Under Her Spell Read online

  But now it was off to her bedroom, hopefully to see Athene one last time before she took off the next day. Athene had promised to take care of the car part of things, and she said that Terra was in for a treat, as she was going to transform Terra’s cantankerous, lime-green VW Bug into a mint-condition 1966 Jaguar E-Type coupe, which, although Terra wasn’t exactly a car aficionado, was still a damn gorgeous piece of work. This was also apparently one of the rare occasions that Athene would be needing the help of her familiar, a Siamese cat named Onyx. He’d started out in life black, but Athene had decided she didn’t want to be a walking stereotype, so with her father’s help, she changed him into a sleek, attractive Siamese, something Onyx had never forgiven her for.

  This night, and only this night, Terra would be sleeping in a much, much nicer room than usual. One of the Werths’ staff led her to her temporary quarters and turned down the four-poster bed for her. The sheets were silk, not cotton, and everything in the room obviously cost a pretty penny. But everything was much more ornate than she liked, almost to the point of tackiness, and as she climbed into the bed after stripping off all of her clothes, she found herself missing the simplicity and comfort of her own room. Not to mention having her own body, as she glanced at her grossly hairy pecs with a mild shudder of disgust.

  Then a door near the bed swung open, and Terra jumped. But seconds later she saw a familiar, strikingly beautiful face, and she found she had no reason at all to be scared. Not when it was Athene walking toward her, looking like she was very, very happy to see Terra alone. And then, with a wave of Athene’s hand, her body became her own again, and she groped her chest to make sure her boobs were still the same size.

  “Nice to have those awe-inspiring tits back,” Athene said, stripping off her satin pajamas and climbing into the bed beside Terra. She was wearing only her panties now, lace and see-through, showing off the slight amount of bush she always left in place. The lovely amount of bush she always left in place, Terra was thinking, her eyes happily taking in Athene’s delicious, tempting crotch as they lay there side by side.

  “Something about having you at arm’s length all night has made me hungry for your pussy,” she told Athene. “May I?”

  “Something about you having a man’s body all night long has made me hungry for your tits. And yes, you may. In fact, I’ll help you out.” Athene took Terra’s hand and turned around until her ass and back were pressed up against the front of Terra’s naked body, her flesh feeling all at once firm and plush, soft and hard, the perfect combination for Terra’s arousal.

  Athene took control then, sliding both of their hands into her panties. “Help me get off, just this one last time, this last time before you leave tomorrow morning. Give me some good memories of your touch.” She moved her hand beneath Terra’s, and Terra felt Athene’s fingers begin to move against her clit, flicking back and forth, circling beneath Terra’s hand.

  Terra decided to take control. She gripped Athene’s hand, slowing her down, only letting her move at what was hopefully a painfully slow pace. Athene made a low, soft sound of pleasure as Terra guided her hand against her cunt, Athene’s hand completely under Terra’s control. “Do you really like when I take over like this?” Terra wanted to make sure that, not only was Athene enjoying herself, but that she was enjoying herself as immensely as Terra was. The act of taking control of Athene’s hand and Athene’s pleasure caused Terra’s body to tense behind her, her limbs growing tight with need and the distinct hunger for pleasure…for more pleasure.

  “An unbelievable amount, apparently.” Athene answered a few moments later, as she shoved her body against Terra’s naked front, a very obvious sign that her words were likely one-hundred percent true—one-hundred percent, at the very least.

  “If that’s true,” Terra replied, “then I want you to slip those dripping wet fingers I’m holding in between those beautiful lips of yours. I want you to taste yourself.” Still gripping Athene’s hand, Terra moved it up over her body, rubbing Athene’s wet fingers against her stomach and then the crevice between her breasts, all the way up her neck and past her chin and against her lips. “Open them.”

  Terra felt those lips part, and then she pushed their fingers into Athene’s mouth, spreading it wide and filling it. Terra felt Athene’s tongue slicking up all of those fingers, twisting against them as she moaned around the six fingers that were busy spreading apart her lips and filling her mouth. “That taste good, sweetheart?” Terra asked, and Athene shuddered against her as she spoke. “Do you taste good?” she asked again.

  “Mmm” was Athene’s answer, the sound vibrating against Terra’s fingers, the sound making her own cunt heat up, and her breath caught in her throat for just a moment from the sudden, intense arousal that Athene’s moaning caused.

  “Let’s get you off now, then.” Terra dragged their fingers back down Athene’s body, all the way back down to her clit, and she let her have almost free rein this time, just enjoying the feel of Athene writhing against her every few moments, clearly getting off on all they’d done. Then Athene—tense, taut, and ready—began to shudder and quake against her as Athene came with a low, lengthy growl.

  “My turn now?” Terra purred into Athene’s ear.

  “How can I say no? There’s just…no way, not after I’ve come as hard as that. You know how pliable a good orgasm makes me, sweetie.” Athene flipped around and brought her lips to Terra’s, kissing her much harder and much more passionately than usual, kissing her like…well, like they weren’t going to see each other for a while. If the sex was this good right before she left, Terra thought, it’d probably be fucking amazing when she got back. Then came an unexpected, terrifying thought. Would she make it back? But when Athene brought her gentle fingers to one of her nipples, and her lips to the other, that thought dissolved in almost an instant.

  “That’s good, honey, that’s so, so good…” Terra tilted her head back as those lips began to suck harder, and as those fingers began to twist and tweak her other nipple, she shoved her leg between Athene’s, thrusting against her cunt as Athene sucked away. Then Athene removed her mouth and, slowly, let her lips drift down Terra’s body, kissing her here and there in a gentle, almost hesitant way.

  It was different from how they’d begun, but Terra wasn’t even close to complaining, especially not when those lips stopped at the best spot imaginable. Athene kissed her where her lower lips first began to part and then slipped her tongue out of her mouth and gave Terra’s cunt a long, slow, sloppy lick. She started to eat Terra out then, her mouth’s ministrations more than welcome, more than skilled, more than enough, because after a while, she brought Terra over the edge, not stopping until Terra had come not once…not twice…but three times in quick, perfect succession.

  After that third time, she pulled Athene up the mattress until they were face-to-face. “I’m really, really going to miss you, you know. We’ve never spent this long apart.”

  “I do know,” Athene told her. “And I’m really, really going to miss you, too. But I’m afraid I have to get back to my own room. I’ll see you in the morning, and I’ll make sure Freo packs you something better than what everyone else is getting in their breakfast to-go bags.”

  “Knowing Freo, that won’t take too much arm-twisting.”

  “Of course not,” Athene said, getting out of the bed and pulling her nightgown over her head. “She loves you—it’s obvious. Just like it’s obvious that I love you.” She raised her hand to her mouth as it stretched into a yawn. “I’m off to my own bed then. Sleep well, and good luck, if I don’t get to say that to you tomorrow.”

  “I’m gonna need it,” she mumbled after Athene had left. “I’m going to need all the luck I can get. All the luck…” But before she could finish that sentence, she drifted into a deep and delicious sleep. When the rising sun woke her up, she found herself wondering if she would be able to sleep at all while she was apart from Athene.

  Chapter Six

  The car
was a true beauty, Terra thought. She also thought it was much more attractive than she was, back once again in her man-disguise. On her walk to the car, she was carrying an embroidered lunch bag and large travel mug, full of coffee that she knew would be important fuel for the beginning of her trip—of her quest. She wasn’t tired in the least, not after that lovely night of sleep she’d gotten, but still, the thought of what might be asked of her, considering her distinct lack of magical ability…it was a rather exhausting thought.

  The men had drawn straws to see who would exit the driveway first, and surprisingly, Terra had drawn the longest one. She got into her lipstick-red Jag and started the ignition with the keys she usually used for the car’s previous incarnation, her ugly, inferior Beetle. Poor Beetle, she thought as she shifted the car out of park and into drive. You can’t compete with a real classic, can you?

  Her brand-new monogrammed travel bag was already on the front passenger-side seat, and she glanced at it, wondering why people would pay so much for just a piece of luggage. The car, though, she could understand.

  So. Here she was, and it was time to leave the driveway, to take off and go wherever her heart led her. Right now, she was trying to convince it that yes, even though she was leaving her love behind, she’d be back soon enough, and then they could truly be together.

  The quests were an age-old ritual for the daughters of the witches and warlocks, another thing they had to thank their ancestors for. If only Terra could have traveled back in time and given them a lecture on the importance of true love and the importance of letting women make their own decisions. But that was impossible, at least for Terra, and most likely for even the most powerful of the Magic Ones.

  It’s now or never, she thought as the engine idled, its sound almost like that of a purring cat. Now or never…

  After one glance at where Athene stood on the mansion’s front lawn, she turned back toward the road and moved her foot onto the gas. You can’t change the past, she thought, but you still have some control over the future. Even without the help of magic.

  Once she reached the end of the driveway, she turned right onto Whippoorwill Avenue, because did it really matter which direction she took? She would probably know soon enough if it was the right one.

  She watched in her rearview mirror as each man’s car pulled out of the driveway, some going toward her car and some in the opposite direction. Zao Jun was right behind her in a black Mercedes, and he was quickly catching up. She started driving a little faster, and then, after turning right onto Howard, she lost him. Thank the Goddess.

  A few miles down the street, low, thick fog began to flow onto the road ahead of her. It got thicker and thicker with each cross street she drove past, until she couldn’t see a single damn thing in front of her. Or behind her, or to her left or right. And this didn’t seem to be normal fog, either, because when had fog ever filled up the streets of her city? It never had while she’d lived there. Not even once.

  She slowed to a crawl and did her best to concentrate. Her stomach gave a low growl, but it would have to be patient, because what if her trip ended prematurely due to a car accident? That just wouldn’t do.

  Once she had slowed to fifteen miles an hour, she realized something—she couldn’t hear anything other than her car. There should have been sounds of traffic behind her, because a fair number of vehicles had been on this street when she’d turned onto it.

  Her stomach growled again. “Shut up, stomach. You’ll have to be patient.”

  “I certainly hope not, Terra,” came a voice from the backseat. “Athene forgot to feed me before she sent me out to your car.”

  “Holy fuck!” She slammed on the brakes. No, that hadn’t been her stomach. It had been someone else’s, someone else whose voice sounded very familiar, which was a funny choice of word since, as she watched, Onyx slowly appeared in the middle of the backseat.

  “You bastard! You scared me half to death!”

  “We were going to tell you, of course, but they kept Athene so busy these last few weeks she just completely forgot about it, until I reminded her this morning.” He raised a paw and gave it a couple of licks. “There. Much better. Anyway, I’m here now, my dear, and you can’t do much about it. Especially since we aren’t in Kansas anymore, my fellow friend of Dorothy.”

  “What do you mean?” Terra narrowed her eyes as him. She liked Onyx, she really did, but she was having a hard time remembering that right now. After the way he’d scared the living shit out of her, she didn’t think anyone would really blame her.

  “Look around, sweetheart. Just look around.”

  And he was right. They were in the middle of a two-way, paved road, with grassy hills off to each side of it. She looked at her watch. A whole hour and a half had passed since she’d left the Werths’ driveway, and she saw no sign of the city she’d just left. Though maybe, she thought with a small smile, this just meant she was getting a head start on the quest.

  “Why don’t I pull us off this road—or whatever it is—and see if Freo packed anything you might enjoy. Although I doubt there’s any cat food in this lunch sack.”

  Each of their stomachs growled again, almost in unison, and so without waiting for an answer from Onyx, she pulled the car off the road and killed the motor.

  Before Terra opened the lunch bag, a strange tingling crossed her skin, and her arms shrank back to their normal size, her hands her own again, too. A glance in the rearview mirror showed her that yes, she was a woman again.

  More than ready for breakfast, she unzipped the lunch bag. Then she let out a laugh. Inside of it was a scone, a baggie of bacon, and yes, not one, but two cans of cat food. “That silly Athene, forgetting to tell me but remembering to tell Freo. I guess it’s more important that you’re fed than it is for me to actually be in on the joke.”

  “I agree, although I hardly think you could call me joining your quest a joke. More like a divine gift.”

  “Whatever. Let’s just agree to disagree and eat breakfast.”

  “Gladly.”

  Terra opened his cat food and moved her bag to the backseat, placing the can in its previous spot on the seat next to her. Onyx climbed over the armrest and settled down next to the can of food, starting in on it before Terra had even taken her scone out of the bag.

  Once she had, though, and once she’d taken her first bite of it, she moaned appreciatively. “Best. Scone. Ever,” she mumbled around the bite of delicious baked goods. It was her favorite kind, blueberry-walnut, with hard, crunchy sugar crystals on top. The coffee was great too, hazelnut with tons of cream, just how she liked it. And the bacon was much higher quality than the kind she was used to getting from the kitchen, fatty and oh-so-rich-tasting.

  The two of them ate in companionable silence for a while, just enjoying their food, and then Onyx looked up from his empty cat-food can. “I don’t suppose there are some kitty treats in there, too?”

  “Sorry, no, just another can of food for you and, sadly, nothing else for me. Not that the food I ate wasn’t satisfying, but I suppose my meager wallet will have to pay for the rest of my food on this trip.”

  “I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” Onyx said, but when Terra asked him what he meant, he just sighed and curled up on the seat, beginning to snore softly a few moments later.

  Probably fake snores. But she had no way to tell, and she’d probably have an answer soon enough anyway. She pulled back onto the road and started off again. If only she had discovered a map packed in the bag along with all that delicious food, because she sure could use one right about now.

  Chapter Seven

  If Onyx had been asleep, it hadn’t been a very deep sleep, because only a few miles later he leapt up and yelled, “Look out!”

  Terra slammed on the brakes and swore under her breath, because an old woman was walking across the street who hadn’t been there two seconds ago. The woman was wearing a wool coat a few sizes too large for her petite frame, and she was taking her sweet tim
e getting out from in front of Terra’s car. But Terra had been reared to have manners, and she’d also been reared to respect her elders, should they not prove to be undeserving of said respect.

  She rolled down her window. “Are you lost?” she asked the woman.

  The woman shuffled over to Terra’s door. “Oh, Lordy, no! You could say I was lost, too, though. Hmm. Maybe if you gave me a ride, I’d figure out which one it was.” The woman reached in the window, placing a cool hand on Terra’s arm. “Do you think that would be possible, young lady?” Her voice sounded much younger than it should have, and between that fact and her sudden appearance out of nowhere, clearly some sort of magic was afoot.

  “I guess I could, as long as you figure out where you’re headed soon enough.”

  “That won’t be too hard,” the woman told her, and she slowly walked around the car and got into the front seat, where Onyx chose to sit in her lap. “Good kitty,” she said, scratching Onyx behind the ear. He began to purr, shoving his head back against her hand. “He wouldn’t be your familiar, would he, missy?”

  “Nope, not that that’s any of your business.” Terra started the car moving forward again.

  “It may be and it may not be. Hard to say at this point.”

  “She’s peculiar,” Onyx said softly, turning to look at Terra with wide-open, alert-looking eyes.

  “So are you, kitty,” the woman said, “but I don’t mind if you prefer male cats to female. Can’t blame you—I’ve always preferred them, too.” Onyx snorted, but Terra knew he was pleased.

  Only a little bit later, the woman began to shout, “Turn left! Turn left! This is it!” She started stomping her feet in excitement. Terra did as she said, swerving off onto a dirt road on the left side of the highway.

  They went up a steep, grassy hill, and at the bottom of its other side, Terra saw a large grove of apple trees, all of them covered in bright-red apples. “We’re here! Now…let’s see…now you just have to find the right apple, Terra!” The woman threw open her door and jumped out, causing Onyx to fall to the ground with a yowl of displeasure. And then, just as suddenly as she’d appeared, she was gone.