34. Know your enemies

At first Remus was mad at Garance for dragging him into this. He thought she knew better! But she was deceived so easily – and by whom? A novice Night Witch! Even Garance wasn't sure about what that girl, Sky, actually remembered about her stay in the mansion. What if she knew about his help? And the betrayal?

He even considered killing all the Day Witches to cover his tracks. But Garance offered him a nice reward, and he couldn't refuse it. Remus got used to this island, he tried many things here, but getting a Day Witch as his personal toy was quite an exquisite pleasure. He knew it was all part of Garance's strategy, and he chose to play along.

He got up from the bed and looked at the girl he left there. Freesia curled into a ball, crying helplessly to herself. That made him smile. He knew he hadn't broken her completely yet, and he was ready to wait for that moment, because as long as she fought him in her soul, he could torment her every night even more.

Because it was her soul that was suffering the most. He made her body enjoy it – with the help of her mother, which was an additional blow to Freesia. At first he thought about denying, Remus didn't care if his woman felt pleasure or not. But then he realized that tolerating physical pain would be way easier for a proud woman like Freesia than accepting the way her body betrayed her. That forced pleasure and the words she was saying in passion were driving her mad when everything was over. And her tears were so desperate and so sincere he adored them. After all, Remus could make many women cry on this island, there were enough weak witches he could take any moment. There were also the ones willing to be with him – out of sympathy or for his protection, he didn't care. But Freesia's suffering was unique, and he couldn't get enough of it.

"Don't worry, my little pet, I'll be back for you tonight, you won't have to wait long," he smiled, and his words were enough to make Freesia cry hysterically.

Usually he left the mansion after those nights, he didn't want to be seen here too often. But tonight he wanted to talk to Garance before he left.

She knew he could come. She was waiting for him in the dining hall, the breakfast already prepared for both of them – but not for Freesia. Her mother knew she was too traumatized to come downstairs and eat with her tormentor.

She was a peculiar creature, that Garance. At first Remus thought she was sacrificing her daughter to save her ass. She didn't want to do it, she just had to, because he'd kill her otherwise – though back then he hadn't decided for sure if he would. But days went by, he had a chance to observe her, and he realized she didn't really care about what he did to Freesia.

He could understand it to a certain point. Back at the mainland, Garance had a chance to gain a powerful union with some lord through Freesia's wedding. In that case, she'd have to make sure her daughter remained pure till the wedding. But since all Day Witches were to spend their lives on the island, she no longer had that option – Freesia couldn't marry anyone here. But Garance still managed to use her virgin daughter for a bargain, and she didn't regret it, even though Freesia was suffering.

It didn't look like Garance even thought about it. She observed Remus as an ally now, not as an enemy.

"Good morning, my lord," she smiled. "How did your night go?"

"As good as it gets," Remus laughed. "But I'm more concerned about the day now. Has the Night Witch spoken?"

Ever since Sky escaped, there was a chance she'd go to the Grand Master and complain. That wouldn't mean the end of the Day Witches, because she could hardly prove anything, but that would get them into trouble. And possibly, Remus too – if she saw him and remembered what he did to her.

So when she escaped, he sent his soldiers to the Flower Witch's house to check. Sky was there alright, but she was too weak to do anything. Ever since then Garance's agents had been observing her, and now Remus expected some sort of account from her.

"She went back to living her life as before," Garance informed him. "She's never tried to contact the knights."

"What about her magic?"

"We're still not sure about that."

"You were supposed to check everything!" Remus frowned.

"It's very dangerous to follow a Night Witch in her own time, my lord. But even if Sky leanred to use her magic better than before, her gift is far from its best. She's no Aydelline and I doubt she ever will be without my books."

"That doesn't mean we should just let her be and forget about it," Remus said strictly.

"Do you suggest we should follow her, my lord? That can be dangerous right now."

"It would be dangerous to just let them be! They showed us they're our enemies. They can strike any moment – if we let them. It would be too naïve on our behalf to give that Night Witch time to develop her powers."

He knew that Garance was at least partly right: the witches were ready for their attack, it would be wiser to wait and then use the element of surprise. But he just couldn't. There was something about Sky that attracted him even now, when he had a Day Witch at his disposal.

Back when Garance showed Sky to him, she allowed him to get only a small taste of their captive. But it was amazing – all those stories about Night Witches and the pleasure they could give seemed to be true. Remus didn't want to rush things, he was ready to wait to enjoy it even more, because back then he believed there was no way Sky could escape.

But now she did, and he wasn't willing to accept it. But he couldn't tell Garance the true reason for it, so he chose a safer option – controlling their enemies.

"What do you suggest, Master Remus?" the Day Witch asked. "An attack? But there are three of them there, they live together all the time, and my agents believe they're very alert."

"They're weak witches."

"Medium level, I must say."

"Weaker than you," Remus noted.

"True. But even so, an attempt to capture or destroy all three of them will attract unwanted attention, starting with the Grand Master."

She didn't say she wasn't going to participate in it personally, it was clear from the very start. Garance was too careful to set herself up like that. But even if she sent her minions, everyone on the island would know who was behind this. Garance had many rivals on the island among other strong witches, they would gladly use that violation of law against her. And true, the Grand Master Arrius wouldn't support something so barbaric.

Luckily, Remus had already thought about all of it – and found a way out.

"We'll make it legal. I'll get a chance to get my hands on at least Sky – or all of them."

"But how?" Garance was confused.

"By finding the witch killer among them."

"Is it one of them? Why didn't you tell me? They killed one of my witches too!"

For a smart woman, sometimes she acted unbelievably dumb. Remus simply rolled his eyes in irritation:

"Of course it wasn't one of them! But who cares?"

"The Grand Master will ask for proof…"

"And we'll give it to him. As far as I know, one of the knight patrols encountered that killer on the streets. I'm not sure about the details, but the point is, they didn't get a good look at him."

"So how does that prove anything?"

"They brought in the dagger he dropped," Remus explained. "Now it is kept in the castle. The dagger holds little value on its own, because we can't connect it to anyone on the island."

Garance was finally starting to understand:

"But if the knights find that dagger in the house of the Flower Witch, it would be a whole new story?"

"Exactly."

"But how will you explain the dagger getting there from the castle?"

"I'm not sure the Grand Master even knows it's in the castle," Remus shrugged. "He rarely comes to the dungeon where such things are kept. And even if he asks, we'll claim the witches stole it. This dagger is a rare type, obviously the killer would want it back! The Grand Master won't care enough to get into the details."

"That's brilliant, my lord," Garance's smile grew wider. "And after spending a couple of days in the dungeon, I'm sure Sky will change her mind about our cooperation. Our dear Night Witch will be happy to return into my house – for good."