Ch 47: The Water Witch's Warning

There was chaos in the halls as Astasha and Calder raced to find the rest of the advisory and his guard. They were exactly where they thought they would be; in position, ready to defend the castle from the battlements.

A young man, part of the Prince’s Guard as Astasha could tell from his crest, met them at the opening to the vast walkway between the castle turrets.

“What’s happening?” Asked Calder. He was no longer a prince or a lover, but a knight and commander.

“It’s a single woman, your highness. She claims she’s not alone, though our scouts have yet to find anyone in the surrounding forest.” They walked as they spoke. “She said she would only speak with you, and the fire sorceress.”

The pair quickly exchanged a glance. This wasn’t good.

Astasha spotted Errant who stood with the King, the Captain of the King’s Guard, and Talib. The High Sorcerer’s eyes met her own and his voice echoed in her head with a single word.

Cordelia.

She grabbed Calder’s wrist to stop him. “It’s her, Cordelia, she’s back.”

A rage like none Tasha had ever seen erupted in Cal and he turned and strode to where his father stood, Astasha and the young knight following behind.

“Where is that vile bitch?”

Calder didn’t wait for a response as he looked over the wall to the grounds in front of the castle. Astasha took a deep breath before doing the same.

She was there, alone, staring up at them with a smirk on her face, and it turned to a wicked grin as she saw the Prince and fire witch come into view.

“Well, at last, the love birds have decided to join us.” Her voice carried on the wind up to them and made Astasha’s blood run cold. Her mind flashed to the clearing, her body bound, the water witch’s hand moving in the night, blood pouring from the earth sorcerer’s neck. And the laugh, that haunting laugh of the demon as it was unleashed.

The scar on her chest ached but Astasha swallowed and forced the images away. She had to focus.

Calder pulled his sword and pointed it at the sorceress below. “You dare show your face here… I swore when last I saw you, I would make you pay. Every drop of blood that was spilt, you will bleed! Every second of pain she felt, you will feel!”

“So feisty.” Chirped the blonde. “If that’s a promise, why don’t you come down and keep it?”

There was something off about the way she spoke. Cordelia had been wretched, that was certain, but this… Whatever the demon had shown her, or done to her, had changed her.

Calder’s grip tightened on the hilt of his weapon but Astasha reached out and gently grasped his arm.

“She wants you to react, to be impulsive.” She whispered. “There is no knowing what power she may wield now.”

She tried to send a calming vibe through their bond, but it was hard when she herself wanted nothing more than to see the woman below burn.

The King took this moment to regain command of the situation. “Why are you here witch? Your actions were an act of treason to the throne. By our laws I may have you killed where you stand. Speak before I change my mind.” His voice boomed with the might of his post. Yet it did not make the sorceress tremble.

“You speak great threats for a King who could not recognize his own son as one.”

It was Josnen’s turn to react, and he raised his arm for his archers to ready a volley.

Errant stepped forward. “Will you simply hide behind your snide comments or give your demands? You were never one to idle off the subject Cordelia, why start now?”

She paused for a moment, her eyes locked with the High Sorcerer’s. Then they turned to Astasha and Calder.

“The terms are this. The Prince and chosen sorceress leave with me, unarmed and magically bound. If they come quietly and behave themselves, your people will be left alive, for now.”

“‘For now’ seems a weak offering for such a large request.” Responded Errant. “You cannot think we would willingly hand them over on that word.”

The smirk on the water witch’s face widened. “Then they all die now.”

“The village.” Whispered Astasha.

Talib, who had stepped up to stand behind Calder, shook his head. “We’ve had a battalion posted around the village for days now. We would know if they were under attack.”

“Something is wrong.” Said Astasha unconvinced. “Where is the demon?”

The same worry in the pit of her stomach was present in Cal as well.

“Before we agree to anything, tell me,” said the Prince. “Where is your precious master? Does that coward of a demon always hide while he sends his pet to do his dirty work?”

Cordelia cocked her head to the side as she sneered. “His attention was required elsewhere. He did, however, ask me to relay a question. Tell me, Tasha, can your precious Prince still satisfy you now that you’ve been properly fucked by a real beast?”

Had it not been for Calder’s reaction, Astasha didn’t know what she would have done. Those memories had been locked away in her mind, never to see the light of day. It had never been spoken of, what the demon had done to her in the clearing that night, and she had poured her power and energy into building a wall around those thoughts strong enough to keep the trauma at bay. Now, that wall was beginning to crack, and fire began to ignite inside her.

It didn’t matter though, because before she could respond at all, Cal had grabbed the nearest bow and arrow and fired a shot directly at the water witch’s heart.

With a wave of her hand, it froze, literally, just inches from her chest in mid-air.

No one waited to see what she would do next. The decision was made. They would fight.

The King’s arm swung down and arrows rained from above. But Cordelia simply responded by doing the same to each as the first.

The Magic Advisory took this opportunity to unleash their own attack, but no matter what they threw at her, fire, wind, water, she countered without breaking a sweat.

Not only was she blocking their every move with ease, but she was returning fire, and rapidly.

The arrows that had been shot at her came soaring back. Spears of ice struck the hearts of soldiers as great beasts of water and darkness erupted from her fingers and climbed up the walls to maul and maime.

No one sorceress should have been capable of the damage she was inflicting.

Astasha was using all of her power to stop the tidal wave of assaults, but it still wasn’t enough. All around her, men and women were falling. The other sorcerers were now focused solely on protecting the soldiers who had no way to defend themselves against such an enemy.

Her attention was drawn to Calder who was doing everything he could to duck and dodge the attacks coming from one of Cordelia's creatures. Fire leapt from her fingers to consume it, but it left her open and vulnerable as a ball of ice came hurtling straight for her.

“Tasha!” Calder threw himself in front of it.

“No!” Willing her energy out of herself and around him, Astasha grabbed hold of her Prince to try to pull him out of the way. As they touched, though, a blast burst forth, just as it had in the clearing, knocking everyone back.

As their eyes adjusted, the monsters were gone, and Astasha looked down to see the water witch writhing and sobbing on the ground. There seemed to be nothing wrong with her, yet she screamed as if she was in agonizing pain.

In the moment she was disarmed, Errant found his footing and geared up for one final attack.

That was when Astasha saw it. Cordelia’s face turned to see her doom, but it wasn’t her eyes that watched. They were cold, and dead.

“Wait!” Tasha yelled as she flung herself toward the High Sorcerer. “She’s possessed!”

Errant stayed his hand. “How do you know this?”

“The same way I knew Calder was. Her eyes, there is something dark and sinister looking out through them. Please, she doesn’t deserve to die if she is not in control.” She didn’t know why she was pleading for this woman’s life, after all, she had wished her all the death and torment she could imagine after the hell she had unleashed upon her and the man she loved. But it didn’t seem right, not knowing if her actions were now her own.

The cries from below stopped, and a voice that made Astasha’s skin crawl came from the lips of the woman on the ground.

“Well done lovers of the prophecy. Your powers are as great as the Dark One for-told. But hear this now. One cycle of the moon you have to find us in the Forest of the Damned. Should you fail to do so, should you try to change what has been set in motion, all you love, all you hold dear, shall perish! You have been warned. Make your choice.”

The King called for his men to seize her, but a dark smoke swirled around the body of the beaten sorceress and when it cleared, she was gone, just as she had vanished with the demon in the clearing all those nights ago.