Witches (The Order)Revised

Chapter 41

Merianna

"So, now tell me. What are you doing here in the first place and who on earth was that?" I said pointing to the empty space where the stranger had disappeared to.

Strider looked like he had something particularly painful stuck in his bowels as he flicked his tail around irritably. "If I share my information with you, will you promise not to tell Noch about the man you had seen?"

This piqued my interest immediately. "Was that someone who is not on good terms with Noch?"

Strider gave a defeated sigh as his ears and tail drooped. "Unfortunately yes."

"And he is someone that you, Noch's familiar, trust enough to meet alone in the middle of the night?"

"Indeed. I do trust him. If he and Noch were on better terms right now, they would be an incredibly strong team." Strider sounded wistful at the confession.

"Wow, that bad?"

"Yes, that bad."

I patted Strider's furry head and looked him in the eyes. "You have my promise then. You know that I despise Noch enough to conspire against him in small matters like this right?"

Strider gave a huff and shook my hand off. "You say that even though you are obviously fond of him in your own way."

"Nope." I said flatly. "I REALLY wouldn't mind sending him into an early grave on my terms, and you know that."

"Well, considering that you did indeed try to stab him in earnest on multiple occasions... I can see that happening."

"Great! Now tell me all your dirty secrets." He did not look impressed with the grin I gave him.

"You are impossible."

"So I have been told by your human counterpart many times."

With a snort Strider jumped off the log and started slinking along the forest's edge toward the area of Gateway I had come through. "Well, If I share my secrets with you, we might as well travel back home. I have a feeling that you came to gather information, and that Noch or Fog will most likely open the Gateway for you soon again as well."

"You are indeed correct my kind sir." I mocked as I waltzed after him. A thought stopped me though. "Wait, how did you get here? We are far across borders and a whole ocean away from the Order." I pointed out.

"I thought I have told you of my travelling methods before." He said with a frown my way as he kept on walking.

"You know what, that might have been Nelia. I think she told me once of stumbling across you while gathering herbs in some or other mountain once."

"Oh yes, that's right. Well, in any case, I mainly use the Fae trods to travel. That wrenched Gate of Noch's has never agreed with my feline body." I saw him shiver delicately at whatever memory he was reliving.

"Oooooh, I haven't really met any Fae yet besides Dorris. You'll have to introduce me one day!"

"Maybe one day." He said with a snort.

"Now, tell me who that was and why you were obviously meeting him in secret." I said seriously. The topic of the Fae was interesting, but this was far more important.

"Well..." Strider hedged. "He is an interesting fellow for sure. A very long and complicated background, but I suppose he is the only person besides Noch I would entrust with my life."

"Hmmmm... I'm listening."

"His name is Thyrion. He comes from a bloodline that is basically extinct now, and both Noch and I have known him for a very very long time. And since I have noticed certain things going awry lately, I enlisted his aid in gathering information on the hunters."

My alarm bells were going off right then. "Are you also gathering information about the new tactics that the Hunters have been spouting out lately?"

Strider's head wiped around to stare at me. "What do you mean by also?"

I shrugged. "Noch sent me here because he had a hunch, I had nothing to do and he needed someone inconspicuous to do some snooping. My snooping around him and having Raska as a teacher made me his top pick since Raska is out on a bounty."

"Well, with your change in hair colour, you do indeed look inconspicuous. Who would have thought that you could look so different with only a small change as that. It does suit you well though."

"Why thank you!" I said winding my long black locks around my fingers. "So, what did this Thyrion guy have to share with you?"

"Troubling information. It seems as if some witches have gone rouge. They are voluntarily siding with the Hunters for some reason."

"Hmmm, the information I gathered is slightly different from that."

Strider turned his attention back to me completely.

"I heard in the inn back there, a group of witches were speaking about a deal they had made with the Hunters in the surrounding area, so they could be kept safe. They spoke of a pregnant witch, who's baby they are prepared to snatch away as soon as it's born, and they are planning on handing that baby over to the Hunters, in exchange for their foreseeable safety." Retelling the disturbing information to Strider made the acid in my stomach roil. My body did not know what it wanted to feel... anger, fear, shock, pure rage? It all was rolling around together in my body with no outlet.

"That... is insanity..."

I looked back at Strider again, and if his fur weren't naturally black, he would have been stark white with the news.

"I had gathered information about Hunters Kidnapping witch children from their homes, but never would I have dreamed of a witch willingly giving up the children born in their coven to Hunters in exchange for safety... this is..."

Strider trailed off and seemed incapable of saying more. I knew the feeling. I couldn't believe this myself, yet, there it was. It was happening. It had already happened. Who knew, maybe that Coven we had saved not too long ago had refused a similar deal with the Hunters, and the Hunters might have retaliated in the only way they knew how... by destroying their lives like they were bred to do in the first place.

Once I delivered this information to Noch... what would happen then? Will Noch keep me in the dark from here on out? He was only using me because I was conveniently there while Raska was out. He had a meet with the Council not too long ago as well didn't he? Had he already informed them about these strange occurrences?

"Strider..." He looked up at me expectantly. "Is the Council involved in this case?"

He looked back down at the forest floor. "They have been informed. And they have said that they will be involved... but."

"But, seeing as Noch was the one with the information, and the relationship that Noch has with them seems strained. It would be unlikely for them to move actively with only his word?"

Strider growled in the back of his throat. "Sometimes the members of the Council can be utterly daft and self-serving. Disgustingly so."

"I'm going to be a part of this. I'm not going to let Noch exclude me after everything I've just learned." I was determined. There was no way that Noch could keep me out of this twisted loop that I had already landed in.

Come to think of it... I have been sucked into this loop since the moment I helped to save that village. That incident was undoubtedly linked to what was happening now. And I never leave a job half-done.

"But Merianna! This is dangerous. Much more dangerous than landing in the middle of a Ripper nest!"

I gave him a smile. "I'll manage, especially with the new scythe Noch is going to make for me."