The Witch: Book Two of The Sorceress Saga by Taliesin Govannon (important books to read .txt) 📕

 This tells me that the creepy-crawlies were either dropped or materialized at a point in between.”

                “My guess is materialized.” Jack chimed in.  “I checked the area radars, and no aircraft big enough to carry them has been through this corridor in days.  Also, the spiders were big enough to register themselves, so no levitation either.”

                “So,” I said, “we’re facing an unknown number of adversaries with unknown powers but whatever they are they’re bad-ass.  Simple.”

                “I shall visit a few contemporaries to see if they’ve found anything out.” Angelique announced, rising.  “Trevor, you can use Jack’s considerable talents on the paranormal underworld’s internet presence to check with some of your sources.  We need information.”

                “Will do, chief.” Trevor said with a wave.

                “I have someone to contact as well.” Evelyn said, rising as well.  “However, all I need is somewhere quiet to try to make contact.”

                “I can show you.” Raina volunteered, stubbing her joint out and joining her.                  Evelyn smiled warmly.  “Why, thank you.”

                I turned to Vincent.  “Can we go somewhere and forget about all of this for a while?”  This was all suddenly threatening to overwhelm me.

                He smiled.  “Sure, whatever you need.”

                I only had one thing in mind.

                                                                                                *                *                *

                “That was good.” I said with a smile, easing my body into position.  “Now it’s my turn.”

                “I love the way you hold that,” Vincent replied, “so firm, yet so graceful.”

                “Flattery will get you everywhere most days,” I countered, “but not today.”

                He smiled, and I focused on the target that laid at the end of the incline before us.  I exhaled as I released the wooden ball and watched in excitement as it sped towards my goal… the hole labeled ‘10,000’.

                I hadn’t played ski-ball in a long time.  I used to be quite the devotee to the arcade game in my tween years, but increasing responsibilities and a changing peer social scene had made me out of practice.  I sighed as the ball sailed over the high score, instead only giving me ten points.

                “Dammit!”  I looked at Vincent, the grin still in place.  “It’s not funny!” I admonished him lightly, an exaggerated frown on my face.  This only made him giggle, which made me stifle a smile.  Soon, we were both laughing, our voices quickly being absorbed by the arcade noise.

                Despite my lousy game, it was improving my mood.  I had spent a lot of time in this arcade in my life, and it was like a gaudy, rhinestone-studded oasis of normalcy, holding back an increasingly unrecognizable world.

                “What’s funny is your choice of chill-out spots.” Vincent countered, breaking me out of my haze.  “I mean, I’m having fun, but we could always blow off steam in Monaco, or maybe Paris.”

                The thought hadn't occurred to me.  I was surrounded by wealth every day, lived in an opulent mansion filled with priceless antiques and ancient artifacts, and yet forgot just how loaded Vincent and Angelique were.  And with their unconventional traveling options, it was just as fast t get to London as it was to get downtown.

                And here I am, playing ski-ball. I thought.  Aw, fuck it… why should I let a good time turn bad just because of options?  Enjoy the evening, Annabelle, and hit Hawaii next week!

                “I like ski-ball.” I answered defiantly.  “It’s a game of finesse and skill.”

                “I hear it's God's favorite game." Vincent said casually as he picked up the next ball.

                “Seriously?”  Is he privy to something I should know about? “Where did you find this out?”

                “A prophet named Saint Kevin of New Jersey.”  He winked as the joke dawned on me.

                “A Kevin Smith joke?  Seriously?”  I swatted playfully at his arm.  “Take your turn, old man.”

                He grinned again and casually rolled the ball up the incline.  It hit the ramp just right and sailed into the ‘10,000’ point hole.

                “Ugh!” I grunted in frustration.  “What the hell?”

                “You can do that too.” he said.  “I have reflexes, but you have something better.”

                “What’s that?”

                “You’re the Sorceress.”

                I stared at him for a minute.  Again, it was a fact that hadn’t entered my mind until that very moment.  A smile crept across my face.  “Yeah, I guess you’re right.  How do I apply being a legendary magickal practitioner to an arcade game?”

                “Just go with your gut.”  He handed me my next ball and turned me to face the targets at the end of the ramp.

                I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.  I reached out to the energies of life, of all creation.  I felt the earth in my bones, the air in my breath, the water that made up so much of my physical form, and the flame of my body-heat.  Once I felt the energies balance within me, I opened my eyes.

                The world around me had changed.  I was still in the arcade, but I saw so much more than I had before.  The regular games and flashing lights were still there, but I could also see the… ‘echo’ was the only word that came to mind… of games that had been housed in that building in the past.  I looked around and saw that there was more than just the people I had seen around us that night.  There were also ghosts… spirits of those who had enjoyed this place in the past.  Some were actual spirits, while others were impressions left on the psychic energy of the building from repeated visits.  I looked at Vincent and grinned.

                “This is incredible!” I exclaimed softly.

                “Now look at the game.”

                I looked and saw lines on the ski-ball ramp.  I peered closer and realized that they were energy lines, the track of hundreds of wooden balls being rolled up that ramp thousands of times.  I then noticed that some of the lines were thicker, showing that they had been traced over many times."