The Vampire & Her Witch Chapter 2047: The Coven’s Warning

Heila stood atop the boulder surveying the crowd that had assembled for Jocelynn’s Trial of Witchcraft, and she struggled to find the placid calm of water around a willow’s roots. It had been easier to remain calm, even in times of crisis, since she became the Willow Witch. This crowd, however, provoked almost as much of a reaction from her as Jacques prickly nature had when they first met.

Heila’s fingers traced briefly over the thick leather of her coat; the Giant Thornback Alligator skin still carried a trace of the Sandbox Witch’s prickly aura, and she had to struggle against the desire to let that aura ripple over the crowd. There were children present. No matter how uncomfortable she was, she wouldn’t take it out on the innocent.

Most of these people were innocent, even the ones who weren’t children. Others, in her opinion, had yet to earn the right to set foot in their Enchanted Grove. Unfortunately, Ashlynn’s instructions had been clear; no one who felt that they should be present should be turned away, no matter their reasons for coming.

Still, some things needed to be said, and as the first witch of Ashlynn’s coven and Ashlynn’s lady-in-waiting, it fell to her to manage the details.

"I have a few words to say," Heila said, addressing the crowd from her position atop a large boulder. Her cloven hooves provided stable footing, even on the boulder’s irregular surface and her voice was just as steady as she addressed the crowd.

"Many of you are new to the Vale of Mists," Heila said. "You are guests in our home and you are new to our ways. You can be forgiven for some mistakes," she said, doing her best to keep her tone light rather than scolding. "Even Mother Ashlynn made mistakes when she arrived. But tonight, some mistakes may carry lethal consequences," she warned.

"In Lothian City, you were treated to a spectacle," Heila said, looking out into the crowd where Hauke stood with his recently recovered father, Ritchel. "Four of us combined our powers and our talents to impress spectators and test champions. People who had never seen witchcraft before gained their first look at the Eldritch world. Mother Ashlynn crafted that spectacle with exceptional care," Heila said, eliciting nods from several in the crowd.

It had been beautiful, even while it was deadly. Whether it was the frozen forest where Erling and Khorijin hunted each other before ultimately forging a friendship based on mutual respect, or the transformed race track that had allowed Reynold and Taghai to face each other on equal terms, every bit of it had been crafted to both fulfill its purpose and to send a message to the audience.

Tonight would be different.

"What you will see here tonight is not a spectacle," Heila told the crowd. "It isn’t safe witchcraft meant to entertain. The trial that Jocelynn will face is deadly. The powers we summon tonight are... primal," she said, choosing her words carefully.

"Soon, Mother Ashlynn will bear her heart to the world, and so will her sister," Heila said. "It is not a sight for the faint of heart. It may be more than your children can bear to see. If you are afraid for them, take them away now," she warned.

Several mothers in the crowd shifted nervously, but with few exceptions, the only children here were the sons and daughters of knights and warriors or those who had already endured hardship and strife. None retreated easily.

Heila glanced briefly at Virve, sharing a nervous look before the captain of Ashlynn’s personal guard stepped forward and added a bellowed warning of her own.

"This isn’t a show," Virve said. "Anyone who approaches or disrupts the ritual may be killed to safeguard Mother Ashlynn and her sister," she said, glaring out at a few of the older boys in the crowd to make it abundantly clear that her threat included people like Dalwyn, who had been rushing about in excitement every bit as much as it included his father.

Still, while parents held their children close, none of them seemed intent on leaving.

"This isn’t the Kingdom of Gaal," Isabell said, stepping forward to add her voice to the coven’s. "No one is noting down the names of those who came or the names of those who leave. Mother Ashlynn will not judge you for your presence tonight or your absence."

"If you came to curry favor," Isabell added sharply, unwilling to mince her words. "There’s none to be found here."

"With respect, Master Isabell," Sir Elgon said as he stepped forward from his place among the Blackwell retinue. "Some of us pledged our lives to looking after Ashlynn and Jocelynn long before there was any talk of being witches," he said.

"We didn’t turn our backs on them in Lothian," the Lighthouse Knight added, folding his arms across his broad chest. "And we won’t leave their sides now. If you have need of our shields and blades, just say the word," he said, nodding toward Albyn, Devlin and the others who had come all the way from the distant sea. "We’ll form a ring of steel and bone to keep our ladies safe from harm."

Beside him, Devlin and Albyn weren’t the only ones to step forward. Sir Beathan and the other Templars from Blackwell had come as well, and even Anne and Mary moved with the rest of the group, making their stance clear.

"You’ll have your turn," Virve said with a broad smile that revealed her sharp teeth. "All can watch the ritual, but when it ends, most should leave. The trial may last for nine days," she told everyone. "No one can stand watch that long."

"Those who wish to stand guard over Jocelynn, speak with me when the ritual ends," Virve said. "I’ll arrange you into turns. We protect our own, don’t we?"

"That we do, Lady Virve," Elgon said with a bow. "One ship, one crew. There are more than enough of us to ensure Lady Jocelynn isn’t alone in the cold."

Even Heila couldn’t help but nod approvingly at the attitude of the men and women from Blackwell. Looking at their firm gazes, she had no doubt that Jocelynn’s handmaidens would be joining in taking a turn out here, watching over their mistress while she faced almost certain death.

Tonight, and in the days that followed, Jocelynn would need to prove herself worthy of that loyalty. Privately, Heila doubted that she could. A woman who could betray her sister’s secret and turn her affections to the man who had tried to murder Ashlynn wasn’t deserving of the second chance she was being given, at least, not in Heila’s mind.

But Ashlynn had made her position clear, and Heila had accepted it. If Jocelynn could survive the trial ahead, it would be because the contents of her heart weren’t so completely rotten that she could never be redeemed... And because she was willing to bear both the pain and the danger of facing the deadly Olive Seed.

If Jocelynn could do that... Heila had resolved to let go of the lingering resentment she held toward the woman who had so deeply hurt her closest friend. It wouldn’t be easy, but compared to what Ashlynn was letting go of... It made no sense to hang on to an echo of Ashlynn’s anger if the Mother of Trees herself was able to move on.

But all of that would depend on Jocelynn surviving her trial. If she didn’t, then it would be Heila’s job to comfort her friend in a time of grief and support her through the heartache that would surely follow.

"I have one final warning," Heila said as the last light of day faded away and the darkness swallowed the world beyond the light of bonfires, torches and lanterns. "This seed of witchcraft is different from most. This ritual may be... unpredictable, even for us," she said.

Heila took a moment to match gazes with every mother and every ordinary person in the crowd as she spoke. The people who weren’t warriors, and the stubborn pair of hunters who should have stayed in their chambers to heal as well.

"Whatever happens tonight, we’ll protect you if we can," Heila said. "But even Mother Ashlynn has reason to fear what she has wrought. The rest of you," she said, looking out over the crowd.

"If there is danger tonight... Run."