Warlock 4 - Preview Chapters

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Warlock 4 – Preview Chapters

© 2025 Daniel Kensington

The Maiden

Usually, if someone was laughing when I woke up in the Grove, I could count on it being the Crone.

This time, it was the bell-like laugh of Aveline I heard.

Considering that the last time I’d seen her she’d been screaming curses in Ancient Greek and demanding I turn my cousin into goat-lube … laughing was better.

Probably.

I sighed and started down the path to the Grove’s clearing.

Aveline, the Maiden, Aspect of the Goddess, Representative of Fertility, Youth, and Joy … appeared to be having stomach cramps.

“You … you …” she gasped, doubled over with one hand clutching her midsection and the other pointed at me. “Your face … when …”

I rolled my eyes and approached the altar, hopping up to sit and wait until she got it out of her system.

She straightened and took a deep breath, then nearly choked holding in another laugh.

“I think Aurora wet herself, she was laughing so hard!”

“Wonderful. I’m happy my getting puked on supplied some deities with much needed amusement.”

“You should be. We look forward to date night nearly as much as the girls, I think.”

“No pressure,” I muttered. “But I still think it’s a little … I don’t know, creepy? Watching us all the time?”

“Oh, Noah. I told you we don’t watch all the time.”

I groaned. “Yeah, I remember. ‘Just the good parts.’”

“Oh, don’t worry — Aurora still goes to bed before those parts.” She paused. “Speaking of which, could you find something to do with Samantha that doesn’t involve your penis? Just once in a while — Aurora misses her.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

Deities speak of me! my dick yelled.

They want you kept in my pants.

It’s a start!

I sighed. “Will Felicity be all right?”

I didn’t really expect an answer — the Aspects generally didn’t give out a lot of information like that — but I had to ask.

“Of course — once she wakes, it will take her only a minute or so to eliminate the after effects.”

“I didn’t mean the hangover.”

“I know.” Aveline smiled, leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek. “Thank you.”

“I don’t know why I should be thanked for getting puked on.”

This time she patted my cheek.

I preferred the kiss — I could still feel the spot where The Maiden’s lips had touched.

“You really do know very little, don’t you,” Aveline said.

“At least it’s an improvement over nothing,” I muttered.

“Not really, since so much of what you think you know is wrong.”

 I probably should have seen that coming.

“I just don’t want her to feel … well, if I puked on somebody I’d be pretty embarrassed.”

Aveline nodded. “She will be embarrassed — your job is to reassure her.”

“What if she’s too embarrassed to use that form again around me?”

Aveline nodded. “She will be reluctant — your job is to convince her.”

“What if —”

“Your job.”

“But —”

“Also your job.”

“She —”

“Do I really have to say it?” Aveline asked, frowning.

I sighed.

“That’s a lot of jobs.”

The Maiden shrugged. “If you want to fix —”

“Felicity doesn’t need fixing — she’s just hurting and —”

I really needed to stop snapping at Goddesses. One day they wouldn’t respond with the amused grin Aveline now wore.

“And that,” Aveline said, “is why she loves you.”

“Yeah, I love her too, but —”

Aveline was staring at me like I was stupid.

I stared at Aveline like I was stupid.

I was stupid.

Aveline nodded.

“Oh.” I felt my face heat. “But —”

Aveline sighed. “It’s the age, isn’t it.”

“That’s part, I guess, and —”

“If it makes you feel any better, Felicity was sixteen when she first took her cat form and has only spent a little time in human form since then.”

“Does that mean —”

“No, she’s still three hundred years old, but it’s as rational a thought as your worrying about her age to begin with.”

“That’s not an irrational thing to worry about.”

“Yes, it is.”

“Not really, it’s —”

“It is.”

“Three hundred —”

“Is.”

I sighed, staring at Aveline, The Maiden, an Aspect of the Goddess representing youth and wakening, that time between childhood and motherhood — it brought to mind the months I’d spent with my girls.

Yes, this was exactly what arguing with a teenage girl was like.

Aveline sighed.

“It’s not as though you have a choice, you know.”

“What do you mean?”

“Noah, all my girls know — if you vomit on a man and he’s still there in the morning? He belongs to you.”

I thought about it for a while and Aveline stayed still, looking at me expectantly.

“It doesn’t matter, does it,” I said, finally.

Aveline raised an eyebrow.

“I won’t remember any of this,” I explained, shrugging, “so whatever I figure out here, it doesn’t matter — I’ll just go back to being stupid when I wake up.”

“Well, yes, it’s true that you’ll be stupid … er.”

I sighed.

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out, Noah.”

“Great.”

Aveline leaned back against the Grove’s altar and looked down at the ground, taking her lip between her teeth.

I was torn between lust at how sexy the pose and expression were and terror that the Aspect of the Goddess seemed to be uncertain.

“Noah, I know you’ve received no definite word from Eleni regarding Morgan and Baba Yaga, but —”

“Do you know for sure?”

Aveline sighed. “When one broaches a subject, it’s rather counterproductive for another to interrupt with questions that would almost certainly be answered quite a bit more quickly without the interruption, don’t you think?”

I nodded, shutting up.

Snapping and interrupting — two things I made a mental note to stop doing to goddesses.

“No,” she said. “We don’t know —”

Aveline held up a hand.

Yes, I’d been opening my mouth.

Yes, it was four words since I’d made my mental note.

“Why we don’t know —”

Yes, that had been what I was about to interrupt to ask.

“— is because neither Morgan, yet, nor Baba Yaga look to us. We cannot see deeply there. That it is possible, though, that Morgan is of that one’s line, makes it critical that you do not allow Morgan within her reach unbound — there are ancient bargains and debts knotted about that line.”

I nodded. I’d pretty much decided we wouldn’t be going unless we knew Morgan was safe from Baba Yaga — knew for certain.

“Any suggestions on getting that binding done? We’re not having a lot of luck there.”

Aveline raised an eyebrow. “Why, Noah — are you asking me how to seduce one of my girls?”

I thought about it for a minute.

“Yes.” I nodded. “The whole wiles-thing clearly isn’t working, and Morgan and I are … um, a little frustrated.”

“Really? You have frustrations? Should I … encourage Rachel in some way?”

“Frustrated with Morgan,” I hurriedly clarified.

Shit.

“Not frustrated with Morgan, I mean — with Morgan in a state of frustration.”

“Mmh.” Aveline pursed her lips. “Well, I don’t know how I could be any clearer about it than she has.”

“What? She hasn’t been clear at all!”

“Of course she has — she’s told you any number of times that nothing’s been as she expected or dreamed of. This has been a very shocking few months for her, you know? Discovering magic is real, that she’s a witch — all very astounding. She needs something to bridge her old life and new.”

I raised a hand.

Aveline raised an eyebrow.

I gestured at myself.

“Kind of went through a lot of that too.”

Aveline waved a hand, dismissing it.

“It’s not all about you, Noah. Morgan needs one thing to be as she expected — well, dreamed, since she rather expected to be alone right now. One thing to match her dreams and form that bridge.”

“I thought the proposal was pretty cool.”

The Maiden rolled her eyes and sighed. “Very well — yes, Noah, your proposal was quite good. Does that satisfy you?”

“Thanks, I —”

“Of course, there is the matter of the ring.” Aveline frowned. “Really, it should have been a year’s income … though you are Family Head and the Blackwood income would be …” She shook her head. “No — Viera’s barely forgiven me for the whole tulip kerfuffle.”

“I thought it was a month’s income?”

Aveline raised an eyebrow.

“Never mind — so what is it that Morgan needs, though?”

Aveline cocked her head and raised both eyebrows.

I sighed.

“My job?”

Aveline patted my cheek again and smiled. “Good boy.” She shrugged. “Oh, I imagine she’ll break down and give you explicit instructions if you need them, but you should at least try to figure something out.” She frowned. “That’s if she knows herself, of course. It’s always possible she really doesn’t know what it is she truly needs to get past her uncertainty.”

The Maiden shrugged.

“Oh, well, I’m sure it will work out — young women and men far stupider than you have managed adequately for millennia, after all.”

“That’s not really that encouraging,” I said.

The Maiden shrugged again.

I inhaled — then choked and coughed a little as I saw Aveline’s expression, then added sighing to snapping and cutting off goddesses.

“My job,” I muttered. “You know, there’s a lot on our plate right now.”

Aveline nodded, her face sobering. “We know. You do seem to accumulate loose ends at a truly disturbing rate — it’s all I can due to tune out Viera and her little knitting club when they whinge about the trouble it causes.”

“I thought they were weavers —”

Aveline waved her hand. “Weaving, knitting, whatever it is they do.”

Since we were heading in that direction, I decided to get ahead of it.

“I, ah, I’m sorry about Gabriel — that he’s not goat-lube and all.” I really did feel bad about it and thought we’d all feel much better once we found Gabriel and dealt with him. “We’re looking, you know? Mel’s trying to arrange a meeting with someone during the Conclave —”

“Melaina is on the right track, we think,” Aveline said. “The way isn’t clear, but we see something there that will be a help to you.”

“So we might be going after Gabriel after the Conclave?”

“Don’t fixate — not with all you’re facing. We see Melaina’s negotiations being a help — what they help, I can’t say. And that’s already more than I should say, but it’s a silly rule.”

“What rule?”

Aveline rolled her eyes. “If there are rules, don’t you suppose not talking to you about the rules would be one of the rules.”

Chapter

I was wakened by the sunlight coming through Felicity’s window and the sudden shifting of a warm, soft body curled up on my chest — which, before I could open my eyes, disappeared.

It took me a few seconds to remember where I was and why — and catalog the various aches from sleeping on the floor, even if Felicity did have a thick rug and I’d wrapped half my blanket under me as a cushion.

There’d been no further upchucking in the night, so I’d actually slept pretty well.

Felicity’s bed was empty, though, and the fading warm spot on my chest gave me a pretty good idea of where she’d gone.

“Good morning,” I whispered toward the bed skirt.

I sat up and slid the, thankfully, empty wastebasket farther away.

“How are you feeling?” I asked.

With still no answer, I had to decide what to do.

I figured Felicity was embarrassed, and part of me wanted to leave her alone until she felt better, but I didn’t think that was the right thing to do. Felicity’s reaction to most things, at least those which couldn’t be solved by bloodshed, was to hide — it wasn’t always the best way.

“Mel told me I had bucket-duty,” I said, “so I can’t leave until I know you won’t … um, need the bucket again.”

I waited.

I will not … “need the bucket.”

I still waited — she hadn’t asked me to leave, after all.

“I had fun last night,” I offered, finally.

Silence.

“We should do it again … most of it, at least.”

I waited longer.

Truly?

I laughed. “Yes, truly. You’re a great dancer.”

I am.

I waited.

The others saw? When we returned last night?

I nodded even though she couldn’t see me — or maybe she could, I thought I could see a black nose and whiskers peeking out from under the pink and white ruffles, but didn’t want to turn my head and spook her.

“Everybody has a little too much to drink once in a while, Felicity.”

Sure, maybe not blacking-out-on-the-dance-floor level, but still.

“Cassandra nearly got herself stripped and written on up on stage at graduation; Rachel bit me at Samhain; and Sam and I … well, let’s just say there were some regrettable choices made.”

They are barely cubs.

I casually set my hand on the floor a few inches from the twitching whiskers.

I’d given that a lot of thought last night, after realizing how many firsts the night had been for her.

“When did you ever have a chance to be a cub?” I whispered.

I waited.

I did enjoy the dancing.

“You’re very good at it.”

Fur and whiskers rubbed tentatively against the side of my hand and I crooked a finger to scratch under her jaw.

As well, the acknowledgment of my superior appearance.

I figured that meant everyone ooing and ahing and wanting pictures.

“And it made them so happy to see you.”

Melaina’s cooking may be far above their offerings, but I did enjoy the meal. There is something to be said for the ambiance.

“It was a very nice restaurant,” I agreed.

The company was acceptable.

I chuckled and managed to get all fingers working under her chin.

“Thank you.”

I scratched for a while.

You are not angry with me?

“Of course not — why would I be angry?”

I was … troublesome.

The way she said it made me think that was something she’d heard before — and I couldn’t imagine Mel saying it.

Have you ever wanted to travel back three hundred years in time so you could smack the shit out of someone? I didn’t know who, but I was certain there was someone in old Salem who’d been in dire need of an ass-kicking. I hoped they’d gotten one, somehow.

“Last night wasn’t troublesome, Felicity. It was wonderful and fun … a little gross at the end, but I’ll pay better attention and remind you to burn off some alcohol next time.”

There could be a next time?

“There’s a con in Delaware that looks fun — between the Conclave and when we have to go back to Willowmere. If you want — and if we don’t find anything to follow up on in West Virginia.”

It was too faint to hear, but I felt the rumbling of a purr.

*

I left Felicity purring and went down to breakfast.

Usually, I’d straggle downstairs for a cup of coffee with whoever’d spent the night with me — unless it was Sam’s night and there was no reason to drag her out of snoozy-time — and find one or two of the others who might have gotten up earlier.

Mel was a given — she seemed to always be up at just the right time to have a good start on breakfast and coffee ready for the rest of us.

This morning, it was everybody.

Eyes fixed on me as I turned off the stairs toward the dining room and Sam slid a freshly poured cup of coffee in front of my chair.

“Sit,” she demanded.

“Dish,” Cassandra said.

Even Mel looked at me expectantly as she set a platter of pastries on the table.

Whatever concerns I thought she might have had the night before seemed to be gone, since she’d made my favorite — the little pinwheel swirly ones with nuts.

Sam took one, spread butter over the top, which immediately began melting and sinking into the little swirls, and slid that plate next to my coffee cup — all without taking her eyes off me.

I made my usual morning rounds, giving each girl a hug and little kiss where appropriate — except for Morgan who gave me a fist bump in the interest of both our safety — then sat, sipped my coffee, and took a bite of pastry.

“Well?” Priscilla asked.

I shrugged.

“I told you last night. Felicity and I went out, we had a good time, we came home — anything else is her story to tell.”

“But —”

“What the fuck?” Morgan muttered, rising.

I snuck another bite of pastry while everyone’s eyes focused on her.

“Be right back,” she said, heading upstairs.

The eyes returned to me, but I chewed, sipped, and took another bite, ignoring them.

Mel returned to the kitchen, giving the stairs a long look.

A few minutes later, Morgan returned.

“Not a fucking word until she's ready,” she whispered, taking her seat.

Footsteps sounded from the stairs — not the light, dashing thumps of paws skipping half the steps I normally associated with Felicity coming downstairs.

The eyes went to the stairs, but Morgan cleared her throat and Mel returned with platters of pancakes and bacon, which started making the rounds.

I braced myself for catgirl nipples, but when she appeared, Felicity was wearing a set of Morgan’s pajamas. I didn’t know if I should be relieved or disappointed — then had to stifle a laugh at the realization the cat-witch probably didn’t have any clothes of her own. Why would she?

The others glanced up, nodding and murmuring good-mornings, then went back to their plates. Mel sat and started to fix a plate as she usually did, then bit her lip and moved on to her own pancakes.

Felicity came to me and leaned over to give me a hug. It surprised me, but really shouldn’t have — as a cat, she’d always twine around my legs or make a brief visit to my lap before taking her own place. I gave her what I hoped was an encouraging squeeze and she rubbed her cheek on my head before taking a seat and adding a surprising number of pancakes to her plate.

For a long time, the only sound was the clink of silverware on plates, then Sam sighed. She looked at Morgan and raised her eyebrows.

Morgan glanced at Felicity, then nodded.

Sam leaned forward so she could see Felicity around Rachel and Mel.

“Let’s hear it.”

*

Explain to me how Felicity could get blackout drunk, get carried home covered in vomit after flashing, however briefly, her … everything at an entire dance floor of people — yet I was the one blushing and staring down at my plate for the rest of breakfast?

The cat-witch’s description of the evening might have started with her ears back and tentative glances up from her plate, but by the time we were past the aws at her surprise at where I’d taken her, the oos at how popular her “costume” had been, the growls at some mundane asshole presuming to grab her ass, the raised eyebrows at my inadvertently calling Felicity my girlfriend, followed by suggestions of hexes and spells designed to deter future ass-grabbing — which left me wincing and had Marvin hiding behind my pancreas — and laughter about fire trucks …

We arrived at me wanting to see everybody naked.

Eyes turned toward me.

I stared at my plate, muttered, “You’re all very pretty,” and stuffed my mouth with bacon.

*

Felicity reached the end of her retelling as much as she could remember about the time we’d all had enough breakfast, so I got a break as we cleared the table and got the dishes in the dishwasher. Mel started that and I made another attempt to excuse myself and go upstairs, because even though Felicity might have finished telling, I didn’t think they were done talking.

Sam and Rachel headed that off by grabbing my arms and pulling me into the living room, where Rachel snuggled in on my right while Sam took her place on the floor between my knees.

I rested my left arm on top of the couch, waiting for whoever’s turn it was to snuggle up there, but Morgan took the chair across from Mel’s and then Cassandra and Priscilla squeezed onto the far end of the couch, leaving the spot next to me open.

Felicity hesitated.

Her ears went down and her tail twitched.

I had to stifle a chuckle at the realization Morgan wasn’t getting her pajamas back, because they’d cut a slit in the back for Felicity’s tail.

Tentatively at first, then with more confidence, she joined us on the couch, snuggling close, and I put my arm around her just as I would any of the others.

With a bit of relieved-disappointment, I felt cloth under my hand instead of fur.

“What I don’t get,” Morgan said, drawing her feet up under her, “is why you didn’t burn the alcohol off — I thought we could do that?”

I did — but the effects of the Winter Forest were … surprisingly swift.

“I bet,” Sam said, tapping at her phone. “This thing’s a night out all on its own — no wonder the place has a one drink max on it.”

Odd that they served me two.

“Three,” I corrected.

Felicity’s face turned up to stare at me and I had a sudden urge to lean in and kiss her — because that’s what you did when the pretty witch you were snuggling with did that.

I was well-trained, but managed to catch myself, settling for a difficult swallow and appreciating how gorgeous her eyes were.

I only remember two … and just part of the second, at that.

I frowned, thinking back.

“There might have been a waitress change at some point,” I mused. “I wasn’t paying that much attention to her and I was paying for each round as we went, so maybe they didn’t notice?”

“That leaves, like, half the dancing unaccounted for,” Cassandra said, then stared at me. “Dish.”

Felicity tensed and I shook my head, but before I could say anything, each of the others looked at Felicity, then back at me.

The warm, furry body next to me relaxed and pressed closer.

You may tell the tale. I wish to know, myself, and I am reminded that … I am safe here.

“Are you sure?”

Felicity’s nod turned into a much longer cheek rub against my chest and I chuckled.

“Yeah there was a lot more of that as the night went on — I think you wiped half your drinks on my shirt.”

Rachel pulled out her phone with a sigh.

I glanced over.

“Why are you adding cat behavior to the —” I caught sight of the scroll bar. “Hey, how long is that tutoring list, anyway?”

“Long,” Cassandra said. “Get on with it.”

*

So I described the rest of the dancing, including backtracking a bit to describe exactly how adamant Felicity had been about wanting a Winter Forest.

I mentally checked in with her a couple times at things that might have been a little embarrassing, but she said it was okay.

I think I even got some credit for how quickly I’d gotten a glamour back on her when her own failed, and the room filled with hisses at the girl who’d asked if Felicity was my roommate or girlfriend.

“Hussy,” Cassandra muttered.

Felicity ducked her head a few times, but everyone laughed at how I’d mistaken the prelude to disaster for her chuckling.

Well, the other girls laughed.

Felicity chuckled.

Which made me jump in remembered panic and set off an even longer set of laughter.

I’d just finished with us arriving home when Rachel’s phone pinged.

“Mihai’s on his way,” she said.

We were headed back to campus for a few days to check in on the cottage work and Roma who hadn’t returned to the city with us.

Sam and Rachel had been going back about once a week, so I was a little worried about what we’d find in the basement — especially with how exhausted Sam seemed when they returned. I was beginning to wonder if we’d find a multi-level sex dungeon dug into the bedrock or something.

I must pack my laptop.

Felicity stirred and rose, heading for the stairs.

We all watched her go — me with a certain sense of almost loss at the empty space beside me and the fading warmth.

I’m not stupid.

Something had changed overnight.

I wasn’t sure how or what or if I was setting myself up for a world of hurt from the probably impossible thoughts I was having, but —

Mel cleared her throat and stood. Her throat worked for a moment and she bit her lip.

“I … have some things to pack in my workroom, as well,” she said, turning abruptly.

When the basement door closed, Morgan stood and narrowed her eyes at Sam.

“Ten.”