The Witch and The Warrior by Karyn Monk Read Free Book Online

hawk, a fistful of fresh, very green moss, a strip of bark from a pine tree, twelve crushed pine needles, six drops of blood, a freshly caught fish, a scoop of earth—”
    â€œFor God’s sake, it’s the middle of the night,” Alex complained. “How the hell is he supposed to catch a fish?”
    â€œThese are the things I require, MacDunn,” she informed him flatly. “If you cannot provide them, I cannot cast the spell.” She calmly began to stitch Brodick’s arm.
    â€œFine,” he growled. “Is there anything else?”
    â€œNo,” she replied. “That is all.”
    â€œSee if you can find these things, Ned.”
    The small warrior looped his bow over his shoulder and disappeared into the woods.
    Brodick’s arm was far simpler to close than MacDunn’s chest had been. By the time Gwendolyn was mending the tear in Cameron’s scalp, she was feeling somewhat confident in her stitching abilities.
    â€œThere, now,” she said, tying off the last of the thread. “Keep this clean, and it will heal very nicely.”
    â€œThank you, m’lady,” said Cameron, rising. “My wife would have been most upset to have me return with a gaping hole in my head. The lass is prone to rather unseemly fits of temper when it comes to my injuries.” His voice was gruff, but Gwendolyn sensed the warrior’s fondness for his wife.
    â€œI don’t think Ned is going to find everything I need for my spell tonight,” she mused, relieved. “Perhaps we should just—”
    At that moment Ned emerged through the trees. He went straight to Gwendolyn and deposited a knotted, squirming bundle at her feet.
    â€œYou’d better hurry,” he advised. “That fish won’t last much longer.”
    Reluctantly, Gwendolyn unknotted the bundle and unpacked the items. She examined each one carefully, searching for some flaw.
    â€œWhat about the six drops of blood?” she demanded, seizing upon the missing item.
    Ned held up his hand. “You will cut me when you need it.” “Actually, I don’t believe I will need any blood for this spell,” she quickly corrected, sickened by the idea of cutting Ned’s hand for her little ruse. “I can manage without it.”
    She made a great show of arranging the five stones in a circle around the fire, occasionally staring at the moon and stars to give the impression that she was positioning the rocks in accordance with some complex celestial relationship. Once the stones were in place, she tore off a piece of moss and concealed it under each, then sprinkled a little earth over them. That done, she took her place by one of the stones, lay the now expired fish at her feet, and placed the feather and the strip of bark beside it in the shape of a cross.
    â€œNow, each of you warriors must pick up exactly four pine needles and take your place by the remaining rocks,” she instructed, her voice low and solemn.
    Brodick, Cameron, and Ned glanced at each other uneasily.
    â€œBut I’m not wounded,” Ned protested.
    â€œNevertheless, I need all of you to participate,” Gwendolyn said. “Only MacDunn can watch.”
    The three warriors reluctantly took their positions.
    â€œYou have one rock too many,” pointed out Brodick, stooping to pick it up.
    â€œThat one is left for the spirits,” Gwendolyn quickly improvised. “Now slowly crush the needles between your thumb and forefinger to release the ancient essence of the woods, then raise them to your nostrils, close your eyes, and inhale deeply.”
    The three warriors regarded her skeptically.
    â€œYou must do as I say,” Gwendolyn insisted, “or the spell won’t work.”
    Feeling foolish, they followed her instructions.
    â€œGood. Now we must wait,” she said, closing her eyes and spreading her bare arms wide over the fire, “for the howling of the