Broken Vows

The day drags on slowly as we make our way to the quaint town of Bryer. It was decided that staying in the town and making our way to the location of the portal would be the most uncomplicated course of action. I swear the men overthink every detail. Lilith was not inclined to attend, saying walking all that way would do nothing for her arthritis.

The only thing I don’t enjoy about the walk is that it gives my mind time to wander. I know I will never heal from this brokenness or forgive myself, but I must focus on what must be done. I have started reading some books Lilith has. She has made a few notes in them about all the possible spells he could be using to hold Death hostage. She also has some rather dark books. I peruse them and find several spells that he used on myself as well as others. He had one spell that altered my perception of things. That explains so much.

He did unthinkable things to me and broke every vow he ever made to me or our coven. Now, I will have to break a few rules just to beat him. I have started gathering spells and trying to concoct something that can break his hold on Death. It would be easier if Lilith would just tell me his name; then, I would be his master, but I can see why she doesn’t want to do that.

Rana is chatting happily with our escort Jakob; they seem to have formed a friendship of sorts. He invited her to visit his pack to meet his mate and their children. Rana quickly agrees that once everything is over with Hadeon, she wants to see more of the world. Her parents don’t agree with it initially, but she manages to persuade them. She tells them it will make her a more well-rounded person. Rana wants to find a place for herself.

Part of me thinks she plans to search for Cadmus. I try so hard not to think of him, but now that the spells have been removed, I feel the broken bond we share every moment of every day. I want to know how to fix it, and I have asked Lilith to help me; she merely directs me to more reading and says the answer must be somewhere. It’s up to me to find it.

I truly wish she could give me a straight answer for once, but everything is always a riddle left for me to find the answer on my own. She tells me I won’t learn anything if I am just given the answers. I absolutely loathe the woman most of the time. She seems to get pleasure from my struggles.

We started walking this morning after I sent the message, and now it is very late afternoon. Jakob knows the way through the woods and promises it is faster than taking the road and the cart. We are also trying to avoid being spotted by any of Hadeon’s spies. The leaves on the trees are turning shades of yellows and orange as autumn creeps in. It feels fitting that the seasons should change now. Summer is over. The long warm days will soon be the dark and cold days of fall. It’s almost too poetic.

“We will be there soon,” Rich says. “Try and keep your heads down. This is a small town, and they take notice of strangers quickly.”

Rana fixes her dress, unhappy to be wearing one again. Corsets and several skirts have Rana missing the freedom of trousers, and she is very vocal about the unfairness of it. Lilith had told that her someday she will have her way and women will wear pants, and men will wear dresses. That day is not today, however. She’ll just have to suffer for the time being.

We clear the trees and climb a little bit of a hill. When we reach the top, I look down at the quaint little town below. The narrow dirt roads snake between the buildings. The general store and church stand in the middle of the village. All the more prominent houses are around them. Next to the general store is the inn we will be staying at tonight. A few carts rumble around the town. Most people are leaving the store or heading to the mill. The thing that threatens to break me is the children running down the roads chasing after each other. I can’t stop looking at them, but I can’t bear to look at the same time.

I remind myself again I am going to save them. I couldn’t save her, but I will save them. Hadeon will not destroy any more lives. Rana seems to sense my pain as I watch the children. Soon. she is by my side and linking arms with me.

“You okay?” she asks in a hushed voice. I nod slowly, not trusting my own voice.

Our group gets quite a few odd looks from the Bryer townspeople. I knew we would; humans are suspicious creatures. They have lost touch with the magic of the world. Magical things have become nothing but stories to most of them. I’m not sure what made the humans lose the ability to believe in us, but they have. I suspect that in another hundred years, werewolves and dragons will be nothing but stories and the stuff of nightmares. We won’t even discuss how long it’s been since they believed in witches. Mother was cautious about which humans she would allow in the castle for a good reason.

The wooden steps creek as we walk up them to the inn. Jakob does know the owner of the inn, and apparently, he is a wolf like Jakob. Still, he lives with the humans because his mate was reluctant to leave her family. Jakob opens the door, and Richard ushers Rana and me inside. The inn looks empty. The large wooden table sits empty in the room, and a man drums his fingers on the counter. He looks up and smiles as we all walk in.

“Awe, hello there. Welcome.” He beams with a cheery smile. When he catches sight of Jakob, his smile falters, and he sniffs the air. Jakob approaches the counter, and we all hang back a little.

“What is this all about, Jakob? Is everything all right?” The man behind the counter mutters. “You brought witches here?”

“You haven’t been home for a while, have you, Albert?” Jakob leans on the counter, looking sad.

“I have heard the rumors,” Albert replies quietly. “I didn’t want to believe them.”

“Well, ignoring them won’t make them untrue,” Jakob bluntly quips.

Albert hangs his head, a little ashamed-looking, and Jakob slumps his shoulders.

“I apologize. It has just been a stressful time for all of us. The world is changing faster than we can keep up with. This monster only adds to the stress we have all been feeling for a long time. We have had to hide ourselves from the humans, and now we have to hide from a madman that wants us to serve him or die. I’m sure he will turn on the humans as soon as he has us all dealt with. No one will be safe from him.”

“How are we going to stop him, Jakob?” Albert looks as concerned as he sounds, and Jakob looks over his shoulder at me. “Everyone is telling me that she is our best hope.”

To say he sounds skeptical would be an understatement indeed. I narrow my eyes at the man looking at me suspiciously, but inside I felt just as uncertain as they sound. What am I supposed to do to stop Hadeon? There isn’t just one magic spell to stop him. I also have to get close to him. I never want to be in the same room with him again.

“We need two rooms for the night,” Jakob turns back to Albert.

The man nods. “Well, you are in luck. They are all empty. The two at the end of the hall are the nicest.” He passes Jakob a couple of keys. “Just for tonight?”

Jakob nods sharply, taking the keys and dropping a small purse on the counter. The clank of coins ring in the empty space.

“Oh no, Jakob, on the house. I insist,” Albert argues, but Jakob won’t take the coins back. He hands one of the keys to Rana and me.

As we start to head upstairs, Albert calls out: “Dinner is at seven.”

We reach the next floor and walk down the hall. The rooms are easy to find. Rana and I take the one on the right, and Richard and Jakob take the one on the left. We didn’t bring much with us seeing as we aren’t staying for more than one night. Rana and Rich are more than capable of providing anything we could need with magic. Well, anything but food. Food is something you can’t make with magic and expect to live off it. It just doesn’t have the nutrition needed to sustain life. People have died thinking they could live on magic food for extended amounts of time.

Rana sits on the bed. As I look out the window, I can still see children running outside, and I must look as sad as I feel. Rana stands and walks over to me, wrapping an arm around my waist, trying to comfort me.

“You know, I have been thinking. I think I know how to get close to him.” Rana’s words break into my melancholy, and I tilt my head to look at her sideways, so she will continue.

“What if you play into his vanity like you did with Gavin?” She poses, and I look back out the window.

“We don’t know if Gavin will want to see me. We may wait all day in the woods tomorrow for nothing,” I argue.

“Oh please, you don’t truly believe that, do you? He is going to want to see you. The question is: what are you willing to do to get him on our side?” I know what she is asking me, and I know the answer without hesitation.

“Whatever I must,” I reply firmly. Rana isn’t even shocked. I think she already knew.

“Well, I think that Hadeon will be just as easy to play as Gavin. If you were to perhaps tell him that you had a change of heart…”

Rana is slow and cautious with her words, and I know she doesn’t want to upset me, but the idea of making that man think that I had a change of heart is absurd. I don’t think I am ever going to be able to convince him that I think that killing our daughter is okay, that I forgive him for that. I know she isn’t wrong, though: Hadeon has so much ego it would be easy to play on that. I just don’t know if I can pull off the charade. I’m thinking of all the ways it would never work when Rana goes back to the bed and sits down.

“Do you think he would believe me?” she asks slowly, and I spin around, looking at her in shock.

“What are you saying? He’ll kill you.” I sound like I’m scolding her now, but I don’t care. She needs to stay as far away from him as she can. I can’t lose her too.

“If you will listen to me, please,” Rana continues, unfazed by me.

“No, it’s a bad idea,” I fume

“It is not. You know he’s vain and self-centered. If I act as if I was always jealous of you like he said I was. I can tell him I was jealous that you had him, and I didn’t think you were the right choice for him. I think he would believe it. Once I’m on the inside, I can start setting plans into motion. From the inside, I can snoop around and see what I can find. I might find out how he trapped Death.”

She isn’t wrong. It is a good idea. I still hate it, however, and refuse to even entertain the thought.

“What do your parents have to say? They would never let you.”

“They don’t know about my idea, yet. You are the first one I have told. I think it might be our best bet, and it’s no different than what you plan to do with Gavin.” She crosses her arms, challenging me.

“The difference is Gavin won’t kill me as soon as look at me. Hadeon will kill you and drain your magic as soon as he sees you.” I’m crossing my arms to match her energy now.

“You don’t know that. I think it is worth thinking about. It could just be what we need to tip the scales in our favor.

Rana is right. I know she’s right, but I can’t lose her, too; I won’t lose her. I have lost too much as it is. I want to scream in frustration. Is there a way I can crawl back to him and act like I was wrong? Can I fool him the way he fooled me? Should I let Rana sacrifice herself to that monster? When will this get easier?