What a Witch

by Colleen S. Myers

  No matter how the river rose, our house never flooded, it endured. Through spells of course, but still—and now it was rubble. The roses were shredded and burnt. The second story had a huge hole in it, the roof basically gone. No front door, the windows broken. Vampires even took picks to the front pavement and pulled up the concrete blocks, destroying the path.

  I walked up to the front door and touched the doorjamb. The house shivered. The hallway led to an open living room to the right and kitchen to the left.

  I remembered the cuddling on the L-shaped velvet sofa with my family and watching TV. Cell phones didn’t work in the coven but anything you could get a direct line for such as cable did. No one used home phones anymore, but if they did, it was a sure sign of a coven.

  The last movie we watched before the Madness was the Kingsman and the Golden Circle. My brother was sure he was going to be a secret agent and beat up the bad guys. When it came right down to it, we all knew that we weren’t going to be anything but witches and work for the covens, but it was nice to dream. Josie was tiny at the time, two and terribly sweet. That little girl got into everything; we had the gates up and she puttered around the room while we watched. Mom and Dad snuggled. I threw popcorn at Alex.

  My eyes watered. None of us knew that was the last night we would get to hang out together as a family. Now the cushions on the couch had been ripped open. Water damage and rot littered the room.

  I turned to the kitchen and the starch went out of my knee, and I sort of just sat hard on the ground.

  Aunt Betty lay there still. Her throat slit, a pool of dried blood stained the floor around her. Her hand was out toward the door. I remembered her eyes as she told us to run.

  A sob slid out and then another.

  I collapsed against the wall. I couldn’t take another step toward her. She’d saved us and we’d just left her like this. A layer of flies buzzed around her. I saw faint movement under her skin as it darkened and sloughed off. The smell reached me, and I had to bolt to the living room.

  I retched out the contents of my stomach on the floor, my snot mixing with the vomit. I wiped my mouth then wiped it along my shirt. My body shook. The tears flowed.

  Aunt Betty, with her sarcastic comments and kick-ass baked goods. She liked to do crosswords and knit. I thought of her as old, but she’d only been in her early forties like my mom. It was all about the attitude though. She liked to say she loved old things.

  I curled up on the sofa and curled into a ball like Armando did when he played hide and seek. I needed a break. Only a minute. Just one minute. This was all too much. Mom gone, Dad gone, Aunt Betty gone. Alone, and having to protect Josie. Knowing that I really should, could, and maybe even would do even more than that rolled through my mind. I needed time to think, process, and that seemed like something this world never wanted to give you.

  Why?

  A skittering and Armando jumped onto the couch with me. I pulled his warm body into my side and let myself rest for even a moment in my home, my eyes closed.

  Something brushed my face. I flinched backward.

  Baz held up his hands. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

  I rubbed my face on my sleeve. “No, it’s alright.”

  He inclined his head to the kitchen. “I saw.”

  “My aunt Betty. She defended us and wouldn’t tell the vampires where we were. That is why they did that.” I waved my hand toward her.

  Baz sat next to me on the sofa and put a hand on my shoulder, I let him pull me into a hug. “I am so sorry, cherie.”

  I’d thought I was all cried out but just the small showing of sympathy and the tears started up again.

  “I want to know why they are doing this. Isn’t life already bad enough? Why hunt mages? It doesn’t make sense.”

  His chin nuzzled the top of my head. “I don’t know. We will figure it out soon.”

  He was right, lamenting never helped anything, only action. That reminded me.

  “I’ll be right back.” I mumbled before taking off for the stairs.

  By the time I reached the top, Baz appeared at the bottom. “What are you doing?”

  “I need to grab something. Start taking the supplies to the dock, and we can go after that.”

  “What are you getting?”

  I hated lying to him after his show of comfort but desperate times. “I have to get something for Josie, her favorite toy.” My mind blanked. Toy, how lame was that. Still he bought it.

  His eyebrows lowered but he didn’t follow me up the steps. “Okay.”

  I kept my gaze averted and ran to my parents’ room. Another few seconds and I was at the closet. I never could find the seam. My fingers pried at the carpeting, feeling for the crease until. Yep. There. I was able to fit my fingers under the edge and up.

  Eureka.

  There was no light in the hole, but I knew what contents we kept in here. I pulled out the book and shoved it into my back pack, sliding the top into place quickly. When I stood up, a picture drew my eye.

  I stared. I’d forgotten my dad had this picture. All five of us, Mom, Dad, Alex, me, and a two-year-old Josie. We’d taken it the summer before the Madness. Last family photo. We all looked so damn happy.

  Tears flooded my eyes and my fingers curled. I reached out and ran one fingertip down my mother’s face. Katherine Tremayne, my mother, my rock. The strongest woman I knew, my mom. So pretty and powerful, no one ever guessed at her strength but the family knew.

  My chest tightened and I felt the tears as they fell down my face. I missed her so much. And Dad only a year later. He just kind of gave up. My mother never would’ve left us like that, not if she could help it. Dad though, he sort of faded away without her.

  “Are you, all right?” Baz asked.

  I damn near peed myself to hear his voice so close. I hadn’t even noted him slipping into the room. That showed you how distracted I’d been. What did he see? Was he there the whole time, and I didn’t register it? Did he know about the plans?

  “I’m fine.” I wiped my face off with my shirt. And sniffed loudly. “Why did you follow me?”

  “I thought you might need me.”

  Or he didn’t trust me. My thoughts remained unsaid. I hoped the first, that he cared. Fool that I am.

  He put a hand up at my expression. “Sorry.”

  I grabbed the wooden frame and smashed it on the corner of the desk.

  “Be careful.” He was at my side in an instant.

  Oh, so carefully, I brushed away the shards of glass and pulled out the photo. “My family.”

  Baz indicated the photo and then took it out of my hand after my nod. “You look like your dad.”

  “Yeah.”

  “What happened to him? If you don’t mind me asking.”

  “He left.”

  “The Madness you mean?”

  “No, he just left one day. Went into the woods and vanished.” Abandoned us really.

  “I’m sorry, cherie.”

  “You keep saying that.”

  “I keep meaning it.” He brushed a hand down his face, presumably to wipe off a tear but really, he wanted to touch me or so I hoped.

  I put my hand over his then pulled down his hand and held it. “Come on, we have to go.”

  He nodded. “Did you need anything else?”

  “I wanted the picture for Josie.”

  “I thought you had to get her a …toy.”

  Um. “I couldn’t find it.”

  He appeared to take the words at face value.

  Neither of us moved. And like that the mood changed.

  Baz leaned just a wee bit closer.

  My breath faltered and I got a dizzy. I wet my lips with my tongue.

  His eyes followed the motion. Was he going to kiss me again?

  Armando rolled into the room right at the moment and bounced into my shin. I glanced down to make sure he was okay but the moment was gone.

  He stepped back. “Ready?”

  For
him, yes. For the boat. Eh.

  I nodded. “Let’s go.”

  10

  Baz stood on the dock with his hands on his hips emphasizing his ass. “This boat is tiny.”

  I cleared my throat. Stop looking at his butt, Elle. “It is not a boat, it is a raft. Again, this is not a cruise, this is a merely a means of conveyance. Why didn’t you ride the bike down to Louisville?”

  “Not safe. There are areas where the vampires roam and also the animals in certain areas make overland travel unsafe for one person. I did right after the Madness, but I doubt I could do it again. I barely survived the trip. Plus, they need supplies. This seemed to be a better idea, but now I am doubting that.”

  “Oh, ye of little faith.”

  Baz’s head tilted toward her at the last words. “Do you still believe?”

  “Believe in what?”

  “God.”

  Oh wow. That was not a light topic. “Yes, else why else would all this be going on? There has to be a reason, or this is all useless and I would hate to be useless.” There had to be a purpose.

  He shrugged. “I don’t believe. There is too much hate in the world. Too much selfishness.”

  I studied him. “Yet here you are helping.”

  He grinned. “I don’t believe but I do hope.”

  His eyes darkened as he gazed at me with that last. My cheeks heated. I should let it go but. “What do you hope for?”

  He stepped closer. “I hope for better. I want love, life, laughter.” He reached out a hand and brushed a piece of my hair behind my ear. I shivered at the feel of his fingers and turned my head into the sensation, eyes closed.

  “I quite like you, cherie.”

  I kept my eyes closed. “You don’t even know me.”

  “I want to. Is that going to be a problem?”

  I should have said yes but that isn’t what slipped out. “No.”

  My neck straightened and I realized he moved close enough that I could smell the coffee on his breath. Where did he get the coffee? Was it some sort of candy?

  Armando rolled into my leg, reminding me of where we were standing. On the dock. In the open. Not the best time to be having this discussion.

  I stepped back. “All flirting aside, we need to get going.”

  Baz laughed. “I wasn’t flirting. That was a true statement of my intentions. There are so few people nowadays, when you meet someone you like, I feel it is important to be honest.”

  His words caused a shiver.

  I wrestled the boat into the water, ignoring his statement. The rigid inflatable raft drifted into the waves. I pulled it back with the rope and put one foot in the boat to steady it, holding the side against the dock in a move rife with practice. “Okay. In.”

  Baz hesitated, stepping one foot to the other. His hands clenched and he took a big step into the boat.

  I miscalculated his weight. The boat slid out into the waves due to his sudden leap, pulling me into the water.

  When I came up to the surface, I saw the light and heard Baz’s laughter. He was bent over on the boat busting at gut at my expense.

  We would see about that. I was close enough that I swam up to the boat and hid next to it. It rocked as Baz’s laughter tapered off, and he moved to check on me. “Elle?”

  I reached up and grabbed him as soon as his face appeared over the edge.

  He fell with a splash next to me in the muddy water. I dived but I couldn't avoid Baz’s hand. He came up next to me and used my foot to pull me closer. “You wretch!” he said with a laugh.

  My body bumped against his as we treaded water. I could see a drop of water dripping down his cheek, and I resisted the urge to lick it away.

  The knowledge of it must have been in my eyes. Baz drifted closer, his eyes darkened. “You never answered me.”

  “About what?”

  “Being honest.”

  Steam should have risen from my cheeks. “I, um. I didn’t know what to say. There was no dating or anything else growing up. And, I don’t. Um.”

  He smiled at my hedging. “All I need to know is if you like me back.”

  His eyes darkened even more as he stared at me, the gentle lap of the current not enough to distract either of us.

  “I do.”

  His smile spread across his face and both hands went around my waist, puling me closer.

  The splash of a fish breaching nearby distracted me.

  I pushed my hair out of my face. “We should get going.” I scampered out of the water up onto the dock.

  His laughed and whispered, “Coward,” under his breath.

  Baz clambered onto the dock next to me. “So, this is our vessel? You’re not shitting with me?”

  “No feces of any kind.”

  I shook out my hair. The water was pretty cold but we would dry out quick enough. “Okay. In the boat.”

  The look he gave me. Ha!

  “I swear I will be good. No more swimming.”

  He winked at me and cautiously stepped inside. I tossed him the first of the supplies. He piled them up toward the stern. Next went the food. And the armadillo. We couldn’t forget the armadillo.

  We were ready. For what, I didn’t know, but we were ready.

  11

  “So, no traveling by boat at night?” Baz asked.

  I guided the boat onto the river smoothly, close to shore, but far enough away to catch a current. The motor hummed and churned away.

  “No, not safe with the animals and raiders. We honestly will be safer walking around the locks. It is only about one hundred and thirty miles from here to Louisville by water. This raft can go up to ten maybe twelve miles per hour with our weight and there are only two locks. So, we are in luck.”

  “Luck?”

  “The locks are dangerous, full of raiders. It is a natural stopping point that people have to take. It is a natural ambush spot. We get to avoid them with this boat.”

  “And spend more time walking.”

  I grinned. “What, you don’t like walking?”

  “There are better ways to travel. Like my bike. You liked my bike, right?”

  “It was better than I thought it would be. This is quicker, given everything.”

  “Did your dad have any plan for after the worst happened?”

  Where did that come from and how did I respond without giving everything away?

  “Oh, my dad had a plan for everything. If the power grid failed. What to do. If crops failed. Every member of the coven was taught special skills so that essential knowledge was not lost. He was quite smart, my father, and determined.”

  “So why did he leave?”

  “I wish I knew.” Baz opened his mouth to ask me more I am sure, but I got there first. “What about your family, Baz?” He’d dodged the topic earlier.

  He blinked and turned to stare at the water rushing past. “My family is large but spread out. We lived in the country. For some reason the Madness never reached us there. Mainly the big cities. Our coven survived but our organization stunk. The local towns fell and we hid. Recently, the vampires attacked a series of nearby covens and we fled to Cincy for refuge.”

  “Does anyone know why?”

  “From the way they are hunting, they are seeking our powers. But that has never worked.”

  My eyes burned. I saw my aunt dying. The water churned and a large wave smacked against the bow.

  Baz let out a little squeak and I had to laugh. “Sorry.”

  His eyebrows came down. “Sorry?”

  Oh right, he didn't know. “I wasn’t paying attention to the water. So, um, you have a big family?”

  He appeared confused but went with it and nodded. “On my father’s side. He was one of eight, so I got a lot of cousins.”

  “What about brother and sisters?”

  “My mom and dad were high school sweethearts. She died in childbirth with me.”

  His words tugged at my heart strings. “Sorry.”

  “Yeah, my dad never got over
it. He kind of went wild. I had lots of ‘mothers’ after that, but no real mom. Know what I mean?”

  I knew exactly what he meant and damned if it didn’t make him sexier. “Yeah. When my mom died with the Madness, my dad stopped planning. He made sure the kids were settled and just gave up.”

  “My dad didn’t want anything to do with me. I reminded him of my mom and, well, my uncles raised me. I was pretty wild.” He winked.

  “Was?” Still is more like.

  “Oh yes, I’m an upstanding citizen now. I take care of my clan.” He raised his right hand in a solemn swear gesture.

  The boat rocked distracting me. In the distance, I saw animals in the water. Shit. We were close. “Get down.”

  “What?” he said.

  “Get down on the floor and just lay there.” I turned the engine off and tilted the engine up and out of the water.

  “What?”

  I had a damn parrot with me. “Just do it. I don't have time to explain.”

  Baz sat down on the boat bottom and stared at me.

  “All the way down.” I stepped over the seat between us and laid down next to him. Armando cuddled in the bow of the boat, sleeping as per usual.

  I patted the deck. “Down here quick.”

  He clambered next to me. “Wha-”

  I covered his mouth at the first hiss.

  His eyes widened.

  I held a finger over my mouth.

  Something bumped the boat.

  A series of hisses followed and cruised around the boat.

  Baz pulled me in close to his body. His mouth rested against my cheek. “What is this?”

  I turned so my lips were by his ear. “Some pets my brother left in the water. They will recognize me not you, so better not to upset them. They’ve been trained to attack vampires.”

  His laugh rumbled against my chest. “They attack vampires. Nice. Why do they hiss that way?”

  “They are a hybrid. You know how things went all catawampus after the Madness? We found these alligators that traveled up the river and Alex trained them.”

  “So, we are safe right?”

  “Yes, just stay quiet.”