by Ross Homer
As I tamped it out, I knew that Reiko Sato wasn’t going to be as easy to find as California Paulson had been. It comes with being a witch. Some people stand out, others don’t. Reiko was one of those who was going to be more difficult to locate.
Seated at my antique desk, I cast a ‘find’ spell, held Reiko’s blouse to my face. I inhaled her aroma as deeply as I could. It was a pleasant mix of expensive perfume and her personal scent. It was intoxicating and something else; it damn sure turned me on! I was astounded because that hasn’t happened to me in a long time. What this woman was doing to me was amazing! Elsa was the only other woman to turn me on this badly. My ex-husband never turned me on like Elsa or Reiko did. Was Reiko a witch, too? I knew Elsa wasn’t. Reiko was more than just a stunning beauty, but I couldn’t put my finger directly on it. I would in time although I wasn’t trying hard at all.
I closed my eyes and continued holding Reiko’s blouse to my face. This time, I fell into her scent. The best way I could describe the feeling is that it’s kind of like smoking good buds. I could see her now, as if she were standing on the other side of my desk. She was leaning against a counter somewhere, laughing at someone. It was in the past, at another time, when she wore this same blouse. Her hair was considerably longer, too.
This time she wore four-inch heels and a short ecru skirt that was hiked up over her hips. Her black lace panties were on the counter beside her. He was reaching for the buttons of her blouse as he moved closer to her and she spread her legs. I picked up the impression of him being her lover. Before that scene went too far, I forced myself back to focusing only on her. But the feeling I received? Any more of it and I’d have gone straight into the bedroom and awakened Elsa.
Unexpectedly, everything abruptly changed between Reiko and I. We were in the present, just a few minutes ago. She stood in an office, behind a desk. The office had the usual equipment; a computer, a large monitor, and printer. There was an old-fashioned style phone on the desk. Across from the desk were two comfortable looking club chairs. Pictures of Japan hung on the wall. Was it her office? I didn’t think it was her father’s.
Now she wore old, dirty blue jeans and a shapeless t-shirt of some neutral color. She was no longer laughing. She was quietly crying. Her face was bloody, and it had run down her neck and onto the shirt. Someone had hit her more than once and from what I could tell, she was in considerable pain. If I could see her, I could cast a spell to ease some, but not all, of her pain. I still didn’t know where she was, but I tried to help her as much as I could. It would take a little more work to find her exact location.
She jerked when the spell took hold and her large dark-chocolate brown eyes opened wide in surprise. She looked around but continued to cry. The hard part was on her now. She was still going to have to sell her pain to whomever had her. I found it odd that I couldn’t get any kind of sense as to where she was other than that gray, empty room. It was as if someone was blocking her.
I was even more shocked because I knew for a fact that Reiko was not in this realm! This had never happened to me before. Another realm? What the fu…?
Before I could wonder much more about it, something else happened so fast I almost couldn’t believe it! I sensed another presence. Something malignant and evil. I jerked the blouse from my face and snapped back to myself and out of the scene. I prayed to my guardian Goddess that this other witch hadn’t sensed me.
I quickly doubled my wards just to be safe. Breathing deeply to settle my jangled nerves, I sat there, pondering what I’d just seen. I found myself thinking about the beautiful Reiko.
What in the name of all that’s good had her father gotten himself into? That some witch would kidnap his daughter and then trap her in some other realm? When I was riding with him, I didn’t get any feelings that he was a witch of some kind. He was a mobster and that was that.
But she was also badly injured, and the Goddess only knew where she was. Before I could tell where, I ran square into something blocking me. Me specifically? That remained to be seen. From that instantaneous glimpse I felt, this presence was almost as powerful as me.
Now, besides where Reiko was, I had yet another mystery to deal with. Who was this other presence? Where was he or she? Men can be witches too, of course. It would be utter arrogance on my part to think that I was the only witch in the Northwest because I knew better. I was also trying hard to wrap my mind around this thing. I mentally assigned witch to this presence but that was completely wrong. It was more than that. The words to describe it wouldn’t come to me.
I began wondering if I had become bait in some kind of game that I knew nothing about. I’m a tough broad, or so I’ve been told, but I almost lost my coffee over that thought. Bait? Me? Why? Goddamnit! Here was yet another question that may need answering before I could do anything else.
I knew there were a number of witches around. We were all over the world. I knew many of the local witches personally and this presence wasn’t one of them. I’d decided to stick with witch as opposed to presence just to help me keep my mind clear and not make things any muddier than they already were.
Finding Reiko was going to be difficult at best unless I stopped the witch blocking me.
That was when my tousled lover came in, naked as a jay bird and smiled radiantly at me.
“Good morning,” she said. “I love you! You smudged! I love it too. Now, coffee?”
I stood and went to her. She smelled divine and her kiss promised sweet rewards. “Yes,” I said. “Umm, if we want to get anything done this morning, you, tiny human, need to put something on.”
She stepped back and struck a sexy pose. “Me? Tiny? Maybe you’re the one who’s too big, tall witch.”
We kissed again as we laughed. Elsa dashed into our bedroom after teasing me and I went down into the kitchen and put together her coffee.
A few minutes later, she came into the kitchen in white jeans and a blue flannel work shirt. “Jo,” she said as I handed her the coffee, “you don’t look ready for work. We taking the day off?”
“Lazy girl, I’ve already done some work while you were in dreamland. We could if we want. I haven’t told you about last night. Let’s go in the living room.”
Her eyebrows went up because I sounded far too serious.
“No, Baby,” I said. “Don’t even go there. You are number one in my life.”
We got settled on the couch together, me with my legs tucked to one side. I told her, “I went to Dewey’s for a drink like I said. I don’t know…I was depressed, again. That strange call, that hipster jerk and talking to his wife. Elsa, she’s a head case all by herself but she didn’t deserve the beating he gave her a couple of days ago. That’s why she ran off with their kids. That added to my depression. Then I went to Dewey’s.”
She put her hand on my thigh and smiled, “Don’t tell me. You and Marcella went behind the coolers again for a hot make out session? That’s why you were so late?”
I laughed at her. “Hardly. She’s pretty and all and as you know, willing. But she’s not for me, also as you know. No, Juro Sato sent a couple of goons to pick me up.”
Her eyes went big and she squeezed my leg painfully. “The Juro Sato?”
“Yes. ‘Fraid so.” I pried her fingers loose. Damn! The girl had an iron grip. “He wants me to find his daughter, Reiko. He’s offered a million bucks for it.”
She looked at my leg. “Sorry about that. But…a million? Holy shit, Jo! Let’s get to it.”
“Ahh, as I said, I’ve already been working on it. She’s not here. That’s what I was doing while you were having your beauty sleep.”
“Not here? What do you mean?” She put her hand back where it was, gently this time.
“She’s not in this realm. I don’t have a clue where she might be. I could see her, and I gave her a spell for the pain she is in. Somebody beat her badly. But find her? Nope. Worse, Baby, someone was blocking me! I quickly got out of the spell and hoped to hell whoever it was didn’t s
ense me.”
Her hand tightened again in the same place. Bruises were coming. “Jo,” she asked seriously, “are we in any danger?”
“Not as far as I know. Don’t worry about it. We are protected here, and I honestly think I got out in time.” I pulled her hand off my leg and kissed her palm. “Easy there, Iron Fist.” Tears welled in her eyes as I kissed her. “We’ll live. And I love you. Now…let me do some more work on this.”
Another kiss and she went to make breakfast.
Carrying my mug, I went into my bay window den and moved the mouse on my PC. My plan was to contact other witches that I knew on our private Facebook page and see if any of them had encountered such a presence. That was the plan anyway. What’s that old saw about making plans? Making plans was the way to make the gods laugh at you?
It was just past nine a.m. and I had just started typing my questions for the others about this or any recent unexplained phenomena. My normally quiet little street was suddenly lit with flashing lights blue and red lights. Someone was pounding on my front door. What the hell? Elsa came in and stared at me, fear in her eyes.
Casting a quick ‘who is it’ spell, I saw Bob Albertson glaring at my front door. Oh goody. My ex-husband. Of all the people in the world, this was the last person I wanted to see. What the hell did he want? I was only about half kidding about Dewey calling him and yet here he was. Plus, why did he bring the cavalry? And hours later? This had to be something else altogether.
Because of what I did and what he did, we occasionally ran into each other as much as I disliked it.
I looked down at myself to make sure I was inappropriately dressed. Yeah…a faded yellow t-shirt and cut-off sweats and my big pokie bits were poking just fine but then they always did. He had all this at one time and most likely could have kept it but the lunacy of his religion and yes, his fists, got in the way. Tough shit.
I walked around to the hallway and opened the door. I wasn’t quite ice cold when I said, “What, Bob? It’s early and I have a lot of work to do.”
Elsa stood behind me. I could feel the heat of her glare as she looked at him, too. She didn’t like him any better than I did.
He stared alright. I had two of his favorite things, but a look was all he was going to get. Actually, not even a look at them. Just my pokies.
Ignoring Elsa behind me, as usual, he asked, “Jocelyn, are you alone?” He tore his eyes away from my chest and looked past me at her. Bob hated the fact that I was living with a woman, so he ignored her when he was around. Thankfully, it was infrequently.
“Bob, don’t be an ass. Why are you here? I didn’t call you. Prowlers in my ‘hood or something?”
“No.” Now he looked into my eyes and not at my boobs. “I understand that you were with Juro Sato last night?”
I had no reason to lie so I answered, “Yeah, so what?”
“You going to invite me in?”
“Do I have to? I’m busy like I said.” I didn’t want to, but I didn’t want to stand here like this. It was a chilly morning and that was having even more of an effect on my pokies. I stood aside and let him come in anyway. Elsa grudgingly stepped aside.
Elsa hated Bob with a passion one usually reserves for dog owners who don’t clean up after their animals on the trails. He didn’t feel any better about her and he never missed a chance to call her a ‘dyke’ or some other derogatory name. I know he’s said other things under his breath and he better hope I never actually make out what he’s saying.
Me allowing him to enter was the only way he could come into my house. I saw his sandy blonde hair react as he stepped past my wards and across the threshold. Had he forced himself into my house, the wards would have stopped him. They weren’t set to ‘kill’ but they could damn sure ruin his day.
Besides hating my sexual proclivities and my partner, he simply would not believe that I was a witch and after the third time I tried to convince him, I gave up. I was seventeen at the time. I think it was a good thing because the book he kept preaching from was filled with commands to kill witches. I was actually a twofer in his book. I was a witch and I enjoyed sex with someone of the same sex. Would he kill me? He almost did twice but that was because of something else and why we were no longer together. Kill me for being a witch? It was doubtful here in America but in other places on our wonderful planet, people were still killing so-called witches.
He didn’t flinch as he came in, apparently unaware of any changes around him. There was something on his mind, anyway.
“Look, Jo, I need you to come with me. Not her. Something has happened to Sato and his men and as far as we can tell, you were the last person to see him. As much as it kills me to say this, we need your, ahh, expertise. Will you come with me?”
I almost snapped back at him, ‘like almost every time we had sex and I never did?’ But I didn’t. The anger I had from back then still ran deep, as you can tell. Instead I answered, “Let me change into something a little more presentable. Wait here. I’ll only be a minute.”
There was the lust I saw almost every time I ran into him.
Playing like Elsa wasn’t standing five feet from him, he grinned like a little boy and asked, “Want me to hook your bra?”
Talk about your no brainer for an answer, I said coldly, “No. I have it. Wait here, Bob. I’ll only be a moment.” It had been almost twelve years since he’d touched me and my girls, it would be at least a million more before he ever did again.
I turned and ran upstairs and into our bedroom where I shed my lounging clothes and dressed. Standard underwear this time, not my sexy stuff; tan jeans and a yellow flower print blouse. I ran my fingers through my hair and then went back downstairs. As I bent to pull on my low boots, I drew no comments from him as I expected. I wonder what the hell happened to Sato that would distract Bob so much that he didn’t attempt to look down my blouse. He looked either worried or scared to death. I put on my black leather jacket and I kissed Elsa right in front of him. He watched, too, the pervy bastard.
“I’ll be back. Put mine in the oven,” I said about breakfast.
She whispered, “Of course. Baby, be careful around him. I don’t like what I’m feeling.”
I nodded and we left the house. Being careful around Bob Albertson had become second nature for me.
I sat in the front of his car as we drove away. There was no conversation and that gave me time to think about yesterday.
That call for help. Where did it come from? The strange, unsettled way I’d felt all day long. Talking to California Paulson only reinforced the feeling. Was that her husband or soon to be ex-husband driving Sato last night? And that vision I had about Reiko? I was at overload and hoped for no more. Right. I should have prayed for eighty degrees and sunny at this time of year in Seattle. It would have worked about as well.
Elsa had noticed how I was and asked several times over the day if I was alright. She knew what I was and understood what I could do. That helped me more than she knew. She’d also held me more than once while I cried about a case. I hated finding dead children and I had done that that more than once, too. I’d also put more than one murderer in jail. A couple? Well, there’re lots of places in the Northwest for people like that to end up dead and nothing pointing at me being the executioner. I am not normally a vigilante but sometimes it’s justice or the law.
Yesterday was unsettled and it looked like today was going to be, too. Yeah. That was a perfect word for it. Unsettled. I was unsettled and that witch or whatever it was I didn’t know wasn’t helping any.
A long drive towards Puget Sound later, I saw lights flashing up ahead alerting me that we were arriving at the scene. It was a big estate with an astounding Puget Sound view. Make that a big expensive estate. The flashing lights didn’t prepare me for the scene though, as we pulled into the long, tree-lined, curved driveway and stopped.
Up ahead around the curve was the Mercedes I had been in last night. I could see the driver’s door was open.
Yeah. That was only the beginning.
Chapter 3
Bob turned to me after he stopped the car. I was taking off my seatbelt when he said, “Jocelyn, I’ll be honest. This is bad. I’ve never in my life seen anything like it. Okay? I want you to be prepared. What happened here is flatly impossible in my mind. But there it is. Maybe I’m going to have to accept what you told me years ago about you because of this. Maybe there are other things of some kind living in the Northwest. Evil things. I don’t know. Demons, maybe. My Bible tells me one thing, my eyes are telling me something different. Now, take a breath because it’s truly hideous.”
I looked at him long and hard. This was a side of him I’d never seen in all the years I’ve known him. What the hell was he terrified of because there is no other term for it. He was terrified of something.
We walked up the driveway and around the curve. Trees and beautifully arranged shrubs blocked the view from the main street. That was probably a good thing, too. Because as we rounded the curve, I saw blood, a lot of it, splattered on the driveway. As I moved forward, I could see that fifteen feet ahead of the Mercedes lay Goon Two. Or rather, what was left of him. Someone or something had ripped him apart. It was his blood I was seeing.
Someone was watching me. Because I’m a witch, I think maybe I’m more in tune with that kind of thing. I turned slowly. Except for Bob looking at the body, the other people were going about their business.
Shrugging, I took a breath as I stared at Goon Two’s head. About half of it was gone from his right eye, down to his jaw and the back of that side of his head. Not like from a bullet. No. That would have been too easy. It looked like a…no! This is not possible! But the evidence was irrefutable. I could see bite marks around where the missing part had been. What the fuck? Half his head had been bitten off!
His right arm was lying six feet away and it appeared at first glance that it had been ripped from his shoulder. There was an automatic clenched in his hand, the slide locked back. The gun was a double stacker so unless he kept the clip half filled, he’d fired at least fourteen rounds at something. I was certain that this guy would always keep the clip full.