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

into full view was a woman… a very familiar-looking woman.

                “God damn.” I said.  “It’s one of the Asian women from my astral travels.”

                “What’s she doing?” he asked.

                As he spoke, the young woman looked right at the camera.  She pointed at the camera, then straight down.

                “I think she wants to have a chat.” I said, getting up.  “Are you coming?”

                I really didn’t expect him to leave the safety of the basement, I was just being facetious.  That made me even more surprised when he stood up.

                “Sure.”

                We walked upstairs in silence, listening to see if she’d gotten tired of waiting for us and had let herself in.  The parlor was empty when we emerged from the stairwell, however, so we walked cautiously across the darkened room.  The remaining moonlight streamed in through the high windows, casting long shadows in our path.

                “Should we call in reinforcements?” Jack whispered as we neared the back hallway.  Before I could answer, Angelique stepped into view in the open doorway before us.

                “I hear we have guests.” she said coolly.  “Shall we?”

                The three of us walked towards the back door and stepped through.  I saw that the first woman had been joined by the other, and the two of them stood serenely in the middle of the patio, waiting for us.

                In the floodlights, I could see their clothes more clearly. They looked like traditional Japanese robes, but more basic… older, more primitive. The embroidery, however, was second to none… elaborate designs traced out dragons, birds, and many other animals. There were also mystical-looking symbols placed strategically about their garments, and the stitching almost hummed with energy. Their hair was down, though there was enough to form mini-buns on the back of their heads through which painted wooden sticks had been placed.

                I was fascinated. Jack, however, looked like he had been struck with lightning.

                Angelique spoke first. “My name is Angelique, and this is my home.” she said formally.  “Since you’ve been guests on my land for quite a while now, may I ask who you are and what your business here is?”

                “My name is Hatsu,” the first woman said, “and this is my younger sister Katsu.”

                Katsu, who was slightly shorter than her sister, smiled and nodded.

                “And what brings you to our lands?”  Angelique asked.

                “The lake.” Hatsu answered simply.  “We’ve seen such a thing before, and it’s never good.”

                “We mean you no harm.” Katsu piped up.  “We are allies.”

                “You’ll understand if we remain cautious.” Angelique said.

                “You’ve been charged with guiding and guarding the Sorceress.” Hatsu said, glancing at me.  “We would expect nothing else.”

                “Very well.” Angelique gestured inside.  “Shall you explain yourselves to all of us?”

                “Gladly.”

                The two women seemed to move as one after Hatsu's words.  Angelique kept herself between the two visitors and Jack and me as we moved back inside.

                                                                                                *                *                *

                Unlike when we passed through it last, the parlor was now brightly lit by both firelight and electric lamps.  Angelique and Vincent stood off to the side, deep in conversation, while Jack and I filled Raina in.  Trevor and Evelyn sat on one of the sofas near us, and both had cups of coffee in their hands. Trevor’s eyes were bleary from being awoken at that hour.

                “Bloody hell, why couldn’t they appear during business hours?” Trevor griped.

                “Trevor, we're occult investigators." Evelyn chided him.  "Three AM. is within our business hours!”

                “So where’s your cat friend?” Trevor asked as the rest of us took a seat nearby.

                “Starr is patrolling the grounds while we’re all in here.”  Raina said, taking her seat.

                “Shall we get started?” Angelique said firmly, and the rest of us quieted down.  “The floor is yours.” she said to the two women, stepping back behind us.  Vincent joined her and looked in anticipation.

                “Thank you, Lady of the manor.” Hatsu said.  “My sister Katsu and I are better known as the Botan Doro, and we were born five thousand years ago in what you call Japan.”

                “What manner of creature are you?” Angelique asked.

                “We are human.” Hatsu replied.  “Trained as Witches in our local way. We were given… certain gifts long ago, and have abnormally long lives, but we are still human at our core.”

                “What gifts?” Vincent asked.

                Hatsu smiled.  “It would take too long to name them all, just know that Fae magick isn’t the only kind in the world.”

                “Why are you here?” Raina asked, her face serious.

                “We are here because of the Sorceress.”  Hatsu bowed in my direction.  “We have been charged to protect her at all costs.”

                “Charged?” Raina said.  “By whom?”

                “A very old friend, quite long ago.” came Hatsu’s reply.

                “And how do we know that you’re being honest?” Trevor said.  “How do we know that this isn’t just a ruse to get close to Annabelle so that you can strike?”

                Hatsu didn’t answer, she just gestured to her sister.  Katsu stepped forward and reached into the folds of her kimono.  She pulled out several objects and placed them on the coffee table.

                “Hey,” Trevor protested, “That’s my comb!”

                “And my journal!” Raina added.

                “And my lipstick.” Evelyn looked shocked.

                “We have been able to come and go in this house at will.” Hatsu said calmly.  “If we had wanted to attack the Sorceress, we would have done so by now.”

                Angelique raised her eyebrows.  “Apparently so.” she said, impressed.

                “Why wait until now to come to us?” Vincent asked.

                “It is not our way to actively work with others.” Hatsu explained.  “Most of those we help never know that we were involved.  However, the attack yesterday by those creatures surprised us.  We have never been snuck up on like that.”

                “We felt it best to work cooperatively.” Katsu said, the first time she had spoken since we were outside.  “This time.”

                “Very well.” Angelique declared.  “Where shall we begin?”

                “I would like