The Witch and the Stag

by Victoria Rogers

  The wine was full and luscious on her tongue. She smiled appreciatively at Cedric. “Thank you,” she said, setting her wine glass down on the white tablecloth. “Thank you for the last two weeks.”

  Cedric’s lips quirked upward. He sat forward in his seat and reached out his hands. Maddy followed suit and he held her hands in his. “The last two weeks have been magical. No, I’m serious,” he said when she smiled and looked away. “Meeting you has changed everything. I have never felt this way about another human being. Never in my thirty-six years of life have I so completely desired to spend every waking moment with someone.”

  His thumbs caressed her palms. Shivers of delight radiated up her arm.

  “I’ve never met a man who’s willing to break down walls like you are, and that’s one of the most attractive things I could ever ask of a person,” she admitted. “There haven’t been any games. You’ve just been there because you genuinely want to be there, and that’s refreshing in a way I don’t think you understand.”

  The door from the hall opened and the waiter appeared with a silver tray artfully arranged with a dozen oysters and lemon. Maddy eyed the platter hungrily.

  “Did you arrange the menu as well?” she asked as she used the provided tiny silver spoon to add horseradish to her oyster.

  “I told him it was a special dinner for a special woman. I suppose we’ll see what Alec’s interpretation of that is throughout the course of the evening.”

  Maddy blushed. She couldn’t help it. Cedric was incredible. She couldn’t believe her luck in nabbing him. He was open and honest about his attraction in a way that warmed her abdomen.

  “I could just eat a meal of oysters,” she said to change the topic. “There’s a sushi place we used to go to in college that had the best oysters around. Too bad it’s no longer open.”

  “That’s the restaurant business for you,” he replied.

  “I know you said you liked being in the center of things, but why go into a business with such a low success rate?”

  “I love food and I love people.” He laid the little spoon down and ate an oyster. He dabbed at his mouth with his napkin and set it on the table as he stood. “Dance with me? If we have a personal pianist we might as well make use of him.”

  Maddy placed her wine glass on the table and took his outstretched hand. He led her to a spot in front of the grand piano and pulled her in close. She smiled up at him.

  “I have two left feet,” she murmured into his shoulder. She hadn’t slow danced like this since doing the outstretch-armed zombie dance in grade school.

  He laughed. She could feel his breath on her ear. “So do I. But luckily, no one is here to witness us stepping on each other’s toes.”

  She laid her cheek on his shoulder and let him guide her around the dance floor for the rest of the evening between courses.

  * * *

  “I don’t want this to end,” Maddy said as they glided along the floor. Between the amount of dancing they had done all night coupled with the wine she had consumed -- Cedric was driving so he didn’t have more than a glass of the bottle he ordered -- she felt like she was floating.

  “It doesn’t have to,” was Cedric’s reply, lips pressed against her ear. “Come stay with me tonight? I have a bottle of Dom Perignon that I’ve been keeping for a special occasion. I think this counts.”

  His voice buzzed deep in her ear and waves of excitement fluttered through her body. She smiled into his shoulder. “I would love to. And I didn’t even need the champagne to entice me.” She tilted her head back to look at him. “You’ve done a good enough job on that front yourself.”

  He chuckled and leaned in to kiss her underneath the crystal chandelier. She met his lips with her own and pressed earnestly into him. Kissing Cedric aroused all her senses. She felt his hand pressed tightly against her lower back, and the firm grip he had on her own hand in the other. She could feel his belt buckle press against her stomach.

  “Remember how I texted what I’d like to do to you?” Maddy whispered softly into his ear.

  He inhaled sharply at that, his lips curling into a smile. “Something about falling to your knees?” he whispered back.

  She kissed him again.

  He moaned softly into her mouth. “C’mon,” he said, taking a quick step back. “Let’s go to my place.”

  Before they left the ballroom, Maddy waved at the pianist. “Thank you for the lovely evening,” she called. The pianist waved in return. “Should we tip him?” Maddy asked Cedric as soon as they were in the hall.

  He smiled and took her hand, his thumb lightly caressing her palm. “It’s already taken care of.”

  As soon as they were in the car and pulling away onto the street, Maddy ran her hand deliberately along the outside of his thigh. When she reached the top of his leg her fingers wrapped around it, dangerously close to his hard erection.

  “Madeline,” he growled as he signaled to move into the left lane.

  She giggled at the roughness in his voice. He was just as turned-on as she was and that realization caused her inner muscles to throb. In response to her own arousal, she pressed her hand firmly against his hardened cock.

  But then his face contorted in fear. “Gods!” Cedric shouted. And suddenly they were braking fast.

  Maddy swung her attention in the direction he was looking. There was a man standing in the middle of the road. There was no way they were going to stop in time. Maddy cried out and closed her eyes, waiting for impact.

  But there was nothing. No thump or crash. Just a cool sensation, almost like a peppermint foot scrub but all over the body.

  The car stopped in a squeal of tires, and they both rocked forward in their seats. Thank the gods the road was otherwise empty.

  “Cernnunos’ balls,” Cedric exclaimed. “What was that?”

  Maddy twisted in her seat to look through the rear window while Cedric unbuckled his seat belt and opened his car door. Maddy gasped. There, standing calmly as if a car had not just driven through him, was no other than Dunlea.

  Of all the times to be confronted with a poltergeist! She had only a small clutch that contained her ID, apartment key, lipstick, and phone. She had none of her ritual implements. She cast a quick glance around the car looking for anything she could use. Nothing.

  She tried the glove box but found only the ownership papers and a box of tissues. She opened the console in-between the seats. She found a long black box with a red ribbon tied about it. A tag said her name. She knew what it was from the weight of it, and how it sounded as it thumped about in the box.

  Without thinking twice, she untied the ribbon and removed the lid. In the satin-lined box was a silver dagger, an athame. Not having time to admire the engraved metal or the meaning behind this gift, she gripped its hilt and ran out of the car.

  “Dunlea!” called Cedric as he rounded the car. He had a set of glorious golden antlers framing his head.

  “Do not get involved, kin,” Dunlea hissed.

  Maddy took the opportunity of Dunlea’s distraction to consecrate her new ritual knife. It wasn’t what she would have liked to perform for this work of art, but it would have to do. She muttered the words under her breath.

  “Blessed be this ritual sword. Blessed be this knife. May you bind and protect when one is in strife. So mote it be.” It wasn’t the most glamorous of blessings, but it rhymed, and she was proud of that, if only for a short second.

  “Witch! Thy foul existence shall be no more.”

  “Bind and protect, protect and bind. You shall not harm me nor mine,” Maddy intoned drawing the knife in a circle about her.

  Dunlea screeched and rushed at her but not before she finished her circle. It slammed against the protective barrier and then slammed again, but Maddy kept her feet firm on the ground and held her knife out in front of her, the point directed at it.

  “Begone, poltergeist,” she said, her voice low and commanding.

  Dunlea pulled back to launch himself a
t her again. Maddy took in a deep breath. “Silence now, my wayward soul. Rest, I bequeath to thee.”

  “No!” Dunlea wailed and struck at her with incredible force. She felt its malevolence snaking its way through the molecular cracks of her circle. She gasped and waved the dagger at it, but it was no use. The poltergeist was making his way through her protective circle.

  Golden light flew into her view, and she watched as Cedric threw himself at Dunlea, horns glowing in the starlight. She could feel Dunlea’s retreat from her circle as it turned to face this new foe.

  “Cedric!” she cried warning him of the onslaught.

  But it was too late. The poltergeist had Cedric’s throat in his hand. He was inching his being into the godling’s skin.

  Maddy screamed, her vision going blurry as she catapulted herself toward the flailing pair. “Silence now, my wayward soul.” She slashed at the poltergeist with her knife. “Quiet, I bequeath to thee.” Another slash. “Silence now, my wayward soul.” Her arm jerked back for another go. “Quiet now, so mote it be!”

  “Madeline!” cried out a besieged Cedric. He clutched at his throat, his face contorted into a snarl as he tried to headbutt Dunlea with his antlers.

  “No! No! No!” Dunlea shrieked and before either of them could react it let its form fade into a foggy smoke and rushed into Cedric’s open mouth.

  Cedric’s eyes bulged as he bent over coughing. Maddy ran over to him and clasped at his shoulders.

  “Cedric! Cedric, oh my gods.”

  Cedric fell onto his knees and convulsed in her arms.

  “Shit!” she spat, blinking hard through tears. “Shit, shit, shit. Ok. Cedric. Look at me. Look at me, Cedric. I need you to fight. I need you to take control. I don’t drive. I can’t get you to safety. C’mon.” Not knowing what else to do she slapped his cheek lightly. “Cedric. Oh, c’mon. Fight it. Fight it to all hell. Cernnunos, please come and save your son.” The tears came harder. Her mascara stung her eyes. “Cedric. I believe in you. I love you, Cedric. Fight it.”

  * * *

  Cedric struggled for air. Something was clogging his throat and filling his air passages. He gasped and fell forward, the asphalt digging into his knees.

  Not again. He would not be victim to this spirit from hell again. He snarled and coughed and spat, trying to shake it out, trying to clear his airway.

  His vision bloomed into light, and it was difficult to see anything. Madeline was next to him. He could feel her touch but he couldn’t see her. Everything was too bright. Too golden.

  Something hit his face. And then hit his face again. Madeline. Madeline.

  “Cedric!” came her voice, distorted by the light. “Fight!”

  He was fighting! What did she think he was doing? He threw his head back, but the movement caused him to cough. Gods damn it, why couldn’t he breathe? And someone get rid of that light!

  The light grew brighter and brighter until he couldn’t see anything else.

  * * *

  “Fuck!” Maddy swore. She let go of the uncooperative Cedric and laid him as gently as she could in the recovery position.

  She ran over to the open driver’s door and hit what she hoped was the four ways. Grabbing her clutch, she clicked it open to grab her phone. “Computer, call Felicity.”

  It rang only once. “Hey! What’s up with this? You never call.”

  “I need your help. Dunlea is possessing Cedric in the middle of a road. All I have is a new knife,” Maddy spat out.

  “Woah! Quite the date. Ok. Where are you?”

  Maddy looked around her for a street sign. There was no crossroad anywhere near them. “Umm… I don’t know? Fucking hells. Ok. Ok. Hold on.” She fumbled with her phone to look up her whereabouts on the GPS. “400 block of 8th.”

  “Warehouse district. Got it. I can be there with a bag in… ten minutes.”

  “Please hurry, Felicity.”

  “I’m moving right now. As fast as I can. I’ll call you back when I get into the car. Ciao, hon.”

  Maddy flung off her heels and ran back to Cedric barefoot on the asphalt.

  “Babe? Love? You there?”

  He groaned. His eyes clenched tight.

  “Cedric. I need you to hold on for ten minutes. Ten minutes until Felicity gets here. Can you stand? Can we get you in the car? Let’s get off the road, hmm?” She lifted his arm and pulled it over her shoulder. “C’mon, Cedric. Let’s get up. On the count of three, ok?” She took in a deep breath. “One. Two. Three and up!”

  He stumbled to his feet, and she had to spread her legs wide and bend at the knee to stay upright.

  “That’s it. That’s it, Cedric. You’ve got this. I know you do. We just need to make it to the back seat. That’s all. Just the back seat.”

  * * *

  Cedric shuddered as something slithered inside him. He could feel it wrap around his bones, his being. It wasn’t warm like Madeline’s magic, but cold, wet, and full of malice.

  “Cedric!”

  Madeline. She was right there. Focus on her. That’s right, Cedric. Focus, focus, focus on her. She was so bright. Too bright. It hurt to look at her. He closed his eyes and shook with fury. How could this be happening? How could he, Cedric Bligh, son of a fucking god, be in this situation?

  He’d never faced a poltergeist like this before. Never something that had made a deal with a devil. Small nuisances, yes, but nothing ever like this. Who would confront a divine being, however mortal it was?

  He gathered himself and pushed back at the insidious thing coiling around his spine. It laughed wickedly in his ear but retreated. The grip on him lessened and Cedric breathed.

  * * *

  “Felicity? Where are you?” Maddy said into the speaker phone as she settled Cedric into the back seat.

  “I’m just five minutes away. I’ll be there soon. How’s Cedric?”

  Maddy shut the car door and walked over to the other side of the car. “His breathing is regular now. He’s fighting it. Luckily, he’s a godling, and it’ll take more than brute force to take him over.” She climbed into the back seat to sit next to Cedric.

  “Gods, this district is creepy at night. You okay?” came Felicity’s voice.

  Maddy looked around her for the first time. Old brick warehouses with multicolor paned windows surrounded the area. The place was deserted at this hour. “As fine as I can be.”

  “Good. GPS says I’m right around the corner.”

  Gods, what a way to end the perfect night. Damn that Dunlea. How had her family stood it for this long? She didn’t doubt her abilities to perform a successful exorcism, but she worried about psychic damage. Cedric’s astral cord would need threads smoothed and possibly even repaired. She looked carefully at him, but his facial expression hadn’t changed. His jaw was clenched and the veins at his temples were popping as if he was straining.

  She looked in the rearview mirror when lights came up from behind. She sighed in relief at the sight of Felicity’s clunker sedan. Maddy got out of the car and waved as Felicity parked the car on the side of the street.

  “I got your bag from the store for you,” Felicity called from her open window.

  Maddy hurried over and took it gratefully. “C’mon,” she said. “It’ll be easier to take Cedric’s car since he’s not capable of walking on his own.”

  “But what about my car?” Felicity asked even as she got out and locked the door behind her.

  “I promise I’ll buy you a new one of equal value if it’s stolen.” Maddy shoved the car keys into Felicity’s hands.

  “I’m holding you to that!” Felicity said, getting into the driver’s seat while Maddy went into the back. “Where we going?”

  “We’re closest to his apartment, so probably there. Shit. What’s his address?”

  “Check his driver’s license,” Felicity suggested.

  Maddy padded his pockets until she felt the familiar bulk of a wallet in his inner jacket pocket. She pulled it out and opened it. His driver’s
license sat behind a clear piece of plastic.

  “Thirty-four Main St.”

  Felicity whistled. “Swanky.” She looked down at the console. “Oh shit, of course it’s stick. Well, this’ll be an interesting ride!”

  Felicity didn’t stall once, despite her claims of not fully understanding how stick shift worked. She managed to get them downtown in decent time. She dropped them off at the front door.

  “I’ll find parking and then go get my car,” she said as they pulled up the round drive.

  A doorman opened the back seat.

  “Oh, wonderful,” said Maddy with a sigh. “Could you help me get Mr. Bligh to his apartment?” She slung her bag over her shoulder and clambered out of the back seat, wishing she had brought a second pair of shoes. Her bare feet were taking a beating on the cement.

  “Yes, ma’am. Whoa, there. Are you sure he shouldn’t go to the hospital? He looks like he’s in pain,” said the doorman.

  Maddy grabbed her ID out of her clutch and showed it to the man. “I’m a registered occult practitioner. I have the situation in hand. I just need to get him to his apartment as soon as possible.”

  The man squinted at the card for a moment and then nodded. “Let me get one of the wheelchairs, ma’am.”

  Management gave them entry to Cedric’s apartment, and Gary, the doorman, helped Maddy get Cedric situated on the couch.

  “Thank you so much,” she said, pressing a bill into his hands.

  “Not a problem, ma’am. Goodnight.” He glanced at Cedric doubtfully. “And good luck.”

  As soon as Gary was gone, Maddy began emptying out her emergency bag onto the coffee table. She set aside salt, dill, jet, amethyst, and an applewood wand and swept everything else back into the bag. While there were other things that could probably be more effective than what she had, they would have to do.

  Carefully, she cast a spiral of salt around the couch, silently promising she would vacuum after the crisis was averted. She sat cross-legged on the floor outside the spiral and arranged the stones, wand and athame in front of her. With a deep breath, she closed her eyes. She slowed her breathing and concentrated on the breath until she was ready to push upward along her cord to the astral plane.