The Dark Witch Chronicles Book One: The Curse of The Cymmerien Dragon

Iris’s mind was a little more complicated than Amara had thought. She was finding it irritating to train this new witch. It gave her headaches and she often had to use potions to get rid of them. If only there was a potion to get rid of her, she thought. Iris was not a simple job, but of course, Amara had never dealt with simple things. Her jobs were always difficult and challenging. Iris did not seem any different and she took it as a challenge, but at times, it would get very maddening. She was still a child, nevertheless, and Amara had no way to help it.

“How long is this going to take?” Iris asked, hopelessly.

She was exhausted, that was for sure. Trying to control her mind and keeping it secure in one place was a strenuous task. Amara was being quite patient about it, and Iris was surprised as to how she had not gotten infuriated. Her thoughts went back to how displeased Amara was a few hours ago when she had found out Iris had read her mind. She almost thought she would torture and kill her as she had done with those humans; but she did nothing of that sort. It came as a shock to Iris when Amara blocked everything around and pushed her thoughts into Iris’s mind. She saw a mess of things. The strength that Amara had in deflecting everything else and just making Iris concentrate on what she was showing was appalling. The burning sensation inside of her came and went soon and was replaced with Amara letting her into her mind, allowing her to read everything that was there. Yet, Iris could not compete with the dominance of Amara; she saw nothing but a million visions without having the control to make any sense out of them. She felt lost.

A while later when Amara had stopped the visions from flooding into her mind, Iris immediately fell to the floor. Her breathing was ragged. She blinked, tears in her eyes from all the stress, to clear it away and when she stood up again, Amara was looking out of the window.

“You need to learn to control your mind and be careful that the victim doesn’t find out you are invading into his,” she had said and then the training had begun.

After that, Amara had made her concentrate on no more than one object at a time for a long time, which she could not do without being distracted every few moments. Now it was Amara’s turn to be exhausted.

“You have absolutely no control over your mind, Iris. This is not going to help you,” she said, letting out a long, tired sigh.

“Can you read minds as well, like me?” Iris said, ignoring Amara’s comment.

“No, I can let someone read my mind if I want to and once I know someone is doing it, I can control my mind accordingly. Every witch has a distinct gift.”

“What is yours?” ventured Iris, frightened at the prospect of being shot down for her over curiosity.

“Some witches have many powers; some are strong and some are weak. While you have one distinct quality, I have many powers. And those were achieved in the hundred years that I’ve existed.”

“Why can’t I control my mind?” Iris grimaced.

Iris was getting impatient. She wanted to learn control over her mind but it just would not come to her. She felt as though her head was going to explode with so much pressure. Keeping her mind fixed on one thing was something she had always found difficult and she did not like it one bit. She liked thinking about various things at once since it had always been that way, but concentrating on one thing and controlling it was turning out to be a very tedious task.

“You’re too young right now. Controlling minds is not a simple task. It is complicated and hard to adapt. Moreover, this is only the start. You have to learn the basics. Since you don’t know what exactly you are capable of, you need to begin at the beginning. For that, you need to learn the art of meditation, which isn’t so easy either. But you’ll learn,” Amara answered, standing up, brushing the uneven sleeves of her gown.

She told Iris to follow her into another chamber and she stood up, walking behind Amara to where she was leading her. She made her way into the deeper parts of the castle and Iris followed suit. As they approached the inner parts, they passed a series of chambers along the many passageways they crossed, where Iris heard chants of hymns from inside a few chambers, which made her feel as though she should never think of entering those. Smoke was coming out from one of the chambers and she assumed it was from potion-brewing. Amara stopped swiftly at the end of the passageway in front of a tiny wooden door with a bronze dove carved immaculately in the centre; that she opened shortly; making Iris bump into her as she was so lost trying to figure out what secret was being brewed behind each door.

A strange aroma greeted Iris as she walked in after Amara, easing Iris’s worked up senses instantly. Fog surrounded the room and chimes hung on walls, creating a sweet melody. The room was dimly lit, and the soft melodies echoed off the walls. Iris realized the room was enchanted. This was the only place that did not seem horrid and potentially threatening to her. There were tiny doors inside the chamber that looked like small cabins from the outside. Amara opened one door in a corner and stood waiting for Iris to follow.

“This is the meditation chamber. You sit here for as long as you want,” said Amara softly when Iris reached to where she was standing.

“So I close my eyes and sit here, right? But I don’t sleep,” Iris replied, just as softly.

“Yes, don’t fall asleep at all. Focus your mind on one thing; any abstract thing and you will be able to meditate. It’s not easy so you have to try hard.”

Iris was not too sure about this, but the atmosphere around was welcoming enough. Therefore, she made her way into the small chamber and Amara closed the door before making her way out. She started walking in the direction of her chamber. Stepping down the stone staircase, she reached the lowest chamber that had been allotted to her when she had first arrived. The door opened to let her in and shut by itself when she walked inside. Her chamber was lit with three torches of fire on the walls. It gave just about enough light whilst letting ample amount of darkness stay; the way she always liked it. A round table rested in a corner with one chair beside it and a few books upon it. A huge chair sat in front of the now damp and dead Fireplace where she sat and read her books. A trunk of weapons lay in a corner and Amara pulled a dagger out before making her way to the Fireplace, in front of which stood a dove. It stared at her as she looked down at it emotionlessly. Killing doves was an easy task for her.

Amara sat in front of it, legs folded behind. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. With a slight touch of the tip of the dagger on the dove, it started to flutter it’s wings as though realizing something wrong was about to happen. The dove twirled around, frightened as the dagger started approaching it even closer. A moment later, Amara slit the dove’s throat swiftly and the white bird dropped to the floor, whimpering in pain. Its eyes lay open as it shivered for a while before it went completely still. Eyes closed, she dropped the dagger and raised her arms in the air to summon the souls of the dead that were to be trapped inside the dove’s body. Wind gushed inside the chamber through a window, and quiet sounds were heard as the souls dragged themselves inside.

Amara started chanting the hymns and the souls entered faster, trying to set themselves free but she held them as though putting a barrier around and keeping them hostage. Invisible chains tied themselves around the souls as her chants continued to echo through the walls and became louder by the minute. A clock ticked away in a corner and a bell sounded from it as the clock struck twelve. A wolf howled from a mountain as the wind kept rushing inside and the curtains on the window flew in the air furiously. Amara’s chanting continued and the souls began to descend. They surrounded her, running in circles as she raised her head and spread out her arms to the sides. Her gown swished around her ankles as she stood up and hair flew with the wind as the souls finally entered into the dove, and calmness settled around. Slowly, the wind lowered its pace and the curtains no longer made the horrible sounds. Amara’s hands returned to her side again and everything went silent.

She let out a sigh, opening her eyes and rested her back on the wall next to her. Summoning souls and trapping them inside the body of a dove was not comfortable for her even though she had done it numerous times. It made her feel like a part of her soul was fragmented every time she imprisoned the souls. With every soul that went inside, the dove’s soul would be trapped in as well, with no fault of the latter. A pang of guilt stabbed Amara whenever she killed the innocent bird, yet she pushed it away, for it was her job and she was not supposed to feel anything. She would never allow herself to feel anything. The moment she felt a little emotion inside of her, she would push it away and try not to think about it.

She stood up, cleaning the dagger before grabbing a goblet of water placed on the table. She gulped it down in one go and let it fall to the floor, making a cluttering sound as she started to walk out of her chamber. The door opened and she walked out, making her way up the stairs again. As she reached the hall, a fellow sorcerer who was pacing around the passageway greeted her.

“Amara,” he said, spotting her standing there.

“Fabian,” she responded, a tiny frown covering her face.

“I have a message for you.” Fabian took a step forward and so did Amara.

“What is it?”

“Lord Mikhail has been sending out orders to kill you.”

Amara raised her eyebrows, “Kill me?” She repeated.

“Yes, I’ve heard that he wants to destroy our coven as well.”

Fabian’s face was covered in a worried frown. Though he was well aware that there was absolutely no one that could beat Amara and end her existence; he was also familiar with the amount of power Lord Mikhail possessed. If he wished, he could use tricks to kill Amara. Being the incomparable witch of her time, Amara was not someone the coven could afford to lose. If she died, so would their coven. Naturally, Fabian was bound to be afraid of what might happen if Lord Mikhail decided to strike.

“Don’t worry, Fabian; nothing will happen as long as the Lord is here. And I can assure you I will protect our coven with every part of my body and soul,” she said, giving him a nod.

Fabian examined her with an uncertainty before nodding back. Amara was like the lifeline of the coven. If a single damage occurred to her, they would all be doomed. She was their strength, and everyone had their hopes on her in times of a calamity. Even their Lord depended on her, despite the fact that he was the one who trained her to become such an exceptional witch.

Fabian watched Amara walk away with the signature gracefulness that she had. She managed to be the most beautiful and evil witch at the same time. One could not decipher what she was actually like. Every single time he met her; there would be some sort of difference from the last time. She could leave everyone confused and awestruck by her presence alone.

Amara made her way to the woods, wondering whether Iris was adjusting to the meditation process or not. With the shake of her head, she ignored other thoughts and walked further into the woods, inhaling the scent of wet grass as it had rained during the day. She walked past the old tree where Scerion sat on the high branch, hooting softly. Glancing at it once, she started walking to the lake where she rested her back on the bark of a tree and let her hand dip itself into the water, as the waves slowly gushed around it. Closing her eyes, she let herself fall into a slumber while the cold water continued to flow in waves around her hand.

ӿ ӿ ӿ

In the meditation chamber, Iris sat with her eyes shut, her back straight and her head held high in place as she concentrated on the sound of the lake just behind. She could hear the soft waves along with a few other sounds. Hard as she tried, her concentration would not stay on the sound of the waves, yet after a long time she was able to focus her attention on the water when she heard a new sound. Someone was near the lake. She realized that whoever it was had not gone back or further ahead but stayed in place at the lake. Iris forced her mind to concentrate on who it was. Her mind blocked out everything else and she concentrated on hearing the sound of the person. In her curiosity and impatience to know who it was, she stretched her vision far enough that by the time she realized that she had invaded a mind, it was too late to get out.

***

She heard a scream. Amara shut her ears to stop the sound but realized it was no one else but her. With tears streaming down her face, she opened her eyes and looked at the boy seated opposite to her in the corner. His description of how they killed her family made her see it all as though it was happening right in front of her. She tried to block those visions from her mind, but could not manage to do that as the thoughts kept coming back to her; making her realize she had no one to go back to and no one to find shelter with.

The boy stared at her with a vacantly, holding his gaze onto her as though he had something more to tell her. Amara did not want to hear anything else. All she wanted was to get out of that prison cell and run away somewhere, or maybe just die and not face the reality that was the loss of her family. After hearing how her parents died, she did not want to know how they killed her brother. If that was not torturing, then she did not know.

The boy kept looking at her as though waiting for her approval to tell her everything. She was lost. Her mind refused to function and she did not know what to do, as blank stupor engulfed her now fraught senses. She was unaware of what would happen once Leo came back and start asking her things; she did not want to know what he would be like. She wanted to die, that was the only thing going through her mind. Blocking the boy’s image away, she turned her head to the side and rested it on the cold wall beside her, pulling her knees up to her chest, as tears kept running down her cheeks. She bit her lower lip hard until it drew blood and started hurting. However, that pain was nothing compared to the one that she felt emotionally. She wanted to tear her head apart and end all the agony, but her whole body was chained.

“They won’t kill you,” said the boy, snapping Amara’s attention back to him.

She stared at him silently.

“They want to know about the others. They will kill everyone but you,” he said again.

“Why would they not kill me?” She asked out of curiosity, but more out of the will to die rather than suffer here.

“Because you are the key to them. Once they find the other witches, they will kill you. But it will take years to end everyone.”

It felt like he was psychic, or he just knew everything. Amara wanted to know more, yet not at the same time.

“Who are the others? Why does Leo want to kill them?” She asked, letting her eyes focus on the boy.

“Witches. Leo is a witch-hunter and so are his other apprentices. He came into your life because you are a witch and you could help him find the others so he could kill them. He will kill me too, now that he knows where my Lord is,” said the boy, a sad look settling on his face.

“I’m a witch?” Amara widened her eyes and stared at the ground with a horrified expression.

It was all a lot to take in. The reason I can make things happen with just the blink of an eye is that I am a witch, she thought. She used to think it was because she had some magical abilities as her father did, but did that mean he was a witch too? Did that mean her whole family was of that sort? Out of all the things that struck her, the most shocking one was about Leo. He came into her life just so he could find others like her and kill them, just so he could kill her parents, her brother. She wanted to scream and demand answers but her helplessness was making her weaker and weaker.

Before she could ask the boy any more questions, the door of the cell was unlocked and opened as Leo stormed inside followed by another man. He bent down to her level and grabbed her by the scruff of her neck, pulling her up onto her feet. Her legs lifted into the air as he held her by the neck and she squirmed to get out of his grip.

“Where are the others?” He snarled, his eyes blazing with anger.

Amara shivered at his tone, his grip tightening around her neck as she winced in pain. Not a sound came out of her mouth.

“I don’t know,” she croaked.

“Tell me!” He yelled, and she squeezed her eyes shut.

“She doesn’t know,” said the boy, and Leo let go off Amara, and she fell onto the floor as Leo turned on his heel and walked over to the boy sitting in front of him.

“And you know everything, don’t you, little Thomas?” Leo asked silkily, a menacing undertone in his voice.

“Yes,” the boy replied, softly.

“Then tell me why I should not kill you now that I’ve found your Lord.”

“Because I know who is going to kill you.”

***

Iris jerked back into reality as the door of her chamber burst open. Amara stood there with a scrutinizing gaze over Iris. With a dark look covering her face, she grabbed Iris’s arm and pulled her outside where she was sure that nobody else would be disturbed.

“You invaded my mind again,” she barked, staring hard at Iris.

“I’m sorry I-”

“I asked you to concentrate on one thing, not me. Do you not get it?” She screamed threateningly.

Amara tried to remain as calm as she could, but it just would not work when it came to Iris. She was capable of blocking Iris out of her mind, but when it came to having visions of her past inside the woods, all her control seemed to vanish.

“I was concentrating, but then I don’t know what happened,” Iris said, panicked. This time she knew she was going to be in trouble.

“What did you see?” Amara asked, looking away.

“I. . .”

“What did you see?” She repeated fiercely.

“The prison, the boy. . .Leo and-I don’t understand anything.” Iris shook her head, tears blurring her vision.

“You saw almost everything,” Amara sighed. “Iris, you will help me with something.”