| - 2 - |
Celine felt a bit awkward with Amanda, it was obvious the way Amanda hinted at her desire to be more than just co-workers
with the blonde. But the last thing she wanted to do was get close to anyone at work, especially her boss's daughter. She couldn't
imagine letting anyone from work into her personal life, in this small town eventually word would get out, especially the way
Amanda gossiped.
It seemed hours to Celine before she could politely stand and make her farewells.
"It's getting late," she said to everyone and no one. "I have to get going."
"Awe do you have to go?" Amanda pouted, as she twisted a piece of her auburn hair around her finger. "Stay for a while longer,"
blue eyes pleading.
Celine shook her head no, then said her good-byes and put on her coat, politely declining the pleas to continue the party for a bit
longer. Celine turned her head and looked into the shadowy corner again, but whatever had caused the eerie feeling before
seemed to be gone now. She turned towards the door and was hit full force by the unseen entity. Her green eyes glazed over and
she could ?see? the shimmering outline of a woman about her age. Celine nodded in acknowledgement - ?everyone? knew The
Witch?s Brew was haunted - it was one of the old town legends and one that its owner, Mrs. Cassidy capitalised upon
shamelessly.
Celine had no fear of ghosts or spirits - she had seen and felt them all her life, some more clearly than others. Apparently this
was one of the stronger ones. With relief, Celine smiled at the shimmery being and nodded again. It must be so lonely, she
thought. I wish there was something I could do to help her - she looks so sad ?
The spirit looked surprised. She seemed to reach out to Celine and Celine started to put out her hand to the ghost, then
remembered the women behind her. She smiled again, apologetically then glanced towards the door, asking to pass by, hoping
the ghost understood her unspoken request. The spirit hoped for something else.
?Celine are you okay?? Amanda asked.
Celine rolled her eyes, then turned and shook her head slightly, shaking off the trance-like state she had felt herself falling into.
?Yeah, yeah, sorry,? Celine said. ?I?ll see you all on Monday.? She turned and walked to the door, feeling the chill return and stay
with her. It felt even colder than the pre-winter air outside. Unable to shake it off, Celine pulled her coat tighter and got in her
car. She turned up the car heater all the way and began the drive home, unaware that she was not alone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Celine arrived home and the first thing she did was turn on the computer. She then took off her coat and turned up the heat in
the small apartment while she waited for the computer to warm up.
A black cat came running out of the bedroom, meowing and chirping her greeting.
?Galinthias,? Celine said, delighted, as she bent and picked up the cat, cuddling her feline companion.
Galinthias twisted her lithe body to be put back down, then ran to her empty dishes on the kitchen floor, meowing her
displeasure.
Celine chuckled and shook her head. ?Okay, okay, I?m sorry - but I had to go,? she said, following the cat into the kitchen and
opening the cupboard. She shook some dry cat food into a dish. ?Believe me, I didn?t want to - but if you want to continue to
be kept in the style to which you think you deserve to become accustomed, then I have to keep this job. And that means doing
stupid crap like tonight sometimes.?
Her dish full, Galinthias turned to eat, ignoring Celine?s explanation for her long absence.
Celine smiled fondly at the cat and went to the other room, turning down the thermostat on her way. She still felt a little chilled,
but nothing like she had at the ?Brew? that evening. Shaking her head, Celine thought about what she had seen there, the image
already fading to the back of her mind. She sat in front of the computer and signed on to the internet.
?Come on, Raven, please be on,? she said, softly.
She remembered when she and Raven first met. Celine?s employer, Mr. Colton had taken possession of some rare old
manuscripts with thoughts towards auctioning them off. There had been some concern over the effectiveness of the security
system then in use. Although Celine was a translator, he asked for her help, knowing that Celine used internet resources to assist
with her translating. Celine had gone on-line, looking for a security company to implement a new, more secure system. She
found Raven?s website and contacted her to inquire about her services and fees.
Celine found Raven?s firm to be the most reasonably priced as well as the one most suited to the needs of her employer. Mr.
Colton was very pleased and hired Raven to implement a new system to protect the valuable manuscripts.
When Raven came to Celine?s office, there was an instant attraction. Like getting hit by lightning, Celine remembered. Raven
was much taller than Celine, her body was built like an athlete, sleek yet muscular. She like to wear t-shirts that were snug but
not to tight with no bra underneath. Her hair was long and jet black, it flowed down below the middle of her back though she
usually wore it in a braid. Her eyes dark chocolate brown, she said they were her father's eyes. He was part Cherokee. Celine had
taken her to The Witches' Brew for drinks and Raven had been impressed that Celine stuck to sodas all night. She commented on
this to Celine. Raven wasn?t a fan of alcohol, though she did enjoy her Marlboros?.
The two women began chatting on-line, at first "officially" - Raven wanted reports on how the system was working. They then
began talking about more personal things. A friendship sprang up between the women. Celine eventually felt confident enough to
tell Raven about breaking up with her lover, Christine. Raven stood by, listening sympathetically? and then shared her own sad
story about Natalie.
The chats increased to every night, graduating into phone conversations but usually they kept chatting to save on the long
distance phone bills, then the women began visiting each other back and forth. Over time, their friendship grew into romance and
the deepened into love. They couldn't explain the connection, it seemed to transcended time and distance ?
with the blonde. But the last thing she wanted to do was get close to anyone at work, especially her boss's daughter. She couldn't
imagine letting anyone from work into her personal life, in this small town eventually word would get out, especially the way
Amanda gossiped.
It seemed hours to Celine before she could politely stand and make her farewells.
"It's getting late," she said to everyone and no one. "I have to get going."
"Awe do you have to go?" Amanda pouted, as she twisted a piece of her auburn hair around her finger. "Stay for a while longer,"
blue eyes pleading.
Celine shook her head no, then said her good-byes and put on her coat, politely declining the pleas to continue the party for a bit
longer. Celine turned her head and looked into the shadowy corner again, but whatever had caused the eerie feeling before
seemed to be gone now. She turned towards the door and was hit full force by the unseen entity. Her green eyes glazed over and
she could ?see? the shimmering outline of a woman about her age. Celine nodded in acknowledgement - ?everyone? knew The
Witch?s Brew was haunted - it was one of the old town legends and one that its owner, Mrs. Cassidy capitalised upon
shamelessly.
Celine had no fear of ghosts or spirits - she had seen and felt them all her life, some more clearly than others. Apparently this
was one of the stronger ones. With relief, Celine smiled at the shimmery being and nodded again. It must be so lonely, she
thought. I wish there was something I could do to help her - she looks so sad ?
The spirit looked surprised. She seemed to reach out to Celine and Celine started to put out her hand to the ghost, then
remembered the women behind her. She smiled again, apologetically then glanced towards the door, asking to pass by, hoping
the ghost understood her unspoken request. The spirit hoped for something else.
?Celine are you okay?? Amanda asked.
Celine rolled her eyes, then turned and shook her head slightly, shaking off the trance-like state she had felt herself falling into.
?Yeah, yeah, sorry,? Celine said. ?I?ll see you all on Monday.? She turned and walked to the door, feeling the chill return and stay
with her. It felt even colder than the pre-winter air outside. Unable to shake it off, Celine pulled her coat tighter and got in her
car. She turned up the car heater all the way and began the drive home, unaware that she was not alone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Celine arrived home and the first thing she did was turn on the computer. She then took off her coat and turned up the heat in
the small apartment while she waited for the computer to warm up.
A black cat came running out of the bedroom, meowing and chirping her greeting.
?Galinthias,? Celine said, delighted, as she bent and picked up the cat, cuddling her feline companion.
Galinthias twisted her lithe body to be put back down, then ran to her empty dishes on the kitchen floor, meowing her
displeasure.
Celine chuckled and shook her head. ?Okay, okay, I?m sorry - but I had to go,? she said, following the cat into the kitchen and
opening the cupboard. She shook some dry cat food into a dish. ?Believe me, I didn?t want to - but if you want to continue to
be kept in the style to which you think you deserve to become accustomed, then I have to keep this job. And that means doing
stupid crap like tonight sometimes.?
Her dish full, Galinthias turned to eat, ignoring Celine?s explanation for her long absence.
Celine smiled fondly at the cat and went to the other room, turning down the thermostat on her way. She still felt a little chilled,
but nothing like she had at the ?Brew? that evening. Shaking her head, Celine thought about what she had seen there, the image
already fading to the back of her mind. She sat in front of the computer and signed on to the internet.
?Come on, Raven, please be on,? she said, softly.
She remembered when she and Raven first met. Celine?s employer, Mr. Colton had taken possession of some rare old
manuscripts with thoughts towards auctioning them off. There had been some concern over the effectiveness of the security
system then in use. Although Celine was a translator, he asked for her help, knowing that Celine used internet resources to assist
with her translating. Celine had gone on-line, looking for a security company to implement a new, more secure system. She
found Raven?s website and contacted her to inquire about her services and fees.
Celine found Raven?s firm to be the most reasonably priced as well as the one most suited to the needs of her employer. Mr.
Colton was very pleased and hired Raven to implement a new system to protect the valuable manuscripts.
When Raven came to Celine?s office, there was an instant attraction. Like getting hit by lightning, Celine remembered. Raven
was much taller than Celine, her body was built like an athlete, sleek yet muscular. She like to wear t-shirts that were snug but
not to tight with no bra underneath. Her hair was long and jet black, it flowed down below the middle of her back though she
usually wore it in a braid. Her eyes dark chocolate brown, she said they were her father's eyes. He was part Cherokee. Celine had
taken her to The Witches' Brew for drinks and Raven had been impressed that Celine stuck to sodas all night. She commented on
this to Celine. Raven wasn?t a fan of alcohol, though she did enjoy her Marlboros?.
The two women began chatting on-line, at first "officially" - Raven wanted reports on how the system was working. They then
began talking about more personal things. A friendship sprang up between the women. Celine eventually felt confident enough to
tell Raven about breaking up with her lover, Christine. Raven stood by, listening sympathetically? and then shared her own sad
story about Natalie.
The chats increased to every night, graduating into phone conversations but usually they kept chatting to save on the long
distance phone bills, then the women began visiting each other back and forth. Over time, their friendship grew into romance and
the deepened into love. They couldn't explain the connection, it seemed to transcended time and distance ?
The Witch Warrior Chronicles, Ghost Writer
