Witches, Wolves, & Warlords (Shifters of Bastion Keep #1)

Chapter Five

Yawning, Bruin rolled out of bed as his alarm went off. He hadn't gone to bed until three a.m., but as much as he wanted to roll back beneath the covers, too many rituals used the light of dawn in order to be properly conducted.

Lux had been helpful with a few ritual suggestions, and had even written down a list against his protestations, knowing that Bruin didn't have the best memory, especially when he was tired.

Stupid, thoughtful Lux.

Then again, as he read over the paper, he was glad for the help because otherwise he was sure he would have done them out of order or forgotten a few.

First on the list, a room anointing ritual. He pulled the rug back and drew a quick circle in chalk, setting purified clear quartz at the cardinal points. Standing in the middle, he drew white light up through his feet and began the Sun's Welcome incantation.

Light of dawn, and daylight's kin,

Come, my friends!Find peace herein.

He felt a brief tingle as the sun's aura seemed to settle around the room. Good enough! Over time, he'd do a similar ritual with other elements, which would make those self-same spirits more friendly towards him. For the respectful witch, they would sometimes do nice things like prevent unattended candles from catching things aflame, chalk lines from smudging, or crystal balls accidentally left in the sun from turning into magnifying lenses and scorching holes in his clothing.

He checked the list, then pulled on a pair of shorts before loading his pockets up with gemstones and a few extra supplies. Closing his door behind him, he headed downstairs.

He passed by a pair of castle staff cleaning the common areas, and wished them a good morning as he went out the eastern exit. From observation, it seemed that while most of the staff favored the red-and-gold kilts of Bastion Keep, the only uniform requirement was that something needed to have the dragon and shield insignia. Some staff members had it attached to sporrans like Roland, while others wore sashes, armbands, or berets.

Taking a deep breath as he watched the sun peek up over the mountains, he walked over to a nice empty area and plopped himself down.

Laying out a simple cloth with a purification circle embroidered on it, he started emptying gemstones out of his pockets. He tossed all but three into the middle of the cloth, then knelt before it, taking even, slow breaths as he pulled forth energy and began purifying the crystals.

Ten minutes later, as he was carefully wrapping up the stones in the cloth, he heard footsteps nearby and lifted his head to see Rosemary stepping up beside him. She carried a black parasol with lace trim, and wore a high-low dress with stockings, a black choker, and most prominently, a decorative chatelaine at her belt with numerous tools hanging from it, including scissors, several vials, and of course a jangle of keys.

She approached in such a way that she avoided letting her shadow fall on him or his work.

"Good morning, Bruin."

"Good morning, Rosemary."

"You look a bit like you crawled your way out of a grave. I'm jealous."

He laughed. "And you look divine as always. Maybe I'll nap later, but the castle wakes up before dawn, so I suppose it's something I'll have to get used to."

"Which is no bother at all for Lux, of course." She knelt down, unlatched one of her vials from her chatelaine, then set it down before her, drawing a quick rune around it. "Speaking of, I see you took his advice."

He groaned audibly, then waited while she finished incanting a Bottled Sunlight charm. "He's right that purifying crystals with the light of dawn is faster than my usual method, but it turns out it takes way too much focus. I think I'll stick with my individualized hand washing in the future. Besides, my crystals tend to get kind of grubby if I don't clean them regularly."

"That is the hazard of all those who ally with a Green witch, be they common crystal or friend," she said, brushing off some imaginary dust. "Regular showers benefit us all."

He snorted as he tied a loose knot around his purification cloth, securing most of his gems. Then he pulled out the last three stones, two rose quartz and a jasper.

"Sun charging?"

"Yeah. I was thinking about last night, and I was lucky there were so few injured. I usually just purify my stones and then charge them with white light, but I think I need to add in elemental energy for the extra oomph, just in case." He held the jasper up to the light of the sun, weaving a funnel around it with white light in order to allow it to absorb sun energy. "And I definitely need to get me a lot more healing-focused crystals. I'm thinking enough to make a dozen charm bags, three sympathetic gems each. Do you think they sell them in Town?"

"I couldn't say," she said. She returned her sun vial to her belt, and Bruin swapped out the jasper for one of the quartz, repeating the funnel. "It didn't seem like a sizable city, but it is near Bastion. They might have an occult shop. Perhaps you could ask somebody?"

"Yeah, I'll run it by Roland later. Or maybe Russell? He probably knows. Also, he's cute."

"You do like them bigger. I think Lux was your one exception."

Bruin was in the process of grabbing the final gem when he felt a flash of irritation. He paused to assense the quartz, but luckily it didn't seem like he'd introduced any negativity into its charge. To be safe, though, he redid a cleanse, letting white light wash over the gem like a waterfall. He held it up to do the final charging step, but then sighed and put his hands in his lap.

"Lux was exceptional in a lot of ways. But once he'd had his fun with me, he was done. He didn't care anymore."

Rosemary moved to kneel beside him, and at first he thought she was about to give him a hug, but then she grabbed his ear and gave it a twist.

"Ow ow ow! Rosemary, why?"

Not letting go, she tugged on it harder, the keys on her belt ringing as she put her body into it, lifting him up to his knees. "Bruin, you are being a worthless, selfish lump! You stop that this very minute, this second, or goddesses as my witness, I will slap a collar on you, chain you to the wall in my room like a misbehaving sub, and make you read mental health books until you can recite them forwards and backwards."

"I'm sorry, I just…"

"I know . You fell for him hard, and unlike air, water, or fire, earth breaks when it hits the ground. But he's not for you. Are you still blaming him?"

"No?"

She released his ear, and he immediately clapped a hand to it, but his relief was short-lived because she then drew the scissors off of her hip and snipped them open, thrusting one of the blades into his hair.

She looked down at him, unimpressed.

"Okay, okay, I'm trying not to blame him, at least. Or me either, before you ask. He didn't know he was aromantic when we started dating, he did everything right when he broke things off, but it still hurt."

Bruin heard the snkt of the scissors closing, but he didn't feel any hair falling, and instead saw his very best, very terrifying friend hook her tool back in its place.

"Good. You're an earth soul, like I said. It'll take you more time. But the next time you see him, you should apologize."

"I haven't done anything, though!"

"You've been thinking bad thoughts about him, yes?"

"I… yeah."

"Then apologize for that. Oh, but only for the whole break-up thing, okay? I won't tell you to apologize for him being insufferable."

Bruin choked back a laugh. "He's such a dick sometimes, isn't he. And the worst part? It's that he's always right! He made me a list, did you know that? So I wouldn't forget his advice! And it's super bad, because I probably did need it."

"I know," she said sympathetically. "He suggested a different kind of wick for when I make my seance candles."

"Exactly! Augury is your thing!"

"True, but the new wicks are an improvement, and the flames burn cleaner. Plus, the new supplier is more environmentally conscious."

"Ugh. He's a stupid genius."

"Yes. But you need to stop thinking about him. Promise?"

Bruin hesitated, then nodded. "On my craft, I promise to try to be better."

"Good." Rosemary stood up, and Bruin picked up the quartz that he'd dropped. "Because if you're busy thinking of him, then you're busy missing out on the other prospects here."

Bruin flushed, holding the gem up to the sun, and watching the rainbows refracting on his hand.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said airily.

She twirled her parasol. "No? I, your Augur friend, do not know what I'm talking about? Doubtful. In any case, I have gathered what I need, so I will see you at breakfast. I'm told it's an open affair that lasts between sunrise and up to two hours afterwards."

"Okay. See you soon!"

Bruin finished with his sun charging, then gathered up his click-clacks and returned to his room to put them away, carefully sorted on his shelves. He double-checked that the Hallow glyphs were still intact, then checked over Lux's list. The last two rituals were simpler and didn't require summoning any white light, which his wobbly knees appreciated. He just needed to fill a clay bowl with water and set it beneath the window for a quick way to purify his gardening tools for later, and then perform a simple ritual in the same dawn's light to cleanse his mortar and pestle, now that they were in a new home.

He did the tasks, then put on a simple brown shirt, slipped on some sandals, and headed down to breakfast.

None of the injured guardians were present, but there were many others coming and going from the Great Hall, castle staff included. The packleader Yacob at one point pointed out his terrible bedhead and ruffled it, but several other shifters noticed and copied the action, and one scratched him behind his own ears. It seemed that shifters, or at least the ones in Bastion Keep, were physically expressive, and Rosemary's words about prospects came back to him.

After clearing away his plate, he went back to his hall. Though his own door beckoned him, he resisted the urge and instead went to Lux's room at the end. Steeling himself, he knocked.

Lux opened his door a moment later. He was dressed for the day in a soft looking dark garment with a four inch wide belt that accentuated his slender waist, and held a small paint brush tipped with golden glitter paint.

"Good morning, Bruin. Has there been a change in the day's plan?"

"No, we're still meeting Roland at ten." Why was this so hard? "I'm here to apologize."

He frowned. "What for? I don't know of any transgression."

"Only in my thoughts." He watched as Lux's expression went still. "I've been still thinking ill of you from, from us . And that's wrong of me, because…"

Bruin trailed off, seeing Lux shake his head.

"You don't need to apologize again," his ex said."But is that why you've been cranky lately? I had assumed you were just having trouble adapting, I know you don't like change. In any case, I consider it water under the bridge, but if you're still feeling the effects of negative emotions, might I suggest a spiritual cleansing ritual? Sun, fire, or water would all do well, I should think. Remember, you'll want to work through all seven chakras, don't leave any blocked. Let me know if you need any help setting up the ritual, I have plenty of spare candles and incense."

"Oh. Um… no. That's okay. But a cleanse might do me some good. Lady Usenko mentioned a baths. Maybe we're allowed down there, too?"

"The tour later might tell us." Lux made as if to shut his door, then paused, turning back. "Oh! While you were at breakfast, I had the staff move the paintings that were in here into your room. Sorry if I overstepped, but they seemed like the kind of nature thing you like, and I needed the wall space for my glyphs."

Lux held up his paintbrush.

"I'll see you in a couple of hours."

Bruin watched his fellow witch ease his door shut, stood there for another full minute, then went back to his own room. Sure enough, where once there had been a pair of blank walls, now hung the two forest paintings, their vibrant green colors complementing the browns of the rest of the room.

Water under the bridge, huh? Urgh. Fine . Probably a good way to look at it.

Avoiding his salacious bed with its plump pillows and disheveled covers that exposed an inviting expanse of dark sheets, he grabbed his journal and reviewed how he could turn an hour-long shower into a negative-energy cleanse.

◆◆◆

"Seems easy enough of an incantation," Lux said, as he, Rosemary, and Bruin studied several parchments laid out on a table in the study. "But I'm getting the impression that this charm was written by a Hedge witch?"

Roland nodded approvingly. "It was. The anchors have been around for many years, and Bastion has seen a variety of willworkers. I have translations of the same recharging ritual in a dozen different styles, including runic, blood, and shamanism. Never know who's helping, you know."

"What do you do when there's nobody around to help you?" Rosemary asked.

"We hire outside help. Don't mistake the situation, while we prefer to do an anchor a week, the whole system is built on redundancies. A dedicated team could recharge all the anchors in a matter of months, and the things sustain themselves for years. But rituals work best with regular habits, and the effect is stronger this way."

"That's marvelously prescient of your predecessors," Lux said, sounding pleased. "Well! Perhaps after we've done a few of these anchor visits, I could see about adding a few new translations for future witches."

"Could you, now?" Roland said. "I expect Bastion to be around for centuries yet, so any addition would be welcome. No rush, though, lad, not if you'll be staying for the full three years."

"Do people not stay longer?" Bruin asked, wandering around to poke at the room's many pedestals and shelves, jam-packed with books and curios.Despite the desks and old-style blackboard, there were enough eclectic items that it had more of a feeling of a hoarder's attic than a room for scholars.

"Some do," Roland said. "But Bastion only has volunteers, and some don't like the job. Most of the ones I recruit leave after about a year, choosing to repay their debt elsewhere. But let's save the questions for tomorrow, since we have a four-hour walk ahead of us."

Lux, Rosemary, and Bruin followed their mentor out of the study—more of a classroom, really—and into the third-floor hallway where Russell was waiting for them.

"Russ, son, show them around the keep, if you would? I'm going to check over tomorrow's implements. "

"Yes, Da."

The three witches said polite farewells to Roland, then turned expectantly to Russell.

Still shirtless, still wearing the same kilt, or probably an identical garment.

"Follow," he said simply, but then stopped one door over. He rapped on the sturdy door and indicated the sign above it. "Main ritual room. For big or delicate effects. It's warded and shielded. Ask Da for permission before use."

Direct, perfunctory statements. With the three of them following along like obedient ducklings, and it certainly felt like it with the size difference, Russell proceeded to showcase most of the rest of the keep.

The eastern wing where they lived was the Sage's Quarter. First floor had a community room, a kitchenette where they could cook and store their own personal food, and the High Priest's personal rooms. Second floor, their own bedrooms and some supply closets. Third floor was the study that doubled as a classroom, plus the ritual room. And the top floor had smaller work rooms that they were free to claim as their own, if they needed the extra space; Bruin made a note to ask if he could convert one into a kind of greenhouse.

A large part of the Sage's Quarter was actually a multi-storied library, accessible from the second, third, and forth floors. Lux looked like he wanted to ditch the tour and spend the rest of the day there, but Bruin heard him make just one pained sound before continuing to follow Russell.

The central castle had the Great Hall, kitchen, and of course the infirmary. The upper floors, Russell said, also housed the Lady of the castle, her two husbands, and her children, as well as several of the permanent staff like the nurse Teresa. There was also a basement that was split between a dungeon and a hot-spring communal bath which, yes, was freely available for the witches to enjoy.

Lastly, the west wing opened into an outside training area, and they saw several of the guardians working out, or practicing with bo staves. The training area was surrounded on three sides, and Russel told them that those were the living quarters of the guardians and the occasional trainee.

"Much larger rooms than ours," he said. "Most guardians stay and fight for five or ten years, and then move on. But some, like the pack leaders, stay longer.Okay, tour is over. There are also several outdoor training grounds, a motorpool for vehicles, an outdoor ritual ground, and a manor where castle staff sometimes stay, if they don't want to drive back to home in Town."

Russell nodded his head towards them, then turned and ambled back to their wing.Bruin saw Lux speak to Rosemary, and the two hurried at a more brisk pace, likely headed to check out the library which Russell had said contained a section on occult studies.

"What about yourself?" Bruin asked, moving to walk beside their guide, hoping to catch a few more minutes with him.

Russel came to a stop and looked down at him.After a moment of silence, he just tilted his head, and Bruin mentally kicked himsel for not being clear.

"Sorry.I mean, you mentioned pack leaders being here for life. What about you, are you also here for life? Your dad's the High Priest, so are you going to take his place, follow in his footsteps?"

"Oh. No, I cannot use magic."

Wait, he couldn't? But thinking back, no, Bruin hadn't seen the large man perform any kind of incantations, he just did all the other things an apprentice normally would.

"Is it not your speed, then? That's fine, there's plenty of other things in the world to like!"

Russel shook his head, crossing his arms. "Da worked hard to teach me, and I know theory, but I cannot tap into any of the mana sources. It's fine, most shifters cannot do so, even with training.Da's special."

"Maybe all that energy just gathers in your muscles," Bruin said, staring at them. "But still, that sounds like a bummer, I'm sorry."

Russel uncrossed his arms, hesitated, then lifted one of his large hands and set it on top of his head.

"There, there. It is fine, little witch. I am happy as I am."

The big man's hand was heavy, but also comforting, like a weighted blanket. After a moment of simply laying it there, in keeping with what Yacob had started, Russell scratched him behind his head before taking his hand back.

Russell turned to continue on his way, and Bruin kept pace.The big man didn't seem to mind, and after a moment, even patted him on the head again.

When they reached the hall that lead to the infirmary, Russell came to a stop.He raised a hand to wave.

"Bye."

"Wait, before you go, one more question?"

Russell shrugged, then nodded.

"Hey, so, after helping with last night's healing, I have a number of gems that I want to get charged with earth energy. Usually I dig a hole beside a tree or bush, and let the gems absorb the energy over a few hours to a few days. Do you want to help? No magic necessary, nature does all the work."

Bruin waited patiently, and after a moment, Russel stepped forwardto scratch him behind his head again.

"Yes. I know of many trees and bushes in the area, and I enjoy digging. I would like that very much, Green witch."

"Great! I'll just go get my things from my room, yeah?"

"Mm. I have to check over the medkit that we will be taking tomorrow, but it will only take a few minutes. I will meet you outside the east exit. Yes?"

"Yes, that works for me."

Russell gave him another wave, then parted ways.Excited at the chance to spend time with the big man but at the same time trying not to get his hopes up, Bruin hurried to get back to his room.

Just as he entered the eastern wing and began climbing the stairs, however, he noticed Lord Sergiy knocking on Roland's door. The lord froze as soon as Bruin came into sight, his hand raised.

"I don't think he's in right now, Lord," Bruin offered. "He said something about checking up on the ritual staves for tomorrow?"

Lord Sergiy stared at him in reply, then opened his mouth like he was about to say something before shutting it with an audible clack. He then spun on his heel, his kilt flipping as he strode away.

Quiet one, their lord. Or maybe he just didn't like Bruin himself?

Learning his lesson from Lux, Bruin decided that he wasn't going to overthink it, and that the lord's behavior was just a sign of him being an overall grumpy-pants. And besides, right now, he had a stone-planting to get to!