Authors: Rebecca Airies
It definitely needed someone in residence to protect it. The present attack was proof
enough of that.
“That’s a good question, but the Sorcerer could have called them back to him
already.” Jaeson shrugged.
Samiel knew that could be possible, but Dark Sorcerers usually left the carcasses as
intimidation for a while. Especially when the village didn’t have strong protection.
Nothing was going to get explained until they found someone to talk to about the
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attacks. They headed toward the center of the village. The coven house should be near
it.
They made their way through the streets. The sounds of hammers and chisels filled
the air. They saw the men of the village busily working. The bulk of the men were
working on the wall. Those men not reinforcing the wall seemed to have been given
demolition duty and were taking down the houses that were too damaged to be
repaired.
Turning down a final street, they found the coven. The sect house loomed in front
of them. Made of dark gray stone and standing two stories high, it easily dominated the
other buildings around it. A large statue stood on either side of a set of stairs leading to
the wide, metal-studded wooden doors. Looking at the statues he realized they were of
the lady Goddess worshipped and honored by many of the witch covens. But these
weren’t just plain statues. The two images had been draped in bright red gowns.
Flowers crowned the figures’ heads and jewels and gold glittered at neck and wrist.
Judging by the fact that the petals scattered near the stone feet still looked fresh, this
had to have been done this morning.
Shaking his head, he went up to the doors and knocked. It took a few moments, but
one of the doors eased open. A young witch in a red-trimmed tunic and pants stood in
the opening. Her youth gave him a moment’s pause, but then he realized she was
probably still in training and had been given one of the more tedious chores. She didn’t
look surprised to see them. The elders had probably known of their presence even
before they’d landed.
“We need to speak with some of the elders.” Jaeson smiled easily at the young
golden-haired witch.
The woman blinked at him, returning the smile. Samiel watched the witch nearly
drool over Jaeson. Samiel couldn’t fault her. Jaeson’s silver-blond hair, light golden skin
and muscled body were inspiring.
“They’re expecting you. I’ll take you to them,” the woman said in a low, husky
voice as she stepped back leaving the door open for them to enter.
Samiel stepped into the coven house behind Jaeson. He paused to close the door
before he followed. The walls of the large hallway were the same dark stone as the
outside walls but had accents of white and silver. Bright flowers were placed on small
tables here and there. Jaeson’s white shirt gleamed in the light from the magical
lanterns hanging overhead. The woman led them down one hallway before turning
onto another. She finally stopped before two pale-brown, wooden doors. She knocked
first and then pushed them open.
A long, ornately carved wooden table faced the double-doored entrance. There
were two smaller wooden tables to the left of the room. A black-haired woman stood
near one of the small work areas, looking at something on the on top of it. Two women
with streaks of gray in their hair stood beside her. Samiel could hear them talking, but
their voices were so low that he could only catch the occasional word. At the ornate
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table, three other older women had been looking at a large book, but their eyes turned
to the door the moment it opened.
The black-haired woman at the work desks was probably the youngest woman in
the room aside from the witch who’d escorted them. The woman’s cocoa-brown skin set
her apart from the women next to her even more than her youth. Her light gray pants
and smoky purple shirt also marked her as different. The elders wore long flowing
skirts and dresses not suited for action.
The woman noticed them then. She spoke a few quiet words to the elders, nodded
and stepped away from them. Samiel let his eyes linger on the curves of her breasts and
hips as she turned. He’d love to get his hands on those.
“I’ll see what I can find here first. I’ll talk to you if I find anything of interest,” the
woman said. She nodded to the other elders and headed for the door with barely a
glance at either him or Jaeson.
Determined to get at least the basic facts, Samiel focused on the elders. There’d be
time later to discover if any of the local witches would complete their
tri’inal,
a mated
triad of a witch, vampire and dragon. The last two elders took a seat behind the long,
dark-brown wood table. He saw them looking Jaeson and him over as if assessing them
and none of the women looked impressed or very welcoming.
“How long has your village been under attack?” Samiel watched the women’s
faces.
“There have been at least five major attacks over the last few months, many other
testing probes. A single
merdanon
sent to cause panic the first time,” one of the women
at the far left of the table said. Her skin was wrinkled, her hair white, but her blue eyes
sparkled with life and intelligence.
“We sent for aid. Why didn’t you or any other dragon or vampire come before
now?” A slim elder with gray-streaked hair, one of those who’d been talking to the
younger witch eyed them warily as if she wasn’t sure they could be trusted.
“We didn’t get any requests. Not from you or from any other town in this area. We
came because the main sect house asked us to check on the coven and village since there
hadn’t been any messages in months,” Jaeson responded before Samiel could.
Every one of the elders gasped. “We sent message after message. Most of the
messengers never returned but we thought they were too afraid of the
merdanons
to
come back without aid. Those who did make it back were sent more recently and they
never got through the pass out of the mountains. They were blocked by merdanons and
the Sorcerer.” A short, frail-looking elder with leathery skin and steel-gray hair shook
her head. “Now that we know that absolutely none of our requests made it through we
have to assume that at least some of the women sent have been captured.”
Samiel studied the woman. She might have been one of the oldest witches in the
coven but he’d bet she’d been out there fighting with the rest of them. He could see the
spirit, the determination in her eyes. He couldn’t help but admire their skill and
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tenacity. There were cities and towns with many more witches and wizards that had
fallen under such persistent attacks.
“We’ll get them back, but first we have to discover who the Dark Sorcerer is and
where he’s hiding. How have you survived so long and what did you do with the
merdanon
bodies?” Jaeson cocked his head to the left.
“We were lucky, but we also have some very capable witches. Surrendering wasn’t
really a choice.” The elder at the end of the table stood. “I’m Elder Talia Sarash. We
thank you for coming to help us.”
“There will be more dragons and vampires coming to help now that we know there
is a problem. The Dark Sorcerer has to be stopped. He’s not going to stop on his own.”
Samiel stepped forward to clasp her hand. He’d wondered for a while if their help
would be welcomed or not. “We’ll go see what we can do to help secure the village in
the meantime.”
Samiel started toward the door. He heard Jaeson’s footsteps, but then they stopped.
Samiel turned and found Jaeson looking back at the elders. Samiel knew that
expression. Jaeson was curious about something.
“How did you keep the animals out all night long?” Jaeson asked.
“Oh, a few of our witches held shields on the worst spots until the sun rose. By the
time the battle was over, it wasn’t that long.” One of the elders waved her hand.
“They’re resting right now.”
Samiel nodded. That explained a few things. It also gave him more reason to
admire the witches of this coven. They took care of themselves and those around them.
He turned and headed for the door. He and Jaeson could go seal those holes and give
the men a chance to repair the houses. As well, they’d be able to magically reinforce the
wall and hopefully prevent another breach.
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The first of the other dragons and vampires began arriving just as Samiel and
Jaeson finished strengthening the wall. Walking over to meet them at the double, black
metal gates, Samiel recognized many of those who’d arrived and was happy to see that
more than one set of dragon-vamp pairs were among them. He saw Danan and Grae
near the front. Behind them, Maxim and Jadin strolled into town. Jaeson had told him
Gaellon and Lassan would be staying to help the other village in these mountains. A
few single dragons and vampires had arrived as well. In total, about eight dragons had
come to help. That should be more than enough to deal with the Dark Sorcerer in the
region, especially with the help of these witches.
Samiel strolled forward and clasped Danan’s forearm. “It’s good to see you. They
don’t know what’s behind this but the Dark Sorcerer has been persistent.”
Jadin looked around the area, his eyes running over the buildings and people. “I’m
surprised to see this town as intact as it is. The other village didn’t fare as well. How did
they manage it?”
The vampire appeared as astounded as he had been. Samiel could understand that.
This village and the witches here were unique. They’d held firm in a desperate situation
that would have had many people running.
“Apparently cooperation, determination, and an inability to accept defeat,” Jaeson
explained.
“Well with an attitude like that, we’ll have a step up on the Dark Sorcerer.” Maxim
nodded and smiled.
Samiel led the way into the small town. Groups of witches stood watching them.
One of them, a tall, thin redhead separated from the group and stalked forward. Her
lips were compressed into a tight line. She almost vibrated with anger. Samiel
wondered whom it was directed toward. He didn’t think it was the dragons and
vampires although he would have understood if it was. They’d been waiting for help
for a long time.
“You’re here to destroy the Dark Sorcerer? What are you going to do about the
minion the elders are protecting?” The woman put her hands on her hips.
Samiel blinked. That was the first he’d heard of anything like that. It sounded
absurd. The elders wanted to save the village, not give it to the Sorcerer. Still it was the
kind of accusation that couldn’t be ignored. He wondered why the woman hadn’t said
anything before now.
“Why don’t you take us to this minion they are protecting and we’ll decide what
needs to be done.” Jaeson crossed his arms over his broad chest.
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Samiel smiled as the woman drew in a sharp breath.
“What’s to be decided? She needs to be killed.” The woman shook her head.
“If she even is a minion. Only when we feel her magic will we act. There’s a certain
taint to the magic that’s unmistakable.” Jaeson took a step forward. “We’re not going to
chance killing a witch who isn’t a minion. Witches who turn to the dark arts are rare.”
“So lead the way.” Danan gestured to the street ahead of them.
She frowned and turned heading down the street. Samiel followed. If there really
was a minion, he doubted she was still in the town. She wouldn’t want to face a group
of vampires and dragons. There was also something strange about the redhead’s
attitude. She seemed to have thought that they’d go kill the woman only on her word.
They wouldn’t ever do that sort of thing. There were too many ways mistakes could be
made.
He again mounted the steps to the sect house. The woman in front of them pushed
open the doors. She looked left and right standing totally still for a moment.
Apparently, she didn’t know where the supposed minion was. She stalked down the
hall, stopping the first person she saw. After a few quiet words she again led the way
with confidence. They went deeper into the sect house, beyond the elders’ council. She
pushed open a large single door and entered. Stepping into the room, Samiel realized
they were in a library. Floor to ceiling bookcases lined the room and even more
bookcases stood in rows across the room. The minion was supposed to be here? The
woman’s story didn’t fit even more now. Minions and Dark Sorcerers lived to cause
trouble. Unless she decided to burn it down, there wasn’t much trouble she could cause
here.
The woman led them through a corridor of shelves to the back of the vast library.
Three women stood around a table littered with stacks of books. They didn’t even