A Witch, a Fairy, and an Esper

by Ross Homer

  Bob whispered, “If you’re in here, Jo, I will find you, cunt. And then you and I will have a tough conversation before I toss your fat ass in a cell for obstruction. You hear me, you fat, stupid, cow?”

  He was goading the hell out of me. He knew how much I hated that word, cunt. When he used it on me in the past, a fist or slap usually came with it. All he’d have to do right then was swing away and he’d have nailed me. Maybe he didn’t because he also knew what I could do to him. I may have ended up in a cell, but he’d have ended up in a hospital bed. Or a grave.

  Finally, he said, “You damn well better tell me if you find anything connected to this case. Got it? I know you’re here, somewhere. Using that Satanic magic to hide from me. God will make you pay, witch. You can count on that.”

  Nissa squeezed my upper arm, making me pull back from reacting to his sorry ass. She shook her head and put her fingers to her lips with her other hand. She had a death grip on my arm, too.

  We tiptoed around Bob and the other two and out of the office. We were still good as we made our way to the other end of the hall.

  The door was locked. Nissa worked a little of her magic and we were in and the door closed and relocked in a moment. Going up the stairs though, made me very aware that no one had been up here since last night.

  The stench of blood and viscera became almost overwhelming as we got to the closed door at the top of the stairs.

  I didn’t want to open this one because I knew what we’d find on the other side. With a sad glance at me, Nissa opened it and we stepped into hell.

  This was the room I saw in the pictures of Reiko at the desk. The vision I had of her when I smelled her blouse.

  She was here, too. What was left of her. She hadn’t been found yet. Oh, by the Gods!

  Now I could see firsthand what her father and mother must have looked like when the creatures got done with them.

  Her arms and legs had been ripped from her body and tossed across the room. Her torso was torn apart and most of her organs were missing. There was a bite that encompassed everything from where her left shoulder should have been to the bottom of her ribcage and halfway across her body. Her right breast had been bitten cleanly in half and I could see her right lung or what was left of it in the gaping hole.

  Her head, from her eyes down to her chin, lay in the middle of the desk. It had been ripped from her shoulders. The top of her head and her brains were gone. The same teeth marks were there, above her eyes. Except, I swallowed hard, there were no eyes, just empty spaces in her head where they should have been.

  I fought desperately to keep from vomiting. I think Nissa helped me with some variety of fairy magic.

  Her lips lightly grazing my right ear, she whispered to me, “I think you were right. This was so vicious it has to be a lesson or a warning to somebody. We must figure that one out now, too. Jo, let’s get the hell out of here while we still…”

  The door slammed open and Bob along with his photographer and three other cops came in. We quickly moved to one side of the door as he put two of the cops squarely in front of it. He said plainly, “I won’t go into how it’s done but there is a woman in here you can’t see. Do not let her out of here. She is a witness and I need to question her. Got that? If you feel something, make a grab for it. It’ll be her.”

  Shit. We were trapped like rats in a box.

  One of the cops took a look at the scene and vomited.

  I watched Bob turn in a circle and take in the carnage. “Thanks asshole. You just added to this fucking mess!”

  Well, he was right about that. Now how to get Nissa and me the hell out of here? This was when I had my first telepathic experience.

  Nissa was in my head! She thought, “First, don’t panic. Yes, I’m communicating with you this way. Usually I ask permission first, but we can’t do it that way at the moment. Consider it extenuating circumstances. Do you understand? You can respond by looking straight into my eyes and trying to block other thoughts. It takes practice and now is not the time. But we obviously can’t talk to each other.”

  I did as she told me. I locked eyes with her and thought, “I think I got this. It’s cool and all but we need a diversion of some kind to move those two cops and stay the hell away from the others. Especially Bob. You don’t need to tell me how stupid my perfume joke was. Okay?”

  She replied, “Yes, that was childish but there’s nothing for it right now. See that trashcan? Can you start a fire in it?”

  “Yes. It’ll be a flash, but it should work. Move beside the door. Carefully! That one almost felt you.”

  “Yes.”

  I watched her move closer to the door. She passed almost too close to a cop but better she got away than both of us get caught.

  Taking a breath, I commanded the trashcan to burst into flame. I got what I wanted and then some. The side of the desk caught, too. The flames shot up so fast that it almost got poor Reiko’s head.

  Both cops ran to the desk as Nissa and I slipped quickly out the door and down the stairs. I heard Bob yelling, “No! Fuck. You guys weren’t supposed to move. Goddamnit! Run and see if you can find her. Spread your arms wide. I said you can’t see her, and I wasn’t kidding. Go!”

  I didn't know that why he was yelling at them, he was running around the attic room with his own arms spread wide. The photographer quickly put out the fire with an extinguisher that was mounted on the wall beside a fireplace.

  Nissa and I made it down the stairs and into the hall, but Bob had called for reinforcements. He may have been a bully, but he wasn’t stupid. We were in deep shit as they came up the stairs, arms wide, searching for us. I remembered that hall bathroom.

  I pulled Nissa close and thought, “We need to hide! They’re going to catch us otherwise. Don’t argue with me, Nissa. I have an idea and it’s going to sound weird. We need to get into that hall bathroom and strip. Right now!”

  Shit! Six men were coming up the stairs and we were down to seconds.

  She didn’t argue as we quickly stepped into the bathroom. It only took another second to get out of our clothes and stuff them under the sink.

  “Nissa, I’m not trying anything with you but get into the shower with me and hold me as tight as you can. No clothes at this point make it a lot easier on me to hold the glamor.”

  I know she was using humor to help diffuse this scary situation when she thought, “Right. You just want to cop a feel, but I’ll do as you say.”

  When we’d first looked in here, I noticed that the shower stall was larger than normal. I prayed that it was enough that a cop might not feel either of us if we stood in the back. It would be pure luck as both of us are big women.

  We got into the shower and now I had a woman with curves as nice as mine standing as tight together as two lovers. It was different to be sure than holding Elsa in our shower. Yeah, despite the horrible situation we were in, my mind went there.

  She thought at me, “You can just stop that kind of thinking right now.” She smiled and pushed her pelvis tighter to mine as she lay her head against my neck. I did the same to her.

  Damn telepathic mind. “Shhhhh…they’re coming.”

  It was kind of a lame metaphor but now we were two female statues carved out of a single piece of marble. But man, she felt really good in my arms, all her sexy girly parts crushed against mine. If we got out of this in one piece, Elsa was going to be in for it tonight. Funny how my mind seemed to always go to sex when I was in a frightening position. This one was one of the worst I’d been in. Certainly far worse than the night I saved Elsa when I was badly outnumbered.

  I was facing the door when a cop came in and carefully looked around. We hadn’t changed anything in the bathroom and the glass door into the shower was crystal clear. Still, he came over and opened the door. We leaned against the back wall and held our breaths.

  He reached in and waved his hand around haphazardly but didn’t touch either of us. He probably thought Bob was full of shit talking about
an invisible woman.

  “No one in here,” he called out. As he left the bathroom, we slipped out of the shower right behind him.

  I was about to bend over to grab our clothes from under the sink when I heard Bob yell, “Did you turn on the shower?”

  Shit. Fuck the clothes! We slipped past the cop and into the hall when another cop came within a tiny hair of touching my breasts as we passed each other. If I’d have moved at all, he’d have had me.

  I held my breath again and prayed to the Goddess. She must have heard me because the cop and another continued into the bathroom and turned on the shower.

  “We can get our clothes later,” I thought at Nissa.

  “Damn right we will! I don’t how much you Yanks make but that bra and panty set cost a bloody fortune. I want them back. And I’m so damn scared I’m about to pee right here. Let’s get out of here. We can get clothes at your place or mine since we’re about the same size.”

  We got out of the house unharmed. I was also at the end of my strength and needed to eat. I was also too frightened to laugh until much later, at my house.

  Elsa hung onto me like I was going to leave her forever. The kiss she gave me would have gotten a rise out of a dead man. She said, “Jo! God, girlfriend, I was so afraid! You’ve been gone so long.”

  That was when she realized the both Nissa and I were naked. I could tell she was feeling a lot better when she said, “Is there something I need to know going on here?”

  Laughing now, I told her what had happened. The funny thing was, she didn’t see the humor in it.

  We went upstairs and I gave Nissa a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt which fit her nicely.

  “Nice ass,” I said as I watched her slither into the jeans.

  “Thanks. Yours too. I guess underwear will have to wait.”

  Elsa said, “You two. What really happened at Sato’s?”

  Nissa stopped dressing and stared at me. In spite of my lover standing there watching, she dropped the sweatshirt and pulled me into a tight hug. “I have been in some tough places, Elsa. I’m not kidding at all about that. But standing there naked, unarmed, and invisible, with men searching for me, was about as scary as it comes. Jo, let’s not do that again if that’s alright with you.”

  I nodded and said, “I won’t argue with you. Let’s finish up here and go to Dewey’s. I need noise and a stiff drink or ten.”

  Surprising me, she kissed me softly. “Thanks for getting us out of there,” she said as she hugged me. “I’m not normally one to freeze up but my mind went totally blank when we went into the shower and after.”

  I gently stroked her face. “You’re welcome. I didn’t have time to think and trust me; I’m glad as hell I remembered that bathroom.”

  I bumped pubic bones with her. “But you have to admit that was pretty hot, standing there like that.”

  She smiled widely and said, “Back off, witch woman. I have a man to take care of those needs.”

  Now I couldn’t help it. “Yeah? What’cha gonna do in three weeks when you really want him around? Huh?”

  Not to be left out, Elsa said, “Stop it. Both of you. Just…just go get it on and I’ll meet you downstairs when you’re done!” Shaking her head, she growled, “God! Save me from horny bitches.”

  We finished dressing and went down to the car laughing. I had a woman I loved and from her reaction, she might agree to a smokin’ hot three way, but I wasn’t going to do that to her. I was, however, going to do some drinking.

  At Dewey’s, the post-fear unwinding didn’t stop. I was glad that he had a pretty good house that night, too. It added to our relaxation.

  We couldn’t tell him why we were laughing and acting weirder than usual which was just fine. We were three women enjoying the night with glasses of wine. I thought Elsa was going to fall off her chair from laughing so hard when Nissa told her about me using perfume and Bob’s reaction to it.

  Nissa leaned forward and said to Elsa, “I almost lost it completely when one of the cops came so close to Jo that the hair on his arm had to have touched her right nipple. I mean, he was that close to her.” She held her thumb and first finger a hair’s width apart. “I couldn’t believe he didn’t feel her.”

  Dewey, of course, got the wrong idea about us but I didn’t say anything to change it. I needed to drink some wine and did. I had more than either Nissa or Elsa but then I had a high tolerance for alcohol. There was something on Nissa’s mind and I was quite sure what it was. That was for later discussion.

  Through the levity of the evening I noticed Nissa paying a lot of attention to Elsa. My mind went into the toilet, of course, and I wondered if that silly three-way thought I’d had earlier was a possibility.

  I let that one go because it was late and we needed food. Especially me. I used a lot of energy with that glamor at Sato’s and I hadn’t replenished myself. I hate it when I get hungry like I was because I tend to get grouchy as hell, especially after several glasses of wine.

  We went back to my house and ordered a couple of pizzas then opened more wine.

  Sitting at my dining room table, we talked about the day. As I took a bite of pepperoni and sausage pizza, I said, “Elsa, when we were at Sato’s house, we found Reiko, too. She was…” I couldn’t say anymore so I shut up and ate. I almost burned my mouth, too. Damn it was hot! It was just another stupid mistake I’d made that day. I was distracted and I was sure now I knew why. It started with what I saw at Sato’s, and then that damn hot dream and finally, finding Rieko’s destroyed body. I don’t think I was this distracted when I wanted Bob so bad back when I was sixteen.

  Nissa patted my hand and took over. “Elsa, she was ripped apart. That’s all I need to say about it. Albertson came in and damn near caught us. Jo started a fire in a trashcan and that caused enough commotion to allow us to leave. Now here we sit, eating pizza, and drinking wine like three friends would.”

  Elsa looked at me wide-eyed. “Being invisible would be really cool for getting into movies. Or…investigating stuff.”

  I nodded. “Yeah. Don’t forget Nissa can read your mind, too.” I pointed my half-eaten slice at her. “So be careful what you think around her.”

  Elsa remained wide-eyed. “Wow! Really?” She fell silent a moment and stared hard at Nissa before a strange, bemused look, came over her face. She asked, “What am I thinking?”

  Nissa smiled and sipped her wine. “You’re thinking it’s all bullshit.”

  “Too easy. Now what?” This time Elsa’s voice changed. She really did have something on her mind.

  Nissa shook her head. “Okay,” she grinned. “You asked for it. You are wondering if I’m going to spend the night here.” She looked over at me as I sipped my wine. “If we’re going to all get together upstairs. Rest assured that I’m going home in a bit. My husband is majorly cool, and it wouldn’t kill him if I stayed here for as bit of girl fun. But I’m not. More? Yes, your breasts are pretty. That’s what you were thinking this morning before you dressed for work. You were standing in the bathroom looking at yourself. You’d just weighed yourself and liked the results.”

  Elsa raised her hands. “Stop! I’m convinced!”

  After draining her glass, Nissa refilled it and picked up another slice of pizza. “If you need more, I can tell you when you had sex the first time. Want to know what your third-grade penmanship grade was? Not good and it hasn’t improved much since then, by the way. I can tell you to the penny what your first job paid. More?”

  “Okay! I give up. You’re a fairy who reads minds. She’s a witch who can prevent periods or having to shave. Apparently, she can turn you and her invisible if she wants. I haven’t had that experience yet.”

  I said, “It’s called glamoring. It’s not really being invisible as much as it is diverting what the eye and brain sees. Like that thing you think you see out of the corner of your eye. I was in full glamor mode when I found you in that alley.”

  “Don’t remind me of that. I stupidly took a
drink from one of those guys at a bar. That one I’ll never forget.”

  Nissa said, “I know what you want. I, for one, am glad Jo came along when she did. I’ve seen that incident now from both of you. Elsa, they would have killed you. Not on purpose, but that’s what would have happened if our Mighty Rebar Wielder here, hadn’t come on the scene when she did. It would have been a terrible way to die. You didn’t and now you’re here with us. And on that note, I need to leave. I’m going home and having hot video sex with my husband to remind him that I’m still here for him.”

  She stood and kissed both of us. When she was done with me, I was ready to drag both of them up to the bedroom.

  It was now quiet in my house. The pizza and dishes were cleaned up. Elsa and I stared at each other for a long moment before I took her hands and led her upstairs. I flicked my fingers at the lights and the bedroom dimmed to a sensual degree.

  It was after eleven when we cuddled face to face to sleep.

  Elsa giggled a little as she pushed against me and said, “We should take showers, you know. We’ll both be kinda smelly in the morning.”

  “Yeah, but I want to savor this longer. Now…kiss me, you little vixen. I love you so much!”

  Sleep came quickly and easily as I pulled Elsa to me and rested her head on my shoulder.

  I don’t know when the dream started but suddenly it was like parts of the last forty-eight hours no longer existed.

  I was standing at the foot of my bed, naked, and I could see Elsa cuddled tight to me. Both of us were asleep. She had a soft smile on her face and her right hand was cupping my left breast. I could feel it and see it and yet…I was not there. I was here. What the hell?

  My sleeping self-covered her hand with mine, holding it tight to me. But I was still standing there, at the foot of the bed, watching us sleep. This was scaring the holy crap out of me. What was going on? Pizza before bed? But that had been hours ago.

  I saw myself struggling to wake up but then curiosity took over and I decided to not fight it and see where this led.