The Time Witch - Part 20

Recap: Mabel reveals a limerick from Charles’s book, but it doesn’t help Evangeline with her biggest problem: breaking the bracelet and going back to Samuel. But the ghost has one more message for her. The truth about her magic comes from her family’s troubled past.

LINKS: The Beginning, Last Part (#19), Time Witch page

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“I’m not a witch.”

Evangeline stared down at her cell phone. Sun streaked across the screen, but the FaceTime connection was an excellent companion as she returned to the Carnegie Library. “You misunderstood me.”

The white-haired lady, smiling back, laughed off any implication that witches were real. “Darling, your mother and father borrowed a lot of trouble. Don’t you start.”

“I’m not,” Evangeline insisted, although she knew calling Ginger, her mom’s best friend, could spark gossip. What did she care? It could rage like wildfire. She had no plans to go back to San Francisco. Nothing was there for her anymore. If her parents had been part of some ultra-secret Bay Area Coven, the secret vanished with them. “Mom once told me that her side of the family was magical. If you recall any family that used to come around, I’d like to find them. I’m not talking about mom’s paranormal past or any of that nonsense.”

Evangeline prayed that she sounded convincing. Lying felt wrong but seemed necessary. She wanted to protect Ginger, but someone who’d known her for so long might see right through the lies.

“Honey,” Ginger said, using her veterinarian voice reserved for injured dogs, “you don’t have any uncles or aunts, at least none by blood.”

Frowning, Evangeline knew she’d never met any of her parent’s siblings. She hoped it was an oversight and trusted the ghost’s intel. Can’t tell her why I think there’s an uncle, Evangeline admitted to herself. “How about the other kind of uncles? A friend of the family kind of uncle.”

“Oh, there could’ve been one of those. Maybe a Kenji something?” Ginger nodded, thinking it over, but decided she had the correct first name.

“No last name?”

Ginger shook her head. “Only met him once. Back when we were all in our thirties.” She tugged at a lock of her hair. “Back when I was still a ginger.”

Evangeline realized Uncle Kenji would be pretty old if he was still alive. “Okay, forget I asked. It’s probably nothing. Just one of those things that might have explained Mom and Dad a little bit more.”

“Honey, they loved you.” Ginger’s smile was genuine. “That’s all you need to know.”

Ending the call with a promise to not be a stranger, Evangeline picked up her pace. The need to get back to the library tingled through her body. It felt like a warning and put her on edge. Checking out the neighborhood, she noticed a group of birds flying overhead. Since they weren’t hummingbirds, she shook it off. The sky, however, threatened a stormy afternoon.

“How fitting,” Evangeline muttered.

The clouds bunched together, graying with heaviness. They billowed up into thunder bumpers, faster than natural, shrouding the street in a strange twilight. Evangeline cut across the quad, catching sight of the Carnegie Library. It stood out from the darkness, as did four women waiting on the front stairs.

Evangeline stalled, recognizing Nixie in the group. The others had to be part of the Coven. Suddenly, the binding bracelet felt heavy on her wrist. Determined, she walked toward her library, ready to face the unofficial, unwelcoming committee.

The length of the quad gave all parties a moment to mentally prepare. The green expanse took two minutes to cross. Evangeline glanced toward the shops, worried for any tourists or a curious passersby, but there were none. The dark clouds were working their magic.

Stopping just across the street, Evangeline took in the women. A wave of resolution vibrated around them. She could feel it and took a deep breath, shielding her mind. At least, she tried to keep them from reading her thoughts. She hoped that’s all her magic needed—a strong intention.

“Before you freeze time and escape, can we talk?” Nixie asked, taking the couple of steps down to the sidewalk. She approached with arms out. “I’d like you to meet the Coven leaders.”

The other three women varied in age from young to old. To know her enemy, Evangeline did some research. She learned they were called Mages, which consisted of the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone, representing the stages of life. The eldest stepped forward, as well.

“I’m Crone Maggie.” Her sweet voice trembled with age, but the steel in her eyes held strength. “We have a problem to solve, my dear.”

“If people call you Crone Maggie, I’m not your biggest problem,” Evangeline said, finding their arrival a little too entitled for her taste.

Crone Maggie glanced at her Mage sisters. “She is a feisty one,” she smirked.

They mumbled agreement.

“We can’t have what happened last night to occur again,” Nixie stated.

Freezing time seemed a big no-no, but Evangeline didn’t have to play by their rules and wanted to ensure they knew it. “I’ve been told you’re not against me, but you sure aren’t for me.” She squinted upward, realizing that Nixie must have darkened the afternoon sky to shroud their meeting. “Unless you’ve come to remove this bracelet, then you aren’t welcome at my library.”

“Watch your tone,” Mother Tess cautioned.

“My tone?” Evangeline asked, stunned. She crossed the street, joining them on the sidewalk at the base of the library steps. “You have no idea who I am or why I can do what I can do.”

“Neither do you, it would seem,” Crone Maggie said.

“It could be important.” Evangeline shook her head, dumbfounded that they instantly stood against her without any facts.

“If your magic is important, fine,” Nixie said. “Let us help you figure it out, but until then, wear the binding bracelets and show your respect to the Coven.” While the words sounded friendly, they held so many hidden threats, all wrapped up with smiles and knowing nods.

The storm rumbled above their heads, emphasizing the gravity of the meeting. It seemed the sun would only return if Evangeline agreed to their request. She silently cursed that it had to be this way, wishing to snap her fingers to freeze time and escape into the library. Since Evangeline didn’t know how to do any magic—at least not on command—she pushed past Nixie and headed up the stairs. She didn’t have to take this any longer.

Evangeline’s feet, however, stilled like she’d hit a wall, but it was weeds. Green sprouts curled up between the cement and grabbed her shoes and ankles. They held tight. She fell forward, catching herself on the stairs. Looking back, she saw Crone Maggie’s fingers beaconing the weeds to grow.

The library doors banged open, and Danna rushed out. She flicked the fingers of one hand across her chest, and the weeds shrunk away from Evangeline’s feet. Her other hand held a book like she’d been shelving and heard the women outside. She took a defiant stance on the same step as Evangeline, halfway up the short flight and reached down to help her boss stand. 

“Have you lost your minds?” Danna asked the Mages. “It’s afternoon. Anyone could see you.”

The Coven members collected on the sidewalk, judgment creasing their faces.

“Speak carefully, child,” Crone Maggie warned Danna. “By all accounts, you have failed us.”

The other Mages murmured agreement.

Evangeline turned to Danna. “You’re part of the Coven?”

Thunder crashed over their heads. 

Danna’s lips scrunched together, ignoring her boss with a soft, “I’ll explain late.” She faced the Mages as disappointment reddened her cheeks. “I’ve known you my whole life. We are bonded by the craft, but you are breaking that bond.”

Fidgeting at her side, Evangeline knew she’d been duped and had no intention of waiting to discuss it. “We had a bond, too, you know.”

Danna shot her a look. “Take this.” She shoved the book into her hands. It was the red leather limerick book.

“Why do you have this?” Evangeline’s stomach dropped. The vintage photograph of her and Adas Abernathy still marked a page, but it was at a different spot, farther back in the tome. Why did she move the bookmark? Evangeline wondered, knowing Danna must have seen the tintype with her likeness.

“Read the marked page,” Danna hissed, lowering her voice. “It will take you back.”

Evangeline couldn’t process any of it. Her mind raced with betrayal. “Why should I do anything you say? You’ve been lying to me this whole time!” With a pang, she realized Danna was a Coven spy. Her heart ached, feeling more like an outsider than when she’d arrived in Baxter Creek. How long had they known I was a witch? Longer than me.

Maiden Allegra raised her hands as if she could calm the situation, and a blissful sigh settled over their heads. It hummed around them, coaxing the tension away. “Danna faithfully served as our eyes and ears when the stranger arrived. No other wanted the duty; thus, we are obligated to hear her out, even if her words lead to betrayal.”

“You had no right to bind Evangeline’s power,” Danna insisted. “And I’m going to fix it.”

She turned to Evangeline and nodded at the book. “Read it out loud. Now go!”

Nixie understood and took a step upward. “Traitor!”

Turning on her, Danna held out a hand that stalled any thought of taking the limerick book away from Evangeline. “Go,” Danna whispered, but in a louder voice she spoke to the Mages, holding their attention. “You put me in that library as a witness. I have only reported what I’ve seen, making it possible for us to base decisions on fact, not fear.”

 “You have seen only what you wanted to see,” Nixie admonished her sister witch. “The Time Witch has beguiled you.”

Evangeline clutched the limerick book to her chest. If it contained a spell—as Danna had promised—to return to Samuel, she had to try it. She took one step upward and headed for the library entrance.

Lightning sparked the sky, the crash echoed three seconds later. It punctuated Nixie’s words. “It was hard to bind just one of her wrists, but it kept her from traveling through time, disrupting our magic. We have protected ourselves from evil.”

Danna scoffed, “Dramatic much?”

Nixie let more thunder roll overhead.

“The truth will rise!” Crone Maggie predicted. “If your betrayal is spellbound, we will cleanse your soul. However, I warn you that we will know if you have turned.”

Evangeline took another step toward the library. None of the witches noticed.

Danna grasped a pendant around her neck, slipping its woven chain over her head. She held up the bronze object. It shone brighter in her hand, a glow from within its intricately crafted design. It mirrored pendants around Nixie’s and the Mages’ necks—a talisman of the Coven—a Celtic trinity knot representing the eternity of life.

“I’m not bewitched,” Danna said in a strong voice. “I bore witness and reported how kind and confused Evangeline appeared. She means us no harm, yet you have harmed her. The only betrayal I feel is for spying on Evangeline.” 

The Mages muttered in a secret language to each other. It rang of accusations.

“Evangeline isn’t the one to fear,” Danna yelled at them, “you are!”

The insult quieted the Mages.

Danna’s breathing slowed, and her power could not be denied or interrupted. A faint halo pulsed around her body, framing her and separating her even more from the others. “How could we start as practitioners seeking asylum and turn into this heartless group of fearful women, willing to crush another Magical? You don’t know what Evangeline is. Heck, she doesn’t know what she is! But you’d bind the unknown without even understanding her powers? How could you know if that did more harm than good? You don’t! You’ve acted recklessly, forgetting—no!—defying our history. You’ve taken us from being the persecuted to the ones persecuting. And I am done… with… all of you!”

She threw the pendant against the rough surface of a step. It cracked against the cement. A tortured sigh echoed from the pendant as the fire within released, swirling upward to be sucked into the next flash of lightning.

Evangeline stalled on her way through the library door. Stunned by the sight, by Danna’s words. She wanted to go back and stand with her.

None of the Mages dared speak. Nixie bent to the pendant as if its demise pained her soul. “You’ve destroyed the magic of the ancestors.”

Danna let an accusing eye take in the Mages. She wanted them to feel her words. “You have broken with the past and no longer truly practice what was passed down through the generations. I am a hereditary witch and, from now on, shall practice my craft alone.”

“Rethink your way,” Crone Maggie begged.

Danna held her head high. “You will not pass. You will do no more harm to the Time Witch.”

Evangeline slipped through the library door, letting it shut firmly behind her. It seemed to be aided by Danna’s conviction, or perhaps her magic, blocking the Mages’s access to the library. The solid door would give her time to return to Samuel and escape everything that had turned so terribly wrong.

Clutching the red leather limerick book, Evangeline prayed that its spell would work.