Chapter 6 - Witches
If it hadn't been that second that Sam had grabbed him in front of the saloon, he would have beaten the shit out of Chris, who hadn't meant it that way. Cole knew, but he wasn't able to think straight at the moment.
"That is enough, Cole, calm down!" Sam turned to Chris, still holding his friend in a firm grip. "I'm sorry, Chris, Cole isn't himself at the moment and he had too much whiskey. Please forgive him." Chris only nodded and hurried away.
Turning to Cole again, Sam tried to talk some sense into him, "What the hell has gotten into you? We better ride home. George will come to us when he is ready to leave for the coven. Until then you really need to get yourself back under control. You can not walk into the Coven with that much hate and anger on your soul. What if they have nothing to do with that all?" Sam tried to get Cole to look at him.
Tanner's nostrils were trembling fiercely, his anger still raging through his veins. Cole tried to concentrate on Sam's words.
"From now on we have to behave like the leaders we will soon be. Please Brother," Sam begged with this tone in his voice, that always worked on Cole.
He sighed heavily, brushing his hands over his face. Sam was right, Cole knew this. But he felt so broken, exhausted, and damn angry that he had no words for it. Sky felt his inner strife too and started pacing uneasily between Sam and Cole.
"Fuck! I know. It's just … everything. What are we supposed to do now? I don't know how to do this without them," Cole stuttered desperately.
Sam pulled him into a short hug and brought him to arm length. "Let's start with something easy. Let's ride home, okay?"
Something easy like that, Cole could manage. He nodded defeated, fighting his tears down.
*** The Wild West Triad - prequel ***
George came home into his little loft in the boarding house pretty drunk though it was only late afternoon. He had stayed in Martin's saloon for some more shots and a discussion with Martin about politics.
He tried to unlock this door four times until he finally managed to get the key into the lock and turn it in the right direction. He stumbled into the room. His necktie threatened to suffocate him. George impatiently fumbled at the knot and was glad when it finally loosened.
He emptied his jacket pockets and laid the white paper bag with the Camilla tea he had brought from the quack onto the table. Suspiciously he eyed the bag. The Advisor slumped down into the chair, overthinking his next step. Should he? His mother wouldn't risk it to poison him, would she?
"Let destiny decide," George said and got up to get some hot water.
Ten minutes later he sat in front of a steaming cup full of herbal tea. "To you, my Brothers. I really hope Cole isn't right or we're all in deep trouble, even more than we are right now," he laughed drunkenly, taking the hot cup into his hands to drain the entire cup of tea in one go. After the first sip, he spluttered when the hot beverage burned his tongue. "Fucking shit!" George swore, slamming the cup back on the table. He glared at it offended, his drunken mind seeing it as a foe until the tea cooled down enough to drink the rest.
*** The Wild West Triad - prequel ***
Cole sat on Mike's place at the window from where he had a good view over the yard and watched Harris arrive in the late evening. "Finally," Cole mumbled and returned to his diary to finish the sentence.
"Hey, boys." Excitedly, Sky rushed to the new man in the house and started rounding George.
Cole turned to the door because of the strange demeanor of his dog. "Sky, I get jealous when you do this with someone else, honey," Cole pouted.
George laughed. "Well, your girl seems to smell the Beef Jerky I bought for her."
With a grin, Cole got up. "When she has some puppies one day you will get the first one, George. This sweet Lady is already mine." He kneeled to the ground to cuddle possessively with his dog. The two gave a funny picture.
George passed Cole the bag with the jerky which Cole immediately shared with his dog. The Advisor shook his head over the two.
"George, I was already thinking you would not come today. We could ride tomorrow to the Coven when you are ready," Sam said while he came down the stairs.
Harris slid out of his jacket and took a seat at the table. "No, we have to stay here for a while longer and wait for what happens with me."
"What?! Why?" Cole asked shocked and stopped snuggling with Sky.
"I drank from the tea."
The room got completely silent. A shiver ran over Cole's spine and down to his toes. He jerked up. "Why did you do this? Are you crazy? You will get ill too. What do you wanna prove with that?"
"Cole, calm down. Let me explain. I thought this through. I'm not sick of life. Well maybe it was a bit risky and I was a little bit too drunk. The tea should not affect me in any way. But if it does and I missed something, you will bring me to the Coven and my mother will not let me die."
Sam came closer quite shocked. "That doesn't explain why you just drank it."
George began to explain, "Let's think for one moment Cole's guess is right, and it was the coven that poisoned the tea to kill the Triad and my mother reckoned that I would never drink this tea if not forced on me, she wanted me to live. On top of that, since the Triad died no one else died from the disease. On the contrary, since then like a miracle, the people have slowly recovered though they still get the tea to drink. If it was due to the tea, I should feel the effects tonight or tomorrow. Bastian got ill during the first few hours of their way from the Coven to Fort William and Mike already felt sick the next day as we know from his diary."
Cole swore with all the vocabulary he had. "You should have talked to us first. We need you." Cole turned away to hide his fear of losing another precious friend. He needed a long moment to do so. Thankfully Sam and George were already in a discussion about the herbs in the tea and possible spells on it. "God, dad, you were totally right, Harris needs someone to keep him from doing stupid shit. I swear I will have a closer eye on him," he whispered in a monologue.
The three ate together. So far Harris showed no signs of any illness. They planned their trip to the coven and further to Liberty. Sam had prepared Mike's room for George to stay the night and Cole ordered Sky to keep a watchful eye on their Advisor.
*** The Wild West Triad - prequel ***
Daniel woke up from singing spring birds and the noises of the camp. Shewa lay snuggled to him in his arms, still sleeping. He placed a kiss on her raven-black hair. He was glad Cole had convinced him to come back to Shewa. They had comforted each other until the late-night hours, crying and snuggling together in their grief. Sharing these feelings made them so much easier to carry. He hoped the others were okay. He really wished they had someone too.
Carefully he slid out of the bed and exited the teepee. Stretching his aching limbs he looked around. The sun was shining and brought a first warmness after the long winter.
"Daniel?" Shewa's sleepy voice searched for him.
He reentered the tent and kneeled next to Shewa. "Hey, my love. How are you?" He lovingly brushed a strand of her hair out of her face and kissed her softly.
"Better, I think. And you? You are worried," Shewa read him with a frown.
There was no way to hide his feelings from this woman. She pulled at his arm to bring him to her side again. He followed her wish and took her into his embrace again. "I love you, Shewa."
"Yes, I know," she smiled a bit teasingly. Some of her normal self was back. "We could ride to the Ranch today, you know. I see how much you worry for them."
"You can not ride in your state."
"I can and I will. I can't stand the glances here in camp. Everyone handles me with kid gloves like I'm a fragile thing about to break. I'll stay with you for a while longer."
"Are you sure about that?"
"Yes."
"Okay, but we make more stops on the way, I don't want you to feel worse."
"Okay."
*** The Wild West Triad - prequel ***
Much to the two younger hunters' relief, George still felt healthy in the afternoon of the following day. Cole and George would start their journey tomorrow. Sam had planned to stay at the farm. Someone had to care for everything here. He just came from feeding the animals out of the barn as he spotted two riders in the distance. Curious, he waited until he saw they were Daniel and Shewa.
Sam was surprised to see the two, though grateful to have Daniel here again. He needed to know what they had found out. Samuel raised his hand to greet the two but stayed silent otherwise, watching Daniel help Shewa climb off her horse. She moved slowly and a line of pain was visible on her forehead. In her man's arms, she came closer until Sam was able to take them both in a short embrace. "Hey, good to see you two. I'm so sorry, Shewa. Can I do anything for one of you?"
Shewa smiled only slightly. "Thank you, Sam, I need to lie down for a while."
The tall lean woman swayed slightly, closing her eyes. Daniel immediately tightened his grip around her waist. "Easy, my heart, I got you."
Sam opened the door for them to enter the house. Daniel brought Shewa into his room to rest but came soon down again to the others who waited in the kitchen.
Cole was fast at his cousin's side. "Daniel, why are you two here? Shewa still needs rest."
He sighed and ran a hand over his mustache, the way Wade had always done this. "I know, but she is as stubborn as you, I couldn't convince her to stay at the camp. She needed some time off. What are you up to? You plan a hunt or something?" Daniel pointed at the packed saddlebags of the two.
Daniel turned to their Advisor. "Good to see you, George." Daniel offered George a hand and after they greeted each other he looked curious between Sam and Cole.
"You better take a seat and we'll explain to you what happened," Sam told him.
Uneasy Daniel did as told and listened to what he had missed. When Sam was finished with his statement about the investigation and George's self-test, he watched his friend running a hand through his half-long brown hair, sighing frustratedly. "We never get a rest, do we?" Daniel stated.
"Are you and Shewa good again?" Cole wanted to know.
Daniel nodded, "Yeah, I think so. Don't be mad at me, but I can't leave her alone at the moment. I will not come with you this time."
Sam nodded instantly. "Sure, I wouldn't have asked this from you, but now as you two are here, I will go with the others if you don't need me."
Sam was sure Daniel and Shewa would prefer a bit of privacy after all that had happened. And on the other hand, he was glad that he could watch out for Cole and George. The two together could make a great unit or their temper and stupid ideas brought them a shit load of trouble.
He had Mike heard often enough talking with Wade about it. Sitting in a corner with a book, let others often believe you were distracted and they could talk openly. Mike was sure it was a Wilmington thing with Cole, though Mike was as stubborn as Cole too. The Knight had only a lot more practice with people.
Bastian had told Sam about George's talent to come up with crazy ideas. Sometimes they were genius or just stupid. Sam considered George's self-test to be one of the stupid ideas. He missed reading with Bastian. Often enough they had discussions about many more things than only the content of the books they studied.
"You ok, Samuel?" Daniel asked concerned.
Sam blinked confused. "Yeah, I was just lost in my thoughts."
"It's alright, go with Cole and George. We are ok here, really."
*** The Wild West Triad - prequel ***
The small party left in the morning the next day. Samuel Colt was eying their Advisor with watchful glances. George still was healthy which left them with nothing more than guesses about what had caused the fever. They would have to talk to the witches.
Cole got silent, which was a bad sign. Moody and brooding, he was a bad traveling company. He only let Sky be at his side and most times the two rode ahead, which left George his travel partner to speak to.
George told Sam about his son Malachi. He had just begun to study medicine in New York after he had finished his prep school there. George did not often talk about his wife and son, but today he seemed to have the urge to show him in a good light to Sam.
"Malachi is a good boy. My mother wants him for the Coven once his studies are finished. But I have other plans for him. His mother taught him in the crafts, and he knows about the Brotherhood. I want him to be your Advisor."
"How old is he, George?" Sam asked.
"He is eighteen. I know that is pretty young but he is capable. Trust me," George added quickly.
"Why won't you be our Advisor?"
George sighed. "I … to lose the others broke something in me, I feel not like I can do this any longer. Malachi is your age. He is the better choice. I will be around to help you but officially he will be your Advisor. When we are back from Liberty and Malachi has arrived in Canaan, we're gonna have the official consecration of your positions . I'm gonna send him a message to New York and order him here."
"You sure he wants this job here in the middle of nowhere?" Sam asked surprised.
"He will do what his father tells him. His mother had long enough influence on him. It's time I take over."
Sam nodded, not entirely convinced that an eighteen-year-old kid who was used to civilization would like it here. But first he had to get to know Malachi and then they would see.
After a week of camping in the plains and sleeping on hard ground, Sam was confident to have a comfortable bed for the night when he saw the few houses of the witch coven in the distance. He hoped really this visit would bring some light into the dark of the Triad's death.
*** The Wild West Triad - prequel ***
Maddalena heard the murmur outside. There were visitors in her Coven. She walked outside to see who it was. As soon as the three men had crossed the border of the Coven, nosy glances followed them. Meanwhile, her coven counted twenty witches and crafters who lived here.
She was somehow relieved to see her son healthy though Cole Tanner and Samuel Colt were with him. That means the youngsters still were in her way. Maybe she would get another opportunity to get rid of them. She was a patient woman as long as her plans worked out.
"George, welcome." She nodded at Cole and Sam and eyed Sky with an unreadable expression.
George was still crossed with her, she could tell by his look. He nodded at her. "Mother. We need to talk to you in private."
"Sure, come inside," Maddalena signed them into her house.
Gaia, her youngest witch, was still inside and looked up when they entered. "Gaia, please care for our guests, Cole and Sam. I will talk to my son in my office."
"Sure, Mother," Gaia replied and began to fill two cups of tea from a jar to serve the two.
When the door was closed behind them her son began to speak. "We come with bad news. The Triad is dead." George darted at his mother with a bitter stare.
She would have to say something to this. "I'm sorry son, I know you were close but when the holy mother decides their time is over there's nothing one can do. What happened?"
"They suffered a mysterious fever. It all started when they left the Coven the day after our fight about Malachi. Can you bring any light to this?"
So they had discovered that it was no usual disease. That would make things more complicated but all evidence was gone with the last of the three dying. They could not prove anything. "I'm sorry son, but it sounds as if you think I have anything to do with their suffering. I'm so glad that you did not get infected."
"Is this the tea you gave Wade?" George slammed the paper bag with the rest of the tea on her desk.
Maddalena eyed the package, opened it carefully, and smelled it. "Yes, of course, what does that all have to mean?"
"With my Brothers dead, I will give up my post as the Advisor." George paused and eyed his mother.
Maddalena couldn't help but feel relieved, which surely was visible on her face. "Oh my dear, I know how much that hunter-life meant to you. But I'm glad you finally see that this is not your destiny. You will always be welcome here at the Coven."
"I remember, you told my father I only had a rough talent and you don't need me here. Anyway, I will stay with the boys, they need me. I have to set the new Triad in place and this all leaves me no chance but to order Malachi over now to be their Advisor."
Maddalena felt the blood sink to her feet. Her plan had worked the completely different way she had wanted. She could start screaming. Her lips trembled and the old witch had to bring up all her strength not to do so.
Her son must have read her because his eyes got smaller and he added, "I don't want to believe, mother, that you are responsible for my Brothers' death. They haven't done you any harm. On the contrary, they have always kept friendly ties to the witches but I have to ask. Please, tell me you didn't have anything to do with that."
Maddalena was still in shock and not able to answer promptly enough. After a much too long pause of silently staring, she answered. "I have nothing to do with that, how dare you accuse me of this?" She brought all her rage over her failed plan into her voice. "You will not take Malachi away from his destiny. He belongs to the Coven! He is much more capable than you will ever be. I hardly believe you are really from my blood. They were just hunters and maybe they got into contact with something too big for them. You are so misguided in your flight of fancy about the hunting world. These men were not your Brothers. They had alway dug their claws into you and your talent like hungry wolves. I'm glad they are dead!" She immediately regretted her last words but they had been said nevertheless.
*** The Wild West Triad - prequel ***
Harris made a step back and stumbled, bumping against the door with his back. He had never seen his mother like this. He even couldn't say if she lied or was angry about the accusation. Or maybe he didn't want to believe what he could read in her face. Her words hurt him to his core. She showed him nothing but disgust. He reached for the doorknob and rushed into the other room.
Sam and Cole sat at the table, two cups pushed wide away from them, looking up when George entered. The two boys instantly sensed that something was off. Maybe everyone in the room had listened to their heated conversation. So be it. They were no longer welcome here, and George had no intention to stay. He needed air. Space. Time to think this all through. And first of all, he had to keep it together in front of the boys. He was all they had left as a mentor.
*** The Wild West Triad - prequel ***
"Come on, gentlemen, we're leaving. We're no longer welcome here." George walked past everyone to the door but turned to his mother who was entering at that moment from her office. "I will never again set foot on this damn Coven. And you are not my mother any longer."
Cole got up abruptly. He had heard nearly every word that had been spoken inside. It was not entirely clear what Maddalena had answered. With his patience at the end, he directly asked her, "What does that mean, are you responsible for my family's death?"
"Cole, don't. We have no proof," George said defeated.
"Fuck!" He wiped the untouched cups to the ground which shattered with a loud bang. "I don't believe a single word the witches are saying. I don't know exactly how or what happened, but since they left the Coven something had been off." Cole walked with two wide strides to Maddalena but was stopped by Gaia. He looked at her with all his hatred. His rage overrode every feeling of respect or fear from the witch. His voice suppressed now, he threatened, "If I ever find out that any of you are responsible for their deaths, I will strangle you with my bare hands and I will enjoy every second."
Sam grabbed his friend angrily, "Cole, that is enough! Come!"
Remembering Sam's speech about they should behave like leaders, he reluctantly let Sam drag him outside. The three had no intention to stay longer than necessary and so they left the Coven as if it was nonexistent and followed their way further to Liberty.
TBC