Spirit Sorceress: Spirit Sorceress: Book 1 (7 page)

I loved clothes, shoes, and shopping, right from the
start.  It was my first shopping trip ever, but Lisa brought it to a whole
new level before we finished that was utterly exhausting.  I’d been
thinking a few outfits and I could expand on that as time went on.

Nope, Lisa was obviously a shopaholic, and living
vicariously through my new wardrobe.  It was early afternoon by the time
we finished our day at the mall, with several trips back to the car to load in
the bags.

First we’d gone to a casual clothes shop and filled up on
shorts, denim shorts, stretchy shorts, jeans, yoga pants, t-shirts, and casual
blouses.  Then she’d dragged me to another store for more professional
clothes, skirts, nicer blouses, and a few dresses, some of the latter
professional, and some worthy of a club.  I had to admit I was a little
body shy, not used to being around others at all, but Lisa assured me the
dresses we got for a night on the town were actually conservative for a club.

Then there was a shoe store, which I barely escaped after
fifteen pairs of various styles of running shoe, low heeled dress shoes,
sandals, boots, and high heels.  The high heels looked more like torture
devices than something to walk in.

But they made me five foot six, and did amazing things to
my… never mind.

I figured we were done after that, but then she dragged me
to Victoria Secrets for under garments that made me blush, and sleepwear that
felt so sinfully soft against my skin that I sighed in pleasure.  Last but
certainly not least, we stopped by the sunglass hut and actually found some
high end sunglasses that fit my face, and actually looked good doing so. 
I had no idea how much it all cost monetary wise, she handled it all on one of
the coven’s credit cards.

But I knew without a doubt, as we hung them up and packed
them away in my new bedroom, that the bill was coming shortly.  There was
a price, which would be working for the coven in some capacity.  Yet, it
was a price I wanted to pay, I wanted to be here, not alone in the forest, or
even alone here in the city.  I just hoped there was some way to fit in,
be useful, and make some friends.  All while not betraying the tenets.

Ceara wasn’t a bad person, I didn’t think.  But I was
fairly sure she was throwing out all the stops to keep me in her coven.  I
wasn’t all that yet, but I knew in the future having a vampire that was part
spirit sorceress would be quite a boon to her.

I changed into a pair of jean shorts, a loose tee, and I put
on my sunglasses. 

“So what’s next?”

I have to admit, that Lisa was growing on me, I didn’t want
her to leave.  Pathetic, I knew she’d have to go back to her duties sooner
or later, and I needed to walk around the coven and do research to see what I
wanted to do for this stage of my life.  I didn’t know if not wanting her
to go made me clingy or not, but I felt like we were becoming friends of sorts.

She smiled and measured me with her eyes, “You look much
better in clothes that fit.  I’ll introduce you to our allied witch, and
show you were the businesses are that aren’t here in this building.  Oh,
and where the pack lives and works.  Then maybe dinner?  We don’t
have to, but we can also go to a club tonight?  To have fun, but also so
you can see what having a job at one would be like.  Tomorrow you’ll be on
your own to figure things out.”

“Sounds good.  Is this… normal for a new vampire?”

She shrugged, “Mostly.  I’d be lying if I said you
weren’t a special case, but we take care of our own.  You aren’t getting
anything the rest of us don’t, except that you don’t have your maker to guide
you, and don’t have a predetermined place in the coven.  That seems like
just as much of a bad thing as a good thing to me.  You get to choose for
yourself, yet…”

I nodded, understanding what she meant.  Most simply
belonged from the start, and knew their place.  I had to find mine. 
On the other hand, I was sure there were others.  I couldn’t be the only
vampire created by a rogue that found their way to a coven.  Although,
those others didn’t have a duality of nature to deal with.  I was coven,
and a sorceress.

We left and took the stairs down.  I ran my fingers
through my hair as we walked out into the street, but it didn’t seem to be
windblown.  I don’t know why I hadn’t noticed that before, but the air
magic granted a light shield of sorts to vampires.  Enough that the wind
from fast movement didn’t make me look like I’d been hanging my head out of a
car going eighty.

Either that, or the spells seared to my soul automatically
controlled the air around my body, forcing it to part.  One of the two,
and I suppose it didn’t really matter which.

“Coffee?”

I smiled, “I knew I liked you.”

She chuckled and we picked up a couple of coffees to
go.  We were apparently walking, no car.  It was only a few blocks
away, and despite the long day I wasn’t tired at all.  One of the
advantages of being a vampire I supposed.  We got tired, but stamina
wasn’t an issue with continual healing.  My legs and feet didn’t hurt at
all.

I wasn’t sure what I’d been expecting while going to meet a
witch, but it wasn’t this.  We walked into a candle shop.

I took a look around, and realized it was a little more than
that.  They had candles, incense, figurines and other knickknacks. 
They also had a large collection of herbal products from lotions and hair care,
to teas and other ingestible herbal products.  It was also warded heavily
with magic, and I could feel it trying to read me, though it couldn’t touch me
through my spirit shield.

There was a girl behind the counter, she looked to be around
fifteen and had a sour look on her face, like she’d rather be at the dentist
getting a root canal than sitting behind that desk.  She had her nose in
her phone reading something.  That was something else I would need for
city living, a cell phone.

Lisa said in a cheerful voice, “Hey Katy, is your mom
around?”

Katy glanced up and took us both in, and then turned her
head, “Mom!  Lisa’s here.”

I held back a snorted laugh, remembering I was a sullen teen
as well.  And probably for much longer, as my rebellious phase was between
the ages of sixty and eighty.  Of course, I was also a fox at the time,
unable to change shape yet, which cut down on the amount of trouble I could
cause.

A woman that looked close to thirty came out, although I
guessed she was probably older.  She had the same strawberry blonde hair
and brown eyes as the teen, so I assumed this was her mother.  The witch
also had a body to die for, and I wondered if I’d start to get a complex about
my more athletic figure, constantly surrounded by more voluptuous women.

Lisa grinned, “Hey Tina, how’s your day?”

Tina gave her daughter a longsuffering look and answered,
“It could be worse, what can I do for the coven today?”

“Just an introduction to our newest member.  This is
Miku, she joined us when James failed to retake the city.  Miku, this is
Tina, the best witch in all of Seattle.”

Tina snorted, “Right.  I’m all powerful,” she turned to
me as her daughter snorted at her mother’s comment, and Tina said, “Nice to
meet you.  Did she explain the arrangement?”

I shook my head, “She mentioned allies, but I’m not sure
what that means.”

Tina explained, her voice was friendly, but at the same time
reserved.  I got the idea she was nice to those that were cordial with
her, but didn’t extend trust to many.

“Normally supernaturals will trade favors, or flat out
charge money for assistance.  Allies means we both do for each other if
asked, with no account between us.  However, that is between me and
Ceara.  If I need coven help, I ask her and she sends someone, or if it’s
coven business she asks me.  So allies only applies to the coven as a
whole under Ceara.

“So if you need a spell for yourself, or want my help with
anything that isn’t coven business, it will cost you personally.  That
goes both ways.  What the hell are you by the way.”

I tensed a moment, but Tina still seemed relaxed.  I
still wasn’t sure what to share and what not to.  How involved in this new
life could I get? 

“Sorceress,” I said simply, “I’m not sure what your wards
are trying to do, but I’m not a threat to you.”

She frowned, and hadn’t missed that I failed to reveal my
element, but she held the obvious question back.  Maybe she already knew
based on the fact I had none of the usual four elements?  Or could she
even tell that?

Lisa interrupted the awkward moment, “We still have a lot to
do today.”

Tina took the hint and nodded, “You’re welcome in my store,
as a part of the coven.”

I wasn’t sure, but I think that was a subtle jab, if I ever
left the coven I wouldn’t be welcome.  Perhaps she’d change her mind if I
got to know her better, but not right now.  Lisa and I left the store and
started for our next destination.

Lisa asked, “Why didn’t you just tell her?”

I struggled with that a moment, “I was raised to keep my
distance from the supernatural as well as mortals.  I know that’s a moot
point now, being a vampire and in a coven, but a lifetime of habit won’t just
disappear in a day.  It doesn’t seem wrong exactly to talk about what I
am, but definitely odd.”

Lisa frowned, “I can’t imagine its easy.  Why though, I
mean, keep your distance like that.”

“It’s our power, what we do.  I suppose it’s easier not
to get involved with all the politics and fighting in the supernatural world,
to not be tempted by the idea of taking sides and impinging on other’s free
will when they do evil.”

I left off the part about turning into monsters ourselves.

Lisa shook her head, “Is that really so important?”

I frowned, “Yes.  We are focused on spirits, on
souls.  How can they learn or grow if they can’t screw up in a lifetime or
two?  I realize that sounds a little crazy, for most this life is all they
know.  That rule doesn’t apply to our family, or ourselves, or anyone that
asks for help.”

Lisa said, “So if I was attacked by twenty rogue vampires,
and didn’t ask for help, you would just… watch them kill me, or worse?”

I sighed, “Makes me a bad candidate as a friend doesn’t
it?  Okay, do you see the man in blue over there?  He beats his
wife.  And the woman over there, she’s a total bitch and dominates her
husband and children, she’s not happy unless they’re all miserable.  And
that man in the gray suit, he cheated on his taxes, and steals his neighbors
paper in the mornings.  That young child of three over there was a twisted
murderer and rapist in his last life.”

Lisa frowned, “Why are you telling me all this?”

“To try and explain why I follow Inari and the tenets. 
Understand there is no reasonable doubt, no question of their guilt.  I
can weigh and judge a soul.  Where do I draw the line?  I have the
power to end that man’s life, he’d never beat his wife again.  Then that
same soul will simply be born again, perhaps to do the same to another woman
without learning anything.  Or how about the little child, his is a dark
soul with a lot of lives lost to him already, and more to come before he’s on
the right track.  I could save a lot of pain and loss for others if I
simply reach in and destroy his soul.  No more lives for him, no nothing.

“Where do I draw the line if I start to interfere?  I’m
mortal too, and fallible, do I have the right to judge the established
system?  No, my power doesn’t give me that right, and worse, if I tried, I
could easily turn into a monster myself.  Some of my kind do.  Of
course, there’s an easy answer, as my friend, a person close to me, well, you
could always ask for my help if you were attacked…”

I wasn’t sure if that was cheating or not, being a rules
lawyer.  Would that be breaking the spirit or intent of that rule?  I
wasn’t sure what the answer was, and I had no one to ask.

Lisa was silent and thoughtful about what I’d said, I
wondered if I ruined the chance to be her friend.  I’d been rather intense
in my explanation.

I smiled the best I could and changed the subject, “So
what’s next?”

We didn’t speak about it any further, and as the afternoon
waned she became her cheery self again.  Maybe I had a friend, or dare I
hope, someone who understood, at least a little bit, what I was going through,
and the dilemma of the choices I had to make.

The coven had two clubs, a sports bar, and pool hall. 
Almost half the coven were workers at these places, and they had human help
too.  I supposed it made sense in a way, vampires couldn’t be hurt by the
sun, nor were we undead, but even with sunglasses, the sun was bright enough to
make our eyes sting a little in direct sunlight.  The dark of night was
like daylight to us, so of course many would have nightly jobs and pursuits,
and sleep part of the day.

We didn’t go into any of the establishments, she just showed
me where they were.

Then we retrieved the car and she showed me a bar and a
couple of restaurants in the northern part of the city.

Lisa explained, “These places are where the werewolves
usually party, drink, and eat when they go out.  The pack up here is
larger than most, at the last we heard, there were twenty-three wolves, nine of
them female.  Like I explained earlier, we aren’t really at odds with
them, but fences make good neighbors, and this is their territory.  They
run a construction business, most packs do, and they also have a vet office
closer to the center of the city.  They actually live on a few acres about
thirty miles outside the city, closer to the forest where they can shift and
run.

“Regardless, the point is you may run into wolves doing
their work in the city, it shouldn’t be an issue because they won’t see that as
their territory and feel the need to protect it, it’ll be just a job site to
them.  So really, just avoid this area if you can.”

It was at this point that my life got a hell of a lot more
complicated than it already was.  Three werewolves walked out of the
restaurant we were parked across from.  They didn’t glance at our car at
all, just got in their work truck and drove away, and I watched until I could
no longer feel their souls.  My heart hammered in my chest as I felt both
horror, and the loss of hope.  Lisa looked at me questioningly, but I was
stuck in a memory of the past.

Twenty Years Ago…

“Mom, did you always love dad?”
I sent in mind
speech, it was the only way I could communicate until I got my human form.

My mother turned and looked down at me, “No, we had to get
to know each other first.  He was a bit slow actually, I had to seduce him,”
my mother smiled at the memory.

“How did you know he was your mate then, if you didn’t
love him the moment you saw him?”

I half expected her to tease me at my transparent attempt to
find out how I’d know my mate when I saw him for the first time.  I was
growing up, and growing in power.  I didn’t think it would be long until I
could shift for the first time.

But she just smiled, “I knew as soon as I felt his
soul.  It felt familiar, like coming home.  Of course, knowing that
he was the only one for me didn’t make things much easier.  We both had
mortal concerns, and had to get to know each other and fall in love like
everyone else.  Relationships take work Miku, there are no shortcuts, but
it’s worth it.”

I’d lost my parents, and felt alone.  But in the back
of my mind I’d always had the hope I’d eventually run into my mate, and start a
new family of my own.  Even becoming an unnatural vampire, which meant I
couldn’t have children, left the hope that I could at least share this life
with someone else.

That hope was ashes in my mouth, and I felt a tear in the
corner of my eye as I tried not to fall apart in front of Lisa. 
Werewolves could find a mate in another wolf, a human woman, possibly even a
witch or a sorceress.  But a vampire?  He’d never accept me, it was
impossible.  I wondered what I’d done in a past life to earn such a shitty
deal on this turn of the wheel.

An alternate ending played in my head, if my parents were
alive, I could have found him two years ago.  Had the guidance of my
mother, and a protective mate, been part of a pack.  I felt a surge of
guilt, only ifs were useless.  The past was set and couldn’t be changed.

I supposed I still had the coven, and maybe I could have a few
friends.  I knew I should be thankful for that, but right now I didn’t
really care.  It hurt.

“Dinner?” I choked out, not really feeling up to it, or a
night out after that.  But then, I didn’t want to be alone either, I’d had
enough of that.  I refused to go back to wallowing in self-pity, like I’d
done for the last two years.  I even supposed it didn’t mean I had to be
alone, I just couldn’t be with the one man that was meant for me, most people
never even met their soulmate, or recognized when they did.  Most didn’t
even believe it was possible.

Lisa nodded, “Sure, want to talk about it?” she asked, not
sure what had happened but she sounded concerned.  I guess I wasn’t hiding
my shock very well.

I shook my head and touched her arm gently in thanks, “Not
now, maybe later.  Thanks.”

It was about seven when we got back to the coven
house.  It’d been a full day of running around.  We went up to the
second floor, and filled our plates with some dinner.  It wasn’t a full
buffet by any stretch, but there was some variety.

There weren’t many people left, most had probably already
eaten.  Lisa lead us over to another table with a few vampires, one of
them was Eustice.  I noticed he was chatting comfortably and realized this
had been his coven already, and now he was free of James’ compulsions.  He
would just fit right back in.  I didn’t know the other two sitting with
him.

“Hey Ice,” I said as we sat down.

He looked up and smiled, “Miku, how’s your first day going?”

I nodded, “Pretty good, Lisa’s showed me around.”

He gestured, “This is Daniel, and Ethel.”

Daniel looked in his mid-twenties, light brown hair, warm
brown eyes, and he gave me a smile in greeting.  Ethel, another old
fashioned name, and she felt around three hundred, though she looked
twenty-four.  She had dark red curly hair, and brown eyes, a beautiful
face and she was tall, statuesque.

Ethel gave me a dismissive look, “I don’t see what all the
excitement is about.”

I mentally gave her the finger, and suppressed my
smile.  I guess she wouldn’t be a friend.

Daniel blushed and gave me an apologetic look which was kind
of cute, in a shy way.

Eustice just sighed.

Lisa said, “Daniel is our accountant, he keeps the books and
does the taxes for all of our businesses.  Ethel is a lawyer.”

I snorted a laugh, that explained so much…

Ethel’s eyes narrowed and she turned to Eustice, “I’ll see
you tonight,” and she got up and walked away.

I wondered if they were dating or something.  Not that
I was jealous, I liked Eustice, especially now that he was out from under
James’ thumb, but only in a big brother sort of way.  Looking at Ethel
walk away, I supposed I could understand the attraction, but she was kind of
a...

Eustice interrupted my thoughts, “So any idea what you’re
going to be doing for the coven yet?”

I shook my head, “No, we’re going to check out the clubs
later, and I’ll probably lurk around the third floor tomorrow and see what else
is available.”

Eustice shook his head, “I can’t imagine you doing office
work.  You’re too…” he seemed to struggle to find a descriptor.

I raised an eyebrow, “Too what?”

“Badass,” Lisa said with a friendly smirk.

I sighed while Eustice grunted in agreement, and truthfully
I didn’t want to file paperwork either, and cooking or cleaning didn’t really
appeal.  It wasn’t unimportant work, or that I thought I was too good for
it, it just wasn’t my cup of tea.  But being a guard was out, so maybe I
could bartend, or… something else at one of the clubs?

I also had to find a balance for my spirit sorcery. 
One of the things I was taught, was that our power had a purpose, to keep
people on the path of the wheel.  Nudge a ghost when it had trouble
getting to the spirit world to prepare for their next life.  Life was its
own teacher, that wasn’t our job, yet we also needed to judge and act when
asked for help. 

I found it ironic that I was surrounded by vampires, the
very beings that were outside of that path, and I was now one of them. 
Where did that leave me?  How could I guide people on a path that I had
left?

“We’ll see.  I’m keeping my mind open until I know
what’s available.”

Eustice asked, “So what club?”

Lisa said, “Echo.”

Eustice nodded and stood up, “Catch you later,” and Daniel
got up and followed him out.

“So… Eustice and Ethel?” I asked in a confused voice.

Lisa snickered, “Jealous?”

I shook my head, “Baffled.”

Lisa replied in a doubtful voice, “Sure you are.  But
no.  James was into some shady dealings.  Eustice is kind of the
general manager of the two clubs, bar, and pool hall.  He keeps tabs on
the four that manage each business.  Anyway, Ethel being the coven lawyer
is working with him to clean the places up so to speak.  Ceara is letting
him clean it up, even though he used to run it.”

“Like what?”

Lisa shrugged, “Drugs, prostitutes, other shady activities,
they mesmerized the cops to keep them away whenever one came around asking
questions.”

I decided not to ask any more questions, I wasn’t sure I
wanted to know.