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Chapter 8: A Dance of Scarlet Snow

Isaac felt the sudden cold before he noticed the change in the Duchess behind him.

“Your-your Grace!” Physician Tobias called out worriedly from behind a knight’s shield.

Kirsi appeared to sag forward for a moment as she gripped the pommel of her saddle. The white mare beneath her pranced nervously and snorted. A cloud of cold air rose from the beast’s muzzle and curled around its gray mane and pretty white ears.

The Colonel’s gaze dropped to the ground beneath the Duchess’s mount as a thick coating of frost quickly spread out beneath a circle of fog that filled the air with flickering crystals of ice magic.

Tarlay’s mirages appeared to react to the cold as they retreated cautiously. The icy fog swelled as it spread outwards and collied against the barrier that held them pinned in, coating the building walls and the very air itself in vines of frost that outlined the restrictive limits of the witch hunter’s trap.

“What’s this, a cage?” Kirsi murmured with a flicker of irritation. “And an obvious ploy to drive us back into—another trap.” She sat up straight, twisted in the saddle, and tugged at the cords of her cloak impatiently. The discarded garment fell to the ground as the Duchess’s ice-blue eyes scanned her surroundings.

There was a restless sort of hunger in the ice witch’s gaze that sent a shiver of anticipation through Isaac as he observed her curiously.

The mare turned obediently beneath Kirsi’s hand. The Duchess’s movement gave Isaac a clear view of the short sword he had given her. The blade had grown in size, its steel core contained in a glittered layer of ice that extended it to a long, curved sword.

“Ahh, interesting,” Kirsi sneered as she raised her gaze to two witch hunters above her. “I suppose that means that you won’t allow my men to retreat to safety.”

“I offered you the chance to surrender,” Tarlay replied with a tense shrug. Isaac watched the witch hunter’s grip tighten on the flute that rested against her chin.

‘Perhaps she’s also noticed the subtle change in the Duchess’s demeanor.’

“I’ll try to keep them out of your way, your Grace,” Isaac said as calmly as he could while distancing himself from the Duchess. He flinched at the sight of the frost which climbed over his armor and shield. The knights behind him moved slowly together, and even the trembling physician fell into step beside them as they formed a defensive barricade of shields.

“Just stay still and keep those shields up,” Kirsi replied with a dismissive tone. “This won’t take long.”

With a strange sort of grace that carried with it an underlining sense of danger, the Duchess spun in her saddle and dropped down to the ground. The mirages quickly closed in.

“Hold!” Isaac snarled as the deadly illusions spread out and split up their attacks, half their number aimed towards the huddled knights.

A deep crack boomed and echoed through the street as the air filled with glowing lances of ice that flared out around Kirsi, piercing stone, wood, and glass as they sliced through the air viciously.

Isaac flinched as the blinding missiles shot through the two mirages in front of him, then continued on unhindered towards his shield. He braced himself, then blinked in surprise as a muffled thud proceeded the small cloud of snow that fell harmlessly at his feet. ‘What?’

“I guess steel is stronger than ice,” one of the knights joked tensely beside him.

“That isn’t normal ice,” Isaac growled as his gaze moved towards Tobias. The physician remained rooted to the spot. His hazel-brown eyes frozen in an expression of dumbstruck wonder. ‘I’ll figure out what to do with him if we make it out of this alive.’

“Colonel, the ice!”

The Colonel turned quickly and watched as thick, icy vines arched and wove themselves around the huddled knights, forming a clear, transparent cone-shaped dome around them.

“A magic barrier,” Isaac replied gruffly. “Keep your shields up all the same.”

“Bloody hell, she took out half of those mirages already!”

The Colonel shifted his shield to the side and watched as Kirsi sliced the legs out from under an ax-wielding mirage. The illusions shattered into fireflies that flew sluggishly through the frigid air as they tried to reform amidst the swirling storm of ice that rippled through the air after the ice witch.

Duchess Kirsi straightened and spun, ducking below the musket shot of another mirage as she pierced her blade through the illusions gut. She danced away quickly, snatching up a fallen knight’s shield, which she hefted into place as she turned to face the witch hunters above her.

“I thought you said she didn’t know how to use a sword,” one of the knights muttered in the tense silence that followed.

Isaac offered no reply as the sound of Tarlay’s flute filled the air around them. The Colonel’s attention turned quickly to the frost-covered enemy barrier that shimmered and then slid forward. Kirsi’s frost vines chipped and peeled away as the invisible walls closed in steadily. “Your Grace, she’s trying to trap us!”

❆❆❆❆❆

“Stay where you are,” Kirsi replied sharply. The Duchess rolled her neck and shoulder with a grimace of irritation. ‘Mortals only ever get in the way.’ Her ice-blue eyes snapped upwards as she smiled at her prey. “There’s no need to box me in, Demon Eyes. I’ll come to you.”

Tarlay’s glowing green eyes flickered with alarm as small platforms of solid ice materialized in the air, offering the Scarlet Witch a path of steps that led her quickly to the roof. Kirsi’s blade blurred viciously towards the witch hunter but clanged against the locked gauntlets of her apprentice instead.

“Vanya, no!” Tarlay snarled her warning far too late.

“Hehe, look at the little cub trying to protect the tiger,” Kirsi taunted as the frost from her sword quickly spread to the apprentice witch hunter’s enchanted metal gloves.

Vanya’s violet-blue eyes widened in surprise. She leapt back with deceptively light dexterity.

‘Those gloves are enchanted to reinforce her earth magic. Still, she’s got a lot of natural strength for a half-witch.’ Kirsi’s smile twisted in amusement as the novice witch hunter clanged her fists together and shook off the cracked chunks of ice. ‘She might be inexperienced, but at least she can think on her feet.’

The ice witch ignored Vanya’s savage howl as the novice witch hunter lunged forward. Kirsi somersaulted over the half-witch and touched down lightly on the other side before she sped after Tarlay.

Vanya twisted to follow but fell to her knees with a startled yelp. The confused witch hunter twisted and stared at the ice manacles that quickly tightened around the ankles of her boots. “Damn it!”

“Calm down,” Tarlay grunted as she rolled away from yet another deadly swing. “Work your way out of it.”

“One mix-blood and a novice,” Kirsi taunted as she continued to force Tarlay further away from her struggling apprentice. “Is this the best Jericho could offer me?”

“We didn’t think you were genuine,” Tarlay snarled bitterly. “The Scarlet Witch isn’t normally this shy about announcing her presence. Jericho thought the Dowager might be toying with us. Ripper would have come himself if we had known it was really you.”

“Ahh yes, the mutant albino.” The Duchess chuckled as her sword slammed against the witch hunter’s hastily erected air barrier. Kirsi’s amused smile remained in place as she watched Tarlay falter precariously along the edge of the roof. “You two would have been a far better combo.”

“I’ll be more than happy to let him know,” Tarlay retorted as she settled onto solid ground. Her green eyes fluttered over the rooftop, searching for useable runes.

“It’s a bit too late to adjust your enchantment now.” Kirsi turned her blade and pierced it through the barrier, which shattered as Viktor’s magic tore through it. “What a bitter disappointment you must have been. Half water, half air, and yet not an ice witch.”

“Just as well,” Tarlay replied with a cold smile as she backed away. “I wouldn’t have lived for very long if I had been born with an ice witch’s heart. Of course, you’d know all about that, given what happened to Maura’s father.”

“Are you really in any position to taunt me?” Kirsi snorted. Her eyes narrowed as Tarlay lifted her flute once more. A swarm of dragonflies hurtled towards the ice witch, who dismissed them with an icy blast from her hand. A mirage appeared, half-formed to her left, but shattered as an ice lance pierced through its skull.

“The same old tricks,” Kirsi snorted impatiently. “You should know illusions don’t work on me. Stop wasting my—Oh, I see, you’re buying time for your apprentice.”

Tarlay tensed as the ice witch’s blue eyes turned back to where Vanya was beating furiously against the ice manacles around her feet.

“Well, I suppose I only need to leave one of you alive to report back to Jericho.”

“No!” Tarlay snarled as the Scarlet Witch changed target. “Vanya! Get out of there!”

A swirling wind of sparkling, deadly cold chased after Kirsi’s blade as she closed in on the trapped half-witch. Vanya took one panicked look at the Scarlet Witch, then raised her right fist and slammed it down into the surface below.

Frost and broken tiles hung suspended above the crumbling roof as the frozen blade sliced through the ends of the novice’s copper-gold curls. The collapsing roof swallowed the young witch hunter from view as Kirsi turned and slid through the cascading tiles, breaking her fall with her sword that caught against the edge of the broken structure.

“Hahaha! Not bad for a half-witch. Still, even with those gloves, you don’t come close to the true destructive power of an earth witch.” The ice witch smiled as she watched the remaining marks of Tarlay’s enchantment flicker out on the rooftops around the street. The barrier quickly crumpled and collapsed. “Oh, well, how unexpectedly helpful of you.”

“Damn it!” Another boom sent the building’s door flying across the street as a flushed Vanya emerged below. The novice witch hunter backed away cautiously as her violet-blue eyes darted from the ice witch to her mentor worriedly.

“Today’s match is over,” Tarlay called out sharply as she knelt to remove a pale crystal from the corner of the roof. “Next time we meet, we’ll be better prepared to take you down, Scarlet Witch.”

“Next time?” Kirsi echoed with an arched brow as she turned towards the veteran witch hunter. “You mean to run away, Demon Eyes?”

Tarlay shrugged as she tucked the crystal into a pouch on her belt. “I was sent to test you, nothing more. Now that I’ve confirmed the rumors, I can tell the Pope exactly who we’re dealing with. Isn’t that what you want?”

“Ha!” The Scarlet Witch’s lips spread into a cynical smile. “And you expect me to just—let you go?”

Tarlay scowled as she glanced from Kirsi to Vanya below. “The longer we stay engaged, the more men you’ll lose—”

“Haven’t you been paying attention!” Kirsi interjected with a shake of her head. “I said I only need one of you to report back to Jericho.”

Tarlay’s left hand dropped to her belt. “Ha! I suppose this is more like—” The witch hunter’s green eyes widened as the frost below her feet spiraled upwards in a coil of frozen vine. The magical binds quickly wrapped themselves around Tarlay’s body as her fingers closed around the empty strap meant to hold a blade that wasn’t there. “Ah—Damn it.”

“Tarlay!” Vanya screamed furiously as two more icy vines wound around her trapped mentor.

“I suppose that means I should spare your apprentice,” Kirsi murmured as Tarlay struggled, her skin turning blue beneath her frigid constraints. “Really, even if they doubted it was me, they should have sent more.” The Scarlet Witch turned her cold blue eyes towards the frantic novice below and shrugged. “Well, pay attention, half-witch. Make sure you tell Ripper and Jericho exactly how Demon Eyes fell.”

“No!” Vanya’s panicked gaze dropped to the building below as she burst forward into a desperate sprint. A violent purple light flared around her left fist as it shattered through the corner of the building’s wall, splintering through the structural beam as a spray of old clay and broken stone rained out against the neighboring building.

Kirsi chuckled and danced across the collapsing rooftop with a wild grin as the house groaned beneath its shifting weight, then tilted towards its weakened joint.

Scarlet snowflakes swirled in a blinding blizzard of snow that followed and then fell silently towards the street below. Vanya crashed into the neighboring building and spun to search the collapsing rooftop, which sagged towards her. The half-witch flinched as the Scarlet Witch leapt overhead, landing safely on the adjoining building.

Tiles rained down and scattered across the tight space between the two buildings in broken fragments. Vanya raised her hands defensively above her face as she moved towards safety—then froze as Tarlay’s head bounced down upon the cobblestone before her.

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Isaac watched as a cloud of snow, fog, and dirt rose in a halo of dust that covered the collapsing structure, which sank with an agonizing groan and boom. Splinters of snapped wood and broken stone bounced across the street and pelted against the ice barrier around the knights as they took shelter behind their shield. Beneath the swirling chaos and the pounding of his own heart, the Colonel held his breath and waited.

“Is-is it over?” Tobias whispered hoarsely. The physician barely remained upright. One of the knights beside him held the man up by his belt.

“We’ll find out soon enough,” Isaac muttered as he peered cautiously around his shield and watched as the storm of dust and snow settled.

“Ha! I suppose that was mildly entertaining!” The Duchess appeared around the building’s one remaining wall. Her blade was sheathed and her shield gone, but she seemed completely unharmed as she walked through the scattered spread of stones. “At least I obtained a fine trophy.” She held up the ivory flute as she offered the Colonel a victorious grin.

Isaac lowered his shield with a tired but relieved sigh and glanced at the protective ice barrier around them. “Umm, your Grace?”

“Ah, yes, just a moment,” Kirsi replied as she tossed the flute to her left hand and snapped her fingers. The ice barrier around the knights flickered, then crumpled into a mist of snow. “I trust you all made it through unscathed?”

“Yes, thank you, your Grace,” Isaac replied with a glance at his men, all of whom appeared too stunned to speak as they stared at their Duchess with uncertain fear. “Perhaps we should return to the Duchy?”

“After all the trouble we went through to get here?” Kirsi crossed her arms and shook her head, tapping the flute idly against her shoulder as she studied the half-obscured road behind them. “I might as well finish what I started.”

The Colonel blinked at her odd tone but quickly nodded. “Very well, your Grace. We’ll round up what horses remain.”

The two remaining knights broke apart to fetch their mounts. Physician Tobias immediately sank to the ground and leaned against the knight’s shield awkwardly.

“What’s wrong with him?” Kirsi muttered as she eyed the man critically.

“He’s a civilian, your Grace,” Isaac replied with a faint frown. ‘How else would a mortal react to what we just witnessed. I’m just glad my knights are still standing.’

The Duchess looked perplexed for a moment but then nodded in understanding. “Well, he’s still useful, so get him on his feet.”

❆❆❆❆❆

“Well, this certainly appears to be the source of our troubles,” Isaac commented darkly as the knight’s torch lit up the two bodies collapsed against the well. A swarm of flies moved across the face of a woman, who lay across the lap of her male companion, with one hand pressed against her oozing, rotting stomach. The rancid stench of death coming from the dead couple reminded them all to check their masks

“P-perhaps they merely died here,” Tobias suggested timidly. The physician’s earlier eagerness was nowhere to be found as he clung to the back of the knight he rode behind.

“We came all this way to investigate,” Kirsi replied with a note of impatience as she dropped down from the white mare and then moved over to take the torch from Isaac. “Might as well take a closer look.”

“Y-yes—allow me!”

Isaac quickly dismounted and grabbed the overly curious physician’s neck collar. “Lord Tobias, please keep your distance.”

“But—”

“There’s a bucket,” Kirsi commented as she nodded to the crude wooden container tied to a strip of rope. “Let\'s fetch the physician a sample, Colonel.”

Isaac arched a brow but then quickly nodded. ‘I suppose, out all the men here, that I have the lowest chance of getting infected—thanks to my witch blood.’ He took in a slow breath behind his mask and moved closer. With the rope firmly in hand, the Colonel tossed the bucket over the edge. A moment of silence followed before a faint thud and muffled splash came up from the dark depths below.

“Sounds like there’s something down there,” one of the knights muttered grimly.

“Hopefully not another body,” commented another. “Although, that would explain the smell.”

“That or trash,” Tobias replied. “I read something about the local residents\' clear disregard for public health and—”

Kirsi waved her torch in front of the wandering physician and frowned at him. Isaac shook his head and pulled the bucket back up. The rope hummed against the old beam above the well as the bucket rose quickly came back into view. The Colonel narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the murky black water that awaited his efforts.

“Saint’s mercy—that’s foul!”

“Argh—is that—maggots?” The knight stammered weakly before waving aside his companion as he moved off to empty his stomach.

Tobias blinked and inched forward curiously as Isaac carefully eased the bucket onto the edge of the well. “Well, it certainly appears to be contaminated—”

“Don’t touch it, mortal!” Kirsi snapped as she grabbed the physician’s hand and pulled him back firmly. “Throw it back in, Colonel.”

“But—we haven’t tested it!” Tobias protested in obvious confusion.

“No need.” The Duchess scowled as she shook her head. “I’d recognize Arachne’s poison anywhere.” Her ice-blue eyes flickered over to Isaac. “Mission complete, Colonel. We found the source of the plague.”

‘I guess that means we’re done here.’ Isaac nodded grimly as he stepped back and pushed the bucket over the edge. A glance at his damp gloves convinced him to toss them in as well. ‘No point taking chances when it comes to a witch plague or anything associated with Arachne.’

“I-if there’s wood nearby, we should try to seal it up,” Tobias suggested nervously as Kirsi pulled him back towards the waiting horses.

“Your Grace, if this is the only water source for this neighborhood,” one of the knights whispered nervously. “Then there are probably a lot of other sick folks still around who weren’t able to make it to the hospital.”

“Sick or dead,” added his pale companion through the hand pressed his mouth.

The Colonel turned to study the dark buildings around them and sighed. “He’s right, your Grace. It’s been far too quiet. Half these vermin are nocturnal.”

“Then—should we investigate further?” Tobias suggested, his attention focused on the street rather than the buildings or well.

“That can wait until daylight,” Kirsi growled as she glanced at the rooftops above. “Colonel, take Physician Tobias back to Bastiallano and quarantine him in a cell.”

“What?” Tobias stammered as he twisted beneath her grip. “A cell, your Grace?”

“Send reinforcements back to the hospital as soon as you arrive. Make sure they know what precautions to take and don’t set foot inside. Have a second platoon of men prepared to comb through this area. Anyone still alive but infected should be given a quick and clean death. All infected houses should be boarded up securely and marked.” Kirsi pushed Tobias towards the approaching Colonel and then pulled up her hood. “Might as well tell the blacksmith to have a proper lid made for this well. I can seal it for now, but something less conspicuous would be better.”

Isaac nodded as he glanced from the terrified physician to his men. “And where will you be going, your Grace?”

A curious smile spread across Kirsi\'s face as she tilted her head to the side. “To the palace. I should report this grave matter to Crown Prince Nicholas as soon as possible.”

“Then please take these men—”

“That won’t be necessary.”

“Your Grace, I must insist.”

The Duchess\'s ice-blue eyes hardened as they pinned the Colonel beneath their gaze. Isaac stood his ground despite the all too clear image of Kirsi beheading the Demon Eye’s witch hunter only moments ago. If there was one order Octavia had stressed must be followed, it was that Kirsi should not be left unwatched for any reason.

‘Clearly, the Dowager is more worried about Kirsi’s movements rather than her safety.’

“Very well,” Kirsi muttered with faint annoyance. “I’ll take one.”

Isaac opened his mouth to protest but stiffened as a cold breath of icy air slid around his neck. “Thank you, your Grace.”

“W-why do I need to go into quarantine?” Tobias stammered as he grasped the Colonel’s wrist.

“Because you were exposed to the plague more than any of us,” Isaac replied grimly as he pulled the reluctant man along beside him and moved past Kirsi. “And because you’ve seen too much.”

“Ohh—” Tobias nodded weakly and turned obediently towards the Colonel’s horse. “A half-blood, Duchess, ice witch—Ha! It all makes sense now.”

“The less you talk, the better,” Isaac advised, although the physician appeared far too caught up in his inner musings to pay any attention.

The Duchess shook her head, then drew her short sword, severed the bucket’s rope, and sealed the top of the well with a thick coat of ice.

“That will hold for now.” Kirsi placed a gloved hand against the frozen barrier with a bitter expression and muttered, “I suppose it wouldn’t be the first time someone tried to pin a plague on me.”

“Your horse, your Grace,” the knight assigned to accompany the Duchess whispered nervously as he led the white mare over.

“Thank you. Let’s head out before the crows find us.”

“Crows, your Grace?”

Kirsi ignored the knight as she climbed into the saddle. She offered Isaac a single nod before turning to head back the way they had come.

“Colonel?”

“Stay with her,” Isaac growled as he pushed the physician up into his warhorse’s saddle. “And keep your eyes open and your mouth shut.”

The knight nodded stiffly, hastily returned to his mount, and then rode off after the Duchess. Not long after the rapid echo of hooves faded down the night streets, the sound of dark wings pulled the Colonel’s gaze to the sky where two black shapes fluttered overhead, following the trail of the ice witch.