by Ann Mayburn
“Uh—what?”
“Demons,” Grace whispered and goosebumps shivered up my arms.
“Demons?” I tried to sound like I was scoffing, but tears burned my eyes as I choked out, “Demons aren’t real.”
“Darlin’ girl,” Judy closed her eyes. “Considering you almost got taken by one, you better believe demons are real. They just been trapped in their own dimension for a long, long, long time—only able to get through once in a while when someone dumb enough to seek them out finds a way part the veil.”
“Why would anyone seek out a demon?”
Grace gripped her hands into fists so hard her knuckles cracked. “Because they’re selfish, foolish, unbelievably delusional morons who are trying to get us all killed. There are stories about demons granting people unlimited powers, things forbidden by the rules of our universe. They’re from a different dimension, one that doesn’t obey the laws of our reality. For example, the demon appearing in the middle of the sky out of literally nowhere. Someone gave it the ability to do that, and someone is responsible for the deaths of all those innocent people. If it wasn’t for Judy defeating it and sending it back through the veil, it could have snatched tens of thousands of people.”
“Where was it taking them?”
“Through the veil, to its dimension.”
“Why?”
“To feed.”
“Mother Goddess have mercy,” I whispered as I made the sign of the pentagram on my chest. “They eat us?”
“They’re creatures of energy, and our bodies run on an electrical system. They basically suck the life from their prey, leaving only a husk behind that soon turns to dust.”
“Wait—you said temporarily defeated. It looked to me like Judy slayed that shit.”
“I merely banished it,” Judy kept her eyes closed, the pulse slowly beating in her neck. “Can’t kill energy, only change its shape.”
“I’m so confused.”
“I know it’s a lot to take in, but you need to understand a few things.” Grace titled her head, her inhuman gaze focused solely on me. “The veil between the spirit worlds is lessening. The Coven is doing its best to maintain the balance, but our numbers are one quarter of what they used to be, and we’re losing. We need the shifters help, but the anti-shifter sentiment has become so ingrained over the generations that we’re choking on our own hate, our own arrogance. We need you. When the Great Mother made the witches, it was to guard the element of Spirit, not rule all the elements. Unfortunately, we’ve become complacent, bloated on our past victories. We were so sure the veil would never tear, and the monsters our ancestors had vanquished would stay gone forever. When the signs began to appear, we still hesitated, and now it may be too late. Though I’m sure they’ll find some way to play this sky demon incident off so it doesn’t harm the Coven’s all-important reputation, this is too big to ignore.”
Judy grunted. “Already got a weatherman sayin’ it was a micro-burst, or downdraft, or some crazy shit. I could practically see the Coven’s spells working during the news, making him say what they wanted.”
My jaw dropped, then I asked, “They can do that?”
Grace tilted her head in confusion. “Of course. Witches control what the world sees. We maintain the illusion.”
“That’s crazy! People were filming all over the place, how are the witches going to stop everyone from uploading their videos?”
Giving a hard grunt, Judy sat up a little higher in her chair. “We’re kinda lucky on that account. Demons screw up recording devices for some reason, and mess with electrical systems. Even in this day of cell phone videos everywhere, you won’t find footage of a demon. So far, they’ve been impossible to catch on any type of recording device. Best we can do is sketches and paintings. So even the humans that are mentally strong enough to resist the witch’s illusion and report what really happened, well, they’ll never find anyone who will believe them. They probably won’t even believe themselves. Humans see odd things all the time, but are very good at rationalizing it away.”
“Great Goddess,” I muttered as I closed my eyes. “Is anything real? Has my whole life up to this point been a lie?”
“Probably,” Judy said with a tired laugh.
Grace, however, wasn’t smiling when she said, “You want to know the truth? That thing you saw in the sky today? The entity with the tentacles that took and killed all those poor people? That destroyed families before our very eyes? It came from a hole between our world, one of order and love, to a world of chaos and pain. With the Coven being weakened from within by political infighting, but still doing its best to cover up how bad things are…well, nobody really paid attention until it was too late. The barriers began to fail and demons began to come through.” She leaned forward, her hair moving in a wind I didn’t feel. “Demons like the abomination that I think touched you in the subway. I believe you called him Mr. Creepy Hands?”
“How the fuck did you know that?”
“You talked to your friend Diana about it and her walls held the memory of your words.”
“What. The. Fuck.”
“Don’t worry, not everyone can hear the walls speak. In fact, it’s usually only a gift wise women inherit. Having the skill is just another one of my gifts that make me a freak among witches.”
“They call you a freak?”
The soft wind that only seemed to exist around Grace had her hair waving about again. “Freak is one of the nicer things. Do not mistake me for an ordinary witch, Synthia. The gifts the Goddess has given me are powerful, but they come at a great price.”
Judy wearily lifted her hand, making a weaving motion in the air. “Among other things, Grace can also see the threads of fate. A rare talent, one not witnessed in many generations.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.” She lifted her fingers, copying Judy’s weaving hand motion. “I can see the threads of fate spinning out before me like a living tapestry if I focus the right way. I can see where threads should go, and what they should do in order to get certain results. I can also see how you influence others around you, and Synthia, you have the threads of a lot of peoples’ lives in your hands. Or at least you will in the near future.”
“So you can predict the future?”
“Not quite. I know a few possible futures. Free will allows people to change the course of their fate, to alter it. I can only see what is likely to happen if certain conditions are met. I see possibilities. Some are far stronger than others, like the blaze of the sun compared to a candle. When I see one of those fiery threads, I know those possibilities have a 99% chance of coming true.”
“That’s crazy. How do you deal with knowing all of that?”
“It’s not easy,” a strange streak of pink floated over her face, and I realized it was the witch version of a blush. “It took me a long time to get a handle on it. It didn’t hit until I was five, and when it did I couldn’t deal with it. I went mad for a while, truly mad. My mind was lost for years and I was considered a danger to everyone around me because of my growing powers. By the time I was fourteen I’d gotten control of myself, but by then it was too late. I was forever labeled a monster, but I’m too powerful for the Coven to ignore. Most people are afraid of me, they think I’m still crazy. I’m not. I just saw things a child could have no hope of comprehending.”
The pain of her past was still so very real, and I couldn’t help but hug her. I’d been in her shoes, understood what it was like to have everyone treat you like you’re an outcast. Not in the terrible way that Grace had experienced, but my empathy for her was strong. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that. I know how it feels.”
“Yes,” Grace sat back in her chair as I returned to mine. “You were bullied in high school, wasn’t it?”
“How do you know? Did you read my mind?”
“No, nothing like that. That prank that those evil bitches pulled on you, the one where you almost got killed? It made the news. When Judy contacte
d me about the incident on the Metro I did a quick Google search and it came up.”
My stomach sank. Even though I knew on a mature level I didn’t deserve to be abused like I had been, a small insecure part of me would always wonder if people would think I was a loser. That because I’d been such a big nerd when I was a kid, I was someone they wouldn’t want to be friends with now. I hated feeling like that, hated my past having that kind of power over me, but it was like a trigger. I’d think about my last year of high school and those terrible memories still had the power to hurt.
“Margaret’s almost back,” Judy muttered. “I’ve stalled her for a second, but she’s almost here.”
“Take my hand,” Grace urged, snapping me out of my morose thoughts.
My hyena was a little hesitant, but she scented no deceit or malice on Grace, only sincerity and, oddly enough, hope.
She clasped my hand in hers and I gasped as icy magic rushed through my veins like cold fire. “I pledge my loyalty to you, Synthia, daughter of Carol, granddaughter of Maureen. I will value our friendship and provide you with knowledge when it you need it, and I will always shelter you and yours from the storms to come.”
Not sure what I should say back, I stammered out, “Thanks?”
“Accept her oath,” Judy muttered.
“I accept your oath.”
A sharp burn stung my hip and I yelped. “What the hell?”
Grace rubbed her hip with a frown. “Sorry, forgot to tell you about that part. There’s an invisible seal on you now guaranteeing your safety on my behalf. If someone were to mess with you, and they saw that, it might buy you some safety. Being viewed as a crazy bitch has its advantages, one of them being that the ignorant tend to fear you.”
“Why are you rubbing your hip?”
“It’s my oath mark. If I ever fail you, it will kill me.”
“Holy crap,” I whispered, no longer really feeling the sting ‘cause the rest of my body was starting to ache. “But you don’t even know me.”
“But I do.” She smiled. “We’re going to be good friends, and someday, if we play our cards right, our oldest children will fall in love and mate.”
“What?”
The door opened and I tried to school my expression to something other than shock, but I don’t think it worked. Grace was no longer all witchy looking, in fact, she appeared downright bored. Margaret handed me a bottle of water, then sniffed the air around me.
“Why do I smell magic?”
“I healed her,” Grace crossed her legs and flicked a negligent hand in my direction. “She kept going on about how much it hurt and I couldn’t question her properly.”
“You aren’t authorized to heal her,” Margaret snapped as I reached up to touch my head. “Those spells are above your level, and you don’t have the written permissions from your coven to do it.”
My questing fingers found no sign of the large bump, and I had to resist the urge to gasp.
Judy groaned, “I supervised her, it’s fine. Can we wrap this up? I feel terrible. We’ve determined her encounter was nothing more than an overzealous human who got his hands on a contraband spell. Nothing unusual.”
“Waste of time,” Grace muttered.
“Excuse me?” Margaret practically sneered at the younger witch and it wasn’t a nice look on her.
Giving Margaret an innocent look that had me choking back a snicker, Grace said, “This is a waste of your time. You should be reporting to the Mother right now about the events that we witnessed, not dithering around with confused new shifters. I’m sure the Coven Mother is going to want to speak with you in-depth about what you just witnessed. Probably have you do a presentation to the regional Coven as well.”
“True,” Margaret shot her a look, then lifted her chin. “I’ll expect you to write up a full report, and submit it to me by the end of the day.”
“Of course,” Grace was the epitome of demure and subservient. “Whatever you think is best, sister Margaret.”
With a glare at the younger woman that could cut glass, Margaret handed the cup of hot chocolate to Judy, before tossing the water bottle at me.
I caught it, twisted off the cap and took a long drink before saying, “Thanks.”
Margaret ignored me then flung her purple cape over one shoulder in a showy gesture. “Judy, as soon as you are able, you need to come to the Grand Circle for a debriefing on today’s events.”
“Of course,” Judy, took another big drink. “Travel safe, sisters.”
When the door closed I stood and began to pace. “What the fuck was that?”
Judy gave a dry chuckle. “Which part? The sky demon, people getting killed by said sky demon, the most promising witch we’ve seen in decades pledging herself to you, or the fact that you weren’t tracked by a human with a little magic, but a very powerful—thought to be extinct species of demon?”
The strength went out of my legs and I leaned against the nearest wall. “That, all of that.”
“We don’t have time for ‘all of that’,” Judy said, making quote marks with her fingers. “This sugar is givin’ me a boost, but I’m gonna crash soon—hard. I need to get back out there and try and bring some order to that chaos before I go down. But first you and I need to have a quick talk.”
“No shit.”
“Don’t get lippy with me. I’m tryin’ to help you, Synthia, but your problems seem to multiply by the day. Bad enough having the lions pissed at you, but your total ignorance of the magical world is gonna get you killed. I swear you’re a magnet for trouble.”
“I’m doing my best,” I yelled, my frustration with everything boiling over. “I have no idea what’s going on, I feel like I’m always standing around with my thumb up my ass going ‘Durr—what happened?’, and I hate constantly being taken by surprise by some new—trying to kill me magic bullshit! And now, I find out demons are real, we’re all gonna die if I don’t do something, and I think I just became that psycho witch’s familiar.”
“You’re not her familiar, sugar. Though shit would be a lot easier if you were. No, she’s already got her shifter,” Judy leaned over and rubbed my shoulder.
“What are you talking about? For once, someone give me a clear answer.”
“Fine, you want concise, here you go.” Judy put her hand on her hips and jutted her pelvis out in a class ‘bitch’ stance. “Grace Darling—yes, I know, poor thing being saddled with a name like that, anyways, Grace Darling has broken just about every unwritten rule of how a witch should act, and a few of the written ones as well. Normally, she’d have been kicked out of the Coven ages ago, but we can’t. When I said she’s the most powerful witch we’ve seen in ages, I wasn’t exaggeratin’. Witches like her become legends, if they live long enough to have a story to tell. Among the dozens of things that set Grace apart from most witches is the fact that she is in love with a shifter lioness who also happens to be her familiar. No witch has been able to bind a familiar in over a thousand years.”
I touched my hip where I could feel a little tingle from the witch’s brand. “You mean like she bonded with me?”
“No, not even close. I mean bonded in the term of a familiar, but probably not quite like you’re thinking. Grace has gathered four of the most powerful elements to her, this is true, but her relationship with each of them is different. Fire is her lover, Air her best friend, Water is her old nanny, and now Earth is her ally. Together, they are a powerful unit.”
“Five,” I tapped my fingers against my knee. “There will be five people in my family when it’s complete. Is that a special number?”
“It’s a number of great power. Five is the number of members of the lion King’s pride, five for the hyena Queen and harem, five for the balanced elements, and twenty-five the age of responsibility and power. Yes, I’d say if you were gonna play the lotto, fill that ticket up with fives.”
I laughed, then I unexpectedly burst into tears. “Yeah—I need to play the lotto right about now. I’m suppos
ed to build a den, but I don’t know what bank is going to finance me a couple million to do it.”
“Girl, money is the least of your worries. You’ll get plenty of it once you get your harem going. As a hyena Queen you get a tithe from your people.”
“I don’t have people.”
“You will. Bet you gonna have lots, ‘cause you’re gonna offer them something they’ve only dreamed of. Freedom and safety. I know you, I know your heart. You’re nice to people in general, but you’ve always gone out of your way to make those on the fringe feel welcome. That’s only gonna grow stronger as you fall into your role as Queen.”
“I’m gonna suck so bad,” I cried on her shoulder, in a full-on meltdown. “I can’t even take care of myself.”
“Oh darlin’, please stop with the drama. I got enough of it when all three of my girls were teenagers at the same time. The Goddess surely gave me a challenge with their fits ‘bout life bein’ unfair. I’m gonna tell you the same thing I told them. You’re right. Life isn’t fair. But the badass bitches of this world put on their ass kicking leather pants and show everyone who’s boss.”
I gave a hiccup as she handed me some tissue from a box nearby. “I don’t own any leather pants.”
“We’ll take you shopping,” she assured me. “Get you some kick ass boots to go with them.”
“And ass kicking panties?”
“And ass kicking panties.”
I gave a watery sigh, then mopped my face again. “I must look terrible.”
“You’ve looked better, but you’re still gorgeous enough to stop traffic.”
“Thanks.” I gestured to my body with my crumpled tissue. “Still not used to all of this, but I’m not complaining. I’m trying to not be one of those women that’s all ‘oh poor me I’m attractive.’ I appreciate my new curves, I’m just not used to them. It’s hard being ugly for twenty-five years to suddenly wake up like this. All vaa vaa vaa voom and shit.”
“Honey, you’ve always been this beautiful on the inside. The Mother Goddess just brought out what you already had.”