"I do not tolerate failure, Daphne." She smiled again. "I do not give three chances. You were lucky to get two. You have displeased me and so I shall dispose of you."
". . .why. . ?" Daphne said.
"Why did I shoot you?" Mistress laughed; the sound was like nails on a chalkboard and it sent shivers down Daphne's spine. "Because I can. Because you failed me. Because I wanted to. Are those good enough reasons?" Daphne could not respond. "I thought so."
Daphne's change was almost complete. Gone was her human body, which had been shed like a skin. Daphne's real form crawled out of the mouth of her now defunct human body, stretching the mouth until it stretched as far as it would go. A scaled head showed itself, purple and black, shining in the dim light of the office, glowing. Mistress watched claws appear, a beak, talons. Soon, Daphne was unfurled on the floor, the world's only remaining dragon. McGowan was the most beautiful thing to be seen for thousands of years and she was dying.
"You were supposed to be this great beast, this mythical being. Now look at you, not fit to lie under my feet. You were supposed to be invincible, filled with magic, you told me. You are useless. The world will be glad to be rid of the last dragon, of that I have no doubt."
The Mistress’ words only served to anger McGowan. Instead of remaining on the floor, she stood, as much as the pain would allow her and flapped her wings. "The world will not be rid of me."
McGowan's voice had dropped to a low, guttural growl and the room began to fill with smoke. Mistress laughed again, longer this time. "Oh, I don't think so. Look at you, you're dying. Even being a mythical creature, you can't deny that." She laughed again, high and loud. The sound pleased Mistress, made her think of the last person she had killed. She had not wanted to kill Daphne, but needs must.
McGowan let out a ear splitting screech at the sound of Mistress’ laughter and spread her wings. She launched herself out the window, glass shattering like diamonds all around them. The Mistress ducked, covering her head and started brushing the glass from her hair, trying not to cut herself. When she looked up, McGowan was gone. She went to the window and looked out. There was no sign of her. No matter, though. Mistress eyed the trail of blood on the carpet and the window sill. A silver bullet straight to the heart would kill Daphne in minutes. She would not make it far. Daphne would be dead within an hour. The Mistress sighed. Murder was such a messy business. She sighed again and took the phone book out of the bottom drawer of her desk. She would have to get someone to fix that window, she thought. Humming to herself, she picked opened the phone book and started to look for a repairman.
Chapter Twenty One
Unforeseen Developments
The night howled around them. It was dark out and the wind whipped at the trees, their branches slapping at the windows of the House on Harrow Hill. David could hear them, loud whipping sounds that cracked into the air. They were in the living room. Karma, Alicia and Orlando were seated on one couch, Lucy and David on another. Naomi and Cecelia were seated on the love seat. Lucy clutched his hand. "I'm so scared," she said.
"Don't worry, they'll find Poppy."
"But what if they don't?" she said. "I mean, no one knows what's inside the house, do they? Did you ever do your quest, Cecelia?"
Cecelia shook her head. "It was no longer required to go on vision quests by the time I was old enough to take one. I have spoken to those who have been inside and they are not able to tell me much, except that it is whatever it wants to be. Poppy could be anywhere."
"We will find her," Karma said. "We have no choice. Without us, she may never succeed."
"Oh, I doubt she'll do that badly," Naomi said. "She's a strong one, her, the magic runs strong within her too."
"She'll need all the magic she has," Cecelia said. "Are you sure this is going to work?"
"We have no choice but to try," Karma said. "Are we all ready?"
* * * * *
They all stood in front of the area where the door had been. Lucia and Alicia had remembered its location from when the bone Buddhas had appeared. Karma and Cecelia were busy outlining the door for their spell when David felt someone behind him.
Orlando was there. "I don't want to talk to you," David said.
"This may be the last time we see each other," Orlando said. "Please, understand I was doing what I did for reasons of my own. I may never see you again. Please don't leave things like this. I love you, David." He was crying, tears streaming down his face. David could tell by the bags under his eyes that he had not slept for days. David leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips. "We'll talk, just not now. Now's not the time." He kissed him again. "I love you too. We'll talk when you get back."
Orlando, incapable of speech, merely nodded and pulled David close to him.
Candles had been lit around the stairs and Karma and Cecelia and Alicia held hands in front of the outline of the door, chanting softly to themselves. Orlando pulled away and joined them. Naomi went to them too, adding her voice to the chant that was slowly filling up the air around them with electricity. There was magic happening here.
Lucy and David, the only two non-magic folk, stood back and held onto each other. They were witnessing something amazing and they both knew it. They were both content to watch the others do their work, feel the movement in the air around them. Voices began to rise higher and the chant rose to fever pitch. A light began to glow along the white line they had drawn where the door had been and it continued to glow, soft light spilling forth into the basement. The chanting continued and the light continued to grow. Lucy and David could hear a whispering in the air, feel wind coming from the crack that was now complete, making a door out of the basement wall. There was a loud noise and the wall blew apart. Lucy and David fell to the floor to avoid the pieces of stone that flew at them, missing some by inches. Some were not so lucky however. A piece of stone hit Karma squarely in the face and she fell to the ground.
The chanting had stopped. "What's happening?" Naomi's voice was loud and shrill as she called to Orlando over the noise. A wind had picked up in the basement and it was growing in force. Within minutes, gale force winds were blowing them every which way. Orlando was crouched over Karma to protect her further and Cecelia and Naomi held on to each other. Lucia, David and Lucy clutched at each other. Only Alicia was still standing.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Cecelia screamed. "WE'VE TORN A HOLE, WE HAVE TO FIX IT!" Alicia only shook her head however; she could not hear Cecelia over the noise. And then the wind stopped.
The quiet in the room was deafening. Where there had been wind, whispering took its place. "Only the Guide. . .is allowed inside. . .all others who remain. . .must stay on the Earthly plane. . . ."
"A house who's a poet," Lucia said. "How droll."
"What do we do?" Naomi asked.
"I've never done this before," Cecelia said, "but I think we should listen to the house."
Alicia looked at everyone. "I'm supposed to go on alone?" she shook. "I don't know if I can do this alone."
David felt like screaming at her. "Well, neither can Poppy. You got her into this, now it's up to you to get her out."
"But what am I supposed to do?" Alicia whined.
"What else?" David said. "Guide her."
Alicia nodded and hugged him. "Thank you," she said. "Poppy is blessed to have you as a friend."
"Travel well," David said, hugging her back. "We'll see you when you get back."
She smiled at him and blew him a kiss. With one look back at everyone, she then turned and stepped into the light. The light grew brighter for just a moment, blinding everyone. When the light was gone, the wall was back in place and Alicia had disappeared. It was as if nothing had ever happened. Yet something had, and they would all be changed because of it. When the wind had cleared and the debris had settled, David raised his head. "Everyone alright? Is everyone okay?" he said. And then he heard sobbing. He looked over at Orlando. He was cradling Karma, her dead body limp in his arms.
* *
* * *
The funeral was held two days later. Everyone was in attendance. Star had been sent to live with Karma's aunt in Orleans. No family attended her funeral, so it was only the usual group that surrounded Karma's coffin as it was lowered into the ground. Orlando had his arm around David, whilst Lucia and Lucy held each other’s hand and Cecelia and Naomi held on to each other. Even Roz and Chip were in attendance, huddling under an umbrella to protect themselves from the cold October rain. Honey and Jose, minus the babies, stood next to David and Orlando.
It was a sombre funeral. Everyone could feel the absence of Poppy and Alicia. And Karma's absence ripped a chasm between Poppy and Alicia, as Karma had been the head of the Coven. She had known what the house was capable of, what Poppy might be up against and she was dead. The Coven had no leader, but the reading of the will the next day changed things once again.
Cecelia and Naomi were named the new heads of the Coven. Orlando had no knowledge of the Coven, aside from what he had been told, and Alicia was inside the house. Karma had known what they were doing, knew what might happen. She had prepared for the inevitable. Cecelia and Naomi, shocked at being named heads of the Coven, were both moved to tears. They were also left all of Karma's books and occult objects. Everything else was left to Star.
In order to sort through what Karma had left them, Cecelia and Naomi thought it would be a good idea to move into Karma's apartment for a while, after it had been cleansed of course. David, for one, was thankful to have them living beneath him. Without Karma below him, the house felt unbalanced. She had been a part of his life and to have her gone just like that hurt more than he would admit. Poppy and Alicia were still in the house. There was no telling how long it would take for Poppy to finish her quest and no telling whether or not Alicia would be able to find her. They all prayed for their friends and said daily devotions of hope. But, in the mundane world, life continued as it always does; one day at a time.
* * * * *
Inside the house, it was a different matter entirely. Alicia found herself blinded by white light, so bright it felt as if it were burning her eyes. She felt light-headed, soft inside, as if her soul was being bathed in whiteness. When the light cleared, she turned around. The door she had passed through had disappeared. She was stuck here, it seemed. For how long, she wasn't sure. She wondered how she would go about finding Poppy, but she needn't have worried. She felt the pull of her, the vibe of her, throbbing in her chest. She knew that Poppy was here. And her body was telling her where to find her. She knew this vibe would lead her to Poppy.
Alicia turned around, intent on following that throbbing inside her. She was shocked at what she saw, however. In front of her, there was a table and two chairs. Sitting in one of the chairs was a young woman who looked to be no more than sixteen years old, though she was probably younger. She had long brown hair that fell to the floor in masses around her. Curls of hair tickled the girl's feet and she giggled a soft, lovely sound. There was no ground around them, no sky, only whiteness and a table and chairs. The girl looked up and regarded her with dark blue eyes.
Alicia smiled at the girl. "What is this place?"
The girl giggled. "Your Poppy asked the same question. It is neither here nor there, nor back nor forth. There is no ‘here’, here." She smiled as if all this made sense to her.
Alicia sat down in one of the chairs. "How do you know that she is my Poppy? I could be anyone, you know."
The girl giggled. "I am the embodiment of the Coven House, I see inside you, Coven Witch. I hear your heart beating for her, the soft pattering of your love for her. It is as plain as the nose on your face."
"She is no longer mine," Alicia said, "I doubt she was ever mine to begin with."
"But you are her Guide; your paths are entwined, even should she wish it was not so. You must show her what she needs to do on her quest. You must go with her, be with her. You were chosen when she was born, so she cannot refuse your company. Your future was twisted with hers when she was born and no matter how hard she wishes, you and her are together for life."
"How do I find her?"
"She is already here," the girl said and motioned to the left of them. Poppy sat on a small stone wall, looking at depths of water that were on the on the other side.
"How can she still be here? She came in here more than a week ago!"
"Time moves differently here. There is no concept of weeks or years. Besides, I told her that she must wait for her Guide. She understood and has sat by that brook ever since, waiting for you."
Alicia rose, a lump in her throat. She walked over and put a hand on Poppy's shoulder. Poppy turned and smiled when she saw her.
"Alicia," she said. "I've been waiting for you."
* * * * *
Alicia resisted the urge to wrap her arms around Poppy. "I've been trying to find you."
"I know you have." Poppy took a few steps away from Alicia, the whiteness of their surroundings confusing her. "It seems," she said, "that I have to go on a quest. Of course, you probably know all this already."
Alicia nodded her head. "I was let in to the house to help you as your Guide through all of this."
"Where were you to help me when I was using magic, huh? Each time I've done it, I've felt a shift inside me, and something change inside me. It would have been good to know that this is supposed to happen, rather than to think I've been losing my mind."
"I know." Alicia moved a little closer. "But please understand that Orlando and I were operating under Karma's orders. She is the head of the Coven. We had to follow her."
"You were supposed to be my Guide, but you fell in love with me instead. . ."
"I didn't mean for it to happen like it did. . .I mean, I had been watching you, keeping an eye on you, ever since you were born. How could I dare to hope that you would grow to love me too?" Alicia covered her mouth and turned away; she had said too much.
Poppy blinked and looked at Alicia in a new light. "You have been in love with me for a long time then?"
Alicia nodded, face grim. "I have loved you from a distance. How could I not take the chance to be with you when it was handed to me? I know I used LaWanda to get to you, and that was wrong. But I had to try, don't you see? I had to know if you could feel the same way for me."
"LaWanda was pretty pissed that I came in between you two."
"Well, the woman was a nut job, so no hard feelings there." She sighed. "If I had it all to do over again, I would still do it the same way. I love you with body and soul, Poppy. It killed a part of me every day that I couldn't tell you anything or that I knew what you were. I wanted to tell you every day, every minute we were together, but I was bound by my duty to the head of the Coven, to Karma. I had to follow her. If I had it to do over again, I would do the same thing."
"Why?" Poppy asked.
"Because we fell in love. If you had known what I was, what you were, would we have had this chance?"
Poppy thought for a moment and then sighed. "I guess not. It would have been completely different."
"We would not have loved each other," she said.
"I still love you," Poppy said. "I have never stopped."
Alicia rubbed her eyes to stop the tears from falling. "Please, please forgive me, Poppy. I love you so much."
"You have to promise me something," Poppy said.
"Anything."
"You can't lie to me anymore. You can't keep secrets anymore. No matter how harsh or how terrible something may be, I have to know. Alright? We can’t go through this. . .this quest if there are secrets and lies between us. Do you agree?"
"Yes."
"Then promise me."
Alicia took a breath and let it out. "I promise, on my mother's grave, that I will never keep anything from you again."
"Good," Poppy said and threw herself into Alicia's arms, kissing her deeply. When she broke away, she looked lovingly at Alicia. "I have wanted to kiss you for the longest time."
Alicia, breathless, smiled. "
Same here. So what does this mean? Are we together again?"
Poppy smiled. "Were we ever apart?" she took hold of Alicia's hands. "You were always with me, even if we have been separated. You are always with me, and I with you. That is magic at its most powerful, I think." She kissed Alicia again. "I am so afraid," she said.
Alicia pulled her tighter. "There is nothing to be afraid of."
"But the girl," Poppy pointed to the dark haired girl still sitting at the table, a look of peace on her face. "She said that the quest can lead anywhere, that to find my father, it will be dangerous."
"I won't let anything happen to you." Alicia said. "I have lots to teach you, but not much time to do it. Once we begin our quest, I will tell you everything that you need to know, all I know about you and your being a Shape Shifter."
Poppy shook her head. "It all seems so unreal," she said.
"I know. That's the kicker isn't it?"
There was a sound behind them. The girl, the embodiment of the Coven House, had cleared her throat. "It's time to begin," she said.
* * * * *
Poppy and Alicia walked to the table and stood in front of the girl. "Who are you, really?" Poppy asked.
"I told you, I am the embodiment of the Coven House. I have no name; I am merely a shell that houses magic. I have never been given a name," she smiled. "It's time to begin." She waved her hand out in front of her, towards the whiteness. The result of this gesture was truly magical. When she waved her hand out in front of her, ground appeared. They watched it spread across the whiteness like a cloud in a storm, moving across the whiteness with quick speed. In the space of moments, where there was previously white space, there were mountains, ground, land.
Alicia stared at it, open-mouthed. "How did you do that?"
The girl smiled again. "I can do anything. This was always here; you were just not able to see it. Now that you can, how can you deny its existence?" She stood and pointed into the distance. "Behind that hill is a cave. You can wait there until you are ready to continue. You can do your teaching there. After seven days, you must leave the cave."
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