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

The water rose and fell back into the lake. It kept doing so until he rested his hands back to his sides. The wind was beginning to get colder. Winter was on its way. He stood there at the edge of the lake, his eyes scanning the surrounding when they landed on the side of the woods that had been burned down. The sound of water falling on the grass made him want to strain his ears and look closely at the foggy figure of a woman clad in a flowing grey gown, waving her hands in the air as the water fell through her fingers onto the ground. She was watering the plants so they would grow again on the barren land. Azrael began walking towards her. When he reached, Amara turned around to find him standing there with his hands clasped behind his back as he looked around quietly. Ignoring him, she continued doing her work.

Her heart broke with every place that she watered. She had set Fire to the woods that she had loved being in; the place that gave her peace and calm whenever she went there. The huge trees no longer had the lush green leaves that gave them charm. The soft grass wasn’t under her feet anymore. The birds were gone. Sceiron was gone. But she wanted to take it back to the way it was before, and so kept watering the plants every day. It had been over a week that Lord Lucifer left to travel again and she was busy with the work that he had assigned to her. Even though she was furious about the fact that he lied to her, she knew he might have had a reason for that and didn’t want to find that out by risking Iris’s life again. She didn’t want to lose her like she nearly had last time.

She wanted to give the Lord time to finish his work and then she would ask him questions. There were plenty of them anyway. Meanwhile, she had her duty to protect the castle and the coven. A war was coming and she could not afford to get weak now. She had to keep her powers intact and in working condition to be ready to fight. Even though she still had a lot of questions to get the answers of, she was no longer getting the visions from her past again, limiting her thoughts to the present all the time. And she was glad that she had gotten rid of it all, even after a hundred years had passed with her being affected.

“How do you suppose the trees will grow back after what you did to them?” asked Azrael, running his fingers down the damaged bark of a tree.

Amara turned to look at him, a sigh coming out of her lips as she did so. The more he was around, the more she had begun to dislike him. There was no option apart from being with each other since the Lord had said they had to work together and practice for the fight. Even though he wasn’t with her all day, he would suddenly show up and ask questions about the Conjurers around. He had already started to exercise his power over everyone, which wasn’t going down well with Amara. As cold as she was to all the witches of the coven, she didn’t act as though they were inferior to her. Azrael, on the other hand, had started to get on her nerves. He was being obnoxious every single moment of the day and she didn’t like it. Also the questions that he asked were always to test her knowledge about witchcraft and so far, she had answered all of them right. But it did manage to annoy her at times.

“Nature will find its way. It does not believe in holding a grudge,” she replied to him, continuing to water the plants again.

“How many elements are you capable of tackling?” He asked suddenly, after a moment of silence.

His eyes were scanning the entire area as though examining the damage that had been done. Amara tried to be as patient as she could. Not even Iris had asked so many questions as he did when she had joined.

“Every witch is expected to be able to tackle all the elements. However, we have to excel in at least two, which are the dominant ones,” she said to him.

Azrael was always intrigued by the witty answers that she gave to his questions. He was prone to asking all kinds of questions that he assumed no one had the answers to, but Amara seemed to have the upper hand over all. As much as it impressed him, he also began to get a bit bothered by the knowledge that she had. At some point he would come to think as though she was really the greatest witch of their time and that everyone had not been lying when they had praised her. But he didn’t want to accept that even though she gave the proof every time he spoke to her.

“What do you hold expertise in?” He asked again, curious to know if she could handle Water as good as she could handle Fire.

He had seen her ability in tackling Fire. The intensity with which the woods were being burnt, it took a lot of strength for him to subside it using the rain. It had taken him at least a few more moments than necessary to hold down the flames when he had tried to reduce the Fire. It had been too strong.

“I have been able to tackle Fire and Water better than the other elements,” she told him truthfully.

He wasn’t surprised. Somewhere deep inside, a feeling told him that she held the ability to tackle the same elements that he did. To an extent, he was proud about the fact that someone was capable of holding competition against him if the need arise.

“What are your thoughts on a casual battle?” He said, raising his eyebrows.

Amara stopped watering the plants and looked at him for a while, contemplating whether he meant what she had understood or not.

“Does not seem like a bad idea for practice.” She shrugged, and clasped her hands together.

“Very well, then. Whenever you’re ready,” he said and turned to go when a wave of water crashed down on him, drenching him from head to toe.

“I’m always ready,” said Amara, pulling her hands back to her sides and Azrael whipped his head around to look at her.

“I have seen you burn down the woods. Let’s see how you protect it from the flames that I induce,” he replied, unfazed by the water that had drenched him and raised his hands above.

He swirled them around once and a huge ball of Fire was conjured and his eyes shut. Stretching his hands behind, he threw them back ahead, letting the Fire rush hastily towards the woods. And in a moment, it was gone, for once again water had come crashing down and the smoke rose up from the Fire that had now been extinguished.

Iris sat at a distance with her legs pulled up to her chest and her chin resting on an arm. Her back was settled on the bark of a tree, her eyes stuck on the battle going on in front of her. The Fire and Water danced around together, trying to win over each other and Iris could not help but wonder how easily they depicted the personality clashes between Azrael and Amara. Both of them were equally skilled, their elements being strong enough to fight the other and the scuffle that they created around one another.

After the incident in the woods, Amara had gone back to the way she was earlier: cold. She didn’t talk to Iris as much as she did before and she kept herself busy with reading, practicing her powers, watering the woods and managing the coven. She barely had any time to get Iris out of the state she was in.

Although once or twice she would ask her how she was, after a few days that had ceased as well. Iris felt more alone than ever. She had no one to talk to, not even Erasmus. He had been clawing her brain out asking what was wrong but she could not answer his questions. Amara didn’t want anyone to know what had happened apart from herself and Iris. Now when she needed her the most, Amara had stopped being how she used to be. She had gone back to her cold behaviour, only speaking to Iris when necessary and she was now the same person as she was when Iris had first arrived.

At the time that she was craving for company and a friend, Amara wasn’t there. But Iris didn’t blame her. She hadn’t gotten the answers yet. There were still so many reasons that Amara had to go back to her usual self and Iris didn’t even feel an ounce of regret or anger towards her. She still respected and admired her courage. For when she put herself in Amara’s place, all she could think of was deceit and betrayal from the one person that she had trusted after everything.

The Fire hurried forward and the Water began to strike back with equal force. Iris admired the amount of strength both the elements had. It only went on to explain how strong Amara and Azrael were. Their powers could easily battle one another, struggling to prove the other one weaker. It was an interesting war and Iris was too involved in watching what was going on. A while later, the Fire became so strong that the Water began to increase its force; and it created a wild chase between the two. It had started to get serious rather than casual. Both the forces had lost control and struggled to survive in front of the other.

Something made Iris concentrate hard on the battle and a gust of wind flew towards them, pushing both of them to the ground and diminishing the Fire as well as dropping the Water to the ground. It was suddenly silent. Iris had unknowingly ended the fight by her ability to tackle wind. She realized it when something made her snap back to reality. Amara was standing up and looking at Iris shockingly. She could not understand how easily Iris had managed to handle the Air and ended the battle. It had only been a while since she had started to be better in the task. With Nicholas gone, she was unsure about how much progress Iris had made by now.

Amara started to walk in her direction while Azrael stood in place observing the young witch seated there who had made absolutely no effort to end the battle, yet she succeeded. He was more impressed with Iris than he was with Amara. Then again, he had the strange grudge against her which made him want to dislike her for no apparent reason.

“D-d-did you just--?” Amara began, approaching Iris where she was seated.

“I am so sorry. I didn’t mean for that to happen it just-” she stood up worriedly.

The wind had just rushed towards them without her having any control over it. She felt as though Amara and Azrael were going to torture her together and drive her insane. She began to get even more frightened when Azrael walked over to them.

“That was brilliant, Iris,” said Amara, shaking her head.

She was surprised as well as impressed at the strength that Iris had when ending such a strong battle between Fire and Water. It wasn’t easy to have the upper hand over two powerful elements in a battle. But then again, the advantage that Iris had was that they had been so involved in battling each other that they failed to notice the strength by which the wind was approaching. It was remarkable for a new witch like Iris.

“Indeed,” Azrael interjected, standing next to Amara.

“Are you two seriously not angry with me?” Iris asked, perplexed.

“If you had not intervened, there would have been destruction,” replied Amara.

“But I wonder, who taught you the skill? It’s not very easy to stop a fight between two strong elements,” Azrael spoke, taking a step forward.

“Nicholas taught me. But I swear, I didn’t mean to interrupt the battle,” Iris replied, instantly looking away from him.

She had a bad feeling about him since the beginning. She wanted to tell Amara but her distance made Iris want to be quiet all the time. Also, Azrael was quite a daunting sorcerer.

“Is that the Lord’s nephew?” He looked at Amara who nodded, her eyes still on Iris.

“I have to speak to Iris for a while if you don’t mind,” she said to him and without waiting for an answer, grabbed Iris’s arm and tugged her away where she was sure Azrael was out of earshot.

Even though she had gone back to the way that she was before, there was a tiny part of her that felt a connection to Iris. Amara wanted to make sure she was okay. And she was also aware of the fact that she had neglected Iris for a while, and she felt guilty about that. Her stopping the fight had snapped Amara’s attention back to her.

Iris silently followed to where she was being led. Her eyes were wide and she glanced at Azrael, who stood there for a moment before turning around and walking away with a long look in their direction. When Amara was sure that they were somewhere safe, she let go of Iris and turned to look at her apologetically.

“I’m sorry. . .” she said to her, looking down.

Iris raised her eyebrows in question.

“Sorry?” She said, narrowing her eyes.

Why is she apologizing to me? She wondered.

“. . .For avoiding you. I know it looks as though I was selfish and didn’t care about what happened to you after I asked for your help. I didn’t mean to do that, but-”

“It’s okay, Amara,” Iris said, cutting her off. “In all the time I’ve been here I’ve tried to understand you to my best. The others don’t know why you are this way because they don’t know what you’ve been through. I do. And I feel like I know you more than others, if I’m not wrong. So you don’t have to apologize. I understand why you reacted the way you did and you have all the right in the world to do so. So please don’t say sorry.”

Amara looked at the young girl that showed such high level of maturity and understanding. She felt as though there was no one else that could understand what she had been through. But Iris did and she accepted everything that Amara gave to her. She willingly took the pain and the anguish; she gladly agreed to help her in finding out the truth about her past. She nearly went out of control only to come out stronger. After all of that when Amara ignored her, she did not seem unhappy. Not once. There was a new respect that Amara felt for Iris. She felt as though Iris was the sister that she never had. After losing her family, Iris was the closest she could ever have had. If there was anyone that could tolerate the things that Amara did, it was Iris. She could admit that in a heartbeat. Iris had that much hope; that much strength and that much will to fight, which Amara could never build up.

For the second time after everything that happened, Amara smiled. This time, it wasn’t as tiny as the last one. It looked like a real smile – a genuine one, saying she was thankful for whatever Iris had done. Iris could only grin back widely. She felt better seeing Amara smile once again, the reason being her. It was as though all her worries and all her concerns about being lonely faded away, and Iris was back to how she was before – cheerful.

Now, seeing Amara with a hint of happiness, Iris felt as though she was floating in the clouds. She felt alive again, and out of the blackness that was surrounding her for this time.

“You haven’t spoken to the Lord yet, have you?” Iris asked, curious to know if there had been any confrontation.

“No. I didn’t have enough time and energy to,” Amara replied, looking away.

Iris nodded and they proceeded to go back to the castle when Amara started to walk in that direction. Iris thought that Amara was thinking about what she would ask when she met the Lord the next time, but Amara had something completely different in her mind. As she walked back to the castle, she could not help but be suspicious about Azrael. She had spotted someone sitting on the tree where they were talking in the woods.

Not wanting to get Iris worried, she had kept her thoughts to herself. But when they had turned to go back, she was certain that she felt a presence. It felt as though someone had just walked past them when they turned around. And she could not help but think that it was Azrael. The amount of questions that he had been asking made her suspicious every time he did so. There was something that he was hiding and she wanted to know what it was.

He seemed so different than the others that the Lord had trained, and his behaviour indicated that he was spying on them. There was something very suspicious going on and she decided to be careful around him and keep Iris away from him. She felt more protective of her and wanted to make sure nothing happened to her. Iris was someone the coven could not afford to lose. She had way too many powers – some of which she was unaware of. After seeing what she had done to stop the fight, Amara was certain that Iris would turn out to be very helpful in the war.

“May I ask you something?” Iris said, when they walked inside the castle.

Amara rolled her eyes. Of course, she thought. How could Iris not ask questions?

“Go on,” she replied, proceeding towards the library.

“What powers does he have?” She asked, following her.

“Who?” Amara frowned, even though she was well aware whom Iris was talking about.

“Az-Azrael,” she stuttered.

“The power of appearing out of nowhere,” a voice whispered into her ear and Iris turned around in shock with one hand flying to her heart, which was beating twice as fast.

Azrael stood there contentedly and his hands behind his back as they always were whenever he was idle. Amara stopped in her tracks and looked at Azrael disinterestedly before scoffing and continuing her journey towards the library. She believed that Iris would eventually follow her and Azrael surely wasn’t such a threat inside the castle. He would not do anything in presence of the entire coven if it was true what she was suspecting.

“Uh, I umm. . .” Iris stuttered, staring at him with her eyes wide.

“If you would allow me, may I ask you a few questions?” He said to her, falling into step beside her as she turned to go to her chamber instead of going to the library like she was supposed to.

“Oh I. . .okay,” she replied nervously.

She felt so nervous around him and it was a surprise as to how she was normally breathing at that point.

“How long have you been here?” He said.

“Around six and a half months,” she told him, avoiding his gaze.

“And what all have you learnt about witchcraft?”

“I-I have read books, lots of them. And Amara helped-helped me in some things.”

She felt extremely dim-witted for stuttering like that while talking to him. He isn’t such a monster, she thought. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t intimidating either. His aura itself made people feel like someone had died. All normal feelings would vanish and be replaced by fear and nervousness if he was anywhere close to five meters. But that was occasional.

“And what have you read so far? You must have good knowledge of whatever you have read.”

He was now striding along with her around the passageway that led to the main door of the castle. Iris wanted him to leave her alone so she could go back to her work. It was better asking Amara questions rather than being interrogated as though she had committed a crime. She wanted to crawl back into her room and read more books to answer him confidently because even though she had the knowledge, she could not muster up the courage to give him the correct answers. Moreover, she was afraid that if she didn’t answer properly, he might torture her because he seemed that threatening.

“The books about witchcraft in general, and there are a lot of things that I-I found out.” She let out a breath, cursing herself for giving silly answers.

But before Azrael could ask another question, the door of the castle had been opened and there stood a beautiful witch whom Iris failed to recognize. Azrael’s eyes snapped to the witch who was at the door, looking around curiously as though searching for someone when her eyes landed on him and she stared at him silently for a long moment, before her lips broke out into a grin. Iris could only stare in perplexity.