Chapter 41 #2
“Tried, anyway.” Her lips thinned. “I dropped herbal blends into the town’s water supply, walked near the sick and cast protective warding spells over them, but nothing worked long term.
Soon, rumors began to spread of a sinister group outside the town lines.
At first it appeared to be nothing more than children’s ghost stories, but quickly progressed to more horrifying and believable tales.
And then I felt it: the Baneful magic that’d seeped into the soil.
Dark magic had taken root in our backyard without my knowing. ”
My nails dug into my palms. “What did you do?”
“I dove deeper into my study of mass protection spells. Searched for anything that would shield the area from any excess magical consequences. The spell held the darkness off, but was only a temporary fix.” She stood, walked to the fountain, and ran a hand beneath its stream.
“As my spell work grew stronger, the coven became more aware of my presence. I’d known they’d catch on to magical resonance eventually, but it was a risk I had to take.
They showed up at my door late one night, demanding I join them.
If I refused, they threatened to destroy the town once again by fire.
I couldn’t allow another slaughter. Not in my home. ”
“Those bitches.” I snarled, hands clammy. “Tell me you kicked their asses?”
“I wish,” she said with a snicker. “But no. I did the only thing I could. I joined them. After a substantial amount of mandatory study and a formal dedication to the dark magics, they began to believe my alliance was true, genuine. Little did they know I’d been lying in wait, devising my plan for revenge. ”
“Clever. Making them believe you weren’t an enemy.” I smirked.
Gia grinned back. “I certainly thought so. Eventually, they began to send me to market to collect herbs and spell materials. It was there I met a man who I believed could help end the coven’s stronghold.
He was heading up a resistance and sought information on the coven’s origin and weaknesses.
Over the course of the next few months, I left him letters containing every bit of knowledge I’d acquired.
All the while, I played my role in the coven, taking on more responsibilities to keep the witches unsuspecting.
Horrible responsibilities … things that still haunt me to this day. ”
I lifted myself from the bench and stopped at her side. “Is that why you were in the Shroud?”
“In part. Turns out one of the spells I’d cast in my early years, one I was too inexperienced to know derived from Baneful origin, linked me to them.
To their sins. That’s why I’m eternally like this.
” She gestured to her young face. “Thirty-two at the time of my death and yet eternally frozen as the twenty-five-year-old who’d cast a necromancy spell on a damned snail.
Sick, right?” She chuckled. “Of course, the Shroud worked its decaying charm on me throughout my stay. Hence the lavender hair and—”
She tapped her gold tooth.
I tried my best to hold it in, but an ironic laugh slipped out. “That’s awful. But I mean, you have to admit, that must have been one happy snail. Lucky sucker.”
She looked me over for a moment before falling into laughter alongside me.
“None of this is your fault, all right,” I finally said. “It’s not like you wanted to do those things for the coven. You had no choice. You were trying to save innocent people, give yourself some credit.”
Her shoulders slouched. “Thank you, I … I needed that reassurance. The Shroud can be incredibly lonely; it’s easy to get lost in one’s thoughts.”
“If you ever need a reminder, just give me a shout.” I lifted her chin. “You are a lifesaver, Gianna.”
“Call me Gia.” She smiled.
“Alright, Gia.” A thought occurred to me.
“Wait, why did you end up in the Shroud? I mean, I know you used dark magic, but … is that how it works? I thought it was a place where humanity’s worst fears manifested and a prison world built by the Gods to lock away the Ancient Lores. It doesn’t make sense you’d be there.”
“The Shroud is a place for those manifestations, yes, but it’s also the origin of Baneful magic. After the original wielder of black magic struck a blood pact with the Ancient Lores, enacting the first attempt at their release, Fate reevaluated the Shroud’s purpose.”
“What was their name?” I clenched my jaw.
Gia sighed. “Rasputin, a man so hungry to rule the world he’d rather see it devoured in darkness than relinquish his hold.
If one uses his magic to cause harm in the human realm, then the Ancient Fables—or the Guardians as they’ve become better known as—drag the witch’s soul to the Shroud and lock them away.
Necromancy is the surest way to land you an eternal stay.
They don’t play with those who dabble in Death’s magic. ”
My gut snarled. The full weight of what I’d done to bring Roxie back hit me like a bullet.
Necromancy … my throat tightened. I’d unknowingly doomed my soul to wander the Shroud forever, a prisoner of my own making.
A horrible, dark, disastrous eternity awaited me, and yet even with the cool sting of dread dancing in my chest, I couldn’t bring myself to regret what I’d done.
I’d been the one to lead Bethesda to Roxie.
It was only right I’d pay the price to remedy that mistake.
I focused back on Gia. “I thought the only ones capable of releasing the Ancient Lores were Fate and Death? How could Rasputin strike a deal with them?”
“Those stones you pulled from Chaos and Famine’s hearts?
” Her lips pursed. “Those were of his Baneful creation: sacrificial stones granting the beast’s physical form capable of entering the woken world.
While Fate and Time did everything in their power to ensure Rasputin would never again walk free, Baneful magic remained in the world and lived on in his grimoire, which has been handed down through secret societies throughout history.
Blood magic, necromancy, and all sorts of sacrificial magic live on in those pages. ”
“I don’t understand,” I said, thinking back on the strange tale I’d found in the grimoire. “If Baneful magic is so bad, then why did Fate allow mortal witches to wield it?”
“That was never the intention. In fact, two realms were created in tandem with the Shroud specifically to house Ethereal and Baneful magic: Anathema—the realm of eternal night—and Elysium, where Serenity was created—the realm of eternal light.” She perched herself on the fountain’s edge.
“Rasputin found a way to summon Baneful magic in the mortal realm, where Elemental and Tinctured magic reign. Baneful magic in itself is shadow magic, but when a mortal witch dives into the depths, taking on Death’s magic? That is when the Guardians intervene.”
I nodded, silently encouraging her to continue.
“I wielded black magic to work my craft for the coven in the mortal realm,” she confirmed.
“Death’s spells, even ones we may not truly want to be a part of, are considered toxic manifestations.
And there are consequences to casting those incantations.
I’ve no doubt that after my time here is through, I’ll return to the Shroud to carry out the remainder of my sentence. ”
My hands balled into fists at my side. “That’s not fair! You didn’t want any of this, why should you be punished for it? There has to be a way we can—”
She held a hand up in silent dismissal.
“I regret my sins against this world, and I fully intend to repay my debt for the lives I took. The Shroud can be a cruel mistress, but at her core, she aims to restore balance within her own right, just as magic wielders in this reality do.” She motioned to my head, reminding me of how recently the Shroud had sought to claim me, to restore balance.
“I continued to aid the coven with their dirty work until the day of the strike. The resistance I’d aided organized and attacked in the cover of night, during the witching hour.
Most of the rituals the coven performed were at that hour, giving the resistance the element of surprise. ”
“The witching hour?” I asked.
“Three o’clock in the morning, when the veil between worlds grows thinnest, making it quite easy to connect with the other side.
Contacting the spirit world—the Shroud being one of the spiritual realms—requires incredible focus.
That’s why spell work proves more lucrative at night.
” She let out a sigh. “All in all, the battle was a seeming success. It appeared I was the only coven member still standing. But then she emerged. Our coven leader.”
She looked at me knowingly, and the elements in my veins reared up, boiling my blood. “Bethesda …”
Gianna nodded, beads in her hair clicking together.
“The very same. Concealed by a cloaking spell, she’d managed to wiggle her way free from the battle intact, like the worm she truly was.
She hid under the body of a dead coven member until it was safe to drop her concealment.
She demanded I join her in retaliation, but she knew.
She knew I no longer served the coven’s will. Her will.”
Cold rushed down my limbs, goose bumps rising in its wake. “What did she do?”
“She struck me down, but I remained conscious long enough to make out her dagger, slitting the wrists of her dead sisters. It wasn’t until I re-awoke in the Shroud that I knew what she had done.
How powerful she’d grown. I knew then there was never a chance mortals could have taken the coven down like that.
Even with my help.” Her gaze fell on me. “She had allowed it to happen.”
“Fuck.” My breath caught. “She murdered them …”