Lesbian Vampire Ch. 05 - That Which Haunts You

Rhea walked forward towards Lucy.

"I told you not to use this on me," said Lucy. There was a slight smile on her face.

Rhea released the spell and shoved the knife into Lucy's hands. "I was hexed today. You don't get to make me exercise." Rhea turned towards the couch.

"Last thing," said Lucy. She grabbed the painted handle and pulled the knife from its sheath. "Exorior," she whispered to the gleaming metal. An inscription revealed itself. "May my wound be mortal," Rhea read aloud. "Where did you get these?"

Lucy smiled then said, "Braga gave me these knives, long ago. But one of the mountain witches enchanted it for me."

"Mariam," Rhea said.

"How did you know?" asked Lucy.

"Knives and Latin," said Rhea fondly. She resolved to ask Mariam for one just like it. Lucy sat on the couch and looked at Rhea.

"Don't get too comfortable," said Lucy. "And I'm serious--" she said. "If you use that on Braga, you will have to kill him."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," said Rhea. The notes she had scribbled yesterday were still on the table before her.

"What did the others back on your island say about the mirror hex?" asked Lucy

Rhea paused. She hadn't told anyone. "Kivan said he'd need to look into it. Like the other impossible things I've brought to him these past few days."

"Don't lie, darling," said Lucy. "You're bad at it."

Rhea glared, "Someone will try to come to me," she said as she shuffled through her notes. "It'll slow us down."

"My, my," responded Lucy, "what will Mother Superior say?"

Rhea's body rolled forward with laughter she struggled to stifle. "Stop," Rhea said. She looked at Lucy seriously. "If I'm still targeted by a hex, they'll be at risk just by being around me."

"So you were fine exposing me?" Lucy asked.

"I," Rhea stuttered. "I, uh--"

"Kidding, darling. Christ, you are wound up." Lucy gazed at Rhea. "I'm reasonably confident in my own protections and I know there's always risk in this work. So I guess we're in this together?" Rhea nodded and wondered what choice she had.

Lucy stood on her feet and walked towards the bed. "We've still got awhile before sunset. I'll get back to translating the book. See if I can find anything helpful."

"Half-way?" said Rhea, discouraged.

"My apologies," Lucy retorted sarcastically. "How long does it take you to translate a 500 year old document in Latin?"

Rhea stretched her arms over her head, as if to wring the rolling discomfort out of her body. "I'm just feeling so useless."

"You should rest," said Lucy. "When's the last time you've been up the mountain?" The vampire sat back on the bed and pulled a bed tray stacked with papers and books over her legs.

"It's been awhile," she answered.

"Why do I suspect you say that a lot?" responded the vampire, barely audible.

Rhea didn't even bother to glare. All she could feel was a restless, crawling sensation. She stood on her feet and walked towards the door.

"I need some air," said Rhea. "I'm gonna walk for a bit."

"What about the hex?" called Lucy. "You're leaving the protective barriers of my home."

"Right," said Rhea to herself. It might be risky, but she would drive herself crazy pacing the floors of Lucy's apartment. She walked to her bag and began to dig through a pocket. "I'll have this." She held up a necklace. "Protection amulet. Set with a tiny stone from my favorite beach on the island."

"I know nothing I say will stop you so I'll say nothing," responded Lucy. As Rhea turned to the door, she heard the vampire whisper she was a pain in the ass.

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Rhea paced up and down the streets as far as she dared. It was nearing the end of the work day and traffic was growing congested. She bought some food for herself and a couple bottles of some coffee drink because the mountain witches never had any. They drank tea and kombucha and pretended they didn't smoke cigarettes. She pounded up the stairs as she returned to the vampire's unit. The impact of the ground sent shockwaves up her legs and it made her feel human.

Lucy wouldn't tell Rhea what she'd found so far, just that she was more convinced the journal was a log of dates and general observations without much more detail. She wouldn't know anything until she could see it as a whole. Rhea paced the floors of the room. She tried to watch a show on her laptop but found she couldn't sit still.

"I can see you wriggling in the corner of my eye," said Lucy as she stood. "It's annoying." The vampire walked to the closet and pulled out a storage bin. She knelt and began to dig through it methodically.

Rhea tried to eat some of the nuts she bought but fingers fumbled the package. So she walked into the kitchen to try to pour herself water, then decided she wanted to put the bottles of coffee drink in the fridge so she walked back.

"I swear I can hear you obsessing through your footsteps," called Lucy from the closet.

Rhea ignored her as she carried the bottles to the fridge. She opened a cabinet to get a glass. It slipped out of her hand. Rhea screamed reflexively when it hit the ground and shattered. Lucy was on her feet in an instant.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," said Rhea quickly. "I just scared myself." Her voice wavered when she asked, "Do you have a broom?" She tried to mime sweeping but her arm movements were weak.

"I'll take care of it," responded Lucy. "Why don't you go check out the bookshelves? I store magick tomes from all over the world in this little apartment." She stepped gingerly over the glass to guide Rhea out of the kitchen. "A lot are rare, some one of a kind. That has to be interesting to a witch, right?"

"I'll try," said Rhea.

She struggled to focus on the titles as her eyes wandered books that lined the shelf.

"How're you doing?" When Lucy spoke, her voice felt everywhere.

Rhea spun around, startled. Lucy leaned on a nearby pillar with a glass of water in hand.

"Worse than I thought, I guess," Rhea answered. She took the water. When their fingers brushed and Rhea felt it through her whole body, down through the soles of her feet. Rhea stared at Lucy, who's eyes were still and sharp, and when the blood rushed to her face Rhea turned back towards the shelves.

She heard Lucy's footsteps behind her. The vampire ran her hands along Rhea's upper arms and her chest brushed Rhea's back. There was a quietude to Lucy's body and Rhea's exhale shuddered in relief.

Lucy dug her thumbs into the tight muscles underneath the skin of Rhea's shoulders. Warm tingling sensations, now familiar, ran down the length of her back.

One of Lucy's hands slid around Rhea's waist. The fingertips of the other skimmed the sensitive skin of Rhea's neck. Enamored of the sensation, Rhea tilted her head.

"I can be gentle," Lucy said.

"Stop," whispered Rhea.

"Or not, whatever you want," responded the vampire. Lucy pulled Rhea into her.

The thrill of it consumed Rhea's resolve. Eyes closed, she arched her chest up and rested her head back on Lucy's shoulder. Lucy ran her free hand across Rhea's chest. "It's not healthy for you to be so wound up like this, darling," said Lucy. "No wonder you can't think."

Rhea heard her heart pounding and an aching warmth spread through her groin. "I-" said Rhea, "I don't think I should get distracted."

"But you're distracted now," said Lucy. Her breath was hot along the shell of Rhea's ear. The vampire kissed her neck.

The intensity of Lucy's desire was a weight that pulled her under. Rhea turned around. The vampire looked at her with singular reverence intertwined with wild hunger. The witch brought her hands up to the vampire's face and gently pulled her forward to press to kiss her lips. Lucy allowed Rhea's hand to guide her as gripped the counter behind the witch, bracketing her body.

Lucy's skin felt cooler than yesterday, she noticed. Lukewarm. The memory of the feed surfaced in Rhea's mind and she pulled away. "I, I don't know, Lucy,' she said, "it doesn't seem..."

Lucy brought her lips back to Rhea's neck. Rhea's knees buckled in pleasure. Lucy held her and whispered, "I don't think I've heard you say my name." She kissed Rhea, passionate and hungry. And Rhea parted lips and let the vampire's hands roam her body.

Before she knew it, though, the kiss became slow and tender. Rhea couldn't recall when her hands began to cling to the vampire. She broke the kiss and pressed her forehead into Lucy's shoulder. She rested back on the counter behind her and steadied herself with one hand.

Lucy closed the distance between them and Rhea felt the vampire's teeth on her earlobe. "You want me to touch you, darling, '' whispered Lucy. There was sweetness to a simple truth after a series of relentless unknowns; Rhea turned to again kiss Lucy.

Then her free hand bumped the half-full glass of water rested on the counter. It shattered when it collided with the ground and Rhea jumped in panic. The tension headache again resurged within Rhea.

"I can't," she said, with a shake of her head. "I'm sorry.'

Lucy reached out and squeezed her shoulders. "It's ok," she said and turned to collect the broom.

****************************************************

The rest of the afternoon was quiet and soon Rhea found herself in Lucy's sedan as it sailed over darkened streets. Then there were quiet highways that ran through urban sprawl and small, rural towns until it finally ascended a winding 2 - lane road upward.

"I think we're close to the grounds, about 40 minutes" said Lucy. Rhea nodded, but she already knew when she saw the blinking star on the sign of a small grocery store. The lot was jammed with cars. The rainstorm in the city had brought fresh snow to the mountains, which always packed the area with tourists.

When they neared the grounds, Lucy said "It'll be easier if you find the entrance." Rhea whispered the incantation as snow and twigs crunched underneath the tires. A few yards ahead, a pinpoint of misted light hovered midair. The light began to grow and coil around itself like a snake. It grew and stretched until it extinguished itself in an instant. A long, dark road was now visible.

Lucy maneuvered the car down the dirt road and soon the main cabin emerged in the distance. Its massive windows were illuminated with amber light and Rhea could see silhouetted figures moving back and forth. The coven, steadfast in its refusal to name itself for generations, managed to secure several hundred acres of dilapidated campground in the 80's and became, unofficially, the witches on the mountain.

The sedan pulled to a stop and Rhea opened the door. The cold clung to the small hairs in her nose when she breathed in. It's quiet out here, she thought. There was a faint scent of warm vanilla from the pine sap of the surrounding trees that loomed tall into the sky. Lucy walked round to the trunk and removed their bags.

Rhea reached out to take her bag from Lucy. "Oh, it's ok--" Lucy attempted but was cut off when a woman hollered, "Lucy's here, you guys." There was a cacophony of voices, thunder of feet, and a stream of women pounded down the wooden stairs. Lucy dropped the bags when one woman slipped on the ice and into Lucy's waiting arms.

Rhea smirked and headed up the stairs. The witches who still lingered in the lodge gave her warm smiles and greetings. "You've never been here the same time as that vampire?" asked Luis from his chair in the corner, looking up from the book open across his lap. The skin of his face was marked with craters and scarring gave him a sternness which felt at odds with his bright, smiling eyes. Rhea was happy to see him before he returned to his home Tijuana. She knew he was old but his hair was still jet-black and slicked into a long ponytail and matched his neat goatee.

"Nope," Rhea laughed, "but it seems like things get crazy." He shook his head. "Shemakes them crazy," he said, still absorbed in the book.

"They told us we were crazy to teach a vampire. They said she'd use it against us," said a voice behind Rhea. She knew it in an instant. Mariam stood a few yards out from the threshold to the kitchens. She gripped her cane tightly and said, "What they don't know is that we gave her a very stern talking to."

Rhea smiled broadly and reached to hug the other woman. "Careful," said Mariam, " my body has turned against me." Gingerly, Rhea wrapped her arms around the other woman. Mariam was tall, taller than Lucy, at a few inches over six-foot. Broad-shouldered and fat, holding her prodigious body brought a sense of grounding to Rhea.

"Ugh, I'm sorry," said Rhea. Mariam was already a respected witch when Rhea met her as an initiate. Mariam had some nerve disorder, Rhea could never remember which one. It cramped her muscles and manifested pinpoints of pain throughout her body like a poltergeist, destructive as was impalpable.

"I had no idea you were back!" she added.

"It's only been about 2 days," said Mariam. "And somewhere, between the planes and the trains and the automobiles, I got a pain flare. Which is one of the many reasons I'm happy to see you. No one here has been able to touch it."

Rhea grimaced in sympathy. "Do you want me too..."

"Please," said Mariam, "if you have it in you." There was a slight wobble in Mariam's arm and Rhea pursed her lips in concern. Mariam hid her pain, which made Rhea wonder how bad it must be. She grabbed a nearby stool and set it before Mariam then stepped on. She reached around Mariam's head and worked her fingers through her long hair, thick and very dark brown. She pressed her fingers against the base of Mariam's skull and gazed into her hazel eyes. Rhea began to whisper.

A veil fell over her sight, gossamer gold. Iris-light ripped across it, like waves. Her fingertips, pressed against Mariam, burned. The taller woman hissed but held herself in place. The gold and white began to merge across Rhea's vision and she felt her lips moving, cradling the sacred words of their own volition. It became a shining light, singular and sharp like a sword. She took a breath to summon strength and drove the light through her fingertips, into the back of Mariam's skull. There was a moment of pain, like ripping hair from deep within their follicles. Rhea's vision returned.

Mariam gritted her teeth hard and groaned from deep within her throat. Her body trembled for two long beats. Then came a deep sigh of relief.

"It's gone," said Mariam with an exhale. The unspoken 'for now' hung between them. Rhea smiled and placed both hands on either side of Mariam's face. "I want you to enchant a fancy knife for me," she said.

"Did Lucy show them to you?" Mariam asked.

"You are the only witch I know who still bothers with Latin," said Rhea.

"Well, that's because I have good taste," said Mariam.

As Rhea turned to step down from the stool, she paused. Lucy watched her from across the room. Still surrounded by the women, they seemed to blur across as Rhea met the vampire's gaze.

"Oh," said Mariam with mild surprise.

Rhea pivoted her head. Mariam's eyes were playful. Rhea hopped down. "Have you known Lucy long?" she asked.

"Too long," Mariam responded happily. She rested her cane on the couch and walked smoothly towards Lucy. Her body eclipsed Lucy's one until the vampire's arms, narrow and ropey, wrapped round the witch. Lucy whispered something in Mariam's ear, and Mariam giggled.

Oh, said Rhea to herself.

They pulled away and moved towards Rhea.

"We've come across each other, here and there." Mariam smiled softly, the deep-olive skin of her face rounded gently at the cheek. Mariam never settled in one place and lived among covens all over the world. Her eyes now darted between Rhea and Lucy.

"Where is everyone?" Rhea asked

"Well, about a third leave in winter and the rest hibernate in the cabins until spring," answered Mariam. Lucy scoffed, presumably at Californians.

"The main lodge is lonely in the winter," muttered Luis from his chair. "The way I like it."

"And I sent a few down the road to the lake," said Mariam. "We need pine needles. We're hoping to complete a ritual tonight, while you're here."

"Fuck," said Rhea, "I was hoping to talk about the murders."

"Murders?" asked Mariam, incredulous.

Rhea nodded, surprised she had not yet heard. "A witch named Janice. She lived here for a little while. Did you know her?"

"Sort of," said Mariam. "How did she die?"

"A dangerous magick, possibly based in necromancy," answered Lucy. "It also killed a human woman and a vampire." Mariam's brows flared in shock.

"What can you tell me about her? I need to find out if she had friends, or a lover?" asked Rhea.

"Also," added Lucy, "We should mention Rhea was hexed."

The room froze as all eyes fell to Rhea. There was an errant gasp.

Rhea grimaced. "Something broke through the wards of the enclave."

"That's not possible," said Mariam.

"And yet," mused Lucy.

"No, I mean--"

"THEY'RE BACK!" someone yelled. A van rolled up outside the lodge, music blaring. A few witches braved the cold on the balcony to dance along. Mariam grabbed Rhea's arm.

"I mean," said Mariam. "Over a thousand witches must have laid protection magick at this point, you and me included. What's more likely? A single person defeating it, or that someone got to you from the inside?"

Rhea froze. The doors to the lodge swung open with a slam and a gust of cold air struck her as the returning witches poured in.

"We should go to the safe room," said Mariam.

Rhea followed her down the long hallway and through a heavy iron door that opened only with Mariam's quiet incantation. They passed through the threshold and down the darkened stairs. Rhea knew instinctively to avoid the lock bolts embedded in the door frame and wall. They radiated a stinging sensation. Rhea made a mental note to ask how to work them.

They made their way downwards. "So I guess both of you will have to stay down here, at least until we're sure the hex still isn't attached to you," Mariam called over her shoulder.

The bottom step opened into a windowless room with concrete walls and floor. Someone had made an attempt at decor by hanging faded art prints in battered frames. A pink glass vase sat on the dresser in front of its attached mirror. A bed and desk had been crammed into the small space as well. There was no built-in lighting, only scattered lamps. Their cords, old and cricked from hapless winding, stretched across the floor and around furniture to reach the lone powerstrip.

The room had likely been added after they acquired the property. It smelled of damp earth and fresh mushrooms.

"Do you ask them to keep it dark like this?" Rhea called to Lucy.

"To annoy you, specifically," retorted the vampire as she rounded the stairway into the room.

Rhea smiled as she maneuvered the bags to the top of a dresser. In the mirror, she saw Mariam giving her a look. Rhea stared back pointedly into the mirror as she unzipped the bag to rummage through and retrieve a notebook.

She sat on the bed, notebook and pen ready, and Mariam sat beside her.

Mariam sighed. "Janice never really bought into how we do things. From what I understood, she had already been initiated when she came to us. By a solitary witch that wasn't aligned with any coven. I think that's what she preferred." Rhea held her judgment; a solitary witch's power could only develop so far alone but a coven demanded sacrifice.

"Tell me anything you remember," asked Rhea.

"You know, not much." said Mariam. "I could see she wasn't happy." She sighed and shook her head. "She was always pretty closed off. Someone here told me she went back to the witch who initiated her. And she had a boyfriend. Some European."

Lucy interjected, "Do you know the witch who initiated her?"