Witching Hour

by Bradford Bates

  “Ours?” I let the word hang out there to make sure that she understood that there was no ours. The girl would be mine. “I understand your concerns, but the risk of the ritual is minimal. We have all of the proper protections in place, and I’m confident in my sister’s abilities.”

  “As you say, Mistress. I will retire to help the others with our final preparations.” Ellie stood, bowed once, and then turned to leave.

  “It was wise of you to voice your concerns when we are alone, Ellie. I appreciate the respect you have shown me today. Maybe later we can discuss what the coven can do to repay your loyalty.”

  She didn’t turn, but I knew that I had her. Some people craved attention and others power. Ellie craved recognition. She didn’t have to be the best, but she still wanted to be recognized for her accomplishments, no matter how small. It was an attitude more of the coven could learn from. I’d heap praises down on all of them if they would only fall in line.

  There was one last matter that I had to attend to before I could join the others for the ritual. Just thinking about how Jinx slipped through my fingers reminded me of the person that let her go in the first place. The one that swore her loyalty to me had pledged herself to the task, only to let me down in the end. Sasha.

  She was still hanging right where I left her. Some people had a seating area in their quarters, I had a corner dedicated to dishing out punishment to those that failed me. Sasha hung there from a chain attached to a beam on the ceiling. The tips of her toes just barely scraping the ground. Her head didn’t move when I came in, which wasn’t at all what we talked about before I left.

  Sleep was a privilege you earned. A simple thing that could be accomplished by following the rules I laid down for our little encounters. When you didn’t follow the rules, you got hurt. Sasha had proved to be good at getting hurt, but she was starting to come around. Hanging naked from your wrists and getting beaten throughout the day tended to have that effect on people.

  I stopped in front of her and lifted her head. I saw her eyes roll, but they didn’t open. “That won’t do at all, Sasha.” Reaching across my body, I put everything I had into the slap. When my hand connected her head whipped back, but her eyes snapped open. She looked alert for the first time since I had entered the room.

  “Good afternoon, Sasha.”

  “Mistress, I must apologize, I didn’t hear you come in.”

  “Oh, come now, Sasha, we both know that isn’t true.” I started walking around her in a slow circle trailing one finger around her shoulders. “It’s sad really; I was just starting to think that you understood the rules…”

  “I do, Mistress. I do, I swear!” Sasha pleaded.

  I smacked her again. “What have I told you about interrupting me?”

  “That it’s rude, and I’ll be punished.” Her eyes followed me as I walked away.

  I could hear Sasha struggling to turn her body so she could see what I was picking up from the table. It had been a small infraction really, almost nothing. Still, she needed to be shown the error of her ways.

  A cat of nine tails seemed like the appropriate tool for the job. I was going to beat the impertinence out of her. By the time I was through she would feel like she died eight times, but her final life, her last life, that would be mine to control.

  Sasha saw what I had in my hand as I walked back towards her, and she started to whimper. The fear was good. I could use that to control her. She needed to know that the only way she survived was if she bowed to me in all things. So, I let the weapon hang from my hand making sure she could watch it as I closed the distance between us. I wanted her to know what her outburst was about to cost her. She struggled against the chains, but there was nowhere to go.

  I let the first lash fly and smiled as the hardened leather knots slashed open her creamy white back. “As I was about to say, it’s sad really. I mean once you understand the rules,” I hit her again, “then you are free to go.” I hit her again relishing the quivering mass of flesh in front of me. “You do want to go, don’t you?”

  “If that is what you want, Mistress,” Sasha whispered.

  That might have been just the right amount of reverence. “It is what I want. I want you to be out there.” I pointed towards the door. “Working with your sisters to make this the greatest coven the world has ever seen.”

  I put the cat of nine tails back down on the table and walked slowly back towards Sasha. She gasped when I placed my hand over her wound, but she didn’t say a word. Good, she was learning. Another few weeks and I’d have the perfect little soldier.

  My magic roared to life, and I let it wash over Sasha. The wounds on her back healed, but the mental conditioning would last forever. “Fire can heal if we want it to. Now tell me, Sasha, are you ready to dedicate yourself to me in earnest?”

  “I am, Mistress.”

  “Then try and relax, I have a lot to teach you today.” I walked back towards the table, and this time I picked up a small club. This would do nicely. Nothing put you on the road to recovery faster than trying to breathe with broken ribs. I hoped she’d still be alive after the ritual, but that wasn’t in my control, natural selection and all that. A smile spread across my face as the first blow smashed into her. They might not understand my devotion to the flame, but by God, they would learn.

  <<<>>>

  The five strongest of my sisters were kneeling around the pentagram. One sister at each point of the star. In the middle of the star, there was a goat tethered to a metal rod. It should be just the sacrifice we needed for the summoning.

  “Sisters of the flame, I call on you to lend me your power.”

  “We do, we will, we submit,” they intoned.

  “Then we shall begin.”

  Their power slammed into me like a semi hitting a compact. The sheer magnitude of it lifted me off my feet. Is this what it felt like to be a god? How amazing it must be to feel like this all the time. The sisters’ chanting is what brought me back to myself. My mind had begun to wander, something too dangerous to let happen now.

  The sisters continued to recite the words, and I started working on channeling their power into the symbols etched on the ground. Nothing happened at first, and I was beginning to doubt that the ritual had worked. I’d never been invited to witness the summoning of a demon before, so I had no idea what to expect.

  The symbols on the floor started to glow and then began to pulse with light. The light was white at first but turned red as I poured more of our combined power into the circle. A section of the floor seemed to fade away for a moment, and then it snapped back into place. Only now the goat wasn’t alone in the circle.

  The ritual had worked. Together we had summoned an imp from the outer circles of hell. The ritual had been slightly riskier than I let on when talking to Ellie, but now that we had succeeded none of that mattered.

  The risk when summoning anything was that you asked for one thing, but it wasn’t always guaranteed that you would get what you wanted. Demons didn’t like being in hell, so when a way out turned up, they swarmed towards the exit. Sometimes that meant asking for an imp and getting something much more powerful. We’d avoided the one major pitfall. Now it was time to get our information so we could send this demon back where he belonged.

  “Imp, I have need of your services.”

  The imp flew lazily around the circle testing the barrier keeping him locked in place. From time to time he would lash out with one of his claws and would glare at the barrier when it refused to break. His skin was a dusky grey color, and his eyes burned red. If you’ve never seen an imp before it’s hard to describe the exact nature of their body. I’d seen a few in pictures but never encountered one in person.

  I was surprised that its tiny wings could keep it in the air. It must have been some kind of demon magic. The thing was about the size of a medium dog, I’d always imagined them as being smaller. It had two arms and two legs. Along with a head that was slightly too big for its body. Sometimes imps had h
orns, but this one didn’t. What it did have was a big belly, which meant it might not be all that into helping us for a free meal.

  That didn’t stop the imp from ripping the goat apart with its razor-sharp claws. When the imp’s fury at being trapped passed, it landed on the remains of the goat and squatted there. Once it was comfortable, the imp looked up and fixed me with a glare. I knew a challenge when I saw one. It was time for me to take control.

  Before I could speak, the imp addressed me. “Free me or send me back witch, I do not care to be part of your games.” His voice came out high in pitch, and he smiled as he said it.

  “And yet if you want either of those things you are going to have to give me something.”

  “I’ve got something I can give you.” The imp rose, grabbed its crotch, and started making thrusting gestures.

  “Nothing says satisfaction like a big man.” I held out my fingers with a tiny gap between them and frowned. “Guess I’m still looking for one of those though.”

  The imp launched itself upwards and slammed into the barrier repeatedly. It took everything I had to keep the shield in place. My sisters around the star were starting to fade, I had to make this quick.

  “Tell me where I can find Rebecca Taft and you will have your freedom.”

  “Eat donkey farts, lady.” The imp started to laugh hysterically.

  I wasn’t too proud to admit that I lost it at that point. I sent a wave of fire into the circle and heated the flames to the point they glowed white like phosphorus. The goat burned to ash, but the demon itself was fine. It seemed skin created in the fires of hell had very few problems with heat. I let out a scream of rage and frustration. My sisters’ power was fading, and I had nothing to show for this gamble.

  The imp smiled at me, and I glared back at him. “Next time we meet, I promise to end you.”

  “If you had the juice to do that, it would already be done.” He blew me a kiss.

  Disgusted I waved my hand, and the runes on the ground flared back to life. When the blinding flash of light was over the demon was gone. My sisters slumped to the ground gasping for air. They would feel better quickly now that their powers had been returned. I only wished I had something to show them for their sacrifice.

  It took almost every ounce of self-control that I had not to let the disappointment show on my face. Sasha was going to have a very long night in store for her while I figured out our next move. Someone had to be able to find Jinx, I just needed to find the right person to ask.

  “Thank you sisters, for all that you have done. The ritual was a great success.” There was no reason not to praise them. It wasn’t them who failed after all.

  “Thank you, Mistress,” they replied together.

  The door to the summoning room burst open, and Ellie ran inside. She came to a stop when she saw me watching her, but she wasn’t going to be deterred. She lowered her head just a fraction in submission and then continued her rush forward.

  “We’ve got her.” Ellie could barely contain her excitement.

  “What?” I stammered.

  “The computer tech’s found her. You’re never going to believe where she is.”

  “Out with it already!” If she made me wait any longer, she would be joining Sasha as my long-term guest.

  “She’s in Salem. Salem Oregon.”

  Well, that was something unexpected. I pictured her staying out on the West Coast, but in Oregon? That hadn’t really struck me as a viable option. Not to mention she picked a town with a name that didn’t inspire a lot of fond memories for witches. Was it message directed at me, or even a subtle threat? I’d show Rebecca what happened when I had the full weight of the coven behind me.

  “Gather the troops, we’re going to get our book back.” For the first time in days, I felt that things were turning around. Oregon didn’t have a whole lot of witches if I remembered correctly. We could get in and get out before anyone knew we were there. Everything was coming up roses.

  Chapter Ten

  Zoey

  Two weeks into her new job and Jinx had won me over. She’d mastered our register, the walk-in customers loved her, and she had a knack for putting together the herb packets that Maggie lacked. It was easy enough to move her into the back of the store for half her shift. It took a huge burden off my shoulders and actually left me with some free time.

  Well, I kinda had free time, or at least I could say that I had free time that had been filled with something else. Gramps had been on my case to learn more about my magic. I’d been flying on instinct, but if we were going to stay put I had to do more.

  Training with Gramps wasn’t exactly fun. He mostly yelled at me and made funny faces. Still, in the last week, I’d been able to connect with my magic in ways that I hadn’t before. It was almost like when you were out of shape, and you had to work your way back into a groove. I was stretching my magical muscles, and it felt awesome.

  Maggie was working the counter when I came in. She had a big smile on her face, and I had no idea why. A quick scan of the shop didn’t show anything out of place. In fact, everything was stocked, the displays had been cleaned, and the floor looked freshly vacuumed. What in the hell was going on and where were my employees? Maybe the pod people got them.

  Maggie saw me coming and held up a hand. “So, don’t be mad.”

  There was never a good scenario that started with the words don’t be mad. If anything it served to put you on notice to expect the worst. In one way it might be one hell of a cunning ploy. Once you had the worst in mind, nothing else seemed as bad, therefore making you not as mad as you would have been originally.

  “Spill.” I felt my good mood evaporating quickly. Gramps had spent the previous evening hurling rocks at me as I tried to blast them out of the air. I’d taken more than few a shots, and was still a little sore despite the healing I’d done.

  “Jinx wanted to do something special for you, so I let her take off for a bit. She should be back in a few minutes.”

  “Why would I be mad about that?” If that was all that was wrong, then she really should have just told me what it was from the get-go. I was envisioning the loss of some of my crops, or that we had a storage fire. Taking a few hours off on a slow morning was no big deal.

  “I kind of told her that it could be a paid sabbatical.”

  Oh, man. “Maggie!” Now I was a little mad. It wasn’t about the money really. It was the fact that she was probably still clocked in. That meant if Jinx got hurt doing whatever it was she was out doing then I was on the hook for it.

  Maggie shook her head and pointed her finger at me. “I know what you’re thinking and don’t worry, I took care of it. I had her clock out, but we’ll have to add the time in for her.”

  “Now that you’ve thoroughly freaked me out tell me again why I shouldn’t be mad? So far, this is nothing. The store looks the best it has in years, and if what I see here is correct, all our orders have been packaged and scheduled for pick up. Why would I be mad when nothing’s wrong?”

  “Here’s the thing, Boss, and don’t freak out. Jinx kinda used magic to do it all.”

  “She used magic to clean and put our orders together?” Could you even do that? I mean I guess you could, and if you didn’t have to spend time cleaning I didn’t know why anyone would ever want to.

  “I know you have a thing about witches, and using her magic in the store was totally my idea. So, if you’re mad take it out on me.”

  Was I mad? I didn’t think so. My magic crept out from around me almost like tendrils. I checked the wards I had in place, and they were still intact. I scanned the shop for any active magic and didn’t find any. I’d have to go over the shop when I was alone to make sure, but I think everything was untouched.

  The fact that Jinx had been able to use her magic in here at all was a little concerning. Sure the wards were set to just muffle a witch’s power not to snuff it out, but casting with the wards in place was no simple feat. Jinx must have been experienced in
the use of her magic or strong. I didn’t get the I wield god-like power vibe from her, so she was probably just skilled.

  “I don’t care how you guys did it, the store looks great.” I leaned in close and gave Maggie a conspiratorial whisper. “Now tell me more about this surprise.”

  Maggie started to crack up, all of the tension fled from her shoulders. “Sometimes you’re too much, Zoey. I can’t ruin the surprise, but I can tell you that it has to do with food.”

  Today just kept getting better and better. “I do have a special place in my heart for good food.”

  “Why don’t you go next door and check on your plants for a bit? By the time you get back, we should be all set up.”

  Now it just kinda felt like she was trying to get me out of the store. It made me wonder if something really had gone wrong. Maggie had never steered me wrong before. She was the best employee a girl could ask for. This time I was willing to take it on faith, especially if that faith was rewarded with food.

  Turning I head back out the door. “I’ll be back, and I’ll be hungry.”

  “Don’t worry about a thing, Boss. I got this.”

  I still felt a little weird walking out of the door I had just walked in. It was almost like I was playing hooky. It’d be nice to spend some time with Caleb. He wanted to tell me about some new kind of feeding method he was going to try. Mostly I just nodded and smiled when he got into his hydroponic nonsense. His plants didn’t need a new feeding system, they had me. Magic could do wonders for your garden.

  Chapter Eleven

  Jinx

  Zoey walked out of the store and into the dispensary next door. I was going to have to ask her about that sometime. I wondered if the guy that owned it gave us a discount or something. If he did, it was time to share the wealth. What other secrets have you been holding out on me, Zoey Green?

  It had been a pretty stressful two weeks, but the background check finally came back. I’d passed, somehow. I guess Rubio was a little better at his job than I gave him credit for. Not that I’d be sending that slimebag a present. Although, I would be keeping him in mind if I ever needed to make a switch in the future.