Chapter 11
My coven and I spent several minutes discussing the various spells we could create from the artifacts. I knew the one we came up with had to be powerful, and I knew it had to be something we hadn’t used before, but it wasn’t as easy as I’d first imagined. There were a variety of incantations to choose from, but none of them seemed right.
“What about the opposite of the blood pact?” Penelope suggested. “Instead of saving the army, it killed them instead?”
“What do you mean?” Samara asked.
“Say, for example, one of the Elder Lord’s men dies, then they all die,” Penelope said as she flipped her orange hair over one shoulder.
I liked Penelope’s idea, but it seemed too easy. I didn’t want to kill these men and be done with it. I wanted them to suffer, and I wanted the Elder Lord to see just how powerful I was. I wouldn’t have gotten anything out of the battle if we used that spell, and it wouldn’t have given me the same satisfaction at the end of it.
“What about a plague?” Nyx offered.
“Ooh, yeah.” Akira grinned. “It could be a plague of parasites that eat away at their holy skin.”
“I can hear the delightful sounds of their screams now,” Faye said with a hungry look in her eyes.
“How about…” Winnie paused. “I mean, what if you do something like immobilizing? It could make the army turn into statues, or at least weaken their abilities to aim at us?”
“Hmm… I like my idea better,” Nyx laughed.
“I like the idea of immobilizing,” I said. “However, tearing away at their skin sounds better to me.”
“So you’ll go with the parasites?” Akira asked with a smile.
“Sort of,” I replied. “Instead of creating parasites, what if the men did the job instead?”
I could see my coven hadn’t caught onto my plan, and they all looked at each other to see if any of them could work out what I meant.
But then Samara’s eyes lit up.
“Oh, like a mind-control charm?” she asked.
“Exactly.” I grinned. “If I could control the mind of one man, he’ll do whatever I say. It could be anything from diverting his army away from us, or just killing his teammates on sight.”
“Yes!” Nyx said as she punched the air with her fist. “That sounds awesome!”
“It won’t be an easy spell to create, but it’ll be worth the time and effort,” I added. “And I strongly believe this is what we’ll need for when the war begins.”
“Would you be able to control anything?” Winnie asked. “For example, could you control a creature? Or does it have to be an elder soldier?”
“That’s a good question,” I said, and then I gave it some thought before I gave her a proper response. “I guess it would depend on which incantation we used. There may be one that allows me to control both men and beasts together.”
“I think it’s best if we have the option between the two,” Samara replied. “Controlling a man means we can have him converse with the others in the army, but controlling a beast means we have their additional strength and abilities.”
“You’re quite right.” I nodded.
“What ingredients would you need for this?” Morgana asked as she crossed the room to grab a book. “Perhaps I have something in here that’ll help?”
“Morgana, we’re not looking for a preschool spell.” Akira rolled her eyes. “We’re looking for something only the Dark Lord can create.”
“I’m aware of that,” Morgana said with a huff. “However, this book lists every known ingredient, and it’ll tell you what to use the components for.”
The bookish brunette laid the rust-orange book flat on a table, and then she flipped open the leather cover with one hand. I wasn’t in the right position to take note of the words on each page, but Morgana ran her finger down the paper as she skimmed through the contents, and then she continued to search the book until she reached the section she was after.
“Okay, this chapter is all about mind-control charms,” Morgana said as she sat back to look at me. “My lord, do you have a chosen ingredient in mind?”
“It’ll need to be something powerful,” I said as I moved to sit beside her. “The artifacts have the ability to channel a charm far stronger than my own wand can, so I’m not looking for a weak component.”
“No, of course not,” the brunette replied. “Okay, then let’s see what we have here…”
As Morgana searched her special book, I thought through the qualities I wanted in the ingredients we picked. I wanted something to come with an additional skill, which would then pass that skill onto the incantation. Flowers had a variety of different purposes and abilities, and so did tonics and herbs, but I wanted something that made this charm different from the others we channeled on a daily basis.
This had to be something no one had come across before.
Morgana and I searched through pages and pages of that book, and we spotted nearly every ingredient under the sun.
White snakeroot, cleavers’ herb, beech, honey, wishbone…
But none of them gave me the additional strength I needed for the charm. They were also a list of ingredients I could have found in any classroom around the school, and I didn’t want that. I wanted to have something rare, something no one’s come across before, something no one would think to look for apart from me.
“Fuck, that’s it,” I said aloud as I pulled the book closer to me.
“Master, what is it?” Morgana asked.
I turned the book back to the contents page, scanned the words until I found the one I needed, and then turned to the correct page.
Mythical Creatures and Other Animals.
“This,” I said as I pointed at the page. “We don’t need a piece of snakeroot or a dollop of honey. We need this.”
“A mythical creature?” Nyx frowned.
“But not just any creature,” I explained. “One that’s so rare, like the artifacts, people believe it no longer exists.”
“But what if those so-called people are right?” Winnie asked. “These creatures really could have gone extinct over time.”
“The same was said about the Scroll of Malediction, yet we managed to find it.” I smirked.
“Yes…” Samara hesitated for a second as she thought. “I remember hearing about a creature that controlled its prey before it attacked. I can’t remember what it’s called, but it definitely had the ability to use mind-control on other animals.”
“And that’s what we need,” I said. “If we can find this beast and collect its blood, we’ll have its qualities in the spell.”
“So, all we need to do is find it.” Morgana shrugged. “If this creature really exists, or existed at one point in time, then it’ll be in that book.”
“Exactly.” I grinned.
I scanned through every damn page in that section of the book, and I read the information about every beast it contained.
But, of course, like everything else in the world, the answer we needed was on the final page.
“The Swamp Wendigo,” I said for all to hear. “Samara, is this the creature you were thinking of?”
“Um,” the former goddess mumbled as she read the information. “Yes, that’s the one, my lord.”
“Perfect,” I said.
“I was taught about them once,” Winnie spoke up. “Not swamp wendigos, but the species in general.”
“But there’s a number of different breeds,” Morgana said. “It could take us days to find out information on this one exact breed.”
“What do you remember about them?” I asked.
Winnie’s blue eyes widened, and she stared off into the corner of the room as she rubbed her hands together. “Satan, it was so long ago. But I remember they hunt in herds, and there’s always a leader of the pack.”
“Then we need to find the leader,” Samara said.
“Do you remember where they’re found?” Morgana asked.
“Um…” the timid witch hesitated again. “I want to say it was Ebon… something.”
I racked my brain for any realm that had Ebon in the title, and I focused on nothing else in the room apart from that.
“The Ebon Isles?” I asked a few minutes later.
“Yes!” Winnie smiled. “That’s the one. Wendigos populated The Ebon Isles, but, again, I don’t know if Swamp Wendigos live, or lived, in the same place.”
“I assume the book doesn’t give you a location?” Morgana asked.
“No.” I shook my head. “But unless we can come up with another option, then I think it’s best we travel to The Ebon Isles to take a look.”
“We may not have much time, so it’s best we look while we have the opportunity,” Samara said.
“You’re right.” I nodded. “I’ll pick a few of you to travel with me, but the rest of you can research other spells, just in case we aren’t successful in hunting down the wendigo.”
My coven all nodded their heads, and then I worked on picking a few of them to come along with me. I knew they all wanted to come along, but there were far too many of us to all travel. So, instead of picking a witch at random, I thought about the qualities they all held, and which women would be stronger than others.
In the end, I went with Revna for her hunting skills, Marina for her abilities in water in case I needed her to get into the swamp, Winnie for her knowledge on the wendigos, and Samara for her general knowledge and strength. The former goddess was like the perfect mix of all three women, and I was satisfied with my choices.
“Aw, man,” Akira huffed as she crossed her arms, but her voice sounded strange. “I wanted to go.”
The room was silent as everyone turned to look at Akira, and then I spotted how she subtly wiped one eye with the tip of her finger.
“Akira, are you crying?” Faye asked with a smile.
“No,” the black-haired witch said. “My eye is just itchy…”
“Akira, you’re totally crying!” Vesta cackled. “I can’t believe you’re crying just because Cole didn’t pick you to go on an adventure.”
“Enough,” I said in order to calm down the situation. “Akira, you can come along on the next trip.”
“I’m sorry, my lord,” Akira said as more tears welled up in her eyes. “I don’t even know why I’m crying. It’s probably the baby.”
“That’s understandable.” I shrugged.
“But I’m fine now,” Akira said as she straightened out her hair, and in the blink of an eye, her tears were replaced with a grin. “Anyway, I hope you enjoy your trip! I think I’m going to have Cordelia whip me up a snack, and then maybe we can celebrate your victory when you return, my lord.”
The black-eyed witch fluttered her lashes at me, and I couldn’t help but smirk.
“Sounds good to me,” I said.
“Thank you, master,” she purred, but then her stomach let out a loud gurgle, and her cheeks pinked up.
I laughed silently as I grabbed my cloak, wand, and dagger, and then I made sure the others were ready to go. Revna had her bow over one shoulder, and the other women slotted their wands safely into their pockets.
Then everyone held hands, I clicked my fingers, and the purple mist appeared to transport us to The Ebon Isles. It was much easier than my last transportation into Hell, and it lasted for much less time.
I recalled visiting The Ebon Isles once before, but it was a long time ago, and I’d forgotten the main details of the realm. Then my feet landed on solid ground, and the memories slowly came back to me.
The Ebon Isles was a large, rainforest-like realm, covered in grass, trees, and mountains, and pools of water were everywhere I looked. I also remembered it was one of the less inhabited realms, and it was rare to see people on this land. Because of that, the creatures that dwelled here weren’t used to seeing humans in their habitat, so it made them more aggressive, and more likely to attack.
We landed in the center of a thick forest, and the trees around us varied from willow, to pine, to cedar. Some of the trunks were wider than all five of us put together, and they traveled so high into the sky that I couldn’t even see where the branches ended. The foliage was damp and mushy beneath my feet, and there was a strong, spring-like scent in the air.
It was a beautiful realm, and the view changed everywhere I looked, but we weren’t there to take in the scenery. We had to find the swamp wendigos, and the clue for where we were going to find them was in the name.
“We have to find a swamp,” I told my team as we trekked through the trees. “But keep an eye out for tracks on the way.”
“I remember the ice wendigos walked on all fours,” Revna said as she pulled back a tree branch. “I don’t know them well enough to know if all wendigos walk in the same way, but that could be something to look out for.”
“Yes, some wendigos just walk on their hind legs,” Winnie replied.
“I think we’ll get a better understanding once we find a trail,” Samara said. “Revna, how good are you at following tracks?”
“Pretty good.” Revna shrugged. “I’ll be able to tell if it’s the same paws or feet that made them, and if there’s a strong smell, then I can also follow that.”
“Then let’s keep a look out for prints and go from there,” I decided.
The five of us continued to battle through the overhanging branches, and despite how much I wanted to use a spell to clear the path, I also didn’t want to create too much noise. If there were wendigos about, they wouldn’t stay around very long if something spooked them. So, as my wand burned a hole in my pocket, and the palms of my hands began to itch, I fought against it and took the long way around.
As we neared the exit of the forest, Revna took the lead and studied the ground we walked on. She brushed her hands across the fallen leaves, sniffed the air, and studied the soil. Then the wild witch stared intently at the dirt and rubbed it between her thumb and fingers, and she also gave it a quick sniff.
“Have you found something?” I asked.
“I think so…” she mumbled. “The scent isn’t strong, but I think it holds some urine.”
I collected a sample of the same soil and held it against my nose. At first, I could only smell dirt, but then I picked up on something stronger than that. It was a sour smell, with a hint of ammonia, and it was definitely urine, but I had no idea which animal it came from.
“It’s been here a while,” Revna said as she tested the soil again. “The rain has washed most of it away, but I’d say it’s been here for a couple of days.”
“What about this?” Marina asked as she crouched to the ground. “I don’t need to smell this to know it’s something’s shit.”
Revna wandered over to Marina and glanced down at the pile of crap hidden among the leaves.
“This is much better,” Revna said with a smile. “I’ll be able to tell how long it’s been lying for.”
“You’re not going to do what I think you are, are you?” Winnie asked with a scared look on her face.
“Someone’s got to.” Revna shrugged.
And then the witch didn’t hesitate as she collected a large pile of feces in one hand and used the other hand to probe it. Two of the women covered their mouths and noses with their cloaks, and Winnie coughed back a gag as Revna pierced her finger right into the center of the dung.
“Yep, just as I thought,” Revna said as she removed her finger. “It’s still warm, so a creature was nearby recently.”
“What about the owner of the excrement?” Marina asked from behind her cloak. “Can you tell who made it?”
“Hmm…” Revna mumbled as she began to tear the shit apart. “From the texture, it seems as though the creature mainly ate grass, however… Oh, hold on.”
Neither of us said a word as Revna used two fingers to tweeze something out of the shit, and then she held the item up to get a better look at it. The object was barely big enough to see it properly, so I didn’t know what Revna was looking at, but the smile on her face told me it was something exciting.
“This creature eats animals,” she said shortly after. “This is a bone, so they clearly ate another animal recently.”
“Some wendigos are herbivores, but most are carnivores,” Winnie said. “I don’t know where the swamp wendigo fits in, but considering its powers, I doubt they pull the leaves from these trees.”
“They would have adapted to their surroundings,” I replied. “If they mainly live in a swamp, then they’d probably go for the wildlife that lives among them.”
“That was a wonderful finding, Revna.” Samara smiled. “But, for the love of Satan, please wash your hands thoroughly.”
“You mean, you don’t want to have a go with me?” Revna asked as she held up the broken-up pile of shit.
The other women gagged again, but Revna and I just laughed. Then, with a click of my fingers, a pail of warm, soapy water appeared on the forest floor, and it had a hand towel draped over the side. Revna thanked me profusely as she dipped her hands into the warm water, and she quickly removed the excess shit and soil that coated her palms.
Then the pail vanished into thin air, and we continued our search across the grassy plains. The sun was high in the sky, which gave us ample light to work with, and I was confident we were going to find the mysterious swamp wendigo. I always had a backup plan, so I’d figure something out if we returned to Scholomance without the blood sample, but I remained positive we would find the beast.
I hadn’t paid attention to how long we’d been walking for, but it must have been at least an hour after we’d left the forest when I suddenly felt the ground’s texture changing beneath my feet. My shoes were sticking to the grass, and it was like we were walking through a pile of mud instead of solid terrain.
“Look,” I said as I crouched down. “We must be nearing a swamp.”
Then I noticed a large selection of trees up ahead, which was a sign of where to go, but just to be certain, I pressed my hand flat against the grass until pools of water appeared on either side. The water drained back into the soil as I lifted my hand, and it was solid confirmation we’d arrived at a fen.
But if the wendigos were nearby, they’d see us before we saw them, so we had to be stealthy.
“We have to find somewhere to hide, but still with a perfect view of the surroundings,” I said as I stood up. “Perhaps behind a large tree, or maybe on a hill.”
“How about over there?” Marina pointed toward rolls of hills in the distance.
“That could work.” I nodded. “We just need to make sure it isn’t too marshy, otherwise we could fall straight through.”
“Well, Revna’s already had shit in her nails, so falling into a swamp wouldn’t be that bad for her,” Samara giggled.
“If it wasn’t for the shit in my nails, we wouldn’t be here right now.” Revna smirked.
The rest of us simply laughed as we traipsed through the grass, and the textures beneath my feet changed with every step I took. I kept my eye out for any more shit on the ground, or any sort of scent in the air, and Revna kept her chin up, which told me she was doing the same thing.
But we never made it to the grassy mounds, because I caught sight of movement out of the corner of my eye.
“Everyone, get down,” I said as I kneeled to the ground. “Look up there.”
“Oh, shit,” Winnie whispered. “It’s a wendigo.”
“But look where he’s standing,” Revna said as she slipped her bow from her shoulder. “He’s nestled in the center of a swamp. I bet I could get a good shot from here…”
“No,” I said as I grabbed a hold of Revna’s bow. “If you shoot now, the monster will run, and he could be the only one around.”
“The Dark One is right, of course,” Samara added. “We have to sneak up on him before we attack.”
“And how are we going to do that without him sensing us?” Marina asked.
“We’ll just need to be careful.” I shrugged.
We kept low to the ground as we creeped closer toward the swamp, and I noticed an interesting smell in the air. It was almost like someone had left onions out in the sun, but they’d gone bad and started to rot. It was painfully sharp and pungent, and I knew the scent had to have come from the wendigo.
I couldn’t tell much about his appearance, apart from the fact he was taller than any wendigo I’d ever seen, and he had a long muzzle, almost like a werewolf. He had broad shoulders, a hunched back, and long, scrawny limbs, but like Winnie said, he stood on his hind legs, and his arms were kept flat against his sides. His skin looked as dark as night, but that could have been the shadows from the trees, and as he casually turned around in the dirty water, I noticed a line of thin spikes that ran straight down his spine.
The closer we got to the swamp, the harder it became to keep our balance, but I kept my eyes on our prey the entire time, and he never once looked in our direction.
I almost thought we were going to reach him without him catching on to us, but as soon as I thought that, the wendigo spun his large head around to look at us. I wasn’t sure if he possessed heightened sight or hearing, but I didn’t have the chance to work it out.
The wendigo didn’t move a muscle and looked as though he was deciding whether to run or fight, but as we took another step, the beast made up his mind, and he began to run on unsteady legs toward a selection of trees.
“Go!” I ordered as I stood up and sprinted after the creature.
A plan formed in my mind as I raced after our chosen victim, and I knew I needed to get to his height in order to collect the blood, or at least overpower him in some way. The wendigo was as tall as a high building, so I only had one option.
“Don’t let him get away!” I shouted as I ran for the nearest tree.
My feet slipped against the damp ground, and the swamp water sloshed up against my legs, but I was so determined to grab the wendigo that I didn’t give a shit what happened to my clothing.
Then, as I reached the sturdiest tree trunk, I pulled my dagger from its sheath, placed the handle between my teeth, and began to climb. A bit of discomfort ran up my jaw as I clenched down on the dagger, and the sharpness of the bark scratched away at my hands, but I continued to climb as quickly as I could.
In the distance, I heard my women shouting spells left, right, and center, and it was clear they were doing everything they could not to let his beast leave their sight. I wasn’t sure if we were going to find another swamp wendigo, or how long it would take to come across a second, so letting him go wasn’t an option.
I heard the piercing screech and angered roar as the wendigo tried to show his dominance, and I heard the crashing of water as he maneuvered his giant body though the swamp. He hadn’t made a move at me, so I assumed he hadn’t seen me, and instead his eyes were focused on my women.
I batted at every branch that got in my way, but I kept my eyes firmly set on our prey, and I just hoped I’d reach the top of the tree before he caught onto my movement.
Then I finally reached the highest point of the tree, and I hauled myself up and straddled the branch so each leg dangled on either side. I still had the dagger held firmly between my teeth, and I used my hands to balance myself as I stepped toward the end of the branch. I must have been at least eight or nine meters off the ground, and when I compared it to the height of the wendigo, I looked to be taller than he was.
I managed to get a better look at the red spikes that ran down his spine, his arched back, and the green spots that painted his skin. The scent of rotten onions was even more intense in the tree, but I did my best to ignore his rancid stench as I planned my next moves.
I didn’t need to kill the wendigo, I just needed to collect a sample of his blood to add to the spell, so I’d let him go, just as long as I sliced open his back and grabbed some blood.
“Tardesco!” I heard a woman shout only seconds later.
I peered over the tree to see Samara had ordered the wendigo not to move, and a red glow surrounded the large beast. But the wendigo continued to thrash his arms around, and it was clear Samara needed some backup.
“Go!” the former goddess said to the other witches. “I can’t hold him all by myself.”
Revna, Marina, and Winnie repeated the restraining incantation, and as the red lights shot from their wands, the wendigo’s body slowed down even more, and it became harder and harder for him to move.
Now was my chance to attack.
I slowly brought each foot onto the branch, and once I was balanced, I stood up and grabbed a hold of the thinner limbs of the tree above my head to hold myself still.
Then I briefly calculated the distance between myself and the wendigo before I launched myself in the air. Fortunately, the creature was wide enough that I managed to grab onto his long, thin arm before I fell into the swamp below. I felt the muscles tense beneath my hands, and the monster let out deep, powerful snorts through his nose as he curled up his lips to reveal a set of broken, decaying, black teeth. The teeth were long and pointed, and his gray gums were coated in a layer of green drool.
The rancid stench of onions was so thick in the air that I could almost touch it, but I tried not to get too put off by it as I began to climb up his arm like the tree I was just in.
“My lord,” Samara called up to me. “I… we can’t hold it for much longer.”
“Hold on!” I shouted. “I just need to get some blood, and then we’ll be done!”
The witches could have dropped the spell at any moment, and if that was to happen, the wendigo would have been free to do as he pleased.
I managed to climb around to his back, and I used his red spikes to keep my feet in position. His back was extremely broad and hunched over, but I knew it was the best place to retrieve the blood sample. I used one hand to slice a line across his shoulder blade, and as the blood began to pour down the wendigo’s back, I clicked my fingers, and a plastic vial appeared in my hand. I couldn’t allow the vial to break on the journey home, so I went for the safest option and was thankful for my Earth knowledge.
“Cole!” Marina shouted. “The spell’s about to drop!”
“Hold on for two more minutes,” I said as I held the plastic tube against the cut.
“I don’t think we can,” Winnie called back.
“Well, you have to, that is an order!”
It seemed to take so long for the vial to fill, but as soon as the final drop of blood rolled into the tube, I sealed it shut and placed it safely in my pocket. Then I closed my eyes, imagined the land my women were standing on, and clicked my fingers.
My body began to spiral through the air, but I didn’t open my eyes again until after I’d landed on the ground.
“Master, are you okay?” Samara asked with one hand on my shoulder.
“I’m better than okay,” I snickered as I held up the vial full of blood.
The four women began to cheer and clap as they celebrated, but as I was wiping my hands clean of blood, an overwhelming force pierced straight through my chest.
Then my knees buckled, and I fought to keep from falling to the ground.
My heart pounded as adrenaline rushed through my veins, and I closed my eyes as I allowed the darkness to take over.
Something was about to happen, and I already knew what it was.