

THE ELDER WITCHES

By R.E. Packer

Copyright © 2015 R.E. Packer

All rights reserved.

ISBN:

ISBN-13:

To my wife Amy and my two wonderfully creative children, Zachary and Autumn. Thanks for putting up with me while I took the time to do this.

Chapter 1

It's 4:30 in the morning, a pale but ordinary looking man is sitting at my kitchen table. He's well dressed wearing a light gray suit and vest with a purple tie. A gold pocket watch peeked out of the pocket of his vest. His derby sat on the table in front of him. My pistol sat in front of me. His name is Reynolds, he's known me for weeks, and he is a vampire.

Of course not a real vampire, but he insists he is. I would have called the cops already, if it wasn't for the sketch of the woman he had pressed at me. He seemed sober, lucid and not out of his gourd. I wanted to see where this was going before letting them haul him off to the loony bin. Showing up at a strangers dingy apartment in the middle of the night certainly classified as suspicious behavior. I needed to find out If he already hurt or killed the woman in the picture.

Of course I knew who it was, I had seen her earlier that day at work, and for the past few weeks. Her name is Gwendolyn Keane, the daughter of tycoon Marianna Brookshire. The rumors around the office were that they came from old money. One of those families that have always been rich.

"Stay there," I said.

Jumping up, taking my pistol with me, I kept an eye on him while I got the a file folder laying on the coffee table in the living room, which was the only other room besides the bedroom and the bathroom.

Inside the folder was a photo of Gwendolyn Keane. I'd gotten the folder with her picture when we'd gotten the contract to protect her. I laid the open folder on the table next to the picture in his beat up sketchbook. Then I sat back and waited for his reaction.

Reynolds had a blank look on his face and he sat too... still. Just his eyes watching. It reminded me of a painting of Jesus my aunt had when I was a kid.

"How is it that you know her? And why are you at my apartment?" I asked now that my sleep addled brain was clearing some. He knew more than some confused eccentric or somebody had forgotten to take their medication, which I presumed he was. And he had obviously been close enough to her that he had sketched a very good likeness of her.

"We've known her for many years. We just learned about you this week," he said speaking slowly, as if to a child.

"We? You're acquaintances with her? Enemies maybe?" I said throwing out possibilities as they came to me, hoping to get a reaction form the man. But he sat there like a mannequin, barely moving, not bothered in the slightest by anything I said. Jim Langhorne, my boss at Langhorne Investigation had given me the folder as my next assignment a few days before I started. All files were kept confidential, so how did this guy even know I was working with her.

"Did Langhorne put you up to this?" I asked not believing Jim would do anything of the sort.

"No sir, I have never met Mr. Langhorne," he said. "Again, I do apologize. If this was not an emergency I would not have come at such an uncivilized hour. We are not on good terms with Gwendolyn, or her mother, or her sister. This was the most direct route to get a message to her," he said.

I frowned. "Why didn't you email her or send a text message? Or for that matter, send her a letter," I said.

"It's too important for anything less than a personal message and she's still... angry, thinking we tried to kill her--"

"Tried to kill her?" I said raising an eyebrow.

"It's complicated and it was with the past leader of the Green Conclave. He wanted to use her blood to create an army. The witches lineage can create much stronger newborn than we can. I was not a part of the debacle. However, the witches are not very forgiving."

"Witches... great," I murmured. "Okay sir, have you seen her today? Have you hurt her?" I said, not wanting to call her at this hour, but no doubt would be shortly to verify her safety.

"No of course not. I don't think we could harm her if we wanted to, unless we got extremely lucky."

"You said lineage. I thought vampires just bit somebody to create another one," I said playing along.

"Yes, that's true, but the witches blood is much more potent," he said.

I stared blankly and sighed.

"Okay, give me your message and I'll tell her" I said trying to placate him. It was clear he didn't have a sane thought left in his head, getting him out was the best course of action.

He didn't say anything, dark eyes gazing at me. "You don't believe any of this," he said with an exaggerated sigh. Something about the motion looked out of place on him.

Before I could reply I saw a blur of motion streak toward me, and a breeze buffeted my face. Alarmed, I grabbed the gun but before I got a good grip he was seated again and I felt something odd about the gun. As I pointed the gun in his direction I realized the slide was in the locked back position. It hadn't been before. Then I saw the bullets on the table in front me of me, standing on end. They were arranged to make a letter V. The pistol's magazine lay on its side next to them. Tilting the gun in my hand I could see the empty mag well of my .45.

I looked at the man in the gray suit. He picked a piece of lint from his sleeve not looking in my direction.

"You did that," I said nodding at the bullets on the table. A small ice cube of fear sat in my gut. That wasn't humanly possible, but if he wasn't human than what he said was true, he was a vampire. I took a deep breath to steady my nerves.

"Yes, you needed to know this is real. You must speak to Gwendolyn," he said.

I picked up the magazine and started feeding bullets into it, jamming the magazine into the pistol with a satisfying crack.

"Okay, I give. What's this message that has you dressed for church and wandering the streets at this hour?"

He remained silent for a moment. "You must tell her they are in danger, as are my people."

"Your people, the vampires?" I said.

"Yes, a government agency called ORAB has created a weapon. Our person inside said they can use it to kill the vampires and the elder witches."

"A government agency..."

"They will believe you. They trust you," he said.

"They barely know me mister. I'm just the the help."

"You're more than that..."

"Why are you trusting me with your secrets?"

"Another good question for you to ask your current employers," Reynolds said smiling for the first time.

Sunrise was still about an hour away, but bed was a lost hope now. I stood up, put the gun in the back of the waistband of my jeans, and headed over to the coffee maker.

"I don't suppose you drink coffee," I said.

"Yes, I'm old enough that coffee and tea are able to be enjoyed again. But I must be going."

I pressed the start button on the coffee maker that I had prepared before going to bed. When I turned around the room was empty. On the table were Reynolds had sat was a business card. 'Reynolds Antiquities' was embossed on the front with a local address. On the back was a phone number in neat hand writing. Below the number was a small sketch of the three women I worked for.

Chapter 2

After taking Rutger for our morning run, showering and feeding us both, I said goodbye to the shaggy mutt. With the top down the Spring sun warmed me as the cool air cleared my head. The cherry blossoms lining the streets were just starting to bloom, giving the promise of summer to come.

Reynolds had called the women I currently worked for witches, and not in the normal way people say that about a woman, but the hocus pocus turn you into a frog kind. I ran over what I knew about the women in my head as I drove. I was a private investigator, or at least mostly. I didn't know we even offered security until my boss said that would be part of my new assignment.

I was assigned to protect the three women at 1313 Sycamore Ave. Two sisters, Gwendolyn Keane and Maeve Brookshire, and their mother Marianna Brookshire. The sisters were as different as their surname's suggested but were almost inseparable. Their mother, Marianna, in her endless collection of business suits, spent most of her time at their book store which must have been more of a hobby as it couldn't possible afford their lifestyle. Gwendolyn spent most of her time at the mansion growing herbs that they sold in their book store as tea or potpourri. When Maeve wasn't helping Marianna or Gwendolyn, she vanished for hours at a time, even though I told her repeatedly that part of my job was supposed to be to look out for her.

I tried to figure out how Reynolds had moved so fast, it was like he was on some kind of super steroid. But something about that explanation didn't sit right. I've never heard of a drug that can make a person go faster than you can see them. Unless he slipped me a drug. Could he have slipped me something, maybe when we shook hands, I'd heard of drugs that could sink through your skin and get into your bloodstream. I felt fine though, nothing else looked like it moved like he did. Rutger wasn't all of a sudden super dog, blurring around the apartment.

I arrived at my latest assignment in a very posh neighborhood in DC. My 15 year old Jeep stood out in contrast with the luxury cars more typical to the area. The irony hadn't escaped me how out of place and suspect I looked heading to work as "security". Getting rich has never really been high on my list of priorities. I do well enough now days, Rutger and I don't go hungry and we can still do our side job of looking for my sister's killer.

There was a driveway but I choose the street parking. Not bothering to lock the Jeep, I followed the flagstone path up the stairs by the sidewalk, through the wrought iron gate. The gray stone house was partially hidden from the street behind big hardwood trees. The walk through the trees gave me a chance to enjoy the birds and squirrels that were always in abundance. Large oak, birch and sycamore trees dominated the property, with so many flower beds and herb gardens as to look like a botanical garden. I hadn't seen a gardener on duty once since I'd started, except for the ladies who walked the grounds frequently, mostly Gwendolyn. However, it's been my experience that most rich people didn't do their own gardening, especially not when you have most of 5 acres to tend to.

Beneath a massive twisted sycamore tree near the side of the estate, Gwendolyn sat reading a book in the shade, her sweater wrapped around her thin frame. She wore black leather boots that were well scuffed.

"Good morning Miss Keane. Enjoying the outdoors again I see,"

She set her book down on my arrival, but remained seated on the bench and smiled up at me, "I've told you, please call me Gwendolyn. How are you this morning— I trust you slept well?"

I stifled a yawn thinking about Reynolds knocking on my door in the dead of the night, waking me from a sound sleep.

"Yes ma'am," I said figuring the white lie would be better than worrying her just yet about Reynolds.

"How is work going?"

"Everything is going well."

"No problems?"

"To be honest, there's not much to it. Most clients that would require security are celebrities or have had death threats for one reason or another," I said thinking about the 'vampire' that came to visit last night.

"Your firm also does investigative work, I understand," she said.

"Yes, we are all licensed private investigators—"

"Good. We have a long family history with a deep interest in learning more about certain aspects of our past."

"Your home is beautiful, has it been in the family long?" It was in the suburbs of an older part of town. It had to be at least 200 years old.

She waved her hand dismissively at the house. "It's been in the family since it was built. Marianna likes the house very much. Personally I like it out here much better."

"You do seem to spend a lot of time outside," I said and meant it.

"I'd better go relieve James," I said walking toward the mansion. James was the only other security officer. He was a fatherly looking man, trim and fit looking. When I came in for my shift we would usually chat a bit before he made his way to the apartment behind the main house. He'd been working for the women for years.

On my way through the door a black cat darted past my feet. Once inside, it turned and studied me with blue eyes.

"Where did you come from?" I said. I didn't know the ladies had a pet, maybe it spent most of it's time outside. I stuck my head outside to ask Mrs. Keane if she knew who's cat it was but she was already gone.

"I should make sure somebody is feeding you," I said. "Maybe James knows what your name is."

I headed to the kitchen in the back of the house, where James and I usually met up.

He looked up from reading the paper. "You look like shit, son," James said.

"Long night," I said.

"Oh?" he said raising his eyebrows. "Have a seat and tell me all about her." A smiled warmed his face and laughter filled his eyes.

"You know you're a dirty old man, right?" I said.

"Who, me?" he said, his easy smile in place.

"It wasn't a woman though," I said.

He remained silent but his eyes widened a bit.

Ignoring the look, I went on. "A man showed up at my apartment last night. He had a picture of Miss Keane," I said. I filled him in on as much as I could but held back the part about him being a vampire and the women being a coven of witches.

He set down the newspaper he been reading. "Why do I get the feeling like you're leaving something out?"

"How long have you worked here, James?" I asked.

"A lifetime," he said.

I trusted James, and the fact that he worked here for so many years spoke volumes.

"The man that visited me made some accusations and while I don't believe the things he said, it's made me think. Things here do seem a bit too... perfect"

"Perfect how? It's just some women fussing around in gardens or in books and an old man, yours truly, mostly watching TV."

I raised my hands. "Maybe it's just lack of sleep."

"I'm not sure what your friend told you but be careful, the women are protective about their reputation, and they are my ward."

"He's not my friend," I said and what the hell is a 'ward'?

"But you're still going to dig into whatever it is you're not telling me," he said frowning.

I nodded.

He sighed loudly and headed for the door.

"Hey, do we have a cat living here? Do you know what it's name is?" I called.

I thought I heard him chuckle as he kept walking.

Chapter 3

I got a cup of coffee from the pot James had ready for me and sat at the table by the window. I could see Maeve practicing Tai Chi on the patio; she was as graceful as a ballerina, which was funny because everything else about here reminded me more of a soldier, or maybe a construction worker I thought and chuckled to myself.

She stopped, catching my eye, sending a chill up my spine.

I waved and watched her for a minute. Her appearance and personality was different in almost every to her sister. They had both treated me with more respect than most people though. Usually, I'm just the help, there to dig up whatever dirt they're trying to find out or solve whatever crime (cheating husband, missing wedding ring, insurance fraud...). But here they acted more like I was a visiting friend or relative, telling me to quit worrying so much, relax more. It's not what you expected from people paying you to do a job.

Despite all that, I couldn't help but think of it as the witch house now. I gave everything a new look through more skeptical eyes. Real or not, there must be a reason that Reynolds thought what he did.

I looked around the kitchen. Jars of herbs sat on the counter and on shelves taking up most of the space on an entire counter. Each jar had a neatly handwritten label. There must have been hundreds of them.

I walked outside to where Maeve was still practicing to see what she lined up for me today, although it was usually Miss Keane, Gwendolyn, or her mother Mrs. Brookshire that found something for me to fill my day with.

I stood back and waited for her to finish with the Tai Chi sequence before speaking. My mind went back to Reynolds telling his tale last night. I gave Reynolds my word that I would relay his message, but that wasn't a very smart move if I wanted to keep my job.

I hadn't noticed Maeve had stopped, she must have quit in mid sequence, which was odd for her, nothing seems to break her concentration. She stood there watching me as I, as I was lost in thought.

"I was thinking of doing some shopping today. Do you think you could join me?" she said.

I nodded ascent. "Yes ma'am, of course."

"Anything else on your mind?" she asked.

"No, no I'm going to walk the property," I said; and look for anything that looks like a giant cauldron I didn't say.

She watching me as I walked away. A cold chill ran up my spine again and I hoped that I wasn't getting sick.

I walked the flagstone pathways around the property, looking at the gardens and age old trees. An hour later, I was no more sure about anything than I had been. I didn't find a boiling cauldron or see any pixies roaming the gardens. No elves, trolls or ogres presented themselves. What I did find was a giant ball of doubt forming in my gut.

Later, I found myself with an armful of panties, suddenly wishing I knew a lot less about Maeve, as she called for me from the dressing room, "hand me the purple lingerie."

A group of teenage girls giggled as they passed. No doubt enjoying my discomfort and reddening face.

Handing Maeve the silk and lace lingerie over the door I asked, "Maybe I should wait outside for you, ma'am."

She opened the door and all thoughts of leaving left my mind. Maeve stood wearing nothing but a skimpy lingerie and a big smile.

"What do you think?" she asked, taking a step in her stocking feet out of the changing room.

"Yes..." I said. Dear God, did I really just say that, a small voice in my head thought.

"Yes?" she said. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"Your boyfriend will like it, I'm sure," I said, finally finding my brain to mouth function.

"I don't have any suitors currently," she said.

A woman grabbed her husband by the arm pulling him along when he took in the sight of Maeve showing off.

Poking her head back out with a little too much showing for modesty, she said, "you look tired today, were you up late?" Her smile remained but her eyes watched me closely.

Why was everybody so concerned with my sleep?

On the ride back to the mansion I tried to get some back story about her and Gwendolyn but all she provided was that they were your typical spoiled rich girls. I found the statement odd since most rich people don't see themselves as spoiled or rich. But she threw it out there like a flag for the world to see.

When we got back I took more strolls around the property than normal, just to observe, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Gwendolyn worked in the gardens for part of the day, picking herbs, tying them into bundles to dry and doing other tasks I wouldn't have expected from spoiled rich girls.

She brought in a basket filled with various herbs, the knees of her jeans soiled from kneeling in the dirt, her sweater having been replaced by a tight fitting t-shirt. She reached up to grab a vase on the top shelf of the hutch, standing on her tip toes on a stool, her shirt lifted to reveal smooth pale white skin and a taut muscled stomach. She got a hold of the vase at the same time that her foot slipped off of the stool. I reached over to help break her fall, and she fell into my arms, my hand getting a little too much of a hand hold. She smiled up at me.

"What's going on it here?" a voice said from the doorway. "You've taken this protection thing to a whole new level Gordon," Maeve said.

Gwendolyn laughed softly, "His intentions were pure, I assure you."

I don't know if it was the camaraderie, or if I just had a giant lapse in judgment but I all of the sudden had the irresistible urge to tell them everything about Reynolds.

"I have to tell you both something. Last night a man came to see me claiming to be a vampire— he said you were witches— not that I believed him— but also that you were in danger," I blurted out in a single breath.

Neither looked the least bit surprised.

"A vampire?" Maeve asked.

"I'm sure they guy was off his nut but I don't want to withhold this kind of information. He came to my apartment early this morning, and he knew of you Ms. Keane."

Gwendolyn rested her hand on mine, which put me at ease. "Tell us everything."

So, I told them all about Reynolds and the government agency.

Chapter 4

I drove home from work early. Maeve and Gwendolyn said it was to give me a rest. I think they were trying to figure out if I was crazy for telling them a vampire came to my apartment.

A furry shape hit me in the legs when I opened the door to my apartment knocking me back a step. Rutger ran circles around me. It's nice to know I can rely on some things. We ate and went for a long walk. Back at the apartment, I was mulling over everything once again when a knock on the door rousted me from my thoughts. I picked up my pistol, if this was that Reynolds guy again, he was going to answer a few questions before I called the cops. I peered through the peephole in the door and saw a shock of blond hair.

I put the gun out of sight.

My neighbor Shelly from across the hall stood in the doorway.

"I saw you home early for a change and wanted to see if you'd come out with me," she said, adding quickly "There's a new club and none of my other friends could make it on a weeknight."

"I appreciate the offer, but clubs aren't really my scene," I said. Truthfully, I didn't have a scene.

"Come on, you need to get out. A few drinks, maybe some dancing, you'll have fun," she said.

I could use the distraction. I had been doing nothing but working and working out for months.

"Okay, I'll go—"

"You will? Great!", she said darting back to her apartment, leaving behind a puff of perfume that was a bit too strong.

"You'll have good time, I promise," she called over her shoulder.

An hour later we stood in line at The Edge, a new club downtown. A bouncer the approximate size of the Hulk waved people through. When we made it to the front of the line, he gave me an appraising look up and down, grunted and said with a thick accent, "You lucky you with cute girl. Next time wear something less... you."

I followed a giggling Shelly inside. The music pounded, people writhed on the dance floor, others stood here and there talking.

After few drinks, Shelly pulled me out on the dance floor, even though I couldn't dance well enough to do her any justice. She danced her way around the floor with impressive energy. After I danced more than I had in years, I sat at the bar away from the dance floor watching as multiple men tried to become her next dance partner.

Commotion near the front door caught my attention. In an almost visible wave, people turned to see the two figures who made their way past the dance floor. Men and a few women stopped what they were doing. Two women, one in blue, one in green, walked across the room with a casual grace. Neither wore the typical society girl high heels. I could see the same pair of scuffed black leather boots that I saw earlier on Gwendolyn, and black combat boots on Maeve. Something about them in the dimly lit room radiated, like they cast their own inner glow.

They headed straight for me, ignoring every other man, some of which elbowed closer in an attempt to preen for the ladies. A man tried to spin Maeve around, no doubt thinking it was a clever move. She dodged his hand, side stepping and pushing him back with one motion, never breaking stride. A bouncer dragged him from the dance floor toward the door seconds later.

They both stopped in front of me. Dozens of people stared, no doubt wondering how I could have been the lucky guy. I could see Shelly on the dance floor, her and her latest partner had both stopped dancing and were watching.

"Do you mind if we join you?" Gwendolyn asked.

Maeve was already sitting down, not waiting for my answer.

I gestured to the seat.

"I thought you went out even less than me," I said.

"We needed to talk to you," Gwendolyn said. "I hope you don't mind that we intruded on your date."

"Shelly and I aren't on a date," I said.

"Are you sure about that?" Maeve asked.

Shelly still stood watching long after the rest of the gawkers had gone back to their own activities.

"Maybe we should find a booth away from the peanut gallery," Maeve said nodding toward a couple of college students sitting at the bar openly staring at them.

"Good idea. Do you want a drink?"

I left our drink orders with the bartender then headed to a booth in the corner. The booth was a good location to talk being farthest away from the dance music and tactically it was a good choice as nobody could walk up behind us. Not that I was worried about security here, or was even on duty for that matter.

I looked the ladies over. They both had perfect skin. You hear that a lot, and it usually just means 'pretty'. There wasn't a single blemish on either of their faces. They stood out that much more in contrast to so many women in the club. They always struck me as pretty, maybe not supermodel gorgeous, but better than average. I looked at Gwendolyn's hands, I couldn't see a single scar, callous or blemish marring the perfectly white skin of her hands, which was odd as much work as she did outside.

"Some of what we have to tell you might seem fantastical. All I ask is that you give us a chance to explain everything—" Gwendolyn said.

"What are you thinking right now?" Maeve asked.

I hesitated, "Well, that usually somebody has a mole, a freckle, a scar, even just a red mark from something past. But I don't see anything on you. On either of you."

"Why do you think that is?" Gwendolyn asked.

Having a near photographic memory, I flipped through the images in my head of past meetings we had until I found what I was looking for. She had cut her hand while I helped her outside not long ago. There should be a healing cut on her index finger of her left hand. I looked at it closer. There was nothing, no sign of anything there. I saw her bleed, and even asked if she needed a band-aid that day.

The waitress chose that time to bring our drinks over. "I love your hair," she said to Maeve.

I studied the waitress' face; I could see a mole under her nose, her eyes were a bit bloodshot and she had gray circles under her eyes that her makeup couldn't quite hide. She wore a low cut top, which probably generated more than a few tips. Freckles dotted her ample chest.

"Thanks," Maeve said, "Yours is cute too."

The waitress beamed at the compliment, putting a hand to her hair subconsciously as she headed back to the bar.

I looked back at Gwendolyn. I thought maybe the poor lighting was the reason, but the waitress changed my mind.

"Good genes?" I said.

"Exactly!" Gwendolyn said, "Good genes."

"What if we told you people in our... family, don't have skin issues, pimples, zits, moles, melanoma. We also don't have many other health issues that most people have," Maeve said.

"I'd say you should bottle it. The pharmaceutical companies would pay a mint for it."

Neither woman spoke, letting the dust settle on what I'd just said.

Maeve tapped her temple with a slender finger.

Gwendolyn stopped smiling. "Yes, they would do almost anything for those secrets. And they would not be concerned with the morality of how they got what they wanted."

"I see," I said. "Why are you telling me any of this?" I asked

"That gets a little more complicated," Gwendolyn said.

Maeve snorted before Gwendolyn gave her a reproachful look.

"What makes you think I won't just sell you out?" I said. "How well do you really know me?"

"You won't," Maeve said. "Lets just say I know you as well as you know yourself."

"I might be more jaded than you think." I thought back to the horrible things that had happened to my sister in recent years.

Maeve's cocky look softened some. Glancing at Gwendolyn she gave a slight nod.

"We trust you," Gwendolyn said. "We need to show you something."

"Here?" Maeve said, raising her eyebrows.

Gwen looked around at the rambunctious club goers, most with drinks in their hands and a few drinks already in them.

"Do you sense anything?"

Maeve slowly swiveled her head taking in her surroundings. Most of the booths had jackets on the seats and drinks on the tables, but the booths themselves were empty. Their occupants having taken to the dance floor.

"At the bar. He's a — were, but there's something odd about him."

"What's a where?" I asked, feeling like the start of an Abbott and Costello bit.

Gwen looked over her shoulder at the man sitting at the end of the bar. He held a beer as he took in the activity of the club. His gaze lingered when he got to us. But almost every man's gaze stopped on a pretty women.

"Well, no matter," Gwendolyn said. She held out her hands. Without a word the women held hands and held out their free hand for me.

I took hold of their hands, not really knowing why. My hand tingled slightly. Immediately the noise level dropped so much that we didn't need to raise our voices or lean in to talk. The smell of stale beer and sweat also faded, I could smell the cedar and lavender coming from the girls.

"That's her actually," Maeve said "I prefer cinnamon."

The corner of Gwendolyn's mouth raised in amusement as she sighed. "Gordon, before we go any further we need to show you about us."

"Show me?" I said repressing my juvenile humor.

"Telling would not have the same effect," she said not getting my joke.

"Just watch, Junior," Maeve said.

Her grip tightened slightly as she concentrated. A small ball of fire appeared six inches over the center of the table. It was about the size of a racquetball, and hovered in mid air.

I looked around to see if anybody else was watching this.

"Don't worry, nobody will see us while we are in our circle," Gwendolyn said.

"How can nobody see us? Hell, how are you doing that with the fire? So, we're invisible?" I said.

"Others can see us but what we do will not concern them in the slightest. For those that are actively watching, like we suspect our friend at the bar is, we will just look ordinary. I don't know how else to explain it," Gwendolyn said.

Gwendolyn returned her attention to the fireball still hovering above the table. With seemingly little effort a bluish light swirled around the fireball. When it stopped, what looked like a bowl of ice sat on the table underneath the fireball.

I watched fascinated, feeling giddy at what they were doing. Some part of my subconscious was panicked at how this was happening, how they were doing that. The voice faded away even though I knew what I was seeing was nothing any normal human could do.

The fire started to melt the ice bowl into a puddle. "So, I guess fire trumps ice," I said.

Maeve grimaced.

Gwen waved her hand, the fireball stopped flickering, turned blue and fell into the bowl as a round jagged ice cube.

"Different but equal. All elements have power," Gwendolyn said. My strong suit is water, Maeve's is fire.

"What Reynolds said about you being witches is true."

"Yes, and what he said about the government agency isn't surprising. We knew it would happen eventually," Gwendolyn said.

I almost forgot what they said about me. "How do I fit into this? I'm not a witch," I said.

A shadow fell on the table. "Yes, tell him how he fits in," said a voice at full volume, not muted as the rest of the room was in our circle.

Marianna stood next to the table, looking at us, then at the frozen fireball on the table. She frowned and gave her best schoolmarm look, which was pretty darn good.

"As old as you are, and you do this here, in public," Marianna said. "Why not invite the were at the bar that's been trying to see through your veil for the past five minutes."

"I saw him," Maeve said. "He can't see through the veil, you know that."

"But he knows you have a veil now. Who is he and why is he watching you?"

"I don't know," Maeve said, "something isn't right about him. Maybe he's not a wolf."

I sat listening to the women nonchalantly talk about werewolves. I felt a calmness come over me even as my mind raced with the impossibility of all of this.

Marianna didn't look happy with the women. Whether it was for being here or showing me their powers or another reason, I didn't know, but me staying quiet right now seemed like the best course of action.

Marianna turned to me. "Do you really think he's the one?" Marianna asked. "He doesn't look like much."

"We both had the dream," Gwendolyn said as if that explained everything.

"Does he know how dangerous the ceremony is?" Marianna asked. "Even if he survives he'll be hunted by any enemies we have." She flicked a look toward the bar, at the man who had become more obvious about watching us since Gwendolyn put up a veil to mask what we were doing.

"We haven't told him yet," Gwendolyn said.

"What ceremony and what danger am I in?" I said unable to keep my mouth closed any longer. At the thought of unforeseen danger, I subtly changed positions so my pistol in the back of my waistband was more accessible.

"You're part of a prophecy from almost a thousand years ago. If for some reason they're wrong and you're not the one, you'll be killed during the ceremony," Marianna said. "Which has happened before."

"We've never both had the dream before," Gwendolyn said, "You're the one. You have to be."

Caught off guard, I didn't know what to say. I could believe in all the supernatural world that was supposed to be folklore and stories, but I knew what I was. "I'm just some guy, a nobody. I grew up in the country, then moved to the city with my sister. There's no way I could be part all this," I said.

"Why not?" Gwendolyn asked.

"I grew up poor, then my parents died when I was young. We became white trash poor. If I was part of a prophecy, I would stay the hell away from it because I'm bad luck," I said.

"Your parents had magic. I've researched your history. Your father wasn't even aware of it. Your mother had a very small amount. We're not sure about your sister," Maeve said.

Stunned, I let go of their hands. The sound came rushing back to my ears like a door was opened.

"I won't say anything about you being, you know..." I said as I stood up to leave, trying to sound discrete now that the circle was broken. I had to get some air, my head was spinning.

Gwendolyn stood up and walked with me. "Think about what we said but whatever happens, it's your choice," she said.

As we walked past the guy at the bar who went back to sipping his beer. His eyes traveled the room non-stop, his clothes looked more functional than stylish. Combined with his close cropped hair, and the bulge under his jacket that was no doubt a gun, he screamed ex-military. Gwendolyn brushed his arm with her hand as she went past. His face visibly relaxed and he took a big drink from his now warm beer. I could hear him order another beer and a whiskey before we got out of earshot.

"What was that?" I asked.

She just smiled. "We can talk more about a great many things when you're ready," she said. "I'll see you tomorrow morning."

I headed for the door, my head full of thoughts about witches, and my parents.

"There you are," a voice said behind me, "I thought you left with those women."

I had been so fixated on the witches that I almost forgot about Shelly.

Chapter 5

I saw Shelly to her apartment, getting an enthusiastic hug before she closed the door. Then I went across the hall and let myself into my apartment. Rutger greeted me with his normal excitement, then calmed down faster than usual.

When I started toward the kitchen, Rutger gave a low warning growl. Trusting his instincts, I unholstered my gun as I crept forward.

I could see most of the kitchen from the light in the main room. Sitting at the table in the gloom was a now familiar face. Reynolds sat eerily still at the small table. He wore a dark green suit, a light gray fedora sat on the table in front of him.

"You broke into my apartment," I said. "I could legally shoot you."

I thought I could see a small smile at the corners of his mouth.

"Sorry to barge in. Your canine has done a wonderful job of making sure I didn't leave this room."

I'd have to remember to give Rutger some extra treats later.

"I wanted to follow up on out previous conversation; to make sure you spoke with the witches?"

"I talked to them."

"May I ask what they said? Are they going to attack?" he asked.

"Attack who, the government? Are you serious?"

"Yes, of course. They must be stopped," he said in his slow way, like he was used to dealing with mentally challenged people.

"You did tell them... that I was courteous to you, I hope."

"I said that we had tea and scones, the whole nine yards," I said unable stop from being a bit snarky.

"Thank you," he said with a deadpan expression.

"Was there anything else you wanted me to tell them? Maybe I could pass them a note or something in class," I said.

To my surprise he pulled out a letter, already written and handed it to me. It was sealed with a wax stamp.

"Before you do your creature of the night disappearing act, answer me one question," I said.

He sat patiently waiting for me to continue.

"What's in it for you? Do you have anything to gain from hurting the women? And yeah, I know it's 2 questions."

"What can kill them can surely kill my kind. To help them would be to help myself. Unless they kill me first, as I said they are still upset with our previous leader," he said. "Nothing could be gained by killing them. Not for me anyway."

The next morning I woke up with a stiff neck having slept in my easy chair. Rutger and I took an extra long run as I tried to clear my head of all the thoughts bombarding my mind. Then we both headed to work. I didn't usually take him with me, but I had a feeling today would be my last day working this job and who was I to deny my dog a chance to meet real witches.

When I arrived at the manor, James was sitting in his normal spot in front of the little TV in the kitchen, sipping coffee. He took a shine to Rutger right away, and after enough ham slices Rutger finally gave in and decided that James was okay too.

James started tossing a tennis ball for Rutger to fetch. After a few minutes, he looked up and said, "I think Gwendolyn has something planned for you this morning. She'd like you to meet them in the den when you get settled. I can watch your dog for you."

I wondered if they're going to fire me, especially after telling me their secret. Well what would happen would happen. I got up and headed into toward the den, leaving Rutger with James. One thing was for sure, I was going to find out what they knew about my parents.

Chapter 6

The den was lavishly furnished. Marianna sat in one of the leather arm chairs. It was the first time I'd seen her not wearing a business suit. Her dark hair wasn't in a bun like usual either, allowing more gray to show through.

"Hey sport, it's about time you showed up," Maeve said, "we've been waiting all morning". She stood by the fireplace holding a giant sword by the hilt, the point rested lightly on the tip of her boot.

Okay, maybe it wasn't a giant sword, possibly it was an average size sword but it was a sword nonetheless. It didn't look like one of the cheap dime store polished job either, this looked like a weapon ready to be used in battle. I took a quick glance at the other members of our little tea party. Gwendolyn looked amused as I looked at the sword, her eyes sparkling with the anticipation of what I might do. She leaned forward slightly, the corners of her mouth twitching upward. Marianna hadn't moved a muscle. Her face a mask of smug contempt, any anxiety I might be feeling with my current situation obviously beyond her concern.

"What's the deal with the sword?" I tried to sound casual.

"It's a gift given to us a very long time ago. It will help us know more about you," Maeve said.

"What are all the carvings on it?" They looked like hand carved hieroglyphics.

"Runes. They were most definitely carved by hand. Perhaps not by human hands, but that's another story," Marianna said sipping her tea.

Then Maeve did what I least expected, she turned the curved blade around, handing me the hilt. I didn't move, looking from the sword to the others in the room. Gwendolyn and Marianna were both staring at me. Marianna looking almost bored. Part of me said this was a petite cute woman handing me a sword, another part was screaming these were very dangerous witches and maybe this was part of whatever ritual they were talking about.

Maeve must have finally run out of words, she held her silence. Green eyes staring at my hesitation like a challenge to take the sword from her hand. I wasn't about to be stared down by a 5 foot nothing spiky haired twenty something. Even if she could magically create fire balls. I told myself that a few times, to be honest, before reaching out for the sword. A genuine smile spread across Maeve's face.

The sword was large with an inwardly curving, single-edged blade that looked razor sharp. The wood handle felt smooth and warm in my hands as I took hold with both hands".

"Why is it glowing like that?"

First it glowed dimly, then brighter, the pale yellow glow intensified and turned bright orange to red. The glow reflected off of the expensive vases sitting over the fireplace.

"Holy shit! That's a first!" Maeve said.

Gwendolyn was on her feet and covered the 10 foot distance between us before I could register it happening, my attention so focused on the sword. The euphoric feeling the sword created was unlike anything I'd ever experienced. Like we were made for each other.

Marianna had set her tea down and was watching with interest now.

Gwendolyn put her hands over mine on the sword. The feeling of oneness with the sword, and now her, was all encompassing, I could feel her breath on my cheek and feel her body pressing against my side. The sword was glowing impossibly bright and at that moment I knew that we were connected on a deep level that I didn't understand, one that went beyond our rational mind to the subconscious primitive part that was all instinct and feeling.

My head started to swoon, suddenly my breathing was very loud in my ears. Lavender filled my nose from the woman next to me. Her eyes started to radiate light in time with the sword and I wondered if mine were doing the same. Each time the sword glowed brighter her eyes would repeat that with more intensity. Then I saw it, a tattoo on her left inner forearm arm that wasn't there before, a pentagram circled in blue, showing up in contrast to her pale skin like an image in a book.

A few feet away Maeve's mouth hung open as she lifted her own sleeve showing the same tattoo ringed in green, strobing in time with the sword. I didn't need to ask to know it was not a regular tattoo and that it, too, wasn't there a minute ago. Maeve walked over and raised my sleeve but nothing was on my arm.

Then the sword stopped glowing, the runes went back to normal etched symbols in steel, and at a glance I could see that both of the girls' tattoos were gone, replaced with unblemished skin. Gwendolyn took the sword, but stayed next to me, at ease being in my personal space.

"You're the one. I knew it," Gwendolyn said, giving me a kiss on the cheek.

Maeve took the sword back.

I think I had been on the fence until that point on if I wanted to believe any of this. The look on all of their faces said this wasn't something they had expected.

"What just happened with that sword?" I asked.

"That sword is older than most museum artifacts. In all my years I have never seen, or even heard about it doing that," Marianna said.

Gwendolyn took my hand and guided me to the couch next to her.

"We have a lot to discuss I think." She winked at me and I could feel the blood rushing to my face again. I also felt a bit light headed and swayed almost losing my balance.

"Have a seat Gordon," I felt Gwendolyn guide me to the couch.

I wanted to say something but forgot what, then I got distracted by the pixie with spiky blond hair and bright red lipstick. She was on the short side, cute, had on a miniskirt and a leather jacket with combat boots. She looked sort of punk rock, and also sort of familiar. Maeve— her name was Maeve — I knew that but my head was fuzzy for some reason, I couldn't think straight.

"What did you do to me?" I asked.

"I just needed to relax your mind so I could get a better read on you. It will pass in a minute or two," Gwendolyn said.

"So you could read me, like a book?" I said still trying to gather my thoughts. Truth be told I felt pretty good, it reminded me of when I went to the dentist once and got laughing gas.

"Something like that," she said. "I can usually tell a lot about a person when I look into their eyes. Some have said I could see a persons soul. I don't know what it is, but I can tell if a person is good or bad, and see what potential they have for either, or both."

I took a deep breath trying to focus.

"You have both but more good and a great deal more potential for good," Gwendolyn said.

I noticed that Maeve had been staring at me.

"She's right, you have both good and bad in you. You feel like you're all bad but you do mostly good for people. But you've caused some people you love to get hurt which influences how you see yourself."

"How can you know any of that?" I said annoyed that she knew things I don't ever share with people.

"Maeve has a special gift, she can read people thoughts," Gwendolyn said.

"So you think I'm cute huh?" Maeve said. "And I look... punk today? I'll take that as a compliment. It's hard to keep up with the times when you're as old as we are."

She walked over to the chair by the couch, her skirt swaying back and forth appreciatively catching my eye.

"I'll definitely take that as a compliment," she said as she took a seat so I was between her and Gwendolyn.

Looking over the three women, there were a few things they all had in common. They all had striking eyes, so bright they were luminous, that seemed to be reading my mind like a book as I sat there. Of course one of them probably was. The other two hadn't said they couldn't do it also. I looked at their porcelain perfect skin, even Marianna who, if I had to guess, must be in her mid 50's. Neither of the sisters or their mother were beauty queen material, but the gifts they each shared made their healthy skin radiant, their eyes sparkle, and with the self confidence they each exuded they drew a person to them without even trying.

"When you hired me to work here, you already knew or thought I as this person you were looking for, didn't you?" I asked.

"Yes," Gwendolyn said. "We have known of you for quite some time."

The women looked at me as I thought about this, waiting patiently for me to mentally wrestle the situation under control. They had planned for me to be here. They specified to my boss, Jim Langhorne, that they had wanted me specifically. I found it odd at the time but a lot of rich people were eccentric and it wasn't uncommon for clients to pick somebody based on what they expected an investigator to look like.

"How could I be part of a prophecy? First, what is the prophecy, did you read about it in a book or something?"

"It's a bit more complicated than that," Marianna said, "but there is no issue as to its validity. Consider it a fact."

I didn't budge. I could play stubborn too.

"Fine. A god told my mother as part of the deal she made with her," Marianna said.

"A god. Jesus."

"No. Not that one," Marianna said.

Gwen reach over and took my hand. She pulled a knife from her pocket. "Hold out you finger."

I did as she asked, aware that she was soothing my thoughts again, to put me at ease. I didn't want her to stop. Much like a junkie who can't stop even though they know what they're doing is bad. She cut my finger deeply. Blood started to flow into the rag she held under my hand. I let out a small gasp as the air hit the cut and the pain registered.

She set the knife down. Then touched my wounded finger with her own. Almost at once the bleeding slowed, then after a few seconds it stopped altogether. I watched as the cut mended itself, pulling closed. First it looked like a week old wound, then it went to a scar, then even that disappeared altogether. No trace was left of the wound.

"You are the one, Maeve and I both dreamed of you as being the one. That has never happened before. The few times we were wrong it was only one of us having the dream."

"But why couldn't you be wrong if you both dreamed it?" I asked.

"Because I dreamed it too," Marianna said. "And I've never had the dream before. I think she's right this time."

Gwendolyn and Maeve both leaned forward staring at Marianna, who didn't give any indication of noticing. Gwendolyn's hand tightened on mine briefly. Marianna hadn't told them before now about her dream, that much was clear.

After a pause Gwendolyn said, "The ceremony requires that we cut you, rather deeply. But I can heal you, as you've seen."

"Only the person meant for the prophecy will survive being cut by the sword," Maeve said.

I felt anxiety creep back the moment Gwendolyn let go of my hand. "What happens to me if you're right?"

" 'You will protect us' is what the prophecy said verbatim," Gwendolyn said.

"Protect you," I said, turning the thought over in my head. I got into the PI business to help people. The memory of trying and failing to protect my entire family swamped my brain. It was irrational, but those thoughts kept coming back no matter how many times I told myself that it really wasn't my fault what had happened to them. I mulled all of this over, not realizing everybody was staring at me until I looked up. I decided awhile ago that I won't back down from anything that can help save a person from danger.

"Fine, I'll do it," I said, "With a few conditions."

"Of course, whatever you need Gordon, we give you our word," Gwendolyn said.

"Aye," Maeve.

"You have my word as well," Marianna said.

"If anything bad happens to me, take care of my dog. Second, I take flowers to my sister on her birthday every year, and I take flowers to my parents on Christmas. I'll write down the addresses before you want to do this," I said.

"Also, I want to hear what you know about my parents."

Chapter 7

Maeve told me again about my parents' names being found in her search, and of how my mother had a small amount of magic. She said it was complicated how she found out the information. She told me everything she knew and promised to help me find out more about them.

We sat outside, because being outdoors helped Gwendolyn's magic. She took the sword from Maeve and walked over beside me. "Hold still Gordon," she said placing a calming hand on my shoulder.

I looked around the yard, taking in the beauty of the landscaping. Then a pain so great I almost blacked out hit my chest. I looked down and saw 12 inches of sword sticking through my chest. I tried to suck in air and heard a gurgling in my throat. I saw something blood-streaked and shiny poking out of my shirt. I wanted to scream but it wasn't able to do more than make a pitiful sucking sound. The last thing I saw was Marianna watching me. I was dying and she was just sitting there like she was hearing a timeshare lecture. I looked down and saw the runes in the sword had started to glow again. Then everything went black.

I stood in a white room with no windows. The ceiling, floors and walls were all white. There was table and two chairs in the middle of the room. Both of which were also white. Standing by one of the chairs was a figure I recognized. He had on an expensive charcoal colored business suit with a black tie. His shoes alone looked more expensive than my entire outfit.

"It actually worked. I had more than my fair share of doubts the coven could do it. Have a seat Mr Hopewood, won't you?" Reynolds said, in his proper English accent.

"I'll stand thanks", I said, "Where are we?"

He gave me a genuine smile, "In your head, sort of."

"Breaking into my apartment wasn't enough, you had to break into my dreams too?" I said only half joking.

"Yes and no," Reynolds said, "This is in your head, but also in mine. You completed the ritual and if I know the witches, like I think I do, you never saw it coming. Tricky little devils, they are."

"How are you in my head and what do you want now?" I asked feeling slightly irritated that Reynolds might be the last face I see.

"The how isn't important, so much as the why. You're a valuable asset, Mr. Hopewell, and like all valuable assets, I would like to adopt your... services," he said. At my continued silence he went on. "They haven't told you anything, have they?" he asked eyes wider now.

"They showed me a sword and said I am a prophecy. Then I got stabbed with the damn sword," I said getting a bit emotional thinking about it. "Now I'm here with you and if you're the last person I see, I swear to God I'll haunt you forever."

Reynolds showed me his first true smile. It was creepier than he meant it to be I think, since I could see his fangs.

"Lets see if we can clear this all up then, shall we," he said, taking a seat in one of the chairs and pulling his worn looking leather bound sketchbook from inside his jacket. "Please have a seat, we have a lot to talk about and not much time".

So far in the last few days I've seen and heard all kinds of crazy, met some women who are older than moses, maybe literally, been told that I'm the prophetic person to save said witches and then one of them stabbed me in the back— again, literally. I was on a roll here but instead of taking it out on this guy, who wasn't even really 'here' here, just in my head here, I took a seat at the table.

Reynolds did that not moving thing he does, which really creeps me out. His eyes tracked my movement to the table, his face was a perfect statue. His body, lean and hard looking, didn't move in any way I could see, and I was tempted to yell at top of my lungs to see if I could get him to move. He sat his notebook on the table. It looked oddly out of date for this day and age.

You don't have an iPad like everybody else?" I said.

Reynolds continued on as if I hadn't spoken, "We don't have much time and I need to try to impress upon you the importance of this meeting. You've met the witch coven of course, the 3 witches, Marianna, Gwen,and Maeve," he said slowly. "They are not the only witches of course, but they are rather powerful. To be quite candid, they are perhaps the most powerful on this continent. At least individually."

"You already asked me to talk to them, and I did. What's your point, and why the hell are you in my head instead of just breaking into my apartment again? Which by the way, one of these days is going to get you shot," I said.

"As head of the green conclave, it falls on me to orchestrate how to best protect us," he said. "We are a descendant of the witches. We are what happens when somebody that is not a witch shares their blood. Think of it like a virus. The rite the witches have performed on you is so you can protect them, according to the prophecy. Our own researchers believe it could also be true that you will protect us as well."

That caught me off guard. "So, I'm supposed to protect the strongest witches— on the continent— as well as a conclave of vampires." Talk about over reaching...

"We don't know how, but yes. Since we are a product of them, it seems only logical."

I chuckled at the thought of any of this being logical.

Opening his leather bound book to a bookmarked page, he turned the book to show a sketch of a woman drawn in fine lines. She had hair that fell to her shoulders, not smiling, she wore an amulet around her neck of a pentagram. Under the sketch, one word was written, a name, Vivian.

"This is Vivian Tutino. She was a member of the local witch coven with a very mild talent for foreseeing the future," he said.

"So, she is with Gwendolyn and Maeve, a member of their coven?" I asked.

"No. Nobody else is with Gwen, Maeve and Marianna. They are, how should I put it, in a class by themselves as the modern nomenclature goes," he replied. "They seem to live rather low key lives, never asserting their power but everybody knows it's there and, not to challenge them. Sometimes supernaturals of their rank would not allow to have others in the same city as them, and indeed some protect their territory viciously. However the three elder witches are unique. They don't harbor such territorial issues, perhaps deeming them to be beneath worrying about. Or perhaps it's a male thing— as they could easily eradicate every witch in the city without much fuss— unless there was a large number of them channeling their energy," he explained.

I knew they were powerful but the way Reynolds talked they are powerful. I wondered how many other witches there were in a city this size.

"How much more of a difference is there between the... Elder witches and the other covens?" I asked feeling naive in my understanding of all this.

"That's what I'm trying to say, there is no comparison" Reynolds said showing his first bit of emotion. "It's like comparing a child to an adult."

"Groovy, hot and powerful, I can dig it," I said, which earned me a disapproving look. I could barely hear Reynolds muttering something about fate and humanities downfall.

"Vivian was a part of the local witches," he continued, ignoring my facetious outburst once again, "That was before she was turned. Vampires and witches sometimes do business together as they can help each other out. However you don't usually find a witch that was turned, there is probably a reason, but I don't know what it is. In any event, it's not the fact that she was turned that ousted her from her coven. She did it to herself when she started working for ORAB. You remember them?"

"Yes, evil government agency, and you told me two days ago, of course I remember," I said. I had a clear policy to stay away from the government. What government really meant was ''deep pockets', and not necessarily the cream of the crop in the brains department, calling the shots.

"I've been trying for weeks to get in touch with the Elder 3 but the fact that our previous leader tried to lead a coup against them has made it tricky to approach them. Now that you're here—" he swept his hand around the room, "—I have no doubt they have been busy preparing for this on some level." Reynolds stopped here looking serious. More serious anyhow as he only had a serious face.

A thought occurred to me, "How did you even know I existed?" I asked, thinking how I didn't know any of this or them before they all knew about me.

"As I said we do some business with the local witches and they have a spell which is monitoring the supposed arrival of the elder's 'protector'," he said. "We don't have much time left," he hurried on. "Since the witches helped somebody like us with no power for the craft know about what's going on, you can bet that a witch with a gift for prophecy definitely knows you are now here. If Vivian is sharing information like we think she is, you have just become the latest person of interest to a federal agency," he said.

"You must inform the elders of this," he all but pleaded.

"Maybe I'm just tired or it's the sword that was stuck through my chest but you're a vampire. Why do you need me or the witches?"

"Because we are not invincible, we have weaknesses just as mortals do. We also have a strong desire to not die."

I resisted pointing out he was supposed to be undead.

"This is the government, it will hardly be a fair fight," Reynolds said. "'I've been around for quite some time and I assure you they proceed with the single-mindedness of a bulldog. Combine that with a fear of anything unknown, and you see where this is heading. If they get the green light to move on us..."

I could see what he meant. They would be hounded worse than the torches and pitchfork days of stories. Which now that I thought about it, were based more on fact than people realize.

"Assuming I'm not in a coma right now, what do you think I can do against the government? I'm just one person and I have trouble running a 10k some days," I said.

The more I asked witches, and now a vampire, what they think I can possibly do the more I pictured myself in tights and a cape.

"I have no idea. Maybe nothing. All I ask is that you consider us in your new role. We would be indebted to you."

I never pictured a vampire looking desperate before, but that is how Reynolds looked at that moment.

A thought occurred to me. "You're a vampire, does that mean you have to kill to eat?" The more I thought about innocent people dying as food made me see red. Literally, my vision was changing, the white room was now tinted crimson. Then the room started to change. The sterile looking white room changed color, from white to gray. The smooth white floor changed into cobblestone, the walls formed of stone stretching up to hold a ceiling with heavy beams.

Reynolds chair changed also, iron bands wrapped around his wrists and ankles fastening him to the now wooden chair that looked more throne like than the waiting room chair it had resembled when we entered.

"No, we never kill anybody," he said talking quickly.

I looked around at the new room. There was an ancient feel to it. I liked it. The cut stone work and carved wooden furniture with leather coverings, it all had a very Knights of the Round Table feel.

A pair of yellow and red eyes gleamed in the corner of the large room. They didn't concern me, but Reynolds glanced at them more than a few times.

"You are doing this," Reynolds said, "calm your mind."

Taking a deep breath I asked, "How do you eat without killing people?"

The eyes in the corner glowed brighter and a low rumble that I felt in my bones filled the room. Whatever was in the corner growled, it sounded like it's patience was wearing thin. Which, in turn, seemed to hurry Reynolds up with his answer.

"We own blood banks— we never have a need to actually hunt people— plus a number of our conclave are doctors and nurses."

The thought of vampire doctors and nurses surprised me and made me chuckle a bit.

Then the red tint in my vision faded, the room changed again, to a more modern decor. The walls were plaster and trimmed with dark wood, the stone floor replaced with tasteful tile. In the corner stood a dog that looked like Rutger. I snapped my fingers and he came padding over just like the flesh and blood version, resting his head on my lap as I petted him.

"We are a violent species capable of truly wicked behavior, but we choose not to make that our lifestyles. Some vampires do not believe in such compassionate behavior, but they are not a member of my conclave, I assure you," he said.

"Doctors..." I said scratching my chin.

"Yes, we have many professionals in our family. We live long lives... it provides ample time to pursue our goals. Without us a large portion of the local commerce would cease. We could hire you on a retainer, name your price," Reynolds said.

Changing gears I said, "Why didn't you leave this dream or whatever it is?" He felt threatened and I could sense his fear, but I couldn't tell you how.

"You don't know— I lost control of this awhile ago. The spell should let me leave at will but you're blocking it somehow."

"I'm blocking it?"

"Yes. Whatever power the witches have awakened in you is apparently very strong. I have no doubt you could kill me here and it would carry over to my body," he said quietly.

That was the last thing I heard before waking up in excruciating pain.

Chapter 8

Gwendolyn leaned over me, her lips pressed into a thin line, sweat beading on her forehead. Light radiated from under her hands where she pressed them to my chest. Maeve was beside her, looking worried but calm. She was holding a bowl greenish acrid smelling gunk in one hand and a cloth in the other that she dabbed on my chest.

When I tilted my head to get a better look at Gwendolyn I could see tears in her eyes. Things must not be going well. When I got the nerve, I looked down at my chest. Blood covered my button down shirt and khaki's but I couldn't see the wound because of the women's hands.

Gwen saw that I was awake and her eyes went round, a smile lit up her face. I felt the gentle heat subside when she removed her hands. Then she leaned over quickly and kissed me full on the mouth.

My heart did a flip flop as I wondered how bad off I am if she's saying her goodbyes?

She sat up just as quickly, "I'm sorry, I was just so worried about you." Then her eyes locked on mine.

"What happened— am I going to die?" I asked in a hoarse whisper.

"You will be fine now, but you had us worried. The only way to fully complete the ritual and have the prophecy come true was to 'touch your heart with the sword',"she said. "That's what the prophecy said. Now, I suspect, if anything, your life expectancy has just been greatly increased," she said.

"Didn't anybody ever tell you a way to a mans heart is through his stomach," I said trying to smile.

"Egad" Maeve said wincing. "I guess your new super prophecy power isn't comedy, Farmboy."

I never told her I lived on a farm as a small boy. Oh, right, reads minds.

"This is just the start, Gordo. You're part of the family now, just think of all the dirt I can find in your tiny little mind," Maeve said smiling as she helped me sit up.

Family was something I didn't have much of these days. The few relatives I did have were better off out of my life and the ones closest to me were all gone. Now I was being invited into this strange new family where witchcraft was ordinary and sometimes they made deals with gods that resulted in prophecies. I trusted Maeve and Gwen while Marianna wasn't inviting with open arms, I guess every family has that one relative who rubs people the wrong way.

Maybe I should have been questioning more on the need to harpoon me but instead I just asked, "Did it work?" I looked down at my chest, there didn't seem to be anything left but a scar where the sword had exited.

"Well, you're still alive, so I would say yes. For nearly a thousand years anybody cut with the sword has died," Marianna said. "But we don't really know what it did, besides not killing you."

Gwen helped me stand up, putting her hand under my arm she lifted me to my feet like I weighed as much as a loaf of bread. Then she took a vase off of the oak end table, took a few steps back and said, "When I let go try to catch this." She released the vase before I could say anything further, like maybe I should be resting from a severe chest wound that I just had.

The vase fell toward the ground, then it seemed to slow down, way down. I took a few steps over, and put my hand under it gently stopping it's downward motion. Looking back up, Gwen and Maeve both had matching smiles on their faces.

"Did you slow it down somehow?" I asked.

"Nope, that was all you," Maeve answered.

"You must be much more careful in your movements now. Being faster and stronger will set you apart from others. You'll want to blend in as much as possible," Gwen said.

"Yeah, take it from us, we know about keeping a low profile," Maeve said.

"Am I... like a vampire now?" I asked, not sure if that was a dumb question or not.

"Like how? Need to drink blood? No. We suspected you would be faster and stronger like they are, if you lived. But it will use up your magic reservoirs," Maeve said.

Maeve tilted her head as she looked at me. The she gasped, "Reynolds!" she said, pursing her lips. Then looking to Gwendolyn she said, "Reynolds somehow came to Gordon here while he was out."

Gwen didn't say anything, but her posture straightened making her look more tense.

After a few more grumbles about Reynolds, they started talking about magical signs and scriptures, which all sounded like Greek to me.

I walked around the room letting my new senses reach out. My hearing was much better than before. I could clearly hear the conversation across the room even though they were speaking quietly, and the ringing in my ears that I'd had for years was gone.

As I approached a book sat sitting upon a small table, my body started to vibrate. Drawing closer I held my hand out over it. Heat went from my hand, traveling up my arm. When I laid my hand on the book visions swept through my head. Too many to understand any of them. They were mostly women from times long ago to more recent. Gwen and Maeve were mixed into the visions. I saw them mixing herbs, then holding hands under a full moon, head back as they tilted their heads to the night sky, naked. And then I saw them fighting off men with long guns and axes. Tears filled Gwen's eyes, and Maeve begged them to stop.

I felt an itch on the back of my neck at the base of my skull. It was an itch that I couldn't scratch. Turning around, Maeve caught my eye. She nodded understanding for what I'd just seen before turning back around to talk with Gwen.

I knew other things too, like I knew both of the girls were hungry, almost starving, more like NFL linebacker hungry than spindly twenty something women hungry. Some intuition in the back of my mind that wasn't there before was telling me thse things. I knew there were two women in the house, no men, other than myself. I could also tell looking at Gwen that she was over 700 years old, 713 to be exact. Maeve was 686 years old. I was still pondering their ages when I saw a faint green glow surrounding Maeve that reminded me of 60's alien sci-fi movie. Mixed with the green were flat black spots on her forehead. The black might be something related to her gift with the Craft, or at least that was my guess. Gwen had the same glow but blue and had spots of black on her chest and hands. Looking at myself in the mirror I didn't see anything, but looking down at myself I could see a very faint red glow. Then willing it away, the color disappeared from my vision.

Looking out the big bay windows on the front of the house,a young couple, a man and a woman walked down the sidewalk. Concentrating on using my new Sight, a pale yellow glow surrounded both of them.

An hour or so later, we all sat in the kitchen. I sipped a Sam Adams, absently rubbing the now scarred over tissue on my chest. Maeve and Gwen took turns telling me the story of the sword. It dated back to somewhere around 600BC and was one of the 4 treasures of the Tuatha De Danann. How it became the property of the demigod Airmid is unclear, however she gave implicit instructions to never speak the name of the original owner for fear that he hears and investigates. By 'investigate' I take it they meant vengeance of a God type. The sword is said to be invincible and more tenacious than Thor's hammer. While nobody could lift Mjölnir, the sword gave you enough rope to hang yourself. Anyone not bonded to the sword would cease to exist before the first blow was struck. This part they repeated a few times to me until they were sure I understood.

"Don't use the super sword, I got it," I said making a face.

"Some people need more guidance than others..." Maeve said.

"Hey! I'll have you know I've got a perfect memory—"

"— It's not your memory in question, just your judgment, you did just let somebody stab you in the heart after all."

"That's low."

"— Like I was saying, Marianna is actually only the 2nd mortal holder of the sword. Her mother, my grandmother, Hilde, was the 1st. A millennia ago she met Airmid, one of the Tuatha De Danann who shared with her the secret of the sword and much more. Airmid needed a favor, and Hilde's gift was uniquely suited to help her out."

I was going to ask how one goes about meeting a god, but decided to hold my tongue.

"Hilde was special in that she could call up doorways to other worlds and specifically to Tir na n-Og, where the Tuatha De Danann lived, from almost anywhere. A gifted witch can usually only create a doorway to other worlds where the magical currents are very strong. Think of magic currents much like rivers, creeks and streams."

"You can create doorways to other worlds?"

"Yes, but I must be near a very strong current. It would take a river or magical energy for most witches or wizards to get to Airmid in Tir na n-Og, and the Otherworld is very dangerous for a mortal. Risking the life of a loved one to a Goddess is never a good idea, but a great reward was offered for the person who could get Airmid's lover safely to Tir na n-Og. What went without saying was that great suffering would follow for anyone that tried and failed."

I listened as she told me how Airmid was in love with a mortal but he could never be with her unless someone from the mortal world opened a rift to the Otherworld for him to pass through. Airmid could pass either way but Gods are not permitted to bring back humans. Creating a portal for her lover to pass through wasn't easy, but Hilde accomplished it. Airmid was the daughter of the God of healing, as such she had great magical powers and was particularly skilled in the use of herbs.

"What she taught Hilde and what we still practice is what has allowed us to live so long," Maeve said, "It's one of the reasons green thumb over there is always in the garden."

"You can stop using my herbs any time..."

Maeve smiled but didn't reply.

"Hilde was already a strong witch, but with the knowledge gained from Airmid she became one of the most power supernaturals on the planet. In this realm of course". Gwen gave me a small wave of her hand, silencing my questions threatening to pour out.

"Another very important element that she learned from Airmid was that after using her herbal age potions, the Druid's blood contained a virus like attribute that could be transferred to another. If their blood is used correctly it will mutate the body of the host in such a way that they will not age. This came with a price though, If somebody that isn't touched by the craft has this spell wrought upon them, they will become a hemoglovore. A vampire, for all intents and purposed. They would be forced to drink blood to survive.

"I know you got a boatload of questions, lay em on me," Maeve said, bringing a small smile to Gwen's rosy lips.

"What happened to Hilde? If she was so strong, why isn't she still alive?" I asked before giving that much though, as happens too often I'm ashamed to say.

"The leader of the green vampire conclave killed her. They were good friends at the time, which is how he was close enough to betray her. His greed overcame him, he tried to take what she would not give. He drugged her, then tried to drain her blood. However he underestimated how much her power healed her own body, and that we could sense were she was at all times," Maeve said. "We found Hilde alive but he had traps in place in case we came. Of all things, a crude bomb under her chair detonated destroying Hilde. It was meant for all of us, and the blast was more than even her immense power could heal."

"And the vampire?" I asked.

"The bomb was meant to distract us as much as kill us. We caught him before he could get away," Gwen said.

"He was in more pieces than Hilde the last time we saw him," Maeve said.

"So, you're all witches, your mother is too, your grandmama was the queen witch? You created vampires and now you have a sword that belonged to a Celtic God?" I said.

"Yes, not so much queen, but very powerful; and they are only a breed of vampire, the Green Conclave, there are others that have nothing to do with us. And yes, we did not steal the sword, it was a gift but wording was a bit tricky when Airmid gave it to Hilde," Gwen said.

"Plus we're pretty sure that your little fireworks show with the sword was sent out to every nearby witch worth their salt like a beacon. They all know that the elders prophecy has been found, or at a minimum that something extremely powerful just happened," said Maeve.

"You said I have some sort of power," I smirked, "But when I woke up this morning I don't recall any great power. As a matter of fact I couldn't even find my car keys and I burned my breakfast."

Gwen smiled.

"What happens now?" I asked.

"Now, "we have lunch. We'll start by trying to find out what the ritual has done to you." She smiled at me and I knew I could trust her, but my instinct told me she was holding something back too.

Chapter 9

Maeve refused to ride in Gwen's truck so we took her BMW to their book store in Georgetown. It was a brick building a few blocks over from the heavy foot traffic. There was a sign next to the door reading "Elder Books and More". The sign looked to be made entirely of brass with silver lettering. On the door itself was a pentagram, with the words 'Fear not the Elders Lest There Be A Reason' inscribed around it.

A college aged woman stood behind the counter.

"Mrs Brookshire is waiting for you in her personal library," she said lowering the large tome she was flipping through long enough to push her horn rimmed glasses up.

Sky lights filtered sun light in through the bookstore warming the dark wooden shelves. There were no signs on the shelves themselves, however your got the feeling that each book was in that place for a reason. A few leather chairs were spread around to give browsers a place to look over the tomes. In the back of the store behind the normal shelves, a glass case framed in dark wood with carvings similar to those that I saw on the sword held a single book. A very old looking pad lock on it held the case closed. The locked looked like you could open it with a screwdriver, it was so old.

"I pity the fool that picks that lock..." Maeve said.

We entered the very back room, I could smell the food before we even entered. On a table, that could have seated a dozen people was an assortment of food.

"Good, our lunch has just arrived," Marianna said. Her inviting smile as we entered was different than the terse looks I'd previously received.

"Gordon, it looks like our fate has be chosen for us to be in each other's lives," she said. "It is with my deepest sincerity that I welcome you to our clan. But remember... trust is earned.

If you should ever betray our trust, there will be reparations to pay." Her face was hard and she held my gaze for a few minutes, not breaking the silence.

Finally, she looked away and I realized that I still had a half chewed mouthful of food.

"Now, child," she said smiling again, "Tell me exactly what you saw after the the Rite of the Sword."

I explained everything I saw, with Reynolds and the warning he gave about Vivian Tutino working with the government, and his deep respect for what he called the Elder Three. At that Marianna's smile showed in her eyes and I could picture her with a family doing motherly things. I bet those kids would behave...

"I don't get too involved in most things with the Craft these days. I still use it of course, but at my age I like the mundane things, like running this store. You wouldn't believe how jilted some witches in the local covens get because we aren't sharing everything we've learned over centuries with them."

"It's true," Gwen said. "Honestly, teaching every person with magic how to do things that takes most practitioners decades or centuries to learn is a genuinely bad idea. As we have now seen with Vivian. How much worse would she be if she knew more attack spells."

The more they talked, the more sympathy I had for the women; the witches. It seemed like if witches weren't asking them to share their enhanced blood, which would kill all but a very select few, they were asking to be taught dangerous magic.

"When I was learning to control my magic I almost burned the house down, just from a dream," Maeve said.

Marianna asked Hillary to turn the store sign to closed, then she locked the doors. It turned out Hillary is more than just a cash register jockey, she's also the office manager and cataloger of new and existing texts, and a member of the local witches coven.

"I thought the local coven wasn't welcome here," I said.

"We welcome everyone here. We have just chosen not to participate in the rituals and celebrations of the other covens and to hold our own private celebrations instead," Gwen said. "It's done as much out of respect for them as it is to guard our own privacy."

"I think most of our coven would be very uneasy around practitioners with so much power," Hillary said.

Marianna asked Hillary to create a list of the members of her coven that should be in the meeting to discuss this new threat that the government agency could present, and to meet the newest member of their coven.

That took me a second for me to process mentally.

Gwen was already on the phone with a vampire in Reynolds conclave, giving them the details to the meeting as well. A small flame of jealousy lit inside me hearing Gwen talk to the other vampire on the phone, which sounded more flirty that I'd heard from her before. I didn't have any right to feel any way at all about her, but I couldn't stop the feeling that was building.

Feeling broody, I walked into the other room while preparations were made for the meeting tonight.

"You know that was all for your benefit, right?" Maeve said, appearing next to me. "On the phone, with that vampire? She hardly knows him. Gwen hasn't been interested in a man for centuries. Until you. Personally I think the prophecy has twisted her judgment, but for the record I think she genuinely likes you."

"Yeah, about that," I said looking through the doorway to the meeting room where she sat. Her sweater clung to her form like it was custom made, and when she absently flipped her hair over her shoulder. She didn't wear any makeup. Her lips were full and red and hard to not stare at as she talked on the phone. I looked into her eyes, that sparkled with a power all their own, mesmerized.

"I just don't see what I really have to offer."

"That's a good point, choosing someone as thick headed as yourself," she said, the corner of her mouth raising in a sarcastic grin. "Maybe because women love a hero."

"But I'm not a hero," I said.

"According to the prophecy you are."

My phone went off, and I saw a text message from my neighbor, Shelly. It was late afternoon and Rutger was usually let out by Shelly since she worked the night shift as a bartender. I forgot to let her know that I brought him with me today.

<What's up? Is Rutger with you? He's missing. ~Shelly>

I decided to call her, I was never a fan of texting.

"Hi, I have Rutger with me, I meant to call you earlier," I said.

"No problem, I just wanted to make sure he was with you. I'm getting ready to go for my run. Maybe I could swing by and see the fuzzball. Are you nearby?" Shelly said.

I gave her the address, and she said she'd be here in about 20 minutes.

Shelly is a really nice girl, cute and peppy. I'm sure she does well with the tips at the bar she works at. I've heard her mention school a few times, but I don't think her hearts really in it. She's smart enough to know that bartending isn't a wise life long goal. Tips fade after awhile.

I walked back to the meeting room, Gwen was still on the phone organizing the people to attend the meeting in a few hours. The others were gathered around talking in hushed tones. Rutger was sleeping in the corner. Whatever James had done with him had sure worn him out, I'd never seen him so tired. I bent down and scratched his head and he woke up immediately.

Rutger and I checked out the books while waiting for Shelly. A lot of the them were new, however others were very old. Copyrights from the 1800's were common and some were too old for copyrights. The very old books had a sign reading, "Please ask the attendant for assistance handling books. You break it you buy it, and you probably can't afford it."

One of the bigger cases with the books locked away had a few books that were bound in some sort of rawhide, that were very Night Of The Living Dead. Before I checked if the case was unlocked a blond with a pony tail and a pink jogging suit trotted down the sidewalk.

Her lycra shirt was damp with sweat, her chest heaving from her exertion. She had the girl next door quality that most guys would go crazy for. It's hard to believe she didn't have a boyfriend.

"So this is where your supermodel bosses work? I never even knew this place was here," she said looking around the street.

"I think supermodel might be a stretch."

She bent of over and started scratching Rutger's ears. "Who's a good boy, huh?" Rutger made a big production of showing her he was the good boy, rolling over on his back to letter her rub his belly.

The bell on the door rang tearing my sight away from Shelly.

Gwen stood with her arms crossed, foot tapping. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at the us.

"Shelly usually watches Rutger for me and came by to see him while she was out on her run," I said meeting her gaze.

"Oh, the neighbor, of course. That was kind of you to stop by," Gwen said, her face not betraying any emotions and her foot still tapping.

"Gwen, could you take Rutger inside for me, I'll be back in in just a moment, I promise," I said.

She hesitated for a moment looking between me and Shelly, then nodded her head taking the leash from me.

"I thought you said she wasn't your girlfriend," Shelly said, after they headed back into the store.

"We might have gotten a little closer than friends," I said, shrugging, not really sure what our relationship status was. Worker, friend, member of a her coven (even though I didn't really have any powers).

Back inside the store I found Gwen sitting in a chair that she had pulled over near the door. Rutger sat at her side, making no move to rejoin me. As I neared she stood up, pointed a finger and poking me in the chest, then kneed me in the family jewels before walking away. All without saying a word.

I stood for a bit by myself trying to get my breath back wondering what the hell just happened.

"It's been a few centuries since she's dated," Maeve said with a shrug, not bothering to hide her smile.

"Why did she knee me?" I asked in a horse whisper.

"You really don't know much about women do you?" Maeve shook her head and walked away. Leaving me to nurse my wounds and try to figure out what I did to get on the bad side of one of the most powerful witches in the city.

Chapter 10

Later that evening, there was a car waiting in the driveway when we pulled in. Three men and a woman exited a sedan with tinted windows as we parked.

Maeve seemed to know the newcomers and was actually cordial as she greeted a tall man with shoulder length blond hair and a solid square chin. His nostrils flared a few times as he inhaled, then he turned to Maeve. "Good evening Mauve, you look as lovely as always my dear," taking her hand in his and kissing it.

"I take it we are forgiven for our previous leader's transgressions?"

"You mean when you tried to slowly kill our mother for your own selfish desires, then killed her faster than you planned to? " Maeve said stiffening as she stood up a bit straighter.

The man, Raphael, hung his head for a moment, then met Maeve's eyes, "I am sorry. You know how I feel how I felt about that, I had no choice but to go along."

He then introduced a short thin man as Chester, who wore a pure white Colonel Sanders mustache and beard, with matching white seersucker suit. A couple, both in casual wear stood further back with a look of practiced disinterest. The woman's bright red hair contrasted the pale shaved head of the man next to her. When Raphael introduced them, they both moved their eyes as one to Maeve, then to me. It was tough to tell at first, since they were mostly standing still, but they were both moving in perfect unison. Each little shift in body position and angle being perfectly timed and mimicked by the other.

After the introductions were made and I was the only unknown, I could see a few curious glances cast my way.

"Everybody, come inside while we wait for the others to arrive," Gwen said to the group. Then turning to Maeve, "Could you show Gordon and Rutger the back yard, dear?"

"Of course. Come on Gordo, walk with me."

I followed Maeve around back, through the gate. She was wearing tight black leather pants a white button down shirt with a jacket. She really was cute, except for her snarky abrasiveness.

Maeve snorted, "Watch it bub."

"Don't you ever get tired of traipsing around in my head?"

Large oak and maple trees dotted the landscape of the backyard, giving a more woodsy feel than you'd usually find in the city limits. There was a small cottage at the back of the property with a single figure sitting on the porch smoking a pipe.

Catching up to her I tried to lower my voice to not be overheard, "I thought vampires got burned by the sun?"

"No, that's pure fiction. They don't like the daylight because it makes them drowsy, the younger ones are affected more."

I thought back to the endless used books on the supernatural that lined my homemade cinderblock shelves when I was a kid. I never stopped believing in the characters in those books, but for me to actually meet them was surreal.

About every 10 steps Maeve would use a Sharpie to draw a few small runes on the fence or a tree. She'd murmur a few words quietly, then moved on.

Rutger did his best to mark the property in his own way almost as often.

I need to protect the property," she said, "Use your Sight, like viewing aura, while I do it. Try to see the flow of the magic."

I concentrated on seeing her aura. It showed up bright green in the evening gloom.

She closed her eyes, spoke a few words very quietly, then turned 45 degrees and repeated the action. After completing the circle, a bright green ring exploded out from her at the ground. The green wave of magic rolled out toward each rune on the fence and trees where there was a bright flash.

"There now we can take Rutger back the way we came for a nice walk, and to make sure we don't get have uninvited guests trying to eavesdrop on us. Keep an eye out for anything suspicious."

"What was that you did back there?"

"I was checking to make sure nobody had any magical traps waiting for us. Anything that could harm us or more likely spy on us. The pulse of aura that I sent out through the Earth— we're all bound to the Earth— cleanses and destroys any mischievous magic that might be hiding there. It also sets my own traps. If anybody sends any magic toward us this evening I'll know before they can do anything."

I paused for a few seconds. "Why wouldn't somebody just use a sound amplifier for audio surveillance? As far as that goes, why wouldn't a team just bug the house?"

"One of the side effects of using a strong blast of aura or magic is that electronics don't hold up too well. Marianna will do the same in the house. Don't worry I directed it toward the ground, your cell phone should be fine."

"What's the goal of this meeting?"

"Mostly it's to discuss what Reynolds told you earlier. The vampires are susceptible to the same things that would harm us. But... I think that Gwen might have a special chat with Reynolds about how he contacted you. It's considered very impolite to invade somebody's mind," she said.

I didn't point out that she invades my mind every chance she gets.

"He's coming here tonight?" I asked.

"He's the head of the local Green Vampire Conclave," she said as if that should be obvious. "Along with the representatives of the local coven."

We took a slight detour to the cottage where we'd seen James earlier. He still sat on the porch taking in the evening air, with a pipe in one hand, and a coffee mug. Gently rocking in his chair, he looked out over the yard, he had slightly amused look on his face as we walked up.

"Big meeting tonight?" James asked.

"The Green Conclave, and the local witches coven," I said.

"Actually the coven has a wizard also. Males with magic are much more rare, so many covens really are only witches," Maeve said.

"Well, it's a good think you've got Gordon here working overtime," James said. "I'll be around in a few hours to take over."

Suddenly remembering the cat I saw this morning I said, "Do either of you know anything about a cat coming around here? I saw one this morning. It was in the house."

"We better be going, Gwen will be looking for us— talk to you later James." Maeve grabbed my arm, pulling me after her.

Back at the house I found Gwen and made my way over to her with Rutger. She gave Rutger some attention and coddled him a bit taking my hand at the same time. Everything else faded to the background as I looked at her hand holding mine. She must not be mad any longer. Women...

We stood there holding hands until another group showed up. Marianna paused with her hand in front of the door as she said a few words too quiet to be heard, then opened the door to let in a group of about 10 people.

Gwen turned and whispered in my ear, "She had to disable the wards we have on the door. They protect us from anybody entering." Nodding toward the door she she said, "The local witches coven has arrived."

Before the door was closed a man that I recognized came through the egress. He hadn't taken more than 2 steps when Gwen let go of my hand and darted forward. Holding her hand out, a blue light flashed forward. Reynolds was thrown 5 yards into the wall in the next room.

Blue bands of what looked like light held his wrists and neck firmly in place.

He didn't struggle as Gwen walked calmly through the room, everybody giving her a wide berth.

"You have to believe me, I only meant to contact you, not to invade your territory," Reynolds said.

"Did you invade our family's mind for weeks before today?" Gwen asked.

"Yes, but only to protect us all!" Another vampire, the one dressed in the Colonel Sanders getup, saw what was going on, and rushed toward Gwen. He was a blur of white to the human eye.

Reynolds saw it before Gwen. "No— don'!t," he said to the already advancing vampire.

Gwen saw him when he was within a few feet of her, crouching as she threw her hand up, going to one knee. A blue light shot out like a lariat. It grabbed the rushing vampire by the neck and she pulled him toward her. At the same time she pushed out with her other hand and an invisible force pushed the vampire a few feet wide of her so they didn't collide.

Yanking on the on the lariat as he rushed past her, she pulling him off of his feet with a violent motion. His entire body spun parallel to the floor before crashing down. The blue light that encircled his neck turned to ice. It made a crackling noise as the ice spread to his head and shoulders and finally his entire upper body. A pair of wide open eyes stared out of the ice at the ceiling.

Gwen turned back to Reynolds, the entire room went library quiet. "I will give you this one warning, if you ever come near him or any other member of my coven again. I will take you all apart,"

By now I had my .45 1911 in my hands in the low ready position with the safety off. Supernatural or not, try thinking with a 185 grain hollow point in your head.

The coven members had gotten as far back as they could from the action. Some were physically pressed against the wall with wide eyes. Others had a more interested look about them. Nobody dared to interfere or even speak. But a man with slicked back hair and beady eyes stood watching it all, even taking a step closer to get a better look.

I glanced at Maeve who still stood with the blond vampire, the other three vampires stood nearby. Her eyes glowing green, a puddle of green light oozed around the vampire's feet when I looked with my Sight. She was holding them in place so they couldn't join the fight. She turn to me glancing at my .45 in my hands and nodded approval.

"Relax fellas, we don't need any more bloodshed tonight and you seem to have gotten on my sister's bad side already," she said. "Honestly I think that's a record. She's the nice one."

Gwen stood up, releasing Reynolds from the blue bindings that held him with a wave or her hand. With another flick of her hand, the ice that covered the vampire on the floor turned to mist and dissipated.

"Give me your attention, please," Gwen said addressing the room. "We did not call you to fight. For now our differences are resolved," she looked pointedly at Reynolds as she said this.

He withered under her glare but nodded.

"We have very important matters to discuss tonight. But first I have someone that I would like to introduce." She walked back over to where I was still standing, with Rutger. He had become more cautious in the last minute of action. But when Gwen came to us his hackles went down and his tail thumping the floor wildly.

Wow, I wonder if she has that same effect on all dogs. Or if it's just Rutger and me.

"This is Gordon Hopewell. He is very dear to us. I will consider it a personal attack on my family if he should be harmed in any way." She slowly scanned the room making eye contact with every person in the room. Nobody spoke.

"Mr. Hopewell, please let me apologize for the way I introduced myself to you." Reynolds said. "But first, if you will excuse me..." Looking toward the vampire that tried to attack Gwen he said, "You may leave, now." He didn't explain further, the vampire turned and headed for the door.

Then Reynolds turned back to me. "As I was saying sir, it's an honor to meet you and I greatly apologize for any aggravation we may have caused in our haste. I do have very important news. It could be of the utmost importance to you as well as the rest of us."

Marianna, who had been casually observing everything thus far, stepped forward "Reynolds, what is it that has you so terror-stricken?"

She already knew what I had told her, so I had to think this was a calculating way to make sure the details would still match.

Reynolds ran through the story again about the government and the witch on their payroll.

"We just got reports in today saying that they are trying to create a cure," he said. "For us, or whatever it is that makes us— us. My sources tell me that the goal is to basically undo the chemical and physiological changes that we undergo when we are created. There are obviously great differences between the Green Conclave and the Elder Witches. However we are a product of your blood line, even if we are only the bastard children. If they created a cure for us. What will it do to you?"

"Do you really think this is possible?" Marianna asked. "Every member of the coven, whether with our special gifts or not, are born to the craft."

"True, but does your craft protect your longevity?" He suggested. "I don't think that it does, at least not only your magic that does. You have a much longer life span than a human, but a witches life span is typically much shorter than you have already lived. Which is what makes you so unique amongst your kind. Surely even your apothecary skills are not enough to support your health at your age."

"Whoa Whoa Whoa." Maeve said striding over. "Are you saying this one witch was able to create something that would completely undo any Green Conclave vampire as well as any witch living beyond their normal years? How is that possible?"

"Yes, ma'am, I believe it is so. The government has almost unlimited funding and personnel they can throw at it. Additionally, she is a vampire now too. We believe she has been letting them experiment on her. Also, she is becoming more... unstable. And we have no proof we think she has become more powerful."

"How could she become more powerful?" I asked.

"That was something I wanted to ask you about," Reynolds said.

A young man with a beard and an tweed ivy cap spoke up. "Begging your pardon, but how does this be concerning us regular witches and wizards do you think?" he said in a thick brogue.

A small murmur followed from the other coven gathered near him.

The man with the beady eyes had been focusing intently on Gwen, Marianna and Maeve.

"A better question is why should we care what they do to you? If you're looking for our help, you have some nerve."

Reynolds walked from the other room where Gwen had thrown him, back into the main dining room with the coven.

"We don't know for sure what they are working on. But they see supernaturals as a threat." Spreading his arms slowly like a minister preaching to his flock "It's possible that once the government learns of your existence you will go about leading your lives totally undisturbed."

When I snorted at that, Reynolds gave a sad smile and nodded. "I have never in all my years cared much for politics but one thing has remained a constant in every government. Anything they view as a threat must be eliminated if it cannot be assimilated."

"Or dissected and studied," Maeve said frowning.

"My point precisely," Reynolds said. "The government with all their spending power has a vast interest in research, especially if they think they can create a new weapon out of it."

Rutger and I headed to the kitchen to get out of the debate. Finding a Samuel Adams and a tray of lunch meat and cheese, I popped the top and took a big gulp. I sat near the glass door leading to the patio and dutifully doled out slices of meat and cheese to Rutger and myself. I was hoping Rutger and I could slip outside again soon when I heard a commotion in the other room.

I looked over my shoulder at the raised voice of what sounded like beady eyes still throwing his tantrum. He held his hands out, palms facing each other as a red ball of crackling energy hovered, growing larger by the second.

"What makes you think we need your help? If we channel our energy we can be just as strong or stronger than you," he said giving a high pitched laugh.

Using my Sight showed a stream of energy flowing from the other members of the coven into the male witch. Some of them didn't look like willing participants. I could see black sooty boots pinning their feet in place, while he siphoned power from them.

"Maybe we should see how strong your newest member is," he said. He smiled but it wasn't a happy look. Pivoting on one foot to face me he pushed out with both hands sending the orb hurtling straight at my chest. It looked like he'd just passed a basketball, I thought to myself.

I meant to dive out of the way, but it happened so fast my feet were still firmly planted when it got to me. I raised my hands up reflexively. The orb hit my hands which sank into it up to my forearms, my fear growing to panic levels at what was going to happen. I felt the power of it coursing through me immediately, every nerve ending sang as the magical energy soaked into me. It was then that I realized that the orb was shrinking in size. Somehow the orb was being absorbed into me. I hummed with the extra power, but I knew I didn't have the capacity to hold it all, I already felt overflowing with the energy.

A second later, a vision of a doorway came unbidden in my head. A voice spoke quietly with a set of instructions. I had no idea where the voice was coming from but it sounded male. I focused on the image of the doorway, pushing my magic out to form the doorway. When it was the height of a man, the opacity of it because solid.

I could see a road stretching through the rolling hills with blue skies beyond the archway. Following my instincts I stepped through the door with what was left of the orb.

I could dimly hear voices behind me shouting as I stepped through, my foot sending a small puff of dust up from the dirt road on the other side. Then all noise from the house ceased. When I looked back, all I could see was a road winding into the countryside. Then the doorway was gone.

Chapter 11

I looked around and not seeing any people breathed a sigh of relief. I didn't want to have to explain the orb I was holding or how I appeared from thin air, or where it'd come from.

The orb was noticeably smaller, almost half the size it was before stepping through the doorway. I didn't really want to stay wherever this was any longer than I had to. I concentrated on making another doorway. Closing my eyes I tried to remember how it felt when I made the first door. I opened my eyes expecting to see a new doorway, but all I saw was the dusty road leading to town. I concentrated again on clenching my eyes shut until sweat popped out on my forehead. Still nothing.

Suddenly I got an idea. It was almost like someone had told me what I needed to do with the remaining energy so I could use it to get home.

I spotted a discarded bottle on the side of the road a bit farther up. Fetching the bottle, I pulled out the cork stopper and then kneaded the mass of energy in my hands as if it was clay. When I got it shaped right, I pushed it into the bottle, then replaced the stopper smiling at my handiwork.

Now I just needed some water to add to the bottle and I would be able to use the energy potion to open another doorway; or so the voice in my head told me. The fact that the voice wasn't exactly mine was a little disconcerting, but I refused to give into that thought right now.

In the distance thatched roofs lined the horizon, so I started walking that way in search of water. The buildings were mostly wood or some sort of mud thatch work. Past the town there was a high stone wall that surrounded a castle that reminded me of castles in Europe that I'd seen in pictures.

When I got closer, the clothing of the townsfolk, plain with simple stying differed from my own enough to mark me as a foreigner. I couldn't understand the language the were speaking and it didn't sound like anything I'd heard before. I could have probably convinced myself that I had traveled to Europe or some other far off place, but when I saw the moon with a ring around it I knew this wasn't Earth.

A man dressed in fraying brown cloak with a leaning tower or hair and a single dark eyebrow approached me on the street. After a few attempts to speak with me he snatched up my hand. His grip felt wet, calloused and strong. "You can learn our language if you concentrate," he said. "What kind of wizard doesn't know that?"

What kind of wizard doesn't know he's even a wizard, I thought.

"How do you know I have magic?" I asked surprising myself that I was speaking his language.

Ignoring me he said, "The King's court will want to speak with you. Even daft wizards such as yourself are requested to notify the registrator of your arrival. My duty is done." With that he turned and headed away without another glance in my direction, his unruly mop of hair keeping tempo with his gait.

"Where is the registrator located?" I asked.

The man turned around, his eyes visibly bulging as he sputtered. "You need to concentrate! For the love of..."

This magic should have come with a manual.

My eyes closed as I concentrated on the registrator. An image popped into my head. I saw man with a long white beard wearing a gray cloak standing behind a desk. His head snapped up, eyes narrowing to slits when I tried to get a better look at him. Startled I opened my eyes.

The image I saw must be the registrator, but it didn't get me any closer to finding him. Part of me wondered at the wisdom of registering anything on this strange planet. I should probably get out of here as soon as possible. But the rational part of me realized if I couldn't leave I didn't want to create even more trouble. Closing my eyes again, I took a deep breath as I concentrated on the registrator's office. When I opened my eyes a line appeared on the road, glowing brightly on the dirt, as if it were freshly painted. It wound around a bend in the road and out of sight.

This magic stuff was getting easier all the time.

Following the line on the road through the town, I passed several locals who gave me curious glances but at least I could understand them now. Guards walked the massive stone wall around the castle. Parapets complete with arrowslits built into the stonework marked each corner, the spires were so tall they seemed to touched the clouds.

Guards posted at the gate house halted my progress. I was a bit on edge as I remembered that I still had my .45 tucked in my waistband holster. The guards held pikes lowered toward me as I approached. They didn't look like they were up on modern firearm knowledge but I had no doubt they could use their weapons just as efficiently as any trained soldier. Their demeanor spoke of well trained men, not the civilians I'd seen in the streets.

"State your business," one of the guards said.

"I'm going to the registrator's office," I said. "Plus I need to find some water for this..." I said offhandedly, as I held up the bottle I'd put the orb into. It glowed dully through the dirty bottle.

The guard closest to me tripped over his feet trying to backpedal, almost landing on his bum. The other guard held up his hands up, palms forward, eyes wide. I didn't understand what all that was about but decided it was time to keep moving. I tried to smile and nod as I went past the rest of the guards. They looked at me like something stuck on their shoe as I passed.

The registrator's office, if you could call it that, was in the castle itself. I felt a bit like a tourist as I walked through the enormous hallways. It had an earthy smell to it and solidness I never felt in an modern building back home. It was a magnificent building, I was immediately in love with the architecture of it all. I walked for quite awhile before finding a sign pointed me in the right direction.

I wasn't more than a few steps into the office when a woman looked up and said, "You must be the wizard."

The office had books lining one wall. The fireplace had a large fancy mantle where a fire burned, warming the room. The windows let in enough light to make the area feel welcoming.

The woman had a lean body and strong but not unattractive face. Unlike most of the women in the castle she wore tight fitting dark colored pants and a shirt exposing enough to make a man blush.

"Yes, I guess I am," I said, trying sound casual and not stare at the same time. Both of which failed with varying degrees.

"How long will you be staying in Dashire?" she asked.

"Not long. I'll be trying to leave soon."

"May we inquire your business here, wizard?"

I didn't know how long it would take or if the hunch I had was even correct and I could get back home at all. I shrugged and said, "I just sort of ended up here. I'll be trying leave soon so I don't cause you any inconvenience."

"Did you hear that", she said to the bearded man behind her, "He's not going to cause any inconvenience. You are a peculiar wizard." She gave a short amused laugh.

"You're not sure how or why you're here. Noted," she said bending over to fill out what looked like a form on the desk in front of her, giving more than an eyeful.

The bearded man, who I thought was the actual registrator, didn't hesitate glancing downward for a better look, carefully averted his gaze as she finished her note taking.

"Is it okay for me travel around the town? And do you have any water?"

They both looked at each other curiously.

"I thought you said he has power," she said to the man.

"He does... probably more powerful than we've had in years. He just doesn't seem to know it," said the registrator.

"Interesting," she said, then turning to me said, "I am Emilee, daughter of Lord Grayson, and this is our Otherworldly Wizard Registrator, Gavin."

I introduced myself.

"Wizard Hope Well, you can find water in the tavern," she said, saying my name as two separate words. One of your kind was last seen in there not long ago as a matter of fact." Her eyes searched my face for a reaction.

"Another... wizard?" I said.

"Hurry along if you want to catch him," she said.

The registrator snickered behind her. "Yes, his magic might be running out about now."

Chapter 12

I found the tavern easy enough. I wouldn't have needed the directions my new friends at the registrator's office gave me as the tavern was within eyesight of the castle's front gates. A crowd had formed outside the tavern, peering in the window, murmurs rippled through the crowd. Pushing through the spectators, ignoring their stares, I made my way inside. I found the wizard just as easily. Even if I couldn't see his magic, which it turns out I could, I would have spotted him. He wore a black leather cloak and had a large staff laying on the table in front of him. His long beard swept the table with each turn of his head. He was swaying back and forth to some unknown tune.

I gave a curt nod to the man as I walked past toward the bar, glancing back at the red rimmed eyes staring at me.

I only wanted to put some water in my bottle to hopefully open another doorway to back home. Why I needed water, I had no idea, but the voice was adamant that the recipe was what I needed. I couldn't exactly converse with the voice and it didn't quite talk to me. It was more like a feeling mixed with suggestions from somebody just out of reach.

Looking over my shoulder in the mirror over the bar I saw the wizard behind me. His hand rested on his staff, his eyes still boring holes in me. I looked at him using my Sight, what I saw almost made me recoil.

There was an oily black creature attached to his back. I made eye contact with the beast. It's yellow eyes held my gaze as it hissed at me, digging it's claws in deeper. The wizard cried out. He swatted at his back out of reflex, where the creature held fast. His hand didn't make contact, but slowed down like it was passing through molasses. The color drained from his face. He pulled his hand free, sagging deeper in his seat.

The bartender was a portly middle-aged fellow with a horseshoe of hair on his head, and the only other person in the tavern. He didn't so much walk over as creep over, keeping an eye on the wizard at the table and me at the same time. He mopped sweat from his brow as he took my order, never making eye contact, his head bobbing up and down a bit too much.

Setting a pitcher of water in front of me, he scurried away again toward the other end of the bar.

Not wanting to draw more attention to myself I took the pitcher of water and headed to a dark corner of the tavern.

I gave a short nervous laugh as I approached the wizard's table. He relaxed slightly, white knuckles easing up on his staff. The tables were tight trying to get past him to the back corner of the room. I edged past, free hand up in a truce gesture, as I got my first good look at the wizard. His sunken eyes and bent posture weren't a sign of age, it was sickness. The creature that hung to him was killing him. He was having to use magic to heal himself. An acrid smell filled my nose, it was a mix of burnt rubber and spoiled food.

His goblin growled and hissed it's displeasure at me. It seemed aggravated that I could see it, and sank one clawed foot into it's the man's neck, lashing out at me with both clawed hands. Using my Sight, I could see the magic that surrounded the beast. The creature glowed with power. Unlike the witches that only showed magic on parts of their body, it showed magic everywhere.

Before I know what I was doing, I set my pitcher of water down and grabbed the gremlin the same as I had the orb that beady tried to cook me with back home. I pulled hard but it hung tight to the wizard digging its claws in.

I could hear gasps from the crowd outside that had gathered to watch. It must have looked like I was wrestling with a ghost. The man howled in pain as he struggling to pull away from me. After a minute of pulling with all my might, the thing hadn't budged. I realized I hadn't said a word to the wizard. Indeed, I hadn't even been paying him much mind, just the goblin.

Looking down I saw he had a knife on the table in front of him that had slipped from his sweat slickened grip. I had a feeling if I'd tried this before he was this weak he would have used that knife to fend me off— even if I was trying to help.

"Hold still, I have an idea," I said hoping he understood me.

This time I didn't grab the gremlin, I sank my hands into it. It was only magical energy, no different than I could feel coming from the Earth— and the same as I felt from this other world as well.

I concentrated on absorbing the energy. The gremlin realized what I was doing at once and fought back violently. It lashed out with it's clawed hands trying to shred my arms. Every time it struck, I absorbed the blow and some of it's energy until it finally let go. Once it was free from the man it lost it's will to fight. What remained was easily rolled up like a ball of clay, which I added to my bottle. It swirled black in the bottle, mixing with the red energy already in the bottle.

As I stowed my bottle and caught my breath, the wizard already looked better. The color rose in his face from the ghostly pale it had been.

"You healed me..." he said. His hand crept back onto his staff.

"I removed the magic goblin— or demon— or whatever it was," I said.

His eyes, much sharper than only a moment before evaluated me.

"I thought you were going to kill me... I was too weak to defend myself, " he said.

I didn't know why he thought I would kill him and didn't know what to say so I didn't say anything. He paused, then released his grip on the staff, but kept his hand nearby.

"Some wizards see each other as a threat. On some worlds you are killed as a preemptive measure," he said as if that explained everything.

No wonder the guy was acting so strange. On some worlds you were killed just for having magic. I thought about the government agency that Reynolds had found out about. Maybe it wasn't so bad, at least it was only a few wizards after you, not the entire government.

"What was that thing?"

"A very powerful wizard put that curse on me. The spell was draining my magic, and would have continued until I had none left. Then it would have killed me by draining my soul."

"Well, I'm sure you would have done the same for me," I said, but not really feeling it since he'd just told me on his world wizards kill each other for sport.

He looked down at his hands and the knife laying there. "No, I don't suppose I would have," he said. "I've had too many bad encounters to trust that somebody stronger than me wouldn't just kill me as thanks."

It occurred to me that he still might be willing to kill me just in case. I reached behind my back, feeling for the reassuring bulge of metal holstered there.

"There's one more thing," he said starting to rise. At his full height he was almost a foot taller than my 6 foot frame and not the frail man I first saw.

Mistaking his intention I said, "I don't want any trouble, as soon as I make my potion, I'll be trying to leave this place."

"I've never seen anybody remove that spell."

"Beginners luck, I've always had a knack for trying new things," I said.

"I've never heard of anybody ever surviving it. Not even in stories from our ancestors has anybody ever done what you just did," he said.

"I could see it attacking you, then I got an idea on how to remove it. Honestly, I wasn't sure it would work, this is all new to me," I said.

His long beard moved back and forth, matching eyebrows raised. "New to you? How is that possible, you removed a spell from one of the strongest wizards in all the worlds. A spell known to be impossible to remove."

"A prophecy?" I said lamely.

"Prophecies are powerful events... they usually affect far more than was foresaw. Sometimes for the amusement of the god that created it," he said.

"My name is Eros, from Arkala, I'm in your servitude for saving my life. But I need to warn you, Maleos will seek retribution for saving me. With any luck it will go unnoticed."

I glanced at the window and the crowd of people still gathered there.

I learned that Maleos is the most powerful wizard they had seen on his world in centuries. Many wizards fighting together couldn't defeat him. Twelve others had received the same spell that Eros did. Then he was sent to this world and didn't have the strength to return home.

After listening to Eros' story I politely said my goodbyes and headed back in the direction that I'd arrived. I looked back and saw Eros's long stride easily keeping pace with me, but still looking ill from the effects of the ghoulish attack.

"This is exhausting," he said. "Why don't you jump?"

"Jump? And why are you following me?"

"I told you I'm in your servitude. Maleos will eventually come looking for me and then for you for freeing me. You will need my help. But we will never leave if you don't jump where you're going."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I said, getting annoyed at other people continually knowing more about my powers than I did.

"Give me your hand before I end up dying on this day after all."

I stuck my hand out, his long thin fingers were shaky but strong. We disappeared from where we stood, the world distorted and blurred for a few seconds. Then we stood on the road I had come in on.

"That was a jump, some call it other things," he said. "The important thing is a wizard of your capacity should know how to do that. It's one of the most useful tools you can have."

I had a vision in my head of the plan for the potion that I needed to leave this place. New ideas kept coming unbidden all the time. I needed to mix the water with the magic, then to put my finger into the bottle and concentrate on what I needed from it. A lot of the water had sloshed out of the glass pitcher I'd been carrying. I should have done this in the tavern like I'd planned. I carefully poured the remaining water in until the it was almost to the top. Then I put my index finger in the bottle, making sure to seal it completely. I turned it upside down, closed my eyes, and pictured my magic flow out of me to form a doorway. When I opened my eyes, the water was glowing brightly but there was still no doorway.

Eros stood watching me as I stared at my newly mixed concoction.

"I think you have to drink it," he said encouragingly, and if not a little too interested. Maybe he was curious about what would happen when I drank it too.

I swirled the bottle and watched as red and black luminescent liquids mixed together glowing brighter. Fleeting images swam past too fast to make out what they were. The mixture smelled of ozone and my sinuses tingled as I raised the bottle to my mouth working up the nerve to drink. The bottle met my lips before I knew it was happening. A soothing voice, not quite my own said 'How many people could say they visited a strange world, saved a wizard, bottled magic (literally), created a potion and then drank it?' Damn few, that's how many, so if I get taken out with a bottle of wizard juice, so be it.

I gulped the mixture, it was sour and made my tongue buzz like a hundred bees were on it. Energy flooded through my body, amplifying my senses. Voices met my ears as my hearing intensified allowing me to hear conversations from the town over a mile away. Looking back over my shoulder I saw the woman who had been with the registrator. Her eyes were squinted as she looked in our direction through the spy glass she held. Then she leaned closely to the registrator's ear, who scribbled away in a small notebook. If she said anything, she spoke too quietly to hear.

Eros put his hand on my shoulder. "Think about jumping to where you want to go."

Tearing my eyes away from the woman, I did as he suggested. This time, instead of a doorway opening, we went back into the blurry otherworld space. Sounds were muted. Glimpses of cities, deserts and oceans us passed by. As we stepped out of the jump stream there was a popping noise.

We had arrived in a more modern world. Automobiles traveling the streets. But something had gone wrong, this wasn't Earth. None of the cars made any noise. It was like they were powered by something other than gasoline engines. The pedestrians had something else about them that was different but I couldn't place it.

"No no no— you've taken us to my home world!" Eros said frantically. "We must leave at once— there might be traps in place waiting to see if I return— even if that chance is very small." His eyes darted non stop around the street looking for something. He gripped his staff with white knuckles, which only glowed dimly, a result of not enough time to recharge his magic.

"Don't you want to try to help your friends that were cursed also? Or let your family know you're not dead?" I said. It had been a complete accident to jump to this world but since we were here, and I didn't want to admit it was an accident, we might as well try to help his people.

The big man trembled slightly, and had grown increasingly twitchy. "No... If Maleos finds I have escaped his spell, he will kill us both; plus our families and friends and their families," Eros said.

Chapter 13

I got the feeling that Maleos wasn't from Eros's planet, so he had probably gone back to whatever world he came from. But I didn't say anything, not wanting to aggravate Eros even more. He was still in a panic and nothing I said would calm him down. Not that I could blame him, he had just escaped from a spell that was meant to slowly kill him. An hour ago he thought he had a death sentence.

It was time to get out of here. Drinking more potion, I felt Eros's hand on my shoulder again. Somehow I knew that would make him come with me when I jumped.

Thinking about the house where I'd left Gwen and Maeve, I formed a picture in my mind, and concentrated on jumping there. We entered the familiar otherworld jump space— I had to ask Eros what his was called— we watched as glimpses of worlds passed quietly by. We could stop at any of the worlds, I knew this without trying. When we got to Earth, the vision I saw In my head of the patio where Maeve and I had take Rutger for a walk earlier in the day suddenly became real.

We stepped out of the otherworld space with an audible pop. A cool breeze brought the smell of flowers and herbs from nearby gardens. Inside, soft murmuring could be heard by unknown voices. Glass crunched under our feet as we walked through the house. A table rested in the wall about three feet from the floor, sooty scorch marks covered the table. The front bay window had been broken out and the curtains billowed softly in the breeze. James was sweeping up debris by the window, he must have come when he heard the commotion.

I saw Gwen and Maeve standing by the fireplace, talking. Most of the coven of witches still here, seated on what furniture was left or huddle on the floor where they could find a seat. I didn't see beady eyes anywhere.

"What happened here?" I asked to the room in general.

Gwen spun around at the sound of my voice and grabbed me in what I could only describe as a bear hug. Such slender arms shouldn't be able to crush the wind out of me.

"We were afraid you wouldn't be able to open another doorway."

She became tense and lost her smile as Eros made his way into the room, ducking his head to fit through the archway.

"You're gone a few hours and come back with a friend?" Maeve said looking Eros up and down. Mostly up as she was a foot shorter than me.

Eros stepped forward, "I am Wizard Eros from Arkata," he said, bowing deeply from the waist, which had the effect of putting him at eye level with Maeve. "Wizard Gordon helped save me from certain death, and I am now honor bound to him."

"You don't say," Maeve said arching her eyebrows.

"Eros couldn't stay on his world, I figured he could stay with us for awhile," I said.

"Wow, dude, you traveled to another world?" said a young woman sitting on the floor near me. Her round unblinking eyes stared and her mouth never quite closed as she gaped at me in awe.

The rest of the witches in the room had looks ranging from amazement to skepticism. Maybe they thought this had all been an act for their benefit. The thought made me chuckle.

Eros was studying the witches sitting around the room. "So many with magic, but just."

"What do you mean?" Gwen replied.

"Their magic is... limited. It is shrunken, crushed."

"You can see how much magic they have?" Gwen was focused intently on Eros.

"I'm sure you could too. Your magic vessel is far greater than any of theirs, except for her," he said point at Maeve, "And Gordon's of course, whose is much larger than both of yours."

The stunned look on Gwen and Maeve's face were a perfect match. That observation left both women with a look of... something, I couldn't quite tell what. I guess they didn't expect me to be the awesome magical specimen that they had created. In all honesty, it took me by surprise also. I was still coming to terms with having magic at all.

"Don't get cocky Gordon, it's how you use it," Maeve said.

"Yeah yeah, you're just jealous because mine is bigger," I shot back.

"Please allow me to show you," Eros said taking Gwen's hand. "Look for the container that holds their magic. It's not always in the same place. It changes for everyone with the gift." He took my hand as well. Immediately I saw the container of magic as Eros saw it.

"Now you have both seen how it looks to me, yes?" Eros said, letting go of our hands. "Look for yourselves. The way you see it might vary slightly from how I view it, but you should be able to locate it by feel now."

Looking at the young woman who had spoken earlier I could see that what held her magic looked like an almost deflated balloon.

"What happens if we fix that so it doesn't look all crinkled up?" Maeve asked.

He stroked his beard absently as he looked at the tiny witch, apparently not missing that he hadn't explicitly showed her how to see it.

"Once you've corrected it, it will hold more magic," he said with a shrug. Then looking around the room at the destruction as if for the first time he said, "But perhaps you have a reason to not do that. Not everybody is cut out to be a wizard."

"Gordon, can I have a word with you?" Gwen said, grabbing my hand in a steely grip, and pulling me toward the fireplace. I did my best not to show how bad her grip hurt. She waved her hand and the fire crackling in the fireplace was all but muted, as was the rest of the room. She turned giving me a sharp look, her mouth a thin line, her hands balled into fists.

"How did you meet Eros? Tell me everything, even the smallest detail," she said.

I explained everything. When I finished she was naturally curious about the gremlin but seemed equally curious about Emilee's interest in me.

"And you saw her watching and listening to you from over a mile away?"

I said I had.

She thought about that for a minute, then changing the subject said, "I've never heard of a gremlin being killed. The Indian witch doctors called them spirit demons. The Tuatha De' Danann could control gremlins. They are known to be both mischievous and devious in nature so it takes a very skilled person to control one. Most stories are of gremlins being set loose to wreak havoc." Without warning, I felt the field around us darken. Gwen took hold of my neck in her hand. Surprised I tried to pull away but couldn't budge. Ice had already formed encasing my entire neck like a vice. I tried to grab hold of the ice and pull, but the ice covered my hands in seconds and before I realized it I was trapped. My vision started to swim, black spots floated in my vision.

"Try to escape," Gwen said showing no emotion, except a pained look in her eyes, which had turned nearly solid blue.

I croaked out a word that didn't sound like anything, and tried to absorb the magic like I had before but nothing happened.

I saw Eros in the corner of my vision looking alarmed, bringing his staff up before Maeve took hold of it kicking him in the back of the leg and subduing the big man with a nimble display of leverage.

As the last of the air in my burning lungs wheezed out, the ice vanished in a puff of mist.

Gwen let out a long breath. "I cannot control a gremlin. I've never met a mortal that can. You just saved a man from a wizard or more likely a demigod who had smote him."

I understood now what Gwen was trying to show me with the choke hold. On impulse I had helped out a man with very powerful enemies

She sighed and dropped the shield. Maeve stood up, letting Eros stand.

"Eros, I'm Gwendolyn, descendant of the Tuatha De' Danann."

There were a few gasps in the room from the witches. I'd almost forgotten they were there.

"As I told Gordon, I've never heard of anyone other than the Tuatha De' Denaan who was able to control a gremlin. But I've also never heard of anybody being able to kill one—"

"That could be because nobody was dumb enough to try," Maeve said.

Gwen snorted and nodded. "Gordon, you were able to see it as magic because they are a purely magical creature of the Fae world."

"I thought it was just a spell that was on Eros. Not an actual living being... "

Maeve pointed to the bottle I still held. "Is that from the gremlin?" Not waiting for an answer she took a step closer, "You used that to travel here through the multiverse? The space between worlds runs close enough to the Fae that anyone paying attention would have seen you."

"Fae is a guarded world. They can see whatever comes near them but it's protected magically against who can enter," Gwen said.

"So, you traveled near Fae using the power of one of the creatures of Fae. The Fae are not known for their compassion. If they see you killing them off and using them for batteries you— we— might have a problem," Maeve said, crossing her arms, her foot tapping as she waited for me to say something.

Gwen softened a bit. "We are both extremely pleased that you figured out a way to make it back home, and to help... Eros." She gave Eros a look that said she was anything but grateful for his company.

"The point we are trying to make is that someone found a way to capture and control that Fae. I don't think anyone will miss a gremlin. If that had been an Elf, none of us in this house would live to see the morning," Gwen said.

Chapter 14

After things had calmed down and nobody was trying to kill each other I noticed that Reynolds and the vampires were gone.

"They took their leave when you left. Reynolds wasn't taking any chances on getting blamed for this," Maeve said.

Some of the coven members had gone home, the rest were spoke quietly amongst themselves. Maeve sat with her feet propped up on the table, hands behind her head making her arm look like wings. Her eyes watched Eros more often than she let her relaxed posture dictate. Eros didn't show any hard feeling at having a girl assault him in his first few minutes here. James sat next to Maeve, his feet up also. He looked to be napping with his eyes closed, leaning slight askew against Maeve.

Gwen brought a few bottles of wine and a tray of food over for everybody, now that the immediate threats were past. I was pretty sure the remaining coven of witches stayed because they were didn't want to risk being rude. Most of them were genuinely likable people that looked like your average next door neighbor.

"What happened to Beady Eyes and the others?" I asked.

"James helped Fred, aka beady eyes, and his lackeys took the shortest route possible out of the house. There were three members of the coven that were helping him funnel the power from the other witches without their consent."

Looking at the thin fatherly looking man napping, I had a hard time picturing him being forceful with anyone.

Before I could think more about it, a knock at the door drew our attention. Looking through the peephole I saw Reynolds, as dapper as ever, in his bow tie and fedora. He held up a box of donuts and smiled.

Still smiling and a with slight bow, he said "These are for you. I've heard authority figures like donuts."

"Cops like donuts. I'm not a cop," I said. But that didn't stop me from taking a donut and relishing the powdery goodness. I hadn't eaten since earlier and I was starving.

"What happened to you?" I said around a mouthful of Boston creme.

"We waited— out of sight— to see if, or rather when, you would return."

"You must have had some confidence in me if you waited."

He shrugged, "I haven't had much need for most humans since I was turned, long ago. And while I don't see the power you could have at this time, I do believe in the prophecy."

I was pretty sure he just told me, in his diplomatic way, that I was inept but would prove useful... Eventually.

I flopped down on a chair and put my feet up on the coffee table, Gwen came over and sat next to me, leaning in my direction so she rested softly against me.

I could feel the warmth from her and I tried not to stare. I still wasn't accustomed to women giving me so much attention. Especially women that looked like her.

She scratched Rutger's head absently. I felt bad for the poor mutt, he had been hiding in a spare bedroom most of the time. Now he laid at my feet not wandering more than a few feet away. Dogs have an incredible sense of smell, it must have been alarming when my scent vanished completely after I went through the doorway to Dashire.

Reynolds took a seat nearby. He was still dressed like he was headed to a board meeting. His suit and hat had been out of fashion so long they were starting to come back now.

"Mr. Hopewell, we were hoping to get your professional opinion on our next move.

Personally I don't believe in waiting for an adversary to build their forces to attack once they've proved their intent but perhaps you might have a superior plan for our invasion."

"Invasion? Are we going to war?" I asked.

"In a sense, yes. But maybe my vernacular is more baroque than is popular today. Some of us have more trouble giving up past habits than others"

I forget how old some of these people, creatures, are. I could picture Reynolds at one of the queens balls with a powder white wig on.

"The first thing is to usually secure all assets, assets being people," I said looking everybody over. "Even though everybody here is stronger than a normal person, you still have weaknesses. It's what they will go after."

"Second, is to secure all information. Anything said in this room should stay in this room unless you can guarantee that nobody is listening or the people who are can be trusted."

"Third, is to find their weaknesses. Historically huge armies have fallen to much smaller groups because of poor planning. Smaller numbers are not always a handicap," I noticed the feral grin on most of the vampires faces as I said this last part, their eyes becoming almost black.

"I have a friend that might be able to help out with the some computer surveillance. I'll give him a call," I said.

"Excellent. When do we start with the rest of your plan?" Maeve asked.

"Yes, when do we start?" Eros said. He was holding a donut in one hand and a glass of wine in the other.

Reynolds leaned closer and said, "If you don't mind my asking... Who is that man?"

Chapter 15

As it turns out, getting into a government build isn't that hard. Especially if you have a hacker friend that can make key cards for you and a witch who can cast camouflage on you. Eros assured us that he could open any lock made. But I wasn't going to gamble on the highly sophisticated equipment the government was sure to be using.

My friend Marvin is a computer whiz. He used to work for the government at one of the big government acronyms. One of his hobbies is monitoring the intelligence communication online to see if anything interesting pops up.

"Sure, I've heard of ORAB, the spy wire has been going crazy with communications about it," he said spinning in his chair. "What kind of dumbass name is ORAB anyhow?" he rolled his eyes and spun back around typing wildly before I could reply.

"Here, look at this," Marvin said.

Scooting aside to give us a better view, the heading on the screen read "OPERATION ELDER BLOOD". Scrolling down, there were pictures of vampires. I only knew they were vampires because I recognized them from our earlier meeting as the vampire couple Vladmiri and Zyta. The picture was of them holding hands going into an apartment building.

"There's more here than the last time I checked," he clicked a few more times and more pictures popped up. One picture was of a woman with black hair, a thin face and lips so thin they were almost nonexistent. Under the picture was:

Name: Vivian Tutino

Class: Witch / Occultist / Conjurer

Subclass: Vampire

More pictures were in the file but one in particular caught my eye. It was of Marianna wearing a business suit and dark sunglasses.

Near the end of the file in bold red letters it read "IMMUNOTOXIN SERUM: test cells rendered completely inert with 0.5cc of serum."

"I'm no chemist but that doesn't sound good," I said.

"Marvin, please print out any information you have on this," Gwen said like she was asking for him to pass the salt.

Marv looked overly happy to oblige.

An hour later we arrived at a plain brick building downtown where Marvin said their headquarters was at. The sign outside read Blue Ridge Excavating.

"That's fitting, the government has been shoveling crap for years," I said making a drum roll noise, smiling. Maeve rolled her eyes.

We'd left Rutger with James. I still needed to have a talk with him to see how he had managed those witches by himself. It demonstrated a level of skill I didn't know he possessed.

"Maybe you and Eros should wait outside," I said to Maeve.

"You don't think Merlin here will blend in?" she said with a smirk. "Maybe we could dress him up like Bigfoot." She put her arms out doing her best monkey impersonation.

Without a word, Eros turned and surveyed the people walking by. He approached a man on the sidewalk and put one hand on his jacket and the other on his face. Too shocked to react, the passerby stood there sputtering outrage.

"Oh, yeah, this is going well," Maeve said.

Eros gave a wave of his hand, and his clothes changed from his dark cloak to a pair of jeans and a corduroy jacket that matched what the man had been wearing only darker.

With another flick of his hand, the air shimmered, his beard changed to a well trimmed stylish look. A pair of black rimmed glasses, much like his 'model' wore appeared on his face. He sniffed, pushing the glasses up with one finger.

"When this is over you and I need to have a talk about how to do that with shoes," Maeve said.

"Very impressive, Eros. But I still think two people will be easier to conceal than four," Gwen said in a way that let him know it was final.

Walking by the building without stopping I could see cameras placed every 25 feet. There was a guard posted at a desk inside the door, and a key card reader was outside the front door.

"They sure have a lot of security for an excavation company."

"Well, lets go see what we can dig up," Gwen replied smiling.

I smiled. I think that was the first time I'd heard Gwen make a joke. A really bad joke, but I kept that to myself enjoying the sight of her smile, and what it did to her as she laughed.

Before we went in Gwen went over to one of the biggest trees lining the street and put her hand on it. Using my Sight I could see the magic flowing from the Earth, through the tree and to Gwen. It didn't take long before she was ready and we went in.

"We can draw our power from nature more quickly," she said. "Magic permeates the universe but for us of Druid decent, we've learned how to use nature to refill our magic much faster than pulling it from the air."

"Now lets make us a little less interesting." Her eyes flashed blue as she took ahold of my hand and spoke in a language I didn't understand.

"This will help hide us to casual observers. We could make ourselves cloaked but then the cameras would still see doors opening which would alarm the guards. We could also try what you call a jump, but it's risky when you don't know where you're going."

I felt a slight tingle as the spell took affect, but didn't notice anything different about us.

I swiped the key card that Marvin gave us and was worried for a few seconds that it wouldn't work when nothing happened. Rubbing the card on my sleeve I was about to try again when a green light lit by the door handle and and I heard a soft click. And just like that we were inside a secure government building.

A large guard sat at a desk in the lobby. He was early middle aged, reading a magazine that he lowered enough to look over the top of as we passed.

"Hold it right there," the guard said loud enough to echo through the empty hallways.

"Don't forget to sign in," he nodded his head to a clipboard sitting on the counter in front of the guards desk.

"Of course," I said doing my best impersonation of a spy. The guard had already gone back to reading his magazine, duties fulfilled.

Gwen and I both signed in with fake names and headed to the bank of elevators located down a hall past the guard's desk.

Pulling out the paper that Marvin had given us, I looked at the map he had printed. By the elevator box he had written the instructions "Push floor 1 - hold for 10 seconds. Release. Push floor 2 - hold for 10 seconds."

After putting the paper back in my pocket I pressed the elevator buttons as instructed. The panel with the floor number buttons popped open slightly. I pulled it open the rest of the way to reveal another key card reader, and swiped the card. Again there was a slight pause, this one much shorter than the front door had been, and the elevator started heading down to the top secret levels.

The elevator took a long time descending. When we stopped the doors opened up to pale green painted walls. It reminded me of institutional buildings from the 60's. The hall smelled like antiseptic and something else I couldn't quite place. Our shoes squeaked as we walked on the worn tile floor.

About 20 feet away a man and a woman in white lab coats walked down the hall toward us. The scientists didn't give us a second glance as they turned into a room to the chorus of screeching monkeys.

"Marvin's map says to go to the end of the hall and around the corner. It's the last room on the right."

As we walked down the hall, more people went to and fro, most of them not bothering to look up from what they were working on. One room we passed had 3 men in army fatigues firing rifles with sound suppressors. I slowed down enough to see they were firing at an indoor range. On closer inspection I didn't see any form of sound suppressor attached to the rifles. The looked like a Heckler & Koch UMP, but they didn't make any noise when firing other than a high pitched whistling noise.

"Interesting," I whispered to Gwen. "Those UMPs aren't using silencers but they make less noise than most suppressors with subsonic rounds."

We move on before they took notice of us watching. The hall led us past a few more doors all of which were closed. The room Marvin had marked on the map was right around the corner.

As we rounded the corner, two armed guards stood on either side of the door at full attention from the moment we came into view. My mind raced thinking of a way to get passed the armed guards. They were obviously there to stop even personnel that belonged in the building.

Before I could think up a plan Gwen scooted in front of me. Smiling brightly at the soldiers she put her hands on her hips and said in her best flirty voice, "Hi fellas? Catch any bad guys today?"

It seemed to take the guards by surprise. I probably had the same open mouthed look as I stared at the otherwise no-nonsense, powerful witch putting on her show. The guard on the left, a freckle faced kid with bright red hair showing under his army hat smiled back and nodded. "No Ma'am but the day isn't— "

"This room is off limits to anyone but ORAB and the brass, Ma'am," said freckle's partner. His tone of voice indicating that he didn't think we were either. Then he gave the redhead kid a sideways scowl that stopped his smiling.

They both had sidearms on their belt and a Tazer on the other side and the door behind them was surely locked tight. Even if we could get in we had no way of knowing if anybody from ORAB was already in there. Any personnel would know we were impostors and trip the alarm.

Thoughts of spending the rest of our lives in a federal prison flooded my mind. How long would they keep Gwen locked up before they realized she was different? After 20 years and she looked the same, it might peak a guards interest. Of course who's to say they could even hold her that long. I had no idea what her strengths really were.

All these things went through my head in a second or two. It was time to grab Gwen and bail out before these guys saw through our camouflage. And hopefully they wouldn't pursue us. I know Gwen is powerful but just how long can she hold a cloaking spell like this anyway. Note to self, ask these question before getting into a top secret government building with armed guards, that have a zero tolerance policy toward intruders.

I caught just a slight glimpse of a blue light flashing in Gwen's eyes before took a step toward the redheaded kid. Looking straight in his eyes she murmured something I couldn't hear.

Chapter 16

At Gwen's whispered command the freckle faced guard pulled his Taser, and with a quick motion he thrust the flickering electrodes at his partners neck.

The bigger man, caught off guard as he was, still managed to knock the Taser away. But the younger man's speed won out as he hit him a second time with 50,000 volts that crumpled the other guard. Then turning the Taser around he electrocuted his own neck until his grip failed and his legs gave out. Both of them lay collapsed in a heap in front of the door.

Stepping around and over them I hurried through the door pulling Gwen behind me. We entered in time to see painfully thin woman with disheveled hair carrying an armload of papers headed toward another door.

Seeing Gwen, the woman froze for a split second, not unlike a deer in the headlights. She had a puzzled look on her face as she said, "You're not the crone— I felt her— but you're not her.

I've seen her and you're not her. But you feel like her."

Gwen didn't reply. Her blue eyes absorbed every detail, taking in the lab and the woman who must be Vivian Tutino. Vivian was alone in the lab at the time.

A row of machine pistols were lined up in a rack on a counter against the wall to our left. In front of the pistols, oiled and ready for use, were green ammo boxes with the words "ORAB \- Green virus antidote. Batch 1.0." 30 round magazines lay on the counter next to them. They weren't loaded with traditional bullets, not the brass and gunpowder kind. They were clear, showing a liquid inside each casing.

Vivian took a few steps toward us; something in her eyes wasn't quite right. She had the fanatical resolve that somebody cornered shouldn't have.

"I know what you are crone! You're evil— pure blackest evil. How else could such hateful creatures come from your blood?" Vivian had started shouted, spittle flying from her lips.

Gwen extended her hand, taking a step toward Vivian. "Why don't you come with us and talk about this? Nothing good will come from us fighting." She looked genuinely concerned for the woman who was apparently trying to kill her.

"Don't patronize me," Vivian said, lips pulled back in a sneer. Her arm snapped out as she turned and locked her eyes on mine. She curled her fingers in a feral clawing motion.

White hot pain stabbed at my temple, I was on my knees before I realized I was falling but I didn't care. All that mattered was the pain filling every part of my brain.

"You'll do as I say or I'll tear his mind apart. He has given me so much more, and I know how to use it. I'm probably more powerful than you now— want to find out? You just try something." She spoke too fast, her words all ran together, or maybe it was just my head right now. I was having trouble thinking.

Gwen took in a quick short breath, letting it out slowly, not moving. A wicked smile spread on Vivian's lips. Turing her hand slightly, the blinding pure pain faded to be replaced by a smaller burning sensation in the middle of my head. I watched in horror, like a prisoner in my own head, only able to spectate as my arm moved to the waistband of my pants. Sweat droplets popped out on my forehead and my muscles trembled as I fought to stop my arm from moving.

My hand that felt like a strangers as it reached into my front pants pocket and pulled out a folded tactical knife. It flicked open and stopped 12 inches from my abdomen.

"Naughty naughty, that's against company policy bringing weapons in.

Unless you want to see me gut him step aside," Vivian said. She backpedaled toward the door behind her. As she did, the knife turned to toward my stomach.

Reaching behind her feeling for the biometric scanner on the wall, she slapped at it until the doorway slid open. Beyond the doorway vending machines and tables lined the wall. Four guards who just happened to be taking their break, sat at a table drinking coffee. Two things happened at the same time, Vivian's strained features got a wicked smile, and I was jerked backward so hard I thought I might have whiplash.

I felt my knife hand tense and lash out at me, totally helpless to stop Vivian's mind magic from controlling me.

A blue light leapt from Gwen's hand to the knife as it plunged toward me. The blue light had severed the knife blade completely. There was a solid thud and an 'oof' as air left my lungs when the knife handle hit my chest. The blade clattered a second later as it hit the floor.

The last I saw of Vivian was her thin lipped face smiling and winking at me as the door slid closed.

I sat on the floor panting, feeling light headed. The smell of the cleaning solution they used in the room was making me slightly nauseous. Or at least that's what I told myself it was.

"Quit lounging around, Wizard Gordon, it's time to go," Gwen said leaning down to give me an amused look.

Sprinting down the hall she grabbed my hand. My vision shimmered and I felt a tingle over my entire body like I was static charged. I looked at our reflection, or lack thereof, in a polished steel storage locker as we ran past. There was a faint wavy outline of our running figures but nothing more. Thankfully, I could still see Gwen so we weren't bumbling into each other as we ran. She looked like a ghost in a movie, transparent but visible.

More guards rounded the corner by the elevators where we entered. We hid by the door of the farthest elevator— which was more us standing still so nobody wouldn't notice us than hiding— until the door opened again. A squad of six men dressed in black fatigues came out systematically checking each door and corner before moving on.

I had been trying to jump like Eros had showed me, but I couldn't seem to do it for some reason. I tried again, to jump us outside, but nothing happened.

We held our breath, not moving as a combat boot came so close that I thought it would step on my foot. The mans right shoulder had one of the strange rifles against it, his trigger finger pointed straight ahead. His head swiveled left and right. Hard alert eyes swept the room taking small steps that professionals do to keep a clear line of sight while shooting. I would have never noticed his nostrils flaring if we hadn't been this close. It looked like he was sniffing the air and I was pretty sure I knew why.

After what seemed like an eternity the last of the guards rounded the corner heading away from us. I let out a sigh of relief and we didn't waste any time getting in the elevator. When the doors opened at the lobby, we crept near the guard's desk. The guard was much more alert this time.

I felt Gwen's hand on my chest stopping my movement. She was looking at the guard, his hands rested on the desk out of sight from passersby. They were significantly hairier than before and tipped with pointed nails... claws. He was sniffing the air. A low growl rumbled in his chest. Before our eyes his face distorted and elongated to allow for a rows of razor sharp teeth.

Seeing enough Gwen whipped out her hand sending an invisible ball of force at the guard. It hit him hard enough to knock him out of his chair. The wrap around desk was the only thing that prevented him from being thrown all the way across the room.

"Come on!" she said grabbing my hand, not that I needed any motivation to get out of there quicker. The locks were only meant to keep people out and the front door opened without hesitation. Risking a glance back I saw the guard already on his feet. He leapt over the desk nimbly landing on his feet but didn't follow us out of the building.

Chapter 17

Maeve and Eros listened as we told them what had happened at Blue Ridge Excavating, aka the US governments occult hit squad. We told them about the guns loaded for vampire (and witches). Maeve listened with uncharacteristic patience, not interrupting once.

"Vivian is much stronger than anyone in the coven knew," Gwen said.

"— Or stronger than they let on," Maeve said from the driver seat.

"She said she was more powerful now. That he had made her that way," Gwen said, leaning forward to glace at Eros who rode shotgun, mainly because of his size.

Eros had stayed quiet but I knew he was keenly listening.

"And now she has a government agency, with near unlimited resources, to play her mind games on. Also, what's the deal with the shape shifters? Were they werewolves?" Maeve continued.

"Could be" Gwen said, "they didn't fully change into anything, so maybe they're a mutation of some sort."

"Wait," I interjected. "Werewolves?"

Maeve gave me a look she reserved for slow children and apparently me. "What you were okay with witches and vampires but not werewolves?"

"Weres can be troublesome creatures," Eros said. "Were elves are something I hope to never encounter again."

All eyes were on Eros, even Maeve took here eyes from the road to give a look of stunned astonishment.

"Why do you all look at me?," he said. "They have a fantastic cleverness and dexterity combined with bloodlust."

"I never thought I'd say it but lets hope we are dealing with human weres. We have no way of knowing exactly what they are but we saw the guard in the lobby partially change and the others were tracking us by scent." Gwen said.

I noticed how tired she looked, dark half circles under her eyes gave her a gaunt look. Using that much magic takes a huge toll on a person and she hadn't had a chance to recharge yet.

"This serum is a huge threat to us—"

"Understatement of the millennia," Maeve said.

"I don't want to go to war with the US government but we cannot allow them to continue production of the serum. They seem to know too much about us and Vivian is not the meek witch she was." Gwen looked out the window as she spoke, seemingly talking to herself.

We rode in relative silence back to the mansion. We were a few blocks away when Gwen's phone rang. The call didn't last long, and she didn't seem to be able to get a word in, until finally saying we were on the way.

"It was Hillary from the bookstore, Marianna is badly hurt. It sounded like soldiers attacked them at the bookstore."

Maeve mashed the gas pedal, tires screeched as all four tires fought for traction. Her driving as we headed to the bookstore would have made a cab driver proud. Even hardened urban hikers yielded to her.

Skidding to a stop outside the book store without bothering to find a proper parking space we ran inside. Hillary was on her knees, hands pressed to her face. Her thin frame shoot as she sobbed uncontrollably.

"Why would they do this?"

She was holding hands with what must have been Mariana. It reminded me of the mummies I saw in a wax museum once and I had a hard time believing this was the same person I had just seen a few hours before. I recognized the business suit as the one Marianna had been wearing earlier that day. There were multiple darts sticking out the corpse. More darts were scattered around Hillary, and there were drops of dried blood surrounded by angry red welts visible on her arms and neck.

Gwen had moved closer and bent over to get a better look at the corpse. She leaned even closer to look at the darts laying next to it.

"Wait," I said quickly, "don't touch the darts, that has to be the serum."

She hesitated but relented, taking a small step back. "Who did this?" She said through clenched teeth.

"I— I don't know," Hillary said, "They were dressed like soldiers, they came through the front door and started shooting at both of us with those darts, they didn't try to ask questions they just started shooting." She pointed at the darts laying around them on the floor. "Should I go to the hospital, is that going to happen to me?" Panic made her voice waver. The gravity of being injected multiple times with an unknown substance sinking in as her adrenaline wore off.

"I think your safe" I said. "If it didn't hurt you by now it probably won't."

"I guess we have our answer, if there was any doubt as to who this serum will effect," Maeve said.

Nobody had noticed as Eros knelt beside Marianna. He had a dart in his hands and studied it with interest. "Your enemies have help from a wizard."

"He's right," Gwen said taking a closer look.

Like he was helping a child, he took hold of my hand and said, "Look at it in the magical realm. Do you see it?"

Doing as he suggested I used my Sight to look at the serum in the dart. It had a black sinewy movement that glowed as it moved around the vial. It reminded me of the gremlin I removed from Eros. It seemed like weeks ago, but only hours had passed.

Without warning, the front door of the store that had already been precariously hanging by one hinge flew completely off, nearly missing Maeve as she was closest to the entryway. Soldiers holding the modified machine guns rounded the corner dressed in full combat gear.

Gwen didn't hesitate, ice was already filling the doorway as they charged through, crouching low. The nearest solider took aim as the ice encapsulated him, but the ice froze his gun in place with his trigger finger only partially depressed.

The rest of the soldiers tried to back out, but any who were touching the ice were glued in place, unable to move, until seconds later when the ice wrapped around them completely stopping all movement.

Gwen went to the door and took a marker out of her pocket. She drew a box on the floor about twice as wide as the doorway, right inside the door resembling a big door mat. Trotting over to the jars behind the counter she got a handful of what looked like brown dust. Sprinkling the dust, that I doubted was actually dust, around the inside of the box she then put her hand on the floor and closed her eyes. The floor shimmered before going back to normal.

"We should be going," I said, "What do you want to do with Marianna?" I asked.

"We will protect her here until we can safely return. Maeve help me please."

"God's save me, I will burn those bastards down for this," she said. Her green eyes were glassy with tears but her face showed every bit of truth she spoke.

They drew three circles around the mummified body, working quickly. Gwen closed her eyes sending her aura into the circle, a winged beast flashed in the circle over Mariana's body. Next Maeve repeated the steps in the second circle, once again a flash then it was gone. Finally they both held hands and placing their free hand in the farthest most outer circle.

Eros was also watching and giving me the play by play. How he knew, I wasn't sure but he seemed to know a lot of what the sisters were doing. When they joined hands, his excitement level went up a notch but he kept his voice hushed.

"They just joined their power into one. Their magic mixed with each others creating something much more powerful than either could have created alone," he said.

"I need one more thing before we go," Maeve said. We stopped at the glass book case. Waving her hand produce a key. She didn't actually unlock anything, she put it near the lock for a second and it popped open.

"Neat trick," I said.

She grunted and thrust the book at me. "Hold on to this."

We hurried to the back door. Checking the security camera that showed the alley, it looked clear.

"Maeve, please scan for any unwelcome visitors nearby," Gwen said.

She closed her eyes for a few seconds turning her head like she was looking far beyond the closed door. "Two blocks, a group of men on foot are moving in unison toward us. Shit, they're all weres."

"Which direction are they coming from?" Gwen asked.

"West," she said pointing.

After a few seconds thought, Gwen burst through the door into the alley beyond. Maeve had Hillary by the wrist, pulling her along while Eros and I brought up the rear. Gwen had a piece of chalk in her hand and was already drawing a line across the alley from the store to the building next door.

"Gordon, go with Maeve," Gwen said not turning her head from the task at hand.

I promptly ignore her, pulling my .45 out of it's holster. Hopefully these things could be stopped by regular bullets. Did I need to use silver bullets or was that just in the movies?

Witches, I found out, learn a lot of what they know through trial and error. Intuition is really more apt as they will learn new spells easily. When a certain danger presents itself a witch (or wizard) will see things around them that can be used and usually given a few minutes will know any missing pieces for a working spell. I wasn't sure how I knew this, but like I said, this stuff just kept coming to me.

On a hunch I took aim at the closest soldier and as I fired it looked more like a tracer round than a .45 hollow point. It smashed into the soldiers head turning it instantly to mist.

Gwen had finished drawing some lines across the alley and drew lines on the brick buildings on both sides. When she was done it looked like a big U shape. Putting her hand on the newly drawn lines, she sent magic into them making them glow blue. More faint blue lines cobwebbed their way across the alley.

Then from the ground they rapidly started filling the space between the two buildings. Before we turned the corner out of the alley I looked back to see men struggling to get out of the spiderweb that Gwen had created.

"Normal bullets won't kill a were. It will just make more noise drawing them to us," Gwen said.

"Apparently you didn't see what happened to that one he shot," Maeve said.

"No, I missed it..."

"The cliff notes version is he pretty much erased it's head," Maeve said.

"Fantastic adaptation of the brute force weaponry and magic," Eros said.

Chapter 18

We went to a safe house, outside of the city, which was really just a house they owned in another name. I guess one of the perks of being alive so long was accrued assets and compound interest. The house was in Front Royal, VA, tucked into the Blue Ridge mountains. It was secluded from prying eyes, a fence went around the property surrounded by trees. The farm house wasn't in a name that could be traced to either of the sisters. A law firm that worked for them for a hefty fee kept them virtually invisible on paper.

I took a long swallow of the beer I was holding and looked out at the mountains. They reminded me of growing. I'd loved the feel of the outdoors even if my childhood was wrought with bad memories, from my parents dying to my aunts boyfriends getting drunk and pushing me around. I could always go outside and get away from everything, and usually everyone. Sometimes my sister and I would pack a lunch, being careful to not let my aunt see how much food we'd taken, then head into the woods for the day. A few times we even camped overnight which always ending in a huge fight with our aunt.

Now I had the US government, with the help of a vindictive and perhaps unstable witch, trying to capture or kill the people I was originally hired to protect, not to mention yours truly. Werewolf / hybrid / or whatever agents with a potentially deadly serum were actively hunting us, and probably Reynolds and his clan as well. I traveled to another world where I freed a wizard from a gremlin spell that an evil wizard— we never did talk about that in detail and I made a mental note to do that in the near future— things were shaping up just fine.

I turned and looked in the door leading to the kitchen. Gwen sat talking to Maeve, she had the same quiet confidence about her as when I met her. At first I thought it was because she rich and pampered, a trust fund baby, but she didn't care about money.

She didn't use it to put herself over others, or to make herself feel superior. She was just a dominant personality, as was Maeve, but Gwen didn't need to say a word to get her point across. It was just a vibe. The thing that drew a person to them most was that they weren't perfect. They didn't have the ideal hour glass figure, or dimples, or classical beauty. Somehow being less than the stereotypical woman in this century made them even more desirable.

Eros had plopped down on the couch, feet on the wooden table in front of him. He was fiddling with the TV remote, which somehow struck me as funny. At least the women has stopped staring daggers at him. Hopefully, I had made the right choice bringing him back with us.

In spite of all the trouble lately, I felt a contentedness I hadn't felt in a long time. The thought of friends so close that I could call family was a blessing. One that I was willing to fight to keep. Gwen and Maeve felt the same way, I knew they protected family ferociously. According to them I was part of that family now. I hadn't had anybody but my sister for a long time, then over a year ago she had been ripped from me as well. Now there was a new threat headed toward me— toward us. It felt strange to call them that, and a bit needy but I told myself I just wasn't used to it. Whatever it was, it felt good to have someone in my life again.

Later that day Gwen cooked for everybody, declining my offer to help. Maeve poured over the spell book that she brought with us. Eros sat with her, peering over her shoulder at the book. I peeked over her other shoulder but couldn't make out most of the language it was written in.

"Do you two mind?" Maeve said shooing us away with a wave of her hand.

We ate dinner in relative silence, afterward I gave the women some peace by going outside and dusting off one of the chairs, that hadn't been used in awhile. I listened to the coyotes call in the valley beyond.

It wasn't long before the screen door creaked as Gwen came out holding three wooden rods, Maeve right behind her holding 3 beers. I dusted off a few more chairs and the duo flanked me on either side.

"Marianna was a hard ass and not the warmest person. But I've knew her for hundreds of years. I'll miss her," Maeve said, raising her drink.

"Aye," Gwen said with a small smile, "She was a tough old bird and she taught us many things. She never was the strongest of us magically but she had a great head for business. She stopped learning the craft long ago..." she said to me, "I think she was giving it up in her way."

"Why would somebody give up using magic?" Eros asked from inside the screen door. Apparently they didn't have the same etiquette rules about eavesdropping where he came from.

"She was very old, she's watched families born and put to rest, many times. I suppose she was just tired," Gwen said.

"And what about you," Eros said, "Are you saddened with life?"

A tear rolled down her cheek but she showed no emotion as she stared back at Eros. She wiped at it absently. "Sad? Yes. Tired of living? No," she looked at me, "As a matter of fact, I'm more excited than I've been in a long time."

She turned her attention back to the wooden rods she had set on the table along with a necklace made of beads with small runes carved in them. A gemstone was in the center of the beaded necklace. She draped the necklace over a staff, putting her hand on it until it audibly crackled and hummed with built up power. That completed, she handed me the necklace.

"Okay Gordo, pay attention. We need to stop Vivian from getting into your head again. Right now you're a liability. She can't get into Gwen or my head because we can mentally block her but you'll need some help with that. I'll also show you how to put up a mental shield, which should keep out all but the most powerful telepaths."

Turning to face Eros, she said "I'm not sure about you. I don't know what your assets and liabilities are. As far as that goes, I don't know what your motivation is for even being here."

"I've met a few wizards skilled in psych-magic and have learned to deflect their efforts," Eros said ignoring her last comment.

Maeve looked skeptical but didn't pursue it any further.

"And what about your motivation?" Gwen said. "Why are you really here?"

Eros took a moment to consider his words before speaking. "Maleos is not just a powerful wizard, he has conquered worlds, true most wizards could on a world where there are no other wizards, but he is different. My brothers and I had decided to rise against him when he invaded our world. Other wizards had come to our world before him, most were peaceful, and those that came for war were— suffice to say we fought back. We were arrogant and underestimated Maleos. He killed our entire government."

"He doesn't sound bad so far..." Maeve muttered.

"We found out later, that was only part of the plan. When I with twelve of my brothers showed up to fight him, he released a spell that encompassed all of us at the same time. The amount of magical energy that must have taken is beyond my ability to fathom. After the spell was in place, all he had to do was run away and let the spell do it's work."

"You said he put you on that world, where I found you," I said.

"Yes, we tried for days to remove the magic on us. None of us were successful. He came back for us when we were weakened too much to fight. Those that would not join him were sent off to die. I was one of them."

"You still didn't tell me what your motive is for being here," Gwen said drumming her fingers on the table.

"Gordon is the only wizard I've seen that holds enough magic to possibly defeat him. Although, I think that you too are more powerful than many wizards from my world, as is she. But Gordon has more potential. However, he is far too stupid about magic at this time, he needs university."

"University?" I said.

"Yes, university... school. Sorry, learning languages through magic sometimes mixes up similar words. You are stupid with magic," Eros said.

"Well, he does seem to know you," Maeve said smirking.

"I don't think we're willing to let Gordon run off and fight your battles just yet, we just got him ourselves and we're rather protective," Gwen said in a tone that didn't allow any room for argument.

"And I would not think of asking him to do anything he hasn't already done. But sometimes the war comes to the soldier instead of the other way round," he said.

"I think what he's saying is the road to Hell is paved with dumb-asses and their good intentions," Maeve said.

Ignoring Maeve's quip, Gwen said, "So, I think we're agreed, Gordon isn't going to be fighting any wizards on other worlds any time soon."

"I would say that is most likely so," Eros said.

Chapter 19

The amulet was getting hotter and hotter with each spell Maeve threw at it. Every time she tried to get inside my head the charm's heat would increase. I'm not sure, but I think she might have been enjoying the discomfort she was causing, at least a little. She finally finished, the heat subsided and my chest felt like when I once fell asleep in the sun.

"Quit being a baby. This is important, If I can't get past it, I seriously doubt that Vivian can. Now we'll teach you how to build a mental barricade without the necklace."

After much creative instruction from Maeve and a few laughs from Gwen I was starting to be able to create a mind wall.

"Now for all the God's sake, please use that technique when you have your juvenile thoughts running through that little mind of yours," Maeve said.

I thought of all the times I had looked at both her and especially Gwen with appreciation and could feel my cheeks getting hotter.

"That's a nice shade of red your cheeks have there, it matches your aura nicely," Gwen said.

"Yeah, very funny, I thought I was going to have to wash my mind out with soap earlier," Maeve said making a gagging noise.

We spent the rest of the day going over various magical techniques. Most witches and wizards have a particular type of magic they excel at. They showed me more fire and ice magic and ways to send kinetic energy. Eros showed me how to create a shield that would block magical as well as human weapons. By the time we were done I felt like a wizarding badass, but I was pretty sure I hadn't absorbed nearly as much as they threw at me.

Eros went back to watching TV, loudly objecting to just about everything. Gwen had gotten a glass from the cupboard, filled it with water and set it down on the table between us.

"Put a finger in the water. Visualize a wall of water in front of you," she said.

I put my index finger in the water, still holding the staff in my left hand. I closed my eyes and thought about a rolling wave in the ocean.

I knew I made a mistake as soon as I heard a wave crashing. I opened my eyes, my mouth made on O shape as I looked at Maeve. She was soaked, her eyes narrowed and her jaw clenched as she said, "Do exactly as we tell you Gordon. Do not improvise anything, you're little mind will get a cramp."

"For the love of... Why would you choose that man!," Eros shouted at the TV breaking the tension.

Ignoring Eros's outburst, Gwen said, "It is vitally important for everyones safety that you do not deviate in the slightest, at least not yet. You pictured a wave?" she asked.

"Yes," I admitted.

"To be honest I half expected that. Most people are locked into a very narrow view of how things operate in the universe."

Steam rose from Maeve's clothes from a heat that didn't exist in the rest of the room.

"Fire is my second strongest magic," she said, "Which is why I'm doing this test," her smile had a devious glint to it.

"Again, picture a wall of water. It doesn't have to follow any rules of physics." She held her hands out in front of her like a child would when they catch a lightening bug.

"Ready? Go."

I pictured a two foot wall of water like an aquarium without the glass. When I had a crisp picture of it in my head, I nodded, afraid that speaking would break my concentration. Finally I opened my eyes so I could see what was happening. A wall of blue water about two feet thick hung in the air in front of me. It wrapped around the table forming a U shape. There was nothing visible holding the water in place and I didn't know where the water had come from. I tried not to over think it.

Maeve opened her hands and a ball of fire slowly floated toward me, like a ball being lobbed to a child. The fireball sank into the wall of water and for the briefest moment I was afraid it would go through. Water was replaced with steam until the fireball disappeared in the blue liquid.

"Ahha!" I whooped in triumph. "Is that the best you got?"

Almost before I knew what happened, I heard a sharp crack as Gwen's staff released a blue ball of ice like a fastball. It hit my water wall, crackling as it turned the water to ice. Almost immediately the entire wall was turned to ice. It hung suspended in the air the same as the water wall had.

I could barely see Maeve through the ice wall, but what I could see was a bright ball of flame headed for me, and a devious smile on her face. It slammed into the wall of ice instantly turning the entire thing into fog.

A layer of mist like a micro-environment surrounding a mountaintop hung in the room. Through the mist I heard Eros grunt. He was watching us over his shoulder from the other room, TV forgotten.

"Teamwork is very important no matter how strong you are," Gwen said.

Chapter 20

The sun had been down for a few hours, Rutger still snored softly, legs kicking on the floor next to me. Maeve had passed out beers to each of us. I sat quietly watching the witches. They had been alive for hundreds of years, had seen so much, experienced so much. But some things never changed. The pain was visible on both of their faces for having lost their mother, 1/3 of their coven taken for no reason other than petty fear.

Finishing her beer, Gwen set her bottle on the table. "It's time to pay tribute to our fallen." Tears threatened to well up in her eyes, but she fought them back as she rose and headed to the sliding glass doors leading out to the patio. Without a word, Maeve followed her outside.

Losing somebody was deeply personal. I didn't want to overstep my bounds by inviting myself to whatever they had planned. My hesitation proved unfounded as Gwen leaned back in.

"Gordon, you're our third now, come keep us company." That new feeling that had nothing to do with magic hit me again. I was finally a part of something that I didn't realize I had even been searching for. I stood up, took a deep breath and called over to Rutger.

As we meet the girls outside, Gwen smiled, "Forgive me Rutger, of course you're invited too." He woofed softly and wagged his tail so fast that it was in danger of flying off. He seemed to respond to her on an uncanny level.

The crisp air carried the smells of nearby pines. We stood quietly around the pyre that had been created. Speaking of uncanny timing, Eros could still be heard insulting the TV in the other room.

"What in Hades is a Bieber and why has nobody taught that rapscallion wretch the manners of a cow! Wizard Gordon, we must teach him proper when your pressing business is concluded. If we don't die of course."

A pile of wood was made into a tepee in the fire pit out back. It wasn't quite a funeral pyre since we didn't have Marianna's body. Maeve put her hand on a large log until it started to smoke. Blowing gently on it the embers caught the kindling, replacing the crisp air with campfire smells. Something about the way she did that touched my heart. I'd seen her create a fireball out of thin air and throw it like a fast ball but she was almost tender in starting this fire. The fire now roaring, Gwen produced a knife that was tucked in her boot.

"Marianna was with us for many years. She was our coven, our mother, and our friend. We owe our lives to you and vow to carry on the craft in a way that will make our ancestors proud."

Holding out her left hand she drew the knife across it, a thin red line appeared on her hand where the razor sharp blade sliced pale flesh.

Maeve took the knife. "Aye, she'll be missed. I plan to kick somebody's arse in her honor." A quick motion with the knife and blood dripped from her hand.

She handed me the knife, I stared at it understanding what they expected. I drew the knife across my hand once, then again when it didn't draw much blood the first time. We all held our bleeding hands out, pressing blood to blood in an awkward three way handshake. Our blood mixed together in the warmth of the pressing flesh. I was reminded of being a kid and hearing how some boys would have a blood brother.

Then before I knew what was happening, I was staggered as a vision hit me. My head spun for a few seconds until I pushed the images away, then switching to my Sight, I could see Gwen's blue aura filling her hand and Maeve's green aura. I concentrated on sending my aura to my hand. Not sure how it was working but I could see it like a facet of red rushing out of my hand meeting theirs.

The women breathed deep. The aura was relaxing and energizing, more pure than any drug could ever be.

The vision came back. I saw Gwen through the mental link we now shared, looking much the same, wearing clothes from long ago, she she stood in a field surrounded by cattle pens. A rough mud house stood behind her. She smiled as a mother thanked her over and over for saving her little boy. She refused the loaf of bread the mother pulled from inside her coat.

"No, you keep that, You still have two to feed," Gwen said.

The woman broke down in tears and hugged her.

Men, in full armor and chainmail could be seen trotted through the mud toward them, pushing through anyone foolish enough to beseech mercy. These weren't the type of men to ask for mercy of any sort, they were duty bound by higher powers. They came on horseback, their armor emblazoned with a red and silver crest, long swords hung from their sides. They stopped the still elated mother and asked for Gwendolyn the Healer. The woman, knowing something was wrong, hesitantly pointed to Gwen and with a sinking feeling Gwen watched them spur their horses and rush toward her.

Her fear finally got the better of her and she ran. She only made it a few meters before being knocked to the ground by a 1500 pound mare, her face hitting the mud as men laughed. One of the soldiers jumped from his horse and drew his sword. Gwen tried to scurry away on hands and knees fearing the worst, but there was nowhere to run. The men easily caught her and beat her for her disobedience.

"Under the orders of the Bishop you are under arrest. You will come with us."

Gwen pleaded with them, but it did no good. They hit her, tied her wrists with a leather straps and pulled her along for miles back to the castle. Straw and feces littered the floor. The stone walls had mold growing on them that made the entire room smell of damp fungus. A small slit of a window at ground level showed the courtyard of the Lord of the Lands castle.

Two guards opened the heavy wooden door to her prison. A woman barely able to move on her own other than to clutch her swollen midsection, shuffled along in their grasp. The men easily handled the scarecrow of a woman, heaving her into the cell where she hit the dirt floor with a wet smack. The woman had blisters on her thin face, her eyes were yellow with sickness and clumps of her hair had fallen out.

"Heal her!" one of the guards ordered.

She stood, silent, afraid of what they might do if she showed her healing ability to them. So far it was only speculation on their part. She had learned long ago that people feared her more when they thought it was her power and not God's that healed them.

Stepping from behind the guards a man with a long red cloak appeared. He wore a heavy silver cross around his neck. "If you don't heal her she will surely die." He smiled but his eyes were hard as black coals.

"Do you want her to die?"

"Please sire, I'm just a peasant," Gwen told him.

"No," he shouted. "You are most certainly not just anything. I know what you are. Now heal her. Or you will take her place."

For the first time Gwen was afraid that her healing gift was more of a curse. She was more afraid that the Bishop was going to crucify her like his God, no matter what she did. Her fear turned to rage as she looked at the smug fat man in front of her. Her thoughts turned to hurting him instead of helping the woman. She got an image in her head that was crystal clear, and as she saw it all those years ago we now saw it through her.

It was a vision of ice flowing from her hands. She didn't understand it but the voice in her head promised it would provide the information needed for the magic to make is so. A soothing voice, hers but not hers, reassured her that it was only to save her life, not to harm them. It was her only hope.

That was the last ruling day for the Bishop, and the last day Gwen could help her village. It was also the first time her magic had killed instead of healed. Feeling her emotions as though they were my own, I knew she still had sadness for the people she had murdered that day in order to save her own life.

Then my vision cleared and I looked with my Sight at the bond our hands where creating. It was like a rainbow of blood and aura flowing into one another. We all shared the same visions, the same thoughts. I was sure that Maeve saw the same thing and I wondered if it was the first time they had done this.

****

The next vision was of Maeve dressed in a frilly silk gown. Her hair had matching ribbons. She smiled as she held the hand of a man wearing a jacket with tails and a top hat. They walked hand in hand from a theater in London's best show house. Walking through the lantern lit streets they laughed and talked about the show.

Later that evening with drinks, too many drinks, still talking she let it slip that she knew of his plans to buy a house for them on the east side of town. He had been very careful to not let anyone know of the house he had purchased for it had been for his mistress.

The vision skipped ahead to the man, now red faced and breathing hard, beating her in the street. A crowd gathered round to watch, growing more frenzied every time he called her a witch. Blood ran from her nose, one eye was swelled shut, and her pretty gown was torn showing her undergarments.

Maeve was covered in blood and dirt. He picked her up by the hair. The man she loved yelled at her, spittle flying from his lips, striking her causing her to double over with a loud exhale. He smiled cruelly at her as he ripped her dress the rest of the way off.

She knew she has the craft. Usually, it only let her see other people's thoughts. But one day, like a person giving instructions that only she could hear, it told her to picture fire, flowing her aura into it. When she had tried it, she was so scared by the plume of flame that almost set her room on fire, that she had never tried it again. Until now.

Maeve knelt on the cobblestone street looking up at the man beating her with her one remaining good eye. The crowd cheering him on, her new dress laid in the mud. Her lover wiped the sweat from his brow between blows, letting the random fist in from the crowd to strike her. He tore at her brazier, and then the voice finally took over.

"I'm sorry Chester," she said, "I did love you."

Fire cleansed everything that night, changing her life forever.

****

Next I saw myself standing at my parents funeral holding my sister's hand. The gang members the police questioned, then let go, stood nearby. The boyfriend of my aunt who took us in leered at my sister. Many black eyes later from protecting my sister it skipped years ahead. I stood alone at my sister's funeral, staring down at my last relative that had meant anything to me. A few police officers stood back and watched from a distance. I recognized some of them from my parent's investigation. I glared at them venting my rage for their incompetence in finding my parent's murderers and now my sister's killer.

Then it was just me and Rutger, alone in the world. I spent years training with weapons and martial arts, learning how to become a private investigator. I found the gang that was related in some way but I could never prove which member and I didn't have any evidence that would hold up in court. I remembered every detail and clue that I'd found. Even though I got sympathetic looks and at least one cop that listened every time, they never found anything more. I knew there was a missing link but I had been unsuccessful at finding it.

Finally I got my PI license, mostly to justify carrying a gun while I secretly worked my sister's cold case. I knew it was like looking for a needle in a haystack but I never gave up.

My vision cleared, we all stood looking at each other. No one saying a word for what seemed like many minutes. I felt the guilt and sympathy for each of them and they did for me.

"Aye, we all have something to fight for," Gwen said.

Maeve made a noise of agreed looking down in thought of long ago days.

"Yes, I guess we do," I said. I never would have thought we'd have something in common. From the time I'd known them they were carefree upper class society women. We couldn't have seemed more different.

"Today we say farewell to Marianna and welcome our newest coven member in over 500 years," Gwen said.

When they looked up at me there was a fierceness in their eyes.

"We are whole again," Gwen said. "Gordon, welcome to our coven."

"Now lets kick some covert were-agent arse," Maeve said, leaning her head back and whooping.

I laughed. She reminded me of a college kid cheering on their team.

"Hell yeah" she said, raising up to her full height which was still a good head lower than most. "Team Maeve is going to kick some ass!"

Gwen didn't say anything more. She looked at the sky, then to us, her strong features just a bit softer with sadness. If it was for Marianna or what was to come, I couldn't tell.

Chapter 21

The park where we agreed to meet the local werewolf pack was by the Potomac River outside of the city. A Pathfinder followed by a Range Rover rolled slowly into the parking lot.

Being a weekday the park didn't have many visitors, but parks in this area were never totally empty either. A man of average build who looked to be in his 30's, got out of the lead vehicle and walked over to us. He didn't seem like the type of guy that would be in charge of a group of supernatural predators.

James had given us some reminders and for me first time lessons on manners and etiquette with werewolves. The Alpha wouldn't ever send somebody to do something that would represent his pack to other members of the supernatural community. He also said not to make more than brief eye contact, don't get into a starting match with any of them.

He looked around at the other vehicles in the parking lot, taking us at a glance, not giving us any more notice than he did the other park patrons. He slowed his pace extending his arms as if to stretch, like he had just woken up. As he did I noticed his eyes never stopped moving and he didn't have the relaxed look a person generally has when they yawn. A group of high school kids were nearby, cutting class most likely, a young couple walked hand in hand not more than 20 yards away and a couple of old men sat on a park bench feeding the ducks by a small man made pond.

"It's nice to finally make your acquaintance, I'm Ian, the local Alpha," he said sauntering over. He extended his hand first to the ladies, then to me, "James speaks very highly of you."

"How did you know it was us you were supposed to meet?" I asked.

"Are you kidding? You three smell like an entire circle of witches."

A few of the pack behind him nodded agreement.

"Besides, James told me who to expect. I'm Cody, Ian's second," a young man with a drawl and a straw cowboy hat said.

"How do you know James, if you don't mind my asking?" I couldn't picture the aging security guard / groundskeeper mingling with a bunch of twenty somethings who also happened to be werewolves. I'd never seen James do anything more exciting than drink a few beers and play chess. He doesn't even have a smartphone.

Ian gave the faintest of smiles and lifted his eyebrows. "Perhaps you should ask your friends here more about your coworkers." A few snickers followed.

"What's with Merlin over there?" he asked gesturing to Eros, still standing by the car. He had gone back to wearing his cloak and a black hat, saying it was appropriate attire for meetings with other supernaturals.

"Long story, he's an out of town acquaintance," I said.

The werewolf looked at him a bit longer, then shrugged. "What is it my pack can do for you?"

"We have a job for you if you're interested," Gwen said.

"What do you need done and how much?" the Alpha werewolf said. You could tell he was used to taking charge but maybe that was just his personality and not the wolf.

"We need you to put surveillance on some people," Maeve said. "Government types," she made a face like she just said got a bad taste in her mouth.

"Why don't you just put a spell on them or do whatever witchy thing you do?" he asked watching her closely.

"I wondered that same thing, why use these beasts?" Eros said still standing back well away from the werewolves.

I could just barely see the alpha tense up. James said backing down was not in a werewolf's nature, and I could tell he was thinking if he didn't do something now, he'd lose face. I'd seen it too many times before with humans. But humans didn't radiate anger like the Alpha was. James also mentioned they could pull power from each other when they needed it, but he was vague as to what kind of power.

"Why don't you come over here and I'll show you my beast side," Ian said, his voice an octave lower as he struggled to control his wolf.

Ignoring Eros, Gwen turned to Ian, "Because you can stay undetected and watch in more places. You're also immune to magic."

"Good point," Cody said looking at Eros, instead of Gwen.

Maeve shot Eros a dangerous warning with her eyes. To my surprise Eros averted his gaze, finding something on the ground in front of him interesting.

I didn't know what the magical pecking order was between the witches and Eros, or myself for that matter. I hadn't really though about it until now, thinking of us all as more of a team. But seeing the werewolf pack, you could tell there was a hierarchy. Besides Ian and Cory, there were no doubt other ranks in the pack and I'm sure each of them knew their place in it.

Ian nodded his head, satisfied with how Maeve put Eros in his place and agreed to use his pack to find out what Blue Mountain Landscaping was up to. He promised they could easily stay undetected. The were-agents were nothing new to his pack, they had found them sniffing around their territory already. A normal pack would never have invaded their territory. They were already keeping tabs on the were-agents to some extent, gathering information before they figure out what to do with them.

That would be a blessing if the werewolves decided to dispatch of the were-agents. I knew I wouldn't want to be on their bad side.

****

With that taken care of we went to check on Marvin. Taking the beltway we made such good time I had to wonder if one of my passengers was influencing other drivers somehow.

Marvin's motorcycle sat in the back lot of a neglected row of businesses in an industrial park. A dry cleaners and a liquid auto wrap shop were his only neighbors. Narrow stairs led up to the office where Marvin stood behind a woman wearing black horn rimmed glasses hunched over a computer. When the ladies entered the office all typing stopped and 3 sets of eyes were glued to them.

I smiled at the sight, neither Gwen nor Maeve paused or seemed to notice.

"How are you making out on our project?" I asked.

"We're making progress," he said, glancing nervously at Eros and the witches.

"We intercepted a few communications. Erin was just showing me the data stream she found— she's a genius with this stuff, really. They're really going all out looking for you guys" he continued. "We also intercepted a memo that they're doing sweeps on foot through the city hourly. There was also mention of a secret weapon being deployed to their teams."

"Have you heard anything about Vivian Tutino?" Gwen asked.

"Oh! The witch," a man with a goatee sitting on the other side of the room said. He looked more like a lumberjack then a hacker. All he needed was a knit hat to complete the picture. When he spoke it was a rumble in his chest.

"We found an email from her this morning, telling all troops to report to her directly if you were found," he said. He gestured air quotes with his hands, which looked oddly out of place with the big man.

"Chet hacked into their email server. It's technically only available internally but he hacked through another system that has access to their server and then routed through that," Marvin said.

"Why would she want them to do that?" Chet asked, pausing to run his eyes over all of us again. "I don't mind doing this and I know I can trust Marvin, but I like to know why I'm putting myself on the line. Why would a government spook have it in for you two?" He pointed at the women and seemed to consider something as he looked at Eros, then at me.

Chet sat back and crossed his arm over his chest. His rolled up sleeves revealed forearms that looked more at home in muscle head gym or a cage match than sitting in front of a computer. Letting his size persuade others to give him information was something he looked very comfortable with.

"Because she has a poor value on her self preservation," Gwen said in a cool tone.

Chet let out a loud barking laugh. "How hard would it be to take on too hot chicks," Chet said laughing.

"What has Marvin told you about us, Chet," Gwen asked.

Marvin swung around so rapidly he knocked over a coffee cup. "I didn't say anything about you— any of you— or you know about your special skills," Marvin said, earning a look of contempt from the giant hacker. Luckily, Erin's quick reflexes kept the coffee from spilling all over her keyboard.

"Maybe I should just see if I can get a reward for all this information," Chet said feeling more confident.

"Now you've done it," Maeve said shaking her head in a chastising manner.

Gwen took a step toward Chet, in mid stride she shimmered and disappeared, then became solid again as her foot finished it's stride across the room where Chet sat. All three hacker's jaw dropped and Chet's eyes grew wide having the effect that Gwen was going for. Before he could let his fear take over, Gwen swung hitting Chet in the nose with a right cross.

"What the hell are you?" Chet asked, blood flowing from his nose.

"Somebody who doesn't like being threatened," she said. "Now, are we done here or do you want to flex your muscles at me some more?"

Enraged, he started to stand up, then thought better of it and sat back down.

"Yes," he said.

"Yes, what?"

"Yes, we're done," he said behind his hand.

Blood now covered the front of his Chet's shirt, dripping on the desk in front of him.

"Well, this won't do," Gwen said, bringing her hand up to his nose. He flinched away, squinting his eyes almost shut. A blue glow that nobody but a witch or wizard could see wrapped around Chet's head. The blood stopped, the swelling faded, and the redness in his face took on a more healthy hue.

Looking back to Marvin she said "Be sure to keep us posted on everything you find."

Maeve stood watching Chet even as Gwen turned to leave. Instead of heading toward the door with Gwen, she walked toward Chet, her eyes never leaving his, her head tilting as she walked to maintain the eye contact he was now trying to avoid.

"Are we good here Chet? I know you said you were, but something tells me you don't like to let things go. What was that you were just thinking about telling a reporter?"

Chet recoiled like he was hit again, finally settling on a look of contempt, his lips pursed.

"Remember this big boy, I can hack more than your little electronic gizmos," Maeve said.

"How would you like to spend the the foreseeable future thinking you're a drag queen?"

"Would, could you, really do that?" I asked her, once we got outside.

"I know a bar were they dress up in traditional Spanish flamenco dresses every Tuesday night. He would fit right in."

I couldn't tell if she was serious or not, but I hoped I would never find myself craving a red frilly dress while a mischievous witch catcalled from the bar.

Chapter 22

With the werewolves undercover around the city and Marvin and his team monitoring every data feed available, we met with the one person who had offered to help us from the start.

The mansion was surrounded by an impressive brick wall topped with a wrought iron fencing making it look both elegant and forbidding. Security cameras were everywhere, scanning the property.

We pulled up to the gated entryway. A guardhouse sat inside the fence where four men emerged armed with M4 assault rifles. I had to wonder how you got a permit for those in the city. One guard walked to the window with a smile on his face that never quite reached his eyes.

I watched as he switched the safety to off on the rifle he was holding as he walked toward us. On a hunch I looked at the men with my Sight. They all looked the same, dark suits, dark glasses, polished shoes. But two of the guards had the green aura of vampires, and two had the yellow aura of humans.

The vampire guard at the window looked in the car and waved us through without a word. He scanned the street in both directions until the gate was closed again.

Once inside we were escorted to the door where a thin Asian man greeted us. He wore a black suite with tails, white gloves and had a sword strapped to his back, the handle of which we could see over his shoulder.

"Good evening, the man of the house has already been summoned. This way please," he said gesturing us inside.

The summer green walls were richly decorated with art work, a statue of an angel stood just inside the door, and the floor was exquisitely veined marble. Footsteps announcing more guards, one human, one vampire. Reynolds stood behind them scanning the foyer area before stepping forward.

"Forgive the extra security," he said, "We have been on high alert since Marianna's death."

"Ladies," he said, nodding his head. "Mr. Hopewell," the leader of the Green vampires said extending his hand. It felt like the marble flooring, hard and cool to the touch. He looked at Eros for a good few seconds before extending his hand to him as well.

"Pardon my forwardness, I don't think I ever learned what stake you have in any of this," Reynolds said to Eros.

"I am just repaying my debt to Wizard Gordon."

"Plus he thinks Gordo is the only one that can solve his otherworldly problems," Maeve said.

Reynolds raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. Mr. Hopewell has become quite the crusader for justice, I see."

Turning back to the witches, he bent from the waist into a full bow. His gaze dropped to the floor at their feet for a few seconds before rising.

"My condolences, I know well what it is like to lose a loved one," he said.

"Thank you," Gwen said a bit more tersely than I expected.

We followed Reynolds through the mansion to the study. The rest of the house was finely decorated and furnished, about the exact opposite of my apartment. The vampire removed his jacket and draped it on the back of a chair. Under the tweed jacket he had twin .45's in a custom holster at the small of his back. He also had a shoulder rig on each side holding two more pistols.

"Some of our kind are very fond of more primitive weapons, like Alfred, the butler," Reynolds said, seeing my interest. "I like to embrace the age we live in."

"Seriously, the butlers name is Alfred?" I said thinking about the Asian butler with the sword, that had looked anything but modern.

Pictures of Vivian and more of the government were-agents were spread across the tabletop.

"It seems Miss Tutino is more powerful than anyone thought," Reynolds said.

"— And crazy as a loon," I chimed in.

He scanned Gwen and Maeve for reactions; when he got none he continued.

"Precisely, hence my original fear of this situation.

I believe she now has her own fully funded supernatural hit squad, funded by the government and is somehow much more powerful than she used to be," he said.

"Do you have a plan for how to deal with her?" Maeve asked waving aside Reynold's concerns.

"We were going to just kill her, but it's become more complicated now. She already has the plan in motion to mass produce the serum that killed Marianna.

Our sources say that ORAB is awaiting for approval by the President to increase their manpower as well— the President has been very interested in this— he considers us weapons of mass destruction or some such nonsense."

With the information that Marvin gave us that Vivian had managed to have a meeting with the President— Vivian! None of it added up.

"He thinks there is a potential to create their own weapons from us," Gwen said drumming her fingers.

"Which is utter rubbish," Maeve said.

"I wouldn't be so sure. We don't really know how the science of what we are works. Is magic really something different than applied science? Probably, but look at the werewolf-like creatures they are creating. Are they resistant to magic like the werewolves, or your other... friend?" Reynolds said.

"Yes, I think we all understand they think of us as a threat to them," Gwen said.

Maeve stood up pacing back and forth, lips pursed.

"So, we have to stop ORAB and somehow destroy their weapons."

"We need to remove their source of information so this doesn't happen again. That is the most important part of this," Gwen said with a grimly which looked out of place on her.

"Which means killing Vivian—" Reynolds said.

"— Leave that to me," Gwen said quietly.

"I think it's in our best interests to work as a team. You shall have the full support of the Green Conclave," Reynolds said.

"Let us get those bitches!" Eros said loudly enough to make everybody jump.

I shrugged. "He's been watching a lot of TV lately."

Chapter 23

Later having returned to the safe house I found James in the back yard with Rutger. I hadn't forgotten what the werewolf Alpha had said about James, or the mixture of amusement and condescension the pack showed at having to explain more about him to me.

I seldom forget anything, in fact, it's one of my few redeeming assets. I can remember every witness name and comment in every police report about my parents and my sister or any other case I've worked. Pictures just seemed to stay in my head, as if neatly cataloged for when I needed that information later. It's what made me so effective as an investigator.

For a man that looked like he could be someones father, James didn't seem to be having any trouble keeping up with an energetic mutt as they raced around the lawn.

"Now I know how he gets so tired out," I said.

James smiled and tossed me the stick, sending Rutger on a new mission, crashing into me to retrieve it.

I didn't know how James would react if I mentioned the werewolves or what they'd said about him, but I've never been much for subtlety.

"So, we had an interesting meeting today, with some people that said they knew you," I said.

"Right, the werewolves," he said, his gaze unwavering.

At my stubborn look he went on.

"I'm just a man who guards women that don't really need much protection. Lots of things aren't what they seem in this world but I think you've got enough on your plate without taking on new problems to solve."

"Then you're not a werewolf?" I asked, watching his reaction closely.

He laughed, a full belly laugh that reminded me of why he was so likable.

"No, I'm definitely not a werewolf; you might want to be careful of who you ask about that though."

I couldn't think of a clever reply so I didn't say anything. I thought for sure he was a werewolf, it was the only thing that made sense with how he knew the wolf pack, how he had handled the coven, and had the stamina of somebody much younger. Not that he seemed old, but he wasn't a teenager either.

"You need to follow your instincts more, stop letting your past control your thoughts," he said, clapping me on the shoulder, which almost knocked me over, even though he had to weigh less than I did.

"What do you know about my past?" I asked a little more defensively than I meant to.

"It doesn't take a mind read to see that you've had a bad go of some things. All I'm saying is to live your life based on what's happening now, not what happened in the past."

He was right, I did tend to let my past control how I acted toward people. If he did have a secret I couldn't blame him for wanting to keep it to himself, but seeing as how we've been in the company of witches, vampires and werewolves, all in the last 24 hours, what could be so private that he would hide that from me?

"If you're done, I promised Rutger and myself some lunch," James said, grabbing a stick off the ground and running to the house with Rutger at his heels.

James carved off slices of roast beef while I busied myself filling the kettle and listening to it slowly start to bubble. We ate in silence, James put away so much roast beef I thought he was training for a food challenge.

Before I could comment on it my phone vibrated in my pocket. Jim Langhorne's name appeared on the screen. It wasn't totally out of character for Jim to call but it was almost always in the evening. Maybe he was checking in since I hadn't been as available lately.

When I hung up, James had stopped eating and was watching me, his sharp eyes seemed to take in everything at once, in contrast to his laid back posture.

"That was my boss, Jim Langhorne," I said with a shrug.

"Why would he need you to stop in, couldn't you give him an update on the phone?" he asked.

He must have overheard our conversation somehow.

"It's not SOP, but it's his business, if he wants me to come in, it's his call."

"Does he ever reassign you before a client contract is over?"

I hadn't even thought of that, sometimes we did get reassigned to other clients. I would just have to deal with that when the time came.

Half an hour later I was cleaned up and ready for the drive into the office. If only I could get past the blue eyed dark haired hurdle blocking the door.

Gwen stood with her arms crossed blocking the doorway, pursing her lips in disapproval.

"James told me it's out of the ordinary for you to get called in and you're still going?" she asked, hands on her hips. "You don't need to go in, Gordon, you don't even need the job, we can provide for you now."

"I don't need somebody to provide for me, I can provide for myself," I said, feeling the heat rush to my face. "I've been taking care of myself since I was twelve, it's not going to stop now."

Her face softened, "I know you have—"

"No, you don't. You weren't there, you don't really know my history. None of you do."

A wave of emotions ran through me as I remembered my sister doing her best to provide for us with her meager wages while I went to school. I would meet her as she got off of work most days and walk her home. But that day I was too busy. That was the last day I saw her alive.

Ever since then I'd had a thing about fulfilling my responsibilities. It was irrational how defensive I felt but I couldn't seem to stop myself.

"I don't need to explain myself," I said, pushing past a little rougher than I intended.

Looking back my heart weighed down with guilt as the sadness in her eyes shown through. Maeve was at her side stopping her from following me.

Chapter 24

I drove into the city to the Langhorne Security office. I could have tried to use magic to jump there, but appearing out of thin air in front of people didn't seem like a good idea, that and I really wasn't sure I could do it again if I wanted to. I was actually thankful for the alone time the drive provided. It gave me time to think.

I hadn't meant to be so brusque with Gwen. My emotions took over when I thought about my sister, but even so it was like a black cloud had enveloped me. For the past year I'd carefully wrapped myself in a cocoon of work, with a steady diet of repetition, which had taken my mind off of all my personal demons. Being idle too long was a sure way to let the vivid memories preoccupy thoughts, taking away any semblance of steering the direction of life. Now that comfortable world was unraveling. Not that many people would have called my world comfortable by any stretch.

The parking lot next to the office was unusually full so I parked a block away. Walking with my head down I was vaguely aware of other pedestrians bustling by, but was mostly lost in thought. The sun was no longer out, the fine mist that filled the air added to my feeling of trepidation as the cool moisture worked on slowly saturating my clothes... perfect.

I walked past the deli next door to the office and saw one of the counter girls looking my way. She was a cute girl who always insisted on giving me a free cookie. I gave a polite nod, trying to smile out of habit. She didn't return my smile, staring at me briefly before turning her attention back to the man at the counter. He wore a cheap suit that was about a size too big. When he noticed her looking, he turned and eyed me steadily as I walked past.

Langhorne Securities was in a turn of the century building, and not the most recent one. I pulled the heavy out door but it didn't budge. I had been so preoccupied with my thoughts I hadn't noticed the line of black SUV's parked at the curb. Looking around I saw a man holding a newspaper, looking over the top of it, not really reading, a jogger nearby was kneeling over tying his shoe and taking an especially long time at it. Before I finished surveying the street, the door swung open.

Jim Langhorne didn't say anything for a few beats, his lips were pursed like he was straining with exertion.

"Gordon," he moved his eyes over his shoulder without turning his head. The lobby light had been turned off, the blinds drawn putting the office in gloom. I couldn't see anything in the office but I could sense by his demeanor something was wrong. At the same time I took a step back, Jim was pulled off his feet roughly, flung like a rag doll over the secretary desk ten feet behind him.

On reflex I started toward Jim before stopping myself. The hesitation was enough for agents to lunge out and grab hold of me, pulling me through the doorway. I struggled trying to pull away, the hands that gripped me were like a steel vise, I couldn't move an inch in their grasp.

A part of my mind wondered if I jumped into the multiverse would it take those holding on with me? I wasn't sure. Thinking of the safe house, I concentrated on jumping there. I pictured the kitchen where James, Rutger and I had eaten lunch a short time ago. It was then that I felt the buzzing of magic build up like static electricity before being discharged, then... nothing. The feeling of magic that had been in the air was gone. Scrubbed away without ever being used. In hindsight I was glad jumping hadn't worked. If I took the agents with me, it would have put Gwen, Maeve and Eros in danger.

A man stepped out of the shadows. His long beard brushed his hand as he flicked it out. He gave me a smile that chilled me to the core at the same time as I felt my magic draining out of me again.

"Put the shackles on him, peons. Then take him away," he said.

Heavy cuffs were snapped on my wrists, I felt my magic being... dampened. The feeling inside me that I had become accustom to without knowing it was dwindling.

Unlike before when he had drained my magic all at once the shackles felt like there was a slow leak draining it. But they were also keeping me from recharging, which was akin to taking a breath and not getting any oxygen. Every time I tried to reach for magic, I felt a stifling resistance keeping me from drawing it in. I shuddered each time it happened, unable to control my magic from trying to recharge over and over.

Soon my magic reservoirs would be completely empty. Then there was a sharp pain in my neck, then everything went dark.

Chapter 25

I woke up with my head spinning, feeling nauseous. It felt like a mule had kicked me in the neck. I opened my eyes, hating the bright overhead lights and the antiseptic smell that stung my nose. I tried to sit up but couldn't move my arms. I looked down to see they were strapped to the table. Looking closer I saw wrist cuffs made of silver or some other polished metal. I was still having trouble focusing my eyes but the metal cuffs looked like they had runes carved in them.

The whispered voice of a man contrasting with a brash female voice drifted across the room to me. A white lab coat floated around almost out of view behind my head. Instruments beeped and clicked as he pressed buttons. What had to be the world's thickest glasses shot into view. His eyes flitted over toward a woman as she swaggered toward him. She had an unruly mop of hair, dark circles under her eyes and her face was so pale that under other circumstances I would have been worried that her blood pressure was low.

"It looks like we have what we need to catch your new friends. Maybe once I take care of the old crones you and I can get to know each other better," Vivian Tutino said, smiling sweetly at me and giving a wink.

A pressure built in my head, not exactly a headache, which I was still nursing from whatever drug they knocked me out with, moved like an abrasive worm in my mind trying to dig through my subconscious. I immediately put up a mental barricade and the worm retreated.

Vivian grunted.

"Is he one of you or is he human?" a soldier asked as he marched toward us. His silver hair was in a buzz cut and his square jaw thrust outward. When he came near, a look of annoyance crossed Vivian's face.

"He was human, but something has changed in him," Vivian said.

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It means, Colonel, that he has somehow gotten magic. According to our mutual friend, a lot of magic," she said.

"How did you get magic? It's not like it's something you can just give to someone." she said with a perplexed look on her face. She put her hand on my arm, squeezing it, which sent a chill up my spine.

Colonel Yourke's hard eyes evaluated the situation at a glance. His thick neck swiveled from me to Vivian.

"Inject him with the serum and be done with it."

"If we do that the real targets might flee, and we might need him as leverage. You're underestimating the Elders. Besides those cuffs drain any magic he has. He created them."

"Are you sure he won't get loose?"

"He made them," she said again as if that explained it. "The spell on them will fizzle out any magic like it was never there," she said.

"Besides, no newborn pseudo witch or whatever it is he has become is stronger than me. And Hopewell is damn sure is not stronger than him," she said. "No offense, honey," she said sweetly.

"I need to go rest now before they come. I haven't slept in three days," she told the Colonel as she stood and headed for the door. She slowed her pace as she passed the Colonel. Her eyebrows knit together, then her face clouded. After a few seconds, anger lit in her eyes, replacing the fatigue. Grunting, she continued on toward the door.

The colonel didn't show that he knew anything was going on. But I've seen that look on her face before. She was trying to get into his head. And she wasn't able to. Very interesting. The Colonel seems to be more than he appears as well.

"Neat trick," I said to the Colonel trying to gauge his response.

He snorted, then pulled a chair over to where I was strapped to the table.

"Tell me about yourself," he said.

"Why should I?"

"I know you are a decent guy, you work for Langhorne Securities, you don't drink, you don't smoke, you live in the same shitty little apartment that you moved into with your sister when you came to the city. And your last client was Gwendolyn Keane.

We've been ordered to make sure you're not a threat. We know the witches are dangerous. What we don't know is how that affects us."

The man in the lab coat, who had gone largely unnoticed was still attending to one of the many machines in the room until the colonel dismissed him with a wave of his hand.

When the man left, the colonel closed the door behind him. Then he did the same with the door on the other side of the room, behind me, where I couldn't see.

He came back over and sat down.

"Personally, I don't think the witches want any trouble. Tutino claims they are extremely dangerous and are hell bent on attacking the US of A. What if I said we can let you go if you help us capture the witches?"

His tactic caught me off guard. My mind felt like it was about half a quart of coffee short of being ready for this conversation.

"I thought you said you didn't think they were dangerous?"

While I was talking I tried to take in the table more closely and see what it was that held me in place. The metal bands were chained to the table by thick links of chain that could hold a gorilla in place. My feet were held down by nylon straps. The table itself was made of metal.

The machine next to me had blinking lights and a flashing number for my pulse. If I got loose they would know when I pulled the sensors off. I couldn't hear any other voices even though I suspected there were other people in nearby rooms, so noise wouldn't be a problem.

"No, I think they probably are. I think Tutino got that part right. I said I don't think they want to cause trouble," he said.

"But you want to capture them anyway?"

"Of course. They have a unique gift that could benefit this country. We aren't the greatest superpower in the world for nothing."

"Since you know who they are, you should know there's no way in hell I would go against them," I said.

The colonel didn't look surprised.

"I figured as much," he said. "Too bad, it might have kept you out of this mess."

He got up and headed for the other door, that Vivian didn't go through.

When they captured me I remember a man stopping me from using magic. I might be a toddler when it came to using magic, but I could tell he stopped my magic as easily as I could if he stopped me from breathing. A part of me still felt like I was trying to breathe with a heavy weight on my chest. Who was he and why wasn't he here with Vivian Tutino?

I craned my head to look over my shoulder, making sure I was alone, then slid my butt over as much as I could toward my right hand. I always kept a boot knife tucked in my right boot, if I could get to it I might be able to use it to pry off one of the chains that held me captive. After a few minutes of inching my jeans up over my boot, I was met with disappointment, my knife was gone. They must have searched me before they'd tied me to the table. Of course they would have.

I took a deep steadying breath, to calm my nerves. Keep your head, Hopewell. I still had one ace up my sleeve. I turned onto my side putting my shoulder in a position that I wouldn't be able to hold for long. I reached behind my back to the hidden blade that fitted neatly into my belt, and breathed a sigh of relief as I felt the hard steel.

The chain looked impossibly thick to get through, especially when I was using a pocketknife. The ring on the table that it was locked to had a small spot well that I thought I might be able to break off... eventually.

After 20 minutes of working on the weld I didn't feel any closer to being free but I had chipped the blade at least once.

Nobody had come back into the room yet, proof that no cameras monitored my activity. Apparently the bait isn't as important as the game being hunted. And I was the bait.

I finally got the blade to get a bit of leverage between the edge of the table and the ring that held the chain, after already breaking the tip of the blade off. I put more pressure on the weld and the blade flexed. Applying even more force I waited for the blade to snap, when I heard a crack my heart sank before seeing it was the weld that had broken, not the blade. Just a tiny piece but it was something.

Sweat kept running into my eyes and I shook my head trying in vain to fling the stinging sweat away, frantic now to get loose before they came back. I pulled harder on the blade and another small piece of metal sailed to over me and hit the wall to my left.

The weld on the ring was almost thin enough to break with the knife blade when the door opened and two lab techs walked in followed by Colonel Yourke. The lab techs headed to the computers near the door they came through They obscured my view from the colonel as he spoke quietly to them.

I didn't know if he saw me hide the knife under my leg or heard the sound of metal on metal when the blade hit the table.

When they continued going about their business, I knew they hadn't seen me hide the knife.

"Secure any data to the off site location," the Colonel said, not paying me any attention. He had a more frantic look than the last time I'd seen him.

The techs sat in front of the computers typing rapidly.

"It will take about 10 minutes to move all the encrypted data to the remote datacenter," one of the techs said.

"Hurry and get it done, then get the hell out of here. All hell's about to break loose," the Colonel said.

Chapter 26

The door to the room I was being held in suddenly swung open and crashed into the wall. One of the were-agents in his black fatigues came rushing in startling everyone, even the colonel. He was breathing hard and his wide eyes darted around the room wildly finally coming to rest on the Colonel. As his nostrils flared he drew quick short breaths through his nose, sniffing the air. His features looked too big for his face, his ears too pointed. If I could see his hands I bet they would show razor sharp claws.

The colonel frowned as the man sniffed closer, causing him to get a defensive look.

"I heard some of them can make you hallucinate... sir," the agent drawed in response to the Colonel's hard gaze, like he was a bit slow.

"What on God's green earth do you want, agent?"

The colonel raised his arm and poked the agent in his kevlar vest. The muscles on his forearms flexed and strained against his rolled up sleeves.

The agent let out an "oof" sound, more like he'd just been punched in the chest instead of having had a single finger jab him. The cocky look fled from his face, replaced by a look of complete obedience.

The colonel puffed his massive chest out, leaning forward slightly. The gray crew cut man was shorter than the agent by a head, but his girth dwarfed the younger agent. He had muscle to spare under his uniform. The show taking place had nothing to do with size. It was more primal than that and not for the first time I wondered what secrets the Colonel was hiding. If he was one of the were-agents he didn't show it.

The beeping of machines hooked to me was the only noise in the room now that the agent's breathing had slowed. The harsh overhead lights spotlighted the agent as the colonel asserted his dominance, once again taking control.

"Report, agent," he all but shouted.

"Troops reported a breach in the west side of the building, sir! A fire broke out shortly thereafter but the HALO system put it out, sir"

"Proceed with plan A. Capture them. Do not use the serum yet. Go. Now!"

"We have already captured one of them, sir," the man added quickly.

The colonel raised his eyebrows.

"Excellent news. This will be easier than we thought. Now deliver my orders back to the men," the colonel said, taking a second to notice the look on my face.

The agent nodded, retreating the way he'd came.

Meanwhile, the techs, ignoring the scene between the two men completely, continued pecking on the computers, eyes downcast.

"How much longer?" the Colonel asked them.

"Two minutes maybe. All of the test results have already been transferred offsite. It's just syncing the backups now."

"Perfect. When that completes we will have everything we need to reconstruct the experiments. Contact the commander. Let him know everything is in place for site two. For your own safety, see yourselves out when it completes."

A few minutes later, the room was empty again, and I got back to working on the ring keeping me chained to the table. The fire breaking out sounded suspiciously like a pint size blond I know.

Gwen and Maeve must have come trying to rescue me. How they found me was a mystery. And who did the agent mean when he said they'd captured one? If they were hurt I would never forgive myself. I kept working on the ring for what seemed like an eternity. My hand was so tired from holding the knife that I was losing my grip and I was starting to get a cramp in my arm. When I had a groove in the metal ring to where I could lever the knife I applied brute force until I was rewarded with a satisfying crack.

The ring broke just enough to force the chain through the loop, allowing me to get to my feet. The straps holding my legs down were soft nylon, and, while very strong, even the now dull knife cut through them without a problem. Sliding to the linoleum floor, I looked around and spotted a screwdriver laying near a pile of half assembled machine parts. Breaking the remaining ring was much faster than the first.

I needed a weapon to help the women. I concentrated on my apartment, where I had a tactical shotgun. I could feel the buzzy feeling that started when the magic builds, then... nothing. Damn. The cuffs I still wore, with the ruins carved in them, must still be blocking my magic somehow and I didn't see an easy way of getting them off.

I hurried to the door and pushed the red open button. Leaning out I could see agents walking with purpose to and from. A pair of agents holding the limp figure of a middle age man caught my attention. It was James. They brought James with them to try to rescue me?

I stayed just out of sight as they took him to a room not far from where I was being held. I waited for the men to leave him before slipping down the hall to his room. He was being held in a cage with thick metal bars, where he laid on the floor in a heap. I leaned down to get a better look at him. When he opened his eyes, I sucked in a started breath. I'd held back a yelp of surprise, but just barely. He instantly surveying the room at the same time that he saw me and gave me a warm smile.

"Nice to see you Gordon," he said starting to stand, albeit a bit wobbly.

"What are you doing here, James? You're going to get yourself killed. This isn't guarding some house in a posh neighborhood, this is the government you're messing with."

Ignoring what I'd said, he continued on, "When I get out of here, I won't be able to talk and I'd rather not have to do this more than once... You need to follow me."

Then he took all his clothes off.

Caught off guard and feeling a little self conscious I looked down at my feet. Until the sounds of him changing made me look up. I heard his bones cracking and looked up to see his muscles swelling, joints popping out of their sockets as new limbs replaced the old. His face was contorted into a mask of pain.

He dropped to his knees as his arms and legs shifted, growing and shrinking until they became the same length. Human cries turned into something else as his face elongated. I watched in horror for what was probably less than a minute but I had completely lost track of time.

A giant cat— 500 pounds at least, stood on four huge furry feet where James had been just minutes before. It looked like a lynx; a very big lynx.

The bars on the cell he was being held in were steel by the look of it, and could probably hold any large zoo animal. A werelynx must follow another set of rules though. James swung in a large arc, his dagger sized claws slicked through the steel bars with little resistance. He struck a few more times, when one stubborn bar remained he reached through, grabbing it with his paw, bending it in toward him like it was a piece of licorice.

Hopping through the newly created doorway he landing softly in front of me.

"Now I see why they sent you... Jesus"

He seemed to smile, which was actually quite scary as he showed his teeth.

James led the way out, seeming to know which way to go, even though he was unconscious when they brought him in. The hall had the smell of antiseptic, and another chemical smell that I couldn't quite place. As we passed a door on our left, I stuck my head through to have a peek.

There was a a machine that had a conveyor belt where rows of the chemical bullets that held the serum were laid out. Toward the middle of the conveyor belt was an ominous blue tank full of liquid. I didn't need to investigate further to know I was looking at the deadly serum that had killed Marianna. Just as Reynold's said, they were mass producing it, and judging by the number of ammo boxes that were stacked around the room it looked about ready to be shipped out to waiting troops.

I had to wonder how many supernaturals there were in the city. Surely this couldn't all be for Gwen, Maeve and the deceased Marianna.

"Hey you. Freeze!" a voice shouted behind us.

I started sprinting immediately, but slowed as a gray and black spotted cat moved past me in the opposite direction. He moved so fast it was hard to make out the shape of the werelynx streaking toward the agent. The agent had just enough time to get two quick shots off before the big cat landed on his chest, claws extended. They hit the floor with lynx on top, claws pinning the agent to the linoleum flooring like an insect specimen. Not wasting any time he retracted his claws and bounded ahead of me again.

We hit the door to the stairwell running, and sprinted up the stairs to the next level. Well, I sprinted, James looked to be doing a slow jog as he loped along on all fours. I could feel Gwen and Maeve closer now through the link we shared.

I almost tripped over a man who lay in front of the door to the stairwell. His upper body was a solid rock of ice. A few feet further a man lay still smoldering. Flames flickered from a few papers on the floor. I saw men yelling orders to each other 30 yards down the hall. They hid behind whatever cover they could find. Beyond them were Maeve and Gwen. They were both still alive.

I took a second look at the agent encased in ice on the floor. His eyes stared at me wide open. On his belt were five magazines for an assault rifle. Three had a blue band painted around each of them, the other two had red bands of paint on them.

I couldn't tell how many agents were ahead of us, between Gwen and Maeve, it could have been a dozen of more. The large cat ahead of me was assessing the situation as well. A low rumble came from him as he as he turned and growled in the other direction. Then he sprinted past me, away from the witches, where more agents were just rounding the corner.

I scrambled over and picked up the rifle that lay next to the man with the frozen torso slipping on the ice and nearly landing ass over heels. Once I regained my balance I didn't have to wait long to use the rifle.

James had already ripped a ragged hole in an agent's neck and was moving on to the next threat without pausing. Two more agent were in death throes and the big cat hadn't slowed down. The lynx was an efficient killing machine, one that nature hadn't dared to create, but there were too many for him to get them all in time.

An agent slipped past him charging straight toward me, lunging with superhuman speed. I brought the rifle to bear, point shooting more than aiming as I squeezed of as many panicked shots as I could. I'd been worried that the rifle might have been empty, but then darts started appearing in the agent's chest as the rifle made it's muffled popping sounds. His momentum carried him forward and my adrenaline pulled the trigger a few more times as we collided. I smacked my head on the floor hard enough to make me see stars.

The were-agent's claws retracted back into his hands and his head lolled to one side. The darts must have had some sort of tranquilizer in them. The agent was already out cold. I pushed the now human form off of me, wriggling out from under him.

Even with their enhanced speed and strength, James had taken them apart with ease. In lynx form he was a fearsome predator, or perhaps the perfect defender of witches.

I stood with my mouth hanging slightly open when I saw the path of destruction he'd left. The bodies of men who had been subjected to whatever the government was doing to turn its social servants into hybrid mutants littered the hallway. Some were missing body parts, severed completely off or ripped free, others had holes clear through them where the big cat skewered them with it's claws. His claws. It was easy for forget this was the calm, easygoing man I'd spent the last few weeks with.

As tough as a werelynx is, he appeared to have met his limits on how much damage he could take. He was bleeding a lot and his wounds were only slowly closing. For some reason I thought he would heal much faster. Too bad my knowledge of these things was based on Hollywood.

Dozens of men armed with automatic weapons remained between us and the witches. Now aware of us, notified by the commotion behind them, some of the agents farthest from the witches, closest to us, had started to move in.They positioned themselves to get a better line of sight on us, then opened fire.

We had just enough time to duck into a doorway before the bullets started to fly. My heart sank as I saw what else was mixed in with the bullets (like bullets being shot at you shouldn't be enough to ruin your day). There mixed with the debris on the floor were what looked like stubby tranquilizer darts. And these darts didn't have the clear liquid that had hit the were-agent from the rifle I still held. A menacing blackish sludge oozed from them where they lay. The serum.

They were done trying to capture us, and had started using the serum loaded darts that had killed Marianna.

Chapter 27

I had to try to warn Gwen and Maeve. I edged as closed as I dared to the hallway. Bullets still hit the doorframe where we hid.

"They're using the serum," I yelled cupping my hands around my mouth to be heard over the sound of the fighting that still took place down the hall. I had no idea if they could hear me or not, but it did give away our position to every were-agent who didn't already know where we were.

James somehow managed to make the lynx give me a reproachful look before laying his head back on the cool floor to rest.

To my surprise, Maeve had heard me.

"No shit!" she yelled back.

James seemed to smile, his scary lynx smile, then grimaced in pain from the effort.

He still had a nasty looking gash on his neck, and he was healing too slowly for us to try to get away. We were safe for the moment in the recessed doorway, but surely the agents would be on us in no time. There were men between us and the witches, but the route behind us was clear, James saw to that. If we could somehow get around the corner we might be able to slip away.

Peering out, I saw why the agents hadn't started to close in on us yet. Magic in the form of fire, ice, and wind assaulted any man that tried to break from cover.

I tried again to jump, concentrating on the short distance past the agents to where Gwen and Maeve stood. There was no tingle of magic at all. In the adrenaline rush I had forgotten the manacles still on my wrists.

"James, can you cut through the shackles on my wrists?" I asked. His eyes were heavily lidded, the flow of blood had stopped but he still had open wounds causing him pain at every move.

He grunted.

I held my hands out, putting my wrists next to his big paws, hoping the growly grunt was an affirmative. He extended his claws and carefully sliced at the bracelet, then again, finally slicing through it without so much as breaking the skin on my wrists. The second bracelet he got off in one swipe. Then he rolled back onto his side resting his head on the cool floor.

With the magic diffusing cuffs off, I put my hand on James and tried to jump to where the witches were still fighting for their lives. Nothing happened. I concentrated, and tried to gather magic. The now familiar feeling of magic filling me up never came.

"I still can't jump," I told James, biting back my panic.

He growled and looked down the hall that was clear a moment ago. More soldiers came around the corner. Behind them in the shadows stood a man. The one who had been with them when they had taken me. The wizard.

Looking at him with my sight, I could see the magic flowing out of him. Runes lit up the hallway, pulsing with energy as they delivered whatever magic he was sending toward us. The runes traveled all the way past were Gwen had taken cover.

Not far away, a ball of flame immediately followed by what looked like a giant icicle, rocketed toward where an agent who was crouching down.

The only way to get to Gwen and Maeve was past the agents on one side of us, or circling around past the agents on the other side of us. There had to be at least a dozen agents keeping the witches busy and probably twice that in the other direction, not to mention the wizard. James had recovered enough that his eyes were alert as he came to the same conclusion.

There were too many agents, and they darted from cover to cover, making their way toward us. James got to his feet, unsteadily, just before three agents, showing more werewolf features than I'd previously seen, shot into view. Guns raised, they didn't waste any time as they opened fire on us. Snapping my arm out I put up a shield in front of James, mostly out of reflex. Darts shot out of the machine guns at both of us, not just a few but dozens of them. The darts shattered on impact, falling to the ground without doing any damage.

When I created the shield it had been a single-minded act to protect James. As a result, I didn't have the conscious thought to make sure it spanned high enough for myself. Three inch darts penetrated my neck and face. I could feel the darts delivering the serum into me, entering my bloodstream. I tried to pull them out with my free hand, more darts sinking into the back of my hand, before I finally extended the shield higher. At first I felt a tingling all over my body, but then a heat building inside me began to rise. Within seconds I was dripping sweat.

James made a whining noise as he watched me closely.

The burning became white hot in my blood and I held the shield as long as I could, until the serum burned so badly inside of me that I couldn't concentrate any longer.

Not able to think of anything but what felt like acid coursing through me I finally fell to my knees. Grabbing my head, the acrid smell of blood and serum saturating the air making me want to vomit, my heartbeat thundered in my ear and I could vaguely see that I had missed a few darts that were still stuck in the back of my hand and arm.

I didn't care. It felt like my head was going to explode any second. The pressure was greater than anything I'd ever felt. I heard screaming that wouldn't stop. It kept going on and on. He was yelling the same thing over and over again— 'No no no'. Why didn't somebody stop that I thought numbly. It wasn't until I gasped for breath that I realized it was me who was screaming.

When I opened my eyes I found that I had somehow fallen into the hallway. I was in plain view of all the agents now. I saw Gwen drop her shield as a horror struck look filled her face. Her great savior still wailed like a tortured soul, not even able to save himself.

Her look was matched by mine as an agent immediately leapt forward and shooting her with multiple small darts. She was so distracted she didn't block any of the darts that now emptied black liquid into her. A vision of how Marianna died managed to penetrate my serum fogged head, her face wrinkled and dehydrated, like a mummy.

I watched as Gwen's skin turned from it's normal peaches-and-cream color to a jaundiced sickly pallor, before a hand grabbed her by the collar, pulling her out of sight.

The burning in my head had spread to my body now, every nerve ending felt like it was on fire. But all I could think about was how the one person in my life that cared the most for me, who had tried to help me and protect me was now going to die as surely as her mother had.

If only I hadn't argued with her this morning before I left— hadn't been irrational and had listened for once, then just maybe we wouldn't be here. My stubbornness wouldn't have led me to the office, into their waiting trap.

I managed to get to my feet trying, running toward Gwen as best I could, which was more of an awkward lurching motion, my arms not pumping as much as swinging from my shoulders. The motion would have looked more at home on a zombie shambling toward more brains.

The were-agents were much faster than I had anticipated, or I was going much slower than it felt. An agent turned and easily clotheslined me before I could duck. I took most of the blow to my chest, the wind knocked out of me as I landed hard on my back. I tried to get up but a clawed hand was already pulling me toward him, digging into my skin, and wrapping an arm around my neck from behind.

"Give it up, or this one dies!" he shouted toward the women.

Maeve peered around the corner, her eyes wet, before ducking back out of sight.

"Come out, hands raised, or this one becomes the next casualty," the agent yelled again.

A figure stepped out, eyes ablaze now, looking angrier than I'd ever seen her. Gwen held a shield so powerful I was sure even the were-agents could see it. She was holding her stomach where the darts had hit her, a blue light shown though the fingers of her hand. She took a deep breath, then pulled her hand away and stood up straighter.

"Let him go," she said, her voice slightly raspy. Using my sight I could see she was radiating magic in all directions. It was coming off of her in waves. The staff she had been holding had been replaced by the sword.

"I don't think so," the agent said in a mocking voice. "You'll either give up or we'll see what regular bullets do to him. Or maybe my knife."

I felt the gun pressed into the small of my back as a strange sensation filled every part of my brain. Suddenly my sight magnified, bringing everything around me into far greater detail. I shook my head trying to adjust my vision, but when I closed my eyes I heard a deafening buzzing noise from the micro camera hidden in the wall at least 10 yards away. The heartbeat of the man-beast behind me thundered in my ears, and many more beating hearts were scattered around in front of and behind me. I fought to keep from losing my lunch as my brain processed my enhanced senses.

Chapter 28

Distant voices were talking, voices that hadn't been there just seconds ago. All but one sounded scared, the others were talking tough trying to screw up their nerve. I recognized that odd one as the wizard. Whatever game he was orchestrating was still being played out.

The humming in my chest drowned out the other sounds and my vision went red. I craned my head back to look over my shoulder. The were-agent holding me paled from whatever he saw. He yelled something that I didn't make out, or the part of my brain doing the listening tuned out.

As the serum reached my heart a sharp pain in my chest caused me to suck air into my burning lungs. The pain traveled down my arms into my hands. Then the voice in my head, more calm then ever, told me what I could do to ease the pain, to release the pressure building inside of me.

In a silky voice It told me of more soldiers behind a door nearby, that they were coming through the door any minute. Dozens of them— ready to kill.

'All you have to do is listen— adhere to my instructions. Good and bad doesn't exist when survival is on the line', it purred.

Something about the voice told me it was holding back an important secret. But when the door burst open and the hall where I stood filled with armed agents, I did everything the voice said. I let go, giving over to my subconscious or whatever it was inside me that was straining to take control, to fight, to survive.

I watched, stunned and unable to move, as an oily black mass ripped free of me, oozing out of my sternum like a genie released from it's bottle. A scaly clawed hand grabbed the agent's arm that still clung to me and tossed it aside like a piece of rubbish, as it freed itself. The armed made a snapping sound, then hung at an odd angle. The black mass swirled around the men like a fog, red eyes glowed hidden in the mist. The floor shook as a creature formed and solidified. A powerful dragon stood where just seconds before there was only a black mist. It's clawed feet dug into the tiled floor as if it were mud as it surveyed it's surroundings.

The agents that had been ready to attack backpedaled as they tried to get away. I stood by watching as the dragon lunged forward with what seemed like savage glee.

'That was inside of me— how was that inside me— it's not possible...' said a small panicky voice in the back of my head, which I recognized as myself. It was like I was in the backseat, watching another version of me driving. The other voice, the one in control, was already reassuring the scared me, calming my rational mind.

The beast ripped into more agents with teeth, claws and a wicked barbed tail, striking out with all three deadly weapons. The were-agents were far from helpless with their own claws and superhuman speed and strength. They worked as teams to try to expose the dragon's weaknesses, flanking it then attacking.

Their darts didn't penetrate the dragon's matte black scales, bullets had more effect but as one figured out, their knives did the most damage. The creature's red eyes smoldered and puffs of smoke wafted from it's nostrils as the were-agents attacked with their K-bar knives. Thick black blood covered their blades as they attacked.

Gwen and Maeve were now fighting alongside the black beast, hurling magic toward the agents nearest them. A black shield appeared behind Maeve just in time to stop a burst of darts from hitting her.

The agents had focused their attacks on the dragon. Once they saw the affect their steel blades were having on the dragon, they spread out to attack the witches again.

Using my sight I could see that something was stopping Gwen and Maeve from being able to use their magic fully. I had no doubt that the wizard helping the agents had something to do with it.

The agents pressed forward toward the witches. The dragon hissed, shimmered once, then suddenly morphed. It happened so fast, it seemed like a trick of the eyes. A smaller dragon, roughly half the size now fought on. It seemed quicker than even before, darting out at agents that tried to get past it to where I stood.

The satiny black cloud of what was the other half of the dragon wrapped itself around the witches. Gwen cast a furtive glance in my direction as it flowed around her, but she made no move to try to stop it. In seconds it concealed them like a black symbiotic armor.

Using my Sight I could see some of Gwen's magic was now restored as she wore the armor. She was beautiful raw power. The same amount of love she'd shown for people that had tried to burn her alive in her youth, poured out in equal measure now as brutal retribution. The sword she still held glowed as she set to work with Maeve at her side.

Maeve lashed out at the were-agents that thought the smaller target she projected meant she was weaker and easier to kill. The flames flowing from her more freely now, encompassing her entire body, until all you could see was her vague outline. Any agent close enough to her was singed by the burning inferno she had become.

Before I could stop myself, and hoping she was too busy to have read my thoughts, I had to wonder how her clothes weren't burned off.

The runes from the sword cast an eerie pale light on the walls. Gwen's magic mixed with the sword's as ice formed on it's edge as well as Gwen's hands, which looked as blue as the light of the runes. The sword turned skin black on any agent that it touched, but it didn't have any effect at all on the dragon, or the armor.

The fight was over quickly, the remaining were-agents were outclassed by Gwen, Maeve and the dragon.

The agents sensing defeat, had started to retreat. And the dragon, having seen Gwen let the were-agents escape stopped pursuit as well. Then it was only us left in the hall.

Then the dragon faced the exit the last agents had retreated through and loosed a thunderous roar that shattered the glass in the nearby doors and windows. The black body armor the witches wore reverberated with the sound, doing it's own eerie battle cry without a mouth.

The sound of it send a chill up my spine. If that didn't warn any agents having second thoughts, nothing would.

Then without warning the dragon turned and took a few timid steps toward me. It lowered it's head, bumping me a little too hard. I realized it was nuzzling me with it's nose.

I stood speechless looking into the giant eyes that now craved... affection? I reached out touching the top of it's smooth scaled head with the palm of my hand. The dragon closed it's eyes, leaned closer and purred as I ran my hand over it's scales behind it's small pointy ears.

Then he bumped me affectionately with his nose once more before turning back into the black mist. It was joined by the symbiotic armor that also turned into mist, before flowing back to me, leaving nothing but a small wisp of gray black smoke.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Maeve asked.

The strange but familiar voice in my head answered at the same time as another weaker voice, out of sight around the corner.

"A Shadow Beast," I said, my voice an octave deeper than normal.

Gwen tilted her head inquiringly as she looked at me.

"How did you do that, Gordon?" Gwen asked, still watching me carefully.

"How did you even know you could do that?" Maeve asked, leveling her gaze in concentration.

Her eyes snapped shut and her head turned quickly away as she cried out, her hands to her head.

"Gordon, if you want me out of your head just say so!" Her hands were shaking as she took a small step back.

Gwen gave me a stern look.

"But I— I didn't do anything," but then I felt the other me in my head still had his guard up.

"Or I didn't try to..."

Gwen's face softened again, her eyes showing more pity and understanding. She put her hands on my temples and I could feel the other part of me relaxing, taking a deep breath, and then he was gone.

She stroked my cheek as she said, "We'll work on it. Now, what were you saying?"

I hesitated, then gave in, "The voice, It told me, in my head of course," I said, my voice sounding closer to normal.

Eros' tall figure limped into view. He was holding his abdomen with both hands and moving slowly.

"As Wizard Gordon says, that was a Shadow Beast. I thought they were just legends," Eros said in a raspy voice. "There's only one other wizard I've heard of that is suspected of being able to control them— Maleos."

"Where's the other wizard that was here?" I asked looking around. The runes that had been covering the walls were gone. The magic that was suppressing magic gone as well.

"Maleos," Eros said, hobbling closer, blood seeping through his fingers.

"They have prophecies on my world as well," he said looking away from the glare Gwen had given him.

With a sigh Gwen began to heal his wounds.

Seeing me watching, she said, "Maleos was using a spell that blocked my healing magic, most of our magic was limited in some way. I was lucky I could heal myself. His magic was very clever, I couldn't fade in and out either, which prevented us from coming to you.

What you've been calling a jump," she clarified at my blank look. "We still have much to teach you."

"That's an understatement. I figured he was doing some sort of hoodoo. Those cuffs he had them put on me drained away any magic I had. I tried to jump— fade, with James before everything happened."

At the mention of his name, a more fit looking James walked into view, blood staining his mouth. He was in human form and wore clothes taken from an agent.

I did a double take as I looked at James. Not only had he healed, but he looked younger. Much younger. The weathered fatherly face now held the tight smooth look of someone half his age, it could be his son.

At the sight of him, Maeve and Gwen both rushed to his side, inspecting his wounds. Neither seemed surprised by his fountain of youth trick.

"I'm fine, your magic can't heal me any way..." He shrugged, then strode over and clapped me on the shoulder.

"Not a wolf," I said, still looking at the transformation.

"Nope, not a wolf.

What happened to the wizard that started all this mess?"

"Maleos would not just leave," Eros said, his tone more somber than usual.

"I saw him, when the fighting was going on. When you started fighting back," I motioned at Gwen, "The look on his face wasn't rage or anger, it was like he was fascinated. He acted as though he was curious what you'd do next."

Gwen accidentally poked Eros in the wound she was healing, but didn't look too sorry about it.

"We'll search for him," Maeve said looking more drained than I'd previously seen her.

"And you can lead the search," she said to Eros, clapping him on the back hard enough to make him wince.

Chapter 29

We made our way outside, Gwen and Maeve made a point of sending Eros out first, in case anyone wants to shoot at us they said. I didn't think there was anyone left to do any shooting, and I was even less worried about Gwen and Maeve being hurt. Something had happened between Eros and the witches, but it would have to wait until later before I could try to mend their relationship.

Outside, we met up with the Ian and the rest of his pack. A few pack members were still searching for the clothes they had stashed before they'd changed into their wolf form, giving Maeve an eyeful that she didn't object to.

My enhanced senses had faded back to somewhat normal. Even so, it smelled like blood, gun powder and wet fur. While Gwen, Maeve and Eros had broken into the lab to rescue me, the wolves, with the help of Reynolds and his coven, had secured the rest of the base. Looking around, there were many more buildings than the one I had been held in. Green grass surrounded the buildings and it looked more like a college campus than a top secret government facility. I wondered how many agents had been subjected to the hybridization and what would happen to the ones that had gotten away.

It didn't look like the agents on the base who had tried to fight or flee had gotten very far. The werewolves and vampires proved much more formidable. The wolves were not armed with anything other than their animal form, the vampires had come equipped with a small arsenal.

James stood idly by chatting with a couple of the wolves. He looked completely at ease, however, I noticed how he never turned his back to Gwen or Maeve, keeping them in his watchful sight.

Many of the pack had remained in wolf form. It was hard on them to change so quickly, Ian had said, and being so close to the full moon the call of the wolf was too great for many to change back into human form. Also, the newer wolves could control their blood lust that fighting created easier in wolf form. I noticed many of the wolves stayed well away from James, watching him like he was watching the witches, but for different reasons I suspected. The ones that hung back quickly averted their gaze when James looked in their direction.

Reynolds walked over, his eyes slowly fading back to their normal pale gray, from the pure black they had been. Somehow he still manged to look dignified with his black turtleneck and body armor. A pair of Glocks rested in shoulder holsters, and CZ pistols rested on each hip. More vampires could be seen in the shadows, staying well away from the witches. Most of the wolves and vampires didn't look to have much interest in mingling with each other.

"I hope you'll forgive any past transgressions from our coven," Reynolds said to Gwen, giving his best smile without showing any fangs. "We are, after all related... in a way. And relatives do fight."

Gwen smiled but it didn't quite reach her eyes. At the same time Ian laughed, but something told me it was for the same reasons. The other vampires had retreated even farther away as Reynolds approached Gwen.

"They're not as sure about your forgiveness as I am," Reynolds said.

"Lack of loyalty has it's price, vampire," Ian said in a low voice. "Yeah, I've heard all about your kind attacking the witches."

Reynolds turned meeting Ian's gaze. Ian growled at the challenging eye contact, the rest of his pack instantly tensing and inching forward almost unnoticed, ready to help out their Alpha.

While the two gazed menacingly at each other, I noticed the other wolves making their way even closer to their Alpha, no doubt ready to give their lives to fight with him. I didn't see the other vampires but I suspected they were still nearby.

After all we'd been through, and with the drama now playing out between the vampires and werewolves, I had one thought that drowned out all the others. It was of a Shadow Beast rising up to take on the threatening men in front of me. I crushed down the other voice with all my effort, not letting the velvety voice persuade me this time.

In a strained voice, that quivered a bit as I spoke, I said, "A vampire, a werewolf and a witch walk into a bar..." Reynolds and Ian were only a few feet away from me now. Both of them gave me a curious look but neither said a word.

Maeve laughed, her brash voice echoing across the lawn, dissolving whatever tension was in the air. She looked between the werewolf and the vampire and laughed yet again, a genuine smile lighting up her face. Neither Reynolds nor Ian laughed but their tension did seem to subside.

Maeve gave me a wink before she turned to Ian.

"I think you and I are going to get along just fine," she said to Ian putting her arm through his.

"Tell me all about yourself, I think we might have a few things in common, you and I. Would you believe some people say I have anger issues?"

"Not you—" he said smiling now.

"I know, it's ridiculous," she said haughtily.

She leaned against him, letting him lead her away arm in arm.

Gwen sidled up to me taking my arm in hers and leaning against me. "How're you feeling?" she whispered.

"Fine, why do—" she raised her eyebrows and gave me an impatient look crossing her arms.

"I'm fine, really." How did she know about the voice in my head telling me about the Shadow Beast again?

"You and I are connected now, on some level. You've probably felt it all along but haven't know what it was. For now, just rest. But remember this, it takes a great amount of self control to handle as much power as you have."

Rest sounded good. I felt like I could sleep for a week.

The Alpha clapped me on the shoulder as he walked by, the corners of his mouth rising slightly as I wobbled.

I shook hands with Reynolds, thanking him for everything they had done. He told me again how it was in their best interest but I still had hope that the vampires were more than a purely self-satisfying species.

Ian snapped his fingers loudly at a member of his pack, getting everyone's attention.

"Now that everybody seems accounted for, we have a present for you.

Ben, bring her over."

A young, blond werewolf pulled along the gagged and squirming figure of Vivian Tutino. She stopped struggling when she spotted Gwen. At the same time Ben slowed his gait which became uneven and jerky. He turned his head looking at everybody watching him as if for the first time. His eyes had a glazed over look before they focused on Maeve and he pivoted in her direction, a growl came from him as he charged her, head held low.

Ian growled so loudly I could feel it as much as hear it. The sound of repressed rage that resonated to every member of his pack. One by one every pack member dropped to his knees as Ian leaped from a dead stop the 10 feet to where Vivian stood. His fist, the size of a small canned ham, came down squarely on Vivian's forehead.

She slumped to the ground as her eyes rolled back in her head. A red knot was already forming on her forehead, the same size as Ian's fist.

The young werewolf was still on his knees and when Ian got close to him I could feel the magic of the Alpha undoing whatever Vivian had done. Ben looked like he just graduated from high school, his thin frame slumped as the Alpha's magic made him whole again.

Ben shook his head as his eyes focused clearly again, "Damned mind bending witch," he said lowering his eyes letting the pack know the shame he felt for being weak.

"She's a pesky thing with her mind tricks," Ian said to Gwen and me.

"She can't touch most of us but the younger wolves aren't totally immune from powerful magic."

"But we found the antidote for that," he said pounding his fist into his other hand.

Gwen stood over Vivian. She raised her staff, closing her eyes as she drew in power. The staff glowed bright, thrumming with power as she knelt down, putting her hand on Vivian's head. Magic flowed from her. All the power she had build up, which was considerable, was forced into the inert woman at her feet.

Vivian's back arched as if from an electric jolt. Her hair stood on end, hands clenched. She let out a piercing scream that echoed through the nearby woods.

Everybody stood stone silent. When Gwen finished she stood up and stepped back.

We all got a bit closer to see what she had done.

Vivian, her complexion a healthy pink, sat up. She looked around at her surroundings more than a little confused. The goose egg Ian had given her was completely gone. The dark circles under her eyes were likewise also missing. Her eyes had a bright quality I hadn't previously seen.

"How do you feel, Vivian?" Gwen asked.

"I — I was trying to hurt you," she said. "But I can't remember why."

"Do you want to hurt us now?" Gwen asked.

"No, of course not. Why would I want to hurt you, you're like me," she said.

"Holy hell, you made her your friend?" Ian asked.

"No." Gwen said. "I healed her mind... and the virus."

****

We searched the rest of the base with the help of the others, even though we were sure there would be no sign of Maleos. Whatever his plan, it had been canceled for now.

Eros was sure it wasn't the last we had heard of him. We were equally sure that whatever he decided to do, we'd be ready for it.

THE END

