A Dragon’s Witch

by Tina Glasneck

  His black hair was oiled back from his hardened face. His beady eyes darted around the room, and if I didn’t know his soul’s evil, he might have appeared normal. But he wasn’t.

  Evil.

  I would no longer live a broken, meager existence. No longer live in the shadow of his abuse. I’d lived a hundred lifetimes, and this would be my comeuppance.

  Stalking toward the head of the table, I stared only at him. He sat just a few feet away. Repercussions be damned, I wanted him to pay now!

  The sound of my mother’s voice cut through me. She cut off my approach and gripped my arms.

  “Dearest, Abele,” she said, “where have you been? You must prepare at once for this evening’s ball.” Her gaze dipped down, and I knew she knew. Through clenched teeth, she mouthed follow me.

  I swallowed down the large lump in my throat. Mama led me away from the one thing I’d regretted not doing: killing Philip.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Leif

  Having Tink again in his near, Leif considered his options. She was ripe for his touch. He could hear her heartbeat revving, her breathing hitching. Despite the tightening of desire in his loins, now was not the time.

  With the gates open, men and women entered wearing their best. Horses pulled ornate carriages boasting the crests of the royal houses nearby. Tonight, personage from all tiers would be present, even his own house.

  The castle grounds overflowed with activity; he could smell the mixture of the paranormal magic mixing with human sweat, the intense aromas of spices like cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and pepper as if he’d walked into a local tea shop.

  Leif meandered around inside the thick walls. After leaving Tink, he went off in search of the truth. If he closed his eyes, despite all of the alluring aromas around him, he’d be able to pinpoint which subgenres of supernaturals had come out to play.

  Each carried its unique scent, at least to him, but he’d been around the block for a while. Now, one of the oldest of his kind, and with the bloodline to back up his power, he feared nothing. Leaning against the wall, with his head down, and eyes closed, he caught the sweet flowery aroma of the fae, wild whiff of a werewolf nearby, and something he couldn’t identify, compounded by the stench of unruly humans, drunk on ale.

  He’d dressed the part, finding clothes to fit in, and stayed to the shadows so as to not be recognized. It had lasted less than ten minutes before someone noticed him after all

  “What is he doing there,” one slurred.

  It had been a while since he’d had the luxury of a good fight. But he wanted to hear more. They were far enough away not to be a threat.

  “Don’t mind him. He’s a bloke here for the damn ball. If they only knew what the ball was about.”

  “Shh, Garrick. Don’t you know the master said you couldn’t say anything.”

  “What is he going to do, take away his promise to help us?”

  “He’s done worse before.”

  The ground shook and quaked and a loud screech reverberated across the sky. “Shit,” one said to the other. “Let’s go and lock the gates. The fun is about to begin.” The man snickered, and his friend patted him on the back.

  “What about him?”

  Leif knew they meant him. He’d not moved a muscle.

  “What is one dead nobleman? He’s almost dead anyway. Once word gets out a vampire is around, he’ll be dead enough, and the reward is a pittance now, not worth all of the hassle. I’m not that hungry to risk it.”

  They headed off, and Leif raised his head and looked up. The dragon had landed and was now perched on top of the tower.

  In all of his time with Jasmine, he’d never found a reason to fear either man or beast. His breath caught. Tink was in there. His Tink. And this meant she might be in danger.

  He caught sight of his banner, led by his brother, Erich. What a relief. He didn’t know he was holding his breath. Tonight, if his instinct was anywhere near correct, blood would flow, and he needed his best friend and brother.

  Finding Erich, he maneuvered to his side. “You are a sight for sore eyes.” He broadly smiled, and Erich turned to him, and frowned.

  “What in the name of the gods! How is this possible?” Erich asked and clapped Leif on the shoulders. “You’ve been gone without a trace for a while.”

  “And you were left to rule the kingdom in my stead?”

  Erich frowned. “I don’t know what you mean. Our father still sits on the throne, but he was very saddened you never returned after your trip to pay tribute to the gods.”

  “The gods? I’m sorry, brother. I’m mighty confused. From our last engagement and disagreement, you were quite enraged and ready to do battle.”

  “Aye, but let us not speak of this now. If you are here, that means you, too, have been invited to witness the dragon’s ascension.”

  “The dragon? I know of only one.”

  Erich hung his head slowly. “You have no idea what has occurred since your retreat. The Great War came to us, and in our allegiance to the dragon, we are here to express great sacrifice.”

  “What of your men, of Ajax, Minsk, Sasha?”

  Again Erich frowned. “I don’t know of whom you speak.”

  Leif frowned again, but he knew the truth. Since he had arrived before Jaz in the timeline, that meant Jaz had not yet given Erich what he needed to activate that part of who he was.

  Leif pulled Erich away. “Dear brother, it is I. I know who you are, and what you are. You are the necromancer, the son of Hel, able to do great things of raising the dead. How is it you now cower?”

  Erich glanced around nervously. “You must have caught the fever, for this is not true. I’m Erich, the adopted son of King Frederickson. And you must know all supernaturals were required to register, and it is illegal to actively engage in any supernatural activity not decreed by the Order. Any demigod or suspected demigod has been culled. And you are mistaken. My mother was a simple Viking woman of the old ways.”

  Leif refused to argue with him. It was something only he and his father knew, as the Goddess of Death appeared shortly after Erich was found on the battlefield to inform his father of his task—and no one crossed Lady Hel.

  “The Order?” Leif asked instead. He needed to know more about this place, and how things functioned. It was all sword and sorcery from what he figured. Kingdoms he’d known had fallen to be replaced by this strange rule of law.

  “What of the clerics?”

  “Not so loud. We do not need such attention. Where have you been? The Order of the Dragon—Societatis draconistrarum. Tonight, we must declare our oath, and he will declare his intent, as the kingdom has come forth with its most eligible women for him to choose his mate. The clerics will bless those it regards as part to enter into the mage class, while others will be deemed as warriors and healers.”

  “What will happen to the others who are not chosen?”

  Erich sighed. “The Dragon’s men shall gather the warriors tonight, for those present will be chosen to fight the enemy heading to decimate the kingdom. A rival army is making its way up the coast, and this here shall be our last stand.”

  Until Erich could meet Jaz, he and his talents would be untapped. He couldn’t leave his brother to such an existence. Erich needed to know the magic of old lay under his fingertips, like the lay lines, waiting for the lightning to crack, thunder to roll, and the dead to rise at his command.

  “Brother, come with me. I need your help to make sure we succeed. We shall no longer dream, plus, I know who your beloved is, of whom you dream of every night, and from whom you can’t escape. Help me, and I shall help you.”

  Erich’s once-solemn face suddenly lit up. “What do you need me to do?”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Tink

  My mother fluttered around me in my chamber, and the basket of kittens rested in the corner. She didn’t say anything about them, and I didn’t announce they were staying. The scent of roses permeated the simple room
: a cupboard bed was the only furniture, and under the pillow, I’d find my journal, I knew.

  The bed was made of wood, with ornately carved doors with black iron hinges. It kept me nice and warm without having to worry about tending the fire during the night, or rats.

  Did I mention the rats liked to scurry around? People loved to talk about this time period with so much romance, but no one spoke of the infestation of fleas and rats: the one good reason to always have a cat. They hunted the rats, and all other small creatures that might sneak in. They were skilled hunters.

  Man, I wished I liked cats.

  I inched over to attempt to pet the cat and kittens, but instead, I could only stare at them. I’d been mistaken. It was a mother cat with her kittens. My cheeks puffed out like I was trying to hold my breath and hyperventilate at the same time. The striped things didn’t do anything unusual at my being there. Instead, one licked its front paw and proceeded to try and cleanse its head and ears, while another licked its back. The other three resembled poofy cotton balls, and the mother cat dosed. Whew, who knew? One of the kittens must have noticed me, and sought to exit the basket. Mama cat, an orange long haired cat, wasn’t having it, though, and gave him a sweet meow, and swat. He turned in a circle and then nestled up against his siblings.

  “You know our current situation, and a scandal of any type will only make our predicament much worse,” Mum began, and all of the pressure of what it meant to be a woman of this society came back to me. There was no women’s liberation movement. Instead, daughters were akin to chattel. One needed to marry well or lose all footing. “You can’t keep all of these cats. They will say we are witches. Such talk could doom us all.”

  We were well off enough, and living in the castle was a nice reprieve. Plus I didn’t have to share my small chamber with my siblings. I remembered every moment of staying up to read, with the cupboard bed windows opened, allowing in more light—even when the candle dimmed, the embers in the fireplace no longer glowed. The moonlight would still provide enough light to continue to read those cherished words.

  The shutters were thrown open, and through the glass panes, I regarded the reddish moon, the Blood Moon. The warmth from the summer night filtered in.

  This room belonged to a young woman I no longer was. Most of the small trinkets had neither meaning nor purpose.

  I remembered sitting on the settee and peering out of my window to watch Leif and his soldiers appear. Every. Damn. Time.

  So filled with hope, unbridled desire, and now, only regret.

  “Abele, you mustn’t dawdle,” Mum chastised. The memories fluttered away like dust particles. The room disturbed them only for them to again resettle in some form or shape in my mind.

  “Do you believe in second chances, Mum? That love can transcend time and space?”

  Mum frowned, and her hands stilled on the dress she removed from the closet.

  Back here, every part of me made me want to be with Leif again. All of the wishing and hoping from back then had taken seed and now sprouted. His face represented home, but in that space and time, things and people change.

  I was no longer an innocent girl who crushed on the older prince in his shiny armor. But the butterflies, I couldn’t entirely forget. The way he looked at me, and saw me. I worried. Sure he could take care of himself in this strange place.

  “Fated mates? Men are easily replaceable, and love does not fulfill that of duty, honor, and obligation. Love is for those untitled.”

  “Did you feel so about Papa?”

  A broken and pained smile crossed her face. “We lucked out. It was a love, which grew with time and opportunity. Marriage is not something one must dread. Unfortunately, dear, we are not allowed to be reckless.”

  The door burst open, and in ran Olivia. Her raven locks flowed behind her. “I don’t understand why I must wear this unbecoming frock while both Emma and Abele get to be practically bedazzled in rich material. I, too, want to meet someone.” She pouted.

  I couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped. “You needn’t laugh at me. Mother, since you call her so lively, it is not like she needs such a frock.” It ballooned and made my shoulders shake.

  “Olivia, you are as boy obsessed as ever.” Of course, she didn’t understand it was simply hormones making her notice the opposite sex like never before. At sixteen, she was a late bloomer. But now it was taking off with a sprint. “I think you need a cold shower.”

  They both turned to stare at me as if I’d spoken a different language.

  “Olivia, hush, and hurry up and get ready,” Mum said in her thin impatient voice. She dismissed the maids, and we stood alone in my chamber. Mama cat had taken to resting on the stairs to my cupboard bed instead of in her basket. I’d think about it all later, and hoped she wasn’t trying to terrorize me.

  “I saw what you’d planned,” she chastised. “You cannot kill your brother.”

  I remained silent. She didn’t know what he would do to us all, but I did.

  “If you knew what I did, you would think differently.”

  She lowered her voice. “I have scried into the silver bowl and know more than you think. Death is in the air.”

  She placed a chain-like veil over my heart-shaped face and pulled my blonde hair back into the chignon.

  “What do you know, Mum?”

  “In the village, the wise women have been rounded up, judged, and burned at the stake. They are blamed for this latest sickness.” She poured fresh water into a washing bowl and dabbed at her hands. “It is rumored his lordship has created a guard that heads into the villages to round them up. Where the witches are found, it doesn’t take long for the sickness to begin, creating towns filled with grayness. Lord Donovan looks out for us.”

  “Grayness?”

  “Yes, it is the step before death, when death is in the system, the body loses its rosiness, darkening as if drained. Unable to find a term, someone coined them as vampires, but these do not resemble the beautiful ones of myth. Instead, it is painful to look on them. They attack us to drink, too. But still, it is as if they wait for someone’s command.”

  “But we hunt the roaming vampires to keep this place safe.”

  She beckoned me over so I, too, could wash my hands. “Currently, I know you mustn’t allow them to peg you as a vampire hunter or witch. You must show great healing powers, as that will save us.”

  I scrunched my face. “I have been training to be the best in the arcane, as you and father taught me to.”

  “But the world has changed. The old ways are persecuted. Those who rule do not find comfort in the ways of the gods.”

  “What about Emma, Olivia?”

  “I have ordered Emma to pretend to be a pretty face, no substance, no secrets, an innocent. And that she is. Olivia was thankfully too young to learn anything. They will be safe. Instead, Emma must pursue her happiness, find a suitable suitor.”

  “And what of Philip?”

  “Your brother is troubled.”

  “No, he is a traitor and will auction us all off to the highest bidder or sacrifice us on the pyre for his gain.”

  “Don’t speak ill of your brother.” Mum cinched the corset tighter around my waist. “Tonight you are to be at the ball and behave. No shenanigans. Our future is at stake.”

  Her words couldn’t have been more honest.

  “Mum, there is magic all around us. These beings, they don’t have our best interest at heart.” My voice hitched. I’d lost her once, and the thought of having her die again cut me deeply. I’d had to bury them all, and only Philip had remained.

  “Yes, I smell it, too,” Mum said. She leaned forward into the warm air. “But you mustn’t be distracted, even by the vampire who accompanied you back inside these walls. He will only get you killed.”

  “The vampire?”

  “I see things even others might not. His kind is not for you. All of that bloodletting, and binding of souls to one another. They are the least of the liked supes, no matter
how handsome and desirable they might be. You would be better suited with someone not of his ilk.”

  “He is a prince.” I defended Leif. He was so much more than what my mother knew.

  “No, he was. Now, he is nothing more than shame on the crown. You are not to be seen with him again. Promise me.” She continued to pull the corset ever tighter until I could barely breathe.

  With him, I could almost imagine these long gone days, and maybe look back and cherish them like they should have been. They might be filled with humor, staring upon the puffy clouds, and perhaps, we could begin this all over again—no baggage of who and what we once were, but who we were now.

  “There is a new religion that rises along the coast, and witnesses have declared that the dead are undead, like your dear prince. They are draugr all under the command of their leader, a wolf-shifter.”

  “Leif is not one of them.”

  “Be happy that he has not been killed already.”

  She lifted a lovely crimson-red dress that flowed behind me. Panic filled me as my unease grew. “I must check on the others and make sure they are also ready for us to descend to the ball. Tonight we will be scrutinized by the entire kingdom. I need not tell you to hide your light under a bushel, dear. Tonight is about finding a suitable husband.”

  With Mum out of the room, I located my blades and placed them on my stockings, tightening them with a garter around my thighs.

  I would not let anyone hurt Leif, even if I had planned on killing him myself. He was now mine to protect.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Tink

  The ball began with the usual pomp and circumstance; gentlemen dressed in their tailored ensembles of bold and bright colors. Their silhouettes were almost square with accentuated broad shoulders under slashed jerkins and doublets. Each wore a pair of hose that went to their knees, to then meet up with netherhose held up with garters. But the oddest of features were the attention-grabbing codpieces. It was like all of the men decided they were going to play football and needed a large cup to protect their—ahem—crown jewels. I tried not to giggle like a teen.