A Witch, a Fairy, and an Esper

by Ross Homer

  Elsa sipped her coffee and toyed with the buttons on her blouse. I realized she did this when she was nervous or thinking. She was definitely thinking about something.

  But then, since my dream, I had been thinking, too, and not about monsters of the night.

  After another sip, I put my cup down and asked, “I want to know something, Elsa. Something about you; more than I already know. You comforted me last night like hasn’t been done since I was a child in my mother’s arms. Well,” I smiled at her and picked up my cup, “you ain’t my Mom.” I sipped again and watched her blush. I was onto something here.

  I’m a witch and sometimes I get feelings about people that are far different than from using my craft. I had that warm, sensual feeling last night as she held me…a kind of undercurrent to what I saw with Reiko the first time I ‘saw’ her. It became especially strong when Elsa held me. I knew something about certain other types of people and wondered if it concerned her.

  She stared into her cup for a moment, as if she was choosing her words, then looked across the table at me. She said, “So we’re not going to talk about your dream, eh?”

  “There’s no more to talk about. I told you all of it. What I want to know is a lot more about you, now. Like…where are you from? Home, I mean. I know that you’ve never really talked about it in our time together. You know all about me. I don’t really know squat about you.” I reached over and took her hands. “Elsa, just like you said to me, I will love you no matter what you tell me. Okay?”

  I leaned back in my chair and waited. I didn’t know it, but I’d lit a fuse to an explosive revelation.

  Elsa took a deep breath and held it for a second before slowly letting it out. “I was born not far from Santa Fe, New Mexico. My parents are amazing people and it’s surprising that I went kind of sideways on them…and me…when I left home. When I turned sixteen, I didn’t want to live on a ranch in the mountains anymore. I wanted the bright lights and big city life. Santa Fe and Albuquerque weren’t it. I drifted to LA for a while.”

  Elsa sipped her coffee and her eyes lost focus in some memory or other. “They didn’t disown me, but they came damn close when they found out about some of the totally stupid shit I was into for a while. That was before I screwed my head on straight and finished high school and college, and got that job up here in IT.”

  “What did you do?” My mind went through all kinds of insane ideas.

  She fell silent for a full minute and sipped her coffee. I could tell she didn’t want to talk about her past, but I wanted to know, good, bad, or indifferent. Six years living with this amazing woman and all I could see of her was a blank space prior to us meeting.

  “I fucked up pretty badly, Jo, before I really fucked up.”

  Here it came. Was I ready?

  “I started doing drugs at fifteen. Me and a group of friends. We smoked and had some ‘shrooms from time to time. At sixteen, not long after I left home, I pulled my first trick. It was a dare in Santa Fe, and I was totally screwed up at the time. I thought it would be fun, you know, to walk on the wild side a little. Just a little, I thought at the time. It wasn’t. The third guy I was with tried to fuck me up really bad. I barely got away with some of my clothes and skin intact and nothing else. Mom and Dad didn’t know about that portion. But you know? I’m sometimes too stupid to learn.

  “When I recovered from that, I danced some. Yeah. Naked. I was eighteen then. That lasted until I got married a year or so later to a real pig. You know…a trailer trash kinda guy living in a trashy apartment. But I tested for my GED and then I went to LA City College and got an associate’s in computer technology.”

  She stared into her cup and I reheated it with a finger wave. “Before we, ahh, met, I was sleeping with the boss’ wife on occasion. Okay? Earlier that day when you and I met, he’d discovered what we were up to. I didn’t know it and wasn’t prepared. She and I had a good time. That’s all it was, and it was nothing like the love you and I have for each other. Both of us knew it was short term. Like you and Bob, we even offered to let him join us. Nope. That, he wasn’t going to do. She belonged to him, not some lezzie cunt. His words, not mine.

  “He wanted revenge on me and her. That morning, she disappeared. We were supposed to meet for lunch and break up, I guess you could say, but she didn’t show. Didn’t answer her cell. To this day I don’t know what happened to her, but I fear the worst.”

  She drained her cup then shook her head ‘no’ for a refill. I sipped and waited, knowing this was quite possibly the hardest thing she’d ever done. Telling me about that night.

  “When we closed up for the day, I tried to call her again and got no answer. I guessed that she’d decided to cut me off completely. It kinda hurt but I had no hold on her. The guys wanted to go out for a drink and I, still not aware of anything wrong, said ‘sure.’

  “And then it all went straight to hell. I was going to pay for what I’d done with his wife in the worst possible way you can imagine. Jo, Nissa was dead wrong. As soon as I felt that roofie or whatever they gave me kick in, I knew what was going to happen to me in that alley. I tried to fight them off, but you were there and saw that I wasn’t going to win.”

  Now came the tears. I reached across the table and took her hands. She squeezed mine for dear life.

  “Goddamnit, Jo! I told them that if they’d just take it a little easy on me, I’d do them and not say a word about it. It might not have been fun for me, but I’d have been in control. No, that’s not what he wanted. He wanted me dead!”

  She chuckled sadly then smiled through her tears. “Then you pulled me out of it. I went from being a well-paid computer tech to a poor, lowly secretary to a slave-driving witch.”

  I wasn’t going to play this game. She was trying to be funny, but the situation was serious. “Baby,” I said, “You are avoiding, too. There is something about you…something different. You are not a witch. Are you a fairy or something like it? I think Nissa would have caught that. So, Elsa St. Jermaine, what are you?”

  She fiddled with that button again. Then she fiddled with her cup. I could see her trying to decide what to say.

  Taking a deep breath, she told me. “You’re right. I’m not a witch or Fae. I am an empath.”

  That was kind of a letdown. So? So are many others. Me too, from time to time. But she continued. “I can take your emotions and magnify them and feed them back to you. That’s one reason why your orgasms are so much more powerful with me. I can also ground out, so to speak, negative emotions. Like last night, when I held you. Like I’ve done other times, too. There’s more. Many normal people are like this. Okay? Regular humans. I come from people who are far more advanced than that. You almost had it. Think about it. New Mexico? Santa Fe?”

  And the fuse I lit exploded. I gasped, “Oh by the Goddess! You’re an Esper!” I’d heard all kinds of things about those people. That they were some kind of government experiment gone wrong. That they could make you cluck like a chicken or rob banks. Crap like that. I also believed that they were all good people, too. I’d heard that, too. And one of them sat facing me. One who’d shared my bed, body, and life for six beautiful years.

  In the time I’d known Elsa, I found that there wasn’t a single mean or bad bone in her body. I was in love with her, too, and that had to count for something.

  She nodded slowly. “Yes I am. However, I can’t read your mind like Nissa. Nor can I move things like some of the others in my family. I cannot make you do anything. Never forget that. I didn’t make you have sex with me that first time or any time since, or,” she smiled across at me, “make you fall in love with me. You did that all on your own. You can’t be coerced into something good or bad despite what those right-wing assholes like to say. None of us can or would want to.”

  She paused and then pushed her cup away. “I couldn’t control those guys at all. Normally, I might have been able to control one or two or them. But all four? No. I was completely overwhelmed by their negative e
nergy. I think the roofie helped keep me unable to use my ability. Then, thank God, you came along.” Smiling, she added, “My Queen with the Rusty Rebar.”

  I got up, went around the table and gently kissed her. “I love you, little woman. I knew something was up with you when I’ve had those terrible days when I’ve been overwhelmed with depression. You hug me and poof! All or most of that negativity disappears.”

  “I’m only helping you, Jo. Most of that depression, you take care of yourself. If I were to drop dead right now, you’d continue to. I love you too much to watch you suffer. On the other end of this spectrum, adding to your orgasms enhances mine, too, since I can’t use my ability on myself.”

  I arched an eyebrow. “I didn’t know that! I’m sorry.”

  “Please, don’t be. I get feedback, as it were, from your enjoyment. Both of us share in your enhanced pleasure. Trust me on that.”

  We had to kiss on that note. Then I said, “Now…you and I have a problem or a potential problem. The nightwalkers have seen me. They looked straight at me in my vision or dream or whatever it was. Did they see you? Or did they see Nissa? I don’t know but I was in some other state of mind, I guess. If they did, I can protect you. But Nissa? I’d rather not leave her hanging in the wind.” I nodded at her cup. “Refill now?”

  She nodded and I took her cup to the coffee maker and fixed both of us another one.

  I returned to my seat and sipped my own coffee. “Let me fill in some blanks about that dream. I was there, Elsa, right there when she died. I know it was yesterday, but I talked to her before it happened. This is way outside my pay scale and skill set. Trust me. She knew she was going to die, too. Even though it hadn’t happened yet, in my dream or vision or whatever you want to call it, she knew it was coming. I hoped I could do something to stop that from happening, but I couldn’t. She knew that too. She didn’t know who took her or why or even where she was.”

  Then I got angry. “I know for damn sure she wasn’t in this realm!”

  Elsa touched my hand. “Easy, Jo. It’s over and there was and is nothing you can do about it. Move on and maybe we can try to figure out where she was.”

  Sipping more coffee, I nodded because as usual, she was right. I also decided I had something else to do. “Elsa, I need to call Nissa and see if she’s alright. Then I need to see if she can come here until this is done. I can protect the three of us together but not scattered all over Seattle.”

  She smiled widely and nodded, “That is an excellent idea. Do it.”

  I dialed Nissa’s number and she picked up on the first ring. “I knew you were going to call me, and I think I know why. You were with Reiko at the end, weren’t you?”

  “Yes,” I told her. “How did you know?”

  “It is hard to explain other than to say I felt you enter that realm. There’s more, too, isn’t there?”

  “Yes, there is. We can talk about it later.”

  “Good. I’d like that. I, uhh, knew you were going to call because I was online with my husband and happily relaxed. I guess that made me more receptive since you’ve been on my mind since we met. Maybe we can talk about that later, too.”

  “Good. I’d like to. I saw just about everything they did to her in a couple of seconds before I woke up. How, I don’t know, but I did. But that’s not why I called. If you can, I would like you to stay with Elsa and me until this is over. I can cast a strong enough ward to protect the three of us together, but not apart. What do you think? Can you do it?”

  Nissa replied, “Yes! That’s a great idea. I’ll pack a bag and come to your house in a few minutes. I, ahh, need to hit the shower.”

  I could hear her chuckle.

  “I was umm, video conferencing with my hubby when you called.”

  “Great! Elsa and I will see you in a while. And video conferencing is what they call that these days?”

  “Yes, it is, and it’s almost as good as being together. Now…see you in a bit. Ta.”

  When Elsa stopped laughing, she drank the rest of her coffee then put her cup in the sink. Turning to me, she said, “I know you told me about it, but I want to see what you saw. Can you do that, oh wise witchy woman? Maybe I can glean some information from it.”

  I nodded, “Sure. I think so. But I’d like to wait until Nissa gets here. I think she can do some things that might be surprising. Together, we can hopefully figure out how to get rid of them. Then who brought them here. Finding out why they were brought here, would be nice, too.”

  She came over to me and hugged me tightly then looked up into my eyes. “Look, Jo, we may have been together for the last six years, but we’ve only just started, you and me. We’re both young enough to live long lives together. Please don’t let anything happen to you while you’re investigating these things. Promise me that!” She had tears in her eyes.

  I gently thumbed the tears away. “Baby, you can count on it. I will do my best not to let anything happen to you, either. I love you and hope to be with you a good long time.” We stood there in the kitchen and kissed softly.

  I double checked my wards and then had a multi-grain bagel and cream cheese while Elsa decided on another cup of coffee. I found that waiting for Nissa was making me antsy, so I went upstairs and made our bed and gave some thought as to how I was going to find this other witch or, I guess, witches. How in hell am I going to do it without inviting nightwalkers into my home…our home. That would be another thing I’d talk with Nissa about when she got here.

  Nissa finally arrived and came in. She had an overnight bag and her shoulder bag. Unlike Elsa and I who were dressed for work, she wore old, snug blue jeans and a Mariners t-shirt. She looked damn hot like that, too.

  She didn’t see my reaction to her clothes as she kissed both of us and said, “I noticed a three-car garage in back. One space for each of us?”

  Nissa wore exactly the same thing I’d worn in my dream. To be honest, it scared me half to death. It was just another piece of that strangely weird dream. I think I hid it well when I said, “Sure. My Dad liked to tinker with old cars. Hence the three bays. Since he and Mom now live in Florida, I have all that space and all the space in my house, too.”

  “Where shall I put my bag?” she asked.

  “Follow me,” I replied and took her upstairs. “You can have the end room there,” I pointed to the far end of the hall, “or,” I winked, “share with us.”

  She chuckled and went down the hall to the other room. Inside, she set her bag on the bed. Smiling at Elsa and me, she said, “This is nice. Better than a hotel. And I have my own bath? I love you Yanks and your fondness for big houses and lots of bathrooms.” She kicked off her shoes and said, “First off, I’m very happily married so in spite of what I’ve hinted at, don’t get any ideas about some kind of wild-assed swinging girl sex thing.” Nissa has the most delightful laugh. “I’m doing quite well in that department, thank you very much.”

  “I don’t think ‘wild-assed girl sex thing’ is going to be a problem,” Elsa said. “We…oh, never mind.”

  I loved the way she blushed when she ran into this kind of thing without thinking first.

  “Baby, it’s all good,” I said to her as we returned to the kitchen. “Relax.” I pointed at the coffee pot and Nissa nodded. I poured her a cup and sat it in front of her at the table. She added sugar and a little half and half.

  “Now,” Nissa said to me as she sat at the table with Elsa, “Let’s get to it. I’m sure you have given some thought to what we’re up against. Am I right?”

  “Yes, I have,” I replied as I leaned a hip against the counter. “I saw what we’re up against in that dream or vision last night. I tried to explain it to Elsa, but I just can’t. I can possibly create something she could see but we wondered if you have the ability to read my mind and help her actually see it? Something like that?”

  She grinned and replied, “Yes. I think so. But some rules first, okay, mates?”

  Elsa and I nodded. We were about to go of
f into a mental territory I’ve never considered.

  “Jo, you have to allow me access to your mind knowing what I may see there. I will look specifically for that dream or whatever it was, but I may see other things you’d rather keep hidden.” She looked straight at Elsa.

  I replied, “I know what you’re thinking. Neither Elsa nor I are into any weird, kinky shit. We’re pretty plain in that respect. You know we’re both bi but then, so what? We love each other and we also love the Mariners.” I pointed at her shirt. “I have no deep dark secrets that you shouldn’t see.”

  Elsa spoke up. “Neither do I. I, ahh, wasn’t a good little girl but I have no secrets that I want to keep from you. But you’re not going into my mind anyway.”

  “True. That’ll make things easier.” She stared at Elsa for a long second. “You are amazing, Elsa. I find that now I can’t see into your mind at all because you’re blocking me so perfectly. Automatically, in fact. Now why do you suppose that is? Especially after letting me in yesterday?”

  Elsa’s reply was simple. “I have been able to block others from seeing into my head since shortly after I was born.” She laughed and then added, “Seriously, though. Since I was five or six. All of us are like that.”

  Nissa stood and went to Elsa and put her hands on her shoulders. She stared curiously into both her eyes. “Why…you are totally different than anyone else I’ve ever encountered. Totally.” She stepped back. “Don’t take this wrong but…what are you?”

  “Don’t know much about your own post World War II British history, do you?”

  I could see Nissa’s mind working as she continued to stare into Elsa’s soft blue eyes. To me she said, “You know, don’t you?”

  I nodded but said nothing.

  She asked Elsa, “Would this have something to do with the founding of Evangelina’s Bistros?”