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

he said defensively.  “If I'd known it was you, I never would have snapped you like that.”

                “Let's get going.” Angelique said, and we all got up.  All except Jack, who had to be shaken awake by Raina.  I smiled as they stumbled away towards the basement.

                                                                                                *                *                *

                “Okay, just look around a bit...”

                I could hear their voices, but only as an echo.  I couldn't answer back, because that would have required my soul being in my body, which it wasn't at the time.  My body was back in the mansion, within a protective sphere cast by Raina.  Within the sphere were Evelyn and Trevor, while Vincent and Angelique were out patrolling the grounds.

                They were looking for physical threats.  My field of vision was a little more expansive.

                I could see spirits moving across the grounds... human spirits on their way somewhere, spirits of animals playing worry-free in their non-corporeal state, and shadowy spirits of the land itself, never taking form but moving over the fields and forests like water running down a stream.  The air was alive with sprites, elemental energies that had yet to pick a final form, and they danced like feathers on the wind.

                I moved through this like a swimmer through water, mind in constant awe.

                Something tells me that this isn't what most people see when walking about without their bodies I thought.  Most of these things seem to not see each other.

                But I do.

                I eventually made my way to the new lake.  I could see the entire lake, even the parts normally obscured by vegetation.  Not even the absence of daylight could obscure its form from me, and I almost floated near the shore.

                “What do you see? Can you say?”  came Trevor's voice.

                I'm going to have to explain to him that this isn't like dealing with a psychic I thought.  The human voice-box seems to require a spirit, either one's own or that of a guest spirit being channeled, in order to operate.

                The surface of the lake was obscured by a dark gray shadow, one that couldn't be penetrated no matter how hard I tried.  I floated down to the surface of the water to see if I could sweep away the shadow.

                “Don't touch it!” a woman's voice cried out.

                I yanked my hand back and found myself suddenly twenty feet away from the lake.  I looked around and saw two women standing nearby.  One was the Asian woman from my earlier dream, and the other one looked slightly older, though remarkably like the first.  They were both dressed in ancient-looking kimonos, and they glowed with a silver luminescence that looked like they were made from pure moonlight.

                Who the hell is this? I wondered to myself.

                “We are here to do battle with the evil in that lake.” the older one said.  “Please ask your friends to withdraw so that we may do our work.”

                This is our home. I thought back at her since she seemed to be able to read thoughts.

                “And it will be once we're done.” she replied.  “Please, we have come because of who you are, and what you have become.  We promised another of your kind, long ago, that we would safeguard the future generations.  We are here to honor that promise.”

                My friends are powerful, even if I am not... not yet, anyway.  We can help.

                “Others have felt like you, others even more powerful.  They have all fallen.”

                What makes you think that you can succeed where they failed?

                “We may not.  But we pledged to fall before you did, and we keep our promises.”

                Suddenly, Vincent appeared near us on the path.  “Well, who do we have here?” he asked, looking at the two women.

                “Convince them to stand down!” the woman said to me one last time.  Then she threw up her hands and a light brighter than the sun erupted from them.  My world went white, and then black.

                                                                                                *                *                *

                I awoke not very long after, laying on a sofa in the parlor.  Vincent was standing nearby, talking with Angelique.  Trevor, Evelyn, and Raina were lost in their own conversation off to the side.

                “So, what happened?” I asked, slowly sitting up.

                “We were going to ask you the same thing.” Vincent answered, turning with Angelique to face me.

                “Hey, sleeping beauty's awake...” Trevor said as he led the others over to the sofa as well.  “When you slumped over in the circle, Evie here flipped out a little...”

                “Oh, so I'm the one who cried 'Christ, Evie, is the bird dead?', am I?” Evelyn said as she gave her brother a sideways glance.

                “I'd had a sense that you had slammed back into your body again.” Raina added, sitting beside me.  “I told them you'd be fine.”

                “I had quite the adventure.” I said, a slight grin on my face.

                I then told them all about what I had seen... the surreal landscape, the cloaked lake surface, the Asian women, Vincent's sudden appearance, the works.  When I was done, Vincent was shaking his head.

                “That one threw what must have been the nuclear bomb of Fae-fire.” he said.  “By the time I could see again, they had both vanished.”

                “Do we have any idea who they might be?” Angelique asked the group.  “It's obvious that they're not spirits, or else they wouldn't have needed a distraction in order to slip away.”

                “Not a bloody clue.” Trevor answered, shaking his head.

                “None here, either.” Evelyn added.

                “I can add this to the list of things to research.” Raina volunteered.  “I'm heading back downstairs to brief Jack on the night's developments anyway.”

                “Sounds good.” Vincent said, then turned to me.  “And you need some chocolate and cannabis to come back from another ungraceful entrance.”

                That sounded good to me.

                                                                                                *                *                *

                A little bit