Not only could she smell it…when she licked her fingers…she tasted the best butter she could have ever imagined.

  “OK, so…all things considered this is not the weirdest thing to happen in the st two days…” she considered.

  “So, should I call that Agent guy or what? What other options do you have Madison? Wait for another dream visit from my den mother or cn granny or whatever Solveig is?” She thought to herself as she started to get ready to meet her friends.

  Getting ready she pulled on a cute outfit, short skirt, strappy sandals and a matching top. Nothing fancy, just nice enough for a club in a college town.

  Putting on makeup…

  “WAIT, WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS GOING ON!” Madison silently screams.

  Sitting on her bed…

  “I’m completely losing my shit…thank God I didn’t put my fucking mascara on yet…why the fuck am I even concerned with that?!” She wonders at herself tears running down her face.

  “Fuck, I’m going to have to fix my fucking foundation…and again, I was almost fucked by a demon that eats people…why the FUCK do I care about foundation?” She wonders again.

  “So, what am I supposed to do? Have another nap and talk with Solveig, grand-something witch dy? Call the fucking FBI guy? Go dancing like nothing has changed?” Madison wonders yet again, feeling completely and utterly lost.

  She y there, an hour. Turning it around in her head, once refusing to believe, then believing with everything she had then…rejecting it all again. Her mind in turmoil. She finally recalled her father again.

  She had suffered an embarrassing moment at school. She couldn’t even recall what it was, just some little thing that children feel for what seems a little thing to adults but was everything to a child.

  “Come, smart girl.” He said gathering her into his warm embrace, “I want you to listen closely. Are you ready?” He asked. She nodded sniffling.

  “In life my love, you will face many difficult situations, many, completely out of your control. But even for those where you do have control, there are others that get a say in what happens. Do you understand?” he asked, he was always patient making, sure she understood.

  “You mean like when the babysitter lied about who broke the gss?” she asked.

  “Yes, my love exactly like that. You had a choice to get super angry and mad about her lying and bming you, but instead you chose to think.” He said making sure she heard his emphasis on choosing and thinking.

  “So, it’s like that in any situation. The only real control over anything anyone has is their choices.” He finished.

  “But what about when people get really angry and do things and say they couldn’t control themselves? Like when Suzy hit Monique at the birthday party” She asked. Her sniffles gone now that she was engaged with her conversation with her father.

  “Well, her inability to control herself came down to her not trying to control herself, either then or in the past. Self-control is a choice but it’s also a skill a person has to practice.” Her father answered.

  “So, I can choose to be embarrassed and feel stupid, or I can just ugh like you do when you make a mistake right?” she had asked to make sure.

  “That’s exactly right sweety.” He said smiling at her.

  “OK!” She said smiling and hugging him.

  That conversation had been a turning point in her life that had made all the difference. Just as it would tonight in her dorm room as she faced a crisis of reality.

  Looking up at the ceiling of the room, that skill her father taught her so many years ago came to her.

  “Well, this is fucking useless.” She observed about her behavior.

  “All this shit is doing is fucking up my make up.” She said aloud.

  Her self-confidence and determination returned.

  “I don’t have a choice about this weird as shit situation, but I do have a choice about how I respond to it!” She thought, determination in her self-talk.

  “So…what do I do? Get fucking organized, call that fucking agent dude…and…fuck yeah, I’m gonna have some fun tonight! YEAH!” She was gd no one was around to hear her cry of determination, but at the same time…

  “I’m not some weepy, whining, little girl! I’m a woman that is about to do some fucking crazy shit and I’m not gonna worry about people thinking I’m weird or whatever!” A grin, a little insane look in her eyes took over from the tears of a few moments ago.

  She got busy getting ready noticing she would be a little te, but no one was gonna care about a few minutes.

  ————

  “Hey! There she is!” Hunter excimed as she walked up to the group, drink in her hand…no more drinks from anyone but her for the foreseeable future!

  They all took off their headsets so they could talk. Madison loved these pces. Music coming from headset on people’s tables, just loud enough to provide a little background music for conversation. People on the dance floor could hear the DJ and dance to the music coming through their headsets.

  “Hey girl!” Elicious excimed hugging her, “You got some kinda special powers? I mean this fine lookin’ man showed up here with these bitches “, they excimed gesturing referring to Hunter and then gesturing at Alec, Stephon, Hunter’s girlfriend, and Suzy.

  “What was Hunter’s girl’s name?” Madison thought.

  “…and I thought it was my night for some vanil shuga! But he seems to be super boring and straight.” Elicious finished with a theatrical look of disgust mixed with longing and disappointment.

  Hugs were exchanged all around. Everyone ughing at Elicious’s theatrics.

  “Come on Elicious, I’m a woman of my word, let’s get you a fresh drink.” Madison offered.

  “But then, you have to dance with me! I’m ready to get out there!” She continued, nodding towards the dance floor.

  “I will be delighted to get you out there so you can shake yo thang baby!” Elicious promised.

  The bartender looked a bit bored as they walked up, even though it was midnight it probably wouldn’t get going for another thirty or forty-five minutes.

  “So, what do you want?” Madison asked looking at her new friend.

  “Hmmm, a whiskey sour sounds nice” Elicious answered.

  Madison smiled at the bartender as he started making the drink. Then she noticed a commotion near the door. A rather rge man pushed his way past the bouncer.

  “Move little man, I can smell her here.” giant man said, sniffing the air.

  Madison couldn’t hear what the giant said, but for some reason she was sure the guy was there for her.

  “I’m gonna go to the girls, I’ll catch you in a minute.” Madison said to Elicious as she paid for the drink quickly and turned to walk to the restroom.

  “I don’t want any of them the get hurt because I’m mixed up in weird shit.” she thought as she moved to the restroom.

  Time to see if Solveig is full of crap.

  “I see you, demon lover!” the big man growled his eyes fixed on her as she made her way back toward the restroom, and the back door.

  Gncing over her shoulder, she saw him move through the crowd. They parted before him like he was fucking Moses or some shit. He was gaining on her but she was sure she would make it out the door before he was in reach.

  Pushing past a few girls smoking near the exit she got some hard looks that turned to fear as they saw the asshole coming after her.

  The door smmed shut after her and she broke into a quick jog to get away from the door and hopefully shield her from the eyes of any good Samaritans the came out to rescue her. Standing in the small alley entrance where the douchebag would see her, she waited for him to come out the door. In the meantime, she collected her thoughts and focused on the spells Solveig had taught her.

  “Good you came out here scum, no need to create more witnesses!” Asshole said as he came out the door and saw her.

  Quickly ducking into the alley, she finished her preparations. She could smell a summer meadow as the magic gathered. The warmth of Solveig’s hearth at her back warmed her and made feel safe.

  “Oh little witch, your hearth will only slow me a little. Soon I’ll add your scalp to my belt.” He threatened. His small piggish eyes focused on her malevolently, he had skulls and swastikas tattooed on his arms adding to the menace in his features. From his belt, he pulled a long hunting knife. Its edge gleamed in the yellowy sulfur mps flickering in the alley.

  “Ugh, it fucking stinks here, why did I come into the alley…shit why am I even doing this, I should have went to the bouncers or something…” she thought in disgust, “What a shitty pce to die.” she considered as she met the eyes of a rat as it crawled out of a dumpster.

  “They should have taught you more before letting you come out alone, well at least I can have some fun with you first. Your little pussy is gonna twitch all over me as I bleed you!” Pig eyes promised.

  “Fuck, this better work…if not…thank God for cardio workouts, because I’m gonna have to run like hell!” Madison thought, terrified and feeling more confident than she had any right to…

  She began chanting in the old nguage, fingers tracing runes in the air.

  “Oh, so they taught you a little something? Well, this will be a nice bit of spice to the meal hehe” Pig eyes ughed dismissively, obviously unimpressed he licked the bde of the dagger.

  In the back of her mind Madison’s fear began to rise.

  Pig eyes charged and Madison shouted the st words of the spell. Bright light filled the alley as fming bolt of energy formed between Madison’s eyes and flew, like an arrow, striking the man in the face.

  The smell of burning flesh and hair filled the alley.

  “FUCK! You bitch! Agghh!” Pig eyes screamed as his head was engulfed in fmes. Whimpering, he began beating at the fmes, trying to put them out.

  “OH SHIT! It worked” Madison excimed, shocked into a whisper. She stared for a moment, two, then…good sense grabbed her, and she turned and ran for the end of the alley.

  When she reached the street end of the alley she turned around, there was no sign of pig eyes.

  A couple walking by looked at her curiously as she stood near the curb of the sidewalk looking back at the shadowy alley. She gave them a halfhearted smile.

  After standing there for a minute, letting her racing heart slow down, “OK I guess I’ll go back inside now…I definitely need a drink!” she thought.

  ————

  “Hey, where did you go?” Suzy asked when Madison walked back up to her friends.

  “I, umm well…” she started

  “I went to the bathroom, but you weren’t there.” Suzy continued.

  Her other friends were all out on the dance floor.

  She smiled at Suzy, “Hey, I need a drink! You want one?” she offered, “No sense in trying to expin what I was actually doing…no one in their right mind would believe me; the whole thing took less than 5 minutes.” she thought to herself.

  Her thoughts were still racing with the implications of what had happened: “Both Agent ‘whats his name’ and Solveig were right. Holy fuck, magic is real. Where the fuck did that asshole go. Oh, shit MAGIC IS REAL! What do I do now? Where should I go? Where is safe? Who can I trust?” she thought furiously keeping a smile on her face, looking at the freshman swimmer.

  “Hey, ummm did you change your mind?” Suzy asked.

  “What oh, sorry, I was just…noticing your eyes, they are so pretty!” Madison saved herself… “Gotta stay focused!” she thought.

  Blushing and looking down a little, Suzy gave her a radiant smile, “Thank you! I just wish I was as pretty as you.” meeting her eyes she grabbed Madison’s hand, “Let’s go get that drink!” she excimed.

  Matching Suzy’s smile, “Yeah!” she agreed.

  “What do you want?” Madison asked.

  “Whiskey, I’m buying though…I don’t drink the cheap stuff.” Suzy answered, a little fire in her eyes.

  Madison’s eyebrows rose, looking at the blue eye’d red head, her pale ivory countenance dusted with just a few freckles, she would not have taken little Suzy for one who liked whiskey. Maybe a Kamazee shot or a vodka tonic, but not uncut whiskey.

  Suzy jumped up a bit so she could lean closer to the bar tender, “Angel’s Envy, one cube” she instructed, then looking at Madison, a question in her eyes.

  “I’ll have a margarita on the rocks.” She said, ordering a frozen drink after Suzy’s little flex would have felt like she was backing down…for some reason.

  The bartender seemed surprised by Suzy’s order as well. She cocked her head to the side and gave Suzy another gnce. This one more interested, it made Madison feel protective of the younger woman. Though she wasn’t sure why…