The Centaur, The Witch, and The Werewolf

Waiting at the gate, I looked up at our home. The black gate surrounded the entire structure pillars of stone stood on each corner, reinforcing the already towering gates' seriousness. I turned the knob and pushed, entering the inner courtyard. Looking up, I could see stacks and stacks of stone till the roof. The trim, made of elaborately cut wood, echoed the medieval Gothic windows' tracery work. These same patterns decorated the porch, windows, and doorway. This house seemed to reach for the sky, directing my eyes upward in a divine light sort of way. Finials, the window trims topped the Steep inverted v of the gable ends, and even the windows themselves had the same pointed top of the Gothic arch. Our house wasn't exceptionally tall. It was only two stories in height. It, sometimes mistaken as a cathedral but was our modern-day castle. Though everyone in the neighborhood hated it, they wouldn't dare tell any of us that. Today was a foggy day, all the more reason for me to rush inside. When I opened the door, Aeson startled me. Aeson was part of our circle. In a surprise, I dropped my bag. We both went to pick it up. "Make a sound at least, Aeson. God," I joked. Coming up, I saw his eyes staring at me. Aeson's eyes always fascinated me. They were black-rimmed around the iris itself and then sprawled out in a vivid reddish-orange sunset around the pupil. Within the iris itself, seemed to be a balance of gold and lighter-brown rays. All this gave off deep and lustrous darkness, like a forest pool under the shade of ancient oaks. Ultimately set off by his golden blond hair. It was long enough to cover his ears and short enough to stay out of his eyes. The waviness just made you want to reach out and touch it. I wouldn't dare invade his space. But every time he turned away from me, I could smell his apple shampoo. He stood straight up and ran his fingers through the back of his hair. His shirt came up a little, and you could see his flat stomach. Aeson, in comparison to me, was a lot taller. Most people were taller than me; I was only 5'3". Aeson could comfortably put his elbow onto the top of my head. He caught me staring, and I looked straight down when his eyes met mine. I got up and walked to the back of the kitchen and put down the groceries with Aeson traveling behind me. I bit my lip awkwardly while putting away the frozen vegetables into the freezer. Aeson wasn't going to let this go. "Want a taste before anyone gets home?" "God, Aeson, you're such a horn dog," I said, pushing him away. He grabbed my hand and pushed me against the refrigerator. My back arched into him, avoiding the handle, and I pushed up against him. "Convince me you don't want it," he said. Inside I was screaming: Yes, take me, take me now, on this counter. But I loved Nikolai. I put my hand on his stomach and pushed all my energy out. He flung across the kitchen, landing on top of the counter. "Convinced?" I asked, putting away the rest of the things I bought. He walked away from me, and I sat panting on the floor. That took up most of my magic for the day, but I didn't want to look weak in front of him. I sat there for a long time, trying to regain my strength. I felt a firm hand on my shoulder. When I looked up, Nikolai picked me up. My red velvet long skirt clung to me as he sat me down. I stood up, leaning against the refrigerator. His eyes asked the question. Nikolai's eyes were just as fascinating; they showed a symbolic representation of his personality. They were grey, mainly, but darken to blue in correspondence to his mood. Grey eyes that were like concrete, like wet cement, like steel, like cold iron, or maybe more accurately, grey like a wolf's coat. Unlike most blue eyes, the rim around the iris is not high contrast. It's the same medium gray as the rest of the iris with a balance of white-rays and dark-blue-rays that turns the overall color gray. He seldom smiles with his lips, but it is his eyes that shine instead. It was that radiance that makes every person who sees and understands it feels the irresistible impulse to smile, too, for this smiling of the eyes is the most sincere and pure emotion that I'd ever experienced, even if he didn't want to show it. The eyes never lie – if I could say but four words to advise one on how to understand his thoughts, those would be the four I'd choose. But I'd never dare to give away his secret. "I've been straining myself. Maybe I just woke up too early," I joked, walking away. Niky swept me up from behind and kissed me. "I know you're lying, but I'm okay with it. Tell me you have a handle on it?" "Yeah, it won't affect the circle, I promise." "That's not who I'm worried about." he pulled me closer with his hands on my hips. I faced him and put my arms around his neck. "I know, but I'll be okay." I pecked him one last time and ran upstairs to study the new book I bought. On my desk were four books I had studied intensely and extensively: Book of Shadows, The Necronomicon, The Magus, and The Fourth Book of Occult Philosophy. My room was far from a typical teen girls' bedroom. Then again, I'm not an ordinary teenage girl. My life was far from straightforward, and I have to uncomplicate things alone most of the time. I had no more family, well, at least blood family. Thinking about how far I came, I couldn't help but look back. I was only 5 when I discovered what magic was. At that time, I lived with my mother Antoinette and my father Blade in Paris, France. Once my father saw me sitting on the pink nursery rug in my mother's huge family home levitating my panda teddy bear, something inside him snapped. He vaporized it and ran out of the room, yelling at my mother. The very next day, we moved to the Nevada Desert in America; When I say Desert, I mean fifty miles from the closest town out in the middle of nowhere, Nevada Desert. Life there was hard. We lived in a house, nothing like the busy castle that I once lived in. This house or I should say shack was smaller, more cramped, and always hot. When we came to America, I never entered an official database, so I never went to school. I passed the time with my mother while my dad was out working. We read and talked for ages. She told me all about the places she went to and her mother, the Russian Gypsy; I called her grandma Rose because her real name was Raisa. In my eyes, she was beautiful even though I never got to know her. My father was opposed to anything Magical, and my grandmother was one of the most powerful Witches still alive. I think my dad's hatred seeded from childhood. Sometimes, my mom wasn't looking, and my father wasn't home; I'd practice magic—simple spells levitating objects, burning things, making water into ice. My mother hid her family spellbook from my father. I found it and studied it. Pieces were missing; I needed to be with the rest of my circle to make sense of it. My grandmother was also the leader of the first-ever dual circle, consisting of 12 people instead of the standard 6. My mother gave up magic for him; they were a stereotypical couple, a witch hunter (my father) and a witch (my mother). They didn't think about their future because when I came along, I was full of magic. And boy did my father hate that; he hated it so much he drowned his sorrows every night in a bottle of berry-flavored vodka. He was taking out his aggression on my mother or me. My mother was my savior if I ever had one. We could have run, but she could never have left my father; she claimed, "One day when you have the first love, you will understand." I still don't understand, but God knows I have my first love. My mom was only 16 when she had me and my father 21. Fifteen years of my life, I only knew my mother and my father and grandmother, who I had never met. The night that changed it all seemed normal, but the wind had an eerie sting to it. I was doing a simple spell: water to fire and fire to water. "Aquae ut fugo," I said three times, watching the cascade of fire starting from the bottom to the top. I laughed and heard a bang behind me. My dad's fist was through the door. He grabbed the glass and threw it at the window. It shattered. He grabbed me by my hair and pulled me down to the living room. I screamed while my mom ran to the living room from the kitchen. "I told you not to," he yelled as I could feel my long, raven black hair ripping in his hand. "Let her go; it was my fault," my mother said, trying to get his fist out of my hair. He threw me down, “You want to play with fire, I’ll show you fire,” he grabbed his cigar torch and began to burn me. “Please stop, daddy, please,” I cried while the pain coiled around my leg. My mother's eyes looked sadly at me. She put something in my hand and hurried me off. she turned and finally raged at my father. I read the note it told me about the bag hidden in my room to take it and jump out the window and leave. I could feel the heat from the living room. The fire surged, engulfing the door in a red blaze. I grabbed the bag and jumped out of the window. I sat by our mailbox up the road. I looked in the bag, called 911, reported it, and ran away to the nearest bus stop. There I recognized an old lady; it was Grandma Raisa. She hugged me and the next three years became the best I had ever lived. I lived my whole life in those three years. When we moved to Russia, I studied Latin, Russian, and French. I learned magic from every Grimoire I could get my hands on and got close to my grandmother. That was the year I met Nikolai Romanov. He taught me everything I know, but I had surpassed him now. Everyone in the coven knew I was the one with the most power and the most problems. Arnab, my rabbit, came hopping over one. I settled down on my couch. He climbed onto me and gave my nose a good lick. I picked him up and crossed the room to his bed. I got out a strawberry treat, and he snatched it right out of my hands. As I played with him, something burst into my room and pinned me to the wall. I panicked just a little, and then Niky opened the door with a half-c****d grin. Still pinned, I rolled my eyes. "Awe, what's with the attitude," he asked, holding my cheeks together in a kissy way. "Get me down," I asked. "Please, is missing." "Please get me down." He released me only for me to fall into his arms. He held me tight as I tried to back up. "Sometimes I hate you," I began but was cut off by his lips. I felt his hands drop lower, and my s*x drive kicked in. I wanted every inch of him; I wanted our naked flesh pressed against one another; I wanted everything he could give me. His hands began to travel up under my shirt. "NO!" Arnab was not having this display in front of him. He no screamed in my head. I pushed Niky away, wiping my mouth. "Sorry, Arnab disagrees with our uhh hmm," I trailed off. Niky and I hadn't sealed the deal yet, and not for lack of trying, but I always had some excuse. "One day, I'll make rabbit stew," he said, rolling his eyes at the rabbit. "I'd like to see him try," Arnab telepathed to me. "Boys behave," I said, sitting down at my desk. "Niky, I think it's time we moved on from this little neighborhood." I held up the thermometer I had charmed. The "hotter" it got, the more suspicious people around us were, and things were starting to get dangerously hot. "I'll call a meeting today." He looked like he wanted to add something else, but I turned around to open a book on my desk. He paused for a second, and I felt his hands snaked around my waist. He towered over me, his breath hot on my ear. "ZAYchik," he said, kissing my shoulder, "it's almost our anniversary and your birthday" he began kissing up to my ear. I let out a little moan. "Amour, you are all I need" I nuzzled him closer. "But it’s your 19th and our 3rd year together." "Mm," the way he commanded my attention with his mouth. He turned me around, pinning me to my desk. The s****l tension was enough to kill me. "Please," I huffed out. "Please what," he asked with a smirk rubbing his manhood against my core. "I'm just not ready," my mouth betrayed my body. I wanted Niky so bad. But everything inside me screamed no. He immediately stopped and kissed my forehead. "Amour, I'm sorry." "Shhh shhh shh ZAYchik when you are ready," his thick Russian accent was peaking through as his spell was wearing off. With his kiss, I embraced him, sucking in as much of his scent as I could. He left my room without so much as a huff. I unclipped the pendulum from my wrist, holding the fob in between my thumb and index finger, planting both feet on the ground, and sitting up straight. I had used this pendulum a million times, but still, its beauty was epic. The silver chain was the perfect length around my wrist and the perfect length when I held it steady to sit above my desk. It had an onyx crystal at the end, and the fob was a hamza. "I call upon the moon goddess to answer these questions. I seek only truthful answers, which aligned with the highest and greatest good for all concerned," I said, beginning my session. "Is it in my best interest to sleep with Nikolai?" The pendulum didn't move for a second; I closed my eyes and focused on getting an answer. I remained detached about the answer and focused only on receiving a correct, unbiased answer from the moon goddess. When I opened my eyes, the pendulum was swinging left to right, indicating a no. I touched the stone to my other palm and clasped it around my wrist. I let out a sigh. Was I truly never going to love anyone wholeheartedly? This had to be my father’s curse and his inability to love anything but himself. I sat back and thought about the first time I had met Niky. When I first arrived at my grandmother's house, I was scared I didn't understand anything anyone said. My grandmother didn't speak English, and I could only barely speak french. That's why Niky was such a big help. He was the grandson of one of my grandmother's coven members. He was skeptical of me, I could tell. I didn't want to talk to anyone, but he helped me break out of my shell. The day I met Niky, I also met Zivena Roux. Roux was what everyone called her. Roux is the definition of beauty. Long blonde hair eyes that change color the most beautiful and developed body id ever seen on women. Roux and Niky saw me sitting on the window sill. I was so tiny that I could sit comfortably in it while still being pressed against the window. I didn't talk. I only opened my mouth when spoken to. I was reading a book on how to speak french. “Puis-je vous offrir quelque chose,” Niky asked in french. I looked at him, not understanding anything. He tried again in Russian. Again I didn't understand. HE looked at me confused, and Roux came by. "He wants to know if you want anything?" "Oh no, I'm okay," I said, going back to my book. The pair looked at each other and then me. Roux walked away, but Niky sat on the top steps staring at me and my hours of concentration. My grandmother called me down for dinner, to which I happily declined. Niky continued to watch his eyes wide. After what felt like hours of daydreaming, I felt a burning sensation on my forearm. The circle tattoo started to burn slightly; we were being summoned. --- "Glass jar," I began to read. "Check," Roux replied. "Honeycomb." "Check." "Sun tarot and st Christopher's prayer card." "Double check," Niky said, putting them in the jar with the honeycomb. He licked his sticky fingers, making me lose my focus. "Uhmmm, stones." Aeson walked in with a small leather bag dumping six stones in the glass jar, "Malachite, labradorite, rhodonite, moonstone, and amethyst." "Lastly, our herbs," I said, closing the book. "Blueberries, ash berries, and cowberries," Petal danced while Leaf dropped them into the jar. Petal and Leaf were the definitions of green witches. Petal was a tall, thin girl with long straight brown hair. She was a bell-bottom-wearing, paisley sporting, flower-crowned hippie the way you thought of someone who would have enjoyed Woodstock. Leaf was her soulmate; the long-haired blonde man was just as tall. He wore the same bell bottoms with a brown vest and rose-colored circle glasses. They looked as if they just walked off the cover of Flower Child daily. "Uhmm, are you guys hungry or…." Aeson laughed. "This is what our goddess suggested," Leaf said, dropping a small purple flower that he pulled from his sleeve in the jar. "And that's," Roux asked. "Monkshood." "Alrighty, if you guys don't mind, it's my turn to pick the place," I said, standing outstretching my hands. Niky sealed the jar and put an orange candle on top. Roux lit it with a snap. We all joined hands. This spell was going to be a powerful bit of magic. "peregrinatione ad salutem. tutum iter." Within seconds the others had joined in with me. After a minute, you could feel the temperature change, and the day had changed as well. It had been foggy; now, the sun was high in the sky shining down on us with vigor. "Please tell me there's a beach nearby," Roux said, running and opening the door. "Trees," Petal said with a schoolgirl glee. "Sequoia sempervirens," Leaf laughed behind her heading out the door. We had arrived in a clearing surrounded by a thick of trees that reached up high to the heavens. All around us were these berry plants. But on the ground in the wooded areas, there was snow beginning to melt. The smell was intoxicating. Being out in the middle of nowhere had a certain charm to it. "Beautiful choice ZAYchik." Niky carried me bridal style to the back porch, where we sat on the wicker couch. My legs sprawled out over his. I pointed out the small pond on the back right area of the yard. The trunks of trees beautifully surrounded it. Aeson and Roux were magically throwing snowballs at one another while Leaf and Petal were examining leaves and berries all around them. This scene before me had to be the definition of happiness. I relaxed, letting my head slump back, and before I knew it, I was asleep. The smell of smoke woke me up. The other four coven members had pulled chairs around us and passed a smoking pipe around in a circle. It was dark out now, and someone had charmed a small fire in the middle of us to keep us warm. It was my turn, but I yawned, passing it to Roux, who was next. Niky had lovely draped a blanket around me. I gave him a sleepy peck on the cheek. "Next time, I'm picking somewhere tropical," Roux said, laughing. "Hey, you had fun in the snow; besides, I think this place had a mind of its own. I was aiming for a desert setting." "Your aim is a little off," Petal giggled. "I'm going to bed. That spell wiped me out," I got up, wrapping myself in the blanket, "Amour are you coming." Niky shot right up at the idea and led me to his bedroom. He had a giant bed, after all. I undressed, grabbing his oversized shirt, and fell asleep in his arms.