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

streaming into the beast. It wailed once, twice, and then dissolved into powder.

                Around us, the remaining monsters also turned to dust.

                It was over.

                                                                                                *                *                *

                “So you seriously used the severed leg of one of the spiders as a weapon?”Trevor said. “That is extremely badass!”

                We were gathered in the pub room, everyone starting out with a drink to celebrate our win. While Trevor enjoyed the Guinness we had on tap, the rest of us turned to weed pretty quickly.

                “No, that was awesome.” Raina said, taking a hit. “What was badass was Angelique ripping two legs off and using them like nunchucks!"

                “Good one!” Evelyn said, smiling and lifting her beer with one hand and her joint with the other. “Here here!”

                Angelique grinned. “They come off so easily, how could I resist?”

                Everyone laughed, and then Evelyn spoke up. “Hey Angelique, I didn’t get the chance to mention it before, but I love your hair!”

                There were murmurs of agreement all around. “So how did it happen?” Jack asked.

                So Angelique and I, together, explained both what happened Saturday night, as well as our guess as to how the change in her hair came to be. When we were done, Vincent was grinning.

                “So you think my theory was correct, huh?” he said to Angelique.

                “Looks like it.” she replied.

                “So,” I said, my suspicions aroused, “you two discussed what might happen if Angelique and I fucked before we did?”

                “Okay, one hundred percent disclosure.” Vincent said. “Angelique and I… through a prophecy from a very dear friend… kind of knew that you’d wind up with both of us this time around.”

                “Really?” I said, amused.

                “I believe that her exact words,” Angelique added, “were ‘you have patiently taken your turns loving her throughout the millennia, but this time neither will have to wait long’.”

                “That is too bloody clear and unambiguous to be a prophecy.” Trevor insisted, punctuating his words with his freshly emptied beer mug. “Most prophets try to be fucking poets, and they wind up being as easy to understand as Charlie Brown’s teachers!”

                “You guys have Charlie Brown specials in England?” Jack asked.

                “Well we have the fucking internet.” Trevor countered.

                “Good point.” Jack replied.

                We celebrated well into the night. I was again sitting between Gaia and Vincent, with Angelique standing behind me. Spirits were high, and I wound up taking turns making out with Gaia, Vincent, and Angelique, with Vincent and Gaia turning to each other when I was distracted by Angelique. After one such session, Jack had to shake his head.

                “You know,” he said, mock annoyance in his voice, “it would be so nice if this was happening with anyone other than someone I see as a sister. Part of me wants to be turned on, while the bigger part is disgusted with the first part.”

                “Get used to it.” Gaia said, grinning. “Annabelle told me to ‘make myself at home’, so I’m going to. In our realm, making out with your romantic partners is considered good manners.”

                “And it doesn’t matter… “ Darla said.

                “If you’re in public or not… “ added Drucilla.

                "Because love, in all of its forms, is beautiful!" Cordelia finished.

                “That… “ Raina said, looking at the Fae sisters, “… is almost becoming cute. Please stop.”

                Everyone had a laugh at that. After a while, the conversation turned back to the battle.

                “I was pretty busy, catching any beastie that made it out of the woods.” Tiffany said, her voice slightly dulled by the celebration. “I can only imagine what it was like in the thick of things.”

                “Yeah, the view on the video monitors was pretty intense.” Jack said.

                “I kinda had fun with it.” Raina said next. “I mean, thanks to Gaia… “

                “You’re welcome.” Gaia said with a bow of her head.

                “… and her dragon skin armor that we’re all wearing as underwear these days,” Raina continued, “it was like a big… video game. Point and shoot.”

                “Yeah, well you weren’t wrestling with a giant uncircumcised penis with teeth!” Katsu said, waving her joint as she spoke. “That was more of a workout.”

                “But not out of our abilities.” Hatsu added.

                “I liked going all ‘Demon Knight’ with the motorcycle.” Trevor said. “Reminds me of that time in Afghanistan that we tried to get that Phonetician fertility statue back from that warlord near Kandahar, and we wound up on horseback… “

                Trevor wound up entertaining us for quite a while with tales of his exploits, but eventually, I felt restless.

                “Want to catch some air?” I said, leaning in towards Gaia’s ear.

                “Sounds good to me.” she replied.

                We said our good-nights and got up to go. I had to give one more kiss to Vincent and Angelique before I went, and my other friends 'oohed' in good-natured ribbing.

                Outside, I could feel dawn approaching. The sky hadn’t gotten any brighter, but I could sense the shift in energies from night to day. Gaia and I walked lazily, hand in hand, through the gathering dew on the grass surrounding the mansion. I could see the energy of life all around me in the darkness, and eventually, we found ourselves walking through the woods.

                “It’s kind of nice, not needing a flashlight.” I said, grinning.

                “Fae vision is a less powerful form of what you’ve been seeing.” Gaia replied. “So we’ve never needed flashlights.”

                “I wish I could see it just as well in the daylight,” I said, “the energy.”

                “It’s possible.” Gaia said. “Want me to teach you?”

                “That would be glorious!” I replied enthusiastically.

                We came upon the mysterious lake that had occupied so many of our thoughts over the past year. It hadn't disappeared when the giant worm did and seemed to be permanent. It was no longer a portal, however, just an ordinary lake.

                All of the shadows surrounding it were gone.

                “They really had us going, thinking that