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

he said.  "We're all attracted by beauty, and the vampiric nature of other vampires magnifies their beauty by a thousandfold."

                I tried to imagine Vincent being a thousand times more beautiful than he was right now, and swallowed hard.  Even doubling it made my body begin to come alive again.  Add in the images I was imagining, of Vincent entwined with the most beautiful creatures ever, men and women, and a grin grew across my face.

                “Annabelle, what are you thinking?” he asked, his own grin appearing.

                “I think I’d rather show, than tell, you...”

                I kissed down his muscular chest, my own body responding to the taste of his skin.  Smiling, I unzipped his pants.

                                                                                                *                *                *

                I was walking through the woods.  I decided that I must have been spirit-walking… the name I had recently given to those times that I didn’t try to leave my body, but I wound up meeting spirits anyway… because the woods looked cold and bare, and I usually dreamed about warmer weather and greener forests.

                I was humming an old Bruce Springsteen song as I walked through the woods.  Soon I heard another voice joining me finishing the chorus.  I turned and saw Penelope smiling at me from among the trees.

                “You have a lovely voice” she said.

                “I was only humming.”

                “Still, I can tell.”

                “Well then, thank you.”

                We stood there for a minute in silence.  It was one of the only times I had seen her without her having more to say than time to say it.  She must have sensed my confusion because she eventually chimed in "Well, I don't suppose I pulled you over here before sleep to talk about our singing abilities."

                “I figured that.” I replied, chuckling.

                She started to laugh, but then her smile faded.  “I have something to tell you, something about me, and, well…” she paused, at a loss for words.

                “You’re afraid it’ll make me, what… not like you?” I asked.

                “It’s not so much that you’ll dislike me, but… you’ll think of me differently, and I’ve enjoyed our interactions thus far.”  She smiled again, but I saw the trepidation in her eyes.

                I’m not sure where the thought started: if it began in my conscious mind, or in my subconscious.  However, when it came, I could think of little else.

                “You’re Petronia.” I said plainly.  “You’re Angelique’s first Sorceress.”

                “You can still call me Penelope if you’d like.” She said.

                “I think I might." I replied.  I looked at her more closely.  "You don't look Italian.  Your hair is really fair.  Lighter than mine."

                “Well, not all Italians look like a roman statue with a dye job!” she said with mock indignation.  “Besides, once I got the power, I started noticing slight physical changes as I mastered my skills.  My hair went through every shade of the forest, I think.”

                We started to walk, the initial awkwardness passed.  Another thing jumped to my mind, and I didn’t hesitate to share my insight.

                “You and Angelique were lovers.” I said simply.

                “We were.” she agreed.  “The energies summoned when one of our kind has sex, well… it’s a rare human who can stand it.  Vampires, however, are really strong.  She really liberated me.”

                “What made you think that she would want to, let alone be good at, watching over and guiding future versions of the Sorceress?”

                “She had gone through a terrible loss recently.  She was starved for purpose, and I saw a strength in her character that was missing in most beings, let alone vampires.  I knew that she would do well.”

                I stopped.  “How did you know that the path would lead to me?”

                She looked in my eyes.  “When I passed from this life to the next, I saw all of the women who would be the Sorceress pass in front of my eyes.  I saw you, and knew who you were… what you meant to her.”

                “You know,” I said, my intuition practically screaming at me, “I’m getting all kinds of ‘what isn’t she telling me?’ vibes from you right now.”  We started walking again, and she took her time in answering.

                “You know that you and Angelique have been… more than friends in the past, right?”

                “I’m aware, yes.  I just recently remembered a life where I was a man and she was my wife.”  I grinned at the memory.  “It was a different approach to sex, I’ll say that!”

                “I’m going to show you one of your pasts with her.” she said quietly.  “Maybe then you’ll understand.”

                I tried to ask a question, but she and the forest behind the mansion were gone.

                I was gone, too.  My body was different… I was shorter, a little heavier, but with far more muscle tone than I had ever had before.  I looked down at myself and saw that my hair was a pale gold, hanging to my waist in a single thick braid.  And my boobs, well… I knew that this body was no stranger to back pain.  Only my sturdy build allowed me to live in relative comfort most of the time.

                My name was Byrita, and I had been saved by my angel.  She had come and slain the cruel man I had been married off to, carrying me away to a charmed existence is an enchanted land.  I owed her everything, and I had finally decided to show her just how grateful I was.

                I walked into the aged stronghold, a leftover from the days of the old Roman Empire.  It was warmer here for longer than my homeland, but I had fallen in love with the space.

                I walked into the main room and found her waiting for me by the fire.  Her jet black hair hung in flowing streams around her body, and the pale dress she wore looked like it had been spun by an angel.  My heart skipped a beat.

                “I trust the