Page 49 of I Will Always Find You
The Romani witch helped Damek’s mother to a chair; she had no strength to stand.
“You came, you came—” Dawyd repeated as he cried upon his older brother’s shoulder. “I knew you would!”
Damek kissed his brother many times, all over his head and face, laughing happily. He planned never to reveal that he had, in fact, given up looking earlier that day. He felt much shame for this, a burden he would carry in silence for the rest of his days.
Leaving the Honcharenko family to reunite, the Romani witch sat down, crossed his legs, and prayed to Hecate, asking her to grant him the power to heal everyone sufficiently for the long journey back through the forest to the Hutsul village. Breaking the spell upon the cage had exhausted him, depleting his magical reserves. He needed a blessing.
And he received one.
A surge of physicalandmagical strength soon came upon him. It was a generous gift that allowed him to help all the injured get back on their feet. With Damek’s mystical aid, broken bones were mended, bloody wounds were sealed, and withered flesh was mostly rejuvenated.
It would take several more days of rest and healing magic before everyone was fully restored to peak health, but they had the time. The danger had passed; they were now safe.
When the party moved outside Baba Yaga’s hut, Damek properly introduced the Romani witch to his mother and brother, who were thrilled to meet him, not simply because he had been their saviour but because his love for Damek shone like the sun.
“My mother’s mana will take weeks, if not months, to replenish,” Damek told the Romani witch, pulling him aside to talk privately. “But now that she has returned to us, Father will stop wallowing in sorrow, be happy again, and allow me to heal his hand. Mother will not be able to do it yet.
“You see, my love, I must step up and be the town’s main healer and protector, as I am the greatest of our people’s mages after my mother. Although, upon seeing you fight the crone, I feel foolish even calling myself that. You are so much more than a mage or a witch. You were like a god in there! We owe all our lives to you; all of Rus Land is indebted to you for Baba Yaga’s destruction.”
“The beast is gone, not destroyed, my love, but she will not escape that realm for a very long time, if ever. Now, come here!”
The Romani witch flashed a mischievous smile. He took Damek’s hand, drawing him closer until their lips met in a passionate kiss that sent shivers down his spine. It was a moment charged with magic and desire, igniting a flame between them that felt timeless and exhilarating.
While his fiery emotion was genuine, the Romani witch nonetheless felt himself a fake and a failure.How I wish I were a god, my love, but I am not. Nowhere near. I did not defeat the crone; the dark magic of the ring did. I now see that I am a fool. I shall never be powerful enough to defeat the immortal demon when next we meet if I continue as I—wait!
“Damek, I need you to lead everyone to your village,” the Romani witch instructed, turning his head to look back at Baba Yaga’s hut. “I will be right behind you, but first, I need tomake sure no one who may come upon this clearing discovers the remains of this abomination and dares to take anything from inside. We cannot let these tomes of black magic get into anyone’s hands.”
“What do you plan on doing?” Damek asked, his eyes full of concern.
“I plan to burn it all to cinders,” the Romani witch smirked. “Those things spelled against fire, I shall bury beneath the forest floor. The Great Mother Terra will reclaim and cleanse this spot of its dark taint. See, there is nothing to worry about, my love. Now, off with you! I want you far from this cursed place. I shall be along shortly.”
With a wink and a pat on his lover’s backside, the Romani witch disappeared back into Baba Yaga’s hut.
After about an hour of walking through the forest with his family, Damek saw flames rising above the treetops. He knew his lover had finally completed his task.
In no time at all, thanks to a little magical speed, the Romani witch caught up to the troop and was again walking by his beloved’s side, a place he never wanted to leave.
“It is done. The fire is controlled and contained within the clearing; nothing will remain but cinders by tomorrow. It took some time and prayer, but I managed to spell the fire hot enough to melt bone and iron. As I feared, some items were spelled against flame, so I cast an enchantment of my own creation! Anything left upon the surface after the fire shall sink deep into the earth.
“Now, let us have no more talk of Cannibal Hags and huts upon chicken legs and dark sorcery. We shall return to your home together and, as the stories say, live happily ever after.”
“You will stay with me? I have so little to offer one of your gifts and worldliness, and—”
The Romani witch quieted his beloved with a heated kiss upon his lips. “My life is wherever you are. You are my home, Damek.”You are my everything, Aeneas.
As he walked hand in hand with the love of his life, lost in thoughts of a future filled with wondrous possibilities and pure love, Damek felt a sense of completeness. He believed with all his heart that he now shared the same joy and carefree attitude his lover had displayed while splashing around in the cool waters of the Temnyi Lis River earlier that day.
Smiling widely, the Romani witch could not take his eyes off Damek. He knew they would share a long life; he felt it in his bones. The longer they were together, the more Aeneas would reveal himself.
“Do not do this. You will corrupt us.”
The Romani witch was again reminded that he carried a traveller, a stowaway that hung on to his soul like a leech.
“I do what I must. Stay silent.”
The Romani witch needed no angel on his shoulder to act as his conscience. He knew what he was doing.
Inside his leather satchel, he carried a heavy, thick book, one taken from Baba Yaga’s hut, the only text encased in glass. This glass had not shattered during the Cannibal Hag’s magically created maelstrom, which meant this grimoire was highly protected. Important. The ancient book exuded power and possessed an aura of malevolence; it was his key to one day vanquishing an immortal.
