Witch Queen

by Kim Richardson

  The dead collapsed, completely engulfed by the magic fire. They twitched a few final times until there was nothing left of them but piles of black ash. The fire swallowed the last of their moans, and then the forest was silent once again.

  I could see countless more piles of ash through the fire and smoke. A few branches glowed red with embers. Then a strange wind picked up, and the embers were burned and blackened until only small wisps of smoke coiled up from them. The ashes of the dead caught in the breeze and fell around me like snow.

  I was so engrossed with the scene that I didn’t notice someone standing above me and that the wall of fire had disappeared.

  I looked up into the shadowed face of the strangest man I’d ever seen. His waist-long hair was the color of grass and flowed around him in a windless breeze. His brown cloak swished around his ankles and revealed clothes that were emerald and gold. His front was emblazoned with a golden tree, and a broad sword was sheathed around his waist. Although his face was hidden in the shadow, I could see the deep scowl of concentration. His skin was wrinkled like someone who had spent his life outdoors. His arms were outstretched in front of him like he was about to welcome a friend. But it was the traces of fire that had me mesmerized. Fire danced along his palms and fingers and then disappeared. Magic.

  Strangely, I wasn’t frightened. The stranger bent over me and then lifted me up in his strong arms. I was surprised at his gentleness. I heard voices all around, and then someone shouted my name. But I couldn’t reply, and I didn’t have the strength to keep my eyes open.

  My head fell onto his chest. He smelled of pine and nuts and spring. It was a familiar smell. But as I tried to remember where I’d smelled that scent before, darkness slid over me like a blanket.

  CHAPTER 10

  I DIDN’T KNOW HOW much time had passed when I finally opened my eyes again.

  I blinked into a blue sky and bright sun, and I welcomed the warm, glorious rays on my face. I could still smell the scent of pine, of spruce, of leaves and vast greenery, so I knew I wasn’t far from the Anglian woodlands. I just wasn’t in them.

  I lay on my back on something soft, not one of the feathered mattresses the rich owned, but it was still very comfortable considering I was out in the wilderness. I felt dizzy. My stomach ached with hunger, but I was alive and probably felt better than I should have, seeing as I had almost been eaten alive by an army of dead things. I could feel that my clothes were hard and damp. I was still soaked with my own blood. I wrinkled my nose at my own musty smell, and the strong coppery smell of blood. My hair was stuck to my forehead and face. I was a mess but I was alive.

  Murmurs reached my ears until they became clear male voices. All of them were familiar, except for one. As I pieced together the events before I blacked out, my heart leapt as I recalled the fire, the magic fire, and the man who had saved me from the dead—the man with magic.

  I sat upright and immediately regretted it as a wave of nausea hit me. Faces steered towards me. They looked relieved. I was ashamed of my blood-encrusted and stinking self. Rose would have been mortified at the state of me. I was mortified at the state of me.

  My undergarments peeked through holes in my shirt, and cool air seeped through a large tear on my leather leggings. New scar tissue covered much of my arms, and I could see scars on my legs and feel them on my back. I shivered at the memory of the cold mouths of the dead chomping on my flesh.

  I shouldn’t be alive. But I was.

  I would have broken down and cried if I hadn’t known that I would heal. I might not have been able to do fire magic, but I could recover. It had to mean something. The Goddess was not finished with me, not yet.

  I peeled the hair from around my eyes and looked around.

  I was in a clearing on the top of a grassy mound. We were surrounded by rolling golden hills of tall swaying grasses. I could see a wall of forest behind me to the west. A magnificent black warhorse was grazing in a meadow with a herd of smaller but still glorious beasts. I saw a horse with antlers, and I suspected my mind was playing tricks on me. Still, Torak’s presence made me smile for the first time, and I began to relax a little. The air was cool and sweet and marvelous.

  In the distance to the east, I could see snow-topped mountains, and I began to feel uneasy again. I didn’t recognize where we were. I had memorized Rose’s map, and those mountains should have been behind us, not hundreds of miles to the east. Somehow we appeared to be back in the west part of Anglia, and one of those mountains was Baltar’s Peak.

  How long had I been asleep?

  Everyone appeared to be safe, except for Max. I swallowed hard at the memory of his passing. I could have suffered the same fate. Leo came towards me, looking as if he wanted to speak, but my attention had turned to the only unfamiliar face.

  In the light I could clearly see an ageless face, neither old nor young, and yet there was a hardness in it that held sorrows and pain. He could have been in his mid-forties, but his dark green eyes were ageless. He looked like some wise king from an ancient legend. He had three white lines of powdered paint across his forehead, and one over each of his high cheekbones. The skin around his eyes and mouth was weathered and hardened with time. It was not a handsome face, but it wasn’t unpleasant either. It was a face that commanded attention. It reminded me of the high witch, Ada.

  I had remembered the hair, however. In the sun his long emerald-colored hair swept over his broad shoulders and hung to his waist. I’d never seen anyone with hair that color before. His hair looked magic.

  The stranger sat with his legs crossed in the same way I’d seen some of the witches sit when I stayed in Gray Havens. He looked as though he had been meditating, and I had broken his concentration.

  My companions had settled away from him and were eyeing his fingers nervously, like they expected fire to shoot from his fingertips at any moment. I could feel the tension. It seemed a little rude to me. This man—this stranger—had saved us all. But then I saw something in the stranger’s eyes that made me wonder if the animosity wasn’t coming from both sides.

  The stranger’s jaw twitched, and I could see the tension in his shoulders. He watched my companions as though he’d rather be anywhere else than here with them.

  But something different sparked his attention as he turned to me. Interest? Importance?

  He stared at me without blinking, without any shame of staring at someone for an offensively long time. And so I stared right back. I looked at him just as hard as he looked at me. We stared at one another until I saw a small twitch of a smile on his lips. He pushed himself to his feet and made his way towards me.

  Leo was appraising my injuries. Blood covered most of me, and Leo lingered a little too long inspecting my fresh bite marks.

  “How do you feel?”

  “I’ve been better.”

  My voice was rough, and my mouth felt like it was stuffed with sand. I yanked at my clothes, trying to cover my bite marks with my shredded shirt.

  “But I’m all right. Mostly hungry and thirsty. Can I have some water?”

  “I’ll get some.” Will turned back towards the camp.

  The green-haired stranger moved towards me. He was taller and wider than I first thought, but his soft leather boots made no sound as he approached. He stood facing me and crossed his arms. His eyes were full of unspoken questions. The others were very careful not to get too close to him.

  I shifted around and asked Leo, “Where are we? Please tell me we’re not back in Anglia near Erast?” I turned my gaze away for a moment, taking it the scenery. “Although I don’t quite recognize this place.”

  “We’re in Romila. We crossed the border two days ago.”

  I kept my face blank and fiddled with my linen shirt.

  Will came back and handed me a water skin. I quenched my thirst and felt everyone’s eyes on me. I felt a little humiliated. Who’d been carrying me for the last two days? Leo was showing genuine concern for me, and it made me a little uncomfortable.
I tried hard not to think about how I must look and smell, although I’m sure these men must have seen and smelled worse. I pushed my vanity aside and concentrated on the more pressing matters.

  “Max is—” my voice caught in my throat, and I was unable to continue. Garrick and Max had fallen, and I couldn’t help but feel responsible for their deaths.

  “I know,” said Leo, avoiding my eyes. “I saw what was left of him. We buried…we buried what we could. After what happened—”

  He gathered himself and then relaxed again.

  “We didn’t want any more fire, at least not for a while. I can’t get the smell of burnt flesh out of my clothes. It’s like I can still smell it.”

  I could see an invisible burden weighing down his shoulders. And I realized that Leo and I shared a feeling of responsibility for the deaths of our friends.

  My stomach turned, and I waited for the nausea to pass.

  “What happened to you? I tried to keep up with the group, but then there were dead things everywhere, and I couldn’t see…I couldn’t think…”

  Leo dragged his fingers through his hair and sighed.

  “It was madness. Total chaos. Everyone was screaming, running away, trying to save themselves. The dead were coming at us from everywhere at once. There was no chance of escape. And then I saw the fire.”

  He paused like he needed to collect himself. “I’ve never seen fire that moves like that. Like it had a mind of its own.”

  Leo hesitated for a moment and then continued. “I thought we were all going to burn. But the fire only went for the dead. And the next thing I knew, the fire was gone, and he showed up with you in his arms.”

  That was exactly how I remembered it, too.

  “I don’t see any roads.” My gaze turned to Nugar who stood behind Lucas with his large hands clamped around the handle of his axe. He looked at me for a moment before glaring at the stranger.

  “But why are we here in this place? Could we not find the black market road?” I asked.

  “No roads are safe anymore, even the ones less traveled.” The stranger’s voice was deep and sounded ageless.

  I kept my face emotionless and looked up to the stranger. “Who are you?”

  But even as the words escaped me, I already knew.

  He didn’t answer right away.

  “Fawkes. We have a mutual friend. She asked me to help.”

  There was a wildness to him, the hard defiance of someone who didn’t like to be told what to do—someone like me.

  “You mean the high witch, Ada?”

  Fawkes’ eyes said yes.

  The men twitched like a bunch of nervous dogs, and I tried to ignore them.

  “You’re a witch.” I couldn’t hide the thrill I felt. I was both curious and a little frightened at encountering my first male witch.

  He said nothing, so I continued. “You saved us. You sent the fire after the dead things, and it killed them. You saved us with your smart fire, your magic.”

  Lucas and Will winced, and I wanted to slap them. Bloody idiots.

  Fawkes’ eyes gleamed, and he lifted his chin.

  “This world is no place for the dead. The dead should not rise. It goes against every principal of life. It is unnatural, and they leave scars on the world whenever they rise.”

  “You’ve seen those things before?”

  “Yes. Long before your time.” He was silent for a moment, and I sensed that he felt anger, loss, and disgust.

  “It takes a great amount of black magic to raise an army of revenants that size. I’ve never seen so many at once.”

  I knew it was because of the stone, the Heart of Arcania, but I wasn’t sure if I should tell him about it. I really had no reason to be suspicious of him. Ada had probably already entrusted him with more information than she would me.

  “The war between the realm of light and the realm of darkness is really a war of souls. It is a war against nature. Only skilled and powerful necromancers with the blackest souls can conjure revenants. To raise the dead, one must create a hole in the balance of all things, break through the veil, and infiltrate the perimeter that protects this world from darkness. Revenants are controlled by the necromancer’s mind. They are much more dangerous than rogue spirits.”

  I was intrigued at the mention of rogue spirits. There was still so much I didn’t know about the world, about my magic, and about magic in general.

  Will shifted nervously. His hand went to the hilt of his sword, and he kept looking around at the trees as though he was expecting rogue spirits to come barreling out at us.

  I did my best not to roll my eyes at Will’s uneasiness.

  “But the fire killed them, killed the dead things. I remember piles of ash after they were burned.”

  Fawkes nodded, and his emerald hair waved as he moved. I felt a little envious of his glorious locks.

  “Only fire can put an end to the revenants. Fire is a natural elemental. Revenants are not. And fire is the only thing that can destroy them.”

  “What about the high priest? Did you burn him too?”

  I felt a chill as I remembered what he said about Rose. I prayed that he was burned with the rest of his army, but I suspected I would not be so lucky. I had a feeling it’d take a lot more than magic fire to kill the high priests.

  “Fire will not destroy the necromancers,” said Fawkes, as though he was reading my mind.

  His eyes darkened.

  “It’ll take a lot more than my magic to destroy them. But after all the revenants had been burned to ashes, I could not sense his black magic anymore. He might still be hiding in the forest, or he might have turned back to Anglia. I couldn’t tell.”

  I shifted a little under Fawkes’ intense stare, but I didn’t look away. I couldn’t sense the black magic either, but I kept that to myself.

  “He might be gone now, but I’m sure he’ll be back. Or he’ll send more dead things, revenants, after us. He won’t give me up so easily.” I watched for Fawkes’ reaction.

  “Yes, I’m afraid it’s only a temporary victory,” said Fawkes. “There was a dark power that traveled with the necromancer. He will continue to raise not just the dead, but things that are far worse than rotting corpses. Unless we stop them, there is no telling what else they will bring forth in this world.”

  “Like demons,” I said.

  Fawkes nodded. “Even before I had heard of your quest, the forests and the earth had grown dark, and I had set out to find where the darkness was coming from. The sickness is spreading. I waited for you on the main road, near the borders of Fell Forest. The road was unusually packed with temple guards, and they were looking for someone. The nearby villages bustled with gossip about you, Elena. Word had spread that the witch with a blade was responsible for the black blight. There are hundreds, maybe thousands of humans looking for you. To kill you.”

  He took a breath and paused.

  “The way to Witchdom is barred on the main road,” continued the witch. “I knew you’d never make it. I came as quickly as I could to warn you but then I was overrun by temple guards and Romilians. I lost your trail. When I spotted the necromancer and his company, I knew you were heading for the northern road through the forest. I came as fast as I could.”

  “Thank you, for that,” I said, but my stomach clenched. If only he’d come soon enough to save Max.

  Fawkes closed his eyes.

  “There’s something dark in the forests. We cannot linger. We should leave now.”

  “She’s not ready yet,” snapped Leo. “She needs more time before she can ride.”

  Fawkes ignored him. “If you can ride, we need to leave.”

  I sensed that something had happened between Leo and Fawkes while I had been unconscious.

  “I’ll need to change my clothes and maybe have something to eat. But I’m fine to ride.”

  Leo looked surprised.

  “Elena, you lost a lot of blood. You shouldn’t have survived…but you did.”

&nbs
p; I frowned at his pause. I knew what he was implying, and I didn’t care to hear about it.

  “I don’t think it’s wise for you to ride now,” he continued. “What if your wounds get infected, and you get a fever? What would happen if you got ill? We can’t take that chance.”

  I didn’t know how to explain to Leo and the others that I’d never been ill in my life.

  “Elena is fine to ride,” said Fawkes.

  Leo turned and stepped dangerously close to Fawkes.

  “I wasn’t speaking to you,” he hissed. “This isn’t your decision. I don’t care who you are, or where you came from—she’s not riding till she’s better.”

  I wasn’t sure if I should have been flattered by his protectiveness for me or angry that they both spoke like I wasn’t even there.

  “I’m fine,” I growled, but the two men weren’t listening.

  Fawkes towered over Leo. “Don’t push me, human.”

  Fawkes’ tone was frightening.

  “I don’t need an excuse to kill you…to kill all of you. I’ve killed many a man for lesser things. I can snuff out your life in the blink of an eye.”

  With a flick of his fingers, orange and yellow flames sparked and then coiled around his hands like tiny snakes. The hair on the back of my neck stood as he emitted a wild growl.

  I could hear the rest of my men draw their weapons. Nugar sneaked silently behind Fawkes, and I had to fight down the urge to cry out. But I had a feeling the witch was in control.

  Leo straightened. “You’re nothing but a coward, hiding behind your tricks, your magic, just as your kind always does.”

  Fawkes’ expression was terrifying.

  “I’m not hiding now, am I? Let me show you exactly what kind I am.”

  “Is this really necessary?” I said, shaking my head.

  The fire around Fawkes’ hands increased and began to spiral around his forearms.

  “I said I was fine—”