The Gathering by Auburnimp

The Gathering by Auburnimp

Author:Auburnimp [Auburnimp]
Language: nld
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00


* * *

Danth awoke to clutching fingers and Eisso’s

cry of ‘no’ ringing in his ears. Gently he shook

the other man awake.

“Eisso! What is it? What makes you cry out

every night?”

Eisso blinked as he came to full wakefulness.

“Cry out?” he asked.

“Yeah, every night you cry out the word ‘no’

and thrash about.”

A shuttered expression descended over Eisso’s

features and he would have turned his back if he

hadn’t prevented it. “Talk to me, witch boy.”

“It’s nothing, just a nightmare. Nothing to

concern yourself about.”

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The Gathering

“The same one every night?”

“Yes, what of it?”

It occurred to him that he was going to

get nowhere with direct methods so he tried

subterfuge instead. “Only that it wakes me every

damned night!”

“I’m sorry.” Eisso shifted uncomfortably.

“You have a poor enough opinion of me already

without losing sleep.”

“What makes you say that?”

“I heard you telling Tanpoly that you were

stuck with me. You don’t have to be if you’d

rather not be. Perhaps Tanpoly can help me; tell

me what kind of monster I am at least.”

He frowned. What the hell has gotten into

the damned witch now? “What makes you think

you’re a monster?” Then he realised and snarled.

“I changed you to save your life, you dumb

witch!”

Now Eisso frowned back at him, obviously

wondering what he was talking about. Then his

face fell into lines of acute misery. “Nothing short

of a monster would kill a baby,” he whispered. “I

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The Gathering

relive it every night. Poor little chap was gurgling

happily at me just before I...before I killed him. I

didn’t mean to! My spell got away from me and

blasted him into bloody smithereens. I must be

a monster!”

So it had nothing to do with becoming a

wereleopard after all. Danth let out a long breath

that he hadn’t been conscious of holding. “Is

that what you see in your nightmare?”

Eisso nodded, face etched in lines of acute

misery. Time to tell him the truth, Danth

realised. “Eisso, look at me.” The young witch

raised tear-streaked eyes to gaze at him. “That’s

better. I have something to tell you and I want

you to listen carefully.”

“I’m listening,” Eisso murmured.

Danth reached out a hand and tousled the

witch’s silken hair with one hand, trying to sooth

him as he spoke. “Demons of any age are almost

impossible to kill,” he said. “Had you been just

any witch it would have been you who died.

Your spell would have—” he searched for the

right word “—mutated into something lethal

and turned on you. As it was the demon child

was able to warp the spell but not turn it back.”

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The Gathering

Eisso frowned. “You’re saying the baby tried

to kill me?”

He nodded. “From what I’ve heard, it was

the demons who taught the first witches their

magic. They built in safeguards against any

witch turning on them. Even mages and wizards

are unable to use magic against demons. Swords

don’t work against them. The claws and teeth

of werecreatures cannot touch them. As far as

Tanpoly or I know, you are the only being that

has ever destroyed one of their kind.”

He pulled Eisso into his arms. “Stop thinking

of that demon spawn in human baby terms. It

was never going to be human.”

“His mother was a witch,” Eisso argued, “surely

he was half human.



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