Bone Witch (Elemental Magic, #3)

by Thea Atkinson

  He brought his nose hard against her cheek, bumping it a little more than a loving touch would be.

  “Maybe if you were more of a gentle mount I wouldn't have even considered it.”

  He gave her a baleful stare that made her sigh. He was in a temper. And rightfully so.

  “Nothing a few peaches won't cure, old man,” she whispered before kissing his white spot, then she turned to the sight she least wanted to face.

  “How is she, Theron?”

  Without stopping his strange ministrations, he made veiled comment as usual.

  “She thought she'd escape it then, but they don't forget. Oh no.”

  “Forget what?” Alaysha asked him. “Theron?” Alaysha eased closer and dropped to a squat. She still felt light-headed, but the heat didn't feel so brutal anymore. “Theron?”

  He swept his palm over the warrior's back without being close enough to disturb even a hair. “They will remember us if they remember her, surely.” He trailed off mumbling about herbs and broths and twins. None of it made sense to Alaysha, but she did catch one word that made sense: Youngblood.

  “Youngblood, Theron? Who is that?” She thought it must mean Yenic, especially when the words around the name seemed to talk of battles and burning flames.

  “Do you think she left Yenic to those warriors? Do you really think they'll kill him?” She could barely say the words.

  “We have time,” he said without looking at her.

  “We?” she asked. “Do you mean we or you?” Damn the man and his muddled speech.

  He glared up at her, pausing in his movements that seemed to only brush air away from Bodicca's body and no more.

  “The moon gives us all time,” he said. “But when it meets itself on the other side, he will die.”

  “No,” she heard herself say, not sure what he meant, but sure of one thing. “She can take us there.” She looked down at the ravaged warrior, so haughty before, when Alaysha knew her as Yuri's most dedicated warrior, so helpless now as she moaned in what had to be fever. Alaysha knew even as she spoke that the woman was of no use.

  She looked over her shoulder at the three others. They sat stretched out on the ground. Bodicca's strange beast rested on its knees beside them. She stole a glance at Barruch, whose belly was twitching in an effort to acclimate the heat. Bodicca was of no use, no. And Theron, deities help him, was needed by the warrior more than with the band.

  But the beast. If it had brought Bodicca this far, could it make it back? Would it know the way?

  She reached for Theron's hand. “Can you magic a cool place in the earth for her?” They'd been interrupted in the possibility before, but it seemed prudent to ask it again.

  He looked at her, confused, and she had to explain.

  “Can you create a deep enough hole to escape the heat, to find water?”

  “Such magic needs blood; we told you that,” he said and put his palm on the back of Bodicca's neck. She moaned, but not in pain this time. The shaman smiled. “The air steals the pain.” He rose and shook his hands. “It is all a poor Clay Arm can do. Yes, sadly, yes it is.”

  “Theron,” she said again. “Can you?”

  He quirked his head. “We need blood.”

  Alaysha said nothing, merely glanced at Edulph as he sat sullen, and the shaman seemed to catch her meaning as he followed her gaze. “That madman may have secrets we need to hear,” he said.

  “You mean like this madman?” Alaysha asked, touching Theron's chest.

  He sighed. “Our witch had that power. Our witch could build monuments with stone. This madman has only residual power; who knows how much left since we lost her. We doubt we can make a hole wide enough to hide in from the sun.”

  Alaysha huffed. “Then just dig a small hole, far, far down till you reach water.” It was desperate, she knew, because if water was within a kubit deep, she'd have been able to draw it. But maybe she'd just been too far gone with fear to try.

  “Such magic takes much blood.”

  She quirked her brow at him.

  Gael came forward, overhearing. He looked back over his shoulder at Edulph as he sat sullenly on the ground. “Then take it from that one,” he said.

  “That madman -” he began and Gael interrupted him.

  “That madman is good as dead eventually anyway.”

  Alaysha squeezed her eyes shut. This couldn't be happening. Not after they'd made it this far.

  Theron groaned, frustrated. “The blood from such a madman is useless,” he sighed sadly.

  “Then what, Theron,” Gael commanded. “What blood will do?” He stuck out his forearm, poised beneath a blade in his other hand so quickly Alaysha hadn't seen it move.

  Again, the shaman shook his head. “If warrior blood was enough for us, we'd bleed the useless one.” He eyed Bodicca as she lay in delirium.

  Alaysha already knew what blood worked best even before Gael guessed it, his face altering to a storm of fierce rage. She put her hand on the outstretched arm, feeling the hot pulse beneath her palm.

  “He means a witch's blood, Gael,” she said. "Mine."

  Chapter 4

  Gael gripped her so suddenly by the shoulders she heard her teeth clack together. “No; we've been through this, Alaysha,” he groaned. “No. I won't let you.”

  He met her eyes with his and held them, trapped by his revulsion. It took effort, but she made herself reach up to touch his jaw, to cup it in her hand. His beard found gaps in her fingers and tickled the webbing.

  “No,” he mouthed without so much as relaxing his hold or shifting his gaze.

  “If we don't find more water, we'll die out here. All of us.” She licked her lips, and mercifully, her tongue didn't stick there. The water Bodicca had was enough to begin coursing through all their bodies but it wasn't enough, not near enough to bring them all safely to the other side. “Theron will take what he needs, and that'll be all. I—” she swallowed hard. “I trust him.”

  Gael's gaze finally unlocked from hers, this time traveling down her face and lingering on her mouth. She knew he was remembering the feel of his lips on hers, the way their tongues danced together, the way she was remembering it now, and he relaxed just enough for his grip to move from her shoulders to face, holding and cupping it so delicately she couldn't believe he was so fierce in his resignation just a moment ago. She felt his fingers kneading the back of her neck, pressing into the hollow her skull made as it connected to her spine. The hilt of the blade on her back touched to her head. She watched as the struggle worked its way across his face and finally, he let go altogether and stepped away.

  His chest heaved and he planted his feet, determined, shoulder width apart. He held his blade tightly, clenched in his sword hand.

  “If a warrior's blood isn't rich enough, then you'll have to have a lot of it,” he ground out and even as Alaysha leapt forward to halt the knife in its path to his throat, she thought she heard the croak of surprise come from Theron. She ignored it in favor of throwing all her weight at Gael. He was as solid and as moveable as a mountain and she ended up knocking the wind from her lungs, but at least the blade dropped to the earth. She kicked at it, and caught the end of the hilt between her toes. The pain spread like fire through her foot and she fell, grasping at her foot, to the ground.

  She rocked back and forth, trying to distract her body from the insult and realized as she did so that the knife was lying next to her ready to be picked up. She fell onto it so she covered it. If he wanted it, he'd have to move her. Only, don't let it be yet; the pain in her foot was nowhere near ready to let up.

  She heard him chuckling.

  “What's so funny?”

  “You thought I was going to do myself harm.”

  She peered up at him. “Weren't you?”

  He cast his eyes down and shuffled his feet.

  “Gael?”

  “I was going to kill the she-demon.” He peered sideways at where Bodicca was moaning softly.

  “Bodicca?” s
he asked, then it dawned on her. He didn't believe the shaman could save her. And how could he? She was delirious. In obvious pain. It might even be a mercy to kill her. She stopped rocking, the pain subsiding. Gael reached down to help Alaysha up and as he did, he pulled her close, so close she could feel his heart beating against her palms. The earth trembled again, this time enough that she felt it in his chest, and made her legs quake. He must have felt it as she had; it was too strong a movement not to. She looked up, so far up because he was so large. Then he was leaning over, his mouth against her ear.

  “Mark me, Alaysha. Not today, perhaps, but I would die for you if I had to. You were right to think so.”

  She couldn't speak, only nod, her heart pounding in her ears. He waited until she gathered her footing and her composure and then spun her to face the shaman and when he spoke it was with obvious relief.

  “I didn't think he could do it, but he seems to have managed some small magic after all.”

  Indeed. Bodicca's eyes were open, her mouth working to pull liquid from the ragged edge of Theron's cloak. The shaman pulled the corner from her mouth and dipped it back into the water skin, then pressed it to her lips again.

  “This warrior spoke one word,” the shaman said, explaining. “More water will lubricate the rest.”

  “What word?” Alaysha asked, wondering what one thing could make the shaman so happy.

  “Well,” Gael said for him.

  “Well?” She was confused. “Well what?” And then it dawned on her, the secrets the Enyalia had of crossing the burnt lands. “Dear deities. They have a hidden well.” She shouldn't have shouted, she knew she shouldn't, but she was so excited, she couldn't help herself. “That's why she had full skins,” Alaysha said. “She filled them.”

  She looked to Theron for confirmation and his grin broadened. Aedus skipped over, her long hair swinging despite the cakes of dirt in it.

  “Water?” she asked. “Do I hear right? Have we found more water?” She looked back at her brother and lowered her voice. “He needs more. He's even more mad with the thirst than he was when we took him.”

  Gael grunted at that and the girl sent him a hurt look.

  “He is her brother,” Alaysha said, trying to ease the tension, but she felt exactly the same as Gael. Edulph, mad or not, could not be trusted, not even with his little sister.

  Gael took his place next to Theron and squatted down. “Where is the well?” he asked Bodicca. She lay half on her side in order to drink but it was obvious from her face that the small contact her sore skin made with the rest of Theron's cloak was painful.

  “Halfway,” she croaked, then worked to bring her features under control.

  “Halfway,” Gael mused. “If her skins were full, halfway must be somewhere back where she'd come.”

  Alaysha groaned. “Halfway. Halfway could be anywhere. In any direction.”

  Gael gave her a reproachful look. “Halfway is better than you think. It means we've come far enough with the stores we had that we can make it the rest of the way.”

  “We nearly didn't,” she said. “Except for Bodicca.”

  “But we did,” he said stubbornly. “We need to press forward while the sun has lost its power, while the moon is up. We'll rest at the well and rejuvenate ourselves.”

  “Then what?” She flapped her arms against her thighs, frustrated and hopeless.

  “Then we press on. We find the other witch. We kill the woman who wants your pain.”

  Oh yes. All of that. She'd been so filled with just the thought of survival, she'd nearly forgotten the reasons she was here in this unforgiving land to begin with. For one sweet moment she could feel pleasure of nearly being in reach of living. Now she had to think again of vengeance and war.

  She sighed. “Then find a way to get Bodicca back onto her beast, Theron with her, and let's get moving.”

  It occurred to Alaysha as they pressed on that she hadn't seen much in the way of life in the burnt lands. A few scorpions scuttled across the plain, one or two snake trails, but no birds flew or called out to each other. Even vultures had abandoned the area. The only sounds she heard were of the shuffling of feet against parched earth and the occasional moan of hunger.

  They reached the well just before dawn. The ragtag band, as Alaysha had begun to think of themselves, had shuffled forward steadily, if not painfully slow for her taste. Theron and Bodicca and Aedus were mounted on the Enyalian's strange beast, Bodicca stretched as delicately as possible across its back in front of a large hump of flesh, and the shaman and girl sat behind it.

  Gael had tied Edulph to the beast, where he trailed behind, a staggering, reluctant prisoner who occasionally shouted obscenities at nothing. It seemed a bit contrived to Alaysha who believed for all he appeared mad, that Edulph was more in control of his faculties than he let on. His madness had the one benefit that she could see, past that of keeping him alive, and that was of Aedus's growing concern for her brother. It all made Alaysha terribly uncomfortable and hyper vigilant. The last thing she needed was for Aedus to suddenly begin trusting her brother again.

  Alaysha and Gael walked on either side of Barruch, watching for signs that Bodicca recognized the terrain.

  Twice more, the ground shook as they travelled, and the last time, it was enough to make the others leap from their mounts onto the ground, their arms held out to balance themselves. All eyes shifted to her as though she'd somehow managed the magic the shaman couldn't. Alaysha had to admit to herself it had never been delirium; she'd felt it long before they had, her bare feet able to sense the minute tremors through her skin. Something was shifting inside the ground, something that made the shaman send his gaze heavenward and mumble to himself more than usual.

  "What is it, Theron?" she asked him.

  He blinked at her. "The clay weeps," he said and she could see that his face was smudged from his fingers working at tears that couldn't come. She assumed he too had eyes that burned from the heat, and once more, she hoped the journey to the well would end soon so they could all drink their fill and splash their faces clean.

  "If it weeps," she said. "Let's hope the water is fresh."

  He gave her a strange look before climbing back onto the Enyalian beast behind Aedus.

  When they finally did stop again, Alaysha doubted there was a well at all. Just another encroaching flat plain of cracked earth for what looked like an eternity. Except here and there, a few cacti grew, short and spindly, as though they were exhausted from fighting the battle of drought. Thankfully it was more than she'd remembered seeing since the first days they'd crossed the boundary into the burnt lands.

  “Cactus, yes,” she said to Gael. “So there must be water somewhere, but no well.”

  His grin flashed white at her in the encroaching light. “Look harder.”

  She strained to see through the gloaming shadows. Theron and Aedus were already easing the warrior from the beast, and Edulph stood kicking at the soil from his spot behind it.

  Her nose twitched, tellingly. Yes. Water. Plenty of it. The power started to stretch awake within her breastbone.

  “Don't you see it?” Gael poked her with his elbow. “Some water witch,” he laughed, and without waiting for an answer, strode to help the shaman with the awkward burden of lowering Bodicca from the beast. Alaysha followed, pulling Aedus away as Gael grunted the woman into his arms and squatted next to a wide and flat piece of earth that was smooth of cracks. Then he eased her onto her side where she braced herself and propped herself up with her arm.

  She sighed heavily, as though she'd been holding her breath a long time, then her eyelids fluttered open.

  “Thank you, man,” she murmured and nodded to the smooth bit of earth just beyond where she lay.

  Alaysha crept closer to give it further study. As the sun leaked onto the horizon, bathing the land in blood, she noticed the earth wasn't exactly earth. It was a stone the same color as the ground, smooth and presumably flat. Anyone could stumble past it and tak
e little notice, focusing instead on the cactus, thinking to draw fluid from the flesh, or digging beneath to hope for a small puddle of water.

  “The secret of the Enyalia,” Alaysha breathed, and Theron smiled at her.

  “Shamans such as us always wondered, even traveling with the damned women.” He made a face of distaste. “The beasts' innards are not such delectable drink.”

  Alaysha could swear she saw him shudder, and she wondered what he was even talking about. Then something, a very strong desire, shivered inside her and she found herself licking her lips, not caring about Theron's linguistic mysteries in the least.

  “Open it,” she said to Gael.

  He didn't need telling twice. He pressed his fingers into the ground, feeling around, finding an edge.

  It wouldn't budge.

  “What's the trouble?” She heard the edge in her voice and knew it was thirst and impatience. “Hurry.”

  He shook his head. “No purchase.”

  “Wedge.”

  It was a croak, but at least a clear croak. Alaysha looked at Bodicca. Of course. They'd need to pry it up. Alaysha reached for her sword from Barruch's back and when she brought it close enough to the stone she could swear she heard the Enyalian grunt condescendingly.

  “What?” Alaysha demanded.

  “It's sure you're no warrior,” the woman answered and rolled her eyes.

  Alaysha turned to Gael and lifted her shoulders in question.

  He shrugged. “No warrior would use their sword for a wedge.”

  “You have a better idea? It's pretty big.”

  Bodicca flailed at Theron. “Shield. Girl. Shield.”

  Theron hustled Aedus over to the strange beast where she emptied a placard of wood and bronze. The top edge was pointed enough to dig, jab, or stab. The bottom was perfectly straight and flat, but as Alaysha grabbed it, she could feel that the edge was honed like a knife blade, something that could dig in and lift.

  She was about to fit it into the groove around the stone when Aedus let go an exclamation.

  Alaysha paused even as she was hunched over, Gael at her side, ready to help her put her back into it and grab the stone as she pried it up. She heard Aedus nudge her again, this time with Theron's own exclamation.