I paused to see if he would give anything away. He blinked slowly, but there were no other tells.
“I am simply here to ask that you do not provide them aid. If you are inclined to further assist by providing one of your powerful warriors we would be very grateful. Mainly I just ask that the dragons not fight for the Prince of Tate. Once he rules so many kingdoms, he will start to come after the creatures he doesn’t control. Your den is on his way to Hydra, and I think we both know he will pay you a visit.”
Axel cleared his throat and both the King and I turned my head to him.
“Can he understand me?” Axel asked.
I looked at the King in confirmation. He nodded.
So he could understand us both, but only I could understand him.
“I would like to ask you, warrior to warrior, to help us to keep both of our Kingdoms, our subjects safe. We are your protection, your line of defense from an over ambitious wannabe King. Queen Violet has gone to great lengths to right her unintentional wrong, and then risked her life to bring back your magical egg. Please aid us,” Axel said.
I looked back to the King for his response. He brought his massive paw up to his face as if thinking thoughtfully about Axel’s words.
“I will not aid Tate, you have my word. I will not risk the lives of any of my dragons in your quest, but if any wish to fight, then they may. I did have one rogue dragon fly to assist the Prince of Tate, against my wishes. If any of my dragons wish to face their kind in the battlefield, I will allow them.”
That wasn’t the worst possible response, but it was disheartening to hear that he would have at least one dragon helping him. One dragon could still do a lot of damage, especially if we had none.
I nodded my head feeling grateful it wouldn’t be any worse.
I looked around the other dragons who were in the perimeter of the cave watching the exchange. Several of them met my eyes, I could tell those were the warriors, the ones I may be able to convince to join me. I needed to choose my words carefully, they may see me as just a young human woman, but I am a Queen in my own right. I suffered a lot to still be standing today. I suffered and I survived.
“If any of you wish to join me, I ask for your aid. If there is anything else the dragons may need from their Dragon-Kissed after this fight, I will strongly consider it, as your King has listened to my request and granted. I won’t just ask you to enter battle on my behalf, but I will be in battle right beside you. With my wings I will join you in the air, and we will fly to victory. Don’t you wish to be a part of that, and have those stories of successful battles to share with your children?” I asked.
The dragons who seemed to be warriors glanced at each other, and one by one three of them stepped forward.
“We can’t all go, as we still need to protect the den, our King, and our young. We three shall go, and neutralize the threat of our rogue.”
I nodded.
“Thank you,” I said, lowering my head to them, showing that I would be humble.
They lowered their heads to me.
“We will be in boats on the southern shores of Mourthsoul in two days' time. Will you meet us there?” I asked.
“We will meet you there,” the one dragon who seemed to be the speaker for the three answered.
“Thank you again. Thank you Dragon King, I hope that I will be able to bless your kind further in the future.”
He lowered his head in my direction, as if mimicking my bow.
“And you Queen Violet, Queen of the realm. May Venia bless you in battle,” he said.
I got chills at the new title he bestowed on me. Queen of the realm. I didn’t want to be all powerful, just keep a steady hold on what I had now. That was enough, I was not Kennan nor Samantha.
Axel also gave a bow, and then we left the den. We left the glow of the magical fog and headed toward the border between Hydra and Morthshadow. I heard someone call out to me and I turned around. The ground vibrated as a dragon ran out of the den. It was the same one who spoke for the three warriors.
“If you want to wait around another day or two, we can give you a lift,” he said.
Is that a smile I see forming on its reptilian face? Sure looks like it.
I looked over to Axel who shrugged his shoulders, “This was our last stop, I don’t see why not.”
I agreed. Riding a dragon might be fun.
Chapter Twenty
Trin
People feared us. Witches were powerful, and my gift was very rare. Not all witches were necromancers, but the few that were came from this coven. It wasn’t quite as rare as Grandmother thought it was, but still rare enough to be coveted, to make me special. I wonder if Violet was a necromancer? Maybe we had all been dead on that beach in the trial and she brought us back to life with instinct. It wouldn’t be the first time her instincts had proven to be right, or that we got lucky.
Hazel and Linora stayed up with me into the late hours of the night working on many things a witch should know. I tried to soak up whatever they were willing to teach me. I needed to show this all to Violet, afterall. I hoped that once this war was over, she would come back here with me to learn more about what we are.
“I have a question for you that has been with me for a while now. How can we be witches from an ancestor who is not from this world, she was from another?” I asked.
“Your ancestors were not the first to travel back and forth between the worlds. For hundreds and hundreds of years, those with the right connections have been able to travel between the worlds through dreams. Those who are extremely knowledgeable, are aware that it is possible to travel outside of the dreams. There is a portal somewhere in existence that will merge the two and bring you back or forth physically in one body without sleep. Its location has been lost to time, but it's possible that an even older ancestor with witch blood had this knowledge.”
Well, that could do it.
“Well the sun is very high. It is time for us to get some rest. You are new to your magic, and it can be very exhausting. I can see you fighting to stay awake,” Hazel said.
I was, but I was pushing through it. I could sleep on the boat, and again after the battle.
“We will turn in for the night. Tomorrow I will teach you more about your necromancy gift before you have to be on your way,” Hazel followed up.
There was no use in fighting her, and I agreed.
She escorted me to the cave I had spotted earlier, but it wasn’t a normal cave. It was very deep and through its entrance I could see a hallway. It almost looked like they built a hotel inside, with a long narrow hallway going back toward the back of the cave, on either side were rows of doors.
“Proctor, can you show Trinity to her room?” Linora asked a younger guy, probably close to my age. I would have to be blind to not notice how attractive he was. He had long blonde hair pulled back into a bun. He wore a sleeveless shirt, with brown loose fitting pants. He wore a silver cuff around his upper arm which was embedded with Jewels.
“It would be my pleasure,” he said.
He was sizing me up as I did him. I guess it wasn’t every day that a witch stumbled into your camp not knowing what she was. I was sure I had been the talk of the coven all day. Hazel and Linora bid me a good night as I followed Proctor into the hallway of the cave.
“Are you staying long?” he asked me, as we stopped in front of a room that wasn’t far from the mouth of the cave.
“Until tomorrow,” I answered.
“That’s a shame, I would have liked to learn more about you, and what life is like outside of the coven.”
“You’ve never left the coven?” I asked, feeling a little shocked.
“Never,” he said as he shook his head.
“It can be a scary place. I would suggest you travel with my friends and I, but I don’t recommend it right now. When I leave here we are heading to a large battle, and many will be injured or killed. I came here hoping to learn the gift of necromancy to spare as many as I could f
rom a horrible fate.”
“Death isn’t a terrible fate. It is what is guaranteed to us all, it’s just the matter of how death finds you that can be horrible.”
That was profound.
“Well I still wish to save as many as I can from an early death,” I said. I stood by my mission, my purpose for being here in the first place.
“That’s very noble of you. If you were strong enough you could pull the life force of your enemies from the battlefield, but instead you wish to save life. You are a witch of light, Trinity of the Morthlands.”
He didn’t know my title or my relation to the throne or he would have bowed to me. I was almost sure of it.
“Thanks, I think?”
“You’re welcome,” he said, with a grin.
“Here is your stop.”
He leaned over and opened the door that was behind me, invading my personal space as he did. I turned around and took a few steps into the very basic room. There was a straw mattress in the corner, with a pillow and blanket stacked on its corner. The back wall opposite the door was the grey rock of the inside of the cave. The inside had been smoothed out, with no sharp edges in sight.
“Do you care if I join your lessons tomorrow?” he asked me. He had started to walk away from my door, back down the hallway, but he had paused his retreat to ask the question.
I thought about it for a moment. What would it hurt? Maybe he wants to learn something new from the Crones.
“Be my guest,” I said to him.
“What?” he asked with a confused look.
Oh that’s right, that’s one of Violet's sayings.
“It means of course,” I said.
He nodded his head with a smile.
“Good night, Trinity of the Morthlands,” he said, as he walked away.
☀
After a nice breakfast of berries and eggs I sat cross legged in the grove of the Willows again. I thought briefly of Thomas, but then pushed him from my mind.
Proctor was sitting in front of me in the same cross legged position, his hands on his knees. He smiled at me when he caught me looking. I tried to hide the blush that I felt creep into my face.
“Focus Trinity,” Linora scolded.
“Sorry.”
My hands were stretched out in front of me, and I tried not to pay attention to the poor dead bunny. Forget that, I had to pay attention to the dead bunny. I was trying to bring it back, and trying to do it much quicker and more efficiently than I had brought Violet back. The faster and more effortlessly I could bring back the dead, the more people I could help.
I worked through the steps that Hazel and Linora had taught me. After what felt like forever, my magic wrapped around me and the bunny. It’s back leg kicked, once and then twice. Then the creature's eyes opened quickly, it’s head popped up, and then it darted off between the trees.
“Good job, practice makes perfect. Let’s do it again,” Hazel said.
“How many dead creatures do you have lying around?” I asked.
“Not that many, because for us it’s pretty easy to kill and bring them back; but we are going to make it a little harder for you,” Linora said.
Shit, that couldn’t be good.
“Proctor, can we use you for practice?” Hazel said.
“Sure,” he said with a smile and a shrug.
What? No! I don’t want to practice on someone who was living and would die purely for me to bring them back. If I tried on someone who had died in battle, at least there was nothing to lose. To kill someone to practice on did not sit right with me.
My eyes were huge, I could just tell.
“It will be fine,” Linora said. “If you can’t bring him back, then we will.”
This was my moment of truth, if I could bring him back, then I’d know bringing Violet back was more than a fluke.
Proctor laid on the ground in front of me.
“You know what to do by now, girl. We’ve practiced enough on bunnies and birds,” Hazel said.
She was right. I knew what to do, I was just scared to do it. Despite that, I placed my hands on Proctor's, which were folded together on his stomach. They were warm in mine, but they wouldn’t be for long.
I closed my eyes, and searched for his energy. When I located it, it felt like his energy rubbed up against mine. Like a cat brushing up against my leg. I pulled that energy from him like I was pulling a rope attached to something heavy. I made progress one small step at a time. Soon enough, his life energy was hanging in the air around us. His hands were cold in mine.
“Now, grab onto his energy again and force it back into him, as quickly as you can.”
I nodded. I placed my hands back on his. My lower back was hurting from reaching forward, but I tuned that out. I could worry about my discomfort after I brought Proctor back. It would be embarrassing if I couldn’t do this.
I felt the air around me, thick with my magic. I sensed Proctor’s presence hanging out right next to me. I quickly grabbed onto his presence. At least he helped make this easier than the bunnies and birds had. I had to coax their spirits back to me.
I forced Proctor’s energy back into his body, with my magic swirling around us. After a few moments of silence I heard his gasp for breath.
I did it!
I felt excited and relieved at the same time; bringing back Violet wasn’t just a lucky break. Well it was, because I wasn’t trained at the time, but now I have the training and I could do it again if I needed to.
I was feeling exhausted though, and I knew I was running out of time. I would need to get started on my return journey. As if sensing my thoughts, Hazel spoke.
“Well Trinity, I think you have accomplished what you came here to do. I know you must be going soon, but I’d like to share with you one more piece of information.”
I nodded.
“Last night you mentioned that your Queen has spoken to her Great Grandmother Queen Victoria in the spirit world.”
“I did. Although Violet called it the dream world,” I answered.
“If you practice enough, you could bring Victoria’s spirit back from the spirit world for a short time. Her energy, her power would be strong enough to take on a powerful opponent.”
“Even without a body? Queen Victoria has long since decayed.”
“Even without a body.”
“How would I do that?” I asked.
“It’s not easy, and even Proctor, who has been practicing this art since a young child, finds it challenging.”
“That doesn’t answer my question. How is it done? If I can bring Queen Victoria back for the final battle, it could make all the difference,” I pressed on with my questioning.
“We don’t have time to teach you, it would take years of training,” Linora said.
“Then why even tell me it’s an option?”
“So that you will eventually come back to finish your training.”
“I had already planned to do that,” I groaned in frustration.
“I can go with you. I can teach you how to do it,” Proctor said.
“No Proctor, this is not your battle,” Hazel said, a little harshly.
“It may not be my battle, but it's a worthy one. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be drained of my power from this vile man named Kennan. If he takes our powers, there's no one to bring us back.”
He had a point. I had been hesitant about letting him join. I knew what one outsider had done to the dynamic of our group. I could only imagine what one more person would do to the balance, but thinking like that was selfish. If Proctor had something to contribute to our cause, I couldn’t deny him the ability to help.
“Are you serious about coming with me?” I asked him, ignoring the Crones for a moment.
“I am, I know that you will do what you can, but imagine what two necromancers can do.”
Again, he was right.
“If you want to join me, I won’t stop you.”
“Then it’s settled. I'll throw
my things together and I’ll be back in a few minutes,” he said, before turning around and running back to the cave.
“You best take care of that boy, he’s my first grandson, and he will have an important role in this coven some day,” Hazel said.
“What role will he have?” I asked.
“He will be the Emperor. He will lead the coven along with the Crones of the time, once we are dead and gone,” Linora said, as she pointed between her and Hazel.
That does sound important.
“I will do my very best to keep him out of harm's way.”
“You’d better.”
“Thank you for your help. I know that what you have shared with me will make the difference in the thick of battle,” I said sincerely.
“You’re welcome. Don’t forget the trick with the skeletons” Linora said, with a wink. She stepped forward and wrapped me in a warm hug.
“Be well our kin,” Hazel said, as she gave me a brief hug.
I nodded.
Proctor met me by the edge of the willow grove.
“Do you have everything, did you say goodbye to your family?” I asked.
“Yes and yes. I’m ready,” he said confidently.
Excitement twinkled in his eyes, and I believed him, this was what he’d been waiting for.
“Ok so let me tell you who is waiting for me on the other side of this grove. My… friend and my sworn protector is Sir Thomas. The female with us, Ari is a new addition to the group. She agreed to help us on our last quest before coming here.”
I didn’t know what Thomas really was to me, not since Ari joined us and stole his attention. There was no point in giving him a title I wasn’t sure of. I didn’t need to say anything that would embarrass me later.
“He’s just a friend?” Proctor asked.
He had heard my hesitation.
“It’s complicated,” I answered, trying not to sound as awkward as I felt.
“Right…” he said, with a sly smile. “Well, let's go meet them.”
I turned and stepped through the trees and walked in the direction of Thomas and Ari’s camp.
Emerald Wars (The Dream Traveler Book 3) Page 14