The Witch: Book Two of The Sorceress Saga by Taliesin Govannon (top 10 novels of all time .txt) 📗

                I reached out with my senses. I feel no malice coming from them.

                We walked to the edge of their practice space, and one young woman walked up to us.

                “Hi!” she said, her voice bright and friendly. “You must be from the Sorceress.”

                I released my lovers’ hands and stood on my own. “I am she.”

                “Great! Come with me.” she turned around and started walking along the edge of the practice area, just out of range of the flying batons and flaming pots being tossed around with abandon. I beckoned my friends to join me and we followed.

                She led us to the edge of the big field where a row of vans was parked. We walked around behind them and came upon their campsite, just on the edge of the woods. There were tents in the trees, and the vans looked like they, too, were used as bedrooms. In between the vans and the forest was a fire ring, a small fire burning brightly within. Empty camp chairs surrounded the fire, and the young woman motioned for us to sit down.

                “Greta will be with you in a minute.” she said, and left. Vincent, Gaia, and I looked at each other in anticipation.

                A few minutes later, another young woman… this one looked to be in her mid-twenties, if that…  walked up to us. She had her long hair in a braid and piled on top of her head, and wore a black tank-top and baggy black pants.

                “Would any of you like some tea?” she asked.

                We all said yes, and she turned around and grabbed a kettle, which she put on a nearby propane camp stove. She measured tea into metal tea balls and placed one into each cup she got out.

                As the kettle whistled, I couldn’t help but let my leg bounce up and down in nervous anticipation. Where is she?!?

                The woman handed us each a mug of steeping tea and joined us by the fire.

“So, what would you like to ask me?” she said, sipping her own tea.

                “Wait… “ I said, stammering. “You’re the Oracle?”

                “I am.” she said with a grin. “I was born thousands of years ago, in a village that’s been forgotten by time and a civilization that is unknown to modern man. I was chosen by our Gods to be a window into reality, and to do so for all of time.”

                “I take it that ‘Greta’ isn’t your given name.” Gaia said.

                Greta shook her head. “The language that my birth name is from is unpronounceable by modern human tongues. I take a new name every five hundred years or so, so that I may speak easier with modern people.”

                “I know a thing or two about that.” Gaia said grinning.

                “What we need to know,” Vincent said, cutting to the chase, “is who is attacking us? Attacking Annabelle.”

                “I want to know whose head to claim for threatening her.” Gaia said, deadly serious.

                “That, I cannot see.” Greta replied, shaking her head sorrowfully. “Whoever it is, they’re powerful… powerful enough to hide from me.”

                “I thought you were all-seeing.” Gaia said.

                Greta shook her head again. “I have been gifted with the powers of perception. I have not been given God-like knowledge. However, while I can’t give you a name, I can warn you that Annabelle’s physical death isn’t the only way your foe can achieve their aims.”

                “What else can they do?” I asked nervously.

                “They can corrupt you.” she replied. “They can kill the beautiful person who lives within you right now, and turn you into a cold, ruthless hexing machine, one that won’t stop them from doing whatever they want.”

                That hadn’t occurred to me. “Is there anything else you can tell me?”

                “Your court.” she said. “They’re the strongest court a Sorceress has ever had. Don’t be afraid to lean on them.”

                I looked at Vincent and Gaia. Tell me something I don’t know! I thought with a grin.

                                                                                                *                *                *

                On our way back, we stopped at the didge dome, where the hafla was already in full swing. While I could hear the main drumming fire getting going, there was something drawing me into the mellower space.

                There were several people playing doumbeks, small middle-eastern drums, as well as light shakers and tambourines. One person was playing the violin, another a flute, while two people were playing stringed instruments that looked like half a tub with a long, skinny neck. They were playing an upbeat, moving song while people danced around their fire, just like they did at the main fire.

                Vincent went to check the wood pile for this fire while Gaia walked directly to the circle of dancers, her body moving with sinewy perfection as she slid in and out of the line of moving bodies.

                She’s just as sexy as a black human as she is as a green-skinned Fae! I exclaimed in my head. A smile crept across my face as I watched.

                Soon I saw Vincent join the circle, stripped to the waist, and he started a smooth, sensuous dance of his own. He soon reached Gaia, and the two of them looked at me, trying to get me to join them.

                I smiled and shook my head. “You guys dance together.” I said in my normal voice, confident that Vincent could hear me. Vincent nodded, smiled, and then passed my message on to Gaia.

                They started to dance together, and it was the hottest thing I had ever seen. I forgot that they have a past as well I thought, and so they know each other’s bodies. I didn’t feel jealous in the slightest as I watched my boyfriend and girlfriend move together.

                Suddenly, I wasn’t there anymore. I wasn’t in the didge dome, I wasn’t in Ohio… I wasn’t even in the twenty-first century! I was in