Timeless Witch by C. L. Scholey Read Free Book Online Page A

will be most welcome...for dinner.” I chuckled delightedly.
    A dark shape slowly passed overhead amidst the skies, circling cautiously, gliding easily on a current breeze. I could detect a curious odor. Alistair took a sharp breath as the pterodactyl spotted us and dipped lower for a better look. The wingspan was massive. The guttural sound it emitted sent a cold chill down my spine. I had truly never encountered anything quite so incredibly majestic.
    “Perhaps I will die, but I can feel your powers are depleted. You have but one mere spell left. If you use it on me to summon the bird, you will never get home in time to save the life within you. You are running out of time, witch. How entertainingly ironic. The timeless witch has not much time at all.
    “Even if this beast gets me, how will you wrestle my head and heart from its talons? Your puny little human form hasn’t the strength. I will be reborn and live again to search out your brat as it grows within another, while you remain trapped here. What a delightful thought. While I wait for my rebirth, images of you running from raptors and a tyrannosaurus will entertain me.”
    He was right, damn the cocky bastard. My life may yet be forfeit. I would need to rely on any of my returning powers to keep me alive in this place, or I must seek my demise immediately to find a new host and save my child.
    That could take a bit of time, as no humans had yet to be born in this era. Once a new host was found I would need to wait and rebuild my powers before I could find her. It would be a race between Alistair and me. As he said, he could sense her, too. Damn the evil prick.
    The moon shone higher above me as my thoughts raced. The irony was to die again on All Hallows’ Eve, the day of my birth, the day of my rebirths. I remembered the Grim Reaper and his warning grin. The hideous child, what could it mean?
    I had hoped to appease the Keeper of Halloween with my incantation for forgiveness, to offer contrition. I had hoped to atone for my sin of battle on this most sacred day. My eyes widened with my thought. Had Alistair asked for such forgiveness?
    Alistair moved to strike, while I furiously pondered my dark dilemma. I jumped, but it was too late; his great teeth sank into my thigh and I screamed in agony. I struggled wildly, sobbing in pain, wondering if this was how my child had felt. I beat helplessly at his scaly head.
    I could hear the laughter bubble up from Alistair’s throat as he squeezed tighter, trying to snap my leg in half. The agony was unbearable. I whimpered shamefully, but I knew better than to plead for my life. He was not about to grant me a merciful end.
    On a whirlwind of flurry, the massive pterodactyl struck. I had not needed a spell to summon the beast after all. Our movements, our thrashing must have attracted the predator.
    Alistair made a noise deep within the back of his throat as the beast tried to tear the snake’s body from my flesh. Alistair’s teeth held strong, refusing to set me loose, wanting us to die together.
    Too late, he realized his folly as the beast grew angry, and in one snap it severed my foe’s head from his body, leaving it attached to my thigh. In that precious moment, alive with determination, I slammed my fist through his reptile chest and yanked out his heart. The beast flew off, taking the remains of Alistair clasped within its talons and teeth.
    I dragged my aching body up torturously after disengaging the serpent’s teeth. The blood flowed freely down my leg. I gathered sticks and small bits of kindling. Thankfully I found the two types of stones I would need to crack together for a flame. It did not take me long to start a small fire, and soon my enemy’s brain and heart simmered into ashes.
    I muttered the death curse, grateful I was not in need to use my last precious spell. I was exhausted, but watchful of my surroundings. In this place, Alistair would have no time to find a human host; evil did not exist to