Neophyte

by T. D. McMichael

  “The Rota...,” I said.

  “Pardon?”

  “I got stuffed down it. It’s what unwed mothers used to throw their babies into,” I said, “like a box at a kennel. Who knew I would one day be an animal, too? Maybe they were right to get rid of me. But then I got sent off to St. Martley’s, and they got killed, my parents did...”

  “Which is the part I don’t understand,” said Selwyn. “But maybe they do.” He nodded his head at the movie theater. “They remember everything. I think they would remember this too. After all, the Dioscuri were there.”

  “Pardon?”

  Selwyn reached into his pocket. When he withdrew his hand, he was holding on to a large red Wiccan marker, with a six written on it.

  “You had a marker,” I said, excited and then sad––it was the sixth pick, the one that had chosen me.

  “Yes,” he said. “I held this marker, but I didn’t get a chance to use it. I wasn’t afforded an opportunity, really, to select you.”

  “Me?” I said. I couldn’t breathe. If only he had gotten to me sooner. Veruschka Ravenseal wouldn’t have her hooks in me now.

  “She’s waiting for me, Selwyn. Veruschka. And she’s in with the Master House. I can feel it. I’m... a Ravenseal now,” I said.

  At the mentioning of the Master House, his teeth had flashed. He had to bite back some acid. They were inordinately large, his panther teeth. “You’re not,” he said. “...A Ravenseal––” when I didn’t look like I understood. I think he could see it, because he said, “Halsey, you don’t seem to understand what I’m doing here. I came here to select you. This marker is––”

  “But it’s too late,” I said. “And I don’t even know which House you are with, Selwyn.”

  He laughed. “Don’t you?” he said. “For being so clever, you really don’t have a clue, do you?”

  “Wait––you’re not like my brother or something, are you?” I said. “Because that would really suck.”

  He blew a strand of hair out of his face and shook his head. “No,” he said. He seemed to be sad about something though.

  “Then what?” I said.

  Selwyn paced. He was trying to reveal things to me slowly. He didn’t just realize I could be told everything. Finally, he stopped, and he said, “May I see your Wiccan Mark, please?”

  I showed him. After all, he had shown me his transformation––that was something not even Ballard had ever done.

  “As I suspected,” he said. “You have your mother’s Mark.”

  “I do?” I said. Standing there, I realized it was true. I had seen it before. She, Kinsey Rookmaaker, had drawn it in her copy of the Magus Codex, which was now my copy. I had not put the two together until now. I was still so flushed with having my Mark, that I hadn’t realized my mother had had the identical same one. It was like my eyes were opened for the very first time... to my destiny, if I had one... I had her Mark. And I also had her Book. It felt special...

  “Hers was a flower also. An orchid, if I recall,” said Selwyn. “It was very beautiful.”

  I nodded. But he did not go on. Instead we stood like that for some time. Finally, he said, “I notice that you notice that I call you sometimes by your full Wiccan Name, which is Halsey Rookmaaker.”

  “Yeah, and it’s annoying,” I said. “You’re not the only one, either. Lots of people do it. I wish they would stop.”

  Why did I get the sense that he was leading me somewhere? That Selwyn was trying to show me something?

  “Halsey, the reason you have a last name, and others do not,” he said, “is because you were born into a Wiccan Household, and we remember that. We honor it. It gives you status. Whether fair or otherwise.”

  “It’s totally unfair,” I said. I didn’t need to motion for him to continue. Selwyn went on anyway.

  “If I may,” I said. He took the red marker. “The reason you weren’t selected first––or fifth or even third or second––or fourth,” he winked at me, “was in honor of your parents.”

  “What do you mean?” I said.

  “Surely they must have gasped when your name was called––the people up in the stands, all of the witches and wizards?” Selwyn asked.

  I nodded. “Vittoria was really upset,” I said. “She thought Veruschka was going to pick her. In fact, do you know if Ravenseal had the first pick, because it seemed to really surprise Vittoria? She had intimated, by look, and so forth, and by being mean, that she was destined for their House, and to be the first pick. Instead, she’s off. No one picked her. And with you not there, I just realized, Pendderwenn would have had a pick.... He needn’t have left...”

  “Well, I don’t know about that,” said Selwyn. “But this marker is still valid. I’m sure of it. There can be no denying it. After all... ––Maybe that is what got him killed.”

  But my mind was working on something else. Some other idea.

  “Your Virtue isn’t Malleability, is it?” I said.

  Selwyn looked surprised. “How did you know that?” he said. He pulled his sleeve back and showed me. It was faint, but it was there. Like it could be anything. Which I supposed helped him change. To be malleable.

  “Lucky guess, I suppose. People don’t know you can turn into a cat, do they?” I said. I crossed my fingers behind my back, looking at him.

  “Some people do,” he said.

  “Does Veruschka? Do the twins?” I asked.

  “I would think,” said Selwyn, “that anything Veruschka knows the twins must also know. You saw her cozy up to them. It’s only a matter of time before she becomes one of them––perhaps she’ll have red eyes then too.”

  I expelled my breath, exasperated. It fogged before my face.

  “One last question. Before I completely flip,” I said. “What happened to you? Because the night of the party, you were all clean shaven, and now...” I looked at his scruffy-looking clothing and his stubbly chin, “...you’re not.”

  Selwyn said, “I went to go investigate the Lenoir––and I got trapped––somewhere. It was my own fault. But I’m out now. And we can right this. You don’t have to go to Ravenseal...”

  He was trying to get me to see reason. The truth. That I was free.

  “But don’t you see,” I said, “the shenanigans––”

  I looked over at the place where the Dioscuri were at; I thought I had heard something shriek or something. But maybe it was just the wind. It had started to gust.

  “If Veruschka traded away her first pick, and you just happened to go missing,” I said, “I mean to say, the two events are awfully coincidental, don’t you think? And if she knows that you’re a panther...”

  “She doesn’t; but the twins do,” said Selwyn.

  “Then it’s them. It has to be. They’re––setting you up, or something. The twins found black hairs, Selwyn, on Mr. Pendderwenn’s body. Your black hairs.”

  The whole thing gave me an uneasy feeling.

  “They know you can transform,” I said. “They’re trying to pin his murder on you. What slashed Pendderwenn up, anyway...?

  Selwyn looked, I thought, significantly, when he turned to stare at the movie theater, once more.

  “But I thought they were incorporeal,” I said, “that the Dioscuri could not be touched... or do the touching...”

  “What do you know about them?” he asked.

  “I know that they have a hive mind, whatever that means,” I said, “and that they remember things.”

  “Do you know what the Dioscuri are?” said Selwyn.

  “I don’t. But if they have long memories, they must be humans––and live for a long time. Are they Seers?” I said.

  “The Dioscuri are people. Terrible people. I can’t say any more at this time. But here’s the thing––and this is the whole point––” said Selwyn. “When a coven Hives, breaks away from its parent coven, a whole host of things must happen––forms must be filled out and so forth. It is presided over by the Master House. It is almost their only f
unction. To oversee Hiving. They send skilled Readers. The Dioscuri.”

  “You mean the twins and the Dioscuri and the Master House––” I said.

  “They’re all interrelated,” said Selwyn. “That’s right. But it’s more complicated than that. If you will follow me?”

  “But I can’t––we can’t go in there. They’re sick. They do things––to your mind, Selwyn,” I said. “I’ve had experiences. I saw them in Lennox’s dreams, his memories, the things he agonized over. They were disgusting, foul, awful. They scared the you-know-what out of me. I can’t go in there. I can’t.”

  But Selwyn had a card to play, the red marker. He was clutching it in his hand. “I thought you might feel that way,” he said. “So I will tell you everything that I know. Then can we go?”

  I shook my head. “No,” I said. “Besides, that depends.”

  “On what?” he said.

  “Even Maria was afraid of them, Selwyn,” I said. “I saw her. The Dioscuri are terrible. She ran away. Asher has been helping me scry.”

  “Has he?” Selwyn said.

  “It’s what I’ve been doing unknowingly for the last four months, anyway. Seeing things. Hearing voices. I saw you. At least, I think it was you. You’ve been stalking me,” I said.

  “But only to protect you,” said Selwyn. He didn’t show an ounce of remorse.

  “And that’s another thing. I think you are supposed to protect me, or, well, be my Protector. There are things––they’re after me, Selwyn, the Dioscuri. I’m almost certain of it,” I said.

  But he just shook his head. “They can’t affect you,” he said. “I mean, they can affect you, but not in that way. They can’t touch you. You don’t have to worry about them.”

  “But my mind, Selwyn, I don’t want them penetrating my mind,” I said.

  I was almost in a panic; I really didn’t want to go into the movie theater. I wanted to just hop on my Gambalunga and get out of Rome. Leave Europe. Get away from it all. The Dioscuri... The Lenoir... The other Wiccans...

  But Selwyn wouldn’t hear of it. He was adamant. “We need to go in there,” he said. “I need to find out what happened to your parents. And so do you. And I need to tell you the rest of my story...”

  I listened for him to go on.

  “Seventeen years ago, two things happened. Your parents were killed. That’s one. And I think I know why. It’s because of the other thing that happened, Halsey Rookmaaker. The second part. They wouldn’t become a part of Ravenseal. Which is another thing you two have in common, your mother and yourself, besides your Wiccan Mark. She was adamant. She insisted they hive. Your parents were part of Pendderwenn House, you see. But with you in the mix that made thirteen. True, you weren’t Initiated yet, but you had been wiccaned. I was there at your true Wiccaning. It’s like a baptism for magical spirits; and you are one. Max had Initiated me. He was one of the most powerful Wiccans I ever knew––a true third. Something Julius couldn’t stand. It was an ill-disguised resentment that Pendderwenn was a puppet Head. A flunky of Ravenseal. Just Adept. And a man to boot. That had only happened one time before. Oh, he wanted his own House, all right, but Julius didn’t have the skill to lead it. When suddenly the Rookmaakers wanted out. But the rules must be obeyed and the Master House sent for. They came, the Master House. Along with the Dioscuri. The twins okayed the Hiving. They read your parents’ minds.”

  “Those two monsters violated my parents’ minds?” I said. “No wonder they looked at me the way they did. They know something, Selwyn. The twins know something. Something I need to know. Or I don’t know.”

  “Your parents were both fledged, Halsey, and in the primes of their lives. It would be an autonomous coven, led by your mother. A new Wiccan House. Veruschka was furious. So were the Dioscuri. But rules were rules, and the Rookmaakers had the approval of the Master House.”

  “But what happened to them?” I said. “My parents, I mean.”

  Selwyn nearly pulled out his hair. “I don’t know,” he said. “But I had my orders. Your father had given them to me. So I stuffed you in the place that would seal the deal. I put you in the rota myself. It was me,” he said.

  “I stuffed you off to St. Martley’s, but not before the event, Halsey–– And not before this–– This marker––” he said. “This marker is your birthright. It is what I came back to give to you––and what I will stay for, unless you cannot bear the sight of me; in which case, I understand. This Marker can only be given to a House. And, as your surname is something you detest, or at least don’t like people calling you, I thought you should know why they do. This marker, Halsey, is your marker. If you will, it has your name on it. It is the marker that was awarded to the House of which I am the sole surviving member. I have been waiting for seventeen years to give it to you. It is your parents’ marker, and I think, if they were here now, they would want me to use it on you. Even if someone else has a prior claim this marker transcends their own, it supersedes it. It is so powerful, that claim, that everyone else knew not to touch you. But Ravenseal has always been afflicted by ignorance and arrogance and a willful disregard of the feelings of others. This Marker, Halsey, belongs to your parents’ House––a House which, upon a time, was here in Rome. It belongs to House Rookmaaker.”

  My head exploded.

  “Now will you come with me into the hive of those who didn’t want your parents to Hive, and figure out why the Dioscuri were so against a true third-level Wiccan running her own House, here in Rome?”

  I didn’t know what to say. I nodded. I was an original member of House Rookmaaker. It was my House. My family. Not House Ravenseal. My obligation to Veruschka vanished on the spot.

  I had listened to Selwyn, angry and in awe of this great secret, which had been kept from me. Perhaps even Mistress Genevieve knew; if so, she had never told me... And Veruschka Ravenseal had picked me anyway. That bitch. I longed to get back at her. I wondered what her angle was––or if Veruschka just prided herself on being an evil old cow. One thing was certain. On the doorstep, as I was, I had to find out, to know. Selwyn beckoned me forward. He had that magical grin again––we were on our way. Except now that I saw it, now that I knew I was going in there, my footsteps felt heavy. What was so evil that it couldn’t even be shown in a memory?

  It was the effect of the Dioscuri. I knew that now. They did... something... to people... I wanted to know what.

  Securing my hood about myself, I went to meet them.

  Chapter 26 – Them

  One thing was bothering me, or at least one thing that needed to be resolved before we went in there. Actually, two things––a two-parter. “Selwyn, if you and I and my parents were once coven members––and we are again, I agree––because I’ll never join Ravenseal,” I said. “When they died...”

  Selwyn said, “I wandered. I sought things out for myself. I am roughly fledged. Neither a neophyte nor adept. I never went through any of the phases of a true Wiccan Fledged. Phases you yourself must go through, if you will.”

  “Thus your pantherness,” I said. Selwyn was an eclectic supernatural. They sometimes had awesome powers.

  “An old shaman in Florida taught me how to commune with animal spirits. It is an interesting branch of magic traditional Wicca-craft shuns. I do not mourn never having gone to school––From the invitation, to being read, and whatnot, the steps along the path to becoming wiccaned. In fact, I am proud of myself. I think Maximilian would be too. He didn’t believe in the Houses. He thought Wicca should be taught freely––and all Wiccans nurtured. That ideas should be shared. Which is why he adopted me. I come from nowhere, Halsey. Max rescued me. He pulled me out of the rota before he put you in it. But ask yourself this: if he would go so far as to raise someone who was not his own blood, imagine how much he must have loved you? You are your parents, I think. I know that we can find their House, if we look hard enough...”

  A tiny tear was at the corner of my eye. Hearing this, it was like it was really real. Like
my parents had really been killed.

  “That’s––” I didn’t have the words. “Selwyn, that’s exactly what I was going to talk to you about. I got a letter from Veruschka Ravenseal, yeah. Guess what she said?”

  He made to answer, but I shut him up. “She said I would be expected at her home, Selwyn––as in a physical address. The people I really want to talk with are the twins, but I know they will never tell me anything. And I also know they aren’t really people, they’re something else. Itses.” I said. “House Rookmaaker must be a physical address. Otherwise, those two blood-eyed skull-jackers would never have allowed my parents to Hive. You need a home if you’re going to have a House.”

  Selwyn nodded. “My thoughts exactly,” he said.

  “We need to go see what the Dioscuri know,” I said.

  We turned to go into the movie theater.

  I needed to scry these bastards... To look into the Dioscuri. Unfortunately, the old place was boarded up.

  Selwyn told me not to worry about it. I watched in amazement as only his paw appeared––he manifested it single-handedly. He must have had amazing skill as a Shifter. He was holding it like a cat claw. “Selwyn...” I said.

  “I needed you to come with me,” he said. “Besides, I didn’t kill that man. I don’t use my powers for evil. Unless I want them revisited upon me elevenfold, remember?”

  “The Wiccan Rede,” I said.

  “I believe in bad karma,” said Selwyn. “That your comeuppance cannot be escaped. Whoever did this to your parents will find that out. I promise you.”

  He clawed at two of the boards, prying one of them loose. His long cat nail gouged into the wood. He stuck his tongue out.

  I looked at the movie theater. It was decrepit, rundown, ancient-looking. Like all Rome.

  “These monsters have not been here in years,” he said. “Since your parents died.” A strange aura hung about the place. “Then they slunk off with their masters. The Dioscuri work for the Master House. They are its servants. Which is why, if we are going to find out what happened, this is the perfect time. Prague is a fortress. Lux’s scars attest to that. The Dioscuri will soon be back there, and then we won’t see them again, until there is a war. And in that conflict, Halsey, they would fight for the strongest side. Their own.”