The Time Witch - Part #25

Recap: Evangeline meets the 1910 Coven members and a reading reveals a horrifying vision—that Evangeline is Adas Abernathy’s wife, and he’ll use her magic to destroy the Coven. Naturally, this does not make anyone a fan, and spurs the Coven to attack Evangeline!

LINKS: The Beginning, Last Part (#24), Time Witch page

---

“Oh nooo…”

As soon as Evangeline repeated Adas Abernathy’s words, a stillness gripped the gathering. No living thing moved within the underground cavern save for her.

Evangeline felt the words’ power. They filled her with equal parts horror and awe, and not just because the vile apothecary had invaded her mind. She’d listened. She’d accepted his help. It had to come with consequences.

The air hung heavy, snuffing out the musty dampness. The flames in the fire pit halted, too, becoming more cartoonish in appearance, their vibrant yellows and oranges unnaturally hushed. Worst of all, the witches and the brothers were frozen in their last, heated moments. Just like when Evangeline stopped Nixie from clamping on the second bracelet, those gathered were caught mid-motion, but it was worse. Oddly, the stillness diminished natural human barriers, releasing a flood of emotion. It hit Evangeline like a wave—a soul-aching tide of fear and animosity.

“What have I done?” she whispered.

Within the silence, no one answered.

Evangeline moved around Samuel, hating to see him trapped by her power. She didn’t know how to free him, so she shut her eyes and gently touched his arm. As if coming out of water, Samuel took a deep breath.  

“Give yourself a minute,” she said, staying close to him and checking if he’d been harmed. Luckily, the Mages’ light magic had only scorched a spot on his shirt. 

Samuel shook his head, taking in the room. “What… has happened? What has come over them?”

Evangeline felt the weight of the truth and could not help but wonder if it would change his opinion of her. “I stopped them. I stopped time.”  

“Are they right to fear you?” he asked, quickly adding, “I surely do not.”

The heartfelt support brought a fleeting smile to her lips. “I’ve controlled time more than once, so here is even more proof that I am a witch.” She pointed at the people around them, motionless.

Samuel noticed his brother. A shout froze on Charles’s lips, eyes wide. “Can you help him? We must retreat before the Coven awakens.”

“I totally agree.” Evangeline touched Charles on the arm, bracing herself for his reaction.

The more playful Covington-York blustered back to life, finishing his shout. It came out as an unintelligible oath. He stared stupidly at the unmoving women. “By golly!”

“We shall remove to a safer location,” Samuel told him, a steadying hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Are you with us?”

Charles pulled himself together with a sniff. “Never stay beyond one’s welcome, I am want to say.” 

They headed toward the exit, but the familiar ticking clock stopped Evangeline’s feet. It swelled so loud that it would not be ignored. She asked the brothers to continue, promising to catch up and rushed back to the witches. With barely a second thought to the sudden impulse, she touched Starlight’s arm, and the witch bent over, catching her breath like she’d run a marathon.

A shiver made the kind witch clutch her arms, turning fearful eyes to Evangeline. However, they slanted briefly beyond to her frozen sisters. “Oh, no, no, no.”

“They aren’t hurt,” Evangeline explained, “and I’ll release them as soon as we are far enough away.”

“So, you are a Time Witch?” Starlight asked, putting a hand on her stomach as if she felt queasy.

Evangeline had no plan to embrace the title despite the evidence piling up. She’d crossed through time and space to reach Samuel, manipulated time by stopping rain and a cavern full of witches—even if the words came from Adas Abernathy, she’d performed the magic. The label made sense. She had to be a Time Witch, whether it was a good thing or a bad one. 

Perhaps it will mean more soon, she prayed. “Whatever I am, I must ask one thing of you.”

Starlight nodded. While she seemed willing to hear the request, she made no promises.

“Keep the Coven away from me,” Evangeline said. Her words appealed for help and held no threat. “Your sisters here and in the future. I ask you to stay out of my way. The threat is Adas Abernathy. I’m also in the mix, as crazy as it sounds to me, but that’s why I must face him alone.”

“It is a reasonable behest,” Starlight said. Her relief was palpable.

“What did you think I’d ask?” Evangeline laughed.

Starlight only shook her head. “Take care facing Adas. If he uses your power… I can hardly guess the outcome, but the possibilities are staggering. A Time Witch has the ability to wipe away complete lifelines. They’ve erased covens… or so we believe. I’m ashamed to admit I have no proof, but where would it exist? Perhaps the tales only serve as warnings. Either way, they reinforce your request. The Coven should not interfere. I will do my best.”

Satisfied, Evangeline turned to go.

“I regret my sisters’ reaction,” Starlight whispered.

With a half turn, Evangeline caught Starlight’s sad expression and took pity on her. “I saw something. When Cassandra and I touched. My own vision, I guess, but it’s something I’ve felt since we entered your cavern.”

“The collection of magic,” Starlight finished the thought. 

“You know?”

“We have worried what prosperity would bring,” Starlight said. “The Coven began with a handful of witches, but we have grown. We have tried to mask our magic because we knew the use creates a presence, a beacon. The magic calls out. It brought new practitioners but could call something worse.”

A glittering aura sparkled over their heads. Evangeline looked up at it, enchanted by the cavern’s ceiling once again. “Your masking failed. I believe it called me here, to your time. It has also called evil. I can feel it—a gathering. Adas Abernathy won’t be the only one.”

Starlight didn’t know how to respond. She struggled for something to say. 

“I’ll see it to the end,” Evangeline vowed. “Protect the Coven.”

Starlight bowed her head, giving every impression that she’d do her best.

As Evangeline hurried to catch up to Samuel and Charles, she clung to one big takeaway from meeting with the Coven: a battle raged around her, perhaps for most of her life. “And I’m losing.”

Making her way through the bedrock fissure, Evangeline stepped out into the blinding light of the cove. She raised a hand to cover her eyes. It would take a few minutes to see properly, but voices warned her that she needed her vision sooner rather than later.

“Move, sir, or we shall move you!” Charles’s strident voice echoed down to the shore.

The crisp ocean air whipped at Evangeline’s hair as she strained to see up the treacherous cliffside steps. They appeared even more harrowing from below. The tread was barely big enough for one foot. It didn’t offer much room to stop for an altercation, yet one unfolded halfway above.

Squinting, Evangeline blinked, terrified by what came into focus. Charles faced a large man. Samuel was two steps below his brother. The intruder towered above them, menacing, blocking the upward path. They’d come to a complete standstill on the narrow steps. Even more troubling, Samuel leaned against the cliff wall, a hand to his temple. He took a staggering step down, which turned into two as he slipped.

“Samuel!” Evangeline screamed, but he didn’t seem to hear. The stranger, however, looked right at her. 

The man’s face was in shadow, but his whole attitude changed. He straight-armed Charles, advancing downward. The bulk of him filled up the tight space. The other men would have to move, somehow, if he continued to advance. Two adult men could not occupy the same step at the same time.

A hissing filled Evangeline’s mind. She cried out, knowing with dead certainty that the intruder—whoever he was—didn’t care who he hurt. He just wanted to get to her.

The impulse to run overwhelmed Evangeline, but she had nowhere to go. The cove’s waves were too intense to swim beyond them, and she could see no other way to hike out. Returning to the Coven seemed ill-advised, as well. She was trapped.

A hand grasped Evangeline’s arm, and she lurched to the side. The hold released just as quickly as she spun around to find Starlight waving her hands. She meant no harm. 

“I’m sorry,” Starlight said, eyes wide and cheeks flushed. “I heard your scream.”

Evangeline couldn’t speak. The hissing flooded her ears. She pointed at the cliff to where Samuel and Charles faced the stranger.

Starlight cursed under her breath, “Adas Abernathy.” It sounded like a condemnation.

Finally seeing better, Evangeline focused on the man they claimed was her husband. I could do better, she thought, taking in his hulking wrestler’s physique. Not my type.

Evangeline willed the hissing out of her head. She mentally gave it a push. It surged back, but she imagined kicking Adas Abernathy in the butt.

Up on the stairs, Abernathy jerked into the cliffside.

“Oh, did I do that?” Evangeline chuckled.

Abernathy raised a hand as if to strike Charles, but Samuel shook off his dizziness and dove into Abernathy’s knees, causing the brute to fall back. Samuel landed on him, and they sprawled across the steps.

Charles shifted to help his brother, but Abernathy threw an uppercut. It caught Charles on the chin, sending him off balance. Arms pedaled the air, teetering toward the edge. Starlight gasped. Abernathy raised a foot to kick Charles off, but Samuel lunged over him, an elbow to their attacker’s mouth. 

It gave Charles time to pivot toward the cliff face. Still, he couldn’t control the momentum and went headfirst into the unforgiving rock. He grunted, a hand to the damage. It came away bloody.

Daring a glance at his brother, Samuel only took his attention off of Abernathy for a moment, but it was all the time the wicked man needed. Twisting his body, he overpowered Samuel and threw him off the stairs.

Evangeline couldn’t breathe.

Falling to certain death, Samuel was a blur.

This is when he becomes a ghost, Evangeline sobbed, her heart breaking.

With it, time stalled. Before she could fully process what was happening, Samuel stood safely on the beach before her. Evangeline threw herself into his arms, almost sending them both to the sand.

A sigh escaped from Starlight, and Evangeline glanced her way to find the witch bent over. She gulped air, recovering from a significant exertion.

“You saved him?” Evangeline asked, shocked.

“How?” Samuel found his breath. “How can I ever thank you?”

“Teleportation,” Starlight managed to say, “but something helped me.”

“Charles!” Samuel interrupted.

Before they knew it, Starlight blinked out of sight. Their heads pivoted to the stairs as she reappeared just behind Charles. Starlight quickly hugged his torso, and they disappeared, leaving Adas Abernathy seething on the stairs.

“Where did they go?” Samuel asked, every bit confused.

Evangeline had no answer, cringing as Adas screamed from above. He stormed down the stairs at a reckless pace.

“Brace yourself,” Samuel warned, pulling himself together to face the brute.

Starlight and Charles reappeared two feet before the couple, blocking their view of the danger heading toward the beach. “Hold onto me,” Starlight ordered, looking directly into Evangeline’s startled eyes.

Charles and Samuel did as they were told, but Evangeline took an extra moment. Time to feel a flush of panic. Time to worry that they couldn’t get far enough or fast enough away from retribution. Time to wish she’d done everything differently.

Both women reached out. As soon as their hands touched, the whole world tilted out of sorts and plunged them into darkness.

---