by Susan Harper
Abigail gulped slightly, and Monica shot her a warning look to not say anything. “Well, we need to find Sarah before she tries to take out someone else off her little hit list,” Monica said.
“Agreed,” he said, but before they had a chance to try to make some sort of plan, they heard voices outside.
Brian hurried to the window, and he smiled. “Guess who’s back?”
“Ha! Too easy,” Roderick said. “Let’s go get the woman, then!”
They all hurried down the stairs and into the sitting room just as Sarah was making her way inside. When she saw them, she huffed. “Come back to speak to me, I see,” she said. “What do you want? I’ve already told you everything I know.” Her eyes lingered on Roderick though, and she saw that he had her modified sword. Her face went red. “Oh…”
“Yes, oh,” Roderick said. “You murdered your ex-fiancé and tried to frame Alexander for it. And he’s not the first, is he, dear? How many more victims have you assaulted during your visits to the city?” He reached into his coat, presumably to pull out his wand, but Sarah was quick.
“Retounen!” she shouted in a thick, Barbados accent.
The sword went flying out of Roderick’s hand and into her own. Monica’s eyes went wide. “Are you… Are you a witch?” Monica yelped.
“How dare you!” Sarah exclaimed, her sword held out in front of her. “A witch! No, I’m no witch. I’m not a filthy, disgusting mystic!” She whipped her hair out of her face and pointed to an emerald necklace around her neck. “Tituba gave me this. A Barbados slave in Salem. It allows mortals to use magic. Barbados witches have some tricks European and American witches know nothing of.”
“Tituba is helping you!” Abigail hissed.
Sarah’s eyes lingered on Abigail for a moment, looking confused. “You…” she said. “Abigail! Abigail Williams!”
“What?!” Roderick exclaimed.
Sarah bolted in their direction, sword in hand. Much to Monica’s dismay, the woman really looked as though she knew what she was doing. “I’m going to kill you, witch! I’m going to kill you!”
Abigail yelped and bolted just as Sarah sent a blast of flame from her sword. Monica dove out of the way, the flame burning her ankles as she fumbled to the ground. Sarah, seizing the opportunity, turned on Monica now. “Filthy witch!” she roared, pointing the sword at her.
Holly screamed and tackled her, sending the sword flying. “Levite!” Sarah shouted, and a bit of green magic erupted from her necklace, sending Holly flying up to the ceiling and sticking to it.
“Let me go, you nut job!” she shouted.
“Get the necklace!” Roderick shouted.
Brian, Isaac, and Roderick all circled her. Roderick now had his wand. “Levite!” she shouted, waving her finger at Roderick. His wand whipped out of his hand and went straight up, sticking to the ceiling next to Holly.
“Oh, bullocks,” Roderick said.
“Pouse!” she snarled, and the same green magic blasted in his direction, sending him flying.
Monica had never heard any of these spells the woman was using before; she wasn’t familiar with Barbados incantation. She did know, however, that she needed the necklace. She pulled out her own wand and attempted to cast a spell, but her spell misfired and merely knocked a lantern off a nearby end table. “Stupid unnatural,” Sarah said with a fit of laughter. “I’m a mortal and I can direct my spells better than you, how pathetic!”
“Screw you,” Monica said, more than just mildly offended.
Sarah, who had now sent both Brian and Isaac up to the ceiling, was distracted as Abigail leaped from the fireplace’s mantle. She landed right on Sarah’s head, and with a quick slice of her claws, she cut the bit of string holding up the necklace. The necklace landed, shattering, and Holly and the others fells from the ceiling. Isaac landed right on top of Sarah. “I’m not getting up,” he said as Roderick grabbed his wand and performed a binding curse.
Sarah screamed from where she now sat on the floor, arms glued to her sides. “It’s over, Sarah,” Roderick said. “You’re going to be going to jail for a long time.”
Monica stared at the necklace. “I thought you said you were the only witch in Salem, Abigail. Was Tituba a real witch?” Monica asked, picking up the shattered remnants.
“No, she wasn’t,” Abigail said. “She had that necklace, though. Knew a few witches in Barbados who sent it with her when she was enslaved. Guess Sarah talked her into giving it to her.”
“Looks that way,” Monica said.
Roderick held his wand up to Abigail. “I’ve managed to kill two birds with one stone, it seems,” he said, satisfied. “No wonder we could not find you if you’ve managed to disguise yourself as a cat!”
“Oh, wake up, you idiot,” Abigail said. “I’m Abigail Williams, but not the one you’re looking for. I’m from the future. This is my punishment, you nitwit.”
Roderick glared at her for a moment, and he finally lowered his wand. “I suppose…this makes sense… The Sorcerer’s Council were discussing such a punishment for you.”
“Don’t get me started on that,” Monica said harshly.
“I’ll get out of prison,” Sarah hissed. “And I’ll find you, Williams!”
“Oh, shut up,” Roderick said.
“I’ll kill you, wizard!” Sarah snapped at him. “You filthy creature! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you like I did that nasty mystic lover, Edward!”
With the wave of his wand, Roderick gave Sarah lockjaw, and she wasn’t able to speak anymore.
13
Monica and the others found themselves seated in one of the empty rooms at the inn. Roderick had asked them to wait for him there while he escorted Sarah to the local police to be processed. Monica sat on the edge of one of the twin beds next to Brian, who was playing around with a small chunk of wood and a small knife, trying his hand at whittling—something he had seen a few men doing seated on the porch outside the inn. Holly was seated on the floor, casually flipping through a book that had been loaned to her by one of the innkeepers while Isaac was sprawled out on the other bed, staring up at the ceiling in boredom. Abigail was playfully batting at his shoelaces, evidently feeling a little extra cat-like this evening.
“When is Roderick supposed to be back?” Holly asked, finally shutting her book. “I mean, she confessed, right? Not to mention she was caught red-handed with the murder weapon stashed away in the room she was staying at.”
“I think he said he was going to follow up on our missing time coin with Cornelius,” Brian said, still fiddling with the blade and the wood.
Monica groaned and leaned back on the bed, plopping her head down on the pillow. “I’m starting to wonder if they’re ever going to find that witch who stole the time coin. We could be stuck here for a while, you guys.” Monica, now that she was lying down flat, locked eyes with Abigail for a moment. The cat quickly averted her gaze like she was anxious about something. Monica sat upright, staring across the way at her as she continued playing with Isaac’s shoelaces. “Abigail, what’s going on?”
“Huh?” Abigail said, and Isaac pulled his shoes away from her and sat upright.
“I’m serious,” Monica said. “You’ve been acting odd ever since we got here. I know that this is not exactly your favorite point in history, but you’ve been very distant, and now you’re acting even weirder than usual. Since when do you play like a little kitty-cat? I’ve never known you to play with shoelaces. You think you’re too good to act like a cat most days.”
Abigail huffed, but there was a lack of annoyance in the tone that was very un-Abigail like.
“What’s up, Abigail?” Holly asked, looking up at her from the floor.
Abigail sighed heavily. “Okay, fine,” she said. “I feel guilty because, well, I remember what happens next. I remember this day really well because, well, I’m going to get captured today. Today. And I know that before I get captured, there is an escape at the local jail. Sarah’s going to get away, but I can
’t say anything because that would be messing with time.”
Brian groaned. “Seriously? She’s going to get away?”
“Abigail! If you knew that, you should have said something,” Monica said. “You could have warned Roderick, and he could have done something to prevent it.”
“No, she was right, Monica,” Brian argued. “You said so yourself that there are a lot of rules surrounding time travel. She can’t go back in time to change things. If Sarah is supposed to escape, well…”
“Dude, you’re a cop,” Isaac said. “You would think you would want to make sure Sarah went to jail and stayed there.”
“Yes, but breaking one law to uphold another one is not what I stand for,” Brian said. “Besides, where we come from, Sarah has already escaped. It’s past. We can’t change the past without breaking the law. So… If she escapes, there’s nothing we can or should do about it because we’re not supposed to alter history. It could hurt the timeline, right?”
“Right,” Abigail said. “We just need to hurry up and find this time coin so that we can get out of here as quickly as possible. I can’t stand being here. It’s driving me crazy.”
“We know,” Monica said, sighing heavily on Abigail’s behalf. “I know you are ready to leave. But until we find that time coin, there’s not much we can do.”
There was a knock on the door. Feeling particularly lazy and wanting a bit of wand practice, Monica waved her wand in that direction, and the door opened. Roderick smiled and entered the room. “About time you got back,” Isaac said.
Roderick laughing slightly. “Good news is, Sarah is in mortal custody, and we can put that case behind us. She confessed in front of the mortal officers, so all is well. And, in even better news, I do believe we know where Remembrance is hiding. We’ve tracked them down to an abandoned warehouse by Boston Harbor. I’ve already sent word to the Sorcerer’s Council, and they’re going to meet us there for a raid.”
“Awesome!” Monica said, clasping her hands together in excitement. She jumped up from her seat. “Are we allowed to come? Please tell me we can come help you take in some Remembrance freaks.”
“I don’t see why not,” Roderick said. “This is going to be a very exciting afternoon. I’m going to manage to kill two birds with one stone for the second time today on this raid.”
“How do you mean?” Monica asked.
“You’ll see,” he said with a handwave. “This is going to be good. We’ll be making history today. Now, we better hurry. Madam Hort and the others won’t wait on us forever, and this is a raid I’ve been waiting to do for some time now.”
Monica and the others excitedly followed behind. Monica could not help but to notice that Abigail seemed somehow more nervous as opposed to relieved at news of finding a potential location of their time coin, but Monica felt that she might have been imagining it.
14
Monica stood by Roderick at the docks along with Brian, Isaac, Holly, and Abigail. She had her wand out and at the ready. Gazing out across the foggy mass of water, she could see a number of witches and wizards headed their way on broomsticks. “Thought you couldn’t fly within the city,” Brian said.
“Cutoff is right here at the docks,” Roderick said. “Those are the councilmembers coming to help with the raid. This is going to be a pretty serious one, because these are the leaders of Remembrance—the heads.”
Madam Hort and a handful of other witches and wizards of the Sorcerer’s Council and some of Roderick’s fellow authorities landed at the docks, dismounting their brooms. “Councilmembers, these are the time travelers I told you about whose time coin was stolen. While our top priority is of course taking in Remembrance, it would be better for this lot if we locate the time coin swiftly and without incident,” Madam Hort began. “Otherwise we’ll have to see what we can do about getting them back to their own time, and that sort of magic could take months.”
Monica cringed at the thought of being strapped in this era for months. Finding that time coin was certainly going to be her priority. “We’ll get you that time coin back, lass,” one of the wizards, a fellow with more red hair on his face than head, said.
“Councilman Locke,” Monica said, and he stood upright proudly.
“You know me?”
“History books,” Monica said, and he seemed rather pleased with himself.
“Don’t go giving Locke a big head, Monica,” Roderick said with a laugh.
“We have a problem, Roderick,” Madam Hort said, interrupting their banter before it could continue. “According to a contact at the local station, Sarah escaped from custody, and they believe she is headed here.”
“Well, that’s awfully stupid of her, isn’t it?” Roderick asked. “Why would she head straight here? Doesn’t she realize we’re bound to snag her up again?”
“Yes,” Madam Hort said. “They say she left behind some sort of manifesto. She’s coming here to kill as many Remembrance members as she can, and I don’t believe she cares if she makes it out alive or not.”
“Great,” Roderick groaned. “You think she could already be here? Do we have to protect her now too?”
“Looks that way,” Councilman Locke said. “Last thing we need is a dead mortal girl on our hands. It’ll get the officers in Boston all riled up again, even if she is guilty of killing a handful of our kind already. Keep the stupid wretch from getting blown up by the Remembrance clowns, bring in as many Remembrance members as possible, and locate the time coin. Everyone understand our priorities?”
There was a slight murmur, and then as one stealthy unit, they began making their way toward the warehouse. Sure enough, Sarah was spotted sprinting across the empty field by the building with her sword in hand. “Stay low,” Madam Hort said, the fog making good cover. “Maybe she’ll draw them out?”
“Do we want to protect her or use her as bait? You’re rather inconsistent with your priorities there,” Brian whispered.
They didn’t have time to make such a call. Suddenly, close to two dozen men and women on broomsticks came bursting through open windows of the warehouse, cackling loudly with their wands outstretched. “They know we’re here!” Roderick exclaimed just as an enormous blast erupted beside them, sending every last one of them to their knees on the shaking ground.
The next moments happened rather quickly. Roderick wound up being blasted straight into Monica during a second wave of magical assaults, and the two of them went tumbling across the rocky ground. Monica looked up in time to see the witch they had met in the woods—the girl with the jet-black hair, button nose, and dark eyes. “That’s the witch who stole my time coin!” Monica exclaimed.
Roderick fumbled for his wand, but another witch disarmed him. His wand went flying, and Monica held out her wand. She wasn’t too good with spellcasting, but she had to try. “Clipeium!” Monica called, and a purplish shield appeared around her and Roderick just in time.
Glancing back, she could see that Brian had managed to pull a warlock from his broom and that he and Isaac were teaming up on the man. Having managed to get his wand away from him, it was a much fairer fight. The councilmembers were all darting about chasing a number of warlocks and witches who had gone after Sarah. Monica held her wand up high, hoping her shield would last long enough for Roderick to locate his own. The young button-nosed witch floating on her broom above them was next to the woman who had disarmed Roderick. This woman, though very beautiful, was somehow more terrifying than the younger one. She wore an emerald green masquerade mask that hid much of her face.
“It’s an unnatural,” the younger witch said. “I saw her in the woods by those hobbits.”
The other witch, who looked to be perhaps in her early forties, observed Monica with a hint of amusement. “Witch!” Roderick called up to the woman. “I know you! You’re the one we’ve been looking for—the Remembrance founder! Tell me, why hide behind that mask, you coward!”
The witch raised her wand, but then lowered it. “This is below me,
” she said casually and turned to the younger witch, smiling. “Abigail, get rid of these two. Meet me at the rendezvous point.” And with that, the witch in the green mask flew off on her broomstick.
Monica’s face fell on the younger with—the witch with the flowing black hair, button-nose, and wild eyes. “Abigail?” she asked.
“Filthy unnatural,” she said, and her wand’s magic blasted straight through the shield, sending her and Roderick back. Roderick was prepared, though, and he sent a blast of wind from his wand, knocking the witch from her broom.
The young witch was well-skilled in combat, though. A few moves, and she had disarmed Roderick again and was sending him flying halfway across the field and into the harbor. She turned on Monica. Monica, though, stood with her arms hanging down at her side. “Abigail Williams?” Monica asked.
The young witch’s face twisted into a slight smile. “My reputation precedes me,” she said, raising her wand. “Come now, unnatural, raise your wand. I might blast hobbits when their backs are turned, but I owe my own kind a fighting chance whether they’re a mistake of nature or not.”
“You’re part of Remembrance,” Monica said, still staring and unable to think clearly.
The young woman stared back for a moment, confused by Monica’s behavior. “What’s the matter with you, unnatural?” she asked. “Of course I’m part of Remembrance! I helped to found it! Now raise your bloody wand!” When Monica did not make a move, the young Abigail grew irritated and went to cast some sort of spell. What she was going to do, Monica never found out, for a black cat seemed to have come out of nowhere. It was Abigail—the cat version of her, that was.
“Ah! Get off me!” the younger Abigail wailed, trying to pull her future self off her face. The cat was scratching her up terribly. She dropped her wand, and Holly bolted for it, snatching it up.
The young Abigail flung her future self off her and darted at Holly. “You dare touch my wand, mortal!” the young Abigail screeched.
