Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
RUE
Yet again the coven was assembled in our attic and we finally had everything in place to cast this spell once and for all. The tension was palpable. Each of us had cast a protection spell over herself. I wiped my palms on my skirt then held hands with Clarice and Iris.
This needed to work. We had to rid the house of any dark forces that might be working against the coven to give my mother the best chance of helping us.
I looked across the circle at my grandmother, then my aunt, to gauge what they were thinking, but both stared down at the black candle in the silver holder, its flame upright in the still room.
Next to it was a small mirror, tilted to reflect the energy of the black mass on the wall behind me.
I needed to dismiss my fears that this might not work, and concentrate as they were doing.
This thing affected me more than anyone else and even though the strain of the past few weeks had exhausted me and thus lessened my powers, I had to give this spell every ounce of energy I still possessed.
I thought of Theo and his attempt to help us. He had no idea about this. I wondered what he might think if he knew what really went on in this house. If he thought practising witchcraft was dangerous, how would he react to seeing a circle of witches?
The women began chanting. Concentrating on the chant and our purpose to rid the house of malice, I joined in.
‘By the light of this candle and powers of the flame,
Dark forces be banished to whence you came,
Take your evil and set this house free,
Never to return, so mote it be.’
We repeated the chant over and over, and as I spoke I willed us to be rid of the evil intent invading our lives more each day.
I was vaguely aware of the wind picking up, then the light dimmed.
The sun must have slipped behind clouds.
The air cooled around us and a chill wafted across my neck.
Something was amiss, but what? Was this change in the attic’s atmosphere due to the threatening energy we were attempting to banish preparing to leave? I hoped so.
Encouraged, and desperate for the spell to work, I intensified my efforts, feeling the women clasping my hands tighter as I did theirs.
I heard whispering. Clarice’s hand gripped mine even tighter, but I wasn’t sure why. Then I detected the unmistakable scent of roses and lavender wafting into the room and my memory transported me back in time to lying on my mother’s bed as she brushed her hair at her dressing table.
I heard a gasp. It was my aunt. I opened my eyes without thinking.
My breath caught in my throat. An apparition floated several inches above the floorboards in the middle of our circle.
It was faint but wore what looked like a chemise and was without doubt a woman.
I would have let go of Clarice and Iris’s hands but they kept hold of mine, so as not to break the circle.
‘Martha?’ My grandmother’s voice was barely above a whisper and filled with emotion.
The vision in front of me wavered, and for a moment I expected her to disappear.
My mother was in front of me. My eyes clouded briefly and my legs threatened to give way.
Horrified at the thought of fainting, I tensed and pressed my lips together, forcing myself to be strong.
If this was indeed my mother I had no intention of missing anything she would share with us.
A small cry escaped my grandmother’s lips.
I looked at her, willing her too to be strong, though in fact she was the most powerful woman I had ever known, both in her witchcraft and in her determination to bring me up to become the woman she believed my mother would have wanted me to be.
But this was her much-missed daughter, and I understood why her eyes brimmed with unshed tears.
I felt her pain and, at the same time, joy that my mother was with us in some form.
My mother pointed at me. Her mouth moved but I couldn’t hear what she was saying. I struggled to think what to do.
‘Tell us what you need us to hear, Martha,’ my grandmother pleaded. ‘Take your time.’
I listened, willing my mother’s spirit to find the strength to speak. Again I saw her mouth move but there was no sound.
Come on, I willed, wishing I could help her.
Her mouth moved again, and just when I was about to cry with frustration, I heard my name.
‘Rue.’ She was silent, then spoke again. ‘Rue. Danger follows you. Do not to trust those who will let you down.’
I wasn’t sure what she meant. ‘Mama, who should I be wary of?’
She didn’t seem to hear. ‘Beware of false promises. Be strong. Don’t let him do to you what he did to me.’
She meant the Witchfinder. I hoped she knew I would never trust that man, so I assumed she must mean someone else. But who? Theo? No, not him; I was already watching him for signs of betrayal.
I tried to think of someone else but, apart from the person who had made the accusation against me, Theo seemed to be the only person I didn’t know well enough to trust. My heart ached as it dawned on me that my feelings for him had changed and I had begun to care for him.
I focused on my mother again, not wanting to miss a moment. Could she mean my father? Surely not.
‘Ask her about the mould,’ my aunt whispered.
‘Mama, did you cause the creeping mould to gain our attention so we might cast this spell?’
There was a breath that filled the air, more like a heavy sigh of relief. I knew instantly that’s what she had done.
‘You opened the way for me to come to you,’ she said. ‘I love you, my darling girl, and I’m proud of the woman you’ve become.’
She seemed less visible but that could have been because my eyes were filling with tears. I squeezed them shut to release them, sensing we were losing her again.
‘Please don’t go yet,’ I begged, trying to pull my hands from the other women’s.
‘No,’ Iris said. ‘Don’t break the circle.’
I wanted to hold my mother even though I knew she was only with us in spirit form. There was so much I needed to ask her, needed to share with her.
She reached out her arms to me and a smile lit her face. ‘I’ll be waiting for you when it’s your time,’ she promised, making me wonder if she knew that the investigation would end with my execution. ‘Never forget, I love you.’
‘I love you too, Mama,’ I said, my voice breaking as I began to sob.
‘Rue.’
I squeezed my eyelids closed again to force away tears and see her clearly, but when I opened them she was barely there.
‘My girl.’ Her voice was so delicate, a part of me wondered whether I had imagined it.
And then she was gone.