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Natasha
THE PATROL LANDED AT the Outpost and began to break apart.
Ignoring the other witches, Natasha walked past them to the western edge of the Outpost’s informal border. She looked out across the flat ground to what lay beyond her, close to the edge of the cliff face.
There it was, hanging in midair, a slow pulsing blob of silverish energy. The portal that had brought the dragons to Earth from their homeland of Dracia. A place that they could never go back to.
“It looks so harmless,” she whispered. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen the portal. Most patrols of the mountains spent the night at the Outpost, and she’d already been out once since the dragons arrived. Still, it was an interesting sight.
Apparently, it had been dozens of feet wide at its peak, though now it was little more than six inches wide. Nothing could come through it, as far as they all knew, though that didn’t prevent the witches and dragons from permanently stationing some of their number at the Outpost to guard against it.
After all, according to reports, something had managed to get through in the immediate aftermath. Only the combined forces of dragons and witches had defeated them.
Natasha was glad she hadn’t been a part of that fight. The Infected, they were called. A parasite that took over a person’s mind, adding them to the host, and attacking everything nearby in an attempt to create more. It was...unnerving. If the portal ever opened completely, she knew they would be in deep trouble.
Millions of the things were on the other side, according to Rane at least. The rest of his people, the population of his planet. All lost to the Infected. It was terrible.
She turned to go inside, the memory of Rane distracting her from the cold magic that had created the portal. Her stomach was growling and she was ready for some food. They had spent the entire day soaring high above the mountains, looking for signs of creatures from the Abyss, or perhaps other dragons living nearby, but had found nothing.
They would take a break for the evening and resume in the morning. The barriers between Earth and the Abyss were weakest in the winter, and with the season approaching its peak, there would be little rest for the patrols. They would leave at first dawn. That left little time for her to eat and get some sleep.
If I can sleep.
Her brain had been occupied during the day with maintaining her place in formation and scouring the lands below. Now that it was free to wander, however, Natasha feared for her dreams that night. She didn’t want to have a nightmare, to wake up in a cold sweat, but she wondered if she could avoid it.
Rane. Everything centered around him. She centered around him. Her entire being was missing him, missing their conversations, their walks, his touch. Everything about him was missed by some part of her, and it was growing stronger with every passing hour. What was she supposed to do about it though? He had cast her out of his life, and she deserved it after what she’d done.
“Hey, Sara,” she said, lining up behind her friend for food. Maybe a conversation about something else would distract her for a bit.
“Oh. Hi.”
Natasha frowned as Sara barely acknowledged her presence.
“Is something wrong?” she asked, keeping her voice low, so that the others wouldn’t know Sara was bothered.
Sarah didn’t even bother to turn around. “No, I’m fine.”
“Certainly doesn’t seem like you’re fine. Come on, talk to me, Sar. What’s going on? I can help you,” she urged.
“I told you, I’m fine.” Sarah stepped forward as the line moved along.
Natasha straightened, wondering what she was missing. The two hadn’t had much of a chance to interact during the day, but this was the first patrol they had flown together. She had been looking forward to spending time together this evening. A welcome distraction from her other issues.
“Did something happen that I missed?” Natasha asked, deciding to keep pushing.
“I said I’m. Fine.”
The cold tone sounded just like Izzy had that morning.
Natasha bit her lip as she made the connection.
“What’s going on, Sara, why are you ignoring me?” she asked coldly, wondering if she could at least get the other woman to admit openly that was what she was doing. Then at least Natasha would have confirmation of what was going on.
How much longer am I going to be paying for this? Isn’t the destruction of my relationship with Rane punishment enough?
Of course, it wasn’t, she knew that, not to someone like Loiner who rarely stopped short of destroying someone’s life if she could. Natasha had watched it happen. In the past, she’d assume the witch had earned such treatment, but now, being on the other side of it, she wondered about the truth of it all.
“You need to get your shit together, Natasha,” Sara said quietly. “You’ve been acting weird lately.”
Natasha frowned, but before she could speak, Sara continued on.
“Maybe after that damn dragon is finally gone, you’ll come to your senses,” Sara added in a bitter voice.
Rane? Gone? The dragons weren’t leaving. Were they? Natasha needed to find out more.
“What are you talking about?” she hissed, drawing a look from several of the witches permanently stationed at the Outpost. “Where is he going?”
“So, you do care for him,” Sara said with a sad shake of her head. “I thought it was just a joke, you know. That the others were playing a trick. There’s no way Natasha could be that stupid, I told myself. I tried to defend you, you know.”
Natasha recoiled. “Defend me from whom? What the hell are you talking about? What others?”
Sara shook her head, falling silent.
Without thinking, Natasha’s hand slipped into her robe, closing around her wand. Something was going on back at Winterspell. Something to do with the dragons. She had a terrible idea of what it might be, but she needed confirmation.
“What is happening, Sara?” she asked icily. “Tell me. Now.”
The other woman turned in line, green eyes blazing.
“It was you,” Natasha said quietly, things clicking into place. “You were the one who broke into the dragon quarters that Rane was talking about.”
She suddenly understood more. “You were supposed to plant those papers, the forged documents. But you got caught. No wonder you’re so pissy toward the dragons,” she said, nodding slowly.
Sara’s eyes glittered dangerously, but she didn’t say anything.
Natasha’s wand came out and she jabbed it into Sara’s side, using her body to shield the motion from any of the other witches in the room.
“What is happening back at Winterspell?” she growled, preparing a spell in case Sara resisted.
The witch’s eyes went wide as she realized what Natasha was doing. “You’re crazy.”
“I said tell me.”
Sara looked at the wand, obviously wondering if she could test Natasha. Driving home her point, she pushed the wand into her ex-friend harder.
I wonder if I ever had any friends? Any real friends. Or were they all just using me, like Loiner?
Natasha had thought that by associating with Loiner, she’d gained some friends, a place that she could be herself and also get ahead at Winterspell. As it was turning out, it seemed more and more like all she’d done was give up a part of who she was.
A big part.
“They’re putting Rane on trial,” Sara spat coldly. “If they know what’s good for them, they’ll toss him and all the dragons out of Winterspell. Or better yet, back through the portal that brought them here. Get rid of them for good.”
“When?” Natasha had a bad feeling.
“If the raid on his quarters goes well, today,” Sara said, grinning widely. “And we will all benefit from it.”
“We, in this case, meaning anyone associated with Loiner, I assume,” Natasha sneered. “You sycophants. You would exile these people who have done nothing but try to help us, all so that you can gain some measure of power. For what? What will you accomplish with it, besides maybe finally giving Loiner the seat on the Coven she’s been demanding for years, as if it should be granted to her just for who she is?”
Sara just shook her head. “You’ll never understand.”
“You’re right. Because you’re all insane and blinded by that monster.”
Natasha turned and stormed out of the Outpost, dinner long forgotten. She looked at her surroundings. Trees and mountains, snow and empty space. There was nothing around her for miles. She was far from Winterspell.
And was that the purpose of it all? Natasha couldn’t help but see just how coincidental it was, that she was no longer back at Winterspell. The one person who could speak out against Loiner.
Just how sick was the person I replaced, I wonder? she thought darkly to herself. That would be just like Loiner of course, always thinking several moves ahead.
By sending Natasha out on patrol, by the time she returned, the trial would be over and the dragons would be exiled. And it would all be her fault. Rane hadn’t destroyed the papers, at least not while she was there.
And he’s going to think that I told Loiner. That it was me who betrayed him.
There must have been a spell on the papers, or perhaps the envelope. Something that would have notified Loiner where they were. Since they hadn’t been destroyed, the Master would have known that Natasha was lying as well, which was why she’d removed her from Winterspell. One less thing that could go wrong in Loiner’s quest for more power.
“That has to be what she’s up to,” Natasha said, speaking to herself as she paced away from the main building.
What do I do now?
Staying at the Outpost didn’t seem like an option, not anymore. Yet going back would mean speaking up against Loiner. Natasha could bring the whole thing down with her testimony.
She tried to swallow, but a massive lump had arisen in her throat.
What was she going to do?
If she went back, she would have incriminated herself. She would have to risk everything she’d worked so hard for.
