A Witch’s Demons (Witch's Path Series: Book 6)

by N. E. Conneely

  “It’s yours. It was the most beautiful thing I could picture, so I made it for you.” She rested her head against my shoulder. “It won’t melt. It will stay like that, strong, beautiful, and unaffected by heat waves or gusty winds.

  “Elron, you loved me when I didn’t love myself, when I wasn’t the witch you’d met, and when I wasn’t sure how I would go on with my life.” She swallowed. “You’re this shining force of love, who so clearly cared for me, not for me the witch, or the business, or the police questions. You were prepared to be my strength and my will for as long as it took.” She reached up and rubbed her eyes. “You’re amazing and I love you so very much.”

  I searched for words that did not come easily to me. She wanted more than love, because she already knew she had that. “This is the perfect gift to symbolize us. We are together in defiance of everything that has tried to pull us apart.” I gently set the tree on the grass, well away from the two tornadoes, and pulled her close “This sculpture is magnificent. However, even if your power never comes back the way it was before, I will be by your side until you take your last breath. I will love you until the end of my life.”

  She wrapped her arms around me and squeezed. “I don’t think it will come to that. This”—she motioned to the various magics strewn through the grass—“has taken effort, but I can feel the magic building inside me. Right now I can only use a trickle of power, but I’ll get better.”

  Whilst she seemed content, for which I was happy, I had doubts. Would better be enough? Could she be happy knowing she had never reached her full potential? There would be time for me to ask such questions, but not now.

  I leaned my head against hers. “All I want is for you to be happy.”

  She pulled away, eyes gleaming. “You know what would make me happy?”

  “What would that be?”

  Michelle pointed at the ice sculpture. “If we found a nice place for you to display that.”

  I gently picked it up. “That could be arranged.”

  Behind her, the two twisters died and the flame went out. She shot to her feet. “Let’s go. I have an idea.” She jogged over to the lodge.

  I followed at a more sedate pace, not wanting to damage the sculpture. Michelle was holding the door open for me while tapping her foot. As soon as I was in the lodge, she darted around me, heading for the door to my place.

  Hesitating, I glanced at the door to her apartment.

  She saw where my eyes were going. “Oh, no. It’s going to live in your place.”

  “I spend more time in your apartment.”

  “Nope.” She shook her head. “I made it for you. It should live in your place.”

  Enjoying the friendly argument, I suppressed a smile. “Perhaps I should take it to work. It is a magical plant.”

  She snorted. “You’re reaching, elf. That thing is ice, and you know it.”

  “In the past you have had an invigorating effect on plants.” I did my best to look thoughtful and serious. “This could simply be a different type of magical plant.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Nice try, but it’s a sculpture, and it’s living in your apartment.”

  A delightfully fun idea sprang into my mind. “Would you be open to compromise?”

  Michelle narrowed her eyes. “It depends.”

  “May I be so bold as to presume you still wish to set a wedding date?” I watched as her eyes narrowed and she slowly nodded. “Very well. We can set a date, and we will find a place for this magnificent sculpture where we may both enjoy it.”

  “That sounds nice, but you are sneaky, elf.” She tipped her head to the side as she considered.

  “In truth, we both win,” I offered, hoping it would sway her.

  “Perhaps, but I feel like one of us will win more than the other.” Skepticism filled her voice.

  I sighed. “Think what you will. I am simply attempting to find a solution that we can both enjoy.”

  “You’re a sneaky elf, but you love me.” She shrugged. “Let’s do it. Shall we go to my place while we discuss the date?”

  “As my lady wishes.”

  “I’m going to regret this,” she mumbled as she opened the door for me.

  “I truly hope not as we are discussing the day you will marry me.” Her back was to me, so she did not see me smile.

  “Not that part, Elron!”

  It was good to have my witch back. She vanished into her workroom, and I set the sculpture on the dining room table before seating myself. She returned with a calendar and settled into the chair next to me. In a matter of seconds she was flipping through pages, muttering to herself.

  Finally she looked up at me. “How does this fall sound?”

  The date was irrelevant to me. This was solely for her enjoyment. Ladies, be they elven or human, had a tendency to plan every detail of their wedding day. “Delightful.”

  At the same time she said, “Or winter?”

  Her eyes widened and she glanced down at the calendar and then back at me.

  “Either,” I said with an indulgent smile.

  “Well, if you want a longer engagement, then I’d have to say winter. But if you want something shorter, well, fall is nice. Of course, you could want fall of next year… which would make Ethel and my mom happy. They’d have plenty of time to plan everything.”

  Reaching out, I tugged the calendar away from her. “What would make you happy?”

  She inhaled slowly. “To marry you. A few friends, family. You and me, in some crazy blend of witch and elven ceremonies. A retreat somewhere quiet, a place where we won’t be responsible for anything, and then we come back here and live a very happy life.”

  I picked up her hands and looked deep into her eyes. “A quiet honeymoon is something we can arrange, but I doubt our lives will be quiet.”

  “Oh, no.” She laughed. “I’m going to keep working with the police. There will be magic, mayhem, and witches galore. I expect hundreds of years of excitement.”

  “Then as long as we both understand what we are getting ourselves into…” I paused and she nodded. “Any date you like would be absolutely perfect to me.”

  Michelle thought for a moment. “Late fall. Even small weddings take an atrocious amount of planning, and that should delay things until after the fall convention, so Ethel will be happy. Besides, we could even get married on the anniversary of the day we met.”

  “That we could, and I bet Landa knows the date. I was renting a room at the time.” The happiness emanating from Michelle worked its way past the doubts and fears I had about her recovery. If this was as much magic as she could ever hold, she would still be a witch, and a happy one.

  The floorboards wiggled under us, and the lodge began gathering energy. It sent me an image of what it intended. I lent some of my own ability to its effort. The wall behind Michelle rippled.

  She jerked her hands out of mine and whirled around. “No, oh no. Not again.” Her shoulders sagged. “Landa told you not to do that!”

  I came up behind her and laid my hands on her shoulders. “Patience. You will like this result.”

  “Yeah, right,” she muttered.

  The rippling extended from the corner of the room, down past the door to her bedroom, all the way to the exterior wall. She glared at me over her shoulder. “It better not mess up my apartment.”

  Since nothing I could say would make any difference to her, I simply continued to pat her shoulders. Little by little, the rippling retreated. First it released the exterior wall, then it moved back until the door to her bedroom was clear, and finally, it exposed a tall but narrow door tucked into the corner. The rich oak door was dominated by a carving of a figure, who to my eye resembled Michelle, surrounded in swirls of what could only be magic. They emanated from the woman, stretching to the edges and corners of the door.

  Michelle did not seem inclined to move, so I stepped around her and pressed my hand to the wall. “Many thanks.” Other than a tiny wiggle of the board under my hand,
the lodge was quiet.

  Turning around, I found Michelle glaring at the door.

  “Do you wish to see what the lodge has given us?”

  She heaved a sigh and slowly walked forward. Michelle’s hand was on the doorknob when she looked at me. “Are you sure you don’t want to go first?”

  I motioned for her to go ahead. While she was making faces at the door, I picked up the tree sculpture.

  She opened the door and leaned in. “A hallway? Why?”

  “Perhaps you should see where it goes?”

  Michelle walked forward. “A really narrow hallway. I don’t think we could stand side by side.”

  It was narrow. There were only inches between my shoulders and the walls. However, the sun pouring in through the skylight made it feel larger. The door was identical to the oak door leading back to Michelle’s apartment. It was tall and narrow, but this one was carved with trees of every shape and size.

  Ahead of me, Michelle was slowly tracing the carvings. I glanced around, quickly spotting the recessed shelf the lodge had promised me. It took only a moment to place the sculpture. The light showed off its many facets, creating tiny spots of blue, red, green, purple, and even little rainbows of colors. This was how the sculpture was meant to be displayed, in full sun, in a space created just for the two of us.

  Michelle turned back to me, her brows pulled together. “Why does this go to your apartment… Oh, oh my. That is perfect.”

  I moved back so she could stand in front of the tree and soak in the beauty she had created. Michelle stepped back, leaning against my chest.

  I wrapped my arms around her, leaned down, and whispered, “This is a place for us. Even with our front doors locked, we can visit one another, and two apartments begin to make way for one.”

  “Thank you.” Michelle rested her hand against the wall. “Thank you for giving us a new way to share our spaces, for helping ease our transition from two people with two lives to two people sharing a life.”

  I felt the lodge reach back.

  Michelle yanked her hand away from the wall. “That tickled.” She rubbed her hands together, then set her fingertips on the wood. “Thank you.” She pulled her hand away before the lodge could reply.

  She gazed at the tree sculpture, which was shimmering in rainbows of light, and sighed.

  “Is something wrong?”

  “Oh, no.” She smiled at me, but it seemed forced. “I was thinking about what’s going to happen between now and the wedding. The spring convention, new jobs with the police, the fall conference, and it feels like a lot.”

  I pulled her close and kissed her forehead. “It is, but we will face it together.”

  “Together sounds nice.” Michelle relaxed against me. “We have until you breathe your last breath, right?”

  “Correct.”

  She looked happy, but I was still concerned she would someday resent me. She would watch all her friends die, the world change, and be different from every other witch.

  Michelle’s smile faded. “Then I need you to promise me something.”

  “Anything for you.”

  “Keep breathing. Don’t stop breathing until this world has lost the wonder we both enjoy and the magic has faded away.” Her words were soft, but there was an undercurrent of fear and worry.

  I gathered her against my chest, squeezing her tight. “I did promise you forever.”

  Her lips turned up in a small smile. “That you did.” Then she pulled me down.

  As our lips met, I hoped our forever, be it another thousand or two thousand years, would be enough.

  Turn the page for a preview of

  Witch’s Path Book 7

  The next chapter in Michelle’s adventures.

  Coming not nearly soon enough!

  Witch’s Path Book 7 Excerpt

  “It is my pleasure to introduce to you my chosen successor.” Ethel’s voice was strong and firm as it rolled across the auditorium. Her gaze kept lingering on the section closest to the stage, where the ministers of every clan of witches in the country were sitting. Well, almost all of them. Both my parents were ministers, and they were in the two seats to my right.

  From my seat behind Ethel, I couldn’t see her expression, but from the time I’d spent with her, I suspected it was a warning glare followed by a stare that felt like she could see into my very soul. As the premier, Ethel was the head of all the ministers, really of all the clans and witches in the country, but we still needed supporters, especially as she stepped down from the position.

  “She is a witch born with the mark of the Ieldra and has already lived up to the promise of power and ability written into her skin by her clan scar. Many of you know her from the recent great work, where she was the point and caster of the spell that rid our world of demons.” There were soft gasps and sharp inhales as the witches who hadn’t known who I was started putting the pieces together.

  Ethel waited for the audience to quiet before continuing. “My heir, the premier in training, Michelle Oaks.” Clapping, Ethel turned to look at me.

  I stood up with a polite smile plastered on my face. My palms were sweating, but with more than ten thousand witches and six cameras focused on me, I didn’t dare wipe my hands on my slacks.

  The ten feet between my chair and the podium seemed like a mile. Months ago when Ethel, the current premier and head of all the witch clans in the United States, had told me I’d be making this speech, it hadn’t seemed nearly so scary. Now, under the hot lights and with everyone watching me, I wished I was back home at the lodge, surrounded by peaceful forest.

  Rather than running away, I did exactly as I had been instructed and took careful steps over to the podium. Ethel stepped back, her smile encouraging and yet toothy enough to remind me of the stakes. In a few seconds I would be speaking as the premier in training, and all these people would be weighing and measuring my every move.

  I rested my hand on the edge of the podium, grateful to feel solid wood under my fingers. I glanced down, and as promised, my speech notes were there. Taking a deep breath, I started the speech I’d rehearsed at least a hundred times. “Good evening, and welcome to the spring convention. In case you missed the premier’s introduction, I’m Michelle Oaks of the Docga and Wapiti clans, in training to be the next premier.” My notes included a prompt to smile, so I did, and hoped it was warm and appealing rather than frightened.

  “In the few hours I’ve been here, I’ve already heard twice as much fiction than fact about me.” Ethel’s advice—Smile. Don’t look nervous. Check your notes—kept echoing through my brain, making it difficult to remember what I was supposed to say. “For instance, I haven’t yet, nor do I ever intend to, munch on babies or drink their blood. I had a spinach omelet for breakfast.”

  Chuckles rippled across the audience, and I smiled a little wider. “Like you, I’m a witch.” I pushed magic out of me, sending up bright flares of red, white, and blue sparks that fizzled out high above my head. “I want all of us to prosper, live long, healthy, happy lives, and fully integrate into the society in which we live.”

  My smile faded and I took a deep breath, steeling myself for what I was about to announce. Once I said these words, there was no going back. I wouldn’t be able to take them back or wish them away. “I grew up without a clan. While some of you may consider that to be a handicap, I consider it to be an experience that shaped me as an individual and gave me insight into what all of us could have. There are a great many benefits to clan, but all of us need to take a good look at the world around us. We cannot continue to hold to the old ways, ignoring everything else.”

  A heavy silence settled over the audience.

  “As premier, I will be working to find a balance between our culture and progress, because I’ve seen witches abducted to bend them to a clan’s will. I have watched my family members be tortured in the name of tradition and clan.” I forced my eyes to stay open so I couldn’t relive the memory of what had been done to my mother. “A
nd I have watched the law of this land be barred from doing their job because agreements signed years ago forbade them from interfering in internal matters.”

  I let my gaze trail over the crowd, doing my best to make sure each of them felt like I had looked them in the eye. “That ends today. We are witches. We will always be witches, but we do not harm one another. We do not use clan ties to hurt other witches. We are not above the laws of this land but part of it.”

  The rapt attention and lack of normal shifting or whispering was unnerving me. I just needed to get through one more line. “I hope you will join me in building a new way of life, one where tradition and progress can live side by side.”

  Stepping back, I waved and started back to my seat. Behind me the light applause slowly grew until it was thunderous, with witches all across the room amplifying the sound of their group. It was more support than I’d expected, and that in and of itself was a win.

  My mom and my dad both gave me proud smiles as I settled into my seat. I took a deep breath, feeling like a great weight had been lifted from my shoulders. The speech was over. It had resonated with some, and that was good enough for now. Hopefully with time others would find that the new ideas had benefits and the support would grow.

  Ethel returned to the podium. “Over the next few days there will be several panels featuring this topic. I encourage all of you to attend, ask questions, and explore what it means to hold on to our identity while more fully integrating with the laws of the land.” She waited for them to absorb that information before continuing. “For those of you who are like me and feel a great gap of age and experience between yourself and someone as youthful as Ms. Oaks, let me assure you that she will be fully prepared before stepping into my shoes.”