Page 39 of Marcus-stiltskin

I lean over and rest my hands on his shoulders, lifting my hips up and down in a slow rhythm until he’s gripping my hips and helping me move.

“Am I moving too slow?” I tease as I slide down on him.

He lets out a breath. “I’ll take anything you want to give me.”

I like that answer and start to move at his pace until his fingers are digging into the flesh of my hips, locking me in place as he cums. His body is rigid for a moment as he pulls me as close as he can, his breath labored until he lets it all go and relaxes.

I rest my head on his shoulder for a moment, before rolling to his side.

“Thank you,” he murmurs in my ear, scratching my back.

I could definitely get used to this.

After a string of texts back and forth between Darla and me, it’s decided that the witch she thinks can help me will come by witch school, so I should come to one last session.

By the time Marcus and I are washed, dressed, and ready to actually leave the bedroom, it’s getting close to time for me toleave. I feel a little weird stepping out of Marcus’s bedroom in front of my familiar, as if he’s a person and we’re doing the “walk of shame” in front of him, but he doesn’t call me on it. I guess in his world sex isn’t really a big deal.

I plop down next to him on the couch and he stirs, sending me a picture of Marcus scratching his back, so I scratch him while Marcus finds his treats.

Outside in the driveway, Marcus and I say our goodbyes, kissing way too long before I head back home to gather my things up for class while he heads to the grocery store. No one’s home to tease me about being out all night, so I pack up and head out as quickly as I can.

I arrive extra early to apprenticeship class with a whole bag of things–yarn, hooks, and the newest notebook I own for my Book of Shadows. I may not be staying on with the baby witches, but I’m sure I’ll need a Book of Shadows eventually.

Alyssa is already there, sitting at Darla’s picnic table, munching on a peanut butter sandwich, and reading a completely different tome than the one she had just two days before. I look longingly at the book. If only my brain would sit still long enough to let me read like that. I haven’t been able to dig into a long book in ages.

“You still want to learn to crochet?” I ask as I sit down next to her. I push my overstuffed tote toward her.

She peeks into the bag and rifles through the various skeins and balls. “Yes, please. Can I use the yellow yarn?”

I hand her the ball and a hook then get started showing her the basics. Someone has shown her a little because she takes to the chains and single crochet right away, so I start her on a granny square. Like everything else, she’s a natural. She has a whole complete square done by the time Darla steps outside with a couple of plastic grocery bags and a tote. Wordlessly, she dropsAlyssa’s bag at her side and then sets the tote and other bag down at the end of the table.

It doesn’t take long for the other baby witches to start straggling in. Adrian shows up last, his hair in a million directions, no helmet this time. “You will wear a helmet,” I hear Darla tell him. “Your mama lost her baby brother that way.”

He pales and nods. “Yes, ma’am.” Without another word, he takes his seat, looking anywhere but at Darla.

Darla comes to stand at the end of the table and clears her throat. “I hope you’ve all come prepared. If not, I have a few small notebooks you can get started with, but it’s very important we get started on your magical books today.”

She pulls out a very unmagical plastic tub with craft-store journals and looks around the table. “Does everyone have something to start out with?”

None of the kids say a word, but I remember being that age. I wouldn’t have said a word if I was on fire in front of other kids. I’m sure someone forgot a notebook and we’ll find out about it in a minute. Darla waits a moment, replaces the lid on the tub and continues her lecture.

“It’s important that your Book of Shadows and Grimoires are a reflection of you.” Darla tells us with all the seriousness of a college professor. “In order for your magic to come to full strength, you must understand your own strengths and weaknesses. Your Book of Shadows will serve as your everyday journal. In it, you will keep detailed notes about any magic you do, records of any magical occurrence that happen in your day-to-day life, interpretations of dreams, and oracle readings.

“Your grimoire will be much more formal. More like a reference book. In it, you will keep histories of your life, spells that have proven to be reliable, correspondences that have worked for you, and so on. Magic is much like science–trial and error. Observation is a key component. Your mothers andfathers look to family grimoires for answers when they cannot find the solutions to magical problems. And, one day, your ancestors may use yours in the same way.”

“Alright, pull out the notebook you’ve brought to use for your Book of Shadows. All the kids around the table dutifully pull out beautiful books. Every single one is leather-bound, handmade with pages that look like they were individually pressed. Next to me, Alyssa fidgets with her own backpack. Slowly, she pulls a plain composition notebook from the bag. It’s a little beat up, the corners frayed at the edges. She keeps it on her lap, hidden from the rest of the table. My bag sits between us, so I do the only reasonable thing, and snatch the composition notebook from her hands, laying it on the table in front of me as if it’s mine.

Terror crosses her face for a fraction of a second until I pull the new blank notebook I brought for this assignment out of my bag and place it quietly on her lap. Her face brightens and she whispers, “thank you,” before setting it out on the table in front of her. It’s not as fancy as the other girls’, but it is sturdy and well-made. It will make a good Book of Shadows for her.

Darla raises an eyebrow at me as if asking me a question, but I just smile. It’s not like I was going to be able to write in it anyway. My perfectionism would never allow me to start in a brand new notebook.

“Now where was I?” Darla starts to dig around in a box at her end of the table without answering her own question. She pulls out a notebook covered in flowers and hands it to me, then begins passing around pieces of paper. “Today we’re starting with a book blessing. Blessings take many forms. They don’t have to be fancy or poetic. They just have to be from the heart.”

“But how can we bless anything if we don’t even know how to use magic yet?” Mariah asks.

Darla isn’t phased this time. “Because it’s about intention, Mariah. All magic is. Normal mortals perform magic all thetime without realizing it using intention and, today, you’ll do the same. So right now, I want you to close your eyes and think about yourself at the end of your apprenticeship. What kind of witch do you hope to be? How will this Book of Shadows help you get there?”

Alyssa’s small hand taps mine as we all settle down to work. She places a small folded up piece of paper in front of me. I open it up to find the word THANKS written in all caps. I’ve barely had time to read the word when the piece of paper turns into a small butterfly and flies away. I guess some of these kids can use magic already.

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