The Raven and the Witch Hunter Omnibus

THE WEDDING CHAPTER 3-3

A few moments later, Samuel stopped walking and looked out of the window, peering off into the distance. They were only on the first floor, but he seemed to be staring at an object far away, in a place Emma Jane couldn’t see.

"Legend tells of a woman with eyes like fire and the body of the snake. The Lakota speak of her as a demon, who will punish any wrong done to her and who will eat everyone in the way of her capricious desires. Her hard scales are hidden underneath a cloak of smoke and fog, and she is said to be able to defeat the strongest of warriors with ease." He turned to Emma Jane, his eyes lowered.

Her eyes widened the moment when remembrance struck. "Uŋȟčéǧila? I thought that we..."

Emma Jane’s voice trailed off as Samuel shook his head.

"We fought her, yes, but we did not defeat her. She only went into hiding to regroup. She is known for being vindictive and nothing would give her greater joy than to destroy your child, the way we destroyed hers. But as you do not have children, she has had to wait for love to have her revenge."

Samuel pointed his chin at Vanessa before turning back to Emma Jane with a sympathetic look. "She will attempt to take that which you love the most, instead."

Emma Jane shook her head, her heart almost stopping in her chest as she looked into Vanessa's frightened eyes. "No. We destroyed her. And her children."

Samuel smiled sadly. "No, we didn't. I’d wondered at the time, but now I am certain of it. When we encountered her in the Badlands, we failed in our mission." Samuel looked down, his face crumpling with painful emotion, and Emma Jane was shocked to recognize a look of shame. It passed over his face quickly, then he met her eyes once again. "It is the one time where I know we left a job unfinished. This is all my fault."

At Emma Jane's look of disagreement, he sighed. "When we encountered that nest of vipers, we did succeed in slaying her offspring. But we didn’t manage to pierce her with the magic arrow at the correct location. We missed. I didn't say anything at the time because she’d vanished, and we were both injured and unable to give chase to a ghost."

He looked troubled by the memory and Emma Jane nodded. It had been a difficult battle, the nearest she'd ever come to dying while under Samuel’s tutelage.

"She was gone. It wasn't as though we could have followed her, even had we been able to," she said, agreeing with Samuel.

Emma Jane hated to see Samuel looking so unsure, and when he raised his hands helplessly, she knew it was a question he’d asked himself many times over the last twenty years.

"Perhaps. But perhaps we should have tried harder. I told myself if we ever heard anything about her, or if she came looking for us, that we’d face her if and when the time came. But, we were younger then, and had much less to lose." Samuel gave Vanessa the same gloomy look he’d given Emma Jane. "Now that I have seen your Raven, I understand just how much you stand to lose. I have nothing of value except for you, my child, and we have both been long reconciled to the lives that we live. I have always understood that one or both of us could die at any time, but have consoled myself with the knowledge we will see each other in the afterlife, in the place where our people meet. But now that I see your happiness with Vanessa, I believe Uŋȟčéǧila is the fear we’ve been experiencing leading up to this day. She is a dark cloud which spreads panic and disorder and she is coming for you."

"What do we need to do?" Vanessa stepped forward, her jaw set with the same stubborn tilt Emma Jane had seen whenever Vanessa put her mind to something in the past.

Samuel nodded with approval. "The first step is to be ready." He looked at Emma Jane, then raised an eyebrow. "Did you bring it with you?"

Emma Jane knew instantly what he was talking about. Her right hand dropped down to her thigh, pulling the knife out to display the sharp-edged silver dagger he’d given to her when she’d finished her training. He nodded again.

"This is good. While it is no magic arrow, that knife has been blessed and carries great medicine within it. You’ll only have a moment, a single instant, in which to succeed. You must place the knife directly through the space above her seventh rib. That is the only way to ensure she will stay dead."

Emma Jane nodded, sliding the knife back into its sheath as Vanessa raised an eyebrow.

"I guess it's a good thing you brought your knife, after all." She turned to look at Samuel. "What can I do?"

Samuel smiled again. This time, Emma Jane caught a look of respect flash across his face.

"You can protect each other. You can make sure everyone else is safe. Uŋȟčéǧila would love nothing more than to destroy everyone and everything where she touches down. She is a pestilence, she is darkness and death. You’ll need everyone’s help when she shows her hideous face."

Vanessa nodded, looking at Emma Jane with resignation and squaring her shoulders. "I agree that would explain why we’ve been feeling so strange. Should we let the others know, before the ceremony starts?"

Emma Jane bit her lip, trying to decide if knowledge would be better than not knowing. "I'm not sure, Vanessa. There are a lot of people in the audience who don’t have any knowledge of our world. How do we keep them from becoming hysterical?"

Vanessa wrinkled her nose. "That's a good point."

Just then, a knock on the door interrupted them and any chance they had to decide what to do.

"Are you ready?" Cat poked her head in, looking apologetic for the interruption.

When Emma Jane glanced at Vanessa for confirmation, she knew they’d delayed long enough. "Yes, we’re ready,” Emma Jane began, but when Cat regarded her with a shrewd expression on her face, Emma Jane knew nothing else needed to be said about the danger that was looming.

"I'll let Evelyn know." Cat nodded, giving Emma Jane a calm smile before turning to Samuel. "Sir? If you’ll come with me, I'll show you where to stand. Perhaps you could fill me in on the necessary information as we walk."

Cat shyly offered her arm to him and Samuel strode over, giving a small nod as he accepted her elbow.

"I would be honored, my girl. It has been many years since I've heard tell of a phoenix." Samuel's eyes warmed as he examined Cat, who was now blushing at his appraisal.

Emma Jane wondered what story or event Samuel was referencing, as she couldn’t recall ever hearing of a phoenix before she’d met Cat. As they exited the room, she thought she overheard him speaking to Cat about something unrelated.

"I once knew a woman whose name was Fiona..."

Emma Jane wondered who Fiona was, but brushed the thought aside, returning to the danger at hand. "I’m sorry my past seems to be rearing its ugly head today. I didn’t want to ruin this for you," she said, grimacing.

Vanessa placed her hand on Emma Jane's shoulder and squeezed lightly. "It's hardly your fault, Emma Jane. One thing I've discovered over the last five or so years is that evil kinda doesn't care if you’ve got better things planned. In fact, it seems to take the greatest pleasure in ruining special moments. Well, mine, anyway. So if it's planning on trying to do that to us today, then I plan on giving it a taste of its own medicine. Or rather, your little silver knife’s medicine." Vanessa winked.

Emma Jane laughed. "Well, as long as you're okay with what’s about to go down. Let's get this show on the road."