"Rhea..."
Slowly, Becky rose from unconsciousness. She opened her eyes and blinked. She listened to the soft patter of raindrops on the tent. Yawning and starting to close her eyes, her dreams already calling her back, the sound came again.
"Rhea..." this time it snapped Becky to attention. She sat up and looked around, though she knew the voice did not come from within their tent.
Becky considered waking Sydney. Her sister slept deep and long and nothing woke her. Sometimes, their mother had to set an alarm and send Becky into Sydney's room to wake her for school.
"Rhea...."
Becky shuddered as she heard the name again. The name that one of the women from the bonfire had called her own mother. Were they gathering again? Becky wanted to know. This time she would confront her mother and demand to know how they had disappeared into the fire.
She slipped on her sweatshirt and zipped it. Her tennis shoes sat inside the tent. Their mother had told them that it would rain and to put everything in the car or in their tents. She laced her sneakers and climbed out, careful not to slip in the mud.
"Rhea..."
The voice did not come from the direction of the previous night's fire. Instead, Becky looked toward the woods where she had seen the creature pretending to be a woman. She gasped and backed up as she saw a figure moving through the woods. As she squinted through the rain, she realized that the figure was moving away from her. The woman wore a familiar silver cloak. Her mother.
She hurried through the darkness. Her tennis shoes squeaked on the wet grass and ferns if she moved too quickly so she slowed and hid behind trees and bushes.
Her mother walked for a long time. When Becky passed the gnarled tree with the weird symbol, she nearly turned back. She should get her father. What if the creature attacked her mom? How could she possibly help her?
"Rhea..."
Her mother quickened her pace and Becky sped up to keep her in sight.
The rain slowed and then stopped. A warm mist rose from the sodden ground and cast a veil over the forest. Becky could barely see the outline of her mother up ahead.
When Arlene stopped abruptly, Becky jumped behind the broad trunk of a birch tree.
Her mother stood before the red weeping willow. In the darkness, the willow looked almost black. Becky wanted to scream at her mother to get away, but before she could speak, the monster appeared.
The woman reared up from the ground beneath the willow. Though Becky could not see her face clearly, she saw the shadow of her slack skin hanging from her skull.
"Why have you called me here?" Arlene asked the woman.
To Becky's surprise, her mother did not sound afraid.
"Rhea..." the woman hissed. The sweet melody that had lured Becky from sleep was gone. Up close the voice sounded gravelly and dry.
"I have a prophecy for you..."
"Why should I hear anything you have to say?" Arlene replied, her strong voice carrying through the trees. "You are not one of us. You can't be trusted."
The creature laughed a high, shrill cackle and Becky clamped her hands over her ears. Her eardrums vibrated and ached with the sound.
"I have the sight," the creature continued. "One of your own is next in line."
"In line for what Lourdes? You called me out here in the dead of night to speak in riddles?"
Again the shrill cackle, but with a dangerous edge.
Becky thought the monster might suddenly strike out at her mother, but the woman stayed low on the ground like a snake waiting for her moment.
"The blood curse. The curse of ruin and damnation. My curse you foolish witch. The curse that took my child."
Becky's mother did not speak. She took a step away from the monster as if she too sensed an attack.
"What do you mean, one of mine? One of my children?"
"I'll tell you," the woman crooned in her raspy voice. "But first..." she trailed off. Becky watched as the thing planted her hands in the soft moss and climbed in jerky spasms to her feet. Though she stood upright, she hunched forward and her long hair dangled around her misshapen face.
"I'm not here to help you," Arlene said and began to turn away.
"No," the creature screeched. She scurried forward, faster than she should have been able. She stood at the edge of the willow now, staring from beneath the dark branches.
Arlene turned back.
"Your granddaughter..."
"I don't have a granddaughter," Arlene spat.
"Oh but you will, you will have a beautiful granddaughter."
"And?"
"The berries of the belladonna. I need only a few," the creature's voice undulated between a warning and a plea.
Arlene stood very still.
"No, I will not serve you," Arlene said, perhaps more to herself than the monster. She turned and started back through the forest.
"Abby will die!" the monster howled and Becky felt as if her head split in two as the sound wrenched through her brain.
She sat on the ground and closed her eyes tight trying to shut out the pain. When she finally opened them, the forest had grown quiet.
"Becky..." the creature's voice slithered to her over the wet leafy ground. Becky peeked around the tree. The monster stood, her hands clutching the willow branches. "Come to me," she whispered. "Learn your destiny."
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Beneath the Willow Page 2