The Dark Witch And Her Knights

30

My foot connected with the sigil carved into the stone platform. As the runes activated locking me in place I shifted my grip to tug Donte into the circle with me. I was shocked at the ease it took realizing he was moving forward freely. The grin on his face unexpectedly frightened me.

His hand moved to the small dagger at his hip. "It was the lavender eyes." He tugged back the lapels of his shirt revealing the hunter's mark over his heart. He was not just a witch hunter but a hunter of all supernatural creatures out there. "No potion you take will hide the real you from one whose eyes are open. I remembered those lavender eyes of yours from the mountains. You may have killed my friend but your puff of air hardly ended me."

His dagger came out slashing at me as I dodged him in the small space of the circle trapping me within. He was the ass that shot me in the arm and almost killed me and Arbor. The caeli spell should have killed him, his skill was indeed unmatched. "If I only had an apple now I bet I could shove it down your throat, choke you to death with it, fry you with my fire, and then serve you as the pig you are at the King's ball tomorrow." I cackled at him letting my crazy fly free. "You'll be the main dish."

He swung again enraged and baited by my words. Just like all the other brutes here his moves were predictable and easily avoided. I was not another warrior of his stature. I was a petite, scorned, and deadly witch. And I came to The Prince's hunt to hunt for myself.

"I had quite liked you, Sir Donte."

Enraged he growled at me.

I reached for the potion hung around my neck and hidden within the bodice of my top. The chain snapped as I yanked it free slamming the small jar against the stone below our feet. The poisonous air was released slowly affecting both of us. His hand had slipped around my throat cutting off the breath I was already holding. His other hand had tried to stab at me. I blocked him, holding his wrist waiting. Slowly his grip loosened and his feet became unsteady. His eyes went from my flushed face to the glass crunching beneath his boots.

The distraction and drowsy confusion he was experiencing gave me a chance to grab hold of his blade and turn it on. I stabbed between his ribs and pushed up to his heart. Donte was shocked at my capability. Pain surged through his features as he tried to fight back and squeeze my neck harder. I withdrew the dagger and aimed it directly at his heart as I shoved my weight at him. He stumbled back causing me to fall on top of him as I repeatedly stabbed him in a blaze of fury.

When my mind finally comprehended he was dead I took in the mess I had made. Hide the body. How, where, what about all the blood? First I had to figure out how to escape a witches' circle meant to trap me till death.

I scooped back up the bloody dagger and began sawing with the edge over the sigils carved into the stone. If I could destroy the mark enough I could free myself. My arm grew tired rapidly and I was panicking someone would come across this terrible scene. I'd be tortured and hung in front of the whole city. They didn't even have to catch me I was already trapped. Using my fingers I probed the brink of the circle to see if I was free. Hard cold resistance was all I could feel.

Frustration and fear rolled through me in waves. I pointed the dagger down and began stabbing at the corners of some of the sigils, trying to chip or break away a chunk. The stone was solid. The sounds of footsteps approaching were picked up by my ears on high alert. It was only one person but no way could I be caught here in a witch's circle next to a body, covered in blood, holding the weapon.

It was over for me and it had hardly even begun.

I tucked the knife under my skirt and shoved it into my stocking. The sound was too close. They were about to come upon the scene and I was hopelessly trapped. I screamed the wail of death and threw my body over Donte's already starting to feel less than warm.

Whoever was nearing began to run at the sight. Once they got close enough I would pull them into the circle and kill them too. Hopefully, it would buy me more time but not much. My scream was intended to be loud enough to draw attention. People would soon come to inspect the problem. If they didn't come closer out of fear I would lie about us being separated in a game of chase and this is how I found him. As long as I wasn't searched before I could take out this new intruder, I should be fine.

"Sable." My name came out deep and rough. I instantly recognized the voice. The fake tears I was crying rapidly stopped and my head rose from Donte's dead chest.

"Oh, thank the devil." I rose to my feet trying to dust blood off my garments. "Help me get out of this damn witch's circle, I'm trapped."

Gavrial leaned a little to look around me to see who was the dead guy. "What was the plan here? This is certainly not what we talked about, Love." He stepped toward the circle inspecting it.

"He has a hunter's mark." I waited for Gavrial's reaction which oddly seemed impressed as if he had no idea.

"So you got his shirt off saw his mark and decided, Hmm, why not kill him?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small potion.

"What the fuck Gavrial? Is that what you think? You know what don't even answer that. Our potions didn't work on distorting his view of me. He lured me here to get revenge."

"And you knowingly went with him, why?"

"I didn't know who he was."

"Then why was he seeking revenge if you didn't know each other."

"I killed his friend and then tried to kill him. I thought he was dead and I never saw his face but I guess he saw mine and remembered my eyes."

"When did you kill another hunter?"

I looked away from him not wanting to tell him the truth for some odd reason.

"It was when you were with him wasn't it?"

"Yes." I couldn't bring myself to look at him. Instead, I stared at Donte's body trying to count how many times I could have stabbed him.

Gavrial poured the concoction into the edge of the circle. We watched as it made its way through the cracks and the sigils slowly eating away at the stone like acid. I tested the circumference with my fingers before I tried crossing over. There was no resistance. Releasing the breath I was holding I stepped out of the pagoda.

My hand was snatched by Gavrial as he pulled me against his chest and hugged me tightly. "Ad novum," he whispered into my ear before he smothered my lips against his.

"I should have never left you," he said when we finally broke apart.

"You are here now." I knew he meant with Arbor, he should have never left me with him. Things would be so different today. I couldn't decide if that would be a good thing or a bad thing. It didn't matter though. I liked where I was today. 

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Caeli --- Air

Ad Novum -- Return to New