Order of The Rose: Forsaken Petal by Joshua Hoyt

night?”
    “ I’ve been thinking about that, and it doesn’t make much sense. The symbol of the red dragon comes from a country on the other side of the sea. The thing about it is that they would have had to of traveled a long ways and to attack a councilman would cause war. Not sure what to make of it but they must have been pretty desperate.”
    They entered a room filled with book cases that went from floor to ceiling. A circular ramp went up to a second floor and then back down in a wide arch. There was a table and chairs in the middle of the bottom floor under the stairs. On the top floor Aithnea sat in an overstuffed chair with her feet up on a table reading a book with an old decaying cover.
    Cody headed up the ramp. “Hi Aithnea, I thought you were headed off to bed.”
    Aithnea looked up from her book, “I wasn’t tired so I decided to read for a little longer,” she responded coolly.
    Cody sat down opposite her. “Mind if we join you for awhile, we’re not tired either.”
    Tom sat down into a third chair as she started to reply. She stopped. “I guess not,” Aithnea said, returning to her book.
    “So what are you reading there?” Cody asked.
    “ It’s called ‘The Lore and Magic of Deidra Blackthorn,’” Aithnea responded without looking up from the book.
    “ Hmmm, sounds interesting, what’s it about?”
    Aithnea put the book down on her lap and sighed. “It’s about the lore and magic of Deidra Blackthorn.”
    “Ohhh, that explains it very clearly, right Tom?” Cody looked over at Tom and smiled.
    Tom squirmed not wanting to get into the middle of it. “uhm.”
    Cody snickered and looked back at Aithnea who was glaring at him. “So what is it about, give us some of the details?”
    “ It’s just a book about a witch called Deidra and the different incantations that she used,” Aithnea explained.
    Cody leaned a little forward, “So, are all witches evil, or are there good ones too?”
    “Let’s see,” Aithnea said as she put her finger to her chin. “The first and only witch I met was the one that trapped us in the mansion. So they all seem pretty evil to me.”
    “ No. Seriously, are witches evil and enchantresses good? What’s the difference between the two?” Cody asked.
    He was now sitting forward in his chair staring intently at Aithnea. Aithnea looked at Cody and relaxed her hold on the book. “Well, witches and enchantresses gain their power from different sources. When Kristiana and I use our power, it comes from inside of us; we lose part of ourselves when we cast a spell. Witches, on the other hand, draw their power from those around them; it’s as if they are sucking life out of others to cast their spells.”
    Cody nodded and Tom wondered what would have happened if Kristiana had not been at the mansion.
    Aithnea said, “In my opinion, witches are evil because they destroy others for their own purposes. But enchantresses have to sacrifice some of their self to perform magic and to cast their spells. Does that make sense?”
    “ Yes. I see what you are saying, but what if a person was willingly giving you life force to use, would that make you a witch?” Cody asked.
    Aithnea paused before responding, “Well, enchantresses can only pull additional energy from their counterpart. Witches make pacts with the dark one so that they are able to draw power from those that surround them.”
    Aithnea leaned forward and placed the book on the end table next to her chair. “I will have to gain a counterpart to truly be able to use my full power. Witches have to sacrifice others for their power. I have heard that they will actually kidnap young children to gain even more power.”
    “ What about men, can they become witches or enchantresses?” Tom asked quietly.
    Aithnea smiled at Tom. “It’s impossible. I mean, that is, I have never heard of one.” Aithnea lowered her eyes. “Actually, now that I think about it, I was reading a passage in an old book one time. It