Mark of the Witch (Boston Witches) (4 page)

Once in the kitchen, she opened up the grimoire, set it on the counter, and began to read her next step in the spell.
Now I pour the contents of the cauldron into three bottles and cork them tightly
, she thought as she went and grabbed what she needed from her supply cupboard. Once that task was accomplished she sealed the corks with wax, just in case they wanted to expand with the pressure.
I guess I’m all set for tomorrow.
She proceeded to clean up her mess.

She was lost in her thoughts while she was cleaning and was jolted back to reality by the buzzing of her phone in her pocket. She looked down at it and found a text from an unfamiliar number. It said to meet whoever it was tonight at six in front of the library.

She sat for five minutes, trying to decide what to do, before she finally decided to go. Looking at the clock, she saw that she still had about an hour before she had to leave, and ran up the stairs to her room. She went straight into the closet and began going through the hangers until she finally found the shirt she was looking for. It was a long sleeved, scoop necked t-shirt in emerald green that matched her eyes. She decided to just keep the jeans she was already wearing and grabbed a pair of knee-high brown boots from the closet and set them next to the bed.

Once she changed her shirt she went into the bathroom, fixed her make-up, and brushed her long red hair until it shone in the light as it fell around her shoulders in cascading waves. She sat down on her bed and pulled on her boots, grabbed her keys and headed downstairs. She still had about forty-five minutes before the meeting; she decided to drive over to Emily’s to tell her what was going on. So she grabbed her heavy wool pea coat off the hook by the door and flew down the stairs to her car.

*

Emily had a very skeptical look on her face as she listened to what Jilly had to say. “I feel like this is a bad idea, Jilly. You don’t know who wants to meet you, or why.” Emily’s words were filled with concern.

“I know, but I just feel like it’s ok. I don’t know why, but I have a good feeling about this,” Jilly said with some conviction.

“Well, far be it from me to disagree with one of your gut feelings, but I still think you should be careful. Here, take this pepper spray,” Emily said while she was going through her purse.

“I’ll take it, but really, Emily, I’m a witch; I think I can take care of myself.” Jilly told her as she stood up to leave.

“Ok, well call me as soon as you’re done meeting whoever this mystery person is. Be careful please,” Emily said as she hugged her goodbye.

Once she was in the car, Jilly rubbed her hands together for a minute until a faint glowing appeared at her fingertips.
Better safe than sorry
, she thought to herself as she started up the car and drove off.

*

It was nearly six when she pulled her car into the small parking lot off to the side of the library. She sat in the car for a second, trying to build up the courage to get out and meet her destiny. Finally she opened the car door and leaned across the seat to grab her purse. She set her alarm as she briskly walked toward the front steps of the library, and that was when she saw him. She should have known it would be him.

William was standing with his back against the rail as she walked up, and when he saw her, he pushed himself off and walked toward her. She felt her cheeks flush as he said hello. “Hi,” she said shyly, trying to make eye contact but failing.

“Do you know who I am, Jilly?” he asked her with a force that didn’t seem like it should apply to a normal conversation.

“I thought I did, but then I had a dream about you the night we met. What I saw, or I guess what I was shown, is a little bit odd,” Jilly said with trepidation. “Do you know what I saw?” she asked, her eyes shining in the moonlight.

“Here, come over and sit with me,” he said as he led her over to a small bench off in the corner of the courtyard. “Yes, I know what you saw, because I was there. I have been alive since 1625. I was born like any other normal child, but I was not normal by any means. I discovered soon after I turned five that I could not die. There was an accident any normal person would have perished. I’m not at all sure why that is, but I’ve been searching for answers for hundreds of years. I want to tell you, Jilly, when I saw your face in the salon, I thought I was seeing a ghost. You look so much like her, you know Liza. You could be her twin.” He paused for a moment, lost in his memories.

“I loved her as much as any person could love another. I thought I had found my soul mate. But a life together was not on the cards for us. Her father forbade me to see her. He would never give me a reason, but I think it was fear. There were things that happened all those years ago, things beyond my control. I think he blamed me. He feared that I only wanted to control her, that I wanted her for her power, but he didn’t know that I have power of my own. I left Boston; I couldn’t stay and watch the woman I loved be forced to marry another.

“I traveled by boat to England, and I stayed in Europe for two hundred years. I built a life for myself there, although I would have to fake my own death every twenty years or so and assume the identity of some long lost relative coming to claim my inheritance a few years later. I found that there are others like me, the truly immortal; we call ourselves the amaranthine, the deathless. We walk the earth as lonely travelers who bear witness to all that humanity has unleashed upon this world.” He stopped talking and stared out into the night for a few minutes.

“So why do I feel a connection with you? It’s like an electric current is connecting us. I feel it now, even though we’re sitting so far apart,” Jilly said as she scooted further away.

“I’m not sure, but I would say that it has more to do with you than with me. You have power that I’ve never seen in another person before.” William’s eyes took on an odd sheen as he said that. “It’s almost like the blood in your veins is pure electricity. What do you feel when I touch you?” He excitedly reached for her hand, curious to see what the result would be. Jilly felt a strange tightening in the pit of her stomach.

“I feel like I’ve been shocked at first, but then it’s almost as if I can feel the hum of your blood in my fingers. It’s a weird sensation; I’m not quite sure how I feel about it, or you for that matter. I know that we need to talk more. I want to know what it is that is between us, but I’m on information overload right now. I need to process all that you’ve told me tonight. Can we meet again soon? Maybe tomorrow night? Do you know where I live? Of course you do; how stupid of me,” Jilly said with a small laugh.

“Yes, I do know where you live. I have been there many times, although I must say, I am interested to see what sort of modern touches the subsequent generations of your family have put on the house. What time should I arrive?”

“Um, maybe six-ish? I have a client coming over around four, so I should be done by then. Does that work for you?” Jilly asked as she pulled herself off the bench.

“Yes, I shall see you tomorrow evening. Oh, and Jilly, you really shouldn’t be in the habit of meeting strange people at night. I could have been a strangler for all you knew,” he said with a hint of reproach in his voice.

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry too much about me, William; it’s the strangler who should be worried,” Jilly said with a viscous gleam in her eyes while she vigorously rubbed her palms together until they glowed brightly in the moonlight. “Care to shake my hand, Mr. Strangler?” she asked with a laugh as she stuck her hand out to him.

“Ok, I’m game, let’s see what you’ve got up your sleeve,” he said as he grabbed her hand. Almost instantly he was on the ground, writhing in pain. “Well, I will say that tonight I’m glad that I cannot die; that sure packs a punch. I think I could feel my heart stop for a second,” he said, a little winded, as he propped himself up into a sitting position and rubbed his hand.

“Yeah, I figured I’d give you a real show tonight,” she said as she walked away.

He watched her go, still sitting on the ground, and said, “Until tomorrow then,” almost under his breath.

Jilly’s mind was racing as she drove home; she was trying to process all that he had told her. In reality, it wasn’t a lot, but what he did tell her was enough to wig her out a bit. As she pulled into the driveway, she noticed a blue Jetta parked in front of the steps; she parked beside it and got out. “I guess Caroline’s home,” she said as she climbed the steps toward the house.

As she walked inside, she could hear her sister’s voice from the kitchen. It sounded like she was arguing over the phone. “I just need some time to think, Jack; I was very clear in the note I left at the house,” she snapped. There was a pause; obviously Jack had something to say about that. “I don’t know, I just need to think. I’m staying with Jilly. I’ll call you when I want to talk.” There was a slam as she threw the phone on the table and huffed out of the room.

Jilly was still standing in the doorway when Caroline came out of the kitchen. “How much did you hear?” she asked as she threw herself on the couch, a wry expression on her face.

“Enough to gather that you left Jack,” Jilly said carefully as she sat down across from her and set her stuff on the floor.

“Yeah, I left him,” she said as she cupped her chin in her hands. “He’s been seeing someone for the past year; I found emails from her on his computer. I couldn’t breathe in the house with him. I just needed some space. I hope it’s ok that I’m here,” she said, feeling slightly awkward.

“I’m so sorry, Car. That’s crummy. Do you want me to put a hex on him?” Jilly asked, trying to lighten the mood.

Caroline smiled and said, “I just might let you, Jill. Ask me again tomorrow.”

“You’re welcome to stay as long as you need to, you know that. I have a client coming over tomorrow. I’m going to do a summoning spell for her, and Emily will be helping. You can stay, but I think you’d prefer to be gone while we work, am I right?” Jilly asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh, well, I guess I could find something to do with myself,” Caroline said with a flushed look on her face.

“Why don’t you go to the shop and have one of the girls do your hair? I can call and set it up in the morning if you like. You can do whatever you want; cut, color, whatever you feel like doing,” Jilly said as she went and sat down next to her sister. As she put her arms around her, Caroline let herself fall apart.

“This is the first time I’ve let myself cry since I left,” she said in between sobs. “I was too angry to cry. I actually left yesterday, and I was too angry to drive all the way here, so I stayed in a hotel. How silly is that? I stayed in a hotel when I have a million friends I could have stayed with. I needed to clear my head and really think about what happened.”

Jilly held her until she was spent, and then led her upstairs to her old room.

“Ok, Car, get some sleep, I’ll see you in the morning,” she said as she tucked her in.

Caroline was asleep before Jilly was out of the room. As she walked down the hall, she could hear her phone ringing downstairs. “Uh oh, I’m in for it now,” she said as she ran down the stairs to get it.

*

After getting read the riot act from Emily, Jilly told her everything that had happened.

“Wow, I don’t quite know what to say about William,” she said. “It’s kind of shocking, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, I was and am kind of weirded out by all of it. I’m still processing it,” Jilly said with a sigh. “I actually forgot about it for a second when I was trying to deal with the Caroline situation. I’m actually a little shocked that she chose to come here; we haven’t exactly been close in years.”

“She was thrown off her axis, Jill. She needs to regroup. Home is where you go when you can’t go anywhere else. You just need to be there for her as much as you can while she’s here. This could be a good thing for you two; I’ve always hated how you guys left things the last time she was here.”

“I know, me too, but I can’t make her accept me, or herself, unless she wants to,” Jilly said.

“Ok, I need some sleep. I’ll be over around 2:00 tomorrow to help you set up. Love you, doll,” Emily said with a yawn.

“Ok, love you too,” Jilly said as she pressed the end button and set the phone down. She leaned back on the couch and sat thinking for a while. She was thinking about William and she felt herself dozing off. Everything started to feel warm and fuzzy and she was out.

*

When she opened her eyes, she was in an unfamiliar room. It looked like it was some sort of tavern or alehouse, but she didn’t recognize anything or anyone. She looked around. All the men were in waistcoats and breeches, and the few women were all attired in full-skirted gowns. She quickly looked down at herself and found that she was dressed in a similar gown with a heavy cloak around her shoulders. She looked toward the door when it opened and let in sounds of some sort of commotion outside. She got to her feet, went to the window, and looked out into the street. It looked as though someone had caught a pickpocket, and they were dragging said person out of the street into a building across the cobblestone street.

She walked outside and stood watching for a while. A woman was hurrying down the street and she caught her attention as she passed. “Pardon me, ma’am, but can you tell me what city this is?” Jilly asked as she hurried towards her.

The woman looked at her a little funny, replied, “London, of course,” and quickly hurried about her way.

Jilly was curious as to who had brought her here. Last time it had been her family, but somehow she didn’t think that was the case now. Her mind quickly went to William, and she wondered if he was here somewhere in the city.

It was getting colder as the sun started to set, and she pulled her cloak firmly around her. She went back into the tavern and asked the barman if he knew where she could find William Morgan. He looked at her for a minute before gesturing at a door off to the side.
Well, I guess I don’t really have any other options but to try and find William
, she thought to herself as she walked quickly over to the door and opened it.