Bonus Scene 1

BONUS SCENE 1

S YBIL

I sat in my small cottage, sipping my elven mead, a sense of satisfaction washing over me. Mabon festival had concluded a few hours ago and dawn was just lighting the sky but I wasn't tired yet. Imelda and Edge had been at the festival and were clearly happy and mated. A third couple had found love through much difficulty. Aurelia had been thwarted in her efforts to gain the grimoire, Kemera, which was a good thing. I had spoken to my contacts in the Coven Council and, when they had heard about her and the grimoire, they had been alarmed. Not alarmed enough to do anything but they had called a special session. Like that would solve anything. I wept for the future of our society with these witches and warlocks in charge.

But I had more pressing concerns. I had lived many lifetimes, served more than my share of a life sentence for my crimes. When would I be absolved?

Zorra, my familiar of many long years, jumped off my lap and hissed at the door, her fur puffing out like an adder. That could only mean one thing.

"Just come in, Eliphas. Don't bother knocking. I'm tired."

The door opened and Eliphas stood there in his dress robes, black from head to toe, over what I assumed was a suit. Eliphas was nothing if not formal at all times. I studied him for a long moment, not seeing the usual arrogant sneer or upturned nose that I had grown accustomed to ever since I had been banished for my crimes.

"Too much celebrating at Mabon?" he asked.

I cocked my head at him. "I'd ask you the same but I suspect your festival was spent with the same officious snobs, sipping brandy or something, and lecturing each other on some dry, boring topic or another."

He barked a laugh and sank into the patched up easy chair across from me without a single sneer. "You would be correct. It was exhausting." He rested his head against the back of the chair, closing his eyes for a moment, looking younger than his centuries. "I miss the younger days, when we snuck out and celebrated with dryads and the faeries in the forest, or even the younger witches who didn't know who we were. Now those were parties."

I raised an eyebrow. This was not the direction I expected the conversation to go. "I thought the conversation wasn't stimulating enough for you, not sufficiently educated."

He opened his eyes and the intensity pierced my soul. "Maybe the other side isn't all that I expected it to be. Do you have another glass?"

"In the cupboard. I'm too tired to get it and I don't have my magic to float it over here. Unless you're here to restore my powers," I tartly replied.

He waved a hand tiredly and a glass floated over to hover between us. I poured him some of the mead. The glass drifted to him and he gratefully took a long swallow. "The Council is divided."

"Over returning my magic or over how to pull their collective heads out of their pristine asses?" I retorted.

He snorted a laugh. "The latter. You present a challenge to them, Sybil, one they never expected to have to deal with again. Frankly, no one expected you to match one couple, much less three. And for one to be feuding elves, well, that was shocking. On top of that, you continue to force the Council to face their own inability to deal with issues critical to their politics."

"Like Aurelia."

He nodded. "We got lucky. She has been neutralized and is no longer a threat. But the Council had not even thought about how to address her. It would have been too late to counter her before she gained control of the grimoire if your witch, Imelda, had not handled it. We owe her a debt of gratitude."

I tried to ignore the chill that was spreading through me at the thought of never regaining my powers. A part of me had expected that it might be a permanent issue, especially since it had been centuries since I had had my powers. Frankly, I expected the Council to find a reason to not give me my powers back, but for them to admit they didn't know how was even more shocking.

Though, I was surprised that Eliphas was sharing this information with me. There was a time when we shared everything, often under the guise of pillow talk. Until I destroyed that in a foolish act.

"You have a problem, Eliphas. Now you have to figure out how to fix it," I stated bluntly.

"I know, Sybil. And I will. I also vow that we will return your powers." He took a deep breath. "The Council ruled that Immy and Edge do not count as a match for your punishment. They said you were not involved enough. They also said Edge is a ghost and doesn't count as a true match material."

Anger surged inside of me and couldn't be contained. I jumped to my feet and began pacing the small space, muttering imprecations under my breath. Eliphas only watched me patiently until I had calmed down.

I faced him. "Are they stringing me along? Do they ever intend to return my powers? Can they return my powers?"

He got to his feet, standing over me, a strong presence that I longed to feel holding me again. He gently took me by the shoulders and looked in my eyes. "Sybil, I vow to you that if you make this third match, you will regain your powers. This is my vow to you. The Council will try to wiggle out of it but I found a spell in Kemera, the grimoire that Imelda Willowsby found that can restore your power. I cannot do it until you fulfill the requirements by the Council. Once you do that, then I am free to restore your power and the Council cannot block me, even if they try."

He confirmed my worst fears. That the Council was working against me, that they had no intentions of restoring my magic. "Why would you help me?"

His expression softened and I glimpsed the man I once loved with all my being. "Because they're wrong. Because you deserve your magic. Because I love you."