A Cursed Covenant by Leigh Ferguson

Author:Leigh Ferguson [Ferguson, Leigh]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-08-16T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23: A Reaping

Peter

“Don’t touch those, Malvo. What if they're poisonous?”

Malvo jerked his fingers away from the glowing mushrooms on the cavern walls. My mind bounced between searching for an exit and concern for Mira while I paced the dark space. If I dwelled too long on her, my heart constricted and beat erratically in my chest, so I focused my attention back on our present situation.

“Would it be any worse than being trapped below the earth? How did they manage to send us through the ground to this cavern anyway?” Malvo touched the stone walls and then shook the droplets of water from his hand.

“Winds be damned. How should I know? It seems like every day I encounter new magic. So much for Captain Theo’s theory that magic was dying from the world,” I said ruefully.

After a moment, a new voice spoke in the cavern.

“Magic is dying from the world.”

We spun, and standing near one of the cavern walls stood one of the hooded figures from the forest. It lifted its hood, and beneath the covering was a middle-aged man with gray streaks running through his midnight hair. The wrinkles on his face gave him a weary expression. If I had not previously seen the power these figures held, I would assume he was not a threat. I knew better now.

“What does that have to do with us? Why hold us here?” I asked.

“I would like to tell you a story. In the end, I believe your questions will be answered. Please, sit.” The man held his hand out in invitation. Behind us appeared smooth stone seats that previously were not there.

Slowly, I lowered myself to the stone. Malvo did the same. A similar stone appeared behind the man, and he sat before beginning his tale.

“My name is Imane. I am one of the mages of this coven on Groix. You will have to forgive our initial meeting. We don’t take kindly to pirates and slavers here, as they have brought us much pain.”

“Why would a coven of mages and witches fear pirates and slavers? Surely your power here can protect you.” Malvo's brow creased.

“That is the very point I am attempting to make. Our coven draws magic up from the earth, and we channel it. As the years progressed, the earth blessed us, and our coven grew in numbers. We did not realize that the more mages and witches that drew magic from the earth, the smaller volumes the earth would yield. While we may have many powers, almost none are powerful.

“Slavers and pirates began to raid our shores when I was a boy. We had the numbers, but we could not hold them off. Many died or were enslaved in those attacks. The elders had to make a difficult decision. To protect the coven, a reaping of powers would happen every ten years. During the reaping ceremony, the earth would choose which mages and witches would give up their magic, allowing those that remained with powers to be strong enough to protect us.

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