by Neely Powell
She laughed and walked away to get his tea, her hips swaying.
Jake took the iced tea from his friend and enjoyed the bemused expression on Rodric’s face. “I warned you about her,” he reminded the Scot before taking a long drink.
Dr. Burns smiled at the interplay, but he brought the conversation back to where they had been heading. “I’ve heard a good deal about you from colleagues. I just read your study about weather conditions and how they relate to paranormal activity.”
“Jake told me about the unusual storm that ushered in these events here in New Mourne.”
Brenna’s father frowned. “And now we’ve got this heat. Today we broke all temperature records, and it hasn’t rained since Delia and I arrived.”
“A storm’s brewing now, I think,” Jake said. “Clouds gathering over Rabun Bald.”
“Strange, given that our storms usually boil up from the west and the Bald is east.” Dr. Burns glanced toward the window. The outdoors was now a murky green. He moved off to speak to his wife while Jake finished introductions. Brenna wasn’t with the others, and Jake looked around in concern and went into the kitchen.
Getting worried, he was about to search on the back porch when she came down the back stairs and into the kitchen.
He resisted the impulse to kiss her. “How are you doing?”
Her expression was serious. “There’s a storm on the way.”
He didn’t pretend not to understand what she meant. This storm wasn’t about rain, thunder and lightning. “Is it good or bad that you’re all together?”
“I’m not sure.”
Before they could continue, Sarah’s voice rang out from the dining room, calling the group to gather. Jake and Brenna slipped in, and she took her place at the coven’s table. The others in attendance crowded into the room as well.
Sarah looked pale and tired, as could be expected after the shock of last evening. She stood tall and proud at the head of the table, however, and lifted a glass of iced tea to her oldest sister. “I’m delighted to say that Doris is, according to her doctor, doing quite well. With help from Eva Grace, she’s healing quickly and feeling better every day. She’ll be staying here with Marcus and me until she has recovered. Welcome home, Doris.”
A chorus of well wishes filled the room as drinks were lifted in salute.
Doris beamed while holding her daughter Diane’s hand. The entire coven clasped hands around the table. Jake felt the buzz of power that sprang to life in the room. Candles on the tables and mantle lit on their own. A shimmer of light, almost like glitter, drifted down from the ceiling and disappeared. The children giggled in delight.
Sarah glowed, smiling at the circle around her. “We’re so grateful that we’re all together, my sister witches and our families. We are whole.” Her glance lingered on Brenna. “Despite the efforts of evil to burn us out, we are one.”
Brenna nodded at her grandmother and Jake was surprised at the real harmony he felt from them both. Out of the tragedy of last night a truce had been called between the two.
Either that or Brenna had just given up.
The idea disturbed Jake as Sarah recognized him and Rodric. “We welcome our guests, as well. Now let’s all eat, enjoy the bounty of the summer, and celebrate the good life we Connellys have made in New Mourne. May it continue forever.”
In moments, the circle was broken and everyone was moving around the room, filling plates, talking and laughing. Jake watched Brenna go into the hallway, toward the front door.
He followed her. “Aren’t you hungry?”
She shook her head, looking sad.
Suspicious, he studied her. “What are you planning?”
“A good question,” a voice said from behind.
Jake turned as Delia joined them.
Brenna glared at her mother. “I’m not going to spoil the party.”
“The party is the least of my concerns,” Delia replied. “You’re up to something. I can always tell.”
“Always?” Brenna laughed. “You don’t know me well enough to know what I’m thinking or feeling or what I might do.”
“You’re enough like my sister and me to be easy to read.” Delia’s expression was grave. “Don’t tempt evil, Brenna. Don’t taunt it. It won’t work.”
Brenna looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”
Aiden came up beside Delia and put his arm around her shoulders. “Just listen to your mother’s advice.”
“What exactly is that advice?”
Delia took a deep breath before she spoke. “I’ve been remembering some details about the day Celia died. The truth is we went to call out the Woman in White. We each had a baby girl. We couldn’t imagine losing you or Eva Grace, or dying before we could raise you. Like you, we wanted the curse to end. We were young and foolish and strong witches. We thought being twins made us invincible. We thought we could fight her.”
She shook her head, her eyes filling with tears. “We fought, but at the last minute, Celia gave herself up. I think that’s what she intended all along.” Delia rubbed her forehead. “It’s all been coming back to me, but I’m still not sure…”
Brenna looked stricken. “So first the Woman wanted a fight?”
The sudden flare in her eyes troubled Jake. “Your mother just said she’s not clear on the details, Brenna. The Remember-Not spell could have clouded her thoughts.”
“I think that spell is wearing off,” Delia murmured.
Sarah appeared in the hallway. “What’s going on out here?”
Jake expected Brenna to lash out at her grandmother in anger. She surprised him by simply shaking her head. “We’re just talking.” She turned, heading for the front door. “I think I’m going to get a little fresh air before I eat.”
Jake followed her, wary of her calmness. From the look on Delia’s face, she was equally worried.
Brenna opened the door to reveal Fred Williams on the front porch. His tailored suit was wrinkled and his tie askew. His normally smooth smile was absent, as well.
Jake stepped in front of Brenna. If this was about what happened this morning at Fred’s house, Jake didn’t want any unpleasantness spilling into the family gathering. “Surprised to see you here, Fred,” he said as he held the door open.
The minister looked past Jake. “Sarah, do you mind if I come in for a moment and talk with you?”
“Of course not. Please come in.” The coven leader moved forward to welcome the head of the largest Christian organization in the county. She led Fred to the dining room where the crowd of Connellys fell silent at the sight of him.
“Can I get you something?” Sarah asked the minister. “Sweet tea?”
“With lemon, if you’ve got it,” Fred said and sat down in the chair Marcus vacated.
Jake introduced Fred to Rodric and studied the minister. The man was twitchy. Whatever Fred wanted to talk about was making him nervous. Marcus handed Fred a glass of tea. Fred gulped some down and then looked around at the group.
“I’m glad I found you together like this. I’ve known for many years that it’s the Connelly family that keeps New Mourne safe and makes it a haven for anyone. My father explained all of that to me. He didn’t agree with all of your practices, and neither do I, but…”
Fred turned to Brenna. “I’m sorry I couldn’t say more this morning, but Ginny is not as open-minded.”
Jake noticed as Fred sipped his tea again that his hand shook a little. Was he frightened by what he was saying or just frightened about being with the coven?
“We operate on different realms with our religious beliefs,” Fred continued, setting his glass aside. “But I have wrestled with what to do about these problems a great deal lately. I’ve prayed and prayed for a solution or a way I might help.”
He stood, hands out, palms up. “I believe something is about to happen, and I’ve got the prayer warriors in my congregation praying for all of you. I don’t want anyone to die. Not any of you.” His gaze locked with Delia’s.
“We go back to school days, you and I. Your sister was always kind to me.”
Delia’s smile was tremulous. “She was good to everyone.”
“And was taken because of that, I think, because evil doesn’t want goodness to live in this world.” Expression hardening, Fred’s gaze skipped to Eva Grace. Abruptly, he turned back to Sarah. “That’s it, really. I just wanted you to know that I’m not against you. I can’t be with you, but I do want this terrible time to be over for your family, for the tragedies of the past not to be repeated. “
Sarah rose and went to him, taking both his hands in hers. “Thank you, Fred, for your encouragement and your kind thoughts. It was good of you to come by and speak to us personally.”
“There is one thing,” he said and hesitated. “A scripture keeps going through my mind. I feel a strong need to share it.”
“Of course,” Sarah said.
“It comes from the book of Esther, the story of a brave young queen who saved her people by telling her husband, the Persian king, that there was a plot to kill the Jews. Many scholars believe the Book of Esther shouldn’t even be in the bible, but for Jewish people, she played a significant role with her willingness to put herself in harm’s way to save them all.”
He looked at the women around the room and smiled. “I think she might have felt right at home in this gathering of strong women. The verse that keeps coming to me is from chapter eight, verse six: ‘For how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people? Or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?’”
The room was quiet as the words sank in. Jake glanced at Brenna. Her expression was thoughtful.
Fred walked to the door and turned for a last goodbye. “I wish I could stop whatever is about to happen. I believe my prayers and those of the faithful in my church will help, but I think only the Connellys have the power to stop this. I truly hope you can.”
Thunder rumbled over the house and Jake’s radio squawked, the first call he’d had in days.
Gladys’s voice tumbled out, calm and steady, but with a thread of urgency. “Robbery at the County Line Market. All units. Report to County Line Market. Suspect is armed.”
Brian pulled out his cell phone and moved toward the door.
Jake glanced at Brenna. “Looks like the crime draught has broken. Let’s hope it’s just a regular, run-of-the-mill incident.”
“No such luck.” Brian looked troubled. “I just spoke to Dispatch to get the details. Several people on cell phones are calling from the market and the suspect is being identified as Commissioner Harry Chambers. They say he has a gun on the owner and a couple of other people. The story is that he’s drunk and pulled the gun when they wouldn’t sell him beer.”
Fred muttered. “That must be a mistake. Harry doesn’t even drink.”
“Multiple accounts say he does tonight,” Brian stated. “Jake, we’d better get up there.”
Jake didn’t want to leave Brenna. “Are you going to be okay here?”
“Of course.”
“But—”
“Go do your job,” she murmured. “Take care of yourself, shifter.”
He wanted with all of his heart to stay here, to be sure that what he suspected wasn’t true. He wanted Brenna to follow her mother’s advice.
“Jake,” Brian said again, “are you coming?”
He gave Brenna one last warning look before he left.
Chapter Thirty-One
Watching Jake leave, Brenna felt her heart breaking. She didn’t want to believe this could be last time she saw him or her family, but wasn’t her path clear? The message in the verse Fred had shared spoke directly to her need to be the sacrifice for her family. Who’d ever think a sign for a witch could come from a fundamentalist preacher and the Bible?
As Jake’s cruiser turned out of the driveway and the pleasant noise of family drifted through the evening air, Brenna recalled that verse. “For how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people? Or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?”
According to Fred, Esther willingly put herself in danger to protect those she loved.
Willow’s words drifted through her mind. “The help you will need will be found in an unlikely place.”
There was no more unlikely place for a witch to seek help than the Holy Bible. Brenna knew there was hope for the future, but only if she was able to change the present.
She went to her car for her cloak, and then around the house and into the woods. A hot wind was rising. Although thunder boomed and lightning danced off the hills and mountains, no rain fell. The heat was almost as intense as during the day. Like air from a blacksmith’s bellows, Brenna thought.
The Summer Solstice moon peaked in and out of the clouds that streamed in the darkened sky. Clouds heading west, she noted, opposite the normal flow. Her father and Dr. McGuire had commented on the strangeness of this weather.
But this was no real storm. And it was waiting for Brenna.
She plunged forward, thinking about the coven. She believed her Aunt Celia had brought Fiona a message and there was a traitor in their midst. The traitor had planted the evil flower, caused Aunt Doris’s injury, and allowed the demon in last night to belch fire from the ground. Brenna didn’t blame the traitor for her actions. The demon or the Woman in White or perhaps both entities were influencing the choices being made.
The thought of choices made her think of Jake again. Her choice was going to hurt him, and that filled her with regret, but she was certain the incident he was going to at the market was just the beginning. The demon was loose in the county again, wreaking havoc.
“This needs to be finished,” she said into the wind. Brenna was going to call the Woman in White again. She was ready to give herself as she had been last night.
She chanted under her breath, gathering her magic around her and building its strength until she reached the clearing at the top of falls.
The familiar circle felt warm and inviting as Brenna stepped inside. She waved her hands across the rim of candles. They lit and the flames stood strong in spite of the wind.
She lifted her hands and began her spell.
“I light these candles in the presence of the gods and goddesses. In the name of the four mighty elements, please gather within this circle and let the power descend to this place. Gather now and hear my plea. As I will, so mote it be.”
The magic swirled around her in a twist of light and sound. Brenna glowed with its light and warmth. Last night, her offer of sacrifice had been dulled by defiance. Her mother warned her tonight not to taunt the Woman. Maybe Delia’s words provided the last piece of advice Brenna needed from an unexpected source. Tonight she faced the Woman feeling like an equal.
She forced herself to remain calm, to speak with confidence. “I summon the Woman in White. Standing here in power and light, I offer myself as a sacrifice.”
The wind settled. A fine mist fell, cold against Brenna skin, seeping through her cloak. She waited and took deep breaths so her power remained steady and flowing. Something was coming. She could sense motion beyond the circle.
To her surprise, her cousin Maggie stepped out of the trees. It was Maggie, but different. Her hair was alive with electricity, moving like Medusa’s. Her face was white, stark against the darkness around them. Her movements were jerky and robotic, as if she didn’t have control over her own limbs.
As she came closer to the light, Brenna saw a black mass swoop in and out of Maggie’s body, moving from her head to her toes and back again. A sick feeling started in Brenna’s stomach.
“Maggie, what are you doing here?”
It wasn’t Maggie’s voice that roared at her through the mist. The voice was deep and hollow, echoing through the clearing like the rumble of doom. “I’ve made my own way, and because I’ve been strong enough to do this, my husband, my baby and I are safe from the Woman in White.”
Brenna began to tremble, fear momentarily overwhelming her. “Mag
gie, what have you done?”
“I let the demon inside me.” Maggie’s laughter was maniacal. “He knocked on my door. You said demons don’t knock on doors, but he did. He promised me I would be safe. He said as long as he could use me, the Woman in White couldn’t touch me. He wants New Mourne. To take it, he knows he needs you. He couldn’t get to you on his own. Even last night, when you tried to offer yourself, we couldn’t reach you with that old fae in the way. But tonight he has me, and we’re all alone.”
Brenna’s heart pounded as answers fell into place. “You put the plant that attacked me in Aunt Frances’s garden?”
Maggie’s head moved up and down like a puppet’s.
“And you hurt Aunt Doris?”
The thing that was inside Maggie laughed again.
“Did you kill Sandy?”
Tears replaced the laughter. Brenna could see her cousin’s true features through the demon’s twisting veil. “He came out of me in front of her,” she cried in her real voice. “Sandy was so frightened. She fell to floor. I don’t know what happened after that.”
Other parts of the puzzle clicked into place in Brenna’s mind. She thought she saw Lauren in town when the demonic troubles began and again before the plant attacked her, but it must have been Maggie. Then there was Maggie’s odd appearance the night at the shop. From the beginning, Maggie had an overpowering fear about being taken from her husband and child. That made her weak and susceptible to the demon’s offer.
“But why does he do this?” Brenna cried. “We saw the Woman in White kill Garth. We know she’s waiting for one of us. Why does the demon torture the town, too?”
The answer was an unholy roar that shook the ground. “She thinks she won,” the demon shrieked, the words crawling along Brenna’s skin. “She thinks she has all the power, but I can show her. I can be her.”
The blackness in Maggie morphed into the Woman in White. This time, Brenna wasn’t fooled. She knew this was the demon, trying to trick her into believing he was the entity she had been seeking.
Brenna fell back, terrified but wanting to appear strong. Maggie dropped to the ground and began to crawl toward the path. “I’ll get help,” she sobbed to Brenna. “I promise I’ll get help.”