There are two reasons. First, you let your guard down when you decided to fight the fire and ignored your inner warnings. You did not call us for protection. Second, when Daniel and Garret combine their powers they are able to pull some power from the witch. She gave them the ability to hide, but also a small amount of power to use when they were ready to steal Michael. Daniel used that power to enact revenge on you. His hatred of you surpasses his desire to take Michael. Daniel’s selfishness has caused him to forget his promises to the witch. If he uses more of his power, he will become weaker. We will then be able to take him. Until then wear this.” Magdalena placed a gold chain with a tiny heart on it around her neck.
Josef said, “You’ll never be alone with this and we will protect you before you call us.”
“The battle will be coming soon. Be prepared and warn everyone. You will know when it starts. We will begin the battle, but all will feel it.” Magdalena touched her cheek and Annamarie slipped into a deeper sleep.
The witch watched the events unfold in Timmus Woods. She was angry Daniel and Garret were not keeping their promise. They had promised her the boy. Daniel was consumed by his need to hurt Annamarie. She meant nothing to the witch. Daniel could have Annamarie, but not if it kept him from bringing Michael to her. She would teach them a lesson. With a wave of her hand she tossed powder into the fire. Red and black shadows rose from the fire. She laughed knowing Daniel and Garret’s powers were reduced. If they would not bring her the boy, they did not deserve her help. The Gypsies could have them.
Bonnie returned home from work and walked into the kitchen to see why there was such lively banter. She saw Annamarie sitting there and stared at her friend. “You’re safe. Carl, why didn’t you call me?”
“I did, you never returned the call.”
She turned to say something and slumped to the floor in a faint.
Carl rushed to her, picked her up, and carried her to the sofa.
By the time he laid her down, she was coming around. She smiled and hugged Carl.
“Thank goodness you’re okay,” he looked into her eyes. “Don’t scare me like that.”
“I’m okay; it was only the stress of being excited and worried about Annamarie.”
“Excited, why were you excited? Did you get a promotion?”
“Better,” she smiled. “I’m going to have a baby.”
“What, when, how?” Carl stammered.
Bonnie laughed, “The usual way silly.”
He dropped his shoulders and sat on the floor.
Emmy and Lizzy jumped up and down, “We’re having a baby. Mommy, is it a boy or girl?”
Bonnie laughed.
Everyone talked at once and had a wonderful family dinner. Lena felt Daniel and Garret were getting weaker. Annamarie explained about her dream and the new necklace. Carl wanted Bonnie to quit working. Bonnie smiled at him. Paula and Theo were thrilled to be having another grandchild. Daniel’s hold on the family was weakening.
Daniel could sense the family’s glee. It only fueled his anger. Garret’s agreement that Annamarie must pay for ruining their plans and their lives added to Daniel’s determination to make her pay. He concentrated his thoughts and hatred toward Annamarie. Daniel never felt part of the witch’s power leave him. Garret was oblivious to everything around him except Daniel. He would do whatever Daniel needed.
“Do you have a plan?”
“Yes,” Daniel said. “We were able to draw Annamarie out of the house. If we draw all of them out, we can grab Michael the way we did Annamarie. Once he’s in our power, the witch will take him and we’ll destroy them all.”
“How will we do it, I’m ready.”
“We will draw them out of the house and in the commotion we’ll get the kid.”
“How?”
“We’ll torch the house’s attic and a fire in the garage and shed along with what will look like a fire in the pines will frighten them out of the house. As they run out, we’ll change into mountain lions this time and grab Michael. They might expect wolves, but not two mountain lions. We’ll be long gone before they understand what happened.”
“Great idea, when do we do it?”
“Tomorrow, give them a quiet night to relax and think things are back to normal. Then we attack. We give Michael to the witch and take the rest of the family out as they search for him. Annamarie is mine. She’ll be my wife one last time before she dies. I refuse to fail the way I did in the cave.”
“That wasn’t your fault. She had help from Lena.”
“Lena won’t be able to help her this time.” Daniel’s laughter shook the rusted pans and cups hanging in the cabin. Once again the birds took to the air and the ground animals ran for shelter.
Chapter Twenty-One
Annamarie was frantic about Daniel’s desperation to snatch Michael. “He’ll stop at nothing to take him. I think we need to stay together. Mom, Dad, Carl, Bonnie, and the girls can spend the night here. We have a lot of room.”
Before anyone could respond, Lena jumped up from her chair. “You have to listen to mom. The more she spoke the warmer my amulet became. She’s right, we need to be together. Something is going to happen. I feel we should all get a good night’s sleep and be prepared for anything.”
“I guess it’s a good thing I have tomorrow off,” Bonnie said. “I’d hate to call work and tell them I can’t make my shift because the spirits said to stay home.”
That brought a laugh out of everyone especially when Steve added, “I’m not on duty until Sunday morning so I’ll be here, too. I can’t imagine explaining this to the sheriff.”
Deb found a nightgown for Bonnie and with her small frame, her T-shirts fit the girls like long nighties and they were excited to be wearing Aunt Deb’s “pretty shirts.”
Sam asked if Carl and Theo wanted pajamas and got a look that would freeze water. “Don’t worry; I have a drawer full of clean T-shirts. I don’t like the pajamas either. Most were gifts from my mom,” he laughed.
Everyone was settled with their sleepwear and sat and talked for a while. They put the kids to bed and sat down together again.
Sam said, “I don’t know what to expect so expect anything and everything. Lena’s amulet is never wrong.”
After discussing several possibilities, they went to bed.
Magdalena and Josef visited each of the members of the household while they slept. They gave warnings of impending danger to the adults, told the twins to prepare for battle, and told the boys to be calm and not afraid.”
The family slept in and woke about nine. Four women in the kitchen cooking breakfast caused some hilarious situations and their laughter rang through the house. The kids were watching cartoons and the men were in the study checking out Sam’s rifles and those Annamarie inherited from Grandpa Logan.
“They might be old, but they are in good working order,” said Sam. “Annamarie said they meant a lot to Grandpa Logan and I take care of them in his memory.”
“Good for you,” said Steve. “I’m not sure if we can use any of these against spirits, but we’ll be ready just in case.”
Paula called them for breakfast. The children had eaten and were back watching cartoons when the men sat down in the kitchen.
Daniel said, “I sense they’re all eating and having a good time. This is when we should start. We’ll go to the woods first and start a blaze. It’ll be roaring by the time we set fire to the garage and shed.”
“On the way to their garage can we start a fire in the meadow? The grass and clover have grown over that damn slab of concrete where I was killed. I’d like to burn away the grass and let other’s remember I died there. No one cares,” Garret grumbled.
“I do, and we’ll start a huge fire there, too. Let’s go.”
Annamarie was loading dishes into the dishwasher as Paula poured another cup of coffee. The sky began to darken and Annamarie said, “It looks like a storm is coming.”
Deb hurried in from her apartment in the north wing
and said, “The sky over the pines is dark as night and I saw lightening. It didn’t look like a natural storm coming.”
The first crack of thunder rattled the windows followed by a brilliant flash of light. “I don’t think it is a normal storm. This is what it was like thirteen years ago.”
Theo hurried into the kitchen carrying a crying Michael, “I’m heading for the basement with Michael. That thunder scared him.”
The twins were standing behind Theo, but weren’t crying. In unison they said, “The battle is beginning.”
Bonnie and Carl each scooped up one of the twins and headed for the basement. Deb followed them with Brian.
Steve looked at Sam, “Now what?”
“I have no idea, but let’s get the rifles. They may not help against spirits, but if they turn into a wolf or something else it may help.” Sam hurried into the study.
Steve followed Sam and grabbed the rest of the rifles. Both men walked down the basement stairs.
Annamarie walked into the north wing where she had a perfect view of the pines from the patio doors. She wasn’t afraid mumbling to herself, “If they lose, I’m dead. If they win, I’ll live, but I’m not hiding.”
Annamarie watched approximately twenty feet along the edge of the pines burst into flame. Another crack of thunder rattled and the sky turned dark above the house. Lightening flashed faster than she could count. Gold, red, purple, and silver lightening nearly blinded her. She knew Josef was fighting Daniel, Garret or possibly both. Fire caught the corner of her eye and she turned in the direction of the meadow. A large fire, approximately where Sam poured concrete over the spot where Garret died, was burning. The flames shot twenty feet or higher. Annamarie knew Garret and Daniel were responsible.
Sam walked up behind her, “Your parents are worried. You need to come down to the basement.”
“You go back and keep them calm. I’m going to see this through. One way or another, this ends today, I feel it.”
“I’ll stay up here with you,” he put his arms around her.
“Me, too,” said Lena.
“No, go downstairs,” Annamarie yelled.
“Mom, it’s me, the one with the amulet. I’m the safest of all of you. I can’t be hurt by Daniel or Garret. I want to watch.”
More purple and red lightening could be seen over the pines.
The residents of Timmus Woods hid in their basement at the first ear shattering boom of thunder. The few that stayed out to watch were confused by what they saw. Mrs. Graysbe and Mrs. Loretta saw the red lightening and for the first time in thirteen years, Mrs. Loretta believed Doris had seen Martians. A call to the sheriff’s office brought the sheriff to the station’s back door for a view of the pines.
Greta followed him and said, “Was that red and gold lightening?”
“I think so. Mrs. Graysbe is never going to forget this and she’ll convince everyone we were attacked by Martians.”
Greta laughed until the thunder and a bolt of bright purple lighting frightened her and she hurried back into the station. The sheriff followed.
Annamarie looked at Sam, “It’s so dark out. I can’t see anything but the flames in the pines and meadow.”
Gold and red lightening flashed before their eyes. The entire house shook. Annamarie could hear the kids let out a scream of fear from the basement.
Sam, Annamarie, and Lena ran from the windows when the lightning bolts flashed so quickly, it appeared to be noontime.
The floor began to shake. Annamarie tripped over the edge of a rug. She couldn’t stand back up. Sam pulled her to her feet. They made it to the basement stairs along with Lena. For thirty minutes the storm raged outside.
Paula asked, “Why is the thunder and lightning so violent. I know it’s more than a summer storm, but I don’t understand.”
Lizzy and Emmy answered in unison, “When the spirits are angry, the lightning flashes in colors of their anger. Grandpa Josef must be very angry if there is a lot of red lightening. He is fighting Daniel and Garret. He’ll win, don’t be afraid.” They smiled angelic smiles at everyone.
Carl said, “I still don’t understand how they do that.” He rubbed his temples.
Josef was chasing Garret around the pines. Wherever Garret found what he thought would be a safe place, Josef would find him. When Daniel realized Josef could see Garret and him, he deserted Garret to take care of himself. He couldn’t take the chance of being caught. Now that Josef was busy with Garret, Daniel had a chance to get to Michael and kill everyone else. A loud explosion shook the area and several bolts of colored lightening hit in the pines at the same time. Daniel knew Garret was gone. Josef had caught him, but this time his spirit would be destroyed. He would worry about it later. He had to start a fire at Annamarie’s. Daniel flew to the house, started the fires and hid in the grass. He could get them as they tried to put out the fires.
The rumbling quieted and the house stopped shaking. The lightening over the pines disappeared. Sun light could be seen coming in the windows again. Annamarie sighed, “Maybe it’s over.”
“I smell smoke,” Sam said as he ran toward the stairs. “It may be coming from the attic. The lightening was furious.”
“I can put it out,” yelled Lena as she ran out the back door. Everyone hoping the battle was over followed her.
Sam was right, the attic was burning. Lena held out her hands and the fire died. The smoke blew away revealing little damage. Flames shot out of the roof of the garage and shed. Lena put out the fire the same way she stopped the attic fire. A fire was still burning at the edge of the pines. Several trees had been knocked over and flames shot eight to ten feet into the air.
She turned toward her mom, “Grandpa Josef has captured and completely destroyed Garret. He’ll never be able to return in any form.”
“What about Daniel?”
Lena said, “It’s too quiet. Garret may be gone, but Josef and Magdalena are still searching for Daniel. He could be in the pines or the oaks up at the cabin.”
“The fire’s out, we’ll be safe in the house. Let’s go back in,” Carl said. “We need to be safe if Daniel is still loose.”
Lena shouted, “Gotcha, Daniel.”
Lena’s body was trembling. Annamarie threw her hands to her face. “Lena, what’s happening?”
“Daniel tried to possess my body, but he’s trapped in it. I’m stronger. He can’t get out.”
Daniel’s shrieks of anger could be heard coming from Lena. “Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll end this.”
Lena turned and ran toward the fire.
Annamarie’s knees gave out and she clutched the grass in front of her. Deb and Bonnie screamed as Lena ran closer to the fire. Carl and Sam ran after her, but they knew she was too fast.
Emmy and Lizzy looked at each other, nodded, and held hands. With their free hands, they let a shower of silver and gold sparkles fly across the field. They covered Lena just before she leaped into the flames.
Paula fainted in Theo’s arms and he laid her on the grass. Annamarie collapsed completely onto the grass. She couldn’t move. Her sobs wracked her body. Bonnie and Deb knelt next to her offering comfort they knew wouldn’t help. Carl and Sam stopped and stared at the roaring fire. There wasn’t anything they could do. Lena was gone.
Screams and shrieks could be heard coming from the fire. They were unearthly and loud enough to hurt everyone’s ears. The ground shook again and black flames rose above the fire. They shot twenty feet high without scorching the neighboring trees. As the screams subsided, the flames died down.
Lizzy and Emmy called out, “Grandma Magdalena,” and ran toward the three figures standing at the edge of the field. Josef and Georg were with her. This time everyone could see them.
They hugged the girls while Annamarie tried to get to her knees. She glanced at Paula hoping she hadn’t had a heart attack. Her love for her mother couldn’t stop her from trying to get to Magdalena. She needed to know why Lena had to die. It wasn’t fair. Her sobs made it h
ard for her to stand, but she managed and slowly walked toward her ancestors.
A bolt of golden lightening flashed and hit the burning trees. The fire dissipated immediately leaving a soft glowing mist behind. All eyes were on what just happened. Annamarie mumbled, “I can’t take any more.”
Her head snapped toward the trees when she heard, “Hey, Mom. Daniel’s gone for good. He burned in the fire. It was so cool to watch from inside here.”
Lena stepped out of the golden mist unharmed. Annamarie ran and grabbed her daughter. “Don’t ever do anything that stupid again. I love you.”
“Don’t cry Aunt Annamarie, our sparkles kept the fire from hurting Lena. We told you we were going to be warriors.” Emmy and Lizzy jumped up and down. No one had noticed that during the entire ordeal, the twins were the only ones not upset by what was happening.
Lena stepped away from her mom and ran to Magdalena and hugged her. Josef and Georg hugged Lena tightly. They knew this was the last time they would be together. Lena waved as the spirits dissolved in front of her eyes.
She walked back to where everyone waited for her. Paula had woken up and felt fine. Seeing Lena was all the medicine she needed.
Sam grabbed Lena and spun her around. “You scared me half to death.” He put one arm around Lena and the other around Annamarie.
“I’m sorry, but I got rid of Daniel.” Lena bit her lip exactly the way her mom did.
“You’re grounded for life or until I feel it’s safe for you to go anywhere,” Sam smiled.
“We’re safe now,” Lena smiled. “My amulet’s gone which means I fulfilled my destiny.”
Annamarie and Lena nodded through their tears. Together they walked back to the house. Life was good.
~The End~
Note from the author:
The cremation scene in Chapter Fifteen was an actual event. My mom, who lived in Germany at the time, related the horrendous incident to me one evening while we were discussing her childhood. She was also six and the scene was as she remembered it. Also, all mention of the carnival activities in the trilogy were more truth than fiction. My ancestors did own a carnival in Bavaria for as long as anyone could remember. Unfortunately, the records for the carnival and other family records were destroyed during WWII when they city hall and my mom’s church were destroyed. The spirits and spells were part of my imagination.
Lena (Gypsy Spirits Book 3) Page 20
