Contents

1. Title

2. Imprint Page

3. To stay up to date with future books and other news, you can follow Hilary on...

4. Chapter One

5. Chapter Two

6. Chapter Three

7. Chapter Four

8. Chapter Five

9. Chapter Six

10. Chapter Seven

11. Chapter Eight

12. Chapter Nine

13. Chapter Ten

14. Chapter Eleven

15. Chapter Twelve

16. Chapter Thirteen

17. Chapter Fourteen

18. Chapter Fifteen

19. Chapter Sixteen

20. Chapter Seventeen

21. Chapter Eighteen

22. Chapter Nineteen

23. Chapter Twenty

24. Chapter Twenty-One

25. Chapter Twenty-Two

26. Chapter Twenty-Three

27. Chapter Twenty-Four

28. Chapter Twenty-Five

29. Chapter Twenty-Six

30. Chapter Twenty-Seven

31. Chapter Twenty-Eight

32. Chapter Twenty-Nine

33. Chapter Thirty

34. Chapter Thirty-One

35. Chapter Thirty-Two

36. Chapter Thirty-Three

37. Chapter Thirty-Four

38. Chapter Thirty-Five

39. Chapter Thirty-Six

40. Chapter Thirty-Seven

41. Chapter Thirty-Eight

42. Chapter Thirty-Nine

43. Chapter Forty

44. Chapter Forty-One

45. Chapter Forty-Two

46. Chapter Forty-Three

47. Chapter Forty-Four

48. Chapter Forty-Five

49. Chapter Forty-Six

50. Chapter Forty-Seven

51. Chapter Forty-Eight

52. Chapter Forty-Nine

53. Chapter Fifty

Guide

1. Contents

2. Start of Content

When Witches Wake

The Bancroft Coven Series

Book One

HILARY FOXHILL

Copyright 2019 © by Hilary Foxhill

All rights reserved.

No parts of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Under no circumstances may any part of this book be photocopied for resale.

This is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and situations within its pages and places or persons, living or dead, is unintentional and co-incidental.

Cover Photo by Joe Therasakdhi via Shutterstock

Cover design by Hilary Foxhill

To stay up to date with future books and other news, you can follow Hilary on social media.

www.hilaryfoxhill.com

Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter

@hilaryiswriting

CHAPTER ONE

SHE WATCHED THE candle flicker and the light bounce off the walls. The room was warm, and seemed to get warmer by the minute. Naked, she sat on a pillow in the middle of the small room. She looked around, trying to remember where she was and why she was there. Thick shades were drawn on two small windows. No light shined through from the outside world. The walls were full of bookshelves that overflowed with books. It was too dark for her to read any of the titles. There was a desk with a stereo on it, and drumming sounds pounded out of its speakers. She felt sweat drip down her back and she changed position on the pillow. There was a break in the drumming, and she heard loud chanting and screaming from outside of the door. She quickly turned her head to look and noticed smoke beginning to seep under the large wooden door and into the room. She smelled flowers and swallowed hard. Her hands tightened on her knees, and her heart beat faster. The drumming from the radio continued. Just outside the door, a floorboard creaked and two loud knocks rattled the old door. She jumped and a small cry came out of her mouth. Staring at the door, she heard only her heart beating in her head. Every other sound seemed to have stopped. Two knocks again at the door. She blinked and realized she knew what that meant. She stood up and her knees throbbed with pain from sitting for so long. She walked over to the desk and picked up the cloth hanging on the back of the desk chair. Carrying the cloth, she walked over to the door. Her lips were dry and she licked them, hoping they wouldn’t crack open.  Without thinking, her hand was at the door, and she knocked twice. A soft metal clink broke the silence in the room as the doorknob slowly turned. The door opened and she saw the outline of a naked woman standing before her.

“Are you ready?” the woman asked.

Emily opened her eyes and gasped for breath. She rubbed her face and strained to see. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she looked around and recognized her bedroom. Her shirt was wet and soaked in sweat. Again. Just like the last time and the time before that. She leaned over and turned the switch on her small bedside lamp, groaning and shielding her eyes from the light. A soft pink glow filled the room. She reached for the leather bound notebook on her nightstand, grabbing it without looking. She reached back again for the pencil and her hand stumbled over the nightstand, finding nothing. She rubbed her eyes and sat up. Emily blinked at the empty nightstand. Damn cat.

“God dammit Eli! Leave my pencils alone!” her voice cracked. She leaned over the edge of her bed and pulled herself down to peer underneath.

“There you are,” she whispered. She reached as far as she could without tumbling out of bed, barely reaching it. She groaned as she pulled herself back up, and sat up against her headboard. She flipped open her small black book and wrote the time and date on a new page.

4:10 am. Friday, September 8th, 2017.

She wrote down her latest dream without thinking. She had this one before, she knew how it went.

Emily placed her book and pencil back on the nightstand and turned off the light. Lying on her side, she stared at the glowing alarm clock. 4:32am. She closed her eyes and all she could see were her dreams. Dancing inside of her head flashes of light, and skin, and smoke. She opened her eyes.

“Screw this,” she said. She sat up and tossed her feet over the edge of the bed, lightly stepping onto the soft rug that covered the worn hardwood floor. She walked across the bedroom and pulled her robe from the hook on the back of the door. It was soft and warm as she wrapped it around her. She walked out of her bedroom and across her living room into the quaint and tidy kitchen. She turned on the coffee machine, and the red light glowed in the dark kitchen. She walked back through her bedroom and into the bathroom, turning on the light and staring into the mirror. Her dark brown hair was messy and fell across her face. She looked into her tired blue eyes and rubbed them again.

“You need more sleep,” she said. She turned around and got undressed.

“Well maybe I’d get more sleep if I wasn’t having these crazy dreams.” She walked past her small pile of clothes on the checkered tile floor and hung her robe back on the hook. She leaned into the tub, turned the faucet on, and pulled the water transfer up to turn the shower head on. She adjusted the water temperature, making it as warm as possible. She carefully stepped into the claw foot tub and pulled the plastic curtain closed around her.  She put her face under the shower head. The water was so hot that her face quickly turned red, and she changed position to let the water run down her back. After washing her hair, she shaved her legs and under her arms. She slowly lathered soap over her entire body, and let the suds slowly run down her skin. She closed her eyes and her mind drifted off to her dream from that morning. The memory of her warm skin, naked and glowing in the candlelight. The feeling of sweat on her skin, and her stomach full of nervous excitement. She could almost hear the drumming. Suddenly the water was cold, and she opened her eyes.

“Jesus!” she cried as she quickly turned off the water. She opened the curtain and peeled at the small clock ticking on the wall. “Six thirty!? How did I fall asleep standing up?” After the cold water had jolted her back to reality, she stepped out of the tub and wrapped the plush towel around her, appreciating the warmth.

She was dressed in an instant, throwing on some black pants and a red button up shirt. She went back into the bathroom and pulled her hair back onto a ponytail before clumsily brushing eyeshadow onto her eyelids. She attempted, unsuccessfully, to cover the circles under her eyes with some foundation before adding blush to her cheeks.

In the kitchen she poured coffee into her brown travel mug and grabbed her keys and jacket.

“Crap,” she said. “The cat.” She dropped her coat, put her mug on the counter, and rushed over to the small dish on the kitchen floor. She poured some dry food in.

“Eli! Food!” Then she rushed out the door, leaving her coffee on the counter.

CHAPTER TWO

EMILY WALKED UP the stairs and down the long dark hallway to the mailroom. She wasn’t a morning person, but her favorite time of day at B & H was in the morning before the building was bustling. The lights were low, or turned off all together. The halls were quiet, and the building felt peaceful. In her three years working there she had not made many friends. Dave, who ran the copy room, was the closest friend she had made. And he wasn’t even very close. The large building was slowly waking up, and eventually the florescent lights would be on throughout the entire building. She walked into the mailroom and put her coffee down on the counter.

“Starbucks today huh? Fancy,” Dave said with a smirk.

“I forgot my coffee at home,” Emily said. “I made it. I had it in my hand, then I walked out the door without it.” And I wasn’t going to drink your old plastic bucket coffee that smells like feet, she thought.

“One of those days I guess,” he said. “At least it’s Friday.”

“Yeah,” she said.

“Hey, can you go get the mail this morning? It hadn’t come yet when I got in and I have to get these orders printed out,” Dave said.

“Sure thing, boss,” Emily said.

Dave smiled at her and went back to the printer, walking past piles of binders and papers.

“What time did you get in this morning?” she asked.

“Early.” A smile formed below his thick mustache. He always came in early. He had been coming into work early for the last 15 years.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t in earlier to help you with these orders. I haven’t been sleeping well lately,” Emily said.

“It’s okay. I know you’ve been tired. Late nights?” Dave asked.

“No, actually. I have just…” she hesitated. “I have been having weird dreams.”

“Hmm,” Dave said. “Sorry to hear that.”

That was as personal as Dave would let the conversation get, and Emily knew that. That was fine with her. She wouldn’t know what more to say anyway. Emily took a large sip of her coffee and rubbed her forehead. She walked passed the old rolling cabinets and pushed the button to call the elevator up. The elevator arrived, and she pulled the doors open and pushed a plastic cart inside. She grunted as she pulled the doors closed.

“Another day in paradise,” she said.

The sun was shining brightly when Emily walked to her car. Work had been as boring as usual, but it went by quickly that day. She was in a fog most of the day, distracted and just going through the motions. A lot of the time she didn’t have to put much thought into her work. Her job mostly consisted of mindless tasks, and on days like today that was a good thing. She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. A picture of her mom smiled back at her from the screen.

She took a deep breath. “Hey Mom.”

“Hey Em. Are you at work?” Karen asked.

“I’m off. Walking to my car.” She opened her car door and sat inside, starting the car with her free hand before switching hands and closing the door.

“Oh good,” Karen said. “I was just calling to check in and see how you were doing. I have been thinking about you a lot lately, and I’ve been worried about you.”

“I’m okay Mom. Why have you been worried?” Emily said flatly.

“I don’t know, Honey. I just get these feelings sometimes. Motherly intuition, you know?” Karen said.

Emily rolled her eyes. Motherly my ass. She thought to herself. “I’m okay Mom,” she said.

“Are you really though? I really am worried about you,” Karen said.

Emily sighed. “I’m just really tired Mom. I haven't been getting any sleep. I keep having these crazy dreams and they wake me up almost every night, and then when I’m awake they distract me all day,” she said.

“Dreams?” Karen asked. The line went silent for a moment. “What kind of dreams have you been having?”

“I don’t want to talk about it, Mom,” she said. “They are just really weird.” She heard her mother start to say something then stop. “What Mom? What were you going to say?” Emily asked. She was losing her patience quickly, like she always did when she spoke to her mother.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Karen said. “I…” She paused as she considered what to say to her daughter. “I was just going to ask more about the dreams. They must be bad if they are keeping you awake so often. Can you tell me anything about them? Maybe I can help somehow.”

Emily sat in her car and stared at the steering wheel. She pressed her lips together. Maybe I should just tell her, she thought. What can it hurt? I need to talk to someone about it.

“Okay Mom,” she started. “I’ll tell you. But I can’t even tell you about all of them. There are too many.”

“Sure,” Karen said. “Whatever you can remember.”

“Well, I remember all of them. I have been writing them down in a journal for the last few months, but they have been happening longer than that,” Emily said. She pulled out of her parking spot and started driving. “I’m driving now so bear with me. I don’t even know what to say, Mom. I don’t know what you can do to help.”

“Why don’t you just describe the last dream you had?” Karen said.

“I was sitting naked in a room. I could hear drumming and I could smell smoke, and I heard chanting outside of the door. And I was waiting for something. I know that I was waiting for something. I know what happens next now that I am awake, because a lot of the dreams seem to fit together like puzzle pieces. And they repeat themselves. But in the dreams, sometimes I have no idea what’s coming next. Does that make sense?” she said.

“Yeah I suppose,” her mother said. “What comes next?”

“I should let you go, Mom. I’m sorry.” Emily felt embarrassed and awkward after opening up to her mother. She also felt guilty because she knew her mother was just trying to be there for her somehow. But neither of them knew what they were doing with each other. It had always been awkward like this. And every time Emily tried to push past it and try to get to a new place, she failed and they ended up in the same place they had always been.

Karen ignored Emily’s suggestion to get off the phone. “You know, Em.” Karen said, “You could look up some information on dreams. Dream interpretations? Have you looked into that?”

“A little bit. I mean, that’s why I started the journal. To try to make sense of them,” Emily said.

“Why don’t you read up on dreams and dream interpretations and see what you can find,” Karen said. “Take what you have in your book and see what kind of stuff lines up with it.”

“Okay Mom. I’ll do that,” Emily said. “I really should go now. Thanks for talking.”

“Okay honey. I love you,” Karen said, sounding defeated. “I hope you sleep better tonight.”

“Yep. Okay, bye,” Emily said and ended the call. She threw the phone in the passenger’s seat. “Have you tried interpreting the dreams?” She repeated her mom, mockingly. She drove and tried to clear her mind. Her mom’s words repeated in her head and Emily realized she actually hadn’t tried interpreting any of her dreams. She meant to. She got the journal and she was doing really well recording all of her dreams for that specific purpose. But she hadn’t actually done anything with it yet.

“Okay Mom, you win,” she said.

Emily unlocked her apartment door and saw Eli sitting in the hallway to greet her.

“There you are. How was your day?” she asked. Eli meowed at her and turned around, perking his tail and rear end up at her cheerfully. She pet him and put her things down. She sat at her desk in the small living room and Eli jumped up on her lap. She unlocked her computer and opened up an internet browser. She googled “dream interpretation” and scanned through the overwhelming amount of results. Feeling frustrated, she sat back in her chair and stared at the glowing computer screen. None of this was going to help. She googled “naked dancing” and was flooded with photos that did not look anything like her dreams.

“That is NOT what I meant,” she said. And closed the tab. Her dreams had not been pornographic. They were sexy, maybe. But not pornographic. They were exciting. They were emotional. She still couldn’t put words to how they made her feel or why she couldn’t get them out of her head. She went into her bedroom and grabbed her black book from the nightstand. Sitting back at the desk, she opened the book and flipped through the pages, searching for something she could look up. Reading through the pages, she felt the dreams manifesting around her. She didn’t need the book. It was all in her head. She could put the snippets of each dream together and move around in-between them all, like a movie. She could smell the incense, feel the warmth, she could see the candlelit bodies moving around her. The glowing skin and flowing hair. She concentrated and was standing in front of a short square table in the middle of a room. On top of the table there were candles, statues, an ornate cup, a knife, a long wooden stick, a small bell, and two bowls. Underneath it all was a large five pointed star inside a circle carved and burned into the wooden table.

She opened her eyes. “it's an altar!” she said. She sat up straight and eagerly typed into the search bar. “Altar” returned nothing but images of churches. She typed “five pointed star” into the search bar. Pictures of stars filled the page, but none of them looked like the star carved into the table. She added “altar” to the end of the search phrase. And there it was. That was the star she saw. It was a pentagram. A burst of energy flooded through her body. She recognized that image like she had known it all her life. Now she was getting somewhere.  She googled “pentagram”.

A preview of a search result appeared, and Emily read out loud, “A pentagram has magical associations.” She clicked the link and was brought to a Wikipedia page for pentagram. She scrolled down the page, reading the headers impatiently. She didn’t want to waste any time on useless information. She felt like she was finally getting somewhere and was not ready to slow down. The words Modern Occultism jumped out at her. She clicked on a link in the text for Aleister Crowley. A black and white image of a bald, grumpy looking man stared at her from the corner of the screen. Occultist. Ceremonial magician. Magic.

“Magic,” she whispered. Her stomach growled and Eli looked up at her from her lap. She looked away from the computer screen to see that the sun had set. The living room was dark, and she was starving. She had to eat something. She gently placed Eli on the floor and walked into the kitchen. Finding nothing to eat in her fridge, her stomach growled again. She opened her cupboard and grabbed a pop tart. She poured herself a glass of water and brought what she knew was a sorry excuse for a dinner back to the computer. I’m not sleeping, I may as well eat like garbage too, she thought. Crumbs fell onto the desk, and she chewed as she googled “Occult.” The search bar filled in “stores near me” after occult. She held her breath and pressed enter.

She was surprised to see such a large number of results. There were at least six occult shops in her immediate area. She clicked on the first result. The website for the store called The Cottage was clunky and dated. It looked as it if hadn’t changed since it was built in the 90’s. She clicked around and found nothing helpful so she went back to the search results page, clicking on the Google page for The Cottage. Five star reviews, some photos of the inside, contact information and the business hours. That is all she needed. She finished her glass of water and decided she was going to visit the store in the morning when they opened. Maybe she would find a book that would be of some help. Or perhaps she would talk someone who would know about this kind of thing. She scribbled the name and address on a post-it note. It wasn’t very far away from her place. Just a mile or two south of her apartment.

Emily got up and began to get ready for bed. She felt a satisfying calm inside of her gut that she hadn’t felt in some time. A strange kind of relief. She felt like she was starting to get somewhere and had hope that she was going to learn more about these dreams, and maybe put an end to them. She laid in bed and closed her eyes. She fell asleep quickly, excited about putting these dreams to rest.

CHAPTER THREE

THE MAN MOANED on top of Claire and she stared up at him, emotionless as she rocked back and forth beneath him. She had wanted this. She initiated it even, going to the bar that night looking for a guy to go home with. But once it was happening she found herself with no drive to participate. This is how it usually went, and she couldn’t understand why she kept doing it. She knew what she thought was missing from her life, but she didn’t know how to get it. The easiest and least painful thing to do was to attempt to fulfill her physical needs. She had gotten good at ignoring her emotional ones. Her divorce the year before had been the most painful thing she had ever experienced, and she was too afraid to get close to anyone again. She couldn’t give anyone the chance to lose her trust if she never trusted anyone in the first place. He finished and rolled over next to her, breathing heavily. She didn’t move, and once his face was out of her view she just continued to stare at the ceiling. She wanted to go home.

Claire climbed off of the bed, walked across the room, and picked up a glass of water. The man laying on the bed watched her closely, admiring her as she took a drink. He put his arms behind his head and smiled. Claire could feel his eyes on her body.

“Why are you smiling?” she asked him.

“How did you know I was smiling?” he asked.

Claire turned around. “A lady never reveals her secrets,” she said. What else could she say? Tell him he just had sex with a witch? That she knew what he was feeling before he even felt it? She couldn’t pick up everyone all the time, but she may as well have had eyes in the back of her head tonight, this guy was so easy to read. She began picking up her clothes from the floor, putting on each item as she went.

“Are you leaving already?” he asked. “I was hoping you would stay the night.”

“I have to get up early in the morning,” she lied.

“I could get up early with you. I’ll make you breakfast,” he said, sitting up.

Claire looked at his face and wasn’t sure what to say. He was actually upset, although he was trying to hide it. And he was really cute. And she had enjoyed herself that evening. Maybe she could stay this time. She could end it in the morning.

“You’re sweet, but I really have to go,” she said. She felt the tinge of guilt immediately. But she was getting used to the feeling. A little bit of guilt was a small price to pay for security. Her heart couldn’t be broken if she kept it to herself.

“Okay, I understand,” he said. He got up and put on a pair of shorts. “Can I call you? I’d like to see you again.”

“Yeah, that would be fun,” she said, knowing full well she would never speak to this man again. She opened the front door. “Thanks for the drinks, Kyle.”

“It’s Kevin,” he said.

“Right. Sorry.” She bit her lip and turned to leave. Under her breath she whispered, “Obliviscatur.”

“What did you say?” he asked. The door closed behind her. She heard him shift behind the door. She felt his memory of the night fade into fog.

Claire unlocked her front door, trying to open the door as silently as possible. It groaned to a loud creak and she held her breath, waiting for the silence to take the room back. She closed the door slowly and crept into the kitchen, stepping on all the right spots to avoid any touchy floorboards. The clock ticked in the kitchen. 4:30am. She stared at the room, admiring the stillness. She wondered if she should have another drink, or just go to bed. She was suddenly aware of how silly the thought was, and wondered what kind of person that made her. She sighed as she walked over to the counter, grabbed a glass, and poured herself some whiskey. It burned in her throat, and she closed her eyes and tasted it deeply, feeling it make its way to her stomach.

“What the fuck are you doing, Claire?” she asked herself out loud. The sound of her voice cracking in the silence set her on edge. She finished the whiskey and slowly made her way to the couch in the living room. She sunk into the couch and felt her muscles finally relax. She pulled one pillow from her feet and put it in between her legs. She grabbed another pillow from behind her back and placed it under her head. She closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

CHAPTER FOUR

EMILY LAID IN bed, warm under her covers. She heard a noise and opened her eyes to see the light in the bathroom was on, glowing yellow underneath the door. In an instant she noticed she was naked. I went to sleep wearing clothes, she thought. She quickly realized she was dreaming. She relaxed a bit, relieved at the fact that she wasn’t in any danger, and anxious about a new dream. The bathroom light clicked off and the door opened. The room was dark, and all she could make out was the outline of a naked woman. The woman’s blonde hair glowed lightly in the small amount of moonlight that entered the room. Emily tried to think of who this person could be, and couldn’t place her. Her face was unrecognizable in the dark, along with her slim and perfectly curvy silhouette.

“Hey babe, sorry to wake you,” the woman said.

“Um, it’s okay,” Emily answered.

The woman crawled into bed, and her cold skin pressed up against Emily’s. “I’m cold,” she whispered. “Can you warm me up?”

Emily felt her stomach flutter. She was nervous and didn’t know what to say. The woman put her hand on Emily’s face, turning her head towards hers, and kissed her lips. Emily’s stomach dropped, and she stopped breathing for a moment. A small sound escaped her throat, and she lost herself in the kiss. It was slow and deep and more intimate than she had ever felt. As they kissed, Emily heard a thought race through her head. I love you. I love you so much. She wrapped her arms around the woman and caressed her soft skin. She ran her hands up her back and then down to her butt. The woman’s hips pressed hard against Emily and she grabbed her butt firmly, pulling her in tightly and as close as possible. The woman got on top of Emily, straddling her as she moved her hand from Emily’s face to her breast. She squeezed it gently as she kissed Emily’s neck and moved down to her nipple. Her tongue danced over Emily’s pink skin, and Emily felt her nipple harden in the woman’s mouth. Her heart was beating out of her chest, and she couldn’t help but thrust her hips up into the woman, feeling her getting warmer. She pulled the woman’s face back up to hers and they kissed. Emily’s hand moved around the woman’s body and she felt her hand slip inside her. The woman moaned with pleasure, and Emily felt her stomach flutter again. The woman slid her hand inside of Emily, and they moved together as one. Thrusting into each other and pressing even deeper inside the other. Suddenly Emily felt warm waves rising inside of her, building up from her legs. They rose higher until her entire body tensed. She felt the woman tense on top of her and they moaned quietly in unison. Emily lost control of her voice. She cried out louder and saw a burst of light inside her eyelids as she screamed and writhed. The woman screamed with her, and they trembled in each other’s arms. Emily’s ears rang and she couldn’t hear anything. She felt a ripple of pleasure pass over her body as the woman’s heart raced on her chest. They were entangled together, breathing heavily.

The woman on top of her whispered, “I love you, Emily Quinn.”

Emily opened her eyes, alone in bed. Her body was warm and sticky with sweat, and her heart pounded loudly in her chest. Limbs weak, she let out a deep breath and looked at her bathroom door, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the light. The door was open and the light was off.

“Oh my God,” she said. “What was that? Who was that?” She stared up at the ceiling and felt her heartbeat return to a normal rhythm. This was a brand new dream. She needed to write it down. She turned on her bedside lamp and scribbled down her memory as quickly as possible. She tried to remember the details of the woman, but beyond her hair color and her figure, she was unsure of how to capture the aspects that stuck with her the most. The way she smelled. The sound of her voice, soft and loving. A British accent. Emily didn’t know how to capture that in writing, and she wanted to hold onto it somehow. She looked at the words she wrote and they looked empty. Out of all of her crazy dreams so far, she had never experienced one like this. She suddenly missed this person. This woman she didn’t know. Her smell, and her voice, and her body up against her own. She missed the feeling in her gut. The heat and the flutter and the utterly unconditional love. She needed more. She needed to find this stranger.

CHAPTER FIVE

SUNLIGHT CREPT INTO the living room. It shined through the blinds, creating lines on the wooden floor and slowly inching closer and closer to Claire who was sleeping peacefully on the couch. The house was beginning to fill up with sound. Running water, dishes rattling, and food sizzling in a pan on the stove. Claire woke to the sound of a large clang, as a pan was dropped on the counter.

“Trying to sleep in here!” she yelled into the kitchen.

“You might sleep better in your BED! In your ROOM! Upstairs! With the door closed!” Jeremy replied. He smiled to himself and pushed the eggs around in the pan. He picked up the pan and dropped it on the burner two more times, just to annoy Claire.

“I like my COUCH!” she yelled. She pulled the pillow from under her head and pressed it over her face and ears.

Jeremy and Claire had been roommates for three years, but it felt like it had been much longer than that. Besides the frequent bickering, they had a bond better than most brothers and sisters, and they found that they lived well together. Jeremy finished the eggs and turned off the burner. He poured coffee into a large black mug and walked into the living room, before sitting on the couch next to Claire.

“What’d you do last night?” he asked.

Claire mumbled underneath the pillow. Jeremy pulled it off of her face and she squinted, hiding her face with her hands.

“I just went out for some drinks,” she said.

Jeremy touched her shoulder, closed his eyes and concentrated. In his mind he saw fuzzy images of a man at a bar. “Any forgettable encounters with attractive unsuspecting men?” he smirked. Claire was silent. “You know, you have a lot of other things you could be putting your energy into that don’t involve glamouring random men and women. If you’re not using your energy to better your situation, you could at least be saving it. You look… rough.”

“Wow, thanks for the pep talk. I told you I don’t like you digging around in my head. It’s rude,” Claire said. She looked at him through her fingers and he was looking down at her lovingly, a small smile in the corner of his mouth.

“I’m just saying. It takes a lot out of you, and for what?” he asked.

“We had a good time, okay? And he will remember having a fun night, but he won’t miss me. It’s a win win for everyone.” She moved her hands down from her face. “Is that coffee in that cup?”

“Yep,” he said.

“It smells good. Is it for me?” she asked.

“Nope,” he smiled.

“Can you bring me some?”

“Your legs work,” he said.

“Pleeeeease?” she begged, turning her lips down into a sad puppy face. Jeremy put the pillow back over her face. He got up and walked back into the kitchen. Claire grabbed the pillow and threw it across the room at Jeremy. It landed softly right behind his feet as he entered the kitchen.

“See, you’re weak now. Maybe if you would have saved your energy you’d have hit me,” he said.

“I’m weak because I’m tired!” she yelled at him. She didn’t move from the couch and stared across the room, wondering what time it was. She thought about the man from the night before and wondered if she’d see him again. Sighing, she pushed the thought out of her mind and sat up. Her body ached and she felt exhausted. It had to be at least 11:00, because Jeremy never got up before 10 unless he had to. She shouldn’t be this tired for the amount of sleep she got. She worried Jeremy might be right, and maybe her habits were starting to drain her too much. She did have other things she needed to be focusing on. She hadn’t had a show in months, let alone painted anything new. She’d be out of money soon and something had to give. Her body cracked in no less than four places as she slowly stood up from the couch. She wanted to go back to bed but she knew she had to accomplish something today, and the smell of coffee was pulling her into the kitchen.

“How late are you working tonight?” she asked Jeremy. She grabbed her favorite mug and filled it with coffee. She watched the steam dance and rise until it disappeared.

“Till eight. I’ll be back in time for circle, don’t worry.”

“That’s cutting it close,” she said.

“I know. But I had to cover for Liz today. Eight is the earliest I can do. I’ll get back as fast as I can,” he said.

“Oh and don’t forget candles. We’re out,” she added.

“Yep,” he said. “I remember. Are you hungry?” he asked.

“Ravenous, actually.”

He put two plates on the table and sat down. “Here you are, Miss,” he said. She sat across from him and looked at the plate. Scrambled eggs, buttered toast, and crispy bacon.

She took a bite of everything on the plate and she could feel her energy returning. “You’re an amazing man,” she said.

He looked up at her, chewing loudly. “Damn straight.”

CHAPTER SIX

EMILY WOKE UP to the soft glow of morning enveloping her small apartment, and the lapping sounds of Eli drinking water out of his dish in the hallway. She felt refreshed, having had a solid six hours of uninterrupted sleep for the first time in recent memory. But instead of feeling relief at the fact that she had finally had a good night's sleep, she was disappointed that she hadn't dreamt about the mystery woman again. She tried to hear the woman’s voice in her head, but nothing came. She rolled over and smelled her pillow, hoping beyond belief that somehow her scent was left behind from the encounter the night before. But she knew it had only been in her head. It just felt more real than anything had before, either asleep or awake. It felt more like a memory than a dream. She sat up and remembered that she was going to go visit the occult shop today. She had been so excited about the prospect when she went to sleep and now that feeling was gone, replaced with a longing that was foreign to her. She will still go, though. She knew that the dream from last night didn’t erase the dreams from the past few months. Even though she felt less motivated than she had been the night before, she decided to push herself to go. If anything, the errand would serve as a distraction from this woman in her head.

The wind was sharp and biting, and it blew the orange and yellow leaves across the sidewalk in front of the small and unassuming house. Emily parked her car on the street and peered through the passenger side window at the building. An old white house sat in between two one level brownstone commercial buildings. She had driven by this house probably a hundred times, but had never really noticed it before. It was charming and overflowing with character. The windows were filled with book displays, tarot cards, and candles. A chalkboard sign was propped up in the middle of the sidewalk, with three small pumpkins sitting at it’s base. A small witch was drawn on the sign, with the words “Welcome to the Cottage! Come in For a Spell” scrawled in calligraphy above it.

Emily took a deep breath. “Here we go,” she whispered. She stepped out of her car, and locked her door.

She pushed the green door open and struggled for a second. It was heavier than it looked. Bells jingled from a hook on the inside of the door, and the smell of incense hit her immediately. She knew that smell. It wasn’t the exact scent from her dreams, but it was still familiar somehow.

“Hey there! Welcome to the cottage,” a bearded man said from behind a small counter, flashing a large and friendly smile at her. “Let me know if I can help you with anything.”

“Okay, thank you,” Emily said, avoiding eye contact. She looked around and tried to get oriented with the space. Bookshelves lined every wall, along with counters and display cases full of curiosities. She walked through the first main room to find a miniature labyrinth of rooms, all filled with books and various items. She began to feel overwhelmed and unsure of where exactly she should look.

This was a stupid idea. She thought to herself. I should go. She turned around and started towards the door, when the man from behind the counter stepped around the corner in front of her. Emily almost walked right into him.

“Oh my God I’m sorry!” she said. She pulled her hair back behind her ear and looked up at the clerk. She felt small and suddenly very shy standing in front of him. It wasn’t that he was extremely tall, he was probably only a few inches taller than her. But his shoulders were wide and he held himself with an air of confidence. It was oddly alluring to Emily, which was strange since she wasn’t attracted to men. Especially men that were this masculine.

“No, I’m sorry. I should know better by now than to go walking around these dang corners so fast. We really need to get some round mirrors up in here,” he said. He had dark blonde hair that was long and overgrown. It covered his ears and blended into his dark blonde-reddish beard. His eyes were a bright and shocking blue, and they lit up when he smiled at her. “My name is Jeremy. You look a little overwhelmed. Is there something specific you’re looking for?”

“Um, I’m not exactly, uh sure,” Emily stuttered. “I was uh, looking for some books on dreams maybe? And maybe some books on other things. I don’t know.”

“Dreams, huh? I got you.” He shot her finger guns and spun around. "Follow me.”

Jeremy led her down the narrow hallway, taking a right into one of the rooms. Emily followed slowly, looking around at the walls and shelves. She walked past a tapestry hanging on the wall. It was forest green with black print. Celtic knot work surrounded a large pentacle. She admired the cloth and the shape from her dreams flashed in her mind.

“Okay. Here are some books we have on dreams and dream interpretations. And if you’re feeling really wild we also have a lot of books on astral projection and shamanic path working.” He gestured to the shelves, pointing out each small category as he spoke.

“I’m not really familiar with any of those things,” she said. “I’m really just looking for information on dreams right now. Is there a specific book you could recommend?”

Jeremy bit his lip and ran his hands up and down his blue flannel shirt, before putting his hands in his back pockets.

“This is really bad of me to say, since I work here and I’m supposed to sell you stuff. But honestly, if you’re into learning more about your dreams you don't need any of these books. They’re all useless.”

Wonderful. Emily thought to herself. “Okay,” she said. “Then what exactly would you recommend?”

“Well you see, dreams are very personal and unique to each subconscious. There is no one book that can tell you what your dreams mean, because the same dream can mean very different things for different people. I would recommend keeping a very detailed dream journal.” Jeremy said.

Emily felt her lips turn down while the feeling of this being a giant mistake hardened in her gut.

“Once you have a few months of dreams logged,” he continued, “you can go back and start picking out specific images and themes that you find repeat themselves in your dreams. From that you can create your own index.” He stopped himself. He looked down at her and noticed she suddenly looked very defeated. “Did I say something to upset you?” he asked.

“No,” she said. “It’s just that I have been doing exactly that for months and it doesn't seem like it has gotten me anywhere.”

His eyes perked up and he snapped his fingers. “You know what? There is a book that explains the process really well. Better than I could honestly. Dreams aren’t so much my thing. Follow me this way.” He walked past her and head into another room.

“You know it's really okay,” Emily called after him. She sighed and started following him into the next room. “I appreciate the effort, but I don’t think you’re going to be able to help me.”

He pulled a large blue book of a shelf and turned around to present it to her. “Now don’t let the title scare you. This book is kind of a classic. It’s full of a lot of garbage and misleading information, but in between a lot of that is some really good stuff. There is a whole section on dreams and how to make your own dream index.” Jeremy handed the large book to Emily. She looked down at the blue cover and immediately noticed the large pentacle in the middle of the cover. The title read Stagburg's Complete Guide to Witchcraft. She wasn't sure what to say. She had come in hoping to learn about dreams. But feeling much too nervous to mention that her dreams seem to be about magic, and this guy hands her a book with an image right from her dreams on the cover.

Witchcraft? She thought to herself. “You seem to carry a lot of garbage,” she said, still staring at the book.

Jeremy laughs. “Well I am a bit biased,” he said. “We do carry a lot of really amazing stuff. And like I said, this is a classic. I just like to remind folks that there are pros and cons to anything. You can’t believe everything you read, but you also shouldn’t completely ignore a book just because some of it is a bit outdated. Or misleading. Or just completely and totally wrong.”

“So how do you know so much about this stuff? What’s good and what isn’t?” She looked up at him.

Jeremy’s confidence shifted to nervousness and he opened his mouth, pausing before answering her. “Uh, you know… working here for so long. You learn a lot of things.”

Almost as if his confidence transferred to Emily, she started to feel a little bolder. Her shyness began to fade.

“I just find it strange that I came in here looking for something that I was too nervous to ask about and you just handed me a book about it,” she said.

He pulled his head back and looked at her at an angle. “Really?” he asked, “You said you were looking for books about dreams.”

“I am. Or, I was,” she said, “But my dreams seem to have something to do with magic. They had this symbol in them.” She traced her finger along the pentacle embossed on the cover.

“Interesting,” Jeremy said. Very interesting, he thought. “But you don’t know anything about this stuff? Magic? Witchcraft?” he asked.

Emily laughed. “No. Not at all. I mean a feel a little silly standing in here at all. Two days ago I would have told you that magic is when an actor pulls a rabbit out of a hat. Make believe. Like witches.”

“Well, like I said, you can’t believe everything you read. Some people would argue that witches are very real,” he said. “Witchcraft is as old as humanity, really. Every culture has practiced witchcraft in some form or another. It just goes by different names.”

“And you know all this just from working here?” Emily asked. She was still feeling oddly confident. And she began to notice that she felt extremely comfortable talking to Jeremy. It felt like they were old friends.

Jeremy noticed it too. He was always friendly with customers, usually borderline flirty. Even with male customers. But he was feeling an urge to be strangely honest with Emily about things he usually kept very private. He had felt this way in the past and it usually meant that he needed to go with his gut.

“You know, I’m a horrible salesman for even suggesting this, but you could skip buying this book altogether and we could talk about all of this stuff over coffee or something,” he said, immediately feeling like he went too far.

“Are you asking me out on a date?” she said, disappointingly.

He waved his hands in front of his chest and stepped back a few inches. “No. No not at all,” Jeremy said. “I mean- not that I wouldn’t want to ask you on a date, you’re very pretty and all. But I’m really just trying to be nice. I feel like maybe I can help you figure out what’s going on.” Jeremy scratched his beard nervously.

“Ah, I see. Well that’s good. Because I’m into women,” she said.

“Perfect!” Jeremy said. “Sorry, I just mean-”

Emily chuckled and interrupted him, “It’s okay.” She looked down at the book again and then back at Jeremy. She was surprised she was even considering his offer. Maybe she could just buy this book and try the dream stuff it said. She might even learn more about what she is seeing in her dreams. Would it be weirder to buy a book on witchcraft, or to meet up with a total stranger to discuss witchcraft? All of the courage that had been building inside of Emily began to dissolve, and she began to feel as crazy as she felt when she entered the store.

“You know, I appreciate the invitation. Thank you.” She handed the book back to Jeremy. “But I’m going to have to pass.”

“Oh, okay. No problem,” Jeremy said. He put the book back on the shelf and started walking to the front counter. He grabbed a business card for the shop and wrote his phone number on the back. “Let me give you my number. No pressure at all, but if you do happen to change your mind, or if you think of a specific question, just call or text me. Anytime.” He handed the card to Emily, smiling warmly at her. She took the card and thanked him.

As she was making her way through the door, the bells jingled again above her head and she heard Jeremy yell behind her.

“Do come back soon, dream girl!”

Emily felt her cheeks turn red and she smiled to herself, not looking back to see his face.

CHAPTER SEVEN

CLAIRE’S HAIR WAS wet and braided into tight pigtails. In a pink terry cloth robe, she vacuumed the large rug in the living room. Paint it Black by The Rolling Stones blared loudly through the television speakers, and a misty layer of incense was floating slightly below the ceiling of the entire first floor. She finished vacuuming and shoved the vacuum into the hall closet. The door wouldn’t close, so she leaned her whole body into it, pushing it harder until it clicked.  She ran up the staircase, taking two steps at a time. In her room she removed her robe, and hung it on a hook on the back of her bedroom door. Walking over to an old floral armchair in the corner of her room, she shuffled through a pile of clean clothes draped over the back of it. She chose a pair of soft black sweatpants, pulling them on as she shifted back and forth to pull them up over her hips. She grabbed an old blue shirt and pulled it over her head. As she walked back down the stairs, Jeremy entered through the front door carrying a small brown bag.

“You’re home! Did you remember the candles?” Claire asked him.

“Yes Ma’am!” Jeremy said. He tossed her the bag and she jumped forward fast, bending down and barely catching them before they hit the floor.

“Dude!” she yelled at him. “You could have broken them!”

“But you caught them!” he chuckled. “Cat like reflexes, I tell ya.”

Claire rolled her eyes and brought the candles into the dining room. “They’re going to be here any minute,” she said. “Can you help me get the room set up?”

Jeremy was already halfway up the stairs. “I’m just going to shower real quick and I’ll be back down to help.”

Claire set the candles on a large mantle that was mounted on a wall in the dining room. The room was virtually empty except for a small table against a blank wall, and four large pillars sitting in each corner of the room. She bent down to her hands and knees in the dining room and began rolling up the rug in the dining room. As she rolled the rug a large white circle painted on the hardwood floor was revealed. She strained to pull the rug up on its end, and she took quick short steps as she carried it into the small side hallway and leaned it in the corner. She walked back into the room and one by one, grabbed each pillar. They are so tall they reach her shoulders, and dried white wax dropped down every side. She placed them on the circle. One for East, South, West, and North. She pushed a new candle into each pillar as the doorbell rang.

Claire turned the music down and yelled, “You may enter!” She looked to the door to see Tanner and Olivia walking in together, each with a bag in one hand and a small locked box in the other. Tanner was tall and slim. He wore a long gray coat and black dress shoes. Underneath his thick eyebrows, square black glasses framed his blue eyes. His brown hair was trimmed short, and it blended into his short manicured beard. He smiled and hugged Claire. She could smell cologne on his neck and could make out the fresh detergent scent that lingered on his shirt. Olivia stood just behind Tanner. She was wearing a green velvet coat, and her black dreadlocks were pulled back by a thick leather band into a low ponytail. Her eyes lit up when she saw Claire and she smiled wide, showing all of her perfect teeth. Claire always loved her smile, and thought that it made her appear innocent and unassuming. Her positivity radiated off her so much that she improved people’s moods wherever she went. Others could feel it, but Claire could actually see it. A soft yellow and green glow hovered around her, and it ignited a rare kind of happiness in Claire. They hugged and kissed each other’s cheeks.

“Hello loves,” Claire said. “You can bring the food into the kitchen. I was just getting the circle room ready and Jeremy should be down in a minute.”

Tanner and Olivia took off their shoes and set their heavy briefcases on the floor. They carried their paper bags into the kitchen, and emptied an array of food onto the table that sat in the middle of the kitchen. They met Claire back in the living room and took a seat.

Jeremy came back downstairs, his hair wet and hanging in his face. “Hey guys,” he said as he walked into the living room. He hugged Olivia and Tanner. “Where’s Allison?”

“She texted me that she was going to be five or ten minutes late,” Claire said.

“What’s new?” Tanner said. “She’s always late.”

Olivia looked at Tanner and smiled. “And we love her anyway,” she said.

Just then the front door opened and Allison stepped inside. “Sorry I’m late guys. You wouldn’t believe what happened to me on my way over here.”

As she spoke she kicked her shoes off and carried a bag of chips into the kitchen. As she walked farther away, she yelled so everyone could hear her, and continued talking. She was short and wore a thick brown and black flannel shirt. She had dark reddish brown hair that wound in tight curls and bounced at ear level, sometimes covering her freckled face and round cheeks. Her dark brown eyes became wider as she spoke.

“I was pulling out of the parking lot at the gas station, and this dude just walks right out in front of me. He’s wearing all black so I can barely see him and I slam on my breaks, right?” She plops down on a large cushion on the floor. “And right when I slam on my breaks- just barely missing this guy, this jerk in a pickup truck slams into the back of my car.” She slaps her hands together and the four of them jump with surprise. “He gets out of his truck and starts yelling at me, calling my a lazy dyke and all that. I actually have to call the police on this dude.”

Tanner looked at her, with no emotion on his face and said, “You do know that you need to call the police whenever you have an accident, right?”

Allison stared back at him for a moment, ignoring that he said anything at all before she continued. “So the cops come and I forget that my insurance lapsed. I am freaking out, right?”

“So how are you not in jail?” Claire asked.

“Turns out Danielle paid for my insurance last month and it’s all up to date,” Allison laughed. “I was so freaked though you guys, it was crazy.”

“Well I’m glad you got here safely,” Jeremy said. “That all sounds pretty uh, pretty crazy.”

“Yeah so sorry I’m late. What did I miss?” Allison said.

“Nothing actually,” Claire said. “We all just sat down and then you got here.”

Tanner shifted in his seat. “Since we pushed the time back a little bit, we should probably get started soon. The sun is down and I can’t stay too late tonight. I’m swamped at work right now.”

“Sure, no problem,” Jeremy said. “Before we start though, I do want to mention that I met a woman at the shop today that was really interesting.”

“Blonde or brunette?” Claire asked, grinning.

“Brunette,” he said. “But no! Not like that.” He scratched his beard and brushed his hair out of his eyes. “No like, I got the vibe from her. Like I know her. Like she’s one of us.”

“Ahh.” Claire shook her head and rolled her eyes dramatically. “Just what we need, another woman in the coven.”

“I’m fine with another woman in the coven.” Allison held her finger up as if she was voting. A huge smile on her face.

“Is Danielle fine with another woman in the coven?” Olivia joked at her. Allison quickly brushed her hand toward Olivia, pretending to dust the comment away.

“Does she practice?” Tanner asked.

“No actually. I don’t think she knows anything about any of this really. She seemed confused and really uncomfortable in the store.”

“Confused and really uncomfortable, perfect!” Claire said. She looked down at her sweatpants and played with a loose thread, twirling it around her finger and pulling it tight until her finger turned red. Jeremy shot her an annoyed look.

“So are you going to see her again?” Olivia asked, attempting to break the tension between the two of them.

“I hope so. I gave her my number. It isn’t often I get the kind of vibe I got from her today. So yeah, I hope she gets in touch with me.”

“Sounds promising,” Tanner said. “Shall we get started?”

“Impatient, are we?” Allison asked.

“No it’s all good,” Jeremy said. “Claire did you have anything to add before we start?”

“I’m good,” she said. She didn’t look up from her finger.

“Alright then,” Jeremy said slowly. “Let’s do this.” He crossed the room and pulled the living room curtain closed. The hooks made a sharp metal sound as they slid across the curtain rod. Tanner got up and closed the curtains on the opposite window. Claire stood up from the couch and walked to a large chest in the hallway. She traced her finger down her necklace, and pulled a key out from underneath her shirt. She unlocked the chest and began carrying items to the small table in the dining room. Olivia helped her. Allison stood up and started removing her clothes.

“Dude we aren’t ready yet,” Jeremy laughed at Allison. “I thought Tanner was the inpatient one tonight.”

“Well I’m just doing my part. I know time is tight tonight.” She looks at Tanner. “Right Tanner? Uptight. I mean, tight?” She jabbed him on the shoulder as he passed her.

He smirked but tried to hide it. “Ha ha Allison. You’re a comedic genius,” he said flatly.

“That’s what I’m always telling you guys!” she said.

“Really though Allison, the curtains aren’t all closed yet,” Olivia pointed out to her as she helped Claire arrange the items on the table.

Jeremy closed the curtain on the front door and said, “There, you’re good now. Let’s make some magic, shall we?”

CHAPTER EIGHT

IT WAS A full moon that night, which was always good for business. June sat at her reading table across from a pretty young woman who came in that night asking about her soul mate. Love was what people asked about the most, even when they tried to play it off like they were there for another reason. She understood this. She knew how loneliness could eat away at a person. She had been a widow for the last nine years, and it still hadn’t gotten any easier. She hated sleeping alone. She hated living alone. So her job was a kind of salvation for her. She had been reading tarot cards for over forty years and she was incredible at it. She saw it as a way to help people, and it helped her fight loneliness. She got to sit with new people every day and got to know them a little through the cards. Once she saw their story spread out on her purple velvet cloth, sometimes she was able to help them. Before she started doing readings full time, she had a lot of students. But she appreciated the steady stream of company that her business provided. Fascination with the occult had picked up recently and she was happy to take part in the boom. She converted her front porch to a small little shop that she opened to the public. Rumors about her spread quickly, the real witch on 34th street, and her reputation brought in the customers. At first she was nothing more than a strange curiosity, but once word spread that she was incredibly accurate, things really took off.

Tonight had been busy and she planned to close up after this client. What she thought was going to be a quick and easy reading started feeling very strange. She picked up an odd vibe from the woman when she came in, but she told herself the woman was probably just inebriated. That could mess with people’s auras and change the usual energy of a person. She was middle aged and very plain looking. She wasn’t dressed up, but she wasn’t dressed casually either. She took off her jean jacket and hugged it in front of her.

“Welcome,” June said kindly. “Please sit down.” The woman looked around the space and walked in slowly. She was smiling, but she didn’t seem happy to be there. She looked around the room. The walls were covered in thick tapestries. Dark and earthy colors draped over bright royal hues. Two ornate lamps lit the space which was kept fairly dark. June sat at her oak table. The table was the shape of a half moon, and June sat on the flat side in her large arm chair. The table was carved with filigree details around the edges, and a candle sat near the edge. The woman sat down across from her, shifting in her chair uncomfortably, unable to focus on any one thing around the room. Her eyes darted all about. June sensed her becoming more uncomfortable.

“What’s your name, dear?” June asked her.

The woman looked at June and froze. “Um, my name is, Lynn.” She sat up straight.

June knew she was lying, but that was okay. Sometimes people lied about their names. A person will ask you to look deep into their lives. Their past and future. But they will be too nervous to tell you their real name.

“Okay, Lynn,” June said. “What can I help you with tonight?”

The woman focused her eyes on June and began to speak. “I’m here to find out about my soul mate,” she said, sounding as if she was reading a script.

“Is that right?” June asked. First she lied about her name and now she lied about why she was here. Two can play this game, deary, June thought. “Wonderful,” she said. June lit the candle. “A basic reading is thirty dollars.”

The woman put cash down on the table.

“Please think about your question and split this deck into three piles.” June unfolded a silk cloth and revealed a colorful worn tarot deck. She picked up the cards and shuffled them.

“I have to touch it?” the woman asked.

“Yes. You need to split the deck yourself. Is that okay?” She sat patiently and watched the woman.

“Okay, sure. That’s fine.” The woman hesitantly reached her hand towards the deck of cards and paused before she touched them. Her hand hovered inches above the cards and she looked back up at June. June gave her a reassuring look and nodded, as if to press her on. She picked up the cards and split them as she was instructed to do. She pulled her hand away from them as if the cards were toxic.

June squinted at her, trying to decipher exactly what was happening. She’d seen young kids come in as a joke. She’d seen skeptics come in with friends. She’d seen people completely hopeless, feeling like they had nowhere else to turn. But this woman didn’t fit into any of those categories. June closed her eyes and concentrated. She did a kind of psychic scan on the woman. Reaching out through her mind’s eye and reading her energy from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet. She could feel that the woman was scared. She seemed to be there under false pretenses. June began to turn each card over and place it in front of them on the silk cloth.

“The cards tell a story,” she said. “Even if you aren’t being truthful with yourself, the cards always tell the truth.” The first card that appeared showed dogs howling up at the moon. “The Moon,” she said, recognizing the hidden motives that the woman holds. The next card is flipped over and a woman sits at a thrown, upside down. “The High Priestess, reversed.” June read cunning and manipulative character in this card. The third card showed a man carrying swords. “The Seven of Swords.” Another card that reinforces the intuition she was already feeling. She flips the last card, which depicts the devil. “The Devil,” she said. It rounds out the previous cards with an extra layer of negativity. This woman is up to no good.

The woman stood up from the chair and stumbled backwards, frightened. “Why did you pull that card!? Why would you do that!?” she screamed.

June kept her voice calm and tried to soothe the woman, lifting her hand out to her gently. “It’s okay, please sit down and I can explain the cards to you,” she said. “Please don’t be afraid.”

The woman looked at June and started to walk forward before she stopped. “I don’t want to be here,” she said. “This wasn’t my idea.”

“Okay, dear. I’m sorry you are uncomfortable. If you like I can give you a refund. Either way you are more than welcome to leave at any time.”

“Okay, I lied. It was my idea,” she said, as her lips curled upwards into a smile that made June’s stomach turn.

“What do you mean?” June asked.

Before the woman could answer, she heard a thump behind her, coming from inside of her house. Instinctively she turned to look towards the sound. The woman lunged at her and pressed a cloth against her face. June struggled and pushed the woman off of her and onto the ground. She jumped over the woman to get to the porch door, and saw the front door to her house open out of the corner of her eye. Someone else had been inside her house. She reached for the door handle of the front porch and felt a shooting pain on her skull as a handful of her hair was grabbed. Her legs almost flew out underneath her and she fell to the floor, slamming her head on the ground. Her vision was blurry and she had to struggle to make out the image of a man standing over her. In the dark she couldn’t see his face. She reached up and brushed hair out of her eyes, trying to get her bearings and get back up to run away. She felt an explosion in her side as the woman kicked her in the rib.

“Fucking dirty witch,” she said.

“Let’s finish this up,” the man said from above her.

“No, please,” June whispered.

“Shut up!” The woman kicked her again, harder. June cried out in pain.

“Stop fucking kicking her!” the man whispered to the woman. “We need her to be quiet.”

June coughed and held her side in pain. She spit out blood.

“That’s why I brought this,” she said. She pulled out a bandana. “We can use it as a gag.” She bent over June. “Hold her arms down will you?” She tied the gag around June’s head.

“Now let’s get her inside,” the man said. He dragged her by the arms across the porch.

The woman smiled down at June and tilted her head to the side. She pulled a knife out of her bag. “We are gonna have some fun tonight, dear.” She aimed the knife and twisted it in the air towards June.

June tried to cry out but could barely make a sound without her side exploding in pain. All she could manage was a wince. Her head was killing her and she still couldn’t see straight. She was pulled into her dark house, and the woman quietly closed the front door behind them.

CHAPTER NINE

“I HAVE BEEN trying to call you all week. Where have you been?” Christopher asked over the phone. They had been talking for a half an hour before he finally asked her.

“Sorry, Dad,” Emily said. “I’ve been kind of out of it this week. I haven’t been sleeping well.” Emily laid on her couch with her feet up on the arm rest. Eli curled in a ball on her stomach, purring.

“I was worried about you. Why haven’t you been sleeping well?” he asked.

“Mom said she was worried about me too,” she said. “Why are you guys both worried about me all of the sudden?”

“Well, Em,” he said. “You just haven't been yourself lately. I’m sure your mother has noticed that as well. Do you want to talk about it?”

Emily pet Eli and was silent for a moment as she considered how much she wanted to get into with her dad. They were close and she usually shared everything with him. Unlike the relationship she had with her mother, which was almost always tense, her relationship with her father was very comfortable. She sometimes felt like an outsider for the kind of relationship she had with her father. All of her past girlfriends and even most of her friends growing up had strained relationships with their fathers. But she always felt like hers was rock solid. She wanted to confide in him, but for the first time she was nervous about how he would take what she might say to him.

“It's okay, Dad,” she sighed. She wasn't ready to try and explain what was going on. Maybe once she figured out something more she could open up about the dreams she’s been having. “I’m fine, please don’t worry about me.” She gently moved Eli off of her lap and sit up on the edge of her couch.

“Okay.” He was silent and she knew what he was going to ask next. “So, Em. Are you seeing anyone lately?”

She rolled her eyes. “No, Dad. I’m still not seeing anyone.”

“Why not? You haven’t told me about anyone new in so long.”

“Dad. I don’t know. I got burned out on dating and I just haven’t been interested in anyone I’ve met.” She thought of the woman from her dream. If she met her in real life she’d marry her in a heartbeat.

“I’m sorry Emily. I know you’ve wanted to settle down, and I wish I had better advice. All I can say is that you’ll find the person for you when your heart is ready.”

She wanted that to be true. She didn’t feel like it was true for him. He fell madly in love with her mother, but they didn’t want the same things. Her mom didn’t want a family, and she didn’t want to settle down. No matter what he tried, he couldn’t get her to stay. She left them when Emily was six years old to move to Ireland, where her family was from.

“Are you seeing anyone Dad?” she asked. In part to change the subject, but she was also curious about her dad’s personal life. She knew he’d been lonely.

“No,” he said.

“Why not?” she asked.

“I just,” he paused, recognizing the humor in what he was about to say, “I just haven’t found anyone I’m interested in.”

“Right,” she said. “Dad?”

“Yeah?”

“Have you ever had recurring dreams? Dreams that were so real they felt like memories that haven’t happened yet?”

“I can’t say that I have. Are you having recurring dreams?” he asked.

Emily sighed. She hadn’t wanted to open up to him about this yet, but she was hoping he would be able to help somehow. “Yeah. Pretty much every night. Bits of the same dream over and over. Each night it could be a different part, but it's all part of one dream. And they are starting to play when I'm awake and close my eyes. I am losing so much sleep and I'm constantly distracted,” she said.

“Wow Emily that sounds like a lot,” he said. “Maybe you could get a sleep study done?”

“What? Like go it and get hooked up to wires and sensors all night? I don't know how that would help,” she said.

“Maybe you have a sleep disorder. There are all kinds of sleep disorders. And if you were diagnosed with something, maybe a doctor could help,” he said.

“I thought about it, but I feel like they would just give me pills and don’t like the idea of that. Plus it’s embarrassing. I wouldn’t want to get into the dreams that are causing it, and then they might send me to a therapist or something and it would turn into a whole thing.”

“Okay, I guess,” he said. “I wish I saw you more, Em. We only live twenty minutes apart you could stop by once and a while.”

“I could say the same to you, Dad,” Emily sighed.

“Well, I think I’m going to let you go for now. I’m going to start getting ready for bed.”

Christopher sounded disappointed, but understanding. He probably knew that Emily would open up to him more when she felt ready to. “Okay Em,” he said. “Just know that I’m always here for you, okay?”

“I know, Dad. Thanks,” Emily said. “I love you.”

“Love you too,” Christopher said.

Emily hung up the phone and set it down. She reached in her pocket and looked at the business card the guy from the Cottage gave her. She flipped it over and read his name and number.

“Jeremy,” she said. Her thumb ran across the corner of the card and she pictured his face. She couldn’t place the feeling it gave her. It wasn’t deja vu. And it wasn’t exactly recognition. She hadn’t met him before, but she felt like she knew him. It didn’t make sense, and she felt silly even thinking about it. Her thoughts shifted to the woman from her dream like a flash and she noticed her heart beat faster. She stood up and shook her hands vigorously as she paced back and forth in front of the couch. “Get it together Emily.” She walked into the kitchen and looked at the clock on the oven. It read 9:45pm. She shifted her gaze above the clock and eyed the bottle of red wine that sat on the shelf above the stove. She wasn’t usually the kind of person to drink alone, but she needed to clear her mind, and she was out of ideas. She grabbed the bottle and put it on the counter. She pulled the bottle opener out of the shelf in front of her, and reached over her head and into the cupboard for a wine glass. The glass was dusty. She blew in the glass and dust flew in her face, tickling her nose. She ran the glass under some water from the faucet and opened the bottle of wine. Before even bringing the bottle to her nose, she could smell the sweet aroma. An image snapped in her mind for an instant. Dancing naked in a dark and smoky room. She shook her head, trying to shake the image out of her mind. She poured wine into the glass and just before she was about to stop, she poured a little more. She closed her eyes, took a sip, and as the wine filled her mouth she was transported back into her dreams yet again. Her vision was flooded with red and then she was standing naked in that dark room that bodies danced in just a moment before. She was drinking wine out of ceramic chalice so heavy that she needed to hold it with both hands. She opened her eyes and was back in her own kitchen, holding the wine glass with two hands. She looked at the glass and blinked, trying to clear her vision. Keeping her eyes open this time, she struggled to gulp down the entire glass of wine before pouring another. She downed the second glass even quicker than the first. She placed the empty wine glass on the counter and wiped a red drop from her bottom lip. Her head felt woozy. She closed her eyes and could see nothing but blackness. Her purple tinted lips turned upward into a smile and she poured another glass of wine. She carried the glass into the living room and sat down in the couch, kicking her feet up on a small blue ottoman. She picked up her phone and turned on classical music. She felt relaxed and calm. Her shoulders relaxed, and her jaw unclenched. She gently sipped her third glass of wine and the night drifted away from her and slowly into blackness.

Emily’s phone buzzed on the wooden floor and the sound jolted her awake. She found herself laying on the couch, fully dressed. Sun shined in through her living room window and she cringed at the light, squinting her eyes. Her head felt like it was being stabbed with ice picks and her mouth was dry and chalky. She groaned in pain and her phone buzzed again, scooting across the floor as it vibrated. She reached down and picked up the phone. Texts from Jeremy.

“What the fuck?” she gasped. She unlocked her phone and read the texts.

"Hi Emily, it’s Jeremy. I got your voicemail from last night. Sorry I missed your call, but I’d totally be down to meet up and talk."

"I hope you’re okay. You sounded pretty strange in your message. Just let me know when you’d want to meet and we can make it happen.

“Oh my God,” she said. Her stomach sank and she felt like she might be sick. She had zero memory of calling him, of leaving any voicemail. She struggled to piece the night together, but had no recollection of anything she might have said to him. She remembered drinking a couple glasses of wine and listening to music, and after that her memory was turning up blank.

What a joke, she thought. First I can’t get these crazy images out of my head and now I can’t remember something that actually happened in real life. Her stomach turned and she got up to stumble to the bathroom. She draped herself over the toilet just in time and threw up purple liquid until she was only gagging. Her head pounded. She hadn’t been hung over in years, and this felt much worse than she remembered it being in college. She poured a large glass of water and chugged it down along with two ibuprofen. For a brief moment she felt so sick that she had forgotten about how embarrassed she was. That embarrassment came rushing back and sat right on top of how ill she still felt. She brushed her teeth, got undressed, and crawled into bed. She decided she had to wait to deal with the Jeremy texts until she felt better.

Emily slept for four hours. Her empty stomach growled her awake, and her dry and thirsty throat pulled her out of bed. Her hangover had lessened a bit, but she still felt off. Like she had a bad cold. Her head was foggy and she had a slight headache. This is ridiculous, she thought. I just need to get it over with. She text Jeremy back.

"Hi Jeremy. Sorry about the phone call…

I think we do need to talk. When can we meet up?”

CHAPTER TEN

KAREN SAT ON a restaurant patio eating dinner and drinking a glass of wine. She was waiting on a date and she had been waiting for almost an hour. At this point it was safe to say he wasn't coming, which was fine. She wasn’t really into the guy that much anyway. He was probably too young for her. At least she was going to get a good meal out of the evening. Her phone started ringing from inside her purse. There he is, she thought. She pulled out her phone and was disappointed to see Christopher's name on the screen.

“Hello Chris,” she said, loudly chewing her food.

“Karen,” he said. “How have you been?”

“Oh just dandy,” she said. “What’s up? Is Emily okay?”

“I don't know,” he said. “I know you told me you were worried, and I had been getting worried about her too. I spoke to her yesterday and she told me she has been having recurring dreams.”

“Yes, she told me she was having weird dreams,” she said.

“Did she tell you they were disrupting her sleep and that she has been having them while she is awake?” he asked.

“No,” she said. “Did she tell you anything else about them?”

“Not yet,” he said. “But it got me thinking of the dreams she used to tell us about when she was little. Do you remember?”

“Of course I remember. The entire house would lose sleep over those dreams.”

“Right,” he said. “But they never seemed to last more than a week or so. And she never complained of seeing them while she was awake. She eventually just stopped telling us about them, I don’t know why I assumed that meant that they stopped.”

“Okay. What are you getting at Chris?” Karen asked impatiently.

He was silent for a moment, as if he was trying to decide how to say what he needed to say. “I was thinking about it last night, and I just wanted to see if there is any way you might have anything at all to do with this.”

“What exactly do you mean, Christopher?” she asked.

“Well, I know you used to dabble in uh, the old ways as you called it.” He heard her sigh on the other end of the line and started speaking faster. Her lifestyle was a major factor in the dissolution of their marriage and he blamed much of it on her odd fascination with the occult and witchcraft. “Emily had told me that you were asking her a lot about her life and what she was doing, and what her plans were with a bunch of different areas of her life.”

“I was. I’m worried about my daughter and the life she is leading,” she said.

“What is wrong with the life she’s leading?” he asked.

“She isn’t happy. She isn’t in love. She isn’t fulfilled,” she explained. “She seems miserable about every aspect of her life, and she doesn’t deserve that.”

“She told me that you asked her to move to Ireland and live with you,” he said.

“Of course I did. And she didn’t accept my offer.”

“How would moving to another country improve her life?” he asked.

“You know what Chris? I don’t have to explain this to you,” she said. “Is there anything else you wanted to ask me?”

“Yes, actually. I mean you never really answered me,” he said. “Did you have anything to do with her dreams? Are you practicing again?”

“Again? You're implying I ever stopped. You wanted me to keep it to myself while you looked the other way. Plus, what I do in my life is none of your business, and it would be a great relief for both of us I think if you finally accepted that,” she said.

“I don’t care about what you do Karen. I care about Emily. And anything that has to do with her is my business,” he said.

“She is my daughter, and I am free to help her in any way I want to,” she said.

He laughed, sounding frustrated. “So you did do something?”

“I didn’t do anything that would hurt her Chris. I would never do anything to hurt her.” She was talking loudly now and people walking by the restaurant were looking at her as she walked by. She didn’t notice.

“Like her mother moving to another country wouldn’t hurt her?” he said.

“Are you ever going to stop nagging me about that?” she asked.

He ignored her and pressed her again. “What did you do, Karen?” he asked.

“I just did what I needed to do to help her find her path. She needed a guiding light, and I tried to put that in place for her. Just a little cosmic nudge to find out who she is,” she said.

“I should have known. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised,” he said, his voice full of disappointment. “I’m sure that is what this is now. Your little cosmic nudge is wreaking havoc on her life. That is what you are best at,” he said. “Are you going to tell her that you stuck your nose in? That you meddled in her life that you're barely a part of?”

“Why would I need to tell her anything?” she asked. “What I did has nothing to do with her not getting sleep these days.”

“She didn’t tell me what these dreams have been about. But you remember how they worked before don’t you?” he asked.

“Yes. She said they showed her what was going to happen before it happened.” She was beginning to get nervous that he was going to prove her wrong. “But Chris she was a little kid with an overactive imagination.”

“Right. Even with your belief in- whatever it is you believe in- you still didn’t believe your daughter. Well isn’t it a funny coincidence that you put some little spell of yours on her to help her find her path, and she gets bombarded by dreams that are probably telling her what's going to happen. In an attempt to push her there and shoving it down her throat so much that she can’t get any relief,” he said. He was furious. “I’m tired of picking up the pieces for you. You need to fix this Karen.”

She sat at the little iron table and stared at her plate, not knowing what to say. “I just don’t understand how anything I did could be connected to this,” she said.

“Do you not believe in what you did? If you didn’t think it would work, why did you do it?” he asked.

“I did think it would work,” she stuttered. “I do think it will work. It’s going to fix things for her, I know it will.”

“How dare you do anything like this without even speaking to her about it? Without asking her for her permission. Or even asking her if she wants your help at all,” he said. “This conversation is over. You are going to tell her what you have done, and you are going to fix this.”

“Chris,” she said.

“Just don’t,” he interrupted her. “If you don’t tell her, I will. And that is the last thing you need right now. Your relationship with your daughter is hanging on by a thread as it is. If you don’t come clean with her, I wouldn’t be surprised if she never speaks to you again.” He hung up the phone.

Karen was stunned. He had never spoken to her like that, and he had never hung up on her. In the years they had known each other he had almost always been surprisingly calm and collected with her. He had been so kind and apologetic that at times she found it pathetic. It was one of the things that turned her off about him- that he never got angry with her. She was also stunned at the idea that she was the cause of Emily’s stress right now. She had done a spell, yes. Two spells, actually. But she was very specific and she focused the purpose of her spells. For Emily to find her true self, and for her to find her true love. Originally, she had thought that the spells could be one in the same, but in order for the spells to be as specific as possible, she split them into two spells. It was unlikely that Emily’s true love would overlap with her true path or calling, and she wasn’t going to risk leaving that up to chance and missing a major point of doing the spell in the first place.

She paid her bill and started walking home. She would call Emily and find out more about what was going on. If it sounded like it could have anything to do with her spells, she would tell her.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

EMILY PULLED UP to Jeremy's house and parked across the street. She sat inside her car, nervously watching the house. It had been almost a week since she made the plan to meet here. Each day since had been a mixture of excitement at the possibility that she would finally get some answers, and terror that she wouldn’t get anything more than a giant dose of reality. It was very likely that this guy was just trying to hit on her. For all she knew, he was a total creep and she was walking into a murder house. And if he did end up being perfectly normal, it could very well be that she was in fact the crazy one. But she had made the decision that she had to do something. The dreams were getting too intense, and they were beginning to interfere more and more with her day to day life when she was wide awake. Even calling it wide awake would be an exaggeration. She was barely getting through each day without falling asleep at work. This was it. She was here and she had come this far. She couldn’t turn back now. All she’d be going back to would be a path to institutionalization. May as well go have coffee with a strange man first, and see if anything worthwhile comes out of it.

She got out of the car and crossed the street, taking a good look at the house as she approached. It was a beautiful two story house that appeared to be built in the early 1900’s, like most of the other homes in the neighborhood. The siding was a dark bluish-gray and the old windows were trimmed in a muddy brown. The front yard was coated in leaves that created a blanket over some ground cover landscaping. Short ornate iron fencing was placed in the front two corners of the yard, and dry brown vines twisted up and around it. Shepard hooks hung in various spots in the front yard, holding large wind chimes that clicked and clanged as the breeze hit them. The sound was calming and melodic. As she approached the front steps, she noticed three small wooden chimes hanging above the front door. Each was made by small twigs arranged in strange geometrical shapes. The house had a large three season porch. The black iron storm door was ajar, and Emily couldn’t find any door bell. She stepped inside the porch. The sound of the wind chimes dimmed and she found relief from the wind, but not the cold. The porch was painted a cheerful yellow color, with tapestries like the ones she saw at the bookshop hung in various places. Small white string lights were messily hung around the edges of the ceiling, and shoes of various sizes and styles were lined up on a mat next to the front door. A large utility bucket sat next to the mat of shoes with large feathers peeking out of the top. She peered inside and saw what looked to be turkey feathers, still attached to the rear end of a turkey. Scattered on the window sills were various small animal bones.

Bones. Okay. Totally not weird, she thought to herself, sarcastically. The front door opened and she jumped backwards, startled.

“Emily, hi!” Jeremy greeted her with a huge smile. He was wearing the same flannel shirt he was wearing when they met at the bookstore, or at least one very similar.

“Hi,” Emily said. She pulled her hair behind her ear, nervously.

“I heard you come onto the front porch so I figured I’d just come on out. I hope I didn’t scare you.”

“Just a little bit,” she admitted. “I was admiring your little bone collection.” She gestured to the window sill.

“Ah!” he laughed. “Yeah we have a thing for animal bones. It’s weird, I know. We just find them though. We don’t kill them of course.”

“Of course,” she said.

“Why don’t you come on in out of the cold?” He stepped out of the doorway onto the porch and swept his hand into the house, leading her in front of him. She stepped inside and the floral smoky smell from her dreams immediately hit her nose. She perked up and instead of feeling scared and irritated at being reminded of her dreams, she felt like she was following a map and getting closer to finding the treasure. Maybe it was the right choice to come here after all.

“You have a beautiful house,” she told him. And she meant it. She looked around in awe, trying to take in every detail. Dark wood floors spanned the house, with large rugs anchoring each room. She could see three where she stood in the entryway. The living room to her right which connected to another room behind it, and an office to her left. A large staircase loomed in front of her, next to the hallway that ran alongside it and back to the kitchen. The doorway to each room had a velvet curtain hanging open on a hook in the wall.

“Thanks, make yourself at home,” Jeremy said. “Can I get you anything to drink?”

Emily was thirsty, and the mention of a drink reminded her that she forgot her water bottle at home. But she didn’t know Jeremy well enough yet to accept a drink from him. The thought of her never leaving the house alive crossed her mind again. “No, thank you. I’m okay,” she answered. She sat on the couch and sunk down more than she expected. She now had a better view into the next room and she noticed each wall was painted a different color. She spotted four large pillars against the wall that were covered in wax. Besides the pillars and a rug on the floor, the room was empty.

Jeremy sat on the large armchair across from the couch. He leaned back and spread his legs apart slightly, getting comfortable. Emily tried to scoot forward to the edge of the couch, and she sat straight with her ankles crossed. They looked at each other and sat in silence for a moment.

“So where should we start?” he asked.

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “I’m not really sure where to start. I haven’t been able to talk to anyone about this, and I’m starting to feel a little crazy.”

“Crazy is relative,” Jeremy said. They were both silent again.

“Okay, I’m just going to tell you. I have been keeping in for too long and I really think I’m losing my mind.” She looked at Jeremy and he noticed the bags under her eyes and the tears starting to form. “The dreams have started flashing in my head while I’m awake. No. Not flashing. I’m transported into them almost every time I close my eyes. And when I’m in them, I’m completely aware that I’m dreaming. I’m an active participant in the dream. And I’ve had them so many times now that I know what’s going to happen.” She cut herself off. “Except for one newer one. I haven’t had it enough to know what happens next.”

“And that’s why you came into the shop? To try and figure out the dreams?” he asked.

“Yes. There are parts of the dreams that seem to focus on magic. I guess witchcraft, from that book you showed me.”

Jeremy sat up straight, listening intently.

“I had been writing down the dreams for months, but once they started replaying in my head when I was awake I felt like I had to do something.” She looked away from him and down at the floor. “Honestly I don’t even know what I’m doing here. I don’t know how you can help me. I just felt comfortable with you, and I figured I had nothing to lose.” She rubbed her hands together, anxiously.

“Well, I’m not sure how I can help either. But maybe you could tell me about what makes you think you have magic in your dreams and I’ll see if any of it makes sense to me,” he said.

“Well, the main dreams I have been having- the ones that seemed to have started it all- begin with me in a room, naked. I’m waiting for something and I hear drumming and chanting. As time went on more moments came together in the dreams, and I’m with a group of people in a room. It’s just lit by candlelight. The room is smoky and we’re all naked. It smells like your house, actually.” She was experiencing a strange combination of relief and nervousness as she opened up about the dreams. She knew they were absurd, but it felt so good to finally get them out of her head.

“My house?” he said. His put his hand on his chest. “Probably incense I guess? We do burn a lot of it.”

“Yes, but it is the exact smell. I smelled something similar at your shop, and it reminded me of my dream a little bit. But your house smells exactly like my dream,” she said.

His lips pouted into a thinking expression. “That is really interesting,” he said.

“And in the dream there’s an altar. A pentagram sitting in the middle of cups and statues and candles and smoke.” She was looking at him directly in the eyes now.

“That does sound pretty damn witchy,” he said.

“What do you know about it?” she asked. “About witchcraft?”

A small smile appeared in the corner of Jeremy’s mouth. His beard might have hid it from Emily but the sound of his voice gave it away that he wasn’t being completely honest. “I know a bit,” he said. “A lot of people in this country think witchcraft is all hocus pocus and Puritan scare tactics. But witchcraft has been around for as long as humans have been. Like I told you in the store the other day, every culture has some form of witchcraft, they just call it by different names.”

“What do you mean, exactly?” she asked.

“Well when I say witchcraft I guess I should clarify that I’m using that as a catchall term for magic. Real magic. Not pulling bunnies out of hats, but using your will to effect the energies that exist all around you. If you go to a Catholic Church you’ll see magic during mass. The symbolism and the process is all there. They just market it differently.”

Emily felt confused, but intrigued. “Okay, so what kind of magic is in my dream?” she asked, becoming impatient and eager to learn if he could help her at all.

“Well if you saw a pentagram on what sounds like an altar, I’d say that’s good old European witchcraft.”

They heard a door open upstairs and steps approach them from the hallway above. Claire came down the stairs in a robe with her hair tied up in a messy bun. Emily saw her for a brief moment as she walked around the foot of the staircase and down the hallway into the kitchen.

“That is my roommate, Claire,” Jeremy said. “Ignore her if she’s rude, she hasn’t had her coffee yet. Are you sure I can’t get you anything to drink?”

Emily’s mouth was dry, and she felt much more comfortable now that she saw he had a female roommate. “Um, sure, I’ll have some water. Thanks.”

Jeremy got up and went into the kitchen to get a glass of water. Emily attempted to process what he said, and it still didn’t make any sense to her. Even if witchcraft is real, why was it showing up in her dreams when she knew nothing about it?

“We have company, sleepy head,” Jeremy told Claire as he walked up behind her in the kitchen.

She jumped and almost spilled her coffee. “Oh my God don’t sneak up on me like that!” she yelled.

“What is with people today? I’m scaring everyone,” he said. “How did you not hear me? Every floor in this house creaks.”

“I guess I was zoning out,” she said. “Who’s here?”

“That woman from the bookstore that I told you guys about. She has a pretty interesting issue going on. You should come meet her,” he said.

“Coffee,” she said. “Then people.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he mumbled as he walked back into the living room.

“Here you go.” Jeremy handed the water to Emily, and their fingers lightly touched. He felt a shock travel from his finger and up into his head as images began to flash in his mind like a strobe light. It was circle. It was their circle. He saw the outlines of Claire and Olivia and Allison and Tanner and himself. It was too fast to see their faces, but he knew it was them. He saw their altar and he heard their Sabbat script. Almost as quickly as it started, he tried to pull his hand away and he saw one last image of Claire and Emily together in bed. He pulled his hand away and almost dropped the glass. Emily caught it in time with her other hand and looked up at him with concern.

“Are you okay?” she asked. “You look… scared.”

“Yeah yeah. No I’m fine,” he replied, stumbling backwards and leaning against the chair. “I just got a little lightheaded I think.”

“Okay. Thank you for the water.” She took a sip. “So what can you tell me about European witchcraft?” She set the glass down on the side table.

“Ohh who’s talking about witchcraft without me!?” Claire said as she walked into the room. “Jeremy are you okay? You look pale.”

Emily heard Claire’s voice and her stomach leapt into her throat. She knew that voice. That voice had whispered in her ear.

“I’m fine, I just got lightheaded.” He shot Claire an I’ll tell you later look and gestured to Emily. “Emily, this is Claire. Claire, this is Emily.” He looked uncomfortable, like he was somewhere he wasn’t meant to be.

“Nice to meet you, Emily,” Claire said. She walked over and reached out to shake Emily’s hand. Emily stood up and slammed her hip into the side table knocking the glass of water over.

“Oh my God I’m so sorry!” She frantically tried to wipe the water off, and realized her hand was doing nothing.

“Don’t worry about it,” Claire said. “I’ll go grab a towel.” She left the room and Jeremy and Emily were alone again.

“I’m so sorry for making a fool of myself,” she told him. “I’m feeling extra clumsy today I guess.”

“It’s just water. No trouble, really,” he assured her.

Claire arrived with a towel and bent over to soak up the water from the rug. Her scent wafted towards Emily and she closed her eyes, breathing it in. She was brought back to her bed and her and Claire were in each other arms, sweaty and out of breath.

I need to get out of here, she thought. “Well um, it was really nice meeting you Claire. And Jeremy thank you so much for having me over to discuss this stuff, but I just remembered I have an appointment I need to get to.” She knocked her hand to her forehead and rolled her eyes. “I totally forgot. So I have to go.” She picked up her bag and started walking towards the door.

“We didn’t really get to finish talking,” Jeremy said after her. “Are you feeling like you got a handle on your dream?”

“Um, yeah. A little bit. I’ll call you and we can finish this conversation another time if that’s okay?”

“I hope you do. I really do want to help,” Jeremy said.

Emily smiled and nodded at him, making sure to avoid any eye contact with Claire. She made her way out the door as quickly as she could.

The door closed and Jeremy turned to Claire. “You aren’t going to believe what just happened.”

“What?” Claire said. “With her? What did I miss?”

“I think she’s a witch,” he said. He saw Claire’s expression change and before she finished rolling her eyes he said, “Just hear me out. She came over wanting help with this dream she’s having. She said she thought witchcraft was involved, and she didn’t know anything about it and had questions.”

“Why do you think she’s a witch? What do you mean her dream had witchcraft involved?” she asked. This was quite an assumption to make of what seemed to be a short interaction. At least for someone who didn’t know anything about witchcraft. Claire wanted answers.

“She said in these dreams that she was dancing naked with a group of people. There was an altar in the middle of them with a pentacle in it, and that’s what led her to the shop where we met.” He walked back into the living room and sat down. “But it gets much weirder than that,” he said.

“Okay?” Claire said. “I’m listening.”

“It was our circle in her dream. It was here.”

“How do you know that?” she asked. Only a small number of people had been in their circle. And that woman was definitely not one of those people.

“I touched her hand when I brought her the glass of water, and before I knew it flashes from her dreams shot into my head,” he said. “I couldn’t control it and I saw so many images so fast.” He was waving his hands around his head.

“But you didn’t mean to?” she asked. “Usually that takes quite a bit of work.”

“No, Claire. It just flooded my brain.” He shifted position and was leaning forward now with his elbows on his knees and his hands in his beard. “And I don’t even feel drained.”

“What does that mean?” she asked.

“I think it means she’s a witch,” he repeated.

“We don’t need to jump to any conclusions. Plus, it still doesn’t explain how you know for sure that it was our circle,” she said.

“Well it was our altar. And I saw myself,” he said. “I saw my back and my tattoo.”

Claire shook her head. “I just don’t understand. How could that be? We've never met this woman.”

“I know,” he said, frustrated. “I don’t know. And I was thrown off guard, and then she freaked out and bailed. I need to find out why or how she’s having those dreams.” He sat thinking silently for a moment. “She doesn't know what’s going on, but she recognized the smell of our house. I’m not sure how much longer before she starts putting more pieces together.”

“So how should we handle it?” Claire asked.

“I think I need to talk to her more.”

“Should we tell the coven?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe we should wait until we have a little more to tell them,” he said.

“One of them might have some idea about how this could be happening,” she added.

“That’s true. I still think we hold off for now. I will give her a little space and then try to meet up and talk with her this week.”

They sat in the quiet room and each thought about what was to come. Wild and unbelievable things were not new to either of them, but usually they happened under their direct control. There weren't as used to the unexplainable happening to them without their knowledge of the source. They had been lucky that way.

CHAPTER TWELVE

EMILY CLOSED THE door and struggled to hold back the urge to run to her car. She felt like she was running away, but she didn’t want to look like she was. She sat in her car, staring at the dash.

“Oh. My. God,” she said out loud. Her heart was racing, and she looked down at her hands to see they were shaking. “It was her. It was actually her.” She held up her hands and watched them quiver. “What am I going to do?” She tried to decipher what she was feeling. Was it embarrassment, or lust? Maybe both. Her insides felt like they were on fire. When she met Claire, she had to stop herself from reaching out and touching her. From pressing her lips against hers and losing herself in Claire’s arms. Emily turned and looked back at the house. The sun had almost set, and the windows on the house glowed with amber light. The building appeared ominous in this light, looming over the street like a gargoyle. She felt like she had been in that house before. That smell was definitely the smell from her dream. It could just be the same incense so maybe that’s nothing. But that woman had to be the same woman. She knew that voice. And her hair and figure were the same as the woman from her dream.

“It was just a crazy coincidence, Emily,” she said. “It isn’t possible.” She rubbed her face and tried to snap herself out of it. Her hands were ice cold. She hadn’t noticed she was freezing. She turned on the ignition. A song blasted through the speakers and she winced and lowered the volume. She surfed through the channels, stopping on a news station, and started driving. Rain drops began tapping on the windshield, so she turned her windshield wipers on.

Her mind drifted to Claire. She was a pretty average build, and her long blonde hair was nothing out of the ordinary. Her face was beautiful, but she hadn’t been able to make out the details of her face in the dreams she had. It was her voice that she couldn’t get over. She could explain away her figure, and her hair, and it could just be a coincidence that Claire matched those characteristics. But her voice was the voice Emily heard. She could remember so vividly how the sound of that voice made her mind go blank and completely lose herself in the moment. It made her legs weak.

She shook her head. “No,” she said. “She’s just some woman,” she told herself out loud. She thought about memories being sneaky and unreliable things. She was lacking sleep, and maybe her head was trying to connect this stranger to her dream. Latching onto the possibility that this person who provided her escape from the strange and smoky dreams could give her an escape in real life as well.

The rain picked up, pouring heavier and making it much harder to see the road ahead of her as she drove. Emily just wanted to be home. She hated driving in the rain at night. Her attention turned to the radio when she heard something about a local homicide.

“June Dawson, a fifty six year old business owner, was found dead in her home after she was reported missing. She suffered from damage to her skull and multiple stab wounds. Her home was attached to her small business near the 4000 block of Chicago Avenue South, and police believe that is how the killer gained access. Medical examiners estimate she was murdered six days ago. Her body was found by a concerned friend. The police are not naming any suspects at this time and they report that the investigation is ongoing.”

Emily had chills. Minneapolis was a big city, but it wasn’t the kind of place where people were left stabbed and murdered in their own homes. Not so close to Emily’s neighborhood. Shootings happened frequently, but they weren't usually unexplained murders. Lighting lit up the sky in front of her and thunder seemed to erupt immediately following. Emily crouched reflexively and turned the radio off. She was almost home and she hoped she was going to be able to find a parking space relatively close to her building. She had to drive around two blocks in a circle, but a spot opened up at the end of her street. She pulled in and turned her car off. The car was silent and the rain beat down on the roof of the car, getting louder as she sat there. The windows were blurred with rain and she couldn't see outside of the car. She thought about the woman who was murdered, and about how far she had to walk to her apartment.

“She wasn’t murdered on the street,” she said to herself. “She was murdered inside her home. So I should be fine walking to my building.” She knew the justification was completely ridiculous and she didn't even fully believe herself. She took a deep breath and opened her door. Running down the sidewalk all she could think about was how she should have zipped her coat and grabbed her umbrella on her way out the door earlier. She made it to her building and unlocked the security door. Her hair was soaked and it stuck to her face and neck. Inside the small lobby water poured off of her, creating a small puddle while she stopped to check her mail. She walked up the worn and oddly shaped limestone stairs the half level to her first floor apartment and unlocked the door. She turned around quickly, locking the deadbolt and the chain as fast as she could. Eli meowed and she jumped.

“Eli! You scared me you cute little jerk!” She leaned over and picked him up, but he wriggled out of her hands in an attempt to get away from her soaking wet clothes.

She peeled off her layers and threw them in her laundry hamper. She put on a set of flannel pajamas, and they felt warm and dry on her cold skin. Nervous and on edge, she peeked in her bedroom and hall closets, and then behind her shower curtain. She was used to living alone, but she still got scared from time to time. She needed something to keep her mind occupied. She turned on music in the living room and began cleaning the apartment. She hoped it would be a better distraction than a bottle of wine.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

JEREMY PULLED UP to the cottage, and struggled to hold both his coffee and the box of donuts he was carrying as he unlocked the front door of the shop. He walked in and turned on the lights, placing the box of donuts on the lower desk behind the counter. It was 9:30 am, and two other staff members would be arriving between now and 10:00 am when the store opened. He turned music on the speaker system, and lit incense. He had worked at the shop for 6 years now, slowly taking over more and more responsibility as the owner of the shop had gotten older and wanted to focus more on his family. Jeremy, being a bachelor with no kids, was the perfect person for the job. Sheff, the owner, knew about Jeremy’s coven and the amount of time it took up. But with how dedicated and knowledgeable a worker he was, he was willing to work around schedule issues as they came up from month to month. And as much time as Jeremy put into the coven, it was slightly less time than someone with a partner or a family. Sheff was getting less involved with the day to day tasks of running the business, and Jeremy enjoyed taking over when responsibilities were handed off to him. As time went on, he was beginning to take the initiative to shift things onto his plate himself.

In the back corner of the house, there was a room that served as the employee break room. He flicked the light switch and the light flickered on loudly. He scooped some coffee out of the bag of ground coffee, and poured it into the filter. He filled the machine with water and clicked the power switch. Nothing happened. He hit the machine with his hands twice, before pausing to see the red power light glow on and the machine began to brew.

“Piece of junk,” he whispered. He walked back to the front desk and the computer was booting up. The clock on the desk read 9:58 am. He turned the open sign on, and the red light illuminated the front window of the house. The dark foggy day made the light appear to glow brighter than usual.

Ryan walked in the front door. Jeremy was already stationed at the front counter and he looked up when he heard the bells jingle.

“Sorry I’m late, Jeremy,” he said. His hair was a mess and his jacket was falling off of his shoulders. The straps of his tote bag were twisted, and he struggled to detangle them and set his bag behind the counter. Jeremy noticed that the buttons on his shirt were buttoned one off, leaving his shirt hanging lower on one side with an extra button sticking out under his collar.

“It’s okay, man.” He gently patted Ryan on his back. “Coffee is hot in the break room.”

“Thank Gods,” Ryan said, and left the room without looking up at Jeremy.

He came back in holding a large ceramic mug that was covered in thick hand carved leaves.  He stood at the counter opposite from Jeremy, who noticed his eyes were red and puffy.

Jeremy smiled at him. “Wild night, man?” he asked.

Ryan looked shocked and frowned at Jeremy. “What? No dude I’m just taking this really hard.”

“Taking what really hard?” Jeremy said.

“Didn’t you hear on the news? What happened to June?” he said.

Jeremy tensed and clenched his jaw, “I think it’s pretty clear that I haven’t heard anything about something happening to June. What the fuck happened?”

“She’s dead, Jeremy.”

“What do you mean she’s dead?” Jeremy’s face went pale. He was shocked. It couldn’t be true. He just talked to her last week.

“She was murdered in her place. Stabbed like 10 times.” He started crying. “I don’t think I can be here, man. I’m freaking out.”

“Um. Okay. Can you just sit at the counter for a minute while I make a phone call?”

He wiped the tears from his cheeks and tried to compose himself. “Okay.”

Jeremy rushed back to the office and closed the door. There is no way she could be dead. He googled her name and the top result was a headline about her being found stabbed to death. He felt numb. He called Claire.

“Jeremy?” she answered. Her voice was ragged and she sniffled.

“So you heard what happened?” he asked.

“Yeah.” Claire’s voice broke up and she struggled to speak. “What are we going to do, Jeremy?”

“We’re gonna be okay Claire. We’re gonna be fine,” he reassured her. The words were also an attempt to reassure himself. June had been a guiding light for him over the last few years, and even more so for Claire. He knew she wasn’t going to be able to handle this well and he didn’t know how he was going to take care of her through this when he was heartbroken about it too.

“She was like a mother to me,” Claire said as she started crying.

“Listen, I’m going to try and see if Ann can come in early and cover my shift. Ryan is here and he’s losing his shit, I think I’m going to have to send him home.” He paced the four feet back and forth in the small room, running his hand through his hair trying to think.

“Why would someone murder her, Jeremy?” she asked

“I don’t know,” he said.

“What are we going to do?” she repeated.

He stopped and switched the phone to his other ear, stiffening up and pushing down all of the terrifying thoughts that were racing through his head. “You’re going to make sure all the doors and windows are locked. You’re going to stay home and wait for me. Okay?”

“Okay,” she said and hung up.

He stood there in the room and stared at his phone. He was going to have to make some more calls.

Ryan was still behind the counter, and two customers were perusing the store when Jeremy came out of the office.

“You can head home, Ryan. I’ll be okay here solo for now,” he told him.

“Thanks man. I’m sorry,” he said. He picked up his bag and turned back to Jeremy right before he got to the door. “I know you and June were close. I’m really sorry.”

“Thanks. I’m sorry too,” he said.

Two employees were going to come in early to cover the rest of his shift. He needed to get home to Claire and he grew more anxious by the minute. It would be another hour before his coverage could come in. His knee bounced as he tapped his heel, and his thumb moved in unison with his leg- tapping on the counter.

“Hello? Can I buy this?” a customer asked.

Jeremy blinked and shook his head, and saw a woman standing at the counter. She had chin length brown hair and wore a yellow raincoat. She set a book down on the counter.

“Of course, I’m so sorry,” he said.

“You looked like you were somewhere else just now,” she said.

“I guess I was,” he replied. He looked at the book and entered the price in the register. “Your total is twenty two dollars and seventy nine cents.”

She put cash down on the counter, and Jeremy handed her the receipt with her change.

“Would you like a bag?” he asked.

“No thanks,” she said. She looked him up and down, smiled at him, and left. A male customer that was looking around on the store caught up with her as she was walking out, and they left together. The store was empty now and the music had stopped playing. Jeremy thought about June and expected to have to hold back tears, but he felt nothing. He was scared for Claire, and he was worried about the coven. He was confused about how this could have happened to her, but he felt no pain about her death. He was in shock, he thought. It was going to hit him somehow, and he needed to make sure that everyone else was okay so that when it did hit him, he could fall apart and not take anyone else down with him.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CLAIRE PUT HER phone on the counter and stood in the kitchen. Her head ached from crying, and her face was red and swollen. She felt like she had no control over her tears and they kept flowing like a river. She had woken up an hour ago to a text from a mutual friend of June’s. It just said to call her. That’s how she got the news that June was dead.

June was the reason she was who she was. June had trained her, and Claire followed her from New York to the Midwest. Her work had been selling well enough that she felt like she could settle anywhere, and she had needed a break from the city. She wanted to live somewhere quieter, and when June told her she was leaving she knew she had to follow her. She knew she wanted to start a coven like she had in New York, but she didn’t want to do it without June. She didn’t think she could. She was too fresh and didn’t know enough. June introduced her to the community in Minnesota, and Claire fell in love. She felt like this is where she was meant to be, and she had no doubts about leaving New York. Before long she met Jeremy, and June helped them get the coven up and running. June began to focus on her readings, and before long running her shop took over her life. Claire fell into a sea of depression after her divorce and isolated herself from much of the community, including June. June was too busy running her new business to notice that her best student had drifted away. Claire now hated herself for not reaching out to June. She just assumed she’d always be there and when she was ready, they could talk and things would go back to how they were before. Now that chance was gone. Because some psychopath killed her. Claire remembered her conversation with Jeremy and began walking around the house, making sure all the doors and windows were locked. She had no reason to believe that she was in any danger. But she was almost certain that June wouldn’t have had any reason to find herself in danger either. She considered calling the coven, but she decided to wait for Jeremy to come home before she made any decisions. She wasn’t confident in her ability to think straight at the moment.

She went downstairs to her studio in the basement, pulled the string to click the light on above her head, and watched light fill the room.  The walls were covered in stacks of canvases that leaned up one over the other. A large shelf took up one entire wall, and it was filled with what could have been hundreds of containers of paint. The floor and the cement utility sink were covered in splatters of color and cups of paint brushes were scattered in various places around the room. She hadn’t created a steady stream of work in so long that she was beginning to worry that she was going to lose it all together. She picked up a canvas and placed it on the easel. She squirted colors into a palette and without thinking, her hand started painting furiously. Colors began to fill the board and the semblance of a face took shape. She wanted to see June. She wanted the world to see June. And so June appeared on the canvas, as tears slowly traveled down Claire’s cheeks.

The sun was getting low in the sky when Jeremy got home. He had already talked to Olivia, Tanner, and Allison, and they were going to be arriving in the next hour or so. He was expecting to find Claire in the kitchen or her room, and he started to panic when the house appeared empty.

“Claire?” he shouted. “Claire are you home?” He heard a muffled cry and went downstairs. The basement door was cracked open and the light downstairs was on. Of course, her studio, he thought. He was used to her spending most of her waking time down there, but she had been in a whole new groove lately. Or no groove at all.

Claire heard his steps come down the stairs and she put her paintbrush down. She had just finished.

“Wow, Claire,” he said. “It’s beautiful.” Jeremy stared in awe at June’s face stared back at him in every color.

Claire was silent. She turned around and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his chest. She started to cry again.

“The guys will be here in about an hour so we can all process this,” he said.

The thought of that set her off. “Tonight? Together? Can’t we process it alone first?” She glared at him and pulled away.

“Well, I thought they might want to talk, and that we should all be together right now,” he said, sounding confused.

“Well you could have asked me first, Jeremy. I didn’t realize you get to make all the decisions now.” Her sadness was boiling into anger and he could see the shift happening on her face.

“I’m sorry, but I thought it would be up to us to help them through this,” he said.

“Yes. Us being the key word there. You couldn’t run it by me first?” she asked.

He could sense that she was getting more and more irritated with him.

“I thought you wouldn’t want to make any decisions right now and I figured you would have felt the same way I felt. I’m sorry that I was wrong.” He hugged her tighter. “Can we please not fight right now?”

She wiggled out of his arms. “Fine,” she said. “We’ll fight about it later. Can you leave me alone please?”

He shook his head at her and threw his hands up in defeat. “Okay,” he said. “Whatever you say.” He went back upstairs and closed the door behind him.

The coven sat together in the living room. The atmosphere was heavy with sadness and layers of tension. They had all hugged and cried together as each person arrived, and then they sat in silence.

“June meant a lot to all of us,” Jeremy said. “And I know we are all feeling this right now. Obviously with her death being a homicide, we want more information, and I don’t know about you guys but I am feeling a little nervous.”

“I just don’t know how she didn’t see it coming,” Allison said.

“That is not fucking funny!” Claire screamed, glaring at her.

“Come on, Allison,” Jeremy said. “You really feel like it’s okay to make a joke right now?”

Allison looked at Claire and saw the tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Claire, I know she meant a lot to you.”

“Then why the fuck would you say something like that? What the fuck is wrong with you?” Claire asked, looking at Allison pleadingly with bloodshot eyes.

Olivia chimed in, trying to ease tensions. “We all deal with grief in our own way, and sometimes it doesn’t even make sense to us.” She got up and sat next to Claire on the couch. Claire laid her head on Olivia’s shoulder. She closed her eyes and felt Olivia’s energy soak into her. Her heart rate slowed down a bit and she felt herself let go of the tension in her shoulders.

“I’m really sorry, Claire. I’m an asshole,” Allison said.

Claire ignored her. She was far too lost in her own pain to realize that they might be in pain too.

Jeremy sensed that he was losing control of the room. He meant to bring them all together for support, and they were already fighting.

Tanner spoke up. “Did you hear anything from Sheff or anyone else about what happened? Does anyone know more than what they are reporting on the news?”

“No,” Jeremy said. “Sheff hadn’t heard anything more when I spoke to him. Her house and her storefront are a crime scene. Nobody but police can get access.”

“I’m sure it’s not guarded or anything,” Allison said. Maybe we can sneak in and see what we can find. If it was just normal foul play or something of the magical sort.”

“We aren’t detectives, Allison,” Jeremy said. “But Sheff did mention that he wants to get the security cameras in the store working again.”

“He hasn’t fixed those yet?” Claire asked nervously.

“It’s okay, Claire,” Jeremy tried to reassure her. “He’s working on it. He’s also going to get me info on her memorial. We are going to be working on wards for the shop, and I’d like us to each make our own as well. We’ll each need at least three, maybe four.” The group nodded in agreement. “We have been pretty lax lately when it comes to personal defense,” he continued. “We’ve been focusing on other things, but until we know why June was murdered we really need to shift our focus on protecting ourselves.”

“Has anyone checked on the witch bottles we made last spring?” Olivia asked. Everyone shook their heads no.

“Well either way, they need to be replaced,” Jeremy said.  “You can all make your wards on your own time, or we can get together here and make them.”

“We need to do a protection spell during our next full moon circle.” Claire said. Everyone looked at her. Jeremy was relieved she was chiming in. He was hoping he wouldn’t have to steer through all of this alone. It was her coven, after all. “I think we have covered enough for tonight,” she said. It was clear that she was ready to be alone.

Jeremy took a deep breath. “I think Claire is right. We should call it a night.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

EMILY SLUGGED THROUGH work all week. She was distracted, she couldn’t focus, and she was making mistakes left and right.

“Marketing wanted these on matte paper?” Dave asked her. He knew the answer, but he wanted to see if she noticed her mistake.

“What?” Emily asked. “Oh, shoot. I’m sorry I’ll fix it right away.”

Dave seemed concerned about her. He was never one to pry, but Emily had never been like this in the three years they had worked together. “Everything going okay outside of work?” he asked her.

“Yeah. I’m sorry,” she said. “I know I’ve been messing up a lot. I’m just distracted about some things and I’m letting it get to me here I guess.”

“Maybe you should take a few days off,” he suggested. “You haven’t had a vacation in almost two years.”

“You’re one to talk,” she quipped back. “Have you ever taken a vacation?”

“Have I ever messed up five orders in three days?” he said, teasing her.

“Ouch, man,” she said. “Touché.” She grabbed the reprinted order, now corrected on glossy paper, and replaced it on the counter. She threw the incorrect pages in the recycling. “I’m going to do the one o’clock mail run.”

“Are you going to think about taking a vacation?” he asked.

“Yes, I’ll think about it,” she said. She grabbed the mail cart and pushed it through the door. This part of her job was mindless, and she liked to use it as an opportunity to think. A lot of parts of her job were mindless, she thought. But she had been messing up even the simplest things this week. First she had been distracted by her dreams and losing sleep. Constantly tired at work. And now, her real life was colliding with her dreams and becoming more distracting than the dreams were. She couldn’t stop thinking about Claire. She couldn’t shake the feeling that meeting her was more than a coincidence. She also worried that meeting with Jeremy at all had been a mistake. She went to try and shed some light on the matter. To learn a bit more, and get the dreams out of her head. But it seemed to have made things worse. Everything got weirder that day. Her thoughts shifted. She should call Jeremy. Just go all in. Maybe she needed to jump down the rabbit hole and see where it would take her. What did she have to lose? It couldn’t get much worse. “It can only get better from here,” she said out loud.

“What?” A woman turned around in her cubicle looking confused.

“Oh, nothing, I’m sorry.” She smiled and started walking faster, not realizing she had spoken out loud. She walked right past a mail stop, missing an urgent inter-office mail, and bringing her mindless mistake total for the week to six.

Emily powered down all of the printers and computers, turned off the lights, and closed the print center. Walking through the building on her way out for the day, she couldn’t decide if she should call Jeremy or just go to the shop. Driving to The Cottage wasn’t very far out of her way. There was a chance he might not be working. But if that were the case, she could at least browse through the books and find one to take home. She drove to The Cottage, and had to drive a bit farther down the street before she was able to find a parking spot. The bells jingled when she opened the door, and she was surprised at what she saw. The store was bustling with people. There was a temporary table set up near the front counter, and it was covered in food. The music was a bit louder than she remembered it being when she visited the store the first time, and the sound of people speaking added a hum above the sound of the music. She weaved through the people, trying to keep an eye out for Jeremy. She really hoped he was here, because this wasn’t what she had in mind when she imagined browsing through the store. A hand touched her shoulder.

“Hi Emily,” he said.

Emily turned around and Jeremy was standing there. She was so relieved she wanted to hug him, and the urge surprised her. Rabbit hole. She thought, and she hugged him, resting her head on his chest like an old friend.

“Woah,” he said. “Are you okay?”

She pulled back. “Yes I’m fine, I’m sorry. That was weird. I just felt like hugging you so I went for it.” She put her hands in her coat pockets. “I guess I am relieved to see you is all. What’s going on here? Why is it so busy?”

“Well, a beloved figure in our community has died. She was murdered actually,” he said.

She tilted her head and her face turned into a frown, “Oh God I am so sorry.”

“Yeah. Her name was June, and she ran a small Tarot reading business out of her home. She meant a lot to a lot of people around our city,” he said.

Recognition flashed on her face. “I heard about that on the news,” she said. “I didn’t know you knew her. That is horrible.” She looked around at all of the faces in the shop. People were smiling, laughing, crying, and hugging. "So is this a kind of wake for her?”

“Kind of,” he said. “We decided to hold a gathering here for the community because a lot of people are scared right now. I thought that being in a common place might help reduce some anxieties. I'm not sure if it’s helping.”

“Why are people scared?” She remembered running in the rain to her apartment building the night she heard about the murder, and regretted the question immediately.

“I don’t know how much you have heard about her, if anything, but people like her have a reason to be afraid,” he said.

Now she was even more intrigued. What did he mean, people like her? “What do you mean exactly?”

He looked around at the crowded space, “Follow me,” he said, and led her into the back break room. He closed the door and turned around to look at her. His voice was quiet. “Look. There are a lot of folks who live a life that most people know nothing about, and everyone likes to keep it that way. What happened to June is the main reason. Crazy assholes have been killing people like her for thousands of years.”

“There you go with the people like her comment again,” she said. “What do you mean?”

“June was a witch,” he said.

“You think she was murdered because she was a witch?” she asked. “Don’t you think that is a bit paranoid?”

“Maybe. Maybe it was just a random killing. Or maybe more people like her are in danger.”

“I think maybe you’re overreacting. One woman is killed, and you’re talking like there is a serial killer on the loose,” she said.

He crossed his arms defiantly. “Maybe you should be more concerned about all of this with those dreams you’re having.”

She pulled her head back, confused. “What is that supposed to mean? And why are you telling me all this if it is all supposed to be some huge secret?”

“You’re right. I probably shouldn’t be telling you any of this. But I saw some of your dreams, and I am pretty damn sure you’re a witch too. So go ahead and say we’re all being paranoid all you want, but I think you need to be paranoid too.”

“You saw some of my dreams? What does that mean?! What are you talking about?”

“When I touched your hand, your dreams just shot into my head. You’re dreaming about my coven’s circle. And I usually have to make an effort to pick up images from people, but yours just forced yourself onto me. That has never happened to me before, and I think that had more to do with you than me,” he said.

She couldn't wrap her head around this. “What did you see, exactly?”

“I saw us dancing in circle. I know it was us because I saw my back and my tattoos.” He kept the information about seeing her with Claire to himself. Even though he didn’t mean to see it, it felt like a violation and he was ashamed to have that in his head. He didn’t want to embarrass her, and he felt like that was a secret he needed to keep.

“This is all too much. I can’t keep up with how many things don’t make any sense to me right now,” she said. She sat down in a chair, leaned over and put her head in her hands. Jeremy sat in the chair next to her.

“Have you experienced your dreams,” he paused, “coming true before?”

Emily furrowed her brows in confusion, and while she immediately thought that had never happened, she remembered one dream in particular. “I had a dream that my parent’s sat me down and told me they were getting a divorce. Two weeks later the exact thing happened.” She felt uneasy. “I didn’t think about it… I was so young.”

Jeremy nodded assuringly.

“But why would they be getting so intense right now? I have gone years without noticing any pattern, noticing any coincidences, and now my dreams are practically assaulting me.”

“I’m not sure,” he said. “I know this is all a lot. But if you want, I’d like to help you. I think you should come back to my house. There are some folks I’d like to introduce you to.”

The thought drifted into her head again, rabbit hole. “Okay, sure.”

He stood up and put his hands on his hips. “I need to get back out there. Do you want to come by my house Friday night?”

She was distracted and still trying to process everything he said in just the last five minutes. Let alone the last few months. “Yeah Friday night should work,” she said, dazed.

“Perfect.” He opened the door for her and followed her out. The store was still full of people. “Did you want to look around at all or are you going to take off?” he asked.

“I was going to look around, but I think I’ll just go. I’d like to come back another time when it’s less busy,” she said. “And I think I need to go home and think about this”

“Okay. I’ll text you details about Friday. Thanks for stopping by.” Jeremy smiled at her. “Don’t worry. I think this is going to all turn out okay.” He turned and soon disappeared into the crowd.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

A BLUE OLDSMOBILE station wagon was parked across the street from the cottage.

“The brunette,” Suzan said. “You recognize her?”

“Yes.” Angel flipped through a few pages of a tattered book and pointed at a polaroid showing Emily leaving the store. “This is from last week. This is only the second time I’ve seen her here in the last two months.”

“Not exactly a regular,” she said. “Well, note her again.”

“I already did, my love,” he mumbled under his breath. He turned the pages. They were covered in polaroids and notes of each person. Each suspect had a page with their photo and any information they had gathered about that person.

“If that bitch would have told us anything we wouldn't have to keep sitting here waiting for information,” she said.

“We need to pick the right people so we can come up with the right plan,” he told her.

“I know.” She looked back at him, “But I didn't think it was going to keep being so easy.” She picked up the book and shook it in his face. “All of this prep work is a waste of time. I think we can just start picking people off one by one. This has been going better than we thought it would.”

“And what happens if we slip up?” he asked. “What if we get someone who is innocent?”

She scoffed. “None of these people are innocent. Guilty by association as far as I’m concerned. You saw the kinds of shit they have in that place. Nothing in there is forgivable. Nobody is going into that store by accident.”

“We went in there,” he said.

She sighed and put the book back on her lap. “You think there is another set of people around here like us, hunting these demon lovers down?”

“No.” He looked down at his hands. “I just don’t want to accidentally hurt anyone who is innocent.”

“I think we have more than enough to go after number two.” She smiled. “I say we do it tonight.”

Angel looked at the store and the people inside. He felt a deep sadness for them, and he knew he had to help her save them. “Okay. Tonight.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CLAIRE HAD FINISHED six new paintings, and was working on a seventh. The loss of her marriage had stunted her productivity, but it seemed that the loss of her mentor was fueling it. She was losing herself in her work again, and she was crying a little less each day. She was painting June. She was painting death. She was painting tarot cards. She was painting dark figures lurking in the shadows.

She had skipped the gathering at the cottage. While her grief was now coming and going and not so constant, she still didn’t feel prepared to see so many people. She didn’t think she’d be able to keep it together in that environment. She knew June would understand, and she needed to mourn her in her own way.  During the gathering at the cottage while Claire had the covenstead to herself, she wrote a protection spell. She texted the ingredients to Jeremy and asked him to pick them up from the shop. She also pulled out all the materials needed for creating new witch bottles and wards for the coven. Not only had her motivation for her work diminished in recent months, but she knew her leadership in the coven had taken a dip as well. Jeremy was going easy on her, but she needed to step up. As the high priestess it was her responsibility to keep her coven safe. There was no way she could lose another person she loved. Tonight she was going to start to put her life back together.

The sun was nearing the horizon, and the sky was filled with a reddish orange hue. Inside the house, the coven stood surrounding the kitchen table. The table was covered in jars, bags, and piles of herbs. Red yarn, and bowls full of needles, nails, and glass sat around a large book in the middle of the table. Each person took turns flipping through the book and grabbing items. Candles were lit on the table and around the room, and incense was burning. They were making witch bottles and working on wards; following recipes that had been passed down from the witches before them. They had worked in silence since they got there. Spirits were low and they were all focused on the goal for the evening. Jeremy decided he wanted to bring Emily up to the group tonight.

“So since we’re all here, I thought I would mention an interesting interaction I had today at the shop.”

“I think we are all ready for a break from mourning right now,” Claire said. “Can we focus on this work, please and not talk about stories from today?”

“Well this is actually related to this work, in a way. Or, it could be, maybe.”

“What is it then?” Claire said.

“So the woman I told you guys about. She came into the shop today,” he said. “We had a quick talk, and she agreed to come by and meet everyone on Friday. I think her dreams are clairvoyant, and we may be able to help her hone her skills.”

“Is now really the best time to be adding someone to the coven? I know I mentioned this, but how do we know we can trust her? Olivia asked.

“It’s not like we couldn't use the help,” Tanner said. “Maybe she would be a good asset to the coven.”

“But how much time and training would it take to get her to be a contributing member?” Olivia asked. “She might end up holding us back and becoming a weakness.”

“She's right,” Claire said. “The only project we need right now is keeping ourselves safe.”

“I think she can help us stay safe,” Jeremey stressed. “Her dreams show what’s going to happen to her. If she’s part of the coven, maybe her dreams will show her what will happen to all of us,” he explained. “If anything, she could use our help. I really think she’s coming into some power that she can’t control and doesn’t understand.”

Nobody replied.

“I invited her over to meet everyone on Friday. You guys can see what you think.”

“Well you already made the plan with her so there isn’t much we can do except go along with it,” Claire said. She was trying to keep herself from getting too annoyed with him. She knew he was doing his best and had been trying to pick up her slack for months. “Maybe she’ll be a perfect fit.” Claire smiled at Jeremy, and he smiled back, relieved.

Allison hadn’t spoken much since she arrived. She looked around at the group and broke the silence by saying, “She was stabbed thirteen times.” Everyone looked at her, stunned. “And the killer wrote his name on the wall in her blood.”

“Jesus, Allison,” Jeremy said. “Can you not, right now?”

“Sorry I just… I just can’t believe it,” Allison said. “I just don’t understand how this could happen.” She started crying. “What if it were one of us?”

Claire tightened her face and clenched her jaw. “That is why we are doing all of this right now.” She started picking up the supplies off of the table. “Is everyone finished? I think we need to get this spell going.”

Olivia put her arms around Allison and led her into the living room. Tanner helped Clair clean up the kitchen.

“Jeremy can you get circle set up?” Claire asked.

“Sure thing,” he said.

They were quiet as they prepared and thought about the goal for the evening. They all pushed their sadness, anger, and fear down into a dark place inside themselves, and let it simmer. They would use it all in circle that night, forcing all of the fire inside their bodies into the spell that they were going to send out into the universe with all the power they could muster.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

SHEFF SQUINTED TO see through the rain as he drove. The highway was wet, and the headlights of his old pickup were dimmer than they should be. He was on his way to his cabin and looking forward to a weekend away from the shop. No customers, no curious teenagers, just relaxation and real magic. He built the cabin on land he had purchased fifteen years ago. Ten acres of woods with a small clearing. He spent a year building the cabin, and the summer after that creating a walkway to a large clearing a short distance from the building. He tended to it each season, creating a secluded enchanted place in the woods. He had made plans for a large gazebo type roof for the circle. Nine posts surrounding the circle, connected by planks overhead. A hole in the middle would be left for the altar fire, and the roof around the circle would be removable on clear nights. He loved practicing out in the natural world. He loathed the thought of witches hiding in basements and houses behind closed curtains. Witches needed to practice in the nature they revered. He thought about his project and his happiness was met with trepidation. It was getting harder for him to get around, and a project of that size was too much for him to complete alone. The younger folks he knew in the city were often too busy to come up to his property to help with anything, so he hadn’t bothered asking. He might start asking around next spring to see if anyone could help out. He knew that people loved the space so far, and if he got over his nervousness of asking for help, he was sure it was a project people would love to have something to do with. But he wouldn’t be working on it anytime soon. This weekend was for relaxing. For getting a break from the public mourning of June, and the ability to grieve in peace. There was no magic on the schedule, just a fire and a book. He couldn’t wait. One of his favorite things about the cabin was the drive there. The time driving out of the city let him transition into a different state of mind. It was a good way to slow down and shift between the speed of the city and the calm of the woods.

He saw hazard lights flashing up ahead. The road wasn’t busy, and being about an hour out of town he decided to pull over and make sure the people were okay. He wouldn’t be much help if there was anything wrong with the car, but maybe they would need to use his phone. He put on his blinker and pulled up behind the car. He put the car in park, and turned the hazards on in his truck as well.

“Hi there,” he said. He saw a woman sitting in the driver’s seat and approached the car slowly. “Do you need any help? Are you okay?” He got to the side of the car and looked in the windows. The backseat was full of blankets, and the woman was looking out the window at him. She was rubbing her hands together to keep them warm. “Do you need any help?” he yelled at her. He didn’t want to scare her, but he wasn’t sure how well she could hear him from outside the car. She rolled the window down a few inches and peered up at him. “Hi, do you need any help?” he repeated.

“Oh, um. I don’t know,” she said. “My car just stopped. Do you know anything about cars?”

“Unfortunately, no.” he said. “My name is Sheff. Do you need to use my phone to call anyone?”

“I know your name,” she said. She smiled and rolled her window back up. Sheff heard a footstep next to him and turned to look, only seeing a man’s foot before he was struck. His vision went black. Sheff collapsed onto the pavement and a pool of blood grew around his head. The man hit him again seven times.

Suzan stepped out of the car and over Sheff’s body. “Let's get him in the car quickly,” she said. “We can’t let anyone see us.”

They struggled to move him around to the other side of the car. They saw headlights and waited to hoist him into the car until the car sped by. The car passed and they pulled him up into the backseat. “Get his feet!” she yelled at Angel. “Another car is coming.” She reached to the car’s dash and turned off the hazard lights. She looked back and saw the truck behind them, it’s hazards still flashing as well. “Go turn his truck’s flashers off!” she yelled.

“Do you want me to get his feet in, or turn off his flashers?” he asked.

“Both! Now!” she yelled.

Angel pushed his feet in the car and closed the door. He ran to the truck and another car was approaching behind them.

A man stuck his head out the window. “Do you all need some help?” he asked.

“No, we are all good now! All sorted out. Thank you!” He smiled and waved at the car. He wanted the driver to keep looking at him so he wouldn’t notice the blood on the side of the road next to their car.

“Okay, I just had to make sure,” the driver said. “We gotta look out for each other, you know!”

“We sure do!” Angel said. The driver put his blinker back on and pulled back onto the freeway. He sped off and into the darkness, and the man let out a long sigh. He turned the hazard lights off and realized he didn’t get Sheff’s car keys. “Fuck,” he said. He ran back to the car where Suzan was waiting for him impatiently. She shoved the keys in his hand without looking at him.

“You forgot these,” she said. She placed her hands on the steering wheel and looked at the road. “Did that guy see anything?”

“No. No I don’t think so,” he said.

“Okay. Let's go get rid of this. Are you going to be behind me?” she said.

“Yes,” he said. He ran back to the truck and started it. They pulled off the shoulder, back onto the road, and drove into the darkness.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

EMILY HAD ONE more day until she would see Claire again. She was terrified, and yet she couldn’t wait. She had no idea how she was going to act normal around her. How do you act casual around someone you’ve been dreaming about? She played with the idea of asking Jeremy about how to handle it, but she didn’t feel like she knew him well enough yet. She didn’t think he would think she was crazy, but the dream felt too personal to talk to him about. That’s when it occurred to her that it might not matter if she told him or not. He might have seen it already. He said that he saw her dreams. He could have seen her and Claire as well. She tried to reassure herself, thinking perhaps he would have said something to her about it. Unless he didn’t want her to know that he saw the dream. It didn’t matter anyway, she still needed to figure out how she was going to approach it. She thought about Claire when she was folding her laundry. She thought about Claire when she did her dishes. She thought about Claire when she was driving her car. She was still having the dreams of her in the dark and smoky room, dancing naked in a circle with strangers. But they didn’t bother her as much lately besides the fact that she would have rather have her dream of Claire every night. But they came occasionally, and Emily would wake up smiling, sweating, heart beating and feeling warm and in love. In love with a total stranger.

The next morning Emily was getting ready to go to Jeremy’s house. Her bed was covered in a pile of clothes that was growing larger by the minute. For the life of her, she could not find the right outfit to wear. Each option was either too tight, or too casual, or too dressy, or too colorful, or too black. She looked at herself in the mirror and wished she could just go naked. She was used to that by now, and it was the only way she had been with Claire. Assuming it was Claire.

“It was Claire,” she reassured herself in the mirror. “You’re insane.”

She heard her phone ringing and couldn't see it anywhere. The ring was muffled, getting louder as she threw items of clothing off the bed to search through the pile for her phone. Her phone appeared and her mother’s face was on the screen.

“Ugh,” she sighed. “Not now.” She pressed the red decline button and placed her phone on the nightstand. “Casual. Comfortable. Just be yourself,” she said.

She picked out her favorite blue jeans and a floral blouse. She wore her hair down and slipped on her gray Chuck Taylors, pet Eli on the head, and slipped out the door with her jacket in her hand.

CHAPTER TWENTY

HALF OF THE coven was gathered in the living room, and the other half were talking in the kitchen. There was excitement in the air, as they were all eager to meet Emily. They had met other seekers before, but there was something about this situation that made everything feel different. Perhaps it was the fact that Jeremy was certain that this woman, who had zero knowledge of witchcraft, was a full blown witch that was meant to be in their coven. That certainly hadn’t happened before. Or maybe it was because a great leader in the community had been murdered and they were all feeling lost, on edge, and on guard. It was most likely the combination of both that contributed to the feelings floating around the house.

Of the coven members, Jeremy felt the most pressure. He didn’t know much about Emily, but he felt a connection to her. And he felt she had some kind of connection to the coven. He was also anxious about how she might act around Claire. Her nervousness upon meeting her the first time she visited the house was not lost on him, although he had been in a kind of shock from unwillingly witnessing her dreams before she stormed out of the house. Jeremy wanted to focus on the coven dreams, and he’d just have to see what happened with Emily and Claire. He didn’t want to intervene there. In the past he had a habit of poking his head into Claire’s relationships, but he had bigger things to worry about right now.

The doorbell rang. Jeremy got up to get the door and Claire was at the bottom of the stairs.

“I’ll get it, you can sit,” Claire said.

He sat back down on the couch and watched.

Claire opened the door and Emily was standing there. She smiled. “Hi Emily, come on in.”

Emily didn’t expect Claire to answer the door and was unprepared. Although she knew she wouldn't be prepared to see her at all.

“Hi Claire." She smiled timidly and entered the house.

“You remember my name? Good memory!” Claire said. She sensed that Emily was very nervous and was trying to make her feel more comfortable. She had felt seekers who were nervous before. Almost all of them were. But this woman brought it to a whole other level, making her wonder if something else was going on.

“Um, yeah I guess. I mean, thanks," Emily said. She was already saying stupid things and wanted to turn around and never come back.

Jeremy bit his lip and walked over to greet Emily.

“You’re back!” he said.

“I am,” she said with a nervous smile. “Against my better judgement!” she joked.

“Come on into the living room. Everybody is here to meet you!” he said.

Emily walked past Claire and caught the scent of her shampoo. She recognized the smell and closed her eyes, thinking of her dream. Snap out of it, she thought to herself.

Everyone introduced themselves, standing and shaking hands with her. Emily took a seat on the couch. She squeezed her hands together on her lap in between her legs. Her shoulders were visibly high and tense, and she pressed her lips into a smile as she looked around at everyone’s faces.

“Well thanks for coming, Emily," Jeremy said.

“Thanks for inviting me, I'm happy to meet everyone," she said. She made eye contact with Claire and they held it for a moment. Allison noticed and looked at Jeremy with a questionable glance. Jeremy furrowed his brow and shook his head quickly to dismiss her.

“I know you have some questions about witchcraft. It probably seems weird that I invited you over to meet people, and I’m sure you’re wondering why these other people are here.”

“I mean, I have an idea why everyone is here," she said.

“So normally I wouldn’t be so open with a person unless they came to me, or one of us, already knowing who we are. Or, what we are, I suppose," he said. “You don’t exactly fall into that category. You say you know nothing about witchcraft, and until we spoke you didn’t think it was real.”

Emily nodded in agreement.

“With someone who knows nothing about any of this, I would be much more tight-lipped about us and what we do here. Except that you don’t really fall into the total newbie category either. Because in a way, you’ve already been here with us," he said. “So let’s just get it all out into the open. This is our coven. We’re witches. I firmly believe that your dreams have showed you practicing with us. In our coven.”

“This is so cool," Allison said. A huge smile growing on her face.

Olivia chuckled lightly and Tanner smiled too. Claire and Jeremy looked at each other nervously and then back at Emily, expectantly. Emily’s face flushed pink and she felt it get warmer, which only made her more nervous.

“Yeah this is pretty weird," she said.

“So,” he continued. “Do you want to tell everybody about what has been going on? I've given them a little summary, but if you feel comfortable it's probably best for everyone to get a sense of it in your own words.”

“Uh, sure. Okay," she said. She felt put on the spot, but she knew this is why she came, so she needed to push through it. As nervous as she was, she felt that same sense of familiarity that she did when she first met Jeremy. Like she kind of already knew these people. She began to explain her dreams to them. Telling them what she had told Jeremy. How they repeated themselves so many times that she knew what was coming next and was able to stitch the parts of the dreams together in a sequence in her memory. How she felt like she as an active participant in the dreams and not just like she was watching a movie. She admitted that she knew the smell of this house when she first walked in, and she couldn't put her finger on the way she feels like she recognizes each of them, even though she hasn't met them or even really seen any of their faces.

She looked at Claire and her face turned red again. She shifted her gaze quickly to Jeremy. Claire sensed her nervousness increase again. In an instant she recognized it not as the nervousness of meeting a new group of people, but romantic tension.

So she has a crush on one of us, Claire thought to herself. That might become a problem.

“And you said you’ve had dreams that have ended up predicting things before?” Jeremy asked her.

“Yes, when I was little I remember one dream in particular," she said. “I don’t know if it happened more than that or not.”

“Have you had any other dreams lately besides these repeating ones with the coven?” Tanner asked.

Emily was silent as she tried to decide how to answer that question. Jeremy tried to not register any anticipation on his face.

Emily cleared her throat. “Yes," she said. “But I uh, don’t really feel comfortable discussing them," she made an effort not to look at Claire.

Tanner nodded silently, accepting her answer and her wish to privacy. “Fair," he said.

“That is totally fine," Jeremey piped in. “We are just here to discuss the witchy stuff.”

“Speaking of witchy stuff then," Claire said. “Do you have any questions for us, Emily?”

“I'm not sure," she said. “Like Jeremy said, I didn’t even think any of this stuff was real until recently. It's a lot to take in, and honestly I'm still trying to process it. Like Jeremy seeing into my head.” The realization that if Jeremy could see into her head by touching her, made her wonder if any of them read or heard her thoughts? Could Claire? “Can all of you do that?” she asked. “What all can you guys do?”

They all smiled and looked around the room at each other. Claire spoke first. “Well let’s not get ahead of ourselves. That isn’t the kind of thing we talk about with the uninitiated," she said.

“Uninitiated?” Emily said. “People who aren’t witches? Jeremy said he thought I was a witch.”

“I think that you are, yes. With your dreams, and the fact that your mind seemed to direct them into my head. That doesn't usually happen without any work or energy on my part.” he said. “I think you’re one of us. But that isn’t the same thing as being initiated," he explained.

“It sounds like you have some inherent powers," Claire said. “Some witches have skills that they seem to be born with. But some witches are born without any special ability at all. Whether you start with something or nothing, it takes a lot of learning and honing of your skills to reach your potential," she said. “It takes practice.”

“A lot of practice," Olivia said.

“And with all there is to learn, someone has to teach you," Jeremy said. “You need someone to show you the way."

“Now I won’t get into the specifics of any of our skills today. We just met you and like Jeremy said, you fall into a weird little spot with us, but that doesn't mean we can just tell you everything," Claire said. “But if you are initiated as a witch, your skills could drastically change. For some people it’s an immediate difference. It's like they are given an entirely new body and they are seeing the world for the first time. For others the change is less drastic and things develop over time. Whether you have any abilities before you are initiated doesn’t seem to have any impact on how initiation will affect you.”

The group nodded in agreement with Claire.

“So what is it about initiation that sparks this change?” Emily asked.

“Good question," Jeremy said. “If you find out the answer someday we’d love for you to share it with us.” The group chuckled and Emily looked confused.

“We perform a ceremony that has been passed down to us from hundreds of years ago," Tanner said. “We have a general idea of what happens, but we can’t actually explain every aspect of it. We have a good idea about a lot of it, but we don’t have all the answers unfortunately.”

“We just know it works," Allison said.

“You don’t know how it works?” Emily asked.

“You’re getting a bit ahead of yourself again," Jeremy said. “Here is what I can tell you for now. We will teach you what we know, if you would like us to.”

“If you want to be initiated into our coven, you’d be expected to spend a good deal of time with all of us to make sure it's a good fit," Claire said. “Then at a specified time we would perform your initiation, and you’d start on your path to witchdom with us.”

“So are you in!?” Allison said.

“Um," Emily said.

“Calm down, Allison," Jeremy said. He turned and looked at Emily. “This is a big decision and you don’t need to tell us right away.”

Emily looked into all of their faces. She looked around the house and she took a deep breath, smelling that familiar smell. She felt a strange kind of certainty in her gut. Sitting in this weird house with these weird strangers who call themselves witches, she felt a level of comfort she can’t remember ever experiencing at any point in her life before. Rabbit hole, she thought.

“I’ll do it," she said.

“You really don’t have to tell us today," Claire said.

“I know," Emily said. “But I feel like it’s what I’m supposed to do.”

“There isn’t really any going back from this once you’re initiated," Jeremy warned.

“Once you’re a witch, you can’t un-witch yourself," Tanner said.

“You don’t have any doubts?” Olivia asked.

“It is the BEST decision you will ever make!” Allison said.

Emily smiled at Allison and looked at Olivia. “I don’t actually. I haven’t dreamt of this moment, but I feel like I’m supposed to be with you people. I don’t want to waste any more time," she said.

“Okay then," Jeremy said. “For the next year we will all get to know each other and work towards your initiation.”

“A year?” Emily said. “I have to wait a year?”

“A year and a day is the standard amount of time you spend with a coven before you're initiated," Claire said, attempting to reassure Emily.

“You didn’t know witchcraft was real up until a couple weeks ago," Jeremy said. “I think you’ll survive another year.”

“But what about protecting us from the witch killer?” Allison said. They all looked at her and Jeremy gave her his stern shut up Allison look again. “You said her dreams could help keep us safe from the murderer.”

Emily was surprised. So there was more going on here than they were letting on. “You think my dreams will protect you from the killer?”

Jeremy shifted in his seat. “I thought that once you became a part of our lives that perhaps your dreams might show if we’re in danger, yes.”

Claire crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. She was curious to see how he was going to wiggle himself out of this.

“Why would she dream of a new event before the event her dream keeps showing her has even taken place?” Tanner asked.

Jeremy looked at Emily. “Well like she said, she has had other dreams," he said. “She hasn’t told us everything. Which is totally fine," he looked away.

He knew, Emily thought. He had seen the dream of her and Claire. She was almost certain of it. She suddenly felt very awkward. He hasn’t told her, at least. She assumed that Claire wouldn’t be acting so casually around her if she knew that she had been dreaming of them together.

“Well if we just initiated her now we could help her hone her stuff. Maybe even find some new goodies she doesn’t know about.” Allison bounced her eyebrows at Emily and smirked.

“Other goodies?” Emily said.

“You might discover some other things that come easily to you after you're initiated," Tanner said.

“Like what?” Emily asked.

Jeremy shook his head no and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Again, we can’t tell you that stuff," Jeremy said. “Sorry.”

“Why not?” Emily said. “I don’t get it. You’re telling me you guys are witches but why can’t you tell me what you can actually do?”

“Keeping ourselves hidden and under wraps has gotten pretty lax in the last few decades," Jeremy said.

“Which has had deadly consequences for some of us," Claire said, avoiding eye contact.

Jeremy continued. “Very true," he said. “It would probably be a good idea to start being more careful again, but that is a whole other conversation. Anyway, a lot of the original guidelines are still followed. When you’re initiated you take an oath to keep certain secrets. We lose some of our power if people know what those powers are. And until you are one of us, you’re a possible threat.”

“I don’t really get it," Emily said. “But okay.”

“If you want to move forward, you have a lot to learn," Claire said. “And we will teach you. When the time is right you’ll be initiated and you’ll be born into a whole new world.”

Emily felt a flutter in her stomach. The prospect of spending more time with Claire made her giddy. And the possibility of having magical power and having a new world open up to her was all so exciting.

“You do realize it is potentially dangerous, right?” Olivia asked. She looked at Emily with such care in her eyes. “Our friend June was murdered, and it’s likely that her being a witch had something to do with it. You might be putting yourself in danger just by associating yourself with us.”

Emily looked at Claire, and she knew she had to see where this path would take her. She was hoping it would lead to some answers. Put her dreams to sleep, and lead to a new life with a new love.

“I feel like my dreams have been just knocking on the door of my subconscious. I need to answer them, and that means going all the way,” she said.

Jeremy and Claire looked at each other and Claire shrugged her shoulders.

“Alright," Claire said. “Well, Emily. We are going to be spending a lot of time together.” Claire smiled at Emily and Emily felt her cheeks begin to burn as they blushed pinker. Emily’s phone buzzed in her pocket. She peeked at the screen and it was her mother again. She tucked the phone back into her pocket.

“Do you need to take that?” Jeremy asked.

“No, it’s fine," Emily said. “It’s my mom. I'll just call her back on my way home.”

Jeremy’s phone rang in the kitchen. “I should see who that is," he said as he got up and made his way to the kitchen. “We are some popular people right now, huh?”

Emily felt mildly uncomfortable being alone with the rest of the coven. She barely knew Jeremy, but she knew him better than the she knew the rest of them.

“So, Emily. What do you do for work?” Olivia asked.

“My job is really boring actually. I work in a print center for a large law firm.”

“Oh really?” Olivia said. Before she could continue, Jeremy walked back into the room and his face was pale.

“They found Sheff’s body in the woods outside of Lakeshore. He’s dead.”

Everyone gasped and started talking over each other.

“That can't be right," Claire said. “There's no way that is right.”

“How do they know it is him?” Tanner asked.

“He was just at the cottage on Wednesday," Allison said.

“I don’t understand. Who was that? Who just called?” Olivia asked.

Emily sat and watched all of their faces turn to confusion and pain. Jeremy stood there in front of all of them and appeared to be in shock.

“Jeremy?” Claire said. She stood up and put her arm around him, leading him to the chair he was sitting in when the phone rang.

“That was Elise. His sister," Jeremy said. “She just identified his body. He’s fucking dead.” He started to cry and he bent over and hid his face in his hands as he sobbed.

Emily didn’t know what to do or say. Nobody spoke. Tanner pulled out his phone and began looking up information on the death.

“Maybe it is a good idea to call it a night," Claire said to the group.

“Is it safe for us to like, go anywhere alone? Jesus Christ Sheff was killed," Allison said. “He was huge!”

“That's a good point," Olivia said. “We had an inkling that June was killed for who she was, but now it's pretty clear that we’re all in danger.”

“Well we can’t stay together all of the time," Tanner said. “I need to go to work.”

“Danielle is home alone right now," Allison said. “Do you think she's in danger too?”

“Let’s just slow down and think about this," Claire said.

Jeremy quietly sobbed into his hands. Olivia placed a box of tissues on his leg and kissed the top of his head. Emily felt like she should leave.

“I’m so sorry about your friend Sheff, Jeremy," Emily said as she stood up. “I think I’m going to go home and let you guys be together."

“You don’t have to go, Emily," Claire said. “You aren’t one of us yet, but you should still be concerned about your safety.”

Emily thought about the fact that she’s always concerned about her own safety, but she didn’t say that. “That is really nice of you, Claire,” she said. “But I can’t really stay here either. I have a cat at home I need to get home to.”

“I think the most important thing right now is that Jeremy isn’t alone," Tanner said. They all looked at him and waited for him to elaborate.

“Why?” Allison asked.

“Well June was a prominent figure in the community. She was also a public one, seeing as how she read Tarot from her home business,” he said. “Sheff was another important person in the community. And now with him gone, Jeremy is pretty much the head of the shop.”

“I thought you meant because he is upset,” Claire said, still standing with her arm around Jeremy. “I hadn’t even realized he might be…” she trailed off and stared at nothing. Emily thought she looked terrified.

“I think it's pretty clear that we need to come up with a plan," Olivia said. “We've worked some magic, but that doesn't mean we don’t have to put any mundane protections in place.”

“Oh!” Claire said. “Did Sheff get those cameras fixed?” She looked at Jeremy and he nodded no without looking up. “Fuck," she said.

“I don’t think a giant and semi-permanent sleepover is a very good solution," Tanner said.

“We know you have to sleep in your million dollar bed, Tanner," Allison said as she rolled her eyes.

“Let’s make an effort to keep things as positive as we can, please?” Olivia asked. “We can’t start fighting with each other right now.”

“Thank you Liv," Claire said.

Jeremy looked up at everyone. His eyes were bloodshot and swollen, and his face was wet with tears. “Tanner is right," he said. “We can’t always be together. There are going to be times when we’re alone and there is no way around that. We have jobs and lives to live. We can’t put everything on hold.”

“I wonder if the police see the connection," Olivia said.

“How can they not?” Claire said. “A Tarot reader and an occult shop owner. They have to know it's a pattern now.”

“Um, I’m sorry to jump in here if it isn’t my place." Emily said, timidly. She was still standing in front of the couch. “But you mentioned you did some magic? Won’t that help you?”

“It will help us, yes. That’s the idea," Claire said. “But Olivia is right. Magic isn’t full proof, and we don’t know what we’re up against.”

“But we can do more," Tanner said. “We can amp up the protection at each of our homes at the very least. Maybe even at some workplaces. At the cottage for sure.”

“Who can come to the cottage with Jeremy and me tomorrow before business hours?” Claire asked.

“I can," Allison said. “I’m off tomorrow.”

“We’re all off tomorrow," Tanner said.

“I actually can’t come in the morning. I have to help my mom with a project," Olivia said.

“I can come," Emily said. Everyone looked at her. “If I can help, I want to help. I need to learn, right?”

“It’s not like we’ll be casting a circle in the middle of the store," Jeremy said, looking at Claire. “There are things she can help with.”

“Okay," Claire said. “If you want you can come. Thanks." She smiled at Emily and Emily smiled back.

“After I'm done at my mom’s I can be with Jeremy at the cottage," Olivia said.

“We can grab some supplies too, and then the rest of us can team up on our houses," Claire said. “We can figure out those details tomorrow.”

“So are we meeting here in the morning?” Tanner said.

“Yes, let’s meet here at eight tomorrow," Claire answered. “Allison, you get home and fill Danielle in on what’s going on so she knows to be extra careful. Text me when you’re home and the place is locked up.”

“Will do, boss," Allison said.

“Tanner and Liv, you guys text me too when you’re home safe.” They nodded in agreement. Claire looked at Emily. “You should let me know too.”

“Um, sure," Emily said. “I don’t have your number.”

“She has mine," Jeremy said.

“She should have mine too. She should have all of ours, really.” Emily put everyone’s number in her phone, and she sent a group text so everyone had her number as well.

“Let’s just use that group text to let everybody know when you’re home safe," Claire said.

“Jeremy, can I do anything for you right now?” Olivia asked. Claire looked at Olivia and motioned for her to come over. Olivia hugged Jeremy, and focused. She absorbed some of his pain, forcing as much of it as she could out of her body. He took a deep breath. She pulled back to look at him and a tear ran down her face.

“You didn’t have to do that," he said.

“You know I did," she replied.

Emily watched the hug and she thought she saw a foggy mist appear around Olivia for a brief moment. She thought she was tired and just imagining things, and then she realized she needed to get better at keeping an open mind. She suddenly felt excited at the possibility of learning about things she couldn’t even imagine. Watching Claire tend to Jeremy and the rest of the group as they started to say their goodbyes, she was in awe of her. Her dream had shown her nothing about who Claire really was. And while she felt like she knew Claire in her dream, really knew her heart and soul, that was just a feeling and it wasn’t anything she could pull from while she was awake. She was looking at a stranger that she was infatuated with, and she just wanted to know her. She wanted to know how she got into her head in the first place.

Emily hugged Jeremy and he thanked her and apologized.

“You don’t have to apologize for anything. I’m really sorry for your loss,” she said.

Claire hugged Emily and held her tight. “Thank you for coming over," she said. Emily felt warm and comfortable in her arms. “I have a good feeling about you being here.”

“Me too," Emily said.

“We’ll see you in the morning. Don’t forget to text when you get home," Claire said.

“Okay," Emily said.

Claire closed the door and walked over to Jeremy, who was sitting back in the living room. She sat next to him and put her hand on his leg. He placed his hand on hers and intertwined his fingers. They sat in silence, knowing there was nothing they could say that could make any of this better. She had lost her mentor. And now he had lost his. They were almost like orphans and now, they had to make sure they didn’t leave anyone else behind.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

“THEY FOUND HIM," Angel said. “It’s all over the news.”

“Hmm," Suzan said. “It was only a matter of time. We didn’t hide him very well.”

“None of it went well," he said. “None of it went according to plan.”

“It was a shitty plan," she said. “Are they saying anything about us?”

He scrolled through an article on his phone and read portions aloud. “It says the police are interviewing witnesses.”

“Great," she said. “That’s just what we need.”

“I knew we should have went back for that car," he said.

“We aren’t killers, Angel,” she said. We don’t just murder innocent people.”

“So you're fine with us getting caught then?”

“We won’t get caught," she said. “We have God on our side, and we ain’t done yet. What else does it say?”

“They are looking for two people. A man and a woman. It says they match the description of suspects in other murders in Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky.”

Suzan shook her head in frustration.

“It says because of who the victims are, they believe the suspects are serial killers.”

“Who the victims are," she said. “Ha! They’re no victims. We’re the victims.”

“It says here the people who were murdered. That is who they are talking about," he said.

“I know, you idiot. I mean they aren’t- never mind," she said.

“Maybe we should take a breather," he said. “It seems like they have a lot more information now, and people are going to be watching for us.”

“Does it say what we look like?” she asked.

“He scanned the rest of the article. “No, not here," he said.

“Then they don’t know what we look like," she said. “We can lay low, but not for long. We still have too much work to do." She stared blankly at the wall, thinking. “I might know of someone that can help us with this.”

“Who?” he asked.

“That boy that we met at the most recent church. He’s been asking about us teaching him,” she said.

“So?” he asked.

She rolled her eyes at him. “So maybe we take him up on it, dummy,” she sighed. “Maybe we see how willing he is to work with us.”

“How could that help us?”

“Just wait and see. You trust me, don’t you?”

“Of course,” he said. “With all my heart.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

EMILY LEFT THE covenstead and drove all the way home without looking at her phone. She had been too distracted to realize that she had missed two more calls from her mother. Her phone rang again as she was walking into her apartment.

“Oh my God, Mom,” she said. She picked up the phone. “Hello?”

“Emily I have been trying to call you all day," Karen said.

Emily sighed. “Yes Mom I see that. Sorry, I've had a busy day. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she said. “I wanted to call to talk to you about something.”

“What is so urgent?” Emily asked. “You never call me this much.”

“I spoke to your dad, and he told me you mentioned these dreams you've been having," she said.

“Okay?” Emily said. She didn’t know why that required her mom to harass her with phone calls the entire day.

Karen started sidetracking. “Why have you been avoiding my calls all day?”

“I said, Mom. I’ve been busy.”

“Busy doing what exactly?” Karen asked.

Emily was losing patience in record time with her mother. “Why do you care?” she asked. She was feeling fed up, and was not in the mood to deal with her mother and her prying and her rambling.

“I care because I am your mother," Karen said.

“Well that doesn't seem to come along with any prerequisite to care. Because if you cared so much, you would do more than call me once every couple of months. Even if you do call me twenty times in one day," she said. “Mom, I really do not have the capacity to argue with you right now. Tonight was really stressful, and I just can’t add anything else onto it right now.”

“Okay," Karen said.

“You called to ask me about my dreams again?” Emily asked.

“It doesn’t matter. I’m sorry for bugging you, Emily. We can talk later when you're in a better mood.”

“Ugh. Fine, Mom. Whatever you say," Emily said. “I’m glad you finally got a hold of me for no reason at all.”

Karen sat silent for a moment. “Can you call me back tomorrow? Maybe we can talk then. I really do need to talk to you about something.”

Emily rolled her eyes and Karen could hear it in her voice. “I’ll try," she said.

“I love you, Emily," Karen said. “I really do.”

Emily sighed. “Love you too." She hung up the phone. She wished she could speak to her mother without every conversation turning into an argument. She knew most of the time it fell on her and the attitude she had with her mom. It took very little for Emily to become snarky with her mom. It wasn’t always her mom’s fault. Karen had made some mistakes in terms of motherhood, but their bad relationship wasn’t on her shoulders alone. She wanted to improve things, but she didn’t know how. Her mom drove her crazy, and she still held a lot of resentment towards her for divorcing her father and then eventually moving away. If she loved her as much as she said she did, why would she leave her like that?

“Always with the good timing, Mother," Emily said. She walked into her bedroom and collapsed on the bed. She thought about everything that had happened that day. Each day she thought she had heard too much to process, and then the next encounter just blows the last one out of the water. She had been told that she’s likely a witch and had decided to join a coven of witches. Another person who identified as a witch was just murdered. An old man this time. The owner of the Cottage, and Jeremy’s boss. She might be a witch and she is finding out just in time for a witch hunting serial killer. It was all too surreal. Like she was living in a dream. Which is precisely what she was doing, she was following literal dreams. She still couldn’t decide if that made her admirable, or insane. Her gut told her that it didn’t really matter what it made her. She felt like she was actually going somewhere for the first time in her life. Following this idea that didn’t make any sense made more sense to her than anything ever had. Her phone buzzed.

“Oh my God, Mother!” she yelled. She picked up her phone and it was a text from Claire. “Oh fuck,” she said. She had completely forgot to text them when she got home. “Way to start things Emily. Let them know right off that bat that you’re forgetful and unreliable.”

She texted them that she was home safe, and apologized profusely for forgetting to text. She lay in bed and could not turn off her brain. She couldn’t stop replaying the entire night in her head. And she tried to imagine the kinds of things she might see and do the next day. She couldn't wait to spend time with Claire in a more casual setting. As casual as setting up magic traps can be. If that is what they were going to be up to. She laid in her dark bedroom and her thoughts blended into her dreams as she eventually fell asleep.

Emily woke up in the morning to the sound of her phone’s alarm. Bohemian Rhapsody played in an 8-bit tone. She rolled over and looked at her phone. It was 6:30 am. She wanted to roll back over and go back to sleep until she remembered in an instant that she was going to see Claire and be with the coven that day. She jumped out of bed and ran into the shower. She showered quickly, only washing her hair. She got out and started coffee while she stood in her robe in the kitchen, her hair up in a wet towel on the top of her head. Eli rubbed up against her wet leg and she grimaced.

“Eli!” she said, pulling away. “I’m wet and now your hair is all over me!” He meowed at her and walked to his food bowl. He sat down and looked at it, and then back up at her. “Okay I’ll feed you. Yeesh.” She fed him and pet his head lovingly.

She walked into her bedroom and immediately regretted the fact that she hadn’t used her time awake the night before to pick out what she was going to wear that day. She went for casual again, in dark jeans, a green tee-shirt, and a gray hoodie. She didn’t know exactly what she was going to be doing, but she assumed she should be dressed in comfortable clothing. She wanted to make a good impression on Claire, but she didn’t want to be anything but herself. She had no intentions of presenting herself in false ways, because she wanted Claire to fall for her. Her true self. Whoever that was. She had tasted true love in her dream. Complete acceptance, safety, and belonging. She knew that if that was ever going to happen in real life, she could only be herself. So, simple and casual it was. She put her hair up in a ponytail, and put eyeshadow and eyeliner on. She thought about work and taking up Dave on his idea. She probably should take some time off. She had a lot of hours saved up, and maybe now would be a good time to take a break. While her dreams weren’t as much of a distraction the last couple of days and she was sleeping a bit better, she wanted to have some time to focus on the coven and do whatever she could do to help. If anything this was just a different distraction. She decided to feel out how the day went and see if there was any chance of spending more time together during the week. She should also see her dad. She felt like she had only spoken to him on the phone, but hadn’t seen his actual face in weeks. And with all the unbelievable things happening to her the last few days and weeks, seeing him would be a good connection to her real world. Something to ground her.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

JEREMY GOT UP and went downstairs to make coffee. Claire heard him and joined him in the kitchen.

“Hey," she said.

“Hey.”

She walked over and put her hand on his back. “How are you doing this morning?” she asked.

“Pretty shitty,” he said. He turned around to face her. “I can’t believe he’s gone, but I don’t even feel like I can actually grieve. I am too freaked out about the idea that someone is out there killing people.”

“I know. That thought sucked me out of my grieving a bit too," she said. “Snapped me out of the rut I have been in though. I know I can’t just sit around and let this happen to us.”

“Yeah," he said.

“It sounds bad, but it has actually given me something to focus on. Isn't that horrible?” she asked.

“It isn't horrible," he said. “I know what you mean.” He looked over at the clock. “We only have a little bit before everyone is here. What exactly is your game-plan?”

“Well, we can do some good old fashioned stuff today.” She smiled. “Nothing fancy. No scripts. Just using good old elements and our intentions. We need to shield the house too, but we can’t do that today.”

“I hope we have enough of what we need to cover the cottage and all of our houses," he said.

“We should have done some of this last night," she said.

“I know. We were kind of out of it though.” He started walking out of the kitchen. “I need to go get dressed. We can take care of our place tonight.”

“Okay," Claire said. “Hey Jer?”

He stopped and turned to look at her. “Yeah?”

“Can I do anything for you? Are you going to be okay at the shop today?”

“I'll be okay. I have stuff I need to focus on and I will be too busy to be sad about any of this right now. Plus Olivia will be coming by to keep an eye on me.”

“Are you going to get the camera’s fixed?” she asked.

He sighed. “Yeah I’ll try to call the company today.”

“I really can’t lose you Jeremy," she said.

“I know," he said and smirked at her. “You know cameras won’t save me Claire.”

“No. But they’d help the cops find the killers," she said.

“Hopefully they will be found before we have to worry about that anyway," he said. He walked up the stairs and she heard him knocking around in his dresser drawers.

She poured herself some coffee and remembered the new girl was coming along today. That was going to be interesting. The coven didn’t usually do things involving too much magic when the uninitiated were around. Not with them knowing it at least. Then again they had never met anyone who had dreams about being in their coven. And Jeremy was right, she did feel familiar. That part was fairly normal, though. She found that she felt more comfortable than usual around people that were witches, or people that would end up being witches at some point. But she had noticed a bit of a spark when they hugged last night. Thinking of that made her remember that she sensed sexual tension from Emily the night before, but was unsure who it was about. Was she gay? she wondered. Was it her she had feelings for?

“Hey Jeremy!” she yelled up the stairs.

“What!?” he replied.

“Do you know if Emily is gay?” she asked.

He popped his head out of his room and looked down the stairs at Claire. “Uh, yeah she is actually. Why do you ask?”

“I was just wondering," she said.

He walked down the stairs and looked at her curiously. “Why were you wondering?” he asked. “Are you interested in her?”

Claire hadn’t usually expressed interest in women. She had some relationships with women in the past, but she wasn’t the kind of person that checked out women and went seeking them out. She didn't seek out anyone really. People came to her and she either accepted their advances or she didn’t.

“Me?” she said, surprised. “No. I just got a vibe off of her last night, and I was wondering who she has a thing for.”

“Well it isn’t me," Jeremy said.

“It doesn't matter anyway," Claire said. “She can’t be in a relationship with any of us. We should probably try to find a way to tactfully bring that up with her before she gets too attached to the idea.”

“What do you mean she can’t be in a relationship with any of us?” he asked.

“You know what happens. It just invites drama, and then the couple breaks up, and then you end up losing one of the people if not both of them," she said.

“We don’t have like, a rule though," he said. “I know a lot of couples who are in covens and it works great. Sex magic works wonders you know," he said and poked her with his elbow.

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah they’re fine now until they break up and it all goes to shit," she said. “I swear we have talked about this.” She knew they had talked about this because Jeremy had a crush on Olivia when she first joined the group. He got over it because it was inappropriate for his position in the coven, but Claire argued that any relationship at all would be inappropriate, no matter the power structure.

“No, we haven’t," he said. “Because if we had, I would have told you that I don’t have a problem with it as long as there are clear boundaries in place. And an exit plan.”

“Okay. We don’t have time to talk about this right now," Claire said, annoyed. He always did this. He was too lenient and easygoing with the coven sometimes, and it bugged the daylights out of her. “We do need to discuss it later, though. And we need to think of some way to bring it up to her. Like I said, I don’t want her getting too attached.”

“As far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing to bring up. Unless we need to talk about relationship rules in the coven.” He smiled and jumped up the stairs before she could respond.

Claire looked at the clock and it was 7:48am. “Fuck," she said. She choked down the rest of her coffee and gagged. She then ran upstairs to get dressed and brush her teeth before the group arrived.

Jeremy looked at the house, and he couldn’t pin down exactly what he was feeling. He felt a raw sadness at the thought of never seeing Sheff walk through the doors again. He felt pressure knowing that it was very likely that this would all end up as his responsibility. That also gave him pride, which made him feel guilty. He shouldn’t feel any kind of positive feelings right now, and no matter how much pride was regarded as a sin, he personally believed it was a positive feeling. He had been waiting for this day with a kind of dread, and he had no idea that this was how it was going to come. He also wasn’t very sure he had any idea what he was supposed to do. Maybe the new owner would edge him out and it wouldn’t matter anyway. Maybe he’d even be out of a job.

He unlocked the door and led them all inside. He stopped before closing the door behind him, and turned around to look at the street. He felt like they were being watched, which was hard to pick up since he had the kind of personality that sucked people in and asked for attention. But that moment was just silent enough in his mind that it slid though. Someone is watching me. He took a good look up and down the block, searching for anyone suspicious. He closed the door and locked it.

“Maybe the shop should be closed today," Jeremy said.

“Can you do that?” Claire asked.

“I think so. I would need to call Louise and see what the plan is. I don’t know if I am supposed to run the business like usual, or what," he said. “I think it would make sense to close out of respect for Sheff. To mourn him. But I think it would be a good idea for the safety of the community.”

“The safety of the community?” Tanner asked. “What do you mean?”

“Sheff was killed because he owned this place," he said. “I mean, that’s what we’re assuming, right?”

“Yes," Claire said.

“I had the feeling we were being watched when we got here. I'm worried that anyone who comes here might be a target.”

“That would make sense," Tanner said. “Anybody who has been here could be in danger.”

Allison walked over to the front window and looked outside. “I don’t see anyone," she said.

“This was Sheff’s place," Jeremy said. “I’m sure it's a safe bet that the killer was scouting here.”

“Come back from the window," Claire said. “Just because you don’t see anyone doesn't mean there isn’t someone there.” She looked at Jeremy. “So what do you want to do?”

“Even if you close up for the day, people still have to come here and see that it is closed. If it’s being watched the customers will be seen then. And they probably have a good roster of customers already if they have watched the store for any amount of time," Tanner said.

“Safety aside, should the store be closed for Sheff?” Claire asked.

“I don’t know," Jeremy said. He sat down at the counter and looked around at the dark store. He felt like he was going to cry, and he held back the tears. “I don’t know what to do.”

“You said his sister called you?” Emily chimed in. “If she didn’t have immediate instructions for you, maybe you should just try to run everything like usual until you’re told otherwise.” She suddenly felt very awkward for speaking up. Even more so when nobody replied. She continued. “I think when you’re grieving someone it might make things easier if you have less to think about. Maybe just doing what you always do will help, and it’s one less thing to think about right now.”

“She’s right," Claire said.

Emily felt a smile coming on and she stopped it. She didn’t want to appear happy in any way right now.

“You don’t need to add anything to your plate,” Emily told Jeremy. “Why don’t you just do your thing, and we will do ours.”

“Okay," he said.

“Oh, and make that call about the cameras.”

He put his thumb up at her, but didn’t look up.

“Thanks," Claire told Emily. She put her hand on Emily’s shoulder and felt a charge of energy.

Emily felt a warm feeling rush through her body from the inside of her stomach out. She inhaled sharply. Claire pulled her hand away and looked Emily in the eyes.

“Hmm," Claire said.

“What?” Emily asked, nervously.

“Did you feel that?” Claire asked.

“I’m not sure," Emily said. “What did you feel?”

“Can we get started?” Allison said, giving Claire a curious look.

“Okay. Allison, you grab some salt, hyssop, wolf’s bane, carob, and lady’s slipper,” Claire said.

“On it,” Allison said.

“Tanner, can you grab some chalk and put this above every door and window?” Claire handed Tanner a piece of paper with three sigils drawn on it.

“Yes.” He looked around the room. “Where’s the chalk?” Tanner asked.

“Here.” Jeremy handed him a piece of chalk from behind the counter.

“Can I ask why this isn’t already done here, at the shop?” Emily said. The group turned to her questioningly. Again she felt like she was overstepping her bounds and tried to clarify. “Sorry, that’s probably a stupid question. I'm just wondering why you don’t do this protection stuff all the time. For anywhere you go.”

“The thing about magic,” Tanner said. “Is that it needs a specific purpose. You can do regular run of the mill protection magic for generic purposes, but even then it needs to be refreshed every so often.”

“Okay, I see," Emily said.

“What we are doing today is going to be as specific as we can get," Claire said. “We don’t know who we are protecting ourselves from exactly, but we feel that we have an active threat. That changes things.”

“The shop has some charms and things in place that we freshen up from time to time," Jeremy said. “But this is an extra level of security.”

“That makes sense," Emily said. “Like I said, it was a stupid question.”

“No, not at all," Tanner said. His voice was friendly even though his expression was blank. Emily was starting to see how serious his personality was.

“So, how can I help?” Emily asked.

Claire wasn’t sure how to answer. “Jeremy, what do you think?”

“Why don’t you just watch what the three of them are doing and see if you notice any changes.”

“Changes with what?” she asked.

“Changes in how you feel, what you see, how the building and space looks or feels. Anything really," he said.

Emily felt disappointed. “Okay," she said. She wasn’t sure why she came then. He said she could help, but now she was just going to be an observer.

Jeremy saw the look of disappointment on her face and he felt a little guilty that he told her she could help out, knowing all along she couldn’t.

“Maybe if you pick up on anything you can help at the next one.”

He did have a feeling that she was going to pick up a few things, and it would be a good gauge for how she was going to come along in the coven. He wanted her in the coven as soon as possible. He had seen it already, in her dream, and he felt like it was inevitable. What he had experienced with her led him to believe she had some abilities already, and it was just going to be a matter of teaching her how to harness them. He would also have to convince Claire to initiate her earlier than usual, if she was going to be of any help with the current situation.

“There isn’t much you can do right now without any knowledge of what we are actually doing," Claire said. “So I guess this is more of a tag along, internship kind of field trip.” She smiled at her and gave Jeremy an irritated glance. She knew he had an ulterior motive for having Emily come along. She knew there was nothing she could actually help with, and her coming here with them could just be putting her in danger. But Jeremy had just lost Sheff, and he had held it together for her when June was killed. She needed to give him the space to do what he wanted, just like he had for her. He had been giving her space for too long now, and she knew it. Her flings with strangers, and her lack of focus on anything of actual substance in her life. If he saw this woman in the coven, she needed to try and trust whatever his plan was. She wasn’t sure she could trust what she was feeling right now, however. She felt like Emily had feelings for her and to make matters worse, she felt the connection between them when they touched. This made Claire feel nervous and conflicted. And she had to focus on the coven right now. Not drama that hasn’t even happened yet.

Emily watched Allison and Claire divide up some of the materials that Allison had gathered, and mix them together in a stone bowl. They closed their eyes and whispered words while Claire mixed, and Emily couldn’t make out what they were saying. She turned her attention to Tanner, who was standing on a chair and drawing the symbols Claire gave him on the wall above the front door. Jeremy walked around the store performing various tasks that seemed to be his usual routine for opening the shop. Claire finished mixing, and she held a match up to a small black stone. It lit and sizzled, and Emily realized it was a piece of charcoal. She placed it in a metal dish with a handle, and poured some of the concoction she just mixed on top. Smoke rose and began to fill the room. Claire continued to mouth words and started to walk around the room. She held the incense up to each corner of every window and door, and walked through every part of the store. Allison took white powder and began to line the walls and doorways with it.

“Is that salt?” Emily asked. The women ignored her question and Jeremy answered her.

“Yes," he said. He was trying to get the shop ready to open, but he was paying close attention to Emily as well. All around her things were happening that were very obvious to him and the coven, and he was anxious to see if she could sense any of it.

The smell that filled the space was new to Emily, but hints of the scent reminded her of her dream. Some of the ingredients they used to make the incense must be what they use at their house. She was starting to try to put the pieces together and make sense out of the little bits of information she had. If she wasn’t going to be initiated any time soon, she at least wanted to learn as much as possible until that time came. She watched them all work and tried to do what Jeremy told her to do. Tried to see if she noticed anything. She concentrated on Tanner, and watched the symbols take shape on the walls under his chalk. She squinted, trying to see more. She tried to look through him, like she would look at the old magic eye pictures that hid images inside of them. She could never see the hidden image, and right now she couldn’t see any more either. She looked over to Allison as she lined the doorways with salt. She was still mouthing unknown words. Emily watched the line of salt form, and for a moment she thought she saw a white glow rise above the salt. She blinked and looked again, focusing her eyes, thinking it must be the dust from the salt being poured. The glow was gone. She shifted her gaze to Claire, and for a moment she was lost in how beautiful she looked. Her hair hanging down, watching the smoke rise from the incense as she walked around the store. Emily took a deep breath and felt disappointed. Maybe she was distracted by Claire. Maybe she wasn’t a witch like they said she was. Maybe none of them were. Maybe she was just standing in a building with legitimately crazy people, and she needed to leave before she was killed by the crazy person who might be hunting them. But even if they weren’t what they said they were, what about her dreams? Were they just a coincidence?

“Maybe I should go," Emily told Jeremy. She felt like she was in the way and she wasn’t helping anyone.

“What?” Jeremy said. “Why? What's wrong?”

“I’m not noticing anything," she said. “I don’t know if I should be here.”

“You get discouraged pretty easily, don’t you?” he asked.

“I don’t know," Emily said. She supposed she did.

Jeremy sighed. “Look,” he said. “This isn’t a race. This is a marathon. A marathon that will last your whole life.”

“What do you mean by that?” Emily asked.

“I mean this isn’t stuff you pick up right away. It takes a lot of practice, and there is a lot to learn," he said.

She looked at him confused. “But you said I had abilities. So why am I not noticing any changes?”

“I am fairly certain that you do. But not all skills are the same. Just because you can do one thing doesn’t mean you can do everything else without any effort," he said. “If this is something you want to do, it will be a lifetime of learning.”

“Okay," she said. The prospect wasn’t daunting to her, but almost exciting. She had never had anything that drew her in and made her want to master it. No particular hobbies that dominated her life. No calling to any specific career. Only a kind of yearning for something more in every aspect of her life. Maybe this would be what she was meant to do with her life. Something she could grab onto and sink her teeth into. A purpose. A place to focus her energy and find out who she really was. “So just because I’m not noticing anything right now, that doesn’t mean it's hopeless?”

Jeremy chuckled. “No. Not at all. You’re starting off with so much more than most other people do. Even people who are born into this- people who have it in their blood. They often have less than you are starting with right now. Those dreams of yours. And how you somehow sent them at me when I touched you. That is so much more than almost anybody else starts out with. And you haven’t even learned anything yet. I can’t imagine what you’ll be able to do with a little more experience in this world.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry. If you feel like you’re supposed to be here. I mean really feel it, in your gut. Then you are. Don’t trust your doubts because it doesn't make sense. You’re going to have to get used to things not making sense. The first thing you need to do, is to try let go of your doubts.”

“That’s easier said than done, but I'll try," she said. “There is so much that doesn’t seem to make sense."

“You will learn in time that all of the things that are happening to you right now make perfect sense," he said. “You just can’t really see how they all fit together yet.”

“Whatever you say," she said.

Jeremy looked at the clock and saw that they were getting short on time. “Okay everybody," he said. “It looks like we are almost all finished here?”

Tanner walked over. “I’m finished," he said. He handed Jeremy the chalk.

“It looks perfect. You did a really good job," he told Tanner.

“He always does a good job," Allison said. She walked over and put the salt on the counter.

“You did great work too, Allison," Jeremy said.

Claire came back into the front room and Emily watched her inspect the shop. She didn’t say anything but she walked around and nodded her head in approval. She looked at Jeremy and they nodded at each other.

“Isn’t Ryan supposed to be here by now?” Claire asked.

“Yeah," Jeremy said. “He has been running late a lot. I just hope he comes in today. He took June’s death really hard and I don’t think he is going to take this any better. But I can’t really send him home today if we are open. I don’t want anyone working solo right now.”

“That is probably a good idea," Tanner said.

“Olivia will be coming in before too long too. Maybe he can go home then if he needs to," Claire suggested. She turned to the rest of the group. “We will wait until more staff arrives and then once Jeremy isn’t alone we can split up and take care of the rest of the spots.” She pointed at Allison. “You and Tanner go take care of your place and his. Emily will take me to her house and we will do hers.”

Emily felt her stomach leap into her throat. She was going to be alone with Claire. In her apartment. She started visualizing how she left it, trying to remember how messy it was. And how many dishes might be left in the sink. Had she changed the litter box that morning, or the night before? She left a giant pile of clothes on her bed while she frantically tried to pick out what to wear. She should have remembered that they were planning on having people come by her apartment to do this protection work they were doing. Why on earth didn’t she tidy up a bit the night before? She was kicking herself again.

“Is that okay?” Claire asked Emily.

“Yes.” Emily stuttered. “Yes that’s fine," she said.

Claire wanted some time alone with Emily to feel out her intentions and talk to her about the boundaries if necessary. She also hadn’t gotten to speak to Emily as much as Jeremy had, and she wanted some time to talk and get to know her a little more. Jeremy had basically decided that she was in without really running it by her. She wanted to make sure she didn’t need to veto the situation before Emily got too far in.

Emily approached the passenger side of Claire’s car. It was a green old beat up Volvo, and it was dirty on both the inside and the outside. Emily had to wipe the seat a few times to get rid of napkins and crumbs in the seat before she sat down. The back seat had clothing, some bags of random books, a couple small blank canvases, and multiple bags of trash from fast food restaurants on the floor. It smelled surprisingly good for how messy it was. A dreamcatcher hung from the rearview mirror.

“Sorry, it’s messy I know," Claire said as she got in the car. She started the car and rubbed her hands together fast in front of her face, trying to warm them. “It should get warm in here pretty fast.”

Claire started driving. “So you’re over by Loring Park?” Claire asked.

“Yeah, about a half a block away. On fifteenth.” Emily said. “Hopefully we'll find parking pretty close, but sometimes I have to walk a ways.”

“Yeah I know about that.” Claire said. “I dated somebody once who lived over there. We might have dated longer if the parking situation wouldn’t have been so horrendous.” She smiled at Emily.

“Ah.” Emily said. She didn’t know what to say. She just thought of the possibility of that being a reason Claire wouldn’t date her and then felt immediately ridiculous.

“I’m just kidding.” Claire said. “Sorry, I guess it was a bad joke.”

Emily rubbed her hands on her legs nervously. “Uh, yeah,” she said. “I wouldn't blame you though. It is really bad.” Emily felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She peeked at the screen and saw that her mother was calling her back.

“Shoot.” She said.

Claire looked over at her. “What’s wrong?”

“I was supposed to call my mom back.” Emily said. “I forgot. And I can’t really talk to her now.”

“You can if you need to, I don’t mind.” Claire said.

“No, really.” Emily said. “She has been trying to talk to me about something and I just can’t deal with whatever she’s doing right now. We don’t have the best relationship.” Emily watched the scenery out of the car window.

Claire glanced over at her and looked back at the road. “I’m sorry to hear that,” she said.

“Do you have a good relationship with your mom?” she asked.

“Uh, yeah.” Claire said. “I think it’s alright. It could be better and it could be worse, you know?”

Emily kept looking out the window. She wanted to look at Claire but she was nervous about staring at her or giving away too much. Claire noticed her getting more nervous as the drive went on.

“Are you okay?” Claire asked.

Emily turned to Claire. “Yes, I’m fine. Why do you ask?” she said.

“You just seem to be feeling nervous,” Claire said. “Am I making you uncomfortable?”

Emily had no idea how to answer that. “No, of course not,” she said. “I’ve just never been involved in anything like this before. It's a lot. And Jeremy told me to just try to stop having doubts and get used to things being out of the ordinary. But I think that’s easier said than done.”

“Yeah, you're probably right,” Claire said. “I understand.” She was silent for a moment while she considered what to say next. “Well just to get it out in the open, if I ever do make you uncomfortable, please let me know. I like open communication. I like honesty.” Claire imagined Jeremy laughing at her saying that and she trailed off.

“Okay, sure.” Emily said. Knowing that she was lying. She was so nervous right now and there was no way she could tell Claire why. Even if she believed her, how would that make her feel? How could you have a normal relationship of any kind with someone who has had dreams about you like that, and thinks that they love you when they don’t even know you?

“So this is me right here.” Emily said. She pointed to her large brownstone building. “So wherever you can find a spot.”

“Got it.” Claire said. “Aha! You’re mine.” She sounded victorious as she pulled the car into a spot close to the entrance of the building.

Emily unlocked the door to her apartment and Eli was sitting in the hallway as if he had been expecting her. He meowed and approached them as they walking into the apartment.

“Hi kitty,” Claire said. She kneeled down and pet him, and Emily heard him purring as he rubbed his body against Claire’s legs. “Aren’t you sweet?”

“That's Eli,” Emily said.

“Nice to meet you, Eli,” Claire said. “Emily and Eli. I like it.”

Emily smiled and hung her coat. “Can I take your coat?”

“Sure, thanks,” Claire said.

“So this is it.” Emily said. She held her arms out in her living room. “Bedroom is right there, and the bathroom is through the bedroom. You saw the kitchen when you walked in.”

“Nice,” Claire said. “it's cozy.” She looked around the small apartment. “How far off the ground are these windows? She looked out the windows and peered down to the sidewalk.

“About one story,” Emily said. “Maybe less.”

Claire notices an awning. “Is that your apartment too? That window with the awning?”

“Oh, yeah. It’s the bedroom window,” Emily said.

“Can I look?” Claire asked.

“Yeah, of course,” Emily said. She led Claire into her room.

Claire looked out at the awning. “That is kind of an easy access point,” she said. “Do you have any extra lock on this window or anything?”

“No,” Emily said. “I hadn’t ever thought of it.” The window had an awning right below it that almost served as a landing for the window itself. She felt scared when she realized how easily someone could climb up onto it and into her window.

“Well that would be a good idea,” Claire said. “You should probably try to take care of that today.” Claire walked over and into Emily’s bathroom. She looked around and walked back out into the bedroom. Emily felt like she was back in her dream. Claire’s hair hung the exact way as it did in her dream, but this time Emily could see her face. All she wanted in that moment was to put her arms around Claire’s waist, pull her in close, and kiss her. The dream seemed foggier now that Claire was standing right in front of her.

“What?” Claire asked. She suddenly felt self-conscious. And Claire was not the type of person who usually felt self-conscious.

“Hm?” Emily realized she was lost in thought and didn’t hear what Claire said. She snapped out of it and asked, “What did you say?”

“You were just kind of looking at me, like you were going to say something,” Claire said. “Or do something.” Claire knew what it felt like to have eyes on her. She could use it to her advantage when she wanted to, and it was a good tool to have. But she couldn’t remember a time anyone had ever looked at her like that.

“I’m sorry. I zoned out I guess,” Emily said. That was the truth. She didn’t need to tell her what she zoned out thinking about.

Claire thought about bringing up her concerns about Emily having feelings for someone in the coven. One of the reasons she wanted them to be alone was so that Claire could discuss it with her and not embarrass her. But the idea of bringing that up now seemed very likely to embarrass Emily. And surprisingly to Claire, she thought it would embarrass herself as well. What was going on? She needed to get her mind to focus on something else for now.

“So, that door we came in, is that the only entrance?” Claire asked.

“No. There is a back door on the other side of the building,” Emily said.

“Is it similar to the front door? Secured and well lit?” Claire asked.

“It’s locked, but it’s pretty dark on that side. It’s basically in an alley,” Emily said.

“Okay.” Claire said. “Well I’ll get to work on the inside. I was just curious what we’re up against on the outside.” She walked over to the front door, touched the chain lock on the door, and inspected the deadbolt. She then pulled a few items out of her bag that she packed for the trip over. Emily watched as she followed all of the same steps that the group performed in the shop. While Claire worked, Emily thought she noticed the apartment getting warmer. The light slowly shifted, and the air felt thicker somehow. She tried to focus on what Claire was doing, and wondered if she’d notice anything more than she did at the cottage. She hoped that since this was her apartment, she’d be more in tune with any changes that would occur. What she had felt so far she thought must just be coincidence. Until she remembered what Jeremy said. For a brief moment, she thought she saw a white glow around each window that Claire had protected with a sigil. She blinked, and it was gone.

Come on, Emily. She told herself. You can do this. She cleared her mind and watched. Slowly a glow appeared around the windows and came to be at the window Claire was finishing. As Claire poured the salt, a green wall followed. It looked like a force field. A shield glowing around the apartment as Claire poured and whispered. Emily couldn’t believe what she was seeing. It started to fade and she focused on the shield.

“Claire,” Emily whispered.

Claire ignored Emily as she finished the space. She stopped speaking and looked at Emily. “Sorry, I had to finish up,” she said. “What were you going to say?”

“I can see it,” Emily said. “I can see the shield.”

That couldn’t be. Claire knew that Emily knew nothing about magic, and there was no way she could be picking up the shield she just created. “What do you mean you can see it?” Claire asked. “What do you see exactly?”

Emily looked around the apartment. Her eyes were wide with wonder. “It’s like a green shield is glowing around the edges of the apartment,” she said. “And the windows and door have a light white glow around their edges. The sigils you drew are glowing too.”

Claire was speechless. She had never met anyone that could sense magic like this without even being an initiated witch. “Emily, can I ask you something?”

Emily stopped gazing at the sigils and turned back to look at Claire. “Yeah.”

“You’ve never practiced magic?” Claire asked.

“No, never,” Emily said. “I thought it was all fake when Jeremy was telling me about it.”

Claire thought for a moment. “Okay,” she said. “So you wouldn't know of anyone in your family practicing magic?”

“Um, no,” Emily said. “Not that I know of at least.

“With the dreams you have told us about and the fact that you can see what I just did, I think you might be related to a witch. It has to be in your blood already for what’s going on. Maybe one of your parents.”

Emily laughed. “There is no way,” she said.

“You’d be surprised,” Claire said. “You might even know other people that practice magic of some kind and you would have no idea.”

“Well my dad is, there is just no way,” Emily said. “And my mom, she is way too disorganized.”

Claire smiled. “Like I said, you’d be surprised.” Claire wondered if Emily thought she was organized, or had her life together in any way shape or form. She laughed again.

“What’s so funny?” Emily said.

“Nothing really,” Claire said. “I’m just laughing at myself I guess. I’m pretty disorganized.”

“Really?” Emily asked.

“Uh, yes,” Claire said. “I used to have my shit together, more or less. But I’ve kind of lost my way over the last year or so and I’m trying to get back on track right now. These killings have been a wakeup call.”

“You seem like you have your shit together,” Emily said. “You have a beautiful house, good friends. You literally make magic.”

“That's sweet of you to say, Emily. And not to be rude, but you don’t really know what you’re talking about,” Claire said.

Emily sat down on the couch. “Why don’t you tell me then?”

Claire stood there and looked at her. Emily was looking at her expectantly, but with patience. She was looking at her with love. And standing there in her apartment, this woman who was practically a stranger, she realized she felt perfectly comfortable. Her instinct was usually to hide her feelings and close off any form of real connection. She’d leave and erase any intimacy that might have developed. But looking at Emily all she wanted to do was sit down and tell her everything. She knew that she had to find herself again. And part of that would be to open up again. Be open to love from people outside of Jeremy and the coven. She hadn’t felt this comfortable with anyone since meeting her ex-husband. While that thought should have put her on guard, it just made her feel safe. She sighed, and sat next to Emily on the couch.

“I don’t know you very well. And I usually don’t tell people personal things about myself,” she said. “But if you’re going to be in the coven, we’re going to be close. And we’re going to get to know each other very well. So I suppose I could give you a little summary, so you have some idea of how little I’m put together.”

Emily could hardly contain her excitement. She wanted to hear every thought that went through Claire’s brain. She wanted to know her entire life story. She wanted to know her completely. She had already seen and felt how amazing it was to love Claire. She felt like she had a lot of catching up to do.

“I got a divorce about a year ago,” Claire said. “And everything started falling apart after that. I gave up on my work, I started drinking too much. I started engaging in some really self-destructive behavior.”

“What do you do for work?” Emily asked. “I’m sorry I realized I don’t even know.”

“That’s okay, we hadn’t talked about it yet,” Claire said. “I’m a painter. And up until June died I had run out of steam, and then started running out of money too, actually.”

“Wow, that’s amazing.” Emily said. “I would love to see your paintings.”

“Yeah, of course. There are a lot at the house, my studio is in the basement there right now,” Claire said.

“Well I am really sorry to hear about your divorce.” Emily said. “I’m sure that was really hard. I haven't been through that, but my parents divorced when I was little and I don’t think my dad has ever gotten over it.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Claire said.

“So, what do you mean about the killings being a wakeup call?” Emily asked.

“When June died I just needed to paint her,” Claire said. “She had been my mentor. She was the reason I even came here to Minnesota. She taught me so much and I knew I needed to pick myself up and stop fucking around, you know?”

Emily nodded.

“She would have been disappointed in how I had let everything slide. And the things I was doing to people, and to myself. And life is too short to float through it in so much pain,” she said.

“I have definitely been floating along in my life,” Emily said. “But not even for any good reason. I've just been aimless. At least you have a reason. It makes sense that something that jarring would knock you off track for a while.”

They sat quietly and just looked at each other. Staring into each other’s eyes, both of them were lost for a moment. Without thinking, Emily put her hand on Claire’s. She immediately felt butterflies in her stomach and if she had tried to say anything in that moment, she would have been unable to speak. Claire touched Emily’s hand above hers with her thumb, a slow and gentle caress. When she realized what she was doing she pulled her hand away.

“I’m sorry,” Emily said. “I don’t know why I did that.” She was lying. She knew exactly why she did that.

Claire knew she was lying and she didn’t know if she should call her on it or just let it slide. How complicated did she want this situation to get today? She was not usually one for a filter. “Yes you do,” she said.

Emily was caught off guard. “What do you mean?” she said.

“I can tell when people are lying,” Claire said. “You know why you did that.” She paused for a moment and looked into Emily’s eyes again. “I shared a bit with you. Is there anything you would like to share with me?” She felt the energy in the room shift.

Emily looked away and around her apartment. Everything she saw now as gone. She wasn’t concentrating on it anymore, and it seemed to have disappeared while she was lost in the conversation with Claire. She now felt nervous and put on the spot. What could she tell her that wouldn’t make her think she was a crazy stalker?

“No, I don’t have anything to share,” Emily said. “I’m sorry I did that. I just felt like maybe you needed some contact. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.”

“Okay,” Claire said. “That’s okay.” She knew Emily was hiding something, but she decided not to push it further for now. “I think we’re all set here for now. Should we head back to the house?”

“Sure,” Emily said, feeling relieved that this conversation wouldn’t go any farther.

Claire and Emily arrived at the house, and Tanner and Allison were already inside.

“How did it go?” Claire asked.

“Great, boss,” Allison said. “I’m not allowed in Tanner’s house again, but other than that it went swimmingly.”

Claire looked at Tanner curiously.

“Don’t look at me,” Tanner said.

Allison rolled her eyes. “I spilled a vase,” she said. “I said I was sorry.”

Tanner shot a glare at Allison. “You broke a vase," he said. “A two thousand dollar vase.”

“I said I was sorry!” she repeated. She looked at Claire pleadingly.

“Jesus Allison.” Claire said as she shook her head.

“Oh cause you people never make mistakes?” she said. “Right.” She sat down on the large cushion with her arms crossed and looked out the window.

“Sorry Tanner,” Claire said. “Thanks for helping out though, you guys. I really appreciate it. Have either of you talked to Jeremy or Olivia?”

“I talked to Olivia. She said the store is pretty busy today with the news. Jeremy is doing okay, and she thinks they’ll be leaving in a couple of hours,” Allison said.

“Okay.” Claire said. “We should be able to finish up around here then. We haven’t done our house yet.”

“On it.” Tanner said. He went into the kitchen to grab a stool. Allison stood up and walked to her bag to get the supplies she had used at the cottage and their other houses. They all got to work and Emily took a seat on the couch. Once again she felt like she was tagging along where she didn’t quite belong. She wanted to help and felt like she should be doing something. But she was happy to be with them.

Jeremy and Olivia finally walked into the house. Emily could tell right away that he had a hard day. Olivia looked upset, which was strange to see. Even having just met her, Emily felt that anything but a smile on Olivia’s face seemed wrong. Jeremy hung his jacket, removed his shoes, and slumped his body down on the couch. Allison and Tanner looked at him and back at each other. Claire walked in, and Olivia gave her a nod.

“How did it go?” Claire asked.

“Fine. Considering,” Jeremy said.

“He did great today,” Olivia said. She placed her hand on his back and gently rubbed back and forth. Claire saw her close her eyes and her aura slowly encompassed his. She saw his shoulders loosen and the stress drain from his face.

He closed his eyes. “Thanks Liv," he said. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“You don’t have to know,” Olivia said. Claire thanked her without saying a word. Olivia knew what she was thinking just from the look on her face.

“So can we talk business for a minute?” Claire said.

“Okay,” Jeremy said.

“Besides some extra work I’d like to do to the covenstead, each of our houses and the shop are covered,” she said. “Thanks for pulling through today, you guys. And Emily,” Claire shifted her gaze to Emily, along with everyone else. “Thanks for joining us today. What did you think?”

Everyone’s eyes were on her and she tried not to obviously gulp with nervousness. “It was really something.” Emily said. “I didn’t pick up on anything while we were at the shop, but I actually did when we were at my apartment.”

“You did?” Jeremy said. He perked up and leaned towards Emily. “What did you pick up?”

“I saw the shield Claire made around the apartment. And the protection from the sigils,” she said.

Everyone was surprised.

“Are you related to anyone who is a witch?” Tanner asked.

Emily shook her head. “Claire asked me that too,” she said. “But not that I know of.”

“There has to be someone,” Tanner said. “You have to have some in you already. You’re too new to all of this to be able to see anything right now.”

“Well she put her dream in my head too,” Jeremy said. “Without even really trying.”

“We know,” Allison said. "Maybe that was just you though, Jeremy.”

“But I wasn’t drained at all afterwards,” Jeremy said. “I just touched her skin and there is was.”

“Well maybe I should try,” Allison said. She started walking towards Emily. Emily backed up as Allison approached and Claire stepped in between them.

“No, Allison,” Claire said. “That's a bit invasive. Can we just agree to trust Jeremy?” She looked at Allison, giving her a moment to respond.

“Yeah, of course,” Allison said. “Sorry Jeremy.” She looked at Emily. “Sorry.”

Emily put her hair behind one ear, timidly. “It’s okay. No problem,” she said. “This has been a really big day. I think I should head home.”

“I still don’t like the idea of any of us going around alone,” Jeremy said.

“Well we did just go through all that effort today to shield our individual homes. I know you have this craving for a giant never ending slumber party, but we already talked about how unrealistic that is. Plus she’s probably fine,” Allison said.

“We don’t know that. As far as Jeremy and I are concerned, she is one of us now. An honorary member of the coven until she is initiated. She could be a target and we need to think through a plan,” Claire said.

“I just don’t see what we can do,” Tanner said. “Beyond letting everyone know when we get to anywhere we are going safely.”

“We could have a buddy system,” Olivia said. She perked up at the idea.

“So, mini sleepovers?” Allison said. She crossed her arms and scoffed at Olivia.

“I don’t know, what's your idea Allison?” Olivia said.

Allison frowned. “I didn’t say I had one.” Olivia stared at her, unsurprised.

Emily had an idea. “We could have a buddy system, but we just stay on the phone with one another until we are home safely. We could check our houses when we get home, and then once the coast is clear we can hang up.” She didn’t think it was the best idea, but it seemed better than anything they had yet.

“I think that could work,” Jeremy said.

“What happens if we can’t get a hold of anyone before we need to leave somewhere alone?” Tanner asked.

“Well there are five of us to try,” Claire said. “And if by some strange reason you can’t get a hold of one of us, just call a family member or friend I guess.”

Everyone seemed to agree that this was the best option for now. If they came up with a better plan later on they could use it, but right now it was too risky to be anywhere completely alone without a lifeline.

They all said brief goodbyes at the door. Olivia and Tanner paired up on a call. Allison paired with Claire, and Emily paired with Jeremy. She felt nervous, knowing that Jeremy had such a challenging day. She had been so swept up in her time with Claire that day and what she saw in her apartment, that Sheff’s death hadn’t entered her mind in hours. That thought alone made her feel guilty. She knew Jeremy had probably been sitting with it constantly since he heard the news. She didn’t know him well enough to know if she should avoid the topic, or lean into it. She started her car and switched her headlights on since the sun had gone down, and began driving. The call switched to bluetooth.

“Thank you for the pep talk today,” she said. “I think it is exactly what I needed.”

“Yeah, of course," he said. “I think once you learn some things, you’re going to be amazing. I really can’t wait to see you come into your own.”

“You sound pretty confident about that,” she said. That made her feel self-conscious.

“Well I have seen where you end up, more or less,” he said. “And I just have a good feeling about it. I think you have a great deal of potential.”

“Well, thanks Jeremy,” she said. “I don’t know if anyone has had so much blind faith in me before. I don’t really know what to say. I just hope I don’t let you down.”

“I don’t see how you could," he said. They were silent on the phone as Emily drove.

“So did you see anyone strange at the store today?” she asked.

“No, not that I noticed," he said. “But I didn’t have the feeling we were being watched after when we all first arrived.

“That’s good I guess,” she said. “It’s really scary, all of this. It all seems really detached from me and like we are going through these motions from this threat that I can’t really imagine. None if it seems real.”

“I know. I feel the same way," he said. “I kept imagining seeing Sheff or getting a call from him, and it definitely has not hit me yet that he's gone. But I can’t wrap my head around the situation either. I have a hard time believing that there is someone out there killing people. It's terrifying.”

“Yeah,” she said. But she still felt removed from the terror. Everything she was experiencing right now was beyond her wildest dreams and she was just happy. She knew that she should be scared, but in this moment, she wasn't. “Well I am just pulling up to my place,” she said. She drove around the block and found a parking spot a block and a half away. “Parking. I am like two blocks from my place.”

“Oh okay. I didn’t realize you had to park so far away," he said. “Just be aware of your surroundings and trust your gut.”

“Okay,” she said. She got out of her car and looked up and down the street. She got to the sidewalk and walked toward her building. She was quiet on the phone as she listened to the sounds of the city around her. And then there were footsteps. Behind her she heard heavy footsteps approaching, and they sounded like they were getting faster. “Someone is behind me,” she whispered.

“Okay, that’s fine,” Jeremy said. “You're in the city and there's usually going to be someone walking behind you.” He was trying to be logical and reassure her, but he sounded nervous too. He suddenly wasn’t confident in his ability to keep her safe from just being on the phone. If he had to call help for here, she could be gone by the time anyone got there to help.

Emily looked over her shoulder and saw three women walking together. They looked tipsy and completely unthreatening. “It's just some women, it’s fine,” she said. “I guess I’m on edge.”

“That’s understandable,” Jeremy said.

“Okay, I’m inside my building. Thanks for the talk,” Emily said. “And thanks again for today.”

“Sure thing,” he said. “I’m really glad you were able to come along.”

“I’m sorry about everything that’s happened, Jeremy. I hope you have a good night in spite of it all.”

“Thanks, Emily,” he said. “That's sweet of you to say. I’ll talk to you soon.” Jeremy hung up the phone and the line went silent.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

EMILY WAS DEVELOPING a burning desire to make every aspect of her dreams come true. They had lessened in intensity the closer she got to the coven and the more time she spent with Claire. She felt like her dreams had been trying to tell her something. That this is what she was supposed to be doing, and these are the people she was supposed to be with. She was a witch. And the dreams she had when she was little used to show her things too, but she was always told by adults that it was just her imagination. So she learned to push them down and suppress them. She didn't know why they started again, especially with such intensity, but she wasn’t too concerned with that at this point. What she cared about was that she felt amazing about what was happening in her life right now. It was strange, and exciting, and so completely out of the ordinary. Her boring day to day was much more bearable when she had the possibility of something so incredible waiting for her. The possibility of a love that made her feel real. The possibility of living in a world where magic exists. If she learned how to have more dreams, or how to control them and use them, she would be almost psychic. A super-hero. All of it was so outlandish that she wondered if she might wake up and discover that it had been a dream all along.

Emily had spent the last two weeks over at Claire and Jeremy’s house almost every day. She was getting to know all of the witches, and she was falling in love with them. Olivia was quiet and kind. She seemed to hold her face in an effortless smile at all times. She was tall, and her long dreadlocks were always arranged in an intricate style whether they were worn up or down. She dressed well; casual, but in expensive clothes. She was mature and thoughtful with her words. Tanner was similar to Olivia in many ways. He dressed well and he made good money. He was mature, but not in the thoughtful way Olivia was. He could be short and harsh at times and wasn't one to pick up on sarcasm or crack jokes. He was overwhelmingly handsome and smart, but no matter how many women or men were interested in him, he wasn't in a relationship. His sexuality was ambiguous, and he didn’t ever bother to give much thought to it. He would rather work, read, or write than spend time falling in love with anyone. Love wasn’t logical, so it didn’t interest him. Allison was the youngest and it was obvious in almost every interaction. She was blunt, loud, and often inappropriate. Her life was messy and out of order, and even though she flirted with almost every woman she met, she was madly in love with her girlfriend and fiercely loyal. Her loyalty extended to the coven and outside of her relationship at home it was the most important aspect of her life. She didn’t care for her job, or for school, but she was dedicated to the coven. Jeremy was the coven’s High Priest and even though he appeared to be a slacker, he was an impressive leader. He seemed to have clumsily fallen into leadership roles in both the coven and his position at the Cottage, but he was great at both of them. There was love in everything he did with and for the coven. He let Claire lead when appropriate, and when she needed a break he knew how to pick up the slack. The coven was Claire’s, and she was more relaxed in her role than Jeremy was. She was confident, smart, and extremely talented. Emily had seen them together in her dream, but in real life she couldn’t imagine that as a reality. Claire seemed like she was in an entirely different league. She couldn’t fathom how anyone like Claire would ever be interested in her. They all looked and seemed so different from one another, but there was an overwhelming sense of their bond with each other. They interacted like family. Like they had all spent their entire lives together.

Emily sat in an old wooden booth. The diner was bustling, and the server had been too busy to get her a drink or even a menu. She wasn’t too concerned, because her dad hadn’t arrived yet. She had finally taken some time off of work and was meeting her dad for lunch. They were overdue for an in person visit. Her face lit up as she saw him walk into the diner. Emily stood up and hugged her father.

“Hi Dad,” she said, squeezing her face into his shoulder. His jacket was cold but she didn’t mind. She hadn’t had a hug from him in weeks.

“Hey Em,” Christopher said. “It’s so good to see you, sweetie.” He took off his coat and they each took a seat in either side of the booth. “It smells good in here. Have you eaten here before?”

“No, not yet,” Emily said. “But I‘ve heard good things. I just hope we get a menu soon.”

“So how have you been? You look rested,” Chris said.

“I have been great, actually,” Emily said. “I met some new people, and I've been spending a lot of time with them. And this little vacation from work has been really good for me too I think.”

“I can imagine," he said. “So you have been sleeping better?”

“I have. The dreams I was telling you about have calmed down a lot,” Emily said.

“Was that before or after you spoke to your mother?” he asked.

The waitress came to the table with two menus and tossed them on the table. “Hi, my name is Penny. Can I get you two anything to drink right away?”

Emily was confused by what her dad said, and it took her a moment to register the server.

Chris jumped in. “I’ll have a Coke, please.”

“I’ll have a Coke too,” Emily said. “Thanks.” She smiled at the server as she rushed away. “What do you mean before or after I talked to my mother?”

“Have you talked to her recently?” he asked.

“Yeah. I mean briefly. I've been a little busy,” she said. “I've also kind of been avoiding her calls.”

“So you haven’t had, like, a heart to heart about anything?” he asked.

Emily shook her head. “No. Was I supposed to?”

“We had just talked a while back and she said she had something she wanted to talk to you about," he said. “But I guess she hasn’t had a chance to.” He paused for a moment, appearing to gather his thoughts. “So tell me about these new friends of yours.”

Emily smiled and her face flushed. “They are…” she paused. “They are really amazing.”

“That look makes me wonder if one of them is more amazing than the rest,” Chris said.

Emily’s face became redder. “Ha,” she said.

“You want to tell me about her?” he said. “What’s her name?”

Emily tried not to smile, but she knew there was no point in trying to pretend he wasn’t right. “Claire,” she said.

“Claire huh?” He smiled. “So what’s so great about this Claire?”

“I don’t know, Dad. She is talented, and smart, and gorgeous, and… magical,” Emily said.

“So are you two dating then?” he asked.

“No, we're just friends,” Emily said.

“Does she know how you feel?” he said.

“I hope not,” she said. “I want to tell her, but I need to wait for the right moment. I don’t want to scare her away.”

“I haven’t seen you like this about somebody in years, Em," he said. “I'm really excited for you.”

“Thanks, Dad,” she said. “It has been a while. I think I forgot how to interact with someone I’m so head over heels with.”

“Just be yourself," he said. “That’s all you need to do.”

“I just don’t want to screw it up,” she said. “I have never met anyone even remotely like her. I don’t just want to date her. I want to make my life with her.” Emily had this thought as she said it. She knew she wanted to be with Claire, but it hadn’t occurred to her in just those words until she heard them come out of her mouth.

“Wow, Emily," he said. “That is something.” He smiled at her.

“Well I feel silly now,” she said. “Can we talk about something else?”

“Sure," he said.

They ate and talked about his job and about family. He wanted to learn more about her new friends, but she had already changed the subject. Emily left the lunch date feeling refreshed and renewed. She started daydreaming about Claire and the life she wanted to build with her, and she wondered if she should finally share how she felt. None of it would ever come true if Claire had no idea she was in love with her.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

JEREMY AND CLAIRE stood next to each other at the sink in the kitchen. He washed the dishes as she dried them.

“Tonight went well," he said.

“Yeah, I think so too,” she said. “Emily seems to be fitting in really well.”

“So I was right?” he asked.

She gave him a side glance and elbowed him gently. “I didn’t say that. Plus you can’t really take any credit for it. She came to you. It’s all on Emily.”

Jeremy thought of the other dream he saw and he still hadn’t admitted it to anyone. He could see the chemistry between the two of them when they were together. Everyone could. But they hadn’t seemed to notice. “You two seem to be getting along really well too," he said.

Claire dried the plate she was holding and held back a smile. She smiled when Emily was mentioned. “Yeah, I guess," she said.

“Do you still have any concerns about her having feelings for anyone in the coven?” he asked.

“I’m not sure. I hadn’t thought about it since you and I talked about it last," she said.

“Why’s that?” he asked.

“I don’t know, Jeremy," she said. “Why are you asking?”

He turned off the water and turned to look at her. “Because you two like each other.”

“What do you mean we like each other? You think I have feelings for Emily?” she asked.

“Um, yes. I know you do. It is painfully obvious to everyone who is around the two of you," he said. “I thought it would be a good idea for me to bring it up before you break your own rule.” He gave her the smirk he always gives her when he’s right.

“We get along, yes," she said. “And I can’t speak for her about her feelings for anyone. But I don’t have those kinds of feelings for her.”

“No?” he said.

“No!” She put the plate and the towel down and started to leave.

“Then why are you getting so upset about this conversation?” he asked.

“Because you're pissing me off, as usual," she said.

“Why can’t you just admit how you feel about her?”

She turned back around and looked at him. Her face was stern. “Because I can’t have feelings for her.”

“Sure you can," he said. He walked over to her. He wanted to hug her, because he already knew where this conversation was going.

“Stop," she said. “You know that isn’t true. For one thing, it could mess up the entire coven. This coven is all I have left and if this falls apart, I will too. After everything I have already screwed up, I can’t screw up the coven.”

“It wouldn’t screw up the coven Claire," he said. “It could make the coven so much better.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about Jeremy. Why do you always talk about shit you know nothing about?”

“Wow, really?” he said. “You’re going to start attacking me now just because you are afraid of your feelings?”

“Ugh!” She started walking upstairs.

“Hey, come on.” He stopped her and turned her around. “Don’t. We need to talk about this. It’s important.”

She rolled her eyes and avoided making eye contact with him. “It isn't important.”

“Yes it is," he said. “You think that bottling this all up is good for the coven? Do you think it is good for you?”

“It's better than falling in love and then losing it, yes," she said.

“You can’t really believe that," he said.

“Yes. I really do. And there's even more at stake than when I got divorced. If I fucked this one up, I’d screw up the whole coven too. It isn’t just my life I’d mess up. I can’t do that," she said.

“Why do you think you’d screw it up?” he asked.

She sighed and didn’t answer him.

“You only focus on what might happen if it went wrong. What about thinking about how incredible it could be if it went right?” he said.

“Wow Jeremy, did you read that on a poster at the library?” she said.

“I'm serious!” he said. “God you’re either too dramatic or you can’t take anything seriously. I don’t know why I even try.”

“Look. I am serious. I can’t let myself have feelings for her," she said.

“I think that is exactly what you need to do. I know you're trying to find yourself again after this last year, and you have been happy again. Really happy," he said. “I don’t think you have even realized how much better you have been since meeting Emily.”

Claire was silent. She hadn't felt this happy in a long time. But she was scared too. And still grieving. She couldn’t tell which feelings to focus on, or if what she was feeling was even real.

“We are all going through a lot right now, okay?” Jeremy said. “I think you need to take the good where you can get it. And I think you and Emily would be really good together.”

Claire looked up at Jeremy and she had tears in her eyes. “It doesn’t matter, because it can’t happen. Even if I thought that relationships inside a coven were a good idea, what about the power imbalance? I’m the high priestess," she said.

“So what?” he said. “That means you can decide. It’s your coven. If you wanted this you could make it happen, and you’d find a way to make it work. We all would.”

“Can we just drop this, please?” Claire said.

“Okay. But can I say one more thing?” he asked.

Claire rolled her eyes. “What?”

“I think you two might be perfect for each other. And I don’t want you to miss out on something that would be so good for you, just because you’re afraid of failing.”

“Kay.” Claire said with an attitude. She turned around and walked upstairs, into her bedroom and closed the door.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

“HERE COMES THE guy," he said. He patted her arm trying to get her attention. She rubbed her eyes and sat up in her chair, trying to wake up. They both looked out the window and watched as Jeremy pulled up to the Cottage. “He has somebody with him," he said. Three other cars pulled up and parked behind his. Claire, Emily, Allison, and Tanner all stepped out of the cars and met on the sidewalk.

“That’s them. That’s his coven," she said. She smiled with excitement. “Ohhh this is perfect. All five of them.”

“I thought you said one of them was black?” he said. “They're all white.”

“What?” She squinted and tried to get a good view of their faces as they walked toward the store. “She’s not here. That is a different woman. We saw her the other day, remember? She had only been to the store a couple of times.”

“Well she is with them now. Do you think she is in the coven?” he asked.

“May as well be. What else would she be doing with them?” she said.

“I wonder where the other one is," he said.

“It doesn’t matter," she said. “We can’t do anything today anyway. But I’m glad we had the info right about these ones. I think we need to take care of him and his group next.”

“He is the one you were told about?” he asked. “You saw him in your vision?”

“Yes, I'm sure of it," she said. “Let’s get going. I don’t want any of them to see us.”

They pulled out and drove away. “I'm not sure we should go after him next or if we should go after one of the smaller ones.”

“I think we could take him," he said. “You saw how big Sheff was. And we got him no problem.”

“It isn’t his size I am worried about," she said. “I just am changing my mind about us taking care of the leaders right now. We got two big shots so far, maybe we should work on some smaller folks. They might be easier anyway. And it wouldn't hurt to really wear down the morale as we go.”

“Whatever you say, I guess," he said.

“I'll think about it," she said.

“If we get caught-” he started.

She interrupted him. “We are not going to get caught.”

“Well maybe what you said at first makes sense," he continued. “Get rid of the hot shots first, and then maybe the rest of them will fall apart.” He didn’t want to upset her, but that had been her original idea.

She thought about what he said and couldn’t decide what would be better. She was confident that they wouldn't be caught. God had spoken to her and showed her what they needed to do. She knew that with God on their side they would be safe. Ridding the world of these terrible creatures was a good thing, and people don’t get punished for doing good things. They get rewarded. She knew she would be rewarded, but she had to do it right. There was too much at stake. And he was right, the police might not understand what she is doing. There is even a possibility that the witches could have infiltrated the police force. If they were caught by a witch they would surely have revenge in mind.

“Yes. Sticking to the original idea would be best," she said. “We don’t know all of the forces we’re up against, and we need to act carefully. Let's get rid of him first, and then his partner.”

“So when should we do it? Do you have a plan?” he said.

“We need to keep an eye on the store and see what happens now that the other one is out of the picture. We don’t know his schedule yet, so let’s track him for a couple of days and see when a good chance would be.”

“I could go into the store again. I could try to talk to him," he said.

“No," she said. “Let’s not get too close anymore. It was okay when we were first feeling them all out, but right now let’s pull back while we make our plan. We can get closer again if we need to, but not for him. Not for right now.”

“Whatever you say, baby.” He stopped at a red light and leaned over to kiss her. She kissed him back and he groaned. “Let’s go home and fool around. Talking about this stuff gets me so turned on.”

“Mhmm," she moaned. “Me too baby," she rubbed his leg and smiled at him. He got on her nerves sometimes, but she knew she had picked a good man. He didn’t think too much, and he didn’t talk too much. And he had agreed to help her on her mission. God hadn’t spoken to directly to him as he had to her, but he took her guidance as diligently as she took God’s, and that was all she needed.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

EMILY WAS AT the covenstead again. It was the third night this week, and everyone was over. They were discussing relaxing the buddy system a bit, as there had been no new murders. The snow was falling hard, and the roads looked to be getting worse. Jeremy suggested everyone stay over to avoid the roads.

“I need to get home to Danielle,” Allison said. “I have been over here so much lately, she would kill me if I spent the night. I should probably just head out now.”

“Okay, we understand,” Claire said. “Just please drive safely. And text me when you're home safe.”

“I will,” Allison said. She hugged everyone and Tanner and Olivia stood up to hug her goodbye.

“I should go too,” Tanner said.

“Yeah I will be taking off too I think,” Olivia chimed in.

“You guys never want to stay!” Jeremy said.

“And you are always pushing us to, you weirdo,” Allison said. “Did you not get enough sleepovers as a kid?”

“Will you stay, Emily?” Jeremy said. He nodded his head yes, with a huge smile on his face trying to convince her. Claire looked over at her. Emily felt put on the spot. Everyone else was deciding to brave the drive home, but she actually wanted to stay. She hadn’t had any alone time with Claire since that day in her apartment, and if she stayed the night maybe she would get a chance. The way Claire was looking at her, she couldn’t figure out if she wanted her to stay or not. She didn’t know how often she would get this chance and she wanted to take it.

“You know, I might take you up on that offer," she said.

Allison shot Jeremy a look of excitement. She had been picking up on the chemistry between Claire and Emily, and she and Jeremy were secretly rooting for them to get together.

“I really hate driving in storms, and Eli has enough food put out for the night. He should be okay,” Emily said.

“Yes!” Jeremy said.

Claire gave Emily a friendly look. “You can take the couch then." She felt nervous about Emily staying over. She had purposefully avoided any time alone with Emily after the interactions they had in her apartment. She felt like Emily was a strong person to have in the coven, but she also felt like she might become a temptation and a distraction if they were alone. Jeremy had called her out and made her realize she might be walking a fine line. And now he seemed to be trying to push them together.

Everyone said their goodbyes, and the three of them were left together in the living room.

“So what should we do!?” Jeremy asked. He wasn’t even trying to hold back how excited he was that Emily was staying. “We could watch a movie, play a game? What do you guys think?”

Emily and Claire looked towards each other and back at Jeremy and shrugged. Emily just wanted to be with Claire. Claire just wanted to hide and try not to make eye contact with Emily. She was worried of what might happen if they did.

“You’re the guest, Emily.” Jeremy said. “What would you like to do?”

I’d like to take Claire up to her room. She thought. She immediately felt guilty for thinking of Claire that way. She wasn’t used to having a dirty mind, but after her dreams about Claire, she sometimes had a hard time thinking of anything else when she looked at her.

“Emily?” Claire said. She noticed Emily spacing out like she had done on a few occasions before. She tried not to read too much into it.

Emily felt herself snap out of her head. “Sorry," she said. “Um, a movie sounds good.”

“Where were you?” Jeremy asked.

“I’m sorry. I just zoned out,” Emily said. “You can ignore me.”

Jeremy looked at Claire. “You wanna watch a movie?”

“How can I say no to that face?” Claire said. She put her hands on his cheeks and gently clapped her hands on his face on either side of his giant close lipped smile. She scratched his beard. She looked into his eyes and squinted. They knew each other well enough by now that she knew when he was manufacturing a situation. He knew that she recognized what he was doing, and he smirked at her.

They all took a seat on the couch and Jeremy pulled up Netflix on the television. Emily and Claire sat on the far sides of the couch on either side of him. He knew they both felt a little awkward and he was having a good time with it. Everyone else deciding to leave made the situation much better. He had tried to talk to Claire and she didn’t seem to register what he told her. He hadn’t talked to Emily yet. With Emily preparing to join the coven, it put him in a position of leadership. He was an equal with Claire. But there wasn’t any way he could bring up Emily’s relationship with Claire to Emily in a way that would be appropriate. But he felt that forcing them to have a cozy night together was perfectly appropriate.

“Do we want Horror?” Jeremy said.

“Ugh, Jeremy, really?” Claire said. “With our best friends being murdered you want to watch a horror movie?”

“It was just a suggestion!” he said. “Plus for all we know the killers aren’t even around anymore. We might be out of the woods, so to speak.”

“Ugh,” Claire said.

“Rom-Com?” he asked.

Claire crossed her arms and didn’t say anything. Jeremy looked over his shoulder at Emily and she shrugged. There was no way she was going to make any suggestions.

“Come on you guys.” Jeremy said. “Help a guy out. What do you want to watch?” He scrolled through the available movies and they all watched the options flash across the screen.

“Ohh. Let’s watch Rocky III,” Emily said.

Claire leaned forward and looked around Jeremy at Emily. “You like Rocky?” Claire asked.

“I love Rocky,” Emily said. “It was my favorite movie growing up. They were my favorite movies I should say. All but Rocky five.”

“Well yeah. Rocky five doesn’t count,” Claire said. “We don’t talk about Rocky five.”

They laughed with each other and Jeremy leaned back into the couch. He smugly pressed play. Emily and Claire tried not to look at each other as they both stared at the television and smiled.

Jeremy didn’t make it through the movie. He fell asleep in the couch in between them, and they only noticed because he started snoring. They each stifled their laughter, not wanting to wake him up. The movie ended and the credits rolled. Emily felt her heart beat faster as she wondered what to do next. They were alone, almost. And all she wanted to do was tell her everything. Tell her about the dream she has had, over and over. About how she saw them together, and after feeling what she has felt there was no way anything else could ever compare. She wanted to be with her in this moment and every moment from now on. But she couldn’t say any of that.

“Well, it’s pretty late,” Claire said. “I should get you all set up down here so we can go to sleep.” Claire wasn’t tired, but she wanted to hide away in her bed.

“Okay,” Emily said. She was disappointed. She didn’t know how she was going to be able to go to sleep. “Should we wake Jeremy up so he can go to bed?”

Claire poked Jeremy in his side. “Jerrrrrremmyyyyyy," she teased.

Jeremy flinched and pushed her hand away. He groaned and leaned over, pulling his feet up onto the couch. His arm hung off the couch and he started snoring again.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Claire said. She screamed at Jeremy inside her head. He knew he was going to pass out on the couch, and she knew he was immovable once he fell asleep.

“Is he not going to move?” Emily asked.

Claire sighed. “Honestly, probably not. When he’s out he’s out." She pressed her lips and tried to figure out what to do. She needed to put Emily somewhere.

“So…” Emily said. “Where should I sleep?”

“You know, we could put new sheets on Jeremy’s bed, and you could sleep there,” Claire said.

That wasn’t what Emily was hoping to hear, but she knew that Claire inviting her into her bed was a long shot.

“Okay, let’s do that,” Emily said. “You’re sure he won’t mind?”

“No he won’t mind,” Claire said. “But even if he did, it isn't your fault he invited you to sleep on the couch and then went ahead and fell asleep on the couch he offered up to you.”

“Okay,” Emily said. “What can I do to help?”

“I’ll go get some clean sheets from the linen closet and you can help me put them on the bed,” Claire said.

Emily told herself that she could definitely help Claire make a bed without any issue. Her standing at a bed with Claire on the other side of it looking at her wasn’t going to be a problem. She was an adult who could control her primal urges. It was just a bed, anyway. It was no more sensual than standing anywhere with her at any time. Stop. She thought. Just stop.

“And his room is the last one on the right, right?” Emily asked.

“Yep!” Claire said. She walked up the stairs and down the hall to the closet. She grabbed out a set of clean sheets and brought it into Jeremy’s room. The sheets were falling out of her hands by the time she made it to his bed. Emily was pulling the dirty sheets of the bed.

“These smell clean,” Emily said.

“They probably are,” Claire said. “He is weird about how often he changes his sheets. But still, better safe than sorry. You don’t want to have any question about what you are sleeping on.”

“I guess,” Emily said. She carried the old sheets and pushed them into his laundry hamper.

Claire threw a fitted sheet onto the bed and Emily grabbed the other end. They pulled each corner on without speaking. Claire tossed the flat sheet up onto the bed and they each held an end, raising it up above their heads and making eye contact, accidentally on both their parts, when the sheet was above their heads. Emily took a deep breath and blinked, trying to stop herself from losing her head in a daze once again. They folded their respective sides and Claire went to get a blanket. Emily replaced the pillow cases with clean ones and threw them back on the bed. She walked around the other side to meet Claire at the door. Claire came around the corner into the room and the blanket was piled in her arms, covering her face. She couldn’t see that Emily was standing there and walked right into her.

“Oh God I’m sorry,” Claire said.

Emily blushed. “It’s okay," she said. She grabbed some of the blanket, trying to help Claire, and they awkwardly carried it over to the bed.

“I have it, it’s okay,” Claire said.

“Okay, sorry,” Emily said.

“A lot of sorry’s happening in here right now,” Claire said. They chuckled.

“I do think I have a problem with saying that I’m sorry too much,” Emily said.

“I think we all have that problem,” Claire said. “We live in Minnesota.”

“True,” Emily said. She arranged the opposite side of the blanket on the bed and looked up at Claire. She wanted to do something. She wanted to kiss her. In real life. She had kissed her in her memory and she wanted that so badly in this moment. She felt like she had to show Claire how amazing they were together, which made her feel like a crazy person. There is no sane way to present that to anyone. Even if that person does believe in things that are slightly outside the realm of normalcy.

Claire looked around the room, looking for anything else she might need to do for Emily before she left.

“Well, you probably don’t have a toothbrush in your bag?” she asked.

“No, I don’t,” Emily said. “I don’t have anything for staying over. I should have thought about that before I agreed to it I suppose.”

“It’s okay,” Claire said. “We don’t have a spare toothbrush, but I have some pajamas you can sleep in. Let me go grab them.”

Emily stood in Jeremy’s room and looked around. The room was dark and simple. He didn’t have a lot of decorations, and there was nothing on the walls. His clothes all hung in his closet or were folded in his dresser. She was impressed to see no piles of clothes on the floor. He was cleaner than she had imagined him to be. She looked down at her clothes and felt silly for not thinking about what she was going to sleep in when she agreed to sleep on the couch. Sleeping in her regular clothes is fine, but she assumed she was going to have trouble sleeping anyway, so she was grateful that she might have actual pajamas to sleep in.

“Here you go!” Claire said as she walked into the room. She was holding a two piece set of flannel pajamas.

Emily took them and looked at Claire gratefully. They were the least sexy pajamas she had ever seen, and she hoped Claire would be sleeping in something equally appalling. “Thanks Claire," she said. “This is really kind of you.”

“It’s no problem at all,” Claire said. “I always get these pajamas from my family for Christmas, and I sleep naked so I never wear them. They just keep getting them for me.”

Emily felt her grip tighten on the pajamas. “Cool. Cool," she said. “Yeah my dad always gets me useless stuff too. I know what you mean.”

“Well,” Claire said. “I am going to head to bed. Is there anything else you need?”

“No, I don’t think so.” Emily said. “You're sure that Jeremy isn’t going to wake up in the middle of the night and come crawling into his bed?”

Claire laughed. “Oh wow. No, I can’t promise you that won’t happen. Sorry.”

Emily smiled at her. “Okay. I guess I’ll take that chance then.”

“You are a brave soul,” Claire said. “Well, goodnight Emily.”

Emily felt her stomach flutter at the sound of Claire speaking her name. “Goodnight Claire,” Emily said. “Thanks for the pajamas.”

“No problem,” Claire said. She left Jeremy’s room and Emily heard her footsteps walk down the hall to her room. The door closed.

Emily exhaled and put the pajamas on the bed. She was wide awake, but she knew she needed to go to sleep. She closed the door and changed into the pjs. She then folded her clothes, and laid them neatly in a pile next to the nightstand. She pulled the top blanket off of the bed and slipped underneath it. She relaxed on the pillow and she looked up at the ceiling. She had an urge to see the snow, so she got up quickly and went to the window and opened the blinds. The snow was still falling heavily, and it glowed an amber hue from the street lights. There were no footsteps on the sidewalk and the street had not been plowed yet. She sat on the windowsill and watched the flakes fall. She had always loved watching the snow. Everyone she knew always complained about winter, but the snowfall made her feel real. She loved how it made everything quieter and somehow slower. The cold didn’t bother her and she welcomed the internal draw that came from the snow.

Claire turned her night stand light on and thought about what she should do. She was wired and was not ready to go to bed, but she didn’t feel comfortable leaving her room. She had trouble just holding a regular conversation with Emily and she didn’t want to risk anything happening as the night went on. She walked to her window and sat on the windowsill. She watched the snow fall, and she tried to meditate on it.

The house was silent. Jeremy slept soundly on the couch on the first floor, with Claire and Emily sitting in separate rooms, both looking at the snow falling outside. They were looking out at the same snow and thinking of the same thing. They both wanted more between them, but neither one of them knew how to go about it. Claire was worried about jeopardizing the coven and her role in it. Emily was worried about jeopardizing how Claire might feel about her. If she didn’t want to be with her romantically, she didn’t want to mess up her relationship with her and the coven. As distracting as Claire’s presence had been, it didn’t take away from how serious Emily was about becoming a witch. Emily needed to go about all of this very carefully.

Emily woke up the next morning to the sound of Jeremy opening the door.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” he said. “I thought maybe you had went home.” He pulled the door closed a little bit, not wanting to intrude on her.

Emily rubbed her eyes and sat up in the bed, shyly pulling the covers up to her shoulders. “Um, no Claire just put me up in here. I hope that's okay. We changed the sheets.”

“Of course, that's fine.” Jeremy scratched his beard and eyed Emily curiously. “Sorry I fell asleep on the couch. What did you and Claire end up doing?” He wasn’t expecting any exciting developments since Emily was sleeping in his bed, she clearly hadn’t went to bed with Claire.

“We just finished the movie, and then we got the bed ready and went to sleep.” Emily hoped there wasn’t a tinge of disappointment in her voice.

“Ah," he said. “Well, I’ll let you do your thing. Sorry again to walk in and wake you. Just let me grab some clothes. I need to go into the store this morning.”

“Sure," she said. She watched him walk to his dresser and grab a shirt and a pair of underwear. He smiled at her and left the room, closing the door behind him. She slumped over in the bed and looked out the window. It was a sunny day and everything looked especially bright with the thick blanket of snow from the blizzard the night before. She wondered if Claire was awake yet. She wondered if it took Claire as long to fall asleep as it had taken her. She heard Jeremy come out of the bathroom and go back down the stairs, followed by the front door closing. He was in a hurry. She thought. She felt awkward, not knowing quite what to do. Should she stay and hang around until Claire woke up, or should she sneak out before she came out of her room. She wanted to stay. She wanted to crawl into bed with her and wake her up. Kiss her neck up to her lips, and finally act out the dream that has played in her mind so many times now. It seemed so impossible. Claire wasn’t interested in her and it didn’t seem likely that she would ever be interested in her. But why did she have the dreams? What put her in Claire’s head? She decided she should go home. She didn’t want to put Claire out, or wear out her welcome.

She got dressed and made the bed before sneaking into the bathroom. She put some toothpaste on her finger and brushed her teeth. It wasn’t thorough, but it was better than nothing. She redid her ponytail and looked in the mirror, wishing she had some makeup with her. At least some eyeliner or blush. Giving up, she went downstairs and put her boots and jacket on. She opened the door and squinted painfully at the bright sun.

Claire heard Emily leave and sighed in relief. She didn’t want a repeat of the awkward tension from the night before. Now she could get up, have some coffee, and have a relaxing morning alone before she went to the basement to work. She walked to the window and looked out onto the street, where she saw Emily struggling to brush the snow off of her car. Maybe I should go help her. She thought.

“Dang it," she said out loud. She pulled pants on from the night before and left on the shirt she had slept in. She would be wearing a jacket so she didn’t bother to put on a bra.

She got downstairs and found her thick socks lying on the floor next to the couch. She rushed to put them on and slipped her feet into her boots, her arms into her jacket, and zipped her coat up to her chin. She opened the front door to the sound of shovels echoing on the street. The thick snow has muffled all sound and somehow made everything seem louder at the same time.

Emily looked up at the house and smiled at Claire, looking surprised to see her. Before Claire could step off of the porch and onto the steps, she saw a car speeding up the street. Everything seemed to slow down as she watched it unfold in front of her. A neighbor across the street, three houses down opened her door and her small dog escaped from the house, running into the yard. The dog ran down the corridor that was formed by the shoveled sidewalk and burst onto the street without any warning. By the time the driver saw the dog it was too late, and he slammed on the breaks. He lost control of the car as it slid through the snow, and tried to turn to avoid the dog. He was sliding right towards Emily. Claire thrust her hand up, aiming it at Emily, and focused all of her energy on a force field around her.

“Munio statim,” Claire whispered.

The car appeared to hit Emily and she screamed. Without thinking, she lunged away from the speeding car and into the body of her own car. Claire ran down to her as fast as she could, trudging through the snow and trying not to slip on the shoveled spots.

“Are you okay!?” The driver got out of his car and went to check on Emily, but Claire got to her first.

“Oh my God. You’re okay,” Claire said. She bent down to her and grabbed her face with both hands. Emily looked up at her terrified.

“That car almost hit me,” she said. She was trembling.

“But it didn’t hit you. You’re okay,” Claire said.

Emily looked at the broken and bent up car that was inches from them. “But it should have hit me. What did it hit?”

“It didn’t hit you, that’s all that matters.” Claire brushed the hair out of Emily’s eyes and hugged her. “You’re okay, okay?” She held her head to her chest.

“I’m so sorry! Is she okay?” the driver asked again.

Claire stood up and glared at him with an intensity Emily hadn’t seen before. “You were fucking speeding and you could have killed her or that dog.”

“I-I’m so sorry," he said.

“You better have insurance,” Claire said. “Are you calling the police, or should I?”

“I’ll call them right now,” The man said. He scrambled around in his car and came back out holding his phone to his ear.

Claire kneeled back down to Emily. “Let’s go inside until you feel a little better okay?”

Emily’s face was white with shock. “Okay," she said.

Claire looked at the driver. “We are going inside the house right there. If the police need to talk to us, that’s where we’ll be.”

The driver nodded and started talking to the operator.

“Obliviscatur,” Claire whispered at the man. She didn’t actually want to deal with the police. Emily was fine and she didn’t feel like answering any questions. The asshole driver could deal with the cops on his own.

Claire helped Emily stand up and walked with her inside the house. She felt shaken up, and she could tell that Emily was quite shaken as well. They got inside the house, and Claire removed Emily’s jacket and hung it up along with her own. They took off their boots, went into the living room, and sat down on the couch.

“Are you okay, Emily?” Claire asked.

Emily looked Claire in the eyes. “Did you do that?” she asked.

Claire bit her lower lip and shifted her gaze to the floor. “Yes," she said.

“You Edward Cullened me!?” Emily said.

Claire looked back at Emily and was surprised to see that she was smiling. “What?” Claire said.

“In Twilight. Edward saves Bella from a car that almost hit her. You just did like literally the same thing.”

“Uh, okay?” Claire said. “Should I have let the car hit you?”

Emily laughed. “No!” she said. “It’s just funny. I can’t believe you did that. How did you do that!?”

Claire started to loosen up, now that it seemed like Emily was okay. “I’m a witch, remember? I can do stuff.”

“I didn’t know you could do stuff like that," she said.

“There is a lot you don’t know yet,” Claire said. She put her hand on Emily’s leg. “Are you okay, though? That was really intense.”

Emily nodded. “It was. But yeah I’m okay. I think I am more shocked that you did that. It all happened so fast. What is going to happen to that guy?”

“He’ll have to fix his car I guess?” Claire said. “I also, um sort of made him forget that he almost hit you.” Claire looked at Emily with a bit of playful guilt in her eyes. She wasn’t used to talking about magic with someone who wasn’t a witch. Mostly because it just wasn’t done. But Emily was pretty close to one at this point, and she was feeling more and more comfortable with her as time went on.

“You made him forget!?” Emily said. She playfully pushed Claire’s shoulder. She felt a burning spark in her gut the moment she touched Claire and she regretted it immediately.

Claire felt the same thing and swallowed. “Yeah," she said.

They looked each other in the eyes for a moment and didn’t speak. It took everything in Emily’s power to not lean in and kiss Claire. Claire reached up and lightly touched Emily’s face, wiping what must have been snow from her cheek. Emily closed her eyes to the touch and gently leaned into Claire’s hand.

“Thank you,” Emily said.

“It was just some snow, I think,” Claire said.

“No, I mean thank you for saving me from the car. I could be dead right now,” Emily said.

“Of course,” Claire said. “I couldn’t let you get demolished by some jerk.”

“Why is that?” Emily asked.

“Well you’re going to be in the coven, right?” Claire said. “You’ll be like family. Closer than family, really. We look out for each other.”

“I see,” Emily said. Claire heard the disappointment in Emily’s voice and sighed.

“Listen, Emily,” Claire said. “I’m sorry if I’m wrong, but I’ve sensed some attraction between you and someone in the coven. I am pretty sure that person is me.”

Emily straightened up, listening intently.

“I don’t want to make you feel awkward. Like I said, we’ll be like family. But I do want to tell you that we don’t really allow relationships within the coven," she paused. “I should clarify. I don’t allow it. Jeremy doesn’t seem to care, and I don’t really know how the other guys feel about it.”

“Oh. Okay,” Emily said. She was a loss for words. She wasn’t expecting Claire to say that. She felt like they were starting to connect. Like they were getting closer. She started to feel sick to her stomach with embarrassment. Claire picked up on the shift in Emily’s mood.

“I just want to be open and honest, okay?” Claire said. “It is important that we are all open and honest with each other.”

“Right,” Emily said.

“And if I am being perfectly honest,” Claire continued, “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t confused about my feelings for you.”

“What do you mean?” Emily asked.

Claire bit her lip again. “I mean, I have felt a connection between us a handful of times. That is why I wanted to bring this up, really. Because I need to keep myself in check too. Long story short, this coven is everything to me and I can't jeopardize it. I am also just not really ready to be with anyone. I’m still trying to heal from my divorce, and I can’t open myself up to anyone right now. Not in that kind of way.”

Emily was confused. She went from feeling embarrassed and heartbroken to feeling excitement at the idea that Claire felt even a fraction of the same feelings Emily had for her. But she was telling her it couldn’t happen.

“Okay,” Emily said.

“We are going to end up being closer than sisters,” Claire said. “I think it’ll be much better that way.” Claire smiled at Emily, hoping for a positive reaction, but knowing that she wasn’t going to get one.

“I think I’m going to go home now,” Emily said. She didn’t want to look at Claire. Every moment she was with Claire she had to hold back the urge to kiss her. How was she supposed to be in the coven and not be with her?

“I’m sorry I brought that up,” Claire said. “I just thought it was important to get it out of the way. Everything on the table, right?”

Emily looked at Claire. Her face was stern, and she appeared as though she was holding back tears. “You want to be honest right now?” Emily said.

Claire didn’t expect this shift in Emily. “Yes. Always,” Claire said.

“I am really embarrassed right now,” Emily said. “I hope I’ve never done anything to make you uncomfortable, I would feel horrible if I did." She stood up. “I'm going to go. I don’t think I’m going to spend any more time with the coven." She turned and started walking towards the door.

Claire rushed to stand in front of her. “No, please don’t let this change anything. You're supposed to be with us.” Claire believed that. She trusted Jeremy and she had felt the connection that comes with a new coven mate.

Emily agreed with Claire. She knew in her heart that she was supposed to be with these people. But more than that, she knew that Claire and her were supposed to be together as well. But she didn’t say anything. She couldn't think of how to tell Claire that without scaring her away. She didn’t know what to say.

“This coven has gotten over a crush before, we can do it again,” Claire said, trying desperately to fix what she had done.

“A crush?” Emily said. She wanted to laugh. Emily felt her phone vibrate in her pocket at the same time that they both heard Claire’s phone go off from the couch. Emily looked at the screen. “Oh no," she said. “Jeremy." She looked up at Claire with worry and watched as Claire’s face went cold. Claire grabbed Emily’s phone from her hand and read the text.

“We have to go see him,” Claire said. She didn’t want to drive alone. She didn’t want to drive at all. “Can you drive me?” Her hands were shaking as she handed her phone back to Emily.

“Of course,” Emily said. They put their coats back on and walked outside. Two police cars with flashing lights surrounded the driver and the car that almost hit her. The man looked like he was in shock as he struggled to explain the accident to the police. Emily’s car was blocked in by the three cars, without a scratch on it.

“We can take my car,” Claire said. She unlocked her car and grabbed the snow brush from the back seat.

Emily felt like she was on autopilot as she got into the car and started the ignition. She stared at the steering wheel and replayed the events of the last thirty minutes in her head. Snow cleared from the windshield in front of her seat and she was snapped out of here daze. She opened the door.

“Do you have another brush? Should I go get mine?” she asked.

“It’s fine, I’m almost done,” Claire said, grunting as she pushed the snow off of the hood of the car. “I just have to do the back window and we can go.”

Emily sat back down and closed the door. Claire plopped into the passenger seat. Claire didn’t have to tell her where to go. The text from Tanner was brief but it had all the information they needed.

Jeremy was attacked in the alley outside the shop.

He is alive but not conscious.

ICU at the U of M East Bank.

Come as soon as you can.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

TANNER SAT ON a chair in the hospital waiting room. He was leaning forward in the chair, with his chin in his hands. His index fingers were pointed up to his mouth and his eyes were closed.

“What happened?” Claire asked.

Tanner stood up and walked over to Claire to hug her. “He's in surgery right now. He was stabbed in the alley when he left to take out the trash.”

“By the murderers?” Emily asked.

“I would assume so,” Tanner said.

“When can we see him? How long will he be in there?” Claire asked.

“I don’t know,” Tanner said. “The doctor will come out and update us. But he’s alive, and that’s what matters.”

One by one, the rest of the coven members arrived and Tanner updated them. The five of them sat in the waiting room in silence. Nobody knew what to say, and the energy in the room was heavy with fear and anger. On the opposite side of the waiting room, an older man stood up and left. The five of them were now alone. Claire glanced around the room and got up to close the door. She turned to face the rest of them.

“We are clearly still in danger,” she said. “We got too relaxed, and we let our guard down. We can’t let that happen again.”

“I think we need to initiate her,” Allison said. “If Jeremy thinks her dreams might help, we can’t risk not doing it.”

“We’re vulnerable,” Tanner said. “And she said she wanted to join.”

“We can’t just jump into a decision like this,” Olivia said. “Claire what do you think?

Claire looked at Emily. “What do you think?”

“Oh I’m sorry, Emily. I should have asked you, but the final decision comes to Claire and I was just getting lost in the moment and-”

“It’s okay,” Emily interrupted her. “If it will help, I will do it right away. For sure.”

“You should think about it,” Tanner said. “It isn’t a decision to be made lightly.”

“I understand, but I already decided I would. I didn’t really want to have to wait as long as Jeremy said I would have to wait.”

“Emily,” Allison teased. “Are you the one who stabbed Jeremy? Just to get initiated sooner?”

Claire glared at Allison. “Not now, Allison.”

“Sorry,” she said. She walked back to a chair and sat down.

After some discussion, they decide that Claire will stay at the hospital to be with Jeremy. Allison, Olivia, Tanner and Emily will stay at the covenstead. With the spell hiding the house from harm, they should have all been staying there anyway. And they would need to implement some kind of buddy system again. The only way they would get through this alive was to go through it together.

Jeremy opened his eyes and Claire was sitting next to his hospital bed.

“Hey you!” she said, smiling.

“Hey,” he whispered.

“You’re alive,” she said.

“It appears that I am.”

“Are you in any pain?” she asked.

He thought for a moment, blinking slowly. “No I don’t think so.” He tried to move and let out a painful cry. “Not unless I move.”

“They said you’re going to be okay,” she said. “I need to go tell the doctor you’re awake. But I wanted to tell you first that we decided that you were right, and we need to initiate Emily. As soon as you get your strength back, we can get it done.”

He closed his eyes and smiled. “Sounds good,” he said. “All I had to do was get stabbed.”

Claire shook her head and chuckled. “Idiot,” she said. “Did you get a look at them?”

“Not really, no.”

“Well I’m sure the police are going to want to talk to you.”

“Wonderful,” he said.

Claire pushed the call light button and leaned forward and kissed Jeremy on the forehead. “Thank you for not dying on me.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

“YOU FINALLY ANSWERED the phone!” Karen said.

“What’s up?” Emily asked impatiently.

Karen was silent for a moment, as if she was choosing her words carefully. “I wanted to ask you if the dreams have gotten any worse since we talked about them last.”

“Actually they seem to be getting better,” Emily said.

“Really? That is so good to hear.” Karen sounded relieved.

“Yeah. It is weird.” Emily wasn’t sure how much she should get into with her mother about it. She always regretted the times she told her mom more than she meant to. Somehow it always ended up blowing up in her face.

“Why do you think it's weird?” she asked.

“I don’t know. A lot of weird stuff has been happening to me lately,” Emily said. “Things that aren’t easy to believe. I don’t know if you've heard about the couple people that were murdered in Minneapolis?”

“I have heard about a murder there, yes," she said. “I was going to ask you about it. A tarot card reader?” The news of June’s death had spread quickly among people in the magical community. It set everyone on edge, and Karen was no exception.

“Yeah, and now a bookshop owner too. They think they’re related.” Emily said. “They were friends with some new acquaintances of mine. It's pretty scary right now. And I'm not even sure if that is the weirdest thing that has been going on.”

“A bookshop owner? Of what bookshop?” Karen asked. She had tried to brush off the idea that the tarot reader's murder had any connection to who she really was. If they were related, that meant Emily would be in danger.

“A shop here called The Cottage. I went there to find out about dream interpretation, like you said, actually. And I talked with a guy who worked there. I sort of became friends with him." She was getting sidetracked and far too comfortable with this conversation. “Anyway. The owner of that shop was found murdered, and they think it’s the same people that killed the other woman."

The hair on Karen's body stood on end.

“Mom?” Emily said. “Hello? Are you still there?”

Her voice cracked. “Y-Yes," she said. “I’m here.”

“What’s wrong?” Her mom was losing it again and she wasn’t surprised at all.

“Emily, I have to tell you something," she said.

“Okay,” Emily felt the conversation shift and she felt her stomach sink a little. “Dad said you were going to talk to me about something. What's going on?”

“Okay. Here is what I have been trying to talk to you about.” Karen took a deep breath. "Your father asked me about what had been going on with you, and told me he was concerned about the dreams you had been having,” she said.

“Yeah?” Emily replied. “You already told me that.”

“I know,” Karen said. “Well I don’t know if you remember ever hearing about any of the things your father and I used to fight about before we split up?”

Now she was talking about something from decades ago. Emily was lost. “Uh, no. I don’t know. What are you talking about Mom?”

Karen took a deep breath again. “Emily, I practice witchcraft. I'm a witch.”

Emily felt like she stopped breathing. “Wait wait wait wait wait," she mumbled. “What the hell are you talking about?” Her broken and dysfunctional world with her mother was suddenly merging with her new life that had felt so full of purpose. She had to sit down.

“I know that you’re now finding your way into witchcraft too,” she said. “And I just need to be honest with you about something.”

“What. What are you talking about?” Emily asked. This was a new level for her mother. She had never dropped a bomb quite like this before.

“So I have told you that I’ve been worried about you. And I wanted to help, but I wasn’t sure what I could do to help you.”

“Can you get to the fucking point, Mother?” Emily said flatly.

Karen continued. "I did two spells,” she explained. “I wanted to help you find your path. And I wanted you to find a true love."

Emily rubbed her forehead with her index finger and thumb, and she kept her mouth shut.

“Your father thinks that those spells are why you started having these dreams," she said. “I don’t know if I agree with him, but he thought it was important that I at least tell you.”

It just kept getting worse. “So you’re telling me that you put a spell- two spells on me!?” Emily asked. She started to laugh. She felt herself slipping into a kind of hysteria she hadn’t felt before.

“No,” Karen said. “I didn't put spells on you. I just did a couple of spells, for you. There is a difference.”

“What exactly is the difference?” Emily asked. Her voice was getting louder and she was only getting more upset.

“I didn’t feel like I was interfering with you so much as the universe itself,” Karen said. She sounded unsure of the thought as it was coming out of her mouth.

“What does that even mean!?” Emily cried.

“I. I don’t know,” Karen said. “Emily, I am sorry you are upset. But I was just trying to do what was best for you.”

“By meddling in my life that you aren’t even a part of!? And in secret!?” Emily was now totally furious. “I’m not doing this right now. I can’t do this right now,” she told her mother. “I’m hanging up the phone.”

“No!” Karen cried. “Emily please don’t hang up!” The line clicked silent and the call ended. She had hung up. Karen was left staring at the phone in her hand, thinking about the danger her daughter now faced, thousands of miles away.

Emily was stunned and furious. She had been feeling so excited about the trajectory of her life, and had thought that things were finally going as planned. But it was all a lie. It was all just a spell. Her mom had put these images in her head, and it was just a self-fulfilling prophecy. Not her true path, but a path Karen conjured up and slipped into her mind. And she had just played along like a puppet. How could she have been so stupid? So gullible and easily convinced. To fall for something her mother of all people came up with. She was just trying to suck her into her life, like she had since she left the country. If only things had been different with her mother. Had she known that her mother was familiar with magic, she might have been more willing to open up to her about it. She could have gotten advice from her and maybe even realized they have more in common than Emily ever thought. But even then, she just would have found out sooner that it was a setup. Maybe then at least she wouldn’t have gotten so far into this charade. She had to back out, before it was too late.

CHAPTER THIRTY

EMILY AND CLAIRE sat in the living room, talking quietly. Jeremy had come home from the hospital the day before and he was asleep in his bedroom.

“So, we have a date for your initiation,” Claire said, smiling. “Jeremy just has to recover a little bit more so he can be strong enough, but he’s confident it won’t be much longer before he’s ready.”

Emily looked at the floor and didn’t say anything.

“What’s wrong? Why are you so upset? You said you were ready for this,” Claire said.

“I thought I was,” Emily said. She didn’t want to look at Claire.

“Well what changed?” Claire asked.

Emily sighed. “Everything changed," she said.

“You’re going to have to give me more than that. From where I’m standing, nothing has changed,” Claire said.

“The dreams I started having? The dreams about the coven and about you and,” she cut herself off.

“Yeah. Your dreams about the coven. What about them? Did they change? Did you see something new?” Claire asked.

“No,” Emily said.

“Well what happened?” Claire said. She was getting frustrated. She didn’t want Emily to back out now. Everything was ready, and they were only a few days away from her initiation.

“The dreams weren’t from me,” Emily said. “I wasn’t seeing the future. I was seeing what my mother put in my head.”

“Your mother!?” Claire said. “What does your mother have to do with this?”

“I found out that my mother is a witch,” Emily said.

“Seriously? I knew you had it in your blood!” Claire said. It made so much more sense how easily some things had come to Emily.

“No. She put a spell- spells on me. And that is why I started having the dreams. I’m not a witch. I’m just a pawn in whatever fucked up game my mother is playing,” Emily said.

“Wait a minute,” Claire said. “What kind of spell, exactly? Explain to me what she told you.”

“She said she did one spell for me to find my true love. And one spell to find myself,” Emily said.

“And you started having the dreams after she performed the spells?” Claire asked.

“Yes.” Emily paused. She remembered the dream about her parents divorcing. “Well, you know I had some dreams when I was younger that were kind of clairvoyant.”

“Yes, but they stopped?” Claire asked.

“Yeah. I had forgotten about them really, until Jeremy asked about it," she said. “I think I had others like it but I don’t remember them. I guess I grew out of it.”

Claire was surprised at Emily’s assumption. “Why would you think that?”

“I don’t know when they stopped, but my mom put these spells on me and they started up. And I haven’t told you how much the dreams started to ruin my life,” Emily said.

“But they led you to us,” Claire said. “Doesn’t that mean anything?”

“No.” Emily felt tears beginning to well up in her eyes. “It doesn’t mean anything because it's all been a lie.”

“What about it has been a lie?”

Emily stared at Claire, and Claire could see her getting angry. She pressed her lips close tighter.

“You were born with this and the spells just brought it out of hibernation,” Claire said. “What exactly is so bad about that?”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Emily said as she shook her head.

“Then why don’t you explain it to me, Emily?”

“You don’t know my mother,” Emily said. “You don’t know how many times she has tried to manipulate my life without considering what I want, or what’s best for me.”

“It sounds like she did want what was best for you,” Claire said.

Emily shook her head again, but didn’t respond.

“Do you know the script of these spells?” Claire asked. “Do you know exactly what they said?”

“No,” Emily said. “She only said they were meant to find my true love and to find my true self.”

“That sounds pretty selfless to me,” Claire said. “If she was really that broad with her words, then she left the desired results open to what the universe wanted for you. Not what she wanted.”

“Why are you sticking up for her? Is it like a witch thing? Can’t throw another witch under the bus for meddling?”

“No, actually. She shouldn't have meddled, as you call it,” Claire said. “Ideally, you aren’t supposed to perform any magic on anyone who doesn’t explicitly want you to. And I am not on her side. I’m just saying that it sounds like she was trying to improve your life in a way that worked best for you. It doesn’t sound like it would benefit her in any way except that her daughter would be happy. I don’t see why you’re so upset about it.”

Emily looked as if she was about to scream at Claire. “Because I thought I had power, Claire! I thought I had finally found my path and a meaning for my life and a person I could spend the rest of that life with! But then I find out that none if it was me. It was all just because of my fucking mother!” Emily’s breath was fast and heavy and she looked back down at the floor, regretfully.

Claire tipped her head gently at Emily and didn’t say anything. Had Emily thought that the two of them were meant to be together?

“You have a lot of nerve acting like you know anything about this anyway. You barely know me, and you don’t know what’s best for me. Neither does my mother,” Emily said. Her lips quivered and her eyes slowly welled up with tears. “I’m getting emotional and I think we should stop talking about this."

“Emily. I’m not saying I know best. I’m saying that it sounds like your mom tried to put you on the course you were meant to be on. It wasn't about what she wanted, and she didn’t know that this was going to happen this way. Maybe you should go easy on her.”

“Maybe you should mind your own business,” Emily said. A tear ran down her cheek.

Claire rolled her eyes. “Fine." She didn’t know what to say. She felt like Emily had shut down. She couldn’t force her to be initiated. Emily could only be initiated if it were by her choice. “So are you backing out?”

Emily took a moment to respond. “I don’t know,” she said.

Claire was losing her patience with Emily and the conversation. “Well you better decide quickly. We have all put in a lot of work for this to come together so quickly. Frankly, it is a bit irritating that you are even considering backing out when we are this close. There can’t be any doubt in your mind. You can’t undo it once you’re initiated. I was trying to help you, but I can’t talk you into the initiation." She questioned whether or not she should even continue talking, or if it was a lost cause at this point. “I can just try and convince you that this has all been you. The magic you’ve seen. Your dreams. You putting your images in Jeremy’s head. Your mom’s spell must have just relit something that had laid dormant for years. She is a witch, so you were born with it already. I don’t know how the last few weeks have felt for you, but to us it has felt like you belong here. And if it felt like that to you too, you shouldn't throw it all away just because you’re pissed off at your mom.”

“Ugh!” Emily's face burned red. “You don’t know what you're talking about.”

“So this isn’t about you just being mad at your mom?” Claire asked.

“No!” Emily screamed.

“Fine. Fucking tell me what it is about then.”

“It’s about me feeling like I was getting somewhere. Finally finding my place. And then finding out it wasn’t me at all.”

“Oh my GOD, Emily.” Claire rolled her eyes and her hands cured into fists in the air in front of her. She wanted to shake Emily. “You had these dreams before. You forced them away and all these spells did was wake them up! You should be fucking thankful.”

“I’m leaving,” Emily said.

“Then go.” Claire crossed her arms and glared at Emily. “You need to decide by tonight if this is happening or not.”

Emily put her jacket on and slammed the door. Claire felt the cold air shoot across the room and hit her in the face. She wanted to cry. She didn’t understand why Emily couldn’t listen to what she was saying. And the thought of Emily leaving, not being initiated and not being in the coven made her feel ill. She had never felt that way about a possible coven mate before. Was it because she wanted her in the coven, or was it more than that? She stood up, walked into the kitchen, and poured herself a shot of whiskey. She drank it, and poured herself another, drinking the second shot as quickly as she drank the first. She looked at the empty glass sitting on the counter. A drop of whiskey slowly rolled down the glass and appeared to melt onto the countertop around the base of the glass.

“Don’t start this again, Claire," she said out loud. She had been doing fairly well lately at not drinking her emotions away. She didn’t want to start it up again now. She needed to have a clear head. Her life depended on it. She craved a warm body next to her, and she wanted to go crawl up into Jeremy’s bed. Just to feel close to him. But she didn’t want to wake him. He needed his rest. She put the glass in the sink and went down to the basement. She decided that she would paint out her frustrations instead. Picking up the brush and staring at the blank canvas, she only wanted to paint Emily.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

EMILY GOT INTO her car and locked the door. She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs. But she knew she needed to get home. It still wasn’t safe to be anywhere alone. She drove home and did her best to keep her tears at bay. She squinted through the dark to try and find a spot near her building. The parking around her neighborhood only got worse in the winter, when cars stuck out further into the street, sat farther apart, and jaggedly perched on small snow banks on the curbs of every street. She found a spot two blocks away and pulled in quickly. She didn’t manage to correct her horrible parking job. It wasn’t any worse than any other on the block. She grabbed her bag and climbed over the snowbank onto the icy sidewalk. Walking quickly, she tried not to slip on the ice as her eyes darted all around her. Every shadow and every sound made her nervous. She got to her building and felt relief standing under the light at the locked door. She closed it quickly behind her, and ran up the few stairs to her level. The hallway was wet with melting snow that had tracked off of residents before her. She noticed a larger puddle in front of her door and her stomach tightened. She got to her door and it was dented in. She looked up and down the hallway and saw no trace of anyone. She tried the handle and the door was still locked. It was then that she noticed something written in a dark and dripping substance underneath where the door was dented. Please don’t let that be blood. She thought.

It read: “We’ll come back for you.”

She wanted to go inside her apartment but she knew it wouldn’t be safe. She pulled out her phone and called 911. She put her back against the wall and slid down into a sitting position, clutching her bag and waiting for the operator. She explained to the woman what happened and stayed on the phone with the operator as she waited for the police to arrive.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

EMILY STOOD ON in the cold porch of the covenstead, holding Eli in a kennel in one hand, and a duffel bag in the other. She tried to hold back tears, and she didn’t know how much longer she had until the broke through. She rang the doorbell again. Please answer, she thought. Claire opened the door. Her hands were covered in smeared paint and her expression quickly turned into one of concern when she saw Emily.

“What’s wrong- what's going on?” Claire asked. She helped Emily inside.

“I’m sorry. I would have gone to my dad’s place, but I don’t want to put him in danger. I didn’t know where else to go.”

“It’s fine, of course. But Emily, what happened?” Claire asked.

Emily looked Claire in the eyes and she felt her guard dropping. All the walls she had put up since Claire told her they could never be together started to dissolve, and for a brief moment she didn’t fight it. She fell into Claire’s arms and let go of it all. The tears came fast and she couldn’t speak through them. Everything she had thought she handled so well over the last few months hit her hard and had nowhere to go but out in a river of tears. She cried over all the sleep she had lost, her relationship with her mother that seemed utterly hopeless, falling in love with an amazing woman that she couldn’t have but still had to be around if she wanted to follow this path she had started down. She cried because she finally felt real fear at the possibility of being murdered. And in her own home no less. The killings had all seemed so detached from her life. Her daily life had become a blur of surreal events, and the murders just faded into the background of all the other unreal things that were happening. She couldn't believe that she was a witch. That any of these people could be, really. So she couldn’t believe that she might actually be attacked by these killers. But now they had come for her. And she felt her fear shift into a confident rage. If they wanted to kill her for being a witch, she would fight back as a witch.

She composed herself and wiped the tears from her face. With swollen eyes, she looked up at Claire. “They came to my apartment. They tried to break in and couldn’t, but they left a message on the door,” Emily said. She felt Claire’s grip tighten on her arms as her face morphed from worry to anger.

“Fucking hell,” Claire muttered. “Well this is where you should be then. You’ll be safe here.”

“I know,” Emily said. “I hope Eli will be okay here too?”

“He will be fine,” Claire said. “What matters is that you’re safe.” Claire looked upstairs towards Jeremy’s door and back at Emily. “I am going to call the others, and tell them about what happened. We can’t be alone anymore. Everyone needs to be on guard, and we need to meet as soon as possible to decide what we are going to do about this.”

Emily nodded in agreement. “Claire?” Emily said. Her tears had stopped and her face was tight. “I’m not backing out of the initiation.”

A sigh of relief escaped Claire's chest and she hugged Emily. “Good." She pulled back and held Emily by her shoulders, looking her straight in the eyes. “Let’s get to work then.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

“WHAT ARE WE supposed to do Suze?” he asked.

Suzan was sitting on the edge of the bed, gently rocking back and forth. She casually held a cigarette in her hand, and the ash was getting longer. She scraped her lower lip with her thumbnail and stared at the wallpaper.

“Suze?”

“I’m thinking!” she cried. “They’re using their magic against us. We need to get the upper hand again." She stood up and began pacing in front of the bed. She took a drag from her cigarette, and the ash fell onto the floor. She stepped on it and didn’t notice as she continued to pace. “We’ve scared them, and we have them cornered. I know we’ll win, I just don’t know how yet.”

Angel stood up and walked over to Suzan, wrapping his arms around her. He lifted her chin with his finger and touched his nose to hers. “You are amazing, and you’ll think of something.” He kissed her, and she stopped him after only a moment.

“Not right now, Angel. I’m thinking." She continued to pace and mumble under her breath. Angel laid down on the bed, crossed his legs, and turned the television on.

“Turn it off please,” Suzan said without looking up.

He rolled his eyes and powered the television off.

“We are losing time. Since the last one survived, he knows what we look like.”

“But he didn’t see our faces,” Angel said.

Suzan shook her head. “He could have. It doesn’t matter. There are more witnesses now, and I know we're running out of time.”

“I still don’t understand how he survived,” Angel said.

“It's because of their fucking magic.” Suzan lit another cigarette. “Dirty fucking witches. There is no other explanation. He should be dead. And we should have gotten that new one. We should have gotten her first. She is probably the weakest one and should have been the easiest target." She stopped talking and started nodding her head manically. “Yes. We need to get to her. I can sense it. We’ll stake out her apartment. She has to come back at some point, and we’ll get her then. If we catch her and keep her alive, we could lure them all to us and take them all out together.”

Angel sat up straight. “All of them at once?” he asked. “How would we even do that?”

Suzan turned her gaze to Angel, her mouth turned up into a smile. “The most trusted method of killing witches, of course.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

“YOU’RE LOOKING CHIPPER this morning.” Dave gave Emily a sly look. “Did you spike that coffee?”

Emily smiled at Dave. “No. I’m just having a good morning. I’m ready for my week off.”

“You should be. I’m glad you’re taking more of your hard earned vacation time.” He stood at the counter arranging orders. Most of the lights were still off in the building, but he liked to get everything finished as early as possible so he could start working ahead on the next day’s orders. He also liked to leave early in the afternoon.

Emily pushed the bin of mail next to the desk and sat down. She pulled each pile out of the bin, placed it on the desk, and began sorting it into the mail cart. She was hoping to finish work early today so she could leave early like Dave. Her initiation was tonight. All that stood between her and the dream that had eluded her for months, was a quick and boring shift at work. She was going to get through the day with a smile.

Emily pulled her car to the curb and parked a block down from the covenstead. The sun was on the horizon and it would be dark soon. The group had agreed that until the killers were caught, they would all stay together at Claire and Jeremy's and they would be back each day before dark. In the morning they would each make sure they got to their cars safely. They would be safe in the house, as it was still hidden from view from anyone who meant them harm. Emily was curious what that meant, because the house still looked the same to her. Jeremy had explained that the neighboring buildings on each side appear closer together as if to block the house from view. Anyone searching for the house basically gets disoriented from the effect. She approached the house and squinted at it, trying to see the spell. She didn’t see anything different and she gave up. She wondered if she would be able to see it after her initiation tonight. She looked up and down the street, scanning the block for anyone or anything out of the ordinary. Seeing nothing unusual, she turned up the steps and walked into the house.

Inside, the house was bustling. Everyone was rushing around carrying something, and Emily felt as if she had walked into a family gathering for a holiday.

“She’s here!” Olivia yelled to the rest of the house with a beaming smile. She walked quickly over to Emily and gave her a tight hug.

“Hi,” Emily said, confused. She watched nervously as the rest of the house approached and took turns hugging her.

Jeremy hugged her last. “You have to forgive us, initiations are exciting times.”

“Are you excited!?” Alison asked her, almost bouncing up and down as she spoke.

“Yeah, of course,” Emily replied. “I just wasn’t expecting this welcome. And, uh. I have to get my jacket off.” She squirmed out of her jacket and Olivia hung it on the coat rack for her.

“Are you hungry?” Olivia asked. “Dinner is almost ready!” She walked cheerfully into the kitchen. Everyone was cheerful tonight, which was a completely different atmosphere than Emily had been used to over the last few days. Tensions had been running high as everyone began getting on each other's nerves. It was like a house full of annoyed siblings.

Emily looked around the house and took a moment to let it all sink in. This was the night she had been waiting for. It had arrived so much sooner than she had prepared herself for, after Jeremey had given her a reality check about how long it usually takes. She was about to live out one of her dreams. She could feel it.

The sun had set and the streetlights outside illuminated the snowy neighborhood. The house glowed warmly in its safe little bubble. Dinner had been delicious and the mood in the house was cheerful. Emily wasn’t nervous, but she thought perhaps she should be. She understood that she was about to make a commitment that she would never be able to take back. Shouldn’t she be nervous? She reminded herself that she was going to be living out an experience that she had dreamed about, and that she was surrounded by people that she felt perfectly comfortable and safe with. Even though she had met them just a short time ago, she felt like she had known them all of her life. She was ready for this next chapter in her life. She had been waiting for it without even realizing it. She was excited.

“Okay, Emily,” Claire said. “Do you have any questions about your initiation? You know we can’t tell you much, but I want to give you the opportunity to ask any final questions before we start.”

Emily looked at all of their faces and felt a profound love. She felt warm and safe with these people, and she thought she knew what was going to happen. “No,” she said with a smile.

“And you understand that in order to make it through the initiation, you might endure fear and pain?” Jeremy asked.

They had told Emily as much as they could about initiation, which wasn’t much. But she learned that there might be some aspects of the ritual that she hadn’t yet experienced in her dreams. She never felt anything scary or unpleasant in her memory, and Claire and Jeremy warned her that there would be aspects of her initiation that would be painful and possibly scary.

“I understand,” she said. “But I trust you.”

The group nodded and Olivia and Allison held hands and smiled.

“Well then,” Claire said. "It’s time to relax in the office for a bit while we start the ritual.

Emily nodded. “Okay,” she said. She stood up and slowly walked towards the office. Claire walked behind her. Jeremy began closing the curtains around the first floor of the house, as was done before every ritual. Allison, Olivia, and Tanner started preparing the circle room.

“See you soon!” Allison teased.

Emily waved her fingers at Allison and smiled. She felt her stomach start to flutter and that’s when the nerves began to sneak in.

The office was small and looked just as it had in her dream. She was brought back to that moment in her mind, and her nervousness only increased.

“You can take your time getting undressed. There is a blanket here for you if you get cold. The music should play for as long as you are in here and,” Claire was cut off.

“I know,” Emily interrupted. “This is new, but I have kind of been here before.”

Claire smiled. “Right,” she said. “Well, do you have any questions?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Emily answered. “I am just excited to see how it all plays out.”

“You should be,” Claire said. “It’s pretty damn exciting.”

Emily wanted to stop Claire, but she didn’t say any more and let Claire turn around and leave. She wanted to focus on the initiation tonight, and she was almost becoming good at pushing her feelings for Claire aside. They hadn’t diminished and the dreams hadn’t stopped, but in their day to day interactions Emily tried to pretend she didn’t have any special feelings for Claire. She was putting on an act. But tonight was about her, not her unrequited love for Claire. She had experienced the dreams that showed her this night and others long before her dreams first showed her Claire. She would have to focus tonight, and let herself be fully in this moment with herself. And fully in the moment with the coven as a whole.

She got undressed, and as she pulled her shirt over her head she realized she would be naked with Claire in real life for the first time. The thought hadn’t occurred to her yet for some reason. She had been so focused on her own experience that night and her dreams and feelings for Claire being separate things. Claire wasn’t obviously present in her dreams of witchcraft and the coven. She had been unable to make out anyone’s faces in the dreams, but had only been able to connect that this was the group from her dream based on other external factors like the house and what Jeremy had told her. She took a deep breath.

“Just focus on your experience tonight. Soak it all in,” she whispered to herself.

Naked, she sat on the floor, just as she had in her dream. Her nervousness continued to grow and she found herself wishing time would move faster. She closed her eyes and shifted her attention to her breath. She tried to clear her mind and let go of any expectations she had of the night. The nervousness she was beginning to feel was throwing her off, and she knew that if she didn’t try to get a hold of it, that it could leave her in the wrong headspace. Jeremy had told her that initiation was all about being completely open and accepting of what happens to you during the ritual. You were to be an open vessel for the universe to connect and communicate with you. For the Gods to formally meet you. That was the part Emily hadn’t dreamed about, and she wasn’t sure what exactly that meant.

“Are you ready?” Olivia asked. She was standing at the door and she gently took Emily's hand. She led Emily out of the room and towards the circle. Emily was surprised at how much being blindfolded inhibited her perception of a space she thought she was fairly familiar with. The air was heavy with incense, and she heard a faint tapping of rattles in front of her. Olivia placed her hand on Emily’s chest and stopped her. Emily stood there in the dark, naked, waiting for what happened next. The rattles picked up speed and the coven began to chant words Emily didn’t understand. It sounded like a foreign language, but she struggled to make it out anyway, just in case there was something she might recognize. Olivia’s hand was on her back now and forced her body forward into the room. She felt a heat so intense she thought she was on fire for a moment, and then it passed. She had the sensation she was now in a separate room, as it was slightly warmer, quieter, and felt completely detached from the space she had been standing in just a moment before. She felt a hand on each shoulder guide her around the circle and they pressed her down onto her knees. The chanting became louder and she heard the voices begin to move around her. They were circling her, and she felt a breeze on her back as they increased speed around her. The cool breeze on her back was met with an intense warmth in front of her. She felt fire, and she was unsure of how close to her body it was. None of this had been in her dream. It was all new, and she was struggling to notice every detail of what was happening to her. A cold substance touched her shoulder, and she felt hands spreading something on her skin. The hand felt small and soft, gently spreading the thick substance on her shoulders, collar bone, and lower neck. It had to be Claire. She felt her body kneeling down in front of her own. She wondered how close their naked bodies were to each other. She wondered if the heat was coming from a fire on the altar, or from Claire’s body inches from hers. Struggling to stay focused on the ritual and not Claire, Emily took a deep breath and listened to the chanting. Claire’s hand spread the paste from Emily’s collar bone down to her breast. She lightly covered her nipples with the substance, which were already hard. The image of Claire’s mouth on her nipple flooded her mind and she pushed it away, trying not to make a sound. She felt a sharp pain and realized she was biting her lip. Again, she took a deep breath and relaxed her face. She felt what must have been Claire’s breast brush against her ribs, and it took everything in her power not to lift her arms and pull Claire’s body into hers. Through the chanting she heard Jeremy clear his throat. He must have seen her biting her lip. She needed to keep it together. She started to feel her skin tingle where the substance was applied, and she had the sensation that the room began to spin with the chanting that spun around her.

“Give me your hand,” Claire said. “This is going to hurt a bit.”

Emily took another deep breath and held her right hand up in front of her. She felt pointed pressure on her palm slide diagonally across her flesh, and warmth suddenly filled her hand. It was her blood, she realized. She felt no pain as Claire tipped her hand to the side and blood flowed off of her palm. She heard the sound of her blood dripping into glass in front of her, and she wondered why it didn’t hurt.

“You’re going to start to feel tired, if you haven’t already,” Jeremy said from above her. “You’re going somewhere else for a while. Just remember that you are safe, and we are all watching over you here.” Jeremy and Claire each guided Emily’s body down to the floor until she was laying on her back. The chanting and the rattles continued, and Emily heard Claire and Jeremy join in the circle with the rest of the coven and dance around her body. She could see only black behind her blindfold, and before she knew it, the blackness became even darker as she shifted into another plane of consciousness.

Emily opened her eyes and she was alone in a forest. It was nighttime, but the moon was so bright that everything seemed to glow. Her senses were heightened and she felt more aware than she ever had in her life. The trees swayed back and forth as if they were breathing with her. She was wearing a solid black cloth dress and she was barefoot. The soil beneath her feet felt warm and soft. She wasn’t alone. She could sense creatures watching her from the tree line. At times she saw eyes reflect the moonlight back at her, shimmering like Morse code. She wasn’t scared of these creatures in the dark. She felt like they were there to welcome her. To meet her. They were there to celebrate her. She felt powerful and wide awake. A glowing in the distance beckoned her, and she came across a path through the trees. She began walking down the path towards the glowing light. As she walked, she looked around and listened. She felt a presence and stopped. Someone else was here. Not a woodland creature, but something more. She felt her heartbeat increase and tried to listen to her surroundings over the thumping of her heart in her head. She heard a branch crack behind her and she turned around quickly, slightly crouched and prepared to protect herself. She saw a large shape moving in the woods just beyond the tree-line. It walked into a small break in the trees and the moonlight illuminated it. She gasped. He- it was a he, was looking at her. She knew in the moment that she was only seeing him because he wanted to be seen. He was seven or eight feet tall, shaped like a man but standing upright on two cloven hooves. Once he stopped moving, she realized that the shapes she thought were tree branches were not trees at all. They were enormous horns coming out of his head. Squinting, she could see at least two sets of horns. One pair was tall and looked like deer antlers. The other pair was horizontal and only slightly curved, like a goat. Large pointed ears stood out underneath his horns and framed his hairy face. A cloak that appeared to be made of moss was draped over his shoulders, and his large pectoral muscles flexed in the moonlight. He was massive, and he was the most incredible thing Emily had ever seen. She opened her mouth to speak and was unable to utter a sound. His eyes were focused on her, and he gently nodded his head towards her in approval. He started walking away and vanished into the darkness. She shook her head in an attempt to snap out of the trance she felt like she had been in. He was gone, and she longed to meet him. She felt like he had to tell her something. She ached for him to tell her something. Once again she noticed the glow in the distance and continued walking towards it. She saw a clearing at the end of the path with a stone structure in the middle. She approached and stepped into the clearing. The small structure was a stone well, and the water glimmered in the moonlight. The space was small, only a few feet between the well and the tree line that surrounded it. She stepped up to the well and saw the reflection of a full moon on the water’s surface. Not knowing why, she wanted to touch the water. She reached out and touched the reflection of the moon and the warm water rippled under her hand. A drop of blood from her palm fell from her hand, and hit the surface of the water. It turned the water red and the moon in the sky turned with it. Redness overtook the moon like a lunar eclipse, and the red shadow that moved along her and the well passed like a figure passing by on a sunny day. Emily stared at the moon and watched the red pass over it. When she looked back down, she jumped at the sight of a woman standing in front of her next to the well. Her skin was soft and pale, and her long black hair lay flat against her chest. She wore a light blue dress that was long and flowing, almost translucent. The woman opened her arms to Emily, and Emily walked forward into her embrace. She held Emily tight and loving. Like a mother holds her child. A wave of emotion washed over Emily, and she started to cry. The tears came and her shoulders shook as she wept. The woman held her and let her cry until she had no more tears left. She pulled Emily back with a hand on each shoulder and looked her in the eyes. She leaned in and kissed Emily’s forehead. Emily closed her eyes and breathed in the kiss, and when she opened her eyes the woman was gone. She was alone again in the clearing. She wiped her cheeks and looked around, unsure of where to go next. Just then she heard the chanting and drumming from the circle, and it sounded like the sounds were coming from back down on the path that took her here. She walked through the woods, and as she walked the chanting grew louder until it surrounded her completely. As the sounds filled her ears, the woods darkened and the moonlight dimmed. Slowly the entire world went black.

Emily opened her eyes and she was laying on the floor in the circle, with the coven dancing around her. They came to her and all helped her up, their bodies warm and sweaty. The blindfold was pulled off of Emily’s face and Claire’s face was the first thing she saw. Claire took her hand and led her in a dance around the circle, with Jeremy behind them holding Emily’s other hand. Claire held Tanner’s hand around the altar which sat in the center, to complete the circle. The coven danced around the altar, hand in hand. The room was bright with amber candlelight and the air was thick with smoke. Incense rose from the altar and Emily recognized all of this from her dreams. The items on the altar, the smell that filled her lungs, and the moist naked skin that was all a blur.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

THE COVEN SAT together in the living room. They were now all dressed and were snacking on finger food and drinking wine.

“So, what did you think?” Allison asked. “What did you think of them?

“I saw one person. A man? And met a woman,” Emily said. She wondered if person was even the right word. “I don’t know how to describe it. It felt really emotional. I guess I wasn’t prepared for that.”

“He can be slower to connect sometimes. That’s okay, he’ll come around,” Jeremy said.

“So who were they, exactly?” she asked. “And where was I?”

“They’re our Gods,” Claire said. “Two of them, at least. And you were in a kind of middle place. There are a lot of different places like that, and you can meet all kinds of things.”

“Things?” Emily asked.

“Gods, spirits, elementals, fae, all kinds of beings,” Jeremy chimed in. “There is so much in this world that you haven’t experienced Emily. Just wait.”

Allison had just taken a bite and spoke through her chewing. “It isn’t just spells and powers and magic,” Allison said. “You are going to find yourself in a completely different world. Once you’re connected to the earth and the other realms, which is what happened tonight during your initiation, you’re open to every other kind of energy that’s out there. It’s so fucking wild, dude.” She smiled and licked her fingers.

Jeremy took a sip of wine and his lips were faintly purple. “Even on this realm- this plane we are sitting in right now in this room. Just like most people live among witches without ever knowing, there are a lot of other things out there that walk among us.”

“So am I going to see things now? What do you mean?” Emily asked.

“It is different for everyone, so we can’t really tell you how it is going to be for you,” Claire said.

“Most of the time it is a slow change. But you’re in now, and some of it is just learning about what exists and how we all coexist together.”

“You already had something going on though, before initiation,” Jeremy said. “So things happen change quickly for you. Just be patient and aware. We have a lot to teach you.”

Emily looked at her plate and reached for another cracker, she stopped and turned her hand over to look at her palm, and it looked normal. No sign of a wound. She ran her finger along the lines on her palm and felt nothing out of the ordinary. “So what other things live among us besides witches?”

They all smiled at her and exchanged glances.

“You’ll see,” Jeremy said. “One thing at a time. Let’s just savor tonight and the fact that you’re one of us now.”

Claire headed upstairs to use the bathroom and Jeremy stopped her in the hallway.

“Hey, come in here,” he said, pulling her into his bedroom and closing the door behind them. “You know I am all about you two coupling up. But you can’t get distracted like that during a ritual.”

Claire rolled her eyes. “What are you talking about?” she asked.

He raised his eyebrows at her and said nothing.

She scoffed. “That is one of the reasons I don’t think romantic partners should be in covens together.”

Jeremy looked surprised. “I guess if you can’t push that stuff aside, maybe it wouldn’t work.” His voice sounded serious, but he was smiling at Claire.

“I did just fine,” she said. “There aren’t any other times I’ll have to do that to her again, so it doesn’t matter anyway. Your throat clearing did more to ruin the moment than my mind wandering did.”

“Dude, you were like feeling her up. You didn’t need to focus on her chest so much.”

Claire blushed. “I guess I did get lost for a moment.”

“I don’t think she minded,” Jeremy said. “But if you aren’t going to give it a chance with her, maybe don’t tease her like that.”

“What do you mean?” Claire asked. “I wasn’t teasing her.”

“Maybe you didn’t mean to. But she has feelings for you, and if you’re going to get lost like that, you should probably follow through.” He turned around and left the room, leaving the door open behind him.

Claire didn’t want to admit that he was right. She was completely distracted during the ritual. She never had a hard time staying focused in circle. She had never been distracted by anyone’s body before. She had never experienced the urges that she had as she touched Emily’s body. Maybe she was going to have to rethink her rules about relationships in the coven. She didn’t know if she was going to focus in circle with Emily if she wasn’t going to be able to act on these urges. She was going to have to come up with a plan.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

“SO HAVE YOU told her, or am I going to have to?” Christopher asked.

“I told her,” Karen sighed. “That's why I’m calling you. To tell you that I told her.”

“And how did it go?” Chris asked, sounding pleasantly surprised.

Karen held back her irritation. He knew how it went. “How do you think it went, Chris?”

“Well you shouldn’t have meddled Karen.”

“At least I tried to do something. What have you done for her?”

“I support her. I listen to her. I don’t abandon her by moving to another country," he said.

“I have my own life to lead and I try to make the best decision possible at the time. I can’t please everyone. Especially not you.” Karen was tired of having the same conversation over and over with him.

Chris rolled his eyes. “When did you tell her?”

“Just the other day. She doesn’t want to talk to me now.”

“That doesn’t surprise me.” Chris paced back and forth in his kitchen, feeling helpless.

“I need to do something," she said. “I think she is in danger.”

“You have got to be kidding me,” Chris said.

“There are people being murdered. Haven’t you heard about it?” she asked.

“Yes, of course I have. But Karen, this isn’t some little town in Ireland. Unfortunately people are killed sometimes. That doesn’t mean Emily is in danger.”

“But they are killing people she knows. They're killing people she is connected to.”

“What do you mean people she is connected to? Is she in a gang or something?”

“No! She isn’t in a gang!" She stopped and thought about how much she should tell him. She didn’t know how much he already knew, and she didn’t want Emily to get mad at her for meddling again. “Has she not told you about these new friends she has made?”

“Yes, she has. A little. What about them?” he asked nervously.

“They practice magic. Okay? And the murderers are killing people who practice magic.”

“She's practicing magic?” Chris stopped in his tracks and put his hand to his forehead. “Did you get her into this too?”

“No! I didn’t have anything to do with it." She paused and remembered her conversation about the dreams she was having. “Well, maybe I suggested she look into her dreams but..."

“The dreams she was having because of you! This is all on you!” His voice was getting angrier, and it sounded like he was about to hang up on her again.

“But she had the dreams before. I didn’t do anything to give her this ability.”

“Ability? They were taking over her life.”

“But they are visions, Christopher. I didn’t see it when she was little, but now it’s so obvious.” Karen was struggling to keep up with the conversation. She was getting sidetracked. “Listen, please. This was just a part of her, like it was a part of me. It's just finally coming out.”

“Because of what you did.”

“Maybe. Maybe not," she said. “But what’s done is done. And now we just need to focus on keeping her safe.”

“We!?” Chris laughed. “We aren’t going to do anything. I am going to continue to focus on having a good relationship with my daughter. And you are going to do whatever the hell you want, just like always.”

“But you are there with her, can you check in on her and make sure she is okay? Maybe she could stay with you?” she pleaded.

“You need to mind your own business and leave us alone. You've done enough," he said.

“But please.”

“Stop," he interrupted her. “I am finished with this conversation. Thank you for being an adult and telling her yourself. Now leave her alone and let her live her own life.”

The line disconnected. Upset, she put the phone down and looked out her kitchen window. She thought about how far she was from her daughter, and wondered what she could do to help keep her safe. She had unwittingly put a target on her daughter when she had only been trying to help her. She had no idea things were going to go like this. How could she have known? She was terrified. She knew she had made mistakes in her life, but she always tried to do what was best. Perhaps sometimes what had been best for her hadn’t been best for Emily.

Karen picked her phone back up and called Emily. There was no answer. She sighed. She was too far away. She opened an internet browser and she found the most affordable plane ticket. She booked the flight and went to pack a bag.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

THE RADIO PLAYED in the kitchen as the coven drank coffee, ate breakfast, and read on the first floor of the covenstead. The cold wind outside rattled the windows, add added to the feeling of isolation that was brewing inside the house.

“Allison, can you please pick up your underwear?” Tanner said. “None of us feel like stepping over it every time we have to walk into the kitchen.”

“Sure thing, Dad,” Allison said. She walked over and bent down to pick it up. “Can you at least admire the beauty of it?” She held it up to her hips and strutted across the room. “This is one of my nicest pairs.”

“Then you should take better care of it,” Tanner said, rolling his eyes.

“Mmhmm. You know you like it,” Allison mumbled.

Tanner stopped and turned around, glaring at Allison. “You need to stop. Now.”

“Calm down, man. I just think a little fantasizing or something would be good for you.”

“Mind your own business, Allison,” he replied.

“You need to relax,” she said. “And get laid,” she muttered under her breath.

“Allison!” Olivia gasped.

“I am so sick and tired of your constant comments,” Tanner exclaimed. “Not everyone is a pervert like you are.”

“You guys, come on,” Jeremy said calmly, trying to end the argument.

Tanner and Allison ignored him.

“I'm not a pervert,” Allison replied. “I just have a sex drive. Which is much more than you can say for yourself.”

“Fucking shut up!” Claire yelled at Allison. “Can you drop it?”

Tanner’s mouth turned into a tight frown and he approached Allison quickly. “What is with your obsession with my sexuality?” he asked. “Why do you fucking care so much?”

Allison took a deep breath. “Dude, I don’t care about your sexuality. I just think you're a little uptight, and a good lay would do wonders for your personality.”

“You guys,” Olivia said. “They are talking about the killers on the radio.”

He pointed his finger at her and pressed it against her chest. “Mind. Your. Own. Fucking. Business,” he said. “And don’t say another word to me.”

“Whoa dude, calm down.” Allison put her hands up to surrender.

“You GUYS!” Claire shouted. “Shut up!” She turned up the radio.

Police have announced that they have two suspects in custody for the murders and attempted murder in Minneapolis. A man and a woman were taken in for questioning and confessed to the crimes. The metro area has been on edge over the past few weeks as the police searched for clues and shared no leads with the media or the public. The city can finally rest easy now that the suspects are off of the streets. We will share information on the suspects, the charges, and the trial as we learn more.

Allison threw her hands in the air. “Well that is fantastic. I’m outta here.”

“Wait a minute,” Claire said. “We don’t know that they are really the killers.”

“They confessed,” Allison said. “And as much as I love you guys, I can’t stand being cooped up in this house with you people anymore.” Her eyes darted around the room, looking for her belongings that were scattered throughout the house. She started packing up her backpack.

“Yeah,” Tanner said. “That’s all the info I need. I’m going to go home too.”

Olivia quietly stood up and walked towards her bag.

“You too?” Claire asked.

Olivia looked at Claire apologetically and shrugged. “We can’t stay here forever, Claire,” she said. “I think we can trust that things are safe now.”

Claire looked at Jeremy and back at the rest of them. “Last time we relaxed and let our guard down, Jeremy was almost killed.”

“But they actually caught someone this time, Claire,” Jeremy said. He walked over and put his arm around her. “It isn’t like before.”

Claire looked at Emily pleadingly. “What do you think?” she asked her.

Emily frowned. “I think I agree with everyone." She saw Claire’s expression turn cold, and she immediately felt horrible. She wanted to elaborate. “If this isn’t enough news to let us finally relax, what would be?”

“I-I don’t know,” Claire stuttered. “It just seems too sudden.”

Jeremy rubbed Claire’s arms and pulled her in for a hug. “I think we could all use a little break from each other. And I think we are finally safe.”

“Yeah. I mean we were all here to avoid being murdered, but if we stay here any longer I think we’ll murder each other,” Allison said.

Olivia chuckled as she folded her blanked and pushed it into her bag.

“It hasn’t been that bad you guys,” Claire said. “What if it’s not even the real killers in custody?”

The five of them looked at her curiously and said nothing.

“Whatever,” she said. “It’s your choice. I can’t make you stay," she walked up to her bedroom and closed the door.

Jeremy smiled and sat down on the couch. “She’ll be fine,” he said. “She’ll realize that this is for the best.”

The group quickly packed up all of their things and left the house one by one. Emily was the last to go. She pet Eli and gently guided him into his carrier.

Jeremy smiled at her. “It was nice havin’ ya,” he said.

Emily let out a long sigh. “Yeah,” she said. “It was nice staying for a while," she looked up the stairs towards Claire’s bedroom.

“Don’t worry about her,” he said. “She just gets anxious sometimes and over reacts.”

“Maybe she isn’t overreacting,” Emily said.

Jeremy raised his eyebrows. “Maybe,” he said. “But I think you were right about what you said. If this doesn’t let us go back to normal, what will?”

Emily nodded. “Okay, then,” she said. “I’ll talk to you later, I guess.” They hugged and said goodbye. She wished she could have said goodbye to Claire.

Emily carried her bag in one hand and Eli in the other as she walked outside. She wondered if she should have asked for Jeremy or Claire to come to her apartment with her. She hadn’t been back since her door had been vandalized, and she still felt uneasy about going home. She sat in her car and took a deep breath. You’re safe now, she thought. She didn’t believe herself.

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

EMILY UNLOCKED HER front door and carried her bags inside. She opened Eli’s kennel and he ran into the living room. He seemed relieved to be home, but Emily was nervous. She knew that they weren’t going to be coming back for her, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was still wrong. Maybe it was the initiation. Everything felt just slightly different now, and Claire had told her there would be some new things she would have to get used to. Maybe it was just that.

“You’re safe now," she said to herself out loud. “They aren’t coming back for you anymore.” There was a knock at her door and she jumped. “Fuck." She walked to the front door and nervously looked through the peephole. She saw a delivery man standing in the hallway. Feeling silly, she sighed and opened the door.

“Hello!” The delivery man greeted her with a smile.

“Hi.”

“You have a package here. I tried buzzing but-”

“Oh, yeah," she cut him off, “The buzzer is broken right now." She took the small package from him. “Thanks." She smiled politely and closed the door, locking it immediately. She took a deep breath and reminded herself again to relax. Eli got comfortable on the couch and started bathing himself.

“Well you’re right back at home, aren’t you?” she said.

He looked at her and meowed.

She brought her bags into her small bedroom and began unpacking. She tried to make sense of the various emotions she was feeling. She was relieved to be home. She needed her own space again, and she valued the home she had created. She usually felt safe there, but that feeling had vanished after the attempted break in. Even so, it felt good to put her things back where they belonged. She would feel safe again soon, she thought. But she missed Claire. She had grown used to seeing her every day for the short amount of time she stayed at the covenstead, and she felt like perhaps they were becoming closer. Although it was probably best that she returned home when she did. Even though the dreams about her had been absent while she stayed at the house, she was finding it increasingly difficult to suppress her feelings for Claire. Maybe a break from Claire would do her good. She plugged her phone in on her nightstand, and noticed two missed calls from her mother. She bit her lip and shook her head. She wasn’t ready to tackle the issue with her mom yet. She hadn’t even decided how she felt about it or if she wanted to try and forgive her. Emily showered and changed into a pair of sweats and a baggy shirt. She relaxed on the couch with Eli and before she realized how tired she was, she was asleep.

Emily smelled smoke and she opened her eyes. She was immediately alert as she sat up and realized that she was no longer at home. She looked around and didn’t recognize anything she saw. She was in some large, abandoned building. The ceilings were over twenty feet high, and beams from the ceiling lay scattered on the dirty wooden floor. The air smelled sour and damp, and the cold wind blew a smell of burning wood through the room she stood in. As her eyes adjusted to the moonlight, she saw a broken basketball hoop on the floor near the farthest wall. She was in a gym. This was definitely a new dream, and an unfamiliar feeling of terror filled her gut as she heard Claire’s voice scream her name. The sound echoed all around her and she couldn’t tell which direction it came from. She noticed dark smoke in the far hallway outside of the gym and she ran towards it. The rooms blurred together as more and more smoke filled the hallway.

“I’m coming!” she cried. She ran and her chest burned with smoke. She looked in each room she ran past and came to the end of the hallway. She heard a scream again, and couldn’t tell if it was coming from the right or left hallway. She ran left and realized the end of this hallway appeared clearer. The smoke was coming from behind her. She turned around and ran in the opposite direction. She coughed and covered her mouth with her shirt. She came to another intersection and squinted through the smoke. She saw light coming from the end of the corridor and heard another scream. She entered a large room and in front of her were rows of seats that led to a stage. Tattered curtains hung unevenly from the rafters and filled the room with black smoke as they burned. The stage was engulfed in flames, and in the center was a body tied to a chair.

“No!” she tried to scream and it came out a whisper. She started to run towards the stage and tripped. She got back on her feet and tears ran down her soot covered face. “Claire!” The stage buckled and she watched it collapse, taking Claire with it.

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

RYAN STOOD AT the counter and watched the last customer walk around the store slowly. He had already told her that the store was closing soon, so he didn’t feel like he needed to tell her again. She was holding two books, but she had already put one book back. He wasn’t sure that she was going to end up buying anything at all. He didn’t care if she bought anything or not. He just wanted her to decide one way or the other so he could start closing up the shop. She stopped in front of a display and looked at the books in her hand again before she put one back on the shelf. He tried not to roll his eyes. He wasn’t usually so uptight about how long people hung around the shop after closing time, but with the murders and the attacks, he was on edge. It didn’t matter that the police had someone in custody. He hadn’t been able to relax since June’s death. He was alone in the shop right now because Ann had to leave for some personal emergency. He didn’t even get time to ask if she was going to come back. They weren’t supposed to be working in the shop alone, but he wasn’t her boss and she never listened to him anyway. He planned to get out of the shop as quickly as he could after this woman left. He didn’t really care about how good of a job he did closing.

“Hi sweetie,” the customer smiled at Ryan. “I’ll just take this one." She placed the book on the counter and slid it over to Ryan.

Ryan smiled back at her and pushed his glasses up on his nose. “Sounds good," he said. He rang up her book and she paid with cash.

“I don’t need a bag," she said. “Thank you for being patient while I shopped. I know you're closing.”

“No problem, Ma’am.” Ryan smiled at her. “Have a good night.” He turned around and started turning off all the electronics behind the counter, when he heard a phone ringing in the back break room. He put his hand on his pocket to find his phone and his pocket was empty. He must have left it in the break room. “Dammit," he said. He ran back and saw his phone ringing and vibrating on the table in the break room. He picked it up and looked at the screen. It was an unknown number and it stopped ringing immediately after he was able to read the incoming call. The store was silent again. He sighed and lowered his shoulders. He shifted on his feet and began to walk back to the front of the shop. The silence was broken by the bells on the front door jingling. Ryan felt terror rise from his stomach to his throat. “The door," he whispered. He had forgotten to lock the front door when the last customer left. He gulped and attempted to clear his throat. “We- we're closed," he yelled. He looked around the room for something he could use as a weapon. He heard a woman’s voice, quiet and timid from the front of the shop.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m looking for someone I know. I’m hoping you can help me," she said.

He didn’t find anything he could use and he decided he couldn’t fight back anyway. He walked around the corner and saw a woman wearing a backpack standing at the front counter. She was medium height, with long dark hair. He remembered that the suspect in the murders had shoulder length hair. It could be a wig. He wasn’t going to let his guard down.

“Who are you looking for?" he asked. He was trying to exude confidence and he felt like he was failing miserably.

“A young woman, about your age. Her name is Emily.”

Ryan recognized the name. The new person who had been hanging around Jeremy and his folks. He wasn’t going to help anyone find any of them, and he didn’t care what their reasons were.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know anyone by that name," he said. The woman squinted her eyes at him and he felt his fear rising up inside of him. Did she know he was lying? “I’m going to have to ask you to leave. We're closed.”

The woman stared at Ryan and her face tightened. “I understand you are closed," she said. “But it is very important that I find this woman.”

“It is very important that you leave,” Ryan said. “I won’t hesitate to call the police.” He held his phone up and unlocked the screen.

“Fine. I’m sorry to have bothered you.” The woman glared at Ryan and left.

Ryan ran to the door and locked it. He then ran to the back door to make sure it was locked as well. He put his hand on his chest, and felt his heart pounding. The silence in the store was muffled by the sound of his heart racing in his ears. He felt like he needed to throw up. He turned off all the lights in the store and he grabbed his jacket. He opened the front door and looked up and down the street. He saw his car a half a block away and wondered how quickly he could run to it. He took a deep breath and stepped out onto the sidewalk. He locked the door and ran towards his car. He heard footsteps behind him and looked over his shoulder to see a dark figure. Distracted by the person behind him, he didn’t see the patch of ice on the sidewalk and his feet lost control and were over his head before he realized what was happening. He fell on his back and the pain shot up his spine. He pushed it down and tried to get up before the person got to him, his feet slipping left and right before finding traction on a dry patch of the sidewalk. He unlocked his car and hopped in, pushing the automatic locks as soon as the door closed. He looked up and saw the figure approach the light in front of the store. An old woman. He was running from a helpless old woman. He laughed and shook his head. His shoulders relaxed and he took a deep breath. He looked around the car and in the dark, he couldn’t see anything threatening outside. He felt silly for being so scared and running and falling on the way to the car. He turned his key in the ignition and the car sputtered awake. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and sent a text to Jeremy to let him know a woman came in asking about his friend Emily. He looked up and his headlights were shining into the distance. On the street just past the Cottage, an old beat up car started and exhaust smoke filled the air around the car. The windows were foggy and he thought he could make out the shape of two heads in the car. The nervous fear returned and he pulled onto the street, turning around and driving the other way. He was eager to get home in one piece.

CHAPTER FORTY

SUZAN AND ANGEL sat in their car and watched as a woman they didn’t recognize waited outside Emily’s building. After waiting at the Cottage with no luck, they were hoping for Emily to come back, but from the time they arrived they hadn’t seen anyone but this woman waiting at the entrance.

“Can you tell what apartment she was buzzing?” Suzan asked.

“No, I can’t see from here.”

Suzan was getting desperate, and she worried that they didn’t have much time to catch Emily before they would lose the upper hand they had in this situation so far. She wanted to be cautious, but she knew she was going to have to take a risk if they were going to succeed. And they had to succeed. “Maybe we should go talk to her," she said.

Angel glanced at her, surprised. “Talk to her? And create a witness?”

“We haven’t done anything for her to witness," she said. “Plus that idiot took the fall for us, just like I told you he would. We’re in the clear. I think she might be able to help us.”

“Help us how, exactly?” Angel was used to Suzan’s odd suggestions by now, but he was starting to think she was getting too confident. “She can’t even get into the building herself.”

Suzan tapped her bottom lip with her index finger and watched the woman through the foggy window of their car. “I’m not sure, but I have a feeling she's connected to all of this.”

“Did you get another vision?” he asked.

Suzan shot him an irritated look. “No, love," she turned back to look at the woman. “But doesn’t she look a bit like the woman who left the cottage before it closed?”

Angel squinted his eyes. “She has the same color hair, I guess. It was dark.”

Suzan shook her head. “Such a man," she mumbled under her breath. “I wonder if she is looking for little miss too.”

Angel was confused. But he was often confused around Suzan and he tried to do his best to hide it. He didn’t want her to know he was confused around her. It might make her think he was stupid.

“Hmm," he said. “Maybe.” He didn’t know why she thought they were related, but he didn’t dare ask.

Suzan looked at him and read the confusion on his face. “I just have a feeling. I get a sense about her." She started tapping her finger to her lip again and watched the woman standing at the entrance. “We can at least check and see. Just a little check wouldn’t hurt." She lifted her jacket back up from behind her and slid her arms in the sleeves. She pulled a small dark bottle and a cloth out of her pocket and showed it to Angel. “Watch from here. If you see me put my hand in my pocket, it’s because I’m going for this. If that happens, pull the car around right in front of us and help me get her into the backseat.”

Angel nodded. “Okay.”

Suzan leaned forward and kissed him. “Wish me luck, baby.”

“Good luck.”

Karen waited at the entrance of the old brownstone, her arms wrapped around herself as the wind blew the fabric of the awning above her. She had buzzed Emily’s apartment over 30 minutes ago, and wasn’t sure how much longer she should wait. Someone had to be coming in or out of the building soon, and she was planning on slipping inside the entryway to at least get out of the cold. If she wasn’t able to get inside soon, she would get a hotel room until she found Emily. She held her shoulders up to her ears, trying to block the cold. She was trying to wrestle with the emotions she was experiencing. Struggling to hold back anger at Emily for ignoring her calls. She was worried about her and just wanted to know that she was safe. When she knew she was safe, that is when she would be upset with her. She saw a woman approaching and for a brief moment excitement filled her chest at the thought that it might be her daughter. The unknown woman walked into the orange glow of light that surrounded the entrance and Karen saw a face she didn’t recognize. Dark hair, like her daughter. But a much older face. The woman was already looking Karen in the eyes as she came into the light. She had keys in her hand and approached the secured door.

Karen smiled with her lips closed and gave the woman a small nod. “Hello," she said.

“Good evening.” The woman lifted her hand to put her key in the door and

stopped. She quickly shifted her gaze to Karen. “You look cold. Are you waiting for someone?”

Karen held back a shiver. “Uh, yes actually. I am." She looked up and down the street and saw that it was empty. Looking back at the woman, she seemed harmless enough. Maybe she knew Emily and could help her. “My daughter, Emily lives here. Do you know her?”

Her face perked up as a smile spread across her lips. “Ah Emily! Yes of course. Oh we love Emily around here. She’s your daughter?”

Karen relaxed slightly. “Yes, she is." She couldn't hold back the shiver that passed over her body. “Could you, um, let me in the building? I have been waiting for her but she hasn’t come home. I just want to wait outside her door.”

The woman at the door dropped the key from the hole and smiled again at Karen. “Oh. I can let you in, that’s not a problem. But if you like, I could bring you to her.”

Karen’s face lit up. “You know where she is right now?”

“Yes, she’s right down the street actually. I was just with her. Do you want me to bring you to her?”

Karen felt relieved at the kindness of this stranger. And she had to stop herself as her American instincts and her gut snuck back into the forefront of her consciousness. There were dangerous people in the city and she shouldn’t let her guard down so easily. “That is so kind of you,” Karen said. “Where is she?”

The woman slid her keys into her jacket pocket and smiled at Karen. “I can take you to her," she said. “That would be easier.”

Headlights turned on from a parked car down the street. Karen was distracted for a moment as she looked up and watched the car pull out of its parking space and drive towards them. The car sped up and it appeared as if it was going to drive right into them. Without thinking, Karen jumped into action and put her hands on the woman’s shoulders to try and move her out of the way of the incoming vehicle.

“Watch out!” she cried.

The car slowed to a stop. Karen looked back to the woman just in time to see her smile grow wider and more sinister. Karen pulled her hands back and furrowed her brows with confusion, as out of the corner of her eye she saw the woman’s hand emerge from her jacket pocket. She saw a flash of white cloth, and her mouth was covered with a sweet smell that she couldn't place. The stranger was holding a damp washcloth to her face, and her eyes lost focus on the woman. Her vision became blurry and her limbs felt weak. She collapsed into the woman’s small arms, and she felt nothing.

Before her vision went completely black, the stranger looked into her eyes and said, “You’ll see your daughter soon.”

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

EMILY WOKE UP screaming Claire’s name. She sat up and grabbed her chest, which still burned from breathing in smoke. Her voice was hoarse and her throat felt dry.

“What the fuck was that?” she whispered. She walked into the kitchen and poured a glass of water. The clock read 11:22 pm. She stared at the clock as she replayed the images of the dream in her head. Maybe it had only been a bad dream. Maybe it wasn’t actually going to happen. Her other dreams with Claire certainly hadn’t happened. But it felt so real. She thought she could still taste the smoke in her mouth and she was still struggling to take a deep breath. She needed some air. She walked over to her window and opened it. The cold air blew into the apartment and she pressed her nose against the screen, trying to breathe in the clean air deeply. Unsatisfied, she closed the window and walked back to the hallway. She slipped on her shoes, grabbed her jacket and keys, and left her apartment. She walked out the entrance and sat down on the stoop. She took a deep breath and filled her lungs with the cold clean air. The street was quiet and golden reflections of the street lights glittered on the icy pavement. It felt good to sit here and not worry about who might be watching her. She felt free again. She closed her eyes and listened to the sounds around her. She wasn’t even afraid of being approached by a drunk, or a mugger. Since her initiation she felt powerful and aware. She felt brave. An image of the stage on fire flashed in her mind and she opened her eyes.

“God dammit," she said out loud. She rubbed her eyes and tried to push the image out of her mind. She pulled out her phone and looked at the screen, trying to decide if she should call Claire and tell her about the dream. What would it accomplish if she did? If the dream was a premonition, would it help Claire to know about it? If it was just a bad dream, then she risked both scaring her for no reason, and coming off as anxious and bothersome. She had been doing so well separating herself from Claire and her feelings for her. At least she thought she had. She couldn’t throw that away and go whining to her about every dream she had about her. She needed to try and stay neutral. At least until her feelings for her became neutral. The initiation had tempted her, and she didn’t want to let herself interpret anything the wrong way. It was an intense evening. Everyone was lost in the moment and Claire was too. Maybe those feelings were just part of every initiation, and maybe her subconscious was trying to break all of that down. Her dreams had led her to the coven and to Claire. She saw them together, but once she met Claire and found out that they couldn’t be together, she had struggled to let that reality go. Maybe this dream was just her brain trying to help her out. Kill off her feelings for her. Maybe. But the thought of losing Claire only made her want her more. Maybe she needed to tell her how she felt. Get it off of her chest before it’s too late. Maybe that is what the dream was telling her.

“Ughhh," she buried her face in her hands. They felt cold and dry on her face. She should have brought her gloves outside with her. She took one more deep breath and stood up. She turned to go back up the step and into the building. Inserting the key in the door, she saw something on the buzzer out of the corner of her eye. A piece of paper was taped to the buzzer right below her apartment number. Confused, she pulled the paper off and opened the note.

We have her, Emily.

44°44'21.7"N 93°37'02.8"W

Come get her. Alone.

If you bring police, she dies.

“No." She shook her head and felt like she was going to throw up. She looked up and down the street, seeing no one. She opened the door and ran to her apartment, locking the door behind her. She called Claire. The line rang five times before going to voicemail. She called again, and again there was no answer.

“Claire, it's Emily. I – I just got a letter saying they have you and I need to come and- I had a dream that you were dead and..." She started to cry. “Claire please be okay. Call me. Call me back." She ended the call and looked at the phone that trembled in her hand. Her mind raced as she tried to decide what to do. She should call the police. She opened up the note and read the words again.

She dies.

She couldn’t let her dream come true. She needed to get to Claire. It didn’t matter if it was a trap. She had witnessed Claire’s death, and she needed to stop it. She grabbed her bag and left with the note clutched in her hand.

She sped down the highway, driving out of the city. The coordinates they had left her were forty five minutes away and didn’t appear to have an exact location on a map. It looked like they were leading her to the middle of the woods. Her dream didn’t take place in the woods. There had to be a building there. She would get there, and she would find Claire faster than she had in her dream. She would get to her in time. And she wouldn’t hold anything back from her anymore. She would tell her everything. It wouldn’t matter if Claire didn’t want to be with her. She had to at least try.

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

KAREN OPENED HER eyes and saw only darkness. She felt wet and cold, and she could smell gasoline. She shifted her shoulders and realized her arms were tied behind her back to the chair she was sitting on. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the light, and she saw a large room in front of her. Dilapidated and abandoned rows of chairs stretched ahead of her, and she realized she was on a stage.

“She’s awake!” a man’s voice yelled.

Karen looked towards the voice and she saw a man she didn't recognize. He was sitting on a chair at the bottom right of the stage with a red container of gasoline sitting next to him.

“Who are you?” Karen said.

“He’s an angel,” a woman’s voice said. From the other side of the stage a woman walked into a stream of moonlight that shone through a hole in the roof. It was the woman who approached her at Emily’s building. “And he is going to help me save you.”

“How is killing me going to save me?” Karen asked. She discreetly wiggled her hands behind her back to try and loosen the knot. Maybe she could break free.

Suzan sighed and smiled at Karen. “By giving you a chance to repent all of your sins before we burn you alive. You can either burn for a moment, or burn for all eternity. Your choice.”

“Why me? What did I do?” She knew the answer but she was trying to buy herself some time.

“For being a witch!” Angel yelled. He was leaning forward now, gripping the armrests on the seat. His fingers were digging into the old fabric and turning white.

“Relax, my love,” Suzan said to him. She turned back to Karen. “We were waiting for Emily, so we thought you might be a good way to get her here." She started walking up to the stage. “Being her mother, I figured it was a safe bet that you were a witch like she is. We’re cleansing this city.”

Karen would have laughed in her face had she not been tied up and drenched in gasoline. It was all absurd, but these were dangerous people and it was very likely she wasn’t going to make it out of this situation alive. She had come here hoping to protect Emily from these people, and now she was going to lead Emily right to them.

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

CLAIRE STEPPED HER foot out of the shower and onto the plush pink mat beside the tub. She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her body as she ran her fingers through her wet hair. She wiped the fog off of the mirror, and looked at her reflection for a moment. She felt healthier than she had in months and she looked it too. Besides the few distracted moments, the initiation had went perfectly. And with the killers in custody it felt amazing to relax and let her guard down a bit. It was also nice to have the house quieter again. The entire coven sleeping in the house was cozy at first, but had become quite cramped. She had enjoyed getting to spend so much time with Emily, however. She let the towel slide off her wet skin and she closed her eyes. She ran her hand up her stomach and over her breasts, and imagined Emily there with her. She moved her hand slowly down again and over her pelvis when a knock at the door made her jump and open her eyes.

“Jesus- what!?” she yelled.

“Your phone has been ringing, I think someone really wants to talk to you.” Jeremy said through the closed door.

“Who was it?”

“Don’t ask me. Not my business.”

She heard his footsteps walk away from the door and down the stairs. She rolled her eyes and pulled her towel back up.

“So much for that," she said. She left the bathroom and crossed the hall into her bedroom, where her phone sat on the nightstand. She had three missed calls from Emily. And a voicemail from her. Concerned, she pushed play and put the phone to her ear. Emily sounded terrified. Claire’s jaw clenched at the sound of her crying on the other end. The killers weren’t whoever the police had in custody. And Emily was following them into a trap.

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

EMILY HAD PULLED off the main highway five minutes ago, and was driving much slower on the dark side road. She was looking for any sign of life. Anything other than woods. She was close, but didn’t see any signs of it. Finally she approached a clearing in the trees, where a small dirt road led farther into the darkness. A sign overgrown with vines and weeds read Louisville School for the Gifted.

She turned onto the road and followed it for a few minutes until she saw a huge structure sitting among the trees. She was here. She parked the car and opened the door quietly. She pushed it closed, but didn’t let it latch. She didn’t want anyone to hear her. She was hoping she could get to Claire before the fire started. They were expecting her, but maybe she had an advantage since she had seen what was going to happen. And where it was going to happen. She just had to find the stage.

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

“JEREMY!” CLAIRE SCREAMED as she ran down the stairs. “Jeremy- it was Emily!”

Jeremy came around the corner out of the kitchen. “What? What’s wrong, calm down you’re okay.”

Claire was trying to catch her breath. “They have Emily," she panted. “That was Emily who called. She thinks they have me and she is going to them. It’s a trap. They’re going to kill her Jeremy.”

Jeremy blinked and shook his head. “Wait. What? No. They as in the murderers?”

“Yes!”

"No, Claire, they were caught. They’re in police custody. Emily is fine.”

Claire frantically put her phone on the side table and pressed play. Jeremy listened to the short message and looked back up and Claire.

“See. She is not okay,” Claire said. “Maybe the police have somebody else.”

“Did you call her back?” he asked.

“I tried. It went straight to voicemail.”

He tried to think about what was happening. “But that- but I thought..."

“I know. Something is wrong. I can feel it. I have to get to her," she said.

“How?” Jeremy asked. “Do you know where she is?”

“No," she said. “But I can find her." She walked to the cabinet in the hallway and unlocked it.

“Claire, you don’t know how far she is,” Jeremy argued.

She ignored him and pulled a large jar off of the shelf of the cabinet. “Tell the others what's happening. We need at least two more of us here. Get them here please. We don’t know how much time we have.”

Jeremy stood there and watched Claire. He was frozen and wasn’t sure if he should help her or try to talk to her about what was happening.

“Now! Please," she yelled at him. “We don’t have time to sit around and talk about this.” Claire could read how he felt right now, and she had no patience for it.

Jeremy went back into the kitchen and picked up his phone. He sent a group text to the coven.

911

The murderers are NOT the ones that the police have in custody.

Emily is in danger and Claire is going to project to her.

We need all hands on deck ASAP.

He put his phone in his pocket and walked into the dining room. He kneeled down and rolled up the rug, carried it into the next room and leaned it in the corner. He gathered candles and started placing them in a nine foot circle in the middle of the room. Claire set the jar on the floor next to the circle.

Jeremy got a text from Allison and Olivia saying they were on their way. Tanner hadn’t replied yet. That didn’t worry Jeremy, Tanner often got tied up in his work and lost track of his phone.

“Allison and Olivia are on their way," he said to Claire.

“Okay, thanks.”

“I know that you're really focused right now. But, are you going to get dressed?” he asked.

Claire looked down and realized she was still wearing only a towel. She rolled her eyes. “Fuck. I’ll go get dressed. Hopefully the girls are here soon so we can start.”

She ran upstairs and closed her bedroom door. Usually she practiced magic naked, but for this magic she would be seen out in the real world, so she had to be dressed. She opened her closet and grabbed a black shirt and a black pair of pants. She put on the clothes and grabbed a dark hoodie as she was leaving her room. As she was walking back downstairs, the doorbell rang. Allison and Olivia had arrived.

Claire greeted them at the door. “I’m sorry but I don’t have much time to explain what's going on. We just have to get to work.”

“We don’t even really have much to explain anyway. We aren’t exactly sure what’s happening.” Jeremy added.

Allison and Olivia took their coats and shoes off and followed Claire into the dining room while Jeremy closed all of the curtains on the first floor.

“Are you okay, Claire?” Olivia asked. She hadn’t seen Claire this agitated before. The energy in the house felt unfamiliar, and it worried Olivia.

“I will be okay when we find Emily,” Claire answered. “So obviously the police have the wrong people. Emily called me-hysterical-”

“Wait so you spoke to her?” Allison asked.

“No I missed the call,” Claire said, disappointingly. “She left me a message. She said she was coming to save me. That that they had me. So she’s heading right to them. I am going to project to her. I’ll find out where she is so we can call the police and send them to her, and I'll try to lead her to safety before it’s too late.”

The other three nodded in agreement.

“Everyone get comfortable. We are going to cycle through to conserve energy. I will start, then Olivia, Jeremy, and Allison, before the cycle comes back to me.”

Jeremy lit all of the candles. Claire laid a pillow down towards the top of the circle. She took the large jar and twisted the lid off. The jar was full of blessed salt which she used to pour a circle around them and the candles. She handed the jar to Olivia who poured around the circle. Olivia handed it to Jeremy, and so on, until all of them had made a circle. Claire sat in the middle and opened the small glass jar that contained Emily’s blood. She slid a glass dropper inside, then pulled it out and let a drop of blood fall onto her tongue. She laid down with her head on the pillow. Jeremy sat on the floor above her head, and Allison and Olivia sat on either side of her. Claire held Olivia’s hand on her right side, and Allison’s hand on her left. Allison and Olivia each held Jeremy’s hands, which completed the circuit in which they would share the energy needed to project to Emily. Claire closed her eyes and concentrated. The energy in the room shifted as they all centered and grounded themselves in the circle.

Claire formed an image of Emily in her mind. She focused all of her energy on Emily. Every memory she had of her, every feeling, every association. In her mind she was suddenly standing in front of a wooden door. The door was surrounded by darkness and fog. Using all of her generated energy, she reached for the doorknob and turned the handle. She stepped through the doorway and was standing in the woods. Looking back over her shoulder, the doorway was still there. In order to return to her body, she would need to get back to this doorway before their collective energy was depleted.

She stood and listened to the sounds around her. In her mind, like a thought, she could hear Jeremy, Allison, and Olivia breathing in the dining room. She pushed through and listened to the sounds of the trees and the wind. She let her eyes adjust to the light, and she saw a huge building tucked among the bare trees. She started running towards it. She ducked under branches as she ran until she remembered that she couldn’t touch anything unless she really wanted to. And touching anything used extra energy, which she didn’t have much of. She came to a smaller opening of trees and saw Emily’s car. She heard a sound inside the building and quietly made her way inside.

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

EMILY DIDN’T RECOGNIZE any of her surroundings. She had to get her bearings if she was going to find Claire before the fire started. She went to the first door she saw and it was locked closed. Or possibly jammed. She made her way around the outer wall of the building, careful not to trip on any of the overgrowth that surrounded the exterior. She found another door, and it was open. It moved back and forth in the wind and beckoned her inside. In her dream she woke up in a gym, but now she was standing in a long hallway. She made her way around the debris that was scattered along the floor, and walked deeper into the school. The wood was rotten and it looked as if a strong breeze could blow the entire structure down. She searched for anything that looked familiar. She just needed to find the hallway that led to the stage. She heard a sound behind her and felt her blood turn cold. She snuck behind a row of rusted lockers and tried to calm her breath. She listened and heard sounds from two directions. Quiet shuffling down the corridor to her right, and footsteps from the left. Where she had just come from. Someone was behind her. She toyed with the idea of running away from the footsteps and toward what she hoped was Claire. If she could outrun whoever was behind her, she just had to get to Claire in time to get her free and they could fight off the attackers together. But if she got caught, she couldn’t save Claire and they would both be killed. She took a deep breath and waited for the right decision to come to her, remembering that Claire might already be dead. She closed her eyes and a tear ran down her cheek. Then she heard a whisper.

“Emily. Where are you?”

She couldn’t believe what she just heard. It sounded like Claire. It couldn’t be her, it sounded so close.

“Emily?”

Emily peeked her head around the corner and saw Claire, all in black, standing in the hallway.

“Claire!” Emily said in a sharp whisper. She ran towards her and almost tripped on a piece of wood.

Claire had never been so relieved. She had gotten to Emily in time. “Be careful,” Claire said. She knew Emily was going to embrace her and she concentrated. She needed to focus to be able to touch Emily and she’d only be able to touch her for a moment.

Emily crashed into Claire’s arms and the tears started flowing. “I thought you were dead. I thought they were going to kill you.”

Claire lifted Emily’s face to hers. “Listen to me Emily. I am not here right now. I am at the covenstead, and I am projecting myself here. I don’t have much time. You need to give me the address to this place so we can get the police here- and you need to leave. Now.”

Emily wiped her cheek. “W-what do you mean you aren’t here?”

“I had to save you again," she smirked at Emily. “I’ll explain it later. Now how did you get this location?”

Confused, Emily pulled the note out of her pocket and showed it to Claire. Claire read it and re-read it and tried to freeze the image in her memory.

“A sign said Louisville school for the gifted outside,” Emily said.

“Okay.”

Emily hugged Claire again and she noticed she couldn’t smell her. She felt like she was fading as she held her. Claire pressed her lips to Emily’s ear.

“I couldn’t stand the thought of losing you,” Claire whispered.

“I have so much I need to tell you,” Emily said. “I thought I could ignore how I felt about you, but I can’t anymore.”

Claire felt herself losing a grip on Emily. She pulled Emily’s lips to hers and she kissed her. It only lasted a moment until Claire’s face had no substance to it. She looked at Emily and Emily leaned into her, trying to kiss her again.

“I can’t feel you,” Emily said, confused.

Claire heard Olivia’s voice in her head. You need to come back. We can’t hold this much longer. Come back NOW.

“I’ve run out of time. I have to go. I’m going to send the police, but you need to get back to your car as fast as you can and get out of here. It isn’t safe.”

“Wait!” Emily said, and she reached her arm out to Claire, who was fading in and out of existence.

“Emily. GO!” Wishing she could kiss her goodbye, Claire left Emily standing there and ran as fast as she could. She didn’t know if she was going to make it back to the doorway before she completely disappeared, and she didn’t want to find out want happened to her spirit after that. She ran in a straight line towards the door. Running through trees and branches like they were smoke in the air. She saw the door and felt herself getting weaker. She felt her movement slowing down and it was getting harder to breathe. She flickered in and out of existence and before she dissolved into air one final time, she burst through the door, opening her eyes and gasping for breath on the floor of the dining room. Jeremy, Allison and Olivia all had to make an effort not to collapse onto the floor with Claire. They had drained all of the energy they had, but they weren’t done yet.

“Where is she?” Olivia said. Her voice was low and weak.

Claire took two more deep breaths before answering. "Louisville School for the Gifted, some abandoned school."

Olivia crawled to her feet and walked to her purse that was hanging on a hook in the front entryway. She pulled her phone out and dialed 911.

“I am calling with the location of the actual Minneapolis Witch Killers. They they have another victim.”

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

“THE DAUGHTER IS here, but I don’t see the rest of them,” Angel said.

Suzan removed the gag from Karen’s mouth. “Call your daughter," she said flatly.

Karen glared at Suzan. “Fuck you," she said. “You’re going to kill me anyway.”

Suzan smiled. “You’re right. But we can do it quick and easy if you help us. If you don’t…” She lit a match. “It won’t be so quick.”

“You obviously aren’t a mother,” Karen said.

Suzan looked to Angel. “Do it," she said.

Angel unfolded a knife and walked onto the stage. He stabbed Karen in the leg. She winced in pain but didn’t say a word.

Suzan bent down and put her face in front of Karen’s. She began to twist the knife. Karen spit in Suzan’s face. Suzan’s expression slowly turned into a grimace and she wiped the spit off with her shirt.

“Fucking WITCH," she screamed and slapped Karen across her face.

Angel looked at her with wide eyes. “Well, she knows we’re here now.”

“Good. Let her come," she said.

Emily stopped in her tracks. She heard Suzan’s scream echo down the corridor. She was steps away from door she used to enter the building. Almost out of the school and in her car, driving to safety. She looked behind her and wondered if the scream was directed at her, or if they had someone else. If Claire wasn’t the one they were going to kill, who was it? Who was on that stage in her dream?

“Come save the day, Emily!” Suzan yelled. Her name repeated, bouncing off of the dirty crumbling walls.

Emily got chills and felt goosebumps cover her skin. “Fuck you!” She screamed back.

The sound of laughter echoed toward her. “That is just what your mother said.”

“Emily, run! Get out of here!” Karen screamed.

“Mom?" she whispered. It was her mother they had. Before she knew what she was doing she was running down the hallway toward the sound of the voices. She ran past the set of lockers that she hid behind when she heard Claire. She looked into each room as she ran by it, careful not to trip on any debris. She passed the gym from her dream to the left, so she knew that she would need to take the hallway to her left to get to the auditorium. She heard police sirens in the distance and that boosted her courage. She wouldn’t be saving her mother alone.

“Cops!” Angel said. “Suze we gotta go.”

Suzan shot Angel a crazed look. “We need to get her and trap the rest of them. They all need to burn here tonight." She climbed off of the stage and she picked up an empty gas can. “Where is the rest of the gasoline?”

“I used it all. It’s all over the room.”

Suzan closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “My love, we needed to save it for the rest of them.”

The sirens were louder, and they could see flashing red lights bouncing off the broken walls.

“They're here. We need to go. Light it up and let’s get out of her before the whole building collapses.” Angel said. He started pulling on Suzan’s arm.

Emily came around the corner and she saw her mother tied to a chair on the stage. It was just like the dream, but she almost fainted with relief that there was no fire.

“Mom!” she yelled. She saw Angel and Suzan in front of the stage struggling with each other.

Suzan saw Emily and started laughing maniacally. “Then I am going to get at least these two.”

She pulled out a zippo lighter and flicked it on. The small flame danced and bounced off of her face. She threw it to the floor in front of the stage, and the flame landed in a puddle of gasoline, going up in a burst of orange and blue and spreading in all directions. The stage was quickly taken over by flames, and Emily ran towards the fire as it spread towards her. Angel and Suzan ran out the back of the room and were gone. The flames reached Karen and as she screamed for Emily to go, the fire was already at the chair she was strapped to, and Emily lost sight of her. The main walkway to the stage became blocked by flames, so Emily started running through the rows of seats. The curtains were caught up in flames, and the room was quickly filling with smoke. A beam from the ceiling fell in front of Emily and nearly crashed on top of her. She jumped on a chair and kept making her way towards the stage. Her throat started to burn, and she coughed and gasped for clean air. Everything she touched felt wet and she realized she was touching gasoline. She heard a window break open and saw a police officer climbing inside near the door where she entered.

“Stop! Hands in the air," he yelled. He covered his face with his gloved hand and radioed for the fire department and EMTs.

Emily threw her hands in the air. “My mother is on the stage! We were brought here by the killers.” Emily turned back to look at the stage as she heard the wood begin to buckle. She dropped her hands and dove toward the stage, climbing on top of one corner and reaching her hands into the flames to grasp her mother. Her arm burned and she felt a cold numbness rising up her jacket as the gasoline led the flames up her arm. She touched what she thought was her mother and felt someone grab her jacket. She was pulled backwards just as another beam fell onto the stage, hitting her head as it crashed and the stage collapsed. She saw the silhouette of a body fall in the crumbling flames, and it was the last thing she saw as her vision went black.

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

TANNER, ALLISON, AND Olivia sat on the windowsill of the hospital room. Jeremy stood next to Claire, with his arm around her. Her hand rested on Emily’s leg. She had stayed by Emily’s side since she arrived at the hospital, eagerly waiting for her to wake up. She stared at Emily’s bandaged hand and felt Jeremy squeeze her shoulder.

“When do you think you’ll tell her?” he asked.

“Tell her what?” Christopher said as he walked into the room.

“Oh, hello,” Jeremy said, startled.

“I’m Emily’s father, Chris. You must be Claire,” he said.

“Yes. Nice to meet you,” Claire said timidly.

“I’m Jeremy. Nice to meet you, Sir,” Jeremy said as he shook Christopher‘s hand.

Chris appeared nervous and scared, and seemed uncomfortable with finding so many strangers in his daughter’s hospital room.

The three sitting on the windowsill waved and smiled at Chris and each introduced themselves, but gave him space.

“She is on some heavy pain medication right now,” Claire told Chris. “The doctor said she should be waking up soon, but that we need to let her rest.”

Chris nodded. “Yes, I spoke to the doctor when I got here.” He brushed Emily’s hair out of her eyes and gently touched her cheek. His face was firm.

Olivia stood up. “We’re going to wait in the waiting room. It was very nice to meet you, Chris." She led the others out of the room. Claire didn’t move. She understood giving Emily’s father space, but she wasn’t letting Claire out of her sight. They sat together silently, the rhythmic beeping of the hospital machines the only sound between them.

Emily stirred and Claire held her breath. She opened her eyes. The oxygen mask distorted her face, and she frowned as she blinked and tried to get her bearings. She felt tired. More tired and confused than she had ever felt. Her hand and arm felt like they were on fire. She tried to move her hand up to remove the oxygen mask and she winced as the pain overcame her.

Claire gently placed her arm back down in a resting position. “Shhh. It’s okay, don’t move.”

“Hey, Em,” Chris said soothingly. He brushed the hair off of her forehead again. “You’re in the hospital, but you’re going to be okay.”

Claire nodded in agreement.

Emily looked at Chris and began to tear up. “Mom? Is mom…”

Chris slid closer to Emily, choosing his words carefully. “They couldn’t save her, honey. I’m so sorry.”

Emily felt like she should cry, but she felt herself go numb. This is a dream. She thought. This isn’t real.

Claire watched as Emily’s expression faded. “Are you in any pain?” she asked.

Emily didn’t respond. She was lost in her head, the memory of watching her mother fall into the flames kept replaying in her head. Or was it her dream that replayed?

“It was different than my dream,” she mumbled.

“What? What dream?” Claire asked.

“I had a dream of you falling into the fire. But it wasn’t you, it was my mother. But it all happened differently.” Emily’s eyelids were heavy and her blinks became longer. “But I still couldn’t save her.”

“She’s tired,” Chris chimed in, “Maybe we should let her rest.”

“Did they catch them?” Emily asked. Her voice was almost a moan. “Did the killers get away?”

“They caught them,” Claire said, assuringly. “The police found them trying to escape the building. They aren’t going to hurt anyone else.”

She felt numb. She knew there was guilt, sadness, fear, anger, and hate all boiling together in her gut, but nothing was coming out. She looked at Claire and she wanted to lose herself in her. She wanted to avoid every feeling she was having about losing her mother and what it all meant, and just succumb to pure love in Claire’s embrace. She wanted to run away from the reality of what happened, and just lose herself in her dreams with Claire. Their bodies as one, with nothing else in the world mattering but the two of them. Instead she blinked slowly and relaxed her head, turning to look out the window. She closed her eyes and fell asleep.

“Claire,” Chris said. “Can I be alone with her?”

Claire looked at Emily and the thought of leaving her was painful. She looked back up at Chris. “Sure. I’ll be right outside,” she said. She left the room, quietly closing the door behind her. Jeremy, Tanner, Allison, and Olivia all hugged her. She stood in the middle of them. Her coven, her family. She always felt complete when they were together. And for the first time ever, it felt like someone was missing.

Emily was awoken by a light knock on the door. She opened her eyes and a man wearing a black suit was stepping into her room.

“Sorry to bother you Emily. My name is Officer Martin, and I have to ask you some questions about what happened.”

She cleared her throat and told him everything she could remember. She left out the part about her dream showing the fire and her mother dying. She wanted to get out of this hospital as quickly as possible, and she didn’t need a psychologist questioning her too. She was able to talk about what happened to her mother without getting emotional, but she sensed that wouldn’t be the case for long. Guilt and grief would get the better of her eventually.

“Can I ask any questions?” she said.

“I will try to answer whatever questions you have,” he said.

“Did you catch them? The couple?”

“They were apprehended while fleeing the building, and there was evidence that they started the fire. While being held for questioning we did find additional evidence that connected them to previous murders.”

“But what about the confession? Who was that?” She was nervous about asking this, because she assumed she wasn’t going to be satisfied with the answer.

“We have reason to believe that the confession was coerced, and the person that confessed was another one of their victims.”

“But who was it?” she pressed.

“I am not at liberty to give you that information, ma’am.”

“Don’t I deserve that information? What if this person is a threat to me?” She heard her voice tremble.

“There is no reason to believe this person is a threat,” he answered her. “Please try not to worry.”

He turned to leave. “Thank you for taking the time to speak to me, Emily. We will be in touch if we have any additional questions.”

Emily nodded and forced a tight-lipped smile at the officer. She wasn’t satisfied with his answers, and felt like he cut her off. Something didn’t sit right with her about the confession. Maybe it was the meds she was on, and the fact that she was drowning in her feelings. Maybe she was just being irrational. Claire came back into the room, and her face lit up when she saw that Emily was awake.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. “You look upset.” She sat down next to Emily on the hospital bed and placed her hand on Emily’s good hand, squeezing it gently.

“A cop just came in to talk to me,” Emily said. “I told him what happened, and I asked about the false confession.”

“And?” Claire asked.

“And he didn’t really tell me anything. He said the person who confessed was another one of their victims.”

“Okay…” Claire said, hesitantly.

“I don’t really believe him,” Emily said.

“Okay,” Claire said. “I think you need to try to relax, and not worry too much about this right now. You went through a traumatic experience, and you have to focus on healing.”

“Do you think I’m wrong?” she asked.

“No, I’m not saying that,” Claire stuttered. “I just think that the actual killers were truly finally caught, and you should take this time to rest before you start getting on edge about there still being someone out there that was part of all of this.”

“What do you think?” Emily asked. Her eyes were sad and she was looking at Claire for reassurance.

“I think we should talk more about it if you feel unsettled about it,” she said. “But I think we have a lot of other things to talk about too. Things that might be a bit more pressing.”

“Like what?”

“Like your mom. Like your hand. Like us.”

“Us?” Emily said. She didn’t want to talk about her mom, but she definitely wanted to talk about her and Claire. “What about us?”

Claire took a deep breathe. “There was so much I wanted to say to you when I found you in that building, but there wasn’t time. I wanted to apologize to you for closing the door on the possibility of us before we even gave it a chance. That was stupid of me, and it was rude to lay it all out on the table like that and embarrass you. I’m surprised you even stuck around after I was such a dick about it.”

Emily felt relief wash over her as she listened to what Claire was saying. “I wanted to leave. I really did. And I did feel embarrassed and upset. But I felt too connected to the coven, and once they came after me at my apartment I felt like I didn’t have a choice. I had to be a part of it even if I couldn’t have you. And maybe being your friend and coven mate was better than not having you in my life at all.”

They looked at each other, and neither of them said anything. They just sat comfortably in the silence each trying to decide what to say next. Claire shifted on the bed and looked down at the floor before looking back up at Emily.

“Well I was wrong. And I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. And I didn’t care about anything else when I thought I was going to lose you and lose any chance of ever being with you. I don’t want to waste any more time apart from you.” A tear rolled down Claire’s cheek, and Emily slipped her hand out from under Claire’s to wipe the tear away. She held her hand on Claire’s face for a second, and laid it back down on top of Claire’s. Emily didn’t know what to say. She felt so in love and happy with what she had just heard. She felt lucky, and she could hardly believe Claire wanted to be with her. But her feelings of joy were wrestling with the grief inside of her, and it was all too much to process. She wanted to kiss Claire, but she also wanted to cry. She did neither.

“I don’t know what to say,” she told Claire. “Except that I want to be with you too. I never stopped wanting you. I just tried to convince myself otherwise, and I failed the entire time.”

Claire leaned in to kiss Emily, and just before their lips met, the door swung open.

“I got pizza!” Chis announced as he backed into the room, pushing the door open and spinning around to see Claire and Emily on the bed. He looked guilty. “Did I… interrupt something?”

Claire and Emily scooted apart slightly, both of their faces turning red with embarrassment.

“No, it’s okay Dad,” Emily said. “I’m starving, thanks.” She held Claire’s hand and shot her a loving look. He set the pizza down on the small table in the room and walked to Emily’s bedside.

“Are you ready to go home tomorrow!” he asked.

Emily smiled at Chris. “Very ready.”

“Kiddo, I am sorry I didn’t make myself more present before all of this. I should have done more to help you.”

“It’s okay, Dad. I didn’t ask for your help.”

“Well I’m going to help you now. You can stay with me, and I’ll help you recover.” He put his hand on her shoulder and his lip quivered. He looked as if he was about to cry.

“That is really sweet of you, but I’ll be okay,” she said. She saw his face tighten and she thought about how often she had pushed her mother away when she had tried to help. And now she’s gone. “You can come by and help me around the house if you want?” she asked. “I think I’d feel more comfortable at home.”

His face relaxed. “Okay, I will,” he said sounding more relaxed.

“Claire is taking me home, but you can come too, Dad.”

He looked at them sitting together and tilted his head. “No, I don’t need to tag along for that. But I’ll definitely be stopping by to bug you and help you however I can.”

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

EMILY WATCHED THE buildings go by in the passenger side window and tried to focus on her breathing. Her last two experiences coming home had been traumatic, and on top of that she was going to be alone with Claire in her apartment for the first time since their feelings had been out in the open. Her stomach twisted and turned from either the nerves, or the pain medication she was still taking. It was probably a combination of both.

“Do you want to wait in the entryway while I find a place to park?” Claire asked.

“Not really, actually,” Emily said. “Can we walk in together?”

“Of course,” Claire said. “Whatever you need.”

They walked into the apartment and Claire put the bags from the hospital down on the coffee table in the living room. There was discharge paperwork, bandages, and tubes and bottles with prescriptions.

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay at the covenstead with us? I don’t want you to be alone,” Claire said.

“I appreciate it, but I really just want to be home,” Emily replied. She wished Claire could just stay here with her, but she felt that asking her that would be too forward.

Claire walked towards her and took her left hand. Her right hand was still bandaged. “Would you want me to stay here with you?” she asked.

Emily felt her stomach flutter. “Um, I don’t know. Would you want to?”

“If you need help while your hand heals, of course.”

Emily thought Claire seemed nervous and she hadn’t seen this side of her before. “Maybe,” Emily said. “That would be really nice.”

“About your hand,” Claire said. “I have to tell you that as it heals, you might experience some extra abilities with it.”

“Abilities like what?” Emily asked.

Claire gently took Emily’s hand in hers and lovingly touched the bandage with her fingers. “Well, when witches are injured by the elements or in some emotional situation, sometimes they are imbued with the power from that element.”

“Are you saying I am going to be able to make fire with my hand?” Emily asked, looking at her bandaged appendage.

“I have heard of similar things happening before. A witch in Germany was almost drowned by angry villagers, but she survived. After she was resuscitated, people say she could breathe underwater.”

“Wow…” Emily said.

“There’s another story of a witch being hung, but her coven saved her. After some time she could control the trees.”

“Control the trees how?” Emily asked.

“She could move the branches without touching them, and she could supposedly make a seedling a mature full grown tree in a matter of minutes.”

Claire was mindlessly caressing Emily’s arm as she spoke, and the feeling was almost hypnotizing Emily. She was interested in what Claire was saying, but she could only stare at Claire’s lips and imagine what she wanted to do to her in that moment. She wanted to escape. She wanted to finally do what she hand’t had the nerve to do before. To let all of her pain and fear and questions go, and just find herself finally in love with the woman that stood in front of her. She let go of Claire’s hand and grabbed Claire by the back of her neck. She pulled her close and kissed her. Claire’s arms were immediately around Emily’s waist and she backed her up against her bedroom door. They awkwardly kissed, each being careful not to bump Emily’s right hand. Claire kissed Emily’s cheek and moved down to her neck.

“I have wanted to kiss you like this,” Emily said, gasping, “for so long. Before I even met you.”

She stopped kissing her neck. “What?” Claire asked.

“No don’t stop,” Emily said. She started kissing Claire again.

Claire kissed Emily back for a moment before stopping her again. “What do you mean before you met me?” she asked.

“I had a dream about us together,” Emily said. “Before I met you and the coven.”

“Seriously?” Claire asked, smiling. “What were we doing?”

Emily smiled. “Keep kissing me and I’ll show you.” She opened the bedroom door as they kissed, and she pulled Claire into her bedroom and onto her bed. “Ow!” she let out a cry as she accidentally put pressure on her hand.

“Oh God I’m sorry, are you okay?” Claire asked.

“It wasn’t quite this awkward in my dream,” Emily said.

Claire smiled and started kissing Emily again. Claire carefully removed Emily’s shirt before removing her own. Her hands caressed every inch of Emily’s skin, and it felt even better than it had in the dreams. Emily tried to undo Claire’s pants but had no luck with one hand, so Claire stood up and pulled her pants down. Emily watched her and could hardly contain herself. Her hips thrust up off the bed in a rhythm, and she gave her feet to Claire to remove her pants as well. Claire kissed her legs, and traced her tongue up her thigh and into her pelvis. Emily moaned with pleasure and pulled Claire back up to her face. She wanted to kiss her. She wanted to be as close to her as possible, and she wanted every part of their bodies entailed together. She thrust her hips up into Claire, rubbing her hips against her skin. Neither one of them was able to keep their hands in one place as they explored each other’s bodies. Much faster than Emily had anticipated, she felt herself on the verge of climax and she moaned underneath Claire. She felt Claire’s body tense with her own, and they moaned through kisses. Unable to take their lips away from each other, they held their bodies tight together and lost themselves in pure ecstasy.

CHAPTER FIFTY

EMILY WOKE UP the next morning and her hand ached. She reached over to cuddle Claire, and she was gone. Emily sat up and for a moment she wondered if it had all been a dream. The bathroom door opened and Claire walked back into the bedroom.

“Oh my gosh,” Emily said. “I’m glad you’re still here.”

“Of course I’m still here.” Claire crawled into bed and back under the covers with Emily. She wrapped her arms around her and kissed her cheek. “How are you doing?” she asked.

“My hand hurts,” she said.

“It’s almost time to take your pill. We should go to the house today and get some stuff for it. Now that you’re out of the hospital we can use some tried and true traditional remedies on that hand. It’ll be much better for you than the tube of crap they sent you home with.”

“Okay,” Emily said. “You’re a pretty good caretaker.”

Claire smiled. “I don’t think most caretakers do what we did last night.”

“Well I thought it was pretty amazing.”

“It was,” Claire said. “I had been wanting to do that for a long time too. Longer than I had admitted to myself, I think.”

Emily felt butterflies flutter up her stomach.

They laid in silence for a moment. Emily was almost back asleep when Claire spoke again. “How are you doing about… your mom?” she asked.

Tears formed in Emily’s eyes before Claire could even finish the sentence. “I don’t want to talk about it right now,” she said. “I just want to enjoy this. I want to enjoy us.”

“Okay,” Claire said. “Let’s enjoy us.”

Emily burrowed her face into Claire’s neck, and Claire squeezed Emily tightly into her arms, until they both fell asleep.