Chapter 18
Chapter
Eighteen
Kainda
T he crack of knuckles on wood felt like the gunshot at the start of a race. Now or never, and the answer held the utmost importance. My palms sweating, heart racing, as my anxiety shot through the stratosphere. This was it!
Althea opened the door with her magic and a group of eight witches walked in. Among them the high priestess, her consort, and the coven’s governing body. This was either going to go very well or very bad. As much as I needed this to go my way, the unknown course of events from here on out gave me an exciting thrill. I needed my head examined.
“Hunter’s Daughter, we hear you are in need of assistance. Let’s all take a seat and discuss this matter before we make our final decision.” The high priestess swirled her hand around, and a table with chairs popped into existence where bunk beds had stood moments before. She’s a conjurer.
Her consort waved us all around the table before pulling out a chair for the high priestess, his wife. Elijah held out a seat for me as everyone else sat down. I was ready to cut to the chase, but restrained myself from blurting out a demand for an answer. The women wore the same cloaks and headdresses from the previous night. While the men retained their animal pelts and ritual crowns. The other three witches who hadn’t performed in the circle casting wore their street clothes. Two men in the group of the newcomers, obviously the enforcers for the coven. The other, a woman, I couldn’t put a finger on her place in the coven. She appeared young and not wearing any clothes or jewelry that would denote her rank in the coven.
“Allow me to introduce everyone,” Althea said, stepping forward. She inclined her head to the high priestess, “This is Lieve, our high priestess. Wenceslas, the high priest. Moll, our historian and voice. Goron, the consort to the high priestess. Celeste, the maiden priestess. Gawain and Rogan, our top two members of the Coven Guard. And Parisa, the general of the Coven Guard.”
“Merry meet to you all,” I said, a little in awe that their general wasn’t the consort to the high priestess. Typically, the consort held this position in the coven. Though not always, my own grandfather had been the general of the guard for his coven but had not been the consort. Oh, but the bigot, rat bastard had wanted to be, and he hadn’t been faithful to my grandmother before her death. Not that he’d given a damn about his only grandchild.
“Why should we help you, Hunter’s Daughter?” Parisa jumping into the discussion feet first. I liked her instantly. Her energy reminded me of my own. Her midnight black hair pulled back in a severe bun on top of her head. Sharp hazel eyes focused directly on me, assessing.
“Uttu’s presence in our realm puts us all in jeopardy. She actively hunts and kills men, and until Elijah there had never been a survivor. This demoness can not be allowed to continue to live in this realm and kill innocent people. If she isn’t stopped, she’ll eventually expose all of us to the human population at large. The last thing any of us needs is for a mass panic to ensue and for there to be a new age of witch trials.”
“The halfling has some valid points.” Rogan, the redheaded one of the two guards, agreed with me even as he sneered and insulted me. Witch politics are a bitch.
“Name calling is beneath you, Rogan. She is a guest here, and she respects our laws and traditions. You need to treat her with the same level of decency as you would any other witch. She can’t control who her parents are or her birthright.” Althea jumped to my rescue with venom lurking in her soft-spoken words.
“Careful, Rogan, or your wife might make you sleep in the doghouse.” The other guard member, Gawain said, elbowing his friend.
Althea’s eyes narrowed at Gawain before turning back to her husband. Rogan nodded to her before turning back to me. I didn’t need Althea to defend me, but the sediment felt nice. I gave her a smile and gestured for the conversation to move forward.
“I don’t believe hunting down this fallen goddess is in the best interests of this coven.” Moll nodded as Wenceslas spoke. The two eldest members of the coven present didn’t find this a worthy cause. It didn’t bode well for the final answer. “This is a revenge vendetta for her father. If she wants revenge, then that is her responsibility, not ours.”
“Revenge vendetta or not, the points Kainda laid out are still valid, Wenceslas. I, for one, would like to see any demon on a mission to eradicate men be put down.” Goron’s backing would go a long way in winning over the support of anyone on the fence.
“Goron has a point. I’d like to stay off the bitch’s menu.” Gawain didn’t seem to have a care in the world and didn’t seem to take any of this seriously.
“I think I’ve heard enough,” Lieve said, raising her hand to get everyone’s silence. “Let’s vote on the matter. Parisa will vote first.”
The young woman cupped her hands together in front of her, bowing her head and closing her eyes. A white orb of light appeared in her hand before slowly rising to float over the center of the table. Althea went next, followed by the rest of the women, except the high priestess. The men voted last until finally the only one left to cast their vote was Lieve. As soon as her orb joined the rest, she flicked her wrists and the orbs dissolved, revealing colored lights hanging in the air. Three black lights and six golden.
“We will lend aid to your battle against Uttu, Hunter’s Daughter,” Lieve proclaimed before standing. “Once you’ve gathered the rest of your forces, send word, and we shall join you on the battlefield. I wish you luck with your recruiting effort.”
The relief that crashed over me nearly knocked me off my chair, I could’ve wet myself in my excitement. This was a huge gift the coven was giving to us. Without some serious magical backing, my plan didn’t work, but now I had a large portion of the magic we needed. Thank Gaia for small favors!
We all rose from the table and Lieve waved her hand, the table and chairs vanished from the room. The bunks displaced with Lieve’s conjuring magic returned. They said their farewell’s leaving me and Elijah alone. Althea handed me a note before she left with the rest of them. The note contained a phone number to reach the general of the coven guard directly. As well as the name and address of a possible allie.
Time to go meet up with my teammates to formulate this plan and kick some demon bitch ass.