Lilith took my left hand. Ursula took my right. All around me, tiny lights began flickering in fleeting specs like shooting stars. I felt a tingle in my stomach and a numbing in my feet. The room outside the circle faded to black and disappeared entirely.
Lilith pressed the athame again to the mirror. Only this time the tip did not stop after touching the glass. Instead, it passed through it like an open window, the emptiness swallowing the blade to the hilt, leaving no reflection and no image beyond.
She withdrew the blade, and the sleek finish of the black glass rippled. She hesitated briefly before plunging the blade forward again without stopping. Her hand passed through the mirror up to her arm and then her shoulder, and in a blink, we all passed through the rippled blackness and found ourselves suspended in the middle of absolute nowhere.
I looked down at my feet, felt and saw nothing holding me up. Above and all around me, but for Lilith and Ursula, I saw nothing. Felt nothing. Heard nothing. A dim light illuminated our bodies, though its source proved undetectable.
I started to say something, ask where we were, when Lilith squeezed my hand and whispered it was all right. I turned to her. She smiled reassuringly. I looked to Ursula. She appeared positively radiant, her eyes twinkling in the phantom light, her skin glistening with iridescent brilliance. I looked down at my feet again and noticed I could point my toes into the emptiness. We were floating. Dead, I thought, and I did not care.
It is hard to say what I expected next. I guess I didn’t know, a light I suppose, maybe at the end of long tunnel. You hear stories like that all the time from people who have near-death experiences. But then this was not a near-death experience. This was an experience of a lifetime.
While looking down into the depths of darkness, I saw it coming, a train of fog rushing up from below. It came at us in a silent rage, encircling us in a column of air so cold it raised goose bumps on my skin. Behind it came the wind, trailing the fog like a restless shadow and blowing loose strands of Lilith and Ursula’s hair from their neat buns.
I watched in awe as the swirling tempest slow to a meandering ring of drifting curiosity. I knew it had intelligence. It coiled around us like a serpent, one end the head, the other the tail. As the shifting presence settled in, faces of millennia began to appear. The mothers of the coven were upon us.
The wind lightened to a nuisance breeze when Lilith let go of my hand and took a step forward. She arched her back, her hands high above her head, stretching on tiptoes as if reaching for the impossible.
“Oh, mothers of the coven receive us. Hear our plea. Embrace us thee as thou wilt.”
At once, a thousand souls appeared in human form. Women of all ages materialized before us, all naked and glowing in the thick of the fog from which they came. Some looked like Lilith and Ursula, tall, young beauties with black hair and dark eyes, and bodies so perfect only a witch would know they were dead. Others looked older, graying, hunched and feeble, as if death advanced their years only after they crossed over.
And then there were the children, prepubescent girls who, like Ursula, bore rope scars around their necks. I let go of Ursula’s hand and covered myself. She smiled thinly at that, panning a side-glance down at my hands.
“`Tis no shame here,” she said. “They appear as we do for our sake, is all.”
I smiled back. “They are still children,” I said. “And last I looked, we were not in Europe.”
“Aye, that we are not.” She looked around at the emptiness. “We are not of that world at all.”
Lilith dropped her hands by her side and relaxed her stance. “Have thee the will to receive us?” she asked.
One of the women who I thought resembled Lilith the most stepped forward. The two embraced, and a feeling of deja’vu struck me. I had to look to make sure Ursula was still standing beside me. She was.
“Lilith of New Castle,” said the woman. “Thou art well I see.”
“Katharine of Newburyport,” said Lilith. “It has been a few years.”
“Aye, sixty and one hundred, I believe.”
“Shush now, Katharine. You spill my age to my man and he may leave me for another yet younger.”
The two laughed. Katharine came around Lilith to me, stopping at arm’s reach. “And by what name doth he answer to?”
“That’s Tony of New Castle.”
Katharine reached for my wrists and pulled my hands away from my body. After gathering a full look at me, she said, “Tony of New Castle. Thou art a witch?”
“Yes,” I said, feeling conspicuous about things.
She looked back at Lilith. “You have done well, Sister.”
Ursula said, “Oh, and he can do a most amazing thing with it, too. If thou wish, I can show thee––”
“Thaaat won’t be necessary,” said Lilith. “Ursula, I’m sure Katharine knows what it can do.”
“Ursula?” said Katharine. “Ursula of Salem?”
“Aye, of Salem before New Castle. Dost thou know me?”
“Only by lore. How is it you are flesh and bone? You were hanged, were you not?”
“She was,” said Lilith. “She moved from Salem to escape persecution, only to be hanged in New Castle for being a witch. I came across her bones a couple of years ago and cast a resurrection spell.”
“You returned her to flesh?”
“Yeah, it seemed like the thing to do at the time.”
“Oh my, Lilith of New Castle, thou art truly a worthy practitioner of the craft.”
“I know,” said Lilith. “That’s what I’m talking about. So, what do you say? Are you going to let us form a new coven under the guidance of the great mothers of the coven?”
Katharine turned to the sea of faces watching us, presented her hand in a broad sweep and asked, “What say you all?”
A soft but clear response from all around us cried out, “So say us all.”
“Okay, great,” said Lilith. “That was easy.”
“Wait,” I said. “Is that it?”
“That is it,” said Katharine. “Go forth now, Lilith of New Castle, be strong in thy coven and may thy mothers guide thee always.”
“And may they guide thee, too,” Lilith replied.
She stepped back in line and took my hand as before. Ursula took the other. Lilith pointed the athame at Katharine. “Would you do the honors?” she asked.
“Of course,” she answered, and she touched the tip of the athame with her index finger.
At once, the faces, the naked women, the mysterious fog; it all disappeared in a swirling blink of light. I felt a quick tug and the sensation of falling as if the bottom had dropped out from under me. I gasped, but did not scream, feeling inexplicably safe as long as I held Lilith and Ursula’s hand.
The next thing I knew, we were back in the house. The room was spinning, or perhaps it was my head. I could not be sure. The candles had burned down to almost nothing, and the ring of fire, though still alight, had faded to a sputtering flicker.
I let go of the girls’ hands and splayed my arms to keep my balance until the room steadied to a reasonable drift. Eventually, the numbness in my feet disappeared and the tingle in my stomach subsided. I looked at Ursula. Her expressionless face made me wonder if what I had just seen really happened.
I turned to Lilith and asked, “Now what?”
“Now we’re done.”
“Good, because I have to pee.”
“No wait.”
“What?”
“We have to close the circle.”
“Huh?”
“You can’t step out of the circle until we close it.”
“I really have to pee.”
“It only takes a second.” She pointed the athame at the candles on the table, waved it over them once and they went out.”
“Cute,” I said.
She handed the athame to me. “Want to try it?”
“I don’t know. You think I can?”
“Sure, why not? You’re a witch. Go ahead. Cl
ose the circle.” She motioned toward the eastern edge of the circle. “Start there.”
I pointed the athame at the spot where the yellow candle once stood, and simply passing the athame over a quarter ring of fire and thinking about it, I snuffed it out.
“Wow,” I said. “Did you see that?”
“Yes, that’s good. Now finish it.”
So I did. I pointed the athame at the southern point of the circle, and in one broad circular stroke, I extinguished the fire all the way around. I handed the athame back to Lilith, grinning like a fool. “How’s that?”
She took it, tossed it on the table and threw her arms around my neck. “You know, you’re very sexy when you perform witchcraft all oiled up in the buff like that.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. What do you say we make a little fire of our own in there?” She gestured toward the bedroom.
“All right. What about Ursula?”
“Excuse me? Ursula is not going to bed with us.”
“What? No. I didn’t mean that. I meant it would be rude to leave her out here while we––”
“That’s not what you meant and you know it.”
“Are you insane? I didn’t––”
“Look, you know what. I think we had enough fire for one night. I’m out of here.”
She turned and started away. I called back. “Wait. Where are you going?”
“I’m going to take a shower.”
“No. Lilith. Please.”
“Aye,” said Ursula. “Methinks a shower sounds merry.” She turned and headed for the other bathroom. “Goodnight, Master Tony.”
“Fine,” I said. “Goodnight, to you both.”
I watched Ursula walk away, letting her hair out as she faded down the hallway. And as she disappeared into her room, I thought to myself how quickly things change. I knew I would wake up in the morning and see Ursula at the kitchen table as usual, but I would never look at her the same again.
SEVEN
Sometime in the middle of the night, Lilith slipped into my bed and woke me in a most pleasant way. Apparently, she had second thoughts about lighting another fire between us. As I eased from my slumber to a more conscious state, however, I found myself whispering Ursula’s name. I had not been dreaming of her or of anything in particular that I remember. I only know that I caught myself before uttering her name loud enough for Lilith to hear.
Later, she laid a trail of kisses from below the covers up to my neck and chin before resting her head on my pillow. “You were saying?” she asked.
I brushed her cheek with the back of my hand, and though I knew it was Lilith, in the pale glow of moonlight stealing through the window, I entertained the notion that I could not be entirely sure.
“That was nice,” I said.
She nuzzled closer, laid her arm upon my chest and cooed something softly in my ear. I closed my eyes for just a moment and awoke to a sunlit room. The smell of fresh coffee percolated in through the open door. Lilith was gone. But for a single black hair across my pillow, I might have thought I dreamt her.
I rolled out of bed, put my jeans on and headed for the kitchen. Lilith and Ursula were there, both still in sleepwear. That is to say, Ursula was in sleepwear. Lilith sleeps in the buff and typically slips into short sweats and a T when she gets up.
I found them talking in whispers and pouring over details in a notepad that Lilith started for Ursula to help her with her witchcraft. They stopped when they saw me enter the room.
“Oh, hey,” said Lilith. “You want some coffee?”
I sat down opposite the girls and folded my hands upon the table. “I’d love some.”
She gestured toward the coffee pot. “Help yourself. It’s over there.”
“Huh?”
Ursula said, “Think not of it, Master Tony. I will get thee thy coffee.”
“Okay,” I said, and I smiled at her through still sleepy eyes. “Thank you Ursula.”
I watched her cross the room and reach up into the cabinet on tiptoes for a cup. At that angle, I could see the sunlight spilling through the window, tracing her silhouette through the sheer veil of her nightgown. For a moment, every curve, every subtle nuance in form shown through like sculpted art. I imagined her skin below the flow of silk absorbing the warmth of the sun, awakening from her stretch and returning like a supple breeze. She poured the coffee into the cup and a conspiracy of decadent images frolicked in my mind. I thought of the night before, of her body glistening in oil as I held her tight. Did she fall, or did I pull her down just to feel the weight of her body on mine? I remembered how she smiled at me, even laughed with child-like purity at the innocence of it all. Or was that how she wanted me to see it? Perhaps her innocence dissolved in the growing fascination she found in her hands. Had she not spent more time exploring there than she should have? Had I not allowed it?
“Do you hear me?” said Lilith.
I blinked and found myself under Lilith’s scrutiny; her piercing glare leveled at me through narrowed eyes.
“What?”
“I said do you hear me? Are you having trouble concentrating?”
“It’s hard,” I said. “I mean…it’s not hard. It is difficult. What did you say?”
“I asked if you slept okay.”
“Oh, sure. Like a baby.”
“Hmm, I see.”
“You see?”
She cast her glance toward Ursula, and my eyes followed. Ursula had stepped from the sunlight into a shadow. Still, that could not block the images of the night before that remained in my brain. She turned around and saw us looking at her. Perhaps she felt us watching. I smiled awkwardly, feeling a conspicuous sense of guilt I could not explain.
She returned with the coffee and placed it on the table before me. I thanked her without looking up. She touched my hand and told me she was pleased to do it.
“Pleased to…. Wait a minute,” I said, and my heart skipped a beat. I looked at her, certain those were the very words Lilith cooed in my ear before she fell asleep with her head on my pillow and her arm across my chest.
“Come, Ursula,” Lilith called, and the two went back to the notepad and resumed without mention of anything more to me.
Minutes passed and my thoughts began to wander again. I could hear them talking about spells and charms and the differences between the two, but I could not follow it. My mind was somewhere else. I suppose it was the detective in me. As I sat there sipping my coffee, peering indiscriminately over the rim of the cup at the two, it struck me how casual both were about the events of the previous night. Lilith, I suppose, did not surprise me so much. She has no inhibitions. When calling up nerves and bravado, she checks her modesty at the door.
Still, something did not seem right. At the risk of overstating the phenomena that took place during the coven ceremony, I will tell you that we almost certainly travelled to a parallel dimension and perhaps to another time, as well. That such an event would not dominate the morning’s conversations made me suspicious beyond simple curiosity.
To top it off, although Ursula appeared as indifferent as Lilith did toward the ceremony, I know I caught her looking at me surreptitiously. Her repeated glances even caught Lilith’s attention. She closed the notepad and regarded us both skeptically.
“Do you two have something you want to get of your chests?” she asked.
I hooked my brows in honest surprise. “Me? No. I don’t have anything. Ursula?”
Ursula shook her head, her brows stitched in similar surprise. “Nay. I have no words for thee, but to beg your pardon if I caused concern for naught.”
Lilith drew a bead upon me. “You know, it would not hurt you to pay more attention to this shit.”
“What shit?”
She picked up the notepad and shook it at me. “This. I made these notes for you, too, you know. You are in the coven now. You should…. No. You NEED to practice witchcraft more often now. The strength of the coven depends on it.”
“I wil
l. I told you I will. I promise.” I checked the clock on the wall. “It’s getting late. Carlos will be here soon to pick me up. We can talk about this tonight.”
Twenty minutes later, I was dressed and out the door. Carlos rolled up to the curb in one of his Corvettes. I was barely in it when he asked me about the ceremony. I did not want to talk about it, and I told him so, but Carlos has a way of latching on to something like a pit bull and not letting go. After making him promise not to mention anything about it to Spinelli, I told him how it all started.
“My God,” he said, with a foolhardy grin. “So you really saw Ursula naked, huh?”
“Carlos, it’s no big deal. You know she looks just like Lilith, and I have seen Lilith naked thousands of times.”
“Yes, but Ursula…. Wait. Thousands of times?”
“Well, sure. I mean we’ve been together a few years now.”
“Wow, you have returned to prime. Haven’t you?”
“Carlos, I––”
“All right. Forget it. Tell me about it.”
“`Bout what?”
“Ursula.”
“What’s there to tell?”
“I don’t know. Give me something juicy, something Dominic doesn’t know.”
“Like what?”
“Like, does she have any identifiable marks on her body that we normally can’t see?”
“You mean a birthmark?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“No birthmarks?”
“None that I could see.”
“What does that mean? You didn’t see all of her?”
I thought about it, and I don’t know why, but I laughed.
“You are laughing. Why? What is it? You did see all of her, didn’t you?”
“Oh, yes. I saw all of her, but really, it’s not right to talk about it behind Spinelli’s back.”
“What’s? You want we should talk about it in front of him?”
“Oh, no. I’m not telling him I oiled up his fiancée and touched her in places he has only dreamed of.”
Carlos suddenly got very quiet.
“Shit,” I said. “Did I just say that out loud?”
He laughed. “Oh, hell yes you did.”
“Forget I said that.”
Kiss the Witch Page 9
