Double-Sided Witch (Covencraft Book 3)

by Margarita Gakis

  “I’m glad Bruce found his way here. I’d like to talk you.”

  “I was sick that day,” she said automatically. It was her standard response - half joking, half serious. She’d used it on Paris once before and his lips quirked.

  “You’re not in trouble. It’s a little about Bruce as well, actually.”

  “You said he didn’t destroy anything.” Jade looked around the office for any signs that Bruce had done damage. The carpet still looked perfectly plush and beige everywhere, except for the one spot Jade knew was trapped underneath the chair she was sitting on, where Henri had once spilled a latte. She wasn’t about to sell Henri out though. Paris’ large, dark wood desk sat in front of the bay windows, looking pristine and well kept. The curtains hanging from the windows didn’t seem disturbed, although to be honest, they did look a little worn.

  Ugh, her lack of sleep was giving her ‘squirrel brain’ - when her mind just jumped from one thought to the other with no concept of attention or linearity.

  Jade refocused her thoughts. “Everything looks okay. Did he eat your lunch? Or maybe chew your shoes? Scratch your outfit?” Jade asked, looking over Paris quickly and finding him well presented as always - grey turtleneck, dark slacks, dark shoes. But when she looked up at his face, his sharp blue eyes were watching her carefully and she had the fleeting thought that she was being watched by a hawk or other large bird of prey. He was looking for something, watching her. She narrowed her eyes in return. “What?”

  “Bruce came into my office and showed me a bad patch of skin on his neck.”

  Not knowing why, Jade reached up to touch her own neck, her fingers pressing into the soft flesh there. “Yeah. I noticed it. I was going to see about taking him to a vet or one of those whatchamacallits. Herpetologist? Like the one you were going to bring in when we first found Bruce.”

  “I don’t think that will be necessary.”

  “Okay,” Jade said, wary. “Do you know what’s wrong with him?”

  “Usually when a familiar shows signs of distress or illness it’s because its witch is distressed or ill.”

  Jade’s eyes darted to Bruce, who still had his eyes closed, blissfully sleeping in front of the fireplace. “I wouldn’t say he’s distressed,” she answered, deflecting the statement from being about her.

  “No, but he did come here to show me his neck, and you were concerned about it yourself.”

  “Well, I wanted to put some cream on it or something. He keeps showing it to me.” Her stomach sunk low into her belly, a heavy feeling swirling inside it.

  “I think he knows that whatever is wrong with him, it’s tied to you.”

  “But I’m not sick.” She held her hands in her lap carefully. Her eyes darted down to Bruce. He was watching her, unblinking. Was his scaly patch her fault? Jade wasn’t physically sick, but mentally…God, she had the sudden urge to laugh, her body flooded with anxiety and no way to outwardly release the energy. If Bruce was tied to her mental status, he was screwed.

  “If Bruce is showing signs of illness,” Paris continued, “it’s likely because you’re ill or sick. His body is forming a response to it.”

  “But I feel fine.” Her voice came out weak and soft. She wouldn’t have even believed it herself.

  Paris didn’t say anything in reply at first, just calmly stared at her with those almost too-blue eyes.

  Jade thought of the dreams she’d been having - dreams of Lily, of the lake. Of water and cold. Dreams of feeling heavy and weighted down. She thought of waking up in the closet, then the bathroom, then the kitchen, not knowing how she got to any of those places.

  She thought of the mirrors cracking. First at her cottage. Then at yoga. She’d been managing to avoid large mirrors since, but how long could she keep that up?

  “I’d like you to go see Dr. Gellar.”

  Jade wanted to protest and clamped down on the immediate knee-jerk reaction to jump out of the chair and assert she was fine. It would only look worse. Besides, maybe there was something that could be done.

  She looked at Bruce, watching him snooze by the fireplace. His belly moved up and down in rhythmic breathing and she counted the motion. Up and down. Up and down.

  “If I were sick, what would happen to Bruce?”

  “He’d likely get more ill until you started getting better.”

  Better. That was just such a loaded word. Jade didn’t even know what it would mean. ‘Better’ as in ‘no longer thinks she’s two people?’ ‘Better’ as in ‘not constantly having nightmares about sparrows and the lake and Lily?’ ‘Better’ meaning ‘no longer wonders if she should be committed?’ A bit of nausea rose up in her and she took a deep breath to stifle it.

  “Okay. I’ll go see Gellar.” Jade started picking at one of her cuticles, her nails digging into the dry skin, pulling it away from her finger. It immediately began to hurt, but she couldn't stop. She’d end up making it bleed.

  “Would you like me to go with you?” Paris asked.

  Jade shrugged, not knowing if she wanted to say yes or no. The skin on her finger tore and sure enough, bright red popped up as it bled. She curled her fingers into a tight fist. “Uh. Sure. Or if you’re busy you don’t have to.”

  “I can make time for this. If I’m mistaken and Dr. Gellar finds you’re not sick, I’ll bring in a herpetologist for Bruce.”

  That made Jade feel better. If they didn’t find out anything, Bruce would still get to see someone. She nodded, focusing on trying to unclench her fingers.

  “I’m sure Dr. Gellar could fit you in today. Why don’t I call down and then we can go together?”

  “Okay. Let’s go see Gellar.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  No one liked going to the doctor. Jade knew she wasn’t rare in her opinion on the matter. People only went to the doctor when they didn’t feel well, so it was a good bet that most people already felt crummy before they ever stepped foot in the doctor’s office. The crappy thing about the medlab in the Covenstead was that it doubled as a clinic, so it had that permanent ‘hospital’ smell - bandages and antiseptic. Sometimes Jade thought she could even catch the metallic scent of blood, but that could just be sense memory from all her trips to hospitals and emergency rooms when she was younger.

  Ah, childhood. The not-so-good times.

  Dr. Gellar herself was nice. She was professional and kind. Jade had the sense she really listened to her patients and it seemed like she was more than happy to fit Jade in without an appointment. Jade was silent as Paris explained the situation - Jade’s familiar was showing signs of potential illness which indicated Jade herself was ill and could Dr. Gellar please look Jade over?

  It was hard not to feel like a child while Paris did the talking, but at the same time, Jade felt uncharacteristically shy about voicing her concerns - especially with Paris standing right there. It’s not like she was normally chatty with health care, but she wasn’t about to start adding in any details with an audience. She was usually able to articulate her symptoms well and didn’t play them up or down, but right now, she felt like if she opened her mouth she didn’t know what would come pouring out.

  Bruce remained in Paris’ office. Neither Paris nor Jade thought it was a good idea to bring Bruce to medlab. Paris probably thought it was unsanitary or something, but Jade just didn’t want him to end up smelling like hospital. Plus, there were a lot of sharp things. She liked knowing he was happily still in front of Paris’ fireplace - unless he got bored and started poking around Paris’ office. If she’d been left alone in Paris’ office, it was what she would do.

  Gellar was efficient and had Jade ensconced in a small examining room within a few minutes, handing over the requisite medical gown and leaving her to change. Jade held it up and turned it back and forth a few times wondering if she wanted the ties in the front or in the back or if it mattered. She settled on ties in the back, leaving her underthings on and hopping up on the medical table. With only the medical gown and her socks on, she was sur
e she made quite the picture. Classy. She pulled out her smart phone and killed some time surfing the net and checking her apps until Gellar came back in.

  “Sorry about the wait, I just had a few other patients I had to finish up with.”

  Jade tossed her phone, watching it land on the pile of her clothes on the chair. “It’s fine.”

  “Before we get started on anything new, I’d like to check in on your older injuries. How’s the wrist? Any problems since the cast came off?”

  Jade shook her head. The break she’d sustained after first coming to the Coven had healed well enough. Jade could say with some dark humor that, while it was the first time a demon from another dimension had broken one of her bones, it wasn’t the first time a monster had done it. Her father held that dubious honor.

  “Fine.”

  “No lingering aches? No weakness?” Gellar questioned.

  “Nope.”

  Gellar smiled. “Good. And the scars from the demon, how are they healing?”

  Jade knew she made a face at that, thinking about the five claw marks on her chest. “They’re fine,” she said. “Healed up. Just… pink and… well, I guess most people are pretty pale in the torso area, so they stick out. They’re noticeable. Not that anyone’s seeing me naked. Not that I want anyone to see me naked,” she blurted out, her brain flashing quickly back to Paris and him kissing her on the cheek. She squirmed in her chair. “Or don’t want anyone seeing me naked or-” She had to take a steadying breath to cut herself off. She wanted to clap her hand over her mouth. “They’re fine.”

  “They’ll start to fade with time.” Gellar paused and then gave her a knowing look. “But, given your little outburst,” Jade cringed, wishing she could snatch the words back, “are there any prescriptions I can fill for you while you’re here? Contraceptives?” she asked, looking down at Jade’s medical file briefly.

  “No,” Jade answered quickly, feeling her cheeks go hot. “Nothing.”

  “Okay. You know where I am if you change your mind.” Gellar easily let the subject drop and Jade was grateful. She didn’t think she had it in her to go down that road right now.

  “Have you had any further adverse reactions to magic? Headaches, losing consciousness or bleeding from your nose or ears?”

  “You make it sound like it happens all the time. It only happened twice,” Jade protested. “Once because a demon was trying to pull me into their dimension and then once because I had to use a metric ton of magic to stop Dex’s spell on the Coven.”

  Gellar looked slightly bemused at Jade’s tone. “And if you keep pushing your magic too hard too fast, it will keep happening. So, anything since?”

  “No,” Jade replied, feeling like a kid that got busted stealing cookies. “I’ve been good with my magic, and nobody’s needed saving from demons or witches gone bad. But you know, it’s still early in the week.”

  “What is it that the witches say? Don’t tempt Mother Nature?” Gellar asked, eyebrow raising. She wasn’t a witch herself and being surrounded by so many other magical people, Jade sometimes forgot that Gellar was mortal, like Jade used to be. Or maybe never was. Sometimes when Jade thought about Lily and their childhood, she wasn’t sure which was true.

  “So, how have you been feeling in general?”

  Jade blinked at Gellar’s question, wondering how to answer. “Fine. I guess.”

  “Not exactly a rousing response.”

  Jade drummed her fingers against her knee. Gellar put her medical file down at the foot of the bed and leaned a hip against it.

  “You know, anything you tell me stays with me.”

  “Yeah, but you work for the Coven.”

  “I’m paid by the Coven, yes, but I’m still a doctor. I keep doctor-patient confidentiality.”

  “What about Paris?” Jade asked, her eyes darting over to the door, behind which Paris was likely waiting.

  “Paris is the Coven Leader and if something were affecting the entire Coven, a sickness or an illness, then I would have to tell him. But if something’s only affecting one witch and is more of a personal nature, then he has no right to any information.”

  “But if Bruce is sick, doesn’t it mean it has to be magic in origin?”

  “Not necessarily,” said Gellar. “Bruce may be ill because you are ill and he’s tied magically to you. It could be something simple like you have eczema or allergies. Or maybe you’re anemic. Or maybe this is the extraordinarily rare instance when a familiar is ill and it’s not tied to a witch and we do need to treat Bruce.”

  “Or maybe something’s wrong with me.” Jade’s voice was quiet in the sparse room. She wished she’d kept her sweater. She was cold.

  “Maybe.”

  Jade wasn’t sure if she was ready to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth but maybe… maybe she could be honest. About pieces. Just to see where this all went. She took a deep breath.

  “I’m having trouble sleeping.”

  “How so?”

  Jade shrugged, staring down at her socked feet, kicking them a bit. “I seem to fall asleep easily enough, but I’ve been having a lot of dreams. Vivid dreams.” In her mind’s eye, she could see the green-blue water of her dreams, feel the pressing sensation of weight bearing down on her, feel the sluggish response of her limbs. When she heard things in her dreams, they had the dulled, sloshing tones of things heard underwater - muffled and thick. “I feel like I don’t get any rest. When I get up, it’s like I haven’t been asleep, but I know I have been.”

  “You’re going to bed and getting up at the same time?” asked Gellar.

  “Mostly. I mean half an hour here or there.”

  “Do you wake up in the middle of the night? Is your sleep fragmented?”

  Jade paused. “I… think so.”

  “You seem unsure. Do you think you’ve been waking up? Are you waking up enough to remember being awake?”

  “I must be getting up because…” Jade cut herself off, hesitant to talk about the closet.

  “Because what, Jade?”

  “I wake up in the closet,” she said quickly, trying to get the words out fast, like ripping off a bandage. “It’s something we used to… I used to do a lot. Sleep in the closet. I go to sleep in my bed, but I wake up in the closet. Once I woke up in the bathroom. And once in the kitchen. That was new. It used to just be the closet.”

  Out of the corner of her eye, Jade could see Gellar lean in, her entire presence seeming to ooze concern and comfort. “And you don’t remember waking up to get there?”

  Jade shook her head.

  Gellar glanced down at Jade’s medical file, flipping through some of the pages. “Did you sleepwalk as a child? Or have night terrors?”

  Jade felt her whole body pause, remembering hiding in the closet as a child, hearing her father, drunk, ransacking the house. He’d be looking for more booze, looking for more money to buy booze, or just looking for something to hit. While she knew it wasn’t what Gellar meant, she couldn’t help but flash on the memories when Gellar asked the question.

  “No? I mean, I had nightmares like most kids, I guess. And maybe once or twice I might have walked in my sleep, but I don’t recall it being a common thing. And never those terror things. Those are the things where you wake up screaming right?”

  Gellar made a see-saw motion with her head. “Sometimes. It’s similar to nightmares, but more dramatic. Sleepwalking is more common in children. Adults that suffer from it tend to have a history of it carried over from their childhood. The problem with sleepwalking is that it’s more likely to occur when sleep deprived. If you’re having poor sleep, you may sleepwalk, further disrupting your sleep. Is there anything else that’s troubling you?”

  Jade thought about the image in the mirror - seeing her iris go green for a moment. She thought about the strange feeling she had in her brain - the gravity well just outside her conscious thoughts - a feeling she’d always associated with Lily. She didn’t feel ready to say those things
out loud.

  Jade shook her head. “No, nothing else.”

  Gellar regarded Jade for a moment, letting the silence sit, giving Jade a chance to add in or change her mind. When that didn’t happen, Gellar nodded once to herself and then spoke again. “Let’s take a look at your numbers.”

  She took Jade’s pressure and pulse, then checked her ears, eyes and throat. She held the requisite cold stethoscope to Jade’s chest and made her breathe in and out - which always left Jade feeling a little out of breath even though she didn’t really have to do anything. Gellar reached out to touch Jade’s neck and Jade flinched back at first before offering a wry lip curl and then staying put as Gellar checked her lymph nodes. Gellar had a few more questions - digestion, monthly cycles, diet and exercise, etc. and Jade didn’t really know what to tell her. Fine, regular, good and okay. Jade’s health had always been robust and she wasn’t prone to illness. She didn’t eat great and didn’t work out seven days a week, but she also wasn’t at the drive-thru eating fast food every day and she was running at least three out of four days.

  Gellar pursed her lips. “I’d like to run some basic lab tests - CBC, iron, check your electrolytes, that sort of thing. Let’s have you come back in a couple days for the results. If we find anything, we can go from there.”

  Jade shrugged. “Okay.” What was she going to say? No? What if there was something wrong with her? Something physical, something totally unrelated to Lily and magic. People got sick all the time. Young people, seemingly healthy people, people with no symptoms.

  Gellar was fast with the blood draw, doing it herself and not calling in a nurse or a tech. She was quick to find a vein and only had to poke it once, and Jade suspected she wouldn’t even bruise from the needle like she sometimes did. Gellar pocketed the vials of blood in one of the deep slots of her lab coat.

  “I’ll leave you to change, but as I said, lets get you back in a couple days so we can go over the results of your blood work and maybe re-assess some additional testing. How about early next week?”