Malice: A Barrington County Novel

by Stacy Charasidis

  Ella and Max were not invited to the meeting, although Dean and Nathalie would be attending. So after dinner, before the meeting started, they took the opportunity to get to know their mysterious guest. They’d been warned not to speak of witchcraft, so they quizzed her on her century. Did she have her own horse? [yes] Had she ever seen a bed bug? [very often, unfortunately] Did her house have a thatched roof? [thankfully, no] What were the bathroom facilities like? [rather unsanitary]

  Elanah laughed as she fielded their innocent questions. The kids reminded her of Amos.

  As the town council members arrived, the mood grew more serious. When Eric Sweet arrived, the mood tanked.

  “This had better be good, John.” Eric was tall, with black hair and lean features. Unfortunately, his handsomeness was overshadowed by a general bitter attitude toward life that marked his face. It was strange because Eric had a loving family and a very successful candy store in town called Ye Ole Sweete Shoppe, and was known to be generous with the children. Eric was hard to handle, and most of the council members would have loved to toss him from the group (and watch him bounce down the Barrington’s front steps). However, the Sweet family was one of the original six that had been hexed by Willow thereby earning him a permanent seat on the council. Now that the hex was gone, John had toyed with the idea of opening the council seats to all residents of Barrington, but ultimately decided against it. How would the council explain the past? The secret documents? It was just too much trouble. The next generation of council members could worry about it.

  They assembled in the salon and once refreshments had been served, John said the ritual words to seal the room from outside ears. “I call the Barrington County Council Meeting to order. We, the remaining five descendants of the original six, bound together by the shedding of blood, gather to protect our demesnes and the denizens living therein.”

  “Hear, hear,” the men intoned. Everyone else remained quiet.

  “The circle is convened. The room is magically sealed. No one can hear our conversation.” John turned to Elanah, who was standing beside him. “I believe we have you to thank for this protective spell,” he said with a small smile.

  Elanah nodded as eyebrows went up around the room.

  “Gentlemen, I present to you Ms. Elanah Von Vixen.”

  Excited chatter started, but Eric’s loud, annoying voice interrupted. “Are you serious? This is what all the secrecy was about? You want us to believe that this is the Elanah Von Vixen?” He sneered. “Right. That girl’s got your number, John.”

  “We were there,” Nathalie exclaimed, coming to Elanah’s defense, “in the clearing when she appeared out of nowhere.”

  “Out of nowhere? You kids,” he said with a denigrating tone. “I think maybe you both had a little too much to drink at the wedding the night before and were seeing things.”

  They both looked affronted at Eric’s words, and John was frowning. “Now, Eric—”

  Elanah left John’s side and approached Eric, who was standing at the bar in the back. She was used to dealing with arrogance. Her time had been full of swaggering men who thought they knew everything and who threw their weight around, and that included a vicious demon. “It is true. I am not of this time.”

  Eric’s face twisted in a sneer and he opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Elanah touched him. “Your bickering is distracting and counterproductive,” she said softly.

  Eric stood there, swaying. He couldn’t move, and he started to sweat with fear. Everyone in the room watched the proceedings with fascination. It was telling that no one stepped in to help him.

  “Don’t struggle,” Elanah said quietly. “The spell becomes stronger the more you fight. When you are calm, it will dissipate, but if you do not hold your vile tongue, I will make you speechless for the next fortnight.”

  John looked at Elanah uneasily. This woman was very powerful and bold. He had never seen Sadie use her power against a person before unless it was to protect herself or someone she cared about. This kind of behavior would take getting used to.

  John finished the introductions quickly and addressed the room. “Unfortunately there is a dangerous situation developing in Barrington and we do not have much time to resolve it.”

  The room erupted with excited whispers over Eric’s immobility and questions about what was going on.

  John raised a hand. “Quiet! I’ll let Elanah tell you.”

  She explained how the powerful spell she’d used to protect Barrington had left a magical residue that was now making people sick.

  “Everyone?” Murmuring started in the room.

  She looked at John who nodded. “Yes, but not everyone right away. Mainly any Barringtoner with, say, strong special abilities—”

  “You mean our witches?” one of the men said boldly.

  Elanah was a bit taken aback, but then nodded.

  “Why now?” Father MacGunne asked. He was keeping his distance from Elanah. He wasn’t taking any chances. Witches were heretics, and he’d had a very bad experience with a seriously evil one. He was already suspicious of her. Special abilities my fanny pack, he thought to himself.

  Elanah tried to explain. “There is supposed to be balance in all things. There was a lot of negative energy building in Barrington once the barn spell had been activated with nothing to counter it. Unfortunately, it would seem the effect of that negative energy was not limited to the townsfolk, whom I understand went a little crazy at the time.”

  “Bat-shit crazy,” came a comment.

  “You can say that again,” someone else muttered.

  “It also began to poison your surroundings. Over the last three years this poison has grown and spread, like mold. I confirmed this when I visited the site today, where The Rock used to be. I suspect that continued exposure will cause people to begin exhibiting symptoms of illness as the poison is now concentrated enough to sicken anyone with magical ability. It will take the strongest first, and as it continues to multiply, the rate of illness will increase very quickly.”

  “Do you know what the symptoms will be?”

  She shook her head. “No, I do not.”

  “Are we all going to die?”

  She looked around the room. “Evenutally,” she said sadly. She hadn’t wanted this to happen. She had suspected it might, but had hoped it wouldn’t.

  “How did you get here?” Noah Baker asked.

  Elanah looked unsure. “A witch I knew, Hester LeRoux, was a time twister. I think she twisted me to this time. How she was called, after all, Hester is dead…I can only surmise that a witch from this time became aware of the problem and took steps to help. I do not know who she is, or why she did not contact this council.”

  “But it stands to reason that if you don’t have magic you won’t get sick.”

  Elanah looked at everyone’s forehead again. “You all bear the mark to some degree. Barrington will become a mass grave. This is a magical town. Just living here, you’ve all been exposed to magic for years and are all infected. Even if the amount is minute because you are not magically gifted, it will kill you at some point in the future.” She looked around again. “Claire is the strongest. Council members, you’re all at around the same stage.” She looked at Nathalie. “As the Chronicler, it’s faint, but yours is more of a gift. The only one here completely untouched is Father MacGunne.”

  “Nathalie?” Dean said, kissing her forehead and pulling her into his arms.

  Father MacGunne didn’t look surprised. Neither did Claire.

  “Can Doc Peabody help in any way?” Bill Farmer asked.

  “To clear a magical disease? With what, fairy pills?” Daniel Smith snorted. “You think he has magical antibiotics in that clinic of his?”

  Fear was making them pick at each other. John interrupted. “Okay, gentlemen, arguing will not solve anything.”

  Elanah raised her voice to get their attention. “Again, I doubt Hester LeRoux would have been called to twist me out of time if the
re were no chance of changing the course of events. I must neutralize the containment spell’s poisonous residue. If I am successful, no one will die. We just need to take some precautions with the townspeople most at risk.”

  She looked at John. “I need both spell books.”

  John looked uneasy as he turned to the other council members. “We must all agree to give Elanah the spell books.”

  “We agreed they’d never see the light of day again,” Noah said with a frown.

  “There’s some pretty dangerous information in there,” Bill said quietly. His daughter, Hannah, had been changed by Willow’s visit. “Nothing good comes from those books.”

  “Just give her the books,” Eric said quietly. He looked subdued. “I don’t want to die, nor do I want anyone else to either. Especially none of the kids.”

  “I second Eric’s motion,” Daniel said loudly, looking at Eric with approval.

  “Any objections?” John looked around the room. There were none. “Done,” he said, nodding.

  “Thank you.” Elanah was eyeing the massive desk in the room.

  John walked to the desk and pulled the books from a chest that had been sitting there. He also had Jacob Barrington’s journal with him. He handed them to her. “How did you know they were there?”

  Elanah laughed as she took them, rubbing her hand lovingly over her own. “My book is keyed to my magic, so I can sense it. Willow’s is bound in human skin and contains the life force of her victim. I can sense that as well.”

  “That is so gross,” Dean muttered.

  “How long will it take to fix this?”

  Elanah looked up from the books. “The most important question is when the spell should be cast. For magic this powerful, timing is crucial. A spell that eradicates corrupt magic town-wide requires enormous power, and the best time for that type of casting is at a solstice. Beltane has just passed, and the next one is Litha, the summer solstice. We should do it then.”

  “When is that?” one of the men asked.

  “The twenty first of June.”

  Nathalie had déjà vu. Three years ago, on that day, it was storming when the windmill started spinning. They didn’t know then what would start with Tilly Black, Bethiah Lacey, and a demon named Dannerlich.

  Everyone started talking at once. “That’s six weeks away!”

  “The grand opening of the Barrington Hotel is less than two weeks away. Can’t we do it before then?”

  Elanah interjected. “No, timing is crucial and I do need time to create the spell and figure out what will be needed.”

  “Suppose people start to fall sick? There’ll be widespread panic, especially if Xander gets wind of this. That guy has a nose for sniffing out everything we try and keep secret in Barrington.”

  “Yeah, we may as well paint the barns again, announcing we’re cursed.”

  “Xander?” Elanah inquired.

  “Xander with an ‘X’ as he loves to tell people. He’s the town reporter for The Barrington Bugle.”

  “Ah. The town crier.”

  “Yes, something like that.”

  “That kind of press will probably draw people here, not keep them away.”

  “True. People are sick this day and age.”

  Noah spoke above the chatter. “This is a concern. We have a lot of important people coming to the grand opening of the hotel who are staying the weekend. Limerick’s mayor, the police chief, the circuit judge…the list goes on. We can’t afford to have anything go wrong.”

  “Don’t forget their families!”

  “Everyone calm down!” John said loudly, cutting everyone off. “Elanah has indicated that the poison is becoming more virulent and is growing at a swifter rate now, but as no deaths are imminent, all we need to do is isolate the serious cases. As the founding families, we are touched the strongest, and since you are all fine,” he looked at Elanah and she nodded, “then other Barrington residents have nothing to worry about.”

  Elanah piped in. “Right now Ella Croft is the most at risk, and I would be happy to assess all your family members.”

  John nodded. “According to Luke, Sadie is fine, so the distance from home is helping.”

  “When are they coming home?”

  “They’ll be back in time for the grand opening of the hotel.”

  “Again, if we had a place we could isolate the ones at risk…” Elanah trailed off, raising her hands in a question. “Distance could make a difference.”

  John was nodding. “I have a large hunting cabin in the Spire Mountains. Anyone seriously ill, or in imminent danger of death, could stay up there until the spell is cast on the summer solstice.”

  “Who’s going to care for them, though?”

  “My daughter can help,” Elanah said.

  There was a pause in the room.

  Dean started choking on a cookie he was eating. “Er…wouldn’t your daughter be dead…or, uh, very, very old by now?”

  Elanah smiled. “She’s special.”

  At midnight Elanah left her suite and quietly went to the side of the hotel where a small terrace was located. Beyond were the woods she had walked through when Dean and Nathalie first found her. Finding a small patch of grass, she set about making a pentacle she could sit in. She encircled the pentacle with salt she’d borrowed from the kitchen, then lit five small candles and placed them at each point. With the hotel being deserted at night except for one security guard, Elanah had the run of the place and it was easy to locate the things she needed.

  With a quick word she froze the pentacle so it wouldn’t smudge when she sat. It was much easier to move in these clothes, she thought happily, although she found them quite revealing of her figure. Still, she was glad her heavy dress was gone. She marveled at the jeans and the warmth the small sweater provided in the chilly May breeze. Once she sat down and closed her eyes, Dean’s face appeared in her mind. After the meeting he’d driven her back to the hotel in one of the Barrington’s golf carts. He’d hit a bump crossing East Road and she’d fallen against him. “Whoa,” he said softly, wrapping a warm, muscular arm around her for support. He smelled so good, and a flicker of desire for the handsome young man ignited inside her.

  She shook off her thoughts and concentrated on a small locket she wore around her neck, close to her heart. She’d memorized a calling spell while she’d been in her room. How she’d missed her book! She made a small cut in the palm of her hand, letting the blood well up and drip into the grass in front of her. As she chanted the ancient words the air around her grew still and began to glow with a bluish tinge.

  “Vailendra!” she called softly to the woods.

  A girl appeared in a white-blue vision of energy. Her form rippled in an unseen wind, her hair and dress flowing sideways. “Mother?” she responded with some surprise.

  Elanah looked upon her beautiful daughter. Love squeezed her heart. “Hello, my darling Vail.”

  Vailendra peered at her mother. “Where are you? Wait. When are you?”

  “I am in Barrington County.”

  Vail looked concerned. “Barrington? Is that a good idea, mother?”

  Elanah waved her hand dismissively. “It’s fine. Can you come at once? I need you.”

  Vail sighed. “I thought I heard something was happening out there. Okay, I’ll be there soon.”

  The Barrington Bugle

  -The Politics Page-

  Secret Council Meeting at Barrington Manor

  By X. Agerate

  Once again the council neglected to inform me, the town reporter, that a council meeting had been scheduled. My sacred promise to report what is happening at the highest level in our town to all concerned citizens has been thwarted once again! It is our right to know! I have to ask, what is our Town Council planning now in their secret meetings?

  Comment on this article online at www.thebarringtonbugle.com

  2 Online comment(s):

  Typical politicians! They just take your money and do nothing for you. Well
I say bulls...[bleep]

  A Concerned Citizen

  Email signature hking@me.com

  It was just one meeting you loser. [comment deleted by admin]

  Email signature esweet@sweeteshoppe.com

  Chapter 8 – The Fallen

  Barrington County, Present Day

  Max was anxious. Within one week Ella had gone from tired to very ill and was in complete denial. Even Dean couldn’t get his sister to listen to reason.

  True to his word, John made his hunting cabin available to any seriously sick townsfolk. He brought Elanah up to see it and she confirmed that it was far enough from the contamination zone that progression of the magical sickness would be severely hindered. While anyone staying there may not improve, their symptoms wouldn’t worsen.

  The symptoms of the sickness were manifesting. Doc Peabody was brought into the loop and Elanah helped with the patients. She could tell the difference between those who were spell-sick and those who were normal-sick. The symptoms were eerily like the flu; high fever and aches, but also disorientation and visions. Several girls from town had been identified with advanced symptoms: Savannah Farmer and Bella Sweet being two of them. The Doc also noted a greenish cast to the eyes after examining Ella, but only she exhibited that particular symptom as she was the most far along. Not only that, her black mark was bleeding red. She was dying.

  Max was pretty sure he heard Dr. Peabody call her a stubborn mule.

  Despite her deteriorating health, Ella refused to leave. She didn’t want to leave Max alone. Correction: she didn’t want to leave Max alone with Katie.

  They were in her room. Dean was packing her a bag as she watched angrily from her bed where she’d been stuck all week.

  “Don’t you dare go in my underwear drawer,” she said ominously.

  “I fold your underwear when I do laundry, silly girl,” Dean said, opening the drawer. Then he stopped. Now that his sister was dating, anything could be in that drawer. He closed it delicately. “Okay, you pack your privates.”