Paranormal Excerpt, written and published under a pseudonym

 The Demon, The Witch and The Firebird

Liam sat at her kitchen table with his feet propped on another chair. Ravenna paced between the two long benches. Dahlia sat on the floor, leaning against the wall with her knees to her chest and her face in her hands, gripping her hair so tight her face was beginning to go numb. She knew magic was real; hell, she lived and breathed it every single day. But Hell? Demons? And witches with the power to change form, witches like Liam? It was too much to take in.

The clock chimed, announcing the time was now seven o’clock. They’d been talking for an hour and a half, Liam telling them his story while Ravenna tried to rebuke it as nothing more than fantasy. Dahlia hadn’t spoken a word as conflicting emotions and thoughts warred inside her. The rational part of her that her staunch atheist parents had tried to hammer into her cried out against what Liam was saying. Not possible! He’s lying! But the part of her that always came through, the witch she’d always been, much to the pain of her parents and the joy of her grandmother, that part knew that what he was saying was truth. Too many strange things had happened in this town for her to not believe it.

“If what you’re saying is true,” Ravenna’s voice interrupted her inner storm, “then why have we never seen anything like this before?”

“I think we have, Ravenna. We just didn’t realize it, didn’t want to believe.” Dahlia raised her head and stared at the woman she’d been friends with since they were crawling. “There has always been something strange about this town. Most of the people here are regular, every day humans, yes. But there’s something here that calls to us witches.”

“That’s one thing, Dahlia. But Liam is talking about mythical beasts. Hell beasts, no less! What’s next, dragons?”

“Actually-” Liam raised his hand to interject.

“Oh no, dog boy, you are not telling me that dragons exist! My head can’t take it.”

“Ravenna, come on. How else do you explain those odd screeches we used to hear in the forest when we went camping? And there is no way the flapping of leathery wings that we heard belonged to bats. They don’t get that big.” Dahlia hesitated, and as a new thought hit her, her eyes widened. She looked at Liam, almost afraid of the answer. “They don’t, do they? Giant bats aren’t real, right?”

“Giant bats aren’t real, no. Don’t worry about that, love. Dragons, though…”

Dahlia shook her head in disbelief.

“They’re no bigger than an average sized car and they don’t breathe fire. At least not all of them.”

Ravenna glared at him.

“Not unless they’re backed into a corner. Really, they’re no harm unless they’re frightened, I promise.”

Dahlia dropped her head on to her knees and moaned. “This can’t be happening. I must be dreaming. I’m still at the shelter, in the courtyard having my break. I’ve fallen asleep and I’m dreaming. That’s it. This is all just a dream I’m going to wake up from any minute now. Ow!” She lifted her head. “What was that for?”

Liam was crouched in front of her, his fingers still poised above a now red and tender spot on her arm. “You’re awake, love. No amount of pinching will change that. This is all real.”

“We have to call the Circle. They need to be informed and allowed to make the choice to decide if they want to stay and fight, or flee and be safe.”

“You’re saying you believe me now?” Liam lowered himself to the floor next to Dahlia.

Ravenna pursed her lips. “I don’t want to. But Dahlia is right. We’ve always known there has been something else out there. If this hell beast you’ve been chasing has really come to town, we need to stop it.”

“How?” Dahlia barely recognized her own voice, as soft and raspy as it was.

Her best friend sighed and shrugged. “That I don’t know. That’s why we need the Circle. Hopefully, with those who choose to stay, we’ll be able to find a solution.”

Liam slapped his knee, and Dahlia couldn’t help but think of an oversized leprechaun, he looked so gleeful.

“Well that’s settled then. Let’s get this Circle around and hatch out a plan.”

“Not so fast, dog boy. They don’t trust outsiders. We need to talk to them first. They’re expecting to meet us in the forest in an hour.”

“They can’t go into the forest. They’ll be easy prey there.”

“Ravenna, we have to call them and get every one of them here.”

“Right. Guess we’d better grab our cell phones then and start dialing.”

Dahlia closed her eyes and uttered a prayer to the Goddess. Please don’t let us miss any of them. Please see that all our witches arrive here safely!

Dahlia's Secret

Hey. I’m Dahlia. So I’m supposed to tell you my dirty little secret? I’m not too sure I feel comfortable telling strangers, but just as long as it stays between us, okay?

You should already know that I’m a witch, and head a Wiccan Circle with my best friend, Ravenna. We’ve known each other since we were kids; she’s more like a sister to me. You might think that my dirty little secret is something like sacrificing a goat or something when we were young Wiccans, before we knew better. That would be the obvious thought, anyway.

That would be a no, though if you think about it, guilt from such a heinous act could drive someone to then open an animal rescue, in order to assuage that guilt. It would be nice and neat, wouldn’t it?

Sadly, no. My secret isn’t that obvious. Nor is it neat, and it’s far from nice.

Ravenna’s family was open about their witchcraft, whereas my parents refused to acknowledge my grandmother’s Wiccan faith, and they definitely didn’t want me involved in any way. Ravenna and I had to be secret friends. On the rare occasion we’d visit Gamma, I’d sneak out and we’d meet in the forest. It seemed so creepy, yet that’s what made it such an exciting place to hang out.

Unfortunately, Ravenna’s little brother, Milo, thought so, as well.

He followed us one night to our usual hangout spot. He was only 9 years old at the time, Ravenna and I were 12. We didn’t even know he’d followed us until we heard him scream. We followed the shouts to a rocky outcropping. I couldn’t see anything, but the sounds were sickening. Something had Milo pinned down, and we could hear the crunch of bones breaking. I froze, while Ravenna ran for her brother. She grabbed a dead branch and started swinging at whatever had Milo. The branch connected with something solid and black, something that growled and swiped at Ravenna, knocking her to the ground. I watched my best friend sit up and howl with a rage that still sends chills down my spine all these years later. Tree roots punched out of the ground at the sound of her voice, in defiance of the hard rocky ground, wrapping around the dark form.

The creature shrieked, the noise jolting me. I clenched my fists and cold washed over me at the same time as water bubbled from between the cracks in the forest floor, gathering in the natural depression of the stone. The tree roots shifted, dumping the creature into the water and holding it under, not releasing it until there was no more movement.

Without even realising, Ravenna and I had unleashed witchcraft, working together to drown the threat to Milo. He escaped with only a broken arm, which he told their parents had happened after falling off a rock. We never told anyone, a secret between the three of us. Our powers were unlocked that day, and only you know why. Please keep our secret.