Bell, Book and Dyke - New Exploits of Magical Lesbians

by Barbara Johnson, Karin Kallmaker, Therese Szymanski

Lily shrieked.

  "Sorry to startle you." Sidling up behind her, Jany kissed Lily's neck. "You nervous about the rally today?"

  "I guess." Twisting around, Lily kissed Jany on the mouth. "Thank you for supporting me in all this."

  "Hey, my membership in PETA is up to date too. But really, I've sensed something bothering you these last few days. Is it all the stuff you learned from Mandy?"

  "It's been a lot to think about. You know, I always felt drawn to the sea, though my father never took me to any beach. When I came to Rehoboth after his death, I felt like I was finally where I belonged. And now I know why."

  Jany hugged her. "I'm certainly glad you found your way here. And if it turns out I have my very own Samantha Stevens—what a bonus."

  "You always did have a thing for blondes. Too bad I'm not one of them."

  "Ah, there's always the exception to the rule, and I happen to like my dark-haired, blue-eyed beauty." She turned to the refrigerator. "What would you like for breakfast?"

  "I think just some raisin toast." She sat at the table while Jany made the toast, as well as eggs for herself. "Do you remember when Kathy's mom was killed?"

  "Yeah, it was the talk of the town for weeks. Killed by a shark! That had never happened here before and never since."

  "How did Kathy take it? I mean, she was all of thirteen. She must have been devastated."

  Jany slid the eggs out of the frying pan onto a plate and sat down with Lily at the table. "Now that you mention it, she didn't really seem all that upset about it. I remember we all thought it quite odd. She didn't have a lot of friends in school. She mostly hung with Clarissa and Gwendolyn."

  "Who'd she live with afterward? What about her father?"

  Jany looked up from her plate. "Why all the sudden interest in Kathy? You don't really like her, do you?"

  "No, I don't like her. She just scares me a bit. She's like a caged cat, ready to spring. She could be trouble."

  "Trouble for whom? She's not said or done anything to you, has she? I'll take care of it if she has."

  "No! Stay away from her!"

  Jany pushed her chair back and stood up. "Lily, what's gotten into you?"

  "Please, just do as I ask. Kathy is trouble."

  "I'm not afraid of her, even if she is a witch."

  Lily grabbed Jany's arm. "Please, just promise me?"

  "If it will make you happy, I will steer clear of Kathy." She took Lily's hand. "Let's go get ready for the rally, okay?"

  Rehoboth was not really big enough to have a full-fledged protest march, but it seemed as if thousands of people were gathered on the beach and spilling over onto the main thoroughfare. Looking out over the sparkling sand, Lily didn't see that many sunbathers. It appeared like everyone was there to support the cause. Many of them carried handmade signs. All her hard work to publicize this most passionate of causes was paying off. Across the shimmering water, Navy vessels anchored far into the distance. Could the sailors onboard even see them?

  At the small stage located at the end of Rehoboth Avenue and near the beach, the guest speakers had already started. In addition to lesser known figures, Lily had managed to recruit a prominent university marine biology professor, as well as a Greenpeace expert on sonar's detrimental effects on marine life. Even a Navy representative was scheduled to speak. Shy by nature, Lily had declined to speak herself.

  All along Rehoboth Avenue, various organizations had set up booths covering everything from the evils of vivisection to encouraging the spaying and neutering of pets. Loudspeakers erected along the avenue and at the beach allowed people not in the immediate vicinity of the stage to hear what was going on. Lily was thrilled to hear the reactions of the crowd to what the speakers had to say. At one point, a counter-protester managed to get up on stage and take away the microphone.

  "You bleeding hearts will be sorry when we're attacked by extremists," he shouted. "You can't stop our military from protecting us by whatever means necessary! You care more about dumb animals than you do people!"

  A police officer dragged him off the stage as the crowd surged forward. Lily was almost afraid her peaceful protest rally would turn into a brawl, but people calmed down after he was gone. It was inevitable that individuals with dissenting opinions would attend. Lily herself had been to Washington many times over the years to show her displeasure with various right-wing causes as their supporters marched down Pennsylvania Avenue.

  She saw Tara and Rhiannon coming toward her. She smiled, thinking how they made such a cute couple. She couldn't remember seeing Tara so happy. Several people turned to look at them as they walked by. Some pointed and whispered. At one point a little girl ran up to Rhiannon and asked for an autograph.

  "This is fabulous," Tara said.

  "I am so happy. I only hope it helps make a difference."

  "How can it not?" Rhiannon said. "Several reporters have already approached me for my opinion."

  Lily hugged her. "That's wonderful. Quotes from a celebrity are always good."

  Rhiannon blushed. "Well, I don't know if I qualify as a celebrity."

  "Of course you do, my sweet," Tara said, then kissed her full on the lips.

  Several cameras clicked at once. Lily frowned, worried that Miss Delaware might now receive some bad publicity.

  "Don't you worry, Lily," Rhiannon said. "If I lose my crown, I'll be in good company with Vanessa Williams."

  Lily grinned, remembering the scandal that had surrounded the former Miss America. "You two go on. Enjoy the day."

  The sun shone brightly overhead. There was nary a cloud in sight. As the day wore on, many people put down their signs in favor of beach umbrellas, but Lily felt the day was a success. If even just fifty people would write to their Congressional representative, it could help make a difference. And people were spending money like crazy. Lily had even seen Harold Jeeves beaming.

  Kathy disdainfully surveyed the throngs of people. Despite her words of support, she really thought Lily was making too much of the Navy tests. Who really cared if whales and dolphins had ear problems? She had relished the idea though of harnessing her powers, as well as those of the coven, to create some true havoc. Thunderstorms were so lame. What a triumph it would be to sink a ship!

  Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Jany walking in the street. Her nemesis. Sure, they supposedly had a playful competition, but Kathy resented Jany's popularity. And it still rankled her that not only had Jany stolen Tara away from her, but Lily as well. She could feel the anger welling up inside her. It would be so easy to hurt her.

  As Jany walked under a streetlamp, Kathy spoke some words under her breath. She smiled as she heard the sharp crackle of the glass globe. Then suddenly, the sound ceased and she literally saw the cracks disappear. She looked around and saw Mandy staring at her long and hard, her disapproval palpable.

  Scowling with frustration, Kathy turned on her heel and left. Mandy was really beginning to get on her nerves, high priestess or no. And if the truth were told, it was a position Kathy felt was rightfully hers. Why should some relic from the old world run things?

  "Are you okay?" Sarah asked Mandy as they headed home.

  Thinking of what she had seen Kathy attempt, Mandy did not answer right away. Could she have been mistaken?

  "Mandy?"

  "I'm sorry? What?"

  "You've been awfully distracted this last hour or so. Is everything all right?"

  No, ifs not, Mandy thought, but she answered, "Of course. I think I might just be a bit tired." What am I going to do? I have to tell the coven.

  "It was a long day."

  "But I think it was quite successful," Mandy said. "I can't believe the Navy even sent someone to speak to us."

  Sarah snorted. "Yeah, like anything he said was true."

  "It shows that they take us seriously. And it sort of lends us legitimacy, don't you think? In a weird sort of way." Maybe I could try another binding spell.
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  "I think Lily was very happy with the turnout. And all the local news stations were there. The Navy may have brought their ships to our shore, but they know we'll be watching them."

  When Mandy didn't answer, Sarah touched her arm. Mandy jumped. Sarah was looking at her with wide eyes, her concern evident.

  "Something is wrong. Tell me."

  I can't. Not yet. Mandy kissed Sarah's cheek. "I'm fine. I'll see you tomorrow night at Lucy's. Nice of her to let us have our gathering there again." She stepped off the curb and waved her protest sign. "Be careful going home."

  "Mandy! Lookout!"

  Mandy looked up in time to see a car swerve to avoid a ginger cat and head right for her. She stood frozen, unable to move. Run! her mind shouted, but her legs stayed still.

  Sarah screamed as the car struck. Seconds later, the driver got out, visibly shaken. "Dear Lord, what have I done? I swear I didn't see her. Only the cat. Oh God ..."

  Sarah knelt beside Mandy's inert body. Blood gushed from a head wound. She felt for and found a faint pulse. "Someone call nine-one-one," she commanded.

  Later that night, at a hastily called meeting, Sarah told the other members of the coven what had happened. "The driver swerved to avoid hitting a cat. Mandy had just started to cross the street."

  "Is she going to be okay?" Sage asked, wringing her hands.

  "She's got a broken shoulder and a severe concussion, plus lots of bruises and contusions. She needed stitches for a gash on her left temple." Sarah took a deep breath. "She was thrown kinda far. She's in a coma right now, but the doctors say it's nothing to worry about."

  "How could this have happened?" Blossom asked, her face white. "I know she uses a protection spell daily."

  "Maybe she got careless," said Ruth. "She's been preoccupied lately, and I don't think it's just about Lily's project."

  Sarah started to cry. "I feel so responsible. Why didn't I do something?"

  Judith took Sarah into her arms. "You couldn't have done anything, my dear. Don't blame yourself."

  In the flickering candlelight, the women all looked at each other, apprehension and worry in their faces. All, that is, except

  Kathy. The silence deepened, each woman lost in her own thoughts. Somewhere in the house, a clock ticked.

  "What are we going to do?" Clarissa finally asked.

  "We have to be strong for Mandy," Judith said. "We'll use our magick to make her well."

  "But we're stronger with thirteen," Lucy said.

  "I have the answer to that," Kathy said. "We know that Lily belongs to us—that she's one of us. Isn't it her right to take Mandy's place? After all, our mothers came first, followed by the daughters. Mandy has no daughters."

  "If you want to get technical," Judith said, "she should take your place. After all, your mother took the place of her mother." She looked around the room. The others shifted uncomfortably, averting their eyes.

  Kathy's eyes blazed dangerously. "Without me, you are nothing! Do you honestly think your little feel-good energies are enough to accomplish what needs to be done?"

  "Just what is it you think needs to be done?" Judith asked. "What exactly are we talking about here?"

  Kathy leapt to her feet. "Destroy those ships!"

  There was a collective gasp.

  "How can you think about that now? Our concern has to be for Mandy," Cara said, visibly shaken.

  "Besides, you know the Wiccan Rede is to 'do no harm'," Judith said firmly. "If your agenda is so much different from ours, then maybe you should leave this coven."

  Kathy clenched her hands, her stance rigid. "You can't push me out."

  "Yes, we can."

  "You'll be sorry if you do."

  Uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation, Tara spoke up. "I cannot believe, Kathy, that you would threaten us so. We have embraced you into our circle. We have been sisters. What has happened to change you thus?"

  Kathy seemed suddenly contrite. "I do want to help Mandy, but I also feel Lily's passion about what the Navy is doing. Desecrating the sea that way. I don't wish anyone harm." She looked around the circle. "Especially you."

  "You all know our priority tonight needs to be Mandy. Nothing, and no one, else," Judith said, her tone disallowing any argument.

  The woman all nodded.

  Judith rose. "Let us call upon Hecate, goddess of magick and the moon, to watch over our priestess and make her well."

  As they all stood, she made a mental note to later perform a protection spell for her fellow Wicca. Despite Kathy's seeming remorse, Judith didn't trust her, and she began to wonder if she ever had. She had always believed in that old adage about the eyes being the windows to the soul, and from what she'd seen in Kathy's eyes tonight, she wasn't sure Kathy even had a soul.

  After their opening ritual, they sat together in their circle with three lengths of blue cord Blossom had provided from her shop. Swirling ribbons of smoke from incense curled around their heads. The open windows allowed in the sounds of wind in the leaves and ocean waves caressing sand. The tangy salt air was heavy with humidity.

  They braided the cords together, chanting, "Infuse these cords, send healing power, have it grow with every hour." They repeated the chant until the cords were braided, then ended with, "This is our will, so may it be."

  Into the cords, Judith added a topaz for healing and an onyx for protection against someone else's magick. "I will bring this necklace to Mandy tomorrow," she said.

  Smiling, Kathy walked back to her car. Once she was sure the others had all left, she drew an imaginary pentagram in the air and raised her hands to the bright light of the moon. "From me to you, this spell I break, for it was not yours to make. Its path I will abruptly end, help to Mandy I do not send."

  Chapter 7

  Clouds moved in to cover the night sky, making the darkness total and complete. It was still and hot. Even the ocean winds seemed to be stifled, for no breeze fluttered the bedroom curtains. The padding of kitty feet broke the quiet, a mere whisper of noise. In the gloom, cat eyes glowed.

  Lily felt the hands on her body. They were warm and soft. She stretched into their caress, arching her back and willing them to touch every inch of her. She felt her nipples harden as lips brushed against them before a hot mouth sucked them in. She groaned with desire, feeling the wetness begin to flow between her legs. Without warning, her hands were thrust above her head and her wrists were tied together to the headboard. She gasped, struggling against the binds, but feeling her desire grow tenfold. And then her legs were spread wide and the ankles in turn restrained. She was breathing more heavily now, her heart beating fast in her chest. She was completely vulnerable, yet it excited her even more. She had never been so tied up before, and she liked it.

  She opened her eyes to see the dark form of a woman above her. Without the light from the full moon, she did not see the familiar features of her lover, but she was not afraid. Hands stroked her, almost feather light. She wanted more. "Harder," she whispered, and screamed when fingers clamped onto her nipples and twisted. And then the lover kissed her neck and shoulders and collarbone, sending pleasurable shivers up her spine. Teeth grazed her bare throat before biting her sensitive nipples. She whimpered, the shot of brief pain sending a jolt of want to her core. She could feel the wetness flowing from her now. Fingers played with her nipples, alternately squeezing and twisting and caressing. Her lover's tongue moved across her body, lower and lower until she lapped at her wetness, licking her clit, and thrusting inside her.

  Then fingers replaced tongue, and Lily moaned and cried out as the fingers thrust deeper and deeper, harder and harder. She screamed as a fist rammed into her again and again. She fought against her restraints, wanting it to stop and yet not. She lost herself in the sensation of mouth and tongue and hand, fucking her over and over, felt the ropes cut into her tender flesh as she pulled against them. Her orgasm built until it released in an earth-shattering crescendo.
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  "Please," she whispered. "Please."

  Laughter. Lips soft against hers. The sudden release of her wrists and ankles. She could feel the wetness on her thighs and on her cheeks. Desire mixed with tears. She held out her arms. The moon came out from behind a cloud, sending a pale glow into the room and across the face of the woman above her. No, not Jany, someone else. Kathy!

  Lily screamed and screamed.

  "Lily! Wake up! Lily!"

  She slapped at the hands that held her. "Get off of me!"

  "Lily, it's me, Jany. You've had a bad dream."

  Sobbing now, Lily squirmed away until she sat at the bottom edge of the bed. Jany turned on the light before coming around the bed to sit beside her. She tentatively touched Lily's face before putting an arm around Lily's shoulders and pulling her in close. She stroked Lily's hair, softly as she would a child's. She kissed the top of her head.

  "It's okay now. I'm here."

  Lily clung to Jany now, tears still streaming down her face. "I don't understand. It was so real."

  "Tell me. What was real?"

  "I can't. I can't."

  "Can you not remember?"

  Lily hesitated. How could she tell a lie? Yet how could she tell the truth? She couldn't look at Jany. "No, I guess I don't remember. I'm sorry to wake you in such a way."

  "Are you sure you're all right?"

  "Yes. I just need to go the bathroom." She touched Jany's hand, still unable to look at her. She felt violated and betrayed. And guilty for the imagined pleasure. "Can you get me some juice?"

  "I'll be right back."

  When Jany left, Lily hurried to the bathroom and was violently sick. Afterward, she washed her face and brushed her teeth vigorously before taking the time to examine her own body. There were no marks, no flushed skin to indicate she'd had sex. She was barely moist, no swollen lips. She sat on the toilet, too shamed to go back into the bedroom. How could she have had such a dream? Such a hallucination? She'd never even liked Kathy. Increasingly detested her, in fact. What could it all mean?

  A knock on the door. "Lily? Are you okay? I've got your juice."

  "I'll be right out." She rummaged around in the medicine chest and found an old bottle of Xanax. They'd expired two months ago, so she took two of them. Tomorrow she'd go see Mandy in the hospital. If she was out of her coma, she'd know what the dream meant. And if Mandy was still unconscious, Lily would find another way. She had to.