The Witches of BlackBrook (5 page)

Wrapped in the blankets and each other, Trin and Jason continued to kiss and cuddle, like a couple of teenagers. They’d only disrobed down to their undergarments and she refused to take it any further than that. She wouldn’t allow herself to get caught up in the emotions of such an intense situation, especially one that was magically induced.

“I think you’re warm enough,” Trin suggested, “and we better get back soon. You need some warm soup and continued monitoring.”

“Are you applying for the job?” he asked.

Trin laughed. “No, I have to get home. And I’m sure Caris will take very good care of you.”

“You’re right. But thanks for saving me and for the most enjoyable body heat,” Jason winked as he kicked off the covers to redress. “How did you get me out of there anyway?”

Trin froze, not sure what to say.

“All I remember is hands reaching for me. I guess that was you pulling me out, so thanks again.” Jason thankfully cut her off with his own summation.

“You’re welcome.” Trin kept her mouth shut, buttoned her shirt, and pulled on her boots. There was no way she was going to botch a perfectly valid explanation with thoughts of evil curses and ghostly apparitions. Those same thoughts though raise the question; why would anyone want to hurt Jason? It made no sense.

Trin was more eager than ever to get home and address the odd things that had been happening––her strange connection to Caris and Jason, her nightmare, and now this. Something was off and she and Kit needed to find out what.

“Thanks for the adventure!” Trin kissed Jason and jumped from the truck. “Maybe next time we can avoid the near death experience.”

“I agree. That definitely was not on the planned schedule.” Jason smiled.

“I’ll call to check on you tomorrow.” Trin waved and sighed as he drove off, then turned and stomped the snow from her boots before entering the house.

“Kit, are you home?” Trin called from the foyer, hanging her things and proceeding to the kitchen.

“You made it back.” Kit’s sleepy voice sounded from over her shoulder.

“Hey! Yeah, safe and sound.” Trin cringed internally at the thought of how close they came to the complete opposite of that. “Would you like some tea?” Trin offered, anxious for her own hot beverage to take the chill off.

“No thanks.” Kit’s clipped response cleared up whether she was still annoyed or not.

“Did you still want to do a scrying spell with me tonight?” Trin asked, hoping to soften Kit’s mood.

“No. You go ahead. I’m not feeling all that well.”

Hmm
. Odd. Kit had never passed up the chance to work magic with her before. “What’s wrong?”

“Just a bug, probably. I’ll be fine with a good night’s rest.” Kit smiled and gave a little salute as she headed back upstairs in her flannel pjs.

Trin debated arguing for her to stay, but the thought of working alone suddenly appealed to her very much. She needed to connect to what was happening without Kit’s negative influence, however reality based it was.

Trin grabbed her tea, opened the door to the cellar, and descended the stairs. The lights flickered on as she moved past each one, illuminating the space to reveal their hidden work area.

Cupboards and benches were lined with candles, herbs, oil, and bowls, all charged for sacred work. Trin took out her favorite scrying bowl and filled it with water and salt then placed it on the altar in the center of the room. Gathering the rest of her supplies, she lit two candles, one black for protection and banishing negativity, and one violet to connect to the Goddess for insight and clarity. Three drops of jasmine oil and a pinch of mugwort and she was ready to begin.

“Clear of mind, clear of sight, as I travel with the Goddess this night. Visions of clarity, visions of truth, uncover what’s hidden, at its root.”

Ripples flowed through the water as Trin focused her third eye directly on the center point. Drops of blood tendrilled across the surface, tinting the water red. The floor fell away and Trin was suddenly flying through the night sky in her astral form. Fires raged, witches hung, and ancient texts flashed through Trin’s mind. Transported across time and space, she saw herself, Kara, and Kenna together, then watched as they shifted from one life to another, their faces different but their souls the same. Bound by the same energy each and every time, drawn by the heart but forced to remain apart. Outstretched hands, male and female, reached for Trin, shouting silent cries through a horde of bloody corpses.

Trin’s head snapped up. Though freed from her vision, the words ‘
forced to remain apart’
echoed through her mind. Clarity dawned and she sucked in a breath. She hadn’t been imagining things, something
was
here, and it was purposely trying to keep her from finding Kara.

Trin gave thanks to the God and Goddess and cleansed the area, replacing her tools in their proper place then raced upstairs. She debated waking Kit so they could start on a spell to reveal and block whatever was doing this, but after a quick glance at the clock, decided to wait until morning.

Tucked in, Trin gave a silent prayer. “Lord and Lady grant me peace this night, protect all I love from harm and fright. Let me wake to a brand new day, filled with joy in every way.”

“Jason, what happened?” Caris demanded as she rifled through the closet for his favorite blanket.

“I’m not sure. One minute I was staring at the jig and the next, I was falling through the damn hole. Something had ahold of me, Caris. A ghost or demon maybe, but it was definitely pulling me down until Trin cast her spell.”

“Does she know?”

“No. I didn’t want to push her and she didn’t feel obliged to share.”

“We’re going to have to put more protection in place until we’re ready,” Caris warned.

“I agree. We can’t keep this up much longer.”

Trin woke from a peaceful sleep, ready to face the day and excited to start the spell that would break this wretched curse, if that’s what it was.

“Time to rise and shine,” she prompted Kit.

“Ugh...leave me be, woman,” Kit groaned in response from under the covers.

“I need your help with a spell.”

“Since when?”

“Since something evil is trying to keep us from finding Kara.”

Kit flipped the duvet away from her face with a quick snap. “What?”

“Yeah. I did some scrying last night, and I know for a fact that something or someone is here and blocking us from finding our sister.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes. I mean, I didn’t see a face or name, but the odd blood rituals and dead bodies I saw in my vision were a pretty clear indication.”

Kit sighed. “Katrine...”

Trin hated when she used her full name. “Don’t ‘Katrine’ me!” Trin exclaimed. “I know what you’re going to say. I’m letting my imagination run wild because I’m so desperate to find our sister, but I’m telling you...there’s something going on and we need to find out what it is.”

Kit tossed the rest of the blankets off and stood to face Trin. “I promise you we will get to the bottom of this, but it’s going to have to wait. I’m due back at the gallery tonight and won’t return until Friday morning.”

“What? Why? I thought the show was only supposed to be two days?”

“It was, originally, but when Harold had to cancel and reschedule due to the weather, the gallery offered to extend the showing due to the inconvenience.”

Trin felt like the petulant one now. She should be excited and proud of Kit, and she was, but the urgency of finding out what magical barrier was being cast upon their entire destiny seemed like a trump card in her book. “Fine. I’ll keep searching for answers while you’re gone, but won’t do any real magic until you return.”

“Good. And don’t be mad at me. I love you, Trin, and I don’t want to see you hurt.”

“I know. I love you, too.” She hugged her sister and returned to her room, resolved to get some rest while she could.

Unable to fall asleep, Trin tossed and turned for the hour it took Kit to leave the house. When Trin heard the front door close, she pushed out of bed and slipped on her fuzzy slippers and started for the kitchen but stopped halfway down the stairs. Walking back into her room, she grabbed her cell phone from the night stand and looked at the display. She needed to check on Jason and hoped 9:00am wasn’t too early to call.

“Hello?” Caris answered.

“Caris. Hi. It’s Trin. I’m sorry to call so early, but wanted to check on Jason.”

“Hi, Trin. It’s fine, we’re up and he’s doing good. How are you holding up?”

Trin scrunched her brow at the odd question.

“I’m fine. Just a little worn out.”

“Would you be up for some company? Jason insists on seeing you, but I refuse to let him out of my sight.”

Trin looked around the kitchen and glanced into the living room, making sure it was clean enough for guests. “Sure, that would be great.”

“Okay, cool. Say in about an hour?”

“Perfect. I’ll put something on for brunch.”

Caris laughed. “Well, you know we won’t say no to food.”

“See you in a bit.” Trin ended the call and turned to the stove. If she was going to be hosting brunch, she’d need to fix something more fitting than the bacon and scrambled eggs she’d been planning to make.

A quick shower and Trin dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt, throwing her slippers back on for comfort. She was a wiz in the kitchen and it didn’t take long for the biscuits, sausage gravy, and broiled potatoes to fill the air with a hearty aroma. She placed fruit and juice on the table just as a knock sounded from the door.

“Hi...” Trin’s voice trailed off. It wasn’t Jason and Caris, but a strange man Trin had never seen before.

“Forgive the intrusion, but my car has broken down and it’s freezing cold.”

Trin looked up and down the street, looking for the man’s car but found nothing in sight. “I’m so sorry for your inconvenience. Please come in, and you can borrow the phone.”

Trin paused.
Why doesn’t he have a cell phone of his own? And why did he end up on my doorstep when his car’s obviously not even close?

“Actually, if you could wait here a moment, I’ll fetch the phone and a cup of coffee for you.” Trin held fast to the door jam, blocking his way inside.

The stranger frowned and pulled his coat tight. “Sure. I’ll wait right here.”

Trin closed the door and returned to the kitchen, grabbing a cup and filling it with coffee as fast as she could. Yanking the cordless phone from its cradle she returned to the door, opening it only to find Caris reaching for the doorbell.

“Hi!” Caris jumped.

Trin frowned and looked past her and Jason, in search of the man. He was nowhere in sight.

“Trin, are you okay?” Jason asked.

“Yes, I’m sorry, please come in.” Trin returned the phone to its base and set down the cup of coffee then took their coats and welcomed them to her home. “The food is almost ready. If you’d like to join me in the kitchen, I’ll grab you something to drink,” Trin offered.

Trin walked towards the kitchen, passing up the cup she’d set on the table by the door.

“Don’t you want your coffee?” Jason asked.

Trin shook her head then gave a faint smile. “Thanks.”

“Trin, are you sure you’re okay? Something seems up.” Jason’s tone was kind but serious.

Trin sighed. “Just before you arrived, there was a man at my door claiming to need help because his car broke down. I didn’t see a car anywhere and he seemed frustrated when I asked him to wait on the stoop. When I came back with the phone and a cup of coffee, he was gone and you two were standing there instead.”

“Wow. That is weird. We didn’t see anyone when we drove up,” Caris looked at Jason then shrugged.

“Maybe he got picked up by one of the guys. You want me to call the station and see if anyone has him?”

Trin blew out a relaxing breath. “No. That’s okay. You’re probably right. There’s always officers cruising this street,” Trin smiled, “lucky for me.”

Jason laughed and Caris shared a smile with them both.

“The food smells great, you need any help?” Caris offered.

“Nope. Stay put, I’ll grab everything. Help yourself to the juice and fruit.” Trin set the casserole dishes on the table and sat down to join her guests.

“How are you feeling, Jason?” Trin turned to Caris. “Did his body temperature stay up throughout the night?”

“He was still a little chilled, but yes, whatever you did to warm him initially saved him, I have no doubt.”

Jason smiled at Trin from across the table, bringing a blush to her cheeks. “Well, I’m glad he’s okay, but I’m surprised you’re both not still tucked in bed. I bet it was a long night.”

“I tried to insist he stay put, but he wanted to see you and after hearing what he had to say, I thought it was best if we both came.”

Trin raised her eyebrows. “Okay...what is it you have to say?”

Caris looked at Jason and nodded.

“I think that whatever happened at the pond was more than just me getting sleepy and falling in,” Jason stated.

Trin blanched.

“After thinking about it more, I could actually feel hands pulling me down, so I wanted to see if you saw anything before you grabbed me.”

Trin grabbed her glass of juice and took a slow drink. Jason hadn’t brought up her magic so she wasn’t sure if she should either, but then again, they were all practicing witches. The problem always came when she revealed that her magic was so much more.

IPSWICH, MASSACHUSETTS

1691

“Karina, you mustn’t ever tell what we are. You know our ways and the root of our belief is to know but not tell,” Jeremiah pleaded. “There are dangerous things happening about, and I will not risk losing you, or your sisters.”

“I am not a child, Jeremiah, and do not plan to go about screaming ‘I’m a witch’ from the hilltops, but I will not be scared into hiding my gifts when someone is in need of my help.”

“It could be a trick, Karina. You’ve only met this woman and suddenly she needs your magical assistance with her newborn baby?” Jeremiah dropped his head, feeling the pull of what he was saying deep within his chest. He was a witch, akin to Karina, and denying someone assistance went against his nature as well. “Things are changing, my love, and we have to be more careful for it.”

Karina touched his cheek and smiled, “I’ll be careful, my dear. You have my word.”

With one last glance at her beloved, she followed the trail to town, her basket filled with homemade remedies and magically enhanced tinctures. She ventured straight to Sarah Bishop’s, as she always did, for it was her new neighbor, Ann Putnam, who was in need of assistance. Sarah had told the young girl of Karina’s gifts and suggested that perhaps she try one of her potions to help cure her baby’s fits. Upon arriving, Karina asked Ann to remove the baby’s clothing and lay him flat on his back.

Warming her hands with oil, Karina closed her eyes and slowly began massaging the infant’s belly in a deosil motion. The women remained silent and still as Karina pulled a small vial from her skirt pocket. She unscrewed the dropper and pinched three dots of liquid onto the baby’s tongue.

“This contains chamomile, fennel, caraway, and blackthorn. Place three drops on his tongue after every meal.” Karina replaced the lid and handed the bottle to Ann, just as the baby ceased to cry.

Ann reached out a trembling hand and took the vial without saying a word.

“See, didn’t I tell you, Ann. Our Karina here is a wonderful healer. The salves she gives me are pure magic. Magic I tell you,” Sarah beamed.

Karina smiled and handed Mrs. Bishop the ‘magic salves’ she was gushing about in exchange for her payment, then gathered her things, ready to make her departure.

The rain had settled in, forcing Karina to pull the hood of her woolen cloak around her auburn hair as she stepped back onto the path. Turning to again bid farewell to Sarah and Ann, Karina felt a chill as she looked into Mrs. Putnam’s face. The evil Karina glimpsed behind her smiling eyes had her racing for home.

“Jeremiah! Jeremiah! You were right, and I think I’ve ruined us all.”