The Witches of Dark Root: Daughters of Dark Root: Book One (The Daughters of Dark Root) (28 page)

“Please, God,” June Bug whispered. “Help Aunt Maggie...”

I reached for the crystal dangling around my neck. It was hot. I closed my eyes and tightened my fingers around it, searching for calmness.

I leapt into the mental realm of nothingness, breathing deeply, pushing all thoughts from my brain. I could sense June Bug’s presence, but I was no longer there with her. I was somewhere else, watching...

“Is she going to be okay?” It was Merry.

“Yes, darlin’. She’ll be fine,” Aunt Dora said.

I squinted my eyes at the sleeping figure in the bed and realized it was me.
 

Ruth Anne dabbed my head with a cold cloth, while Mother opened the window, letting in a cool breeze.

“I’m scared, Mom.” Eve said.

I groaned, turning over, throwing off the covers. There was light in the room, but I couldn't make out the time. I had been in and out of sleep for days, maybe weeks.

The voices faded, becoming background noise and then it was dark.

Everything hurt. I felt weak. My life force was slipping away. I wanted to cry, knowing that soon I might be gone, but I was beyond crying.

I felt someone slip in the bed behind me. Warm lips touched my cheek and a strong hand brushed damp hair away from my brow.

“Magdalene.” My mother said the word and held my shivering body.

I thought I heard her cry and the sound prodded me through the pain. I had never heard my mother cry. I focused my awareness on her, listening.

“You can’t take her,” she said, her voice barely louder than a whisper. “I love her and she’s mine.” She wrapped her arms around me and though I was burning up, I took great comfort in her embrace.

I fell asleep.

When I awoke, it was midday. I was able to open my eyes.
 

I could feel my mother still lying in bed with me. I turned to face her. She was staring at me, smiling.

“Welcome back, Magdalene...”

My eyes flashed open.

I was back in the nursery with June Bug, surrounded by chaos.

The image of my mother returned, her arms wrapped around me while we fought back my illness. I had no recollection of that memory until today.

Another book hit me in the head. I ignored it. I was calm as I faced the dark.

“Let us go,” I said, directing my words towards the door.
 

The door shuddered, but did not open.
 

“Let us go,” I said again, not raising my voice as I marched towards the door and tried the handle.

“You can’t have her,” I said, opening my arms. “Not today, not ever. I love her and I will do whatever it takes to get her out of here. You and I can fight another day, but I’m getting her out of this room. Now.”

The crystal hummed around my neck. The floor ceased moving.
 

June Bug tried the door, and it opened in her hands.

Anger had saved me as a kid, but it was love that saved me as an adult.

I scooped June Bug up in my arms and carried her down the dark hallway and into the living room.

“You saved me,” she said, still clinging to my neck.

“Of course I did, silly. I love you.”

“Where are we going?” June Bug asked as I crammed her pajamas and art kit into a backpack.

The cats meowed loudly, as if they knew they were on their own for the night. I felt bad that no one would be there to change litter boxes, but I had left enough food in their kennels to keep them fed for a week.

“We are getting out of here,” I said, inspecting the house one last time.

It felt normal again, like the last hour had been a bad dream. But I knew the ‘thing’ was still in there, gathering energy.

“Can we call Mommy?” June Bug asked, as she tied her shoelaces.

I shook my head. “We are going to spend the night at Harvest Home with Auntie Eve and Paul and Aunt Dora. Won’t that be fun? I’ll let your mommy know when we get there, okay?”

June Bug checked on her cats and critters then grabbed her coat. “Okay.”

A horn outside let us know that Shane had arrived.

I took June Bug’s hand and we hastily made our way outside, picking our way down the porch steps. I forgot to lock the door, and when I remembered I almost turned back, but stopped myself. Anyone crazy enough to break in deserved what they got, be it ghosts or cats.

“Sorry I couldn’t get here faster,” Shane said. “The road is really bad right now. These rains have taken their toll.”

“What was trying to get me?” June Bug asked, as we piled into Shane’s pickup.

He backed up, turning around to leave the driveway. The tree branches bobbed in the wind as if waving goodbye.

“I don’t know what that ‘thing’ is,” I said. “I wish I did.” I stared out the steamed window.

Shane was right. The road had turned to slush.

“It said it was going to keep me there forever. It said it was lonely. At first, I felt bad for it.”

“Listen, honey.” I took her chin roughly in my hand and forced her to make eye contact. “Don’t you ever feel sorry for that thing in there. Okay?”

June Bug started to cry and I released my grip on her.

Shane squared his jaw and punched the gas.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I’ve just never been that scared in my entire life.”

“It’s okay, Aunt Maggie.” June Bug rested her head on my arm, nuzzling me. “I’ll keep you safe.”

I gave Shane a sideways look, but he didn’t notice. He was lost in thoughts of his own.

Fifteen: Night Moves

By the time we reached Harvest Home, June Bug was fast asleep.

Shane carried her inside, placing her on the sofa in the den. He and I then gathered in the living room with Eve.

“What do you mean, something was trying to get her?” Eve stormed back and forth across the room, her hands balled up into fists. “Are you sure, Maggie? I mean, this isn’t one of your fantasies, is it?”

“Of course I’m sure. June Bug was screaming and something was holding the door.”

Shane nodded. “June Bug said the same thing to me when I picked them up.” He looked across the room, his eyes resting on Aunt Dora who was sleeping in a recliner. “I know kids make up stories, but I believe her.” His eyes fell on me. “...And Maggie.”

I felt a wave of gratitude for him.

He believed me. Who cared what Eve thought?

“Merry trusted you with her daughter!” Eve said accusingly as she rushed towards a small black bag on the dining room table. “And you let this happen!”

“I didn’t
let
this happen,” I said. “It happened. And we got her out.”
 

I remembered the night I was trapped in the room with the ‘thing’ myself as a kid and Eve was there, unwilling to help. Who was she to accuse me of anything?

Eve returned with her bag and removed a thin, rectangular device, hardly bigger than a book. “I say, we fight fire with fire. If this thing wants to mess with a little girl, he better be prepared for the big girls, too.” She pushed a button on the machine and it turned on.

A Windows icon flashed across the top of it.

“What is that, and what are you doing?” I asked, watching her fingers slide frantically across the device, bringing up a series of pictures.

“I’m checking the internet on my tablet.”
 

I was in awe as I watched her, and I wondered why Mother had placed so much stock in magic when there were things like this in the universe.

“For what?” I finally asked. “Things that go bump in the night? I thought you didn’t want anything to do with that stuff?”

“Maybe I didn’t before, but that’s my niece up there. I’m not about to let the same thing happen to her that happened to...”

She stopped, pushing her lips tightly together.

I narrowed my eyes, wondering if I had missed a near-admission. Eve continued checking her tablet, groaning as the minutes ticked by.

“Maggie,” Shane said, as I watched Eve work. “Do you remember anything about the original Council, before they became the Council of Seven?”

“What does that have to do with anything?” I asked him, confused.

“Just answer me.”

“Okay,” I said, trying to pull up a memory. “I do remember there being a few more people in Mother’s ‘group’ when I was really young, including a couple of men. That’s about it.”

“Yes.” Shane ran his palm through his hair, trying to pick the right words. “Uncle Joe and Leo were the only men left then, and that was only because they were...”

“Gay,” Eve chimed in, not lifting her eyes from the screen. “Mom didn’t trust straight men.”

“Eve’s right on that,” I said.
 

At some point in my early childhood, our mother had taken to man-bashing, but she never said why.

“Well,” Shane continued. “Uncle Joe told me some things shortly before he died. I wasn't supposed to say anything, because your mother might get angry, but...” He paused, checking to see if Aunt Dora was still asleep.
 

He didn’t have to worry. Her snoring was almost as loud as the TV she slept in front of. She wouldn’t hear a word we said. Even so, he lowered his voice.
 

“...The Council of Seven was originally the Council of Thirteen. There was a rift in the group because some members didn’t think your mother was using their magick to its fullest potential. They thought they could be more powerful if they could just learn to control a few things.”

“Like what?” I said. There was something about his tone that made me nervous.

He took a long time before answering.

“Demons.”

“What the hell?” Eve stopped playing with her computer and looked up. “That’s crazy, even for this town.”

Shane said, “It’s true, at least according to Uncle Joe, and I’ve never knew him to lie.”

I nodded. Uncle Joe was the most honest person I had ever met.

“How do we know
you
aren’t lying?” Eve crossed her arms and leaned back, appraising him.

Shane shrugged. “I have no reason to lie. I’m just repeating what I’ve heard.”

“I don’t doubt you,” I said. “But what’s this have to do with us?”

The temperature in the room seemed to be dropping. I looked around for my sweater. It was thrown across the back of a chair and I put it on. It smelled like wet alpaca.

“It was said that those strong enough to control a demon could gain access to unlimited power,” Shane explained. “Think of it like the genie being let out of a bottle, then having to obey its master. Some of the members were growing weary of just doing rain dances and performing protection spells. They wanted more, and they thought having a demon do their bidding was the way to go. But, because there weren't many demons running around, in order to control one, they had to summon one...”