Witches (The Order)Revised

Chapter 55

Merianna

The tension in the air was almost palpable as everyone waited for a glimpse of the anticipated gateway within the hole below. It was strange to see the members of the Order all being so quiet and motionless. I had never seen everyone being so still before. I expected as much from the Council members, but I expected at least a little but of horsing around from our members. Whispering, shoulder bumping, slight head butting... I expected anything to start happening with those knuckleheads, but they were surprisingly focused.

When I whispered this little observation, Raska chuckled. "Chaos in the Order only ensues when you and Noch are down each other's throats."

I didn't know how I was supposed to feel about that. Was it really such a spectacle to behold whenever Noch and I fought? Did Noch and I always just end up riling everyone else up? I always assumed that they all horsed around with each other even before Nelia and I joined the Order. It still boggled my mind to imagine them all being as stoic as they were being now.

We sat in the same positions for hours, people took turns to take breaks within their teams to ensure a strong ambush at any given time. My mind was starting to wander around as I saw the afternoon light fade from gold to a dark blue. If the Hunters were to attack, it would be soon according to their recent patterns.

If luck was on our side, they would appear tonight, if it wasn't on our side, we could be sitting in these spots for at least a few days on end until they eventually reared their little heads. I really hoped that the Fates were on our side today. I couldn't see myself sitting here for longer than at least one night. If it ended up being longer than that, I might just end up begging Noch to give me one of his dreadful bounties. I didn't like sitting still for very long unless it was by choice. This wasn't by choice.

The Council witches had the illusion of the village's forest active inside the hole. From where I was sitting I could only make out the hazy image of a forest hovering over the destruction that Raska had left behind, apparently the illusion was a lot more solid inside the hole. I made up my mind to check if that was true the moment we got the signal to jump in and attack.

As my mind was running around with useless scenarios, I almost missed the spark of light that flashed at the far left of the hole. Raska on the other hand didn't miss it at all and pointed to it excitedly as she barely managed to contain herself.

Thyrion and I tensed on either side of her as the spark grew into a solid ball of light that started to expand outward and form into a gateway. The tension in the air intensified and almost made it harder to breathe as everyone around the hole tensed for battle.

Within a second of the gateway forming its distinct circular shape, the first set of feet appeared and was followed by the first Hunter to emerge. When the first Hunter emerged, he quickly looked around himself then immediately jumped into a sprint. As soon as he moved, the next Hunter emerged and followed hot on his heels. Then it was like an endless stream of them suddenly jumped forward through the gateway.

I kept my eyes peeled for the image of the cloaked man to appear, but as soon as the first Hunters ran into the end of the illusion, our time was up. It was funny to hear the Hunters crash into the far wall as Fog gave the signal to attack, but I was so focused on the gateway that I nearly toppled into the hole head first when Raska let out a whoop and pulled me down with her.

I barely had enough time to flip myself upright for the landing before smashing into the ground. "Warn me next time before you pull me into a hole!" I yelled at her as I pulled out my swords and gazed around myself.

"Stop daydreaming then maybe I wouldn't have to pull you!" Raska retorted as the Hunters all suddenly realized that they had been tricked.

The Hunters all frantically started whirling around and fighting the witches that, to them, seemed to drop from the sky and appear out of nowhere. I had to hand it to the council witches, the illusion was most definitely very realistic. If I didn't know that it was an illusion, I would never have guessed otherwise until I realised that the "plants" around my feet didn't feel real and the trees were nothing but air. This environmental foothold was a big advantage to us, and I was glad for it.