Veronica lay dying on the floor of the antechamber, blood leaking and slowly flowing out of her. Two-thirds of her coven slaughtered and her daughter now missing. She was weak…Fragile…Vulnerable…mostly violated. It didn’t matter anymore. It was the least of her worries. She felt like a failure for not protecting her people. They lay dead because of her and herself on the way due to the fact the hunters did something so she couldn’t heal.

They came while the coven slumbered. It was midday, the sun was at its
and the coven at its weakest. They ambushed them and the coven and fought back. It was a massacre. It was too late to dwell on what could have been, too late to try and displace blame. She had to heal so she could track down her daughter and find her before the hunters did.
Veronika lay there with her eyes closed, slowing her heart rate down so she could conserve energy. Seconds passed, minutes even, then hours. No sound or movement was made anywhere. She prayed that her daughter, the only thing she cherished in life, had escaped the hunters, and reached the other Coven. She tried Calling out to her telepathically. The connection was weak, fuzzy even, but she had reached her. The visions became sporadic and unclear.

It showed trees, passing trees that became a blur, soft white powder that blanketed the ground. The faint sound of barking dogs echoed in the background of the mountain forest. She was on the run. Anise was moving fast. It was her eyes that Veronika now was looking through.

“My Child. “Veronika whispered. She didn’t know if the connection was strong enough for Anise to hear her. “Keep running as fast as you can. Don’t stop. Don’t look back.” Veronika began coughing up blood, her time was near soon.

“If you can hear me, my child, you must reach the Morgontivich Covenant. Show th—” She had another coughing fit. “Show them the signet. They will shelter you.” She explained.

“Mother.”Anise cried back breathlessly.

Veronika smiled for some unknown reason. “I love you, my child.”

Veronika cut off the connection between them. She lay unafraid in the silent darkness. She closed her eyes, too heavy to keep open, and began to slow her heartbeat to conserve what energy she had left. She couldn’t bear that she was leaving her daughter alone and unprotected. Soon she was going to die; die alone with the burden of pain.