Two days later...

Lila sat behind the wheel of her sports car, looking at a luxury shoe store across the street. Cindy was inside, trying out some expensive personalized creations, a brilliant radiance exuding from every pore. It was almost impossible to believe she was the same woman Lila had met in college but, after her mother’s surprising revelations, things were starting to make a little more sense.

The good witch had a cup of cinnamon coffee resting on her lap and too many doubts still lingered in her mind. The echoes of her last conversation were still very much present and they promised nothing good.

“A possession symbol? Are you absolutely sure about that?” she asked.

“Yes,” her mother replied. “You can clearly see in the picture that it’s no ordinary ink. That’s a spell etched on her skin and something like this requires blood magic. It appears to be quite recent too.”

“But there have been no reports of the usage of dark arts in the country for over a decade! How can this be?”

“Not all magic is easily accounted for, sweetie. I’ve always suspected there are things happening beyond the reach of the Council and this proves it. You need to learn everything you can about this situation as quickly as possible and help this poor woman if you can.”

The Council of Witches and Warlocks, also known by its original Latin name Congregatio Magica, was an organization founded in the Middle Ages that provided an easy form of registration to magic users around the world. It was also responsible for investigating all events related to magical influences in the human world as well as providing specialized medical care to those afflicted by magical ailments like those resulting from spells, hexes, and debilitating curses. They had clinics spread across five continents and were pioneers in various forms of magical transfusion and/or containment. Respected by some, but loathed by many others, the Council had been a divisive institution ever since the date of its inception and that was unlikely to ever change.

“What? Why? I don’t want to get involved in any of this. If what you say is true, I’ll just report it to the Council and let them deal with it.”

“Lila, I can’t believe you said that! I didn’t raise you to be so selfish.”

“Why am I being selfish? You taught me never to mess with evil magic and now you want me to do the exact opposite? That’s insane!”

“Is it, really?”

“Yes. She could have agreed to be enslaved, we don’t know that.”

“You’re right, we don’t know for sure, but experience tells me no one agrees to such powerful binding rituals willingly. My guess is that she’s in danger and by extension, so is Penelope. What if she confronts her and draws out the witch’s attention?”

“I told her not to do anything foolish.”

“She does foolish things every time she falls in love, my dear. Is that a risk you are really willing to take?”

“No, but the Council is better prepared for situations like this, Mom. Those are the rules.”

“Forget about the rules for a moment and listen to me. If you go to the Council, they’ll waste time with pointless inquiries before deciding to do a thing. I served with them when you were young, remember? The bureaucracy has only gotten worse in the last couple of years and their inaction is unacceptable. The longer you wait to sort this out the worse it will be for everyone involved and that also includes Penelope’s man.”

“You think Quentin may have been compromised as well?”

“I don’t know, maybe. If he’s indeed involved with her and her actions are being controlled by someone else, then he may be on his way to becoming a puppet, too. If you don’t want to do it for her or for him, do it for Penelope before she ends up hurting herself even more than she already has because of this. It’s the right thing to do, Lila.”

“I can’t fight against a dark witch. I don’t have the knowledge or the strength for it.”

“Nobody is asking you to fight her directly but you can still try to fix things. Look Cindy up, get her inside a safe place where she can open up to you, and then take it from there. If you get her to expose the identity of her slaver, it will be easier to sever the bond and make everyone safe again.”

“I don’t know... The risks involved...”

“Are nothing compared to the regret you’ll feel in the future if anything goes awry. Good women don’t sit still when injustice is all around them, Lila. Please, don’t let this one slide.”

Her mother made some convincing arguments and it was almost impossible to talk her out of anything when she had already made up her mind so, reluctantly, Lila agreed. She would have to do things her way, though.

The first order of business was to make sure Penelope kept her end of the bargain. A sudden emotional shift could end up in disaster, so Lila “bribed” her with a promise.

“What are you talking about?” Penelope asked over the phone

“Don’t go talk to Quentin like I said. Let me do it on your behalf,” Lila replied.

“What? Why?”

“Because it’s the best way to know what’s going on without getting you all riled up again. You’re too invested in this. Let me give you a fresh perspective.”

“Hmm, I don’t know, I still think a spell would have been better.”

“Magic continues to be out of the question, sorry, but I’ll carry the burden for you for a while so you don’t have to.”

“Okay, let’s assume I agree. You talk to him and then what? What am I supposed to do in the meantime?”

“You stay put, obviously. You don’t go near him so you can cool off for good and you do the same regarding Cindy. Leave them both alone while I dig up everything possible to help you out. Do we have a deal?”

“Do you promise not to keep any secrets from me regardless of the outcome?”

“Of course. I’m just looking out for your mental well-being, that’s all.”

“Hmm, okay. I’ll let you have this one for now but I want to hear from you the moment your conversation with him is over, okay? When are you planning on doing it?”

“After the weekend is over because I have some other things to take care of in the meantime. I won’t keep waiting for long, don’t worry.”

“Deal. Thank you, Lila. You really are the best and sorry if I was a little pushy earlier.”

“You have nothing to apologize for and you’re more than welcome. Thank you for trusting me.”

With that out of the way, Lila moved on to the next stage of her plan, which involved following Cindy around and getting to know her routine. She had to keep a low profile before making any sort of contact in case whoever had enslaved her was lurking nearby. The problem with evil witches was that they were absolutely identical to everyone else. If, by any chance, they had been born with a distinctive trait that could easily be identified, they would use basic glamors and other forms of illusion to maintain the status quo. Lila had no way of knowing what she was looking for, so careful observation was her best friend in this scenario.

The stakeout began when Cindy left her beach house to hit the gym first thing in the morning. Lila was there when she met with her trainer and quietly observed the elaborate training program she had going. After almost an hour of getting sweaty in all the places that mattered, Cindy took a shower, got dressed, and began a long shopping spree downtown. First came the dresses, then the exotic fragrances, and finally the footwear with scandalous price tags.

The origin of Cindy’s wealth was something the kind witch hadn’t been able to figure out. No one in her family was rich and she didn’t have a business of her own, so maybe that was another consequence of her condition. People do crazy things for fame and fortune all the time, including selling their souls. A witch’s brand wasn’t that far-fetched for someone whose priorities had been warped.

Lila sipped her coffee and leaned against the seat’s headrest. Courtesy of a simple blocking spell, she had muted all sounds around her save for Cindy’s voice. It didn’t make a difference whether she was fifty or five hundred yards away. She could always hear her and pick up the subtle nuances in her voice.

From following her all morning, Lila had already reached the conclusion that Cindy was not a bad person. Shallow in some aspects for sure, but not the worst she had seen. It seemed she was trying to enjoy life to the best of her abilities and when funds were no object, that was fairly easy to do. So how had magic entered her life? Answering that question alone could make a ton of difference when the time came to confront her with what was going on.

Cindy left the shoe store with three bags in her right hand and returned to her car, a silver electric convertible with sleek lines and an overall futuristic look. Lila had never seen anything like it before but she loved it. Its shape was unmistakable even in the thick of traffic. Where was she going next? It was time to find out.

Lila was expecting a fancy restaurant or perhaps a detour to a jewelry store but ended up following her former classmate to a graveyard and the Reed family mausoleum that stood within its grounds. The large enclosed space was the perfect opportunity to catch her all by herself, so when Cindy disappeared into the darkness inside, Lila phased through the left wall to join her.

“What the fuck?” Cindy screamed when she realized what had just happened. “Who are you and what do you want from me?”

“Hello, Cindy,” Lila said in the most neutral tone possible. “Please, don’t be alarmed. You probably don’t remember me but we went to college together. My name is Lila. I know the man you’ve been hooking up with and I’m also aware of what that tattoo on your wrist really means. Can we please talk for a while? I promise you I mean you no harm.”

Cindy shook her head as if she had seen a demon rise from the underground to devour her whole.

“You’re one of them, aren’t you?” she asked. “You’re a fucking witch and I’ve got nothing to say to you.”

“I am a witch, yes,” Lila nodded, keeping her hands down and close to her hips. “But not like the one who branded you. Actually, that’s what I’d like to talk to you about. Can you tell me how and why that happened?”

“What? No! Look, Lila, you say you know me but I don’t remember you and you’re invading a private area. My life is none of your business, so please leave me alone.”

Lila sighed. “Normally, I’d agree with you, and believe me, I’m not doing this lightly, but your actions - whether voluntary or not - are interfering with the life of someone I hold dear, and there’s also the matter of the ritual that binds you. Blood magic is extremely dangerous and has long been outlawed by the Council of Witches and Warlocks. Whoever used it on you is breaking the law and such actions must not go unpunished. Please - if this is not something you wished for - you need to tell me so I can try to help you break free from it.”

“Break free?” Cindy chuckled, a veil of madness suddenly descending over her penetrating eyes. “Freedom is a myth. I’ll never be free again! I thought I could control my life but I never stood a chance. You can’t help me, Lila. No one can.”

“Please don’t say that. That is powerful magic for sure, but every spell has a counter-spell. Your enslavement doesn’t need to be permanent.”

“Hmph...” Cindy frowned, rubbing her fingers over the possession symbol. Red flickers swirled around its shadowy outlines like minuscule lightning cracking her skin. “You don’t understand. You have no idea who you’re dealing with and it’s best if you don’t find out. For now, we’re still alone but she can appear at any moment and see the world through my eyes. If you value your life, you’ll leave now and forget about me.”

“I can’t do that, Cindy. Not now.”

“Then you’re signing your death sentence and I refuse to be responsible for it. I didn’t ask for any of this. Don’t let the new body, the nice clothes, and all that fool you. My real life is a living hell but I have no choice.”

“There’s always a choice as long as you don’t give up. At least tell me her name.”

“I can’t. Please leave. Do it now!”

“Is she coming?”

“Yes. I can feel her presence creeping up on me... Oh, God! Not again!”

Cindy’s upper body convulsed as a flow of otherworldly energy ran up her spine. Her eyes lit up like Christmas lights on a rainy night, but there was no purity in them, only uncontained malice dripping down her face.

“Well,” she said, a cavernous voice escaping her half-open lips. “Who do we have here?”

((to be continued))