Sinister Seductions (Book 1 The Flower of Bottesford Series)

Chapter 7: The Witching Hour

I grumbled as I gracelessly stubbed my toes on yet another tree stump. I hated the woods at night. I silently cursed the Council for the thousandth time.

After leaving Hennessey and finally finding Arsen again, I was led back through the maze of hallways to the same door I had entered through. There was a lot less sighing and evil looks from Arsen this time, which affirmed my belief that I was on somewhat good terms with the Hennessey’s little goblin butler.

When I was finally back out on the rugged dark streets of Tamaran’s most dangerous neighbourhood, it was already after midnight. I found myself bone tired after my many days of travelling and the emotional gauntlet I had been forced to run for the last several hours. I decided to finally visit the Council safe house that I had been set up in as I had a couple of hours before my next meeting.

The safe house was nothing special. A simple single room flat on top of an unassuming Chinese restaurant. Unless you knew it was there, you would never notice it. Each corner of the flat was used for a different purpose to achieve the look of a place that a person could actually live in for period of time.

The back corner flat was the bed room portion and was shut off by a single curtain. It had a made up queen bed and a single night stand with 3 drawers for personal items. In the corner closest to the door there was a single movable shelving unit that contained a coffee pot, a toaster, and a microwave. Next to the shelf there was a small wood kitchen table with a couple of mismatched chairs. In the corner next to the ‘kitchen’ area there was a small grey leather couch and an old school T.V. on a metal stand. The centre of the room had a variety of fitness equipment that one could use as the Council still expected you to be in top shape even if you were running for your life. The only other actual ‘room’ in the flat was the bathroom which was closest to the ‘bedroom’.

Upon entering the flat, I had hoped Ari would be there already waiting, but she was nowhere in sight. I guaranteed she was traumatising the horde of garden gnomes that I had seen huddled beneath the porch of a rundown house on the corner of the street.

I ordered up won-ton soup from the restaurant below and attempted to let my mind rest before I was forced to deal with my next task. Surprisingly, this was the one I was looking forward to the least. At 2:30 AM. I could no longer wait for Ari to get back, so I went to face my greatest fear alone.

This was how I ended up in Tamaran’s once popular Gaulfell Park, making my way down a gravel path to an unknown grotto at the bottom of the Asher Canyon, in the centre of the woodlands. There, the High Priestess of the Circle of the Willow had agreed to meet with me at 3:00 AM to hear the Council’s proposition.

3:00 A.M. The Witching Hour.

The Circle of the Willow was an ancient coven of witches that had been living in this area longer than anyone truly knew. They were a powerful coven, respected by even the oldest of vampires as well as the Oracle of Delphi herself. Previously I had only one other encounter with them and that was the night before I decided to leave Tamaran forever.

As far as I knew the High Priestess had been replaced since that time. The previous one deemed a traitor to her kind for her involvement in the plot that would have ended my life. I never encountered the coven after that, and unsurprisingly I had never really wanted to. Though I did always wonder what happened to the former High Priestess. I didn’t know what witches did to those they classify as traitors.

I made it to the grotto just before three with all of my toes still surprisingly intact. I waited outside in the small clearing for them to retrieve me because there was no way in hell I was going to walk into a den of witches uninvited. My eyes scanned the tree line looking for any sign of threatening movement. I found none. Everything seemed surprisingly calm. I guess no one was willing to cause trouble this close to the Circle.

“This way my dear, she is waiting for you,” a gentle voice said behind me, and I probably jumped about a foot in surprise.

Spinning on my heel I turned to see a lovely young woman in front of me. Her curly auburn hair was tied back into a loose side ponytail and her light blue eyes followed me cheerfully, amused at having startled me. She was about my height and build but there was an air of innocence about her that I knew I didn’t have, and a gentle manner in her movements that I had lost a long time ago.

How the hell did she come up behind me without me hearing her?

I narrowed my eyes, displeased with having my senses fooled by magic. She smiled at me sheepishly, confirming my suspicions.

“I’m sorry,” she said, “We have the entrance to the grotto cloaked with a protection spell that renders outside forces unaware of our existence. It’s for our own protection since these are dark times to be a witch.” I grimaced at that.

Over the last couple of years a variety of religious groups full of fundamentalist nut jobs had cropped up nearly everywhere. Their philosophy was that the Carpathians were a plague sent by God to punish us for the sin that existed everywhere on the planet. They were equal opportunist bigots who were just as likely to attack a human couple for being homosexual, as they were to attack a member of the supernatural community. Since they were nothing more than a band of cowards though, they mostly hunted down the witches who are the closest to humans in physical strength and form.

I mean obviously, they weren’t about to attack and a vampire or a were-creature, or any other being that could tear them limb from limb.

Witches were at a disadvantage as well since, unless the witch was dark or evil, they were not allowed to harm another living creature or use their powers selfishly.

Quite frankly, I couldn’t blame them for their caution.

“Understandable,” I responded, I gave a respectful bow. “Will you grant me permission to enter, and allow me to pass through your barrier?”

“Yes, you have permission. Please join us sister,” she smiled and gave me a little bow.

I frowned at that as I stepped inside before asking, “What is your name?”

“Evanora Williams, but you can call me Eve.”

“Is the High Priestess here Eve?”

“Yes, she is just inside. She is waiting for us.”

I nodded while squaring my shoulders, “Let’s go then.”

With that, Eve led me deeper and deeper into the cave and I marvelled at the beauty of it. The rough-hewn walls looked like the product of natural processes with such twists, turns and flips in the stone that you had to be careful not to trip or bump into the walls. I guaranteed that there had been a river running through here at some point. Here and there patchy vegetation poked through from some other place, tenaciously trying to live in the dark damp passageways. Suddenly we came to a halt at what looked like a dead end in the tunnel. Eve placed her hand on the wall and whispered a word I couldn’t catch. At that, the cave wall drew away like a mirage and we were greeted with a giant cavern, the heart of the grotto.

The cavern was a large and relatively perfect stone circle and in its centre point there laid a long granite slab, which I imagine was utilised as the covens alter. At the half way point between the altar and the walls of the cavern there were twelve stone pedestals arranged around the altar, seats for the twelve highest ranking witches in the coven. The rest of the coven’s members would be seated on the ground behind the pedestals in times of ceremony.

Busying herself at the altar was an older woman I did not recognise who I assumed was the High Priestess.

She was a beautiful woman, somewhere close to sixty in age. Her once blonde hair was now basically white and long enough to touch her waist. Her ocean blue eyes were lively and bright, and led her to look younger than her years. She had a gentle round face, with a strong nose which was softened by her kind mouth and dark brows. She was wearing an over large multi-patterned dress with tassels on the hem. It almost reminded me of 70’s muumuu and it made her look the part of mystical forest child compared to Eve’s simple blue jeans and white t-shirt.

She give the impression of that grandmother who would finishing baking you a plateful of cookies and then go terrorise the neighbourhood on a motorcycle. I liked her immediately.

She smiled brightly when she saw me approaching and instantly came over to shake my hand. Eve moved off to the side, seating herself on one of the pedestals to give us a moment to talk.

“Welcome child,” she said in warm tone, “My name is Camille Burroughs, the High Priestess of the Circle of the Willow. I hope you didn’t have any trouble finding this place.”

“Well my toes are lamenting the journey in the dark, but other than that it was fine,” I joked without thought. A warning bell went off in my head at how easily I was speaking with her. I never relaxed around strangers so quickly and the alarm must have shown in my face.

She noted the look and seemed to know the cause of my discomfort. She gave me a wry smile, “Most people can’t feel or are not aware of the nature of this place. Its aura is drawn from the centre of the Earth itself, you will never feel closer to the Earth’s natural rhythm as you do right now. Being this close to home, the body and mind naturally relax without us realising.” She gestured to the altar behind her, “That is why this place is ideal for witches. The power of the Earth’s energy boosts our own power and abilities especially during the witching hour.”

I nodded in understanding, “Another reason for the wards and spells surrounding the place. You aren’t just protecting yourselves from human idiots, but also greedy members of your own kind.”

“Yes, this place is coveted by many, and we have had many attacks on it throughout its history, especially since the war broke out. But never the less, the Circle of the Willow have been this place’s sole protectors for centuries as we understand the importance it, and of relinquishing power to the next generation to preserve the community.” She went quiet for a moment before continuing, “That is why I wanted to meet you here. I wanted you to see this place and hopefully find an appreciation for where you come from.”

I froze like I had been doused in ice water. I have never spoken to anyone outside of the Council about this. My heritage and abilities were kept an absolute secret to prevent outside parties from attempting to take advantage of them as was the case so many years ago. How could she possibly know?

“It’s all right child,” Camille said soothingly, “I have always known about you and your family. The Belvoir family name has always been well-known in the witch community, and I was High Priestess for many years before I passed the torch to Agnes Osborne. My life’s greatest shame. I suppose you could say that I feel somewhat responsible for what happened to you.”

I swallowed hard, trying to wrap my brain around the sudden turn of events. I took a deep breath to calm myself, pushing aside the memories that threaten to spill over.

“You brought me here to try and convince me to join the coven,” I choked out, my voice barely a whisper.

“Yes dearie, but not for the reasons you might think,” she said gently, “I know those oafs at the Council have done their best to train you to control your power but they can only do so much. They barely understand the power of witches in general, let alone a natural born such as yourself.”

“Oh I don’t know, I never found they did a bad job with me. They did the best they could with the situation.”

“Yes, the best they could. But they never truly understood what you are. Their understanding of what witches are is very linear at best. In their minds, witches channel energy, chant spells, and make potions. None of which are things you have to do. You are a child of the Earth itself, the power is in your blood, you do not need to channel the energy, you are the energy.” Camille took both of my hands, and fixed me with an earnest and pleading expression. “I want you to join the coven, not just for the coven’s benefit and survival, but for your own as well. If you can be taught to properly utilise your powers, the chances of winning this war will increase exponentially.”

“What she is trying to say is that your powers are the best chance there is at actually defeating the Carpathians. But in order for it to be effective you have to actually know how to use them properly,” Eve interjected, giving me a sympathetic smile as I stood there numbly shell shocked.

“Magic is what defeated the Carpathians before, not brute strength. It…” I cut her off, unable to control myself any longer.

“Magic is what destroyed my life,” I spat out harsher than I intended. They both looked at my startled. “Magic tore my family apart, led my friends down dark paths they can’t escape from, and forced me to sacrifice everything I have ever known to become something I never would have dreamed of.”

“What happened to you was terrible. It is the everlasting shame of the entire witch community. But it does not define who you are, what you are, and what magic is. We are not going to force you, but we want you to seriously consider it. There may come a time in the battles ahead, that your power is the only thing between you and death.” Eve said softly, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder.

It was like a silent force ripped through my body suddenly at her touch, trying to rear its ugly head to the surface and take control of my mind. Whether it was due to the influence of the cave we were standing in or my own haywire emotions, I didn’t know. I did know that the magic in this place combined with being in the presence of two powerful coven members was certainly amplifying my abilities.

I took a step back from her, attempting to get myself under control. I hadn’t had an episode in years, and I didn’t plan on starting up again today. It felt like this place had drained all of the life out of me. I had known meeting them was a bad idea, and I momentarily fooled myself into believing that it would be different. Eve appeared unaware of the change in the room or the sudden danger, but Camille regarded me with a knowing look that seemed even more determined.

“Please Azmaria, just think on it,” Camille pleaded gently, “It was the combined power of the supernatural communities that drove the Carpathians underground before. Including witches. With your power, and the combined power of the coven, we could help to destroy them once and for all. Right now, as it is, the witch community is full of weakness due to fear of the Carpathians and extermination by the humans. We need a figurehead to bind us together and bring us back to the light.”

I shook my head so hard I thought I might snap my neck. “Well I don’t think that can be me.”

Camille gave me a sad smile, “Please don’t dismiss it too lightly dear. Think on it for me. Eve will be going with you as my representative. She can help you.”

I raised an eyebrow, “You aren’t coming?”

“No child, I am too old to be involved in wars now. But I will be only a thought away from Eve. She will be in touch with me and will keep me informed of the goings on. She will hold all the power and authority of my position with her. But rest assured, if those Council fools do anything stupid, I will be on my way.”

I smiled at that, though I still felt hollow inside. “All right. I am waiting on answers from the other two parties. I plan on heading out in the next few of days.” I pulled another piece of paper with my number on it from my jacket pocket, and handed it to Eve. Camille began laughing to herself.

“If that vampire pretty boy and the werewolf numbskull give you any trouble you let me know and I will set them straight for you,” she chortled.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I grinned, the thought of that lifting my spirits a bit.

“Eve will show you out dearie, this old lady has a few things to clean up and then she will be heading to bed. It was a great pleasure to meet you finally,” she shook my hand again, the warmth from her making my whole arm warm, “And keep an open mind to what I said child. I understand you have had a bad go at things, but all of that has been settled now. We all should focus on keeping what is past in the past. A new future is here.” She looked at Eve warmly, before shooing us out of the cave.

As we left the wall reappeared, slowly eating away at my view of the cavern until it was like it was never there.

I followed Eve out through the tunnel we came in through, deep in thought, barely paying attention to my surroundings. It was probably a full minute before I realised we were stopped at the entrance to the grotto. I suddenly felt like a great weight had been lifted from me as stepped back out into the open air.

After saying a short good bye to Eve, she told me she would be in contact the next day to start travel plans. I gave her a short nod in agreeance before heading back down the dark trail. Making my way out to the sounds of crickets chirping and owl’s cries, I had never been more glad to be out in the dark woods alone.