The Blood Witch (The Blood Reign Chronicles Book 1)

by Nielsen, D. S.

  It now seemed that the innkeeper had finished his preparations for the evening crowd, and was returning to their table with two more mugs of ale. Jak was about to protest, when he noticed his cup was empty. He wasn’t sure how that had happened, since he didn’t remember actually drinking it.

  After Svenlag removed the empty cups and placed the new ones in front of them, he took up a seat at their table and began talking. Jak found himself only half listening to the old innkeeper’s usual ramblings. He wasn’t that interested in what the man had to say, since most of it was just idle chatter. It seemed to go on for quite some time, until suddenly Jak’s head shot up, and he noticed Nicoldani peering intently at the innkeeper as well.

  “Brigette, I think was what she said her name was,” the innkeeper continued. “I didn’t think much of it at the time. Thought she was just a runaway or some such, but she carried a strange tale with her. Said she had fled from Elsdon because someone had killed her family, and the same person was murdering everyone there. She said his name was Jak. Told us that he would be through here soon, and we should gather the city watch together to arrest him. Humph… as if we have a city watch in Kragston.” The old man laughed, “I didn’t really pay any mind to it at the time. Seemed like she was just spreading tales to hide the fact she was running away.”

  Jak’s shoulders tensed and he struggled to recall if he had given his name to the innkeeper. Or if anyone else had called him by his name since they had been there. Had he given his name to the old man Benjim? Jak couldn’t remember.

  “What was your name again lad?” Svenlag was looking right at Jak with a casual look on his face, but his eyes were intent. Jak’s tongue froze in his mouth unable to move.

  “Danu,” Nicoldani said casually, “the boy’s name is Danu. Isn’t that right?” He said turning to Jak.

  Jak cleared his throat before grunting out, “Yes, my name is Danu.”

  The old innkeeper looked sideways at him for a long moment before continuing, “Hmmm…. Yes then, Danu it is.” Svenlag’s gaze lingered several moments, before turning to Nicoldani and saying, “Master Nicoldani, I know you aren’t from around here, but I believe you to be a man of honor. That is why I tell you this.”

  He paused for a time, seeming to struggle for words. “People around here are small town folks, not used to much excitement. There’s been more than enough lately, and it gets folks a little edgy. They like things to stay the way they are for the most part. Too much excitement gets people thinking.”

  The innkeeper paused again, before leaning close and looking intently at Nicoldani. In a loud whisper he said, “I wasn’t the only one that girl told her story to, not that I believed her mind you. But quite a few people around here heard her tell it, if you take my meaning.”

  “I take your meaning,” Nicoldani said coldly.

  “So then, will you be leaving us now Master Nicoldani?” The innkeeper asked, returning to his cheerful self.

  “It looks like we will at that,” Nicoldani answered grimly.

  “I thought you might be. I had the Misses make you up some food to see you on your way. There are some extra clothes and such too. The little one said you were in such a hurry to leave you didn’t have time to bring anything but what’s on you back. Isn’t much, but it’s the best we can do.”

  “It’s more than enough,” Nicoldani said with gratitude. “I thank you for your kindness Master Svenlag. You are an honorable man.” The old innkeepers face colored at the compliment, but surprisingly he said nothing.

  After a moment, he did turn to face Jak and spoke, “Jak,” he said deliberately. “I knew your father and brothers, good men all of them. I’m sure you will be a good man too. I’m truly sorry for your loss.”

  “Thank you,” Jak said, “for everything.”

  They gathered their things quickly and set out to where the horses were tied. Nicoldani saddled the horses as Jak tied the meager supplies on the plow horse.

  “She will need to ride with one of us for now, we don’t have time for dawdling,” Nicoldani said, turning and motioning at Gin.

  “My name is Gineara, and I’m right here,” Gin said with a petulant look for the big man, “I can ride by myself.” Nicoldani gave her an impatient look.

  “I know you can,” Jak spoke up in a mild voice, “but I think the little horse is tired right now, and might not be able to keep up with us if she’s carrying you. We had better let her rest until morning. You can ride her tomorrow.”

  “Okay,” Gin said a little dejectedly, “then I want to ride with Nic.” Nicoldani rolled his eyes and gave her an exasperated look, before reaching down and hoisting her into the saddle in front of him. “My name is Nicoldani. Not Nic,” he spat the name irritably.

  “But Nicoldani is too long. I like Nic better,” Gin said cheerfully. The big man shook his head in vexation, as he nudged his horse into a walk.

  Once outside of town they picked the pace up to a canter. There were only a couple of hours of light left, and they wanted to get as far as they could before stopping for the night. As the sun was beginning to set, Nicoldani slowed his horse to a walk, and peered down the road. There was a copse of trees up ahead, a little ways off the road. It looked like the ideal place to setup camp for the night. However, when Jak looked closer he could see a thin line of smoke rising from the trees. “Looks like someone beat us to it,” he said.

  “Any bets on who it might be?” Nicoldani said with chagrin.

  Sure enough, as they approached the campsite they saw Benjim sitting next to the fire, wearing his brown robe and looking almost as if he had been expecting them.

  Chapter 6

  The room at the inn was small and cramped, but at least it was not as restrictive and confining as the cave she had been imprisoned in for all that time. Nevertheless, the way she saw it, she deserved accommodations more befitting her power and grandeur. It irritated her that she must endure this degradation. But most certainly, it would only be for a short time. The innkeeper had told her that this was the best room he had to offer. If that was true, she would hate to see the worst room. In any case, it would have to do for now. Allysix needed to be patient, and bide her time until she was able to reclaim what was hers.

  This town that she had settled in was not large at all by her standards. Yilavo City, as it was called, did not deserve to even be called a city. Allysix was accustomed to cities being much larger and spanning many leagues, with tall majestic buildings, and most importantly, a grand palace for her to rule from. This Yilavo City barely deserved the name village in her mind. After all, there were only a few thousand people here.

  Yilavo City was a fishing port on the shores of the East Sea where the Sanchi River emptied into the sea. The main trade was fish and other creatures that the fishermen would pull from the deeper waters offshore. There wasn’t much else to the city other than fishing. It did act as a small port for ships sailing to Varna, and there were also some farms inland where they would grow corn and wheat and other crops that could be shipped to Varna, or taken by wagons north to the small villages along the Sanchi River. But other than that, there wasn’t much else to the city that Allysix had seen.

  Allysix didn’t really like it here since it smelled too much like fish, especially when the tide was low. But she would have to be patient, she reminded herself. She was well seasoned in patience, after all, she had spent the past ….centuries or more practicing patience.

  She wasn’t even sure how long she had been imprisoned in that dark cave, with no night or day to mark the passage of time, no seasons, nothing to separate one moment from the next. Most especially, there had been no one to feed upon to quench her unbearable thirst. It had seemed and eternity to her. No, many eternities, and she had nearly gone mad in the darkness with no one to speak with, and nothing but the endless blackness of the cave. Perhaps she was already mad, it didn’t really matter, since she was free now, and she was Allysix, the Blood Witch.

  She could not have orch
estrated her escape any better if she planned it herself. She felt the warding on her prison slowly deteriorating over time. Unfortunately, over time, she had weakened even more than the wards. Whoever was holding the warding now was much feebler in the art than the ones who had captured and imprisoned her so long ago. But alas, she was weaker still, and not strong enough to break these meager bonds. She had shriveled over time to a pale reflection of her former self, a pallid, dim reflection of what she once had been.

  It had happened all of a sudden that night; all of the wards that held her prisoner were broken at the same instant. That was a dangerous thing, since warding such as these should be removed gradually, one by one. The result quite possibly could have destroyed her entirely, but thankfully it had not.

  Even so, after all that time, the release of being destroyed would have been preferable to remaining imprisoned indefinitely. Being free again in the world was even better yet. The backlash from the broken wards had been so great it caused the earth to tremble and shake violently. For a time Allysix even thought the walls of the cave would crash down around her.

  Her momentary joy at finally being freed from the warding was short lived. To her great dismay, there was still enough energy, as small as it might be, in the binding chains that held her that she was still unable to escape. It was a true measure of how weak she had become from not being allowed to feed.

  The scrawny old man that had taken her to the cave had long since taken his own life. It was infuriating to her, that the one little old man had been able to take her with such ease and imprison her in that horrible place. He had shackled her to the wall with binding chains then walled up the entrance, and she had been powerless to stop him. Not long after she felt the wards solidify and lock, the old man killed himself with the dagger he carried. It irked her still that he had deprived her of the pleasure of killing him herself.

  Nevertheless, the beautifully orchestrated escape played its way out. Allysix could smell the youngsters as they entered the cave that night. The boy came to her willingly when she called, providing the life and strength she needed to break free. The girl provided the vessel and means of escape.

  Allysix still wasn’t sure why she had spared the boy. But after all, she was not an ingrate. The boy had freed her and given her a new life, so she felt somewhat obligated to reward him, even though the boy could not begin to imagine the worth of the gift she had given. He probably wouldn’t even survive it for long.

  The villagers she fed upon in the tiny flyspeck village in the mountains, had brought her to at least an acceptable level of strength, enough to hold her own for the time being. They had given her some trouble though. Because of her severely weakened state, she had actually had to struggle and grapple with two of the women. The older woman had been a particular annoyance. As a result, Allysix had left the woman unfinished, but not entirely by accident…..not exactly.

  Allysix had intended on finishing her along with the small girl as well, but when she returned to the house and found the boy already there……. at that point she decided it would be terribly amusing to just watch the show play out.

  As it turned out the woman had been the boy’s mother. The morbidity and irony was tremendously amusing, especially when the boy actually cut the woman’s head off with an axe. That was fantastic, made even better by the boy’s sobbing and crying afterwards. It had been worth it. After all, the boy himself had taken care of her little unfinished business for her, at the same time providing a delightfully amusing show at the same time.

  As enjoyable as that little spectacle had been, it still paled in comparison to the screams of horror and anguish that came from the girl Brigette, as she watched impotently through her own eyes, as she killed her own family and friends. Allysix giggled still, just remembering it.

  The girl Brigette was surprisingly strong willed. Allysix even found herself sharing the girl’s dreams and nightmares at times. It was troublesome, but even so the girl was becoming part of her now, sharing Allysix’s own memories and dreams. It wouldn’t take long before the girl was no more, becoming just another part of Allysix, albeit a small part. That was the way of the symbiosis.

  Allysix was not even herself, at least not who she had started out as so long ago. She had discovered the gift and transcended mortality. What she was now was much more than just herself, it was older than time. But she needed to find the Staff of Power in order to make the metamorphosis complete and return to her former glory. There was only one pesky question, where was the staff?

  That was a question for later, Allysix had more than enough to occupy herself for the time being. It had never been difficult for her to find followers. She knew if she announced herself they would flock to her. But she dared not do that until she found the staff. She wouldn’t risk being imprisoned again so soon, not that she thought there was anyone left that was strong enough to do so. She dare not risk taking the chance. Besides, she was enjoying her freedom far too well.

  She was stirring the pot so to speak as much as she dared, wherever she could. Shortly after being released she called the Yeshada down from the Saibani Mountains. They were a primitive beast and easily controlled. They should provide some excitement soon, if they hadn’t already. The sorceress ice queen Sysyllus was a little more difficult, but she was a follower, and Allysix was sure her suggestion had taken hold. She was certain that Sysyllus would send the yeshada.

  Sysyllus was powerful in her own right and could bring winter down with her, at least to the northern lands. The Yeshada wouldn’t be of much good in the hotter regions, not unless someone shaved off all their thick hair. That would be a sight. Allysix wondered if she could find someone willing to shave a yeshada. She laughed to herself at the prospect.

  The small village Kragston had been all but useless. She had spread tales that the young boy Jak had killed everyone in the mountains. But no one seemed to take up the tale or believe her. It was rather disappointing; she had hoped to slow the boy’s progress a little. Or if nothing else, provide him with a challenge to help him come into himself. She knew if he was forced into it, that he would give in to the gift she had given him. Once he got a taste for the blood, it would be all but impossible for him to resist.

  Many times, Allysix thought of blocking the link she had with the boy, Jak. But each time she thought better of it. He might end up being of use to her; after all, he did have the gift. At least he had part of the gift. If he caught up with her, she might be able to bring him over and utilize him.

  Besides, a part of her, the part that was Brigette, loved the boy. Strangely enough she found herself thinking about him affectionately at times. But she figured it was just the girls thoughts and emotions seeping to the surface. Allysix had never really loved anyone except herself. It was still strange and foreign to her, because the feelings she was having felt like they were her own. This girl Brigette must have loved the boy Jak deeply for her feeling to come through that strongly. Allysix just wished they didn’t seem so much like they were her own feelings.

  One of the villages along the way had been particularly fruitful for Allysix. It was three days south of Kragston, and was called Cag. There were only twenty or possibly thirty people in Cag, but they had all been surprisingly receptive to her … charms. If the boy made it that far….. well, he might not find a warm welcoming in the village. If nothing else, they might provide a challenge for him, one that would help him on his path.

  Before her imprisoning, there had been tribes of Vashi in the southern Mountain of Zaal. They were nasty little beasts, covered in overlapping scales like a snake. But their scales were much thicker, acting as a sort of armor. The Vashi stood no more than four or five feet tall, but in swarms, they could be a formidable foe.

  Allysix had tried to reach out to them as she had the yeshada, but without success. She had even asked about them in several places, but most people didn’t even know what they were. She had wanted to enlist the Vashi’s services as well, but could not seem t
o make contact yet. They had primitive savage minds and were easily suggestible, at least to her. The more chaos she could stir up the better for her plan.

  One particularly old man had told her that the Vashi had all been killed hundreds of years ago, or at least driven deep into the mountains. She was beginning to think he was right about them being dead, when she eventually was able to make contact. But when she did, the Vashi were surprisingly resistant to her suggestions.

  As it turned out, whenever they would band together in larger groups, the humans would hunt them down and kill them. If they remained in small bands, they could easily evade the humans and stay alive. Allysix decided to let them be…..at least for now. No sense in forcing the issue and getting them all killed. They would be of no use to her dead.

  It had been almost a week since Allysix was freed from her prison when she first came to Yilavo city. Now she had been three days in the city without much luck. There was not as much support for her as she would have hoped. Sure, there were potential followers, but not the numbers she wanted.

  In her discrete inquiring about the town, she had heard the name Maggas, several times from different people. Evidently, Maggas was well practiced in the black arts, and from what she could glean from various source, he was fairly proficient in the use of them. However, the man was not well thought of by the majority of people, most having the opinion that he was a charlatan or criminal. But the truly avid disciples almost worshipped him. Allysix decided that she would make use of this man, Maggas. If she was able to gain his support, the rest of his people would follow. At least it would be a start.

  As it turned out, Maggas was a difficult man to locate. It took two days of slinking about in the Carp District of the city to finally find someone who could arrange a meeting with the black mage.