I posted this once before, but it was a while ago, and it has gone through many revisions since then.
Prologue
The black-hooded man opened the door to the vast chamber. It only took a moment for his trained eye to take in the details of the workroom: the vials of multi-colored fluids, the strange herbs, the crates stacked here and there, some almost to the ceiling. The candles were placed around the dark, cavernous room to give off the best light possible, but since this hidden laboratory was several hundred feet underground, their effectiveness was limited. A strange scent caught the man’s attention as he entered, and a sinister smile crossed his bearded face.
The various clusters of women, some chanting, some grinding on their mortars and pestles, some meditating, all stopped when the door opened. All looked up to see who dared to disturb them, and just as quickly looked away.
All except one. She looked directly at the dark man as he swaggered in, for it was she who the Dark Man had come to see. It was she who would be so richly rewarded for succeeding where so many others had failed. She, Sari Prien, Grandmistress of Witchcraft, who would sit at her Lord’s side and rule Britannia with him. Their eyes met, and Prien stepped forward.
“My Lord, it is nearly completed,â€