“That’s a great idea, Mercy. Can you give me a ride?”
“Are you sure you’re in good enough shape to go?” asked Mercy.
“Of course, I’m fine,” I lied.
“My mom has a dentist appointment in town so she can drive us to Miss Cassie’s place and then pick us up when she’s done. How about we get you in an hour?”
“Perfect. I’ll be ready,” I responded.
As soon as I put the receiver down, I dialed the number for Ian’s house.
“Hello,” a woman answered.
“Hello, I’m Tess Littleton. I was at the fair with Ian last night. I’ve been trying to reach him. May I speak to him?”
“Oh, my goodness! Tess, I’m Mrs. Miller. I’m afraid that Ian was knocked unconscious at the fair. I don’t know if you are aware that he fell from the Ferris wheel. He sustained a severe concussion along with some other injuries. He’s coming home today, but we’re asking his friends to wait a day or two before seeing him because he’s not supposed to move his head at all. In fact, he didn’t wake up until this morning.”
I was so shocked I didn’t know what to say. Poor Ian.
“Are you there, dear? Ian did ask me to call you after he woke up this morning. I just got back from the hospital so I haven’t had a chance. He was very concerned about you.”
Feeling somewhat guilty I answered, “Yes, Mrs. Miller, I’m fine. I hurt my neck a little and I have some aches and pains, but that’s it. Could you please tell Ian that I’ll visit him as soon as he can have visitors?”
“Yes, of course, dear. We’re picking him up in an hour. I’ll be sure and tell him. He’ll be so relieved that you’re OK.”
28. Miss Cassie Revisited
I had no problem slipping out because Eve was on the phone blabbing away with her friends. At least I left her a note on the kitchen table. She’ll get pissed, but it’ll be too late by then cause I’ll be gone.
When we arrived at Miss Cassie’s house, we saw her kneeling in a flower bed that ran along the front of the house. She looked very old fashioned like she did last time, only she was wearing shawl over a simple dress with a yellow bonnet.
“Hello, dear. It’s so nice that you came by to visit me again. I figured I would see you at some point in time. I hope you’re all right. I see you’ve hurt your neck,” Miss Cassie said, concern in her eyes.
“Hello, Miss Cassie. I’m doing OK. I just had a little accident. By the way,” I responded, while politely gesturing toward Mercy, “this is my good friend, Mercy Reed.”
Miss Cassie studied Mercy for a minute before she remarked, “I know of you, Mercy Reed.”
Mercy looked surprised for a minute but she politely answered, “So nice to finally meet you, Miss Cassie.”
“Would you girls like to come in and join me for a cup of tea and some pumpkin cake?” Miss Cassie asked.
“We would love to,” I answered.
Upon entering her house I experienced that feeling of familiarity again. Maybe it was just déjà vu. We sat down in her parlor while she brought in the tea and cake.
Miss Cassie turned to me. “So, Tessie, I presume you came with Mercy because you needed some information. What would you like to know?”
I thought for a minute before I looked her in the eye and asked, “Miss Cassie, do you have any ideas about what happened at the Tri-town fair last night?”
Miss Cassie shook her head. “Oh, dear, yes, I’m afraid I have heard all about the horrendous events that occurred at that fair.” She glanced at my neck before continuing, “I presume that’s why you are wearing a neck brace?”
“Yes, it is, but I’m doing OK. We can’t figure out what could’ve caused it. Do you have any idea?” I asked.
Miss Cassie sighed deeply. “Yes, I’m afraid that I do. I presume you have some other questions for me today. I can tell you more about the fair, but it may be easier to answer those questions later.”
What did she mean by that? I guess I’ll try something else. “Miss Cassie, why did you call me Elsa the first time I saw you? Why do you know something about one of my past lives?”
“So you are aware of your past lives? I had hoped you would eventually learn that about yourself.” Miss Cassie settled down in her chair before continuing, “I have lived many, many past lives myself.”
“You have?” I asked.
“Does everyone have many lives?” Mercy asked.
“Yes, although some people, or you can call them souls, have had many more past lives than others. Most souls evolve spiritually from one life to the next, but some souls don’t. For different reasons, they become spiritual desolates. They don’t progress at all. In fact, they can even regress,” Miss Cassie said in a level tone.
“Miss Cassie, why do you know all this?” I questioned.
She took a minute to readjust her shawl before answering. While she was doing that, her aura started to emerge. A large circle of beautiful shining yellow/gold encased her entire form. It was stunning. I tried to look beyond the aura to her eyes but it was distracting. I could feel goodness, beauty, joy, wonder, kindness. It was quite affecting.
Miss Cassie asked with a slight smile, “Do you see it, Tess?”
“Yes, you have a beautiful aura. It is different.”
Miss Cassie nodded. “Yes, my aura would be different than other humans for I am no longer incarnating for the purpose of spiritual evolution. I am beyond that level.”
“If you are no longer evolving through incarnation, then why are you here living as a person?” I asked.
Miss Cassie paused and took a sip of her tea. “Once your soul has reached a high level of evolution, it is your duty is to help other souls continue with their progression.”
I asked, “How do you help other souls?”
Miss Cassie’s eyes became serious. “There are many things a higher soul or spirit can do. The first thing I did upon reaching that level, was to help other souls during the phase of The Between. The Between is the phase that souls spend between their lives. This is a most important stage in the progression of a soul. It is the time when a soul may initially rest from a difficult time as a being. Eventually, the soul must evaluate their life on earth. Was their life of value to others or was their life selfish and wasteful? Did they learned anything or was their existence meaningless? This is the kind of thing a soul must contemplate.”
After a slight pause, Mercy asked, “During the time of The Between, do souls have a say about when or if they come back to earth as a being?”
“During The Between, a higher spirit helps the soul come to a decision about when to return to life on earth, where they choose to be born, and for what reasons. Of course, the primary reason a soul returns to earth as a being is for spiritual growth and wisdom. Souls can learn during the state of The Between, however, much knowledge can only be acquired through the pain and pleasure of living as a human,” Miss Cassie quietly explained.
Mercy inquired, “You said that some souls regress while they’re living. Can’t you punish them or affect them in some way so they do what they’re supposed to do while on earth?”
“A soul determines their own path. It should not be interfered with during their life time except under extreme circumstances. Upon death, depending upon the severity of their regressions, they may spend their time in The Between undergoing uncomfortable evaluations with other souls, or they may become involved in a solitary kind of penitence. Also, if a soul refuses to progress as planned, they may be banned from returning to earth for a very long time.”
I asked, “Why are you posing as a human at this time and in this place?”
Miss Cassie responded, “I am here as a spirit guide.”
“What is the purpose of a spirit guide?” Mercy asked her.
Miss Cassie’s voice took on a grave tone before she responded, “Spirit guides are required during times of tumult. This is one such time. I am needed to monitor what is happening.”
She smiled and gently touc
hed my hand, “Before we go on, I want to make sure that all of this is making sense to you. It is difficult for a soul-bound person to comprehend at times.”
Mercy commented with her eyebrows raised, “You’re sure right about that.”
“I can offer you some proof if that would help,” answered Miss Cassie.
“What is it?” I inquired.
“My last life here on earth was when you were Elsa and you lived here in Woodley in the 1600’s. Mercy, you were also here. Your name was Faith at that time.” Miss Cassie regarded Mercy.
“I knew about that,” Mercy admitted quietly.
I turned to her in surprise. “You KNEW about that?”
Mercy replied, “Yes, my mom saw some unusual traits in me as I was growing up. She had a feeling that it had something to do with my past. That’s why she learned about regression hypnosis. She hypnotized me also.” Mercy frowned. “We knew each other back then, Tess. I didn’t want to tell you the other day because I thought it would be too much. I had planned on telling you eventually.”
Miss Cassie affirmed, “Yes, both of you suffered greatly. You were two of the accused.”
“Accused of WHAT?” I demanded.
“Witchcraft,” exclaimed Miss Cassie.
29. Witches
I had to admit, I wasn’t really surprised when I heard about the witchcraft comment. In my recent regression session with Belinda I had discovered that my mother had been a condemned witch. It was common for daughters and sons of condemned witches to endure similar accusations. Mercy wasn’t surprised either.
Miss Cassie continued, “You know, witches have existed since the beginning of time. The original purpose of witchcraft was to help the human race survive. It was very difficult during the beginning, during the time of the ancients and the primitives. Much of the human population died of disease and starvation. Witches had practical magical powers for those days; that of healing with herbs, of the laying of the hands, of overcoming pestilence and tempests. Witches helped humankind through some very bad times.”
Mercy quietly asked, “Have witches changed since then?”
Miss Cassie nodded with a slight frown. “Oh, Yes. You see, in the beginning, all witches were noble beings. Their sole interest was in helping others. Unfortunately, after time, that changed. As humans evolved, witches were no longer necessary for human survival. As a result, the special abilities of witches evolved over the years to suit their own individual inclinations. Some witches stayed in their helping role but other witches became corrupt. They viewed themselves as being superior to others and they used their powers for self-enrichment.”
“Additionally, some witches went beyond simply gaining riches. They used their powers to inflict pain and suffering on others. They reveled in the power they held over others and anyone who got in their way would be destroyed. Of course, the only ones who really had the ability to stop them were the good witches and they ended up paying a high price for even the slightest interference. After all, the good ones were busy helping humans. They weren’t always watching other witches. During the past times of the battles between the witches, the good ones always lost.
“Is that why witches have earned such a bad reputation over the years?” I asked.
Miss Cassie nodded. “That is exactly why. I would say that the majority of witches over time have been working for the good of mankind. However, you only need a few bad witches to ruin everyone’s reputation. In fact, during the times of the big witch hunts, it was always the bad witches initiating the hunting. They didn’t want their powers challenged in any way so they preemptively went after the good ones. It was easy for the bad witches to stir up suspicions during times of natural disasters or political troubles. There have even been periods in human history when witches wouldn’t reveal any of their helping powers such as healing because they were afraid of being persecuted by the bad witches or their human cohorts.”
Miss Cassie leaned over and lightly touched my hand as she quietly asserted, “There has been a disturbing development as of late. We have been seeing more examples of witches who are quite unaware of their witch power. They just go around thinking they’re crazy. We believe that is an evolutionary development in reaction to horrible past life witch persecutions.”
I glanced between Miss Cassie and Mercy who were both staring at me and finally asked, “What, are you talking about me?”
“Yes, Tess, you know she is,” Mercy stated bluntly.
Miss Cassie added, “Tess, I hope you know that you have the makings of a very strong witch. Have you admitted that to yourself yet?”
“I guess. I just haven’t put it into words yet,” I mumbled while staring at the floor. NEVER if I had my way, I thought.
Mercy inquired, “So Miss Cassie, would you say that witches have different powers today than they did in past times?”
“Oh yes, witch magic has evolved quite a bit over the centuries, although it’s still very individualistic. Since witches have been so secretive about their power that over time, many of their special abilities have naturally turned inward. For example, some witches can ‘scythe’, which means they can read minds. Others have an ability to tell the future. In ancient times, I don’t think that was so.”
“Some witches today have great telekinetic powers. There are others who can affect the weather by controlling lightning or initiating blizzards and tempests. There are witches that have abilities with fire and some with water. There are some who use transference. That means they can project their thoughts, feelings and wishes onto others as a way of controlling them. Some witches use transference with animals. As far as the ability to heal, that can be stronger in certain areas of the world more than others.”
“Are there still witches that mix magic potions?” I wondered.
Miss Cassie shook her head. “Perhaps in some areas but I believe that is a dying art, along with casting spells and that is rather unfortunate.”
I asked, “Is there a way to tell good witches from bad witches?”
“You can tell by one’s actions. The ways of the witches have been set in stone through their patterns of behavior over many, many lifetimes. In fact, we have names for the good ones and the bad ones. Good witches are referred to as ‘luminars’, since they bring light into the world. I would also say that good witches have retained more of their healing or helping powers over the centuries because they USE them. Bad witches are referred to as ‘diaboles’, because they bring evil into the world. It is also apparent that humans who are referred to as sensitives may experience a negative, cold or disturbing sensation when they are around diaboles, and conversely, feel a positive, warm or happy sensation when they are near luminars,” Miss Cassie answered with a smile.
“Is it possible for someone to change, say, from being a bad witch to a good witch?” I inquired.
Miss Cassie frowned before finally answering, “I suppose someone could change. That would be very unusual. In fact, I have never heard of it.”
I sat there for a minute, sipping my tea, letting everything sink in. Miss Cassie poured more into my cup. “Would you like more pumpkin bread?”
“Yes, I would, please.”
“Thank you, me too,” added Mercy.
“Miss Cassie, now can you explain what you know about the Tri-town fair?” I asked.
Miss Cassie paused and stared at us for a moment before finally answering, “We know what caused the destruction at the fair. It was done by a number of powerful demonic witches. I presume they were able to affect the supply of electricity in some way. Some of them must have combined their telekinetic powers to influence individual rides. It is known that combined telekinetic powers can be very powerful, especially if it is accompanied by strong emotion. I also believe they were trying to hurt certain individuals on those rides.”
“You think they were trying to hurt certain people? But why?” I asked in a small panicky voice.
She frowned and stared at me. “It was odd the way some rid
es were untouched, yet others were totally destroyed. There is no other explanation.”
Suddenly we heard a loud honking coming from the front of the house.
Mercy got up and looked out the window. “I can’t believe it. My mom’s here already. We have to go.”
I sighed and turned to Miss Cassie. “Thanks so much for talking to us. I don’t know what to think about all this, but at least we know more than before.”
Mercy added, “I have more I would like to ask you, Miss Cassie. Can we see you again?”
She smiled. “Don’t worry. You’ll be seeing me soon enough.”
Miss Cassie made a point to hug Mercy and I before we walked out the door. As her golden haze encircled me I felt a tingle from the tips of my toes up my spine to the top of my head. The feeling was delightful, warm and soothing all in one. I could even perceive the taste of chocolate and honey on my tongue. It left me with an indescribable feeling of happiness. Miss Cassie must have affected Mercy the same way because she had a loopy look on her face.
When we first got into Belinda’s car, Mercy and I just sat there quietly. I didn’t want to break the delightful spell that Miss Cassie left me with and I’m sure that Mercy also felt that way. Finally, Belinda spoke up, “Well, are you going to tell me what you guys talked about or are you going to sit there like zombies?”
I finally took a deep breath and proceeded to tell Belinda everything that Miss Cassie had told us. Mercy occasionally jumped in to add something. When we were done, Belinda turned and looked at me sympathetically. With a sinking heart, I knew what she was going to suggest.
“Tess, I think it’s time for another look at your past life through a regression. After all, we just touched on it during the last session of hypnosis. It’s very important that you have a complete understanding of what has happened to you.”
Mercy added while looking at me anxiously, “After what happened yesterday and today, you’re probably not in the mood, but Tess, I agree with my mom. Things are getting bad out there. People’s lives are at stake. I also think that Miss Cassie is right about why you don’t have much of a witch sense. It’s because of the trauma you’ve suffered in past lives. You’ve got to face and move on. Once you let go of your fears, you can build your witch powers back to what they should be. The only way you can co that is to revisit your past lives.”
A Girl Beyond (War of the Witches Book 2) Page 14