Chapter Thirty-One

Watching Jake leave, Brenna felt her heart breaking. She didn’t want to believe this could be last time she saw him or her family, but wasn’t her path clear? The message in the verse Fred had shared spoke directly to her need to be the sacrifice for her family. Who’d ever think a sign for a witch could come from a fundamentalist preacher and the Bible?

As Jake’s cruiser turned out of the driveway and the pleasant noise of family drifted through the evening air, Brenna recalled that verse. “For how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people? Or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?”

According to Fred, Esther willingly put herself in danger to protect those she loved.

Willow’s words drifted through her mind. “The help you will need will be found in an unlikely place.”

There was no more unlikely place for a witch to seek help than the Holy Bible. Brenna knew there was hope for the future, but only if she was able to change the present.

She went to her car for her cloak, and then around the house and into the woods. A hot wind was rising. Although thunder boomed and lightning danced off the hills and mountains, no rain fell. The heat was almost as intense as during the day. Like air from a blacksmith’s bellows, Brenna thought.

The Summer Solstice moon peaked in and out of the clouds that streamed in the darkened sky. Clouds heading west, she noted, opposite the normal flow. Her father and Dr. McGuire had commented on the strangeness of this weather.

But this was no real storm. And it was waiting for Brenna.

She plunged forward, thinking about the coven. She believed her Aunt Celia had brought Fiona a message and there was a traitor in their midst. The traitor had planted the evil flower, caused Aunt Doris’s injury, and allowed the demon in last night to belch fire from the ground. Brenna didn’t blame the traitor for her actions. The demon or the Woman in White or perhaps both entities were influencing the choices being made.

The thought of choices made her think of Jake again. Her choice was going to hurt him, and that filled her with regret, but she was certain the incident he was going to at the market was just the beginning. The demon was loose in the county again, wreaking havoc.

“This needs to be finished,” she said into the wind. Brenna was going to call the Woman in White again. She was ready to give herself as she had been last night.

She chanted under her breath, gathering her magic around her and building its strength until she reached the clearing at the top of falls.

The familiar circle felt warm and inviting as Brenna stepped inside. She waved her hands across the rim of candles. They lit and the flames stood strong in spite of the wind.

She lifted her hands and began her spell.

“I light these candles in the presence of the gods and goddesses. In the name of the four mighty elements, please gather within this circle and let the power descend to this place. Gather now and hear my plea. As I will, so mote it be.”

The magic swirled around her in a twist of light and sound. Brenna glowed with its light and warmth. Last night, her offer of sacrifice had been dulled by defiance. Her mother warned her tonight not to taunt the Woman. Maybe Delia’s words provided the last piece of advice Brenna needed from an unexpected source. Tonight she faced the Woman feeling like an equal.

She forced herself to remain calm, to speak with confidence. “I summon the Woman in White. Standing here in power and light, I offer myself as a sacrifice.”

The wind settled. A fine mist fell, cold against Brenna skin, seeping through her cloak. She waited and took deep breaths so her power remained steady and flowing. Something was coming. She could sense motion beyond the circle.

To her surprise, her cousin Maggie stepped out of the trees. It was Maggie, but different. Her hair was alive with electricity, moving like Medusa’s. Her face was white, stark against the darkness around them. Her movements were jerky and robotic, as if she didn’t have control over her own limbs.

As she came closer to the light, Brenna saw a black mass swoop in and out of Maggie’s body, moving from her head to her toes and back again. A sick feeling started in Brenna’s stomach.

“Maggie, what are you doing here?”

It wasn’t Maggie’s voice that roared at her through the mist. The voice was deep and hollow, echoing through the clearing like the rumble of doom. “I’ve made my own way, and because I’ve been strong enough to do this, my husband, my baby and I are safe from the Woman in White.”

Brenna began to tremble, fear momentarily overwhelming her. “Maggie, what have you done?”

“I let the demon inside me.” Maggie’s laughter was maniacal. “He knocked on my door. You said demons don’t knock on doors, but he did. He promised me I would be safe. He said as long as he could use me, the Woman in White couldn’t touch me. He wants New Mourne. To take it, he knows he needs you. He couldn’t get to you on his own. Even last night, when you tried to offer yourself, we couldn’t reach you with that old fae in the way. But tonight he has me, and we’re all alone.”

Brenna’s heart pounded as answers fell into place. “You put the plant that attacked me in Aunt Frances’s garden?”

Maggie’s head moved up and down like a puppet’s.

“And you hurt Aunt Doris?”

The thing that was inside Maggie laughed again.

“Did you kill Sandy?”

Tears replaced the laughter. Brenna could see her cousin’s true features through the demon’s twisting veil. “He came out of me in front of her,” she cried in her real voice. “Sandy was so frightened. She fell to floor. I don’t know what happened after that.”

Other parts of the puzzle clicked into place in Brenna’s mind. She thought she saw Lauren in town when the demonic troubles began and again before the plant attacked her, but it must have been Maggie. Then there was Maggie’s odd appearance the night at the shop. From the beginning, Maggie had an overpowering fear about being taken from her husband and child. That made her weak and susceptible to the demon’s offer.

“But why does he do this?” Brenna cried. “We saw the Woman in White kill Garth. We know she’s waiting for one of us. Why does the demon torture the town, too?”

The answer was an unholy roar that shook the ground. “She thinks she won,” the demon shrieked, the words crawling along Brenna’s skin. “She thinks she has all the power, but I can show her. I can be her.”

The blackness in Maggie morphed into the Woman in White. This time, Brenna wasn’t fooled. She knew this was the demon, trying to trick her into believing he was the entity she had been seeking.

Brenna fell back, terrified but wanting to appear strong. Maggie dropped to the ground and began to crawl toward the path. “I’ll get help,” she sobbed to Brenna. “I promise I’ll get help.”

The wraith with the beautiful face wavered and then flashed back into Maggie’s body. She straightened and moved forward with a jerk. Brenna could see her cousin was fighting the evil with all of her might.

“Now I have you where I want you,” the demon rumbled at Brenna. “You’re the one I want, the strongest, most powerful Connelly witch of your generation. With your power, I can banish the Woman forever. This land and this town will be mine.”

The demon couldn’t penetrate the circle, but he pushed Maggie’s body as close as possible. Her eyes glowed as she screamed, “You are mine. You can’t get away from me now.”

Brenna raised her arms and stood firm, focusing her whole being on summoning help. “I call on the gods and goddesses to come to me, to ride within me, to help me dispel the evil in this place.”

The air cracked with power as a light streaked down and passed through Brenna’s hand into her body. When she pushed her hands out in front of her, a stream of radiance shot out and pushed Maggie to the ground.

“Brenna!” The sound of her mother calling her name shocked Brenna, and her magic wavered.

Delia stepped out of the trees. Brenna shouted a warning. “The demon has Maggie. Get away from here and get help.”

Maggie stood and roared again, this time at Brenna’s mother.

“Please, Mother, get the others.”

“Please, Mommy,” the demon mocked and threw fire at Delia.

The other witch was prepared, however, and she deflected the black magic flame so that it went back toward Maggie. Brenna pushed out another wave of light at the same time, sending Maggie to the ground again.

Instead of fleeing, Delia set her feet and began chanting. Light and magic filled the clearing. The demon struggled to bring Maggie to her feet while the wind rose, moaning through the trees.

Brenna let Delia’s voice penetrate her mind. She picked up the chant as well. She felt the same power she experienced at the shop with Sarah—a oneness, an unbreakable connection.

For a moment, Brenna felt hope. She thought they might defeat this evil.