The Blood Witch Chronicles

by L. A. Stinnett

  Vahlyn pushed Runt’s limp body off and got back to his feet. Anger welled up inside him.

  “How could you betray us again?!” Raising his sword, he ran at the Battibahla, ready to avenge all those fallen during the war. He hoped she would redeem herself here at the Gateway, but he had readied himself for this moment; she had to die. The Queen held up her hand, stopping him mid-step, unable to move. With a swiping motion of her hand, blood sprayed everywhere as a huge gash opened up on his neck from ear to ear. He fell lifeless to the ground, blood pouring out, staining the rubble all around him.

  “Nooooo!!!!” U’ka screamed in anguish. His death absolutely broke her. He couldn’t be dead, not after they’d found each other again. It would destroy her if Nallah died too.

  The Queen turned her attention back to Teek. U’ka felt a tremendous amount of power building. She would kill him once and for all. He was the last thing standing in her way. The dark magic struck Teek. He cried out in pain, feeling himself start to rot and wither from the Curse of Decay. He would not be ended here. He had to defend the Green Folk; he refused to let them be destroyed. He reached out to the heart of the land for help. His desperate call flowed out to every part of the land. All over Eleanthra, the Green Folk sent out their energy to him, knowing they were fighting for their lives.

  Eleanthra, feeling such a massive surge of green magic passing through the earth, responded by sending all its power flowing into Teek. He gathered the earth magic, healing and renewing himself, then sent it pounding against the Queen’s curse. She tried to push it back, but even she didn’t have the strength to stand against the earth itself. The curse quickly crumbled, shattering under the weight of the Green Magic.

  The Queen cried out in rage, “How can I be defeated by him again?!”

  Nallah felt the powerful earth magic flowing to Teek and added her own to it. Teek did not need her power and redirected her healing magic towards Queen Baht’ma, who screamed in agony when the white healing power slammed into her. Nallah pushed more of her energy at the Daemon Queen, forcing her power to heal an evil which could not be healed.

  U’ka felt the connection with Teek, asking her if it was time to end this. She nodded she was ready. A long, sharp thorn grew from his knuckles. He rushed forward, driving the thorn up through her chest, into her heart. Her body buckled from the blow, she gasped, feeling the life quickly flowing from her.

  Nallah pulled her healing magic away. Queen Baht’ma raged in frustration, fleeing the dying body to be pulled back to the Gateway. Teek wrapped his arms around U’ka, feeling her life drain away. He fulfilled his duty to destroy her if she ever lost control. He hadn’t wanted it to come to this, holding out hope till the bitter end things would turn out differently.

  Her vision fading, she didn’t have much time left. U’ka formed the Sealing symbol in her mind and pushed all the power she had left to seal the Gateway. Holding her hand up to Teek’s cheek, she told him she forgave him. Her spirit lifted away from her body, finally at peace. It was time for Battibahla to die.

  A bright light exploded outwards. Nallah shielded her eyes as she ran forward. Dropping to her knees, she sent her healing power out to the fallen, flooding them with her magic. What she was about to do was forbidden, but she had to try. She closed her eyes, sending tendrils of her healing energy into the darkness that lay between the point of life and death. The tendrils flailed around in the void searching for the fading spark of their life forces. One tendril, then the next lashed out, grabbing onto the souls of Vahlyn and Runt. She grunted at the effort of pulling them back from the void which did not want to give them up.

  U’ka felt Nallah’s power like a lifeline reaching to her, but she refused to take it; resigned with her decision to accept death. It was justice, her penance, for all the terrible things she’d done. The light faded, Nallah looked towards the Gateway. Not only was it sealed, it was completely gone. U’ka fulfilled her last selfless act. Eleanthra could live without fear of another Daemon invasion.

  Nallah looked at the body of Battibahla, still cradled tenderly in Teek’s arms, and cried. She knew U’ka expected to die here, but she’d hoped against hope the sacrifice wouldn’t need to be made. Teek helped Nallah to her feet, then pointed at Bahlmet’s Daemon spirit, still hovering in the air.

  “How is he still here?”

  Teek continued to point, gesturing at her to use her magic.

  “I don’t think my touch healing will work on a spirit, but I’ll try.”

  Nallah reached her hand into his spirit form. His energy was like nothing she’d ever felt before, but she could tell something was wrong with it. It wasn’t what it was supposed to be. Pouring more healing magic into him, she saw him transform right before her. She felt a pull on her magic and let more of it flow into him. Slowly he took the form of an ancient, wise-looking man. Teek gasped at the sight of him; recognition filled his eyes, he knew this man.

  “You have healed me enough, child.”

  Nallah pulled back her healing magic. Teek took a step towards the man who now had solid form.

  He held out his hand. “The last time I saw you, you were but a small seed in my palm. You have taken good care of this world as I hoped you would when I left you here. You brought life back to the land after we destroyed it.”

  “Who are you?” said Nallah.

  “I am Graum, one of the original inhabitants of Eleanthra. We were the first with the ability to draw magic from the land. But we grew too greedy and destroyed everything good here in our obsession with gaining more power. Before leaving for the Daemon realm in our quest for the secrets of their magic, I left Teek as a failsafe measure to make sure the land healed itself.”

  “Why did you mess with Daemon magic like that?” said Nallah.

  “We were fools. We thought we could steal their power for ourselves. Thought we could control the Daemons. But Queen Baht’ma twisted us into Blood Daemons, stealing our magic for herself.”

  “Where are the others like you?”

  “They have passed on to the Eternal Lands. They only existed because of the Daemon Queen. The destruction of the Gateway, in turn, destroyed the Queen. With her death, the Blood Daemon line has ended.”

  “What happens now?”

  “I will join the others in the Eternal Lands. Our time here is done. The Gateway Between Worlds is gone for good. You and the other inhabitants of Eleanthra will now live in peace.” Graum said, slowly fading away.

  Nallah had many more questions, but whining behind her brought her attention back to Runt, who was thankfully back to his normal form. She looked up at Teek, suddenly very weary. Still holding U’ka’s body, he nodded a farewell before disappearing into the Green Ways. She went over to check on Vahlyn, who was weak but slowly recovering.

  “Thank you for saving me,” he said.

  “I’m glad I was able to pull you back from the brink; it’s not an easy thing to do,” Nallah said, wrapping her arms around herself. The events of their final battle with the Queen weighed heavily on her.

  “I can’t believe she betrayed us again,” he said, pushing himself to a sitting position.

  “She came here to destroy the Gateway and she did,” Nallah said, gesturing towards the area where the Gateway once was. “ I don’t think she expected the Daemon Queen to possess her, please don’t blame her for that.”

  “You forgive far more easily than I do,” he said, holding out a hand for her to help him to his feet.

  “Where’s her body?”

  “Teek took her away.”

  “To do what?”

  “I don’t know. Let’s figure out what we’re going to do,” Nallah said, looking around the ruins.

  “I’ll escort you back home, make sure you get there safely.”

  “Then what will you do?”

  “I don’t know, but for the first time in a long while, I feel some hope about the future. We’re free to do as we will now and I’m going to take full advantage,” he said with hi
s signature roguish grin. “Come on, destiny awaits.”

  19

  The Garden Fa'oir

  Renewal

  U’ka felt wet grass on the back of her neck. Is this what the Eternal lands are? Dewy grass and the smell of flowers?

  She opened her eyes to see a lush garden more beautiful than anything she’d seen before. Teek sat on a large moss-covered rock, staring off into the distance. Panic rose in her. Had she killed him?

  “No, I am very much alive,” he said in a deep, rich voice she fully understood.

  U’ka sighed in relief, unable to bear the thought of being responsible for another death. Death. Where am I?

  “You are in the Garden of Fa'oir, where life first began.”

  “I thought humans were forbidden here,” she said, looking around in awe.

  Raising her hands, she saw her light-skinned flesh. Relief filled her to see skin was no longer dark pink. Her usual pale skin was flawless; the Blood Magic scars on her arms gone. U’ka brought her hands up to her head, feeling no horns. She pulled a piece of hair into view and saw her natural dirty blonde hair. Battibahla was well and truly gone.

  A figure glowed before her, slowly taking on the shape of an old man with a long grey beard.

  “Who are you?” she asked.

  “I am Graum. As Bahlmet, we shared our souls to become Battibahla.”

  U’ka inhaled deeply. “You speak as if you are a separate person from Bahlmet.”

  “I am, just as you are separate from Battibahla. Bahlmet’s agenda was different from what either of us wanted.”

  U’ka nodded in understanding. “Why did this all happen. Why me?”

  “That is a very long story.”

  “It seems we have nothing but time,” U’ka replied.

  “It happened because we were fools. My people were the first to pull magic from the earth. We built the Gateway Between Worlds to travel to the Daemon realm in search of new power. I gave Teek the ability to heal the land from the devastation we wrought upon it in our quest for power. Your ancestors came to Eleanthra and they too learned to pull power from the land with Blood Magic. Queen Baht’ma tried and failed many times to seduce the Blood Witches to her will because their magic was compatible with her own, but she did not succeed until you.”

  “I feel so honored,” said U’ka, blinking back tears. “That’s why the Daemon books were hidden away, to stop it from happening again?

  “Yes. But Queen Baht’ma used her influence to make sure they were not destroyed and would be found again when the time was right.”

  “How come the Daemon Queen didn’t open the Gateway herself?”

  “As a failsafe, we made sure it could only be opened from this reality. We hid away our temples and the ancient scroll to make sure no one in this reality had the knowledge to do it. But she eventually found a way to seduce a person here to her will.”

  “I feel like I’ve been manipulated all my life,” said U’ka, wiping away tears.

  “In a way, you were. The Queen was an expert in playing the long game. Do not blame yourself for what happened. Even with my people’s great achievements, we fell for her manipulations.”

  “I think I shall always blame myself. But at least it’s over, right?”

  “Yes. Queen Baht’ma is gone. She can never cause harm to Eleanthra again.”

  “Good. Then my sacrifice was worth it.”

  “It is time for me to go be with my people. I am sorry for what I did to you,” he said, nodding to Teek before fading away.

  “Why am I here and not in the Eternal Lands?” said U’ka. “I should be there with Runt and Vahlyn.”

  “Nallah used her magic to pull them back from the void. They still live.”

  U’ka felt a great weight lift away, relieved they were still alive. “Thank the gods.”

  “A choice is now being given to you,” Teek said, opening a Green Ways portal.

  Inside she could see the shining golden domes of a rebuilt Citadel.

  “Is it real?”

  “It can be. You still have work to do here, if you so choose. This is what can be, a land reborn.”

  U’ka smiled and nodded as she reached out towards the image.