Chapter 4

Despite that my mother seemed to have intended for her decision to be a punishment, I couldn’t help but smile at the most recent development. Quite possibly my life was finally going to get better, seeing as being shipped of to boarding school also meant that I would be rid of that bitch and the brats. Taking two steps at a time I rushed up the stairs to my room. After all I still had to pack my bags... and do another thing. My jaw tightened as I thought about a certain problem.

Apparently having sensed my agitation Hugin flapped through the air before landing on my shoulder. “Ca-Caaaaww!”

“Fine, you’re right. It will be worse if I don’t check regularly. Still... I am not looking forward to the day when it does break out.”

With a sigh I walked towards my bathroom and made sure to lock the door behind me. Turning on the mirror lights I began checking the usual places; eyelids, gums, teeth, fingernails, if the books were correct then it would show there first. Thankfully I didn’t spot anything, no bleeding, no discolouration and no pain. Relief washed over me as I took out a small bottle of medical eye drops. I had paid a lot of money for the recipe to a local Dark-Witches shop; at least that had also included them keeping it secret. I put one drop in each eye as I had been doing every day for the last two years. Sometimes the bite wound on my shoulder still itched but as I had no symptoms the preventive medication should be enough.

“There! I checked Hugin, happy now? I’m not going to become an angry bloodthirsty monster anytime soon. Yay. Now stop worrying you stupid bird!”

“Caawww!”

“Ouch! Stop pecking my head!”

“Caww! Caw!”

“Yes, yes, fine! I’m going to look for a cure once at the Academy... can’t be that hard.”

“Caw...” His eyes seemed to pity me.

Ignoring his rude behaviour, like the powerful independent Witch that I was, I shooed Hugin off my shoulder and put on the clothes one of the maids had put out. While a school uniform wasn’t my favourite outfit it could be quite kinky in its own way. After having dressed “appropriately” for the academy I began packing in earnest. The first and most important things were still my alchemical kit and ingredients satchel. Wrapping them in a bunch of stray t-shirts and dresses was about all I could do to keep them safe in the short time. It wasn’t the best of ideas but it would do for now. After that I basically threw everything I owned – including my bondage gear, I wasn’t going to leave that here – into as many bags as I could possibly find. Three large suitcases, two smaller duffle bags and about half an hour later I was finally finished, or at least almost. With a sad smile on my face I approached the lone picture frame on my window still.

“Hey, Dad. Hope you would be proud of me... despite all my failings. I... still love you.” I didn’t care what my mother and other people said; I knew he was still alive and I was going to find. The scar on my shoulder itched as if reacting to my emotions. It didn’t matter how much I had to sacrifice, I would never stop searching. Even if it was going to take decades, I knew he was out there somewhere; if not in this world than in another.

Before the feelings could overwhelm me I grabbed the frame and tugged it into my handbag; there it was saver than in the bags, I didn’t know who would handle them after all. I still didn’t trust my mother not to throw away what little I had left of him. Trying my best to calm down and put on a nonchalant facade, I grabbed what bags I could carry and went down the stairs, only to immediately run into one of my hated stepsiblings.

“Karen.”

“Failure.”

“Seriously now? That is what you came up with? Weak.”

“Ha! Coming from you that means less than nothing! After all you are so pathetic that Mother doesn’t even want to put up with you anymore.”

“So? Not like care for her approval. Just leave me be.” Pushing her aside I made my way down the stairs, or at least that had been the plan. Before I could reach the bottom something fluffy jumped before my feet, making me almost lose my balance.

“What the hells!? Karen! Try and keep your shitty familiar under control! I could have broken my frickin neck!”

Her weasel had already climbed up to her shoulders and both of them were now looking at me with disdain.

“Yes, it would be most unfortunate you broke your neck. After all, who would be left to suck all the dicks in town?”

I stopped still in my tracks. ‘She fucking didn’t, did she now? That disgusting, stupid, fucking rat face!’ I was livid when I turned to face her! How dare she say such things to my face? Before I could throw my luggage at her I managed to unclench my fingers and set it down. Step after step I walked back up the stairs to face her, even one step below her I was still taller. With teeth pressed together so hard that it hurt, I addressed Karen.

“Would you care to repeat that?”

Something in my expression made her cocky smile waver, but she had already gone too far to take her words back.

“O-Oh, I don’t know, maybe I said that you like to suck men’s cocks?”

Quicker than even I had expected of myself, my hand shot forward and clasped around her throat. Her eyes widened in panic and I could feel her fingers scratching at my hand but all that seemed so far away. My gaze was fixated on a singular drop of blood pooling around my thumbnail. Had I scratched her? I honestly couldn’t tell. But where ever it came from it was... alluring, the very thing that carried magic through our bodies. What a waste for it to drop to the ground. I removed my hand from her, barely registering that she scrambled away from me. Slowly I brought the drop to my lips, licking it, tasting it, savouring it. A sudden sharp pain in my left eye ripped me out of the trance. My stepsister was on the ground before me, looking utterly bewildered. I looked towards her and smiled.

“Goodbye Karen, hopefully we won’t have to see each other ever again.”

“Yo-You freak! Lunatic! Monster! I’ll tell Mother about this and she put you in an asylum!”

“Yes,” I grabbed my luggage from the ground without turning again. “I am sure she will try.”

Yet as soon as I was out of the door all the bravado left me. Just what had i been thinking?! I licked off another person’s blood like some kind of fucked up demon or... worse. Almost with an after thought I remembered the pain in my left eye. With numb fingers I wiped away my tears, only to startle when they came back blood red. ‘What the...’ As quickly as I could I took out my phone and looked at my reflection. There I saw not only Hugin's worried look from my shoulder, but also a single blood shot eye.

“Fuck. This isn’t good. Okay I’m not staying to find out what else might go wrong today.”

Grabbing my bags I quickly made way for the car in the front court. What ever I was coming down with, being around my mother wasn’t going to help. It was far better – and easier – to choose the flight forwards. ‘Goodbye dread Witch, and creepy old manor. A new life awaits, perhaps even one where I get to meet cute girls!’ I certainly wouldn’t mind hitting on some...

Alice

“You want me to do what?” I couldn’t help but stare at the tall beauty before me in surprise.

“Well, uhm, I thought it was a better idea than slapping you in the face! Oh! I mean: You’ve been quite the bad girl today. And bad girls get punished!” ‘Huh, not quite what I had expected there...’

Slowly but surely it dawned on me that the other Witch was not actually quite as commanding as she had been acting. In fact, now that I was looking closer at her, she seemed rather nervous. Though the way how she constantly tried to fix her skirt was really adorable. Before I could hide it, a grin had already stolen it’s way onto my face. Seeing this, what ever facade she had build up started to crumble and behind it I began to see a Witch not much older than me with quite the awkward smile.

“So. Yeah...” She began, scratching her head. “Maybe I should have started with introducing myself? So, uhm, my name is Ithelyn! Uhm, hi? Sorry about the whole, well, Dom thing. When I get nervous I always become really bitchy. But I really didn’t want to scare you away! And...”

Before she could talk herself even deeper into a hole made from social anxiety, I placed a reassuring hand on her knee. Like a charm she calmed down in an instant, though I could actually see her eyes grow wide behind her sunglasses.

“Hi, Lyn. I am Alice and I’m happy to meet you.”

“Me too! Well, not like that! I’m happy to meet you not me! Hells, I sound like an idiot.”

Hearing this I couldn’t help but be surprised; I hadn’t expected someone of her birth to use such a phrase. I mean considering that she seemed to be from a rather rich family and her familiar was a Spirit and not a demon, she should have normally cursed to the heavens.

“So, uhm, Alice. I guess I should apologise for attempting to spank you... I really don’t usually do that with other people. I mean not like I do much of... anything with other people...” Her fingers played with the rim of her glasses as if she wanted to take them off but something stopped her. Just a second later her embarrassed smile returned.

This time I couldn’t help but blush too, for part of me had actually been really looking forward to this more... hands on development. “You know Lyn... perhaps I wouldn’t mind getting my ass spanked if someone like you did... it?”

I could have sworn that her eyes lit up in pure adoration as soon as the words had left my mouth. From one second to the next the adorable awkward smile of hers, changed into a wicked and deeply sexual grin. As if a switch had been flicked everything about her changed. Gone was the embarrassed young woman and instead before me stood a self assured sexuality oozing female predator. Her lips formed words I could barely understand but their meaning send a shiver down my spine. One foot in front of the other the short distance between us seemed to grow endless as she stalked forward. And in a sudden flash of movement long fingernails, almost like claws ensnared my cheeks.

I swallowed nervously as her fingers caressed my soft skin. My breathing became faster as she began prodding my composure for any weakness. In this moment there was nothing left between us but the raw and carnal sexual tension. I instinctively bit my lip when all of a sudden her hot breath caressed the tip of my ear. Her lips were so close to me I could have sworn to be able to feel their touch upon my skin. And then she spoke with a voice like smoke and seductive promises.

“You have been a very bad girl, my dear. And bad girls have to be punished!”

As sudden as the tension had been build, as soon it was shattered into a million pieces, like a mirror made from crystal glass, when a surprisingly strong hand seized my throat. Before confusion could even overwhelm my burning lust, Ithelyn had already spread me over her lap with a swiftness that spoke of both unbridled passion and quite a lot of skill. Lying across her legs I could feel the surprising toughness of her thighs. Unlike my body that was squishy and soft, hers was like a tendon pulled taught, always ready to snap in a moments notice. A shiver, part lust and part fear, went through my frame knowing that all that was about to punish me. But before the that I once more heard that – Oh so sexy – voice.

“Let’s see if I can make you sing, bird girl. Brace~!”