Tail Of A Witch: Magic and Mayhem Universe (Kracken's Hole) Read online

  Binky was a force of nature, with a gob that made her eyes widen, but had a loyalty to Maeve that made her envious. Her own familiar was nothing like Binky. Grundlepus the third, a ginger tom, was… emotional. Having been separated since the loss of her mother, they didn't have a relationship like Maeve and Binky. Instead, the ginger tom cat had taken on the role of master and seemed to enjoy bossing her about.

  She knew he meant well and wanted to help, yet the cat did nothing but piss her off. He was annoyingly perky, and his quotes of, “It's all going to be okay,” or “Chin up,” were just not what she wanted to hear right now.

  Yes, she was feeling sorry for herself, and who could actually blame her? Before the clusterfuck that had become her life, she had just been a lonely, sheltered witch. Actually, just sheltered. She couldn't even class herself as a witch. She had never done or learned any spells. Did not belong to any coven. And other than finding Maeve recently, she was not friends with anyone of the witchy persuasion. In fact, her father had made it his personal mission to cut anything to do with her heritage on her mother’s side out of her life.

  He had kept her away from anything that could “lead her astray”. Even books and movies were monitored. Now, looking back, his death had set her free—free from his emotional abuse and lack of affection.

  As her cousin and the familiars moved into the passageway that lead to the stairs to Maeve’s home, Arietta inched out from behind her hiding place and swam towards the submerged platform, her eyes on the box Maeve had set down. Her tired legs kicked through the water. The last transformation had taken a lot from her, and breathing had become a constant struggle now. A soft touch around her waist made her smile as the gentle tentacles of one of the krackens wrapped around her and pushed her through the water and onto the platform. These misunderstood creatures had been nothing but kind to her from the moment she was convinced she was going to die—when she had been dropped into the ocean to live as a cursed freak morphing from human to siren and back again, over and over.

  Dave, the smallest, rarely left her side and would always have a tentacle wrapped around either her ankle or wrist. Brutas—well, Brutas was Brutas. Handsy and mischievous, he had tested her boundaries on more than one occasion, but he made her smile. They had become more than companions, more like friends. They were the new constant in her life, and their presence had helped stop her from panicking multiple times.

  As she shuffled along the platform, the tentacle unwound from her waist, instead moving down to wrap around her ankle. She smiled at the grey head that peeked above the surface.

  “Thank you, Dave.”

  Reaching over, Arietta grabbed the box, grunting as soon as she tried to pick it up. “Bloody hell, what's in here?” The solid wood felt more like concrete, and it took her and a tentacle from Brutas to get it moved so she could sit and open it.

  As the box met the surface of the submerged platform, the water that covered it moved back, like her very own parting of the sea. Arietta was so new to experiencing magic it took her a moment to stop staring at the area of dry rock.

  Anger surged inside. Her father had deliberately kept her from the wondrous world of magic, all because he had a grudge. It made her question everything he had ever told her. She doubted he told the truth about anything to do with her mother. As far as Arietta was concerned, her father had lied to her and wasted the first 24 years of her life.

  “Bastard,” she grumbled, hurt joining the anger. What surprised her most was the lack of grief she felt towards his demise.

  Did that make her cold-hearted?

  Eyeing the box, Arietta couldn't help but feel butterflies erupt in the pit of her stomach. She was nervous as to what was inside. Could this small box hold answers?

  A squeeze to her ankle told her Dave was still there. He had her back and could probably feel how nervous she was. Hell, for all she knew this was another Pandora situation, and everyone knew what a fuck-up that had turned into. Yet Maeve wouldn't have left it to be opened if she knew it was an apocalypse in a box.

  “Oh, come on, girl, get a sodding grip. It's only a box. What could possibly happen from opening a box?” Arietta paused. She was sure she had heard that somewhere before.

  She gently swept her fingertips over the wood and its intricate engravings, each one more beautiful than the next. Patterns, symbols and of course tentacles covered the exterior, and as much as Arietta was nervous, she felt a strange calmness that settled over her as she gently caressed the wood. A sense of rightness that gave her that little bit of confidence to grip the edges of the box and lift the lid. Tingles, like pleasant pins and needles, swept up her fingers to her hands and then onward to her arms. Peace filled her and flashes of memory, brief but intense, swept through her. Amber eyes, a lot like her own and those of Maeve, chased away those negative thoughts that had filled her recently.

  As she gripped the box, ready to lift the lid on the secrets inside, she paused and tilted her head, listening. Was that music? Or was her mind playing tricks on her?

  Bending her head a little closer to the box, Arietta listened as the music got louder. The lyrics of Girls Just Want to Have Fun erupted out of the box as she slowly lifted the lid. They filled the cavern like her own personal concert, making the krackens dive into the depths. Flashing lights in the shape of a disco ball shot up and placed itself centrally in the ceiling. It accompanied the music, making Arietta gasp, then laugh.

  That was, until the cataclysmic-style explosion of glitter that erupted out of the box like someone had just blown up Yellowstone. In the daze of sparkles, Arietta could have sworn she saw a mushroom cloud as it lifted into the air before it rained down more glitter than one planet could possibly take.

  As the music died down and the glitter settled, in some places over a foot-high, Arietta could have sworn she heard a gentle laugh.

  “Shitting hell,” Arietta choked out as she coughed up glitter. It was everywhere—in her hair, up her nose, in her ears. She would be finding it for ages. Just like you did with sand after going to the beach.

  As she coughed, she looked up and over the water. Even the statue of Maximus had not been spared. No, he was covered in so much glitter a drag queen would have invited him to perform I Will Survive on stage. Two heads also covered in the sparkly stuff poked through the glitter laden surface. Their dark eyes read simply, “What the actual fuck?”

  Arietta shrugged.

  “I know, I know.”

  4

  Scrubbing a hand down her face, Arietta attempted to dislodge the layer of glitter that seemed to be stuck to her. Sparkles sat on her eyelashes, making everything seem like it was a disco, which also started a first-class pounding in the back of her skull.

  Blowing out a long breath, she looked into the box. As it had with the water, none of the glitter had entered the box. There, nestled inside the silken depths, was a small, dark blue, velvet, drawstring pouch and a large cream envelope trimmed with gold.

  Arietta quickly plucked the envelope out of the box. Her palms felt clammy, and nerves created butterflies that filled her stomach. Her hands shook as she peeled the envelope open and held it away from her face. After the eruption of the box, she half expected the envelope to explode with glitter as well. When nothing happened, she sighed with relief and slipped the matching cream letter from inside. Along with the cream letter, there was a small white piece of paper that fell out and landed in her lap.

  Unfolding the smaller piece first, it took Arietta a moment to focus on the words. The decorative script written in silver ink was almost too shiny to make out. Warmth and those tell- tale tingles again travelled up her arm as she took in the words.

  Arietta Nightingale Moonchild,

  I know this is late,

  But it's time to accept your fate.

  Your father was a burk,

  That spell should not have worked.

  Believe in yourself.

  Believe in your line.

  Accept what's in you
r blood,

  And all will be fine.

  A Moonchild witch you are,

  You will see.

  As I have said,

  So mote it be.

  XXX Baba Yaga.

  Arietta felt her eyes fill, and she wasn't exactly sure why. The note was not very forthcoming with information. Yet she had an unknown confidence in those simple words: all will be fine . A confidence that no matter how low she felt, things would, in fact, be fine. Even at her bleakest.

  Arietta placed the note back in the box and turned her attention to the larger letter. As before, a warmth emanated from the paper. This one shimmered slightly as she tilted it one way or the other. Unfolding it, the scripted words written in a black ink pulsed from the page, yet the only word that jumped out at her was the elaborate signature at the bottom.

  This letter was different from the first. This one was from her mother. The woman who had birthed her, yet she could not remember meeting.

  This time, the tears that had filled her eyes fell in steady streams down her cheeks, leaving tracks where the fine glitter had settled. Her breath hitched as she tried to control her emotions and the sobs that forced their way from her mouth. Arietta looked up at the high ceiling of the cavern in an effort to control herself. This woman had been merely a figment of her imagination for so long. Merely a fantasy of what she would look and sound like, yet one she had to keep secret, for her father refused to even acknowledge the woman's existence, even in giving birth to Arietta.

  She had lost count of the times she felt a desperation to meet her mother, yet her father had been clear about his hatred.

  Looking at the script once again, Arietta took her time with each and every word on the page. She drew each one into her almost like a breath, taking it deep into her soul.

  Arietta, my darling child,

  There are so many things I want to say, but I will start first by saying I’m sorry. Sorry that I had to leave you. I didn't want to. It was the last thing I ever wanted. But as you will soon realise, the wants of a Guardian are nothing in comparison to our task.

  Please know, Arietta, I love you. My little Nightingale. I love you more than anything in this world, and that includes your father.

  I lied to your father about who and what I was until the day I left. I had been unaware of his deep-seated hatred of my kind, of our kind. I left in the hope he would treat you as a daughter should be treated. And I pray to the goddess every day for your protection.

  Arietta, you are a Guardian witch, like me and like my sisters. If you are reading this, then our time has passed as the Guardians of Merlin’s Gate and it is now up to the next generation of our bloodline to take on the task.

  I'm not sure what the future holds. I do know that for you and your cousins it will be a testing journey. Trust in each other and believe in the Moonchild bloodline. It will guide and protect you.

  Trust Grundlepus. I sent him to watch over you when I left.

  Yes, I know he's a handful, but he means well, even with the tears. And he has guarded your file. He will know what to do.

  But most of all, trust in yourself and your power.

  Be safe, my little Nightingale.

  I love you.

  Your mother,

  Penelope Moonchild.

  The sobs burst free, the sound filling the cavern as Arietta snorted and performed her ugliest cry ever. Her tears dripped on the letter before she dropped it and covered her face with both hands. Her whole body shook from the force of trying her best not to cry, yet it was useless. The pain from never knowing her mother filled her, right alongside anger at her father for keeping her in the dark about everything. Her simple life had been a lie, one of avoidance on her father’s part, all because he didn't like witches.

  Arietta dropped her hands and once again lifted her face upwards as she screamed out her pain, screamed until she felt like she couldn't breathe. The scream echoed around the cavern, and in a cathartic way, it helped. That release helped her calm until she could think clearer. The anger, she now realised, had been building for a long time. She had always tried to be the good, obedient daughter. Never pushing it, even when she had noticed she was starting to show powers.

  Only now, with his death, did she feel like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She was free from the constant emotional abuse of being the daughter of Martin Finn. Free to do what the letter said: accept her fate and bloodline. Become a Moonchild.

  Only, she was cursed.

  Taking the letter from where she had dropped it, she placed it back into the box and picked up the small velvet bag. Turning it, she emptied the contents into her hand. The cool yet pleasant weight of the silver necklace and pendant settled into her palm, the metal glinting in the colours of the Gate. The chain was made of small figure of eight links and finished with a triquetra pendant which had a stunning green gem in its centre. The colour of it was almost hypnotising, each facet of the gem reacting with the lights in the cavern. Smiling, Arietta lifted the pendant to her lips and kissed it before she slipped the chain over her head. The pendant settled between her breasts, and with it came a sense of hope and belonging.

  For the first time since she had been dragged to Kracken’s Hole by her father, she felt like she could finally call somewhere home.

  5

  Ethan Bartholemue hated to “people”, also know as to “socialise”, as most normal folk called it. The whole ordeal made him twitch. In fact, being around mortals made him seem like he had a permanent tick. It was the holier than thou attitude that they were the superior race, even though they had zero clue as to what was actually going on and how much danger they were in from the supernatural forces. But could you tell them? No . They would react like the planet’s biggest baby, or like his friend Nigel when he saw a spider. “NO! Kill it. Make it gone,” was the usual reaction, and it would be similar if a mortal found out about paranormals like him.

  This was why he rarely ventured outside his small home. In fact, he was only one dinosaur pyjama set away from being a confirmed agoraphobe. But he needed this job; work had been slow lately. Not many people wanted a warlock anymore, so he made money where he could. Online research, simple spells, and even the odd removal of unwanted entities. Unfortunately, his magic couldn't pay his bills, and didn't that sound far more mortal than it should.

  Shaking his head, he thought back to being at home. Safely ensconced in his wall of computers, he could find anything anyone wanted. So why had he left the house?

  Well, he had been offered a hefty sum to find a cure to a curse. Yeah, the money had made his ears prick up, but it had been the destination that had really made him keen.

  Kracken’s Hole, fabled paranormal town, home to the legend of the krackens and to the myth of Merlin’s Gate. For a research nerd like him, the mere idea to visit the place had gotten his intellectual juices flowing, so armed with his laptop, he had followed the brief directions and had ended up boarding a ferry. Well, more along the lines of a pirate ship.

  That had been a first, and he would have been quite happy watching the waves rolling along if the hairs on the back of his neck hadn’t pricked up. Turning, he had seen the pirate Captain eyeballing him.

  Other than that, it had been a pleasant ship. Ethan had never really been to the coast before. He had been warned that there was a fishy smell, and Ethan didn't do fish. Surprisingly, there was no fishy smell. Instead it was a fresh scent with a slight tang of salt in the air, and he found he enjoyed it. The wind in his face and being outside instead of cooped up was surprisingly pleasant.

  He had also gotten a glimpse of a rogue tentacle before the Captain had slapped it, sending it back into the depths. He was curious about that. Tentacles that size meant only one thing.

  Yes, overall, the journey had been rather refreshing, but now, as he stood on the makeshift dock of Kracken’s Hole, he couldn’t help but feel... a little underwhelmed. The dock had just enough room for the ship he had just disembarked, but that obv
iously hadn’t discouraged the other vessels within the cove. Jammed tight were other pirate ships of all shapes and sizes. Every pirate flag you could ever imagine littered the skies. Yet not one held an actual pirate. Every single one was empty.

  It seemed pirates had taken over the small town, and every pirate was drinking—heavily. If the slumped bodies on the makeshift dock was anything to go by.

  “Maeve, my little witch. Have you missed me?” said the deep voice of the pirate Captain who had shot daggers at him during the trip. He pulled his gaze from the overparked cove to where said pirate was picking up a beautiful woman with violet hair. They didn't care that most watched as their lips locked in a heated kiss, before the pirate released her, leaving her a chance to answer.

  “Always, my sexy pirate. Always.”

  Ethan wanted to walk on past, but he was told he would be met at the dock by the Guardian of Kracken’s Hole, so he had little choice but to endure the affectionate show. Turning to face the jam-packed cove, Ethan spent his time counting the flags that didn't have a sexual innuendo on. Which, not surprisingly, didn't take long.

  As soon as the couple was done smooching, the pirate’s next words made his ears twitch. Eavesdropping couldn’t be helped when they openly discussed him.

  “Are you sure this is a good idea, love? He's a warlock.”

  “I know he's a warlock, Will. That’s why I asked for his help.” Her answer to the pirate was sharp, like they had discussed this topic before.