Free Terms of Surrender by Craig Schaefer

Church for
months
.”
    Angry mutters and whispers of disbelief spread across the clearing like a slowly building tide. Condemning eyes fell upon Nessa, who merely raised her chin in defiance.
    Mari realized now, with Vassili and Despina on one side and Moth and Ant on the other, that Nessa had deliberately quarantined her supporters. Gathering them all, in a ragged line, at the clearing’s edge.
    Fox beamed triumphant as he lectured the coven. “There is only one penalty for betraying our trust. Only one punishment worthy of such gross incompetence. Dire Mother, will you speak the price?”
    The graveyard whisper from the tomb door drifted over the gathering, a wisp of cremation smoke in every ear.
    “
Death
.”
    The rest of the coven clustered at Fox’s back, turning to face Nessa. Two armies, squaring off across the dark, wet grass. Mari counted bodies. They were outnumbered, six against at least thirty. Mari saw Hedy and Giorgio on the other side, both of them looking pained but neither one daring to cross over.
    “Before we carry out our Dire Mother’s sentence,” Fox said, “would the condemned like to speak her final words?”
    Nessa took a step forward and fixed her owl mask over her face.
    “I have but one word. One word for the ‘Dire Mother.’ One word for you, Fox. One word for you all.” She flung out her hand, pointing an accusing finger at the tomb.
“Fraud
.”
    A rumbling echoed from the tomb like falling rocks, sounding over the shocked murmurs from the crowd.
    “Let’s start with you, then,” Nessa said, her piercing gaze fixed on the tomb door. “Dire Mother? A mother nurtures. A mother teaches and disciplines. A mother
leads
. You? You’re just a rotten parasite who takes our tributes and gives nothing in return. Lead us to Wisdom’s Grave? Ha! You don’t even know where to start looking. The best thing you could ever do is die and pass your title to
me
.”
    The Dire’s reply came on a gust of foul-smelling wind. “
Kill her
.”
    Nobody on Fox’s side moved. Not yet. None of them wanted to be the first to try.
    “And as for the lot of you,” Nessa said, flaring out her feathered cloak and taking in the gathering with a sweep of her hand, “
pathetic
. I look upon you and I see cowards and fools, grasping at venal wealth and turning your backs on our legacy. Do you know that in Vel Hult parents teach their children to avoid the woods by night, warning that the Shrike will swoop down from the trees and gobble them up?”
    Despina preened, eyes bright behind her mask.
    “Or,” Nessa went on, “that there are parts of Belle Terre where the sight of a horned owl is considered a portent of doom? We are
witches
. We are meant to be
feared
. To be the bearers of dark truths and lessons paid for in blood and tears. To be the nightmare at the heart of the fairy tale. But who fears the lot of you, hmm? Nobody. Nobody at all.”
    Fox balled his hands into frustrated fists. “You should fear us, Owl. You’re looking at your death.”
    Nessa threw back her head and let out a delighted cackle.
    “I’m looking at counterfeits! Pretenders and poseurs who don’t deserve to be called witches, and who I’ve tolerated for far too long. But I can be generous, and so I’ll grant you all a choice. All but
you
, Fox, because you’re beyond redemption.”
    She took in the crowd, her gaze falling upon every face and mask turned against her.
    “As of now,” Nessa said, “this coven is
mine
. Bend your knee to me, acknowledge me as the true Dire Mother, and I will forgive you your failures. I will teach you, and I will burn away your weakness and perfect your darkness. However, if anyone here refuses to submit? I will track you down, to the ends of the world if I must, and exterminate you like the embarrassing vermin you are.”
    Fox drew a dagger from his belt, shouting as he took a step forward, urging the others to follow.
    “What are you going to do, Owl? You’re outnumbered more than