I Put a Spell on You

Pt. 2 – Components: One red string and a sprig of hemlock


Milana checked the small vial before sliding its slender form into the slot on her equipment belt. Its clear contents may be this castle’s savior, so she was careful to secure it well. The man behind her still sat on the bed, trying to debate the issue while she tightened her leather cuirass.

“Absolutely not,” he huffed again, even though he had said the same words eight times already. “I know you are resigned to our deaths, but must you usher it in sooner?”

Milana sighed. Her mind was already made up. There was nothing Renmain could say at this point that would persuade her otherwise. She smiled at him as she approached his slumping figure.

He was sitting on her bed, waiting for her to return and pick up where they had left off. He was still wearing his black leather pants that held his muscular legs in a lover’s grasp. He was bent over, elbows on his knees with his head in his hands. Milana silently smirked to herself. There were many occasions over the years that she had incited this very reaction from him, and sometimes from the others. But she was confident that the others would agree to her radical plan this time.

Milana reached out and carefully threaded her fingers through his soft hair. “You are worrying for the wrong reasons.”

Renmain looked up at her, confusion apparent on his face. “Are you saying there is a good reason?”

Milana closed her eyes, and whispered a silent chant. With the spell fresh on her damp lips, she bent down and placed a gentle kiss on Renmain’s forehead. instantly, he stopped moving. His arms were frozen in their attempt to hug her lower body, his mouth hanging open with unspoken words.

Milana cradled his face in her hands, and leaned forward to whisper in his ear. “If my plan fails, the townspeople can still have their unconditional surrender. They will remain innocent for they know nothing of my plan. You and I will be the only ones to perish. And it will be a good and just death.”

And with that, Milana strode out the door. She reached around and grabbed Cauldera. Even though she believed that he wasn’t needed, she knew the bow would create a ruckus if he did not accompany her into the enemy’s camp. As she draped the bow over one shoulder, allowing it to hug her body, she turned to see Renmain still frozen, but his eye was watching.

Milana closed her eyes and whispered a prayer, and then bowed her head to Renmain in a silent goodbye and shut the door.

oOoOo

“And you came up with this plan?” Nwen asked as they walked to the tower on the opposite corner. “You realize this is insane, right?”

Milana simply waved her off as she found her perfect spot. She stopped about twenty feet from the tower. From this vantage point, she could see the entire camp below, which was necessary for this to work.

“Are you implying that you will not participate?” she asked as she pulled out her spyglass.

The camp was silent. There were minimal guards patrolling the premises, and she could easily distinguish the general’s tent from the others. Unfortunately, even though the tent was obvious, it was well out of range of their available weapons, including her magical bow.

“I wouldn’t miss this for the dwarven apocalypse. Where do you need me to place you?”

Milana smiled, knowing her friend was dying to cause some mischief. She passed the spyglass to Nwen, and pointed in the distance.

“That set of trees will be fine. It will give me enough cover from the campfires to sneak in near their water supply. Plus, no one is patrolling that particular area, leaving it wide open for attack. But I’ll still need you to stay put in case I’m spotted. If all goes well, we should only be gone for a few minutes.”

Nwen nodded as she gave the glass back to Milana. She had a firm lock on the location in her memory. As she reached for Milana’s hand, she said, “Hopefully we’ll be back before Bloodblade wakes up.”

Milana looked down the walkway to see his sleeping form propped against wall, sleeping soundly with his arms crossed over his chest.

“By the way, how did you get this idea past, Ren? I find it hard to believe that he’d let you take a risk like this,” Nwen asked as she closed her eyes and started to concentrate on her magic.

Milana chose to keep quiet on the subject. Instead, she watched as the magical markings on Nwen’s arms and face started to move with her words. The intricate patterns flowed across her skin, reaching all the way to the tips of her fingers, then onward to Milana’s hand, binding them both to the spell. Her hand tingled with the power, but she knew how to keep it at bay, restricting it to her hand only. Fortunately, Cauldera helped keep the demonic power to a minimum.

Nwen opened her eyes once she was finished chanting. “Ready?”

Milana gave a stern nod, and together, the women disappeared from the castle wall.

oOoOo

Renmain stormed through the tower door, and ran down the length of the wall. He ignored the cold wind blowing past his bare skin. He had to get to Milana before she convinced Nwen to go through with her suicide mission.

Stopping at the midway point, he looked down the path and could not find either of his feminine companions. An ominous feeling settled in the pit of his stomach as he realized he was too late.

“Ren? That you?”

Renmain turned around quickly, and found Bloodblade stretching behind him. His friend rose from the floor and headed in his direction.

“Hey, how did it go? Did you finally tell her?” he asked, smiling with the implications.

Renmain ran at him, and grabbed the man by the arms. “Where are they? Did you see them?”

Bloodblade shook his head, trying to clear his mind. He had been asleep for about an hour, but when he had knocked out, Nwen had been standing near him. He looked around now and did not see her.

The frantic look in Renmain’s eye did not instill confidence either. “Ren, did something happen? Where is Nwen?”

Renmain released Bloodblade with a slight shove, and cursed. Opening his mind, he was starting to receive feedback from Milana. They were safe, for the moment.

He turned back to Bloodblade, who was going pale with worry at the disappearance of the young wizard.

“Listen, Milana had an idea,” he started, “but by no means did I approve of it.”

Bloodblade sighed. “Let me guess; it was something dangerous, but she couldn’t do it alone, so she recruited the one person in our party that’s crazier than her.”

Renmain’s gaze turned to the camp sleeping outside the castle walls. He moved to the edge of the parapet, opting to lean against the wall for support. Though the spell had been small, he could still feel its wavering effects on his limbs.

Closing his eye, he said, “In her infinite wisdom, she decided the one way to save us all was to teleport into the enemy’s camp and poison their water supply.”

Bloodblade looked to the open sky, and mulled the idea over. “Well, it’s interesting if not feasible.”

“No it’s not, it’s insane,” Renmain murmured, trying to keep his voice low as he could see soldiers stirring down the walkway. “I know how those two get when their together. They can be anything but subtle.”

Bloodblade snorted, trying to keep his laughter quiet. “Well, Nwen’s gotten a little overconfident since she’s come into her powers. She might be willing to take a risk with her own life, but she would never to do the same to one of us.”

“That’s just it. Milana thinks we’re just going to die anyway, so she has no problem risking herself to save the rest of us.” He failed to mention the fact that if something did happen to his “soul” mate that he would perish as well.

“Well, what is she telling you now?”

Renmain looked at Bloodblade astonished. The younger man shrugged. “What? Was it supposed to be a secret?”

Is it possible that one of the women spilled their little secret to the young warrior? “How did you know?”

“I might not be the smartest man, but I’m not completely oblivious. You two always seem to know what the other person is doing, whether you’re together or not. Call me observant, but I’ve seen it enough to know that there was something beyond the physical going on between you.”

Renmain had obviously not given his younger counterpart enough credit. “She’s telling me that they are fine,” he started with a sigh. “Nwen is stationed at the tree line, hidden from the campfires.”

Renmain closed his eye as he tried to focus on Milana. “She is moving along the back of the camp…she can see the water tank. Wait, she’s hiding under a wagon, two soldiers are walking a path past her.”

“That’s just creepy,” Bloodblade said, trying to shake the idea of seeing inside of Nwen’s head. That girl had gone to some dark places after her transition, and her head was probably the least safe place to be at that time. “So, did you ask her or not?”

Renmain had completely forgotten his original intentions for the evening since his mind was now bogged down with worry for the women on the front lines.

He momentarily thought about her on the bed, her legs wrapped around him as she kissed him hard. “I mentioned it, but somewhere along the way, she got distracted and had her epiphany.”

Judging by his state of undress, Bloodblade had a feeling that progress had been made on Renmain’s part. And the man deserved it. He had pined for that elf for years now, and it had gotten to the point of annoyance to Bloodblade because he wanted to settle down with the wizard, but he didn’t feel right about it because the other two had yet to reveal their own feelings to each other.

“And at what point did this epiphany occur?”

Renmain looked down at his pants, specifically below his waist to his twitching member. “Well, about the point where parts of me were going to get their first workout in a decade.”

Bloodblade flinched. “Ouch, that’s harsh.”

oOoOo

Milana lay on the ground under the wagon. The men dressed as guards had struck up a conversation about fishing, and they had decided to stop here rather than moving on. From the direction of their legs, she figured they were facing the forest.

Quietly, she rolled out from under the wagon on the opposite side, and keeping low to the ground, she crept towards her goal. But as she moved closer, she felt that something was off.

When she was mere feet from the water tank, she fingered the small leather flap loose on her belt and pulled out the vial. Carefully, she removed the stopper. She moved closer until she reached the outer wall of the tank. That’s when the hair raised on the back of her neck.

Across from her, she could see torches coming in her direction, and she could hear men shouting. It seemed she had set off a silent ward, and it had alarmed someone to her presence.

In a meager attempt, she dumped as much of the contents into the water as she could before the men came into her line of sight. But she was too late. Men were coming in from behind too.

Immediately, she bolted from her current position, and she tried to keep as close to the shadows as she could. In her mind, she could feel Renmain’s worry. Also, her hand tingled with Nwen’s teleportation spell, but she was out of range for it to work. Suddenly, the tingling sensation stopped, and she looked down to see the markings retreating from her hand.

Milana knew what was coming. Nwen was preparing for another spell. No sooner had she thought it, Milana heard an explosion from the tree line. As she dropped to the edge of a large tent, she heard the men shout in surprise and watched as they moved in the opposite direction. That’s when she noticed it.

These men were not dressed as soldiers. They did not wear the colors of Braba’s army. Many of them wore regular clothing, and the weapons strapped to their sides and backs were not military issue. Whoever they belonged to, they were not soldiers.

Renmain was still yelling through her mind, and she did her best to relay what she saw around the camp. But in the end, she had to shut him out the best she could. He was disrupting her concentration.

As she started to look around and get her bearings, she realized the tent that she was currently huddled against was too elaborate for standard sleep quarters. This was the so-called general’s personal tent.

oOoOo


The men could only stand and gasp as they observed the scene unfolding below. The explosion from the tree line was loud enough to wake several of their own sleeping soldiers who were now watching with them.

“Mercenaries,” Renmain whispered to himself before her thoughts disappeared.

Bloodblade turned at the word. “What did you say?”

Renmain reached for the spyglass left on the wall, the one he knew belonged to his elven companion. As he looked across the field, he could only see a couple of uniforms.

“That is not Braba’s army below,” he said, passing the glass to Bloodblade. “It’s just a gathering of mercenaries. But why are they here posing as an army?”

Bloodblade was about to comment when the two men heard the equivalent of a ‘pop’. Renmain turned and found Nwen next to him, alone. Without thinking, he started to ask her where Milana was, when her knees buckled. He rushed forward and caught her before she could hit the floor.

Renmain cradled her fragile form in his arms. Her power tickled over his skin, and he watched as her markings slowly settled along her flesh. She opened her red eyes, glazed over from her power drain.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered only loud enough for Renmain to hear. “I could only distract them for a moment.”

Inadvertently, he found himself shushing her like she was a child. Her use of back-to-back spells always put a minor strain on her system, but he had never seen it this bad before. As he tried to adjust her in his arms, he felt something wet on his hand. Carefully, he turned to Bloodblade.

“There’s something on her clothes, I can feel it on my hand,” he whispered, trying not to alarm Nwen.

Bloodblade guided the two of them to the closet torch, and turned them towards the light. There was a growing darkness on her silver robe.

His demeanor immediately changed. To Ren, he said, “She’s injured.” Then he shouted down the way for someone to bring a medic.

Carefully, Renmain bent to his knees and laid her on the ground. He adjusted her so that her injured side was in the light, and her head was in his lap. Bloodblade was on the ground next to them. With clumsy fingers, he tried to get a look at the wound, but ended up rubbing it instead, causing Nwen to hiss in pain.

Renmain reached around and pulled a dagger from his boot. Passing it to Bloodblade, he used it to cut away the blood-soaked material. Underneath, he could see what amounted to a knife wound. But it was bleeding too much to be that simple.

The warriors could here feet beating behind them. The medic slowed as he got closer, and stopped completely when he saw who was injured. He held the kit close to his body, and started to back away from the trio.

Bloodblade immediately turned his stare to the medic. “Where are you going?”

Renmain turned to the retreating man as he could hear Nwen’s breath quicken. He knew that part of her bloodline had healing capabilities. He had seen her do it numerous times before. But this time was different. The blood was starting to pool beneath her. It seemed something was keeping her from healing herself.

Bloodblade jumped to his feet and grabbed the man before he could run.

“I...I’m sorry, sir,” he stammered. “You see, I…I can’t treat a de…demon.”

Bloodblade yanked him closer by the collar, and in a panic, he dropped his med-kit. “Listen here,” he said in a low, growling voice. “We have put our lives on the line for your people. The woman lying there is slipping into oblivion because she believed she could help save you. And you dare to deny her medical treatment?”

The medic was blubbering when Bloodblade dropped him and picked up the medical kit. He turned dark eyes on the medic. “Pray she survives, or I will personally send your soul to the deepest pit of Hell to meet her father where you can explain why you let her die.”

No one looked as the medic ran away screaming. Two of Milana’s regiment quietly crept over, and offered their assistance. Bloodblade nodded his thanks for their offering.

As one man held the torch closer, the other helped Renmain situate her body, allowing Bloodblade easier access to the wound. Nwen groaned as he put fingers on each side of the wound and spread it open.

“I know, baby, I’m sorry,” he whispered, his anger quickly dissipating to tenderness. “There it is. Ren, can you hold your dagger in the flame?”

Keeping one hand on her forehead, he used the other to thrust the dagger into the torch’s flame. “What do you see?”

“It’s a fragment of a blade, and it’s glowing. Must be magical, and its imbedded deep enough to keep the wound from closing.”

When he was satisfied that it was hot enough, Bloodblade took the dagger, and proceeded to dig the fragment from the wound. Nwen screamed from the contact with the hot blade, and Renmain and the additional soldier had to hold her down to keep her from thrashing.

Bloodblade continued to coo words of kindness and love to her. In his mind, Renmain tried to send a message to Milana, instructing her to get out while she could. But her mind was locked down, and he didn’t know at this point if she was consciously blocking him, or if something had happened to her.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of metal hitting the floor. Bloodblade sat back as her body immediately set about closing the wound the best it could. The young barbarian breathed a sigh of relief as he watched her flesh mend itself closed. But as he looked to Renmain, he could see the distress on the man’s face.

“Where is she?” Bloodblade asked. “Is she safe?”

Renmain put a hand to his heart, and unconsciously started to shake his head. “I’m not sure, she’s not answering my summons,” he whispered. “But she is alive, otherwise I would be lying breathless next to Nwen.”

oOoOo

Amidst the noise and commotion, the ‘general’s’ tent had remained dark and undisturbed. Milana continued to edge around the corner, and proceeded until she found the entryway. The flaps were currently closed. Carefully she lifted Cauldera from across her shoulder, and used the tip to open the flap. She only opened it enough to see inside, and found the barest of candlelight illuminating the tent’s interior.

The bow remained quiet in her hand as she used it to prop open the flap and step inside. She cautiously moved to the outer edge, keeping close to the darkness. From there she could barely make out some of the tent’s contents.

Large pieces of red carpeting served as the floor. The candlelight was coming from the center of the tent, on top of a long table. She could see scrolls and maps strewn across the table along with plates of uneaten food. Opposite from her were piles of blankets and bedding, but from her vantage point, she could not determine if someone was actually using them. To her right, she could make out a rack used for hanging armor, but in the dwindling light, she could not make out the type.

Silently she crept along the wall. She was careful to keep Cauldera close because the demon would signal her immediately if danger was near. She searched her surroundings with her toes before she proceeded to take each step. She found that there were little to no obstructions on the floor. She guessed the men had not planned for a long siege, so they opted for minimalism in case they had to move out quickly. More than likely, they were only getting paid for a short time.

Milana prepared to take another step when she felt cold steel slide against her neck.

“Not another move,” said a deep and regal voice from the dark.

Cauldera immediately started to shake in Milana’s hand, but it was a moment too late. She could feel his cold flames wrap around her hand, preparing for an attack.

“Turn around please.”

Moving opposite of the blade, she turned around in the darkness. While she turned, she switched Cauldera in her hands, and lifted the weapon so it was level with her eyes. She wrapped two fingers around the bowstring, and felt Cauldera forming an arrow for her.

With a snap, light flooded the room and two things happened. Her opponent yanked the blade away from her neck, cutting a thin line in her skin, and he switched to the pistol in his left hand. At the same time, Milana pointed the bow at her opponent’s chest with a shadowy black arrow solidifying for a point-blank shot.

Milana’s heart beat steadily in her chest as she could feel blood starting to trickle down her neck. The man before her was taller than she by only a head. He stood before her in only a pair of sleeping pants, not caring about modesty while dealing with his intruder. As she looked to his face, she found he had features similar to her own. His skin was not as dark as hers, a creamy tan in color, but his eyes were thin and green like hers. His hair was long and black, flowing freely down his back.

As their eyes met, a look of confusion crossed his features. “M’nark kvash Milana?”

Milana was stunned to hear not only her clan’s language but also her name coming from her enemy. She nodded an acknowledgement. “I am.”

The man took one step back, and lowered his pistol. Milana was not as careless, instead pulling the bowstring back tighter. He tossed the pistol to the rumpled bedding, and made a gesture with his hands. She recognized it as a sign of peace and welcoming. He topped it off by pulling his hair away from his face, revealing his elfish ears.

“I am sorry for rushing to judgment,” he said as he bowed to her. “I was not expecting my intruder to be the person I sought.”

Though his presentation said he meant her no harm, he had still not given her any reason to trust him. He was still the enemy.

“You can lower your weapon. I only wish to speak with you,” he said graciously as he brushed past her to the table.

Milana released the tension of the bowstring, and against her better judgment, she allowed the arrow to dissipate. Cauldera’s flame crawled higher up her arm, almost to her elbow, refusing to let her set him aside. She had no intention of letting the demon bow go, but she had to appear receptive to the man beside her.

“Why do you seek me? And why do you employ mercenaries under the guise of King Braba?” she asked as she opened her mind to Renmain again.

Immediately she could feel his distress, but she would have to deal with that later. She shushed him in her mind as she followed the elf with her eyes. He gave her a proud smile.

“Ah, I did not believe that one such as yourself would be so easily deceived,” he exclaimed as he picked up a goblet from the table. He swirled the contents around before sniffing the wine inside. “Braba simply owed me a little favor. Once I felt you coming closer to our homeland, I made my request. I must say, though, I did not expect your human companions to take such drastic measures to protect a castle of strangers.”

‘Apparently he hasn’t been around humans enough,’ Milana thought to herself and Renmain. To the elf, she said, “But what do you want with me?”

The elf took one drink from the goblet before placing it back on the table. He got up from his seat and came around to kneel in front of Milana. When he took her hand in his, she could feel Renmain’s anger send heat through her body.

“Have you not heard the whispers of the forest, the cries of its inhabitants?”

Milana had been away from her home for too long. She had lost touch with her homeland over the years. After traveling through countless cities, she could feel the wilderness with every heartbeat, but her sense for nature had disappeared.

The male before her could see the truth in her eyes. “I see. You have indeed lost touch with your land of birth. That is why I have come to retrieve you. It was foretold that life would begin anew only when the last two of the Oakenarrow joined together.”

That was something Milana had distanced herself from when she was young, the prophecies of her people, the Oakenarrow. The old sage had told her once as a child that she would be the harbinger of death to her people. She had been so scared that she had hid in her home for three days and nights, even avoiding her parents for fear that she might kill them.

“Anyasi is calling us home, Milana. We are the last unmated pair from our clan,” he said as he rose before her. He bent over and she felt him whisper in her ear, “We must answer her call.”

But Milana could sense something was off, and Renmain was agreeing.

“In all my years of travel, I have never met another of my clan,” Milana started. “I was led to believe that all of the worthy mates had died fighting a man’s war. Yet, here stands before me a perfect specimen of Anyasi’s great gift of life. Praise be to the Goddess, but why should I believe you? I do not even know your family name.”

‘Stop this, Milana! Just get out of there! He is not as he seems!’ She could hear in her mind as she threatened to shut him out again.

The elf stood back to look at her, bowing again. “My name is Ashnyr of the house of Ironleaf.”

Milana’s eyes opened wide with his admittance. She knew the house of Ironleaf had been wiped out just years before she was born. They had fought against her family, the house of Stormfall, for dominance and a ruling majority of the clan. But the men and children had been killed, and the women were exiled to an island thousands of miles away. She relayed this to Renmain as she backed away from Ashnyr.

As she took one more step back, she bumped into a large flesh wall. She looked up to see a large man tower over her. He grabbed her shoulder before she could wheel around with Cauldera.

“Letting this one get away?” he said in a low, heavily-accented voice. “Wait a tic, isn’t this the elf bitch we’ve been looking for?”

A gunshot rang out across the room, and the man’s grip on her shoulder slackened as his body fell backward. She looked up to see the smoking gun in Ashnyr’s hand. Cauldera’s flame started to burn her hand, urging her to get away from him. But she was trapped, her body refused to run from the elf walking toward her with a look of superiority in his eyes.

oOoOo

As Bloodblade was helping Nwen get to her feet, Renmain continued to lean against the wall. His eye was closed in strained concentration, trying to filter the information that Milana was sending his way.

“What is she saying?” asked Nwen as she and Bloodblade came to his side.

“Ashnyr…he’s saying he is from her clan…taking her back to her homeland…” he said as the thoughts flowed quickly through his mind.

Suddenly, a bolt of fear shot through him from Milana as he heard a distant gunshot. His eye opened as he turned back to the camp below.

Nwen reached up to hold onto his arm. She could feel him shaking under her touch. Renmain was genuinely afraid for Milana.

“That was not her,” she said.

“No,” Renmain whispered, “he shot one of his own men. But she won’t move. She’s scared…he’s coming closer….Coppern, she keeps saying Coppern over and over.”

oOoOo

Ashnyr grabbed both of her arms. Under his touch, Cauldera was quieted. The flames receded from her arm, and the bow went back to normal.

‘What is he?’ she asked herself.

Frozen in fear, Ashnyr wrapped his arms around her, cradling her head under the crook of his neck.

“There, there,” he whispered, “we’re going home now.”

In a flicker of light, the two elves disappeared.

And on a wall high above the camp, a warrior collapsed to the ground.



Yup, that's it for now! Check back for part 3!