~ Their Hope Within The Flames ~ preview the first 20 pages

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Their Hope Within The Flames

                                               By Sky Boivin

We were just a quiet New England family.  I couldn’t even tell you exactly when the chaos all came about.  All I know is that I lost my sisters and now I must move away from this village I have called home all my life and start fresh.  There is no staying here.  Not now.  The wagon is packed and waiting for me upon the far hillside as I watch my last sister go.  Almost the last of my family.  The last of my family is standing on the landing below, watching the spectacle.  She’s standing close for a front row view.

     But, that one is dead to me now.  I must flee from this place before she sets her sights on me next or the child standing behind me.  I must watch over and protect Samie on my own now.  I must teach her to be safe; safer than we were so that what happened to our family won’t be repeated.

* * *      Some months ago    * * *

     It was just another regular morning.  Cloe and I were outside early tending to the garden.  We were collecting what foods we could for breakfast before the birds got to them and left us nothing.  Just another normal morning, or so we thought.  We saw a wagon coming up from the road towards the cottage.

     “Is that Nicloas’s wagon?” I asked, pointing to the road.

     “It appears to be,” Cloe answered.  She tried to hide a smile.  We watched the wagon drive up.  There was a female in the seat next to him.

     ‘Who is that seated next to him?’ I thought to Cloe curiously.  We both wondered.

     Sometimes we didn’t have to open our mouths to speak.  We could communicate with our thoughts.  No one else seemed to be able to do this in the village but our family.  So we kept it to ourselves.  Or so we thought. 

     As the wagon came closer, we noticed that it was our cousin, Tabitha.  She was sitting smugly next to Nicolas.  She had such a stern look on her face to try and hide the smugness within.  She had some new cruel plan going on in her head.  I just knew it.  She never looked like that unless she was brewing up trouble for someone.

     The wagon stopped in front of our small cottage, and Nicolas jumped down from the seat.  His round rimmed black hat flopped as he did so.  He went around to help Tabitha out of the wagon.  He tilted his hat.

     “Ladies,” he said.

     “Nicolas,” Cloe replied back.  They paused for a moment and looked at each other.

     “What’s wrong?”  I blurted out.

     Cloe shot me a look. ‘Shhhh!’ she yelled in my head.  I looked at my feet.  I could not help it.  Straight to the point is the way I preferred things.  No wasting time beating around the bush.

     Of course Tabitha gave a sly smirk as Nicolas hoisted her off of the wagon.  “Hello cousins.  Is it not a lovely day out today?” 

     That smirk had always made me uncomfortable when we were growing up.  Almost as though you could hear the gears inside her brain running full speed for whatever god-forsaken plan she was cooking up to get someone,  anyone into trouble.  Just so she could get whatever she wanted.

     “Good day, Tabitha.  What brings you out so early this quiet morning?  Don’t you need your beauty sleep?”  Emy spoke from the doorway of the cottage.  Her mouse brown hair was braided to one side under her cap.

     Tabitha froze mid-step.  It was clear she was afraid of Emy.  She’d never dared cross her unawares since we were kids.  She learnt that one real quick.  They were secretly sworn enemies.  We as a family were the only ones who knew why it was so.    Ever since that day by the river, Tabitha had always tried what she could to be rid of Emy for good.  I think her pride was hurt more than anything after what had actually happened.  The green-eyed monster of jealousy can be real mean…

     But, I digress.

     “May we talk inside, Madam?” Nicolas addressed Emy.

     “Yes, this way.”  She led them into the dirt floor kitchen.  The fire was already roaring and the biscuits were warming on the side oven.  The smell was enough to make one hungry.  Emy pointed to a pair of chairs for Nicolas and Tabitha to be seated.  Cloe and I looked at each other as we silently debated if we should sit in on the conversation or not.

     ‘Maybe we should let them be.  If we need be knowing about it, Emy will tell us later,’ Cloe thought to me.  I nodded and we turned to make way for the door.

     “This actually concerns all of you,” Nicolas said.

     Emy nodded for us to remain as well.  We sat opposite Tabitha and Nicolas.  Emy sat at the head of the table.  While her husband, Aaron was away at sea, she had become head of the household and everyone and everything went through her.

     Nicolas sighed.  He was extremely nervous about what he had to say.  It couldn’t be good news, judging by the look on his face.

     ‘My God, has something happened to Aaron’s ship?  Are they all okay?’  My mind raced with frantic, doomsday thoughts.

     ‘Hush, child.  Let him speak before you race those thoughts into the air,’ Emy poked in.

     I lowered eyes to the table as though scolded.  I knew she was right.  I was getting ahead of myself.  But I never really thought it could be anything else, that anything could be worse than losing a family member at sea.

     “There have been rumors around the village.”  Nicolas paused.  He glanced around the room.  “Rumors that are not so good.  They are about your family.  Namely about Cloe.”  He briefly caught Cloe’s eyes with his then they shot away from her.

     Emy just sat there and nodded as though she already knew.  Probably because she did.  Did she know what Nicolas was going to say?  She’d always had that intuitiveness about her.  She drove us nuts with it sometimes.  But we each had a different level of that in our own way.

     “Oh get on with it, man!”  Tabitha burst into what Nicolas was trying to say.  “What kind of a man are you?”  Her voice resonated along the walls of the even more suffocating kitchen.  “They are saying that Cloe is a witch, that she’s a child of the Devil.  They swear she’s been cursing crops on the next farm over!”

     Witch.

     The word reverberated in my head.  It seemed to echo into the depths of my mind for eternity.  Witch?  Cloe?  Not in the sense that they think of witch.  She could chat up with the birds to help carry seeds for planting.  And she could get the bees to play with the flowers sooner to help them seed faster.  She used that ability to help the gardens grow and prosper.  But she would never harm another farm.  If anything, she would send the bees over to help them.

     No.  This couldn’t be right.  They had it all wrong.  Maybe a disease plowed through their crop.  Maybe they did something different from what they normally did and it backfired.

     Anything but this.

     I looked at Tabitha.  She sat there smugly.  She was so proud of herself over this.

     ‘You bastard’, I reeled in my head.  ‘This is your doing.  I know it.  You want something.  And by God I will find out what it is real soon.  You will be stopped.’ I glared at Tabitha.  Her eyes snapped over to me as though I had just slapped her from across the table.  The smile disappeared from her face.  I knew she felt the cold chill that was sent her way by my glare.

     Tabitha’s eyes went away from me and she shivered.  “I think there is a draft in here,” she said to Nicolas shyly.

     Nicolas ignored her.  I think he was still dumbfounded by her taking over the conversation.

     “They will like to see Cloe as soon as possible.  Do not try and hide her or let her escape for safety.  It will look bad on all of you.  Especially with Aaron and the others still at sea.  You can plead for a waiting period until they have returned from their trip so that they can help with her trial.  But there is no promise they will grant even that much.  If you will excuse me, I will leave you to your thoughts on this matter.  They will call upon Cloe when they are ready for her.”  Nicolas stood up from the table.

     Emy grabbed Nicolas’s arm.  “Thank you for the heads-up on this.  You are a good man, Nicolas.  Bless you,” she said to him.  Nicolas nodded and made his way to the door.

     “I shall be out in one moment, Nicolas,” Tabitha said without looking behind her.  She had her own business to tend to now and she did not need Nicolas to hear what she had to say to us.  When the door closed behind Nicolas, Tabitha started, “Well, this is quite the pickle you have gotten us into, Cloe.  Now is it not?”

     Cloe just sat there as if frozen by Medusa’s gaze.  I wondered if she was still breathing.  I could feel the fiery anger building up within me.  Tabitha had no place to say such a thing.

     “Her?  Her?  What in the blazes of Hell are you talking about, Tabitha?  Do you even hear yourself?  You know bloody well Cloe would have never harmed anything!  Let alone someone else’s farm!  What have you done to this family?  What are you after, Tabitha?  Maybe we should have let you die that day by the river instead of trying to save your sorry ass because of your stupidity!” I finally screamed.  Tears raged down my face.  I threw my hands up in the air in exasperation.  The walls echoed with my voice.  I threw myself down upon the dirt floor, sobbing heavily.

     Emy rose slowly from the table.  Calm and collected, she walked towards Tabitha.  She stood facing her for what seemed like forever.  I watched silently to see what may happen.  I could see the nervousness in Tabitha’s eyes.

     “I think it is best if you never step foot inside our home again, cousin.  You are no longer welcome here.  After the situation you have bestowed upon this roof, you are no longer our kin,” Emy whispered upon the air of the silent kitchen.  The room seemed frozen.  Even the roaring fire seemed to be lost in time.

     Tabitha stood silent a while longer, contemplating what to say.  “So be it, cousin.  I shall see you at the trials then.”  With that, she flew out of the cottage and to Nicolas in the awaiting wagon.

     The three of us sat there in the kitchen, wondering what was going to happen next.  The whole cottage was silent except for the crackle of the fire that seemed to have come back to life again.

     The next few months flew by in a blur.  They came and “examined” Cloe.  They said she had “the Devil’s Mark.” What mark it was they wouldn’t say.  They feared that we might try to hide it or have it removed somehow.  They denied our request to wait for Aaron’s ship to return home so that some of the other family members could be present.  They reasoned that since there was no way to know how much longer they would be at sea or if they would even return at all, they could not possibly wait.  The council felt that we might try to sneak her aboard the ship and have it set sail during the night.

     Next thing we knew, the words guilty of witch-craft rang out through the stuffy town hall.  The hall was filled with both cheers and murmurs.  I wanted to scream out at all of them.  Cloe kept looking straight towards the back of the hall.  Who could she possibly be looking at?  She always looked towards the back.  Never at anyone or anything else.  There was such a sea of villagers and travelers who came just to see the trial of the witch that they all blurred together.

     Before we knew it, it was the morning of the burning.  The council did grant us a few moments alone with our sister so we could say our goodbyes.  She had been kept in a filthy cell where rats could come up and eat at your body.  Poor Cloe was covered in dust and dirt.  Her raven hair was all disheveled and knotted.  We just sat there in silence holding each other’s hands, waiting.  Waiting for the time for them to take Cloe to her fate.  To her death.

     A wrongful death.

     We could hear the men outside tossing more logs onto the area where the burning was to take place.  A knock on the cell door broke our silence.  We all looked up; knowing the inevitable time had come.

     Nicolas popped his head in.  “It is time for you two to leave now.  I see them starting to get ready to come over.  I have let you stay longer than they’d have liked,” he whispered.

     Emy and I got up slowly.  We didn’t want to leave Cloe alone.  We also didn’t want more trouble than there already was.  We ducked out of the small cell and into the forest line so no one else would see us leaving.  We went to a quiet and safe spot away from all of the commotion so we could speak without anyone listening in.

     “We must do something about Tabitha.  She is up to no good.  This is just the beginning of her plan.”

     “It’s not her fault.  She has been brainwashed,” Emy said quietly.

     I looked at her, puzzled.  “Brainwashed?  By who?  Who could have come up with THIS?”  I stopped in my tracks.  I was stunned that Emy would choose now, this moment, to start defending Tabitha.  After all these years.

     “I saw her speaking with the new brother of the church.  I’ve sent letters to Brother Thompson in England about him.  He has been moved around from church to church, a lot.  Each village he goes to seems to have burnings once he gets there.  They have all been quiet little villages like ours.  Until he shows up.”  The forest fell silent.  We looked around to make sure no one else was around.

     “He has been heading up witch burnings left and right.  From what I received in letters about him, he finds one main female to “help” him pin things on everyone else until she is the only one left.  Then he makes the village turn against her.  To somehow say that it must have been her all along.  That she headed it all up.   That she is the witch.  That the others were serving her, and that she serves HIM.  Once she has been burned, the church conveniently moves him along to another village to “continue” his work.”

     I stood frozen, a chill crawling along my spine.  I couldn’t believe my ears.  Had Emy just said all this, or did I imagine it?  This just had to be a bad dream.  The church couldn’t possibly be behind this…  No.  It couldn’t be.  Maybe they just didn’t realize what was going on.  That must be it.

     “Should we tell someone?  What should we do?  I, I…” I stammered.

     “WE will say nothing.  You will act shocked, just like you are right now.  I will get more information on this bastard who claims to be doing God’s work.  I will expose him for what he is.  I will end his reign here.  And justify Cloe and all the other innocents he has already taken from this world.”

      Emy’s eyes glowed brightly in the shadows.  She burned with energy and it built up fast within her.  She wanted to strike this man down right where he stood.  I could see that in her eyes.  But I knew she was also building up the self-control further below that to not do so.  At least not today of all days.  That would make it ten times worse for all of us.  I understood that now.  She taught me that one.  Keep quiet and keep to yourself.  Don’t let others know what you can do or what you behold.  Trouble will be a foot if you do otherwise. 

     Then it hit me.  Her.  She’d only said her.  What in the world could she possibly be thinking of doing, and why was I not included?  Could she be fated the same as Cloe if she opens her mouth and exposes this Devil within the church?  This monstrous demon who is going on a church funded killing spree that they may not even realize is being done?

     She looked deep into my eyes. “I will expose that demon even if it kills me, which it may.”

     That’s what I was afraid of.  Damn it all to Hell!  Even now, just to protect everyone else around her, Emy would go to any length to save them even if it meant the end her own life.  Sounds extreme, but that’s true, unconditional love for you.  No matter what came up in life, she was ready for the fight.  She would go down fighting.  I knew, with the look in her eyes right then and there, she had sealed her fate.  She would expose this demon alright.  But she’d be burned for witchcraft in the process.

     I knew it.  She knew it.  That’s why she wants me to stay out of the way.  Or to at least act like I don’t know what’s going on.  Act shocked and surprised when the accusation is finally made public.  But how would we do that?

     I shook my head.  “No, not alone you’re not.  I won’t let you.  I can play dumb when I need to.  But we are in this together.  Sisters stick together. Through thick and thin, no matter what.”

     I tried to stand my ground even though I knew she would win somehow.  She always knew how to get her way, especially in a matter as deadly as this.  But, I had to at least try.  To show I would go down fighting for her and others, too.  For some reason I felt I had to show her that much.

     “We’ll see what plays out.  You may need to play a small- very small role.”  She winked at me and smirked. 

     Ah shit, I knew that smirk.  I could only imagine what she had up her sleeve on that note.  I smirked back at her and shook my head.  At least she would let me help her with this plan of hers.  Small role was better than no role at all.

     “It should be just about time for them to do this blasted thing of theirs.  We should get going.” Emy hugged me and grabbed my hand.  “Let’s go or they will start talking about how her own sisters were not there.”  She winked at me and we ran down the path to await our sister’s doom.

     The villagers were already coming out to the common area to watch “the witch” burn.  They had the logs piled up high.  I saw Cloe tied by her hands in a far corner being led by Nicolas closer to the burning spot.  It looked almost as though they had been speaking to each other quietly until they got closer.  Then they seemed to stop.  Surely we didn’t need Nicolas falling prey to these witch hunts, too.

     As they approached, someone yelled from the crowd, “Die, witch!”

     “Burn in Hell you vile woman!” yelled another.

     These were people we had known all of our lives.  In the blink of an eye, they had turned against Cloe because someone called her a witch.  Why was this so?  All it took was one person to point a finger and yell witch for something that would have happened naturally anyways.  She couldn’t control some disease that took over that farmer’s crop any more than the next person.

     Such a mad stupidity amongst them all.  Someone threw a rotten apple at her.  She dodged it ever so slightly.  But others had the same idea and she could not stop those.  There were just too many to duck out of the way of. 

     Emy and I stayed towards the back of the crowd so we were out of the vision of wandering eyes who might want to try and point fingers at us next.  Simply because we were her sisters.

     They led her to the pile of awaiting logs.  They looked hungry for the fire to be coming soon.  As they tied her to the one large log standing upright in the center of the pile, Father Orthus Mathias started to address the crowd and Cloe.

     “Cloe, you have been found guilty of witchcraft and of being one of the Devil’s mistresses.  You have been sentenced to death by burning to cleanse and purify your soul.  Do you have any last words, witch?”

     Cloe took a deep breath in.  She lifted her head up to the villagers.  She found us on the tree line edge.  She addressed us in silence.  ‘I love you both.  Be brave.  It will all be okay soon.’  Other than that, she remained silent.

     “So be it,” he said.  Prayers were said to help cleanse her soul so it would see the “right” path.  Two men from the village took torches that stood nearby and touched them to the logs.  They lit up like a hungry vulture finding fresh carcass in the desert.  The fire crackled and roared loudly as it came to life.

     I wanted to help.  I wanted to make it stop.  She was innocent of any wrong!  Damn them all to Hell!  The anger built up deep within me.

     “No!”  I cried.  I started to run but Emy grabbed my arm and held me back.

     “We can’t go to her, my dear,” she whispered.

     “We must stop this.”  I turned towards her.  My eyes grew wide with the longing to help.  I could hear Cloe’s silent screams of pain within my head.  She remained silent on the pole.  I looked at Emy.  “You have the power to stop this!  We can help her. We can all be together and leave this place!  Why won’t you help her?”  Tears streamed down my face.

     “Because if I do, we are all dead.  They will never stop looking for us.  I cannot do anything or they will never be stopped,” she whispered in my ear.  I stared at her for a moment.  I was hurt and angry.  But, I also knew she was right.

     I sunk to the ground, sobbing for Cloe’s pain.  The fire consumed her.  Her raven black hair flew up as the flames rose higher up her body.  All the while, Orthus scanned the crowd for any new victims to burn next.  Emy had secretly hoped she had hidden us enough in the tree line that we would not be seen by his demon eyes.

     Emy held me.  We sat upon the ground for what seemed like forever, sobbing quietly while Cloe’s silent screams echoed within our heads.  Finally, the screams came to an end.  We knew at that point she was gone from us.  Relief for her pain to be ended washed over me.  But, grief for losing her also came over me.  We slowly lifted our heads.

     In front of our tear-stained faces, we only saw our sister’s lifeless body lying upon the charred black logs of a dying fire.  Most of the villagers had gone home or gone about the rest of their day.  How they could continue about as though nothing had happened was beyond me.  They should all be in the church of our Lord and praying for forgiveness for killing a girl.

     The smell of the fire and burnt flesh was still upon the air.  It pierced my nose.  We just sat there in the silence, listening to our surroundings.  Taking in the scene that lay before us. Cloe’s aura was gone from her.  She was gone from us.  Her soul was back to the Earth.  Yet, her body remained behind.  Now it was time for us to return what remained of her physically to the Earth as well.  When the darkness finally came, we got up together.  We walked slowly towards the horrible scene that lay before us. 

     “Are we bringing her home?”  I whispered in the silent darkness.  Not even the crickets sang their songs tonight.

     “Somehow,” Emy said with a nod.

     “Will this cloth help?”  Nicolas stood up from his seat upon the ground.  He had waited for us to come back to claim our sister.  He held out a large white cloth.  It was surely large enough to wrap her and bring her home in.  We would have to bury her at home.  Because of the crimes she was found guilty of for, the church would never allow her internment within their burial ground.

     We laid the cloth on the ground.  Nicolas gently lifted Cloe’s lifeless body off of the charred logs.  The embers still glowed in some spots.  He was not afraid to pick her up off of them.  It was almost as though he had no feeling left in his body to be harmed anymore.

     He placed her within the cloth and wrapped her in it lovingly.  Before he enclosed her head, he kissed her lips and whispered something in her ear.  Did Nicolas love Cloe?  All these years and I never noticed that?  That would at least explain why he helped us.  And why he offered to watch guard over her when no one else would.  She was in her protector’s care even though she was sentenced to death.

     He lifted her up and carried her to the wagon bed so we may bring her home.

     “I shall follow behind you back to your homestead.  I will help you bury her,” Nicolas spoke quietly as he hoisted us up to the sea of the wagon.

     “You don’t have to.  You may find more trouble for yourself if you do,” Emy started.

     “I have to.  I– loved her.”  He put his head towards the ground and looked at his feet so we would not see his tears.

     I looked at Emy. ‘Did he just say that?  Did I hear him correctly?’ 

     Emy nodded back.  ‘I heard it, too.’

     I reached my arm out to Nicolas.  “Thank you, my brother,” was all I could think to say.

     He lifted his head.  Tears had welled up in his eyes.  His heart was broken.  He had watched the love of his life burn that day, and there was absolutely nothing he could have done to have stopped it.  My heart went out to him.  My eyes welled up for him as well.  I nodded to him.  I risked the thought speech to him.  ‘Let us be going now before they see us,’ I tried to tell him.  He looked at me to make sure he heard it right.

     “Yes, yes.  Let us be going before anyone sees us take her away,” he agreed.

     Back at the cottage, we pulled up silently.  The stars shone bright and the moon was full.  Nicolas pulled up alongside of us.  He helped us off of the wagon.  Then he went to go carry Cloe.

     “She had said something to me this morning about wishing to see the old willow one more time,” Nicolas said in the silence.  It felt so long since either of us had spoken that it jolted me from my thoughts.

     “Then that is where we shall bury her.  Her favorite spot,” Emy agreed.  “Sounds befitting.  She always loved that tree.  A serene spot for a serene soul.”

     So we carried her body to the old willow.  The moonlight shone lightly through the long flowing branches.  There was one large section of moonlight that had caught my eye.

     “There.”  I pointed.  A lone wolf stood near the patch of light.  The wolf was covered in dirt.  He lifted his head lowered to the ground in greeting.  I walked closer to him.

     “Good evening, old friend,” I addressed the wolf.  As I came closer, I noticed a long hole that he had dug.  It was fresh.  “Have you been waiting long for us?  Looks like you have been busy tonight.  Is this for Cloe?”

     The wolf bowed again.  He walked over towards Nicolas who was still holding Cloe.  Nicolas stiffened. 

     “He-he-hello, friend.  Long time, huh?”  Nicolas was so nervous around the wolf.

     “Have you met before, Nicolas?” Emy came and patted the wolf as thanks.

     “Yes.  I believe so.  Cloe was always speaking to it.  I have seen him a few times in our wanderings here.  But I am always so nervous around him,” Nicolas stammered.

     I giggled.  I couldn’t help it.  The wolf started sniffing the blanket that Cloe was wrapped in and began rubbing up against it.  He knew it was his human companion within.  Her familiar had out lived her and he felt lost.  The wolf tugged on the blanket.  My heart went out to him. 

     “Nicolas, you best be bringing her over before he does it for you,” I suggested.

     So we placed Cloe into the wolf-dug grave by the old willow tree.  A beautiful spot by daylight.  But even more special now by the moonlight.  I found some wildflowers nearby.  I gave some to Emy and Nicolas.  We each said our silent prayers and tossed them on her grave.

     “So mote it be,” we each said in turn.  We remained standing there, lost in our own thoughts beside Cloe’s grave until dawn.  The wolf laid upon the grave, his head resting on his dirt covered paws.  It was hard to tell, but it looked as though he was crying, too.  The woods were silent out of respect for our loss.

     When the sun rose, we went back up to the cottage to have some breakfast.

     “I best be going home.” Nicolas made his way back to his wagon.

      “Stay for breakfast.  I can talk to your family later if you would like,” Emy offered.

       Nicolas pondered the thought a moment.  He shrugged.   “Sounds fair enough.”  We all went into the cottage to start on breakfast.  After breakfast, Nicholas bade us farewell for the day.  He had to get things done around the village.

     “I will call on you both tonight and check how you are faring?” Nicolas said on his way to his wagon.

     “That will be most good of you, Nicolas.  Thank you.  You are always welcome here.” Emy gave him some food wrapped up in a cheese cloth for lunch later.

     He tipped his hat and clicked his horse to get going.  We watched him go down the road.

     “What do we do now, Emy?”  I finally asked, never taking my eyes off of Nicolas’ wagon.  The wind blew at our disheveled hair and dresses.

     “We wait,” was her only response.

    The winds felt as though they had shifted while we stood there.  I smelt the salt air from the ocean upon the breeze and knew what she meant.  Aaron’s ship had come home.  I smiled.  His ship coming home meant everyone was home.

     “Shall I bring the wagon around, sister?”  I looked at her, smiling. 

     She looked back at me, giggling.  “Why, yes, sister.  I shan’t want to walk all the way to the dock to greet our dear men home from sea.  Besides, we need to bring all the goods home, too.” She smirked.

     We ran back to the cottage to tidy ourselves up and to tidy the cottage up as well.  After all was in order in the cottage, we headed out to the wagon.  Something did not feel right as we approached the wagon.  I could not put my finger on it at first.  I stopped short.

     “What is wrong, love?” Emy’s face went serious.  She knew something was not sitting right with me when I did that.

     “I do not know.”  I stared at the wagon.  “Something is not right here.”  I scanned the area.  ‘What is it?  Where is it?  Show yourself to me,’ I said in my head.  I approached the wagon bed slowly.  There it was.  Someone had left us a “present” in the bed of the wagon.  I gasped in horror, turned away, and covered my face.

     “What is wrong? What is–” Emy started.  She stopped dead in her tracks.  She had reached the wagon bed and saw what lay before us.

     It was our lone wolf friend from the night before.  There was no mistaking it.  The dirt was still covering his paws.  Someone had killed him and left him in the bed of our wagon during the morning while we were having breakfast or cleaning up the cottage.  They had left a clean slice along his throat, from ear to ear.  They had left him to bleed out.  Emy held my shoulders as I quaked.

     “We need to move him,” she instructed, holding back tears.  She wanted to sob but right now was not the time to be doing so.  We had to act now and fast.  We got a cloth from the cottage and rolled him onto it.  Then we each took an end and carried him to the back of the cottage.  We wrapped him up as best we could for now.   

     “His tail is missing,” I noticed, and pointed it out to Emy.

     “Hmmm, so it appears it is.  When we see someone carrying it around, then we shall know who did this ghastly deed.”

     We quickly tried to clean up what blood remained in the wagon bed.

     “Shall we try this again?”  Emy said, trying to make light of the situation.

     “Yes, let us try this again.”  So we got on the wagon and proceeded into the village docks to see if Aaron’s ship had in fact arrived.

     The ride into the village was quiet.  I think we were both lost in our own thoughts.  I know I was still replaying the last twenty-four hours over again in my head.  I wondered if Emy was doing the same.  When we reached the village, there seemed to be a commotion going on.  We just tried to pretend we didn’t see it.  We really just wanted in and out of the village today after yesterday’s chain of events.

     “The witch’s body is gone from the logs!  You did this!  You made her body disappear!”  We heard shouting going on as we approached closer to the site.  Emy and I looked at each other. 

     ‘What has gotten into this place?’  I thought to her.  ‘Do they not think that we may have collected her body ourselves?’

     “You are a witch just like her!  You took her so you could get any energy or power that remained in her for yourself!” another person yelled.

     It was the poor girl who lived on the outskirts of the village.  Her family had just moved to these parts not that long ago.  They came off of Aaron’s ship the last time he had come home.  I looked at the crowd.  ‘We have to do something!  She never touched Cloe’s body! We did!’

     Emy stopped the wagon.  She stood up in the seat.  She inhaled deeply before she said anything.  She scanned the villagers.

     “Did it ever occur to anyone that I may have taken my sisters body for burial myself?” she yelled over the crowd.

     It took a moment for the villagers to realize that someone outside of their squabble had spoken to them.  They looked over at our wagon, dumbfounded.

     Did they even hear her?  I wondered.  I saw Nicolas in the shadows.  This was our chance to help her.  ‘Quick, Nicolas!  Take the girl to safety, anywhere but here with this crowd!’  I thought to him.

     He looked up at me and nodded.  He ran to the girl and motioned for her to follow him.

     “Let me repeat myself.  Did it ever occur to anyone that I may have come after the fire had died down and removed Cloe, my sister?  Physically removed her from the fire area and brought her to our home for a private burial?”  Emy continued to address the crowd as Nicolas helped get the newest victim away before they tried her then and there for something we did.

     Orthus walked out of the shadows.  He had a menacing look upon his face.  Some of the villagers had started to walk away.  They knew they were wrong about what they were trying to do right then.  Why had they not thought first?  Of course, we would have taken our family member home for burial.  Orthus stared at Emy.  She glared back at him.  Just before either one of them could say anything, someone else pointed to the docks.

     “Look, Emy!  Is that Aaron’s ship docking in port?”  Tabitha called out.  She knew she needed to get the tension gone and fast.  Everyone stopped to look.  It sure was Aaron’s ship.  Maybe things would take a turn for the better now that the ship was back.  Maybe we could put the events of the last few days –and months– behind us.

     We continued to the docks.  Some of the villagers came to the docks as well to greet the ship.  As we stood there waiting, there was a light breeze coming in from the sea.  The gulls fought over scraps a little further down as usual.

     Maybe things will return to normal sooner than we thought.

     Daren was standing closest to the dock, awaiting his cue.  Aaron came into view.  The rest of his crew stood on the sides with the rope ready in hand to toss down to tie the ship in place.

     “Permission to land!”  Aaron yelled from the deck.

     “Permission granted!  Get down here you old fool!”  Daren chuckled heartily.  They were close friends.

     The men tossed the ropes down to the others waiting around the dock to catch them.  They tied up the ship as Aaron came to shore.  Emy was bursting at the seams.

     “Why are you still standing here?”  I nudged her to get going.  Aaron shook Daren’s hands and hugged him in greeting.  They exchanged a few words.  Then Aaron scanned the group looking for Emy.  I knew when their eyes met.  I felt her heart leap for joy.  She felt the same as I did, that maybe things would be all better now that Aaron was home.  That maybe this witch trial and burning madness would be all over now.

     They ran to each other arms wide open reaching out to each other.  He whirled Emy in a big sweeping circle and kissed her deeply.  The rest of the villagers cheered as though this gesture finalized the end of the voyage.  I smiled for them.  Tears welled up in my eyes.  I was glad to have something to be happy about finally.  It was a shame that Cloe could not have been here still to have seen this.

     “Are those tears for me, my Lady?” someone said, waking me from my thoughts.  I jerked my head towards the voice.

     “James!”  I screeched.  I threw my arms around his neck.  The tears flowed even more.

     “Well, now.  Maybe I should be gone this long all the time,” he said as he chuckled.

     I sobbed even harder.  I did not think that I had any more tears inside me after Cloe.  But I realized they were still for Cloe.

     “No, no you must not,” I sobbed into his shoulder.  “Cloe’s dead,” I blurted out.  There was no better time to say it.  I could not wait until we returned to the homestead to say it.  The tears were not just because they were back home.  They were still very much for Cloe as well.

     James held me tighter.  “What happened while we were gone?” he whispered in my ear.  He was shocked.

     ‘Trial for witchcraft,’ I thought to him.

     ‘When did they burn her?’ he thought back to me.

     “Yesterday,” I spoke.  I took a step back from his embrace.  I looked at James.  The tears were in his eyes now, too.  I looked back to where Emy was with Aaron.  I caught her eyes and she nodded.  She had already told Aaron.  James and I walked over to where they stood.

     “Hey, squirt.” Aaron nudged me as he always did.  I managed a smile.  It was good to have them home again.  I just wished we had better news than this to tell on their return.

     “Welcome back, brother,” I nudged him back.

     There was a short silence between the four of us.  Seemed like time stood still for just us while everyone else around us scrambled to unload the ship.  No one bothered us.

     Aaron broke the silence.  “We will load the wagon for you and James to bring home.  We will get another wagon for the rest of what is to go home.  Everything else is for market.”

     “Sounds like a plan, ‘boss’,” James smirked at Aaron.

     ‘Keep your eyes open for anything odd like this morning,’ I heard Emy think to me.

     I nodded to her.  ‘You don’t have to tell me twice,’ I thought back to her.  I was uneasy about what we saw in the wagon bed earlier that day.  Standing here with everyone again, it felt like it was all years behind us already.  I started to feel a little light-headed suddenly.  It felt almost as though someone was trying to get into my thoughts.  I fought it back, hard.  Maybe a little too hard.

     “Why hello there, cousin!”  Tabitha waltzed into the group.

     BAM!  It felt like I got bashed upside the head with a sack full of grain.  I lost control of my balance and I fell over.  I could not tell exactly what happened in those moments because it all went black.  When I came to, I was lying with my head in James’ lap and Emy was waving a small vial of her smelling salts under my nose.

     “What happened?  Are you alright?”  Emy whispered to me as I came to.  “Do not get up right away.  Take a deep breath first.”

     I did as she instructed and after a few moments I was back on my feet.  I noticed Tabitha standing behind everyone else with a grin across her face.

     ‘Thank you so much, cousin.  That was all the information that I needed,’ Tabitha said, entering my thoughts.

     I glared at her.  There was a small crowd to make sure I was alright, but they seemed to be dispersing now.

     ‘What do you mean by that, Tabitha?’  I shot back at her.

     “Oh nothing,” she said aloud.

    Emy turned on her heel, “What did you do to her, Tabitha?  And don’t you be playing all shy and innocent like about it, neither.  I know damn well that smirk of yours means no good!  Cough it up, lady!”  She glared at Tabitha with those words.

     Tabitha looked coyly shocked.  She gasped.  Her hand went up to her chest.  “Why cousin, whatever could you be implying?”  She tilted her head slightly and looked at Emy.  She was far braver with witnesses around.  She knew Emy would never lay a hand on her in any form if others were around.

     Emy walked slowly and collectedly towards Tabitha.  She stopped when she was nose to nose with her.  She leaned over to her ear.

     “I know damn well what you are up to.  You may have gotten rid of Cloe that way.  But rest assured, that by the Gods, I will end it here.  Just remember, you are a witch just like Cloe was.  You have crossed the line, Tabitha.  And for that, you will pay dearly.  I don’t know how yet.  But that outcome lies with the fates, not with me.  I will bow down and clean up the mess you have made for this family.  Just like I always have in the past.  But, just remember, this will be the last time I will do this for you.  Next time, you will be on your own.”  She kissed her cheek and stepped back.  All of the color had drained from Tabitha.  She looked at Emy in disbelief.  Only those of us closest could hear what was said between the two.  The others were too far away, thankfully.

     Tabitha jerked herself back to reality.  She looked at me still trying to get myself together and leaning on James.  There were tears in her eyes.  ‘I am so sorry.  But I had to do it to you.  You were the easiest,’ she thought to me.

     ‘Do what?  Punch me upside the head?’ I snapped back at her mentally.

     She looked like a hurt child being scolded for something wrong.  She knew she did wrong.  But why was the probing question at hand.

     ‘I was told to do it.’ 

     ‘By whom?  Who made you do this, whatever it was?’  I pushed.

     She glanced towards the crowd.  I dared to look in the same direction.  Sure enough, hiding in the shadows, was Orthus.  Hiding was not the right word.  Lurking.  Yes, that son of a bitch who dared call himself a servant of God was lurking in the shadows far away from the crowd, watching us.  He seemed to be enjoying the scene playing out in front of him that he himself had set into motion from the very moment he first set foot into this quiet village.  He was no servant of the same God as us.  No.  Not by far.  From that point I realized he was the one who must be behind all of this.  Emy was right, he must be stopped.

     I looked back over at Tabitha.  ‘Stay away from him, Tabitha.  He will get you killed as well.  None of us are safe from the likes of him.  None of us.’ 

     “I am so sorry,” she said aloud and nodded to me.  “And I am sorry about Cloe’s familiar, too.”  She glanced at her toes.  She took off into the crowd

     “Take me home, James?  I think I need to sit a little bit away from all of these eyes.”  I tugged his arm gently and smiled.

     “Very good.  We shall go as quickly as possible,” James agreed.

     He helped me into the wagon since I was still a little weak in the legs from all that had just occurred.  My head was reeling with all that Tabitha had done and said to me.  As I sat up in the wagon, I caught Emy’s eyes.  I nodded to her.

     ‘He told her to do it.  He has got his grip on her somehow and she cannot back out.  She has made a deal with the devil, Em.  It is not completely her fault.  She has become his instrument to further his agenda.’  I glanced over to where I had seen him last.  He was still lurking there in the shadows.  Was he waiting for one of us to do something?  Did he really hope we were that naïve to do something here with everyone watching?

     Emy nodded.  “He must be stopped or it will never end.”

     After the wagon was loaded, James climbed aboard.  He clicked the horse to get moving.  We sat in silence for the ride.  Did Tabitha have something to do with our finding the wolf this morning?  Did she actually do that deed?  Or does she just know about it?

     “Are you feeling any better?”  James started.  I think he was tired of the silence, and a little worried considering what happened.

     “A little, yes.  Thank you.  I am just trying to piece together what happened the last few days and what Tabitha just said to me earlier.  I fear Emy may be right, and we have a much larger problem on our hands than we first thought.” 

     “I can only imagine.  Especially if Tabitha is involved in any manner.  How so?” he inquired.  He tilted his head with a puzzled look on his face.

     “Well, for starters, I shall be needing your help when we get home.  Do you remember Cloe’s familiar?”  With no one else around, it was a lot easier to be open about everything.  It was good to have him back.  I could bounce my thoughts off him.  He always seemed to know what I needed.

     “The wolf, right?”  He thought hard.  “Yes, I remember.  I recall that I may have tried to shoot it one year and she practically broke my shot gun on me for doing so.  After that I never went after any wolf simply because I didn’t want her to go after my shot gun again.  She was very mad over it.”