The Cost of Betrayal

Chapter Eight

    Birsha thought of his dream the whole day. He was going to be a powerful witch. The thought made him smile. He paid extra special attention to his classes that day. Trying to decipher if any of them would be worth working hard at. Myths and Legends class was even better than usual, they were studying Atlantis as well. 

    Every time the teacher said Atlantis, it was as if his whole body hummed with excitement. At one point, he was certain he felt his amulet, which was tucked safely beneath his shirt, begin to vibrate. That drove his curiosity into overdrive. 

    Maura saw the new kid again, he seemed different today. More sure of himself, and confident. She kind of liked that about him. The girl in front of her, the class floozy, kept flirting with him and showing him her thong lace. For some reason, this frustrated her to no end. She wished knew why. Some women were so strange, she thought, she was certain she didn't want to just be an object for a man. 

    Birsha raised his hand to ask a question about the subject they had spoken on yesterday. 

    "Yes, young man?" 

    "I was wondering if you could tell us more about the sword of Mavaka." 

    The teacher made a confused face, but acquiesced, "What questions do you have?" 

    Birsha shrugged, "Well, do you know what it looked like? How it was forged?" 

    The teacher looked around the room, "Can anyone tell him?" 

    Maura raised her hand. Birsha smiled in anticipation, he loved hearing her voice. 

    "According to the legend, the sword is beautiful, but it is cursed. The jewels were stolen from not only the trolls but the fae as well. The metal used to make the sword is the strongest anywhere, stolen from the werewolves that guard their ores. And the fire," Maura paused as she shuddered to think about the fire. 

    Birsha was on the edge of his seat, he couldn't wait to find out why the fire made her shudder. 

    Maura continued, "The fire was stolen from the dragon king." 

    Birsha was intrigued, "So this sword is absolutely the best of the best?" 

    The teacher nodded, "If it actually existed, then yes. It would be." 

    Birsha nodded, "That's pretty cool." 

    **************

    Hecate pulled the mage back roughly. "How did you find that door?" 

    The mage looked at Hecate hoping for pity, "I just wanted to see him." 

    "But you did more than see him, how long have you known about it?" Hecate demanded, her anger rising with each word. 

    The mage looked down for a minute before looking up at Hecate, "Since he was one." 

    "You've known about that door all this time?! How did you break the lock?" 

    The mage smirked, "It wasn't that hard." 

    "There are guards at every post!" 

    The mage wasn't ashamed to admit that she seduced each one of them into giving her a pass. They knew that she would do it every year too. They were just as greedy and selfish as she was. She didn't care, she did what she had to in order to see her son.  "I slept with them." 

    Hecate rolled her eyes, those men were too easily persuaded. This was ridiculous. "What did you say to him?" 

    "That he was destined for greatness. I saw his future before he was born and I was desperate to ensure that it happened. He is going to be one of the most powerful witches in the world." The mage was smiling happily at the knowledge that her son would have everything at his fingertips. 

    Hecate waved her hands and the mage was shackled to a wall. "You will be punished and so will every one of the guards you slept with," Hecate spat as she walked out of the room. She needed to tell her brother. 

    *******

    "Hello, sister dear, what can I do for you?" Hades asked. They were half-siblings, but she had the same twisted sense of justice that he did, so she was a perfect match down here. 

    Hecate filled Hades in quickly on what happened. Hades smirked, "You do realize this is your fault?" 

    Hecate stomped her foot in frustration, "Why does everyone insist on telling me that? I know it's my fault! But she should have never gone to him!" 

    Hades shook his head, sometimes they have to learn the hard way. "And what do you want me to do about it?" 

    "Help me punish her!" 

    Hades shook his head, "Nope, sorry, Persephone will be here any day, and I have a lot of catching up to do." He only had his beloved wife for a few short months out of every year and he wasn't about to let his sister's stupid actions ruin any of the time he had. 

    Hecate glared at Hades, "Ugh, I can not believe this." 

    Hades smirked, "Good luck, little sister." He said to her retreating figure. Hecate gave him a rather rude gesture for a lady, but at this point, she was so frustrated, she didn't care. 

    ***********

    That night, Maura got home and opened her books, she needed to study, there was a big test tomorrow and she didn't feel confident in her knowledge of the subject. 

    Her grandmother knocked softly, "Maura, love are you busy?" 

    Maura smiled, "Not for you, Gamma. Come in."

    Gamma came in, her feet trodding slowly into the room. "Hello, my Punkin, what are you studying?" 

    Maura sighed, "Magical abilities." 

    Gamma tilted her head, "Why the sigh? You are talented. You'll be able to do it." 

    Maura smiled at Gamma, "Thank you, Gamma, but I don't feel very confident." 

    "And why is that?" 

    Maura shrugged, she didn't want to bring up Birsha to grandmother. But she felt like he was a distraction she didn't want. 

    "Tell your old Gamma what's bothering you," she coaxed as she sat beside Maura and soothed her black hair. 

    "There's a boy," she began softly. 

    Gamma's heart dropped, but she kept her face neutral. "What about him?" 

    Maura shook her head, "I just can't shake the feeling that he's special to me. Somehow." 

    "What's his name?" 

    Maura pursed her lips and let out a breath of air, "Birsha." 

    Gamma swallowed, she knew that name, this wasn't good. That name wasn't good. She would need to see Circe. This was going to be bigger than she thought. Gamma patted Maura's hand, "Well, Hecate gave us free will. So you don't need to worry about that."  Gamma stood and walked out of the room. 

    Maura sighed again, she knew her grandmother meant well, but how could she not think about him? It was as if since the day she saw him he had filled her very mind. 

    ***********

    "All right class, settle down!" The teacher called over the hub of the students' chatter.  It was as if it instantly grew silent. Many of the witches in the class were nervous, this test wasn't really something they could study, although many of them tried.

    The class waited anxiously for their name to be called. They needed to demonstrate their skills in front of everyone. 

    Eventually, it was Maura's turn, she stood in front of the class and waved her hand. As she did the book she was looking at came to her, floating softly through the air. The class smiled, she had no problems with the class. 

    The teacher looked up from his paper, "Okay, very well. Birsha, you're next. " 

    Birsha stood and walked confidently towards the front of the class. He thought for a minute of what he really wanted to do and suddenly he was no longer in front of the class. He was in a forest. He looked around confused, this was not supposed to happen. 

    "Who are you?" came a mysterious voice that Birsha had never heard before. 

    "I'm sorry," he said nervously. "I don't know what happened. This wasn't supposed to happen." 

    "Come with me."