"She does know it all! She's in spirit. She has access to knowledge we can never fathom-"
"Doesn't seem too hard to fathom a trio of witches running around a bubbling cauldron in the forest."
Allison slapped my shoulder. "You're just mad because Millicent doesn't want me to speak with you."
I shrugged. "I agree. She's a bitch."
"I didn't agree she was a bitch!"
"You were thinking it."
"Sam Moon. You have no idea what I'm thinking these days."
"Right," I said. "Because of the know-it-all bitch."
"Well, you can be mad at her, but you damn well know that her motives are well-meaning. The thing inside you-"
"Elizabeth," I said, surprised at how quickly I was defending the 'thing' inside me, and realizing just how deep my annoyance with Millicent ran.
"Well, we can't have Elizabeth privy to what we are doing. We aren't exactly on the same side, you know."
I opened my mouth to argue, but there was no argument. Allison-and freakin' Millicent-were right. Elizabeth heard everything I heard, despite how deep I stomped her down into my psyche. And each day, while I slept, Elizabeth was free to roam and divulge any secrets I might have been privy to, including Allison's thoughts.
"You were great friends with her, Sam. She told me that you and she were even closer than you and I are now."
I was about to make a snide remark that maybe Allison and I weren't as close as she thought, but I caught the hurt look in her eye. Allison was my best friend, and I trusted her with my life. Simple as that.
"And I trust you, Sam. With mine."
I nodded, and we continued jogging, the full afternoon sun hitting us at an angle. I felt... uneasy, but nothing I couldn't handle. Without this magical ring, I would be feeling a great deal of pain. Now, I just ran with a bearable sense of discomfort.
I glanced at Allison. "Millicent and I were really as close as you say?"
"Yes, Sam. And it breaks her heart that we aren't together again and that..." she let her voice trail off.
"We will never be together again?"
"Yes, Sam."
"How's Ivy working out?"
"She's eager. Impetuous. Gifted. So far, a good fit. But, according to Millicent, we're not quite as powerful as we had been with you. The three of us, Sam... the three of us could take on whole armies in the past. Could take down kingdoms. You should hear Millicent's stories of victories."
"And of our defeats?"
Allison nodded. "There were many of those, too. And most were not pleasant at all."
"Why doesn't Millicent come around?" I asked.
"I asked the same question, Sam. Although she is getting better and better at manifesting-and there are times you would swear she was a flesh-and-blood woman-she doesn't feel that she is strong enough to..."
"Resist Elizabeth?" I asked.
"Resist you, Sam. She says there will come a time when you will fully utilize all that Elizabeth can offer you-and powerful, wide-ranging telepathy will be part of it."
I opened my mouth at that, then closed it again. "How does she know that?"
"As a spirit... she has access to possibilities."
"Like Nostradamus?" I asked.
"Something like that, yes. She has seen a number of possibilities for you, Sam. And in one of them, you have fully accepted all that Elizabeth can offer you."
"You mean Elizabeth has taken me over?"
"In one such scenario, yes. In one, you have lost, and Elizabeth has won. But in another... in another, you are a sort of a team, and you are damn near impossible to stop."
"Jesus," I said, and as I uttered the name, I felt a shift in me. Elizabeth didn't like the name Jesus. She shied away from it, sinking deeper into the darkness. Good to know.
We jogged in silence, and I found myself thinking long and hard about a trio of witches, born together throughout the ages, fighting the good fight against the powers that be-and a darker enemy yet. Millicent had purposely come forth into this incarnation before, and lived a full, rich life, all while Allison and I bided our time... wherever spirits bided their time. Heaven? Yes, maybe. The plan this time around had been to have Millicent available to us in spirit-and thus available to far more knowledge than we would normally have access to. It was a noble plan... until I went and got turned into a vampire. Never fear, there was an understudy in the wings, a fourth girl who was often reincarnated with us, a sort of helper. That fourth girl was Ivy Tanner, and thus she was invited to take my place. I wasn't sure I liked her either, come to think about it.