by Jamie Magee
Gwinn. That was the name of the little mystery witchling girl. Obviously Reveca called her a witchling with the deepest sincerity, because of course at one time she was one, too. There was no doubt now that Reveca was now a full-blown witch, one to be reckoned with when ticked off.
The swipe Jamison had given Reveca to use was undoubtedly potent. Too much so in Reveca’s opinion. Instead of wiping away Gwinn’s recent trauma, maybe even a few weeks of memory, it took away five years.
The last thing Gwinn could remember was being seventeen and stepping out of her foster parents’ house, leaving for her job at the local grocery deep in the heart of Alabama.
What Reveca knew of Gwinn was what Knight had dug up in each and every sealed file he came across. First and foremost, the Club was worried they were harboring a kidnap victim and with Blackwater popping up every five minutes that was the last thing they needed. She was listed as a runaway though, and because she had been so close to the age of eighteen, the file just slipped through the cracks.
What they did know was that Gwinn surfaced in the system at age eight. Apparently she had been staying with an aunt, but that aunt had issues with drugs—meth mainly—and lost her custodial rights. According to the file she had no other family, and from that point grew up in foster care. She moved homes a lot, at least once a year. The file never said she was a troublemaker it simply vaguely suggested the foster parents thought she’d be better suited with another family.
Reveca was curious about that, about a million things to be frank, but the second she saw the girl reach for a glass of water that was inches from her and the glass move to her hand, it didn’t seem like that big of a mystery anymore. Nope. Anytime Reveca brought souls back, teaching them to use their energy naturally was the hardest thing to grasp. Even now, in most cases, the boys only used it to fight with, not for simpler tasks.
Reveca had a theory that Gwinn was a natural born witch. Which was good and bad. They were rare these days. Most that surfaced were like Tisk, people that were in tune with their energy and could read a book of shadows like a pro. They’d tap into a power and pull or taunt depending on the dime store witch.
The power is always there, you just have to know how to call it to you like a lover in the night. Having that lover show up and seduce you, well, that just rocked, it was natural. It was what Reveca was born into. It was the reason that in most cases Reveca didn’t need to have spells memorized to have an impact. In most cases she just had to ask the power to perform whatever action she wanted and whisper it like a prayer.
The deal with natural born witches is they usually don’t understand what’s going on with them. Most of the time they don’t even know they’re different. They think it’s normal to see hazes of light around everyone and everything. They think it’s normal to have emotions that balanced with the atmosphere. Natural to use their energy as an extension of their bodies.
Gwinn told Reveca that she’d never practiced magic, not that she remembered. She did remember being tested, going to doctors that would show her cards and ask her what she saw, even ask her to move things. Gwinn said when she was young she did. As she got older she understood that performing for the doctors only earned her more time with them, and she hated them. So she stopped.
Reveca’s goal now, while they waited for Gwinn’s memory to come back, was to teach her magic. Reveca’s theory was that if Gwinn felt empowered then she wouldn’t fear what she faced as a human any longer. It would help her with her memories.
The first few days that Gwinn was awake Reveca kept her on lock down. She was a beautiful, young girl embarking on the prime of her life. Her figure wasn’t as full as Reveca’s; no, she was more slender, petite but she still had curves, had a body that would turn any red-blooded man’s head.
Her dark skin nearly glowed in immortality, and her black, curly hair fell well past her shoulders, thick and healthy. A young goddess lookalike whose every sense had just been enhanced had no business near a room full of men.
Reveca knew the boys would be on their best behavior. No doubt they respected her protective state, but also Shade…he hadn’t said a word about the girl, had managed to keep himself busy. But everyone knew he’d laid a silent claim on her. One that he was trying to convince himself that he didn’t want or need.
After that raw need made its way out of Gwinn, she and Reveca spent dusk until dawn in the garden by the river, going over simplistic spells, meditating and communing with nature. The more time Reveca spent with her the more she realized how innocent this girl was, nearly naïve. She had to wonder if GranDee had seen the same in her, if GranDee had the same theory about the natural witch inside of her. Surely she had. Thus far, Reveca couldn’t figure out why GranDee handed her the gift of immortality though.
Simple spells with the quiet of nature blanketing her, Gwinn could do that now. The thing is, though, when you need magic, it’s never quiet, you’re never one with nature, at least not in Reveca’s world you weren’t.
She had told Gwinn to sit at the table in the lounge, to find her center point. Reveca wanted her to have crystals, ones that had been charged by both the sun and the moon, so she’d made her way out to her gardens around the Boneyard to gather some.
Instantly she was disgusted with Tisk. Girls walking around in next to nothing, taken or single, was nothing new in Reveca’s world. Sexuality was a power in and of itself, without question. But for some reason when Tisk did it, when she poked out her near flat chest and tried to make it look like she had some kind of ass, Reveca wanted to strangle her.
She wanted to tell her to go home, but the girl had come there for protection. Protection that clearly was needed. The Club was finalizing their strategy to get those fifty-plus girls that dumb and dumber had told Reveca about. If all went well they would strike that very night.
Understanding what the drug Black was or the guy in charge of that hell was still a mystery. Knight had told the boys it was like it wasn’t there one day and it was all the rage the next, which meant it started deep underground, in closed circles, and had thrived for some time before the addicts at large discovered it.
Tisk was aiming her short, wide-open legs at the lot, surely thinking she looked like some kind of pinup model. The only one in that lot that was not letting his eyes move over her was King.
King. Beyond Talon, he was probably the only one that hadn’t been there and done that but he didn’t even flinch. Reveca wasn’t really sure how to read that. No, everything about that boy was a mystery to her.
She didn’t hear everything Talon had said to King but she’d heard the end, and that infuriated her. She was all about having pride—lord knew she had enough of it—but Talon was talking about his gift of life as if it was nothing, as if Reveca had not paid dearly for it, had not dreaded the end of it at least once a day since she’d risen him.
He didn’t know about that. She’d never let him know, but that wasn’t the point. The point was that he was being an arrogant ass right then. Acting as if nothing could hurt him. The point was that dying didn’t mean shit to him. He didn’t care that he’d leave them all behind for good.
The gift she gave him may have its limits, she may have to ask for help to maintain it, but it was still a gift, one that endless people would respect far more than he was.
Instead of engaging, she swallowed that argument and went back in to teach her willing student. She knew Talon was in that mood because she’d been busy, and that was fine. She’d deal with it later. Deal with it all later. When she couldn’t understand her emotions or a clear path, whatever it was went on the ‘do later’ list. Right now that’s where both King and Talon were residing.
She pulled the barrier between the garage and the lounge and shifted the closed sign on the door, the one that meant unless you were in the life, stay out.
Of course that made a few of the boys that were gawking outside curious and they made their way inside.
Thrash, the Club’s VP, someone who ha
d been with Reveca and Talon since the very beginning, rarely made his way into the lounge unless he needed a cold one, which apparently he did now.
He only had jeans and his kut on. The heat or dirt from the garage had apparently encouraged him to shed his shirt. He was cleaning his gun at the end of the bar, his dark hair, long on the top and short on sides, was raining down over his eyes which were a mix of blue and green, downright haunting. Somehow Gwinn had captured his attention, too, or at least what Reveca was teaching her had. Every chance he got he’d glance to the table they were at.
Thrash had a crazy amount of respect for magic, enough to stay away from it. He told Reveca once he didn’t want anything temping the beast inside. Whenever that inner beast got the best of him you’d find him on his bike riding like a fool, which is where his Club name Thrash came from. Built. Wild. Free. That was Thrash in a nutshell. He did his business and then went on his way, went to find a way to tame that beast in him.
Shade was in a back booth all alone. It was hard to see where his attention was aimed with those glasses on but everyone knew who he was staring down.
Judge, Thames, and Echo were on the couch against the wall passing a blunt back and forth talking about bikes and any other bullshit they could come up with.
Not long after Reveca had sat down next to Gwinn, Talon made his way in. Surprisingly, King wasn’t far behind him. Side by side they sat next to Thrash. Reveca could hear them talking about the Veil but ignored it.
“Okay, are you ready?” Reveca asked Gwinn as she lined candles in front of her.
Gwinn’s dark eyes went a little wide. Her hands were in her lap, her fingers twisting together. She wasn’t used to being around the guys, hadn’t really said a word to them, and though she’d found herself relaxed around Reveca for the most part, when Reveca asked her do spells it gave her wicked flashbacks of being a kid in a room with a man in a white lab coat asking her to move things like pebbles or pencils.
“This is just like outside. It should actually be easier. That was sticks. This has a wick, a point to focus on,” Reveca coached as she gave her the tiny crystals to put in the palm of her hands.
Gwinn was still blown away that she had started a campfire the night before, and she honestly thought Reveca had mercy on her and finally ignited the flame after hours of her trying. And to be honest the tingling she felt in her gut each time she did anything Reveca asked her to do did things to her—things that were, as far as she knew, still a mystery.
“Focus,” Reveca said. “This is an element, it’s energy. You just have to ask it to move, just like when you pull something to you.”
“I don’t ask though, I just reach. Sometimes I think whatever it is, is closer than it is. It always scared me when I did that.”
“That’s like being scared of breathing. Does it scare you when your gut expands with a deep breath? When you let it out?”
Gwinn shook her head even bit her lip. It made sense, everything Reveca said made since but thinking and doing was something that wasn’t all that easy for Gwinn to connect just then. Not when she could feel this deep hum all but consuming her. She’d asked Reveca about it, asked if that was part of her coming back. Most times Reveca would ignore her, but if she did answer she’d say they’d talk about it later, once she had a better balance.
“All right,” Reveca said pushing a candle to her. “Ask.”
Gwinn tried, she really did. She thought about it, she asked, she begged, she visualized. Nothing.
“You’re scared,” Reveca said in a near pissed tone.
“Trying not to be.”
“You can’t try not to be scared. You either are or you aren’t, same with everything else. Let go. Ask. This is witchling 101. This is the part where it’s still fun.”
Seeing Gwinn’s wide eyes had Reveca biting her lip, wishing that somewhere in her life she had developed some kind of filter. All she meant was this is fun. One day when Gwinn needed to burn an attacker, that might not be so awesome. She’d get away, for sure, but she’d live with that for a long while.
“Fun,” Reveca said once again.
Moments went by. The rambling conversation of the boys filled the room. Someone even turned the music on nice and low. Reveca was good with that. Gwinn needed to learn this with as much distraction as possible.
Finally a spark, one tiny baby flame.
“There you go!” Reveca said nearly standing.
Gwinn moved back in her seat with shock. The flame died.
“Sorry,” Gwinn breathed.
Reveca shook her head, stood from her seat just because she needed to make a point. She gripped the candle. “You’re not having any fun. You have to have fun.” She heard the snickers of the guys, knew she clearly looked like a fool for saying have fun in the tone she used but at the same time she didn’t care—she was too passionate about this topic.
“You have to shut it all off. You have to forget what the modern world has taught you. You have to pull from within, from that natural born instinct inside of you. This is energy, what you’re made of—only you are conscious energy, you are in control, you are the creator.”
“I am pulling. I swear,” Gwinn said as her big almond eyes stared up at Reveca.
“You’re afraid. You have stress, and you’re pouring virtual water on this flame before it has the chance to be born.”
Reveca sucked in a deep breath. “You have fear, and that’s fine. You can’t turn that off but you can channel it. Magic is…it’s just awesome. And you have to be excited about it. You have to feel grateful for it.”
Gwinn went to say something but Reveca held her finger up. She was on a roll and wasn’t ready to get off her soapbox.
“Magic is orgasmic!” Reveca nearly yelled.
Gwinn’s eyes went even wider. The room went silent but Reveca didn’t hesitate, she forged on. “That’s the best way to understand it.” She leaned down. “Think of it as a man. When he looks at you and you know he has a mating mind, when you see that hunger, feel it reach out, feel it beckon. That’s magic.”
Reveca’s bit her lip and did her best not to smile as she remembered the first time she felt that rush. “You may have fear, that’s fine, but it’s a good fear, it’s a fear that is laced with anticipation, a fear that builds adrenaline in the core, it swells within. It’s a rush. It starts at the crown of your head and slides down your body claiming it, awakening dormant energy. And before you know it you’re moving with it, dancing with it. It feels dangerous, it feels sinful, but you love it.” Reveca’s eyes were lit with elation. Ice blue shards were breaking free from the gray. “You know at any second that rush could stop, someone could walk in, a million things could happen to take it away, but you don’t want it to go away. You’re hungry now, you want to feel it slide all over you. You want to claim it, pull it to you and command that it builds that rush that is heating inside of you. Then it starts to build, slowly. It’s an ache—you want it so bad but you know you’re clinging to the edge. It could be taken—again you move with it, you seduce it, you lust after this rush, and then all at once you’re moving in sync with it. You know it wants you just as bad as you want it and that turns you on, that builds that rush, drives it forward until you’re sure every sense in your body is a live wire, all focused on one point, and driven forward.
“That’s when you feel the heat of it, feel your body welcoming the aching want to become one. Then it happens. Then your vessel convulses, and waves and waves of aching satisfaction slide over you. You find bliss, and I will be damned if you aren’t grateful as hell that you were there, that you let go, that you didn’t give a damn and rode that ride. Now, you want more, and each time you get it you’re even more grateful.”
Reveca paused, came out of her rant and really saw Gwinn, saw how her cheeks were enflamed, how she was crossing her legs, heard her faint pants of breath.
“Oh my fucking God you’re a virgin,” Reveca said with wide eyes.
The room became really
small right then, tense. Reveca glanced up to see seven men gapping at her. Hunger in their eyes. Apparently they enjoyed her lesson a little bit too much.
Right then Knight opened the door. “Hey, we open? There’s a party out here but everyone wants a drink.” He glanced around the room. “What did I miss?”
Right then everyone but Talon and King stood from where they were and all but ran outside, outside to the girls that were sunbathing before.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Knight said as he pushed the door open and the room started to fill.
Reveca closed her eyes for a second then opened them. “Okay, Gwinn, I need you to take this candle upstairs, to your room, in a quiet place, and find your rush. I want you to get excited, be grateful.”
“Wh-where are you going?” Gwinn asked.
“I have an errand to run.”
Reveca waited for Gwinn to gather her things, hesitated until she was sure she made it across that lot, all the while feeling the burning stares of both King and Talon.
Once she was sure that Gwinn had made it past every man she had inadvertently put in a mating mind, she made her way to the door.
Talon extend his leg in her path, reached to pull her into his arms.
Right as he touched her, Reveca felt a stabbing sensation in her energy. It wasn’t painful, it was just a vague sting, like grazing a sunburn against cool sheets a little to briskly. She knew exactly where that was coming from but instead of looking King’s way, she met Talon’s eyes.
“I think I’m overdue for a magic lesson,” Talon said as his hands eased down her sides to the cheeks of her ass.
“You hate magic,” Reveca replied tilting her head slightly.
“Seems like your lesson plans have improved.”
That lack of filter was not going to make Reveca’s life any easier, but she couldn’t stop the words before they came out. “I’m just teaching her how I learned.”
Talon’s hands on her body squeezed at the same time that burn in her energy eased a bit.
“You learned magic with sex?” Talon said evenly. It was rare, more than rare for Reveca to let a comment like that out. It was too close to the beginning she never spoke about.
