Chasing the Witch (Boston Witches)

by Jessica Gibson

  “That’s fine with us. Kat will show you where you’ll be staying. We have food in the kitchen from dinner if you’re hungry.”

  “Thank you.” Kat led Alex up the stairs towards his room. Jilly sat down next to William.

  “Caroline just got back, she’s upstairs. She seemed totally normal to me.”

  “She is normal 99% of the time, Jill.”

  “I know. It’s just hard when she lies to me. What did you guys find out from Sabine?”

  William frowned. “Not much. She said she didn’t call the wraiths. She wouldn’t answer any of our questions. She’s more afraid of Patrick than she is of us. I’m going to talk to him tomorrow.”

  “Is that wise?” Jilly asked.

  “I don’t know if it’s the best decision I’ve ever made, but it needs to be done.”

  Jilly shook her head. “I don’t like it.”

  “I don’t like it either,” Nikolai said from across the room. “But he’s going to do it whether we like it or not; so we may as well jump on board and keep him safe while he does it.” He shrugged his shoulders when Jilly glared at him. “Jill, I’ve known Will for too many years to try and get in his way.”

  “I guess I’m outnumbered then,” Jilly said with a huff.

  William turned to her. “I’ll be fine, I promise.” Everyone decided to go their separate ways after that. Emily and Adam left, but only after Jilly promised that she’d call every day. Hannah, who had been very quiet during dinner and the conversation afterwards, sort of disappeared at some point before Emily and Adam left.

  Jilly was wandering around upstairs, not going anywhere in particular, when she found Hannah curled up on a window seat reading.

  She looked up when she heard Jilly approach. “Sorry, I get kind of nervous in bigger groups of people.”

  “You don’t have to apologize. I understand.” Jilly reached forward and grabbed for Hannah’s hand.

  Hannah’s eyes turned white as soon as their skin made contact, and she spoke in a voice that wasn’t her own. “It is not for you to decide, she will do as her heart leads.” Jilly pulled her hand away and Hannah shook her head to clear it.

  “Did I do it again?” she groaned.

  “If by ‘do it’ you mean have weird eyes and a whispery voice, then yes.”

  “What did I tell you?”

  “It’s not important.”

  “Why does everyone always say that? If it really wasn’t important, then why would I have said it?”

  Jilly was at a loss for words. “Well, I guess it is important; but it’s sort of private. The things you say are answers to questions we have never asked. Does that make sense?”

  Hannah nodded. “It’s sort of weird; usually people get a little wiggy. You and Will seem to take it well. After it happens, people tend to keep their distance; it was always hard to keep friends. Everyone is afraid of what I’ll say. My parents got used to it, I guess, but they were nervous at first.”

  “Did your parents have abilities, too?”

  “No, just me.”

  “That must have been hard for you. Usually the transition is easier for people like us because our parents have been through it and can explain it. I remember my mom telling me stories about her transition into her power. Just hearing those made me feel better about how awkward I felt.”

  Hannah shrugged. “I guess I didn’t know any better. I had some rough patches; I set the roof on fire once when I was upset. My mom and dad were nice about it though. They told me it was okay.”

  “That’s a good way to look at it and I’m glad that your parents were so forgiving. I don’t think my mom or dad would have been quite so nice about it. I’ll leave you to your reading, I’m going to go find Will.” Hannah waved as Jilly walked away.

  William was waiting for Jilly in her room. After searching just about everywhere else, she found him sitting on her bed reading.

  Jilly laughed. “I’ve been all over the house looking for you. It never occurred to me to look in my own room.”

  “Sorry, I figured you’d come here after you found Hannah. We should talk about tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, what’s your big plan for that?” Jilly asked.

  “Don’t be sarcastic; it doesn’t make this any easier.”

  Jilly sighed. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I just would rather you didn’t do this. I don’t understand what you think you’re going to accomplish.”

  “I want to see if I can reason with him before this gets out of hand and ask him to release Caroline from his hold.”

  “I can’t fault your motives, Will, but I don’t think Patrick is going to listen.”

  “I have to try,” William said with his voice strained.

  “I get that, but please take someone with you. Take Nik.”

  “If I go with someone else, he’s going to think it’s an attack. I don’t want to fight.”

  “Just be careful and come back whole. What is your plan, anyway?”

  “I’m going to go to the cabin and see if he’s there. If he’s not there, I’ll go to the cemetery. He’ll know I’m there.” He changed the subject. “Kat says she and Alex are going to work all day tomorrow on Hannah’s problem.”

  Jilly had a sudden thought. “Hannah said she’s had a prophecy about you. What was it?”

  William was caught off guard for a moment. “It was about my brother. It doesn’t matter. Did she have one about you?”

  “Yeah, I don’t really know what it was, though. I’m not ready to talk about it, yet.” She put on a smile but inside her heart was clenching tight with worry.

  William was out of the house before anyone woke up the next morning. He wanted to avoid a scene at breakfast. He headed to his car and drove out toward the cabin. He was oddly calm about everything; he was almost looking forward to talking with Patrick. Thirty minutes later, he pulled to the side of the road and walked the rest of the way. There was smoke coming out of the chimney, so it appeared that someone was there. He walked up and knocked on the front door.

  The door swung open and Caroline was standing before him, her eyes wide in surprise. “Will? What are you doing here?” she asked, a frown spreading across her face. “Patrick isn’t going to be happy to see you.”

  “I need to talk to him. You should go home.”

  She smiled at him. “I think I’ll stay, thanks. I’ll go and get him for you. Please come in.” She opened the door wider and stepped aside. He walked in slowly, trying to observe everything. He heard Caroline talking to Patrick in the other room.

  A few moments later, Patrick emerged. “William, to what do I owe the pleasure?” he asked, his tone vaguely annoyed.

  “I figured it was time for a sit-down,” William said, his voice laced with apprehension.

  Patrick nodded and gestured to the kitchen table. “Would you care for some coffee?”

  “No, thank you. Let’s just get down to business, please.”

  “Of course. Let’s get on with it, shall we?”

  “What is it that you want, Patrick? Why are you hanging around? Sabine can’t be that important. And you know we’ll never tell you where Mary is.”

  “This is my home too, William. Are we not brothers? We grew up here and I feel a strong pull to stay here.”

  “That’s nonsense. Just be honest with me, for once.”

  “You know why I’m here, Will. I won’t leave without what is mine,” Patrick said, his tone icy.

  “And what might that be? Mary?”

  “Mary is no longer my concern, Will,” Patrick scoffed. “I thought she was my match, but I was wrong.”

  William was stunned by his answer. “How do you know that Mary is not your match?”

  Patrick looked at his brother and smirked.

  “The same way you knew that Liza was not yours.”

  “Who is your match, then?” William asked quietly

  “Why Caroline, of course. I thought you would have guessed that already.”

  William’s
eyebrows popped up in surprise. “She’s not under your control?”

  “No, I would never force her into anything. She’s here because she wants to be here.”

  William was thoughtful for a moment. “Caroline, can you come in here please?” he called out. A moment later, Caroline emerged. “Are you here of your own free will?”

  She smiled. “Of course I am. Why else would I be here?” She walked over and sat in Patrick’s lap, putting her arms around his neck.

  William felt sick to his stomach. He was dreading talking to Jilly about this. “What am I supposed to tell your sister?”

  Caroline frowned. “I’ll talk to her. I just hope she can understand.”

  “What do you want from Hannah?” William asked his brother.

  “Hannah? Oh, you mean the young girl?” he smiled icily. “I think I’ll keep my secrets, thank you. It’s time for you to go, William. You don’t want to overstay your welcome.”

  Caroline got up and showed him to the door. “Don’t say anything to Jill. Let me talk to her,” she said pleadingly.

  “She already knows, Caroline. She just assumed you were under his control.” His tone was strangled.

  “I can’t explain it. I just know it’s right. He’s mine and I’m his. It’s like with you and Jilly. You don’t have a choice.”

  William’s eyes darkened. “Do not compare the two, Caroline. You always have a choice. Patrick is evil to the core and I only hope that you open your eyes before you get hurt.” He turned and began to walk away.

  “Oh, William, tell Sabine I’ll be seeing her very soon, will you?” Patrick called out as William left.

  William went slowly, his mind reeling from what he had just experienced. He couldn’t wrap his head around Caroline and Patrick together.

  Caroline caught up with him about ten minutes after he left. She walked beside him silently for a few minutes. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to say.”

  “Are you helping him with whatever he’s doing?”

  “He wanted my help, but I didn’t have the information he needed. I think at first I was compelled to go to him, but I’m not now. He’s different with me. He doesn’t have that hard exterior up. I know you hate him, Will, but I can’t help this anymore than you or Jilly can.”

  “I don’t hate him, Caroline. He’s my brother and I’ll always love him. I just know that this thing between him and me, it won’t end well. You need to figure out what side you want to be on when this blows up.”

  Caroline looked at him, tears streaming down her face. “Don’t say that.”

  “You can’t have it both ways, Caroline. You know where we stand.” Caroline stopped walking and William continued.

  Jilly was waiting for him when William walked through the door. She practically pounced on him when he came in. “How did it go? Did you see Caroline there? She’s not here.”

  “It was very civil; I was a little bit surprised. Yes, she was there.”

  Jilly frowned. “Why didn’t you bring her home with you?”

  “She didn’t want to come back, yet.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Jilly yelled.

  “I don’t know, Jill. I’m tired. I didn’t sleep well last night. I’m going to take a nap and then see if I can help Kat and Alex.” William turned and walked up the stairs to his room, leaving Jilly standing alone in the living room.

  She paced around in the living room for a while, too nervous to sit. All she wanted was for Caroline to come home. She finally sat down on the couch and turned on the TV. Halfway through the show she was watching, she nodded off to sleep. Patrick was standing in front of her in the forest.

  “Why do you always pick the forest for us to talk?”

  He smiled. “I didn’t ask you to come last time, remember? I also didn’t bring you here to talk about foliage.” His expression softened. “I just want to talk, Jillian. I’m not the monster you think I am. If you gave me a chance, you might actually like me.”

  Jilly made a derisive sound. “Just tell me what you want.”

  “Sabine. I need to know where Sabine is.”

  “I don’t know where she is. They never told me.”

  “Didn’t trust you with that information, huh?” Patrick sneered.

  “I didn’t care to know,” Jilly spat back.

  He took a few steps toward her. “Don’t be rude, Jillian. It’s not attractive.”

  “Why do you want her so badly? She’s not so special.”

  “She has information I require, plus we work well together.”

  “How is it that you know you work well together if you just got out of your prison?” Jilly asked, genuinely curious. “Did she talk to you or something?”

  Patrick laughed. “Do you really think I’ve never gotten out before now?”

  Jilly’s blood went cold. “What?”

  He smiled at her. “Tell William I’ll be seeing him very soon.”

  Everything went black and Jilly woke up on the couch. She took a moment to clear her head before sitting up.

  Hannah was walking down the stairs when she sat up. She smiled brightly at Jilly. “Nice nap?”

  Jilly shook her head. “Not really. I had a visitor in my dream, an unwelcome one.”

  “Kat says they may be onto something with the shadow wraiths. Alex thinks if they can find out specifically which ones were called forth, we may be able to break the contract with them.”

  “How do they plan on doing that?”

  Hannah shrugged. “I’m not really sure. You’d have to ask Kat.”

  “Well, that’s at least some good news. How are you settling in? Is your room okay?”

  “Everything’s so nice! This house is like a castle compared to where I lived with my parents. Our house was small, but it was home.” Hannah smiled wistfully, remembering where she grew up.

  “Tell me about your parents. What were they like?” Jilly asked.

  Hannah settled herself into the pillows on the couch. “My dad was so amazing; he always had time for me, no matter how busy he was. He worked in construction; so I remember him smelling like dirt and metal. My mom was a teacher; she worked at the same school I went to. It was a smaller private school and she taught third grade. She was so patient with me, especially when my power started to manifest. I know it must have freaked her out, but she never let it show. She always understood that I was different than other kids. She never pushed me to be normal; she just let me be me. They did everything they could for me. They protected me until the end.”

  Jilly smiled and squeezed Hannah’s hand. “They sound like great parents.”

  “They really were,” Hannah said softly.

  “What are we going to do about school for you? You’ll need to catch up, right?”

  “I’m like a year behind, now. I guess I could do home school for a while, until I can catch up.”

  “Do you want to go to go back to public school, eventually?”

  “I think so. I just want to live a normal life, you know? Go to school, do homework, have friends, those sorts of things.”

  Jilly nodded. “Yeah, I can understand that.” They heard the kitchen door close and Jilly bolted out of her seat. “We’ll talk more later, ok?” she said to Hannah as she ran to the kitchen.

  Jilly found Caroline taking off her coat by the back door. She froze like a deer in headlights when she saw Jilly. “Did Will come home already?”

  Jilly nodded. “He’s upstairs sleeping.”

  “Did he say anything?” Caroline asked cautiously.

  “No, not really. Caroline, what’s going on?” Jilly asked

  “Sit down. We should talk,” Caroline said hesitantly. Jilly was nervous. She almost didn’t want to hear what her sister had to say.

  Caroline looked down at her hands as she began speaking. “I never wanted this to happen, Jill. I can’t help it anymore than you can.”

  “Just say it, Caroline. Don’t dance around it.”

  “He’s my m
atch,” Caroline whispered.

  Jilly felt as though she had been slapped. Her head jerked back. “How can you know that?” she asked.

  “I just know, Jill. The same way you know with Will.” Both girls were silent for a while.

  “What are you going to do about this, Car?”

  “I’m leaving today. I can’t stay here anymore with the way things stand.”

  “How can you love a monster, Caroline? Look me in the eye and tell me that,” Jilly shouted.

  “He’s not what you think he is, Jilly,” Caroline yelled back. “Why can’t you just trust me that I know this is right?”

  “Don’t give me that crap, Caroline; he’s exactly what I said. Open your eyes and see him for what he is,” Jilly was crying as she spoke.

  “I can’t stay away from him, Jill! I’ve known from the second I met him. I tried to deny it, but I can’t.”

  “How can you love someone who hurts people?”

  “Who has he hurt?”

  “Hannah, William, Liza, shall I go on?”

  “You don’t know him, Jill. I don’t want to fight with you about this. I’m going to pack. I’ll be gone by tonight.” She whirled around and fled up the stairs.

  Jilly crumpled to the floor in a heap, sobbing. Hannah peeked in and saw Jilly. She ran upstairs to get William. William rushed downstairs and found Jilly where Hannah had seen her, still on the floor sobbing.

  “Jill, why don’t we get you up off the floor?” he said as he pulled her to her feet and walked her to one of the big chairs by the fireplace. “What happened?”

  Jilly looked up at him. “You know what happened! Why didn’t you tell me?”

  He sighed. “It’s not an easy situation, Jill. She asked me to let her tell you herself. She honestly didn’t expect to see me there, this morning. I’m guessing she snuck out after we went to sleep. I wanted to tell you, but it wasn’t my tale to tell. It was hers. I owed her that much. I may not agree with the choice that she’s making, but she’s an adult; so there isn’t much we can do.”

  Jilly wiped away some of her tears. “I can’t understand it. It doesn’t make sense that she can love him. He’s not a good person. She deserves someone amazing.”