"What is it?"
"Dionysia is going to find out about you, if she doesn't already know, and she's going to want you." I wrapped my arms around his neck.
“Well, she’ll just have to deal because I’m taken,” I said, trying to lighten the mood. He pushed me away and swallowed.
"I'm serious, Ascher. She collects people like you. She makes them vampires so they'll be loyal to her and then uses their powers as she sees fit."
"She can't touch me. When I kept Gemma from killing Daray I made him swear to stay away and told him the same goes for the vamps."
"That might work for the local vamps because when you made the pact he was working directly with them, but Dionysia is not local and I doubt that would stop her anyway," Elliot said.
"This is getting all crazy. We don't even know why the vampires want to see me. I mean, maybe they want to tell me something."
"What else would they have to say to you?" Elliot asked.
"I'm sorry for biting you and your sister. Our bad?"
"You were bitten," Elliot said, like he'd just figured something out.
"Yeah. You were there."
"I have something I have to do," Elliot said. "I want you to be on your guard and take some precaution with you when you leave the house, even when you go to visit the witches tomorrow." I was half-way through the mirror when I caught the meaning of his words.
"Wait a minute! How did you know I’m going to meet them?" I asked. Elliot's lip twitched in a small smile, but he wouldn't meet my eyes.
"I have my ways," he said. I started to ask exactly what these ways of his were, but the mirror was swirling around me and I had to get back to my house. When I was safely on my sink, Elliot gave me a brief kiss on the cheek and began to fade.
"Be careful, Ascher," he said. I opened my mouth to tell him to do the same, but he was already gone.
Chapter Four
GEMMA
It was dark where I was and the stench of mold was almost overpowering. I tried to swallow, but my mouth was dry. God, I was thirsty. I could drink a gallon of water, I bet. Better yet, I could crawl under a water dispenser and just flick the little blue switch sending chugs of bubbles to make those fun gulping noises as the air rose. Mostly, I wanted to get that gross metallic taste out of my mouth. What the heck had I been doing? Sucking on pennies?
The sounds of muffled conversation floated to my ears, but I couldn't quite make out what the people were saying. Whatever. It was time to haul myself up and get ready for-smack.
"Oh! Oh, man!" I'd banged my forehead on something hard. Reaching up to see what I'd hit, I felt something solid blocking me, closing me in- a coffin. "No, not again!"
Kicking wildly and banging my fists on the lid, I began to scream. What I wanted to do was cry, but that and a nail file weren't going to get me the hell out of here. "Savian! I swear I'm going to kick your ass!" Or at least kick him in the shin and then run like hell, but he didn't have to know that.
The smell of burning overpowered the moldy stench and the lid above me disintegrated, making ash and pieces of smoldering wood fall on top of me. As my eyes adjusted to the light cast by a single flame, I saw Ascher standing over me, smiling and tossing a ball of fire in her palm like a softball.
"Holy crap! How long was I stuck in there?" I asked.
"I wouldn't know. I just got here," Ascher said. "Anyway, Savian said it was time."
"For me to kick the crap out of him? Yeah, I know."
"Well, my work here is done," Ascher said, like some kind of clichéd hero out of a western.
"Where are you…?" Ascher disappeared. "Asch? Oh, shi…"
"There's no need for that kind of language." I spun around so quickly, I almost fell. Savian smirked at me.
"What'd you do with Ascher?"
"Nothing. It's you I want." I snorted back laughter.
"Yeah. It's likely." I snapped. Savian waved his hand and an invisible force drew me to him until I was only inches away.
"Would you care to dance?"
"Hell no!"
"Well, then I suppose it's a good thing you don't have a choice because I would." I struggled to get away from Savian as he began to move to the strange music filtering in from who knows where, but he held me in a vice grip. Feeling very much like a mouse being suffocated by a snake, I dug my nails into his forearm. "Don't resist me, Gemma. I could offer you the world."
"I'd settle for some personal space." Savian laughed.
"Ah, always a quick word, but then, that's part of your charm. You deserve someone who's not afraid to take what he wants. This fellow you've been seeing isn't worthy of you, Gemma."
"Oh? And a bloodsucking fiend is?" Savian's eyes turned red and he gripped my arms more tightly.
"I've laid claim to you!"
"Well, good for you, Columbus. You think that vamp politics and all this stuff mean anything to me?"
"It will soon."
"Oh, why? Am I getting a lobotomy in the next few days?"
"You'll learn to see things my way. After all, we're family."
"Gemma?" Ascher stepped through the darkness, looking paler than usual. All the color and life seemed to have left her. "Promise you won't leave me alone. Promise," she said. I reached towards my sister and wrapped her in a hug.
"Of course not, Asch. I…"
"Then we'll be sisters for eternity." I frowned at her choice of words, but before I could ask what she meant, her teeth pierced my skin.
***
I awoke with a start, my hands half-shifted into claws. When I saw I was in my own bedroom and not in a coffin, I kicked the covers away and made my way out of my bedroom. Ascher's door was partially open and my new night-vision allowed me to see her snuggled in her bed, clinging to the ratty teddy bear she'd had since she was three. She looked so innocent it made my stomach lurch to think that Savian might do something to her. Had it all just been a dream or was Savian trying to goad me into a meeting by threatening my sister.
"I'll claw his eyes out."
Taking the stairs two at a time, I made my way past the living room and down a steep flight of stairs to our basement where the computer was. I clicked the icon for the internet and waited until the search engine came up on the screen. After typing in what I wanted to search for, my eyes roamed over the words to make sure they were spelled correctly:
How to kill vampires.
Chapter Five
ASCHER
When my radio alarm woke me, it was to the jarring beat of a heavy-metal band. That'd teach me to leave the radio dial on random. It was six a.m. on a Saturday morning and Gemma and I had to leave the house in a half an hour if we were going to get to the Bruer's bookstore by eight.
Though Gemma and I didn't want to get involved more deeply in the Underworld than we already were, Anise was working on a restorative memory potion for our grandmother. The chance to know why Grandma had bound her memories and those of my mom and Aunt Jane was what was making me climb out of the seductive warmth of my cozy bed. That and the open tab they were giving us at the store.
Gemma had spent the remainder of last night searching web pages for all the magical supplies and ingredients known to man, or to witch for that matter. She was wary of Anise's blind hatred of warlocks and said we might as well "get something" out of our little arrangement.
After brushing my teeth, washing my face, and putting on some makeup, I made my way to the kitchen where mom was sitting with Gemma. My sister looked up at me with enviously perfect skin that didn't need the foundation I was addicted to.
"Hey, Asch. I was just telling Mommy about the extra credit report I'm helping you with for Dolan's Honors History course." I stared at Gemma, guilt biting at me as Mom smiled and clambered over to the counter to pour a cup of coffee for me.
"It's DECAF!" Gemma stage whispered.
"Oh, Mommy what's the point?" I asked. My mom was still under the impression that I was five, and thus not a candidate for coffee drinking. Not that she was all w
rong about it, I once drank one of those canned energy drinks and spent the afternoon happily cleaning leaves out of the storm drains around our townhouse.
Gemma and I kissed Mom goodbye and headed out to my sister's light purple corolla whose windows were frosted with the breath of coming Winter. The drive out to the Bruer’s turned out to be a good one (we didn't use Mapquest this time,) and the CD player left us with little distraction as we sang along to The Phantom of the Opera. Gem has always had a thing for musicals.
When we arrived at Bruer Books we still had five minutes to spare. Gemma turned off the ignition and turned to me, face serious.
"I know it won't, but just in case anything happens, I just wanna make sure we both have our cell phones and these. Gemma pulled two cans of pepper spray from her oversized tote and handed one to me. I took one look at the little can of spray and burst out laughing.
"Gemmy, these people are witches for God's sake," I said. Gemma stuck her bottom lip out like a petulant child and cast me an evil look.
"Witches have eyes, don't they?" She fumbled for the spray and gave it an angry shove into her tote before loping out of the car in a freaky show of her supernatural agility. I got out of the car and slammed the door behind me, hurrying to catch up with Gemma who was making long strides to the front door.
"Anyway, if they go all Samantha Stevens on us, or their hair turns into snakes, or something, we'll have a better chance of getting out."
"That's Medusa," I said. Gemma raised an eyebrow." You were talking about snakes for hair. The Gorgon Medusa had them."
"How do you know such weird stuff, Asch?" I shrugged.
"Besides, they're supposed to be scared of us, after all we're the warlocks. We should be happy the witches even acknowledge us." Gemma elbowed me and I smirked at the thick sarcasm I was wading through.
"Looks like they're here," Gemma said. A dark black Porsche with tinted windows slowed and the engine revved. That was so not the Bruers'. The window rolled down a tiny bit and Gemma let out a little squeak.
"It's him, it's him!"
"It's who?" I asked.
"Savian!"
"How do you…are you sure?" Already, I was calling my magic, the fire coursing through my veins and chilling me to the bone. I put myself between Gemma and the car and hurled a fireball into the interior of the car. The shiny, sleek car disappeared.
"Uh-oh!"
"What did you do, Ascher? What did you do?"
"I'm, not sure, I…" The light tinkling of bells chimed and Gemma and I turned to see a stooped elderly woman, and two teenage girls.
"Mrs. Bruer," I said, my brain too muddled to think of a greeting. What had just happened?
"It was a phantom vision, sweetheart. My granddaughter here had the impression you were on the side of the vampires, so she distracted me while sending the vision to you. I'm so disappointed in you, Anise Pepper Curry!" I wasn't disappointed, I was pissed, but we had come in peace after all. I couldn't hurl fireballs at the snooty little witch, so I did the next best thing. I flipped on my oh-so seldom used Bitch-Switch.
"That's okay, Mrs. Bruer. I'm sure her name is punishment enough. Gemma sniffed back the giggles and slugged me in the arm.
"I could say the same to you," Anise said. I frowned. I loved my name. It was the one thing my father ever gave me. As for Gemma, her name was British as were we. Our dad grew up just outside of London.
"Yeah, well. They're family names, not ingredients for take-out,” I said.
"Now, now, girls," Mrs. Bruer warned. "Why don't you girls help the sisters pick out some things from the store. And take all you need, girls. After all, we're the first coven you've come across and you're Lost Witches."
"More like lost and found," Gemma said. Anise stomped inside after Mrs. Bruer, leaving Cyd to shepherd us inside the store. We were greeted by a black and white longhaired cat who looked like my cat Nicky on a bad hair day.
"That's Dandelion," Cyd said. "We call him that because he's my dandy little lion. Aren't you my dandy lion!" Dandelion's fur bristled and I could swear he was cursing in some subtle kitty way. I waggled my fingers at him until he came over and let me pet him.
Picking Dandelion up, I surveyed the store which was small, but overflowing with mystical merchandise. Signs reading: Altar Supplies, Circle Supplies, Divination, Gemstones, Herbs, Candles, and Gifts were painted a soft white with blue lettering. Books were stacked to five feet high and practically fell from the Spartan shelving. The sight of so many books, many of them old-looking and leather-bound set my heart to pitter patter and I felt a need to frolic through the store. Instead, Gemma and I stayed together while pawing through the displays of smooth, waxy candles and silky altar robes. We made several trips to the counter to dump our loads and when we'd finished, I looked at our selection.
One dark green altar robe $59.95. Assorted candles, $3-$22.00 each. Getting all the witch supplies you need and having Sabrina the Teenage Bitch foot the bill- priceless.
Gemma picked out a purple altar robe and, together, we chose a no-stick, titanium cauldron, two cat shaped tea-light holders, and two frog shaped taper holders. A pack of tarot cards, a box of cinnamon scented incense, and a glass incense-holder. We'd also nabbed a silver silk altar cloth, an extra large plastic storage bin, fireplace matches and the gemstones: bloodstone, tiger's eye, moonstone, green agate, amber, coral, lapis lazuli, and turquoise.
"You girls still need a broom and some wands," Mrs. Bruer said. Gemma was sniffling again to stifle the giggles that we both had a bad case of. Even though we knew all of this stuff was real, it was still so unbelievable. I felt like Ashton Kutcher was going to pop out any moment to tell me that I'd been punk'd.
"You guys really ride brooms?" Gemma asked.
"No, dear. The broom is for sweeping away negative energy, but we'll get to all of that in time. Would you girls like some tea?" I was struck with the thought that my grandma was also a tea fanatic. I wondered if it was some remnant from her once-witchy ways.
Gemma and I sat at a small table with misshapen, but comfy cushions and made small talk with Cyd while the tea was brewing. Anise watched us from the small window in the front of the shop that still had its closed sign faced out towards the parking lot. Mrs. Bruer placed an old tea set on the table.
"Come join us, Anise," Mrs. Bruer said. Anise rolled her eyes, but complied with her grandmother's request even though her eyes remained wary when focused on us.
"As my granddaughters told you, Daray Valerian has been stealing powers from both factions of the magical community. Through scrying, I was able to see that his reasons for doing so center around you, Ascher."
"Me?" I asked, though I felt it to be true. Daray Valerian had been so obsessed with my fireshifting ability that he had offered to train me in magic. The guy had even proposed to me which was freaky to say the least. The news that his attention was refocusing on me made my stomach churn.
"How do you know for sure?" Gemma asked.
"I cast a spell to see what Daray's magical purpose was, what his final goal for stealing powers was and I saw Ascher's reflection in the water. That's when I told my granddaughters to pay you girls a visit. Though you're warlocks, you're also witches and we protect our own. Now, we can help you girls cast a protective circle around your house and draw some protective runes, but we'll still need to test how closely Daray's watching you."
"How can we do that?" I asked.
"We'll start by calling your mother. You girls are going to need to stay the night."
Chapter Six
GEMMA
I followed Nana Bruer to the kitchen, leaving Ascher to deal with the snotty little witch and her cousin. Did I feel bad leaving her with them? No. I had bigger fish to fry; fish with pointy fangs and an aversion to sunlight. After I made the call to mom to tell her that Asch and I were crashing at a friend's house, I turned to Nana who was eyeing me with curiosity.
"We have books on vampires in the family room. We'll take a drive over t
o the house when we've finished with the tea. Feel free to borrow whatever books you need, though I trust this is just research and not the beginnings of anything else?"
"Holy crap! Ascher told me you guys could read minds, but…man!"
"I try not to invade the thoughts of others, but it's more difficult with some. Your thoughts were practically hollering at me. Tell me, child. Have the vampires been trying to contact you?"
"Well, not exactly. I've just been having dreams. Scary ones. With lots of blood and less fluffy bunnies and rainbows." Nana Bruer nodded.
"Yes. Well, that's completely normal after all you went through my dear. I just wish we could have helped you like we helped Ascher." Right, like when you threw her out of the house?
"Anise acted without my knowledge and I bound her powers for two weeks, for a born witch that's almost like a magical suffocation."
"Forget it; it all worked out alright. Well, I mean, aside from Daray still stalking Ascher, and the night visions of vampires."
"You do that a lot. Don't you dear?"
"Do what?"
"Use humor during stressful situations. It's a coping mechanism for some."
Thank you, Dr. Phil.
"Yeah, well. Desperate times and all that. I'm going to go finish my tea." Not my most graceful exit, but hey, I was cornered and my fight or flee thingy had kicked in. All in all, having a cup of tea was way better than tussling with Nana. As I walked into their living room, I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of books that covered the shelves.
"The vampire related books are over here dear," Nana Bruer said, pointing to a row of books that held books so old and rotted looking, I was worried they'd fall apart in my hands. We don't have any specific information on Savian Radbourne, but there is a history of the Master Vampires of the Midwest." I snorted back a laugh.
"Master Vampires of the Midwest sounds like a lame B-movie." Nana Bruer smiled at me before hobbling out of the room. Dragging my index finger over the volumes, I noticed they hadn't been dusted in a while.
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