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Beth jerked, the other witch’s surprise and dismay a splash of cool energy against Hazel’s senses. Inwardly, Hazel sighed. Beth, like most of the witches in the community, would not be used to hearing Arawn’s name invoked instead of the Powers That Be. Not entirely unsurprising, of course. Millennia of tradition and allegiance to one set of gods were hard to change. In fact, Hazel was amazed the other witches even let Merle and her remain among the Elders now that they were allied with the Demon Lord. Things could have easily gone sour when they’d announced their change of allegiance along with Arawn’s warning that the Powers That Be were weakening.
Things probably would have gone sour if the Elder council had had the Draconians on it at the time.
As it was, the Aequitas witches held enough goodwill for Merle and Hazel that they accepted them in their ranks even with Arawn as their patron god. Not enough goodwill, however, to make the allegiance switch themselves.
Feeling the layers of the world opening to her upon her invocation of Arawn, Hazel murmured the words that would heal most wounds in a body, provided a spark of life force was left.
“What was broken shall be mended
What has torn be merged once more
Flesh and blood and life unended
Twine together at the core…”
With a sigh, the magic worked into the world surrendered to Hazel’s call, flowed into her middle, through her arms, into her hands. A soft glow spread out from her palms, illuminating the blood on Thea’s chest.
The glow faded, the magic slipping off the still body of the Elder witch.
“Try again.” Beth’s eyes shimmered with unshed tears.
Hazel shook her head. “There is no spark of life in her. Her soul has left her body. No magic in the world will close her wounds and restart her heart now.”
A sob broke from the other witch. “No.” Beth’s hands grasped for her mother, touched her face, her hair. “No.”
“I’m so sorry,” Hazel whispered.
While Beth collapsed over her mother’s body, sobs racking her hard, Hazel gently closed Thea’s eyes.
“Travel well,” she murmured, her throat tight and burning.
Never mind that Thea was a former Draconian, had taken part in a literal witch hunt for Hazel’s daughter Lily, she was still one of their own. Losing a fellow witch hurt on a primal level. Hazel felt that loss deep in her soul, in the mournful throb of her own magic.
So few. There were so few of them left. Witch families today had fewer children than in generations past, but the death toll remained the same. Which meant they were a dying breed. How many witches would be alive in a few years? Decades?
A shudder took her at the thought of a world without witches—especially now that old, malevolent gods and man-eating beasts rose again to power.
Hazel laid a hand on Beth’s shoulder. “We need to take her home. The human will soon wake up, and we need to be gone by then. We’ll carry her together.”
Beth hiccuped and nodded, her face tear-streaked and her eyes puffy.
Hazel checked the man who’d fallen prey to the colarpo, and once assured that his pulse was steady, his temperature good, she brought him into a lateral recumbent position. The colarpo venom would wear off within a few minutes, and the man would wake none the wiser as to how he’d come to lie down in an abandoned parking lot behind a convenience store. His belly showed no signs of a wound, so the colarpo hadn’t begun feeding yet—the guy got to keep both his kidneys.
Together, Hazel and Beth heaved Thea up and carried her with her arms slung about their necks. Hopefully, they wouldn’t run into anyone on the way to Thea’s car, or else they’d have to make up some story about their friend having had one too many drinks. Then again, given downtown’s late-night population, they might just fit in.
“Beth,” Hazel said after a few minutes. “What happened back there?”
Beth sniffed, her voice sounding raw. “What do you mean?”
How to phrase this while sounding polite and respecting the other witch’s grief? “Your mom was about to throw a spell at the colarpo. It didn’t work.” Hazel hadn’t exactly seen that part, but she figured as much, given the evidence. “The demon jumped her and took her down within seconds. And when you came to her aid, it almost overpowered you, too.” A pregnant pause. “Colarpos aren’t that strong.”
Beth didn’t answer.
“A simple spell of raw energy should have stopped the demon. Why didn’t you blast if off you?”
The younger witch made a pained sound.
“Beth?”
