by Jill Nojack
I rush back to Eunice's room, and there it is in the middle of the red and blue flowered, oriental carpet.
With a text.
From Robert.
Two words.
GET OUT.
The bell on the shop door jangles below as the door swings opens.
I turn off the phone and quickly affix it back to my collar. It better stay put this time.
I shift.
The only open window is downstairs. Why didn't I think of that before shifting? I'd have to run right in front of her to get to it. I don't have time to shift, open a window, then shift again to escape. And if I run across the landing to another room and she's already gotten to the stairs…
I'm trapped.
***
The closest place to hide is under Eunice's bed. Cat is hyped on my terror, the fur at the back of his neck standing at attention. I'm glad he's poised for a fight if something wicked this way comes. Anything can happen with Cat—he could be ready to snuggle up and purr instead of to fight. Thank the Goddess he goes along with me on this one. He doesn't always bend to me when he's in charge.
Cat stays put, listening, as Eunice prepares herself for bed, making evening ablutions, slipping one of Eunice's gowns on over Cassie's head. I watch her feet pull up from the floor as she finally eases herself into bed.
Any minute.
Any minute, I expect Cassie's head to appear suspended upside down, Eunice's smile on her face as she reaches under the bed to grab me, her preparations for sleep nothing but a sham.
Fortunately, Cat's heart is small. It doesn't thud loudly enough to get her attention.
The very thought of Eunice touching me with Cassie's stolen body makes me want to kill her. If I'd had the guts to fight her when it involved just me, I might have saved Cassie from all of this. But I was so determined to stay human and not give in to being the predator, the cat. Now, I wish I'd done it, treated her like Cat treats a mouse and gone at her when her guard was down. I'd take her out right now if I could do it without harming Cassie.
Instead, I'm stuck under the bed waiting for that monster to fall asleep. I keep Cat still and away from the warm body above by filling him with thoughts that the thing the human above most wants from him is for him to move around. Obviously, being a cat, his only real choice is to do the opposite.
***
After an hour or so, when the Cassie-thing's breathing has settled into a regular rhythm, I know I have to take my shot. I wish it was darker in here, but Eunice had the habit of keeping some light on in case she woke up hungry. Not so she could get down the stairs. So she could get to me. That kind of hunger.
I've never been as grateful for Cat's stealth abilities as I am right now. His cat's paws make no sound as I slip out from under the bed and make my way toward the door, my body low to the carpet, ready to spring and burst into a run if there's any sound behind me.
But there is no sound. Only Cat's heart racing to my fear. And tonight, fear doesn't cripple me. I travel swiftly down the stairs, out the downstairs window, and chase the darkness through the backyards of Giles as I head back to my temporary home with Robert.
***
The open window at Robert's place never looked so welcoming. I leap through and shift, get dressed, and head for the kitchen.
"Oh my Goddess. Tom!" Gillian leaps from a chair and charges toward me, arms outstretched to capture me in a hug.
Robert turns, too, and a small smile moves across his face. "Good to see you." He extends a hand for me to shake, and I take it once I extricate myself from Gilly's grasp.
I haven't been part of any kind of community for so long, it never occurred to me that anyone would worry about me. I probably shouldn't have stopped to let Cat hunt. And why are Gillian and Robert suddenly so cozy?
Gillian throws up her hands when I don't offer any information. "Well—where have you been? We were gutted. When Robert told me where you were and that you didn't meet him when Eunice went back to the house…." She stops then, halfway through pouring hot water into a tea cup, and looks up at me with a stern look. "You didn't just head to the woods for a hunt and leave Robert like that to worry, did you?"
I'm afraid to tell her that I did some of that. She doesn't need to know. But I've learned an important lesson if there's ever a next time. That's right, just like a kid—call if you're going to be late.
I give her mostly truth. "The phone fell off my collar, and I didn't know it was gone until it was too late. I had to hide under the bed until I was sure Eunice was asleep."
She's apologetic then. "Oh, Tom, I'm sorry. You must have been terrified." She sets a steaming cup of water in front of me with an herb-stuffed infuser sitting on top, filling the kitchen with the scent of roses. "That will calm your nerves if they need it."
Robert sits across from me and Gilly runs off to the kitchen to boil more water for the both of them. "She worries about you. You're still very important to her."
"I know. But not in the same way I was when she was young."
"No," he agrees. "Not in that way."
Why does he look relieved?
The shop bell rings to the first customer of the day, and in she comes, Gillian.
"Hello, sweetie! Are you feeling all better after the fainting spell on Thursday?"
"Fine. Yes." I really must find a way to discourage her from coming around every five minutes.
She pokes her head behind the shelves, then stoops to look underneath them. Her gigantic derriere confronts me when she does. Her mouthy end asks, "Still no Cat? Or is he just hiding today?" It's like she's taunting me. She pulls out the bag of treats she'd brought with her last time and unseals it. "The smell of these should bring him running if that's the case."
"Still hasn't returned, I'm afraid. Please let me know if you spot him around town."
"Of course, pet. I hope nothing's happened to him."
"Cat's tough. Granny Eunice used to say that Cat had nine lives and every single Cat since the sixties was the very same one! Imagine that. And Granny loved her Cat so. She used to say that having him around was better than having a boyfriend because all he needed was a little catnip, and he'd be eating out of her hand." I smirk as I enjoy my own private joke.
"Is that so? Yes, I suppose Eunice did say a lot of things that made no sense. I'm sure that I'd rather have a boyfriend who loves me than a cat who sees me as a source of food and shelter. Not that there are many men my age still around. But even so…." She gives what I'm sure she thinks is a winning smile. It's repugnant.
I turn away so she doesn't see my face as I start to steam. "I really need to prepare a few of the perishables today. You don't mind if I step into the back room, do you?"
"Not at all, sweetheart," she says, "In fact, I just stopped in to make sure you're all right, and I've accomplished that. You look very well. See you on the full moon! I do hope Cat comes back soon."
I'm more than glad to be rid of her. It's as if she came in here just to rub my nose in it that my Tomcat hasn't returned yet. If she knew all of the details, well…the conversation would have been much more satisfactory. But I can't play my hand and ruin the chance for Cassie in this town just yet. The coven flicks its eyes away from a lot of what goes on—many of the members, even the ones who didn't follow me, had a darker spell or two they employed for their own benefit. Who wouldn't when all that temptation is constantly there, begging for attention?
Except, of course, for Gillian. That one was always so clean. When her husband was dying, she purchased some questionable items in the shop, but she returned them unopened. Yes, much too clean.
Still, the coven wouldn't look the other way at body snatching. Not that there's anything they could do about it, but being discovered would ruin my fun. I'd have to scorch this town and learn all the secrets of another one. That kind of thing takes years.
No, I'm not done with Giles yet. And there are still a few residents I'd love to see squirm. I'll have no trouble pulling that off now. The
girl is quiet as a mouse in here. She doesn't have her grandmother's spunk. Eunice fought and was able rein me in far too often.
Once I've deposed Natalie, I'll move Gillian to the top of the list. I don't know what would destroy her world the way it did when I took Tom, but I'm sure I'll come up with an encore that is equally delectable. I admit that I enjoy devising clever ways for my victims to hoist themselves on their own petty human petards. It's all in figuring out what they've already got rigged to blow. Eunice pulled me off of my entertainments too many times, but there's nothing stopping me from having my fun now.
***
I'm beginning to hate the shop. Everyone is so nicey-nicey to Cassie. I think it's time to shutter it for a while or, at least, pay some teenage wage slave to work the counter while I play the lady of leisure. I have plans to make.
During my lunch hour, I add a pinch of a very special ingredient to the jasmine tea before I seal the bags. Giles is about to have a small outbreak of sweating sickness only slightly less virulent than the sweat of Tudor times: I can still squeeze enough fun out of Giles that I don't want to decimate the population. No, I'll do the Picardy sweat this time. The local hospitals will never have seen it, but with the improved health-care system of modern times, its victim should recover after an unpleasant day or two. I don't need to do anyone in just yet.
The Tudors needed something stronger for me to get what I wanted: it cleared the way to put Henry in power—that delicate Arthur never would have pleased me—and I wholeheartedly approve of how Henry handled his wives with only a little urging. Except for the ugly German. I was out of town during that fiasco.
I took pleasure in being behind the man with the power because the witch's body I took didn't contain enough magic for me to rule on my own. It was nearly as much fun being the hidden power behind the throne. I let go of another weak vessel when I felt the strength of the magic within Eunice. She'd joined with the coven where I'd jumped from mother to daughter across the generations since the end of the Tudor reign. Giles was my own little empire because of Eunice's powerful essence, and it will be again unless Ba'al wishes to move on. With the owner of my last body no longer holding me back, and the same abundant reservoir of magic in this new body, I can finally cut loose.
The shop bell rings. "Coo-ee, Cass. I'm here for my Magical Masque." Natalie's right on time for her weekly facial treatment. She's entirely dependent on me because of her vanity. If I refused her, her face would shrivel to a mass of wrinkles within a month. And, of course, someday, when she's most vulnerable, I will most certainly refuse.
"I've got it right here for you, Nat."
I package the beribboned jar in a small brown bag and hand it to her. She's asked for my secret many times, but I'll never share. As I hand it to her, I say, "Did you see the jasmine tea is on sale today? Can't beat the price. You should indulge yourself."
I push the tray full of artistically arranged gift bags toward her. I just need to let her see the price. She loves a bargain almost as much as she loves a steal.
There. She bites. She picks up a package, looks at the sticker, and with the barest widening of her eyes, says, "Yes, go ahead, ring me up the tea, then. You know I like a deal."
"That will be thirty-two fifty-seven total."
"Here it is, dear." She counts out the money a coin at a time. The town klepto always knows to the penny how much money she has in that flashy red purse she's been hauling around since the sixties. "See you on the full moon, dear."
"Yes, for sure. See you then." I giggle a little for authenticity. It nearly gags me.
When she's gone, I throw the rest of the tea in the trash. I've already hooked the big fish I was angling for.
The doorbell rings. Then rings again. And again. And then, whoever it is just leaves their finger on the bell and it keeps up one long rrrrrrrrrinnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggg. Robert gives me a what-the-hell look as he passes the doorway of the den where Gillian and I have been sitting companionably while we each take another whack at Robert's magic books. Being near her now helps me stay calm even though Cassie is in so much danger. She exudes an it-will-all-be-okay vibe that I want to believe.
Robert returns with Natalie in tow. She has a bag from Cat's Magical Shoppe in her hand and an intense look on her face.
"More bad news, I'm afraid," she says as she enters the room. She holds the bag out to Gillian. "In that bag is a packet of jasmine tea that I believe was meant to start an infectious disease emergency in town. Or at least in me. I've sent Janice to buy up the rest of it, and I'm pretty sure that I'll find the same minuscule critters in there that I did in mine." Natalie harrumphs. "And I thought I just had to watch the face cream. I'm glad I'm such a mistrusting soul."
"Critters?" I ask.
"A virus. One I haven't seen before. I'm not sure it even exists in modern times. It may not even be naturally occurring, and if it is, it's been magically engineered to survive being boiled for tea. Either way, it knows how to party when it hits the blood supply. I hooked it up with a few drops under my old microscope, and it really discoed down. I'm meeting Janice out at her farm to quarantine and infect a pig. I'm hoping it will give me some idea of what it's meant to do to us.
***
The next morning, Gillian is at the breakfast table, her eyes following her finger down the center of a page of text. The smell of good coffee fills the air.
She looks up and says, "I didn't think Robert would mind if I let myself in and got started early. Couldn't sleep. You?"
"You have a key?" Now I'm really wondering what's going on.
She holds up her index finger and thumb absently while she keeps reading and blue sparks jump between.
"Gotcha. No key needed. And who needs sleep?" Coffee. That's all I need. I grab a mug and start pouring.
Gilly's cell rings.After a hello, she tells the caller to hang on for a minute. "Go get Robert." she says. "Natalie's got news.
It's been impossible just waiting, researching, hoping for something that will help us understand what's going on so that we can do something for Cassie. If it's such big news we all need to be present, maybe this is it.
When I get back with Robert in tow, Gillian is just saying goodbye. "Nat's figured out what she needs to know from the pigs. She's going to give herself a dose of the tea. Apparently, this is aimed just at her. When Janice went back to buy the rest no more than an hour later, Eunice told her it was all gone, but Janice saw it right there in the trash behind the counter."
"Wait a minute. She's going to make herself sick? Can't she just fake the symptoms, too?"
"No. She thinks we need to go big on this, and she's willing to do it. If…" Gillian stops and makes quotation marks with her fingers "…'Cassie' looks closely at the effects of her handiwork—and you know how Eunice has to make sure everything is in its place—it needs to look realistic. She thinks the small dose will let it pass through her system quickly. And she intends to get to the hospital fast once it hits."
"Man," I say, shaking my head, having a hard time believing what these people will do to help Cassie, to help me. "Natalie's really falling on her sword."
Robert nods. "Maybe. I think it's more a joust with what's inside Cassie than an act of altruism."
Robert might be right, but I prefer to interpret her sacrifice as noble. Either way, she's doing more to figure out how to beat Eunice at her own game than anyone else. I set down my coffee and say, "Given the timing and that this was directed at Nat, Eunice may want her out of the way during tomorrow's full moon. If she's got something planned that our high priestess could interfere with, don't we need to make sure it backfires on her?"
"What could she be planning?" Gillian asks.
"No idea. But if she wants Nat out of commission on the full moon, it has to be something she needs the coven for. Maybe she'll try to con you all into letting her take Natalie's place in the ritual. That sure sounds like something Eunice would try to pull off."
Robert nods, stroking his unshave
n chin. The heavy white stubble makes a scritching sound that makes my cat side restless. "It makes sense. She couldn't take the power position without Natalie gone. And if she talks her way into that, she could certainly talk her way into having them perform any ritual she has planned. We'd have a hard time stopping it without blowing our cover."
"Good. Let's put our heads together and make sure the coven isn't right there for the taking."
It wasn't any colder in this old house before I had it retrofitted for a furnace in the sixties while I transformed it from a family home to host the Magical Shoppe. I had to lose the second fireplace to run ductwork to the ceiling on the second floor and then back down for ceiling vents. But you can't hide much of anything in a radiator, and I have things I need to hide. Throughout the house, there are false vents that give no heat but make convenient holding places for special items. Cassie may have cleared the house of Eunice's things, but she didn't clear it of mine.
I set the first box on the bedside table, and then I step back up on the headboard to reach into the vent and carefully slide out its mate. There you are sweetheart. Come to mama. I can't stop myself checking on him now that he's so near.
I open the box and my beloved Ba'al's heart is bared to me—still surprisingly well preserved despite the thousands of years that have passed since we ruled together as Ba'al and Anat. It was my first name, sometimes nearly forgotten through the years as I've thrust myself first into one body, then another, each of them marking me with a name and a set of experiences. All of those human lives almost obscured that once, I was a goddess.
Sadly, even a God or Goddess can be incapacitated by the right wounds. I was incapacitated by death myself when Ba'al died, waiting to be discovered so that I could jump into a new body. Fortunately, after a time, tomb robbers found me.