Chapter 2

The Great Coven

Being a witch can be a bitch. It can also be tons of fun. Most of the time, it's neither. I never hid who or what I was, and that's where the fun came in. I became a Wiccan when I was twelve. To say that it did not go over very well with my family, would be somewhat of an understatement. As soon as they realized it was not some sort of a phase I was going through, I got nothing but grief from them over it.

They, like most people, didn't consider it to be a legitimate faith. I had to hide my books, along with all my other assorted paraphernalia. If I didn't, they had a strange way of disappearing.

They had no way of understanding the attraction Wicca had for me. It wasn't only that I was at home in the forest, or that I believed in different deities than they did. What converted me was that I discovered it seemed to fit.

After a while, my parents gave up on "rescuing me". Instead, they sent me to live with my grandmother Ruth. I hardly knew the woman, and had no idea what to expect from her. I had only seen her a couple of times during my life to that point. She only appeared at weddings and funerals. All I knew was that the entire family gave her a wide berth. Naturally, I expected the worst.

My dread was only increased, when I saw where she lived. It seemed like an hour had passed between the time we turned off the main road, and the point where we stopped. The house didn't ease my mind in the least. It was a small place, and looked pretty run down. She didn't even come out to meet us. I hoped she knew I was coming, because my folks dumped my shit out of the car and left me standing there. They hadn't said one word on the drive.

I knocked on the door, and was immediately looking to see if I had pissed myself. Somewhere between the first and second knock, the door had creaked open. There wasn't anyone standing there, either. I yelled "Hello?", and heard "You're finally here? Bring your crap in and come to the kitchen. It's straight back!"

I gulped, and did as instructed. As soon as I stepped over the threshold, I gasped. The place sure looked a lot bigger from the inside. I shoved that thought aside, and went in search of my keeper. When I entered the room, I saw her sitting at the table with a big grin on her face. That scared me even more. I had never seen the woman smile before.

She met me with "You look scared there, Brucie. I'm kind of surprised, you claiming to be a witch, and all."

That was the one thing she could've brought up to make sure my fear would be replaced by anger. I stopped in the doorway and said "If they sent me to you so you could make me believe like they do, you're wasting your time. I am who I am, and I see no reason to pretend otherwise."

The woman laughed! She had a great one, too. It wasn't one of those old woman cackles, or even very restrained. It was a good old fashioned belly laugh. If that surprised me, her answer did even more. "That's good", she said. "A body should know who, or what, they are. I told you're parents the same thing. Do you know why you're really here?"

"No", I admitted. "Whatever they had in mind, they didn't seem to feel the need to share it with me."

"Well", she chortled, "sit down, and I'll tell you about it. I'm getting a crick in my neck looking up at you like this. How the hell tall are you, anyway?"

"Almost six feet", I replied with a shrug, as I sat at the table. My anger was still enough in evidence for me to add "Why is everybody so scared of you, grandma. Heck, I barely even know you, and nobody even talks about you."

"All part of the story, sonny", she sighed. "You see, I really AM a witch. They all know it to be true, and that's why they dumped you here. They figure that as soon as you see what a real witch is like, you'll come to your senses and give the idea up."

"And what do you think, grandma?", I asked.

"I'm reserving judgment", she replied. "Witches run in our family, and it tends to skip a generation most of the time. Unless two witches marry, it seldom happens otherwise. I figure you may or may not be one, and there's only one way to find out. Just what do you think a witch is?"

"A religion of nature", I replied confidently. "Believing in the power of the Earth, and in the God and the Goddess. Treating others as I want to be treated, and preserving the world for future generations."

"There is that", she agreed, "but that's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. What do you know of magic?"

"Not a thing", I told her. "I won't say I don't believe, but I've never seen any proof it exists. Tricks are entertaining, but I've never seen anyone do real magic."

She just smiled again, and told me to go back out front and look at the house once more. I played along, but thought the woman must have gone senile when nobody was looking. I changed my mind when I turned around. I could've sworn the place I just stepped out of was little more than a rundown shotgun style house. The place I was looking at now was three times the size of my old home, and a hell of a lot nicer looking.

I was numb, as I forced myself to go back inside. That was another revelation. There wasn't a damn thing shabby looking about it now. In fact, it looked like grandma had a lot more money than people believed. I was still shaking my head in disbelief, as I sat in the chair. Even that had changed. Everything had changed. Grandma had changed. In fact, grandma looked not only younger than my mom, but a whole lot prettier. I almost fainted. All I could say was "What the fuck?"

She giggled this time, as she asked "Do you believe in magic now, Bruce?"

I couldn't help it. I laughed until I cried, and then gasped "Oh hell yeah! Granny, has anyone told you lately that you're a babe?"

"Yep, a time or two", she quipped. "Not bad for an eighty-three year old broad, am I? You'd best watch that flirting though. I'm still spry enough to jump your bones."

That helped calm me down, and I asked how she had done those things. She shrugged and replied "I asked if you believed in magic, and you said you'd never seen any. Now you have. What do you think about it?"

"Is that really how you look, or is it the other way?", I asked.

"This is me", she said. "Witches age a bit slower than other people. Don't go telling anybody that though. The family thinks I'm an old hag, and I like it that way. I don't care much for most of them, and I'd just as soon they not drop by. Now, are you going to answer my question?"

"Call me a believer!", I nodded. "Is there any chance I can do stuff like that?"

She told me that was what I was there to find out, and find out I did. It was a good thing I didn't mind studying, because I did a shit load of it before she had me even try to do anything. Eventually, the time did arise.

I almost crapped my pants the first time I did a simple spell, and discovered that I had the talent. It was only lighting a candle with an incantation, but I never expected it to actually work. Once I got over the shock, I graduated to more complicated endeavors.

I found out early and often that grandma had some serious power. I couldn't believe the stuff she could do. The glamours she had placed on herself and the house were trivial things, compared to what I saw over the first year or so. She still surprised me a time or two after that, but the sense of disbelief was long gone by then.

Grandma Ruth worked my ass off after she got the idea that I could be even stronger in the craft than she was. Magic wasn't the only subject pounded into my brain. I had to study all the normal school subjects, along with spells and technique. It was a lot easier to learn the mundane subjects than it used to be. The spell she showed me to absorb the contents of a book, and recall it in its entirety, assured me of that. I graduated from high school at fourteen.

At least I didn't attend a regular school. I would've hated that, but she home schooled me. I had to go in and take tests once in a while, but they were easy to ace. It was a good thing I'd never had many friends, because grandma was the only one I had for over three years. I didn't consider any of my instructors to be friends. They worked my ass off!

Some of the things I learned made no sense to me, but I didn't complain. It wouldn't have done any good, and I liked most of the things better than classroom subjects. They claimed the things I was taught would help my concentration and precision. I had to admit, they were right. I could understand the meditation, but learning how to use the sword, staff, and bow, threw me. Other than riding, those were my favorite things. Magic was still a major part of my life, but I had been doing that long enough for it to seem almost routine. I quickly discovered that the slightest bit of sloppiness with a sword or staff could be painful, and that increased attention translated into better results with my spells.

I had some acquaintances, but that was all. I attended gatherings with Grandma, though they weren't that frequent. It was kind of embarrassing the first time I went to one where everyone was skyclad. Being naked with a bunch of people was something I'd never done. It didn't take that long to get used to it. With the scenery presented to me, I quickly learned to like it.

What I liked even more, was the way I was treated with respect. As soon as my grandma introduced me as her apprentice, I was treated like I belonged. That was something new, and very nice. I never felt that way with anyone but Ruth before.

The scenery at the gatherings wasn't all good. I had enough sense to keep my mouth shut about it until we got home, but asked as soon as we got there. She smiled and explained "Those are either the very old, or they are pretenders. The stronger in magic one is, the slower they age. There were only five others there who were as old as me, though it would be hard for you to deduce. Those you saw who were overweight or old are the ones who share our spiritual beliefs, but lack the talent. They were far from the only ones, however. Out of the hundred or so there, perhaps ten had the power. We're a rare breed, Bruce."

That was when she showed me how to read auras. Soon, I could tell by looking at someone whether they had power, and how much. It only worked when the person I studied wasn't masking it, but she told me that few bothered to do so at a gathering. Out in public was a different matter. It wasn't hard to understand why, when she told me what the government would do with someone like us.

As the days passed, my power grew. I was taught how to store some of this, and that was a handy thing to know. Depending on where a person was, it could take quite a while to gather enough strength to cast a spell. Some places were much easier than others to work. Grandma's house was one such spot. I could cast a spell in the blink of an eye there, but in other places it could take minutes.

"There are lines of force under the ground", she had explained. "They're like rivers, with many sources and branches. In some places, I'd be like a fish in the desert. In others, I'd be a kraken among tadpoles. There are five converging ley lines here in my glade, which is why I chose this spot for my home. I stay away from the other extreme, as bad things can befall me there. If I linger there too long, I become vulnerable."

She taught me how to adapt to the time spent in areas with no lines. "The Pentagram has five sides for a reason", she explained. "Earth is but one of those sides. Power may be obtained from water, fire, air, and spirit, as well. We can draw but little from them, but it's handy in a pinch."

She went on to explain what we did with that power. "I am strong in Earth magic", she said. "Others are more at home with the other elements. For some of your training, we will require assistance. You should be as well versed as we can make you in all elements, no matter your ability to manipulate them."

She called in friends of hers to help out, and I could see she was amazed at some of the results. I was a bit weak in fire, but stronger than she'd believed possible in the others. "It is rare", she said, "for someone to be proficient in more than one element. That you are even stronger in spirit than you are Earth, is almost beyond belief. Spirit is one area our line has never excelled in, yet you have great potential there."

Due to this revelation, I acquired more tutors. It seemed as if I was learning from dawn to dusk, probably because I was, most days. Working with spirit was strange, but interesting. Finding out I could move through that realm and remain invisible to people in the corporeal world intrigued me. Of course, having no body had something to do with my invisibility. While it was lying on the mat, my spirit was free to roam. Some of the things I saw in my meandering were scary as all get-out, but they didn't seem to wish me any harm for the most part. You see, the dead lived in the spirit realm.

Most spirits ignored me. Some spoke to me in passing, while others requested favors of me. Chiefly among these, were requests for justice. Several unsolved murder cases saw new evidence suddenly appear due to this over the next few months. I didn't mind, and I made some unusual friends in the process. One such friend was an older gentleman who called himself Merlin. Yes, that Merlin. It was from him that I learned of the other planes, and how to access them.

That wasn't all I learned from the old mage, but it was the most important in the end. He wanted me to see how they were doing in his old home. It seems he hadn't had any visitors from there since his passing, and he couldn't access his plane from ours. Spirit realms did not share planes, so no one from his old home had come to the one he inhabited.

When I asked my tutors how to go about this, none of them had the slightest idea. In fact, though they suspected other planes existed, none had concrete proof. Merlin remedied this, and taught me how to scry across planes. This was a difficult procedure, as magic had severe limitations in the spirit world. He could only tell me what I must do, and wait for my next visit to see if I was successful. It took three trips, but I finally got it to work.

When I did, it blew me away. I saw a medieval looking place, and learned the name of it was Gelan. As if that were not enough, there were people from Earth there! On top of all that, they were at war with some invading force. I made many trips to see Merlin, and kept him informed while learning all I could from him. The man must have been something else when he was alive, because I was soon doing things that grandma swore hadn't been heard of in ages.