by Tish Thawer
“Here we are, sweetheart. Let’s get you inside.” Jason helped Trin maneuver over the thin step at the back door, and then led her into his cabin.
“I’ll put on some tea,” Caris offered, rushing straight to the kitchen.
Kennedy walked into the living room and flicked her wrist toward the hearth—flames erupted inside of the stone expanse as the wood burst to life.
“Lay down here, honey. Caris will bring you some tea.” Jason eased Trin down onto the couch, then joined the girls in the kitchen.
“Are you brewing her healing tea?” Kennedy asked as she looked over Caris’s shoulder.
“No, not yet.” Caris stirred in a different set of herbs than those of Trin’s healing tea she kept hidden in her ring. “I have to find out what’s wrong first, and in order to do that, I need to enter her mind. This will help relax her and put her back to sleep so we can do that.” She lifted the cup and inhaled. Notes of valerian root, chamomile, and lavender tickled her nose as the steam swirled in the air. “It’s ready.”
Returning to the living room, Caris eased down next to Trin. “Trin, here. Drink this. It will help you relax.” Caris blew on the liquid, cooling it slightly, then lifted the cup to her sister’s lips.
After a few sips, Trin’s eyes grew heavy, exactly as Caris had hoped. Finishing the cup, Trin smiled lazily up at her family, and then promptly fell asleep.
“Okay. Let’s try this again …” Caris motioned for Jason and Kennedy to retake their places, each laying their hands on Trin in the same spots they’d previously claimed. Closing her eyes, Caris whispered the grounding spell once more. “As above, so below, ground us now, so that we may know. Show us what our sister sees, so we may aid in what she needs.”
The vision came to them all at once, and all at once they gasped.
The image looked the same as the reality before them—Trin lying on the couch in Jason’s cabin—but standing in front of her, blocking her from their view, was Mama with her arms outstretched wide. “When you’re ready she will wake. Until then, it’s up to you to solve the puzzle. Your sister will remain safe and unharmed, but cannot join this fight … for there is too much at risk. Find the two that create one, as only then will your fight be done.”
Snapped out of the vision, Jason, Caris, and Kennedy removed their hands from Trin and stood stock still, staring at each other in horror.
Chapter Nineteen
“So that’s it? Trin’s out of commission?” Kennedy exclaimed.
Jason pulled a knitted blanket from the back of the couch, draping it gently over Trin as she continued to sleep. “It seems so.” His jaw flexed as he brushed strands of his lover’s auburn hair away from her face.
“I don’t understand. Why would Mama not want her to help us? It doesn’t make any sense.” Caris returned to her favored window and gazed out into the blackened sky—the heaviness of the evening mimicked the weight settling atop her soul.
“What I don’t understand is how Mama is projecting herself here. Clearly, that means she knows what’s going on.” Kennedy roughly yanked a chair back from the kitchen table, dropping into it with a frustrated sigh.
“Yes, but isn’t that a good thing?” Jason joined her at the table. “If she’s aware we’re here, that means she’s alive and okay.”
“For now,” Caris added over her shoulder.
“Okay, so let’s get to it. What do you think this puzzle we have to solve is? What did Mama say again?” Kennedy looked to Caris, knowing her sister would have memorized the words.
“Find the two that create one, as only then will your fight be done,” Caris intoned.
Kennedy shifted in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. “That’s not vague at all. It could literally mean anything.” The edge to her voice was growing sharper by the second.
“Okay, well, let’s think about … it could be something physical, like two things that actually fit together. Or it could be something less tangible, like two people somehow becoming one.” Caris shrugged, her attempt to keep things light.
Shaking her head, Kennedy took a deep breath. “Which again, could practically be anything or anyone. But maybe it’s like Trin was saying before … perhaps we are supposed to find the other version of ourselves and join our magic, becoming one.” After a moment’s pause, she slammed her hand down on the table. “Damn it! I wish Mama could have given us more to go on.”
Jason sighed, then looked back to the living room to check on Trin. “Maybe she did.” Pushing from the table, his chair crashed to the floor. “Look!” he gasped.
Rushing to the couch, the three stared down in shock as Mama’s ruby pendant glowed brightly against Trin’s chest.
“That definitely looks like a sign to me.” Caris beamed.
“Sure does. Now, if we can only figure out what it means.” Kennedy leaned down and placed her hands above the stone, reaching out with her magic. “I’m not sensing anything negative or strange. It feels like Mama’s energy … and Trin’s.” She pulled back. “It’s a little warm.”
Jason scooted closer. “Should we take it off of her?” His brows drew together, pulling into a deep vee.
“Here, I’ll do it.” Caris knelt beside her big sister and gently unclasped the chain from around her neck, then lifted the pendant away. “Now what?” She held it in the air.
“Hold on, I’ve got something we can put it in.” Jason rushed into his parents’ room, returning a moment later with a small, wooden box in hand. “Place it in here.”
Caris lowered the necklace into the unadorned box, tucking it gently between the folds of the white cotton material within.
Taking a collective breath, they all watched the red glow fade as Caris closed the lid.
“What do we do now?” Kennedy asked.
“I don’t know. I guess we need to find another piece that somehow fits with it … two creating one?” Caris shrugged.
“Aaannd we’re back to square one. That could literally be anything.” Kennedy threw her hands in the air.
“Look, we’re all tired and it’s late.” Jason shoved the box into his pocket, then leaned over, readjusting Trin’s blanket. “This is obviously going to take more thought, so I suggest we sleep on it and start again in the morning.”
Kennedy nodded and flicked her wrist at the fire, stoking it to keep her sister warm throughout the night.
“I think we should return to our house tomorrow.” Caris added, “If this is supposed to fit into something else, it’ll probably be there. Don’t you think?”
“Yeah, good idea, Car. Maybe Mama will send us another sign, too. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to find her and Ann and bring all this shit to an end.”
“I feel the exact same way.” Caris smiled and bid Jason and Kennedy goodnight, then headed to the bedroom she and Kennedy were sharing. She heard the sound of glasses being set on the table and the liquid being poured for their nightcap, but she wasn’t in the drinking mood. She didn’t need alcohol tonight—she needed her mama. Seeing her in the vision pulled at her heart so deeply, the ache in her chest felt real. A physical manifestation of the sorrow they all carried. Tomorrow, they’d return to their childhood home and try to find the missing piece—whatever that was. But even if it did lead them to Ann, Caris wasn’t sure what she’d do when she came face-to-face with Mama again. This time, she may not be able to let her go.
SCARBOROUGH, MAINE
1703 (Caris’s previous time jump)
Caris screamed as an invisible force yanked her through the tree on the right and straight into the portal waiting within. Moments later, she snapped into existence and found herself in an all too familiar place. Large, crocodile tears streamed down her face as she looked around the small cabin where she and her sisters had been born and raised.
“Kara, is that you, my child?” Her mama’s voice sounded from the back room, bringing on another round of sobs and stalling any words she tried to form.
Her mother, alive and
well, peeked out from around the corner and smiled, not even flinching at Caris’s odd garments or haphazard appearance, or the fact that she was at least fourteen years older than she should have been in this time. “I’ve been expecting you,” her mother stated, coming into full view and opening her arms wide.
Caris didn’t question how she knew she would be coming, or whether this was some kind of twisted time-dream replay. No, she simply ran into her mother’s waiting embrace and cried her heart out.
“There, there. Everything will be all right. You’re safe, and we have all night to get to work. We’ll get you back there, and in doing so, save your sister as well.”
***
“Kara, it’s time.”
Caris, grown and transplanted back to her childhood home, followed her mama’s instructions and tossed the olive branch onto the ritual fire they’d built at their sacred space in the woods. Sparks shot into the air, drifting up into the night sky.
“Repeat after me,” her mother directed. “Time is mine, fluid and true; transport me back to the world of new. Please reunite my sisters and me, as I will it, So Mote It Be.”
Caris repeated the chant three times, and gasped when a shimmering green orb took shape above the fire. Through it, they could see her current home, and standing within it, Kennedy and Jason. Caris turned to her mama with tears in her eyes. “I wish we had more time.”
Her mother hugged her tightly and kissed her wet cheeks. “So do I, sweet girl, so do I. But you must go. This is the only way, and remember what I told you.”
Caris nodded, and after blowing a kiss to the woman who’d meant the most to her in the entire world, she leapt into the portal, emerging on the other side into a plume of green dust.
IPSWICH, MASSACHUSETTS
1685 (Current lifetime)
Caris fell asleep trying to stifle her sobs. The memory of being pulled back through time was no more than a week old in reality—from when they were stuck with the tribe and The Daughters of Maine. All this was happening so damn fast. When they first found the portal trees outside of the tribe’s village in Scarborough, Maine, all three of them had all been yanked through to a different time—Trin back to Maine to her previous life as Madame Kate; Kennedy was sent home to the present to help Jason try to find them, and Caris had been thrust back to this exact time, 1683, and guided by Mama on how to return.
Taking a deep breath, she remembered how grateful she’d been to end up back with Mama, if only for a day. Caris thought about the vision Mama had of her showing up and the ominous message she carried back for Jason to set the timeline straight again. Mama had worked throughout the night to guarantee their success. And it had worked, too. Yet here they were again—back fighting Ann in a desperate attempt to set yet another timeline straight. However, this time, it was Mama who needed saving, and Caris could only pray they’d find her before it was too late.
Chapter Twenty
Sneaking down the path to their original home once more, Kennedy and Caris crouched behind a nearby tree as they watched a thick, black fog slink over the ground, creeping closer and then up the walls of their childhood home. “It looks like the fog Ann used to attack Jason back at our house in BlackBrook. Do you think that’s them, looking for us?”
“Probably,” Kennedy snapped, frustrated she couldn’t banish the witches’ tainted magic from their land right here and now. Minutes crawled by until the fog dissipated.
Once clear, Kennedy tiptoed the rest of way toward the back door, then waved Caris inside. “The house is still empty,” she reported.
“I guess that’s good for us now, but it still begs the question … where are we?” Stepping inside, Caris looked around, the familiar ache in her chest returning. “Mama never said anything about us disappearing, so whether we did it and erased our own memories or not, to have our original selves not be here is really unnerving.”
Kennedy eased up beside her and pulled her into a hug. “I know, Car. But we’ll figure it out. We always do.”
Caris sank into her sister’s embrace, letting her comforting words do their job. “Thanks. I know you’re right, but it’s hard being back here, ya know?”
“I do, but not to the extent that you and Trin feel it.” A sad smile sat on her lips—almost like an apology as she stepped out of their hug. “I was only a teenager when we began our soul journeys, so while my memories of Mama and our lives here are still filled with love and a connection that will never go away, I simply don’t have as many of them as you and Trin do.”
Emotions welled within Caris as Kennedy’s sorrow-filled statement sank in. “I wish we’d all had more time with her.”
“Me too,” Kennedy admitted.
Pepper nudged each of their legs, bringing them back to the task at hand. Caris reached down and ruffled the grey and beige fur on his head. “Okay, boy, I guess it’s time for us to get to work.” She nodded to Kennedy. “I’ll take all the bedrooms if you want to search in the kitchen, the back room, and the living room. Let’s lay out anything we find on the table, okay?”
“Sure. That works for me.” Kennedy returned to the storage room and began her perusal of the cabinets and shelves. Every herb, candle, and crystal here served a purpose, and she felt close to Mama by being in this private space.
Moving from drawer to drawer and shelf to shelf, Kennedy didn’t find anything in particular that looked like it would fit with Trin’s pendant. She did, however, find something else that snagged her attention like moth to a flame.
There, tucked far back in the corner of smallest drawer in the apothecary, was a tiny human tooth. Kennedy didn’t remember Mama keeping any of theirs, and wondered if perhaps it was one of her own, or possibly Aunt Rachel’s. They grew up hearing stories of Mama’s little sister and the ill-fated end she met as a child when she was struck with Yellow Fever. It made sense for Mama to keep a memento, but Kennedy wondered why she’d never shared it with any of them. Strange.
Placing the tooth back in its hiding place, she moved onto the kitchen and continued her search. Pots and pans clanged as she peeked behind each and every one, looking for Goddess knows what. Actually …
“Hey, Car. Do you think we should reach out to the Goddess for some insight here? I’m not finding a single thing. What about you?”
Caris didn’t respond, and no sound emanated from the bedrooms. “Caris … is everything okay?” Kennedy called out.
Silence filled the air, and the hairs on Kennedy’s arms rose to attention. Abandoning the bowls in her hand, she raced into Mama’s bedroom and found Caris kneeling at the end of the bed.
“Car, what is it? What’s wrong?”
Only the shake of her sister’s head eased Kennedy’s growing tension. She moved closer, laying a hand on Caris’s shoulder, and peered past her to what was lying on the bed.
Small trinkets and treasures, each filling a tiny cubby held within a large wooden box, lay atop the quilt. From their modern experiences, Kennedy recognized it as a printer’s drawer, but upon reflection didn’t remember Mama ever having one back in this time. Kneeling down next to Caris, Kennedy ran a finger over a tiny feather and the acorn sitting at its base in one of the slots.
Caris leaned closer to inspect a thin, glass vial full of some sort of bluish liquid, then gasped as she caught sight of the flower chain she’d made as a little girl tucked into one of the bigger spaces. “I can’t believe everything she’s gathered here. It’s all so …”
“Magical,” Kennedy finished for her.
Their eyes met and their emotions broke free.
The pieces Mama had gathered were presented and displayed with such meticulous care, it felt like a sacrilege to move them. But knowing Mama, she’d seen this moment and knew exactly what they would need to feel close to her.
Ever so gently they reached out, their fingertips grazing over the items as they inspected each one. The connection with their mama and their past lives grew with every touch. Cubby after cubby held bits of their past whi
ch now somehow seemed connected to their future. Kennedy and Caris took their time inspecting each piece, hoping something would spark, or at least reveal another clue as to what they were supposed to be looking for. Unfortunately, as they placed the last item back in its place, nothing had called out to them, except for the fact that one slot remained empty.
It was a tall, thin opening, maybe about two inches wide by four inches tall. There was no indentation or shadowed imprint left behind by what had resided here, but instinctively, the girls knew whatever had lain in the cubby was exactly what they needed to retrieve.
“Well damn, this search just came to a depressing halt.” Kennedy pushed from her knees, rising to pace the bedroom floor.
“Maybe we can do a memory spell like you did before, to see what Mama originally kept here.”
“I don’t think that’ll work this time, seeing as I don’t have Mama or the piece present to tap into,” Kennedy confessed.
Caris stared back down at the memory box, her eyes flitting from space to space. After a few moments, she called out, “Kennedy, wait! Come look … I think there’s a pattern here.”
Rejoining Caris bedside, Kennedy looked down but still saw nothing more than a bunch of random items carefully preserved, but listened while her sister explained.
“I think each section pertains to a certain element. See here …” Caris pointed to the first row. “All of these things come from the earth—flowers, nuts, crystals, etc. But then here,” she waved her hand above the middle of the drawer, “all of these things pertain to water—seashells, pearls, this vial of blue liquid. And this part,” she motioned to the next section, “all of this represents fire—the candle, the mini wand, even that tiny dragon sculpture. And here, this is all air stuff—feathers, a bell, an incense holder. But then look at this part … it’s only full of things things made from metal—a silver spoon, a copper thimble, a gold chain, and,” she pointed to the empty space, “whatever is missing from right here.”