Cursed Bones

chapter 34



When Isabel woke early the next morning, she saw Hazel sitting in front of the fire sipping tea and took the chair opposite her without a word. Hazel smiled thinly as she prepared a cup of tea for Isabel, but her eyes didn’t smile at all. Isabel nodded her thanks, taking a few sips, thinking through her list of questions.

“What do you want from us?”

“I’ve told you, dear,” Hazel said. “I want Ayela. Beyond her, I have no interest in you except that we both have a common enemy. I would think that offering you sanctuary when those hunting you are so close would count for something.”

“It would count for more if you hadn’t drugged me the moment I set foot in your valley,” Isabel said.

Hazel nodded with a shrug. “I can understand your feelings, but I would hope you can understand my reasoning. You are a witch from a different coven. It’s only natural for me to be suspicious, even threatened, by your presence. If you were a man, even a wizard, you wouldn’t pose such a danger because my charms would protect me, but they are useless against one such as you. So, when you entered my home, I was caught by surprise. Perhaps I acted rashly, but I am an old woman, frail and vulnerable. You are young and strong. I needed to know the truth of your purpose here. While henbane leaves one with a terrible headache, it’s otherwise harmless and it gave me the answers I needed.”

Isabel thought it over for a few moments. The story was plausible, believable even, and yet, Isabel didn’t believe it, at least not entirely. She just couldn’t shake the feeling that Hazel had some other agenda, but she also knew that revealing her suspicions wouldn’t serve her.

“I hadn’t thought it through from your perspective,” she said, looking into her tea. “You must not have guests very often.”

“No, I can’t say I do,” Hazel said.

“I can imagine how unsettling it must have been to have several armed people show up on your doorstep, and a witch to boot,” Isabel said. “I hope we can put this unpleasantness behind us.”

“Me too, dear,” Hazel said. “After all, it looks like you’re going to have to stay here for a while.”

“What do you mean?” Isabel asked, a thrill of fear racing through her. She had the feeling that Hazel was springing a trap.

The old witch eyed her sagely, nodding to herself ever so slightly. “I scried the surrounding area early this morning. It seems that the Sin’Rath and their puppet soldiers haven’t given up on you yet.”

“Do you think they’ll find your valley?” Isabel asked.

“Doubtful,” Hazel said. “This place is very well protected. They’ve searched for the doorway along the stone face where you entered several times already and failed to see it. While powerful and dangerous in the extreme, the Sin’Rath are rash, and subtlety is often lost on them. I suspect they’ll move on in a day or so.”

“And if they don’t?” Isabel asked.

“We wait,” Hazel said, indifferently. “Eventually, they’ll tire of the hunt.”

Isabel nodded, calmly sipping her tea while thoughts raced through her mind. She felt a sense of urgency building in the pit of her stomach, the need to be on her way, to find the bones of the Goiri and use them to wage a very personal war against Phane. Every day he was allowed to draw breath was another day that innocent people would meet their untimely demise. Yet, she had to be smart about it if she was to succeed. No realistic plan of attack against the Sin’Rath had any chance of success. Two witches and nearly thirty soldiers were simply beyond her and she knew it.

“Ayela asked me to teach her to fight,” Isabel said. “Can I have my weapons back so I can teach her how to use them?”

Hazel frowned, staring into the fire for several moments before slowly shaking her head. “While you are a guest in my home, I would prefer that you remain unarmed. You’re still a witch of another coven and I don’t know you well enough to trust my life to you. You are, however, welcome to use sticks or branches to simulate weapons, like the one you have concealed in your sleeve.” She looked at Isabel pointedly.

Isabel froze for a moment before smiling with a shrug. “I’m a woman at war. I feel naked without a weapon.”

“Understandable,” Hazel said. “I’m sure you can teach Ayela the basics without your weapons and I assure you that all of your possessions will be returned to you when you leave.”

The others woke a few minutes later. Hector and Horace prepared breakfast for everyone at Hazel’s direction. They seemed eager to please her and worked cheerfully. Isabel noted that both men were also without their weapons. After breakfast, Hazel sent them out to work on more firewood. She caught Isabel’s frown.

“You disapprove,” Hazel said.

“Yes,” Isabel said without elaborating.

“It isn’t often that I have two strong young men at my disposal,” Hazel said. “There are so many chores that need to be done around here, it only makes sense to put them to work. After all, I’ve opened my home to you, fed you, and sheltered you from your enemies. Their labor seems a fair price for all I’ve done for you.”

Isabel found it difficult to formulate a counterargument so she changed the subject. “How does that work, anyway?” she asked. “They’re clearly charmed by you, why not just use your charm on me as well?”

“Very well,” Hazel said. “Ayela, you should pay close attention here. A charm spell works best on one of the opposite gender, but there’s more to it than that. A charm creates a strong emotional bond to the caster of the spell within the subject, and while this bond is artificial and temporary, it is nonetheless quite powerful while it lasts. Since women are prone to more intense emotions than men, we tend to be better able to manage such emotions. Add to that the natural need of a witch to manufacture powerful emotion for spell casting and the fact that other witches are usually all but immune to such magic.”

“Huh,” Isabel said. “That’s very interesting.”

“So why not just charm my father or brother and tell them the truth about the Sin’Rath?” Ayela asked.

“They’re already under the influence of a charm,” Hazel said, “a much darker and more powerful charm than I can cast. The Sin’Rath are descended from the Succubus Queen, Sin’Rath, and as such have inherited a number of powerful natural abilities. One of those is their venom. A single bite from a Sin’Rath witch will permanently charm any man, rendering them completely obedient to the witch who bit them. No simple charm spell can overcome something so insidious.”

“Then how can we save them?” Ayela asked, new worry quavering in her voice.

“Kill the witch who bit them,” Hazel said. “Or … as I’ve said, I’m working on a spell that will render their venom impotent. Once I’ve succeeded, I’ll be able to free the men of Karth from the grip of the Sin’Rath once and for all.”

“I say we just kill the witches,” Isabel said. “We could start with the two wandering around the swamp looking for us.”

Ayela nodded.

“And how do you propose we do that?” Hazel asked.

“I was hoping you had some magic to help us,” Isabel said. “If we could separate one of the witches from the soldiers and catch her by surprise, I think we’d have a good chance of killing her.” Isabel didn’t really expect Hazel to agree, but she was hoping to draw out more information about her capabilities without questioning her directly.

“Your plan is based on speculation and an expectation of good fortune,” Hazel said. “More than that, it’s far too dangerous. Even if we succeeded in killing one, her death would ensure that the remaining soldiers would continue their search indefinitely. Eventually they might find this place.”

“I’m not worried about the soldiers,” Isabel said. “If we kill the witches, the soldiers will come around. Surely you have something else we could use against them. Would henbane work on the Sin’Rath?”

“Possibly, but it’s hard to say for certain,” Hazel said. “Their lineage gives me pause. Besides, henbane can only be administered from a very short distance. If it failed, you would be at their mercy.”

“There has to be something we can do,” Isabel said.

“There is,” Hazel said. “We can wait until they leave. Any other course is suicide.”

“I’m not good at waiting,” Isabel said, disappointed that she hadn’t gained more insight into Hazel’s magic.

“Then I suggest you look at this as an opportunity to improve your proficiency in that regard,” Hazel said. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to see how the boys are coming along with the firewood.”

Once Hazel left, Isabel reached across the table and took Ayela’s hand. “Are you really going to stay with her?”

“I think so,” Ayela said. “I could do so much more for my family if I had magic like you.”

“I understand how you feel,” Isabel said, “but I just can’t shake the feeling that something is wrong. I don’t trust her.”

“I know and I even understand why,” Ayela said. “She hasn’t been exactly hospitable, but she’s willing to teach me how to fight the Sin’Rath. How can I pass that up?”

“But we already have a plan,” Isabel said. “With the Goiri bone, we can hunt the witches down and kill them without having to worry about their magic. Without it, they’re nearly helpless.”

“But what if Hazel’s right?” Ayela said. “What if the Goiri is just a myth? What if the mountain is as dangerous as she says? We could be throwing our lives away for nothing. At least here, I have a real chance to make a difference.”

“I hope you’re right, Ayela,” Isabel said.

“Me too.”

“While we have the time, do you want to learn a few things about fighting?” Isabel asked.

“I’d love to,” Ayela said.

Isabel spent the day alternately lecturing and drilling Ayela in the use of a knife. She started there because it was the weapon Ayela was already most familiar with and because it was the easiest for her to wield.

“Fighting with a knife is about speed and accuracy,” Isabel said while Ayela practiced thrusting with the blade. “Strength is secondary. Let the sharpness of the blade do the work for you. Your task is just to deliver it to the right spot as quickly as possible, then to withdraw to a safe distance in anticipation of your enemy’s counterattack.

“Remember, striking some points on the body are deadly with a single cut, but it’s often more effective to weaken your opponent with a less deadly strike first. Cut their arm or their hand to weaken their ability to hold their weapon. Draw blood to unnerve them. Put them on the defensive and pick your moment to deliver the killing blow. Be patient if you have the time, especially if you’ve already cut them. Let their blood drain away until their head becomes light and their judgment falters before going for the kill.

“Your kill strike can fall on many different parts of the body. With a knife, accuracy is all-important. With a sword, you can simply stab a person in the midsection. Such a strike is harder to accomplish with a shorter blade, especially if your opponent is armored. Target the eyes and the throat if you have a shot. Both spots are almost always unprotected and a strike to either can be deadly in the extreme.”

Ayela worked on her technique, carefully following Isabel’s instructions for handling the knife—how to hold it, when to choose a thrust over a slice, how to conceal a drawn blade to gain the element of surprise.

“Remember, regardless of how damaging a point of attack is, it’s better to draw blood than wait for the perfect opening. Wounding your enemy weakens them. If you’re down and the only shot you have is to stab them in the side of the leg, then do it. If you’re on the defensive and all you can manage is a slash along the outer arm, then do it. Cut your enemy when and where you can.

“Once you’ve committed to the fight, give them no mercy, no quarter, and feel no remorse. Press any advantage you have with single-minded determination and don’t let up until you’re certain the enemy is finished. Even when they look defeated, strike again just to be sure.”

After Ayela had learned the basics of a number of thrusting and slicing attacks, Isabel started working those techniques into combinations, targeting first the arm, then moving in for more ruinous parts of the body. She worked on several multiple-strike combinations at low speed, focusing on accuracy until Ayela was comfortable with the series of movements, then began increasing the speed of the movements until Ayela was dripping with sweat.

As evening fell, she stopped her relentless drilling and smiled at the young Princess of Karth. “You’ve done well today.”

“Thank you, Isabel. I learned so much. I’m already starting to see how to string one technique after the other to create different combinations and how it all depends on the enemy, what they’re armed with, if they have armor, how they move, where they’re standing in relation to me … there are just so many factors.”

“That’s why the basics are important,” Isabel said. “Master those and you’ll be able to apply them to any situation you face.”

Ayela nodded. “I’m so tired, but I can’t imagine I’ll sleep a wink tonight with all of these new ideas floating around in my head.”

“You might be surprised,” Isabel said. “Honestly, the best way to really absorb everything you’ve learned today is to put it out of your mind. Stop thinking about it and let your mind absorb it. You’ll be surprised how much clearer these lessons will be tomorrow.”

They found Hector and Horace in the cottage cooking dinner under Hazel’s close supervision. Isabel suddenly thought it odd that Hazel seemed to want to be close to the brothers, almost as if her charm spell required proximity. She made a mental note on her way to the table.