Captive Witch

by September Stone

  Taj and Calder each offer me a hand, and I accept them both as I get my feet under me. When I’m sure I’m steady enough to stand on my own, I wrap one arm around Taj and the other around Calder, pulling both of them as close to me as I can manage.

  “How the hell’d we get here?” Poe asks.

  I release the guys and turn to take in our surroundings. We’re back in the meadow where we were attacked. Except there are no mercenaries here now, just sun-kissed wildflowers swaying gently in the breeze.

  “I brought you here.”

  I turn toward the source of the musical voice, and in a blink, a dark-haired woman appears. Although she stands still, the skirt of her gauzy pink-and-cream gown flutters as if in a gentle breeze, and the innumerable tassels on her belt twist like butterflies preparing for flight. She gazes at us with eyes that hold both a timeless wisdom and an echo of something almost lonely.

  I suck in a breath, detecting the same overly-floral scent as just before I lost consciousness. “Elowen?”

  She nods. “Indeed.”

  At the gentle purr of the word, something snaps into place in my mind. “Aldridge. You… you…”

  Elowen smooths invisible wrinkles from her flowing skirt. “Those men were making a mess in my forest. They would’ve killed your companions, and I can’t have blood shed here. It makes tending to the river more difficult.”

  “Thank you.” I say the words because it feels like I should, but I can’t scrub the image of Aldridge exploding from my mind. I can’t wrap my head around the kind of power it would take to do that—and I imagine a similar fate befell the other guards as well. She may be the only being in the world powerful enough to help us, but it dawns on me now that she is also possibly the single most dangerous being alive.

  “You’ve sought an audience with me,” Elowen says. “For what purpose?”

  After a moment’s hesitation, I lift my left hand to display the black crow on my palm. The guys imitate my motion.

  Elowen sashays toward us, her movements like a melody. Her gaze caresses each of our hands as she studies the marks imprinted there. She’s only a yard away when she speaks again. “Curious. I assume there was a single target.”

  I nod. “That was me.”

  Her gaze slides to Silas. “What happened?”

  He stiffens under her attention. “I… I’m not sure. It’s not the first time I’ve been directed to curse someone. But when I touched Bryn, something went haywire. We were all kind of in a pile when I cast the curse, and, well…” He shrugs.

  Elowen’s eyebrows arc and her eyes flick to me. “You wish me to remove this mark? To break the curse?”

  I nod. “If… If you’re willing.” I almost asked if she was able, but I don’t want to offend her.

  A smile touches the mage’s lips. “I am.”

  Relief wells in my chest, but it’s immediately smothered by something else: suspicion. It shouldn’t be this easy. We’ve been warned that Elowen’s magic always comes at a price. I don’t believe she’ll do this for us out of the goodness of her heart.

  “Just like that?” Calder asks, his tone mirroring my disbelief.

  Elowen’s smile deepens and Poe snorts. “Of course not. She still has to name her price.”

  She rounds on him and Poe shrinks back as if afraid she’ll unleash some terrible magic against him. But she just continues to smile as she takes him in, her eyes raking over him from head to foot and back again. The urge to tell her to back off swells inside me, and I’m surprised by the force of the protective impulse. It must be the adrenaline from our run-in with Mona’s guards that’s got me on edge.

  “Of course, you’re right, pet.” Elowen’s voice like a song. “Magic always has a cost, isn’t that right, Bryn?”

  I flinch at the sound of my name on her lips. Is she directing her question at me because I’m a witch? But that doesn’t make sense. Taj is one as well, and she’s not calling him out.

  “Name it,” Silas says. When her eyes cut to him, he adds in a small voice, “Please.”

  The woman draws back her shoulders, the gesture making her look more beautiful and powerful than before. “There is a relic of immense power that I need retrieved. You are familiar, I expect, with the Staff of Rahn.”

  The words mean nothing to me, so I turn to Taj and Calder, expecting to read confusion in their eyes, but all I detect is wonder.

  Silas snorts. “The Staff of Rahn? That’s a myth.”

  A small smile curves Elowen’s lips. “I assure you it’s not.”

  “But what is it?”

  It’s not until the mage’s attention settles on me that I realize I’ve spoken. After so many years of being warned never to question those in authority, my stomach squirms under her gaze. But with Taj and Calder on either side of me, I stand my ground.

  Elowen studies me for a long moment as if not quite sure what to make of me. I wonder just how much of my exchange with Aldridge she saw before she intervened.

  “Rahn was the first great mage,” she says at length. “His staff is a relic of immeasurable power, capable of channeling the arcane magic of the universe.”

  Her words make the hair on the back of my neck stand up. As much as I’d like to agree with Silas’ assessment that something like that sounds mythical, the authority in Elowen’s voice makes it clear that she, at least, believes it is very real.

  Another question bubbles past my lips before I can weigh it. “Why do you want it?”

  Elowen’s eyes narrow. “That’s my price. Bring it to me before the full moon, and I’ll break your curse.”

  None of us speak for what feels like an eternity. I have no idea what this staff is or what it does—let alone where it might be. But if it’s the only way to save myself and the others, I’ll die trying to find it.

  “Deal.” My word shatters the silence.

  Taj slips his hand into mine and squeezes. Elowen’s gaze dips for an instant, and a smile curls her lips as she surveys the others.

  “I expect it will take all of you to retrieve the staff.” Turning, she waves her hand, and a log cabin appears in the meadow. “You may stay here. Inside you’ll find all the information I’ve compiled about the staff and its location. Return to this spot when you’ve found it.”

  In a blink, Elowen is gone.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Bryn

  I read faded, spidery writing in ancient journals for so long my eyes start to burn. With the number of charts, maps, and books lining the wooden shelves inside Elowen’s cabin, I’m not sure how the mage expects us to get through all this information before the full moon.

  But we have to.

  The inside of the cabin is as charming and simple as the exterior. The wooden floor is warm and smooth, and the sparse furniture looks as if it was plucked directly from nature. The rectangular table is made from a large tree halved lengthwise, exposing long lines and dark spots that developed as it grew. The chairs surrounding it are composed of smaller stumps. The other half of the main room contains a stone fireplace, a long cushioned bench by the window, a countertop likely cut from the same tree as the table, and a cast iron handle to pump in well water. The rustic feel of the place is homey and quaint, and it’s easy to imagine I’m here on vacation, simply enjoying the pleasures of nature.

  Almost.

  Silas slams closed the book he’s been reading. “Anybody else starving?”

  My stomach grumbles in spite of myself. We finished off the last of the sandwiches and trail mix hours ago. But it’s not until I glance around the cabin that it strikes me how much time has actually passed. The sunlight slanting through the netted windows is starting to fade as it dips behind the surrounding trees. “I don’t suppose Elowen stocked this place with dinner?”

  Silas’ nose wrinkles in a way that makes him look like a goofy teenager. “No such luck.”

  Calder stands, stretching his back and groaning. “I’m sure I can scrounge up some berries. Poe, do you think you coul
d get us a main course?”

  Poe tilts his head as if offended the question was asked.

  “I can get a fire started,” Taj offers.

  Calder snorts. “Big job. Fireball, bam.”

  “There’s no firewood, you wanker. I’ll have to go get that.”

  “I guess I’ll start pumping water,” Silas grumbles, making his way toward the hand-pump by the sink. “We’ll need to rinse off the berries, and I’m sure Poe’ll need to wash up after butchering the meat.

  “And while we eat, we can discuss what we’ve learned about the staff,” Poe calls over his shoulder as he strides toward the door.

  “Goody,” Calder mutters to Taj as they follow him outside.

  When the door closes behind them, Silas glances at me. “So, what are you going to do?”

  I shrug. “Maybe… I’ll check the bedrooms and make sure they’re all set, I guess.”

  He smirks, but I ignore him before heading toward the hallway at the back of the cabin that none of us have yet ventured down. There’s a doorway in the center, but no door, and I poke my head in. The room beyond is nearly as large as the main room, and four beds nestle in each corner, leaving a plus-shaped empty space to walk in. Each mattress is topped with an off-white blanket and two fluffy pillows.

  I press my lips together as I continue down the hall toward the door at the far end. I doubt Poe will be a fan of sharing a room with Silas, but it seems that’s how Elowen arranged things.

  Or at least that’s what I assume until I open the door to reveal the field beyond. It’s a second exit, not a room.

  “Something wrong?”

  I jump at the sound of Silas’ voice, clutching my chest as I close the door and turn. “No. I was just expecting…”

  He glances into the bedroom and nods. “I get it. You’re having trouble deciding which bed to sleep in tonight. Or whose, I guess.”

  I clench my thighs as sensations thrum along my skin—the feeling of Taj’s hands on me, of Calder’s mouth. But, no—nothing like that can happen tonight, not with all of us in one room.

  Silas chuckles. “Clearly you didn’t notice the daybed out in the main room. Seems the great mage didn’t want to risk anyone being too distracted from the task. We are on a time crunch, after all.”

  Warmth creeps into my cheeks. It should have occurred to me that the padded bench in the other room was meant for me. On one hand, it’s kind of Elowen to have provided a separate sleeping area for me. But I’ll miss snuggling against a warm body as I drift off to sleep.

  It’s only temporary. Once we locate the Staff of Rahn and bring it back to Elowen, she’ll break our curse and I’ll never have to sleep alone again. Calder, Taj, and I can figure things out—I’m sure of it.

  But for now, we need to eat, research, and rest. Soon, we’ll head out on our quest to find the ancient staff.

  We will succeed. We have to. Because now that I’ve tasted what life has to offer, I don’t intend to give it up without a fight.

  ***

  The Twin Rivers Captive trilogy continues with Cursed Witch.

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