by Donna Grant
As for the witch who now wore Synne’s face, Malene had a feeling she would be useful soon. Until then, she would remain locked in the magical prison Armir had put her in.
Yet, for all the turmoil awaiting Sybbyl and the Coven, Malene felt more confident now that another bone of the First Witch had been found and was in their hands.
Malene closed her eyes and tried once more to search for Synne. Within moments of the magic swirling around her, she knew she wasn’t alone. Trea, the First Witch, was with her.
“She’s alive.”
30
She was almost there. Synne was half-crawling, half-pulling her way to the door. After eating the bowl of soup, she’d tried to stand up. That had been a mistake, but once she was on the floor, she could only think of leaving and finding her way back to Lachlan.
Her hands hurt, and she’d torn several nails down to the quick as she used her fingers to dig into the floor and help her arms drag herself along. She was exhausted, but Synne wasn’t going to give up. She kept moving, inch by agonizing inch. Sweat beaded her brow and dripped into her eyes. Her hair stuck to her face, making it itch. More frustrating than all of that was the fact that her legs refused to obey her.
The door suddenly swung open, and skirts brushed across Synne’s face an instant before Elin demanded, “What are you doing?”
“What does it look like?” Synne snapped as she rested her forehead atop her hands.
There was a beat of silence, then Elin stepped over her and closed the door. “You should’ve called for me if you’d fallen.”
“I need to get to a tree.” The statement came out of nowhere. Synne hadn’t even realized that’s what she wanted until the words fell from her lips. She lifted her head and turned onto her side to look up at Elin. “Please.”
Elin stared at her for a long moment before she sighed and went down to her knees beside Synne. “All right.”
Whatever elation Synne felt quickly dissipated when it took them what felt like hours just to get Synne off the floor and into a chair. Both were out of breath when they finally managed it.
“Well,” Elin said as she wiped her brow. “That was difficult.”
Synne pointed to her boots. “Can you hand those to me?”
“You’re going to need help.”
“I can do it.”
Elin’s look of doubt was hard to miss as she handed the footwear to Synne.
“Why didn’t you use magic?” Synne asked as she lifted her leg and put her foot into the boot.
“My mother taught us that it’s easy to use magic, and while it’s sometimes necessary, when it isn’t, we shouldn’t get lazy and use it. Sometimes, it requires more intelligence and strength of character to not use magic.”
Synne smiled up at her. “That’s sound advice.”
“If only my sister would’ve heeded it.”
“What happened to her?”
Elin turned away and began picking up what little there was in the cottage. “We lived quietly far from the village. Mum worked as a healer and midwife, but she didn’t advertise her services. She only helped those she knew. One day, we had to go into the village for the market, and a woman went into labor. It was a difficult one, and the other midwife was tending to another birth. Mum didn’t want to help, but she also knew that if she didn’t, the woman and baby would likely die. She bade Avis and me to return to the cottage.”
Synne paused after getting one boot on. “Where was your father?”
“Never had one,” Elin replied with a shrug. “Birthings can take days, so I didn’t get worried until the third day when Mum still hadn’t returned home. That’s when Avis and I went back to the village. It wasn’t even dawn yet, so few people were about. I’m still not sure what they would’ve done to us had anyone spotted us. I’ll never forget hearing the creak of the rope in the silence of the morning. They’d strung Mum up in the nearest tree and left her there for the crows.”
“I’m so sorry, Elin.”
The witch squatted down before her and lifted Synne’s other leg to put her foot in the boot. “I found out the woman who died was a lord’s wife. They had been traveling through the village, and it was just luck that we’d been there when she went into labor. Mum managed to save the baby, but the mother was too weak and didn’t make it. The lord claimed that my mother must have done something to her. It wasn’t long before word got to him that she kept to herself and had a way with herbs.”
Synne had heard this many times before from others. “Naturally, he assumed she was a witch.”
“Aye. So many times, they get it wrong, but this time, they were right. Mum was a witch. However, she never used magic when assisting with births since there is always a price to pay when magic is used. She’d seen that price come in the form of the life of the newborn.”
Synne leaned forward and put her hand on Elin’s shoulder. “I can’t imagine what you and Avis must have gone through.”
“Avis kept asking why Mum hadn’t used magic to get free. I asked myself that same question.” Elin stood when she finished buckling Synne’s boot. “Mum was proud to be a witch, but she also knew how important it was to keep her magic from others. She didn’t free herself because she was thinking of us.”
“So many of us lost parents because of magic. It isn’t right.”
“Few things in life are.” Elin held out her hand to Synne. “Ready?”
Synne took the witch’s hand and set her jaw. “As I’ll ever be.”
This time, Synne was able to keep on her feet while Elin’s arm wrapped around her. They smiled at each other. Standing was much different than walking, and the first step nearly had both of them on the floor.
“I’ve got you,” Elin said as she managed to keep them both standing.
Synne swiped at her hair that kept getting in her face. “I keep telling myself that my body is fine. That it’s only my mind that’s off.”
“You’ve made significant progress since you woke. More than I could’ve hoped, actually. I’ve stayed longer in one place than I normally do, but I couldn’t leave you.”
One difficult step at a time, they walked. Synne kept her gaze on the ground in front of her as they made it out of the cottage. The cold hit her instantly, but it was a welcome reprieve from the sweat of exertion.
Synne swallowed but needed something to occupy her mind as she tried to walk. “When did you and Avis part ways?”
“We stayed on our own for several years. Mum had taught us how to provide for ourselves. I sold herbs to help. I thought we’d continue on like that forever, but I could see that Avis wasn’t happy. Within a few years, she began lashing out at anyone we came into contact with in the village. She didn’t understand how I could speak to them. I tried to tell her that we needed to survive. I hadn’t forgotten what had happened to Mum, but Avis didn’t see it that way. Then, she began using magic for everything.”
Synne grimaced. “That put you both in danger.”
“It did. By that time, anything I said automatically caused us to argue. One morning, I woke up, and she was gone.”
Synne didn’t remember her parents, but Elin was different. She had seen her mother there, had known her sister when she left. “Did you remain there long?”
“A few months. That’s when I began noticing people looking at me strangely. It wasn’t until one little boy asked me if I could do magic like my sister and my mum that I knew Avis had done something. I generally didn’t speak with too many or listen to gossip, so I had no idea that Avis had found out which of the men hung our mum and killed them. The last I heard, she’d found out the name of the lord to track him down.”
“Did she kill him?”
Elin made a sound at the back of her throat. “I don’t know. I didn’t try and find out.”
“You’ve been on the move ever since.”
“I find a place and stay for a handful of days, then I’m gone again. At first, it was to keep away from anyone who thought I might be a wit
ch. Then it was to stay out of the Coven’s way.”
Synne’s legs were starting to wobble. She wasn’t sure she could make it. This had been a mistake, but she didn’t want to say that, not after everything Elin had done. To take her mind off the pain, Synne kept the conversation going. “How did you meet Asrail?”
“By accident. Some members of the Coven were tracking me. I’m not sure how they knew about me, but they were relentless.”
“As they are,” Synne said.
Elin chuckled. “Very true. Anyway, Asrail hid me from them. I’d known of the Gira, but I’d never spoken to one. We spent a few days together in those woods, talking. She told me about the bones of the First Witch being discovered, and of the Coven’s upheaval. Both of us had been alone for so long, we liked having someone else to talk to. Without even knowing it, we formed a friendship.” She looked up. “Don’t stop, Synne. We’re almost there. Look.”
Synne lifted her gaze and saw the trees just a few feet away. Hope sprang up even as her body fought against her mind. Tears fell from her eyes as she gritted her teeth and kept moving. Elin was patient while taking the brunt of Synne’s weight as they closed the distance. As soon as Synne was close enough, she reached out her free hand for the tree and fell against it.
Her cheek slid against the bark, the roughness cutting her skin, but she didn’t care. She sighed in contentment, feeling instantly better.
“You really are part Gira,” Elin whispered.
Synne turned over so that her back was to the tree. She realized after shifting that she hadn’t had to fight her body to move, it had done it on its own. “Why do you say that?”
“The Gira look like trees because they need them in order to survive. They can go a little while without them, like we can hold our breath underwater. The trees allow the Gira to live. And it’s a tree that’s healing you right before my eyes.”
Synne couldn’t stop smiling. “The numbness and pain are leaving. I can’t explain how good it feels.”
“You don’t have to. I can see it on your face.” Elin sat beside her, uncaring about the snow. “You’ve not asked about what I said earlier regarding your sister.”
“Nay.”
Elin licked her lips and turned her head to her. “I shouldn’t have said it.”
“Is it true?” Synne asked as she looked at Elin. “Did I have a sister?”
“Aye.”
“Why didn’t Asrail tell me?”
“You’d just learned your parents were killed by Gira, and you’re half-Gira. It was a lot to take in. You didn’t speak of a sister, so Asrail thought it might be easier if you didn’t know.”
Synne moved her toes in her boots and looked back to the cottage and the thin smoke that rose from the chimney. “Was she older or younger than me?”
“Younger. The two of you were playing in the forest. She had walked away, but you didn’t. Asrail tried to call her back and keep an eye on you. Everything happened so fast. Your parents came running, with the Gira chasing them. And Asrail—”
“Had a decision to make,” Synne finished. “She told me she chose to save me instead of my parents.”
Elin blew out a breath, and it puffed out around her. “She said you were turned away, so you never saw the Gira take your sister before your parents. Asrail refused to allow all of you to die, and you were closer. She did what she had to do.”
“I know. None of it is her fault.”
“She doesn’t feel that way. None of it would’ve happened had she not helped her son turn human.”
Synne shrugged. “Love finds a way. My parents would’ve come together regardless. Asrail shouldn’t blame herself for any of it. Without her, I wouldn’t be here.”
“You should tell her that.”
“I should. And I will. But first, I need to find Lachlan.”
31
The longer Armir was away from Blackglade, the more his anxiety grew. And it was then that he realized it wasn’t the city he wanted.
It was Malene.
“I’m beginning to think that Synne is dead,” Jarin said from beside him.
Armir halted and looked around the forest. If Synne got away, he figured she’d find a way to get to the trees for shelter and to know if enemies were coming. “Until we find a body or Malene tells us Synne is dead, we’ll keep looking.”
“When the Coven is looking for us? I’m not sure how wise that is.”
Armir turned his head to the warrior. “Do you want to be the one to tell Lachlan why we stopped looking? Or how about Malene? Then there’s Helena.”
“I get your point,” Jarin replied testily.
“I would rather be at home, as well, but Synne knows…things about—” Armir specifically left off saying, “the bone in Lachlan’s weapon” as he saw something out of the corner of his eye for the second time since entering the forest.
“The Coven could already have that information. Though they can do nothing about it.”
Armir quirked a brow. “And just what lengths would you go to if they had Helena?”
Jarin looked away, his gaze focused off to the side. “I’d do anything.”
“Lachlan loves Synne, and he’ll do anything for her.”
“Including giving up the one thing he shouldn’t,” Jarin said with a nod. He looked back at Armir. “Anyone could have her.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Armir saw something move again. Jarin had seen it as well, though neither man said anything. They didn’t need to. By his count, four Gira surrounded them. Why the nymphs hadn’t called to them, Armir didn’t know.
Jarin moved his head just enough to nod at Armir. Before they could attack the Gira, another nymph flew through the air and impaled the Gira nearest him with a stick that shot from her hand. Armir didn’t have time to ask what the Gira was doing as the others attacked him and Jarin. He took out one with Jarin, and the Gira helped them kill the remaining two.
The Gira met his gaze and said, “My name is Asrail. I’m Synne’s grandmother. You need to find her and get her to Blackglade immediately. The other Gira have already told Sybbyl who Synne is.”
“She’s really half-Gira?” Jarin asked.
The nymph glanced at Jarin and said, “I would never lie about that. She’s in danger. She must be found.”
“You don’t know where she’s at?” Armir asked.
“I’ve been looking for her, but I can’t find her or Elin.”
Armir frowned. “Elin? Is that the witch who helped you talk to Synne?”
“She’s not part of the Coven, but they’ve been after her for some time.”
Jarin leaned on his staff, his lips twisting. “You’re in danger as well now that you’ve killed a Gira.”
Asrail snorted and moved to a tree to touch it. “That isn’t my first time killing one of my kind, and I doubt it’ll be the last. I’ve been hunted by the Gira for years, simply because I allowed my son to follow his heart. That won’t ever change. Right now, I don’t care. Let them come for me, as long as Synne is safe.”
“I wish we could help, but we haven’t found any clues to her whereabouts,” Armir told the nymph.
Asrail’s lips parted, then her head jerked to the tree. Suddenly, she smiled. “The trees have told me where Synne is, but if I know, the other Gira do, as well. You must go now.”
“Come with us,” Armir urged her. “It may take all of us to get Synne to safety.”
The nymph hesitated but a moment before she nodded. “We’re going to need to travel by magic.”
She held out her hands. Waited for the men to take them. Armir had never trusted a Gira before, but he was putting his life in the hands of one now. Literally. He took her palm and waited for Jarin to do the same on her other side.
“Don’t worry,” Asrail said before he could. “I’m not going to betray you. You’ve no reason to trust me, but I’m asking you to.”
Jarin blew out a breath. “I hope we’re doing the right thing.”
“You a
re,” Asrail said right before everything went dark.
A moment later, Armir found himself out of the forest and staring across a vast expanse of rolling hillsides and mountains. He blinked, thankful that his stomach didn’t rebel at the magic. His gaze shifted to Asrail to find the Gira leaning against a tree with her eyes closed. Armir’s eyes then slid to Jarin, and he found the warrior wearing a frown as he looked at something behind Armir.
“Asrail,” a woman said frantically from behind him.
Armir spun around and found a woman with brunette hair rushing to the Gira. Movement near the ground caught his attention, and he looked down to find Synne twisting from her position at the base of a tree to see what was going on.
Her gaze locked with his. “Please tell me Lachlan is all right.”
“He’s with Malene.”
Relief caused Synne to breathe in quickly as she looked away. When she had herself under control, she turned back to him. “What about Avis?”
“Who is that?” Jarin asked.
Armir watched as Elin didn’t hesitate to help Asrail, but she had barely looked at them. He’d never heard of witches helping the Gira. By the look of things, there was a friendship between Asrail and Elin, one that had saved Synne’s life.
It was Asrail who answered after she opened her eyes. “Avis is a witch who lost her way. She forgot who she was.”
“That doesn’t really answer my question,” Jarin stated.
Elin’s brown eyes moved to Armir. “She’s my sister.”
“Elin saved me,” Synne said. “I wouldn’t be here without her.”
Jarin eyed the witch. “Are you with the Coven?”
“Nay,” the three women answered in unison.
Jarin turned his head to Armir, while he kept his gaze on Elin. The witch lifted her chin as if daring him to call her a liar.
Finally, Armir asked, “If you aren’t part of the Coven, then will you stand with us against them?”
Asrail turned her head to Elin and put a hand atop the witch’s. “It’s time.”