The Witch of The Woods Ch. 01

Christine sighed.

"You know I would've helped your mom if I could, right?"

"I- I do. I know you've been helping people around town, and these rumors, y'know... 'witch this, witch that'... most of the locals think it's just a joke... because you live in the forest, y'know..."

She tugged her hem some more, took a sip of her tea, put the cup back and returned to abusing the dress.

"So I- I started spying on you last year..."

Figures.

"I mapped out the location of the house - it's not on Google, even satellite photos are very lowres and blurred, then found this path from the park and tried going down. First time there, I got caught in some grass that gave me this really nasty rash."

Christine nodded. Interesting. First reaction to Diamond Road grass is rash, indeed, but it's followed by swelling and lower limb paralysis nearly immediately.

"Yeah... so I thought it would be a good idea to have a plant identifier or something. I've spent a bunch of my savings on this app, it's been really useful so far. When I didn't find a plant in the database, I knew to avoid it."

Wow, all my defenses were circumvented with an app. You're getting soft, Christine.

"It took me nearly a week to chart the entire path down to the house... I was so scared to come out, so I... started watching... you..." Peggy turned pink to the tips of her ears.

Uh huh.

"Did you like what you saw?" Christine smirked. She didn't have tan lines.

Peggy tried to protest.

"It's... it's not like that! I mean... you're incredibly beautiful..." She changed pink to red. "But I saw you talking to the birds, and the plants... and that dark cloud that changes into your car!"

So she knows. At least I don't have to come up with nonsensical lies.

"I'll introduce you sometime. Are you a virgin, Peggy?" Christine asked, seemingly out of nowhere.

"I- I am, w-why?" The girl stammered.

"Just curious." Curious how an uninitiated virgin with no training was able to circumvent my defenses and get within a clear shot's distance without being noticed. "Don't worry, I don't do sacrifice rituals."

"F-father makes me endure visits to the gynecologist every month," the girl dropped her head, nearly in tears. "Wants to make sure I'm 'saving myself' for the marriage..."

Oh gods, what a fucking pig!

"Here's what we're going to do, Peggy," she leaned forward, covering Peggy's nervous hands with hers. "Coming here like that is unsafe. I don't want anyone to see you coming or going, else it gets right back to your father sooner or later. I will contact you when I have means of transport figured out for you. In the meantime, you get homework!"

She smiled and pulled a wooden box sitting on the table closer to her, flipped the cover and took a small stone out of it, handing it to Peggy. The girl carefully picked the stone with two fingers - a perfect sphere of polished black onyx, with tiny golden sparkles beneath the surface.

"To most people it's just a nice looking stone. But to magic users it's an invaluable tool. I won't spoil the surprise though, you'll have to figure it out on your own. We'll meet again when you do."

Peggy lifted her excited bright eyes and nodded eagerly.

"I won't let you down, Doctor Leyland!" She slid the sphere into her pocket.

"Call me Christine," the witch smiled. "And now... you probably should head back before your father reports you as missing, like Alice Dougherty."

Peggy's eyes widened and she jumped off the couch, nearly knocking tea cups down.

"Oh my God! I need to go!" She headed to the door, then suddenly turned back. "Thank you, Christine! For... everything!"

She darted out, and Christine followed in her wake, standing on the porch watching the girl sprint across the clearing to the trees. She stopped at the tree line, turned and waved and, not waiting for Christine to wave back, dove into the bushes and disappeared.

Sun was heading down. Just enough time for her to get back before dark. Shade silently reappeared on the porch.

"Cute one. Very talented. Might even surpass you in a couple hundred years."

"Bet you a barrel of finest Jameson she does that much sooner."

"I don't drink but I just might start for a bet like that. Did you figure it out already?"

"Her desire to stay unnoticed was so strong it manifested as a spell. But what did she draw the power from? What was her source? That is a question."

"Will you teach her?"

"Most definitely. Her father can suck it, the girl knows what she wants."

Shade made a sigh-like noise and drifted back to the garage. Christine went about cleaning the terrace. She brought the empty pitcher and glasses back into the kitchen, shoved everything into the dishwasher, checked the fridge and cabinets to find meat and groceries neatly sorted into proper places, looked at the stove in doubt and decided to skip dinner.

-//-

Work stalled. Distracted by the task of routing multiple trains of various thoughts, all running in different directions, she ruined the last batch of samples, which all but blew in her face, and ended up cleaning the lab, before sitting down in front of her laptop, blankly staring at the screen for several minutes. At last, she pulled a draft of her new paper on the healing properties of Caldwell lake flora and sent it to Morgana. There, at least I finished something today!

The sun has set. Christine hung the lab coat, locked the lab and moved to the living room. Sitting on the couch with her feet tucked under, she aimlessly browsed streamings until settling down for a rewatch of Wednesday - it was the closest to fantasy genre she could stomach. Also, awkward dorky magical teenagers were fun. She fell asleep in the middle of the second episode, watching her incredible adventure as a professor of potioncraft unfold in Nevermore Academy.

"Mistress," Enid called. "Mistress! CHRISTINE!" The girl cawed suddenly, making Christine jerk and sit upright, blinking and chasing the dream away. The raven was nervously tapping his feet on the coffee table in front of her.

"Oh, thank gods, you're awake! I was considering whether I should peck you."

"Wha- Bart, what happened?"

"The girl, the kidnapped one, we found her!"

"Where?" Christine jumped off the couch and headed to the front entryway, taking the shirt off as she went.

"Twelve miles northwest," Bartholomew followed her, perching on a coat rack. "You should hurry, she won't last long."

She pulled the jeans down to her knees and tapped the inconspicuous tall cabinet, opened it, while trying to kick the offending fabric off her legs completely, then pulled a dark suit out into the moonlight falling through the front door. It was a gift from a very special ops unit, allowing one to be perfectly silent and nearly unseen at night, and, after being enhanced by her own magic, also resistant to most of conventional weaponry.

A minute later, she was walking down the front stairs, zipping the suit up. She stopped in the middle of the clearing and stomped her feet, sending a magic pulse the forest should've felt for miles around.

"Tenebrae!" She shouted. "We ride into battle!"

The garage door rolled open like being pushed by an invisible giant hand.

"AT LAST." The voice was thunder trapped in a cistern.

Giant black horse with a long mane and tail both made of flowing dark mist stepped out of the garage. Shade's hooves weren't touching the ground.

"Bartholomew! Lead!" Christine hopped onto the horse's back without stirrups and a saddle.

The raven made an arc in the air, turning to the northwest, and with one mighty flap darted forward like a black arrow. Shade reared, then kicked with all four legs and silently took to the skies following the bird.

The headwind, still hot at 200 miles per hours, screamed and whistled through her hair and his mane as they flew just above treetops, Shade's hooves occasionally rustling the leaves. Three minutes into their flight, Christine noticed the silent cloud of crows circling above their destination, and Bart headed down, Shade following in his wake.

They silently descended onto a narrow footpath leading to a run down cabin. The windows on the shack were so dirty from both sides it was impossible to see inside, but Bart, perched on a nearby branch, confidently pointed at the door with his beak.

The door was locked, deadbolted and barred, so after Christine's kick it went down with several decent pieces of the walls it was holding onto. She stood in the former doorway, glowing green eyes piercing the darkness. She noticed something similar to a human form near the back wall and moved towards it when he blocked her path.

He was atrocious and pathetic at the same time - ugly face with eyes full of unmasked insanity, bloated overweight body that hasn't seen a bath in probably weeks, covered in badly designed tattoos and self-inflicted scars. The fight was short - she slapped him across the face and he flew across the room, colliding with the wall and slumping on the floor.

Not giving him another glance, she moved to the back of the cabin. An unconscious girl - Alice! - was tied to a crude torture rack with barbed wire, naked... abused. Christine turned to him, her eyes now burning red.

"DO NOT KILL HIM!" Shade poured into the breach in the wall. "They will need him alive. Take care of the girl."

She took a small vial with glowing golden liquid out of a pouch on her utility belt and, turning to Alice, poured the contents into her mouth, then pressed her hand to the girl's chest. Alive, barely. Gotta hurry. She snapped her fingers, and the wire holding Alice's hands and legs in place slowly and carefully unwound, Christine holding her from falling. She picked Alice up and placed her on the old dirty blanket on the nearby bed, wrapping her tortured body, then picked up again and stalked to the exit, giving him one last glance. He was still unconscious, and expertly hogtied by Shade with ropes they'd found around the place.

Billowing dark mist was waiting for them outside.

"Hold her," Christine commanded and handed them the body, pulled the phone out of her pocket, storing the location of the cabin, then glanced at the path leading out of the forest. She picked up Alice again, and suddenly the girl arched her back and seized, her entire body trembling. The girl was dying in her arms.

Fuck.

For the first time this century Christine felt fear - not the primal one that is fed by your instincts, but the one that comes from your consciousness and rationale. She was about to fail this girl, fail her parents, Donna, this silly little town, bigoted as it is but the one she came around to like... Shade unceremoniously interrupted her with a resounding slap across the face.

"Focus, child."

Christine stumbled, nearly dropping Alice, and shook her head, chasing the fear away.

"Portal to the lake, now!"

Shade reached for the artifact on her belt, making the portal appear - a distorted, rippling water-like circular surface roughly seven feet across, hanging in the air.

"Bart, Shade!" She shouted over her shoulder. "Keep an eye on that fucker until cops arrive!"

She stepped through the portal, her feet instantly digging into the soft white sand up to her ankles. Christine made several steps towards the water and looked up.

"Come on, come the fuck on!" She screamed into the skies.

The tiny cloud covering the moon drifted away, letting the moonlight spill onto the surface of the lake. The water shimmered, like being covered with a thin layer of silvery glitter. She entered the warm water up to her waist, feeling tiny shining algae clinging to her suit, and carefully lowered Alice's body down to float, unwrapping the dirty blanket, allowing the shimmer to envelop the girl.

Her seizures stopped and her body relaxed, but only for a tiny moment, then Alice gasped, inhaled sharply and opened her eyes. Seeing Christine, her eyes went wide, pleading, she reached with her arms, opening her mouth, but words wouldn't come out.

"Shhh, little one, it's okay, you're safe," Christine whispered, quickly tracing 'calm' and 'sleep' sigils on Alice's skin. "Now sleep."

Alice's eyes closed, her body relaxed and she tried to curl into a ball in Christine's arms. The witch drew the last sigil on the girl's forehead, wiping the events of the last two days from Alice's memory, and lifted her up, carrying her out of the water.

The way back home from the lake normally took about ten minutes, but she made it in three, forest parting in front of her, a faint glow of various plants lighting her way as she ran. She flew up the stairs, carried Alice to the living room and carefully lowered her on the couch, wrapping the girl in a colorful crocheted blanket, warm enough for a summer night. I'd find you clothes that fit, Alice, but we're in a hurry. She pulled the phone from her pocket and quickly found the number in her contacts.

"Chris? What happened?" Donna's sleepy voice answered after several painfully long tones.

"Alice Dougherty happened. Meet me at the dropoff," Christine hung up without going into detail, carefully lifted the girl up in her arms and went back outside, heading across the clearing and further, up the hill.

-//-

She was standing at the road's end with the girl in her arms for several minutes before the police cruiser's lights flashed between the trees. Donna stopped and jumped out of the car.

"Oh my God, is that... is that Alice?" She ran to Christine, stumbling in the dark.

"It is. Don't worry, she's stable and most likely won't remember a thing, but you'll still need to get her to the hospital for checkups and everything," Christine pushed past Donna. "But that's later. Open the door."

Donna opened the back door of the cruiser and Christine gently lowered the girl onto the seats, then turned to the sheriff, pulling the phone out of her pocket.

"Here's the cabin," she sent the location to Donna's phone. "Make sure you get there before the feds do. That... that creature is secured in there. Make sure to not involve me in your investigation."

She looked at her girlfriend at last.

"Go. See you when I see you, Doe."

Donna nodded, slammed the door closed and got into the cruiser without saying a word. The engine hummed, and Christine turned her back to the car, heading home.

-//-

Sun shining through the open window right in her face woke her up. Sliding off the bed with a grunt - last night reminded of itself with a muscle pain - she stepped over the pieces of stealth suit strewn across the floor and, grabbing her phone, stumbled down the stairs, naked.

Bart and Shade were watching the local news in the main living room with the sound off. She stopped and looked at the screen - a bunch of feds was packing the handcuffed creature into a van.

"How did it go?"

"Perfect."

"Relatively okay, I'd say, Tenebrae," Bart offered. "The culprit operated across the state borders. We'd never get a whiff of that if Alice wasn't local. She was his twelfth victim, the only survivor."

That felt like a punch in the gut. Christine winced and stomped into the kitchen for a morning dose of caffeine. She slumped into the chair, with a flick of her wrist making the kitchen come alive. Spoons, the measuring cup, the cezve and tiny porcelain coffee cup jumped and flew off their spots in a concerted effort to make her drink perfect. A couple minutes later, cezve carefully poured the black liquid into the cup, which slowly slid to Christine's hand across the table, trembling slightly, as she stared through the window with unseeing eyes. She turned her head and chuckled, seeing the cup's nervousness.

"It's okay, little one, I'm not going to bite your head off," she smiled. Nice, Christine, terror of the kitchenware, good job. She took a sip and relaxed, staring out of the window again, though not for long - the phone rang.

"Donna?" She picked up.

"Chris, can you meet me at the dropoff? There's..." Donna was nervous. "This fed guy wants to talk to you."

"Gods, Doe, I asked one thing of you!" Christine lost her temper immediately.

"It's not me, I promise! Something else led him to you!"

"...Fine."

She hung up and downed what was left of her coffee. Shit, I have to get dressed again.

-//-

Dressed in a denim jumpsuit over a white t-shirt, she stood at the edge of the dropoff clearing, arms crossed, waiting for the police cruiser, followed by black SUV, to park. Nothing says 'fed' like a huge black GMC.

Donna wasn't in any hurry to face her, unlike the guy who followed her here. He got out of his car, and she could see him clearly now. Early 60s, mostly gray, neatly trimmed beard and a mess of curly hair - he looked familiar. The man headed towards her, unprompted, and Christine unhooked her arms and slid her hands into her back pockets.

"Doctor Leyland?" The man started, offering a handshake. "Special Agent Roselli, I'm with the..."

Roselli, right.

"The BAU, I know. I've read your book, David," she shook his hand. "Fascinated by your method."

"Is that so?" He cocked his head. "Always nice to meet a fan."

Christine chuckled.

"I believe some of your fans have used your book to avoid common mistakes."

"That's exactly why I like to meet them," Roselli smirked and wiggled his eyebrows, still holding her hand.

"So what brings the monster hunter into my neck of woods?" She cocked her head to the side, looking into his eyes.

The man studied her face for a couple of seconds.

"You know, I've never met anyone of your kind before. Only heard stories."

"Take everything with a pinch of salt, a big one," she smirked. "Well, how do I do, in comparison to your expectations?"

"Greatly exceeding them," he nodded thoughtfully. "I wanted to personally thank you for your assistance in this case, your help proved to be invaluable."

"Wish I could've been of more help, and much earlier," Christine's face soured. "But going forward? I want you to know, David - any of us will be glad to provide assistance. If you find yourself out in the wild again, just call me."

They exchanged numbers.

"Not to worry," he said, getting back into his SUV. "Your name won't be mentioned in our paperwork."

"I appreciate that," she nodded.

"By the way, Christine, I was curious - just how old are you?"

"Oh, rude!" She laughed. "You know better than to ask a girl questions like that!"

He smirked and waved, putting the car in gear, and soon disappeared behind the trees. Donna carefully approached her.

"Hey Chris... you mad?"

Christine turned to her.

"At you? Don't be silly, Doe," she took Donna's hand. "Come on, we have a lot to catch up on."

-//-

Christine gasped, mauling her breasts and pulling on her nipples, as Donna released the head of the witch's huge cock out of her mouth with a 'pop', a tiny string of saliva connecting her lip to the shaft, and smiled.

"Mmm, you tease!" Christine cooed. "Do me, Doe, don't hold back..."

Donna dove again, enveloping the fat head with her mouth and humming around it, while plunging two fingers deep inside Christine's waiting pussy, abusing her G-spot. The witch released a guttural moan and arched her back, clamping her thighs around the blonde's head.

"Oh, it's been too fucking long..." Christine's eyes rolled back.

"That sounds so hot," Ena whispered loudly from under the cover Donna threw over the mirror.

The witch bucked her hips wildly, trying to impale herself on Donna's fingers even more, moaning and mewling, feeling the sweet release building inside of her. Finally, her body seized, catching the breath inside her chest, and her cunt gushed, covering the blonde's hand in thick sticky juice with a sweet flowery fragrance. Her knees fell to the sides, weak and trembling, releasing Donna's trapped head.