The Dark Witch

by Tabitha Scott

  I just tip my head a bit in acknowledgement. I’m watching the crowd, and there are a lot of eyes on us.

  “That’s really strong magik,” Susan squeaks. She might be feeling a little uncomfortable, but I feel like one awesome fecking bitch ready to take on anyone who wants a fight. I’ve already got my knife in hand under the table, and I picked up a little something extra before we left the house. Just in case it’s needed. I’ve got that ready in the other hand.

  There’s a bit of a commotion over at the bar. The barman is nodding toward us, though his eyes are on a barmaid. He’s trying to get her to come over and serve us, but she’s not budging. She actually looks terrified. Wow, am I a badarse, or what?

  I’m not overly concerned about getting a drink, one of these evil little boys is going to come over at any moment and offer us one. Ah, there, ratty old top hat, side burns, dark, lecherous look, hasn’t changed a bit since the nineteenth century, very retro. No, I don’t know him, I just hang in despicable circles. He’s one of many.

  I turn to Susan and pretend to say something to her about him, but it’s just an excuse to look at his aura from the side of my eye. Very worm like. I was hoping for something a little stronger. He’s bringing over two glasses with something pink.

  “Can I join you ladies? I have drinks.” Ewww, his fingers are lapping into the top of two very cheap looking glasses of rose wine. Yuck.

  “Piss, off little dick. We have bigger fish to cast for.” Wow, I’m sure my eyes just glitzed, that’s almost demonic. I’m on a roll tonight, honey.

  The little toad has realised he’s bitten off more than he can chew, “Sa, sa, sa, sorry.” He’s already on his feet and backing away.

  “Take your drinks with you, we don’t want that swill.” The guy has literally just wet himself. He picks up the glasses and is gone like a rabbit running for its hole.

  “Hey, did you catch the eye glitz.” I turn to Susan, but she’s just staring at me like I’m the evil witch of the west or something. I click my fingers in front of her to snap her out of it. “Earth to Susan.”

  “Oh, sorry, you just glitzed your eyes blue. I’ve never heard of that before.”

  Blue? I know demons can glitz their eyes red, or orange, I’ve never heard of blue before either. What’s going on with me? I shouldn’t even be able to glitz, that’s a high level power. Maybe it’s something to do with Susan. She is a daughter of Gaea, maybe I’m cracking onto some special superpowers as her protector or something.

  Susan nods at someone over my shoulder. “There he is.”

  There’s no misunderstanding who she means. I turn to look. “Which one?” There are a group of scraggy looking guys at several of the booths on the other side of the bar. There are empty tables between us and them, obscuring the view a bit.

  “The one with his back to us in the brown polo shirt. You can just see his beard.” Humph, no accounting for taste, he’s not my type. Ruggedly handsome in that, I’m going to give you the clap type of way… I guess.

  Ooo. But look what’s happening now. A second potential suitor is bringing us drinks, and these have little umbrellas, they’re cocktails! Whoops. Not a suitor, it’s the barman. I got carried away when I saw the umbrellas.

  “Sorry, about the service ladies. These are on the house,” he lets us know as he slips some scrumptious looking daiquiris down for us. I may have let slip a little squeal of delight, so he ventures a smile. “If you ladies need anything, just let me know.”

  “Hmmm, slip your heinie into the seat there, honey.” I tap the table top to indicate the bench across from us, “I’ve got questions.” Poor guy, he thought he was going to get away scot free. I could see his adams apple gulp as he did as I commanded. He isn’t even game to try for an excuse.

  “Who’s here tonight.” I’m batting my eyes at him as I take a sip of my daiquiri.

  He just shrugs, “who are you after?”

  Good. Straight to the point. I like this guy. I may leave him with his manhood when I’m finished.

  “Power… like mine.”

  The sweat just flushed on to his forehead, he knows what I mean, I can see that he has a stripling of magik of his own, so he knows. His eyes are going back and forth so quickly in his head, it isn’t funny.

  He’s going to run. I can tell. I slam the obsidian knife through his hand. He’s not going anywhere. Thankfully the place is noisy enough that no one hears the quick intake of breath before he would have screamed. I’ve taken the sound from his lips though. I don’t need to hear his hysterics. Nobody who has been watching us is going to do anything to help this guy. They know I’m dark. If I want him, he’s mine, and they won’t dare lift a finger. The odd human might, but not in this bar. Besides, I’m pretty sure that we’ve only got dark eyes on us.

  “Nothing but truth from your lips.” I only need to think this magik for it to work, his barriers are easily overcome, but I want him to know what I want. “Who here in the bar is powerful?”

  “No one.” He answers, his face is contorting in pain.

  Hmmm, that didn’t work.

  “Is there anyone besides us who has power in the building?”

  “Yesss,” he squirms. I can tell he tried hard to hold that back. He’s scared of whatever’s in here.

  “How many?”

  “Two.”

  “Who, and where are they?”

  “The owner, and a friend, in the back room behind the bar.”

  “As strong as me?”

  “The friend might be stronger.”

  “Stronger? What is he?”

  Before my little puppet can answer, the door to the back room opens and a very pissed demonically possessed owner gazes my way. He pauses behind the bar though, because I’m not what he expects.

  “Time we left, kitty cat,” I say to Susan, “But we’ll do it slowly, in our own sweet time.”

  I jimmy the tip of my obsidian blade from the bench top and the bar keep’s hand. I can’t heal the hand, but I cauterize the wound and kill his nerves so he won’t feel the pain. Then for good measure I wipe his mind of the last few moments, and send him back to his boss who’s glaring at me from behind the bar.

  Taking a sip of my drink, I flood as much of the room as I can with my dark aura. The demon flinches, I had been holding his eyes, but he’s just blinked. We don’t need to say anything to each other, we know the lay of the land. I’ve returned his little toadie to him, but I’m strong enough that we’re going sit here and finish these drinks. He’s just told me that I’m more shit than he’s ready to deal with.

  It occurs to me, as I sit here staring the demon down, that his friend, hasn’t come out. I’m pretty sure whoever it is, is behind what’s happening to Susan. He doesn’t want to be seen, or maybe he doesn’t think this little incident concerns him. More likely the latter, but that’s fine by me I don’t want a show down on someone else’s turf, especially since I’m not exactly sure how powerful this upper being might be. Wherever I’m getting this power from, it’s enough to cause the local landlord some mischief, but I’m not all powerful, not by a long shot. Hmm, there’s something else too, this whole situation has got my brain niggling at me, ah, it’s that dream I had with the two demons in it. This situation is reminding me of that.

  Oh crap, some of the landlord’s bully boys have just come in from the side doors. They’re Ravens, stealers of souls. Ficketty feck, there’s a Wendigo too. I didn’t think they came to the cities. There are too many, the damn landlord is smiling now, no, leering at me. He knows he’s got the upper hand. Well, a pox on you laddie! I have one last card to play.

  I’ve put the obsidian knife back into the sheath on my thigh. I may need it, but I’ll need both hands for this next trick. Too Early! The landlord looked just about ready to rush us, but I’ve glitzed him, and he’s hesitating.

  “Hold my hand, Susan. You’ll have to lead us both out, I’ll be blinded for a few moments.”

  “What?” she’s panicked. I can tell
by the sound in her voice.

  “No time to explain, we need to go, now!”

  As I say that last word, three things happen. The landlord signals his bully boys to mob us, and I bring out my secret weapon. It’s not magik, it’s science. It’s a magnesium torch, well I’ve used magik to ignite it but it’s mainly science. Magnesium burns with a brighter flame than the sun. The whole room is flooded with so much light it blinds us all, all but Susan. After all, creatures of the dark are affected by light, especially bright light, Susan is a white witch and a daughter of Gaea. I can’t see a thing, but neither can the demon or his goons. The third thing that happens is I’m pulling Susan out from the booth.

  “Lead!” I yell at her.

  Thankfully, she has the where withal to get us both out of the place without hesitating.

  When we’re out, I still can’t see a thing. “Nearest alley. It needs to be dark, as dark can be, where we came from will do.” Meaning the alley the magikal path had bought us to when we first came to Pittsburgh. I know it’s just across the way, and that’s where she leads me.

  Chapter 17: Ardan

  I can hear the commotion across the way. They’re all still blind over there. I at least knew what was coming and was able to close my eyes. It was still like putting my eyeballs in the corona of the sun, but I can see some shadows now. I have a few minutes if I’m to spring the trap I’m hoping to spring.

  “Shouldn’t we go, can you find the path?”

  “No, we need Pulania.” I’m fumbling for my phone. I can’t see the screen.

  “Here!” I shove the phone toward Susan, “find her number, and get this thing ringing, we don’t have much time.”

  Susan gives me back the phone, good girl, she’s got it ringing for me. Damn. It’s gone to voice mail.

  “Pulania, we need your help, now! We’re in Pittsburgh and we’re in trouble. Near the ‘River Pitt’ the alley across the way.”

  “Shit!” I hope she’s listening to the message.

  I can see a bit more now, but I’m not going to be able to do this if I can’t see properly.

  “Susan, keep an eye out for that scumbag who gave you the clap, tell me if you see him.”

  I’m wringing my eyes, blinking to try and get them back quicker. It seems like quite a while has gone by but it’s actually less than a couple of minutes.

  “What trouble have you got yourselves, into?” Oh, yes! It’s Pulania, she’s come. “I’m still angry with you, you know, so this had better be good.”

  “Pulania, I’m blind,” I blurt out, “and at any moment that, that, little shite, who gave Susan the clap is going to come out the door of the ‘River Pitt’. We need to nab the little dick. We can use him for testing.”

  Pulania’s hand goes to my face. She’s diagnosing my eyes. “You’re beginning to see already, it’s only temporary blindness.” Well ficketty feck, I can hear concern in Pulania’s voice. But there’s no time for that, we’ve got a job to get on with.

  “The dickhead?” little do I know that I’m pointing to the alley wall, and not the River Pitt, as I try to focus Pulania and Susan.

  “Right, on it,” Pulania smirks. “You get your sight back, we’ll look after this.”

  A few minutes go by. I’m just leaning against a wall in the alley while the two girls keep watch

  “So how did you lose your eyesight, anyway?” Pulania asks.

  “Magnesium,” I answer. “It got us out of there in one piece.”

  “Humph, impressive, but also pretty stupid, what were you doing over there to begin with?”

  “Fishing for…what the heck is the name of that boyfriend of yours, Susan?”

  “Ardan.”

  Pulania and I snort in unison. Ardan? Really?

  “What?” Susan asks.

  “Let’s just say, it’s the name of a peacock, not a hero.”

  We go back to silence.

  “That’s a pretty impressive aura you’ve got going on over there,” Pulania comments after a while.

  “You should have seen it in the bar!” Susan pipes up. “Amura had them all scared silly. She glitzed some really seedy guy who tried to pick us up.”

  “Glitzed?” I can tell Pulania is startled by this. “What colour?”

  “Blue.”

  “Blue,” Pulania repeats, and the words are so hollow, that for some reason it’s cut me to what little soul I have.

  “That’s him, there,” Susan calls.

  “Humph, not much to look at.” But Pulania has strange tastes in men. A bit like mine.

  It‘s been almost thirty minutes since the scene at the bar. No one has followed us, it’s probably taking them too long to recover their eyesight, like me. They must figure we’re long gone. I still can’t see that well, myself. I can sorta see the boy staggering along with a couple of friends, but I can’t actually make out much more than distant figures. Ardan, being human, wouldn’t have been affected as strongly as the demon and his henchies.

  “Time to stalk us some man blood.” I can hear the glee in Pulania’s voice. “Are you up for it?”

  “I think so,” I answer. “You’ll have to take the lead though, Susan can hang with me. Do any of those three have magik?”

  “Not a skerrick. We just need to get away from the bar, so no one crashes our party.”

  We follow the three boys for a couple of blocks. Soon, one peels off in another direction. It’s our lad, so that makes it easier. We let him walk on for a few more minutes, so if he manages to cry out his friends won’t hear him.

  He’s walking beside the river, along an alleyway that borders the stone bank of the water below. It was reasonably well lit, at first, but as he’s wandered on, a little drunk and not watching his way, the lights overhead have ceased to be present. He hasn’t even noticed.

  “Hey there, want a good time, honey.”

  He could have been forgiven for thinking Pulania was a prostitute waiting there in the dark for him. Fishnet stockings, scarlet bodice with blue lining, low cleavage, a maroon miniskirt, is she wearing knickers? I hope so, not that this guy is likely to find out.

  “But I see you’ve already had a good time. Isn’t that the clap I see on your teeny, weeny member?”

  “Yeah,” the guy swings around, I’m behind him “you know, I think this could be the guy who clapped up our friend Susan.” I can see well enough to help with this, it’s going to be fun.

  “How, how do you know about Susan?” the guy stutters. He’s scared. He knows there are things that go bump in the night. Good.

  “You’ve been a very naughty boy.” He swings around to Pulania, we’re circling him now. There are rifts of darkness swirling around us, we’re not hiding anything from this drop kick, if he knows about our kind – and I assume he’s already been used by dark forces – then he’s in for something special.

  “We can regain Susan through sacrifice.” We’re playing with him, we have a wind whipping around him in the circle between us. No sacrifice is going to save Susan, but this idiot doesn’t know that.

  I smirk as his jaw drops open taking in what Pulania has just said. “We’ll have to split him in several sections. The blood moon is approaching.” Pulania almost laughs at me, the blood moon isn’t due for months. But our mark is almost wetting himself. Good, the little bugger deserves it.

  “Please, it didn’t mean anything, she was so… they told me to get with her.”

  “Didn’t mean anything?” It’s Susan, she’d been back in the darkness, just out of sight. “Slit the dickhead from neck to naval.”

  Pulania and I both smile at that. We’re just looking at him, the disdain in our eyes is very real. He’s going around with his head swinging between the three of us, like a rat between three cats, as we keep circling.

  “Who are they?” Pulania is all business now.

  “I don’t know, they paid me a lot of money.”

  But Pulania doesn’t like that answer, she levitates him off the ground. You can see the
terror in the guy’s eyes, but then he faints, and it’s over.

  Pulania drops him to the ground. Ouch! It’s a good 5 foot drop, that’s going to hurt. We saunter over to his side. Pulania gives him a good swift kick. No reaction.

  “Well, this is no fun.”

  Chapter 18: Gaea, mother of the Earth

  I’m in no condition to worry about either Ardan or Susan tonight. Pulania has taken pity on me and has promised to drop Ardan off at my lab tomorrow (most unwitchy of her). What we need for testing is going to be there, but my eyes are still recovering, and I’ve come down from the euphoria of my extended aura. I just need to rest.

  I can see well enough to make it along the magikal path. There in the gloaming is my cottage. Home, sweet home. The lights are on, and bed is waiting for me. Hold on! The lights are on, shite, I didn’t leave those on. I freeze, listening to anything that might be near me. I don’t hear anything out of the ordinary but I move off the path into the darkness. Is this an ambush? I spend the next five minutes watching and listening.

  There, I can see Gil through the window, she’s just gotten up to do something. Oh, okay, I relax a bit, it’s just Gil. But how did she get here? She can’t navigate the magikal path yet. Has she come into her familiar powers, or is something more sinister at work? I can feel the obsidian knife in my hand. The coolness of its heft is comforting. It’s good against mortals and most semi-mortals too, so it’s always my weapon of choice. If there is a threat here, it’s not going to be a mortal one, but I have some protection.

  Then I see it, a faint glow comes around the corner from the side of the house, it’s bending low over the shrubbery. It’s a very old woman, and she seems to be tending the garden outside my cottage. Hold on! Since when do I have a garden?

  “Daughter of darkness, I hope you can make use of belladonna in your garden. It can be both a poison and a medicine. Oh, and I believe it is used as an ingredient for flying ointment.”

  Did she just talk to me?

  “I’ve put some coriander near it, to control the aphids, but you should avoid using this coriander, the belladonna will taint it. There’s some more around the side that you can use.”