The Time Witch - Part #27

Recap: Back in 2024, Evangeline and her friends walk into a block party and a very changed world. Everyone seems to know about time travel, and that the foursome would be arriving on that date. The welcoming reception leaves Evangeline unsettled and afraid that something has gone terribly wrong.

LINKS: The Beginning, Last Part (#26), Time Witch page

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“The future has changed.”

Evangeline hated to say it out loud, but the change was all up in her face. Every smile. Every bit of sugary sweetness. All the friends she’d made in Baxter Creek, plus a few she’d hoped to turn to her side, all in one place, acting like nothing was wrong.

“Could this be after, perhaps at a point when all is well?” Samuel asked. They stood between the Carnegie Library stacks, watching the gathering.

The guests mingled, chatting. Everyone knew everyone, like most small towns, and they all appeared to get along. Even the Coven leadership, who Evangeline had only seen once when they stood on the library steps to stop her from using her magic. The oldest one—the Crone—laughed with Chief Cole as they sampled what appeared to be spicy taco dip.

Starlight and Charles hung together, holding court with several residents. An adoring Nixie joined the group, offering the couple red Solo cups. Whatever beverage they held made Charles’s lips curl in delight.

“I must admit,” Samuel added, “the undercurrent of jovial welcome is disconcerting.”

“It’s making my skin crawl,” Evangeline said, harboring a hint of distrust. It lingered in the air like tainted humidity.

Samuel touched her arm, and she looked up at him. Their eyes locked. “Is this the result of bringing us forward in time?” Worry wrinkled his brow.

Having no idea what caused the shift, Evangeline could only go on gut instinct. “Maybe. Maybe the reason is far worse.” She pursed her lips together.

“We will face it together.”

Their hands found each other, fingers entwining.

“Excuse me,” a female voice interrupted them.

They turned as one to find Danna patiently waiting. “Can we have a moment?”

Just behind her, Mabel gave them a little wave. Her broad smile was as unsettling as a viper hiding in tall grass. “We have a surprise.”

“Suddenly, I don’t like surprises,” Evangeline said, feeling a tingle of warning.

Danna held up a finger, and retreated for a moment. Mabel laughed and came forward. “Today is a special day for all of us. An important day.”

“Exactly what kind of surprise?” Samuel asked, sounding wary.

“Bringing all of us together today has more meaning than you know,” Mabel admitted. “We’ve been waiting for this day for a very long time.”

“Why today?” Evangeline asked, suspicious. From the toned-down version of Danna to Mabel’s dopey expression and the overall party atmosphere, the whole thing struck her wrong.

“Because today’s date is when Charles’s journal ended.” Mabel smiled like that explained everything.

Charles came forward, hearing his name. “What is that you say that I’ve done?”

“You wrote a journal, and the last date mentioned in it is today.” Mabel smiled at him like he’d gifted them a treasure chest full of gold. 

Charles nodded as if he understood. “The journal I have yet to write. Expectations are high, and I pray I don’t disappoint.”

The gathering assured him with half-spoken murmurs that failure was not possible.

“It’s inspired,” Nixie praised him. “And spoilers, you now know where to end your journal.”

Evangeline wanted to escape the guests as she became the center of their attention, but there was no place to go except into the crush of people. “None of this is right,” she whispered to Samuel, panicking.

Mabel, overhearing, was the first to downplay the reaction. “My sweet Evangeline, you’ve had so much to shoulder alone, but we are all here to help. You’ve longed for guidance, have you not? We are free to offer it.”

“… because of an entry in my brother’s journal?” Samuel asked.

“Of course,” Mabel agreed. “Charles’s journal has led us to this day and to help you take the next step.”

“To the next step!” Charles toasted the air with his red Solo cup, confiding to Starlight standing beside him, “I shall need more of this tasty brew.”

Evangeline raised her hands, defensive. “Listen to me… this is wrong. Mabel is not the Mabel I know. And Nixie? The last time we met wasn’t good, and the time before that, you and the Coven wanted to bind my powers.”

“Oh, no,” Mabel wailed. It was news to her.

“That would never happen,” Nixie said, glancing at her sisters. “We’re all family. The Coven welcomed you to town with open arms.”

“How are we family?” Samuel asked.

“Charles married Starlight,” Nixie said as if they should know.

Starlight took a step away from Charles.

“Oh my,” Charles gasped. “That is delicate news, indeed.”

“No, no, no!” Evangeline interrupted. “Charles marries Lenora.”

“Who?” Mabel couldn’t place the name.

“Lenora Livingston,” Charles supplied it, “although I have made no progress in that direction, either. My bachelor status is firmly in place, but I shall do my duty to Baxter Creek.”

A couple of the residents applauded.

“This is all wrong.” Evangeline sent a pleading look to Samuel as if he could straighten it out. 

Scratching his chin, he tried. “I believe time has shifted a bit… in an unexpected manner.”

“A bit!” Evangeline wailed. “The Coven likes me, Danna isn’t my friend or employee, Charles marries Starlight, which makes the Coven part of the Founding Families now, and Mabel is nice.”

Mabel’s hands went to her waist, shocked. “When was I not nice?” For a second, she sounded like her snarky self.

“And, the worst part is that no one thinks anything is wrong.” Evangeline pointed a finger at Mabel. “Why don’t you remember how it was? You told me that even when time changed, you knew it changed, that we were in some kind of bubble.”

Mabel shrugged, not understanding. 

“It’s so clear, isn’t it?” Nixie asked the guests. “This is why we prepared. Evangeline needs our help for the next step.”

Murmurs of agreement sounded, and Mabel came forward, offering her hands for Evangeline to take. Two snakes would have been more welcome. Samuel guided Evangeline back, causing the older woman to stall. Confusion clouded her eyes.

“It’s the culmination of the Founding Families’ wishes,” Mabel said, nodding toward Samuel as a member. “Look who I’m telling.” She winked at him.

The crowd parted and Danna came forward with a wedding dress draped over her arms. The lacy garment reminded Evangeline of the one she wore in the tintype photograph. The one of her and Adas Abernathy. She sucked in a breath. It sent a bitter awareness right to her soul.

“It’s all good,” Danna said, “we’ll help you return to the right time.”

Mabel nodded. “He’s waiting for you.”

“Who?” Samuel choked out the question.

Starlight put a hand on Charles’s shoulder, making him set down his plastic cup. They hung back as the crowd merged forward, following the garment. All eyes watched as it was presented to Evangeline. 

“It’s time to seal the Wedding Pact,” Mabel said.

Evangeline had enough. She exited the stacks to face Mabel, Nixie, Danna, and the dress. “I’m not part of the Wedding Pact,” she insisted. “If you think it involves me, you’ve got it all wrong, and I have to ask—to beg—if you remember a different past?”

The older woman nodded. “I remember. A shadow of what was, but it hardy matters anymore.”

“It matters,” Evangeline said. “We faced something terrible.”

Mabel made a negative sound with her tongue. A soft cluck. “That’s all settled, my dear.”

“But you don’t remember how it was settled, do you?” Evangeline pressed.

Thinking about it, Mabel shook her head. “It matters not. We must follow the instructions in Charles’s journal.”

“What instructions?” Charles asked from the back of the gathering.

Mabel turned, but could not see him, so she directed the answer at Evangeline and Samuel. “We were asked to complete the Wedding Pact. It is the purpose Charles gave us, and today is the day we honor it.”

Charles pulled a face, expressing his confusion. He pushed his way forward. “The Wedding Pact? That was old news in my day. The Covingtons married into the Yorks, and that ended that nonsense. Why would I write of it?”

“You wouldn’t,” Evangeline said. “The past has been twisted.”

Mabel took a step backward. “No, my dear, that cannot be.”

A questioning whisper filtered through the guests.

“We’re all here to help you,” Danna repeated, her smile faltering. She held out the wedding dress. “You must put it on and go back to him.”

With lightning speed, Chief Cole moved forward and grasped Evangeline’s arms. “It’s time to marry him.”

“Marry who?” Charles shouted.

Samuel grabbed Chief Cole, twisting him away from Evangeline. She cried out, but the connection broke and Samuel shoved the officer into several guests. They caught him as the crush of people swelled forward. A soft chanting started from the back of the crowd, growing as all the Baxter Creek residents took up the sing-song words.

“Send her back. Send her back,” they chanted.

“It’s Adas Abernathy’s mind control,” Evangeline gasped.

“You must stop them. Freeze them as you did the Coven,” Samuel shouted over the chanting.

“The Coven… “ Evangeline realized she’d left the 1910 witches locked in a time warp with a beaten, enraged Adas Abernathy rushing down to their hidden cove. Had he found the witches—in a vulnerable state—before her magic wore off?

Closing her eyes, Evangeline willed the air to still. A tingle played along her fingers but died, and the chanting continued. She raised her hands, desperate this time, but the chanting grew louder.

Starlight pushed through the guests and took Evangeline’s hand. In a rush of light and dark, her magic twisted them out of the library, teleporting them onto the front steps. Bright sunlight made the women squint as they got their bearings and reached the sidewalk.

Bending over, needing air, Evangeline wanted to cry. “I couldn’t stop time,” she sobbed, disappointed that her magic failed her when she needed it most.

Starlight shook her head. “They’ve pooled their magic.”

“I don’t know what that means.” Evangeline sat on the bottom step, needing a moment.

“We have to get away from here,” Starlight pleaded. “Don’t you see? They’ve had an eternity to figure out how to circumvent your magic and send you back to him.”

“Adas Abernathy.” Evangeline had never hated a name more.

The library doors burst open. Mabel, Nixie, Danna, Chief Cole, Samuel, and Charles led the stampede. As they stumbled outside, it was hard to tell who was pushing who. By all appearances, no one was in control. They acted on instinct to find Evangeline and Starlight.

“Stop.” Evangeline stood, spinning around.

The single word stalled all movement. Evangeline’s magic, once again, crackled through the air more powerfully than before since it only focused on the town’s present-day residents. The effect was not as severe, either; this time, they were alert but unable to move. 

Samuel and Charles twisted their way through the party guests, with Charles briefly stalling on the way to the sidewalk. He couldn’t help himself and patted Mabel on the cheek. “So good to meet you, my dear,” he whispered to her before joining the others.

“We must go back,” Samuel advised. “Not to any wedding, of course, but to a time when we may stop the damage that Adas has done to the future.”

Evangeline couldn’t agree more. “I know exactly where I need to go.”