Will of the Witch [Legacy, BK 2 - Completed]

Chapter 11.3

Ezra

I could barely make out the village through the trees. Anissa and I followed Suon, keeping the village on our left. Kastem was a like shadow, another part of the jungle's quiet presence. The sounds from the group of warriors in the village were anything but silent. It was obvious the war-band hadn't left yet. A big fire blazed in the village center and the sounds of the men talking and laughing in rowdy bouts echoed off into the trees with the smoke.

We paused behind one of the outer huts and Suon and I peered around its edge as Anissa kept an eye out behind us. I could see clearly through to the heart of the village, where Nako's hut sat nestled in with the others. The only thing that stood out definitely between the Chief's hut and the others in the village was that it was slightly larger. Tamner had told me that was for all the meetings with village elders, but otherwise, the Chief was treated the same as any of the village elders.

A warrior exited Nako's hut and made his way over to the fire. He was dressed differently than the others, in that he had a fur vest and a large, curved sword strapped to his back, rather than the rough clothes and leathers that the others wore. He was large in a heavily muscled way, with scars crisscrossing his skin under his vest.

The warriors by the fire were quick to give him a spot of preference, others offered food and drink, but the rowdy behavior of the warriors didn't dim or stop. In fact, it looked like the party was just getting started.

There was nothing about their language or anything I could see, that told me anything I didn't already know about the war-band. I glanced back at Soun and Anissa, they were watching the warriors just as I was. I looked back at the Nako's hut. If I couldn't learn anything about who they were or what they wanted from by watching them, maybe there was something in there that would tell me what we needed to know.

Easing around the outer huts of the village, I stuck to the shadows as I moved further into the village. I motioned for Suon and Anissa to keep a lookout and ducked through the leather flap over the doorway.

I'd never been inside the Nako's hut before, but inside, it looked similar to Tamner's, minus all the herbs and powders the healer kept on hand. A small fire burned in the centerfire pit sending shadows to dance on the earthen walls. I quickly saw what normally wasn't there. Well used weapons were laid out on the furs by the fire. Towards the back of the hut, a shrine had been set up on atop a large chest. Candles and incense burned, figurines sat amidst the wax drippings looked familiar, but I couldn't remember where I knew them from.

Kastem paced up to the altar slowly, sniffing, before a low growl replaced his calm caution.

"What is it?" I started forward, but Suon came in the door behind me.

"Hide," he said. I dove behind the chest, hiding in the shadows. Suon himself disappeared into the shadows on the other side of the hut, crouching down low near a large pile of sleeping furs. Kastem followed Suon, blending until even I couldn't see him. It was uncanny how he could do that.

Voices came from the doorway and the flap shifted again. This time, the leader of the war-band stepped inside. And even though the men outside sounded cheerful and boasting, the leader himself looked angry and impatient. He came to stand near the shrine and I shrunk back, hiding in the shadows as far as I could, hoping that he wouldn't look too closely.

The rattle and movement of items on the wood came from above me and then, there was a soft sigh of a blade being drawn. I tensed, ready for a face to appear around the chest's edge. Instead, what sounded like drops of liquid splashing against more came from above me. I could feel the draw of power across my skin.

I did not like what it reminded me of.

As if my thoughts had conjured him, Nathan's voice boomed loud and clear. "What is it?"

I leaned forward from my spot behind the chest and looked around, Nathan wasn't in the hut as far as I could see, so how the hell could his voice be here?

"We've not heard from you in days, my lord. We have been awaiting your next orders but yet none have arrived."

"Patience, Aeova. Good rewards come to those who wait."

"We have waited long enough. You promised us land and slaves-"

"And you will have them. It's no easy feat to cross the divide between our worlds. It takes time and preparation."

What the hell was Nathan up to? He couldn't mean to bring the war-band over to our world, could he? That would expose us all; the witches, the necromancers to the regular humans. It would be a nightmare at best, and an all-out war at worst.

"My warriors grow agitated. They may be loyal to me, but they will wait only so long."

"It won't be much longer. Now, once I've found a summoner to use, you'll have your price."

A sound slip passed my lips. Nathan was a Blood which, and with the blood of a summoner he could bring the war-band over to our world, he could open a portal wherever he wanted. How did that fit into his plans?

"What was that?" Nathan's voice was sharp.

"I do not think I am alone."

Oh, shit.

"Deal with it."

I sent a silent command to Kastem and sat as still as I could, ready to block any attack if I needed to. Instead, Aeova let out a yell of surprise and pain. I stood slowly to find the war-band's leader desperately trying to dislodge Kastem from his back.

Suon stepped free from his hiding space, motioning to me to hurry across the room. Aeova thrashed frantically, making it nearly impossible to slip by without him being able to reach me. Kastem sank his teeth into Aeova's shoulder, distracting him enough for me to get by.

I made it over to stand by Suon as the leader grabbed the knife from the shrine. I quickly called the demon back, not wanting to see him injured. Kastem released his prey and just managed to dodge Aeova's swipe of the blade. It was past time for us to leave.

Kastem held his ground between me and Aeova, the war-band leader staring at me with a vengeance as he took a step towards us. The growl that Kastem let loose was low and vicious, a warning. Aeova paused. I could see him putting two and two together. "You are not from this world, are you boy?"

Suon pulled me through the flap before I could reply. I wanted to question Aeova, but now was not the time. We needed to get back to the temple. We needed to get back to our world.

I needed to find the last summoner before Nathan did.

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Hello, my dear readers! I'll be putting Will of the Witch on a short temporary hold now that I've finished this chapter. But fear not, there's a method behind my madness.

This November, I'll be using NaNoWriMo to finish the rough draft of Will of the Witch, so that starting in December, I can begin posting chapters on a regular basis again. Thank you for being so patient with me during this time. 2020 has been a black hole of suck, but hopefully, I can get one good thing out of it. Be well, my friends! Updates should return soon.