It took a few seconds for my eyes to adapt to the darkness within the hall, and when they finally did, I still didn’t see much. The hall was draped in gloom, dark, almost unnatural. There were no lamps or torches, just the faint outline of the trees that acted as interior pillars.

  The entire hall was filled with an aromatic smoke, which flowed from somewhere deeper in the building. I could make out hints of lavender, rose and mullein, among the dozen or so scents. If they were for a spell, I certainly couldn’t identify the purpose.

  There was only one area with a significant amount of light, near the back, the sunlight had penetrated the thick canopy and created a natural spotlight. Without any other visible landmarks, I tentatively made my way back towards the light.

  Kaylee glanced around the room, trembling slightly as she did, before she leaned right next to my ear. “Meer”

  “I figured. It’s probably some sort of test. Although, I’m not sure why the honored elders would bother with such games and theatrics,” I replied as I stepped into the beam of light. I didn’t bother whispering, I wanted the others in the room to hear me.

  A quiet, reedy feminine chuckle echoed out of the darkness right in front of me. Whoever it was couldn’t have been more than a couple feet in front of me, but couldn’t see them. “True, enough of this.”

  Several braziers simultaneously sparked to life, driving back the gloom and illuminating the space. Arranged before me, in a loose semi-circle, were three women, on slightly raised dias.

  The one on my left appeared to be the youngest, with fair skin, sharp features, and dark hair pulled back into a single ponytail. Even though she appeared to be in her late thirties I knew that strong witches could slow the aging process. The woman didn’t even try to conceal her disdain for me, staring at me with disgust plain on her face.

  Opposite her was a matronly woman. She had curly brown hair, pulled up into a pair of braids. Even sitting down I could tell she was tall, really tall. She was wearing a sleeveless shirt that showed off her well toned muscles covered in dozens of scars. A wide, confident grin on her face, she watched me with interest.

  Between them, sitting directly in front of me, was the third and last member of this little council. Her long grey hair was pulled back into a bun, giving me a good look at her heavily weathered face. She looked old, late eighties or early nineties, but I knew she was much, much older. Even though my magical senses had been heavily dulled after losing my powers, I could feel how powerful she was. Magic rolled off her in waves, so much so that most people would find standing in front of her suffocating.

  Kaylee’s trembling increased, and her breathing started becoming ragged, so I released a tiny bit of my power around her. It wasn’t enough to completely negate the magic, but enough to dull the sensation of my familiar. After a few seconds, Kaylee’s trembling stopped.

  The smoke around me stirred, and I caught the faintest whisper “Interesting.”

  I took a deep breath, removed my hat, and bowed. “Greetings honored elders, my name is Zoey Claiborne. I was told you wished to speak with me.”

  “We wanted to see what kind of abomination you were for ourselves,” the black haired woman hissed.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “We wanted to evaluate you for ourselves,” the brown haired amazon corrected, shooting a disappointed gaze at her colleague. “And since our guest has shown us the proper respect, we should do the same.”

  The large woman placed one arm across her chest and did a half bow. “I am Thyra Alfson, these are my companions, Olivia Conrad,” she said gesturing towards the black haired woman, “and Lady Amelia Dyer.”

  I nodded respectfully to each woman as they were introduced, but my eyes remained upon Lady Amelia the longest. She was sitting cross legged, the elbow of one arm resting on her knee, hand propping up her head. The old woman barely moved, but her eyes were sharp, constantly evaluating me.

  “We called you here today to decide if we can trust you enough to allow you free reign of the grounds, with an escort of course,” Thyra explained.

  “Or whether to eliminate you before you become an issue,” Olivia hissed.

  “You could just give me my stuff, and let me leave instead,” I interjected the instant Oliva was finished. The woman reared back at the idea, snarling.

  She leaned forward, probably to berate me, but before she could a Lady Amelia spoke. Despite speaking at little more than a whisper her voice filled the space. “Do you really wish to leave?”

  I glanced back at the old woman. It didn’t look like she had moved at all, had she even opened her mouth? Our eyes met for just a second, before I looked away. I didn’t dare say what was in my heart.

  Thyra sat up straight. “We’ve asked Clara to find out more about you, but you’ve dodged her question and only revealed the bare minimum. If you want our trust, that ends now.”

  Oliva reached to the side and grabbed a handful of herbs out of a bowl at her side, crushing them between her hands, before throwing them into the brazer at her side. The fire flared for a moment, then the smoke in the room began to swirl around me.

  “You know that won’t do anything to me, right?” I mumbled.

  “But ceremony must be observed,” Thyra intoned. As the smoke swirled slowly around me Oliva leaned forward. “What coven do you belong to?”

  I shot the disagreeable woman a dirty look. “I don’t belong to any coven, not anymore.”

  “Then where did you come from? Why did you leave?” Thyra asked.

  Closing my eye, and swallowing a mouthful of saliva to moisten my throat, and said a single word. “Roanoke.”

  Oliva gasped. “You lie!”

  “I do not,” I snarled. For just a moment I lost control of my power, it surged out destroying the spell around me and consuming the smoke. As soon as I gained control again the smoke flowed back in, settling at my feet.

  “I was exiled,” I said quietly after several seconds.

  “Roanoke is an extremely powerful, and private coven. What sort of hedonistic acts did you perform in order to get exiled?” Oliva asked, leaning in closer.

  “My fucking job,” I spat out. I really didn’t want to cry here, but I could feel the wetness on my cheeks. “My friends and I protected the coven from a dangerous spirit. They died fighting it, and I was permanently crippled in the fight. It took my magic and left this… emptiness in me! You know what I got for saving the coven? The people I’d grown up with? Fear, suspicion and finally exile. That’s why I left.”

  Oliva reeled back, she suddenly seemed to have a problem looking me in the eyes. I wiped my eyes, and considered just walking out. Kaylee nuzzled my cheek.

  “Why did you come all this way? What did you have to gain from the trip?” Thyra asked tersely.

  I glanced towards the woman, “I was told if I wanted to find my purpose I needed to follow the iron rails to their end. Only in the frontier would I find what I needed.”

  Neither Thyra or Oliva seemed to be able to look directly at me anymore, so I threw up my hands. “Any more wounds you want to rip open, or can I go?” I asked sarcastically.

  “Only one,” Lady Amilia announced. I turned towards her, and found her sitting up straight, her deep black eyes bored into my own.

  “The spirit you fought, name it,” she intoned.

  I shuddered, the memories which haunted me came rushing back. The blood of my friends, painting the snow red. The monstrous spirit which casually went from one person to the next, devouring people alive, while shrugging off the very best we could throw at it. My last moments of consciousness as it grabbed me, and brought my shoulder to its mouth. “A Wendigo. Spirit of hunger, and cold,” I whispered.

  The old woman nodded once, then returned to her previous position.

  “I’m done with this,” I muttered, pivoting on the spot before heading back towards the entrance.

  “Do whatever you want, you all made your decisions before I walked in here anyways,” I growled. As I pushed open the living curtain I was blinded for a moment, my eyes taking time to adapt to the bright sun. When they finally did, I found Clara staring at me.

  “Are you okay?” she asked quietly.

  I probably looked like a mess right now, so rather than saying anything I put my hat back on and pulled it low. “Just take me back. We’re done here.”

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