A Witch, a Fairy, and an Esper

by Ross Homer

  Relaxing into this whatever it was, I turned and passed my full-length mirror on my way down to my den. I was still naked but…no! I had become Nissa! I had her amazing silver hair! It hung past my waist and swirled about my body as if in a soft breeze. Her body was my body but…no! It was my face looking back at me. I had her strange gray eyes! And…now I was dressed as she’d been when I’d last seen her.

  I almost vomited from it and then…I was me; naked with my normal short, multi-colored hair. My eyes were properly mine too. Turning, I saw me on the bed, still holding Elsa’s hand to my breast.

  Breathing a sigh of relief, I continued downstairs to my den. I had to try to locate this other witch and I knew it was going to take more than my computer. Maybe I could ease back into the scene and maybe observe who it was? I suddenly ran back upstairs and picked up Reiko’s blouse.

  There was no one in my bed! What the hell? My heart dropped. Elsa! Where was she…Wait! I was dreaming and here I went again, fighting it. I stopped and relaxed. My vision changed. I saw my sleeping self kiss Elsa gently on top of her head as we cuddled. Dammit! As I stood there, I felt her hand on my breast again, just like when I was looking at it from the foot of the bed earlier. But…what the ever lovin’ hell was going on? That was not my breast Elsa had her hand on. I had a small, almost perfectly round brown spot the size of a dime just to the outside of my left nipple. Had it all my life. It wasn’t there. And that breast was a little larger than mine. Had I become Nissa again?

  I was back in the dream within a dream. As I watched us sleep, I became me again. I must have been thinking about Nissa before we went to bed. I looked at myself in the mirror again and I was me. Even my boobs were mine and the brown spot was there. I touched it and then went back downstairs.

  I’d had some strange dreams over the years but this one so far, beat ’em all. Even back in my doping days, I’d never had a one like this.

  I decided I was going to try and sneak into the scene with Reiko standing at a desk. This was going to require something I’d only heard about. Moving into another realm is the only way to describe it. I knew without a doubt she was not in this one.

  Reiko was dead. Nissa and I had found her body earlier. I felt my stomach flip over, and the pizza creep up my throat. Fighting it back down, I double checked my wards. If that witch was out there, she or he wouldn’t be able to get into my house without my knowledge.

  Right now, I will brag about me just a little. I am very, very good at what I do. My training had been the absolute best. My grandmother and grandfather, my mother and father, all had a hand in teaching me. It was too bad my sister and brother didn’t have the inborn capability. We’d have made a dynamite team. But…if the basics ain’t there, you can’t make it happen.

  I finished my drink and carefully set the glass on a coaster. Drink? Tequila? I had been drinking wine. No! I was asleep. I wasn’t drinking anything. The glass faded away.

  Wait! Now I was wearing a pair of old blue jeans and a Mariners t-shirt. I didn’t remember putting on clothes, such as these were. And…they weren’t mine. Goddess! What the hell was going on? I was naked in bed with Elsa. I was naked here, too. And now…I’m not. This was getting weirder and weirder.

  I picked up Reiko’s shirt again. I felt a tingle in my hand but nothing more.

  Closing my eyes, I slowly brought her shirt to my face. There was still no sign of the other witch. Good. I took a quick sniff and felt that contact with Reiko. Still good. I waited a full minute and still nothing. Better and better. Then I put the shirt hard against my face and fell again, into her scent.

  Up on the bed, I had the awareness to squeeze Elsa’s hand and pull it and her tighter to me. Almost painfully so, in fact. Somewhere in my mind, I knew this was the only way for me to return to whatever was passing for the real world. If I let go of her, I may never be able to find my way back. Was Elsa a witch who didn't know it? I didn’t care as I moved even tighter against her in my sleep. One of the many things I loved about my small partner was that her curves seemed to fit perfectly in my spaces. It was a good thing because before I continued on in this dream, I didn’t think there was an atom of space between us from thigh to neck.

  I was standing in the concrete room again. But there was a twenties style phone on a desk beside an old banker’s light. The light was on and it gave off a soft orange glow. There were no other decorations. I couldn’t see a door or window. Damn, I was getting tired of every scene shifting like a bad acid trip.

  Reiko was standing beside the desk, leaning against it. “You came!” she whispered; her eyes wide.

  “I…I think so,” I replied as I moved towards her. She was naked. Her face…oh lord. Her right eye was swollen closed and there was a cut above the eye that had finally stopped bleeding, leaving her face a bloody mask.

  She could barely see out of her left eye. Her lips were swollen, and dried blood covered her chin and had run down her swan-like neck onto her chest.

  Crying softly, she moaned, “I…I was strung up like a heavy bag you see in a gym. I was used as that punching bag by…something. I never got to see it.” She was covered in scratches and bruises. Her wrists were a bloody from rope burns.

  “You’re safe now,” I said as I went to her. Putting my arms around her I said, “I will get you out of here.”

  “Please. If it comes back it will kill me.”

  “Then hold tightly to me.”

  We were standing outside her house. It was cold and a little foggy. I could feel the pavement under my bare feet, the chill of the air against my naked body. Again? I was just wearing old clothes. Crap! I felt off balance…like I couldn’t catch my breath. But I was still holding on to Reiko.

  I was afraid this had been too easy and yet here we stood, alone, in her driveway. Silently, I sent a prayer to the goddess for our safety as I continued to hold Reiko. I asked her, “How did you get away?”

  “I don’t know. I was there then I was at that desk, where you found me. God, Jocelyn! When I got tired and sagged, the rope was lowered so I could stand flat on my feet. They…it…I don’t know! But it or they threw buckets of cold water on me when I was like that. It didn’t stop the beating, though.”

  “You were naked through all of it?”

  “Yes. Not much of me escaped the blows.”

  “I can see that. I have to ask; were you raped, too?”

  “No, thank goodness. I think that might have been next before I was finally killed.”

  I did what I could to relieve more of her pain.

  I let go of her and stood back. Reiko was a stunning beauty. Healthy, I just couldn’t imagine how much more beautiful she’d be.

  Holding hands, we walked up the dark driveway to her house as if drawn there. She opened the door and we continued up the stairs facing us. She took me down a hall and up another set of stairs.

  We were now in a room where she died. I beseeched the Universe, “Oh Goddess! Help me! No…help us!

  She stood at the desk and faced me. Softly, she asked, “I will die here, won’t I? I can feel it.” She began to cry softly, and I held her again without replying. I knew she had but I’d try to change it if it was within my ability to do so.

  “I don't want to die but I can only hope I won't suffer any more than I already have.” She looked at me and said, “I need to tell you some things before whatever this is, ends.”

  All I could do was nod and try not to cry.

  She began, “My father is a mobster and a killer. But I think you know that.”

  “I do. If you don’t already know, he died yesterday. Your mother, too.”

  “Good riddance to him, then. But my Mom? She’s not involved in this. How…?”

  “I’d rather not say.” I wasn’t going to tell her because she was going to die the same way. I felt the world fall from under my feet because I so wanted to save this young woman and there was no way.

  I suddenly stared at her as something dawned in me.

 
She asked, “What? Is everything okay?” Her large dark eyes widened.

  I nodded slowly. “You called to me yesterday morning! It was you saying, ‘help me.’”

  “My God. Yes! I picked up that ancient phone and yelled that into it. Twice.”

  “And here we are. This is getting stranger and stranger. Do you have any special talents? Are you a witch, too? Or are you simply human. Please don’t take offense to that.” Maybe if I could figure this out, she wouldn’t have to die.

  “No. As far as I know I’m an ordinary human. So, no super-secret Japanese powers or anything like an anime character. There have been times when I wished I had some. When I was taken was one of them. But no…I am just me.”

  “On that note, do you have any idea who took you? Or why, for that matter?”

  “No. I was enjoying a week off work when I found myself strung up and feeling the blows all over my body. I could feel them, Jo! But I could see no one hitting me. I thought maybe they were turning me to hide whoever it was from my sight. I don’t know now. But I saw not a single person hitting me.”

  She paused then said, “My father…we were estranged. I hated what he did and the only thing I took from him is my car. Other than that, he was not part of my life at all.”

  “That’s interesting. When he hired me to find you, he told me you were his sunshine. He may have been bad, but he loved you.”

  She nodded silently and stared at me. Then she said, “But now I’m free of him. I will tell you that he killed my brother. I saw him do it one night in an alley in Tokyo. I was passing when I saw him just put his gun to his head and pull the trigger. That’s when I fled for here. I didn’t know he had businesses here too. And then he showed up at my door one night not long ago and tried to explain why he killed my brother. I closed the door in his face, taking a chance that I’d join my brother. I didn’t care. My father murdered my brother in cold blood, and I could have easily joined him in the ground.”

  I stared at her before I said anything. I knew now that there was nothing I could do to prevent her death. This was coming to a close and I needed to ask again, “Reiko, do you have any idea at all who took you and why?”

  “I don’t know! I swear I don’t. I was sitting in my apartment, reading a book. Nothing more. Then I was naked and hanging from that rope. And the rest. I have no idea who took me. As to why? My father, of course. Had he overstepped his bounds? Tried to take over someone else’s business? Murdered the wrong person? I don’t know and now, my turn’s coming. No, please don’t say anything, Jocelyn. My family has died because of that monster and shortly, I too, will join them. I feel it here.” She put her hands over her heart. Tears streamed down her cheeks. “Do you know if I will suffer?”

  What could I say to her? I saw the results firsthand. “I will be honest, Reiko. I don’t know.”

  The scene shimmered, like a strange movie effect. And then…oh Goddess! I was seeing the nightwalkers. They were ghastly creatures some strange shades of gray and black. There were blood red streaks across their odd hides. They had orbs that might have been eyes. But there were too many of them! Like spider eyes. They were huge and space black. And space cold.

  They appeared silently behind her. As I opened my mouth to scream at the horror in front of me, one of them reached out with something…not hands, and encircled her head. Another appendage wrapped around her shoulders. As the thing appeared to look straight at me, it twisted Reiko’s head hard to the left and then ripped it off as easily as me tearing a single sheet of paper in half. Blood exploded out of her neck covering the nightwalker and surrounding parts of the room. She died instantly.

  Another appendage tossed her headless body at the other one who proceeded to do to her what I’d seen with Nissa. After it ripped her apart, it too, stared at me and bit through most of Reiko’s left ribcage and everything it encased.

  Then I saw the first one open its mouth impossibly wide. Before I screamed and jerked awake, I watched it crunch off the top of Reiko’s head and suck loudly at her brains.

  The rest happened after. Reiko had died without suffering other than the moment she felt the creature take hold of her and seeing the horror in my eyes.

  I screamed! And screamed again!

  I became aware of Elsa holding me tightly. “Jo!” she gasped. “God, Jo! It’s alright! I’m here. Wake all the way up!” She reached across me and turned on the lamp on my nightstand.

  I sobbed in her arms while she used soothing words to help me recover from the horror I’d just seen. Or was it a vision? But as I lay there like that, being held tightly by Elsa, I vowed that Reiko Sato would be avenged if I or we could figure it all out. Nissa, Elsa, and I. It had seen me yesterday. Had it seen Elsa, too, through my eyes?

  I sobbed against her and prayed not.

  Chapter 5

  Before sleep reclaimed both of us, I wrapped my arms and legs around Elsa and clung to her for dear life, as if she was a beautifully shaped life jacket. I think she understood because despite being practically suffocated by me, she didn’t me push away.

  She whispered, “What on Earth just happened to my big, strong, tough-assed witch?”

  I kissed her ear and replied, “She just had the absolute daylights frightened out of her,” I replied and kissed her again. She was right earlier…we needed a shower but right then both of us needed sleep more. Knowing it would take more out of me than I wanted, I also cast fatal wards around our bed. We were in a full bubble now and they would hold until morning. Not even a gnat could get through. I hoped that those nightwalkers couldn’t either, should they come looking.

  Elsa snuggled into the few small spaces in my arms and fell asleep. Me? I had to digest what I’d seen and heard and make sure that I held onto my small, beautiful anchor at least for the rest of the night. Me. Big, tall, and strong, feeling safe in this small woman’s arms. If I hadn’t been so terrified, I’d have laughed at how silly this seemed. Then I kissed the top of her head again and joined her in sleep.

  Sunlight streamed beautifully through my bedroom window turning everything golden. The day was going to be spectacular.

  I awoke alone and I sat straight up, expecting Goddess knows what. Didn’t I go to sleep with Elsa? Where was she? Oh. Duhhh. I heard the shower running.

  Getting off the bed, I felt about a hundred years old. I sort of staggered into the bathroom and smiled at my elfin lady standing in the hard spray of the shower, washing her dark blonde hair.

  I got in with her, making her shriek a little, and took over washing her. That led to a longer than usual shower that made us feel at least a thousand percent better.

  Here, in the brightness of daylight, I knew I was safe. So was Elsa. We got out and brushed our teeth and got ready for the day.

  Standing naked in my bedroom, Elsa kissed me hard and then stepped back. “Listen, Jo, I’m sorry about what I said last night.”

  I replied, “What do you mean? You have nothing to be sorry about.” I opened my closet door, carefully, because I was gun shy this morning. The closet was empty of any nasty creatures and I breathed a sigh of relief.

  I wanted a skirt and blouse for the day and chose a blue and white skirt that hit about mid-thigh and a simple white blouse.

  While putting on a bra, she said, “When I asked what happened to my big, strong, tough-assed witch. Remember? I think I was kinda mean to you. I didn’t mean to be, but you scared the crap out of me.”

  “No, you weren’t being mean at all. I’ll say the same thing I said to you last night. Your big strong nasty-ass bitch witch had the absolute shit frightened out of her. Elsa, you didn’t see what I did, and you don’t want to see it, either.” Still leery of closed doors and drawers, I carefully took my own moderately sexy white undies out of my lingerie drawer. Thankfully, no creepy crawlies.

  As I pulled on my v-panties, I watched her. Elsa may be a little woman but only in size. Her size didn’t take away from the steel in her spine. Not even a little bit.

&nb
sp; She glared at me and snapped, “I may not have seen whatever you did but dammit lady, you better tell me about it. I held you when you woke us screaming.” Then she backed off a little. “I've never seen anyone as scared as you were.”

  She stepped into her own panties and then pulled on light blue slacks and a pale-yellow blouse.

  “If you insist. Over coffee? It’ll be ready when we get downstairs.” I put on my white bra and nodded at the door. Today, Plain Jane. That was me.

  Elsa looked at the other clothes she could have chosen and said, “How many times have you told me that you’d rather use a coffee maker than magic Man, this magic shit is the bomb! I wish I could do some of it.”

  Now I felt I could laugh a little as I pulled on my skirt. “Magic, Elsa? Nope. Sorry to burst your bubble but the coffee maker’s on an automatic timer.” I watched her closely. There was something about her, though. Was she Fae and didn’t know it? I knew she wasn’t a witch. Maybe I’d see more downstairs since our relationship had now changed dramatically. We’d gone from lovers and partners to something far different. In all honesty, I think she saved my life last night. How? I didn’t have a clue. It was only a feeling.

  We finished dressing and went downstairs holding hands. In the kitchen, the coffee was, indeed, ready. After mixing our coffees, we sat at the table.

  She started, “Now give, witchy woman. What happened? What did you see? It’ll be easier to handle for you if you share it.”

  I shook my head. “I knew I shouldn’t have paid for that psychology course you took.”

  “Right. Now you are evading. What happened? I love you and nothing you’re going to say is going to change that.”

  Taking a deep breath, I stirred my coffee and she was right, of course. I was evading. “You asked for it, tiny human woman.”

  She smiled and nodded. “That I did, big witchy woman.”

  I recounted everything from when Bob picked me up and we went to Sato’s house to my whatever it was last night. I left nothing out including seeing the nightwalkers seeing me. I couldn’t describe what happened after that, seeing Reiko’s body when she died. The sounds of the creatures tearing off her head and limbs were still powerful in my mind. The crunch as the one bit through the top of her head and the other through her chest. It was much, much worse than a dog with a bone.