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

Nicholas looked back and forth between the two men. He was shocked, or maybe that was an understatement. What he felt was beyond shock. It felt like he was having a nightmare of sorts. How could Lord Lucifer be a witch-hunter’s father? Of the one that had mercilessly tortured the witch he had just rescued. Lord Lucifer had not taken his eyes off his son. He looked at Leo with a varied air in his eyes. There was pain, sadness, agony, anger, shame and most of all pity for himself that he had given a man like Leo to the world; a man who had no respect for a woman, who didn’t care to torture an innocent human to get what he wanted; a man whom he didn’t wish to call his own.

“M’Lord?” said Nicholas, a sad but questioning expression on his face.

Lord Lucifer just blinked and hung his head before standing. He pushed himself up; taking the support of the tree he was resting on. Leo stared at him with wrathful eyes and a furious look. It was clear that there was something Nicholas didn’t know. Something grave had happened between Lord Lucifer and Leo for so much of hatred to be seen on Leo’s face. The son of a great sorcerer being a witch-hunter wasn’t something Nicholas was expecting to see.

“Have you not told anyone, father?” Leo spoke, his voice dripping venom as he took a step forward.

“What do you want me to tell them? That my son is a murderer, that he tortures innocent people for no reason?” Lord Lucifer snarled back, his voice a dangerous whisper, as he staggered to his feet that were threatening to give away.

“You’re ashamed, aren’t you?” Leo let out a malicious laugh, throwing his head back. Nicholas dared not interrupt the intense conversation. He took a step back.

“Yes. I am ashamed that you are a part of me.” Lord Lucifer nodded with a weakly.

“WERE YOU NOT ASHAMED WHEN YOU LEFT MY MOTHER?” Leo howled. His voice was violent enough to shake the entire ground.

“DID YOU NOT FEEL EVEN A BIT OF SHAME WHEN YOU ABANDONED HER AND SHE HAD NOWHERE TO GO?” His voice was trembling with anger as he kept walking towards Lord Lucifer.

“I REFUSE TO EXPLAIN MYSELF TO SOMEONE AS MONSTROUS AND INCONSIDERATE AS YOU!” Lord Lucifer snarled, his eyes blazing with fear as well as anger.

“SHE WAS EIGHTEEN, FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE, YOU SCOUNDREL!” Leo’s voice dripped venom. He hated his father. He loathed Lord Lucifer.

“How could you just leave her in the middle of nowhere and go away? How could you not think about the child that she was bearing? How could you not feel even a tiny bit of pity for that woman? She raised me all by herself, living with her mother and father who felt like she was a burden on them. She kept me away from people like you. Maybe I would never have known about what you had done if I hadn’t asked her those million questions as to who my father was. . .MAYBE SHE WOULD HAVE DIED WITHOUT TELLING ME THE TRUTH TO SAVE YOU FROM BECOMING MY WORST ENEMY!

“But you know what, Lucifer, I found out. I searched every nook and corner but I couldn’t get you. That piece of flesh lying over there,” he pointed at Amara, pausing to take a breath, “I captured her so I could get to you! I knew you would come to rescue her. I knew that if I became a witch-hunter, I would be able to track you down, and kill you. I knew you were searching for her. Every single witch-hunter in the clan knew you wanted that thing. So I captured her and look where we are. You are standing in front of me and I am ready to kill you. I am ready to end you for leaving my mother just so you could practice witchcraft. You are a vile, careless, heartless imbecile. Did you know that?”

Lord Lucifer shut his eyes, stopping himself from doing something wrong. He didn’t wish to kill Leo. He didn’t wish to touch him. As much as he loathed him, there was some part of him that stopped him from harming his own blood. However hard he tried, he knew he had done wrong to Marzya by leaving her when she needed him the most. He hated himself for doing that to her but he was born to be a sorcerer since his forefathers were.

After they were killed in a war with witch-hunters, their lineage ceased to exist but there was a sole heir to the coven that they belonged to and that was Lord Lucifer. It was his duty to follow what his forefathers had spent their lives with. He could not keep Marzya safe with him, for his journey to power was dangerous. He had to leave her and so he did. She had let him go. He had not abandoned her but there was no way Leo would understand.

“And you feel ashamed to call me your son? Bravo, Lord Lucifer! I applaud you for your brilliance!” Leo said again, letting out a cold, humourless laugh.

“YOU ARE NO SON OF MINE!” He growled, his eyes threatening to let the tears fall. The varied emotions that he felt at the moment, he could not define them.

“Go away before I have to get your blood on my hands. I do not want to kill you,” he said, taking a step back.

“Did you not hear what I said? I am your Death, Lord Lucifer and I will-”

“Nicholas! Take him away from here. Take him,” Lord Lucifer cut him off, turning his back towards them.

Nicholas obeyed and shot a fainting curse at Leo before dragging him away to another valley where Lord Lucifer would be out of earshot. Lord Lucifer looked down at Amara, her innocent face covered in blood and dirt. She lay there on the ground unconscious and Lord Lucifer closed his eyes, concentrating to bring back the powers that had vanished out of him for a while. When he was sure he had enough strength, he connected his mind to the healer, Soter who had gone to fetch some herbs. After letting him know that he needed his help, Lord Lucifer looked at Amara and lifted her off the ground to place her on top of the stone table that he had conjured. He covered the table with some grass so it would not hurt her and then let her body drop gently onto the soft grass.

As soon as Soter arrived, he set himself to work. He began using healing spells and potions that he had with him inside his sack. A while later, her head was covered with a paste of herbs and she had been given the Healing Potion. Soter closed his eyes and healed the internal injuries that she had due to what Leo had done to her. All of those were difficult to cure since the duration had been very long but eventually they were all gone and she was as pure as she could ever be. She was put into a deep sleep so she would only awaken when her body felt considerably repaired of all the damage that had been done.

Lord Lucifer sat on the grass as Soter then cured his leg, which now looked as good as it was before. He left then, to prepare some other potions for Amara. Lord Lucifer stayed there on the ground, his eyes squeezed shut as a stab of pain went through his body when he realized that Leo was dead. He wanted to apologize for leaving Marzya but seeing what Leo had become, he didn’t wish to make any amends. He could not believe that even after being raised by a pure soul like Marzya, his son had turned out to be so vicious and ruthless.

When Nicholas arrived, he was wiping his sword clean of the blood. He washed the sword using water from the stream that flowed in the valleys and then proceeded to sit next to Lord Lucifer after taking a look at Amara, who was peacefully asleep. Lord Lucifer looked at him silently questioning what had happened to Leo.

“Hanged,” Nicholas replied. “I did have to battle him though. He wasn’t as weak as we thought he was. But now he’s gone.”

Lord Lucifer nodded, looking down to the ground. He had failed to ask Leo how Marzya had died. Pushing her thoughts away, he concentrated on how he was going to train Amara.

“May I ask something, if the Lord permits?” Nicholas said, gently so as not to sound too curious.

Lord Lucifer gave a nod. He knew what the question would be. The only family he had left now was Nicholas, his sister’s abandoned son that he took in to train. He needed Nicholas, so he was ready to answer whatever was asked.

“What he said about you leaving his mother. Was it true?” Nicholas asked, hesitating at first.

Lord Lucifer let out a sigh.

“Yes. Thirty years ago I was married when I was unaware of the legacy that my forefathers had started. My life was nothing out of the ordinary. Marzya and I shared a great life together. Then one day I met King Abraham the Third, of Acanthus. He was the successor of the great King Abraham and ruler of our land that had been hidden for centuries to protect the witches that were just beginning to establish there. He was travelling, looking for the heir of Zelos, one of the greatest sorcerers of all time. Lord Zelos was my oldest ancestor. I was only twenty years old then.

“The King located me and told me everything about who I was. He asked me to join him to practice witchcraft. I did so and talked to Marzya who decided to let me go. I wanted to stay after knowing she was carrying our child. But she urged me to go on. So I did and then got trained by the King along with Lord Mikhail, who went on his own journey and has never looked back since.

“I served King Abraham till the time of his Death. King Orcus then wanted to appoint me as High Minister but I wished to create a coven of my own and began doing so, forgetting about Marzya and our child. Many years after King Abraham died; I found out that he was keeping track of Marzya and that I had a son. I wanted to have him practice witchcraft as well but was advised that it was too late. Leo began capturing witches like he said; to find me. That he had so much of hatred for me, I only realized that now. I never came in his way for the sole purpose of him being my son. But then he captured Amara and I had to save her. She has the potential of becoming the greatest witch the world has ever seen. You know the rest.”

Nicholas listened silently, unable to utter a word. He wasn’t expecting to hear anything of that sort and now he had nothing to say. Lord Lucifer stood up to get some peace of mind and began walking away from that area after telling Nicholas to keep an eye on Amara. He took one last glance at her and started to walk in the direction where Nicholas and Leo had been fighting, unaware of where he was going. Nicholas failed to realize where Lord Lucifer was headed and didn’t think of stopping him. Lord Lucifer slowly walked ahead, his eyes wandering everywhere to get rid of the images of his beautiful wife and son whom he had left years ago. Although he was happy with the life that he had now, he did wish that he had not left her alone that way.

With the thoughts of his dead family running through his mind, he reached the clearing where Leo and Nicholas had fought. Unable to realize where he was, his eyes landed on a tree. His heart raced inside his chest, wildly thumping and he felt as though the ground beneath him had vanished. Although he was aware that his son was dead, Lord Lucifer didn’t wish to see his corpse hanging on the branch of a tree with both his hands cut off.

***

Iris was trembling. The moment that she fell to the floor, Amara had opened her eyes and shut the doors of her mind, letting Iris out. But seeing her writhing on the floor with her eyes tightly shut, Amara began to panic. She quickly sat down beside Iris and tried to wake her but she kept trembling. Amara realized that she had not been able to get out of Lord Lucifer’s mind and was still in a trance. She had lost herself in that time and was now finding it difficult to get out even though Amara had sealed her mind shut from her entering again. But Iris had mildly lost control of herself and she was beginning to lose it completely. Amara shook Iris’s body. She reacted in no human way.

“Iris, wake up! WAKE UP!” Amara bellowed, shaking her body to wake her up somehow.

Her heart raced inside her chest and she was Deathly afraid of losing Iris. What if she lost complete control and went insane? As hard as she tried, Amara could not wake her up. When there was nothing she thought would help, she lifted her hand and slapped it across Iris’s cheek so hard that her palm itself began to tremble with the force. A moment later, Iris went still and then collapsed to the floor. Amara squeezed her eyes shut in frustration before conjuring a goblet of water and splashing it on Iris’s face a few times. Startled, Iris opened her eyes. She blinked to adjust her vision, almost forgetting where she was when she spotted Amara sitting next to her. It was only when Amara pulled her into a hug – clutching Iris close to her body while her eyes were squeezed shut and she almost wanted to cry – that realization dawned on Iris and she brought her mind back to the present. Amara let out a sigh of relief and relaxed, slowly letting go of Iris and resting her back on the wall behind, closing her eyes for a long while.

“Are you alright?” She asked, as Iris sat up taking support of the wall behind. She nodded. Iris was unable to put together what she had just seen.

Amara decided that it was best to let Iris get her mind back in control before asking her what she had seen. She felt as though she had just woken up after a long sleep. Iris stared at the floor with her hands slightly inducing a tremor. She was shocked. More shocked than Nicholas all that time ago. She felt as though her heart had fallen into her chest, her breath had stopped for a while. The visions kept running through her mind again and again. The voices echoed in her ears as she struggled to wrap her mind around all that she had found out. How could she tell Amara that Leo was no one else but the Lord’s son? How could she even begin to explain the things that she had seen?

She felt as though a huge rock was resting on her back. Amara would be broken if she found out who Leo was. She would be angry, she would do something wrong, she would become a monster if she knew what the truth was. Iris didn’t have enough strength to reveal anything to her. She knew that there was no way Amara would take this lightly. This was going to affect her badly and Iris was terrified of what might happen. The man who had rescued her was the father of the man who had tortured her. How would I feel if this were to happen to me? She wondered. She was afraid as to how Amara was going to react.

“Do you want anything to eat?” Amara suddenly asked, concerned.

She felt as though she had nearly lost someone important. She was afraid that Iris was going to go insane and Amara would never be able to forgive herself. Now she felt a sudden protectiveness and care for the girl sitting beside her. Iris’s mind was so jumbled that she failed to notice the fact that Amara had just given her the tightest hug she had ever received. She should have been smiling in joy at that development but her mind was elsewhere. She was scared for Amara.

“No. I’m okay,” said Iris, clearing her throat.

“Do you feel okay enough to tell me what you saw?”

Iris felt the colour draining from her face as the question she had been dreading, was asked. She could not even bring herself to have enough courage to tell her the truth. She was more scared than she had been before the task even began.

“Amara I. . .” she began and looked at her face.

Iris saw the desperation in her eyes, the clawing need to know the truth and the sensation of pain rushing inside of her to know what had really happened to the man who had tortured her this much. Amara deserved to know the truth. But how could Iris tell her anything? The truth was disastrous. It was harsh.

“I’m not forcing you to tell me now but. . .” Amara trailed off, biting her lip.

She was just as nervous. She could sense the fact that there was something very grave that Iris had found out. Her face said it all.

“I can’t tell you what I saw,” Iris finally managed to utter.

She tried to push back the heaviness inside her chest, which was rising up to her throat. She wanted to get this over with but something was stopping her entirely.

“Why?” Amara asked gently enough but it managed to send chills down Iris’s spine. She wasn’t looking at her.

“Be-because I just can’t. It’s unpleasant, Amara. It is wrong and-and I don’t think if I can tell you the truth,” she said, her voice cracking.

“What did you see, Iris?” Amara said impassively.

Iris felt as though she was talking to the Amara that she had met for the first time: torturous, ruthless, uncaring, vile and dangerous.

“I-” she began.

“What. Did. You. See.” Amara repeated, her eyes focussed on the wall in front of her. They were darker than they had ever been.

“Please don’t make me say it,” Iris replied, a sob making its way up to her throat and in a moment, tears slid down her eyes. She bit her lip hard till it began to draw blood.

“What did you see?” She said once again. Suddenly it felt colder than ever and Iris was starting to shiver in fright. She was right. The old Amara was showing up. It wasn’t good, not at all.

“Amara, I. . .” Iris coughed as bile rose in her throat, clogging inside.

She started to cry, her voice cracking up and the tears started to fall effortlessly. She could not bring herself to talk. She could not make herself strong enough to reveal the truth. Her whole body felt as though it was breaking apart into pieces.

“WHAT DID YOU SEE?” Amara shrieked, her voice echoing inside the small cave.

Iris sobbed harder and clutched a palm to her chest, her heart going still for a moment before it ran wild again. She opened her mouth to say the words but nothing came out. It was only when Amara turned to look at her that Iris was able to squeeze her eyes tightly shut and finally utter the words that she had choked up inside of her.

“The Lord. . .” she drew a gasp.

Amara glared at her through bloodshot eyes that sent chills right down Iris’s spine. She looked murderous. Iris wanted to close her eyes and go off into a deep sleep to avoid all of this but she was well aware that she could not escape until she told Amara the truth.

“Go on,” Amara ordered in a whisper. It was stern enough to make Iris afraid.

“Leo-the Lord’s son-” she croaked before collapsing into the deepest cry she had ever let out.

Amara sat there with a blank, unreadable expression across her face. Her eyes were still as dark, yet not dark enough. Her hands were settled on her sides, gripping her gown with her fingers tightly. Her jaw that was clenched had now relaxed as her mind went unbelievably vacant. She dropped her stiff figure to the floor that immediately faltered. Her back was no longer resting on the wall but she sat with her shoulders slumped. There was no sound that came out of her apart from her shallow breaths.

“What did you just say?” She whispered with a little frown etching across her forehead.

“The Lord is Leo’s father,” Iris managed to repeat unconsciously while her tears refused to stop.

Rage boiled inside Amara and she stood up in the flash of a second. Before Iris could comprehend what was happening, she watched Amara’s robes slither out of the cave.