The straps were strong, and I felt no give. I tried jerking on the restraints. I tried to worry them back and forth. I tried breaking them. I struggled until I was sweating and panting with the effort.
And the entire time, Arianna loomed over me, smiling, humming, and caressing me. I felt her magic seeping into me, but I couldn't tell what it was intended to do.
Finally I lay still, spent. I stared into her eyes, and I wondered if I was staring into evil.
"He won't go," I said after I caught my breath.
She stopped humming, but her hands continued to pass lightly over my exposed skin.
"Not right now," she said. "But I will release him. Do you wish to negotiate his release?"
"You want me to trade myself for him?"
"No. I have you, and what I do with you will not change. I wish a civil conversation, or as civil as we may have under the circumstances. And, to be fair, he is a good boy, and I would prefer to let him go in the best fashion for him. For that, I need your help."
I stared at her. What she was doing was evil. I didn't know what it was she was doing, but I knew it was evil. But she was worried about Neal?
"A civil conversation?" I asked. She nodded. "And you'll let him go."
"Yes. We will negotiate how. And then we will discuss the rest."
I studied her face. "Fine," I said. "A civil conversation, as civil as I am able." I wasn't sure how civil that would be. I felt panic under the surface, and deep, deep anger.
"Excellent," she said. She continued to caress me.
"He told me you promised him the woman of his dreams. That is me."
"It was you," she said. "That is true. Now it is me. And while he is a good boy, and very sweet, he's not the man of my dreams." She smiled at me. "You, however..."
"Oh my god," I said.
She placed her hands over my lips. "We'll discuss that later. I only am explaining why I do not wish to keep him for myself. And of course, you don't want him that way. But I made him a promise, and I keep my promises as best I am able."
"I don't understand," I told her.
"Think about it, Moira. I made him love me so deeply he would do absolutely anything for me. He delivered you to me, Moira. He delivered his best friend to me after helping me build this room."
I stared at her, glared really. I began to open my mouth to scream at her, but she said, "Before you say anything, consider this. If you anger me, he will pay. I will give him to someone who will treat him very, very badly."
I didn't scream. I began crying again instead.
"Shhh," she said. "It doesn't need to be like that, Moira. That's not what I intend to do. It's not what I want to do."
She let me cry for a while, caressing me and humming again. I calmed down. She produced tissues and dried my eyes for me.
For an evil witch, she was very gentle.
"Are you ready to talk again?" she asked me.
I tried to nod, but I didn't have enough head movement to do so. "Yes," I said.
"Good." She bent down and kissed my forehead, just below the strap. "You are being very brave."
We studied each other for a moment, and she began caressing my bare skin again.
"Are you using your magic on me?"
"Yes," she said. "We'll talk about that in a while. Let us discuss Neal first. There was a waitress at the nightclub."
"Nightclub?"
"Pub?" she said. "I believe it was called the Dancing Duck. What a silly name for such a coarse place."
"Don't diss the Dancing Duck," I said. "It's the best we have."
She smiled. "So there was a waitress. What was her name?"
"Caroline?" I asked.
"Yes, Caroline," Arianna said. "She is smitten by our Neal."
"Yes," I said. "He doesn't even notice her."
"Is she a good woman? Would she treat him well?"
"Yes," I said. "And yes. But didn't you hear me? He doesn't even notice her. I've tried to get them together, but he isn't remotely interested. If he could just see how sweet she is-"
"Moira," Arianna asked, "do you really think that is a problem for me?"
"You-" I said. "You would make him love her?"
She pursed her lips. "Honestly," she said. "I don't know. I would first help him see the potential. Love is so much better when it is by choice. I would hope to make it his choice, with only a nudge from me. I could relax my magic's hold on him, then detach it from me and allow it to attach to her."
"And what if, once she has him, she decides she doesn't want him?"
"Well, I certainly wouldn't allow that!" Arianna said with a smile. "I wouldn't have to force her to love him, but my magic could ensure it lasts. Happily ever after has such a nice ring, don't you think?"
"You can do that?"
"Yes," she said. "I can do that. Now, shall it be Caroline, or is there someone else that might be more suited for our Neal?"
"He's not 'our Neal'," I said sharply.
"Oh, honey," Arianna replied, "of course he is. For now."
I studied her expression then tried to nod again. With my head secured the way it was, the gesture was subtle.
Arianna smiled. "So, is it to be Caroline, or someone else? I can't simply release him; I wouldn't want to break my promise."
"Caroline," I said, "will-" I closed my eyes. "Will he be happy?"
"They both will," she said. "So, we shall have our civil conversation, and then, when you are ready in a few days, the three of us will visit Caroline."
"Did you take him the way you took me?"
"No," she said. "He came with me willingly. You have been singularly difficult."
"You used your magic on him," I accused.
"Yes," she said, "but he hasn't a complaint. Shall we move on?"
I squished my eyes closed. I thought about struggling against the bonds, but I knew it was pointless. I thought about lashing out verbally, but I didn't have it in me. I opened my eyes and looked at her.
"You're using your magic on me."
"Yes," she said. "You agreed to a civil conversation. I am using my magic to help you remain civil. For now, that is all."
"Magic."
"Yes." She hadn't stopped caressing me, and I realized it felt nice. I should have been terrified, but she was beautiful and gentle.
"You said you weren't the kind of witch that would hurt me."
"No," she said. "I am not. I hadn't expected you to be so ignorant. I admit: I am somewhat unprepared. I am not sure where to start."
"Why do you want me?" I asked.
"That is definitely not the right place to start," she said. "But we'll get to that." She looked away for a moment then back into my eyes. "Perhaps we should first discover the depth of your ignorance."
"Are you calling me stupid?"
"No, Moira. Stupid is an inability to learn. Ignorance is simply a lack of knowledge. I do not believe you are stupid, and we are all ignorant about a great many things. I, for instance, know nothing about open heart surgery."
I almost laughed at her example. "All right," I said. "I see the difference."
"I do not mean to insult you, Moira," she said. "I will ask questions, and we shall see. Tell me, do you believe in ghosts?"
"I don't know," I said. "I've never seen one. Or if I did, I didn't know it."
"All right. Angels?"
"Same."
"God?"
I thought about that. "No."
"Why not?"
I thought some more. "Maybe there is a god. Or gods. I don't know. But I don't believe in the Christian god."
"Why not?"
"Because there is no possible explanation for the evil that exists in the world that is consistent with a view of a loving and all-powerful god. And there is no way to resolve both the tyrannical god of the Old Testament with the loving god as suggested in the gospel. Or if there is such a god, I am not sure I would want to worship him."
"Until you met me, did you believe in witches?"
&n
bsp; "I believe in people who thought they were witches, gathering herbs and trying to cast spells. I would have thought they were charlatans."
"Do you believe that now?"
"I believe there are charlatans. I do not believe you are one of them."
"All right. Do you believe in the walking dead?"
"Zombies?"
"Zombies, animated skeletons, vampires, ghouls..."
"Until I met you, I would have said 'no'. Now I don't know."
"Werewolves?"
I stared into her eyes, my own eyes opening more widely.
"Ah," she said. "I answered a question you've had."
"Werewolves. But what about the other one, the one with the red hair."
"How did you know they were werewolves?" Arianna asked me.
"I could see something under the surface," I said. "I couldn't understand why they looked like wolves."
"And this woman with the red hair?"
"Fox," I said. "She looks like a fox."
"A fox?" Arianna said. "They are very rare. The wolves have seen to that. They are natural enemies."
"That can't be," I said. "The fox has lived here for a while, but lately she's been with the wolves."
Arianna frowned. "Then I believe perhaps you have seen the fox for the last time. That is too bad. I would have liked to have met her."
"I don't understand."
"If the wolves caught the fox, she is certainly dead by now."
"I don't think so," I said. "It looked like she's dating one of the wolves. They all seemed pretty friendly."
"Well," Arianna said. "That would be most unexpected. But perhaps Wisconsin shall be more interesting than I had expected when I was banished here."
She paused in her caresses, her hand resting gently on my cheek. Then her gaze focused back on me, and she began her caresses again.
"You are very lovely," she told me.
"I am plain and uninteresting," I told her.
"You are neither," she said. "Not to me. But tell me, what do you know about witches?"
"I know they kidnap people and make you love them."
She laughed lightly. "Well, you know that I kidnap people and can make a lustful man love me. That is the kind of witch I am."
"There are other kinds?"
"Magic comes in many forms. And the source of magic comes from many sources. There are witches whose power comes from death and suffering." She grimaced. "They can be very powerful, but they frequently make enemies."
"What kind are you?"
She smiled. "My magic comes from the passion of others," she said.
"Sex?" I asked. "You're a sex witch?"
"I guess you could say that. I'm a sex witch."
"Oh my god," I said. "You're going to rape me!"
She laughed as if I'd said the funniest thing she had heard in a very long time. "Oh Moira, no. It won't be rape."
"Oh my god," I said. "Oh my god."
"Shhh," she said soothingly. "Calm down. Our civil conversation isn't over."
"You're going to rape me!"
She continued to caress me, humming, and slowly I calmed down. When finally I could focus on her, she said, "There is more to tell you."
"What?" I spat.
"Perhaps you wonder what you are."
"I'm-" I said. "I'm nothing special. Just another human like everyone else."
"Not like everyone else," she said. "Who else sees magic?"
I stared at her. "I don't know," I said. "I didn't want to get locked up in the loony bin asking people about it."
"And that's because you know seeing magic is rare, very rare. Seeing magic, but being unable to manipulate it, well, that makes you about as rare as the fox. Imagine, both of you in the same town. How unexpected."
"So what am I?" I asked.
"You, my dear, are a familiar."
"Like a witch's cat?"
"Well, yes, I guess, except that's a myth. Cats are far too independent to ever be a familiar."
"And I'm not?"
She smiled. "Well, perhaps that is why you are still an unattached familiar. That is going to change."
"I don't want it to change!"
She caressed my lips. "I know," she said. "But it is going to. Consider this. Would you rather be my familiar, or that of a death witch?"
I stared at her.
"It is virtually a miracle you haven't already been claimed," she said. "Although if you have lived in this godforsaken wasteland all your life, perhaps not that surprising."
"This is my home!" I yelled at her. "And I love it here. It's beautiful here. Take that back!"
She stared into my face for a moment, her hands still again. Then she began her caresses. "You know, you are right. It is beautiful. And it is my home now, too. You have my apologies. I should not have said it that way."
She surprised me with that. I hadn't expected her to apologize.
"But it is cold here, you must admit. I would not have chosen to come here if I'd had a choice."
"Why are you here?" I asked her.
"Ah, that is a story for another time, I think. You have a better question."
I thought about it. "Why do you want a familiar?"
"Yes, that is a better question. It is because what a familiar does for me. You store magic for me, and channel it."
"Like a battery."
"Yes, exactly. I will be able to collect magic, just the way I always do, and then I can give it to you to store for me."
She caressed my lips again. "I will admit, I could not have been luckier to find you. Most familiars are identified at a much younger age. They are claimed at a much younger age. And, well, once you become my familiar, you will age no faster than I do. If you had been discovered when you were five, you would still look to be five. You would have the mind of a 30-year-old-"
"35," I said.
"A 35-year-old, but the body of a 5-year-old." She made a disgusted face. "I shudder to think about that. But somehow you have remained unclaimed until now, and so I will claim you in your physical prime."
"That was 15 years ago," I said.
"No," she said. "Not to me. You are perfect, just as you are."
"Please don't do this," I said. "Let me go."
"I'm sorry," she said. She smiled. "I will tell you something about my magic. My most powerful magic requires your permission."
I smiled. "So you can't claim me without my permission?"
"No," she said. "I can't. Neither could a death witch. You must accept the spell that binds you to me or it doesn't work."
I felt a surge of hope. "Then let me go and I will be on my way."
"However," she said. "I have some magic that I can use without your permission. A death witch has much more frightening magic. If I were a death witch, I would torture you until you agreed to become my familiar. Or perhaps torture Neal to death."
"Oh god-"
"I am not a death witch," she said.
And then her touches changed, her magic changed. Her eyes glowed with magic. It was beautiful but frightening. I began to struggle again, futilely pulling against the bonds, but they were just as secure as they had been.
"I will not hurt you, Moira," she said.
"Please don't do this, Arianna," I begged. "Please."
"Consider this," she said, walking around to the head of the table then leaning down to whisper into my ear. "If you had a choice right now between me or a death witch, who would you choose?"
"No," I said. "Neither."
"Someone will claim you eventually," she said. "You can't hide forever." She stroked my face and ran her fingers down underneath the sheet, touching me lightly. It felt nice. "I am gentle. I will make you feel so very good. If you had a choice between me, or a death witch, who would you choose?"
"You," I said. "But I don't choose you. I don't choose this."
"If you accept what I wish to do, it will be over soon, and it will be easy for both of us. If you resist, if you struggle against the magic, it will
take longer, but when it is done, you will be bound far more thoroughly. I have spent the last week drawing power from Neal, and I am full to the brim with far more magic than I need tonight. I will claim you, Moira. I do hope you struggle."
Her breath was warm against my ear, her voice a soft lilt. In another situation, if it weren't for her dark aura of magic, I might have found her deeply arousing. Instead, I felt nothing but dread and the touch of her magic against my skin.
I returned to struggling against the bonds and saying, "No, no, Arianna! No!"
"Yes," she said. "Soon, Moira, your words will change."
Then her magic began to flow out of her hands, spreading over me, wrapping me in a gentle cocoon. As it covered my face, I began to scream in terror. But her magic entered through my mouth and filled me, flowing into my lungs. It should have choked me, but instead it was soothing, and my scream faded into nothing more than wild panting as I struggled.
"There," she said. "Doesn't that feel good?"
"No," I said. It came out as a moan.
"It does," she said, "even if you deny it."
Then she slipped around to my other side, peeling back the sheet and blanket that had covered me, exposing me to her. I felt deeply vulnerable, but she looked at me and smiled.
"You have a lovely body," she said. "I am so happy to have found you, Moira."
"It's not lovely," I said. "It's plain. Ordinary. Fat."
"You are not fat," she said. "You are perfect. Strong and healthy. Only in this age, this age obsessed by skeletal creatures, would you be considered fat. Your body is exactly the weight it should be, the weight it desires to be, and I find that beautiful."
I looked into her eyes, and I believed her.
"I can't begin to tell you how much I want you, Moira. Not only because you are a familiar, but because you are a woman, an amazing woman, who stayed tonight only because she thought her friend needed to be rescued. You recognized the danger, and you stayed to see if you could save a friend. I admire you."
"Please, Arianna, if you admire me, set me free."
She looked down at my body again, my helpless body strapped to the table. And then she said, "Perhaps you should see my body, too." She took her hands from me, but still her magic encased me, teasing my skin. She untied the belt of the robe and then slipped it from her shoulders. It fell to the floor behind her. She stood beside me, as naked as I was, and she was stunning, with wonderful curves and succulent breasts. I stared at her breasts.
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