by Verna McKinnon
Legends say witches live in shadowed woodlands, ominous dark towers or secret caves. Without any caves or towers nearby, Tela sought out a witch in the forest. "Why am I doing this?" she grumbled as she hiked through the woods.
Tela's fevered dreams about an enchanted cottage and a witch led to this reluctant hunt. Foot sore and mood cranky, she was ready to give up when she stumbled upon an old, weather-beaten cottage of stone with a decrepit thatched roof in bad decay.
"Not exactly enchanted," she mused.
The smoke rising from the chimney indicated someone was home. Tela knocked loudly.
"Come in," a woman's voice answered.
Tela lifted the latch and entered the forbidden. A hearth blazed warmly. Exotic aromas of spices, herbs, and flowers enhanced the smoky mystery. By the fire a woman kneaded a loaf, her sleeves rolled up. Floury arms hard at work, large dark eyes glanced up at Tela with amusement. She was neither old crone nor sensual enchantress, but a woman.
She slapped her hands free of powdery wheat, and exclaimed, "Well girl, it's about time you arrived!"
"If you had any sense, you'd recognize I'm a warrior," Tela warned.
"Why? Did you trade your sex for that sword?"
Flustered, Tela replied, "I'm Tela the warrior. Are you a witch? A real one? Not doing so well for yourself if you are. This house is shabby for a witch."
She laughed, not cackled. "Your manners need polishing.
Don't you want my name, girl? Witches do have names, you know."
Tela took a deep breath to soften her temper and asked, "What's your name, Witch?"
"Erina. Welcome to my humble home, Tela. Have tea with me while I explain why I called you here."
"So you admit you summoned me!"
"Of course," Erina answered. She gathered cups and saucers, humming softly.
Tela studied her opponent. Erina had that ethereal beauty that prompted men to compose ridiculous poetry. She wore a necklet of beaten silver discs that gleamed from the candlelight, jangling red and blue beads, and large silver hoop earrings. She didn't look very strong. Erina could be any age from twenty to forty, with her smooth complexion and glossy black hair bound by a striped scarf of vibrant colors. She did not look the way Tela expected a witch to look like.
"You're not a crone at least," Tela commented.
"Thank you." Erina placed a small stool in front of Tela. "Sit down," she offered.
Tela obeyed, though she chastised herself for it. Perhaps she was under the witch's influence? Maybe she's an evil rogue witch, Tela thought with a grin, fingering the hilt of her sword.
Erina spooned tea leaves into the cups and poured water from a copper kettle into two cups. She added drizzle of honey and milk. She gave Tela her tea, which she sniffed carefully before sipping. Erina sat down and blew on the steaming mug, sipping with care and said, "I'm not a rogue witch, by the way."
Embarrassed she knew her thoughts, Tela blushed. She drank some tea, and then wanted to kick herself for her stupidity. What if it's poisoned?
"It's just tea, dear," Erina assured her between sips.
"Please stop that!" Tela shouted. She dropped the cup and unsheathed her sword. "How are you doing that?"
"A charm. It's just to judge your character and personality. Your thoughts are very chaotic. Please relax. I'll stop. It's giving me a headache, anyway. Have a biscuit."
"Why am I here?" Tela insisted, unwilling to lower her sword.
"To teach you."
"There isn't anything a witch woman can teach me," Tea insisted.
Erina's grin widened, "There's plenty if you're a witch."
Tela sputtered, "What!"
"A witch. It's very simple." Erina replied, dipping a biscuit into her tea.
"That's can't be! I'm doomed if it is!" Tela gasped.
Erina soothed her bristled feelings with a sweet biscuit from her basket. Tela nibbled on shortbread with nervous energy, too stunned to think clearly.
At last Erina said, "I'm sorry this upsets you."
"Well, yes.it does! I'm a warrior. I wear leathers and carry blades of steel, not flowing robes and crystal balls."
"No one carries crystal balls," Erina corrected. "Too cumbersome. Tela, you were born with the talent. I can teach you to use it properly."
Tela shuddered, "Why must I learn magic? I'm happy the way I am now."
"So sorry to disappoint you, but an untutored witch is dangerous."
"Bah.If I don't practice magic, which I never have, what difference does it make?"
"It makes this much difference," Erina answered, and her hand wrote words in the air in shimmering rune script which evaporated with each swirl of a finger, and an image opened before Tela.
A dark tower appeared on a barren landscape of gray earth. Storms shattered the sky around the grim fortress. The magic shifted, revealing a room at the top of the tower. A dark-haired man slept in blue robes. Tela noted he was handsome, with dark hair and a strong face. A man garbed in red robes stepped into view. He had a sharp evil face, pale as bone and silver hair falling over narrow shoulders. He knew he was being watched. Laughing coldly, he waved his hand, dispersing the mystical image captivating Tela's attention.
"Wretched old sorcerer, I knew he would see us!" Erina snapped. The witch began pacing in the small space of the cottage, quite upset.
"What is this all about?" Tela asked. "What do I have to do with that odd little man?"
"Well you better start!" Erina replied bitterly. "He's a powerful sorcerer. Very evil, too."
"I got that impression. Who was the fellow on the bed? Is he enchanted? Did the sorcerer do that?" Tela asked.
"No.you did."
"Me!" Tela cried.
"Yes-you did it. He's a wizard named Bran. You put him in that enchanted sleep, leaving him vulnerable to his enemy, The Red Sorcerer."
"Red Sorcerer? How original.but I fail to see-"
Erina's tempered shattered, "You little twit! You're to blame. Last month you were in a tavern drinking. You had an argument with a strong warrior type male with flaxen hair-"
"Jared," Tela offered in a small voice.
"Jared. You two were arguing, something about your nasty temper-I don't know why since you're so charming! He suggested you sleep on some decision. You became shrewish. You slurred back with vulgar language, that he could sleep forever!" Erina said sharply.
"Oh damn.that might explain Jared's coma."
"Indeed. Well, my husband, Bran, was walking by you when you made that remark about sleeping forever, which in your alcohol soaked state, somehow mutated into a spell that enveloped him too. My husband fell into an enchanted sleep. You were so drunk you didn't even realize what happened to Jared until the next morning. The Red Sorcerer was always watching for an opportunity. We're old enemies. He flew in and snatched him from the Inn's bed before I could get there," Erina said bitterly.
"So this is really my fault?" Tela mumbled, stunned and ashamed.
"Oh yes. You and your love of ale. So you see Tela, I must train you to be a witch so you can release not only Jared, but my husband from this curse that is TELA."
"But you're a witch! Why can't you do it?"
"I can't. I tried! I risked capture at the tower to try and save my husband! Nothing worked! It's your spell. A mucked up spell I cannot detangle. I nearly died trying. I escaped the sorcerer's fortress, but I can't go back unless I can actually wake Bran. A simple reversal spell will do, but only from the witch that made the spell."
"I'm sorry, Erina," was all Tela could say.
"So am I. Your magic makes you dangerous, Tela. I'll help you, but you must also help me in return. If my husband is restored to me alive and well, I will bind your powers."
"What does that mean?" Tela asked.
"Though you will still be witchborn, your powers will be as if they never existed. But be careful, once they are bound, the magic is lost to you forever."
"Good. I don't like magic." Tela said. That relieved her. She looked at the witch, and felt penitent for this mess. "I'm sorry, Erina. I'll learn the magic you need to restore your husband, Bran. Just take away this cursed witch power I have. I'm better at fighting. Even a powerful sorcerer can succumb to knife in his gut."
"You're very elemental," Erina replied.
"I'm a warrior. My whole family is. If they ever learned I'm a witch, well, I would be shamed forever."
"Well, if this goes well, you will never have to confess your flaws," Erina nodded, pouring more tea. "I will teach you the basics first, then the reversal spell. You can test it on Jared first. Then, we will journey to the sorcerer's tower to wake Bran. After that, we'll flee that tower so fast it will make a hummingbird dizzy. Now, we need to discuss patience," Erina said.
"Not one of my best qualities," Tela confessed.
And so the bargain was struck.
***
Tela quickly grasped learning the powers of the elements, the sacred runes, and the ways to word a spell. This surprised her. Often, Tela became agitated when things did not go right, her temper paper thin. Erina would often soothe her with a cup of tea and a ginger biscuit. Erina tried to educate her in the true history of the witch-the healer, the spell caster, the oracle, the keeper of secrets. This often bored Tela. Erina would then send her outside to beat an old, dead tree with her sword until she felt better.
It was not always bad. Erina was good at cooking too. Tela often found herself enchanted by the smells of bread baking and stews bubbling. That woman knew how to stock a cauldron. Tela loved to eat.
Tela remained resolute in her disapproval of witchcraft; yet she could never contain her excitement when she practiced her spells, like when she levitated a chair with the right wording, and cast flame on the candlewick with a gesture.
The first true test was waking poor Jared. She really felt guilty about that. She never meant to hurt him.at least not like that. She imagined giving him a black eye for his parting words to her. They visited the hostel where he had been taken after the innkeeper was unable to rouse him from his magical sleep. The hostel was a religious charity. Jared slept in a ward with many patients, though his cot was curtained off. Tela slipped in and read the incantation. In a moment, he opened his eyes and looked around, quite confused.
"Tela, where am I? What happened-"
"You're in a healer's ward run by the priestesses. You were in a coma."
"What?"
One of the sisters entered with a basin of water and dropped it. "Oh, it's a miracle," she cried happily.
"More than you know," Erina quipped. She touched Tela on the arm, "I'll leave you two alone," she whispered.
Tela could not explain what happened, and probably never would. She cleared her throat and said, "I'm glad you are better. Speaking of sleep, I slept on what you said, Jared. You're right. We're not good together. Have a good life, Jared. Goodbye."
He blinked, still confused and foggy. "Well, I guess so.
Goodbye, Tela."
She quickly left and joined Erina outside.
"I'm sorry," Erina offered when they left together.
"Don't be," Tela replied. "He isn't the one for me anyway. I'm too busy to worry about men and romance now."
"Of course you are," Erina agreed softly.
Tela's tucked the folded paper inside her leather vest. "I'm ready to wake Bran now. So let's go rescue him."
"Is the spell safe there?" Erina inquired.
"The hands of god wouldn't survive a dip into my bodice," Tela assured her.
She strapped on her sword and placed daggers in her boots and belt. "Well, how long of a trip is it to that nasty tower?"
"Take my hand," Erina said.
"Oh no," Tela said, backing away. "This is some transport spell I read about in one of your scrolls, isn't it?"
"Be grateful. It would take us days to get there without magic. I know exactly where the dark tower is. That is how I can take us there with the incantation."
"But I like walking," Tela offered.
"Do you want your binding potion?" Erina asked.
Tela sighed, "Very well," and allowed Erina to hold her hand.
Erina spoke in the rune tongue, the language of magic. Words flowed from her lips with fluid, almost musical beauty, forming shimmering symbols around them. The landscape began to swirl with colors and Tela's insides lurched inward. Spinning rapidly now, Tela's dizziness dissolved all coherent thought. Colorful lights burst brightly and Tela was pulled with Erina into a vortex. She had no reckoning of time as she spun in its wake. Her solid body transformed into vapors of energy, hurling her into a void. Finally, the spinning stopped and she stumbled solid and breathless to the solid plane. Released from Erina's firm grip, Tela fell face down into gritty, wet sand. Tela's stomach heaved violently from the powerful spell.
"It's always difficult the first time," Erina said, kneeling down by her side. "Are you all right?"
Tela vomited briefly, wiped her mouth on her sleeve and lay back on the shifting black sands. "I'm walking back, you know."
"Here, drink some water," Erina offered from her flask.
Tela accepted and drank several gulps. She handed it back to her and belched loudly.
"Charming," Erina commented.
Tela slowly stood up and looked around. The sorcerer's tower was above them on the hill, looming over a wild sea.
"What land is this?" Tela asked.
Erina gathered her cloak around her, "It's an island off the coast. The sorcerer's private domain of power."
"Looks like I might be swimming home then." She checked her sword and daggers for position and tied back her long black hair with a thong. "Let's do this."
They hiked up the hill to the tower. Tela bristled when Erina cast a silent spell on them, knowing full well she could enter any territory silent with her practiced skills.
"Doesn't this sorcerer have any defenses," she asked the witch when they came to the front door. "We should be fighting by now."
"I'm sure he does. We can fly up to the window, rather than make it through the tower on foot. I have no idea what is in there, anyway."
"Will the flying spell make me sick?"
Erina sighed, "No. It's quite gentle."
"Very well. Do your magic."
Erina recited the spell, and in a moment they floated high in the air. This made Tela a bit giddy, but at least her stomach did not revolt. They continued to rise until they reached level with the window where Bran slept.
"Oh Bran," Erina cried softly when she saw him.
"Quiet!" whispered Tela. "Rescue first, then blubbering reunion."
The window was not covered by glass or shutters. Tela gripped the ledge and pulled herself in, Erina following. Once within the chamber, she found she was still airborne, floating above the star and moon designs of the carpet.
"Erina," she whispered, "Recant the spell!"
"Oh, sorry," Erina replied. With a whisper of magic they slowly became earthbound.
Tela approached the bed where wizard lay, enchanted into a magical sleep. Her magical blunder. Tela walked to the bed where Bran lay. She retrieved the folded spell from her bosom and hoped it would work as well as it did on Jared. She opened the paper and then it vanished from her hands.
"No magic allowed," a graveled voice scolded.
A prickle of panic ran down her spine. The Red Sorcerer stood across from her, the prone body of Bran between them. He waved the spell gripped in his ancient fingers and laughed.
"Erina!" Tela shouted, but a rope of black energy wound tightly around the witch, strangling her body of oxygen, her face turning blue.
"Naughty little warrior," he said.
Tela's instinct took over. "Bad little sorcerer," she retorted, and leapt across the bed, hands reaching for her daggers, she gripped them and unleashed her blades. He disappeared before the blades struck the wall and fell bloodless to the ground. The sorcerer whipped by her again and she stabbed at him. The blade flew out of her hands and imbedded itself in the ceiling.
"Nice try," the sorcerer taunted.
Erina crumbled to her knees, gasping for air.
The sorcerer's cord now embraced Tela, wrapping her from neck to ankle. She fell to the carpet and struggled, furious and feeling her life ebb. Desperate, Tela's eyes darted around the chamber. A ripple in the air caught her attention. Even now he maintained his magical shield. Her sword was still strapped to her back, if only she could get to it. The magical cord hugged like a snake, squeezing her life out, crushing her ribs.
"I knew your love for Bran would drive you from the safety of your cottage, Erina," he said. "But I would have thought you to have a more apt pupil. Where did you find this rough barbarian? In the gutter? A tavern?"
Insults propelled Tela to reply in words so profane a veteran sailor would have blushed like a virgin.
"Spunky though," he replied with admiration.
Erina closed her eyes and stopped struggling.
"Oh no, don't die!" Tela begged, tears in her eyes. She focused on the sword. The magic inside her blossomed, and she worded quickly for the sword to strike the sorcerer. The blade shot from the scabbard into the back of the Red Sorcerer. He howled once, then staggered around, his shield of camouflage dissipating as his life drained. The stranglehold of the sorcerous ropes evaporated. He collapsed to the starry carpet, his blood matching his robes.
The Red Sorcerer was dead.
"Well, I guess my magic really is dangerous," Tela said. Freed of the sorcerous ropes, Tela crawled over to Erina's prone body and shook her. Anxious, she breathed into her mouth to stimulate her lungs. "Oh, no.Erina!" she cried. "Please don't die."
Erina inhaled and her eyes fluttered opened.
"Keep breathing!" Tela shouted.
Erina propped herself up and coughed a few times. Tela offered her some water and helped her up.
"I was so worried?" Tela sobbed.
"I'll be fine. My, quite a job you did, Tela," she said, looking down on the dead sorcerer. "He was a wicked man."
"Now he's a dead man. Is the tower up for grabs?"
Erina laughed and took another drink, "I wouldn't want it. I'm sure he planted powerful and deadly wards everywhere."
"Oh well." She looked at the bed where Bran lay oblivious to all the drama. "I guess I better wake him up. I don't have to kiss him, do I?"
Erina sat on the bed, holding Bran's limp hand, "No dear. That's my job."
***
They sat on the beach together. Bran and Erina were reunited at last and could not stop holding hands or sneaking a kiss when Tela looked away. Well, Tela was glad some people were happy. Bran didn't even hold a grudge.
Tela sat cross-legged on a rock, watching the tide roll in. Sun fall cast pretty colors on the horizon, which she enjoyed, holding the potion that would bind her powers in her hand.
Erina sat down next to her and asked, "Are you going to drink the potion?"
Tela rolled the slim bottle in her hand, the dark blue potion shimmering within. She placed the potion in her belt pouch. "I will make that decision later," Tela answered. "Now I just need to think."
"Be careful, gaining wisdom might make you a more powerful witch."
"Don't press it," Tela retorted.
"Of course not, dear. Let's go home."
Tela glared at Erina, "Not that way again."
"Oh no, Bran found a boat. We don't even have to row. We can make it sail magically."
"Well, I guess magic is good for some things," Tela laughed.
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