Witch Master

by Noah Layton

  ‘I think he is, though.’

  Scarlett slouched back on the couch, resting her head in my lap. ‘What makes you say that?’

  ‘Because he loves you and he hates you. There is no middle ground… He wants us to stop this guy and save our skin, and probably the rest of the world if you’re right about him bringing his minions from the Third Circle through with him. But he can’t tell us outright where this guy is. He thinks of you girls, and probably me too, as his servants. He wants us to prove our worth… But in order to do that we need to use our minds. Which is why we need to get some sleep.’

  ‘Tom’s got a point,’ Lois said, looking between the girls. ‘And if I’m being honest, I really don’t think that the Purple Man would come here and kill even one of us before opening the portal.’

  ‘Why?’ I asked.

  ‘Because we were the ones who threw Rorian into hell in the first place. If the Purple Man somehow manage to bring Rorian back to Earth, we’ll be his first destination. He’ll want the pleasure of killing us all to himself.’

  A silence fell upon the house once again.

  ‘Fuck it,’ I said, ‘If we’re gonna die, I wanna be relaxed before it happens.’

  There was nothing else we could do. A decent night’s sleep right now was the most appealing thing. Scarlett summoned Rel on our way upstairs, tasking him with lookout duties throughout the night (‘Anything for you, my purveyor of hallucinogenics’) and he scuttled to the ground floor, perching on the couch and watching a marathon of some reality TV show while periodically trailing through the house quietly, scampering from hall to hall.

  On the first-floor landing Lois drew the four of us together.

  ‘Listen,’ she started, ‘I think it might be a good idea if we all stayed together tonight. That way we can look out for each other and Rel can reach us all at the same time just in case something happens.’

  I looked between the girls, who all seemed to be in quiet agreement. It was a damn good idea, but it had come totally out of left-field, particularly considering the fact that I had had sex with all three of them in the past few days, and that the acts themselves were drenched in voyeurism and secrecy.

  ‘That… Sounds fine to me,’ I said, knowing that there was no way I was ever going to disagree with such a suggestion, ‘but my bed isn’t exactly big enough to fit all of us. Unless one of you wants to volunteer your own room, that is?’

  They all shared another look, and the same Mona Lisa smile rose to each of their faces.

  ‘Okay,’ I said, forcing a tired smirk, ‘and this is the part where you reveal something else that I don’t know, some spell you’ve got for making things bigger.’

  ‘Not really,’ Brianna said, ‘Although I did seduce a Spanish Duke some time ago who really could have used a spell that made things bigger…’

  ‘I’m gonna go ahead and guess that said Spanish Duke was a gigantic asshole,’ I replied, ‘but still, on behalf of men everywhere, I feel the obligation to say ouch.’

  ‘Oh, he was a real asshole, but that’s beside the point. Come on.’

  I followed the girls back down the hall, where we stopped by a pair of double doors next to the walk-in wardrobe. Lois unlocked them, pushing them wide. Once again I stepped into the darkness – but there was nothing to fear here.

  This was a Warlock’s domain.

  My own bedroom had paled in comparison to the one that the four of us now stood in as Scarlett raised her wand and lit the torches lining the walls. Hell, my apartment paled in comparison to the place.

  A huge queen-sized bed sat against the far wall opposite us, adorned with deep maroon sheets and luscious pillows that framed whoever chose to reside within. The outer walls were a place of work and relaxation – desks and bookcases, a small lounge area and an adjoining bathroom, much bigger than my own. The place had a rustic, hardwood feel to it as if it had been plucked out of an 18th century new England building and modernised in the slightest of ways.

  The kind of room that witches and warlocks would have resided in centuries ago.

  ‘This is the Warlock’s chamber,’ Lois said. ‘It’s where Rorian stayed, and it’s where we rid ourselves of him ten months ago. It’s remained largely untouched since then, but I think now is a better time than any to put it to good use.’

  ‘I mean…’ I started, looking over at the bed, ‘as long as you girls are all okay sleeping in the same bed.’

  ‘Why wouldn’t we be?’ Brianna asked, shooting me a wink out of sight of Scarlett and Lois.

  I had slept with all three of them and we had all loved every second of it, and while it was common knowledge that I had already slept with Lois, I didn’t know what else was out in the open yet. They were open to the idea of me being with more than one of them – hell, it seemed commonplace in their world – but I didn’t know how long it would take for them to adjust to that idea.

  I couldn’t be sure if Lois and Scarlett had shot each other a smile, but after more small talk and giggles the girls scampered off to grab their robes and returned just a short while later, the four of us getting cosy beneath the sheets as the lights dimmed. Lois and Scarlett snuggled up either side of me without a second’s thought, resting their heads against my shoulders and letting their eyes daze, while Brianna rested nearby, letting her wings spread a little.

  ‘This always how it is with warlocks?’ I asked. ‘Did they used to sleep in the same beds as their witches?’

  ‘One of the main reasons they were shunned from society,’ Scarlett said, dozing into sleep. ‘A man sharing his bed with many women didn’t exactly go over well with the New England communities…’

  ‘Pity really,’ Brianna added, ‘men ran the societies and they were the ones deciding not to have three women in their beds… How’s that for self-sabotage…?’

  ‘What a bunch of morons…’ I smiled, trying to ignore how hard I was getting once again. This time, though, I could ignore it. This may have been something that I had fantasised about more times than I could even count, but the day had exhausted me, and I was caught on the plane between striving to keep a lookout for any danger and finally resting after the fact that I had just had a conversation with the Devil only a little while ago.

  Even as the throes of sleep took over and won the battle within my mind, that one sentence kept tumbling back into my consciousness, even as I slipped into dense, blank dreams.

  He knows. He knows where you are.

  Chapter Twelve

  I stuttered awake to a buzzing sound on my bedside table. Remaining perfectly still and looking around myself, I saw no sign of any threats; the door to the chamber was still closed and locked, and my witches were safe and sleeping silently by my sides within the sheets.

  I sat up a little, looking down at my girls from the comfort of the cushioned backboard. Three witches, all thrown together after college as protectors of the state from evil magical forces. I had barely had time to breathe over the last few days with the relentless training that had been thrown at me, but I had learnt a little something about all three of them, not just from what they had told me but from how they had acted.

  Lois had clearly played the part of leader in the absence of a warlock. Any group, even if it’s just two people, naturally ends up having somebody in charge. She had been the most headstrong by far, but she had shown moments of weakness just like anybody would. Even in the sparring arena when we had struck at each other with staffs for hours, her outburst had shown me her true self. She wasn’t just wary of having a new warlock – she was protective over her girls, her witches, because she had been running the coven for so long. She wasn’t just about to let it all go to somebody who had literally invaded their headquarters from the freaking street.

  Scarlett stirred to my right, releasing a long sigh in her sleep. In contrast to Lois she was clearly the biggest risk-taker. I didn’t know if that was down to naivety or just because she had a devil-may-care attitude, but there was another part of me that a
ttributed it to something else. Deep down she was a caring person – it was why she took such an interest in horticulture. She liked to see things grow, and she wanted to have fun while carrying out her duties. Inevitably that made her one that needed to be looked after more than the others. She would no doubt get herself into scrapes in the future that I would no need to get her out of.

  And then there was Brianna. The succubus part of her was one of the most devilish personalities that I had ever met. She was devious, well-read, knowing – and overwhelmingly loyal, thanks to the human side of her. Even if she hung back more than the girls, even if she loved her own company in the depths of the workshop, there was an element of love in her heart that I couldn’t deny. She had pulled me close and looked at me with desire just as Lois and Scarlett did, any even if there were a set of wings protruding from her back, I was just as hot for her as the others.

  They were my witches… My witches. That was a concept that I was still getting used to. And then there was me – their warlock. The last few days had been a complete haze of new experiences, and even if I knew that there was probably no way that I could shy away from this life that I had stumbled into by complete accident, I felt deep down that I didn’t want to. I had a responsibility.

  My whole life I had been bored of limitations and regularity, of the knowing, smug sarcasm of the whole world. I had been baffled by every TV or movie hero who had reluctantly accepted their challenge with trepidation. Upon receiving these powers of mine I had suddenly realised the fear that came with the revelation of a new world, of one that lurked beneath the regularity that surrounded us all…

  But now that was over. I wanted as much of this life as it could offer.

  Real life of course – whatever real was anymore – always has a way of coming knocking.

  Or buzzing in my case.

  My phone went off again, a secondary alert on the message that I had received. Leaning over carefully so as not to wake the girls, I picked it up and turned it in my hand, checking the screen to find a message.

  It wasn’t from Joe, though, who was the only person who usually ever texted me.

  It was Professor Winslow, the head of my program. He was the guy whose crucial lectures I had missed yesterday.

  ‘Shit…’ I whispered to myself, unlocking my phone and opening the email with more than my fair share of apprehension.

  Dear Tom,

  I failed to see you in class yesterday, both your lectures and your seminars. I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt considering that you’re usually always very punctual about attending class, but you need to make sure yourself present from here on out. We’re only a few months away from finals, and it’s not like your first year – at this point every class counts.

  ‘Find discipline, and you will find yourself.’

  Professor S. Winslow

  It even ended with one of his trademark quotes. For a generation that had been choked on social media inspirational quotes with filtered backgrounds, Winslow’s always actually said something meaningful.

  The problem was that he had a point. I had skipped college. Not an issue for a freshman ditching classes to go and get drunk with his buddies, which I had done more than once back then, but this was different. I had committed three years of my life to this thing so far, and I wasn’t about to go and throw it out of the window.

  Even if we were dealing with hell being opened up. Whether or not we stopped it, me missing class would result in failure.

  Shortly after the girls awoke we headed down for breakfast, and I informed them of the situation.

  ‘I know things are tense right now, and if the Devil was telling the truth then it’s a risk, but I’ve been working towards this for a long time, and I can’t afford to skip classes. The way I see it this actually might be a better strategy.’

  ‘How do you see that?’ Lois asked.

  ‘If we split up, as in two of us go to the college and two of us stay here, then we can keep a clearer eye out. We can monitor any emergencies from here, sure, but if we’re all in one place when disaster hits it might not be the best approach. I’m gonna go ahead and guess that none of you have ever heard of video games before.’

  ‘We have, we’ve just never played them,’ Brianna said. ‘We’ve got lives.’

  ‘Says the girl who spends her life in the basement making magical potions.’

  ‘Touché.’

  ‘But that’s beside the point. If you’re playing in a team and you all stand in one place, then if a grenade comes flying in through the window you’re all dead. The area of effect is wider. But if we’re spread out, we’ll be safe.’

  ‘So…’ Scarlett said, ‘you’re saying that if two of us get killed by the Purple Man, then at least there’ll be two of us left to avenge the others… Or at least attempt to avenge them, assuming we don’t get killed in the process?’

  ‘That’s worst case scenario.’

  ‘Y’know, we’ve got a massive collection of horror movies on our digital account downstairs,’ Lois said, ‘the good and the bad. And the very bad. And I’m pretty sure that whenever somebody says ‘let’s split up’ it goes really fucking bad… But, that said, I’m gonna go ahead and agree with you. We’re sitting ducks here.’

  ‘Two things are going to happen next if we keep going the same way we’re going. One; the Purple Man breaks into the coven and tries to take us down. Maybe he uses our blood to open the portal to the Third Circle. That depends on the outcome. Two; he opens the portal using blood from another source, and last time I checked there were plenty of other sources in the state that could be used to drain blood from. My money’s on the latter happening, and if that’s the case then being out in the field in advance means we can get to him faster.’

  I wasn’t just saying this stuff so that I could get to my class – it genuinely seemed the more logical approach to the whole situation. After further discussion we finally managed to agree on the idea. The only other thing we had to agree on was who was going to accompany me to my class.

  Obviously it was Scarlett that threw her hand up immediately like she was sitting in the front row of a seminar.

  ‘Me!’ She said quickly, looking between me and the girls, ‘come on, you’ve all visited a human college at some point. I’ve never been.’

  Lois looked over at me and shrugged, a small smile rising at the edge of her mouth.

  Just like that, with the smallest of motions, I realised that I was steadily taking on the mantle of decision-maker for us. I was the coven warlock, and it was my job to make the call.

  ‘All right,’ I said. ‘But you have to be normal. And you definitely have to keep your head down, too. Winslow’s like a hawk. If he sees somebody in his theatre who isn’t supposed to be there he’ll have you kicked out straight away, and he’ll be looking for me the moment I’m in there too.’

  ‘I will, I promise,’ Scarlett said in earnest.

  I didn’t doubt that she was telling the absolute truth, but whether it would be executed in the most effective of ways was beyond me.

  An hour later and we had showered and dressed, and were heading out of the house. A pang of dread hit me as I opened the front door, but I quickly came to the conclusion that there was no way the Purple Man would attack in broad daylight.

  As long as we stayed out in the open we would be safe.

  ‘Just be careful,’ Brianna said, hanging back from the light at the front door, ‘You won’t believe the lengths that magical beings will go to in order to accomplish what they want. This guy could have been watching us all night.’

  ‘We’ll call the second anything happens,’ I said.

  ‘Us too,’ Lois said, the four of us standing in the doorway. There was a moment of quite before Lois and Brianna hugged me, drawing in Scarlett in the process. ‘This is so weird,’ she continued, ‘Things have never been this dangerous before. Trust it to happen the moment our freaking warlock decides to show up…’

  ‘I prom
ise it’s just a coincidence,’ I smiled, looking over at Brianna to see what I thought I was seeing. ‘Are you crying?’

  ‘No,’ she said quickly, drawing away from us, ‘I’ve just been looking at the light for too long…’

  I had just made a succubus shed tears. If this were a video game there should have been some kind of achievement that was unlocked for doing that.

  Checking my staff hidden away inside my coat, Scarlett checking her wand, the two of us set off for the college.

  I had made sure that we set off at different time than mine and Joe’s usual time to venture down Hawthorne Lane. I would have a lot of explaining to do when I sat down next to him in the hall, but there was no way that I was going to do that now, particularly with somebody like Scarlett on my arm.

  We kept our eyes open all the way to the college, she taking my hand the moment we arrived on campus so as to stray a little further from the safety of my side. She may have been more experienced but it was my duty to keep her safe. I realised now, with the stakes at a real height, how much of a total scrub I was. I knew the core spells, and I knew how to use them, but fighting off against blood magic?

  How the hell was I supposed to do that? I was still just a starter… But I knew that I would do whatever I could.

  I tried to cast the thought out of my mind, which I found beyond easy as I turned to Scarlett.

  She was taking in the sight of the college like it was the first time she had stepped outside in years. Looking up at the old buildings that scattered the campus as we headed across the central plaza was a true experience for her, one that left her mouth hanging agape with amazement.

  ‘What are the buildings like at the college you went to?’ I asked. ‘I’m guessing nothing like these.’

  ‘Not exactly… Ours are much older. They’ve been around for centuries. Still, we’ve never had a case at your college before. We only ever tend to go to places that we need to go. Never an off-day when you’re killing creatures… And trying to save your reputation.’