The Five Paths

by Isobel Bird

  “Cooper?” Mrs. Morgan said. “In the paper?”

  Mr. Morgan nodded. “She wants to wear this witch symbol to school,” he said. “They’re telling her she can’t.”

  “Good,” said Mrs. Morgan. “We don’t need that kind of stuff in school. Kids are mixed up enough. Did you know about this, Kate?”

  “Yeah,” Kate said vaguely.

  “I told you she and Annie were into something weird,” Mrs. Morgan continued. “Witchcraft. Honestly, where are their parents?”

  Kate poked at her food, not saying anything. Suddenly, telling her parents about going to the study group looked like it was definitely out of the picture.

  “You know, Teresa, I’ve been talking to Sophia quite a bit,” Aunt Netty said. “I’ve also been doing a lot of reading. This witchcraft stuff isn’t as strange as you think it is.”

  Mrs. Morgan laughed sharply. “Come on, Netty. I know you’ve always been into some stuff that was a little out there, but you can’t take this seriously. This is just some kid wanting attention.”

  “How do you know?” Netty countered. “Have you ever read about it? Have you ever tried it?”

  “Of course not,” Mrs. Morgan said.

  “Kate, have these girls tried to get you to do anything?” Mr. Morgan asked suddenly.

  “What do you mean, Dad?” Kate said in reply.

  “You know, have they tried to get you to do any of this witch stuff?”

  Kate swallowed the food in her mouth, barely able to get it down. Once again she was facing a moment of decision. Was she going to tell the truth, or was she going to hide behind half-truths and outright lies? She’d done that so many times before that she knew it would be easy. All she had to do was tell her father that Annie and Cooper were the ones involved in Wicca and that she didn’t have any knowledge of it. He would believe her, dinner would go on as it was, and pretty soon they would all be enjoying peach cobbler and talking about something else. All she had to do was say no.

  She looked over at her aunt. Just like her parents, Netty was waiting for Kate to answer, too. But what answer did she expect? Had Sophia mentioned to her that Kate was part of the study group? Kate doubted it. Sophia was very insistent upon keeping the identity of the group members private. But Netty was smart, and Kate wouldn’t be at all surprised if she had put two and two together and figured out that Kate’s friends weren’t the only ones with an interest in the Craft.

  “No,” she said, looking at her father. “They’ve never asked me to do anything having to do with witchcraft.”

  Her father nodded, clearly accepting her answer.

  Kate took a deep breath. “I’m the one who asked them to do it.”

  CHAPTER 12

  “She’s not here,” Annie said to Cooper.

  They’d been standing around the front of Crones’ Circle for half an hour, hoping that Kate would appear. She hadn’t been in school either, and although they’d tried to call her several times all they’d gotten was the answering machine.

  “What do you think happened?” asked Annie worriedly.

  Cooper shook her head. “I have no idea,” she said. “It’s not like Kate to just disappear. Maybe she’s sick.”

  “She seemed fine yesterday,” said Annie. “In fact, she seemed to be in a really good mood. Jessica told me today that Kate told her and Tara about being part of the class yesterday.”

  “She did?” Cooper replied, surprised. “Why didn’t she tell us?”

  “That’s what I’m wondering,” said Annie. “I think something is up.”

  “Well, whatever it is, it will have to wait,” said Cooper, looking at her watch. “Class is about to start.”

  They were heading for the back room when the door to the store opened and someone rushed in. Thinking it was Kate, Cooper and Annie turned. But it wasn’t her. It was Netty. When Annie and Cooper saw her they looked at one another in concern. Although Netty knew that they were friends with the owners of the store, she didn’t know they were taking a class there.

  “Hi,” Annie said cautiously as Netty approached them.

  “I was hoping you’d be here,” said Netty seriously. “We need to talk.”

  “Why?” Cooper asked. “Did something happen to Kate? Is she okay?”

  “She’s fine,” Netty answered. “Well, she will be. Right now she’s really upset.”

  “About the articles?” said Annie.

  Netty shook her head. “No. She told Joe and Teresa about being part of your group.”

  Cooper’s mouth dropped open. “She did not,” she said in disbelief.

  “She did,” Netty replied. “Last night during dinner. They didn’t take it well.”

  “Is that why she wasn’t in school today?” Annie asked her.

  “They took her to talk to Father Mahoney over at St. Mary’s this morning,” Netty explained.

  “Oh, man,” said Cooper. “They tried to deprogram her?”

  “Something like that,” replied Netty. “They’re really confused and upset. They just don’t understand this.”

  “What exactly did she tell them?” Annie asked.

  Netty sighed. “She told them that she had asked the two of you to study witchcraft with her,” she said. “Is that true?”

  Cooper and Annie looked at one another and shrugged.

  “Yes and no,” said Annie. “It’s more complicated than that.”

  “Well, she told them it was basically her idea,” said Netty. “And she told them about the class and about how she knew who Sophia and the other people were who came and did the ritual for me.”

  Cooper groaned. “Did she tell them about Tyler?” she asked.

  Netty looked confused. “What about Tyler?”

  “He’s a witch, too,” Annie informed her.

  Netty smiled. “No,” she said. “She didn’t bring that up. I think at that point Joe was yelling so much she figured it was best to leave things alone.”

  “What are they going to do?” asked Cooper.

  “I don’t honestly know,” answered Netty. “They spent most of the night yelling at her. Joe keeps ranting about making her go to St. Basil’s instead of Beecher Falls High.”

  Cooper couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s where Tyler goes,” she said. “She’d probably love it.”

  “I just came to tell you that you might not see her for a couple of days,” Netty said. “They think I’m out refilling one of my prescriptions, so I should get back. But Kate wanted me to come tell you what happened.”

  “Can we call her?” Annie asked.

  “I wouldn’t,” Netty answered gently. “You’re not exactly on the Morgans’ list of favorite people right now.”

  Annie nodded. “I figured as much,” she said. “Would you tell Kate we love her and we’re thinking of her?”

  Netty smiled. “I’m sure she knows that,” she said. “But I’ll tell her. And you two say hello to Sophia for me. Tell her I’ve really enjoyed our talks and I’ll call her again soon. Oh, and girls?”

  “Yes?” Cooper and Annie said.

  “Blessed be,” said Netty.

  She turned and hurried out of the store, leaving Annie and Cooper to think about what she’d just told them.

  “Poor Kate,” Annie said. “She finally tells her parents and this is what happens.”

  “It must be her worst nightmare,” added Cooper. “I feel sort of responsible.”

  “I know,” Annie said. “So do I. First Brian and now Kate’s parents. Do you think we made a mistake?”

  Cooper looked at her for a moment. “No,” she said. “I keep telling myself that maybe we did, but I know it’s not true.”

  Annie smiled slightly. “I’ve been thinking the same thing,” she said. “But it still sucks.”

  “That it does,” replied Cooper. �
��Let’s go tell Sophia what happened.”

  They went into the back and found Sophia. She was talking to Archer, Robin, Julia, and several other people when they approached her. When they explained what had happened to Kate she sighed.

  “I’m so sorry to hear that,” she said.

  “What are we going to do?” Cooper asked.

  Sophia shook her head. “Nothing,” she said.

  “Nothing?” Cooper repeated. “What do you mean?”

  “I can’t force Kate’s parents to let her study Wicca,” Sophia told her. “If they tell her she can’t come, she can’t come. We don’t allow minors to take the class if their parents disapprove, no matter how wrong we may think that opinion is.”

  “But she has to come to class!” said Cooper. “She loves it.”

  “I know she does,” said Sophia gently. “But we can’t have her here against the wishes of her parents.”

  “But can’t you at least talk to them?” asked Annie. “You and Netty seem to be friends now. Can’t you get her to talk to them?”

  Sophia smiled. “I’ll see what I can do,” she said. “But right now we have a Mabon ritual to do. We’ll talk more later.”

  Since Mabon was one of the minor sabbats, Sophia had decided to make the Mabon ritual open, meaning that people who weren’t actually in the class were allowed to attend. She did this from time to time so that class members could invite interested friends who wanted to see what Wicca was all about. As a result there were several people present whom Cooper and Annie didn’t recognize. But they weren’t thinking a lot about the ritual anyway. Both of them were concerned about Kate and what was going to happen to her.

  They stood with the others and listened as the circle was cast. They listened as Sophia explained how Mabon marked the beginning of fall. They watched as two class members, one dressed in a white robe and one in a black robe, carried candles around the circle while singing a song about the light and the dark before meeting in the middle and using their candles to light one single one. Then they joined with the others in doing a spiral dance accompanied by drumming and singing.

  When the ritual was over they helped clean up, then joined the others for some refreshments. But neither of them felt much like socializing, and when Cooper said to Annie, “Let’s get out of here,” she agreed and the two of them slipped out the door.

  “Where are we going?” Annie asked as she followed Cooper down the street.

  “To Kate’s house,” answered Cooper.

  “We can’t!” Annie protested. “Her parents will kill us. And her.”

  “Her parents aren’t going to know,” Cooper replied. “Just follow me.”

  They got on the bus and rode it to their stop. Getting off, they walked toward the Morgans’ house.

  “Kate’s room is at the back of the house,” Cooper told Annie as they walked. “There’s a big tree outside her window. We can climb up.”

  “I don’t know,” said Annie doubtfully. “What if someone sees us? What if we fall? What if they’ve locked Kate away in the basement so we can’t corrupt her?”

  “You are getting way too dramatic,” Cooper told her. “Stop worrying. You’ve climbed a tree before, right?”

  “When I was like eight or something,” said Annie.

  “Then you’ll be fine,” Cooper said.

  They reached Kate’s house and snuck around the side to the back, avoiding the side they knew the living room was on so Kate’s parents couldn’t look out and see them. When they were in the backyard they stopped beneath the tree and looked up at Kate’s window.

  “The light is on,” said Cooper. “Now all we have to do is get up there.”

  Annie looked up at the tree. “It’s pretty high,” she said doubtfully.

  “Just follow me,” Cooper answered. She walked to the tree and grabbed the lowest branch, pulling herself up so that she was sitting on it.

  “Come on,” she said, leaning down and offering Annie her hand. “It’s easy.”

  Annie grabbed Cooper’s outstretched fingers. Putting her feet against the trunk of the tree, she scrambled up beside her friend.

  “Not bad, right?” asked Cooper.

  “Yeah, but we’re only on the first branch,” Annie replied.

  Cooper stood up and reached for the next branch. The branches of the tree were fairly close together, and it was almost like climbing a ladder. As she climbed Annie followed, trying to do exactly what Cooper was doing. A few minutes later the two of them were sitting on a large branch that extended to Kate’s window.

  “Now what?” Annie whispered, holding on to the tree for dear life.

  “Hang on a second,” Cooper said. “I’d only gotten as far as the climbing-the-tree part.”

  “Now you tell me,” said Annie, trying not to look down. She was glad it was dark so she couldn’t actually see the ground, which seemed to be thousands of feet below them.

  “Kate,” Cooper whispered, her voice barely audible.

  She paused. There was no answer. “Kate,” she called again, a little more loudly.

  “She’s not going to hear you,” Annie said knowingly. “Her window isn’t open.”

  “Do you have a better idea?” Cooper asked testily.

  “Why don’t you crawl over there and knock?” suggested Annie.

  Cooper looked at the window. “What if someone is in there?” she asked.

  “Oh, like the whispering thing was so secretive?” Annie countered.

  “Good point,” said Cooper. She turned and started inching her way along the branch. She went slowly, and Annie kept waiting to hear the branch crack under her weight, but finally she reached the window and knocked gently.

  A moment later Kate’s face appeared. “What are you guys doing?” she asked.

  “Just dropping in,” Cooper said.

  “Get in here,” Kate ordered.

  Cooper climbed in the window and motioned for Annie to follow. Still hanging on in fear, she pulled herself along the branch until she felt Cooper and Kate grab her arms and drag her over the windowsill.

  “I can’t believe you guys did that,” Kate said, shutting the window. “If you’d fallen you would have ended up right in the herb garden.”

  “We thought it would be better than ringing the front doorbell,” Cooper told her. “How are you?”

  “Not so good,” Kate answered. “It’s been a rough day. How did you guys know anyway?”

  “Netty came to the store and told us,” said Annie. “She said your parents went postal.”

  “That’s an understatement,” Kate said, sitting down on her bed. “I feel like I’m under house arrest. No phone. No visitors. Nothing.”

  “Until when?” asked Cooper.

  “Until I agree not to see the two of you, or try to go to class, or ever read, see, listen to, or think about anything having to do with witchcraft,” Kate said. “I think that just about covers it. Oh, and there’s talk of therapy.”

  Cooper sat down next to Kate. “That is rough,” she said.

  “I’m really sorry,” Annie told her. “I feel like we dragged you into this.”

  Kate shook her head. “It was my decision,” she said. “I needed to do it eventually, and I don’t think the reaction would have been any different if I’d waited. I’m just glad Aunt Netty is here. She can at least calm them down a little.”

  “What about school?” asked Cooper. “They can’t just keep you up here forever.”

  “I’ll be back tomorrow,” Kate said. “Probably with an armed escort, if my dad has his way, but I’ll be back. What did I miss in class tonight?”

  “The Mabon ritual,” Cooper told her. “It was no big deal. There were a lot of guests. We kind of snuck out right after so we could come here.”

  Kate sighed. “At least now I guess I can be on the bas
ketball team,” she said. “I won’t have class to go to.”

  “You’re really going to quit?” Annie asked.

  “I don’t really have a choice,” Kate answered. “I can’t sneak out every Tuesday. They’ll know where I’m going.”

  “Does this mean you’re giving up on Wicca altogether?” said Cooper.

  “No,” Kate said. “I’m not giving up on it. That’s something I realized today while everyone was yelling at me. I may have to practice in secret, and wait until I’m out of the house before I do anything in the open, but I’m still going to do it. I haven’t come this far to give up now.”

  “This really sucks,” Annie said glumly. “I can’t imagine class without you.”

  “Will they at least let you hang around with us?” Cooper inquired.

  “Not any time soon,” Kate said. “I told them that I was the one who started all of this, but I don’t think they believed me. My father kept asking me why I was covering for you guys. I felt like an international terrorist or something. But they can’t keep me from seeing you at school. It’s just the other stuff.”

  “What about Tyler?” Cooper asked. “Have you talked to him?”

  “I haven’t had a chance,” said Kate. “My phone usage is strictly monitored. I’d appreciate it if one of you could call and let him know what happened.”

  “Sure,” Annie said. “I can do that.”

  Kate smiled sadly. “It’s kind of ironic that he and I sort of broke up because I wouldn’t tell my parents about being into Wicca and now that I have told them they won’t let me see him anyway.” Kate sighed. “How were things at school today, anyway?”

  “Okay,” answered Cooper. “A lot of people have signed my petition, and a lot have told me how cool they think I am for doing this.”

  “Same here,” said Annie.

  “But Sherrie’s been doing quite a hatchet job on us—and on Wicca—and she’s got a lot of people scared,” Cooper said.

  “There were also some letters to the editor in today’s Tribune,” said Annie.

  “Some people apparently think I’m trying to completely destroy the moral fabric of public education,” explained Cooper.

  “I guess things really haven’t changed all that much since the Middle Ages,” Kate said. “You say ‘witchcraft’ and everybody starts to panic.”