The Vampire & Her Witch

”When we gave our lives to the service of our people, we gave up the possibility of entering a normal ancestral cave,” the deep, masculine voice of the ancestor continued, forcefully using Hauke’s body to make himself heard. ”Young Hauke has taken up the burden of anchoring us in this world since only the statues formed of blood by the Fangs of Death could possibly sustain us in a sacred cave.”

”You cannot afford the sacrifices required to remake our bloody statues,” a softer, feminine voice followed the first, sounding deeply incongruous coming from Hauke’s mouth. ”Without Hauke’s help, we would fade away in less than a year.”

”Please father,” Hauke said, snatching back control of his own body and voice. ”Haven’t you always said that we are much weaker than our ancestors were? That we could never rebuild our great fortress if we were to lose it because we’ve forgotten the methods the ancestors used to build it?”

”All they wish is for a chance to serve our people once more,” he pleaded. ”Those acts of service are what allow them to remain among us. If we seal them away again, even in honor, then we will lose them.”

”Are they truly serving our people?” Commander Jannik asked skeptically. ”Or are you binding them to yourself to harness their power, the way the Tuscans desecrate the horns of our people to use as weapons.”

”I would never!” Hauke shouted before forcefully restraining himself. Passionate words would never carry the day here. He needed to do as Ines had advised him and make his case with cold, unassailable logic if they were going to have any hope of getting the clan to accept the arrangement he’d made with the ancestors.

”Let us prove to you that we’re working for the good of our clan and the whole of the High Pass,” Hauke said, trying to sound as logical and reasonable as he could. ”Words will not weigh as much as deeds will, so give me a chance to work with the ancestors on something that will benefit everyone.”

”What do you propose, my son?” Lord Ritchel asked from atop his icy throne. It was the first time he’d spoken since the proceeding began and he hated that he lacked the strength to simply force the others to accept his will.

Perhaps in another five years, his strength would have diminished so greatly that a younger member of this council would challenge him for his throne if he tried to overrule their desires. For now, he still had enough say to force them to give Hauke a fair chance but there was a limit to how far he could go with something as radical as allowing a member of their clan to walk around wearing the horns of honored ancestors as though they were trophies.

”I have spoken at length with Ancestor Ansgar, the Lord of the Seven Peaks,” Hauke said, referring to the first of the ancestors who borrowed his body to speak to the council. ”We’ve developed a plan to enhance the defenses of the pass against human attacks if the Vale of Mists or Airgead Mountain were to fall. Let us prove with our deeds that we’re working to protect our people and that this arrangement benefits everyone,” he said, gesturing to the row of horns across his chest.”

Of course, it wasn’t as simple as saying that he would labor to the benefit of the clan to convince the elders. It had taken several days of arguing, answering countless questions, and making several revisions to the plan in order to convince anyone to change their minds. At times, Hauke felt like those discussions moved with less speed than an advancing glacier, but in the end, they’d agreed to allow him to demonstrate that he could revive lost arts with the help of the ancestors.

”You can stop now,” Ines said softly, bringing Hauke’s focus fully back to the present. ”The tower’s core is cold enough to sustain the tower for at least a hundred years now. You can revisit it again when we’ve finished constructing the others.”

”How, how many times will it take before the ice becomes ’Eternal’,” Hauke asked, panting in exhaustion from the effort of maintaining the sorcery but feeling much, much warmer as soon as he was able to dismiss his Sky Ribbons.

”Nothing is ever ’Eternal’, young one,” Ansgar said. ”The larger the icy structure is, the longer it will last, but defenses like these will need to be renewed every century or they will eventually weaken and fail. That’s why the fortress endures, even centuries after my death, but the other great works have crumbled away.”

”So when I die, if there’s no one else with an iridescent horn who can maintain these defenses,” Hauke said as he began to hike down the ridge to join the other Frost Walker sorcerers. ”They’ll crumble away within a hundred years?”

”Everything fails eventually, young one,” the ancient lord replied. ”Some things come crashing down in an instant, others crumble away bit by bit. Even we are crumbling away. The strength you’ve provided us is only delaying the inevitable.”

”But it’s still worth fighting,” Hauke said, clenching his fists in determination. ”I’ve learned so much from you, just in these few months. When we’re done with this working,” he said, looking at the tower that would soon become a support pillar for a massive structure that spanned the entire pass. ”We’ll have a way to seal the pass against human invasion and it would have been impossible without your help.”

For a moment, Ines’s horn began to glow, the words already forming in her mind to remind the young lord that for every new defense, a new method of attack would be invented, but the sudden feeling of something great and powerful entering the pass from the west froze her thoughts before she could give voice to them.

”You feel that, young one?” Ansgar asked. ”You should be sensitive enough by now to notice them, even at this distance.”

”I do,” Hauke said. His iridescent horn glowed brightly as he stood up high, feeling the currents of power carried by the fierce, icy winds of the High Pass. At the base of the tower, the other sorcerers had yet to react, either because they doubted their senses or because they had yet to perceive what Hauke and the ancestors he carried already had.

”Lady Nyrielle is returning to the High Pass... and she’s brought several more people with her than she had when she left,” Hauke said as a wide grin formed on his lips. ”Come. They’re far enough away that they won’t arrive tonight, but when they get here tomorrow, we should be ready to receive them,” he said, eagerly bounding down the ridge to rejoin the other members of his clan.

Soon, Lady Nyrielle would arrive, and with her, Hauke’s friend, Ashlynn. They’d spent far too little time together and her stay had been marred with tragedy, but that shared tragedy had formed a bond between them that was far stronger than simple acquaintance or mutual interest. And now that he’d spent the entire time since she left studying with the ancestors and strengthening his magic, he couldn’t wait to show his friend just how much he’d grown since her last visit!