09 - Return Of The Witch (22 page)

“Hardly. She stunned the shit out of them.” I pointed at McIntyre. “She hit that one with the same kind of shockwave we saw in the video.”

“Well, they look like they
’re starting to stir a little. You may want to be gone when they recover.”

The
faint howl of sirens echoed over the hill. We could see red and blue lights from the Ipswich emergency vehicles approaching.

“Yeah, good idea
,” I said. “I can get you caught up on the rest of what happened later.”

Dominic said, “
Start on down the road toward New Castle. We’ll meet with the Ipswich officials, tell them this is what we found when we rolled up and then we’ll come get you.”

“That
’ll work.” I turned and headed out just as the reach of the approaching headlights glistened off the slick pavement beyond.

Chapter 20

Carlos, Dominic and Ursula picked me up about a mile down the road, as planned.
They informed me that Pierce and McIntyre were fine, but neither was talking about what really happened. Apparently, the truth was too bizarre to report to the paramedics.

“So, what are they saying?” I asked.

Dominic replied, “They’re saying they got out of the car to move a cow off the road when they were both struck by lightning, which is what also started the fire.”

“And about me?”

“You’re a fugitive now,” said Carlos. “Pierce and McIntyre said that when the lightning struck them down, you saw your chance to escape and took it.”

“Those bastards! I wouldn’t do that and leave them lying in a ditch.”

“Let it go, Lilith. They know what really happened. I’m sure they don’t blame you.”

“Will they come back for me?”

Dominic answered, “I don’t think so.”

“Why not?”

He shrugged. “Honestly? They’re afraid of you.”

“
Oh?” I looked at Ursula. She smiled and winked. “Finally,” I said. “Someone takes me seriously.”

“
I take thee serious,” she said.

“I know, dear, but you’re the exception.”

I sat back and gazed out the window, my thoughts lost in a night sky, clear of the storm clouds that had crowded over the cow pastures of Ipswich. I hoped for some quiet time to gather my thoughts on everything that happened, but with four of us in the car, I knew that was impossible.

“Hungry,” said Carlos.

“Not very,” I said.

He laughed. “
I wasn’t asking. I’m telling you I’m hungry.” He turned to Dominic, who was driving. “Think we can stop for a bite?”

“I guess. Anyone object?”

No one did. With Carlos, it’s usually best to feed the beast than to poke it with a stick, which is what you do when you deny him food.

W
e stopped at a Denny’s just outside New Castle. There, I filled the others in on what had happened out in the cow pasture. They listened intently, feeding their faces while I did all the talking.

“And that’s when you guys pulled up,” I said, finishing my colorful narrative.

Dominic said. “Wow. Did your mother really turn into a cow?”

“Yes,
she did. Why, is there a joke in there somewhere? A mother-daughter punch line maybe.”

“No, I’m just saying. You tell
us that she can turn herself into anything she wants to now, fire, wind, water, and instead, to stop the cruiser, she turns herself into a cow. Just seems funny, is all.”

“Well there was nothing funny about the way she tried to kill me.”

Carlos said, “Tell us about that again. You say she used a witch’s key?”

“
Yeah, it’s the craziest thing. The key has holes in it that act as a sonic wave whistle when you blow into it. I’ve always known about the holes. Figured they were there for a reason. I just didn’t know what.”

“Can’t imagine that’s the
ir original purpose,” Dominic surmised.

“
Probably not, but like I said, I never knew.” I looked to Ursula. “Did you know about those holes?”

“
Of course,” she said. “As a child, I would blow into them to summon spirits.”

“Ghosts?” said Carlos.

“Aye. `Tis a curious spirit what answers the call of a child and her whistle.”

“
That’s strange,” I said. “I’ve blown into the holes before. Nothing ever happened.”

“As a child?”

“No, not as a child. I wasn’t allowed to play with the key then.”

“So is the reason. `Tis a child’s thing this breath what tweaks the spirits curiosity.”

“What, ghosts don’t trust adult witches?”

She shook her head. “What good cometh from a witch whose deeds
doth call on spirits.”

“I suppose.”

“That brings up a good point,” said Dominic. “Lilith, didn’t you get your witch’s key from your mother?”

“That’s right. Like Ursula’s key, it’s handed down through generations of female witches.”

“So Gypsy gave you yours?”

“
Yeah, on my first eighteenth birthday.”

“But you lost
it coming back from the Eighth Sphere.”

“I did,” I said,
suddenly understanding where he was going with his line of questioning.

“So then, whose key does Gypsy have?”

“Good question.” I pulled my cell phone out and cued up the video I took of Gypsy assaulting April Raines in her bathroom. “There.” I paused it with the best visual of the key I could get. “You know….”

“What?”

I turned the screen toward Ursula. “That’s not our family’s key, is it Urs?”

“
`Tis not for sure.” She shook her head at it. “Though I have seen this key before, methinks.”

“Where?”

“I cannot say.”

Carlos said, “May I see it.” I handed
him the phone. He held it close to his face, squinting hard as if thinking he might actually identify its origin.

“Are you done?” I asked,
after only a few moments. I stretched my arm across the table and coaxed him with twitching fingers to put it back into my hand.

“No wait. I know this.”

“You know what, Carlos?”

“That pentagram on the key. It’s different.”

“I know it’s different. That’s how I know it’s not my family key.”

“No, I mean I’ve seen it before. It’s familiar.”

“Sure. You’ve seen
that
pentagram before.”

“Yes.”

“Where?”

“That’s just it. I don’t…. Wait! I do remember
. I know where I’ve see it now.”

“
So tell us.”

He smiled. “On Paige Turner’s ceiling.”

“What!” I snatched the phone from his hand. “Let me see that. I don’t believe it. He’s right.” I showed it to Ursula. “That’s it. Isn’t it? That’s the same pentagram as the one on Paige’s ceiling.”

“`Tis indeed, Sister. I know for the loops where the points should be.”

“What does this mean?” asked Dominic.

“It means Paige
is working for Gypsy. She told me that story about the prophecy to lure me out into the open.”

“
But why?”

“
They think I have the quintessential. Gypsy wants it, and for whatever reason, Paige is helping her.”

“Maybe they’re old friends,” Carlos suggested.

“I can believe that. They’ve both been around longer than dirt.”

“Do you suppose Gypsy’s the mystery driver of the Escalade?”

“Possibly.”

Dominic said,
“So you think the prophecy is real?”

“No,
but the power of the quintessential is real. Because Gypsy believes I have it, she’s initiated the process of systematic assimilation.”

“
But do we know that for sure? I mean we don’t have any bodies. This could be an elaborate conspiracy of revenge for that time you threw Gypsy in front of a train.”

“
No. You saw the video, Dominic. The guardians are dead. She most definitely killed them. The thought forms prove that.”

Carlos said, “Well
, all I know is that if Gypsy is hell-bent on killing you, then we need to stop her before that happens.”

“What do you propose?”

“I don’t know, but we can’t stand by and do nothing. She’ll eventually succeed.”

“
So you’re saying the only way she’ll stop trying to kill me is if we kill her first.”

“
You could put it that way.”

An elderly
Hispanic couple in the booth behind Carlos apparently heard his remark. The woman gasped and dropped her fork onto her plate. I lifted my head to see past Carlos’ shoulder and gave her a dirty look. “Yo. Mamacita. ¿Tienes un problema?”

She shook her head no and patted her mouth with her napkin. I
came back to Carlos. “You know I appreciate what you’re saying and all, but I can’t have you fighting my battles for me. Besides, I know you don’t have it in you to do a preemptive strike.”

“
Doesn’t matter,” he said. “Lilith, I made a promise to Tony long ago that if anything ever happened to him, I would look out for you.”

“
Aw, that’s so sweet, and a little pig-headed of Tony, seeing as how I’d taken care of myself just fine for a hundred and seventy-five years before I met him.”

Again, the sound of silverware chattering on a dinner plate interrupted our discussion. This time I took the high ground and let it pass.

Carlos said, “Lilith, you can’t expect me to sit idly by while Gypsy plans her next move against you.”

“He’s right,” said Dominic. “Besides, every time she tries getting close to you, it puts Ursula in danger, too.”

“Dominic, it’s never been my intention to drag Ursula into anything.”

“All the same
. We want to help you stop her.”

I flopped back in my seat and cr
ossed my arms to my chest. “Fine, but I don’t know what you two think you can do. You can’t just shoot her. I’ve already tried that. She won’t stay in human form long enough. Bullets just go right through her.”

I would have thought the old woman in the booth behind Carlos had learned her lesson and turned her hearing aid off. Apparently, she hadn’t. While sipping on a glass of iced tea, she
apparently let a swallow go down the wrong pipe. After coughing and sputtering to catch her breath, she made it a point to turn and look back over her shoulder.

“What?” I said to her. “
It’s true.” I cupped my hands in a mock gun hold and squeezed off three rounds of an imaginary trigger. “Pow! Pow! Pow! The bitch wouldn’t die, lady. What can I tell you?”

H
er husband got up, offered his hand to help her out of the booth and escorted her up to the cashier’s counter.

“Nice,” I said.

Carlos slapped his hand down on the table. “We’ll have to think of something. We have to find her weak spot.”

“She may not have a weak spot now. From what I’ve seen, she has all the bases covered.”

“So what do we do?”

I looked at the time. It wasn’t late, but I was dog-tired. “
I don’t know about you all,” I said, “but I need a good night’s sleep. Shape-shifting takes a lot out of a gal. Anyway, we don’t know where to find Gypsy. As much as I hate to say it, we might have to wait for her to come to us…or me.”

“You want to stay at my place tonight?”
Carlos offered.

I reached across the table and patted his hand.
“Thanks, but I want to sleep in my own bed tonight. Would you guys mind taking me home now?”

I could tell Carlos was hesitant in agreeing to that. Dominic didn’t mind, though.
He knew that as long as I was home alone, then Ursula wouldn’t be in any danger. I supposed he was right. If Gypsy wanted to come back for me, she’d stop at nothing and spare no one to do it. I only hoped that all that shape-shifting had her as worn out as I was. With luck, we both wished for nothing more than to get a good night’s sleep so we could worry about things in the morning.

The three dropped me off at my house and waited in the driveway until I was safely inside. I waved goodbye and shut the door. I’m sure the car was long gone by the time I got into the kitchen and found the note on the table. Otherwise, I think I would have changed my mind and took Carlos up on his offer to let me stay with him.

The note read:

I’m through playing games, Lilith. I thought we might do this without anyone else getting hurt. I can’t promise that now. If you don’t want to see your friends dragged into this any further, meet me at the old cannery at Suffolk’s Walk in the morning, eight o’clock. Come alone and meet your destiny.

Eight o’clock, I thought, and laughed to myself. Gypsy hadn’t been up that early for anything in her life. Then I read the P.S.

P.S.
Better make it ten. I want to sleep in.

I wadded the note up and tossed it into the trash. “Ten. That’s a good hour to die. I hope you’re ready, Gypsy.”