The Dark Witch

by Tabitha Scott

  We let ourselves into the front door. Pulania has a more medieval taste to house interiors than I do. Her house is actually an ancient stone mansion, it would have been a small palace in its time. As we go in, Pulania and Susan are off the entry in the library, which has morphed into an impromptu torture chamber. It’s complete with moisture laden walls, rack, iron maiden, thumbscrews, iron chair, all your typical, cliché devices of dungeon torture. Oh, Pulania is having fun, and she didn’t invite us!

  Ardan is hanging from his toes (literally) from the ceiling, hands manacled behind his back, he’s been defrocked apart from his underdaks. I think those are his own dirty socks that have been stuffed in his mouth. He’s got his eyes closed and I’m pretty sure that he’d be whimpering if it weren’t for the gag.

  “Hey.” Pulania acknowledges our presence, it’s a cold welcome, but at least we’re allowed in.

  “Hey,” I reply.

  “We’re just deciding whether we should lop off his left testicle first, or his right one.”

  Pulania has Susan dressed in one of her dominatrix outfits, complete with whip. There are a few welts on Ardan, so I can see Susan’s been getting the hang of using it. It’s a toy really, a real lead lined whip would be taking the flesh right off.

  “I see that you’ve started training Susan up.”

  “Yes,” that elicits a smile from Pulania, “she’s a natural with the whip.”

  “Hmm, I need to take her from you.”

  “Ohhhh,” Pulania pouts, “but we were just getting into it, and Ardan is having such fun.” She draws her finger nail down his thigh and a thin line of blood crawls along behind it. Ardan tenses, and tries to flop away as tears stream from his face.

  “We need to go to school, Master…” whoops, wrong thing to say. She was relaxing a bit, but at the mention of my angel she’s gone back to full on ice bitch. She’s crossed her arms and the stare alone could kill.

  “Ahh,” I try and carry on. “It’s been ‘suggested’ that we should go to school. I think there’s a piece of the puzzle there, and having Susan along might draw out something slithery.”

  No reaction. Oh, she’s really pissed.

  “I should tell you about Susan’s aunt too.”

  “Oh, good, how is she?” Susan asks.

  “She’s fine Susan, but this is a conversation for me and Pulania. Can you watch Ardan while we go to the kitchen?”

  “Sure!” And the whip lashes out towards Ardan’s groin area. He flinches as it hits.

  I nod, well she’s having fun. She might turn out to be a dark witch yet. Gil is staying to watch the entertainment as Pulania and I go out to the kitchen in the back.

  “So what did she say?” The arms are still crossed.

  “Apparently, Susan is a daughter of Gaea.”

  Pulania’s jaw just dropped open, her arms have fallen to her sides, and she’s taking a chair.

  “What the hell? Does everybody but me know what a daughter of Gaea is?” she’s not really reacting to that. She looks at me with something other than ice for the first time since entering her house.

  “What the? Oh shit.” Is Pulania actually shaking a bit? She’s looking at me all funny like and she’s gone pail as a ghost.

  “You know something about this, don’t you?” I ask.

  She just nods her head in reply.

  “Take Susan, and watch her. I’ve got to think about this for a bit.”

  My head is nodding now, “okay, I’ll catch you later then. Don’t take any bits from Ardan while we’re gone, we may need them for testing.”

  Chapter 21: Calculus

  Well this is kinda cool. The kids at school are clearing a path in the hall to stare at us. They’d grown used to just seeing Gil and I, but now we’ve added the queen bitch to our ranks, Susan. She looks quite fetching in her dominatrix outfit. Truth be told, it’s probably her transformation that’s turning heads and dropping jawbones.

  “That’s not Susan is it?”

  “Who is that girl?”

  “It’s a new emo.” No it isn’t. Rolls eyes. These kids are so young. Fancy not knowing the difference between an emo and a dominatric mistress. Don’t they teach that stuff in schools? The whip should have given it away. Humph, and I’m more goth than emo.

  Mind you, I’m noticing that heads are turning before we even get to where the kafuffle of whispers starts. That’s me, I can see the sides of my aura swishing down the hall. Mortals can feel strong stuff like that at times, and this is one of those times. We’re awesome right now.

  We might have looked a bit strange when we all piled out of the girl’s washroom earlier. Katie Underfell was in catty Katie heaven when she saw us come out of the stall together. She must have thought all her pole dancing Lesbian fantasies had come true at once, until I wiped her memory. Oh! That’s one for the list! She may have forgotten everything that ever happened to her since she started High School. I’m sure she was still trying to figure out where she was when we left her, and where her virginity had gone.

  We made our way toward calculus class. Somewhere, along one of the halls, Susan’s whip was confiscated. I think Mr. Foster may have been contemplating a pat down, as Susan dared him to do so with her eyes, hands on hips, cleavage busting out of her corset. Thankfully his pace maker batteries decided to give out at just that moment. I wonder how that happened? Oh well, evil doing dot point number two! High five. I’m sure they were going to be able to resuscitate him…eventually.

  Calculus is much the same as it had been for the past ninty five years or so. Same old class room; same old windows; some of the same old chairs and tables even. I’ve taken my favourite table down the back, the one I’d been whittling down with graffiti for decades using my obsidian blade. Susan has joined me on one side, and Gil is sitting beside her. We’re protecting her, after all, so she has to be in the middle.

  I’ve been tied to this place since my first really strong dark powers manifested themselves here in this very room, all those years ago when I compelled a whole room of boys, and the Calculus Master, to believe I was one of them – calculus only being taught to the lads of the time. I hadn’t even known I was doing magik, it was such a natural part of my life under the coven. Pulania was very proud of me. But now I’m bound to this room, and I have to return from time to time by compulsion. Such is the life of a dark witch.

  Some of the kids keep turning around and whispering about us, same old, same old. They’ve been doing that for decades, I hadn’t really bothered to fit in for quite some time. I totally ignore it. I’m more enthralled with my new ‘true seeing’. I had never really noticed auras around ordinary people before, but now I can see aspects of people’s characters outside their bodies. I’m beginning to recognise the nuance of the colours that are arraigned in the room. It’s fascinating, a few people have colds, it’s the season for that, and it’s reflected in the weakness of their auras. The pothead in front of Susan has a very chill aura, I don’t know how else to describe it, while the brainiac, Michael Finch, up the front, seems to have an active, almost angry, array of colour, continuously in motion.

  I entertain myself for quite some time looking at everyone in the room. But hey, where is Mrs. Lesley, the calculus teacher? She’s always late, I remember that now. Funny I had never really thought about it before. But she was. How long had she been teaching this class? Ten, twenty, thirty, forty…and then it twigs. Mrs. Lesley had been teaching this class since sometime during World War 1. But that isn’t possible. And how come I haven’t realised this before?

  Oh, shite! I know why, it’s obvious, she’s not mortal. I’m squirming in my seat as I realise this. It must be my ‘true seeing’, it would take a creature of great power to befuddle a dark witch for so many years. My new powers have woken me from whatever compulsion I’ve been under while in this class.

  Crap, crap, crap. I’m breaking out in a cold sweat, I look over at Gil, who is looking back across at me. She’s my familiar, she can feel my moods,
and she knows when something is wrong. I’m practically pissing my pants here. Where’s a piece of paper? I open my desk, and quickly scrawl out a note for Gil, the rest of the class doesn’t need to hear this. Then I pass it to Susan and tell her to give it to Gil.

  “No passing notes in class, Amura.” Shite, it’s Mrs. Lesley. “Susan, give that note back to Amura, please. Amura, you’ll eat that note, thank you.”

  Eat the note? Like not since the seventies, bitch. But I take the note anyway, and do as I’m told, whatever compulsion this bitch is capable of, I don’t want her to know that it’s not working on me anymore. More to the point, the whole front half of the room is filled with her dark aura. She’s demonically possessed, that’s why she’s been around so long. Shit.

  Looking around the room, the whole class have gone glassy eyed. Crap, there’s not a sound from anyone. This isn’t like any other class I’ve ever been to. Susan and Arden could probably have had sex right in front of us, and I bet we wouldn’t have even noticed. Maybe that’s exactly what happened here, oh, except Susan remembered a bedroom, but that could just have been compulsion as well. Feckin’ Master, what the Feck have you got me into?

  But of course, this was nothing to do with Teddy, at least he’d given me some warning, I would have had to come back here eventually, and then I would have been thrown right in the middle of it, given my ‘new’ true seeing. At least this way I have some of my wits about me.

  “Right, today we’re reviewing second order derivatives. Does anyone want to try this one?”

  She scribbles up an equation on the white board, at the front of the class. No one reacts.

  “Good, that’ll be…” I’ve just raised my hand. I hope I know what I’m doing. “Yes, Amura, do you wish to go to the washroom?”

  I shake my head. “I think I can answer the question.” Crap, I think I can. Ninety five plus years of calculus may have just sunk in!

  She’s taken aback though, I can see it. “Very well, then, come to the front of the classroom, and have a try, show us all your steps, mind.”

  While she was speaking, I’ve moved my obsidian blade to the spare holster beneath my skirt on my left thigh. It’s there for just such occasions. I’m going to have to write with my right hand.

  In my most zombie like impression I get up and slowly move to the front of the class. I take the felt marker offered to me by Mrs. Lesley, and slowly begin to work. I can feel her standing there behind my right shoulder watching me. Waves of anger are washing out from her. She knows I shouldn’t be able to do this, she must think there’s something wrong with her powers.

  When I finish I step back against her desk, to let her inspect my work. She moves forward in front of me. It’s actually a pretty difficult equation, there were about 13 steps involved. How the shite, I’d done that, I don’t know. Calculus must actually have soaked in during all those years, I was just blocked from the knowledge.

  She’s going through the lines, she’s almost forgotten about me as she checks the work. But I already know it’s all correct. My left hand moves to my thigh.

  “That’s… that’s right, Amura,” she whispers. But that’s my queue, the blade sinks deep into her back between her ribs, right into her heart. I’m holding her upright with my other arm as she struggles. But she’s already dead. All that has to happen is the knife needs to be pulled out and that will be it. From her mouth and lips I can see the blackness of whatever demon possessed Mrs. Lesley dissolve into the ether, and then it’s gone, and I’m just holding what’s left of Mrs. Lesley.

  “I’m sorry, Mrs. Lesley.” The life of the real Mrs. Lesley is leaking away, and I am sorry. She wasn’t the demon, this is the woman who was possessed by evil and held for decades watching herself do things she probably never wanted to do.

  “Amura,” she whispers back to me. “Thank you for freeing me.” And with that, Mrs. Leslie dies.

  I lower her body to the floor of the classroom, behind her desk. My front is covered in her blood. The other students are slowly coming to from the compulsion, there are some noises behind me, but I’ve strengthened the compulsion so that they remain oblivious. I don’t need a whole bunch of cell phones clicking pictures of me covered in blood. Gil and Susan come to my side.

  “Is she…” Susan asks.

  “Dead.” I nod my head. Mrs. Lesley actually looks quite peaceful there on the floor. I think there’s a slight smile on her face. Well, I guess she can finally rest from some ninety plus years of teaching calculus.

  As we’re standing there above her, something catches my attention from the corner of my eye. I look up, and there’s a very dark presence in the back of the classroom. Shit! It’s another demon. But no… this one is different, he looks like a man, but I can tell that he’s not actually visible in the mortal world, mainly because I can see right through him.

  Gil and Susan noticed me start.

  “What is it, Amura? What can you see?” Gil asks.

  “A man,” I reply. But I don’t actually think it is a man. He’s standing there, dressed very smartly in casual clothes, a bit like a teacher might wear. He’s very tall, and lean, and he’s just standing there, staring at me with a slight smile on his face. He knows I can see him, it’s feckin’ obvious.

  After a second or two he moves toward me…us. I back away, and the girls, knowing I can see something they can’t, stay behind me. I have my arms out pulling them back. Crap. The bugger has wings, just like Teddy, but this guy’s are black. Shit. Is he an angel too?

  We keep moving back as he makes his way to the front of the class. Once he’s there, above Mrs. Lesley’s body, he reaches down, and takes her hand. I can see her coming away from her body… the essence of her soul, and she seems… not sad. What is this guy? A dark angel? Is he Satan, or something? But Mrs. Lesley seems happy, she’s turning back to me, and smiles. She waves to me, and I can see her mouthing another thank you. He’s smiling too, he winks at me, I’m sure he did, and then they’re both gone.

  I’m not sure I can use this. It doesn’t seem right somehow, but , “third evil doing bullet point, I just murdered my high school calculus teacher.”

  Chapter 22: The covenant

  We cleaned up the mess. Apparently Pulania had somehow managed to show Susan a little more than just whip work. She had helped Susan to tap into some of her white healing power. She was able to seal the knife wound in Mrs. Leslie’s back. The blood was easy to dispose of, magik could do that too.

  Poor woman. I’m pretty sure there would be no Mr. Leslie to mourn her, the demon would have seen to that decades ago. But maybe he’d be waiting for her beyond the veil.

  Once we had everything as we needed it, I removed the compulsion from the other kids, and planted the memory that Mrs. Leslie had just collapsed and died. Many of the kids were quite strongly affected by it, but we’d done what we’d come to do. We’d found a creature that was powerful enough to organise what happened to Susan. I had Master to thank for that, though I was doubtful we’d found the mastermind of this little plot. Anyway, it was time to leave, and when the bell rang, we quietly slipped away rather than hang out for the paramedics and all.

  ***

  We went back to my place so I could think about our next move. I plopped Susan and Gil in front of my Playstation, though they haven’t used it. I’m sure they’re thinking about what happened with poor Mrs. Leslie, just like I am. Whoa, sympathy, where did that come from? Another ‘not dark’ thing to worry about. Anyway, I’m sitting on the porch overseeing all the foliage I’d grown only a short time earlier. I’m kind of hoping Gaea, or Master, or maybe even Pulania might show up to give me some advice. That would be nice. But Gaea is a god, and probably has better things to do; Pulania is in deep contemplation herself, and needs her space.

  I could go and find Master, but I don’t know what to ask him. As an angel, he can only tell me so much anyway. He had said something about the covenant. I guess that has to be our next step.

  Gil knows
I’ve made a decision and has come out on to the porch with Susan. “What do we do now?”

  That’s right, I have to take them with me. I can’t leave Susan unguarded. “We need to find an original copy of the covenant. My friend,” because Susan still doesn’t need to know I’m dating an angel, “Master, gave us a hint about that.”

  “Won’t a reproduction do?” Susan asks.

  “No, Master was pretty vehement about that. It has to be one of the three originals.”

  “Well, where are they?” Gil asks.

  I have to think about that for a minute. Have I ever been told that before? There’s a lot to remember when you’re a hundred and fourteen years old. But no I haven’t. “The coven will know.”

  I have headquarters on speed dial. I whip my phone out and give them a call. “Amura here.”

  “What d’ya want?” It’s Hexabus. Hatchesput’s chief administrator, and the no.2 evilality in the coven. You get used to the abrupt, rather clipped tones, after about sixty or seventy years. No, who am I kidding? You never get used to it.

  “Is Hatchesput about?”

  “No.”

  I wait a second, but there’s not going to be any elaboration, which means Hexabus is in charge.

  “I need to see an original copy of the covenant.”

  “Why? What for?” I’m not sure anyone matches Hexabus for brusqueness. “You’ve memorized the words, you know what it says.” I sigh inwardly. I can’t tell her the truth. Oh, I know.

  “We think there’s something in there that might tell us why Susan was deserted.”

  “So, why would we care about that?” Okay, that didn’t quite work.

  “We think there’s a loop hole.”

  “What?”