When we stepped back outside it seemed that things had calmed down a little. There were plenty of people standing in small groups, gossiping, but there wasn’t a huge crowd gathered around the eastern gate anymore.

  “So, where to?” I asked as I followed Clara through town.

  “We’re heading to Harmony’s place. That’s where all active guardians and practicing witches are supposed to gather during an emergency,” Clara replied over her shoulder.

  “What do you mean practicing witches?”

  Clara sighed. “Although almost all the members of our community are witches, there are quite a few who are content to just use their magic to help grow the crops, or contribute to powering rituals. They’re not interested in learning to shape it into spells and wards.”

  “Not surprising, I knew a lot of people back home that were born with the power, but didn’t want to learn how to control it. The difference being we were forced to learn, for self defense reasons.”

  “Well, we thought we were far enough from civilization that we wouldn’t need that. Guess we were wrong,” Clara muttered.

  The village was small, and by this point in our discussion we were already at Harmony’s house. As I followed Clara inside, and got a look at the group that had gathered, I was surprised at how few people there were. Maybe a dozen total.

  I knew a couple of them.

  The girls, Dakota and Cheyanne, were sitting on the edge of the big central fireplace, chatting to themselves. Harmony appeared to be taking a small plate of food around to different groups, providing snacks while she checked in on everyone. Finally, tucked away in the far corner, away from the crowd, was Olivia. The raven haired council member shot me an angry look as soon as I stepped inside.

  I recognized most of the others from my frequent trips to town, but I didn’t know any of them.

  As soon as we stepped inside the place turned quiet, and all eyes turned towards us. To be more precise, they turned towards Clara.

  “What’s going on Lass? What was that beasty out there?” one of the older women asked. It looked like the woman had spent her entire life out in a field. Unlike most of the other people here, who were wearing robes or dresses, she was wearing worn overalls. Her face was tanned, and weathered from the elements. She had graying black hair tied up in a loose ponytail.

  “It wasn’t a beast Agnes, it was a spirit. A powerful one,” Clara replied coolly.

  Hushed discussions rose up from the different groups around the room, so Clara loudly cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention again.”As most of you have probably heard by now, Zoey and I ran into a group of hoodlums yesterday while hunting. They were keeping a couple girls hostage, so we confronted them.”

  Olivia snorted loudly, but no one else interrupted. “After we saved the girls, Thyra and Tallulah brough the girls back to town, to figure out what exactly happened. Apparently one of the girls is from one of the local native tribes, and is favored by the spirits, so one of them came looking for her. That’s what was at the gate.”

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  “Are we going to have to worry about more of those things showing up around here?” a fairly young, timid looking woman asked. She actually looked a lot like Clara. Same green eyes, and red hair, just a couple years younger. Maybe they were related.

  “Tallulah didn’t seem to think so, but we should be extra cautious, just in case,” Clara declared. More muttering, but this time Clara didn’t stop, she just talked over it. “Now, for the unfortunate part. That spirit completely ripped through our outer wards, so I need a couple volunteers to head out to the eastern perimeter to check on them. Thyra has asked that Zoey and I stick around the village, so hopefully a couple of the active guardians will volunteer to protect that group. Thyra and Tallulah can’t do it, they’re keeping an eye on the girl right now, to make sure the spirit behaves.”

  A small moan arose from one of the smaller groups on my left. The group had one pair that looked to be in their late twenties, and another which appeared to be in their early forties. All of them looked completely exhausted; Thyra did say the Guardians had been run ragged lately. Assuming that they worked in shifts, that meant the coven probably had between ten and twelve guardians. More than enough to keep out the wildlife, far from enough to protect this village if it was ever attacked.

  The younger pair held up their hands. “We’ll keep an eye on the repair crew,” the blond with extremely short hair declared.

  With the defenders secured, a couple others volunteered to check the wards.

  “Now, I know many of you have been resistant to putting wards around the village, but I think we should at least establish some temporary ones. Between the spirit, and people poking around the perimeter, I’d like to see the village secure,” Clara continued.

  “Who exactly were these hoodlums you ran into, girl, and why do they have you so spooked?” Agnes asked. The entire room went quiet, and turned to look at Clara. She immediately looked at me for help.

  Out of the corner of my eye I could see Olivia scowling, and shaking her head, so I took a deep breath.

  “We can’t tell you that right now,” I announced loudly, attracting the attention of the entire room. “Thyra is still investigating the incident, and discussing it with the rest of the council. We honestly don’t know what we’re allowed to say or not, so please ask her when she gets back.”

  A few people grumbled at that, and started turning back to their groups, but I wasn’t done yet. “What I can tell you is they are a significant threat. They’re not just a bunch of gun toting yahoos. They managed to capture two magical people, and keep them under control for an extended period of time. Everyone should exercise a little caution, especially when you’re out near the perimeter.”

  I could see my warning shook a couple people, while a few others just completely brushed it off. Hopefully, once Thyra came back, they’d take what she said more seriously.

  “Any more questions?” Clara asked the assembled witches.

  “Are we expecting more trouble? Or is this a one time thing?” the younger red headed girl asked.

  “As far as I know, this is a one time thing,” Clara explained. “That spirit was extremely old, and powerful, compared to most. It came looking for the girl, and calmed down when it found her. If there were more in the area, we almost certainly would have encountered them in the last twenty years. That being said, please keep on your toes, we don’t know for sure.”

  The girl swallowed nervously, then nodded.

  “Anyone else?” most of the other people shook their heads. “Then I think we’re good. The crisis has passed, and everyone can continue with what they were doing. I would like to ask that anyone willing to help ward up the village stay behind, so we can discuss it. If not, have a nice day.”

  Clara and I immediately stepped to the side, so people could leave. “I didn’t know you were in such a position of authority around here,” I said jokingly, elbowing Clara in the ribs. “You’re such a big shot!”

  “I was Lady Adel’s assistant, and she trusted me to take care of important matters around the coven. Some people look to me for guidance, that’s all,” Clara mumbled.

  “It’s obvious that people see you more than an assistant. Everyone in the room listened to you, and took what you said seriously. They wouldn’t do that if you were just some lowly assistant,” I assured her.

  It didn’t take long for the house to empty out, leaving just Clara, myself and three other people. The last one to leave was Olivia. She didn’t say anything to me, but she glared daggers at me the entire meeting, so I was pretty confident she still didn’t trust me.

  The ones that stayed behind were Harmony, Agnes, and the young version of Clara. Cheyanne and Dakota disappeared into the back of the house, leaving the five of us alone in the front.

  “So… you’re the one those girls dragged back half dead? You don’t look that bad to me,” Agnes grumbled before holding out her hand. “Agnes Walker, nice ta meet you.”

  I reached out and gripped her firm hand. “Zoey Claiborne.”

  The girl shied away slightly, but still waved. “I’m Eliza Williams, Clara’s sister. Hello,” she said quietly, before stepping back behind Agnes. I didn’t know if she was always nervous, or if she found me particularly scary.

  “That’s the spirit! Everyone’s friends now!” Harmony declared in a booming voice. “Now, how about you come back to the kitchen, sit down, and tell us what you’re planning. Once you do that, we’ll discuss the best way to help.”