The Witching Hour

Chapter 1

It was the same dream, the old terracotta bricks seemingly surrounding me in a complete circle. Natural light streamed brightly from the dome above, it had to be high noon, and a church bell was ringing in the distance. There was a presence lurking in the shadows, just out of the sun's reach. It was a creature and an ancient one at that. A vampire's gaze was a weighty thing, oppressive, and dangerous.

With a gasp I woke to a gentle knocking on my door, I rolled over to see the dull light of daybreak. The face of the vampire eluded me yet again, as it had for the past six months. Bella, my roommate peeked her messy bedhead into my room.

"Andria are you up?"

"Yes," my answer was muffled behind my hands as I rubbed my face.

When she moved in half a year ago, I noticed Bella's lack of sleep and suggested doing nightly yoga. Which I had somehow turned into morning walks through the neighborhood. But, hey at least it was good for us. I went through my ablutions and sluggishly dressed for going out. I found Bella already waiting for me by the front door. Without a word, we slipped out and began our journey into the cool foggy morning. As always it took about two blocks for us to wake up enough to carry on a conversation.

"We should decorate for Halloween," I stated noticing quite a few homes already getting into spooky season. It had always been a favorite of mine, just the irony of it all.

"It's September..." She shot me an incredulous grin.

"I suppose we can wait until after Mabon to decorate." I had my eyes glued onto this huge blow-up black cat with glowing eyes to even notice my slip-up.

"Mabon? What the heck is that?"

Damn. I could hear my dad's voice just as clear as day, cautioning me about living with a mortal. I thought about lying, but Bella had become my best friend and rather odd herself. She held secrets, and at times the energy would become so strong my ears would ring. The only one I know for certain is that she had encountered a vampire due to the bite on her wrist. Maybe I could just tell her, of course leaving out a few key points. After all, in this day and age being a 'witch' didn't immediately equal death.

"It's a pagan holiday; it's like our thanksgiving. Although it's celebrated from the twenty-first through the twenty-ninth."

"Oh," Bella almost tripped over her own feet, I reached out a steadying hand.

"Yeah it's not something I advertise, but I grew up in a pagan household." I jumped when she suddenly started laughing, well this was unexpected. Bella must have noticed my wondering look and she wiped her eyes which had begun to tear up with her mirth. "I'm sorry, Andria, I'm not laughing at you! Oh, I really should have known...So you're Wiccan?"

"Yep," I pop the last letter of the word. It was more than that, but I was rolling with it. Just as she wasn't elaborating on the true meaning of her words either. "I'm glad you're taking this so well, I was worried it would bother you."

Bella scoffed and we began our walk again, "I'm sure there are stranger things out there than you being a witch."

I merely hummed in response and linked our elbows together. Pieces of that shifty dream flashed in my mind, I could see it all as accurately as Bella beside me. Strange indeed...

September 22nd (The Autumn Equinox)

Going through protective wards is about as pleasant as peeing on an electric fence. The magic of whoever enforced them racked down your psyche, the more powerful the caster the worse it is. Any human who happened to stumble upon my great grandmother's secluded home outside of Baton Rouge would suddenly find themselves going in the opposite direction... An uninvited caster's mind would turn on them before they ever reached the house, their energy drained.