"What does a bond do, Aunt Mona?"

Lenesa leaned back against a tree, watching as her great aunt's other two students ran around the clearing, conjuring shapes from the mist that hung around them. Late morning light filtered through the cloud of moisture and cast shadows as the mist reformed—outlines of rabbit ears, a goblet, and a fish darted across the ground in turn.

The older witch turned her head to inspect her eldest pupil. "It serves as a protective link between two people," she answered. "A promise to rely on each other when in need. If one is in danger, the other will save them."

"Have you ever forged a bond before?" Lenesa asked.

Mona fully turned this time. "Why the sudden curiosity?"

Lenesa fiddled with a chip of tree bark. "I read about it in one of your books. It said it was different from the connection with a wisp." The young witch glanced over at the large creature beside them that glowed as yellow as a full moon on the horizon. Mona's wisp had always been an object of curiosity, and soon Lenesa would join with one of her own.

Her instructor studied her for a long time before finally giving a small smile. "Ever the curious one."

"Well, have you?" Lenesa pressed.

"Once, yes," was the reply. Mona lifted her palm and drew a line across it with her finger. "I was going on a journey, and made a bond with one of the other witches in these mountains. Should I ever have been in trouble, he would have been able to find me."

Lenesa narrowed her eyes at the suspiciously scar-less hand. "But the bond isn't there anymore?"

Her aunt gave a sad smile. "You cannot force a bond to last forever. At some point, you must let the other person go."

Lenesa awoke with the salt of dried tears on her cheeks. With a sigh, she rolled out of bed and shuffled over to the kitchen, rubbing beneath her eyes. Her great aunt hadn't haunted her dreams in years. At least this time, it had only been a nice memory.

The cottage seemed to echo with emptiness, now that Theiden was gone. She could barely stay inside long enough to have breakfast before she needed to escape the ringing silence. The garden wasn't much better, and Lenesa's gaze would continue to drift to that spot in the clearing where they had spent dinner the evening before. Everything seemed to remind her of him.

Her whole arm ached, too. The soreness radiated from the reopened wound on her palm and traveled up to nearly her shoulder. Likely it was a bad reaction from that other bond she had tried to forge. At least this time, the pain was manageable, and though the black stain beneath her skin remained, her magic still sparked at her fingertips with a comforting familiarity, should she ever need to use it.

Lenesa threw herself into her work. Weeds were uprooted mercilessly, tomatoes plucked, and herbs trimmed. After a thorough watering of the entire garden, Lenesa finally stepped back inside, bringing the back of her hand up to wipe at the dampness that had gathered at her brow. Though her wide-brimmed straw hat provided shade from the harsh noonday rays, it was stuffy and hot. Summer had yet to completely arrive, and this day was only a glimpse of what was to come. The season ahead would be difficult and unforgiving.

The next task, she knew, would have to be the disposal of the mandrake still locked in her clothes chest at the foot of her bed. But her mind had time to wander while her body mechanically went through the motions of unlocking the trunk and lifting the lid. Theiden must have reunited with his family by now. Were they happy?

A sudden fear seized her as she thought of the previous day's close call with Audeste. If Theiden had run into any Turned creatures, would he have been able to fend them off? Did I teach him well enough?

She shook her head and stood from her crouch, withered mandrake root grasped firmly in her hand. Unlike when she had traced the bond to Audeste's home the day before, there was no way to discern Theiden's location, now that their bond was dissolved. She would just have to believe that everything had worked out as planned.

Lenesa closed her eyes, imagining the city, with its twisting hidden side streets and narrow row houses shadowed by the larger crenellated buildings of stone and mortar. The city was a fortress in and of itself—Theiden would be safe there, with his family, as long as he never passed outside its walls again.

Something suddenly flickered in her mind's eye, a bubble of foreign power bursting at the edge of her senses. Lenesa's eyes snapped open, and she whirled to face the door.

Another witch was in her territory.

"Shwei," Lenesa called, voice barely above a whisper. Nonetheless, the wisp still heard her summons and zoomed down from his perch in the rafters as Lenesa opened the door and stepped back outside.

She could taste the oncoming magic, thick and lifeless like ash that settled on her tongue and filled her lungs, coating her senses with a thick layer of foreboding.

Audeste stepped into the clearing a moment later.

"Get lost," Lenesa snapped, sounding braver than she felt.  The witch had no right to step so boldly onto her land.  The clash of their energies grated on her already exhausted nerves.

Audeste merely tilted her head, clicking her tongue against the back of her teeth in disapproval. Goru hovered at her shoulder, a shimmering serpentine sphere of light.

"You have no business here," Lenesa continued. "I'm warning you—"

"I'm not leaving until I get what I came for," Audeste interrupted. Her gaze flicked to the door behind Lenesa. "Parnelius has not been well since you threw him off a cliff—"

"He fell," Lenesa corrected, gritting her teeth. Ill-fortune on the faun's part, but it had saved her life when the creature had tried ambushing her the day prior.

"—so I decided to come in his stead," Audeste continued. "Besides, you'll have a bit more difficulty fighting me off than him. I always have been the strongest, you know."

"That didn't seem to be the case yesterday," Lenesa shot back. It had been a fluke, though, that she'd managed to best the Turned witch, and Audeste knew it too, judging by the mirthless smile she gave in response.

"I'm willing for a rematch," she replied. "Or you could make this easy, and give me what I want."

Dread shot to Lenesa's stomach. "Which is?"

Audeste scoffed, the sound coming out as a harsh gargle at the back of her throat. "The man. The stranger from the city. Just one of the many who bring nothing but grief to this place. Surely you must understand. If we wipe them out, peace will return. No more living in fear. Aren't you tired of it—of always being afraid?"

Audeste stepped closer, persuasion brushing through her words like a feather across the back of a hand. Lenesa recognized the magic for what it was, and yet she still felt something dark stir within her at the reasoning—a thirst for righteousness. She was tired of hiding and worrying.

Lenesa shook her head. Killing everyone from the city was not an option. In the end, it would only bring more pain.

"He's not here anymore, Audeste," Lenesa replied. "I sent him back."

Audeste's grim smile dropped to a scowl. "You did what?"

"I let him go," Lenesa said, prompting the other witch to step forward with a snarl.

"Have you forgotten what they've done to us?" Audeste hissed. Goru buzzed beside her like an angry wasp swarm, echoing her statement.

Lenesa thought of what Theiden had told her about his wife. "We've done terrible things to them too, Audeste," she answered softly. Had Audeste been the one to kill Malisse? It was too terrible to consider.

"They deserve what they get," the Turned witch growled. "I want them all gone."

Lenesa took a deep breath. "Have you ever thought of what he would have wanted?" She wasn't talking about Theiden this time. Audeste's eyes narrowed.

"How dare you even mention him," she replied, brittle and icy. "Of course I think of him. Every day.  I've shortened my life for this power.  That's why I won't stop until my mission is complete.  You weren't there, then.  You don't know how it happened, and that's why you don't care."

"He wouldn't have wanted to see you like this," Lenesa said, voice almost pleading. Beside her, Shwei gave a supportive hum.

Audeste's lips curled into a sneer, and her gaze dropped to Lenesa's arm. "You only think that.  Don't be so quick to call me a disappointment, when you're on your way to the darkness yourself. You'll see my reasoning soon enough—embrace it, even."

Lenesa pulled her sleeve down all the way, covering the black veins that webbed her skin. "You need to leave."

Audeste's laugh held no humor. "You'll see," she hissed. "Soon, it will no longer be a choice for you. You won't be able to resist that siren's call."

"Leave!" Lenesa shouted. Her voice thundered through the trees and resounded back, echoing her message. Leave, leave, leave...

Audeste's violet eyes burned back defiantly, and Lenesa felt a wave of anxiety crest and collapse within her, flooding her veins with adrenaline.

"Make me," Audeste replied.  "I'd like to see you try."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Woohoo another chapter!  I've put quite a few hints and clues in this one, so it should be a little confusing, but please let me know if I've gone overboard and need to tone back the mysteriousness a bit  XD

Please let me know what you think!  Your comments bring joy to my little writer's soul.  Also, don't forget to vote!