4 The Purple Witch

The city of outlaws: Ash Lake: Summer of the Red Moon

Zedd reached the city at dawn. He had been keeping his eyes on the witch for more than a month. He needed her powers to set his grand plan in motion. If it hadn't been for Alistair's request, he wouldn't have approached her so soon. 

Zedd was standing in front of Osimir's Rest, the largest inn in the city of outlaws. The lobby was beautifully decorated with wooden carvings of laughing mermaids, dancing around a trident wielding man. 

"Welcome to Osimir's rest, how may I help?" a fair young girl asked with a melodious voice and a warm smile. 

"You seem so happy to live and work in such a desolate place." Zedd was still looking around. "This inn, among all others, doesn't seem to be touched by thievery or raids. How so?" he asked. 

The receptionist smiled, revealing perfectly aligned teeth. "This Inn is under Lord Dismas's protection. No one would dare attack us, unless they want to suffer the consequences." 

Zedd smiled back to the lady behind the counter. "What would be the consequences one must suffer if, say…" Zedd leaned towards the receptionist. "…he were to destroy your lord Dismas's Inn?" His last question came as a whisper. He was still grinning. 

The receptionist, frozen in place, couldn't take her eyes off Zedd's. "Guards will be alerted. Then the offender will be punished accordingly. Certain death awaits every offender." 

"Good to know," Zedd commented then tapped on the counter, his wicked smile still drawn on his face. "I'm visiting a friend. She took your biggest room."

"Ah Miss Haart!" The receptionist was glad the subject had changed. "I'll notify her of your presence. Who should I say is visiting?" Her hands were shaking heavily. She didn't know who or what she was dealing with. 

"Mr Cornwall, she'll know who it is." 

"Please have a seat in our lobby. She'll be with you shortly." 

***

The receptionist, called Ada, went looking for Ms. Haart. A knock at the door and a woman's voice was heard: "Come in." 

The receptionist got in and briefly told her guest of the situation. 

"Are you sure his name is Cornwall?" 

"Yes my lady, I'm certain."

"From your description, this man doesn't fit his profile at all. It doesn't sound like one of Al's men either." The witch seemed troubled. "Tell him to come to me. If he gets any crazy ideas, I'll deal with him personally." 

The receptionist bowed then excused herself from the witch's spacious room. 

'A stranger comes to visit me, and today, of all days!" She was gnawing on her fingernails. 'Perhaps the gods truly exist. They're probably laughing at me now.' 

***

Zedd sat down on a comfortable sofa then started reading the news. What he found on the news delighted him. 'A Devil with black eyes huh?! That's bound to create some inconveniences.' 

The news of his latest slaughter were beautifully portrayed by the NewsCo writers. "The Aurunn Demon has reached Kozag", another title said. 

'News sure travel fast, at this rate, Al won't be too happy to see me.' It had been four months since he killed Nicholas Trebias. Prince Sylens had promised a Lordship for any who brought him Zedd's head. They took to calling him the Aurunn Demon ever since. 

Zedd turned to the next page. "Emperor Avourel inaugurates the Gates of Mercy," the next article title said. That title alone darkened Zedd's mood. 'He's opened the gate already… Not much time before he discovers the Pathway…' 

He wasn't allowed to give it much thought though, as the receptionist had already come back. 

"Mr Cornwall, Miss Haart would like to see you in her chambers," she announced. 

"Very well, lead the way." Zedd put the newspaper aside and followed the fair lady. 

On the second floor of Osimirs' Rest, there was a room that occupied the entire west wing of the building. Where four rooms would usually be stacked next to each other, one room had been rearranged to fit the whole space. 

The one occupied by the Purple Witch had all commodities: a private study, a meeting lounge and a bathroom attached to the bedchambers. Zedd was shown to the meeting lounge. 

"Miss Haart will be with you shortly," the receptionist said before leaving the room. Zedd thanked her with a smile and a nod before turning toward the study. 

"You can come out now, she's gone," he said after Ada closed the door. 

From the study she came out, smelling of jasmine and honeysuckle. She stood by the door, observing the mysterious man who borrowed the name Cornwall. She wore a velvet olive green robe which hugged her curves and emphasized her ample breasts. A necklace with a fist sized purple jewel rested atop her exposed cleavage. 

"You're not Cornwall, what do you want?" she asked. Her thin eyebrows were arched.

The scent of her perfume invaded Zedd's nostrils. He took a deep breath, let the perfume's sweet aroma tickle his senses. Zedd then looked at the witch, his strange eyes fixating hers. "Why don't you have a seat? Or would you rather wait for our drinks to arrive?" 

"I thought I asked you who you were. What do you want from me?" she asked again. Her face was stern, yet her heart was shaken. She clenched her fists as doubt started sprouting. Something unusual had happened to her this morning, then this strange man, half human, half demon, showed up.

"Your little trick won't work on me. Please, have a seat. We have many things to talk about." Zedd waved at an armchair beside him.

The witch bit hard on her lips. Her Charming spells wouldn't activate. Her senses wouldn't extend. That day, ever since she woke up, the witch couldn't muster any spiritual energy. "You're not Cornwall," she said. Her heart was furiously pounding against her ears. 

"And you're not Miss Haart either," Zedd quickly replied. His smile started irritating the witch. "Sit." Black Eyes tapped the armchair near him. "Let's talk, I won't bite." 

Faux Miss Haart hesitated at the study door. She couldn't trust her mysterious visitor. Her magic seemed to be powerless against him. Zedd looked at the petrified witch. He let out a sigh then said. 

"You've been hiding here, not using your magic in fear of being found out. What you didn't realize," Zedd paused a moment, stood and approached the witch. "What you didn't realize is that you couldn't use magic since dawn. Please don't struggle. I mean you no harm."

The witch took a step back. Her eyes were struck with horror. Her lips trembled as she tried to ask her question. "What are you?" 

"I��m your divine blessing, or your worst nightmare. You have an important choice to make today. You can't use your magic, and I know you're a sloppy fighter." He produced a hunting knife from his belt and turned it in his hand playfully. "I won't harm you unless you choose to resist." 

 "What do you want from me?" she asked, breathing heavily.

"The star you stole from my friends. I need it back." 

"What if I've already sold it?"

"I would've known, like I know it's hidden in your bosom right now."

"I went through a lot of trouble to get that damned star from Garland." 

"And now they want it back." Zedd hadn't moved, but the witch kept walking back during their brief exchange. 

"When I sell this star, I'll be rich enough to buy an island with servants. I'd live the rest of my life with no worries. Why should I give it up? Give me one good reason," the witch asked with a nervous grin. Her eyes darted in all direction, looking for a way out. 

"Freedom my lady," Zedd answered with an imposing tone. He approached the witch, pointing his hunting knife at her. "The empire is on our doors. I hear they have ships with wings. Crossing the ocean won't be so hard if they can fly over that stubborn snake. Where would you run when the empire comes knocking? Aslanor? I don't think you want to go back there." 

"You!" The witch's nostrils flared. Her bosom heaved up and down, and the jewel that rested above got stuck in a weird angle in her cleavage. "How do you know about Aslanor?" 

Zedd took a deep breath. "I'm offering you a lifetime opportunity here." 

The Purple Witch crossed her arms and looked the man straight into his terrifying eyes. "You don't scare me!" She defiantly announced.

"How did you come upon that jewel?" Zedd asked. 

"What, are you planning to steal it from me too?" The witch had serious anger issues, which made Zedd wary of approaching her in the first place. Her anger was more dangerous than she knew. 

"How about this, you hand me the star, and in exchange, I'll teach you something Aslanor had always kept away from you," Zedd said.

The witch scoffed. "There are far more scarier men than you out there, black eyes," she said. "What do you think Aslanor has hidden from me anyway?" 

"What do you know of the Primordial Lake?" Zedd asked with a wide grin. 

The witch's heart leapt to her throat. "Only a chosen few know of that place. Those who can draw from it will have incredible power; the kind that can only be linked to gods." 

"Aslanor may claim they're the only ones who can draw from it, but that's a lie." He spread his arms and hummed a low tone. The witch noticed the sky had darkened. Thick clouds formed above them, and thunder rumbled. The witch sensed something ominous was about to happen. 

Zedd looked at her with inquisitive eyes. "Would you care for a demonstration?" he asked with a wide grin. 

"No!" the witch immediately cut in. The mere notion of demonstrating that power had terrified her. "You know about Aslanor. You managed to block my magic, and I don't even know how you did it. I don't need a meteor to land on Ash Lake to believe you." 

Zedd extended his hand toward the witch. "Hand me the star, and I can help you become more powerful than you've ever dreamed of."