Witchlock (8 page)

Adrianna placed her hands on the table top, stacking them neatly again. Storm got the feeling she was drawing power in some way to soothe herself. “Few have heard of it. Witchlock originated in the ninth century Current Era, and was practiced in secret until the thirteenth century, then the coven where it originated disappeared.
 

“Later, major covens such as the Sterlings, the Medb, the Diamond Bright Truth and Viaje de la Luz all assumed that any descendants who possessed remnants of Witchlock power had become a nonissue after so many decades.”
 

“Whoa.” Evalle lifted a hand. “The Medb and Sterlings are dark witches, and you know I’m not slighting you because you’re a Sterling.”
 

“I know.”
 

“But the Diamond Bright Truth and Viaje de la Luz are not dark witches. So what’s the tie between all this?”
 

 Adrianna explained, “Most of the world believes that there are only light and dark witches, because few contemporary covens are even aware of a third group known as KievRus. That name came from the Kievan Rus area that Ukraine and Russia consider the first East Slavic state.”
 

Evalle yawned. “Aren’t Sterlings from that area?”
 

“Sterling blood can be traced back to medieval Scotland, which was inhabited by the Norse-Gaels–”
 

“Vikings?”
 

“Basically, yes, but the Sterlings eventually migrated to Ukraine, which is now their home even though many live in different parts of the world.”
 

Storm noted how Adrianna talked of the Sterlings as if she had not been born one. Something was seriously off between her and her coven.
 

“Got it.”  Evalle yawned again, sounding as beat as she looked.
 

Storm would call a halt to this and suggest they meet after everyone had some rest, but there was no way he’d get Evalle to let go of this tale when they were finally going to find out so much about Adrianna.
 

His earlier irritation had evaporated once he had Evalle safe and close beside him. Normally he could control his temper around her, but not when she constantly put herself first in danger and last in value. He was
slowly changing that, helping her understand that she mattered, but since he’d mated with her, all he could think about was just how precious a gift he had, and how he’d never survive losing her. The thought of anything happening to her was ... he couldn’t even consider it.
 

Still, the possibility had been at the forefront of his mind the whole time he’d been gone.
 

Then he’d come home to find her one slip from plummeting to her death.
 

Drawing in a calming breath, he put his arm around Evalle’s shoulders and pulled her to him. She smiled up in response and his heart took note, beating like a war drum.
 

Adrianna made a noise in her throat, which drew a grin from Evalle. The witch said, “Are you two still with me?”
 

Storm said, “Yes.” Then he ticked off a condensed version. “A third player in the world of witches, apparently neither white nor dark, which originated in the ninth century in Kievan Rus. What makes this coven different from others?”
 

“KievRus originally formed with the idea of being an objective force for the people, which meant doing whatever they felt necessary to protect the masses from oppressive rulers and other threats, whether that involved using white or dark majik. Instead of sacrificing a human or an animal to power the origin, the two who started all this each gave of their own blood and created a spell that bonded their blood with all of the elements, but especially that of the air.”
 

Evalle lifted her head from where she’d propped it on her hand. “Why air?”
 

“Because, of all the elements, air can affect water, fire and earth.”
 

“Okay, so what has all that got to do with your sister or you?”
 

“I’m getting to that. I’m trying to give you as short a story as possible, but this happened over many centuries and you need to understand what we’ll be up against. The bottom line is that the empire known as Kievan Rus had a population of both Slavic and Scandinavian people. It was founded by Vikings ... depending on which history you follow. But let’s say mine is correct.”
 

“What if it’s not?” Evalle asked with a bit of taunt.
 

“Let me make this simple. It.
Is
. Correct.”
 

Evalle snorted at Adrianna’s rare show of temper and Storm couldn’t stop his chuckle.
 

Adrianna shot them both a glare and said, “During the time the Slavics and Vikings co-existed, a secret coven of powerful beings grew from those
two who gave their blood. One of the original blood donors was a woman who called herself Heide and was loosely described as a descendant of an immortal Norse sorceress named Gullveig. Heide might have been part fae as well. She married Volkov and he was believed to be a shaman from Ukraine, but today we’d call him a witch.”
 

“That’d be a scary mix,” Evalle said. “So they started a coven, right?”
 

Adrianna nodded.
 

“Is it still around?”
 

“The KievRus coven was believed wiped out when the Mongols invaded Kievan Rus.”
 

Storm thought a moment. “Are you talking about the Khan witch hunts?”
 

“No. Those events were quite public and the Mongols did not fear going after those witches because the public was aware of them.
 

“Over the years, just to protect their identities and location, the KievRus coven fed rumors to convince the general public they were only a myth. But one witch got a burr up her backside, probably because she was not powerful enough to ever hold a position of leadership. She betrayed them.”
 

“Got it.”
 

Adrianna continued, “Mongol soldiers were sent covertly to behead the coven members, and the soldiers returned after being gone for four months, claiming to have killed the entire coven. But they did not bring back even one head, nor could they recall the path of their journey. Things were quiet, so everyone believed they’d been successful. They weren’t, but the coven lost its leader—the one who wielded Witchlock—and at that point they truly became more myth than reality. They took what was left of their group and went underground.”
 

Adrianna looked introspective for a moment before going on. “Fast forward to the late twentieth century. Two decades ago, rumors circulated that the KievRus coven was active again. Across all this time, elders in the Sterling coven have refused to dismiss an ancient foretelling that a leader would arise to once again wield the power.”
 

Storm asked, “They haven’t had another to wield Witchlock in all this time?”
 

 “Not until now. The new leader has arisen, and the time approaches when she will come into power. She’s called Veronika, and she’s a direct descendant of Heide. Publicly, the KievRus refused to involve themselves in the world or its politics. But many Sterling elders suspect that the KievRus have
always
had a hand in directing world events from wherever
they hid during each century, and that their majik has ultimately influenced many changes in the mortal world. Now Veronika is in position to take control.”
 

“You’ve met her?”
 

“Yes. As I mentioned, the Sterling family line has Norse origins just as KievRus do. Veronika and some of the Sterling coven share blood.”
 

Storm leaned forward. “I hope I’m wrong about where you’re going with this.”
 

Adrianna glanced at Storm, then back at Evalle before she answered.
 

“When Veronika’s family surfaced again twenty years ago, they stated that the new leader had been born, and offered to allow the Sterlings to continue to exist without threat from Veronika once she came into power
if
the Sterlings would hand over blood in exchange when the time came to pay up.”
 

Storm breathed a soft curse.
Sometimes it sucks to be right.
 

“Your people sacrificed someone in their own coven to Veronika?” Evalle asked, clearly appalled.
 

“Blood wasn’t actually shed, but an agreement was struck and blood was
handed over
,” Adrianna explained. “When Veronika came to collect, she demanded the most powerful of our next generation. That is my sister, Ragan. Veronika locked her into a timeless stasis so Veronika could draw on Ragan to form the power nucleus for the rebirth of Witchlock.”  Adrianna paused, then added, “At least, I originally thought the stasis was timeless.”
 

Evalle sat forward again, obviously thinking it through. “Why would they do that? Hand over their most powerful resource to another coven when that leader hadn’t come into power yet?”
 

“The elders believed the foretelling and that Veronika would be the one to wield Witchlock. They knew that if they didn’t take her deal, she’d find another coven who would, and even Ragan’s power would not be enough to protect them. They saw it as win-win.”
 

Evalle huffed at that. “The only losers being you and your sister.” She rubbed her eyes under the glasses again. “You said the KievRus were altruistic. How…?”
 

“I said they
started out
that way. When they went underground, something changed, apparently. They still talk the talk and maybe some of them actually believe that Veronika is meant to do great things for humanity, but I can feel what she’s doing to Ragan, and I can tell you that what she means to do…there’s nothing good about it.”
 

Storm shook his head. This was not good. He reminded Adrianna,  
“You have yet to say what
Witchlock
is
specifically.”
 

“The Sterling historians explain it as the ability to take possession of another being’s power and control that person’s gifts or abilities. The term
Witchlock
comes from a convoluted translation of ancient Slavic words, which basically means for a witch to lock onto any energy and take control.”  
 

“The drain on your sister notwithstanding, I’ve never heard of a witch
that
powerful,” Storm argued.
 

“I had not either,” Adrianna agreed. “Not until I saw the Sterling coven, which is feared by all who know them, hand over their next leader just to protect themselves.”
 

No wonder Adrianna never said much about being a Sterling. Storm cheered her decision to turn her back on
that
family. He had his own dark genetics that had almost sucked him into a bottomless abyss.
 

If not for Evalle, he’d be there now.
 

He kissed her head and felt her smile wrap his senses.
 

“How tough can this Veronika be?” Evalle asked.
 

Adrianna said point blank, “Although she’s dangerous in her own right even now, her current powers are nothing compared to what they will be when she takes possession of Witchlock. At that point, she’ll be pretty much invincible.”
 

“Not to a god or a goddess,” Storm qualified.
 

“I honestly can’t say, Storm. Veronika is descended from Heide, and Heidi is suspected of actually
being
Gullveig, who was burned three times and still came back to life, Veronika is not to be underestimated. And as I said, she may also be part fae. There are some things no one outside the KievRus coven will ever know.”
 

Storm ran a hand over his face, trying to wrap his head around the threat Adrianna clearly believed was imminent. Hard to argue with her when every word she spoke rang true to him.
 

Evalle sat up and started tapping the table with her fingers in a fast rhythm. “Where’s this place your sister’s being held?”
 

“She’s in a realm called Jafnan Mir, which is both Nordic and Russian. The words translate into Forever World. It’s similar to
Iron Wood
in Norse mythology, but Veronika’s ancestors created the Jafnan Mir realm.”  Strain peeked through Adrianna’s calm exterior when she stifled a yawn.
 

Evalle asked, “How long has this been going on?”
 

“Ragan was taken seventeen months ago.”
 

“Your sister has been a prisoner for seventeen months? How can you be so calm all the time?”
 

Adrianna didn’t say a word at first, but her fingers curled into tight balls. “It takes every ounce of my control to remain as calm as possible. Ragan and I are twins, but we’re more than that. We were bound with majik while in the womb because we were the seventh daughters of a seventh daughter. The Sterlings knew we would be extremely powerful, but they were afraid two baby girls would divide the power. They were wrong.”
 

Storm understood. “You were double the anticipated power, right?”
 

“Correct, but Ragan and I kept it a secret for a long time so that they wouldn’t separate us.”  Adrianna kept talking at an easy pace, but her fingers remained fisted so tightly her knuckles were bone white. “My sister has been locked inside her own mind for seventeen months. Like being frozen while wide awake. I can hear her every minute of every day. I can feel her breathing. If I’m upset, she feels it through the bond and my agitation would increase her stress, but she has no way to release it. For that reason, I must remain at peace to help her survive. She would have given up living immediately if she could have. She has no control over anything and when it’s bad she ... ”