by Phil Stern
Tiffany herself had first sallied forth from Haven into the Peth wilds nearly a decade before, with nearly disastrous results. Recent visits, such as her vacation with Marissa last year, had been much more pleasant. But on that occasion they’d both kept a low public profile, while carefully avoiding the nastier parts of the dimension.
By contrast, this was a formal mission, with a primary goal of projecting strength and gaining allies among the population-at-large. Yet the word among her sisters was that the Peth highlands, where they were now, had become quite dangerous in recent years. Things could well get a little rough.
“Very well, ladies, I think we’re alone.” Coming up behind the three younger women, the Deputy Coven Leader spoke confidently. “Let’s send the uni’s back through and be on our way.”
Tiffany would have preferred to have the powerful equines conduct an extended sweep through the woods first, but didn’t press the point. Unfortunately, due to some long-forgotten conflict with the local avian-shifters, the battle hawks weren’t allowed in Peth at all.
Mirroring her own thoughts, Marissa uncomfortably looked back around. “Shouldn’t we send the unicorns out for a look first? After all, the wolves...”
“Marissa, please. There are four of us here.” Peremptorily clapping her hands, Barbara motioned at the still-open Boundary portal. Both unicorns obediently turned and exited the dimension, though one gave a loud snort just as he passed through. “It’s been a decade since the wolves attacked us as a pack. Remember that, Tiffany?”
“I sure do,” Tiffany replied, making a point of keeping her voice pleasant. “That was quite a time.”
“Yeah, that’s one way of putting it.” Laughing, Barbara walked out in front of her three Coven-mates, glancing about the seemingly empty woods. “I think you cried for days after that little dust up.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t go that far.” Tiffany ran a hand back through her long dark hair, checking behind them as the Boundary portal faded away. “But I was certainly inexperienced, no question.”
“Well, that’s the problem with young witches.” Looking back around, Barbara made a point of eyeing first Marissa, and then Tiffany. “They think they know everything, even when they don’t.” Nodding thoughtfully, the older sorceress then turned and began walking purposefully out into the Peth landscape. Solia was the first to fall in step behind her, Marissa and Tiffany hurrying to catch up.
To her credit, Barbara still cut a fine figure in her jeans and black boots, yet the Elder’s attention was clearly wandering. While the other three warily scanned the perimeter, their sensitivity extended outward in search of magical enemies, the Deputy Coven Leader was idly distracted by chirping birds and colorful rocks. Had Barbara been a candidate sorceress, Tiffany would have already brought her up short. As it was she merely sighed in frustration, exchanging an exasperated look with Marissa.
Clearly, the older sorceress was very out of practice. Should they run into any trouble, Tiffany made a mental note not to trust her reaction time.
Suddenly stopping, Barbara again turning back to her three companions. “By the way, you girls should know that another team is entering Peth at a different location in a few hours. We’ll both converge on the northernmost Pyron village at dusk, or as close to it as possible.”
“That’s smart,” Solia commented. “If things get rough, we’ll have reinforcements close at hand.”
“Oh, are we actually out on a mission?” Marissa innocently asked. “It seemed like we were just out for a walk in the woods.”
Sighing, Tiffany made a point of catching her friend’s eye. Catty comments wouldn’t help right now.
However, the sarcasm was apparently lost on Barbara. “My dear, it always pays to be careful. After all, it’s possible the ruby witches followed us here. Or maybe they’ve already struck a deal with our fishy friends.”
“Well, we won’t know until we get there.” Once more trying to sound upbeat, Tiffany looked around. “But the sooner we get out of these woods, the better.”
“Now, now. Don’t get spooked,” Barbara chided. “After all, we only...”
A ferocious howl burst from the surrounding trees, seemingly coming from every direction at once. In a flash, the three magical warriors had snatched the daggers from their belts, each instantly morphing into a different weapon. Tiffany now held a gleaming sword, sparks of earth fire searing up into the trees. Humming with suppressed power, a coiled whip was now tightly gripped in Marissa’s hand. For her part Solia had chosen a mundane machine gun, like an old-style gangster might have used, already raised and ready.
Of course these were Coven Sticks, all-purpose weapons able to take on virtually any form. With their own innate power source, and wielded by a trained sorceress, they were very formidable indeed.
Unfortunately, this being the first deployment of Coven Sticks to Peth, they’d hoped to keep the true nature of their belt daggers hidden for as long as possible. Clearly, though, that cat was already out of the bag.
By reflex, the three younger women had turned to face the outer woods, their backs to each other in a triangle formation. Barbara was in the middle of the group, fumbling to find her own Coven Stick between her feet. Caught completely by surprise, the Deputy Coven Leader had incautiously dropped the weapon while drawing it from her own belt.
“Wolves,” Solia quietly announced to her companions. “They must have figured out we have a portal in these woods.”
“I told you we should have kept the unicorns here,” Marissa muttered. “In the daytime, the wolves would never dare face them.”
“If they wanted to attack, they already would have,” Tiffany softly replied. “This is just their way of saying hi.”
“I agree. They’re just playing with us.” By now having recovered her bearings, Barbara walked up between Tiffany and Solia. “But I’m not in the mood.”
“Want me to flush them out?” the blonde sorceress asked, lifting up her machine gun muzzle.
Barbara grimly nodded. “Please.”
Stepping forward, Solia sprayed bullets out into the woods in a 180-degree arc. Suddenly holding her own machine gun, Barbara then turned about and walked past Tiffany, spewing rounds out along the opposite half of the circle. The loud, staccato racket echoed almost obscenely among the trees, reverberating back and forth.
Instantly, yelps of pain and protest erupted all about. No less than six wolves suddenly became visible, randomly spaced some seventy-five feet off. Huge and malevolent, they angrily ripped still-glowing bullets from their own hides. The leader, a particularly large black beast, pointedly snarled at the four witches. Racing around to join him, the consolidated pack now formed a skirmish line about ten feet apart, directly confronting Tiffany and her sisters.
Fearsome creatures to begin with, Peth werewolves also had the ability to become invisible. Obviously, this gave them an immense advantage in stalking prey. However, Solia’s machine gun was a perfect choice for disrupting that minor magic. Tiffany’s companion had clearly given their potential Peth adversaries, and their tactical weaknesses, more thought than anyone else. To her credit, Barbara had been quick to follow suit.
“Well, now they’re good and pissed off,” Marissa observed. By now the four sorceresses had formed their own line, facing the snapping, snarling predators.
“Like I give a shit.” Eyes narrowing, Barbara’s machine gun became a sword similar to Tiffany’s. “Marissa, bring me the leader. Girls, cover her.”
Imagining a sleek laser rifle, Tiffany’s Coven Stick smoothly morphed into the desired weapon. Letting her hand-held weapon drop to the ground, Solia’s Stick transformed into a larger, mounted .50 caliber machine gun, the blonde sorceress instantly chambering a round. Clearly, this girl had a thing for 20th century Earth weaponry.
Stepping forward, Marissa sent the whip snaking out towards the werewolves, magically extending to the desired length. Catching the surprised alpha wolf around the neck, Marissa gave a hard tug, jerking
him to the ground.
Two other wolves took a step forward, as if to charge at them, but thought better of it after Tiffany planted a laser bolt, and Solia buried a .50 caliber round, in the leaves at their feet. With a powerful yank, Marissa then reeled in the thrashing, choking werewolf, the beast transforming into human form as it skidded across the ground.
“Grund,” Barbara announced as the werewolf came to a halt before them. “How nice to see you again.”
The huge, powerful man helplessly gripped Marissa’s whip, now tightly wound around his human throat. “Choking!” he gasped, kicking out his massive legs.
“Really? I wasn’t sure.” Stepping forward, Barbara placed her sparking blade by Grund’s head. “Now let’s talk.”
Without being told, Marissa retracted the Coven Stick, the whip snaking back into a coil in her right hand. Gratefully drawing in precious air, Grund warily looked up at his four captors.
“Why are you, and those other miserable curs, bothering us?” Barbara pleasantly asked, still holding her sword by his throat.
“You bitch!” he snarled, trying to sit up. “I only wanted to...”
But instead of listening, the flat of Barbara’s blade came down hard on the side of Grund’s head. Momentarily stunned by the impact, the werewolf jerked his head away, yelping in pain.
But here again, Barbara’s obvious rust came into play. Even in human form, werewolves were incredibly tough, agile creatures. Watching them disdainfully chew out bullets and then immediately heal was a clear reminder of just how rugged they could be.
Thus, slapping one on the head tended to merely annoy them, while potentially surrendering your own tactical position.
And sure enough, the Deputy Coven Leader failed to either pursue Grund, immediately threatening him with her sword once more, or retreat to a safe distance. Thus, the angered werewolf was able to take the blow and, rolling twice with its inertia, come up in a crouch to hungrily eye Barbara’s exposed body from the side. Tensing its human legs, the beast obviously intended to strike.
But Tiffany was quicker. Swinging the laser as a cudgel, it once more flowed into a sword by the time it impacted the back of Grund’s right calf. Biting painfully into skin and muscle, Grund’s powerful spring turned into an ungainly flop, the werewolf’s face merely crunching down onto Barbara’s booted foot.
At this, one of the other werewolves charged. Solia’s first round caught it on the back quarters, blowing away a chunk of fur and skin. But the animal kept right on coming, its fangs bared in a maniacal snarl.
“I’ve got it!” Tiffany snapped. Taking just a moment to gather her power, she quickly swung her sword up and straight out. Then, with the combined energy of her own stone and the Coven Stick itself, she blasted the charging beast with an intense surge of earth fire.
It’s advance instantly arrested, the werewolf was blown back and up through the air, slamming painfully into a tree trunk. Even at this distance they could hear bones breaking, along with the smell of singed fur. Hitting the ground with a resounding thud, the great beast lay still.
While this was going on, Marissa took a page from Solia’s book. Her whip becoming a single-barrel twelve-gauge tactical shotgun, she pointedly chambered a round while stepping past the still-surprised Barbara. Putting the weapon at the back of Grund’s head, she placed a heavy boot in the small of his back.
“That’s enough!” Marissa snarled. “Unless you wish to die here today.”
Another werewolf began loping toward them, but a second round from Solia’s heavy weapon sent it scurrying back to its companions. Amid a few more growls and howls, the four remaining beasts grew silent.
“You girls are so tough with those toys of yours.” His face still flat in the dirt, Grund seemed to laugh. “You better hope you never lose them!”
Drawing back a few feet, Barbara regained her composure. “Let him up,” she commanded, nodding at Marissa.
Stepping aside, but still covering the werewolf with her shotgun, Marissa allowed Grund to roll over and sit up. Thoughtfully, the werewolf leader looked at each of them in turn. When his eyes rose to Tiffany’s face, he smiled broadly.
“Oh, I remember you!” Shrugging, the wolfman sat back, hands propped behind him. “How’s that hip, little girl? Quite the nasty bite you took.”
“It’s just fine,” Tiffany evenly replied. “But thanks for asking.”
“Oh, the fun we would have had,” he blithely continued. “Of course, the day is still young...”
“Enough of this bullshit!” Still holding her own Coven Stick in sword form, Barbara’s eyes flashed a bright green. “What do you want?”
“Just to say hi.” Pausing, the werewolf nodded. “And maybe to propose a deal.”
Barbara’s eyebrows rose a touch. “I’m listening.”
“There are rumors of another coven of witches, one more powerful than your own,” Grund drawled. “Some even say they’ve been to Peth already.”
“Another coven?” Pausing, Barbara’s eyes never left the werewolf. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Of course you don’t.” Smiling, the werewolf glanced appreciatively at Solia. “But the word is this other coven it out for your blood.”
“What’s it to you?” the senior sorceress snapped.
“Well, in light of your obvious need for more...shall we say, formal support?” Grund continued. “Well, I thought a more formal alliance might be in order.”
“An alliance? With werewolves?” Marissa rolled her eyes. “I don’t think so.”
“Grund, how is it that you would even dream up such a thing?” Frowning, Tiffany stared down at the bearded, muscular man. “Has anybody else been here proposing alliances?”
“You mean, like this other coven of witches you say you know nothing about?” Theatrically sighing, Grund now inspected a hairy, dirty hand. “Stranger things have happened.”
“All right, enough nonsense for one day,” Solia pointedly announced. “Why don’t you just scamper on out of here...”
“Wait a minute.” Clearly intrigued, Barbara smoothly cut off the blonde sorceress. “Grund, now I’m curious. Hypothetically speaking, of course, exactly what kind of arrangement did you have in mind?”
“Oh, I can think of a lot of things,” he evasively replied. “Lots and lots of dirty things. Especially where you girls are concerned!”
Almost audibly groaning, Marissa stole another glance at her friend. Shrugging, Tiffany carefully studied the other werewolves, tensely panting and grumbling a short distance off. Even the one she’d just blasted was now gingerly rising, getting its bearings once more. By the stone, were these tough creatures! Who knew how many more were even now on their way?
Obviously mirroring Tiffany’s own thoughts, Solia now gave her a worried look. Clearly, she didn’t like the situation either.
“Now, now, let’s be serious here.” Sharing none of their concern, Barbara was still focused completely on the werewolf before them. “What kind of alliance are you proposing?”
“Just a simple agreement, that’s all,” Grund replied. “You allow us to kill and eat some humans now and then. Maybe clear out a few villages completely that sit on our favorite hunting grounds. And in return? We tell those ruby girls to take a hike.”
A sickening silence came over the group, the four witches clearly stunned. “Are you out of your fucking wolf mind?” Barbara finally seethed. “Let you kill and eat humans?”
“Just the weak and the old. You know, maybe the ones who would die soon anyway?” With an encouraging nod, Grund now began to rise up on his human legs. “Hell, it would save them food and resources that would otherwise...”
Stepping forward, with her sword shifted to her left hand, Tiffany clocked the werewolf in the jaw with a roundhouse right. Before the surprised beast even hit the ground again, Tiffany’s sparking blade was pressed up against his throat. Stunned, the shape-shifter held himself very still.
“Grund, here
are my terms.” Now imagining a snake, Tiffany’s sword transformed into a huge python, the end of which promptly wrapped around the werewolf’s neck. “You even think about bothering any humans, and I come and kill your entire pack. How’s that sound?”
Once more seeing their leader abused, the other five werewolves howled and growled. Tiffany, however, remained focused on the powerful, muscular man at her feet.
“Starting with those mutts over there right now,” she continued, eyes flashing earth fire green. “Do we understand one another?”
His face becoming purple, Grund helplessly tried to rip the still-coiling snake from his throat. Somehow, the alpha wolf managed to make a terrified, nodding motion.
“Good.” Still holding the end of the snake, Tiffany now took two steps back. Glowing bright green, the reptile finally slithered off of the werewolf, smoothly transforming back into a powerful sword. “Now get out of here.”
During all this Barbara just hesitantly watched, clearly taken aback by Tiffany’s assertiveness.
Fully enraged, Grund now slowly rose to his feet. “You filthy, miserable witch!” he snarled, whirling dirty red eyes fixated on Tiffany. “I should have killed you ten years ago!”
“Maybe you should have,” Tiffany calmly agreed, her eyes never leaving Grund’s. “Solia. Behind us. About twenty feet.”
Instantly, the mounted .50 caliber machine gun flowed back up into Solia’s arms, becoming a lethal, handheld M-16. Smoothly rotating around, she then unerringly fired a four-round burst at a seemingly empty patch of ground.
The stalking werewolf died instantly, the bullets striking it in the head and neck. With a final growl of surprise the huge beast just tipped over, becoming fully visible as it hit the ground.