“Do you need to take that?” Jeremy asked.
“No, it’s fine," Emily said. “It’s my mom. I'll just call her back on my way home.”
Jeremy’s phone rang in the kitchen. “I should see who that is," he said as he got up and made his way to the kitchen. “We are some popular people right now, huh?”
Emily felt mildly uncomfortable being alone with the rest of the coven. She barely knew Jeremy, but she knew him better than the she knew the rest of them.
“So, Emily. What do you do for work?” Olivia asked.
“My job is really boring actually. I work in a print center for a large law firm.”
“Oh really?” Olivia said. Before she could continue, Jeremy walked back into the room and his face was pale.
“They found Sheff’s body in the woods outside of Lakeshore. He’s dead.”
Everyone gasped and started talking over each other.
“That can't be right," Claire said. “There's no way that is right.”
“How do they know it is him?” Tanner asked.
“He was just at the cottage on Wednesday," Allison said.
“I don’t understand. Who was that? Who just called?” Olivia asked.
Emily sat and watched all of their faces turn to confusion and pain. Jeremy stood there in front of all of them and appeared to be in shock.
“Jeremy?” Claire said. She stood up and put her arm around him, leading him to the chair he was sitting in when the phone rang.
“That was Elise. His sister," Jeremy said. “She just identified his body. He’s fucking dead.” He started to cry and he bent over and hid his face in his hands as he sobbed.
Emily didn’t know what to do or say. Nobody spoke. Tanner pulled out his phone and began looking up information on the death.
“Maybe it is a good idea to call it a night," Claire said to the group.
“Is it safe for us to like, go anywhere alone? Jesus Christ Sheff was killed," Allison said. “He was huge!”
“That's a good point," Olivia said. “We had an inkling that June was killed for who she was, but now it's pretty clear that we’re all in danger.”
“Well we can’t stay together all of the time," Tanner said. “I need to go to work.”
“Danielle is home alone right now," Allison said. “Do you think she's in danger too?”
“Let’s just slow down and think about this," Claire said.
Jeremy quietly sobbed into his hands. Olivia placed a box of tissues on his leg and kissed the top of his head. Emily felt like she should leave.
“I’m so sorry about your friend Sheff, Jeremy," Emily said as she stood up. “I think I’m going to go home and let you guys be together."
“You don’t have to go, Emily," Claire said. “You aren’t one of us yet, but you should still be concerned about your safety.”
Emily thought about the fact that she’s always concerned about her own safety, but she didn’t say that. “That is really nice of you, Claire,” she said. “But I can’t really stay here either. I have a cat at home I need to get home to.”
“I think the most important thing right now is that Jeremy isn’t alone," Tanner said. They all looked at him and waited for him to elaborate.
“Why?” Allison asked.
“Well June was a prominent figure in the community. She was also a public one, seeing as how she read Tarot from her home business,” he said. “Sheff was another important person in the community. And now with him gone, Jeremy is pretty much the head of the shop.”
“I thought you meant because he is upset,” Claire said, still standing with her arm around Jeremy. “I hadn’t even realized he might be…” she trailed off and stared at nothing. Emily thought she looked terrified.
“I think it's pretty clear that we need to come up with a plan," Olivia said. “We've worked some magic, but that doesn't mean we don’t have to put any mundane protections in place.”
“Oh!” Claire said. “Did Sheff get those cameras fixed?” She looked at Jeremy and he nodded no without looking up. “Fuck," she said.
“I don’t think a giant and semi-permanent sleepover is a very good solution," Tanner said.
“We know you have to sleep in your million dollar bed, Tanner," Allison said as she rolled her eyes.
“Let’s make an effort to keep things as positive as we can, please?” Olivia asked. “We can’t start fighting with each other right now.”
“Thank you Liv," Claire said.
Jeremy looked up at everyone. His eyes were bloodshot and swollen, and his face was wet with tears. “Tanner is right," he said. “We can’t always be together. There are going to be times when we’re alone and there is no way around that. We have jobs and lives to live. We can’t put everything on hold.”
“I wonder if the police see the connection," Olivia said.
“How can they not?” Claire said. “A Tarot reader and an occult shop owner. They have to know it's a pattern now.”
“Um, I’m sorry to jump in here if it isn’t my place." Emily said, timidly. She was still standing in front of the couch. “But you mentioned you did some magic? Won’t that help you?”
“It will help us, yes. That’s the idea," Claire said. “But Olivia is right. Magic isn’t full proof, and we don’t know what we’re up against.”
“But we can do more," Tanner said. “We can amp up the protection at each of our homes at the very least. Maybe even at some workplaces. At the cottage for sure.”
“Who can come to the cottage with Jeremy and me tomorrow before business hours?” Claire asked.
“I can," Allison said. “I’m off tomorrow.”
“We’re all off tomorrow," Tanner said.
“I actually can’t come in the morning. I have to help my mom with a project," Olivia said.
“I can come," Emily said. Everyone looked at her. “If I can help, I want to help. I need to learn, right?”
“It’s not like we’ll be casting a circle in the middle of the store," Jeremy said, looking at Claire. “There are things she can help with.”
“Okay," Claire said. “If you want you can come. Thanks." She smiled at Emily and Emily smiled back.
“After I'm done at my mom’s I can be with Jeremy at the cottage," Olivia said.
“We can grab some supplies too, and then the rest of us can team up on our houses," Claire said. “We can figure out those details tomorrow.”
“So are we meeting here in the morning?” Tanner said.
“Yes, let’s meet here at eight tomorrow," Claire answered. “Allison, you get home and fill Danielle in on what’s going on so she knows to be extra careful. Text me when you’re home and the place is locked up.”
“Will do, boss," Allison said.
“Tanner and Liv, you guys text me too when you’re home safe.” They nodded in agreement. Claire looked at Emily. “You should let me know too.”
“Um, sure," Emily said. “I don’t have your number.”
“She has mine," Jeremy said.
“She should have mine too. She should have all of ours, really.” Emily put everyone’s number in her phone, and she sent a group text so everyone had her number as well.
“Let’s just use that group text to let everybody know when you’re home safe," Claire said.
“Jeremy, can I do anything for you right now?” Olivia asked. Claire looked at Olivia and motioned for her to come over. Olivia hugged Jeremy, and focused. She absorbed some of his pain, forcing as much of it as she could out of her body. He took a deep breath. She pulled back to look at him and a tear ran down her face.
“You didn’t have to do that," he said.
“You know I did," she replied.
Emily watched the hug and she thought she saw a foggy mist appear around Olivia for a brief moment. She thought she was tired and just imagining things, and then she realized she needed to get better at keeping an open mind. She suddenly felt excited at the possibility of learning about things she couldn’t even imagin
e. Watching Claire tend to Jeremy and the rest of the group as they started to say their goodbyes, she was in awe of her. Her dream had shown her nothing about who Claire really was. And while she felt like she knew Claire in her dream, really knew her heart and soul, that was just a feeling and it wasn’t anything she could pull from while she was awake. She was looking at a stranger that she was infatuated with, and she just wanted to know her. She wanted to know how she got into her head in the first place.
Emily hugged Jeremy and he thanked her and apologized.
“You don’t have to apologize for anything. I’m really sorry for your loss,” she said.
Claire hugged Emily and held her tight. “Thank you for coming over," she said. Emily felt warm and comfortable in her arms. “I have a good feeling about you being here.”
“Me too," Emily said.
“We’ll see you in the morning. Don’t forget to text when you get home," Claire said.
“Okay," Emily said.
Claire closed the door and walked over to Jeremy, who was sitting back in the living room. She sat next to him and put her hand on his leg. He placed his hand on hers and intertwined his fingers. They sat in silence, knowing there was nothing they could say that could make any of this better. She had lost her mentor. And now he had lost his. They were almost like orphans and now, they had to make sure they didn’t leave anyone else behind.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“THEY FOUND HIM," Angel said. “It’s all over the news.”
“Hmm," Suzan said. “It was only a matter of time. We didn’t hide him very well.”
“None of it went well," he said. “None of it went according to plan.”
“It was a shitty plan," she said. “Are they saying anything about us?”
He scrolled through an article on his phone and read portions aloud. “It says the police are interviewing witnesses.”
“Great," she said. “That’s just what we need.”
“I knew we should have went back for that car," he said.
“We aren’t killers, Angel,” she said. We don’t just murder innocent people.”
“So you're fine with us getting caught then?”
“We won’t get caught," she said. “We have God on our side, and we ain’t done yet. What else does it say?”
“They are looking for two people. A man and a woman. It says they match the description of suspects in other murders in Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky.”
Suzan shook her head in frustration.
“It says because of who the victims are, they believe the suspects are serial killers.”
“Who the victims are," she said. “Ha! They’re no victims. We’re the victims.”
“It says here the people who were murdered. That is who they are talking about," he said.
“I know, you idiot. I mean they aren’t- never mind," she said.
“Maybe we should take a breather," he said. “It seems like they have a lot more information now, and people are going to be watching for us.”
“Does it say what we look like?” she asked.
“He scanned the rest of the article. “No, not here," he said.
“Then they don’t know what we look like," she said. “We can lay low, but not for long. We still have too much work to do." She stared blankly at the wall, thinking. “I might know of someone that can help us with this.”
“Who?” he asked.
“That boy that we met at the most recent church. He’s been asking about us teaching him,” she said.
“So?” he asked.
She rolled her eyes at him. “So maybe we take him up on it, dummy,” she sighed. “Maybe we see how willing he is to work with us.”
“How could that help us?”
“Just wait and see. You trust me, don’t you?”
“Of course,” he said. “With all my heart.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
EMILY LEFT THE covenstead and drove all the way home without looking at her phone. She had been too distracted to realize that she had missed two more calls from her mother. Her phone rang again as she was walking into her apartment.
“Oh my God, Mom,” she said. She picked up the phone. “Hello?”
“Emily I have been trying to call you all day," Karen said.
Emily sighed. “Yes Mom I see that. Sorry, I've had a busy day. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she said. “I wanted to call to talk to you about something.”
“What is so urgent?” Emily asked. “You never call me this much.”
“I spoke to your dad, and he told me you mentioned these dreams you've been having," she said.
“Okay?” Emily said. She didn’t know why that required her mom to harass her with phone calls the entire day.
Karen started sidetracking. “Why have you been avoiding my calls all day?”
“I said, Mom. I’ve been busy.”
“Busy doing what exactly?” Karen asked.
Emily was losing patience in record time with her mother. “Why do you care?” she asked. She was feeling fed up, and was not in the mood to deal with her mother and her prying and her rambling.
“I care because I am your mother," Karen said.
“Well that doesn't seem to come along with any prerequisite to care. Because if you cared so much, you would do more than call me once every couple of months. Even if you do call me twenty times in one day," she said. “Mom, I really do not have the capacity to argue with you right now. Tonight was really stressful, and I just can’t add anything else onto it right now.”
“Okay," Karen said.
“You called to ask me about my dreams again?” Emily asked.
“It doesn’t matter. I’m sorry for bugging you, Emily. We can talk later when you're in a better mood.”
“Ugh. Fine, Mom. Whatever you say," Emily said. “I’m glad you finally got a hold of me for no reason at all.”
Karen sat silent for a moment. “Can you call me back tomorrow? Maybe we can talk then. I really do need to talk to you about something.”
Emily rolled her eyes and Karen could hear it in her voice. “I’ll try," she said.
“I love you, Emily," Karen said. “I really do.”
Emily sighed. “Love you too." She hung up the phone. She wished she could speak to her mother without every conversation turning into an argument. She knew most of the time it fell on her and the attitude she had with her mom. It took very little for Emily to become snarky with her mom. It wasn’t always her mom’s fault. Karen had made some mistakes in terms of motherhood, but their bad relationship wasn’t on her shoulders alone. She wanted to improve things, but she didn’t know how. Her mom drove her crazy, and she still held a lot of resentment towards her for divorcing her father and then eventually moving away. If she loved her as much as she said she did, why would she leave her like that?
“Always with the good timing, Mother," Emily said. She walked into her bedroom and collapsed on the bed. She thought about everything that had happened that day. Each day she thought she had heard too much to process, and then the next encounter just blows the last one out of the water. She had been told that she’s likely a witch and had decided to join a coven of witches. Another person who identified as a witch was just murdered. An old man this time. The owner of the Cottage, and Jeremy’s boss. She might be a witch and she is finding out just in time for a witch hunting serial killer. It was all too surreal. Like she was living in a dream. Which is precisely what she was doing, she was following literal dreams. She still couldn’t decide if that made her admirable, or insane. Her gut told her that it didn’t really matter what it made her. She felt like she was actually going somewhere for the first time in her life. Following this idea that didn’t make any sense made more sense to her than anything ever had. Her phone buzzed.
“Oh my God, Mother!” she yelled. She picked up her phone and it was a text from Claire. “Oh fuck,” she said. She had completely forgot to text them when she got home. “Way to start th
ings Emily. Let them know right off that bat that you’re forgetful and unreliable.”
She texted them that she was home safe, and apologized profusely for forgetting to text. She lay in bed and could not turn off her brain. She couldn’t stop replaying the entire night in her head. And she tried to imagine the kinds of things she might see and do the next day. She couldn't wait to spend time with Claire in a more casual setting. As casual as setting up magic traps can be. If that is what they were going to be up to. She laid in her dark bedroom and her thoughts blended into her dreams as she eventually fell asleep.
Emily woke up in the morning to the sound of her phone’s alarm. Bohemian Rhapsody played in an 8-bit tone. She rolled over and looked at her phone. It was 6:30 am. She wanted to roll back over and go back to sleep until she remembered in an instant that she was going to see Claire and be with the coven that day. She jumped out of bed and ran into the shower. She showered quickly, only washing her hair. She got out and started coffee while she stood in her robe in the kitchen, her hair up in a wet towel on the top of her head. Eli rubbed up against her wet leg and she grimaced.
“Eli!” she said, pulling away. “I’m wet and now your hair is all over me!” He meowed at her and walked to his food bowl. He sat down and looked at it, and then back up at her. “Okay I’ll feed you. Yeesh.” She fed him and pet his head lovingly.
She walked into her bedroom and immediately regretted the fact that she hadn’t used her time awake the night before to pick out what she was going to wear that day. She went for casual again, in dark jeans, a green tee-shirt, and a gray hoodie. She didn’t know exactly what she was going to be doing, but she assumed she should be dressed in comfortable clothing. She wanted to make a good impression on Claire, but she didn’t want to be anything but herself. She had no intentions of presenting herself in false ways, because she wanted Claire to fall for her. Her true self. Whoever that was. She had tasted true love in her dream. Complete acceptance, safety, and belonging. She knew that if that was ever going to happen in real life, she could only be herself. So, simple and casual it was. She put her hair up in a ponytail, and put eyeshadow and eyeliner on. She thought about work and taking up Dave on his idea. She probably should take some time off. She had a lot of hours saved up, and maybe now would be a good time to take a break. While her dreams weren’t as much of a distraction the last couple of days and she was sleeping a bit better, she wanted to have some time to focus on the coven and do whatever she could do to help. If anything this was just a different distraction. She decided to feel out how the day went and see if there was any chance of spending more time together during the week. She should also see her dad. She felt like she had only spoken to him on the phone, but hadn’t seen his actual face in weeks. And with all the unbelievable things happening to her the last few days and weeks, seeing him would be a good connection to her real world. Something to ground her.
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