The Last Witch (Incenaga Trilogy) (11 page)

“Anything?”

“Yes. It can be as simple as pulling a glass of water across the table toward you, or as great as redirecting rivers and streams. While you cannot control the thoughts of a soldier, you can control his movements and actions, and the entire army with him. You may not be able to turn me into a bird, but you could send me soaring through the air, which I might have you do if they keep me cooped up in here too much longer.” He winked and settled deeper into his chair.

Emmeline mangled the fabric of her skirt
between her hands. All of it sounded like a myth or legend, not the makings of reality. The witches of her made-up stories brewed potions and cast spells. They didn’t move rivers, control armies, or send people flying through the air.

However
, she couldn’t deny the heat that had surged from her hands when the two soldiers flew to their deaths. It was as if she had pushed them with a wall of heat. Emmeline grimaced. She hadn’t meant to kill them, or even hurt them; she just wanted them to get away from her. She hadn’t even known what she was doing! Did that mean no one was safe around her? Could she hurt anyone? That must have been why Mahlon tied her wrists and hands together. The fire fueled her power and her hands controlled it. But it didn’t make sense. She thought the reason Mahlon pushed her against the fire was to force her to use her power. What good would bound hands have done?

Cringing into
the side of the chair, Emmeline wanted to leave. She wanted to get out of the palace and away from all the unanswered questions. She wanted to go back to the way things were on the farm, when all she had to worry about was feeding the animals and keeping a clean house. Her brow creased. Why hadn’t the fire affected her at home? Why was she suddenly capable of killing? She shuttered.

She was da
ngerous, she understood that now. And yet everyone was so concerned for her safety. It seemed backwards. They should be running to get away from her, not trying to protect her! The King, Adelia, the Crown Prince, none of them realized what kind of monster hid underneath her femininity. As soon as Mahlon told them that she had killed two soldiers, they would throw her in a dungeon cell.

The King
laid his wrinkled hand on her arm. “Don’t fret, my dear. I may not be able to see the sweat beading on your brow, but I can feel you trembling. You have no need to fear, Emmeline. No harm will come to you.”

No, no harm would come to her because apparently she could smash anyone into pieces whenever she liked. Emmeline shrunk away from
the King’s touch. Until she learned how to use her power, she didn’t want anyone touching her or getting close. She couldn’t live with herself if she killed another person, no matter who they were.

Her
thoughts turned to the path Mahlon had taken the night before. If she could find the same site, she could start her own fire and explore her powers with no one there. She could learn how to keep from killing again. But would she even be able to find a way out of the palace? And was the risk worth Mahlon finding her? Yes. She knew it was.

The King
cleared his throat, breaking her concentration. “The gardens are beautiful this time of year,” he said. “Have you explored them?”

“A
bit. I’m not allowed to leave the palace. Mahlon insists it is for my safety.”

“Ah yes, Mahlon. He is my Principal Knight, my most trusted advisor. He took on a great deal of responsibility when I lost my sight
. He has carried the weight of this kingdom for the better part of ten years. That is until Richmond became of age to rule on his own. He has expressed his distrust of Mahlon, but I can’t bring myself to find any fault in the man. Perhaps I have softened in my old age.” He chuckled to himself then exhaled. “My son has wisdom beyond his years. He will make a fine King.”

Emmeline perked up in her seat
. “The Crown Prince finds reason to distrust Mahlon?”

The King
waved his hand dismissively. “It’s of no import. My son, however, is a dashing fellow. His good looks must have come from his father.”

The King
erupted into another round of contagious laughter. Despite her disappointment in the direction the conversation had gone, Emmeline found herself chuckling along with him.

“Does he share your sense of humor?”
she inquired.

The King
sobered. “You do not find me handsome?”

Emmeline’s cheeks
burned. She opened her mouth in apology but the King threw his head back and laughed.

“You are much too
serious, my dear,” he said. “Of course I’m handsome! Why else would my dear wife have agreed to marry me? Although, I do believe she is the real reason my boys are so handsome. In fact, I am most certain all their good qualities came from her, rest her soul.”

Emmeline
relaxed and they fell into a comfortable silence, soaking in the warmth of the sun. She wondered if she had been wrong about him. He seemed so carefree and gentle, not the makings of a power hungry ruler. A soft snore floated up from the King’s chair, and she rose to tiptoe out the door. Her visit with the King had been enlightening, terrifying, and refreshing. She hoped the Crown Prince would prove to be just as kind.

Emmeline emerged from the King’s bedchamber and cringed at Adelia’s hopeful expression. She Adelia would be curious about her meeting, but she wasn’t in the mood to hash out her realization that she was a killer in disguise, or that meeting the King made her betrothal seem that much more real. She didn’t want to think about those things. She would think about them later.

“Adelia, does the palace have a library?”
she asked, ignoring Adelia’s silent pleading for details. If she was to learn more about the Incenagas, the library seemed like a good place to start.

Adelia
sighed. “Yes, My Lady. It is quite extensive. Books on every subject cover the walls.”

“Can you show me where
it is?”

“The library is going through some
renovations and it gives me an awful headache to be there, My Lady. If you will tell me what you like to read, I’ll have a selection brought to you.”

“That won’t be necessary, Adelia. If
you’ll just show me where it is I’ll search the shelves myself. I don’t mind the extra noise.”

Adelia no
dded, spoke to the guards, and then gestured for Emmeline to join her. With her own guards stalking them, Adelia led her down a maze of long corridors and winding stairs. Emmeline did her best to memorize the path they took so she could follow it again on her own. She didn’t want to have to ask the guards for directions; she'd rather pretend they didn’t exist. Glancing back at the guards a few times, she wished they hadn't followed her, knowing she wished in vain. They would never let her out of their sight again.

As they approached the library
, pounding hammers echoed down the corridor and against the marble walls. Each strike of the hammer was loud and piercing, but Emmeline resisted the urge to cover her ears. If Adelia noticed her discomfort, she'd insist they leave.

“Are you sure you don’t
mind this disturbance, My Lady?”

“I don’
t mind it at all. Now, which door is it?”

Adelia gestured to two
wooden doors at the end of the hall. They were three times the height of any man and engraved from bottom to top with intertwining vines of gold. A full tree stretched across both doors with its trunk reaching toward the ground and its highest branches disappearing into the threshold. Lined with gold, its etched leaves shimmered in the dim light.

Emmeline
pulled on the doors and stepped inside. Floor to ceiling crystal windows covered the far wall. They framed a picturesque view of the mountains hugging the rear of the palace. Trees of red, orange and yellow waved at her as she stood in complete awe.

Any portion of
the library not graced by windows was covered with floor to ceiling shelves. Balconies stretched overhead leading to more rooms on either side of the main area, all with shelves stocked to the brim. Emmeline pulled a few titles to examine.
Cantil's Bite. The Three Sisters. Shadow of the Day.

Adelia giggled behind Emmeline. “I can see that you
are pleased.”

“
This place is magnificent! I don’t know if I’ll ever want to leave.”

Emmeline
’s gaze swept across the library and workers. None of them seemed to notice her as they hammered new shelves and stained the walls. An older man balanced on a tall ladder as he hung a chandelier while others removed draperies and replaced them with lush red velvet that cascaded to the floor.

Adelia scrunched her nose
. “The noise doesn’t bother you?”

Emmeline shrugged.
“No.”

“Very
well. Is there anything I can get for you before I take my leave?”

“No, thank you.
”

Adelia excused herself and
Emmeline glanced at the guards, expecting them to follow her between every bookshelf and around every library corner. She glared at them, not because they would notice—they were too busy staring at her hands—but because a small amount of satisfaction came from defying them.

Their hovering irritated her
and as soon as she figured out how to use her power, she would push them into a corner and keep them there. An image of the two soldiers at the cliff flashed into her mind and Emmeline winced. She knew too little about her power to use it on anyone. She wanted to hide in the darkest corner of the library like the monster she was, but she knew hiding wouldn’t solve anything. Knowledge was the true power she craved.

S
he slipped between two rows of books, pleased to see the guards remain near the library entrance. A gold embroidered book entitled,
A Cauldron of Witches – Fact or Fable,
caught her eye. She pulled it from the shelf and flipped through the pages, glancing at the titles.

Glapnap Fairies: Fable

Milatee Witches: Fact

 
Extinct

Thip Wizards:
Fact

 
Extinct

Leeta Witches
: Fable

All the various forms of witches and
wizards appeared to be either imagined, or dead. Finally, she reached the page she wanted.

Incenaga Witches:
Fact

 
Unknown

Reading further, Emmeline felt a chill rise up her back.

“There was a time when the Incenaga Fire Witches graced nearly every community. Their powers and legendary beauty were passed from mother to daughter. With hair as black as night and eyes so blue their depths reached into eternity, their identities could never be mistaken. While their beauty was enough to cause wars or end them, this was not what most men coveted. It was their power they wanted.”

Emmeline snapped the book shut.
How could the greatest of all magical creatures let themselves become extinct? Why didn’t they try to find a way to keep from being controlled? She opened the book again and continued reading.

“The Incenagas
preferred only the company of a select few, keeping to themselves when circumstances would allow. Most communities preferred this arrangement, believing their power should be kept quiet. But when rumors spread that the Incenagas could be controlled, even against their will, greed and hunger created a frenzy among the nation’s leaders. Owning an Incenaga Witch meant owning the greatest weapon in warfare. They became pawns in the quest for domination until the abuse of their power took their lives. The Incenaga population dwindled until rumors spoke of a sole survivor, a young child. Scholars have been unable to confirm or deny such rumors.”

Emmeline shivered.
Scanning the pages she looked for anything mentioning her mother, a clue as to how she died. Was she used as a weapon? Did she suffer? But the next page discussed a different type of witch and Emmeline knew the book would not give her any more.

A flash of light ca
ught her eye and she glanced toward the corner of the library. Splashes of color played across the shelves and a breeze rustled the pages of an open book. Curious, she decided to investigate. She needed a moment to absorb what she had just learned anyhow.

Rounding a shelf, she stumbled into a
portion of a bookshelf that had fallen away from the wall, exposing a large opening that led into another room. She stepped over a pile of debris, slipped behind the bookshelf, and entered a narrow corridor. Stain-glassed windows lined the outer wall, throwing vibrant colors of light into the library. A cool breeze brushed by her skirt and escaped into the library. Emmeline peered through the windows into what looked like a back courtyard for palace servants to gather outdoors. A few mulled about, chattering and gossiping. Giggles and chuckles peppered the air, but nothing they said was of any consequence.

Emmeline’s curiosity pu
lled her further down the hall. She turned a corner and darkness stared back, the colorful glow illuminating only a portion of the far reaching corridor. Emmeline hesitated, unsure if the dark void was worth exploring. A piercing voice screeched from the direction of the fallen shelves and Emmeline took an involuntary step into the darkness.