The Witch: Book Two of The Sorceress Saga

by Taliesin Govannon

  I found myself in the finished basement of my Mother’s house. It looked just like it did when I lived there.

  Exactly.

  “This sofa is in Jack's computer room." I said, running my hand along the top of the faux-leather sofa. "I fell asleep there one-night last week while we were watching movies on the big monitor."

  “I thought that you might be more comfortable here.” the woman said. Her hair was as fair as ever, and the gown she wore still flowed over her like liquid moonlight… even though she was sitting on a futon by the sofa in question.

  “Arianrhod, is it?” I asked, sitting down on the sofa.

  “Looking like this? Yes.” She said, looking down at herself.

  “So what’s the occasion? You initiated contact this time.”

  “Can’t I just check in with you from time to time?”

  “You’re a Goddess. You can see what’s happening at all times.”

  She chuckled. "If I'm so all-powerful, then why can't I play coy like you humans do?"

  “Because lying isn’t in your nature.” I said simply.

  “Well that’s true.” she replied, folding her hands on her lap. “If I don’t want you to know something, I’ll just say ‘you have no need to know that’, and leave it at that.”

  “You also suck at avoidance.” I said. “You still haven’t told me the whys of this meeting.”

  “Most of the time, I communicate indirectly.” she explained. “I send signs through the actions of the world, and others. But some things are difficult to communicate in metaphors.”

  So say it! I screamed inside. Arianrhod winced.

  “Okay, okay… you don’t have to shout!” She looked me directly in the eyes.

  “The greatest evil is often done in the name of good.”

  I tried to process what she said, but the whole scene started to fade. I struggled to stay with her, but I could hear a familiar voice calling my name.

  Annabelle… Annie…

  I opened my eyes and saw Raina looking down at me.

  “Hey there sleepyhead...” she said, smiling. “You fell asleep doing bong-hits. It’s time for the meeting.”

  I sat up as she left the room. The greatest evil is often done in the name of good.” Her words echoed in my head. And she thought that was clear?

  * * *

  The usual suspects sat around the room with two notable exceptions: One, Starr was present. He’d been patrolling in his cat form, and his presence meant that he had news.

  The other exception was Rini. I hadn't seen the blue-haired Fae woman for some time, but she was still as striking as ever. Her skin had a slight greenish tint in our world, but her hair seemed to be a more electric blue than ever. The pointed tips of her ears poked out of her flowing locks, topping her ethereal appearance.

  Evelyn took her seat by the display board while Trevor stood beside her, signaling the beginning of the meeting.

  “Okay everyone,” Trevor began, “Let’s get this going. I would like to introduce all of you to the blue-haired vixen to my left… “

  Raina put her hand over her eyes and groaned. Evelyn rolled her eyes, and even Rini, though normally as reserved in crowds as any Fae, allowed herself a raised eyebrow.

  Trevor couldn’t help but notice the reactions. “Uh, right, I mean… I would like to introduce our esteemed emissary from the Wood Fae, Rini.”

  “Thank you, Mister Hawkins.” Rini replied regally.

  The smile returned to Trevor’s face. “But first, Starr has an update on his patrolling.”

  Starr, again wearing the disputed pants along with a leather jacket, walked bare-chested to the front of the group.

  “Thank you, big guy.” he said with a wink. “Okay, my lovelies, here’s my report on life six inches off the ground.”

  He was never this sassy before he became a cat! I thought, a grin on my face.

  “One,” he continued, “You guys have to watch where you’re peeing. Catnip is my ganja, and I do not like it with a side of uric acid, ‘kay? Next… “

  I glanced over to Raina, and she was smiling as well. She had met Starr as a cat first but had adjusted to his true form very quickly. She was as happy as anyone about his comfort in his current situation.

  “Next, I discovered and disabled three remote cameras that had been disguised as bird’s nests.” He rubbed his head as he recounted the next part. “Some birds were fooled as well, and didn’t take too kindly to my messing with their homes.”

  “Jack, have you had a chance to examine the devices?” Trevor asked.

  “Yeah, just finished.” Jack replied. It was only then that I noticed that Katsu was sitting close to Jack, instead of her sister. “Pretty standard waterproof camera, operated remotely. It has cellphone guts, so it could have been operated from anywhere. I’m still working on tracing the signal, though.”

  “It would seem that our mysterious foe has temporal resources, as well as supernatural connections.” Angelique chimed in. “And while their identity is still a mystery, we do have some news on that front.”

  Rini arose from her seat as if on cue and glided forward until she was standing by Starr. “My brethren in the Twilight and Morning-tide Fae have reported incursions on the borders of their realms. They were undetected at first, but the recent attack strained our unknown ‘friends’ resources and made them known.”

  “Moving big-ass spiders is hard to hide, even in realms as vast as the Fae have.” Trevor added.

  “What of the Wood Fae?” Evelyn asked.

  “Our own realm has not been used for any nefarious purposes.” Rini responded. “However, that’s only because so many of us cross in between our world and this one. If we were as insular as our Fae cousins, then we, too would have unused pathways that could be exploited by others.”

  “Those other pathways have been closed down.” Trevor said. “And believe me, if the Twilight Fae discover who violated their borders, then our problems could be eliminated for us.”

  “Our darkening siblings aren’t as fast and loose about traveling into their realm as we have been.” She looked at Raina, the first time she had looked directly at her the entire meeting. “They know the dangers.”

  I swallowed hard. I had no idea what was going down between them, but I doubt that even Raina realized just how deep she was in.

  “Then we will continue tracing the digital trail.” Katsu said, surprising me with the sound of her voice. She was overly formal, as many supernatural beings were in their language. There wasn’t a trace of accent, however. She sounded like any young woman one could run into on the street.

  “I will impose on your sister Hatsu, then.” Angelique said in her own unique accent. It was obviously there, but sounded a bit like three hundred different accents mixed up with an English vocabulary.

  The meeting broke up, and I turned to ask Raina what she was going to do, but I was too late.

  She was gone.

  * * *

  The desire to experience a sense of oneness with all of creation is a common goal of mysticism, no matter the regional origin. I had never experienced such a state, though I wanted to.

  I wasn’t feeling at one with the universe at that moment either, but my bottom definitely felt like it had become molecularly bonded with the sofa I was sitting on.

  In other words, I was stoned.

  I had never been that stoned before. I had also never smoked Fae cannabis, either. The stuff that Rini had shared with me once we retreated to the meditation room was stronger than any weed I had yet encountered.

  And I was smoking more.

  “I’m surprised that you smoke, you know, cannabis sativa.” I said, taking a drag off of Rini’s light green joint.

  “Well, I also smoke cannabis indica.” she said, taking the joint from me.

  “No, you know what I mean." I partially slurred. "Vampires don't smoke weed, they smoke deadly nightshade. I'm surprised that Fae don't smoke, I don't know… oakmoss, or something."
>
  “That’s just gross!” she replied with mock indignation. She chuckled, and soon we were both laughing.

  “Besides,” she continued when the laughter subsided, “we both have a common ancestor, humans and Fae.”

  “We do?” I hadn’t heard of this.

  “Sure do.” She exhaled and passed the joint. “The same unknown mystical race mixed their DNA with primates. They tried this twice… one made the Fae, and the second made humans. There’s a legend that they produced a third race, something so incomprehensible that even the Fae can’t imagine them, but nobody’s seen a trace of this third bloodline, so we think it’s just a myth.”

  The joint was having it’s effect, opening my mind but turning my muscles to mush. “Damn.”

  “Uh, Annie?” she said, her head cocked as if she were listening.

  “Yeah?”

  “I think it’s good you’re so high right now, because I’m getting serious messages from Angelique that you should do that...” she made a walking motion with her fingers, “… astral travel thingy you do.”

  You know, it might feel good to shed this body for a few right now I thought. All I could say, however, was “sure.”

  * * *

  I walked down the hallway without bothering to be discreet. I didn't have to be… my body was snoozing peacefully back in the meditation room. I knew that there were some who could still sense me, but I had the advantage of knowing where they were at.

  I walked into an unoccupied room and turned to the wall. On the other side were Angelique and Hatsu, and Angelique obviously wanted me to hear what they were talking about.

  I had always minded things like walls and doors out of habit. However, there was nothing forcing me to do so when in spirit form.

  “Well, here goes nothing.” I said to nobody.

  I walked forward, through the wall, and into the space between the rooms. A small hole allowed sound to freely pass into the space, and I soon heard familiar voices.

  “She is settling… in very well.” Angelique’s said with her usual cool delivery.

  “That is good to hear.” I had only heard her speak a few times, and one of them was in spirit form like I presently was in, but I’d know Hatsu’s voice anywhere. “There are many for whom the reawakening of the Sorceress is a very concerning occurrence.”

  “Vincent and I have the situation well in hand, I can assure you.”

  “You have to admit that, given your history with such things, such an assurance carries little weight.”

  “I, of all people, want this time to be different.”

  “This one is especially strong. If you fail again, the repercussions could be worse than before.”

  “I am fully aware.”

  Damn, I thought, neither of these two are giving a single thing away. It’s like a meeting of the ice water sisterhood!

  “I am satisfied.” Hatsu said after a pause. “This one has resources the others did not. You are utilizing them well.”

  “I am honored by your assessment.” Angelique said, and then glanced my way.

  Suddenly I was flying backwards, no regard given to wall or other obstacle. I hit my body hard, sitting up suddenly on the sofa.

  Rini was ready, bong in hand. She passed it to me without fanfare.

  “Hit this. Quickly.” she deadpanned.

  I did as she said, inhaling deep. As I exhaled, I felt the stirrings of the mother of all headaches begin. Slamming back into my body that fast always did that to me.

  The next thing Rini was handing me was a tub of chocolate ice cream. “Eat.” she said, handing me a spoon.

  After a few more rounds of Fae weed, the headache started to recede. I had quite a bit on my mind, and decided to ask the one person I could for answers.

  I started to get up, but found that my body just didn’t want to rise just yet. A combination of astral traveling and powerful Fae ganja were conspiring to make me rest.

  “Tomorrow.” I said to no one in particular, and then drifted off.

  * * *

  I awoke the next morning in my bed, unsure of how I got there. I assumed that Vincent had found me passed out in the meditation room and moved me, even being careful to fold my clothes on the side table.

  Dammit, I was naked around Vincent and was too wiped out to enjoy it! I thought, and started putting on my clothes.

  The walk down to the kitchen was one spent lost in thought. How many Sorceresses has Angelique known? And how many have gone well? Has ANY gone well?

  I stopped halfway to the kitchen, a note taped to a vase of fresh flowers. Please join me in the garden was written in Angelique’s distinct handwriting. I took a deep breath, inhaling the perfume-like fragrance of the flowers, and decided that a morning trip to the garden sounded splendid.

  I found Angelique outside, sprinkling rose petals on the ground around her prize rosebushes. She smiled when she sensed my presence and started talking without looking away from the now-pink grounds.

  “These are the last of this year’s rose petals.” she said dreamily. “Many have wondered how I grow my roses to smell like they do. Few appreciate feeding not just the roots, but the spirit of the plant as well. The beauty of a rose is a legacy to be built on, not just bred.”

  I stood behind her, and she turned to face me. She ran her hand down my cheek. “My beautiful Annabelle,” she said, “so full of awe, of questions. Would you like to know how I keep these flowers looking so… young? How the colors change with the decades?”

  She was weaving her usual spell of beauty and wonder, but my mind would not be swayed. “How many Sorceresses have you known?”

  “A few.”

  “What, are there so many you’ve lost count?”

  “No, I remember everyone." she said, looking wistful for a moment. "I just prefer to think of them as people, not numbers. I remember every name, every face… young or old."

  “Did any of them live to be old?” I asked, dreading the possible answers.

  “The vast majority.” She smiled, and it drove away my mounting fear.

  We walked over to the old wrought-iron table we kept out there and sat on matching chairs.

  “Thanks for the heads-up.” I said, still breathing a sigh of relief.

  “I promised no more secrets.” she answered. “I knew that Hatsu wanted to talk about your progress.

  “You mean my stability?” I tried not to sound hurt. Hatsu didn’t know me.

  “Which you are acing!” she assured me. “And, to be honest, I have a great deal of history to tell you. I just have too much to give you all at once.”

  I thought furiously for the right question. She doesn’t want to talk numbers, that’s obvious? Where should I start? After a moment, I got an idea.

  “Who was the first Sorceress you knew?”

  Angelique smiled. “Her name was Petronia. She was already a powerful Sorceress when we met. Our paths crossed in northern Italy somewhere around nine-fifty or so.”

  “That’s over a thousand years ago!” I gasped.

  “Closer to eleven hundred years, actually." she replied. "She was beautiful… the most beautiful woman who didn't carry your soul that I've ever met. She first came to slay me but was moved by my quest to prey on the predator. She not only loved me, she joined me on many occasions."

  That must have been a fearsome sight I mused. A beautiful, terrifying sight.

  “We loved for a hundred years, before she succumbed to time.” she continued. “Before she went she asked me to watch over the next to come. I promised her that I would.”

  “You’ve been doing this for a millennia.” I said plainly.

  “Well, it gives me purpose, but that’s not the only reason I took up the quest, to be honest.” she said, looking at me shyly. It wasn’t a look I was used to seeing on her.

  “Then why?” I asked. “Why dedicate so many years to this?”

  “Because Petronia told me that walking such a path would lead me back to you.” she said. She
stood up and looked down at me, smiling again. “And it has. Many times.” she said as she strode away, leaving me in puzzled silence.

  * * *

  I found Raina sometime later, down in the latest addition to the vast basement complex that extended just beyond the walls of the huge mansion.

  We had spent much of the previous few months outside, practicing magick where there weren’t so many breakable objects. The impending cold weather had led Vincent to have the room just beside Jack’s computer nerve center transformed into a training room, beefed up walls and fireproofing included.

  Raina had set up a series of training targets… actually Jack’s extra Mountain Dew cans… along a pommel horse and was shooting small puffs of air, via magick, to knock them down one by one. Her face was set, though her mind seemed far away. I walked up behind her, letting the door close naturally to announce my presence.

  “Hey.” she said, not turning around.

  “Hey.” I walked farther into the room and leaned against a stuffed training dummy. “Rini still here?”

  “No.” she replied, sighing. “And I don’t know if she’ll be back.”

  “Damn.” I crossed my arms and hugged myself. I knew Raina was rarely the hugging kind… for her own drama, anyway.

  “Damn is right.”

  “What happened?”

  “I fucked up.” Raina pushed another bolt of air towards the targets, this time stronger, denting the can.

  “Want to talk about it?” I didn’t know what else to say. I could tell that this time was final.

  “Talk about finding a soul mate only to fuck it up?” she asked, her face beginning to tighten. Suddenly she yelled and threw her hand out in front of her.

  Crack! A can disintegrated, along with a chunk of the wall behind it.

  Raina just brushed herself off. “Not yet.” she said, striding away.

  I looked through the hole in the wall, only to see Jack on the other side looking back.

  “I think you guys should aim the targets away from this wall.” he said calmly, and walked away.

  * * *