The Blood Witch (The Blood Reign Chronicles Book 1) (21 page)

The corners of his mouth began to slowly climb upwards, his eyes softened, and all doubt fled from his countenance, immediately being replaced by adoration and worship, as the Blood Witch’s will became one with the black mage.

Maggas now reminded Allysix of a puppy, so eager to please his master. She
was
his master now in truth.

“Good,” she said as she released her hold on the black mage’s head, “For your sake, I’m exceedingly glad that you understand.”

“Y-Yes g-great mistress,” Maggas stammered, quickly lowering his lips to the floor in front of her, “I live to serve only you.”

Now that was the proper way to show respect,
Allysix thought to herself. “Good pet, now go fetch those two toddies that you sent to bring me here. I have unfinished business with them,” Allysix commanded, as she took up Maggas’ seat on the dais.

The black mage leapt to his feet and hastily started for the door.

“On second thought,” Allysix said casually, “bring everyone here, all the followers that are in the building that is,” she amended. If there were more men not within the walls, they would know about the events here soon enough. Besides, Allysix did not want to wait while the man ran about the city trying to find
everyone
, which he most surely would have, since she had said, everyone.

“Bring them before me, I would like them all to witness what I have in store for those who faithfully follow me…..and also those who displease me,” Allysix intoned, with a wicked smile that almost looked seductive coming from her young beautiful face.

“As you command Great Mistress,” Maggas said as he bowed deeply before rushing out the door.

Surprisingly little time passed before Maggas returned. The black mage must have ran through the halls and rooms of the large building to get them all here in the short amount of time that had passed since he left.

Maggas stepped through the door, followed by twenty-five other men. They were a rag-tag bunch, but Allysix supposed they were better than nothing, since they were more than she had a few moments ago.

Most wore puzzled expressions on their faces and looked to Maggas for direction. It was evident that he had told them nothing of why they were being summoned. Clearly they were wondering why Allysix was on the dais instead of Maggas.

Their puzzled looks turned to bewilderment when Maggas stepped forward and prostrated himself in front of her to say, “I have done as you asked great mistress. These are all the disciples that are in the building at the moment.”

Allysix left Maggas lying there on the floor without giving him leave to rise. Better that these disciples learn quickly who was in charge now, what better way than seeing their leader subjugating himself in such a way to her. Allysix liked visual lessons more than spoken words. Words, often times, could be ignored or misunderstood, but here before them was the man they looked up to as their leader with his face to the floor in obeisance to her. This spectacle would be difficult for any of them to ignore.

Walking deliberately past Maggas on the floor, Allysix immediately picked out the two men who had brought her to this place, and had shown such insolence and disrespect to her. There was no excuse for their abhorrent behavior; no matter that they did not know who she was.

Allysix motioned for the two to step forward and stand in front of Maggas. They hesitated at first, but at least now had the good sense to follow their leader’s example by kneeling with their heads to the floor. The skinny man was on her right, with the bigger greasy man to her left.

The skinny man however, kept eying her sideways with suspicion in his beady eyes. She decided she would kill him last, so he could see the other man die and know what his certain fate was also to be. This was going to be most enjoyable.

In an effort to prolong the two men’s suffering, Allysix walked past the skinny man and began to make a circuit around the semicircle of men, speaking as she walked. “Some of you may be wondering why you were summoned here. You are all faithful followers of the Blood Witch, are you not?”

No one answered or uttered a word, but Allysix studied their reactions to gauge if any were skittish about being accused of such a thing, since it was in fact a crime. None seemed to falter, and several even wore proud expressions, which was a good thing.

“I am Allysix. I am the one you call the Blood Witch.”

As it turned out, there were many places these days that it was a crime even to speak her name, one punishable by death. The sharp intake of breath and scandalized looks from the assembled men told her, that was the case here in Yilavo City.

No doubt, they thought her an imposter and were ready to kill her for blaspheme. Their glances alternated from her, to Maggas prostrated on the floor, then to each other. They were like lost little sheep not knowing what to do.

However, Allysix simply uttering her own name, along with Maggas on the floor, was enough for many of them to drop to the floor in subjugation. The few that remained standing, not wanting to be singled out, gave in and followed the lead of the majority. After a brief moment, all in the room were on their knees before her, as they should be.

Lap dogs and bootlickers was what her army would be made from. Most of them were mindless fanatics unable to think for themselves. But then again, sometimes fanatics had their own uses as well.

Allysix continued around the semicircle of kneeling men, when one in particular stood out. This man had been the last one to kneel, and was still casting sideways glances at her when he thought she wasn’t looking. Halting directly in front of the man, Allysix studied him carefully.

He was a good-sized man, not overly big, but not gangly either. A short-cropped beard covered his chin and upper lip but the rest of his face was smooth. Jet-black hair fell to his shoulders in waves.

Allysix placed her hand under the man’s chin and raised his face to peer into his pale blue eyes, which glowed with pride. She thought he was rather….. pretty. Allysix smiled to herself at the thought. The man wore a sword at his hip and carried himself as if he knew how to use it. Allysix was fairly certain that the man did indeed know how to use it.

“What is your name?” Allysix demanded.

“Baalnar,” he answered confidently. There was no hint of insolence or defiance in his tone or expression, just alertness and ferocity. Allysix was very pleased with the way the man held himself.

“Baalnar, stand before me,” Allysix commanded, as she lowered her hand and took a step backwards.

The man stood deliberately, not with too much eagerness, but not with hesitation, as if he was deliberately trying to defy her.
This man would do nicely
, she thought, as she looked him up and down for several moments. Allysix then turned her back to the man and walked away, leaving Baalnar alone, standing while everyone else was kneeling.

She continued walking calculatingly around the circle back to the dais, to stop next to the fat man. Placing her hand on his head, she spoke again, not to the fat man but to the assembled men.

“As you can plainly see, I am once again free. You all have the honor of being chosen to aid me in reclaiming my rightful place of power. You have been chosen for power and glory beyond your imagination. For those of you who serve me faithfully, that is……” Her voice took on an ominous tone.

These men were not really her chosen, but they were all that she had at the moment. Most of them were sniveling sycophants that would be dead within the year, if not sooner from their own ignorance. Two of them in particular, would be dead sooner than they knew.

“I demand complete obedience to me, and have no tolerance for cowardice or disrespect….or failure…..If you displease me……..” she said threateningly, lowering her deadly gaze to the man kneeling before her.

She then grasped a fistful of the fat man’s hair, intending to raise him to his feet. After all, she didn’t feel like stooping down at the moment. However, the fat man refusing to leave his knees, kept his feet tucked tightly underneath him.

The result was, the man dangling from her outstretched hand, two feet off the ground in a kneeling position.

It was like trying to stand a toddler on the ground when he wanted to be held, and wouldn’t extend his legs to support his own weight. It was rather infuriating. Not that Allysix had ever had a child herself, but she had seen other women struggle with it.

The mother, being tired from carrying the child, would attempt to stand them on the ground. But the child would just let their legs go limp, so if the mother let go the child would fall to the ground. The mother unwilling to drop her child would give in and lift the child once again.

Allysix however, had no such compunction, she shook the man vigorously by the hair; but when he still refused to lower his legs and stand, she released her grip, and he dropped to the floor, knees first with a loud crack.

Lightning fast, she stooped to wrench his head back and ripped his throat out with her teeth. The savagery of the attack nearly severed the man’s head from his body.

Usually Allysix was much tidier in her kills than this. However, her purpose here was to show her power and ferocity to the assembled men. She wanted to put fear in their hearts and souls, to their very core. She wanted them to
see
what she was capable of doing.

Blood fountained from the fat man’s neck, spraying the warm liquid all over her as well as the nearby Maggas, who was still prostrate on the floor. Some of his blood even reached the skinny man, who looked on the verge of running away.

The feast continued for a few moments, until Allysix released her grip, allowing the torn lifeless body to fall limply to the floor in a heap. The body made an eerie squishy noise as it landed in the pooling blood, but it was the only sound that could be heard in the room.

Allysix made no attempt to wipe the blood from her face, as she made her way to stand next to the skinny man. The stark imagery of her beautiful face covered in bright red blood, and bits of skin and tissue of the dead man, would provide a lasting impression on these few followers.

Placing her hand on the skinny man’s greasy hair, Allysix could feel him trembling and rocking back and forth whimpering to himself. As she raised his head, he began to wail and cry.

“Forgive me great mistress. I didn’t know it was you. How could I know? I – I beg forgiveness. Please!!”

This man’s cowardice sickened her, but then again she was the Blood Witch, he
should
be terrified of her. His wining and whimpering continued only a moment before turning into a gurgling, choking sound in his throat. Allysix took her time with this man, allowing the realization of his certain demise to sink in before he breathed his last breath.

When it was over, she dropped the lifeless body of the skinny man onto the floor, and walked forward to stand in front of Baalnar. Reaching out, she took a handkerchief from the front pocket of his coat. After wiping the blood and bits of tissue from her face, she handed it deliberately back to Baalnar.
Impressive,
she thought to herself, he didn’t even flinch or shy away, and there was still no hint of fear in his eyes, only … anticipation. For all Baalnar knew, she could have singled him out to be a sacrifice along with the other two men. Then again, Allysix supposed he was more arrogant than that, and thought differently.

When Baalnar took the kerchief from her outstretched hand, he touched it to his forehead, lips, and finally to his heart, before tucking it back inside his coat pocket, all the while staring intently into her eyes with a look of … adoration.

Yes
, Allysix thought,
this man was going to be quite useful indeed
. He may need to be knocked down a few pegs, and shown his proper place, but not just yet. His pride and fervor was commendable, as long as he knew his place. With an impudent smile for Baalnar, she turned and strode across the floor to return to the dais.

“You now know the certain fate of those of you who displease me. However, if you are faithful and obey me……well, then you will be rewarded accordingly,” Allysix cast her gaze over the assembled men as she spoke.

“Leave me now,” she said, waving her hand absently towards the door. “Oh yes, and someone clean this mess up.”

As soon as she had spoken, all the gathered men had turned solicitously for the door, anxious to be gone, but now all stopped in their tracks unsure as to whom her instructions were directed towards. Baalnar immediately took charge, sending all but four men away. These four men he set to removing the bloody bodies and cleaning the ghastly debris from the floor.

As Allysix waited impatiently for the men to finish cleaning up the mess, she noticed that the black mage had remained on the floor the entire time. Come to think of it, she had never given him leave to rise. Maggas was now lying in a pool of blood, and blood had also soaked the back of his cloak, where it had spattered from the two men she had slain. She decided that she would leave Maggas there a few moments longer.

After the men had removed the two dead bodies, and the door closed behind them, Allysix spoke, “Rise Maggas my pet.”