The blood witch, p.20
The Blood Witch, page 20
Chapter 71 – To Fight an Ostara
“Come,” Annalise said. She yanked Madeline away from the wall and threw her to the ground. Madeline fell on her hands and knees, but before she could attempt to escape, Annalise grabbed a handful of Madeline’s hair, wrapped it around her wrist and began dragging her across the dungeon floor.
“Stop!” Madeline screamed, in half-pain and half-panic. Annalise had that face on her again—the kind that only sought out to destroy. Madeline had memorized it the day of the assembly—when Lucas Ashby and his mother had been murdered.
“We can talk about this,” Madeline pleaded.
“There is nothing you can say that will persuade me,” Annalise said.
But was this true? Was there no way to salvage their potential relationship? To put a bandage over the betrayal? As far as she could tell, she had three options before her, with option 3 being the vial in her pocket. She could remove Annalise’s power and escape...but then what? Annalise wouldn’t remain silent, and she didn’t want to kill her...even if that is what she was supposed to do.
Grant was right. It wasn’t about killing her opponents. It was about showing them that there was another way, as hard as it may be. Killing would indeed continue the cycle...but what choice did she have? Even if Annalise didn’t tell the Ostara about her, she would be excommunicated and possibly even executed for being human. If Annalise managed to escape herself, she would seek out Madeline out of revenge, she would target Grant and their home, and they would have to go on the run. Dinah would have to run too, and Taylor would never be awakened.
The vial was undeniably the last resort.
It looked like she would have to go with the first two choices.
“Annalise, I’m doing this to protect you,” Madeline said aloud. Annalise scoffed as she turned the corner and saw Dinah standing in front of Taylor’s comatose body.
Annalise scowled and pointed at Dinah. “What did you do?”
“Nothing,” Dinah said.
“Liar,” Annalise seethed. “I can see right through you.”
“Then there’s no point explaining anything. You can see it all, right?”
“Dinah, please!” Madeline shouted, her hair still in Annalise’s grip. “Let me reason with her.”
“You’ve seen her in action,” Dinah said. “She won’t listen.”
“Watch your tongue!” Annalise shouted. “How dare you speak of an Ostara in that manner!”
“I won’t back down,” Dinah said.
“Then you have all forgotten your place. I have been too forgiving, and look what I gain. Betrayal. Deception. Mutiny. Why do I continue to entertain these fantasies? I should have adopted Reina’s style a long time ago. I probably would have killed her by now if I had.”
“No, no, no,” Madeline said. “Please just hear me out. Don’t do anything, Annalise. We are not the ones betraying you. Trisha is.”
“You think I’m a fool.”
“You’re angry, I know. But what is your specialty telling you? I’m not lying. You know this.” Annalise breathed in and out heavily, but she did not move. Madeline took a quick breath and continued. She couldn’t let this brief moment pass her by. “Trisha has been manipulative from the beginning. Somehow, she found out about your suffering and she took advantage of it. When you needed a friend most, she slipped in, and the first thing she did was put her name in the Key of Solomon. She knew that you wouldn’t believe someone simply because they offered a friendly shoulder to cry on. You needed proof, and she forged it.”
Annalise faced Madeline swiftly, but she kept her grip tight on her hair.
“You can verify it yourself,” Madeline said. “She’s dangerous...and that’s why I couldn’t take any chances. We put Taylor to sleep and were about to move her when—”
“LIES!” Annalise shouted in Madeline’s face. The eruption made Madeline tremble. “IT WOULD HAVE BEEN EASIER TO HAVE HER WALK OUT OF HER OWN ACCORD! YOU DID SOMETHING TO HER BECAUSE YOU FEARED ME!”
“Annalise, I—”
“I see it all clearly,” Annalise whispered. “My emotions have clouded my judgment and my clarity for too long. What you may have said about Trisha may be true...and if it is true...then...I have no one left in this world. Then there is no reason to keep ANY OF YOU ALIVE!” Annalise lifted Madeline into the air with inhuman strength, making her shriek in pain. Madeline kicked her legs back and forth. It felt like her skull was being ripped apart.
“You first,” Annalise seethed.
“No!” Dinah shouted, attempting to tackle Annalise. To her shock, Annalise didn’t budge, as if Dinah had wrapped her arms around a pillar of stone.
Annalise kicked at Dinah’s knee with the heel of her shoe and then kneed her in the face when she began falling to the ground. Before she could fall further, Annalise reached out and grabbed her by the neck, choking the life out of her without restraint. Dinah gagged and her eyes began rolling in the back of her head.
Madeline fought through the pain, wincing as she mustered up the strength to try an assault. She kicked at Annalise, but the High Witch simply held her further away from her. The adjustment in her grip only caused Madeline more pain. Madeline’s hand shook as it began navigating down to the vial in her pocket.
“PUT HER DOWN!” a voice shouted, and Annalise looked at the intruder like an insect.
“I SAID PUT HER DOWN!” Riley shouted. The gear around her arm was spinning slowly like a Ferris Wheel, but it was pointed right at the High Witch’s head. “Now.”
Annalise released her grip on Dinah, causing her to fall to her knees. Dinah coughed and rubbed her throat.
“Now her,” Riley said, motioning towards Madeline with the geared arm. Annalise took advantage of the opening. Dropping Madeline to the floor, she sprinted towards Riley, ducked under the gear and grabbed her elbow with her right hand while reaching out with her left. Annalise’s left hand closed around Riley’s throat and the gear disappeared as Riley gasped in shock.
Annalise didn’t relent. She began chopping the girl down like a tree with her hands, punching and jabbing her in a myriad of pressure points and sensitive areas. Riley barely made a peep. The last blow was a punch to her stomach, and Riley fell onto the cold floor with little breath in her body.
“We have to use it,” Dinah whispered to Madeline. “We can’t take her down like this. She’s too fast. Too strong.”
“I know,” Madeline said. “But...let me try one more time.”
“We were nearly killed!”
“Trust me, I’m scared too, but this is a rare opportunity. If I can make Annalise listen, we’d have a powerful ally.”
“Maddie, why do this now? I thought the idea was to—”
Madeline glared back at her. “Not here,” she said. But then...maybe here...was the right time. Perhaps only the craziest of ideas could convince Annalise.
Dinah pursed her lips and sighed. “Make it quick. She’s coming back.”
“I don’t want to fight you,” Madeline said, turning to Annalise. She rubbed the crown of her head as she stood up. “None of us do. In fact, I want you on my side.”
“Your side,” Annalise said. She stopped moving.
“Our side,” Madeline said. “Look at this.” Madeline reached into her pocket and procured the vial of Taylor’s blood. “What do you think this is?”
It was the first time Madeline had seen Annalise take a step back from a fight.
“You know then,” Madeline said. “I’ll say it clearly so that you know I’m not trying to trick you. This is Taylor’s blood. This is potent blood from the Blood Witch, with the ability to remove the magic from an individual. Why am I showing you this?”
“Because it is a threat.”
“No, because I want you to trust me.” Madeline put the vial back in her pocket. “I didn’t know if I could trust you...I still don’t...but I want to. I was determined to take you down once. You and all of the Ostara. But my friends...my witch friends...and my grandfather...they convinced me that destroying someone isn’t the only way. I could do the unthinkable, if I chose. I could show them compassion and love, even when I shouldn’t.”
“Be careful, Maddie,” Dinah said.
“I’ve got this,” Madeline said. She smiled at Annalise. “I know I won’t be able to be kind all the time. Someday, I might have to kill an Ostara...but when I can...I want to try something different. After hearing what they did to you and your family, I realized that you’re not ruthless. You’re not evil. At least, you don’t want to be. You’re just being what they expect you to be, what your royal family wants you to be, but it’s not who you are. I told Dinah that if it was possible, I wanted to convince you that you could join us. That we wouldn’t hurt you.”
“It’s true,” Dinah said. Annalise scowled at her, reading between the lines.
“And what I said about Trisha is true too,” Madeline said. “I know you’re hurt right now, because you’ve been betrayed, but we are not your enemy. If you wanted, we could be the friends that you wanted all your life, and I promise that I would do everything I could to get your family back, whether they are gone or not.”
Annalise’s chest rose and fell prominently. She looked into Madeline’s eyes and searched for deception, for lies and deflection, but found none. Deep in the abyss that was her heart, she felt a warm sting—a prick that reminded her of simpler times. Of days when right was right and wrong was wrong, when good and evil were clearly defined, and love was not complicated. Somehow, this girl, this simple, ordinary girl...was bypassing her specialty. It was the only explanation. But how? Why? For what purpose? She had the vial of blood, didn’t she? Annalise was no threat anymore. They had Taylor, didn’t they? They could easily get more blood.
So why?
Why would Madeline play with her heart like this?
How could she dare feel this way again? A desire to believe?
“I’m putting it all out on the table,” Madeline said, lifting her hands in the air. “I’m going to tell you something...to let you know that I care about you, and when I am finished, if you want to kill me, then go ahead and try.”
“State your case,” Annalise said.
“I am human,” Madeline said.
Annalise’s eyes widened in surprise. Riley, on the floor, gasped at the admission. “I have been human the whole time.”
Annalise glowered at her. “But the simulation.”
“It was just that. A simulation. I wanted to see what I could do if I did have Hex magic.”
“But you—you made it through the trials!”
“With a lot of help,” Madeline smiled. “And some ingenuity.”
“Then why would...” Annalise looked back at Riley.
“They are my friends.”
“But they’re witches.”
“They’re my friends,” Madeline reiterated.
“Humans are—”
“—what we all used to be. There is no difference between human and witch except the magic and the culture, and we’ve focused on those small differences to the point it divided us. And when the humans were decimated, the witches began to turn on each other. In time, we will either destroy each other, or something greater than ourselves will take advantage of our division. Either way, I aim to end the cycle. That is why Dinah and Riley and even Taylor are with me. Because they see it too, and we trust each other. If our alliance wasn’t worth anything, then they wouldn’t be here, defending a powerless human.”
Annalise’s face softened. “I don’t understand...what you are telling me seems true...but how can I believe this? You must be blocking my specialty somehow.”
“I’m not.”
“But what can a measly, insignificant human do?”
“Well,” Madeline laughed. “She can study every specialty she comes across. Learn how people operate. Survive school. Take down a teacher with his own ego. Get invited to the Harvest. Become an Arcana. Subdue a pair of homicidal brothers. Gain the trust of witches. Pass the four trials while being under a curse in one of them. Fight against her crazy witch grandmother. Become a Besom. Secure the Blood Witch’s trust and weapons...oh, and Annalise? I’m just getting started. Give me another year and who knows what will have happened.”
“You must have done all the work,” Annalise said to Dinah.
Dinah crossed her arms. “Nope. I was the help in all this. She’s the mastermind. We couldn’t have done any of this without her.”
“I need them as much as they need me,” Riley said from behind Annalise. She staggered to her feet and wobbled past Annalise. The High Witch watched her closely as she fell into Dinah’s waiting arms.
“I love them,” Madeline said, looking back at Riley. “I would die for them in a heartbeat. I mean, no matter how smart I am, a human can only do so much, right?”
“Don’t sell yourself short,” Dinah said. “You took down Mr. Tate on your own, remember?”
“Yeah,” Madeline said, scratching her hair. “I did...and I didn’t like how it felt. To just focus on how to kill someone. I decided to work towards becoming better, even if it meant taking risks. Risks like telling you what I am.”
“She didn’t have to,” Dinah admitted, looking at Annalise. “Personally, I think she’s making a mistake. You’re an Ostara. But...it’s what she wants to do. It’s her decision.”
“I could leave,” Annalise said, folding her hands in front of her. “Tell the Ostara...they will come after you, and they will succeed. They will force you to use Taylor again. Your grandfather will be taken, your friends killed, and anyone connected to you will be evaluated and possibly executed. Even Kieran. You’re willing to risk all of that for...companionship?”
“No, a teammate,” Madeline said. “Another partner...to join the rising coven you see before you.”
“Another law broken,” Annalise chuckled. Madeline felt relief reverberate throughout her body. Laughter was a good sign.
“What’s in it for me?” Annalise asked.
“Family,” Madeline said with a big smile. “A real one.”
“You think that I am a sentimental fool.”
“No, I think you have an opportunity. You can decide who you want to be. Whatever you decide, you will remember this day forever. If you kill us, your life won’t change much. Actually, you may even gain some favor in the eyes of your sisters. It won’t stop your internal war, but at least you will feel some belonging. Still, you’ll look back one day and think if I was legitimate, and if you could have found the cure for your ailing heart.”
“And if I join you?”
“If you join us, perhaps you won’t accomplish as much. Maybe we’ll all die on our next little mission. You’ll wonder what the hell you were thinking in the first place. But...in the time that we are together, you’ll be happier than you’ve been in a long time. And who knows? Maybe we do succeed and take down the Ostara, because what we’re doing is absolutely insane. It’s bonkers. But so is the moth. So was Icarus. And aren’t we his children? Aren’t we to play with fire and revere the sun?”
Annalise took a deep breath and then she shook her head in disbelief. “But a human,” she scoffed. “A human to lead us to paradise.”
“A hybrid,” Dinah interjected. All eyes fell upon her. “I mean, look at her. She may be as powerless as a rock when it comes to witchcraft, but don’t be fooled. The magic flows through her. And when a rock is thrown at you, it still hurts.”
“Fine,” Madeline said with her twinkle in her eye. “Hybrid. I can accept that.”
“Semantics,” Annalise said. “This is asinine. To entreat me like this. To ask me to drop my status and join your band of misfits as an equal. To abandon my post to align with a mongrel. To trust in the ideals of a child.”
“Pretty much,” Madeline laughed. “Yeah, you pretty much covered it.”
“I don’t think so,” Annalise said as her face hardened. “And to think that I would consider it is naïve.”
“So be it,” Madeline said, taking a step back.
“Will you use your vial now?” Annalise said.
“No,” Madeline smiled. “I’ll save it for bigger threats.”
Annalise smiled wide, as if she were baring her fangs. “You’re bold, girl. You will fight me head on? Knowing how it ended last time?”
“We were taken by surprise. That’s all. Don’t underestimate us. Alexander Tate, Jedrek, Tayten and Trisha scream at you from the past. Plan B!” Madeline shouted.
With no magic at her disposal, Madeline rushed forward, aiming to take on an Ostara head-on.
Chapter 72 – Plan B
“You must not care for your hair,” Annalise said as Madeline leapt into the air. Annalise swayed to the side and swiped behind her, grabbing a handful of Madeline’s hair as she passed by. Madeline shrieked as Dinah engaged Annalise, trying to swing at her arm so that she would let Madeline go.
“I’ll bind her!” Riley yelled, activating her gear.
“Surprise!” Dinah shouted. She took the empty vial she had used earlier out of her pocket and pretended to dump invisible contents over Annalise. Annalise released Madeline to free both hands and deal with Dinah, but Madeline refused to be tossed aside. She kept a grip on Annalise’s arm with both arms and pulled her close towards her. Annalise was still furious at Dinah, and in her mind, she had just gotten her specialty taken away. Nothing short of death for them all would suffice.
Madeline slammed her forehead into Annalise’s nose.
The High Witch howled in fury, preparing to muster up the strength to annihilate them all.
Dinah used the brief opportunity to reach out and grab Annalise’s forehead.
A circle of dreamcatchers flashed around Dinah’s arm.
And Annalise Torres fell asleep. She crashed into the hard floor behind her and her arms stretched out from her sides. Madeline rubbed her forehead and swore as Dinah took a deep breath.
