Wicked Folk Read online

  Naked Truth

  "Gia, do we have any more of those rosemary soaps?" Judy Babcock called out from where she sat on the floor of her small shop, reloading shelves that had been picked clean by a steady stream of tourists.

  "Sweetie, I'm going to need you up front," Georgia Baker, or Gia, Judy's coven sister and friend of fifteen years, called back to her.

  Judy stood and brushed dust from the back of her jeans. Gia, a heavyset black woman, stood behind the counter looking skeptically at a rail-thin young woman in her early twenties, who wore a ratty grey sweatshirt and short black skirt.

  "Oh," Judy said, drawing the girl’s attention away from Gia. "I'm sorry, we're closed just now. We'll open tomorrow morning around ten."

  "That's what I tried to tell her," Gia said. "I don't even know how she got in. I know I locked that door."

  Judy glanced at the closed front door. The sign had been turned around and dead bolt thrown.

  "I just need a job," the woman said. "Please, I need your help."

  "We aren't looking for any help," Gia answered, crossing arms defiantly beneath her heavy bosom.

  "I know how to do things." The young woman looked pleadingly at Judy. "I tell fortunes for the Dark Folk. People will pay for that."

  "I'm sorry, dear one, that is not the nature of our shop," Judy said. "But perhaps there is something else. Are you hungry?"

  "I just need your help!" The girl growled unnaturally, her eyes bulging as she did.

  "Gia, run!" Judy exclaimed.

  "You cannot leave." The girl's voice lowered as she spoke and her body shook. The skin of her face drew taut and then split down the middle as a hideous, horned skull ripped through. The transformation continued as both women stood rooted in place, seemingly frozen. "I just needed your help."

  Transformation complete, the demon shed the last visage of the girl and brought its clawed hand up to strike …

  "Felix!" Maggie shouted. "Felix, wake up!"

  I tried to free myself, but found my arms were pinned by my unnaturally thin and completely naked sister, Maggie, who was sitting on my chest.

  "Get off!" Unkindly, I threw her to the side as I scrabbled away, still having trouble distinguishing what was real and what wasn't. I'd been watching the scene from my foster mother, Judy Babcock's eyes, as if I were her. The clarity of the vision had been so real I could still smell the scent of lavender and rosemary.

  "Pull it together, Felix," Maggie said. "You were screaming. What's got you all freaked out?"

  "Put some clothes on already," I said, exhaling a troubled breath. "That was the third dream I've had about a girl who's in trouble. This time she was in Judy's shop in Crabtree."

  Maggie tried to calm me. "There's no reason to believe Judy is in trouble if she wasn't in your first two dreams."

  "I have to call her. I can't take that risk," I said.

  "Tell me what you saw." Maggie, unabashed by nudity, sat on her heels facing me.

  "The same girl is in all the dreams. Each dream is about her and a monster. The first two times the monster attacked her. This time, it came out of her and attacked Judy," I said.

  "You're skipping details," Maggie said. "Dreams are all about small details. Start over and don't skip anything. Memories of dreams are fleeting."

  I let out a sigh. With the lights on, I could see that I was in my own bed and wasn't about to be attacked by a grey, horned monster. I walked her through the details I could recall.

  "Three times you've dreamed of this girl and a monster," Maggie said. "In two, she's running from it, in the other it possessed and killed her. This most recent dream references Dark Folk and Judy. Have you heard of Dark Folk before? It's not a term I recognize."

  I shook my head. "Never heard of it. What makes you think that thing is a demon?"

  "Just your description," she said. "Only major demons have the ability to possess. Dreams are figurative, not literal. You shouldn't get hung up on specific details, but look at the whole."

  "That's confusing. You first said details are important. Now they're not?" I asked.

  "Some are. Some aren't. Mostly, you don't know until some guy's chasing you with a chainsaw," she said.

  "Too many horror movies?" I quipped.

  "I'm not the one screaming his head off in the middle of the night. And what's that saying? Third time's a charm?"

  She was right. In my life, important things announced themselves in threes. The fact I'd had three roughly similar dreams put it outside of coincidence for me.

  "There's a section of books on demons in the lab," I said and got up. "Any chance you'll put some clothing on?"

  "Don't be such a prude," she said. "I thought you were in trouble and I shifted very quickly. It's not like I carry clothing. Why? You getting turned on by your sister?"

  "Oh, shit. You didn't just say that," I said.

  "Happens with animals all the time," Maggie said, calling over her shoulder as she padded from my room. "Only taboo with humans. I wouldn't hold it against you, but I'd appreciate it if you'd keep it to yourself."

  I tossed a pillow at her as hard as I could. I knew she was just messing with me.

  "Meet me in the lab?" I asked.

  "Getting some burritos," she called from the hallway. "I'll see you there."

  "Seriously. Put some clothes on," I yelled after her.

  ***

  Early the next morning, Clarita ran in to the atrium dining room and climbed onto my lap, waking me. The atrium was my favorite room in the house. It extended out the back of the house, next to the kitchen. It seemed like part of the back yard with trees visible through the glass roof and three walls of tall sliding glass.

  "Hey, monkey," I said groggily, setting the book I'd fallen asleep reading onto the stack next to me.

  "A little cool in here, don't you think?" Gabriella asked as she slid cold hands under my t-shirt and onto my chest. The delicate scent of lavender and pine had arrived just before she had.

  "Yup, sorry. I had another dream, got up to read, and must have fallen asleep."

  It was a chilly fifty degrees and I'd opened the glass door panels in the corner where I sat. As an earth wizard, I wasn't generally bothered by minor temperature variations, but I knew it was cooler than Clarita would appreciate. I stood, pulled an umbrella shaped propane heater from the open veranda, closed the doors, and lit the wick.

  "The same girl?" Gabriella asked as Clarita gave me a wordless hug, popped off my lap and ran off, no doubt in search of her built-in baby sitter, Aunt Maggie.

  "This time she turned into a demon and attacked Judy," I said and flopped back into the wide wicker chair that had no business in the dining area. I'd dragged it in from the veranda in the middle the night so I could recline better.

  "Have you called Judy? Is she okay?" she asked, sitting on my lap and taking a drink of my orange juice. She was apparently on her way to work as she was wearing a blood-red linen suit, complete with matching spiked heels.

  "No. I checked her website. Her coven was out in the woods last night and she won't be up until after noon," I said.

  "How do you know it's a demon?" she asked, looking at the stack of old leather-bound books lying on the table.

  "Something Maggie said." I grabbed a book from the top of the pile and opened it to where I'd inserted a napkin. An old charcoal sketch was preserved by a yellowed, transparent film taped to the page. It depicted a demon within a spell circle. The demon had several small horns protruding from its hairless skull. Its torso was naked from the waist up, boasting a thick musculature with arms ending in clawed fingers. "I'd say he'd stand out in a crowd."

  "He was in your dream?" Gabriella asked.

  "Could have been that guy's twin," I said pointing at the picture.

  Just then, my phone rang.

  "It's Judy," I said, looking at the screen.

  "I thought you hadn't called her yet."

  "I haven't," I said and answered the phone. "Good morning, Queen of the F
orest." It was one of the many nicknames I had for Judy.

  "Good morning, Lord Toadstool," Judy replied.

  "You're up early. I thought I saw on your site that you and the girls had a romp planned last night."

  "We did. I don't suppose you happened to have noticed what type of romp that was?" she asked. I always appreciated that she didn't mind my playful references to her coven's rituals. If anything, she seemed to enjoy the banter.

  "Oh geez, sorry, I didn't. I just looked for a time when I could call you," I said. "Let me guess; it had something to do with getting in touch with family. I hope I didn't keep you awake."

  "Familia Unom," Judy replied. "Dolly has been fighting with her daughter, Petaluma, and asked the coven for help."

  "How late were you up?" I asked. The Familia Unom ritual helped family members become more empathetic toward each other for a short period of time. Judy and I had a very close relationship, considering we didn't have blood bonds, and she must have felt my stress.

  "One thirty sound familiar?" Judy asked.

  "Sorry. I've been having a repetitive dream," I said. "You and Gia showed up last night and were attacked in it."

  "We probably pushed ourselves into your dream with the ritual," she said. "I don't think there's anything to be concerned about."

  "What do you know about Dark Folk?" I asked.

  "Why would you bring them up?" Judy asked, her voice suddenly serious.

  "The girl I've been dreaming about mentioned them," I said. "Why? Who are they?"

  "Dark Folk refers to a community of Scottish gypsies here on Sugar Mountain. They live in a community called Eppy Faire, just outside of Asheville," Judy said. "Felix, a man was found murdered at Eppy Faire two weeks ago. Some people are saying witchcraft was involved."

  "Why would they think that?" I asked. It was an old wound. Anytime something unexplained happened, people pointed fingers at good witches like Judy because she didn't hide her craft in the shadows.

  "Rumor is the man had been dead for days when they found him, but people said they'd seen him walking around the Faire earlier that day," she said.

  "Necromancy?" I asked. "That was in my dreams."

  "Necromancy would explain it," she said.

  "I'm coming down," I said.

  "Don't be silly. This has nothing to do with me," she said.

  "Then it will be a fun visit," I said.

  "I can live with that," she agreed. "I'll tell the girls. They'll be so excited. Have you thought about what you're going to say to Thea? She says you haven't talked to her since you left."

  "No," I replied weakly. Thea was one of Judy's coven sisters and we'd been a thing up until the point I'd injured her and two other witches in my attempt to join their circle. If that hadn't been bad enough, a week later I'd put Thea in the hospital after we'd taken things too far on a camping trip on the Appalachian Trail. That had happened almost two years ago.

  "Just be honest, Felix," she said. "Thea's a strong woman and she's been going through some changes lately. It would be good for you guys to talk."

  We conversed for another twenty minutes and I finally hung up, feeling like we'd managed to reconnect.

  Gabriella looked at me expectantly. "What'd she say?"

  I explained most of the conversation, leaving out the part about Thea.

  "You're going to North Carolina?" Gabriella asked.

  "I'm hoping you'll go too," I said.

  "What about Clarita? What about my job?" she asked.

  "Would Kelli Brandlemeir take care of Clarita for a few days?" I asked.

  She nodded. "That's a possibility. What if I flew down next weekend and stayed for a few days?"

  Mentally, I breathed a sigh of relief. It would give me time to clear the air with Thea without a larger audience. "I was thinking about heading out tonight. Do you think Kelli would watch Clarita in the meanwhile? I don't want to take her down there if that thing is really on the loose."

  "Kelli's been bugging me to have Clarita spend time with Nelson. If I offered to pay her, she'd appreciate it. I know they’ve been having trouble making ends meet."

  "I've been trying to toss Andy as much work as I can," I said.

  "Kelli says that's been a real blessing," Gabriella said. "I'll be a little late tonight, around seven. Is that a problem?"

  Something in the way she said it put me on guard. The tone of the conversation had changed and I wasn't sure where we were headed. I picked up her hand and looked her in the eyes. "Nope, but I'd wait for you even if it was."

  "Felix, I feel like I need to tell you something."

  I closed my eyes, then opened them to look at her. "Sounds ominous."

  "I had lunch with Dean yesterday," she said. "I don't want to lie to you, and it didn't mean anything. We're friends."

  "Don't kid a kidder," I said as evenly as I could manage.

  "Nothing happened, Felix," she said.

  I knew what she was saying was true, but it was part of who I was to know just a little more. I couldn't read minds, but I certainly received vibes, especially from my close friends.

  "I'm not accusing you, Gabriella," I said. "You're a decent, honest woman. The thing is, I also know you're moving away from me. I've felt it since that night we took down Liise Straightrod and her Order of the Left-Hand."

  "Felix, I don't want to lose you." Tears streamed down her perfect cheeks, ruining her carefully applied, albeit unnecessary, makeup.

  "Shhh, don't cry," I said, dabbing at her face with a napkin, trying not to further ruin her makeup. "I'm yours for as long as you'll have me."

  "You're so distant. Every time we start to get close, you pull away," she said. "I can't keep going like this."

  "Just want to be friends, then?" Maggie walked into the room holding an overflowing plate of eggs, bacon, and toast. "Never heard that one before."

  "Maggie!" I scolded, turning toward her. "This is a private conversation."

  "Geez, fine." She turned and walked back to the kitchen through the swinging door.

  Gabriella slid off my lap and straightened her dress, the mood broken. "I should go."

  "Wait," I said, standing with her. "One chance?"

  "For what, Felix? Maybe we should just be friends," Gabriella said.

  "Is it because I won't have sex with you?" I asked.

  She momentarily pursed her lips. "No … Sort of … not really …"

  "For fuck's sake! You put it to a troll." Maggie's voice floated through the door.

  "Maggie!" Both Gabriella and I said in unison.

  "She's not - not right, you know," Gabriella said softly. "You were intimate with Amak, but you refuse to be with me. What am I supposed to think?"

  I pushed my arms out toward her and bared my wrists. It was the ultimate gesture of surrender for our kind. By allowing Gabriella access to my blood, I wouldn't be able to lie to her. I'd wanted to spare her the details that explained my predicament, but I knew to let her leave my home today without resolution would end our relationship.

  "I can't," Gabriella said. "You have reasons for your privacy."

  "Do it for me."

  I closed my eyes as her cool fingers found the soft spots on my wrists, just behind the carpel tunnel.

  "You don't have to do this," she said.

  "The trouble started when I asked to join Judy's circle. It was a simple ritual; I don't even remember for what. I swear, it was to run the bugs out of Judy's shop or something like that." I appreciated that Gabriella giggled with me, recognizing that I was both telling the truth and that sometimes witches often did practical things that seemed fairly pedestrian.

  "For a while, things were working," I continued. "I could feel the other women in the circle and power flowed between us like giant ocean waves."

  "That's a lot of power." Gabriella responded to my emotional recollection of the circle's energy.

  "Yes. I didn't understand that it was me, that I was causing a feedback loop or a giant power dump or something.
Fortunately, Gia realized something was wrong and broke the circle just as it crested. The thing is, we all thought it was caused by a storm. Two of the girls had to be taken to the hospital.

  "That's horrible," Gabriella said. "Were they okay?"

  The memory of that experience caused me to wobble, my knees going weak. "I broke two of Iris's ribs and Dolly sprained an ankle. How do you live with that? Two of the sweetest ladies you’d ever meet and I threw them across a room like rag dolls."

  "You didn't know, Felix. It wasn't your fault."

  "It was my fault. No, I get it," I said interrupting her defense. "I didn't mean to do it and that'd be pretty sick if I did. But I had no business joining a witch's circle. If Gia hadn't stopped it, I can't fathom what might have happened.

  "That’s not everything, is it?" Gabriella said what she could feel was coming next.

  "Her name is Thea." I brought an image of my previous girlfriend to mind. I smiled as I remembered her flipping her long, blond hair around as we chased through the woods. We'd been on a spell components gathering sortie. It was my happiest memory with her. Gabriella smiled as she shared in the moment.

  "I met Thea while she was in school and introduced her to Judy. Even though Thea brought some baggage with her, Judy welcomed her all the same. I guess Thea and I had a lot in common. The real trouble came a couple of weeks later. To be honest, I've always thought Thea might have been drawn to me because of that ritual - moth to flame, that sort of thing. The bottom line is she got burned … big time. We were still trying to decide what our relationship was and we were drunk, sitting in the back of my pickup, staring up at the stars. Thea just started taking her clothing off. You gotta know, I was all in. Talk about your beauties …" I said and then immediately wished I could take it back.

  "Go on." Gabriella wasn't impressed, but wasn't about to hang me while I was baring my soul.

  "One thing led to another," I said. I winced at the imagery I was sending Gabriella's way - a leggy blonde Thea straddling me, head thrown back in the moonlight. "I'm so sorry, Gabriella."