I finally have a one-sentence summary of what I can say when someone asks what the story is about, though it really isn't very revelatory except to say this is the subconscious question I was asking myself and eventually answered.

THE WITCH'S APPRENTICE is a fantasy-set and sensual take on Joan Osborne's question, "What If God Was One Of Us?" except that I know the correct conjugation for "be" in the present conditional tense of subjunctive mood.

And yes, the bit about the conjugation is vital to the reply. Because that song has been bugging me for a DECADE. Longer, maybe now.