Page 31 of Dragon's Desire

Everyone nodded.

She instructed several people to begin sweeping the floor area as clean as possible. Then she turned to Kiercy.

"In my room, there is a dagger in a glass case. Use the gloves in the drawer below it. Open the case and bring me the dagger. Do not, under any circumstances, touch the blade or scabbard with your skin."

"Yes, Matron," Kiercy answered.

"Even be careful about putting on the gloves. Don't touch the palm or fingers of the outside of the gloves. The blade only works for this spell if it's cleansed and pure."

"I will do it."

She followed the Matrons instructions to the letter. The gloves were completely white. When she opened the case, she saw the black-handled dagger in its intricately patterned sheath. She took the blade carefully.

Even though she was doing exactly as she'd been told, Kiercy still felt nervous, like if she breathed on it, she'd make it not work. When she returned, Magda had just finished pouring a circle of salt and then crisscrossed it with an x-shape.

"Kiercy, draw the dagger and cross the sheath and the blade, sheath first, with the blade on top."

"Yes, Matron."

When Kiercy drew the dagger, she gasped. The blade had been polished to a mirror finish. She put everything in its place. Then at Magda's instructions, coven members began drawing a large eight-pointed star on the floor with the dagger and salt circle at the center. The Matron started moving along the edge of the star, drawing something that Kiercy didn't recognize. There was a pattern to it, but Kiercy couldn't decipher it.

It took her a while, and it felt a little awkward just standing there watching her encircle the whole thing in these strange symbols. The more she watched, the more Kiercy felt like she'd seen the symbols before, but it had to have been a long time ago.

When the Matron was done, she stood.

"When you hear me say this, begin to chant it with me ..." the words she spoke Kiercy barely recognized until it clicked. She hadn't needed to bust out the ancient Sumerian ever.

"In the name of peace, we bind you, Arthur Legermain." The shift from Sumerian to English was a little rough, but eventually, the coven got it.

That was when Kiercy realized the symbols along the edge of the eight-pointed star were Sumerian cuneiform. If Magda used a language that old and long dead, she was reaching for some deep magic.

Then Magda began chanting. If Kiercy had to chant it, she was sure she'd have stumbled upon some of the words. The Matron Magda was speaking it as fluently as she'd been speaking in English just moments before. While Kiercy couldn't have said it, she could still understand most of it. The Sumerian chant had rhythm and meter in places, but that was entirely lost in the translation Kiercy went over in her head.

"Spirits from above and below, we beseech you. One of our number has violated sacred oaths and must be bound. The harm he does to one is a harm to all. We ask that you sever his connection to the source of all magic. In the name of peace, we bind you, Arthur Legermain."

The coven joined in the chanting, and Kiercy could feel something, and it didn't feel good. There was a strange twisting feeling in her gut. She wasn't sure if it was the magic or the understanding of how dire this action was. Yes, Legermain needed to be stopped, but there was something about this that still felt so wrong.

Then the door flew open, and there was Legermain, dressed in his tactical gear and holding up the Totem of Babel. He didn't even give the ultimatum he'd given the others before. No one had a chance to join him. He just pointed the totem at people, and with a flash, they were reduced to gibbering in a language no one understood. The Matron kept chanting, but she ordered a few witches to defend them with just a look.

Not Kiercy, though. Kiercy kept chanting, even though she could see Legermain coming. With the hand that wasn't holding the totem, he summoned an arcane shield to protect him from the magic being slung his way. But it was flickering and inconsistent. The ritual was working. Kiercy tried to pour as much of her concentration as she could spare into the spell.

If they could complete it, either he wouldn't be able to use the totem, or his flickering shield would shatter, and magic would strike him down. But as more and more were sent to try and hold him back, and he used the totem on them, the spell was weakening, his magic was growing.

Then some of the witches turned on the others. Legermain hadn't even pointed the totem at them. Unbidden, they had pledged loyalty to him. No, not unbidden. Legermain had intentionally spared them. Traitors. How else would he know where they were and what they were doing?

Those who had been stricken held them off. They may not be able to speak or even understand each other, but you didn't need to speak to throw a punch or see when someone was about to be overwhelmed. Those who weren't grappling with traitors ran or tried to attack Legermain. Those that ran had far better luck.

When they were the only two left chanting, Kiercy locked eyes with the Matron and said, "Run," before she stopped saying the incantation and began to cast a different spell. She hurled a bolt of energy at Legermain, but it crackled uselessly against the shield he had summoned. The barrier was at full power now that the ritual had ended.

Kiercy didn't look back. She couldn't take her eyes of Legermain, but she hoped his shield being at full strength meant Matron Magda had abandoned the spell and fled.

She locked eyes with Legermain, trying to shatter his shield with all her strength. It wasn't enough. At her best, she might have been able to overpower Legermain. But she wasn't at her best. Her heart was broken to see coven members fighting each other.

People she would have called friends, even family, had turned on the coven. She didn't know if they were cowards or opportunists, but it didn't matter.

Legermain's shield kept her magic at bay. But he only needed one hand to protect himself from her spells. He lifted the other, pointing the Totem of Babel at her. Behind him, she saw the traitors starting to gain the upper hand. Those loyal to the coven couldn't chant and therefore cast. No one could help her.

This was it. They'd tried to take Legermain's magic, and he stole their voice. As the totem started to glow, tears streamed down Kiercy face as she imagined a world in which she could no longer use magic.

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