The DragonWitch Tales - An Unexpected Beginning

by Shannon Harris

  “I don’t know what the big deal is. She’s just another dead dyke.”

  Paisley bit her lip and counted to ten under her breath before slowly turning around and facing Gloria.

  “Paisley, get in the kitchen,” her dad said, but she ignored his words and kept her eyes trained on Gloria, who was still smirking at her. The blood pounded in her ears and instead of trying to rein in the fire racing through her veins, she let it loose. She blinked to clear the fuzziness that suddenly overtook her, closed her eyes, then snapped them open when the air around her changed. She was standing directly behind Gloria.

  “Boo,” she whispered in Gloria’s ear, and snickered when Gloria jumped and took a step away from her, then turned and faced her. “How about another dead witch.” She sneered. “Would that be a big deal?” She didn’t stop and question her actions when she grabbed the front of Gloria’s shirt, twisted her fingers in the fabric, and lifted her body of the floor before throwing it toward the plate glass window that made up half the wall of the living room. The glass shattered and Paisley jumped through the window, paying no attention as the glass ripped into her palms. She landed with a thud on the ground beside Gloria’s body. Gloria narrowed her eyes and attempted to stand but fell back to the ground, grimacing in pain.

  “Paisley, stop!”

  “Paisley, no!”

  “Someone stop her.”

  Paisley drowned out their words and was standing when Gloria winked at her and spoke so low only Paisley would be able to hear her. “It wasn’t an accident. I killed her on purpose.”

  Paisley growled from deep within her, positioned her hands by Gloria’s head, then twisted them in the air without touching her. She felt a deep satisfaction when Gloria’s neck snapped and her head fell back to the ground. “That wasn’t an accident either.” She spit on her body.

  Catherine screamed and fell to the ground beside her daughter, and all Paisley could focus on was the surprised look etched onto Gloria’s face. Catherine sobbed and cradled Gloria’s body against her chest. “What have you done?”

  Paisley rounded her neck and blue flames licked at the tips of her fingers. She squeezed her eyes shut, stood up, then took a step back from them. She squinted over Catherine’s head when a man and woman suddenly appeared out of thin air. Her eyes were trained on the man’s brown loafers as they came closer and closer to where she stood. He clicked his tongue and reached out to raise her chin. His eyes locked with hers, and he leaned forward and blew in her face.

  Paisley coughed, lost her balance, and fell backward. The blood rushed to her head and pounded in her ears, and Gloria’s lifeless eyes bore into hers. She clawed at the ground and grabbed fistfuls of grass to try to calm her racing heart and the piercing noise that echoed inside her head. She closed her eyes and focused on the sound of her beating heart until it slowed to a steady pace. When she opened her eyes, everyone was looking at her. How did she get outside? “What happened?” Her gaze landed on the dead body on the ground.

  “Sweetheart, what’s the last thing you remember?”

  Paisley gulped. “I remember walking into the living room and everyone was talking.” She wasn’t sure what to think when everyone around her grew quiet. What the hell had happened between then and now? Surely she didn’t kill her? Could she be capable of that? She lifted her hands and noticed for the first time the cuts and the blood and grass covering them. She sucked in a breath when the pain shot from her hands up her arms.

  She allowed Lana to pull her up, then looked from the broken window, to her hands, then to Gloria. Suddenly everything that happened flooded her mind, and when she started to sway, Lana steadied her. “No. I wanted her dead, for what she did to K.G., but I would never have killed her. I’m not capable of that. Am I?” She sought out her mother’s eyes and for once everything her mother was thinking was written on her face. Paisley didn’t fight when Lana pulled her back into her arms and wrapped her arms around her waist.

  “What is going to happen to her?” Catherine pointed at Paisley, but she was speaking to the two strangers. “She deserves a just fate.” The man waved his hand, and Catherine and Gloria’s body disappeared.

  Paisley bent forward, rested her elbows on her knees, and promptly emptied her stomach. She gagged and accepted the bottle of water someone handed her. After rinsing out her mouth, she stood up and eyed the people gathered around. Who were the strangers and what would they do to her?

  Her mind kept replaying what had happened since she entered the living room, and she quickly came to the realization that she didn’t regret doing it, but by the looks of everyone’s faces around her, maybe she should have. She wasn’t scared or disgusted by her actions, at least not as much as she had expected to be. For the time being, she would keep that tidbit of information to herself. But what did that make her? A killer. She frowned. That didn’t feel right. Gloria deserved what happened to her, and if it hadn’t been by her hand it would have been by somebody else’s, eventually. She held her hands up and watched the blood drip from the cuts onto the grass at her feet.

  The man reached for her hands and waved his own over them. It felt surreal to watch the bits of glass fly out of her palms and for the wounds to heal themselves. “My name is Jeffrey and I am a member of the Governing Fellowship. This is Anita.” He pointed at the woman who had accompanied him. “Paisley, I completely understand what happened here. You just came into your powers and after what happened yesterday, I can’t fault you for them overpowering you. You have never been taught to use them. I can guarantee that you won’t have any problems with the Governing Fellowship because of your actions today, but whether you meant to or not, you have started something this morning. As much power as the Fellowship has, I fear there will be repercussions from other alliances within the Fellowship. Do you understand?”

  “I am not a child, don’t treat me like one.” She was ready for this to be over.

  He nodded, snapped his fingers, and he and Anita disappeared as quickly as they had appeared. Paisley ran her hands through her hair, bit her lip, looked at her hands, then the living room window. She waved her hand in the air and all the pieces of broken glass rose from the ground and flew back to the window, repairing it, good as new. She ignored everyone as she walked past them, entered the house, and settled down on the couch. Clutching a pillow to her chest, she waited for the lecture she was sure she was about to get. She didn’t react when her dad started rubbing her back. “How after all these years could my powers just manifest themselves and be so strong?”

  “Well,” Grams said. “It’s a combination of things. You’ve had a lot to deal with in the last few days. We shouldn’t have thrown everything at you at once. It all escalated with K.G.’s death.”

  Paisley kept her face buried in the pillow. “If that bitch hadn’t taunted me…” She let the words hang in the air and could feel the ruby pendant beneath her shirt growing warmer. She flung the pillow across the room and jumped up. “K.G.’s dead and I killed someone. Just another normal morning. Or at least another normal morning the way my week has been going.” She chuckled and rubbed her hands down her face. If this was to be her life, she hoped she would be able to deal with it.

  Lana reached for her, but she slapped her hand away. With that one gesture, her anger spiked, and she closed her eyes and tried to push it back as far as she could. If it flared up unexpectedly all the time, it would be hard to control it. She needed someone to teach her. As it was, the pendant was helping, but it was still taking everything within her to temper it and not snap Lana’s neck like she did Gloria’s. She opened her eyes and balled her fists, shaking. Lana held her hands up in surrender and took a step back. Paisley jabbed a finger in her direction. “This is all your fault.” She growled and took a step in her direction. “I wish you had never came into my life.”

  Lana bit her lip and nodded. “I will be back in two weeks for you. Make sure you are packed and ready to go.” She waved her hand in the air and disappeared.
<
br />   Paisley shook her head and walked toward her childhood bedroom. She grabbed ahold of the doorframe and took several deep breaths, trying to calm her racing heart, before she turned and addressed everyone else. “I would like to be alone. Please don’t bother me.” Without waiting for an answer, she walked back to her bedroom, shut the door, and fell onto the bed. Jynx jumped up beside her, and she grabbed her cat gently and cuddled her into her chest. For the rest of her life she would never forget the haunted look in her family’s eyes. She didn’t fight her tears and let them fall freely into Jynx’s fur. She knew, if her family turned on her, Jynx would always be there to offer comfort. Even if it was a lick on the cheek.

  ****

  Paisley stepped into the shower the next morning and relaxed as the hot water beat down on her neck and back. She flexed her fingers under the spray and watched in amazement as they started to glow silver in color. She would have to find out what that meant. The sharp tingles that swept up her fingers and into her hand didn’t scare her. Instead it helped to calm her and wash her in a sense of peace. After the events of yesterday, she wasn’t sure how she would feel waking up, but surprisingly everything felt normal. Besides the looks on the faces of her family, she didn’t regret anything that had happened. The feelings of disgust, shame, and pain never came. If she was honest with herself, the only thing she felt was hunger pain.

  She shook her hands out and the silver dulled. After drying herself off, she dressed in a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved, light blue Henley. She pulled on a pair of Doctor Who crew socks, then slipped her feet into a pair of blue sneakers. After grabbing her glasses off the nightstand, she put them on, ran her fingers through her hair, and headed out of the room. The one thing she knew for sure was that she had slept the rest of the day yesterday and all through the night. She would have to remember that doing that type of magic would drain her.

  Fretting in the hallway wouldn’t solve any of her problems. Jynx walked beside her, and at the end of the hallway, Addison stood waiting. She smiled to herself when Addison started walking behind her. At least one person was loyal to her. She held her head high as she continued into the living room. Her dad was sitting on the couch reading a book and her mom stood by the window talking with someone on the phone.

  Paisley turned around when she felt eyes on her. Grams stood by the kitchen sink and motioned for her to join her. She accepted the cup of tea Grams handed her and took a small sip. The first taste on her tongue worked its magic to center her. She leaned back and relaxed against the counter. They both were lost in their own thoughts staring into the living room.

  “Dear, we need to talk about what happened yesterday.”

  Her words were sure and solid, and Paisley dared a look at her and almost broke down when she saw only love reflected back at her. “You’re not afraid of me?”

  “What?” She set her cup on the counter then took Paisley’s out of her hands and set it down beside hers. She lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. “Listen to me. I will only say this once.” Paisley nodded. “I have never been, nor will I ever be, afraid of you. Nothing you could ever do would ever make me afraid of you. This is partially our fault. We should have prepared you better for all of this. It broke my heart yesterday to see you so deflated.”

  “When everyone looked at me…” She shook her head and took a deep breath.

  “No, Paisley.” Her dad walked over from his perch on the couch and slipped his arm around her shoulders. She laid her head against his chest. “We weren’t afraid of you. We were afraid for you. Your powers are quite strong.” He squeezed her. “I ditto your grandma’s words. We could never be afraid of you. Never.”

  “We do need to talk though, Paisley.”

  “Mom, I know.” She accepted the tissue and wiped her nose. She picked her cup up and took a sip, then followed her grandmother and father into the living room. After everyone settled down on the couch, she sat down in the recliner opposite the couch, and Addison took up position beside her chair. When Jynx jumped into her lap, she waited until she was settled before running her fingers through the soft fur.

  “It seems that your powers are controlled by emotion. While that will make you, with training, a powerful witch, it also means your powers will be unpredictable as well. Great powers come with great responsibility. What happened yesterday must not ever happen again. I know that you were overwhelmed and you didn’t know what you were doing. I know you still don’t know what you were doing, but at least now you know not to let go and have your powers control you. You must control your powers. If not, they will overtake you. I have seen it happen a few times and it is not something I ever want to witness, especially with my granddaughter.”

  Her mom scooted forward on the couch. “How did you feel the moment before you appeared behind Gloria? Why did you appear behind her? What happened to cause you to snap on her?”

  Paisley jerked her head up. “What do you mean what happened? You heard what she said.” What were they playing at?

  “Paisley,” her dad said. “What who said?”

  “Gloria.” They looked as confused as she felt.

  “Gloria didn’t say anything.”

  Paisley bit her lip and swallowed the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat. She knew what she had heard. “I was coping until I heard her say that K.G. was just another dead dyke. I felt something pass through me and I didn’t fight it. A calmness settled over me and I wished that I was standing behind her. Then I was.” She shrugged like it was an everyday occurrence.

  They eyed each other, then Grams took her hand. “We didn’t hear her. She must have been projecting only to you.”

  “I couldn’t figure out why no one else did or said anything.” It made sense now. “When I appeared behind her, I let everything that I was feeling wash over me and I knew what I had to do. I didn’t fight it.”

  “You broke her neck. Without touching her,” her mom said in disbelief.

  “She told me K.G.’s death wasn’t an accident. I did what I needed to do and I won’t apologize for that. I would do it the exact same way again.”

  “Okay,” Grams said. “I understand where you were coming from now. Let’s move on.”

  “We are not moving on. We need to discuss this.”

  Grams held up her hand. “Kate, that matter is closed. I love you, Kate, but you have never felt the burden of power, and from what I saw yesterday, Paisley is powerful. To be honest, I’m surprised she didn’t do more damage, and to be fair, she did fix your broken window. We are moving on from this subject, and I don’t want it brought up again.”

  “I don’t agree, but I will abide by your wishes.” Paisley almost whooped at the way her grandma had shut her mom down, but kept her excitement at bay.

  Paisley looked down at her hand when something was placed in it. It was another necklace. This one had a small butterfly pendant attached to the simple silver chain. “It’s beautiful.”

  “It is, but it serves a purpose. It will dull your powers, to a manageable level, even for you. Slip it on.” She did as she was asked. “It will not erase your powers, so if you feel anything different overcome you, you will still need to control it. If you don’t keep your emotions in check, innocents could suffer the consequences.”

  “I understand.” And she did. The last thing she wanted was to hurt more people or kill them. She now had three necklaces on and a cuff that was welded to her skin, and she didn’t even like jewelry. The clear pendant didn’t seem to make much of a difference. She felt the same, but maybe it only worked when her powers flared up.

  Her dad stood up and started pacing in front of the window before he stopped abruptly and looked at her. “Now on to the next matter. Gloria. I agree with your grandma, the subject of her death will be dropped, but there will be consequences to her death. We will not be able to turn a blind eye to it.”

  “No, we won’t,” Grams said. “For right now, I believe the issue will be set aside, but Catherine, Gloria’
s mother, will not let the matter drop and neither will the others in her coven. I’m afraid that they will try to avenge her death.” She smirked. “I am not sure they, yet, understand what they will come up against, but they will come.”

  “I could say that if I knew the outcome I would change what happened, but I’d be lying. When the time comes, I will be ready and I won’t let anything happen to any of you.” Paisley shut up when they looked at each other. They grew quiet and she looked between them. “What’s going on?”

  “Paisley.”

  She knew that tone of voice. Grams only used that voice when they had something important to tell her. She stood up and put Jynx down in the chair. Whatever they were about to say, she was sure she wouldn’t like it. “Don’t ‘Paisley’ me. Spit it out.” They were starting to freak her out, and compared to the week she had experienced, that was saying something.

  Her mom stood up and approached her. “We’ve talked, and for your safety and for you to learn your craft and get a handle on your powers, we feel it is in your best interest…”

  She drowned out the rest of what she her mom said and crouched on the floor with her head in her hands. She knew what she was going to say. How could they do this to her? After everything. Why? She was still holding out hope, even after everything that had happened, that she wouldn’t have to go. They were supposed to be on her side.

  She took several deep breaths and glanced at her hands. The silver had returned. Her entire body was tingling, but she didn’t have the overwhelming urge to attack anyone. She shook her hands out, and closed her eyes and searched her memories until she landed on one a few months ago.