by Donna Grant
Synne was ashamed that she had forgotten that early lesson, but at least she remembered it now.
Lachlan slowed his gelding to a walk. Synne gently tugged on the reins, and her mare quickly relaxed to a canter. She glanced at Lachlan to find him watching her. “What?”
“You’ve been pensive all day. You’re still thinking of the witch.”
It wasn’t a question, and she didn’t treat it as one. “I am.”
“You’ve really never missed with your arrow?”
She shook her head. “Never. Today was a first, and I honestly didn’t think it would bother me as much as it has.”
“Could the witch have used a spell?”
“Anything is possible. I was just thinking about something Edra told me when I was young. She said that I should never underestimate a witch because each of them has different powers. She also told me that I should know my strengths and weaknesses because I might not always be able to use my bow and arrow.”
“Edra was right.”
“I forgot that today. Had your sword not been spelled, you’d likely be dead. And I probably would be, as well.”
He shook his head and patted his horse’s neck. “Doona think like that. We won. Look at what you did right and what you did wrong. That’s what a warrior does each time they come from a battle because each one is a learning experience.”
“I know that everything you’re saying is right, but I keep thinking how close we came to dying.”
Lachlan’s eyes slid to her. “If you hang on to that, fear will begin to grow. If you are afraid like that when you enter battle, you’ve already given your enemy the win. You can no’ think about anything but your goal—defeating your enemy in any way possible. Most times, it’s going to be with your bow. Other times, it’ll be with your wits or whatever else you have at hand. You have a skill with the bow I’ve no’ seen the likes of before. Whether that old witch used a spell, or there was something else at work, doesna matter. You’re a skilled Hunter, taught by a great witch.”
“You didn’t even know Edra,” Synne replied with a smile.
“I may no’ have met her, but by the things you’ve told me, she was a great woman and witch. She took in orphans, gave all of you a home, taught you about the evil in the world, and also gave you the skills to keep yourselves and others safe. I doona know many who would do what she did, all while knowing that it was only a matter of time before the Coven found her.”
Synne drew in a deep breath and released it as she gave a single nod. “Edra was all those things and more. So was Radnar, and every other warrior and witch who lived at the abbey and made it their home. They gave me a purpose.”
“You chose your path. They just made sure you knew how to handle yourself while on that path.”
“If I come out of this battle alive, I want to pick up where Edra and Radnar left off. I’ve told all the Hunters to go to Leoma and Braith’s castle. Since Braith is the Warden of the Blood Skull, the castle is well fortified by Leoma’s magic, as well as the skull’s. It will likely be the base, but I want to teach others, to pass on everything I’ve learned.”
Lachlan smiled at her. “I think that’s admirable. I wish there was something like that in Scotland.”
“We Hunters travel all over. Many don’t return to the abbey for months as they’re out tracking one witch or another, but I don’t know if any have come to Scotland. Surely, they have. But then there are the Varroki.”
He grunted. “I’d think it would be beneficial to Hunters to have many such locations for training and such. You do have a point regarding the Varroki being here. So, they hunt witches, as well?”
“They’re witches and warlocks who dole out justice to other witches. Until recently, everyone thought only women could have magic. Then we met Jarin. He’s one of the Varroki warriors who helped Helena. They’re going to have a child together.”
“The Living Heart of the First Witch, and a Varroki warrior. That child is going to be extremely powerful.”
Synne chuckled. “It certainly will.”
“I can no’ imagine Sybbyl would allow the bairn to live.”
The smile fell from Synne’s face. “Sybbyl wanted Jarin for herself. When he refused all of her advances, she grew furious. And when she learned that Helena was carrying Jarin’s child, Sybbyl knew that she had no other choice but to kill it and continue trying to turn Helena to her side.”
“She has another option,” Lachlan pointed out.
“What is that?”
“Wait until the child is born and take it, converting it to her side. Be it male or female, it’ll be another descendant of the First Witch.”
Synne stared between the mare’s ears. “I didn’t think of that.”
“You make it sound as if you made a horrible mistake.”
“I did,” she snapped and looked his way. “I should’ve thought of that. I’m sure the others did.”
“They probably did, especially Helena and Jarin. But just because you didna, doesna make it a mistake. It means that your mind still believes in good things. Trust me, you doona want to always think the worst as I do.”
She swallowed and glanced away. “Aye, but you’re always prepared for the worst. I’m not. That puts me at a disadvantage. A grave one when dealing with those like Sybbyl.”
“You’re doing yourself a disservice. It’s your ability to see the good in others, to only think of the positive, that sets you apart from everyone else. You may no’ see the evil or expect it, but you react well when it comes at you. That’s no’ only because of your training, but also because of your instincts.”
Synne turned her head forward, considering his words as the horses walked. “I appreciate the compliments, I really do, but I must ask. If you had a choice, would you rather always think the worst, or see the good in others?”
“I should’ve known you’d ask this,” he said with a smile in his voice. Then Lachlan sighed loudly. “In my position as the son of a laird who will one day be laird, I think I’d like a bit of both. I’d like to be able to hope for the good, but also expect the worst so I could prepare my clan.”
“A mix,” Synne replied softly. “I like that. I would like a mix, as well.” Her head turned to him. “How do I do that?”
Lachlan shrugged, his lips twisting. “It’s simple. When you see someone or a place, think of the absolute worst things that could happen and how you’d react to them. For example, look around. What do you see?”
“Craggy mountains topped with snow. Wide-open spaces coming since we’re about to leave the forest, and gray skies.”
“All right. Now, what do you think when you see all of that?”
Synne looked around, thinking. “I feel safe in the forest with the trees, but out in the open, I won’t have to worry about the Gira. The mountains will give me an advantage when I crest one, so I can have a great vantage point. And as for the weather, I believe it’ll hold off for a while longer.”
“All positive thoughts, which can do a lot for a person. I’m no’ degrading it at all.”
She met his gaze. “I see your point. Now, tell me what you see.”
His lips flattened for a heartbeat. “In the forest, I see multiple hiding places for my enemies to wait to attack. The undulating terrain within the forest also makes it difficult to spot enemies until the last moment.”
“True.” Why hadn’t she thought of that? Because Synne knew that she could climb the trees and converse with them for her safety. Lachlan couldn’t.
“Outside of the trees, there is nowhere for us to hide. We could be spotted from leagues away. The glens offer more shelter, but also allow enemies the advantage of higher ground in an attack. The top of the mountains is better, but then there’s the fact that everyone can see us.”
Synne nodded, listening intently.
“Then there’s the weather as you mentioned. The snowfall that will most likely come sooner than I can find shelter. I hope it’s thick enough to cover my tr
acks to thwart my enemies, but that will take time. If it’s rain, it’ll dampen the sound of anyone coming toward me. That leaves me with shelter for the night. I need to cover a lot of ground, but finding the right place to bed down to keep out of sight is paramount. If I find it early enough since I doona know this way, I’ll take it instead of traveling.”
Synne was silent for a long moment. “Everything you mentioned is guessing how an enemy would come at you instead of what I did, thinking only of getting to my destination.”
“I didna even go into the details of the various ways I’d react if attacked.”
“I think it’s a very good thing you’re with me,” she said with a smile as she looked into his gray eyes.
He gave a nod, his lips softening. “I do as well, lass. Though no’ because I think differently than you. I’m glad I’m with you because I like you. And I like being with you.”
Her smile grew as she looked away. “No one has ever said anything like that to me before.”
“That surprises me. A woman of your beauty and skill would be snapped up in a heartbeat in my clan. You’d have men falling at your feet, begging you to choose them.”
She chuckled at the thought. “No man has ever fallen at my feet nor begged me for anything.”
“There were men at the abbey, aye?”
“There were,” she replied and looked at him. “Many knights from all over. We also had a blacksmith and a man from a foreign country I’d never heard of.”
“Younger men?” Lachlan prompted.
Synne shrugged, knowing what he was asking and uncomfortable with it. “Some Hunters, like Leoma, used their beauty against men to get information they needed about witches. I never wanted to do that, and Edra never made us do anything we didn’t want to do. I preferred my solitude with the trees.”
“So, there could’ve been men interested, and you didna know.”
“I suppose.”
“But you were no’ interested in them?”
She shook her head. “Nay.” Then she turned her head to him. “I could admire a man, think of him as handsome. I saw many training shirtless and appreciated the sight, but it wasn’t until you that I felt anything other than friendship for any of them.”
Lachlan’s smile was slow and heart-stopping. “Lass, you do know how to say all the right things.”
17
She would feel better if she were in a Witch’s Grove. But Sybbyl didn’t have that luxury. Instead, she was in this infernal cold, looking for the next bone. The small cottage she’d commandeered would have to do. The only thing that made it bearable was the fact that anytime she came across people, she had them on their knees in short order.
The fear in their eyes left her giddy. Even without speaking, the villagers were terrified of her. Children cried, women shook, men wouldn’t lift their gazes from the ground. Yet there was always a handful who thought they could put her in her place. She showed them quickly enough who held the power. It was a heady experience, and one she’d never get tired of.
There was just one issue. There was no sign of the bone. And each time she asked the staff to give her directions, the bone was nowhere to be found. Almost as if it were moving on its own.
Sybbyl snorted. No, it wasn’t doing that. Someone was moving it.
A sound caused her to jerk her head to the side. She winced from the pain that shot through her. She had tried all different kinds of spells, but nothing healed the wound on her neck—or the one on her wrist. The injury on her neck was deep, which could be the reason it was taking so much magic. However, that didn’t explain the one on her wrist. It wasn’t nearly as bad, but it wasn’t healing either.
Both had been caused by Helena during their battle. Sybbyl could ignore them if she remained still, but when she moved, the pain was excruciating. It hadn’t let up, and in fact, she was beginning to think it was increasing. That, along with the fact that they weren’t healing, worried her. She kept it to herself because she knew the moment she got the second bone, she would be able to heal herself.
The Staff of the Eternal should’ve healed her. Perhaps it hadn’t because it was up against the Heart of the First Witch. But two against one was all it took. Her wounds and the fact that she was eventually going up against the Varroki is why Sybbyl searched for the bone now.
Her thoughts halted as she heard the sound again. Sybbyl raised her hand and, with a flick of her wrist, opened the door. Before it stood Avis. Sybbyl had befriended her because she’d seen Avis’s potential.
“My queen,” Avis said as she bowed her blond head, now soaked from the rain and snow.
“How did you find me?” Sybbyl demanded.
Avis’s brown eyes glanced toward the fire near Sybbyl. “Word is spreading about you. I simply followed the rumors through the villages until I found you.”
“If you came all this way, it must be important. Come in and get warm.”
The young witch hurried to step inside and closed the door against the wet and cold. She shivered as she removed her soaked cloak and hung it on a peg to dry. Then she walked to the fire and stuck her hands out to warm them. “Three witches are dead.”
Sybbyl made sure that neither of her wounds was visible, then she looked at Avis. “Where?”
“Scotland.”
“Who were they hunting?” Sybbyl asked, but then again, she already knew the answer.
“A Hunter.”
Sybbyl’s eyes narrowed. “Did all three attack at once?”
“Twins were the first victims. The second was an old witch. Every one of us is out looking for Hunters and other witches to bring to the Coven.”
“Then how do you know it was a Hunter they sought?”
“The twins picked up a trail and told the Coven they were after a Hunter. When they didn’t report back, those near the location went to check and found their ashes.”
Sybbyl raised a brow. “And the old witch?”
“Her remains were found two days from the twins’, directly north.”
“And you believe it’s the same Hunter?”
Avis nodded. “I do. It makes sense.”
“Perhaps, but it doesn’t matter. Soon, I’ll have the second bone and will go after the Varroki.”
“What if this Hunter is headed to the Varroki?”
Sybbyl threw back her head and laughed. “Who cares? It doesn’t matter if one or one hundred Hunters join the Varroki. They’re all going to die.”
Avis smiled, glee shining in her brown eyes. “It’s going to be glorious.”
“Aye, it is.”
“How close are you to the next bone? Can I come with you?”
Her eagerness was endearing, but the elders’ folly in letting Sybbyl near them when the Staff of the Eternal was found had gotten them killed. She wasn’t going to make the same mistake with Avis. “I have something else I need you to do.”
“Anything,” Avis replied.
“Track whoever is killing my witches. I don’t care if it’s a witch or a Hunter, kill them.”
Avis bowed her head. “I’ll see it done.”
“Now,” Sybbyl demanded when the witch remained.
There was a bit of hesitation as if Avis thought to argue. But in the end, she walked to her cloak. Once the drenched garment was back on her shoulders and fastened, Avis pulled up the hood. Without looking back, she said, “And after I’ve killed whoever it is I search for? Where do you want me?”
“Gather the Coven,” Sybbyl said with a grin. “Once I have the next bone and head to the Varroki, I’ll need every witch to stand with me.”
“And we’ll do it gladly.”
Sybbyl stared at the closed door long after it had been shut. Avis had said all the right words, but Sybbyl wasn’t sure if the witch actually meant them. So what if she was back out in the weather? Other witches were, as well. None of those Sybbyl had served had allowed her any luxuries as she earned her place in the Coven. Neither would she with any of her witches.
A
lone once more, Sybbyl pulled back the sleeve of her gown to look at her wrist. She held the staff with her wounded arm and once more tried casting a healing spell using her own magic as well as the staff’s. Once more, nothing happened.
Sybbyl set the staff aside and tried the same spell again with only her magic, but there was no change. Then she had the staff in hand once more. This time, she tried to use the staff without her magic, but it was impossible. In order to access the magic of the staff, a witch had to use her own powers. But there was a real possibility that the staff could heal her if only Sybbyl could stop using her magic.
A part of her thought to call Avis back and see if the witch could use the staff. The moment the thought went through her mind, Sybbyl disregarded it. There was no way she would put the Staff of the Eternal in anyone else’s hands. It was hers. If she handed it to anyone, then she didn’t deserve to wield it. She had worked too hard for too long to claim her destiny to give it up simply because a couple of wounds were paining her.
She had suffered much more than this. At that thought, she squared her shoulders and looked into the fire. The wounds weren’t affecting her magic or her ability to use the staff. They were an annoyance as well as a sign that she could be hurt. She would make sure they were kept covered so no one could see them. But she wouldn’t stop looking for a solution to heal them. She had magic. It was meant to heal her, and she would find out why that wasn’t happening.
“You know why.”
That damn voice again. It had been days since she’d heard it, and Sybbyl wasn’t happy it was back.
“You can’t ignore me. I’ve proven that already.”
“What do you want?” Sybbyl snapped.
“Merely pointing out a fact.”
“That I know why my wounds aren’t healing?” She gave a loud snort. “If I knew, I wouldn’t keep trying different healing spells.”
“Admit the reason.”
“Nay.” Sybbyl hated that her voice rose because she lost control of her emotions at the prodding of a stupid voice in her head.