The Blood Witch Chronicles

by L. A. Stinnett

  "I must thank you for bringing me my prize," he said, looking over at R.K. "Take the boy and tie him up. I'll deal with him later. It is a pity my apprentice failed me."

  "I have released him from your control," U'ka said defiantly.

  "No matter. He is irrelevant now that I have my prize. Bhaal and I will bring beautiful pain to this world. Bring the girl here, kill the dog, chop the Green Man up for firewood," the Warlord commanded with a wide grin.

  U’ka twisted free of the men's grip and turned to face the marauders surrounding them. "None of you have to die tonight. You can leave now with your lives."

  Uproarious laughter came as her answer. Trying to bargain with men for their lives never seemed to work out for her, but she still felt she needed to try. Why did they always want to throw their lives away so readily?

  The men grabbed her roughly, pushing her towards the Warlord. Grasping her chin, he stared into her eyes before sneering, "I never liked you, brother. I'm sending you back to the dark realm to face the wrath of our sister. Say hello to Queen bitch Baht' ma for me."

  U'ka was forced down till her head rested on a bloody tree stump. One of the men opened a vial and handed it to the Warlord.

  "A little appetizer before I get to the main course," he said, throwing his head back to swallow the red liquid. Rage quickly filled his face. He stared at the vial before throwing it into the darkness.

  "What is this trickery?" he bellowed before angrily swinging his spiked mace down towards U'ka's head, striking the tree stump with a loud thud. The expected squish of bone and brain was not there. His victim was not there. He looked around at the confused faces of his men. Behind him, U'ka dropped her See Me Not spell and yelled out, "NOWWWW!!!"

  Runt dropped his disguise, letting out a piercing howl. All around them in the darkness, deep, throaty howls answered back. The men started to panic.

  "Black Wolves!!" One of them screamed in fear.

  "Defend yourselves!!" Bellowed the Warlord.

  Teek roared before slamming his hand down on the ground. A massive ripple of power surged through the forest floor. At first, there was only silence, then loud wooden creaks and groans came from the forest all around them. The Sleeping Forest slowly awoke and it was not happy. Black Wolves rushed forward from the trees, that's when the horrible, frantic screaming started.

  The wolves leaped at the men, viciously tearing the marauders apart. The trees slammed their massive branches down, crushing the men into the dirt. R.K. expertly took out men left and right with his bo.

  "Runt!" U'ka yelled. "Watch R.K. 's back. Make

  sure his blood isn't split!"

  Runt snorted in acknowledgment and ran towards R.K., attacking men as he went.

  The Warlord turned towards U'ka's voice. She

  saw genuine fear in his eyes, which made her smile. Her doppelganger illusion spell worked perfectly. He hadn't suspected a thing. Now the advantage was theirs.

  'Tell him I hope Queen Baht' ma tortures him mercilessly,' Bhalmet growled, filling her mind with an image of the Queen slowly flaying the skin from the Warlord's body as she laughed in delight. U'ka pushed the image away, readying herself for the fight to come; searching for any weakness he might have.

  "You made the fatal mistake of underestimating me. I'm sending you back to the dark realm to suffer at Queen Baht' ma's hand."

  The Warlord pulled his spiked mace from the tree stump and growled. U'ka drew Blood Drinker as he advanced towards her. The sword vibrated in anticipation of the feast to come. He swung the massive mace at her head. U'ka ducked, feeling the whoosh of air at it passed over her head. One of the spikes grazed her scalp, slicing into her skin. Warm blood rolled down the back of her head. Slashing her sword at his legs, he sidestepped her swing; the sword slid along his thick armor but did not penetrate. He swung his mace down. U’ka rolled to the side as the spiked mace brushed her shoulder, sliding down her leather armor.

  That was too close for comfort. Her shoulder hurt, but nothing was broken. They traded blows back and forth, missing each other by mere inches. The battle continued to rage around them, the marauders screaming as they died. Bloody, torn apart bodies lay around them. The whole scene brought back memories of the war. Teek roared as he killed off the men one by one with his blood-stained hands. Visions of Bloody Bark on the battlefield filled her mind. Teek was absolutely ruthless in a fight.

  U'ka felt the pull of magic from the blood staining the ground all around her. She fought the urge to draw on the seductive power for her own use and turn the tide of the battle.

  ‘Do it! End this now!’ Bhalmet screamed in her head.

  NO!! She refused to use her Blood Magic here. The temptation was too great. She refused to give Bhalmet control over her again. U’ka took a few steps back, slipping on the blood-soaked ground. Going down on one knee, she put her hand on the ground to steady herself. Her fingers tingled with the power that lay there, waiting to be taken, she would not give in.

  Wiping her hand clean on her leg, she jumped back up into a fighting stance, readying herself for the Warlord's next attack.

  R.K. swung his bo furiously at the half dozen men surrounding him, taking out each one that tried to attack him. The advantage was theirs; all she needed to do was finish off the Warlord. Without him, the marauders would lose what little bravery they had left. She drew their fighting further to the edge of the encampment.

  The time had come to finally finish this. He swung wildly now, desperate to end their battle. Screaming, he swung his mace around in a wide, sweeping arc meant to take her head off. A massive tree brought a thick branch down to defend her and block the blow. The mace sunk deep into the bark. He pulled but could not free it; the tree held it now and would not let go of the weapon. U’ka had her opening. Ducking under the branch, she thrust Blood Drinker into his chest. A look of shock that he’d lost the fight filled his face. His glowing red eyes dimmed, Blood Drinker quickly drew the lifeblood from him.

  The Daemon spirit fled his dying body, hanging there for a moment, desperately looking around for another body to possess, but his men lay dead all around them. He couldn’t fight the pull of the Gateway and was quickly drawn northward. A few moments later, U’ka felt the Gateway open and slam shut as the Daemon spirit passed through, back to the dark realm. The shock of it brought her to her knees. It felt so much different this time, like it was almost closed for good. U'ka sensed she and R.K. held the last two Daemons left in Eleanthra. Could I truly be reaching the end of my mission?

  'Good riddance,' Bhalmet sneered. 'You and I are the most powerful beings left in Eleanthra. We can do amazing things together. This world is ours!'

  U’ka pushed his thoughts away at the sound of a scream cutting through the night. R.K. had a deep gash on his arm where a hired sword got through his defenses. His whole body shuddered and when he opened his eyes again, they were glowing a deep red.

  He swung his bo furiously at the few remaining men around him. His Daemon fully awake now and ready to fight. Blood sprayed everywhere as he cracked skulls open and thrust his staff through men's chests. She needed to knock him out quickly before his Daemon grew too strong from all the bloodletting. She might lose R.K. for good. Sheathing Blood Drinker, U’ka cast a sleep spell at him, but it faded away with no effect. The Daemonstrong enough now to deflect any spells she cast. She had to make physical contact to push the spell directly into his body.

  U'ka moved in to try and disarm him so she could grab his head and put him under with another sleep spell. She stepped into the fight as the last marauder fell before her. R.K. 's blank, impassive face was completely covered in blood spatter. Thrusting his bo at her head, she ducked to the side and slammed it away with her dirk.

  He brought it around again, U'ka was barely able to block it in time. He moved at inhuman speeds. She didn't know how she was going to keep up with him. Hearing a loud growl, Runt leaped through the air, snatching the bo out of his hands. R.K. screamed as Teek wrapped his arm
s tightly around his chest. The snapping of wood filled the air, as he struggled against Teek's hold on him. U’ka moved in quickly, grabbing the side of his head, pushing the sleep spell into his mind.

  This time the Daemon resisted her magic, fighting back against her effort to take him down. He did not want to go back to sleep, did not want to give up all the power the bloody massacre gave him. She called up a shock symbol in her mind, sending a huge static discharge through his body. R.K. convulsed, the bright red glow in his eyes faded. She pushed the sleep spell into him again. His eyes rolled back and his head flopped forward. He was out.

  U'ka exhaled in relief. She stepped back, shaking her hand out from the tingling numbness of sending such a large static arc into his body. R.K. 's sleeve was stained solid red; blood poured down to the ground. She ripped open the fabric to find his arm cut down to the bone. He needed a Healer fast or he’d bleed out. U’ka pulled a belt from one of the dead men and fastened it tightly around R.K.'s arm to slow the blood flow.

  "We need to get to Myas now! Are the Green Ways open?"

  Teek nodded. The Green Ways could be traveled freely now that the forest was awake.

  "Runt, will you be okay here?!" she yelled.

  'Yes. Runt stay with pack. Meet you back at Mial later.'

  The Green Ways opened around them, a few heartbeats later they stood before the fortified gates of Myas. The large stone walls were pristine, unlike the battered walls of Mial. A guard yelled from the wall.

  "Stay back. The plague is active again."

  "We've come from Mial. We have the blood to make the serum and we have a wounded man who needs a Healer."

  Hearing excited voices, the gate slowly opened. They rushed inside to find the city in a similar state at Mial. A woman, dressed in blood-stained clothes, ran forward.

  "Where is it? How did you get through?"

  U’ka broke the invisibility spell and unstrapped the pack from Teek's back; handing it to the Healer.

  "We fought our way through the Warlord to get here. My friend is wounded. He's bleeding out. Please, we need help."

  "Follow me," the woman said, leading them further into the city to the infirmary. Leaving a blood trail behind them, they passed rows and rows of the sick and dying. The Healer handed off the box to another woman.

  "This is Mial blood. Take blood samples from the uninfected and start making the serum."

  Teek laid R.K. on one of the tables. "Please, my friend is wounded. He needs treatment NOW!!" U'ka yelled in a panic. She was shaking from the stress of battle and the fear she might lose R.K. They’d traveled so far together, she couldn’t fail him now.

  A man came forward to examine the arm, removing the belt to get a better look. "The artery is cut. I am no surgeon; I'm not sure I can save the arm," he said, wrapping the upper arm in a real tourniquet to slow down the bleeding.

  "You have to!" U'ka yelled. "I'll get other Healers here to help. Do you have vials of Myas blood that Teek can take back to Mial so they can make their own serum?"

  "We'll have some for you in a moment," said the woman.

  She turned back to R.K., feeling the raw power in the blood laying all over the table she could draw from. With a simple Blood Magic spell, she could heal him and in the process, give Bhalmet more power over her.

  'Do it. You know it's the only way to save him,' Bhalmet whispered in her head.

  "I have the vials for you," said the woman, handing her the wooden box with the precious cargo inside.

  She handed it off to Teek. "Go! Bring Calt and Nallah here." She watched him hurry out of the room before turning back to R.K.

  "Do you really think these Healers of yours can help?" the man asked.

  "Yes. One is a Touch Healer who studied under Master Shenn, the other trained at the Citadel as Healer and surgeon."

  A few moments later, Calt and Nallah came running in with their medical bags. U'ka stepped back so they could assess his wound.

  "His brachial artery has been severed, but I think I can repair it with Nallah's help. Where's your surgical gear?"

  The man handed her a box and a glass bottle of alcohol which she quickly poured over the shiny silver instruments and then over the deep wound. With a spool of surgical silk, she carefully stitched the artery in his arm back together. Nallah pushed her healing magic into his body, encouraging the artery and blood vessels to knit back together. When Calt finished with the artery, she sewed the muscle tissue together and finally closed the wound. Nallah's healing magic sealed the skin even further.

  "He's going to be sore. But with a little movement therapy, he should regain full use of his arm," Calt announced.

  U'ka breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you both."

  "Did you succeed in taking out the Warlord?" said Nallah.

  "Yes. He's dead."

  The people around the room gasped. "The Sleeping Forest is passable now?"

  "Yes, although it sleeps no more. My companion woke the forest," U'ka said, gesturing to Teek. "It will defend itself from any invaders. Both the people of Mial and Myas can travel the forest freely now. You need to learn to get along with each other and outsiders as well. You're going to need help rebuilding from this plague. Too many of your people have been lost."

  "We will consider it," said the man.

  "You will do more than that. You will begin to trust outsiders, especially the Green Folk. They can speed up the growth of your crops to help replenish your food stores."

  "They won't help us. They never have," said another woman.

  "You shunned everyone in Eleanthra and isolated yourselves and look what it got you, the plague's return. This has to stop if you want your society to continue."

  "Why would the Green Folk help us after all this time?" said another man.

  "The Green Folk are very forgiving. Teek is a Green Lord. He will bring his people here if you will open yourself to help from outsiders."

  "It seems we do not have much choice," said another.

  U'ka shook her head in frustration. These people were so stubborn in their ways.

  "We outsiders have done much to save your people. You owe us this much as thanks."

  The room fell silent. They were too embarrassed or too stubborn to admit they were wrong in their actions.

  "Teek can take you back to Mial now if you want," U'ka said to Nallah and Calt.

  "Is there anything we can do to help here?" said Calt.

  "No. We have enough people here to make the serum," said the man.

  "Alright. We'll head back and help Lady Luonne with the serum for Mial. She's so short-handed there."

  "I'll see you back there once R.K. is awake and able to travel."

  11

  Daemon Blood War

  The Task of Bloody Bark

  A harried Daemon soldier in battle-scarred armor and boots stained red with blood, ran into the Queen's royal pavilion, kneeling before her. His heart pounded in his chest, being the bearer of bad news meant he might not make it out of her tent alive. She looked elegantly dangerous in her elaborately detailed red and black silken gown. Long, dark nails tapped out a menacing rhythm on her black throne as she regarded the battle soiled Daemon with disdain for bringing his filth into her domain.

  He feared speaking and incurring her wrath. The tapping of her nails sped up, matching the frantic beat of his heart.

  "Speak!" She commanded.

  "My Queen, the Hand of Blood and Destruction, was gravely injured. Our healers are working on saving her."

  She leaned forward, eyes glowing deep red under furrowed brows. "Be sure that Battibahla survives. If she does not, I will be very, very angry. How is it possible for her to be injured? Who failed me?"

  "While casting a spell to destroy the city of Uresfield, a human archer struck her through the chest from behind. She was unable to defend herself and cast magic at the same time."

  "This will need to change. Battibahla is too valuable to lose," said Queen Baht' ma. Sitting back, she turned t
o the Daemon held Teek. "My beautiful Bloody Bark. You will go to my Hand and protect her on the battlefield. Keep her alive no matter what."

  Bloody Bark grumbled his acknowledgment. A sneer briefly crossed his face before bowing to the Queen.

  "Go now," said Queen Baht' ma dismissing him with a wave. She watched him leave and shuddered when she felt the Green Ways open. She was almost glad to be rid of him. He resisted her too much. His Daemon, Bythn, struggled to keep control of Teek's body. He killed at her command, but refused to hurt children nor would he lead her army through the Green Ways to open the barrier to Fa'oir and destroy the sacred garden. It enraged her that his Green magic allowed him to defy her. She couldn’t outright destroy him because he still had value. He was the key to wiping out the Green Folk for good and securing her victory over the land of Eleanthra. She needed to find a way to break through his defenses.

  * * * * *

  Bloody Bark arrived at the war camp. Hundreds of rows of tents lined the barren plain. Dark smoke billowed up from campfires all around. Daemon soldiers milled about, waiting for the call to battle. Gaunt human prisoners were tied to posts. They stared at the Tree Lord with deep despair as he passed by. He found Battibahla fighting with the Healers. She pushed them angrily away, casting her Blood Magic to heal the deep wound in her chest and wheezing from the puncture in her lung. She'd been lucky; the arrow narrowly missed her heart.

  "I have work to do. Keep your worthless hands off of me!" Batibahla screamed, storming out of the healer's tent. Bloody Bark bowed before her, his Daemon communicating with Bahlmet telling them the Queen's orders.

  "I don't need a fucking babysitter," Battibahla growled. "I can take care of myself."

  Bloody Bark pointed to the sticky blood covering her chest.

  "A lucky shot, won't happen again." Battibahla tried to protest but knew they could not defy the Queen. They were stuck with him for now.

  Pulling on her Blood Magic, she fully healed her body to regain her strength. She stormed towards the generals, who came to attention. She waved her hand, signaling them to rally the Daemon troops. She climbed into the saddle and raised her fist into the air. The Daemon army stood at attention. All eyes focused on her, waiting for their orders.