The dark witch, p.1
The Dark Witch, page 1
The Dark Witch
BOOK 2 OF THE EBON KNIGHT CHRONICLES
James Wood
Copyright © 2023 James Wood
All Rights Reserved
ISBN:
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Without limiting the rights under the copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced to a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright holder.
The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the author is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
Also by James Wood
THE EBON KNIGHT CHRONICLES
NOVELS
The Ebon Knight
The Dark Witch
The Arch Mage
SHORT STORIES
The First Fury
The Lord Commander (Coming soon!)
For the most up-to-date information, go to authorjamesdwood.com
For my wife.
Ava has absolutely nothing on you, my love…
(particularly the mind reading part)
Acknowledgments
This book would not exist without the help of a lot of people. Thank you again to my editor, Elizabeth Cartwright, at EC Editorial; you did another fantastic job! Again, I take full responsibility for any errors left in this story, as I’m probably too stubborn to heed all of your sage advice.
I also want to thank my awesome cover designer, Alerim, at 99designs—you did another remarkable job with the cover and really did justice to the Dark Witch. Thanks again to Mark Rivera, Paul Adams, and the Book Writing Cube team for helping me get the second book in this series successfully published.
Again, many thanks to the great folks who play Elvenar. So many of you have embraced this project, and I’m honored by your support. A special shout out to my guildies at “Maximum Effort” on Arendyll, “Twisted Grotto” on Sinya Arda, and “Forest Dwellers” on Winyandor. You are all amazing people!
A big thanks go out to Mike Stackhouse for my website design and maintenance—I would (still) be totally lost without your help.
Thank you so much to my beta readers; your feedback kept me on the right path and motivated me to keep on writing!
My special thanks to Angela Null and my mother, Kathy. You both went above and beyond this time, and I truly appreciate it!
Contents
Acknowledgments
Contents
Prelude
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Epilogue
Author’s Notes
About the Author
Prelude
It was a cold night.
Ryka was glad that her Dark kept her warm, but she still shivered in sympathy for what she should have been feeling. Glancing over at her Sisters standing stoically in the light snow, she reminded herself again that she needed to toughen up. Sometimes Ryka worried that she didn’t really belong in the Sisterhood—which was impossible, of course, because once in, she was in. She had passed the only test that mattered when she survived her first battle. Still, she sometimes had doubts about her suitability as a Fury.
It didn’t help that as one of the newer entrants into the clan, Ryka still had a long way to go—for everything, it seemed. What made a Fury a Fury did not come easily to her, and Ryka often felt like a weight that her Spearmates had to deal with. They were very sweet to her anyways, even as they often beat her half to death during their daily training sessions.
Ryka was extremely grateful that her healing prowess seemed up to snuff, at least—because she needed to rely on it quite a lot.
“Don’t look now, but I think Ryka is having an existential crisis,” Falen stage whispered to Micheline.
The tall woman looked over at Ryka, grimacing at Falen’s words.
“I told you not to look. Now we’re busted!” exclaimed Falen again in a hoarse whisper. “Just act normal.”
Micheline shook her head. “Falen, stop being weird. Again.” The tall woman sighed, walked over to Ryka, and put her arm around the shorter woman’s shoulders.
Ryka leaned into her gratefully and mumbled, “I’m fine.”
Micheline kissed her on the forehead. “Sure you are.”
Turning Ryka to look at her fully, Micheline raised a finger in admonishment. “No Fury your age can perform the way Furies like Falen and I can. I’ve told you this several times now. Be patient.”
“Yeah,” interjected Falen, “…cause we’re all super old and creaky and stuff. Be happy in your youth; don’t let your summer slip away into fall.”
“Really?” asked Micheline incredulously, turning to look at the other Fury. “You’re bringing the seasons into it now?”
“Define it,” challenged Falen.
“Her worries and feelings of inadequacy—which are not valid, by the way,” Micheline added hurriedly, turning back to Ryka.
“Hmm, sounds like a crisis of confidence then. Maybe almost like an existential crisis, perhaps?” Falen had an impish grin on her face, and she winked at Ryka behind Micheline’s back.
Micheline and Ryka both laughed.
“Ok, moving on,” Micheline said, releasing Ryka and turning back to the freeway that was the artery between east Sparks and a desolate drive through Nevada into Utah.
The land here was nothing like Ryka’s homeland in India. She had been awakened for about a decade, so she was still a novice in the Sisterhood’s ranks. It was strange to think that the people she knew back home were still alive and kicking—just a tad more mature-looking. Ryka still looked exactly as she had ten years ago.
Aging very slowly was a benefit she liked, along with maintaining a constant body temperature. The constant temperature was key because Furies didn’t tend to wear a lot of clothing. There was no taboo against clothing or anything, and it was not like they had a Fury dress code where everyone had to be in skimpy stuff; it was just a matter of practicality. Every time a Fury raged, anything they were wearing (except around the chest and buttocks) would probably get shredded or, worse, restrict their transformation just enough to hinder them in combat.
Turning into a raging demonic monster was kind of a drawback, sure, but it was also freeing. Being thrust into an eternal war with very unclear battle lines was a definite—and quite often fatal—minus, though.
Sighing audibly, Falen turned back to the road, and Ryka followed suit (minus the sigh), but she felt like it. Ryka knew what was bothering Falen—it was tough being out here in the dark and snow when such incredible things were happening in the city. The three Furies stood atop a large stone outcropping about a hundred yards from the road. They were just one Spear out of many that were fanned out all around Reno and Sparks. They also had the dubious honor of being the farthest out along I-80, almost an hour from where the action was.
The call came in earlier, full of dire import and worry. The three Sisters had listened in disbelief to the tale of what happened at the airport hangar where three Sisters died engaging a Royal. It was the way the other two Furies had reacted to the news that had started Ryka down the path of self-doubt. They had known one of them—Ivey—and respected her, but Ryka hadn't and only knew of Ivey through her legendary reputation within the Sisterhood.
Ivey had been the leader of Princess Ava’s Spear, and she had also been instrumental in securing a chance for the Princess to escape from the Dark Court three years ago. Even though their true enemy—the “Other”—had labored to sideline the Furies that day, Ivey had helped to outsmart it. Or them. Or… whatever it was. As a matter of fact, Ryka wasn’t sure anyone knew what the Other was.
Ava was still alive because of Ivey, and since the Princess was of the utmost importance to the Sisterhood, that meant a lot. The Sisterhood’s splintering from the greater Dark had actually been set in motion by Ivey yesterday, and she had been one of the very few capable of initiating it. To know she had fallen mere hours later was a heavy blow indeed.
As the Furies attempted to pull back from the Dark and escape, hundreds were dying, with likely hundreds more over the next few days. Ivey was, by far, the greatest of them that had fallen though. It was heartbreaking to keep up with all the deaths, and it was extremely hard on the Sisterhood to feel so many disappearing. Ryka believed that Falen’s ribbing was perhaps a coping mechanism they all needed. Humor to counter the horror.
Still, Ivey had been a giant within the Sisterhood, and even on the night when so many were dying all ov er the world, her death stood out. Besides, the way she had died was horrible: two nearby Spears had reached the hangar about the same time as Ava and saw the ruin that was Ivey for themselves. They had also seen Ava’s reaction to it.
It was well known that Ava and Ivey were close, and Ivey had often said that she loved the youngest Princess of the Dark as if she were her own daughter. That was physically impossible, of course, because every combatant on either side of the Conflict was either sterile or barren. Or maybe they weren’t. But neither the Dark nor the Light allowed children to be born into the Conflict, so having kids was a moot issue for all—with one known exception.
Ava’s mother, the Queen of the Dark, was that exception. By extension, it could be argued that Ava’s father was an exception as well. It didn’t matter, but the bottom line was that only those two could have children, and they’d had many over the years, of which the vast majority were as evil and malicious as could be imagined. In the Furies’ opinion, only Ava had turned out well, and she had been banished, exiled, and hunted by the Dark as punishment.
Even Ava had a dark side, though. Those two Spears that had joined the remnants of Jesslyn's and Ava's guard also witnessed the receding manifestation of her other self—and that was enough. The Princess did not often descend to such a state, but when she did it was… memorable. The Sisterhood had a name for Ava when she embraced this darker, more unstable side of herself—they called her the Dark Witch.
Ava was not more dangerous when she was the Dark Witch, just more apt to do anything in the throes of it. Much like the Furies themselves when they were angered. In their rage, the Furies were the same women (albeit with demonic features, elongated and powerfully strong legs, arms, nails, and so on), but they were a lot wilder. Being more in tune with the darker parts of themselves made them implacable and fearless foes, but they could get a little overzealous when in such a state.
Ryka had to admit that raging was both scary and exhilarating. Like most of the Sisterhood, she feared and longed for it in equal measure. It was like riding the world’s most dangerous rollercoaster with a frayed seatbelt; the possibility of tragedy and unintended consequences was there, but the excitement the ride offered was worth it. Every time a Fury raged, the rollercoaster she rode was herself.
Ava apparently took that to the next level when she embraced her darker side. She was more controlled than the Furies, but her power was so vast that the Princess had zero room for error. Ava was the best the Dark had ever produced, a perfect blend of grace and power. Ryka had never met her personally, but she knew pretty much everything about her. Every Fury did.
Ava was the hope of their clan. The Dark that drove them all, that gave the Sisterhood their unique powers and skill sets, also instilled in them a need to use those gifts to serve a cause. That need had been met over the last three hundred years by becoming the traditional guardians of the Royal Family, but that had changed about twelve hours ago. Now, they were the enemies of the Royals, except for Ava. She was their only beacon now, and they flocked to her.
All the Furies from all over the world were on their way to Reno and Sparks, Nevada. It was almost laughable that such a mighty force could descend on any one place; and this particular area didn’t have a whole lot going for it other than Ava just happened to be here.
So, they were coming.
The splintering had happened, and death stalked the clan. So, too, a potentially fatal break with Ava. Something unexpected had happened in the aftermath of Ivey’s death. The Princess had shocked the Sisterhood by giving them two ultimatums, even as three Sisters lay cooling on the ground at Ava’s feet—all having died for her welfare. It was an incredible turn of events that threatened to put the final nail in the coffin of the Furies, one and all.
The first requirement they had to agree to was to always keep the Princess in the loop from now on. This seemed a simple condition on its face, and Ryka actually agreed with it. The Princess was easily more formidable than any five Spears, so why keep her in the dark about any foes or dangerous situations? Both would arise more frequently now, and Ryka believed the Sisterhood needed all the help it could get.
Unfortunately, this was not how the elders viewed Ava’s ultimatum, and they were sorely put out by having to agree to it. They hadn’t had a choice. One of Ava’s personal Furies had vouched that the clan would agree to Ava’s terms, and the eight other Sisters with her had as well.
What nine of their dwindling number had promised was to be done. The elders were in quite a tizzy over it though, and Ryka was sure they would try to weaken the agreement or add layers of difficulties to foul it up. That certainly wouldn’t go over well with the Princess, and if push came to shove, the elders would give in. They had no other choice.
Really, what was the point of trying to keep Ava safe by keeping her in the dark? Ryka grunted in frustration, which went unremarked on by the other two. She bet they were mulling over the exact same events she was and, hopefully, coming to similar conclusions—at least when it came to the first of Ava’s demands.
Ava's second requirement, though? It was anyone’s guess if it was even still valid and in effect.
In the span of about two days, the Princess had apparently fallen in love. This possibility, in and of itself, was not particularly alarming or even rare. People fell in love all the time, and this held true for the natural and supernatural world. People could also fall in love quite quickly. Ryka could understand the whole “love at first sight” phenomenon herself because it had happened to her. At the Fury’s thought, she cast a little glance over to Micheline, who smiled as she felt Ryka’s eyes on her.
Turning back to the freeway, Ryka smiled to herself as well.
The issue was—no, the problem was— with whom Ava had fallen for. He was a Knight of the Light, and something like this was completely unheard of. The Light and the Dark did not mix like that, and frankly, Ryka had no idea how it could possibly work. The opposing powers that made them both would kill each other off if given the chance.
Ryka shook her head in frustration while her eyes idly picked out a mass of headlights a few miles away coming into Reno—of little interest other than as something to look at to break the bleakness around her. It didn’t help. Ryka still couldn’t believe that a Princess of the Dark could fall for anyone of the Light.
“How?” she muttered in disbelief.
“I know,” Falen agreed.
Micheline just nodded.
All three women were thinking the same thing. It was kind of impossible, wasn’t it? How could they ever really relax around each other? How could they ever sleep together? In both the act and in reality? Ryka just couldn’t see it.
Worse, though, was that the Knight was now infamous with the Furies. None of them had known of him before tonight, but they definitely knew him now. The greatest warrior they ever had, Kiasa, had disappeared a year ago. She had inexplicably walked away from her Spear Sisters and Ava one day and was never heard from again. Why she did this was still unknown to the Sisterhood, but, three months after her disappearance, they felt her die.
Kiasa had blocked them all out for the ninety days that she had been missing, but on her final night, she had rejoined their collective consciousness just long enough for them to feel her one last time before she disappeared forever. Her death had rocked the Sisterhood to its core, but no one knew where she’d fallen or to whom.
Last night, they discovered some of what had happened to her, or at least who had happened to her; the who being the same Knight that Ava now loved.
Ava had approached the Knight recklessly and for reasons still unclear. By all accounts, he was weak—or so it had been believed at that time. Her Furies had been surprised but not really concerned until she had discovered Kiasa’s soul mark on his arm. How the Knight, any Knight really, could have brought down Kiasa was beyond comprehension. That he had was undeniable, however. Amazingly, Ava had forbade her Spear from avenging Kiasa then and there, and instead, accepted a duel challenge.
In hindsight, the Furies now knew that this was all just subterfuge on her part because the next thing they knew, she was actively seeing him and even went out on her first date (ever) with him! Truthfully, Ryka didn’t begrudge the Princess her happiness, not even if it was with the Knight. War was brutal on both sides and if Kiasa’s soul mark rode the arm of the Knight, then it was life or death for him as well; his mark would assuredly be nested on Kiasa’s arm if he had not prevailed.
