Putting on the Witch

by Joyce

  We were led into a large, stark stone room where each of the remaining council members was seated behind a long table. It was nothing as elaborate as their usual meeting place, but the rough stone and rustic furniture made me more fearful than grand elegance would have.

  Members of this council had ruled witches around the world for hundreds of years—through the dark times of the Inquisition when admitting that you were a witch could be a painful death sentence. It made me understand why Makaleigh had insisted on protecting us from anything like it happening again. There was tradition here—and respect for magic—even if not always for those of us who practiced it.

  We stood before them silently. Brian was glaring defiantly at his grandfather even though he planned to take him up on his offer. Dorothy kept her gaze on the stones at her feet. I studied each of the council members, wondering how they’d all come together. I wasn’t as afraid of them as I had once been with the outsider magic I carried.

  A large gavel came down on the table—and I realized it was a stone table. There appeared to be red stains on it, possibly from a less civilized time when sacrifices were made to accomplish magic. Realizing what I was looking at made me shiver. Intuition surged through me. There was more to this than simply Brian taking his place among them, and something bad was going to happen.

  Defining bad is always difficult. Was it the kind of bad that we should run from now or that we could get through—like a dental appointment?

  Oscar was wearing a black robe and standing alongside the council table with a runed staff that would have fascinated Olivia. There were many intricate carvings, paintings and stones set in it, up and down the wood.

  “The Grand Council of Witches is in session!” He brought the staff down hard on the stone. It reverberated through the room.

  “Why have you come before us this day?” Abdon asked.

  Brian stepped forward. “To request the return of my coven’s spell book, which is in the witches’ library.”

  “We do not send out books from the library,” council member Owen Graybeard reminded him.

  Joshua Bartleson agreed. “This is not a lending library but a research tool for witches.”

  “Request denied.” Zuleyma Castanada put it quickly behind them.

  Dorothy looked up. “What? I thought we had an understanding. This might be the only way we can save our sister.”

  Brian laid his hand on her arm and addressed the council again. “I am Brian Fuller, son of Schadt and Yuriza Fuller. Grandson of Abdon Fuller. I request a putting aside of the law.”

  “And why do you ask this of us?” Abdon said.

  Of course, I realized. There had to be some showmanship and bartering for the spell book. It was, after all, our governing body. Strange how much the ancient council was like modern-day politics.

  “I request Makaleigh Veazy’s vacant seat on the council, which gives me the right to change the rules in this instance.” Brian’s voice was fierce. It echoed around the chamber with his strength as a man and as a witch.

  “We acknowledge your request.” Abdon looked so relieved that he almost smiled. “The sitting members of the council will vote on your appeal.”

  “No!” a surprised voice called out from the back of the room.

  We turned to look, as did everyone else. Schadt and Yuriza—Brian’s parents—were standing behind us. They were both dressed in gorgeous robes and carried their tools of witchcraft. Schadt had a wand, which meant he was an air witch, like Brian and Olivia. Yuriza carried the thinnest sword I’d ever seen. It was marked with inscriptions up and down the blade, making her a fire witch, like Elsie.

  Abdon stared at his son. “You plan to challenge Makaleigh’s successor, your own son?”

  As was usual in the case of back-and-forth confrontation, even in a good tennis match, heads swiveled between Schadt and Abdon.

  “Yes, Father,” Schadt said. “It should be my seat on the council. I have waited patiently for this moment. I won’t see it given away to a young man who is fickle and doesn’t care about our traditions.”

  I wished that Elsie could have been there. I was sure she would have had some appropriate response to Schadt’s sudden claim to Makaleigh’s chair. Some of her past remarks came to mind and brought a smile to my lips—hardly appropriate in the tense moment, and yet they made me feel better.

  “I’m not fickle, Dad,” Brian responded. “And I have as much respect for our traditions as I need to have to get the job done. When did you get so ambitious?”

  “Silence, both of you!” Abdon’s voice thundered toward us.

  “This is highly irregular,” council member Erinna Coptus protested. “I thought it was all decided but for the vote.”

  Bairne Caelius stood. He was a large, burly man who always wore the clothing from his time, which included dozens of animal skins. He had a full beard and a rough manner that no witchcraft or years on the council had changed.

  “Is it to be a challenge, then? I believe Schadt has a right to physically challenge Brian for the seat.”

  He said it in a way that made me think he’d known this was going to happen. A friend of Schadt’s, no doubt.

  “It has been a very long time since a new member of the council was seated,” Larissa Lonescue said. “We are in mourning for our past member. Perhaps this is not the appropriate time for either a challenge or a new member.”

  “And yet, Sister,” Rhianna Black added, “not only is Makaleigh gone but also Hedyle, though she may not be dead. The council needs a new member. It has been a long time, but surely new blood is appropriate.”

  “Get on with it,” Sarif Patel ventured. “We all know that there are rules that govern this situation. Schadt and Brian must duel to decide the victor and a new member of our council.”

  Bairne laughed heartily. “That’s right. To the victor go the spoils. A battle to the death.”

  CHAPTER 35

  “What?” Dorothy yelled. “That’s crazy. No one does that kind of stuff anymore. They can’t fight each other for the seat. Let’s vote or something. This isn’t the Dark Ages.”

  “Quiet, girl,” Bairne said. “I’ll have you removed.”

  “I don’t care,” she shouted back. “This can’t happen. Brian isn’t going to fight his father for a place on the council.”

  Brian took her hand, a grim expression on his face. “I have to go through with this. I can’t let him mess things up.”

  Her dark eyes drenched with tears, Dorothy said, “This is what we were talking about. This is how you become a different person—the kind they want you to be, not the kind you want to be. You can’t do this.”

  He smiled sadly. “It’s for the best.”

  “I’m not going to stand here and watch you. If you want to do this, count me out.” Dorothy stormed away from him and out the thick wood door.

  Bairne guffawed. “Anyone else with a tender heart or a queasy stomach?”

  I didn’t want to see Brian killed or watch him kill his father. Frankly, I didn’t believe it would come to that. This was a drama for the sake of the witches watching and the council’s honor. But no matter what, I wasn’t leaving Brian by himself.

  “We are speaking of a duel of magic, are we not?” Arleigh Burke questioned.

  “Of course,” Joshua Bartleson replied. “We aren’t barbarians as were our ancestors who used the sacrificial table.”

  That relieved me. They could say to the death, but really they meant until one of the men gave up. Schadt was older and more experienced than Brian, but Brian was powerful. He was also more aggressive. He’d stood up to Abdon his whole life. His mother and father were like ghosts in the background.

  Had Bairne put Schadt up to this? It seemed odd Abdon’s only son hadn’t shown any interest in the council until now.

  “So what do we do?” Brian asked. “Do I hit
him with my wand or try to shoot sparks from it?”

  Always the joker, I mused. Brian rarely took anything seriously. Even now he was laughing at the council and his father.

  “Whatever suits you,” Sarif Patel said. “Let’s see what happens.”

  “I agree with the young witch who left,” Owen Graybeard said. “This is not what Makaleigh or Hedyle would want.”

  I had been watching Schadt. Yuriza had stepped away from him. He was using his wand and a spell to gather power. He obviously took it very seriously.

  When he stood and held his wand toward Brian, I shouted out a warning, “Look out!”

  Brian ducked his head as an enchantment passed over him. It was so strong that it hit the wall behind him and broke a piece of the old stone.

  Larissa Lonescue glanced at me. “No warnings from those not participating or we shall clear the room.”

  “Thanks, Molly.” Brian grinned at me, but the laughter was gone from his eyes. “I guess that’s how we do it, huh?”

  He didn’t pause to gather his forces. He took out his wand and barely muttered an incantation before the force of it knocked his father to the floor. There were gasps from those around me. Bairne frowned. It seemed he hadn’t anticipated Brian’s strength.

  “I can’t believe you did that!” Brian’s mother shouted at him. “Just give up your claim to the seat. It means nothing to you but everything to your father. Are you really prepared to kill him to claim Makaleigh’s place?”

  Brian shook his head. “This wasn’t my idea. None of it was my idea. I’m following your weird rules to get what I want. Change the rules. Tell Dad to forget about it.”

  She turned her slender back to him. Schadt was still getting off the floor.

  “Is that it?” Brian asked. “Can we move on now?”

  With his mother in the way, he couldn’t see that his father was preparing another salvo against him. It happened faster this time. As he got up, Schadt flung his wand at Brian. It took form and substance, becoming one of the large rocks from around him.

  Brian didn’t move in time. The rock creased his forehead, drawing blood. He staggered but didn’t fall. His bright blue eyes were angry. He paused for only a moment before he lifted his wand and subjected the chandelier above his father to his will.

  The large metal fixture dropped to the floor, taking Schadt with it.

  Everyone, including me, was beyond gasps. Schadt didn’t move. Yuriza rushed to his side and tried to move the elaborate candlelit chandelier off her husband. She called on the magic of her sword for help. Alone, she managed to free Schadt, but he wasn’t moving.

  Without a word of warning, she turned on her son and threw her sword straight at his chest.

  With barely an inch to spare, Brian deflected it with his wand.

  The crowded room was completely silent.

  Abdon slowly got to his feet and began applauding. The rest of the council—except for Bairne—joined him.

  “Well done,” Abdon said to Brian. “Well done, my boy.”

  “You mean I don’t actually have to kill him?” Brian’s voice was laced with sarcasm.

  “Of course not,” Zuleyma Castanada replied. “Death isn’t the only way to win a battle. And your girlfriend was right. This is not the Dark Ages. Welcome to the council, Brian Fuller. Blessings on you and your lineage.”

  “We’ll take an hour break to seat our new council member and rule on the placement of the spell book.” Abdon hit his gavel on the stone again. Oscar followed by bringing down his staff.

  CHAPTER 36

  I ran through the departing crowd to Brian’s side. The cut on his head was dripping blood down the side of his face. He was just standing there, not moving, looking dazed as he stared at his parents. There was a pitcher of water and a few napkins on the stone council table. I poured some water on the napkins and held one of them to his head.

  “Brian?” I tried to get his attention.

  “Molly.” He shook his head and finally held the napkin. “Thanks.”

  “This was too much to go through, even for our spell book.”

  “It wasn’t just about the spell book,” he admitted. “I talked to my father about this before I agreed to accept Abdon’s proposal. He wasn’t interested in the politics of the council, he said. He’d never wanted any part of it.”

  “What do you think happened?”

  “I think one or two members of the council didn’t want me to have Makaleigh’s seat and got him to challenge me for it.”

  “That’s what I thought about Bairne from the look on his face.” We both watched Bairne and Sarif try to help Yuriza get Schadt to his feet.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Brian said. “I need to talk to Dorothy.”

  I walked back to the room with him. Dorothy was there. There had been no change in Elsie’s condition. Brian got Dorothy to go in the other room with him and closed the door. Olivia and I waited to see what would happen next.

  “Well, I’m glad I wasn’t able to go after all,” she said. “I’m assuming Brian won the challenge. I’ve never heard of such a thing. I thought maybe Dorothy had a fever or something when she came back here crying.”

  “I don’t understand it either.” I told her what Brian said about talking to his father. “Maybe that was just what Schadt needed to determine that he really wanted to be on the council.”

  “I’ll be so glad when we’re out of here,” she sighed. “How much longer now?”

  “Six hours.” It seemed like forever at that point. “Remind me not to come back for Brian and Dorothy’s wedding, or any other function. I never want to go through this again.”

  “Well, Dorothy said she wouldn’t have the wedding here if it meant I couldn’t come. I believe her, don’t you?”

  I paced around the room. “Yes, but you didn’t see the look on Brian’s face when he brought the chandelier down on his father. I’m afraid he’s already changing.”

  “For goodness’ sake, Molly. What did you expect him to do? Even if it is his father, he had to defend himself. And he was trying to get the spell book back so we could help Elsie. I think that’s different.”

  “I hope so.”

  Elsie’s hand was stiff and icy. There was no color in her face. We had to do something to bring her back right away.

  “I don’t know if we should wait for the council,” I said. “We have to break Elsie free from this spell.”

  “But you all tried and it didn’t work. You need the spells from the book.”

  “Or the witch who did this to her.”

  “But how are you going to do that, Molly? With everyone at half magic, there’s barely enough to make a wand work.”

  “I know.”

  Dorothy and Brian seemed to have patched up their differences, at least temporarily, as they came back into the room. I told them my fears about Elsie.

  “Let’s go get the spell book now,” Brian said. “No more games.”

  “I didn’t want to say anything before,” I added, “but I had a feeling there was more to you taking the council seat.

  He looked into my eyes. “We’ve put up with their crap, Molly. Let’s go kick some butt.”

  I agreed, though I had misgivings. I didn’t know what else to do. We needed a strong healing spell created by another fire witch like Elsie. There was bound to be one from someone in her family—her grandmother and great-grandmother were both witches of the fire.

  We left Olivia with Elsie again and returned to the stone council chamber. Brian was right about the council. They were all in the meeting room drinking tea as they discussed their newest member and the challenge.

  Oscar met us before we could get in. “They aren’t ready for you yet. I’ll come get you when they are.”

  Brian pushed past him and approached the ten remaining members. “My f
riend is dying, probably as part of Makaleigh’s death. We need a healing spell from her family’s spell book that shouldn’t have been in the library to start with. I want it back now.”

  Dorothy held my hand so tightly that I was afraid she might break it.

  “You little whelp.” Bairne got to his feet and stared at Brian. “We give you the opportunity of a lifetime and all you can think about is the death of one witch. If we thought in such small scale, there would be no witches left in the world.”

  “All that matters is one witch,” Brian debated. “That’s what you’ve forgotten. Maybe you do have to make decisions for a world of witches, but each of them are distinctive and make us strong. Elsie Langston was only trying to do her part in solving Makaleigh’s death. We can’t abandon her now because the library made a mistake in taking her spell book.”

  “It’s not only the spell book involved in all this.” Arleigh Burke stared at Dorothy. “There’s the matter of your girlfriend using her magic against our herald.”

  I hadn’t noticed before, but the black snake that was Cassandra was slithering around on the stones at our feet. She immediately went closer to Arleigh and hissed at Dorothy from a safe distance.

  “Is that it?” Dorothy demanded. “I take full responsibility. She shouldn’t have sent my mother off that way and decided not to give us our spell book.”

  “We do not attack each other out of anger,” Rhianna said. “You need to learn control, young witch. Your magic is obviously powerful. But you lack patience and understanding. Something your coven members should be teaching you!”

  Rhianna glared at me. I raised my chin and glared back. Dorothy was a good witch who’d been pushed to her limits by the things that had happened in the last twenty hours or so. Yes, she was impetuous and her magic was strong. But she was also good-hearted and learning control.

  I was about to state the obvious when Dorothy put her hand on mine.