'Well, well, well. What have we here? An opportunity of sorts; how divine.'
Intense magic rang through the air, beckoning my attention. Raw and purposeful, it echoed out into the shadows. I lurked through the darkness to locate its source deep within the forest and discovered a quaint little cottage nestled in a clearing among oversized pines.
'Mmm, this cottage… it rings with such power. Absolutely delightful.'
Winding in and out of darkness, I crept my way inside. There were countless places to hide amidst all the chests and cupboards. Choosing a spot high on a shelf, secure from sight, I wriggled into the shadows of two tomes and watched.
“Hurry! We need not waste any time preparing. The binding must happen tonight. If they find that she is gone, it will be an all-out war.”
I studied the source of the magic as the elderly woman prepared her ritual at the head of a grand oak table covered in carvings and runes. Disheveled silver hair hung low on her back and tattered wool clothes clung limp over her feeble frame.
'You are the one responsible for this immense presence of power? How could such a meager woman hold such ancient and powerful magic?'
Other dark sisters scurried about the cabin around her, their breaths as hurried as their feet. Each with a clear purpose as they gathered supplies. The melody of clinking bottles and rustling papers serenaded my senses.
My attention dropped to something else. The promise of magic had lured my affections, but the young maiden lying in a corner now claimed them. Her pale naked body lay beneath a sheepskin blanket, with her flaming curls strewn about her.
What piqued my interest more was what she held within. Something I surprised myself by missing at first glance. Scarce shallow breaths hid her true power as she lay there unconscious on a bed of feathers and straw. She was more than I could have wished for.
An anomaly.
A weapon that would withstand me and the forces I wield.
'And you, my dear child, are exactly what I need.'
The beldame distributed her ingredients, discarding what didn’t belong on the floor, paying it no more mind. An eagerness danced in the magic that seeped from her, a bead of sweat dripping from her nose as she readied her focus to enact her spell.
“This will suffice. We must move her now. You gather her ankles. You grab hold of her arms. One, two…”
Violent pounding halted her words, shaking the floor beneath her feet. The room fell silent, and I sank deeper into the shadows.
“We’ve come for the girl, witch. You, better than anyone, know you cannot break the sacred vow! We demand her release at once.”
I held my place, perking my ears to listen more closely.
A whisper escaped from the one holding the girls’ feet. “How did they locate us so fast, ma’am?”
The old woman’s weathered face twisted. “It’s impossible! I have concealed and protected this cottage for over a hundred years. It has been spellbound so no one could discover it, and it would have remained hidden from their sight.”
'Hidden? Ha! I found you with ease. Nothing can hide from the shadows. They are ever present and ever aware. Foolish mortal.'
“It matters not how they found us. Complete the binding now! Hurry, take your places.”
With one heft, the two women hoisted the maiden onto the oak slab, the sheepskin falling to the floor. They aligned her body with the markings and runes carved in its center. Positioning her head in front of the old woman, they made quick work of securing her limbs with hemp and vine.
“Together now - avelum navori tortuum - avelum navori tortuum - …”
The old woman called into the air, the others joining her with each repetition. Shifting in the shadows, the words filled me, pulling me closer to my prize. As the ancient magic circulated through the room, the witch made her sacrifice, slicing open a rat to fill the wooden bowl in front of her. The scent of blood flooded the space, flowing into the shadows.
'Oh, that’s good. Blood magic to call the darkness. To call me. Yes, this sweet, delectable tang in the air will give way to what’s to come. Blood is such sweet nectar.'
The crimson fluid rippled around each of her fingers. Speaking ancient words, she reached over the maiden’s head and painted a rune between her breasts with her thumb, then marked the same symbol on her own chest.
Sparks erupted from the blood rune on the maiden, and a shimmering emerald glow formed in the air above her body. Magic was taking hold. Faint winds soared through the room, rustling the damsel's hair and igniting the glow into blazing flames.
'Finally, show me the way, Shade. Usher in my darkest plan. Once I see which of my brethren you have called forth, I will seize control.'
The incantation's dark magic blanketed me, and I poised for my assault. The timing had to be perfect, so I prowled with anticipation.
Pounding at the door grew louder before a resounding boom echoed through the room. The wooden door jolted off its frame and crashed into the wall. A burly man rushed in, drawing a sword from his side as he peered around the cottage. Two men followed, flanking him on either side.
“What is this game you play, old shrew? Where is she?” he commanded, a sword pointed at her chest. “Mariette Cypher, this decoy of yours will not stand. Now, if you bring us to her quickly and quietly, we will allow you to live.”
'How dare they interrupt this summoning? But what is this? They can’t see? Ah, clever, clever Shade. You concealed my precious offering from their sight. How thoughtful of you.'
I moved from shadow to shadow as I listened to the other women sing their song to the darkness.
“I will not. She is an abomination and I will not allow that part of her to live on." The woman anchored on her heels, bracing for the inevitable attack that was to come. "She will have nothing to do with your kind. Once I am finished here, there will be no claiming her as your own.”
Her eyes filled with hatred as she took a brazen step towards them. “Your son may have fooled my daughter, but I am not so readily deceived. This creature cannot remain whole simply because my Sebene was impulsive with her decisions. Her mistake now taints my coven with an unnatural presence!”
“How dare you sully my son's name with your venomous declarations, witch? She is my granddaughter, and it is her rightful duty to fulfill her obligations to my clan. If you fail to surrender her, we will have little choice but to take her by force!” His eyes flared with an amber glow as he snarled at her, countering her objections.
“So be it, but your power is worthless here, Torcal.” She bowed. “You cannot turn. The entire cottage and surrounding woods are spelled with ancient charms to render beings like you impotent. No one can refuse that in this sacred space I hold rule.”
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“We shall see to that wench.” Torcal lowered his body into a combative stance.
He stampeded forward with unnatural quickness. The crone shrieked to her coven as she dodged his blade.
“Press on, dear sisters; you must complete the binding!”
The other women closed the circle and continued their invocation. The flaming runes above the maiden flickered and dimmed. Their light faded, and the wind halted. I growled from the shadows as the spell waned to near nothingness.
'No, this cannot happen. I must interfere now or else my opportunity will be lost. A more perfect vessel may never exist again.'
Before I could decide on my next move, one of the women shouted.
“The spell won’t hold! Without Mariette, there’s not enough power to maintain it. We must siphon her to finish the binding!” The maid started a secondary chant of her own. “Aurei delesru mahika nu.”
The flame flared, its burning light danced in the faint wind once more. The sisters gripped their hands tighter, fighting to maintain the siphon and buy more time.
Mariette studied Torcal, contemplating her next move. Drawing her dagger, she anchored in for a swift slit at his chest, but as she plunged it towards him, the hilt of his blade struck her side. The connection surged through her body, stumbling her for a moment’s pause. Torcal took the opportunity to call out to his comrades.
“I can deal with Mariette. You two find my granddaughter and get her back safely! Go!”
“Not so fast, Torcal!” Mariette hissed, holding her ribs. Recovering her stance, she waved her hands to each side, gripping her fists together. With a snap of her fingertips toward the ground, wind burst from her, slamming into him. A sly grin flashed across her face as she lowered the veil of her magic.
He shielded his face from the wind and then glanced past Mariette to his men. They were halted, frozen in place. The sound of chanting filled the room. Voices rose to his ears, and the rest of the cottage shimmered into view. The maiden was visible now, lying on the table, surrounded by the other witches.
“What manner of magic is this, Mariette? Those words. You are not….” Torcal growled.
"Oh, but I am! I was left with no choice the moment my daughter's womb bore that monstrosity. This will cleanse her and make her whole, as nature intended. She must be bound!” she called over her shoulder. “Finish the binding. Call the demon! Hold fast, sisters!”
Mariette snapped her fingers, and darkness shot across the floor to each of the three men, wriggling up their legs like snakes slithering in for the kill. Once the darkness took hold of them, she snapped once more, and they vanished.
'You stupid old hag. Where did you run off to? I should interfere now, but then I'll miss my chance to intercept the summons. I must locate them at once.'
I focused my senses deep within the shadows, my vision dancing through the darkness of the forest as quickly as it could. A crow perched on a branch caught my eye.
'Ah, there you are. You will do nicely.'
I split my vision between the crow’s view in the forest and my own in the shadows of the cottage. Peering through one eye, I continued to watch over the witches and their summoning.
Torcal and his men toppled to the ground as they exited Mariette’s spell and took in their new surroundings. They glanced at each other in confusion. Mariette chuckled from behind, and they whipped around to meet her, brandishing their swords to fend off any potential attacks.
“What did you do, witch? Take us back at once. You do not understand what you’re messing with if you bind her; the sacrifice you're making.”
He moved to take a step toward her, but the shadows remaining at his feet kept him in place.
“I know what I am keeping from you, what I am sacrificing. I’m also aware of what you will take from me if I do not bind her. Your kind will use her magic to tear this world apart. I cannot allow that.”
A burst of air surrounded them, and the soldiers trembled in place. The vibrations of the magic pulsed through the trees, heaving them to and fro.
“Yes, my sisters! Finish the spell. It’s almost complete. The demon approaches! I can sense the magic siphon through me. Bind her!” She held her magic tight around them as she waited for the ritual to finish. “You cannot reach her, Torcal. It’s too late.”
The crow above cawed as I surveyed from within. My attention waned as another presence scurried about behind me, and I turned to meet it. It bobbed its head back and forth, looking in all directions as it slinked through the darkness.
“Leave here at once. This one is for me," I hissed.
The demon stilled, lowered its beady eyes, and recoiled in the shadows beneath it.
“Why yes, your grace. Forgive me, Great Earle. I did not sense your presence. I merely responded to the summons calling out into the shadows. Forgive me, my lord.”
As it retreated into the darkness, a shimmer caught my eye.
'Ah, what is this? The thread of her magic siphon. Curious. The Shade will surely sense the demon’s absence; now is my only chance to seize hold of what is mine before she notices me interfering.'
I reached out with a single shadowy finger and plucked at the magical thread.
Mariette’s laughter stuttered. The vibration of my touch charged through her connection, alerting her to my presence. Her eyes flared and she faltered in place.
“What’s happening? No, this cannot be. The siphon… that demon... is wrong.”
Torcal saw her distraction, the shadows at his feet retreating, and shot toward her in an instant. As the words left her lips, his blade met her throat. He stood behind her, his blade against his forearm. A single drop of blood cascaded down his elbow, dropping to the ground, and he glanced at it with a sigh.
“I said we would have her and did not wish for it to be this way, but I was the one left with no choice this time.”
Torcal twirled his blade around to his side. With a swift flick of his wrist, blood splattered on the ground as Mariette fell to her knees. The forest grew silent as he approached her and knelt to meet her gaze. The horror in her eyes made him shudder.
Magic stormed throughout the cottage. The thread swelled, and I knew I had little time before it would shatter. I leapt from the shadows onto the table beside the maiden. Trailing a finger along her blood markings, I took a deep breath in as I sniffed her body. The fragrance of her unbridled power was hypnotic.
'Yes, this vessel is sheer perfection. She will help me usher in a new age. Now to be rid of these witches so no one can stand against me. As soon as the old crone is dead, I will use the surge of power to enact my plans.'
I released my hold on the crow and waited for the thread to break, for the backfire of magic to come so I could release my chaos.
***
Blood trickled from the corners of Mariette’s mouth. “You know not what you've done. You fool. You have damned us all.”
Life faded from her eyes, and her body fell at my feet. A gust of wind burst through the trees, carrying screams that broke the silence. I surveyed the forest and caught sight of the cottage in the distance. My stomach churned as I glanced at my men, then shot toward the sounds. My muscles screamed as I pushed them past their limits, hoping I would reach her in time.
I flew through the doorway and came face to face with pure destruction. The screams deafened my ears, and the taste of iron filled the air. Several of the sisters lay dead on the floor, blood dripping from every orifice. Others were missing eyes or hands.
Pure chaos.
I pushed past them and approached the table, sinking to my knees in defeat at the sight. The large oak slab had split, scorch marks kissing the floor around it. My granddaughter was gone.
“WHERE IS SHE?” The words bellowed out from somewhere deep within.
No one acknowledged my plea, so I turned to the nearest witch and seized her by the shoulders. I shook her violently and brought her face to meet mine. Burned streaks of blood ran down her cheeks, empty sockets where her eyes should be. I jostled her once more.
“What did you do with her? WHERE IS MY GRANDDAUGHTER?”
I shoved the woman toward the table and collapsed. My gaze fell to the scorch marks beneath my palms, and tears flooded my eyes. My roar shook the entire cottage. The dark sister sobbed and whimpered. I heard her faint words and crawled to her. Cradling her head in my hands, I leaned in, listening.
“The spell. The connection. It’s broken. The spell. The demon. Without Mariette… c-c-couldn’t stop him. He took her. The demon - wrong - he - he -” she stuttered as she tried to get the words out through gritted teeth.
Her voice was full of pain and rage. “An explosion. The darkness. His shadow. The screams. The blood. This is all your fault!”
I held her in my arms as she wept, scanning the carnage all around, and watched as my men tended to those who still clung to life. The gasp rang through my ears as the maid in my arms drew her last breath.
“What have I done?”