Chapter 3

I found myself in darkness. I heard the noise of the tires and felt the shaking of the car.

Pain washed over me. My heart hammered in my chest. I gasped for air, flailing my limbs around. My body seized up.

I believe I passed out.

When I came to, the car was still running. I tried to stay calm. I wiggled my toes. I could feel both feet. I shifted my legs and they responded. They were intact. Likewise my arms, except my right hand which ached deeply. It sent a shock of pain when I tried to move my fingers. I didn't try again.

I reached up and felt my neck. My pulse was too fast, but strong.

I cleared my thoughts. I did a simple math problem in my head. I thought of the names of the people I knew. I was Rachel. My lover was Erica. I was in the trunk of a car trying to save Lauren. I blinked each eye. I concluded that I hadn't had a stroke.

My heart was beating. My breathing felt clear. My brain worked. I had survived.

My former teacher had owned a Lexus. I recalled that there was a release lever inside the trunk in case of emergency. It glowed. I found it, a faint green handle. I reached out and touched it, just to assure myself that it was there. I didn't pull it yet.

The car slowed. Something else moved in the trunk. It touched me. I jerked about, panicked. It bumped me again.

I forced myself to calm down. I steadied my breathing. I felt the object. It was smooth and round, some sort of ball, maybe a basketball or soccer ball.

The car turned. The tire sounds changed and we went over several large bumps, as if we had pulled off the road. Then the car stopped completely, and the engine shut off. Wherever we were going, we were there.

I heard a car door open and close. Then another open. I heard Lauren moan. I heard his voice, deep and gravely. I couldn't make out what was said. The car shifted. The door slammed. Then silence.

I waited a bit. I opened the trunk.

I looked out facing the sun. It was low in the sky. Streaks of red and blue washed across the horizon.

The car was parked on gravel in front of an old wooden house. Its paint was peeling, but had probably been white. There were slats of wood nailed over the windows. A rusty screen door hung loosely over the front entrance. I heard the front door slam.

I looked further. The house was surrounded by trash filled lots. A few blocks further was an old cement warehouse covered with graffiti. I could see a highway overpass beyond that. I had no idea where we were.

I sat up fully. Pain shot through me. I retched. I shoved my hand into my mouth and bit down. It didn't help with the pain, but it stopped me from crying out.

I felt a dull ache coming from deep inside me. When I shifted again, it was a sharp pain.

I was hurt. Real bad. Deep inside. I had known the magic would have a cost.

I had to get out of the trunk. I sat up again. More pain. I sort of leaned out behind the car. I let myself fall to the ground.

Again, darkness.

When I awoke it was night. There was no moon, but the sky glowed from city lights. I could see only a few stars. I recognized Spica far to the west. Virgo was setting.

I knew that I was too late. I prayed to the goddess that the girl would have the strength to survive this.

I took a deep breath. I got up to my knees, but didn't have the strength to rise further. I began to crawl toward the house.

He must have heard me trying to climb the porch. The door opened, and the rusty hinges on the screen creaked. In the darkness, I saw his figure over me. He grabbed my hair and yanked me to my feet. I whimpered. I hadn't the strength to scream. He dragged me into the house.

I realized that I was going to die. I wasn't afraid. Then I thought of Erica...

I wouldn't let him see me cry. I fought back the tears.

There was a table in the corner. An old style camping lantern sat on it, casting a faint glow across the room. A sleeping bag had been set down against the wall. Lauren lay on it, her wrists and ankles bound. Her eye was bruised and her lip was split. She wore a shirt, but her pants were gone. She looked surprised to see me.

The lantern lit my face. "So! It's the witch again. Well, you are persistent. However, I do understand your commitment. She is a most wonderful wellspring."

I spat in his face. He punched me.

He threw me against the wall, and I crumpled to the floor. He turned and sat on the edge of the table. He looked at me.

"Well, wellspring, would you like to say goodbye to your witch?"

I looked over toward Lauren. She sat up. Her eyes got big. I saw something there, some sort of feeling.

"Rachel," she mumbled out, "I should have listened to you."

"Yeah, you really should have."

I smiled at her. She just sat there quietly.

"Lauren," I said.

"Yeah?"

"Survive this."

He began to chant a spell, one that I knew, one that destroyed. It took several seconds. Power built up before him, visible as a dark glowing sphere. He cast and it shot forth. It should have killed me.

It didn't. Lauren got to her feet, staggering in her bonds, and threw herself in front of it. It clipped her arm, spinning her around, sending her careening against the wall. She landed near me with a thump.

She flipped over onto her belly. She scuttled on her knees and elbows, reaching me. She kissed my mouth. She kissed my neck.

"This is how you get power? Right?"

"Don't stop!" I grunted out.

Power surged into me. My eyes got huge. From any other wellspring, kissing would not be enough. From her, it was plenty.

He cast another spell. We weren't there. Just in time, I shifted us to the roof.

I lay on my back with Lauren directly on top of me. The night air was cool. I saw a bright star. Cygnus was above us.

She kept kissing me. I embraced her. More power flowed, enough for me to break her bonds. She wrapped her arms around me.

"That's really nice. If you keep doing it, I can probably keep shifting us away from him, until we're safe."

"Can you defeat him?"

"Yeah, but you'd have to --"

"I'll do it."

I looked at her silhouetted above me. One of her legs had slipped between mine. Her body was warm. She kissed me again. Her tongue was soft.

"I wouldn't ask you to, Lauren, not after what just happened to you."

"Will you make him suffer?"

"Yes."

She kissed me.

"Then I'll do it."

She slipped down between my legs. My panties came off, and she went in. Each touch was intense. The pleasure spread, but when I moved, pain even stronger shot across me.

Still, magic flowed. I used it to heal. I cast a spell. I felt inside myself and found organs burst and torn. I repaired them. I found festering infection. I soothed it. I rejoined the bones in my hand.

I left the other injuries. They were small enough to ignore.

I heard the door of the house slam shut. I heard his feet on the gravel. I had no idea how long it would take him to think of looking on the roof. I tried to relax and feel the pleasure.

Her tongue flitted about. Her mouth wrapped around me. She gave my pussy a long, sucking kiss. I writhed. I covered my own mouth in case I cried out.

She stuck a finger in. Then it happened.

Magic flowed. More than I could have imagined. It was like staring unblinking at the sun. My body shuddered. I kicked my leg down so hard that the roof cracked.

I couldn't speak. I couldn't think.

Another one hit me. Fear and pleasure covered me in equal measure. Could a body have too much magic? Would I explode?

"Oh fuck Lauren," I grunted.

I shuddered again. I cried out. I cried out as loud as I could. I didn't care if he heard me. I wanted him to hear me. I stood up, Lauren rolling aside looking up at me. Her eyes were wide. I had cast an illumination spell. A glowing orb hung above me.

Then he was on the roof with us. Power surged in front of him. I moved my hand with the slightest gesture, and his spell evaporated.

He looked shocked.

It was my turn. I cast a bolt of power at him. He leapt aside, dodging. It caught his leg. His knee shattered. His leg bent ninety degrees the wrong way. He went down bellowing.

I cast again. This time it glanced off his head. His jaw splintered. He fell from the roof.

I shifted. I was next to him. He tried to speak, but only spat out blood and shards of teeth. He couldn't cast. He was helpless.

I gazed into his eyes. I looked for fear and found it. I let him live a few moments, just to realize his fate.

I cast one last time. I stopped his heart. His eyes went blank. His body twitched twice, like a marionette. Then he was still.

"Are you really OK?" I asked Lauren. She was driving the car, pulling onto the highway entrance ramp.

"Yes, and please stop asking me. I'm fine."

It was the third time I'd asked. I didn't really believe her.

She put on her indicator and carefully merged onto the highway. A truck roared past. I sat quietly.

After a bit she muttered out, "Look, this isn't the first time this has happened to me."

"Oh?"

"Yeah."

I turned to her. "Was it another warlock?"

I wondered why Amanda Stevens hadn't mentioned that. She should have.

"No. It was a football player."

"Oh ... I'm sorry."

"Yeah. Me too."

She indicated again and exited the highway. She had only driven past one exit. We went down the ramp and stopped at a light. It was a street that I recognized. The light changed. She turned, drove a block, then pulled into a Citgo station.

"Let's see if they'll let us use the phone," she said.

We didn't have any money, but there was an old phone in the garage. The attendant said we could use it. I called Erica.

"Hi Erica. I'm OK."

"Oh thank god! Where are you? Are you alright?"

"We're at a gas station. We should be home soon."

"Is she... ?"

"She's alive."

"Thank god. Thank the goddess. Was she ... did you... ?"

"I was too late. But we're alive."

"Oh dear ... I'm so sorry. Tell her I'm sorry."

"Where are you?"

"At your house. There are police at hers."

"Oh."

"So, you'd better come here. Answering their questions would be complicated."

"Yeah."

"I'm guessing you have the Lexus?"

"Yes."

"Can you have her drop you off?"

"Actually, I have another way. I'll talk to you soon."

"Rachel -- wait!"

"Yeah?"

"Uh -- Look, there is a lot going on here. It is about Jess."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Look, it's a lot to explain. Just get home quickly."

"That I can do."

I paused for a second.

"Erica..."

"Yeah?"

" ... Nothing. I'll see you soon."

"Yes, sweetheart. Be careful."

I hung up.

Lauren called her house. Even with the phone pressed against her ear, I could hear her mother's cry of relief. Lauren told her that she was safe and on her way home.

We thanked the attendant and walked back to the car.

"Lauren," I said when we got in.

"Yes?"

"I can't go back to your house. There are lots of police there. They would ask questions I can't easily answer. So, do you mind kissing me again, like enough so I can shift home?"

She smiled. "Sure."

I kissed her cheek. She reached down and held my hand.

She still had a bruised eye. Her lips were swollen and split.

"You can heal people with magic, right?"

"Yeah."

"So, if I power you up a bunch, can you make my face look better? I don't want my mom to see me like this."

I could do that. It was just a few cuts and bruises. It wouldn't take too much power.

"Sure."

I turned her chin to me and kissed her mouth, gently. Power flowed. She kissed me down my neck.

"There'll be a tingling sensation, and maybe a little pain, but not much."

"OK."

She pulled me to her and kept kissing me. Her hair felt soft against my face. I uttered the spell. Her wounds healed.

At least the wounds I could see. I thought for a second.

"I can do more."

"What do you mean?"

"I can cure more."

She just looked at me. I swallowed. What I was suggesting was forbidden.

"I can make you forget."

"What?"

"I can make you forget about him. About everything that he did. It is forbidden magic, but I'll do it for you."

She was quiet. She looked at me, staring for a long time.

Finally she said, "I don't want to forget."

"Oh?"

"Then I'd forget that you saved me."

"Well, yeah."

"And I'd forget us on the roof."

She paused.

"I don't want to forget those things."

"Lauren..."

She gazed into my eyes. I started to say something, but just sort of mumbled.

"Can I ask you a question?" she said.

"Uh -- yeah."

"When a witch pairs with a wellspring, are they like girlfriends?"

"Sometimes. It is up to them. I mean -- usually they are."

"I wanna be your wellspring."

Her eyes were such a soft color, green when the light caught them. At that moment, the light was perfect.

"Lauren ... I won't leave Erica."

She looked surprised.

"Then -- why did you help me?"

"What?"

"Why did you help me if you didn't want me?"

The question caught me off guard.

"Uh -- you said you didn't like girls. I respected that. I mean -- I wasn't trying to save you to score with you or anything. I was trying to save you -- well -- just to save you."

She drew away from me and looked ahead.

"Kiss me," she said.

"Huh?"

"Kiss me."

She turned to me. I did. I kissed her mouth.

"How did that feel?" she asked.

"It felt amazing. It felt tingly, all the way down."

"Yeah. Me too. When I told you I didn't like girls, I didn't know that kissing you would feel like that. I didn't understand that it would be -- magical."

She stared into my eyes. Then she reached up my skirt. I shifted my hips and spread my legs. She caressed me through my panties.

"And when I said I didn't like girls, I had no idea what doing this would be like."

I looked around. We were parked on the side of the gas station. Cars were driving by on the main street, but I didn't think anyone would notice us.