Witchy Woes

Lunch was wonderful, and I'm not just saying that to be sarcastic. It was nice actually in that it's been a while since I've hung out with 'friends'.

Since my transmigration, my company has consisted of vampires, resurrected ex-vampires and a resurrected witch. Aimee doesn't really count.

Either way, I had fun and Bonnie and I returned to my home for our next agenda; dinner. 

"When you said you knew how to cook, I was expecting, you know…cooking." Bonnie said from where she sat on the counter. 

"What's wrong with my way of cooking?" I asked while chopping up some peppers. 

"Normal cooking doesn't have that." She said, gesturing to the chopping block beside me where a knife moved through the air on its own, chopping up some onions. 

"I don't want to have to cry in my kitchen. Besides, it helps me work faster." Plus onions are evil creations that bring even grown men to tears. 

"Are you sure you don't want me to help?" She offered, sliding off the counter. 

"Nope, you just need to sit there and keep looking pretty. It's great for motivation." I teased, my hands basically moving on autopilot. 

I'm pretty good in the kitchen in both lives. The skill comes with the umbrella of absentee parents. 

"I'm serious!" She whined, failing to hide her blush. "I'm not that bad."

It took a moment to consider it before deciding, why the hell not? "Alright but are you sure you want to start with that?" I asked, letting go of my magical hold on the floating knife as she grabbed it by the handle. 

"I'm sure I can handle onions Nathan." She said, getting started on her chopping. 

"It's your tears, not mine." I jabbed, getting a mock offended gasp from her. 

"What happened to the gentleman who held the car door open for me?" She joked as I finished up the peppers, moving on to the cloves. 

"Oh he's still here. All he's missing is an apron that say 'Kiss the Chef'." I shot back, Bonnie giggling at that. 

There was a comfortable silence for a moment as we moved about the kitchen. Bonnie isn't actually that bad in the kitchen. 

"Oww!" 

I spoke too soon. 

Turning to her, I see her caressing her finger. "Please don't tell me you cut yourself." I say with a dry stare that had her looking away. 

I couldn't help but chuckle at that, gently grabbing her hand to have a look. It wasn't a serious cut but with biomancy, it only took a moment to heal it up. 

There was a slight tension in the kitchen as she looked at me. Did it get hotter here? "How do you do that?" She asked. 

For once, I'm genuinely confused. "I'm not sure what you're talking about."

"Magic. You use it so easily and casually for simple, normal things…" For a moment, it seemed like she was trying to gather her words but there was only one word that could embody her question. "How?"

Despite how poorly presented the question was, I understood what she was asking. 

"Well, it's less complicated than you think for starters. Witches are the servants of nature, we have the gift of magic to protect it. The problem is that a lot of people are too stiff in the way they think about it." I explained but that didn't answer her question. I didn't expect it to. 

At her still confused look, I continued. "Most witches see magic as a burden and not a gift. They try to avoid it and only use it when they have a problem they need fixing so they don't exactly spend their time working out ways to make it fun. With how much vampires toy around with witches, they've come to subconsciously resent their magic."

"What about you?" She asked. That's a lot easier to answer. 

"I see it for what it is, a gift. A tool to make living a bit more fun and convenient. The moment you understand that, your eyes will be opened to new possibilities." I explained, getting her to scoff lightly. 

"That's easy for you to say. You're basically made of magic. Even grams said she hasn't felt that much magic from anything, ever." Bonnie admitted. 

Of course Sheila would avoid telling me that, lest I get a big head but I already know about my vast magical reserves. 

"Well that's because of a simple fact." I said, moving closer to her, feeling her shudder as my lips got closer to her ear. "I am nature's mistake."

As I pulled back, there was another moment of tension where we made eye contact. I almost heard her gulp at the closeness. 

Before anything could happen, there was a loud, violent banging on the door. 

"What the hell?" Bonnie muttered in shock, snapping out of the moment. 

The banging continued for a while but that was not what disturbed me. It was the magic that was trying to pull apart the wards that I set around my house. 

"It appears I underestimated them." I muttered, cursing under my breath. 

"Who?" Bonnie asked, confused. 

"A bunch of hypocritical wraiths who don't know when to give up." I said, feeling the power flowing through the single individual at my door. "Stand back for a moment." 

Standing between Bonnie and the door, I waved my hand and the door came open, revealing Sheila standing at the door. 

"Grams?" Came Bonnie's confused voice. "What's going on?"

"I'm sorry to break it to you but that's not your grandmother, at least not completely." I said, staring straight at Sheila who only had eyes set on me. 

My eyes told me that she was the only one present but my ability to sense magic told me otherwise, feeling the numerous streams of magic flowing through her body. There had to be at least a hundred witches backing her up and sure enough, Sheila wasn't in the driver seat. 

"You just couldn't take a hint, could you?" I mutter, stepping up to the woman. 

"Nathaniel Quinn, you have repeatedly perverted the balance of nature. Despite our warnings, you still intend to do so." Her voice sounded like a combination of voices. 

"Without a doubt. So, which one am I speaking to? I can't exactly imagine more than one person driving a car." I asked. 

There was a pregnant pause before she spoke. "My name is Ayana."

Oh, Esther's mentor; the devout believer and follower of the Spirits and the balance of nature. She's also Sheila and Bonnie's ancestor. It's difficult for witches from the other side to interact with the physical world but when they have a foothold, it becomes easier. 

Descendants counted as a physical hold, though that was more technical. But I guess having over a hundred dead witches pushing from the other side makes it a lot easier. 

"Oh my God." Bonnie gasped, horrified. It was one thing for Emily to possess her but it was another thing to see her recently resurrected grandmother being possessed. 

"Well Ayana, I'm going to need you to vacate that body. It's quite delicate. Besides, this is between you and me, isn't it?" I said, calling upon my magic. 

"She became a part of this when she decided to ally herself with you. You have no regard for the rules of nature. No creature should be allowed unrestricted access to a power such as yours. It shouldn't exist!" She practically hissed out the last part. 

"If you haven't caught on by now, I'm the middle finger in nature's ass." I said, my hands shooting up and manifesting an almost transparent shield in front of me just as Ayana tried to magically latch onto me with a gesture. 

The shield barely flickered. With an outward push, I sent forward a wave of magic, pulsing outward and pushing her away from my porch as I gave chase, now standing outside my house.

Ayana, in Sheila's body, had already gotten to her feet. She tried for a wave of her own but I stopped that halfway with another of mine. 

Apparently that was just a distraction as I caught onto her true intent as the weather changed. The clouds quickly grew stormy and thunder rumbled.

I immediately apparated a few meters away just as lightning rained from the sky, striking where I previously stood. 

"Oh that's just dirty." As much as I would love to just run in and snap her neck and be done with it, I want to get this down with Sheila still alive.

Swinging her arms at me, I suddenly became aware of the multitude of stones that rushed to pelt holes through me. They didn't get far as I raised another shield and the wards of my house held against any damage. 

Using the very same weather manipulation spell that she used to shoot lightning down at me, I created a torrent of air around her, making it difficult for her to breathe. 

With the use of biomancy, my nail lengthened and sharpened. I frowned as I made a cut, forcing blood to pour out of it.

"Scen ta Lum ves se Victa per Vatis Imparret. Victa per Vitas. Formare Circulus. Inteo…" As I chanted, the blood that had now poured out raced across the floor, forming a runic circle. 

Once the blood circle had formed, I held my hand out, letting the wind die down. With her focus back to me Ayana tried once again to lash out, chanting under her breath. 

All she achieved was a slight shimmering in the air where I had erected the boundary spell. At that moment, a pendant came flying out of my house and into my waiting palm. 

"I was saving this for a special occasion but I guess this counts." I said, tossing the pendant inside the boundary. 

I began chanting before Ayana could do anything. "Yovara vimuna virael. Yovara vimuna virael! Spasiti animam saum! Spasiti animam sau…"

As I chanted, Ayana went stiff, falling to a knee as she held her throat. I didn't stop my chant, my voice only getting stronger with every word. Soon, a spectral figure emerged from Sheila before being forced into the pendant that was floating in front of her. 

Her attempts to resist got her nowhere as did the spirits' attempt to pull her out. Only until after she was completely trapped in the pendant did I stop chanting, barely noticing the whirlwind that was quickly disappearing. 

Sheila, now free of Ayana's possession, laid faced down on the ground, unmoving.

"Evanesco." I chanted under my breath, vanishing the circle of blood and non verbally undoing the boundary spell. 

"Grams!" With the show over, Bonnie barreled out of the house, rushing to Sheila's side in a frenzy. As the girl panicked over her, I plucked the pendant out of the air with a glare.

Oh it's on.