by Amy Star
“I told her we would only have two horses because there wasn’t room for more.”
“Well, there are four stalls in that barn, and plenty of pasture land to keep them fed half the year.”
“I can’t believe this,” Amos said quietly. “Are you sure?”
“I am. I can’t imagine a nicer family living here.”
“I’m the oldest, so I get to pick my room,” Arianna said suddenly, running down the hall and claiming the biggest bedroom aside from the master.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Clara said. “I’ll move anything I can’t part with out tomorrow, and you can move your stuff in. But you can stay the night tonight if you want. It’s up to you.”
Taralyn stepped forward, hugging Clara tightly.
“Thank you,” she whispered, still holding her. “I didn’t want to let the kids know, but I didn’t think I could live in that place there, so far away from everything and so cramped.”
“I understand,” Clara said. “I hope this will be exactly what you need.”
They left Taralyn and her family in the cabin, walking hand in hand to the barn in the bright light of the full moon.
“That was really nice of you,” Mason said. “I didn’t want to ask you to do that, but I knew that it would be the best place for them.”
“He’s your best friend and they’re like us, you know?”
“A witch and a werebear?”
“No. Really awesome,” she said, shaking her head and laughing. “Yes, a witch and a werebear. I thought about offering at dinner, but I wanted to make sure. When she opened the door and it unlocked for her, I knew I was making the right choice.”
“You amaze me,” he said, kissing her on the cheek then opening the barn door for her. “I think Amos already fed them their grain today.”
“I know, but I want to see them and figure out what we need to take and what we should leave. Is Amos rich like you?”
“No. He didn’t grow up with the opportunities I had.”
“Then I guess I’ll leave most everything, and they can just have it.”
“Even the hay?”
“Would you rather load it onto the truck then into the other barn or leave it here for their family.”
Mason laughed.
“You can fit a forklift in the aisle of the new barn. I think I’d rather move the hay by the pallet instead of one at a time.”
“Exactly. Same with the grain. The only things I need from here are Rain and Sunshine’s bridles.”
“Good thing you already stripped the stalls out to let them dry before the winter.”
“I forgot about that, but you’re right. Everything is ready for them; they just need to provide the horses.”
“I was thinking of taking care of that. Amos is basically my right-hand man, and I want to make sure they get well-trained horses for the kids.”
“I think you should. I get the feeling that Amos is too proud to ask for money if he needs it.”
“He is. Living in the colony will be great because, for the most part, money is going to be obsolete. But until we’re completely self-sufficient, we’ll need to buy anything we need, and I’m going to need Amos and his family fully equipped to be founding members. They are the backbone of my plan, and having solid, trustworthy horses is something that they need.”
“So, are you going to tell him that you’re buying them?”
“I don’t know yet. I’ll figure something out.”
Clara filled a bucket with grain, but before she could lift it, Mason swooped in and took it from her hand.
“I’m not broken,” she said, scowling.
“I know. But it’s better to have your hands free to pet them. I know they’re going to be happy to see you.”
When they went to the gate, Clara whistled shrilly, and within a few minutes, they could hear hoofbeats thundering in the distance. Rain and Sunshine skidded to a stop in front of her, both vocalizing excitedly and nuzzling her belly.
They stood like that for a long time as she explained to them that they would be moving the next day, and she closed her eyes and envisioned the luxurious barn and the huge pastures that Mason had had Amos fence in just for them. The pair shook their heads excitedly, and it wasn’t until Clara left that they finally ate their grain, too excited by her presence to think about food.
*
It was almost a week later when Clara and Mason made their way up the long road that led up the mountain, Clara’s trailer loaded with four horses and enough coordinated tack for the four they were bringing home, plus Sunshine and Rain.
“When we get home, I would like you to rest and let the rest of us do all the work,” Mason said, one hand on the wheel.
“I’ve been resting since we left Seattle,” she said, shifting uncomfortably in the seat beside him. “I don’t need any more rest.”
“After the way you tore through that tack store, I’m surprised you’re still on your feet,” he teased, squeezing her more tightly up against him. “If I knew a thing about horses, I wouldn’t have taken you in the first place. You’re getting close to having our baby, and six hours roundtrip in the truck can’t be good for you.”
“It’s alright.”
“Clara, you’re due any day now. It isn’t worth the risk.”
“I’m fine,” she insisted, trying not to get irritated with him. “I know you’re just trying to protect me, but I’ve got this. I want to be there when they see the horses, especially the kids. It was really hard to ask them what their favorite color was without letting on what I was doing.”
“Is that why it took you all that time to find just the right shade of green for the bay?”
“Yes. And Talon likes turquoise because it starts with a ‘t’.”
“Well, he is five,” Mason said, passing right by the new barn and driving down the road that led to the Finch cabin. “I thought it was a perfectly reasonable explanation for why he had a specific shade of blue that he liked.”
Clara laughed, her excitement building as they got closer to the cabin. She couldn’t wait to see their faces.
“We should unload them in the front pasture so they can stretch their legs,” Clara said.
“Will do.”
Mason pulled behind the cabin, creeping up until the back of the trailer was just a few feet from the gate and stopping as gently as possible so he didn’t jar the horses. Clara started to get out of the car, but Mason stopped her.
“Be careful, please,” Mason said with a stern look that didn’t faze Clara.
“I will.”
She waited for Mason to get out, sliding the rest of the way across the bench seat and letting Mason help her down even though she didn’t need him to. Then she untied the horses from the outside, talking to them softly and reminding them to take their time going down the ramp. They all snorted their approval, and one by one, Clara took them from the trailer and handed them to Mason. Mason turned them out in the pasture, leaving their halters on so that they were more easily identified. Though each horse looked distinctly different, they were all one shade of brown or another, and she knew the halters would help keep them straight while Amos and his family got to know the latest additions to their family.
The kids were already running out of the house by the time that Mason put the third horse in the pasture. He got the fourth horse in just as the kids reached Clara, both shouting excitedly and wondering what was going on. Amos and Taralyn weren’t far behind, and Clara could already feel Taralyn’s emotions welling over at the sight of the horses wandering around the field, eyes alert and heads up as they took it all in.
Without saying a word, Taralyn wrapped her arms around Clara and hugged her tight.
“Thank you,” Amos said as he shook Mason’s hand.
“Which one is mine?” Talon blurted out, jumping up and down and pointing at all four horses.
“It’s the one with the turquois halter,” Arianna said matter-of-factly. “Is mine the green one?”
/>
“Sure is,” Clara said. “You’re going to love all the tack. Except for the saddle, she’s green from hoof to tail. Your helmet is even green.”
“Can we ride them?” Talon asked, still bouncing from foot to foot with all the excitement.
“They should have a day or two to get settled before you handle them,” Clara explained. “Right now, the most you should do is watch them and feed them. Tomorrow, you can brush them.”
Clara crooked her finger, indicating that the children should follow her as she waddled to the trailer’s storage room, her round belly causing her more discomfort than she’d let on.
“These are for you,” she said, handing each child a bucket that color coordinated with their tack. “There are brushes and hoof picks and everything else you need to make sure your horse is pampered.”
The pair of them sat right there in the grass, digging through the buckets and inspecting each item. Clara watched them, envisioning the day when she would give her own child their very own horse and equipment. Would they be filled with this same sense of wonder?
She couldn’t wait for the experience, but at the same time, she knew she could. She placed her hand on her belly, smiling when the baby kicked against her hand and rolled inside her. The baby was getting so big, but she wasn’t ready to give birth yet. She was enjoying the experience, and she didn’t want it to end.
“Clara, can I talk to you?” Taralyn asked quietly.
“Of course,” she said, following the woman away from the trailer and toward the cabin. “I’ll be back,” she told Mason when they walked by the men.
Taralyn led her into the cabin, taking her to an end table where the book of spells sat.
“How did that get here?” Clara wondered aloud.
“I don’t know. It appeared this morning while I was getting everything ready to wake the family up, and it won’t let me turn the page. I was freaked out at first, then I read the page and I realized that the book was trying to tell me something. Clara, do you know anything about this?”
“It’s a family book of spells. It was at my house, but I guess it decided to leave.”
The book thumped once on the table.
“Is it alive?” Taralyn asked in an exaggerated whisper.
“It is,” Clara said, remembering what happened the last time when she’d said it wasn’t. “If you’re not a witch, you can’t even open it.”
“Clara, the spell is for two witches.”
“It is?”
“Yes, and there’s something more. It’s a spell to see into the past.”
“Oh,” Clara said. “Now I’m more confused than before.”
“I’m not.”
Taralyn looked uncomfortable.
“Why not?” Clara asked.
“Well, the book showed up after I was talking to Amos about the curse. I was trying to find ways to break old curses, but I couldn’t turn the page. Then, the words glowed and I read the spell for two witches to see the past, and I knew that the book was trying to tell me that we needed to see who cast the curse in order to know how to beat it.”
“So, what do we need?” Clara asked.
“It looks like we only need each other.”
“Alright, but I have to warn you, my spells tend to get a little out of control.”
Taralyn laughed.
“It can’t be that bad.”
“This is the third color I’ve accidentally turned my hair,” she said, pointing at her now brunette hair. “I’m trying to get back to blonde.”
Taralyn laughed then covered her mouth and shook her head.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t laugh. But you’ll get better, I promise.”
“Thanks.”
Clara read over the words, anxiety growing. She’d never cast a spell in front of another witch before, and she was nervous. When she’d read the page three times, she finally sighed, preparing herself for a spell she knew would take so much out of her. This wasn’t a simple charm, but a massive undertaking that really needed a better, more accomplished witch.
“You can do this,” Taralyn said.
“I’ll do my best,” she said, kneeling on the floor when Taralyn did and taking the woman’s hand. “How do we get out of this?”
“Once the vision starts, we have to see it through. It’s going to feel very real, so be prepared for that.”
Clara wasn’t prepared, but it was now or never, and she wanted to know the truth as much as everyone else did.
“Are you ready?” Taralyn asked, squeezing Clara’s hand.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” she said, then she closed her eyes.
Together, they recited the words on the page, and as the world around them faded and gave way to the world of the past, Clara held tight to Taralyn and the last bit of reality she knew.
*
Clara felt like she was falling, the air rushing around her violently until her feet hit the floor and her eyes flew open. She looked around the unfamiliar room that was obviously decorated for the times long before Clara was even born. Everything had a nostalgic feeling that should have brought Clara comfort, but she felt frantic instead. Rushing to the other room without knowing where or why she was going, she found herself in front of a bathroom mirror, touching her bruised face gingerly. Clara stared at the reflection in the mirror, shocked by what she was seeing. It was Coral Finch, her grandmother. But she was much younger and wrapped in a tiny bundle clutched against her chest was a little baby sound asleep against her mother’s chest.
Clara fought her emotions, trying not to let what she was seeing upset her so much that she left the vision. She was living the vision through Coral’s eyes, and she was only along for the ride.
There was a knock at the front door, and Coral looked up at her bruises one last time, her defiance overshadowing the terror that dug deep hallows under her eyes.
“Never again,” Coral said, kissing the baby’s soft curls and rushing out of the room.
She opened the door and a large man with black hair and dark brown eyes was standing there on the porch. He sucked in a quick breath when he saw her, his rage evident, but Coral wasn’t afraid of this man.
“Is he here?” the man asked.
“No Sam, he’s not.”
“I’ll kill him if I see him,” Sam growled.
“And if you do, you’ll be put to death for killing a human, even one who deserves it. Now, please, let’s hurry. I don’t know when he’ll be back, and I don’t want Caroline to see her father like that again. She deserves better.”
“She won’t remember,” Sam said, his voice tender as his large hand covered her head.
“I’m not so sure about that.”
Sam nodded, helping Coral down the stairs from the house to the walkway that ran through their picture-perfect yard complete with the white picket fence and the monster hidden inside. She wasn’t the first witch to be battered by her human husband, but she was going to make sure that she was the last. Sam grabbed her bags and put them in the trunk, then he held Caroline while Coral buckled her seatbelt in the old car, then handed her back so Coral could hold her tight while he drove.
Disco played softly on the radio as they drove down the highway, leaving Seattle behind and heading toward the wilderness. There wasn’t a car on the road, and Coral breathed a sigh of relief knowing that they weren’t being followed. Tim Collins would never be able to find her or their child, and he would never hit her again.
“I wish I could have fought back,” Coral said, leaning against the back of the seat, eyes closed in defeat.
“You know the penalty for harming a human… even if they deserve it. You would have been put to death, no questions asked. How do you think they get away with the things they do to us? They know that none of us can fight back, or we risk death.”
“It isn’t fair. That law was enacted for witches who cast demon spells on innocent humans and werebears who terrorized people. We’ve been living in harmony for decades. Those laws a
re completely obsolete.”
“Not for people like Tim.”
“And your sister’s husband.”
Sam gripped the wheel, angry at what had happened to his sister.
“But you lived,” he said. “And I’m going to make sure that no one ever hurts you again.”
I’m going to do one better, she thought, already building a plan in her head. Mistreatment of paranormal beings had been a problem since the laws were passed to prevent paranormal violence. As times changed, the laws remained the same, and like many of her kind and Sam’s kind, Coral’s husband knew that she couldn’t fight back without risking an immediate death sentence.
They drove for hours, with Coral dozing off in the front seat every now and then with Caroline clutched tightly to her chest. When Sam turned off the highway and down a long dirt road, Coral sat up, squinting to see the scenery in the dark beyond the headlights.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“You’re new home. He can’t get to you here.”
“I don’t know how I’m going to afford a place by myself,” Coral said, afraid to depend on Sam the way she’d depended on Tim. “I don’t want another man to have the power he had over me again. Not even you.”
She braced herself for anger, but Sam only reached out and took her hand, bringing it to his lips and kissing her knuckles so tenderly that tears sprung to Coral’s eyes.
“I’ll make sure no man can ever hold something like that over you again.”
“How? If you give me money, I’ll still be indebted to you.”
“I thought about that, and I came up with a plan.”
“I’m listening.”
“You’re the most powerful witch I know.”
“Aren’t I the only witch you know?” she teased, surprised that she could already joke even though her cheek still hurt and the dried tears on her face still tugged at her skin.
Sam laughed.
“I need a spell, but it’s not just for me. We need change or our people are going to be extinct before sweet Caroline is old enough to have a child of her own.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“I was hoping you could come up with something, but whatever it is, I’ll pay you. The cabin is already in your name, and I’ll pay you as well.”