The Ether Witch Volume 2

"The elders are not expecting you." The gruff witch manning the lone dock at the base of the Isle of Wittica scowled down at Henrietta. The sloshing waves beneath the dock nearly swallowed the small fishing boat Henrietta had come in on. It bobbed in the water next to a larger vessel that dwarfed it.

Tam strut around the man's feet, once again in a chicken form.

Henrietta wrung her hands together. "I just escaped from the Ashowan's, and I want to report back so that I have permission to return home."

The dock witch stiffened when he heard the mention of the infamous family name. His blue eyes widened, and he even tried to stand marginally taller, though the pronounced hunch on his back stopped the action from doing much.

"How'd you escape them?" he asked suspiciously.

Henrietta gave a weak smile. "I was with the duchess, and she wanted to return to Austice quickly. She was trying to place me in the care of her allies when I managed to run away."

The man stared at her for a long moment before his thin lips curled upward in a cruel smile. "Well aren't you lucky. You see—oop!"

Kraken slunk forward from under Henrietta's skirts, woven around the man's legs, and taking her cue, Henrietta shoved the witch off the dock into the water.

She bolted to the open iron door at the end of the dock, with Tam and Kraken close on her heels.

She barely managed to slam it before she heard a bellow of rage behind her, and the telling splash of water being pulled from the Alcide Sea. A thundering rush of water could be heard slamming into the door from the outside.

While Henrietta panted, sweat already dripping down the side of her face, Tam inspected the narrow tunnel they found themselves in.

"We have to hurry. There are witches stationed halfway up the stairs. That witch outside will raise the alarm and they'll come running," she whispered.

Kraken was already prowling the cave they found themselves in.

Tam noted the staircase to his left that was carved out of the cliff, and appreciated that they were not plunged into darkness as, from high above them at the top of the stairs, a round glass ceiling pressed against the cloudy sky illuminated the tower of rock with pale light.

"I've been here before, and this particular corner always smelled interesting," Kraken called from the back of the stairs on the ground.

Tam hustled over to his side. He peered at the rocky corner, but nothing was obvious. There wasn't a door cut out, or a hatch. Just the regular grooves and pocked face of a normal cave..

Kraken began pawing the ground and gave a grumble, right in time for another deafening crash of water against the outside of the door to echo out.

"I don't think we have much longer!" Henrietta's panic was audible.

Kraken kept sniffing as Tam moved back along the stairs trying to spot something that would hint at a tunnel.

Then it dawned on him. "An earth witch could move the rocks if they managed to create a hole that wasn't load bearing. Kraken. Can you pinpoint where the tunnel would be on the other side of the door?"

His father's familiar turned eyes that gleamed in the dim light to him. "Yes. Straight ahead from where I'm standing. How can we move the rocks?"

Tam turned to look at Henrietta who was stumbling over to them. The poor young woman was trembling.

"Henrietta, do you know if I can still use my magic as a chicken?"

"I d-don't know. No one has tried before," she admitted.

Shouts echoed down from higher up the staircase, sending Tam rushing back over to the corner.

He closed his eyes, and inwardly cheered when he discovered he could still feel his magic brewing in his being.

He'd never tried to go somewhere he couldn't see before, but if he was quick, he could try to feel his way through the stone while in his void and come back to get Kraken and Henrietta.

And so that is what he did.

He fell back into the void, and felt through his senses the rocks, the moisture, the mollusks that dotted the stones. Then, he felt the heaviness of rock disappear.

Without time to properly assess how wise it was to do so, Tam snapped out of the void, and nearly boked in relief when he found himself standing in a darkened tunnel.

There was no time to celebrate. He shifted back into the void, through the rocks and back beside Henrietta and Kraken.

"Both of you. Touch me. There is a tunnel."

Kraken draped his fluffy tail around Tam's neck, while Henrietta dropped to a crouch and laid her hand on his back.

The sound of boots clattering down the steps above them grew louder, and so Tam yanked the three of them into the void as quickly as possible. He shuffled forward in the void, ensuring Henrietta and Kraken were still touching him, then once again moved them out and into the tunnel.

Henrietta let out a choking breath filled with relief, while Kraken gave a huff.

"I-I can't see anything." The chicken witch sounded close to tears.

"Follow the sound of my voice. I'll be following Kraken," Tam said while already positioning himself in front of the chicken witch and behind Kraken who naturally took the lead.

Amazingly, whatever chaos was happening in the staircase and cave they'd just left behind, could not be heard in the tunnel. The rock was too thick.

"This way," Kraken beckoned as he trotted ahead.

Tam followed, and listened for Henrietta's hesitant steps behind him as he went.

The tunnel, it turned out, did not have stairs of its own as it rose through the tower of stone, but rather it continued to slope upward.

They had to stop and rest three times for Henrietta as she struggled to keep up, but at long last they reached a dead end.

Kraken sniffed the air, then padded closer to the wall and pressed his ear against its surface.

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"It sounds as though this is the meeting room. There are people in there."

Tam swore softly. He'd wanted to get in and get out faster than this.

"You sure you know where the archives are?"

Kraken gave a huff of annoyance. "It has the best nap spots on the island. Of course I know where it is."

The familiar's tail had been swishing back and forth as he had been answering Tam, but just as Tam was about to ask a follow up question with regards to how far exactly the archives would be from the council room, Kraken went perfectly still.

Then he jolted back with a chirp.

"What?" Tam asked, already dreading what new complication had presented itself.

A low purring chuckle resonated from Kraken. "Don't worry, kitten. Things will be fine. Let's turn back. There is another exit a short way back. It isn't as close to the archives as this point, but it is going to be empty, or at the very least less guarded."

Tam clucked irritably, but relayed Kraken's message to Henrietta. The poor chicken witch barely stifled a moan.

Regardless of their feelings on this change of plan, Henrietta and Tam followed Kraken once more, though Tam couldn't help but wonder just what had Kraken heard just now that had made him react that way. He almost seemed in a better mood… And that raised all kinds of alarm bells in Tam's mind.

***

Finlay Ashowan thrummed his fingers against the large, round mahogany table he found himself seated at in the presence of the Coven of Wittica council members.

The elders looked haggard.

The glowing blue resin in the middle of the table cast their pallors into an almost deathly blue thanks to the circle of windows of the turret they all sat in.

"I'm not here to speak with the first witch," Fin informed them all coolly. "I'm here because I know my grandsons and young Lord Aster Fuks are here."

Two out of the five coven members shifted in their seats.

"Either you just found the princes and were going to be writing my son-in-law a letter telling him as much, or," Fin's tone became bladed. "You were going to hold them hostage as a negotiating point for the first witch's scheme. And that would mean that the coven is now using children as war pawns, which would be the end of the amicable relationship the coven has with Daxaria. No negotiations. No discussions. No warnings. This will be a war."

Only two of the coven members could maintain a cool face of composure as Fin glowered dangerously at them all.

"The princes are not here," a balding man with a ring of black hair around his head spoke up. He had a long face and sagging jowls. His light green eyes glinted in the pale light of the room.

Fin leaned back in his chair, and levelled at the earth witch with his stare. "You don't want to lie to me right now, Racine."

The older man's expression thundered. While he may have only been ten years Fin's senior, he looked nearly double that.

"Your Grace, you came to this island under a white flag. To declare war would be—"

Fin slammed his hand down on the table. "The abduction of children for your games is the matter at hand, Racine."

"I already told you," Racine rasped. "They aren't here."

Fin felt icy wrath seeping through his veins. "Then show me the dungeon."

It seemed to Fin that the council members were collectively holding their breaths.

Racine slowly rose from his seat, and with a sweep of his arm, gestured to the door. "By all means."

Fin was on his feet in an instant, and was already turning toward the door, when he saw the boulder of rock coming for the side of his head.

He dodged it just in time, but not before a blast of air shot him back against one of the bookshelves along the wall, sending books raining down onto the floor. Gasping, he fell to the ground. He managed to catch himself just before his face smacked into the stones beneath him.

He laughed darkly.

When he lifted his face up, he saw the five coven members on their feet. A fire witch was already holding two balls of fire at the ready, and a water witch was already drawing the liquid from her goblet and fashioning a ball of water in her hand.

Slowly, Fin pushed himself to his feet, wincing against the broken ribs that were already mending in his chest thanks to his curse.

"I guess this is where our partnership ends." He slipped his navy coat from his shoulders.

None of the coven members said anything.

Fin's attention was drawn to the air witch that was reaching into his pocket.

She withdrew a vial of powder.

And Fin didn't need to ask what it was.

Witch's Brew.

The drug that would addle his wits and power.

He let out a shuddering breath, and felt his eyes fill with white light as his magic hummed to life.

The coven members flinched.

"You see… I knew my grandsons were here because the instant I stepped on this island, my power came back. It was a hunch, and a big risk coming here. But you all may recall what I did back during the war of Troivack. I made a house rule. I have my magic wherever my family is."

The air witch moved to uncork the vial, but Fin lifted his hand, and with a flick of his wrist, a shield exploded out from the middle of the council table sending the council members flying back into the walls.

The fire and water witch were knocked unconscious.

That left the two air witches and Racine still standing. The air witches had been able to cushion their falls with bursts of air, while Racine had had vines surge from his pockets, cradling him before he could hit the wall.

"Sit back down," Fin growled to the remaining three. "Or I will make a new house rule for all of Daxaria. Something along the lines of how any witch that has been a part of kidnapping children loses their magic forever."

All three witches paled.

"Let's try this again." Fin strode back toward the table, blue lightning starting to crackle around him as he walked. "Where are my grandsons, and did you hurt them? And if you lie again, I will not hesitate to do what I need to."

Three bolts of the lightning shot the ground in front of the three remaining witches.

Fin glowered darkly at them. There wasn't a trace of kindness or mercy to be found anywhere in his face. "Am I clear?" His head swiveled over to Racine whose vines were still twitching, as though the witch commanding them wasn't entirely convinced to stand down. "Or do you want to know what a house witch does when someone hurts a child in their home?"