Poor Little Witch Girl

by Robin Roseau

  "No."

  She stepped closer, and I backed away. She stopped in place. "I think you should let me calm you down."

  "I don't want to calm down. I don't want you soothing me until I turn complacent."

  "You'll have a nicer time if you do. Just a little, darling."

  "Don't call me that."

  "Pumpkin."

  "Stop it."

  "You look so cute, Lyra." She eyed me up and down. "Ravishing."

  "You have fantasies about teenage witches?"

  "You look like a very, very grown up apprentice, Lyra." She stepped a half step closer, and I didn't retreat. "My apprentice, Lyra."

  "I'm not your apprentice."

  "Tonight you are. You're even dressed for the part." She stepped closer. "I want you." Closer. "You have never been wanted the way I want you." Closer. And then she tugged on my aura, or on that portion of her aura that I was wearing, the way Jaime and Felicity wore some of mine. I took a step towards her. She tugged again, and I walked right into her arms.

  I probably could have resisted. But I didn't.

  She wrapped her arms around me carefully, pulling me against her. I stood with my arms limp, not hugging back. But she hugged me, and then she began to stroke my aura, slowly. She wasn't seductive about it. She was just soothing. And whether I wanted to or not, I began to relax in her arms, at least a little.

  "I won't leave your side, Lyra," she whispered. "I am nowhere near the most powerful who will be there tonight, but no one will do anything to you while you're with me."

  I probably should have asked her "why not", but I didn't. Instead, I let her stroke me. I let her soothe me. It felt good, and I let her do it.

  When she kissed me, I kissed her back.

  "Better?" she asked, and I nodded.

  "But I'm going to need more of that."

  She smiled. "All night long. I wrapped more of my aura around you, too."

  "You did?"

  She nodded. "I am feeling very possessive, my little apprentice. I hope you don't mind."

  I didn't, and I offered a tentative smile.

  "There we go. A little more?" I nodded, and she stepped up to me, raising her hands towards my face.

  I basked in the attention, and I barely noticed as she drew me to her car.

  * * * *

  She kept a hand on me for the entire drive, and I could feel her manipulating my aura while she did so. I rode much of the way with my eyes closed, helpless under her touch. I was sure she knew it.

  But I was aware enough to see where we went. We drove east out of town and well out into the country. We left the highway and were soon traveling through a thick forest. We slowed and pulled through an ornate gate and then down a long, winding driveway. Then we came to a stop, deep in the woods, with nothing to see but more of the driveway and the black trees, towering over us in the night.

  "What are we doing?"

  "Lyra, look at me."

  I turned to face her.

  "You're going to meet some unexpected people tonight. Some are human and quite mundane. But much of the supernatural community is going to be here."

  "More witches."

  "Fae. Vampires. Maybe some werewolves. Probably a warlock or two. Possibly even a demon."

  "A what?"

  "Sometimes the warlocks bring a pet demon."

  "A. Pet. Demon."

  "Well, that's what warlocks do. That's what makes them warlocks. They summon demons."

  "They summon demons."

  "Yes."

  "Isn't that dangerous?"

  She laughed. "Very."

  "What if they get loose?"

  "They get loose all the time, but unless they find someone who voluntarily offers to become a host, they can't stay past dawn. And they can't use coercion."

  "A host?"

  "They are demons. Demonic possession."

  I stared. "Who would agree to that?"

  "It's not like in the movies. People don't suddenly begin spinning their heads around and speaking in tongues. They offer power. Riches."

  "But you become a puppet in your own body."

  "They share. Or so I'm told. I'm not willing to volunteer myself to discover first hand, and I wouldn't recommend you do, either."

  "No, thank you," I said firmly.

  "There is a contract involved," she added. "The terms are meticulous. It's not necessarily forever. It's for the term of the contract. A night. A year. A decade. The demon must fulfill the contract to the letter. You could offer yourself for a year in exchange for complete training as a witch."

  "I wouldn't."

  "Some would. Everyone has a price, and demons can be nearly as good as I am figuring out what it is."

  I offered a short laugh at that.

  "I started to say, you're going to meet some unexpected people. Do not worry about particular protocols, but be very polite, and be careful what you promise."

  "You promised not to leave my side."

  "And I won't." She caressed my cheek. "Try to have a good time."

  I said nothing, and a minute later, we were driving along the road again.

  When the house finally came into view, I stared. It was huge. "Your friend is very wealthy."

  "That she is," Raelyn said.

  It wasn't a house. Even the word "mansion" wouldn't do this structure justice. It wasn't a castle, either, but the word "palace" came to mind. The face I could see was stone, and it was three stories tall in some places, four in others. It was lit, but unevenly, and I wondered what it looked like in daylight.

  If I were to think about a haunted house, I might think of this place.

  "To put this into perspective," Raelyn suggested, "if this were a hotel, it wouldn't be considered that large a hotel."

  I laughed.

  We joined a short queue of cars driving to the portico at the front entrance. Our wait was brief, only as long as it took the occupants of the cars before us to climb from their vehicles and the attendants to drive away. Finally, it was our turn. As soon as we came to a stop and the car was in park, my door was opened by a liveried -- an actual liveried -- attendant. Mine was a man, perhaps college age, but it was a woman who opened Raelyn's door.

  We were both offered a hand out of the car. It felt very elegant. My attendant maintained possession of my hand until Raelyn appeared at my side, taking me from him. He smiled at me and wished me a pleasant evening.

  "Your friend goes all out," I said as we began walking to the door.

  "Halloween is an important event," Raelyn said. "It is rarely on the night of the full moon, and so it does not usually have mystical importance. But it is symbolic. This is one of the biggest events of the year. All across the country there are parties similar to this one, typically hosted by one of the most powerful of the supernatural creatures in a particular area. Sometimes it's one of the fae, although not often. Vampires and witches are the most likely."

  There were more attendants manning the door. Raelyn removed an envelope from her purse and handed it to one of the women. She opened the envelope and removed the contained invitation. Then she eyed both Raelyn and myself.

  "Ms. Woods. And your guest is?"

  "This is Lyra Lane," Raelyn said. "Witch."

  The woman eyed me carefully. "Ms. Woods. Ms. Lane. Be welcome in this home." She returned the invitation to Raelyn and gestured for us to enter.

  "Very formal," I said as we crossed the threshold. But then I felt something. It felt like we passed through one of Raelyn's spells, and I stiffened.

  "It's all right," Raelyn whispered. "It's a protection spell. If we meant harm, it would not have let us enter." She tugged me forward, and the odd crawling sensation dissipated. "Everyone passes through the spell. Which means we all know at least that no one came with foul intention. Do you see?"

  I nodded. "That wouldn't stop someone outside with a rocket propelled grenade."

  Raelyn laughed. "Perhaps not, but the gargoyles would have something to say about th
at."

  "Gargoyles?"

  "They were hanging out on the roof, watching the comings and goings. If someone got close with a weapon like that, the gargoyles would deal with it."

  "Now you're just testing to see how naïve I am."

  "Not at all. A single gargoyle isn't a significant threat, but when you get six or eight, they can be quite formidable."

  "We're talking those stone things that have all over churches in Europe."

  "They're not stone. They just look like stone. And yes. Well, except the ones guarding churches often are simple stone. The ones guarding this house are not."

  I shook my head, not sure if I was willing to believe her.

  Raelyn tugged my arm, and we proceeded deeper into the house.

  * * * *

  The house was, in a word, amazing. The floors in the foyer and hallways were marble. Everywhere else, they were wood, rich and polished. The ceilings were well above our heads, and the walls tended to be lined in rich wood rather than plaster or drywall or whatever they used in less expensive homes.

  Raelyn gave me a tour of sorts. There was a ballroom and a library, two dining rooms, one huge and one more intimate. She called one room "the music room", and there was a string quartet playing in the corner. Several of the rooms, large and small, were set up for guests to sit in small clumps of furniture.

  And everywhere there were people, many, many people, all in costumes. None of the costumes appeared cheap, but some of the people wearing them did. Oh, that wasn't the norm, but a few people, men and women alike, were displaying a great deal of skin. I decided my costume was actually somewhat sedate, and I forgave Raelyn that part of the evening, if I didn't forgive her for making me come in the first place.

  We collected glasses of wine and wandered the home.

  Here and there, Raelyn introduced me to this person or that. I didn't remember a single name. But she introduced me to one quite vamply-dressed woman who showed a hint of fang when she talked. I found myself staring at them.

  "Am I the first vampire you've met, dear?" the woman asked.

  I continued to stare and nodded slowly. "Are they real?"

  "Quite real," she said. She smiled. "Would you like to see them more closely?"

  "She would not," Raelyn said firmly.

  "She wouldn't?" the vampire asked. She stared into my eyes. "I promise, you would enjoy it a great deal."

  "I-" I gulped and turned to Raelyn. Then I smiled and turned back. "Perhaps another time."

  The woman laughed. "Diplomatically said. Enjoy the party, little witch." She backed away from us and disappeared into the crowd.

  I turned back to Raelyn. "Did she just ask if I wanted her to bite me?"

  Raelyn smiled and nodded.

  "What did she mean about enjoying it?"

  "I'm better than she is," Raelyn said.

  "Wait. Was she offering to bite me or have sex with me."

  "To a vampire, they are frequently one and the same. She would bite you during sex. Depending upon the vampire, it can be quite mind blowing."

  We met another vampire, a man this time, but this was a fake vampire. He was showing fangs, but they were cheap, plastic fangs. Once we had a moment of privacy, I said, "Don't the real vampires get offended by that?"

  "By what?"

  "A pretender in cheap plastic fangs."

  She laughed. "He's not a pretender. I told you, the costumes are frequently sarcastic."

  "Wait. He has real fangs, but he put those things in?"

  She laughed again. "Yes."

  I met two people that, as they approached, Raelyn whispered to me, "Fae, and very, very old. Be polite."

  I met a few other witches, male and female alike.

  And there were people Raelyn declared as "human".

  "Aren't we human?"

  At that, she frowned. "In this crowd, human means no supernatural powers of any sort."

  "Then what are they doing here?"

  "Some are pets of the other guests."

  "Pets?"

  She ignored that. "Others are people with mundane power who know about us. Some are particularly valued employees. You see?"

  And so I nodded.

  Finally Raelyn told me, "It's time for you to meet Cybele." She tugged on my arm and caressed my aura, but my heart pounded, anyway. She led me to the ballroom and then pulled me to a group of people standing at one end of the room. She brought us to an opening in the circle.

  At the center of the circle, currently facing away from us, was a short woman. She was dressed in white, and her blond hair was coiled about her head. She wore sandals with wide straps that extended halfway up her calves. I didn't understand her costume, but she looked like the statue of a Greek goddess. I leaned over to Raelyn and whispered, "What is her costume?"

  Raelyn whispered back, "Hecate, Greek goddess of, amongst many things, witchcraft." She pronounced it as "Heh-cah-tee".

  "Oh," was all I could say.

  It had been overwhelming to see everyone through their auras, so I had turned off my ability to see them. But I wanted a better look at this woman, so I cocked my head, and her aura came into view.

  I recoiled, and it was Raelyn's arm around my waist that kept me from running.

  This woman's aura was black. Black, black, and more black. Oh, there were other colors, too, but black was the most dominant color.

  Death.

  I think I whimpered. Raelyn tightened her grip and whispered into my ear. "Calm down. Shh. You're looking at her aura?" I nodded. "She isn't going to hurt you." She began soothing my aura, but I didn't think there was enough soothing to counteract my shock and fear. "Shh, Lyra. We'll say hello. We'll chat for a minutes. Then you and I will go dance for a while."

  "I want to go home."

  I don't know if the woman heard me or not, but slowly she rotated until she was facing me. I'm sure my fear was evident, but she smiled, and I knew it was meant to be disarming.

  Physically, she was beautiful, with pale white features, a round face, and delicate hands. Inwardly, I decided she looked like a marble goddess. I found myself laughing.

  "You laugh at my costume?" she asked.

  "No. I'm sorry. A random thought."

  "Perhaps you will share this random thought."

  "Raelyn tells me you are dressed as Hecate, a Greek goddess. And I had the thought you look like a marble goddess."

  "And this caused you to laugh."

  "No. I compared that image with the image of the olive-skinned Greeks, and I thought the two were in quite contrast."

  The woman cocked her head then nodded once. "I can see the humor. You compare me to a marble goddess?" I nodded. "Are you attempting to flatter me?"

  "I'm sure you have a mirror."

  "Well then," she said, smiling again. "I do not believe I should remotely be offended." She turned to my date, her voice turning warm. "Raelyn. It is a pleasure to see you." She stepped forward. Raelyn bent over slightly, and the woman delivered a kiss to both cheeks. Then she stepped back a quarter step and looked at me.

  "Cybele Cummings, may I present my companion this evening, Lyra Lane. Lyra, this is Cybele Cummings, our host tonight. Cybele has been looking forward to meeting you."

  The woman stepped closer to me. "It is a pleasure to meet you, my dear." She reached with her hand, and it was a close thing to allow her to touch me. She put her hand on the back of my head and pulled me down so she could kiss my cheeks, the same as she had kissed Raelyn's. But before she released me, she whispered into my hear.

  "Your fear tastes divine, but it is quite unnecessary. I mean you no harm, Ms. Lane. You are perfectly safe in my home."

  She pulled away slightly, relaxing but not releasing her grip on the back of my head. We looked into each other's eyes.

  "This is all quite overwhelming, isn't it?" I nodded slowly. "Perhaps it would be easier if you turn off your second sight."

  I hadn't heard it called that before, but I understood what she meant. I
nodded. Cybele released my head, but she caressed my cheek with her hand as she stepped away. "So lovely," she said.

  I didn't know what she was talking about, but she smiled again. "Are you enjoying my little party?"

  "It has been a new experience," I managed to say.

  "Lyra is still absorbing everything," Raelyn offered.

  "I suppose we are all quite shocking," Cybele suggested. She gestured. "We have gone from myth and legend to real, living, breathing creatures." Then she glanced at one of the other people standing in the circle. "Well, you know what I mean."

  "That's it exactly," I said. "I'm still trying to fully accommodate this concept that I'm a-" I leaned closer and spoke conspiratorially. "-witch."

  "That may be because you are hung up on the word, Ms. Lane. It only means that you have the ability to manipulate magic. And these other things-" she gestured around the room. "You should not let the portrayals popular in modern fiction determine your perspective. You should make up your own mind."

  She set her hand on my arm. I wasn't sure how I felt about that. "Magic is just a form of power. Knowledge is power. Physical strength is power. Money is power. Being beautiful is power, or at least conveys power. Would you be shocked if we told you that you were particularly good at picking stocks or perhaps won the lottery?"

  "Yes, but only because I don't know a thing about stocks and I never buy a lottery ticket."

  She smiled. "Perhaps you understand my point."

  I nodded. "Yes, Ms. Cummings. I understand your point."

  "Good." She squeezed my arm. "Now, I would like us to be friends. And so you should call me Cybele, and I will call you Lyra. Is that all right with you?"

  I found myself nodding. "Yes, Cybele."

  "Excellent," she said, giving my arm one last squeeze before removing her hand. "Perhaps you will allow Raelyn to invite you dancing for a while. But we will talk again later, I am sure."

  She turned away, and Raelyn pulled me out of the circle and away from the very frightening Cybele Cummings. We reached the side of the room and I slumped, moving into her arms and laying my head against her shoulder.

  "There," I said. "I met her. She met me. Please, can we go home now?"

  "You did very well, Lyra," Raelyn said. "She liked you."

  "Please, Raelyn. Have you seen her aura? It was- it was-"