30. Things the Grand Master shouldn’t do

There were many things the Grand Master shouldn't do, a long list. And on top of that list should probably be "not to worry for a witch so much you can't sleep". But Arrius already accepted there was no helping it.

His search for her led him nowhere. By now he knew where she was, but he was hoping to find her on the streets or in the forest, like before. There was absolutely no way for him to visit her at the mansion, Garance would recognize him, she saw him without helmet. And it didn't look like Sky left this place on her own anymore.

There were only two ways left for him: to forget about her or get the answers. He had to choose the first. He chose the second.

Now he was standing in front of the door of the Flower Witch Sky used to live with. Arrius was sure Beata wouldn't recognize him. That made his visit here less dangerous, though it still wasn't entirely safe.

He also knew about the Beast Witch now accompanying her. He wasn't sure what connected those two, but if they were Sky's friends, he was ready to tolerate them. He took some precautions though, using the set of herbs that wouldn't give the beast witch a chance to recognize him by his smell.

He had to wait for a while before they opened the door, and when they did, both were scared, although the Beast Witch hid it better than the Flower Witch. That was curious… They had no reason to be afraid of him, they didn't know him. But they took him for someone else – and that scared them. It fueled his concern for Sky even more.

"Who are you?" Verina frowned.

"I'm looking for Sky."

"Why?" Beata asked.

"We've met before, and in a way, she's a friend to me. But now I have a reason to believe something happened to her. Are you willing to discuss it or not?"

He couldn't just stand there and talk to them. Sure, it was late and dark – but not too late, and he didn't want the knight patrols to see him. To discuss Sky, he had to go inside.

The witches understood it too. They still didn't trust him – they were far from it! But reluctantly, they let him in. Judging by their fear, they were desperate enough to trust him.

Arrius didn't tell them his name. He didn't feel like lying and making up a fake name, so he used the one Sky gave him – Stranger. It was by all means weird, but it didn't look like they minded. Once the witches made sure he wasn't going to attack them, they told him everything about Sky. And Arrius finally understood why they accepted him so easily: they were out of options.

He knew he should remain calm, but he just couldn't. Anger was burning in his soul like wildfire when he heard about all the things done to Sky – and all the things that would be done to her if nobody stopped this. The point is, none of them knew why this was happening. It couldn't be just about the ancient feud between Day and Night Witches. Garance had to gain something from it, something expensive enough to cover the price of that necklace… But what? He couldn't guess, there were too many things a Night Witch could do…

And frankly, he didn't care. He just knew he had to get Sky out of there. That didn't mean she'd start seeing him again, but Arrius was ready to accept that. As long as she was free, nothing else mattered.

So he stood up from the chair and went to the door.

"Where are you going?" Beata asked in surprise.

"After her."

"Now?!"

"I don't see any point in waiting."

"You don't even have a plan!"

"Don't need one," Arrius explained. "There can be no plan when it comes to invading a Day Witch's house. You either do it or not."

"You have no idea how dangerous it is!"

"Oh, I have a fair idea."

"She'll kill you for this," Verina warned him.

"Garance? Not right now, it's still night. But she can try it later if I succeed. That's why I'm not calling you with me."

"But you need our help!"

"I could use it, and that would make things easier. But the decision is up to you."

He wasn't playing with them. Arrius had to free Sky no matter what, he wouldn't forgive himself if something happened to her. But at the same time, he didn't want to force them into anything, there was nothing worse than forced allies.

Naturally, he could use his power as the Grand Master to set Sky free, but that would harm him more than an attempt to break in. So far, nobody doubted his authority. But if the knights suspected he was too attached to a witch, many would want to use it against him.

He wasn't really afraid of the Day Witches – or any witches he could meet at Garance's house. Before becoming the Grand Master, he was a hunter, he knew how to kill them. But he couldn't show it to Beata and Verina, that would be all the hint they needed to realize who he was. Arrius was just hoping they'd be too scared to go with him.

No such luck. They doubted their decision for a while, but they still chose to go with him. That annoyed him a bit, but he was still impressed with their loyalty to Sky.

He led the way through the town. Arrius knew full well where the knight patrols were supposed to be and avoided them easily. To the witches, it was probably a miracle, and he didn't try to prove them wrong. He was thinking only about what he should do when he reached the mansion.

The gates were closed for the night, naturally, and he didn't even stop by them. He went along the stone wall protecting Ganarce's territory until he reached the furthest corner of it. There, he turned to Beata.

"I need you to grow strong vines here, enough to hold our weight."

"I can do that," Beata nodded. "But Garance probably keeps some Flower Witches in the house, they'd feel my magic."

"She doesn't."

"How come you're so sure?"

"Just do it, we can't stand here all night!"

Garance's mansion was actually protected worse than many witches thought, and he knew it. She relied strongly on her authority. Everyone on the island were warned that messing with the Day Witches would lead to dire consequences. That allowed Garance to keep less guards at night than she really needed. And her relations with the Flower Witches had always been tense: she hired them, but she didn't permit them to stay for the night, when she was most vulnerable.

Right now it gave them a chance to enter the yard unnoticed. They moved through the trees and bushes, when Verina suddenly stopped.

"There's a Beast Witch here," she growled. "I can smell her! And she can probably smell me…"

"So Garance uses a Beast Witch instead of a dog? How practical," Arrius smirked.

"I can take her down!"

"No need to."

That Beast Witch was as reckless as all of their kind. True, she smelled Verina at once, but she didn't think it was a serious threat. She didn't warn anyone about the invasion, she decided to deal with it herself. That was a mistake.

She was fast and she looked like a monster – she was no weaker than Verina. But Arrius was still ready for her, after the witches he killed in his own time, that one was nothing to him. He attacked her as soon as she reached them. She was fast, but he was even faster. He hit her in the temble with the handle of his sword before she could get a good look at them, and she collapsed on the ground, regaining her human form again.

"Is she dead?!" Beata asked.

"Nah!" Verina replied. "But she won't bother us tonight. That was a nice blow! So who are you, again?"

"Again, none of your business."

He knew they'd have some guesses about him after this, and probably some good ones. He couldn't help it unless he was ready to kill them – and he wasn't. Arrius had to accept they'd probably understand he was a knight. But they wouldn't figure out he was the Grand Master!

That was the last of his concerns right now.

"Do you know where she lives?" he asked.

"When I observed the house, I saw her next to those windows most of the time," Verina answered. "I think it's her room… I may be wrong!"

"We have to start somewhere, so let's start with this room."

The windows were dark – which wasn't right for the Night Witch at all. But nothing in this situation was right! They'd gone too far, and Arrius wasn't willing to return without Sky…