by Phil Stern
“All right.” Slowly, he eased himself down onto the comforter, the one with the ships and sunsets he liked so much. “What is it?”
“My love, what I have to say isn’t going to be easy to accept.” Tentatively, she took his hands in hers. “In fact, you may think I’m crazy.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time.” Smiling, he nodded at the crashing, throbbing music from the living room. “Does she have to have it that loud?”
Catching her breath, Tiffany made a sudden decision. Touching her earth stone, there was a brief flare of green magic. The music outside instantly dropped to a manageable volume.
“Hey!” Keri yelled from the living room. Tiffany ignored her.
“There’s a light bulb in there?” Blake looked in surprise at her earth stone. “I never knew that.”
“No, there isn’t. But that’s not what I have to tell you.”
“You have to tell me there isn’t a light bulb in there?” Grinning, he playfully punched her arm. “Or you have to tell me that your idiot friend just burned out our stereo?”
“No! I turned down the stereo. From in here! With my earth stone.”
Yawning, he leaned back. “Tiffany, I’ve really had a long day. So if you don’t mind…”
Lunging forward, she firmly pushed him flat onto his back, hands on his shoulders. Looking down at Blake’s bemused face, she took the plunge. “I’m a sorceress.”
Raising an eyebrow, he studied her intense expression. “A sorceress?”
“That’s right.”
“You can do…magic?”
“Yes, I can.” Brightening, she realized this was going well. “All these trips of mine? Much of the time I’ve been lying to you. The truth is that I’ve been crossing an inter-dimensional Boundary to visit other worlds.”
“Tiffany.” Still on his back, he looked at her body hovering above him. “You know I love your imagination. But right now…”
“No, I’m serious.”
“…I’d really like to know where you’ve been the last few days.” All the humor drained from his face. “Right fucking now.”
Somehow, though his reaction was completely understandable, Tiffany wasn’t prepared for this. For the first time she could remember, he was treating her like someone he just couldn’t trust. And no matter how justified Blake might be, with everything else going on, she just couldn’t deal with that.
In a rush, Tiffany remembered the conflict with the ruby witches, her two Coven-mates outside, the midate down in Mobile, and her sisters still in hiding across the planet. And though Norine appeared to be safe, she might have left instructions for her, in this very room, that could require immediate action.
In short, her two worlds were crashing together, very quickly and somewhat violently. Under the best of circumstances, it would be nearly impossible to rationalize her two conflicting realities. In the midst of an emergency, it was hopeless.
“Look.” Sitting back, she allowed him to rise and face her once more on the bed. “We’ll have to talk later. I just can’t deal with this now.”
“You can’t deal with this now?” he repeated. “Deal with what? The truth?”
“Look, you’ll just have to trust me.”
“And what if I don’t?” Rising again, he stood beside the bed. “What if I think this is bullshit! I don’t know where you are, who you’re with…”
“So that’s what this is about?” Rolling off the bed herself, Tiffany again faced him directly. “I’m not your good little woman, calling her man every two hours?”
“How about every two days!” he shot back. “I must have left a dozen messages on your phone!”
“I was too busy to answer phone calls!”
“That’s bullshit, and you know it!”
Her dark eyes burning, Tiffany felt fatigue-fueled rage surge to the fore. “Blake!” she seethed, deliberately letting her earth stone flare. “I’m in the middle of a crisis! Something you couldn’t possibly understand…”
“Try me!”
“…because your limited, Earth-bound perspective!” she now yelled. “Is robbing you of even the faintest fucking idea what I’m talking about!”
Stepping back, he nearly laughed. “My Earth-bound perspective?”
“That’s right, damn it!”
“Have you gone mad?”
Frowning, she actually considered the question. “Maybe I have,” she breathed, looking off. “This is all just too much.”
“How so?” Taking her hand, he deliberately relaxed. “My love, if there’s a problem, or an issue, no matter how bad it is, we can deal with it together.” Gingerly, he kissed her on the lips, a spark of energy shooting throughout her body. “Just tell me.”
As usual, Tiffany was amazed at his presence. Looking Blake up and down, she found herself stunned at his strong, male figure, the light and life in his eyes. Blake was everything she’d ever dreamed of, in this world or any other. He was intelligent and brave, caring and kind. The kind of man every girl dreams of.
But there was no point. In the end, Eleanor had been right. Blake was a refuge from her true life with the Coven, a fantasy to pass the time. This relationship could never be truly real, not unless he could make an impossible leap of faith and intellect. And if she asked him to try, it would only destroy everything they ever were.
A wave of despair swept over Tiffany’s entire being, nearly causing her to fall. “Blake, I love you so much!” she sobbed, hugging him close. “I don’t want to go!”
“What? You don’t have to,” he said, lips against her ear. “Whatever’s going on. With you, these trips, those other girls. We can manage it, together.”
Her discipline slipping, the first thing that came into her mind burst forth. “I have a half-sister I knew nothing about, and she may want to kill me!”
“Huh?” Pulling back, he looked into her tear-stained face. “So now there’s a sister you knew nothing about?”
“You saw her the other night, outside the car. Valensa is her name.”
“Oh.” Thinking back, he nodded. “Yeah, I can see that. You two certainly look alike.”
“But Blake, I need to be honest. As honest as I can.” Laying a hand on his chest, she cried anew. “I have to go, and do something very important. And I may not be back. Ever.”
“Not come back?” Stunned, his eyes went wide. “I don’t understand.”
“I have a life that you know nothing about.” Sadly, she shook her head. “I’d explain it to you, but you’d never understand it. And I don’t think I should even try.”
“Are you…a criminal, of some sort?”
“No.” Smiling sadly, she placed a hand on his cheek. “No, my love. I fight for others, who can’t fight for themselves. And we have rivals, who apparently want to drive us from Earth. There may be a battle looming, or even a protracted war.”
“This is crazy!” Grabbing her by the shoulders, he nearly shook her. “Tiffany, you’re not making sense!”
“Yes, I am,” she whispered. “You just don’t know it. And I don’t think you ever will.”
“Your sister wants to kill you, and someone else wants to drive you from Earth?” Now deliberately stepping back, Blake’s jaw noticeable clenched. “I hope you’re not serious.”
“I am.” Shrugging, she looked around their wonderful, cozy bedroom. “You may be in danger, actually. These other witches know about us. And you.”
“Well, don’t worry about me.” Giving her the thumbs up, Blake’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “I can handle a witch. Or two, or three.”
“I hope you can.” Her voice catching, Tiffany’s hand came up to her throat. “But I have to ask you to leave now. Norine might have left me a magical note in our bedroom. I have to find it and read it. Lives may be in danger.”
Utterly confused, Blake slowly passed a hand over his face, cringing as the rock music was turned up again in the living room. “Tiffany, don’t do this. I’m really worried about you.”
“I have a job to do.” Nodding firmly, she looked at the door. “Please, Blake, just leave. The girls and I will be gone in an hour. You can come back then.”
“You want me to leave the apartment?” Leaning back against her dresser, he shook his head. “As if I’m some danger to you?”
“It would just make it easier,” she sobbed, grabbing a tissue and wiping her face. “Please?”
“And when are you coming back?”
“Like I said.” Pausing, she held his eye. “I may never come back. I just don’t know.”
“Tiffany.” Approaching a few steps, he then stopped. “I love you so much. Whatever it is, I can help you. You don’t have to leave!”
“Actually, I do.” she replied, biting her lip. “And I haven’t been fair to you. You deserve someone you can count on, all the time. Who would never lie to you, for any reason. Someone to marry and have children with. A life partner, forever.”
“And that’s not you?” Stunned, he stood very still.
“No,” she whispered, barely able to meet his gaze. “No, Blake. I’m so sorry, but that can’t be me.”
They stood like that for nearly a minute, almost in shock. Then Blake walked to the door, pulling it open and exiting without another word. Even through the heavy metal music, Tiffany could hear the outer door of the apartment open and close with a loud slam.
Just like that, Blake was gone.
*****
For several moments Tiffany just sat on the bed, stunned. The room looked exactly the same, her own and Blake’s stuff all mixed together, yet it all felt unreal, almost foreign. Head spinning, she slowly got up, idly touching Blake’s tie on the dresser. It was one she’d given him a few months ago, the blue reflecting his eyes perfectly.
Automatically pulling open her magical travel bag, Tiffany dully stared at the socks she’d gotten for Blake in Vail. Okay, they were socks, the most mundane of objects, almost a joke as a gift. Yet, as an “alien” artifact here on Earth, they were fantastically unique and virtually priceless.
Of course, Blake wouldn’t have known that, but they would have been special just the same. And Tiffany hadn’t even had the chance to show them to him. First one tear coursed down a cheek, then another.
Enough, she had a job to do. Angrily dropping the socks and wiping at her face, the enchantress saturated the room with a soft pulse of energy. As she’d hopped, a magically hidden letter became visible on top of her jewelry chest, neatly folded in two.
Roughly pulling the paper open, she quickly read it through. Though seemingly a chatty missive about Norine’s time in Philadelphia, the coded message hidden within told a much different story.
While Tiffany had been away, the three Coven members still under cover on Earth had been attacked. Isabel, in Brazil, had been badly wounded by two ruby witches, but somehow managed to get across the Boundary. Karlie had shaken her two would-be assailants, losing them in the Moscow subway system before also fleeing the dimension.
Hazel, in Paris, was missing. She was presumed either dead or captured.
In response both to these assaults and Tiffany’s own report on her conversation with Claire, Eleanor had decided to wait no longer. The strike force, now twenty strong, was being deployed to Earth. Even now, the Coven’s top operatives were slipping across the Boundary through multiple portals. Eight girls in the initial wave would meet Norine at a pre-positioned, inter-dimensional stronghold in Tennessee. Once that beachhead was covered, additional detachments from Haven and Vail would cross over within the safe house itself, along with a full wing of battle hawks and an entire herd of unicorns.
Indeed, all rules concerning cross-dimensional contamination were suspended until further notice. Magic could be used when necessary, regardless of the consequences. Laser rifles and other high-tech weapons would be shipped in from Vail, with the Haven girls armed with as many Coven Sticks as they could muster.
Tiffany, along with Keri, Caylee, and other reinforcements, were to converge on Mobile and recover the midate stone “at all costs.” Her detachment would rendezvous with Wendi and Aprina at a specified rest stop in Alabama on the way down. Tiffany would then direct the search and recovery operation. Once the five witches had the midate, they would join the main body in Tennessee.
There was so much that could go wrong with all this, Tiffany sadly thought. Luckily, Earth was cris-crossed with portals, so there was little chance the Zarth Coven could cover more than a small percentage of them. Still, there was always the chance someone could get waylaid entering the dimension. Tiffany had been to the Tennessee safe house a few times, and knew it to be well defended with magical wards and electronic sensors. However, if the ruby witches already knew of it, she hoped Norine and the first wave didn’t run into any surprises there.
For that matter, did concentrating in one place make sense? After all, who knew what weapons the Zarth Coven could deploy against their Tennessee base? Or if they were being lured to Earth, while the ruby girls struck somewhere else?
But the die had been cast. Any lingering chance of peaceful resolution to all this was fading to almost zero. What the coming conflict meant for her personally had yet to be determined, but it certainly wasn’t anything to look forward to.
There was a sharp knock on the door. Without waiting for an invitation, Keri pushed it open, nearly falling into the bedroom.
“Hey Tiff.” Smiling uncertainly, she paused. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. It’s fine.” Brushing away a spare tear, she fingered the Coven Stick on her belt. The smooth, warm metal felt very good against her skin. “Where’s Caylee?”
“Napping with that cat of yours on the couch.”
Merlin! Would she ever see him again? Maybe if Merlin came with…
No. Without question, Blake would take good care of him. And she had far more important things to worry about.
“Come on.” Snapping to her feet, she spun Keri about, nearly shoving her out into the living room. “Get Caylee up. We’ve got to hit the road.”
Then Tiffany herself passed through the bedroom door, slamming it closed without a backward glance.
CHAPTER SEVEN
WHEN DAWN BROKE the three sorceresses were still on the highway, just south of Atlanta. Now in the back seat, with Caylee driving, Tiffany used her electronic pad to scan the news services in and around Mobile.
Sure enough, there was a story concerning a salesman filing a police report about an “assault” at a Mobile residence. Apparently, the man had gone to the home of Randy and Kary Davis to do a water purification presentation. Though already having been put to bed, at some point their two-year-old son, Kyle, had wandered out to watch, holding a “glowing black rock” in his hand.
Soon objects had begun “flying” around the room, the man quickly taking a blow to the head from a coffee cup. Supposedly, as the salesman fled the house, the toddler singed him with a stream of black flame.
As if that wasn’t all odd enough, there was a vague line at the end of the story about this not being the first “incident” at the Davis home. In light of these various reports, along with Randy Davis’ multiple arrests for drinking and domestic abuse, child services would soon be visiting the Davis household.
But that wasn’t all. In a separate item from just the day before, four “out of state” women had been pulled over for speeding in Mobile. When it turned out none of the women had a driver’s licence, or indeed any form of identification, they’d been arrested and put in jail.
Checking the online mug shot registry, Tiffany was unsurprised to find that two of the four women were indeed Sharra and Valensa. The other two looked young and tough.
Presumably, the Zarth girls had only submitted to arrest to avoid a public battle with a cop. After all, they had no idea Tiffany and her team was on way, and the tickets were only a minor infraction. Indeed, as things now stood, they were all due in court at eleven that morning, and were expected to be released with just a fine.
&nbs
p; So the race was on. If the Haven witches hurried, they could be at the Davis residence before the Zarth Coven, recover the midate, and escape without contact. Tiffany wasn’t afraid of a fight, but she also didn’t want the whole situation to spiral out of control unnecessarily.
Especially with her sister comprising part of the ruby witch team. Perhaps Tiffany could somehow get Valensa alone, find out exactly what was going on? It was worth a shot.
Putting down her electronic pad, Tiffany began magically fashioning fake identification for herself. Peeking back over the front seat, Keri watched for a moment. “What are you doing?” she asked.
“You and I are going to be agents for the Alabama Child Services Division,” she explained. “I know where the midate is, and we’re just going to go get it.”
Keri yawned, looking forward again. “What about Wendi and Aprina?”
“We can’t wait for them,” Tiffany said. “I think the ruby witches know where the midate is too. It was only a stroke of wild luck that they didn’t get it yesterday.”
“What about me?” Still driving, Caylee looked at her in the rearview mirror.
“We’re dropping you off at the rest stop to wait for Wendi and Aprina. Then Keri and I are going directly to the home where a young boy apparently has the midate. After meeting the other girls, you’ll come and join us.”
“Really?” Looking back at her once more, Keri smiled. “And what if you and I run into these Zarth bitches by ourselves?”
“That would be their distinct misfortune.” Putting the final touches on her new identification, Tiffany practiced flipping it open with one hand. “Trust me.”
*****
It was a large highway rest stop, designed for buses and heavy truck traffic. Indeed, the gift shop even had girlie magazines and exotic calendars, with condom dispensers in all the bathrooms. A plethora of shady characters skulked around the entire area, most of them eagerly eyeing the three Haven witches.
