Biting my lip between my front teeth, I glanced across the deck at Alba, who stared into the bathroom window. Feeling my eyes on her, she turned to look at me. I spoke to her with my eyes. Lifting a brow and cocking my head slightly, I told her that I had eyes on Auggie in the kitchen. She nodded, sank to a crouch, and then duck-walked in my direction, pausing at the threshold of the sliding deck door to peer around the jamb into the kitchen.
We watched silently as Auggie prepared the potion that she intended to use to steal my grandfather away from my grandmother, just as she’d done years before when she’d stolen Samson Smith. Now that Samson had moved on to a newer, younger witch, Auggie was bound and determined to do a repeat performance and attempt to steal my grandmother’s man once again. But little did she realize the potion she was concocting would ultimately take Granddad’s life. Whether she had done the potion wrong or he had been allergic to the pit viper venom that was in it, Gran had never been sure. The only thing she’d been sure of was that she’d gone out, and when she’d returned, her husband was dead.
As I watched Auggie measuring out ingredients from an assortment of bottles and vials, the only thing I could think was that I wasn’t about to let that happen. Not again.
When she’d finished mixing the potion, Auggie snapped her fingers and blew, and all of the candles on the table lit instantly. She placed the bowl in the center of the table, making sure that the candles surrounded it properly. Then she began to chant, holding her arms up to the sky and murmuring the words.
She spoke so quietly and so quickly that I could barely hear or understand her. It sounded as if the chant was in Latin, but I couldn’t be sure. When she raised her arms higher into the air, I heard a clap of thunder and saw lightning strike overhead before settling into a hearty, grumbling wave, and then the candles were snuffed out.
As she repacked her bag with the ingredients and the extinguished candles, Auggie grinned to herself. She actually looked happy about what she was about to do. I wanted to get up and storm the kitchen. I wanted to scream at her. How dare you! You miserable, rotten…
With a heated face, I frowned and glanced over at Alba. I knew she felt the same surge of anger that I felt. But then her lips formed a small circle and her eyebrows lifted. She inhaled slowly. Even though I couldn’t hear her, I knew she was telling me to take a few deep breaths and to let them out slowly. It would help to calm me.
I nodded and took her suggestion. It was something my mother would have told me to do too. When I turned my attention back to Auggie, I saw that she’d pulled three vials from her bag and was pouring the contents of the bowl into the vials. Putting the empty bowl in the sink, she went to the refrigerator to pull out a pitcher of lemonade and got two tall glasses out of one of Gran’s cupboards.
My hands clenched into tight balls as I watched her set about making two glasses of lemonade, spiking one with one of the vials she’d just prepared and tossing the empty vial into the garbage can. Taking a lemon from the fruit bowl on the kitchen counter, she cut off a wedge and attached it to the edge of the poisoned glass.
Standing back and looking satisfied with her handiwork, Alba and I watched as she fluffed her hair, then took both glasses and headed for the front door. The stage was set. She was going to do it now! Showtime!
“Hurry!” I whispered, taking off like a shot down the back porch steps to run around to the front of the house. We had to alert the rest of the group that she was coming!
The quick sprint and the anticipation of what was about to happen had my pulse racing and my mind spinning. What were we supposed to do to stop Granddad from drinking the poisoned lemonade? And how would we do it without Auggie seeing us?
We passed Libby and Cinder on the side of the house and motioned to them to follow us quietly around to the front. We found Holly and Reign each peeking into windows on the porch, and I knew Sweets was around on the other side of the house.
“She’s coming!” hissed Alba, pointing towards the garage. “Come on. We have no choice, we’ve gotta warn Clark!”
“But what if Auggie sees us?” I asked as we took long strides away from the house. When Sweets saw us heading towards the garage, she met up with the rest of the group.
“Then she sees us. We don’t have a lot of time. We have to warn him.”
Reign shook his head. “I don’t like the fact that we don’t have a plan here. This isn’t going to go well.”
“Listen, Slick. It’s easy. We tell Clark that Auggie is about to poison him. He doesn’t drink the poison. Easy peasy.”
I didn’t want to be a naysayer and remind Alba that nothing was ever easy peasy where we were concerned. I had to have hope that we could pull it off without a hitch.
As we crossed the gravel driveway, the sound of a screen door slamming behind us sent shock waves through my system. It was Auggie. She was on the front porch, but I refused to turn around, even after she hollered after us. “Hello. May I help you?” Instead of answering, we picked up our pace and closed the gap between us and the barn, she called out again. “Hello?”
The sound of Auggie yelling brought Granddad out of the garage. Squinting into the midday sun, he wiped his grimy fingers on his shop rag looking at us curiously. “Who are you?”
My mouth went dry. I led the pack, with my brother and Alba flanking me, and my grandfather’s green eyes seemed trained on me as if he somehow recognized my face. He tilted his head slightly to the side. I wanted to tell him it was me, Mercy, his granddaughter. But the truth was that I wasn’t even a glimmer in my five-year-old mother’s eye at this point. He’d never believe me, even if I swore that it was true.
I looked up at Reign. I needed him to do the speaking that I couldn’t do.
He held a hand out to our grandfather. “Yes, sir. Hello. My name is Reign, this is my sister, Mercy, and these are a few of our friends.”
Granddad nodded at us all but kept mum, waiting for Reign to continue.
“This might sound odd, but—”
Before he could finish his sentence, Auggie was upon us, holding two glasses of lemonade in her hands. “Clark, do you know these people?”
Granddad furrowed his brow and shook his head in confusion. “No, I don’t. I assumed that they were friends of yours.”
Auggie shook her head. “Not at all. I’ve never seen them before in my life. I just came out to see if you needed some refreshments. It’s so hot out here.” She handed him the glass of lemonade with the lemon cocked sideways on the top of the glass, and then tugged at the collar of her shirt with the hand she’d just freed up.
“Oh, uh, thanks,” he said, looking at the glass. Then he turned his eyes back on us. “Now, you were saying?”
I couldn’t take my eyes off that glass. Don’t drink it, don’t drink it! I squinted my eyes at it, hoping that something in my witchy body would tip the glass over magically, and he’d not drink it. But nothing of the sort happened.
Reign cleared his throat. “Oh, yes, sir. This might sound odd, but we’re distant relatives of Phyllis Habernackle. You’re her husband, Clark, aren’t you?”
Granddad nodded. The sparkle in his eyes told us just how much his curiosity had been piqued. “Yes, I am. So you’re related to Phyllis. Isn’t that interesting? May I ask what the relation is?”
We’re just her grandchildren, and yours too, Granddad. No big deal, I thought, wanting to scream it out to him and beg him not to drink the lemonade.
Reign shifted in his army boots. “Umm, it’s very distantly. I’m not even sure that I could explain it if I tried.”
We all kind of giggled nervously.
Auggie looked at us with suspicion, narrowing her gaze. It was almost as if she’d gotten the distinct feeling that we were there to thwart her plan. “Clark, I really think you ought to drink up. I’d hate for you to get dehydrated out in this heat.”
And then, he did the unthinkable. He lifted the glass to his lips. My eyes widened and my heart lurched into the back of my thr
oat.
But before the liquid could touch his lips, Reign flicked a finger and shot an electrical blast at the glass, sending it tumbling out of his hands and onto the ground, where the glass shattered and the parched ground readily welcomed the bitter liquid.
Auggie sucked in her breath and looked up angrily at Reign.
Granddad’s brows lowered. “Well, what in tarnation was that about?”
Reign did a good job of ignoring Auggie’s hostile stare and instead keeping his eyes on our grandfather. “I’ll be honest, sir,” he said forcefully. “That was me saving your life.”
“Saving my life!” bellowed Granddad, his temper beginning to show. “From choking on a piece of ice?”
“No, from being poisoned,” said Alba. “Sir, that glass you were about to drink was laced with a pit viper venom potion that was going to kill you.”
Auggie’s eyes widened. Her suspicions were confirmed! I could see the wheels turning in her head. She couldn’t understand how we’d spoken the truth. How had we known that?!
Alba continued. “Many years ago, Auggie Stone used that same potion to separate her best friend from the arms of Samson Smith. She concocted the potion to separate Phyllis and Samson, and now she’s trying to do the same spell on you.”
Granddad looked shocked. “On me?! Whatever for?”
I glared angrily at Auggie. I wanted to destroy the woman that had destroyed so many lives. “Isn’t it obvious? She’s miserable. She’s alone with three children to look after. She’s got no home, no money, and no husband. She wanted Gr—” I hesitated, forcing myself to swallow down the word Gran. “She wanted Phyllis’s life.”
He looked over at Auggie. “Is any of what they say true?”
Auggie shook her head, her face crimson now. “Of course it’s not true, Clark! I have no idea what they’re talking about! I-I don’t even know these people!”
But he didn’t look convinced. He wagged a thick finger in the air. “Phyllis told me about Samson, and she told me about the pit viper venom potion. I know that much of their story is true.”
Auggie’s mouth opened, but suddenly she was speechless.
Alba jeered at her. “Sir, we know that she put the very same potion into your drink, just now. We saw it with our own eyes. But what she doesn’t know is that that very potion will kill you.”
“Kill me!” he said with shock.
Auggie wrinkled her nose. “You don’t even know what you’re talking about. It most certainly would not kill him!”
“But you did put something in my drink?” asked Granddad, now staring intently at Auggie.
“Well, I—uh…” Wide-eyed and with her mouth gaping open a bit, Auggie looked like a deer caught in the headlights.
“Now how do all of you know all of this? Are you in cahoots with her or something?”
Reign shook his head resolutely. “No, sir. We are one hundred percent not aligned with that woman. We really can’t explain how we know what we know, but the fact of the matter is, Auggie was about to do to you what she did to Samson. Except for some reason, you die as a result of her selfishness, and we didn’t want that to happen. We aren’t sure if the potion was made incorrectly or if maybe you’re allergic to the venom that’s in it, but the fact remains that you will die if you drink it.”
Granddad looked at Auggie now, his face twisted into an angry snarl. “I can’t believe you’d do this to Phyllis. After everything she’s done for you and your kids.”
“Clark! I most certainly did not—”
“Silence!” he barked. He took a deep breath and tried to get ahold of his rage. “I didn’t want you here anyway, you know. I only allowed you in my home because you were an old friend of my wife’s. I have no idea why she decided to forgive you for ruining her relationship with Samson, but in a strange way, I’m thankful that you did, because that eventually led her to me. But now you’re trying to pull the same dirty, underhanded moves on me as you pulled on Samson? Have you learned nothing from your treachery? Haven’t you learned that eventually, karma comes back around and gets you in the end?” He shook his head. “I want you out of my house.”
“But the children and I have nowhere to—”
“Out of my house!” My grandfather’s voice intensified, resounding in anger. “Where you and your children go is not my problem. You are to leave immediately.”
Auggie nodded her head gently. “Clark, I beg of you. Please don’t tell Phyllis what happened!”
“I wouldn’t dream of telling my big-hearted wife what a monster her old friend Auggie truly is. It would break her heart.” He shook his head. “No. You will go inside this very minute and gather your things. The second she and the children return, you will load up into the truck, and I will drive you into town and drop you off at the bus station. Where you go from there will be up to you.”
“But what will I tell Phyllis?” asked Auggie.
“You’ll make up an appropriate story. I don’t really care. Tell her that Samson called and wants you back. Tell her that you’re moving in with family in another state. I really don’t care, but make something up, and make it sound real. And then never contact me or my wife again. Do you understand?”
Auggie nodded sadly. “Yes, I understand, Clark. I—I’m so sorry.”
“Now go! Get out of my sight,” he growled.
When Auggie had gone, climbing the porch steps with her head hanging low, Granddad turned his attention to us. “Now, I want the truth. Who are you really? And how did you know what Auggie was planning?”
“The truth?” asked Reign.
“And nothing less.”
Reign’s mouth opened to spill the beans on our familial relationship, but Alba beat him to it.
“The truth of the matter is, sir, we’re witches, just like your wife is. We read minds, and we know things before they even happen. And we knew what Auggie was up to. We had to stop it before she killed you.”
He nodded as if he accepted her answer without question. “Where are you from?”
“We live in Aspen Falls, Pennsylvania, right now.”
“Aspen Falls! That’s where the Institute is. My wife went to witch school there!”
“We go to witch school there too,” I whispered.
His eyes brightened for the first time. “Well, you should all stick around. When I get back from taking Auggie and her children to the bus stop, we’ll make you dinner. It’s the least I could do after you saved my life. I know Phyllis would love to meet you all. Of course we can’t tell her what transpired here today.”
I nodded enthusiastically. The idea excited me. Seeing my grandparents together and getting to see and talk to my mother as a child sounded like a great way to spend the evening. I was just about to accept his invitation when Alba beat me to it.
“Thanks, sir. But the clock is ticking, and we have to get going. We’re on a tight schedule, and now that we’ve done what we came to do, we have to get home and see how things have changed while we were gone.”
29
Time has been altered,
A change has been made.
Take us back to Aspen Falls,
In the present day.
The whirring of the tunnel as it shifted its positioned filled my heart with anxiety. We were going home! And things were going to be different! I was going to have a grandfather! And Jax was going to have her powers! And if we were lucky, Sorceress Stone would still be alive, and this whole mess would be behind us!
The steam sauna was silent as the tunnel stopped. Our portal home was ready. We just had to step through it. I glanced up at my big brother. He gave me an encouraging wink. I knew he was just as excited as I was.
Alba sucked in a deep breath. “Ready?”
“For sure,” said Holly.
“Yes,” said Libby and Cinder in unison.
“I can’t wait to get home,” said Sweets. “It’s got to be suppertime by now. I’m starving!”
We all laughed and let Alba lead us into
the tunnel. When we emerged, we were back in the familiar spot on the back lawn of campus. We were home!
I trembled as I stepped onto the grass. Everything felt surreal. I couldn’t believe we’d done it! We’d actually gone back in time and changed history! And we’d done it relatively unscathed. Sure, Holly had given us a scare, but we’d saved her, and we’d made it to the other side. For once things were going our way!
“I can’t believe this,” said Reign, the first to speak as we touched down in present-day Aspen Falls.
“Me either,” agreed Holly, her eyes wide. “Alba, I have to admit, your magic skills are… out of this world.”
“Very nice,” agreed Cinder. “You have second-year witch skills. You should be very proud of the progress you’ve made this year.”
Alba quirked a half-smile. She almost looked as if the praise embarrassed her. “Thanks.”
“So, what do we do with this?” asked Reign, pointing at the raised river over the bonfire and the steam saunas.
“Ahh, good question,” said Alba, rubbing her temples. “I guess we can shut it down.”
Reign squinted one eye shut. “You sure that’s such a good idea? Now, I’m not doubting you. Not after everything we’ve just done courtesy of your machine, but what happens if we get back to campus and discover that SaraLynn is still dead? We might need it.”
Alba sighed, rolling her head back on her shoulders. “Ugh,” she groaned. “You’re right. What was I thinking? Of course we have to verify that she’s alive before we go shutting down the time portal. Come on, let’s get back to campus and catch the scoop.”
Excited to see if anything had changed regarding Sorceress Stone’s life status, we jogged the short distance back to campus. Everything looked normal. Not a single strand of grass looked different than it had when we’d left earlier in the day.
“So where do we go look first?” asked Sweets. “I mean, should we go hunting for Sorceress Stone, or should we go to the bakery and tell Jax the good news?”
My eyes widened excitedly. I much preferred to tell Jax the good news. “She’s got to be off work by now,” I said. “I mean, it seems like we’ve been gone for a while.”
The Witch Within Page 21
