Monica headed for her car in a shambling run. She scrabbled at the door handle with wildly trembling hands, and hurled herself into the driver’s seat. Before she drove off, her real self managed to break through, and she screamed out her daughter’s name. It was like watching someone kidnap themselves. The tires screamed against the pavement and left smoking black streaks as the car roared out of the parking lot.
“Well then. It looks like we’ve found our final sin-ghost!” Flower’s voice was remarkably placid despite the situation and the sobbing teenage girl she held in her arms. “And it looks like we got a bit of a surprise, too.” She lifted Tamara’s chin with a fingertip. “Did you know your mother was a witch, dear?”
“What? She’s not! And I’m not! What was that? What happened? We have to find her and help her!” Tamara clung desperately to Flower’s dress and wouldn’t let go.
“We will, but you’re going to have to calm down first,” Deegie said. Using the same technique she’d employed with Zach when he was overwrought about his brother, she put her hands on Tamara’s head and sent a stream of calming thoughts into her mind.
While Deegie soothed Tamara, Flower tried to locate Monica Biggs psychically. She gave up after only a few seconds, and her face was lined in pain when she spoke. “No good. The damn thing’s jammed my frequencies even worse than Lust did. Gave me a hell of a zap, too.”
Tamara’s sobs dwindled. Her body relaxed, and she went limp in Flower’s arms. “What’s happening?” she whispered. “Is my mom possessed?”
Not one to mince words, Flower replied in her usual blunt fashion. “Yes she is.” She met Deegie’s eyes and added, “It’s just as I thought: Wrath is going to be the most dangerous out of all of them. It must have been stalking Monica for weeks, drawing strength from her. We need to find her, and quickly!”
Tamara watched, wide-eyed, as Deegie readied a couple of ghost traps. “Is that going to hurt her?” Tamara asked in a timorous voice. “You’re putting broken glass in that thing.”
“No. Don’t worry, we don’t want to hurt your mom. This is just to draw out the sin-ghost that’s inside her.” Deegie put the lid on the trap and handed it to Tamara. “I think it would be best if you’re the one who lures it out.”
“What? No way! I don’t know what I’m doing!” Tamara held up both hands in a warding-off gesture and shook her head. “I can’t!”
“You have to!” Flower cut in. “Your mother sees Deegie and me as less than human, but she loves you, despite what she said. If Deegie or I were to approach her with a trap, that thing inside her would use your mother’s powers to hurt us. She’s pissed off at you for sure, but she won’t hurt you. Deegie and I won’t let anything happen.”
“Where does your mom go when she wants to be alone?” Deegie asked as they left the shop and got into her van. “That’s most likely where we’ll find her. Does she have a favorite place, like a park, or the library?”
“She’s either at home or at the church,” Tamara replied. “She doesn’t really have a hang-out that I know of. She was always religious, but ever since my dad left all she wants to do is go to church. It’s like her whole life now.”
“Sounds like she’s denied her true calling for a long time,” said Flower. “That must have been incredibly difficult for her.” She turned in her seat to address Tamara directly. “Is your dad a religious man?”
Tamara nodded. “Yes,” she said, “but he’s not a fanatic about it. I mean … he’s not like my mom.”
“A witch trying to be something she’s not can create an incredible amount of chaotic energy. She’s like a time-bomb ready to go off. There’s no telling what she might be capable of now that Wrath has taken over her body. She can fight it for a while, but …” Flower left her sentence unfinished and cast a knowing glance at Deegie. “Let’s try the church first,” she said.
As they headed down Main Street, Deegie heard sirens approaching, and she pulled the van over to the side of the road. Two fire engines screamed past, followed by an ambulance and a police cruiser. Looking to the left, toward Jenkin Road, they saw a plume of black, ominous-looking smoke billowing into the sky.
“That’s where the church is!” Tamara stuck her head and shoulders between the two front seats and peered out the windshield. “Oh please don’t let it be the church!”
Wordlessly, Deegie steered back onto the road, and followed the emergency vehicles. If the church was indeed on fire, she knew it was most likely the work of the thing that had taken over Monica Biggs. She turned onto Jenkin Road, but was only able to go a few hundred yards before she had to stop. The road had already been blocked off by yellow tape and a police car parked sideways. Beyond that was the church. A great gout of furious orange flame issued from its roof.
“Oh shit …” Tamara whispered from the back seat. “Did my mom do that? Did she?”
“Not your mom, dear,” Flower said. “It was the thing inside her.” She reached back and patted the girl’s hand. “Don’t worry. We’ll find her.”
“I see her car!” Tamara stabbed a finger to the right. A short distance from the flaming church, a blue compact car sat parked haphazardly on the shoulder of the road. “That’s my mom’s car!”
Before anyone could comment further, a uniformed policeman approached the van, gesturing angrily and shouting at them to get off the road. Deegie put the crotchety old van in reverse and backed up until she found a spot to turn around. As they headed back toward town, Deegie caught sight of something moving swiftly into the trees to her right. A human figure was dashing into the forest, and Deegie recognized the bright yellow of Monica’s sweater.
“I see her!” Deegie took a hand off the wheel to point. “There she is!”
A fire road veered off into the woods a short distance away, and Deegie guided the van onto it and cut the engine. When she got out she could hear the faint sounds of breaking twigs and crunching pine needles as Monica, propelled by the sin-ghost inside her, stumbled through the woods.
“Come on!” Deegie said as she started to run for the edge of the woods. “If we hurry we can catch up with her!”
Flower and Tamara followed Deegie, but all too soon the sounds of Monica’s dash into the trees ceased and they were left standing in silence. Not even a bird called from the treetops. It was as if the forest was holding its breath.
“Try calling out for her,” Deegie suggested to Tamara.
“I’m scared.” Tamara’s voice broke and she appeared on the verge of tears again. “You call her … I can’t …”
“You have to!” Flower said gruffly. “You want to help your mom, don’t you?”
“Y-yes, but …”
“Even though Wrath has moved into her body, your mom is still in there. If she hears your voice, believe me, she’s going to fight to get to you. She’s a strong woman. She must be, if she’s been fighting her true self all this time.” Flower patted Tamara’s shoulder, none too gently. “Now call her! We won’t let anything happen to you.”
“Okay …” Tamara uttered a choked sob and wiped her nose on her sleeve. She took a deep, quivering breath and called out softly, “Mom? Mom, are you out there? It’s me, Tamara …”
The silence intensified. Deegie was sure she could hear Tamara’s heart knocking frantically against her ribs.
“Try it again,” Flower said.
Tamara did, a little louder this time. “Mom! Where are you? Mom, please!”
There was no response. Deegie had the disquieting sensation that the forest was watching them, that the trees could hear their thoughts. “Let’s go back,” she said. “Let’s get Zach, Gilbert and Nix. Zach has a Jeep; it can take us farther up that service road so we don’t have to hike it. My van would never make it.”
“What—you don’t think us girls can handle it by ourselves?” Flower’s question carried a note of humor, but her face had gone sickly pale, and her breathing was labored. Droplets of sweat glistened on her forehead like tiny jewels. She wiped her face on her sleeve and nodded. “Yeah,” she said, “I agree. Let’s get out of here.”
Flower stumbled on the way back to the van, and she would have gone down had Deegie not caught her in time. Despite the older woman’s toughness, Deegie could tell she had overexerted herself, but she knew Flower would never admit it.
Tamara sobbed quietly on the way to Deegie’s house, but she stopped abruptly when they passed Jenkin Road. The remains of the church were partially visible from Main Street. They could see that the fire was out, but the fire department was still there, putting out hot spots, and the road was still blocked off.
“I can’t believe she would burn down the church,” Tamara whispered brokenly. “She loves that church.”
“It was Wrath who did it,” Deegie reminded her. “Hopefully we can find her before it makes her do something else.”
“Where do you think she went?” Tamara tore her eyes away from the column of white smoke that rose from the smoldering ruin. “I’m so worried about her.”
“My guess is she’s hiding somewhere up on that hill,” Deegie replied. “She knows the thing inside her is dangerous, and she doesn’t want anyone to get hurt. I think she gained the upper hand long enough to get as far away from the town as she could.”
“Gilbert did the same thing,” Flower said. Her eyes were closed, and her head rested against the window, but her voice was stronger now. “I hope he doesn’t chicken out on us,” she added, almost to herself.
“I’m so glad my little brother is spending the week at my dad’s,” Tamara said. “I don’t think he’d be able to handle this.”
Once again, the witches reconvened at Deegie’s house, and they sat around the kitchen table discussing how they should handle this latest crisis. Tamara sat there too, timid and not saying much. Her eyes kept straying to the staircase, and Deegie wondered if she could sense the presence of Lisbet and the ghost cats.
Although Gilbert would not make eye contact with Deegie, he was more than willing to assist in the hunt for Tamara’s mother. He held tightly to Nix’s hand while he offered suggestions in his new soft and gentle tone of voice. “Have you considered the cave at the top of the hill where your father’s portal was? I’m willing to bet that little cavern is a magnet for all things paranormal now. All the energy we left there isn’t going away anytime soon, and you know how like attracts like.”
“Hey, the Gilmeister finally said something I agree with,” Zach said, eliciting a small, tight grin from his brother. “There’s still plenty of daylight left. We should go right now.” He turned to Deegie, sitting next to him. “What do you say, Deeg? Should we check out the cave?”
Deegie had to admit it made sense. The clearing at the top of the hill had been the scene of an epic battle of good against evil. A portal to the Underworld had been opened there. Ghoulish creatures had been fought and vanquished. Her father, whom she’d thought long dead and buried, had miraculously reappeared, and one of their own had lost his life. Gilbert was right: if a supernatural creature needed a place to hide, it would most likely be drawn to that desolate location.
“Yes,” said Deegie. “I agree.” She turned her head to include Nix and Flower. “Ladies? What do you think?”
“I’m always down for stuff like this,” Nix said with a grin. “You know how I roll.”
Flower sat with her elbows on the table and her chin resting on her folded hands. She still looked wan and exhausted, and Deegie felt a renewed pang of worry.
“Would you kids mind if I sat this one out?” she asked. The mischievous gleam had gone from her chocolate-brown eyes, and her smile was fleeting. “This old gal is just about tuckered out.”
Alarm rose in Deegie’s throat. “Of course you can stay here. Are you … are you all right?”
“Hell yes, I’m fine,” Flower scoffed. “I’m just not up to another cross-country hike right now, that’s all.” She eyed all of them in turn and smiled. “Now if you don’t mind, I think I’m going to borrow your couch for a spell. I just need a bit of a rest, and I’ll be fine.”