Vision of Nothing Part 3

Posted on Tue Jan 14th, 2025 @ 3:21am by Liza Behn & Gideon Asher

Mission: Wasted
Location: Weird Sisters’ House
Timeline: August 18, 2024 - 8:30pm

The home of the Weird Sisters was the last place anyone would expect any witch- much less seers- to live. It sat on the outskirts of town, surrounded by a sunflower field. It was a cheerful yellow with a white metal roof and trim, and a white picket fence. The wraparound porch was decorated with white wicker furniture with yellow accents that matched the house color perfectly. The lawn was impeccably landscaped and the skirted garden around the house was filled with daffodils.

The house looked like a lemon merengue pie decorated with sugar flowers.

“This does not look like a witch’s house,” Liza commented as they exited Gideon’s car.

“A witch’s house is anywhere a witch lives, daughter,” pointed out the Baron. “Would anyone look at your home and think ‘this looks like a Vampire’s house?’”

“Touché,” replied Liza fairly. Her own home looked like a crazy cat lady lived there. Sans cats, of course.

"Mine definitely looks like a vampire's house," Gideon said. "Well, let's go knock on the door." Gideon led the trio to the front and knocked.

"Who's there?" a woman's voice said.

Gideon sighed. "Shouldn't you already know?" he asked.

As the door locks were undone and the door was opened, there was muttering that sounded like: "Wiseass!" and "Everyone's a comedian!" and "Wow! How original!"

There were three older gray and white haired women who answered the door. "Welcome to the home of the Wayward Sisters! How can we... " The woman who was speaking locked eyes with Gideon. "YOU!?!? But... but... how...?"

Gideon chuckled. "Yes, Maureen, it's true. Predictions of my transition from undeath to true death were apparently greatly exaggerated. By you, if memory serves."

Maureen glowered at Gideon. "It's because you're a vampire. Technically, you're already undead, which is sorta dead. That kind of thing confuses the Fates."

"And you, obviously," Gideon said.

Maureen continued to glower. "What do you want? And who are... " Maureen locked eyes Liza. "Oh you poor dear... come in and have some tea and tell me all about it."

“Oh, uh…” stammered Liza, a bit taken aback at the witch’s reaction. “I… I actually can’t drink tea. I’m, um… undead, as you say.”

"Right," Maureen said. "I knew that. The Fates told me to test you." Gideon rolled his eyes and Maureen scowled at him. "Anyway, come right this way and let's talk about the vision the Fates tell me you've had." Gideon barely resisted the urge to snort. Maureen noticed and scowled at him again. Maureen and the two Wayward Sisters led the trio of bloodsuckers into a sitting room and gestured for Liza and the other Vampires to sit. "Colleen, Jolene," Maureen said to the other two. "Go out back and start the cauldron boiling." Colleen and Jolene nodded to Maureen and left the room, headed for the backyard. "Now, dear, tell me all about your vision."

“Well, it was a dream, actually,” replied Liza. “But, basically, a tangible Nothing came and ate everything. It was dark and terrifying, mostly. I know it’s not very descriptive, but that’s all there was.” She nodded towards the Baron. “The Baron here is the one with visions,” she added.

“Do not sell yourself short, daughter!” replied the Baron. “Pardon me,” he said smoothly to the witch. “I am the Baron Richmond of the Vampire council. This is my daughter, Liza. She has shown early signs of the second sight for nearly a century now. Her dream supports my recent vision which brought me here. I saw a darkness. It consumed everything and when it was gone, nothing remained.”

"There, there, dear," Maureen said soothingly. "That sounds like a horrible dream to have. We'll do what we can for you." Maureen turned her head towards the back door. "Jolene... Jolene... Jolene... Jolene!"

"Yes?" came a shout from the backyard.

"Finally!" Maureen said. "Are you two ready or what?"

"Yeah, Maureen," Jolene said. "Colleen and I are ready. Just waiting for you."

"Fine," Maureen said. "Let's go out back and see if we can make some sense of this. Ready?"

“As ready as it’s possible to be, I suppose,” answered Liza. “Lead the way.”

Maureen led Liza and Gideon out to the back yard. There was a cauldron suspended over a lit firepit, filled with bubbling water. Gideon, who had a fairly strong stomach (he'd survived the Middle Ages, war, famine, Bubonic Plague, the Spanish Flu, Typhoid, Tupperware, Bell Bottoms, and other gross things) chose to avoid thinking of what the witches would be putting in the bubbling stuff in the cauldron actually. Hopefully, in addition to wing of bat and eye of newt and whatnot, there were no kidneys of small orphan child or something like that in there.

Joleen handed Maureen a hooded robe, which the witch put on. The firepit had benches around it. Maureen motioned for Liza to sit across from her and the other witches. The three witches began their magic, tossing things in the cauldron and stirring as they went.

"Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and caldron bubble.
Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the caldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg and howlet's wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and caldron bubble.
Cool it with a baboon's blood,
Then the charm is firm and good."

"Well, no kidneys of a small orphan child," Gideon thought to himself. "Small favors, I suppose."

Maureen fished... something out of the pot and blew on it, and held it to her forehead. Suddenly the eyes of all three of the Wayward Sisters before them shot wide open, black as night, and the sisters all howled an unnatural howl.

Colleen’s voice when she spoke was dark and about an octave lower than normal, with a slight rasp. “I see destruction,” she said. “Everything is broken. The world and everything in it is reduced to dust. And over all, death!” She took a shuddering breath. “All shall be ruined!” she cried out in despair.

"Oh for fuck's sake!" Gideon thought. "Liza saw that! The Wierdo Sisters better have more to say!" Gideon sighed.

"Tell us, witch," the elder vampire said, doing his best impression of someone who didn't think the Sisters were completely full of shit. "Tell us more!"

And then Gideon felt it. Something. Something undefined. Something just at the edge of his senses, hiding in the periphery of his ability to see, hear, and feel. "Hmmm... " he thought. "Perhaps, just this once, they aren't full of crap?"

"Speak, witch," Gideon said. "This once, you have my full attention."

Colleen shuddered, then squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them again, they had returned to normal. “If I interpret the vision correctly- and I sincerely hope I am wrong- we could be looking at… at a… I even hate to say it, but the signs are all there,” she said. She wring her hands and seemed to steel herself. “It looks like a… a waster.”

Gideon sighed and refrained from saying 'no shit, Sherlock', in part because it wouldn't be productive and in part because, having met Arthur Conan Doyle, he felt the author would object to his greatest creation being imortalized in that fashion. Gideon took a different tack.

"Can you tell us more?" Gideon said. "Perhaps point us in the direction of where we can find it?"

“There is a cabin in the woods,” replied Colleen, “and two white dogs. They can lead you to the Waster.”

“The hounds!” exclaimed Liza suddenly. “I sold them an old log cabin! How will they know where to find the Waster, though?”

“That I cannot say,” replied Colleen. “I can only report what I see.”

"Well then," Gideon said. "I suppose we should shuffle off and lay down with dogs. Hopefully we won't walk away with fleas. Thank you ladies. You've been most... well... you've been most. Let's leave it at that."

Gideon turned to his fellow vampires. "Shall we go?"

“Indeed,” agreed the Baron, motioning for Liza to walk ahead of him. “Let us go find these Hounds and see what they have to say.”