Witch Trippin' Read online

  “Hi there, I’m right here, you know,” I told them.

  Zelda gave me a funny grin. “I can see that, but no time now for more, gotta go get the pups home and fed.” She eyed me sideways.

  A pert blonde came skipping over, literally skipping, and gave me a hug. “I’m Sassy, good luck, you’ll need it.”

  A fat gray and wild-eyed cat appeared at that moment. “Hi, Fat Bastard,” Sassy said.

  “Hello, Sugar Socks. I came to have a look to see the new witch in town. She is somethin’, isn’t she? The men are gonna want a piece of dat.”

  I have never seen a familiar quite like this cat. He got into position then and gave his privates a slurp. Eweee.

  “Home,” Zelda said. “Now.” She turned to me and grinned. “Good luck, you are going to need it to survive Assjacket.” She gathered her children, Sassy, her cat, Fat Bastard, and poof, teleported off.

  I was still digesting all of this as Clara pushed me toward the house. She opened the door and I opened my eyes wide. Stunned is a good word for how I felt.

  “Wow!” I said as I gazed around the beautiful open and modern floorplan with its country chic furnishings. It was warm and inviting. Comfy sofas and chairs in lovely shades of green and mauve. A huge dining table and a chef’s kitchen that almost made me want to cook. Almost.

  “Now, go ahead, go get settled in your room and then come down. We desperately need to talk,” Clara said, and added as an afterthought, “and you need an initiation if you are going to get by in Assjacket.”

  “Initiation? What kind of initiation?”

  “You’ll need to visit, meet and get an introduction to some of our residents. Go on now, I’ll put up some coffee. We’ll have chicken salad, and afterwards, gorge on my almond pastries.”

  “Oooh, pastries,” I said. Right then, I could have eaten a dozen donuts and one or two gallons of Chunky Monkey.

  * * * * *

  My room was even nicer than the one I have at home, because it wasn’t a room, it was a suite, and absolutely, beautifully decorated.

  I had been telling myself it was time I took an apartment in the historic district, close to work, close to my friends and the nightlife.

  Ah, but the cost kept me at home with my parents. I work for my father, who has one of the largest real estate development companies in all of Louisiana, and I really like my work, but it does mean I spend more time than most in the nest, so to speak.

  But, up until this fiasco about Assjacket, my parents gave me space and I came and went as I pleased, so I had been in no rush to move out.

  This, I thought as I looked around, was a dream apartment. Who knew a house in the shape of a boot could be so perfect?

  The suite housed a beautiful bedroom with white, black, and gray themes. The bathroom was huge and had everything a woman could want. Through a wide arch was a sitting room with a window seat, a brightly flowered sofa that was inviting, and a closet that would still look empty after I hung up my clothes in its vastness.

  It didn’t take me long to get my things put away before I was hurrying down the stairs to the wonderful smell of hazelnut coffee.

  I smiled as Clara directed me to sit at the island, and put a mug of the delicious brew in front of me. I sipped it black and sat back in my cushioned chair.

  Clara insisted we didn’t talk until we had eaten, which was fine with me, as I was starving. She did talk about her garden, her herbs, and Zelda’s healing powers, so we didn’t eat in total silence, and I found I liked my mom’s friend...very much. I was intrigued when she told me how many various types of shifters we have in Assjacket. Maybe the place was going to be more fun than I had imagined. When I sat back and tasted the last drop of the most delicious almond claw I have ever had, Clara got up from the island and moved to the sink. She put the dishes in the dishwasher and returned to the island and said, “Now, the first thing you need to know is, well, you actually need to know who you are, and what you really are. Bennie, you are not a witch, wolf shifter hybrid.”

  “Who—what I am?” Oh no, she was going to tell me I was adopted. But...no, how could I be? I was too much like my parents in looks...in...? Wait, what did she mean I’m not a witch, shifter hybrid? “What do you mean?”

  “Let me first tell you who and what your great-grandfather is,” she clarified. “On your father’s side.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief—not adopted. “I don’t know anything about him.”

  “Your great-grandfather’s name is Taggard Wey. He migrated from the same realm my mate, Nathan, and I came from—The Land of the Dark. In fact, the three of us came here to this world together at the same time through a portal I created. Are you following me thus far?”

  She let that sink in, which was a good thing, as my mind suddenly turned into a whirlwind of questions and I asked, “Following you, but why does this information matter now? And why does this affect who and what I am?”

  “Because The Land of the Dark was a world where wizards of Dark Magic ruled.”

  “Wait, what? Does that mean you were...evil?”

  She laughed. “No, at least not most of us. Dark Wizards are not inherently evil. We use Dark Magic in a very different way than witches do. At any rate, your great-grandfather is a wizard, or, as they like to call them here, sorcerer.” She put up her hand to stop me from interrupting. “However, your grandfather and father are not purebred wizards. They have witch blood in them.”

  I was open-mouthed and putting this together in my head. Questions popped up one after the other, but just then, a knock sounded at the kitchen door. We both looked toward the mahogany framed glass. All I could see was a large man. A very large man.

  “Ah,” Clara said, and smiled, “Jace Tomlin. He is a hybrid, his father is a warlock, his mom, a wolf shifter. He doesn’t live in Assjacket, but on the outskirts. He is the alpha of the Tomlin pack and good friends with Mac, Zelda’s mate.”

  Another knock, and Clara called out, “It’s open...come in, Jace.”

  First, all I could do was stare at his face, unashamedly, because, hot damn, he was the best looking representative of his species I had ever seen! Dark blond hair, some of which fell over his forehead, gave him a cavalier aura. Deep golden, bright, and, at that moment, twinkling eyes were looking me over, which was fine with me, as it allowed me to do the same.

  Fuck me, he was a tower of a man, built for steam, I mean, shoulders, biceps, and on those biceps he wore rune tattoos amply displayed by bulging muscles. Then if all that wasn’t enough to make my thighs clench, there was his hard, broad chest in a white T-shirt, fine slim hips, and muscular thighs in tight jeans. I forced myself to look back up immediately at his face and he was wearing something of a smirk. That cooled my engines.

  “Clara...my wards signaled me that there might be trouble here,” he said.

  “You are looking at her,” Clara said, and laughed as she patted my hand.

  I haven’t blushed in a very long time, so why I felt red-hot heat in my cheeks, I can’t explain, but there it was.

  He put up a brow and eyed me. “And who is this trouble?”

  “You remember, I told you I would be working with my dear friend’s daughter, Benita Wey,” Clara said, and she gave the hunk a look I couldn’t decipher.

  I watched her as she watched the hunk of maleness called Jace Tomlin absorb this piece of information. What was going on here? What did all of this mean, and why hadn’t my parents ever mentioned my great-grandfather and the fact that he was a wizard from another realm?

  Jace whistled low and then said, “I didn’t realize you would be bringing her here to Assjacket. I simply thought you would be working with her for a spell in New Orleans.”

  I wondered what she had told him about me. What was to tell?

  “It was the only thing to do under the circumstances,” Clara answered.

  Why do people talk about me like I’m not there? I waved. “Hello, sitting right here, ya know.”

  They totally i
gnored me as Jace asked, “Does she know?”

  “I was just telling her now,” Clara answered quietly.

  “Then I will leave you to it,” he said, and inclined his head to her, turned to me and smirked again. “Later, Trouble.”

  Off he went, and I turned to Clara and said, “Who, by Goddess, was he?”

  “Jace Tomlin, did you forget his name already? I only just introduced you,” Clara said, sounding surprised.

  “Yes, yes, but that isn’t what I mean. I didn’t forget his name. I was asking...what is he in this equation, and what did he mean he came here because he thought there might be trouble?”

  “Zelda’s mate, Mac, has put a very strong ward around Assjacket. We usually know when anything, or anyone who doesn’t belong, crosses that ward, unless, of course, they use a wrinkle,” she said, and pulled a face. “But Jace has a ward around my house...he is a dear, and feels he has to look out for me...because, well, never mind that now. Let’s get back to what I was telling you.”

  ~ Two ~

  “SO,” CLARA STARTED AS THOUGH the best hunk of maleness I have ever come across hadn’t just been and gone. “Where was I?”

  “You were going to tell me more about Jace. Is he the alpha of his pack? Where is his pack? Why is he so arrogant?” I asked, thinking Assjacket might be more interesting than I had earlier expected.

  “Ah, Jace is a force onto himself. Yes, he is an alpha, and although he doesn’t live in Assjacket...his land juts up to a great deal of Assjacket land. He is not married because he likes the ladies, a great variety of ladies, so that is all there is,” Clara answered, eyeing me. “If you find him handsome, it is because he is...extremely, but he isn’t one to commit.”

  “Who said anything about permanency?” I teased.

  “You probably won’t see Jace around. As I told you, he is the alpha of a pack outside of Assjacket. They keep to themselves and don’t come into town much.”

  “Oh,” I said, suddenly depressed. Assjacket just took a dive, again.

  “Ah, yes, I was about to tell you about the War of Wizards,” Clara stuck in hurriedly. “But never mind the details, the war brought the three of us, me, my mate, and your great-grandfather, here...to this world. In those days, Taggard was still able to laugh, and we traveled quite a bit. His journey into darkness didn’t come until later...much later.” She paused and sat staring as though looking into the past.

  My great-grandfather is a wizard. That is very different from being a witch, and explained a great many little mysteries to me. I wanted to know more, because if my great-grandfather was a wizard, then I had wizard blood. Like, holy good gosh! I prompted Clara, “Go on.”

  “Evil finds your weak points when you aren’t looking,” she said sadly.

  “What are you saying? He wasn’t evil then, but he is now? Is that why I have never heard about him?” I interrupted. I loved my paternal grandparents, but they hadn’t been around much in recent years. They came for my graduation from Tulane, and then again when I turned twenty-one. They were off gallivanting around the globe. My grandparents on my mom’s side were loners. They were immortal wolf shifters and they were always popping in on us. Mom said we were the only pack they wanted.

  “Listen, child, you must allow me to tell you the entire events that led to this day, without interrupting me. Save your questions for later,” Clara admonished. “What was I saying?” She mumbled off what she had just told me and then said, “Right, so here we were in this beautiful world, and immediately discovered humans are afraid of paranormal beings. Vampires and werewolves lived in secret, as did witches and warlocks. We met a few wizards from other realms over the years, but all agreed that our...magic must be kept a secret, as we all wanted to live in peace and avoid another wizard war. That is why we wizards have never formed a community. Too many...shall we say generals, not enough privates, and those generals, well, each one wants their own way.”

  I started to ask a question and Clara put up a hand and continued, “Other wizards from our realm had gone off to other dimensions and worlds, so we rarely met anyone we knew from our realm. Many of our kind had been killed in horrific ways during the war and we knew we had to be careful...just in case one of the executioners thought he still had a job.”

  Again, I started to speak, and Clara cut me off with a glare.

  “We were living in Ireland for a very long time when Taggard met her. She was an earthly witch with limited powers, and she was a mortal. She was the mother of your grandfather. Nathan and I were there for your grandfather’s birth, and then we thought it time to move on. We discovered Assjacket quite by accident and settled here.” She paused and shook her head. “Your great-grandfather, Taggard, was often in touch during that time. He and his lovely mate, Sally, were happy beyond words. It was later, when his mate became thirty years old and he suddenly realized she would age and die, that everything changed for him. He became obsessed with finding a spell, a potion, anything that would make her immortal. The thought of losing her drove him over the edge. It was when he was at home experimenting that she called him to say her vehicle had broken down. He had a meeting with a Fae he had come in contact with and was late getting to her. She was raped and killed by a human. She was left on the roadside. That was how he found her.”

  I put a hand to my mouth. “Oh...? Oh no.”

  “Indeed. He changed after that. His darkness took over his heart. He wanted vengeance and began taking it out on the humans he came across. She had been the love of his life.” Clara stopped at this and sat back and closed her eyes. I didn’t, couldn’t speak. Sometimes words just don’t work.

  When she spoke again, her voice was filled with sadness. “We understood, but we couldn’t allow him to do injury to innocent humans. We tried to stop him, talked ’til we were blue, and finally, he agreed. We thought it was over, but I was worried because he became reclusive.” She pulled a tissue from her pocket and blew her nose.

  I waited.

  “A little over a year ago, he came to my Nathan with a plan. He wanted Nathan, who has been successful with playing with time...nothing major, just a tweak here and there.”

  I gasped. “It is forbidden. Mom says we must never alter time.”

  “Quite right, and Nathan never did for anything meaningful, he just liked playing.” She sighed. “Taggard knew of his ability and came to Nathan. He wanted to go back in time and save his wife. As I said, on the night his wife was killed, he had been meeting with a Fae, a royal Fae who he had given help to in the past. He asked for and was granted the elixir of immortality. They, too, have the ability to go back in time, but are forbidden from altering the past, so Taggard came to us instead.”

  “Did your Nathan help him?”

  “No, though Tag begged, and his begging broke our hearts. Nathan told him only evil could come of changing anything when returning to the past. He warned him that going into the past and giving her the elixir might change the future in horrible ways, but Tag wouldn’t listen. He couldn’t, and I can’t say I blame him. Part of me wanted Nathan to take Taggard into the past and save her.”

  “So what happened?” I looked around and frowned. “And where is your Nathan?”

  “Taggard abducted him. They were deep in a lengthy argument that was going nowhere. I left them on the sofa and went up to bed when I suddenly got an awful feeling. I came downstairs and found them gone. On the coffee table was a note from Taggard. He said he would keep Nathan with him until Nathan agreed to send him back in time to save Sally. I spent all my time trying to locate them, and the only thing I know for sure is Taggard has taken Nathan to another dimension and must have him imprisoned somehow.”

  “Oh no, oh no, but...Nathan is a wizard. He must be powerful enough to escape?” I said.

  “He should have been, but Taggard has dipped deep into the forbidden elements of the Dark Arts for years. He must have found something he could use to keep my Nathan from escaping wherever they are. I have been trying to find whic
h dimension they might be at, but, even if I did, I am not sure I would know how to free him without killing Taggard, and killing is not something I do.”

  “Have you tried an orb? My mom has one...but she never uses it,” I said.

  “Of course, but he must be shielded with a spell of some sort, and I can’t seem to get through,” she said. “That is where you come in.”

  “Me?” I eyed her. “I thought I was here to control my dark side?”

  “Yes, and we will start working on that today, but you have Taggard’s blood in you, and I am hoping that will help me locate him when we start working together. Our best chance is your blood connection to your great-grandfather. In the meantime, I need to train you to control your abilities and make it work for you, not you for it.”

  “Okay, then, let’s get started,” I said. I had come to accept that there was nothing I could do but suffer in Assjacket, but if I could help Clara find her husband and perhaps meet my great-grandfather, who no one in my family has ever mentioned, well then, that felt right to me.

  New Orleans would still be there waiting when I was finished in Assjacket, West Virginia!

  * * * * *

  Three grueling hours later, the sun was going down in Assjacket as I left Clara’s boot house and went for a walk. A narrow path through a small field led me to the outskirts of an incredible pine forest. It seemed to stretch out into infinity. I took a long delicious breath of pine and looked up at the waning sun through the tall evergreens.

  I was still in the shorts and blue tank top I wore for training when a real cool breeze hit me in the woods. Damn, but Assjacket was not as warm as New Orleans. It was then, oh yeah, my nose wrinkled and my senses came alive.

  I knew that scent. It wafted by me and I smiled. I know a wolf when I catch a whiff, after all, that is part of who I am. And what am I? Is there such a thing as a tri-brid? I was a wolf, a witch, and a wizard. Cool.

  I turned and saw him there, weaving through the trees. He was big, beautiful, and black, with cream colored markings. His eyes, yellow and staring hard, right at me. Also, he was the largest wolf I had ever come across. He looked to be the size of a horse.