The Raven and the Witch Hunter Omnibus

BIG BEAR CHAPTER 1 By the time Vanessa arrived at work, she was officially late. The detour to the library to drop Emma Jane off had added almost twenty minutes to her drive. Luckily, when Vanessa arrived, her coworkers were so relieved that she was alive after the recent deaths that she didn't get yelled at, or even unofficially reprimanded. The director, Bill Holland, even came over personally to make sure she was prepared for shooting the moment she entered the warehouse. Vanessa reassured him, offering him a brave smile. “I’m okay. This week has been...unexpected,” she said. Shaking her head, she looked at him. “How are you doing? How is Mr. Montgomery?” Vanessa wasn’t sure she really wanted to know, but after watching Mr. Montgomery collapse the previous night she was confident that he was going to need mountains of therapy at the bare minimum before he could move on, or even return to the set. She shuddered when she recalled the sight of Elaine Montgomery, the witch who’d been stealing the youth and life of several people on set, melting into a puddle of goo. Apparently when you’re thousands of years old, you decompose more quickly than those with a normal life span. Bill sighed, rubbing his forehead as he turned to look at the set, which was much quieter than usual. “I didn’t know her well, so it’s more of a rude shock than it is personally difficult. The shoot has been set back with the police investigations still ongoing and delaying everything, and of course, everyone's devastated about the death of the other cast and crew.” Bill laughed humorlessly, dropping his hand from his face. “Ha! Listen to me. Investigations!” He shook his head and looked at Vanessa. “We can’t use the areas where they found Elaine or Sandra, but we’re already behind, so we need to work around them somehow. I'm glad you came at least. If you hadn’t, we'd have been even more backed up.” Vanessa tilted her head. “The show must go on, right?” She allowed a somber expression to cross her face, explaining the quip when she realized it may have come across as insensitive or worse, heartless. “Work helps me push the loss and sadness down for a bit, so I’m glad we can keep going. I’ll be in makeup and then I guess it’s back to the dumpster again?” Vanessa winced as she recalled the day before, when Sandra had done her makeup. Bill gently clapped her on the shoulder. “That’s the spirit! Find Rebecca. She’ll show you what we’re using today for the makeup trailer and it'll be Joanne who gets you prepped for your scene today. See you in twenty.” He patted her shoulder one more time then walked away. Vanessa bit her lip, then turned to go and find Rebecca as instructed. For the rest of the day she was called 'brave', 'courageous,' and 'strong' by everyone she passed or spoke to but was uncomfortable accepting their accolades. She knew the truth. Not only was she not a victim, no matter what the witch's intent had been, but she was also the reason the producer's wife had been found decomposing on the floor. The entire day was an awkward mix of praise and hard work and by time it ended, Vanessa had never been happier to go home. However, the moment she walked into her apartment she felt a disturbance in the air. She wasn't sensitive the way Cat, her sister, was, and had never had dreams or read auras, but she could feel the air moving around her. She knew instantly that someone else was in her home. "Hello?" She entered cautiously, not removing her shoes in case she needed to make a quick exit. Her heart began beating faster, until a familiar laugh came from the living room, surprising her but also instantly filling her with relief. Vanessa rounded the corner of the kitchen and looked into the living room, confirming her suspicions about who the owner of the laugh was when she saw the woman sitting on the couch laughing at something on her phone. "Oh my God! Evelyn! What are you doing here?" Vanessa swept her sister's best friend up in a hug and twirled her around. It was only possible because Evelyn was diminutive in comparison, standing about five feet four inches tall and a buck twenty soaking wet, while Vanessa had several pounds and almost seven inches of height on her. Evelyn laughed, squeezing Vanessa back tightly before protesting. "Okay, girl! Down! I'm happy to see you, too. Now put me back on my feet, if you please." She sounded amused, but her voice still featured the no-nonsense tone Vanessa had grown to love over the years. "What are you doing here? Not that you're not always welcome, of course," said Vanessa, quickly reassuring her. Before Evelyn had found out that she was an ancient goddess, she'd spent most of her free time with Cat, both in the apartment in San Francisco and at their houses back in Valleyview. When they were all learning about what they could do with their new-found powers, they'd practiced together a lot. Yet after a difficult battle in Scotland, Evelyn had been busy trying to understand her own life. Finding out she was an ancient African goddess who’d lost her memory would have been overwhelming for anyone, but in addition to that giant box of turmoil to unpack, Evelyn had also discovered her true love was the ancient earth god, Robin Goodfellow, who had helped them more than once in their fight against evil. Consequently, she hadn't been around as often to hang out over the previous year and Vanessa missed Evelyn almost as much as Cat did. Evelyn shrugged, sitting down on the couch and tucking her legs underneath her. "I had a feeling you needed my help." She stretched out her arms on the back of the cushions, looking relaxed and at home. Vanessa sat across from her and leaned in. "Okay, now you have me curious and hopeful. What do you know that we don’t?" Evelyn smiled mischievously. "What don't I know, cher? You know I can see dreams and read things from people and their emotions. I knew from the moment Emma Jane came through my door, on her search for the next in a long line of bad guys, that you'd be needing help from me in the near future." "Yes, please!" Vanessa exclaimed, shamelessly adding, "whatever help you can provide, I'm all over it." Changing subjects, she continued. "But first, tell me what you saw. Emma Jane said you sent her to me, saying we could help each other and that I was in danger, but absolutely nothing else that was helpful." Evelyn raised an eyebrow, acknowledging the statement in her typical, nonchalant fashion. "That's true. I didn't want to give the whole thing away at that time. I just gave her enough information to get her where she needed to go. I didn't say anything to you or Cat because I didn't want to influence events any more than necessary." "Wait a minute, does that mean Cat knew you were coming? Are you the help she said might show up today?" Evelyn raised a shoulder. "Probably, although you never know with her either, do you?" Evelyn chuckled, then took pity on Vanessa. "Okay, yes. We've been talking since Emma Jane showed up on her mission. As I'm sure you're aware, you probably could have dealt with this particular bad guy without her help, especially if I'd given you and Cat a heads-up. The entire situation was just a strange convergence of location and events. But..." Evelyn paused for dramatic effect and Vanessa felt frustration bubbling up. She was grateful when Evelyn finally continued. "I did see a completely different opportunity here, a bit of a star-crossed thing, as you've surely discovered by now. Which is why, my friend, I came to see you today." Vanessa flopped backwards, banging her head dramatically on the couch a few times before rolling onto her side and putting a hand on her hip. "Oh god, yes! I'm so incredibly frustrated right now. First I had to deal with Emma Jane trying to run away because she was being all noble and trying not to hurt me. Then she stopped being noble, but now I'm freaking exhausted when I spend more than a short amount of time with her. All of this on top of how I feel if I even touch the woman, which I keep doing because I can’t help myself." Vanessa sat up, then glared at Evelyn, placing both hands on her hips as she complained. "Do you know how awful it is? To feel amazing with someone, but the moment they walk away realize they've aged you? It's the worst thing, ever, but if it's the only way we can be together I'll probably continue to do it until it kills me." Evelyn looked at Vanessa with dark brown eyes warm with compassion. Her dark, springy, chin-length curls bounced when she nodded. "I know it's hard for you. Just so you know, you're not alone in your suffering; Emma Jane has lived with isolation her whole life, but this is the worst it's ever been for her. There was no one else around before to highlight how painful it would be for her to have the power that she does. When all your loved ones are dead, except for your old teacher who wasn’t much of a hugger to begin with, it's not such a big deal if you can suck the life and power out of people with a touch." Evelyn sighed, shaking her head as she pursed her lips. "But with you, this is the most pain she's ever felt, excluding the loss of her family." Vanessa felt even worse when Evelyn laid everything out so plainly. She was a selfish jerk, complaining about not being able to touch her almost-girlfriend when Emma Jane was suffering with that level of pain. Maybe she didn't deserve her after all. "So, what do we do then?" Vanessa finally said. "How can we make it so that this isn't so painful for her? So that we have a chance at actually being together?" Vanessa stared at Evelyn, beseeching her, praying that she had an answer. "Luckily, I may know something. But I'm going to warn you in advance, it's not an easy thing to accomplish. It'll take some serious effort on your part and on hers as well." "Anything. I’ll do absolutely anything to be with her. Whatever it takes, I'll do it." Evelyn looked satisfied. "Perfect. That's what I hoped you'd say." ––––––––