Flickering candles surrounded my bed. All were burning,
except one, where Erica stood. She watched me, waiting for
just the right time. I lay back. I shifted my body,
finding a comfortable position.
“Alright, I’m ready,” I said, “I shall begin.”
I began muttering the words of the spell. They did not need
to be loud. In fact, for this particular magic, a whisper
was better than a shout. Erica needed to hear them,
however. I reached the critical part. I closed my eyes and
opened my perception. I spoke slowly, uttering the final
word. Erica must have lit the candle, because I felt my
body slip away.
Far beneath me I saw a vast tapestry, with billions of
interwoven threads. I could view its extent in one
direction, as it stretched back into the past. The other
way, toward the future, was obscured in cloud and shadow.
Perhaps the goddess could peer through them. Perhaps not.
Each thread was a life. Each weave and knot was a life
touching another. Where a thread ended …
Such was how a witch perceived the ineffable.
I found hers. It was a slender skein of silk, dyed blue.
It appeared strong, though I dared not touch it. I found
mine. It ran close to hers, touching it in several places.
However, they were not intertwined. I saw Erica’s. It was
easy to find, being knotted up with mine. That pleased me.
It was not enough to see the tapestry. The winds of fortune
blew constantly. The threads moved, curling and writhing.
Our fates were not sealed. I became still, just above the
surface. I felt a breeze. I waited, quieting my mind. I
watched.
The wind was stronger where her thread drew close to mine.
I saw them come together and begin to knot, only to be blown
apart. It happened again, in a different place. Then
again.
Fortune was indeed against us.
I looked further. I saw a particular skein, thick and spun
from black and purple fibers. It lay loose in the weave.
The winds pushed and tweaked it. It drew closer to hers,
and to mine. Suddenly it jerked. It twisted tight around
hers. The two threads writhed and wrapped, stretching out
into the darkness.
Then it shifted again, knotting around mine. My
consciousness slammed back into my body. I opened my eyes
and sat up. The candles were unlit. The window was opened.
Erica was nowhere to be seen. A shaft of moonlight crossed
the room. There was a figure. A man! I saw gray,
distorted eyes. I saw a twisted grin with cracked teeth. I
had time, perhaps, for one spell.
I shouted a word. I released all of my power at once.
Blackness. Nothing.
*****
I awoke to kisses. I opened my eyes to see Erica’s face.
“She’s awake!” Erica said.
She kissed me again. She embraced me.
“You don’t have much time,” another voice said, “You need to
recharge her.”
I looked at the speaker. It was a young girl, perhaps
thirteen or fourteen. She had dark hair in a pixie cut and
big blue eyes. She stood by the side of the bed watching
us.
“Who is she?” I asked.
“I’m Jessica,” she answered, “And you need to relax and let
your wellspring recharge you.”
“She’s a witch,” Erica said, “She awoke you.”
“The man?” I asked, “Was he a warlock?”
“Yes — ” Erica began to answer.
The girl interrupted, “Stop talking. Recharge her, or else
all of my work will go to waste.”
Erica looked at her, then back at me.
“Go ahead,” I said, “She’s right. I need it now.”
Erica went down and pushed up my skirt. She rubbed me
though my panties. I began to moan immediately. I felt a
deep shudder pass up me. I tingled all over.
“Oh god,” I muttered, “Please hurry.” I needed it so badly.
The girl sat on the side of the bed. She was wearing a
little green dress. She bit her bottom lip.
Erica went to pull off my panties. I writhed and rocked my
hips. She pulled them down. When they reached my ankles, I
kicked out, sending them across the room.
The girl reached out and stroked my face. She smiled.
Erica climbed between my legs. I parted them wide. She
pressed in her tongue. She wrapped her mouth. I bucked my
hips and groaned. She grabbed me around the thighs.
The girl leaned down and kissed me. I opened my mouth. Our
lips locked together.
My body went rigid. Magic entered me, from Erica’s mouth.
It coursed up me. I bucked my hips. My body shuddered, but
the girl grabbed me tight and maintained the kiss.
I felt the magic flow on, through my mouth, into her. It
rebounded back into me. Another shudder. Back into her.
Two more times, it cycled between us.
I was cumming the whole time.
When it stopped, she released the kiss. She looked at me
with a big grin.
“Oh my god!” I said, “What was that?”
“Magic!” she replied.
I just looked at her. I can’t imagine my expression.
Erica climbed on top of me. We embraced. I wrapped my legs
around her. I kissed her neck. She kissed my hair.
Then she reached over and up the girl’s dress.
“Is your wellspring nearby?” Erica asked.
“Turns out no,” the girl answered, smiling and spreading her
legs.
“You’ll need a recharge too then.”
“I sure could use one.”
I scooted over giving her room. She pulled up the hem of
her dress and lay back. Erica got between her legs, grabbed
her panties and pulled them down.
I reached over and pinched one of her nipples through her
dress. Erica leaned in and ate.
“Mmmm,” the girl cooed.
She squirmed. The fabric of her dress was thin and she wore
no bra. I squeezed her nipple, rolling it between my
fingers. I kissed the side of her face. I heard a wet,
sucking sound come from down below.
The girl twitched. “Oh fuck,” she muttered.
Erica began gyrating her head in a rhythmic motion, flitting
her tongue around the girl’s pussy. She inserted a finger
and probed.
She must have found the right spot. The girl began to moan
loudly. She arched her hips. She grasped the sheets,
yanking on them.
She looked at me with wide eyes. “Kiss me,” she whispered.
I did. She came. Magic flowed between us.
I kept kissing her. I never wanted to stop. I felt waves
of pleasure course back and forth. I locked my lips hard
against hers. I felt my pussy contract. A strong orgasm
hit me.
It went on and on, wave after wave. My body writhed, then
went rigid, then writhed again. When I could open my eyes,
I saw hers looking back. I gave her a long deep kiss. She
lay there with the biggest grin.
“Oh my god!” I gasped. “Seriously, what the fuck was that?”
“It’s just a little trick I can do,” she replied, “I can
share the recharge.”
“No way!”
“Way.”
“You must be popular.”
She laughed. “I do get invited to the best parties.”
Erica slid up the bed between us. The girl hugged her and
they kissed. Erica turned to me.
“Your wellspring is very beautiful,” the girl said.
“Yes she is.”
I kissed Erica. I unbuttoned her blouse. The girl lowered
herself and unbuttoned Erica’s slacks from behind. She
pulled them down mid-thigh. She kissed Erica’s ass through
her panties.
“Let me get undressed,” Erica said.
She stood, pulling off her shirt and bra. She lowered her
slacks the rest of the way. She got back into bed.
The girl went between her legs, pulling off her panties. I
curled up next to her, kissing her face and sucking her
tits. I heard wet sounds coming from down there. Erica
moaned and writhed.
I kept sucking her tits. I bit down — very gently — on a
nipple and pulled, stretching it out. She moaned. I let it
go. I watched it swell and get pointy. I took it into my
mouth and sucked.
I did the same to her other nipple.
I reached down and stroked the girl’s head. I looked down.
Her mouth was pressed tight against Erica. Her eyes were
closed, and she continued to suck and lick.
Erica began to buck her hips. “Please suck my tits,” she
whimpered.
I did. Her body went rigid and she let out a long groan.
She relaxed. Then rigid again. Her head thrashed about.
“Oh fuck,” she muttered, “Oh my fucking god.” She started
laughing. She twitched. She curled up, pulling me to her.
The girl sat up with the biggest grin. She wiped off her
chin. Erica and I both grabbed her. We kissed her face and
mouth.
*****
“So, your name is Jessica?” I asked. We were sitting around
my kitchen table, the girl, Erica, and myself. It was two
O’Clock in the morning.
“Yeah.”
“And you travel without a wellspring?”
“Well, yeah.”
“Isn’t that dangerous?”
“Sometimes, but he doesn’t have one either.”
“Him? The warlock?”
“Yeah. I’m following him. That’s how I ended up here. I
tracked him to your house.”
Erica rested a hand on the Jessica’s arm.
“Sweetie,” she said, “Are you OK?”
“Yeah. I’m fine. I’ve been chasing him for about a month
now. I’ve gotten close a couple times, but this was the
closest.”
“Why? What happened?” I asked.
She got quiet, then looked at me.
“He hurts girls. He hurt a friend of mine.”
We sat quietly. This was not the first time that I’d heard
a story like this.
After a bit she went on, “So, I’ve cornered him a couple of
times before, but we’ve both been afraid to use too much
power, since it is so hard to recharge.”
“How do you recharge?” I asked.
She smiled and looked at Erica.
“The kindness of strangers.”
Erica stroked Jessica’s arm and kissed her cheek.
I didn’t ask how he recharged. We all knew.
“So now,” she said, “Maybe I can get him. I mean — if
you’ll help — maybe we both can get him. We have a
wellspring, and he does not. I expect he’ll skip town
tomorrow, but if we’re quick …”
Erica and I exchanged looks.
“There is another wellspring in town,” I said, “A very
powerful one.”
“Really? Does she have a witch?”
“No,” I replied, “She is alone and unprotected.”
“We have to warn her!” Jessica said.
“That’s complicated. She doesn’t want my help.”
“Well — ” she stuttered a bit. ” — We have to do
something.”
“Yes. We have to do something.”
I looked at Jessica. She was very pretty.
“Do you think you could pretend to be popular?”
She grinned. “What do you mean ‘pretend’?”
I smiled.
“Very well,” I said, “Tonight, I will stand guard at her
house. Tomorrow, you’ll be a brand new student at Western
High, where you will strike up a friendship with the other
newest student: Ms. Lauren Moore, the Wellspring.”
She looked back and forth between us.
“I’ll need to borrow some clothes.”
*****
We drove to Lauren’s house again. I hid among some bushes
and watched. Erica and Jessica went to get some sleep.
They would meet me again in the morning, and we’d go to
school.
The house was quiet all night. Morning came.
I had left a note for mom.
*****
“You have to pretend not to know me,” I said. We were
driving with Erica to school.
“Yeah, I got it,” Jessica said.
“Honey, when we get there,” Erica said, “I will take you to
the office. What is your name again? ”
“Jessica Downey, and I’m your niece from Lancaster, Ohio.
My parents are out of country, and I’m staying with you for
three months. I got it.”
Erica had downloaded a fake birth certificate. They
wouldn’t check it close, she thought.
“They’ll send for your records. They don’t exist, but by
the time that all gets figured out, this will be done with.”
“Isn’t that risky?” I asked.
“A bit. Yes.” she replied, “Do you have a better idea?”
I did not.
*****
On her first day of school, Jessica got to have lunch with
the popular girls. I sat at a nearby table with Amy and
watched.
“You keep staring at the new girl,” Amy said.
“Yeah,” I replied.
“She’s pretty.”
“I guess.”
“Do you know her name?”
“Jessica. She’s my algebra teacher’s niece, or something
like that.”
“Hmmm. I wonder if she’s into girls?”
“No idea.”
“She seems to like Lauren well enough.”
Jessica was sitting next to Lauren. She whispered something
into her ear and both girls laughed. That was good.
“Well, they’re both new,” I said, “So I guess that makes
them natural friends.”
Amy looked at me quietly.
“So look — ” Amy said, “… uh …”
She shifted in her seat. I knew what she wanted to say. I
waited.
” — I heard a rumor that you were into that Lauren girl.
Is it true? Is that why you keep watching them?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Oh.”
“Look, I’m ‘interested’ in Lauren, but not the way you
think. And she isn’t into girls, in any case.”
“Oh? Really?”
“Yes.”
She seemed to relax a bit. She leaned forward and smiled.
“So … uh … do you think you and I — ”
I cut her off. “No Amy. We’re just friends, OK?”
“Yeah. Of course — uh — ” She stammered. She bit her
lip.
Lauren and Jessica got up and walked toward the stairwell.
“I have to go,” I said. I got up and followed them.
*****
Jessica texted me later. She was going to Lauren’s house
after school. I called Erica.
“Jess did well with Lauren,” I said.
“That’s great!”
“Yeah. She’s going over to her house after school. I’m
going to go home and talk to mom — you know — about
stuff.”
“OK. That is good. Do you want me to come?”
“No. I don’t think that would help.”
“OK. I’ll follow Jessica then, in case there is trouble.
Call me right away if something happens. OK?”
“Yeah.”
“Be careful.”
*****
Mother met me at the door. She had a dark look.
“We need to talk,” she said.
“Yes. We do.”
We went into the kitchen. I poured a glass of juice and sat
at the table. She paced back and forth.
“Please sit,” I said.
She turned to me, still standing.
“Are you having sex with Erica?”
“Yes. That is how the magic works.”
She blinked three times. She took a deep breath and grasped
the back of a chair. She just looked at me. I think she
had expected me to deny it.
“She’s your teacher!”
“We don’t choose the gift. Fate put us together. I am a
witch and she is my wellspring.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
I paused. I had always assumed that she knew this stuff. I
mean — what had she thought we were doing? It was time to
explain.
“She’s the source of my power. Only sexual contact is
enough to fuel the magic. Certain women are gifted with the
power to cast spells. Others are gifted with the energy to
fuel them. Nobody has both gifts. A witch must pair with a
wellspring.”
Mother sat down.
“Couldn’t you at least find someone your own age?”
“Perhaps. But I found Erica.”
“She could lose her job. Or go to jail.”
“I wouldn’t let that happen. There is magic to cloud the
mind, dangerous magic. It is forbidden to use it except in
dire need. That would be dire need.”
She stared. I shifted in my seat. I sipped my juice.
“This magic,” she said, “Would you … use it on me?”
It was a hard question. I sat frozen, silent. Would I?
“I don’t know.”
Her face was pale. “I need — I don’t know — a drink, I
think. Something.”
I got up. I took a bottle off of the shelf. I brought it
and a glass to her. I sat back down. She poured and drank.
She got up and walked to the window.
“When did it start?” she asked.
“When I was thirteen. Me and Mindy Watson were playing
around with spells and stuff. It was all fake — except
one. It worked.”
“I don’t mean the magic. I mean the sex.”
I smiled. I couldn’t help it.
“They are the same. Mindy was a wellspring.”
“Oh.”
“So, my teacher found me and trained me. Mindy was my
wellspring, until she moved.”
“Then Erica?”
“Yeah.”
Mother was quiet for a bit. I sipped my juice.
“Who was your teacher?”
“Lynette Banks — ”
“Good lord!” mother exclaimed.
” — and Erica was her wellspring.”
“What happened to her?” mother asked. Lynette had
disappeared last year. It had been in all the papers.
I sat quietly. Was mother ready to learn of warlocks?
“You know about the disappearance?” she said, “Do you know
what happened?”
“It’s complicated. But Lynette is dead and Erica is my
wellspring.”
She poured another drink. She clenched and unclenched her
hands.
“Did you … kill her?”
Did she really think that of me?
“No. Our enemies did. They killed her, and they raped
Erica.”
“Oh my god!”
My phone rang. I answered.
“He’s here,” Erica said, “I’m coming to pick you up.”
*****
“He’s outside of Lauren’s house,” she said as she drove,
“Jess has put up a barrier spell, and it was holding when I
left.”
“Good,” I replied.
The car sped down a street. She took a sharp turn. I began
chanting under my breath, a minor spell to protect the car,
and to warn me of police. This would be a bad time for a
ticket.
She turned down another street. She sped through a light.
A pickup truck slammed its breaks, screeching. Its horn
blared. We careened across the main street, into Lauren’s
neighborhood. It was only a few more turns. Her house came
into sight.
I could tell right away that the magic barrier was down.
Such things were visible to me.
Erica jerked the car onto the grass and slammed the breaks.
We slid a bit.
The front door to the house stood open.
We ran in, leaving the car running, its doors opened. A
woman was there on her knees crying. I saw Jess crumpled
against the wall. Her eyes were open, but her stare was
blank. She was breathing.
Erica went to the woman.
“Come, let’s get you to your feet,” she said, “We can help.
Which way did they go?”
The woman looked at Erica with wide, terrified eyes. Long
mascara streaks ran down her face.
“He — He — ” she stuttered out, “They took my car.”
“What kind?” I asked.
“A Lexus.”
“What color?”
“Who are you?” she blurted out.
“Just tell her,” Erica said. She pulled the woman up, and
led her to the couch.
“It’s silver.”
I began a spell. I opened my consciousness. A silver
Lexus. That was easy enough.
I found it. It was driving fast.
“Stay and recharge Jess,” I said, “I’m going after them.”
“Are you sure?” Erica asked. She stood up looking at me.
I looked at Jessica. “She needs it,” I said, “And we don’t
have time to wait. If he gets her to wherever he’s taking
her …”
She nodded her head.
“Be careful.”
*****
It was no use. The Lexus was faster than Erica’s old Dodge,
and I wasn’t a good driver. I kept the magic channel open
to their car, but it grew strained. They were slipping
away.
I was on the main boulevard driving east. He was out of
sight, at least a mile away. I drove by a set of
warehouses. I turned sharply, pulling off the road. I
parked behind them.
It was almost too late. The spell was at its maximum range.
I closed my eyes. I sent out my mind, feeling around
inside the car. I avoided the left side, where the driver
would be. I sensed her in the back seat.
I touched her. The power was intense, but I didn’t let go.
I felt my mind reel. I uttered a desperate spell. I wasn’t
entirely sure it wouldn’t kill me.
I slammed back into my body. I retched. Bile shot up into
my throat and I choked. My body convulsed. My elbow
smacked against the window, shattering the glass. Another
convulsion, and I was slammed back into the seat, then
forward into the steering wheel.
Then it passed. I coughed hard. I could breath again. I
felt blood running down my face. There was a deep cut on my
left arm. The pain was intense.
I looked to my right. Lauren sat next to me, her eyes wide,
her mouth agape.
That was the first time that I’d shifted a person. It had
worked.
*****
The car wouldn’t start. I was sure it was his doing. My
spell would have left a channel between us.
“We have to hide,” I said to Lauren.
“OK,” she replied.
We ran to one of the warehouses. I used a bit of magic to
open a door. We entered. Lauren found a light switch. It
was the storage unit for a printing company. The walls were
lined with boxes of papers and inks. It was about thirty
feet deep. The floor was bare cement. There was one beat
up old chair.
I stepped outside and called Erica.
“Are you alright?” she asked.
“I have Lauren, but he’s taken out the car.”
“Oh god!” she said.
“Look — we’re hiding in a warehouse — on Elm street — the
one with the big yellow sign. You know it?”
“Yeah.”
“Alright. Is Jess back up?”
“Yes.”
“We’ll hide. I’ll put up a barrier with the last of my
power. Get here fast. Then Jess can occupy him while you
recharge me. Then I’ll take him out.”
“Oh my god!” she said.
“Hurry. We’ll be in — ” I looked at the door ” — unit
fifteen.”
I hung up. I entered the warehouse and closed the door. I
began a chant. I felt the exhaustion begin to hit me. I
groaned out the final syllables. The barrier engaged.
Then I lay back. The room seemed to spin above me. The
floor was cold and hard.
Lauren entered my field of view.
“That Jessica girl did the same thing,” she said, “She said
the barrier would hold and it didn’t.”
“This one is different,” I muttered, “It is to hide us, not
block him.”
She started pacing.
“Please sit down,” I said, “Erica and Jess will get here in
time.”
“He defeated her.”
“He won’t defeat me, not after I’ve been recharged. Now
please, let me rest.”
She kneeled down next to me. She inspected the wound on my
arm. Blood oozed from it.
“It’s pretty bad,” she said.
“I know.”
“It’s going to leave a scar.”
It would not. When I got recharged, I could heal it.
“Why are you so tired?” she asked, “Jessica said you were
super powerful.”
“Shifting you here was very hard. It took most of my
power.”
“Oh.”
“To cast a spell on a person, I have to create a connection
to them. You are such a powerful wellspring, that creating
a connection to you is very hard. Any other witch would
have failed.”
“He had no problem. He cast magic on me when he took me
from the house.”
“Did he touch you?”
“Yeah.”
“A witch doesn’t have to make a connection to someone she is
touching. I guess it is the same for warlocks.”
“Oh.”
We heard tires screech.
“Is that them?” Lauren asked.
I was silent. It was far too soon for them to have arrived.
They didn’t even have a car. Jess could probably hot-wire a
car with magic. She seemed the sort who would posses that
skill. But still, it had not been enough time.
On the other hand, he had been only a mile away, in a very
fast car.
The warehouse had a back door. I gave Lauren a hard look.
“Run!” I said.
She ran.
*****
It didn’t take him long to find the bay. My spell did no
good at all. I heard him fumble with the latch, then magic
flowed. The latch handle grew red hot and snapped. He
yanked the door up and daylight streamed in.
He strutted in. He laughed. His hair was blonde and
stringy. He wore a stained coat and heavy tan work boots.
He circled around me, looking down.
“Oh my. Oh my,” he said, “What have we here? A witch!”
His voice was gravely. I could barely lift my head.
He looked over at the other door. Lauren had left it open
behind her.
“Did my lovely wellspring escape that way?” he asked, “Huh,
little witch? Where is she?”
He nudged me with his foot.
“Awww. All out of power, are we? That was quite a trick
you pulled off, that shift, but where has it left you?”
I reached for my purse. He kicked it aside. He stepped on
my hand. Bones snapped. I cried out.
Then he turned quickly toward the back of the bay.
Something had attracted his attention.
“Oh dear!” he called out, “What have we here?”
He laughed.
I turned my head to look. I needed to turn my body. I
pushed with my feet, scraping across the rough cement until
I could see.
It was Lauren. She had a long stick.
He rushed toward her. He uttered a spell. I felt magic
surge and the stick shattered. Pieces clattered across the
floor.
He reached her. She stabbed at him with the remaining
splinter. He caught her wrist. She kicked at his crotch.
He turned his hips.
He was touching her. He cast. A bright light burst between
them. She cried out. Then she went limp. He let her fall
to the floor.
He took a deep breath. He leaned against the wall. He was
weakening.
He leaned and picked her back up, slinging her over his
shoulder. He walked past me, sneering.
“Well, pleased to meet you, witch,” he said, “Pray we don’t
meet again.”
A few seconds passed. Tires screeched as he pulled away.
*****
Erica would be here soon. I had only to wait. I tried to
worm my way over to my bag with my cellphone. He had kicked
it too far. I gave up.
How far was she?
More time passed. Still, she didn’t arrive. Lauren was
getting further away. He was weak and would want to
recharge soon.
Every witch had one last reserve of power: her own body.
To draw upon that was a desperate act. Sometimes it left
the witch crippled, sometimes dead. It was never good.
I drew upon my own flesh. I cast the shift spell again. I
put myself into the trunk of his car.