Chapter 11
Maggie returned to the Council in the morning. She sat in a small waiting room next to the larger room she’d been in the day before listening to muffled voices, thumps and thuds for quite some time, all coming from the room next door.
What are they doing in there? she wondered.
Melusina had greeted her at the door and ushered her into the room she now occupied without a word.
She understood that she was to stay there until they came to retrieve her.
Other than the chair she was seated in, the room was empty.
The walls were painted black as was the ceiling.
It felt like she was sitting in a hole. A creepy hole at that.
The sensation that she wasn’t alone was too much to take and Maggie abruptly stood and walked out of the room.
She knew she shouldn’t, but she was going to find out what the heck was going on.
She opened the door to the room she thought she’d been in the day before only to find it had been completely redecorated. New desks, new rugs, new curtains and no witches. She spun around trying to locate them, but they weren’t there.
“Hello!” Maggie called into the empty room.
“We’re here,” Melusina’s voice came to her.
“Where?” Maggie asked, turning her head this way and that searching for them.
“Here,” Daire said.
“I cannae see ye,” Maggie said.
“Yer no’ supposed to see us,” Mardella said.
“I’m confused.”
“We were working on a spell to counteract the one Evanore is using. We can no’ undo her spell, but we can use one of our own to make the house visible to everyone.”
“Oh,” Maggie said. She was happy to hear they had been working on it. “Does it work?” She was anxious to know.
“We’re no’ quite there yet. We’ve made ourselves invisible, but…”
“We’re working on the spell that will make us reappear.”
This was worrisome. If they couldn’t find a spell to bring themselves back Maggie was concerned about their ability to help her aunt.
A bright light flashed and there they were. All three were looking a bit disheveled, but there. Maggie was relieved to see them.
“That worked,” Daire said.
“We’ll use that one then,” Melusina added. “Mardella what do ye think?”
“This should do the trick. Some good magic to outdo the bad.” She brushed her hands as if cleaning them off.
Melusina abruptly stopped what she was doing as she spotted Maggie. “I thought we told ye to wait in the other room,” she scolded.
“Ye did, but I heard all the noise in here and I was curious.” Maggie’s lips barely formed a smile as a pink tinge crept across her cheeks. “Sorry.”
Mardella didn’t seem to be angry as she took on an almost motherly tone. “Curiosity is a good thing in a witch and a bad thing in a witch.”
“I guess I’m just a bit impatient.” Maggie was worried they might not be finished with the spell and that it might take much longer for them to get to Edna. “I want to help me aunt and everything seems to be taking so long.”
“We understand.” Mardella held out her hand, encouraging Maggie to take it. “Are ye ready to go back?”
“Aye.” Something about the warmth Maggie was feeling from Mardella put her at ease.
“Alright then. Come stand here with us.”
Maggie began to follow Mardella before stopping short to look around. “Wait, why did ye redecorate this room? It looks so different.”
“We hadn’t planned on it.” Melusina giggled and glanced around the room
Mardella joined in on the laughter. “One of the spells we were trying out backfired.”
“I like it.” Daire’s chin was held high and she had a proud gleam in her eyes as she grinned knowingly. “I think we’ll keep it. Now come along lass. We doona have all day.”
Maggie approached the witches as they formed a circle. They all joined hands. The three witches muttered something over and over in unison. It was barely audible and in a language Maggie didn’t understand. She realized in that moment that she had so much more to learn about being a witch.
“Close yer eyes, lass,” Melusina ordered.
Maggie did as she was told and waited. The room vibrated with energy. The floor moved beneath her feet and when it stopped she wondered what she might see.
“Ye can open those eyes now,” Mardella said.
She opened them. They’d somehow been transported to the bridge. She wanted to know how they’d done it, but that could wait. They had Edna to save.
***
Angus was losing hope of ever seeing his wife again.
His compatriots were also visibly worried.
Cailin was pacing non-stop, Cormac repeatedly tossed his dirk at a nearby tree, Logan sat very still with his head in his hands.
Richard and Latharn talked in whispers on the outer edge of the fire ring.
Angus understood how they felt - useless.
All of them were used to solving problems, fighting when necessary and always being in control.
This situation was humbling to say the least.
Angus walked to the bridge and leaned on the stone wall. Gazing into the river, he was taken aback when the wind around him began to whip and a loud whirring noise filled the air. He turned and stood back as he watched the air in front of him shimmer with an almost liquid appearance.
“What is it?” Robert called to him.
The men were on their feet and standing by Angus when Maggie and three women appeared.
“Maggie!” Angus ran to her, gathering her up in his arms. “Yer here!” Relief swept through him as he held her.
“I am. I’ve brought help.” She turned to the three women and introduced them. “This is Melusina, Mardella and Daire. They are from the Council of Witches and they are here to help.”
Excitement moved through the group as they waited to hear what the Council had to say.
“So many men,” Melusina said. “Are ye all without yer wives?”
“No’ all, but a good many of us.” Angus answered. He introduced the men near him and ended by introducing Robert. “This is Robert Mackenzie, laird of Breaghacraig. His wife is from this time, so she is safely at home.” The witches bobbed their heads in unison as each introduction was made.
“And who is this?” Mardella asked, pointing to Lena.
“This is me daughter, Lena. Edna is her mother. We hope to keep her safely here with her husband, Ewan.” Angus motioned him over to stand with his wife.
“As I’ve explained to the lass here, we can no’ undo what Evanore has done.”
A pang of disappointment and anxiety hit Angus in the gut.
Melusina seemed to understand what he was feeling and so she quickly added, “But we can use magic of our own to produce the hidden house.”
“Is it nearby?” Cailin asked.
“Aye,” Maggie said. “It should be right here, somewhere.” Her arms spread wide as she indicated the area.
They all glanced around as if they expected to be able to find the house they’d been unable to see to this point.
“The whole time Edna’s been so close and yet it feels as if she has disappeared completely,” Angus shook his head in disbelief. “When will ye do it?”
“Do what?” Daire asked.
“Make the house appear.” Angus furrowed his brown with concern and looked to Maggie for help.
“Uncle, doona worry. They’re going to get the house to appear and then hopefully we can coax Evanore out to explain herself.”
“What of yer aunt? Will she come out?” Angus asked.
“We’ll have to see what happens,” Melusina said.
Angus didn’t care for that response. “What kind of witches are ye? If me Edna were here she’d ken exactly what to do.”
“Well, she’s no’ here now, is she?” Melusina stuck her nose in the air and turned away from Angus, making a show of surveying the area.
“Uncle, be patient. All will be well.” Maggie took hold of his hand and looked him in the eye. “Ye believe me, doona ye?”
A sad smile appeared. “Aye. I do.” He was proud of her and what she’d accomplished. Maggie was capable of doing more with one of her spells than all of the assembled warriors combined. He put his complete trust in her.
“We’ll need some time and some space, so if ye’ll all go back to the fire and wait, we’ll get to work.”
Exchanging skeptical glances, they moved away. Angus sat in a position that allowed him to see what they were doing as they worked.
The three from the Council stood huddled in a circle where they whispered to each other, sometimes nodding their heads and sometimes shaking them. They broke the circle and Daire held out an arm inviting Maggie to join them. She hurried to do so.
Again they huddled and whispered before breaking into a line, facing away from the camp area.
They raised their arms in the air and in commanding voices began an incantation.
Or at least that’s what Angus thought it must be.
They repeated the words he could not understand over and over again.
Slowly he began to see something emerging.
It started at the ground and brick by brick it seemed to grow and then row by row until an entire house appeared.
The women lowered their arms, applauded and turned to each other with bright eyes and wide grins. Angus could tell they were happy with the results and that maybe they hadn’t been so sure their spell would work. He hoped it was the right house they had conjured up.
“Shall we?” Melusina motioned to the women as they all headed to the door of the house intent on going in.
***
“There’s someone at the door,” Evanore said, eyeing Edna from across the dining room table where they were silently eating breakfast.
“Ye should answer it then.” Edna’s somewhat snarky response came with the knowledge that whoever was at the door was someone who knew how to find the invisible house.
Evanore appeared uncomfortable and unsure of herself, which put a smile on Edna’s face. It was obvious Evanore wasn’t expecting anyone. She set her napkin on the table and pushing back, rose from her chair. She glanced suspiciously at Edna, who merely shrugged.
A spark of hope grew inside of Edna as Evanore opened the door a crack and then shrank back away from it.