Karla had been wondering why she and Donavan had been called out to some random beach by Agent Yang early in the morning, around 5AM, when it was still relatively dark with little morning light to speak of.

The first sign that something big was up was that the beach had been cordoned off by police. Agent Yang met the pair outside the cordon and escorted them in. Karla couldn’t help but notice the guy had a thermos with what smelled like coffee, and the guy did not look like he was in super high spirits, either. “I think what you’re about to see is going to be very educational.”

“It better be if you’re calling us here at this hour,” said Karla as she and Donavan followed him. “You don’t look great, by the way. Are you okay?”

“Trying to keep things under control has been a bit of a hassle. Turns out this ‘Emperor’ isn’t the only problem in town right now, as you’ll see in a second,” Yang grunted.

Karla was wondering what he meant until she saw what appeared to be a beached whale off in the distance, illuminated by multiple spotlights around it. She was initially quite baffled, until they approached the corpse to get a better look. Obviously, whatever it was, it was quite clearly not a whale, but some hybrid of a whale, a shark and a crocodile, complete with lines of razor-sharp teeth. It had taken a lot of damage from some kind of weapon, including damage directly to the brain, which was probably what killed it.

“Cor blimey, what the fuck is that thing?” Donavan asked, snapping photos without hesitation.

“This ‘thing’ is a Taniwha, a creature from Māori legend,” explained Yang as he patted the dead beast’s side. “And last night, it got into a big fight with someone. I suspect one of the ‘heroines’ from the university campus.”

The natural conclusions that Karla had immediately drawn from what she just heard were mortifying to her. Aside from the fact that huge, horribly dangerous creatures like this existed out there, she couldn’t help but blurt out, “why is a creature from New Zealand coming out here to our town?! It could’ve killed people!”

Yang nodded, and said, “and now you understand why we keep this stuff under wraps, Miss Thurman. If there’s something society does not need, is the sheer paranoia when it comes to supernatural creatures, some of whom actively seek out human flesh. That girl from the other day that you interviewed claimed she had been nearly seduced by a witch, and we suspect at least one evil witch is hiding out in this town. On top of that, we suspect there may be at least one other supernatural creature in the area, according to eyewitness accounts.”

Karla found herself nearly hyperventilating. It would be completely unbelievable if it weren’t for the enormous rotting corpse right in front of her and what she had experienced less than a week ago. How many lives had been claimed by paranormal beings but the public simply didn’t know? Maybe she herself had been unknowingly close to paranormal danger any number of times. She understood the paranoia Yang had alluded to, now.

That’s when Donavan snapped her out of her thoughts. “But why are we here? It’s not like we can publish this. What’s your angle here, mate?”

Ah, right, of course. If there was one thing Donavan had going for him, it was that he was good at focusing on the big picture. And that’s not just because he was a photographer, either. Sometimes he was sharper than he looked. That’s why Karla considered him a reliable colleague.

Yang sighed as he took a sip of his coffee, before he replied, "my ‘angle’ is that I’m trying to get you to better understand what’s at stake here. Why we do what we do. I get that you’re not happy about us keeping the public in the dark. I’m not super happy about it either. But as far as the Commission is concerned, the alternative is far, far worse.”

Karla was incredibly conflicted. She absolutely got his point - ‘ignorance is bliss’ was perhaps applicable in this situation. But at the same time, she knew the only way to be prepared for dangers is to actually know they exist. The paranormal was dangerous, but also other things that were rare and could happen unexpectedly. “You could say the same thing about acts of terrorism, Agent Yang. They’re rare and acts of terror get people killed, but it’s not like the government keeps us in the dark about them or the groups that perpetrate them.”

“I’d argue that’s not equivalent, but there is a grain of truth to what you’re saying, at least, I’ll give you that,” Yang said with a snap of his fingers. “I imagine there are a lot of debates amongst the various paranormal agencies now about what to do now that aliens are known to the world, but for now, until we have a good reason otherwise, the truth about the supernatural should stay hidden.”

Agent Yang went over to Karla, handing her a silver coin a couple of centimetres in radius. She held it up to the light, revealing Chinese writing on both sides, and a square hole in the centre. She could actually feel something unusual about the coin, and it looked well-made. “What is this?”

Yang handed another one to Donavan. “My family still makes these Taoist talismans, called ‘Fulu’, even after we immigrated from China. Keep it on or near you at all times. While it’s a simple protective charm, so you won’t be completely immune from magic, it’ll be more helpful than you might think, and hopefully it’ll get you out of a tight spot. If you wear it as a necklace or something, it might scare off supernatural threats.”

Karla chuckled, putting it in her pocket. “I won’t look a gift horse in the mouth, and it actually looks nice. Thanks. Maybe I’ll tell people it’s a gift from a friend.”

“So we are friends?” Yang chuckled, winking. “But seriously, it would be a shame to lose you two as allies. We both have the same goal, helping keep this town safe. You can uncover information that perhaps I might not be able to.”

Karla frowned. “I understand where you’re coming from, but you do realise that journalists rarely work with law enforcement. The fact that you’re asking us for help isn’t a good sign.”

Yang sighed, taking another sip. “No. No, it’s not. I’m not demanding anything of you, Miss Thurman. The only thing I’m asking you two is to help keep the paranormal under wraps.”

“Got it,” said Karla, turning away, “I think we’re done here, Donavan.”

“Yeah, I’d say so too,” Donavan nodded.

❖

Donavan was driving the car, while Karla was in the front seat. She was rubbing her temples as she stared out the front window, trying to keep her mind off everything that she had been told and experienced and was failing spectacularly. “I don’t like any of this. I don’t think Yang is lying to us or anything, but I don’t like having to keep everything a secret, either.”

Donavan just nodded as he kept his eyes on the road. “Well, not sure what we can do, Karla, they’ve got us over a barrel with this one. They can literally make us believe the supernatural isn’t real whenever they want. Only reason they haven’t is because we’re useful to them.”

Karla slammed a fist down on her chair in frustration, “and that’s the worst fucking part of it! I didn’t get into journalism to become a government stooge!”

“Hey, settle down, I ain’t happy about it either,” said Donavan as he put a hand on her shoulder. “But, like it or not, we ain’t got much of a choice.”

Karla took deep breaths. “I need a goddamn coffee or maybe a nap and a shower. There’s gotta be a way to do more.”

“We don’t have to tell them everything we find out, you know. Just do our own independent investigation, and figure out what to do with the evidence we put together,” Donavan suggested.

Karla mulled this over for a bit. Yang was a nice guy, and he seemed to have the town’s best interests in mind, but they couldn’t guarantee that his superiors felt the same way. Besides, some insurance against mental suggestion or memory wiping would be a good idea, provided that they could do it without the authorities finding out, which, considering they could just potentially compel that information out of them with magic, was a fairly tall order, but not impossible. “Yeah, you know what? Let’s do it. This is the story of the century, I want to make sure we can break it wide open if we need to. Yang is kinda trustworthy, but I only trust his bosses as far as I can throw them.”

“You do realise doing this could be pretty dangerous, right?” Donavan asked. “I know, I suggested the idea, but you better be absolutely sure about this.”

Karla took a deep breath. “Yeah. Definitely sure. This town is already in danger, it’s not like we’ll be in a lot more danger if we investigate it.”

Donavan nodded as he pulled over next to Karla’s apartment building. “Fair enough. See you at the office later?”

“Sure,” Karla smiled as she got out, taking her bag with her, and headed up to her apartment as Donavan drove away.

❖

Karla’s single bedroom apartment wasn’t much, but it was enough for her to live alone, and at least the rent was decent. It was well-organised and Karla liked to keep it fairly clean, but otherwise it was fairly unremarkable, just a kitchen, living room area, bedroom, bathroom and a balcony overlooking the street.

Karla considered just making coffee, but she decided to just nap for a couple of hours instead since it was still fairly early, so she took off most of her clothes except for her undergarments, put her pyjamas on, set an alarm, and fell asleep almost immediately on the bed. Apparently her body agreed with her desire to pass out as much as she did.

It wasn’t the alarm that ended up waking her up.

When her eyes opened, she realised that wasn’t alone. Someone else was sitting on her bed, holding a bundle of what she realised was her own hair. The person was dark-skinned and red-eyed with black hair, wearing only a brown cloak to cover her figure. She was singing in an unfamiliar language.

Normally, Karla would consider the mere presence of someone uninvited in her apartment to be an immediate red flag, but for some reason that didn’t matter to her. Neither did the fact that this person was a dead ringer for the witch she had been told about by that student from the other day. If she could think normally, she would most certainly realise what this woman was doing and attempt to alert Agent Yang. Instead, she just stayed still, listening to the woman’s song.

The witch was beautiful. Karla’s heart was thumping as the witch noticed she was awake, and leaned closer, the song almost being a whisper as she sung into Karla’s ear. She didn’t understand a single word, but she somehow knew the meaning of the words regardless. She felt like she was in love.

“Relax, girl, and embrace your true calling,” the witch spoke soothingly.

Karla smiled and nodded, completely and utterly enthralled. She didn’t even know her name, and yet she felt like she had loved her all her life. She belonged to the witch, and would do absolutely anything she wanted, without question. “How may I serve, mistress?”

Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

Rather than speaking another word, the witch moved in for a kiss, which Karlene reciprocated without hesitation, engaging in passionate tongue-wrestling. She had never considered the idea of being in a relationship with another woman before, but even if she was perfectly straight before, if it was her mistress, why wouldn’t she enjoy it?

The witch soon pulled back, and chuckled, “yes, you will do nicely. It would be difficult to get a spy within the Commission, but you’re the next best thing. You will spy on their activities and report back to me.”

Karla nodded, staring at her mistress while completely love-struck. “Sure, mistress, I’d love to.”

“Good. Now, for some fun…”

Karla found herself stripped naked in short order as the witch removed her cloak, revealing she was completely nude underneath. Karla eagerly took in the view of her mistress’ body, voluptuous and smooth, as the witch moved forward, lowering her crotch down onto Karla’s mouth.

No command was required as Karla began licking and eating out her mistress’ vagina with no prompting. She reached down to her own pussy, masturbating as she took in the wonderful taste, tongue delving into her mistress’ folds, taking in the sexual feast that was the fleshy walls and her fluids. No doubt she was completely amateurish with oral sex, as this was her first time with anyone, but she tried her best.

Once satisfied, her mistress moved back, spreading Karla’s legs, holding Karla’s right leg up and lowering her crotch down, beginning to rub their pussies together. Karla moaned lustfully as she was on the receiving end. What was this position called… Tribadism? She couldn’t bring herself to ask, but whatever it was, it was intense, and her mistress was very good at it.

Karla was just left barely able to move on her back, moaning repeatedly as she fondled her own comparatively modest breasts. She was completely at the mercy of her mistress, who evidently had no intention of letting up until both of them were satisfied. Which was the sticking point - Karla was driven to orgasm multiple times, her pussy squirting out juices as she squealed and shuddered in sheer ecstasy, her mistress’ magic preventing her from simply becoming too exhausted.

Eventually her mistress groaned as she squirted pussy juices all over Karla’s belly, shuddering in delight. She reached down, her fingers going in-between their crotches, inter-mingling with them both before she pulled it back up to taste the mixed juices. “Yes… Very nice indeed. You will make an excellent pet.”

Karla couldn’t help but squeal in delight at her mistress’ praise, staring at her lovingly. “Thank you, Mistress! I live to please, after all…”

“Oh, yes you will. But we’re not done here quite yet…” Her mistress raised herself up a bit, lowering her hand to her clitoris, and began to speak again in that unknown language.

Karla looked on in astonishment as her mistress’ clitoris grew into a full-fledged penis, several centimetres in girth and half a meter long, a size which she imagined would put most men to shame. It was already fully erect, and leaking white fluid.

Karla eagerly spread her legs wider, using her fingers to spread her vagina’s lips apart. Her mistress was going to impregnate her with that monster, and Karla couldn’t wait even a second for it. “Oh God, Mistress, I need that now!”

“You forget your place, pet,” her mistress said, chiding her.

Karla felt immediately ashamed at her over-eagerness. “Sorry, Mistress. Would you please fuck me with your magnificent cock?”

“Much better,” her mistress grinned, positioning that huge shaft at Karla’s entrance, and pushing it in completely, taking her virginity in one fell swoop.

Karla squealed, unable to comprehend how her vagina could handle that huge shaft, and yet once again not questioning it, just savouring the sheer ecstasy, the sharp pain of losing her virginity swiftly giving way to pure unadulterated pleasure.

“Nice and tight. Yes, I made an excellent decision by choosing you,” her mistress grinned wickedly as she leaned forward, “getting you pregnant immediately would not be wise, but implanting a seed that will become active within the next six months or if needed is the next best thing.”

Karla couldn’t believe the notion that she could get impregnated by another woman, but if that was true, she was utterly thrilled by the prospect, and it aroused her even further.

Of course, her thoughts about that were completely smashed to pieces by her mistress beginning to thrust in and out of her pussy, causing Karla’s eyes to roll back as she laid helplessly at the mercy of her mistress’ cock. She didn’t even notice her mistress lean in to begin kissing her again until their lips made contact, their breasts rubbing together and only enhancing the exotic pleasure.

Again, Karla was driven to orgasm repeatedly, lost in a mindless haze of being plowed relentlessly and the passionate kissing. But eventually, her mistress slammed her cock into her one last time, blasting her insides with hot, sticky fluids that spilled out. Karla briefly felt something settle in her womb.

They spent a minute moaning and panting into each other’s mouths, before her mistress began thrusting again.

❖

Karla wasn’t sure how for long she and her mistress ended up making love. It was all an utterly blissful haze. However, said haze was very sharply interrupted when something struck the bundle of hair in the witch’s hand, setting it aflame.

It was a painful, sharp effect on Karla’s mind, as if something binding her had been severed swiftly and somewhat inelegantly. The witch screamed as she stumbled back off the bed, her hand completely aflame as she desperately attempted to snuff it out with the cloak, with little success.

Standing in the balcony doorway was a young woman holding a lighter with a lit flame, resembling the ‘good witch’ that had also been described the other day.

There was a sudden struggle of two sets of hair, before the evil witch was able to force her way past, tumbling off the balcony and towards the street below, leaving a streak of flame in her wake.

Trying to reclaim her senses and her bearings, Karla immediately put her pyjamas back on. She wasn’t sure what the hell just happened, with the good witch looking over the balcony and swearing in some language she didn’t recognise, before jumping off.

By the time Karla made it to the balcony as well, both of them were gone.

She groaned, going back over to the bed and rubbing her temples, recalling what exactly happened. The evil witch had cast some kind of spell over Karla that had made her believe she was in love with said witch, and made her want to follow her commands. Apparently she had been targeted because she was associated with the Commission. Great. Just great. Good thing the good witch had discovered them.

Then it occurred to her. She fished the silver coin from her clothes. It was glowing. It had drawn the good witch to her to protect her. I gotta say, I gotta thank Yang for giving me this thing…

Not that it helped when she realised that she just had sex, and the consent involved was… Questionable at best. In many ways, sex through mind control was functionally rape, and that was unnerving as hell, despite the fact that she had enjoyed it at the time. It’d probably sink in deeper as the day went on, but right now, she was just too disoriented.

After a few minutes of pondering while turning the coin over in her fingers, she heard the sound of someone landing on the balcony. The good witch was back. “Ugh, I lost her again. Hey, are you alright?”

Karlene shook her head. “I think I might’ve been raped, but other than that… Actually, no, I’m not fine.”

“Sorry I couldn’t stop her before that happened, then,” the witch said as she sat down besides Karlene. “Would’ve been worse if I hadn’t been drawn here by something…” She noticed the coin. “Ooooh, that’s it! Now that makes a lotta sense. I don’t understand Chinese magic very well, but that’s definitely a protective charm. Would’ve drawn in someone who would’ve helped you.”

Karla decided that she was definitely gonna start wearing it as a necklace from now on. But she had a more pressing question on her mind right now. “And that witch… Is she dead?”

The girl pouted, “nope, those flames probably didn’t slow her down all that much.”

Karla looked her in the eyes, a question occurring to her. “Who are you, anyway?”

The girl giggled as she got off the bed, “oh, right! Name’s Arika! I’m a good witch! And you are…?”

“K-Karla. Karla Thurman. I’m a journalist at the Angel Bay Times,” said Karla, taking a deep breath. “You wouldn’t mind having an interview sometime…?”

That got a good-natured laugh out of the witch. “Maybe… I dunno if you’d want to interview me, though. I might just ramble. But I like you, so I’ll give you something to help keep you safe. Lessee…” She fished something out of her backpack, and tossed it to Karla - a femur from an animal. “Keep this dingo femur with you, it’ll help ward off evil stuff. If you want my help, hold it and think of me.”

Arika almost turned around, but then she turned back to Karla, nearly falling over, “oh right, she messed up your hair. Lemme fix that a mo, if you don’t mind? I gotta make sure she can’t control you again.”

Karla felt her hair, and realised that, yes, it was quite uneven. “Um… Sure, I guess.”

“Okay, cool!” Arika took out a pair of scissors, and went behind Karla, performing a more even cut. Whoever this girl was, she was actually pretty good at it. She could potentially get a career as a barber. “All done!”

As Karla got up to check herself in the bedroom mirror, she noticed Arika set the hair she just cut flame, tossing the ashes into the kitchen sink. “I actually kinda like this length. Thanks. That should be enough, right?”

“Right, shouldn’t be any further connection to the roots of your hair. But if you really want to be sure, you should shave your head and burn the rest of the hair just in case,” Arika nodded. “I really gotta go. Let’s talk again, you know, when you’re feeling better!”

Arika walked out, and jumped off the balcony. This time, Karla could not be bothered to follow her.

She set aside the coin and the femur on the bedside table, and checked the time. 7:13 AM. She honestly thought it’d be later. Karla laid down on the bed, really just wanting to get back to sleep already. Between everything that just happened, she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to feel. She’d probably wake up feeling like absolute garbage.

❖

One nap later, as well as breakfast and a shower, Karla now had more time to let what had happened sink in. What had happened had been beyond fucked up. For the vast majority of people, it would probably be a mentally scarring experience.

But rather than being horrified and feeling self-loathing, Karla was just absolutely pissed off.

How many other people had that evil witch enslaved to her will? Karla and girl she had interviewed the other day were lucky that there were people who were around to save them. But Karla refused to stay a victim. She considered reporting what happened to Agent Yang, but she suspected that if she did, he might just put her in some kind of witness protection or under guard, which would severely hamper her work. And like hell she’d allow that to happen.

Karla had decided to make it her personal mission to uncover the supernatural goings-on in this town. And she would not stop until that evil witch and everything else putting innocent people in harm’s way were brought to justice, one way or another. And she’d do it without the government, until they could prove they could be trusted, and that was an uphill battle for them as far as she was concerned.

She was wearing the coin around her neck with a simple length of string as she came into the office that day. That would have to do for now. If it meant scaring off potential supernatural threats from now on, she wouldn’t take chances.

It seemed Donavan had the same thought, as he looked up at her from his desk, wearing his coin around his neck as well. “Seems we had the same idea. How’re you feeling?”

“Better, but also incredibly pissed off,” said Karla as she sat down. “I’m going to uncover every supernatural element in this damn town, and you’re gonna help me.”

“Not even gonna ask if I even want to? Eh, that’s fine, I wasn’t gonna refuse anyway,” Donavan chuckled. However, he seemed to notice something about Karla that made him frown. “Are… Are you okay?”

Karla shook her head. “No. Not really. I have… Quite the story to tell.”