Double-Sided Witch (Covencraft Book 3)

by Margarita Gakis

  “Bruce,” Paris intoned, closing the door firmly and hoping he was interpreting Bruce’s gestures correctly. “I’m glad to see you as well.”

  Bruce let loose another full body shimmy and then did a strange wobble-walk over to Paris’ fireplace, giving Paris a significant look. Paris felt his lips curl in a smile. “Ah, yes. I believe Jade mentioned your desire to be warm.”

  Paris murmured a quick fire incantation, setting a small blaze alight in the fireplace. Bruce sidled up to the grate, and flopped over onto his side, presenting his belly to the flames and tossing a grateful look over his shoulder at Paris. Paris made a move to go back to his desk and Bruce let out a strange kind of squawk.

  “Was that a bark?” Paris asked incredulously. It had been not quite a dog bark, but perhaps as close as Bruce could come to it. Bruce stared at Paris, again seemingly waiting for something. Paris took another step toward his desk and Bruce made the sound again. Experimentally, Paris took a step back toward Bruce and the fireplace. Bruce’s tail thumped on the ground. Paris took another step closer to Bruce again and thumped his tail once more, like a happy canine.

  “I see how it is. Feeling a tad lonely?” Abandoning his work, Paris sank down in one of the Queen Anne chairs in front of the fireplace. Bruce kept his eyes on him the entire time, watching him unblinkingly. The way the light hit his irises made them appear mirrored at times, almost flashing. Bruce shifted so that his back was pressed up against Paris’ leg, a heavy, warm weight. While Paris had extensive academic knowledge of familiars, Bruce was the only one he’d known in person. Paris wasn’t sure if all familiars were odd and enigmatic or if it was just Bruce’s nature. He did feel a fondness for the creature. Bruce had saved Paris from one of Dex’s spells and he also resonated with the continual pulse of Jade’s magic - similar in feeling and in scent. Paris knew if he breathed deep, he would smell flowers and cloves.

  “I didn’t know Jade was bringing you by today,” Paris said. He should feel foolish addressing Bruce, but reminded himself familiars were more than just animals. They had to be highly intelligent and somewhat magical themselves to be candidates for witch magic. Aligning himself as Jade’s familiar required some kind of conscious choice on Bruce’s part. Paris had no doubt that Bruce was as attached to Jade as Jade often seemed to be to him. “Did you lose her? Does she know you’re here?”

  “Pffffffft.” It was long and drawn out, Bruce’s forked tongue flicking out of his mouth and tapping once against Paris’ pant-leg. Paris reached forward carefully, giving Bruce ample time to turn or pull away as he did. When he didn’t move, Paris touched the soft, supple skin of Bruce’s neck, petting him lightly. Bruce preened and Paris felt… content. Bruce’s trust and acceptance of Paris was akin to Jade's trust and acceptance of him as well. A familiar generally echoed its witch’s feelings. Seeing Bruce’s eyes slit slightly shut as he relaxed next to Paris was gratifying.

  Bruce turned, rolling further onto his back, away from the fireplace and toward Pars. He tipped his chin up and Paris laughed at first, thinking Bruce was angling for some kind of belly rub, until he noticed it was more like Bruce was presenting something to him. Paris leaned in and looked at Bruce’s neck, running his fingers down the skin. He paused upon finding a leathery, scaly patch that was not at all like the rest Bruce’s smooth underbelly.

  “What have you got here?” Paris said quietly, coming out of his chair to hunker down on the ground next to Bruce. One of Bruce’s clawed feet came up and rested against Paris’ knee while he examined the lizard’s neck, his talons light and careful. A heavy feeling settled in his stomach as he trailed his fingertips lightly over the area. The skin was cracked and slightly hot to the touch. Paris had the feeling that if he pushed, it would split open and bleed. He gave it a bit of a press, checking for any swelling under the surface.

  One of Bruce’s sharp talons poked through Paris’ trouser-leg and Paris flinched.

  “Did that hurt?”

  Bruce seemed intent on watching him - his silver-green eyes staring hard. Paris frowned as something else caught his notice. He leaned closer, as close as he could get to Bruce’s head, looking into one of his reflective eyes. In his left eye, slightly off center of his iris, there was a cracked line of color - apple-green. It was a sharp contrast to the rest of Bruce’s silver-green and moss-colored iris. As he stared, the crack seemed to glow for a moment and then disappear - Bruce’s eye going back to a solid shade.

  Bruce stared at Paris profoundly, as though willing him to understand.

  The problem was, Paris had no idea what it meant. But, he knew that particular shade of green. It was the same color that Jade’s eyes had been the day she stopped Dex.

  “What does it mean, Bruce?” Paris said, keeping his voice quiet.

  Another sound at his door had him turning his head, only this time it was just a simple knock, a precursor, before Callie opened the door and poked her head in. She looked like she was about to say something, but then she caught sight of Paris on the ground with Bruce splayed out in front of the fire place. She smiled.

  “So this is where he is.”

  “Was he lost?”

  Callie shook her head as she came in, closing the door behind her. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and started typing away on the keyboard. “No, not really. I had coffee with Jade about an hour ago and she mentioned he hadn’t come back from being borrowed by HR. She didn’t seem too concerned, but she got that pinched look around her eyes that she gets sometimes?” Her voice intimated a sort of question and Paris nodded. He knew the look of which Callie spoke. “It was a quiet day in the library so I thought I’d take a look around and see if I could find him. Some people had seen him wandering about here and there and a few people tried to get closer. He seemed to really like the attention at first, but I hear he got sort of standoffish as the morning went on. Then he started full on evading people.”

  Paris chuckled. “Sounds a little like his mistress.”

  Callie laughed, coming closer and pocketing her phone. “Yeah. I sent Jade a text to let her know he’s here. He seems pretty popular. I think most witches wanted a chance to see him, see what he’s like. I don’t even know the last time the Coven saw a familiar. I remember seeing one when I was little. Some kind of bird creature. It would perch on its mistress’ shoulder and just looked so…” She sighed longingly. “I begged my parents for a bird for years, just hoping that I could make it perch on my shoulder like that.” She knelt down in front of Bruce and Bruce’s tail thumped happily against the carpet. He let Callie pet his head and then run her fingers under his Elizabethan collar.

  “Familiars are rare. Most witches haven’t had contact with one.”

  “I was reading up on familiars in the library today, trying to pick out some books for Jade.”

  “I’m sure she’d love to read more about him.”

  “Yeah. Oh, you’ve found his patchy spot,” Callie said, indicating where Paris was petting Bruce, his hands moving around the rough, scaly bit under his neck.

  “Yes, he showed it to me.”

  “You know a bit about familiars, don’t you? You did that paper on them in school, didn’t you?” Callie asked, her voice indicating it wasn’t so much of a question as a prodding for information.

  “Yes,” he answered, his fingers, checking over Bruce’s underbelly for any other strange areas. “They only show signs of illness when their witch is sick.”

  Callie nodded, patting Bruce on the head. “That’s what I was trying to look up today. I knew they showed signs of distress when their witch was ill, but I wasn’t sure if they could be sick on their own.”

  “Not generally,” Paris said, keeping his voice low.

  “Jade’s noticed it already. She wants to take him to a vet.”

  Paris gave a low ‘hmm.’ “I would take him to Hannah before I went to a vet,” he replied, thinking of their oldest and wisest member. Hannah knew more about magic than anyone else in the Coven. Possibly more tha
n anyone realized, Paris was sure. If there was something to do be done for Bruce, she would know, or would be able to find someone who did. “Unfortunately, she’s out of town on Council business.”

  “Should we…” Callie trailed off, sitting back on her haunches. “I mean, I guess we shouldn’t even worry about treating him. He’s not the one who’s sick.” She paused and then looked up at Paris. “Is he?”

  Paris gave Bruce’s neck another long stroke, careful of the sore spot. “No, he’s not.”

  “Is it… does it mean… well, is it only physical sickness? Like could it just be that Jade has really bad allergies or is getting a bad cold?”

  Paris thought about the shift in Jade’s eye-color when she fought Dex. About her nightmares, about the sense of someone outside her house doing magic.

  Then there was Bruce’s intelligence to consider. Paris thought of the way Bruce had come to his office, directly presenting his neck and then staring Paris in the eye as his own iris pulsed with a strange green shade.

  No, this wasn’t something trivial like Jade having a cold or the flu. It was something serious enough that not only was her familiar ill, he’d felt the strong urge to come and show Paris.

  But, Paris wasn’t ready to say that out loud yet. He felt as though to do so would be betraying a sort of confidence. He wanted to speak to Jade about it first.

  “Perhaps.”

  “What should we tell Jade?” Callie’s eyes were large and dark as she stared at Paris.

  With one last pat on Bruce’s head, Paris pushed himself up and settled back into the Queen Anne chair, Callie mirroring his actions and seating herself on the other side of the fireplace. Looking somewhat satisfied, Bruce stretched out further in front of the fire, each one of his talons coming slightly further out of his forefoot before slipping back as he relaxed again. “The truth. That if Bruce is sick it means that there’s likely something wrong with her.”

  Paris’ cell phone buzzed from his pocket, vibrating loudly with a harsh ‘tzzzz.’ Bruce rolled his head back and stared at Paris accusingly, as though the sound had disturbed his naptime. Paris regarded the screen fondly when he saw the text from Jade.

  I hear you have my lizard. Has he destroyed anything?

  “I bet that’s Jade, checking in on Bruce,” Callie said, her voice amused.

  “Yes, wanting to know if he’s destroyed anything.” Paris typed a back a quick ‘no’ and then added that Bruce was just lying down in front of the fireplace.

  He’s a sook. He hates winter. I don’t know how he survived the sewer. If he’s bothering you, I can come get him.

  “She’s seems to be concerned he’s being a bother.”

  Callie smiled. “I think that’s her way of saying she’s worried about him and wants him back. She seemed nervous bringing him this morning.”

  Paris typed back that Bruce wasn’t a bother and was welcome to stay in Paris’ office as long as required. “She likes knowing where he is. She probably feels connected to him, even if she doesn’t realize it. He’s certainly connected to her. Familiars tend to take on the characteristics of their witches and sync up with them emotionally. They tend to like the same things.”

  “Are you saying Jade would like to be stretched out in front of a fireplace as well right now?” Callie asked, a smile on her face.

  Paris smiled back. “No, but if I put a cup of coffee down in front of Bruce, I’ve a notion he’ll drink the entire thing and go looking for the pot.”

  “He did try to steal Jade’s coffee this morning.”

  “He probably has a ‘what’s yours is ours’ mentality when it comes to her things.”

  Paris’ phone buzzed again and he scanned the text. “She’s on her way up to get him.”

  Callie took a deep breath and pushed herself out of the chair. “I guess that’s my cue to leave. Unless you’d like me to stay while you talk with her about Bruce?” Callie turned her eyes onto him, searching his own for an answer.

  He shook his head. “No. But perhaps you could ensure those books you found are ready for Jade, should she want additional information after we speak.”

  Callie nodded and then in a burst of movement, leaned forward and gave him a big hug. She’d always been the more tactile of the two of the, ever since they were children. He hugged her back, grateful for the support. She pulled back after only a moment, crouching down to pet Bruce on the head.

  “Bye, Bruce,” she said lowly before giving Paris a quick wave of her fingers and leaving his office.

  Paris looked back down at the lizard, stretched out languidly. “I don’t suppose you have any advice on how to address your mistress?”

  Bruce poked his tongue out. “Pfffffft.” He turned his gaze from Paris and flopped his head back down on the ground.

  “That’s what I thought.”

  #

  It wasn’t like Jade had been called to Paris’ office because she’d done something wrong or was in trouble. She’d offered to go of her own free will to get Bruce. Also, she was an adult. Even if she had done something wrong, which she hadn’t, and she was being called down to Paris’ office, she still shouldn’t feel like a truant school child being summoned to the principal and told to wait outside the door.

  Except she totally felt that way.

  Jade didn’t see Paris’ assistant, Suki, which wasn’t anything new. Although Jade had received emails from Suki and had once spoken to her on the phone, she’d yet to see her in person and hadn’t completely abandoned the idea that she was some kind of sprite or fairy. No matter how much Callie laughed when Jade suggested it.

  It was weird. The woman seemed to get a lot done in a day, and yet was never at her desk.

  Jade knocked quickly three times on the door, waiting to hear Paris’ invite before entering. She immediately caught sight of Bruce, stretched out languidly in front of the fireplace, a small fire there for him. Given the lack of wood or other material in the fireplace and the faint scent of Paris’ magic when Jade sniffed - mint and sandalwood - she guessed that Bruce had suckered Paris.

  “He totally made you cast that fire spell, didn’t he?” Jade asked, crossing her arms over her chest and eyeballing Bruce. Bruce didn’t roll over and look at her, but he did let out a decidedly loud huff of annoyance.

  “I recalled you saying he gets cold easily and he pointedly looked at the fireplace.”

  “You are such a sookie baby,” Jade said directly to Bruce, crossing over to him and then sitting down in one of the Queen Anne chairs. She leaned over and patted his belly, liking the firm ‘thunk’ it made when she did. Bruce’s tongue flicked out at her quickly and then disappeared back in his mouth. He never opened his eyes to look at her, content to soak up the warmth.

  “Lucky bastard. No working for you,” Jade said, scratching her nails lightly over the one spot on his belly she knew he liked. “Did you have fun this morning?” She turned back to Paris. “I hope he wasn’t bothering you. I let him go off with some other witches and I kind of thought they’d either bring him back or he’d find his way to me when he was done, but I guess he didn’t.”

  “It wasn’t a problem. He’s an extraordinary creature. I don’t mind if he stays here for a while,” Paris replied, coming over to sit in the chair opposite Jade. Jade watched him move out of the corner of her eye without taking her gaze from Bruce. Sometimes she preferred watching Paris on the sly instead of straight on.

  With everything going on lately - joining the Coven, then Dex and now Lily and the dreams, Jade didn’t feel like she had enough time to sit down and eat breakfast let alone think about other things. Things like how the other night, when Paris came over, he’d sat next to her on the couch. Or things like at the Coven Ball, how Paris had leaned in and kissed Jade on the cheek. He’d meant it as a sort of teasing, fond gesture, and she got that, but having him so close to her in that moment, the feeling of him almost taking up all the space around her and of knowing that she must equally be taking up the space around hi
m… it made her nervous. There were parts of herself that she’d thought were closed up for good - locked down and secured. She had purposely closed off those parts and she was fine with it. She wouldn’t necessarily say she was happy with it, but it was the way things were, the way she wanted them to be. Now, sitting across from Paris, being able to smell his magic in the air and being in his office where so much of his essence was soaked into the room, she felt twitchy and on edge. Maybe… scared. She didn’t want to think the word, but she also couldn’t ignore it. It was a horrible time for her to even entertain such thoughts. Maybe her whole life was a horrible time to entertain such thoughts. Lily would probably know what to say to Paris, or know what to do. Jade just felt like a gangly pony - awkward, fumbling, limbs in all directions.

  Bruce’s tail flapped on the ground, wiggling a little bit and her eyes darted over to follow the movement. She patted his belly a few more times and then sat back in the chair. She could feel Paris’ magic in the fire just off to her side and she tentatively pushed at it, poking around the edges. She felt an answering response from it and wasn’t sure what it meant at first, but when she reached out with her magic again, she almost felt like she could suck the spell into her. Bruce twitched as she did it and Jade looked up at Paris questioningly.

  “You can take it over, if you like.”

  Jade hadn’t been aware that magic could transfer between witches, but as soon as Paris said it, she realized that she did feel like she could scoop it up. She carefully reached out with her magic, her power feeling fat and clumsy next to his. It was like trying to pick up a fine china teacup while wearing oven mitts. She sensed Paris pushing the spell toward her and then with a sort of swooping feeling in her stomach, the spell settled into her, the flames flaring up for a moment before flickering down again.

  “There. You have it now.”

  Jade felt her shoulders straighten at the tone of pride in Paris’ voice. She only had two seconds to enjoy the feeling before Paris spoke again.