Suffer a Witch (39 page)

“Amazing,” he said with a nod.

Em smiled.

“You did really well, Martha,” William said. “How do you feel?”

“Good, different,” Em said. “How do you feel now that you’ve combined with your other half?”

“Strong,” William said with a nod. “Different, yes. Whole.”

“Whole,” Em said with a nod.

“And your witches?” William asked. “How are they?”

“They are happy,” Em said. “They’ve been released from the curse of being barren. A few women are pregnant, which makes them very happy. The others are exploring modern birth control. I assume that’s true in the elder group as well.”

William gave a curt nod.

“We don’t know if we’re still immortal,” Em said. “No one’s wanted to risk it.”

“We are,” William said. “At least you and I are.”

“Then they would be, too,” Em said.

“Possibly,” William said.

“How would you know?” Em asked

“We had the usual trouble putting to sleep those who wanted to rest,” William said with a grin. “We aren’t as fragile as humans.”

“Ah,” Em said. “The Tree of Life flows through our veins. Good to know.”

They fell silent as they finished their tea. Outside, they heard the sound of a few SUVs coming toward the house.

“We don’t know how long it will last,” Em said.

“Why not forever?” William asked.

“I just don’t know,” Em said.

“Time will tell,” William said.

He stood from his chair. Em followed him to the door of the cottage. In the distance, she saw a row of five Land Cruisers coming toward them.

“One more thing,” William asked.

“Yes?” Em asked.

“Why were you convinced that the demons would kill all the humans?” William asked.

“Your demon killed hundreds of thousands of humans in the Great Plague and the Great Fire,” Em said.

“Yes, but it wasn’t
all
of them,” William said.

“It’s something I felt from my other half,” Em said. “As you’ve said, our family is strong in intuition. And I felt that he felt cheated that he hadn’t had a chance to live on this wonderful planet — to eat, love, and procreate. He and his tribe were willing to give me a chance because I was ‘different.’ If I failed, they were going to return the world to primitive living and take over.”

“Why did they give you this chance?” William asked.

“I don’t think we’ll ever know,” Em said. “George believes that they, like us, know God — uh, the Creator. They knew the Creator wanted us to be whole and not to live as separate halves. In all likelihood, they knew that, eventually, we would return and that they would have to deal with us. It’s even likely that this cycle has happened many times before.”

“You think that they’ve reset time and taken over only to be deposed by us?” William asked.

“It’s possible,” Em said. “How many children ate from the Tree of Life before the serpent convinced Eve to eat the apple?”

“The serpent? You mean ‘God’?” William asked.

“Maybe, maybe not,” Em said. “It’s a mystery, even to us witches.”

William looked off into the distance.

“Do you believe they were acting on our Creator’s wishes?” William said.

“Godly demons,” Em said.

William shivered.

“What?” Em asked.

“Don’t mention that to the others,” William said.

“Why?” Em asked.

“Just don’t,” William said.

“I must ask. . .” Em turned to her father. “Are you going to burn my friends and family alive?”

“No,” William said with a laugh. “We’re celebrating our return to life. We chose September 22, because it’s the day you were hanged. The day you were reborn. The day your witches were created. It is now our most sacred day.”

Em blushed and looked away.

“Plus, that was Argos’s thing,” William said. “You’ll be happy to know that he’s retired as the head of our people.”

“Who’s in charge now?” Em asked.

“They’re hoping you will take over,” William said.

“No,” Em said. “I have enough trouble keeping my witches on track.”

“I told them you’d say that,” William said.

The SUVs pulled up near the house. William started forward to greet the witches. He got only a few feet before the baby awoke. He scowled at William and squawked. William turned to look at Em.

“He doesn’t like to be away from me,” Em said.

Her father jogged back to return the child. Em slipped him into the baby sling, and Nate fell back to sleep. Em stayed where she was to watch her friends’ arrival. As always, Martha Carrier was out of the vehicle first. She was on her own after breaking up with Bruce, the coworker. Ann Pudeator slipped out of the vehicle behind Martha Carrier. Clearly pregnant, she waited a moment for her husband. A surgeon, Ann’s human husband had something to say to John Willard about his driving. John was laughing when he stepped out from the driver’s seat. He caught Em’s eye and nodded toward Ann’s husband. She smiled, and John went around the front of the car to get his son from his car seat in back. Mary Eastey took the child from John, and they started toward the house.

A very pregnant Susannah got out of the front seat of the vehicle that George had been driving. She waved to Em while clearly singing. Sarah Wildes’ voice carried when she got out of the SUV. They were singing the Psalms. Em smiled. Alice’s client-turned-boyfriend got out of the SUV. When turned to help Alice out of the back, Em scowled. Em had never heard Alice mention the boyfriend’s name. Before she could ask, Mary Ayer and her boyfriend, Detective Shane Donnell, got out of the SUV. George’s deep singing voice was heard until her father reached him. The women continued their song without him. Wilmot climbed out of the back of the SUV. She called to Em and waved.

Em scowled. No one had gotten out of the SUV that Giles had been driving. She was about to make her way there when George jogged to the car. Sam Wardwell got out of the back.

“We were locked in,” Sam yelled to Em with an exaggerated roll of his eyes. Em laughed.

Sam’s husband got out behind him. Both men helped a clearly pregnant Elizabeth from the back. Margaret Scott got out after Elizabeth. She waved at Em and went to the back for suitcases. Giles got out from behind the driver’s seat. He went around the front of the vehicle to help Bridget out. They embraced and went back around the SUV to retrieve their infant daughter. Sarah Good was talking on her phone as she got out of the SUV. She waved to Em before turning away from the house to finish her phone call.

There they were. The sixteen people who’d been hanged with Em in the Salem Witch Trials. As of today, they’d lived through the ups and downs of the last three hundred and twenty-three years. They were the finest people Em had ever known. They were her family. They were her friends. Em beamed with love for each of them.

George ran across the field to her. He twirled her around and kissed her hard. He slipped Nate from the sling. He kissed the baby’s cheeks before setting him back in the sling.

“Your father — he’s. . .” George started.

“Yeah,” Em said.

George laughed.

“Come on,” George said. “Show me around. I’m not sure why, but I’ve never been to Scotland.”

“It is a mystery,” Em said with a laugh.

“I want to see everything,” Giles said.

“As you wish,” Em said.

Suffer a Witch is written by Claudia Hall Christian. While subscribers of Suffer a Witch serial have already asked for another book, there is nothing in the works so far.

Claudia is the author of the Alex the Fey Thrillers, the Seth and Ava Mysteries, and Jornada del Muerto. She also writes traditional serial fiction including the long running Denver Cereal, the Queen of Cool, set in Fort Worth, Texas, and Suffer a Witch. Claudia keeps bees, dogs, and a husband in Denver, Colorado

To find out more, go to
ClaudiaHallChristian.com
.

You can find her on
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She’s a middle child and would love to say “Hello”.

Thank you for reading.