Page 145 of Pirate Witch
The hair on the back of my neck stands on end as I watch Danika stride into the dark water of the sacred pool. Above us, the moonless sky hangs heavy over the silent inner sanctuary of the Coveton temple, drenching the space in a secretive darkness, broken only by the light of the candles around the edge of the water.
The whole world holds its breath, as the Lunar high priestess begins a ritual which hasn’t been performed in centuries.
Her fists open, releasing the handfuls of lotus petals and yew berries she’s carrying. They litter the surface, bobbing in time with the ripples.
“Mother of Darkness, Lady of the Moonless Night,” Danika begins. “Your Shadow awaits your command.”
For a second, nothing happens.
Then the candles go out.
All of them.
Magic pervades the area, but it’s not the familiar cold, icy burn of the Moon which I’m used to.
This is the void. The chill of the spirit plane manifested on the physical plane in a way I’ve never seen before.
And because I’m so used to the spirit plane, it settles my nerves.
I watch in fascination as Danika turns in the water. Her normal silver eyes are pure black. The power radiates from her in waves, so strong that it rattles the immense doors of the inner sanctuary.
I kneel, dropping to my knees on the floor as I realise Danika is channelling the Moon Goddess through her body.
“My Shadow, you are to travel to Ilyani.” Even Danika’s voice has changed, becoming lower and huskier. “There you will summon High Priestess Elodie to join my Stars. This new world requires new leaders, and the old cannot be allowed to continue making the mistakes that almost cost us everything. She will be waiting for you.”
Keeping my face carefully neutral, I nod. “Yes, my lady.”
“After, you will go to the noble mage houses of Parway, Devenlin, Morrisworth, and Alligari and take the lives of their leading lords and ladies.”
I commit them to memory as she speaks. “It will be done.”
Her approval washes through the air. “Ilyani has done our witches many wrongs. Your purge will ensure the poison is routed at its core. Go with my blessing.”
The void-like power of the Goddess’s dark aspect dissipates like fog, and I look up just in time to see Danika stagger forward and catch herself on the edge of the pool.
I rush forward, letting her lean on me as she clambers out of the water.
“Goddess,” she whispers, pressing the heel of her hand into her chest and massaging it. “That was… something else.”
“Are you okay?” I ask.
I’ve never seen a high priestess become possessed by the Goddess before. Even reading about it in Petra’s journals hadn’t prepared me for it.
She waves off my concern. “Just drained. So… Ilyani.”
I nod.
“To murder a high priestess.”
It doesn’t sit well with me, but I don’t voice it aloud. I don’t have to.
The Goddess has sent me to do the very thing which I was falsely accused of and then exiled for at the start of this mess. The irony would be funny if I weren’t so nervous.
And Elodie knows.
Will she fight me? Or will she face up to her death with dignity?
“And the heads of the mage families.”
