Malice: A Barrington County Novel

by Stacy Charasidis

  “Thank you, Dean,” she said sweetly, gathering her bag and kissing his cheek, brushing the corner of his mouth.

  “You’re welcome,” he whispered back, smiling down at her before thanking Katie and walking out, Elanah close beside him. They weren’t touching, but she could tell they were a couple. Max hadn’t told her Elanah had a boyfriend.

  She stood motionless for a few minutes, processing what had just happened. She’d just met the historical heroine, Elanah Von Vixen, powerful witch, and notorious personage from the past. Wow, she thought, shaking her head. What a woman.

  When Katie met Max the next day, he quizzed her about what she’d seen and heard. He seemed a bit disturbed over the sparks between Dean and Elanah, but was more concerned at the star struck look on Katie’s face.

  He sighed. “Trust me, they’re not dating.” What was it with girls and Dean, anyway? “Plus, he’s off limits. The man is taken, smitten, with Nathalie, a girl he’s known since he was a baby. I can’t stress this enough. F-O-R-G-E-T A-B-O-U-T H-I-M.”

  “Smitten like you are with Ella?” she asked sarcastically.

  He hesitated for a moment. “Well…”

  She huffed. “But he and Elanah…”

  “Some sparks do not a fire make.”

  “That amount usually do!”

  “KAY-TEE,” he said slowly, drawing out her name, “this is a guy who doesn’t realize how good looking he is. Dean is dumb about his looks, dumb, and the problem is that he’s also a sweet, charming guy. I know it’s blinding, but trust me, he’s UNAVAILABLE. He is NOT dating Elanah Von Vixen!”

  “Fine,” she’d blurted out, waving him off.

  “So, well…okay, good. I’m glad that’s settled. Did you learn anything else, per chance?”

  “She eats a lot of sugar,” she supplied.

  After school Katie was back at Baby Sweetes and was delighted when Elanah came back to visit that afternoon. They chatted for a bit, and she listened intently as Katie told her about Max and her life. She spilled all! She couldn’t help herself. Elanah stroked Katie’s hair while she listened, telling her how beautiful it was, and Katie felt like she’d fallen in love with the woman. Elanah left shortly after, promising to be back. When she returned, she had a small doll charm on a chain, which she presented to Katie, along with a man’s silver link bracelet.

  “They’re so beautiful!” Katie exclaimed happily, hesitating only briefly before allowing Elanah to put the charm necklace around her neck. The doll was exquisite, made from wood and wearing a rose-patterned fabric dress. The face was beautifully painted and it even had what appeared to be real hair. The doll’s hair colour matched hers exactly.

  “Did you make this yourself?”

  “Yes, I make the heads and the body separately, and stitch the dresses. It’s not very hard. I like to give them as gifts to people who bring joy into my life.”

  Katie was honoured. “Who is the bracelet for?”

  Elanah gave her a small smile. “This, my dear, is for your beau. It’ll bring you and him good luck. See, the links have special runes carved on them.”

  It also had a piece of black leather threaded through it, but when Katie looked at it a bit closer, it looked more like black tubing.

  “It makes the bracelet look more masculine,” Elanah explained.

  “Really, I don’t know what to say.”

  “You sell me candy and admire my hair—that brings me joy!” Elanah said laughing.

  “Thank you!” Katie said, admiring her new gifts.

  “You’re welcome. I think we’re going to be great friends.”

  Chapter 20 – The Limerick Spring Ball

  Limerick: Spring 1593

  Sean was right. When Elanah confronted Karl about his tall tales of witches in the family, his manner was somber when he told her all of it was true. When he was younger, before they’d immigrated, he’d spent a lot of time listening to a crazy old uncle who’d told him terrifying stories about the three girls, all Von Vixens, and their evil spell book. They’d been his great cousins, and he’d been a young boy then. Karl had searched the old man’s home and found the book.

  Elanah was appalled. “You took it?”

  “I was curious, and the sight of the book terrified the old man! I didn’t know how dangerous a book like that would be. Then I couldn’t destroy it or give it back. It would just reappear in our home.”

  “Where is it now?” she asked, and he told her. Karl was gone now. After the tragic lynching and horrific slayings that occurred at the Kellar homestead, he had fled Limerick. She hadn’t seen her brother in months.

  It had taken her weeks to find the book as Karl had hidden it very cleverly in the false bottom of one of their packing crates. She was quite certain her parents had no idea they had transported the vile, incriminating book from Europe, bringing with them evidence of the very thing they had tried to flee: the family taint of witchcraft, and the ever present threat of an angry mob and death. Holding the Von Vixen spell book in her hands, a book written by three sisters nearly a century ago, Elanah knew why the book kept reappearing despite Karl’s attempts to get rid of it. It was meant for her, and the book meant for her to find it. Its leather binding was still supple, but the pages inside were brittle from age. She flipped through it and was appalled at its contents. Many of the spells were meant to harm or disfigure, and most of the rituals required the death or dismemberment of something.

  The girls had been crazy, playing wantonly with magic to get what they wanted. There were love spells for the village boys, sickness and death spells for rivals, spells to acquire pretty new things, and spells for power.

  These girls had called demons. They had wanted influence and immortality.

  They’d been nineteen, seventeen, and fifteen when they’d been burned.

  Elanah didn’t want this book anywhere near her, but now that she’d found it she had to hide it. It contained a spell she needed to set in motion her and Sean’s plans. A spell that would hide what they were doing.

  It had taken them months to put the plan together, and finally the spring ball was the following evening.

  Elanah kept the book hidden in her room, stuffing it in the middle of her mattress. She added the Prominence spell to the back so she wouldn’t forget it. She found the main ingredient for that spell, an obscure root that grew near a small stream deep in the woods, and created the potion. She then grew its power thrice through the earth and moon, in other words, she buried it in the yard for three moonlit nights. At first she felt silly as she chanted the spell outside by herself, her dress flapping in the wind, but suddenly she felt a flicker of magic spring to life inside her, a light, glowing green power that sparked and sizzled along her arms and body. Her hair had floated out around her, and she’d been alternately horrified and thrilled. She had no idea she could do this, but she reasoned that if the three girls were part of her ancestry, the gift had to be inside her somewhere.

  It was time to perform the last step in the spell and link the enchanted potion to three objects belonging to the requestor of prominence, which was Sean. Outside her kitchen door, in a quiet space between the trees, Elanah took out the three objects Sean had given her, all things he’d had since he was a boy. One was a baby’s small gold ring, the other an old coin he’d found and kept for luck, and the third a small charm shaped like a dagger he always wore at his neck. He could never remember who gave it to him; only that he’d had it since he was young.

  Clouds scudded across the dark sky. The wind had picked up and her hair blew around her. She etched a pentacle in the dirt and lit a candle at each point. Once the fifth candle was lit the wind died away. She squatted and laid the items in the centre carefully and opened the potion. It had no scent, but it had changed after three days in the ground. Once a watery mixture with plants floating in it, it was now a golden oil. She chanted the words connectio, injicio, mutatio repeatedly as she handled the charms. She poured three drops of oil, one on each item, where i
t flared briefly before disappearing.

  She stoppered the vial then almost dropped it when Hiram addressed her.

  “Elanah? What are you doing?”

  She turned and found her husband staring at her with confusion, and then with growing comprehension as he looked from her, to the pentacle on the ground, and back. “Woman, are you practicing witchcraft at our home?” He was shocked; a dark look of anger and fear passed over his face. His fists were clenched.

  Elanah knew that look; had seen it in the faces of the people in angry mobs who had decided to burn a “witch.” It was a terrifying look as those two emotions together seemed to stop all rational thought from happening.

  Only in this case, he was in the right.

  Elanah panicked and reacted instinctively. Before Hiram could move, she swung to her feet and touched him on the forehead with her finger, between the eyes, releasing a jolt of power. Hiram’s eyes became unfocused as he stood in the trees, swaying dreamily.

  Grabbing the potion and the objects, she dumped them into her apron pocket and wondered desperately what to do. She scuffed out the pentacle and put out all but one of the candles, plunging the area into almost complete darkness. Running inside the house to their room, she took off her apron and day dress and slipped into her night garments. She hid the other four candles, and with one in hand, she walked outside. Taking a deep breath to control her pounding heart, she touched Hiram’s shoulder and he woke with a start.

  “Elanah?” he said, turning to her. The sight of her in her night clothes confused him. He turned toward the now empty trees then back. “I thought I saw…”

  She schooled her face into a look of concern. “Hiram, you’ve been sleepwalking again.”

  “Again? Sleepwalking?” he was still a bit fuddled, and was rubbing his head.

  “This is the third time this week, and with all the spring planting, no wonder you’re so tired. You need to rest.”

  “I’ve been sleepwalking?”

  Elanah sighed. Hiram was a bit slow, and it took him a long time to process his thoughts. “Sleepwalking and dreaming, Hiram.”

  He pulled her into his arms. He was shaking. “I dreamt you were a witch. I was terrified.”

  “Don’t be silly,” Elanah said in a whisper. “I’m no witch. Let’s go back to bed.”

  The Limerick Spring Ball

  The day of the spring ball Elanah slipped into Limerick’s Grand Hall. It was a hive of activity as servants finished setting tables and decorating for the event.

  Elanah and Hiram were not on the ball’s elite guest list, but that didn’t matter. As she walked through the large room, many eyes looked at her then slid away, as if she were a figment of their imagination. The spell she’d used from the Von Vixen spell book was called Invisible. Even though she was physically there, she was invisible to the observer’s mind. The stone Elanah wore around her neck pulsed with power. It told the people around Elanah that there was nothing to see. She was not there.

  The small champagne fountain sparkled as liquid cascaded down in waves of sweet, alcoholic nectar. Elanah threw Sean’s charms into the bottom then poured in three drops of the golden oil as well. She circled the fountain thirteen times, chanting. When she was finished, there was no change to the colour of the liquid that she could see. Pleased, she let herself out and found out later the ball had been an unprecedented success.

  Not long after, Mayor Billings finally died of consumption. He had been very sick in his last days, but he did mention to many that he thought Sean Kirkman would make a fine mayor in his place, and it was his youth and drive that made him the perfect fit.

  “The man’s young, but smart, with a good head on his shoulders and a strong back. Seems to me Limerick could do much worse, and with young Kirkman as mayor, the town would have a great leader for years.”

  Under normal circumstances, this statement would have caused an outcry from the older generation, who were rather set in their ways and disdainful of any ideas from the youth.

  But not in Limerick.

  The upper class supported Sean, and the rest of the populace did as well. They hoped for change and better lives under the young, charismatic man. Within a month of Mayor Billing’s death, Sean was sworn in as the Mayor of Limerick at the tender age of twenty-five years old.

  Hester LeRoux Kirkman smiled at her husband’s constituents as he took his oath. She was properly proud and friendly as they accepted congratulations and Sean waved, smiling broadly. Poor Sean. What he failed to realize was that Hester had known about his plan all along, and had even helped in small ways. She knew his ultimate goal. She turned her head to look for the golden hair shining in the sun, way at the back of the crowd, and felt a thrill of satisfaction. Poor Elanah. That whore wasn’t ever getting Sean, and would never enjoy the wealth and standing Hester did at his side. Now she was the most powerful woman in town, and she intended for it to stay that way.

  Chapter 21 – Judas

  Barrington County, Present Day

  Dean arrived at work that morning with a new good luck charm hanging from his suit pants. Nathalie tried not to laugh as she watched it swing from one of the loops at his waist. It was a black rabbit’s foot. Her laughter turned to disgust when she discovered the foot was real.

  “Well, it isn’t good luck if it’s fake, silly,” he explained, stroking the foot fondly. It reminded him of one he’d had as a boy that he’d lost. He was thrilled to have another one.

  “Where did you get it?” Nathalie asked, refusing to touch it again.

  “It was a gift. I found it on my bed a few days ago.”

  “A gift? From whom?”

  “Probably the twins.”

  She was now at home preparing dinner for her guest who would be arriving soon. Her parents had gone to eat in Town Circle with her little brother Nick, and Rain was out. Nathalie thought about Dean and his new rabbit’s foot. She’d found him lost in thought most of the day, daydreaming at his desk as he stroked the thing…which looked strange at times. The rabbit’s foot dangled close to his privates, and at the wrong angle, it looked as if he was stroking something else. He’d gotten annoyed when she’d pointed that out.

  Strange as the situation was, she hadn’t paid much attention. Her whole mind had been focused on what she was going to say to Gabriel and Tess when she confronted them at the hotel during her lunch. She had taken a few days to cool off and get over her shock at their betrayal, but now it was time to set things straight.

  Unfortunately, when she got to the hotel she discovered Tess had the day off. Disappointed but not dissuaded, she searched out the other half of the dirty, cheating duo. Her luck didn’t improve. Gabriel was around, but she couldn’t get him alone for even two minutes. He was busy with his father, and when he was finally free, Elanah joined them. She settled for an unfriendly glare in Gabriel’s direction, which she was sure he didn’t notice. She did notice a new bracelet around his wrist. “New?” she asked, suspicious.

  “Yep.”

  “From Rain?”

  “Nope.” He was distracted, reading something on his phone. Elanah was speaking with John, who had joined their happy group.

  She was sure it was a gift from Tess and it infuriated her, the jerk.

  She gave up for the day feeling strangely thwarted. She decided to leave after confirming that Elanah could come to dinner that evening.

  “Sure, looking forward to it,” she said with a small smile.

  At Elanah’s smile, Nathalie felt a shiver of premonition. Something peculiar was going on, and while Nathalie wasn’t sure what it was yet, she was more and more certain Elanah was at the centre.

  She knew Elanah was special. She and Dean had seen her appear out of nowhere. Nathalie didn’t doubt Elanah was needed, considering what was happening in Barrington. Seeing Sadie and hearing about Ella had convinced her that the magical poison was real. Sadie had sickened within hours of being home. People with strong magical abilities were unwell. Mrs. Barrington was
one of them.

  Everyone was getting worse faster every day. Was long-time exposure finally kicking in or was it something else?

  Everything had accelerated once Elanah arrived. Why wasn’t Elanah sick?

  Nathalie had a lot of questions.

  Lost in thought, she didn’t hear the front door open or see Dean walk in with Elanah. Nathalie was momentarily caught off guard as Dean wasn’t invited to her girl’s night. This was a private dinner between her and the girl panting after her fiancé.

  “Hey sweetheart,” he said, striding over and giving Nathalie a big hug and kiss.

  “Hi,” she replied, kissing him back. Wiping her hands, she greeted Elanah and welcomed her into her home.

  Clearing his throat, Dean explained that he wasn’t sure if Elanah knew where Nathalie lived, so he swung by the hotel after work to pick her up and bring her here.

  “You finished work over an hour ago.”

  “Yeah, I checked in on Baby Sweetes.”

  “You’ve been to Baby Sweetes every day this week,” she teased, but there was an edge to her voice.

  Dean didn’t notice Nathalie’s ire as he ripped pieces off the French bread on the counter. “It’s my newest baby. I have to take care of her. Then I chatted with Gabriel and Tess for a bit.”

  “Oh, Tess was there? Odd, she wasn’t supposed to be working today.” Nathalie pushed down rising feelings of jealousy and anger. Jealousy as Elanah beamed at Dean, not bothering to hide her admiration of him, and anger at Tess and Gabriel. She knew why Tess was there on her day off. She wondered where her sister was.

  Dean was oblivious. “Well, goodbye ladies. Enjoy your dinner,” he said with a smile. He kissed Elanah on both cheeks in parting and gave Nathalie a lingering kiss on the mouth, and then he left. Both girls stared at the closed door before looking at each other.