by Jay Barnson
He waved his hand dismissively, and joined her at the side of her car. “No need to apologize, Evie. I forgive you.”
“I just need a few more days. The Morgan girl is strong, but not well trained. I’ll find a weakness, break through, and get your daughter back. I promise.”
“That won’t be necessary. I’m pulling you off this assignment.”
“What? No!” She pushed herself away from the car door and waved toward the mountains. “I can finish this!”
“Given enough time, I know you could, Evie. But I’m giving Cheryl a chance. She could rival Amelia in strength, and she can sort this out.”
“Cheryl? Come on, Thadeus! That woman may have power, but she’s got no brains!”
“True. However, we may have more need of brute force now. Besides, everyone knows you are my favorite, Evie.”
“Am I?” Her voice cracked a little as she looked directly at him. She brushed her hair from her eyes. “Still?”
“Of course you are. That’s the problem. I love you the most. The rest of the coven knows that.”
“Is that why you give me these crappy—” Evelyn’s head flicked to one side, hard, before she finished the question. The snapping sound was audible even from Jessabelle’s hiding place. Evelyn dropped to the ground like a marionette that had its wires cut.
Thadeus dropped to his knees next to Evelyn and embraced her. His shoulders shook. “I’m so sorry, child,” he said through choked sobs. “Forgive me. But I can’t have exceptions. Especially for my favorite. Discipline must be maintained.” He knelt there for several moments, and then looked up into the night sky, moonlight reflecting off his tears. Finally, he stood, and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his eyes.
“I’m sorry,” he repeated as he regained his composure. “I love you, Evie. You and Amelia both. But I have to think about the rest of the coven. They have to know the price of betrayal and of failure. Goodbye, child.”
He returned his handkerchief into his pocket. He took one more look at Evelyn’s broken body, sighed, and returned to his car. The Escalade pulled away, navigating backwards out to the darkened road beyond the trees.
Jessabelle-the-girl wanted to scream, but had no voice. Jessabelle-the-cat moved with languid grace nearer to the tree trunk, and with careful deliberation jumped to the ground. After a split-second hesitation to make certain she was unobserved, she leaped off into the night.
This book wouldn’t have been possible without the support of my wife, Julie, and my daughters. They do more than just put up with me spending evenings in the basement in front of the computer. They’ve encouraged this project since it was just a vague idea, and have helped me push it to its conclusion (and beyond…) Julie, besides being the best companion a guy could ask for, you also share with me your love of oral storytelling traditions and old folk tales, which provided the seed of this story many years ago. So to Julie and the girls: Thank you, and I love you.
I have been blessed with long-time friends who have gone on to do great things with their own writing careers, and who have provided me with tons of advice and encouragement. Melissa, thank you for your invaluable advice acquired through a stellar journey of your own. John, thanks for having my back and helping me stay focused. And to my editor, Jana, thanks for constantly seeing what I could not and guiding me around the rocks.
Thank you, mom, for reminding me of my heritage and the world I came from. Aunt Ellen – rest in peace, and thank you for one last, long conversation where you shared history for me as I did research for this project. And thank you, Jim Murphy, for telling me my very first fantasy stories, old folk tales of Jack and giants and witches.
Finally, thanks to Jason, Holli, and the Immortal Works team for believing in me, and in this project. You guys rock.
Jay Barnson writes speculative fiction across multiple genres. His stories and non-fiction articles have appeared in several anthologies and magazines, including The Escapist and the Hugo-nominated Cirsova Heroic Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine. He is the winner of the 2016 DragonComet writing award.
Born in West Virginia, Jay grew up on a steady diet of science fiction and fantasy, much of it from the pulp era. He’s made a career of building virtual worlds, from developing video games for popular game consoles, to more “serious” (but equally fun) training simulators in virtual reality. Between that and his writing, one could argue the real world is only his part-time residence. When he does live here, he maintains a home in Utah with his wife and family, including an overactive dog.