Poor Little Witch Girl Read online

  It stayed busy right up to closing. Unless they were egregious about it, we never rushed the customers out of the store. If they were here to give us money, we wanted that money, after all. And so it wasn't until nine-twenty before I locked the door behind the last patron. I turned to Raelyn, watching me from behind the counter. She smiled at me.

  "That was fun! Can we do it again?"

  "I can't imagine it was very challenging for the great recruiter," I said.

  "It was fun. The people were so nice. I can see why you love it."

  I crossed the shop, then stepped behind the counter and to the back wall. I dimmed the lights. If people see us all lit up, they sometimes expect us to reopen the store for a little late evening shopping. I hated turning them away.

  "Setting the mood?" Raelyn asked.

  "Simply preventing people from knocking against the glass to get us to open back up." I got the lights the way I wanted then walked over to Raelyn and grabbed her hands. She followed me willingly as I led her to one of our sofas. I collapsed down, and she sat down next to me.

  "Hoping for a make out session?"

  "I've been on my feet for hours," I said.

  "Give me your feet."

  "What?"

  "I said, give me your feet. Do what you're told." But she was grinning when she said it, and if she was offering to massage my feet, I was more than willing to let her. I rotated on the sofa, plopping my feet in her lap and lying backwards. She pulled my shoes from me, and it only took moments before I was moaning in pleasure.

  "You have magic hands," I said after a few minutes.

  Raelyn laughed. "If I were using my magic, you'd be moaning for other reasons. I'm not sure you're ready for that."

  I returned the laugh, mine far more nervous than hers.

  She gave each foot five minutes of attention each. Then, while still massaging, she asked, "You know, you are a witch."

  I opened my eyes. She wasn't watching me. She was bent to her task. She wore a gentle smile but an intent look.

  "I don't know the first thing about magic," I replied. "I think you're wrong."

  "I don't think so," she said. "Would you like to see something?"

  "You're not going to turn me into a frog, are you?"

  She laughed. "No. Magic doesn't work that way, anyway. Open your eyes."

  When I did, she was holding one hand out towards me, palm up. As I watched, magic formed in a column above her hand. It hung there, swaying back and forth. Then she lifted one finger and began to twirl the tip in a slow circle. The magic began to turn with her, as if she were stirring a bucket of water.

  "Is that a spell?"

  "Raw magic," she said. "It doesn't do anything like this. But it's pretty. Learning to do this is your first lesson."

  I stared for a while. She was right; it was pretty.

  "So you think I can do that?"

  "I don't know," she said. "When I was a little girl, I learned I could manipulate the magic I saw." She stopped twirling, and the magic came to rest, wobbling lightly. She used her other hand and brushed it through the magic. But she didn't disturb it, not like if it were water or smoke.

  "It won't hurt you," she said. "Try that."

  I eyed her carefully then sat up and brushed my fingers through her magic. I felt a tiny tingle, but when my hand passed through, it didn't cause a disturbance.

  "Now, watch again." She passed her hand through the magic, and this time it was just exactly as if she were passing her fingers through smoke.

  "Learning to affect the magic is the first step in becoming a practicing witch. Having the natural ability to affect it is what makes you a witch at all."

  "How did you learn to do this if you can't normally see your own aura?"

  "I started by trying to catch wisps of aura from other people," she replied. She dispersed her magic and told me to lie back again. I did, and then she said, "Like this."

  She leaned forward and made a scooping motion with her hands. I felt a tug on my own aura, and then she held a small clump of magic between her hands. I couldn't normally see my own aura, but once she pulled some from me, then I could see the results.

  "I didn't hurt you," she said, noticing my expression. "This is a small amount, and the space I took it from is already filled in. This is the amount you regenerate naturally in a few hours. As you never use yours, I bet you don't even notice."

  "I noticed when you took it."

  "I'm sorry. I should have warned you about that. But you can't feel it now, can you?"

  I shook my head.

  "You can practice with your friends," she said. "But you have to be careful. Take a small scoop only, and stay away from nearest their hearts and heads." Then my magic appeared to absorb into her hands.

  "Where did it go?"

  "I ate it, after a fashion," she said.

  "You just stole some of my magic!"

  She grinned. "I sure did. It didn't take you long to get past your denial you had any in the first place."

  "You did that on purpose!"

  "I sure did," she said again. "There's something else you can do, too. Your friends won't feel if you do what I just did, if you keep it small, but they'll feel this."

  She leaned forward again and set her hand near my arm. Then she sort of brushed my skin with her hand, but not quite touching. I watched, but I couldn't see anything. But I could feel what she was doing. It actually felt really nice.

  "What are you doing?"

  "I'm just pushing your aura around. Here, watch."

  She leaned back and held out one arm, then with the other hand, she began pushing at her own aura. I could see that.

  "I can't see what I'm doing, not this way, but I can feel it." She grinned. "If you learn to do this, imagine what would happen if you did it over the more intimate places."

  "Oh god. I can imagine!"

  "You liked it?"

  "Yes."

  She stopped playing with her own aura but instead leaned over me and began playing with mine again. It felt weird, but really good at the same time, and I found my eyes closing. I let her do what she wanted.

  "That feels nice," I whispered.

  "And it's just your arms," she said. "Imagine if I did this to your entire body."

  She continued to stroke my aura for a while, but then I found myself rubbing my arms. Raelyn leaned back. I opened my eyes.

  "It gets a little intense," she said. "You can do it over clothing, too, but it isn't as effective." She demonstrated on my legs, and she was right. It felt a lot nicer on my bare arms.

  She leaned back again and returned to massaging my feet.

  "There are other things you can do, too," she said. "Your friends have some of your aura mixed in with theirs. That's your aura; you own it. The fact they're wearing some of it means, after a fashion, they belong to you."

  My eyes snapped open. "They don't belong to me. We're partners. If anything, I belong to both of them."

  "Hmm," she said, but nothing more. She massaged my feet a few more minutes before slipping my shoes back in place.

  "Would you like to go for a walk? It's a lovely evening outside."

  My feet felt better. I felt good. I felt really good, actually. I opened my eyes and nodded.

  * * * *

  We didn't go anywhere in particular; we just walked, holding hands. We talked about more mundane topics. I asked her if she was currently recruiting anyone.

  "I'm always recruiting," she said. "Lyra, my current client is very private. I can't really talk about it."

  "Oh. I'm sorry."

  "You're free to ask, but I probably won't answer your questions. I just wanted you to understand why. I look for very unique talent, and my clients are always worried that word will get out what they're looking for. So I have to be quiet and usually subtle besides. Even the people I recruit typically don't know until I perform an introduction."

  "I guess I understand," I said. "What would happen if word got out?"

 
"I recruit in a competitive business. If it got out I was looking, for, oh, I don't know. Someone to run a bookstore."

  I laughed.

  "Then, just out of spite, someone else might try to recruit the best potential bookstore managers available. That would both drive up the price while reducing the pool of available talent. It would be bad for my client."

  "People would do that, just out of, what? Competition?"

  "And spite. So people know what I do, but I don't talk about it, and I disguise what I'm doing."

  "How do you do that?"

  "Well, imagine I was looking to recruit someone to run a bookstore. I might spend a lot of time hanging around with someone who runs fast food restaurants. Or if I were recruiting someone who was really good at making travel arrangements, I might spend a great deal of time with an attractive owner of a bookstore."

  We grinned at each other. "So I'm your beard?"

  "You," she said, tapping the end of my nose, "are an alluring woman I want to get to know much, much better."

  "You're deeply flattering. I'm not that alluring. Like you said the other night: I have a mirror, too."

  "You know," she said. "It's really hard for me to see only part of a person. When I look at you, I don't just see your body. I see your aura. In fact, that's what I see first, and you have an amazing aura, Lyra. It's full and beautiful. It's filled with passion. I can see the love you have for Felicity and Jaime, and it is pure, unadulterated love. I can see the trust you all share. I can see the love you have for your store. I can see the joy you have when helping your customers."

  "All that from my aura?"

  "I wouldn't have been able to identify everything so readily without knowing the context, but it's all there." She brushed at me, and I knew she was stirring my aura. When she did it at first, it had been disconcerting. But now it felt good, and I didn't want her to stop.

  She laughed. "This is a little addicting, isn't it? Especially at first."

  "Yeah."

  "If I do this enough to you, you'll calm down about it, at least a little."

  "I wanted to play hard to get for you," I said, closing my eyes. "I'm not going to do very well."

  "Why did you want to do that?"

  "I like being pursued, and you seemed like someone who wouldn't let me get away too easily."

  "Ah. I understand entirely. And you're right. I have no intention of letting you get away from me."

  "Good," I said, whispering.

  She brushed at my aura a while longer, moving near my face, and I was helpless but to let her do what she wanted. It felt so nice. It felt so amazingly nice.

  "I'm going to stop now," she said. I whimpered. But she moved to my side and took my arm. She got me moving again. "You told me you didn't want me talking my way into your bed tonight," she continued. "And I find I am enjoying a slower seduction. If I keep that up..."

  "Yeah," I said. "Thank you, Raelyn."

  I knew then a simple fact: I could easily fall in love with this woman. We didn't know each other well, but she was sweet and considerate. She seemed to enjoy my company. And we certainly had chemistry. Oh, we definitely had chemistry.

  We returned to the shop. We were barely inside the door with the alarm reset when she had me pressed against the wall, my hands pinned above me. I stared into her eyes, only inches from mine, our bodies pressed together, and one of her knees between my legs, holding my in place.

  "Leave your hands there," she ordered.

  "Raelyn..."

  "I'm not seducing you," she said. "Yet. Don't move." I nodded, and she released my hands. I left them where she had put them. "Close your eyes." I obeyed, and then I felt her breath against my lips.

  Then I felt her begin to stir my aura, beginning with my arms, over my shoulders, and around my face. She kept that up, and I began to squirm in place.

  "I'm going to take a little from you," she whispered. "Only a little. And I'm going to give you a little of me. Relax and don't fight me."

  Then our lips were together, and Oh. My. God! She could kiss. She continued to stir my aura, but then she started to do something with the contact of our lips, and I thought I was going to go insane with the sensation.

  I could tell she was taking from me, but she was giving to me as well. I breathed out, and she breathed in, and then she exhaled, filling my lungs, filling my body.

  I moaned, and it was a near thing to stay where I was, to remain still and let her do what she wanted.

  If she'd ask, then and there, I'd have let her take me. I wouldn't have struggled in the slightest.

  Finally she separated from me, but I couldn't move.

  "Dinner tomorrow," she said.

  "Too soon, Raelyn."

  She caressed my cheeks. "It's not too soon. Be ready and waiting for me at six."

  She didn't wait for agreement. Instead she moved away from me. I heard her walk across the shop. Then I heard the bell over the door.

  When I finally opened my eyes, the shop was empty.

  Whirlwind

  I was bundled up in a blanket when Felicity arrived home. I had demolished a tin of ice cream and was watching junk on television when she plopped down beside me. She took the remote from my hand and turned off the television.

  "Bad date?" she asked.

  I turned to face her. Her expression grew concerned.

  "Are you on drugs?"

  "What?" I asked. "Of course not."

  "You look stoned. But you don't have 'I just had amazing sex' hair."

  "She kissed me."

  "She left you like this from a kiss?" She squeaked the last word.

  "She's a really, really good kisser." I fought to focus my eyes. "Oh. Em. Gee. Felicity, she'd turn you gay. One kiss, and you'd be hooked on women the rest of your life."

  Felicity laughed. "Maybe I should talk to her about that." Then she frowned. "But it seems she's got her hooks in you, and you're the only woman I'd want."

  The thing is, I knew she was serious. "I love you, too," I said.

  She reached out and caressed my cheek. "I thought you were going to guard your heart."

  "This isn't love," I said. "It's lust."

  "And yet, she's not up here doing you. Are you sure she's gay?"

  "Definitely," I said. "Straight girls don't kiss like that."

  "Hey!" Felicity complained. "I'm a damned good kisser."

  "Your kisses seem awfully sisterly to me."

  We laughed together.

  "You came home tonight. I thought you were staying at Dyson's."

  "I wanted to be here with you." She slouched down on the couch, moving closer to me and leaning her head on my shoulder. "Were you actually watching whatever was on?"

  "I don't remember," I said. "I don't need a babysitter, Felicity."

  "I know that. But can you blame me for being worried?"

  "No, I suppose not."

  "So. Nice night?"

  "The store was busy. She helped."

  "That was nice of her. And that's not what I asked."

  "In a way, it was," I said. "She helped. I think that says something about her. I'm not sure what, but she was good, and the customers liked her."

  "You really like her."

  "I really like her," I agreed.

  "I'm happy for you, Lyra," she said. "But I want you to promise something."

  "What?"

  "Don't lose yourself too much in her. Make sure you still have room for Jaime and me in your life."

  "Oh Felicity," I said. "You have nothing to fear. How was the party?"

  She groaned.

  "That bad?"

  "Two thirds of his friends are single, and I swear, half of them have never had a girlfriend."

  "The attention was a little too much?"

  "I'm in a committed relationship," she said. "They were like bees to honey."

  "If you weren't so sweet."

  "Yeah, that's the word that people think of when they think of me."

  "It's the word I thin
k of." I thought about it. "After steadfast and loyal and trustworthy. But then there's sweet and smart and drop dead sexy."

  "Stop it," she said, laughing.

  "What did Dyson say about it?"

  "You know, I'm not sure he even noticed. I think he's so used to any women at these events drawing that kind of attention, he thinks it's normal."

  "Or he's so assured of you he doesn't worry."

  "And maybe that."

  "See previous comments about loyal."

  She grew still, then quietly said, "Yeah." We sat for a few minutes, staring at the dead television screen. "Did you get something to eat?"

  I nudged the ice cream container with a foot.

  "Did you get real food? Did she take you to dinner?"

  "No. She rubbed my feet for a while, then we went for a walk."

  "Hungry?"

  I nudged the ice cream container. Felicity laughed.

  * * * *

  She pulled me into her arms. "You look nice." Before I could respond, we were kissing, and she began teasing my aura, too. When she broke the kiss, I knew my eyes were a little unfocused.

  Raelyn laughed. "Hard to get, hmm?"

  "Shut up," I said. I managed to focus. "Do all women respond to your kisses like that, or only other... um..."

  "People with our aura?"

  "Yeah."

  "It's a lot more intense for us," she said. She laughed. "It can be unbelievable when both know how to do that. Or it can be terrible, a sort of tug of war with both fighting for dominance."

  "Yeah, that's me," I said. "Fighting for dominance."

  "With some witches, you wouldn't want her to get the upper hand," Raelyn said.

  "Do you know many?"

  "I don't know how to answer that," she replied. "We're not exactly common. You're not the first I've kissed, though."

  That set off little alarms in my head. "So is that what you do? Find new, untrained witches and seduce them? Are you going to move on once you've bedded me?"

  "Lyra?" she asked. "Is that what you think?"

  "I'm a little overwhelmed here, Raelyn. I don't know what to think."

  "Well, no that's not what I do," she replied. "I'm not promising we'll still be together a year from now. But I'm not looking for a fun little lay and then be done with you, either. So we'll see."

  "Felicity and Jaime told me to guard my heart."