve missed you.” Sofia’s mother’s voice was warm, loving.

  Another figure stepped through the door and took up her position next to Sofia’s mother. She also wore a dark cloak and the Crone’s visage.

  “Grandmother” Sofia said. Her voice was still joyful, though more respectful. As Malcolm recalled, Sofia had never met her grandmother.

  “Child,” the grandmother’s voice was also warm.

  Four other figures stepped out of the portal, one by one. All appeared as black-cloaked Crones. Sofia greeted each of them and was greeted in turn.

  The last Crone to step out—Oriva, she’d been called—spoke in a voice heavy with power. “Why have you called us forth?”

  “I’ve learned something troubling,” Sofia said. Quickly, she explained their situation with the High Witches. “And I understand that you originally made the deal with the High Witches that bound us to this. In exchange for magical power for our line, you tied your progeny to the High Witches, forcing us to provide tributes or be responsible for the destruction of our village.”

  The souls that stood next to her gasped, their heads whipping toward her in shock. They hadn’t known. He’d suspected as much.

  Oriva’s brows rose. Her gaze was a sharp black that sent a chill down Malcolm’s spine. Her voice was like ice. “You do not enjoy the gift of power?”

  “Yes,” Sofia said. “But not at the expense of my village.”

  “That is not your decision to make. You are too young to understand. Or perhaps you are too stupid.”

  Malcolm stepped forward, but Sofia’s hissed warning stopped him.

  “Either way,” Sofia said. “The High Witches are going to destroy our village.”

  Oriva nodded her head. “Yes. I am not surprised. They thrive on destruction.”

  “You knew that and still made the deal?” Sofia asked.

  “Yes.” Her voice cracked like a whip. “I’ve never been terribly concerned with my progeny. It suited me, therefore I did it.”

  Bloody hell, and he’d thought his sorcerer clan was bad.

  Sofia’s mouth twisted in disgust, but she spoke evenly. “The council members are resisting abandoning the village. But we cannot fight the High Witches and win. They’re too powerful. And because you made this deal with them, fate is on their side.”

  “I fail to see how you expect me to solve your problem.”

  “Agree that we can’t win and convince the council that we should abandon the village.”

  The other souls were rustling agitatedly now, as if they didn’t like what Oriva was saying, or possibly the position in which she’d placed Sofia and the village. Malcolm didn’t blame them. They’d been caught in the same trap Sofia was, spending their entire lives in the role of Protector.

  “Why?” Oriva asked, her voice emotionless. “It is not the place that is cursed. It is the people. A place is nothing without the people who live within it. The High Witches thrive on the destruction of lives more so than they do on the destruction of property. All the descendants of the original villagers are cursed.”

  Sofia stepped back, shock on her face. There were gasps from behind them.

  “How? That’s not possible,” Sofia said.

  “Of course it is. It would take time, but the High Witches are talented and strong. You can all run, scatter to the far ends of the earth, but the High Witches will still find you.”

  “But—why? Gods, that’s awful. How could you do that?” Sofia’s voice shook.

  She shrugged. “It was not difficult. Thousands of years ago, my father died. He’d founded the village. As his progeny, I became its leader. When the High Witches approached me, offering me immense power in exchange for lives other than my own, it was easy to agree.” There was no remorse in her voice.

  “But the people of the village were your family. Your friends!”

  “As long as I paid the tributes, no one I knew personally needed to die.” Oriva’s eyes were cold. “It’s been over two thousand years and they are only now coming to collect. The current citizens of Bruxa’s Eye might be descendants of some of my friends
, but they aren’t my actual friends. And some of the people who live here aren’t even descendants. Their fate is no concern of mine.”

  “There’s has to be something we can do!” Sofia said.

  “Fight them and hope to win.” Oriva shrugged. “Though that will be nearly impossible.”

  Sofia’s shoulders sagged.

  The five other souls who stood next to Oriva erupted into shouts. They converged on her.

  Sofia waved her wand and the souls and portal disappeared. She turned to the others, her eyes dark. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Fates, your ancestor was a piece of work,” Inara said.

  “That’s the truth of it,” the big Were said. “But we wanted to fight the High Witches, and we will fight them.”

  Sofia tried to force her body to stop trembling. “More than half of the village are descendants of the original cursed villagers. Perhaps even more. The others could flee, but…”

  “Then everyone would die,” Amira, the vampire, said. “I will stay, though my family has only been here for eight hundred years. Our strength is in our numbers. Our combined powers. I won’t turn my back on my friends.”

  Gratitude welled in Sofia. Should she encourage them to leave? To save themselves? But if she did, she’d be consigning the rest of her village to death.

  Kitty pressed against her leg and she focused on her warmth, drawing strength and comfort from her familiar.

  “We’ll need as much help as we can get,” Sofia met the gazes of the council members, who’d all come to stand before her. “Talk to your factions. Let those who are not of the original descendants make their own choice about whether or not to fight. But if they will stay, ask them to get what help they can. Friends and family who live in other places. The High Witches will converge upon the village with magic the likes of which we cannot imagine. We’ll need numbers to fight them.”

  “I can talk to the transients,” Aleia said.

  “Good.” Sofia nodded. Bruxa’s Eye drew dozens of visitors every day, many of them repeats. Often, the population of the village was at least doubled by their numbers. “I will do what I can to find help from elsewhere. We still have two days before the High Witches expect us to return with the Grimoire. When we don’t appear with it, they’ll attack. Do what you can to add to our numbers and we will meet again tomorrow morning.”

  The council members nodded and said their goodbyes, then left the circle. When it was just her, Inara, Aleia, and Malcolm, Sofia almost collapsed. Despair stole her strength.

  Unable to help herself, she glanced at Malcolm. He stood so tall, a pillar of strength in the middle of the stone circle. Early morning sun gleamed on his dark hair. Pain stabbed her, a blade to the heart. Gods, she almost loved him. Yet his actions had led her here.

  How the hell was she supposed to reconcile that?

  Did it matter, considering what they were facing?

  They couldn’t win this. If, for some insane reason they did, it wouldn’t be without enormous loss of life.

  Just the thought of it forced steel back into her spine. She didn’t have time to collapse. She had to keep going. There had to be a way—build their numbers strong enough, attack the High Witches on their home turf, do something.

  Malcolm came to stand by her side, his gaze fierce. “We can fix this.”

  “Can we?” She had no idea how.

  “My brother will help. We can go to the university and request more assistance. They have a vested interest in not letting the High Witches destroy an entire village, even if that village isn’t in their territory.”

  She nodded. She’d been thinking of going to them. There was no central organization like the university in South America. Her village was the closest thing to a large, organized group of Mytheans in the entire continent. Salem served the same purpose in the north, but they had no friends there. Not after they’d destroyed the Salem Coven’s home.

  “We’ll go to your brother,” she said, feeling not a whit bad about using him for his contacts. He owed her. “His wife has contacts with the university, right? And powerful friends.”

  “Yes. We can go now.”

  Sofia nodded, then turned to Inara. “Will you stay for the battle?”

  “Yeah. You helped me get back at the Salem Coven, I’ll help you with this. But if it looks like I’m about to get offed, I’m aetherwalking away.”

  “Fair enough. Thank you.” Sofia held out her hand to Malcolm. “Lead the way to your brother’s place.”

  His big hand grasped hers and she shivered, unable to help the streak of pleasure that ran over her skin. A second later, they stood in the snow. Bright sun gleamed on the icy whiteness, nearly blinding her. A charming cottage—like something out of a fairy tale—stood before her.

  Kitty turned herself into smoke to avoid the cold. Sofia used her wand to remove her Crone’s visage and to replace the cloak with all-weather gear. Malcolm seemed not to notice the cold, though he wore only a t-shirt and dark jeans with leather boots.

  They knocked on the wooden door, which swung open seconds later to reveal Aurora, wearing pajamas covered in wine bottles. Heat wafted out of the house, along with the delicious smell of bacon and eggs. How could something as normal as breakfast be happening when she was about to lose everything she loved? Maybe even her life?

  “Ah, fuck,” Aurora said. “If you’re here, it means things have gone to hell, doesn’t it?”

  Sofia nodded, her throat tight but her back stiff.

  Aurora stepped back. “Come on in.”

  They stepped into the warmth just as Felix walked in from the back room wearing loose sweatpants and a t-shirt. Mouse was draped over his broad shoulders, yellow eyes watching them thoughtfully. Felix carried a fluffy cat toy in his right hand.

  “This can’t be good,” Felix said.

  “It’s not.” Malcolm scrubbed a hand over his face.

  “Why don’t we take a seat and you can tell us what you need?” Felix asked.

  They sat. Mouse jumped down and went to greet Kitty, who’d chosen to sit by the fire. They sniffed each other, then sat down companionably to enjoy the warmth.

  Sofia took a deep breath and began to speak. It didn’t take long to spell out exactly how dire her situation was.

  “We’re happy to come,” Aurora said. “And we can get some help from the university. My sister of course, and her friend Andrasta, I’m sure. She’s a Celtic demigod and her man is the Celtic God of War. Camulos, I think he’s called. Logan and Sylvi will help as well, I’d bet. I used to think the university was full of assholes and egos, but most of them aren’t that bad and they’re happy to jump into a worthy battle.”

  “Thank you.” Sofia took a deep breath. Maybe they could win this. Maybe even without too much death. They had immense numbers on their side, and powerful allies. She had to cling to hope.

  “We can go there now,” Aurora said. “I have a flat on campus. We can use it as a base.”

  Sofia nodded gratefully. “Thank you. Really.”

  “It’s not a problem. I understand what it is to be in a bind. Let us change, and we’ll go.” Aurora and Felix left to change.

  Malcolm came to sit next to her. He rubbed her back and a small bit of tension dissipated. She hated that he could make her feel better. He’d left her. He’d stolen her dagger and gotten her into this mess. But she still melted when he was near.

  It was annoying as hell. She had huge things to worry about. Obstacles that were likely insurmountable.

  But then, wasn’t that a good reason to take comfort where she could find it?

  She shook the thought away. A moment later, Felix and Aurora returned, dressed in jeans and coats.

  “Get a move on, Mouse, we’re headed back to the university,” Aurora said.

  Mouse glanced at her, then rose, stretched, and sauntered toward Aurora like a tiny jaguar. The little familiar had as much feline grace as her larger brethren, but Sofia would take roly-poly, squinty-eyed Kitty any day. S
he smiled at Kitty as she made her way toward her.

  “Malcolm, you remember where Aurora’s flat is, aye?” Felix asked.

  “Yes. I’ll take Sofia.” Malcolm wrapped his big arms around Sofia and transported both her and Kitty to the base of a tall stone tower. Rolling green hills and giant, gnarled oaks surrounded it. In the distance, Sofia could make out huge, ornate stone buildings. The air had the bite of autumn, with winter coming.

  The Immortal University. They were outside of Edinburgh, Scotland. It didn’t look like she’d expected. It was greener. But then, she’d never thought much about Scotland or the university. Though the university was vital to British Mytheans, she’d never had a reason to come.

  Until now, when she hoped to find as many powerful Mytheans as she could who were willing to fight a deadly battle with her.

  This wasn’t going to be easy.

  Aurora and Felix appeared next to them, Mouse at Aurora’s side.

  “Come on,” Aurora said and led them to the door at the base of the tower.

  They made their way up the spiral staircase to a landing at the top. Aurora ran her hands over the door frame.

  Removing a charm. So that’s why they hadn’t aetherwalked straight inside. They’d have gotten zapped, or worse.

  “Flat, sweet flat,” Aurora said as she led the way in.

  Sofia’s brows rose when she entered. The flat was one large, round room with a section walled off for the bedroom. The main room had a small kitchen that faced the living room. The space was full of electronics. Televisions, computers, blenders, fans, flashlights. Half of them were assembled, some were vomiting their circuit boards and wires into the room.

  “I had a bit of a thing for electronics when I first got out of the pokey,” Aurora said.

  Pokey? Did she mean prison?

  “Anyway,” Aurora said, “I’m mostly over that now. I’ve figured out how it all works. Lost its allure. She nudged an old rotary phone with her foot. “I really need to clean this up. But, another time. First, we need to find you some help.”

  “I’d like to bring my friend Aleia here, if you don’t mind. She’s a seer and I think we could use all the advice we could get.”