Celeste is a collaborative work between D. G. Grace and myself. I started the story with a half page, maybe a full page of story line and sent it to Dennis. He knew nothing of what the story was to be about or what it had been about. He knew nothing except what I sent him. From there, he added to the story his own idea of where the story should go. He wrote a page or so and sent it back to me. In turn with his new story line added, I had to move the story along using his new information. I think it is fair to say, that at this point neither of us have a clue where this story is going but it's a wonderful exercise in writing. If anyone would like to jump in and join us, you are welcome to, just let us know.

Celeste

By Crystal Thomas Worrell (CTW) and D. G. Grace (DGG)

[CTW] Brake lights! Ice! Celeste downshifted savagely, tearing through the lower gears of her grey Jaguar. Time slowed. Her heart raced and vaulting itself in her throat as she grappled her skidding car for control. Her seat belt jerked tautly against her body as the wheels finally gripped solid pavement.

“You stupid son of a…!” she growled deep and guttural slapping the steering wheel savagely. Without conscious thought she collapsed back into the leathery embrace of her bucket seat and took a long, deep breath.

A squeak from the passenger side drew her attention and she glanced over to see the long-haired, tan cat indignantly clawing his way back onto the seat. His tail twitched back and forth like wiper blades and his ears and whiskers pressed flat against his furry head.

She bit her lower lip suppressing a laugh--apparently his pride had been sorely wounded when he was dumped gracelessly on the floor.

“Are you all right, Jacob?” she asked him, unable to stop the grin from stealing across her face.

He stared back at her, his golden eyes narrowed into thin slits as he scolded her with a deep, shrieking meow and looked pointedly away.

:What do you think?: he sent her in a short terse thought.

“I’m sorry,” she told him as she reached over to scratch his ears. How like a normal cat he could be sometimes.

“You know I didn't exactly plan that.” she said.

She stared at the snowy, ice packed road. “God, how I hate to drive, especially in this mess. Remind me again why I like Minnesota so much?” she asked Jacob as she gestured to the snow pelting her tinted windshield.

Jacob didn't respond. He leaned heavily into her hand as she scratched behind his ears and under his chin. His ears once again raised and his whiskers protruding forward as he purred loudly.

With a mental shrug, she slowly pulled her car into the intersection and began to follow her mental landmarks down the snowy back streets of St. Paul.

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

[DGG] The surrounding walls were becoming less smooth--more unfinished brick and wood. The road became bumpier, and the radio died. Celeste noticed the steering wheel becoming harder, thinner, padded only by her gloves. The windshield curve flattened out and her engine coughed. Celeste groaned, "Not my brand new Jag. Gawain, you Luddite asshole."

Cold air, flavored with coal smoke, leaked in at all sides.

Jacob slid closer to her across the now single bench seat, buried his face in her full layers of skirts and petticoats. He was shivering.

: What idiot designed a car with no heater? A low, whiny growl leaked from the cat.

"Don't complain, Darling. At least we still have a motor vehicle."

: You're sure this is Gawain's doing? Jacob burrowed into Celeste's petticoats.

Celeste dragged back the edge of her left cuff with her right forefinger. The touchscreen on her bracelet winked bluegreen in the morning light.

"Yeah. It's Gawain."

: Good. Remind me to scratch the bastard. Or punch him in the face, if... The thought trailed off.

"Could be worse. Knowing Gawain's tastes, I'm surprised he left us with internal combustion." Celeste frowned. Jacob was adorable like this, but she couldn't imagine how frustrating it must be. She caressed the cat roughly, hoping to warm him a bit.

: I heard that.

"Heard what? I didn't say anything."

:Pity.

"You can hear pity?"

: Like a foghorn.

"Wow. Maybe I underestimated the advantages of--"

The Model-T came to a teeth-jarring halt, both front wheels falling into deep ruts in the recently refrozen street mud. The engine choked, sputtered, and died.

Celeste rubbed her chest where the huge steering wheel had struck. Shaking her head, she looked down at the dashboard. No key. Just a choke knob. Then she saw the crank handle on the floorboard and groaned. Was it even possible to restart one of these things without help? Didn't someone have to operate the choke while she cranked--O screw this. Celeste pulled back her skirts and eyed her boots. Laced. Ankle high. Two-inch spiky heels. Really? Heels? In this weather?

She checked her wrist screen again, tapping up the last update of the GPS before the satellite signals had disappeared. The blue dot showed that Gawain should be just a few blocks away--well, had been a few blocks away. Celeste removed her shawl, gathered up the complaining cat, and kicked the door open.

"Come on, Romeo. Looks like we're hoofing it."

Jacob growled within the bundle of shawl. : What kind of self-respecting witch walks in weather like this?

"One who can't read early Twentieth-Century wards and would prefer avoiding death or dismemberment. Don't complain. At least you're warm."

: You have a point. Anyone watching?

Celeste looked around, slowly, not wanting to look too furtive. "Not a soul in sight. It's early."

: Good. Jacob began purring.

Celeste noticed the warmth before she noticed the weight. She glanced down at her shoulder and saw that she was now wearing a sable jacket. "Aw, aren't you a sweety."

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

[CTW]  Celeste tramped through the snow trying to take the sidewalk where ever possible, which due to the snowstorm was not often.  She then tried to stay in the tracks of cars that had passed and tripped and stumbled around for her effort. 

:When did you become such a klutz?  You are only a few hundred years old, you should be in better shape than this.: griped her furry passenger.

:Be nice or I’ll let you walk too.: she barked back at the furball.

With her next step she twisted her ankle and feel face down in the snow.  She sat up and slammed her hands down on both sides of her, “When I get my hands on that wall eyed, muck sucking, gutter snipe, I’m going to…I’m going to…I’m going to...”

“You’re going to do what sister mine?” Gawain laughed and just stood there pointing at his sister, his laugh continuing.  “Gotcha!” he finally exclaimed when he could find the breath.

Celeste’s face turned red and she struggled to her feet.  Then, without warning, her face changed from frustration to an evil grin which she turned on him.  Her eyes had dilated and were turning red.   

“Oh no Celeste, I know that look.  You wouldn’t dare.  It was just a joke.” he pleaded. 

“I did not find the least bit of humor in that Gawain, look at me.” she said, pointing at her snow covered body.

:Nor did I.  I’m wet and cold.: chimed in Jacob.

Celeste took a step toward her brother, well her step-brother to be exact, and raised a hand pointing toward him.

“Really Celeste, let’s shake and let by gones be by gones,” he said nearly pleading.

“Are you crazy, in the middle of winter, in a snow storm, you do this!  Let me show you how it feels you overgrown imp.” 

She waved her hand slightly and watched as the stitching in his clothing dissolved and fell to the ground, leaving him stark naked.

**********

[DGG]  Seeing her brother’s bared torso, Celeste’s eyes dilated. Her hand went to her mouth, and she gasped.

Jacob, peeking out of the bundled shawl, thought :Jesus, Gawain. What happened to you?:

Gawain’s smile disappeared. His eyebrows drew heavy curtains of shadow over his eyes. “Damn it, Celeste,” Gawain’s dropped his left  hand to cover his crotch. “This is no time for sibling rivalry.” He raised his right hand, snapped his fingers, and the light level surrounding around Celeste dimmed.

Celeste blinked until her eyes recovered from their brief bout of snow blindness. They were in a well-appointed drawing room, a fully-stoked fireplace blazing merrily away. Heavy, blood-red curtains blocked out the sunshine, and a handful of gaslamps added feeble light to the fire. Jacob was still under her arm, but her brother had disappeared.

“Gawain?” Celested looked around. Two doors led into the room. One was open and led to a sunlit room.

Gawain stepped from the sunlit room, tying the belt of a silk dressing gown at his waist. “You know, sister, there are those who would question the deep-seated psychological issues of a woman who finds excuses to strip her younger brother naked—with her husband looking on, no less.”

Celeste frowned down at Jacob, who promptly leapt from the shawl and strutted over to the fire. :Hadn’t you heard, Gawain? She divorced me.:

Celeste dropped the empty shawl and turned on Gawain. “Don’t start trying to be funny, Gawain, or to distract me. I saw those scars. I’ve never seen anything like that. What the hell happened to you, Sweety?”

:From muck-sucking, walleyed guttersnipe to Sweety in under five minutes. Not bad.: Jacob sat before the fire, licking his paw.

“Can it, Jacob. Gawain, what the hell is going on? You called us here, but then dragged us back into the Twentieth Century. Now I find that your torso is covered with scars that look like you’ve been streaked with napalm.”

Gawain shrugged. “I didn’t drag you here, and the scars are from Balrog’s whip.”

Celeste backed up, finding an easy chair with the backs of her knees, and sat down slowly. “Balrog? 

Gawain, what the hell are you talking about? Balrog is a fiction. There’s no such thing.”

Gawain shivered. “No. There isn’t. Unless Ninue wants there to be. She’s incredibly powerful, Celeste.”

:Ninue? Merlin’s mythic girlfriend? If he’s a myth, shouldn’t she be one, too?:

Gawain coughed out a syllable that might have been a scrap of laughter. “O, she’s real enough, Jacob. She’s the one dragging us back in time—dragging me, actually. You guys just got stuck in the vortex. I managed to hold onto our comm-screens, for all the good they do back here. She’s trying to drag me back to England, as well, but it’s been easier to fight the traction through volumetric dimensions than through time. This—1907—is the best I could do. I know you’d rather be back up in the Twenty-First Century or maybe back home in the Twenty-Fourth.”

Celeste rubbed her temples with the thumb and middle finger of her right hand. “Hecate’s loins, Gawain. Who is this woman? What does she want with you? Why have you been tortured?”

Gawain frowned, looked at the floor. “She’s a rogue. One of ours, of course. She’s very old, very angry. She plans to remake to world using her magic. She’s living in a heavily-shielded cave in Northumbria, and she has the Merlin. She plans to activate it in A.D. 656 and bring magic to Anglo-Saxon England.”

Celeste gasped. “That’s insane. Bringing magic to a pre-Cartesian society will push scientific progress back thousands of years and inhabit the wild spaces with all manner of inhuman monsters. Why would anyone want to do that?”

“I gather from what little she said that she doesn’t think too highly of our version of progress. She’s had a rough time. She lost everyone she cared about in World War III.”

Jacob growled. :You’re talking nonsense, Gawain. There’s never been a WWIII.:

Gawain shrugged. “Not in our timeline. You should see the radiation burns on that woman.Yeek. She wants me back. She knows I went forward to the Center. She may have guessed that I had her fingerprint on my comm-screen, I don’t know if she realized I had some of her DNA. Hell, she may even think I’d already figured out who she is. I’m honestly kind of surprised I didn’t—even with the scars and the years and her messed-up throat. I should have known her.”

Jacob purred. :How’d you manage the DNA?:

Gawain grinned. “She kissed me. She was taunting me, but I bit her lip. Managed to keep a scrap of her skin wedged in my teeth until I could get my hand free.”

Celeste smirked, crossed her arms. “Okay, little brother, so you figured her out. Who is she, Sherlock?”

Gawain glanced down at his comm-screen, touched a few points. “Okay, it should be on your screen, now. This is the old woman who’s trying to destroy the world.”

Celeste looked down at the screen. “This isn’t funny, Gawain.”

Gawain shook his head, frowning. “No. It’s not. It’s not a joke.”

Celeste dropped her hands, fell back against the chair, and paled. “This Ninue—she’sme.” 

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

[CTW]  Jacob came away from the fire, no longer chilled from the winter’s snow.  He climbed into Celeste’s lap hoping to be lavished with tender strokes of affection.  That was not what he got.  What he got was Celeste sitting entirely still, slouching in her chair, unaware of his presence.

Jacob not one to be easily disappointed, stretched across her lap, content to share her bodies heat.  Both cat and woman went unusually quiet.  Gawain sat across from them and watched intently, chewing on his bottom lip and tapping his foot.  He was waiting for some kind of action, word, scream, anything but silence. 

Celeste jumped up from her chair and dump Jacob to the floor with a shrieking meow. 

He righted himself on his feet and rushed out from under her shuffling feet.  :What the hell woman?: he screamed mentally out loud as he fell to the floor.

Celeste frantically paced the room back and forth.  She zipped back and forth raising her hands and swinging them around.  Occasionally Gawain and Jacob heard a word or two escape her lips.  “What the …?” followed by more pacing, “…not right”, silence, more pacing, “….off my rocker…” pacing, silence, pause, pacing, “…tortured my brother”, pause, silence, pacing, “…Ninue…the Merlin…”  The boys watched this and took it all in as a normal day at the office..

“Wonder how long she will be like this, this time?” Gawain asked Jacob who sat under a large table dutifully cleaning himself.

:Who knows: he remarked, :longest I’ve seen this go on for was 23 and a half hours, of course that was when she found out I was a cat.  It could be a while, I’m guessing it’s a bit of a shock.:

“When she was younger she shut out the entire world when she got like this, has she mellowed any over the past hundred years?” he asked.

:Nope, completely oblivious.  It’s her coping mechanism when things make no sense.  Perhaps that’s what brought about Ninue, she finally just flipped her rocker with all the stress or perhaps…more likely, her personality split.  That rings truer.:

“How did you live with it for so many years?” Gawain asked. 

:Because,: a mental sigh rang through the room, :Because I love her dearly.  That, and she loves me.  However, it is her unusual condition that aided me in becoming a cat.  Word of advice my friend, don’t work magic and utter a curse at your wife in the same breath, it can have dire consequences.  All I said was, “I’d rather be a mangy cat than married to you, you shrew” and, well here I am.  It seems the universe has a keen sense of irony.:

“But you said earlier that she divorced you.” 

:Oh, yes, she did.  She had to in order to handle our affairs.  I gave her everything in the divorce, because, well to be blunt, what does a cat need for possessions and money?  I am much better off letting her pamper me out of guilt.: he chuckled, a strange sound from a cat.  :And, besides, I am still too proud to let people know what I did to myself.  Most people think I ran off to the 23^rd century and that I’m basking on some beach in France with a bikini model.  So, obviously, I’m hoping in time I can remove this…mess, and we can remarry and move on from there.  Of course this new situation may delay that plan for a while.:

“As for Lestie’s condition, don’t they have medications that she can take to alleviate this type of behavior?” Gawain asked.  “I mean, it’s really none of my business but I love her and when she gets like this it worries me.”

:Oh, they do have medications that can stop this behavior, however she did not wish to take it and I would never ask her to.  To overcome her “disposition” the only medications available to her would leave her drooling in the corner and unable to do more than take care of day to day needs.  The brilliant mind we see light up and sparkle behind those beautiful blue eyes would dull and the lights would go out.  I’d rather deal with her infrequent “bouts”, than lose the woman I love.:

“Oh,” Gawain replied. 

Both men watched Celeste pace back and forth.  “You know it’s actually relaxing to watch her, it’s like watching a tennis match.”

:You know, you’re right,: Jacob agreed.

The two males watched her pace some more, but it was boring.  It was Gawain that broke the uncomfortable silence.  “So Jacob, if it’s not too personal, what’s it like being a cat?”  With that said, the two men talked for a couple hours.

Celeste continued to pace back and forth, back and forth, and then, as quickly as she began, she ceased, plopping her butt back down in the chair, with an exasperated “Fuck!”

Jacob sat up on his haunches and looked at her.  : Welcome back dear, any amazing break through?:

“No, yes, maybe…at least I have the whole thing centered in my mind and I can think clearly again.  Thanks for your patience,” she replied.

:No problem dear.:

“How long was I out of commission?” she asked.

:About five hours,: Jacob told her.

“Oh, so not too badly all things considered.  Okay, moving on, Gawain, I need to know how and when you first noticed you were being trailed—when, where and how.  After we discuss that I’d like for you to take the time to discuss Balrog with Jacob.  Mythical monsters were always his field of knowledge, I’m lucky to even know what Balrog is.   I’ve decided that I’m going to try and move us to another time period, further away from Northumbria, A.D. 656.”

“Won’t she know where you’ll take me?  She is you after all.”

“She doesn’t know me any better than I know her.  Why the hell did I take over the name of Ninue and take the Merlin?  Hell, I’m going to have to spend a day researching the Merlin again.  But, whatever, I need to take us someplace, and sometime that would neither be a place I’d choose or a place I’d avoid.  Those are the most likely places for me to look, I would imagine I’m not thinking as clearly on this as I, Ninue, would like.”

:Where then?: Jacob asked.

“I’m thinking 1973.  Not the most pleasant time, with Vietnam mostly over but still a mess, women’s rights moving forward, civil rights moving forward.  It’s a time of stress, but not of historical significance to me really.  Besides, the drugs are good and the sex doesn’t have commitments, sorry hon,” she said looking at Jacob, “But I’m still a woman with physical needs. 

:I understand, just as you do when I go out for a few days monthly in the warm weather.  Nature is nature.: Jacob replied. 

“I also think you should leave your comm-screen in this time period Gawain.  That could be one of the easiest ways for her to track you down.  I will give you Jacob’s.  I have it somewhere here in my purse,” she said as she dug around through the bottomless contents.  “Oh here it is.  I’m sorry hon, but I think you should also leave your father’s ring and watch those are things I know you would never willingly part with, and those are also traceable.”

“But…”

“Sorry Gawain, no butts.  She will use that as her secondary way of following you.  Everyone knows that you would not willing part with your heirlooms and I’m sorry to ask you to do so.  But we need time.  Forcing her to look for you harder, buys us that time.”

Gawain bowed his head and sighed, “You are right, I know you are right, but there has to be some way for these to be returned.”

“Go to the bank and put them in a safety deposit box or they may be called a paymaster’s strongbox in this time, I don’t remember.  Tell them this is an inheritance for your great-grandchild who will have the proper verification with them at the time.  Pay them for 100 years and when this is over go back and get it.”

“Now stop whining about incidentals,” she continued, “we have things to do.  Jacob, you and Gawain take care of his items and discuss this Balrog.  I will collect the items I need to do this spell the old fashioned way, with candles, ritual and a crystal.  It’s much harder to trace us that way since it leaves a huge amount of magical residue.  I should be back by mid-morning” she said and headed for the door, pausing for a moment to look at her comm-bracelet.  “Good, it’s not too early, it’s after 0800.”  With that said, she disappeared out the door.

They heard the door open and then heard footsteps back, “I nearly forgot, when I return we shall discuss what you remember of Ninue tracking you down.  I need that information to ponder in the back of my mind while I work on other things, but not now, I need to be moving.  Cherio” she said and turned on her heels and left.  This time they heard the door shut.

“Needs to be moving?”  Gawain said, “Well, she seems to have come to some ideas in her all her manic pacing…that was not moving,” Gawain said shaking his head.

:So it would seem: Jacob agreed as he stood up and stretched, arching his back.   :I just hope she remembers what it’s like to be a woman from this century and what the current currency is or the day could get very interesting, since I’m sure she did not remember to look at the address of where we are:

*********

[DGG]  Reorganizing Celeste’s racing thoughts gave her few of the answers she sought. Celeste, Gawain, Jacob, and many others, legally classified as witches and warlocks in the Twenty-Fourth Century had been an impossibility until the Twenty-Second Century. That’s when the physicists at Lawrence-Livermore labs had restructured their tokamak field and accidentally unlocked what many considered the Age of Magic.

Of course, there had always been magical folk of a sort: telepaths, telekinetics, clairvoyants, psychics, but centuries of testing had found them impossible to pin down. The clairvoyant who could clearly see the location of a kidnapped child one minute, couldn’t find her own car keys the next. The telekinetic who could make furniture fly around at home couldn’t roll a pencil across a table while being videotaped. Some believed psionic abilities were simply masked by stress or duress. Others believed the abilities required the right stressors to activate them.

Most scientists just felt it was a load of hooey.

No matter how you classified them, they weren’t the witches and magicians of fantasy lore. No one had ever been able to turn anyone into a newt, conjure an entire suit of clothes from thin air, travel on broomstick, travel in time, or actually read minds on a whim. Prior to the Age of Magic, the world’s magic had been more like an occasional minor case of psionic hiccups.

Then came the Merlin. A small black device that—due to a coating of platinum oxide—vaguely resembled the Maltese Falcon. Before the first startup, however, the Merlin had been seven such birdlike-appendages attached to a set of three-meter long radial arms attached to a four-meter-diameter magnetic bottle enclosure that contained fusion reactions. Ostensibly a magnetic-field generator containing a self-sustaining fusion reaction, the Merlin’s initial startup changed the world. The fields started up, the radial-arms lit up. The indicator lights, “eyes” on each of the seven falcon-like structures, went from red to green. The fusion chamber was working, drawing in hydrogen from the seven radial arms.

And then everything disappeared. Everything but one of the seven birdlike things. The remaining bird-thing, eventually nicknamed The Merlin, floated, detached, mid-air at the edge of a room that had contained the rest of the tokamak. Three physicists and six graduate students had also disappeared, never to be seen again in this dimension. The remaining two physicists spent the rest of their lives trying to contact their missing colleagues. Their best guess was that, somehow, the other men and women, along with the rest of the tokamak behind the Merlin, had disappeared into one or more other dimensions.

Three major effects of the Merlin incident were identified in the following decade. The speed of light decreased by .09 percent. Planck’s Constant increased by approximately .1 percent. Earth’s gravity decreased by a whopping l percent (from 9.780327 meters per second-squared to 9.682524 meters per second-squared). The scientific community was slow to accept other changes that were being noticed around the world.

On his deathbed, the last surviving physicist of the Merlin incident sat up in his bed. “Dear God! They’re still alive. Three of them are still alive. They’re aging much slower than we.”

His daughter stood and moved to his side, dabbing sweat from his brow with a kerchief. “Who’s still alive, Dad?”

“We are,” said a woman’s voice. She shimmered into view. The daughter screamed. Two nurses and a physician came running. Everyone could clearly see the young woman. “Please, someone record this. I’m on a limited time budget. We had to speed up my image in order for you to understand us. We’ve been trying to contact you for couple of years, but in your dimension, that appears to have been several decades.”

As the nurses and doctors present captured on personal recorders—later played extensively on the Internet—she went on to describe changes they had classified in her dimension, changes that were likely to be true in every connected dimension. She strongly recommended nationwide psionic testing and careful regulation of the newly initiated abilities they would find.

Celeste knew the Ninue was herself in another life. Thanks to Gawain, she knew Ninue had similar powers. Clearly, like herself, Jacob, and Gawain, Ninue’s connection to the Merlin extended across time. Once an individual had been subjected to the multidimensional breach, the resulting bond was unbreakable. Experimentation with the Merlin extension in her own dimension suggested that even the destruction of the Merlin couldn’t close the rift. Those affected maintained their powers even when the Merlin was shutdown and—most remarkably—even if they traveled back in time to a when that didn’t have a Merlin. Once a witch, always a witch, it seemed.

Why, then, did Ninue steal one of the Merlin extensions? Why transport it back in time? Celeste felt certain the answer had something to do with why he had chosen the name Ninue.  

Celeste, slogging through the increasingly muddy snow of the mid-afternoon melt, saw a landau drawn by a black mare in the near distance. She sighed a relief, but had no idea how to hail a cab in 1907 Minneapolis. Rather than shouting “Taxi!” she elected to speed her stride and wave.

As she approached, the driver, a tall gaunt man in black greatcloak and top hat, turned to face her. There was a strange, silvery gleam to his eyes, and his smile was toothy—fanged, one might say. He grinned, looking more ferocious than cheerful, and tipped his hat, “Taxicab, Mum?”

Celeste stopped for a second. Why couldn’t he be some pleasant little fat man? She sighed—smiled—and climbed aboard the landau. “Thank you, yes. Could you take me to a good candle shop?”

“Of course, Mum. The best. Only the best.” He cracked his whip. The mare, turned, flashing angry red eyes at the driver, and then lurched forward.

Did I see that right? Red eyes? Celeste shook her head. I need to get some sleep. Celeste leaned back against the plush leather cushion of the rear bench. Such a comfortable bench. Gradually, between the soft embrace of the cushion, the soft swaying of the landau, and the rhythmic clop of hooves on ice and cobbles, Celeste fell into a deep, warm sleep.

**********

[CTW] The carriage’s rhythmic embrace stopped, jolting her awake. She let the wool blanket fall from her shoulders as she rubbed her eyes. She reached out and moved the shade to glance out the window and was pleased to see the sun shining. She stared at the snow and ice and a smile escaped her lips as she saw them sparkling under the sun’s rays. I wonder if the St. Paul Winter Carnival has started. It might be nice to see it if we’re here that long.

The carriage shifted to the side and her body slid as well, ending her musing. Obviously, the driver was getting down from his seat which meant they were at their destination.  She started folding the wool blanket when the driver knocked on the door and gently opened it.

Maybe it was the ray of sun shining that hit him, or just his overall appearance, but she actually noticed him. No one notices their cab driver, but she noticed him. He was very handsome with dirty blond hair, blue eyes, and extremely tall, nearly 6’3” she’d estimate. He wore a sack coat, club collar, and brushed-cotton trousers—all clean, patch free and recently pressed. Stylish, impressive.

The driver cleared his throat, and she blushed.  She realized he had caught her staring at him. 

“Miss Celestnue we have arrived,” he said.

“Excuse me, what did you call me, sir?” she asked as she lay the folded wool blanket across the seat next to her.  His eyes followed her actions, and the folded blanket won her a beautiful smile, as he placed the step on the ground for her.

“Thank you, ma’am, and I called you Miss Celestnue,” he replied.  “Some of us have been waiting for your arrival for days now, especially the owner of this establishment.”

Celeste paused, her hand on the carriage frame, “I’m sorry but do I know you?”

“No, milady, you do not.  My name is Gaheris.”

He reached out and took her hand to help her down. 

Celeste shook her head and closed her eyes for a moment.  Celestnue?  She thought as she stepped down from the carriage.

Once firmly on the ground, she pulled her senses together and centered herself.  “Let’s start over Gaheris, it was Gaheris right?  My name is Celeste, not Celestnue,” she stated firmly.

He leaned close to her and whispered.  “No ma’am, you were Celeste.  However, when you came through the portal into this dimension you became Celestnue.”

“I what? This dimension?” she whispered back.

“Why yes, you are no longer following the timeline of your dimension,” he replied nodding.

“How can this be? How do you know this?” Celeste asked.

“I do not know how it can be, ma’am. It is what Gwyar says, and she is never wrong about these things.”

Different dimension.  Different time line.  All right.  Processing. 

“So, you are Gaheris, as in Sir Gaheris?” she asked.

“Oh no ma’am, no sir to my title.  It is a family tradition to use such names.”

“Hummm, I can understand that, but who is Gwyar?” she continued, trying to record everything she heard on the mental blackboard in her head.

“I have said enough, you need to speak with Gwyar,” he replied. “I’ve may have said too much already.”

“I don’t understand.”

Gaheris smiled but said nothing as he helped her further onto the sidewalk.

She glanced around the street and found that no one was traveling the sidewalks on either side.  How odd. The storefront to which she had been delivered was old and but well cared for. The windows were clean and the entry was clear of snow and ice. The sign above the door read Candles and Herbs. 

Celeste turned back to face Gaheris. “What do I owe you?”

Gaheris lifted her hand gently to his lips and bit her finger. Celeste jerked it back yelping in pain. Viper-quick, he pulled her hand back to his mouth and sucked on the wound.

She yanked her hand back and, as a reflex, wrapped her other hand around the injured spot. She paused. It no longer hurt. Celeste looked down at her finger. It no longer bled. There were no holes or scars or any sign that she had ever been bitten. Did I imagine that?

“Excuse me, Celestnue,” Gaheris said. “I shall wait here until you return. Your fare is paid in full.”

“Um, thank you, Gaheris. I think,” she replied and stared deeply into his blue eyes. Nothing of what she’d just experienced showed in his baby blues. Perhaps I really did imagine it. 

The mare whinnied.  Celeste looked upon the horse, and again, its eyes flashed red.  She knew she was not imagining all this. 

As Celeste watched the mare, the air around the horse blurred.  When Celeste could once again see clearly, a large mongrel dog stood where the mare had been.  The harnesses lay on the ground around it.

“Ruuuw,” barked the dog.

“Really Ragnell?  Are you sure?” Gaheris asked. 

“Ruuuw,” replied the dog.

“Excuse me Celestnue, but it would appear that Ragnell is going in with you,” Gaheris said as if this was the most common thing in the world. “Perhaps we should all go inside.”

“Ragnell?”

“My apologies, ma’am,” he replied petting the dog that was now at his side. “Celestnue, this is Ragnell. Ragnell, Celestnue.”

“Ruuuw,” said the dog.

Celeste stood, shaken for a moment, not certain whether the dog had actually responded to Gaheris’s introduction. Am I supposed to believe this creature is sentient? Why am I so disturbed by this—this strangeness? I’m a witch from the Twenty-Fourth Century, travelling with my ex-husband who inadvertently turned himself into a cat. So, the nightmare turns herself into a dog. Gaheris put his hand on her elbow and guided her into the shop. 

“We have to get you in out of the weather,” Gaheris said, “it’s about time for the wind to pick up. We don’t want you freezing to death.”

Celeste stopped just inside the doorway frozen.  Her eyes glazed over and she began to pace back and forth in the small area at the front of the store. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. I’m here on a mission. Must keep the task in mind. Gawain and Jacob are relying on me. Her pacing was cut short by an elderly lady, who stepped in front of her and loudly snapped her fingers in front of Celeste’s eyes.

“Celeste,” she said firmly.

“What!” Celeste shouted.

The old lady continued in a much softer voice, “Now, dearie, we don’t have time for this.  You have to pull yourself together. You really should be taking your elixir you know. We have a lot to discuss and not a lot of time. Now, stop this nonsense and come with me.”

“I—I—I’m sorry,” Celeste said, shaking her head and staring at the floor. “I left my elixir at home. And who are you?”

“Oh my, how rude of me, dear. My name is Gwyar, but you know me as Gee-Gee,” she said.

“Gee-Gee. The only Gee-Gee I know was Gawain’s mother,” Celeste said.

Celeste stared at Gwyar and Gwyar stared back at her. Gwyar folded her hands in front of her and watched as Celeste’s mind caught up with reality. Time seemed to slow as she stared into Celeste’s eyes and waited. Just as she knew they would, Celeste’s eye lit up.

“You are Gee-Gee.  You’re Gawain’s mother,” she said, “but, Gawain’s mother died fifty years ago.” Gwyar continued to stare silently at Celeste. “Wait a minute. Her body was never recovered.  You didn’t die when that boat exploded. You somehow survived. What the hell happened? Better yet, what the hell is going on?”

“I don’t know what they said happened to me in your dimension, dearie—our dimension, I should say. I was somehow shifted here to where Gawain’s missing brother was stuck,” she said pointing at Gaheris. “Actually this is where we’re all stuck.”

“Gawain’s brother. Harris?” Celeste asked twisting a strand of her long red hair.

“Yes.” Gaheris replied

“But you’ve been missing for, well since before Gee-Gee and Dad married,” Celeste blurted out.

“Quite,” Gwyar replied.

“So who or what is Ragnell?” Celeste asked.

“Ragnell is Gawain’s betrothed from the 23^rd century, or at least she was before she changed,” Gwyar said.

“But.”

“Dear, I have a lot of information to share with everyone, but we are all in danger. You,” she said pointing at Celeste, “have a long, dangerous journey ahead of you, and time is not your friend. You are the key. You are the only witch I knew that studied the witches of old, even those during the days of disbelief. You know their rituals. You are the key to saving Gawain, which is ironic since you are also the one trying to destroy him.”

“But—”

“Not now, dear,” Gwyar said. “We have to get moving.  I have already packed the supplies you’ll need.”

Celeste stomped her foot, “Wait a minute.  How the hell do you know what I need?” Celeste shouted.

“Calm down, dear” said the old woman. “Perhaps you didn’t know, but precognition is one of my skills. I know what you need. And the first thing you need now is to drink this.” Gwyar handed Celeste a small vile. 

Celeste glared at Gwyar for a moment but reached up and took the vile.  Her hands shook as she uncorked and smelled it. She grimaced and tilted it up, swallowing it down in one gulp. “Well, that surely is my elixir. Nothing else could smell that vile and yet taste good.”

Gwyar took the vile and sat it on the counter then reached out and took both of Celeste’s hands.  “I know you’re scared and overwhelmed. This is a lot to take in, but you will be okay. Do you hear me? You can do this. You’ll be okay.”

“Yes. I can handle this. I’ll be fine. I’m just not comfortable with anyone else being in control.  I’m sorry if I’ve offended you.”

“Think nothing of it dear,” Gwyar said, letting go of Celeste’s hands. “Now, you need to look over this.” Gwyar handed Celeste a large, filled-to bulging cotton sack. 

Celeste opened it.  It reeked, but she took inventory anyway: candles—green, blue, red, three white, two silver, two gold, and a tiny suspended candle holder with four prongs.  There were also several herbs and oils—Mugwort, jasmine, sandalwood, parsley, dried mushrooms, cannabis, nutmeg oil, Saint John’s wort oil, and a few others she didn’t recognize. 

“Mother of all, Gwyar, what are you preparing us for anyway?” Celeste asked.

“Here is the other bag,” Gwyar replied handing her another sack, “look inside it also so you have the full inventory imprinted in your memory.”

She took the other bag and looked inside it.  She found a small wooden box, which she opened.  It was full of elixirs.  The bag also contained ruby-colored slippers with teeth marks on them, a pocket watch with a heart imprinted on the front, a small green silk pouch with three beans inside, and another small pouch, this one black in color with a plain band ring inside it.  There was some kind of inscription on the inside it. 

“What the—?”

“The future dear.  All I will say now is that a lot of the items we thought were fairy tale devices, are real relics, just not as we knew them. Also, a lot of stories we thought were myths are—or have become—history. I think Ninue is behind it. Now let’s go, time is ticking,” she said as she headed for the door.  “Ragnell, you are going to have to shift again dear, I’m sorry,”

The mutt, who had been sitting quietly in the corner, whined but got up and headed to the heavy wooden door where Gaheris stood waiting.

“But I have more questions about you and Gaheris and Ragnell,” Celeste protested.  “I mean, Gaheris bit me, I think. And how can Ragnell polymorph?  And well—everything.”

“To the carriage, dear. We must get safely to the carriage.”

Rachael

Something was not right.  In the distance I heard a small child screaming and crying and an older man yelling.  I could tell by the breathiness of his screams he was hitting something.  My heart raced, and all my senses hyper-focused. 

I ran toward the sound, my supernatural speed closing the distance in moments not minutes.

He stood over the child, a girl and he was kicking her with all his force.  She had curled up in a ball and was not moving.  I could smell the blood on both of them.  I listened for her heartbeat as I moved from the shadows toward the man.  It still beat.

“Big man are we now?  It really takes a tough, brute of a man to beat a poor defenseless child doesn't it?  Working your way up the food chain are you?  Next will it be women?” I said in in my most contemptible voice.

“Who the fuck are you bitch?” he said looking me up and down, “You look like you would make a nice piece of ass to make my night.  So small, so petite.  And just look at those long red trusses of hair,” He purred.

I stood my ground, not moving.  I stared at him and slowly reached out with my power and touched the edge of his thoughts.  I shivered involuntarily.  Oh he was one bad piece of work.  Frank, his name was Frank, worthless piece of shit. 

“So Frank, you think you can just take whatever you want, including me, is that it?” I asked him, challenging him.  “You aren't man enough to handle me.  I would eat you alive.”

“How did you know my name?  Do I know you?  No, nice piece of ass like you, I’d remember you.  Who sent you?  Ahh, it doesn't matter, it must be a present from the heavens.”

“You think so do you?  You want a piece of this?  Only in your wildest dreams,” I retorted.

“Ha ha ha.  Never met a bitch so full of herself.  You’ll be a lot of fun to break.” He said as he started toward me.” 

I could smell the blood from the little girl, not a dangerous loss yet.  Her heart is still beating strongly.  I can focus on this bastard.

“Come on Frank, take your best shot, I’m just a little girly, girl after all, I shouldn't be that much of a challenge, now should I.” I said to him waiting for him to move further away from the child.

I scanned the area, listening for any witnesses.  Looks like ol’ Frank was a little smarter than he looked, no one was stirring. 

I backed into the shadows and he moved faster.

“Trying to hide from me whore?” he said as he rushed into the shadows.  I struck.  He never saw me coming.

I ran at him, faster than he could follow and I grabbed him by the throat and threw him against the wall.  My fingers dug into his skin as I slowly lifted him off the ground.

Fear gripped his eyes, but he couldn't speak.  I moved my face close to his and squeezed tighter on his neck.  “Not the biggest, baddest monsters on the street are you Frank?  You get off on hurting those smaller than you; I can see it in your mind.  I caught his eyes and held them, you will remember how it feels to be on the other end.”  I broke the contact.  I wanted him to feel the fear.

His hands reached for mine, clawing at them, trying to find release.  He kicked out and I pinned his legs to the wall.  His eyes started to water and I laughed.  “How does it feel Frank?  Scared are we?”

I lowered his body back down on the ground and kept him pinned there as I listened to the flawless sound of his heart as it raced and pumped.  Thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump.

I could now smell the blood in his body, the warmth, the heat of it, intoxicating.  His breath brushed along my skin, such lushness.  I pushed my mouth against his neck and felt the pulse throb against my lips.  Thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump.  My body was drawn to the sound of it, even as he pushed and pried at me for release.  I just pushed him harder against the wall.  He couldn't move.  He was mine. 

“Frank,” I murmured against the skin of his neck, “You should leave women and children alone.”

I bent his neck to the side and felt my fangs spring forth and I acted without thought.  I was mesmerized, thump-thump, thump-thump thump-thump.  I sank my teeth into his neck and shivered as the first trickles of blood touched my tongue and slid softly down my throat, bursting into a flow of ecstasy.  It caressed my mind, my body, my soul.  I lavished in the taste of it, in the smell of it.  It coursed through me and it was heady.  I could feel the man struggle against me and that made it all the more exciting.  Oh, my beautiful little monster you are orgasmic, I can feel my body trembling against his.  My body grew hot and buoyant.  I never wanted to feel it end, but it had to.  I could feel his pulse slow.  I had to stop, but oh my, I didn't want to, he tasted so good, so vile. 

I shivered one last time and released him, licking the wound and watching the puncture marks disappear.  I took one last look at my ugly little rag doll and without another thought for him, tossed him into the trash along the alley.  He’d live.

I shook my head, trying to shake the rush of so much blood.  My focus had to now be the child,  the poor child.  I ran over to the small crumpled form and held her closely against my body.  It was the surest way to inspect her body.  I could sense broken bones: ribs, wrist, leg, painful but recoverable.  She had a pretty bad head wound, but there was no internal bleeding.  I had gotten to her in time.  I sighed with relief but my heart ached for her, the fear and pain she had experienced.  She was an innocent and did not deserve this. 

“Damn you frank, she had no way to fight back.” I yelled aloud.

I held her even closer to my body and looked down at her face, so small, so round.  Her eyes were blackened and her lip was still bleeding.  I reached out with my power and called on the elements.  I wove a net of healing around us, laying it down over the injured child’s head.  I felt the spell slowly, lightly caress her skin and knit the wound closed. 

I looked up at the heavens, “Thank you Danu!  Thank you elements!  I pay you honor for this child’s life.”

I touched her skin, she was cold.  I pulled off my coat and wrapped it around us, sealing in my new found body and warm her.  Gingerly, I touched the very surface of her thoughts gently probing for her name, Rachael Jamison.  I moved gradually a little deeper.  She lived with her mom and this man, Frank.  He was her mom’s boyfriend.  I reached deeper and got her address and filed it in my mind.  Then I released her.  It would not dig deeper, I had no right.  She had done me no harm.  I wiped the hair out of her face and kissed her lightly on the forehead.

“Rachel, I promise you this will not happen again.” I said. 

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone and dialed 911.  I reported the attack and told them that the child was down. 

I then called Susan Baker and explained to her what had really happened.  Without question, as always, she said she would meet Rachael at the hospital.  Susan had a way with people, a “special” way.  She would evaluate the mother with her own methods and then Rachael and put one or both of them into one of my facilities and get them all the help humanly possible.

While I waited, I wrapped Rachel in my coat and stepped away.  I ripped and tore at my clothes and rubbed dirt on my face and clothes.  I already had Franks and Rachael’s blood on me, so that it was easy.  I looked like I’d been attacked so the police would believe me.  Mind control works well for a while, but in today’s society, forensics makes things more of a challenge. 

I walked over and kicked Frank in a few well-placed spots including the head.  Poor Frank, he really shouldn't have tried to kill Rachael and then try to rape and threaten to kill me.

Jacqueline

Power erupted around Jacqueline like a flare as she stepped from her magical portal and into the mausoleum’s shadowy depths.  The crypt’s murky blackness lashed out at the light, thrashing hungrily—straining futilely to devour it.  She reached out with her mind and instantly grabbed the crypt’s power, reining it to bay.  With a firm grasp, she choked it down liked a starved dog on a collar, exerting her will until it shuddered and whimpered at her command. 

Turning abruptly, she dismissed the portal and watched it evaporate into a smoky haze, leaving only a faint fading impression of its former existence. 

She stood tall.  Her six foot, well rounded, body framed the crypt’s hallway.  Absently she ran her long, red nails through her thick, coarse black hair that trailed well below her waist.  In today’s world she was model material, with her long curvy legs and vivid blue eyes and she knew it.  She was not above using her beauty to her advantage when she could.  Today, however, would not be one of those times.

She stared at the spot where the portal had disappeared.  Two months ago she could not have held the portal that long, let alone keep the flow of energy from announcing her presence to all the sensitive’s in a three-state area.  But now, thanks to her new tome of knowledge and her expanding power reserves, she could, that and more, so much more.

Turning her thoughts to the situation at hand, she searched for Richard, her reason for coming to this dismal place.  With unseen probes of her twisted mind, she reached invisibly to him and quickly found him--His Highness, Richard the Seductive, the Vampire Prince of New York City.  He was at the end of the narrow corridor ahead of her.

A wave of raw emotion hit her and she blocked her mind from the assault, shielding out the tortured emotions that blared through the meter thick granite—desperation, loss, and despair.  Yes, Richard was still hidden here, just as she had expected he would be.  She couldn't have planned this better. 

This whole ordeal started three months ago.  She rushed into New York from Boston, in the guise of a desperate fledgling, fleeing for her life.  She had fallen on her knees and pleaded with Richard to grant her sanctuary.   She told him the dreadful tale of Boston’s fate.  All the Boston vampires were gone.  As far as she could tell she was the sole survivor.  She knew for a fact they were all gone.  She had taken care of that.

He had accepted her story and promised her protection, if her story were true.  When no one could find any vampires in Boston she was given asylum.  She slowly gained his trust over the passing weeks, often backing his inane ideas and plans that the others argued about.  She had proven to be the only one to support him unerringly, soon making her way to his favorite.

Then slowly, she began severing the outside ties they maintained, isolating them completely from any help.  She had acted swiftly, putting an end to the dangerous peace negotiations Richard had been mediating with the Minnesota kingdom.  She had been planting seeds of suspicion toward Minnesota and even hinting that they might have been responsible for Boston’s downfall.  After all, the Prince’s own sister was not only a vampire but a known witch, and presumably a dangerous one.  It had not been a lie.  The Minnesota group was dangerous, even if they were outcasts, scorned for the eccentric lifestyle and the Prince’s sister.

The Minnesota kingdom was small but powerful, only fifteen in all, yet they held vast power and she knew they would be deadly enemies for the unwary.  But it was more than just their power, it was their bond.  There was some unknown tie between the vampires that connected them to Prince Colin and his bitch sister, Bridget.  No one seemed to understand nor could they identify it.  Most, simply dismissed them since they had never outwardly threatened anyone, but that group would be one to reckon with when she crossed them.

Jacqueline knew she was still not powerful enough to take them not yet—but soon, very soon, she would.

With her prodding and guile, suspicion grew fast.  Richard began to read things into Prince Colin’ words, turning and twisting them.  Then suddenly without warning or word, Richard cut off all contact with the Minnesota group.

Without the interference of Colin and his clan, actions fell into place rapidly.  Over two weeks, Jacqueline had drained Richard’s flunkies one by one, leaving body after body drained of its life essences with nothing but their physical husks still surviving.   

She reveled in Richard’s vain struggle to protect and save his people.  He was racing from one lifeless corpse to another unable to form any plan or action.

In desperation, he had ordered her to find a safe place to store the fallen vampires until he could find a way to restore them again.  She had obeyed him as always without question, choosing this isolated tomb for their final resting place. 

She had pulled the energy from each of the fallen bodies she entombed, secretly weaving it into an existing framework of spells.  The crypt was a storehouse of power…their power…now her power. 

She found the irony almost too much to bear.  Here sat their Prince among their listless bodies, pining for them and totally unaware that they surrounded him, calling out to him voicelessly, begging him to save them.

Out of habit, she caressed the web of power and a jolt the power surged through her body sending chills of pleasure up and down her spine as it held her, caressed her and kissed her soul.  She wallowed internally in the heady, drunken high that she always felt from the masses of power.  It was better than drinking the blood and life essence from her mortal victims. 

Begrudgingly she forced herself to let go.  She moved gracefully, her steps fell as still as the darkness that surrounded her.  Richard would be expecting something and she couldn't afford to be drunk on power—at least not yet.

She released the shield spell that blanketed the vault as she stepped under the main arch.  Raw and pained tension lay heavy in the air, stabbing at her senses like a stake through the heart.

Poor Richard sat statuesque among the numerous caskets that were crammed into the room with his head buried in his hands.  His once tall, regal body was now hunched and beaten.  His unwashed short brown hair was plastered against his head and his once warm blue eyes were dull and grey.

She tapped the raw power again and manipulated it, forcing it to the back of her mind, ready to be called back at a moment’s notice.  With the stealth and speed of a panther she turned on her intended prey.

“Your Highness,” she said stepping from the archway and into the vault.  Her voice broke the grim silence like a clap of thunder.

“Jacqueline,” he said leaping to his feet in surprise.   “My God, you’re back and safe.  Have you found a way to help them?  Any news?  Anything?” He pleaded, hope bleeding into his eyes.

“The only way for you to help them and put an end to this situation is to join them,” she replied.

“Don’t you think I’ve tried?” he said misunderstanding her.  “This is beyond anything I’ve ever experienced.  It’s as though they never existed, even their bonds to me have evaporated.”

Jacqueline pulled an octagonal charm from under her belt and held it up for his inspection.  He gazed at her with disgusted skepticism planted firmly on his face. 

Secure that she had his full attention now, she chanted a harsh phrase.  Her voice was raspy and discordant as she thrust a pointed finger toward the wall.  A torch levitated sedately towards her.  Grasping it, she dangled the charm from a thin gold wire, directly into its flame.

“Watch,” she said, “notice the flow of the flame.  Instead of radiating the energy as he expected, this glass-like stone absorbs everything it comes in contact with.”

She jerked the pendant from the fire and crossed a few steps to Richard’s side and pressed it to his cheek.

He flinched, expecting to be burned.  Shock turned to amazement as the stone was cool to the touch.

“How and where did you get that torch?  I didn't think you moved that fast.” he stammered.

“It’s easy.  Once you realize the power of this charm.  With this, I can help you find your people.”

Turning to the center of the vault, she summoned her frenzied slaves, the power of all the vampire’s essences and raised her hands.  She embraced their power that swirled about her.  The wind whipped about the room in a whirlwind, extinguishing the torches in a mad gush, until the only light emanating was from her. 

Casting the charm at Richard’s feet she intoned, “Let this person know his place, let him go where he has no face, let his essence roll to me, and his master shall I ever be”

Richard started to move and tried to balk but she continued the incantation.  Blazing bars of light leaped from the pendant entrapping the Prince. 

“You are mine!” she finished as his body transformed from the beast within.  First his humanity and then his soul were shredded from his body.

She looked at his crumpled body on the ground.  “Poor Richard,” she said aloud, “brought to this,” she said as her arms encompassed the entire room.

She watched the essence that had once been Richard being sucked out of his body and disappearing into the crystalline structure of the charm.  She chuckled.    He was completely coherent and totally devoid of all his perceptions:  blind, deaf, and robbed of all his tactile sensations, how wonderful.

She kicked the lifeless husk of Richard’s body out of her way and retrieved the jet icon that held his essence and smiled at the warmth that now radiated from it.

“They never suspect their own of genocide.  Too proud to admit any weakness in their abilities, they don’t see it and they don’t warn the others.   Soon all the vampires in North America shall be mine to call upon,” she cackled.

She moved to a coffin and threw back the lid, pulling out a large handful of charms and turned back to the center of the desolate room.  With a careless wave of her hand, she opened a portal and gathered her minions to her.  A blinding shaft of light pulsated through the darkness and in a moment she was gone, leaving behind a ringing cadence of maniacal laughter and thirty plus vampire corpses.