The Witchfinder Wars (21 page)

"This one's secure," Kinsey yelled as Ernie
disappeared behind him.

I was surprised. So far, I'd never seen Kin
excited about anything.

"Both of you, get her in the car," Clay said
as he finally managed to get upright.

He was favoring his right leg, I was glad to
see. Maybe I could do something to the left next.

"What about the other one, sir?" asked Bert
as he grabbed the woman's arm.

She was slender and pale, and looked scared
but determined. "You leave my sister alone!"

Nothing about the daughter who, I was
silently praying, was nowhere close to this place.

"Go on, get her out," Clay said. "Tommy, you
come with me. We'll check the rest of the house."

Sounded like a good idea to me. I couldn't
do anything about this woman, who had to be Anya's mother Ivy, but
I was going to make damn certain sure that, if Anya was in the
house, nothing happened to her. Clay headed up the stairs and I was
right on his heels as he looked in the three small bedrooms at the
top, checked the bathroom and then turned to me. He was still
limping.

"Damn," he said. "This could have gone
better. Now we're going to have to cover our tracks."

I so did not like the sound of that.

"Hey, now, wait a minute," I began, but Clay
interrupted me.

"Grow a pair, boy. This is what we do, so
get used to it."

He made his way down the stairs, leaning
heavily on the banister. At the bottom, Ernie stood, looking
worried.

"We've got one secure, but we couldn't find
the other one, sir," he reported. I expected a snappy salute, but
he just stood there and continued, "She's not outside, though, so
she must be hidden somewhere inside the house. You know how they
all have bolt holes, sir."

"Yes, yes," Clay said, irritated as hell, I
was glad to see. "Then we have no choice, do we, gentlemen?"

"No, sir," Ernie said.

"We leave now, right?" I asked, more than a
little relieved.

"Of course we do," Clay said as he headed
for the front door. I followed him outside and to the Hummer.

Kinsey was standing at the back, locking
what looked uncomfortably like a wire-mesh coffin. I couldn't see
what—or who—was inside, but I had a pretty good idea it was Anya's
mom.

Well, I was going to make damn sure she
didn't have to stay in it long.

Kinsey slid the wire box inside the back of
the car and slammed the door. "Ready," he snapped, all military and
official.

"Excellent," Clay said. He turned to Ernie.
"Is everything in place?"

"Yes sir!"

"Then you can set it off."

"Hey, wait a minute!" I shouted. "Set what
off? What are you doing?"

Ernie pulled a black module out of his
pocket and hit a big red button on it.

There was a whoosh behind me, a muffled
boom, followed by a sharp tinkling sound like shards of ice
falling. I turned around.

I could see a growing, flickering orange
ball inside Anya's house. The windows had blown out and the glass
fragments lay in chunks all around, reflecting the dancing flames
inside like tiny bonfires scattered over the garden.

Then I saw a small figure, its hair as flame
red as the growing conflagration inside the house, run to—and
inside— the open front door, then disappear into the growing ball
of fire.

Anya.

No...

"Wait a minute," I yelled. "There's—there's
someone going in the house! We have to help—" I started toward the
burning house at a run.

A bright white light filled my head. The
earth rose up before me and slapped me in the face, hard.

Then the flames, the noise, the whole world
just went away and I fell into darkness...

Chapter
Thirteen

Anya

I heard yelling and ran back, as fast as I
could, from the pond. At first I couldn't see anything past the
bright orange ball that had once been my home.

I couldn't have stopped myself if I had
tried.

I didn't.

I pounded across the field without a
moment's hesitation. The heat hit me first, and that's when I
realized I might be in trouble.

Great Mother...protect me.

I took a breath that didn't seem big enough
before my body plunged through the flames.

All I knew was I had to save them.

The fires parted with my entry as if to
welcome me home, and I stumbled for the first time since I saw the
smoke rising above the trees, back where I was waiting to meet
Tommy.

Tommy
.

I pushed his name out of my mind as I
narrowed my eyes against the smoke threatening to overwhelm me. I
squatted laid low against the scorching wooden floors to take a
breath.

Then I realized.

Funny. The heat wasn't bothering me.

And air had never tasted sweeter.

"Evie! Ivy!" I cried out from my place on
the floor. The beams holding up the second floor were starting to
crack beneath the strength of the flames, and I knew I had to find
them before the collapsing supports crushed all of us.

The heat may not have bothered me. But
hundreds of pounds of wood definitely would.

I could see movement through the smoke, and
a hand marred with black soot reached for mine.

"Thank the Goddess." I breathed the sigh of
relief as I grabbed for it. Straight into the flames that flared up
between us.

The scream erupted from my throat before I
felt the pain. As my hand jerked back, I forced myself silent until
the only sounds I made were jagged whimpers. My other hand began to
sweep the ground just outside the heat for her again. Then, the
unbelievable happened.

The flames moved aside. Just a little.

I rose up and held out my good hand. A
sweeping motion was all I needed to push the dancing light away
from Evie. She was burned, definitely hurt. But she might be able
to survive if we could get out of this place.

"Come on, Evie...where's Ivy?"

Evie couldn't answer me. Her lungs released
a cough so deep, I knew I had to get her out of there.

Now.

I held my injured wrist against my chest as
I wrapped my good arm around her. My teeth slammed against each
other as I pulled her up.

"Move!" I shouted out toward the fires. The
wall of flames refused to obey. I hissed in agony as I pulled my
arm away from its cradle and reached outward. The pain was making
me sick, but I couldn't think about it now.

Mimicking the sweeping motion, I repeated my
command.

This must have been how Moses felt. The red
sea in front of us parted to allow us a clear path toward the
door.

I didn't think I was going to make it.

I couldn't think about that either.

It wasn't until I had her through the door
and lying against the garden gate that I knelt in front of her
again. My legs were shaking so badly, I was sure I was going to
fall on her and make the pain from her burns worse. Evie's eyes
were closed and her face darkened with soot, but I had to try.

"Evelyn, listen to me! It's Anya...Annie.
Tell me where Ivy is!"

There was a panic in my voice I had never
heard before as I thought about my mother trapped beneath the beams
that had started crashing down behind us. Sparks flew with every
sound the dying house emitted; the roaring was overpowering my
senses.

"Evie!" I screamed. "Where is she?"

My aunt rolled her head toward me as her
eyes opened, dark and glassy. Her mouth moved, her voice so soft,
so nearly silent, I had to read her lips to make sure I knew what
she said.

"Gone."

Gone? Ivy? Had she made it out or had she
died before I had the chance to get there?

Her lips moved again. "Annie...run. They're
coming back. You promised."

The Witchfinders. I knew now who and what
she meant when she ignored the pleas regarding my mother.

Ivy was gone. My mother had been taken, or
even murdered, by those who had stolen my father away from me as
well. I sat there stunned for a moment before my legs were able to
support my weight and I stood.

I don't know how they did it.

I knew there were those who didn't
understand us.

I knew there were those who would hurt us if
given the chance.

The anger flowed through me in earnest now,
stealing my breath before the smoke got its chance. I had been
angry when Tommy hadn't shown up to meet me. But I'd halfway
expected that, no matter what the Goddess told me. This was about
so much more.

I turned back to the fire as I ignored
Evie's pitiful pleas for me to leave. To run.

I walked back through the door and the
flames welcomed me once more. I ignored the pain flowing through my
wrist as I entered the center of the living room where the fire was
the hottest.

Where it started.

It wasn't hurting me. The fire imprinted on
my soul licked at me, but it didn't hurt me this time.

When I found the center, I closed my eyes
and went by the instincts now dictating my actions. My focus turned
to the flames to pull them toward me. The light flickered before it
responded, circling around me like a whirlwind. I felt the heat
stitch itself into my bones. The strength of it worked its way into
the muscles of my arms, my legs. The necklace around my throat
began to throb from the energies of it as I pulled it closer.

I wanted to become a part of it. For it to
turn me into ashes to be blown away. To be destroyed by it.

I knew I was never going to be that
lucky.

The fire, so close now, slammed into me with
the full force of the flames. A groan, whether mine or the house's,
escaped as the last of the beams fell behind me and the roof caved
in on one side. I ignored it as the power flowed through my veins,
making itself at home as if it belonged there. It flowed into me
with such strength I fell to my knees, grabbing hold of my
head.

I could feel it burning, igniting the anger
that had led me here in the first place.

When I stood, I didn't know who I was. What
I was. A snarl erupted from my mouth and a new explosion knocked
the back wall out. Another escaped and the supports for the stairs
collapsed. I raised my hands and pushed against the flames to watch
as what I had known descended into ashes at my feet. The light, so
hot it was almost white, was beautiful. Destructive. Powerful.

It felt good. Too good. Ivy would never know
how much.

Evie
.

The name brought me down as I stared out
into the garden. She was right where I left her. Those green eyes
staring into nothing.

My new found grace led me out to her side
without a single stumble. I leaned down and kissed her black cheek,
letting the tears fall as I reached to close her eyes.

There were sirens coming from somewhere. Too
late to do any good. I couldn't let them find her.

Find the mark.

I'm so sorry, Aunt Evie. May you become a
part of the earth you loved so much
.

I thought the words but did not speak them.
The emotions and the energies were slipping away from me, the pain
coursing its way through my arm.

I dragged her, laying her body out in the
middle of her gardens. Steady fingers untied the band around her
wrist, and my lips brushed against the scar that had labeled her
for what she was. I pulled back then and whispered my goodbyes.

With the touch of my hand, and the image
that sprang up in my mind, she smoldered and then began to burn in
earnest. The gardens erupted around me.

I ran.

***

The dry shed appeared out of nowhere; I came
slinking out of the shadows long enough to find the door in the
kudzu. I didn't need the key. If anyone found me here, they
wouldn't live long enough to tell anyone about it. My injured hand
cradled against my chest, I pressed a finger against the lock and
watched as it melted.

I pushed the door open and stumbled into the
room straight out of a Betty Crocker nightmare before I slammed the
door behind me. I walked straight to the bathroom, and I bit back
another scream as I thrust my shattered hand under the water
tap.

Maybe I screamed after all. I don't
remember.

The pain was excruciating. It flowed through
me like the fire had when I stood in the center of the house. I
fought to keep breathing until I couldn't stand it anymore. I
pulled away from the water and my knees went out from beneath me. I
closed my eyes against the burning as that tired feeling
returned.

No wonder. I'd just pulled down the house. I
released myself to sleep.

***

The river was as beautiful as it had been
when I left it the first time. But as She approached me, I was the
one with the question. I could feel Her stop beside me as I stared
into the waters and my anger disappeared in an instant. The Goddess
watched the rushing with me for a moment before I found my voice.
It sounded resigned. Tired.

"Why?"

She was silent for a moment before turning
toward me.

It is what had been written, child. No one
comes to this belief lightly. Did you?

She had me there. Playing with the tips of
candles was nothing compared to what I had done. What I could do
now. I couldn't look at her as my good hand reached up to cradle my
bad one.

"I do believe. Everything Evie said was
true. What you said was true."

The sobbing broke through then. Not even the
peace of this place was enough to calm my heart. I thought it had
been shattered before when I was worried about releasing Tommy.
Now, it felt as if nothing remained. Those jagged pieces burned
away in the fire, and with it, my family.

I was alone.

Truly alone.

Her arms wrapped around me then and I
released it all to Her. The disappointment when Tommy ditched me,
the fear I felt the moment the smoke began to appear above the
trees, the sight of my aunt as she lay dying in the middle of a
fire I didn't know I could control. Knowing I was too late to save
my own mother from those she feared the most. The ones I had
brought to her door.