by Phil Stern
“Well, Eleanor wants me to take a crack at it,” Tiffany explained.
Rayna raised an eyebrow underneath her beautiful chestnut-colored hair. “I see.”
“Claire?” Keri interjected. She’d been almost distastefully examining an intricate model ship carving, which she now placed back on a table top. “What kind of name is that?”
“Well, dear.” Leaning back, Pam let out a contented sigh. “You can ask her that yourself.”
*****
Somehow, the turncoat witch wasn’t what Tiffany had been expecting. A very refined woman in her late 20's, Claire confidently watched Tiffany and Keri enter the small room. With her fashionable skirt and blouse, shoulder-length dark hair and expensive-looking glasses, the sorceress could easily pass for a young professional on any number of mid-tech worlds. A ruby stone, hanging from a gold necklace, pulsed strongly at her throat.
Of course, by that very token, Claire couldn’t have clashed more strongly with their faux-medieval surroundings. The witch was primly sitting at a large, rough stone table. More stone block comprised walls stretching up three stories, while the floor was a slightly smoother grade of granite. Smokeless torches flickered away in the four corners, magically providing the same type of light as would advanced, electric devices.
“Hello.” Sliding into the chair opposite her, Tiffany placed a pad of paper on the table. “My name is Tiffany Smith. Eleanor was hoping you could provide me with some additional information about your coven’s activities.”
“Yes, we’re familiar with you.” Unintimidated, Claire glanced over at Keri. Following Tiffany into the stark room, she was now leaning up against a wall. “And who is this? Your bodyguard?”
“Now why would I need a bodyguard?” Sitting back, Tiffany inspected the ruby witch more closely, noting that her clothes were indeed from Earth. All in all, Claire would fit in perfectly in the United States, or maybe Canada. “I thought we were all friends here?”
“We’re not friends,” she promptly corrected. “I’m here because I had nowhere else to go.”
“Really? Are you in some kind of trouble with your own coven?”
“You could say that.”
“So that’s why you’ve…defected, shall we say?” Tiffany slowly asked. “You pissed off the wrong people, and are no longer welcome at home?”
The slim brunette said nothing, eyes narrowing. “I have nothing to say about that.”
“Hmmm.” Tiffany now made a point of picking up her pad and paper, scribbling out notes for several moments. The silence grew long between them.
“I’m surprised Eleanor let you keep that ugly stone of yours.” Now Keri spoke up for the first time. “If it were up to me, it would have been taken from you.”
“Is that so?” Sitting up, Claire smiled. “Why don’t you try to take it from me now, and we’ll see what happens?”
“Ladies, please.” Leaning back, Tiffany sighed. “I understand you’ve been living on Earth for several years.”
“That’s right.” Now ignoring Keri, the turncoat witch again focused her intense gaze on Tiffany. “As a receptionist for a high-end law firm in Los Angeles.”
“It would seem your coven has a particular interest in Earth.”
“We do,” she acknowledged. “Our home world is a mirror dimension to Earth. There are several direct contact points, allowing us to travel back and forth between Zarth and Earth at will.”
“Direct contact points?” Briskly, Tiffany made notes on her pad. “Our Coven isn’t familiar with them. How do they work?”
“You just walk into a cave, or through a narrow space between boulders, and you’re directly transported from one dimension to the other. No fuss, no muss.”
Tiffany nodded at Claire’s stone. “Do you have to magically open these contact points?”
“It varies. Some of them need a little jolt of magic. Others just seem to be permanently active.”
This was already more detail than Claire had revealed to her previous interrogators, Tiffany thought. “So your coven doesn’t use the Boundary, like we do?”
“Oh, we do now,” Claire assured her. “My coven initially formed within Zarth, discovering the direct contact points with Earth about a decade ago. It was only after observing a male wizard utilizing the Boundary on Earth that we realized how big the universe really was.”
Shifting uneasily in her seat, Tiffany realized she was speaking of Lord Gensrow. “Yes, we took care of the wizard.”
“So I’ve heard.”
A thousand different questions came to Tiffany’s mind at once. If she started getting too specific, though, Claire might just shut down. Better to just keep the conversation moving and get to things as they naturally came up.
“That must have been something, to see the wizard cross into the Boundary,” Tiffany said, doing her best to sound friendly. “What did you think upon first visiting all the other dimensions?”
“We were amazed.” Claire gave a sly smile. “The people, the wealth, the riches? Incalculable.”
“The riches?” Keri incredulously repeated. “That’s what you’re interested in?”
“Obviously. Aren’t you?”
“Inter-dimensional gold diggers!” Keri breathed. “How noble!”
Claire straightened up, her eyes flashing a faint ruby red. “Perhaps,” she seethed, pointedly glancing from Keri to Tiffany, “I should just speak with you. Your companion seems interested only in mocking what she doesn’t understand.”
“Oh, I understand just fine, honey.” Keri’s eyes also flashed tiny traces of green. “In fact, I think…”
Holding up a hand, Tiffany smoothly cut her off. “And how long have you been aware of our Coven?”
“About six years.”
“Really?” Tiffany thoughtfully tapped the pencil eraser against her lips. “So you’ve been studying us?”
“Of course. We’ve spotted several of your girls on Earth.” Claire shrugged. “Quite the hunk you have there in Philadelphia. What’s his name? Burt, or Blank?”
Tiffany smiled. “Blake.”
Claire smoothed her skirt. “I stand corrected.”
“So why haven’t you ever said hi?” Leaning forward, Tiffany looked directly at the ruby witch. “You just skulked about, following us around on Earth…”
“And a few other dimensions.”
“No doubt.” Once more, Tiffany waited a moment. “But that’s not very friendly. Just watching, and following. One might wonder if your coven was gathering intelligence on us, looking for weaknesses.”
“Oh, and you’d be entirely correct,” Claire readily agreed. “Your people are spread throughout the universe, operating beneath the surface. You could well disrupt our plans to dominate and control several worlds.”
“Is that what you want to do? Dominate and control other dimensions?”
“It’s no different than what your organization has accomplished here,” Claire innocently observed. “You’ve conquered this large island, and now rule these lesser races from this castle.”
“Well, it’s all a little complicated,” Tiffany conceded. “But it’s not about conquering, that I can assure you.”
“Really? Then why do you require delegations from each race to meet you at the Boundary portal when you enter and leave?” Claire continued. “The better to slay them instantly if there’s been any treachery, I would think.”
“Uh, well…” Pausing, Tiffany began to see how the Coven’s presence within Rasten might well appear to others. “Let’s get back to…”
Now Keri, of all people, came to her rescue. “Why don’t you tell us how your coven initially came into existence.” Smoothly, she crossed over to sit beside Tiffany.
“Zarth, our home dimension, is a totalitarian world.” Frowning, the ruby witch inspected a nail. “We developed almost as a cult, within a much larger, repressive society. A secret organization of women, trying to empower ourselves through magic.”
“Really?”
Clearly, Keri was intrigued. “And where did your ruby stones come from?”
“Some quarry in the Zarth Confederacy, a nation comprising what would be the southeastern United States on Earth.” Claire shrugged. “It’s now owned by a company controlled by our Coven Leader.”
Putting down the pad and pencil, Tiffany touched her earth stone. A glass of water magically formed within an eruption of green magic. Taking a sip, Tiffany once more studied Claire. “Why not just use your coven’s strength to take over Zarth? Surely the locals can’t be that strong?”
“There are several billion people on Zarth, just like Earth,” the ruby witch explained. “The governments are very powerful. We want to take over, but first need to acquire and train additional assets from around the universe.”
Tiffany stared blankly at her. “So that’s the grand plan? Subvert several other dimensions, take control, and then form an army to invade Zarth?”
“Not quite an army. But yes, that’s the general idea.” Claire said it simply, as if discussing an easy spell. “We’ve already infiltrated a high-tech world. We’ll arm a select force with their advanced weapons, then strike the five primary governments on Zarth’s North American continent at once. Assassinate all their leaders, destroy their communications centers, that sort of thing. Trust me, the population will welcome us as liberators.”
While Tiffany digested this, Keri’s mind leapt ahead. “But to do that, you’d need a base on Earth, right? After all, you have to travel through Earth to get out into the rest of the universe?”
“That’s correct,” Claire acknowledged. “And that’s where our two covens will inevitably come into much greater conflict.”
For several moments the three witches just stared at each other, no one saying a word. Idly, Tiffany realized the magical torches even sounded real, the soft sizzle of fake heat escaping up into the air. “Inevitably is a strong word, don’t you think?” she finally said.
“Not really.” Claire gave an indifferent shrug. “Earth is our very doorstep. If your Coven ever moved into the dimension in force, you could block our access to the Boundary. You could even magically disrupt the direct contact points between Zarth and Earth permanently. Then we’d be trapped and helpless.”
“But nobody wants to…” Pausing, Tiffany suddenly remembered Eleanor’s declared intentions to bottle up the Zarth Coven in their home world. Pretending she had something in her eye, Tiffany promptly changed direction. “But that wouldn’t even be an issue if you’d just approached us as friends. Then, we’d have no reason to think you were any threat at all.”
“Be that as it may, my coven has decided to claim Earth for ourselves,” Claire assured them. “Earth is the key. Not only geographically, but because of the magical power spread throughout the planet.”
Intently studying the other young woman, Tiffany took a deep breath. “I’m not following.”
“The wizard whom you defeated deliberately spread magical objects throughout the universe. Black stones called midate.” Claire rolled her eyes, as if talking to idiots. “I’m surprised you’re not aware of them. We’ve been busy gathering these stones, using them to augment our own power. Actually, we picked up a small one in Tethra just last month.”
“Wait a menlar.” Holding up her hand once more, Tiffany’s mind raced. It was true that Gensrow had discovered midate on his home world, which became the wizard’s magical power source. Once he’d been defeated, the Coven had destroyed all the midate they could find in Jain itself. “You’re saying Gensrow seeded black stones around the universe?”
“In select dimensions, yes.”
“Why?”
“He was probably hoping the midate would attract other men with magical power, to augment his own numbers.” Claire looked at Tiffany’s glass. “May I?”
“What? Uh, sure.” Awkwardly, Tiffany indicated her ruby stone. “Feel free.”
Another glass appeared in a blaze of ruby fire, Claire taking a delicate taste. “There’s nothing better than magic water, is there?”
“How much midate has your coven collected?” Keri demanded.
“Four pieces, but we think he left the biggest ones on Earth.” Claire put the glass down in front of her. “Before I contacted your people, in fact, I was involved in a hunt for a very large stone in the Mobile area. We could sense it generally, but just couldn’t pinpoint the exact location.”
So Eleanor had been right about the ruby coven currently seeking something valuable on Earth. “Are your people still searching for the midate in Alabama?” Tiffany asked.
“As far as I know, yes. It’s a very powerful stone, and would make driving your Coven from Earth that much easier.”
“Hold on!” Jumping up, Keri impatiently grabbed Tiffany’s arm, pulling the taller sorceress from her chair as well. “Don’t go anywhere.”
Sighing, Claire leaned back, folding her arms.
Leading Tiffany to the back of the room, Keri leaned in close, whispering. “So they have four stones now? How many more could possibly just be sitting out there somewhere, waiting to be found?”
“Who knows?” Tiffany also kept her voice as low as possible. “The midate must really augment their ruby power. That’s why they’ve been so much bolder in recent years, spreading out into other dimensions, and now challenging us directly.”
“Tiffany, we have to get to that midate on Earth first!”
“Yes, we do.” Fretfully, Tiffany recalled the Coven’s status in her adopted dimension. “But our sisters have gone underground, except for Norine…”
“Who’s guarding your boy toy, right? And these girls obviously know about him!”
“Which means Norine is very exposed.” Grimacing, she briefly looked away. Norine was a very strong, smart, experienced sorceress, but Tiffany suspected her initial encounter with the Zarth Coven had been deceptively mild. Clearly, asking Norine to watch over Blake may have been a horrible mistake. “You’re right. We’ve got to get to Earth immediately.”
Frowning, Keri glanced back at Claire. “Just one thing first.”
“No, wait!” Futilely, Tiffany grabbed at the younger girl’s arm, but she easily pulled away, stalking back across the room.
“Our witches need to be, uh, created by a union between a sorceress and a man.” Standing before the table, Keri defiantly stared down at the ruby witch. “How is it that the women on Zarth just came to be magical, even after uniting with the ruby stones?”
“Yes, we’re aware of your odd sexual practices.” Claire slowly shook her head. “We don’t need to stoop as low as you obviously do, just to grow our coven.”
Walking up next to her, Tiffany placed a restraining hand on Keri’s arm. “In other words, you’re saying the women of Zarth just possess innate magical ability that interacts with your ruby stones naturally?”
“Of course.” Claire smiled. “Though we’ve also found your own Coven’s castoffs can sometimes wield ruby magic. Like your own sister, Tiffany, when we found her, abandoned and alone, on Dytha.”
The Haven sorceress slowly sank down into her seat once more. “Excuse me?”
“Your half-sister, to be precise.” Now Claire leaned forward, eyes narrowing. “Valensa is her name. She looks a lot like you, actually.”
“Valensa is my sister?” Tiffany thought back to her encounter with the younger ruby witch outside Blake’s ceremony. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.”
“How is that possible?”
“Well,” Claire began, ticking off each point on her fingers. “When your father fucks a whole bunch of other women, and one of them becomes pregnant…”
“Bullshit!” Keri’s earth stone flickered. “You’re just fucking with us. Tiffany doesn’t have a sister! If she did, she’d be with us!”
Sitting back, Tiffany began strumming her own leg, something she only did when under great stress. “Claire, any misinformation you’ve provided here today will not work to your favor, trust me.”
; “Oh my, so now the threats come out!” Crossing her legs, Claire pulled a dark hair from her sleeve. “I’ve answered all your questions to the best of my ability. Now leave me.”
Leaning down, Keri tapped the table. “We’ll be back.”
“Oh, I’m sure,” the Zarth witch sweetly replied, giving a half-wave. “I can’t wait.”
Drawing herself up, the strawberry blonde brushed hair back from her face. “And if you think…”
“Enough!” Snapping her chair back, Tiffany bolted to her feet, pushing Keri away from the table and towards the exit. “Let’s go.”
“Have fun on Earth!” Claire called out as they left, the heavy wooden door closing behind them with a loud thud.
CHAPTER SIX
TIFFANY USED AN obscure portal in Delaware she’d been saving for just this kind of emergency. A brisk half-mile hike through the woods brought the three sorceresses to a small airport, where they rented a car. Five minutes later they were on the road, speeding up to Philadelphia.
Though sorely tempted, Tiffany resisted the urge to call or text anyone. If the Zarth Coven had taken either Norine or Blake prisoner, they would simply reply with a fake text, or even magically altered voice. Even an unanswered call could warn any hostile witches she was back on Earth, with the signal possibly being used to track them. Grimly powering the phone off, Tiffany remained lost in her own, troubled thoughts.
She’d filed an Eyes Only report for Eleanor on her interview with Claire, sending it directly from Rasten to Vail. (Such transmissions were only possible between the few worlds where the Coven had permanent facilities.) Pam, the resident Duchess, had been quite insulted when Tiffany had refused to share the report with her. Then, the older witch became absolutely flabbergasted when Tiffany explained she hadn’t even sent a copy to the Coven Council in Haven.
“This is unacceptable!” Pam exclaimed, her face noticeably darkening. “Now is not the time for grandstanding or ego!”