Book 3: Chapter 56
Tiffany
“I have her young master.” It was Nanemous who had her, though she too came willingly.
She bowed her head. “I am Agatha, House of McCarson….” Her green cloak had a copper thread embordered wolf skeleton on it, since Lord Oliver changed their coven’s crest to the Dead One’s. “Heidi… It’s been…. It’s been a *long* time.”
“….. It has….I heard you had kids.” Said mom. “I heard your eldest is Oliver’s Assistant Gamma.”
“He is…. And they’re like you.” She said as if she was ashamed that she had hybrid children…
“But you’re the last pure-” mom was cut off.
“Yet my children are Lunar Witches. Rare... blessed… like all the other precious hybrids.” She smiled. “Yoline’s 87 and Heidi is going to be 72 this fall.” She smiled. “Her birthday’s November 1st.”
“You named her Heidi?” mom asked.
“I thought you were dead… I… I was going to do an apology ritual… But..”
Mom stood, and I could see her gaze. I couldn’t read it… I don’t think I’d ever seen such a strange mix of betrayal, hurt, and hesitation.
But Not fear… no.
Mom was everything but, confronting her former abuser… All she had to say was a single word, and I’d have turned Agatha inside out.
…I caught myself bearing my nonexistent fangs…
I have no wolf, but there is wolf’s blood in this body… I noticed the other witches, those non-beast magic users who saw me, make faces of disapproving disgust when I looked around, but I didn’t care.
I really meant it. I’ve only done it to rats in this life, but I bet I could if I tried.
“My babies are both grown up too…” Said mom. “Harry and Tiffany are my twins, but they’re only 18.” She motioned me. “Harry couldn’t come though; business and all.”
It seemed even after all these years, no trust would be given to her former abuser. Agatha stepped forward to bow as low as she could. “I never… I never asked forgiveness, nor will I now… It won’t *mean* anything.”
“How do you know that?” Asked Heidi, kneeling to her eye level. “I’ve known you were alive this whole time too…. And never once did I try to visit my only living aunt, my cousins, or father….”
“I feel like that’s my fault.” She admitted. “Well partly…. This is too.”
“Explain.” Said Tyson teleporting between them.
He didn’t care about how Agatha felt... She froze like a deer on seeing his flames flicker between his horns. He’d kill her. But mom told me about how she used to babysit on visits… She told me how the triplets see her as blood, and for a wolf that’s all you need.
She looked so much like mom, but I held no pity for her….As she now stood there silently, that she was one of the witches who gave her the scars mom thinks she hides…. She has so many… I’ve seen.
On days where they shifted and ran around, I saw how even her face held thin lines. You could see them when she shifted to a human shape…. Her body is covered in old burns, brands that read ‘doggy’ in witch runes, and scars from hexes, but I don’t think she knows the full extent of it…. That one is on her back, written backwards… If she had seen it, she’d be able to read it in the mirror.
How hateful.
I hated that woman before she even told her side…. And I felt guilty too… She changed her life… I’d be a bigot to stay so aggressive… Also… she wasn’t the only abuser… so Agatha didn’t do all of it. It’s more that she was the last one around that I knew of… *that* is what put her in danger.
“I’ll start from the beginning. I was born in Emerald to Lady Ezabi… She was so powerful in her prime, that the coven was offered to be converted into a witch ran temple…. But mother ruined that… Had it not been for Lord Oliver… I would not have powers. Lia, the Earth Goddess in her divine grace is the maker of Emerald’s people, NOT the Horned One… Mother angered Lia by trying to change patrons… It’s not something that can be done, but she did it”
“I heard about that.” Said Tyson. “She did a ritual to get your sister pregnant, but she mated with her husband, not who they wanted, another witch. What does this have to do with the mortal?”
“That’s correct….Because Mother’s ways, any leader honestly, influences their flock. And I loved mother… but she was *greedy*…. We were *already* of a high line, but it wasn’t high enough for her…. She schemed her way into creating Hiedi…. Then was dissatisfied and made *me*…. And she was still cruel and ungrateful… She wanted me to be like her, and I *was*….. We were raised to be snub nosed…. Proud. There’s nothing wrong with having pride in your bloodline… but mother took it too far.”
We let her continue.
“Then Lord Oliver had to deal with my elder sister, Heidi’s mother. He took over and culled many who were snub nosed… or high minded like my cousin… I honestly thought everyone was weeded out, but I saw the signs. I didn’t *know* but if I wasn’t so complacent…Maybe if I was a little more vigilant, but none of us were. All who survived are mostly married to wolves… so… I never thought I’d have to explain to the Night Court why one of ours did such a terrible thing….”
“Because of her, many were injured, and many more were sacrificed in this room.” Said Tyson. “I see your heart. You speak the truth. What signs did you ignore?”
“The snide remarks about all the hybrid blood children…. Including my son Yoline…. We stopped speaking about 3 decades ago because of that. I’m not letting her badmouth my children…. We were supposed to report suspicious witches…. Ones who plot…. Something told me to, but I ignored my intuition…. I thought seeing Lord Oliver’s powers, or the fact that the Literal Horned One is displeased with us already… that that would be enough. I was wrong.” She bowed her head. “If you still wish bloodshed, I am partly to blame.”
“I will not punish you.” Said Tyson. “Are there anymore of your bloodline left?’
“Plenty, though the others live in Mystic Topaz Coven.” She looked him in the eyes. “They cut ties with Emerald when the first witch married a wolf….”
“Sounds about right.” Said Gulteer, absolutely *covered* in blood… The upper ranks are impressive. This kind of thing takes almost all your energy… AND even *IF* you manage to pull it off, most can only get a few feet, but they can just bop around!
“….The Witch King is Real.” She bowed.
I forgot about that… Lord Gulteer faded away into obscurity… But before that, even we dark witches hesitated to change his eyes….
I saw a memory… Thankfully it had no sound… The glare of those eyes as Gulteer snarled at someone who disrespected me… He ripped the meat off their bones with a swipe.
Zayde growled at her, but his grandfather’s boom made everyone silent… He is King.
Gulteer cleared his throat; he’d only done it to assert dominance over the beasts magic users. “Heidi dear, what do *you* wish to do with her? She’s absolved from *this* crime, but not the scars she gave you.”
“Nothing grandfather.” Said Heidi bowing her head. “She lives her life in peace… She could have continued to be the original way she was…. But I see she’s changed. It wouldn’t be right to punish her.”
“If her reform is your punishment, then Agatha, I pardon you. I see your very soul with these eyes.” Said Tyson. They became two red dots in the black abyss. The room glowed red from his pupils. “You are no threat; not while happily married to a wolf.”
“Warrior Stäuben is a good man.” She said quietly. “I didn’t bring him in fear. I didn’t want him to see me beheaded.”
“That’s understandable.” Said Tyson. “You may come sit with us now. They needed to hear the words of a Machiavelli, not me, nor Oliver.”
“Go with your life mortal and do not ever return.” Said Gulteer… though his voice was not his own.
“Yes sir!” She *ran*, but honestly she didn’t have too…. She was permitted to live. Only if she came back would the Horned One smite her. His anger made all our witches froth…. I could tell some wanted blood by their sour faces, but we’d shed *enough*.
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