"True," I agreed. "The rest of us will be strangers to them."
Dom shifted with discomfort. "I'll stay back," he said. "Someone's got to keep an eye on Laney." He pressed his lips together in an annoyed grin. "Don't think for a second we'll let you get anywhere near the farm," he snapped at her.
"You can't keep me trapped here," she barked back at him. "I'll scream."
He stepped closer and hovered his size over her. "Don't make me have to use force."
She huffed and looked to Courtney and me as if we might help her. We ignored her plea with simultaneous shrugs.
It was a decent plan. Laney would only mess things up if she stepped foot on the farm. She was a loose cannon who acted like she had nothing to lose, when in fact, she had everything to lose.
At first, I was bitter at the fact that we wouldn't have the protection of Dom by our sides, but then I had to trust that Courtney understood what to do.
With a nod of agreement, Courtney and I followed the scent of the hearth fire and soon made our way to the edge of the clearing.
We hovered under cover of the shadows and waited for any activity. I scanned the open field and moved my gaze up the front porch of the house. The line of smoke that lifted out from the chimney pulled my attention up to the bright green pines. Just behind them, hidden from sight, was the cemetery where this trip all began, and I shook my head to try to wrap my mind around the strange time warp.
After another thorough scan of the grounds, I felt sure that we'd arrived at a point in time before the executions. There was no evidence of the pyre where the sisters had met their grisly fates. No evidence of foul play.
The sound of a bleating sheep echoed from inside the barn, adding an element of normalcy to the scene.
"It must be near supper time," Courtney said, glancing at the sun as it dipped behind the trees.
"Do you think they're inside?" I whispered.
"I do. The chores appear to be done." She pointed toward the barn. "The door is secured for the night. The water bucket is on the porch, no longer needed. Extra wood is set by the door if the fire needs stoking." She glanced at me. "Looks like they might be staying inside now."
I exhaled in exasperation. All I needed was a visual—a Shane sighting, or even a glimpse of one of the sisters. I just needed to be sure we weren't wasting our time.
"Should we try to look in a window?" I suggested.
And just as the idea tweaked Courtney's interest, the door to the house opened with a squeak.
We held our breaths as movement appeared in the shadow of the porch.
At first, we saw only dark fabric—a heavy shawl that whooshed with her movement. Her head was covered with a black lace covering as if she were dressed for a funeral.
"Millicent," Courtney gasped.
I stared with wide eyes that burned from not blinking. My terror couldn't be curtailed, even though I knew this Millicent was innocent. This was the Millicent who existed before accusations, before torture, and before turning to dark madness.
"What's she doing?" I whispered.
She carried several small items and dropped them into the water bucket. Taking a few pieces of wood as well, she carried the pail and logs down from the porch. Looking around, as if hoping to not be detected, she trailed off around to the back of the house.
"Come on," Courtney said, pulling me along with her.
We skirted along the edge of the woods, remaining hidden from sight, and moved in the direction Millicent had gone. Passing by the far side of the barn, we moved closer to the area of the three pines and stopped.
Listening with every fiber, we heard the crunching of footsteps in the woods. Snapping twigs and crushing pine needles, pointed us in the right direction.
"She's moving toward the cemetery," I whispered.
Courtney nodded. "Let's try to get closer."
For the first time ever, I wished it was darker. We needed the cover of night to keep hidden.
"So slowly," I said. "Watch your every step."
We moved stealthily across the forest floor, stopping and hiding between each large tree trunk we moved up to. As we got closer, the sound of Millicent's movement grew quiet.
Without a word, we remained in our spot and waited.
Before long, the sound of gentle singing widened our eyes. We stared into each other's faces as we listened to the harrowing sound. Like a dirge, the monotone melody of the song became more like a death chant.
"Let's get a little closer," Courtney nudged.
With footsteps that barely touched the ground, we crept closer, until we had her in sight. Courtney's arm stopped me from advancing any farther, and we crouched behind an overgrowth of shrubs.
Watching in silence, we studied Millicent's every move. She had set the logs in a small campfire formation and placed small, hand-tied bundles of herbs around it. After attending a few more details around her set-up, she slowed her rhythmic song and retreated back toward the house.
After several minutes, we let out our held breaths and lowered our shoulders from our ears. Keeping our wits about us, we moved closer to the small graveyard and stepped over the low stone wall of its perimeter. The space was clear and open, with only two headstones set near the front. I knew the stones well. Mother and Father.
At the center of the family plot, Millicent's items were arranged with care.
"It's the beginning of a ritual," Courtney gasped. "See the sage bundles?" She pointed to the tied bunches of dried herbs.
"What are they for?" I swallowed hard, associating the bundles with my memory of the ill-wish that was once thrown onto the burning pyre.
"Sometimes they’re for banishing spirits, but when set like this, in a cemetery, they can be used for summoning." She lifted one and inspected it.
"Don't touch it," I gasped, certain she'd become possessed for interfering.
"It's okay. They haven't been invoked yet," she chuckled from my reaction. "They need to be lit first, then the spirits are summoned."
I exhaled my nervous energy.
"What do you think she's planning?" I mumbled.
"I have no idea. But something tells me we're going to find out." She sighed heavily. "We'll need to wait for total darkness. That's when she'll be back."
My impatience was killing me. I needed to know who else was in the house. I needed to know if Shane was alive. And Gertie. It took everything out of me to not just burst inside and rescue them all.
But the truth was, we were powerless at the moment. We needed more information about the time period to better understand how we could weave our way into their existence without them turning on us.
"Let's go back and tell Dom," I said. "And then we can set up here again and wait."
We traversed through the cover of the forest, cautious of every step and every sound. Keeping to the narrow path, likely used mostly by deer, we found our way back to the low hanging pine boughs that sheltered Dom and Laney.
Sitting at the base of a thick trunk, Laney sat cross-legged with her arms folded. Her annoyed frown gave her the look of a frustrated child in time-out, and I nearly laughed out loud from the sight of her.
Dom pointed a stern finger at her with a silent command for her to remain motionless. She wiggled in defiant resistance but remained in place.
I could only imagine the level of threats he'd placed on her to subdue her. And I had to remember that her drive to act was equally as strong as ours. Her purpose held a similar level of importance, reminding me that she was likely scheming on the inside, planning her escape or, worse, her attack.
"We saw Millicent," I whispered to Dom as we took a few steps away from Laney.
Courtney hovered over her to keep her in place, allowing us to chat.
"How did she look?" Concern washed over his face, causing me to hesitate.
"Um, normal, I guess." I studied his anxious face, realizing he needed more details. "She was covered in heavy shawls mostly, but she seemed okay. She set up a ritual of s
ome kind in the cemetery."
"A ritual?" He shook his head in confusion.
"Yeah, like a small fire, some sage bundles. That kind of thing."
He rubbed the back of his neck. "But she seemed alright?"
A bead of sweat formed on his brow, reminding me of his unique and sometimes unexpected ability to shift into a wolf. The transformation seemed to happen whenever he hit emotional overload, and for some reason, that appeared to be starting.
"Are you okay?" I whispered. "You seem agitated."
"No, I'm fine." He paced nervously. "I'm just feeling not like myself. My heart's racing." He lifted his hands and stared at his shaking palms.
He was having a panic attack. It hit him out of nowhere, and I reached for his shoulder as he bent forward.
"Just breathe," I said. "It will pass in a minute." I rubbed his back as he took deep breaths.
As I glanced back toward Courtney and Laney, I worried about whatever it was we were walking into. Somehow, it had a profound effect on Dom, causing him to lose his shit, and that was a problem because he had been my safety net. With him unstable, I was left with nothing to rely on but myself.
I closed my eyes for a moment, pulling in a massive breath of fresh oxygen into my lungs. Connecting with my heightened senses again, I assured myself it would be okay.
"Not feeling so confident anymore?" Laney seethed, observing our body language.
Her unexpected chime-in rattled me farther.
Because it was true.
Our pacing and nervous energy were enough information to prove we were having doubts about what we might be able to accomplish here.
It was a different time.
A different world.
With its own set of rules.
We had no idea what might happen or if we'd even make it out alive.
But I straightened my spine and stepped closer to her.
"False confidence is not what we need," I said. "True appreciation for the delicacy of what lay ahead of us, that's what we need. And your arrogance has no place here. Our caution is proof of our respect for the powerful forces that surround us."
Laney shook her head like we were wasting her time.
"Courtney and I need to go back," I told Dom privately. "To set up a lookout for when Millie returns. Once we have a sense of what she's summoning, we'll have a better clue about where things stand. We can regroup after and plan until morning on what to do next. Maybe act like travelers or visiting cousins at first."
He nodded in agreement with the plan but then lifted his brow, adding additional concern lines to his face. "I want to go too," he whispered. "I need to see her."
The growing need in his eyes concerned me.
"But Laney," I reminded him. "We won't have the strength to restrain her."
He dropped his head back in frustration.
"You're the only one who can keep her here," I added.
"I know," he grumbled. "Exquisite torture. Cruelty of the heavens. A brutal part of my penance, I imagine."
His words sounded unlike him, more like someone from this time period instead. And then I thought of the amount of time he had been here before when he originally became lost in the portal.
The length of time he was gone was uncertain. To us, it seemed like a couple weeks, but to him, it could have been months or years. The time dimensions seemed to follow their own rules. But I couldn't help but think it odd that he still never spoke of it.
"Penance for what, Dom?" I pressed. "Tell me what you know. If there's any time to tell your secrets, it's now. Maybe it will help us."
He shook his head as his face blanched to sheet-white.
"Okay," I soothed him. "Not now. But soon. Please."
He moved back to his position over Laney and relieved Courtney of her guard. She and I prepared ourselves for our journey back to the cemetery, keeping an eye on Dom's volatile demeanor.
I hoped he would be okay while we were gone, particularly with the rise of Laney's calculated scheming.
"If anything goes wrong...," I started.
And then he finished my sentence.
"Scream."
Chapter 16
Courtney led the way through the game trail, taking us back in the direction of the Dawson farm. She knew the route well, likely having followed this path many times, in multiple lifetimes.
She slowed as we approached the clearing.
"Brynn, I'm scared."
I eased my pace along with her and looked into her worried eyes.
There was no surprise that she was afraid of what might happen.
I was too.
It could easily turn out to be a mess of panicked running, accusations, curses, and executions. But I had to have faith that our unique gifts, combined, would result in bringing balance to a very unbalanced time.
We owed it to our coven to at least try.
"Me too, Courtney."
I shuddered at the thought of facing Millicent. Not because of who she was now, but of who she becomes.
And that was it.
We needed to stop her from evolving into the Dark Witch.
"I think she's too powerful," she muttered.
"Who?"
"Millicent." She took a few small steps closer toward the farm. "She's always gone too far with the magic, you know. She takes her power from the darkness. Gertie and I always knew it, but we couldn't stop her." She drew a steady breath. "She cursed our entire family. I don't know if I can stop it."
I stared at Courtney with shocked eyes. I'd always looked at her as a brave badass. The pain and torture she’d suffered from the family curse were brutal, and she survived it. Her courage brought her here, into the battle zone again, to face her worst fears.
"I don't know if you can stop her either, Courtney. But the fact that you are here is what matters. You're trying."
She nodded. "And you're here too. You must be terrified. Facing the possibility of losing your soul mate but still fighting for him in the face of danger."
"Well, we're not the kind of girls to wait at home for someone else to fix the problem. That's a fact," I huffed.
"Yup."
Then the bang of a door jolted our attention to the direction of the farm. We froze without speaking another word and listened with our entire beings.
After several minutes, we released our stifled breaths and using hand gestures, made plans to curtail around the perimeter of the clearing, just out of sight.
Sneaking through the edge of the woods, we made our way through the growing darkness with one cautious step at a time. The short journey to the cemetery took a significant amount of effort at the snail pace we had set, but remaining undetected was our primary focus.
As we reached the far side of the three pines, we crouched to our knees and crawled closer to the graveyard. Huddling behind the same overgrowth of shrubs, we watched as a dark shrouded figure added wood to a small fire.
Candles glowed in a wide circle around the blaze setting a specific perimeter around the sacred space. The person moved within the circle as if becoming familiar with its area and then threw a sage bundle into the flames.
"It's set," Courtney whispered. "She's ready to begin."
And with those words, the person reached for her hood and dropped it to her shoulders.
Millicent's face glowed from the blaze but held no emotion, only sharp focus. And then she opened her cloak, allowing it to fall from her shoulders onto the ground.
With only a nightdress on, she began to twirl. Lifting her arms over her head and spinning around the fire, she danced with gentle whirling, similar to the white smoke that lifted from the flames.
I stared with wide eyes at the strange ritual, wondering what she was hoping to accomplish. She'd left the house alone to perform in solitude, so whatever she was doing, it was meant to be secret.
A twang of guilt washed over me as I realized I was violating her privacy. She didn't intend to have an audience, that was clear. And now, my worry hei
ghtened at the thought of getting caught.
And then she began singing.
A low, quiet song at first, but as she whirled around the flames, it grew louder. As her voice carried through the circle of candles and out toward us, it moved from sweet lyrical cadence to a low, steady beat of stern phrases. Just as the tempo of her singing changed, she pulled at her nightdress, yanking it open to expose her breasts.
I gasped at the unexpected show as she moved her hands over her body in a new, erotic dance. She gyrated and thrashed her body in abrupt movements, lifting her gaze up along the sparks that lifted into the treetops.
Pulling her nightdress further open, she revealed her swollen belly in the firelight and moved her hands around it.
Courtney whimpered beside me and then began panting. She lifted from her kneeling position onto all fours and rocked. Muffled cries escaped her throat as she continued to stare at Millicent.
I couldn't keep my eyes off her either.
She was pregnant, and the shock of it resonated through my every fiber.
Courtney struggled with the revelation as she tried to get a grip on herself.
It must have been the illegitimate child she'd once spoken of.
We stared in horror as Millicent conjured the darkness to focus on her unborn baby. Courtney's agitation grew worse, and she rocked harder to stop herself from exploding.
And then, as Millicent raised her arms again to the stars, she chanted, "Prince of Darkness, hear my infernal cry. Take thee as your own. Grant thee the power of thou lust. Whirl the wheel, O Saviour."
She turned to the four corners, pointing in each direction with another command. "Thou eye. Thou lust. Thy secret. Thy soul."
Black mist lifted all around her in curious response to her conjuring. It groped at her and lapped at her exposed skin. And finally, her head fell back in ecstasy as she held her belly. "Yes," she cried. "Yes!"
Courtney reeled back in shocked horror and cried out, "No!"
I reached for her to stifle her voice, but it was too late.
Millicent froze in place, staring out into the darkness where we hid.
And with narrow, focused eyes, she locked onto our hidden location.
Urban Mystic Academy: Fourth Project (A Supernatural Academy Series Book 4) Page 13
