Witch's Hunger

by Deborah LeBlanc

  When Viv and Evee had finally returned home around 7:45 a.m., they’d found Gilly crying in the kitchen, attempting to make some kind of tea to help calm her nerves. Viv had taken over the task and set a pot of tea brewing with valerian, an herb for overactive nervous systems, passion flower for worry and St. John’s wort for depression.

  While she poured the tea, Evee had called one of her managers at Bon Appétit to let them know she was under the weather and wouldn’t be coming in today. Her staff was more than competent enough to handle the café on their own.

  The sisters sat at the kitchen table and downed the tea in silence, all three too exhausted and overwrought to talk, much less ask questions or ponder the morning’s tragedy. No one was hungry.

  Once the herbs kicked in, they’d gone off to their separate bedrooms to sleep. And sleep they did. Viv didn’t wake until two o’clock in the afternoon. Gilly and Evee woke shortly thereafter.

  They managed to eat some leftover lasagna, then decided it was time to go talk to the Elders before meeting with the Benders that evening. They needed answers from someone they knew and trusted. Someone and someplace safe.

  The Elders lived in a two-story Victorian located in the older section of the Garden District, a good distance from the triplets.

  The walk there did the three of them good. The afternoon was cool and relatively quiet, save for the occasional ringing of a trolley bell. Mostly older tourists interested in architecture ventured out this way, so there was no bustle or hassle of crowds.

  When they reached the house and rang the doorbell, Arabella answered the door, flanked by Vanessa and Taka. Hugs were exchanged, then Arabella led everyone to the dining room. Tea was already steeping and six cups were laid out, along with colorful petit fours shaped like bonnets.

  Viv would have preferred a shot of bourbon.

  For over an hour and a half, the sisters filled in the Elders on the initial Loup Garou fight, the massacre at the North compound, the arrival of the Benders and the Cartesian attack on Gilly’s Chenilles this morning. Viv, Evee and Gilly took turns interrupting one another’s conversation, adding details whenever one or the other forgot something.

  Everyone, including the Elders, appeared out of breath when the triplets finished.

  “So where do we start?” Vanessa asked with a sigh.

  “From the beginning,” Viv said. “Are you aware of these Benders and the Cartesians?”

  Arabella nodded. “I’m familiar with both. Although, I’ve not had the pleasure to meet a Bender and am fortunate to have never met a Cartesian.”

  Gilly threw up her hands. “You knew and didn’t tell us during our training?”

  “I guess we figured your mother or her sisters had told you,” Vanessa said. “I mean, you did train under her up until the blessed dear passed on.”

  “Mother never told us a thing about them,” Viv said. “Neither did Aunt Rose or Aunt Madeleine. As soon as Mom passed away, her two sisters high-tailed it to some other country, dumping their responsibilities into our lap.”

  “Be nice,” Taka said to Viv. “You shouldn’t talk about your aunts that way.”

  “She didn’t say anything mean,” Evee said defensively. “She told the truth. Rose and Madeleine took off right after Mom died. Period. There’s no other way to put it.”

  “Maybe they were just a bit hasty in their departure,” Vanessa admitted.

  Arabella let out another sigh. “All of that is irrelevant. What’s important is what’s going on right now.” A sad look crossed her face. “I’m sorry we made such a gross assumption. We should have made certain you knew about both. For no other reason than having the knowledge. You see, what we know about the Benders and Cartesians comes from what was handed down to us. It’s not firsthand information.”

  “What do you know about them?” Viv asked.

  “As we’ve been told, the Cartesians have been around since the 1700s.”

  “Fifteen,” Taka corrected. “They’ve been around since the 1500s.”

  “Oh, you’re right,” Arabella said to Taka, then turned to the triplets. “That’s about the same time that the Nosferatu, Loup Garous and Chenilles became Triad responsibility.”

  “What?” Gilly said. “Some Elder back then just woke up one day and decided to make the Triads responsible for them?”

  “Oh, dear,” Vanessa said, giving Arabella a disconcerted look. “They don’t know about that either.”

  “Know about what?” Viv asked, suddenly realizing that through all of her years as a Triad, she’d evidently missed, intentionally or unintentionally, some crucial parts to the Circle of Sisters story.

  Taka sighed. “The Triads are responsible for the Originals because they created them.”

  “What?” Viv and her sisters said in unison.

  Arabella nodded. “I’m afraid so, my dears. Your grandmother, thirty times removed, and her sisters, were responsible for the Originals. They created them out of anger and spite, and you know what our laws say regarding that. It’s quite clear. “

  Viv, Evee and Gilly stared at each other, dumbstruck. Viv knew that the Triad screw up had been generations ago, and the curse meted out to them fell on their shoulders, as well. But creating the Originals out of anger and spite... That was a major screw-up. They were fortunate any Triad survived after the initial incident.

  “But you’re wrong about one thing,” Taka said to the triplets. “I told you about the Cartesians when you were small.”

  “I remember that,” Evee said. “But it sounded like a story, make believe. You know, like the bogeyman.”

  “Oh, they are bogeymen, that’s for sure,” Taka said. “Only very, very real. We’ve heard stories over the years about how many vampires, werewolves and the like they’ve killed. The last attack was somewhere in New Zealand, I believe, not that long ago. They’ve never been able to touch an Original, though. Until now.”

  “When did the Benders come into play?” Viv asked.

  Vanessa lifted her arms and stretched. “From what I understand, not until a century or two later. Is that right, Arabella?”

  “Pretty close. It did take quite some time before someone took action. No spell seems to affect Cartesians. Not then or now. It wasn’t until a Cartesian massacred a group of humans that churches got involved. They founded the first group of Benders. Sort of like the Knights Templar, only for the netherworld. Of course, the church would have never commissioned such a group for vampires and the like, but once humans became involved, everything changed.”

  “The Benders who are here told us the Cartesians are only after factions of the netherworld,” Viv said. “Because of their powers. They said they weren’t interested in humans.”

  Arabella shrugged, then eyed Viv. “Every group has a wayward son or daughter. Fortunately, that Cartesian’s mistake of attacking those humans wound up being to our benefit.”

  Viv picked at a crumb on the tablecloth, feeling ashamed of herself. Her North pack Loups and Gilly’s Chenille were dead because of her big mouth.

  “So we can trust these guys?” Evee asked the Elders. “The Benders who are here now, I mean?”

  Taka huffed. “You think? After what you witnessed this morning, you’re still wondering if you can trust them?”

  Arabella nodded. “Absolutely. You can. I thank the elements and the heavens that they’ve been sent to you. I would contact other members of the Circle of Sisters for reinforcement if I thought it would do any good. But I’m afraid adding others into the mix would only put more of our own at risk. No one but you can handle the Originals, and no one but the Benders can handle the Cartesians.”

  “How can anyone expect just the seven of us to battle these creatures all the while protecting our groups?” Gilly asked. “Those sons of bitches just appeared out of thin air.”

&nbs
p; “The Benders will handle the Cartesians,” Vanessa said and took a sip of tea.

  “Yeah, we kind of noticed,” Viv said. “But we and they can’t be everywhere at the same time.”

  “I’m confident the seven of you will work the situation out,” Arabella said.

  “You say that like the only thing we have to battle is a hill of ants,” Viv said. “I mean no disrespect, Arabella, but if you had witnessed what we did, you’d know how ridiculous that sounds. You’d be wishing for an army, not seven people.”

  “You know,” Taka said, “I just thought of something. Do you think the sorcerers might be able to help in this situation? Maybe they have resources that we don’t.”

  “Have you lost your mind?” Vanessa asked, her back stiffening in her chair. “Those subspecies humanoids are only interested in themselves. When have you ever known a sorcerer to help a witch? They don’t. Because they’re greedy, selfish ingrates. Don’t you dare mention any of this to those three yahoos in the city, Taka. Do you understand?”

  “You’re not the boss of me,” Taka said, lifting her chin.

  “No, but I am,” Arabella said. “Not one word of anything we’ve discussed this afternoon shall leave this house. Is that understood?”

  “I won’t say anything,” Taka said, casting her eyes downward. “I was just wondering.”

  “Well, now you don’t have to wonder,” Vanessa said. She folded her arms across her chest and glared at Taka. “I can’t believe you even thought of that.”

  “At least I’m trying to help find a solution to their problems instead of just sitting like a lump on a log,” Taka said.

  “The two of you, stop,” Arabella said. “We have enough to worry about without both of you acting like five-year-olds.” She turned to the triplets. “I’m sorry we don’t have more direction to offer you, my dears.”

  “Can you at least tell me why my spells on Milan and Warden didn’t work?” Viv asked. “That’s where all of this started. What if it happens again? What if we’re out there trying to protect our sects, just like we have been, and the plug gets pulled on our incantations?”

  “Your powers didn’t leave you at the time they were fighting,” Arabella said. “The sexual tension between Stratus and those two alpha males might have weakened them, but it didn’t steal them.”

  “But I told you nothing I did worked,” Viv insisted, tapping a finger on the table for emphasis.

  Arabella reached over and patted Viv’s hand. “Had you kept a cool, clear head and called upon your elemental guide for assistance, things would be very different right now.”

  Viv blushed and pulled her hand into her lap. “Look, I know this is all my fault. I’m doing my best to fix it. I can’t bring back my dead Loups or Gilly’s dead Chenilles, but I—”

  Arabella shook her head. “I’m not making accusations, just giving advice. The three of you must stay clearheaded and strong during this time of tribulation. Generations of Triads before you have kept these Cartesians away from the Originals. You have to stick together. Work with the Benders.”

  “Arabella?” Evee said. “Why are the mirrors in our Grimoires reflecting only gray?”

  “That’s not a good sign,” Taka said with a tsk.

  “She didn’t ask you,” Vanessa said.

  Arabella held up a finger, signaling for the two Elders to be silent. “It’s gray because the future has become uncertain. The images it reflected before were for the three of you to take heed. To show you what would happen if you shirked your duties. That mirror, like the universe, takes your words seriously. Now what’s uncertain is who will survive this ordeal. It may not be a matter of any one of you leaving your duties behind. It may be given pause, wondering if the three of you will survive.”

  “Shit,” Gilly said, then slapped a hand over her mouth. “Sorry, no disrespect meant.”

  Arabella gave her a half smile. “No worries, dear. I heard that very word and some far worse from your mother’s mouth more than once.”

  “I want to know how their weapons worked when the Benders used them,” Taka said. “We were never given that information before. It would be good to know, something to pass on.”

  “What?” Gilly said. “You mean in case we don’t make it and die?”

  “Well, there is that,” Taka said.

  “Don’t be so crass,” Vanessa warned, then turned to Gilly. “You’re not going to die, dear. We’re confident you and the Benders will be the victors in this battle.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Taka said. “But I still want to know how the scorpions work.”

  “They call them scabiors,” Viv said. “The weapon isn’t very big or impressive to look at. Had I seen it in any other setting, I would’ve thought it was an amateur witch or sorcerer’s wand.” Viv described the metal rods and how the cousins used them. “The Cartesians seemed to enter the world through a big rip in the sky.”

  “What did that rip look like?” Taka asked, her eyes bright with curiosity.

  “Blacker than any black I’ve ever seen,” Viv said. “But when that lightning bolt hit the Cartesians, it pushed them back into the hole, which seemed to create another hole, one even blacker than the first, behind it, and the Cartesians were pushed even farther back.”

  “It’s called a dimensional rift,” Arabella said to Taka. “The hole in the sky that Viv is talking about.”

  “A dimensional rit,” Taka said, dreamy-eyed.

  “Rift,” Arabella corrected. “If this is something you plan to pass on, make certain you’ve got the information right. Look what happened with Evette. You told her about Cartesians, and the poor dear thought you were talking about bogeymen.”

  Taka waved a dismissive hand. “Just a little misunderstanding.” She turned to Viv. “What happened after that?”

  “I heard two loud pops, then the hole in the sky immediately closed up, taking the Cartesians with it.”

  “I didn’t hear any pop,” Gilly said, looking at Viv.

  “How could you not? It was so loud.”

  Gilly shrugged, confusion on her face. “Maybe... I guess... Maybe I was in shock and just didn’t hear it.”

  Vanessa nodded. “Funny thing about shock. It can do strange things to people, even Triads.”

  “And these Cartesians were as big as they say?” Taka asked.

  “Massive,” Viv said. “I’ve never seen a creature with a head or arms that big.”

  “What was their method of attack?” Taka asked.

  “I told you,” Viv said. “They came out of nowhere from the rift in the sky.”

  “No, I mean how did they kill the Chenilles?”

  Gilly held up a hand, her brow deeply furrowed. “I don’t want to talk about that. It was the most horrible thing I’ve ever seen.”

  “I know it must have been a very traumatic ordeal for you, sweet one,” Vanessa said. “But for once, Taka is right. Where the Circle of Sisters is concerned, if there is valuable information that may help another sister at another time, we need to be informed.”

  Gilly put her elbows on the table and looked at Viv. “You can go ahead and tell them, but I don’t have to listen.” With that, she stuck a forefinger in each of her ears.

  Viv looked at Evee. “I didn’t give you all the gory details. You sure you want to hear this?”

  “Not really, but I have to know what we’re facing,” Evee said grimly.

  Viv nodded and turned to Taka. “The Cartesians bit their heads off. Then they sucked on their necks like they were trying to pull everything inside out. When they finished, all that was left was a rag of flesh.”

  Taka slapped a hand over her eyes. “I should’ve never asked. Now I’m going to have nightmares.”

  “Try living that nightmare,” Viv said, then got to her feet. “We need to
head back home now. The Benders will be returning this evening. Any further advice?”

  Evee and Gilly rose from their chairs and waited for Arabella to speak.

  The Elders stood up, and Arabella motioned everyone toward the front door. When they reached it, she touched Viv on the shoulder and looked deeply into her eyes to make sure she had her attention. Then she looked gravely at Gilly and Evee.

  “The only other piece of advice I can offer,” Arabella said, “is to remember the warnings of your Grimoires. The mirrors may be reflecting gray right now, but they weren’t always that way. Remember.” She tapped a finger over her heart. “Watch over your hearts and your heads, especially where the Benders are concerned.”

  Viv held back a groan. Deep inside her, she already knew that where Nikoli was concerned, she was about to screw up again. Big time.

  Chapter 14

  No sooner had they left the Elders than Viv felt a nervous twitch in her gut. Her mind suddenly filled to overflowing with chaotic images of Chenilles, Nosferatu and Loup Garous clashing into one another, running through the city among humans. Oddly enough, at the same time, she saw Chenilles carefully tucked away in the Louis 1 cemetery, the Nosferatu in the catacombs of St. John’s and her Loups in the North compound. The conflicting images didn’t make sense.

  Viv allowed the twitch in her gut to decide which she should pay attention to.

  “Evee, I think you need to check on your Nosferatu,” Viv said as they continued walking toward home.

  Evee came to a stop and stared at her. “Why? Did you pick up something?”

  Viv and Gilly pulled up alongside her.

  “Yes,” Viv said and explained what she had seen. “It was a conflicting vision. So just to be on the safe side, you should check out your brood.”

  Gilly blew out a breath. “I’m going to Snaps and let my managers know I’ll be out for the evening. Then I’ll head to the cemeteries, check on everyone, then start moving those in the City and Lafayette cemeteries to Louis 1.”

  Viv nodded in agreement. “I’ll go to the compound and talk to Aaron and Jaco to make sure things are copacetic.”