The Witch: Book Two of The Sorceress Saga Taliesin Govannon (best free ereader .txt) 📖

                He put the cup down and sighed.  “I don't hate him, or else he'd never be able to show his face around me.  I just think that he's reckless, and he winds up getting people killed when they didn't have to die.  Believe me, when you've seen as much death as I have, you gain an appreciation for life.”  He picked the cup up again.  “Besides, he's got a ridiculous ego.  Those types irk me in principle.”

                “His sister seems nice.”

                “Evie's a treasure.  Half of the people who survive working with Trevor have her to thank.”

                “So what are you cataloging?”

                Vincent walked over to me and showed me the cup.  It was bright red, with a golden swirling pattern winding up the stem and to the edge where it blended with a golden ring around the lip.

                “Pretty.” I said as I ate another pizza roll.

                “Try looking at it with your sight... your other sight.”

                I swallowed my food and closed my eyes.  I had been practicing a kind of extreme psychometry as of late, using my psychic vision to attempt to figure out the history of magickal objects.  Vincent never passed up an opportunity to get me to practice, so I re-focused my energies and then opened my eyes.

                The cup glowed with a purple light, which told me that it was imbued with powerful magick.  I looked closer and started to see images.

                I'm seeing... a mountainside." I said, peering intently.  "It looks like a real fortress.  I don't know why, but I get the feeling that it's in the Andes Mountains.  I'm seeing a door with a seal on it, one that looks like... a seven-pointed star."  I blinked as the images faded and looked at Vincent.  "How'd I do?"

                “Pretty good.” he replied with a smile.  “I have no idea where this comes from or what it does, but I'll make a note of your vision for my records.”  He walked back across the room and started typing on his tablet.

                I was happy to help, but couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity that I still felt about the cup.  It was like I had seen it before.

                                                                                                *                *                *

                How I found myself at the lake again I do not know.  I had been avoiding it on my morning walks after the warning from the mystery lady during my last vision/dream.  It meant altering my morning walk route, but the thought of it suddenly gave me a bad feeling, so the detour was worth it.

                I looked across it's darkened surface and realized that it had to be a dream.  I wouldn't go near the thing, and especially not at night!

                Find me...

                I stopped my inner dream monologue and listened.  The voice was female and seemed to be skipping across the water's surface.

                Find me, Sorceress...

                Across the lake, I saw a light begin to shine.  It seemed to float above the far shore, bobbing in and out of existence.  I squinted my eyes, forgetting that this wasn't really happening.  Slapping my forehead, I changed course and reached out with my feelings.

                The peace was broken when a huge, dark shape erupted out of the water.  I could feel the algae-scented water splash on my face, and I looked up in awe at the towering shape above me.  It looked a little like a giant worm, only with five rows of wickedly sharp-looking teeth.  I got ready to zap it with the strongest spell I had when I heard the voice again.

                Run!

                The instinctual part of me did what she said.  I took off down the path, careful not to trip over the rocks and roots stretched across the trail.  I could hear the worm crashing through the trees behind me, and it sounded like it was gaining.

                Up ahead, a woman walked into the middle of the path.  She was Asian, dressed in a loose kimono-style robe, and glowed with an ethereal light. Her dark hair seemed to float on waves of energy around her head, and she planted her feet firmly on the ground.

                “Behind me!” she commanded.

                Again, I did what she told me.  I couldn't explain just why, but a part of me trusted her unquestioningly.

                She threw her hands up and spoke a word I didn't understand.  A wave of pure white light flew out from her hands, and the beast wailed in pain.  I covered my ears at the ghastly sound.

                I was jolted out of bed by the force of everything.  I stood straight up and looked around.  Everything seemed normal... the open window, my Tardis poster on my closet door, my huddled form curled up in bed...

                That last part stopped me cold.  I looked in wonder, not believing my eyes.  I was looking down on my own body, chest rising and falling with each breath.  It was the strangest thing I had seen yet.

                It also excited me.  I had studied out-of-body experiences the year before but had never encountered one.

                Until now.

                I walked out of my room and decided to take a look around.  I walked down the hallway and noticed that my footsteps made no sound.

                This is cool! All thoughts of lakes, monsters, mysterious women, and the like were driven from my mind as I explored the mansion in spirit form.

                I walked past the artifact room and gave the door a wide berth... the jumble of energy coming from in there was a little too much to handle in my current state.  I came to the parlor door and decided to try something.

                Why not? I thought, and passed right through it.

                There was a fire in the hearth, and four figures huddled around it.  All were instantly recognizable.

                “You'd better have some info on those lakes.” Vincent said.  “It's why you're here, officially.”

                “Yeah yeah, I've got your damned information.” Trevor replied, annoyed.