From the Ashes of Victory: The Complete Series, page 114
part #0 of From the Ashes of Victory Series
"Selene, you had your opportunity to speak. You waived it," Marianne said. "Now the Council will speak. All seated members—"
"I accept full responsibility for EVE's creation and its actions in April, and submit myself to the Council's judgment," Selene said quickly. "What happened lies upon my head, and it was my failure to teach my pupils about the Pact and the Council that led them to act as they did. That failure is mine, and mine alone. They should not suffer for it."
Victoria stared up at Selene in shocked disbelief as Katya's hand clamped down on her wrist. "Selene…"
Ignoring Victoria completely, Selene stared across the table at Marianne. "What say you?"
"This is highly unorthodox, Selene."
"It is my right to confession prior to judgment rendered."
"And it is our right to reject it, should it be seen as a selfish ploy to spare other guilty parties," Maria said with a look at Victoria.
"It is so," Selene said.
Marianne looked across the table and around, fingering one of her wooden chits as she considered what she'd heard.
Somehow, Victoria found the ability to turn away from Selene to look at Katya, and back to Elise. Both wore the same look of abject surprise and no little betrayal that Victoria felt churning within her own breast.
It took considerably more effort to brave a look at Sveta.
Her gold eyes appeared almost liquid, swirling around her irises, bound by the sclera into twin rings of gilt mercury. But whatever she was sensing from the room around her, hers was the only face that was anything resembling normal, almost peaceful.
Unnerved, Victoria looked away to Marianne just as she spoke again.
"Are you sure about this, Selene?"
"I am."
"Very well. We vote to accept Selene's confession. The four of you are exempt," Marianne pronounced, pointing at EVE. "The remaining twenty, then."
In a shockingly efficient exercise in democracy, the votes were cast and tallied in under two minutes, which lost all surprise when Victoria got a look at the chits that Desdemona pulled from the cauldron and laid bare in front of the entire Council.
"Confession accepted," Marianne pronounced. "The matter of EVE is settled. Now, the next question is to whether the Pact should be rescinded, and witchcraft allowed to be practiced openly…"
Victoria, Katya and Sveta all stared at Selene as she resumed her seat.
The stiff calm she had been forcing on herself was gone, and she relaxed, the incredible tension that she'd been under the last few weeks lifted from her features. Or even longer, perhaps. How long? But now, sitting all alone, she looked… unburdened. Free. Whether it was her conscience or a simple sense of obligation, it had clearly been satisfied.
It wasn't until the first argument was being made concerning the next item that Selene turned to acknowledge her charges. When she did, she set a pale, scarred hand atop Colette's gauntlet and gently squeezed Victoria's fingers. "It's all right. Trust your sisters."
As Victoria stared down at the most affectionate gesture Selene had ever performed in her presence, her mind instantly began spooling up, trying to work out how such a thing would be possible.
The vote had been unanimous.
Katya collapsed onto the sofa in the guest house, utterly unable to support her own weight any longer. Sveta followed her down, falling on top her a dead weight that was fast asleep before Katya could even re-take the breath Sveta had forced out of her when she landed.
Elise settled lightly on the floor, her platinum hair pooling on the sliver of cushion left over between her back and Sveta's slumbering form.
Putting one arm protectively around Sveta, Katya reached out with the other for Vita as she stood stoically before the window, staring out into the rapidly retreating sun; a solid column of night doused in the flames of dusk, twin to the shadow she cast across the floor. Alone.
"Vita, be with us. Please," Katya said quietly.
Slowly, Vita turned.
Maybe it was just circumstances colouring Katya's perception, but never before had Vita looked so much like Selene as she did in that split second; pale vulnerability swathed in dark, foreboding armour. Orange light bathed half of her face, the sharp shadow of her hair falling across lips drawn flat with contemplation. Her eyes were sunken and dull, the formidable, brilliant blue reduced to the colour of a churning sea on a cloudy day.
She reached out and took Katya's hand, allowing herself to be guided down to sit beside Elise, the two who had known Selene the longest leaning against each other as the last of their energy fled them.
Without realising she was doing it, Katya found herself stroking Vita's short hair, pale, slender fingers working furrows into the field of jet-black.
"Is this real?" Vita said into the room.
"Unless we're having the same dream," Katya said.
"I wish to wake up," Elise said.
Sveta continued to sleep, working herself closer against Katya as she dreamed.
The Pact was dead. Witchcraft was free to be practiced however its practitioners wished. EVE was clear to act how they saw fit.
Katya knew they should have been spending this time building alliances, forging the future of witchcraft in Europe, but they were being forced to wait. Nothing could move forward, nothing new could happen until the question of Selene was answered, and EVE had been booted out of those proceedings. In truth, Katya was glad for it. She couldn't have sat through listening and watching as an observer. It was too hard, and she was too tired to keep the Firebird at bay in the event she didn't like what she heard.
'Trust your sisters,' Selene had said.
Katya wanted to. She really did, but what had been the point of Helga's 'alliance' if they'd all voted to accept Selene's confession and throw her to the wolves? That she was interested in being present for explanation of.
But Sveta was warm and Vita's hair soft, leading Katya soon into a shallow sleep, where her myriad thoughts couldn't follow.
Victoria had never before experienced the sensation of someone running their hand through her hair, but she was quickly coming to understand why people liked it. It was soothing, comforting to know that she was cared for, and surrounded by those she, more than ever, needed and wanted as her sisters.
Even Elise, especially Elise. When their hands touched, the presence of her Manifest and the sudden awareness of all those witches deep underground, of the birds in the trees overhead, the flowers blooming throughout the forest reinforced that feeling, solidifying Victoria within herself.
The darkness was there, but the light of Elise kept it coiled tightly, far into the shadows that wafted within Victoria like wraiths in search of cracks to slither into.
With Elise's touch and presence, Victoria felt strong. With her sisters, in spite of what was happening without them, she felt reassured. She had done her very best, and though the final outcome was still uncertain, there was nothing she would have done differently, except perhaps pay more attention to Selene and her intentions.
The sound of the front door opening and closing took a long while to penetrate into Victoria's thoughts, but when they did it was all at once. She bolted to her feet, shocking the others into sudden consciousness as Selene approached, her footfalls soft as she crossed the dusty floor. Trailing just behind were Marianne and Helga. And to Victoria's surprise, Carice.
"I am happy to see you like this," Selene said with overt melancholy, her eyes at complete odds with her words.
"Why did you do it?" Sveta demanded without preamble.
As though she had expected it to be the first question, Selene was measured in her response. "Because it was the right thing to do. All of the machinations of politics were… the wrong way to go about it. Though Victoria spoke as well as could have been expected of anyone, the final decision should never have come down to rhetoric, no matter how gifted. By my own rules, what I did was wrong, no matter the outcome. For you, and for my own mental state, I needed to accept that."
Marianne nodded. She had been as objective as Victoria could have asked, but now that it was over, her sympathy to Selene's position was obvious in the set of her features. "I have known Selene for a very long time. And in that time I have never known her to act selfishly or rashly. For her to do as she has done today, and with you, I am certain was in good cause. As I see the four of you together, and from reading Selene's reports on you, I can believe that that still holds true. And on behalf of the entire Council, you have my apologies for Octavia's behaviour."
"That's all well and good, but what is to become of Selene? What came of these… punishment deliberations?" Katya asked. Vomited, in the case of the last two words.
Selene looked between the four of them slowly, as if trying to commit the moment to memory. "I won't be returning home with you."
"What?" the other four said simultaneously.
"Because as you are sisters to one another, so am I to them," Selene said, gesturing to Marianne and Carice. "I broke my word. When we voted at the last Council, I gave my solemn oath to abide by the decision we reached together. Colette may have been the one to actually introduce the idea of ADAM, but it was me alone who went to the Longs before it collapsed. It was I that brought you to the Longs, and that was just as much a violation of my oath as ADAM. But in light of you being who you are, the sentence is rather light, considering."
"What is it?" Katya asked, flicking a suspicious eye at the others just behind her.
"I stay here. There are many more frightened young witches here than at home, and they will need guidance, just as you did. That, and I think they want to keep a better eye on me," Selene said with the faintest trace of a smile.
"How can you joke about this?"
"Because I'll still be here, Victoria. If this war you fear truly is coming, you'll be back. EVE will need the allies it's created here, and I can act as a go-between when that time comes."
"What allies? We haven't done anything."
"Oh, but you have," Marianne said. "Not all of us resent you, you know. Some of us have been waiting for witches like you to take the reins. Perhaps not quite so… spectacularly, however. Your passion has been missing for a long time among us. I knew it would take something big to shake us out of our doldrums, and you've done quite a job of it. Selene did the best possible thing she could have by confessing. She'll be welcome here, and the others no longer have anything to hold over you."
"You don't want this, do you?" Katya said to Selene, ignoring Marianne.
"Name one person in history who has ever wanted their punishment. No matter how much good I may accomplish in this one, it is still a punishment. But I acknowledge I deserve it. I broke the rules. Rules I helped write. To do any less would reflect very poorly on me, and the pupils I taught."
She turned to the foremost among them.
"Raven…" Selene smiled ruefully, looking at Victoria in a way that she was unprepared for: as an equal. "Quite the stable of monickers you're collecting. But this one suits you. All the risks, the setbacks, the long nights where I questioned every decision I've ever made… you were worth it. I cannot express to you how proud I am of you, Elise, and Millicent. Out of that random gaggle of girls assembled ad hoc from across Britain and France, you three…" Selene sniffled, the most human emotion Victoria had ever seen her express. It choked up all of them. "A Manifested Coven. The first in centuries…"
She turned.
"Elise. The Angel of Longstown. You have come so far, I can still scarcely believe you're the same peasant girl who stepped out of that car with eyes so big I wondered if you would ever close them again. You've worked harder than any witch I've ever known, and you've been justly rewarded for your efforts. You make such a difference to the lives of so many… You, Elise, are the living embodiment of witchcraft."
"Merci beaucoup, Maitresse," Elise said, her eyes welling up.
Selene gathered herself, taking a deep breath as the stoic Mistress of ADAM that Victoria had first been introduced to reasserted itself. "I have no worries about EVE's future. You will make it flourish as I never could."
"But no-one can replace you. We'll be leaderless," Katya said.
Selene looked between Victoria and Katya slowly enough that they both turned to look at each other.
"Raven. Firebird," Selene said, "the longer I keep you under my wing, the harder it will be for you to spread yours."
"But we don't have your experience," Victoria said.
"I don't think it's going to count for much in this world you're building. No-one's experienced what's coming. The old ways have been struck a mortal blow these last few years, and you don't need me holding you back."
"What about all the young witches waiting for you at home? They still have a lot to learn from you," Katya said, and Victoria's heart soared at how easily she had referred to Longstown as home.
"They'll be fine. We're not raising an army, we're teaching witches, and you lot are very good at being witches. 20th century witches." Selene looked between all four of them again. "And the truth is… I'm lonely. There are so few witches in Britain my age. I love you all dearly, but it's not the same. You don't remember what I do. Ivy and Niamh mean more to me than anyone, but being back here reminds me of what I haven't had for so long. We have centuries yet, it won't hurt to spend part of one here."
"How much of one?" Victoria asked.
"Until we agree that I've paid the price for my actions. There is a lot of work to be done. Witches long missing to be found, young ones to be trained, a community to rebuild. We've lost a lot in the last 200 years, and we need to set about finding it again. Give my love to Millicent, Niamh and Alexandra. Ivy's the old lady now, and she'll do a smashing job, I'm sure."
"Millie will be upset she cannot say good-bye," Elise said.
"Then you can bring her here any time. This isn't a prison. And meeting her could do a lot of good on this end." Selene cast a look at Marianne.
"Perhaps," the French witch replied.
"I, for one, would very much like to meet her," Helga said enthusiastically, drawing eyes that were anything but.
"So much for the alliance," Katya said. "You voted to accept Selene's confession."
Helga nodded as though it was of no consequence. "Yes. She readily gave it, and through you, I knew to trust her judgment. Unless you'd care to give me a reason to regret it? No?"
The German witch's confidence was as heartening as it was maddening, and Victoria knew Katya felt the same way, given how the tension she'd been holding leaked away the broader Helga's grin became.
"But just because we didn't end up needing it today, doesn't mean we won't tomorrow," Helga said, flicking an eye to Marianne, who didn't seem to notice. "Selene did the right thing. She satisfied her conscience and sabotaged the older witches at the same time, sated their bloodlust. She admitted she was wrong, which is what they really wanted to hear. Octavia took whatever fight they had with you out of them," she said to the younger witches. "But in case of the hold-outs, she let Victoria speak first. You made your case very well, and it will be the starting point for whatever comes next. I would say she played her hand perfectly."
Victoria was reluctant to admit the soundness of Helga's logic, but to do any less would be a betrayal of not only Helga, but herself, and nodded her concession of the argument.
"Where is Octavia, by the way? I would like to say good-bye," Katya said, thunderclouds looming over every word.
"She will be dealt with."
As that was all that Marianne appeared to have to say on the topic, Carice took the opportunity to speak for the first time.
Under steady white witchlight, she was far more striking than in the Hall, with a fall of fiery red hair that cascaded all the way down to her waist, and dark eyes that returned very little of the light they took in, save for the embers still burning within their depths.
But were they embers? There were no candles here.
Gold?
"Svetlana, before you go, I have something I would like to share with you. I felt what you were going through in there, and I want you to know something," the Dutch witch said, and stepped towards the young Russian, hooking her long hair behind her ears to leave her face and intentions as open as possible.
For a brief moment, Svetlana's eyes flashed gold, but she visibly relaxed at whatever they told her about the state of Carice's mind, and allowed her to step closer.
Nodding her thanks, Carice closed the distance between them, and to the intrigue of everyone looking on, reached out to place her palm gently atop Svetlana's head.
The reaction was instantaneous and undeniable, as Svetlana's mouth fell open and the gold retreated from her eyes, leaving them solely their natural, mossy green. Her tongue worked soundlessly as she stared at Carice with such intensity Victoria thought she was going to pass out.
"What is it, Sveta?" Katya asked, her voice rising with concern. "What's happening?"
"She silenced the voices," Sveta said as her eyebrows shrugged off the concerns of gravity, floating upwards in relief and no little pleasure. Her entire posture shifted, and even as she relaxed, she began to stand taller as the tension that had been bowing her loosened. Her eyes shifted wildly, but not out of fear. "I see your colours, but… oh, my mind is my own again!"
"It's only temporary, but I can teach you how to do this yourself," Carice said to Svetlana alone, ignoring everyone else. Her face was pure empathy, leaving no question that she knew precisely how she was making Sveta feel.
"You can? I can… I can keep my gifts?"
"Yes, brave one. I cannot fathom how you endured this trip without knowing, but I will teach you all that I know. You won't have to live as I did for so long," Carice said, sounding as though she were unburdening herself of some great secret. The embers that Victoria had seen in her eyes in the Council Hall were now unquestionably flecks of gold, awoken to brightness and glowing with an inner fire all their own.
"Do I have to stay here, too?" Sveta asked. Then the realisation that she'd had to ask hit her, and tears of joy sprung from her wide-open eyes without needing an answer first.
