Spellbound & Hellhounds, page 4
part #1 of Coven Chronicles Series
A few moments had passed when the pace of the group stilled. Vanessa went on her tip toes to look over the throng of Coven members to see them all inspecting wearily the mouth of a harshly carved opening that stretched beyond the walls of the academy. She wiggled through the throng of casters to a better spot, hoping to hear and see what exactly was going on.
Leon motioned for two members to come next to the opening with him. “Let’s check it for barriers, wards, curses, and the like. I don’t want any more surprises if it can be helped,” he said, waving at the foreboding entrance. He pointed the light spell into the opening and glanced around while the other two worked. Soft blue lights emitting from their hands as they traced the opening with their spells.
Turning, Leon spoke to the rest of the group, “It would seem that whoever is responsible for this has constructed a healthy stretch of tunnels. We are unsure of how deep these tunnels will be or what will be lurking within them. Keep your protective and battle spells at the ready. Move on my mark.” Leon turned to face the two examining the hole in the boiler room wall.
“Sir, it would appear there is no threatening or curious magic. However...” the male Spellweaver trailed off.
“However, what?” Leon hoarsely urged the man to finish.
“The opening was made recently, perhaps only months ago, but the tunnels beyond are far older,” the female Spellweaver said softly.
Leon looked between the two and then stared off into the tunnels. “What have we walked into?” he whispered, but only a slow stream of air replied. “Let’s go,” Leon yelled out, and the crowd of Coven members took the first steps through the threshold.
They delved deep into the tunnels, and Vanessa was awestruck as she inspected the curved lines of the wall and the winding side passageways that snaked through the depths deep below the capital of Aeristria, Tolvade.
The walls were aged with time, and it was hard to tell if magic or tool had made them. The newfound catacombs twisted deeper beyond the academy walls that any had anticipated. Splitting up into teams, the sweeping group got lost inside the burrows as they searched for foe or culprit or dreaded hellhound. Only, nothing appeared to be inside the winding span of warrens.
Empty echoes of slinking footwork and soft chatter from the Coven members reverberated off the walls, but not a whisper of danger or a hint at the fact that there was a creature to be captured was found within the elongated carved halls. There were just endless spirals of rock and dirt. Vanessa sighed and peered down one of the side passageways and looked to Leon for confirmation that it was all right to move on down that way with a few of the others when she heard the twinkling of bells. It seemed someone had a crystal ball call. To Vanessa’s surprise, suddenly, there were many crystal ball twinklings happening at the same time only seconds after the first soft jingles of a crystal ball call.
What was going on?
Leon was the closest to her, and she craned her neck as she nosily twisted out of normal stance to see who the culprit of the call was. A blue hooded shadow peered back from Leon’s crystal ball. Bless her spell! All the calls were made to Spellweavers. It was a mass call from the blue cloaks… but why?
She tried to lean in without seeming interested in what was being said and bumped into Bobo as she leaned a tad bit too far. He too was straining to hear what was being said, and they only traded a glance before resuming their curious eavesdropping.
The voice of the High Priest could barely be heard on Leon’s orb. His call was private, unlike the others that had received a mass call from the High Priest Council to address the issue at hand. “It would seem that this mission has exceeded our expectations, and we feel that the Summoners would best be fit to take over the current task. Report back to headquarters to file a report and have Council with us. Oh, and bring the Hunter with you,” the blue cloak stated, waiting for the compliant nod of Leon before letting the orb wink out. The crystal ball became plain picture-less glass once more.
“What?” Vanessa griped, not even hiding the fact that she had been eavesdropping.
“You heard him, Vanessa. We are to report back to the Coven headquarters,” Leon sounded tired as he slipped the orb into the pouch once more.
“What a load of imp poo!” She shot back without blinking an eye. “Who knows how many more miles of uncharted tunnels there are, and those hellhounds—“
“Are no longer our problem. The High Priest Council has spoken, Vanessa. We have no grounds to defy them or their orders. We report back and that is final!” Leon’s voice boomed back at her, his tone alone daring her to challenge the blue cloak’s decision a second time. In a frustrated flurry of rippling cape and with a hard scowl screwed in place, Leon turned to address the Coven members. “This mission has been officially decreed out of our expertise, Summoners will now take over this duty and we are all,” he fixed his gaze for a split second to Vanessa behind him before carrying on, “…to report back to headquarters. Call in the remaining groups that have divided down side passages, and let’s make our way for the surface.”
The lines of Coven members started to form and flow for the exit. Meanwhile, Vanessa tried not to look like she was a sulking child as she tried to get her rattled emotions in check. The Coven was making the right choice, but Vanessa wasn’t happy with it at all. This was supposed to be her case. If she had bagged a pack of hellhounds she’d be a Spellweaver by day’s end. Instead, she was tucking her tail between her legs, hanging her head in defeat, and clamping her mouth shut before she said something that got her put in the stocks for a week…
“Well, that was rather anti-climactic,” Bobo mumbled to his companion.
She nodded in reply before drawing her gaze up the mammoth sized creature at her side. Bobo’s gaze was locked dead ahead, his eyes lost in something beyond the stretch of tunnel. Vanessa had to actually take pause and make sure that there wasn’t something at the end of the burrow before she turned to him and asked, “What are you thinking?”
His furrowed brow deepened with crease marks. “I’m not sure. It just … something feels off…” he admitted, and she agreed. But there wasn’t much that the two of them, or the small group of slow retreating Coven members, could do to change the minds of the High Priest Council.
Chapter 7:
Outside, droves of Coven members split up, this way and that. Taking on new cases or taking lunch or simply going home at the end of their shift. Vanessa pulled her hood up and drew her cloak around her body like a blanket right as a blast of flurry filled air slammed against her with a howl. The fabric saved her skin from most of the wintery bite, but she hissed as the blistered skin beneath her robes found the chill to be more than her burnt coating underneath had anticipated. After a moment or two, the cold was welcomed, and the charred skin found reprieve in it.
Snow whined under the weight of Leon’s glossy, black boots as he beelined it for her and Bobo. She groaned and didn’t even mask her displeasure for the man heading her way. “Stop being a brat, Vanessa. I didn’t yell at you because I liked it. I did it because you were about to get into trouble with your tongue again.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m sure a part of you enjoyed it, Leon.”
To that he flashed a quick, blazing-white smile, and, for whatever reason, Vanessa laughed. She knew that if he didn’t speak up, she was going to speak out against the Council, and not all members of the Coven were as lax as Leon when it came down to reporting minor offenses. He was saving her hide in the long run, though, it did nothing for her pride in the present.
“Say, where is your pet?” Vanessa inquired.
Bobo visibly cringed and whirled around with wild squirrely eyes. Anxiously searching the snow mounds and rubble piles for the vixen in question, Bobo’s bulbous eyes combed high and low meticulously. Leon laughed at the spectacle and patted Bobo’s shoulder.
“Calm down, big guy. She’s at the spa and won’t be back until this evening,” he informed, and Bobo practically exhaled so dramatically that Vanessa swore he’d be making snow angles on the ground as a victorious ritual of sorts. A pall of air became a whitened puff in front of Vanessa’s mouth as it escaped.
“Come on, we should teleport to headquarters,” Leon said, motioning for her to come closer for the spell.
Vanessa visibly poked her lip out as she pouted with no restraint, and Leon flicked her jutted bottom lip. With a cat-like mewl she recoiled and rubbed her gloved fingers over the inflicted area. Leon laughed, and she shook her head. “No, I don’t want to race back there. I just want to take a carriage,” she admitted.
Leon rubbed his chin in thought and nodded. “Very well then, I shall join you.”
She raised a brow and cut him an inquisitive glare. “Oh?”
“Yes. It’s been a long day, and a nice relaxing ride would do my mind some good before filing a report and speaking before the Council,” he proclaimed.
Vanessa eyed him over while in thought. “Fine then.” She smirked and swiftly added, “But you’re paying.”
He opened his mouth and then closed it realizing that he’d been defeated. “Very well, Vanessa,” he sighed the reply while searching his pockets for his white cloth gloves. Withdrawing them, Vanessa eyed over the burning phoenix emblem sewn into the back of them. Slipping his hands into the gloves, he waved one hand and a flare emitted from his appendage and burst overhead in a small, yet brilliantly colored, firework detonation.
The melody of prancing footwork and jingling reigns soon came dancing closer to them before slowing to a halt. “Mundane Magic transportation services … at your, well, service,” the man holding the reigns called out to them with an awkward smile.
“Catchy name….” Bobo jested.
“We get ya there,” the man added with a nod and forced the smile a touch more.
Vanessa stood there staring at the man, waiting for him to tie up his catch phrase, or whatever it was, and he did a double-take from the partially frozen roads to her deadpan face. “What?”
“Is… is there more?” she asked.
“What?” He looked perplexed.
“That’s it?” Vanessa corked a brow over one eye.
He nodded, seeming sure of himself for the first time in their brief meeting. “Yes, ma’am. We get ya there.”
She blinked a few times at the driver before Leon lay a hand on the small of her back and ushered her closer to the carriage. “Come on. Let’s let the nice man drive the pretty ponies where we need to go.” He glanced up to the driver. “Coven headquarters, please.”
Bobo piled in after Vanessa and one could hardly hear him speaking under his breath over the creaking of the carriage in response to his weight, “Teleportation would have been easier on the horses.”
“The horses will be fine, Bobo,” Vanessa tried to sooth the ogre’s worries, but by the strained whinnies of the animals, there was little room to dispute the claim.
“All in a day’s work, Bobo. Try not to worry. I’ll tip the driver and hopefully my generosity earns the beasts a bit of rest and well-deserved treat,” Leon said with a grin.
Bobo nodded, though, it was clear as the deep lines on the creature’s face that he was still concerned for the horses.
Trying to divert her pet’s attention, Vanessa changed the subject. “What do you think the blue cloaks want to see me about?”
Leon groaned while taking a moment to really think about how to respond to that question. “I’m not really sure, Vanessa.” He rubbed the back of his neck, and his long sandy strands started to sway to the same rhythm of the carriages rocking motion, and Vanessa got lost in their golden glow as rays of the sun played in his mane. Slowly, silence took over the conversation for a short while. “It’s probably nothing more than them wanting a face to face report of what you saw. After all, Vanessa, it’s been two hundred years since anyone has seen a hellhound.”
Now that made sense. She was not only the first being to come into contact with them and come out alive, but the first person to do so in over a century. That was nothing to shake a wand at. Perhaps they just wanted to be brought up to date and not have to wait for the report to make it through the inner webbings of the Coven before it graced their podiums. “I suppose that is the most logical answer,” she said, feeling a little less sick to her stomach when she let the comment sink in.
The worry that had gnawed at her nerves had been the cause for her lack in desire to use a teleportation spell. First of all, she didn’t want to yak in front of Leon, and teleporting on a queasy tummy was sure to make her lose what little of her morning meal that remained in her belly. Plus, Leon would never let her live it down if she did. She didn’t want an extra reason for the handsome and annoying Spellweaver to tease her every day. The other reason was the dread that came from knowing that she’d have those powerful and stoic judgmental eyes cast down on her. They were ruthless, pragmatic, and cold… Or so the stories told from those select few that had been before the High Priest Council. She hadn’t been in front of them yet and she didn’t want to be today. She wanted to fly under the radar and become a highly respected Spellweaver, yet, she constantly got into trouble and regularly issued clean up jobs by the Council as punishment.
The High Priest Council, or blue cloaks – as most called them – were thirteen elder members of the Coven that were well versed in many magics and respected for their achievements as well as their vast amounts of power. Six females and six males made up the Council. The thirteenth member, however, was neither a seasoned Coven member nor a magic-less being … it was a Celestial. And all thirteen members made up the rules and laws that all of Aeristria’s society followed.
Nothing to worry about, right? She was only seeing the primary leaders of their society … She started to feel queasy again.
“Calm down. You’re turning pale. It’s nothing, I’m sure of it,” Leon spoke softly with a light smile playing on the corners of his lips.
Vanessa nodded a few times and audibly gulped after she drew in a deep breath and looked out the carriage window. The rhythmic click, clack, click, clack of the horses’ hooves prancing over the cobblestone was relaxing and an easy sound to try to have her heartbeat mimic. The cool air howled outside the glass window and sent snowflakes twirling through the sky like dancing ballroom lovers. The gentle sound of parchment paper rubbing against parchment paper rode through the air as Bobo turned another page in his book.
Moments passed in a sublime silence. Finally, through the carriage windows, the familiar shops that surrounded the Coven headquarters came into view. Apothecary Herbs & Beyond, Tarot & Fortune Telling Works, and Crystal Ball Emporium were a few of the most popular. They drifted from view as the carriage, much to Vanessa’s dismay, didn’t slow in its approach of the Coven headquarters that was nestled into the capital of Tolvade.
The stretch of cobblestone wall topped with spear tipped rot iron fencing was a cold and uninviting barrier. Its ends were quickly consumed by the harsh slate face of the building’s forward-facing side, where the stone skyrocketed up three floors high and loomed over the streets below with a foreboding presence. The only color to the construction that wasn’t painted in hues of gray were the bushes that had been perfectly planted in a uniformed manner around the base of the structure. Yet, even these lively organic ornaments lacked a warm and cozy feel to them, as if the very blade that cut and shaped them were cursed and had snipped each twig with pure hate. The other was the ornate stain glass window that glittered brightly under the rays of the sun like a rainbow on fire had been trapped within the glass. The picture held a burning phoenix inside its nest. It had many of the same characteristics of the Coven member’s seal. The burning eyes of the flaming bird seemed to be judging all those that passed by the main entrance.
On either side of the main entrance were two intricately carved – but now weathered with time – statues were leering out from their home. Parallel to them were two columns that rolled up to a flat overhang at the top, just below the stain glass phoenix. Below the overhang a stone plaque with “Coven” etched in olden tongue rested above the immense black-as-the-bottom-of-an-inkwell opening that lead to the large wooden double doors of the front entrance inside.
Each statue mirrored the other. They were long, cloaked, bearded figures that stood erect, holding a staff with an orb perched at the top. One hand positioned at the neck of the long wooden stick, the other was suspended, almost laying completely flat, over the round surface of the cane’s sphere. Soulless stone eyes stared into the capital that lay beyond the face of the Coven headquarters.
The carriage rolled to a stop, and Leon was the first to remove himself from inside and went to pay the driver. Bobo didn’t look thrilled or upset, he seemed rather neutral, but his head craned over to view the horses as he exited, checking to make sure none of them collapsed from exertion caused by lugging around the mammoth sized demon. Vanessa drew in a rather reluctant breath and exhaled it aggressively as she forced herself out of the carriage and onto the sidewalk outside.
She could hear Leon in the background. “Look, just take the money,” he urged. “I insist,” he added before dropping a small satchel into the driver’s open palm. “Just promise to give those poor beasts a rest, all right?” Leon said, patting the neck of one of the horses in passing.
“Of course, sir!” the driver exclaimed as he opened the bag and poked his index finger around the tiny borders of the small sack, stirring the gold coins therein with a rather awestruck expression displayed across his features.
Pouting at the heavily breathing horses, Bobo slowly turned from them and looked at the main entrance. He brushed off the one shoulder of his tattered and dirty suit just as Leon came to stand next to him and Vanessa. “Well,” he said with a sudden sigh, “let’s get this over with.”
