The Witch and the Stag

by Victoria Rogers

  Dunlea stood fighting off an onrushing golden stag. He had a rapier in his hand and from the deep gashes on the stag’s flank she could tell it had made its mark already. Cedric found a reservoir of strength from somewhere, for he fought the poltergeist with such ferocity that Dunlea was losing ground.

  Maddy steeled her nerve and stared the poltergeist down. “It’s me you want, Witch Hunter Dunlea. Come get me.”

  Enraged from his battle with Cedric, Dunlea darted directly for her. It didn’t get far before it found itself trapped in the spiral of salt.

  Maddy smiled at its shriek. “Cedric!” she called out to the stag. “Don’t enter the spiral or else you could be trapped as well!”

  The stag lowered his head and then morphed into the shape of Cedric the godling, his head crowned with glowing antlers.

  Content that he heard her, she turned her attention to the struggling Dunlea, mired in the spiral. “Silence now, my wayward Niall.” She used his first name this time. Names had power, and she planned to use every bit she had to end this right here and right now. “Rest, I bequeath to thee. Silence now, my wayward Niall. Rest now, so mote it be.” She picked up both wand and athame and tapped the wand on the dagger three times.

  The poltergeist made a choking sound as it started to fling itself along the never-ending turns. Maddy frowned. It shouldn’t be moving that fast. It was gaining its senses a lot quicker than it should.

  “Dunlea! What do you think Shannon would think of you now, huh?”

  “Do not utter her name, witch!” it demanded. “My wife was a pious mistress and would approve of ridding the world of blasphemous harlots!”

  Maddy bit the inside of her lip. She needed to rattle him. She thought hard. “Pious? What would Shannon think of your deal with a devil? Perhaps we should tell her. Let her know what her husband has been doing all these centuries? Haunting women, all because --”

  “Silence!” the command was strong and Maddy balked at the force behind it. She surged forward, shaking free of the fog.

  “I wonder what she would say when she found out you wished to bed a witch! Call her your wife! Aileen. Beautiful Aileen McKinley. You coveted her.”

  It had stopped moving now. Its attention was fully fixed on her. “I offered her everything! And she forsook me even after everything I did.”

  Again she struck her athame with the wand three times. “Silence now, my wayward Niall. Calm, I bequeath to thee. Silence now, my wayward Niall. Calm now, so mote it be.”

  It started to move again, desperate to get out of the spiral before she finished the spell.

  “Silence now, my wayward Niall. Quiet, I bequeath to thee. Silence now, my wayward Niall. Quiet now, so mote it be!”

  It began to laugh as it surged ahead, only a quarter more of the way left. Maddy felt a wave of fear through her cord. It shouldn’t be able to move. It should be aground. Whatever deal it had made, it had chosen its patron well.

  And then she was filled with a warm glow. It felt strong and cool. She felt the cool air of the forest after a rain. The slow drips sliding down leaves and onto the soft ground below. She could smell the damp earth and greenery, hear the birdsong in the tall branches. The astral landscape shifted around her and there stood her lover -- proud, powerful, and potent, naked in the forest landscape. His antlers brushed against the tree’s lower branches.

  Cedric. She stumbled at the realization that Cedric was lending her his power. Struggling with the connection, she was both overwhelmed with the sensations she was experiencing and unsure of how to proceed. She was a solitary witch! She didn’t work with others. It had been ages since she had spun magic with other people, not since college. It was a skill she never pursued as she wished to carry on the traditions of her family.

  “I have you,” came Cedric’s voice from across the spiral. “We will not fail.”

  She glanced at the spiral now seeming to be in the center of a forest clearing. Dunlea was almost free. She had only seconds to react.

  “Begone!” she commanded. “I sever your bonds to our world. Find rest! Find rest!” She brought both wand and dagger up in front of her and threw all the magic she had in her.

  Rain and earth and fire and air. Bird calls and wolf howls. Spider webs with dew glistening on their strands, and the sound of prey’s last call. Cernnunos’ power was strong but power came from Brigid as well, healing the hurt that had plagued the poltergeist for so long.

  Light erupted from both her wand and athame. She angled them so their streams of magic coalesced into one ribbon. It wrapped itself around Dunlea, spiraling around its ankles, holding it in place. Maddy held strong as she allowed herself to be a conduit for the godling’s power. Dunlea folded over with an ear-piercing cry. The ribbon wound itself about the ghost’s legs and torso until it was completely coiled around the poltergeist, and it was wrapped in glowing streams of magic.

  Maddy willed herself forward to stand before the bound poltergeist. “Rest now, Niall Dunlea. Husband of Shannon Dunlea, née Bligh. Father of Ian, Craig, and Ingrid. Rest.” And she slashed her athame across the cord that kept Dunlea anchored to the mortal realm. Golden light surged through her and out her hand and through the blade. The ribbons flashed and a brackish fog dissipated into nothing.

  Adrenaline took over, and Maddy slid back down her cord to her physical self.

  Chapter Nine

  “Madeline, love, wake up.”

  Maddy groaned and fluttered her eyes open. Cedric held her in his arms, his face wrinkled in concern.

  “We did it, love. We did it. It’s gone. Dunlea is gone.”

  Maddy smiled up at the most remarkable man she had ever met. Cedric leaned in and kissed her, deep and long.

  “Thank you,” she said when she could breathe. “Thank you for your help. I don’t think I would have been able to lay him to rest without you.”

  He kissed her forehead, then her right temple, her ear, and neck. “Look at what we can accomplish together.”

  Maddy giggled as he tickled her neck with his lashes, his smooth-shaven cheek pressed against hers. “I’m glad you’re safe,” she said into his ear.

  “Me too. I won’t lie and say I’d like to experience that again.” He left a trail of kisses along her collarbone.

  Maddy’s phone rang. She reached for it on the coffee table, but Cedric held her closer.

  “Ignore it.”

  Maddy grinned and kissed him on the cheek. “It’s probably Felicity. She deserves to know.”

  Grudgingly, he let go of her, and she stretched to grab the cell. “Hey, Felicity.”

  “How’d it go? You’re answering the phone, so it has to be good, right?”

  Maddy nodded. “Yeah, we’re good. Operation Goodbye Jackass was a success.” She laughed and pulled the phone away from her ear as Felicity yelled out in triumph.

  “I knew you had it. Guess you don’t have to call your cousin after all,” Felicity said, laughing. “Got my car, by the way. Thanks for asking.”

  “Awesome. I was half afraid you’d just say it was stolen.”

  “Ha! Nuh-uh. You said of equal value, and I like old Betsy. At any rate, I’m gonna let you have some good ol’ post-possession sexy times.”

  Maddy grinned into the phone as she watched Cedric lean back against the couch and close his eyes. “Right. Have a good night, Felicity. And thank you. I really didn’t want to have to perform an exorcism in the middle of the street. You were a lifesaver.”

  “Not a problem. Oh, and don’t worry about tomorrow. I’ll cover you at the shop.”

  “Oh, my gods, Felicity, you’re the best.”

  “Yeah, well, don’t get used to it. Goodnight, Maddy.”

  “Goodnight,” Maddy said before ending the call. She smiled at the almost sleeping Cedric. “C’mon, let’s get to bed and sleep there.”

  Cedric opened his eyes and nodded. “I’m absolutely knackered.”

  “Me too. We both expended a lot of energy. I wouldn’t be surprised
if we just slept all day.” Maddy stood and brushed salt off her legs. She grimaced at the mess on the floor and rug.

  “We’ll worry about that tomorrow,” Cedric said as he held out his hand. “Let’s go to bed.”

  She took his hand and followed him down the hall. She paused a moment at the large shadow box taking up almost the entire wall space on one side. In it was the largest collection of daggers she’d ever seen.

  “Athames from my father’s mortal side of the family. I’ve been collecting them for years. The one you found in the car belonged to a grandmother of sorts,” Cedric explained before she could say anything.

  “They’re beautiful,” she whispered. “Thank you for the gift. I’m sorry you didn’t get to see me open it.”

  Cedric smiled and tugged on her hand. “I like that it was an instrumental part of the evening. C’mon.”

  Maddy slid out of her dress and crawled into his bed, not caring which side she took. If she stole his side of the bed, Cedric never said a word. She snuggled up against him, her head in the crook of his shoulder, top leg lying over his thigh.

  “I love you,” she murmured.

  “I love you too, Madeline.” He kissed her forehead before falling asleep.

  * * *

  “That smells amazing,” Maddy said, wrapping her arms around Cedric’s waist from behind.

  Cedric deftly flipped the omelet with a spatula and leaned into her. “Thanks. Learned how to do this to impress the ladies when in university. Grab a couple of plates, will you?”

  “Well, I’m impressed. Whenever I try to make an omelet I end up with scrambled eggs.” Maddy opened a random cupboard but found only pantry items.

  “Top cupboard, two from the right of the fridge.”

  “Two from the right of the fridge,” she repeated. “Aha! Plates.” She pulled two from the cupboard and brought them over to the counter next to the stove.

  Cedric cut the omelet in half with the spatula and slid a piece onto each plate.

  “Love a man who can cook,” Maddy said.

  “I love a woman in my clothes,” Cedric said, reaching under the hem of the collared shirt and pinching her.

  Maddy giggled. “Watch it now, or these omelets are going to get cold.”

  “Is that so?” Cedric said, cupping her ass and pulling her close. “I think I can handle that.”

  Excitement flooded through Maddy, and she leaned in for a kiss. Cedric’s tongue slid into her mouth and soon their tongues danced as their hands roamed. Cedric slid one hand down the front of her bare thigh and trailed a finger to her mons. Her breath quickened and she arched her lower back in response.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he said into her hair. “I love it when you moan like that.” Two fingers glided along her clit and then past it to dip into her wetness. “Yeah, just like that.”

  Pleasure came in waves as he stroked her. “Fuck, Cedric. Yes. Just like that. Just. Like. That.”

  He circled a finger along her entranceway, and she grabbed on to the counter on either side of Cedric with a gasp. “Oh, fuck. Cedric. I’m so close.” Her inner walls clenched around his fingertip. He slid it farther in as his other fingers stroked her clit in a slow methodical rhythm.

  “C’mon, Madeline,” he urged, breath rasping in her ear. “Come for me.”

  “Just,” she moaned and rocked her hips against his hands. “A little faster. Faster.”

  “Like this?” he increased the speed and added a few little flicks against her clit.

  The heat gathered and she squirmed in his grasp as she came on his fingers. She buried her face in his neck and convulsed as ripples of bliss washed through her. He slipped his arms around her and pulled her close.

  “Yeah,” she purred. “Exactly like that.”

  “Where do you want me to come today?” he asked. “Where should I spray my seed, hmm?” He nibbled at her ear.

  Trembling with the need for his cock to be buried deep within her, she whispered, “Come inside me, Cedric. I want you to fill me.”

  He let out a groan and was turning her around and lifting her up so her ass was on the counter. He spread her legs wide with his hands before he unzipped his pants and pulled out his erect cock. With one quick movement he buried himself inside her. Maddy shivered with delight at the feeling and ran her fingers through his hair.

  “I don’t know if I can last long, Madeline,” Cedric warned her, his breath ragged.

  “That’s quite all right,” she soothed, stroking the back of his neck. She was more than content with the orgasm he had just given her. “That’s what this pussy is for, for you to come in.”

  “Oh, gods, I love it when you talk to me like that.” A few more pumps and Cedric’s face squeezed tight as he let go inside her. She moved her hips and flexed her inner walls to drag out the explosion of sensation coursing through him.

  “Fuuuck,” he let out in one long sigh. “Madeline, you are amazing. I’m so glad I met you.”

  Maddy smiled and kissed his forehead. “We make a good team.”

  “We do, don’t we?” he said, pushing himself upright and pulling up his pants before helping her carefully back down to the floor.

  As she stood, she could feel his cum slide down her inner thighs. She glided them together, relishing in the feeling of having been taken by the most beautiful godling she could have hoped to have met.

  “We should practice meditating together. I can show you how to control your magic in the astral plane,” she offered.

  Cedric pulled her into an embrace and kissed the top of her head. “I would love that. We could keep this neighborhood safe together.”

  Maddy beamed up at him. “Together,” she murmured into his lips.

  Victoria Rogers

  Victoria Rogers is an award-winning podcaster, game designer, and storyteller known for their immersive worlds and strong female characters.

  Witches, warlocks, gods, and spirits fill their dreams and stories. Consent and healthy communication are two major aspects of their work -- after all, you can’t have what you want unless you ask for it.

  Victoria can be found in the garden and in the kitchen making fruit wines, brewing beers, and infusing spirits. When not feeding friends, they attend tabletop gaming conventions and sit on storytelling and world-building panels, teach about online marketing, and produce live events.

  Victoria at Changeling: changelingpress.com/victoria-rogers-a-225