Page 73 of The Powerless Witch

Her question made me pause, looking at her over my shoulder. Her expression was calm and confident, but the note of nervousness in her tone was unmistakable. I took her hand, squeezing it reassuringly.

“This ismyland. Everything within this place watches my back.” Her hand relaxed in my grip and I took a step forward, raising my arms. Amantha and my mother had moved out of the way, glancing between me and the witches as if unsure what to do. I expected my mother to tell me to stand down again, but her expression was tense, her wariness growing as she eyed the dark-haired woman. “Last chance, witch. Leave now or face my wrath.”

“I didn’t wait this long to be stopped by the likes of you,” Mariam spat, her previously warm tone now laced with icy sharpness.

A bright green flame soared over our heads, filling the night with the smell of fire, death, and power. The rest of her witches joined, attacking from the sides.

The earth lashed out at my command, roots erupting from the ground and branches reaching for the women. The ancient stones exploded in the air, flying through the flames and smothering them down. Still, the blaze continued to devour the beautiful arrangements before setting upon the forest.

The screams persisted but now shouts mixed with them, calling for the guards to put the fire out and restrain the witches. I lost sight of my sister and mother, but the touch of Celeste’s back against mine grounded me. I whispered to the earth to protect her before taking another step toward Mariam.

There was something about her that wasn’t right. Something other than the fact that she had more magic than someone her age should be able to wield, or that her gray eyes flickered with hate older than time. Something past the strange wooden contraption that wrapped around her wrist like a second skeleton.

I wanted to ask, to plead, to negotiate before this got out of hand. Yet, when our eyes met, I knew with every cell in my body that time had passed. This was no longer a negotiation. This was a fight, and she clearly didn’t care who got hurt in it.

I raised my open hand, and a branch flew into my fingers, the touch reassuring and eager as the wood twisted, ready to obey my command even if it knew that its end was near. Another spell darted toward me, and I swung my weapon, sending the burning magic straight up, where it wouldn’t hurt anyone.

Mariam gritted her teeth, her wood-clad fingers already weaving another spell. An idea sprung in my mind and I reached for the contraption, commanding it to obey me. It pushed back, its scorching touch burning my mind almost as intensely as the spell that flew past my shoulder.

I only knew one thing that did not submit to the earth and its rulers. That followed its wielder, whoever they might be, until the end. Enchanted wood—the witches triumph over nature.

More screams erupted from behind me and I turned on instinct, searching for whoever needed my aid. Celeste was no longer where I left her—a good thing, perhaps, for there was a crater where she used to stand.

A glint of red hair caught my attention and my eyes widened as I watched her roll to the ground alongside another witch, ending up on top. Celeste held the other woman’s wrists above her head with one hand, keeping out of their range, then put her palm on the woman’s chest. The witch shrieked, thrashing against her, then wentstill and her head bobbed to the side. Celeste looked up, as if sensing my gaze, and her eyes widened.

“Watch out!” she screamed just as the air next to me heated up. It was too late by the time I turned and the only thing that saved me from getting a burning hole through my chest was the tree that moved to protect me, twisting its form to use it as a shield. The power blasted me back, and I flew weightlessly into the forest. Branches reached out, catching me mid-flight and cushioning my fall until I was back on my feet.

A figure jumped through the bushes and I pressed one hand to the earth, ready to attack, when I recognized the familiar blue face, twisted in anger and panic. Myra rushed to my side, helping me up.

“Thank the earth you’re alright! When I saw that spell hit you…” She gritted her teeth, releasing my hand to reach under her skirt and pull out a dagger strapped to her thigh. When she had lost her wings, she had also lost most of her connection to the earth, so her only means of defense had become physical weapons. However, tonight, that wouldn’t be enough. Not against witches.

“Leave,” I ordered, and the look she gave me told me she would not obey. But I had to make her, had to send her away or she would get herself hurt. I could not bear the burden of seeing more of my people die. “Go to Roman. Tell him to meet me at the old oak tree at the edge of his territory. One way or another, Celeste will be leaving the grove tonight.”

Her mouth opened as if to protest, but then she closed it, giving me a defeated nod.

“Go! Quickly!” I shouted and with one last look back, she obeyed.

The smell of smoking wood, dying earth, and burning creatures made my blood boil. My vision blurred with a rage I had never felt before, and my hands shook as I reached for the soul of the grove, calling all of it to rise. I took a step forward when another scream rose above the cacophony of noises.

“Amantha,” I gasped in surprise, my heart clenching at the pain and panic in that long wail.

Before I knew it, I was running, ignoring the cracking and groaning around me while ancient trees plucked their roots from the ground, preparing to march against the witches. Growls and hisses filled my ears and I urged them all to move, to protect this place, to take down the enemies that threatened our home.

The sky lit up as thunder after thunder ripped through the air, making the world tremble while a storm gathered above us. The earth shook and I could feel cracks forming over the surface, waiting for a sacrifice to fall into its waiting embrace. When the first witch plummeted into the abyss, I willed the earth to close, allowing it to take the life I had offered in return.

I reached the open space where the temple once stood—now lying in ruins—just as another witch screamed when one of the trees caught her, squeezing her so tightly that her bones snapped and her body twisted in odd, horrifying angles. A big, dark form ran past me with a hungry growl and tackled another enemy to the ground, taking her entire head in its mouth and tearing it off before she could finish her spell.

I searched for Mariam, but I couldn’t see her even with the fires turning the calm night into a blazing hell. More screams and bursts of magic filled the air, but the moment my eyes found Celeste kneeling between two bodies, the rest of the world disappeared.

I stumbled through the rubble, not caring as my robe caught on fire. I yanked it off without looking back and I ran the rest of the way.

My heart faltered when I recognized their faces. There were burns all over my mother’s body—most of her hair was gone and her face was red and bleeding. Her left shoulder was black under the melted skin—not the charred black of burned flesh, but the black of poison, the black of…iron.

My eyes fell to the jewelry on Celeste’s arms and I realized it was still all there.

Looking at the second body, I gasped as I saw Helio’s state. He seemed unharmed except for the long blade sticking from his stomach and eating at his flesh. An iron blade—and one that was definitely not made by the Fae.

My sister kneeled across from Celeste and squeezed Helio’s hand so hard that her knuckles had turned white. She held our mother’s shoulder with her other hand, but her eyes remained on the man, counting, as it seemed, his every labored breath.

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