Once Upon an Equinox

by Dovie Ruth

  A small flock of robed figures followed right on his heels.

  “Conin is on fire!” A shrouded figure rushed toward the panicked priest and pushed him down onto the dusty earth. “Roll, Conin!” the cloaked figure commanded. “Roll!”

  “The shrubs are on fire!” Ada shrieked. “Quick! Get the water hose!”

  Mavis stepped out of the shadows. “There is no water hose this far from the house.”

  “Then call the fire department!” Ada demanded.

  “No!” Mavis countered. “Let the briars burn out on their own. I doubt the fire will get past the new firebreak. Besides, it just rained last night.”

  A husky middle-aged man challenged Mavis. “You don’t know what you are talking about!”

  “You think not?”

  The gentleman’s bald head glowed with reflected light from the spreading fire. “With this wind, a fire can easily jump your lousy firebreak. It’s not all that wide.”

  “Mind your own business, Drew!” Mavis barked. “You and I know there is more to this situation than a little brush fire.”

  “Yes, I do know! Conin is hurt.”

  “Call the fire department!” Ada wailed.

  Mavis flung her long arms about. “No, I tell you! You will ruin everything.”

  The black sky exhaled a mighty belch of wind and breathed renewed life into the fire. The remaining members of the coven cowered in fear.

  “Do you ever think about anyone other than yourself?” Ada questioned Mavis. “I never thought I’d be the one to say this to you, Mavis Beasom, but you are heartless. Just plain heartless!”

  “Then go home and use your own damn phone!” Mavis snapped. “I don’t want the authorities tracing the call back to me.”

  “Of course, it will be traced back to you.” Drew guffawed. “You live here! And I’ll tell you what, Mavis. I’m not about to let a national forest go up in flames in order to save your skin!” Drew pushed past the imposing woman. “You’re the one who is going to have to answer for the things that have been happening on this property – not any of us.”

  Mavis made a futile attempt to regain control of the man, who was shorter than herself. “You turncoat! Are you forgetting everything I’ve done for you?” The crazed woman’s cherry red hair whipped wildly in the breeze. “Don’t you go near my phone!”

  Drew was not about to be deterred. “Oh, I’m sure Grantham has beat me to it, but I’m going to make sure.”

  “You’ll pay for this!” Mavis threatened.

  “No, Mavis, you are going to be the one who will have to answer the hard questions.” Drew’s words were lost on Mavis. She had already turned toward her cabin and was running with a vigor uncommon for her age. Only the tail end of her black sheet was visible as she moved at a hellish pace toward her dimmed home. And as if on cue, the few remaining revelers took off and vaulted over bushes and stumps to keep up with her. Even Conin and Drew.

  The only one left standing near the bonfire was Delaney

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Delaney rubbed her woozy eyes and tried to make sense of the goings on inside Mavis’s cabin.

  A short period of chaos ensued at the luxury getaway as Delaney watched from a distance. Every window blazed with light, including the ones in her own so-called private bedroom. Voices argued. Large and small items were carried out of the house. Then just as quickly as the commotion had begun, it came to an abrupt end. The cabin windows went black. The surrounding landscape darkened like a thick blanket had been dropped over the chaparral. All was quiet except for the contagion of car engines roaring to life. Then a brisk stream of taillights flowed down the driveway, then turned onto Mineral King Road. The entire fleet was heading toward town.

  “Oh, my word,” Delaney gasped. “They sure are in one big hurry.” Although the bonfire crackled beside her, she shuddered in the cold night air. Delaney was glad to have the black sheet to wrap around her scantily clad body. She watched the growing brush fire with wary eyes and prayed it didn’t shift her way. For the time being, it was burning in the opposite direction. If it changed its path, she might be forced to abandon her position. Come what may, Delaney knew she couldn’t outrun a raging wildfire. She pondered whether she should return to Mavis’ dark house. At least there were gravel driveways and access roads around it. But was Mavis still there? Or had she left with the rest of them?

  Delaney prayed the flames would indeed stop at the firebreak.

  As she wallowed in her thoughts, Delaney realized how much she didn’t know about Mavis Beasom’s retreat. Would a fire engine be coming up Mineral King Road? If that was the case, she could be waiting in the dark for almost an hour. What would she tell the fire crew when they arrived? How would she explain?

  Delaney acknowledged the painful fact that her much anticipated retreat had come to a disastrous end. It was time to begin packing up her own car and getting on down the road. Like Drew said, Mavis was the one who was responsible for explaining the mess.

  With tears in her eyes, Delaney prepared to drench what was left of the bonfire. At least one wise person had placed some buckets of water next to the altar. However, before she even lifted the first pail, Delaney thought better of her actions. Whatever Ada had put in her drink was still making her wobbly. She didn’t feel well enough to lift the heavy buckets or even walk to the cabin. Driving a car with blurry vision was out of the question.

  The Beasom cabin was still dark and was producing no ambient light to guide Delaney’s walk toward it. What if she happened to bump into a bear? Or worse yet, Mavis? Delaney couldn’t help but wonder if Mavis would murder her, then burn her body in the pit.

  It seemed the coven had harnessed the wind and had taken it with them as they careened down Mineral King Road. A half hour or so passed, and the flames had spread no further. Conin’s firebreak had indeed held, but it was too late for him to know that. He and his clan had already made their choice.

  As the fire burned itself out, the night seemed to get darker and lonelier. Only red smoldering mounds of vegetation dotted the blackened earth.

  Delaney strained her eyes and ears, hoping for signs of help arriving. Exhausted and confused, she sat on the ground and propped herself up against a fallen log.

  Delaney awoke to the sizzle of water sloshing onto the bonfire.

  Dawn was breaking through a hazy sky.

  A ginger-headed firefighter was dumping all the water buckets the revelers had set out, then added some of his own. His movements were strong and smooth, making short work of his task. His hazel eyes studied Delaney as he stirred the ashes in the pit. “Hello, ma’am. I’m Mike O’Day, Incident Commander or IC.”

  Delaney had a million things to say, but she couldn’t manage to issue more than a few words from her parched tongue. “What do you want me to call you?”

  “Captain O’Day. Or just Mr. O’Day. Either one is fine.” The fireman stirred the ashes once more. “I’m not going to ask you if you have a fire permit, ma’am, because the department is not issuing any for the time being.”

  “Oh, it’s not my fire.”

  The IC shot a stern look of disapproval at Delaney. “I know you see a lot of rivers and waterfalls around here, but right now California is in the midst of a drought.”

  Delaney tottered to her feet. In her awkwardness, her black cloak fell to the ground, revealing her tummy protruding beneath Ada’s sheer white ritual gown. Her twig crown fell to the ground. “I’m sorry, but you don’t understand.”

  “Oh, I think I do understand, miss. It looks like you had quite a party last night.”

  Embarrassed, Delaney snatched up the black sheet she had dropped and wrapped it around her body.

  The unmistakable pulse of helicopter blades cutting through the early morning sky caught the pair’s attention. Delaney’s first impulse was to wave at the pilot but thought better of it. If the truth be known, Captain O’Day probably already thought she was a goofy and slightly messed up girl.

  Wit
h a crisp display of skill, the helicopter pilot hovered into position over the smoldering chaparral behind the Beasom cabin and dropped his first load of water. Unexplainable emotions rose in Delaney’s throat as she watched the successful dowsing. Then just as quickly as the helicopter had arrived, it departed in search of a mountain lake where it could refill its water tank for yet another drop.

  The incident commander broke Delaney’s trance. “The dispatcher said there was a call from this location about one or more individuals who suffered some burns. Do you know where they might be? No one is answering the door.”

  “I don’t know,” Delaney answered. “I haven’t heard or seen anyone for hours. They all panicked when the fire broke out and took off.”

  “All of them? And how many folks would that be?”

  Delaney chewed her bottom lip. “There were twelve.”

  “And you made thirteen.” Captain O’Day raised his eyes to the heavens and made the sign of the cross over his broad chest. “Oh, Lord have mercy …”

  “I’m not one of them.”

  “Miss, if you walk like a duck and talk like a duck, you must be a –” Captain O’Day didn’t finish his sentence.

  “A witch?” Delaney retorted. “Is that what you meant to say?”

  O’Day opened his mouth to respond, but thought better of it. Instead, he busied himself with the task of sloshing some more buckets of water onto the last of the hot coals in the fire ring. “How did your friends manage to vanish without you?”

  “As far as I know, they jumped in their vehicles and took off down Mineral King Road.”

  “Well, that explains the cadre of cars. Our volunteer firefighters had to squeeze by them on their way up here. It’s rare to see even one vehicle on Mineral King Road. A group of them traveling in the middle of the night is definitely out of the norm.”

  “I’m surprised you got a fire truck up here at all.”

  “Only the short ones.” Captain O’Day raised his eyebrows at the makeshift altar. “What do we have here?”

  In all the chaos, the candles, incense, cauldron, wand and athame had been left behind.

  “I don’t know,” Delaney answered. “None of that belongs to me.”

  “Aren’t you the homeowner – Mavis Beasom?”

  Delaney stepped back in horror. “No! How can you mistake me for that evil old woman?”

  “Then who are you?”

  “I’m Delaney Fox. I came up here to study under Miss Beasom.”

  “As a witch?”

  “No!” Delaney snapped back. “As a writer.”

  “Oh, I see.”

  “As it turned out, The Tilted Plume is a poor excuse for a writers’ retreat. Mavis might be a famous author, but she has no idea how to teach writing. Besides, I think she was more interested in her witchcraft.”

  Captain O’Day leveled his eyes at Delaney. “Do you live here?”

  Delaney rolled her eyes. “If I really did live here, sir, do you think I’d be sleeping out here on the dirt?”

  “Ma’am, I don’t mean to offend you, but I have seen all kinds of things during my twelve years of working for the fire department.”

  Delaney continued to plead her innocence. “I only arrived here on Friday afternoon. You’ve got to believe that. And when I tell you I came up here to improve my writing, you’ve got to believe that, too. I had no idea I was signing up to be held captive, drugged, and become a human sacrifice.”

  “Human sacrifice?”

  “Mavis wouldn’t let me use her phone to call my husband.” Delaney’s voice rose in volume and intensity. “Captain, I can understand if you’re boiling mad about that brush fire. But in an odd sort of way, it probably saved my life.”

  As the firefighter considered Delaney’s words, he frowned at the cryptic stones encircling the fire pit. The four colored candles marking the cardinal directions were melted and cold. “Ma’am, I think it would be a good idea for you to see a doctor. I can get an ambulance up here to transport you.”

  “An ambulance?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “But, I’m fine.”

  “I’m not so sure about that.”

  “Please don’t call an ambulance. I’m not going to get in it.”

  Captain O’Day shook his head. “You’re a stubborn one, aren't you?” He turned to study the horizon. The sun had continued is climb over the mountain ridges, and had almost chased away the ominous shadows from the night before.

  Delaney winced at the sight of the patch of charred brush. The foliage that had been drenched by the helicopter still smoldered. Volunteer firefighters worked alongside the year-round crew from the station at the base of Mineral King Road. With axes and shovels, they knocked down the smoking briars and smothered the hot spots. With the heat of the bonfire being only a bittersweet memory, Delaney’s teeth began to chatter.

  “Why aren’t you inside?” O’Day chided.

  “I’m afraid to go in.”

  “Why?”

  “Well, that’s a whole ‘nother story.”

  Chief O'Day rolled his hazel eyes.

  "You see, before the so-called spring festival, Mavis and her friend, Ada, gave me something to drink. It was supposed to be grapefruit juice, but it tasted funny. The next thing I knew, they were dressing me in Ada’s white robe.” Delaney grabbed the skirt of the telltale gown. “This thing, as a matter of fact.”

  O’Day’s upper lip twitched, but he didn’t say a word.

  “People started arriving close to midnight. They were all going to participate in a rebirthing ceremony to celebrate the spring equinox.” Delaney shivered. “That’s when Conin accidentally dropped a candle and lit Grantham on fire.”

  “Egads!”

  “Grantham took off toward the cabin and threw his burning cloak behind him. That’s how the brush fire got started.”

  The captain pointed his finger at Delaney. “You’re still not telling me why you were afraid to go into the house.”

  “It’s all very simple,” Delaney declared. “If Mavis was still in there, I was afraid she might kill me.”

  The startled firefighter ran his open hand over his face like a cold washcloth. “Mrs. Fox, do you really think that?”

  Delaney’s eyes flashed. “With all due respect, Captain, I most certainly do.”

  “Do you have any proof?”

  “As a matter of fact, yes.” Delaney pointed at the fire ring with a stick. “Yesterday around noon, I was poking around in that same fire pit. At the time, it was stone cold and full of ashes from some previous fires. I was using a big piece of a tree branch to stir all that black powder. I didn’t have a particular reason. I guess I was just winding down for a nap. Anyway, I found human teeth in there.”

  A burst of suppressed laughter escaped from the captain’s chest. “Oh, surely the teeth were from a wild animal.”

  “Only if the critter had been to a dentist,” Delaney countered.

  “A dentist?”

  “Yes, one molar had a gold filling. And after that, I found five more teeth. They all look like they came from a human to me.”

  O’Day wiped his dusty brow. “Do you still have them?”

  “I sure hope I do.”

  “Where?”

  “I put them in the key pocket of my hoodie,” Delaney explained. “And that should be under my bed at the cabin.”

  “Do you mind walking up there with me, ma’am? I’d like to take a look.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  The redwood stairs creaked as Delaney and Captain O’Day climbed onto the deck.

  “Well, it looks like the bears had a feast last night.” The fireman pointed to the remains of what was supposed to have been a celebratory potluck. The serving table had been robbed of its bounty. Empty bowls and food packages lay scattered about. Even an ice chest had been torn open by a hungry guest of the ursine persuasion. “Who had the bright idea to put this barbecue grill on a wooden deck? And right next to a wooden railing?”
r />   “That would be Conin.”

  O’Day’s ruddy cheeks flushed even brighter. “Does this Conin have no common sense? He not only parked the barbecue grill right next to a combustible railing, but he went off and left it unmanned. When I first arrived and was up here at the cabin searching for burn victims, the charcoal tray was full of red hot briquettes. The citizens of California are fortunate that the bears didn’t tip the grill over and burn down the entire forest.”

  “I’m not sure about Conin. I met him for the first time yesterday.” Delaney spoke in a flat tone. She was exhausted and felt no empathy for Conin and what justice might be coming his way.

  “Where did you say you have those teeth stored, Mrs. Fox?”

  “In my bedroom.”

  “Where is that?”

  Delaney pointed toward the French doors that opened into her room. Still spooked from the night's events, she peered through the curtainless window first. The rat’s nest she found inside made her want to cry for the thirty-sixth time in two days. Both her suitcase and manuscript satchel had been dumped tail over top. Her clothing and the pages of her beloved stories were scattered like urban litter over the room.

  “Are you always this messy?” Captain O’Day asked. He jiggled the doorknob on the French door, and it swung open.

  “Of course not!”

  “Then it looks like you’ve been ransacked.”

  “By bears?”

  “No, by humans.”

  “What possessed me to come to this place, anyway?” Delaney lamented. “I should have stayed home.” She rushed into her room to assess the damage. “My purse is gone! My keys are gone!” Delaney wept without control. “Please tell me that my red Mustang is still parked out front.”

  The captain’s hazel eyes softened with empathy. “I’m afraid it isn’t, Mrs. Fox.”

  “So they’ve stolen that, too.”

  “Grand theft auto.”