“So I'm what, possessed?” This was also new.
“No, not like that.” He took my hand. “The energy spirit that forms is a part of you. It's from you... you imprint your personality on it. It would never do anything that you, yourself, didn't want to. It can, however, have much better reflexes than your conscious mind will ever have.”
I liked the sound of that. However, another 'will' that lived within me responded to his touch, and it wasn't defensive.
“You know,” I said, my grin growing lusty, “it's really difficult to focus with you shirtless.”
“Well, you know,” he said, grinning, “I just like to be loose and unencumbered when I work out.”
“Okay.” I said with a shrug. I dropped his hand and quickly stripped off my shirt and sports bra, standing in front of him in just my stretch pants.
“Ready to go again?”
“That, uh...” he stammered, pointing at my semi-naked form, “that's... kind of distracting.”
I laughed and launched myself into his arms. He carried me over to some privacy behind the bushes, and we finished our session in my favorite way.
* * *
Raina and I decided to join Jack in his playroom to eat dinner that night. We had no idea who was coming the next day, but we guessed that we'd all be tasked with helping to play host for the duration of their stay, so we chose each other's company. We ordered Chinese takeout, and the cartons were spread out over the desk in front of us.
“I love me some moo shoo pork!” Jack said, digging into his food with gusto.
“You love you some 'everything on the menu'.” Raina retorted, eyeing the stack of empty cartons stacked in front of him. “You do know that all of that's going to catch up with you some day, right? Just don't call me when you're six hundred pounds and they have to cut a hole in the wall to get your ass to the hospital.”
“I have a backup plan.” he said proudly.
"Oh Gods, this again?" I groaned, eyes-rolling.
“Say what?” Raina asked, eyeing the two of us suspiciously.
“I'm going to find a Pishtaco.”
Raina looked right at him, an eyebrow raised. "A fish taco what?"
I laughed. Hard.
“No, a Pishtaco.” Jack protested. “It's a creature that lives on human body fat. You can find them in Peru.”
“Uh, I'm the one who loaned you that book, remember?” Raina said. “If I remember right, those things kill you and then eat your fat. It would be less painful to let the coronary take you.”
“Well, there are spells one can do to control beasts like this, so...” He stopped talking and looked at me. “Are you okay? Do you need oxygen?”
I was still laughing so much that talking took effort. "I'm sorry," I gasped, "but that's the dumbest fucking thing I've heard come out of your mouth since you laid out your master plan to get Kendall Jenner to marry you in the eleventh grade!"
Raina had, unfortunately, chosen that particular time to take a drink of her soda, which was then sprayed all over Jack as she erupted in her own laughter.
“Hey!” he said, jumping back.
Which, of course, made me laugh harder. Which made Raina laugh more. Eventually, even Jack had to join in.
After we caught our breath, I grabbed a carton of Kung Pao shrimp. “Damn,” I said as I dug in, “all that laughing made me hungry again.”
“Why don't you give her shit for eating that much?” Jack asked Raina as he resumed eating.
“Because she's eating for two.” Raina answered, grabbing a fried rangoon. “Herself and her magick energy baby.”
“And this baby has the appetite for an entire X-Box convention.” I said, shoveling the spicy shrimp into my mouth. “I don't know who's diet is more disgusting these days, mine or Vincent's, and he drinks blood!”
“Yours.” Raina said, pointing her chopsticks at me.
“Seriously?”
"Sorry, but I'll take a pint of O-positive myself before I watch you eat pizza again."
“Now wait a minute...”
“I'm not saying that the six pieces stacked together that you ate last time wasn't impressive, but...”
“That was a dare from Jack!” I stood and pointed at him.
“Yeah, but I didn't think you'd do it!” he replied, laughing.
“Why you...”
I snapped my attention to the carton in his hand and flexed my mind. It shot out of his hands and dumped upside down on his head, the bits of meat and rice cascading down his shoulders.
“Two points!” Raina exclaimed, laughing.
“And you!” Soon, what was left of the chicken fried rice found itself dumped on her head. She shrieked playfully, and then all three of us dissolved once again into puddles of laughter.
Chapter Three
From the diaries of Angelique Dupre
08/25/1588
Roanoke Colony
After much hiding and observation, I have finally found the correct Sarah. I could list all of the criteria that I used to determine her identity, but I just know.
Also, Petronia visited me in a dream last night to tell me that my deductions were correct. While it encouraged me, it also reminded me that I've spent entirely too many years without being able to hold her, and that hurts a heart that has felt precious little for ages.
My Sarah ventures out from the colony to gather wild herbs on a regular basis, edging the forest in her search. She looks completely average for the day... her hair is the same chestnut as so many around her, and her build is sturdy but not corpulent. If I were hunting for a new human body to share my bed, she would be a good candidate. Of course, what looks to be her brother would be just as enjoyable in that way.
Or her Mother. The family is quite attractive.
Oh Petronia, whenever you visit me in my dreams, I see bed-partners everywhere! See what you've done to me?
I shall make contact with her tomorrow.
* * *
The morning dawned with a slight mist clinging to the forest surrounding the mansion. The air was crisp, and it swamped my senses with hope and potential.
It was unusual, having company during my morning coffee on the back patio. Normally I had a chance to take my extensive morning walk before the other non-vampires would greet the day, however, Raina and a very bleary-eyed Jack had risen earlier than usual to join me.
They were actually there to see who our mysterious guests were, and to see them arrive. I had skipped my morning walk for the same reason.
Jack was having a hard time. He sat, slumped in his chair, sunglasses guarding his eyes from the morning light.
“Do you have to wear those?” Raina asked, pointing to his shades. “The way you're crumpled in the chair, the glasses make me feel like I'm having coffee with someone in the witness protection program.”
“This is entirely too early for the light to be this bright, and you know it.” he replied. “It’s how I imagine the morning light on Mercury must be.”
“But Mercury doesn't have my patented coffee blend.” I retorted, draining my mug and setting it down with satisfaction.
“Believe me, the coffee is the only reason I'm still semi-conscious.” He rubbed his eyes and yawned. “So, any idea when these mystery guests are supposed to arrive?”
“Vincent said that they were supposed to get here early.” I looked around. “I don't know how we're supposed to see who pulls up out front from back here, though.”
“I just know Angelique told me that this would be a good place to meet them.” Raina poured some more coffee from the carafe into her mug, and added a generous dollop of creamer.
“Maybe that's where Annabelle's lake comes from.” Jack said. “Maybe they have a magic ship, Durmstrang-style.”
It was then that I noticed Raina staring at the sky. I turned to look where she was, and saw several birds circling high overhead.
“What?” I asked her.
“Those birds are circling the property.” she said.
> Jack looked up and then immediately regretted it. Shading his sunglass-shielded eyes with his hand, he squinted upwards again. “What's so special about that? Don't birds circle?”
“Only when circling prey or carrion.”
The birds started getting bigger, descending at a rapid rate. It was only then that I noticed just how big they were. Once they got low enough, I could see that each was as big as a pickup truck, with a wingspan several times that size. They looked to be some kind of hawk. Two of them seemed to be carrying something in their talons.
“Should we take cover?” Jack asked, though he looked to be in no position to run just then.
“I'm not getting any sense of threat from them.” I told him.
Just then, one of them landed in the yard nearby with a plop! It walked away, and the crumpled form of a very muscular man was left behind. With a groan, the man started to push himself up.
“Bloody hell, warn me about the rough landing next time, will ya?” he said in a thick British accent.
I knew that voice.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” I said to my friends, “may I introduce Trevor Hawkins.”
He looked the same as he had when he came to my graduation party earlier in the year: tall, muscular, long blonde hair. Vincent described his look once as “rock-star meets pro wrestler”, and he wasn't wrong. Trevor brushed off his tight jeans and Rolling Stones t-shirt, straightened the denim vest he wore with the mystic symbol patch on the back, pasted on a smile, and strode forward to meet us.
Off to the side, another giant hawk placed a human woman gently on the lawn, hovering until she gracefully stepped down on the well-trimmed grass. She, too, was dressed as I had seen her before, her leather body-suit hugging her curves, its black color contrasting with her bright blonde hair.
"Thank you, dearie." she said to the hawk that hovered near her, blowing a kiss as she did. It nodded its head and joined its compatriot rooting around the edges of the forest. The third hawk joined them as well, and the woman walked our way as well.
“And his sister, Evelyn.” I finished as the pair reached us.
“Guys...” Trevor said with a wide smile. “How are you doing this fine morning? Lulu-belle...” he continued, looking at me.
"Annabelle." his sister said to him instantly.
“Annabelle!” Trevor continued, as if he hadn't said any other name. “How's the Sorceress life treating you?”
“It's good.” I replied, shrugging.
“Annie, it's lovely to see you.” Evelyn said, smiling warmly.
“You gonna introduce us to your friends?” Trevor asked, looking at Raina with a leer.
“That's Raina, my pissed off feminist lesbian best friend.” I told him.
His face fell, the wind gone out of his libido. “Ah, well... nice to meet you, mate.” he said with a wave.
Raina scowled and waved back. It was all I could do to keep from laughing.
“And this is...” I said, pointing to Jack.
“We've met.” Jack said, cutting me off. He also had a scowl on his face, but this one wasn't funny.
“Come again?” Trevor asked, confused.
“We've met.” Jack said again, crossing his arms. “Earlier this year, at the graduation party? You cock-blocked me every time I tried to talk to a pretty girl.”
“Ah, well, it's nothing personal, mate.” Trevor said, slightly embarrassed. “I just get in the mode to mingle, and other blokes become collateral damage.” He smiled again and tried to turn on the charm. “But hey, didn't I spy that redheaded bird for you? She'd already turned me down flat, so I figured hey, why not let the next shift take their shot?”
“She was a were-roach.” Jack said, deadpan. “We started fooling around, and she tried to bite me. Seems that she was looking for a mate.”
“Oh!” Trevor tried to look remorseful, but it was obvious that he found the whole thing funny. “Well, sorry mate.”
“Don't feel bad, love.” Evelyn said, patting Jack's arm. “Before I realized that I was not in the penis fan club, Trevor fixed me up with a date for my school's winter formal.”
“Bloody royalty, he was!” Trevor said proudly.
“He was also a reanimated corpse.” she continued, glaring at her brother. “Seems that the idiot had OD'd, and his family was just dysfunctional enough to hire a necromancer to put a spirit in his meat suit. He tried to sacrifice me to a lost Babylonian fire spirit after the moonlight dance.”
“It is delightful to meet you, Evelyn.” Raina said, smiling.
I smiled. I knew that tone of voice.
“So what's with the Tolkien express?” Jack asked, glancing at the foraging hawks.
"Ruffians is what they are." Trevor groused.
“They are friends, as well as a wonderful form of transportation.” Evelyn said. “However, I would save the Lord of the Rings jokes for here, out of their earshot.” She glanced at her brother again.
“Look, all I said was that I was wondering if they could do a slight detour so I could throw a ring in a volcano.” he replied. He grinned. “I said I'd hate to have to walk the entire way.”
“Always the charmer.” Evelyn said, rolling her eyes.
“So, where are the Nosferatu twins?” Trevor asked, changing the subject.
“Angelique's like an electron,” Raina said, “you never know where she is until she shows up. Vincent's standing right behind you.”
Trevor spun around, and Vincent was indeed standing right there.
“Vincent, my boy, how are you?” Trevor said, recovering from his surprise at Vincent's sudden appearance.
“This morning was perfect.” Vincent deadpanned. He then smiled at Evelyn. “Come on, I'll show you where you're staying.”
The three of them walked away. The three of us left sitting there waited for a moment, and then broke out into laughter.
* * *
I ate lunch while hanging out in Vincent's artifact room, sitting on one of the glass cases. He was busy cataloging some recent acquisitions, and worked steadily while I snacked on my pizza rolls. He paused as I popped another of the greasy treats in my mouth.
“It amazes me that you still eat that stuff.” he said, grinning and shaking his head. “We can afford any food in the world, and you're still munching discount calories.”
“Hey, I like discount calories!” I mockingly protested. “Besides, I'm eating, like, five times a day since my transformation. Pizza rolls are not only tasty, they're fast.”
“I had some fast food the other day.” he replied, picking up an ornate cup and studying it's surface. “Pedophile. I let him run for almost a mile before I ended it.”
I chuckled at his joke. If you had told me last year that I'd think that the death of any human, even a piece of filth like a child predator, was funny, I would have asked what drug you were on. However, having seen the memories of my vampire boyfriend, who had been raised in a child brothel, I found any horrible thing that happened to pedophiles to be richly deserved.
That wasn't on my mind that day, however. “Do you really hate Trevor?” I asked in between bites.
He put the cup down and sighed. “I don't hate him, or else he'd never be able to show his face around me. I just think that he's reckless, and he winds up getting people killed when they didn't have to die. Believe me, when you've seen as much death as I have, you gain an appreciation for life.” He picked the cup up again. “Besides, he's got a ridiculous ego. Those types irk me in principle.”
“His sister seems nice.”
“Evie's a treasure. Half of the people who survive working with Trevor have her to thank.”
“So what are you cataloging?”
Vincent walked over to me and showed me the cup. It was bright red, with a golden swirling pattern winding up the stem and to the edge where it blended with a golden ring around the lip.
“Pretty.” I said as I ate another pizza roll.
“Try looking at it with your sight... your other sight.”
I swallowed my food and closed my eyes. I had been practicing a kind of extreme psychometry as of late, using my psychic vision to attempt to figure out the history of magickal objects. Vincent never passed up an opportunity to get me to practice, so I re-focused my energies and then opened my eyes.
The cup glowed with a purple light, which told me that it was imbued with powerful magick. I looked closer and started to see images.
I'm seeing... a mountainside." I said, peering intently. "It looks like a real fortress. I don't know why, but I get the feeling that it's in the Andes Mountains. I'm seeing a door with a seal on it, one that looks like... a seven-pointed star." I blinked as the images faded and looked at Vincent. "How'd I do?"
“Pretty good.” he replied with a smile. “I have no idea where this comes from or what it does, but I'll make a note of your vision for my records.” He walked back across the room and started typing on his tablet.
I was happy to help, but couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity that I still felt about the cup. It was like I had seen it before.
* * *
How I found myself at the lake again I do not know. I had been avoiding it on my morning walks after the warning from the mystery lady during my last vision/dream. It meant altering my morning walk route, but the thought of it suddenly gave me a bad feeling, so the detour was worth it.
I looked across it's darkened surface and realized that it had to be a dream. I wouldn't go near the thing, and especially not at night!
Find me...
I stopped my inner dream monologue and listened. The voice was female and seemed to be skipping across the water's surface.
Find me, Sorceress...
Across the lake, I saw a light begin to shine. It seemed to float above the far shore, bobbing in and out of existence. I squinted my eyes, forgetting that this wasn't really happening. Slapping my forehead, I changed course and reached out with my feelings.
The Witch: Book Two of The Sorceress Saga Page 4