Chapter 14

The meeting house parking lot was packed. Cars, bikes and minivans - lots and lots of minivans.

"How many witches are in the coven?"

"At least a hundred," Tilda said as she pulled into a parking spot.

My jaw dropped. "A hundred. I thought covens were only about a dozen or so."

"Covens aren't limited in numbers. You move into an area and join a coven. It would be painful if they were limited in the numbers they could accept. Walker Bay isn't a huge town, but we've still got a decent number of witches. If you could only have a dozen in each coven, that would make a lot of small covens. It's bad enough that Walker Bay has two."

"How big is the other one?" I asked, unable to stifle my curiosity.

"They've got about forty."

"So, this one is more powerful?" I murmured.

"Yes and no," Tilda replied. "We could be more powerful if we wanted, especially politically, but Flora has always encouraged the coven to be more focused on the wellbeing of its members rather than political power. Flora has always emphasized that our true power comes from our bonds with the community and our families."

That explained the ridiculous number of minivans.

As I undid the seatbelt I turned to Tilda. "Okay, I'm going to need a quick rundown on the politics of this world before I walk in there or I'm going to say the wrong thing."

Tilda drew in a breath. "Alright. Politics in the paranormal world in five minutes or less. I can do this." Tilda cracked her neck from side to side. "There are three levels of politics. First level is the local covens. They deal with internal issues and disputes, and in some cases are part of the Town Council. Second level. All coven's answer to the Conclave. They are the equivalent of a federal body, but they cover the whole world. They only have jurisdiction over witches. They administer laws specifically attributable to witches. They make sure covens don't get out of control with power." Tilda peered around the car as if ensuring nobody could hear her. "Our coven is nice and friendly. We play well with the other paranormals in town. Flora is even on the Town Council to ensure harmony between the different races. Not all covens are like that and the Conclave keeps an eye on those things. They are also the ultimate arbiters for disputes between and within covens that can't be resolved at the local level." Tilda paused as if wondering what to say next. "Collette Harstone petitioned the Conclave to overturn Flora's appointment as coven leader."

"It obviously didn't work," I murmured.

"It would take a brave Conclave to overturn the prophecy of a Seer. That being said, I've heard rumors that it was a close decision."

"Why would it be close? I thought the Seer's word was law."

Tilda sighed. "As much as Flora shuns the politics of our world, Collette revels in it, and I've heard she is a master at the game."

The more I heard about my family, the less impressed I was with them.

"The final level is the Assembly. They consist of representatives from all the paranormal races. They are the ultimate power in the paranormal world. They also manage relations with the human world."

"What do you mean by that?" I had a feeling I wasn't going to like the answer to that question.

"It wasn't that long ago that just the accusation of being a witch meant a brutal death," Tilda said softly. "Not many paranormals are trusting that humans would react well if they knew about us. The Assembly ensures they don't."

"I'm reacting okay."

Tilda smiled. "You're also coping quite admirably with the fact you were kidnapped. I figure you're compartmentalizing, and I don't want to be anywhere within your vicinity when it all finally hits you. I'm assuming there is a meltdown in your future of epic proportions."

She was probably right.

Tilda put her hand on my arm. "Are you ready to do this?"

"What am I going to do? I'm not supposed to do a speech or anything, am I?" I really hoped not. Speaking in public was not one of my strengths.

"No," said Tilda. "Definitely not. You need to stay in the background as much as possible. For now, we want to keep your relationship with Flora a secret. There is a possibility that not everyone in the coven broke ties with the rest of the Harstone family when they left. Finding out Collette's granddaughter is here could add another wrinkle into what is already a complicated situation."

That sounded like something I could do very well. Fortunately, the meeting hall was large enough that I was able to find an out of the way nook very quickly. Maude came and stood next to me with her hand on my shoulder as various people streamed into the hall. It didn't take me long to realize that her sole reason for being there was to ensure that my presence wasn't questioned. When it was time for the meeting to start, Tilda took her place and pulled up a chair next to mine.

Maude stood at the front of the room with Isobel a formidable presence at her side.

"We have gathered you today to bring grave news. Flora has become the victim of a curse."

Of course, the room erupted. There was no other way that the coven was going to respond calmly to that kind of news.

The noise carried on until Isobel let out an ear-splitting whistle.

When the room quietened down Maude continued. "We realize how distressing this is for everyone, but this is not the time for outrage. We will find whoever did this and exact justice after we break the curse."

Two people rose from their chairs in the center of the meeting hall. The woman looked older than any of the other people in the room, and she was supported by a younger man who looked to be in his sixties.

"Curses are unable to be broken. Every one of us knows that. There is nothing that can be done for Flora. We need to put our energy into finding who did this and stopping them from ever doing it again."

"No." Isobel's voice rang loudly through the hall. "Flora is our leader; we will not abandon her now."

Maude raised her hands. "We need to do both," she said simply. "If we can find who cast this curse, we may be able to get them to recant it. If we can find a way to break the curse, we will be able to track down whoever set it."

I peered out over the crowd. If you didn't know that they were witches, it would have looked like any town hall meeting. Regardless of their age or gender, they all had the same horrified look on their face. Some of the younger ones were determined, while the older ones seemed to have expressions of defeat on their faces.

"They don't think it can be broken, do they?"

I could see tears glittering in Tilda's eyes. "Curses are not broken. It is one of the facts of life for us. When you're young you think that there must be a way, there is no room for absolutes." She took in a shaky breath. "But the older ones know. They have experience on their side."

A wave of hopelessness swept through me. I barely knew Flora, but I could tell that what had happened to her would scar this group for a very long time.

"We believed we had a lead this morning and went to speak to Helen Napier," Maude continued. "Helen was murdered."

Another gasp ran through the crowd. I wasn't sure how much more they could take.

"There were symbols written around the body. We need help trying to determine what those symbols mean." Maude paused. "I am about to show you photos of the murder scene. We would prefer if you stayed to help, but I understand anyone wanting to leave at this stage."

There was silence in the room, and I was gratified to see that nobody left the hall. If we had any chance of doing this, we all had to work together.

Maude looked up on the screen as the first of the images was projected onto it. During the day I had managed to manipulate the photos of the murder scene enough to blur the truly horrific parts and make them more acceptable for a wider audience, but seeing it broadcast on a large screen on the wall brought back my memories of the morning. From the color of Tilda's face, I could see the same thing was happening to her.

"We have reason to believe Helen may have had some knowledge of the curse. We need to know what the symbols mean."

The noise level in the room seemed to rise as people started talking among themselves.

"Has anyone seen these symbols before?" Isobel asked, her voice reaching over the noise.

We looked at the crowd expectantly. Not one hand went up, not one voice was raised. I felt a sick knot in my stomach. I had hoped that someone would be able to at least point us in the right direction.

Maude sighed. "We need every one of you to go through your grimoires and see if you can find out what these symbols mean. We also need to know if anyone has books on curses or how to break a curse."

There was a swift intake of breath.

"It may be the only chance Flora has."

Once again, the room erupted as members of the audience stood up and surged towards Maude and Isobel. Some stalked out of the meeting hall, their shoulders held stiff in anger, while others drew together in clusters.

"What just happened?" I muttered to Tilda.

"Any books to do with curses are banned, but some people may have them as family heirlooms, passed on from generation to generation. Kind of like unregistered firearms people have because some ancestor brought it home from the war. Grandma just asked people to turn themselves in for hiding contraband in an attempt to save Flora. Now they have to decide what is more important to them."

"What do you think will happen?" I asked.

"I want someone to find something and turn it into us so we can save Flora."

I raised an eyebrow. "You really think that's a possibility?"

I didn't like the defeated look on Tilda's face. "I think people are self-interested. I wouldn't be surprised if someone has the answers but chooses not to share them because they don't want to get in trouble."

I looked over the remaining groups of people in the meeting hall and heard the arguments. At a time when everyone should be pulling together, they seemed to be tearing each other apart. Even among the paranormal it seemed that human nature held sway.