"That's it. Deep breaths. Your blood will stop simmering when you stop fighting the magic. I know you have no reason to trust them, but you can trust me."
And I do.
Calmer now, I shut down my instinct to rail against the onslaught of magic. I work to accept the simmering burn in my blood and, exactly as Vale promised, the fire slowly extinguishes.
Vale winks. "Well done. Now we can get this party started. Archmagus, she's all yours."
For a heartbeat, I ignore the hum of conversation coming from the Order attendees and pull into myself. I'm in this now. Forward is the only way out.
Glancing down, I wince at the bloody points poking through the tops of my hands. Strangely, now that I've reined in my panic, it doesn't even hurt. The drama of it all is very stigmatic, but I suppose I'm not the first to sit in sacrifice.
The ick factor isn't lost on me, though…
Because as I sit here, I can feel the thorns drink.
With each soft, sucking pull, the wood seems to hum its approval, the silver sigils igniting to light up the chair’s arms toward my back and behind my shoulders.
Warmth pulses from the thorns, searching, reading me.
Archmagus Theron moves to stand in front of me and smiles. "Thank you for joining us this evening, Miss Hallowind. Going forward, if you speak the truth, the Axiom Throne will cause you no more discomfort than this. If you lie, the thorns will taste your deception, and things will become quite unpleasant. Do you understand?"
I swallow. "Yeah."
"Wonderful, then let us begin." He straightens and when he turns to face the attendees, they are all seated behind several long mahogany tables arranged in a horseshoe. They all face inward, toward the empty space where I am seated at the top of the 'U'.
I’m not sure how or when that happened, but this is a super exclusive gathering of magic users, so I don’t give it much thought. Looking out at them all staring at me is unnerving.
It's like something straight out of King Arthur's court.
Theron straightens, looking imperial, and lifts his chin. "I call the Order of the Arcane gathering 3716 to order. All rise for His Honor, Garrison Stonehoof."
Everyone stands in a coordinated motion, and a figure materializes off to my right. I twist my head to get a better look, but the winged sides of the throne make it difficult.
When the new arrival moves into my line of sight, my mind fractures…
Garrison Stonehoof is incredibly tall and broad-shouldered, wearing midnight robes that ripple around what I can only describe as the upper body of a bison and the lower body of a man.
A massive, shaggy brown head of a bison crowns a seven-foot body built like a professional wrestler. Round dark eyes set beneath a heavy brow. Long curved horns polished to an obsidian gleam. And a shaggy mane, thick and untamed, spilling over his broad shoulders and down his back and sides.
"Be seated." His voice vibrates in the air and makes my bones hum. "Tonight we convene to address matters of grave concern regarding the instability of Emberwood's ley line energies, the demon entity some of us have sensed, and specifically, to what extent, if any, the Emberwood Coven and their High Priestess, Laurel Cromwell are to be held accountable."
Murmurs ripple through the assembly.
"Before we begin formal proceedings, someone introduce our guest."
Vale stands from where he's seated at the end of the closest table. "Thaddeus Vale, representing the interests of Miss Poppy Hallowind-Forrester, Spirit Witch and daughter of the late Zoe Hallowind of the Hallowind witches. Her preferred titles are Poppy or Miss Hallowind."
Every eye in the room finds me.
I resist the urge to sink into my chair. Instead, I sit a little straighter.
Garrison Stonehoof looks me over, and I can't tell what he's thinking. "From what your representative has submitted, Miss Hallowind, you've had quite the time of it over the past month, haven't you?"
I nod. "You could say that."
He holds his hands up in front of himself, and a podium rises out of the ground and meets the palms of his massive hands. "Beginning on the eve of Halloween, tell us what has happened in your life and your understanding of the state of things as you see it. And remember, the Axiom Throne will sense if, at any time, you color outside the lines in your recount."
"I understand."
