Chapter 17
Seventeen
B efore we left early the next day, Mother pulled me into the cabin alone.
A black substance boiled in a large cauldron-like pot over the flames of the fire.
The light imbued an eerie glow on my mother’s face as she spoke.
“A hedge witch’s power is strong. Witches often pass down spells to each other, but a certain powerful kind of hedge witch can create spells, not just cast them. ”
“Like you created the protection spell on this town,” I said. I rubbed my hands over the dress she’d let me borrow. It felt odd being back in a dress after several days in pants.
Mother nodded. “Once I formed the spell, I taught it to other hedge witches who made their way to me. They have gone on to found other towns in Misophae. Other sanctuaries where freed humans and demons who are tired of violence and death can reside.”
“You’re very powerful.”
Mother smiled. “And so are you, dear.”
“Me?”
“Every new human or demon who comes here and wishes to stay goes through a questioning where we ask them about their background to understand how they came to be here and how they can best fit into our society.” Mother stirred the large cauldron of bubbling liquid, the heat blasting up and the steam curling in a thin stream of black.
“Erlinen told us about the young human woman who slew an entire army of demons. I’m afraid I was too preoccupied with finding you and your brother that I only half-listened to her story—otherwise I might have realized sooner that she was speaking about you. ”
She shook her head in recrimination.
“I poisoned the army with venenum leaves. It wasn’t magic.”
Mother pursed her lips. “You must have collected quite a number of leaves to poison an entire camp.”
I hadn’t. “I had ten. One for each pot.”
“Small pots?”
“They were quite large,” I said, recalling how I’d worried at the time that the size of the pot might dilute the poison.
“In order to accomplish such a feat, I’ve no doubt that you accessed your powers. Powerful emotions and determination can enhance hedge witch abilities.”
Was that true? Had I tapped into my magic before I even realized I possessed it? Mother left the ladle in the pot and reached for some lira root. She put it in her mouth and chewed on it before spitting into the brew.
“Ever since I learned that you and your brother had been taken, I’ve been trying to find a way to leave town to assist in the search.
I’ve found something that would allow me to leave for a short time—just a day or two—without the magic protecting this place unraveling.
But it requires a hedge witch of like power to bring the potion to fruition.
You are my daughter, Denara. You are of like power. ”
I took a step back. “I don’t know what to do.”
She lifted the liquid in the ladle and sipped the dark substance. Then turned to me. “Drink.”
She offered me the ladle. I eyed the steaming liquid. “What does it do?”
“It connects and divides. Half of my power will remain in the town. The other half will fuse with yours. I’ll be able to leave as long as you are near, but only for a few days.”
I didn’t move. This required trust, perhaps more than I had in my mother. And yet, Gerand’s life was on the line, and if we were going to free him, we might need her knowledge and power with us. I could do it for him. I accepted the ladle, sipping the liquid. It burned like fire as I swallowed it.
The fire spread to my stomach, then out to my limbs. An empowering energy raged through me.
Mother tipped her chin up and reached for me. “Take my hands.”
I took her hands.
She began to chant, “Divide and Bind. Sever and combine. Let my power remain, and my body accept that of another. I partake and I release. Let it be so.”
Magic shot from my hands like smoky vines, wrapping around my mother’s wrists, a dark sage green color.
My mother’s power also poured out, but it twisted upward, vanishing into the air.
I gasped as the power inside me increased and pulled as if accepting my mother, the dark sage mist disappearing into her flesh, creating marks on her skin.
And the power within grew immense and spread until my heart felt like it might explode.
Then everything faded to normal, leaving me cold and panting. “Did it work?” I asked.
A huge grin crossed her face. She patted my hand. “It worked. Let’s go and get your brother.”
“The plan is simple,” Vaelor said as he walked next to me a few hours later. I rode on a horse that the town had supplied for our journey to rescue my brother.
We traveled through the forest, a procession of about twenty-five demons and humans. Bargoth and my mother had gathered many willing to help us. We made a small but formidable party.
I prayed it would be enough to free Gerand.
“I may be dead,” Vaelor continued, “but I am still a notable dignitary from a neighboring country. Mirvarax will have to see me if I request it.”
“But he’ll grow suspicious if you ask to buy a lowly human boy. What would a deceased demon want with him?” I asked.
“I could supply you with a suggestion potion. If you slipped it into his drink, you’d be able to persuade him to turn Gerand over to you,” Mother offered.
“Using magic on him is too risky,” Vaelor said. “Mirvarax, with his shifting ability, is dangerous.”
“Aren’t shapeshifters illegal in the united demon kingdoms?” I asked.
“Mirvarax is a dragon shifter. They differ from the illegal shapeshifters who can turn into any form. Mirvarax has a single demon form and a single dragon form,” Vaelor explained.
“Nonetheless, their closeness to shapeshifters often leads to their ostracism, driving them to Misophae, where the mightiest among them rise as warlords.”
“I see.” I massaged my legs. It had been a while since I’d ridden a horse for this long a time, and I knew I’d be sore by the end of the day, but I didn’t care.
While Vaelor had no problem keeping up and wouldn’t tire, I wasn’t as well built—or dead.
I just wanted to get to Gerand as quickly as possible.
“So you request a meeting with Mirvarax and then…”
“I’ll speak with him and suggest that I am in search of a suitable body to bond with. I’ll offer him the money that Bargoth and the town have supplied me so he knows I can reward him. He’ll then call all his largest, brutish guards to him to show off.”
“That leaves fewer demons on the property to stop us from going after Gerand,” I said. It was a brilliant plan.
“Exactly,” Vaelor said. “I’ve visited Mirvarax once before. I assume your brother is among the lowest servants and field hands. They live in the buildings behind the barn, at the back of the compound.”
“I could cast a location spell. I have this agate that Gerand gave me.” Mother tapped a stone on a necklace around her neck. “If we are close enough, the magic will work, and I can use it to find him before anyone notices.”
“No,” Vaelor said a bit viciously. “While many demons are unaware of the scent of hedge witch magic, if one is familiar with it, they’ll smell it from a mile away. It could draw them right to you before you even reached Gerand.”
“If we spend too long searching, we might get caught anyway,” Mother pointed out.
“Keep your head down, pretend to be slaves. That is your best option to remain overlooked and to find your brother.” His gaze met mine. “Work within the system to find him. If you attempt to work without it, they’ll catch you.”
Mother’s eyes narrowed, but she didn’t argue. She dropped behind Erlinen and Feron to speak with Bargoth, who brought up the rear of our procession.
“You don’t trust hedge witch magic,” I said.
He glanced at me and hesitated before answering, “Hedge witches work outside systems and use their power to hurt others.”
I didn’t know how to respond. Technically, I couldn’t argue with that. Only the day before I’d used my magic to hurt Namar. “I freed you with my powers.”
“And you keep me bound with the same power.” He eyed the finger I wore around my neck with annoyance.
I stretched my hand out and made contact with its fleshy texture, and swiftly let go as my gut twisted from the unsettling sensation.
I couldn’t release him. He was the only one who knew anything about Mirvarax.
I needed him to help me save my brother.
“Why didn’t you tell me about Gerand when Bargoth bought me and you thought you wouldn’t see me again? ”
“You were just sold off to be a slave. The last thing I wanted to do was make you believe you could venture into demon lands and complete such a task on your own. No matter how formidable you are, a human in demon territory alone is a recipe for death.”
I clenched my teeth. “Do you think that matters to me? I mean, I don’t want to die, but I would have taken my chances. But I never would have known because you withheld that information from me.” Part of me understood his reasoning. I also wasn’t sure I could accept it.
His wings spread and then clamped onto his back in agitation. “ Nobody matters except you,” he growled. “I refuse to put you in danger without a way out. I won’t allow it.”
My cheeks grew warm, and I opened my mouth, my heart hammering. “And what about you? Time is running out.”
The annoyance in his gaze increased. “Is that your plan? Keep me here, stop me from claiming a body and get rid of me for good?”
My unease mounted, followed by a small spike of panic. “We still need you. I need you to save my brother. You know the layout. You’re familiar with Mirvarax.”
He snorted. “And yet you offer me no choice in the matter.”
A wave of guilt mixed with my apprehension. “I can’t let you go.” Because if I did, he might leave me.
Vaelor slowed his pace as my horse carried me onward, falling behind to walk beside Erlinen and Feron and leaving me alone ahead of them.