Spirit Sorceress: Spirit Sorceress: Book 1 (4 page)

Two Years Ago…

My scream died and the silence echoed loudly as I stared in
disbelief at my father’s soul.  An animalistic cry of denial and grief
left my mother, who rushed forward and pulled his body out of the water.

I just stood there staring at my father, and he looked back
at me sadly, and then we both watched my mother desperately try to bring him
back.  She must have known the truth, she was the one who taught me, his
spirit had left the flesh, it was too late.

But she emptied his lungs of water, and started CPR
anyway.  And I watched as my mother fell apart.  Life and death was
natural, but that didn’t matter when it came to family.  Right now, we
were just my father’s wife and daughter, trying to understand how something
like this could happen.

I walked over sadly and touched her shoulder, “Mom, he’s
gone.  We need to say goodbye.”

My mother was only four hundred, and looked about
twenty-eight.  They should have had another thousand years together, at
least.  I wondered if she could find him again on his next turn of the
wheel, was that done?  They were soul mates, so why not?  But I
wasn’t going to ask that, maybe once per lifetime was all they could have.

Mom started to sob.

The next few hours were painful, as I watched my mother fall
apart.  She refused to look at dad’s spirit, and I wasn’t going to be the
one to release his memories and help him move on.  At least, not until mom
had said goodbye.

We were spirit sorceresses, but we were also a family. 
The sense of detachment from mortal life so that we could focus on the bigger
picture, the spirit and souls, meant nothing here.  I just waited and was
there for her if she needed me, what else could I do?  I needed her too, I’d
just lost my father.

Finally, my mother stopped crying and got up, her face was
ashen and drawn as she walked back to the cabin.  We followed her, my
father’s spirit and I, to the dojo.  She sat in a meditation pose and
stared at the wall, her eyes unseeing, her spirit magic turbulent and all over
the place.

I waited.

I cooked dinner, and tried to get her to eat.  I got a
little scared when she didn’t even acknowledge me.  I was in pain too, I
needed my mother.  My heart ached with sadness and worry, I needed
guidance.  I stayed up as long as I could, but eventually I fell asleep,
scared, in tears, and unsure of what was happening, what my mother’s withdrawal
meant.

I found out, when I woke up several hours later, my neck
sore from sleeping in the dojo, and my eyes burned.  My back hurt too, I’d
fallen asleep in my gi, never having changed, and the sword sheath had dug into
my back while I slept. 

It took me several minutes to understand what I was
seeing.  My mother hadn’t moved, but something was off, different, wrong…

I gasped as I realized I couldn’t feel my mother’s spirit,
but her body was right in front of me.  My father’s spirit was gone as
well.  It didn’t make sense.  My mother left me alone, to follow her
husband on the next turn of the wheel.  Why would she do that?  It
didn’t make sense to me, but it was the only explanation.

They didn’t even say goodbye.  No last words of advice,
no apologies, just… nothing.  They were both gone.

I was alone.

Hot rage rose from my chest, as I wondered how they could do
this to me?  She’d abandoned me.  I ran, and shifted, unable to face
my anger at my own mother, through the grief, and my confusion…

I had to let go of the memories, accept them.  My
mother couldn’t handle my dad’s death.  That didn’t mean she hadn’t loved
me, or cared about me.  Although I couldn’t help but wonder.  Terry
had fought tooth and nail to get back to his son.  He’d failed, and I’d
failed him, but that was beside the point.  He didn’t just lay down and
die, he’d fought.

My mother had just given up.  Cleansing tears ran down
my face as I forgave her, it had been two years that this has poisoned my
soul.  It was time to let go, or at least, as much as I could let
go.  There was a knock at the door, and I looked up as it opened.

It was a young man, maybe nineteen.  Brown hair, brown
eyes, and he looked like he was in shape and he worked out.  His eyes were
glazed over, obviously mesmerized heavily.  I could hear his strong steady
heartbeat, and scented the blood below his skin.  It revolted me and
smelled like my favorite meal at the same time.  My teeth dropped once
again, and I gently felt them with my tongue.

I could refuse to eat.  I also knew the hunger would
grow all-consuming if I didn’t, as the air magic ate away at my body with its
constant healing and regenerating.  No, if I wanted to die, there were
less painful ways.  Besides, James would just order me to eat if I didn’t,
so that wouldn’t have worked.  It probably would have even amused him.

I was an emotional mess, and my spirit was damaged.  I
needed help figuring out how to center myself without a forest to draw calm
from, and I was alone.  Always alone.  Yet, I was so young for one of
my kind, and I wasn’t ready to die.  It wasn’t my time for my next turn on
the wheel.  If James asked me to do something truly evil, then I can take
my life.

I don’t know why, but until then, I knew I would cling to
hope.  If for no other reason than that I hoped to see James and his coven
die before I followed them.

If we were close to the city, this guy probably wouldn’t
even die, and would be healthier after being released.  I looked into his
eyes and felt the mesmerizing take effect.  I wasn’t sure what to say, so
I just closed the distance between us and pulled him against me.  I took a
deep breath through my nose, the delicious fragrance of his blood had my mouth
watering.

I whispered, “Don’t move, I won’t hurt you.”

Then I broke eye contact and moved my mouth to his
neck.  I hesitated a moment, I was unnatural now, but I was also young,
and didn’t want to die.  I worried I was compromising myself, but I knew
vampires weren’t truly evil.  These people were, James and his brood,
human life held no value for them at all.

But that wasn’t, and could never be, the way I was.

It was so easy, my teeth pierced his skin like a sharp
needles, and blood flowed into my mouth.  I expected to be disgusted, but
the air magic must have changed my taste buds, because there was no metallic
bitter taste, it was the best thing I’d ever had. 

The second part of it was the pleasure, like the rush of
endorphins from a bite of chocolate, times a thousand.  I swallowed over
and over, and when I felt full, I pulled away from him gently, and watched as
the two small punctures healed over in moments.  I was embarrassed to
realized I’d been wrapped around him there at the end, and I was all tingly in
my stomach.

I sensed James right outside the door, which immediately
killed any and all erotic sensation, his presence was like a bucket of cold ice
water.

James said in an annoyingly cheery voice, “I’m impressed
princess, I’d thought I’d have to order you to do it.  That wasn’t so bad
was it?  You should be set for a few days.  Why don’t you join us,
and we can discuss what I need from you?”

I decided then that if he wanted to pretend we were buddies,
I’d go along with it.  Nothing would be served by being contrary.  At
least, not until the right time.  I also wondered how powerful I was, I
didn’t think typical newborns could move as fast as I did earlier, or hear
quite so well.  It’s possible my spirit magic was enhancing the spells on
my soul.  Of course, I’d have to wait to be sure, I couldn’t exactly start
a fight to make comparisons.

I also needed to work out how my spirit magic worked in a
city, I could still use it in an emergency, but for right now I kept my reach
very small, which meant less power.  Enough for a shield though, so I only
had to worry about James’ orders.  No, I had too many problems to add to them,
so I smiled.

“Sounds good James, and thanks for the meal.”

He looked taken back, and I felt a little satisfaction at
taking him off guard.

I asked, “Will the others hold a grudge?”

James laughed, “The three you cut up hate you, but the dead
ones won’t hold it against you.  The rest are undecided.  But all are
under orders not to harm you.”

I sighed and nodded.  I put my katana back against the
wall, no point in carrying it if I wasn’t allowed the kill anyone.

“Any chance I can get new clothes?”

He laughed, “You can search the house if you want,” he
looked me up and down, “But the mother is taller than you.”

I decided to do that first, if he was going to let me, and
started to explore the house.  There were four bedrooms upstairs. 
One was sparsely appointed, and probably a guest room and the one I’d woken up
in.  One was a home office.  The other bedroom was obviously the
young man’s I’d just fed from.  I didn’t bother taking more than a glance
in there.

The master bedroom was rather large, with a king sized bed,
two dressers, and an armoire all made of red oak.  The walk-in closet was
across the room, and actually had double doors.  I walked in and took a
look around.  The woman must have been at least five foot six, four inches
taller, and she wore a larger bra size as well, but I realized she had close to
the same waist size.

I grabbed a pair of stretchy black yoga pants that would
probably fit if I folded up the hems, and a plain pink t-shirt that would be a
little big, and a yellow blouse to go over it.  I had no choice but to use
the bra and underwear I had on now, hers would be too large, and I wasn’t going
without.  I was a respectable B cup, and truthfully probably didn’t need a
bra.  Not with being what I was.

Still, the last thing I needed to do was go braless and give
any of the male creeps downstairs any ideas.  The gi wasn’t very
revealing, and the last thing I wanted to do was change into something sexy and
catch one of their eyes.  I shuddered, I didn’t think James would order me
to do anything, but why take chances.

I shoved those thoughts down and opened the door at the
other end of the closet, which was the master bath.  I looked wistfully at
the whirlpool tub, and then stripped to take a quick shower.  I could have
just shifted back and forth, but I wanted this moment alone to last as long as
possible.

The hot water felt good and I tried to apply myself to
figuring out my issues with spirit power.  Spirit sorcerers were different
than the others, I could already reach a half mile easily, and I wasn’t very
powerful.  My mother’s reach had extended hundreds of miles.

But the actual power came from within, through our own
souls.  The farther out we reached, the more we could draw from
within.  I wasn’t like air sorcerers who pulled the power through air, or
earth sorcerers who pulled it through earth.

As the power moved out, we connected to the spirit attached
to life around us, anything alive.  Anything we connected to, we could
read, influence, and for those that don’t live by Inari’s tenets, they could
gain even more power by leaching on those spirits, or even harm them.

On the other hand, everything we connect to also influences
us, or can.  If I reached out a half a mile, and connected to thousands of
human souls, their spirits, it created turbulence in my own soul.  Humans
and supernaturals all had free will, and sentience.  Which made things a
lot more erratic, than the simple spirit of a tree, or animal.

I realized then this was why my kind spent their childhood
in the forest, as our power grew and we lacked control in the beginning, a
child spirit sorceress would go insane in the city.

Somehow I had to either block that influence, or find
something else to center myself on that won’t be overwhelmed by it, or swept
away by it as my mother said.  I needed an anchor, or a shield to keep me
from the chaos.  Unfortunately, nothing came to me as to what it could be.

I stepped out of the shower and dried off.  I brushed
out my hair and got dressed.  I stared into the mirror and considered how
I looked.  My mother and father always said I was beautiful, but I
wondered if it were true.  I was fairly sure all parents told all
daughters that.

I turned around and craned my neck to see the back of
me.  Maybe yoga pants weren’t such a great idea, but the yellow blouse was
more than low enough to cover my butt, so maybe it’d be fine.

Besides, he said I couldn’t kill anyone, if they tried
anything I’ll just kick them where they live, or maybe disembowel them, they
should live through that.  I sighed and opened the door, I was afraid if I
made him wait too long he’d come get me.  Better to return on my own
terms, such as they were.

I’d realized we weren’t in the city yet when I took a look
out the window.  It was more suburbs on the outskirts of town, and I
remembered how overwhelming feeling hundreds of souls were.  It would be
much worse in the city.  There was a pretty large back yard, and though
the house was pretty large, it wasn’t quite the most affluent neighborhood.

I wondered how we’d even gotten here, did they pick it at
random?

I walked down the stairs confidently, or at least, I tried
to appear poised and in control.  I was actually nervous as hell, which
mostly stemmed from the fact I was helpless to resist James’ commands or
orders.  The fact the rest of the coven would not like me at all didn’t
faze me in the least.

The scent of pizza inundated me when I was halfway down, and
my stomach felt empty.  I wasn’t sure how long it took to turn a vampire,
but I felt like I hadn’t eaten in days.  I also noticed right then that I
wasn’t really thirsty for blood at all, but from what I understood it would be
a few days before I’d need that again.

I felt the stares on me, and I could also feel the souls on
the youngest ones without much effort.  I felt their anger, and mistrust,
no doubt well placed since I’d killed three of their number.  What I
hadn’t expected was their fear.  They feared me.  That made me feel a
little more confident, more true to what I projected to the room as I ignored
the stares and went straight for the pizza.

I grabbed a cola, a paper plate, and grabbed two slices of
plain cheese from the box on the counter, and went back out and sat at the
dining room table boldly.  It wasn’t lost on me, that the only ones
sitting here were James who must be around a thousand, and the other three I
sensed had some power, maybe three to four hundred.  The other eight, the
weaker ones of a young age, were all sitting in the living room either on the
couches or the floor.

The owners of the house weren’t present, though I could feel
their spirits upstairs.  So far, they were all healthy, if a little
bamboozled.  A part of me wanted to make sure they stayed that way, but
there was a part, the part trained by my mother, that insisted they hadn’t
asked for help.  I had no right to interfere with their fate.  I
wouldn’t kill them, but I wouldn’t save them either.

Admittedly, I wasn’t in a position to save them
anyway.  I couldn’t even save myself.

I took a bite of pizza and James caught my eye.  He
nodded his head slightly, an acknowledgment that he’d gotten and understood my
message.  Truthfully, I wasn’t even sure what I was trying to say by
sitting here, I was going by instinct, I lacked all experience outside of family
on how to deal with others.

Much less coven politics.

James said, “Welcome Miku.  This is Carly, Vince, and
Eustice.”

Eustice glared at James, and then turned back to me, “Call
me Ice, or Johns.”

I tried not to smile, obviously the guy hated his
name.  Eustice
Ice
Johnson was very attractive.  Actually,
everyone in the house was physically attractive.  He had icy blue eyes,
and spiked dirty blonde hair.  He was dressed in jeans, a plain gray
t-shirt, and a leather jacket.  Shockingly, his soul didn’t give off any bad
vibes, and I got the idea he was as trapped as I was.  Maybe not by
compulsion, but certainly by circumstance.

I didn’t have any problems reading him.  For one, I was
looking at them one at a time.  Also, I wasn’t in battle and I only needed
a little focus to track what was going on around me.  I had the time to
thread my spirit magic through their natural air shield and connect to their
souls.  It wasn’t easy, but it was possible.

Vince smirked when I looked his way.  He had that
knowing half smile on his face as he looked at me, and I had to force myself
not to flinch away.  I may have been naïve, but I wasn’t stupid enough to
show weakness.  His soul had an oily feeling, he was a very bad guy. 
Worse even than James.  James wouldn’t care if the people in this house
died, they were just food to him.  For Vince, well he would enjoy it if
they died, the more painfully the better.  I could tell he was the one who
had abused Terry and Sharon the most.

Carly was beautiful, and voluptuous.  Her hair was
somewhere between light and golden blonde, and she had bright green eyes. 
She was giving me stink eye, and it shocked me when I figured out why as my
power examined her soul.  She was jealous, of my looks and the attention
James was giving me.  I suppose I could understand the latter, since I was
his new tool and weapon, but the former had me baffled, I didn’t think I
compared.

Sure, I was attractive, and my dark hair was radiant, it was
my favorite feature.  I wasn’t down on my body, and thought I was more
than well-proportioned enough for five-foot two.  Still, Carly had the
kind of body that caused accidents while walking down the street.  I might
have been drawing more men’s eyes since I’d come downstairs, but that’s only
because I was something new to look at.

I nodded to them all, not quite prepared to say it was nice
to meet them, and looked back at James briefly before eating more pizza.

James cleared his throat, which drew my attention back.

“I lost Seattle,” he explained to me, I assumed all his
people knew this already, “Something happened to the vampire council, and the
last surviving member came to Seattle and took over.  I admit, we had some
history, but I’d never expected her to come here, so I suppose I wasn’t as
discreet with my… let’s call it activities, as I should have been.

“Let’s just say, she wasn’t very happy with me.  I’d
had her convinced I was a council stooge, and her friend.  She wasn’t very
happy when she learned the truth, fortunately I was several miles away by
then.”

I raised an eyebrow when he stopped talking, “So what
happened?”

He shrugged, “She’s almost two thousand years old.  I
ran of course, and I took everyone here with me.  I didn’t get to a
thousand by being stupid.  The plan was to lay low in the forest for a
month while we waited for things to cool down, and then we could try and move
south of the border.  But that all changed when we met you darling.”

Carly glared at me, I wondered if he used to call her
darling.  I also wondered how anyone could like that.  It was creepy
the way he said it.

“Why?  You’re crazy.  I couldn’t take you down,
how do you expect me to take down someone twice as powerful?”

James replied a little angrily, “These three and I were the
most powerful in the coven.  That’s why we had to run, the four of us were
all in on the activities I mentioned.  Ceara may be very powerful, but
she’s surrounded by weak guards.  I don’t expect you to kill her, I expect
you to be a distraction so I can kill her.  Eustice, Carly, and Vince
along with the others will take care of anyone else there and keep them off our
backs.”

“How?”

James sighed and spoke as if to a child, “You’re lightning
thing darling.  You couldn’t kill me with it, but for a moment it felt
like god his self was looking down on me in preparation of stomping my
ass.  All I need is for her to freeze for a split second, and I’ll kill
her.”

I was pissed at his condescension, it wasn’t like I’d ever
had a reason to use it before, how was I supposed to know it did that to a
vampire with strong shielding?  I was also confused, I didn’t remember
hitting him with it, just that other guy who died.  Did I channel it into
him when he hit me?  Well, I sure as hell wasn’t going to ask him.

“And if you’re wrong, and she doesn’t freeze?” I asked,
perhaps a bit too hopefully.

James shrugged with the ghost of a smile, “We all die,” he
said almost cheerfully.

Oh, just freaking wonderful.  I went back to eating my
pizza, it was actually very good.  I got the idea then that James didn’t
really care either way, he was old, and was just going through the motions of a
life that had lost its flavor.  He’d tried to pass it off as a joke, but
he’d been serious.  He was operating on pure habit.  That was why vampires
were so unnatural. 

His soul had learned its lessons for this life, it was ready
to move on, but it was being held captive in a body that wouldn’t ever
die.  I couldn’t get through his shield like the others, so I was just
guessing, I could also be wrong, but all the outward signs seemed to be there.

Or, maybe he was just nuts.

After a few minutes, the four of them started to plan the
details while I listened…

I lied on the bed staring at the ceiling, fiddling with a
pair of ugly sunglasses which rested on my stomach.  They were ugly, and
looked even worse on me, but for now it was all I had.  I knew it was
shallow, but I really wanted clothes that fit, and if I couldn’t stand the
sunlight without sunglasses, I wanted to pick out my own pair.

I snorted to myself and mentally poked at my vanity.  I
had much bigger worries than having to wear ugly sunglasses.

The plan was to rest tonight, and then any who needed to
could feed in the morning.  After that we were staging an assault on the
oldest known vampire, a remnant of the council, so James could take back his
city.

The only problem was, for me, the plan had already fallen
apart.  I was wide awake.  I wasn’t sure how long I was out during
the transformation but I wasn’t tired at all.  Plus, I was pretty sure
this idea was insane.  My spirit lightning killed a young vampire, but
only shocked and startled James.  I had a feeling that this Ceara might
not even feel it, if her natural shielding was twice as strong as his.

There was the thought that at least I’d be free, on the
other hand, I still wasn’t ready to die.

I could sense where everyone else was in the house. 
Carly and James were in the master bedroom, and they weren’t sleeping
either.  I could tell Carly was very enthusiastic, and loud.

I blushed.

The owners of the house, and their son, were stuffed in the
home office sleeping on the floor.  Eustice and Vince were in the son’s
room, and the rest of the crazy coven was downstairs lying on the couches, easy
chair, and the floor. 

I got a bad feeling when Vince started moving, and left the
son’s room.  My stomach tightened when he started moving toward the guest
room I was in, but he passed it by after pausing for a brief moment.  I
was confused for a moment, when he entered the home office, at least, until he
moved toward the lady of the house.

I clenched my teeth.  I knew what he was going to do,
he was a sadistic evil thing.  Surprisingly, the only real evil I’d found
in this coven.  I wanted to get up, and stop him, but laid there
unsure.  He wasn’t hurting me, and there was that free will thing as
well.  The tenets I followed as a way of life, it was the burden of a
spirit sorcerer.

My mother had told me I’d be tempted, truly until now, until
I was a part of the real world, I hadn’t understood what she’d meant. 
Hadn’t understood why I’d be tempted to turn from my beliefs.  I shut my
eyes tight when I heard a terrified whimper and scream.  The bastard had
removed the mesmerizing trance to make it more fun for himself.

Then I heard it, a quiet plea for help without any real
hope.

I moved before I’d even decided to.  Up off the bed,
out my door, down the hall, and I stood in the doorway looking down at Vince in
the blink of an eye.  It was fast, but I was fairly sure Vince would be even
faster.  It was hard to judge, the speed and perception was too
subjective, and I couldn’t challenge people to a foot race.

I looked at him, the elemental air swirling around him, and
I almost banged my head against the wall as the obvious struck.  Of course,
I could compare magical auras to determine my strength.  Just not now.

Vince was holding her down while she struggled.  He
hadn’t yet hit her, or even removed any of his or her clothes.  He clearly
enjoyed her struggles too much to hurry.  At least her husband and son
were still under compulsion, and sleeping.  The only problem I had, was I
couldn’t kill him, I was under orders.

However, that left a whole laundry list of stuff I
could
do.

He wasn’t even aware I was there yet, too focused on his
fun.  I threaded my spirit magic inside his shield, it was much easier the
second time, as if I knew the twists and turns through the labyrinth of magic,
and I wrapped his soul up tight in elemental spirit. 

He was evil. 

I could tear his soul out now with a thought, or torture
him.  Drain him of life, and many other horrible things that I would never
do, must never do.  I’d be lying though, if putting him through hell
wasn’t tempting.  I was a spirit sorceress, not a saint.

I firmly reminded myself karma was real, even if it took a
few more turns on the wheel, the universe would balance his soul.  Vince
might get away with it for his whole life, but Vince’s soul would get its
comeuppance, eventually.  It didn’t need me to do it, that wasn’t my function,
and I didn’t need to harm my own soul in the process.

Instead, I did the opposite.

I sent soothing waves of spirit into his soul, power that
wouldn’t steal his energy, just make it quiescent.  In short, it would
make him fall asleep.  For the first few seconds it didn’t have an effect,
but then he shook his head and swayed a bit.

He turned his head and glared at me, “What are you doing to
me bitch,” he grated out.

I smiled and tutted while waving a finger, “Language… 
Have a nice nap Vincent.”

He swore and tried to lunge at me, but wound up just rolling
off the terrified woman.  A snore escaped him.

When the terrified woman looked up at me, I locked eyes with
her and she went back to her trance.

“You will not remember what happened.  Go to sleep.”

She passed out.