Seeking Witches

by Cailee Francis

  Rose freed a hand to stroke her fingers down Lisa’s side, over her nightdress. The witch stole another deep kiss from her lips, before straying to Rose’s neck to kiss her there.

  Rose breathed in Lisa’s scent, and grinned as she felt Lisa tugging up her nightdress past her hips.

  Still atop Rose, Lisa rubbed her gently through her panties, heightening her girlfriend’s desire.

  “You feel so incredible, Lisa.” Rose moaned as she felt Lisa’s fingers finally push past the sliver of fabric and make contact with her sensitive skin.

  Lisa smiled, rubbing Rose intimately as she felt the succubus feed more strongly on her energy. Pulling the blanket back, she climbed off Rose for long enough to settle in comfortably beside her, remove her panties and begin licking her.

  Rose gasped loud enough that Lisa wondered if their friends in the other rooms would hear them.

  Rose’s back arched when she felt Lisa’s fingers slide inside her, while her warm lips and soft tongue left her in ecstasy. She knew she was feeding on Lisa’s energy, but she wasn’t sure how much she was taking. She was sure it wasn’t enough to worry about. She would just have to go gently, oh so gently.

  Lisa smacked the side of her ass with her free hand as she licked Rose, who squirmed beneath her. It was certainly a power trip, knowing she could leave her beautiful girlfriend – a succubus at that – in such a state. A sense of numb tiredness spread throughout her body, and she knew it was from Rose’s feeding. Her girlfriend’s magic was potent in its own way.

  “Lick me hard,” Rose begged. Her voice was shaky as she shifted position to wrap her legs around Lisa.

  Lisa did just as she’d asked, licking all around her clit and thrusting her fingers deep.

  Rose’s moans came harder now, her whole body alive with pleasure. She bit her lip and moments later cried out in bliss.

  Lisa didn’t stop licking until Rose had fully come beneath her on the bed.

  “Oh Lisa, ohhhhh that was so good,” she whimpered, as Lisa drew her into her warm embrace. Rose’s eyes closed, pleasure still burning in her body, as she held her girlfriend. She wondered how much energy she’d drawn in, but she knew she didn’t have to worry. Lisa was safe.

  “You’re wonderful.”

  Lisa’s fingers stroked through her long hair and down over the arch of her back.

  “So are you,” Lisa replied with a chuckle, as she leaned in to kiss Rose’s forehead and nuzzle in softly against her neck.

  Rose’s breathing soon slowed and settled into the same rhythm as Lisa’s. She smiled in the darkness.

  “Sleep,” Lisa instructed.

  Rose always offered to return the favour, but Lisa was happy, and she knew that as long as she was, Rose would be too.

  “Alright,” Rose promised, and she soon kept her word. They went back to sleep comfortably in each other’s arms.

  * * *

  * * *

  Rose and Lisa were woken early by rapid, urgent tapping on their door.

  Rose pulled the hem of her nightdress down beneath the covers, and saw Lisa in hers.

  “You can come in!” Lisa called. “I figure they will anyway.”

  It was Jamie and a smile formed on his face at the sight of Rose and Lisa in bed together. Rose also noticed Erin in the background, milling around behind him. Erin had been keeping watch on Raven at the hospital, so perhaps she had some news.

  “I don’t want to worry you both, but Alexis is gone,” Jamie explained, then made room for Erin as she approached the doorway.

  “Ooh, sorry to disturb you. I got back early this morning, and I figured Alexis was asleep, but when I went to her room a few minutes ago it was messy and there was no sign of her.”

  Rose sighed, and then glanced toward the window. The curtain obscured any view, but she wondered if Alexis might’ve gone outside. “Are you sure she didn’t just leave for a while, and she’ll be back?” Rose asked.

  “I’m not sure of anything yet,” Erin admitted. “But I think we’d all be careful about going outside alone right now.”

  “I know her well,” Jamie said, “and she would be more careful. I tried her on her phone and she’s not picking up. I also couldn’t hear it ringing. It’s a good sign though that she has it with her.”

  Lisa glanced at Rose, her expression slightly worried. “Give us a couple of minutes and we’ll have a look in her room.”

  It didn’t take long for Rose and Lisa to dress once the others had gone.

  “I hope she’s alright,” Lisa exclaimed, as she pulled on her striped jumper and opened the door.

  The others were waiting further down the hall. They made room for Rose and Lisa so they could pass, and then followed them into the room Alexis had stayed in.

  There were possessions scattered around the room, but it seemed like Alexis had unpacked, put a lot of things on the floor, and hung her clothes off the furniture. Some clothes were more crumpled than others, but there was a sense of logic to where she’d put things. It didn’t seem untidy enough to suggest a struggle had occurred, unless it was a struggle with neatness.

  “No, I’d say this is how her room was before,” Rose said with a slight grin.

  “Oh, okay,” Erin replied, looking confused. “We still need to find her.”

  Rose agreed with her. “Perhaps we could take a walk outside and see if she’s out there?” she suggested to Erin.

  “Yeah, okay.”

  “I’d rather not stay here because it’s safer,” Lisa admitted.

  “Why don’t you come along too? We could all go,” Rose replied, and received a grateful smile from Lisa.

  They say there’s strength in numbers, so perhaps they were stronger for not having split up as they searched for Alexis. They cautiously left the cabin in the knowledge it would be locked and protected while they were gone, but they would defend themselves if it became necessary.

  The women brought their bags, just in case they’d be gone a while. They weren’t sure yet where their search would take them, just as they weren’t sure what had happened to Alexis.

  “This could be a trap, you know, to lure us out?” Lisa hypothesized, as they passed the parked cars and ventured around the side of the cabin. The cabin was on a lot of land, and there were trees and there was other cover that obscured their view of much of the property.

  “Could be,” Rose admitted, as they walked further out into the open. She was tempted to call out for her, but didn’t.

  “Alexis didn’t have a car with her, did she?” Jamie asked, to which Lisa shook her head.

  “No, she got a lift with me the first time,” Erin replied, “a taxi back into the city, and returned with Lisa and Rose.”

  “Ah, okay,” he responded, as though scratching that idea off his mental list.

  It was a nice day, though cloudy and a bit humid. Judging by the warmth of the sun and its position in the sky, it couldn’t be too much later than 10am.

  “Would it be possible to shield us, in case there are any threats lurking about?” she asked Lisa, knowing she had some useful magical skills in her bag of tricks.

  “I’m already on it,” she told her. “Kitchen witchery’s more my forte, but I can do it. It’s easier to maintain a shield if we stay closer together.”

  Rose moved closer to her girlfriend, not that she needed a reason to begin with, and smiled. “Your kitchen witchery’s the best, especially the edible kinds. Is it possible to hone in on Alexis’s location somehow?” Rose asked, considering what magical abilities she knew about.

  “We’ll try that if we don’t find her. It’s easier to find things like objects if somewhere in your mind, you already know where they are,” Lisa explained. “You can access the unconscious or sub-conscious part of your mind. If you don’t know, then it isn’t especially helpful, typically-speaking.”

  Rose nodded, finding her explanation helpful.

  “So how’s Raven?” Jamie asked, as he looked around carefully for any sign of Alexis.r />
  “He’s still unconscious, but the doctors are more certain he’ll pull through,” Erin replied.

  Jamie smiled at that. “I’d like to go visit him once he’s awake. Do you think the Enforcers would allow that?”

  She nodded. “I’d say so.”

  The conversation brought to mind one Rose had the night before with Agent Heriman, if it was truly him.

  “I heard something happened at the hospital last night,” she revealed. Rose was curious to see whether Erin would fill in the missing information. It seemed strange that Erin hadn’t mentioned the attack, now that she thought about it, but they had been occupied with the search. Rose had told the others who were at the cabin the night before.

  Erin nodded, and she seemed surprised that Rose knew. “Someone attacked Raven, but it was completely unrelated to what happened with him here. A guy had an argument with his girlfriend, walked in Raven’s room and tried to hit him. I wasn’t there but my sister was. The Enforcers got him to explain later, and he said he didn’t even know who Raven was. He was just so angry.”

  Rose found that equal parts interesting and disturbing. “That’s strange, that of all the people he could vent his anger at, he’d attack Raven – especially when he’s unconscious.”

  Erin frowned. “Yeah, I know. Who does something like that?”

  “I wonder if there could be a residual curse that’s attracting darkness or trouble Raven’s way,” Lisa suggested. “Maybe something was cast on him to ensure the draugr flew at him and not toward someone else, and it was the same thing that attracted the angry guy toward him at the hospital.”

  Jamie nodded. “Yeah, that’s possible. If it was, then whoever did it must’ve had it in for Raven, and wanted to seriously harm him or kill him.” He glanced Lisa’s way and a sense of meaning passed between them.

  “We can undo this,” she insisted, folding her arms. “We can remove this curse from Raven, if it is one, and ensure it isn’t cast on the rest of us.”

  “Would you have to go to the hospital for that?” Rose asked, thinking it might not be such a bad idea anyway. There might be more they could learn there, and it should be among the safest of places, though it seemed the necromancer had already proven his or her reach extended that far.

  “Yeah, we would.”

  “I think we should go,” Jamie exclaimed, drawing agreement from the others.

  “Just as soon as we find Alexis,” Rose added.

  “If we can,” Lisa replied, worry clear in her tone.

  They searched for another half an hour and tried to ring her multiple times, but they couldn’t find any sign of Alexis. Their concern growing, Lisa contacted Agent Heriman and summoned him to join them.

  He appeared before the coven members and Rose, where they stood in the shadow of a large oak tree near the back of the cabin. If anything, the angel looked annoyed. It was probably because Rose had hung up on him the night before, but she’d had her reasons at the time.

  “What’s going on?” he asked, glancing around cautiously in case they’d called on him at a time of trouble.

  “We think Alexis might be missing,” Erin informed him.

  “We have more to tell you too,” Rose admitted, managing to look a little apologetic on account of not calling him back. She didn’t want to be put into protective custody though. She preferred to look after herself, while she had the option to do so.

  “How long has she been missing?” he asked, glancing between the ladies and Jamie.

  “Since this morning, we think,” Lisa replied with a worried sigh.

  Heriman’s gaze lingered on Erin for a moment longer than the others. “Were you gone last night?”

  She nodded at that. “Yes I was, but I came back, and I assure you I’m not the necromancer.”

  He frowned and folded his arms. “Why would you say that?”

  It may have been a trick of the light, but Rose thought she saw a vague shadow of wings on his back, as though they were almost transparent.

  “Last night the necromancer appeared at the cabin pretending to be you,” Rose explained. “I was on the phone to you when I walked into the living room and saw you, only it wasn’t you.”

  His mouth fell agape. “My God Rose, why wouldn’t you tell me that? I’m trying to help you here and keep you all safe. I could have you charged with impeding the investigation. How are we supposed to catch this person if you don’t work with us?”

  She sighed, wincing at his reaction. “I’m telling you now.”

  “What happened?” Agent Heriman asked, barely controlling his irritation.

  “Oh, he disappeared when he realised we were on to him, and then Jamie saw a motorcycle outside the gate leaving. It seems he can teleport like you do.”

  Agent Heriman sighed. “That’s not a good sign.”

  “Please,” Lisa said, raising her hand slightly in an attempt to settle Rose and Agent Heriman’s anger before it could escalate. “Rose is right and we are telling you now – you haven’t been left out of the loop. However, Agent Heriman makes a good point,” she admitted. “We can’t do everything ourselves, especially as the necromancer has proven he can infiltrate the cabin and the hospital. Agent Heriman, you should know we have the cabin and the property warded now. If he tries to enter, he’s going to find it very difficult. No one can teleport directly on to the property without being summoned now. Outside is another matter.”

  “They could also use regular transport. I got a taxi back this morning,” Erin added.

  “It’s possible to get in that way,” Rose replied. “He’s going to run up against a barrier though even if he tries to enter through the main gate.”

  “It should give us some warning, at least,” Lisa confirmed.

  “I just wish you’d told me this last night.” Agent Heriman was more hurt than angry now. “I would especially like to know any time someone is posing as me!”

  “I know, I’m sorry,” Rose exclaimed. “It took us a while to figure out you were most likely the real you. Things just felt… very wrong in that moment.”

  He sighed, but nodded in understanding. “I get it.”

  Jamie, Lisa and Erin apologised as well.

  “So there’s no reason Alexis might’ve had to leave, so far as you know?”

  Agent Heriman’s question was met with silence, as Lisa shook her head.

  “Not that I know of,” she replied, glancing at the others. “She would’ve told us where she was going so we wouldn’t worry about her.”

  “I wonder if she was lured out beyond the ward somehow. I couldn’t see her phone in her room, by the way,” Rose explained.

  “So someone might’ve rung her,” Jamie said, “and what? Got her to go outside?”

  “It’s possible,” Rose said, considering the likelihood of it. “I don’t want to assume, but if she was blackmailed, or if it was someone she knew and trusted, maybe she would’ve? The necromancer’s already shown they can convincingly imitate people.”

  Agent Heriman looked deeply concerned by the possibilities.

  “I’m going to report in to Headquarters. I’ll teleport back to the road outside when I’m done. I assume that’s as good a place as any to uh... put down?”

  “The ward ends at the gate, so it’s fine,” Lisa confirmed. “We want to go to the hospital and check on Raven. Could you please take us with you? That’s if it’s alright with–”

  She looked at Rose, then Erin and Jamie. No one disagreed with her suggestion.

  “We locked the cabin door before we went out,” Rose added, “so we’re good to leave whenever you’re ready. That’s if it’s alright.”

  Before they knew it, they were standing in a corridor of the hospital, which branched off Enforcer Headquarters. Nurses busied themselves at a nearby desk, and everything was clean and tidy.

  “Just call me when you need me. I can’t promise I’ll be there instantly, but I’ll get back to you when I can,” Agent Heriman promised.

 
They agreed, and he disappeared again in the blink of an eye.

  Rose wondered to herself if he ever got dizzy from the sheer amount of teleporting he did. It was likely a huge timesaver though, particularly in his profession.

  Lisa embraced Rose softly, which made the succubus smile for her. She mouthed the words ‘love you’, then approached the counter where one of the nurses was working on a computer. Lisa couldn’t see what she was typing, because the back of the computer faced toward her.

  “Hi, excuse me. We’re here to see a patient by the name of Ross or Raven Hughes.”

  It occurred to Rose that she should’ve checked Raven’s real name before now. If she was going to find out who was responsible for the attack, she needed to look not only into his recent circumstances, but also his family’s past. They’d been members of the coven just like the others’ relatives, including Lisa’s.

  “He’s a patient here in this ward. Are any of you family members?” the nurse asked, glancing between them.

  “I am,” Erin said, raising her hand. “We’re all coven members but I’m his sister-in-law. I was here last night after he was brought in.”

  The nurse seemed to think it over for a minute; likely considering the orders she’d been given, and determining if Erin was a close enough relative to be let in. While somewhat stern-looking, the nurse seemed to be in an easy-going mood.

  “I’ve been told family can visit so you can go on in,” she told Erin. “I’ll find out how things stand for the rest of you,” she promised the others, as she accompanied Erin down the hall and into one of the adjoining rooms.

  “We should’ve lied,” Jamie exclaimed with a frustrated sigh. “We’re as much family as you can get. More family than family often is, you know?”

  Lisa smiled. “I know,” she said, putting a comforting hand on Jamie’s shoulder.

  Erin was gone for a long time, but when she returned she was beaming.

  “They’ve got him under guard in there. Raven’s awake! They mustn’t have wanted the word getting out before they were ready.”