The Blood Witch (The Blood Reign Chronicles Book 1) (47 page)

“It was horrible!” She said, “I woke up in the cave and you weren’t there. I looked, but couldn’t find you anywhere, and I didn’t know what had happened. Then I saw a horrible creature that looked almost like an old shriveled woman coming out of the cave. I ran and ran to get away from her and hide. I thought she might have killed you.

After a time, when I thought she had gone, I went back to Elsdon. But everyone there was dead. I didn’t know what else to do. I was afraid she would come for me too. So I ran until there was nowhere left to run. I ended up here.”

“I thought she had killed you,” Jak said softly. “I couldn’t find you anywhere. The Blood Witch killed everyone in Elsdon except Gin and me. I thought she had killed you too. We’ve been hunting her this whole time. I wanted to kill her for what she did to you and our families.”

Fierce anger flashed in Brigette’s eyes for just an instant, before her doe eyed innocent look returned.

“I’m so glad I found you Brigette. I missed you so much.”

She pulled herself against him once again and laid her head against his chest. Jak wished they could just stay here like this forever. It felt so right and comforting, and it was the first time since that night that he had felt anything close to comfort and peace.

But right then he heard a commotion just down the street. He looked to see an angry mob moving quickly up the street right towards where he and Brigette were standing. Not knowing who they were or what their intentions were, Jak didn’t want to get caught up in the middle of it.

“Come with me Jak,” Brigette said with a pleading anxious look in her eyes. She was glancing between him and the angry mob advancing towards them down the street.

“We have rooms at an inn,” Jak said in a rush, “come with me. We can keep you safe.” He took a few steps across the street before he realized Brigette had not followed him and now the crowd was getting very close.

“No Jak, come with me. Please!” her voice sounded pleading but the look in her eyes was one of impatience and rising anger. Why was she angry with him? He was trying to help her and get her to safety. Nevertheless, she continued to back away towards the other side of the street. Suddenly, with a last angry glare at him, she turned and darted around a corner in the opposite direction.

Jak started after Brigette but it was too late, the crowd overtook him and he was caught up in the mob of people flowing down the street. He was jostled, elbowed, and nearly knocked to the ground before he finally made it clear of the crowd. He received angry shouts from the crowd for his trouble, but thankfully, no one was turning to confront him or follow.

The mobbing people had carried him quite a ways down the street before he could get clear of them. Hurrying back to where he last saw Brigette, he looked around frantically but could not find her anywhere. After searching for a time without any luck, he finally reluctantly gave up. Brigette seemed to have just disappeared.

From a distance, Jak saw several more groups of people, along with patrols of the City Watch. The members of the City Watch were trying to break up the assembled groups and were using clubs to aid them. Jak did not want to be mistaken for one of them, or caught up in one of the crowds again. It was well past time to be back so he grudgingly gave up his search and turned to run all the way back to the inn. The only comforting thought was at least he knew Brigette was alive now. It was just a matter of puzzling out why she had run off and would not come with him.

When Jak finally made it back and entered the common room at the Sailor’s Delight, his friends were nowhere to be found. He saw Luxarn across the room and started to approach him, thinking the man might have seen them or know where they were. When the innkeeper saw Jak, alarm crossed the man’s face and he hastily scanned the room.

“Were you followed?” he asked, still glancing all around the room nervously.

“Followed? No. Why would I be followed?” Jak asked in confusion.

“Come with me,” Luxarn turned quickly and herded Jak through the kitchen to a back storeroom. The innkeeper glanced around again to see if anyone else was looking, before pulling on a row of shelves, which opened to reveal a hidden door. Opening the hidden door the innkeeper ordered Jak down a dark staircase. Luxarn did not follow; instead he closed the door behind Jak.

Panic struck Jak, thinking he was being taken captive again, before he heard low familiar voices coming from below. Descending the rest of the way down the staircase, he found Benjim, Nicoldani, and Gin seated around a small table in the cellar below the inn.

“What's going on?” he asked. “Why are you all down here? Why is the innkeeper acting so strangely?”

“It seems things are worse, in a way than we previously thought,” Benjim answered somberly.

“But I am glad to see you are safe. We feared you might have been captured or worse.”

“Captured by who, the mobs on the street? Jak asked, still not knowing what was happening.

“No, by the City Watch,” Benjim said gravely, “as it turns out the witch is nearly in control of the entire city. She has control over at least a part, if not all of the City Watch, including the captain. The Watch is looking for us, or rather you in particular.

Luxarn told me that the Watch came while we were out, asking questions about us. The descriptions they have match us without a doubt. We are a rather conspicuous traveling party and it is certain they want to find us. That means the witch knows we are here in the City, and if that is not bad enough, she is the new magistrate, of sorts,” Benjim paused to let all the news sink in.

“However, in our favor, many of the people of the city are not taking it lying down. Many believe that she is the one who had Magistrate Jaren murdered. They do not know she is the Blood Witch, however. But they are rising up in rebellion against her to oppose her becoming the new Magistrate. Better if they do not find out just yet that she is the witch as well. Many will be too frightened of her to stay the course if they knew the truth. But the good news is that at least we know where she is now.”

That didn’t sound too bad to Jak. At least they should have help from the people of the city who opposed her. Even if some of the City Watch were involved, if the people of the city rose up in rebellion they could overpower the watch. At least it sounded simple enough to Jak.

Suddenly Jak remembered something and blurted it out before thinking. “I have great news. Just before I returned here I found Brigette, but we got separated in a crowd. I was going to bring her back with me…..”

Everyone’s head swung to face Jak and they all began to talk at once.

“Brigette?” Gin said angrily, “she is the one who killed mother and father and everyone else back home. She is the Blood Witch.”

“What do you mean you were going to bring her back here? Did you tell her where we are staying? Does she know where we are now?” Benjim asked with a tinge of anger in his voice. It was not like the old man to get angry.

“You talked with the witch?” Nicoldani burst out, his voice dripping with contempt, “why didn’t you kill her when you had the chance?”

“What? ……..wait………Brigette is not the Blood Witch,” Jak protested defiantly, “she was fleeing from the witch. I talked with her, and it
was
Brigette. I know it was her. She is not the witch. And no, I didn’t get a chance to tell her where we were staying. She ran off before I could.”

Benjim put a hand on Jak’s shoulder before saying in a sympathetic tone, “Jak, the Blood Witch is very clever. She is not going to tell you that she is the Blood Witch. For some reason she wants you specifically. I think you know the reason why. Did she try to take you or get you to go with her?”

“No…….well yes, sort of, she wanted me to go…. but….”

Benjim cut Jak’s objections short, “the description of the girl you call Brigette matches exactly with the woman who has killed Magistrate Jaren and taken over his seat. She is the one who is in control of the city and is causing all the problems. Would the Brigette that you know do that?”

“Well….no…but….but maybe the witch disguised herself as Brigette.” Jak said trying to convince himself. Jak wanted to believe it
had
been Brigette, not the witch. He had seen the witch in the cave, and he had known Brigette his whole life. They were not the same.

Suddenly he remembered what Brigette had told him in the street before they got separated. She had said “that she ran and ran until there was nowhere left to run. That was how she ended up here”.

But how had she been able to run when her leg had been injured in the fall from the cliff when the earth shook? Doubts began to creep into Jak’s thoughts but he was unable, or at least unwilling to admit that Brigette could be the witch. He would not believe it. But he could not convince the others, so he gave in and remained silent.

It was just past midday with Jak and the others staying in the basement and making plans of what they were to do. Luxarn came down several times to check on them, but he was also busy assembling men to be on the ready. The decision had been made that they should not wait any longer but act quickly. It would not be good for anyone if the situation in the city got any worse, possibly allowing the witch to flee, or worse take full control of the city.

It seemed she had already taken quarters at the Magistrate’s Manor, which was in extremely poor taste since such a short time had passed since Jaren had died. It was nearly an outrage since she had not even been ratified by the council yet to become the new magistrate. The witch must have something planned very soon to be so bold. It was clear that they would need to act fast in order to stop her.

######

Why couldn’t that infuriating boy just come with her? Allysix had almost had him convinced until that stupid group of mindless fools came along. She had been returning from a meeting with the Circle, where she informed them that it was almost time to take their plan to the next level. As chance would have it while she was returning she literally ran into Jak.

It had been a great surprise to her, the feelings that seeing Jak stirred inside her. She was not comfortable at all with these strange new feelings. She had never felt anything like this before in all her many years. It made her feel……dependent….and almost helpless, to a small degree at least, and she wanted the feelings to stop. She had not been able to stop herself from embracing him when she saw him. It had felt so…..good to her. Feeling Jak’s arms around her and his body against hers, it was almost as if a part of her had been missing and was found again.

Allysix had held more power than most people could even dream of having. But the feelings she was feeling for Jak were something completely foreign to her. They made her long to see him, and feel his embrace again.

“Stop that!”
she said to herself. She had to get hold of herself before everything fell apart. This was a distraction she did not need right now. Success was so close, once she was officially magistrate she could set everything right and bring order back to the city.

She made her way back to the magistrate’s manor. After all, she was the magistrate now, it didn’t matter what anyone else said. By the time the council met again, they would have to ratify her as the rightful magistrate.

She had sent for Issanya, Maggas, and Baalnar to meet her at the manor. Much needed to be discussed to ensure they were successful. They would have a long night of planning ahead, possibly several nights. Everything needed to be in place before the council met again.

Chapter 16

Several days passed while everyone involved made hasty preparations getting ready to make their move against the witch. Luxarn had been busy spreading the truth about the witch, and as a result had been able to gather a fair number of supporters for a rebellion in the short time. The innkeeper was well though of among both the shopkeepers and townsfolk, which made him influential and respected.

But there were also many people that either did not want to get involved, or actually were in favor of Brigette as the new magistrate. No amount of persuasion or reasoning could make them believe that she was actually the Blood Witch.

The rioting in the streets was escalating to a very dangerous level. There had been more than one skirmish between angry people and the City Watch. The City Watch was on the loosing side of the altercations as often as not. The captain had since recruited more men into the Watch to patrol the streets, but finding willing men to support the City Watch was difficult under the circumstances.

The streets were getting to be a very dangerous place to be even during the day. Not many people would venture out unless they had no other choice. Jak and his friends could not even think about going out into the streets because of the City Watch looking for them. There had been several patrols come to the Sailor’s Delight Inn searching for them over the past few days. Sometimes they even ransacked the rooms and storerooms in an attempt to find the small party. Luckily, the hidden door to the cellar had eluded them so far.

In addition to the City Watch patrols, there had been groups of two or three kindly looking women making rounds and asking questions about Jak and his friends. The women were more discrete, but it was clear they were searching as well.

The violence in the city had gotten so bad as to result in bloodshed in many instances. There were even a few occasions when either rioters or members of the watch were actually killed. It was a long ways from the seemingly peaceful city that Jak remembered entering not so long ago.