Mirror Witch: Poison/Apple

By Joe Kinkade

Apple was just a girl, nothing special. Yeah, she lost her dad a couple months ago and life sucked.
She didn't feel like working on her science projects or reading any good books. That stuff usually perked her up.
Even Nana tried to help out by letting her have some wine on her seventeenth birthday.
That stuff tasted horrible. How did Nana drink it all the time?
Waking to another world with the ability to draw powerful symbols, she unknowingly traded places with a Twilight Guardian.
Now she had to fit in without anyone finding out or she'd be turned over to the King's men. And they liked to burn witches.
She scrambled to figure out her new powers while creatures from another universe attacked.
And that mirror Nana gave her to clean up? Sometimes it showed those strange symbols. Could it get her back home?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Joe Kinkade
• Release date: Oct 12, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311078179

Joe Kinkade

I currently live in Oklahoma.I like good stories - logical ones filled with new experiences.James Bama is my favorite artist.In television master control, I worked 4 years at the ABC affiliate in Lawton Oklahoma, and have spent 22 years at the NBC Affiliate in Tulsa Oklahoma.(almost never in front of the camera).My inspirations come from anime, pulp adventures, science fiction, and fantasy.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Appleonia Jones shivered and squeezed her eyes shut. She had gone to sleep in her bed, and should awaken in that same bed.

Something close crackled, and she opened her eyes.

Poison. We have to go. Now! insisted a girl with oceanic blue eyes. Black curls made a heart shape around her pale face. The bushes snapped closed, and she left.

Apple wiped her nose on her pajama sleeve as the bright moon hid behind a smattering of clouds.

Little devil men, with skin the color of a boiled lobster and standing about eight inches tall, marched through the underbrush. She squinted. Most of their heads were jagged mandibles with spiked teeth made for tearing things apart.

They chanted with voices far too deep for their size. With barbed tails and bald heads they carried match-stick sized torches.

Yeeee! The girl's voice broke above that eerie cadence.

Apple pushed through the bushes and slapped at her numb legs.

The little red devils carpeted the clearing. Leafy vines bound the girl's arms and legs to a broken tree stump. Her entrance caused them to stop and glare in her direction.

Apple swatted the hair away from her eyes. She didn't mind the black part falling across her face. It was the stupid white middle stripe that caused the kids growing up to call her 'Skunk', or 'Roadkill'.

Poison. Stop snoozing. And what happened to your uniform? The distinct musical quality in her voice teased Apple's ears.

Poison? Apple mumbled.

Wing-heeled sandals held in place with thin gold chains decorated the excited girl's feet. Gilded symbols twisted along the hems of her white shirt and pleated skirt.

The monsters stomped one foot toward Apple and chanted a single, Humph!

Apple's ears buzzed as the pale girl parted carmine lips and sang a lilting melody. The humming creatures gyrated back and swayed in rhythm.

A Siamese cat appeared, covered with blue fur except for a gray chin beard. It locked eyes with her for a second then wove through the mesmerized creatures. It dropped something sparkling, then backed to the tree line.

She stepped out and grabbed the oblong blue crystal. Warm with life, two white stars circled in a long dance below the surface.

Across the clearing, dressed in black with straight red hair, a young man stood under the low branches.

Had he always been there? A chill went up her spine as she blinked and he vanished.

Above where he stood, a giant, brown and white speckled owl clutched the gnarled tree limb. A tilted, glowing red halo floated behind the bird's head. Apple squeezed the crystal, and an aura tantalized below her perception.

Even weirder, a large brown bear lumbered to the stump. Head titled and ears twisting, it absorbed every note coming out of the girl.

She stopped singing and whispered, Okay, Poison. I've got the Malcur enthralled. Do your thing before the bear wakes them. She resumed her whimsical song.

Apple froze with no idea what the girl meant.

Poison. Now..., her urgent voice broke.

Apple stepped forward into the tide of little red devils intending to untie the girl.

Her uneasy smile shifted.

Apple's foot grazed one creature. A spasm of electricity jolted her leg. She grabbed her queasy midsection. Three of the beings woke from their enchantment and surrounded the bear.

It gave a low rumble but remained lulled.

She intensified her song, placating most of the Malcur. The three stayed intent on the bear. Apple felt a buzz, causing a slight imbalance in her ears.

Those tiny but powerful jaws gnawed through fur, sinew, and bone, reducing the bear to a dark liquid. In sheer disbelief, she held back the bile in her stomach while the final substance seeped into the ground.

The now wide-eyed girl slipped one of her hands out of the bonds. Apple wondered why she hadn't done that sooner.

She waved in a semi-circle with a blue trail, becoming solid.

This new thing floating in the air mesmerized Apple. Her heart raced as she reached out and poked the symbol. It was chilled hard, and without knowing how, she sensed it emanated vast power.

Every red devil was now awake and standing, their attention on Apple.

The girl's throat rasped then gave out. A line of blood leaked from one side of her mouth as her body bowed backwards over the stump. The creatures stomped once in unison and turned back to devour the unconscious girl.

Apple clenched the symbol and commanded, Stop!

The second sight matured in her mind. She perceived the structures of molecules making up her surroundings. Particles that traveled slower were colder. It was elementary physics straight from the many science books she loved to read. But science couldn't explain the desire to order the moisture on the ground, and in the air, to slow it further. The temperature dropped below freezing, giving her another shiver.

She couldn't hold on to the floating symbol as gravity yanked it from her hands. It fell through the ground. A ring of blazing blue pulsed from the entry point.

The light flickered, now accompanied by an incredible roaring sound, making it impossible to think. She clutched her ears, fending off a roaring crackle. Ice crystallized, stretching over the entire clearing. The red devils froze with their little arms and sharp teeth stretching upward into a low fog.

The blue pulse echoed back, converging into a droplet above the trees. It dropped, shattering the creatures into millions of pieces. Their parts turned into ebony puddles over the ice.

Apple became light headed and leaned forward onto the tree stump. Euphoria swirled around her face. It reminded her of last night when Nana let her have that red wine, celebrating her seventeenth birthday.

The owl with the red halo launched, shaking the tree limb and spreading a cloud of leaves. With long air-pounding strokes, it circled the clearing once, then flew out of sight.

She was happy to see misty breath over the girl's white face.

Apple struggled with the tough knots, which made her wonder how the girl had taken her hand out so easy.

Why was everything so real? Why hadn’t she woken up yet? And why had Nana let her drink that wine?

She longed for her soft bed, and warm quilt. Nana’s house had been quiet after Dad passed, but it was better than these freezing woods.

I'm getting this last knot.

The girl swallowed with a rattle, then raised her head. Silly, she said with a smile that reminded Apple of a dolphin.

Apple pulled the cords through the last knot and sucked her finger tips.

The vines dropped, and the girl pulled a pouch on a necklace from inside her shirt. She took out a matching blue crystal and carved a single green floating character in the air. It gave a small pop sound, coming into existence. She rolled it into a ball, radiating a soothing green balm.

It's temporary, the girl said. Let’s go home. I think we can skip the rest of patrol after getting that many Malcur. That's the most we've seen since Green Hill. She paused then stated, We sacrificed that poor bear. Halo’s gonna be pissed.

The girl brushed her skirt with quick strokes, then took Apple’s hand.

A few minutes later the woods ended at a broken, rocky wall. Dim shapes loomed ahead of a large building complex on flat grounds.

The healing warmth subsided as they walked in silence with the crisp night cutting through her pajamas.

Why did this girl call her Poison? She didn't even know who she was following, and how was this whole symbols-drawn-in-the-air stuff even possible? None of this mattered though, being only a dream.

She examined the oblong, flat edged crystal in her hand. Star lights swirled within, met once, then raced around again.

Her mind kept circling back to memories of Dad. He helped her put back on that troublesome bicycle chain. She wished she had that old bike to ride wherever they were going.

The brisk air made her teeth sensitive. Years back, when they were at the cabin, with no dentist for miles, and her tooth ached beyond belief. Dad tied it to a string connected to the doorknob. That did not go well.

They used to drive to the ice-cream shop in the 1965 hard top Mustang. They had both worked so hard restoring it, only to have that car be the death of him. Even when she woke from this weird dream, he would still be gone.

Since the funeral no one had led her by the hand.

I have to tell you something. I’m not…, Apple started.

Poison, I’m tired, can it wait until school tomorrow?

Mud and soppy leaves covered the bottom of Apple's feet. They had left the complex and traveled a cobbled-path with houses on either side of the road.

The house where they stopped was Nana’s house with the same old tree bending next to her open bedroom window. She should be more surprised, but she was out of energy.

Apple wiped her feet as best she could on the grass and climbed through the window. Her bed with the quilt sewn by Nana, pulled back, never looked so inviting.

The girl climbed into a window of her own across the street.

What a dream... no nightmare, she muttered, while burying herself under the covers. She smelled Nana's marigold and lavender potpourri. Drifting to sleep, she thought she heard a mature woman’s voice say, I am waiting for you, Apple of my eye.

Funny that's what Dad always called her.

Chapter 2

Apple opened her eyes and blinked at the rainbow of light on her pillow while listening to the chirping birds outside the window.

Sun rays bounced off the old mirror in the center of her room. Nana had told her to get it down from the attic yesterday. It was her birthday present if she got it clean. It had polished up well with the tarnish remover. Nana had watched with that sad look she got sometimes remembering earlier days.

Ah Refraction. She could use her book with the spectrum charts and another magnifying glass. She bet she could list eighty percent of the chemical composition of the light through the absorption colors. With a real spectrum analyzer she could tell the good stuff.

Every morning she stared at the trophies lining her shelves - won in science class from projects she’d made. Well, she and Dad had made.

Um, where's my trophies? Her voice went low and husky. She threw off the quilt and swung her legs to the side of the bed. Dried mud and leaves caked her feet and sheets.

Her heart beat faster as she slowly approached the window. Past the bent tree, the cobbled-street and sparse houses on the block matched her dream. This was not her home. A glittering, thin coat of ice slicked the grass and street.

Apple rubbed her eyes and shivered. I've got to think. Think! What is happening? She disliked her husky tone. It made her sound scared. Dad hated that.

She took a deep breath, held it, then relaxed. There's a logical explanation.

Apple inventoried the room. There was the mirror, a table, her springy bed with two fluffy pillows, Nana's quilt, and a triple drawer dresser. She didn't recognize the junk on the table which included a gaudy jewelry box. Clothes cut with not enough material and colors that made her turn up her nose littered the hardwood floor.

She picked up the dark blue crystal from the bed, feeling it's weird warmth then went to the table. Five girls wearing brown skirts and vests over white shirts filled the seashell framed picture table. Two girls crouched while a girl on the top row could have been her twin, except her hair was white with a black stripe going up the middle. She made a two-fingered salute behind a tall, yellow-haired girl's head. The singing girl with that forever smile was at the end.

The writing on the back of the picture said, 10-09-2120 Province Fair, B.O., Gale, Mieri, me, and Angela.

Immaculate writing stood out on a note pad. Stop skipping or I'm not lending my notes anymore, Mieri. A heart symbol floated underneath the sentence.

Bedsides the bed, the mirror is the only thing here I recognize, Apple said in a more stable tone. She returned the picture and stepped to the mirror.

It was a foot taller than herself and engravings covered the frame. Seashells fanned outward, holding pearls. Metallic fish and gilded corals with jagged outcrops glinted back at her. A naked mermaid, tail mid-splash, rolled water near the top, and on her right sat a girl with a serpent tail. It reminded her of Nana's fictional siren tales.

Reliefs at the top center cradled the Moon. Though, this moon had an elaborate trident etched across its middle. More sea life and plants adorned the sides, and a spread book anchored the bottom.

Deep thuds sounded in the distance. She glanced outside but saw nothing.

Apple studied herself in the mirror. Dried mud smudged her pajamas. Black hair hung across her shoulders, frizzy and in need of serious brushing. In the middle of her bangs, never far from her thoughts, the white stripe stretched over the middle of her head and along her back.

She moved her head side to side, eyes locked on the reflection. Next, she tried to see from the corner of her eye. Was there a delay?

The window rattled as the thumping got louder.

Then it stopped.

Apple held her breath to hear more. A truck engine idled, then metal scrapped on rock.

She stuck her head over the sill, grabbing the bent tree limb. She went through the window with her feet touching the icy ground, shivering without shoes.

More sounds arrived from the back of the house, a higher pitch squeal, a large thud, and a whistle blowing.

Apple found the mysterious singing girl from last night, her back turned, peering around the corner. She was now in that same brown skirt and vest uniform from table picture. Could this be Mieri?

What is going on here... Mieri?

Mieri whispered, A King's Demon.

Satisfied with her guess, she traded places and peered around the corner. A golden machine glistened in the morning sun. Armored legs and arms rattled on the street. A transparent vertical cylinder percolated bubbles in the middle of the mechanism as a man with floating hair sat in front of skinny levers. Twin smoke stacks vented black fumes.

Two men wearing black uniforms with tinsel brushes on their shoulders used black sticks to pound at the neighboring home entrance.

A girl with long, stark red hair sprang out of the side window. Her pink nightgown hooked on the window. A megaphone squawked from the metal creature and one soldier ran towards her. While she struggled two people Apple assumed were the mother and father opened the door.

He ripped the gown bottom as he pulled her screaming into the street. The other soldier held the doorway. Apple could only make out desperate voices from this distance.

The megaphone sounded again. One Cecilia Tycho of Street 9, Block B, House 3 is pronounced guilty of witchcraft. I am sorry for your family's loss.

What are they going to do? Apple asked.

Mieri licked her lips. They are accusing her of being a Witch. What do you think they are going to do?

The soldier grabbed a long black object from the rear of the machine and shook it apart with one hand to form a metal tripod. He grunted every time she kicked, but he got her shackled in place.

The father in the doorway bulled forward, but the soldier used his black stick. It made an electric frying sound. He went to his knees, his whole body jerking, then his head lolled while the mother wailed.

Finished with watching, Apple put her full body around the corner and went into a long, purposeful stride. Mieri missed clutching her arm. Poison! You can't expose us here.

Apple did not look back. She weighed the crystal in her hand. What if this was real? She remembered last night as red devils ate that entire bear. An innocent girl was not getting murdered right in front of her.

A tube lit up on top of one of the metal arms and a gush of hot fire spewed at a high angle above the shackled girl.

The arm lowered.

Apple skidded across the icy road and stretched out her arms, standing in the path of the fire. She calmed herself with the idea that if the worst happened she'd get to see Dad again.

Citizen. Remove yourself from the Verdict or you will join the Witch, ordered the soldier through the megaphone.

Apple remembered Mieri drawing that symbol. She clutched the blue stone in her left fist, squeezing the flat surface and trying to bring out the magic.

A soldier ran up behind and grabbed her around the waist.

I won't let you kill her! Apple yelled.

Shapes dropped from above, knees bent on impact. As they straightened, three girls stood in front of the tripod. They wore the same uniforms as Mieri from last night. They had white shirts and skirts with gilded embroidery at the hems, and gold wing-tipped sandals.

The one on the left spread her feet. She was a foot taller, not overweight but had more curves than the others. On the right, the girl had short brown hair, and sparkling eyes. Apple blinked. Tiny lightning bolts emanated from those orbs.

A skinny, straw-haired girl, with a brilliant sun colored halo floating at an angle behind her head, spoke first.

Dammit, Poison. This is your fault. She glared at Apple then approached the soldier with confident steps. There has been a dreadful misunderstanding. You will release these girls at once.

The soldier let go of Apple. So the rumors are true. A pack of crazy girls are on the loose. Witches as far I'm concerned and you can all fry. He drew his sword and signaled The King's Demon.

The girl with the halo sighed, It's never easy. In a louder voice she commanded, Twilight Guardians, attack pattern Chicago. The girl with the lightning in her eyes ran midway up the lawn, putting herself between the soldier and the house.

The big girl backed away while pointing to herself and then curled her index finger to the sword bearing soldier. She cracked her knuckles, making echoes return from the neighborhood.

No mere girl will get the best of a soldier in the King's service!

Apple whirled at the sound of the booming whistle from the smoke stacks. The girl with the halo pushed her to the ground, just missing the flames from The King's Demon.

She realized these were all girls from the seashell framed photo.

The blonde planted her feet apart on the thin ice and pulled a thick flaming sword out of the air, then used it to deflect the gushing flames.

Mieri ran past, did something that flashed green, and broke the shackles of the red-haired girl.

The brown-haired girl held both arms above her head on the lawn, waving to a small black cloud of turmoil. Lighting flashed and connected to the soldier at the door. Thunder drowned out his yells, then his body dropped into spasms. Father and mother lurched to their daughter's side.

The big girl stopped and let the sword soldier catch up to her. She knelt and came up with a single fist in a terrible one-shot punch, connecting with his jaw in a crunch. The soldier rose a foot off the ground, and Apple could have sworn she saw teeth flying out of his mouth. He crushed a row of flowers on the way down.

The girl with the halo batted the flames back toward the metal creature. The man made large, fast movements, working the controls. It couldn't back up