Lisa took me straight downstairs to the security station. First they had me scan in my fingerprints, and took my picture for facial recognition. Then I was given condo eight zero three and we headed up the stairs again. Vampire speed was just so much faster than the elevator, I was getting the idea the elevators weren’t used all that much. Maybe when having a human guest?
Was that even a thing?
“Lisa, what are the coven rules.”
Lisa chuckled, “There are only a handful. Don’t kill anyone in the coven. Contribute to the coven, either by working for them in some capacity, or if you want an outside job you can pay a flat fee for the rent and food. Lastly, do nothing that risks the secret.”
Huh, “That’s it?”
Lisa nodded, “That last one though, it covers a lot. Don’t do anything that reveals the supernatural, or puts us at risk. So don’t become a bank robber, or race cars on foot, or… you get the idea.”
I laughed, “Does that come up often, vampires racing against cars?”
She shrugged, “Not exactly that. But you get people jogging a little too fast, or jumping a little too high. Even assaulting an annoying human that’s much bigger than you is a problem. You can’t go around beating up idiots if they bother you, especially if they’re large athletic men. That one does come up.”
I asked, “So what do you usually do?”
She grinned evilly, “I let them pick me up and take me somewhere private, then I get a meal and make sure they forget all about me.”
I laughed as we stepped out on the eight floor, and walked down to eight oh three. There was a thumb pad there, so I pushed my thumb on it, and the door clicked. That was kind of handy, and secure, no key to keep track of or lose. I pushed it open and went inside.
The condo was fully furnished, to my right was a living room with nice creamy white leather sofa and loveseat set, a glass coffee table, and a big screen television on the wall. I went straight instead, down the hall, and wound up in a fairly large kitchen with a small table nook. To the right there was an open doorway to a dining room table with a small chandelier over it. I realized if I went in there, the living room would be on the right.
I went down the back hallway instead, there were two bedrooms, and a bath, as well as a hall closet. Both bedrooms had the basics in them, beds, dressers, walk in closets, and end tables. The master bedroom had a second bathroom, this one with only a shower, no tub.
Lisa asked, “What do you think?”
“It’s great, thanks. More than great. What’s next?”
Lisa grinned, “Shopping! Then a tour.”
“Tour?”
Lisa nodded, “I’ll introduce you to some allies of the coven, you already met Melody. Actually, there is only one more, a local witch,” she made a face, “She’s an ally, but can be very touchy. I’ll also show you where we shouldn’t go, territory the local werewolves claim.”
“Do you not get along with them?”
Lisa shrugged, “It’s more we stay separate and leave each other alone. We’re natural enemies, but that’s mostly due to magical instincts, and not for human reasons, so we work around it the best we can.”
“Alright, I’m ready for some clothes.”
Lisa grinned and I followed her back out…
Chapter 13
I loved clothes, shoes, and shopping, right from the start. It was my first shopping trip ever, but Lisa brought it to a whole new level before we finished that was utterly exhausting. I’d been thinking a few outfits and I could expand on that as time went on.
Nope, Lisa was obviously a shopaholic, and living vicariously through my new wardrobe. It was early afternoon by the time we finished our day at the mall, with several trips back to the car to load in the bags.
First we’d gone to a casual clothes shop and filled up on shorts, denim shorts, stretchy shorts, jeans, yoga pants, t-shirts, and casual blouses. Then she’d dragged me to another store for more professional clothes, skirts, nicer blouses, and a few dresses, some of the latter professional, and some worthy of a club. I had to admit I was a little body shy, not used to being around others at all, but Lisa assured me the dresses we got for a night on the town were actually conservative for a club.
Then there was a shoe store, which I barely escaped after fifteen pairs of various styles of running shoe, low heeled dress shoes, sandals, boots, and high heels. The high heels looked more like torture devices than something to walk in.
But they made me five foot six, and did amazing things to my… never mind.
I figured we were done after that, but then she dragged me to Victoria Secrets for under garments that made me blush, and sleepwear that felt so sinfully soft against my skin that I sighed in pleasure. Last but certainly not least, we stopped by the sunglass hut and actually found some high end sunglasses that fit my face, and actually looked good doing so. I had no idea how much it all cost monetary wise, she handled it all on one of the coven’s credit cards.
But I knew without a doubt, as we hung them up and packed them away in my new bedroom, that the bill was coming shortly. There was a price, which would be working for the coven in some capacity. Yet, it was a price I wanted to pay, I wanted to be here, not alone in the forest, or even alone here in the city. I just hoped there was some way to fit in, be useful, and make some friends. All while not betraying the tenets.
Ceara wasn’t a bad person, I didn’t think. But I was fairly sure she was throwing out all the stops to keep me in her coven. I wasn’t all that yet, but I knew in the future having a vampire that was part spirit sorceress would be quite a boon to her.
I changed into a pair of jean shorts, a loose tee, and I put on my sunglasses.
“So what’s next?”
I have to admit, that Lisa was growing on me, I didn’t want her to leave. Pathetic, I knew she’d have to go back to her duties sooner or later, and I needed to walk around the coven and do research to see what I wanted to do for this stage of my life. I didn’t know if not wanting her to go made me clingy or not, but I felt like we were becoming friends of sorts.
She smiled and measured me with her eyes, “You look much better in clothes that fit. I’ll introduce you to our allied witch, and show you were the businesses are that aren’t here in this building. Oh, and where the pack lives and works. Then maybe dinner? We don’t have to, but we can also go to a club tonight? To have fun, but also so you can see what having a job at one would be like. Tomorrow you’ll be on your own to figure things out.”
“Sounds good. Is this… normal for a new vampire?”
She shrugged, “Mostly. I’d be lying if I said you weren’t a special case, but we take care of our own. You aren’t getting anything the rest of us don’t, except that you don’t have your maker to guide you, and don’t have a predetermined place in the coven. That seems like just as much of a bad thing as a good thing to me. You get to choose for yourself, yet…”
I nodded, understanding what she meant. Most simply belonged from the start, and knew their place. I had to find mine. On the other hand, I was sure there were others. I couldn’t be the only vampire created by a rogue that found their way to a coven. Although, those others didn’t have a duality of nature to deal with. I was coven, and a sorceress.
We left and took the stairs down. I ran my fingers through my hair as we walked out into the street, but it didn’t seem to be windblown. I don’t know why I hadn’t noticed that before, but the air magic granted a light shield of sorts to vampires. Enough that the wind from fast movement didn’t make me look like I’d been hanging my head out of a car going eighty.
Either that, or the spells seared to my soul automatically controlled the air around my body, forcing it to part. One of the two, and I suppose it didn’t really matter which.
“Coffee?”
I smiled, “I knew I liked you.”
She chuckled and we picked up a couple of coffees to go. We were apparently walking, no car. It was only a few blocks away, and despite the lo
ng day I wasn’t tired at all. One of the advantages of being a vampire I supposed. We got tired, but stamina wasn’t an issue with continual healing. My legs and feet didn’t hurt at all.
I wasn’t sure what I’d been expecting while going to meet a witch, but it wasn’t this. We walked into a candle shop.
I took a look around, and realized it was a little more than that. They had candles, incense, figurines and other knickknacks. They also had a large collection of herbal products from lotions and hair care, to teas and other ingestible herbal products. It was also warded heavily with magic, and I could feel it trying to read me, though it couldn’t touch me through my spirit shield.
There was a girl behind the counter, she looked to be around fifteen and had a sour look on her face, like she’d rather be at the dentist getting a root canal than sitting behind that desk. She had her nose in her phone reading something. That was something else I would need for city living, a cell phone.
Lisa said in a cheerful voice, “Hey Katy, is your mom around?”
Katy glanced up and took us both in, and then turned her head, “Mom! Lisa’s here.”
I held back a snorted laugh, remembering I was a sullen teen as well. And probably for much longer, as my rebellious phase was between the ages of sixty and eighty. Of course, I was also a fox at the time, unable to change shape yet, which cut down on the amount of trouble I could cause.
A woman that looked close to thirty came out, although I guessed she was probably older. She had the same strawberry blonde hair and brown eyes as the teen, so I assumed this was her mother. The witch also had a body to die for, and I wondered if I’d start to get a complex about my more athletic figure, constantly surrounded by more voluptuous women.
Lisa grinned, “Hey Tina, how’s your day?”
Tina gave her daughter a longsuffering look and answered, “It could be worse, what can I do for the coven today?”
“Just an introduction to our newest member. This is Miku, she joined us when James failed to retake the city. Miku, this is Tina, the best witch in all of Seattle.”
Tina snorted, “Right. I’m all powerful,” she turned to me as her daughter snorted at her mother’s comment, and Tina said, “Nice to meet you. Did she explain the arrangement?”
I shook my head, “She mentioned allies, but I’m not sure what that means.”
Tina explained, her voice was friendly, but at the same time reserved. I got the idea she was nice to those that were cordial with her, but didn’t extend trust to many.
“Normally supernaturals will trade favors, or flat out charge money for assistance. Allies means we both do for each other if asked, with no account between us. However, that is between me and Ceara. If I need coven help, I ask her and she sends someone, or if it’s coven business she asks me. So allies only applies to the coven as a whole under Ceara.
“So if you need a spell for yourself, or want my help with anything that isn’t coven business, it will cost you personally. That goes both ways. What the hell are you by the way.”
I tensed a moment, but Tina still seemed relaxed. I still wasn’t sure what to share and what not to. How involved in this new life could I get?
“Sorceress,” I said simply, “I’m not sure what your wards are trying to do, but I’m not a threat to you.”
She frowned, and hadn’t missed that I failed to reveal my element, but she held the obvious question back. Maybe she already knew based on the fact I had none of the usual four elements? Or could she even tell that?
Lisa interrupted the awkward moment, “We still have a lot to do today.”
Tina took the hint and nodded, “You’re welcome in my store, as a part of the coven.”
I wasn’t sure, but I think that was a subtle jab, if I ever left the coven I wouldn’t be welcome. Perhaps she’d change her mind if I got to know her better, but not right now. Lisa and I left the store and started for our next destination.
Lisa asked, “Why didn’t you just tell her?”
I struggled with that a moment, “I was raised to keep my distance from the supernatural as well as mortals. I know that’s a moot point now, being a vampire and in a coven, but a lifetime of habit won’t just disappear in a day. It doesn’t seem wrong exactly to talk about what I am, but definitely odd.”
Lisa frowned, “I can’t imagine its easy. Why though, I mean, keep your distance like that.”
“It’s our power, what we do. I suppose it’s easier not to get involved with all the politics and fighting in the supernatural world, to not be tempted by the idea of taking sides and impinging on other’s free will when they do evil.”
I left off the part about turning into monsters ourselves.
Lisa shook her head, “Is that really so important?”
I frowned, “Yes. We are focused on spirits, on souls. How can they learn or grow if they can’t screw up in a lifetime or two? I realize that sounds a little crazy, for most this life is all they know. That rule doesn’t apply to our family, or ourselves, or anyone that asks for help.”
Lisa said, “So if I was attacked by twenty rogue vampires, and didn’t ask for help, you would just… watch them kill me, or worse?”
I sighed, “Makes me a bad candidate as a friend doesn’t it? Okay, do you see the man in blue over there? He beats his wife. And the woman over there, she’s a total bitch and dominates her husband and children, she’s not happy unless they’re all miserable. And that man in the gray suit, he cheated on his taxes, and steals his neighbors paper in the mornings. That young child of three over there was a twisted murderer and rapist in his last life.”
Lisa frowned, “Why are you telling me all this?”
“To try and explain why I follow Inari and the tenets. Understand there is no reasonable doubt, no question of their guilt. I can weigh and judge a soul. Where do I draw the line? I have the power to end that man’s life, he’d never beat his wife again. Then that same soul will simply be born again, perhaps to do the same to another woman without learning anything. Or how about the little child, his is a dark soul with a lot of lives lost to him already, and more to come before he’s on the right track. I could save a lot of pain and loss for others if I simply reach in and destroy his soul. No more lives for him, no nothing.
“Where do I draw the line if I start to interfere? I’m mortal too, and fallible, do I have the right to judge the established system? No, my power doesn’t give me that right, and worse, if I tried, I could easily turn into a monster myself. Some of my kind do. Of course, there’s an easy answer, as my friend, a person close to me, well, you could always ask for my help if you were attacked…”
I wasn’t sure if that was cheating or not, being a rules lawyer. Would that be breaking the spirit or intent of that rule? I wasn’t sure what the answer was, and I had no one to ask.
Lisa was silent and thoughtful about what I’d said, I wondered if I ruined the chance to be her friend. I’d been rather intense in my explanation.
I smiled the best I could and changed the subject, “So what’s next?”
We didn’t speak about it any further, and as the afternoon waned she became her cheery self again. Maybe I had a friend, or dare I hope, someone who understood, at least a little bit, what I was going through, and the dilemma of the choices I had to make.
Chapter 14
The coven had two clubs, a sports bar, and pool hall. Almost half the coven were workers at these places, and they had human help too. I supposed it made sense in a way, vampires couldn’t be hurt by the sun, nor were we undead, but even with sunglasses, the sun was bright enough to make our eyes sting a little in direct sunlight. The dark of night was like daylight to us, so of course many would have nightly jobs and pursuits, and sleep part of the day.
We didn’t go into any of the establishments, she just showed me where they were.
Then we retrieved the car and she showed me a bar and a couple of restaurants in the northern part of the city.
Lisa explained, “These pla
ces are where the werewolves usually party, drink, and eat when they go out. The pack up here is larger than most, at the last we heard, there were twenty-three wolves, nine of them female. Like I explained earlier, we aren’t really at odds with them, but fences make good neighbors, and this is their territory. They run a construction business, most packs do, and they also have a vet office closer to the center of the city. They actually live on a few acres about thirty miles outside the city, closer to the forest where they can shift and run.
“Regardless, the point is you may run into wolves doing their work in the city, it shouldn’t be an issue because they won’t see that as their territory and feel the need to protect it, it’ll be just a job site to them. So really, just avoid this area if you can.”
It was at this point that my life got a hell of a lot more complicated than it already was. Three werewolves walked out of the restaurant we were parked across from. They didn’t glance at our car at all, just got in their work truck and drove away, and I watched until I could no longer feel their souls. My heart hammered in my chest as I felt both horror, and the loss of hope. Lisa looked at me questioningly, but I was stuck in a memory of the past.
Twenty Years Ago…
“Mom, did you always love dad?” I sent in mind speech, it was the only way I could communicate until I got my human form.
My mother turned and looked down at me, “No, we had to get to know each other first. He was a bit slow actually, I had to seduce him,” my mother smiled at the memory.
“How did you know he was your mate then, if you didn’t love him the moment you saw him?”
I half expected her to tease me at my transparent attempt to find out how I’d know my mate when I saw him for the first time. I was growing up, and growing in power. I didn’t think it would be long until I could shift for the first time.
Spirit Sorceress: Spirit Sorceress: Book 1 Page 7