Few things are more grating than an arrogant vampire laughing at your expense. The grating halfling sitting in front of me practically had him in tears at that one remark.

“You know I could burn you alive where you sit,” I stated matter-of-factly to the girl. I was already pushed to my limit being asked to come to this den of blood-sucking murderers. I would not suffer their insults, too.

“You might start your little witchy-woo,” Harding interjected now completely devoid of laughter, “but you’d be dead before you got done. You don’t come close to Sarah’s power, so don’t act like we are on the same playing level.”

I broke my eye contact with the girl to glance at him. The threat was real. I would suffer anything the little bitch had to say in silence. Now, was the time to do what I had been instructed.

“We have your father,” I laid out my cards. “He’s alive and well, but Sarah doesn’t intend on keeping him this way unless you do what we need.”

“Why are you even involving us in this?” she asked. “We aren’t part of your vampire-witch war. I didn’t even know it was a thing until I stumbled into it. I’ve never met Sarah, and I don’t know what I could do for you that she clearly can do for herself.”

“All of this,” I said gesturing to Harding and the rest of the room, “doesn’t come for free. Harding as his sycophants have done a lot of evil to amass such wealth. Yes, some of it was murder, but haven’t you wondered why Sarah doesn’t just barge in here and start flambaying each and every one of them.”

A look of comprehension started to dawn on the girl’s face. “They’re protected,” she quietly acknowledged. “Sarah can’t just come and kill Norman and anyone protecting him because they’re using their own magic to stay guarded.”

“She said you catch on quick, but then it’s a wonder how you still have no idea what you’re in the middle of.” I could see she was trying to wrap her head around this development, but after a few seconds, she pushed all of that emotion down and stared me down.

“What do you want?” she asked. “You know Norman isn’t here. I can’t just hand him over to you.

“And it wouldn’t matter if he was. This is old magic at play. Sarah’s been weaving her spell for a very long time, and it’s nearly time for the payoff.” I dug in my bag for a piece of paper Sarah had given me with the instructions to come here and speak to Trembley. “All you need to do is follow the information on this paper.” She took it from me still trying to keep her confusion at bay, but I could smell it. All emotions have a distinct odor, and right now Trembley smelled like acidic fruit, lemony maybe.

No surprise she began to open the letter, and before I could think of something better to do I had reached forward to stop her. This was of course a mistake because a very old vampire was standing just to my left and used that opportunity to slam be back against my sofa.

“Stay where you are, witch,” he growled not letting go of my throat. This was not a situation I wanted to be in, and I unfortunately did not stop Trembley from opening the letter here, where anyone could oversee or hear.

“What is Samhain,” she stupidly asked. Of course as their was a very tight hand around my throat, I was in no position to answer her. Harding recognizing this finally let go.

“Don’t do that again,” he said sternly and returned to his perch on the desk. He then answered Trembley’s question while I rubbed my damaged neck. “Samhain is what you refer to as Halloween. One of the big witchy celebrations. Is that really when Sarah plans for all this to go down? So disappointing.” He was looking at me now, but I was under clear instructions to not let Trembley discuss the letter with any of her vampire harborers. She clearly hadn’t read the whole thing yet, or she would have known better.

I croaked out, “I don’t know what it says. I was supposed to give it to her and instruct that she read it alone and keep the information to herself. I’ve clearly failed and will have to be punished for my mistake.”

“Sarah’s not one to let the little things go is she,” Trembley asked still looking over the letter.

“Sarah,” I coughed out, “is magick. She doesn’t do tricks or illusions. She remakes the world in her image. You should follow her rules, or you will suffer the same consequences.” That got her to look at me. “Take that and read it when you are alone. Do exactly what it says, and you’re father will be released.” At that I stood, my job was done. “I remember where the door is.”

~

The ride back to the compound was tense. I would have to tell Sarah I messed up. This would likely result in another demotion. I could not tell her Trembley opened the letter in front of the vampire. It’s not like she would know otherwise. No, she would know. She always knows. I haven’t proved it, and I would never ask her but I’m sure she can read minds. Although she doesn’t seem entirely omniscient. I once caught one of the new Level 2 girls making Sarah’s breakfast, and the girl didn’t know that Sarah was entirely vegan and cooked her meal in bacon fat. The newby served it to her anyway, and Sarah ate every bite. Complimented her even.

I’ve never been so lucky. Sarah always seemed to know my shortcomings. Sometimes even before I did. Just last Tuesday, I was overseeing Level 6. They were supposed to start practicing defense spells before they would be given access to guarding the prisoners. However, when I went to find the Intrinsic charm to complete one of the primary spells, it was missing. I had no idea how long it had been gone, and when I went to confess this to Sarah, she had a new one waiting. Just sitting there on her desk. No explanation. She just put the box in my hand and said I thought you might need this today.

Of course that wasn’t met with full benevolence. When I took the box, it was proof that I had lost mine. I was demoted down to Level 11. Fucking Lenore took over my training duties.

If I told the truth, I was definitely getting demoted again.

~

The compound, affectionately known as the Gaia Sanctuary, was well hidden. We’ve managed to stay off vampire and every other creepy crawly’s radar for decades. Sarah opened it in the 1960s, so she says. I’ve always had a sneaking feeling this place has existed as some form of magical haven for much longer. It was possible that was when she decided to bring in outsiders. For good reasons, witches stuck to their own kind for a very long time.

The main house can be found about ten miles down a bumpy dirt road that’s almost invincible thanks to all of the tree growth surrounding it. Every time I have to drive down this path, I think I might get murdered. Of course, that’s preposterous. Sarah wouldn’t kill me for my failings, but she does have a way of making life hell. Sometimes I wonder why I continue to live out here in the sticks with zero modern comforts. Our prisoners have more life enjoyment than we do.

Then I remember… magick. That’s always the reason. When Sarah first touched me, blessed me more or less, I never wanted to lose that feeling. The problem was when Sarah wasn’t there, I could slowly feel the light waning. I was not a natural witch, so I would never practice without the help of others lifting me up. It was why I was so pissed about Lenore. She was truly a natural. Sarah gives her a boost, but she doesn’t need it.

As I pulled into the carport, I was left wondering if anything could be done to turn my never into a for now situation. There are some incredibly dark spells out in the world. Sarah was a walking example of such magick.

The entire walk back to the main house I kept thinking about what it would take to create my own spark. Then I wouldn’t need Sarah, and I would never have to look at Lenore’s dumb face again. I could go away and enjoy life without all of these tedious rules. Maybe bend a few to serve my own goals.

I was lost in my thoughts of future freedom, and I didn’t catch that Sarah was waiting at the front door for me. “Successful mission, Rebecca?” she asked jolting me back to my surroundings.

I stared at her still on the fence about what I was going to say. If I lie and she knows it, there will be hell to pay. But if I confess, the outcome isn’t much better. What winning is there here? I could only stay silent for so long, but that was my chosen route as I passed through the threshold and began walking by her side.

“The vampires are brutish; I know. I am thankful you took on this trip, though. Not many of the girls here are as brave as you. You are a born leader. I could always see that. From our first meeting, I knew you were destined for great things.” And there it was. That warmth. It wraps you up inside and out. Her words are like happiness. I knew in that moment. I couldn’t abandon her, not when her greatest fight was looming.

“I have to confess, Sarah,” I managed to get out, but it came with trembling limbs and a quiver in my voice. “There was a hiccup.”

As expected, her face grew dark, but I didn’t expect her to grab my arm. “Don’t say another word until we get to my office.”

The rest of the walk was quiet and scary. Sarah was always calm and collected, but her composure had its limits. I’d seen it a time or two in my years at the compound. I was afraid it was about to be directed at me. I was so worried that by the time I was sitting in the chair in front of her desk I don’t think I could actually sit still.

“Breathe, Rebecca,” she said crossing the room to sit in her chair. “I’m not upset with you. I just want to know what happened, but we had to speak privately. No one else knows what you did tonight, and I want to keep it that way.”

Well, this was not what I expected. I thought she might turn me into a frog or some other slimy creature. After a few deep breaths, I was ready to explain myself. “Well, it was all going well. I was invited in to Harding’s home in Altona. He made Trembley meet with me, and I gave her the letter. I was temporarily restrained after a minor misunderstanding, however, and was unable to tell her to read it in private. She opened it in front of the vampire. He knows about Samhain.”

“Is that all?” Sarah asked without any anger behind her words.

“Yes, my queen.”

“Did you really expect there to be any outcome where the vampires didn’t know what was in the letter?” She was looking at me like I was a child who couldn’t see the bigger picture.

“You wanted them to know?” I asked quietly while putting the pieces together. “Is Samhain even the day?”

“Everything in the letter is true. I want Trembley to come alone to us the night before Samhain, but they’ll never let that happen. They think she’ll lead them right to me, but it’s really a trap for them. They still have no idea how important that girl is, but now they won’t let her out of their sight. That will give us all the information we need to know to prepare.”

“So, I did good then. I can continue as a Level 12?” Please don’t demote me again.

“You did good tonight, but Rebecca, you really need to learn to guard your mind. It’s an open book. I can’t have you being this high up when you are a walking radio.” With that I was dismissed back to my room with the biggest sigh of relief. I didn’t even mind that Charlie had invited Lenore to our room to hang out.

“You look happy,” Charlie said when I flopped on my bed. “That’s a new sight.”

“Oh, Charlie, Charlie, you have no idea.”

“Successful outing, then?” Lenore asked bringing the mood down ten degrees and dousing my relief.

“What do you know about that?” I asked now on edge again. Sarah just said no one knew what was happening.

Lenore smirked at me with that annoying half smile thing she does when she thinks she’s being friendly. But I see it for what it really is. She’s being a conniving suck up and pain in my ass. “Well, Sarah said you’d gone out to deal with some personal matters. I assumed you had a fella you’ve been hiding.

“Oooo,” Charlie chimed in, “yeah I guess that would be good way to get that chip off your shoulder. That bottle has definitely needed uncorking.”

“Fuck off, Charlie,” I told her getting up to leave.

“Oh come on,” she replied, “you’ve got to admit that you are high strung. You never hang out with any of us. You hang on Sarah’s every word like she’s the second coming or something. You aren’t here for the same reasons the rest of us are. We want camaraderie… you seem to only want…”

“What do I want? Since you know me so well.” I was seething now. Who were these bitches to question anything I do?

“Power, Rebecca. You only want power. There is no sisterhood or healing in this for you. I don’t know what drove you to come here. Hell, we’ve all got a story, but you’re different than most of us. There’s a wall one hundred feet high between you and the rest of us, and it seems like you’re waiting on Sarah to bless you with her gifts or something to heal whatever happened.”

“She’s right,” Lenore piped in. “Sarah’s not going to give you what you want. I love her, and I understand what her mission is. I won’t die for her, and I won’t wait on her to be someone she’s not. Why do you think she only started letting non-witches in to her coven a few decades ago. She doesn’t have any other options, and we are only cannon fodder for her. So, do yourself a favor, learn everything you can, but know when to get out.”

Thank you for your continued support! I hope you're still enjoying the story. Let me know what you think.

May supporters I'm offering something new. For every $5, you can submit 5 words, and I will write you a 100 hundred word short story.

• $5 - 100 word story (supporter can submit any 5 words)
• $10 - 200 word story (supporter can submit any 10 words)
• $15 - 300 word story (supporter can submit any 15 words)
• $20 - 400 word story (supporter can submit any 20 words)
• $25 - 500 word story (supporter can submit any 25 words)