Held In Contempt (Of Magic and Contempt Book 2) Page 11

  Nick fumed, then looked at the provost helplessly. Surely she would see the need to say something now. Provost Aer-Canticum, however, looked thoughtful and then determination fixed her features into a strong mask.

  “Well, Nick. You can tell Melody that I’ve changed my stance. I’ve spoken to my coven mistress and she is in agreement, if Fulgur Coven withdraw their offer, or if Melody refuses, then there will be a place for her and for all of you with us. She may come and make her oath tonight if she wishes.”

  Nick’s jaw dropped. There would be significant political repercussions for the provost’s coven if she did this. Even the faintest hint of corruption could see her stripped of her position.

  “You can’t do that! I’m poised to accept her into my coven,” blustered Mistress Fulgur.

  “Andrea,” the provost’s voice was now ice cold. “I made it very clear to you that not only was Melody open to offers, but that she needed to escape her coven. Not leave, escape. You remember Adelaide, and you know Georgia. I can only imagine the hell that poor child has been through, and now that bitch is aware of what is happening, she’s coming here!”

  Mistress Fulgur opened her mouth to protest, but again the provost spoke over the top of her.

  “Nick was far too subtle. She’s not coming here to persuade those men, she’s coming here to take them, and she wouldn’t make that sort of idle comment unless she had the means to back it up!”

  The provost sighed and stood. “I’m sorry, Andrea, but I need to go to the arena and start setting up for the ceremony. If I’m lucky we’ll be ready just in time for dawn. Now, either you are going to be standing in the rune ring with her, or I will by proxy for my coven mistress. The choice is yours.”

  She turned to Nick. “You are my witness that I did all in my power to find another safe solution for Melody. This is not a case of corruption or nepotism, but a genuine act of mercy.”

  Nick bowed to her, signalling his agreement. Mistress Fulgur, however, drew herself up to her full height.

  “I will not be dictated to about who to accept into my coven. If you seek to force my hand on this, then I withdraw my offer. It seems like this child is far too much trouble. She only guarantees me two shifters, a wolf and a lion are not worth the enmity of Bestia.” The furious coven leader gathered her belongings together. “I will remember this, Augusta.”

  The provost scowled at her. “So will I, Andrea. I will remember that when you had the chance to help someone in trouble, you pulled up the drawbridge. I will remember that you risked nothing, sacrificed nothing, and expected everything to be handed to you on a platter. May the Goddess witness this, for you have let your coven down today, Andrea. I hope that she takes pity on you. Now, please leave, I have a witch to rescue, and my reputation to destroy.”

  The door opened and Jonas stood there, waiting to escort the coven mistress out. She stormed to the door, pausing to turn back to them, but then changed her mind and flounced out.

  “Well, I guess that sorts that out,” said Nick.

  He looked at the provost. Under the high colour on her cheeks, her face was actually quite pale. She met his gaze for a moment and then nodded decisively.

  “Right, go get her ready, and then if you could return and help me set up, I would appreciate it. I need to get the runes on the ground as soon as I can so I can start blessing the arena.”

  Jus, you there? he sent across their link.

  Yeah, what’s up? asked Justin.

  Get Mel ready, the ceremony is in the arena, I’m helping the provost set up. Send the mutts over, we’re doing it now, and it’s the provost’s coven, Fulgur has fucked off.

  Is that a good thing? Justin asked.

  Yeah, I think Mel was right. I don’t know that this coven will be any better, but at least we know that the provost is the real deal, it could cost her the academy though.

  Fuuuuck!

  Yeah, but we need this, so get her moving, Nick told him.

  She’s already getting changed. Oz, Ry and the dickwad are on their way. Want Trent too? Wasn’t sure if you classed him as a mutt.

  Nick snorted, mentally as well as aloud, and the provost fixed him with a glare. “What are you waiting for?” she snapped.

  “Something to carry, Justin is getting her moving,” Nick replied.

  Nah, man, he sent to Justin. Trent is all class. The three of them should be enough. I forgot about the dickwad for a moment.

  The provost looked at him, startled. “You have a pack link?”

  “Just with Justin, but I can use my magic to include others,” he told her.

  “Good to know.” She looked around her.

  “Alright, Jonas, take Nick and load him up with a bag of salt, I’ll get my athame and my altar bowl.” She muttered to herself and then said, “and the sage.”

  There was the thudding of heavy feet on the front stoop and they all stopped for a second, but seeing Jonas relax, Nick turned back to the provost. Ryan, Oz and Asher walked in and looked around.

  “What do you need us to do, Provost?” asked Asher.

  “Jonas, load them up too, between the five of you we should have more than enough,” she commanded.

  Jonas jerked his head at the others, directing them to a door under the stairs. Nick ducked under the lintel and followed the shifter down a narrow flight of stairs into a rather well made basement. There was no smell of damp or mould, just a faint aroma of dust, probably from the very top of the multiple rows of shelves.

  Jonas headed for a crate in the corner and opened it with a crowbar stashed nearby. He grabbed a sack, swung around and practically threw it to Nick, who caught it deftly then moved aside for the wolves to each get their load. They all followed the lynx shifter back up the stairs.

  “Where are we going?” asked Oz.

  “Down to the arena. It’s going to take some time to set up the rune ring, so we need to start now. I imagine Mel can help once she’s here.”

  “Jonas?” the provost called back to them, “we’ll need some torches, the ones out here are wet.”

  Her voice echoed along the south-east corridor between the classrooms and the library. It wasn’t a loud shout, but with their shifter hearing, it didn’t need to be.

  “Where are the others?” Jonas asked him.

  “At the cottage, how many to carry the torches?”

  “Two, but I’d need to show them where they are, get one to come here and pick this up, and the other to meet me back at Provost House.”

  Jus? Send Dean to me, and Trent to Provost House. I’m walking past the library, headed for the glasshouses.

  On it. There was a pause. Dean isn’t happy.

  Tell him Asher is out here doing his bit. His witch needs him, and I need a line of communication to her. Fuck it, tell him to shut the fuck up and get his ass in gear, we don’t have time to fuck around, snarled Nick.

  Nick stood there, juggling his bag of salt which shifted inside the plastic sack. Every time he thought he had it balanced, another small cascade would slide this way or that, making him adjust. It wasn’t long before he could hear Dean’s footfalls jogging toward him. As soon as he saw the lion coming down the lane between the teachers' cottages and the back of the classrooms, he stepped forward.

  “There’s a bag of salt back there in the corridor, grab it and come with me,” he snapped, not waiting for Dean to complain about being separated from Melody.

  Dean must have felt his ire, because he said nothing, simply hefting the sack onto his shoulder and jogging over to where Nick stood waiting. Huh. It hadn’t occurred to him to stick it on his shoulder like that, and now he felt kind of stupid. Lifting his own bag up in a mirror image, they set off towards the arena.

  18. Melody

  The arena was a large flat area just behind the dormitory for the male shifters. The whole academy gently sloped from the gates at the north-west to the south-east corner, but the arena had been specifically levelled off. It was an alternative site for defensive ma
gic training, but it was mostly used as an exercise area for shifters and witches alike.

  In the center of it, the provost walked slowly in a circle, marking out the outer ring with a knife which she used to cut a groove in the ground. Asher walked behind her filling the circle in with salt that he poured from a large plastic sack in his arms. His pace was measured to ensure there were no gaps.

  Just ahead of her and Justin, Trent and Jonas walked carrying a load of what looked like several staffs, although she could see a bobbly end on them when she looked closer. Jonas lifted his face into the air and sniffed, and then walked to a point just in front of her and stuck one of the sticks into the ground. It was then that Melody realised what they were — Tiki-torches.

  She could hear his bass rumble as he instructed Trent, who walked across to the opposite side. Gradually, the two shifters worked around the outside of the circle, Trent digging in a torch opposite to wherever Jonas stuck one in.

  Asher’s bag of salt had run out, and now Dean took over ensuring that his beginning overlapped where the wolf’s had ended. The provost, in the meantime, had gone on to draw a second inner circle, about a foot inside the first one. Nick was following her around with his salt while Dean finished off the outer ring.

  “Melody, take the sage and purify the torches please, in spell order.”

  “Yes, Provost,” Melody called, then paused. “Is this for the good of my coven?”

  The provost spun to look at her, horror on her face. Then she calmed. “Melody, as your teacher, I need you to practice your purification spells. Please demonstrate the technique for torches.”

  Melody nodded and began. When no burning pain began on her back, she knew they were onto the right track. They just had to be careful. She was exhilarated. Not only was she about to join a new coven, but it would be the provost’s. Melody would stand witness that this was a last ditch resort, in case there were calls of nepotism, although she wasn’t sure how much her testimony would be worth if there was any trouble.

  Carefully, she made her way around the circle with the burning sage, cleansing the torches before lighting the four cardinal points in the anti-clockwise direction. Then she turned and lit the four torches between them in the clockwise direction. By the time she was done, there was a reasonable amount of heat emanating from them, warming the space between them. She felt a faint shimmer of magic and saw it leaving Justin, arcing elegantly over the space and forming a dome. Melody smiled gratefully at him. This ceremony would be performed “clad in the light”, and it was seriously cold.

  “Here,” the provost shoved a book at her, and Melody caught it just in time. “I know this by heart, but you might need to refer to it. Start at the north point and work clockwise towards me, I’ll start from the other side of it and work in the other direction. This will be a good practical learning experience for you.”

  “Does it matter for the runes?” asked Melody.

  “No, not at all, only the candles, or torches as it may be in this case.” She turned away from Melody. “Justin, seeing as you were so kind as to provide the dome, could you start working spells of protection into it please? Better to be safe than sorry,” the provost asked him.

  “Yes, Provost. Nick, come give me a hand, will ya?”

  The two dragons stood conferring off to one side, and Melody tried to ignore them as she worked the runes into the ground, travelling first east then south around the circle. Oz walked with her, filling the cuts with salt as soon as she stepped over to the next location. Soon, his bag was empty and Ryan took over. Dean and Trent had a bag each and were following the provost around, while Jonas talked quietly with the dragons.

  They worked for some time, putting the multitude of runes in between the two rings, and then after the provost drew a second inner ring, they put even more runes between the second and third circles. By the time they were finished, Melody was exhausted. Her back ached from bending over, and her eyes were gritty with fatigue.

  Every now and then, she would feel a jolt of magic as either Dean or Justin would add another spell to the dome protecting the site. When she looked up, there was a beautiful mosaic of spells above her, and Melody found herself entranced for a few moments, watching as the magic eddied and swirled through the patterns.

  Finally, after adding a spell or two of her own to the dome, the provost turned to Melody and held out her hands. “It is time, child,” she said, quietly.

  Melody nodded and shed her clothing, Dean taking it from her and folding it neatly before passing it to Asher who sucked in a breath at her scarred body, but turned and placed it on the pile of empty plastic sacks that had held the salt saying nothing. This way, not only would they stay clean, but they would also be dry. She walked to the north point and then entered the circle, walking to the provost and joining hands with her. It was only Melody who needed to be naked, she was the supplicant, the recipient of the blessing of a new coven.

  There was the sound of many feet, and Melody spun, fearfully, only to see Jonas returning with Mrs Hardinger, Professor Simmonds, Mr Cartwright and Mr Phelps. Apparently they would be witnesses to the ceremony. She felt a little self conscious, standing there naked in front of all these men, but one look at the heat in Dean’s eyes made her forget everyone else. Asher’s jaw was slack and his hands trembled, a sign that his wolf was pushing to shift.

  The four witnesses took their places at the cardinal points of the circle, and stood there quietly, waiting for the provost to begin.

  “Are you sure, Provost?” she asked the older woman. Melody knew that there would be political fallout for her friend.

  The provost snorted. “Child, I was just about to ask you the same thing. Don’t worry about me, we’ll sort everything out when the dust settles, and if my time here is done, then I will move on to one of a dozen other places where they are begging me to go. It is you who I am most concerned for.”

  “I’m naked, and I’m cold, even with the dome,” Melody said, smiling. “And I think that it’s more important to start this ceremony sooner, rather than later.”

  The provost chuckled. “Yes, it will be dawn soon. Let us begin, I don’t want any interruptions.”

  The provost’s voice rose and fell as she chanted ancient songs asking for the blessing of the Goddess. The moon had set earlier, but not before they had finished the runes, so it technically had the blessing of the light of the Goddess. As an added bonus, none of the torches had blown out in the light breeze. That would have been a bad omen indeed, a sign of the Goddess’ displeasure.

  Melody found herself swaying, the drone of the provost’s voice, the swirl of magic around her, and her own fatigue combining to lower her mental alertness. A stinging pain hit her left butt cheek, and she jolted upright. There were snickers from outside the circle, so she knew that one of them had done something stupid, like throwing a stone or a spell. She hoped it was a missile, because throwing spells at a time like this was seriously stupid.

  Across from her, the provost’s eyes twinkled, but she didn’t pause in her singing. Finally, when Melody thought she could stand no longer, the provost spoke in English.

  “Melody, you are called forth in the light to come and serve Coven Canticum. Search in your heart. Do you agree to bind yourself to us?” she asked.

  “In the light of the Goddess, so do I swear. I promise to be loyal, faithful and to work to further the aims and goals of Coven Canticum. May I find acceptance in their eyes,” Melody replied, the words of the ritual ingrained in her mind.

  “Indeed you have found favour with our members and we accept you as part of our family,” the provost intoned. Then she let go of Melody’s hands and picked up her altar bowl and athame, slicing across her hand and allowing the blood to drip into the bowl.

  Melody held out her right hand, allowing the provost to cut it, and then directed her blood into the bowl as well.

  “Let your blood mix with ours, your magic blend with our own, and our hearts love each other with aban
don. Let the goddess bless this union of you and us and bring forth a new strength in our journey together. So mote it be.” The provost poured the blood onto the ground and turned to smile at Melody.

  “So mote it be,” repeated Melody.

  “Let me be the first to welcome you to our coven, sister.” She held out her arms to Melody, but Melody stumbled forward into them, unable to hold herself upright as the geasen on her began to break.

  Melody had never felt pain like it. She screamed as the three major geasen recently laid upon her by her aunt, ripped themselves from her body. Outside the dome, a lion roared and a wolf howled, but nobody entered the circle, they couldn’t until the women had stepped out.

  Hundreds more geasen followed the first, and pain lashed her nerve endings. To start with it was one at a time, but then it increasing tempo until it was a veritable torrent of torture. Melody’sbody bucked and shuddered as each one pulled itself free, like fishing hooks ripping out of her skin, although she knew it was a sensation rather than a reality, it didn’t make enduring it any easier.

  In the near distance, there was a matching scream, and Melody knew that it was her aunt crying not in pain, but in frustration that her spells were being broken.

  “They’re here,” she managed to say to the provost. Looking east, she could see where the sky grew brighter over the forest.

  “Prepare yourselves for attack,” shouted the provost, still holding Melody up. “Can you stand, child? We need to leave the circle, I need to defend the academy.”

  Melody tried to straighten herself, but her trembling limbs would not support her. She looked helplessly at her friend, just as a horrible screech sounded behind her.

  “You fucking ungrateful bitch, you steal my birthright from me and now give it to another coven? I don’t fucking think so, I will have what is mine, even if I have to carve it from your skin, you little whore.” Aunt Georgia looked at the provost. “And you, you conniving hag, stealing her from us — from me! You, I will kill, slowly, and Melody, you will watch!”