Wicked Hunt

Chapter Fifteen, Part I

Victoria: A Gathering Of Witches

"The dreams are getting worse," Gemma told her daughter as they ambled around Cascade Castle, drinking in the morning rays. It was not a question, and Victoria did not bother correcting her. She barely slept anymore. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the glowing red ones of the Black Stag. If she did manage to drift off, past the scarlet orbs, and into deep oblivion, she dreamt of the girl with the sword. The heaping and bloodied bodies only seemed to grow and offer no explanation whatsoever. At the end, when she was fighting to wake, Michael would appear and bade her to come to the forest. Then, her eyes would fly open, and she would feel more tired than when she had first laid down.

Gemma paused, closing her pale eyes and letting the hum of the waterfall wash over her. She knelt and dipped her fingers in the cool water of the Green Lake. "You know, these waters have healing qualities." When Victoria did not answer, Gemma tugged on her arm impatiently. Sighing, Victoria settled down in the mud beside her mother. "Sink your fingers beneath its surface," Gemma commanded. Victoria stuck her hand in the water, letting them fall under the green tinted ripples that expanded across the surface. She followed her mother's lead and fastened her lids closed.

For a time, all was calm. The racing thoughts about the Black Stag and the Wolf ceased. She was not met with vivid images of the girl with the green eyes and the mounds of bodies. Michael did not come to her and pull her toward the Shadow Wood. There was no worry about the Covens and whether or not they could restore Cascade Castle or her family's Grimoire. Victoria's mind went completely blank. The only distinction from the outside world was the soft beating of the waterfall.

"Now open your eyes." Gemma's voice was not even a surprise. It came to her like a lullaby, drawling her into a deep, all encompassing sleep. When Victoria released her eyes and opened them, she found Gemma's own dead ones peering back at her lifelessly. "Better?"

"It was...for a time." Victoria waited for the familiar dread, the constant anxiety to return. Shadows quivered near the water's edge.

"Take this." A piece of smoothed birch bark was placed in her hand. A long spool of thread was wrapped tightly around it. The end of the string spread out, through the reeds and cattails, to disappear beneath the lapping surface of the water. She had not noticed it before. Frowning, she turned to Gemma, who, sensing her daughter's gaze, raised her finger to her lips. She pointed back out to the green waves.

"I think this may help you," she said with a kindness Victoria had never heard from her. "Come here to this spot and wind the string every third day before the sun reaches its apex." She tilted her head toward the glowing, orb behind them. Blazing orange against pale blue.

"How much?"

"Just until it feels right," Gemma replied frankly.

"And when it reaches the end?" Victoria prompted.

"All will be revealed."

*****

Hours later, a feeling of calm had washed over Victoria's entire body. Lately, she'd had little control over her life and her future. It felt good to have the string to come back to every few days, to pull it and have complete control over the action. Even though the outcome was a mystery, the mechanical working of pulling the string in would bring her comfort. It was good to feel so in control because right now, she needed it more than ever.

"You and Perry seem cozy," Lorik remarked as he and Victoria hurried down the hallway that led into the main entranceway. A collection of horses had been spotted on the other side of the Green Lake, drawing all to the front door once again.

"You're cross," Victoria observed. She came to a halt a few feet from the main entrance, allowing the pair a moment of extended privacy. The movement caught Lorik off guard, sending his lithe form colliding into her. She placed a hand on his chest and sharply pushed him back.

"Pretty soon, all your lovers will be under one roof," he said as he repositioned his silken shirt and favored her with a sardonic pout.

She rolled her eyes. "This castle isn't large enough for that."

A smirk danced across his lips. "Well, then."

She turned to continue back toward the entrance hall, but Lorik's fingers snatched her shoulder. An embarrassing string of pleasure slid down her arm, making her cheeks pinken. Ignoring, it she spun around to pin him with a glare.

"Yes?" Victoria jerked her arm away.

"What sort of man," he leaned closer, "is Perry Gritt to speak with you only once since his arrival and already has you vowing to back him in his quest for glory?"

"He seeks to grant the western cities the power they deserve!" she snapped.

"Such sweetness has dripped from others' lips before." His teal eyes narrowed. "What makes Gritt's words so compelling? Why join him and do all of this now?"

Was it just because Perry had spoken the words? Victoria faltered with the fiery response she had been about to spit. Talk of rebellion had swirled in the west for years. The lords were constantly scrutinized by the king and ridiculed for their old beliefs. Why was she jumping at the chance to pledge her allegiance to Perry? She thought back to his passionate speech, how he'd spoken of the route he would take to achieve power. It was the first time anyone had suggested actually doing something. It called forth action, set a course they could follow. It was one thing to bad mouth Clive and the Commander in hushed whispers, quite another to lay out a plan to use the Black Stag to garner belief in the ancient magic that lurked in the Shadow Wood. They needed proof. Perry's plan gave them that. It suggested that he had been observing and plotting for years and hadn't just decided to do this on a whim. If there was anyone that could persuade the other lords to join their cause, it was him. Victoria had seen him in action before, knew his methods.

"Perry is clever," she ended up saying. "His plan makes sense, and it provides us with a way to appeal to the people. I think he's been planning this for a while, and he knows what to say to get people passionate about his cause." She thought back to how the man's words had made her feel. Proud. Defiant. Bold. Ready.

"Tell me you're not screwing him."

Victoria crossed her arms and blinked incredulously up at Lorik. "That's what you got out of everything I just said?"

Lorik's brows raised. "Yes and no."

"You're unbelievable." Victoria jerked her arm out of his grip and hurried down the passageway.

"Something I said?" he called after her. She could hear the smirk in his voice, and bit back a burning retort to call back to him. So, lost in thoughts about Lorik was she, that Victoria ran into the back of a thin figure.