by Cindy Stark
A kind smile warmed his serious face. “I can’t make any promises until the docs have a chance to examine her, but we’ll do our best for her.”
Hot tears clouded her eyes. “Thank you.”
Peter caught her around the waist as the ambulance pulled away. She turned to him and sobbed into his shoulder.
He smoothed her hair. “Shh… She’s strong, Hazel. I think she’ll be okay.”
Hazel tilted her face upward, needing to see his conviction.
He wiped tears from her cheeks. “You saved her. That can’t be all for nothing, right?”
Her instincts urged her to agree with him. Other worldly forces had intervened and helped her and Cora save Fauna. There had to be a reason.
She buried her face against him and hugged him tight. “I pray you’re right.”
Chapter Four
Hazel and Cora left the police station after giving their statements and headed toward Hazel’s dust-covered car. She glanced at her friend, feeling every bit of the stress and worry etched on Cora’s features. “While you were giving your statement, I called Gretta to see if she could cover the teashop. I’m going to drive over to the hospital and check on Fauna. I need to see that she’s okay.”
Cora snorted. “Funny, but I did the same. Bertie is good to cover me until the evening shift.”
A soft smile curved Hazel’s lips. “You and I are too much alike.”
Cora matched her expression. “I don’t see that as a problem. We’re two caring people who want the best for others. Seems like a good thing to me.”
Hazel paused at the edge of the sidewalk before getting into her car and hugged her. “It’s good to have a friend to trust when times get hard. Thank you for taking this crazy journey with me.”
Cora hugged her back and then headed for the passenger side of Hazel’s Honda. “We are crazy, aren’t we? To live in a town where a good number of the people here wouldn’t like us if they knew our true nature?”
Hazel rolled her eyes and climbed into the car. When they were both inside, she turned to her friend. “Most would call us insane, but it’s hard not to follow our hearts.”
Cora clicked her seatbelt into place. “Indeed.”
They drove a good ten minutes in silence. Hazel had played and replayed events in her mind, searching for details she might have overlooked the first time. She wondered if her friend was doing the same.
Finally, she glanced at Cora. “Was there anything about the man that you recognized?”
Cora shrugged and shook her head. “It was hard, with him being so far away and in the trees.”
She nodded. “Yeah.”
“Fauna would be the best person to ask.” She paused. “And then you…because of what you saw.”
Hazel shot a pointed look at her friend. “I never want to experience that again. I feel bad for saying that because Fauna actually had to live it, but it was beyond awful.”
Cora placed a comforting hand on her arm. “Don’t discount what you went through, either. I’m not comparing it to Fauna’s experience, but I can only imagine how difficult it would be to feel her pain and suffering, and then top that off with the frustration of not being able to help.”
Smothered emotion raised to the surface. She exhaled pent-up stress that she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “Yeah.”
“But, Hazel. You have to realize it was also a gift. A huge gift. Fauna might not be alive if not for you.”
She blinked back tears. “You’re the one who found the blue sky.”
“Only because you told me to look for it.”
Hazel turned into the hospital parking lot and located an empty space. After she shut off the engine, she paused to bury her face in her hands. “This is going to take me a while to process. I don’t understand it at all.”
Cora patted her arm again. “That’s okay. We have time.”
Hazel lifted her gaze. “Do we? You know as well as I do that Fauna would never do anything to deserve what happened to her. Not like Belinda. If someone somehow found out about Fauna and attacked her because she was a witch, this could be bad. For all of us.”
A sober look crossed Cora’s face. “She was one of the people Glenys named before they took her into custody. Maybe that didn’t blow over like we all thought it did. We need to take what we know to the circle. See what everyone thinks.”
Hazel slowly nodded. “Maybe Timothy was biding his time, watching us and waiting for Samuel to return to town.”
A shiver raced over her at the thought, and she remembered the notes about some of the townsfolk she’d found in Timothy’s office the previous week. “You’re going to hate me, Cora.”
She drew her brows together and frowned. “Of course, I’m not.”
Hazel caught her gaze and held it. “Yeah, you are. I was hoping to get more information before I told you this and frightened you, but it’s clear I need to say something now.”
Cora’s aura dimmed. “You’re scaring me, Hazel.”
She unclicked her seatbelt and shifted to better face her friend. “I wasn’t so scared at first, but Fauna’s incident changes things. Before I tell you, I need you to promise me that you won’t discuss any of this with anyone in the coven or otherwise, no matter how much you think you should.”
“Okay,” she said with wariness in her voice.
That wasn’t good enough. “I mean it, Cora. I know you’ve known them longer than me, and that although we’re great friends—”
“Best friends,” Cora interjected.
Her declaration brought a bittersweet smile to Hazel’s face and warmed her heart. “Yes. Definitely best friends. But I do understand your loyalty to the coven which is partly why I haven’t said anything. I didn’t want to put you into a position of having to choose.”
Cora held her gaze for a long moment. “I think you need to tell me now.”
“Yes. I do.”
Hazel inhaled a deep breath, hoping for sustenance, and let it slide out. “Remember why I volunteered at the library?”
“Yes, but you told me you didn’t find Timothy’s special books.”
Guilt bit her hard. “I didn’t find them. I found something else.”
Cora raised intrigued brows. “Spill it.”
“He had a box up on a shelf, covered by a cloaking spell so that no one would know it was there. But I sensed it, or at least what was inside it. I think I was able to do so because he had Clarabelle’s diary in there.”
“Her diary? Her actual diary? Hazel, that’s amazing. I can’t imagine what you’ve been able to learn from that.”
Sadness and frustration covered her like a smothering band of fog. “I only had a few minutes to rifle through it. If I’d taken it with me, he would have known. The list of suspects would have been limited to a few volunteers, which could easily have led to me. I had to leave it and the other things behind.”
A wave of tension stiffened the air, and Hazel knew Cora had picked up on what she hadn’t mentioned.
“Other things?”
Hazel nodded. “Lily’s spell book for one. He also had a notebook that contained notes regarding the Sons of Stonebridge.”
Cora gasped. “That’s incredible. What did it say? The coven would love—”
She paused, and Hazel was sure she’d realized what she’d said.
Hazel sent her a kind look. “You can’t tell them. No matter how much you want to. Not yet, anyway. I need to figure things out before this blows up and hurts us all.”
Cora visibly swallowed and nodded. “I’ve promised, and I meant it. You can tell me, Hazel.”
Hazel searched the wild emotions floating inside her car but found nothing of deception. She could trust Cora. And she would. “One of the things I found was a list of townsfolk.”
“Witches?” she asked breathlessly.
“Of sorts. Some people’s names had been crossed off. Most of them actually. Peter’s wife was in there. She had a red line beneath her name and the wo
rd, gone, written next to it.”
Horror lit Cora’s eyes, and she covered her mouth for a long moment. “I knew it. I knew she hadn’t died accidentally.”
She wanted to tell Cora that Sarah had used a love spell on Peter but realized, if she did, she might be betraying the man she loved. That was his story to tell. Not hers. “There were other names that weren’t crossed off or underlined. One in particular.”
Cora watched with a patient look, waiting for Hazel to continue. When she didn’t immediately, the color drained from her face. The temperature in the car dropped, and she placed a hand against the base of her throat. “Me?” she asked in a strangled whisper.
Hot tears sprang to Hazel’s eyes, and she nodded. She couldn’t bear to think of life without her best friend.
Cora blinked, and the atmosphere in the car tightened. “Why haven’t you told me? My life could be in danger, and you didn’t say anything?”
She was angry, and she had a right to be. “I didn’t leave you vulnerable, Cora. If Peter’s not watching you, one of his men is. He told them a strange man had been following you, so they needed to be diligent, especially when you’d be traveling alone.”
Cora folded her arms, her eyes full of hurt and righteous anger. “I thought we were friends. You want me to trust you, but you don’t trust me.”
She exhaled a heavy sigh. “You’re right. I should have told you right away. I just…I don’t know what I’m dealing with here. The entry with your name was old, not at the front of the book, so it didn’t feel like immediate danger, like maybe you’d been added a long time ago, and they’d never been able to prove anything. I did what I could to protect you. Several spells. Even Mr. Kitty has been running patrols.”
She paused, and though she sensed Cora’s anger lessen, Hazel was still very much in the doghouse.
“I just wanted a little time. I intended to tell you this week. And now that this has happened, my mistake has become very clear.” She blinked back tears. “Cora, you are the dearest friend I have. You know I’d never do anything to endanger your life. I haven’t left you wandering alone, exposed to threats. I did a protection spell. Check the corners of your house. I only wanted a little time to think.”
Cora held her gaze for a few more moments and then exhaled. She glanced away and through the front windshield. “I don’t hate you…but I might need a little time to process, too. You’ve just told me that the Sons of Stonebridge might have a hit out on me.”
“I don’t think it’s that severe. Timothy had underlined Sarah’s name. In red. Yours was more a question that they hadn’t answered yes or no. Not that I’m diminishing the fear. I just don’t believe you’re in immediate danger. But I’m sure if my name was on that list, I’d have a big problem with it, too.”
Cora nodded slowly and then turned back to Hazel. “We should probably go check on Fauna.”
It was an exit from their conversation, but Hazel would grant her that. Life and death situations couldn’t be figured out in an instant, and she surely didn’t expect Cora to forgive her immediately.
But she hoped, with a little time, she could understand her decision to postpone telling her.
Chapter Five
Hazel and Cora stepped through the automatic doors at the hospital and were instantly greeted by scents of cleaner. Ficus trees and green plants, big and small, grew in clusters through the entry way and halls. The sight of them appealed to the earth witch residing inside Hazel, and she wondered if others realized how the plants invited the Blessed Mother’s healing energy and love.
They didn’t speak as they approached the elevator. When the doors opened, Hazel followed Cora inside. She waited until the doors closed them off from the rest of the hospital.
She hated this awkwardness between them. “Do you know where to go?”
Cora nodded. “Polly messaged me ten minutes ago. I let the group know what had happened after we’d found Fauna. They were probably here moments after the ambulance arrived.”
Part of Hazel wished the coven cared for her like that, but she supposed that would come with time and after trust had been established. “Did Polly say how Fauna was doing?”
Cora cast her a quick glance, and Hazel caught the worry in her eyes. “You saw her. It can’t be good.”
“I wondered if they’d heard about internal injuries or not.”
Cora shook her head. “Not that she mentioned.”
The elevator notified them that they’d reached their floor, and they stepped out. Soft blues and greens echoed in the paintings on the walls, while a shiny white floor paved the way to their destination.
Once again, Cora by-passed the nurses’ station and continued until they reached a small waiting area. Polly sat on a functional olive-green couch, wearing her usual no-nonsense blue blouse.
For once, Hazel would have been grateful to see her bland smile, but Polly’s features held nothing but worry. Harriett and Olivia sat across from her in beige chairs. All looked up when they approached.
Harriett dismissed her with a brief, annoyed glance, while Olivia didn’t hide her sneer. Hazel wasn’t sure what she’d done to deserve such cold treatment, but the two made no bones about the fact that they didn’t like her. Olivia had even been willing to give up a year of her life to prove Hazel’s claims of being Clarabelle’s heir were a lie.
She’d accepted those facts. She didn’t like the two witches, either.
Cora slid onto the small couch next to Polly. “Have you been able to see her?”
“Only for a few minutes.” She glanced at her watch. “Maybe twenty minutes ago.”
Hazel left a chair between Olivia’s and the one she claimed. “How is she? Was she awake?”
Harriett released a heavy sigh, but Polly ignored her. “She was awake but groggy. They have her on strong painkillers.”
Bright tears filled Polly’s eyes. “We’re lucky you found her. We could be in the morgue identifying a body instead.”
Cora wrapped an arm around Polly and hugged her. “Shh… It’s okay. She’ll be all right.”
“Have you seen her?” Olivia asked in a droll voice. “She’s half dead.”
Polly sobbed.
Hazel turned toward Olivia, incensed by her callous remark, and shot her a nasty look before she could stop herself. “Of course, we’ve seen her. We found her.”
The older woman held her gaze in a dead-pan stare. “Then you’ll understand why I won’t be placing bets on her survival just yet.”
Cora scoffed. “You’re awful, Olivia. Just because Hazel’s here doesn’t mean you have to turn into a jerk. Think of poor Polly and of Fauna inside her room.”
Harriett coughed and stood. “Let’s grab some coffee, Olivia, and let providence watch over Fauna.”
As if providence was the only power left. Cora, Polly, and she were capable witches, too.
Olivia stood, her bulky form tall and intimidating. She didn’t remove her gaze from Hazel. “Yeah. Okay. I need some fresh air anyway.”
They left, and the tension in the air dropped dramatically. Hazel was grateful. She didn’t need to deal with their drama on top of everything else.
She focused on Polly. “Do you think we can see her?”
Polly shook her head. “The nurses are with her now, but they might let one or two of us in once they’re finished.”
Cora squeezed Polly’s hand. “You go, if they’ll let you.”
Polly shook her head. “No. I got to see her for a few minutes already. She was asking for you and Hazel. She knows you saved her.”
Emotion swelled in Hazel, and she wrapped her arms around her mid-section in a protective gesture. “I’m so grateful we did.”
Cora flashed a glance at her and then looked back to Polly. “Hazel had an…experience. She could somehow see through Fauna’s eyes. That’s how we found her.”
Polly jerked her gaze toward Hazel, sending a fright racing through her. “Is that right?”
Heat crept up her
cheeks. Polly might as well have accused her of black magic. She swallowed. “It’s nothing I’ve ever experienced before, but yes, I could catch glimpses of what she saw.”
“Was it really John Bartles, then?” Polly asked.
Hazel’s pulse tripped. “What makes you ask that?”
“Fauna was mumbling that he was the one. Said she recognized his cologne.”
Cora gasped and looked to Hazel. “John?”
Although Hazel had had similar thoughts, she hated to jump to conclusions without evidence. “I’m not sure. The man seemed taller than John to me, but he was so far away, and Fauna wasn’t standing up straight.”
The reasons why she hadn’t been sickened Hazel.
Cora nodded. “Could have been though. Same kind of build, and he was the first one to the scene after us.”
Hazel glanced between their faces. “I wish I knew. I wish I’d seen more.”
Polly gestured with her head in the direction Harriett and Olivia had gone. “They believe her. We know what John is, and any one of the Sons of Stonebridge is capable of an atrocity like this.”
She couldn’t deny that. They were not nice people, especially to her kind. “Can either of you think of a way to prove it? Do the police specifically track their officers?”
A cough came from behind her shoulder, and Hazel whipped around. Olivia stood with a white Styrofoam cup in her hand and stared. “Wouldn’t you be the one to answer that question, considering who you’ve cozied up to?”
Every word that came out of her mouth radiated hate and retribution. “I can and will ask Peter. I just wondered if someone here already knew.”
Olivia snorted. “Don’t you dare. We do not need outsiders involved in our business. If John hurt her, he’ll have to pay.”
Blood pulsed in her temples. She glanced past them to ensure they were out of earshot of others. “Are you planning something?”
Harriett rolled her eyes and looked away. Olivia smiled, and her gaze sent a chill chasing down Hazel’s spine.
As much as she despised John’s point of view, she didn’t think they should punish him quite yet. “I think you should make sure you have all the facts before you do something drastic. What if it wasn’t John?”