Missy Makes Mayhem (Missy the Werecat Book 5) (10 page)

Oct 26, 2019

The New York coven consisted of twelve witches, one less than the maximum for a coven.  There were many more who had who had stepped aside, making room for the newer members.  Then, one of their elder witches, still active even though in his nineties, had recently passed away which was why there was now an opening.  They were in no hurry to replace him, however.  And, Emily’s grandmother Eloise had been talking about retiring sometime soon.  Thus the shift of power and influence would continue from the older witches down to the younger ones, just as it had been doing for centuries in covens all around the world.

Millie’s friend Helen was another senior member who, like Eloise, was planning to retire.  Leadership had already settled on Angelina Dangelmeyer, a very powerful earth witch.  Her son Troy was considered the one most likely to replace her someday, in spite of his still being in college at the moment.  They both had strong voices and it was rare to find any of the others opposing any agenda the Dangelmeyers might be pushing for.

Somehow, over the past two weeks, the importance and significance of the meeting now taking place had escalated.  Unlike the meeting in Salem the week before, all witches were present.  That was not, however, because they were any less worried about exposure to outsiders.  No, if anything, they were far more concerned about non-witches knowing about them.  It was generally believed, especially by the younger members, that in the event witches were revealed to the outside world, things would not go well.  As had happened so many times over the centuries, witches then might be targeted and persecuted once again.

Desiree Yerger and five other witches had come down from the Salem coven, which was another reason for attending this meeting.  While in theory, this was to meet with Robert Ulrey to discuss the FBI’s Psychic Division and how he hoped to recruit finder witches from around the country, there was a lot more going on.  Robert was not a witch and neither was his ex-wife, who would also be there.  Supposedly, they would soon be remarried but even so … they were outsiders.  It was disconcerting to realize anyone not a witch might know about them and especially if one of those persons was a member of the FBI.

Their exposure to this FBI outsider was because of the other witches who would be at this meeting: Millie Pratt and Tracy McGonagle from the Texas coven, Oliver Bessom from the D.C. coven and Missy McCrea who was not a member of any coven and had only recently made herself known to other witches.  Adding to the non-witches in attendance were three alleged witch soulmates: John McCrea, Candace Axtell and Mike Ryan.  While soulmates were accepted, that didn’t necessarily mean they were fully trusted.

Members of the military were respected and many witches were related to those in the military.  But, nonetheless, those in the military weren’t trusted at all.  On the contrary, they were part of the military-industrial establishment, closely aligned with the government.  They might be the very ones to persecute witches in the not so distant future, in the event it became known that witches indeed existed.

Scott and Emily Robinson had a mother who was the daughter of a witch.  And, Scott was a witch.  But their father had been a career Navy man and his father had served in the Army.  When Scott had chosen to distance himself from the military, the coven had been pleased and happy.  The military was not considered appropriate for witches due to all the risks involved.  Then, when his sister Emily had made the decision to attend West Point, that had created quite a stir.  While she was not a witch, she knew about them.  Her twin was a witch.  In spite of their trusting her, they were concerned their secrets might somehow leak out, exposing them.

They had placed a huge burden on Emily, making her feel responsible.  Emily had shared with Missy how her determination to keep a low profile and never reveal any secrets had been a huge part of why she’d not wanted to complain about Cadet Melo.

The coven’s concerns about Emily had vaporized, however, once they’d learned about Missy and Tracy.  Making matters worse, just that week there had been numerous magazine articles, all showing photos of Missy and General Blake and several other high ranking military and government officials.  Yes, Missy McCrea was suddenly the poster girl for women going into combat.  Not exactly a low profile.

So, the motivation behind many of the witches who had seated themselves for this meeting was the desire to confront these “rogue witches” at West Point.  How dare they put the entire witch community at risk?  What secrets had they revealed?  What powers had they displayed?  Why had they torn down all the protective walls which had carefully been put in place over the years and perhaps exposed witches once again to the threat of all those horrible evils from history?

Such was the climate and atmosphere which Helen had explained to Robert and the others during lunch.  Robert needed to understand there wouldn’t be much discussion about his agenda until there first had been some very probing questions directed at Missy and Tracy.  And, both girls needed to be prepared to face a hostile group.  There would surely be some accusations made as well.  The timing of those articles about Missy’s participation in Campaign Angel’s Wing could not have been worse.

John of course had quickly reacted, making comments about the coven which had not been helpful.  Tracy had then made it very clear that if he dared open his big mouth and say one single word during the meeting, he’d definitely be regretting that for a long time afterward.  He’d be spending some very lonely nights and would be so deep inside the dog house he might never stop barking.  He opened his mouth to respond but her immediate “Arf, arf!” caused him to close it again; he hadn’t said a word since.

Helen had them arrive a few minutes late on purpose.  She wanted to introduce Millie to everyone first and then let her introduce the others.  Millie had earned a well-deserved reputation and was highly respected.  She gave everyone a brief explanation of how Robert had brought her and Oliver to Mexico in search of Candace Axtell.

Robert had spent many years with the FBI’s Kidnapping Section and, because of Missy, he knew about witches.  Missy and Tracy both had asked Millie to help Robert.  She then had asked Oliver, since he lived in D.C. and could visit Candace’s home to obtain some item containing her energy, thus saving a lot of time.  It had already been days when they joined the search team and time was of the essence if they were going to have any success.

Although everyone at this meeting had heard about WIJO’s threats to behead Candace, since that had been on national TV, not everyone had known she had actually been kidnapped while vacationing in Cancun.

Desiree Yerger, the finder witch from Salem, had heard all this from Millie the week before and had chatted with her about it since then.  Although she now knew many of the details concerning the search in Mexico, leading up to the explosion at the house where Candace had been held, she now asked a question that hadn’t occurred to her earlier.  “Millie, you said you agreed to help because of the close relationship you have with these West Point girls who asked you, but why did
they
get involved?  That part isn’t clear.  Did they know Candace?”

Millie said, “No, but Missy knew both Robert and General Blake.  Robert was the one who searched for her during those two years she was missing, living as a cat in the mountains.  I don’t think everyone here has heard her story yet.  She and Robert have a special relationship and that’s why Robert knows about supernaturals.  When the FBI was asked to investigate Candace’s disappearance, one thing led to another and Robert brought us down to Mexico as psychics.”

Angelina Dangelmeyer said, “The magazines are full of photos and stories about this Missy McCrea and General Blake.  A number of us are very concerned.  We don’t like the idea there are some high ranking military folks who might know about us.  Why were these girls allowed to go to West Point, anyway?”

Millie laughed and said, “They’ll tell you why they’re at West Point, all in good time.  But first, let me introduce Oliver Bessom and Candace Axtell.”  All eyes turned to watch Oliver and Candace come out and join Millie.  “I’ll let Candy tell her story.  She and her uncle, General Blake, have indeed learned about us witches.  But, as she’ll explain, they both can be trusted.  We have nothing to fear from them and our secrets are safe.”

Candace was even more beautiful in person than all the many photos of her had showed and she made a great impression on everyone.  She was a natural blond with deep blue eyes and a dazzling smile.  She was not at all shy and presented herself in a most articulate manner, telling them first how close she was to her uncle Paul who had taken over for her family when her father had been killed years earlier.  Then she went on to praise the witches who had not only located her but then had rescued her.  She couldn’t share any specifics as so much of that operation was highly classified but she did clearly convey how indebted she was.  Likewise, she acknowledged how deeply in love she now was with Oliver, the man and … yes, the
witch
… she intended to spend the rest of her life with.

There were a lot of questions which Candace answered freely and it gradually became quite clear to the audience just what a traumatic experience it had been for her.  First the kidnapping and being brought half way around the world, never knowing what might lie ahead.  She had assumed she was being sold into some sheik’s harem as a sex slave.  Then, after being delivered to that WIJO group and realizing they intended to blackmail her uncle and her country, she had been in total despair.  Her father had died in Afghanistan fighting terrorists just like them.  For her, being used by them as a pawn was even worse than the threat of her death.

Oliver also impressed the group and wanted them to know how proud they should all be about the two
warrior witches
, Missy and Tracy, who were dedicated to serving their country and protecting their nation from the horrors and atrocities of those enemies like WIJO, al Qaeda, the Taliban and other terrorists around the world.  From listening to what Candace had described about the ordeal she’d experienced, the awareness of just how real these threats might be had been brought clearly and fully home to everyone there.

Oliver announced, “I’m very glad Robert Ulrey has asked me to be part of his Psychic Division, where I can help the authorities locate missing persons and kidnap victims.  And, now that she’s experienced what terrorists might do, my soulmate Candace has decided to dedicate her life to helping our nation.  She plans to work in our embassies overseas where she can make a difference.  Standing up against our enemies is very important and, although not a warrior, she intends to do all she can.  I will go wherever she goes, of course.  We witches cannot just sit back and allow others to face those who would harm us, whether here at home or abroad.”

After that introduction as witches who actually wanted to be warriors, Missy and Tracy came out, both wearing their full dress grey uniforms and looking very impressive indeed.  They were very proud of being West Point cadets and wanted everyone there to know that.  They were followed by Robert and Connie, with Mike and John trailing behind and the last to appear.

There was a bit of a commotion as now, finally, the rogue witches had arrived.  Angelina Dangelmeyer had made up her mind in advance that these girls needed to be brought to task and should be apologetic.  Seeing them brazenly appear now, not at all showing themselves as humble servants ready to be chastised but instead flaunting their military affiliation?  That made her very upset.  She had wanted this meeting to go in an entirely different direction.  She had wanted groveling and begging for forgiveness.  She could see now that wasn’t going to happen.

Angela tried asking a few questions, aimed at putting Missy and Tracy on the defensive.  She wanted them to acknowledge what a huge risk their being at West Point was creating for witches everywhere.

Tracy was very passionate, explaining how she and her mother had been living amongst the military all their lives, with her Dad a career officer, and that hadn’t exposed witches; no, on the contrary, she viewed this as her destiny.  “Those who
can
, do!  And, it’s a good thing they do, since otherwise, all those who
can’t
would be in real serious trouble!”  She managed to convey how her exposure to military personnel had affected her and inspired her.  Such individuals made tremendous sacrifices and risked their lives, all in order that America could remain strong and its citizens could live their lives in safety.  Living around such people had made all the threats very real to her, whether or not others were aware of them.

Angela’s son Troy, on the other hand, had quickly shed all the preconceived notions he’d brought to the meeting.  Those had mostly been due to his mother’s influence but he had indeed been favorably impressed by everything so far and was even more impressed by seeing Missy and Tracy in person.  First there had been the beautiful blond, Candace.  Now, the lovely brunette Tracy and the stunning redhead Missy.  Wow!  Too bad they were involved with other guys, in serious relationships … each had actually found their soulmate, according to what he’d heard ahead of time.  And, seeing them now with said soulmates, he could tell that indeed was true.

Missy was asked to tell her story.  None of them had actually met a shifter before and to learn she was both a shifter and a witch was very surprising.  Of course, as Missy explained, no one had been more surprised about that than Missy herself.  Hearing her openly describe all that she’d gone through on her path, discovering all the things about her own supernatural nature, was very revealing.  And, they gradually came to understand why she was at West Point.