"Why can"t I stop them?" Irma shrieked, moving through one person after another, pausing to smack a man with her purse, which she"d refused to leave behind when they fled the fire, and even Sirius did his part by barking and snapping at the people. Irma glared at one woman and gave her a vicious pinch on the arm, but no one reacted to the icy chill of her body as she slid through them.
"They"re bespelled," Jazz explained, then turned to snarl at the man tightening the ropes around her hands. He blanched and backed up a step, then his expression darkened and he returned to jerk the knots until her fingers turned white. Her eyes sparked green lights. "How you"d like to be zapped back to the prisoner end of the Spanish Inquisition? I"m sure I could arrange the trip." She was furious enough not to react when he maliciously sliced her arm with a small knife before he hurried away.
"We had a good town until you came here," Carrie told Stasi in a harsh voice.
"We were here before your grandmother was born," Stasi shot back, struggling not to give in to panic. "What you all are doing is murder. You"re being directed by something that wants all of us gone. Once you kill us they can easily encourage you to leave."
"Forget it, Stasi. They don"t care," Blair growled. Her face darkened with her temper as she looked out over the people. "You have been angry. You have been bold. What you have wrought here will return to you tenfold," she raised her voice as they shouted at her and even threw stones. She ignored the battle and kept on. "Make it-"
"Don"t do it!" a familiar male voice shouted out, stopping her before she finalized her curse. A tall figure moved through the mob. "Don"t make it worse for yourself, Blair. As for the rest of you, what you"re doing is nothing less than cold-blooded murder."
"Jake, no!" Blair cried out at the handyman, who pushed and shoved his way through the crowd, not caring who fell in his path. The look of dark fury on his face prompted some to quickly move out of his way, but others fought back, only to meet with his fist and boots. That he wasn"t overpowered was either pure luck or because it was clear he didn"t care who he hurt in the process.
"You"re all fools!" he yelled, as he made his way to the front. "Don"t do this. They"re right. Someone"s behind what"s happened here, and it"s not Stasi, Blair, and Jazz!"
"Burn the witch!" Carrie screamed, running up from the side holding a lit torch in her upraised hand.
Stasi felt the horror of hundreds of years ago as she stared at the flames hovering so close to the wood piled around her. Felt again the fear and anger that had swept the town, just as she and her friends and the mortals of Moonstone Lake had been gripped by the fear and anger of the past weeks. For a moment, she heard the screams, cries, and prayers of hundreds of years ago when the accused were hanged. And then the abrupt silence that followed and the smell of death before they were cut down and dumped in unmarked shallow graves. The burning of witches was performed in Europe, but Salem courts preferred hanging.
She didn"t want to die, but even more she didn"t want these people to have their deaths on their consciences, poisoning their souls. She stared at Reed, who watched her with a look that could only be described as triumphant. A baker, who appeared to be just as much behind the hysteria as Carrie was.
Her brain started to click into place. Baker. Popular with almost everyone in town who constantly bought his goods. The more they ate the more ... Poppy and Rhetta who have that look. The look of ...
She mentally slapped herself upside the head. Good going, Anastasia, you couldn"t have figured this out sooner! The Librarian did everything but spell it out for you. Now it all made a lot of sense.
"You need to listen to me! You"re all good people. If you do this you"ll regret it all the days of your lives. You"re under a spell!" she shouted, feeling a rawness in her voice. "Reed and his sisters aren"t who you think they are. They"re forest Fae! They have powers and they bespelled their baked goods. They put something in the food that had you going there almost every day for more, and it made you act this way. They started it out gradually then increased it because they wanted it to happen this time of year. The more you ate, the more you became sensitive to whatever they whispered in your ears."
"The past and present!" Blair laughed. "Of course! There were rumors that members of their kind did the same in Salem, because they wanted the seaport to themselves and hoped to drive everyone out."
"My kind, Stasi? You"ve been reading too many fairy tales. Everyone knows now that the witch hysteria in Salem was due to ergot poisoning from contaminated rye flour that caused the hallucinations among the townspeople. My ancestors hadn"t even touched ground in this country until after the Civil War." Reed stepped forward. His dark green eyes snapped with cruelty. "We aren"t the witches here. Everyone knows you created some sort of spell to ruin Carrie"s marriage then managed to bewitch her lawyer so he would side with you." He cast a derisive glance over his shoulder in the injured Trev"s direction. "He"s no longer innocent in this matter and will also be dealt with after we"ve finished with you. You"ve done something to the lake, tampered with the weather so the snow is almost burying the town, and we have no electricity. You"ve become mad with power and endangered our town. You and your fellow witches have created too much havoc. We can"t allow that."
She stared deep into his eyes. You would do well to learn to respect time, young witch. She realized with a jolt that timing was crucial to the forest Fae"s plans. She needed to stay calm, and keep him talking. "The only one truly mad here is you, if you"re using the term to indicate insanity. If you"re talking anger, then oh yes, I"m not just mad, I"m furious. Because all of this is your fault!" She deliberately ignored Carrie, who was standing with eyes glazed over, the torch she still held so close to the wood surrounding the stakes. So far, the woman hadn"t dropped it onto the wood, but it could happen at any moment.
"Tell everyone the truth, Reed. Tell them what you really are. Because you are forest Fae, aren"t you? Your people inhabit the upper reaches of this forest and have for centuries, and the time was finally right for you and your sisters to make a power play. You wanted us all gone. That"s why you used glamour to appear human to everyone and even managed to fool Blair and me, so we couldn"t pick up on what you are. You found some rogue water sprites who were willing to make a deal-how many years did that take? You placed a barrier around the lake to keep us out and disguise what the water sprites were doing as they tried to break its power, but the lake defended itself! And just as in Salem, you brought about ma.s.s hysteria to do your dirty work. It was you who showed Carrie how she could file a lawsuit against me in Wizards" Court, because you know that wizards aren"t fond of witches and I"d have a tougher time there."
Reed chuckled, but there was no humor in the sound. "Of course, I did. Did you honestly think that cow would have known what to do? Her husband leaving her made it all that much sweeter and even easier for me to accomplish my task. A few whispers in her ear, a few papers left on her table when she came into the bakery, and she was mine. I would have preferred that you had become my lover. While I"m not into witches," he made a face, "it would have put me in a very convenient position. I would have suffered through it and even made it pleasurable for you. Before I was done, you would have told me the secret of the lake and betrayed your sister witches." His expression darkened when Stasi spat at him. He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped off his face. "I will enjoy watching you burn, Anastasia Romanov."
If her hands had been free she would have had them around his neck and tightening by the second. "You"re a true piece of work. You thought the worry of the lawsuit would keep Blair and me occupied enough that you could weave your spells and we wouldn"t notice until it was too late. What better way to turn the town against us than to use our heritage against us? That way they"d blame us for all that"s happened and after our deaths, the people will regain their senses, but they"ll still remember the horror of this night and you"ll make sure to use that against them." She took a deep breath, reminding herself to be strong and not falter. This would be their last chance. If she lost they would die within minutes. "And that shock will never leave them until they either kill themselves from remorse or they depart from this town because they can no longer stand to be where it happened. And then you"ll start to work on the resorts, until you have the mountain back again. There"s only one problem. It will never happen." She refused to break eye contact. She meant for him to look away first.
She raised her voice, allowing it to ring out so all would hear her. "Innocent blood will be shed this night! None of you will ever forget what happened here. Dark memories will always be there to haunt you and what you have done will stain that part of you that"s pure. Is it worth losing that which makes you human?" There was a murmur in the crowd and Stasi was sure she felt a lightening, a change in the flat black sky. The spell was slipping.
Reed laughed. He made a show of clapping his hands in mockery. "Very nice performance, Stasi. And from one who isn"t human, no less. Why don"t you three just stand there and take this like three good little witches. The plan is in play and won"t be stopped now. All you have to do is die before the lunar eclipse is over and all will be well."
"Oh no, I"m not going down that easy." She bared her teeth. "One I fight. One not fair. Show your true self, lay it bare. If you please!"
Blair"s smile blossomed as she echoed the words. "One we fight. One not fair. Show your true self. Make it so!"
"One we fight. One not fair. Show your true self. Because I said so, d.a.m.n it!" Jazz joined in with fervor.
Green and gold light flew out from the three witches and danced about Reed and his sisters. High-pitched voices whispered from the light, repeating the spell Stasi had begun.
"You b.i.t.c.hes!" Poppy screamed as her form glimmered with light, then dissolved to be reborn as a woman not more than five feet tall with skin a delicate emerald green and eyes to match. Her hair was a glistening fall of gold curls to her ankles that covered her nude body. Even with the icy wind, she didn"t look cold. Rhetta changed into a similar form, but her face showed the same arrogance her human face had displayed.
"This isn"t the end," she declared, but her voice was higher-pitched now and she didn"t have the power she exuded before.
"They"re aliens!" someone screamed.
"They"re Fae," Stasi explained. "They live in the forest and obviously they"re not happy we"re here."
"We were here first!" Rhetta snarled. "You don"t belong here. We do!"
Reed, now green-skinned also, but with bark-brown hair, muttered a curse in a strange language, grabbed the lighted torch from Carrie"s hand, and lunged with it back toward Stasi. At the same moment, a growling Jake ran through the crowd. His figure flickered in the torch light, and as he leapt toward Reed, his shape changed into the familiar Border collie. He grabbed the man by the throat and shook him as if he was nothing more than an old rag as he pulled him down to the ground. Reed"s scream shattered the air as the dog tore his throat out. The torch rolled harmlessly over the snow-covered ground and flickered out with a faint hiss.
"What the Fates?" Blair"s jaw dropped as the crowd backed away from the dead Fae lying in the snow. Poppy and Rhetta screamed and abruptly disappeared into thin air when the dog looked their way. Blair looked behind her as the dog climbed up the stacks of wood and began gnawing at the ropes. "Are you saying I"ve been sleeping with Jake all along? d.a.m.n it!"
"They want to burn us at the stake and you"re worried about Jake?" Stasi snapped with a combination of relief and anxiety. She wasn"t going to feel safe until she was free and could make sure Trev wasn"t badly hurt.
Once Blair was free, the dog raced to the back and pushed at Trev, licking his face until he stirred. The dog chewed on Trev"s bonds until they shredded enough that he could free himself. Stasi cried with relief to see he was all right. She struggled against her bonds until Blair freed her and they ran to the third post to release Jazz.
Trev staggered to his feet, slugged the dazed-looking man beside Nick, and uttered a spell to break the chains holding Nick prisoner.
Jazz cried out the vampire"s name and raced toward him, throwing herself onto his chest and holding him tightly.
"f.u.c.k, Jazz, can"t we ever have a quiet evening at home?" he was heard to mutter as he wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair. "No more almost getting killed, ya hear me?"
"Loud and clear, fang boy. Loud and clear." She cupped his face with her hands and kissed him.
Trev met Stasi halfway. She was so relieved he was all right she literally fell into his arms. She gave in to the fear that had blanketed her and burst into the tears she"d held back.
"I thought I"d come to and see you dead," he mumbled against her face.
"They were going to kill you, too." She ran her hands down his arms and across his chest, making sure he was still in one piece. She whispered words that allowed her touch to heal the sc.r.a.pes and bruises on his skin where his shirt had been torn from his torso.
"What have we done?" Mrs. Benedict sat on a nearby bench and began to cry. Mr. Chalmers sat next to her and handed her his handkerchief before putting an arm around her. Others looked around themselves with a combination of horror and shock.
Blair and Jazz walked over to Stasi. The three witches moved into a tight group hug they were loath to part from any time soon. Irma did a victory dance around them.
"How did this happen?" someone else asked, which began a litany of questions and comments punctuated with tears. "What were we doing?"
"You need to say something to them," Blair whispered in Stasi"s ear. "They don"t realize what happened. It needs to come from you."
Jazz nodded her agreement. "She"s right. It"s your show, babe."
Stasi took a deep breath and turned around.
"We have always loved this town and its people," she began. "And once you knew what we were, you never made fun of us or tried to capitalize on it." She dared a brief glance at Agnes, who had the grace to blush and look away. She knew if the mayor"s wife could have found a way to bring in business because of the two local witches, she would have done it with a bra.s.s band and banners flying. "Tonight was the culmination of what had been going on for months now. It only took a few to fall under the spell of Reed and his sisters and after that you all fell just as easily." She paused, searching her mind for the right thing to say. "As a result, it was easy to target the weak-minded." She deliberately aimed her words at Carrie. "To drop a word here and there and start up a hate campaign. I have seen this happen before, and those days were dark and filled with fear. Just as it was now. But we have all been very lucky-the evil was stopped in time." She stopped, as a warming sensation seemed to fill her. She looked up and saw the sky that had been so dark a moment before, start to glow just the tiniest bit as a sliver of the moon appeared above. The others followed the direction of her gaze.
The change in the atmosphere was apparent to all the non-humans.
Stasi closed her eyes and allowed the last of her fear and anger to drain away. When she opened her eyes again, she saw the moon floating gently in the sky and the stars twinkled brightly.
"Time for the healing to begin," she whispered, leaning back against Trev"s chest while he stood behind her with his arms wrapped around her.
They saw the dazed-looking residents slowly turn away and begin to move off.
"What"s going on?" Trev asked.
"Pod people," Jazz insisted. "We"ve been dealing with pod people all along." A sudden whirl of cold wind wrapped around them. "Oh s.h.i.t. Someone else at work here."
Stasi stumbled and as she righted herself, she found herself along with Blair and Jazz standing before the Witches" Council. As always, the three wore lilac hooded robes and their feet were bare on the cold stone floor. Before, the sight of Eurydice had scared the wits out of her, but now she found that she could face her former headmistress head-on. What really surprised her was seeing Trev, Nick, and Jake, returned to human form, standing with them.
"You surprised me this night, young Anastasia," Eurydice spoke, her voice ringing out in the stone hall as she stood behind the ornate table where the other members of the Witches" Council sat. "You have always been a somewhat timid witchling, yet, you didn"t hesitate in standing up for yourself when a human dared to go up against you in the Wizards" Court." She cast a quick glance in Trev"s direction. Her lips firmed at the sight of the red hearts dancing above his head and the same over Stasi"s. "And in the face of a horrific death you spoke not as a witch who could have cursed a town never to forget the horrors of the night, but as one who didn"t want them to suffer. And that would have happened if they"d managed to b.u.m the three of you." Her ageless features tightened. A vibrating wave moved through the hall, a display of her matchless power-even the three younger witches together had only a tiny fraction of that kind of power.
"Their only crime was that they were under a Fae spell made even more powerful because of the eclipse. I couldn"t blame those people for it, even if I wonder whether the spell didn"t bring out what some might truly feel deep inside," Stasi said.
Eurydice turned her attention to Jazz. "And you didn"t release one speck of witchflame. I am amazed. Griet of Ardgla.s.s. You exhibited great willpower. I didn"t know you had it in you."
"No, I just didn"t want to hurt anyone who didn"t deserve to be hurt," Jazz said candidly, while the others winced.
"And Eilidh equally kept her temper in check." She shared a silent conversation with the other members of the council. "We also thank Wizard Barnes and Nikolai Gregorivich for doing all they could to defend our witchlings, and we especially thank Jacob Harrison for destroying the Fae that sought to destroy three of our own. We are indebted to you for your bravery." She inclined her head in a regal nod.
"I was glad to be of a.s.sistance. I only wish my Were blood was more wolf than canine and I could have done more," he replied.
"You did the job, young Were. That is what counts. We have spoken with the Fae, and naturally, they are unhappy with the end results since they feel they were greatly ill-treated when one of their people was killed. They seemed to think it was an unwarranted attack, but after I showed them exactly what happened, they backed off and now apologize for the wrongdoing. The two Fae sisters will be punished. A treaty has been drafted, and they have vowed never to bother your town again. And the Ruling Council has sent out trackers to find the rogue water sprites who tried to defile the lake, so that they may be brought to justice." She turned back to Stasi. "You have proven yourself in ways many of our kind would not. You have always been known for your generous heart and forgiving nature and this occasion has once again proven those qualities. Therefore, we shall do as you wished. The townspeople will not remember the horror of this night. They will only recall a crippling blizzard that closed the roads and disabled their power, and that many were ill during this time. As far as anyone is concerned, the bakery never existed. The lake has also been restored to its good health."
If Stasi didn"t know better, she would have thought the stern-featured witch"s features had softened just a tiny bit.
"We can also offer you and your friends the same comfort, Anastasia," she spoke kindly. "All of you may have this time taken away and replaced with more pleasurable memories. I am sure with the Wizards" Council permission we can even make the lawsuit disappear, since it should not have been filed to begin with."
Stasi"s heart stopped. Did Eurydice mean that Stasi wouldn"t remember Trev, and vice versa? It only took one look at the witch"s face and she knew that was just what the elder meant.
"Naturally, I can"t speak for the others, but I prefer to keep my memories intact," Stasi spoke slowly, not to choose her words carefully, but to make a point. "I won"t hold what happened against the people of Moonstone Lake, but if there is a chance this happens again, I want to feel prepared. I don"t want to forget anything."
Trev looked at Stasi as he stated, "Nor I."
The other four immediately agreed.
Eurydice nodded. A tiny smile hovered on her lips as if this was the answer she expected.
"What about the time left on her banishment?" Jazz asked. "Stasi deserves to have time off for what she"s done out there."
Stasi shook her head. "Only the town matters. The mortals were no match for the evil powers plotting against them. They shouldn"t suffer with the memories of what happened. Many of them wouldn"t be able to handle what they"d said and done. And I did meddle with Carrie just a wee bit, so let"s call it even."
Eurydice nodded. "So be it. As for you, Griet and Eilidh, you threatened an innocent with dire curses ..."
"Carrie"s not that innocent," Jazz muttered, earning a glare.
"You each will receive an additional fifty years for your transgression." A ringing sound in the hall made the p.r.o.nouncement legal. "Just be grateful we didn"t void your probation, young Griet."
Jazz and Blair looked at each other and shrugged.
"The town"s back to the way it should be," Blair said. "No one will want to burn us at the stake. Although, for Fates sake, that"s so seventeenth century!"
"Yes, I guess that should be enough," Jazz finished. "Still, it wouldn"t have hurt for us to receive something good out of all this."
Eurydice turned back to Stasi. "You were the brightest in the cla.s.s. The one destined to go far," she said softly. "We saw great things for you, Anastasia."
Stasi lifted her chin up another notch. "Perhaps I haven"t done what you saw in my destiny, but I have had adventures that I wouldn"t have had otherwise. I"ve seen and done things that were incredible, and they helped shape the witch I am now. I wouldn"t lose those memories for anything. And I think it"s actually made me a better witch."
"Well-spoken. Just remember something, Anastasia." Eurydice pinned her dark eyes on Stasi. Her emerald pendant winked with brilliant light. "Witches and wizards aren"t meant to be."
Stasi flushed, thinking of all she and Trev had done and his confession that he was in love with her.
If Jazz and Nick can prove that witches and vampires can work it out, so can witches and wizards.
And just like that, they found themselves back in the middle of the town square. Except now it was empty of people. The posts and scattered kindling for the fires were gone, and the old-fashioned lampposts shone with soft light. The full moon shone brightly down on them, and the decorations on the buildings gave the town the artistically haunted look it normally had this time of year.
"All is right with the world!" Stasi threw up her hands and spun in a dizzying circle. She laughed as Trev moved forward and caught her up in his arms, continuing the circle.
"Oooof!" Jake bent over, his arms cradling his stomach where had Blair rounded on him and socked him but good.
"You couldn"t tell me you"re a Were? You son of a b.i.t.c.h!" She smacked his shoulder as hard as she could.
"Well, yes, technically, I am," he wheezed, earning a punch on the other shoulder.
"You ate us out of house and home, you shed all over the furniture, you snuck into my bed-stealing all the covers, by the way-and we won"t even talk about the fleas last summer!" She continued to pound on him until he straightened up and grabbed her around the waist, hauling her against him and kissing the very breath out of her. She struggled out of his arms and socked him in the shoulder again. "And you saw me naked!"
"You saw me naked, too," he argued, ducking and weaving to avoid her fury.
"You were covered with fur! That doesn"t count. d.a.m.n it, you sat in the middle of my bed and licked your b.a.l.l.s! Do you think I"ll ever forget that?" Blair was in the middle of a rant she wasn"t about to come down from any time soon, but Jake just grinned from ear to ear.
Stasi looked into Trev"s eyes, stroking his face with her fingertips. She couldn"t stop smiling and she noticed he was doing the same.
"You knew he was a Were, didn"t you?"
He nodded. "Nick did too. I couldn"t rat Jake out. It was a guy bonding thing while we waited for you three to figure it out. Are you going to whale on me too?"
She shook her head. "No, I"d like to think I"m more a lover than a fighter. Besides, kissing is a lot more fun." She backed up her statement by doing just that, her tongue dipping into his mouth to sweep up his flavor, while she inhaled the scent that was all his.
"I can"t believe you didn"t tell me he was the dog!" Jazz had her own discussion going with Nick, who took matters in hand by sweeping her toward him for a lengthy kiss that easily shut her up. And since Nick didn"t have to worry about breathing, he could kiss Jazz for a long time.
"Hey, you all! Do you know what time it is? Some of us want to sleep. Go party elsewhere!" Grady"s grumble echoed throughout the street. "d.a.m.n kids."
Stasi looked around and saw Jake steering Blair up the road that led to his cabin while she ranted and raved, berating him for keeping that all-important secret about his furry side. The word neuter even came up a few times until Jake stopped and tossed her over his shoulder and continued on. It didn"t stop Blair from yelling at him and pounding his back with her fists.
Stasi drew a breath, preparing herself to look at the remains of their building. When she finally turned around to look she almost fell down in shock.
"All returned to the way it was," she whispered, staring at the building that stood intact and didn"t show a hint of fire damage. If she hadn"t seen the flames for herself, she would have thought she"d imagined everything. The only difference was the building had been restored to the way it had been before this tiny part of the world had traveled down a darker path.