When Witches Wake

by Hilary Foxhill

  Emily sat in an old wooden booth. The diner was bustling, and the server had been too busy to get her a drink or even a menu. She wasn’t too concerned, because her dad hadn’t arrived yet. She had finally taken some time off of work and was meeting her dad for lunch. They were overdue for an in person visit. Her face lit up as she saw him walk into the diner. Emily stood up and hugged her father.

  “Hi Dad,” she said, squeezing her face into his shoulder. His jacket was cold but she didn’t mind. She hadn’t had a hug from him in weeks.

  “Hey Em,” Christopher said. “It’s so good to see you, sweetie.” He took off his coat and they each took a seat in either side of the booth. “It smells good in here. Have you eaten here before?”

  “No, not yet,” Emily said. “But I‘ve heard good things. I just hope we get a menu soon.”

  “So how have you been? You look rested,” Chris said.

  “I have been great, actually,” Emily said. “I met some new people, and I've been spending a lot of time with them. And this little vacation from work has been really good for me too I think.”

  “I can imagine," he said. “So you have been sleeping better?”

  “I have. The dreams I was telling you about have calmed down a lot,” Emily said.

  “Was that before or after you spoke to your mother?” he asked.

  The waitress came to the table with two menus and tossed them on the table. “Hi, my name is Penny. Can I get you two anything to drink right away?”

  Emily was confused by what her dad said, and it took her a moment to register the server.

  Chris jumped in. “I’ll have a Coke, please.”

  “I’ll have a Coke too,” Emily said. “Thanks.” She smiled at the server as she rushed away. “What do you mean before or after I talked to my mother?”

  “Have you talked to her recently?” he asked.

  “Yeah. I mean briefly. I've been a little busy,” she said. “I've also kind of been avoiding her calls.”

  “So you haven’t had, like, a heart to heart about anything?” he asked.

  Emily shook her head. “No. Was I supposed to?”

  “We had just talked a while back and she said she had something she wanted to talk to you about," he said. “But I guess she hasn’t had a chance to.” He paused for a moment, appearing to gather his thoughts. “So tell me about these new friends of yours.”

  Emily smiled and her face flushed. “They are…” she paused. “They are really amazing.”

  “That look makes me wonder if one of them is more amazing than the rest,” Chris said.

  Emily’s face became redder. “Ha,” she said.

  “You want to tell me about her?” he said. “What’s her name?”

  Emily tried not to smile, but she knew there was no point in trying to pretend he wasn’t right. “Claire,” she said.

  “Claire huh?” He smiled. “So what’s so great about this Claire?”

  “I don’t know, Dad. She is talented, and smart, and gorgeous, and… magical,” Emily said.

  “So are you two dating then?” he asked.

  “No, we're just friends,” Emily said.

  “Does she know how you feel?” he said.

  “I hope not,” she said. “I want to tell her, but I need to wait for the right moment. I don’t want to scare her away.”

  “I haven’t seen you like this about somebody in years, Em," he said. “I'm really excited for you.”

  “Thanks, Dad,” she said. “It has been a while. I think I forgot how to interact with someone I’m so head over heels with.”

  “Just be yourself," he said. “That’s all you need to do.”

  “I just don’t want to screw it up,” she said. “I have never met anyone even remotely like her. I don’t just want to date her. I want to make my life with her.” Emily had this thought as she said it. She knew she wanted to be with Claire, but it hadn’t occurred to her in just those words until she heard them come out of her mouth.

  “Wow, Emily," he said. “That is something.” He smiled at her.

  “Well I feel silly now,” she said. “Can we talk about something else?”

  “Sure," he said.

  They ate and talked about his job and about family. He wanted to learn more about her new friends, but she had already changed the subject. Emily left the lunch date feeling refreshed and renewed. She started daydreaming about Claire and the life she wanted to build with her, and she wondered if she should finally share how she felt. None of it would ever come true if Claire had no idea she was in love with her.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  JEREMY AND CLAIRE stood next to each other at the sink in the kitchen. He washed the dishes as she dried them.

  “Tonight went well," he said.

  “Yeah, I think so too,” she said. “Emily seems to be fitting in really well.”

  “So I was right?” he asked.

  She gave him a side glance and elbowed him gently. “I didn’t say that. Plus you can’t really take any credit for it. She came to you. It’s all on Emily.”

  Jeremy thought of the other dream he saw and he still hadn’t admitted it to anyone. He could see the chemistry between the two of them when they were together. Everyone could. But they hadn’t seemed to notice. “You two seem to be getting along really well too," he said.

  Claire dried the plate she was holding and held back a smile. She smiled when Emily was mentioned. “Yeah, I guess," she said.

  “Do you still have any concerns about her having feelings for anyone in the coven?” he asked.

  “I’m not sure. I hadn’t thought about it since you and I talked about it last," she said.

  “Why’s that?” he asked.

  “I don’t know, Jeremy," she said. “Why are you asking?”

  He turned off the water and turned to look at her. “Because you two like each other.”

  “What do you mean we like each other? You think I have feelings for Emily?” she asked.

  “Um, yes. I know you do. It is painfully obvious to everyone who is around the two of you," he said. “I thought it would be a good idea for me to bring it up before you break your own rule.” He gave her the smirk he always gives her when he’s right.

  “We get along, yes," she said. “And I can’t speak for her about her feelings for anyone. But I don’t have those kinds of feelings for her.”

  “No?” he said.

  “No!” She put the plate and the towel down and started to leave.

  “Then why are you getting so upset about this conversation?” he asked.

  “Because you're pissing me off, as usual," she said.

  “Why can’t you just admit how you feel about her?”

  She turned back around and looked at him. Her face was stern. “Because I can’t have feelings for her.”

  “Sure you can," he said. He walked over to her. He wanted to hug her, because he already knew where this conversation was going.

  “Stop," she said. “You know that isn’t true. For one thing, it could mess up the entire coven. This coven is all I have left and if this falls apart, I will too. After everything I have already screwed up, I can’t screw up the coven.”

  “It wouldn’t screw up the coven Claire," he said. “It could make the coven so much better.”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about Jeremy. Why do you always talk about shit you know nothing about?”

  “Wow, really?” he said. “You’re going to start attacking me now just because you are afraid of your feelings?”

  “Ugh!” She started walking upstairs.

  “Hey, come on.” He stopped her and turned her around. “Don’t. We need to talk about this. It’s important.”

  She rolled her eyes and avoided making eye contact with him. “It isn't important.”

  “Yes it is," he said. “You think that bottling this all up is good for the coven? Do you think it is good for you?”

  “It's better than falling in love and then losing it,
yes," she said.

  “You can’t really believe that," he said.

  “Yes. I really do. And there's even more at stake than when I got divorced. If I fucked this one up, I’d screw up the whole coven too. It isn’t just my life I’d mess up. I can’t do that," she said.

  “Why do you think you’d screw it up?” he asked.

  She sighed and didn’t answer him.

  “You only focus on what might happen if it went wrong. What about thinking about how incredible it could be if it went right?” he said.

  “Wow Jeremy, did you read that on a poster at the library?” she said.

  “I'm serious!” he said. “God you’re either too dramatic or you can’t take anything seriously. I don’t know why I even try.”

  “Look. I am serious. I can’t let myself have feelings for her," she said.

  “I think that is exactly what you need to do. I know you're trying to find yourself again after this last year, and you have been happy again. Really happy," he said. “I don’t think you have even realized how much better you have been since meeting Emily.”

  Claire was silent. She hadn't felt this happy in a long time. But she was scared too. And still grieving. She couldn’t tell which feelings to focus on, or if what she was feeling was even real.

  “We are all going through a lot right now, okay?” Jeremy said. “I think you need to take the good where you can get it. And I think you and Emily would be really good together.”

  Claire looked up at Jeremy and she had tears in her eyes. “It doesn’t matter, because it can’t happen. Even if I thought that relationships inside a coven were a good idea, what about the power imbalance? I’m the high priestess," she said.

  “So what?” he said. “That means you can decide. It’s your coven. If you wanted this you could make it happen, and you’d find a way to make it work. We all would.”

  “Can we just drop this, please?” Claire said.

  “Okay. But can I say one more thing?” he asked.

  Claire rolled her eyes. “What?”

  “I think you two might be perfect for each other. And I don’t want you to miss out on something that would be so good for you, just because you’re afraid of failing.”

  “Kay.” Claire said with an attitude. She turned around and walked upstairs, into her bedroom and closed the door.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  “HERE COMES THE guy," he said. He patted her arm trying to get her attention. She rubbed her eyes and sat up in her chair, trying to wake up. They both looked out the window and watched as Jeremy pulled up to the Cottage. “He has somebody with him," he said. Three other cars pulled up and parked behind his. Claire, Emily, Allison, and Tanner all stepped out of the cars and met on the sidewalk.

  “That’s them. That’s his coven," she said. She smiled with excitement. “Ohhh this is perfect. All five of them.”

  “I thought you said one of them was black?” he said. “They're all white.”

  “What?” She squinted and tried to get a good view of their faces as they walked toward the store. “She’s not here. That is a different woman. We saw her the other day, remember? She had only been to the store a couple of times.”

  “Well she is with them now. Do you think she is in the coven?” he asked.

  “May as well be. What else would she be doing with them?” she said.

  “I wonder where the other one is," he said.

  “It doesn’t matter," she said. “We can’t do anything today anyway. But I’m glad we had the info right about these ones. I think we need to take care of him and his group next.”

  “He is the one you were told about?” he asked. “You saw him in your vision?”

  “Yes, I'm sure of it," she said. “Let’s get going. I don’t want any of them to see us.”

  They pulled out and drove away. “I'm not sure we should go after him next or if we should go after one of the smaller ones.”

  “I think we could take him," he said. “You saw how big Sheff was. And we got him no problem.”

  “It isn’t his size I am worried about," she said. “I just am changing my mind about us taking care of the leaders right now. We got two big shots so far, maybe we should work on some smaller folks. They might be easier anyway. And it wouldn't hurt to really wear down the morale as we go.”

  “Whatever you say, I guess," he said.

  “I'll think about it," she said.

  “If we get caught-” he started.

  She interrupted him. “We are not going to get caught.”

  “Well maybe what you said at first makes sense," he continued. “Get rid of the hot shots first, and then maybe the rest of them will fall apart.” He didn’t want to upset her, but that had been her original idea.

  She thought about what he said and couldn’t decide what would be better. She was confident that they wouldn't be caught. God had spoken to her and showed her what they needed to do. She knew that with God on their side they would be safe. Ridding the world of these terrible creatures was a good thing, and people don’t get punished for doing good things. They get rewarded. She knew she would be rewarded, but she had to do it right. There was too much at stake. And he was right, the police might not understand what she is doing. There is even a possibility that the witches could have infiltrated the police force. If they were caught by a witch they would surely have revenge in mind.

  “Yes. Sticking to the original idea would be best," she said. “We don’t know all of the forces we’re up against, and we need to act carefully. Let's get rid of him first, and then his partner.”

  “So when should we do it? Do you have a plan?” he said.

  “We need to keep an eye on the store and see what happens now that the other one is out of the picture. We don’t know his schedule yet, so let’s track him for a couple of days and see when a good chance would be.”

  “I could go into the store again. I could try to talk to him," he said.

  “No," she said. “Let’s not get too close anymore. It was okay when we were first feeling them all out, but right now let’s pull back while we make our plan. We can get closer again if we need to, but not for him. Not for right now.”

  “Whatever you say, baby.” He stopped at a red light and leaned over to kiss her. She kissed him back and he groaned. “Let’s go home and fool around. Talking about this stuff gets me so turned on.”

  “Mhmm," she moaned. “Me too baby," she rubbed his leg and smiled at him. He got on her nerves sometimes, but she knew she had picked a good man. He didn’t think too much, and he didn’t talk too much. And he had agreed to help her on her mission. God hadn’t spoken to directly to him as he had to her, but he took her guidance as diligently as she took God’s, and that was all she needed.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  EMILY WAS AT the covenstead again. It was the third night this week, and everyone was over. They were discussing relaxing the buddy system a bit, as there had been no new murders. The snow was falling hard, and the roads looked to be getting worse. Jeremy suggested everyone stay over to avoid the roads.

  “I need to get home to Danielle,” Allison said. “I have been over here so much lately, she would kill me if I spent the night. I should probably just head out now.”

  “Okay, we understand,” Claire said. “Just please drive safely. And text me when you're home safe.”

  “I will,” Allison said. She hugged everyone and Tanner and Olivia stood up to hug her goodbye.

  “I should go too,” Tanner said.

  “Yeah I will be taking off too I think,” Olivia chimed in.

  “You guys never want to stay!” Jeremy said.

  “And you are always pushing us to, you weirdo,” Allison said. “Did you not get enough sleepovers as a kid?”

  “Will you stay, Emily?” Jeremy said. He nodded his head yes, with a huge smile on his face trying to convince her. Claire looked over at her. Emily felt put on the spot. Everyone else was deciding to brave the drive home, but she actually w
anted to stay. She hadn’t had any alone time with Claire since that day in her apartment, and if she stayed the night maybe she would get a chance. The way Claire was looking at her, she couldn’t figure out if she wanted her to stay or not. She didn’t know how often she would get this chance and she wanted to take it.

  “You know, I might take you up on that offer," she said.

  Allison shot Jeremy a look of excitement. She had been picking up on the chemistry between Claire and Emily, and she and Jeremy were secretly rooting for them to get together.

  “I really hate driving in storms, and Eli has enough food put out for the night. He should be okay,” Emily said.

  “Yes!” Jeremy said.

  Claire gave Emily a friendly look. “You can take the couch then." She felt nervous about Emily staying over. She had purposefully avoided any time alone with Emily after the interactions they had in her apartment. She felt like Emily was a strong person to have in the coven, but she also felt like she might become a temptation and a distraction if they were alone. Jeremy had called her out and made her realize she might be walking a fine line. And now he seemed to be trying to push them together.

  Everyone said their goodbyes, and the three of them were left together in the living room.

  “So what should we do!?” Jeremy asked. He wasn’t even trying to hold back how excited he was that Emily was staying. “We could watch a movie, play a game? What do you guys think?”

  Emily and Claire looked towards each other and back at Jeremy and shrugged. Emily just wanted to be with Claire. Claire just wanted to hide and try not to make eye contact with Emily. She was worried of what might happen if they did.

  “You’re the guest, Emily.” Jeremy said. “What would you like to do?”

  I’d like to take Claire up to her room. She thought. She immediately felt guilty for thinking of Claire that way. She wasn’t used to having a dirty mind, but after her dreams about Claire, she sometimes had a hard time thinking of anything else when she looked at her.