Vampire Sunrise

The Coven House

We walked down Royal Street; everyone seemed to feel great about the vampire sendoff. We three talked and laughed like old friends. I wasn't stressed out for once and sounded like the southern girl I used to be. After about twenty minutes, we turned left onto Touro Street and went three more blocks until reaching a seven-foot wrought iron fence with tall hedges behind it.

I saw faint lines of magic flowing around the fence and hedges like a dome. After another half-block, we came to a large sign attached to what I assumed was her coven gates, "Mathis Memorial House and Grounds."

"We're here!" Katie said in a chipper voice.

"A funeral home, Katie?" I said.

"It's just a front, we don't do any funerals, but Mathis is my last name." Katie touched the gate and said some words, then the gate opened. Once inside, she locked us in with a wave of her hand and a few more witchy words.

The grounds were fantastic; about half the block was coven compound. Everything was pristine, grass cut perfectly, bushes manicured, and sitting behind a large ornate fountain stood the main house. It was three stories high, and to my surprise, modernly remodeled. I thought witches lived in spooky old houses that looked like a strong breeze would topple over.

This house had all the signs of a designer's touch that mixed modern and old-world architecture perfectly. We walked on pebbles leading from the gate to the main house, and it took several minutes of walking and winding around the flower gardens that held much more than the typically seen variety of plants to reach our destination.

The fairy-tale-like garden had two small ponds, a few weeping willows, and several tree types that I couldn't identify. I noticed plants that seemed just a little too bright and other curly fern-looking plants that were batting a fuzzy ball between themselves. I also saw something that looked like a squirrel but with two bushy tails running between flower beds. Several rock structures were laid on the ground in precise geometric shapes, no doubt used for some kind of spell casting.

"Katie, this is truly a remarkable place, all of this for five witches?" I asked.

"It's not just for us five, most of us have daughters, and our housekeeping staff lives onsite too, so, all in all, we have 12 in the house.

"Daughters? None of the coven witches have sons?" I asked.

"A true witch can only have a daughter, and we don't take husbands, so it's just us girls." Katie led us up a set of handcrafted rock steps under an iron and wood canopy. The steps wound around to a massive hardwood front door accented by iron and stained-glass windows. She pulled open the door, and we walked inside.

The house was ancient but had many modern improvements. The hardwood floor in the foyer was treated bamboo, and the interior walls were covered with sheetrock. It had a contemporary feel for being such an old house. The windows had been changed and updated, along with a new metal roof, but everything else was reminiscent of the late 1800s.

"The large spiral staircase in front of us goes up to the second and third floors. The left hallway goes to the library and my office and out to the back garden. The right hall leads to the kitchen and dining room area. All living spaces are up on the second and third floors. Let's go up and get you two settled into your rooms."

We followed Katie up the beautiful yet eclectic spiral staircase. The treads were reclaimed wood refinished with a gray stain. Matching smooth stone spindles were perfectly fitted into the iron handrail and gave an old-world feel with just a touch of elegance. The staircase landing was more reclaimed wood with matching newel posts.

The staircase design allowed us to exit onto a landing to the second floor or keep going to the third. "This is where the other witches and their family's quarters are. Each of the hallways leads to a private area with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The third floor is where you'll be staying," Katie said.