The honeymoon was set for the week immediately following the wedding. Kate and Amanda took the opportunity to close the restaurant for renovations and wished the couple a happy journey. Penny took George on his first broomstick ride (he thought he would be terrified, but he seemed to have a natural knack for it) to Cardiff, Wales where George's great-uncle Dan had a small cottage that he'd left to him. Penny sent out a wave of magical force through the cottage, which had the effect of repairing all of the problems time and neglect had wrought on the place. George marveled at the new splendor of the furnishings and the overall cleanliness she'd achieved. There was nothing she could do about the lack of cell phone reception, however, without compromising a satellite with witchcraft. For a week, they would be out of touch with the world.
"Well, that was flashy." George opined.
"I'm just getting it out of my system. It's going to be hard doing without magic for a while." Penny complained.
George turned to her.
"What do you mean 'doing without magic'? Is there something wrong?" he asked, concerned.
"Well, I'm not going to be a 'Maiden' for very much longer." she said, blushing.
"Oh, Penny. Is that how it works? And you'd give all of that up for me? What about Kate and Amanda?" he asked, stunned at how readily she would give up that power just to be with him.
"Oh, well I'll get it back once I have my first child. Kate and Amanda will be pretty powerless for a while, though. Kate will move on and recruit two new coven members. Amanda will get bumped up to 'Crone' status (she won't like that!) with me as her 'Mother'. Then we will just have to find a new 'Maiden'. That's why we ran the business, so we would have something to fall back on when the magic is gone. And we run it without magic so it wouldn't be a big shock during the off time. Goddess! We have been together so long though, they never thought I would find the right man. We witches are pretty self-sufficient, but you need a man to turn a Maiden into a Mother!" Penny stopped talking when she saw the look on George's face.
"Penny, forgive me for asking this, but you did marry me because you like me, not for this promotion thingy?"
Penny would have been angry if anyone but George had asked that question. In other men, it would have indicated a vast egocentrism. She knew George better; he asked the question because deep down, he was convinced no one could possibly love him.
"Oh George, I would have married you even if it meant giving it up forever. Three hundred years, and I'm still a virgin! Until tonight. Until you. I could have done this any number of times with losers, and gotten rid of them after. I swore after my first boyfriend betrayed me that I would find myself the perfect man, the Prince in every girl's fairy tale dream."
"Did you ever think your fairy tale would be "Little Red Riding Hood?" asked George, smiling as he came and put his arms around her.
"Gramma, what big ears you have!" said Penny, tugging one.
"OK, no 'ear' jokes please. In fact, no joking about the size of any body part from now on!" he said sternly, swooping her up and carrying her into the bedroom.
They made love by candlelight, since on this night the moon had abandoned the stars to fend for themselves. George planned it this way, as he wanted to be just George for this first time. George was not a virgin (though just barely), and he felt more confidence than ever before due to his greater experience. Penny cried out only once, though whether it was pain from losing her innocence or her witchcraft he would never know. They explored each other until the sun began to rise, and then fell deeply asleep. In the morning, Penny got up before George to bathe alone, while she pondered the new stage of her existence. After three hundred years of pure power running through her veins, she felt vastly alone, cut off from her Goddess and the world of magic she brought with her. Worse than that, she felt helpless, vulnerable. She had gambled everything on her new husband. If George turned into a monster now (the human kind), she would be unable to protect...or revenge herself.
She shook her head, guilty at such faithless thoughts. George was the one man she was meant for. He was worthy of her, alone of all men. And she had waited so long to find him. How did other women do it? Give away the one coin in their purse on a longshot at best? Three hundred years and an ocean away from her first love, she had found her last one. And she was still nervous.
She heard George rise from the bed and head into the kitchen. She smiled, he probably needed to go the bathroom, but knew she needed some time alone. Her faith in him crystallized once more into adamantine hardness. She finished up, putting on a fresh nightgown and a dash of her favorite fragrance.
She went into the kitchen to find George preparing breakfast...in just his apron. Well, his glasses and necklaces, too. Her eyes roved hungrily over his body, remembering the night they had just had. He turned, and he caught her expression, smiling while he transferred a perfect omelette onto her plate. Swiss cheese and mushrooms, her favorite.
"Now you can tell Amanda she got her wish, though only you get to see it." he said.
"You eavesdropped! Fiend!" She threw her napkin at him.
"You have seen my ears, haven't you? And all werewolves have excellent hearing."
After breakfast, they returned to the bedroom to satisfy deeper hungers.
The week seemed to pass in the twinkling of an eye.
It was with great regret that the two left their honeymoon cottage behind, taking a hired taxi to Bristol. It was a good thing Penny had saved up a great deal of money over the years, George would never have been able to afford the fare. Their two small bags were in the back, Penny's dormant broomstick across her lap.
"The brooms aren't magic in and of themselves, any broom will do; flying comes from within us. But this broom was mine from my first mortal life. It reminds me of it when I think I might forget. It's the same with Kate and Amanda."
George pictured what a modern witch would ride; probably a Hoover.
They stopped by Penny's place first to drop off her things, then had the driver take them to the restaurant.
"Amanda and Kate must be there. They are such workaholics!" she exclaimed.
They looked at the burned out ruins of "Three Gals from Salem Pizza and Pub" with horror.
A passerby saw them looking at the wreckage.
"Oi! That place burned down four days ago. The police and firemen came, but they couldn't find none of the birds what run the place! 'Ere, ain't you one o' them miss?"
Penny was crying, but she was furious. George took the fellow aside, and told him that Penny was in shock as they had been out of town for a week and had no idea. The man whistled, patted George on the back and went on his way.
"This has got to be that ginger vampire, Herrick! Amanda was right! We should have wiped them all out!"
George remembered the note Herrick had given him. Neither he nor Penny had been able to figure it out, thinking it must be his way of assuring them he was still being a 'good boy'. Now they realized he must have planned for this all along.
"How on earth would Herrick know when to strike? Who else knows how witches' covens work?"
Penny shook her head, too overcome to speak for the moment.
George felt guilt wedge itself like a knife in his heart. This was all his fault, he had personally knocked out all of their power and left them defenseless with one night of passion. That old and terrible feeling came back, one that he'd thought was gone forever. The feeling that he was just never meant to be happy, that he was doomed to bring disaster on anyone he cared about.
The flow of his tears was hotter than he had ever felt, and his throat closed. They entered the ruins, and saw that the fire had been extremely thorough. Even the pots and chrome in the kitchen was burned beyond repair.
"This is all my fault. I brought this on you. I'm responsible. I'm like a plague. Everywhere I go, people I love get hurt. I don't deserve to be with you. I don't deserve to live - "
The smack caught him so unawares that he thought he must have been struck by lightning. He looked unbelievably at Penny who was rubbing her hand and radiating fury like a star going supernova.
"That's about enough wallowing in self-pity, husband. We have no time for it. Things need to be done, and sharp. Herrick did this. Now, I love my husband very dearly, and you will not slander his name. You've never in your life done anything to warrant beating yourself up over. I would love to meet the one who put such fancies in your head, there isn't a name for what I would turn them into! You put that blame where it rightfully belongs; I plan to revenge myself on the ones truly responsible, so you better think twice about adding your name to that list!"
George stared at her, rubbing his cheek. He had never in his life been struck by a woman, especially not one he was in a relationship with. The pain, ironically, cleared a path through the self-loathing he had always felt and he saw himself for a moment the way Penny saw him.
"Penny, as my wife I'm going to request... no, demand! that you refrain from hitting me ever again." He looked down. "Unless I say something as incredibly stupid as what came out of my mouth a minute ago. Then have at me with everything you've got. I'm sorry. A lifetime habit is hard to overcome in a moment. But you are right. We have no time, and things need to be done. What's our first move?"
Penny smiled, then kissed his cheek (lightly) and thought to herself for a moment.
"We have to find out what happened to Kate and Amanda. The crystal ball should still be in the safe under the floor. It's fireproof."
Penny indicated where it was, and George moved quickly to move the debris out of the way. Under some loose floorboards, the safe was revealed to be untouched. Penny quickly spun the dial around and opened it, reaching in to pull out a glowing crystal about the size of a grapefruit. She pulled out a simple wooden ring, set the ball on it, and studied the depths of the cloudy glass.
"I thought you couldn't do magic anymore!" he hissed.
"Anything magical we've created retains its power, unless we are killed. Now give me a minute, I think I see something...Goddess! No!" Penny screamed.
"What is it?" asked George frantically. He saw nothing in the glass but swirling whiteness - George's blood froze as for a second, he thought he saw the wolf looking out at him, its malignant face frozen in a snarl of hunger and rage. Then it was gone.
"Kate and Amanda are in Herrick's human 'pantry'. The vampires have been feeding off them for days. They are barely alive. There are more vampires there than I have ever seen. They must be waiting for us to try something. We have got to get in there!"
George's cell phone rang. He had just turned it on after getting out of the cab (the driver had let him use his car charger). He bleakly saw the message indicator which said his voice was full. Mitchell's cell # was on the display. George hit the TALK button.
"George! Is that you? Bloody hell man! Do you know whats happened? Where the hell are ya?"
"We're at the restaurant, or whats left of it." he said.
"Stay put, we'll be there in a moment."
A few seconds later, there was a loud pop, and Annie appeared holding a freezing cold Mitchell, and a shivering Nina.
"Sorry, Mitchell. That trip is especially rough on your lot. I told you to wear a warm jacket!" Annie scolded.
Penny was amazed.
"You teleported them? By yourself? Kate was right, you are powerful! And all the way from your flat too!"
Annie shrugged.
"I do what needs to be done. I didn't really think about NOT being able to do it."
"But who is this?" asked Penny, pointing at Nina.
George groaned. Why did they bring her?
Nina smiled coldly.
"You must be Penny, George's wife. Congratulations, I heard about the wedding. My invite must have been lost in the post. I'm Nina. George's ex...and I'm a werewolf."
Penny locked eyes with Nina, and was surprised to see a match for her own willfulness reflected in those eyes. Nina was strong, and definitely a predator. In these circumstances, Penny would need that strength on her side. Afterwards...who knew what might happen?
"A pleasure. I've heard many good things about you. George may have some flaws, but it seems he has excellent taste in women. I'm sorry about the wedding. I thought it would be awkward, and didn't want your feelings to be hurt." Penny said evenly.
George's eyes were round as he looked back and forth between the two women.
Nina looked startled, she had expected vicious rivalry from the word go. Penny smiled inwardly. Sometimes honey did work better than vinegar.
"Um, well yes. I suppose it would have been awkward. I would have declined, but sent a gift. George was...is a good man. You are very lucky." Nina's eyes began to mist, but she got control of herself quickly. She still had feelings for George, obviously. Getting turned into a werewolf must have devastated them, but love, like poison ivy, has a way of creeping back when even a tiny bit of it remains. Too bad for her she learned this truth a little late.
Mitchell had recovered from his trip through the in-between spaces.
"Ladies, George, we need a plan and we need it now. Any suggestions?"
"Oh, I have one." said all three women at once.
George shook his head, and he and Mitchell listened closely as the women plotted their next move.