Flames in the Midst (The Jade Hale Series) (33 page)

Compared to the commotion of the house, the forest stood still.  Stefanie sat bewildered in between two towering trees.  We had no way of knowing where or when we were, based on our surroundings.  If I got the place right, but the time wrong, I would look out of place in my Puritan clothing.  Of course, if we were in the current century or even the last century, it probably would not be that big of a deal that I looked out of place.  If I got the time even close to right, then Stefanie would not only look out of place in her blue jeans and her vintage Nirvana T-shirt, but she would most likely be immediately condemned as a witch.  We could just leave and return to our current time to help our family and friends.  However, if I had nailed the time correctly, this might be our only shot at Evan and Cameron.  The rules on time travel stated I could only interact with the same event timeline once, but if we showed up and didn’t do anything, we might still be able to come back.  I wasn’t clear on the specifics.  We had never discussed this scenario as a possibility in my crash course training.

Besides, Garrett’s interference had just about given me what I wanted in the first place.  I had my training, and I could go after Evan and Cameron on my own.  Well, sort of on my own.  Stefanie couldn’t quite blend in, so I would have to leave her in the forest while I scoped out our surroundings.  For a moment, I wished I had Chase with me.  He would be able to track Stefanie for me in the event I couldn’t find my way back.

As all of this raced through my head, I made my way over to Stefanie who looked decidedly panicked.   Her brown eyes were wide as she scrambled toward me.  She grabbed me around the shoulders and shouted.

“We have to go back!  We can’t be here!” 

For a moment, I thought she was afraid to be in Salem in the wrong attire without a Guardian witch.  Then her characteristic babbling began.

“I can’t believe it was Garrett.  We have to go back and help.  My mother!  My dad!  What are we going to do?”

It was then I realized I was still holding on to the spare set of clothing that had been meant for me.  I put the clothing down, grabbed Stefanie’s hands from my shoulders and brought them down.  I looked her square in the eyes.

“Shut up,” I instructed. 
She stopped talking.

“Listen.  We have to find out where we are and when.  If we are in Salem in 1692, then we can’t go back until we complete the mission.  Your mom and dad, Amy, the entire coven will be counting on us.”  I exuded as much confidence as I could.  I knew I wouldn’t mind carrying on without the others for the time being, but I was not as sure this was the decision they would have me make.  However, since I wasn’t sure we could come back, I really didn’t have any other choice.

“No, Jade, we need to go back.  We shouldn’t be here alone.  This was not the plan,” Stefanie said after a long pause.

“I don’t know if we can come back now that we are here.  We have to at least check things out and try.  Besides, I’m not even sure we are in the right place or the right time.  Let’s figure that out first, and then we can decide what to do.  Okay?”

“Okay,” Stefanie said, “Apparently I don’t have a choice in the matter.  It’s not like I can just zap myself back.”  I had never heard Stefanie sound so bitter.  She had tears in her eyes.  I always forgot most people have stronger ties to others than I do.  Although the members of the coven were the closest thing I had to family, Madilyn and Paul were biologically Stefanie’s family.  I thought about what I would do if I could to avoid losing my family again and again.  I could send Stefanie back alone, to fight to save her parents.  Unfortunately, I had no way of knowing what was happening in the time I would be sending her back to, and I couldn’t live with myself if I sent Stefanie back straight into Garrett’s knife or an ambush by Garrett’s cohorts.  I decided quickly not to bring up the possibility of sending Stefanie back alone.

“We’re about the same size.  Get changed into my spare set of clothes and we’ll go find out if I hit the mark or not,” I instructed her.  Stefanie wiped her eyes and walked a few feet away to compose herself and change.  I knew she was angry with me, so I gave her some space and walked in the opposite direction.  The weather was more cool and crisp than it should be for May.  I may have overshot only slightly, or we may be way off.

As I stepped into what appeared to be a clearing, I realized we were closer to civilization than I had first thought.  I stood on a trail with horse prints and wagon tracks.  We were definitely not in the 21
st
century.  My first instinct was to yell out in triumph, but I immediately repressed the urge as I processed our situation.  We were close enough someone might spot us or spot Stefanie changing in the woods; that alone was enough to get a girl accused of witchcraft, never mind the blue jeans.

I rushed back to Stefanie only to find her standing where I had left her, still dressed in her jeans and t-shirt. 

“What are you doing?  Are you okay?” I asked.

Evan
appeared behind her.  He placed his hands on her shoulders.  I took a step back.  I wanted to incinerate him on the spot.  I could feel the heat burning within me, but I would kill my friend if I let loose with him so close to her.

“She can’t answer you.  I had a special spell ready just for this occasion.  Imagine my surprise to find only the two of you here, and then to see you separate.  Well, I couldn’t let the opportunity pass me by,” Evan said.

“Let her go.”

“Let’s see.  If I let her go, I go up in flames, right?  I think I’ll keep her for now.  My insurance policy.”  He smiled at me, and it made
my desire to kill him flare.

“What do you want? Why did you have Cameron lure me here?” 

“Now, you’ll have to forgive me, but for the moment I don’t think we are in a position for conversation.  I also highly doubt you will believe me when I explain I am not as much of a bad person as you would think.”

“I watched you kill my mother.  That’s all I need to know.”  I fought every urge in my body to simply kill him right there in the woods.  I was not callous enough to consider Stefanie a casualty.  She was a friend, and I had to protect her from both Evan and myself.

“Well, you actually need to know more than that, but again, I don’t think now is the time.”  Evan appeared to be sweating.  Instead of advancing on me, he was backing up, but he was taking Stefanie with him inch by inch.

“Let her go.  Take me instead.  You’re after me anyway, right?”  I couldn’t just watch him leave with Stefanie.  I imagined him propelling a knife into Stefanie the way he had my mother, and I felt desperate to stop him this time.

“We’re at an impasse,” he said.  “I can’t let her go or trade you for her because you’ll cremate me the minute I am far enough away from her.  I can’t explain the predicament we share because you won’t trust me.”

I took a step closer to them—trying to stop him from retreating.     

“Stop,” Evan said.  “You are putting your friend in danger.  I can feel your anger from here.  It is not safe to be near you right now.”

“Then what do we do?” I asked.

“I will leave with your friend, and you will stay here.  I will send Cameron to you with instructions tomorrow.”

“What am I supposed to do until tomorrow?”

“That is your problem.”

“How do you know I won’t just kill Cameron?”

“If you do, I kill your friend.  So, do we have an understanding?” 

I could see Stefanie’s eyes pleading with me
not to let him take her away, but there wasn’t anything else I could do.  My gift was too volatile, even after all of my training.  The more emotional I was, the more volatile my gift became.  I stood facing my mother’s murderer while he threatened one of my only friends.  I felt I might burst into flames myself if I didn’t focus all of my energy on containing my power.

“We have an understanding,” I answered
through clenched teeth.  I stood still while I watched Evan back away with Stefanie. 

“I’m sorry,” I whispered towards Stefanie.  When they had disappeared from my view, I looked for a comfortable place to sit and wait for Cameron.  The sun had not started to set, but I could tell the night was going to be chilly.  I was still fuming with frustration at my current circumstances, so as soon as I could set up a fire pit, it would be easy to start a fire. 

Before I could start gathering firewood, I heard a rustling in the woods.  I braced myself, and then I turned quickly to face a beautiful woman with dark hair and bluish eyes with flecks of green.  Her blouse bulged over her round stomach.  She was probably late in her second trimester.

“Are you a stranger?” she asked me.

I didn’t understand what she was talking about.  For an instant, I felt like I was in the middle of a bad after-school special. 

“Pardon me?” I asked.

“If you be a stranger seeking something, I might be obliged to assist you,” the woman continued.  She practically had to spell it out for me, but I got it.  She was a witch, and she was offering her help if I asked for it.  I was leery to bring someone from this time into the thick of this, but I could certainly use the help if I was to wait for Cameron until tomorrow.

“I am a stranger seeking solace,” I told her, “but how did you know?”

She smiled mysteriously.

“I have gifts as well, time traveler.  Come with me and we will keep you warm and give you nourishment for the evening.”  She spoke sincerely.  I was glad I hadn’t started a fire right away.  Apparently, I was not blending in as well as Anastasia did, or perhaps she had just seen Stefanie’s attire.

“I’m sorry.  I can’t leave this spot,” I told her.  “My friend.”  I couldn’t say anymore.  I found it was difficult to admit aloud I’d let Stefanie down.  I didn’t want to go into the details of my predicament.

“I will have you back by morning.  The person meeting you here needs to converse with you as much as you need to reclaim your friend.  I have no doubt you taking shelter for the evening will not hinder your meeting.”

“Who are you?” I asked her.

“My name is Sarah Hale.  You can trust me.  I believe I am one of your ancestors.  Your color has a certain quality to it.  It reminds me of my children.”  She smiled again and began walking towards the trail.  I could feel exhaustion setting in, and I realized a night of protection in the Hale house would not be a terrible thing.  We had toyed with the idea of approaching Sarah when we first planned this mission.

We walked for only fifteen minutes before we arrived at the house.  I had been very close to landing Stefanie and I outside of the forest.  During our walk, I discovered I had set us right in the middle of the escalating chaos.  We arrived in September instead of May.  When we entered the house, a young woman bustled around after the three Hale children.  John Hale had two additional children, but they would be grown and living on their own now.  Sarah quickly dismissed the woman who eyed me suspiciously.  I wondered if I was part of the reason Sarah would find herself among the accused.  She had explained me away as a distant cousin passing through, but the woman did not look convinced.

Reverend Hale was away visiting the accused in the Boston jail, trying to save them from damnation, so Sarah would not have to explain my presence for the evening to her unsuspecting husband.  We ate a vegetable stew for dinner, and I sat at their table resting well after dinner.  Once Sarah put the children to bed, she joined me at the table with two cups of warm tea.

“I don’t wish to disturb you because you are so tired, but I must know why you are here.  Are you after William?” she asked with a hint of urgency in her voice.

“I don’t know who William is.  I am here for Cameron and Evan.”

“Is one of those the man who took your friend?”

“That was Evan.  He also killed my mother.  His son is Cameron.”  I explained the best I could.  “They are the cause of the witch trials.”

“I do not know of Evan or Cameron.  I have not seen them before this day,” she said, sipping from her cup.  “I have seen William.  He is the one you seek.”  She looked so certain.  I couldn’t comprehend that there would be another Shadow Ruler here. 

“What do you mean?  Who is William?” I asked.  I felt more alert already.  We should never have ruled out approaching Sarah.  It made sense to talk to a witch in the area; she would know more about what was really going on than we could conjecture from hundreds of years away.

“William is a dark witch.  He is staying on the outskirts of all this madness in the towns, but I can see a dark shadow around him.  He is always nearby when another innocent soul is accused.”

Sarah looked deeply hurt by the thought of innocent people being accused.  She didn’t bring up the hangings that were beginning.

“But how do you know he is the one causing all of this?”  This didn’t make sense to me.  Maybe Evan and Cameron were working with others.

“He came to me to assure me of my safety and that of my children.  He pursues those unlike us, but he is not like us either.  He is dark and dangerous, so you must be here for him.  You must stop this before he takes it too far and damns all of these poor people to hell.”

To hear her talk that way struck me as odd.  She knew none of these people were witches, but she feared they were being condemned to hell for the atrocities they were committing against each other.  From what she told me, another witch orchestrated all of this.  I didn’t have it in me to tell Sarah that she, too, would be caught up in this soon enough if I weren’t able to stop William or Evan or Cameron or whoever lay at the root of this.