Despite her low tones, Cass still managed to snag their leader’s attention. Agnes’ censuring glare encompassed them both in a moment of silence before she continued.
Agnes cleared her throat. “As I was saying. I called you all here to discuss a grave matter.”
“Why are we talking out here?” Ava, their most avid complainer, interrupted. “Why aren’t we in the circle if we’ve come this far?”
Their present location was in the heavily wooded area located on the outskirts of Wits’ End. The town’s population included a mishmash of everything you could expect in a small Southern town. A healthy dose of rednecks, a dash of devoutly religious and a smattering of everything else in between. As witches, the coven tried to maintain a low profile as not everyone was accepting of their practices.
“An excellent question. And one I will be happy to answer if you ladies will allow me to speak.” Agnes raised her eyebrows as she glared at the assembled witches. “We’re not inside the circle because we have a situation.”
Several women murmured.
“Situation?”
“What kind of situation?”
“Shouldn’t we wait for Edith?” Winifred inquired.
Cass bumped Izzy from behind. The motion jostled Dodger who was perched on Izzy’s shoulder watching the proceedings.
“What’s going on?” Cass whispered.
Dodger barked at Cass. Izzy petted his tail that curled around the front of her neck to comfort him.
“No clue,” she mumbled out the side of her mouth. She would never hear the end of it if Agnes had to reprimand her twice in one meeting.
Agnes' head swiveled sharply and her hooded eyes widened at her charge’s insolence. Izzy pressed her lips together firmly but knew her flushed cheeks gave her away as the culprit.
“Edith won’t be joining us. Well,” Agnes paused, uncharacteristically at a loss for words. “I mean to say, she’s already in the circle.”
Several ladies started toward the coven’s meeting ground.
“Don’t!” Agnes shouted.
Due to their rigorous placement of banishing spells and glamours over the years, the circle was hidden from view until you entered. Additionally, the charms had been reinforced and new hexes placed so that if you weren’t in their coven, the location was virtually undetectable.
“Why I never, Agnes,” Maeve scolded. “You might be the boss of our group, but I’m about to make a call for new leadership if you keep this up. If you have something to say, just say it.”
“It’s about Edith,” Agnes hedged. Izzy noticed her guardian was not acting herself. Something was amiss. The fact that Agnes ignored Maeve’s vitriol was in itself suspect.
Maeve and Agnes had been at odds for more than twenty years. Ever since Agnes and Edith had found Isadora huddled in the coven’s circle years before - a circle Izzy shouldn’t have been able to locate, witch or not. Maeve insisted something about the young girl wasn’t right. Her opinion of the matter had changed little as the years crept by.
“Is she sick? Do we need supplies?” Worry over Edith overrode Izzy’s propensity to wait for instruction. This further spurned the women into chatter and speculation. The noise level grew as did the attendee’s agitation.
“She’s dead!” Agnes screamed. Her face blanching as if she too were just hearing the news. Everyone stopped speaking at once.
The dream from earlier in the morning flashed in Isadora’s mind. Blood seeping into the ground from a body that lay nearby. Even if true, it wasn’t helpful. She pushed the image away.
“But, there’s more.” Agnes’ voice trembled as she tried to continue.
“More? What more can there be?”
A lobby of questions bombarded Agnes.
In a bid for peace and answers, Izzy held her arm high to ask for quiet. She was the one to shout this time. “Everyone, hush! She can’t explain if we’re all talking.” The noise subsided to a low hum of whispers amongst the women.
“Agnes?” Izzy regarded the woman she considered her mother in every respect.
Each woman studied their leader and silence fell as they watched a tear roll down Agnes’ cheek. Agnes was a stalwart woman. Not given to hysterics or overtly emotional ever. For her to cry was unheard of; she was the toughest of the tough. Izzy felt a fissure of fear skate down her spine.
In a muted voice, Agnes explained, “Her hands. Edith’s fingers are black at the tips to her first knuckle.” A collective gasp was heard from the group. “Blood has crusted near her eyes and ears. Her lips are lined with what looks like a black powder as well.”
“You don’t think…?” Millicent failed to finish her thought while others were just as quick to judge.
“Poor Edith. What could have driven her to the dark?” Ava shook her head in sorrow.
Where moments before the coven had been on the path of revolt, each woman now counted on Agnes for guidance.
“I’m not saying she used black magic. I don’t believe it.” Agnes was staunch in Edith’s defense. “I do believe that we need to help our friend. Cleanse her spirit and our circle.” Agnes pushed through her grief and ignored the tears now free flowing down her cheeks.
A feeling of wrongness overwhelmed Izzy. Edith was dead. Agnes was crying. The world had careened into a strange facsimile of the one Isadora inhabited just moment’s before.
“How d-did she die?”
“I’m not sure. Does it matter?” Agnes sniffed.
Cass pushed to stand next to Isadora. The best friends were a study in contrasts; Cass’ mocha skin to Izzy’s dotted alabaster. Izzy, at 5’10, towered over Cass’ less than average height. Their outer differences were superficial. The two were united where it counted, their heart.
“I think so,” Cass asserted. Eyes lifted in defiance, her pixie nose scrunched as she continued, “When someone dies, the living should stand for them. Edith wouldn’t have used dark magic without a good reason. I think we should find out what it was.”
“And how do you propose we do that?” Maeve countered with a sneer.
Winifred, another coven member, turned toward Maeve. “I say we release the circle. Let the authorities find her killer. We can’t possibly know what we’re doing there. We’d only bungle the matter. I don’t want to let Edith down.”
“And give- give up our circle?” Maeve sputtered in protest.
“The circle is tainted,” Wren agreed with her fellow coven member. “Death has desecrated the ground. Whether we believe black magic was practiced here or not, I sense malevolence now where it wasn’t before. We can no longer use this spot without fear of our own magic being cast with its stigma. We must create something together,” Wren focused on each member in turn. “With powers united we can establish a new gathering place.”
Isadora cleared her throat, and all eyes whipped in her direction. Forcing herself to be strong, she made eye contact with the women. She stopped to assess everyone, to ensure she had their attention.
“You all know Edith took an important part in saving me all those years ago. I don’t know what compelled her then or last night. For whatever reason she was here, I will never believe she practiced the dark arts without just cause. If those words crossed her lips, something dire had to have forced her hand. I can only conclude she felt it was her only hope. Without proof of how Edith perished, we must assume that something wicked is here in our town.”
Izzy turned back to Agnes for guidance and blessing. She was after all their high priestess. Agnes studied her for several seconds then nodded. “The coven speaks. We will undo our work this morning and then call for the authorities. I trust that each of you will remain vigilant in your guard and mind yourselves while we sort out this tragedy. I truly believe only depravity from the lowest of depths could impel Edith to betray her oath to the goddess. Until the truth is uncovered, everyone is suspect.”
◆◆◆
Two hours later, Sheriff Jackson Pope stood in the woods alongside the group of women and
his deputies while staring at the ground in contemplation. He had held his office for more than ten years, and he’d seen a lot of things. This was new.
“So, boss, what do you think?” Jonathan, his senior deputy who stood nearby, questioned.
“Don’t know what to say.” The sheriff studied the body in front of him. Its partially charred remains gave few clues as to what happened. Nothing about it shouted crime scene, but he couldn’t truthfully rule it out either. It appeared as a natural death. He was confident the M.E. would come back with those findings most likely. But something about the setting didn’t sit right with him.
“Did you get everyone’s statements?” he asked his deputy.
He had heard through the grapevine for years that a coven was in his county. Knew they practiced their craft here in these woods. He’d never had a day’s worth of trouble out of them. Not one. Until this.
“Yes, sir. All except their leader,” he read through his notes, “I believe her name is Agnes Wilde. She talked to Jacobs. M.E. should be here any minute.”
“What’s the hold up?” The sheriff pulled off his hat, rubbing the worst of the sweat into his receding hairline. Summer heat in Georgia could be a scorcher and even as early as it was, this day was no different. He would need to change his uniform shirt when he finally made it to the office. Dampness was already accumulating at his armpits and the small of his back. A glance around ensured him the others weren’t fairing any better.
“We need to get this body to the morgue before the heat destroys evidence.”
“Evidence? You think this is murder?” Jonathan had been with the sheriff almost his entire tenure. Usually, their intuition ran along the same lines. It seemed that might not be the case this time.
“I don’t know what to think. I’m hoping Clayton can give us some answers.”
“Well, this was the M.E.’s fishing weekend so he has to drive back home and change before he can come out. He wasn’t happy. I heard he might be retiring soon.”
“Don’t reckon he was happy. But for now, he is our only Medical Examiner,” the sheriff told him. “He’ll get over it I imagine.”
The sheriff waved his hat to create a semblance of a breeze while he considered what should be done. Stale air slapped him in the face for his efforts. To make matters worse, the manufactured draft didn’t cool a thing.
He turned his gaze out to take in the parties gathered there. Women, some weeping, others comforted by word or deed. “Can’t say anyone is too happy when someone dies.”
“This is true.”
All of the ladies needed to be moved along. The footprints alone were going to make it difficult if indeed this turned into a murder case. Sheriff Pope called over to another one of the deputies. “Carl, Let’s work on getting everyone to leave.” He motioned toward the group with a nod of his head. “This scene is a circus.”
Carl waved to acknowledge he heard the order. “The traffic on the ground isn’t only from this morning,” Carl informed his superior. “All of their statements corroborate this area has been used for their ceremonies for years.”
“Jesus! Just what I needed.” The sheriff rubbed at a headache forming behind his eyes. “We’ll deal with what is, work on sending them on their way.”
“Will do, boss.”
“You think one of them killed their own?” Jonathan asked with a hint of surprise.
“Too early to speculate. The black chalky residue on her mouth and hands, plus the way the hands seem almost burnt reads like an electrocution to me.” The sheriff shook his head. “Something’s not adding up. I don’t know. Let’s wait for Clayton. I don’t want to theorize too much before we know what we’re dealing with.” He scrutinized the trees for any markings or evidence of storm damage. “We had that rain that blew through last night. I don’t remember any thunder or lightning though.”
Jonathan considered. “Lightning might do it. I would be hard-pressed to come up with another scenario to affect her hands that way. Hard to maliciously electrocute someone in the middle of nowhere.”
The sheriff agreed. “Maybe. There’s one thing that keeps niggling in the back of my mind.”
“What’s that?”
“Every last one of those women stated that only their group had access to this area before this morning. Now, I don’t necessarily believe that.” The sheriff paused to make sure the deputy was following his gist. “But they do. You get me?”
Jonathan eyed the sheriff thoughtfully. “For the sake of argument, let’s say that’s true. That circles back to one of these women had to be involved.”
“Exactly my point.”
“We should take more pictures of the area.”
“Now you’re getting me. I don’t want to be the dumb hick sheriff that a bunch of old women tricked with their hocus-pocus.”
Jonathan’s eyebrows raised at that. “You’re hardly dumb sheriff.”
Sheriff Pope ignored the vote of confidence and continued his train of thought. “I guess this could just be a dumping ground. Should we canvas out aways? See if we see anything else? The victim wasn’t a lightweight. Someone most likely would have had to drag her to here if she was moved.”
“I’ll get Tommy, and we’ll take a look around.”
“Don’t go starting rumors. Do the regular search for now,” Sheriff Pope instructed his deputy. “Let’s give the facts a minute to sort themselves out. Then we’ll see what we’re dealing with.”
“Mum’s the word.”
Isadora and Cass stood a few feet away.
Izzy’s bun had not survived the morning after all. Her hair was back down around her shoulders, currently concealing Dodger as he dozed.
“Finally someone with some common sense. It’s obvious Edith was murdered. Ava and Winifred are over there gossiping like hens.” Cass mimicked the other women’s conversation, “Edith deserved what happened if she used black magic. Everyone knows it will come back and bite you if you do.” She reverted back to her normal voice. “Stupid old busybody hags.”
“You really think it’s murder? That one of us killed her?”
“I didn’t say that!” Cass was quick to add.
“Well, who else has access to the circle? Who else knows where we meet?”
“Sheriff!” Cass called out as the man in question started to walk away. Izzy startled in surprise, waking Dodger. His nose and beady eyes poked out from behind the veil of Izzy’s hair to see what caused the commotion.
The sheriff was considered an attractive man for his age despite his thinning blonde hair and his craggy face. He was a man’s man. He might be approaching sixty, but he still worked hard to keep himself in shape and no one doubted his ability to do the job.
The sheriff spun, his step hesitating as he neared and noticed Izzy’s tagalong, but he continued over to them, “Is there something you needed, Miss…”
“Cass, Cassiopeia Despres,” Cass pushed out her open hand toward the sheriff. While small in stature, Cass made up for it with a huge personality. The sheriff grinned at the formality of her greeting but met her hand with his own and shook. Cass’ fingers closed hard around the sheriff’s while she continued, “Nice to meet you. I voted for you last election.”
“I appreciate the vote,” the sheriff grimaced but held back from answering her call of dominance. He was curious about her reason for snagging his attention. “And generally I don’t mind taking a moment for my constituents, but I’m a tad busy at the moment. Did you have a question?”
The sheriff moved his gaze back to Izzy and Dodger, “Cute lil’ feller you’ve got there.” He reached out toward Izzy to pet the ferret. His fingers stalled midway when Dodger barked, and he decided against the gesture.
“I wouldn’t,” Cass counseled. “Pet him, that is. He’s a mean little fucker. He bites me sometimes with no provocation. And I’m Izzy’s best friend.” She glared at Dodger, “Asshole.”
Sheriff Pope cleared his throat for attention, “You were saying?”
“I don’t discuss cases with the general population until they’re solved.” All geniality dropped from his face as his eyes glared at her to make a point. “And it’s rude to eavesdrop.”
“Well, my momma always said don’t share things in the public you want to keep private.”
“Fair enough. I’m still not willing to discuss the case with you at this time.”
Izzy saw a man walking up the hill toward them. “Who’s that?”
Sheriff Pope turned his head and saw the medical examiner making his way toward them. “That would be the gentleman I’ve been waiting on. If you two would excuse me?” He stopped for a moment and turned back to them. “It would probably be best if you two ladies made your way back home now. You and the rest of your group. I would consider it a favor if you could convince the others to follow along.”
“I’ll go. But not because you ordered us gone. We need to get to our store. Don’t think you’ve heard the last out of me, however.”
The sheriff laughed. “Of that, I have no doubt, Ms. Despres.”
“Clayton,” he shouted toward the newcomer as he walked away, “I hope we didn’t interrupt your weekend too much.”
The other man shook his head mournfully. “Naw. Been at it since sun up and didn’t get a single bite.”
Izzy peered at Cass. They both shrugged.
“I don’t like it,” Cass stated unequivocally.
“I do believe he heard that loud and clear. Let’s get on to the store. It’s not going to open itself.”
Cass sighed. “Fine.”
As they walked away, a short burst of wind pushed against them, ruffling Izzy’s hair. A hint of lavender teased her nose.
Watch for the crow, what does he know?
Izzy whipped her head toward Cass. “What did you say?”
“I didn’t.”
Izzy rolled her eyes. “You know I heard you. What did you say?”
“You worry me sometimes.”
Izzy cast a suspicious eye at Cass. “Whatever. We don’t have time to play games this morning. We’re already late.”
Marked: Thoth's Legacy ~ Book One Page 2
