A Nameless Witch

My shadow skipped around the fireplace as I moved toward the stairs.

Newt snorted. 'You aren't fooling me. I know why you robbed him of his virtue. You made him vulnerable to protect him.'

'Did I?'

'Oh, stop pretending to be mysterious. I see through it all. Wyst may not have been a match for Soulless Gustav on his own, but he could've helped you. And you need every advantage you can get. But now, he's just a man. You've made him useless. You've taken him out of the game because you weren't willing to risk his life for your own.'

'Figure that out all on your own?' I asked.

'You're admitting it then?'

I only grinned.

'It is very witchfol,' he said. 'To save a man's life by stealing his invulnerability. Your mistress would be proud.' He didn't like acknowledging that and scowled.

A good witch admits to nothing. I ascended the stairs without saying another word and entered Wyst's room. He lay on the bed. My eyes lingered on his lean, dark body. He smiled and held out a hand.

He traced my lips with his fingers. 'You are beautiful.'

I already knew this, but there was something in the way he said it. Something in his eyes as well. He saw more than my cursed flesh. He saw the mortal woman hidden inside that even I could forget was there. But in his arms, it was different. In his arms, I could almost forget the fiend.

He kissed me, and his flavorful lips stirred my twin hungers. The ghoul hissed and fidgeted, but she was smothered beneath the indulgences of the woman.

Newt was wrong. Even without his enchantments, Wyst was more than a man. Much more.

He slipped off my gown and drew me onto the bed.

And he was far from useless.

28

There was a benefit to being ageless. Time meant nothing to me, a vague abstraction. Two hours in Wyst's bed might pass as slowly as I perceived it. It could never last as long as I wanted, but I could draw out every moment, enough for a lifetime that might reach into infinity If I survived the next day, and still walked this world a thousand years from now, this night would always remain with me. When the dawn finally came, I was ready to meet either death or eternity.

Soulless Gustav allowed me a slow sunrise. The light slipped through the windows, and I pulled myself from Wyst's arms. I reached for my silken gown but thought better of it. It would have to be left in this room, like so many things. I wrapped a heavy blanket over my body I leaned over Wyst and kissed his eyes, an earlobe, and finally his lips. Part of me wanted to wake him, but this was best. This was the only way it could be. I turned to the door.

'Where are you going?'

I'd hoped to steal away unnoticed. It would've made everything so much easier.

I closed my eyes and didn't look back at him. 'It's time.'

'I'll get my things.'

'You're no longer enchanted,' I said. 'Soulless Gustav would kill you even easier than he would have before.'

'I won't let you face him alone.'

'I know.'

I glided to his side and enfolded him in my blanket to enjoy the feel of his skin against mine.

'You won't talk me out of this,' he said softly.

'I know. You're a stubborn man, but I think you are very tired. I think you should go back to bed.' I batted my eyelashes at him. His lids slipped half-closed.

'What are you doing?' He yawned. He fell limp in my arms. I had no trouble holding him up. 'Don't do this.' He nodded off and jerked alert. 'I have to protect you. I have to ...'

'You can't protect me as tired as you are.' I covered his mind in sleep. Magic that would've burned away against his invulnerable aura only hours ago now proved more than his match.

'Forgive me, Wyst.'

I lowered him onto the bed. His slumber was peaceful, save for a soft frown across his lips.

I descended the stairs. My companions sat ready by the table. I wasted no time on politeness and got dressed. Soulless Gustav had given me my hours. I wouldn't be rude and keep him waiting any longer.

'Gwurm, you'll find Wyst upstairs. Dress him and take him from this place. Penelope, you'll go with them.'

'And me?' asked Newt.

'You'll be coming with me.'

He squinted with surprise. 'I will?'

'You are my familiar, aren't you? Your place is by my side, isn't it?'

'Well, yes...'

'Good then. We'll see about that violent death you were hoping for. Although I make no promises.'

'Yes, mistress.' He beamed.

'And me?' asked the gray fox.

'You can do whatever you like,' I said.

'Then I shall come along too.'

Gwurm went to fetch Wyst, and Penelope tried to force herself into my hand.

'None of that. You'll go with Gwurm. I'll most likely be dead very soon, and he'll need a friend. I'm trusting you to take care of him.'

She stood straight and bobbed once.

'Good girl.' I turned to Newt. 'It's time to go.'

He couldn't resist smirking at Penelope, even though all he'd really earned was almost certain doom.

The phantom servant materialized by the front door. 'Right this way madam. The master is expecting you.'

Gwurm descended the stairs with Wyst over his shoulder. 'Good luck.'

I glanced back at my troll, broom, and slumbering White Knight. 'Tell him I'm sorry.'

'He'll understand.'

I wasn't so sure. Wyst was a proud man. He would've chosen to die by my side, and I was wrong to not allow him that.

'Tell him ...' I found the words very hard to say. I should've told Wyst in the bedroom. Now, I couldn't.

'He already knows,' said Gwurm. 'Just as you know.'

'Are we going or not?'

The servant directed us onto a cobblestone path that led up to a tall hill. Penelope and Gwurm with Wyst and steed in tow headed the other direction. 1 didn't know if they'd make it, but accompanying me was certain death. Now they had a chance.

I put aside the distraction as we marched up the path.

Magic is everywhere in all things and all places, but there is more magic in some things than others. Accursed witches and Incarnate sorcerers draw arcane power like lodestones. As we drew closer, that power crackled in the air. The magic knew a terrible battle was about to begin, and it offered all its potency before us to ensure a colorful struggle.

Witch magic is a subtle art. I may have been out of my element, but Ghastly Edna had prepared me. 'Remember, child, that magic follows no rules other than its own. Many of its followers fail to understand this. They fail to adapt when the magic demands it. Mostly because they've grown set in their ways. But a good witch knows her place, and a great witch understands that experience can as often be a burden as a gift.'

To defeat Soulless Gustav, I only had to forget everything I'd learned, but unlearning was a witch's greatest talent. Perhaps I wasn't as far out of my element as I thought.