 
### The Witch Box

Laura A. Ellison

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2013

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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Books written by Laura A. Ellison can be obtained through select, online book retailers.

### Part I–The Plant
### Chapter One

" _The Five of Swords is the worst card in the Tarot Deck," Elizabeth said._

She held her toddler son in her arms, the card between her fingers. "The sacrifice won't be worth it."

" _Are you having doubts, Liz?" Alice asked._

The seven women had gathered at the old Curtis property, the crumbling Victorian farmhouse close by.

" _We are no longer five, but seven," Rebecca said. "Seven of Swords is a positive card."_

Ruth, Lois, Marilyn, and Bonnie used hoes and shovels to create the pentagram, a five-sided star enclosed in a circle. The sun had set. Torches surrounded them in the clearing, only yards from the overgrown fields, where fruit and corn once grew, when the Curtis family was rich.

Liz dropped the card to the ground. "We have time."

" _No. We don't," Alice replied. "Nothing has grown for over a year. No rain. Just like the Dust Bowl, but no tornados. A slow death."_

" _He's your son, Alice!"_

" _He won't make it to ten years old."_

" _Harvester won't accept him, Davey isn't well."_

" _What other option do we have?" Rebecca asked._

Liz glared at the tall, strong woman. Her dark hair was streaked with gray, cut in a pageboy. She was already wearing her white gown. She wore no jewelry or makeup.

" _Mother," Liz said, "I am grateful for Joshua, you brought him to me, but—"_

" _Please," Alice said, "no more arguing. Harvester has guided us; he promised the rain would come."_

" _How do you expect to get away with this?" Liz asked._

Joshua, no older than three, had been set down on the ground by Liz. He knew all of these women. He wandered over to where they were digging, shaping the pentagram in the dirt. The September night was warm. He saw a plaid blanket laid out on the weeds. Ruth, a long lock of red hair hanging over her eye as she straightened herself, gave the boy a warm smile.

" _Do I sing tonight?" he asked._

Ruth shook her head. "Not tonight, honey."

" _Where's Davey?"_

" _He's asleep."_

The boy looked down at the fancy glass platter and the five swords; the long, thick blades shined from the torchlight.

" _Let's go," Liz said._

He turned around and looked up at his mother.

" _You can stay," Rebecca said. "We could always use another witness..."_

" _Not with Joshua. Besides, I would think six witnesses are enough for the murder of a child."_

" _Just wait for the rain to come."_

Liz looked over at her friends, laboring for Rebecca and Alice. She was responsible for all of this; her devotion to Harvester had inspired these women, making them feel powerful, having control over their lives, to be able to make their own abundance.

The women started to change into their white gowns, covering their clothes. The digging was complete, the circle was perfect. Five of the women grabbed a sword and stood at each point in the five-sided star. They raised their blades, creating a star within the star, an open space in the middle.

Liz took her son by the hand. "Where did you put Davey, Alice?"

" _He's waiting in the corn, sleeping."_

" _You drugged him?"_

" _He'll be able to stand."_

Joshua could see that his mother was upset; her cheeks were flushed, tears in her eyes. "Are you really going to do this?"

" _You still believe, don't you, Liz?"_

" _Yes. But Harvester would never—"_

" _This is how Harvester came to be. He was also a sacrifice."_

Liz turned herself and Joshua around, walking fast.

" _I understand," Alice said. "But will Harvester? He favors you most."_

Liz led her son out of the clearing, back to the dirt driveway of the Curtis house. She looked up at the old place and shuddered. She would love to watch it burn someday.

" _Is Davey going to sing?" her son asked._

" _No. Davey is going to sleep for a long time. Then it will rain."_

" _We need rain, Mommy."_

Joshua sat on the edge of the bed, waiting to go home. He had come to the hospital emergency room with nothing, but left with a full suitcase.

He had spent almost two weeks at Falls River Hospital. He did not remember the ambulance ride or the raging fever. Viral meningitis. He had never been so sick in his life, even with the diabetes.

Dr. Warner had concluded his final check-up. Joshua's eyes and head still ached a bit during the day. He had been given a series of tests, but the doctors could only attribute his memory loss to the fever and the spike in his blood sugar during his illness. Nothing else had been affected, although he still felt a bit weak.

"Joshua Hildebrand?"

He looked to the open door, and a tall, heavy old woman in a white sweater and black pants entered. Her thin white hair was cut short. She wore a volunteer tag, pinned above her breast. She seemed familiar.

Her blue eyes crinkled when she smiled, her bottom teeth crooked. She looked to be in her seventies, maybe older. "I hear you're going home."

"Yes. I'm a lot better."

"Good. You're a young man, you can bounce back. Someone my age would not be so lucky." She raised her hand, a small box in her palm. "This is for you."

Joshua took the box. He lifted the lid, finding a crystal in the shape of a small blade, attached to a chain.

"It wards off illness, promotes healing," she said. "My people were Celts, we believe in these things..."

Joshua nodded. He didn't want to be impolite, so he pulled the chain from the box and put the necklace on, the long chain going over his head, the clear stone resting at his chest.

The old woman chuckled. "You humor me, but I like it. Wear the crystal for a day or two, see if it helps."

"Will it make my diabetes go away, too?"

She shrugged, her eyebrows raised. In that moment, she did remind him of someone. "Maybe help control it. But you have to believe you can be healed. We have more power to heal ourselves than we think we do, most people just don't know how to...access it." She looked down at his suitcase. "I'll bet you're glad to get home to your friends. School starts soon."

"I graduated last June. I turned eighteen...in July. July ninth. Yeah, my birthday is July ninth."

"You're a Cancer."

"Moody."

She grinned and nodded. "My late husband was a Cancer."

"What's your name, ma'am?"

She glanced at the watch on her wrist. "I gotta go. Good luck, son."

She walked out of the room, her stride a bit stiff. Her white sneakers looked worn. Joshua figured she was a bit deaf and didn't catch his question about her name.

Joshua looked down at the crystal. When he held the smooth stone in his hand, he could feel a warm sensation against his skin. He decided to slip the crystal underneath his shirt, not ready to explain the gift to his father and stepmother.

The old woman was overwhelmed by Falls River Hospital, part of a sprawling healthcare campus that included a cancer center and a nursing home. Medical buildings surrounded the area, along with the downtown Falls River State University close by. All of the traffic and crowds made her anxious. She liked living in the country; she craved the peace and quiet, being close to the natural world.

She pulled the stolen volunteer tag from her sweater, dropping it in a corner trash bin before getting on the elevator. She looked around her, hoping Joshua's father would not bump into her.

The elevator took her to the underground parking garage. She could hear the noise of the city as soon as she stepped out. The day was warm, but she would walk to the McDonald's around the corner before getting a cab to take her to the bus station.

She had no intention of staying in Falls River another day.

Max Hildebrand and his wife Brenda parked Max's SUV in the underground garage just minutes before the old woman left the elevator. All Max and Brenda saw was her back as she exited from the garage to the sidewalk.

Max was in his late forties, a ball player's build going to fat. He had taken some hits in high school football and in the military, his looks becoming more rugged with age. His bright brown eyes conveyed a warmth and intelligence, his smooth voice giving him a calm demeanor. He walked slowly due to an old knee injury.

Brenda, ten years younger than her husband, was a petite, buxom redhead with fair skin and freckles. She had a nervous energy that kept her thin. Her gentle demeanor hid a perfectionism and drive. She had been a pageant girl, her trophies and ribbons now kept in the bedroom closet, the scholarship money sending her to college for a few years.

Brenda had been Max's second wife, but no one at the plant or at home mentioned Brenda's secondary status, because they all knew competing with the memory of Elizabeth was futile, including Brenda.

The old woman walked down the busy street at the sidewalk. The time was around five and drivers were returning home from work. She looked up at the clear blue sky.

She was past the hospital, just steps from a McDonald's. She could smell French fries and coffee as she came closer. At an outside table, a little girl was playing with a small plastic monkey with cymbals in each hand, the monkey clapped the cymbals together, making a hollow noise.

The woman heard a whisper in her ear, then she heard music. As the melody came in stronger, she identified the tune she had composed by ear on her piano over fifty years ago, but the notes were being hummed by another voice, a female.

She hadn't played piano in years, too much arthritis in her fingers. She looked down at her hands, caught in a distant memory. She began to move her fingers on invisible keys, as she heard the humming.

The little girl at the table noticed what the old woman was doing, her fingers playing an imaginary piano. The woman's eyes were closed, and she hummed to herself, "...da...da...dada...da...da..."

The girl left the table, toy in hand. Others had noticed the woman, but were too busy or occupied to care. As the child approached, the flip-flops on her feet clapped against the pavement. The woman opened her eyes.

The child dropped her toy and screamed.

The woman felt a warm wetness on her cheeks. Had she been crying? She looked down at her arms and hands, still in a playing position. She didn't recognize the fingers; gnarled bumps, age spots, the nails kept short.

The girl had ran back to her mother, who grabbed her cell phone to call 9-1-1.

The woman started to feel dizzy. She touched her cheek, seeing the blood on her fingers. She doubled over, a spray of blood rushing from her mouth and nose. As she collapsed, the whispering, the voices, came in closer and closer, shutting out the sound of the people on the street. She knew these voices; the friends she had ran away from after the fire, when Elizabeth had burned. They all got what they thought they wanted, but Elizabeth was willing to pay the price. They all knew she wouldn't be the last; time would make them all accountable.

"I see you're packed," Brenda said. "Colbie would have come with us, but she felt too tired for the drive."

"Josh," Max said, "we need to tell you something about Colbie..."

"Colbie?" Joshua asked.

Max sighed and Brenda looked away. Joshua, still sitting at the bed, looked from his father to his stepmother.

Max began. "Colbie—"

"She's pregnant. You told me."

"Right. Well, she's moved in with us. We figure it will be easier that way. She's due in December."

Joshua had already been told that Colbie was his girlfriend, although he could not recall what she looked like or ever having dated her. He wished Dad had brought a photo.

He did not remember his parents at first, but he soon began to recognize them. Brenda brought him a puzzle book that included memory games. Dr. Warner considered the memory loss short-term, but Joshua would need plenty of rest to recover from the virus. Joshua's fever had been dangerously high, along with the spikes in his blood sugar.

Joshua also could not recall the stiff neck and blinding headache before the fever set in, when the ambulance brought him to the emergency room. He spent almost two weeks in bed, semi-conscious the first three days, raging with fever while getting one IV after another, wearing a catheter. He felt like he was dying. He was given painkillers, his dreams fast and frightening. He tried to get out of bed; the nurses had to restrain him on the second night. Later, a nurse told him that he had been screaming for his mother, he said she was burning in the fire.

Elizabeth. Another face he couldn't recall.

"Being at home will help you with your memory," Brenda said. "Familiar surroundings, all of your stuff..."

"Let's get going before traffic gets any worse," Max said. "Do you think you need a wheelchair, Josh?"

"No. I feel fine." He got up from the bed and felt the crystal against his skin. The stone felt very cold, like ice. He pulled the chain up from under his shirt.

"Where did you get that?" Brenda asked.

"Some old lady volunteer gave it to me. Said it would help me heal."

Brenda looked to Max, who was now holding Joshua's suitcase by the handle. She said, "I didn't know healing crystals were being given out in hospitals as treatment."

Joshua shrugged. "She was nice."

Max eased his SUV out of the hospital parking garage. He turned a left, stopping at a traffic light in the intersection by the McDonald's. The three of them saw a human figure wrapped in a blanket from head to toe, being pushed in a gurney through the back doors of an ambulance. A crowd was staring.

"Funny how someone can die right next to a hospital," Max said.

"Probably a stroke or a heart attack," Brenda said. "Someone can be here today, gone tomorrow."

Joshua placed his fingers on the crystal, now warm. He did not tell them how icy the stone had become, because he wanted to keep wearing it. For some reason, he felt as if the old woman knew him.

### Chapter Two

Joshua ran his fingers through his light brown hair, curly and thick. He checked his skin in the bathroom mirror. He was still pale, but his brown eyes were bright. He had lost weight, which made him look even less filled out for his age. His face had an angular look, his upper lip more prominent than the bottom. His ears were small and close to his head. In jeans and a T-shirt, he could disappear in a crowd of teenagers. However, he did recognize his home, a remodeled farmhouse, Joshua's bathroom across the hall from his upstairs bedroom.

He had no recollection of school. His friends, graduation, meeting Colbie, were nonexistent in his mind. He still had some of his school books around, but no graduation pictures or gown. He owned a game system and TV in his room, along with a PC and a smart phone. He even had an iPad but, on inspection, didn't seem to use it much.

He was checking his phone when it rang in his hand, a picture of a cute, dark-haired girl appearing on the screen.

ANNA

He answered. "Hello?"

"Hey, Josh. Are you home now?"

"Yeah."

She was silent for a moment. "Is Colbie there?"

"No. Brenda says she's at her grandma's house."

"Really? I heard she's all settled in at your place. I wasn't expecting _that_..."

"No?"

"I'm glad you're getting better. We were all worried here at the plant. The crew all got together and signed a card for you."

"I got it. Tell 'em I said thanks."

"Are you coming back to work?" she asked.

"As soon as I can."

By the time they ended their conversation, Josh still couldn't completely recall Anna.

"Josh! I'm back!"

He heard footsteps up the stairs, then down the hall.

Colbie entered his room. She was wearing a loose T-shirt and knee-length shorts, worn sandals on her feet. At five months pregnant, her baby bump was shaped like a melon. When Josh looked up, he saw a girl with hair so blonde, it was almost white. Her eyebrows were dark, her skin tan. A splash of freckles over a small nose. Pale lashes surrounded green eyes. She was striking, her height making her look older than seventeen.

Josh realized that this was the mother of his unborn child. He had sex with her at least once, but did not feel any infatuation, his heart was still. When he looked at this blonde girl, he saw nothing more.

She gave him a warm smile and he noticed her dimples. "Sorry I didn't come to visit, but I hate hospitals. And then I needed to get some things from the trailer. I had no room for a nursery there. Brenda said I can use the guest room. She's going to help me paint. I'll show you the ultrasound pictures at dinner."

Joshua nodded. "Boy or a girl?"

"A boy. Haven't come up with a name yet. You think of anything?"

"Um...no."

"Well, you were too sick. How's your blood sugar?"

"Fine. I've checked twice already."

"Are you hungry?"

"I've already eaten. I'm fine."

"Did Brenda tell you about me going back to school? I'm a senior this year. Of course, the baby will be here by graduation, but Brenda said she would babysit while I'm at school."

"What about your grandma?"

"She's too old to look after a baby. Besides, I'll be living here, so it's convenient."

"Right."

Colbie's gaze drifted down to the crystal around Joshua's neck. She came closer, pointing at the stone. "Did you buy that?"

"No. It was a gift." Joshua's fingers enveloped the stone, but it remained cool on his skin.

Colbie nodded, her eyes still on the crystal. "Who gave it to you?"

"A volunteer at the hospital."

"I like it." She opened her mouth and yawned. "I'm going to take a nap before dinner."

"The suits from Falls River visited the plant today," Max said. "They're sending some of their guys over to see how we do things."

"Probably not any different than how they do things," Brenda said.

"Great Lakes Packaging is a bigger place," Max said. "Mostly men work there. Not like our little shop."

They had finished dinner, Max and Brenda at the ends of the table. Joshua and Colbie sat across from each other.

"Bonnie and the rest of them are all nervous about the merger," Brenda said. "I don't know why when they're so close to retirement. Bonnie is almost seventy. So are Ruth and Leo. The rest will be gone in five years."

Max took a sip of his coffee, the cup bearing 'Max Packaging' and 'Fruit Ridge County, Michigan.' "The plant is the only full-time employer within twenty miles. If the workers from Great Lakes can't commute, they can quit. I'll go recruit at the high school. Isn't that right, Colbie?"

She nodded. "Better than working at McDonald's."

She left the table, deciding to go outside through the back door. She walked down the trail into the woods behind the house, past the sun porch and the white gazebo. The leaves on the trees were starting to change color, bits of orange and yellow in the green.

The summer had been very hot; Colbie was looking forward to cooler days. She looked down at her round belly. She could not miss how Joshua was responding to her, no different than before he got sick.

I'm sure he's already spoken to Anna, she thought. She'll talk shit about me the first chance she gets.

Colbie was the type that seemed bubbly and confident, even cocky, on the outside but she was very different when alone. She knew she was in deep, had been since before she became pregnant. Leo and Ruth, her grandparents, had tried to warn her, but she didn't listen.

Everything is different now, she thought. We all have to be careful so Josh won't find out until after the baby is born. Anna better keep her mouth shut.

Colbie heard something move at her side. A cat, white with black and gray spots, brushed against her leg, then ran to the trees. The animal stared at her for a moment then ran off.

Colbie felt lonely and bored. She was glad to be going back to school, even if she had to deal with some ridicule, thought of as the dumb girl who got pregnant by her boyfriend.

She would try to stay silent. Colbie wondered if she could get sick, too. She could die, the baby lost. Colbie knew she had a responsibility, to help complete what was put in motion months ago.

_I agreed to this, and I can't back out now_.

She turned around, heading for the house.

### Chapter Three

Joshua awakened early to go to the plant with his father. His headache and the pain in his eyes and neck had subsided in the night, but he took two aspirin before leaving the house.

He had taken off the crystal when he went to bed. He left the chain on his dresser. He slept on and off, but no disturbing dreams.

Joshua was dressed in his work clothes; black Dickies with a dark blue polo shirt, the words 'Max Packaging' sewn above the left breast. He wore an insulated flannel jacket, but still shivered in the truck.

"You're wearing your sneakers," Max said.

Joshua looked down. "Is that okay?"

His father smiled. "It's regulation to wear work boots. I don't want you on the floor today, but make sure you wear 'em tomorrow."

"I didn't see any boots in my room."

"I'm sure you'll find 'em."

Joshua slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand. Max laughed. "They'll all be so happy to see you. You've always been their mascot, son. Someday, you'll be the boss."

Joshua looked out from the passenger side window, taking in the farm country. The morning air was humid, dew covering the corn rows and trees. They passed several decaying farmhouses and barns, fields overgrown. Joshua saw a huge weeping willow in the distance, along with an old white building off a dirt road.

I know that road, Joshua thought. I've been there before.

He didn't ask his father. Instead, he kept the vague recollection to himself.

Max drove closer into town, passing gas stations and fast food restaurants, along with the new grocery store and Wal-Green's pharmacy. He made a left turn at the town center, another left to the Max Packaging building.

The long warehouse was brown with a red roof, two stories. The large letters 'Max Packaging Co.' were in black, on both sides of the building. A sign in the shape a five sided star rested above the front door, facing the highway. 'Max Packaging Co.' was printed inside the star, another sign on the lawn.

Max parked in his space. When Max and Joshua entered from the front door, Anna met them there.

Anna was smiling, dark brown hair in a ponytail. She had a big smile, her cheeks flushed pink. Joshua noticed she was not as striking as Colbie, but there was a sensitivity and maturity about her. She was not tall; she had to reach up to hug him. She smelled like baby powder, wearing a lacy white blouse and black pants. The only jewelry she wore was a watch on her left wrist. Her face was round and soft, her nose and lips small. She had an olive complexion, her lashes long and dark, but she wore no makeup.

"Glad you're back, Josh." Anna gathered a pile of white envelopes in her arms. "They're waiting for you upstairs."

Joshua hesitated for a moment, he wanted to talk to Anna, but Max beckoned him to follow. They passed the office area to a hallway. Joshua noticed the framed newspaper articles about the plant. Several plaques hung on the walls; one commemorating Max Packaging as Small Business of the Year and another from the United Way.

A door at the end of the hall took them into the downstairs production floor. The various packaging machines were operated by men and women. Heavy, thick sheets of corrugated cardboard in different sizes were slid through one end of the machines by hand, coming out the other end smeared with glue in the correct places. Another worker would catch these pieces, making a pile at a side table. When the pieces were gathered, two workers lifted the pile to a binding machine. One worker would step on the pedal, and the pieces would be wrapped by plastic binding, the package put on a rolling belt. The hi-lo would later lift these away to the storage area, then placed on the truck, the packaging delivered to Max Packaging's various clients, including auto parts factories in Falls River.

Joshua was greeted by the downstairs workers, their salutations heard over the noisy machines. He smiled and waved to these people, their faces unfamiliar behind thick work glasses. A hi-lo, the blades supporting a tall pile of thick cardboard panels, passed Max and Joshua. The driver nodded and smiled at them. He was a stocky man around seventy, hair thinning on top, but sported a thick white moustache. Age spots peppered his face and hands. A strong chin and hooked nose below blue eyes, his brows also white and bushy. He sat up tall on the hi-lo, also wearing a navy work shirt that showed off tan arms.

"Morning, Leo," Max said.

"Morning, boss."

The place started to feel more familiar to Joshua by the time he and his father entered the elevator. A short lift took them to the upstairs. They turned a corner, and Joshua saw the series of long tables where the women were working.

"Hi, Josh." A heavy set woman with thick pinned-up red hair and work glasses approached him. "You look well."

"I feel a lot better."

"Josh is going to help in the office for a while, Ruth," Max said. "He's still on the mend. His memory is a bit cloudy."

Ruth and the other women, all over the age of fifty, murmured and nodded. Joshua noticed they had long sheets of packaging spread out at the tables. They were using glue guns to secure the sheets, gradually making flat piles that would be bound together, later folded into boxes.

"We were all in the break room, but Anna let us know you were coming," Ruth said. "Meningitis is nothing to mess with. I almost lost a nephew that way. Well, we gotta get back to work; this order is due tomorrow at Metal Concepts..."

"You all know you have overtime this weekend?" Max asked.

Another woman, her steel-gray hair cut very short, said, "Oh, we heard yesterday. There goes the trip to the casino."

Ruth rolled her eyes. "Bonnie, if you keep gambling, you'll end up living with your kids."

"Good. They deserve it."

The other women laughed.

"Ladies, we'll leave you to get back to work," Max said. "Have a good day."

He and Joshua walked back to the elevator, and Joshua knew he had better ask his questions now. "Is Ruth the supervisor?"

"She is upstairs. She's been here since we opened. She's Leo's wife, Colbie's grandmother."

"Oh."

"You didn't remember her or Leo, did you?"

"No. But they don't feel like strangers, either."

"Bonnie and most of the other workers have been here since the beginning. Bonnie and her husband were my neighbors when I was a kid. Lois and Marilyn are related to Bonnie; cousins, I think. In this town, almost everyone is related."

"Is Max Packaging the only factory in Fruit Ridge?" Joshua asked.

"Yes. The other businesses are retail and a few auto dealerships. Fast food. That's it."

Joshua nodded. "We get a lot of business..."

"Yes, we do. But there is competition in Falls River, that's why I'm going through with the merger. Our next stop is in Human Resources. I have to talk to Jay about the meeting with Great Lakes Packaging."

"How do the workers feel about the merger?"

"The ladies upstairs feel the most threatened, but I can't–won't–get rid of them in favor of a bunch of ex-cons and illegals from the big city." Max chuckled, scratching his chin. "I trust those old girls. Loyalty goes a long way, son. Never forget the people who have helped you along the way."

"We're like a family here."

The elevator doors opened, Max stepping out first. "Yes. And I'm proud of that."

### Chapter Four

Brenda came by at lunchtime. She was wearing a teal-blue suit, the skirt just above her knees. A newspaper was rolled under her arm.

Joshua stared for a moment at his attractive stepmother. She caught his gaze and smiled at him. "What's for lunch?"

Max shrugged. "No greasy fast food."

"Subway it is," Brenda said. She turned to Joshua. "Turkey on white?"

"Is that my usual?" he asked.

"Yes. With a chocolate chip cookie."

"Can I have a water with that?"

"Absolutely." She pulled out the newspaper. "Josh, do me a favor? The payroll checks are in Jay's office and I need to hand them out. Could you get them for me?"

Joshua nodded and left his father's office. He knew Brenda was lying; he had seen the payroll checks in Anna's arms this morning. The checks had already been handed out.

Brenda is sending me on a chase to talk alone with Dad, he thought. About me.

Joshua stayed near the doorway, eavesdropping. He looked around, to make sure no one else was watching him.

He heard the rustle of the newspaper, but no one spoke. They were completely silent. Joshua, growing impatient, stepped away to go to Jay's office down the hallway, the door locked. When he walked back, he saw Brenda going out the front door.

When he entered Max's office, the newspaper was gone, his father at his computer. "Where's the checks?"

"Jay's gone, I think."

"Don't worry about it. You can help Anna after lunch."

Joshua looked at the pile of files in front of him. He was sitting next to Anna, who was on the phone.

Should I tell her that I don't remember how to put this stuff away? he thought.

Anna hung up the phone, noticing that Joshua was idle. "You okay?"

"Did I ever do filing for you before?"

"A few times. I can put it away later. Mostly invoices." She stared at him for a moment. "How much do you remember, Josh?"

"I have a hard time putting faces with names. If I get around the person, then I start to remember my history with them."

"Do you remember our history?"

"Did we always know each other?"

"For five years. My dad used to drive a truck for Max and my mom worked here before I was born."

"Your mom died, too."

"She had cancer. Your mom died in a fire at your old house."

"I dreamed about the fire in the hospital."

Anna picked up a pen, then put it down. "You've changed, Josh. I mean, since you got sick."

"How?"

"You're quiet. More calm. Not as cocky."

"Maybe I would be more confident if I didn't feel...so helpless."

"Everyone here thinks you're special."

Josh grinned, his cheeks felt warm. "I wonder why. What's so special?"

Anna did not reply. When the phone rang, they almost jumped. Anna picked up the receiver. "Hello. Max Packaging. How may I help you?"

The work day ended with Joshua sweeping the floor downstairs around the machines. When the buzzer sounded, the downstairs employees gathered at the time clock.

Leo was at the end of the line, waiting to punch out. Joshua put his broom in a corner, and approached the old man.

"Hey, Josh."

"Hey, Leo. What did I used to do around here?"

Leo grinned. "Well, a little bit of everything. Minors aren't supposed to operate the machines, but you would help a lot upstairs with assembly. You were always here, unless you were home."

"I'd come here after school?"

"Right. Let's go outside and talk after I punch out."

Joshua followed Leo to his truck.

"You still have plans to go to college?" Leo asked.

"Dad mentioned something about me visiting the junior college in Falls River," Joshua said. "But I don't remember. Seems like everything I did over the last six months is gone. I'll feel a little bit of a memory, and then it disappears. It's frustrating."

"Your dad has always called me Leo, but you were told to call me Mr. Berman."

"Oh. Would you rather I—"

"No. It's okay. It's just that your dad insisted. You also called Ruth Mrs. Berman. Bonnie was Mrs. Hagen. Ruth mentioned it to me at lunch. It's no big deal, but you just seem a little different."

"I'm just confused. I can only hope I'm better before the baby is born."

"Brenda talked Colbie into living at your house. Ruth and I can accept it, but do you think—"

"I don't know. I want to do the right thing, but Colbie and I barely talk. It's like we have nothing to say to each other. Do I have any friends?"

"You had some friends. A few young guys who worked here. But they went away to school. Anna is your friend. You're an only child; you're used to being solitary, just like Colbie."

"Yeah?"

Leo brushed his fingertips against his moustache. "You'll be all right, Joshua. I'll pray for you. We don't want any harm to come to you. Keep working on your memory, but be careful who you confide in. Don't let anyone hide anything from you."

The other workers had left; the parking lot almost empty. Joshua was ready to ask Leo what he meant, when they heard a loud knock. They looked up to see Brenda in an upstairs window, smiling and waving. She changed her gesture to a beckoning finger.

"I think she wants you to go in," Leo said. "We can talk some more later. Take care."

Joshua headed for the front doors. Leo entered his truck, easing his sore legs and back behind the wheel. Through his windshield, he noticed Brenda was still standing there, looking at him. He turned the key in the ignition, backing out. She couldn't intimidate him; Ruth had kept Brenda the Bombshell in her place for years.

Anna saw Joshua come in, but returned to her files. She couldn't watch him all of the time, and there was no sense in scaring him.

The whispering was a soft buzz at first. She waved her fingers near her ear, then put her hand down. She waited for a moment, listening hard. The sound was faint, but she started to hear voices. Sometimes, she heard her mother's voice, and knew they were mocking her because she couldn't be controlled.

Anna opened her desk drawer. She pulled out the paperweight, made of thick glass and round at the corners. She had drawn a pentacle in red marker in the middle. She gripped the paperweight between her hands, using the protection chant she had memorized from repeated use, keeping her voice low.

"...your servant, Anna. Hecate, I ask for protection by your spirit and the four winds..."

The whispering stopped. Anna continued to grip the stone, her palms now clammy with sweat, her heart pounding. She put the paperweight back in her drawer.

Maybe I can come in early tomorrow, she thought. I could burn some sage, clear this area out.

She had returned to her filing when she felt the whole desk shake. She hesitated for a moment, but opened the drawer. When she looked inside, past the pens and Post-It notes, she found her paperweight.

Anna picked up the thick glass, but it crumbled between her fingers. A tiny shard cut into her skin.

She slammed the drawer shut, leaving the glass inside.

Leo finished talking to Ruth on his cell phone, only a few miles behind her, both heading home. As he came closer to the bridge, he noticed another vehicle, a red 4x4 truck, following him. The truck picked up speed, tailgating Leo's old Ford.

The 4x4 stayed close as Leo got on the bridge. He looked in his rearview mirror, trying to get a look at the other driver, but large sunglasses and a baseball cap obscured the face.

Leo sighed. He was certain who was behind the wheel, but he maintained his speed. Leo, at seventy-one, was not surprised of whatever threats came his way. He had waited over a decade for the other shoe to drop.

Ruth said they should have taken Colbie and left years ago, but the couple, married for almost fifty years, would not be able to retire from Max Packaging, where they had their retirement funds and medical insurance. Max had helped them, promised he would honor Liz's wishes.

But we're in the way now, Leo thought. So much for gratitude. If Josh starts to remember it all, he's as dead as the rest of us.

The 4x4 slammed into the back of Leo's truck. Leo pressed on the gas, wanting to gain enough speed to pull over fast. First, he had to cross the bridge.

Few cars passed this way, most drivers preferring to take the nearby highway to Falls River. Leo turned to the right, taking a sharp swerve from the road after getting off the narrow bridge. His truck continued to roll, then slowed, kicking up dust and gravel. The 4x4 almost clipped him, but stayed on the road, passing by. Leo took a deep breath, let it out, but his heart was pounding. He kept watching the 4x4, not surprised when he heard the tires squeal, certain the truck was making a U-turn back to him.

Leo had no intention of leaving his truck. He reached over and opened the glove compartment, taking out the pistol, the old Colt that belonged to his brother Dean, who committed suicide after coming home from Vietnam.

I wonder if they're all waiting for me, he thought. Mama, Pop, Dean. I'm going to have some explaining to do.

The 4x4 was speeding backwards, heading for him. The last thing Leo saw was the brake lights of the 4x4, smashing into the front grill of his old Ford. The 4x4 had to be going over sixty miles per hour, and Leo wasn't wearing a seatbelt. The Ford was too old for airbags, and Leo's head struck the steering wheel, the pistol dropping from his hand.

"Leo never came home," Max said.

He hung up the phone in the kitchen. Brenda was washing the dinner dishes with Colbie. "Where would he go?"

"Sometimes he stops for a beer at Bob's Tavern after work," Colbie said, "but he would be home by dinner."

"Ruth said she went over there," Max said.

"He was talking to Josh before he left," Brenda said.

Joshua nodded, still sitting at the table. "He seemed okay."

"Do you think he had a heart attack or something?" Brenda asked.

"Grandpa's health is fine," Colbie said. "He brags about it enough."

"He and Ruth weren't fighting, were they?"

"No. They never argue."

"He's not the type to just take off," Max said. "Hopefully, he decided to go fishing or check out a hunting spot. Maybe something went wrong with his truck, and he's waiting for a tow."

### Chapter Five

Joshua, as he sat on a bench in the back yard gazebo, thought about his conversation with Leo.

He told me not to let anyone hide anything from me, Joshua thought. Be careful who I confide in. He was right. I know how they're all watching me. But why? What did I do?

He tried, over and over, to remember his high school and any other friends or teachers. He didn't even have his own vehicle. He checked the files on his PC and iPad, but both were wiped clean, no old homework assignments or photos. His phone contained only a few numbers, including Anna's. She hadn't called him since he came home from the hospital. He had no Facebook page or Twitter account, no apps on his phone.

I'm a blank slate, he thought. That's not right. No favorite music or books. Everyone likes _something_ ; it shouldn't be any different for me.

He looked towards the house and saw Colbie exit through the back door; white-blonde hair hanging in her eyes, her belly covered by a gray hoodie. He heard himself sigh as she approached. She sat next to him on the bench.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

"I'm worried about Leo. Aren't you?"

"Grandpa is a strong man. He'll be all right. I'm more worried about you."

"I'm okay."

"You seem confused."

"I'm confused a lot. But little things are coming back to me. For instance, I remember going to Sears to pick out my sneakers–"Joshua pointed at the shoes on his feet–"and that was before I got sick. And I remember liking Cheerios. And Chinese food."

Colbie smiled. "Madame Wong's. In Falls River. You took me there once."

"How come I don't have a car?"

"You don't have a driver's license."

"Why not?"

"I don't know. I'm sure you'll get around to it. Max let you take his SUV sometimes."

"That's weird. I didn't take driver's ed in school?"

"No. I guess not. I haven't taken it yet. I'll get my license later."

"Colbie?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't remember–"his eyes drifted to her belly–"when we were together."

"It was only that one time." Colbie put her hand on his shoulder. "It was your first. Me, too. I didn't mean...to get pregnant. Believe me. But Max and Brenda are willing to help. I mean, they let me move in. Brenda takes me to the doctor and to school."

"Where is the high school?"

"Off the main road. Going east, the opposite of the plant." Colbie rose from the bench, arching her back. "Brenda is taking me out to see Grandma. You want to go?"

Joshua joined Brenda and Colbie to visit Ruth at the trailer, the early evening chilly and wet.

Leo and Ruth lived on four acres, overgrown except for the area around the single-wide trailer, an unattached garage to the side. Ruth had planted rose bushes and grew vegetables in the back.

Brenda walked up the steps and knocked at the front door. Joshua saw Ruth peek through the curtain for a moment. She reappeared when she opened the door, allowing Brenda to come in, followed by Colbie and Joshua.

The trailer was dated but cozy, the door leading to a small area between the living room and kitchen. Framed photographs of Ruth and Leo, through their decades together, graced the fake-pine paneled walls, along with school pictures of Colbie. There was also a framed newspaper article, propped on top of the old TV. Joshua came closer, and read the headline, 'Local Company Opens, Brings Employment Opportunities.' Joshua gazed at the article's photo, and recognized his father, Ruth, Leo and some of the crew from fifteen years ago.

"Grandma, where are you going?" Colbie asked.

Joshua turned, and saw Colbie pointing at the suitcase on the couch.

Ruth was in the small kitchen, putting dishes away, a towel in her hands. "I'm staying with Gloria until Leo comes back."

"The police will find him," Brenda said.

Ruth did not reply. "Josh? Can you help me with my suitcase?"

He grabbed the case by the handle. He followed Ruth outside to her Chevy, placing the case in the open trunk. He slammed the lid shut. When he turned around, Ruth was standing behind him, wearing a thick jacket, her purse hanging from the crook of her elbow.

"Take this," she said. "Don't let Brenda see it."

Joshua realized he was holding a photograph between his fingers. He shoved it into his back pocket before Brenda and Colbie came out of the trailer. Colbie locked the door behind her.

Ruth kept her voice low. "Leo is dead. Be smart, Joshua. You're strong and that's what _they're_ afraid of."

Brenda and Colbie were approaching. Ruth turned around. "Well, Colbie, I hope you'll let me know how you're doing."

"I'll call you, Grandma."

Ruth hurried to the driver's side door. She glanced at Joshua before getting in the car. She drove off without saying good-bye.

Joshua looked to Colbie, who didn't even wave to her grandmother. Brenda was already walking towards her car.

Am I the only one, Joshua thought, who noticed how scared Ruth is? And if Leo is dead, was he murdered?

Joshua was alone in his room, studying the photo of his mother and himself. On the back, someone had written,'Elizabeth Hildebrand. Joshua, age 3,' on the back.

He took in the blonde beauty of his dead mother. They were sitting at a picnic table, Joshua in her lap. She was wearing a halter top and shorts, her skin tan. She looked like she belonged on the beach. Her eyes were green and wide, her lips full, as were her cheeks and chin. They seemed happy in the photo. He was wearing shorts, but no shirt.

He continued to stare at his mother's face, a sense of something familiar trying to come through. A vision of her as an older woman, much older, appeared in his mind.

Joshua wasn't sure why, but he went to his dresser to retrieve the crystal. It wasn't in the spot where he left it. He searched the top of the dresser, but the crystal was gone.

Someone has been in my room, he thought.

His first response was to confront Colbie. But Colbie and Brenda had been with him at Ruth's trailer. Max was the only person at the house.

Colbie completed her homework, a written lesson for Spanish class. She shut the book and yawned loud.

She rose from the edge of her new bed. Brenda let her pick it out, the most expensive furniture she ever owned. She had slept on a futon at the trailer. The dresser was an antique, dark cherry wood. A vanity with a chair next to an armoire Brenda had bought years ago.

Brenda had handed Colbie the obituary section from the Falls River Press when she picked Colbie up from school. Her eyes passed over the page until she saw the photo.

"She had a massive stroke," Brenda said. "I can imagine her creeping around the hospital, looking for Joshua."

"What could she do?" Colbie asked.

"Give him a so-called healing crystal. I wouldn't put it past her."

"Why would she interfere?"

"I don't know. But she's one less thing to worry about."

The nights were becoming cool, not yet cold. Colbie pulled back the lacy white curtain, lifting the blind. When she reached down to raise the window open, she heard the fluttering of wings, as if from a bird or bat.

She finished opening the window. The night breeze caused the curtains to billow. Colbie took a deep breath, the smell of burning leaves in the air. The night felt wild in the fall, as if anything could happen.

She was enjoying the cool air and starry black sky when something bumped against the screen, above her head. She gasped and stepped away, just in time to see the screen fall, hitting the ground.

Someone would have to pull at it, she thought. There's no way—

She returned to the window, the curtains on her back. Once the window was closed, the breeze was gone, along with all of the night sounds.

She backed away into the curtains. She tried to pull the lacy fabric away from her hair, but the sleeve of her hoodie became stuck, as if from static cling. She pulled with her arm and tried to turn around, but her hood caught. In seconds, she found herself wrapped in both floor-length curtains.

She felt ridiculous at first, willing to blame her own clumsiness but, as she struggled, the white lace seemed to tighten around her. Colbie, starting to panic, was ready to call for help when the fabric fell from her legs and arms. She pulled it away from her face, stumbling out. She fell forward, but landed on her hands and knees. Colbie looked behind her, the curtains still, the room undisturbed.

She pulled a lock of pale hair away from her eyes. Fear was soon replaced by anger.

Try it again, Anna, she thought. I'll be ready for you.

### Chapter Six

The workers from Great Lakes Packaging arrived with their supervisor that morning. A crew of four. Two of these workers were young black men, something not missed by the Max Packaging downstairs crew, all of whom were white and over forty. The new workers did not wear any uniforms, favoring baggy T-shirts and jeans, showing their underwear almost to their buttocks. One white worker had an elaborate Celtic tattoo that ran from his wrist up to his neck.

They were put to work right away. One brought a radio and country music filled the area. They were strong and fast, finishing one order on a machine in a half-hour, the piles of packaging glued, bound, and laid on the belt to be taken by the hi-lo. They managed to finish three more orders by the first coffee break.

Their supervisor walked and talked with Max. The two men took the elevator upstairs, leaving Joshua alone in his father's office.

Anna had gone to the break room, so no one else was around. Joshua searched every desk drawer that was unlocked. All he found were old invoices and more paperwork. The computer was password protected.

He opened the closet and found Bankers Boxes from the floor to the ceiling. More framed articles from the Falls River Press, covered in dust. One read, 'Small Business Thrives After Drought' and 'Fruit Ridge Recovers After Drought Disaster.' All of these articles were from 1994, the year of Joshua's birth. He couldn't recall being told of any drought.

The stacked cardboard Bankers Boxes had pushed on each other over the years, the weight making the bottom boxes almost collapse. Joshua noticed that each box was marked according to year, beginning with 1996, when the plant opened.

He pulled at the front latch of the top Bankers Box and the drawer slid open. He looked inside, seeing nothing but manila file folders. Everything was dusty but neat and organized. He searched around the boxes, looking for photos or records. Using another Bankers Box as a step, he lifted himself up to look at what was on a shelf.

He discovered some old computer equipment, including a small dot matrix printer and a few cassette tapes. He pulled one of the tapes down, taking it out of the case. He read the words, 'Liz and Josh–1996.' He shoved the cassette in his coat pocket, retrieving the other tape. He shut the closet. As he placed the second tape in his other pocket, his back was to the office door.

Anna had been watching for a few moments, the door open a crack. She stepped away, planning to keep what she saw to herself, knowing he would come to her when ready.

Joshua had been surprised to see Ruth return to work that morning.

"I have nothing else to do but get on Gloria's nerves," she said. "I need to stay busy."

Bonnie, Lois, and Marilyn made sympathetic murmurs as they worked, gluing blocks of cardboard to a thick, flat base that would provide compartments for large boxes. These blocks were dipped on one side in a puddle of glue from a work table, then pushed on to the base to dry. The glue was in a bucket on the floor.

Joshua was working with Bonnie, across from him as they put together a base, the completed parts stacked on another table to dry.

"I guess Max was impressed with those guys from Great Lakes," Bonnie said.

"It doesn't bother me," Ruth replied. "As long as they don't get sent up here."

"You could see that kid's underwear. It took all of the self-control I had not to pull his pants up for him, like when my boys were little."

Lois, who wore her thick black hair in a single braid coiled into a bun, said, "Ruth, we started a prayer chain last night for Leo. We didn't want to bring it up here, but we're all so worried—"

"We can talk about it later, Lo," Ruth said. "I know you all are doing what you can. I appreciate it."

"Have you spoken with Colbie?" Bonnie asked.

Ruth shrugged, her eyes on her work. "She's preoccupied with the baby. Besides, there's nothing she can do."

"She needs a kick in the ass."

"Colbie has always been that way. She's selfish because she thinks everything is her fault. When her mother went to prison and her dad remarried, she blamed herself for it all. She thought her dad didn't want her around for some reason..."

"More like his new wife."

"Some people have a mother-in-law from Hell. I have a daughter-in-law from Hell. But she's in California and she can stay there."

"But you never see your son."

"He made that choice. You know that old saying? 'A son is a son until he takes a wife, but a daughter is a daughter for the rest of her life.'"

"That's the truth," Lois said. "I didn't have any sisters, just lazy, married brothers."

"I have a gay brother," Marilyn said. "He helped with Mother sometimes. Then he met a younger man. I don't see him as much anymore."

One of the Great Lakes workers whizzed by on a hi-lo.

"He could hit one of us," Bonnie said. "He needs to slow down."

"Idiots," Lois said. "One of them is going to get injured."

Ruth sneered and Joshua, who was standing next to her, thought he heard hissing.

"I think you're the only person my age who works here."

Joshua turned around. Standing behind him was one of the Great Lakes Packaging guys; wearing beat-up overalls over a T-shirt. Old work boots. His ginger hair was shaggy, hazel-green eyes and freckles over fair skin.

"I'm eighteen," Joshua said.

"I'm nineteen." The young man sat down next to him. "My name is Nick."

"Hi, Nick. I'm Josh."

The break room was quiet, the others eating their lunch out of the building.

Nick opened up a brown paper bag, taking out a wrapped sandwich. "This place is nice. There's more than one men's room and it's clean."

"The building's only fifteen years old."

A flash of memory. The ribbon being cut, standing next to his mother. He sees her face. Mom.

Nick rose from his chair. Joshua noticed the tattoo on Nick's forearm, above the wrist. A Gothic-style crucifix, a series of numbers underneath.

Nick dug some change out of his pocket. He slipped the coins into the pop machine.

"Nice tattoo," Joshua said.

"Thanks. I was saved two years ago. Those numbers are the date. I go to the Assembly of God church in Falls River. I'm thinking about becoming a missionary."

"Oh. That's cool."

Nick sat down with his can of Coke. "I gotta stop drinking this stuff. I have enough cavities."

"What do you think of the merger?" Joshua asked.

"From my standpoint, it's a good idea. But I have my own car. Two of the other guys don't have a ride to get them here from Falls River. They won't last long."

"You all got a lot done this morning."

"At Great Lakes, we can finish at least six orders before lunch. I mean, it depends on how big the order, but our supervisor is a real...boss."

"Is he going to bring more people?" Joshua asked.

"Probably. But it's tense. Those old ladies don't like us here."

"The merger wasn't their decision."

"If the place is so busy, why a merger?"

"My dad says we need to compete. More packaging companies are opening in Falls River. Who will want to deal with us way out here?"

"Who's your dad?"

"He owns this place."

"Oh. So Max Packaging will be yours someday?"

"Not for a long time yet. What job are you doing after lunch?"

"The baler."

"Tell that guy on the hi-lo to slow down."

"Oh, that's Cole. Yeah, I'll tell him."

The crew dispersed after lunch. Joshua was headed back upstairs, Nick to the baler/compactor. Joshua passed the hi-lo Cole had been operating upstairs. He noticed the object hanging from the steering wheel.

A toy sword, something a kid would use to play pirates, was wrapped by a thin rope, knotted to the steering wheel. He looked closer, and saw a cigarette butt tucked into the sword and rope.

Joshua couldn't understand why this toy was tied to a piece of equipment. Joshua considered untying the rope, but the knots were small and tight.

He was still staring at it when Cole, long hair in a ponytail with a bushy beard, jumped on the seat. Joshua took in the elaborate Celtic tattoo 'sleeve.' Cole pointed to the toy sword and smiled, shaking his head. "What the Hell is this?"

He smiled, his teeth decayed and spaced wide apart. Joshua returned the smile. "Someone's idea of a joke."

Joshua watched Cole drive away, still feeling uneasy. He didn't see anything cute about the toy sword, the cigarette butt at the handle. All of the Great Lakes workers went outside to smoke except Nick. Max didn't approve of smoking, but half of the plant employees were smokers, allowed to get their nicotine fix outside during breaks.

Joshua took the short walk to the elevator. By the time he returned to work, he had convinced himself the sword and rope was strange but harmless.

Nick, using a box cutter, separated the long pieces of thick cardboard, throwing the discarded pieces in the baler. When the machine was full, Nick would press a red button, making the compactor crush the cardboard down, creating a thick bundle. The bundles were bound and dumped on a pallet, put aside for recycling.

Nick took a few steps backward with each piece of cardboard he threw into the baler. The uncut pieces were on the floor to his right in a pile. Driving the hi-lo, Cole had returned from the storage area, picking up a pallet full of parts at one of the machines. Cole turned the corner, easing the flat blades of the hi-lo to the floor, placing the pallet in storage. He backed up, the machine making a beeping noise. He looked around, then behind him, making a U-turn.

Cole was returning for another load. Nick took a few steps back again, tossing a long piece into the baler, as if shooting a basketball into the hoop. When he stepped forward, his foot landed on a long sheet of cardboard, which slipped forward, causing Nick to lose his balance.

Cole's next load was close by, so he raised the hi-lo's blades mid-way. He felt the knotted rope brush against his hand on the wheel. He glanced down, noticing the rope was now wrapped around his wrist. He tried to pull his hand away, just as Nick landed on his back. When Cole looked up, Nick's wide eyes were inches from the hi-lo blades.

### Chapter Seven

Joshua kept his distance when the ambulance and police arrived, still hearing Cole's hysterical shouts as the rest of the crew surrounded Nick, who had lost consciousness.

Cole had stopped the hi-lo by pulling the emergency break with his free hand. By then, he had hit the wall, the blades making deep dents.

Max and the Great Lakes Packaging supervisor were closest to Nick. Joshua could see Anna standing in the doorway. Cole was sobbing by this time.

Ruth and the other women were stunned into silence. The machines were shut down, the workers sent to the break room except for Max, Cole, and his supervisor. Some went outside to check for the ambulance's arrival.

Max covered Nick, who was in shock from a crushed hand, with a blanket. Cole had calmed down and tried to explain about the rope. His supervisor checked the hi-lo, but the sword and rope were gone.

Everyone was sent home early. The ambulance took Nick and Cole went with the police.

Ruth volunteered to stay longer to straighten upstairs. Max sent Joshua to help her.

"Well, that accident is going to delay the merger," Ruth said. "Can't say I feel bad."

Joshua was sweeping the floor alongside Ruth, who dragged the cardboard bits by broom to the hole in the floor that led to a second baler.

"Maybe the doctors can fix his hand," Joshua said. "He seemed like a nice guy. Wanted to be a missionary. And I saw that toy sword, too. I'd like to know who was careless enough to put that rope around the steering wheel? I saw a cigarette butt in it..."

Ruth stopped sweeping. She arched her stiff back. "Joshua, we need to talk about something."

"I wanted to ask you about what you said, when you gave me the photo of my mom and me. What did you mean—"

"What do you remember about Elizabeth?"

"Almost nothing."

"What about your box?"

"What box?"

"Before you got sick, you were putting your box together, and not all of Liz's books were destroyed in the fire—"

"What books?"

"You mean to tell me that you don't remember your mother's power?"

"What power?"

"Do you know where your witch box is?"

" _Witch_ box?"

"I don't believe it!" Ruth leaned her broom against the wall. "Viral meningitis, my ass. Someone wanted to slow you down. You had to be powerless, so you forgot everything you learned."

"Josh!"

Max was walking towards them. "Anna is going to give you a ride home. Ruth, I need to talk to you."

Joshua put his broom away and walked toward to elevator. When he was out of sight, he hid behind a pile of wooden pallets, still within earshot of Max and Ruth.

"Ruth, what the Hell is this?"

Joshua peered over the side of the pallets, and saw the toy sword and rope in his father's hands.

"I don't know," Ruth said. "I haven't practiced in years. It wasn't the same after the fire."

"This hurts, Ruthie. After everything I did for you and Leo—"

"My husband is dead is because someone, who is very ungrateful, doesn't want us around anymore. Who could that be, Max? Who's next?"

"Keep Joshua out of it."

"Where's his box?" Ruth asked.

"He doesn't need it."

"Yes, he does. How long do you think he can go on not remembering?"

"Joshua almost died because someone was practicing. If not you, then who? Who would want Joshua dead?"

"No one. He's too special. Well, until that baby is born. Then what? What do you and Brenda have planned?"

"You need to get over the fact that you can't hold the guilt over me anymore."

"I never wanted to make you feel guilty about Liz. Even the boy. You were good to us until you started to get worried about the plant, the economy, now the merger. But if you think the power can shift your way because of Brenda and Colbie, you are mistaken. Colbie has no connection and Brenda is just...a wannabe. She sees herself as Colbie's mentor. I'll bet Brenda has been through Liz's books a million times. Pathetic. Brenda has no favor with Harvester."

"Ruthie, maybe it's time to consider retirement."

"Oh, you don't have to worry. Your secret's safe with me." Ruth looked down at the toy sword and rope. "I have too much arthritis in my fingers for knots that tight."

Anna was waiting for Joshua in the office, her jacket on, purse over her shoulder.

Joshua, when he came around the corner, looked pale and was rubbing his temples, his head down. "Josh? Are you all right?"

"Is Ruth crazy?" he asked.

"Um...no."

"What do you know about her?"

"She's always been here."

"She thinks Leo's dead. And my dad's mad at her about the accident. She said my mom had powers and spell books. I have a witch box somewhere."

"She told you all of that?" Anna covered her lips with her fingers, then dropped her hand. "Then Leo must be dead..."

"What do you know? Tell me."

"I don't know everything, Josh. But if we're careful, we can protect ourselves."

### *****

Anna took her time driving Joshua home, looking for a place where they could talk alone. She turned on to the dirt road where Joshua had spotted the ruins of the old white building. As Anna drove her car closer, Joshua realized he was looking at an old church; the chapel in ruins, white paint flaking, the windows boarded up.

Anna parked across the street, turned off the engine. "My parents moved here from Traverse City before I was born. I used to think Fruit Ridge was dead little town. I only started to learn things when I dared to look closer, deeper. Then I started to get scared, feeling like I had to protect myself. If I had the money, I would move away, but you would be alone."

"You said I'm different than I used to be. You didn't just mean my personality, did you?"

Anna looked into his eyes, knowing he had changed; he no longer owned his power.

He doesn't remember what a jerk he was, she thought. But he's like a child now, and I don't know if I can help him.

"For me," she said, "it all started when my mom got sick. She would go to this health store in Falls River, get her supplements and buy books on natural healing. The breast cancer went away, but came back. She refused chemo and radiation. She wanted to do her own treatment. She became friends with a woman who was a Wiccan. She taught me a few things..."

"Wicca is witchcraft, right?"

"More like a nature-based religion. Pagan in origin, but does not use the dark arts, because whatever harm you do always comes back to you. I like to help other people heal. There are people in this town who have used their talent, their power, out of greed and anger. I think that's why Leo is dead and Nick got his hand crushed today."

"Ruth doesn't think I had viral meningitis. She said someone was trying to slow me down. Why?"

"You were more powerful."

"Ruth said I showed her what was in my witch box."

"That means someone was trying to teach you the craft."

Joshua gazed at the old church. "Everything is blocked off, locked away. Maybe if I find this witch box, it will all come back."

"Have you been asking your dad and Brenda a lot of questions?"

"Not about my mom or much of anything from the past. Dad talks about the merger a lot. And the baby."

"Do you and Colbie talk much?"

"Yeah. She seems to like me. But, if she's my girlfriend, why does she sleep in a separate room?"

"Maybe your parents want it that way. It's not like you two are married."

Brenda was waiting at the door when Joshua entered with Anna.

"Max called," Brenda said. "There's some more bad news..."

Brenda was sitting at the living room couch, suede in a slate-gray color. Her hands rested at her knees. She wore a silk blouse and loose navy blue pants. Her red hair was piled on her head. Anna always wondered what it was like to be beauty-pageant pretty; Brenda always seemed at ease with herself.

"Tell me the bad news first," Joshua said.

Brenda grinned. "Ruth quit. The rest might stick around for a while, but they're all joined at the hip."

"They've all known each other since they were children," Anna said.

"Oh, they're thick."

"Where's Colbie?" Joshua asked.

"She's staying after school with her foreign language club."

Joshua and Anna glanced at each other, but had decided not to discuss their suspicions with anyone else.

"Anna and I will be upstairs," Joshua said.

Brenda frowned as she watched Anna follow Joshua. Anna tried to suppress a smile. The two entered Joshua's room, Anna shutting the door. Joshua owned an old radio/cassette tape player that he found in his closet. He brushed the dust off the top. He pulled the tapes from his jacket pocket. He inserted a tape in the player. After rewinding, Joshua pressed the play button.

"Josh? Do you want to sing today?"

His mother's voice. Elizabeth.

"Yeah."

"Do you know the song?"

"Sing with me, Mommy."

She cleared her throat then started to sing. "There was a boy. A very strange, enchanted boy..."

Joshua joined in, his toddler voice faltering, then recovering. "They say he traveled very far..."

Joshua pressed the stop button. "What's that song called?"

"I don't know. Listen to the rest. It might help."

Joshua pressed play again. "...very far, over land and sea. A little shy and sad of eye, but very wise was he..."

Joshua swallowed, the lump in his throat creating a wet blanket of sadness, making him shiver. He listened to the rest of the song.

"...was to love and be loved in return..."

Anna saw the look on his face. He has changed, she thought. He's a different guy.

"I'm worried about Ruth," she said. "No one seems concerned about her safety."

"She'll probably stay at her sister's house. I think she's safer away from the plant."

"Do you want to play the other tape?"

Joshua nodded and inserted the second tape in the player.

"Are you going to sing for Harvester, Josh?"

"No..."

"You can sing with me tonight, if you want."

"With Davey?"

"Davey's gone now, honey." A pause. "What does Harvester do?"

"He makes things grow."

"Right. He also makes things live a long time. Is Harvester our friend?"

"Yeah. He likes Mommy."

"He likes you, too. Where does Harvester live?"

"In here."

"Always in your heart. Just like me. Forever."

The tape ended.

"Who is Harvester?" Anna asked.

Joshua shook his head. "Another thing I can't figure out."

"Harvester could be..."

"A demon?"

"An energy. Not necessarily evil, but powerful. This energy can come from the subconscious, our own minds. But I also believe that there are beings that don't have bodies. Ghosts. Spirit energy. But your mother seemed to want you to believe in this Harvester."

"Who's Davey?"

"Maybe another little boy who was...pushed into believing."

"Ruth mentioned Harvester when she was arguing with my dad. She said Brenda had no favor with Harvester."

"But it seems your mom did."

Joshua and Anna did not linger for long, going downstairs after they heard footsteps in the hallway.

Max was at the couch with Brenda, his arm around her. He was still wearing his work clothes and boots.

"Have you heard anything about Nick?" Joshua asked.

Max shrugged. "He's at Falls River Hospital. He'll need surgery on his hand and shoulder."

"What about Cole?"

"He's not coming back to the plant. I feel sorry for the guy, but he was careless."

"I told Josh about Ruth," Brenda said.

"It hurts me, but it's her choice. She's under a lot of stress."

"So are you."

"The owner of Great Lakes Packaging called me tonight. He still wants to do business."

"That's a relief."

"Yeah. It sure is."

Joshua wondered what his father did with the toy sword and rope. If Ruth wasn't responsible, who was? Bonnie? Lois? What did they know about Harvester?

He turned to Anna. "I've got a headache coming on. I need to take some more aspirin."

"Okay," Anna said. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Let me walk out with you," Brenda said.

Joshua headed for the downstairs bathroom while Brenda followed Anna out of the front door to the porch, the storm door slamming shut behind them.

"We had Colbie move in with us for a reason," Brenda said. "As his friend, I thought you would understand..."

"I'm only trying to help Josh—"

"Colbie became upset when I told her you were here."

"Josh doesn't remember having any feelings for her. That tells me he never did. I don't even recall them going on a date. She was always into her friends in her little circle at school. She was best friends with Bonnie's granddaughter. Bonnie says they haven't spoken to each other since Colbie got pregnant."

"I don't know how Josh feels about Colbie, but she's very emotional right now. She feels lonely."

"And I'm sure she's worried about her grandparents. Don't you think it's strange that the police aren't searching for Leo? Maybe Ruth never called the police. Maybe Ruth is scared." Anna looked away from Brenda's glare, watching the leaves blowing across the driveway. "If you don't want me to come around, I'll stay away. But Josh can think for himself. He'll start to remember the time leading up to when he got sick, and the truth will come out."

Joshua, before he went to bed, wandered downstairs to watch television.

He found Colbie stretched out on the couch, in front of the TV. She was asleep in her pajamas.

He sat down in the recliner. The local news was on, the volume low. Joshua grabbed the remote, but stopped when he saw a familiar face on the screen. He turned up the volume.

"A tragic suicide in Falls River. The body of thirty-one year old Cole Sprague was found in the locked garage of his home, inside of his car, the engine running. Carbon monoxide poisoning is the alleged cause of death..."

God, please help me remember, he thought. Because I don't think any of us are safe until I do.

### Chapter Eight

Joshua tried to find a place to hide the cassette tapes and the photo of him with his mother. He thought of the old house, in the ruins.

Where is the house? he thought. Anna said Dad never had the ruins torn down. Instead, he bought and fixed up this place. Why didn't he sell the property?

Colbie mentioned that Joshua never took driver's education, which meant he didn't have a license, but he was sure he knew how to drive.

If someone wanted to slow me down, he thought, keeping me from driving would be the easiest thing to do.

Joshua was sitting at his bed. After seeing the news story about Cole, he hadn't slept all night.

He knew that whoever took his crystal would be the first person to creep into his room and take something else they didn't want him to have; the little pieces, clues, that could help him remember.

He had checked his computer last night, and the camera was disabled, along with all photographic or video software on his other devices, including his phone.

No one wants me to get the upper hand, he thought. Unless I can think of a plan, all I can do is sit here.

Joshua called Anna, asking her if she could give him a ride to the remains of the old house. She said she wasn't sure where it was located, but would ask around at the plant.

Anna was on her lunch break. Joshua had not come into work, Max explaining that Joshua felt tired, he still needed to rest. Anna finished her lunch and walked out of the building to the garage. The truck drivers had left to make the deliveries. The garage doors were shut but Anna knew the door on the side was usually unlocked. When she entered, she smelled motor oil in the cold air. She turned the light on, the floor neat, tools and equipment put away.

Anna walked to the back. Anna had guessed what was underneath the plastic tarp weeks ago, but she wanted to be convinced before telling Joshua.

She pulled on the tarp, which gave without much effort. She gathered the dusty cover towards her until it fell at her feet. She gazed at the smashed grille of the Jeep. The windshield was cracked, the doors buckled on each side. She wondered how fast Joshua had been going before he hit the tree.

He may have been sneaky and arrogant, but he wasn't stupid, she thought. He was grateful for whatever freedom—

"Anna?"

She was startled for a moment then turned around.

Marilyn was standing there. She was close to sixty, but her close-cropped auburn hair wasn't streaked with any gray. Marilyn had never married or had children, leading some to believe that her brother wasn't the only homosexual in the family. Marilyn had a round face but was very thin everywhere else; however, she was stronger than she looked. Her work glasses rested around her neck. She was wearing a sweater over her work shirt.

Anna tried to keep her voice calm. "Hi, Marilyn."

"I didn't mean to scare you. I was just wondering if you had heard from Ruth."

"No."

"The guy that caused the accident? He's dead. Found in his garage."

"I heard."

Marilyn was a quiet woman who spent her lunch break eating a sandwich and reading a romance novel. She had spent years looking after her elderly parents, who almost lost their fruit orchards during the drought. She now lived alone in their old house, surrounded by acres of property.

"Bonnie's scared about Ruth and Leo," Marilyn said. "What happened before the fire..."

"Where is Max's old house?"

"About a mile from the church. Used to be a nice ranch house. Funny how no other houses have been built out that way. I heard Max bought all of the other lots."

"Max owns a lot of property."

"Including mine." Marilyn nodded her head while looking at the Jeep. "Max should have known better than to give a teenager a new vehicle. Too expensive. Josh came away without a scratch, but ended up in the hospital, anyway."

"Viral meningitis."

"Viruses can be killers. And you never know when a virus can pop up again."

"Who do you think might replace Ruth?"

Marilyn shrugged. "Max doesn't care if we go to church and have our prayer chains and charities. He only starts to sweat when he sees things that remind him of Elizabeth. Like the smell of burning sage."

"I thought it would help. I heard the whispering and singing in my head. My mother's voice."

"Someone doesn't like you. Wear a pentagram at all times. Don't be afraid to call on the Dark Mother, she's active this time of the year."

Joshua was waiting outside when Anna picked him up.

He left the cassette tapes and photo on his dresser. If these things were missing when he returned, he wouldn't be surprised.

Josh entered the car, slamming the passenger side door. "What's that smell?"

"Sage."

"In your car?"

"I'm not taking any chances."

Anna took the main road, turning on to the dirt lane to the church.

"Do you ever wonder why churches are abandoned?" Joshua asked.

"I guess people stop going there," Anna said. "Maybe something was wrong..."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. People start staying away. With no worshippers, a church is just a building."

Anna continued to drive, coming to a slight hill. A lone mailbox stood across the road to an overgrown lot.

Anna pulled over. She and Joshua exited the car, both looking out for the ruins of the old house. Joshua looked up at the gray sky. Rain was expected. They walked through the thick carpet of leaves, weeds, and grass until they came upon the house's old foundation. Joshua walked around the gray brick, Anna staying put, her hands in the pockets of her blue pea coat. She noticed bits of wood and charred ground around the foundation, where the grass did not grow back. She wondered why Max had left this property behind.

"Anna! Come here!"

She walked over to the back, her gaze following Joshua's pointing finger.

The outside basement door was boarded up and padlocked. Covered with mud, bird droppings, and other debris, it stood like a box waiting to be opened.

"That's a big lock," Anna said.

"I'll bet my dad has the key."

"And where do you think he's hiding it?"

"I have no idea."

"Any memories coming back?"

He looked around at the dirt road and the trees, gold and red leaves falling like his mood. "No. I lived here until I was almost four years old. Who remembers being four?"

"I remember a few things."

"The window is boarded. I can break it open with some effort." Joshua took the cement steps down to the door, looking for a weakness in the wood, nailed tight. He picked up the padlock. When he did, something cold brushed against his wrist.

The crystal was swinging on its chain, wrapped around the padlock. Joshua pulled it away, the rock icy against the skin of his palm. He held it over his head. "Look what I found. I wonder who brought it out here?"

"And why?"

"Good question. Why would anyone care about a healing crystal an old lady gave me?"

"Who was the old lady?"

"I think she knew my mom. Why else would this have been stolen from my room and brought here? I mean, who would care?"

"Someone who cares about you."

"I hope so. Everyone loves me, right? I'm the favorite son."

Anna didn't miss the sarcasm. "Now what?"

"I'm coming back to break down the door. Not today, but soon."

A few drops of rain had started to fall, almost a downpour by the time Anna and Joshua reached the car.

Joshua stared at the old rusted mailbox. He walked away, wanting to check for an address. He opened the little door as soon as he approached, knowing nothing would be inside but some kind of rodent or spider.

He thought he was seeing a nest, but he realized he was looking at the legs and feet of a small blue ragdoll, something a baby would play with. He pulled it out part of the way, hearing the rattle sound. He grasped the doll at the belly. Something sharp stabbed his index finger. He took the doll by his other hand and examined his finger. The rain was getting heavy, and he didn't respond to Anna's calls. She rolled up her window and got out of the car.

She approached Joshua from behind, noticing the toy in his left hand and bloody finger on the right. She took a closer look at the doll.

"You might need a tetanus shot," she said.

"I wonder how long this had been in the mailbox."

The ragdoll, with its tiny button eyes, looked startled. The crown of rusty nails encircling its head in a half circle only added to the distressed expression.

"Joshua, this is sick."

"I get headaches..."

"Oh, come on."

"Do you think this is bullshit?"

"No. But these are women you've known your whole life. Why would any of them want to harm you?"

"Dad and Brenda want to control me." Joshua dropped the doll to the ground. "I'm eighteen years old. I don't drive or go to college. I work for my dad sweeping the floors and doing assembly upstairs. He won't let me operate the hi-lo, even before the accident with Nick and Cole. He isn't teaching me anything about how he runs the business. I'm just...some pet."

"Maybe he doesn't want to put any pressure on you because—"

"Did he treat me like this before I got sick?"

"Sort of."

"What?"

"You weren't very responsible, Josh. You would come in and work a few hours a day, then go home and do what you wanted."

"Where did I go?"

"I don't know. But if you had a witch box, you would need help. Another witch."

"Ruth?"

"Let's get in the car."

Thunder was rolling by the time they got inside. Anna turned the ignition.

"Were you helping me?" Joshua asked.

"You didn't need my help."

Joshua ran his hand through his wet hair, the curls becoming frizzy from the damp. "I need it now."

Anna felt her cheeks grow warm. "I'll do what I can, Josh."

"I could talk to Bonnie or Marilyn."

"They're all working overtime tonight."

A hard, tiny object tapped the windshield. In seconds, the downpour turned into hailstones. Anna eased her car up the dirt road, the windshield wipers pushing the dime-sized hail away. She made a slow turn, heading for the plant, when the glass cracked in front of them, the hailstones now plum-sized.

"I'm pulling over," Anna said.

"The traffic lights are out."

"I hate that intersection, but it's the only way to the plant. I'll just get off the road."

A gas station was close by. Anna pulled into the parking lot, packed with several other vehicles. She couldn't see much of anything through the broken glass and hailstones.

"With no power, no overtime," Joshua said. "Bonnie and the others will go home."

"They can't drive in this storm, either. They'll stick around until it passes."

### Chapter Nine

Marilyn was trying to lift a pail full of glue when the lights went out. She placed the pail back on the floor. "Bonnie?"

No answer, although Bonnie had been working at the table saw, cutting thick pieces of cardboard into brick-sized dividers. Lois was working downstairs.

I hope no one is stuck in the elevator, she thought.

The shower of hail was growing in intensity, the stones smacking against the roof. The sun was beginning to set, but enough daylight remained for Marilyn to find her way to the staircase. When she reached the ground floor, she didn't see anyone else.

She weaved her way through the machines in the near-darkness, looking for Lois or Bonnie. The hail was starting to sound like fireworks as the larger stones hit the roof; some bouncing and hitting the windows. Marilyn came closer to the window above the dented spot where Cole had driven into the wall with the hi-lo. She thought about the knot spell, how they all thought the attempt with the toy sword and cigarette butt seemed amateurish, although effective. None of them would have tried it, or so they said. Ruth had wondered if someone was trying to set them up. Max? He wouldn't be so stupid. Brenda? Only if her talent had grown while no one was looking. Ruth was certain that Colbie had no ability. Joshua? Marilyn was sure he couldn't remember his own talent, and Max and Brenda would make sure he remained clueless until the baby was born.

Marilyn continued to listen to the hail. She yawned and stretched, arching her back. She wouldn't mind going home, but she knew she should wait out the storm. Bonnie and Lois had to be around somewhere.

"Marilyn?"

Lois's voice, the sound coming from the storage area. Marilyn started walking, nearing the baler. She was standing beside the machine when she called out to Lois. No answer. The silence and dim light slowed her step, making her look all around. She had worked at Max Packaging for sixteen years, but never liked being alone in the place.

She heard a buzzing noise, followed by air blowing through the vents. The lights came on, one by one, above her. She sighed in relief.

"Hey! Lois!" she called.

She heard footsteps behind her. She turned around and saw a figure in a camouflage hunting jacket and black ski mask. Marilyn was grabbed by the front of her work shirt and lifted off the ground, dragged toward the empty baler. She screamed the words, "No! No! Stop!"

She took in the medium height, broad shoulders, with the strength of a healthy man. She looked into the eyes behind the ski mask, and saw something she had not seen in a very long time.

Harvester accepted Davey; even if he was sick. We didn't know Joshua was diabetic then. Harvester wouldn't have favored either child, but Elizabeth had made her deal, and we all had to go through with it, then Max offered to help us all...

Marilyn was still staring into that dark, frozen gaze when the man's other hand gripped her ankle. She tried to shift her weight and wiggle out of her work shirt by swinging her arms. However, he was swift and Marilyn was a petite woman. He managed to flip her over and she landed hard into the bin.

She tried to straighten herself, crying,"Stop! Don't! Please!" He was pushing the gate down, but Marilyn grabbed on to it, her fingers getting slammed between the gate and the bin.

He pressed a green button to the side of the machine. Marilyn screamed, her death slow but certain, the baler/compactor's ram crushing her neck and back first. Blood began to leak from the bottom to the floor. Her killer walked off before the compactor finished its cycle.

Lois stayed underneath a machine near the conveyor belt. She had seen the man walking behind Marilyn. She had hidden because she knew what he was going to do. Maybe kill all three of them during the power outage.

Lois, her legs trembling, emerged from her hiding place and took the elevator upstairs. She found Bonnie standing there when the doors opened. Seeing Bonnie's concerned expression made Lois cry out, and Bonnie put her arms around the other woman as she sobbed.

Bonnie called Max first, then he called 911. The police appeared, followed by Max and Brenda, who allowed Joshua to come with them.

The baler was surrounded by crime scene tape. The blood had yet to be washed away, Marilyn's body taken to the Falls River morgue.

Joshua had returned home by the time Max received the call from Bonnie. She had stayed calm as she tried to explain what Lois had seen, that Marilyn was dead downstairs.

Joshua looked around the area while his father talked to the police. Bonnie and Lois were nearby, Lois still trembling and crying, a thick jacket around her shoulders. He noticed how Max did not approach them, and neither did Brenda. Colbie had chosen to stay home, not wanting to see what had happened.

Word had got around town following the hailstorm, and some employees were already hovering in the parking lot.

Anna parked her damaged car and joined the rest of the crew. Jay from the office and his wife were standing by their truck.

"Jesus," Jay said. "What next?"

Jay's wife was smoking a cigarette, wrapped in a pink camouflage print coat. "Who would hurt poor Marilyn? She never harmed anyone..."

No one else was allowed into the building. Anna was starting to wonder why she came. The police would see her cracked windshield. She could end up with a ticket.

"Marilyn was crushed to death," Jay said. "All someone had to do was push the button..."

" _Someone_?" his wife asked.

"Someone psycho enough to throw a woman into a baler."

Anna walked to the front doors, seeing Joshua standing near her desk. He unlocked the door from the inside, letting her in.

"Is it true?" she asked.

"Lois witnessed it. All she saw was a guy in camo and a ski mask. Lois said he lifted Marilyn like a doll and threw her in the machine."

"No spell this time."

"Bonnie and Lois won't come back here, I'm sure of it."

"They must be terrified."

"I think whoever killed Marilyn knew she and Bonnie and Lois would be here alone. The power outage was a disadvantage, because the compactor could only be used—"

"As soon as the power came back on."

"He couldn't throw all three women into the machine. They were in three different places in the plant. Bonnie was on the other side of the floor upstairs from Marilyn. Lois was downstairs. But he chose Marilyn. Why not Lois? She was downstairs the whole time."

"I don't know what this psycho was thinking, Josh, but is he connected to everything else that's going on?" Anna asked.

"I think so. And it's only going to get worse. The merger is definitely going to be effected by this. Some of those people outside are not going to come back to work."

"No. If anything, they're worried about this place shutting down for more than a day. Those people need to work."

"Not if they're scared."

"But they don't know about—"

"They don't have to. The merger is being sabotaged for some reason."

"But that doesn't tie in with Leo disappearing or when you found your crystal—"

"I think it all ties in, Anna."

"You have to think about your own safety, Josh."

"Nothing is going to happen to me until the baby is born."

"What will happen to you? Consider Marilyn and that Cole guy. He only worked here one day; Marilyn and Leo were here from the beginning. If Ruth is smart–and I know she is–she will leave town. Same with Bonnie and Lois."

"No. They'll stick around until Colbie has that baby."

" _Your_ baby."

"Right. I'm going to be a dad. And good fathers protect their children."

### Chapter Ten

The plant reopened days later, and Max was glad to see his entire crew return, even Bonnie and Lois, who received surprising hugs from Brenda.

Brenda doesn't hug people, Joshua thought. Or does she?

He had put the crystal necklace on, keeping the stone hidden underneath his shirt.

The crew was given their assignments and the machines were turned on. The baler was cleaned and everyone was working as if nothing happened. However, the workers from Great Lakes Packaging had not returned. Max was quiet and withdrawn the rest of the day, staying in his office alone. Brenda went home and Joshua worked upstairs.

Bonnie took over supervisory duties. Joshua could tell she and Lois wanted to talk about Marilyn, but refrained from their usual chatter.

Joshua decided to break the silence. "I'm really sorry about Marilyn. And Leo. What is going on?" He pulled the crystal out from under his shirt. "Why did I find this at my old house? Someone stole it from my room and then I found it wrapped around the padlock at the basement door."

Lois turned her head and looked at Bonnie, who ran her fingers through her steel-gray hair. "We've had nothing to do with this, Josh. Ruth told us about Max coming to her after the hi-lo accident, but none of us left that toy sword. The use of swords is old pagan magic. Justice. Balance."

"But someone is abusing the balance," Lois said. "Dark magic, which we haven't used since...a long time ago."

"Who is Davey?" Joshua asked.

Lois looked down, getting back to work assembling dividers. Bonnie picked up the glue pail. "We need to get started on the next order."

"Davey?" Joshua asked.

"We'll talk later," Bonnie said.

"When?"

"Lunch. Meet us outside."

Joshua followed Bonnie and Lois out of the building at eleven-thirty.

"Let's go for a ride," Bonnie said. "We'll take my truck."

Joshua found himself sitting between Bonnie and Lois in the cab of Bonnie's old Ford. She made a right turn at the intersection, cruising up to the McDonald's drive-thru. Several cars were ahead of them.

"Did you tell Max and Brenda you were going with us?" Bonnie asked.

"No," Joshua said.

"Good."

"Will you tell me about Davey?"

"Davey would never have lived to see adulthood. Cystic fibrosis. They can't breathe on their own after a while. They can get pneumonia. Davey was Alice's son. Alice was part of our circle. Ruth. Elizabeth. Alice. Lois. Me. Marilyn was added later after I had taught her a few things. Marilyn is my cousin. Our mothers were twin sisters; good thing they're gone now, because this would have killed them both."

"How did you all become...a circle?"

"It goes back to the Depression. Our mothers all knew each other through marriage, church and neighboring farms. Alice's mother Rebecca was a strong talent; she knew about Harvester from the Dust Bowl. She was from Oklahoma. She said the witches she knew there would worship Harvester for his favor, but they had no luck. Rebecca and Alice were living with Davey out at their farm when the drought came in 1996. Rebecca started to worship Harvester again, this time involving Alice and Davey. Alice and Elizabeth became close friends while working at the Lake Trust Bank. They were seeing people come for loans, trying to save their farms during the drought. I was related to Alice through marriage, my brother Jim married her sister Sue, but they got divorced later. I was introduced to their worship of Harvester after my husband and I came close to losing our orchards during the drought."

"Fruit Ridge was more rural then," Lois said. "Almost everyone was a farmer. But Max worked at a foundry in Falls River, Liz at the bank. Max wanted to have his own business. He saw people losing their farms, their homes. He and Liz could have moved to Falls River. Instead, they chose to stay. They got a loan for the house. Max had grown up here, he wanted to help."

"We only had a circle of four until I invited Ruth," Bonnie said. "She was religious, as I had been, and she was offended at first by Rebecca's altar and old spell books. Liz started putting her own together. She built an altar in her home. After a year with no rain, it came like a typhoon. But Harvester came back to collect."

"The fire?" Joshua asked.

"Yeah. The fire."

Bonnie eased up to the drive-thru window. They ate their lunch in the parking lot.

"Did you lose your orchards, Bonnie?" Joshua asked.

"We worked something out. No one ended up on the street. Max hired me and the others at the plant. His promise to Liz."

"Did Alice ever work for Dad?"

"No. Not Alice. She didn't want to work after Davey died."

"Should I be afraid of Harvester?"  
Bonnie watched Joshua take a sip of soda through a straw. "I think you should be afraid. I've told Lois to start carrying a weapon. So am I. If Max doesn't like it, too bad."

"Ruth said I needed to find my witch box. But I have no idea..."

"Someone may have destroyed it," Lois said. "Burned it."

"Don't put it past Max and Brenda if they hid your box. Even Colbie."

"I think I'm going crazy," Joshua said. "Nothing seems real. I can't sleep. I have bad dreams. I still get headaches."

Joshua explained about the doll he and Anna found in the mailbox.

"Someone wants to hurt you," Bonnie said. "Keep wearing your crystal. I can give you a protection spell later. Buy an amethyst. The stone is good for mental clarity. Onyx is protective."

"Onyx is a black stone, right?"

"Yes. You used to wear—"

"An onyx necklace. Yeah. I remember. The stones were beaded through a string that stretched. Where is it now?"

"Maybe in your box."

"I need to find it."

"Keep looking. Start at home."

Joshua waited until his parents and Colbie went to bed. He started in the attic, the door unlocked.

He found a filing cabinet behind more Bankers Boxes. The top three drawers were not locked, but rusty and off the tracks, heavy with files. Joshua pulled at the bottom drawer, which was locked. He checked out the old lock, knowing something thin and flat could open the drawer, to move the metal latch. A fingernail file? A credit card?

Have I done this before? he thought.

He turned off the light and went downstairs, keeping his footsteps soft. He entered the kitchen. He found a small knife with a thin blade. He was turning the corner, entering the dining area, when he saw Colbie standing there in her pajamas, white-blonde hair sticking up.

"What's with the knife?" she asked.

"You want to come upstairs with me?"

Colbie sat on the attic floor next to Joshua, her belly resting in her lap. She watched him slide the flat blade into the tiny space at the top of the file drawer, pushing against the latch. A snapping sound. Joshua pulled at the handle, the drawer opening. He dropped the knife to the floor, reaching for the files.

He sat on the floor and opened the first file in his lap. He scanned the papers, realizing he was looking at a deed. Fifty acres of property in Fruit Ridge County. He found another. Two hundred acres. More legal papers. He read the signatures. Leo Berman. Joseph and Bonnie Hagen. Marilyn Thompson. A hundred acres. Max purchased all of this property from his workers between 1997 and 1999. The plant opened in 1996.

"My dad owns a lot of property."

"He owns my grandparents' property," Colbie said. "He offered to buy after the drought. Grandpa and Grandma became Max's tenants, but they could buy the property back in the future, which they would never be able to do. Grandpa was saving the money from the sale for retirement."

"I'm sorry, but Leo is probably dead," Josh said. "Marilyn was murdered. I wonder if someone has a list of all their names, crossing them off one by one. And Dad owns all of their property. Mom's circle. Alice. Bonnie. Ruth. Lois. Marilyn. Why would Dad want so much land?"

"He was being generous," Colbie said.

"But the merger is going to change everything."

"If the merger happens now."

Joshua and Colbie were sitting close together. He could smell her toothpaste and the lotion she used on her face and hands. She brushed her hair out of her eyes then moved forward, her face coming in closer to his. He didn't pull away as their lips met, and he returned her kiss. She pulled her head away.

"You haven't done that in a long time," she said.

Joshua took her hand, helping her rise from the floor. "Do you want to come in my room? Hang out for a while?"

### *****

Colbie sat at the edge of his bed. "Brenda and I are going shopping this weekend. I need to buy a crib and a stroller."

"I thought you'd have boxes full of blue things."

"I can't believe I'm having a boy. Will it be harder or easier raising a boy?"

"That's where the dad is supposed to come in."

"I'm not doing it all alone, I can tell you. I wouldn't make it."

"It's just one baby. How hard can it be?"

"Everyone makes it sound like taking care of a baby is the hardest job they've ever had. All of these stories of spitting up and green poop."

"Green?" Joshua asked.

"Some babies, even after they're born, have premature digestive systems. They have colic, so they throw up a lot. And their poop doesn't look right."

"I don't know if I had colic."

"Neither do I. Grandma never said anything about it. Or my dad."

"Do you ever visit your mom?"

"For a while, but the drive to the prison was too long. I talk to her on the phone sometimes."

"What about your dad?"

"No. He chose...the bitch."

"Colbie, there's something your Grandma said that I think you should know..."

Joshua told her about Ruth's conversation with his dad, that Ruth said Colbie had no talent.

"No talent? What kind of talent?"

"Talent for the kind of spell that injured Nick."

"Spells? Well, that's more Grandma's thing. Your mother's thing..."

"And why Marilyn was killed. Why Leo is missing."

"Some sick bastard killed Marilyn. He probably sneaked in during the power outage."

"What about Leo?"

"I hate to say it, but Grandpa probably had a heart attack in the woods. Maybe while checking out a hunting spot. It makes me sad; I love my grandparents, but they sort of resent Max and Brenda. They don't have anything of their own. None of them do..."

"Did I ever tell you anything about my witch box?"

"What's a witch box?"

"Ruth said I need to find it, that I showed it to her before I got sick."

"I know nothing about it."

"Would you feel offended if I said I don't believe you?"

"Josh, I know you don't remember much, and you might be feeling paranoid, but I mean you no harm."

Her bottom lip was starting to tremble and she lowered her head. He knew he had hurt her feelings, but he was determined to know the truth. "Colbie, if you want us to be close, I need to be able to trust you."

Colbie rose from the bed. "Just because you deserve the truth, doesn't mean you're going to get it. If you have a witch box, you should never have been using it. Grandma said people our age shouldn't have that much power. We might hurt someone."

"Enough people have been hurt, and if we're not careful, we could be next."

"I'm not afraid. Whoever killed poor Marilyn doesn't want _me_ dead."

"What about me?"

"I wouldn't think so."

"Why not? Do you know something I don't?"

"I don't know anything. I'm the one with no talent."

"Anna has talent."

"She likes to think so. She has her agenda, too."

"What agenda?"

She turned away. "Never mind. I'm going back to bed."

"I think Ruth was wrong."

"About what?"

"I don't know why you won't help me, but I'm going to find out the truth."

"I know, I know. Goodnight, Josh."

Bonnie prepared her altar.

She placed the four tall white candles on a stand to represent the four winds, along with two others to represent male and female energies, putting these in a circular pattern. She placed the ceramic plate with the pentagram etched inside at the base of the altar, underneath the candles. She surrounded herself with the stones she had collected, including onyx and crystals. She wanted to create a spell Joshua could use to protect himself.

I wonder if I lost my memory, I would lose my talent, she thought. I didn't know I had power until Elizabeth showed me.

She placed a black candle at the top of her altar, in case of any energy that might show up. She did not light the black candle, only the white ones.

She knelt at the altar, which she set up in her bedroom, the light dim. She relaxed and meditated for a while before beginning her prayer.

"Harvester, good master, show your presence to me..."

Bonnie, her eyes closed in prayer, did not notice the black candlewick becoming aflame. However, she felt a presence; heavy, cold, and smelling of earth. The altar began to tremble. Bonnie's head started to hurt. When she opened her eyes, all of the white candle flames were out, but the black remained lit.

Harvester had returned.

_His will could crush us all_...

### Chapter Eleven

Max watched as Joshua checked his blood sugar at the kitchen table. Joshua looked up from his glucose meter at his father's gaze.

"How old was I when you found out I was diabetic?" he asked.

"You were about three years old," Max said. "You were always thirsty and going to the bathroom. One day, you fainted, so we took you to the emergency room. The doctor tested your blood, and your glucose was very high."

"Did the diabetes ever get in the way of school?"

"No."

"Where are my school pictures?"

"Around here somewhere."

"The attic?"

"Maybe. I haven't checked in years."

"Do you ever notice how there's no framed pictures in the living room or anywhere in the house?"

"I leave that up to Brenda."

"Is she jealous of Mom?"

"No. Why?"

"I still don't remember much..."

"Did you eat breakfast?"

"Yeah. I ate earlier, before you got up. I didn't sleep much last night."

Joshua put his meter back in its case. "Dad, I need to tell you something."

He explained about the conversation he overheard between his father and Ruth. "She called Brenda a wannabe. You didn't argue with her."

Joshua had expected a more dramatic reaction from Max. Instead, the older man sighed. "Those women were close to your mother. Liz had a connection...to an energy. This gave her power."

"Harvester?"

Max rose from the table. "Nothing but a fantasy. Besides, those women had no business with witchcraft; they started to get jealous and I never figured out what caused the fire."

"Dad, please tell me more."

"If you know about Harvester, you're already half-way there. Trust me when I say that you're safe as long as I'm around. Those women can bring up the past, but they have no power without Liz."

"What about Nick's accident?"

"I was wrong. I don't think Ruth or the others had anything to do with it."

"You can't say that about Marilyn."

"I can only hope that her killer is found."

"What about the merger?"

"They still want to do business."

"You're kidding."

"No. By spring, the merger will be complete. I'm sorry about Marilyn, but the plant can't shut down."

"But the story was on the news and in the paper—"

"Great Lakes don't care, son. They need us, too. It's business as usual."

Joshua wanted to ask his father more, but he knew he was lucky Max had been willing to talk about Harvester. Joshua was willing to be patient. "I'd like to go to the plant today."

"Fine. I'll be leaving as soon as I finish my coffee."

Anna, at lunchtime, cruised up to the parking lot at Fruit Ridge High School. Colbie was waiting at the front doors.

Colbie had called Anna at the plant, asking for a meeting.

The weather was cold and wet, Colbie's hair and jacket damp. When she entered Anna's warm car, she noticed the cracked windshield. "I didn't think you'd show up."

"I told you I would." Anna drove out of the parking lot, turning on to the main road. "Where do you want to go?"

"Anywhere."

Anna turned on to the dirt road that led to the old church. She parked in the same spot, but kept the engine running.

Colbie looked over at the building. She had attended this church as a little girl with Ruth and Leo. Her mother would sometimes go with them. "I think Max wants to tell Joshua."

"Not before the merger and the baby being born."

"Only months away. If Max tells Josh now, what difference will it make?"

"Even Max doesn't know everything. Are you going to tell him what we did?"

"Brenda told me to keep quiet."

"She knows?" Anna asked.

"God, I wished this had never happened."

"I thought Brenda was going to teach you."

"She knows some things, but she's still a student. The only other spell-casting I've done is with you, on that night..."

"What about making my glass pentagram break into pieces?"

"Not me. But what about making the curtains in my room almost strangle me? Didn't know you had a mean streak, Anna."

"What?"

"I know it was you."

"What are you talking about?"

"You've been pissed ever since I got pregnant—"

"No, Colbie. I didn't do it, whatever it was."

Colbie shook her head. "Then who?"

"Maybe Harvester."

"Didn't Harvester save Joshua's life?"

"I doubt that Josh could have bonded with Harvester. Josh has no business practicing. I think it's dangerous for him."

"I've looked everywhere in that house, and I can't find his witch box."

"He's trying to put things together," Anna said. "He's getting closer."

"Did you think, when he got sick, that his memory would be almost wiped clean? That he would be better off if he couldn't remember—"

"We had to help him, Colbie. And you got your proof that you have talent, in spite of what Ruth always said."

"Maybe my talent had nothing to do with it."

"Don't dump all of this on me."

"Hey, I'm grateful. At least he's still alive."

Joshua could feel the tension in the plant as he walked with his father. No one turned around from their machines to say hello.

The baler was being used, a worker from Great Lakes Packaging throwing in sheets of discarded cardboard. He did not get too close, wearing work gloves and safety glasses.

Joshua got on the elevator alone. He shivered in his heavy coat and fleece shirt. He disliked this place, and he couldn't hide his lack of enthusiasm as he watched the crew perform one repetitious task after another.

Bonnie and Lois were at the work tables. He took off his coat, hanging it on a hook.

Bonnie, her work glasses around her neck, pulled a sheet of lined paper from her pants pocket. "Here. Don't let Max see it."

Joshua nodded, stuffing the folded paper in his back pocket. "He finally said something to me this morning about Mom and Harvester. I couldn't believe it."

"What did he say?"

"Harvester was a fantasy. That none of you have any power without Mom."

"Brenda doesn't have any power without your mother's spell books. What an insult to Liz."

"Dad says he still doesn't know what caused the fire. He said you all had become jealous of each other."

Lois suppressed a laugh and Bonnie turned to her.

"Your dad is wrong, Josh," Bonnie said. "We weren't jealous of Liz. We were afraid for her. As we are for you. The spell I gave you will keep dark spirits away. But Harvester is real."

"I saw him once," Lois said. "He was a mist. Heard his voice in the woods outside the Curtis house. We were out there late at night. We didn't have to conjure him; he was close to Liz in those days. If anyone was jealous, it was Max."

"She liked me to sing to Harvester," Joshua said.

"You remember that?" Bonnie asked.

He explained what he heard on the cassette tapes. "I was afraid, but Mom seemed to think I should love Harvester."

"Harvester lit my black candle the other night."

"He did?" Lois asked.

"It's the season. Harvest time is coming soon.

### Part II-Offerings
### Chapter Twelve

" _Maybe we should have called Alice White," Colbie said._

" _Would you really want her around?" Anna asked._

Anna and Colbie were in Anna's living room. Anna had set up her altar, her ceramic pentagram, five candles, and spell book/journal on an old microwave cart. Anna arranged the four white candles, the short black one topped the candelabra.

" _Alice and Rebecca know the most about Harvester," Colbie said._

" _This isn't about Harvester, it's about Josh."_

" _Even he couldn't conjure Harvester."_

" _I think he has."_

" _How?"_

" _Blood sacrifice. And Josh is still a virgin."_

Colbie looked down at her swollen belly. "No—"

" _Don't bullshit me. He never touched you."_

" _Well, yes, he did. Just not in a way—"_

" _Enough. Can you light these candles?"_

Colbie didn't move. "If Joshua isn't my baby's father, who is?"

" _I know all about your deal. I just don't care. Come on, Colbie, help me."_

Colbie sighed and rose from the couch. Anna handed her the lighter.

" _If Harvester favors virgins," Colbie said,"I guess I'm out of the running."_

" _It doesn't always matter. Liz Hildebrand was a grown woman. So is Alice."_

" _So is my grandma. Just now, you've told me more than she ever has."_

" _Ruth wants to protect you."_

" _I guess she failed."_

Colbie lit the candles and Anna went to the kitchen. Colbie saw the living room in candlelight, and noticed the little house was old, a one-room shack with rooms added through the years. The trailer where Colbie lived with her grandparents was more modern. She was looking forward to moving into Joshua's home.

Colbie looked down at the ceramic plate, the five-sided star carved in the front. Anna was becoming a real practitioner, all of her spells in neat script on the page. A photograph of Joshua was paper-clipped to the corner. A bit of his hair from a brush.

Anna's gone crazy, she thought. But so has Joshua. Nothing seems to calm him down, he's always angry. Max and Brenda can't control him anymore.

Anna entered the living room, dragging a pillowcase, tied with a rope at the end. Colbie heard a low growl.

" _What is that, Anna?"_

" _We need a sacrifice for this spell."_

" _A cat?"_

" _A possum."_

" _That's nasty. What about your blood?"_

" _What about my blood?"_

" _You're still a virgin, right?"_

Anna dropped the end of the bag. "Word gets around..."

Colbie found the small dish by the candles, in the shape of a star. "Trust me. Cutting yourself has to be easier than murdering a possum."

" _All right. Help me get this critter outside."_

Alice White could see, as she drove past in her truck, Joshua Hildebrand's new Jeep almost wrapped around the old oak tree.

Too young to be driving, she thought.

Alice pulled over in her old truck. The night was warm and humid in August, her legs sticking to the vinyl seats. She wore knee-length shorts with a T-shirt, flip-flops on her feet.

Her cat Clovis was in the truck. He liked to go for rides. She found a flashlight, leaving the cat behind in the cab.

She heard a voice as she came closer to the Jeep.

" _No, Dad, I can't drive it home! I'm stuck out at the White place. She wasn't there. I know, she wouldn't have anything to say to me. Please, Dad, can you call a tow?"_

Alice turned off her flashlight. Did he not notice she was there? His back was to her, yards away. Little fool.

" _It's not about Mom! It's about me!"_

Alice walked over to the Jeep, near the back seat. She saw the wooden box. The front doors would not open, the hinges bent. However, the back door opened, and she retrieved the box.

" _Hey! What are you doing?"_

She made a dash for her truck, the box in her arms. Later, she would wonder why he didn't come back for it.

Anna cut deep into her left palm. Colbie held the dish under the cut. They remained silent until the chant, not wanting to break the solemnity of the spell.

Anna made a fist, squeezing more blood from her hand. When she pulled away, Colbie covered the dish with a white cloth, placing it at the altar.

The candles were lit, the electric lights off. Anna and Colbie covered their clothes with white flannel nightgowns. They kneeled at the altar, chanting in unison.

" _Great Harvester, hear our prayer._

Protect your loving children

Your faithful, in the harvest and in death

Raise your children

Raise the dust

Raise your children—"

The altar was shaking. The room went cold, the wood stove making a thumping noise.

" _What now?" Colbie asked._

" _Stay serious. Keep chanting." Anna dipped the white cloth in the blood, smearing some on her cheeks._

The black candle lit itself in front of them.

" _Harvester," Anna said. "Raise the dust. Raise your children. Come on, Colbie. For Josh."_

Colbie joined in the chant. She and Anna held hands, enjoying themselves in a strange way. When they separated, Colbie started to dance in a circle.

" _Raise the dust. Raise your children."_

She didn't notice that she was rising from the floor, but Anna did. Anna kept chanting, Colbie going higher.

She reached the ceiling of the small house.

Colbie opened her eyes. "I've been favored, Anna!"

Anna shook her head. "No, you're pregnant..."

Colbie's legs buckled and she flew backwards against the wall, above the couch. She didn't fall, but the wind was knocked out of her. Anna ran towards the couch, but she felt someone pulling at her hair from the top of her head. She was rising, her body stiff from fear. Her head was at the ceiling when she felt a searing pain between her legs. Underneath the nightgown, she was wearing jeans and a T-shirt. However, the hard thrusting violated her; she could feel the tearing of her hymen. Tears came to her eyes, she sobbed as Harvester's energy pulled away from her. She was dropped the floor.

The candlelight went out. Anna focused her eyes in the dark and saw Colbie nearby, her legs and feet dangling.

Colbie groaned, her hands on her belly. Anna, too shocked to move, stayed on the floor. Minutes later, Colbie rose and turned on the lights, but Anna did not speak.

" _Anna? Come on, we're okay."_

" _Harvester is evil."_

" _We need to leave him alone. Joshua does, too."_

Colbie pulled off her white gown. She grabbed a blanket from the couch, covering Anna. She noticed the stain on Anna's jeans, at the front of the crotch. "Did you get your period?"

Anna gathered up her gown, looking at the stain.

" _Harvester hurt you, didn't he?"_

" _Yes."_

" _I'm sorry, Anna."_

" _I'll be okay."_

" _Damn Josh. He needs to grow up. Solve his own problems."_

" _He would if he could. But he doesn't have that kind of control."_

" _And look what happens when we try to take control?"_

"How do you feel about Halloween?" Anna asked.

"I think I'll stay home," Joshua said.

"It's only two weeks away."

Anna and Joshua were at her desk, Anna studying Bonnie's protection spell. "Hecate is a good choice. But you don't have any candles or stones. I could take you to a store in Falls River. They sell health food and vitamins, but also Wicca supplies. They have a lot of books."

"When can you take me?"

"Whenever you're free."

Over the last few weeks, since Marilyn's death, Joshua had been living in a depressed haze. His doctor had prescribed an antidepressant, which only made him sleepy. The boredom didn't help. He had nowhere to go, nothing to do.

Anna sensed his mood. "Any memories coming back?"

"Not much. I don't dream on the pills."

"Stop taking them. You know why you're down."

"But I can't do anything about it."

"I could help you put together a new witch box..."

He shook his head. "What is it with you witches?"

Anna grinned. "We can be helpful. It's not our fault no one listens. What's Colbie been doing?"

"Going to school. Keeping her doctor's appointments. I went with her for an ultrasound. The baby is fine."

"Do you ever see Brenda teaching Colbie anything?"

"No. And there's nothing to find at home. Dad and Brenda keep their bedroom door locked. She does Colbie. But there's no lock on my door. Anybody can come in."

"I'm sorry, Josh. Maybe a trip to Falls River will help. We'll go Saturday. That's only two days away."

"I've been wanting to ask you..."

"Ask me what?"

"On my first day here, after I came home from the hospital, I knew you were my friend. I knew you cared. Before I got sick, how close were we?"

Anna shrugged. "Just friends. Colbie was pregnant—"

"How did I meet Colbie?"

"At school."

"She doesn't talk about going to school with me. I can't find a diploma or a yearbook. I can't recall any teachers or friends. No football games, prom, or graduation. There are no photos in my house."

"Has Colbie spoken to Ruth?"

"No. And the cops don't come around anymore. No one talks about Marilyn."

"Did you hear about Jay?" Anna asked.

"No."

"He put in his two weeks notice. He can't get over someone just coming in here and murdering an employee. No one will use the balers except the guy from Great Lakes."

"The employee safety videos didn't help. Dad made us watch every one of them."

"I had to watch 'em alone during lunch. Horrible."

"None touched on how to avoid being thrown like a ragdoll into a baler."

"We have no security cameras on the floor. Or the parking lot."

"The power outage was a perfect time—"

"Josh?" Max was standing outside of his office. "Come in here, son."

Joshua entered the office. Max sat at his desk. "I'm going to need you to start coming in everyday for a while. Bonnie will need the help upstairs. Lois just quit today."

"What? When?"

"She came in during coffee break this morning. I'll have to get more of the Great Lakes people to come in. What a pain in the ass. Jay is leaving, too. With his attitude, who else would want to hire him?"

"Yeah. I sort of like him, though."

"Me, too. I also like Lois. Those Great Lakes guys are a bunch of punks."

"Don't any women work there?"

Max shook his head. "Not a plus, in my opinion."

"I'll be working a whole shift?"

"Begins at six. Runs until four or five sometimes."

"I don't mind."

"And Saturdays."

"This Saturday?"

"We're all coming in."

"Oh. Okay."

"Sorry, son. Did you have plans?"

"Not really."

"I was looking in my closet today, trying to find some of Jay's paperwork. The cassette tapes I had in there are missing..."

"I took them."

"I thought so. It's okay. Did hearing your mother's voice help?"

"A little. She wanted me to sing for Harvester."

" _Nature Boy_. I always liked that song."

"I've been out to the old house."

"What did you find?"

"A locked-up basement."

"It's locked up for a reason."

"Why did you leave it?"

"I had already bought the farm house. Maybe I'll clear it out in the spring."

"Why do you own so much property?"

"I bought the land because I wanted to help people. They could all still live in their homes, as if nothing had changed, and I offered them all jobs at the plant. Most took my offer."

"What if someone refused?"

"That was fine."

"What if they owed the bank—"

"I paid off what they owed if they worked for me."

"Did you get loans?"

"A few. The plant was doing well and I inherited some money and property from my grandparents in the Upper Peninsula. Liz had a little money, too. I like investing."

"Thanks for being open with me, Dad. I feel like everything I learn might help me remember."

"I understand. But you're better now. No more headaches, right?"

Josh nodded. "But I stopped taking the antidepressants."

"That's up to you, son. But you'll be so busy around here you won't have time to think about being depressed."

"Sure. I'll be all right."

"I'm sorry you can't go to Falls River on Saturday," Anna said. "I just found out I have to work, too."

Anna pulled on her coat, ready to go home. Joshua was staying late with Max. He decided to walk with her out to her car.

Anna, as she approached, noticed that the bumper looked off-balance. On closer inspection, a wide scratch marred the right side.

"I think someone hit your car," Joshua said.

The trunk was cracked open, the hinges buckled. Anna ran her fingers over the peeling paint. "Someone backed into it."

Joshua shook his head. "And they just drove off..."

"I don't have full coverage. My car is almost fifteen years old."

"Whoever did it probably doesn't have insurance at all and didn't want the trouble."

"Why can't people be more careful?" Anna asked.

"Do you have another vehicle at home?"

"My dad would let me borrow his pick-up."

"Sorry, Anna. You need a protection spell for your car."

Anna grinned, flipping her ponytail off her shoulder. "I should try that."

### Chapter Thirteen

Anna put a frozen dinner in the oven before sitting at the kitchen table. She looked out through the sliding glass doors to the back yard, carpeted with fall leaves. She rose from the table, going outside to the deck.

The night sky was full of stars, the air crisp.

A good time for a protection spell, she thought.

She went back inside. A box full of Mason jars rested on top of the refrigerator. She used a chair as a step stool to allow her to pull a dusty jar and lid from the box.

She found some sewing needles, thumb tacks, and safety pins by searching in the junk drawer. The spell called for the jar to be filled half-way. She found a box of nails in the garage. After filling the jar, she used a cup to mix water and salt together. She poured the mixture over the sharp objects to the top. She screwed the lid on tight.

Anna took the jar out to her car. She pulled the pentagram she wore on a chain around her neck from under her blouse. She entered her car on the passenger side and laid the jar in the glove compartment. Before slamming the compartment door shut, she prayed:

"Blessed be, my mother Hecate.

By the pentagram I wear;

Water, Fire, Earth and Air.

I request this jar be used for protection.

Blessed be, my mother Hecate..."

Anna exited her car and locked it up. As she walked to her front porch, she wondered if she should show Joshua the jar. Maybe it would help him remember when he had taught her the spell, just weeks before he became sick.

Lois's blind old dog Sunny eased herself from the floor, heading for the back door. Lois, who had been reading the Falls River Press at the kitchen table, rose from her seat to grab Sunny's leash from a peg on the wall.

Sunny couldn't go out alone anymore, especially at night. Lois sometimes felt as if she was looking after a grumpy old lady.

Sunny made a croaky growl as Lois put the leash on.

"Okay, Sun. No pooping in the house tonight."

They made their way through the back door of the old house; one of two houses, the other a much older place less than a half mile away. Lois's great-grandfather had built the little house when he bought the ten acres at the turn of the century. Now, after the drought and her divorce, Max Hildebrand owned every inch.

Lois stayed in her back yard, walking Sunny to her favorite spot. The dog squatted, and Lois looked past the oak trees, the night breeze blowing the carpet of leaves in different directions.

Lois didn't regret quitting her job. She would miss the paycheck, not the work that made her back ache after sixteen years of working for Max Packaging .

Time for a change, she thought. Max can have this old house. I'll go live with my sister in Falls River.

Sunny's ears perked up. She growled. Lois looked around, but saw nothing. The porch light was on, but the area was dark where she stood.

Sunny started barking.

"Hush up, Sun. No one out here."

However, Lois wasn't really convinced. She buttoned up her thick sweater, pulling her long braid out of the collar. When she looked up, she saw a light in her grandparents' house.

Who would be out there? she thought.

She let Sunny back inside. She grabbed a flashlight, taking the trail to the old house.

Lois had walked this trail all of her childhood. She considered both houses her home then, but no one had lived in her grandparents' house since her grandmother went off to a nursing home in the 1970s. The place was sometimes used for storage, locked up most of the time.

Lois, when she reached the house, realized there was no light from any of the windows. She shook her head.

She ran the light over the front porch, decayed from neglect. She stepped with care to the door.

Lois peered into the cracked window. Grandma's old sewing machine was covered with a sheet. Dust and cobwebs. Lois did not bring the key with her, so she couldn't get in and didn't care to.

She left the porch and headed back to the trail. She kept the flashlight on, taking hurried steps.

She heard a door shut; the rusty hinges on the front door making a tired whine. She could have turned around, but kept going. She did not want to know who was there. Probably the same face Marilyn saw.

Lois heard steps behind her, the leaves crunching underfoot. Her heart in her throat, she started to run.

She sprinted a few yards before something wet hit her back. Her pursuer had caught up, but she convinced herself that she would be all right if she could keep running.

The splash felt like water, cold drips in her hair. She took a deep breath, the smell filling her nose.

Oh, no...

She ran off the trail, into the trees. She had to slow down to unbutton her sweater, her braid saturated. She had dropped the flashlight.

Lois heard the footsteps coming closer. She dropped her wet sweater and started running between the trees. She stumbled a few times, but kept going. She was almost sixty years old and she felt as if her lungs were exploding. She was wheezing and her legs ached.

_I have to keep going. I'll die out here_...

Lois reached the edge of the woods, nearing the highway. She had to get over a steep hill. She looked behind her for just a moment before she planned to leap to the top.

The gasoline splashed her full in the face, blinding her. She doubled over, gagging, but she could hear the 'whoosh' of the blow torch.

The flames began at her right pant leg, then the left, enveloping her in seconds. She screamed as she fell. More gasoline was added to the blaze, Lois's cooking flesh creating smoke that could be seen from over the hill to the guardrail.

They were all silent at the farm house. Brenda and Max sat at the kitchen table, tight-lipped. Colbie and Joshua stood nearby.

Max had received the call in the middle of the night. Lois's face was still intact enough to be identified by police.

"Bonnie and Ruth," Joshua said.

Colbie shrugged. "Grandma will be—"

"Don't say she'll be fine. When Bonnie and Ruth are gone, who are next? What are the police doing, anyway?"

"They don't know what to do," Max said. "Our police department has never dealt with a serial killer of old people."

"Marilyn and Lois weren't that old," Joshua said. "This isn't about age at all. These women were Mom's friends, her circle. And where the Hell is Leo?"

Max rose from the table, taking his coffee cup to the sink. "I'm going to work. You ready, Josh?"

Joshua was supposed to go into work at six, but Max had stayed home a few extra hours, no one sleeping after getting the news about Lois. Joshua's mind was spinning during the silent ride to work.

What can I do to help myself? he thought.

His mother. The old house. All roads led to the past. He could use his memory loss to hide behind his father, but he was starting to wonder if Max was as strong as he seemed.

_Dad is scared, too_...

"Dad?"

Max kept his eyes on the road. "Yeah?"

"You told me about Harvester. Why?"

"I didn't think you would ever forget him."

"Do you know who killed Marilyn and Lois?"

Max shook his head. "I have no clue. Maybe someone from the plant?"

"Like who?"

"I don't know. Someone who wants to see old witches dead?"

"Crushed and burned? Mom was burned—"

"Don't remind me. Makes me want to go back to church."

"Does the owner of Great Lakes—"

"He doesn't know about Lois yet. I _hope_."

Max parked in the lot. When they entered the front door, Anna was at her desk, her eyes red from crying.

"Bonnie is upstairs," she said.

Max nodded and Joshua followed him to the elevator. The machines were running downstairs, but no one turned around to wave and smile.

Bonnie looked as if she hadn't slept all night. She was wearing a sweater over a fleece shirt, but was rubbing her folded arms.

"You didn't have to come in," Max said. "I could handle it today."

She shrugged. "What would I do? Sit around the house and wait for—"

"Bonnie, I need you to finish the packaging for Trident Automotive. The order needs to go out this afternoon."

"Right, boss." Bonnie turned to the two Great Lakes men. "Let's get the glue guns plugged in, load up the table. As much as you can carry. You can work with me, Josh."

### Chapter Fourteen

Joshua came to see Anna at lunchtime. She was at her desk, a box of tissue in front of her. Joshua sat next to her. He didn't speak, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Josh, _who_ would set an innocent woman on fire?"

"I don't know what to think..."

"Bonnie and Ruth should leave town."

"I heard Ruth isn't at her sister's house anymore. Colbie said Ruth wouldn't tell her where she's staying now."

"Colbie spoke to her grandma?"

"Ruth called the house this morning after finding out about Lois."

"Bonnie won't be here much longer."

They heard the front doors open, two male Fruit Ridge County police officers entered. Anna rose from her seat.

"Is Max here?" one of them asked.

The officers stayed with Max in his office for almost a half hour.

Anna sat alone for a while, the phone quiet. She had spoken to her father the night before. He was on a long haul, and wanted her to stay with relatives in Falls River, but she declined. She pulled at the protection around her neck, a yarn necklace boasting a dull rusted nail. She had drawn a thick pentagram on her arm, covered by her sleeve. She couldn't think of what else to do. She was just an apprentice compared to Ruth or Bonnie. None of them had practiced in many years. Not since the fire, they said. But Anna had her doubts.

Ruth had been teaching Joshua, she thought. He had talent, he showed me.

Two nights before he smashed up his Jeep, he came to her house. The weather had been humid, fireflies blinking all over Anna's back yard. Joshua had brought an old glass jar. He lifted the jar over his head and a little swarm of fireflies flew in. Anna and Joshua had stood there, the bright light turning the jar into a lantern.

He had said,"I am a magician. I can do anything. I know I'm strange to the world, but the world isn't strange to me, Anna."

"You're not afraid?"

"Why should I be? I own my talent, no one else."

I envied his confidence, she thought. He could be arrogant, but I saw his good side.

Anna wasn't sure when Joshua started dating Colbie. He didn't seem to find her interesting until this summer. She was always Ruth's granddaughter, nothing more. But she was so pretty with those green eyes and white-blonde hair. Everyone commented on her looks, she could be a model.

Too bad she doesn't have much sense, Anna thought. She just wants some older man with money, so she can sit on her lazy ass. She wants Brenda's life, but Colbie doubts herself, so she'll never be happy.

Anna could have said the same about herself. She had talent, but couldn't seem to escape. There was no money for college and her father needed her help. She was stuck at Max Packaging, having to use rusted nails and her belief in Hecate, a Dark Mother, to get her through, to feel protected from the evil around her.

Hecate is dark, but not evil, she thought. There's different kinds of dark, but evil is evil. Joshua has to learn how to protect himself before that baby is born.

Colbie sat alone in study hall, thinking about her meeting with Anna.

Senior year was not shaping up to Colbie's expectations. She had even less in common with her classmates than before. One of her friends had suggested a baby shower, but she couldn't have a party in the face of Leo's disappearance and the other deaths.

Colbie liked to think that she had more sense than Anna presumed. Josh would be shocked at what she and Anna did, even if all they wanted was to help him.

We prevented a tragedy, she thought.

Colbie looked down at her homework. Independent Study. She was trying to start an essay on _To Kill A Mockingbird_. She liked reading about Scout more than Holden Caulfield in _The Catcher In The Rye_ , although there was something about Caulfield that reminded her of Joshua before he became ill, his imagined invulnerability as the gifted outsider.

She saw a group of students walk down the hallway, past the glass door of the library. They were laughing, probably making plans for Halloween. She planned on staying home, not in the mood for the spirits outside. A perfect night for Harvester or the killer of Marilyn and Lois.

Her conversation with her grandmother had been brief. Ruth did not reveal where she was staying, but not at Gloria's or the trailer. Colbie told her to get out of town, but Ruth wanted to stay until the baby was born.

Colbie didn't want interference from any of them. She had made her deal with Brenda and Max.

My power isn't in practicing, whether I have talent or not, it is with this baby. My perfect little gift.

Joshua entered his father's office, ready to leave for the night.

Max was at his desk. "Shut the door behind you."

Joshua did as he was told. "What is it?"

"I told you I wasn't mad about the cassette tapes. But if you found the tapes, you must have been searching in other places as well."

"Your desk was locked."

"The reason I keep this drawer locked is because it contains some things that belonged to your mother. I don't like to keep these things at home because of Brenda. There's always been some jealousy..."

"Why does she study Mom's spell books?"

"I've never seen Brenda read a book, let alone a spell book."

"She's not teaching Colbie?"

"Maybe a few Wiccan spells." Max reached down, pulling at the desk drawer. "I want you to have this..."

Joshua stared at the object before taking it from his father's hand.

Max smiled. "Looks wicked, doesn't it? Survived the fire. Too ugly to burn."

A small bust made from brown clay. The shape of a head and shoulders. However, the head was wide, eyes slanted, a long nose, full lips, and a strong chin. The neck and shoulders were thick.

"Your mother made it. She said Harvester had many faces. This was only one."

"Was she scared of him?"

"She was too fascinated to be scared. Harvester made her feel special."

"Did she really stop the drought?"

"The rain came. My business continued to grow. But Liz didn't really take credit for it. Neither did the others."

"What about Davey?"

"Davey was Alice White's boy. He had cystic fibrosis. It killed him before Liz died."

"Do you ever talk to Alice?"

"Not in years. I have to admit that Alice didn't like me. Thought I was a dumb old jock, not good enough for Liz."

Joshua turned the statue in his hands. "There were things she didn't tell you, right?"

"Your mother had her little secrets. She was one of these women with her own potential, but settled when she married me. She was special, so are you."

"I don't remember being special."

"You will."

"I had a witch box, Dad. I was practicing witchcraft and Ruth was helping me. Did you know?"

"I didn't like it, but I couldn't stop you. You were getting older and you had your own ideas. Brenda was also interested in the craft, but she didn't have your natural talent. You were starting to show off a bit. You would disappear from the house late at night, but I didn't worry, because you had nowhere to go."

"What about school? Friends?"

"You weren't exactly popular, Josh. You spent more time at home or the plant."

"I didn't like school, then?"

"No." Max rose from the chair. "You can keep that ugly thing, but don't let Brenda see it."

"Can I ask why you kept it all these years?"

"Just something of your mother's."

"That survived the fire?"

"Right. There was so little to find later."

Max put on his jacket. They both left the office, Max locking the door behind him. "How did the day go with Bonnie?"

"We got the orders done."

"And tomorrow you get to do it all over again."

"That's okay. I like staying busy."

"You've changed, son."

"Anna says the same thing."

"You were raised sort of wild and free. But it wasn't your fault. Liz and I didn't know what we were doing, but we thought that if we could make you feel loved, we would be good parents."

"I guess I felt loved. I don't remember."

"I love you, son, no matter what. I didn't understand your mother's need for Harvester, but I never tried to stand in her way. I thought she would grow bored, but she didn't. As you became more and more drawn to witchcraft, I knew you had your mother's talent. You could control animals and sometimes move objects with your mind. As a little boy, you told me you could hear your mother's voice, whispering. I never doubted you."

"I can't do any of that now. It's like I never knew it."

"If you start to remember, maybe you'll be able to get your talent back. If you do, use it to help others. That's all that talent is really good for."

### Chapter Fifteen

"Josh, this is Noah and Chelsea," Anna said. "Chelsea is my cousin from Winter Haven."

"Hi," Joshua said.

He felt foolish in his Halloween costume, a Civil War Union soldier, sneakers on his feet. But he had to wonder about the young couple; Noah was a strip of bacon, Chelsea a fried egg, their costumes looking almost like bags. Chelsea was covered in white except for the yolk at the center of her body. Noah's face and arms were the only parts not bacon.

Anna had opted for a traditional witch costume, her head covered with a black wig and a peaked witch's cap. She had brought along one of her own Wiccan broomsticks.

"Josh wants to go to the cemetery," Anna said. "Would you two like to join us?"

Noah said, "Sure, Why not? Sean and Trip are probably doing their ghost hunting."

Anna turned to Joshua. "The police throw Sean and Trip out every week."

The four of them left Anna's back yard and piled into her car, which had been repaired, even the crack in the windshield.

The Fruit Ridge Township cemetery was only a few miles from Anna's house, off the main road into town, on another dirt road. Anna made a left, driving past a dairy farm and bowling alley.

Joshua felt tired. He had worked a long shift, only punching out an hour ago. He had invited Colbie, but she declined. He was relieved, and Bacon and Eggs seemed harmless.

"What high school did you go to?" Noah asked.

"I went to Fruit Ridge," Joshua said.

"What year?"

"Last year."

"I graduated from Winter Haven High," Noah said. "High school sucked."

"Yeah. It did."

"I like college a lot more."

"Noah, did you know Anna is really a witch?" Chelsea asked.

"She's got her broom."

"She does Wicca stuff."

"Like what? Make medicine? Make things out of twigs?"

"She can do more than that."

Anna and Joshua exchanged looks in the front seat.

"Wicca is a religion," Anna said.

"You worship trees?" Noah asked.

"Those are Druids. But Wiccans do look for connection in nature, to find energy in living things, in male and female. Where creation lives. Creativity never ends, it's constructive."

Anna turned into the old cemetery, gates open. She drove to the end of the lane then turned off the car.

"Josh and I are going to look for a grave," she said. "You two can go with us or wander around."

"I'll bet Sean and Trip are at one of the mausoleums," Noah said.

Anna handed Josh and Noah flashlights. Noah and Chelsea went in one direction, Anna and Josh in the other, agreeing to meet at the car later.

"Did Max tell you where Davey is buried?" Anna asked.

"No. But kids are usually buried near their parents or grandparents. Davey might be in a family plot."

"Davey's full name would be David White. How old was he when he died?"

"Dad said he died before the fire. I was three at the time, so Davey might have been older, five or six."

"We'll just have to walk around until we find some Whites. This could take a while."

They heard a gasp, then a whoop of laughter.

"I'm sure Sean and Trip didn't appreciate having their spirit walk interrupted," Anna said. "They take themselves seriously. Noah can be a clown."

"I wish I could meet more kids from school. Maybe it would help me remember. It's like I didn't go to school at all."

Joshua illuminated each tombstone he and Anna passed. They found family plots, generations of Fruit Ridge families. A breeze blew through Anna's witch hat.

"My mom is buried out here," she said. "Over by that weeping willow."

"My mom should be buried here, too."

"Let's keep looking. Maybe we'll find her."

They passed a few more family plots and single graves before moving on to another lane that brought them to the middle of the cemetery.

"Here it is." Joshua stepped closer, reading the name. David James White. 1991-1996. A simple, upright headstone. No angels, no lambs. No flowers.

Davey has been forgotten, Joshua thought.

"Sad, isn't it?" Anna asked.

"Have you ever met his mother?"

"Yes. My dad plows out Alice's driveway every winter. She made him cough medicine once. Strange woman."

"Just strange?"

"She's a recluse. Very religious."

"My dad has been telling me more lately. It's like he's opening up. He told me he loves me."

"Wow. That's something my dad has never said to me, but I know he does. Mom said it to me all of the time when she was sick."

"You look at all of these graves out here," Joshua said, "and how many of these people ever knew anything about really loving someone else?"

"You're getting to be a philosopher, Josh."

He smiled. "I've changed, right?"

"Maybe you're just growing up."

"Hey! That's not an orb!"

The loud voices came closer. Anna and Joshua saw Noah and Chelsea with two other young men, wearing dark hoodies, one carrying a smart phone that he was showing to Noah.

"If it's not an orb, what is it?"

"Trip, it's a bug."

"Leave him alone, Noah," Chelsea said.

"I saw something by Marilyn Thompson's grave," Trip said.

Joshua turned around. "Stay away from there, man."

"Hey, we weren't causing trouble."

The other boy approached them. His hood covered his head, but Joshua took in the round, freckled face. "Hi, Anna."

"Hi, Sean. This is Josh."

"Spirits can hang around for days after death," Sean said. "Trip saw the orb at Marilyn's grave. I knew her, she and my mom used to bowl together. How she died...wasn't right."

Anna shook her head. "I wish the police could find who did it, but there were no witnesses except Lois."

"Bonnie was there," Joshua said.

"She needs to be careful," Sean said. "Maybe you can help her, Anna."

"I've been using protection spells on myself," Anna said. "Everything I know."

"I wanted to show you something," Sean said. "The old Curtis house is past these cornfields out back. Trip and I found something weird. At first, we thought it was a Halloween prank, but it had been there for a while..."

"What is it?" Anna asked.

"Follow me."

Anna and Joshua followed Sean to the back graves, stepping carefully through the woods to a clearing. Looking ahead, Joshua saw the corn stalks. Rows and rows.

"The Curtis house used to be one of the grandest houses in Fruit Ridge," Sean said. "Abandoned for decades. Trip and I have been in the house a few times, but it's dangerous. Rotting floors."

Sean ducked into the corn rows, Joshua providing the light, Anna behind him. Her witch's cap tangled in a corn stalk, but she pulled it away.

"Was I ever here?" Joshua asked.

"Probably. Now with me, though. But I think we've all been here."

The walk through the corn took a few twists, Anna almost tripping on some tall weeds.

"This better not be a prank, Sean," she said.

"I couldn't make this up."

Sean ducked out of a space between rows, diving into the row to his left.

"It's right here."

Joshua caught up and shined his light in the direction of Sean's pointing finger.

On the ground, surrounded by leaves, weeds, and corn shucks, was a short set of old cement steps. At the top, a black cloth covered a dead animal, the decayed legs sticking out.

"I think it's a dog," Sean said.

"Why didn't you call the police?" Anna asked.

"I didn't want the cops to know Trip and I were out here."

Joshua came closer. A tablecloth with gold embroidery on the edges. Stars in the corners. Some letters. The design felt familiar.

His mother's hands, slipping a long needle into the black cloth. He had watched her made the stitches.

The animal's remains smelled bad, but Joshua gripped and pulled at the cloth.

"What are you doing?" Sean asked.

"Nothing. Just looking at the design. Someone put time into this."

Sean sighed. "I better get back to Trip. I don't want Noah to see this; he'd take pictures and put 'em on Facebook."

Sean turned to leave. Joshua handed Anna the flashlight and she followed Sean. He grabbed at the cloth in the darkness, the dog's remains sticking. He was repulsed, but he knew this cloth, it brought a memory.

He stepped up behind Anna, stuffing the cloth under her witch costume skirt. Anna stiffened, but kept going.

They made their way back to the cemetery; Noah, Chelsea, and Trip standing by Anna's car.

"We're going to a party at Club 18 in Falls River," Noah said. "You want to go?"

Anna shook her head. "No. But I can take you back to your car."

Sean rolled his eyes. "Club 18. All the girls who hang out there are sixteen. Trip could end up in jail."

Trip, his blond hair blowing in the breeze, said,"That's why I'm dating Brandy. She's fifteen and has to be home by nine."

"You ain't right."

"You ever show Brandy your orbs?" Noah asked.

"She likes 'em more than you."

Anna and Joshua stared down at the cloth, spread over Anna's kitchen table.

"Are you sure your mom stitched this design? It looks recent."

"Maybe it was kept in storage somewhere."

"She stitched the pentagram perfectly."

The five-sided star took up the middle of the table. Anna touched the edges while studying the stitches. "Are these letters?"

The middle of each edge boasted what looked like capital letters. "This could be an ' _E_ '." She slipped her fingers around the edge. "A ' _B_ '..."

"Mom's initials."

"What had she planned to use this for? Some ritual?"

"Why was it out there?"

"Maybe we should show this to Bonnie."

"Can I keep it here for a while? I'm afraid that if I take it home, it might disappear."

"I'll take care of it."

"Did you have fun?" Colbie asked.

"It was all right. We hung out with two ghost hunters and bacon and eggs."

"Those costumes are stupid."

Joshua was glad to be out of his costume, changing into pajama bottoms and a T-shirt, sitting in his dad's recliner. Colbie sat on the living room couch, candy wrappers strewn on the coffee table in front of her. She had eaten half a bag of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. The Milky Ways remained unopened.

"Were you afraid to go out tonight?" Joshua asked.

"I felt tired. I only like Halloween for Trick or Treating."

"How come you don't like Anna?"

"I never had a problem with Anna. She never liked me, though." Colbie picked up the remote control, channel surfing until she came to a movie. "Zombies are so gross. I like ghosts and vampires." She resumed surfing. "Oh. _Poltergeist._ Much better."

"That little girl's hair is almost as blonde as yours," Joshua said.

"Carol Anne? She's a pretty little girl."

"You don't want to be a model?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

"You could make money."

"I don't always worry about money." She unwrapped another Reese's, the orange paper falling to the table. "I was thinking about when we were in the attic..."

"Yeah?"

"You haven't kissed me since."

"I would kiss you, but you have peanut butter breath."

"Josh!"

They both laughed. "Colbie, I wish I could remember how close we were. You'll have to be patient with me. You're so pretty, any guy would want to kiss you."

"Not pregnant, they don't."

"You won't be pregnant forever."

"Maybe I should call _MTV_. Be on _Teen Mom_."

"I'm about as useful as some of the guys on that show."

"You remember _Teen Mom_?"

"Amber and Gary, right?"

"Are you having a memory?"

"I don't think I've watched the show since before I got sick. Why would I remember _Teen Mom_?"

"We would watch it together sometimes. Before I got pregnant." Colbie grabbed the remote, finding _MTV_. "This is some other show, but we would watch _Hoarders_ , too. We watched it with Grandma."

"Have you heard from her?"

"Not since Lois died."

"Was Lois buried at the cemetery?"

"She was cremated. Max said the state police are getting involved."

"They won't find her killer, I'm sure of it."

"Why?"

"You know why, Colbie. And whatever you and Brenda are doing, please keep Anna out of it."

Colbie's eyes didn't leave the TV screen. "Anna is already a part of it. Ask her what she knows, the days leading up to when—" Colbie jumped from the couch, almost toppling from her pregnant belly.

"What?" Joshua asked.

She dashed down the hallway to the bathroom. Joshua heard her retching.

Colbie went to bed after taking some Pepto-Bismol. Joshua went upstairs after the movie was over.

Dealing with Colbie was like having a little sister. He wondered, aside from her looks, what could have drawn him to her. Anna was more understanding and patient. Colbie didn't seem like the type who could handle taking care of a baby.

She's lucky Dad and Brenda are so willing to help, he thought.

He passed their room, the door open. His father was asleep in bed, Brenda in a chair watching TV.

Joshua stepped in. Brenda looked up as he entered. "Hi. Have fun tonight?"

"Yeah. Is it okay if I ask you something?"

"About what?"

"Are you practicing witchcraft? Like my mom did?"

"I've always been a little interested—"

"Her spell books?"

"Have you been talking to Bonnie? Or Ruth?"

"Yes."

She rose from her chair. "I don't want to wake your dad. Let's go downstairs."

Joshua followed her to the kitchen. Brenda was wearing a yellow terrycloth robe over a slinky blue nightgown. Her red hair was loose down her back.

Brenda took the milk out of the fridge. "Sounded like Colbie had too much candy."

"I guess the baby doesn't like peanut butter."

Brenda poured them both a glass of milk. "I took a look at some of Liz's things when Max and I moved in together. Not much made it out of the fire; a few writings, like journals, but no spell books. She wrote some spells down, but I only learned about Harvester from Max. Liz had started out with Hecate or Demeter, typical of Wicca, but I guess Harvester found _her_."

"What do you know about Harvester?"

"He has many faces. Sacrifice plays a part. You ever hear of Belial?"

"No."

"He's a demon derived from Lucifer or Beelzebub. He likes human sacrifice. These...entities have a way of misrepresenting themselves. I think that's what Liz fell into. She saw what she wanted to see, and she couldn't know all of Harvester's faces."

"Dad called him a demon."

"You could see it that way. Max wanted you to be careful, but your curiosity couldn't be stifled. You had talent. You made a plate rise from the table, almost threw it like a Frisbee at Max."

"Why?"

"Some disagreement over money. Max needs to cut the cord. For the both of you..."

Joshua smiled. "He's a good dad, though."

"Yes, he sure is. You're lucky, Josh."

"Could I see Mom's stuff?"

"I gave it all back to Max. But you can tell Ruth I have no spell books. I'm sorry about Leo, Marilyn, and Lois, but none of them ever liked me. No one could compare to Liz."

### Chapter Sixteen

Joshua opened his eyes before the alarm sounded off at four-thirty. He had to be at the plant by six.

He turned off the alarm. Colbie turned over but remained asleep. She had come into his room in the middle of the night, just a few hours ago.

Joshua realized that sleeping with a woman was pleasant; Colbie was warm and she didn't snore. He resisted the urge to kiss her in her sleep. No sense in teasing her.

Brenda left the house after everyone else had gone, driving to Alice White's house, several miles away.

Brenda had never spoken to Alice and she wondered if Max should have gone with her.

Who am I helping by doing this? she thought. Certainly not me.

She drove out of the city limits, passing farm after farm. She took a dirt road that went on forever, it seemed. Alice White owned hundreds of acres, one of the oldest farms in the area, and the most secluded.

A crazy old witch with property Max didn't own. Brenda could tell he resented Alice. He said she was the one who got the ball rolling on the whole circle, making it stronger with each member. She and Liz spent days working on their books, practicing rituals. They liked the power, couldn't get enough.

Brenda came to a dead end, the driveway to the main house. The gate was open, so she kept on driving.

No one had mowed the lawn in years. Old farm equipment and vehicles were resting in the weeds. This place was no longer a farm, but a junk yard.

The local folklore was that the Whites had been related to the Curtises, owners of the legendary Curtis house. All crazy people. Inbreeding had gone on. Brenda grinned. Small town imaginations.

The house was a wreck. Plastic sheets covered the windows, a tarp over the roof. Siding was hanging, swinging in the breeze.

Brenda parked as close as she could get to the house, a grand Victorian once. Brenda looked down at the decayed wooden steps, looking for a handrail. She was glad to be wearing sneakers.

She made it to the front door. Before she could knock, she saw a face through the beveled glass.

The chain was pulled back before the door was opened.

Alice White was almost seventy years old; however, she stood tall, long white hair brushed away from her face. Her skin was weathered from age and sun, but her large dark eyes were bright. She was slender, but not frail. A crucifix on a chain hung from her neck. She wore a sweater with fleece pants, covered in cat hair.

"Are you Alice White?" Brenda asked.

The woman smiled. Her dentures were stained. The smell of the house had reached Brenda's nose. She looked down, and saw three cats at the woman's feet, covered by a pair of battered fuzzy slippers.

"Yes, I'm Alice. What can I do for you?"

Her voice was soft, barely a whisper. She pulled at her crucifix, made of silver.

"I'm Brenda Hildebrand. I'm Max's wife. Joshua's stepmother."

"Oh. Well, come on in."

Brenda stepped in, the floor creaking. The odors of sweat, cats, and old food greeted her. Books were stacked from floor to ceiling in the living room. Antique vases were covered in dust. Cobwebs in the corners. Two more cats rested on a clear patch on an old olive-green sofa. Brenda looked up and saw a chandelier covered in dust and grime, a portrait of Jesus on the wall.

"I hurt my back," Alice said. "Haven't been able to clean. Let's go in the kitchen."

Brenda followed her. The kitchen area looked at bit cleaner, dishes drying in the rack. The floor should have been mopped. Brenda could see four litter boxes near the back door. Another picture of Jesus, framed, was on the wall above the kitchen table. A Celtic crucifix stuck to the old refrigerator.

Brenda had noticed that most of the stacked books were religious texts.

"Would you like some coffee?" Alice asked.

"No. Thank you."

"Alice, I'm sure you know about Marilyn and Lois..."

Alice leaned against the oven. "Of course I do. The whole town is talking about it."

"Joshua was very ill."

"I know. Is he better now?"

"Yes. But he has memory loss; he doesn't know about what happened before he went to the hospital. Did you make him forget?"

"Me? Dear God, no. I haven't used the evil since Liz died."

"Is that what you call it? Evil?"

"Harvester was– _is_ –a demon."

"Joshua has a baby on the way."

"Protect that baby."

"I don't know how. I thought you could help me."

"Make sure the baby is baptized—"

"You showed Liz how to put together spell books. Grimoires."

"Never grimoires. None of us were that powerful."

"You have to have something hidden away."

"I burned it all when Liz died."

Brenda reached into her coat pocket, pulling out something that made Alice touch her crucifix. "You stay out of that basement, you hear?"

The old key was in Brenda's palm. "The spells you and Liz were using got pretty wild, I hear. Harvester sort of favored you, too. You got rid of the drought. Max was able to start the plant. Max has never brushed it off as coincidence."

"What do you want from me?"

"Your old spell books."

"God would never forgive me if I did."

"You didn't destroy all of that hard work, did you? I'm sure you miss the power, the hold you had on others. Christianity makes women so helpless; a life of penitence for being born female."

"I did far worse."

"Harvester must have been pleased. Or is he collecting on the debt?"

"Why do you care?"

"I care about Max and Joshua. And the baby."

"You want the power to control them. But you're out of your league, Brenda Hildebrand. Maybe you should get exactly what you deserve."

"Now you sound like a witch."

"Wait here."

Alice left the kitchen. Brenda heard her going up the fragile stairs. A cat, black with white 'socks'; entered the kitchen. The animal hissed at her, then turned and left.

Brenda held the key between her fingers. Alice had no right to tell her where to go or what to do.

Alice entered the kitchen, a tome resembling a large scrapbook in her hands. The gray cover was worn, nothing written or drawn on it. "This is what I have left. Enjoy. May God have mercy on your soul."

The pages were almost falling out, loose pieces of paper hanging over the edges. "This is it?"

"What were you expecting? Eye of newt?"

"You must have more. Your tools..."

"All gone. You don't need that stuff, anyway. You're just a novice..."

"I only want to keep things under control—"

"Harvester will have control. He already does."

"Then what can I do?"

"Let the girl have her baby and leave town. Give her some money and let her go. None of them should be used."

"The drought could return. The plant is in the middle of a merger—"

"Let it all go."

Brenda took the book, hugging it against her.

"Where did you find that key?" Alice asked.

"In the Jeep."

"Poor Joshua. But he had a right to know."

"He doesn't remember now. And it has to stay that way until the baby is born. Can I keep the book for a while?"

"You can keep it forever."

"Be careful, Alice."

"I'll be all right. My God is faithful."

Brenda drove with the window open, trying to get the smell of Alice's house out of her nose.

The old book didn't smell much better. Brenda continued to the end of the dirt road before she pulled over.

Alice was trying to scare me, she thought. But she lives alone out here. She's the only one left from the circle, besides Bonnie and Ruth.

Brenda placed the book in her lap over the steering wheel. She turned the cover.

Alice did not personalize the book; less of a journal, more of a folder, but some things were glued to the yellowing pages. A few photos, some drawings. A sketch with a pentagram in the middle, a design of stars and letters on the edges. Brenda did not recognize many of the faces in the photos. Her gaze stopped on the image of a little boy in shorts and a striped T-shirt, his name written on the back.

Davey.

Brenda did not think to ask about the boy. He had lived in that house with Alice.

The drought. The plant. Nothing was mentioned in this book. A few spells were written down on notebook paper. She studied more photos. Liz. Blonde hair and her big face. Broad shoulders. She never showed off, always the earth mother.

Brenda came upon another drawing, this time on a page. A pregnant young woman in a loose dress, her striking features familiar. Written above her head:

_The vessel_.

Brenda shuddered. Poor Colbie. They were all dumb to think they were safe.

Brenda put the book back on the passenger side seat. She started the car, ready to head home.

She was back on the main road towards town when the engine started to sputter. When it stalled, she put the car in neutral, pulling over. She turned the ignition several times, but heard only silence.

Brenda sighed in frustration. She pulled her cell phone from her purse. When she put the phone to her ear, she heard whispering, followed by a soft clapping, becoming louder. She turned the phone off, but could still hear the voices.

"Beauty queen..."

"The bombshell..."

A woman's voice. Brenda grabbed her purse and phone, opening the door. She stepped out of the car and broke into a run. When she stopped, the whispering came back, so she kept running.

A small motel was off the main road. Brenda headed in that direction, the music filling her head before she entered the parking lot.

"Miss Michigan..."

She stopped in the paved lot. She dropped her purse, catching her breath while searching for the concealer stick, a fair shade that matched her skin. She bent over and made a circle around herself on the pavement. She didn't care if anyone thought she was crazy. The stick broke, so she squeezed it between her fingers, drawing a clumsy five-sided star. No spell could get past a protective pentagram. Brenda stepped into the center, raising her arms.

Before she could say a prayer to Hecate, the sounds started to fade. She took deep breaths and started to calm down. She stayed in the circle for several minutes, hoping no one drove into the lot. She had an ink pen, so she drew another pentagram on her chest, above her breasts. She put the contents back in her purse and returned to her car.

The engine started and Brenda finished driving home. She made sure Alice's book was locked in the trunk.

"Max, what are we going to do?" Brenda asked.

"Nothing. Don't tell Colbie or Joshua about what happened. And burn that book."

They were in their bedroom, the door shut. Colbie and Joshua were in their beds asleep.

"I can't do that," Brenda said. "Maybe I can use the book to help Josh."

"He's starting to remember little things now. It's only a matter of time."

"And how much did he know before smashing up his Jeep?"

"He knew enough to be furious. His heart was broken because of all of the lies." Max rested against the pillows. "He's asking questions about Davey. He didn't remember the boy until Ruth mentioned him."

"He might remember _that_ , too."

"He was only three years old. He had forgotten most of Liz's insanity, including Alice and Rebecca. Promise me you'll never go out there again."

"I promise. Any news from the police?"

"They questioned a few suspects. Even a few guys from the plant. Like Alton."

"Alton? He lives with his mother. Collects _Star Trek_ stuff."

"Yeah. Those guys are real thorough detectives."

"They're idiots."

"Well, why don't we go down to the police station and tell them _everything_ about Josh?"

Brenda didn't miss the sarcasm. "And do you think they would believe any of it?"

"Not a bit. I was lucky when most of Liz's stuff burned up. At least I didn't have to explain anything."

Brenda had told Colbie about her experience at Alice's farm and the terror after.

Who would have that kind of power to stop a car? Colbie thought. To make Brenda so scared, she had to run away and make a protection circle?

Brenda had been practicing more during the day, but she wouldn't tell Colbie where she went with her books and tools, she liked to be alone.

Colbie wandered over to her window, no longer afraid of the lacy curtains.

Brenda was surprised when Colbie told her the truth about what she and Anna did to help Joshua. Now, Brenda was willing to teach her more. Brenda should be including Anna, then they could have a circle of three, but Brenda didn't trust Anna, who didn't like keeping too many secrets and the one about Joshua was the worst.

We can't tell him now, Colbie thought. He might start to remember everything, and even I couldn't believe it, but Brenda wouldn't lie about what Liz's circle did all those years ago. How did they all get pulled in? Did they really believe they ended the drought? Grandma said they were strong, but Liz's attachment to Harvester was stronger.

### Chapter Seventeen

The next few weeks were about nothing but work for Joshua. He knew he was being watched, but felt safer upstairs with Bonnie. One of the Great Lakes workers showed him how to use the hi-lo. The rest of the crew was becoming more relaxed again, but no one could forget about Marilyn or Lois.

Joshua overheard a conversation in the men's room about Max owning Marilyn and Lois's properties. The one worker said that he wouldn't be surprised of Max started selling when the economy started to improve. The value of real estate was slow coming back, but there was talk of a big food manufacturer wanting to build a plant in Fruit Ridge. Max would be a millionaire if those people wanted to build on any of his properties.

Joshua was staying patient, although there were no flashes of memory since he found his mother's cloth, which he had studied many times at Anna's house.

Colbie stayed busy with school and her pregnancy. She did not share his bed again. Thanksgiving dinner was quiet; he watched football with Max while Brenda and Colbie went shopping.

Joshua soon heard the sounds of Christmas music and helped decorate the house. He could not recall any other Christmases, but Brenda showed him plenty of photographs from the attic, his mother in none of them.

Joshua had grown tired of being a blank slate. He started reading more books and storing music on his computer. He looked up colleges, but couldn't recall his grade point average or graduation.

He was stuck, but was willing to wait through the winter.

Max Packaging had the annual potluck dinner at the end of the day, everyone invited to the upstairs room above the offices. Colbie had come along, and every employee at Max Packaging was present. They each made their way up the staircase.

"How much longer, Colbie?" Bonnie asked.

"Another two weeks."

"Have you heard from Ruth?"

"No. Have you?"

"No. Sorry to say."

Max didn't miss Bonnie's coldness towards him. She sat with Anna at another table. Joshua sat with his parents and Colbie. The long room had been decorated by Brenda, a small Christmas tree in a corner. Dinner would be followed by Brenda handing out the Christmas bonus checks.

A line was formed at the buffet tables, covered in festive tablecloths bought at Target. Joshua thought of his own mother's embroidery, and realized Brenda was a very different woman.

The food was delicious, everyone praising Bonnie's cheesy potato casserole and Anna's fried chicken, her mother's recipe. Alton, the Star Trek fan, brought pies baked by his mother, who was also present. She sat with Bonnie, they knew each other from when their sons were in Boy Scouts.

Max began the prayer:

"Our Heavenly Father, thank you for your many blessings..."

Bonnie was still glaring at him as the others started eating. "He could have said something about Marilyn and Lois. And Leo."

The others nodded, but didn't want to get Bonnie riled up. She could be outspoken, so it was better to keep her calm.

"I remember when this plant first opened," Alton's elderly mother said. "It rained so hard that day. And Max wanted Elizabeth to cut the ribbon. She gave the scissors to Josh. They cut the ribbon together..."

"The rain," Bonnie said.

"A godsend. So was this place."

The other workers were in good spirits, and Brenda returned from the offices with the bonus checks in her arms. No one missed the tight wraparound dress, showing just a little cleavage, the diamond Christmas wreath broach pinned above her left breast. Holly berries were tucked into her pinned up hair behind her ear.

"This is my last bonus check," said a worker named John. "I'm retiring in March."

Brenda laid Bonnie's check next to her plate, ready to step away. But John, at the next table, asked, "When do you plan to retire, Bonnie?"

"I don't know. Probably sooner than I think. All of my friends were sort of...forced into early retirement."

John nodded, knowing full well Brenda could hear them, so he wanted to stay pleasant. ""Well, retirement doesn't really exist anymore. I'll probably end up a greeter at Wal-Mart."

"Bonnie wanted to pull my chain," Brenda said. "How can she blame any of us for Marilyn or Lois?"

"Exactly," Max said. "She can't, but she's still looking for someone to blame. She feels lonely without her friends."

Max was driving them home, Joshua and Colbie in the back seat of the SUV.

"Those old hens have been upstairs all these years," Brenda said, "but they don't run the place. Bonnie can't threaten your father anymore, Josh. It's all in the past. They know that, but they just want to pick at Max because of you and your mother."

"Why?" Joshua asked.

"Because of Harvester," Colbie said. "When your mom died, he went away."

Everyone became quiet, knowing Joshua would not be satisfied with Colbie's answer.

"I think they were relieved," he said. "Even if Mom had to die."

Colbie turned the pages of Alice's book, sitting alone in the attic, everyone else in bed.

She skimmed over the written spells, some in handwriting she couldn't read, maybe a foreign language. Colbie decided to organize, putting the spells written on paper in a little pile next to her. She then concentrated on the book's pages.

_The vessel_.

Colbie couldn't miss the resemblance. She wondered when Alice could have drawn this sketch, maybe many years ago.

_The seed_.

Colbie took in the rough sketch of a half-man, half-bear, holding a sword.

Shows what Alice knows, she thought.

She continued to look through the whole volume, page by page. No references to Liz's demon.

Harvester was her thing on the side, Colbie thought. Max must have been jealous. And she was dragging Joshua into it, their special boy.

Colbie placed the loose papers back in the book, tucked behind the front cover, but something fell out between the papers. She looked briefly at a photo of a little boy, the name 'Davey' written on it. She took in the light brown hair and big blue eyes. Cystic fibrosis. Josh's diabetes. Harvester favored both boys, in a way.

Colbie's back was aching from sitting on the floor. She eased herself up, the book resting atop her belly.

Maybe I should just take the baby and run away, she thought. Everything was weird to begin with, but not so scary. Now, I feel like everything is poisoned.

She felt something brush against her hand. She looked down, seeing a cockroach.

She let out a loud gasp, almost dropping the book. The roach fell off, but she still wanted to put the book away before running downstairs. Brenda's hiding place was behind one of the old filing cabinets.

Colbie was in a hurry, and didn't notice another roach falling into her hair, but she felt the next on her shoulder. She let out a loud "ahhh!" Her screaming was heard in Max and Brenda's bedroom, the two of them still awake. They opened their door at the same time as Joshua opened his. Colbie was bounding down the attic steps, brushing at her clothes and hair.

"Roaches!" One fell out of her hair, Brenda crushing it on the carpet with the heel of her slipper.

"Look, Dad!" Joshua said.

A small swarm of roaches came out of the attic. Brenda and Colbie flattened their backs against the wall while Joshua and Max stood there, dumbstruck, the swarm headed downstairs.

"That's more roaches than I've ever seen in my life," Max said.

"Call the exterminator," Brenda said.

"I will in the morning. Meanwhile, just stay calm. You all right, Colbie?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I'm okay."

"What were you doing up there?"

"Just looking for some of my stuff from home."

"Well, you kids go on to bed."

"I think I'll take a bath first."

"Roaches," Joshua said. "Can you believe it?"

"Lately," his father said,"I can believe almost anything."

Brenda looked up at the attic opening. "I think somebody sent us an early Christmas gift."

Roaches could hide well during the day, but a few managed to fly around while Brenda tried to cook breakfast. "This is ridiculous. Absolutely filthy. I hope no one at the plant finds out."

"I called Alton's cousin, Roger."

"Well, so much for confidentiality."

"Roger's a blabbermouth, but he was willing to come on a Saturday. Most exterminators would make us wait until Monday."

"It's worth the shame, then."

Roger arrived an hour later, asking Max and his family to step out for a while. Brenda took Colbie shopping, Joshua and Max went to the plant for overtime.

Anna was there, helping Bonnie upstairs on assembly.

"Cockroaches?" she asked, after Joshua explained. "This late in the year?"

Anna and Joshua were at the gluing table. "Brenda was having a fit. She thinks someone _sent_ the roaches. Alton's cousin Roger is at the house—"

"Roger The Bug Guy?"

"He has that on his truck, too."

"He does a good job, but everyone in town will know."

"That's what Dad said."

"I'm sorry I haven't been able to get to that health store in Falls River. My car needs new brakes now."

"Did you take your dad's truck?"

"He gave me a ride."

"Did you hear about the storm coming?"

"Snow is due by tonight."

"How did Dad talk you into working up here?"

"I used to do this before I became a receptionist," Anna said. "Max was nice enough to give me the job; otherwise, I'd still be gluing parts."

"You ever think about leaving Fruit Ridge?"

"Every day."

Joshua helped Anna lift several heavy partitions. They carried these to a pallet.

"How's Colbie feeling?" Anna asked.

"She can't wait to have the baby."

"Your life is going to change, Josh. You can't imagine."

"All I can do is imagine. To be honest, my life has already changed."

"I ran into Sean the other night..."

"The ghost hunter?"

She nodded. "I went out to dinner with Dad at the Lakeshore Buffet, and Sean was there with his folks. He starts telling me about the Curtis house. Everyone knows about that family—"

"I don't."

"Well, you did. The Curtises go back almost two hundred years. They had their farm before Alice White's family. The Curtises supposedly came from Scotland. The rumor was that James Curtis was an ex-con. He and his wife Cora had twelve children. The oldest son William took over the farm after the parents died. Just like the Whites, they owned close to a thousand acres. Miles of corn and fruit. Cows and chickens and horses. The big Victorian house. Some servants. The first family to own an automobile in Fruit Ridge. American dream."

"What happened?"

"Some say it was the Great Depression, some say the well was poisoned by the oldest son. William married a woman from Oklahoma named Charlotte White. That's how the Curtises and the Whites are related; one of Charlotte's brothers bought some property from William and started his own farm. I guess Charlotte wasn't a nice person. She couldn't have babies, and the rumor was that William had babies with other women, including their maid. William's sister Louise moved in after her husband died. The house and the money went to her kids. By the 1990s, when the drought came, all of that money was gone and the house stood empty, falling apart. But sometimes you could see a mobile home on the property. Sean said Louise's great-grandchildren were coming around, trying to find out about the value of the property. A great-granddaughter showed up with a boyfriend and a baby. She was seen around town, they lived in the house for a while. But they went away, too."

"Was the family crazy?"

Anna laughed. "Maybe they were a little odd, but Charlotte was the worst. She would drive that old Model T car around town. She was tall and skinny and mean-looking. She liked expensive clothes, wore furs. She was a bitch to Louise and her kids. That's the story, anyway."

"Was she a witch and a bitch?"

"Maybe. People had their suspicions about William's death. He was in his forties when he died. Stomach cancer. More like poisoning. That's what Sean thinks. He and Trip recorded an EVP that they think was Charlotte, telling them to get out of her house."

"Did she die there?"

"In her bed. The rumor was that Louise suffocated her with a pillow."

"She had it coming."

Anna grinned. "Whenever I go into that house, which has only been a few times, I feel this loneliness, a black hole. There's demons in that place."

"Maybe Harvester is hanging around."

"That's not funny."

"The demon with many faces."

"Satan can show up as anyone."

"Do you think Harvester is Satan?"

"No. But am I crazy to imagine Harvester killing Marilyn and Lois?"

"Have you tried my protection spell yet?" Bonnie asked.

They turned around to see her walking towards them.

"Joshua doesn't have any candles," Anna said.

"Then start wearing a rusted nail, you can find those anywhere."

"I'm wearing one now."

"I'm wearing this crystal," Joshua said.

"Can I see it?" Bonnie asked.

Joshua pulled the sword-shaped crystal out from beneath his T-shirt collar. Bonnie came closer, her fingers gripping the stone. She yelped and stepped back.

"You've already got protection," she said. "How did you get this?"

Joshua explained about the old lady he met at the hospital.

"What did she look like?"

"Short white hair, tall and heavy."

"Crooked teeth?"

"The bottom ones. Do you know her?"

Bonnie nodded, pulling the work gloves off her hands. "I'm taking my lunch now. Tell Brenda I'm sorry about the roaches. But everyone gets bugs sometimes..."

"Bonnie, you didn't—"

"Not me. Roaches can show up almost anywhere. Isn't that right, Anna?"

"Right. Bugs are unpredictable. Global warming."

"Brenda isn't so bad," Joshua said. "She's been very nice to Colbie and me."

"I suppose," Bonnie said.

They waited for her to walk away before Anna said,"They'll never like Brenda. Ruth wanted Colbie to stay with her and Leo."

"They don't think much of Colbie, either."

"Colbie is selfish. Having a baby is going to change her, too."

### Chapter Eighteen

The snow came with a vengeance, close to six inches with ice. Power was knocked out for part of Sunday. Everyone at Joshua's house slept late, doing very little except reading or napping. Max had attached the snowplow to his old truck and plowed out the driveway, but more snow came in the night. Power was restored by Monday and Max left earlier than usual that morning to plow the parking lot.

Joshua went with his father, shoveling snow off the walkways. He was sprinkling rock salt at the front doors when the employees started to arrive, one by one. Anna showed up by five-thirty, making coffee in the break room.

"This has to be the worst storm we've had—"

"Since last winter."

They all laughed, cold fingers wrapped around warm cups of coffee.

"Where's Bonnie?" John asked.

"She's probably just driving slow," Anna said. "The roads are icy."

"She doesn't own a cell phone."

"I'll call her at home. If she doesn't answer, she's on her way."

All employees were at their work stations by six. The upstairs crew, including Joshua, continued to wait for Bonnie. Anna called Bonnie's house, but no answer.

"Hopefully, she's not stuck in a ditch," Max said. "I'd better go out to her place. Anna, tell Joshua I want him to come with me. I might need help moving Bonnie's truck."

Joshua soon joined his father in the warm SUV. "I hope she's okay."

"We might have to call a tow."

Max drove with care in the pre-dawn darkness. He turned on to the dirt road leading to the church. Joshua saw the building covered in snow and he shivered. He understood what Anna had meant about a lonely black hole.

Max drove for another two miles, having passed the remains of his old house. Joshua had looked away, closing his eyes. The blasting heat was making him sleepy.

Bonnie lived in a 1960s style split level house, the property once boasting orchards that grew berries, peaches, and apples. The driveway had not been plowed. No lights were on.

Max had kept an eye out for Bonnie's truck during the whole drive, but she must have never left the house. Joshua followed him to the attached garage. Max looked through a window, the truck inside.

"Maybe she's still in bed," Joshua said.

"Let's go knock on her door."

Max and Joshua stood at the front porch. Max knocked a few times then went to the sliding glass doors to the back, walking through a foot of snow in the yard and on the deck.

"She never came out to shovel yesterday," Max said.

"I have a bad feeling, Dad."

"So do I."

Max looked through the glass, but saw nothing unusual, just the dining area and kitchen. He pushed at the door handle and the door slid open. Max stepped in, Joshua behind him.

"Bonnie? You all right?"

They turned into the kitchen, finding her on the floor by the oven. She was in her flannel nightgown, the hem gathered at the waist. Her pale legs, etched with spider veins, were splayed out. The nightgown was soaked red around her neck. Max came closer; Bonnie's eyes were open, hands covered in dried blood.

"Dad, Ruth was here!"

Max stepped away, hearing Joshua's voice in the living room.

Joshua was pointing at Ruth's suitcase on the floor. "She was here all along."

"Look at the carpet."

A trail of blood led out of the dining area and living room. Joshua followed the drips to the garage, across the cement floor, to the door where Joshua and Max had been standing.

"The snow would have covered more blood," Max said. "I'm calling the police."

Joshua nodded, but kept walking. He opened the door from the inside. He could imagine Ruth trying to run away into the woods.

He trudged through the field that led to a thick wooded area. Joshua could feel his face becoming numb, his head and ears covered with a knitted cap. Thick gloves covered his hands.

He saw no blood or footprints in the hard packed snow. The police would have little to go on. Joshua entered the woods.

The snow had landed at the top of the trees, so the drifts carpeting the ground were thinner. Joshua saw boot prints. He kept following, walking for what seemed like a mile in the frigid cold, when he came upon what looked like an old metal cart, almost buried. The white glare of the snow was making his eyes hurt as he stayed on the boot-print trail, which seemed to stop at the cart.

Joshua, at first, thought he was looking at something used for work. There were baby food jars full of nails, a hammer close by. An old flannel shirt had been used as wrapping for something, placed next to the jars.

He knew he shouldn't touch anything, but he was wearing gloves. He brushed some of the snow off the flannel then pulled at a tucked end, then another. His fingers brushed against something hard and smooth. He saw a knuckle, a fingernail.

Joshua turned and ran, not noticing the large red stain under his feet.

Joshua did not tell the police about what he found. He, along with Max, answered their questions. Bonnie's body was taken away.

Max decided to go home before returning to the plant. Brenda had a dentist appointment and Colbie had a snow day from school.

Max explained to Colbie about Bonnie. "Did you know Ruth was staying with her?"

"I haven't spoken to Grandma since Lois died. She knows how to take care of herself, but I'm really worried this time."

Her concern surprised Joshua, but he didn't want to argue. The image of Bonnie on her kitchen floor wouldn't leave his head. He needed to relax, he felt a headache coming on.

"Josh, you stay here," his father said. "I can deal with the shit storm at the plant."

"I think I'll try to take a nap."

### *****

Joshua, still awake in bed, was sure that the police would find the hand. They were likely to search for miles around Bonnie's house.

Bonnie was not frail and neither is Ruth, he thought. They must have tried to fight.

Joshua's eyes fluttered shut. He found himself back in the snowy woods, searching for Ruth. As he came to the old cart, Bonnie and Ruth were standing to each side, dressed in white gowns. At the top of the cart, he saw his mother's clay statue of Harvester, the big ugly head the only object there. He noticed both women were barefoot. Ruth raised her right arm, the bloody stump at her wrist. She was speaking, but he couldn't hear her at first. Then the sound came in, her voice clear and strong:

"Our little prince. But you are not the seed, don't be led astray."

Bonnie remained silent and Joshua's gaze returned to the cart. The statue was gone, Ruth's hand in its place. A small gray bird, a sparrow, stood inside the open palm. The bird spread its wings and chirped a winter song. The women were smiling as the bird flew away into the trees, snow falling from the branches. Joshua looked again to the women, but they were gone, the hand remaining.

A man's voice, calm and soft, said,"He had one son..."

"Josh! Josh! Wake up!"

His eyes fluttered open, and he saw his father's face. He licked his dry lips. He felt cold and wet all over. His breathing felt short, but he could speak. "W-what? Dad?"

"You've been asleep since this morning."

"What time is it?"

"Seven-thirty."

"At night?"

"Did you take something?"

"Just aspirin. But my head is pounding." He tried to get up, but he started to feel dizzy and nauseous. "I think I'm sick."

"You better not be having a relapse. I'm taking you to the hospital."

"I'll be all right, Dad."

"Bullshit. Brenda! Help me get him up."

"Anxiety?" Joshua asked. "Are you kidding?"

Dr. Warren shook his head. "You haven't had a recurrence of the viral meningitis, but the symptoms are typical of anxiety."

"I admit, I've been anxious, but only because of the deaths and trying to get my memory back."

"It does sort of make sense," Brenda said. "Your breathing was normal by the time we got here, you were more relaxed..."

"My heart felt like it was fluttering," Joshua said. "I've never felt that before."

Joshua, with Max and Brenda, sat in a curtained off space at the E/R at Falls River Hospital.

"The EKG was normal," Dr. Warren said. "But I would still like for you to have another scan on your lungs and your brain. Just to see how you're recovering. Any change with your memory?"

"I've remembered a few things. Not much."

"Do you need him to stay the night?" Max asked.

"Yes. I can schedule the scans for in the morning. In the meantime, we can give you something to calm your nerves, Josh. You'll sleep well."

Josh slept for a few hours in his private room, but awakened around eleven. He thought about Ruth. She was probably dead. He could recall the dream, the bird in her hand.

" _You are not the seed. Do not be led astray_..."

" _He had one son_..."

Those words made him think of Jesus, which made him think of the old church; so close to Bonnie's house and his old house. The boarded-up basement. He wondered if Ruth could have made it that far.

Joshua reached for the phone. He dialed Anna's number. "Anna? I'm at Falls River Hospital. I need a ride back home..."

He explained his dream and what brought him to the hospital.

"Josh, there's no way Ruth could survive by herself if...her hand was cut off."

"Anna, I'm going to go crazy sitting here all night. I feel fine now."

"Max will be furious—"

"Only if he finds out."

"Won't he find it odd when the doctor realizes you're not there?"

"You can bring me back."

"Oh, Josh. I don't know..."

"Please. I know I can trust you and this will give me the time to find out on my own."

"Find out...what?"

"Everything."

"All right. But I'm not taking the fall—"

"Bring some tools with you. A hammer and a crowbar. Flashlights."

"What do you plan to do?"

"I'm breaking into the church. I think Ruth may have tried to hide there. Maybe even the basement at my old house."

"Both are locked up tight."

"I think someone has been going in and out of the basement for some time. The padlock was new and someone left my crystal there."

"We're supposed to get more snow tonight, but I can be there in about a half-hour."

"Thanks, Anna."

"Don't make me sorry."

### Part III–Winter Fruit
### Chapter Nineteen

The first thing Colbie noticed was the odor–too many cats.

" _Well, if it isn't Joshie's Angels," Alice said._

The joke fell flat, but the old woman chuckled nonetheless. "Have you come to save his soul?"

Colbie and Anna entered Alice's house. Junk all over, the cats living in it. A hundred years ago, the farmhouse would have been beautiful. However, modern days had left everyone less fortunate, even the remaining Victorian touches couldn't help such a dark place. Antique clocks, the chandelier in the foyer, framed photographs, all covered in layers of dust.

Anna and Colbie followed Alice to her living room. An altar had been set up on the buffet, which Alice had bothered to restore to its ancient beauty by using some furniture polish.

Colbie and Anna noticed the care Alice put into her altar; the candles were there, in the same arrangement, but the pentagram, made from twigs, was on its own stand in the middle of the five candles. She had included fruit; apples, grapes, and pears.

" _You should always have an offering for Harvester," Alice said. "Bad manners not to. No offering, he'll just takes what he wants."_

Colbie's eyes widened and Anna's cheeks grew hot.

" _Harvester is like having an abusive husband. You always have to be on your guard." Alice turned toward the altar. "I suppose you want to see Josh's witch box?"_

" _Do you have it?"_

" _I'll get it." Alice went to the kitchen._

" _She seems like the type that would put poison in your food," Colbie said._

" _Her husband died of a heart attack, but no one believed it."_

" _Then he wasn't poisoned..."_

" _No. But I wouldn't put anything past Alice White."_

They grew silent when they heard footsteps. Alice entered with Joshua's witch box in her arms. She set it on the couch, opened the lid. "There's not much here of note, except a few spells and this stone. She turned around, a large moss-green stone in her hand. The top of the stone was engraved with a pentagram. "What was he doing with this?"

Anna shook her head. "Josh used to go off by himself."

" _What is he doing now?"_

" _Nothing. He sleeps a lot. He won't talk to me. Or Colbie."_

Alice glanced down at Colbie's swollen belly. "He doesn't care about the baby?"

Colbie shrugged. "He doesn't care about anything right now."

" _I've never done a spell to fix a broken heart." Alice put the stone back in the box. "The only spells I found in here were for power or money. Joshua had other things on his mind besides fatherhood."_

Colbie took in Alice's long white hair. She was wearing a sleeveless T-shirt and knee-length shorts. Her hands were weathered and wrinkled. However, Alice stood tall, her back strong.

" _We tried my blood," Anna said. "Harvester appeared. We need to summon him again. Josh needs help. He's been very depressed—"_

" _I would be down, too, if I smashed my brand new Jeep into a tree. Max should've made him work for a car..."_

" _That's the least of his problems," Anna said._

Anna explained what happened to Mrs. Hollander at the high school Christmas assembly. Brenda had also been a witness.

" _Josh went up to her and said a few words," Anna said. "She collapsed, blood coming out of her nose and mouth. She had a stroke."_

" _Did she survive?"_

" _No."_

Alice nodded. "Blood is the best way to call on Harvester. The blood of virgins and children. His response will be strong. We can try."

Joshua didn't get out of bed until past noon. He sat on his bedroom floor for the rest of the day, watching television. Before sunset, he returned to bed.

Joshua had felt nothing but anger before the accident. In the days that followed, he had retreated to a cold, hard place. The warmth of his bed provided little comfort, but sleep shut his mind off to the pain of the truth.

I'm nobody's son, he thought. God, I'm so scared. I wish I could pretend I never knew...

Max and Brenda had removed all sharp things and dangerous medications from the house. Joshua had threatened to kill himself and they were taking no chances.

Joshua decided to return to bed. His head hurt. By morning, he would have a fever, his temperature continuing to rise. The next day, he would be taken by ambulance to Falls River Hospital.

Alice was glad to see those girls leave. She was also grateful for Colbie's blood, left in a separate dish at the altar.

What use would Harvester have for the blood of an old woman, the girl he deflowered, and a pregnant teenager? Harvester had many faces, his intelligence more than human. But Alice knew what pregnancy blood could do if used by a skilled witch.

Anna wanted Joshua to forget his pain, but pain couldn't be wiped away so easy. Alice knew such things from experience. However, making Joshua forget what he knew could be an advantage for her and the others. There was no guarantee that he would survive, but Harvester could decide.

The girls had been disappointed when the black candle did not light after the ritual. They assumed Harvester refused to appear, but Alice knew better than to assume anything with Harvester.

Alice picked up the uncovered dish. She held the ceramic white vessel up to the candle. "Harvester, your servant Alice White calls for you, seeking your help. Make a troubled mind pure again. Purify by fire, make a fever burn..."

The flame shot from the candlewick.

" _Make a fire burn, my Harvester..."_

Snow was coming down in thick flakes when Anna, in her old car, the brakes now repaired, cruised up to the front doors of the hospital. Joshua, already dressed and waiting, opened the passenger side door and slid in.

"You _better_ find something out," Anna said. "My tires slid all over the highway to get here."

The roads were just as icy coming back into Fruit Ridge County.

"Do you have any gloves?" Joshua asked.

"There's some in the glove—"

Before she could finish, Joshua pulled out the jar. "What is this?"

"A protection bottle."

Joshua stared at the Mason jar, full of water, tacks, and nails. His hands began to tremble as he remembered. "Whatever happened to me must have scared me half to death."

"You're remembering how it made you feel."

"Ruth is the only one left. She has to tell me. If she's dead, and I can't remember, I'll never know."

"That's not true, Josh. There are others."

"Who?"

"I don't know. Maybe Max."

"Dad wasn't in Mom's circle. No males allowed."

"Except you. And Davey."

"They did something bad. Bad enough that they're all being targeted. I'll be left."

"Who do you think is targeting them? Who would want five women, all close to retirement, dead? And don't forget Leo. Or Nick and Cole."

"What about my dad?"

"He's been okay so far. Let's not panic."

The rest of the ride was silent as Anna maneuvered up the two lane highway to the dirt road, which had only been plowed once. "I should have taken Dad's truck, but he's home. I didn't want him asking me any questions."

"Was he in bed?"

"Yeah. He goes back on the road in the morning."

"Can you drive down this road? If not, I'll walk."

"I'll go as far as I can. If I keep going, I won't get stuck."

They made it to the old church, covered in layers of snow and icicles at the eaves. The boarded-up front doors were not disturbed.

"I don't think anyone has been here," Anna said.

"Where's the hammer?"

"In the trunk."

Anna parked her car in the road, where the snow-drifts were not as thick. She turned off the engine and followed Joshua.

"I can see my old house," he said.

Anna gazed out at the snow covered ruins.

Too bad the snow can't bury it forever, she thought.

Joshua brushed the snow off the front of the doors. Anna stood on the decaying steps, watching him pull at the boards with the crowbar. The boards began to give, and Anna found herself helping with the hooked end of the hammer. One board, then the next, fell at their feet. Anna's fingers were starting to freeze through her gloves. She was bundled up, but Joshua only had his coat, borrowed gloves, and boots on. His face was red from the cold and exertion.

Two more boards and the doors were uncovered. Anna's arms and shoulders were aching. "I hope it's not locked."

"Just one little padlock for both doors," Joshua said.

Anna sighed. "If anyone could get in here, they would have to come in the same way—"

"I think there may have been another way out. This church is old and so are these doors. I need a screwdriver."

"The hinges?"

"I've got time."

"You used to be arrogant; now, you're just stubborn."

"We all have to grow up sometime."

Joshua tried a Philips-head screwdriver, but the flat-head managed to turn each rusty, cold hinge, nine all together on one side. Joshua pulled at the old wooden door on the left side, just enough room to squeeze through. He had pulled a flashlight out of his coat pocket. Anna turned hers on.

Joshua squeezed his head and the rest of his body through. He extended a hand to Anna. A few more steps and they were standing in the foyer.

Gripping their flashlights, they took in the few remaining pews, which were tipped over. The pulpit was stripped. Dust and cobwebs engulfed the corners.

"What's that smell?" Joshua asked.

They searched the area, but Anna's light was the first to see the pale white feet. "Josh!"

His light found the body. "Oh, God. Don't let it be her..."

Anna followed behind Joshua, but turned her face away. "No..."

Joshua's light moved up the feet to the bare legs. Ruth was never a big woman and, over the stretch marks, varicose veins, and surgical scars, he took in the designs on her body; rough drawings in red. She was on her right side, eyes wide open, her face in the direction of the doors. Her hair was pinned up, not touching her skin.

"That's a pentagram on her back," Joshua said.

Anna's head was still turned away. "She was trying to protect herself."

"Her hand is gone."

"What other marks are on her?"

"There's another pentagram on her chest. Swords on her arms. Someone took their time..."

"A red ink pen?"

"I don't think that's ink, Anna."

"I gotta get out of here." She turned her light away and stepped back to the unhinged door. He could hear her sobs as she squeezed her way out.

Joshua came closer to Ruth's body, reminding himself that she was no longer there, only the shell. The blood had dried, in parts, to a brownish color. Joshua took in stars and half-moons on the thighs and knees. Her shins had also been marked as well as her cheeks. Joshua shined his light on Ruth's head and face. He found the dried ribbon of blood around her neck, the same as Bonnie.

Did Ruth do this to herself or her killer? he thought. Ruth would never cut off her own hand, no one could do that. Would Bonnie? For some kind of spell?

The fingers of her left hand were stiff, almost a fist, resting against her hip. He noticed something between her fingers. He pulled at what he realized was a piece of paper. He couldn't feel her skin underneath his glove, but the smell of her blood and flesh was starting to overwhelm him. He realized the material was more rigid and smooth. Before he could get a grip, it fell to the floor, but his light soon found the object. He snatched it up, stepping away from Ruth's body.

He unfolded a photograph, shining his light on the image.

He and his mother.

"Josh? Your dad is coming. I see his SUV."

Joshua shoved the photo in his pocket and joined Anna on the porch.

"He's going to hand your ass back to you," she said.

"I'm going to show him Ruth's body."

"Don't!"

"Why?"

Anna pushed the door back into place. "Let someone else find her. Trust me on this."

"How will I explain—"

"Tell them anything. That we wanted to be alone together."

"That might piss them off more."

"Let's get in the car. Steam up the windows."

Joshua couldn't stop the grin from spreading across his face. "Colbie will be _so_ pissed..."

"Why do you care?"

"I don't _know_ why."

"Have I ever kissed you before?" Joshua asked.

"No."

"I'm surprised."

The two of them were back in Anna's car. From the rearview mirror, they could see Max and Brenda approaching in the SUV.

"Why?" Anna asked.

"When I came back to work, on that first day, I knew that I knew you. Everyone else at the plant felt like a stranger except for you."

"I called you before—"

"Right. But it happened when I saw you in person."

Anna let Joshua put his arms around her. They were both bundled in their coats. Joshua's cold fingers touched her cheek. "I'm sorry, Anna."

"About what?"

He kissed her and she didn't need the answer; they were simply picking up where they left off. No one, not even Colbie and the baby, could change their connection. For the first time in months, Anna let herself relax, because she knew she had him. When their lips parted, she continued to hold him tight, until they heard Max knocking on the window next to her.

"What the Hell were you thinking?" Max asked. "You don't just take off from the hospital..."

Joshua remained silent in the back seat of the SUV, his father driving him back to Falls River. Brenda sat in the passenger side seat, confused by the picture of Joshua and Anna embracing.

Anna, explaining nothing, but with a smug smile on her face, drove herself home, leaving Joshua at the mercy of his parents.

Joshua had to hold back his laughter, the hysteria more from shock and exhaustion than embarrassment. He tuned out his father's diatribe and thought about how he felt when Anna kissed him; not the same as Colbie, but he knew he had crossed a bridge with her. Being with Anna made sense when nothing else seemed to. Then his mind wandered to Ruth, the marks on her skin, and his euphoric mood dropped.

He closed his eyes, resting his head against the seat.

"Dad? How did you know where to find me?"

Max's sigh was loud. "I knew you would come back to look for Ruth. After the hospital called, I thought of every place you might go. I knew how upset you were about Bonnie."

Joshua did not reply. His father was lying, but Joshua was too tired to argue.

Colbie let Anna into the house. "Is Josh okay?"

"He's fine. Spoken to Ruth lately?"

"No."

Anna took off her coat and placed it on a chair. "Colbie, do you have any idea who would want Leo and Ruth dead? The others?"

Colbie sat at the couch. "It's not like I haven't thought about it. I'm scared, too. Don't tell me you feel safe, either."

"I don't."

"You can leave town. There's nothing tying you down, Anna."

"You don't give a shit about Ruth or Leo. And if Josh is smart, he'll get a DNA test."

Colbie rose from the couch. "I'll tell him everything about that night—"

"Not if you love him."

"I love my baby. And Josh will forget all about you as soon as this baby is born."

"Why do you care? If you don't love him, what difference does it make to you what he remembers or forgets? Oh! I know why! You can live here as long as he thinks that baby is his. No going back to the trailer! To Hell with Grandma and Grandpa. They don't even own—"

"You're just being nasty because you're jealous."

Anna opened her purse, pulling out Liz's black cloth. She unfolded it and came up to Colbie's, shaking it in the girl's face. "I've been keeping this for Josh. He found it on the Curtis property."

Anna lifted the cloth, and Colbie took a step back. "Liz embroidered all of the designs on this. Joshua remembers watching her do it. Bonnie, Ruth, all of them, were trying to help him, but they were afraid. I don't think any of us are going to survive to see your baby get born. You should leave town, Colbie."

Anna gathered the cloth up in her arms. "I don't like you, never did, but you helped me help Josh, so I don't hate you. But give a lot of thought to what you want. You can't really manipulate people. Eventually, no matter how smart you think you are, the people you're screwing with figure it out. You get nothing. Think of the baby. Is this how you want your child to think of you after he grows up?"

Colbie was still staring at the cloth. "You know, your situation isn't much better than mine. What do you have? A crappy office job and an old car. Big deal. You live with your dad, but he's always gone. You're lonely."

"So are you. Except for the baby in your belly. You have more to lose."

"I know that. But there's nothing I can do."

Anna took in the bloat in Colbie's face and legs. She looked tired. "Has Brenda told you anything?"

"About what?"

"Her suspicions. Someone cut off Ruth's hand."

"What?"

Anna revealed discovering Ruth's body at the church with Joshua, leaving out the bloody symbols. Anna watched Colbie become pale. She was shaking as she sat back down on the couch.

"I wasn't going to tell you any of this. Joshua didn't want me to. But you have to understand how serious this all is. Joshua thinks that since all of the circle is...gone now, he might be next. Or one of us. If you don't leave town, you need to find every way to protect yourself and the baby."

"I think you need to see something. A book Alice White gave to Brenda. It's up in the attic. You'd be surprised what Alice knows."

Joshua's mood became worse by the time he was discharged from the hospital the next morning. Brenda, with little to say, brought him home. Colbie had gone to school and Max was at the plant.

He went up to his room to change. Max was going to take him to work after lunch. When he opened his bedroom door, he received another shock.

Everything was gone, except for his bed. His dresser, TV, computer, and all electronic gadgets were gone, along with the crystal and cassette tapes.

"I need your phone, Josh," Brenda said.

She was standing behind him.

"What is this about?" he asked.

"Your father just wants to protect you."

"I understand. But how is watching TV going to harm me?"

"We'll give you back your stuff as soon as you prove you can be trusted."

"What do you think I'm going to do?"

"Give me the phone."

He pulled his phone out of his pants pocket. "Here. I'm going to the plant."

"You'll have to wait for your father."

"I have two legs."

"Don't be stubborn, Josh. It's cold out there."

He went back downstairs and bundled up. He started to regret his decision as soon as he stepped out, but wouldn't give Brenda the pleasure. She had been getting on his nerves with her silence. She was keeping her secrets, but Max had been more revealing. He needed his father to listen to him. He would tell his dad about Ruth and her hand, which the police must have found by now.

He had a long walk ahead of him. He was hoping someone would offer him a ride, but no such luck.

He still had the photo of his mother in his coat pocket. Max already knew he had the cassette tapes. But his crystal, his protection, he would demand back.

He tightened the ski mask around his face. He was now walking up the two lane highway, the plant almost three miles away. He tried to run, but the cold air would fill his lungs, making him cough.

Joshua had an hour of walking ahead of him. He thought about Leo, who had said that Joshua shouldn't let others hide anything from him, to be careful who he confided in. He was afraid for Anna and his father. Colbie could go into labor at any time. He tried not to think about it as he felt his fingers go numb under the thick gloves.

He was still a mile and a half from the plant when Max's SUV came up the road, his father at the wheel. He parked on the other side. Joshua walked over. He wouldn't tell his father how grateful he was; he just wanted to be warm again.

"Son, I thought I was bad, but you are pig-headed."

Max was rubbing his left shoulder as they entered the front doors at the plant. Joshua knew the lecture was coming, but he didn't care.

He expected to see Anna at her desk, but her seat was empty.

"Where's Anna?" he asked.

"More surprises," Max said. "She quit."

"Oh, come on, Dad!"

"Quiet down. Let's go in my office. Jesus, I've got a headache."
Chapter Twenty

Max swallowed two aspirin dry. Joshua noticed that his father's face remained flushed. "Are you okay?"

"I better not be coming down with the damn flu."

"Dad, I need you—"

"You listen to me. No more bullshit. You do what you're told until the baby is born."

"Why can't you tell me _why_ I should be afraid?"

"Because I don't know it all myself."

"You even took my crystal and the tapes. Why?"

"I'm sorry, Josh. You'll get your stuff back when we get home. But stay away from Anna."

"Why did she quit?" Joshua asked.

"She didn't explain, okay? But I don't know where she's going to find another full-time job in Fruit Ridge."

"Dad, I need you to take me to the old church."

Joshua told his father about Ruth; her body in the church, her hand in the woods. His dream. The photo. Max wiped a sheen of sweat from his forehead.

"It's all gone too far, Dad. I couldn't make up my mind about telling anyone but Anna, but the police should know."

"All right. I'll take you out there. But you drive."

"I don't have a license."

"You can drive. Just be careful."

### *****

Josh noticed that his father's coloring did not look good; flushed in the cheeks, but pale everywhere else. "You feel worse?"

"I've been feeling like shit since I got up this morning."

Josh was surprised at how easy driving came to him. He parked in the road after arriving at the church. He got out first, helping Max.

Joshua had left the door hinges loose. Joshua squeezed in first, trying to make a wider space for Max, who managed to get his aching shoulders through, the exertion making him dizzy.

Rays of morning daylight made the inside of the church less gloomy. Max followed Joshua to the turned-over pew, but Ruth was gone, only a dark brown pool remained on the old wood floor, covered in dust.

Joshua felt a painful sinking in his stomach. "What the Hell..."

"I believe you, son."

"Anna saw her, too. The blood is here. How was she moved?"

One of the other pews was still upright. Max sat down, rubbing at the left side of his jaw. "There must be another way in and out. Probably a storm cellar."

"We still need to call the police."

"Josh, there were so many things I didn't know about your mother and the others. You should talk to Alice, but I never liked her. Her husband died during the drought, his death passed off as a heart attack. Liz worked at the bank with Alice then, they were all related somehow, through the Whites and the Curtises. The witchcraft started with Rebecca and Alice. They managed to pull all of them in. With Harvester's favor, Liz started putting together a grimoire with Alice. It burned in the fire. They used to get together in the basement, do their rites down there. Nasty stuff, with blood. They needed a boy. Disgusting. Alice was never in her right mind. Rebecca made it worse. Good thing she's dead..."

Max put his head into his hands. Joshua bent over his father, placing his hand on his shoulder. "Dad?"

"Take my cell phone. Call an ambulance. But I want to be outside..."

"What's wrong?"

"My chest is aching, I'm dizzy, and my left arm hurts like Hell all the way down. Did I mention my jaw hurts?"

Brenda and Colbie found Joshua sitting alone in the waiting room outside the E/R. His father was getting more tests.

"Was he conscious?" Brenda asked.

Joshua nodded. "The whole way here. He's getting an EKG right now."

"Maybe it's not a heart attack," Colbie said

."He had been feeling tired for days," Brenda said. "He was worried about you, Josh. He was stressed."

"Dad was worried about a lot of things. But he tried to tell me about my mom, about Alice. Their grimoires. They needed a boy. Why?"

Brenda stepped away, heading for a vending machine. Colbie sat down in a chair. "If I go into labor, at least I'll be at the hospital."

Her attempt at humor fell flat. They all remained silent until the doctor appeared and explained that Max had suffered a mild heart attack and wouldn't need surgery, but would be staying for at least a few days to be monitored. They could see him after he was settled into his room.

"I remember Max telling me that his father had a heart attack in his fifties. But Max is only forty-seven," Brenda said.

"He'll be all right," Colbie said. "He doesn't need surgery..."

Joshua rose from his seat, looking out of the window. His head and his stomach hurt. He felt as if the floor had fallen out from beneath him and all he could do was drop.

"Who is going to run the plant?" Colbie asked.

"Me," Brenda said. "The plant manager and the new HR guy can help. Knowing Max, he won't stay home for long."

They were allowed to visit with Max for a little while. The sight of his dad hooked up to oxygen and in a hospital gown, exhausted and pale, made Joshua want to weep.

He would have stayed all night, but Brenda handed him the keys to her car. "Take Colbie home. You two need to rest. If there's any change, I'll call." Before he could step away, she said,"Max always felt guilt about Davey. But he couldn't save that boy after Alice and Rebecca made their plans. All they had to do was talk Liz into it, and it was easy, because she loved you so much. Be patient. Max will tell you the rest when he's ready."

Joshua was too tired to ask more questions. Colbie followed him out of the hospital, their drive home silent until they entered Fruit Ridge and stopped to check on Max's SUV.

From the outside, the SUV looked fine, but Joshua had left Max's cell phone inside while waiting for the ambulance. Joshua unlocked the driver's side door, his gaze searching out the phone. On the seat, he found something else.

Joshua had not thought about the blue rag doll rattle in weeks. Now, it lay on the seat, the little nails in its head undisturbed. Bonnie had said that nails were used for protection. Joshua wondered if one of the circle had been trying to protect the house.

Or him.

He left the doll where it was, reaching for the phone. As he did, he was struck by a feeling that he had done this before. He tried to concentrate, but no picture came to his mind.

He locked up the SUV, phone in hand. They could retrieve the vehicle later.

"Thanks for coming," Joshua said.

"I heard about Max," Anna said. "I'm sorry."

Anna entered the front door, Colbie at the couch. "I told Joshua what you told me. About Grandma."

"What else?"

"Just that."

"We all have to stop keeping secrets from each other," Joshua said. "I don't know if Dad's heart attack had anything to do with it, but it has scared me enough that I'm tired of being scared." He turned to Colbie. "I know there are things you have been hiding. Dad and Brenda, too. It's not like I haven't noticed that there are no photographs on the walls or anywhere else. No school pictures. I think that no one wants to talk about my school days because of another reason. I did something wrong, didn't I?"

Anna looked over at Colbie. "You tell him. You were there."

"I don't want Max and Brenda pissed at _me_."

Joshua walked over to her, taking her chin between his fingers. "This is not the time to start acting like a snotty girl. You will talk to Anna with respect around me. And you will tell me the truth. If not, I will make sure your next home is another trailer–by yourself with the baby."

Colbie shook off his grip. "You little prick! If it wasn't for Anna and me, you would have been dead that night—"

"Colbie!" Anna cried. "Don't!"

Colbie kept her gaze on Joshua. "Josh, you have no school pictures because you didn't go to school until you were twelve. Brenda homeschooled you. You were sent to the middle school at seventh grade. You didn't graduate because you were pulled out of school by your parents." She turned to Anna. "You want to tell him why?"

"You do it."

Colbie rose from the couch, her hands on her lower back. "You made Mrs. Hollander have a stroke. In the school hallway during the Christmas assembly. Brenda was there, too. She saw it happen. Mrs. Hollander had flunked you in Calculus. She was also your teacher the year before in Algebra. You never liked her. She thought you were a punk. We were in the hallway with Brenda, getting ready to leave. You went up to Mrs. Hollander. You took her hand. I don't know what you said to her. Maybe you said Merry Christmas. Then the blood came out of her nose and mouth. She dropped dead. Brenda begged Max to take you out of school. You weren't going to graduate, anyway."

"How could I make someone have a stroke?"

She shrugged. "I don't think Max entirely believed Brenda. He bought you the Jeep."

Anna sighed. "Damn you, Colbie."

"Max can't hide the Jeep forever. I'm surprised Josh hadn't found it in the garage already."

"I had a Jeep?" he asked. "I don't have a license."

"Yes, you do. Where do you want to start, Anna?"

"At the beginning."

"Let's show Josh Alice's book."

Brenda had called the house, telling Joshua she was going to spend the night at the hospital. Max was doing fine, he was sleeping.

Brenda sat in the uncomfortable chair next to Max's bed. She didn't think it was a good decision for Colbie and Joshua to be alone at the house, but she couldn't leave Max.

The dim light in the room was making her drowsy. The sun had set; the winter darkness oppressive. She unfolded the blanket the nurse had given her, knowing her back would ache in the morning.

She must have dozed off for a while because she dreamed of voices, the sound of several women, the voices overlapping, joining together. _Hecate. The circle. The boy. Favored._

The last word made Brenda's eyes snap open.

A broad-shouldered man was standing at Max's bed. Dressed in black, head covered with a ski mask. Brenda blinked, not believing what she was seeing. A long knife in the right hand, arm raised, the blade pointed at Max's chest.

He looked up and Brenda saw the dark, dead eyes.

"I'm just here to check Max's vitals. Hate to wake him up."

The nurse took only a few steps into the room before being knocked over.

Brenda rose from the chair and ran after the figure, who was still gripping the knife. The smell of rotting meat was strong. Max opened his eyes, confused. "What?"

Brenda chased the stinking man down the hall. He was running, but wheezing. His legs were stiff, large feet in old boots. He pushed open the door that led to the stairs. The door slammed shut before Brenda could catch up. She opened it, but stopped.

No sound of footsteps on metal.

"Ma'am?"

She looked behind her. A security guard had arrived, the nurse following. Brenda stepped aside, letting them do their check of the building. But they would not find him. She touched the pentagram she had drawn on her chest through her sweater.

### Chapter Twenty–One

Joshua studied each page of Alice's book, Colbie and Anna staying quiet, letting him learn as they did.

He came to 'the vessel, then the rough sketch of 'the seed.' Half-man, half-bear.

"Max was handsome when he was young," Colbie said. "I imagined him young when he would touch me..."

Joshua did not answer; he turned another page. "This isn't the grimoire. It's like a scrapbook. A picture of Davey. My mom. So what?"

"Josh?" Anna asked. "Are you listening to Colbie?"

"Yes, I am." Joshua kept going from page to page. "Whose plan was it, Colbie?"

"Brenda's. She couldn't have kids. Max decided to comply as long as my grandparents never found out. But they did."

"How did you find out, Anna?"

"I knew you never touched Colbie. But you were very angry. Just one more thing to be upset about."

Joshua slammed the book shut between his hands. ""I'm going to see Alice."

"I'll stay here," Colbie said.

"What did Dad and Brenda offer you?"

"A way out of Fruit Ridge. College money. Max and I were only together twice—"

Josh held up his hand. "Fine. We can talk about it later."

The neglected fields of Alice's farm were covered in snow. Joshua had been silent as Anna drove, his mind trying to absorb every fact.

"What are you remembering?" she asked.

"A bad feeling. Like something crawling under my skin."

"Probably from what Colbie told you."

"I never touched her?"

"Not that I know of. But you didn't always confide in me. Maybe she thought having a baby for Max and Brenda would keep her close to you."

"I wonder why Dad kept stressing the need to protect me before the baby was born. What would happen?"

"Maybe it has more to do with the baby than you."

Anna was not looking forward to seeing Alice. The accident with the Jeep took place on this dirt road, Joshua walking away without a scratch.

Can Colbie and I take credit for it? she thought. He already knew about Max and Colbie, but something else had disturbed him enough to go tearing out in his Jeep, a shotgun in the backseat. Max hid the gun after the accident, the police never knew about Joshua smashing into that tree.

Anna passed the old oak, snow hanging heavy on the bare branches. A large hunk of bark was missing from the trunk. She pulled over.

"What?" he asked.

"Before we see Alice, I have to tell you about your accident. You don't remember the Jeep at all, right?"

"I didn't know that I took driver's ed."

"You did. Twice."

"I was a real screw-up, huh?"

"You thought everybody hated you. We went to school with kids whose parents and grandparents were Max's tenants. He owned their property, so there was some resentment. You learned to fight back, but your talent made them afraid of you, well before Mrs. Hollander died. A few kids had seizures or choked around you."

"Didn't I feel any guilt?"

"I don't know. I was just coming into my own talent. We became friends after I was hired at the plant. You started teaching me what you knew. But something happened before you were expelled. You had become more angry; like a volcano, ready to erupt."

"What does this have to do with the accident?"

"We had an argument that night. Colbie had never tried to convince you that you were the father of her baby. I think Max and Brenda had already come to her with their offer. But you weren't really mad about it, just like now. You felt sorry for Colbie. You had found out that Brenda wasn't the only one who couldn't get pregnant. Your mother had the same problem. She was infertile and I think she was hoping Harvester could help her."

"Mom became pregnant for me somehow."

"No. She didn't."

"What?"

"They all knew," Anna said. "You said you felt cheated. You were angry at your parents for not telling you. But also because your adoption wasn't...normal."

"What?"

"They all loved you, Josh. You were special. Elizabeth saved your life, but Rebecca found you."

The pain in his head and stomach was returning. "I came out here to talk to Alice that night because...I found out I was adopted."

"You told me where you were going, but I was too scared to go with you. I called your house after you left, but Colbie answered. She said you were pissed off after arguing with your dad. She and I started talking. I picked her up, going back to my place. We tried to put together a protection spell. We called on Harvester. The black candle lit itself. We had his attention. We begged him to protect you, using my blood. Colbie was pushed against the wall. She went into the air and landed on the couch. Harvester came for me. I was pulled up by the hair, off the floor. I almost screamed. Colbie was crying.

I felt him inside me. I think I passed out. I woke up on the floor, Colbie standing over me. I was fully dressed, Josh. But I found the blood later."

"Oh, God. I'm sorry, Anna. But why did you and Colbie—"

"You had taken a shotgun with you. You said you were going to kill all of them, beginning with Alice, then Ruth. You were like a little boy, crying and angry. When I found out about the accident, I knew Harvester had helped you, because the Jeep was trashed, the windshield almost gone, but you weren't even scratched. I had Harvester's favor. I would need it later."

"Are you sure you have his favor?"

"He saved you from the accident."

"He raped you."

"I was a virgin. He wanted my energy."

"Why did he want a boy?"

"Alice will know."

Another vehicle, headlights on, cruised up the dirt road from behind. When the old truck reached them, it stopped. The window came down, and Anna recognized Alice White's scowling face, framed by a thick scarf wrapped around her head.

Alice backed her truck up and kept going. She changed gears and did a U-turn in the thick snow, heading for the main road.

"Should we follow her?" Anna asked.

"No. Let's go to my old house. The basement. If I can get in there, I won't have to talk to her."

"Are you sure?"

"No. I'm not sure of anything. But no one can stop me."

The padlock was off the door.

"Who took the lock off?" Anna asked.

Joshua shook his head. He tried the knob, but it was still locked. He swung the hammer, smashing the window. He pushed the glass back with his gloved hand. He reached in, unlocking the old door from the inside. "I should have done this months ago."

The fire had burned through the upstairs flooring, the remains covered from the outside with heavy plastic tarps, smothered in ice and snow.

The spacious area still contained the furnace and hot water heater, rotting carpet on the floor. Joshua saw another door ahead of him, but he also took in the beige wallpaper on the wall to his right. He brushed his gloved fingers against it. The paper had turned yellow, burnt at the edges. He saw a piece hanging down. He grabbed at it, tearing the strip from the wall, bringing the dust and time with him.

" _They used to do their rites down there_..."

The basement was his mother's space; her circle came here, they worshipped Harvester. He shuddered at the thought of what they did to make the drought end. Blood sacrifices. They needed a boy.

Joshua took in a fleeting image of what was behind the paper.

The chariot.

He saw a strip of memory. Liz was painting the mural. She hummed a song then giggled with him. His image was painted on the wall, close to the floor. All of the women had been painted. She had turned on a radio. She was humming a popular song,"I know what you're doing, baby. I know why you dial my number..."

Her cool hand had touched his arm. "Harvester comes in a chariot. He lived during a time when people only had chariots and horses. Harvester has lived almost forever. He can be whatever he wants."

Joshua pointed at another image. "That's Grandma."

Liz nodded. The tall woman, hair prematurely white. She was wearing a white gown, her arms in the air. "Yes. Grandma Rebecca."

He saw Ruth, Bonnie, Marilyn, Lois, even Alice. They were no longer a circle of five, but seven.

The sacrifice was over.

"Help me, Anna."

They both started to tear at the wallpaper. The images he remembered came into view in the daylight. Anna was startled by the life-size rendition of Joshua, at three years old, on the wall. Liz had caught his eyes and the soft planes of his face. A hanging garden, buds and blooms fat with fertility, green with health. The chariot looked like something out of a movie; painted gold, a pentagram on the front. A black horse. Inside the chariot, a figure with three faces, a blond child next to him, wearing a white robe.

Anna studied the three faces. Harvester. The same energy that brought the rain, tearing into her body. She looked away, but not before she saw the five swords.

"Harvester needed a boy," Joshua said.

"Oh, no..."

"Five of them have a sword painted over their heads. Five went through with it, but one witnessed it."

"Do you remember being there?"

"No. But I do remember Dad telling her to cover this up. He didn't want any other people, aside from her circle, knowing about what happened. He wanted her to 'tone it down.' But Mom said he had no right, that he should be grateful to Harvester. Loud argument..."

"Was he jealous?"

"I think he felt guilty."

Joshua left the wall, heading for the other room. He put his hand over the doorknob. The crack his memory created was opening wider; however, he did not hesitate, and turned the knob, the metal worn with time, hard and cold in his hand.

Before he took in the room, he saw Davey. A memory of the boy. Davey hugged him in this room. The walls were unfinished, the sheetrock was their easel. Both boys drew trees and houses.

I wasn't supposed to see any of it. The five swords on the blanket...

Joshua shook his head hard, but the nausea creeped up, getting a hold on him. He bent over and threw up on the floor.

Anna came up behind him, placing her hand on his back. "What do you remember?"

He pushed her hand away. "You already know. About Davey."

"He was sick."

"But that didn't stop Harvester from accepting him as a sacrifice. That poor kid. They must have gone crazy."

"They killed him?"

"You must have figured it out."

She sighed. "I didn't want to believe it. I thought you were joking when you told me. But you didn't say you saw it or any of the circle were involved."

Joshua stood up, his head still swimming. "Where did you put my witch box?"

### Chapter Twenty–Two

"I never touched it," Anna said. "Colbie and I had managed to save your life, but you were still so angry..."

"Who told me I was adopted?"

"Max told you. He regretted it right away because it only made matters worse. Your Jeep was totaled. You couldn't go back to school. I was afraid you would turn that shotgun on yourself. All of the guns and sharp things were taken out of the house. You lost interest in practicing. You didn't visit me at my house anymore or want to come into work. You were hurting..."

"I was depressed."

"Colbie and I tried another protection spell. We asked Alice for help this time. The next day, you were in the hospital."

"What did she do?'

"We called on Harvester. Alice had forgotten more spells than I know. She told us to cut ourselves, to offer our own blood. But the black candle did not light itself. No energy. I had the feeling that Harvester was done with us all."

"Maybe Harvester had nothing to do with me getting sick."

"We asked Harvester to make you forget your pain."

"I could have died."

"The fever was very high, but it passed after a few days—"

"You didn't know what you were doing. Alice probably knew it." Joshua wiped his mouth with his hand. "I need to talk to her. She can't stay away from her house all night."

Anna followed him out. He took one last look at the mural. The tall, white haired woman smiling with her mouth closed, to hide her crooked teeth. He pointed at her. "This is Rebecca. I called her Grandma. She gave me the crystal at the hospital."

"Rebecca is Liz's mother?"

"Bonnie didn't mention it. Probably to protect me and herself."

"They all hated Alice and Rebecca. After the fire—"

"You said Rebecca found me. Found me where?"

"I don't know where you came from."

"I told Brenda I'd check in at the plant. Can you take me there?"

Anna was nearing town when she noticed there were no traffic lights. Local buildings were dark.

"The power went out again," Joshua said.

"There's going to be some cold bodies tonight."

The few traffic lights were a stressful three or four way stop. By the time Anna turned into the empty parking lot at Max Packaging, there was not enough daylight to walk safely. Joshua pulled the flashlights out of the glove compartment.

Anna offered to show Josh his wrecked Jeep. He followed Anna to the garage. Both doors were locked. If he could see his wrecked Jeep, maybe he could recall the accident.

"Was I going to or from Alice's house?" he asked.

"I'm not sure."

"I probably didn't have a chance to speak to her."

Joshua and Anna found the office doors locked, so they took the production employee entrance to the main floor. The area was dark, the machines off.

They both heard voices, steps coming from upstairs.

"Above the office," Anna said.

They pointed their lights at the stairwell. Joshua stepped forward, Anna ready to follow. He put a hand on her arm. "Stay down here. If it's safe, I'll call for you."

"It's not safe down here, either."

"You can wait in your car. Lock yourself up—"

"I'll just wait in the office. I have my phone."

"Do you have protection?"

"Just my wits."

"You've been good to me, Anna."

She shrugged. "You know enough to defend yourself now."

"I just wish I knew what–or who–I'm supposed to defeat."

"Josh, I know what Colbie did was crazy, but that baby is going to need all the help he can get."

Anna headed for the door that led to the long hallway and the offices. The door was unlocked and she let herself in.

Joshua, after seeing her enter, turned and looked up at the stairwell. He took each step slow, because he wanted the element of surprise, but also to eavesdrop, to know who was up there. He turned off his flashlight.

He came to the last two steps and crouched down at the door, careful not to stumble.

The voices of women.

"...I may be too ill. But Harvester will favor him. Untainted blood..."

"The umbilical cord?"

"I've got it."

"The things doctors can do with cord blood..."

"We don't need doctors. We live in the harvest. Always."

"Blessed be."

"This was the right time, Aunt Becca. Leo can't last much longer."

Joshua heard more whispered laughter. "He was at least strong enough to deal with them all."

"Not Max."

"I hate that woman. Did anyone ever have the nerve to tell Brenda she's stupid?"

"Creeping into Liz's basement to call on Harvester? I was hiding down there. She had her candles and shit, even this thing that looked like a goat's head—"

"If the ritual works, we can all walk out of here young again."

"Harvester will bless us."

Joshua rose slowly from the step. He had to get Colbie out of town.

He steadied himself in the dark. He turned around on the step, ready to dash down the stairs. Instead, he almost lost his balance when he took in the tall figure behind him.

No longer wearing a ski mask, Leo had a perfect hole in the middle of his forehead, a pentagram drawn around it in red. His head was now bald, the white moustache still present, but sticky with blood. His eyes were black, shining in the dark like a dog's.

He clamped his big hands on Joshua's shoulders, turning him around to face the door. His rotting smell filled the stairway.

Leo reached up, turning the knob.

Anna heard the noise in Max's office.

She stepped closer, the door shut. Anna saw a flickering light underneath the door. Candles.

She stepped away, looking around. She kept her flashlight off, heading for the supply room next to the HR office.

Anna knew she could be overreacting, but her instincts were telling her to hide. The supply room door was never locked, and Anna slipped in, closing the door behind her as soft as possible. She turned on her light to take a quick look around; the usual stacked boxes of copy paper, used computer equipment, the closet full of files.

A desk was shoved against the far wall. Anna could see something there, covered with a dark sheet. Her nose caught an odor in the cold darkness. Sweat. Blood.

She took a few steps, but stopped, her light on the desktop. The shape under the cover was bulky and long, tucked tight against the wall.

Her light found the lock of white-blonde hair at one end, peeking out from under the cloth, embroidered with gold designs.

"Colbie?"

Anna called her name again. Already shivering from the cold, she started to tremble. She saw the blood soaking the cloth, drips running down the desk. Blood and gold thread. She ran to the door, hearing a rustling behind her.

"Anna..."

She turned around, trying to keep a grip on her flashlight. The light fell on the pasty white flesh, the belly torn open, blood and fluid running down Colbie's legs, blood in her blonde hair. On her chest, between her swollen breasts, a pentagram shined in blood, a deep gash in the middle.

"Anna..."

Anna took in the dead black eyes and blood in the corners of Colbie's mouth. The deep wound in her belly made a smile underneath her navel. Her slow footsteps were sticky on the floor. She raised her arms, as if ready to give a hug, and dashed towards Anna, who was already turning back at the door.

She had her hand on the knob and turned. Colbie's fingers grabbed at her hair, only catching a few locks at the crown. Colbie yanked hard enough to pull Anna's head back. Anna pushed herself forward, taking another step. Colbie let go of her hair, making her stumble.

Colbie's scream filled the room. Anna, on her hands and knees, looked up and saw Colbie's body leap through the air backwards, her head hitting the ceiling, arms and legs spread. She stayed at the ceiling, her head being smacked hard several times. She went limp and dropped to the floor.

Anna scrambled out of the room and into the hallway. The door shut hard behind her.

Harvester, she thought. I have his favor.

### *****

Alice and Rebecca were seated next to each other in folding chairs. In their pullover sweaters, they looked like two harmless grandmothers.

"Hello, Joshua," Rebecca said. "I see you are well."

Her speech sounded slurred, the left side of her mouth sagging. She gripped a cane.

"I should have introduced myself at the hospital," she said. "But you hadn't seen me in a long time..."

"They grow up fast," Alice said.

Leo took slow steps to a chair in the corner, where the tables had been placed for the Christmas potluck.

The smell of rotting meat was becoming overwhelming. Joshua also picked up the odors of cats and human urine on Alice and Rebecca.

"I knew," Alice said, "as soon as you found me, you'd find your witch box. I suppose you want it." She grabbed the straps of her tote-bag, a Christmas tree and kitten design on the front. The bag in her lap, she pulled out a wooden container the size of a shoe box. "I'd have thought you'd want to use something from the plant. This is an antique."

"Yes, it is," Rebecca said.

"Some of your things are a bit untraditional, but I used to keep a jar of buttons in mine." Alice rose and handed the box to Joshua. "Don't be shy."

The smooth wood was cool in his hands. He opened the cover, which stayed on its hinges. The box was lined with green felt.

Inside, he found things that made his memories line up like bowling pins; his ceramic plate, painted dark green, etched with a pentagram. A few black candles. An old knife with an ivory handle. Pieces of chalk. A series of necklaces, including the onyx. Amulets, semi-precious stones. Runes. Salt. Folded pieces of paper, spells he had written. A Latin-English dictionary, pocket-sized. A wax doll.

A thick moss-colored stone, a five-sided star carved into the surface.

"You were becoming quite the practitioner," Alice said. "Learning how to use everyday things. Strong talent."

"And to believe it came from a Curtis," Rebecca said. "Those shiftless bastards. The old man turned in his grave so much, they had to dig him up and cremate him."

"Poor old William."

Joshua found his voice. "The Curtis house?"

Both women looked at each other and smiled. "You tell him, Aunt Becca. You found him."

"It was blessed."

"She found you at high summer."

"Like a stray kitten, but more work."

"Look how well he turned out."

"I guess we have to give credit where it's due. Max wouldn't want to be seen as nothing less than a perfect father, even for an adopted son."

### Chapter Twenty–Three

Anna was heading for the hallway door when she heard the crying; a squeal becoming a wail.

She stopped and turned around. Anna walked back to the office area, near her desk. The door to Max's office was still shut.

She heard another squeal behind the door. Anna reached for the knob.

The first thing she saw, surrounded in candlelight, was Max's desk, covered with another black embroidered cloth. In the stitched pentagram in the center, a human hand sat, palm up.

Ruth's hand.

Anna recognized a Hand of Glory. But she knew the hand had to belong to a murderer in order to be effective.

Davey, she thought. They were all murderers.

The next thing Anna saw was Max's chair, which was turned around. The candles revealed the shadow of the chair's occupant.

The baby cried. A woman hummed then started to sing. "There was a boy..."

Anna almost gasped, covering her mouth.

"...who travelled very far, over land and sea..."

She pulled her hand away. "Elizabeth?"

The woman stopped singing, turning the chair around.

Anna thought this woman couldn't be Elizabeth Hildebrand. She was bald, her face a mass of thick scars, covered with heavy makeup. This woman, bundled in a white coat sticky with smeared blood, looked as if she had been burned years ago.

"You took Colbie's baby?" Anna asked.

She was shaking, close to tears. The baby was wrapped in a white sheet, also stained.

"We needed the baby," Liz said. "We're all so sick. And tired..."

"I thought you died in the fire."

"I did. But Harvester favored me. I woke up. Max knew; he just wanted me to stay away. I had to leave my Joshua behind."

"Why did you...take the baby?"

"Colbie was a stupid girl. She thought she was so smart, but she didn't know a thing. Harvester found her cheap. Same thing with Brenda the Bombshell."

Anna looked down at the baby, who had become quiet. "You brought Colbie here?"

"Alice did. She told the girl you and Joshua needed help, that your car was stuck in the snow. Alice took her to Max's SUV by the church. Leo was waiting. They brought her here."

"Leo?"

"What's left of him. He was strong, but we could get him to do anything. Like a dancing bear."

"We?"

"Alice, Rebecca, and I. Rebecca had a massive stroke. She heard Harvester's warning, but she had to be dead for a while. Sneaked out of the morgue in Falls River, naked in a sheet. Alice had to go get her."

Liz's laughter was soft as she rocked the newborn from side to side. "Ah, poor baby. His suffering will end soon. So will his father's..."

She doesn't know, Anna thought. But would it matter?"

"Josh wouldn't stand in your way," Anna said. "He understands Harvester's favor."

"That's why I wanted him to have the crystal. I needed to know where he was at all times. I didn't want him around when Alice sent out Leo."

Bonnie would have let Leo right into her house, Anna thought.

"That hand..."

"Yes," Liz said. "Hand of Glory to protect themselves. That's what Ruth and Bonnie were trying to do when Leo showed up. They were desperate. The hand could be used to control Leo but Ruth and Bonnie didn't know who to be afraid of. Who would suspect good ol' Leo? But he's starting to lose strength. Joshua is young, so are you. Even Colbie."

Anna tried to swallow down the lump in her throat. "What are you going to do with the baby?"

"You seem like a smart girl. Do I have to tell you?"

"Why?"

"Because Harvester promised us everlasting life. Blessed be."

"I have to give myself credit," Alice said. "I sure wiped out your memory. The girls wanted to end your pain, but Harvester has his own ways. Who knew you would become so sick? But you survived. Strong boy."

Joshua set the witch box down at a table. "Where was I found?"

He was looking at Rebecca, who had been staring down at the floor. "As you know, we are related to the Curtis family. Liz is my daughter, Alice my grandniece."

"But I didn't grow up at the old house," Alice said.

Rebecca chuckled. "It was falling apart even then. Anyway, the grand dame Charlotte Curtis was my great-grandmother. She brought her talent with her from Oklahoma. She taught my grandmother about Harvester, but he was just a mythical figure to that generation. They were religious, those people. William made sure of it. He controlled the wealth and Charlotte liked being a rich wife. But she had her ways..."

"There's people buried on that property," Alice said. "The little ghost hunters don't know about that, I'll bet."

"Dead babies. Dead servants. The throwaway people. That's how you would have ended up, Joshua. I gave you that name."

"He would have ended up another dead baby."

"The Curtis women have a strange dislike of their children."

"Are you saying I'm a Curtis?" Joshua asked.

"Yes," Rebecca said. "I found you in the house. This girl had come to town. Her name was Heather Curtis. She claimed to be Louise's great-granddaughter. She said the house was hers, she had inherited the place. She came to see us, brought you with her, on her hip. But she didn't seem right. She looked sick."

"Drug addict," Alice said.

"It's always drugs. She had her camper out there. Some guy was with her. Maybe your father. I came by to visit a few times in May and June. Then he left and she was alone with you. I didn't come by for a while. She probably thought I was being nosy. Then, one day in July, I came by. The front door was unlocked. I let myself in to that wreck of a house. I heard you crying, Joshua. Heather was dead on the floor, wrapped in a sleeping bag. All of her drug garbage around her–needles, a spoon. She was starting to stink. You were in a little bassinet. I took you out of there."

"What about my father?"

"He looked like something out of one of those grunge bands. He was long gone."

"Did anyone come looking for her?"

"No. Alice and I buried her on the property. Got rid of the camper. No others have come around since. It's been eighteen years."

"And you gave me to Dad and Mom?"

"Liz very much wanted to have a baby. I helped her with some fertility spells. But we, as a circle, focused on ending the drought."

"Praying for rain," Alice said. "The fruit crops all failed. Dreadful. People coming into the bank every day, begging for loans. We waited for summer to end. September and no rain. My husband wasn't the only death that year. I was working on my grimoire one night in September, and Harvester spoke to me. He told me he needed a boy to make it rain. I knew what he meant, but we knew Liz would never agree to give you up to Harvester no matter how devoted she was, so we offered Davey."

"Why would Harvester favor a sick child?" Joshua asked.

"He accepted Davey and it rained hard the next day."

"There were no questions? Davey is buried in the cemetery—"

"No. He was buried on the Curtis property."

"You killed your own son, Alice."

"I know. He would have been lucky to live to be a teenager. Cystic fibrosis is a nasty disease, worse than cancer, because there is more hope with cancer."

"What about my birthday? Was I born in July?"

"No. That's when I found you," Rebecca said. "Max and Liz chose that day because it was easier. We had no idea of your real birthday."

"The diabetes?"

"You were born with it. Most likely, your son could have it, too. But Harvester would very much favor a baby. So pure. Like angels."

They don't know, he thought.

"Colbie will be giving birth soon," he said. "I'm sure she would not be willing to give her baby away—"

"She wasn't willing at all, was she, Leo?" Rebecca asked.

Leo did not respond, looking as if asleep, his chin on his chest. He was not breathing.

"What do you mean she wasn't will—" Joshua stopped himself, realizing what the old woman meant.

Leo's chin sunk down some more and then his whole body fell forward to the floor.

The two women laughed.

"Time for a new model," Alice said. "Or two."

"Harvester will bless us," Rebecca said. "He will make us strong again. We're already half-way there. Show him your grimoire."

Joshua shook his head, continuing to stare at Leo's corpse. Alice rose stiffly from her chair. Next to her tote-bag was a leather-bound book the size of a large Bible. "I had this bound myself. Paid a pretty penny for it, but Harvester liked to speak to me sometimes. I just wanted to learn more about his power, where he came from. I had his favor, but not like Liz. He would...touch her. She never told Max about it, he would be jealous." She handed Joshua the book. "Everything is here. All the things Aunt Becca and Liz shared with me, Harvester's words..."

Joshua looked down at the worn leather, thinking of Liz and her circle. Harvester promised them their deepest wishes and they were willing to kill for him.

Colbie could be dead, he thought. And where is the baby? How can I stop them?

He opened the book at the table. His witch box was near his elbow. Alice resumed her place at her chair, next to Rebecca.

Joshua became fascinated with every page; some handwritten, some typed. Alice's sketches looked familiar, but the sketch of the green stone made him stop.

The same stone in his witch box.

The spirit stone. Spirit. Fire.

He flipped open his box and pulled out the stone.

I don't have Harvester's favor, he thought, but I have talent. I can try.

"What are you doing?" Alice asked.

She would need time to get out of the chair to reach him. He lit the black candle with the table candle, placing the green stone over the black candle's flame. He held it for a moment then placed the hot stone on the grimoire.

The pages burst into flames.

Joshua pulled his hand away, but he wasn't burned.

"What the Hell did he do?" Rebecca asked.

"You little bastard!" Alice cried.

Joshua threw his cooled stone and smoking candle into the box, taking it with him as he ran to the door, the flames in his wake. When he reached the end of the staircase, he laid the stone on the last step, watching the flames rise, knowing the fire would keep Alice and Rebecca from following him.

"I could have spent many years feeling guilty," Liz said. "But I didn't actually do the sacrifice. I was there, but I didn't raise a sword. Five swords. Rebecca. Alice. Ruth. Bonnie. Lois. Marilyn was the witness. I never touched the boy. They had been practicing, placing their sword blades in the shape of a pentagram. Five sides. In the middle, the head. This how Harvester came to be. Rebecca and Alice knew his history.

The boy's death was quick. His head and body were buried separately in the cornfield. The drought ended and Max started his business."

"They...cut the boy's head off?" Anna asked.

"Yes. Those old cement steps. You found my cloth..."

"The dog?"

"It had been there for a long time..."

"Why was your cloth there?"

"I put it there. I wanted to tease Joshua a bit; I wondered how much he really remembered."

"He is recalling more and more."

"Alice and Rebecca have him upstairs. I'm sure they've told him a lot. He deserves to know, but it won't make a difference. We have other plans for him."

"What are you going to do with the baby?"

Anna and Liz heard the piercing shriek before Colbie's cold, naked body crashed in. The candles toppled over, wax spattering on to the black cloths. Colbie pushed Anna towards Liz.

Liz kept a tight hold on the baby. The room filled with the smell of smoke and decay. Colbie had fallen with Anna and Liz. Colbie grabbed Liz under the chin. The woman screamed and the baby started squalling. Colbie stuck her fingers in Liz's eyes and Anna was able to get a grip on the baby.

Liz let go. Anna rolled away with the newborn, the sheet dragging. She gathered it as she rose, heading out of the office.

She could hear the fire alarms over Liz's screaming.

Anna turned the inside lock at the front doors, ready to run out with the baby.

"Anna! Keep going!"

She turned around and saw Joshua with the green stone in his hand, the witch box cradled in his other arm. "Get the baby to the hospital!"

"Joshua! No!"

He headed for Max's office. Liz was crawling out, her eye bloody, lips torn. "Help me..."

The vision of Colbie; naked, screaming, with the gaping, bloody wound in her gut. He saw the pentagram on her chest, realizing she was no better off than Leo. She came towards him. He pressed the stone on her flesh, grimacing as he did so.

The flames ran up her arm to her hair. Colbie had been a beautiful girl and Joshua immediately regretted what he did but, for a moment, he saw the real Colbie in her eyes; her naïve, intelligent spirit.

She threw herself on Liz as she burned.

He heard something crash.

"Anna! Get out!"

The smell of smoke and cooking flesh was becoming overwhelming. The baby was squealing in shock. Anna pushed the door open to the winter cold.

Liz and Colbie were enveloped in flames. Colbie's body was turning black. Liz had become still.

Joshua, his palms sweating, had not meant to drop the stone. He was helpless to stop the white flames rising from the floor around his feet. He was ready to run, but he heard the whispering. He looked to his side.

A cloud of smoke took on a shape.

"Alchemist..."

The smoke was in the shape of a very tall, slender man with broad shoulders and long arms. The face, once fully formed, featured slanted eyes and full lips. The face of a Mongol warrior, someone who lived so long ago, he was as foreign as a space alien.

Joshua started taking steps back. The smoke was reaching him, filling his lungs.

"Stone makes fire. Death creates life. So much power. Too much for humans. Too weak. Quick to love, quick to forget..."

Joshua was coughing, his eyes stinging. He wanted to hear more, to know the answers, the questions a torment all these years.

"Pain..."

Joshua could see the ceiling start to buckle.

"Go now..."

The smoke figure dissipated. Joshua headed for the doors. Just as he stepped out, the ceiling started to cave in.

Anna had placed the baby in the backseat, wrapping the squalling newborn in her coat. She was shivering by the time she turned the key in the ignition.

She knew the baby needed to see a doctor, but decided to wait a few more minutes for Joshua. She turned around in her seat and checked on the baby again. Colbie and Max's son. Joshua's half-brother.

Smoke was billowing out of the downstairs windows. Anna could hear the sirens in the distance.

The employee entrance door blew open and, through the smoke and darkness, Anna saw the cane and white hair.

Rebecca was bent over, but walking. Anna heard the old woman coughing. She turned away from the parking lot, crossing the road.

The sirens were getting closer. Anna put the car in reverse. She was pulling out when she saw movement in her rearview mirror.

Joshua was running towards her car, the witch box in his arms.

Anna and Joshua were out of the parking lot before the fire trucks arrived. Joshua was in the backseat with the baby.

They were a few blocks from the plant when the headlights from Anna's car revealed a figure walking down the two-lane highway. Anna took in the bent-over old woman.

" _That_ is not Rebecca," Joshua said.

"Yes, it is. She can keep on walking."

"Everlasting life..."

"They blew it." Anna almost laughed, a dry chuckle. "Now that you have your witch box, you feel better?"

"I feel like shit."

"Sorry."

"It's just a box."

"Where's the stone?"

"I left it at the plant."

"What you were doing was alchemy. That's special, Joshua. Not every witch can make fire from a stone."

"I don't remember learning anything about alchemy. It just happened. Like someone was telling me to try..."

"What now?"

Joshua rolled down his window. He tossed the box out. "Whatever happens, I'm staying free from the past. I can't change it, anyway."

They were miles away by the time Rebecca came upon Joshua's box, contents spilled to the side of the road. She poked with her cane at the stones, candles, and other tools. Nothing of any value to the old woman.

They had all studied Joshua's witch box while he was in the hospital. Alice, now stuck on the downstairs floor with burns and a broken hip, had called Rebecca well before Joshua became ill. The green stone had done nothing for them; they never had that kind of talent. However, the box itself was interesting.

The wooden antique box had belonged to Liz's father, Rebecca's first husband, who had died in Vietnam. He had shown her a secret compartment, a place to hide money or a small weapon. She opened the box, pulling at the green felt near the hinges. Inside, a tight opening allowed an object to be slipped in. The tips of her stiff fingers searched, brushing against something hard. As she pulled, the chain unraveled, the crystal almost invisible in the dark.

Rebecca could take it home, find another use for it.

She knew how to make old things new again.

### ###

Thank you for reading-L.A.E

Laura A. Ellison lives in Muskegon, MI. She is a graduate of Grand Valley State University, where she majored in English, her emphasis in creative writing. She is also the author of the novels Karma House, The Last Girl, Blood In Trust, and Consumed.

Twitter: <http://www.twitter.com/EllisonLaura>

Facebook: <http://www.facebook.com/laura.ellison.90>

Author website: http://spiritimmortal.weebly.com

