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

scooped up another chunk of ice cream.  “Wait, were you called ‘Beezu’ in that one?”

                “That’s the one.” she affirmed.  I nodded and kept eating.

                More and more often, I had been following our past-life regressions with a pig-out in the kitchen.  Angelique would often trail me, encouraging me to talk about what I had seen, helping me to fit it all into a greater whole.

                That night, I just wanted to eat an entire pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.  I really didn’t want to talk about this regression, though I had no idea why.

                Maybe I just don’t want her to remember the face I make when I come I thought.  Or, the face I DID make.  Is it the same face?  Are o-faces something that transcends time and incarnations? Maybe I should ask Vincent.

                “How many incarnations did we have in that society?” I asked, staying in the safe area of general information.

                “I’ve counted six with you and I, four with you and Vincent, and five with all three of us.”

                “Fifteen?  How long did that civilization last?”

                “I estimate that it lasted almost a thousand years.”

                It never failed to blow my mind, the sheer number of civilizations that had existed over the millennia.  This one seemed to be a tree-house community, existing in huts and walkways far above the forest floor.  It was a society ruled by women, one that had decided on another way after almost being wiped out in men’s wars.  I wasn’t sure how I knew this, I just did.  I also didn’t know where in the world it was supposed to be, memories of racial differences always fading as soon as I awoke, leaving only memories of the feelings stirred by those we knew.  I just knew that it was somewhere warm.

                “And there’s no record of it? Anywhere?” I asked.

                “No surviving records have ever been found by any archaeologists or anthropologists.” she answered.  “There are a few things that have been found, but nobody knows their true significance.  Most are sitting in collections for other civilizations, mislabeled and their true meaning lost.”

                “Have you ever looked?” I asked, knowing.

                “Yes.” she said.  She smiled, and floated out of the kitchen without another word.

                                                                                                *                *                *

                It was late.

                I exhaled what felt like my one millionth hit of Vincent’s potent weed as I looked at my phone.  The last time I had looked, it was close to midnight.  When I looked the second time, however, it was farther from midnight, only on the other side.

                I looked over to where Jack was sitting, looking intently at his computer screen and typing.  I didn’t look over to his monitor, however.  It seemed like too much work to focus at the moment.

                I was hanging out in the basement because Vincent was out of town, and Jack was the only person left awake… well, the only human, anyway.  With all of the worries and concerns that I had been fighting that day, being alone with my own thoughts didn’t seem like the best idea at the time.  Jack never minded the company as he worked, and kept me up to date as to what he was finding.

                “Okay, one thing I found was a Polynesian lake spirit called ‘Taniwha’, which looked promising.” he said, leaning back in his chair.  “They can be pretty scary, too… if the legends are to be believed.”

                “However…” I prompted him.

                “However,” he continued, “they don’t work on a lot of levels.  For one thing, they’re insanely local.  Their more fearsome stories come from people trying to attack from outside of a tribal area.  They’re looked on as guardians by the native inhabitants of an area.”

                “Which makes them unlikely to be content with being relocated on the other side of the world.” I surmised.

                “Right.”  He opened a can of soda and drained half of the can.

                I stretched, yawned, and looked at the clock.  “Is my boyfriend home?”

                “Lemme see.”  Jack leaned forward and typed on his keyboard.  I looked at the monitor and saw video feeds from all over the house, except the bedrooms and bathrooms.  Since Vincent wouldn’t go into the bedroom without me, and he had no need for a toilet, I knew he wasn’t in those areas.  He also didn’t appear to be anywhere else in the house, as every camera came up empty.

                “Well shit.”  I looked over to my friend.  “At least I still have you to keep me company.”

                Jack squirmed in his seat a bit.  “Yeah, about that...” he began.

                He was cut off, however, by the door to the stairs opening, and Katsu, the younger of the Botan Doro sisters, walked in.

                “Hello Annabelle.” she said to me, a smile on her face.  Her entire visage lit up, however, when she saw Jack.  “Hello Jack, it  is nice to see you!”

                I looked at him, and he grinned.  “Hi Katsu.” he said, turning to her.

                “Can we help you with something?” I asked.

                “Well, Jack said that he would show me Vincent and Angelique’s collection of Asian cultural and magickal artifacts.” she replied, looking at Jack again, and again with a wide smile.

                “Really?”  This was out of character for him.  “Jack… showing you… Asian artifacts and antiques?”

                “Well, they just came in last night, and I spent the better part of the day cataloging them, so the information’s fresh.” he shrugged.

                “You've got a nice computer setup here." Katsu walked closer to the monitor bank, taking it in.  "The server farm at Langley Virginia was more powerful, but not nearly this elegant."

                “It’s based on schematics I drew up when I was sixteen.” he said.

                “You designed this?” she asked, turning her head back towards him.

                “Yeah.”  There was obvious pride in his voice, along with something else I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

                Katsu practically beamed.  “You’re very smart and talented.”

                If I lived