The Time Witch - Part #31

Recap: The locket transports Evangeline and Samuel to when he was ten-years-old and they met for the first time, as children. BUT young Adas Abernathy was there, as well, and his evil attentions included mind-controlling Evangeline’s parents.

LINKS: The Beginning, Last Part (#30), Time Witch page

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“Run!”

Evangeline’s father cried out, even as he swung a heavy stick at young Samuel’s head, his will corrupted.

Adas manipulated his body. Controlling him, but it wasn’t the only magic at play. A tightness closed around the five people in the clearing. The air stilled, curdling, as all movement staggered to a stop. The brutal stick paused,  mid-swing, never reaching its target. Instead, it hung in the air inches from young Samuel’s face.

The girl blinked, hands raised. She smiled. “Not so fast,” she said, touching young Samuel’s arm.

Coughing, he gasped, blinking at the branch in front of his face. He ducked around it, moving out of the way. He couldn’t move fast enough. With knowing eyes, he looked at the girl. “Remarkable. We have joined with our younger selves.”

The girl nodded. “Young Evangeline doesn’t know how to use her magic, but I do. Not that I’m an expert, but I’ve learned a few tricks.”

“I’d forgotten this feeling.” He flexed an arm. “How did this happen?”

“I guess only one version of us can exist simultaneously, at least within a certain distance. Lesson learned. The locket was a clue.”

“These are your parents?” Samuel asked. He went to her father, finding his first steps awkward. He slapped at one thigh. “I’ve never felt so strong nor so weak.”

“We can’t stay this way for long.” Evangeline cleared her throat as if her voice also struck a discord. “It feels wrong.”

“We must speak with your parents,” Samuel said. “Surely, they know of what we’ve stumbled upon.”

Evangeline held back. “Maybe, but it must go back farther than today. My parents knew about my magic, and they used it.” The girl wanted more time to figure it out but shook her head. She had to admit time had a way of running out, even when she could stop it. “We can’t stay here, but I don’t know how to get out. It will right itself, and that could be worse. Maybe my parents can help if we can trust them. What they know—what they will believe… is a toss-up. Trusting them could backfire.”

“It has been some time for you. That is all. They are your parents.” Samuel went to her father, standing two feet shorter than the adult. “Trust their love for you.”

“What if they are still under his control?” Evangeline turned to young Adas. She looked him over, realizing how vulnerable he was, frozen in the time warp. 

Young Samuel tapped a finger against his temple. “My mind is flooded with thoughts and worries about something called a Hexenmeister.”

The girl didn’t know the term. “Maybe my parents can be freed from Adas?” She looked at their petrified expressions, expressing rage. She’d broken his power before, and once severed, he’d been unable to reconnect, which is why he failed to mesmerize them.

Samuel reached out his hand, opening it to expose the family locket. “The tug-of-war we were in with Adas, it was over this. I came away with it when we broke apart.”

The brass locket sparkled in the sunlight. The girl smiled, reaching her hand outward. “Mother’s locket,” she whispered, turning to the woman and motioning for her to speak. “It pulses with magic. My mother’s magic.”

Going to the woman, young Evangeline lightly touched her mother’s lips with one fingertip. She had to stand on her tiptoes.

“Who are you?” Adele whispered, stretching her mouth from side to side.

“You know who I am,” Evangeline said.

Adele pouted. “Release me.”

Stepping back, young Evangeline bit her lip. “What have you done, mother? How did we get here?”

Adele whimpered. Sorrowful in what little movement Evangeline’s magic allowed. “I have only done what any good mother would do, my child. I have brought you to your future.” Her eyes slanted to Adas.

Young Samuel instantly moved as if he could block any kind of connection. Not that Adele had that kind of control, but foul words had power, too.

“You are destined to him,” Adele said in the sweetest voice. “He is your master.”

“She’s still under his control!” Samuel eyed Adas. The boy was frozen, but the possession allowed him to talk through Adele.

Young Evangeline turned to Adas. “If you knew anything about me or my magic, you’d run.” Rage flared, and she hung on to her power, feeling it warp around her. A ripple effect sizzled through the air.

Young Adas’s eyes widened.

 The pressure built. An electrical sensation poked at the boy, but it suddenly shriveled back. Three adult witches broke into the clearing, chanting—the Mages Three, the original version. They pushed an invisible barrier ahead of them, protecting their progress as they cut through Evangeline’s magic.

“Witches worry, twist and wither,” they hissed, “still the voices hence and dither.”

Young Evangeline waved her hand, releasing her parents from their state. She worried that it was too late. The couple spun to life, sensing trouble, catching sight of the Mages. The Coven would not be welcomed, even by Adas.

Coming to her side, young Samuel took the girl’s hand, giving it a tug. “We must hide. We can’t face them.”

“We can’t face any of them,” Evangeline whispered. “They only see children.”

Adele turned to young Evangeline. “My locket!”

Realizing it must ground her mother’s magic, young Evangeline held it outward, oddly having to trust Adas since he controlled her mother. At the moment, the Coven proved a bigger threat to irrevocably tipping the balance. 

“Away from the girl!” The Crone ordered Samuel to step back.

He didn’t move.

“What have you done to Adas Abernathy?” the youngest Mage asked, appalled by the boy’s wooden stature. She shook her head, “For shame, girl.”

“Leave our daughter alone,” Adele ordered, raising her locket. The token glowed with power.

“Your tricks have no strength here, witch,” the Crone said. “Not when we stand together.” The Mages locked hands, and Adele screamed. The locket ripped out of her hand, zipping through the air. The Crone caught it.

Samuel gasped as the chanting spell twisted Adele’s body. It scrunched, transforming into a wraith, shrinking from an unseen force that dragged her toward the Mages. The air popped, and Adele’s essence disappeared into the locket. They turned on Corbin, who had no magic. He was an easy target, withering and contorting as his body sucked into the locket. Trapped.

The Mages turned to young Evangeline. “We would have a word, child,” the Crone crooked a finger at young Evangeline.

“I’m sorry,” the girl whispered to Samuel. “We can’t fight them here.”

She looked up at him, seeing his hope squashed just before she heard a shrill whine. Magic licked the air, coming for them. She closed her eyes and countered with one pure thought that pushed them back, pulsing with a warmth that arched around her in a flash of blinding light. 

Silence hung suspended. 

So sorry, Evangeline thought.

Dead air ticked off a heartbeat.

Evangeline felt her new surroundings before she could hear it. The indoor air smelled of beeswax and musty books. Her body felt fuller, the age of it comforting. She’d returned to adulthood and the cherished Carnegie Library closet. However, she’d made a conscious decision to return to a point she hadn’t jumped to before, knowing crossing her own path would only make things worse. She had to move with purpose. She had to stay one step ahead. Not just of Adas but herself. She couldn’t afford to make another mistake.

Opening the closet door, Evangeline stepped out into a library that awaited its first day of renovation—two months prior to when she’d left Samuel, Charles, Danna, and Starlight. Sun streamed through the overhead windows, announcing the start of a glorious day. 

“Are you here?” Evangeline asked the shadows. A few hung around the boxes packed with library books.

Sweet one.

He’d been there from the very beginning and had waited patiently for her to get to this point. “Danna comes this morning,” she told the room. “I’m going to hire her for the first time, again, and explain everything, and then we’ll go back to finish this.”

As you wish.

The ghost remained neutral.

“Did I trap you in the past?” Evangeline held her breath, uncertain what had happened to Samuel. Her magic had tricked her before. “Did you have to live it all over again? Is that why you’ve been angry with me?”

You left me… out.

A breeze caressed her cheek.

Don’t.

The single word echoed around her.

Evangeline wasn’t sure she could make any promises. Still, if he needed to be there at the end, she’d do her best… whatever the consequences.

Next up is the final chapter of Time Witch! Hope you’re ready for it. Leave a comment, if you want the Time Witch to continue. After this part of her adventure wraps up, there is more story to tell. That is, if I know you want to read it. :)