Last Witch Standing (Mountain Witch Saga)

by Jonathan Grimm

The concierge set down her magazine when they entered, but did not rise. The woman’s hair was arranged in a bun, and her dress, with thick shoulder pads, would have been out of fashion twenty years ago.

  “Good afternoon, I’d like a room for two, please.”

  The woman rose from behind her desk, came to the counter and, without a word, pushed a laminated price list towards Candice.

  “This one will be fine.” Candice pointed at one of the boxed specials.

  “That’ll be $59.95, plus tax,” the concierge said.

  Candice paid and got her keys. The hotel receptionist did not show them to their quarters and Rachel had to count room numbers to find it.

  “It’s that way, even numbers,” she said.

  After settling into the room, Candice walked Rachel to a coffee shop down the street.

  Rachel had so much she wanted to ask them. How were her sisters among the lower Mountain Witches: Gertrude, Eustice, Agnes? What plan did the queen of the Upper Mountain Witches have to stop Katie?

  “That man. He really is Katie’s brother? I met him and his son at Walmart a year ago.”

  “Yes, we know. I interviewed him when searching for you.”

  “Don’t worry about me. I never really fit into this world.” Rachel noticed Candice looked at her like as one would a ghost. Rachel had to remember that she was dead in this world.

  “Okay.” Candice took a breath before continuing, “Dan was eleven years old when his little sister died of meningitis in early-1972. He had a good relationship with her and Queen Annalisse believes we may be able to shock Katie back into human awareness by presenting him to her.”

  “How will you get her to you. Am I to be the bait?”

  “Only if you agree to be. Right now, Upper Mountain Witches, Citadel and Citadel-aligned Witches are pouring into this world. More, perhaps, than even one such as Katie can handle. Annalisse was wise enough to choose a place of battle that is to her advantage. She thinks long term. Katie acts more on the spur of the moment. That gives the queen an advantage.

  “How did Queen Annalisse recruit you? How long have you known about their world?”

  “I disappeared to this world about a year ago, around the time they found your body in the tent. The queen summoned me to the Mountain Witch world, and I have been there for all but the past month.”

  “Did you stay with my sisters, then? How are Gertrude and Eustice? Agnes?”

  “They are fine. I stayed with the Upper Mountain Witches for most of the time, but I did visit with your friends.”

  Rachel looked at Candice. “What are they like, the Upper Mountain Witches? What kind of homes do they have? I know so little about them. Today is only the third time I’ve seen Queen Annalisse.”

  “Well, some live in caves, others in hollowed out trees. A few have built cottages into the side of the mountain, using the terrain as their back wall. There is a flat area of ground, hidden deep in their mountains where they meet to conduct business. This is rare, though. Most hang out in groups of two or three witches.”

  “Yes, they are very secretive.”

  “I wouldn’t say secretive. That is just their way. They are not social animals,” Candice said.

  Rachel paused, then said, “There are just so many coincidences here – as if someone is manipulating people and events.”

  “I know. Karen, from the Citadel, said that the Power seeks itself out. A sort of quantum entanglement. That is why some cities and towns have many witches – or potential witches – and other, larger cities may not have any,” Candice said.

  “Still, this is too much of a coincidence that I met them at Walmart.”

  “It is. At some point, Melville became a locus for Katie’s power. It is possible that the Edward family’s move to Melville was somehow influenced by the Power. The Gift has a mind of its own, in a way.”

  “Well, you now know more about the Power than I do,” Rachel said.

  “Perhaps. Except how to use it.” Candice removed the emerald necklace and handed it to Rachel to look at.

  “I have one of these. Queen Annalisse gave it to me.”

  “Yes, I know. It was how we tracked you. The Citadel Witches have a facility on their world where they can do such things. I have only been there once, and it is quite impressive – in many ways similar to the Pentagon in Washington.”

  ***

  Rachel stayed up past midnight. Candice slept peacefully beside her in the twin bed. Since her “death” Rachel needed much less sleep. After all, her body was now more energy than matter. She could draw some strength from food, but most of her energy was obtained from solar energy or water. She could dip her hand into a warm pool and withdraw the kinetic energy from the liquid, turning it to ice. It would be great to take a swim. Swim and withdraw power. The motel had a heated pool. If nobody was there, she could draw some power out of it – just not so much as to turn it into ice.

  She looked down on the sleeping Candice. Would it hurt so much to go and take a quick dip? They were shielded from Katie, weren’t they?

  Rachel grabbed the room key from the nightstand and tiptoed to the door. She was grateful it didn’t creak as she opened it slowly. A shaft of light entered the room from the lamps in the hall outside the room.

  At the pool, Rachel glanced around. Nobody was outside and the lights were off in all the rooms facing the pool. She could see the motel office, but it was at an angle and they would not be able to see her from there.

  She sat on the edge of one of the reclining lawn chairs that lined the wrought iron fence enclosing the swim area and untied her shoes. Then she chucked off her shirt and slipped off her pants. Now in her underwear, Rachel looked around again, hoping nobody would see her. Yes, she could mask herself from view of any passing motorists or pedestrians by channeling, but that could summon Katie.

  The water warmed her foot as she stepped onto the first concrete pool step. The water shimmered around her, reflecting the streetlights and motel sign and the occasional headlights from a passing car.

  Rachel slipped fully into the water; it came up to her chest. Ten to fifteen degrees of heat should do it. Any more and the pool might not reheat before morning, when other guests might use it. For an instant, she contemplated taking enough energy to make the pool ice cold, but not frozen – the motel managers would just think the heater turned off accidentally, or was faulty. No. She might not be the only nocturnal swimmer and water did not have to be freezing to present a grave threat of hypothermia to someone jumping into it unaware.

  The Power coursed through Rachel as she swam laps across the pool. Freedom! While she didn’t think it was over with Katie – not by a longshot – for the moment, at least, she was free. Soon she could return to her sisters in the Kingdom of the Mountain Witches.

  At the edge of the motel roof, above the skylights, a small, round face peered down at her. Rachel stopped swimming and look directly at the creature.

  Chapter 20

  The Present

  Earth

  Rachel started, prepared to jump from the water and run, although that would be useless against a flying creature such as Katie. She willed herself to calm down, breathing as Queen Annalisse had taught her what seemed so long ago. This wasn’t hopeless – she wasn’t entirely defenseless against the sorceress.

  The figure stood up; its burlap-covered outfit illuminated by a street lamp. Trudy. Of course, Queen Annalisse would not leave her or Candice unguarded – not on this night.

  The Upper Mountain Witch waved. Rachel returned it with a blush and faint smile. Should she continue swimming? No, better to call it a night. She had already taken her share of kinetic energy from the pool.

  Candice was still asleep when Rachel entered the motel room. After changing, for Candice and Dan Edwards had brought new clothes for her, she went to bed. Above, a ceiling fan turned silently and Rachel occupied herself by counting each revolution. Since leaving her mortal, earthly body, four hours of sleep a night was generally m
ore than ample, and such sleep had more to do with quieting her mind than resting her body.

  Rachel considered her situation. She was proficient enough in the Power to make it difficult – but not impossible – for Katie to hold her.

  The light of passing headlights came through the curtain of their motel room. It was past midnight. Reluctantly, Rachel settled under the covers. Tomorrow, she would think over these matters. Tomorrow, when she was refreshed and the idea of freedom from Katie had more fully set in. Now she would sleep.

  The room was awash with daylight when Rachel opened her eyes. Candice’s bed was already made; the detective was on the telephone. Rachel went to the bathroom to wash and change into day clothes.

  Steam formed on the mirror as Rachel ran the hot shower water. The temperature was high enough to scald a person, but her body was nearly indestructible now, so took as much kinetic energy from it as she could.

  “Queen Annalisse will meet us for breakfast.” Candice looked up from the room’s desk, a laptop open before her.

  “Good. I need to ask her some things,” Rachel replied as she dressed.

  A shadow crossed the drapes as a van pulled into the parking space in front of their motel room. A moment later there was a knock at the door.

  Candice opened it to admit Dan Edwards and Queen Annalisse, along with Karen and Jakob.

  “Good morning, ladies. I trust you had a good night’s sleep?”

  “Yes, thank you,” Rachel said.

  Candice smiled.

  ***

  “Thank you for rescuing me,” Rachel said to the party when they were seated at the motel’s coffee shop. The smell of hot coffee and blueberry pancakes filled the restaurant and green-aproned waitresses hustled to serve the morning rush of customers.

  “We waited a year before making the attempt. You needed more practice in the use of the Power. We did not know if there would be a fight, or whether we could take you away as we did, with Katie unaware,” Karen said.

  “Where do I go from here? If I return to the Mountain Witch Kingdom, she will find me there.”

  “Yes. However, we have a plan to corral and tame her. Once that is accomplished, you will be safe to return to your sisters. In truth, you must return. You are a witch, not a sorceress, and it is crucial to your health and development that you return from time to time to the world of your second birth,” Karen said.

  “So that’s what Karen meant when she told Katie I would not live if she took me away?”

  “Yes. Katie, as a sorceress, was unaware of this, and may not believe us,” Karen said.

  She had felt the longing for the Mountain Witch Kingdom – beyond simply wishing to see her sisters – a physical need. Rachel pondered for a moment. “How are my sisters?”

  “They are well, child-witch. Worried for thee, but well.” Annalisse took a letter from her satchel and handed it to Rachel.

  Rachel jostled the carafe of coffee reaching for the letter and it would have fallen had Jakob not grabbed it. The front of the envelope simply said “Rachel,” but she knew it was from Gertrude and Eustice. She was careful not to damage the envelope as she opened it.

  Inside was a neatly folded letter on pink stationary, written in fine calligraphy, the letters forming the branches and leaves of a tree. Rachel removed it, opened it and read.

  Dearest Rachel,

  If you have received this, it means you are now free of that hideous creature’s power. We are glad. Your gifts are safe in our cottage and awaiting your return. Leroy is well, and anticipates your return. Agnes and the rest of our sisters send their regards.

  “Thank you, Queen Annalisse,” Rachel looked into the queen’s eyes as she spoke.

  “I have been absent from Earth for centuries. Katie will have more power in this world than, I. Yet, we must tether her there. She is too powerful to defeat in a pitched battle,” Queen Annalisse said.

  A shadow passed over them, and Rachel looked up to Karen and Jakob.

  “Rachel, this is more serious than you know. Katie is tearing holes in the fabric of the Cosmos with her ‘explorations’. Not all her travel through space is safely done. Also, she loves to watch supernovas – the explosion of stars – and uses the Power to cause them, by accelerating fusion to the point where hydrogen, helium and other elements give way to iron. Iron is the death of stars and worlds,” Karen said.

  “Like a child playing with high explosives, thinking they are only fireworks, she is leaving a trail of destruction in her wake,” Jakob added.

  “Interstellar nuclear weapons.” Candice leaned forward.

  “I understand. I knew she was endangering young witches, but I did not know the extent of the upset she was causing,” Rachel said.

  “Katie can throw bomblets of ionized matter – plasma. At some point in her first year of development, on the Citadel world, we believe she came across an old tablet demonstrating this. This is a very dangerous skill to have. Worse, we now believe she has mastered anti-matter.”

  “She has,” Rachel spoke up. “I have seen her. Once, she tried to teach me how to use it, but I could not handle the material and it blew a hole in one of the cliffs on Pangea. Had I been human, the blast would have killed me. As it was, I was disoriented for several weeks.”

  Chapter 21

  The Present

  Earth

  “The father lacks a grounding in the Power,” Karen said after Dan Edwards left the table to call home. Rachel accompanied him.

  “Is that a problem?” Candice asked.

  “Not an insurmountable one. The Gift is dormant within him, unused and untaught, but it is there. Even a small amount of Power will provide a second or two of buffer between him and Katie. If we act quickly, while she is disoriented, that should be enough,” Karen said.

  “Sometimes a family member with the Gift can provide the support necessary,” Jakob said.

  “What about the wife?” Candice asked. She wished she had surveiled the woman more carefully and had a better fix on her character.

  “Barren. Not a hint of the Power. She married into this family and her lineage holds no strands of it,” Karen said.

  “Then we will definitely need the boy?” Candice asked.

  “Yes. Problem is: would the father allow his son to become involved?” Jakob asked.

  “I don’t think so. Not as presented to him, so far,” Candice replied. Not a snowball’s chance in hell.

  “If we do not prevail, the sorceress may come after the lad next. The instant he begins to channel…” Queen Annalisse said.

  “If we presented it to Mr. Edwards in that light, and were able to assure him that his son would not be directly involved in hostilities, he may allow it. You know him best, Candice. What do you think?” Karen said.

  “He’s still getting used to all this. Too much more information, too quickly, will lead him into overload – and shutdown. It is a defense mechanism I’ve seen time after time in investigations,” Candice said.

  “Yes, I agree,” Karen said.

  “We will go slowly then. Let him know what she has been up to, and that his son is vulnerable. Do not broach the subject of the child’s involvement until you are made certain of his response,” Annalisse said.

  “I will do that. Let me choose my time and place, though. I’ll need to pick just the right moment,” Candice said.

  “We trust your judgment, Candice Strong. That is why you are here,” Annalisse reassured her.

  “And the girl?” Candice asked.

  “She must remain ignorant of her full role. If the child-witch knows what is required, her ambivalence towards Katie could lead her subconscious to block the Power,” Annalisse said.

  “Afterwards?” Candice asked.

  “Rachel will go to the Citadel. It is long overdue. The mountain witches taught her much, and Katie some, also, but the girl is more wildling than trained witch,” Karen replied.

  “A wildling?” Candice asked.

  “One with the Gift,
but without the training and discipline necessary to use it safely and responsibly. Rachel’s entrance has already been delayed by nearly two years. A crucial time,” Karen said.

  “It is best to ferret out and secure child-witches within weeks of their first channeling. The earlier the better. Yet, wildlings do ofttimes develop in unique directions. Dangerous paths are not kept from them, and sometimes one succeeds where we don’t risk going for fear of the hazard,” Queen Annalisse said.

  ***

  Karen and Annalisse arranged that Rachel stay with the detective. However, Karen wanted them to switch motels to one outside Melville for security.

  “I will help you with your sensitivity to the Power,” Karen said to Rachel after they had checked into their new room. “There are many things you need to know. You are bonded to her, and will be able to sense her before any of us – if you know how to feel it out.”

  “I hope so,” Rachel sighed.

  “Mary-Beth always regretted the way she handled her. Patronizing when she should have been guiding, is what she told me once. Personally, I don’t see what else she could have done. None of us had any idea that Katie could read or that she was a burgeoning sorceress,” Karen said.

  “Did you think she was a Mountain Witch?” Rachel asked.

  “No. We thought she was a common garden gnome. One of above average intelligence, but not a witch and certainly not a sorceress.”

  “Certainly, I had no idea. When she produced that ball of plasma, I almost wet my pants,” Jakob said.

  “We were all surprised. I ran just as fast as you did.” Karen looked at Jakob.

  “Have you tried anything before this?” Rachel asked.

  “Many things. We tried to bind her ability to channel, but she broke off the yoke easily,” Karen said.

  “We tried to trap her in space, where she has little power to channel, but she had this device, like a kite’s tail, trailing after her. It collected energy from the stars and nebulae,” Jakob said.