A Witch's Last Hope Read online

  A fantasy series that reels you in from the first page

  A Witch’s Last Hope

  Copyright © 2020 by Kelsey Elise Sparrow

  All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations em- bodied in critical articles or reviews.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organiza- tions, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  For information contact :

  [email protected]

  https://kelseyelisesparrowauthor.wordpress.com/

  Book by KES Imaginings, LLC

  Cover design by The Graphic Shed

  ISBN: 123456789

  First Edition: June 2020

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  To my biggest supporter

  Laugh

  As much as you breathe

  And

  Love

  As long as you

  Live

  ~ Author unknown

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  A Witch's Last Hope (Properties of Magic, #1)

  Sometimes a witch has got to do what a witch has got to do.

  Heart. Sass. Shock. And a little bit of c ... tick tock!

  The Links:

  The Stories:

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  Also By Kelsey Elise Sparrow

  Abigail Reynolds has instilled fear in most for centuries. After being alone for years, she decides she wants what she’s seen in her Crystals all to herself. What happens when that decision is taken away?

  An unlikely ally will step forward and help her in ways she never that possible.

  Tilda Gwen’s willingness to aid the enemy yields an opportunity no one could’ve seen coming.

  The witch and fairy embark on an adventure neither of them will forget.

  Find out how two enemies band together compete and unforgettable journey.

  Sometimes a witch has got to do what a witch has got to do.

  Prologue

  Abigail

  T

  ime can be taken for granted by the average mortal. Imagine how much those who have come to live for centuries must dismiss days, hours, years even. I was one who could claim guilt of being an immortal being who laughed in the face of the significance of time. If I knew then what I know now, I wouldn’t have been as neglectful or dismissive I have been. My time or the progression of it in my daily tasks have always been trivial matters.

  “I believe anyone who has lost time will understand the beauty of it. Wouldn’t you say the same, Sir Dominic?” I question the dove in the cage.

  The cage is copper trimmed in flecks of silver and gold. Each bar has the design and etchings of the vine of the tree I pulled them from to create the thing. Upon close inspection, tiny leaves and berries that can be seen. My guess is the knight with this space wasn’t expecting such a bird’s eye view when he stood admiring it a moment ago. It is no longer a concern of mine since I am not happy with said knight.

  Sir Dominic doesn’t look too thrilled about the predicament he’s in either. He’d probably be happier with the one he was just begging me to get him out of had he known this was going to be his fate.

  “I wonder what you’ll be tomorrow.” The good knight begins to flap his wings wildly in response to my words. His reaction causes me to laugh tauntingly at him. “Oh, I haven’t had something to laugh like that about in years. You know, there is a saying telling you to be careful what you wish for. You must’ve heard it. Hmm, you wouldn’t be able to tell me if you had or not right now anyway. The cat has your tongue. Quite literally.”

  Looking down at the fearsome gray, black, and white tabby cat with fierce golden eyes, Fiona, I smile at the distasteful look of her features.

  “Mistress, is this truly necessary to teach the both of us a lesson? I know this is my fate, but must you treat Edward in such a manner. Look at the state he’s in.”

  “Fiona, my dear, your begging or future pleading won’t change the fate of your forbidden lover. He was betrothed to someone else and was warned not to lie about his dealings with you. You’re set to have a litter and he’s going to roost in a nest of his own making. Rest assured, I’m taking it easy on him. No one told him to stick his beak in another’s cage. You were to marry a relative who expected one who knew nothing of relations of the marital bed prior to being married. That relative would have your head and mine if he knew what you’d done. Now pipe down there or things will get much worse than what they are.” Sweeping the train of my dress across the floor, I quickly flip it up onto my arm before looking back over my shoulder. “Besides, you told me his tongue was one of the best parts of his body. Now, you can take pleasure in knowing it’s all yours until he’s served his time.”

  A sudden flash of green light flooded the room causing all except me to hide their eyes. My reaction was much different. I rolled my eyes and groaned in frustration. Fiona’s head snapped up in reaction. In all the years she’d been with me, she’d never heard such a response fall from my lips. I said nothing. I simply turned to face the individual responsible for my frustration.

  “Isn’t that just the luck of the draw? Here you are handing out sentences and guess what I’m here for?” the intruder questioned.

  A man with green eyes, dark hair, and the build of an individual who knew the meaning of a hard day’s work is suddenly standing in my doorway. The hat he wears is made of multiple, shiny fabrics and appears to shift with his movements. There is an ease of movement to him despite his height. There is also an imminent strength oozing from his very being despite the fairly noticeable limp. Had he not intruded on my moment, I may have expressed an interest. Having disrespected me in my own home, I have no further interest in him. I shouldn’t anyway since we are seemingly related.

  Not bound by blood but by marriage.

  “I’m not playing that game with you today. You can take what you have and return to your sector, Xavier. I don’t want it,” I advise.

  In typical big brother, all-knowing, fashion, he continues as if I’ve not said a thing to him.

  “You shall. Things are to come that you need to settle before you can have what it is your mind and body desire. There are tasks to be completed and things to overcome before the heart of your truly one will be yours and this is done. The fate of yours will be the fate of hers if you choose not to follow through with what is put before you. For now, let us leave this place. For henceforth, I shall be seen as ‘your grace’ and nothing more.”

  “No,” I call even though I know it’s too late. It doesn’t stop my requests from leaving my mouth. “Not today. Xavier? Your grace. There are things to prepare.”

  Those are the last words I can recall before I’m transported to a place I’ve never seen before but will never ever forget. Never thought I know the day where I, a greatly-powerful and well-knowing witch, would become someone’s pet.

  Chapter 1

  The New

  Abigail

  T

  hrough the Mist of Majestic Wonders and the Woods of Mystifying Splendor lives a musical dove of magenta hue. It sings a song of calm. It is one that leads the others to maintain peace. There is one who hunts this beautiful creature. It is believed this amazing animal’s ability can be used to tame the fiercest warriors and bring a beast of a king to heel.

  This must be a dream. Whoever heard of a dove that sings and is magenta. All doves ar
e white. I may need to have my head examined. Wait ... I believe it may be happening now. No, not examining ... they are attempting to probe my mind.

  I’ve become a guinea pig of sorts for these insidious scumbags. They are so simple. They don’t realize who I am. They don’t know who it is they taunt with their trivial, menial abilities. I was bored. It’s the reason I remain and the reason I have allowed these ... lesser beings to keep me.

  I can clearly see the scene before me but know it is not the truth. I know this because the scene before me is the view from a home I have known for many years. Where I stand is not that place. It is a wooded land but it is not this wooded land. It is not my wooded land. Though I know this land all too well. It is a land I’ve visited before. This is known to me but there is so much that is unknown.

  I’m to find a very special being. Not one as special as the dove that may actually exist. The dove I seek is one that is equally as powerful as the dove in my mind’s eye. My recollections tell me the last time I darkened this forest, I was here with ill intentions. I was met with a not-so-welcoming greeting. Things are different this time. I’m not who I was before. I know because there is a fog over those memories. It appears to be cast over all of the ones that help me define who I was. It’s prohibiting me from knowing what I am to be right now.

  I can recall the moment with Xavier. The problem with it is it was ten years ago. Ten years have passed and many a thing should’ve happened but I can only recall pockets of action. I don’t remember much about the day that I landed in my woods but know that those woods are my own because of the familiarity I feel when I think of it. I’ve lost time. There is no question about that. I am aware of certain things. It isn’t much but it helps. What I know is I am a very powerful being. This much I do know.

  Things have happened to prove as much. My arrival to this place, for instance. I was in one place, walked through an opening of some sort, then I was here. Some of the fog clears as I walk through the opening. I didn’t think of where I wanted to go, I just knew, felt I needed to be elsewhere.

  I sense a difference in the very air around me as I instinctively duck. Looking up, I see what was intended to penetrate my flesh. Shaking my head, I step towards the tree where the object imbedded itself.

  “An arrow dipped in a deadly poison.” Sniffing the tip, I add a finer point to my deduction. “The oils of a Calleōs leaf. Original,” I state as I shed my cloak.

  My dark hair catches the new breeze as I release the length of it from its binding. It cascades down my back, draping across my shoulders and stopping just above the splitting of my lower cheeks. My normative dark brown eyes shift to a golden hazel as the red of my dress bleeds out to a soft peach color. The color is lovely yet one I don’t have in my color palette of my wardrobe. It screams soft, tender, and approachable. None of these things formally described the person I recall.

  The red personified my very nature. Dark, commanding, the base of true pain were all words or phrases that better described that person. Yet, here, I am not that. I am not the harbinger of darkness and cruelty. The invisible veil released me from that. It also hid me from the continuous probing that seemed to affect my mental state. The veil has provided me some mental peace and clarity.

  A tinkling laugh garners my attention. Turning, my focus becomes the buds of a large flower. The petals are orange but the center is a golden yellow. The buds that would normally bloom another appeared to move as the tinkling laughter pulled me closer.

  “Seedlings? It’s been ages since I’ve seen them.”

  “Yes, Simone. It has been many a moon since we’ve seen the golden hue of those eyes,” the voice was familiar and masculine.

  Within that voice, I found joy, happiness, peace, and another feeling that I couldn’t hold on to. Knowing I couldn’t hold that feeling brought tears to my eyes.

  “I ... I know that ... you. The voice ... that voice ... I recognize it but it hurts.”

  Doubling over in pain, I held my head in my hands. It radiate out from my mind and sent shockwaves through my body. It took everything in me to regain control and push the pain back. Looking down at myself, I say the dress had changed to my dark cloak that was lined with red and my nails had sharpened. They were the blood red color that matched the lining. Wetness was on my cheeks and the light around me had dimmed.

  It was if the woodland creatures were cowering in the wake of my momentary lapse in control. Given the being I was, I can understand why they were afraid.

  “I’m sorry,” his words were filled with the pain and anguish I’d felt moments ago. Those two words reflected every emotion I’d just pushed down. “I should’ve listened.”

  “Wait,” I called out but knew the man behind the most beautiful voice I’d heard was gone. “I’m sorry too. I don’t even know why but I am.”

  A hand cupped my cheek and I was filled with a calm I hadn’t felt since prior to my awakening in this living nightmare.

  “Look!” a small voice cried with an excitement that made me want to smile. “Her cries.”

  The little Seedling was a soft blue from head to toe. Her blue petals acted as wings that slowly lifted her to where I was sitting on one of the patches of grass that acted as a sort of pathway. It was one of five. This one would lead to the Botania lands. It was a beautiful place that housed a variation of plant life and the Sprouts along with the Seedlings just outside of Angel’s Cove.

  The littlest Seedling floated to just before her then touched her face. When her wings pulled her away, sure enough, in her hands she held a teardrop. Next to her, a pale pink Seedling drew near and came away with two drops in his hands. The two parted when the whispers from the others reached their ears. I’d heard them too. I’d seen the light. They both offered me a smile before flying back to their family and friends.

  Standing, I watched as the red light floated before landing on a branch. A flash of red filled the tree then a fairy with a crown appeared.

  “Gail, why are you in our lands? You promised not to return again unless beckoned.” She tilted her head slightly before quickly correcting her position. “It is nice to see you in a softer tone with a lighter coloring. Although, hmm, your mind seems to be scattered and your body no longer yours alone.”

  I wanted to move my hand but instinctively knew that it would be perceived the wrong way. It would be better not to have any sudden movements on my part. I wasn’t in complete control. The fact that my clothing and eyes were changing of their free will was a perfect example of my ineffectiveness with my powers at the moment.

  “Queen Katia, please, I beg of you. Help me, old friend.

  Chapter 2

  The Préma Castle

  The First

  M

  any star rises ago, three younglings ran and played in the gardens of their home. To many this home was the castle which housed the royal family. The Priätés family ruled the kingdom of La Rue but called Ab Arce Verebatur, from the castle feared or the feared castle, their home. The castle was feared because of the ruling king and his often times cold hearted queen. Her children knew none of her coldness nor the bitter fear that plagued the kingdom. In those days they only knew the love that surrounded them as they play one with another.

  The sun shone brightly as they danced and sang never knowing all around them darkness surrounded. For these children knew not of the power that protected them and bound others. Their castle basked in the light of day as a perpetual night ruled the surrounding. The children sang and reveled in each other’s laughter as the people felt the foot of power resting on their shoulders and backs.

  A game of chase was being played as the birds sang a song of merriment in the background. The elder was chasing and seeking to find his two younger siblings when he suddenly stood tall. His grey eyes glowed, an eerie pale blue light emanated from them as stood completely still. His gaze went to his mother and he spoke words he’d never heard.

  His mother’s body slammed into the seat of her throne before
she shook her head. Blinking rapidly, she took in her surroundings as if for the first time. Her gaze swung from the scene of her children playing before her to the seat where her beloved and now known oppressor sat. Quickly, she gathered herself and murmured a few words before pressing her hands out before her. Unbeknownst to her, her son was mimicking her actions.

  A wave of power went out before them, casting the darkness away from the kingdom.

  Chapter 3

  The Fairy

  Abigail

  W

  ell, this is going to be fun,” I mutter to myself as I stand outside the one place I promised myself I’d not enter ever again. “It’s just a tavern. You can walk in there, handle your business, and then move on without incident.”

  With a wave of my hand, I change the garment from the pale peach item to a deep, sapphire blue robe with a matching gown beneath it. This feeling of unease was a new one for me. I tended to remain calm and not allow anything to get to me. It’s not like I recalled whatever it was that happened the last time I was here, but something about the place made me ... nervous.

  Once again, I wished my mind would fix itself or I could magyck it back to working order. Nothing I’d tried so far had gotten me there. Plus, the queen said this was the only way to get me back in working order. Nothing about this whole process made me happy or had me feeling completely settled about anything. Being here ramped up the apprehension I’ve felt about everything that has happened to since my eyes opened a few days ago.

  “It’s said that behind every good witch there is an even better fairy.”

  “Yes, probably one who wants to siphon off the fairy’s magyck.”

  “That’s not what I want at all.”

  The little fairy in her rose-colored ensemble looks me up and down before squeaking out an, “Oh. You want me to be your conscience. Why? Why me?”

  My eyes dart around the room and I notice a few sets of prying eyes quickly look away.