I opened my mouth to say something only to have the strange woman slap her gloved hand over my mouth with a surprising amount of force.
“Keep your mouth shut or I’ll sew it that way,” she hissed in my ear.
Stella yawned and pressed up against the woman even as I sat there shaking with pent-up frustration. I had no idea if it was because of the scene in front of me or this Jitta person's audacity but I didn’t like it.
My eyes returned to Theo’s slumped form sitting chained by the bonfire. He looked like a miserable wreck and the sight of it had set off a war inside my guts. He was a right royal prick. Someone I would have been quite happy to not see ever again in however long or short I had left in the world. The problem only arose when images of Gabby filled my mind. Theo might not be important to me, but Gabby was, and, despite his betrayals and just outright bastardry, Theo was important to her.
Fuck.
I rubbed my hand over my balding head, only vaguely noticing that Jitta had distanced herself from me. I could just walk away. Jitta was a complete stranger to me; who was she going to tell? No one had to know and there was no way in hell Stella would judge me. The sheer amount of unconditional love, loyalty, and support a dog gave you was the best part about having one.
I swore under my breath and followed Jitta, carefully and quietly army-crawling over the ground until the bush was no longer blocking my field of vision at all. Stella thought it a game and followed along on her own belly, her tongue hanging out of her mouth as she gently panted.
I’d not been listening to the string of insane rambling spewing from Orion’s mouth but I was now and from the bottom of my heart I wish I wasn’t.
“… Zenith we must form a solid circle around the bonfire and lift our voices in the traditional hymn of summoning. High Priestess Laury has assured me that you all are the most devoted and godly of her flock and as such I will not bother demonstrating. I trust you all will do your best.
With voices lifting to the heavens the High Priestess will make one singular loop of the circle, taking exactly three drops of blood from all of you. This is the important part, you mustn’t stop your singing while she does. You mustn’t even falter. If this ritual fails Melumek’s Lady will not hesitate to snuff each and every one of you out; feeding your souls to Melumek himself so he might regain the power your foolishness will have stolen from him. Do you understand?”
There he paused and waited out the wave of reassuring murmurs and pledges to do everything they could to see the ritual done to its completion. The light of the enormous moon glinted in Jitta’s eyes, making it possible to see how hard she rolled them even despite the hour.
Her whisper, whether it was meant for me or not, reached my ears on the gentle flow of air sailing past, “Preachy much?”
I had to agree with her but let's be honest, the man could have said a lot worse. I didn’t like where this was heading though. A bonfire, a prisoner turned sacrifice, and a soon-to-be collection of blood under a giant full moon did not bode well.
Oh shit, he’s talking again. This inability to pay attention was why I’d been so damn bad a schoolwork.
“… bow down. Do not lift your heads until the gift has been devoured by our Lord. Then, and only then, may you rise to your feet.”
Miranda’s hand swept out wide at that point, cutting off anything else the man might have been about to say. The flames of her dress roared much brighter, the orange hues turning something closer to purple as she eyed the gathered crowd.
“This can not fail. We have but a short time before the ritual must proceed. If anyone here has any doubts about their dedication please step forward. We must know now before we make the sacrifice.”
For a moment all was silent and then one of the black-robed members of the Fellowship of Fayum crept forward, her head bowed and her hands pressed tightly together in front of her chest. The hood of her robe hid her face from me but long dark strands of hair escaped the confines, fluttering in the breeze that whipped the flames of the bonfire into a fury behind Miranda and Orion.
When she spoke, it was in a shaky and desperate squawk. “I have doubts that I am worthy enough to be present. If my being here were to impact the ritual negatively the deepest depths of hell would not be punishment enough for my middling soul.”
Miranda smiled gently down at the woman, a look so at odds with the situation I’d found myself observing, and gestured for her to step up closer.
“What is your name, initiate?” Miranda asked.
“Sister Avery, my Lady,” the woman answered.
Miranda stiffened at the name, two red blotches appearing at the height of her cheekbones as she stared silently at the woman. I saw even from this distance how her hand tightened around the scepter she held. The smile she wore no longer reached her darkened eyes.
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I dug my fingers into the firm dirt beneath them, my lungs complaining about my held breath. Avery had been the name of the Cleric who had tortured Miranda in the caves what felt like decades ago but was probably only around a year and a half. So much had happened in that short amount of time and yet I remembered the entire scene so vividly.
Miranda cowering in the cage covered in filth calling the cleric ‘Mistress Avery’. Miranda had seemed so frail and desperate back then. I’d watched her grow into the young woman she had wanted to be only for her to turn into what I was looking at now. She was still so young; maybe half my age if that. If anything could make me regret my romp in the Shadow Realm, watching Miranda right now was it. It felt a little like I’d lost a sibling. Something I was painfully familiar with.
Miranda’s chest heaved with a deep breath as her eyes briefly fluttered closed. When she let the breath out again a calm had settled over her. Orion relaxed from his place beside her, the hand he held in the pocket of his cloak slowly withdrawing as he flexed his empty fingers. I don’t know what he had in there but whatever it was it couldn’t have been good.
“Fear not, Sister Avery,” Miranda said, her voice barely quaking at the name. “Melumek has searched your soul and found it as dark as ebony. You will be a fine addition to the ritual. He has asked that you make another offering to the broth, to show you have understood his praise.”
The Sister’s shoulders and back straightened as Miranda’s words filled her with pride. She practically danced her way to the flames and threw back her hood revealing a face mangled by dismemberments like so many of the others.
The High Priestess walked up beside her, holding a curved dagger that glowed with magic in her hand. “Do you wish to choose your offering?”
Sister Avery beamed beneath the hole that would have once been her nose and held up her left arm. “I wish to offer him this limb so that he might gain strength from my flesh.”
“You have my approval dear one. Should all go well this night I believe a change in robes will be in order. Now position yourself, and think only of our dear Lord,” the High Priestess said.
Sister Avery dipped her hands into the bubbling cauldron, not flinching for even a moment as the sludge within swallowed them whole. Before she’d even had a chance to readjust her stance the High Priestess flashed forward, slicing clean through the woman’s arm right at the elbow joint with ease. The plop of limb sinking into the sludge was inaudible over the screams that followed. Blood streamed from the stump as Sister Avery stumbled away from the hungry flames. A red-robed cultist darted forward from their place in line, gripping the Sister in a firm hold and forcing her to return to the others.
My breath was coming in short sharp bursts now as the contents of my stomach roiled and threatened to spill out. Jitta reached out and squeezed my arm so tight I thought she’d leave a hand-shaped bruise. I couldn’t tell if she was trying to calm me or herself down after that vicious show. Either way, I appreciated it.
Miranda on the other hand didn’t seem to be. The red blotches had grown now, creeping down her neck. Tiny pink flames were sparking around her fingertips, just enough to be seen. Orion stepped up awkwardly close behind her and whispered something in her ear that made her flinch just the smallest amount. When he’d finished she spread her arms wide again, the gossamer thread of her gowns wings sparkling.
“Silence,” she called in a voice that commanded attention.
The gathered crowd stopped their muttering and Sister Avery fell silent even as she continued to cup the bleeding stump of her left arm tight against her chest.
Miranda pointed a sharp finger at the moon that had sailed high already. “It is time to prepare the sacrifice. Fall into line and remain there. I do not wish to hear a single word from your lips.”
A cacophony of shuffling boots was the only reply as every single cultist present formed a tight circle around the bonfire leaving only the High Priestess, Miranda, Orion, and the chained Theo in its center.
Orion turned to Theo and produced a key, sparing a moment to release the man's shackles. It did little for Theo though. He remained where he was, his head still bowed.
“Get up,” Orion demanded, gripping the former Champion tightly under the arm and hauling him to his feet.
Jitta grabbed me then, pressing her cool lips against my ear, and said, “Do not interfere, do you understand?”
I glared at her and snapped back as quietly as I could manage, “Fuck off I won’t, this is insanity.”
“Shush. This is my task, not yours. Do not get in my way.”
I worked my jaw, trying to force out all the questions I had in a wild jumble of nonsense words but before I could she threw herself away from me and curled into a ball. She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms tightly around them. My eyes just about popped out of my skull as her body rippled like my shadow creatures and she shrunk to a size so small she could have easily sat in the palm of my hand. Then, she unfurled her wings and hopped to her tiny stick-like legs, spreading her tail like a fan behind her.
Jitta was a willie wagtail.
The realization pulled everything into place for me. Stella already knew the woman, that’s why she’d been so welcoming. Jitta was the willie wagtail that had helped me in Castle Condamine. The one that had got Kendrick all up in arms when I’d told him about it. Not only that though, I now knew why her human form was so familiar to me. She was the beggar woman. The member of the Shadow Walkers sent by Kendrick to help me complete the Ill-gotten Crown of Reverence quest.
The tiny bird flittered up and gently scoured my scalp with her tiny talons before disappearing into the night on her way toward the bonfire. I had no way of knowing what her plan was or if Kendrick had sent her this time too but I sure as hell wasn’t going to wait around and find out. Not when I could be a part of it too.
“Stella,” I whispered to my girl. “Stay here and don’t you dare attack me, alright?”
I stared at her for a long moment hoping she would understand my words before I copied Jitta’s example and curled into a ball. I might not be able to turn into a willie wagtail like she could but I had something almost as good.