Page 5 of The Most Wanted Witch

I made a fast grab for the door and swung it open. I stood at the threshold and said, “I’m going to blend like a damned chameleon.”

Leader my ass. Wars were a messy thing. I was a soldier and that was it. If someone died, there wouldn’t be any blood on my hands. Let someone else lead them to their deaths. It wouldn’t be me.

3

Bautere paced around me, walking on his hind legs and looking more man than bear today. He scanned me as I turned with him, making sure he couldn’t find an opening.

He made a noise that was part huff, part growl. I nodded at his sign of approval but didn’t drop my guard.

He stopped circling. “You’ve come a long way since you first came. I’ve done all I can for you. The rest you must learn on your own.”

I relaxed my fighting stance and grabbed a heavier jacket that was thrown over a branch.“Why does that sound like you’re kicking me to the curb?”

He angled his head to the side. “What does that mean?”

“That you’re dumping me.” I pulled the end of my ponytail out of my jacket, then put my attention into buttoning up while I waited to hear his verdict.

“I would neverdumpyou, as you say.”

I finished buttoning and glanced up. “So we’ll still practice sometimes?”

“Whenever you desire. Now come. There’s something you need to see.” He dropped down to all fours and began to walk, looking more the bear now.

This wasn’t what we did. We’d meet in the field. We’d practice. We’d both leave, going our separate ways. We never walked anywhere. I didn’t hesitate to follow him, and fast. His white coat blended into the snow, and I’d lose him if I didn’t.

Bautere might practice a little rough, but he would never kill me. In some ways, I trusted him more than anyone. After all, he’d pulled his punches more times than either of us could count. He could’ve easily slipped a couple blows that would’ve laid me up and left me vulnerable. His control was remarkable, come to think of it.

His pace was fast, as I was nearly jogging after him.

“A little farther,” he said.

I’d never been this far from town, or into this corner of Xest. Looking at the hulking figure of Bautere, I thought that maybe no one had, and for a good reason.

But it wasn’t just Bautere that lent a certain ruggedness to this place. There was something different about this area, with its white expanses and fewer trees. The air felt crisper and somehow more unforgiving.

There was something alive in this place, an ancient knowing of sorts, and I could feel the tingle of power. The more we walked, the more it nearly pulsed.

Finally he stopped at the foot of a small hill, not saying anything for several moments.

“Where are we going?” I asked after a few moments. I didn’t typically like to rush Bautere. I’d learned that he took the time he was going to, no matter what you did.

Bautere was staring at the small mound and didn’t answer for another few minutes.

“I dreamt of bringing you here. My kind take dreams very seriously.”

Okay, so he’d had a dream. That was interesting…I guessed. More important, how many of his kind were there? I’d never seen another, nor heard of any mentioned. Were they friendly? Would I spot them coming if they snuck up in the snow?

He began to walk again. “Come. There is someone else who wants to meet you.”

I would’ve followed him into hell right now to not be left alone with an unknown number of his kind around.

We hadn’t gone much farther before we were descending a slope and ducking into a small opening in the rocks. Torches were lit as we entered what became more of an expansive cavern. Ten feet or so farther, there was a large wooden door.

Bautere let us into a room sparsely furnished with a table and pelts scattered about the place. There was a fire burning in a pit in the center, with a hole above in the ceiling that smoke billowed up to.

“Sit,” he said, pointing to the pelts as he went through another interior door.

I settled down, waiting, wondering why someone wanted to meet me. Was it another one of his kind? I fidgeted with the fur I was sitting on, taking in the place. It was rustic but comfortable. There were iron pans sitting on a shelf and a well in the corner that must’ve been tapped into some sort of spring, as the water seemed to constantly move.

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