Chapter 1

Lauren squeezed my hand. I took hers into my lap and cupped it.

"Don't worry," I said, "We'll be fine."

The pilot announced the final approach, first in Italian, then English. The flight attendants made a quick pass down the length of the plane, checking our seats and tray tables. Our belts were still clasped. Lauren tightened hers.

Pressure built in my head. I looked out the window and saw the wings change, the flaps pulling down and out. Tendrils of air became visible. The plane shook.

I gave Lauren a reassuring glance. She peered back at me and smiled.

Then out of the clouds! I saw low green hills and the vague orange hue of a city in the distance.

The plane rumbled more. The tune of the engines changed. I saw buildings and highways and cars. Currents of air tossed and buffeted us. We seemed to be flying so slowly. Then the outbuildings of the airport whizzed past, and I saw hints of a runway. The plane touched the ground. The tires screamed, and once again I felt connected to the spirits of the Earth.

I thanked the goddess. Lauren kissed my cheek.

As the plane crawled up the taxiway, Jessica woke up.

"Are we there?" she asked.

"Yes," I said, "Yes we are."

We cleared customs easily, even with Jessica's fake passport. The official seemed tired and not at all pleased to be processing Americans. He perked up, however, and a glint showed in his eyes, when I thanked him in my halting Italian.

He said to have a fun trip. I smiled at him.

Two girls were waiting for us in the terminal. Both were pretty, the older in her early twenties, the younger probably fifteen. I guessed they were sisters. Both were olive skinned with dark hair and the same deep set eyes. The older was fashionably dressed with designer labels on everything, even her sunglasses. The younger seemed rebellious. She wore American jeans and a sleeveless t-shirt.

They recognized us right way. "Are you Rachel?" the younger asked, in English.

"Yes," I replied.

"I'm Katia, from the Milanese coven. This is my sister Fiorella. Will you need help with your bags?"

"Yes, please," Lauren said, handing the older sister her little orange tote. The girl took it with that vacant expression that said she didn't understand.

"Fi doesn't speak English," Katia said.

"So I gather," I replied. Lauren frowned.

I handed my blue suitcase to Katia. It was heavy, but I guessed that the girl was stronger than she looked. I was right. She hoisted the bag easily, and we headed outside.

Jess had only her backpack, which stayed on her back.

They had a small blue minivan. Fiorella drove, and I popped into the front passenger seat. The remaining girls piled into the back.

She started the van and backed out. She pulled down the ramp and exited the garage. When we got onto the highway, she looked over at me. I smiled. She gave me a pinched expression. She looked me up and down. Her eyes lingered on my little denim skirt and nineteen dollar sneakers. I could tell that she didn't approve.

"The Americans have ugly clothes," she said to her sister in Italian, "Except the one. She's nice."

I was sure she meant Lauren. I agreed. Lauren indeed looked nice.

"Don't be mean!" Katia said, "Their clothes are fine."

"Oh, but they show bad taste. A woman should dress nice when she travels."

"You'll offend them."

"They don't even understand me. Stupid Americans."

Fiorella glanced at me, then over her shoulder. Lauren smiled nervously, seeming to sense the falling mood. Jess, with her eyes glued to Katia, sitting pressed next to the girl with their legs touching, seemed oblivious.

"So, Fiorella," I said in Italian, "How long have you been a witch?" I gave her a big grin.

I wry smile crept across her face.

"Since I was Katia's age," she replied. She showed not a hint of embarrassment.

"And you, Katia?"

"Oh, they started training me when I was eleven, I think it was."

Back to Fiorella. "So, it's too bad Lauren can't speak Italian. I think you'd make great friends."

"Oh? Why is that?"

"You're a fashionable Milanese girl. That's pretty much her fantasy."

She glanced back at Lauren again.

"She is pretty. I like her jacket."

"She really wants to go shopping in Milan. Perhaps you can take us, show us the best shops?"

"That would be nice."

We drove on. We passed through a town, then switched to a six lane highway. The signs showed that we were heading toward the city.

"You know what," Fiorella said.

"What?"

"I want to buy you something nice. Maybe a little dress? An Ana Pires I think."

"No," I said flatly.

"Oh? But why not? You'd look so beautiful."

"I just don't want that."

She frowned. She pursed her lips.

"I don't like you," she said.

I said nothing.

We entered a stretch of road with green fields to our left and a town to our right. The buildings looked modern.

The girls in the back began giggling. I turned to see that Jess and Katia had retreated to the far back seat and were hugging and kissing. Lauren sat in the middle seat with a bemused look.

"Your sister likes us fine," I muttered.

We passed the buildings and were back in the countryside. Fiorella kept her eyes locked on the road. The sounds in back got more intense. The kissing changed to wet sucking. The giggling changed to pleasant moans. I glanced back. Jessica had her panties off, and Katia was wedged on the floor of the van eating her.

Leave it to Jess, I thought to myself. We were in Italy less than an hour, and she already had a pretty girl lapping at her cunt.

I glanced at the older sister. She looked displeased.

"Would you like to start over?" I asked, "You're very beautiful."

I smiled and touched her leg. Her frown only deepened. I stroked her arm. She twitched her shoulder. I leaned away, sitting back in my seat.

Pity, I thought. Fucking her would have been fun.

Our Hotel was in the northern part of the city: the Hotel Bernina on the Via Torriani. It was a modern building on a modern looking street. Fiorella parked the van against the sidewalk. We got out and got our bags.

Katia got out with us. Fiorella stayed in the van.

"Do you need help carrying up your bags?" Katia asked.

I could sense her sister's baleful stare.

"No. We'll be fine."

"OK. So -- I guess you'll want some rest. We'll come back around dinner time to pick you up. Signora Borghi is looking forward to meeting you."

"That'll be good," I said.

"Yeah," Lauren agreed.

Jess stood there, her hands in her pockets, waiting. Katia went to her. They embraced and kissed. Then the girl got back in the van with her sister and they drove off. We grabbed our bags. We entered the hotel.

It was a lovely room, with twin beds, blue sheets, and a beautiful parquet floor. We had our own bathroom.

After a shower, I lay on the bed with wet hair and wearing only a towel. Falling water could still be heard -- Lauren taking her own shower. Jess lay on the other bed, grinning. She'd been grinning since we'd left the other girls.

"Katia!" she said, "Ka-ti-a," sounding it out. She grasped her hands in front of chest and rolled over smiling.

"So -- you like her?" I asked.

"Yes!"

"She's quite lovely, but don't fall too in love. We're only in Milan for two days."

"I know. That is why I have to get all my love in at once. I hope we see her tonight."

"I'm sure we will. The Milanese Coven is feeding us."

She lay back again, and spread out her arms.

"Katia!"

I looked at her again. She looked back at me.

What if she really fell in love? What if she decided to stay?

"You're worried I'm going to stay, aren't you?"

"No."

"Yes you are! I can see it."

"OK. So I am."

She lay quietly for a bit.

"Katia," she said again, "My dear Katia."

She fell in love so quickly. How quickly could she fall out?

She rolled entirely on her side and stared at me. Her face turned more serious, as if reflecting on something.

"Don't worry. Come kiss me."

I went and lay next to her, wrapping her with my arm. We kissed. She snuggled in close. I had left my towel on the other bed.

The water stopped. Moments later Lauren came out, drying off her hair.

"Well, look at the little lovebirds," she said.

I kissed Jessica's cheek.

"So, how long do you think we have until dinner?" Lauren asked.

"Well, they just said 'dinner time', but they eat late. I expect they'll show up about six-thirty or seven."

It was a shade past two O'Clock. Lauren got a big smile. "Maybe we could go shopping?"

"Tomorrow, sweetie. We have to take the train to get to the fashion district. And we still need to change money."

"Couldn't we just shift?"

"I'm afraid to use such powerful magic here, before I know more about the spirits of the place. I don't want anyone to know how easily I can shift."

Lauren shrugged. "Fine! You obviously underestimate the importance of shopping!" She smiled. "Anyhow, maybe we could change money now, so we don't have to tomorrow."

"Yeah. We can do that now."

We got dressed. We left Jess laying on the bed, mooning for Katia.

"So, Jess is in love," Lauren said, as we exited the hotel.

"Yeah. Seems so."

"Katia was cool -- well -- in that 'holy crap she's fucking my friend' sort of way. What's up with her sister, though?"

I shrugged my shoulders.

"I liked her shoes," she went on, "Too bad she was a bitch."

"Yeah. She hated our clothes."

"Oh?"

She frowned.

I smiled. "'Cept yours, sweetie. She thought yours were nice."

I nudged her with my elbow. She grinned and nudged me back.

"You sure know how to hurt a girl," she said.

"Really? How so? I didn't even notice."

"Ha! Don't pretend you're oblivious to my commitment to style!"

"Of course not, my dear. One couldn't fail to notice."

We were within walking distance of the train station, and there were plenty of places to change money. I found a bank just across the street and left with six-hundred euros. I hoped it would be enough.

Back to the hotel. A guy and girl whizzed by on scooters. They waved. Lauren spun and waved back. A cute boy ran up and opened the door for us. I thanked him. We strolled through the lobby. There were modernist paintings on the wall, originals as far as I could tell. Even the hotel had good art.

"I like Italy," Lauren said.

"Yeah. It isn't bad."

We passed the rest of the afternoon napping and lazing around the room. We called down to room service, and had them bring us coffee and snacks.

Our window opened over the street, so I pulled up a chair and leaned out a bit. I sipped my coffee and watched the world pass by.

It drew into evening.

"We should probably get ready," Lauren said.

"Yeah. So look -- about that."

"Yeah?" Lauren asked.

"I have sort of a weird feeling. I'm not sure how much I really trust these Milanese witches --"

Jessica heard me, and sat up.

"-- so," I went on, "I want you to stay close to me, Lauren."

"OK."

"Actually, I guess you should both stay close to me. Alright Jess?"

"Sure," she gulped out.

"I mean it. Its cool if you spend some time with Katia, but stay on guard."

"Yeah, OK. I can still see Katia?"

"Yeah."

"Then I'm good."

"And I'd like Lauren to recharge us before we go."

Lauren smiled. Jessica's eyes got big. Suddenly she seemed real excited.

"I have no problem with that," Lauren said. She leaned to Jessica and they kissed.

"Right. So, I don't know what sort of rumors they've heard over here, but we have to assume they might have heard of you and have some idea how powerful you are."

"Mmm hmm," Lauren mumbled as Jess kissed her face. She rubbed Jessica's ass.

"So, I want you to be very careful. They might try something."

"Yeah, sure," she said, as she pushed Jess down on the bed and rolled her over.

"Good," I said.

Lauren pushed Jess's skirt up and started kissing her ass through her panties.

"We can't be too careful."

Jessica's panties came down. She got up onto her knees with her butt in the air. Lauren pressed her face up between her legs. I heard very wet sounds.

Jess let out an long, soothing moan. She yanked on the sheets. She squirmed. I knew that it wouldn't take long. Lauren was a very powerful wellspring, perhaps the most powerful ever. Her magic was intense. For a normal witch, like Jessica, it was almost too intense. Even I could barely handle her.

Suddenly Jess threw her head back. I kissed her mouth. Magic flowed, from Lauren's mouth, through her, into me. Her body went rigid, her mouth hung open, and she let out a deep groan. I tried to keep my lips locked to hers, but I couldn't. I grabbed my pussy and cried out. I rolled onto my back, quivering. Jess rolled onto hers. She stretched out and laughed.

We lay there. We locked our hands together. I stared at the ceiling and just breathed.

Lauren crawled up and kissed me. More magic flowed. My eyes fluttered. She went down. My panties came off. Her mouth on me. Her tongue.

I felt magic pulsing up my body. Somehow, I didn't cum right away. I thanked the goddess. This was going to be one of the good ones, the lingering ones, the miraculous ones. I curled up and squealed.

Jess kissed me, and I felt magic flowing on into her. That was her gift. Just by kissing them, she could share the recharge with other witches.

More licking. More sucking. Jess kept kissing me. She pinched my nipples.

"Wow! You're holding out a long time," she said.

"It's going to be a big one," I replied.

Lauren said nothing. She pressed her tongue into my hole.

That did it. I fell over the edge. My body went rigid. I let out a long, perfect groan, and magic shot up through me, from Lauren's sweet mouth. Jess tried to hang on, but was blown off by the force. There was a popping sound and a flash of light. I heard Jess hit the floor with a thump. I closed my eyes and groaned again.

When I opened them, I noticed that the electricity had gone out. I heard honking and shouting from outside. I looked over at the window. The building across the street had gone dark.

"Oops," Lauren said.

"I think we just took out the neighborhood," I replied.

I cast a small illumination spell, just a little mote of light. It danced and flickered, casting wisps of shadow across the room.

I heard giggling. I peered over the side of the bed. Jess was laying on the floor, curled up, smiling, with her hand on her cunt. She looked up at me.

"Holy goddess of fuck that felt good," she uttered, breathlessly.

"Yeah, it really did."

Lauren rolled over onto her back. She pulled her pants off, her panties too. She tossed them aside. She spread her legs and stroked her pussy.

Jess climbed up onto the bed. We sat on either side of Lauren -- our beloved wellspring -- and stroked her body. She moaned and pinched her own nipples.

"Who gets the honor?" Jessica asked.

I smiled.

"Me!"

I went in. I licked and sucked. I tasted and probed. I drank deep. She squirmed. Jessica knelt next to her, reaching out, unbuttoning her blouse. They kissed. Then Jess went down, sucking on her breasts.

I licked more. I stuck a finger in. I wiggled and probed. She moaned and bucked her hips.

I heard Jess moaning. I looked. She had sat up and was fingering her own pussy, right by Lauren's face. She got her fingers nice and juicy, then stuck them into Lauren's mouth.

Lauren sucked hard on Jess's fingers. I sucked hard on Lauren's cunt. Suddenly she went rigid. She came, crying out. Then Jess again, frantically fucking herself. She rolled forward onto Lauren, groaning, kicking out her legs.

I gave Lauren's pussy a deep, sucking kiss. So delightful. I kissed it again. I sucked more. I swallowed.