Chapter Thirty

The moon is high and the sky is clear of clouds, showing the twinkling stars that seem to dance in delight as we stand around the soon to be dead Merelda. I on the other hand am waiting for these witches to show up and crash the party.

I"m not itching for a fight, I honestly hope they want to make sure the True Witch isn"t like Merelda, after all, they did get run off by her and most likely don"t want a repeat.

If these witches want a problem though... I still have some pent up anger to spew. Mayfly seems to be thinking the same thing as his fingers continue to twitch while his eyes scan the tree line.

"Okay, let"s get this over with." Elsie says as she stands next to the pyre we have Merelda laying on. I gotta give the girl some props. She went from hostage to a fighter. She is brave and willing to sacrifice anything for her family. She will always have my respect.

Elsie lifts the blade and chats out the woes of death in Romanian. It"s supposed to be a respectful death and even though I don"t feel Merelda deserves one, we want this done correctly.

She brings the point to the Witch"s heart and plunges it deeply without hesitation as the last words of the script is said.

The ground begins to shake, not violently but in a way that shows Merelda"s energy is being taken back into the earth for recycling. I certainly hope no one is unfortunate enough to be born with her wicked soul.

Elsie leaves the blade in place and stands back. We all wait for her nod before all seven of us toss our Hellfire at the dry wood beneath the body. As the flames lick along the logs and catch onto the hem of Merelda"s black robe, the Witches come out of the woods around us.

They stand in silence as the pyre becomes a blaze of black flames and smoke. After minutes of staring into the flames, one speaks. The leader I presume.

"We"ve come seeking the True Witch. We have seen the death of Merelda, the Witch of Decay," Hmm that"s a new one. Not that it doesn"t fit but I haven"t heard the name before.

"You seek an audience or blood?" I ask with a growl to my voice.

"It depends, Oracle. Does she intend to restore what was once ours or does she wish to kill as Merelda had?"

I bristle at that but Elsie holds her hand up, stopping me from saying anything more.

"I am the True Witch but you must show me your intent before you can take back what you gave away."

All the Witches before us are now the ones bristling at those words.

"How dare you, young witchling. You know not what you speak. Merelda took with blood..."

Elsie speaks over the leader"s words, "Yes, she did. But you, as the leader of your coven, ran. You gave up without a fight when you could have had the backing of your people. You chose to hide and wait for someone else to pick up the responsibility you so hurriedly dropped. So, I say again, you must show me you are worthy of the power you seek and your place amongst the new Elders. Right now, I find you sorely lacking."

I really want to yell out, mic drop! But I don"t. It would be fitting though.

"And you are worthy?" Someone else asks.

Elsie smiles in the direction the question came from, "A worthy one wouldn"t claim it. Power is for those who are willing to bear its weight. While I can hold it, I do not seek it. If your coven chooses me I will be honored, but I will not allow bad intent to have such power. I"ve seen what it does to people."

The lead witch steps forward with a menacing stance. "I will try you, witchling..."

Elsie"s face morphs from sweet to hellish in a heartbeat. "And you will die, old Witch."

I pull my short swords from my thigh holsters and take a stance, ready for someone to jump in unfairly but every single witch steps back along the tree line as Elsie waits for the Witch to make her move.

Like lightning, the coven leader lashes out with a glowing whip that is almost transparent but it"s cut across Elsie"s face shows it is definitely a solid object.

My sisters and I hiss while the brothers hold Mayfly back.

Elsie catches the whip on the Witch"s next snap and uses her powers to light the weapon on fire but the leader is not deterred.

She swings her arm out and begins launching stakes at Elsie but none hit their mark. It seems that Elsie is playing with the old bat.

"Enough of your child"s play!" Elsie swings her hand out and clenches her fist at the Witch before she suddenly stops moving. Must be those invisible ropes Merelda used on me.

"Yield, Witch or you will die," Elsie tells her as the other witches around us watch with their brows stuck to their hairline, but none of them seem to want a fight with the True Witch.

"I will never yield to such a..." Her words are cut off with a loud snap of her neck.

There are no gasps or outbursts of any kind from the silent witches around us. Even as Elsie uses her power to drop the body on top of Merelda, none of them speak a word.

Instead, they all turn and disappear back into the woods.

Suddenly my vision changes. No longer is my family standing before me. I"m in the same field where we burned Merelda but the sight in front of me is a bloody battle and there is a large wooden stake in the center. All around me Blood Crows and witches are killing each other and my stomach lurches at the gory sight.

"NOOOO!" I hear Drac"s howl and I turn back to the center where the wooden stake is. Tied to the pole with fire licking around her is my baby sister, Roxy.

"May the River Crow die the death of a Witch!"

A scream rips through me as my vision comes back to the present. Everyone surrounds me and lifts me from my knees. But I hug Roxy close to me and make eye contact with Drac.

He must see the fear in my eyes because he rips his shirt from his chest and howls in a rage, tearing at his hair like a wild man.

Our war is not over. Making a legacy for my sisters will never be over. Well fuck that, if these Witches want a fight, they"ll have to kill us all before they can lay a finger on my sister.

I"m Ronny motherfucking Crow and if blood is what they want, I'll pour them a river.