Legacy & Spellbound (12 page)

She sat back down, the chains that bound her clanking loudly in the silence. The testimonies continued. The evidence was all ridiculous, highly circumstantial, and the judges were believing every word.

At last Abigail exploded. Once more, she got to her feet. Her eyes began to glow, and she shrieked, “You stupid little girls. You have no idea what a witch can do!”

Behind her the wall exploded, flinging debris into the air. Men shouted as bits of stone cascaded down upon them. Dust powdered the room. Then she was gone as her restraints fell to the ground with a loud clatter. The girls lay crushed beneath the weight of the falling stones.

Silence fell thick and terrifying upon the group of men gathered there. “Is it possible?” Samuel asked into the silence. “Could we have convicted so many innocents while we have let the one true witch escape?”

Governor Phips rose to his feet. He was pale and shaking from head to toe. “Gentlemen, I don't know the answer to Mr. Sewall's question. All I know is, I'm disbanding the court.”

“But, sir, how can you even think of doing that after what we've just seen?” Jonathan Corwin demanded.

The governor held up a hand. “And how can you, sir, condone convicting more people who are probably innocent after what we've just seen? You think that a real witch would go to her death as lightly as the ones that you have murdered?”

“But the confessions—”

“There have only been a handful of those, and at this time how can we be sure that that Devil who just left here didn't bewitch them into confessing just to cast suspicion from her?” Bartholomew pointed out wearily.

That silenced them all for a moment.

John Hathorne spoke quietly into the silence. “You all know me, and you know I don't take our duties lightly. It seems to me that either this witch was far more powerful than her fellows, or we have condemned a great many innocent souls to death. If the latter is true, as I suspect, then God will judge us for what we have done.”

He paused to let his words sink in. “If God is to be our judge then, let history not judge us. If this were to come to light there would be massive public unrest— upheaval, even. The authority of the law, the Church itself, could be questioned. There are many who already think we are wrong; let us not swell their ranks. We do have several confessions that shall be proof enough for most. Several have been sentenced and killed. Let us put an end then to these witch trials.”

He waited for the murmurs to cease. “And let us erase all record of Abigail Cathers and what she did here today. Let us not speak of it, not even to each other.”

As the dust still settled slowly along his shoulders, John commanded in a voice that shook, “Clerk, tear the pages regarding Abigail Cathers from the record. Destroy them. No one must know of the terrible things we have witnessed here.”

Solemnly the young man did as he was told. After removing the pages he struck a match and set them on fire. He dropped them to the stone floor, and as they all watched them burn, the flame seemed to turn from hellfire red to black.

At last the records were but ash, and John sat back with a shudder. He felt sick.

“And what of the others we already have in custody?” Samuel asked. “If we simply release them it's as good as admitting there was no threat.”

“Then they shall be tried, but not by us,” John Richards said. “And somehow I think they'll be found innocent.”

Lieutenant Governor William Stoughton whispered, “Amen.”

Jonathan Deveraux sighed heavily as he put his scrying stone away. He had not succeeded in having Abigail
killed. At the very least he had just made that task harder to accomplish since now he would have to try to find her. She certainly wouldn't be staying anywhere near the area—not after what she had done.

Ah, well.
Salem would return to its same sleepy roots, and life would return to normal.

How dull.

“Thus it has always been,” Sasha said to Holly as they sat back from their shared vision of the past. They were in the sitting room of the safe house with Philippe, who had participated. Rose had commandeered the others to work on fixing some food for the large gathering.

“Deveraux hunting down Cahors—or rather, Cathers, once your family changed its name—all over time and space.”

Holly nodded wanly. “Six hundred years ago, Isabeau de Cahors was forced to marry Jean de Deveraux, and then she helped her family massacre the Deveraux family. There was a huge fire, and she died in it. Everyone assumed Jean died too.”

“But he didn't,” Philippe concluded. “She had sworn to kill him, but either she failed or she spared him. And now their spirits are intertwined, and I believe they will continue to be so until she fulfills her
blood vow and kills him. And the Deveraux Coven continues to hunt the Cathers witches wherever they may be found.”

“‘And kills him'?” Holly repeated. “But how can Isabeau kill Jean, when they're both spirits?”

“I think you know the answer to that,” Sasha said gently. She laid a hand on Holly's arm. “Isabeau has the ability to possess you, and Jean can live again through … my son.”

“Jer,” Holly murmured with a shudder. She looked down at Sasha's hand on her arm. She was grateful for the older woman's sustaining, calm presence. Though Sasha was nothing like her own mother, still, she was someone's mother … and Holly felt very much in need of mothering these days.

She's Jer's mother,
she reminded herself.
How can she talk about this so calmly?

“I think we can figure out a way to beat this,” Sasha said firmly. “I have to believe that, Holly. I don't believe you're destined to kill my son.”

“Or for your son to kill me. Isabeau may want resolution, but Jean wants revenge,” Holly reminded her.

“He's still madly in love with Isabeau. They were very passionate people, Jean and Isabeau.” She made a little face. “That's what attracted me to Jer's father. His passion for life.” Stirring, she gave Holly's arm another
squeeze. “But that's a different subject. What we need to concentrate on now is finding your cousin, and figuring out where Jer is. He keeps making contact with you, so that means he's … alive… .”

Her voice caught. Holly put her hands in Sasha's and gazed steadily into her eyes. “I've already had to do things I didn't want to do, for the sake of the Coven,” Holly told her. “I'm strong, like Isabeau. I'll find him, Sasha. But I won't harm him.”

Sasha closed her eyes and let out a heavy sigh.

“When Michael forced me to leave, I worried so about my boys. Not a day has gone by since then that I haven't wondered and worried about them. That's why I went to the Mother Coven—so I could learn spells to protect them and keep them safe. And then I began my online friendship with Kari, who kept me informed about her boyfriend, ‘Warlock.'”

Holly flushed, feeling awkward. Jer and Kari had been hot and heavy for over a year, until Holly came along. She couldn't help her mixed feelings on the subject.

Sasha continued: “I'm sure Michael told them that I deserted them.”

Holly swallowed. Michael Deveraux had indeed told his sons that their mother had abandoned them. Eli pretended not to care, but she knew it had wounded Jer deeply. As the only semi-good Deveraux
in the family, Jer had suffered the most from Sasha's absence. She knew he believed that if his mother had stayed or taken him with her, he wouldn't be as tainted with evil as he was now.

I don't think he's evil at all,
Holly told herself. She realized, though, that was wishful thinking, and not something she was positive of.

But I am tainted,
she thought.
I have let evil come into me in order to protect my coven.

I can't be with anyone who's completely good. I'll ruin him.

For a second, she panicked.
What have I done to myself? To my life?

And then she raised her chin.
I did what I had to do. It's done, and there's no use going back over it.

“Are you all right, Holly?” Philippe asked, peering at her. Then he gave her and Sasha a crooked smile. “A strange question, in these strange times.”

“I'm all right,” she said steadily. “I am.”

“Then we must press on. We must plan a strategy,” Philippe said, looking at them both. “My theory is that since you had such a vivid image of Jer when we were in the battle, it means he's nearby. If that is so, it's possible he is in the Supreme Coven's headquarters.”

“But he told me he was on the island of Avalon,” she argued. “He told me that himself, in a dream.” She balled her fists. “He lied to me.”

“Perhaps he's been moved,” Sasha put in.

“Yes,” Holly breathed, uncomfortable.

Philippe shrugged. “We do know that Nicole is at the headquarters. And that she is married to James. Or at least that is what the Mother Coven was told by their spies. Perhaps he is there as well.”

Overhearing, Rose came over. She nodded as she said, “I can confirm that. We had a message to that effect, from someone on the inside. Someone on
our
side,” she added. “I mean, that Nicole is married to James, and that she's inside the headquarters.”

Philippe clenched his jaw and doubled his fists. His dark brows pinched as he gritted out, “That cannot stand. We must free her as soon as possible.”

“So you know the location of the headquarters?” Holly said slowly. “And you didn't tell us?”

“I don't know the location,” Rose shot back. “That hasn't been revealed to us.”

“Who is the spy?” Holly asked Rose. “And if she—or he—knows so much, why don't they just give you the location?”

“We don't know who it is,” Rose said bluntly. “We have a friend inside, but he—it's probably a male—has not identified himself. As for giving us the location, we're hoping that he will, in due time.”

“Then how do we know this
friend
isn't just feeding
us misinformation? Messing with us?” Holly persisted.

“Pablo also confirmed Nicole's presence there,” Philippe interjected. “He is a Seer. He can also read minds.”

Holly glanced up sharply. “And he can't
read
the address, either?”

“Think about it,” Rose said. “Such information is probably one of the most closely guarded secrets of the Supreme Coven. They've probably found a way to protect it, even from someone like Pablo. Surely they're aware that there are mind readers on our side as well as theirs.”

“He'd better stay out of my head.” Holly's tone was tense. Harsh. She couldn't help it. She wanted no one to know the depths she had gone to in order to protect her covenates … nor to grasp how far she was willing to go in the future.

I'm not even sure how far I'm willing to go.

“Understood?” she asked, even more harshly.

Philippe looked surprised, but said nothing. She could see the wheels turning, however, see his uncertainty about her.

You'd all better stay away,
she thought hotly.
I'm not what I seem.
Her hands trembled at the fury—and the fear—warring inside her.

“Holly?” Amanda asked, coming up to the group. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. I'm fine,” she said tersely. She turned away.

“Has Pablo been able to sense the location again?” Sasha asked Philippe, perhaps to placate Holly. Clearly frustrated, he shook his head.

“Then here's what I suggest,” Sasha said tentatively. “With you and Pablo working together, we try to connect with Nicole. We work through her, try to find the headquarters again.”

Amanda covered her mouth with her hands. “Nicole,” she murmured. “God, I hope she's all right.”

“Trying to connect like that may put her in danger,” Philippe pointed out. “If they realize what we're up to …”

“I don't know what else we can do,” Sasha said. “And she's already in danger.”

Rose raised a hand. “Maybe we need to rethink. We're rushing—”

“We can't just sit around and wait for something else to happen,” Holly cut in. “We have to make it happen.”

“She's right,” Philippe said with approval. He stood. “I'll get Pablo.”

“First, we need to eat,” Sasha insisted. “Holly's been working hard. She's drained, and so am I. We need to regroup.”

Philippe hesitated, and then nodded. “
Eh, bien.
You're right. We need to be strong, and prepared.” He looked through the doorway at Alonzo, who was handing out cups of coffee to some of the others. “We of the White Magic Coven would like to have a Catholic Mass. Do you object?” he asked Holly, Sasha, and Rose.

“Not at all,” Rose replied. “The more blessings on us, the better.”

“I'll speak to Alonzo,” he said, rising.

Sasha watched him go. She said, “We're lucky that they found us.” Then she turned to Holly and said, “Tell me more about how the battle
vanished.
We need to know everything we can about their magics.”

A cold knot wound in Holly's stomach. She said, “Isabeau came to me while I was hurt. I was dying.” She swallowed. “She told me she could help us. Then …” She took a breath.
Should I tell her everything?

“Go on,” Sasha prodded.

“Her mother was there.”

Sasha looked surprised. “Catherine?”

“Yes. She appeared to me once before.” Holly thought a moment. “But she was a corpse the first time. This time she was veiled.”

And then she knew:
Isabeau lied to me. That wasn't her mother. It was the Goddess as Hecate, Queen of Witches.

Hecate still hasn't forgiven me for sacrificing Nicole's familiar, Hecate. Her statue on the grounds of the Mother Temple wept at the sight of me.