The Ghost and the Witches' Coven

by Bobbi Holmes

  Yet the easiest way to keep them straight, Bridget wore a green kaftan, Davina a navy-blue-print kaftan, and Aileana’s kaftan was made from fabric in reds, blues and orange. Eva found all three dresses equally hideous.

  Eva stood akimbo at the opening to the clearing, watching as the sisters ran silly circles around the open area, one following another while waving their hands up and down like birds about to take flight, and chanting, “We did it, we did it!” What they did, she was not sure, but she knew it had something to do with her missing friends.

  “I can’t believe it. It worked. Everything is gone,” Davina said, running up to a tree and kneeling down to its exposed trunk. She ran her hand over the bark. “The spell took them away. Even the rope vanished and—” Davina gasped and looked closer at the trunk.

  Eva narrowed her eyes, glaring at Davina.

  “What is it?” Bridget asked. She and Aileana rushed to Davina’s side and looked down at the trunk.

  Davina rubbed her fingertips over an indentation on the bark. “Look here. This was where we tied the rope. It left a mark. I thought the spell would remove everything—leaving it as it was before we brought them here.”

  Bridget looked at the tree and then inspected two other trees. A moment later she returned and said, “There are no marks where we tied up Donovan, which tells me the spell did what it should. If there are marks on the tree where we tied up Walt Marlow, that really means nothing. The spell won’t make people forget Walt Marlow and Brian Henderson ever existed, but it will make the world forget about Heather Donovan. And we don’t really know if those marks are from Marlow. They could have been there before, and we didn’t notice.”

  “You tied them up here and left them?” Eva gasped.

  “Let’s get the ruby and go home,” Bridget said.

  “Ruby?” Eva frowned.

  “I hope it’s still there,” Davina said.

  “Of course it’s still there. Stop doubting the spell!” Bridget snapped.

  Eva watched as the three sisters rushed to the other side of the clearing, along the edge of the trees. Bridget knelt down and began digging up something from the ground while her sisters stood over her, watching anxiously. A moment later Bridget squealed as she pulled something from the dirt and stood up, holding whatever she had unearthed up over her head.

  The sisters began jumping up and down like excited children, clapping their hands and again chanting, “It worked. We did it!”

  When the spontaneous celebration ended, Bridget lowered her hands, holding the unearthed object in one hand while she used the other hand to brush off the dirt. Curious, Eva moved closer for a better look. To her surprise, Bridget held a ruby ring.

  “This ruby holds the power of the blood witch Heather Donovan,” Bridget said in awe.

  “What do we do now?” Aileana asked.

  “Now we must finish the ceremony, transferring the power of Heather Donovan to our coven,” Bridget said solemnly.

  Eva frowned. “Why does all that sound familiar?” She watched as the sisters moved to the center of the clearing. Bridget set the ring on the ground and then joined hands with her sisters, forming a circle. They moved around the ring, chanting what would sound like nonsensical ramblings to most people, yet to Eva, the words were eerily familiar.

  “I’ve heard that before,” Eva murmured. She watched as Bridget picked up the ruby ring a moment later and slipped it on one of her fingers.

  “You can’t wear it,” Aileana said.

  “I don’t want to lose it,” Bridget said. “I’ll put it in the safe when we get home.”

  Eva watched as the sisters gave the clearing one last inspection before heading back in the direction they had come, down the path leading to their car. Eva followed the three, carefully listening. They were far more talkative on their walk back to their car than they had been the entire trip.

  By the time Eva reached the van, it had confirmed her suspicions. The women had drugged her friends and then dragged their bodies out to the clearing, tied them to trees, and attempted to cast a witch’s spell. From what the supposed witches were saying, all three were alive when brought into the forest—and still alive when the witches returned home. According to what they said, Heather and one man had regained consciousness by the time the Parkers left. Eva suspected it was Brian who had regained consciousness and not Walt, or he could have kept the women from abandoning them in the forest.

  Eva understood the women believed the spell they used was responsible for the three vanishing, along with the ropes, tarps, and travoises that they had brought with them. But Eva didn’t believe that for a minute. She suspected Walt had finally regained consciousness and used his telekinetic powers to free them. Which meant her friends were wandering around the forest, and by the position of the sun, it would be dark soon.

  Instead of driving with the Parkers back to Frederickport or using her own energy to travel there—which was much quicker—Eva decided to find her friends, which would make it much easier for Danielle to pick them up. She just hoped they were still okay.

  Eva stood on the side of the dirt road and watched as the Parkers drove out of sight. Tempted to return to Marlow House to tell Danielle and Chris what she had learned, she resisted the temptation. She would rather return with news that she had found them, and that they were alive. Now that she knew the Parkers had drugged them, Eva wasn’t a hundred percent certain that something hadn’t happened to them after getting untied from the trees. She understood the absence of their appearance at Marlow House did not mean they were still alive. If killed while still under the influence of a narcotic, not clearly understanding how they had arrived at a strange location, it would make for a confused spirit. That spirit, even one who understood such things when alive, such as Heather and Walt, might spend eternity wandering through the forest. Eva had to find them, dead or alive. In either case, she needed to get them back to Marlow House.

  Walking down the dirt road, Eva called out for Heather and Walt. Overhead, the sun quickly slipped from sight. Soon it would be dark, and being a ghost didn’t give a spirit night vision. Until the moon came up, it would soon be difficult to see where she was going.

  Eva stopped and glanced around, trying to decide which way to go. She froze when she heard something behind her, stealthily approaching. She was fairly certain what it might be. Not moving, she waited. Whatever it was grew closer. The next moment she looked down just in time to see the paws of an enormous cat flying through her torso and landing several feet in front of her—with the rest of the mountain lion attached. The big cat did a little roll before landing back on its feet, and then looked up at Eva.

  “Was that very nice?” Eva asked.

  The mountain lion, now sitting, looked Eva in the eyes. Of the two, the cat was better equipped to see in limited light, yet it didn’t mean Eva didn’t understand what the cat was thinking, despite the fact it looked more like a shadowy figure.

  “What do you mean, you knew I was a spirit? How did you know that?” Eva asked.

  She then laughed at the response and asked, “And you have seen many ghosts?”

  After the mountain lion answered the question, Eva said, “I’m looking for three friends of mine. Two men and a woman. Someone brought them out here, tied them up to a tree, and—” Eva paused a moment and arched her brows. “Really? That would have to be Walt. You don’t know where they are, do you?”

  They were lost. Although technically, they had been lost since the minute they woke up after being drugged by the witches. Brian didn’t think the term witch was strong enough. Mentally he replaced the w with a b.

  When they realized they had to spend another night in the woods, they backtracked to the last place they had seen the river. Walt did a little fishing while Brian and Heather set up camp nearby before it got dark. By the time Walt returned to the camp with fish, Heather and Brian had made a campfire.

  Before they finished dinner, the moon lit the night sky. They made another tr
ip to the river to wash up. After returning to camp, they each placed a tarp on the ground around the fire, getting ready to settle in for the night while discussing their next course of action.

  Brian was about to say something when they heard a rustling sound from the nearby bushes. He turned to the sound, as did Walt and Heather, and saw a mountain lion strolling casually toward them. Frozen in place, his heart beating erratically, Brian expected Walt to talk to the animal or throw it from camp. What he didn’t expect was Heather saying, “Eva? Are we glad to see you!”

  Brian frowned. Since when was the mountain lion’s name Eva?

  Thirty

  “I would hug you if I could,” Heather said, now standing.

  “Glad to see you’re all alive. I was beginning to wonder if you weren’t,” Eva said. She glanced down at the mountain lion by her side and said, “But your friend here told me what happened. And she has been keeping an eye on you. Tells me you have been wandering around in circles since she helped you. I believe she was getting a little concerned.”

  Sitting, his heart now racing, Brian looked from Heather to the mountain lion and then to Walt.

  Walt stood up and said, “I’m with Heather. You have no idea how glad we are to see you.”

  The next moment the mountain lion made a snarling sound and turned, disappearing through the bushes.

  “Can we go home now?” Heather asked.

  Instead of answering the question, Eva looked over at Brian and smiled. “I believe Officer Henderson is a little confused at the moment.”

  “He’s been running into a lot of confusion this weekend,” Heather said.

  “I just want Danielle to know we’re okay,” Walt said.

  “That’s fine for you, but I want a dang shower! And something to eat besides fish,” Heather whined.

  Brian stood up and said, “I understand the mountain lion helped free Walt, but when did we start calling her Eva? And she’s gone, so why are you two still talking to her? And, Heather, since when did you start talking to animals like Walt?”

  Heather looked at Brian and rolled her eyes. “Eva is not the mountain lion’s name, you weirdo. It’s the ghost’s name.”

  Brian looked around. “There’s a ghost here? Where?”

  “Why even ask that question?” Heather asked. “You can’t see ghosts.”

  “Eva Thorndike,” Walt said.

  Brian looked from Heather to Walt. “Eva Thorndike? As in the silent screen movie star?”

  “Oh, how sweet, he knows me!” Eva gushed.

  “The one whose portrait hangs in the museum? The one who owned the Missing Thorndike?” Brian asked.

  “You get a prize for all the correct answers,” Heather said. She pointed to Eva. “She’s standing right there.”

  Although Brian was not capable of seeing or hearing Eva, he looked anyway and continued to stare blankly, seeing nothing but trees cast in moonlight.

  “Most spirits move on after they die,” Walt explained. “Eva is one who has decided not to move on yet.”

  Brian looked to Walt and arched his brows. “Does Danielle know about this?”

  “Of course Danielle knows,” Heather said impatiently. “She can obviously see Eva.”

  Brian continued to stare at Walt, not looking at Heather, his mouth turning into a smile. He asked, “And she’s okay with this?”

  Walt studied Brian for a moment and then laughed. “Yes, she is fine with it.”

  “And why wouldn’t she be?” Eva asked, sounding insulted.

  “Oh…I get it,” Heather said. “Because Walt had such a thing for Eva.”

  “We were just good friends,” Walt insisted.

  Eva smiled.

  “Okay, I’m cool with this,” Brian said, trying a little too hard. “Hey, a mountain lion chews off Walt’s ropes without leaving a scratch. I watch a rattler fly away from us. A ghost shoots at me—although I have to admit I didn’t see that. I just have to take your word it actually happened, and Walt catches fish without a pole. You say the ghost of Eva Thorndike is standing here, I’m good with it.” Exhausted, Brian dropped to his tarp, again sitting.

  “Oh my, it sounds like you have all had quite the adventure,” Eva said.

  “Can we go home now?” Heather asked.

  “It’s a little more complicated than that,” Eva said.

  “Complicated how? You found us. Now have Danielle and Chris come get us,” Heather said.

  “Eva, how did you find us?” Walt asked.

  “Danielle felt the Parker sisters knew more than they were telling the police, so I went over to their house.” She then explained what had happened since going to the Parkers’ house and finding them.

  “They used us in some spell?” Heather asked. “What kind of spell?”

  “I’m not entirely certain, but I have an idea. Yet, first we need to get you home,” Eva said.

  “I thought you said it would be complicated?” Heather asked.

  “You don’t know where we are, do you?” Walt asked.

  Eva shook her head. “No. I don’t. I’m afraid I didn’t pay attention when they drove here. There’s no way for me to give Danielle directions on finding you, at least, not in the dark.”

  “I don’t understand, Eva, are you saying you’re lost?” Heather asked.

  “Wonderful,” Brian muttered. “Still stuck in the forest but now with a lost ghost.”

  Eva glanced over to Brian and smirked, “Someone is cranky.” She looked back to Heather and said, “I’m not lost in that I can’t find my way back to Marlow House.”

  “I don’t understand,” Heather said.

  “There are different ways a spirit can travel from place to place,” Walt told Heather. “Some ways are different from how you or I move about.”

  “Well, I know that. Ghosts randomly barge in my house. Never use the door,” Heather said.

  “What I mean,” Walt began, “it’s possible for a spirit to move by thought alone. Eva can think about a specific place, and she can go to that location. But if she has never been there, or is unfamiliar with the location, thought alone may not take her where she wants to go.”

  “I don’t understand,” Heather said.

  “Think about when Clint was in the hospital, in a coma. While I knew the location of the hospital, I was unable to simply will myself to his room. Now, had I been to his room before—”

  “Which obviously was impossible since you were under house arrest,” Heather reminded him.

  “My point being, since I had never been there before and was not certain of its location, it was impossible for me to simply will myself there. Getting to the general location of the hospital would be possible if I knew where it was located on a map, yet to his specific room, no. Not without having been there before.”

  “What does that have to do with Eva and us?” Heather asked.

  “Eva didn’t pay attention to where the Parkers were driving when she hitched a ride with them tonight, so she isn’t sure where we are, not in the way necessary to give someone directions. Now that she has been here, she can will herself to Marlow House and then come back here.”

  “Then we are rescued,” Heather argued.

  “No, we aren’t.” Brian spoke up from where he sat on the tarp, listening in to Walt and Heather’s side of the conversation.

  “Why not?” Heather asked Brian.

  “If I’m getting this right, how it works, Eva here”—Brian looked over to where he imagined Eva stood—“wherever she is, might be able to pop back and forth between us and Marlow House, but she can’t really bring anyone along with her.”

  “Correct, almost,” Eva said. “I could bring another ghost with me.”

  “And if she doesn’t know how to get here, as I take it that is what she told you two, then she can’t tell Danielle or Chris how to drive here,” Brian finished.

  “Then what are we going to do?” Heather asked.

  “The only thing we can do,” Eva said, rising into
the air. Both Walt and Heather looked up as Eva hovered overhead.

  “I don’t understand,” Heather said.

  “In the morning, after the sun comes up, and I can see things clearer, I can get an idea where we are, but I have to do that above the treetops.”

  “I think we can hold out another night,” Walt said. “Just please, go back to Marlow House and tell Danielle what is going on. I know she’s worried sick about us.”

  “I’ll be back later,” Eva vowed. “And don’t worry, our mountain lion friend is keeping an eye on you.”

  “Not sure if that makes me feel safer or not,” Heather grumbled under her breath.

  Chris and Danielle sat in the library with Marie. Danielle had just gotten off the phone with Lily, and Marie had just returned from the Parkers’, again checking to see if they or Eva had returned.

  Marie was about to offer a suggestion on what they should do next when fireworks—minus the loud booming—began going off in the library, startling all three. The next moment Eva appeared, her arms outstretched, as she shouted, “I found them! They are alive!”

  Danielle jumped from the sofa with Chris. Since it was impossible to hug Eva for the welcome news, she turned to Chris, and the two hugged, jumping up and down.

  Several minutes later, Danielle, Chris and Marie sat together on the sofa, listening while Eva told them all that had happened since they had last seen her.

  “And we can’t go get them now?” Danielle asked.

  “I wish we could, but frankly I don’t know the location—not in terms I can translate into driving directions. But it might be a good idea if I take Marie out there, and she can keep an eye on them. Walt looked as if he could use a good night’s sleep. I imagine he stayed up most of the night, feeling he was best suited to protect the others.”

  “You said Brian knows about—ghosts?” Chris asked.

  “Apparently. It sounds as if this adventure has been rather enlightening for him,” Eva said.