Spirit Sorceress: Spirit Sorceress: Book 1 (3 page)

Two Years Ago…

I could still hear my father whistling as my body dropped
down and backward.  As I flexed my body I came out of the backwards roll
and landed on my feet, the dagger my mother had thrown made a sharp sound as
the blade dug into the wall.

I didn’t have time to pat myself on the back for feeling her
hand throw the dagger, because she threw another one right away, which made me
jump up.  Based on the angle of her arm and wrist flick it would have gone
in my right leg.  I was rewarded with another sharp sound as I landed
lightly on my toes, this one lower on the wall.

I couldn’t help the grin that came on my face as I drew my
sword and deflected my mother’s, she wasn’t showing me any quarter at
all.  Then the staccato sound of metal striking many times and quickly
filled my ears as we fought.  My body was limber and responded
automatically to what my spirit discerned.  The intense bout lasted for
what seemed like hours as neither of us got past the other’s guard, but it was
probably more like fifteen minutes.

My mother’s pride in me leaked through her shields as we
backed off from each other.

“That was excellent Miku, we’ll go into Seattle to continue
your training in two days.”

I asked curiously, “Is it that different?  What will I
learn?”

My mother replied thoughtfully, “You will see.  The
city is full of life and spirit, just as the forest is.  But it is much
more complicated.  Humans, shifters, vampires, other kinds of sorcerers,
lost spirits, all with free will.  All vying to improve their own lives,
sometimes with partners and friends, but it is not nearly as harmonious as the
forest.  You must learn to weather the storm of their spirits without
getting swept up in their wake.”

“I don’t understand.”

She smiled, “You will.  I…”

She trailed off, and pain flared across her face.  She
ran for the door and disappeared outside of it.  I had no idea what had
happened, but my reach in spirit was puny next to my mother’s.

I sheathed my sword and followed at a dead run, I’d never
seen my mother so devastated before, and it felt like my heart was in a vise as
I did my best to keep up.  I felt him as we approached the river, my
father’s solid presence.  But my mind was too confused and in a panic to
figure it out until we came in sight of my father’s favorite fishing spot.

I saw him standing there, but only his spirit.  He
looked down on his own dead body, his upper body was submerged in the stream.

I screamed…

Tears ran down my cheeks as I stared into the dying fire.
 I fed it a few pieces of wood and laid down to get some sleep
myself.  My father had been a hundred and fifty years old, and looked not
a day over twenty-five.  He’d been the mate of a spirit sorceress. 
That hadn’t done him any good when he’d slipped in the mud while casting. 
Not very dangerous, it was something that should’ve merely been embarrassing,
except he fell into the shallow water, and was knocked out by a rock just under
the surface.  Just like that, he was gone. 

Nothing but a stupid accident.  The tears followed me
into sleep.

We woke up early, right before dawn.  We had a quick
breakfast and got started out.

Terry asked, “Today?”

I replied a little sourly as I felt the cool and moist
morning air, “Yes, by midafternoon I’d guess.  If we can keep up
yesterday’s pace.”

Terry grunted, “You don’t sound happy about that.”

I shook my head, “Not that, rain is coming.”

Terry looked up in the sky, the sun was still coming up and
it was pink on the horizon through the trees. 

It hadn’t been magic that made me discern the coming rain,
just experience, and paying attention to things.

“Coming from the other direction,” I noted in a slightly
amused voice.

He nodded, and we trudged along.  It was about a half
hour later when the rain started coming down.  It was cold, and miserable,
and I started to daydream about my fur and wondered how I got into this mess in
the first place.  I was soaked to the bone in minutes, and the next few
hours were hard.  I was in great shape, and a sorceress, it made me wonder
what kept Terry going despite all that happened, and the death of his wife.

I decided it must be his son.  The man was fighting to
get back to his son.  Memories from my past flooded me, along with a hot
rage that shocked me.  I struggled and pushed it all down, locked it away,
now wasn’t the time.

I stiffened, and Terry stopped.

He asked, “What’s wrong?”

I cursed, fluently and long.  We’d only had maybe a half
mile to go, just over the next ridge, and we could have radioed for help.

“They’re here,” I said simply.

I had really hoped the rain would wash out our tracks, and
maybe our scent, but they’d caught up.  There were twelve of them, I could
only assume the other three were still recovering from their wounds.  We
hobbled a little faster until we found a small clearing.

I ordered, “Sit, don’t move.”

He peered up at me and looked me right in the eyes,
something he’d avoided over the last day, “Are we dead?”

I shook my head, “Not yet.”

Not a lie really.  We would be, just not yet.  I’d
been trying to worm my power through the elemental air that flowed through and
shielded their souls, so I could cut off their power.  That might have
given me a chance, even against twelve.  Only three, maybe four, could
attack effectively at once, any more than that and they’ll be more liable to
get in each other’s way, and with their abilities dampened they’d be off
balance.

I could only get to eight of them though, and even then it
was incredibly hard to focus enough on cutting off the flow of their magic, not
to mention I’d soon be fighting while doing it.  Then there were the other
four, one must have been close to a thousand years old, no doubt the leader of
this coven.  Trying to cut him off was like trying to soak up a pond with
a paper towel.  The other three I could’ve probably taken one on one, but
with my power already split eight ways…

They ghosted out into the small clearing, and surrounded us.

I said with a steady voice, “He’s under my protection, leave
in peace with your lives.”

The old one laughed, “Do you think to stop us all?” 
His smile looked almost genuine, if a little disturbed.

I shook my head, “No, but is this one meal worth some of
your lives?  Some of you will die by my hand.  I promise you
that.  There’s a million meals that way that won’t kill you, go get it.”

He smiled and said smarmily, “Oh honey, can’t you
count?  I see two meals.”

Two of the vampires from behind lunged.  Thanks to my
mother’s training, I didn’t even have to look.  I pushed more power in
their direction, and stole their speed as I pulled my sword.  I had all
the time in the world.  I spun at the last moment and separated the head
from his shoulders on the one that lunged at me.  The second tried to drag
Terry away, but got a right cross to his face for his trouble, and then a sword
stroke into his chest by me.

I knew I was dead, it was just a matter of time.  Heck,
the old one could do it by himself but he hadn’t moved yet, he just watched. 
Perhaps he judged his chances as he spent the lives of his people, he’d soon
realize I wasn’t much of a threat to him.  Despite my imminent death, or
maybe because of it, I was calm, centered, and almost relaxed as three more
rushed in.  Two were slowed with a pulse of my power, the third was able
to shrug it off.

If I was going to die, I decided I wasn’t holding anything
back.

I lifted my left hand and spirit lightning shot out at the
third.  There are legends that the Kitsune can shoot lightning or fire,
the truth was a little different.  Spirit lightning wasn’t an attack on
the physical body, it was an attack on the spirit, the soul.  But it was
visible, and looked remarkably like a lightning strike with a fiery aura.

The lightning struck number three, even if he moved too fast
to track his body with my eyes, my senses knew just where his soul was. 
His body kept coming at me through momentum, his soul however shot backwards,
as I blasted it from his body.  Spirit lightning could destroy a soul, but
intent mattered, so mine didn’t.  It merely separated the spirit and
body.  That was three down, nine left.

I spun and pushed the passing dead body into vampire
attacker number two, which knocked him back.  The first’s eyes widened as
he met mine and saw his death approaching.  As I swung for him, I felt the
old one move.  He was coming right for me, and my power, not even my
lightning, would be able to reach his soul fast enough.  It was more
accurate to say I felt him in one place, and then right behind me, rather than
saying I felt him move.  I aborted my attack on the first vampire who was
dodging back anyway, and tried to turn and meet the old one’s strikes, but he
was too fast, or I was too slow.

Pain erupted in my back, then my shoulder, and finally my head
felt like someone had hit it with a frying pan.  Then darkness followed.
 At least I was able to take out three of them, but it ultimately wouldn’t
matter, I’d failed.  Terry wouldn’t ever be seeing his son again…

I woke screaming, covered in sweat, and my whole body
trembled.  I’d expected my next turn on the wheel, not this.  I
screamed, and didn’t stop.  My throat turned raw and still I didn’t
stop.  It was pain beyond imagining, as if every nerve in my body was set
on fire and then dipped in acid.

“James, what the hell is this?” I barely heard through my
cries and agony.

James replied thoughtfully, “I don’t know.  I don’t
know what she is either, or what that lightning shit she shot at Cory was, that
made him drop dead without a mark on his body.  What I do know, is if she
turns she’ll be a weapon I can use to regain my place.”

Oh hell, that explained the torture, they were turning
me.  I imagined for a human turning vampire, it would be mildly painful,
but for a spirit sorceress, who is in full touch with her own soul as it’s
twisted and ensorcelled by spirit and air magic, it would be torture.

It was torture, and my mind shied away from the pain as I
rolled into a ball.  Not that it did any good.  My hoarse screams,
sobs, and cries went on as my soul was slowly mutilated.  I didn’t even
have the ability to think about trying to resist it with my power, I was in too
much pain to think, to do more than wish to die.  James, and his lackey’s
voices seemed to disappear into the background as nonsense noise.

After what felt like days, but was probably only hours of
unmitigated pain, the agony abated and I fell mercifully unconscious…

I woke and wrapped myself in the power of spirit, a
shield.  If what I heard was right, the old one, James, wanted to use me
as a weapon.  Good luck to him, I’d never do what he demanded.

The absence of pain seemed odd, made things surreal, and
felt almost wrong.  More than that, my eyesight was extremely sharp, and
the dark room was bright to my new eyes.  My hearing was much improved as
well, I could feel them throughout the building I was in, a house
perhaps?  Too far for my old self to hear, but I heard their
conversations, and their movements quite easily.

There were twelve of them left and I sighed as I realized I
couldn’t feel Terry’s soul within the reach of my magic.  I turned my
sight inward, to my own soul, and studied it.  I couldn’t touch or effect
the air magic as I knew all other vampires couldn’t.  It was set through
spell work, automatically healing me, making me faster, increasing my
senses. 

I shuddered as I felt the blood thirst for the first
time.  I was… unnatural.  I easily heard my heartbeat pick up in
distress and tried to calm it.  Too late, I heard the soft footfalls
approaching the room I was in.  I looked down and rolled my eyes, I was
still dressed in the gi, and I saw my sword across the room.  Then I
thought about it and was relieved instead, I didn’t want to be changed by any
of them, that was for sure.

James opened the door before I could decide to lunge for the
sword, and smiled at me.

“Don’t move darling, and listen up,” he said as we met eyes.

I scoffed and went to move, but my body didn’t obey. 
My eyes widened in panic as realization sunk in, and he smiled as he took a
seat next to me on the bed.

“Good, I wasn’t sure if that would work.  I’m your
maker darling, you might be immune to other vamps, but not me.  We are…
connected.”

I shuddered and looked inward again.  He was
right.  My shield covered and protected my soul, but he was already
connected.  A link left over from when he’d poisoned my soul with vampire
magic, a link that couldn’t be shielded.

“What do you want?  And please, call me Miku.”

I didn’t really want him calling me by my name either, but
I’d take anything over that creepy drawl when he called me darling.

He looked amused, “Fine, and call me James.  Now, what
the hell are you?”

I struggled, and fought it, but it was useless.  He
questioned me about everything, and I told him, all of it.  Spirit
sorcery, spirit lightning, spirit reading, shape changing, manipulating spirit
to cut off others magic as well as healing and other effects, see and commune
with spirits, all of it. 

He even had me tell him the things I couldn’t do yet as a
spirit sorcerer but I knew about because of my mother.  Spirit shifting
which is a bit like teleporting, but by passing through the spirit world. 
Illusions through spirit, which made people see what I wanted them to see, but
only in their own minds.  Lastly, accessing the Akashic records and my own
past lives.

It was frustrating as hell, and I had tears in my eyes for
the violation of it before we were finished.  I could feel a simmering
rage below my surface.  All I wanted to do was reach up and kill this smiling
bastard, but I couldn’t move.

His eyes glowed with interest, “I’ve never heard of your
kind.  Sure, fire, air, earth, and water sorcerers.  What other kinds
are there?”

I replied reluctantly, “That’s it.  There used to be
life sorcerers, and creation sorcery, but they either died out or were killed
long ago.”

“Well, that’s neither here or there darling, now listen up.”

I glared at him, if I’d been a fire sorcerer he’d be a
cinder.

“Fine Miku, listen up.  See, I can be reasonable, I’m
not a bad guy.  You will not try to kill me or bring about the deaths of
the rest of my coven.  You will obey all orders I give you.  You will
not attempt to leave the coven or escape.  If you can manage to behave and
not cause problems, I’ll grant you a certain amount of freedom.  And once
I have what I want, who knows, maybe I’ll release you.”

I asked, though I already knew the answer, “What happened to
Terry?”

James shrugged, “He didn’t survive the last feeding.  A
shame really.  But don’t worry, I’ll have your first meal in here in just
a second.”

I flinched at my reaction to those words, as the hunger
flared and I felt my fangs drop.  It was unnatural, but nothing had ever
sounded better to me.

James smiled, clearly enjoying my distress, and I reached out
for the spirit and life around me to calm and center myself.  I whimpered
when all I found was chaos and pulled my power back to the house’s limits.

I understood then, what my mother had tried to tell me two
years ago.  I was accustomed to using the peace and harmony of the forest
as an anchor.  Here in the city, I was in danger of being swept up by the
hundreds of humans that had been in range of my magic.  Humans that were
not at peace with themselves.

I needed to find a new anchor, one that would protect me
from the turbulence of spirit when I reached out to my limits in this
place.  I had no idea how to do that, and being turned into a vampire, and
surrounded by this evil coven, I’d never felt more alone.  The only reason
I could even spread my power through the house is the vampires own air magic
kept me somewhat separated from their chaotic natures.

James patted my hand in a mocking fatherly gesture as he
stood up. 

“You can move again, but don’t leave the room until after
you’ve fed,” he said as he walked out, shutting the door behind him.

I stood up and went for my sword.  I moved faster than
I’d expected, but managed not to trip over my own feet.  I held it in my
hands, sheathed, and I sighed.  He’d left it with me to make me feel
impotent, to take away any doubts that I was in his power.  I was stuck,
and I had no idea how to get out, and even my own power of spirit had betrayed
me, I couldn’t reach out around me for comfort.

I was alone.

A hot rage swept over me, and the memories of that day two
years ago rushed up again, this time I let the tide take me…