by Tish Thawer
The door creaked opened behind them, followed by a familiar voice. “Trust me, it doesn’t.”
Chapter Sixteen
Jason, Trin, Caris, and Kennedy all stumbled from their chairs, gasping at the site of another Karina standing before them. Her auburn hair was curled at the ends, hanging loosely past her shoulders—a modern style which complemented her choice of clothes: jeans, a paisley-patterned, baggy shirt, and black, low-heeled boots.
“Explain what’s happening,” Kennedy demanded.
“Well, as I’m sure you can guess, I’m a version of Karina from the future, and I’ve come back to warn you against making the same mistake you’ve made before.”
“What mistake?” Jason asked, although the answer already seem obvious.
“Letting Trin,” she nodded to the present version of herself, “show the world what true witches can do.”
All eyes snapped to the end of the table where their Trin stood.
“But we’ve only been discussing it now. She hasn’t done anything of the sort,” Caris defended her big sister against … herself.
“Yes, I understand, but your discussions here tonight do not persuade her,” she paused, “… err, us, from doing what we think is right. And because of it, the burning times not only come to pass, but end up being far worse.”
Nervous energy filled the room as everyone shuffled in place.
“The past has to happen so the present can be what it is, for there is no other way to make a better future,” the new Karina stated. “Timing truly is everything.”
“How do we know you’re really our sister, and not some spell by Ann or Heinrich?” Kennedy shifted to stand in front of Caris. Always the protector.
Future Karina turned to Trin. “If I show you what happens, will you tell them the truth … explain to them what I’m sharing is already in your head?”
Trin moved toward Jason, reaching for his hand. “Yes. I’ll tell them the truth.”
Time slowed as future Karina drew in a deep breath, then blew out a hazy cloud that carried with it a vision that sank straight into Trin’s mind …
Shouts sounded from the crowd gathered in front of the church, and in the middle of it all stood Trin with her arms held high. She asked them to witness the true power of a witch—to see how much good she had to offer the town. She pleaded with them as they threw rotten food in her direction, shouted vile names, and cursed her to Hell, but she wouldn’t be deterred. Casting a protective bubble around herself, Trin walked toward a woman carrying a child whose leg had been twisted at birth. Before she could reach them and offer her healing touch, a shot rang out, piercing her straight through the heart.
Snapped from the vision, tears formed in Trin’s eyes as she looked up at her family—their faces full of concern, and rightfully so.
“Tell them this isn’t the plan you’ve already formed in your mind. Tell them this isn’t exactly what you will do tomorrow after sneaking away before they all wake,” future Karina demanded.
Dropping her head into her hands, Trin confessed, “It’s true. She showed me exactly what I’d been planning on doing.”
“And what happened?” Jason asked. “What was the outcome?”
Wiping her face clean, Trin kept her promise and told them the truth, “I died. Shot in the heart by someone in the crowd.”
Caris and Kennedy gasped, while Jason fought his rising anger, clenching his teeth.
***
“How could you be so selfish?” Jason chastised for what felt like the hundredth time since future Karina left them in a burst of magic. “After all you’ve told us, preached to us about the dangers of changing the past, you go ahead and make plans behind our back to do this … to change history in the most drastic way possible?”
Trin sighed, but kept her voice low and even—his anger was completely justified. “I’m sorry. You’re right, I had more confidence in the human race than what they deserve. I thought if they could see all the good that witches could do … the healing, the protection, the connection to spirit we can provide, they’d be—”
“What?” Jason shouted. “Grateful? Are you kidding me? Dammit, Trin,” Jason slammed both of his hands down onto the table, “I cannot lose you again. Especially not here … not like this.”
A beat of silence filled the cabin as Caris and Kennedy sat in the other room, awaiting Trin’s response.
Pushing from her chair, Trin walked to the other side of the table. With a light touch to his arm, she turned Jason to face her. “I know you’re upset, and you have every right to be. I know you’re scared of what could go wrong here, and again … you have every right to be based on what my other self showed me. I would love to promise you that I won’t do anything on my own in order to save Mama, or make things better for the witches here, but I simply can’t. It’s just not who I am.”
Jason dropped his head, weary of the conversation and the emotional toll it was taking on them all. “Well, who you are, will become irrelevant if you die before you get the chance to live … or to save any of us.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder to her sisters in the other room. “Did you ever think about what would happen to them without you here?”
Trin sucked in a sharp breath. If she were to die before casting her spell, her sisters would suffer the consequences of her actions, trapped and no doubt punished in an even crueler version of how history played out in her absence.
“Again, I’m sorry. But what do you want me to do? I can’t sit here, bound to the cabin because you no longer trust me, while all of you are out trying to bring this to an end.”
Jason lifted his head, meeting her eyes. “Trin, it’s you who don’t trust us. You’re taking all this on yourself, as if we can’t contribute in any way. If you’d let us in, we could work together, and figure out a way to save your mother and improve things for the witches here, and perhaps for generations to come.”
His statement struck her in the face, as bold as a physical slap. He was right … again. She had shut down the idea of them working their magic together, thinking it would be up to her to set things straight. When would she learn she was not alone anymore?
Embracing who she was as a witch also meant embracing her sister witches and their powers as well—and not only Caris and Kennedy in the other room, but all of them.
Magic sparked deep within her as a new plan formed and began to swell. “I know what we need to do,” Trin emphasized.
Chapter Seventeen
Fully explaining her plan, Trin led her family to their childhood home.
“Trin, are you sure this is a good idea?” Caris asked, her nerves spiking as she peered at the backside of the very house she grew up in.
“Yes, I believe it is. With how strong the three of us are together, imagine if the six of us were to combine our magic to combat Ann and her family here and now.” Trin lifted her chin, convinced she finally had a plan that would work.
“I don’t know,” Kennedy started, “if this had worked, wouldn’t the versions of ourselves in the past remember it happening?” She scratched her head, puzzling out the paradox of her statement. “Which means, we either didn’t go through with it originally, or—”
“We removed the memories from our own minds.” Trin smiled, fitting in the final piece of the puzzle for them all. “Regardless of what we did back then, or what we do now, we only have to remove the memories from our original selves. That will preserve the timeline no matter what happens here.”
The girls looked to Jason, who just shook his head. “I suppose if we tried this before and it ended in some catastrophe, future Karina would have popped back already to warn us again, right?” He shrugged. “So sure, why not? Let’s give it a try.”
With a collective deep breath, they all crept forward toward the house. Peering through the window of the back door, Kennedy made out the store room and part of the kitchen just beyond it, and Pepper, their family dog, laying in his favorite corner spot.
Home sweet home
, she thought, a knot forming in her throat.
“What do you see?” Caris whispered, anxious for her turn to peek inside.
“Nothing besides the dog. I don’t even think the fire has been lit today.” Kennedy looked back at Trin.
“That’s odd.” Trin frowned as she thought about the past. The first thing they’d do every morning was stoke or relight the fire to cook their morning meal and brew their tea. None of them would have let it go out, unless …
She shoved past Jason and her sisters, and pushed the back door open, boldly walking inside.
Pepper raised his head and sniffed the air, then lumbered over to Trin. “Hiya, boy. It’s been a long time.” Trin looked around the kitchen as she scratched behind the mutt’s ear, happy he didn’t baulk at their scent. It only took a moment, though, for the joy to pass as she realized her initial instinct had been right. “No one has been here for a while. Look.” She gestured to the dust on the mantle—something her mama would have never allowed.
Caris walked to the center of the room and spun around. “Where the hell are we?”
Kennedy proceeded to clear the other rooms, her FBI training kicking in. “House is empty. And like you said, from the looks of things we’ve been gone for a while. At least a week.”
Trin heard her sisters, but didn’t respond.
Everything had been blocked out the moment she stepped inside. Memories from the past bombarded her—the smell of baking bread in the oven; the lavender and sage drying in the store room they’d just passed through; even the oils she helped Mama process for her potions and creams. It was all the same, and her heart couldn’t handle it.
Falling to the floor, Trin openly wept as her true life came rushing back. They’d spent so long living as others through their soul journeys, and even now, after being reunited, they still lived as Trin Hartwell and the Hardys back in the present day. But this—the wood beneath her hands, the dirt on Pepper’s paws, the smells permeating from the wall—this was her true life, and she’d never missed it more than she did in this moment.
“I can’t do this,” Trin sobbed. “It’s all too much.” She looked to the farmhouse sink where Mama had taught her how to properly clean fish. Her eyes darted to the white lace curtain that hung down to hide their pots and pans that she’d been so careful not to stain. Then, across the floor, she stared at the spot Deputy Governor Danforth would order his men to drag her from her home, noting the smooth planks where her fingernails would dig in in only a few short years as she clawed for her escape. Finally, her eyes shifted to the hearth and the smell of the healing tea she’d brew for Mama when she was poisoned in less than a year from now. Gasping through sobs, Trin’s voice caught on a whisper, “I simply can’t …” Collapsing the rest of the way to the floor, she passed out as Jason rushed to her side.
“Get me a cool rag, and some fresh water for her to drink.” He lifted Trin into his arms, carrying her to the threadbare couch in the Howes’ quaint living room.
Caris and Kennedy ran to the kitchen, their memories serving them well as they grabbed exactly what he needed without the slightest hesitation. Returning to her side, Caris bent down and laid the wet rag across her sister’s brow, then closed her eyes and let her healing magic rise to the surface. “She’s fine. Just overwhelmed. She’ll be okay,” Caris reported, easing everyone’s concern.
Jason blew out a heavy breath and dropped to the floor to sit at Trin’s feet. “Thank the Goddess.”
Setting the glass of water she’d collected on the floor next to Jason, Kennedy walked over and flopped into the high-back chair on the opposite side of the room. “What do we do now? I don’t remember us ever leaving the house for an extended period of time. Do you?” She nodded to Caris.
“No. I don’t. Which means this is all new. Or, like Trin said, maybe we did and then erased our own memories of it. Who knows?”
Kennedy threw her hands in the air. “Or even worse … what if the Putnams’ have kidnapped us, too?” She shook her head. “Regardless of what did or didn’t happen, it’s obvious the plan to join our magic with theirs isn’t going to work if they’re not even fucking here.”
“Look,” Jason piped up, “I know we’re all stressed, and trying to figure this shit out on the fly isn’t working. So after Trin wakes up, I think we need to go back to my house and reevaluate everything.”
Caris nodded and Kennedy sighed, agreeing as well. “You’re right. We need to cut through whatever is going on here, and get to the bottom of this mess as soon as possible … maybe even perform a few spells to help point us in the right direction.” Kennedy stared at the prone form of her big sister lying on the couch. She wondered if Trin had been right before, about using their true magic here. Perhaps that’s what needed to happen after all. Yes, the risk was monumental, but if they opened themselves up to their full extent, maybe this could all be over and done with so they could finally go home, once and for all. The thought of Nielson popped into her head. If they could figure this out, maybe the two of them really did have a chance. And perhaps once Caris found Lionel again, they could move on with their lives, too. Sighing, Kennedy looked across the room at both her sisters. Chasing Ann through time had affected them all, and it was time to bring her meddling to an end.
A moan sounded from Trin, drawing everyone’s attention. The girls circled around as Jason leapt to his feet. Staring down, they watched with bated breath to see if Trin would wake.
Still unmoving, she remained unconscious as a single word escaped her lips … “Salem.”
Chapter Eighteen
The three fell to their knees, each placing a hand on Trin’s body—Jason with a light touch to her leg, Caris with her hand across her stomach, and Kennedy replacing the rag across her brow with her flattened palm instead.
“Now what?” Jason asked.
“Since she’s not waking up, we need to enter her mind to see if we can get a read on what she’s seeing. Hopefully then we’ll understand what she meant and be able to pull her out of this,” Caris explained.
“I think it’s obvious what she meant. We’re supposed to go to Salem,” Kennedy snapped. “It’s what the Goddess sent to us before, remember? ‘The Sisters of Salem forever you’ll be’, I think that’s pretty self-explanatory, don’t you? Ann and her father must have taken us all from Ipswich and are hiding out somewhere in the town of Salem.”
“Yes, you’re right. It’s pretty obvious, but I’d still like to get a read on her if possible. She should have woken up by now.” Caris peered down at her big sister, unable to hide the worry blooming on her face.
“Let’s do it.” Jason inched closer to the couch.
Closing her eyes, Caris spoke the chant that would ground them all and allow them to enter Trin’s mind. “As above, so below, ground us now, so that we may know. Show us what our sister sees, so we may aid in what she—”
“Wait!” Kennedy exclaimed at the last minute.
Trin’s eyes fluttered, and then slowly but surely opened. Easing up onto her elbows, she took in the worried faces of Jason and her sisters hovering over her, mustering a weak smile for them all. “I’m okay. I just need a minute,” she paused, “and some space.”
The three moved back, giving her enough room to sit up.
Trin placed her feet on the floor and leaned forward, gripping the edge of the couch with both hands as she attempted to regain her bearings.
“What happened, honey? Are you okay?” Jason asked.
Trin took a deep breath. “Yes, I’m okay, really. I became so overwhelmed with the memories of this place … it was like sensory overload, and my mind must’ve shut down.” She dropped her head into her hands. “There’s so much to process here.”
“And what about now?” Kennedy pressed. “Are you still being overloaded?” She moved across the room, reclaiming her seat back in the corner chair—it had always been her favorite.
Trin lifted her chin and reached for Jason’s hand. “Slightly, but not as int
ensely as before. I can handle it. Did you find any clues as to where we are?” she asked, referencing their younger selves as she looked around the room.
Caris frowned. “No, but we thought you might have an idea after what you said.”
Trin’s brows rose in surprise. “What did I say?”
“You whispered the word ‘Salem’ while you were still under. We thought you had a vision of where Ann and her family are hiding there,” Kennedy explained, scooting to the edge of her seat.
Trin sat still, taking a moment to think. “I seriously said the word ‘Salem’?”
“Yes. It was clear as day.” Jason squeezed her hand, joining her on the couch.
Caris and Kennedy remained still, staring and accessing.
Trin sank back into the cushions with a vacant, far-off gaze settling over her features. “I’m sorry, but I don’t remember.” Her voice grew dull and tight.
Caris and Kennedy looked to Jason—his hand slipped from Trin’s grasp. With a slight shake of his head to stall the girls, he smiled at Trin and acted like everything was fine. “It’s okay, honey. Let’s get back to my cabin so we can make our plans for tomorrow. Sound good?”
Trin blinked and simply nodded, her eyes glossy and lifeless.
The muscles in Jason’s jaw flexed as he glanced back at the girls.
Without sharing another word, it was clear to them all everything was not fine.
***
Branches snapped under our feet and birds sang overhead as the sun continued to fall behind the trees. The group made their way back to Jason’s cabin as the evening’s light began to soften the surrounding woods. Keeping a close eye on Trin had definitely slowed them down, and it was becoming clearer with every faltered step and sluggish response that she was now operating under some sort of fog. The vision she had while at their childhood home obviously affected her, and now they had no choice but to enter her mind to find out exactly what happened.
