Page 19 of Carnal Magic
“There are many ways to serve him. Dreams are only one way to give him what he needs. He feeds on your pleasure from any source. Enjoy a delicious cup of coffee, and he basks in that enjoyment. Your favorite desserts, a hot bath, a moving sunset, a purring cat. Anything that gives you pleasure is something that he can feed on. The magic responds in kind. If you gain the most pleasure from pastries, then you’ll have the most incredible kitchen witch bakery in the state. All very pleasant and enjoyable things, right?”
She paused, waiting for me to nod. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”
“Now think of carnal pleasure. That kind of pleasure feeds him the most, which in turn, gains you the most power. Take human lovers. Great. He will savor every moment you share with them. Your power will increase exponentially from what you could accomplish with other sensory pleasures. Allow him and his minions into your dreams…” She paused, letting me make the leap myself.
“Exponential again.”
She nodded solemnly. “None of that involves embracing him physically. I served him through my human lovers. I served him well, as my mother before me, but dreaming didn’t come naturally to me. I slept too heavily, and when I did dream, I was too closed off, even in a dreamscape. He still awarded me with amazing power.
“Everyone in the holler knew we were witches, and they came to us in the dead of night or in secret when they needed help. Every expectant mother that was brave enough to come to me delivered healthy children, no matter what the doctors had told her. Women who couldn’t have children for various reasons suddenly carried twins. I loved giving women the babies they desperately ached to hold. That was my gift to the world.
“Mama could breathe life back into the newly dead and heal things that should have been impossible. I saw a man who’d been crushed under a wagon, his legs and spine busted like kindling, later walk without so much as a cane. She had an uncanny mind for money and business, especially given the times in which she lived. Honestly, she was ruthless and drove a cutthroat bargain to get what she wanted. She could point to a spot and tell me exactly how many pounds of gold might lie beneath the dirt. How and where to dig. Oil, crystals, silver, gold, it didn’t matter.”
“Could I heal cancer?” My voice broke, my throat aching. Not from the dark god’s grip, either.
“I don’t see why not. It’s all in your intention, and whether there’s enough power flowing up through the mountain to you. If one man isn’t enough, fuck the whole town. You can accomplish whatever you need if you give the mountain enough pleasure.”
I stared at her, my mouth sagging open in shock. Then I snorted. Snickered. Laughed until I slumped against her, crying again, but not the same ragged sounds of pain and terror as before. Panting softly, I leaned against her shoulder, soaking her in. “I wish I had grown up knowing you.”
“Me too, baby girl. I’ve loved you from afar all these years.”
“I guess that’s why Katherine was able to get so many witnesses on the mine contract,” I mused.
She huffed out a laugh. “And why no one knew for sure who Rebekah’s father was.”
“It wasn’t Sam Woodward, was it?”
She laughed again, shaking her head. “Dear, sweet Sam.”
I had to bite my tongue. He hadn’t been so sweet, not when I met him, at least.
“No, though in his heyday, he definitely helped me serve well. I never told him or had a test done, but Rebekah’s father was Randolph Eddings.”
“Roger’s dad, the banker? Corrine’s husband.”
Martha nodded. “Corrine was her best friend and went on to marry her best friend’s half-brother.”
I didn’t want to hurt her, but I needed to know exactly what had happened with Rebekah. “Why did she leave? Was she pregnant when she left?”
“She wasn’t pregnant. She hadn’t been with anyone at all to my knowledge, though she may not have told me.” She paused for a moment, and when she spoke again, sadness echoed in her voice. “I tried my best to prepare her. Certainly better than Mama had prepared me. I loved her greatly, but she was a hard woman. She didn’t have time for coddling, as she would say. I knew what was expected of me by the time I was ten or so, and I was still shaken and upset, very much as you are.”
“Can you tell me about it? Or would that be too upsetting?”
She sighed and nodded her head once. “Of course, I don’t mind telling you the story. I knew what sex was very early. I knew where babies came from. For all her brisque nature, Mama always told me anything, no matter how adult or sensitive my question might have been. Men came and went all the time, and her power grew. I was excited to embrace that power, until one night I heard a horrible noise. Something that scared me like nothing else in my very long life. I heard my formidable mother scream.
“I raced downstairs and grabbed the shotgun from over the mantle. I thought a man was hurting her. Some men did get a little out of hand, though she’d usually just whack them with an iron skillet and kick them out. The threat of being forced to leave was enough to keep most men in line. I threw open her bedroom door, and nobody was there. Just her, alone in her sleep, though she was crying and screaming. She had her forearms crossed over her face, and she was bleeding. As soon as I touched her, she sat straight up in bed. Took several deep breaths. Then she narrowed a hard look on me and said, ‘Why’d you wake me up?’
“She stared down at the cuts on her arms and her shoulders drooped. She sighed, defeated, and gave herself a little shake. ‘Well, I tried. That’s as close as I’ll probably ever get.’ I had no idea what she meant, and when I asked her, she admitted that she drank a sleeping tonic, hoping to reach him better through dreams without having to physically embrace him. Needless to say, he wasn’t too pleased.”
My eyes widened. “Why?”
“Think about it, baby girl. If you have to take a hit of something before having sex, it can’t be consensual. Let alone when dealing with something that revels in darkness. You can’t risk fucking that shit up. You need all your senses and wits to keep yourself safe. He may be a beast of nightmares, but he never takes what isn’t freely offered. You can’t give that consent if you’re compromised in any way.”
My heart started to pound again, remembering the dream.Tell me how hard to squeeze, my lady.
If I’d been drugged or not completely aware, could I have stopped him if I’d needed to breathe?
“Exactly.” Martha tightened her arm around my shoulders. “Her power waned after that, though she continued to serve him through human lovers. I never forgot her screams. I think that’s why I couldn’t ever reach him in dreams. I didn’t want to find out what he’d done to make my hard, ruthless mother scream like that.”
