“Selena, you’re creating a storm. You need to stop before it’s too late.” Sterling was clearly concerned for my well-being, but I didn’t care. I wanted power, more and more power.
“No, Sterling. Stopping is what I never should have done in the first place.” My voice no longer sounded like my own. Somewhere deep inside, that should have struck me as being odd, but instead, I dismissed it. I went to the kitchen and gathered a dustpan and a trash bag.
Returning to the bathroom, I scooped all of the ashes into the bag. A quick look in the bathroom mirror showed the only physical change I harbored was in my eyes. Whereas before they were brown and now electric blue orbs glared back at me. It barely registered in my mind before I raged on. Walking back through the kitchen, I opened the back door from ten feet away with just a flick of my wrist and I journeyed out into the woods surrounding my cabin. There were ten acres of primitive forest on my property, so I had to walk quite a ways to find the perfect spot.
Lightning crashed outside and thunder echoed across the hill, reminding me of the Civil War battles from over a century ago. I felt the fear, sickness and death of soldiers from centuries past surround me as I walked farther into the woods. A momentary flicker of fear passed through me as disembodied spirits flew through my body. The emotion was gone within seconds and it was replaced with orgasmic bliss as another wave of magic filtered through my veins, casting any remaining fear aside.
The power vibrated through my body, bringing a release that was one hundred times more satisfying than any sexual encounter I’d ever had! My legs shook, almost buckling at the knees and still, I craved more, needed more. Though it was dusk, I could see the gray and white clouds swirling above me as I walked barefoot over the land. Soft, rumbling thunder followed my every step as more magic built inside of me. Arriving at a partially cleared area of the forest, I opened the bag of ashes. My mouth formed a small ‘o’ as I blew them into the wind I had created.
“Be gone from sight. Be gone from sound. Return to your place, beneath the ground. So it is. So shall it be.”
Once the ashes were dissipated, I raised my hands to the sky, calling the wind to do my bidding.
“Erase the scent. Erase the mark. Erase the hold upon my heart. So it is. So shall it be.”
Thunder pounded and lightning crashed around me as an ice cold breeze blew through my bones. It painfully tore away any remaining claim Shawn ever had on me and I watched as green wisps of green, smoky haze lifted out of me, dispersing into the night sky. Light beams in various shades of black, red, and brown shot into me with the force of a tornado. I could feel myself being repeatedly lifted and set back down in place as each burst rocked through me, through my soul. I gave no thought to anyone or anything else. Each burst of power consumed my entire body, mind and spirit.
“Oh my goddess!” my voice was raspy, barely more than a whisper and yet another thing about myself I no longer recognized. In the chaos that swirled around and in me, I lost track of time and place. Hovering between the worlds of the living and the lands of the dead, I teetered on the brink of consciousness, surrendering to the unknown and welcoming the pleasure of it all.
Beyond redemption, I dropped to my knees as the last psychic parasite was torn from my body and replaced with something more. What that something was, I did not know. But it felt amazing.
“Take it all! I beg you! Fill me with whatever you choose, Goddess!” I shouted, using every last ounce of energy I possessed and collapsed face down on a bed of leaves and dirt as the remainders of my echoing plea was smothered by the burning forest around me.
“I’m so screwed,” was my last conscious thought before the darkness claimed me.
Chapter 8
I SLEPT FOR a short time and when I awoke in the pre-dawn hours, there were drops of rain pounding down upon my back. I was soaked and chilled to the bone. Spitting out leaves and dirt, I painfully rolled over, barely able to sit up. My head was throbbing with a force to rival any death-metal band. Every breath I took sent pain radiating through my entire body.
I looked around the vast clearing where a beautiful forest of various trees had once stood tall and proud. The rain continued to pour as if the stars themselves were weeping, clearly devastated by my actions. There was something wrong. I should never have been able to cause this much destruction. I’m a witch, but a good one. Where did the power I’d used come from? Surely, there must be an explanation. Maybe I was still asleep?
I pinched myself as hard as I could. I gasped, inhaling quickly from the pain. The scent of death overwhelmed my senses. Smoldering embers were all that remained of my ten acre property. I had decimated everything.
“Sterling! Sterling!” I scrambled to my feet, fighting the urge to vomit as panic rolled over me. I ran through the woods, coming upon the rubble that only hours ago had been my home. It was flattened and charred. Little wisps of gray smoke plumed into the dense, acrid air.
“Oh my goddess! What have I done? Sterling!” I wailed into the silence.
Turning in circles, I saw only destruction. Falling to my knees again, I cried and cried as soul wrenching sobs tore through my body. I rocked back and forth, holding my insides together for I was sure they were being ripped out with grief. “What am I going to do?”
“For one, you’re going to stop that pitiful crying and get up!”
His ghost was just as snippy and bossy as he was. It didn’t matter. I’d let his ghost haunt me and berate me for eternity. I deserved it.
“You’re right. I am pitiful, I should’ve listened to you and now I’ve killed you” I wailed again.
“Yes. You should have listened. Now, just look at the mess you’ve made. Lucky for you, I have eight more lives but that doesn’t fix it. Do you have any idea how much it hurts to die and not to mention, the agony of coming back to life. Oh and don’t forget how horribly awful my fur looks! I look like death warmed over! It will take weeks before I feel or look like my old self again. Now, stop that god-awful sniveling and get up. We need to leave here as soon as possible. Bad things are coming for us. Very bad, Selena.”
I looked up to find the most beautiful pair of green eyes glaring at me. “Sterling!” I scooped him up, holding his soaking wet, matted body tight to my chest, I sobbed “I’m so sorry” over and over again as I wept tears of joy. His protests were muffled as I continued to hug and kiss his charred little head. “Those bits will grow back. I promise. You’ll be handsome again and good as new in no time! I’m so glad you’re alive! Please forgive me?”
“Let go of me! I can’t breathe you blubbering ninny! Are you trying to kill me?” He tapped my face with his furry, gray paw with the force of a slap and I dropped him immediately. “Now get it together, Toots! Didn’t you hear a word I said? We have to get out of here and I do mean now!”
Sterling was right, but how were we going to go anywhere? I really wasn’t capable of functioning yet. There were so many things I needed to process and I had no idea where to begin. I needed coffee to clear my foggy brain and unfortunately my coffee beans, grinder and brewer were all roasted beyond recognition. I sat in the debris and rubbed my pounding temples.
“Sterling, do you know where my crystal is?”
“Yes. When you went all apocalyptic, I snuck into the house and grabbed it. I hid it down by the creek in that huge tree that those pesky squirrels love so much. There was a hole in the trunk, so I put it in there. I tried to go back into the house to get your wallet, but that’s when the house exploded and I don’t remember anything after that.”
“Will you please go get our pendulum? Maybe the crystal will help me to gather my thoughts.”
“Sure. As always, I’m here to serve you. Even though I came back from the dead, I will just…”
“Sterling, not now.” I watched as he scampered off into what remained of the woods, his tail pointing straight up in the air. “I will be kissing his ass for years after this.” I shook my head, causing more intense streaks of pain that felt
like they’d blow through my forehead.
As I sat there trying to come up with a plan to save our asses, I tugged on my ring. “My ring! Holy crap I forgot to destroy the ring!”
I pulled and pulled but the damn thing wouldn’t come off! Like an idiot, I spit and slobbered all over my finger. Still it wouldn’t budge. On a scale of one to ten, the severity of the situation registered at least an eleven. In my fury driven frenzy I had forgotten to get rid of the one item Shawn and his troll would be able to track me with. The damn diamond. “Lovely.”
“Here. You know, you really should’ve gotten rid of that ring? He can track you through that and we will never be safe.”
I caught the crystal and rolled my eyes at my ever helpful familiar. “Thanks so much Sterling. I hadn’t thought of that!”
With dread and defeat, I looked down at my hand. The gold band had melded into the bone of my ring finger and there was no chance I was getting it off anytime soon. Hell, before now I had never even attempted to take it off. For all I knew, it could’ve been like this for quite a while.
“We are so screwed. The council and demon boy are going to have to fight each other to see who gets the privilege of ripping us apart.”
I slipped the crystal pendulum over my head and the weight of it felt more solid than anything had in years. I could feel and see its calming properties shoot through my body. Every one of my nerve endings tingled with life. Once the fog in my mind cleared, I stood and tuned to re-examine my surroundings. I tried to reach out with my mind, mentally begging for a sign of life in the woods around us.
“There are no other creatures here except for you, Sterling. I don’t hear any bugs, birds not even a rabbit. They’re all gone.”
“Duh, I bet you flambéed everything within a two-mile radius. I have been around for a lot of years and I’ve never seen power like that!”
“Great, now I’m a bunny murderess.”
I hung my head in absolute despair, retching and heaving with the shame of what I had done. If I had performed a grounding ceremony, my magic would not have gotten so far out of control.
“This is exactly why magic should never be used for personal gain.” I wiped my mouth with the hem of my torn tank top.
“When the council of Elders catches me, they will have my ass locked up forever. When I die, I’ll go to hell.”
I wasn’t whining, just being realistic. I had created one hell of a shit-storm and there was nowhere to hide. Hell, I couldn’t even go anywhere. I had keys to a car that was melted and smashed beneath the pile of rubble that used to be my beautiful home.
“Shit, shit, and shit. What have I done?” I whispered.
* * *
STERLING AND I walked towards town. “Hopefully no one in Salem Ridge knows what I did yet. I’ll go to the bank, get money out of our account and maybe Dawn will let me use their computer to order us some plane tickets. We’ll go far away from here. We might be able to hide-out long enough to come up with a better plan.”
“I don’t think you’ll be going anywhere, Selena.”
What was Roberta doing there? Startled, I sent her flying with a wave of my hand. My crystal and ring turned black and I felt power building up inside of me again. “Selena control it!” Sterling shouted.
“Yes Selena, control it.” Roberta picked herself up and dusted off her behind with dramatic flair. Her wiry, red-orange hair stood out in angry tufts full of ash and dirt. “Is that any way to welcome a visitor?”
“Screw you, Roberta. Come one step closer and I will fry your slutty, demon ass.”
“Tsk, tsk witch. Such a mouth. Do you kiss Shawn with that filthy hole of yours? What happened to sweet Selena? You have no idea who you’re messing with and I must insist you settle down.” She snarled.
“Oh, I think I know perfectly well who and what you are. I command you to leave now, troll.” I raised my hand again and Roberta raised hers in a mock surrender.
“I really wish you’d hear me out, Selena. I flew all this way. Can’t we just talk like adults? Is it really necessary to resort to theatrics and parlor tricks? Come now, you know you’re no match for me.”
I rolled my eyes and with a flick of my finger, sent her lying through the air once more. Roberta landed with a resounding thump in the pile of debris that used to be my apple grove. The woman truly had nerve! “I told you to leave, Roberta. Staying here will only get you killed. My mother and I have sent stronger demons than you back to Hell and I will not hesitate to send you back there burning and with bells on. You and your lover’s days are numbered.”
My mother and I hunted demons until I met Shawn. Many filthy, ugly creatures fled into Hell just to escape my mother’s wrath. Most of them, we never heard from again. Once in a while, we got a brave one who would come back for more, but my mother was a vehement demon hunting witch. Almost as if she, herself was possessed with the desire to eradicate them from the earth. I never knew what drove her to become such an avid huntress, but I know she wouldn’t rest until the demon she was after had been killed.
Sometimes, we would hunt them for days, stopping only when she thought I needed to rest, eat or use the bathroom. One of the last hunts I remember kept my mother busy for three weeks. The crafty demon was a shape-shifter who sucked the soul out of every body he hijacked. There were twenty-five funerals in one month. That’s a lot, even for a town of paranormal and human inhabitants.
Roberta lifted herself off the ground with ease and landed a few feet from me. “Really? Where is your beloved mommy?” She laughed like a nasty old hen. The bitch spoke in riddles. No wonder my gut had told me to hate her when we’d met. She was flat-out nuts!
“Screw off, Roberta! Do not bring my mother into this! You know where my mother is, how dare you speak her name? I know way more than I ever wanted to know about you and your demon boy. Neither of you know anything about ‘truth’ so save your hot air for someone who gives a shit! You both sicken me. Maybe you should go running back to your puppet master and tell him I’m coming for him. You both know what I am, the heritage I come from and what I am capable of. Do not toy with me.”
The words that flew out my mouth made me sound much calmer than I felt. I had to hope I’d gotten my point across, but with an idiot of Roberta’s magnitude, chances were, the conversation was far from over. The bitch just kept on pushing my buttons, almost as if she’d hoped I’d kill her and send her funky ass back to Hell.
“Puppet master? Ha! You have no idea. Shawn isn’t the one in charge, Selena. He is a pathetic piece of shit. One might describe him as an end to a means.” She shuffled her feet like a marionette dancer, skipping and shuffling without rhyme or reason.
What. The. F.? Every moment she became more and more insane.
“What are you talking about, Roberta? Never mind, I couldn’t care less. Just go back to wherever you came from before I rip you apart and send your disgusting leftovers into the afterlife.”
“You’re just so cute when you’re feisty.” Again she laughed, scrunching up her face as though she were speaking to a child.
The woman’s voice was like razors on metal. I wanted to rip her throat out and she stood before me running her mouth like she didn’t have a care in the world. More of those homicidal urges pulsed through me, like soothing voices whispering words of love, caressing me with their promises of desires fulfilled. I couldn’t understand my recent urges to inflict suffering and pain, but I loved it!
“I can see why Shawn fell for someone like you, Selena. You’re all cute and needy, but feisty when your feathers get ruffled. Such a turn on for a man who needs his ego and other things stroked day and night. Don’t you love the way he…”
“You know nothing about me, Roberta.” I’d growled like some wild animal. She needed to shut up before I ripped her skinny lips off of her distorted, pig-like face!
We stood there glaring at each other and for the life of me I could not understand why Shawn had fallen into bed with this vile bitch! Roberta McM
anus was around five foot three and a little on the, ahem, chunky side. She resembled a matronly woman in every way possible, clear down to her sensible shoes. Roberta’s eyes were pea-green and the edges appeared to glow with bile yellow rings like a rabid raccoon. As far as her face went, I was truly in disbelief. I’m no beauty queen, but the woman was hideous. Oddly shaped with no cheekbone structure or even a chin! I could only imagine what that creature looked like when she went full-on demon troll! Strange as it was, I almost giggled at the imagery floating through my mind.
“Shouldn’t you still be in Germany stroking his ego, Roberta? I’m sure he misses his little troll whore.”
“Ouch. Kitty has claws, huh? But they’ll need to be sharper if you hope to injure me. Your words are useless. You should shut up and listen once in a while, coward. Isn’t that what you are? A little, whiny coward? Too afraid to face the truth and now look where it’s gotten you. Here with me.” Clapping her hands, she bounced around like a cricket.
“I am so done with this conversation. We’re leaving. C’mon Sterling.”
As we turned to resume our walk, she shouted “NO!”
“Excuse me? Do you really think you can boss me around? Up yours, Roberta.” I once again sent her flying. This time she slammed into a giant, smoldering oak tree in the woods. The full force of my magic was ripping through me, begging me to keep going. “Hurt her some more. Inflict pain, tear her apart.” Shove my fist through her stinking face.
“Sterling, hide.” I whispered and prepared for another round with the troll. I could feel and smell her coming. Her stench, much like a dead, rotten fish on the shore, had surrounded me.
“Please don’t Mistress? Let’s just leave. Staying will only make things worse for us.” Sterling pleaded and patted my leg with his soft paws.
“Be a good girl Selena, stay and chat with me. I promise you’ll want to hear this.” Roberta slithered through the forest on her belly. Not yet in demon form, yet not quite human. I’d forgotten how weird demons could be and how frightening their many forms could appear.
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