Alterations

by Lucretia Stanhope

  That was why he risked them getting close and plotting. It was because he understood that love was such a driving force for people. He wanted Lucian to love her. Then what? Something to scare him, something to make him angry enough to tap that well of fire inside.

  She set her knitting down, mad that she had played right into it. She should have known something was wrong when Matvei left them to wander the woods alone. She opened up with Lucian, started the bond they were hoping to exploit. She wouldn't give him another reason to like her, much less build on his irrational love of her as some head witch deity.

  Matvei left her to herself for the remainder of the day and into the night. She used the time to work on the cloak and think about what sort of creature to try to summon. She didn't want to try an earth creature or Matvei would lose his temper when he saw the same type of thing that had chased her. She also didn't want fire, because that was far too threatening to them, and if they saw that she could learn that, it might make all of the fire witches more enslaved commodities. Wind or water.

  Since she had never heard of or seen either summoned, she would have to guess at what form they might take. Water was such a gentle element usually, but when frozen, maybe an ice giant? It wouldn't be a threat to vampires, so even if Matvei saw her do it, he shouldn't be too alarmed. Even less of a threat would be some sort of a wraith made from wind.

  She picked her knitting back up and as the needles clicked, allowed her mind to work on those images. She settled on the wraith and started to plan out a summoning intention. The needles clicked. A breeze started to blow. What could a wraith do for her? The golem and fire creatures she saw, both seemed to want a purpose.

  The needles stopped clicking. Could she use it to see things? The winds picked up outside as if to answer. She walked out the back entrance and stood near the lake. Winds swirled around her, but didn't take shape. She found the wind hard to manifest. Anger made fire for her every time. Nurturing love would grow and call up things from the earth. Emotions, be it soothing peace or sadness brought water. The middle ground of tension that moved the wind and calm that it carried was hard to focus and control. She had no issues shooting it out in short tense bursts, but maintaining it for a purpose required adding the soothing feeling to the tension and unease that drew it to begin with. Air was the most ethereal and thus hardest to hold.

  It took all of her mental focus.

  She shed all other thoughts and worries.

  Air danced across her skin.

  All she allowed to exist in her mind was the unseen force that always surrounded her. She pulled it to her. No creature formed, but she felt it was hers to command. Her mind drifted to the file room and to the papers on the desk.

  An image came into focus. She looked down from above, able to see the whole room. The desk, she thought. The papers. The words. The paper blew a little, the corner lifting. It was a report of some sort. It read 'match' at the top. Below, it separated into two columns. Gwen Hensley and Lucian Preston.

  The image blurred and she refocused. There were dates, dates of when each element was called for the first time. The watchers? Could they have gathered reports on all elemental witches for Timofei? Who was making these matches? She noted the fire date was still blank on Lucian, but there was a note. She struggled to make it out. It was stuck to it on a yellow square.

  Introduced new stimuli.

  Everything blurred and she could see the lake again. New stimuli. That was how Timofei referred to her? The new stimuli to activate Lucian?

  A fire started in the woods to her right and she waved a hand, putting it out before any damage was done. “I've got your stimuli,” she muttered under her breath as she went inside.

  She took her knitting upstairs, and locked it in her altar room before starting out for her meeting with Lucian.

  “D id you need help with anything tomorrow? I have to help with the orchards, but I can come by after, to your office,” Lucian asked.

  She brushed a pile of sticks together beside where she sat. “No. Do me a favor. Please, try to remember that they will never try to hurt me in any mortally damaging way.”

  “Why would you say that?” He caught her eyes when she looked up at him.

  “I have a feeling they might try to use me to tap some protective instinct of yours. They want your fire active. I know you do too, but I don't. It's bad for us, bad for you, and very bad for any children we might have.” She rubbed her fingers together and a little fire started in the sticks.

  He blew gently and the fire went out. “I trust your judgment. I will stop trying to call fire. Did you have any success with other matters?”

  She smiled. “I may well have. Thank you for that.”

  “Has there been any news for you on Kyna?” He pulled her too him after she shook her head and looked away. “I'm sorry. I can't imagine how worried you are.”

  She relaxed a moment, enjoying the peace he put out. It made her wonder if others felt that from her, without her projecting it. She pulled out of his arms. “You must not get attached to me. Please.”

  “Impossible. I told you I loved you before I ever said hello. You are my high priestess.”

  “Don't. It's magic, that's all.” She watched his face. “Do you feel peace in my arms?”

  “I do, it's the most beautiful thing I've ever felt.” He paused and a smile formed. “Do I give you that feeling?”

  She looked away. “It's magic, that is all. It's also why we, you and I in particular, will have some sway over them. They live in a constant state of rage. I soothe that. You do too. The one you bonded with, are they here?”

  “I don't know. Matvei came with them and I have only seen them one other time.”

  “Did it hurt?” She wanted to get an idea of age. If it was painless, they would probably be stronger, family even.

  “No, it was over and they were gone before I even realized what happened.”

  Gwen pursed her lips. They must have been extremely loyal to Timofei to have tasted Lucian, who was the only witch she knew of with three elements, and walked away from him. She wondered what they got. Two, three other witches? Witches with two elements? Extra humans for their own realms? A new realm?

  It was only a matter of time before Konstantin was clued into the varying effects and power levels of them, and then things would change again. She needed to be gone before then, so did Brac and Lucian. The more vampires that knew about it, and the stronger they were, the sooner it would happen. She wondered how long a taste of Lucian soothed for. Matvei indicated hers was much longer than other witches and even addictive. Was his already like that? Would the vampire he bonded with tell Konstantin if they wanted more?

  “Gwen, are you with me?” He ran a finger along her cheek.

  “I'm sorry, I was lost in thought. There is so much to consider now.”

  He pulled her into his arms again and they laid back on the ground. “Let me share some peace with you.”

  She did. She let her mind empty and just felt the warm buzz wrap around her.

  “D id you enjoy your night?” Matvei sat across from Gwen, watching her with curiosity.

  She knew he wasn't curious about her night. Something had his interest. She wondered if he felt her magic earlier, and had been wondering what she was up to. “It was stimulating but still lacks spark.”

  He turned his head to the side. His lips slowly started to curl up and grew into a full dimpled smile. “Clever girl. When did you steal away?”

  “It wouldn't be very clever to tell you that.” She smiled at him as fully as she could manage. “Was it hard to get Timofei to allow a pairing once you found a match?”

  He walked over to her and sat beside her. “Slightly more than I imagined it might be.”

  “Why are you helping me, if you want to see these results?” She scooted away from him.

  He laughed. “You won't be getting away before then. Sweetheart, you have years of learning before you are that ingenious.”


  “Don't underestimate my hate for you.” She stood up.

  He snatched her arm and bit down on her wrist. “I don't make mistakes.”

  She turned and looked at him. His face held the same smug look it always did, but she knew he made mistakes. He was reckless, especially when he was stuck with her for long periods. The war would see that he stayed there with her where he was most prone for a misstep.

  “Where is Brac?” she asked, still standing over him.

  He put his feet up on the table. “Making himself useful. He takes after you that way.”

  She walked out of the room and up to her altar room. Matvei left her alone and she knitted until she couldn't focus her eyes on the stitches. When she walked back down, she didn't feel Matvei or Brac. She decided to take advantage of the time. She grasped the shadow stone in her hand and stepped from her altar room to the office with the scrolls.

  She expected Matvei would notice, but she had to physically be there to unlock the drawer. She moved as fast as she could. There were four scrolls. Carefully, she laid each one out on the desk and committed the writing and symbols to memory. She was back in the altar room seconds later.

  Before the memory faded, she pulled out a spell book and wrote down everything. Some of the words she knew already from her prior work with the other scrolls. It didn't take her too long to get the basic idea of what they contained.

  It was some sort of correspondence. She recognized the word for vampires and for their own kind, which she had come to call the greens, simply because they talked a lot about growing and making things in the early scrolls before the vampires came. She guessed they were sending a letter to another species, because the best she could tell, 'your kind' was used in a few places. It was a call for help, reinforcements.

  The second scroll talked about a species being friends, or so it seemed. It was a request for passage and ceasefire. The rest were similar. When she got to the last, she was shocked to see it referred to their home, that meant her home, the colony. It was another ceasefire order. She puzzled a second and it occurred to her that they could know about the witches. Maybe they were not ogres bent on destruction and conquering. They were seeking vengeance? Maybe to reclaim stolen lands? Could the ogres and the greens be one in the same? They were not his enemies, but his victims? Would savages have writing and structures? Planning and the cunning to outmaneuver Timofei?

  She wanted to follow the clues to see where the tear they escaped through was. Even though her eyes were tired, she stayed up all night, knitting her cloak. She did not want to lead Matvei anywhere, especially not to a species that had already suffered so much at the hands of his kind.

  G wen sat in her office knitting, just as she had the last few days. Finishing the cloak became her main focus. Jarrod stayed at her feet even though she didn't feel like she needed him.

  “Why don't you ever shift? Do you know what is going on with my Brac? What is he training for?” She looked at the curled up fox that unrolled itself and walked to the door. She got up and let him out. “Fine, Jarrod. Don't help.”

  There was a soft breeze and Gwen looked around to see if any witches were in the hall. No one was there, and the breeze was warm, so she knew it wasn't a vampire. She pulled the door closed and turned, startled to see a rose with multicolored petals on her desk. She locked her door and her eyes scanned the whole office.

  Only one person had ever given her roses like that. Kyna grew them herself. She called them everything roses. Gwen's lip trembled and tears came to her eyes as she took slow steps to her desk. Around the rose, a light dusting of sparkly powder covered her desk. She brushed it into her hand and then into a jar which she locked in her bottom drawer, along with the flower. Kyna was okay. This was her way of saying she was okay.

  Gwen knitted with an even stronger resolve. She couldn't help but think these people, these people who were calling for ceasefires, somehow helped some of the witches get away, and Kyna had been a part of it. Maybe it was linked to her realm. She did spend some time there off and on, 'to think' was always the reason she gave.

  Now that she could relax with certainty that Kyna had made it, she could focus on the things that remained uncertain. Brac, Lucian, the greens, and ogres. There was still Sebastian and Dillon in the back of her mind, but affairs like that could wait.

  A knock on her door startled her from her thoughts.

  She shoved the cloak in her bag before she got up to unlock it. It was Lucian.

  “You shouldn't be here.” She stepped back and let him walk in.

  “I felt your happiness. I wanted to see if you had any news.”

  She tugged him all the way inside and shut the door. “You felt that?”

  “Sure, it was lovely. What happened?” He looked at her with curious eyes.

  “I can't say.” She shook her head. “Do you think everyone felt it?”

  “Maybe, I do notice things more than most.”

  Gwen frowned. “If he felt it, I am going to say it was because of you.”

  “Me?” He laughed. “You are not a very good liar. You hate me remember?”

  She chewed her lip. “Festival business?”

  “Better. Maybe that will work. It is tomorrow. Who are you going with?”

  “Timofei, I should hope.”

  He nodded and smiled. “There is...” Before he finished there was another knock at the door, which flung opened before she had a chance to answer it.

  “Matvei, what do you want?” she asked.

  He looked from her to Lucian and back to her again. “Impromptu meeting? I felt a change and wanted to make sure you were well.”

  She felt Lucian bristle beside her, but she focused on Matvei. “My happiness bothers you?”

  “Don't be hateful, mother. I will see you at home later.” He looked back to Lucian. “Good to see you again.”

  After he walked out, she sighed. “Don't react to him. He feeds off of it.”

  “Did you want to walk the festival site and make sure everything is in order?”

  She agreed and they left together. She could feel Matvei watching.

  Chapter Fourteen

  G wen felt Timofei was home. She also felt Matvei. Both seemed agitated and put off, easy to locate cold spots. She knew where they were and if she were going to test her new skill, then, while they both felt so intense would be the best time.

  She rested her back on the pillow and closed her eyes. She let everything drain out of her mind and just felt the air around her. When she felt it was at her command, she focused her attention on the logistics room.

  Her visual range was high again and she let it stay that way. She didn't know if her seeing them would make a breeze or alter the air, so she tried to keep her focus high and still.

  Timofei paced. “An entire battalion. Do you hear me? If I have to pull more, it will be from your realms. Train Brac. Understand me?”

  “I can't be on site two and here.” Matvei braced himself and took a blow that sent him back into the wall.

  “I don't want excuses. Train him here. Train all of my fire witches. I want some use from these leeches. A whole battalion. I want him ready. I will not suffer any more losses to witches. I will have all of their heads.”

  “Yes, Sir.” Matvei stood straight. “He will be ready.”

  “I want progress on something, Matvei. Your lack of good news when I come home is starting to annoy me. I've made a special trip for this ridiculous celebration, it better be worth it.”

  “It will be.”

  Timofei held him up by the throat. “Has Lucian called fire yet?”

  “No, he will tonight. Before they mate again. I will see to it.”

  “Good, I grow tired of his scent on my treasure.”

  Matvei took a defensive stance. “Did you find any leaders?”

  Timofei snarled. “It's grown complicated.” He tossed scrolls on his desk. “I left the messengers on a stake, that should teach them to visit my realms. Did you find the
traitors here yet?”

  “I have been in every mind at the schools.”

  “Kyna had other friends. Search them all. I will have her head. One of those witches knows something.” He paced, clicking his nails together. “My own daughter? She will suffer greatly before I end her miserable existence.”

  Matvei smiled. “Of course, Sir. Did you catch her scent again?”

  Gwen felt herself losing focus. Again? Was he getting close to her baby? Suffer? Her head?

  Timofei looked up and sniffed.

  Gwen pulled all the way back and tried to catch her breath. She sat up in the bed and held her pillow against her. Kyna was okay. She had just got word back that she was okay. He couldn't really be that close or he would be calm. He was irritated, that meant things were not going his way. It was a side she never saw of him before, and one she never wanted to see again. Not focused on her babies.

  What was Brac training for? The war? He only controlled one element. He was newly bonded, still vulnerable. She found the strength to stand and get dressed. She needed to be stronger when Timofei walked in, or before she walked out. He couldn't think anything else was wrong with her.

  Jarrod usually slept on the foot of her bed, he was gone. The one time she actually needed him and he was gone. After getting dressed, she stood and breathed in several cleansing breaths. She thought of the flower, and told herself he was agitated, because his progress had stalled. Kyna was safe. Brac would be safe.

  She pulled on a flowing black skirt and a white shirt that was low cut. Then she added some makeup and a choker, and did her best to put on a smile as she started toward the logistics room.

  The cold spots still felt stronger than usual. She slowed when she neared the door and gave a soft knock.

  The door opened and Timofei pulled her into his arms.

  “You are always the bright spot in my day.” He held her close and kissed her deep.