So this is what they were discussing today. In my grandmother’s last journal entry it said she found the address to the house in the woods and planned to go visit it. But since she didn’t write any more, I figured she never did. “We actually got the idea from her journal.”
“Yes, well. One evening, Charlotte came to my house ranting. She always had some odd ideas, but I never saw her this worked up. She kept calling your father, insisting she saw the crow woman, and that your family was in danger. She was so frantic that I could barely understand her. I thought she was unwell. I desperately tried to calm her.”
“She went to the house in the woods, didn’t she?” The hairs on my neck stand up.
“She died that night, Samantha.” Mrs. Meriwether pauses. “I was fearful when you started asking me about the curse. You sounded so much like Charlotte. I had no idea you and Jaxon had found her research and went to that house. Even I couldn’t find it. I wish…” She’s too full of emotion to continue.
Of course Mrs. Meriwether couldn’t find my grandmother’s notes. They were in the secret study. What happened to my grandmother when she went to that house?
“I remember that night. My dad left me with Vivian while he came here to make arrangements. He never told me what happened.” I remember my dad’s face when he came home, distant and sad.
“I blame myself,” Mrs. Meriwether says, shaking her head. “I helped her, but I didn’t always believe Charlotte. I thought because your grandmother dreamed of the crow woman so often, she was confusing dreams with reality. And when I saw that feather today, all I could think was that I was dreadfully wrong all these years. If I could go back, I—”
“It’s not your fault,” Jaxon says. “You can’t even be sure what happened.”
“I cannot change the past, I suppose.” She pats her eyes. “But I can help you, Samantha. I won’t doubt this story a second time. If there’s a way to find her, it must be done.”
Mrs. Meriwether’s comments about believing in people all make sense now. “Jaxon’s right. It’s better that you didn’t go to that house.”
She stops patting her eyes. “Which ingredients will you need?”
Elijah blinks in with a full basket of plants and places it on the counter. Jaxon jumps when he sees it appear. Mrs. Meriwether’s face brightens with the novelty of it.
“Well, there is the location spell, which Elijah already got ingredients for.” I blush a little, not sure how to explain him. “But I think I need to do another one, too.”
Jaxon can’t hide his annoyance. “The ghost I told you about, Mom.”
“How very curious!” Mrs. Meriwether says, examining her newly full basket and clasping her hands together. “He’s here now?”
“Yeah,” I say, making eye contact with him. He’s always here when I need him.
“What other spell were you thinking of?” Mrs. Meriwether asks, looking around her kitchen for signs of Elijah. I can’t help but enjoy her interest in him.
“Well…” If I were Cotton, I would have to expose the crow woman as a fraud. “I don’t know much about her plans. Maybe something about clarity or truth?”
Elijah nods and comes to my side. I flip through the pages with all three of them leaning in. I move past all the good-fortune and beauty spells without reading the titles.
“Maybe something to fight her with?” Jaxon says as I flip past the healing section.
Elijah shoots Jaxon an icy glare. “I chose this book specifically because I did not want Samantha using spells that were intended to harm.”
He picked this book for me? “She’s three hundred years ahead of me in learning magic,” I say to Jaxon. “If I try to battle her, I’ll lose for sure.”
Jaxon flinches at “three hundred years” but refrains from commenting. I keep flipping.
“A justice spell?” Mrs. Meriwether suggests.
“Hmmm.” I flip the next couple of pages with excitement. “ ‘Inside Out’—it says it brings a person’s inward self to the surface. Like a truth serum?”
“That sounds like a strong contender,” says Mrs. Meriwether.
“She relies on manipulation,” Elijah agrees. “Take that away, and you would succeed in disorienting her.”
Both Jaxon and Mrs. Meriwether read the description. “Just pulling out what she knows and what she’s planning would be great,” I say.
“I should have some of that to use on you when this is all over,” Jaxon jokes.
Elijah frowns.
“Samantha, don’t you think you should do something for protection?” Mrs. Meriwether now flips through the pages herself.
“Yes,” Elijah chimes in.
“I thought about that. I just don’t know how much time I have.” I don’t bother to say that at any moment the crow woman could hunt me down. Ugh. Now that I’ve thought it, I feel guilty not warning Jaxon and Mrs. Meriwether. “There is…I need to be honest with you. I’m worried she might be looking for me, now that I revealed her spell.” I glance at Elijah. He seems to know my intentions.
To my surprise, it’s Jaxon who answers. “Didn’t you just say she’s trying to frame you?”
“Yeah. So?”
“So why would she storm my house to get you? Wouldn’t that blow her whole plan?”
Holy crap. Jaxon’s making some serious sense.
Mrs. Meriwether nods. “You’re like family. There’s no way we’d leave you to do this alone.”
“Not too much like family,” Jaxon says, which earns him another hard look from Elijah. Mrs. Meriwether points to a protection spell she found.
It’s called “Shield and Protect.” There’s a drawing of a familiar knot next to the title. I’ve seen it before. Where? Oh, right. It’s the same as the pendant on Vivian’s necklace. She lent it to me for the party. What the…?
My hands are suddenly cold, and my mouth is dry. Is that what kept me from getting that rash? Elijah takes a protective step toward me.
“Samantha? Are you okay?” Mrs. Meriwether asks.
“Do you know what this is?” I say, pointing to the drawing of the knot.
“Yes, dear. It’s a witch’s knot. It protects people and objects. Charlotte always wore one,” Mrs. Meriwether answers easily. “Why?”
“I just…I was wearing one the night everyone got the rash except me. It looked like an antique. Could it have been my grandmother’s?” I stare at the book, trying to make sense of it.
“Your grandmother lost hers the night she died. But with the state she was in, it doesn’t surprise me that it’s in the house. Did you find it in her bedroom?” Mrs. Meriwether asks.
“Vivian lent it to me. She has my grandmother’s old room. Do you think that’s what stopped me from getting the rash?” Vivian could have said something about finding it. I was mostly in my own head at the time.
Elijah stiffens. “It may also be that my fiancée was at that party without my knowing it.”
I shudder at the idea that I may have already met her.
“Can you get it? We could use it in this spell,” asks Mrs. Meriwether.
I hesitate. Going into Vivian’s bedroom does not sound awesome. I glance at Elijah.
“Happy to oblige,” he replies to my unspoken request.
“Elijah will,” I say to Mrs. Meriwether.
She nods, and picks up a large wooden bowl. “Now I’m going to get those additional things from the garden. Jaxon, offer Samantha some food.” Mrs. Meriwether turns and heads for the back door. Elijah blinks out.
“I’m not hungry,” I say to Jaxon.
He looks down for a moment. When he looks back up, his expression is kind. “Sam, I…I honestly had no idea what you were going through. I mean, your father, people dying in front of you, and even though I’m having trouble believing it, this crow-woman thing. I shouldn’t have come down on you for not including me. I seriously don’t know how you’re dealing with all of this.”
“Thanks, Jaxon. But you were right. I do need to learn
how to trust people more. I was so suspicious of you when we met, and you were sincerely trying to be nice.”
Jaxon’s cheeks turn slightly pink. “Actually…my mother kinda made me promise to go over and see you in the beginning. And to talk to you at school, too. Charlotte meant a lot to her. I told her you were gonna think I was some crazy stalker, but she wouldn’t hear it.”
My heart sinks.
Jaxon’s pink deepens to a full blush. “Then I talked to you the day you moved in. You flat out refused my help and wiped your lip gloss all over me. Then I got to know you a little better and realized that you were smart and stubborn and fearless enough to stand up to anyone. At that point, she couldn’t have convinced me to stay away from you.”
I look down. “So you’re attracted to girls who are difficult?”
“If that’s what you are, then, yes.” There’s not the usual humor in his tone.
Conflicted feelings creep through me. The back door opens, and I’m grateful for the distraction. I stand and grab the chowder pot.
“Okay, which one first?” Mrs. Meriwether sets a full basket down on her counter.
“We should do the location one last. Just in case that somehow tells her I’m coming. So I guess the inside-out spell and then the protection one,” I reply.
She removes greens from the basket while I read the directions. She places the needed items in a small pile near the cutting boards.
Mrs. Meriwether joins me at the spell book. “It says to use one inch of water in the pot.”
I put the pot under the faucet as Mrs. Meriwether reads on. “Jaxon, I need you to mince the sage as small as it will go.” She hands him a knife and a bundle of dark green leaves.
He’s not as fast as Mrs. Meriwether, but he’s certainly skilled. I pause to watch him.
“I’ll take the dill and coriander, if you want to start on the bachelor’s buttons,” she says.
“No problem.” I grab the brilliant blue flowers and drop the petals into the water.
Elijah blinks in with the necklace. I push it into my pocket, and mouth “thank you.”
I return to the spell book as Jaxon and Mrs. Meriwether dump ingredients into the pot. “Only the pansy petals left,” I say, grabbing the deep purple flower from the counter.
Then all I have to do is pour five drops into the person’s food or onto their skin for it to work. I’m sure that’s gonna go over smoothly. Hey, Elijah’s fiancée, I know you hate me, but will you just hold still while I pour this liquid all over you? Yup, should be a real breeze.
I look down at the bubbling leaves and carefully pull the petals off. As I drop them in, I clear my mind and repeat the words “Truth be known,” three times. When the last petal lands, the mixture takes on an iridescent sheen. I really hope that means it worked.
I pull the necklace out of my pocket.
Mrs. Meriwether approaches me. “Charlotte’s necklace…” She holds it gently.
Before I can ask her anything, sirens blare outside the window. A car bounces up my uneven brick driveway. Elijah blinks out, and Jaxon and Mrs. Meriwether go to the back door. I follow them.
Car doors slam. I can make out faint voices but can’t understand their words. Jaxon steps back inside. “Two officers headed for your door.” He searches my face for an answer.
My stomach churns. I put my hands on my forehead. Is it Lizzie’s doing or Elijah’s fiancée’s?
Worry lines wrinkle Jaxon’s brow. “I’ll check it out.”
“Come,” says Mrs. Meriwether, putting her arm around my shoulders. “Let’s go bottle that spell and start on the next one. No sense in biting our nails off waiting.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
* * *
Plan or No Plan
The few minutes Jaxon’s gone feel like ten years. I clench my hands and stare at my feet. The back door slams, and my body flies forward toward the sound. Jaxon’s footsteps are quick in the hallway as he heads back to the kitchen.
The bad news is clear by the tension in his jaw. “It’s the Descendants. They’re missing.”
“What?” I yell. I knew something was going to happen to Susannah, but I wasn’t expecting this. What if I’m too late? “Which Descendants?”
“All four of them.”
“I have to talk to those cops.” I move toward the door.
“Sam.” Jaxon grabs my arm. “You can’t. They’re looking for you. They think you’re involved in their disappearance. Something about a threat you made in front of Susannah’s mother. And then ranting on the street, talking to thin air.” He gives me a knowing look.
Mrs. Meriwether speaks calmly as she separates the ingredients into piles. “Breathe. You need to focus. We must do the location spell.”
She’s right. I have to focus. I dart back to the spell book. “Jaxon, was there anything the police knew?”
He shakes his head. “They didn’t say much.” There’s an edge in his voice. He’s looking at me more seriously than he did before.
Mrs. Meriwether hands Jaxon a few greens to chop.
Elijah blinks back in. “Susannah, Mary, Alice, and Lizzie went missing this afternoon according to the policeman’s notepad. They told their parents that they were going to Walgreens and would be back home in an hour.”
“Wait, I wasn’t supposed to meet them there until tonight. Why would they be there this afternoon?” Were they setting me up? Susannah wouldn’t do that, would she?
Elijah raises a knowing eyebrow at me. “I cannot say.”
“Maybe they got caught up in what they were doing and didn’t go home? Or they were too far in the woods and the cops couldn’t see them?” I would love to believe they aren’t gone.
Mrs. Meriwether and Jaxon watch me talk to Elijah.
“I searched,” Elijah tells me. “There is no sign of them other than Mary’s Jeep in the parking lot.”
“They’ve been missing for hours, then. Someone could already…” I don’t finish that thought, because I don’t want it to be true.
“The story of their disappearance has already begun to spread throughout the town. It is known that you are a main suspect. It is only a matter of time before the townspeople send out a search party for you.”
I picture them lining up outside my house, screaming and waving torches.
Elijah looks uncomfortable. “Samantha, it is most likely a trap.”
I pause. His fiancée has been messing with me all this time and I couldn’t predict a single move. In fact, the things I’ve done to try to solve the curse only gave her ammo to use against me. “You think she knows I’ll look for them?”
“I think she is counting on it. You were the only one there when John died. Then Lizzie accused you of murder at the assembly, and Susannah’s mother claims you threatened her daughter. If she makes it appear that you were the responsible party for the Descendants’ disappearance, the consequences will be great. You will be formally accused.”
“If I don’t track her down, I run the risk of someone dying.”
I can’t even send the police. She’d probably punish me by killing them slowly.
Jaxon stops chopping. “I’m coming with you, Sam. To find her.”
I shake my head. “No. It’s not safe.”
“So you think I should just let you go do this dangerous thing by yourself? I’m coming.”
I clench my hands so tightly that my knuckles turn white. There’s no way I’m bringing Jaxon with me. And now there’s also no way I’m getting out of here without a fight.
Mrs. Meriwether interjects. “Dear, we can’t hear Elijah. Does he have information?”
“He said they went missing hours ago. I tried to warn Susannah the other day about the curse and the danger she might be in and her mother heard. That’s why the cops came looking for me. If the crow woman was planning to set me up, this would be one way to do it.” I grab a bunch of chives.
I chop as fast as my untrained hands will go. What if Jaxon follows me out of here? He�
�d just be one more target for her. I dump the cut chives in the pot and return to the book, but I don’t continue with the directions. Instead, I flip back a few pages to a sleep spell. This spell might be the last straw. He might never forgive me. But putting him in danger is worse.
I skim the directions. For potent long-lasting spells, a potion is required. But to temporarily disarm someone, a series of symbols can be written. Elijah hands me a piece of paper and I copy the elaborate symbols. Just in case, I tell myself. I hand the paper to Elijah. Mrs. Meriwether walks toward me, and I flip back to the location spell as fast as I can.
“Only the rosemary left, and you’ll have to put that in,” says Mrs. Meriwether.
She grabs a handful from the basket. I move to the pot and close my eyes. I attempt to form the image of Susannah in my mind, but the vision that comes is of her hanging. I shake my head and try again.
Just her face. I just need to focus on her eyes and her hair. When I’m sure I can hold the image of her, I drop the rosemary into the pot. The green liquid sizzles, and I open my eyes. We all wait anxiously as black steam begins to form. No one breathes.
The steam rises slowly at first, then forms large puffs like exhaust from a coal-fueled train. It doesn’t disperse like normal steam. Instead, it makes a cloud over the pot. We all lean forward.
Like the red drops did on the parchment, it twists and turns. The first shapes it makes are trees. I need something more specific. And why is it always those damn woods, anyway?
The trees part and branch out to form a path. At the end of the path, the black steam creates another shape—a house with broken windows. Any hope I had of the Descendants’ disappearance being a mistake is extinguished like burning wood doused with water.
Jaxon is so much calmer than I am. “At least we know where that is.”
Mrs. Meriwether grips her hands together.
That’s the worst possible location—it’s so isolated. “My fingerprints are in that house already.” I grab the counter, hoping the solidness of the stone will steady me.
How to Hang a Witch Page 25