Putting on the Witch (27 page)

“What?” Dorothy yelled. “That's crazy. No one does that kind of stuff anymore. They can't fight each other for the seat. Let's vote or something. This isn't the Dark Ages.”

“Quiet, girl,” Bairne said. “I'll have you removed.”

“I don't care,” she shouted back. “This can't happen. Brian isn't going to fight his father for a place on the council.”

Brian took her hand, a grim expression on his face. “I have to go through with this. I can't let him mess things up.”

Her dark eyes drenched with tears, Dorothy said, “This is what we were talking about. This is how you become a different person—the kind they want you to be, not the kind you want to be. You can't do this.”

He smiled sadly. “It's for the best.”

“I'm not going to stand here and watch you. If you want to do this, count me out.” Dorothy stormed away from him and out the thick wood door.

Bairne guffawed. “Anyone else with a tender heart or a queasy stomach?”

I didn't want to see Brian killed or watch him kill his father. Frankly, I didn't believe it would come to that. This was a drama for the sake of the witches watching and the council's honor. But no matter what, I wasn't leaving Brian by himself.

“We are speaking of a duel of magic, are we not?” Arleigh Burke questioned.

“Of course,” Joshua Bartleson replied. “We aren't barbarians as were our ancestors who used the sacrificial table.”

That relieved me. They could say to the death, but really they meant until one of the men gave up. Schadt was older and more experienced than Brian, but Brian was powerful. He was also more aggressive. He'd stood up to Abdon his whole life. His mother and father were like ghosts in the background.

Had Bairne put Schadt up to this? It seemed odd Abdon's only son hadn't shown any interest in the council until now.

“So what do we do?” Brian asked. “Do I hit him with my wand or try to shoot sparks from it?”

Always the joker, I mused. Brian rarely took anything seriously. Even now he was laughing at the council and his father.

“Whatever suits you,” Sarif Patel said. “Let's see what happens.”

“I agree with the young witch who left,” Owen Graybeard said. “This is not what Makaleigh or Hedyle would want.”

I had been watching Schadt. Yuriza had stepped away from him. He was using his wand and a spell to gather power. He obviously took it very seriously.

When he stood and held his wand toward Brian, I shouted out a warning, “Look out!”

Brian ducked his head as an enchantment passed over him. It was so strong that it hit the wall behind him and broke a piece of the old stone.

Larissa Lonescue glanced at me. “No warnings from those not participating or we shall clear the room.”

“Thanks, Molly.” Brian grinned at me, but the laughter was gone from his eyes. “I guess that's how we do it, huh?”

He didn't pause to gather his forces. He took out his wand and barely muttered an incantation before the force of it knocked his father to the floor. There were gasps from those around me. Bairne frowned. It seemed he hadn't anticipated Brian's strength.

“I can't believe you did that!” Brian's mother shouted at him. “Just give up your claim to the seat. It means nothing to you but everything to your father. Are you really prepared to kill him to claim Makaleigh's place?”

Brian shook his head. “This wasn't my idea. None of it was my idea. I'm following your weird rules to get what I want. Change the rules. Tell Dad to forget about it.”

She turned her slender back to him. Schadt was still getting off the floor.

“Is that it?” Brian asked. “Can we move on now?”

With his mother in the way, he couldn't see that his father was preparing another salvo against him. It happened faster this time. As he got up, Schadt flung his wand at Brian. It took form and substance, becoming one of the large rocks from around him.

Brian didn't move in time. The rock creased his forehead, drawing blood. He staggered but didn't fall. His bright blue eyes were angry. He paused for only a moment before he lifted his wand and subjected the chandelier above his father to his will.

The large metal fixture dropped to the floor, taking Schadt with it.

Everyone, including me, was beyond gasps. Schadt didn't move. Yuriza rushed to his side and tried to move the elaborate candlelit chandelier off her husband. She called on the magic of her sword for help. Alone, she managed to free Schadt, but he wasn't moving.

Without a word of warning, she turned on her son and threw her sword straight at his chest.

With barely an inch to spare, Brian deflected it with his wand.

The crowded room was completely silent.

Abdon slowly got to his feet and began applauding. The rest of the council—except for Bairne—joined him.

“Well done,” Abdon said to Brian. “Well done, my boy.”

“You mean I don't actually have to kill him?” Brian's voice was laced with sarcasm.

“Of course not,” Zuleyma Castanada replied. “Death isn't the only way to win a battle. And your girlfriend was right. This is not the Dark Ages. Welcome to the council, Brian Fuller. Blessings on you and your lineage.”

“We'll take an hour break to seat our new council member and rule on the placement of the spell book.” Abdon hit his gavel on the stone again. Oscar followed by bringing down his staff.

I ran through the departing crowd to Brian's side. The cut on his head was dripping blood down the side of his face. He was just standing there, not moving, looking dazed as he stared at his parents. There was a pitcher of water and a few napkins on the stone council table. I poured some water on the napkins and held one of them to his head.

“Brian?” I tried to get his attention.

“Molly.” He shook his head and finally held the napkin. “Thanks.”

“This was too much to go through, even for our spell book.”

“It wasn't just about the spell book,” he admitted. “I talked to my father about this before I agreed to accept Abdon's proposal. He wasn't interested in the politics of the council, he said. He'd never wanted any part of it.”

“What do you think happened?”

“I think one or two members of the council didn't want me to have Makaleigh's seat and got him to challenge me for it.”

“That's what I thought about Bairne from the look on his face.” We both watched Bairne and Sarif try to help Yuriza get Schadt to his feet.

“Let's get out of here,” Brian said. “I need to talk to Dorothy.”

I walked back to the room with him. Dorothy was there. There had been no change in Elsie's condition. Brian got Dorothy to go in the other room with him and closed the door. Olivia and I waited to see what would happen next.

“Well, I'm glad I wasn't able to go after all,” she said. “I'm assuming Brian won the challenge. I've never heard of such a thing. I thought maybe Dorothy had a fever or something when she came back here crying.”

“I don't understand it either.” I told her what Brian said about talking to his father. “Maybe that was just what Schadt needed to determine that he really wanted to be on the council.”

“I'll be so glad when we're out of here,” she sighed. “How much longer now?”

“Six hours.” It seemed like forever at that point. “Remind me not to come back for Brian and Dorothy's wedding, or any other function. I never want to go through this again.”

“Well, Dorothy said she wouldn't have the wedding here if it meant I couldn't come. I believe her, don't you?”

I paced around the room. “Yes, but you didn't see the look on Brian's face when he brought the chandelier down on his father. I'm afraid he's already changing.”

“For goodness' sake, Molly. What did you expect him to do? Even if it is his father, he had to defend himself. And he was trying to get the spell book back so we could help Elsie. I think that's different.”

“I hope so.”

Elsie's hand was stiff and icy. There was no color in her face. We had to do something to bring her back right away.

“I don't know if we should wait for the council,” I said. “We have to break Elsie free from this spell.”

“But you all tried and it didn't work. You need the spells from the book.”

“Or the witch who did this to her.”

“But how are you going to do that, Molly? With everyone at half magic, there's barely enough to make a wand work.”

“I know.”

Dorothy and Brian seemed to have patched up their differences, at least temporarily, as they came back into the room. I told them my fears about Elsie.

“Let's go get the spell book now,” Brian said. “No more games.”

“I didn't want to say anything before,” I added, “but I had a feeling there was more to you taking the council seat.

He looked into my eyes. “We've put up with their crap, Molly. Let's go kick some butt.”

I agreed, though I had misgivings. I didn't know what else to do. We needed a strong healing spell created by another fire witch like Elsie. There was bound to be one from someone in her family—her grandmother and great-grandmother were both witches of the fire.

We left Olivia with Elsie again and returned to the stone council chamber. Brian was right about the council. They were all in the meeting room drinking tea as they discussed their newest member and the challenge.

Oscar met us before we could get in. “They aren't ready for you yet. I'll come get you when they are.”

Brian pushed past him and approached the ten remaining members. “My friend is dying, probably as part of Makaleigh's death. We need a healing spell from her family's spell book that shouldn't have been in the library to start with. I want it back now.”

Dorothy held my hand so tightly that I was afraid she might break it.

“You little whelp.” Bairne got to his feet and stared at Brian. “We give you the opportunity of a lifetime and all
you can think about is the death of one witch. If we thought in such small scale, there would be no witches left in the world.”

“All that matters is one witch,” Brian debated. “That's what you've forgotten. Maybe you do have to make decisions for a world of witches, but each of them are distinctive and make us strong. Elsie Langston was only trying to do her part in solving Makaleigh's death. We can't abandon her now because the library made a mistake in taking her spell book.”

“It's not only the spell book involved in all this.” Arleigh Burke stared at Dorothy. “There's the matter of your girlfriend using her magic against our herald.”

I hadn't noticed before, but the black snake that was Cassandra was slithering around on the stones at our feet. She immediately went closer to Arleigh and hissed at Dorothy from a safe distance.

“Is that it?” Dorothy demanded. “I take full responsibility. She shouldn't have sent my mother off that way and decided not to give us our spell book.”

“We do not attack each other out of anger,” Rhianna said. “You need to learn control, young witch. Your magic is obviously powerful. But you lack patience and understanding. Something your coven members should be teaching you!”

Rhianna glared at me. I raised my chin and glared back. Dorothy was a good witch who'd been pushed to her limits by the things that had happened in the last twenty hours or so. Yes, she was impetuous and her magic was strong. But she was also good-hearted and learning control.

I was about to state the obvious when Dorothy put her hand on mine.

“I'm sorry about what happened to Cassandra,” she said. “I'll be glad to change her back for you.”

Erinna Coptus nodded. “Please do so that we may get on with other important issues.”

Dorothy closed her eyes and summoned up the only transformation spell that she knew. It was a very basic spell—something a young child would use—and yet she was able to accomplish changing the thousand-year-old council herald into a snake. It shouldn't have been possible with her limited experience.

The black snake convulsed, writhing on the stone floor, before splitting open to have Cassandra emerge. She was naked, no bubbles, and covered with slime.

“Well!” she said in an angry voice.

“That's enough, Cassandra,” her mother, Rhianna, said in a stunned voice.

The council had begun whispering among themselves with fearful eyes glued on Dorothy.

The thick door to the council chamber burst open to reveal Hedyle on her knees. Her gown was torn and dirty. Her long white hair was pulled out of its usual neat style.

“Stop her!” Hedyle, the head of the council, had a hard time getting her voice above a whisper. “She killed Makaleigh!”