Electric Blue

by Jamieson Wolf

  "So how did you find me?"

  "I looked up Katherine Hailstorm in the phonebook and found your ad for your antique business. I took a whim that it would be the same person Lucas and Sean had talked about."

  Mistress laughed long and hard. Tears were streaming down her face and she patted LaWanda's cheek. "Such a simple way to find me!" She took LaWanda's hand. "You may call me Mistress. Come, we have much to talk about, you and I. I'll take you to my home."

  "Like what?"

  "Like how we are going to get inside the Coven House and make our little Shape Shifter sing," Mistress said.

  Chapter Thirty Four

  Towards Destiny

  When Poppy awoke on their fifth day in the cave, her right hand was still throbbing where the crow wing mark was at the base of her thumb. She rubbed at it absently, feeling it pulse under her skin. She knew the sun now, had watched it rise almost every morning and watched it set each evening. She knew that they had to leave the cave before seven days was up. What would happen to them if they stayed in the cave longer than seven days, Poppy didn't know, but she had no desire to find out. When an entity that is the embodiment of a house tells you that you got to leave before seven days, you don't question her. Poppy got up and started a small fire. Soon, she had breakfast going and eggs and bacon cooking over the fire. Coffee was steeping in a pot. Alicia woke when the coffee was ready.

  "Good timing," Poppy said, handing her a mug.

  Alicia took a sip and muttered her thanks. "I'm getting a tense back from sleeping on a cave floor."

  "I know what you mean. I had to dig rocks out of my hair this morning."

  Alicia smiled. "What a glamorous way to live."

  "Everyone should be envious!" Poppy said sarcastically.

  They both laughed and Poppy kissed Alicia on the nose. "I'm so glad we're not fighting anymore."

  Alicia nodded and kissed her back. "So am I. I'm glad we're together in this."

  "I don't know what I'd do without you," Poppy said. "I mean that." She straightened and picked up her plate, resuming her breakfast. "I think it's time we get out of here."

  "Are you sure?" Alicia asked "We do have two more days."

  "I know we do, it's just. . . ." She sighed, it was frustrating putting thing into words when she wasn't sure of anything herself. "I think my father is contacting me."

  "That's great news!" Alicia said. "That's one of your tasks, isn't it? Finding him?"

  "Yeah and I'm supposed to find out my second quest from him."

  "How do you know that he's trying to get in touch with you?"

  Poppy went inside herself. She remembered the dream she had had and the voice she had spoken to, that voice that came from the crow in her dream, but that sounded in her head. The dream flashed once again through her consciousness:

  ". . .I have made you into the stuff of dreams. . .and nightmares. . . ." it said.

  "You've transformed me."

  ". . .Correct. . ."

  "Why?"

  ". . .Because. . .it was your wish. . .by the sacrifice of your blood. . .you have become the stuff of shadows. . ." the crow said.

  "But I didn't ask for this. . .why did you change me?" Red tears formed in the black feathers around her eyes. They fell to the floor to mingle with the blood that had slipped in amongst the cracks in the floorboards of her room.

  “Through your blood, we are connected. . .change is necessary in life. . .but you will always remain what you were. . You were chosen. . . ."

  "Poppy?"

  Poppy snapped out of her reverie and looked at Alicia. "Sorry," she said. "I was far away. I dreamt of my father."

  "Did you really?"

  "Yeah, after I changed the last time." She related the story of the dream and showed Alicia the small black wing mark on her right hand. "I think he's trying to contact me."

  "Does the vibe you're getting from your father tell you in which direction we should go?"

  Poppy looked deep inside herself, she listened to her Crow Self, knowing that that was closer to her father. She felt the connection to her father again and he whispered to her in her head. She looked out at the great expanse of meadow that stretched before them. There were hills in the distance and she could see rocky mountains. There was a road that stretched into the distance. It was now or never, she thought. "We go north, right along the path," she said. "I feel like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz."

  "You're a hell of a lot more pretty though," Alicia said.

  "Not true, no one touches the beauty of Judy Garland." She smiled. "Let's go find my father."

  * * * * *

  Poppy looked out at the great expanse of meadow that stretched before them. There were hills in the distance and she could see rocky mountains. There was a road that stretched into the distance. "Where do you think we should go?" Alicia asked.

  Poppy scoffed. "You're the Guide, aren't you supposed to tell me?"

  Alicia smiled. "I am your Guide in all things that have to do with Shape Shifting. This is your quest, you need to decide where to go. I can't make those choices for you." She shrugged. "It's the way these things work."

  "You mean there are rules for quests?"

  Alicia gave her a quizzical look. "Where have you been? Of course there are rules for quests. The basic one is that a Witch must decide her own direction, her own path. You have already made one for yourself." She pointed to the path under their feet that went into the distance. "The second is that I may not decide anything for you, you must decide everything. How you choose now can affect something in your quest later on." She paused to take a breath and continued. "The last rule is that there are no rules in the Otherworld." She laughed at Poppy's crestfallen look. "Don't look so sad, not all hope is lost. You already know where we need to go. Just look inside yourself."

  Poppy closed her eyes. She felt her Crow Self right away, like a friend in the dark, a shadow that filled her body inside. She welcomed it and tried to sense which direction she should go in, towards what, she knew not. She heard her father's voice, deep and smoky, speak to her: "You already know the way. Follow the path you have already chosen."

  "We go that way," Poppy said when she opened her eyes. She pointed towards the mountains in the distance, the wing mark on her right hand throbbing softly under her skin.

  Alicia walked in step beside her. "Don't be so nervous," she said. "You created this world, this world knows you. You have already chosen your path; it has been chosen since time began. Now all you have to do is follow it."

  "It can't be as easy as all that?"

  "No, these things rarely are." Alicia took her hand. "But at least you have a clear path to follow. Most Witches don't have that much luck. You seem to be full of it."

  They walked in silence for a time, the sun hot on their heads, their packs a little heavy on their backs. The hills became rockier as they left their cave, the land around them a little more hilly than before. The meadow still stretched before them, a sea of green that whispered as the wind moved through the reeds.

  "Will we be safe in Ashling, since I've created it?" Poppy asked.

  "Nope," Alicia said. "Far from it. You have created this image for your part of the Otherworld, but it existed before you, has been here for all time and perhaps before that. You have given it shape, but that doesn't protect you."

  "Then what does?"

  "I do. The magic inside you. I will never leave your side, Poppy. You have my word on that. You were made for this, though; this was your destiny before you were even born. You have the strength inside you. Use it. You are vulnerable to the unknown, but not defenceless"

  As they continued walking, Poppy tried to find the source of her fear. She knew she was afraid of the unknown, and that she would somehow fail on this quest, when she didn't even know what she was doing in the first place. She was working herself into a panic, so she made a deal with herself. She would focus on one thing at a time. The first order of business was to learn more about Shape Shifters. Alic
ia could teach her about those. The second was to find her father. After that was anyone's guess. She squared her shoulders and felt better, a plan had been made, another path to follow. She resolved to continue on from here without being afraid. After all, enough strange things had happened to her now to fill her entire life time. What were a few more at this point?

  "Thanks," Poppy said.

  "For what?"

  "For the pep talk. I know I've been whining about all this, but it's a lot to take in. A lot to think about and I haven't really been given the chance to think about any of it."

  "I know it's hard, but you can do this. The gods chose you, Poppy. They must have had a reason."

  "That's one of the things I'm going to ask my father, when we find him. If we find him."

  "Not if; when. It is only a matter of time."

  Poppy nodded to herself. Time. That word again. It seemed that she would have to become close friends with time. Coming out of her reverie, she looked up the path and saw something that made her stop. "What's that?" she asked. Alicia turned to look where Poppy was pointing. A little distance down the path was a bush. It stood in the middle of the path, its roots deep in the soil. The bush wasn't what was weird, however. It was the light dancing around it in varying different colours. It looked like a rainbow fell around the bush, until Alicia and Poppy got closer. What they had mistaken for lights were really hundreds of tiny Fairies, all gossamer winged. Each wore leaves as clothes and has small toes and fingers, but it was their hair that was the real wonder. Each Fairy had different coloured hair that was ablaze with light. Blue, red, green, yellow, pink, sky blue, purple; every colour in the rainbow and more. "I have never seen such a thing," Alicia whispered. "Gee, that's funny," Poppy said sarcastically. "Neither have I." As they approached the Fairy bush, they heard the Fairies begin to sing. The melody was haunting and wonderful, frightening and beautiful, all at the same time. It chilled Poppy to the bone, but made her want to dance all the same. When one of the Fairies saw them, it leapt away from its friends and stood apart from them. It had no colour to its hair, instead it was a midnight black. It regarded Poppy with narrowed eyes. When it spoke, its voice was deeper than she had expected. "We have been waiting for you," it said.

  Chapter Thirty Five

  Another Quest Revealed

  Poppy regarded the Fairy in front of her. The others were still making their humming music as they flitted and flew around the bush that was in the centre of the path. She had never seen the like of the Fairy creature before, though she knew they had to exist. Its black hair moved in a light breeze that flew across the grass. When the wind rattled his wings, they shimmered in the sunlight. "You have been waiting for me?" Poppy said.

  "Indeed we have," said the Fairy man, "we want to know if you are her."

  "Her, who?"

  "The Shape Shifter. The lands have been full of talk of nothing else."

  "I am a Shape Shifter," Poppy said.

  "Then we are at your service, milady," he said. He flew to the ground at Poppy's feet. "I am Tholonious, I am at your service." He bowed until his head touched the ground.

  Poppy felt uncomfortable. "Please," she said. "Don't bow, there's no need to bow. I'm just here to find my father."

  "But you will stop the darkness that is coming," Tholonious said. "It is written that when the Shape Shifter comes, the Darkness will end."

  "I don't know about any Darkness," she said.

  Tholonious whistled a high pitched sound and the humming of the other Fairies stopped as they stopped flying and took a rest in the bush. Their colours looked like flowers perched on its branches. Tholonious spoke. "I have been here longer than any creature in Ashling. All the Fairies answer to me, I am their leader. I have always led and I will die leading. That is my way." He bowed his head to the bush. "They are my family, we are all family here. Magic runs through our blood and makes us brothers and sisters." He flew up a little, so that he was looking at Poppy and Alicia at eye level. "I was flying some time ago to the edges of Ashling. Normally, where there are fields that go on forever, at the end of this path, there was only darkness."

  "How long has this darkness been coming?" Poppy asked, suddenly curious.

  "I first noticed it a month or so ago. At first, it was a small black cloud growing on the horizon, now it has grown to huge proportions! Those that wander into it are lost, never to be seen again. It is like a cancer that is eating at this land, it seeks the land, eats it. Soon, I am worried that we will not have a home."

  "I still don't understand what you want me to do," Poppy said.

  "It is written that the Shape Shifter will stop the Darkness. This is what you must do."

  "But I am already on a quest to find my father. I am hoping that he will have some light to shed on this situation."

  "Perhaps he might, but we must hurry. Even now, the Darkness eats at the land. The land grows smaller every day, every week. Many of us have died and lost our lives."

  Poppy sighed. She really didn't know the first thing about myths and Darkness that could eat land. She was way out of her element, but she was already up to her shoulders in this. How could she say no? "You say the Darkness is on this path?"

  "Yes," Tholonious said. "It is a few days travel in the direction you are headed. I heard rumour of your coming and hoped to enlist your help."

  "Well, you've been successful. We're going in this direction anyway, so you will be able to show me the Darkness when we get to it."

  "You will know it when you see it, milady," Tholonious said. "Make no mistake about that."

  "Are all of you coming with us?"

  "No, just me. The others will send word of your arrival. But they will be careful not to spread word too widely; there are others who would not be so happy to know of your arrival."

  "Is there someone after us?"

  Tholonious smiled. "No, milady. But, like the mundane world, there is good and there is evil. We will just hope that we find more of the former than the latter. Are you ready to continue?"

  "Yes. The sooner I find my father, the sooner I can help with this Darkness."

  "As you wish, milady," he said. He told the other Fairies of what was happening and they were off down the path. Poppy had a growing sense of doom. Something was happening to Ashling, to the Otherworld she had brought life to. She didn't think that she was its creator; she knew that it had existed in some other form before her. But she seemed destined to be its protector. Something, or someone, meant harm to this Otherworld. It was up to her to find out whom. With a grim heart, they continued down the path.

  * * * * *

  Monica danced around the ballroom as the old pianist played a soft waltz. The ballroom had been built when the original house had been done, but after years of neglect, sat unused. It was on the south side of the Coven House, down a long hallway behind the kitchen. It had a balcony that overlooked the house’s back gardens and the small cemetery that was on the south border of the property. Not that Monica could go out on the balcony, to do so would mean her death. Just like Moe, she was trapped inside the house. If she were to go outside the house, she would slowly begin to decompose. She had tried before, against Moe's warnings that ghosts could not survive away from where they had died. In the end, she didn't care. To be free, released from her prison of a room after so many years was all the freedom she needed. She couldn't believe how big the Coven House on Harrow Hill was; it stretched on for miles and there was always something new at every turn. She felt the sunlight on her face as she danced. She laughed out loud and looked over to see Moe smiling at her from one of the low chaise lounges that lined one wall of the ballroom. She stopped spinning, put her hands on her hips and looked at him. "What?" she said.

  Moe laughed softly. "Nothing. Just you. I've never seen a dead person enjoy life so much."

  "Well, why not?" she said. "Besides, I was stuck in a room for a large portion of my afterlife and I plan to enjoy the rest of it."

  "With me?"

>   Monica smiled. "Of course with you, silly!" she ran to him and flopped down on the chaise lounge beside Moe. "How could I not want to be with you?

  "Aside from the fact that I'm the only available ghost to choose from. . . ."

  She tapped his shoulder. "Stop it, don't be melodramatic." She giggled. "I'm in love with you, Moe, I really am. I know that what I did was wrong. . . ."

  "It's okay," he said. "We don't have to talk about that."

  "But I do. I mean, I'm not a mean woman, I'm not a mean ghost. I shouldn't have tried to transform myself into your dead ex, it was manipulative."

  "You were just looking to hurt someone."

  "Yeah, that too. Can you blame me? Being shut up in a room for all eternity can drive a person nuts."

  "Or ghosts for that matter."

  She hugged him and they sat in silence for a moment, listening to the house move and settle around them. Floors creaked, windows let the sun in. A cold breeze found its way into the ballroom and played with Monica's hair.

  "What was it like when you died?" Moe asked.

  "Well, I told you how they took me up to the room?" Moe nodded. "Well, after I was killed. . .they slit my throat so that I would die easier. . .well, I'm not sure. I just kind of woke up in my body, except that my body had been buried already, beneath the House. I woke up on my bed, already a ghost. I thought I was still alive."

  "When did you realize you weren't?"

  "When I could not see my reflection. It took me years to get solid form. What was it like when you died?" Moe shuddered. He didn't like thinking about what had happened to him, how Jethro had thrown his bloody body out into the street as a warning to the others. He remembered waking up after Lucia had poured magic into him, seeing her face. "Are you an angel?" he had asked.

  Lucia had laughed. "No," she had said. "I'm a friend."