Sunset Coven Wiki

Thanks Trice for being so confused you had to create this wiki for us. Honestly, I get just as confused. 

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Sunset Coven is a paranormal novel written Cherry and Jime, that started in March 10th, 2011. The story is still on-going and is currently counting 24 chapters. The authors also write omake (extras) and a novella, and post pictures related to the story.

1. PLOT SUMMARY

The story follows an ancient vampire, Jime, who is obsessed with the sun, on a quest to obtain a certain potion that will allow her to walk daylight. She road-trips with her niece Suri, a young witch, in a magical Mustang '87 called Jack, fighting wolves, partying with mythical creatures, all the while being leered upon by a perverted god.  


2. CHARACTERS & SPECIES

   A . Vampires

       -  Jime (Jimena): old vampire, obsessed with the sun and was once seriously involved with Jack. A.k.a. La Reina.

       -  Vampire King, the: incredibly powerful and old sadistic vampire who proclaimed himself King of Vampires, head of the Sinn-Jammer vampire clan, currently disappeared.

       - Trice (formerly known as An): friend of Jime. Joined once the Sinn-Jammer clan but left it later on. Loves pets and has a Cockatrice. Owns two pubs.

       - Sinn-Jammers: Vampire clan that began under the King of Vampires, even though vampires are solitary creatures all were welcome to join this group.

   B. Witches/ Mages

       - Suri: Witch who ran away from home to go on an adventure with her aunt. Her parents are Sage, a dark mage, and Angelica, a spirit guardian and seer.

       - Sage: Mage with a dark past that is depicted in the novella bewitching rain. He is married to Angelica and together had a son and a daughter.

       - Angelica: Used to be a Spirit guardian and Seer. She is married to Sage and together they had a son and daughter.

       -  Siti: Sage's mother and Jime's adoptive mother. She faked her death in front Jime and framed Jack for it. She has taken Suri's brother away from Angelica and Sage.

      - Suri's brother: Unnamed character. First child of Angelica and Sage who was taken away by Siti. Suri does not know of his existence. It is unclear whether he lives or not. 

    C. Dragons:

      - Toren: Warlord (leader/King of his clan). While his clan is in constant battle with the Templar Knights, he is searching a way to save his people, as the dragon race is on decline. He makes deals with all sorts of people in order to succeed. He had a deal with Jack, he was working on a deal with the wolves but that fell through when Suri killed those wolves.

      - River: Dragon Clan's Second in Command. He is a Quetzalcoalt who ran away from his own clan who persecuted him. As a teenager he roamed around until he met Toren who took him in.

      - Joslyn: Toren's older sister and 3rd in Command. She takes care of logistics and communication.

      - Ren: Army general and Joslyn's mate.

      - Gabe: Minor character who works in communications with Joslyn.

      - Kenzie: Little boy dragon kidnapped by the Templars whose parents were killed during the attack, His aunt Jillian and her mate look for him.

   D. Gods:

     - Zeus: A perverted wanker, but most importantly the God who holds the potion that Jime needs. He has given Jime 12 tasks to complete in order to get that potion.

     - Hecate: Goddess worshipped by witches gone bad.

     - Demeter: Goddess of harvest, actual owner of all cornfields in Iowa, referred to by Zeus for beating him at Guitar Hero.

     - C.O.C.: the Celestial Omnipotent Coalition, a group of old Gods that belong to various forgotten pantheons of long-ago dead religions. They have come together because their power is diminishing (humans don't believe in them any more) and are worried about humans becoming increasingly more powerful on their own.

    E. Werewolves

     - Amor and Eva: Alpha pair of the werewolves, kidnapped Suri.

     - Werewolves: scary half-human half-wolf beats, usually considered brutes, they think themselves "the best of two worlds". Employed as muscle by various other groups, including humans.

   F. Seven Deadly Sins

     - Saku: Deadly Sin of Sloth, also a kitsune demon.

     - Rai: Minor deadly sin, Vainglory (subset sin to Vanity). He is Saku's son who helped Jime and Suri to acquire hentai dogs.

   G. Magical Creatures

     -  Naila: a.k.a. Kitty. A grim reaper in feline form. She escorts souls into the other world, specifically the souls killed by the Kage Inu Yokai dogs.


   H. Undefined

     -  Jack Jammer of the Sinn-Jammers: Ex-God Ullr, it is  unclear what he is now. He currently acts like a vampire. He was previously involved with Jime for decades. He is the true owner of the magical Mustang '87.
 

     -  Oracle, the: Magical and technological network of creatures of the Lore that is always in the background, observing, analysing and gathering information. Can only be contacted by way of a Blood Sacrifice.

   I. Humans

     -  James Rosenberg: A man saved by Jime a decade ago when he and his little sister were attacked by a vampire. He is very tech savvy and can hack anything. Some say he can be considered as a Sensitive.

    - Jamie Rosenberg: James' 16 year old little sister.

   J. Machinery

    - Mustang jack: a magical '87 Mustang, used to be Ullr's magical skiis until he transformed them into a car, it has a mind of its own. A.k.a. jack, honey-boo and honey-poo.

    K. Fairies

    - Cahal: The Unseelie/Winter prince. Three quarters dione sidhe, quarter kelpie. He is the only son and second child of the Winter Queen. Currently he is banished from Fairy World and resides in the mortal realm. Friend of Suri's.

    - Aibreann: The Unseelie/Winter princess. She is the youngest of the winter Queen's three children, and the Queen's champion. Half dione sidhe, half dark elf, she is heir to the dark elf throne. Client of Suri's. 

3. THE TWELVE TASKS

Jime needs to complete a series of tasks in which she will acquire the ingredients for the potion she needs for her to see the sun again.

the tasks are given by zeus on a scroll:

Zeus’ Excellent Dodekathlon Adventure!

If you want all your girly wishes come true you must complete the following twelve tasks!

1. Steal one Golden Apple of the Hesperides
(recycled, I know, but it’s gonna be harder this time! They didn’t like them getting stolen that other time!).

2. Obtain one kilogram of Dragon scales.

3. Obtain one Feather from each of the following: Phoenix, Hippogriff, and Snake
(Yes, this is a 3 in 1, so sue me).

4. Capture a Kage Inu Yokai.

5. Obtain one cup of a Cockatrice’s saliva.

6. Capture the Naga that guards the Ganges River.

7. Obtain one ball of a Mountain Troll’s hair.

8. Steal a fairy’s underwear.

9. Obtain a First Edition of George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones hardcover book, signed by the entire cast of the HBO series by the same name
(don’t forget the girl that plays Daenerys Targaryen’s signature!).

10. Harvest an entire corn field in Iowa while wearing bikinis
(By yourselves, by hand, no cheating! I’ll be watching!).

11. Obtain one white hair off of Hera’s head.

12. Steal one Alien artefact that works out of Area 51
(I got this one out of a cartoon, but it’s still relevant! So DO IT!).

4. TYPES OF MAGIC that exist in the Sunset Coven Universe:

1. Earth Magic.

• Elements (water, earth, air, fire)
• Plants
• Physics applied to earth
• Chemistry applied to earth
• Cosmology applied to earth

2. Ritual Magic.

• Circles
• Candles
• Chants
• Sacrifices (includes blood magic)
• Charms

3. Animal Magic.

• Transmogrification (includes skinwalking)
• Spirit Animals
• Animal characteristics applied to caster
• Magical Beasts
• Animal Manipulation (includes creating new magical beasts)

4. Universal Magic. (Most difficult subject as it refers to the basis of things which are universal, like atoms and dna in human science)

• Cosmology
• Simple spells
• Time/Space manipulation (includes teleporting)
• Illusion

5. Fae Magic. (Study of Fae and all they can do)

6. Written Magic.

• Symbols
• Sigils
• Spells (includes its many languages)
• Runes (includes tarot and other divination methods which are to be “read”)

A Bewitching Rain 1

“P-Please. I am s-sorry. I beg of you to spare me,” he begged. “Please, spare me. I’ll do anything.”

The weak loved to beg. They always did. It never failed. Sage would be a liar if he said he hated this part. He loved the begging, could live off it. The cries of hopelessness and desperation as a person’s soul crumpled like ancient brick beneath his will gave him the ultimate high. Man. Woman. Child. High Lord or slave. Good or evil. He was no bigot. One person was no more important to him than the other. All would fall to his feet for no one would stand against the Dark Mage.

“Take m-my land. My wealth. Anything. You can have it all,” he cried. I’ve seven offspring. F-f-four are boys. They’ll serve you well.”

“Your daughters?” Sage’s deep voice rumbled beneath the hood of his cloak. He had no interest in the man’s whelp. He simply enjoyed hearing his victim’s agony as they willingly sacrificed their own blood and kin to save their pathetic excuse of a life.  

Lifting his head, St. Patrick peeked at the mage. “One is of age. You can take her. The other two have years before they are able to wed or produce, but you are free to them as well.” His eyes drifted back to the ground.

Completely pathetic. To betray your own children, serve them up on a slab to the big bad wolf in hopes to escape unharmed. Animals were better. Hell, Siti had been better than that. It didn’t matter. Mankind, both mortal and immortal, was all equally selfish. So easy to get whatever he desired from them. And Sage desired the world. It was such an easy object to grab since he possessed the power to destroy and person, army and kingdom with the blank of an eye. Only one item stood in his way. One dark magic spell. If the man suspected his weak human children could be of any gain he was sadly mistaken. 

Sage held his head high, the wind whipping at his cloak. Storm clouds rushed further with deadly winds, lightening that split the ground upon strike, and turned trees to ash. Behind him the village the cowering man was Lord of burned, fire raging, smoke rising to meet the clouds. An hour ago screams from the villagers, all the villagers, traveled far. Those screams were no longer, nor were the villagers. 

It was the fifth village Sage destroyed in three days. His desire to gain that spell boiled in his blood. He needed that spell the way that vampire sister of his needed to drank blood, the way she needed to be a constant pain in his ass. With each town he ravaged he was no closer to finding the key to reaching the spell. Why would his goddess put such a powerful spell out of his reach? She knew he needed it. He deserved it. No one worshipped her greater than he. Without him, she’d be just another weak goddess caving under the power of her king. But she wasn’t. Because he was Sage the Black Mage, and every village burned, every sacrifice, every spell casted was in her honor. Yet, it was she who prevented him from reaching the one weapon that could stop his mother, protect him and his family from all her manipulative ways. And he would stop his mother even if he had to destroy a thousand kingdoms over and over.

The problem was one of the layers guarding the spell was almost impossible to get through. How do you get around something when you don’t know what it is? It’s invisible to all sense yet tangible enough that he couldn’t even enter the room. No spell, charm, or ruin protected the area. He couldn’t open a portal on the other side, into the room. 

“How to pass what cannot be passed?” he mumbled. Ashes floated down like snowflakes landing on his beard.  “To see what cannot be seen? To gain what is protected?”

A his feet, St. Patrick stuttered, “se-seek out t-the p-pr-protector.”

Cold eyes burned into the man’s skull. “Repeat that.” 

St. Patrick stuttered his response. 

Yes. “That’s it.” Since he was unable to get to what was protected, he’d just have to get to the protector. Kill the protector. Gain the item. Simple. A raindrop smacked his cheek. Sage had enough of this game for today. He had more pressing matters to attend to. He would find the one who could help him achieve his endgame. 

Turning his back he stalked away. A wave of his hand opened a travel portal. He could just as easily whisk himself anywhere he wished, but Sage loved the convenience of a travel portal. It required no energy and hardly a speck of magic on his part. 

A sigh of relief escaped from his captive. Sage smirked wickedly beneath the hood of his cloak. He believed himself safe. His demised escaped. 

Not one for grandeur, all the time, a finger flick set Lord St. Patrick into a blaze of fire. His screams shattered that silence, but Sage heard nothing after he stepped through the portal in hopes of finding that which guards.

Sage loathed wooded areas. It didn’t matter how big or small the land. A park had too many trees. Villages hidden deep within a forest mountain was going overboard, and he burned them to the ground on general principle. Rumor had it that the tribe whom dwelled in the forest near Mt Paiute was guarded by spirits. Talk was that few tribe members were in contact with the other side. 

For all his power, his desire to win it all, there was one thing Sage did not and would not do and that was to be directly, personally involved with the other side. Spirits. Gods. Hecate was all the goddess he needed, thank you very much, and he was perfectly content with leaving their interactions down to sacrifices. 

What he wasn’t content with was the muddy snow mucking his boots, the uprooted roots tripping him, and the branches smacking him from all angels leaving scrapes and bruises, tattering his cloak, dumping piles of snow upon his head. He’d burn the entire stinking America to ground if not for the spirits that protected these lands. He knew all about vengeful spirits. His home had been protected by them as well, until his mother pissed one off and it almost costed a very young Sage his life, still immature in his power, to defeat it. He learned early that it would best to leave celestial beings in their own little world, dimension, plane. Where ever the hell they lived. While the land itself may have been spared, the creatures that crossed his path weren’t so lucky. 

The further he walked the more dense the trees became, the canopy a shield. He no longer knew whether it snowed. Through the cracks of space, he watched the setting sun turn the sky pink. Hopefully the weather would be warmer  the next day. However, Sage had to get through the night, to find a village his magic couldn’t just whisk him to. He’d never seen it before, had no knowledge of its location or people besides the rumors he’d heard during his search. He better find them by morning sun or to hell with the land and it’s guardians. America would feel the rage the kingdoms in Europe feared and the clans of Africa cursed.  

Ahead he spied a tree so large its trunk took up his entire line of sight. Ten times larger than the ones surrounding. There was a hole at its base. Shelter. He trudged the rest of the way to his temporarily relief only to find it inhibited by a black bear and three cubs. He stared at what he assumed was the mother. The cubs took one look at him, yelped, and hightailed it out of there running for their life with their mother right behind them. Good. It would have been nothing for him to get rid of them, but Sage didn’t always kill everything that stood in his way. Most stuff. 97% of all things, but that 3% counted for something. 

The inside of the tree was hallowed out. He wondered if it happened naturally or did someone gut it. He sat opposite the opening to get away from the cold and snow that drifted from the canopy. Tugging the hood of his cloak over his head, he allowed himself to relax for the first time in days. A momentary reprieve. Getting through the first five stages of protection surrounding the spell had been easy. The monsters stationed on levels two and three were as tough as domesticated cats, tamed horses. The sixth level had been more difficult. The  seventh took longer and required more magic and patiences. It’d taken him four days without a single break to get through it. It was the eighth stage that stomped him, the one in which he currently sought help, something his wasn’t used to doing. It burned inside like lava through his veins to seek help, but Sage would never let his pride stand in his own way.

The forest outside the tree darkened until there was no light. He conjured a ball of blue flame to provide light and warmth.  Silently he sat. Thinking. He sent out a feeler spell in hope of finding some sigh of the tribe. Nothing. They hid well. 

Never one to idle too long, Sage doused the ball of fire and was about to stand when he heard a twig snap in the distance. Leaves ruffled. Feet pounded the ground rapidly. The snarling was the loudest sound. Wolves. Apparently chasing someone if he judged how fast the feet hit the ground. 

Hidden in the darkness of the tree cave, he searched in the direction of the noise that grew closer and closer. The steps grew closer but they held no weight. A little boy playing where he shouldn’t most likely. He’d wait until the boy passed. 3%. 

Laughter bounced off the trees into his little alcove. Soft. Musical. Feminine. A girl. From what he’d witness with the other tribes he’d searched their female species were protected, guarded, restricted. They didn’t roam freely in the woods attracting canine attention. But the joyful sound that bounced around him couldn’t be mistaken for anything except glee. 

Small feet covered in bear fur leaped over a fallen log landing with grace a cat would envy. She turned to look over her shoulder at her pursuers. In a language he’d never heard before the fur covered girl no more than sixteen winters, judging from her size since her face was concealed by a hood, taunt the predators, three wolves who bound through the snow. She let them close in before she spin on her heels and ran off merrily. 

Sage waited until the girl with the wolves was out of sight, her foot steps and growls no more before he stepped out of the tree. 

There was one thing to gain now. A village was close by. And if he judged from the direction whence she came he was heading the correct way. He looked at the way they ran and noticed something strange. There were no foot prints. Human or Wolf. 

Many hours later after walking all night, Sage spotted the village a mile below. Smoke rose from many of the little tipi homes. The snow had stopped hours ago but what was left on the ground of the uncovered area was enough to hinder his movement. He tossed a spell surrounding his person to reflect what the wind drifted his way and to melt what lay before his feet. 

He assumed this village would belong to No-Prints. Because of the dark and snow Sage wasn’t able to make out the pattern of her clothing. He learned from other tribes that he encountered each tribe had a distinct pattern, and certain families had their own symbol added. Without that to go by Sage would have to find No-Print by physique alone. Not that it was impossible. 

He was 100 yards out when someone spotted him, the lone tall dark figure in a land of white. Quickly, they sent a scouter to meet him, to find out who the strange man was, and to kill him if he posed danger. Sage had no interest in a meet and greet, especially with this man for he was just that. A man. And Sage was searching for a girl. 

As the man grew closer he spoke in a language Sage did no know. A warning to stop maybe. There was always a warning to stop. He kept walking. The guy drew a weapon, bow and arrow, and aimed at him.

“Lunpe.” 

The scouter rocket backwards, flipping through the air, landing with a loud thud some dozen feet away. Nice Sage was over. He’d spare a bear cub, but he’d never spare a man. Men who stood in his way perished. 

A collective gasp, cry, yadda yadda yadda sounded from the watching villages. Alarm cries were sounded and the vulnerable where rushed off to safety. He’d been through this so many times he could write the playbook. However, today Sage wouldn’t bask in their terror. He was so close to reaching his end game, the one who could help him within his reach, he could enjoy this later.

With a way of his hand he stopped all movement. Theirs. Not his. Eyes widened in horror. Choked out sobs and cries came from women and children. Walking the remaining distance that separated him from the tribe, Sage survey all who were within his view. One man, old, weathered, and obviously the Shaman remained seated patiently. Calm. Tobacco steadily blowing from his pipe. 

“Where is the one that runs with wolves?” Sage asked the man. 

The old man responded but whatever he said was a lost. But he didn’t look afraid. In fact, he appeared expectant, as if he was waiting to see if Sage would disappoint him or not. 

With another wave, he sent their homes flying into the distances, exposing everyone. And that’s when he saw her sitting on the ground, sheltering a child. She noticed his stare, her slanted eyes clouded in fear and trembled. He beckoned a finger and she flew to him stopping a foot away. Raking his eyes from the crown of her head to the tip of her toes, he checked to make sure she was indeed the one to get him closer to the spell. Indeed she was.

Magically, a gag tied around her mouth, ropes binding her hands and feet. She struggled but to no avail. 

Now that he had the girl, he could get back to the portal deep in the forest that would take him back to the labyrinth.  Sage released his hold over the tribesmen. He bent and tossed his captive over his shoulder and started back on the path to the forest. Out of the corner of his eye and looked at the shaman who now appeared pleased. 

A portal to the one he used to arrive in this part of the Americas would’ve made for much faster traveling. However, no matter how desperately he wanted that spell, he’d wanted the little cantankerous brat willing. As willing as one can be when forced into something. That way he’d have no worry that she’d do something stupid, like hinder his process. But first, the irritating brat had to do something other than cry, her sounds muffled behind the gag, stumble, because of loosely bound feet, and cry some more. He was a hair trigger away from strangle her. The idea had merits. He was almost certain it’d speed the process up much faster if he attempted to strangle her. 

He stopped to give the mortal a break before she broke her legs. In the snow, she sat with her clothing bunched around her, her hair a wild mess, twigs and leaves sticking out of it, whining. Begging him to release her. At least that’s what it sounded like. Beneath his breath he mutter an incantation, one that would bridge that gap of their language barrier. 

Save me. Please save me. 

Her words remained foreign, but now he knew what was spoken. On and on she went until he lost all patiences. He thrust his hand out. “Shut up,” he bit out. She flew back and smacked into the nearest tree where she collapsed over with a cry of pain and shock. 

It took a few moments for her to regain her bearings. Sage glaring at her the entire time. His captive didn’t look at him. Her eyes were straight, looking only forward. A soft voice mumbled. More cries and pleas for help. Furiously she started to fight at her binds unaware that there was no way she could break the magical bind. Still, she fought, staring into the darkness, begging for help.

Sage turned away and leaned against the tree he sat before. Closing his eyes he relaxed. She’d tire out soon and come to accept her fate. 

The wind shifted and with it the temperature felt like it dropped ten degrees. It was only ten degrees to begin with.  A chill ran down the spine of his back. Sage shivered, but kept his eyes closed. As long as she thought he wasn’t paying attention, things would go the way he planned. 

He felt her. Sitting across from him on a fallen log, her legs crossed at the knee. Patient she seemed. As if she had all day, nothing better to do. One fur clade foot swinging away. When he opened his eyes he didn’t look at her. Eyes averted, he turned to his captive. With a silent double spell, he sent the crying teenager back to her tribe at the same time he threw a shield around himself and his guest. Now he could look at her.

The hood hung so low over her face the only thing he could see was her mouth which curved at the corners in a smile. 

“Took you long enough to show up,” Sage said. He wasn’t sure if she spoke his language, but thanks to the spell her worked earlier, she’d be able to understand what he said the same way he could understand her. He was no idiot. The moment he saw that there were no foot prints left in the snow by either person or animal he knew exactly who had just ran past him. A spirit between worlds. Someone who was there but wasn’t. Could be seen, but not at the same time. His key. 

Sage was a smart worker, not a hard one. Trying to track her, he would have never found her. So, he let her find him, but  threatening the safety of the tribe she protected. And, here she was. Not the least bit alarmed at being held within a shield that even she could not get out without him. He didn’t think she’d be. 

“Life is too precious a gift to handle without care,” she said. This close, her voice was soft, but mature, with that deep effect heard when a God spoke. Or a guardian spirit. “So reckless you are.”

“Everyday life is born. Everyday life must end,” Sage replied. “I tend not to walk on eggshells over the unavoidable.”  

She laughed merrily. “You have no clue about the unavoidable, Sage.”

He didn’t show his surprise that she knew his name. His facial expression remained blanked. “Is that so?”

Leaning forward she rested her arms on her knees. “Let’s not walk in circles. You need something from me.” She tapped her head. “I had the vision. A man cloaked in darkness would travel through Paiute lands in search of he who could help him complete his quest.”

“That he will be you. In this case a she.”

“Figuratively. Your path was to cross mine. The unavoidable. My kind like to call it destiny or fate.”

“Your version means nothing to me. I choose my own destiny.” 

“I know that. Yet, you need me literally. With my help, you will reach your destiny, but you need me willingly. So, what are you willing to sacrifice or do for me to gain my cooperation, and with the right price I will cooperate to the bitter end?”

Bartering. She was bartering with him. The last time anyone bartered with him was nearly a century ago and it was his sister. Jime, who tried. And her she was, this little sprite of a spirit who he believed he was luring into a trap had in fact been waiting for him because she had a vision. Because she wanted something from him. This could turn out to be far more interesting than Sage ever imagined. 

“What is it that you want of me?” he asked. 

“I’ll help you, and once your goal is complete you shall do something for me.

“That would be?”

“You want magic that was never yours. Magic that will make you stronger. I want…,” she shook her head spilling long dark hair from beneath the hood, “no, I need magic that was once mine, stripped from me, locking me out of the spirit world. The magic that will make me complete once more. You will return what was once mine for me. Promise this and you have my will.” 

She spook calmly, but Sage could feel the tension rolling off her in waves. Her desperation choked the air. To promise and agree would tie him to this spirit going completely against his rule to never tie himself to the other side. Except he was so close. So close to gaining what he wanted that at the moment he would agree to almost anything. Almost.

“Exactly how did you lose what was once yours?” he asked, because no way in hell would he walk himself into some of this nature blindly. That would just be stupid. 

“That is not an important factor.”

“Who stripped your power?” He held up his hand to silence her. “And that is an important factor. I must know who it is you wish me to go against.”

She betrayed nothing she felt, the perfect guardian, still and composed when she said. “Wolf. Brother of my mother. If it soothes your nerves, I’ll tell you all you need to know about Wolf.”

“And you are who?”

“She Who Dances in White, Wolf Runner, Guardian of the tribe you so terrorized.”

“You have a better name?” he deadpanned.

“My name’s are perfectly fine…” He was sure she glared beneath that hood. “Angelica. You may call me Angelica.”

Nothing about her said “angelic”, but who was he to cast stones with one of the “others”. 

Honestly, it didn’t require much thought at all to decide what he would do, so he made his promise, because in the end, nothing stood in his path to become stronger. Not even himself or a tiny spirit seer girl.

“And you may even consult with my father about Wolf,” she said after they made their deal. “Although he is willy and old and smokes too much. Possibly insane. Should have died centuries ago, but the mortal just won’t call it quits. He’s probably sitting back at the village inside of his little tipi, pipe in mouth, chuckling it up to the sky.”

Ah! She spoke of the shaman. That would be why he appeared pleased. He must have had a vision, discussed it with the sprite, Angelica. 

Done with wasting time, Sage stood up, dispersed the spell and opened a portal that would take them to the one on the other side of the mountain. “Can you cross?” he asked before stepping in. 

Raising from the log she shrugged. “There is only one way to find out.” 

Standing, she came just at his shoulder. Sage was tall, so she was tall for a woman, not a sprite, but he felt like a giant next to her, even with the waves of power that cascaded from her. And her powers had been stripped? Very interesting indeed. 

He stepped through. 

A Bewitching Rain Cover

The lodge.

Chapter 24

24.

“You and I have unfinished business to attend to,” said Jack.

“Business?” Jime was all fake innocence.

“We need to clear some things, talk.”

“You’re fixated is more like it, fixated on talking, it’s like I’m the guy here and you’re the annoying little woman wanting to talk about feelings and crap. Give me a friking break! It’s been centuries! Centuries!” Jime was working herself up, to what she didn’t know, but she knew she’d better get over it if she wanted to keep Jack around by luring him with the promise of reconnection, but he always managed to somehow get on her nerves, so all she managed to do at the moment was strike a sexy pose while she rolled her eyes and flicked her hair exasperated.

On his part, Jack just calmed himself down and motioned for Jime to go inside in a very gentlemanly way, “please, let’s just sit down for a minute”, he asked with a little plea in his eyes, which was the perfect way to fizzle Jime’s mood and make her comply, as it happened.

“Nice decor, did your decorator graduated from the school of decrepit and nasty design?” she commented as she ran a finger on the surface of a little table next to the door and came up with it caked in dirt.

Jack looked at her strangely and cocked his head to the side, wondering, but decided to not mention anything too soon. Jime noticed this and wondered if she was missing something here.

They walked in silence through the little hallway and entered the west living room.

Here, Jime’s legs went straight to an old battered lounge and as she sat there she caught herself reclining; she suddenly stopped, unsettled. She felt she’d done this many times before but for some reason she didn’t want to remember it.

Jack was studying her actions intently, weighing his options, as he sat on a wooden chair he had dragged right in front of Jime.

She was overcome with a feeling of sadness, turning to look through the window outside but the grime glued to the glass didn’t let her, even though she knew there was a lemon tree there.

A few moments passed in silence.

Jack softly asked, “do you remember now?”

She did.

Now she knew where she was. This was the house where, for a blissful time, she and Jack had lived together in and spent decades loving each other, fighting each other (to keep themselves sharp, they used to joke) and generally having a grand old time. Around the 1800s, south of Chile, near Puerto Montt.

After centuries of struggle trying to separate herself from the Sinn-Jammer Vampire Clan, she had found a nice secluded spot in these mountains where to settle for a while.

Jimena had always loved the new continent, she had journeyed to it right after the Spaniards declared it “found”, one could say she was a conquistadora too, lured like everyone else in Europe by the many tales of wonder and the attraction of the unknown.

What she found made her fall in love with it all, land and people, everything.

But her shackles were always pulled and she had to go back to Europe to serve the King’s whims whenever she was wanted. Centuries had passed in this manner, every careful plan she concocted to escape was thwarted by circumstances or her enemies or just plain fate, until that time when the King disappeared and they were all suddenly free. Though everyone knew it was an illusion, that freedom, since the King wasn’t actually dead (all his children, among them Jime, could still feel his power over them) and could still come back to once again force and command them at any moment, but for the time being they would all take their luck and finally do whatever they wanted. So La Reina and her gang parted ways and she moved for good to the American continent.

She then traveled from top to bottom and back again, never growing tired of it all. This was actually when her obsession with the sun began; having free reign to follow her wishes gave her mind a relaxation that, like all things, had its good parts and its bad parts, causing her to become careless. All these new things that were to be found were so intriguing she started to wonder how it would all look in the light of day, also hearing artists and such going on about how the light was so different here from Europe and other parts of the world made her incredibly curious, and she also started to think about her family again, remembering good times, innocent times.

But by now she had Siti in her life, a witch she had met while serving the King and who had taught her many things, among them her trick on how to work the mind so Jime wouldn’t go crazy like some of the other vampires. She and hers had become Jime’s surrogate family, one that hopefully would last longer than her long-dead human one or her pseudo-brotherhood with her fellow assassin companions within the Sinn-Jammers.

Meanwhile Jack had followed Jime, he always seemed to find her no matter where she was. It was disconcerting, at the very least, and obviously made her very suspicious of him. He never explained himself though, until it became evident that he followed because he liked her for real.

But such a thing could not last, Jime had thought, since she knew from seeing and experiencing first-hand that all loves come to an end one way or another, but his perseverance little by little wormed itself into her heart and she finally accepted him and came to love him too.

This was not without its setbacks, for her dearest friend Siti, who had stood by her ever since they met was definitely NOT a fan of Jack.

Those two had often fought over everything, including Jime herself, but she let it be, she was so happy living her life the way she wanted that things seem to glaze over her and she found something to delight in everything, even the not-so-pleasant things. She was living in a cloud of her own making.

Jime could acknowledge now that this state of being had not passed without its consequences, because she recognized that maybe she could have done something more for Sage as the Darkness consumed him and she could have kept more in touch with Siti instead of letting her (and her family by default) drift away without fighting for their friendship.

The last time she saw Siti had been near this luxurious lodge that Jack had built for her on her old hiding place in the south of Chile.

And here came to the forefront of her memories the reason she had purposely forgotten about this place.

Jime could not suppress her tears but she stoically kept her face rigid.

Jack was shocked. All he had planned, wanted, was for her to remember the good times they had had together and he was baffled over her tears, he didn’t know what they were about, not a clue.

“All right, you wanted to talk, let’s talk,” she pinned him with her glare, her voice dripping with venom. “Be so kind as to tell me, why did you kill her?”, she asked.

“Killed who?” he genuinely didn’t know since he had killed plenty of people over his whole existence.

“Siti, you Bastard”, she spat at him.

Jack didn’t think he could be so shocked so soon, first the crying and now this? “I didn’t kill her.”

She laughed a mirthless laugh, “You think I’ll believe you just like that? I know you did! She was my only family!” Jime got up and furiously paced around Jack.

He knew how important family was to her; even though there were times when she didn’t act like it mattered, he supposed she didn’t mean it and he had come to think of her love for family as just one of her idiosyncrasies he had come to cherish. Although he could not understand it himself, the whole concept of family had become alien to him even before he was kicked out of Asgard.

“I do not lie, not to you, not about this. I did not kill her.” He replied with serious earnest.

 “She was surrounded by fire, in the woods, a mile or so left of here, I saw her burn”, Jime was crying again and almost talking to herself at times, “I couldn’t save her, and you know what she said to me as she died right in front of my eyes? She said your name, Jack, and I saw the anger in her eyes!”

“But I didn’t kill her!” He got up, enraged, with Siti, with Jime, with the whole situation.

“Then tell me, tell me where were you that night? I had just come back from helping Toren with his problem, it was spring, and you were supposed to be waiting for me here!” she yelled.

“I-”, Jack stopped himself, he knew where he had been, not killing Siti but in Asgard, giving his centenary report about the vampire race to Odin and the rest of the Gods, but he couldn’t tell Jime that. No way in hell will he ever tell her about that.

“Of course you can’t defend yourself, because you did kill her!” she sucker-punched, sending him crashing into the wall.

“ I DIDN’T!” He crawled out putting his hands up to punch back but a sudden flash of common sense mad him realize it didn’t help his cause if he fought back, so he dropped his defences and let her have it out on him.

Jime wailed powerful kicks and punches, landing each and every one, causing more damage than she ever rained on him (and the lodge) only noticing halfway through that he didn’t respond.

“Fight back, you murdering scum!”

“No, I didn’t do it,” he said, then murmured to himself “and you’re on to talk about murdering.”

“I don’t kill my family! I don’t hurt my loved ones!”

“That’s a lie,” said a shadow standing in the doorway.

“What?” Jime turned around. She and Jack snapped out of their moment to look at the sudden new arrival.

“You do hurt the people you supposedly love,” seethed Sage as he came forth. “I’m the living proof.”

“You-when-?” Jime started to ask when had he come that she didn’t feel it but dismissed it, she clearly wasn’t in her best at the moment. “Come off it, Sage. It was never my fault what happened to you, you can’t blame me for all the bad things-”

“Whatever, you heartless wench,” Sage cut her off, “just so you know, what the freak says is true, he didn’t kill mother.”

Jime froze, “what?” she asked softly.

Sage had waited for a long time to say this and he was determined to enjoy it, “She’s not dead.”

It was her turn to be shocked speechless. In a moment of uncharacteristic transparency, at least in Sage’s experience with his sister, her demeanour showed exactly what she was feeling consequently. Puzzlement, incredulity, looking for confirmation in their eyes which she found, then anger for the amount of deceit this implied but most of all a deep betrayal that disarmed her completely until she swayed on the spot, looking like a lost child.

Jack grabbed her and held her in his arms but she didn’t seem to notice him any more.

 Sage found himself not enjoying this moment as much as he thought he would but he nevertheless continued, “she’s not dead, she faked her death before you, she messed with your mind, your memories and lied to you, you think yourself so clever and powerful but you were played, she manipulated you, had been doing it always and still continues, but it stops now. You were just a puppet to her, like we all are-”

“Stop this.” Jack interrupted Sage, concerned for Jime, she had never looked this defeated, even in her darkest moments at the mercy of the vampire king, but then Jack supposed, this would be her darkest moment now.

“Stay out of this, you freak”, Sage spat at Jack, “It’s our family business.”

“This can’t be.” Jime mumbled.

“It is, and you need to know, Angelica had a vision, mother might make a move. Angie and I won’t stand for it, you hear me? We will protect Suri with everything, mark my words sister, if mother even looks Suri’s way like she did with my son, I WILL KILL HER.”

“Your son?” her eyes widened.

“Siti took him.” Sage could not hide the hurt in his voice, his face reflected his deep sorrow and Ire. Only a parent who has lost his child knows how Sage and Angelica felt. But Jime saw it, and even though she couldn’t understand it completely she felt this was real and she could no longer think about herself. “Suri’s in danger?” she asked him.

“Yes.” Sage replied.

Jime took her decision then. “What do you need me to do?”

********

Suri was soooo annoyed! She could NOT believe her luck! Once again she was kidnapped by the stupid disgusting mangy mutts. This had to stop now, she would not become a joke. If people heard about this she would be mocked for years to come. She rattled her hands once more but it was no use, these two sure knew how to incapacitate a witch. The tied her up perfectly, her extremities were turning a lovely shade of purple with the immobility, and her mouth was stretched so tight no sound at all could come out. She had found herself hanging over a lake in the middle of a cavern when she recovered consciousness, and the foul dogs had been necking each other by the lake side ever since. Disgusting oversexed mutts.

When she thought about it, this could all be put under her aunt’s feet. It was her fault they had gone and messed with the werewolves, it was her fault she was not in the security of the civilized world, a.k.a. anywhere were there were no werewolves, it was her fault Suri had done the stupid Hecate spell that backfired, thus sending her deeper into the dogs’ turd-list. Damn them All. She will extract her revenge, just wait and see, they will rue the day they pissed on Suri’s parade. No bones will be left uncracked. No skin will be left unpeeled. Slowly and painfully. She will rain hell on all their sorry ass heads, like these vermin deserve! And when they die horribly she’ll continue with their children! Yeah! Wait a minute! NOT yeah! Their children? That’s not fair, where did that come from? Suri loved children, and they are innocent until proven otherwise, what was wrong with her?

Oh,oh.

The Darkness. Ugh.

For all that it was good, or bad as it were the case, she could not free herself, so all that was left was to wait until her aunt figured out her absence and come to rescue her like a damsel in distress. How pathetic. Suri sighed internally. This was just not her day.