Lady Love: Whisper

By Kit Fox

Alexandria Love was an innocent girl who survived Salem in 1692. This is the story of the girl who became a witch; the witch who became a lawyer, and the lawyer who ensures that wicked men pay for their crimes against women, one way, or another. In Hollywood 2020, there is no shortage of those kinds of men, but when Alexandria goes to help Whisper Bishop, she finds much more than a new case.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trient Press
• Release date: Nov 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9781955198387

Book preview

Prologue

The dreams again daughter? Lilith asks me.

Nightmares, I reply.

Dreams child, nothing more, nothing less, she says with a warm smile.

I was a young girl; a man was looming over me; I was in pain and crying for him to stop. I saw office furniture around me, but it took me back to Salem.

Lilith looks at me softly. Like my birth mother, her eyes are a soft blue, and her gaze feels like a hug in my soul.

Sounds like your rest is over daughter, Lilith says and gives me a soft kiss. Her lips on mine are like the touch of velvet and they warm me like the sun on a cold day.

I open my eyes to see Uffe lounging in front of me, just outside my meditation circle. My faithful Viking lord who upset his gods. They double cursed him to be a large, and immortal, Norwegian Wolf. That happened well before Columbus, and aside from my fallen Angel husband Barbatos, he is the oldest living creature I know.

Barbatos, is an earth-based fallen angel who Lilith married to me. The bond it creates stopped my natural human aging process. He also gives me the ability to talk to animals, and he is great at finding lost treasures. I will admit that my cabin in Lime Creek California, a law degree, and a nice car are all thanks to one such cache of Aztec gold.

I doubt Odin, or any of the rest of them, would be upset if I altered your curse just a little and let you spend a few more hundred years as a frog, Uffe. You know I don’t like spectators when I’m meditating, I remind him. I trust Uffe, I am the only person he can talk to. When he found me, he was on the edge of insanity. His mind was broken from hundreds of years of no intelligent communication. I helped bring him back to himself, even though I cannot change the fact that he is a wolf.

He got worried, Mistress. You were crying for someone to stop. I felt your anguish in my heart. He, who caused such suffering, should not go unpunished, Barbatos says, appearing on my shoulder. He has a few forms he can use, that I have seen. One is a small impish creature that resembles a fox bat. Another is simply a terrifying shadow thing for which I have no words that give his description credit when he is in that form.

I was not worried, Uffe growls out. I thought there might be a fight.

There is going to be. Where is- I reply but I am cut off by the soft shout of my ward Jacob.

A-a-alex, Jacob says as he walks around the stone privacy wall to my meditation area. I meditate naked, and although I shed my modesty long ago, Jacob is still a boy in a man’s body. Oh s-s-s-s-s-sorry, he says as he abruptly turns to look the other way.

It’s alright Jacob. What is it? I ask, reaching for my silk robe.

One of-f-f-f the names y-you-you asked m-m-me to watch for came up, he answers. Jacob has high functioning autism with a stutter. He was abused horribly by his birth parents who had no idea how to handle him. Computers help him focus, so I got him internet at the cabin, and he watches the news clips on a regular basis for me.

Which name? I ask him as I put a hand on his shoulder to turn him around. He is around five feet nine inches in height, which puts us level with each other. Meeting my gaze when we talk is another task we have been working on.

He turns slowly with his eyes closed tight. I have my robe on Jacob.

Slowly, his right eye cracks open to confirm. When he opens them both, he meets my eyes for a moment then lowers his gaze to the ground. Barbatos is still sitting on my shoulder, and he makes Jacob nervous.

C-c-c-can you jus-jus-jus-just look at my computer while I g-g-g-go for a walk? he asks, which is not like him. He knows I will not get mad at him for giving me news I have asked him for.

Which name Jacob, I ask him again. Feelings from the dream I had hammering on my emotions.

Bishop, he says and takes a step back. Barbatos disappears with a small popping sound, and Uffe sneezes. Bridget Bishop was the first of the two hundred women and men accused of witchcraft and sentenced to death in Salem. Bridget was around sixty years old and sure she was a gossip queen, but the horrible things that happened behind closed doors to even her are inexcusable.

Where?

Hol-hol-hollywood.

Jacob, I say softly to get him to look up at me again. I will never get mad at you or take my anger out on you for doing what I asked, even when what I asked is bringing me bad news. I can see that you are a little shaken. Is that because of what you found?

He just nods. His eyebrows are up in the middle creating the most adorable puppy eyes I have ever seen. Sadly, it means he is sad, and the news was bad. The problem with the way they post news these days on the internet and TV is that often they include pictures.

Uffe, make sure the sprites do not bother Jacob on his walk while I go see what happened, I instruct the big wolf and tip toe up to give Jacob a small kiss on the forehead before heading to the cabin.

Come on lad, Uffe says, although I know Jacob cannot understand his growls. For all his Viking bluster and desire to fight, he has a soft side for Jacob.

I keep reminding myself that Bishop is not an uncommon name, and it is likely not a descendant of the Bishop family I knew. The memories of her last days at the hands of those holy men before they hanged her never leaves me alone for long.

If I close my eyes for too long, I can smell the putrid odor of our filthy bodies and rotten food. I can even hear the screaming girls and moaning men as if it were happening beside me. They used what was going on to feed their sick desires for young women and then blamed their actions on being bewitched by them.

Reason was not something they wanted to hear as we kept trying to tell them we would not bewitch them to rape our bodies and beat us. I even tried telling them that if I were going to bewitch one of them, it would be to kill the others and let us go, not treat me like an animal for their sick amusements.

I walk into Jacob’s very tidy room and sit down at his computer desk to look at what he left for me. There are two windows open on the screen; the first is an article with a picture of a young woman. Her young face is regal and beautiful. Emerald green cat eyes shine through the photo, at least the one that is not surrounded by a huge bruise and swollen. Rage boils up as a younger Bridget Bishop’s face stares at me from the screen. The second is a family search stretching from nineteen-year-old Whisper Bishop back to the bishop family of Salem Massachusetts and beyond.

The article tells the tale of a young aspiring actress named Whisper Bishop, who claims she was sexually assaulted during a meeting with Jason Shepherd Jr, son of Hollywood tycoon Jason Shepherd, for a part in an upcoming independent film Shepherd Jr is working on. Shepherd’s attorneys made a statement claiming the woman arrived at the interview and appeared to be under the influence of possible narcotics and became violent when Shephard told her she would not be considered in her condition.

The family search tells me the tale of a nineteen-year-old girl who lost her parents in a car wreck when she was young and had been raised by her god mother who died in a drive by shooting two years ago outside of a Starbucks in Malibu California.

I look over to confirm that Jacob already printed both the article and the family search before I close the windows and take a deep steadying breath. I want to scream and break something, but that is never a good idea for me.

I feel the Yin-Yang dragon tattoo I have on my left breast starts to shift, telling me that my balance is off. I received that tattoo after a decade of study and practice at the Shaolin Temple in Zhengzhou China.

Long years of life and a need to fill them with things other than sadness and pain has taken me down many paths. I learned to make enchanted tattoos along one such road, some are permanent, and some are single use spells.

The dragons settle down on my chest as I walk into the main room to my desk and phone. I look up the number for a friend I met a year ago in the Hollywood area and dial.

Hello, Sarah Farroh answers in her soft and always seductive voice.

Sarah, this is Alexandria Love, how are you? I ask softly.

I’m fantastic Love, how are you? she asks with an excitement in her voice. We had an intensely erotic night together after a rough evening of removing an abusive man from her life.

I am feeling rejuvenated and with a desire to dance naked under the stars, I answer, allowing my excitement to enter my voice as a memory of doing just that with her and her Coven flashes in my mind.

Well, it just so happens that we have that planned for this weekend at the Wisdom Tree; we would be honored for you to join us. I would also be happy to offer you a bed to sleep in at my apartment. I moved to the AVA Toluca Hills last month and have room, she offers, and I hear more desire in her voice.

That would be wonderful. I must admit that work has prompted this call, not that you haven’t been in my thoughts, I say a little guilty that I have secluded myself for the last year from people whom I have connected with.

It is alright Love; I am not a girl and I know what occupies your time. If I am the first call you made, then I am happy for that, she says in that serious yet still so seductive voice of hers.

Thank the Goddess,

This is the only call I intend to make, I assure her.

When shall I expect you?

This evening.

I will let the girls know.

See you tonight, I finish and hang up the phone to pack. I keep a few suits wrapped and ready for travel along with a bag of clothes. The outfits in the bag are probably a little outdated after a year at home, but that is not a concern I put effort into thinking about.

As I am grabbing things, I wonder if maybe I should take Jacob with me. He has been up here for a little longer than I have. Social interaction is not something he has mentioned craving, but it may be good for him.

Barbatos, I call to my fallen angel of a husband. Yes, that is the title I had to accept with the bond. It does not bother me, and he has never pushed anything. For several centuries now he has remained a perfect gentleman. I guess in today’s terms they would call it an open relationship.

Yes Mistress, he answers, appearing as an amorphous shadow in the corner of my bedroom.

Will you please go let Uffe and Jacob know that we are taking a trip, and I need Jacob to come back now to pack a bag, I ask him in an unintentionally seductive tone. His shape solidifies enough for me to see his dark and beautiful face looking at me from out of the pitch blackness of what I have called his natural form for three hundred years.

I will. Are you alright Wife? he asks me with a tenderness in his voice that makes me pause. It is not that he has never done that, but it is rare for him to speak to me that way or call me wife.

I am Husband. I apologize for using that tone with you. I know it is not appropriate. You have always been the only man in my life I have ever felt I could trust not to hurt me, and I am grateful daily for you, I say in a moment, I know needs open honesty. I do love my husband, even if I have never touched him in the way people in love do. Our relationship has always been about what I do and him always helping me do it without dying.

He is always free to roam and fill his needs with whomever he wishes, whatever those needs may be. He glides to me with a purposefulness as the rest of his form solidifies to look like a man. He is a little over six feet tall and muscled like a Roman Gladiator, lean and built for battle. His face is strikingly beautiful now and his black eyes sparkle with little stars. He raises one hand to the side of my face and his cool touch relaxes my nerves, which have been put on alert.

You never need to apologize to me for anything. We are joined for a purpose, not for an emotional bond we shared. Although I feel everything you feel, I do not share emotions the way humans do, and I do not worry over details such as etiquette. I have no ego to bruise or heart strings to pull. I am yours in every way you need or desire me that fills my purpose, he explains.

I know why Lilith joined us, and it was not for love. Love has grown between us from respect and admiration, but, at the end of the day, our relationship has been about purpose and duty. I guess the human in me forgets sometimes what he is as opposed to who he is.

Remind me of that purpose, I say, touching his wrist and leaning into his hand. I am comfortable with him, and that has saved me more than anything.

Your safety and wellbeing in all ways, he answers as he begins to pull lightly and urge me to step into his embrace. I happily comply and wrap my other arm around his firm body. When we finish, I found something in Egypt you might like, he says as his strong arms wrap around my body and he holds me in a hug there is only two ways out of, his death, or him letting go. I hide from the world for a moment, tucked safely in the only arms I have ever trusted to keep me safe.

This fulfills my needs more than anyone or thing ever could, I whisper.

The front door bursts open spilling Jacob and Uffe into the living room. Jacob is laughing a happy and boisterous laugh. That is a sound I do not get to hear often, and it lifts me up a bit.

Children, Barbatos whispers as the pressure of his hug loosens and his body becomes less solid.

Uffe situates himself to appear less like a child playing and more like the great wolf he is. I look at him for a moment wondering what is going on and I see a small, shiny gossamer wing sticking out of the corner of his mouth.

What did you do Uffe? I ask, hands going to my hips.

He ate that m-m-mean pixie. Then, he b-b-barked at the rest. Th-th-th-then another one c-c-c-c-came up and b-b-bopped his nose, so he sn-sn-sn-sneezed and it flew b-back with b-b-buggers all over it-it-it and stuck to a tree, Jacob says while trying to get his laughing under control.

What did you say to the Pixies? I ask Uffe.

That he tasted like a mint, he says in his wolfish grumble, and although dogs do not laugh, his ribs bounce like a human’s as he tries to. Pixies are one of the Fae that understand animals.

W-w-what d-did he say? Jacob asks. I hesitate for a moment to tell him, but...

He said that he tasted like a mint, I relay to him. Jacob explodes into laughter.

Why is this so funny to you two. Those pixies help keep the wards up around the property, I scold them and admittedly I am struggling not to laugh.

B-b-because th-the pixies were cracking up too, Jacob barely gets out before he starts laughing again.

Boys, I say with a chuckle. Jacob, when you have composed yourself, pack your bag, I say and walk out the front door to handle damage control. I cannot help but think that I should have been more specific with his method of keeping the pixies from messing with Jacob.

Chapter 1

Six hours in a car with Jacob and Uffe is more like being stuck in a bad dream that constantly loops you into answering the same question over and over.

What did he say? Jacob asks for about the thousandth time.

He said he needs to pee, I answer him.

I did not, Uffe says to me.

What did he say? Jacob asks.

He said he is tired of being in the car, I answer.

I did not, Uffe says again.

If he said he’s hungry then I agree on all three, Jacob says finally breaking the pattern of Uffe growling something, Jacob asking what he said, and me translating.

Me too, I say and mentally thank every goddess I can think of as I pull into the parking lot of Sarah’s apartment complex.

I told Jacob to google the place in the car to help pass time and he told me the rooms are nice and there is a pool. I told him since it is summer, he might meet a girl if he hangs out by the pool. One thing I have not let him do is sit inside all the time. Long hikes and swimming in my pool has kept his body in shape. He is a handsome young man, but, like me, his trust in people is limited to me and Uffe.

We head up to the second floor and to the door my divining spell is telling me is Sarah’s apartment and knock.

Coming, I hear her voice say from inside.

Dammit, I whisper remembering I decided to bring Jacob after I had spoken with her and forgot to call her back.

The door swings open and Sarah is standing there in an almost transparent white silk robe. Her dark, wavy hair is flowing around her face and down the front of her shoulders to end at the upper curve of her breasts. Her hazel eyes are a sharp contrast, like ice sparkling in the moonlight. She is barefoot, but that does not change the length of her legs showing under the short robe.

Jacob makes a quick change in the direction he is facing, and, I am sure, turns a great shade of red.

I didn’t know you would have someone with you, Sarah says apologetically, and steps aside to let us in.

I step right into her space on my tip toes and position my mouth right by her ear to whisper, I will make it up to you.

Her exhale of breath is heavy and, as I lean back, I see her biting her lower lip.

Sarah, this is Jacob. Jacob, this is Sarah Farroh. She is a friend and I forgot to tell her you were coming, I say calmly. Jacob does not handle this kind of surprise well.

H-h-hi, he says while turning around but keeping his eyes down.

Nice to meet you, Jacob. Please come in and make yourselves comfortable while I put on something more appropriate, Sarah says and strides off quickly.

Is sh-she mad? Jacob asks me.

No, she was just surprised, I answer him with a smile to comfort him.

I liked that surprise, Uffe mumbles.

What did...

I think that was just his stomach, I say quickly.

Are y-you mad?

No Jacob. I’m tired from the drive, I explain and usher him in.

The apartment is nice with an ultramodern look with lots of glass cabinets and metal trimming. The owners must have decided every inch needed to look different from every other apartment in the world. It is not my taste, but I do not live here.

You two have a seat at the dining table and I will go talk to Sarah and see how she wants to work this, I tell the boys as I start towards the room, she went in.

I knock lightly on the closed door and ask softly. Sarah, may I come in?

As long as it’s just you, she answers, and I can hear some frustration in her voice. I open the door slowly and step in without opening it more than I need to. I do not want the boys to see more of her than they already have.

I am sorry, I say shyly as I quietly close the door behind me with a soft click. Sarah steps out from what I am assuming is a walk-in closet holding a pair of jeans and t-shirt in her hands. She is no longer wearing the little robe and her perfect curves and tan skin are beautiful and bare to me. My heart skips a beat and I bite my lower lip.

She freezes for a moment. The look on her face softens, and after a short moment, she lets out a breath.

No need to be sorry, Love. I don’t mind him coming with you, I was just taken by surprise, she says, holding my gaze with those sparkling eyes that have become a soft blue.

She tosses the clothes to the large bed and walks over to me. She never shifts her gaze from my eyes. My heart is beating fast, and I feel blood rushing down my core. I keep my hands at my sides with my nails practically digging through my jeans. I had forgotten she is taller than me by a few inches and I find myself looking up into those ice blue eyes as they project heat straight into my body.

She puts her hand behind my head and threads her fingers into my hair. Her grip tightens just enough to let me know she has me. I feel her hand pulling my head back to tilt my face up more and I comply with a small moan.

Her lips patiently descend upon mine in a soft kiss that sends shock waves through my bones. My mind goes blank as her other arm wraps slowly and purposefully around my waist pulling me tightly against her naked body. I cannot keep my hands to myself anymore and I slide my fingertips along the outside of her legs, over the curve of her ass to her spine and up until I am holding her.

My eyes are closed as I drink in her scent and relish in the silky feel of her lips on mine. To my surprise, and slight disappointment, she does not use her tongue to lick at my lips as she kisses them like the last time, but there are two boys in the other room waiting on us and that kind of kiss would take longer to settle.

Breathe, I hear Sarah say. Her voice is muffled and hard to hear, like I am underwater. I open my eyes to see those gorgeous blue-grey orbs inches away, looking down into mine, and I take a breath.

I am rarely at a loss for words in any situation. I fight men and monsters with the magic of ages behind me. My husband is a Fallen Angel, and Uffe is a cursed Viking Warlord. I have no words right now and all I manage is a smile of absolute contentment and a small whimper because we must stop.

I’ll take that as a compliment, Sarah says, returning the smile.

I... I start to say when I feel a massive weight lift from my heart I did not know was there, and tears puddle in my eyes.

Love, what’s wrong, she asks, turning her seductive hold on me into a hug without hesitation.

I do not know, I answer as welling tears overflow from my eyes. I put my head against her shoulder and hold her tighter, finding comfort in her embrace as my heart releases I know not what.

That’s okay. Whatever it is, just cry for a minute, Sarah says, the tenderness of a concerned lover in her voice.

I’m getting you all wet, I say, trying to fight back the weight of emotion.

Don’t worry, I’m water resistant. Besides, turnabout is fair play, she replies in a light tone.

I manage a chuckle when I realize what she just said and her meaning. I was melting under her gaze and turned straight to mush with her kiss. I have been needing this.

That’s better, she says and tightens her hug a little.

I should have called more and visited, I say as the tears stop flowing.

Yes, but it’s alright because you’re here now, she responds while stroking my hair gently.

I guess I thought you would have been inundated with suiters and occupied. I am so used to being alone, I say and immediately hear a small bark from the other side of the door. Sort of, I add.

Sarah loosens the hug and leans back enough to look me in the eyes again and says, Love, the last thing I want in my life now, or possibly ever, is another man. They are nothing but selfishly high expectations and drama.

My mom used to tell me and my sister that men were simple creatures with simple needs. I guess times changed, I reply.

Maybe not. They just use more dramatic ways of getting their simple needs met, she says with a smile.

I need... I start to say but pause. I need something and I am not sure what it is. I want to tell her that I need her, and that I want to lose myself in her right now and stay with her for as long as I can. I have no idea why I suddenly feel that way.

Anything you need, she says with a longing in her eyes. We spent a few days and one amazing night together, yet right now I feel like it was longer, and I see the same thing in her eyes.

I need to feed the boys, I say and drop my forehead to her chest. I feel her lips on the top of my head as she places a kiss there.

Okay. Let me get dressed and we’ll figure something out, she replies.

Three hundred years and I have not healed enough to open myself to someone who is there for me with no ulterior motive. I curse myself for being scared. I have hunted killers on the streets with no fear, and here I am afraid to be honest with someone who cares.

I drop my arms and let her go, and a few seconds after, she lets go of me. She turns to the bed and her clothes. Jeans and a shirt only take a moment to put on, and I turn to open the door, only then becoming aware that I never really went further into the room than just inside the door.

Uffe is sitting six feet from the door and looking at us as we open it. Jacob is still sitting at the table doing something on his cell phone.

Has he put on weight? Sarah asks me and motions to Uffe.

Uffe tilts his head a little to the side. I notice the small twitch of the sides of his muzzle.

We have been at the cabin for the last year. Perhaps I should have made him hunt his own food more often to stay in shape, I say.

Uffe stands, tail aimed straight back, turns around, and walks back to the table, sitting with his back to us without a word.

I think we hurt his feelings, Sarah says. I just giggle a little.

The two of us search the refrigerator and cabinets; we settle on spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. It does not take long to cook, and even Uffe likes it.

Sarah mentions more than once that she found a pound of boneless chicken in the freezer, and she would be happy to thaw it in the microwave for Uffe. I asked her to save it for tomorrow. When we get to work, trouble usually follows, and he will need the protein later.

Uffe burns calories at the rate of any wild animal who likes to chase and hunt things for food. I have heard over the years that most shifters have a similar problem, even though they are still mostly human. There is a large pack in California that I have been able to avoid for years.

Jacob does his best at dinner to use his manners while sitting at the table with someone he does not know, but he still eats like a large boy. Jacob will spend most of the day tomorrow while I am working in the pool and burn all these calories as well. He loves water and if I were not me, and a young lady, I would ogle his swimmer’s body and boyish face all day.

So, may I know who you are here to help, Sarah asks as Jacob begins clearing the table and washing dishes. That is something he does on his own. Keeping busy helps him