Page 33 of Up from the Earth

It could very well be possible to destroy her, at least this form of hers. But something told me that the grand skein would simply pluck another from the ages to fill her seat or conjure one up from the bones of the earth.

Which, of course, meant that this pissing match between them would never be settled.

“I should rend this little pocket of reality you squat in. Let us not forget that it is my realm that you stole my Queen from. That is quite the offensive move, Eigrha.”

So she does have a name…interesting.

“My King,” I pushed between the two of them, nearly standing nose to nose and ready to tear into each other’s throats, “please. I am aware of the risks, and I am choosing to do this so that I might do something about the malice that affectsourrealm.”

The Beast King dropped their stare to me, looking spread between their three forms, a reflection of who they were at their core instead of the delineated beings they wore in turns. Huffing, they stepped back, pacing about the room like the angered wolf they were.

When I turned back to the baba ega, she grinned at me. “Now,thatwas a sight. But…”

She approached me, lifting my hand where I held the bit of iron ore. I examined the hunk of earth’s metal, my stomach knotting at the thought of turning it into the manufactured steel she requested.

“I still require a second task.” The Crone positioned my hand in front of me, then walked back to her seat, creaking as she sat in the wood chair. “Go on.”

My pulse surged in my throat. Steel was not of the natural world. I couldn’t just change the ore into it like I could manipulate the mushroom, the trees. The King stood at the door, Cerberus at his back as he once again wore the shape of his masculine self. I could see the distant flicker of nervousness in his black stare, and my son hid his concern even worse.

Come on, Cerri. Think. Steel is made from iron. This metal is of the earth. What must be done?

As I dropped my stare to the gray orb in my grip, I sucked in a deep breath. The air smelled off, stale and stagnant. The air of the hut had warmed to an uncomfortable level, and sweat clung to the hairline at the back of my neck where my long locks trailed down my back.

Wait…Heat.

Smits smelted steel from iron with heat. Heatwasof the natural world, existent in the very core of the earth. But it was not all I needed if I were going to be successful. The most basic steel, the kind that the baba ega would at least accept, contained coal.

I looked around the room, my attention going to the stove where the baba ega had been stirring her cauldron. As I approached it, the fire in the well went dark. Snapping my head toward her instinctively, I stopped in my tracks, my jaw dropping slightly.

“Oh, that damned draft. You never know when it’ll blow through and ruin your cooking. But you’re more than welcome to use the pot. Little bit of steel will be perfect with what I’m cooking up.”

Crafty old witch.

Continuing to the stove, I dropped the orb of iron ore into the deep well. If I hadn’t seen her stirring, seen her toss in a dead insect, I would have assumed the thing was clean. It didn’t look like she’d used it at all, and peering inside, there were no contents for me to be aware of—just the iron.

Working to understand the intricacies of her odd magic was a task for another time, however. I needed to hurry up with these tasks before the realm outside was plunged into permanent chaos.

Coal. I need a bit of coal.

Furrowing my brow, I lifted the cover on the burner next to this one. The one where the bug had perished. Beneath the iron cover was a mound of old charcoal, the black dust left over from setting fire in the well. I scooped up a bit, coughing as a cloud of it puffed out from the stove. Once I’d deposited the stuff in the pot, there was only the fire to be concerned about.

How would I start it?

I looked down at my soot-covered fingers. Heat was a part of the natural world, and I was connected to it. In all my training with the coven, I’d been terrible at conjuring elemental magic—particularly fire. We all had our specialties, and mine had yet to be revealed to me. I was a beginner when I left home for the woods, with hardly any training under my belt.

Just a novice. Some baby witch who couldn’t so much as get a candle to light. Dammit.

“Cerridwen,” The King’s voice was like an explosion from the side of the room as it pulled me from my concentration, “keep going.”

I glanced his way. His gaze was pinned to me, holding me to the task like a moth stuck to felt. Cerberus was behind him, still standing outside in the hazy magic of the ward, only able to see us because the door remained open.

“Heat is of this earth, Mother. As are you.”

Smiling, I held my expression as bravely as I could. I wouldn’t let my son see me falter. He needed me strong, capable.

My son…

Chuckling under my breath, I smiled softly at him. I was a mother now. The maiden I had been was gone, if simply buried beneath layers of accelerated time. I had given birth to him, this fearsome, gorgeous wolf of three heads, along with the sweet boy I knew lived in the center of his heart.

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