Authors: Jamieson Wolf
"But what does that have to do with you?"
"Because, it is easy to get lost in a house such as this. With magic afoot, there is no telling what will happen from one moment to the next. When the Witches would come to me, I would lead them back if they happened to get lost."
"Why would they come to see you?" Poppy asked. "Sorry, I seem to be full of questions."
"Questions are good, they give you answers. Witches would come to see me when they turned thirteen, when they had their first blood. They would begin their quest here."
"Each Witch had to go on a quest?"
"Yes, it was part of their magic. They had to learn something about themselves if they were to learn their magic. Every Witch is already capable of magic when they are born, but each Witch is blessed with a specific gift. They would have the gift should they finish the quest."
"Does every Witch not finish their quests?"
"Some die of starvation, some die from being lost, some go insane. Even with me to come back to, some were still lost to us. I am a beacon and sometimes, light cannot shine within light."
"What is my quest?" Poppy asked. "Am I allowed to ask you this? No one's told me anything and I'm not very well prepared."
"Then it is a good thing I am here." She smiled and reached out to clasp Poppy's hand. "You are the one that the world of magic has been whispering about. The Fey have been hoping for your coming. You bring a great joy to us."
"I don't even know who you are."
"That is alright. We know who you are. Your quest is three-fold," she said.
"What do you mean?" Poppy asked.
"You are a Shape Shifter, already capable of the greatest magic. In order to unlock those walls within yourself, there are three things you must do; your quest has three parts to it."
"What are they?"
"I can't tell you any but the first," the girl said. "When you finish the first, you will find out the second. When you finish the second, should you live, the third will be revealed to you. I am sorry I cannot tell you more, but the laws of magic forbid it."
"What is the first part of my quest?" Poppy asked. She felt a hum within her and knew that this was right, that this was the path she was meant to go on. She was no longer afraid, no longer scared.
"The first part is simple," the girl said. "You will have to find your father."
* * * * *
Daphne McGowan drove slowly by the Coven House and kept her eyes out. The Boss had told her to observe, not interfere. There had been vibrations coming from the Coven House and The Boss wanted to know what was causing them. What she hoped to find out by observing she didn't know, but Daphne didn't care, she was getting paid anyway. She slowed the car down and parked it across the street from the Coven House so that she could see the front door, should anyone leave. The lights were on in the living room and the kitchen, but no one seemed to be home. Closing her eyes, she reached out with her mind, like The Boss had taught her. She sensed presences in the house, several in fact. She would wait and see what happened.
She had felt the vibrations too. She had felt them shake the earth under her feet. Because she was part of myth, part of magic, she felt these vibrations in the earth more strongly than others. She knew that magic was happening at the Coven House, she could feel it growing like a flower, bursting through the ground. When the bud finally flowered, Daphne would be there to cut Poppy down. She would snip her head off, rip off her leaves and spit in her face. She would dismember her; make sure that she never bloomed again. The thought of Poppy's death brought a chuckle to her lips and she started laughing, great bursts of fire erupting from her mouth, smoke coming out of her nostrils. She relished the feel of the smoke on her skin, letting it pour out of her, fire burning in her belly, churning with force and intent. Smoke filled the small cab of her small car and she felt it soft on her skin. She laughed again, producing more smoke and a small fireball that singed the wind shield.
A hard tap on the driver’s side window brought her back to her task at hand. Because of all the smoke, she couldn't see who had tapped on the window and was shocked to see it was a cop once she rolled down the window.
"Can I help you officer?" she said.
"License and registration please," the officer said.
"What seems to be the problem officer?"
"Please get out of the car ma'am."
"I still don't understand what this is about."
"Please get out of the car, ma'am."
Daphne did so and was shocked to find that the cop was slapping hand cuffs on her wrists and pulling her arms behind her back. "What's going on?"
"Smoking marijuana is a punishable offense and it's illegal. You are under arrest, everything you say can be held against you in a court of law. . . ."
"Wait!" Daphne shouted. "You don't understand! It's not what you think!"
"Should you not have an attorney, we will provide one for you. . . ."
"Wait! Please! You don't know what you're doing!"
That was the clincher. The officer regarded her with a frozen expression. "I know exactly what I'm doing, ma'am. Please get into the car."
Daphne swore. It was just her luck, being picked up by a cop. As the police car drove away, she stared at the Coven House and watched it shrink into the distance. The Boss was going to be pissed, she thought.
* * * * *
Monica leaned forward and kissed him, running her tongue along his lips, fast like lightning. She heard Moe moan in response and pressed her body to his. "You like this, don't you?" she whispered. She licked his lips with her tongue, they tasted like velvet. She grabbed his crotch softly, feeling its hardness.
"I bet you want more than this, don't you?" Monica whispered. "It's been so long, Moe, so long. . . ."
Moe pulled away from her quickly, pushing her away. Monica fell to the floor with a loud thump. "What are you doing?"
She smiled at him. "What do you think I'm doing? I'm giving you what you want."
"You don't know what I want."
"Sure I do. You want to screw me, I can feel it."
"Not like this," he said. "Not like this."
"You'd rather do me as a child, then?" she spat. "You like thirteen year olds? Oh, how valiant of you, how MANLY!"
"No, no, I meant like this, Monica. What did you do to yourself?"
"Don't you like it?" she asked. She stood and twirled for him.
"No," he said. "I don't."
Monica smiled again. "And why not? Isn't it a good look for me?"
"Why did you make yourself look like her?" he asked.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Moe slammed his fist into the door. "She was the only woman who loved me! We were married for three days! Did you think I would forget what she looked like?" he yelled at her. "Why, can you tell me why, Monica? Why do you look like my ex wife?"
* * * * *
Monica stared at him from the floor where she had fallen. Her large eyes, once blue, now brown, filled with tears. "I thought you'd like it," she whispered.
"You thought I'd like what?"
"This." She gestured at her body. "That you'd like to have me like this."
"I don't understand," Moe said. He looked angry and confused. Monica couldn't blame him. She felt a perverse pleasure that she could upset him so much.
"I know that you want me." She looked at his crotch. "You can't deny it. But I figured you would not want a thirteen year old child, in the body that I died in. I've remained this way only because there was no reason to remain otherwise."
That was part of the truth. It wouldn't be good to give all of the truth away. That would be dangerous. He didn't need to know who she was. Or what she had been. "I only wanted you to be able to make love to me like a man should, to a woman, not to a girl." She pouted. "Was that so wrong?"
"You chose to change yourself for me?" His voice was a whisper. "Why, Monica?" It was almost painful for him to speak.
"Because I want you too," she said. "That's what makes this right. Can't you see that we can be together now?" Monica stood up from the floor and walked towards him.
Moe took a step back. "No," he said. "Please don't." He took another step back from her.
Concerned, Monica tilted her head and looked at him. "What's wrong?" she asked.
Moe laughed. "What's wrong?" He began to pace the floor. "Previously I was in lust for a ghost in the body of a thirteen year old girl. Said girl transforms herself into the body of my ex wife in order to sleep with me, because that's what you want, isn't it?" He could see by her face that he was right. His voice began to rise.
"So while dealing with the fact that I was attracted to you in the body of a thirteen year old I am now dealing with the fact that you now look like my ex wife!" He was shaking with rage. "I can't talk to you now, I'm too upset." He went to the door. "The next time I see you, I don't want you looking that way." He went through door without even glancing in her direction.
* * * * *
They all went into Karma's apartment. The living room had been cleaned up, in preparation for their arrival. A large plate of sandwiches and a case of pop was on the table. "I suggest that you all grab something to eat," she said. "It's going to be a long talk.”
“ I'll be right back with some tea." Karma left the room, leaving all of them alone. Alicia and Orlando sat on the couch with Lucia beside them. Naomi and Cecelia sat in the love seat to the right of the couch and Lucy squeezed in between them. Karma came back into the room and set a pot of tea and several mugs on the table. "Everyone help yourselves," she said.
"How about you tell us what's happened to Poppy?" Lucy said. "I want to know what has happened to my daughter."
"Why don't you ask her?" Karma said, pointing a finger at Cecelia. "She knows."
Lucy turned to Cecelia. "Do you?"
"Yes, so does my granddaughter." She explained briefly to the others how Poppy had come to meet them and who and what they were. "I used to belong to the Coven. I belonged to the Coven for many years. But after a while, I tired of Coven life due to circumstances and left of my own choosing. Before leaving, I was given the title of Oracle. I am the only one left."
"You're getting ahead of yourself, I want to know where Poppy is," Lucy said.
"Why, she's in the house," Cecelia said. "But in order for you to understand what that means, you must first understand what the Coven is." She turned to Karma. "It's your turn."
Karma paled. "Alright, but please listen and don't interrupt until I'm finished. Okay?" She looked around at everyone. "Alright. Everyone ready?" she smiled, took a sip of her tea and continued.
"I come from a long line of Witches. Hundreds of years ago, around the time of the Salem Witch Trials, the Coven was created to protect Witches from the fate that was befalling them. That was always its purpose, and still is. Young girls would be kept safe and taught the ways of their ancestors, the ways of magic, of being a Witch. Each girl would have to go on a vision quest to find out what their power was."
"Power?" Lucy asked.
"Yes. Each Witch is born with magic, though how strong or how weak is to be determined later in life, when the girl is thirteen or has reached first blood. She then goes on a vision quest to determine what her power shall be. Some can bend will, some can grow flowers, and some can travel on the wind. Each Witch has magic to do basic stuff, protection and the like, but each has a special area that they are strong in. Each Witch would go on a quest to learn that part of themselves."
"That still doesn't explain where Poppy is," Lucy said.
"But it does," Karma insisted. "The Coven House was created at the same time as the Coven and has existed through magic since. It has been in many locations, but the house remains the same. We used to teach, live, love and breathe there, hundreds of us who belonged to the Coven. Poppy has gone into the very house that she now lives in; she has started her quest, something which I hoped to avoid."
"What quest has Poppy gone on?" Lucy asked.
"Oh, for Goddess' sake!" Cecelia spat out. She turned to Karma. "Stop beating around the damn bush, alright? It won't get you anywhere." Cecelia composed herself. "Karma is afraid to tell you because you won't believe it. Poppy is a Shape Shifter." There was a pause from the room. "Well?" she said. "You all seem to be taking this rather well."
"It's been a long year."
Orlando
said with a grimace, thinking of Valentine's Day.
David shrugged. "We're all still in shock," David said. "At least I am. You mean like a real Shape Shifter?" he asked. "I can't even wrap my brain around that."
"A Shape Shifter. . . ." Lucy was in awe. "I read about them in mythology all those years ago at university. Mythical beings, right? My daughter's one of them. . . ." She paused, thinking about something. "Okay, let's admit you're not a complete crack pot and you're telling the truth. That could be dangerous. I mean, does she know what she is? Does she know how to change shape? Does the Coven have anyone to help her with her changes?"