Darkness, Flames and Hopes Ch. 08

Minerva turned her head with her body and looked at all the things around, once her blue eyes caught the witch, she tried again.

"Even if you find it, it will be full of traps. And just like your sanctuary, hided by hiding methods. You can even die without stepping inside."

Ambryn waved her hand and proudly raised her breast.

"I was an elder witch, sorceress. I taught the damn traps, hiding methods to most of those idiots."

Minerva wasn't even a little impressed, her underestimating eyes looked at the witch from head to toe. Ambryn gave a quiet swear to her gaze and threw her wet hair backwards, Dimana asked her curiously.

"What for?"

"Don't ask stupid questions, succubus! Educating them was we elders-"

"No, I mean, why do you want to go to necromancer's house?"

Ambryn answered her question with an emphasis on Minerva's thoughtful face.

"That bastard knew a lot about me. And I wonder what they know. More precisely, their claims! Looks like Seven Will has changed a lot while I was absent. And apparently I have never been forgotten. And that bastard said, cunts. That's right. The other cunts. He said..."

She bent her back, squinted her eyes, pulled her chin inward, gaped her mouth, circled her lips and made a funny and itchy imitation of necromancer.

"Where is the other cunts... I thought he was talking about you, so I said go fuck yourself, but then he said... a name. Reina... Where is Reina..."

"Who in the hell is Reina?" Minerva asked, in an annoying voice rather than curiosity.

"I ask the same... No, actually I again said go fuck yourself but he said you will talk one way or another and attacked me. He thought I knew Reina. But I don't. I have no idea. I haven't been around for five years but somebody has never forgotten me."

"Think, you witch, think-" As Minerva yelled angrily, Ambryn pulled the sorceress's hand and squeezed it between her palms, shook it up and down. As Minerva frowned to the sudden intimacy and tried to save her hand, Ambryn spoke excitedly with a pleasant smile on her face.

"Maybe one of my sisters! Maybe they learned what happened to me, maybe they got together again and they're looking for me! Reina could be a fake name!"

"Leave my hand!"

"Wouldn't that be good news for you too? You needed some witches, right? I'm sure my sisters will do anything for revenge. Even working with a sorceress-"

"It's not that simple!" Minerva roared at her and finally saved her hand. "I don't need some homeless vigilantes! I need an operation. A first-hand Seven Will operation. Or a highly related one. It's not just about some witches, understand?"

Ambryn didn't. She narrowed her eyes and drew an imaginary diagram in the air with her fingers.

"...Let me understand... You want a Seven Will operation. An operation that won't happen without a Mistress' order!"

"Is Sebra a Mistress?"

Ambryn stepped back a few steps as if she had seen a necromancer, her open mouth reshaped with a sudden grin, she dropped back a few more steps without pulling her eyes away from the sorceress and put her back on a trunk. She must have understood something, but Dimana had lost the thread of the discussion long ago. The doubts of the two sorceress to each other were hiding most of their words under some facial expressions or silence.

"That's why you want her. To get an order... You want to use her. Not to kill her."

Minerva shook her shoulders, folded her hands in front of her, and with the same thoughtful expression, took a few steps towards the witch, who was waiting for an answer, and reduced the distance between them again.

"I don't give a damn about her. I will get what I want, then you will get what you want. But only then..."

"Then too bad, girl. The whore wasn't a damn Mistress. I don't know what's the situation right now but back then we were under the orders of another Mistress from Uhemer, because our Tailroad network had ruined. Now, I'm asking pretty kindly. Even if we reach a Mistress miraculously, how on earth will you persuade her?"

Minerva twisted her lips, her blue eyes slid from the wet hair of the angry and curious witch to her muddy black hem. This look disturbed Ambryn more for a reason.

"You are right. It's an absurd idea."

Ambryn slowly lifted a finger and shook it towards the sorceress, approaching quickly, pouring her dense breath onto the face of her former enemy.

"If you are thinking what I think... Don't keep it. Don't even bother it."

Minerva shook her head with a hint of curiosity, but her weak grin showed that she knew what Ambryn was talking about.

"What do you think?"

"Find yourself another way, arrogant glim! You don't even know what you're thinking." Ambryn hissed, turned her finger to the north this time. "Or let me find it for you..."

Minerva followed Ambryn's finger, dropped her itchy grin, shook her head desperately, but immediately bite her lip afterwards and nodded at the witch.

"Okay... FUCK! Okay..."

When the sorceress stepped into the forest with anger, Ambryn giggled and jumped in front of her, showing her palm.

"Stay behind me. I have leadership this time! And be quiet, both of you. Come on."

"Wait. Cast an illusion on us." Minerva asked.

As soon as Ambryn shook her head and opened her mouth, Minerva raised her finger to her face and barked.

"Don't you dare, witch! If you had used your bloody magic before entering the village—"

"Calm down, okay! We're going to hunt dark wizards, sorceress. My illusion is no obstacle for them."

Holding her finger steady for a while, Minerva pointed to the west without ever dropping it.

"Head this way. I want to visit him."

Dimana felt happy enough that there was no need to remind her promise. As Ambryn opened her mouth again with a bit of wonder and a little bit of boredom, the succubus stepped forward and explained the situation.

"She will destroy his soul, Ambryn. If I remember correctly, you too were wondering how to do it."

"I... I wasn't! I too know the method... But anyway, Let's find that prick."

When she took a final inquisitive look at Minerva and started walking quickly, Dimana excitedly tilted her head to the sorceress' cheek who was smirking to the witch's back, but before her lips could reach, Minerva hissed.

"Behave now!"

Turning her head was a wrong idea for her. Regardless of her warning, Dimana continued to tilt her head and put a quick but solid kiss on her lips.

*****

It did not take long for them to find the battlefield. Blackened wet soil and burned, broken trees were quite visible even hundreds of steps away. Although the weather was slightly windy, the smell of sharp burned meat and corpses was intense enough to wring out the nose of anyone passing by the area. The area also had became a feast for predators and crows. Necromancer's body was missing from down the chest cage. The bloody pieces of his black robe were scattered around the body. The crows on the leftovers fled their wings when they saw the approaching visitors and escaped to the trees around. The crow above his head, which had jumped farther, firmly held the necromancer's nose with its paws, while watching the visitors with one eye, it was quickly hiting the beak in the eye of the bodiless head and pulling small pieces of meat out.

The leader slowed down her steps without taking her eyes off the brutality of last night, and showed enough of her broken courage. Both women gave all their attention to necromancer's headless body, but Dimana was more concerned with wolves than corpse. A carcass was missing, but the jawless one was still where she left it off. While staring at it, her ears again filled with horrific, painful whimpers. She still couldn't throw the voices out of her head.

Minerva stood a few steps away from the body, turned her head to the witch who covered her nose with her palm, put her hands on her hips and grinned.

"Come on, Ambryn. Show us your soul emitting method. I'm dying to watch."

Ambryn wrinkled her eyebrows and pointed at the sorceress first the necromancer and then all around.

"Here? Now? Without migranites? Without blood crystals? Without any escape barricade?"

"Without a handful of turd, right? Watch and learn, witch. Watch... and... learn." Minerva immediately added and walked towards the corpse with a confident smile on her face and threw her hood back, but grimaced hard and pressed her cloak on her nose without leaning above the corpse. Dimana curiously slipped beside the witch and began to watch with all her attention.

"Oh, Light- Disgusting!"

The witch stepped forward in silent, turning her palm to the corpse and created a strong wind wave in seconds. When Minerva felt her hair sticking to her face, she turned her curious eyes to the witch, watched the spell and lowered her collar. The air swept away the disgusting corpse stink. The solution would not last long, but the sorceress could take care of her work until it regained its strength. Ambryn finally lowered her palm and grunted.

"Stupid."

Dimana set up cross legged and clasped her fingers on her lap.Minerva ignored the insult and turned her face back to the ruined corpse, wrinkled her face as if she would vomit again, hovering her fingers over the remaining parts of the necromancer. She grabbed the black dress tightly with both hands and ripped it, threw her hand into the necromancer's inner pocket and pulled out a flat, ebony piece of iron, one finger long. She frowned, turning it around in her hand for a while, then lifted her head and held the piece to the witch.

"Any idea?"

Ambryn nodded, grabbed the iron and threw it into the inner pocket of her torn dress.

"It's a key. We'll need it."

Minerva turned back to the corpse and laid both her palms on the chest, took a deep breath, raised her hands again, and looked at Dimana and then at the witch.

"I want you both to be completely silent now. The faster we get it done, the better."

Dimana nodded without any objection, Ambryn shook her shoulders and moaned in pain as she lowered her body to crouching next to Dimana, and continued to watch with the same curiosity. Minerva closed her eyes and started muttering quietly after a few deep breaths. Ambryn frowned and turned her ear to the sorceress, after making sure she couldn't hear Minerva's voice, she barked and broke the silence.

"Hey! What are you reading?"

"Uhh! Shut it! I'm trying to reach the goddamn soul here!" Minerva looked at her side and barked angrily.

"Okay! But what's the scripture? Just curious."

"What's the point? You don't even know our runes."

Ambryn smirked, dropping her butt down, answering with a challenging voice.

"Don't underestimate me, sorceress. I know enough of your shitty tongue. Conjunctions too. I even know architect Raysif's designs and interaction schemes. Although they were so useless."

With an unconvinced facial expression, Minerva gazed long at the witch who raised her chest again and giggled.

"We barely use his methods. Even very little in all the current curriculum, but... I'm pretty impressed by even your knowing the name... Well, why don't you help Dimana until I prepare the process? She wants to learn magic."

Ambryn turned her proudly glowing face to the succubus, who was patiently listening to them like an innocent peasant. Dimana objected before the witch opened her mouth.

"No! Yes! But not now. I want to watch."

Minerva stretched out her hand, stroked her knee and responded with a calm voice.

"Believe me, nothing will happen for a while. But I can't concentrate on it while you're here. And yes Ambryn! I want to teach her magic. Most probably it won't work, but why don't you help a little bit? Not much, just teach her the basic dynamics, or anything. Go, walk, talk, fuck, I don't care! Just leave me alone for a while. I'll let you know before the emitting "

Without waiting for any objection, she put her hands on the body again and closed her eyes tightly. Ambryn took a deep breath after muttering countless curses silently in a row, began to walk towards the woods, but turned to Dimana with a demonic smile on her face, but her main target was still the sorceress.

"Come on, succubus! You'll learn dark magic from one of the best."

"No, damn it! You'll teach her the light magic!" Minerva looked over her shoulder and shone.

What were the differences between them, Dimana had absolutely no idea. In the war of the sorceress and the witch on the hill, neither of them was able to excel on each other, but it was not a good example for comparing spells. A much better example was between Minerva and necromancer. Necromancer certainly attacked much stronger than the sorceress, but when the opportunity passed to Minerva, she easily defeated him. Surely, there were differences between the two sorceries, but the more interesting thing was that both wizards were now discussing which spells they would teach, although both agreed that a succubus cannot learn human spells. Ambryn turned her eyes to Dimana and made a new proposal.

"Let the succubus decide."

After looking at the two pairs of blue eyes, Dimana stretched her arms to both sides and asked.

"What's the difference?" As Ambryn grinned, Minerva cleared her throat to give a good answer.

"You don't need dark magic, Dimana. No damn witch can do that thing you did last night! What you need is healing magic and a good shield. You'll be much stronger after you've got them."

"Unless that damn witch doesn't blow your head before you even recall the shield spell!" Ambryn barked at the sorceress' back, turned her eyes to Dimana and continued her compliments.

"I don't know exactly what have you done, succubus, but the flames are never enough. No sorcerer can resist to a good witch! Maybe we don't have healing spells, but our shields aren't that bad. All you have to do is be careful and do the first attack that comes to your mind. Then watch their evaporating blood and crumbling bodies!"

When she finally fell silent, Dimana bowed her head and carefully weighed the information she had gained. The dark magic should have been better in the attack, and the light one in defense. In fact, the single biggest difference should have been the healing spell. It was definitely a big difference though and it was adorned Dimana's dreams. Also, the sorceress' attacks were certainly not bad at all. The heads that the woman had blown and the bodies she had burned were countless. Nevertheless, Dimana smiled widely and asked both of them before making her final decision.

"Why not both?"

While Ambryn grimaced in her possibly stupid question, Minerva quickly crossed the question.

"It's impossible. Theoretically possible but never in practice. A mind can master only one sorcery. Trying to use both magics will only melt your brain. I mean... Literally melt your brain."

Maybe for a human, but for a devil... They were not even sure that a devil could learn human spells. Dimana shook her shoulders and smiled at Minerva.

"I want to learn your magic."

Minerva squeezed her fist as if she had won a great war, then waved it to Dimana and then to the bored witch behind her.

"That's my girl! Now, Take her and leave, Ambryn. Respect her decision, okay?"

Ambryn rolled her eyes and turned her direction back to the woods.

"Whatever... Come on, succubus! Let's take a nice walk."

Minerva finally realigned her hands, took a deep breath, closed her eyes again, and continued to hum. When Dimana smiled and approached for a kiss, she was hurled after Ambryn with a soft magical blow to her butt.

*****

"~I'm the fear that scares tiny lights,

I'm the one who shut their sights,

Flames grows where the light curses none

Hold your hate sis, demons has gone~"

"What's this?"

Ambryn squeezed the root of the leaf in her hand between her teeth, plucked another one from the bottom of the tree and handed it to Dimana.

"Sorrel. Wanna try? I'm so fucking hungry."

This was one of the differences between the witch and the sorceress. She remembered the tea discussion she had with Minerva very well. Ambryn never shared the sorceress' unnecessary persistence. Maybe she just didn't care, but she could present the option of comfortably rejecting without being stubborn contrary to Minerva.

"I meant the ballad, but... Why not."

Dimana shook her shoulders without objection and took the plant from the witch's hand and sat softly next to her, imitating the witch, biting the root of the leaf. It tasted nothing, but Dimana didn't care anyway.

"You really don't think you can learn magic, do you? You are a succubus, Dimana. You don't even have a soul."

Dimana sighed and bitten the plant hard again with the pain of the boredom that filled her.

"You're probably right."

While chewing the grass like a sheep, Ambryn gazed the relaxed body of succubus from head to toe. The long wound on her jawline, writhing with every chew, was reddened again to shed blood.

"What happened last night, tell me. The bitch was just passing all off. Then I'll teach you a few things."

"We can do both. I'll tell you what happened, and you explain how all happened to me."

Ambryn nodded eagerly, tearing off another leaf.

"Good idea. Come on then. Do tell."

She must have been wondering how the sorceress killed the necromancer who was defeated her. Dimana's curiosity was mostly based on the dynamics between these two opposing forces. She cleaned her throat and started to explain.

"Allright... Okay, I found you first. You were lying unconscious on the ground there. Together with the two dead wolves. Now, they killed the wolves. I'm sure they killed them. But they came back to life as I approached you... And... They were crying. It was... wasn't nice... How?"

Those wolves were still hurting her mind. Ambryn took a deep breath, pulled another leaf, and answered quickly.

"Necromancers able to steal the soul and consciousness of the creatures they killed. Those wolves were dead. They were acting only with their guidance. They were under their command."

"Can you do that? Or Minerva?"

Ambryn shook her head and grinned.

"Is Minerva know necromancy? Don't make me laugh! Even dark magic isn't enough per se. Can I? Yes, I can."

This time, it was Dimana's turn to grin and gazing the other. The witch's abilities, which she defended with great confidence, might have been a hype, but she had proved enough in Emerald forest that she was a powerful wizard.

"Can you?" Her words, of course, drowned the witch into anger. She chewed and cried with her mouth full.

"Yes. Whore! I can."

Dimana nodded without objecting to her. If she really had this kind of talent, she could have had great help in the future.

"Okay... Anyway, they attacked me, i kill them, then I saw necromancers, I tried to run away but... Something grabbed me in the air."

Her curious burgundy eyes turned to the witch again, Ambryn nodded slowly, with a sad and angry look.

"Yes. That son of a whore casted same spell on me. It was a full-axis airwrap spell and the source was that Caelec. The wand. I also tried to break it, but believe me, I wasn't as lucky as you two. "

"So... Can you do that too? Or Minerva?"

"Sure! But the enemies kill me several times before I could finish all runes. The reason that necromancer did so easily was that Caelec. Spells are ready in such wands. You just command the wand and it happens."

"Then why don't you use a... Wand like that?"

Ambryn blow a hot breath full of disgust on succubus' face and spread her arms.

"Where am I going to find it, you bastard? Caelecs are very rare sacreds. Believe me, that wand wasn't even one of the best. I am also wondering how he got it. Who knows, maybe there is another one in his lair... Come on, what happened next? "