by Phil Stern
Would Norine be willing to watch over Blake while she was gone? That might be a tough sell, Tiffany thought as she finally drifted off to sleep beside him.
*****
“Absolutely not.” Glaring at her over the coffee cup, Norine slowly shook her head. “No fucking way.”
In her late 30's, Norine still possessed a dazzling, taut figure, her naturally blonde hair possessing only a touch less luminance than her younger sisters. (A witch’s hair could be any color, but was always long, full, and stunning.) A diplomatic official with the Canadian government, Norine’s cover allowed her to freely travel around the globe, checking in on the Coven members stationed on Earth.
Of course, a sorceress could always duck into the Boundary and simply ask the hummingbirds to take her to Russia, or Australia, or anywhere else. But that required exiting a portal in the middle of a forest, or desert, or even underwater. Then you had to hitch a ride into town, dodging all the locals on the way.
Commercial flights might seem far less glamorous, but in some ways, were actually more convenient.
“Only for a few days.” Trying her best to smile reassuringly, Tiffany plunged on. “And I would really, really appreciate it. After all, this threat just materialized…”
“This is exactly why we don’t have boyfriends.” Sitting back, Norine raised an eyebrow. “I don’t even know why Eleanor tolerates this. If I were Coven Leader, you would have been set straight a long time ago.”
“Of course.” Taking a sip of her own coffee, Tiffany thought quickly. “But in protecting Blake, we’re showing these other witches we can’t be intimidated.”
“Or, we’d be showing strength by just letting them take Blake out.” Norine paused while her cup was refilled and the waitress moved on. “Then they’d know our Coven doesn’t form limiting emotional attachments that can be used against us.”
Neatly trapped, Tiffany waited a long moment. “Well, put that way, I guess we do have some ‘limiting emotional attachments.’ But I’d rather not see mine killed in some inter-dimensional conflict he knows nothing about!”
“Oh, so it’s a conflict now, is it?” Leaning forward, Norine studied her. “Maybe these girls just wanted to say hi? Did you think of that before beating them up?”
“Didn’t I just tell you? They attacked Blake!”
“By the stone, Tiffany, maybe he just tripped and fell! After all, he is just a big, clumsy, mundane dolt.” Idly, she flicked an empty sugar packet at the salt shaker. “Either way, it’s not like this Sharra assaulted you personally. If anything, you attacked her!”
Tiffany crossed her arms. “I was there. You weren’t.”
“Perhaps.” Now Norine sensuously stretched a hand forward, flicking another empty sugar packet at her. Without any magical assistance whatsoever, it landed right on Tiffany’s chest and stuck to the front of her blouse. Several men looked over, staring first at the sugar packet, then the two women.
“What are you doing?” With difficulty, the younger witch maintained her composure.
“Better take that off, missy.” Grinning, Norine clicked her tongue. “If you aren’t careful, one of these assholes might want to fuck you. And then what would we do?”
“Stop it.” Brushing the sugar packet away, it dropped into her lap. “This is embarrassing.”
“Oh, dear. Miss Goody Two Shoes is all embarrassed.” Deliberately straightening up, Norine gave their admirers a clear view of her full, firm figure. Looking about the diner, she made a point of briefly staring at each man in turn.
Suitably emboldened, a guy at the counter stood and began walking over. But somehow, a steaming coffee pot on a passing tray spilled all over him. Grimacing, he ran for the bathroom.
“My, my. Aren’t you all in control.” Tiffany nodded in mock approval. “You’ve still got it, baby.”
“Oh, I know.” Norine took another long sip, savoring the rich coffee taste. “And don’t you forget it.”
A minute went by in strained silence.
“One day. Maybe two,” Tiffany implored, distracting another man heading in their direction by causing his pocketed cell phone to ring. “That’s all I’ll need in Haven.”
“I don’t babysit.”
“Come on, Norine. I’ll owe you.”
“Hmmm.” The other sorceress considered. “Do I get to fuck him?”
Tiffany visibly stiffened, her hard gaze locked on her Coven-mate. “No. Not even a little bit.”
“So you really think, if I were to stay in your apartment for forty-eight whole hours, that a big hunk of mindless protoplasm like Blake could keep his hands off of me?”
“Yes.” The brunette witch held the older woman’s gaze. “In fact, I do.”
“Wow.” Eyes widening, Norine was clearly intrigued. “This is going to be very interesting.”
“But just to avoid any misunderstandings,” Tiffany smoothly continued, “you can stay in the empty apartment across the hall. Maybe visit his precinct during the day, see what’s going on.”
“Oh, my,” Norine breathed, carefully eyeing Tiffany as she raised the coffee cup once more. “Somebody’s got it really, really bad.”
*****
An hour later Tiffany found herself once more hiking through the woods, heading for her favorite Boundary crossing.
With a half-mile to go, she suddenly stopped. There was a magician up ahead, the familiar emanations of an earth stone carrying easily through the trees.
Could these new witches imitate their own power source? Quite possibly. Ducking behind a tree, Tiffany picked up a small rock, charging it with green energy. She then tossed it high up in the air to burst above the tree line. The letters “TJS” were visible for several moments, before the granite residue dispersed in the soft wind.
Half-a-minute later, another rock popped into green lettering over the treetops a short distance off. Barely discernible through the intervening branches were the letters “MBR.”
Marissa? Puzzled, Tiffany pushed on, soon spying her Coven-mate a short distance off.
Lean and slender, Marissa leaned against a tree, smiling in welcome. Wearing the traditional jeans, boots, and white top, she sported a pretty yellow flower tucked into her soft brown hair. Two butterflies circled slowly about Marissa’s head, drinking in her powerful aura.
Marissa had been badly wounded in the search for the mad wizard two years before. Along with another sorceress, she’d tracked Lord Gensrow to a Jainian village. Unfortunately, their enemy had learned of the Coven’s approach and prepared an ambush. In the ensuing melee Gensrow had slain April and briefly taken Marissa prisoner, but only after she’d suffered a nearly fatal arrow to the chest.
Still, Tiffany’s age mates had battled fiercely, managing to significantly weaken the wizard. If not for Marissa’s courage and April’s ultimate sacrifice, Tiffany might not have been able to defeat Gensrow later on that same night.
One of her favorite sisters, Marissa was definitely more intellectual than most. An amateur inter-dimensional scientist, she studied literature and artifacts of many worlds in her spare time, seeking to understand the full interaction of the universe.
Oddly enough, Marissa had grown up in a fully magical world. The daughter of some local king, she’d often witnessed all kinds of mystical beings attending her father’s court. Yet, as with most “natural” dimensions, Marissa’s home was generally quite cruel and chaotic. In a surprise onslaught one night, her family was killed and the castle burned to the ground. Two weeks later she was rescued by the Coven in a deep cave, where she’d been hiding from marauding dragons.
“And what brings you to this fair corner of the universe?” Smiling, Tiffany approached her.
“You, of course.” First giving Tiffany a hug, Marissa then stood back, looking around. “So this is Earth, huh?”
“Indeed it is. Do you like it?”
“I suppose.” Marissa shrugged. “I’ve found the woods look much the same in every dimension, though the predators v
ary widely.”
“Well, the most dangerous thing you’ll find out here is a squirrel.”
“Good. I just spent a month dodging huge, magical snakes in Canton. Very nasty.”
It was still odd, Tiffany thought as they meandered together towards the Boundary portal, to hear her sisters speak the names of other dimensions so casually. Before Gensrow, a sorceress only knew the names of the worlds she’d been officially cleared to visit by the Coven Council. While providing greater control of the comings and goings of young witches, the attendant insularity had proven a tremendous weakness in mobilizing for action. Now, they were all encouraged to systematically visit the dozens of explored outer worlds, though with a more experienced Coven-mate the first time around.
Which brought up an interesting point. “Did you need my help on a research expedition?” Tiffany asked. “After all, Earth is the origin of all humanity.”
“Well, as pleasant as that sounds, we have more urgent matters to attend.” Detouring around a large tree in their path, Marissa once more fell into step beside her. “The Coven is in an uproar. Everyone’s been put on alert. They’ve already pulled a dozen girls out of exposed positions in the nastier dimensions. Our younger sisters are all on sentry duty, guarding the portals in Haven. Trust me, the Council is taking what happened to you last night very seriously.”
“Really?” Tiffany sighed. “Norine didn’t seem to think it was a big deal.”
“Well, that’s another issue. The Council is furious that Norine countermanded your grounding. As we speak, everyone on Earth is breaking cover and going deep underground. No one is to cross the Boundary without escort.”
“I see.” Instantly, she thought of Philadelphia’s newest detective. “Uh, that might be a problem. Norine is actually guarding Blake for me while I’m gone.”
“Yeah, about that.” Frowning, Marissa glanced over at her. “Norine is to watch over your place and maintain discreet contact with any strange witches that show up.”
“Discreet contact? That’s it?” Instantly, a ball of fear formed in Tiffany’s mid-section. “What about Blake?”
“If they threaten any Terrans with physical violence, which presumably includes your guy, Norine will take them out.”
Wow. For the moment, at least, the Coven was backing her odd arrangement with Blake, though it sounded more like a general policy than any particular sympathy to her situation. Tiffany decided to change the subject. “So you’re my bodyguard?”
“Not permanently, though that sounds like a much nicer assignment.” Marissa irritably rubbed her forehead. “I’m here to safely deliver you to our Coven Leader, whereupon I will become her bodyguard.”
“Deliver me to her? You mean, Eleanor’s not in Haven?”
“She’s in Vail. If worst comes to worst, the Council doesn’t want to be caught in one place.”
Now that was interesting. Vail was a high-tech world, as well as Eleanor’s birthplace. In fact, the Coven leader still considered it her home away from home, maintaining both a residence and cover there.
But Vail was also a designated rallying point, should the Coven face a devastating attack driving them from their tiny, idyllic home world. In fact, the Coven had recently constructed a large safe house in Vail, with ultra-modern defenses and cross-dimensional sensors.
“Vail has other advantages,” Tiffany mused. “If Eleanor’s physically separated from the rest of the Council, she effectively assumes full executive authority. Now she can order everyone about without listening to Barbara’s bullshit.”
“Trust me, Barbara’s just as concerned as Eleanor, maybe even more so,” Marissa said. “The rumor is Barbara wanted to send the strike force here immediately, maybe trap these girls on Earth. The Council voted her down.”
This was yet another post-Gensrow alteration in the ebb and flow of Coven life. The strike force consisted of four seasoned witches, stationed in Haven, who could be deployed to any dimension instantly in response to a crisis. It wasn’t Tiffany’s favorite assignment, though it did allow her to brush up on her fighting skills. “You just started your week as a striker, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, that’s why I was sent to escort you.” Marissa paused on the edge of a clearing, reorienting on the Boundary ahead. “When Norine’s message came in about what happened last night, I was told to arm myself and meet you here.”
Arm herself? Only now did Tiffany notice the simple, greenish-grey metallic rod attached to Marissa’s belt. About a foot long, it almost pulsed with a subtle intensity.
Surprised, she recognized it as a rumored new magical weapon. Crafted with great skill and tremendous secrecy by the Coven Council, it actually contained a tiny sliver of earth stone, thus possessing its own innate power source. “Is that what I think it is?” Tiffany asked.
“Indeed.” Marissa nodded, pulling the rod from her hip. “One of the very first.”
Intrigued, Tiffany studied the rod. Appearing as if it was machined in some advanced shop, it was an inch in diameter, with precisely flattened ends. “Uh, what are they called?”
“They don’t have a name yet,” Marissa cheerfully replied. “So I nominate Coven Stick.”
“Coven Stick,” she slowly repeated. “I don’t know. It sounds like a cooking utensil.”
“But can a cooking utensil do this?” Stepping back, Marissa carefully held the weapon out to the side. With a sizzling snap, it suddenly telescoped out several feet, becoming much larger and sinister looking. Cracking with green energy, Marissa then used it as a laser, making a neat, smoking hole in a nearby rock.
“Okay then.” Tiffany folded her arms. “But I can do that with a simple sword. Maybe not as precisely, but…”
“Oh, but it can become a sword.” Flicking her wrist, the rod grew out into a gleaming, razor-sharp blade. “Or a gun.” With another tiny movement, the rod now became a sharp-looking assault rifle. Putting the weapon to her shoulder, Marissa fired a tight, three-round burst at a large rock. Struck with green, glowing rounds, it burst apart.
“All right, I’m getting more impressed.” Tiffany thought a moment. “But what if…”
“You want a dog? No problem.” Tossing the rifle on the ground, it instantly morphed into a huge, snarling dog. “Or how about a Unarian attack lizard?” Marissa asked. Touching the dog on the rump, it now changed into a hissing, slithering, four-foot tall lizard.
“Uh, Marissa?” Tiffany watched the alien creature, a maniacal gleam in its eye, angrily swish about. “Unarian attack lizards are dangerous.”
“But not to us.” Sticking her arm before the predator’s face, it let out a tremendous screech, sinking its fangs into Marissa’s wrist. Comically frowning, the lizard then released her, spitting out a bad taste. The witch’s arm was unblemished. “This weapon can’t harm us in any way, but it’s extremely powerful. This is only a small sample of what it can do. For instance, if you need a nuclear warhead…”
“Hold on there, Dr. Strangelove.” Tiffany held up a restraining hand. “I get it. You don’t need to show me.”
Marissa frowned. “Dr. Stranglove?”
“Sorry. Local reference.” Carefully extending her arm, Tiffany touched the Unarian attack lizard on the head. With a final growl, it shrank back into a harmless looking rod, which in turn darted straight up into Tiffany’s hand of its own accord. “That’s a nice touch.”
“Well, yeah. But you have to be careful. Possessing their own magic, these things actually get a little too independent sometimes.” Marissa pointedly held out her own hand. “If you don’t mind?”
The weapon felt awfully good against her skin. Tiffany could feel the innate green energy of the Coven Stick seamlessly merging with her own, creating a potent bond. Regretfully, she passed it back over. “Will I get one of my own?”
“I don’t know.” Turning about, Marissa advanced into the clearing until her earth stone began glowing. Touching it, a Boundary portal formed all around them, the mist appearing out of thin air. Smi
ling, she looked back at her fellow sorceress. “Let’s go see what Mommy says.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Waiting several moments for the portal to reach optimal strength, the two witches then entered the mist, crossing out of Earth into the Boundary.
CHAPTER THREE
FROM THE MOMENT a young sorceress first receives an earth stone, one rule is pounded into her consciousness on a daily basis. Whatever happens, don’t get caught performing magic in any of the “mundane” dimensions.
Or to put it another way, if the locals think magic is just fiction, a fairy tale to tell children at night, then never disabuse them of the notion. Because in such worlds, anyone possessing “impossible” abilities instantly becomes a target, as would any sisters following her.
Thus, the Coven had to be extremely careful when operating in Vail.
Not only was it the most mundane of dimensions from a magical standpoint, it was also a highly advanced technological world, passionately devoted to the scientific method. Whereas someone on Earth might witness a water glass falling over, seemingly of its own accord, and think little of it, on Vail a team of experts would be called in. Was there some seismic tremor? Did a rogue citizen use an illegal device to tip the glass over? Could there be some kind of mind control at work? A myriad of sensors and recording devices would be consulted, noting everyone in the area at the time of the “event.”
So a sorceress really had to keep her head down and nose clean. Otherwise, things might get very messy.
Obviously, the women of the Coven had grown up in all kinds of worlds. Fully natural (magical) or completely mundane were the easiest to define. Fringe worlds possessed some magical awareness, yet it wasn’t a generalized phenomenon. (Fringe dimensions were always interesting, as you never knew how people would react to demonstrable magic.) Then you had the “mixed” worlds, where populations of clearly defined magical and mundane beings lived in easy, or perhaps not so easy, proximity.
