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

has disappeared, and eventually the neighbor and the priest look in the cemetery. They open the crypt to find the samurai, dead, his body entwined with that of a rotting corpse.”

                “How lovely.” Raina deadpanned, taking a bite of a donut.

                Jack clicked a few more places and brought up a parapedia article on the Botan Doro.  “However, among people who actually interact with paranormal creatures,” he continued, "the Botan Doro are a pair of sisters from feudal Japan, age and year of origin unknown.  They appear to be immortal because they haven't aged in about five thousand years.”

                “So what's their story?” I asked, leaning in.

                “Also unknown.  They appear to, well... appear at sites of extreme paranormal distress.” He clicked on a few links and brought up an ancient-looking newspaper headline.  “Nineteen twelve, Enid Oklahoma.  A rash of teen girls disappeared, and some people blamed vampires.  Local officials labeled these people as 'superstitious' and 'delusional', but didn't have any clues about what really happened.  Later reports of a couple of 'strange oriental' women were thought to be unrelated, but spooky-pedia ties them to the eventual destruction of the rogue fledgling vamp responsible.”

                “Sounds tenuous.” Raina said.

                “Okay,” Jack continued, “How about Dublin, Ireland, nineteen thirty-two?  What local papers described as a 'strange blight' was really an infestation of suka mold, a parasitic growth native to one of the numerous shadow realms that exist alongside our own.  The stuff can render entire continents unlivable.  They were ready to torch the whole town and all of the untouched fields around it when these two women appear again, and poof!  The mold disappears overnight.”

                “How do they know where to go?” I asked.

                “Nobody knows.  In fact, the only account I've ever found about anyone communicating with either of them is... yours.” he replied, pointing at me.

                “Something strange centers around Annie... must be a day that ends in 'y'.” Raina deadpanned.

                “Well, I'm going to try to chat her up inside my body next time.” I replied, picking up another carton of ice cream.  “Leaving my body isn't good for my cholesterol levels.”

Chapter Four

                From the Diaries of Angelique Dupre

                09/16/1588

                Roanoke Colony

                The past three weeks have been challenging for me, to say the least.  Sarah has proven to be a frightful creature, only slightly less quivering than a field mouse.  I had decided against the direct approach, attempting to gently ease her into the idea of my existence, though that was no easy feat even with my caution.

                I started coming to her in dreams.  At first I was a voice, but eventually I transitioned to appearing in full view.  When I told her that I could meet her in the waking world, she refused to leave her house for a solid eight days!

                I finally made contact last night.  Her skin was so soft, so pale in the moonlight.  How I wished she were one of the sisterhood, it would have soothed her fear and pain!  There is a young man from a nearby family that she lusts after.  I shall have to encourage her to taste his sweet manhood before her becoming arrives, for she may not be able to explore him safely afterwards.

                I am coming to her again tonight.  I hope that we can proceed without too many childish games... we haven't much time.

                                                                                                *                *                *

                “Breathe deep, and relax...”

                I sat in my favorite spot in the meditation room, eyes closed and legs folded under me.  I was having Vincent guide me this time, and I had told him that I wanted to see a past life where he and I weren't lovers this time.  Both he and Angelique had assured me that we fulfilled many roles for each other over the millennia, and I wanted a change of pace.

                “Now, you're flying down a tunnel of clouds...”

                The path I had formed to get to my past incarnations was well worn by now, and I knew the way almost by heart.  I still liked having a guide, however, if for nothing more than to have someone to bounce things off of as I tried to fit what I had seen into a coherent narrative.

                “Before you, you see a series of doors.” Vincent said.  “Pick one you have never been through before, and step through it.

                This was the tricky part.  I studied the doors floating in front of me carefully, each one with a unique marking or basic pattern of lines.  I mentally eliminated the ones I had chosen before and looked over what was left.

                Show me ones with a different lover I thought.  Off to my left, one of the doors glowed with a faint, pulsing light.

                Well, here goes nothing... I thought and opened it.

                                                                                                *                *                *

                I saw her in another's body.

                Angelique had been known as Alexandros in that life, and she was sturdy and curvaceous then.  Her coal-black hair hung in lazy curls then, framing the most beautiful face in Athens.

                I could feel him in my mind, the man I had been in my own past incarnation.  Pandaros had been my name, and I had been a child in a political family.  I surrendered to his thoughts and memories...

                I know that some would-be philosophers question the notion of arranged marriages, but I couldn't complain.  Alexandros was the daughter of a reputable philosopher and was seen as a prime marriage partner for the son of a local influential assemblyman and merchant.  I may not have been the first son, but I wound up with the most beautiful bride.

                We had already explored each other's bodies, and it was everything that my earlier dalliances with the daughters of farmers hadn't been.  They had been nervous and hesitant, while Alex had been bold and skilled.  Alex's father opined on the freedom of love and intimacy, so she knew what she liked.  My