Witch Queen (14 page)

I didn’t know how to explain to Leo and the
others that I’d never been ill in my life.

“Elena is fine to ride,” said Fawkes.

Leo turned and stepped dangerously close to
Fawkes.

“I wasn’t speaking to you,” he hissed. “This
isn’t your decision. I don’t care
who
you are, or
where
you came from—she’s not riding till she’s better.”

I wasn’t sure if I should have been
flattered by his protectiveness for me or angry that they both
spoke like I wasn’t even there.

“I’m fine,” I growled, but the two men
weren’t listening.

Fawkes towered over Leo. “Don’t push me,
human
.”

Fawkes’ tone was frightening.

“I don’t need an excuse to kill you…to kill
all of you. I’ve killed many a man for lesser things. I can snuff
out your life in the blink of an eye.”

With a flick of his fingers, orange and
yellow flames sparked and then coiled around his hands like tiny
snakes. The hair on the back of my neck stood as he emitted a wild
growl.

I could hear the rest of my men draw their
weapons. Nugar sneaked silently behind Fawkes, and I had to fight
down the urge to cry out. But I had a feeling the witch was in
control.

Leo straightened. “You’re nothing but a
coward, hiding behind your tricks, your
magic
, just as your
kind
always does.”

Fawkes’ expression was terrifying.

“I’m not hiding now, am I? Let me show you
exactly what
kind
I am.”

“Is this really necessary?” I said, shaking
my head.

The fire around Fawkes’ hands increased and
began to spiral around his forearms.

“I said I was fine—”

“A real man would fight with his
bare
hands.”

Leo’s eyes narrowed at the sight of the
growing flames. “There’s no honor in fighting with magic. To dabble
in the supernatural is to turn your back on the Creator, and now he
turns away from you.”

I couldn’t help but feel betrayed by Leo’s
comments. I was a witch. He knew this. And still he just couldn’t
shake the notion that magic was the devil’s work, and that we were
all monsters. But Leo couldn’t stop.

Fawkes’ jaw twitched. “Even after all you’ve
seen, you still cling to the teachings of the priests.”

“Not the priests, but the Creator.”

Fawkes laughed. “You humans are all the
same. You are fools. You believe in lies because it is easier than
accepting the truth.”

“What truth?” I asked.

And when no one answered, I turned to Will.
“What’s he talking about?”

But Will only shrugged. His hand was still
on the hilt of his sword.

“The truth,” said Fawkes wearily, as he
looked at me, “is that humans can never accept that Arcania
is
magic. And that the ground you step on is magic. Magic
crawls beneath this earth and is in the air you breathe. Humans
fear it and therefore cannot accept it. You treat magic as evil
when it is the most natural thing. Magic is undeniable proof that
this is not your world. It never has been.”

Leo’s face was void of emotion as he
laughed. “So where did we come from? We didn’t just sprout out from
the ground like weeds.”

“Humans are weeds. You are what’s wrong in
this world.”

“It is your kind that doesn’t belong here,”
spat Lucas.

I was surprised that he’d spoken. But then I
saw the panic in his eyes and the sweat on his face.

“Arcania is
our
land. You tried to
take it from us. But we won. We pushed you out.”

Fawkes bared his teeth. “Arcania was never
yours to begin with, little human.”

I frowned at my own apparent ignorance at
this piece of significant history, but I wasn’t sure that Fawkes
wasn’t making things up just to start a fight either. I remembered
that Rose’s history books had maintained that we, the people from
Arcania, were originally from here. I didn’t remember any mention
that we had come from somewhere else. I didn’t even know that there
was a somewhere else from which we could have come.
What other
lands lie beyond the seas?
If what Fawkes had said was true,
where did we all come from?

I glanced at Fawkes and could tell right
away that it was
his
truth. But I needed to find out for
myself if it were true that humans had come from another distant
land.

Lucas interrupted my train of thought. “You
lying bastard!”

I jumped to my feet and lunged at Lucas,
pushing him back in a fit of temper.

“Enough! All of you.”

Lucas’ eyes gleamed with animal fury. For a
moment I thought he was going to attack me, but then he grimaced
and turned away. I was shocked at his behavior and began to regard
him with suspicion.

I swallowed hard and whirled on them.

“What is this? A goddamn pissing contest?
What the hell is wrong with all of you? This isn’t the time or the
place. If we want to succeed in this quest, you need set aside your
differences. We need each other. So either make up or shut up.”

I glared at them, trying not to flinch. A
cool breeze spilled through the many gaps in my clothes, and I was
only too aware that everyone could see my flesh underneath.

“I’m a witch, too, or have you forgotten
that bit of crucial information? How can you say such hateful
things? You’re on a quest commissioned by witches and accompanied
by a witch.”

Leo and Will both stared at the ground
ashamed. My other companions avoided my eyes, but the hate on their
faces betrayed them.

I shook my head in disgust.

“Have you forgotten why we’re here? About
Jon? If I hear this kind of talk again—I’ll cut your bloody tongues
out and feed them to you.”

The men stiffened but I didn’t care.

“So it’s time you make a decision. Leave
now, with your magic-fearing ways, or keep your goddamn mouths
shut. I don’t have the time or patience for this horseshit.”

My insides ached, but I stood straighter. “I
might not be able to shoot fire out of my ass, but I’m still some
kind of witch.”

A light sparkled in Fawkes’ eyes, and the
tiniest of smiles appeared on his face. It gave me the courage to
continue.

“And it won’t matter if you’re a witch, or a
human, or a horse, or a goddamn mosquito.” I took a steading
breath. “The black blight won’t discriminate. It’ll come. It’ll
come and kill us all. Witch or not, there’ll be no escaping it if
we don’t stick together and fight together.”

I stood defiantly as I waited, dreading that
the men would choose to leave. But they didn’t. Not one of
them.

The men were quiet after that little
outburst. But I wasn’t sorry or ashamed of what I had said. I’d
meant every word. If they couldn’t stop their goddamn bickering,
I’d cut out their tongues. Or at least I’d force them to return to
the Pit.

After I’d changed into my only other set of
clothes, we packed and made ready to head out. I couldn’t help but
stare at Fawkes. Not because he was a male witch, but because of
what he’d said, and mostly because of what he hadn’t said. There
was more to his story than he was letting on, and I was going to
find out exactly what it was.

The male witch’s eyes showed something I did
not recognize and could not understand. It was deeper than anger,
deeper than fury, even deeper than hate.

Although I had hated the priests all my
life, I’d never known anyone to share that same hatred, until I met
Fawkes.

The only difference was—the male witch hated
humans
.

CHAPTER 11

W
E MADE THE REST of the journey in
silence once again.

While I rode my faithful companion, Torak,
Fawkes rode a majestic bull elk that was just as big. It was the
creature I thought I had seen in my dreams when I first woke up. It
had massive antlers that could skewer a grown man, and I could see
its corded muscles under its thick coat of tawny-colored fur. The
saddle, bridle, and reins were golden leather. He was
spectacular.

But it wasn’t his mere size that startled
me; it was his eyes. They were green, just like Fawkes’.

I’d only seen an elk once before. I was
twelve, and it was dead. A group of hunters from the Pit had killed
one, and the meat had fed their families for the entire winter. I’d
remembered being upset that they had real food while Rose and I had
to make do with dried pigeon strips and nuts. I didn’t think I
could stomach the meat now. Its eyes showed a keen intelligence,
and it was almost as though it had magic.

Fawkes led us northeast for hours. We
traveled through the heart of the hundreds of square miles of dense
forests that covered the northeastern part of Romila. He and his
beast ploughed through the forest with such easy grace that I
assumed he’d travelled through these parts for years and had
discovered every possible passage. There were no roads or paths
that I could see, and yet he led us over ground that was steady and
safe for the horses. He rode confidently, not seeking anyone’s
guidance or ever faltering.

Was he using magic? Was it the elk?
There was more to Fawkes than magic fire, and I was anxious to
discover what else he could do.

In spite of our earlier mistrust, we all
trailed behind the witch obediently. Occasionally he would bark out
an order, and we would change direction like a flock of sheep. I
didn’t even mind that the men followed his directions through this
wild and unknown territory. They knew we’d be lost without him.
After all, he had saved our lives.

I was impressed. The witch was growing on
me.

I had been disappointed and infuriated that
Ada had abandoned me to this quest. It had been her idea in the
first place. But after being with Fawkes for a few hours and seeing
him in action, I couldn’t help but wonder if Ada had known he’d be
the better choice. He carried himself like a veteran warrior, and
he looked as if he’d be much more skilled at battling supernatural
creatures than the old witch. But then again, I’d never witnessed
the full extent of Ada’s powers.

Were all the witches in Witchdom as skilled
and as fierce as Fawkes? Why was he on this side of the realm? Was
he another outcast? Had he been banned by his own people, like Ada
and the others? Why did he hold such animosity for humans if his
own people shunned him?

Fawkes was a puzzle I needed to solve before
we reached the witch realm. I couldn’t let my inexperience with
witch matters ruin our chances. We were about twenty days away from
the borders of Witchdom, and I would make them count.

The air was crisp and cool, and I was glad
that my wool cloak hadn’t been damaged by the revenants. Hemlocks,
oaks, and pine trees formed a canopy of green that spread over our
heads and shielded us from the enemy. It also hid the sun. We were
once again in the shadows, and I hated it.

A world without sun or greenery awaited us
if we couldn’t defeat the priests.

A murder of crows cawed at us angrily from a
tall oak tree that had begun to lose its leaves. Torak’s ears
twitched at their harsh calls. Most people in the Pit despised
crows and called them witch birds or witch spies. They thought
witches could see through their eyes. They avoided them and said it
was a bad omen to see a crow. And yet, I was always rather fond of
them. I liked their cunning and intelligence. Whether they were
magic birds, witch spies, or not, they stuck together, unlike our
divided company. I admired that bond.

The black blight had not yet reached these
parts of Romila, and knowing what lay in store made the woods here
seem too fine and smell too glorious. It was crawling with
squirrels, field mice, crows, robins, and jays, and I knew I would
have to take what comfort I could from that. Soon they would all be
dead.

After a few hours of riding, things quickly
went back to normal. It had become quiet and boring, and the men
ignored me completely.

I recalled what Leo had said about witches a
few hours ago. I had thought that he and Will were my only real
friends. Now I wasn’t so sure anymore.

I was surrounded by people, and at the same
time I’d never felt so alone. They had shut me out, and I felt more
isolated than when I was under the trap door back in Rose’s shabby
cottage.

Leo chose to ride behind me because it meant
that he wouldn’t have to look me in the face. None of them did. I
trailed behind Fawkes, with only Torak to keep me company.

I felt more discouraged now than I had at
the beginning. We had already lost two from our small company, and
Lucas had wanted to kill me. I couldn’t help but feel that he might
have tried if Fawkes hadn’t been there, and the men hadn’t been so
terrified of his fire.
Did the others feel that way too? Did
Leo, Will, and Nugar want to end my life?