“Very pretty?” Sophie asked, jumping straight to what she considered important.
“Don’t know, didn’t really notice.” Hunter replied.
“That’s a yes then.” Sophie replied with a chuckle, amused at Hunter’s attempt to not give the wrong answer. She turned back to her book, convincingly uninterested with this new girl. “What’s her name?”
“Oh no, no.” Hunter replied, “You’re not learning that. All I need to do is give you a name, and doubtless you’ll track her down. I haven’t forgotten Gabriella, and neither have her family. All we did was flirt and you had to go in there with your curses…”
Poor Gabriella, Hunter thought. An innocent girl from the Donili village that hadn’t known that her innocent flirting would bring on the wrath of the Shadow Witch. There had been no solid proof of witchcraft or foul play after the accident, but Hunter was convinced that it was too much of a coincidence.
“I don’t know what you mean.” Sophie replied airily, turning the page of her book.
Chapter Nineteen
The Reichstag was an impressive building set in the centre of Berlin. Hunter, Kristen and Max stood in the shadows of the Sheidemannstraße, looking out at the building. People moved with business-like haste to and fro in front of the Reichstag, in fact only the lack of tourists distinguished it from pre-witch Berlin.
“There is Herr Beerbaum.” Max muttered, nodding to one gentleman who marched past in a fine suit. “Calls himself Bürgermeister der Leute - Mayor to the People, the ambitious Saukerl. Beerbaum is not a witch but is one of their main supporters.
“There is Fräu and Herr Shaudt, they are witches on the lower council.” Max continued, pointing out another couple who walked into the Reichstag. “The Witches Rat is made up of the lower and upper council. From what I gathered; your witch-hunters had a contact in the upper council. How do you propose to get in touch with them?”
Hunter looked up at the daunting Reichstag, the morning sun glinting fiercely off the glass dome. “I was thinking of walking up and asking.” He replied unconvincingly.
“That’s a shit plan, Hunter.” Kristen said with half a laugh, unsure whether he was joking or not.
“Look, the last guys took six months to find this contact, we don’t have that long, we need this source now. We need to let that contact know we’re here.” Hunter argued quietly.
“So, what you got in mind?” Kristen prompted.
Hunter paused, gazing at the young, energetic witch-hunter. “You trust me?”
Kristen shrugged. “Sure, why not.”
“I’m going to hand myself in, be the bait to draw out the contact.” Hunter said simply.
Kristen thought about it for a moment, then nodded. “Ok, I’m in.”
Hunter smiled at her willingness. He felt the necessity to talk her out of it, but then he’d never been able to counter the stubbornness of those that aided him: Toby; Marcus; James; even Sophie. Hunter seemed to attract the most iron-willed people.
“You are going through with this?” Max asked with exasperation. “You are crazy, you both are!”
Hunter turned to the old man. “Max, thank you for your help over the last year, the British Malleus Maleficarum Council are in your debt. But you need to go home now and forget all about us.
Hunter held out his hand, and when Max took it to shake, the old man froze in shock. Hunter looked deeper into those bright eyes and pushed further until he could sense the presence of thought…
The two men stood there for no more than a minute, when Hunter finally let Max go. Max stood for a moment, disorientated, then wandered away.
“What did you just do?” Kristen asked quietly.
“Altered his memory, removed everything to do with the MMC.” Hunter muttered, shaking his head to get rid of the ghost of another man’s memory.
“Huh, one of your party tricks?” Kristen asked warily.
“Something like that.” Hunter replied. “It’s for his own safety, and ours - I don’t want to leave a trail.”
Cutting off the moral argument he was sure was brewing, Hunter led across the street straight up to the Reichstag. There were two armed guards at the main door, and they eyed Hunter and Kristen warily as it became apparent that these two people weren’t passing by.
“Guten morgen.” Hunter called out as he climbed the first few wide steps. “We’d like to see the Witches Rat.”
“You have appointment?” One guard asked.
“No, but they’ll want to see us, we’re witch-hunters.” Hunter replied helpfully.
The effect was immediate. The guards both aimed their guns at the unwelcome visitors. The first guard snapped at Hunter and Kristen to raise their hands, while the second shouted the alarm in frantic German. Hunter glanced at Kristen and raised his hands as half a dozen armed guards came running out. Their force was well-trained, and four men secured the two dangerous witch-hunters and marched them inside, while the others carried the bags and weapons, they had taken from them.
The Reichstag wasn’t designed for holding prisoners, but Hunter and Kristen found themselves thrown into a room with small, high windows, and the door locked behind them.
“What happens now?” Kristen asked, rubbing her arms where the guards had held her.
Hunter walked calmly about the room, which seemed to have no real function. “We wait.” He replied, feeling a certain déjà vu. This wasn’t the first time he’d walked into a witch headquarters, unarmed. It was a miracle he was still alive.
Time passed slowly, the two witch-hunters sat in silence, afraid to say anything prying ears might hear or deduce. Hunter paced the room at first, testing the defences. A powerful witch had put a block over every window. But after years of fighting the Shadow Witch and developing his own powers, he could read the flaws of this comparatively average magic. It was a relief to know that there was nothing physically stopping Hunter from leaving at any point.
By the time the door eventually opened again, Hunter was beginning to feel offended at how low a threat and a priority he and Kristen obviously poised to the witches. Two people appeared at the door, Henric Beerbaum, whom Max had pointed out earlier, hovered with dark flickering eyes that Hunter immediately distrusted. He had the air of a man that had done well at the expense of others. It made Hunter seethe - it was weasels like this that made the fight so much harder.
The second figure stood before Beerbaum radiating power that sang in tune with the defences that Hunter had been probing earlier. The female witch stood staring at the captives; her eyes narrowed.
“Why are two British witch-hunters seeking the Witches Rat?” She asked in fluent English.
“We came to find out what happened to our friends.” Hunter replied conversationally.
The witch hesitated, not sure how to take this very calm man. “The six we caught nosing around last month? They were arrested and executed, which is the fate of any witch-hunter we find.” She spoke slowly, clarifying the unfortunate position of the two new witch-hunters that were so ridiculously stupid as to hand themselves in. No wonder the witches had won, if this was an example of their enemy.
“Yes, but before that, we believe that they had an inside contact at the Reichstag.” Hunter replied, casually pushing aside the threat.
The witch froze, shocked by this announcement. In her silence, Beerbaum shook his head and simply said, “Impossible.”
“Nothing is impossible, trust me.” Hunter replied dryly.
“Why are you telling us this?” The witch asked suspiciously.
“Because we think that this contact has important information.”
The witch hesitated again, and Beerbaum took the opportunity to add another snide comment. “You are hardly in a position to make use of any such information.”
The witch suddenly came out of her daze and snapped at Beerbaum in rapid German. The man replied with false humility, then without notice they both left, the door being closed and locked behind them.
; The two witch-hunters stood in silent contemplation for a long moment, then Kristen stepped up, looking imploringly at Hunter.
“What the hell was that Hunter?” She fumed. “Are there any other secrets you want to share with them? No, don’t shush me Hunter!”
“Be careful using names, we don’t know who’s listening.” Hunter hissed, his paranoia kicking in. He didn’t mind taking on a building full of witches, but if they worked out exactly who they held captive, the Shadow Witch wouldn’t be far away, and Hunter wasn’t ready for that.
“Of course, I told them. What do you think the witches are going to do now they know there’s a traitor in their midst?” Hunter explained. “They’ll hunt them out - doing our work for us and getting a result much faster.”
“It’s risky though, what if they kill them before we can do anything?” Kristen asked quietly, unsettled by being the sensible one.
Hunter shrugged. “Trust me.” He knew he was being rash, but he was already nervous after one day away from Adam.
*****
Barely ten minutes had passed when the witch returned, alone this time.
“Fraulein Kuhn wants to see you.” She said calmly.
The witch looked between the two witch-hunters and with a sigh she raised a hand. Hunter suddenly felt his wrists drawn together behind his back, as though ropes pulled tight. He struggled against the unnatural feeling, but his elbows felt like they were about to pop under the strain. Hunter glanced back and saw Kristen struggling likewise. Hunter concentrated on the vein of magic around him, he could sense the strength and the weakness, and he knew he could break it –
“Come quietly and you will not be hurt.” The witch said with mild amusement at their plight, not knowing that Hunter was a mere breath away from breaking her bonds. But Hunter remained passive, turning to Kristen and meeting her fierce gaze he nodded, not saying anything but hoping she took his lead.
The young witch-hunter visibly relaxed before his eyes. Hunter always found it unsettling when people trusted him unquestionably; it was a big responsibility on his shoulders. But it sure as hell made it easier to get through the tasks ahead when there were no arguments or lengthy explanations to waste time on.
“Move.” The witch snapped, pointing through the open door.
Hunter led the way; Kristen close behind him and their captor bringing up the rear. Hunter grimaced, suddenly struck by the realisation it wasn’t his first time bound and captive in a witches’ headquarters. Only this time he doubted there would be a miracle rescue, as there had been by Bev Murphy. Oh well, the plan had seemed like a good idea this morning.
The witch-hunters walked obediently down a dark corridor of the Reichstag, before finally reaching a set of double doors. The witch pushed past them and knocked.
“Ja?”
At the sharp female voice, the witch pushed the doors open and nodded Hunter and Kristen through. Hunter walked in, immediately taking in the scene. The room was an office, official and almost clinical in appearance. Photos of previously important people adorned the walls, along with the German flag.
And at the broad, polished desk, a woman sat, looking up expectantly. Fraulein Laura Kuhn, the strongest and most feared witch in Germany. She was an attractive woman in her mid-forties, her light brown hair scraped back in a severe bun and shocking blue eyes locked fiercely on the witch-hunters. Fraulein Kuhn rose from her desk and walked over to the bound witch-hunters, assessing them with a detached, impersonal gaze.
Hunter saw Kristen flinch as Kuhn drew near, and as the witch passed him, he shivered at the strength of magic that rolled off her. It took every effort on Hunter’s part not to raise his shield against her. He didn’t doubt for a second, she’d be able to read it and work out who he was.
“You seek a spy in our ranks.” Fraulein Kuhn snapped in rapid German, no question in her voice. “You will tell me everything, their name, other sources.”
“We cannot.” Hunter replied mildly, looking back at the witch that had brought them.
Kuhn followed his gaze and paused as she regarded her colleague. “Danke Erica, you may leave.”
The witch nodded and left immediately, trusting that her boss could handle the two bound witch-hunters.
As soon as the door closed, Hunter felt a bubble of magic rise about the room, it was thick and cloying and Hunter guessed it was to keep what was said in this room firmly private.
“What are you and the Amerikaner here for?” Fraulein Kuhn demanded.
Hunter paused, thinking how to play this. Kristen leant towards him; her curiosity caught by “Amerikaner”.
“She wants to know why we’re here.” Hunter muttered, translating quickly.
“Well why don’t you tell her.” Kristen replied quietly, rolling her eyes. She then turned to the witch and spoke louder, enunciating each word. “We are here to find out about the Shadow Witch.”
Fraulein Kuhn looked scathingly at the blonde witch-hunter, then spoke in clear English. “I am German, I am not deaf.”
She then looked at Hunter, obviously marking him as the brains of this operation. “You are fools, you follow your friends’ fate by coming here.”
“Yes, that has already been pointed out, thank you.” Hunter replied politely.
Kuhn shook her head and walked back to her desk. She held her hand over a drawer and closed her eyes. A moment later there was an audible click, and Kuhn opened the drawer and pulled out a thick sheaf of paper. She immediately held it out to the witch-hunters.
“Yes, me. Although I may have to find a scapegoat if I am to keep my position.” Kuhn mused. “Well, make what you will of it.” She snapped back to attention and thrust the papers in Hunter’s direction.
Hunter looked down, momentarily shocked into silence, but then wet his lips to speak. “Ahm, perhaps you could be so kind as to remove our bonds.” He commented, straining against the magical restraint at his wrists.
Fraulein Kuhn smiled. “Remove it yourself, Astley.”
Hunter froze, then immediately raised his shield, not needing to hide it would seem. “You know?”
Kuhn did not reply straight away; her eyes followed the lines of his shield and as she read the strength of it, she looked mildly impressed. “Yes, Herr Beerbaum did not take long to work it out – you are quite famous, Hunter Astley.”
While she spoke, Hunter broke the magic that bound his wrists with a simple channel of thought, then freed Kristen.
“So, what does this mean?” Hunter asked warily.
It means that the Shadow Witch is on her way, and I cannot help you.” Fraulein Kuhn replied sadly. “Our Burgermeister has likely contacted her people already, the ambitious little pig. The house will be sealed, and I doubt even you, Herr Astley, can break out, when it is designed to trap you in.”
“But… you are the most powerful witch in Germany.” Kristen broke in. “Can’t you do something?”
“Against the Shadow Witch? I highly doubt it.” Kuhn replied, a frown creasing her brow. “And if I tried, I would be revealed as a traitor, and would lose my place. And then who would curb the violence against my people? Who knows what monster my successor might be?”
Fraulein Kuhn walked away from them, looking at one of the large windows, yet not seeing the stretch of green and grey ahead. “I was happy with life before the Shadow Witch. Since her rise, Germany has been in ruins, the average person treated as nothing more than cattle. As the most powerful witch I was offered this position and took it in the hope I could make life easier. But I have to hide my own husband for fear he will be targeted, and I have to counter the malicious moves of some witches and people like Beerbaum. I have thought about finding equally sympathetic witches, but it is too dangerous. And then the witch-hunters came, and I felt new hope… until they were caught by the others. And now you.”
Hunter was left silenced by her confession.
“You have to hide your husband?” Kristen echoed.
Fraulein Kuhn half-turned from the w
indow. “He’s not a witch, just a normal man. Under the new regime I am permitted to… take up with such a person to procreate. But to love such a man would be frowned upon indeed. Albert’s very existence is hidden, and I have to answer to Fraulein Kuhn twenty times a day instead of Frau Gren as I long to be.”
Kuhn walked back to the witch-hunters, looking much weakened, even though her magic still rolled off in powerful waves. “Please don’t reveal any of this when She comes for you. I’m trusting you to find a way.”
Hunter tightened his hold on the folder and nodded.
Kuhn took a deep breath and composed herself. “I’ll take you back to the holding room. Good luck. And remember – once we are outside this room, we are not shielded from eavesdroppers.”
Hunter and Kristen exchanged a look, neither feeling confident at this point. But Laura Kuhn opened the door, shattering the bubble of privacy. The witch looked suddenly fierce and daunting; all softness washed away once more.
Chapter Twenty
Back in the holding room, Hunter stood, waiting for the sound of footsteps on the other side to fade completely before he turned to Kristen. “Ready to leave?”
“Hell yes.” She replied with a dramatic sigh. She eagerly grabbed his hand and closed her eyes, prepared for the pulling, rushing sensation that… didn’t come.
Kristen opened one eye, then seeing the same room, she opened the other. “Hunter?”
Hunter was pale and panicked. Shit. He tried again, but nothing, he was completely blocked. Shit. Even with Kuhn’s warning he had arrogantly assumed he could still get out.
“I can’t…” He gasped, his eyes roving skywards as his senses pushed out. They were met by a wall of magic infinitely more complex and stronger than the other witch’s defence. And Hunter could read the pattern of the magic, it was as familiar to him as his own.
Witch Hunter Trilogy Box Set Page 40