The Vampire & Her Witch

At the head of the caravan, Nyrielle’s carriage had the best view of the chaos as it erupted. Nyrielle herself relaxed into the soft satin cushions of her luxurious carriage like a cat with a bowl of cream as she watched Ashlynn collect Heila before striding out to meet with Lord Ritchel, young lord Hauke and their honor guard.

Six months ago, she had seen tremendous promise in the broken and battered young woman, but even after more than two centuries of life, nothing she’d experienced could have prepared her for how quickly Ashlynn would grow into her power, or how much the young witch would change her own life.

The last time they entered the High Pass, Ashlynn carried herself with pride but very little power. She was vulnerable, unfamiliar with Eldritch ways, and reliant on Heila and Captain Lennart just to be able to speak with the Frost Walkers. Now, the pride she carried herself with wasn’t just an artifact of her noble upbringing, but something she deserved to cloak herself with, earned by overcoming danger and mastering her own power.

The Ashlynn she’d collected from the roadside in the spring was a delectable treat, a rare treasure to be savored and a potent tool to be used. The Ashlynn before her, however, radiated an intoxicating blend of strength and self assuredness that Nyrielle found herself unable to resist.

For some, the act of sending her lover out into the cold to act as her herald could be interpreted as an act of dominance, and perhaps there was an element of that at play tonight. More importantly, however, Nyrielle wanted to watch the women whose heart echoed within her chest as she came into her own power, commanding with authority where she had once had to fight just to assert her place in the Eldritch world.

The slow, lazy smile on Nyrielle’s lips vanished a moment later when Hauke launched his explosive attack at Heila. Both witches responded beautifully, and for a moment, Nyrielle wondered if the young Frost Walker lord intended to make a show of the strength he’d gained in an attempt to win back some prestige after the way his clan had been humbled during their last visit.

That notion shattered like an icicle falling to the frozen ground the instant Hauke’s icy spear exploded, tearing into Heila’s back and splattering the pristine, white snow with drops of crimson so large that they were visible even under the pale light of the moon and stars.

”Lady Heila!” Ignatious shouted from the driver’s seat of the carriage, standing in panic as things began to go very wrong, very quickly.

As quickly as Nyrielle moved, events unfolded rapidly and Hauke’s blizzard was descending on her army by the time her feet touched the ground outside the carriage.

”Young Ritchel, just what do you think you’re doing,” Nyrielle whispered as she watched him work with the sorcerers of his honor guard to trap Ashlynn in a tomb of ice along with the clearly murderous Hauke. Darkness spread across her eyes and her hands curled into wicked claws as black, feathery wings unfolded behind her.

”We’ve fallen into a trap,” Nyrielle said coldly, her mind working rapidly to put together the limited information she had available to her. Pain flared briefly through her bond with Ashlynn, but whatever injuries her lover had suffered affected Ashlynn much less than the confusion, hurt, and betrayal that flowed through their bond as she found herself trapped with the young Frost Walker Lord.

”What are your orders, Mistress,” Zedya said, dropping from the driver’s seat of the carriage to kneel at Nyrielle’s feet. Her Amethyst eyes already glowed fiercely, shining in the dark like glittering jewels and even as she knelt, the vampire maidservant was pulling on her darksteel fighting gauntlets.

”Ritchel knows better than to confront me directly like this,” Nyrielle said as her eyes swept across the Frost Walker forces, pausing slightly when she saw the darting figure of the Thistle Witch racing to Heila’s side. For a moment, a warm glow of pride enveloped her heart and a small smile appeared on her lips. Her Ashlynn truly had come into her own during this journey. Even without making a move herself, Ashlynn’s own allies were already coming to her aid.

That realization allowed Nyrielle to put aside the last of her worries about her love and focus on the larger picture. Everything had happened suddenly but the sequence felt too well orchestrated to be anything other than a well planned attack. Hauke had knocked Heila asside and attempted to eliminate her ruthlessly before Lord Ritchel sealed Ashlynn with the young lord.

It was a good opening move if your goal was to make the best possible use of disposable pawns. Ritchel had to know that this ambush, even if it succeeded, would never gain him victory, and whatever hatred he might feel over the way she had treated him on her previous visit, it wasn’t enough to provoke him into a suicidal attack that would only doom his people.

All of which suggested that someone had forced Lord Ritchel’s hand, binding him to a plan in which he and many of his people were certain to die, but in the process they might be able to seriously weaken Nyrielle’s forces, particularly if they could capture or kill Ashlynn.

The list of people who would wish to do such a thing to the Harbinger of Death was very short, and while Hamdi or his sire Bardas might be out for revenge after what she had done to them in the Tangled Wood, both of them were too proud of their own forces to make use of the Frost Walkers as disposable pawns like this.

And if it wasn’t either of them, that left only one person who was both cunning enough and cruel enough to attack her in this way, and once she considered that it might be him, too many of the pieces fit together to consider anyone else who might be behind the sudden attack.