Three witches you shall meet, on the path to your fate. One will deceive you, one will relieve you and one will show you the way.
- Unknown

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- Nicolas -

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As the last rays of sunlight of the day were swallowed up, I told the horse to stop slowly. His stamina seemed to be waning a bit, and it was important to ride a fully rested horse in case we needed to escape quickly. "We should let the horse rest for a few hours," I spoke to Victorine. The first words we had exchanged in hours.

"That's right," she agreed with me and was the first to get off the mount. We looked for a semi-suitable place to sleep, then I attached our shadow horse to one of the trees. This seemed to blend in perfectly with the gathering darkness, becoming less and less visible. If Victorine and I were also dressed in all black, we could have counted the perfect camouflage at night to our advantage.

We sat down next to each other and kept silent until complete darkness had enveloped us. The moonlight was so dim today that one could barely see one's own hand in front of one's eyes. It took some time for my vision to adjust to the light conditions and for me to make out Victorine's silhouette again.

She was sitting on the forest floor with her knees drawn as far to her chest as her armor would allow. She still hadn't taken off her helmet, just as I had.

I contemplated her for a while. I knew all too well the feeling of having lost one's parents. But I had never lost a friend before.

I never had anything like a friendship.

"You can go to sleep, Victorine," I said in a calm voice.

The king's daughter moved her head and looked at me. "No, it's all right. Get some rest, Nicolas. I'll keep watch."

"I'm not tired, Victorine. So it would be smart for you to take the opportunity to regain your strength," I objected.

She had certainly been searching for me all morning. Had snuck into a witch's nest and saved my life. Had just lost her dragon a few hours ago and had also injured her head. Victorine needed sleep more than I did.

For a few seconds she looked at me in silence, then sighed. "Wake me halfway so you can sleep too." With those words, she lay down on the soil and turned away from me.

While putting on my helmet, I looked at the tethered shadow horse, wondering at what distance it would become nervous or noticeable to threatening forest creatures. Hopefully at a far one, so I would be forewarned in time. Even more, however, I hoped that no hungry creatures would be near us tonight.

We still had a long journey to Tenebris. And Cephas and his troops were once again one step ahead of us. We just couldn't let him use the Heart of the Primal Witch before we could stop him. Then we would be lost.

So, as it turned out, this mission wasn't just about getting revenge on Cephas. But to stop him from bringing the whole world to its doom. It was about saving all of us.

And what about Victorine? To what extent was she willing to stop Cephas? If it came to a decision, would she choose our freedom or her sister? Would she choose this world or herself?

I didn't have the answers. Had to admit to barely being able to see through her. She seemed to me like the most selfish, but also the most selfless person on earth at the same time. And why had she actually taken the risk of freeing me from the witch's nest?

Brooding, my gaze wandered to her sleeping body. At a second glance I could see that she was trembling.

I regretted the fact that we could not make a fire, whose smoke and light might attract some unwelcomed creatures of the deep woods. So I carefully slid toward her and rested my arm on the side of her body. My inner fire and my warmth apparently got through her armor and warmed her, so that her trembling diminished and she was able to sleep much more peacefully.

At some point my arm began to tingle uncomfortably, but I didn't want to accidentally wake Victorine. So I just kept it on her and ignored the numb feeling. So we lay there for at least a couple of hours, during which I tried to rest without falling asleep.

Suddenly, such a sharp, pulling pain ran through my head that I startled and bit my teeth to keep from making loud, pain-filled noises. I tore off my helmet, put my hands to my temples and could do nothing but pray that it would finally stop.

"Nicolas," I heard Victorine's voice through my pain. She squatted in front of me and took both my hands in hers, gently pulling them away from my temples. The pain felt like it was trying to bore into my head.

"You must let it happen," the king's daughter now demanded firmly, squeezing my hands tightly. "It's only Vindicta. She wants to tell us something."

Of course I trusted Victorine, so I tried to allow the pain to enter my mind. Just as I had given the king's daughter and her abilities access to my soul in the witches' dungeon.

Then the pain actually stopped. What I then heard, however, was not a clear voice of the leader witch. Instead, it was a croaky murmur from which hardly any words were understandable. I saw a blurry image of a wooden hut in the middle of some wooded area. And that was it. Then I felt like the sole master of my senses again.

I looked at Victorine, who was spreading out a map on the ground in front of her. With her sword, she made a cut into her palm.

Meanwhile, I looked around the forest floor, understanding what she was up to. "Here," I said, holding out a small stick to her.

"Thank you," she groaned curtly, took the piece of wood, dipped it in the blood of her hand without touching the actual wound and then began to draw paths and directions on the map. She hesitated, wiped a small portion away with her saliva, and continued drawing again, finally marking the destination with a small 'x'.

I could practically see the relieved feeling on Victorine's face as Vindicta's voice apparently faded away and she was alone in her head again.

She studied the map for a few moments and then turned to me. "What is this? Where is it taking us?"

I tried to remember more clearly what I had been told. Perhaps I had missed some things because I had initially pushed her message away instead of accepting it. I hoped to God it hadn't been anything important.

But I still had one clue. "She showed me the destination," I finally revealed. "An old wooden cabin in the woods. And a murmur, like an old woman's. I wonder if she's sending us to another witch."

We looked at each other for a moment. As if we understood each other wordlessly, I knew she harbored the same doubt and distrust as I did. Actually, we should not trust anyone. In this world we should not even trust each other.

But Vindicta wanted Cepha's death as much as we did. She would only send us to someone if it would give us a great advantage. And yet, uncertainty clung to me. Perhaps we could trust Vindicta. But could we trust another witch?

Despite our uncertainty, we had to try. We needed every advantage we could gain to thwart Cepha's plans. Thus, we had little choice. It was now a matter of all or nothing.

"Let's set out," I decided. "But we must be very careful."

The king's daughter seemed to be still thinking about it. She took a long look at the map and then sighed. "All right," she finally accepted my decision.

Thus we prepared to set out again. After we started riding, I understood why our mount was called a shadow horse. It merged almost completely as if made for it with the darkness of the forest. Like a shadow it moved silently despite its fast speed, although I hardly understood how this was possible. The only thing heard was Victorine's occasional whisper when we had to adjust direction.

Faster than we thought, we approached the red, bloody cross on our map. The closer we got, the more my tension increased. Finally, I told the horse to slow down so we could get a better look at our surroundings.

And then, in the middle of the nothingness of the deep forest, I spotted the hut that Vindicta had shown me. A small, wooden building that looked so rotten and old, as if it could collapse at any moment. I recognized windows, but no light inside. Only complete darkness inside the eerie shack.

We stopped a few yards from the building and dismounted from the horse. With one hand I held its rope so it couldn't run away from us. With my other hand, I pulled my sword out of its scabbard.

Victorine also held her sharp sword blade ready. Wordlessly, we nodded to each other and approached the hut so slowly that, despite the leafy forest floor, not a step could be heard from us.

I attached the rope to a wooden beam driven into the ground, which must have been the remnant of an old fence. It did not seem stable, but it had to be used when I wanted to fight with both hands.

Victorine was waiting for me at the door in a crouched position. Sudden panic ran through me. I didn't want to see her die. Not see her body go up in flames. Or see a bony hand make its way through her chest and rip out her pounding heart. I would have loved to whisper that I wanted to go ahead. But her hand was already on the door handle, pulling it down and slowly pushing the door inward.

The squeaking, creaking sound cut ominously through the other silence. My breath caught as my heart began to race and we waited motionless. Then Victorine slowly straightened up, held her sword in front of her, and moved carefully into the hut.

I followed her so closely that my chest almost touched the back of her head. I tried to make out anything in the darkness of the room. Outside, at least, there had been dim moonlight. Here, only a tiny fraction of it shone in through the small windows.

Then the door slammed behind us.

My heart leapt as I felt Victorine's and my body wince. I tried to turn my head around. But I couldn't. Everything about me had become as immobile as stone.

Little by little, candles went on fixtures on the walls without anyone seeming to light them. Slowly the surrounding was illuminated, revealing a small, completely empty room.

My breath quickened. I was not afraid of many beings of this world. Not even of Cephas. But it was foolish not to be afraid of witches.

I heard footsteps behind me. Felt a body approaching me. I was glad to have Victorine's back.

The person walked around me and appeared in my field of vision.

It was a beautiful woman. She wore a white long dress over her brown skin and shapely body. Her face was flawless. Every part of her face was symmetrical and in perfect proportion. The eyebrows had an elegant curve. The lips were full and shone seductively. Even the perfectly pitch-black eyes looked so deep and mysterious, as if one would sink into them. I had never beheld such beauty before.

Some men would certainly be beguiled or reassured by that. But to me, it drove a huge fear into my body.

I knew that this was not her true form. And I certainly didn't want to know what she was hiding from us under this mirage.

The woman came up to me and slipped the helmet off my head. With her fingers she plucked a hair from my head without me being able to resist. Then she put my helmet back in its proper place.

The witch walked on slowly and then stopped in front of Victorine. With the witches womanly fingers, she took off her helmet and then brushed a strand of hair from her face. Apparently, she was collecting our hair like Vindicta to be able to communicate with us later.

With all my strength I tried to move my arm with my hand around my sword. But all the effort was of no use. I could not move a bit.

"Who are you?" the woman now asked in a melodic voice.

I heard Victorine utter a sound, as if to test whether she could do so at all. She had apparently been allowed to speak. "I am Victorine Zuleika of Arphaxad, king's daughter from Spero. This here is King Nicolas Talesin Artemas of Cadwallader from Sanguis. The witch leader Vindicta sent us to you."

A smile spread across the witch's lips. "Your appearance is earlier than expected. Put away your weapons. It's ridiculous enough that you drew them in the first place." As her last word was spoken I felt a jolt run through my body. The distinct feeling of relief followed, which came from finally being able to move freely again.

Victorine, who had apparently been mid-step during the enchantment, stumbled forward. I grabbed her by the shoulder and held her tightly. She turned to me and showed me her facial expression, which spoke volumes. She didn't like this situation here at all. Just as little as I did.

Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I felt and saw the beautiful witch staring at me. But I vehemently avoided looking directly into her eyes. Instead, I used the regained power of movement over my body and looked around the empty wooden hut.

Then the room we were in changed. The walls expanded, making the living space larger. Stuffed animal heads and decorations made of bones gradually appeared, adorning the room. A round carpet appeared under my feet. A burning fireplace, a wooden table, chairs and shelves were also conjured up.

Or had all of this been there before? Had we only experienced the rotten little wooden hut in an illusion? If so, then this could also be an illusion. In reality, the room could be filled with completely different things.

Things that were more fitting for a witch's existence. The lack of organs, herbs, potions, witch books, and more made me suspicious and wary.

"Vindicta told me that you could be useful in our fight against Cephas," the witch now explained. She had turned away from us, walked towards the other end of the room, and knelt on the floor. Then she extended a hand toward us, the magic power of which forced Victorine and me to walk backward until our backs hit the wall.

She grabbed the edge of the carpet from which we had just been pushed down and pulled it aside. A wooden hatchway appeared underneath.

I leaned forward as the witch opened it. The hole that appeared was so small that only one person could fit in at a time. It was also pitch black, so I couldn't see anything. Nor how deep it was. Only a ladder could be seen leading into the darkness.

The witch looked up at us. "The portal will take you directly to Tenebris. You will learn everything else there." With a deadly look on her face, she slowly looked back and forth between us. "Don't screw this up. Kill Cephas and get the heart back to safety."

After this warning, she muttered some words that I could not understand. Then the darkness in the hole turned into a wooden floor. However, the image was blurry, as if the hole was filled with water. I guessed that this watery appearance was the separation between the two places.

"What are you waiting for? I won't be able to hold it for long," the witch groaned out with shallow breath.

Hesitantly, I put a hand on Victorine's back and gently urged her forward. She had to go ahead of me. I didn't want her to be left alone with the witch. "You first."

"No," the witch objected sharply, staring at me with her empty, dark eyes. "You go first."

"No way," I objected. "I don't trust you."

"And I don't trust you," she hissed now. This was the first time her voice didn't sound beguiling or melodic. "Either you go first or you don't go at all."

"Nicolas, it's okay. She wants us to kill Cephas. She's Vindicta's ally," Victorine now interjected.

"I really can't hold it that long," the witch now brought out, who actually seemed to be turning pale despite her dark skin.

So I overcame myself and pushed aside my probably exaggerated distrust. I slowly walked toward the hole. I looked Victorine in the eyes once more, then climbed down the ladder. As I pushed through the boundary, which had looked like water, my fingers no longer gripped a ladder.

I fell while my stomach turned. Then I painfully landed on a wooden floor, apparently of that of a simple storeroom.

Groaning, I dragged my body aside to make way for the king's daughter.

But no matter how long I waited, Victorine did not follow me.