"Exciting, isn't it? That surge? Like a drug, really." Avalon said, her first attempt at conversation all night. Maybe she found Mel a little less intimidating to talk to than the rest of the witches, who were refilling their wine glasses and coming to the sofas to sit.
"It was amazing. Like nothing I have ever experienced. So much energy." Mel knew she was gushing but she couldn't help it.
"You get used to it, the feeling. But that power is unique - that is the power of this particular Coven, of these women. The power of hereditary witches." Morgan said, sitting across from Mel. Her own black robes were chiffon and they floated around her. Mel would need to get something new to wear to the next event.
"Tell us, do you come from witches in your family?" Catherine asked, settling in next to Morgan. Her reddish blonde hair was twisted into a very tight French roll, without a hair out of place.
"Not that I know of. I suppose it is possible, but no one has said so." Mel replied, wondering if maybe somewhere in her history there was a witch or two. She very much doubted it.
"Oh, well, that is too bad." Catherine said, as if she had announced she had a communicable disease. Catherine gave Morgan a pointed look.
"It doesn't bar her from joining. It breaks precedent but it isn't off the table. She could come from witches. We should engage a genealogist to find out. I'd wager there is at least one witch in her family broom closet. She has talent." Morgan replied, obviously more for Mel's benefit than for Catherine's.
"If I might ask, why does that matter, whether I come from witches?" Mel heard the words leave her mouth before she could stop them. There was a pause before Morgan replied.
"Witchcraft is a gift of the blood. It is passed down from mother to daughter and so on. Widdershins was founded on the principle that witchcraft is best served by those born to it. But as I said, it isn't something we couldn't consider - someone not of the blood. If the talent is there." Mel heard Avalon sniff again next to her. The jury must be out on her talent with Avalon.
"This might seem like a dumb question, but what exactly does this Coven do? I mean, I know what my current Coven does - we perform blessings, help neighbors, that sort of thing. What does Widdershins do as far as spells..." Six pairs of eyes looked at her quizzically, like she were a rare specimen of beetle under glass. Avalon's sniff had become a chortle.
"Well, as our name implies, we do things a bit counterclockwise to what other Covens might do. We focus our energy on benefiting ourselves, our families, our friends. We adhere to the Witch's rede - do what thou wilt, though we aren't as concerned with what is painted as "good" or "bad" - nothing is black and white. As I told the Zeta members, we believe in using the tools we have to make the future that we want. There is nothing wrong with that. The entire purpose of witchcraft is to bend the world to your will, if you have the talent to do so." Morgan replied before sipping her Chardonnay. She had a small smile at the corner of her lips.
"I see. Well, my whole reason for studying magic is to learn to protect myself and the people I love, so that makes sense to me. I've had friends in danger over the last few months, including my girlfriend, and I don't like feeling helpless." Mel spoke the truth; she did believe that magic was a way to keep Ana and everyone else she cared about from harm.
"Yes, I've heard there was a bit of a ruckus in Enumclaw these last few months. And your Coven stepped in to assist some travelers - supernatural travelers, or so I heard. The witch community is small after all." Catherine said before Morgan gave her a look that ended the commentary.
"Yes, thank goodness that it seems to be over now. We're focusing on the Festival now." Mel took another sip of her wine before placing the glass on the nearby end table. As much as she had hoped to leave the gathering early, now she wished things would continue on for a bit longer. She had a feeling there was much she could learn if she just kept her ears open.
"The good thing about being a witch is you are ready for whenever something should strike. At least, that is how it should be. A witch without power is no witch at all. You'll learn that when you are with us, your fortunes will become very rosy indeed."
Cauldron
Moon at Twenty-Two Percent Visibility
Friday morning dawned with more drizzly rain and Sage was ready to just stay in bed. Maybe she would call the school and tell them the kids were ill - they could play hooky all day, watch cartoons in bed, eat sugary cereal and have some makeovers with Gabbi's new toy makeup kit. Sure, they could do all that tomorrow without the girls having to miss school, but Sage had a feeling that today was a day best spent at home. She was about to reach for her cell phone to leave a message on the attendance voice mail when the phone rang in her hands. She didn't recognize the number and the odds were it was a call from some kind of telemarketer on the east coast. She was going to let it go to voicemail when she instinctively hit the answer button.
"Hello? Is this Sage Philips?"
"Yes, it is. Who is calling, please?"
"I am Jackie, a nurse at St. Elizabeth's Hospital. Your name was in the wallet of our patient, Claudia Philips, as a contact. Claudia has had an accident."
Sage blinked into the early morning light coming through the cracks in her venetian blinds. An accident? They had just spoken yesterday.
"What happened? Is she okay?"
"I can't discuss her medical condition but I would suggest you come by the hospital." From the sound of the nurse's voice, Sage guessed things were serious. Hanging up the phone, she threw back the covers and started rummaging around for her jeans and a sweater. She'd get the girls off to school and then head over to the hospital to find out what exactly had happened to her sister-in-law.
Reception at St. Elizabeth's pointed her in the direction of the ICU. From there, she found another reception desk that looked up Claudia and verified Sage was who she said she was, before letting her back into the patient rooms. Sage pushed open the room marked "C. Philips" and found a nurse checking her sister-in-law's blood pressure. Claudia's leg was hoisted in a sling and her eyes were closed.
"I'm her sister-in-law, Sage. I received a call this morning." Sage said as explanation for her presence in the room. The nurse gave her a smile and then typed something into the computer next to the bed.
"Your sister-in-law had a fall last night. A neighbor saw her fall down the stairs of her deck and when she didn't get up, he called an ambulance. Good thing too, because she must have struck her head on the pavement. She also has a broken leg. We're more concerned about the brain injury, obviously. We're watching for signs of bleeding, but the CAT scan looks promising. We're hopeful she will wake up today. We thought you ought to know about it, though." A few more taps on the keyboard and the nurse exited the room, leaving Sage alone with Claudia.
"Oh my goodness, Claudia. This is unbelievable." Sage said, not sure if the comatose woman could hear her. The last time she had seen her, she had asked her to leave her house.
She came over to the bedside and sat in the hard plastic chair, gingerly reaching out for Claudia's hand. Her skin felt cold to Sage, far colder than the temperature controlled room should have permitted.
"I call upon Artemis and Brighid, heal your wounds and send waves of light to draw the darkness from your mind." Sage whispered, giving Claudia's hand a squeeze. She could only imagine how angry her sister-in-law would be to think that Sage had said a blessing for her and channeled energy to help her heal. Right now it was more important that Claudia get better; she could get angry later.
Claudia had never tried to understand exactly what it meant to be a witch - at least for Sage - and why it was important to her. To be fair, Sage hadn't done a good job trying to win her over either. It had been easier to just let Claudia judge her and dismiss her concerns. They both could have done a better job trying to understand.
"Ooooh, my head...." Claudia croaked, startling Sage from her thoughts. Her false eyelash extensions fluttered on Claudia's eyelids, like black spiders creeping along her lids.
Claudia blinked again, staring at Sage, obviously trying to focus. Her mouth opened into a long circle and then she let out a piercing scream.
"Get away from me! Help, help! Get away from me! Nurse, help!" Claudia couldn't move in the bed, her leg wouldn't permit it but she snatched her hand away and pushed herself deep against the railing on the other side of the bed.
"Claudia, what is wrong with you?" Sage shouted, unable to control her voice. The nurse came barreling in at the sound of screams.
"Ms. Philips, what is wrong? You are alright. It's okay." The nurse spoke with the most patient and calm voice Sage had ever heard. It had no effect whatsoever.
"Get that witch away from me. It's her fault I am here. She tried to kill me!" Claudia raved, still clutching the bed railing. Sage instinctively took a step back, hoping to calm Claudia with space.
"Okay, okay, let's be calm. Your visitor will step outside." The nurse gave Sage a look as she spoke, and Sage grabbed her coat and purse. She stepped from the room and leaned heavily against the wall. What in the fresh hell was going on? She couldn't begin to imagine.
Minutes went by and the nurse didn't come out. Sage debated whether to head back toward the waiting room when she finally emerged.
"Mrs. Philips...I don't know how to say this but your sister-in-law has barred you from visiting. She said...you are a witch and you cursed her to fall down her stairs. She's adamant that you tried to kill her. She wants me to call the police." The nurse looked apologetic as she spoke, as if such a thing couldn't possibly be true and the insanity of it was some kind of delusion.
"Why does she think I cursed her? Did she say?" Sage needed to know exactly what Claudia was saying and she knew she would never get back in that room to ask.
"It sounds crazy, but she said she was coming down her stairs and suddenly birds - crows - started swooping and diving at her, cawing at her and trying to peck her eyes. She said she slipped and landed at the bottom of the stairs. Before she lost consciousness, she swears that a crow landed next to her and spoke. It said 'leave Sage and her family alone, you've been warned'. She swears that is what happened. Obviously, it is a delusion from the blow to her head, but for now, we need you to stay away until we can get her to calm down." The nurse headed back toward the nurses' station, leaving Sage outside of the room. Whatever had happened to Claudia, she was now convinced that Sage was behind it all.
Scrying
The Coven had hardly had a moment to breathe over the last few days. First there was Diedre's affliction, then her strange awakening. The Eve of May Festival had taken a backseat to Mel infiltrating a Coven, Helen's petitioning of the Witch's Council, Frankie's visiting of hospital rooms, and Sage dealing with school administrators. Friday might just be the day when everything got back on track, Helen thought. She hadn't even had time to do a proper tarot reading, something she liked to do several times a week. With Diedre back among the land of the living - albeit acting strangely - she could try to get the Festival and her life back on track.
They had already planned to rendezvous at the Noir Wine Bar to go over the remaining plans. Mel was under age but she had already texted to say she wouldn't make it to the meeting tonight. That was understandable for someone going to college, but Helen hoped it wasn't something more than that. Mel hadn't shared much regarding her visit with the Widdershins Circle; she'd have to catch up with Mel in the next day or two to hear all about it.
"Hester, I am so glad to have the day off. Time to just putter around, read and catch up on my project list sounds incredible. Just a lazy day at home, with you and plenty of snacks." Helen pulled her tarot satchel from the cupboard and brought it to the little coffee table in the living room. She liked to read near Hester; they worked best as a team and even if to the untrained eye, it looked like a dozing bunny in a dog bed was nearby, Helen knew Hester was awake and focused. Having her nearby released a sense of peace in her. It was something she couldn't describe but any witch would say the same about their familiar.
"Let's take a look at the cards and see what the day will bring, shall we, old girl?" Helen took them from the dark green velvet pouch and held the large deck in her hands with her eyes closed. Helen focused her mind on the deck, pouring her energy into the cards, gripped tightly in her hands. She had read cards for so long, she could tell when a deck was charged and ready, simply by the zap she felt from the top of the deck. Since it had been days since her last read, she knew she needed to focus some energy back into the deck. Energy, like all things, ebbs and flows and just because the cards weren't alive, didn't mean they didn't have energy.
"Alright, let's go with an old standby - the Star pattern. I'll place the Queen of Pentacles in the center to represent me - you know that is always my card, Hester." Helen turned the deck over and felt the slight zap when she came to the drawing of the woman on a throne with a small rabbit nearby. She placed it face up at the center of the coffee table.
Hester stirred slightly and raised her head to look at Helen. Below her chin was a tiny silver moon hanging from her collar - each of the Coven familiars had them. Rabbits do not have eyebrows but Helen could have sworn that Hester had a furrowed brow.
"Why so glum, old gal? All is well. Just relax back on your bed." Helen placed five cards around the Queen of Pentacles, turning over the first one in the lower left corner. The Star reading always started with the present situation. The Nine of Swords, a card that cries out with worry, illness, and stress. Helen nodded as she peered at the dark card and the figure burying its face in its hands. It certainly seemed to sum of the last few days.
"Nine of Swords, not pretty. But then, it hasn't been a very nice week, has it. Let's move on..." Helen turned another card over, just as Hester sat bolt upright in her bed. Her whiskers were twitching violently.
"Hester, really. Calm down." Helen furrowed her own brows at the orange-ish rabbit on high alert. Something had her fur up.
"The High Priestess in the place of what is hidden. Normally, that speaks to intuition and wisdom but I think in this spot, it is more about what is secret." Helen muttered to herself, focusing on the crescent moon at the bottom of the card. Something hidden and secret in the place in the spread all about what is hidden and secret. Not exactly helpful.
Hester had left her bed and was on top of the table before Helen knew what was happening. Her paws scattered the cards, moving the hidden cards out of order. She sat her bunny rump right on the Queen of Pentacles.
"What is with you? You've never done something crazy like this before. What, don't you want me to see the cards? Wouldn't I be better off knowing what is coming, Hester?" Helen picked up Hester and gave her a light stroke before placing her gently on the sofa. Helen gathered the scattered cards, now out of place and worthless for the read. She flipped one over, out of curiosity, mostly. The Tower, so often a sign of coming strife and disaster, was the first she saw and she flinched. Helen knew that no card was considered "bad" - they all had their purpose and meaning, but getting the Tower was never something she looked forward to. It meant change was coming in a big way, change that often felt like the walls were tumbling down around your ears.
"So something is coming our way, eh? Well, I won't look at the other two cards. No sense seeing them out of order and no context. I'll try another read tomorrow. When you are sound asleep, I think." She gave Hester another pet and the rabbit stared at her with dark eyes, her nose still twitching.
Everyone had received the text from Diedre asking that they meet at her house, instead of the wine bar. Sage was more than a little disappointed; she had been looking forward to a chilled glass of Rosé for her Friday night. If her neighbor, Mrs. Wilson, hadn't been available to watch the girls, she wouldn't have been going at all. With Claudia in the hospital and also raving like a lunatic, there would be no babysitting happening anytime soon. Sage was about to hit send on her group reply with the thumbs up emoji, when Fr
ankie sent her text separately.
She waited a few moments for Frankie to respond, but nothing came through. Frankie wasn't one for waffling around. She called it like she saw it and she saw Diedre as being off. Sage wasn't quite ready to go there. Sure, the new wardrobe and breaking up with Darro had been weird, but Sage didn't know what she herself would do if she had survived a witch's curse that put her in the hospital. Maybe she'd cut off all her hair or be getting a nose ring after all that. That would certainly add to Claudia's list of complaints, she chuckled. She'd have to deal with the Claudia issue but tonight; one crisis at a time.
She hit send on the thumbs up emoji to the group and headed into the kitchen. If they were going to be dealing with something "off" as Frankie feared, they could at least have some homemade cookies.
The Enumclaw Courier-Herald came out on Fridays and Kat usually picked up a copy, if for no other reason than to read whatever Jimmy might have in the edition. He'd worked for the paper for almost a year, taking over for another reporter who had moved - to Portland, Kat thought. Somewhere with more opportunity for reporting on crime and politics, no doubt. Enumclaw had less than twelve thousand residents, so even when that kidnapping and arson business happened last fall, there still wasn't as much news as a bigger city might find. That suited Kat just fine. She liked the small town atmosphere. She hoped Jimmy wouldn't decide big city living was better for his career as well. She liked having him around too.
Pink Moon Rising: The Witches of Enumclaw Book One Page 9
