Coon Hollow Coven Tales 1-3

by Marsha A. Moore

  “Neala is the chieftainness or high priestess of New Wish,” Cerise said to the others while the two women were occupied with each other.

  “Cheiftainess? My lands.” Aunt Starla stroked Jancie’s arm. “Neala’s ma helped our Maggie care for her husband Louis when he fell ill. That’d be Jancie’s great grandparents.”

  “Do tell.” Neala extended a hand to Jancie. “You must be Faye’s daughter then.”

  Jancie smiled and accepted her hand, which felt warm and certain like her mother’s always had.

  “I can tell a lot about you by your touch.” Neala grinned. “I’m sorry to feel Faye’s early passing and how hard it was for you. I also feel new beginnings in your life now, love and purpose. And I’m sure you can read my touch. Right? It’s something all New Wish coven kin can do.”

  Jancie nodded with a grin. “Your touch makes me feel relaxed, but I can’t pick up any details.”

  Neala shot a knowing smile. “You’re new to witchcraft?”

  “I just found out that my mother was from here and a New Wish witch. I never knew about all this when she lived. It was kept from me. My dad’s decision.” She nodded to Vika. “With Vika’s help, I’ve learned I have powers like Mom’s, from the south wind. I want to learn more.”

  Neala’s smile faded, and she shook her head. “No, you’re here because you need to learn more. There’s evil chasing you from the north wind.” She clasped her hand together. “Well, you’ve come to the right place. Don’t you worry.” She looked at Rowe and Vika. “You two give off strong Coon Hollow energies. Prominent coven members with remarkable talents.” She bowed her head. “I’m honored to meet you both.”

  Vika held Rowe’s shoulder as she attempted to curtsy, while he extended a hand to the chieftainess.

  Cerise introduced the leader to Rowe, Vika, and Rachelle.

  With his touch, Neala gave a start and stared at him. “Can this be? Your mother was Hazel, am I right?”

  He gave her a curious look, forehead crinkled. “Yes, she was. I miss her a lot. I’ve been expecting her spirit to come home soon.”

  “I’m sorry for your losses. Your mother’s spirit’s been in and around the past month floating without form.”

  “I knew she had family along the Ohio River, but didn’t know she had blood ties to New Wish.”

  The leader gave him a warm smile. “Like Cerise, to some of the town folk, not the coven. But I’ve been friends with them both for decades. I’m sure your mother will feel your presence and come by, or we’ll chase her down.”

  “Great. I want to see her.” He beamed.

  “Will do.” Her smile flattened. “I sense you have a complex love relationship with Jancie, one with multiple spells woven around and between the both of you.” She glanced from him to Jancie, who pulled the moonstone locket from underneath her blouse.

  “This was Rowe’s griever’s moonstone. It helped me see and say goodbye to Mom, but now it won’t come off.”

  Neala clucked her tongue. “Another thing for us here to help you with. That might take a bit more work. It seems something of a mystery since there’re several types of magic involved. Vika, I may need some of your knowledge added to the cauldron.”

  Vika straightened. “I’ll be glad to help out.”

  “Come on in and let me get you some refreshments while I make a few calls.” Neala held the door until Rachelle passed, then pulled her aside with a long arm around the girl’s slender shoulder. “You might not be a witch, but you’re welcome here just the same.”

  While enjoying Neala’s own herbal tea and crackers with homemade herbal spreads, Jancie eased into the curving back of a bentwood rocker. The cozy sitting room was decorated with handmade furniture, loomed throws, and beeswax taper candles. Cheery, crazy quilt pillows and cushions gave a homey look. The comfy place and Neala’s easy manner made Jancie relax more than she had in a long while. Her concerns about the initial creepiness of New Wish fell away. The enclosed sensation gave way to security.

  Neala joined them, bringing a comb-back kitchen chair with her to sit upon since all other seats were taken. “Judging by what I know of your reasons for visiting New Wish, you’ll be staying a little while. My home has enough beds, if you don’t mind sharing rooms and lending a hand in the kitchen for meals.”

  “Fine by me,” Starla said in a loud voice. “Vika and I have found a real knack for cooking together.”

  The others chimed in with agreement.

  “Jancie, it’s easy enough to teach you how to use your skills of our order, but that moonstone bothers me. Let’s start with that concern. I got the word out to our elder, Eartha, who knows more about ancient and peculiar magic. She’s well past one hundred years old and lives alone to concentrate on her studies. We treasure her spirit and knowledge and pay frequent visits to help her with chores. She’ll receive you this afternoon. I’ve sent for a buggy driver to take you there.” Neala faced Starla and Rachelle. “I’m sorry but Eartha won’t accept non-magicals in her presence while she works. I’ll be staying here with you, and we can see some sights of the town together.”

  Jancie looked at her friend and great aunt, not wanting to leave them out. She couldn’t decide.

  A distinctive clop clop clop of horse hooves sounded on the street outside. “That’s Georgie. He’ll take you to visit Eartha and bring you back.”

  Jancie, Rowe, Vika, and Cerise filed out after Neala. “Hey, Georgie.” She waved to the man driving the bright blue rig. “These folks need to go to Eartha’s and be returned here afterward.”

  Georgie was a beanpole of an older man with unshaven silver whiskers and a shock of stiff, gray hair that poked out from under a navy and white striped train engineer’s cap. Limber for his age, he hopped from the driver’s seat and offered a hand to each as they climbed into the open-air buggy.

  The last to step up, Rowe hesitated, lost his footing and fell backward holding on by the outside handle. He quickly gathered himself, and, with Georgie gripping his waist, hoisted himself up and took a seat beside Jancie. Rowe’s face was wet with sweat.

  “What happened?” Jancie touched his knee.

  “I had a dizzy spell. I’ve had a headache since we left.” He ran a hand across his jaw. “Probably just lack of sleep. I tossed and turned all night, worrying.”

  Vika leaned forward from the opposite bench. “When we get back, I’ll talk with Neala about getting you some herbs to help you rest tonight.”

  “Eartha will do you some good that way, sir.” Georgie scampered up into his high seat. “Even better than Neala, but don’t tell the chieftainess I said so.” He gave the sleek Standardbred filly a gentle flap with the reins, and they drove round the circular drive onto the street.

  The four exchanged waves with their friends left behind on the porch.

  The drive took them away from town on lanes only wide enough for the horse and buggy. The air smelled dense and woodsy with forest leaf mold accumulated in the bottom of the low valley. A few cabin windows peeked at them from their seclusion deep in the woods. The rustic way of life and slow pace calmed Jancie’s agitated nerves. Adara’s wrath seemed a world away.

  The little horse turned down a gravel path, and Jancie strained to see a house. The thicket on either side threatened to overtake their buggy. “Just ahead,” Georgie said. He kissed to his horse to prompt her onward.

  Jancie smelled pine smoke before she caught sight of the tiny log cabin, its back set against a rocky cliff face in the rising hillside.

  The horse drew up and their group made their way to the dwelling, the driver leading them. He knocked and called out. “It’s me, Georgie. I brought you four guests from Neala’s.”

  There was no response for at least a minute, but he didn’t turn away.

  Finally, the planked door creaked open on rusty iron hinges, and a hunched elderly woman appeared. Her simple charcoal shift dress hung to sensible brown lace shoes and tied at her bird-like waist with an intricately knotted cord. �
��Thank you, Georgie.” She rolled her eyes up and peered at the visitors through cloudy cataracts. “Come in. I was expecting you all. I’m Eartha.” She let go of the door and shuffled into a dark sitting area lit only by a glowing fire.

  The limestone fireplace covered an entire side wall of the home. The back wall extended into the cliff, a cave of sorts excavated from the rock. Aside from a front window next to the door, all other wall space was covered with shelves. Thick dust obscured book titles and the contents of glass jars. A long roughhewn table occupied the middle of the room, and Eartha waved toward it. “Have a seat.”

  Rowe and Vika sat on either side of Jancie on a handmade bench, Cerise beside Vika.

  Jancie introduced them, while the elder lit a taper candle on the table and covered it with a glass hurricane. Her frail hands shook, and her motions were slow and deliberate. Fine strands of her shoulder-length, white hair rose with her trembling. She sat opposite of them and said, “Neala related some of your concerns. Please lend me your hand, Jancie.”

  Jancie extended her hand across the table to the aged witch. After the initial cold fish feeling of the woman’s loose, thin skin, Jancie felt warmth that compelled her to shut her eyes. Her mother’s spirit draped across Jancie’s shoulders, and the south wind blew hot in her face. She opened her eyes, surprised to feel strands of her hair blowing back.

  “A young and strong south wind witch. Rare indeed. And a good thing since an evil north wind chases you.” Eartha’s voice sputtered in breathy bursts. She let go of Jancie’s hand. “Neala told me about a moonstone layered with spell upon spell. Please let me see the stone.”

  Jancie pulled it from her neckline. “It won’t come off.”

  “Come closer, child. My blind old eyes cannot see that far.”

  Reseated beside the elder, Jancie held the locket up.

  Eartha pressed a palm to its smooth surface and stared into the fire across the table. “This is enchanted, the same exact griever’s stone I’ve seen once before.” She cocked her head to Rowe. “Young man, please tell me about your family and your magic.”

  “My full name is Rowe Alan McCoy, son of Hazel and Walter McCoy, both deceased and former long-standing members of Coon Hollow Coven’s council. The family magic is animation. I teach that skill in our community schools.”

  A toothy grin interrupted the deep lines of her face. “Ah, Hazel. I visited with her last week, appeared from the fire in my fireplace one morning.” The elder’s glassy eyes stared off into the flames. “You were fortunate to have such fine parents, Rowe McCoy. But you’ve known death of a wife and bore this moonstone after your loss. And you are also fortunate to hold the heart of this south wind witch seated beside me.”

  She faced Jancie. “And you set off the stone’s enchantment to face the loss of Faye, one of our own.”

  Jancie nodded. “Yes.”

  “Help an old mind with names. Faye was Betty’s child. Betty’s mother came to New Wish pregnant. That woman was…”

  “Maggie, Margaret,” Jancie added.

  “Maggie, of course. I should’ve remembered. She and Louis, a Coon Hollow witch, came in the worst winter. They couldn’t marry according to that coven’s customs. She feared her unborn child would be ostracized, and probably so.” Eartha gazed into the fire and caressed the moonstone. “She wore this very moonstone and came to me with the same problem as you. It wouldn’t come off. I was still a girl then, in my twenties and living with my parents. The mystery of this stone drew me to my calling, part historian of magic, part seer, part diviner of plain old common sense.” She chuckled.

  “Through wild ways of my own magic and a heap of research, I learned the moonstone was overlaid with a spell set against New Wish blood. A Coon Hollow female witch by the name of Mabbina Tabard fell in love with a male witch from her coven, a widower wearing this very locket. But he loved a New Wish witch and wanted nothing to do with Mabbina. Enraged and owning a black heart, she laced the moonstone with evil to keep the lovers apart. They weren’t accepted as a mixed couple in Coon Hollow, and when here in New Wish, a mental illness drove him mad. Within a year’s time, he had no knowledge of his new bride.” Eartha looked away from the fire and let go of the moonstone. “And bits of records told me this had happened once before, between the Tabard family and a New Wish witch who stole the heart of a Coon Hollow male witch.” She squinted her eyes. “The lovers’ names were Victoria and John, and the Tabard girl…Judith or was it Priscilla? Anyhow, a pattern stood out to me when—”

  “That’s what happened to my grandparents, Maggie and Louis.” Jancie twisted in her seat. “Is that going to happen to Rowe and me?” Her jaw went slack. She looked at him, suddenly aware that his headaches and dizziness were signs. The familiar knot formed in her stomach, and she reached across the table for his hand. “Can you stop this from happening to us?” she asked Eartha.

  “No. I cannot. I could not help Maggie.”

  Jancie’s throat constricted. “There must be something. Please help us,” she choked out the words. Her gaze met Rowe’s, his face ashen, already showing weakness. Angry heat flooded her face. She’d come here expecting help, but none was to be had.

  The elder coughed. “I could not help Maggie.” She gulped air, inflating her sunken chest. “That was because although she possessed New Wish blood, she was not a witch with active powers. Only a carrier. I presumed the locket came free after the man Mabbina loved died, and later it found its way to Maggie. At that time, seeing history repeating in desperate young love, I laid a spell of my own on this gem. I never thought I’d live to see it help any of our own, but here you are. Jancie, I hope you’re the one destined to break this curse.”

  Jancie’s breath grew shallow as she hung onto every word Eartha spoke, every movement she made.

  The elder removed the hurricane from the candle in front of her. She cupped her hand around the flame with fire licking between her fingers, but didn’t jerk or cry out.

  Vika and Cerise leaned closer, and Rowe squeezed Jancie’s hand.

  Eartha’s hands glowed orange, she turned to Jancie. “Keep hold of Rowe and give me your other hand. Do not be afraid.” The elderly witch pressed her flaming skin to Jancie’s.

  Jancie braced to resist the reflex to pull away, but none came. The fire’s energy spread throughout her body. A supercharged dose of New Wish magic. The orange color changed from yellow to green to blue.

  The elder withdrew. “The color blue is important. It has chosen you, Jancie. It tells what element of nature here in New Wish will teach you to use your powers. I perform this ritual with our strong witches whose powers are blocked, much as yours have been suppressed. The term ‘new wish’ holds meaning for many here today and for those who chose this location more than a century ago. You have the spark within you from your grandmother’s blood and fanned by your grandfather’s powers. You are the witch Maggie never could be. Find your element and ask of it your one new wish, and it will be granted. May you break this curse.”

  Chapter Twenty-five: A Mother’s Love

  Darkness blanketed the isolated valley as their horse’s feet clopped with a steady rhythm back to Neala’s.

  Jancie wrapped an arm around Rowe as he leaned into her, complaining of a blinding headache.

  Her thoughts wandered into the spaces of still blue dusk, searching for where she might find the blue element that would open her powers and grant her one wish. Blue indicated water, or was it sky? How would she know her element? The one wish seemed easy enough. But maybe not. To break the Tabard curse on the moonstone so she could share love with Rowe seemed the obvious wish. That meant she’d have to rely on her own power to overthrow Adara. She sighed inside herself.

  She worried about Rowe. Other than getting him back to Coon Hollow, Eartha hadn’t given a way to stop the illness that the evil spell brought on him. But, being back home in his coven might not even work. The curse seemed to activate when they left, but there was no guarantee of reversibility. She
wondered if any of Neala’s herbs would hold off Rowe’s symptoms to buy Jancie time to find her element.

  The horse trotted through the tiny downtown and pulled up on the circular drive where the chieftainess met them on her porch. The yellow glow of lamp light inside her cabin was inviting. If only Rowe felt well, and they could enjoy the time away in New Wish.

  Neala and Georgie steadied each passenger as they stepped down from the buggy, giving special attention to Vika and Rowe.

  “Does anyone know any herbs that can help at least slow the effects of the curse on Rowe?” Jancie asked. “I know breaking the evil is up to me, but I can’t do that tonight. I’m worried.”

  “Won’t hurt to try. I know grape leaves strengthen mental powers,” Vika offered.

  “Along with rosemary, spearmint, and savory.” Neala added. “Those are still growing strong in my potion garden. We can make a tea. I spoke to Eartha after you left, and she told me about the curse.”

  “And mustard greens.” Jancie took hold of Rowe’s hand in case he faltered while climbing the porch steps. “Mom always made mustard green and rosemary tea for headaches.”

  “I’d appreciate a tea to ease this throbbing.” He massaged a temple.

  “Dinner’s ready and waiting. After our walk, Rachelle, Starla, and I whipped up a meal.” Neala called back to the buggy driver. “Georgie, I’ve got some dinner for you to take home and a pumpkin pie as well. Something for your efforts today.”

  He scurried after them. “Thank you, Miss Neala. A thoughtful treat for me and my missus.”

  Jancie admired how Neala conducted herself with kindness. She leaned into Rowe. “She’s so nice to everyone.”

  “A sharp contrast to how Adara leads by power and fear,” he replied and eased into a three-legged primitive chair at the kitchen table.

  “You look tuckered out, Rowe.” Starla set a basket of biscuits on the table. “Are you all right?”

  He took a sip of ice water. “Terrible headache.”