The road dwindled in width. Now, it could really only be called a path. It led down over a bank.
They followed the path, and they were met by a swamp.
A rickety dock thrust out over it, an old wooden boat tied to the end. The surface of the water was covered in green slime. They could hear the sound of crickets and frogs. Low hanging branches, moss covered, were on either side of the water.
“We take the boat,” Lute said.
Maddie chewed on her bottom lip. “We’ll all fit?”
“I’m sure we’ll be fine,” Lute said.
Together, they trooped over the dock to the boat. One by one, they all climbed into the boat. It was a tight squeeze, but Lute was right, they all fit.
“Whose boat is this, anyway?” Sawyer said.
Lute shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s always here, though. As far as we can tell, this is just the way you go to get to Hecate.”
An involuntary shiver went through Maddie. She looked over her shoulder at the way they had come. She couldn’t see anything over the high bank they had walked down. Not the town, not even the gravel road. And this far away, the sound of music and the smells of food had been swallowed up by the noises and smells of the swamp.
Lute untied the boat. He and Daryl took up the oars and began rowing them downstream.
It was dark. The moon reflected on the stagnant water. Insects jumped and landed, making ripples on the still surface.
Maddie saw something swim by them in the water. She caught just a glimpse of armored scales surfacing for a minute and then submerging itself again. She jumped back, grabbing Agler’s arm. “What was that?” It had been pretty big.
“There are alligators,” Lute said. “Best to keep your hands inside the boat.”
Alligators? Maddie didn’t like this at all. The boat continued to take them down through the swamp. Lute and Daryl rowed, moving them farther and farther away from the dock.
Soon that too was swallowed in darkness.
They rounded a bend and, in the distance, Maddie could see an old wooden shack. It had a ramshackle front porch that hung out over the water.
Lute pointed. “That’s it. That’s her house.”
“Who is this person?” Maddie asked.
“She’s Hecate,” Lute said. “She’s powerful.”
They edged closer.
The door to the shack opened, and an old woman made her way out onto the porch, which groaned under her weight.
Lute stopped rowing.
“What?” Daryl whispered.
“That’s not her,” Lute muttered. “I don’t know who that is.”
CHAPTER THREE
Agler pushed himself forward. “Let me handle this,” he said to Lute. He was the oldest here, after all. Why he’d been sitting back and letting everybody else take the lead, he didn’t know. Probably it had something to do with the fact that Maddie kept holding onto him like she was terrified.
Maddie could handle herself. It wasn’t as if he was going far anyway. He’d be right here. Just perhaps not completely attached to her.
Ahead of them, the old woman peered down at them. She had scraggly gray hair which hung in dingy strands around her face. She was missing most of her teeth. Her hands were gnarled, and she gripped an old cane. She spoke, her voice a croak. But the words that came out of her mouth were unintelligible.
Agler had forgotten about language. During cross-quarter days, since the Influence was weak, it was okay to use some muse magic in the mundane world to make it so that they could understand the humans’ speech. But using that magic now would certainly call down the Influence, wounding the muses.
The Influence was the opposite of the muses—it was conformity, the muses were creativity. It could damage them, even kill them.
Then she peered at them more closely. “Ah, but you are not typical humans come down the river to meet me, are you? No, you are all muses.” Her language had changed, and now they could understand her. “Why do you muses disturb the mighty Hecate in January of all times?”
Lute shot up in the boat. “You aren’t Hecate. I’ve been here before. What have you done with her?”
The old woman only laughed. “Were you here in the spring, when I was a maiden? At the harvest, when I was a mother? Now it is winter, and I am an old crone. It is the way with me. I am the triple Goddess. Maiden, mother, crone all in one.”
Agler furrowed his brow.
Lute looked similarly disbelieving.
But Sawyer spoke up. “I remember something like that in Avalon.”
“Oh, yes,” said Maddie. “It’s like the nine sisters. They were reborn in the moonlight each night, and then they withered all day long. They were young each night, but by the time of the afternoon the next day, they were old crones.”
“So you think it’s really her?” Agler said.
Maddie shrugged. “Maybe she ages each year instead of each day?”
“Of course I am who I say I am, boy,” Hecate said. “You dare to question me? I am ancient, older than you could possibly imagine.”
“Well, you could say anything you liked,” said Lute. “But you aren’t the woman who usually lives in this house.”
Hecate drew herself up. Her voice was cold and distant. It almost seemed to echo off the fetid water. “I am an ancient goddess. I come from a time before time. And I encompass more than you know. I am all the triune goddesses that ever were and ever will be. Hera, Brigid, Persephone, and Demeter—they all reside in me. Centuries and centuries ago, there were many different groups of people believing in many different goddesses, many of which had three aspects. But nowadays, nowadays, there are very few who truly believe in me.” She smiled faintly. “They call themselves witches. Since I am the only one who is still believed in, I have absorbed all of the triple goddesses’ power.”
By now, their little boat was right in front of Hecate. Lute and Daryl rowed to the bank and tied the boat to her porch.
“You’re a witch?” said Sawyer.
“I suppose I am at that,” said Hecate, with a laugh that could almost be called a cackle.
A witch. A real, honest to goodness witch. Agler looked her over. She looked about like what he had imagined a witch would look like. She was only missing a wart on the end of her nose. “We’re here for help. We were told that you had the ability to make a potion that could peel back magic.”
Lute whispered furiously. “What if she’s not—?”
“Let’s just hear what she has to say,” said Agler. “Can you do that?”
“Of course I can do it,” Hecate said.
They all climbed out of, trooping up a set of shaky steps to stand in front of Hecate.
Hecate smiled at them. “What do you bring to barter?”
“Barter?” said Agler.
“She usually wants an exchange of some kind. We would usually play for her. Play music. But… I didn’t bring instruments.” Lute jammed his hands into his pockets. “I guess I forgot.”
“You forgot?” Agler glowered at him.
“Hey.” Sawyer took a step toward Agler. “He didn’t mean to forget.”
“That wouldn’t work, anyway,” Daryl said. “It isn’t a cross-quarter day. On cross-quarter days, the Influence is muted. It won’t hurt muses if they’re creative in the mundane world. But on a day like today, if you do anything creative, the Influence would be here right away. It would zap you all.”
Agler supposed that Daryl was right.
Lute rubbed his forehead. “Oh. Oh, I hadn’t thought of that.”
Hecate smiled. She rubbed her hands together. “Oh, don’t worry, my dearies. We can come to a deal. When I ask you to create for me, it is only because I can siphon away the muse power from the creations. There is no reason for you to create. I can take the power from you easily. All I need to do is lay my hands on your skin. She reached out for them with her hands. They looked like claws.
In spite of himself, Agler felt bit uncomfortable. He stepped ba
ck, evading her touch.
“Muse power?” Maddie spoke up. “That’s what Nimue wanted from us.”
Sawyer turned to look at her sharply. “Wait. She doesn’t look like Hecate and she wants muse power. Maybe she’s not Hecate. Maybe she’s Nimue.”
“We saw Nimue die,” Maddie said.
“I thought I saw her die before,” Sawyer said.
“I am not Nimue,” Hecate said.
Agler narrowed his eyes at her. “That’s exactly the kind of thing that Nimue would say.”
“If I can deliver what you want, what do you care who I am?” Hecate said.
Agler mulled this over. Maybe she was right. Anyway, they were here to try to fight Owen, and Nimue wouldn’t be on Owen’s side, considering what he’d done to her. “Look. No matter who she is, she’s got no love for Owen at this point. Even if she were Nimue, she wouldn’t be on Owen’s side. And at this point, the enemy of my enemy is my friend or whatever.”
“I don’t know who this Owen is that you speak of,” said Hecate. “I assure you that I am no one’s enemy. I only seek a bit of power to keep myself vital. I was once a great and strong powerful goddess with many, many followers. Now I am just an old woman who lives in the swamp. I grow weak. As someday I am frightened that I will fade away, like all the other gods. But as long as I keep doing magic, as long as there is an exchange of power, it keeps me vital. If I can do a spell that will serve your purposes, then it will keep me alive for a little bit longer.”
“I don’t understand,” said Maddie. “If simply doing this spell will increase your vitality, what you need our muse magic for?”
“Well, I can’t create a spell out of thin air, now can I?” said Hecate.
“What do you mean?” Agler didn’t understand.
“She takes the muse magic and turns it into her magic,” Lute said.
“That is correct,” Hecate said. “I no longer have the magic within myself to create a spell. I need you to give me the magic, and then I will work it towards your purposes.”
Maddie looked worried. “I don’t know. I have a bad feeling…”
“Well, we came all this way,” Agler said. “We’re not going back empty-handed.” He waited for someone to disagree with them.
But his take-charge manner seem to have convinced the others. They all nodded.
Hecate smiled. “Very well then. Come inside.”
They crossed the threshold of her house and went inside.
It was only one room. The floor was made of wooden planks, and there were gaps between them, through which they could see the swamp. There were gaps in the walls as well. Moonlight streamed through. In the middle of the room, there was a cauldron. It was full of bubbling, glowing liquid. Steam rose from its depths.
When Hecate stood in front of the cauldron, an unearthly green light underlit her face. She gave them all a grim smile. “Ring the cauldron,” she said. “Clasp hands.”
They did as they were told. As a circle was complete and all of them were holding hands, Hecate closed her eyes in delight. She seemed to be sucking up the muses’ power through their touch.
Hecate stayed this way for quite some time, eyes closed, breathing deeply.
Agler felt a little alarmed. He hadn’t noticed that he was losing any strength or anything, but how long would it take before Hecate drained them all? Could Maddie and Sawyer be right? Could Hecate really be Nimue?
But right as he was about to say something, Hecate lifted her head, and her eyes snapped open. She began to intone something in a strange, guttural language. The incantation went on and on, and as it did so, the cauldron began to bubble.
Green steam rose from it, pouring into the air. The cauldron roared, frothing.
Hecate’s voice swelled and grew loud, deep, and imposing. It seemed to fill all of the area of the cabin and surround them like it was coming from all directions at once—front, back, and to the sides.
And then, abruptly, it was all over.
The cauldron stopped bubbling, Hecate stopped speaking, and she dropped their hands.
She was nothing more than an old, withered woman.
She toddled over to a shelf and took down a glass bottle, about the height of the wine bottle, but with a wider neck. Using a ladle, she scooped off the top layer of the cauldron and poured it into the bottle. She stoppered it, and then handed it off. “There you go. Anyone who is under a magic spell and drinks this potion will be right as rain.”
Agler took the potion. “Well, thanks,” he said. He, for one, was going to be glad to get away from this lady.
* * *
Maddie clutched a coffee cup, which had been liberally dosed with the potion, and stood outside of Nora’s tent. She was nervous. She hadn’t really come to see Nora and quite some time. The last time that they had spoken, Maddie was fairly sure that they had argued. It had been something about Owen. Maddie might have yelled at Nora that she was absolutely crazy or something like that. Anyway, there was a strong chance that Nora was still sort of angry with her. And if that was true, then Maddie wasn’t sure if she would be able to convince Nora to drink the potion or not.
But everyone had agreed that she was the person to bring it. Neither Agler nor Lute ever went by Nora’s tent. And Sawyer said that it would probably be better coming from Maddie than him, considering his complicated history with Nora.
So, here Maddie was. She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and then called into the tent. “Nora? You awake?”
There was the sound of hurried movement from inside the tent. Nora peered out almost immediately. She was grinning. “Maddie?”
“Hi.” Maddie thrust the coffee at Nora.
Nora took it. “I can’t believe you’re here.”
Maddie swallowed. “Well, you know, I miss you.”
“I miss you too.” Nora took a drink of coffee. “This is delicious. Thanks.”
Maddie waited. She realized that they hadn’t technically found out how long it would take before the potion would work.
But Nora went on as if nothing had happened. “It’s really awesome of you to bring me coffee. And you remember exactly how I like it. I appreciate it.”
“It’s not a problem,” Maddie said. “We used to bring each other coffee all the time.” Apparently nothing was going to happen yet. Maybe the potion took a long time to work. Or maybe Nora needed to drink the entire cup of spiked coffee before it would work. Now that she thought about it, they really hadn’t gotten nearly enough information from Hecate. They didn’t know how much of the potion they needed.
“Yeah, we did, but that was before.” Nora sighed. “Look, I know this stuff with Owen really hit you guys out of left field. But if you could find a way to trust me. I know how it looks, but it really isn’t what you think.”
Maddie didn’t know what to say. “It isn’t that we don’t trust you, Nora. It’s that… Owen has done a lot of bad things to a lot of people. Including you. And you want us to forgive and forget?” Maddie shook her head. “We can’t do that.” Maddie really didn’t want to get into this conversation right now. She’d had it with Nora before, and it hadn’t gone well. She just wanted to give her the potion and cure her.
But Nora didn’t seem cured. She took another drink of her coffee. “Not forget. I’m not saying forget. But put it aside for a bit. That’s all.”
Maddie sighed. “I don’t want to talk about this.”
Nora sighed too.
It was quiet.
“Hey,” said Nora, “where were you guys last night?”
“What do you mean?” Maddie asked.
“I looked for you everywhere at the ball,” Nora said. “I wanted to see your dress. I wanted to see Sawyer’s dress. I wanted to see everybody. But none of you are there.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Maddie said. “We were there. In fact, I saw your dress. You look really nice in black. You and Owen matched.”
Nora narrowed her eyes. “You weren’t there. Don’t pretend that
you were.”
Maddie felt uncomfortable. “We didn’t stay very long. None of us were really in the mood to celebrate.” She would have left the tent, but she wanted to make sure that Nora drank all of the coffee.
Nora took another sip of her coffee. “Because of me? You weren’t in a celebratory mood because of me?”
Maddie threaded her fingers together and stared at them. “We were worried about you. You don’t seem like yourself these days.”
Nora started to say something, but then she broke off. She held up a hand, and then she nodded slowly. “Of course you are. Of course you are. Why wouldn’t you be?” Her voice was quiet, as if she was speaking more to herself than to Maddie.
“If you spent a little bit of time away from Owen? Maybe if you took a break from him, maybe you might… see things differently.”
Nora drained the rest of the coffee in one gulp. She shook her head, looking sad and tired. “No. I can’t do that. I have to say with Owen.”
“That’s the thing, you don’t. You don’t have to be with him all the time. Even if he weren’t, you know, Owen Asher, the big bad evil, it wouldn’t be healthy for you to be spending so much time with any guy.”
Nora handed back the coffee mug. It was as if she had realized something, confined herself to a new truth. “I know you can’t understand this. But I have to be with him. All the time.” Her shoulders slumped. “And I miss you guys. Really I do. But maybe it’s just better if we don’t see each other for a while.”
“Wait,” Maddie said. “You don’t feel any different?”
Nora turned and walked into her tent. “Why would I feel different?” she threw over her shoulder.
CHAPTER FOUR
Sawyer shut his eyes and leaned back against Lute. “Gods, that feels good.”
Lute was massaging his shoulders. “You’re tense. Just close your eyes and relax.”
Sawyer tried to relax. He didn’t feel like he could. He felt like he been on edge since last November at the Harvest Ball. That was months and months of tension. Right now, it was nearly Valentine’s Day.
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