“Okay, wait. If they’re looking for us, that means we’re safe and hiding somewhere. Right?” Caris looked to Kennedy.
“I assume so. Mama or the Goddess probably contacted Karina and told her what to do.”
Both the girls paced the kitchen as Mathilde sat quietly, fidgeting with her hands. She’d shared all she knew, and was happy they believed her. But still, she felt like the bad guy knowing it was her family who was causing them all this harm.
“Where do you think we would have gone?” Caris’s question snagged everyone’s attention.
Kennedy pondered for a moment. “I’m not sure. In our original lives, I didn’t cast my protector spell until 1690, so I wouldn’t have had the same foresight back then as I do now.”
“Then the knowledge of what’s happening is somehow connected to Trin and Mama alone. We have to figure out a way to wake them up.” Caris bent down next to the table. “Mathilde, could you open a portal that would take Kennedy to Jeremiah Hollsteen’s house?” Looking up at Kennedy, she continued in a rush. “You need to check on Trin and let Jason know what’s going on.”
Kennedy huffed. “Fine. But, Mathilde, can you keep your portal open so I can come right back?”
Mathilde smiled as she nodded, proud she’d be able help, even in this small way.
“Good, then let’s do it.” Kennedy moved into the living room, standing in the open space.
Tilting her head back, Mathilde closed eyes and started to chant. Energy rose, and her portal sparked open in the center of the room. “It won’t close until I do it,” Mathilde confirmed.
“Good. I won’t be long.” With a quick nod, Kennedy stepped through without another word.
“Thank you for helping us.” Caris placed a hand on Mathilde’s shoulder, truly grateful for the young witch’s courage and help. “I’m going to check on Mama now. If you could stay here and wait for Kennedy, I’d appreciate it.”
“Of course. May I have another cup of tea?”
Caris smiled. “Be my guest.”
Mathilde returned to the kitchen, which gave Caris a private moment to take a reading on the portal herself. The energy was strong, and there was no dark magic present which helped eased Caris’s mind. She trusted Mathilde, but couldn’t help but worry about her father’s ability to see the future. That power didn’t bode well for any of them.
Softening her steps, Caris entered Mama’s room and took a seat in the nearest chair. Reaching for her hand, she confessed her rising concerns. “Oh, Mama, how I wish you would wake. Not only to help us, but so that we could know you’re truly okay. I can’t pretend to understand why you and Trin are being kept from us. We’ve heeded your instructions, but obviously haven’t found the piece of the puzzle needed to bring this to an end. We’ll keep trying, though. I wish you were awake to hear my words. I miss you so much.”
A soft breeze flitted through the open window, carrying with it a soothing energy. Squeezing Mama’s hand, Caris took hope. She knew there was a reason for everything and needed to trust in the Goddess’s plan—for she was sure that’s what this was.
“Um, Caris. Could you please come here?” Mathilde called out.
Easing Mama’s hand back under the blanket, Caris rose from the chair and moved to rejoin Mathilde in the living room. Stopped dead in her tracks, Caris’s breath caught on an inhale as she stared at the horrifying scene in front of her.
Ann Putnam and her six other sisters stood in the living room, holding her entire family hostage at knifepoint, including Trin who was now fully awake.
“How is this possible?” Caris’s panicked gaze met Mathilde’s. She, too, was caught in Ann’s grasp with a knife held to her throat.
“They were waiting at Jeremiah’s and stepped through my portal once Kennedy emerged on the other side. I’m so sorry.” Mathilde stiffened as Ann pressed the knife harder against her skin, nicking it slightly, and a bead of blood began to well.
“That’s right, little sister. Too bad you didn’t see this coming, but father did. Now, it’s time to bring this messy business to an end.” Ann jerked her head toward the back door, giving her sisters silent directions, then turned back to Caris with a leer on her face as Trin, Kennedy, and Jason were all dragged outside. “If I were you, I’d join us before one of these knives accidentally slips.” Ann stood firm with Mathilde still in her grasp, waiting for Caris to move under her threat.
Caris’s mind raced, her eyes shifting frantically from spot to spot, searching for anything that could help defend her family now caught in the Putnams’ trap.
Stumbling over the back step, tears formed in her eyes when she looked out across the yard.
Four pyres stood tall, prepared and waiting.
“I thought it fitting, seeing as Karina escaped the last time. But tonight, we celebrate,” Ann declared. “For the future of the Howe line ends here. It’s time for you witches to burn.”
Shoved to her knees, Caris screamed, “Why are you doing this? Killing us accomplishes nothing. Our original selves are still out there, and time will play out exactly as it’s meant to be.” A hard jolt to her back knocked her forward into the dirt; one of Ann’s sisters bound her hands with a rough length of rope.
“Oh, don’t worry, we’ll find your younger selves, and when we do, they’ll follow you straight into the flames.” Ann’s vicious snarl came into view as Caris was lifted to her feet.
Trin, Kennedy, and Jason were already tied in place, their hands and feet bound, and with gags shoved into their mouths. Caris reached for her magic but failed, struggling to pull it forth as if it was being suppressed by Ann’s ill intent, or perhaps their enchanted knives. Kicking and flailing, Caris was maneuvered onto the final rise of logs. Then, she also was tied in place against the stake.
“Any last words?” Ann taunted as a wad of material was shoved into Caris’s mouth. “Actually, we don’t care.”
Tears flowed down Mathilde’s cheeks as she remained tightly sequestered in Ann’s grasp, the knife still pricking her skin.
“Ann, please don’t do this. I swear what I’ve seen is true. If you end their lives, it will be the end of the Putnam line. There will be no going back or any way to alter the timeline to fix the mistake you’re about to make.”
Ann shoved Mathilde to the ground. “Shut up! You know nothing of the Goddess. You should be happy you’re not up there with them for your betrayals.”
Past any hope of salvation, Ann flicked her wrist toward the pyres, each of them bursting into a wall of flames.
***
Dirt-streaked tears trailed down Mathilde’s face as she covered her ears, desperate to block out the witches’ screams and her sisters’ villainous laughs. The fires burned too hot, aided by Ann’s dark magic. It took only moments before the charred bones of Jason, Trin, Caris, and Kennedy lay in mounds of ash, smoldering on the ground outside of the Howes’ ancestral home.
“No!” Mathilde scrambled forward, crawling as close to the embers as possible. “You’ve killed us … you’ve killed us all,” she shouted frantically.
“Look around, sister.” Ann held her arms out wide. “There is no one here to stop us now, and once we find the younger versions of these miserable witches, we’ll stop them from ever casting the wretched spell that ruined all of our lives in the first place. Our fight is over, and all that’s left is for you to apologize to Father and return to his side.”
Though Mathilde remained on the ground, her heartbroken demeanor shifted from sorrow and loss to one of power and revenge. “You’re right, and I think I’ll do that right now.” With the slightest whisper, Mathilde disappeared through one of her own portals, reemerging with her Father in tow. “I’ve brought you here, Father, to show you what your daughters have done.” Mathilde released his arm and backed away.
Thomas Putnam’s hardened scowl bloomed into something ill and twisted as he gazed at the charred pyres before him. “You did it?” He snapped his head to Ann, a maniacal smile pulling deep wrinkles tight across his face.
“We did it.” Ann lifted her chin, smiling at her sisters all in a row.
“Then all that’s left to do is retrieve Rebecca and track her daughters in this time, and victory will be ours.” Thomas raised his hands, and his daughters surrounded him, eating up the praise they so rarely received.
A burst of silver light blasted through the yard, knocking the Putnam family to the ground. They were forced to shield their eyes until the light dissipated. Once clear, silence reigned as four young witches stood before them—three were easily recognizable as the Howe witches’ younger selves, but one stood out in front, a stranger to them all.
“Let us save you the effort,” the stranger spoke, her voice calm and steady.
“What is this?” Thomas Putnam began to protest but was silenced with a single look from the unknown witch. Held in place by the girl’s sheer will, the Putnams could do nothing but writhe on the ground like the animals they were.
Ann, most of all, struggled against the binding magic, and with a snap, a mini-tornado burst from her fingertips, reminiscent of the storm she created back in 1703. Apparently, Ann’s powers had grown stronger still, but they were no match for this powerful, young witch. With a single wink, she doused Ann’s magic, again pinning her solidly to the ground.
The girl looked no more than sixteen or seventeen and shared the Howes’ coloring with her auburn hair and green eyes. A soft sprinkling of freckles dotted her nose and cheeks, while her full lips and confident jaw painted a picture of strength and beauty. The power radiating from her, however, made Mathilde wary as the witch walked past her, approaching the burnt-out pyres.
Bending down, the young witch started rifling through the ash and bones with her bare hands, the lingering heat having no effect on her skin.
Rage and panic flared. “Get away from them,” Mathilde shouted, unsure of the girl’s intentions.
The witch ignored her, retrieving something out of the pile from where Trin had just burned.
Moving next to Jason’s remains, she dug through the smoldering soot, continuing her search.
Finally rising from the ground, the witch placed whatever she’d found into the folds of her skirt, polishing the items clean. With a satisfied gleam in her eye, she lifted her hand, revealing a bright ruby pendant hanging from the end of a long chain. With a loud snap, she fit the gem into the top of a gold skeleton key, then turned the jewel within its new socket and smiled.
The ground shook, and all the debris around them rose into the air. Ash, wood, and bits of charred bones flew into the sky. The wind whipped Mathilde’s hair, stinging her face as she fought the torrents of magic surrounding her. Squinting to see through the powerful storm, she watched in awe as everything reassembled into the forms they once were—including Trin, Jason, Caris, and Kennedy. Her friends now stood atop the pyres, tied to the stakes again, but now very much alive.
Mathilde’s gaze snapped to the strange girl as she stalked forward to where her father and her sisters lay on the ground.
In a voice filled with power and peace, the witch called out, “The dead speak through me. Hear me now, for I AM the witch you could not burn!”
With no more than a thought, Mathilde’s entire family disintegrated into thin air … exactly as the Goddess had shown her they would.