The War on Witches (9 page)

“But there could be more attacks,” Piper reminded her.

“And we'd be no good to anyone functioning without sleep,” Paige said. “You've spent most of your time on the other side of the world. I suspect your body clock has got to be all kinds of messed up by now. If you don't get some rest I'm afraid we could be the ones to have our powers stolen next and I'm not about to let that happen.”

“She's got a point,” Phoebe said.

Piper sighed. “You're right, Paige. Take us home. We'll get a fresh start in the morning.”

Austin was trapped and he couldn't escape. It wasn't a physical confinement. He wasn't chained to a chair or locked behind bars, but he was a prisoner all the same. There wasn't anywhere he could go. He couldn't begin to think of what he could do. Nothing in his relatively sheltered life had prepared him to be a fugitive from justice.

Austin considered himself lucky to get out of the city before they locked it down. Guns going off in public places wasn't easily brushed aside these days, even if the firing had been accidental. Austin was working very hard to convince himself it
had
been an accident.

Isaac hadn't said much during the train trip to Massachusetts. He'd kept his eyes closed and refused to speak, even when Austin asked him direct questions like, “What the hell were you thinking bringing a gun?”

It was like Isaac was in some kind of meditative state the entire six-hour train ride. His eyes remained shut, his breathing shallow. At one point, soft, groaning sounds came from his body even though his mouth had been closed. It was a little scary. Not just the noises. Austin had been afraid that if the groans had gotten any louder it would have called unwanted attention to them. He'd considered sneaking off at one of the stops, but he had no money on him and no idea of where he could go.

Isaac's eyes popped open a few minutes before they reached their station. They got off the train with the other passengers, just another pair of travelers visiting Boston, as opposed to fugitives wanted by the cops.

Austin may not have shot the gun, but that girl would have told the police all about him. They definitely would have seen him on the video from any one of the dozens of cameras stationed throughout the museum. At least he had the good sense to pay his admission in cash rather than credit card. Still, it wouldn't take long for him to be identified. He'd realized too late that the bag he'd carried the Book of Light in had his school logo emblazoned on the side. It wasn't that large a university. The police probably identified him before the day was out.

He was probably expelled as well. Universities had even less tolerance for gunplay than museums. At least he wouldn't have to finish the paper he hadn't started for that bioethics class. This one incident could mean a whole new direction for him. “Don't think a life in crime is going to be the answer,” he mumbled.

“Yes, you'd be pretty bad at that as well,” Isaac said as they reached their final destination. “But all is not lost. Emily and Jacob have both experienced considerable success.”

“I told you we could have handled this ourselves,” Emily said as she opened the door to the church rectory and ushered them inside.

Showing up in the wee hours of the morning at an old, abandoned church in the middle of nowhere felt so much like a fugitive thing to do. Austin didn't even have to know that police were searching for him for it to feel that way. There had already been indications that he'd gotten involved with the wrong crowd. This was a huge, garish sign with blinking neon lights and arrows telling him he screwed up big time.

“Greetings to you too, Emily,” Isaac replied as she closed the door behind them. “Thank you for arranging the meeting in my absence.”

Austin hated it when Isaac started talking like that. Four people getting together in the back of a church wasn't a “meeting.” Why did he have to be so formal all the time?

“Here they are.” Emily's lips broke into an uncomfortable grin as she guided Isaac over to a table that held two books identical to the one Austin had in his bag. The bag he really should have thrown away at one of the station stops. Should have changed his clothes too. Maybe dyed his hair and found some way to grow a beard overnight. He was going to have to get better at this fugitive stuff if this was going to become a new lifestyle.

Isaac's hands hovered inches over the two books as if he was feeling the heat rise off them or something. Austin noticed he was careful not to touch the books in the process.

“You've collected the witches' powers?” Isaac asked.

“Just like you said we would,” Emily replied.

“Not
just
like it,” Jacob said. Austin hadn't seen him sitting in the corner at first. The shadows in the dark room had kept him hidden. “My book didn't act much like a normal book when I tried to use it. Light came from it and I'm pretty sure it did something to the girl that had nothing to do with those magical herbs you gave me to use on her.”

“Mine too,” Emily said, though she didn't sound nearly as skeptical as Jacob. In fact, Austin was pretty sure she was excited by what she'd done. “It kept me safe when that witch tried to use her dark magic against me. With these books we're invulnerable to witchcraft.”

The chair Jacob was sitting in creaked as he got up. “I don't like it. You claimed this was natural magic, Isaac. What happened in that computer shop did not feel natural to me. It felt very, very unnatural. I might even call it
evil.
”

“Oh, enough with the drama, Jacob!” Emily said. “We are doing the work of the just. We are ridding the world of witchcraft, like our ancestors attempted to do.”

Austin laughed. “You mean the crazy villagers who tortured and killed innocent women? That's who we're looking up to here?”

Isaac stared him down. “I would think you would hold your tongue, considering your failure today.”

“The kid's right,” Jacob said. “I didn't get into this for some random witch hunt. I want to do some good, to rid the world of
actual
evil. I don't think using the tools of evil is the way to go about it.”

Isaac took the bag from Austin. “As I've explained before, these Books of Light are not evil. They are merely incantations—spells that humans came up with to fight the unnatural magic that witches possess. It was the only way the powerless could defend themselves. You saw yourselves how they worked with that mixture of herbs I provided. What could be more natural?”

“These books also freeze witches in place,” Jacob said. “I wouldn't call that natural.”

Isaac opened Austin's bag and slid the third Book of Light onto the table. “The books do protect themselves, yes. But only from dark magic. They won't do us any harm.”

“He's right,” Emily said. “The book protected me from that witch. I could never imagine the amount of magic she tried to use against me, but the book repelled it all like some kind of force field.”

“Doesn't sound very natural to me,” Austin mumbled. Isaac glared his way, but didn't say anything this time.

Austin was having a hard time swallowing Isaac's stories about so-called “natural” magic. He'd read a lot of fantasy growing up. So many of those books talked about how magic was neither good nor evil, that it was all in how it was used. Austin didn't think that attacking young women in museums was something good people did. He didn't even know what the girl had done to deserve it. Had she ever cast a spell on anyone? Did she know how to do a curse? So far, all he had was Isaac's word that witches were evil. He had no actual evidence.

Emily didn't share his concerns. She seemed truly convinced. Jacob too. Even with his doubts, Jacob never questioned the core belief that witches were evil.

It was always possible that Austin had gotten mixed up with three crazy people. Maybe it was time to go to the police and tell them what he knew. The price of Isaac's protection could easily become too high. Austin hadn't actually attacked anyone—all he'd done was go to a museum with a guy that had a gun. What was the worst the police could do to him? It was beginning to feel like less of a concern than being with three lunatics who talked about natural and unnatural magic.

“Yesterday's tests, while not a complete success”—Isaac glanced at Austin—“revealed that we are on the right path. These books allow us to be more than human, but less than witches. With their help, we can rid the world of the evil of witchcraft.”

“The
world?
” Austin asked. “That's a lot of work for three people. Not counting you, since you can't even hold one of these books.”

Isaac's eyes narrowed. “Emily? Jacob? Could you go to the next room please? I need to have a conversation with Austin before we move on to the next stage.”

Austin tensed as the others left without a word. Jacob did allow for a look of concern before he went out in silence. This was it. Either Isaac was going to tell him to get out, or the man was about to pull his gun again. There was no doubt in Austin's mind those were the only two options. Austin braced himself and prepared for fight or flight.

Instead, Isaac smiled, placing a hand on Austin's shoulder and giving him what was probably meant to be a reassuring squeeze. “Always questioning,” Isaac said. “I enjoy inquisitive minds. So much more interesting than the blind faith of followers like Emily or Jacob's ability to whine without bothering to do anything about his concerns.”

“Thanks?” Austin said, still bracing for the unexpected.

Isaac held a hand out over Emily's Book of Light. “Would you help me with this?”

“Sure?” Austin picked up the book for Isaac and followed him over to the wall, not quite sure what they were supposed to be doing.

“Never let that facet of your personality die,” Isaac said. “It's a useful trait. And part of the reason I chose you for the most important part of my plan.” Isaac pressed his hand against the wall. An invisible seam appeared in the woodwork and grew larger as two panels of the wall slid apart, revealing a hidden bookcase with rows of empty shelves. Isaac motioned for Austin to place the Book of Light on the topmost shelf.

“You still want me in on this?” Austin asked as he raised the book to the shelf. “Even though I screwed up in Philly?”

Isaac motioned for Austin to retrieve Jacob's copy of the Book of Light. “Your ‘screwup' was exactly the reason I knew you'd be perfect for that mission. Admittedly, I hadn't expected you to step in once I pulled the gun. But I knew you couldn't use the Book against that witch. You showed all the signs of reluctance . . . reluctance to trust me . . . reluctance to harm another.”

Austin put the second book up on the shelf. “It was a test?”

“In a manner of speaking,” Isaac said. “It was a setup for my Plan B. I wanted you to unsettle Alysha. I wanted her to be nervous . . . suspicious. So that when I pulled my gun, she would react without thinking. I'd hoped that she would use her magic in a very public space in a very showy way.”

“You wanted her to attack me? Attack us?” Austin asked as he examined the empty shelves in the hidden compartment. The shelves weren't that interesting, but he thought he saw another seam in the center of the wall behind them. Either the walls came together naturally at that point, or there was a second hidden shelving unit or something else back there.

Isaac closed the two hidden doors, replacing the fake wall before Austin could get a good look. “Alysha has quite an interesting power. She creates these remarkable light shows—fireworks and explosions that are all flash and no substance. She's the rare witch that is not truly a threat to anyone. But when these brilliant displays of power emanate from her hands, they make for quite an interesting display—one that would have been an incredible sight for the tour group full of witnesses to see. To say nothing of the exciting video the museum would have provided for the evening news.”

Austin finally realized what Isaac was talking about. “But when I tried to stop you from shooting her, I botched the plan. She never revealed her powers.”

“It's my fault, really,” Isaac said. “I should have trusted you enough to tell you the truth. The gun was filled with blanks. If you had known she wasn't really in danger, we might have had our victory.”

“But why?” Austin asked. “What's that got to do with stealing witches' powers?”

“Austin, this has never just been about taking witches' powers,” Isaac said. “It's about stopping
all
witches, everywhere. To do that, we must reveal them. Let the world know that the nightmare stories of their youth were all true. That witches are real. That the danger exists. Once we get the public to realize that these insidious creatures are hiding right next to them—their friends, their neighbors—it will make our job taking the powers of these creatures all the easier.”

“And then we what?” Austin asked. “Recruit more witch hunters?”

Isaac laughed again. It was just as unnerving. “Oh, Austin. The recruiting has already been done.” Isaac moved over to the double doors that he'd sent Emily and Jacob through earlier. “In the late seventeen hundreds members of the town council in Salem had many children. A lack of birth control coupled with a need for extra hands to help build a nation made large families common back then. Most residents of Salem gave birth to more children than is typical today. Hundreds of years later, their descendants have many, many cousins.”

Isaac opened the doors to reveal the pews of the church. Emily and Jacob sat in the front row, stiff backed and attentive, waiting for Isaac to enter. Behind them, the wooden pews were filled with dozens of people of all ages. All of these people wore the same determined expressions on their faces, mixed with excitement and anticipation. These expressions were the final piece of the puzzle that Austin needed to realize he had definitely fallen in with the wrong crowd.

But the people themselves weren't the truly frightening part.

At the end of each row sat a stack of books, identical to the ones left behind on the hidden shelves in the rectory. There were volumes upon volumes—far more books than people—with bottles of herbs atop each stack.

More than enough to steal the powers from hundreds of witches.

It was more than enough magic to start a war.