The Witches of Dark Root

by April Aasheim [paranormal]

  The voices faded, becoming background noise and then it was dark.

  Everything hurt. I felt weak. My life force was slipping away. I wanted to cry, knowing that soon I might be gone, but I was beyond crying.

  I felt someone slip in the bed behind me. Warm lips touched my cheek and a strong hand brushed damp hair away from my brow.

  “Magdalene.” My mother said the word and held my shivering body.

  I thought I heard her cry and the sound prodded me through the pain. I had never heard my mother cry. I focused my awareness on her, listening.

  “You can’t take her,” she said, her voice barely louder than a whisper. “I love her and she’s mine.” She wrapped her arms around me and though I was burning up, I took great comfort in her embrace.

  I fell asleep.

  When I awoke, it was midday. I was able to open my eyes.

  I could feel my mother still lying in bed with me. I turned to face her. She was staring at me, smiling.

  “Welcome back, Magdalene...”

  My eyes flashed open.

  I was back in the nursery with June Bug, surrounded by chaos.

  The image of my mother returned, her arms wrapped around me while we fought back my illness. I had no recollection of that memory until today.

  Another book hit me in the head. I ignored it. I was calm as I faced the dark.

  “Let us go,” I said, directing my words towards the door.

  The door shuddered, but did not open.

  “Let us go,” I said again, not raising my voice as I marched towards the door and tried the handle.

  “You can’t have her,” I said, opening my arms. “Not today, not ever. I love her and I will do whatever it takes to get her out of here. You and I can fight another day, but I’m getting her out of this room. Now.”

  The crystal hummed around my neck. The floor ceased moving.

  June Bug tried the door, and it opened in her hands.

  Anger had saved me as a kid, but it was love that saved me as an adult.

  I scooped June Bug up in my arms and carried her down the dark hallway and into the living room.

  “You saved me,” she said, still clinging to my neck.

  “Of course I did, silly. I love you.”

  “Where are we going?” June Bug asked as I crammed her pajamas and art kit into a backpack.

  The cats meowed loudly, as if they knew they were on their own for the night. I felt bad that no one would be there to change litter boxes, but I had left enough food in their kennels to keep them fed for a week.

  “We are getting out of here,” I said, inspecting the house one last time.

  It felt normal again, like the last hour had been a bad dream. But I knew the ‘thing’ was still in there, gathering energy.

  “Can we call Mommy?” June Bug asked, as she tied her shoelaces.

  I shook my head. “We are going to spend the night at Harvest Home with Auntie Eve and Paul and Aunt Dora. Won’t that be fun? I’ll let your mommy know when we get there, okay?”

  June Bug checked on her cats and critters then grabbed her coat. “Okay.”

  A horn outside let us know that Shane had arrived.

  I took June Bug’s hand and we hastily made our way outside, picking our way down the porch steps. I forgot to lock the door, and when I remembered I almost turned back, but stopped myself. Anyone crazy enough to break in deserved what they got, be it ghosts or cats.

  “Sorry I couldn’t get here faster,” Shane said. “The road is really bad right now. These rains have taken their toll.”

  “What was trying to get me?” June Bug asked, as we piled into Shane’s pickup.

  He backed up, turning around to leave the driveway. The tree branches bobbed in the wind as if waving goodbye.

  “I don’t know what that ‘thing’ is,” I said. “I wish I did.” I stared out the steamed window.

  Shane was right. The road had turned to slush.

  “It said it was going to keep me there forever. It said it was lonely. At first, I felt bad for it.”

  “Listen, honey.” I took her chin roughly in my hand and forced her to make eye contact. “Don’t you ever feel sorry for that thing in there. Okay?”

  June Bug started to cry and I released my grip on her.

  Shane squared his jaw and punched the gas.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “I’ve just never been that scared in my entire life.”

  “It’s okay, Aunt Maggie.” June Bug rested her head on my arm, nuzzling me. “I’ll keep you safe.”

  I gave Shane a sideways look, but he didn’t notice. He was lost in thoughts of his own.

  Fifteen: Night Moves

  By the time we reached Harvest Home, June Bug was fast asleep.

  Shane carried her inside, placing her on the sofa in the den. He and I then gathered in the living room with Eve.

  “What do you mean, something was trying to get her?” Eve stormed back and forth across the room, her hands balled up into fists. “Are you sure, Maggie? I mean, this isn’t one of your fantasies, is it?”

  “Of course I’m sure. June Bug was screaming and something was holding the door.”

  Shane nodded. “June Bug said the same thing to me when I picked them up.” He looked across the room, his eyes resting on Aunt Dora who was sleeping in a recliner. “I know kids make up stories, but I believe her.” His eyes fell on me. “...And Maggie.”

  I felt a wave of gratitude for him.

  He believed me. Who cared what Eve thought?

  “Merry trusted you with her daughter!” Eve said accusingly as she rushed towards a small black bag on the dining room table. “And you let this happen!”

  “I didn’t let this happen,” I said. “It happened. And we got her out.”

  I remembered the night I was trapped in the room with the ‘thing’ myself as a kid and Eve was there, unwilling to help. Who was she to accuse me of anything?

  Eve returned with her bag and removed a thin, rectangular device, hardly bigger than a book. “I say, we fight fire with fire. If this thing wants to mess with a little girl, he better be prepared for the big girls, too.” She pushed a button on the machine and it turned on.

  A Windows icon flashed across the top of it.

  “What is that, and what are you doing?” I asked, watching her fingers slide frantically across the device, bringing up a series of pictures.

  “I’m checking the internet on my tablet.”

  I was in awe as I watched her, and I wondered why Mother had placed so much stock in magic when there were things like this in the universe.

  “For what?” I finally asked. “Things that go bump in the night? I thought you didn’t want anything to do with that stuff?”

  “Maybe I didn’t before, but that’s my niece up there. I’m not about to let the same thing happen to her that happened to...”

  She stopped, pushing her lips tightly together.

  I narrowed my eyes, wondering if I had missed a near-admission. Eve continued checking her tablet, groaning as the minutes ticked by.

  “Maggie,” Shane said, as I watched Eve work. “Do you remember anything about the original Council, before they became the Council of Seven?”

  “What does that have to do with anything?” I asked him, confused.

  “Just answer me.”

  “Okay,” I said, trying to pull up a memory. “I do remember there being a few more people in Mother’s ‘group’ when I was really young, including a couple of men. That’s about it.”

  “Yes.” Shane ran his palm through his hair, trying to pick the right words. “Uncle Joe and Leo were the only men left then, and that was only because they were...”

  “Gay,” Eve chimed in, not lifting her eyes from the screen. “Mom didn’t trust straight men.”

  “Eve’s right on that,” I said.

  At some point in my early childhood, our mother had taken to man-bashing, but she never said why.

  “Well,” Shane continued. �
��Uncle Joe told me some things shortly before he died. I wasn't supposed to say anything, because your mother might get angry, but...” He paused, checking to see if Aunt Dora was still asleep.

  He didn’t have to worry. Her snoring was almost as loud as the TV she slept in front of. She wouldn’t hear a word we said. Even so, he lowered his voice.

  “...The Council of Seven was originally the Council of Thirteen. There was a rift in the group because some members didn’t think your mother was using their magick to its fullest potential. They thought they could be more powerful if they could just learn to control a few things.”

  “Like what?” I said. There was something about his tone that made me nervous.

  He took a long time before answering.

  “Demons.”

  “What the hell?” Eve stopped playing with her computer and looked up. “That’s crazy, even for this town.”

  Shane said, “It’s true, at least according to Uncle Joe, and I’ve never knew him to lie.”

  I nodded. Uncle Joe was the most honest person I had ever met.

  “How do we know you aren’t lying?” Eve crossed her arms and leaned back, appraising him.

  Shane shrugged. “I have no reason to lie. I’m just repeating what I’ve heard.”

  “I don’t doubt you,” I said. “But what’s this have to do with us?”

  The temperature in the room seemed to be dropping. I looked around for my sweater. It was thrown across the back of a chair and I put it on. It smelled like wet alpaca.

  “It was said that those strong enough to control a demon could gain access to unlimited power,” Shane explained. “Think of it like the genie being let out of a bottle, then having to obey its master. Some of the members were growing weary of just doing rain dances and performing protection spells. They wanted more, and they thought having a demon do their bidding was the way to go. But, because there weren't many demons running around, in order to control one, they had to summon one...”

  He let the words sink in and I pulled the sweater tighter around me.

  Why would anyone think it was a good idea to try and control a demon? To use Shane’s genie analogy, things never went right when someone was presented with absolute power. I had read Arabian Nights. The genies always won.

  Shane continued after an appropriate silence.

  “...A few of the men in the group actually tried their hand at summoning,” he said. “Your mother, of course, was against it and became infuriated when she heard about it. She banished them and their supporters from the group.”

  My heart began to race and I felt like I was being watched. I looked over my shoulder just to be sure.

  “You mean the ‘things’ I’ve been seeing may be more than just ghosts?” I said.

  “Just ghosts?” Eve scoffed. “As if ghosts aren't bad enough!”

  “Shut up, Eve!” I ordered her. “Take something seriously, for once.”

  Shane thrust his hand between us. “I didn’t bring this up to start a war. I just wanted you to know that this may be bigger than what we got the guns for.”

  So this was why Mother distrusted men. It made more sense now.

  As if reading my thoughts, Shane gave me a somber look but said nothing.

  “Stupid internet,” Eve complained, flicking the side of her tablet. “It keeps shutting down.”

  “The connection’s terrible here,” Paul said, coming in from the outside and shutting the door behind him. He had messy hair and red eyes. He had either been sleeping out there or smoking something. He rubbed his hands together for warmth. “...I already tried. If you hold your tablet just right, you might pick up the neighbor’s connection for a few minutes, but then it goes dark. The World Wide Web seems to stop at Dark Root...”

  “Dip Stix has internet,” Shane spoke up. “Free Wi-Fi for customers, not that it draws them in. Come by tomorrow. You can use my computer.” He took the keys out of his jeans pants pocket.

  I knew it was late, but I didn’t want him to leave.

  After all that had happened today––watching Mother and Merry drive away in an ambulance, learning about Merry’s cheating husband, and rescuing my niece from a possible demon attack, I wanted as many people around me as possible.

  Especially someone as positive as Shane Doler.

  “Stay,” I said, hoping he didn't notice the fear in my voice. “We have extra rooms if you don’t mind all the flowers and baskets everywhere.” When he didn’t answer I added, “Please?”

  He nodded and put the keys back into his pocket.

  “I need to get to bed then,” he said, turning his head towards the staircase. “Dip Stix opens early and I need to be there, customers or not.”

  He said goodnight to Paul and Eve and I escorted him upstairs, turning on every light in the hallway as we made our way to the only masculine room in the house, The Huntsman Suite. It was a darkly-paneled room, with pictures of fish and deer hanging randomly on the walls. A bear rug lay in front of the four-poster bed.

  “Paul not want this room?” he asked, his smile almost a smirk.

  “He likes sleeping in the attic. Besides, he’s a vegetarian. Says all the dead animals creep him out.”

  “Oh, really? I thought I saw him eating meat at the cafe.”

  “He just smells it. Says he gets his fix that way, but won’t eat the stuff anymore. Something about spending a summer working on a farm one year.”

  “Weird guy.”

  “Not really.”

  Shane gave me a quizzical look then changed the subject. “There’s something that’s been bothering me. I’m as worried about June Bug as you are, but I do find it interesting that your mother went to the hospital today, yet neither you nor Eve brought it up this evening. It’s none of my business, but...”

  I pretended not to hear him as I went into the closet and pulled out some extra pillows and tossed them onto the bed. I grabbed a spare sheet as well.

  “Maggie?” he pushed, waiting for an answer.

  “That is interesting, isn’t it?” I bit my bottom lip and considered. “Maybe Eve and I are more alike then I realized.” Both soulless? “Anyways, thank you. For everything.”

  I felt myself blush. In the last week I had thanked him more than I had ever thanked anyone. I was sounding like a parrot.

  “No problem. Anything I can do for any of you girls––ever––I will do. Got it?” He leaned back against the headboard, then removed his watch from his wrist and placed it on the nightstand.

  I wasn’t used to men being nice to me and I wondered what the catch was. I tilted my head to the right, trying to get a read on him, but I couldn't find any hidden agendas in his energy.

  Odd. And nice.

  “Guess I better get to bed, too,” I said, pretending to admire a picture of a bear with a fish in its mouth.

  “Okay.” His voice was soft and his smile warm. He took the extra pillows I offered him, fluffed them up, and placed them by his side.

  I turned towards the door, but didn’t leave. “When I left Woodhaven, I felt like I lost not only my boyfriend, but my family.” I bit my bottom lip to stop it from quivering. I could feel his eyes on my back. “There was this guy...Jason. He was so great. Cute and smart and always there for me. I think I miss him the most.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yes. You remind me of him,” I said, turning my head over my shoulder, aware of the heaviness of my hair as it slid down my back.

  Shane sat up, his eyes unblinking. “Really? Now that is interesting. Tell me more about Jason.”

  “He was always getting me out of trouble. I guess I have a way of getting into it.”

  “That you do. You say he was cute?”

  “Very. All the girls liked him but he didn’t seem to notice.”

  “You and Jason ever...?”

  “Ever?” His question caught me off guard, and it took a moment to figure out what he was implying. “Oh, God no,” I said. “He was like a brother to me. That would have be
en incestuous.”

  I almost added that I had stopped seeing Jason as a brother the day he took me to the bus stop, but it was a moot point now, so I remained silent.

  “Great,” Shane said, falling backwards as he rubbed his eyes. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need some rest. Something tells me we have a big day tomorrow.”

  Sixteen: September

  “I really appreciate you driving me,” I said, as Shane pulled into the hospital parking lot just outside of Linsburg.

  The lot was nearly empty, and we found a space close to the entrance. It was nothing like the enormous hospitals I’d been to with Michael in California, where you had to take shuttles from the parking lot to the main building. Not that I had been in many hospitals, but there were times, Michael said, when even God needed a hand in answering prayers.

  “Again, no problem, and please stop thanking me. It’s unbecoming of someone of your station.” Shane offered me a tired, half-smile as we walked towards Guest Services.

  The wind had a chill to it and I pulled my sweater tightly around me. If I stayed in Dark Root much longer, I would be forced to go clothes shopping. I wasn't prepared for the cold weather to come.

  “Are you sure we should have left Scooby and Shaggy alone?” I asked, referring to Eve and Paul. They were back at Dip Stix, conducting research on the internet.

  “I think they’ll be okay. Paul seems to know his way around a kitchen, as does Eve. I feel confident that if someone comes in, they will be well taken care of.”

  The receptionist let us know that my mother was checked into room 212 on the second floor. As we made our way to the elevator I was starting to regret my decision. “You sure you don’t want to go with me?” I smiled brightly, enticingly. “It will be fun!”

  He shook his head as the elevator doors popped open. “No, my dear. I’m going to kill some time in the reception area. They have a fantastic selection of O, The Oprah Magazine I’m dying to get my hands on.”

  He winked and practically shoved me into the elevator, before disappearing behind the two steel doors.

  I wasn’t happy to be here, and I wasn’t planning on stepping foot inside Mother’s room. I was simply going to check on Merry, drop off a bag of her things, and leave. I took deep breaths as the elevator doors opened, reminding myself of the plan.