by T S Paul
"Holy crap! Four hundred years? For real?" I leaned back in my chair with my mouth wide open.
"Yes. Many of our kind play the long game when it comes to their lives. Planning is very important. What will you do in three hundred years? It is why I had children in my second century. Well, one of the reasons. I wanted to pass on my knowledge and to secure Guardians for the Garden. But the Fates can be fickle and the Gods cruel. Your mother and your aunt didn't wish to become the Guardians as I wanted and spurned my teachings."
"Guardians rather than Enforcers. Like the ones in the stories, you told me as a child? The people the European Councils used to fight their enemies?" History was one thing I was good at.
"Close. Verity and our other ancestors came to this land to escape the persecution of those very same Councils. Our people wanted freedom from oppression and the freedom to do as they wished. This was the 1600s in Europe. Humanity was in turmoil over religion and politics. Numerous wars were fought over territory and resources. Our community kept a very low profile, but still tried to fit in. Our family wished to grow things that couldn't be found elsewhere, but doing so would give away the secret. So they moved the Garden to this new world and hid from sight. We were already established before the majority of settlers even broached our shores. Memory modification is a blessing when disguising yourself. The town was founded after we got here. A hundred years after. By then, the Garden was already in place."
"I don't understand. Verity came to America on the Tiger, right? I researched this in school to see the human perspective. The Tiger was one of Sir Richard Greenville's ships Walter Raleigh sent to establish a colony on Roanoke Island. According to human history, the colony disappeared. Nobody could be found when they came back to check on them. If she was part of that where did the people go? Please, don't tell me she killed them all!"
"No, child. Verity was an honorable woman. The bracelets only choose those of pure heart and soul. Trust that she did things for the right and proper reasons. There were several successive colonies on the island. The one in 1587 was only the most recent. Each previous one had been soldiers and sailors manning a small fort. Claiming land was fruitless if you couldn't prove you could defend it. Verity arrived with the second group of sailors. They were low on food and supplies, but because of Spanish ships in the area, the English fleet could not resupply them. They were told them to live off the land until relieved. Sir Francis Drake stopped at the small colony and removed around half of the unit there. Greenville did all the work, and Drake took the credit for introducing tobacco, maize, and potatoes to England because of picking up those people. Your Great grandmother wasn't there to receive the offer. She had already taken her people and moved north into the wilds in search of a valley that could be defended and would serve as a foundation for the family."
"Why would Francis Drake go all the way to Virginia before crossing the Atlantic for home? Wasn't he raiding the Spanish at the time?"
"Very good, dear. You always were good at history. Yes, he was in the Caribbean and stole treasure from right under their noses. Drake was from our community dear. He had a secondary assignment of tracking down Council deserters like Verity was. They suspected that she sailed for the new world, but couldn't prove it. Both Drake and Greenville's log books are up there if you wish to read for yourself. I warn you though, his handwriting is awful." She pointed behind me to the large bookcase. Swiveling my head, I could see over a dozen large, heavily-bound books.
"The successive colony was destroyed long after Verity left it. I too wanted to know what happened. According to her, it may have been the local native tribes. Many of them were not happy to have interlopers in their territory. One group had visions that the newcomers were evil and would bring destruction. Remember that Witchkind is not limited to just Europe and Asia. Our people are everywhere. So Verity came here and built the first house and established The Garden. Only one other such Garden still exists in the modern world today. It lies on the edge of the Thuringian Forest in Germany."
"I don't understand." And I didn't. The garden was the garden. I played there as a child and helped the ladies of the Coven weed and pick vegetables to be sold. Other than the mice, I couldn't remember anything special about it.
"I know dear. The Garden is alive. It's like Boamire in the other room. It lives and breathes. The spells and Magick that have been performed inside of it have given it consciousness. One of the duties I wished of your mother was Guardianship of the Garden itself. Some things exist in there that cannot be allowed to escape into the world. Like that cartoon character you love so much used to say, the Universe is an onion. Each layer is hidden beneath the other. Doorways exist to allow access to those deeper layers. They give those that enter the ability to cross time and space. Some doors open to places that will both amaze and terrify you equally. That is the job of a Guardian. To guard the doors. Our ancient ancestors called these places domains. Beings of power were given the job of keeping them separate from the what they thought of as the real world. They called them 'gates to the netherworld.' Travelers that come through the doors are sometimes called demons." Demons! I jumped in my seat.
Grandmother didn't smile, but she nodded. "Yes. Demons. Not, however, the same sort you battled a few years ago. Those are brought to this world from mystical planes, not physical ones. You must learn the difference if you are to survive in this world. The Fae use physical doorways. Similar to the one you passed through last year, they exist in many places scattered across the earth. The Garden holds a very large one. It connects to what we call a pocket universe. Through that universe, you may access other realms both in this Universe and others."
I was in information overload. "Let me get this straight in my head. There's a door in the Garden that leads to other places. Like that science fiction show, Universe Hoppers?" Grandmother gave me a funny look. I suppose I should have remembered she didn't watch TV much.
"A bunch of Army guys travel to different worlds and fight aliens. Stuff like that."
"I might have seen that once or twice. Not exactly. As I said before. Our gate only goes to one specific place. Others go elsewhere. I can tell you the Witches Council has one. Theirs goes someplace extremely dangerous." She smiled at me.
"So did you tell my mother and Camilla about this job you had for them?" I needed time to think this all through.
"I did not. They, like you, would be told when they reached their majority. Unlike you, however, I tried to expose them to the outward world of Witchkind and Magick. They both had great potential. Only Teegan pursued the lessons I gave her. Camilla got involved with several human girls from town and stopped asking for lessons. She became introverted and sneaky."
My Aunt? Sneaky? That is the understatement of the year.
"When it was time for me to explain the way our world operates, neither of them were interested. Teegan had met a boy from town and was engaged. Camilla, well she went to college and met someone too. Somewhere along the way she got it into her head that the selection of the leader of the Coven and our family was through inheritance. It became her belief that my heir would be someone from the family. She has used every option and skill at her disposal to climb the social ladder in anticipation of my eventual demise." The sudden change in gears threw me for just a moment.
"Wait. Doesn't Camilla know you could live for another two hundred years?"
"Yes and no. I never had this discussion with her, but she has filled in the blanks by talking to some of the Coven Elders. It is my honest opinion, she thinks if she gains a big enough foothold over the council she can force me to step down as Coven leader and family matriarch." Marcella's smile didn't reach her eyes.
"You told me some of how the Coven worked when I was a child and Verity wrote of it in her spellbook. They don't select the leader. You or your predecessor does. Right?" She nodded at me. "Then why does she think she can take over?"
"I'm not sure. But with Teegan in a hospital, her own daughters lacking in Mag
ickal training and you away at boarding school she saw no obstacles in her way to power."
"Boarding school? She thought I was a boarding school? Didn't she know I went to the FBI? Grandmother, what did you do?" Now I looked at the older woman with surprise on my face.
"Camilla is my daughter, and in some ways I still love her. Even after all the nasty things she has done. Or at least the ones I can prove. As you might remember she sabotaged any attempt to send you to a school here in this state or any of the surrounding ones. She used power and deception to trick them into refusing to accept you by saying you were dangerous and uncontrollable. Sometimes she claimed you were violent and destructive."
"That bitch!" Grandmother smiled as I cursed in front of her.
She waved her hands at me as she laughed. "Sorry, Agatha. I shouldn't laugh. But that was funny. When she asked where you went, I told her Europe. I have many contacts all over the world, and that was not inconceivable. That seemed to make her happy, and she stopped asking after you. Your graduation pictures and other things are only in my office, so she missed seeing them over the years. I forbade her from the house only last year, so she didn't know you were in the FBI as an agent or were promoted. Camilla has told the town repeatedly that you were sent away because you were dangerous. That the purple squirrels were, but the least of your Magickal mishaps, and that instead of school you were locked up in a sanitarium in Europe."
Now it was my turn to laugh. "So, me showing up with my badge and credentials surprised the living hell out of her?"
"Loki himself couldn't have done it any better. The entire town now knows she has been spreading lies for years. The FBI wouldn't make a crazy person an agent, much less a Special Agent. Expect trouble. Lots of it." Grandmother stopped laughing and quickly sobered.
"She can get in line. I came home because I had nowhere to go. Marvin is the key to bringing the weight of law enforcement against both the Strega and those they support in power. He was one of their accountants. I split the team. The others are tracking down leads and following up on the legal end while I keep Marvin alive. Assassins have been hunting us across New England. They missed in Vermont, and I came to the only place I might be safe." I gave my arm a rub. Minerva spotted my bandage immediately and redressed it.
"I know something of that which hunts you. We can discuss it later if you like. I know you're tired and sore. Marjorie is coming over in the morning to fix that arm for you. I have already called her so no complaints out of you." She gave me her stern face, so I knew not to protest.
"No. I'm tired, but I should know what is hunting me. I have a question for you though."
"Yes, dear?"
"How do you know these things? The Witches Council is scared of you. The same could be said of many other paranormals I have encountered. Why?" I really wanted to know. After a couple of centuries, anyone would have secrets, but hers were interfering and endangering my life.
Grandmother took a deep breath. "That is the other bombshell I have to drop upon you. The Coven is not hereditary, but a position on the World Species Council is."
"Species Council? What's that?"
"A secret. Among those that lead it's an open one, but a secret nonetheless. Each paranormal species has the right and privilege to send a representative to the council. Deals are made, and wars averted there. Our family has held sway there for hundreds of years. It is one of the reasons Verity chose to leave Europe. Just because you are on the council does not mean you are untouchable. You might say we are the Witch Council's bosses. They bow to us. We make the rules they enforce. My successor will hold sway on that council as well as our Coven. There is much more to the way world works than you know. Now. Enough talk. You need rest. Minerva has fixed your old room up, and I think Fergus is in his house watching TV."
I covered my eyes. "Did he tell you about wanting to fix up his barn?"
"No. Did he do something bad again?" She helped me stand up. I was more tired than I thought.
"Let me tell you a story about paint." We joined arms and started up the stairs. She was laughing before we reached the top.
~~~~~~~~~
Camilla was beyond angry. How dare Agatha do this to her! She was supposed to be locked up somewhere in Europe, not running around Briarwood! How? Vases and books lay scattered across the entire house as she vented her anger.
"Honey, you need to calm down! It can't be that bad." Peter froze in his tracks as she hit him with a freeze spell.
"You need to learn your place, honey. I only married you for one thing. What you can provide me. Not the other way around. Stupid mundies. They never learn." Camilla gave him a push knocking him to the floor.
He'll survive she thought to herself. Freeze spells were easy. Making a death look natural was the hard part. This was all Marcella's fault. If only she would step down! The eldest should be the one to inherit. That's how they do it in Europe, and it should be that way here too. Her teacher told her that too. No. She mustn't think of him. Having him pop in now would be disastrous. She needed to salvage this mess on her own.
Chapter 16
"We have a serious problem," Anastasia informed the rest of the team as she briefed them.
So far the team's investigation into Senator Lugs Harvey and his brother Goober led nowhere. The Strega were killing or vanishing anyone and everyone even remotely associated with this case.
"What's up Ana?" Cat asked. She was driving the lead RV. The ear bud microphone system worked well for driving.
"I checked with some of my Underworld contacts for information about the Strega. More than half of them freaked out and hung up the phone as soon as I mentioned the name, but a few talk."
"What underworld contacts? Does Agatha know about this?" Cat slowed the RV for a stoplight.
"She cleared it before she left. I've been in this country for a great many years and haven't always been in the FBI. When I say Underworld that sometimes means literally under the world. There is a Dvergr that works as an arms smuggler that I have used a few times and a minor tribe of Goblins that owe me big. According to them, the Strega are on the move in ways not seen in over a century. They are beating the bushes, calling in every favor and advantage they have to do it." Ana sounded very concerned.
"Should I ask? They're searching for Agatha, aren't they?" Cat gave the RV a little gas when the light changed.
"No. Well, yes, they are sort of. At this point, even I know where Agatha is. Social media is a useful tool when trying to find someone." Ana informed her.
Cat almost stepped on the brake. "Social media? Where did she go?"
"She went home, Cat. Agatha is in Maine. For the moment, she is protected. Anyone or anything crossing her Grandmother will get to see what real pain is. But I wasn't talking about Agatha. We are the ones in trouble. According to my sources..."
Cat interrupted. "The Draugr tribe."
"Dvergr actually. Draugr is something completely different. Pray, we never encounter them while on a case. My sources say we are now their targets too. The Strega have put a multi-target hit out on the Magical Crimes Division. They want all of us dead."
Cat hit the brakes and was thrown forward against her seatbelt as the big rig slid to a stop. RV's weren't meant for quick stopping.
Bill jumped into the conversation. "Cat, according to Foogle, there's a park up ahead on the right. Pull in there, and we can discuss this more. Sitting out in the middle of the street is dangerous."
Agreeing, Cat got the big RV moving again. As Bill had recommended, she followed signs for Hagerstown Fairgrounds Park and pulled up next to a series of ball fields. The two large rigs were noticeable, but not unusual at this time of year. Several minor league or club teams were playing on the field, and the RVs were less noticeable in the crowded parking lot.
"I'm coming to you. Hold on a minute." Cat locked down the rig and hot-footed it over to the forensics RV.
Cat heard Anastasia's whispered voice in her ear. "There's too much natural light in t
he rig at this time of day. I'll stay back here and watch on the camera screen."
"That's OK Ana. We value you too much to lose you." Using a front door, Cat slipped into the bigger RV. She sat in one of the empty seats. Chuck and Bill were already there.
The big screen at the center of the room lowered when Anastasia turned it on remotely. A large map of New England appeared on the screen. "Here's what I know. According to my sources, Agatha was in a magickal showdown with assassins hired by the Strega in a small town in Vermont. The rental house she was staying in was destroyed along with a large portion of a city street and a mailbox. Local police found three assailants frozen solid sitting on the concrete. Neighbors reported a quote 'cute witch tossing fireballs.' She was last seen driving a partially melted station wagon in a northerly direction." The map narrowed down to a small dot on the Vermont and Canadian border.