Rivals (The Cross-Worlds Coven Series Book 3)

by Phil Stern

  Letting the paper slip from her fingers, Eleanor gracelessly flopped back down in her chair. “Do you know who these women are?”

  “I have a pretty good idea. They’re the same biddies who sit around here all day long, complaining and carping about the younger generation! A few sit on your own Council.”

  “You must not be so critical, dear.” Taking a deep breath, Eleanor tried to rally. “At one time, these women...”

  “No, Eleanor, you listen to me!” Eyes blazing, Tiffany slowly shook her head. “The universe they knew is gone. It’s a different deal now. First Gensrow, then the ruby coven? Coven Sticks and modern weapons? Safe houses and fortresses in other dimensions? They think we’ve all gone mad!”

  “What are you saying?”

  “It’s a new day, and they can’t handle it!” Throwing up her arms, Tiffany angrily shook her head. “If we’re to thrive, or even survive as an organization, we need to be even more active in the outer worlds, not less! But they’re willing to betray everything we hold dear just to hide away here!”

  For once, Tiffany had the pleasure of witnessing Eleanor completely taken by surprise. “I never thought any of them would go this far,” the Coven Leader barely whispered.

  “Well, they have. You need to act immediately. It’s time to cut out the dead wood from our own ranks.”

  “Well, clearly...”

  “No. No temporizing, and no deals! The Coven Leader needs to stop protecting the old guard no matter what, all while patronizing the girls who actually go out and do the work!”

  “I beg your pardon?” Distastefully pushing aside the bag of midate, Eleanor’s fingers drummed on the wooden desktop. “Haven’t I always told you how much I respect...”

  “Yes, yes. I’m your top girl, the best of the best, blah blah blah.” Snapping her fingers, a chair magically formed beside Tiffany, in which she then sat. “But when I needed a little understanding, not to mention help, concerning my sister? Why, you chopped me off at the knees!”

  Drawing back, Eleanor was momentarily at a loss. “My dear girl, Valensa is very dangerous...”

  “Oh, and let’s not forget how comfortable you were letting Blake die at the hands of Claire’s witches! What was that, my punishment for defying you?”

  “I’m very sorry he’s dead.” Eleanor sternly eyed her. “But maybe it’s for the best...”

  “No, Eleanor! You’re wrong!” Actually pounding the desk, Tiffany triumphantly leaned forward. “Blake’s not dead, because I saved him! Actually, we’re engaged now!” Holding up her left hand, a beautiful diamond sparkled in the afternoon light. “Feel free to congratulate me.”

  Her mouth literally dropping open, Eleanor didn’t respond.

  “So obviously, I’m staying on Earth,” she primly continued. “And by the way, Valensa is also safe and sound, thanks for asking.”

  “How could...”

  “Oh, and she’s now a member of our Coven.” With a satisfied nod, Tiffany leaned back. “In fact, Valensa was essential to our successful raid into Zarth. Actually, she may be the strongest sorceress of us all! But I think you already knew that.”

  Desperately trying to keep up, the Coven Leader could only stare fiercely across the desk. “What do you mean?”

  “You’ve been hiding something from me, Eleanor.” Folding her legs, Tiffany was now the very picture of a relaxed young woman. “Actually, you’ve been hiding it for years, haven’t you?”

  Eleanor’s eyes narrowed. “Whatever do you mean?”

  “You were informed about Valensa a long time ago! But when Barbara first told you of a teenage witch, rotting in jail, you swore her to secrecy and decided to do nothing!”

  “This had gone quite far...”

  “You knew my sister was back on Dytha, long before the Zarth coven found her! But you also realized Valensa presented a future threat to your leadership. At that point, it was simpler to pretend she didn’t exist.”

  “That’s outrageous! Why would...”

  “I was already here, in Haven. You knew my potential already. Then you stumble on Valensa, just brimming with untapped ability.” Tiffany gave an elegant shrug. “Eleanor, you weren’t getting any younger. The idea of two young, powerful sisters, coming of age six years apart, was a little more than you could stomach. That’s a power block waiting to happen. You might have even feared such a thing might split the Coven itself.”

  Though about to fire back, Eleanor suddenly hesitated. “My dear girl, these accusations are quite outrageous,” she gently chided. “However, I will admit that my one goal has always been to keep the Coven whole, stamping out all disharmony.”

  “Sure. That’s why you allowed Barbara and myself to remain at odds all these years. Because you so abhor disharmony! Of course, now I see how such tensions allowed you to sit in the middle, maintaining control at all times.”

  “Tiffany! How could...”

  “Oh, I get it. Barbara was the perfect Deputy. Simple, straightforward. Good, but not too good. Always followed orders without question...that is, until she overreached herself.” Almost beaming, Tiffany inspected her own engagement ring. “That must have been a shock, huh? Openly challenging your leadership wasn’t in the grand plan. But you handled the Conclave perfectly, I’ll give you that.”

  “Barbara as Coven Leader would be a disaster!” Laying a balled fist on the desk, the very idea was clearly offensive to Eleanor. “That you must see!”

  “Oh, I do,” Tiffany readily admitted. “Her perspective is way too narrow. Barbara’s good for leading a tough mission, or bucking up the younger girls now and then. But she has no strategic vision. Or your political ability.”

  “I see.” Sitting up, Eleanor’s steely gaze confidently rested on the younger woman. “Then I take it you’ll continue to support me?”

  “Of course,” she sweetly replied. “But my impending marriage will not be an issue for the Council. In fact, everyone’s invited to the ceremony! I certainly hope you can make it.”

  “Marriage?” Eleanor caught her breath. “But no Coven member has ever...”

  “I will be the new lead sorceress on Earth. I’ll have thirty girls under my command. We will share the dimension with the Zarth coven.”

  “Really?” Eleanor could only shake her head. “Claire might have something to say about that!”

  “She might. But I’ll also be the lead negotiator for our permanent peace agreement with Zarth. Now that we possess all her midate, have beaten her top girls, and have Valensa on our side, she’ll be in no position to argue.”

  Raising an eyebrow, Eleanor said nothing.

  “Don’t worry, we’ll also make her withdraw from Tethra and all the rest. Or at least stop causing all kinds of trouble in those dimensions.” An airy wave of Tiffany’s hand indicated this wouldn’t be a problem. “Now that I know what her real game is, in fact, she’ll be easy to deal with. We could even work together on reforming Zarth. It might even be fun.”

  “We don’t operate on that level, subverting governments and so forth. You know that.”

  “Well, now we do.” Tiffany stood, holding out her hand. “Do we have a deal?”

  Pausing, Eleanor idly looked out the window. “I will not be dictated to.”

  “No one’s dictating anything.” Shrugging, Tiffany gave a soft smile. “This was all your idea. Wasn’t it?”

  Thinking long and hard, Eleanor then hesitantly gathered herself. “Thank you, my dear.” Rising opposite Tiffany, she then shook her hand. “You’re right, this was all my idea. It will solve many problems, I believe.”

  “Just make sure you solve Susan and her cohorts permanently. I’m sure there are some nice, boring dimensions they can be banished to.”

  “Indeed.” Dropping her hand, Eleanor now reverted to her old self. “Now leave me. There is much to ponder.”

  “Oh, I know.” Turning about, Tiffany began sauntering back towards the door. “Including how you’re going to explain to Valensa why you just
abandoned her as a child.”

  Drawing herself up for an angry retort, Eleanor instead watched her young operative glide out of the office. A moment later the outer door to the building opened and closed, leaving the Coven Leader quite alone.

  Collapsing back into her chair, Eleanor suddenly felt very fatigued. She might need to rest several minutes, maybe even take an afternoon nap. Actually, that sounded quite nice.

  In any event, it seemed like Tiffany Smith had things well in hand. Maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing.

  *****

  The day began like countless others before it. Waking up at the crack of dawn, the tall, strong man let his senses become acclimated to the new day. A bird called out some distance away, along with the roar of an lion-type beast much closer by. Even as he registered these sounds, the wolves who were his sleeping companions lifted their noses into the air, sniffing hungrily. It was either a very bold, or very stupid animal who wandered so close to their lair.

  Growling in anticipation, two of the strongest pack members now jumped up and padded silently out into the wild jungle. Though a hardened predator and tough fighter in his own right, in all likelihood the lion was already doomed. For against the pack, very few stood much chance of survival in this harsh, unforgiving world.

  Rising from the hard cave floor, the man quickly walked out into the tall grass to relieve himself. Testing the air almost like an actual canine, the lone human detected a growing storm on the humid air. By this afternoon the torrential downpours would be upon them, the slashing, howling wind and rain pounding into the outer portions of the caves themselves.

  For over two years now it had been thus, the man formerly known as Evan Gensrow scratching out this meager existence with his pack. Carried here by the strong, red-eyed wolves following his defeat in Jain, the powerless wizard retained only hazy memories of his former life. Sometimes, at night, he would dream of the black fire and wondrous abilities it conveyed, along with scattered images of terrified commoners and the trappings of power. But that seemed like another life, lived so long ago it had ceased to matter. If, indeed, he had ever lived it at all.

  Now he existed in the moment, content to stalk and hunt, fight and cavort. It was a good life, full of provocation and danger. The only reward one sought was to live yet another day, doing enough to earn your share of the pack’s food and shelter. Many had failed in this most existential of tasks, now fallen and long forgotten. But despite his obvious physical disadvantages, compared with the other wolves, at least, Evan’s heart beat just as strongly as it ever had.

  Sure enough, the two hunters soon howled out in the jungle, triumphantly announcing their kill. Accompanied by two pack mates, he then streaked off through the underbrush and trees, unerringly finding the dead lion and the blood-soaked wolves who’d killed him. It was a small beast, really just a juvenile, out to test his mettle. To the great joy of the pack, youth and inexperience had been his undoing.

  No one interfered as the former wizard hefted the beast around his neck and across his broad shoulders before carrying it back to the cave. Mobility was actually one of his odd contributions to the life of his pack, and Evan was proud to provide it.

  Amid the accompanying feast, however, a new wolf jogged into the cave. This was an unusual event, normally accompanied by much growling and fighting, the interloper almost always driven off. Yet his own pack shrank back at the mere presence of this newcomer, silently parting their ranks to allow access to himself.

  Dumbly staring at this strange wolf, raw blood and gore dripping from his lips, Evan Gensrow was stunned at the sight of a pulsing black stone within his mouth. Padding over, the rock was dropped at Evan’s feet, all the rest drawing back a respectful distance.

  Eyes growing wide in wonder, the re-empowered wizard tentatively picked up the magical talisman, feeling it’s malevolent, searing energy once more inundate his very soul.

  Look for more of

  The Cross-Worlds Coven Series in 2016.

  In the meantime, check out Aydia, Book One of The Aydian Series. Perhaps best described as “adult” Science Fiction, Aydia features a rich cast of characters vying for power on a faraway world. Book Two in The Aydian Series, Fusion, will be released later in 2015.

  Or, you may be interested in Rogue Powers, another fantasy world

  from Phil Stern.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Phil Stern is a former radio talk show host who splits his time between New York and Florida.

  For more on The Cross-Worlds Coven Series or the author’s many other works, please visit the Phil Stern Author Page on Kindle or Facebook, or feel free to follow on Twitter (@philstern100) or Goodreads.