Witch Born (17 page)

Senna’s mind whirled with a thousand lies that could free her, but Prenny would believe none of them. So she kept silent, her insides quivering. She should have waited for Reden or Hesten. With one of them keeping watch outside, Prenny would never have caught her.

The Head’s thin lips were pressed together. “Collectively, those potions took years to make.”

Senna tipped her head in acknowledgement. “I know.”

Prenny snorted. She took Senna’s candle, then moved to a small table and lit a heavy lantern. She turned up the wick. Light flooded the room, making Senna blink. Prenny reached inside the satchel and pulled each potion out. She twisted down her magnification lens and read the labels. “By the Creators, these are fighting potions.” She pulled her glasses off and pinched the bridge of her nose. “What could you possibly want with fighting potions?”

Senna’s tongue felt like a useless piece of cured meat in her mouth.

Prenny locked the cabinet and shook the stolen key at Senna. “Where did you get this? And how did you get in my home?”

Knowing any lie she told might trap her, Senna kept her mouth shut.

Prenny harrumphed and shoved the key in her dress pocket. “In addition to stealing my potions, you’ve stolen my time. Chesli flowers only open for a few nights a year. Now, instead of pollinating them, I’m wasting my time with you.” She whipped her black cloak around her shoulders and picked up the lantern. “You will come with me. Now.”

Senna considered running, but she couldn’t leave Reden. And she needed those potions. They were one of the few things she was counting on to keep her alive.

Tugging her hood down to hide her face, Senna moved beside Prenny, who grasped her arm firmly above her elbow. Just before they reached the Council Tree, Senna pretended to trip. She tossed the keys into the shadows of the foliage, grunting to mask the sound of their clanking. Pogg would find them. He always did.

Prenny hauled her up. Without hesitation, the Head marched her back into the midst of the Witches and up to Coyel, who was bent over the chesli plants, her fingers caked with glowing pollen.

“We have a problem,” Prenny said. “Where are the others?”

Coyel straightened her back with a groan. She glanced at Senna before sending off two Witchlings to find Drenelle and Chavis. Coyel moved Prenny and Senna out of earshot of the other Witches while they waited for the other Heads to arrive.

Chavis was the last to come in. All of them were smudged with glowing pollen. The chesli plants were so integral to potions that even the Heads participated in the harvest. The four gathered around the lantern to shield its light from the insects swarming the glowing flowers. Senna was trapped inside.

Coyel rolled her neck. “All right, Prenny, what has Brusenna done now?”

Prenny handed her the seed belt. “I caught her in my home, stealing potions.”

“Stealing?” Coyel took the belt. She held one of the glinting vials to the light.

Though Senna’s heart dropped to her toes, she forced her head high as she met Coyel’s baffled gaze.

“How did you get a key to my home? My potion cabinet?” Prenny demanded.

Senna stared at the field of Witches bent over the glowing pollen. Arianis was in the center of a group of girls who were stealing covert glances and sharing hushed whispers. Amid all the furtiveness, Mistin stood unmoving, staring at Senna.

Senna found her voice. “You all seem to have forgotten I lived on this island alone for months. I took the key to Prenny’s cabinet and used it to get what I needed to fight Espen.”

Prenny’s mouth opened and closed again. For once, she seemed at a loss for words.

“And you never gave the key back?” Chavis asked.

Thinking it best to say as little as possible, Senna shook her head.

“What other keys do you have?”Chavis asked.

Glad she’d ditched the keys, Senna answered truthfully, “None.”

Drenelle, who’d been quiet until now, touched each of her jewels as if to reassure herself none were missing. “We’ll have to search her belongings. All of them. Who knows what other things she has that don’t belong to her.”

That was certainly something a traitor would say, though they wouldn’t find anything. There was nothing to find. Imagining them combing through her underthings and rag chest, she shifted her weight uncomfortably.

“The girl clearly needs a firmer hand,” Prenny said. “I tried to tell you she wasn’t ready for an Apprenticeship yet.”

“Why, Senna?” Coyel asked, a hurt look on her face. “Why were you stealing potions?”

Handling Prenny’s anger was so much easier than Coyel’s disappointment. “Because I had to.”

Chavis took the belt from Coyel and carefully pulled out each vial. Her eyebrow slowly rose. “These are all the potions I’d take if I planned on going to war.”

The other Heads all looked startled—all except Prenny, who had begun to look uneasy.

“What do you mean?” Coyel demanded.

“She’s pestered each of us in turn to lift the curse. I think it’s clear where she was going.” Chavis’ dark eyes pinned Senna to the ground. “Do you deny it?”

Senna wished she could disappear like ice on a midsummer day. “No.” Going to Tarten was only part of it, but she wasn’t about to tell the Heads that.

“Where was she going?” Drenelle asked.

Prenny snorted. “She was going to attempt lifting the curse on her own.”

Chavis gestured towards Tarten. “What could you possibly think to accomplish except to get yourself killed?”

Drenelle eyed Senna. “You’re lucky you didn’t succeed. If you had, we would have been forced to banish you.”

Which would provide a perfect opportunity to take me captive,
Senna thought.

The lantern’s dim light cast deep shadows that hid Coyel’s eyes. “There’s something more, isn’t there, Senna?”

Senna stared at Coyel, wanting so badly to trust someone.

“Senna, please,” Coyel asked again. “I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s going on.”

Maybe Senna was wrong not to trust the Heads. Especially Coyel. Maybe they really would help her. But she couldn’t shake Reden’s warning. “There’s nothing, Head.”

Coyel took a deep breath. “Senna, this was wrong, but I can understand why you did it. You will give Prenny back her potions. We’ll decide your punishment tomorrow. As for the Tartens, that is not something you need concern yourself with. We are dealing with it in our own way.”

Senna ground her teeth. She needed those potions if she was going to Tarten, but now she was going to have to do without them. She started to back away, determined to find Reden and leave as soon as possible.

A voice stopped her. “She’s not telling you everything.”

When had Arianis wandered over? Senna gave a minute shake of her head, silently begging the girl to hold her tongue.

Arianis looked away. “She’s been secretly meeting with the Dark Witch.”

And with those words, Senna knew her world would never be the same.  

Coyel’s expression crumpled. “Senna, this can’t be true.”

Senna wanted to run, hide. But she was tired of deceit. Tired of lies. “I went to Espen for answers.”

“She’s lying. Trees tell no tales,” Chavis said darkly, her thumb absently stroking the butt of her pistol.

Senna met the older woman’s gaze. “She scratched her answers in the dirt.”

“And what did the Dark Witch say?” Coyel asked softly.

“She said I could Travel because I’m Creator-touched. And she gave me two names, promising me more information if I come to her.”

“What names?” Prenny asked.

“Lilette and Calden.”

“You’re a fool and worse,” Chavis said.

Drenelle rolled one of her rings around her finger. “Or the traitor we’ve been searching for.”

“Why would I have myself attacked?” Senna cried.

Drenelle glared at her. “To throw us off, maybe.”

Their words cut Senna like an avalanche of glass. She met Chavis’ intense gaze. “Before I turned her into a tree, Espen tried to warn me about some other threat. She hasn’t lived in isolation on Haven, so I hoped she would know something. She told me of Lilette and Calden. I think some of the Witches escaped the destruction, and they’re threatening us now. If I want more, I have to go to Tarten and ask Espen.”

Prenny shot the other Heads a look of disgust. “Don’t mistake misguidance for maliciousness. Remember, Espen tricked us all once.”

“Why didn’t you come to us?” Coyel asked.

Senna trembled with humiliation and impotent anger. “Because I overheard you saying you wouldn’t tell me anything. And I believe there’s another traitor—someone who let my attacker on the island and kept them here. Someone with the power and knowledge to orchestrate all of this. My best guess is it’s one of you.”

Chavis gave a short bark of laughter. “The girl is mad. Completely and utterly—”

Drenelle stood up straighter. “You’re an
Apprentice,
Brusenna. It’s about time you remembered that!”

It was Senna’s turn to shout. “What I am is a Keeper!”

Prenny’s voice went low and dangerous. “You don’t deserve the title of Keeper yet.”

Senna gritted her teeth. “Keepers
keep
—they don’t destroy. So you tell me who doesn’t deserve the title.”

“You go too far, Senna.” Coyel’s impervious mask slipped for the second time, revealing just how upset she was. “The course of action you have set for yourself leaves us no choice. We must confine you until we can prove whether or not what you’ve told us is true. If you’ve actually conversed with Espen, we must determine how much she has distorted you.”

“It’s happening again,” Drenelle murmured. “Just like it happened last time.”

Prenny actually winced.

“What are you talking about?” Senna asked. She never should have trusted the Heads with this. She wrapped her hands protectively over her navel tattoo. No matter what they took from her, they could not take the fact that she was a Witch.

“Does Joshen know of your actions?” Chavis asked, a dangerous edge to her voice.

Senna forced her trembling to still. If she revealed how Arianis had tricked Joshen into revealing her secrets, he would be implicated. Senna would not fail him, not like she failed herself. “No.”

Thankfully, Arianis remained silent.

Coyel nodded. “Good. Instead of banishing him, we’ll have him permanently reassigned.”

“He’s my Guardian,” Senna said in a broken voice.

Chavis grunted. “Not anymore.”

“That’s a little harsh, isn’t it? The boy is in love with her.” Prenny gestured towards Senna.

Chavis’ mouth was set in a hard line. “You brought her to us for reprimanding, remember?”

Coyel rubbed her forehead as if she were exhausted. “I think I’m being rather lenient. I should probably banish her. As for Joshen, Arianis has already found him acceptable. He will be reassigned to her—at least until we get all this sorted out.” She glared at Arianis.
“You
are excused.”

Arianis left without a backward glance.

Senna felt like little bits of herself were crumbling to dust. “I thought you of all people might help me.”

Coyel’s gaze remained hard and unyielding. “You tell me you’re communicating with Espen—the Witch who very nearly destroyed us all—and then expect me to do what? Assign you a Guardian and send you off on your little adventure?”

“We aren’t doing this to hurt you, Senna.” Prenny’s voice was soft, gentle even. “There must be consequences for your actions. And you’ve proven you’re not mature enough to handle all the stress that’s been placed upon you. We’ll take the information you’ve provided and conduct our own inquiry. In the meantime, just be patient.”

Chavis leaned toward Drenelle. “Go find a Guardian.”

Drenelle left without another word.

Senna wondered where Reden and Hesten were. Probably at Prenny’s tree house, waiting for Senna to show up. “Tomorrow could be too late,” she said desperately.

Chavis motioned for Prenny to move beside them. “You might be the strongest Witch on this island, but you’re not stronger than three of us.”

A sudden calm washed over Senna, because she
was
stronger. But she didn’t want to fight them. Not unless she had no other choice.

“You’re tossing handfuls of dirt onto your own graves!” Backpedaling, she wondered if she could really battle these women, and stepped right into a man. Her heart hammering, she whirled around. She recognized the Guardian, but she didn’t know him. She started running.

Coyel hustled forward. “Stop her!”

His hands wrapped around her. Senna fought against him, but he was so strong. Her injured hand and head protested the abuse.

Before the Heads could respond, Mistin rushed forward and started beating against the Guardian’s arms. “Let her go! Stop it!”

Chavis came forward to peel her off. Mistin kicked and scratched. The other Heads jumped into the fray. Knowing this might be her only chance at escaping, Senna started to sing.

Plants—

Leaving Mistin to the others, Coyel mashed her hand against Senna’s mouth.

Breathing hard, Chavis trapped Mistin in a submission hold. There was a matching set of livid scratches on her cheek from Mistin’s fingernails.

The fight had barely started and it was over.

Coyel still had her hand against Senna’s mouth. “Get me something to gag her!”

Prenny scattered some seeds that grew into long thin vines. The Heads used those vines to bind Senna’s and Mistin’s hands.

After struggling to her feet, Drenelle tore a piece of frothy lace from her dress. “Here, she can’t chew through this.”

Senna bit Drenelle’s fingers. With a yelp, she pulled them back. Senna started to sing.

Shouldering Drenelle out of the way, Prenny snatched a potion from a special compartment in her seed belt and held it under Senna’s nose. The sweet scent of flowers flooded her nostrils. Cutting off her inhalation, she twisted her face away. But it was too late.

“Barbus,” she murmured as her body went limp. She struggled to keep her eyes open as the Guardian swung her into his arms.

Something was shoved in her mouth. The colors were wrong, darker and smeared. Sounds came from far away. She tried to understand where she was and what was going on, but she couldn’t make sense of it. Was she dreaming? And why did the back of her head hurt so much?