The Witches You Didn’t Burn

Location Spell

“Pine, Maple, Elderberry,

And wind so airy,

Tree bark and wild weed,

Search the stars,

For the ones,

We need.”

The chanted and then waited.

A few days later.

“Jasper.”

“Yes?”

“I need your help.”

I was moseying down some country road when the call came. I pulled off to keep from smacking a deer with the old truck. It was nearing hunting season and the deer were jumpy.

“What’s up?”

“It’s my wife…she…she’s gone.”

“Gone?”

“I came home yesterday and she wasn’t home. I can’t get a hold of her. No one has seen her.”

“Did you go to the police?”

“Yes but they said she hasn’t been gone long enough. They just took a statement.”

“Okay I’ll be out there as soon as possible.”

Looks like I was going out East.

A half a day later I was looking at the ocean and sitting in Maxwell’s condo.

“Jasper!” he yelled as I was about to knock on the door.

“Maxwell.”

“Come get inside.”

“Okay.”

Next thing I knew we were in the kitchen of his nice but sparsely decorated condo.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“It’s Lisa. She hasn’t been home for two days.”

“So why did you call me and not the police?”

“I tried them. They said she hadn’t been gone long enough. And…”

“Yes?”

“I know you deal in weird stuff.”

Maxwell wasn’t completely unaware of the stranger aspects of my job. He knew that I was more than just a freelance journalist. I helped his father with a vampire problem several years ago.

“You think the supernatural is involved?”

He nodded.

“What makes you think she didn't do it of her own accord?”

“Nothing’s gone. It’s like she disappeared.”

“Were you having problems?”

“No, everything's been great.”

“Why do I suspect the supernatural?”

“She has a new friend. She’d always given me the creeps.”

“Uh huh. Can I have a look around?”

“Sure.”

I headed to the bedroom, “You sure she didn’t take anything.”

“Nope. Everything’s here.”

I noticed a spot with no dust. So she took something.

I reached into my pocket. The hag stone in my pocket was cold as ice. Something magic was near.

I poked and prodded around the bedroom.

“Whatcha looking for?” Maxwell asked.

“Just looking for anything out of the ordinary.”

I grabbed my Leatherman off my belt and unscrewed the vent in the wall.

Aha, I whispered, pulling the little trinket out.

“What’s that?”

“It’s a charm.”

“What’s it doing here?”

“Someone didn’t want to be tracked.”

“God, I knew someone took her.”

“Where can I find her friend?”

Next thing I knew I was heading for a small bar called The Cauldron. Seemed a little too on the nose to me.

I entered the darkly lit bar and saw a red haired woman sitting in the corner. The only Maxwell told me was her name was Cassandra but it didn’t take me much longer to find out more.

I figured the direct approach would be best. I slid into the booth.

“Good evening Mr. Ford. I’d been expecting you.”

“I thought I was better at covering my tracks.”

“Oh I assure you your movements are quite clouded. But I do have my tricks.”

That was comforting but dealing with witches was still unnerving.

“I assume you’re here about Lisa.”

“I am.”

“Maxwell asked you to look for her.”

“Yes. Were you listening in?”

“Mmmm it was an educated guess, but I have had ears in his home for a while.”

“Oh?”

Just then a black cat jumped up on the table. He purred when I rubbed his head.

“He doesn’t like most people.”

“I’m good with animals.”

“I heard you recently took in a wolf.”

I was surprised she knew about Tobias. She was good. I really hate talking to witches.

“Cassandra-”

“You can call me Cassie.”

“Cassie, I…”

“You want to know where Lisa is.”

“Yes.”

“I can’t do that.”

“So you know.”

“That’s what my previous answer implied.”

“Are you going to tell me where she is?”

“No.”

“She’s alive?”

“Very much so.“

“She’s going to stay that way?”

“Mmmmhmmm.”

“Okay.”

“You’re not going to keep pressing?”

“No.”

“Because you think she’s gone for a reason.”

“I do.”

“What are you going to tell Maxwell?”

“That I didn’t find anything. And that as far as I can tell Lisa left him.”

“That would work.”

“I figured when you didn’t come in guns blazing you suspected something.”

“I didn’t think Maxwell was telling me the whole story.”

“He wasn’t. There’s something you should see.”

She took me down the street to a small shop, Salem Sisters Apothecary.

“Gwen this is…”

“Hello Mr. Ford,” the woman I now knew as Gwen said.

“You guys like doing that don’t you.”

“We do, besides your reputation precedes you.”

“I assume a good one.”

“I assure you Jasper you wouldn’t have made it this far if it was a bad one.”

Gwen was short with long blond hair. She looked to be college age but her eyes looked far older. That was the tell for witches.

“What am I doing here?”

“You’ll see.”

She took us to a back room and touched the solid oak door in three places. Several of the runes glowed a faint white light as did the inscription on the door that read:

“The Witches You Didn’t Burn”

I wasn’t prepared for what followed.

The room was far larger than I expected. There were at least a dozen women in beds and chairs, of all ages, from 12 to at least 70.

“Are you running a shelter?”

“Among other things. We give them a space to go. We provide medicine. Our methods are old but strong. Young women know our shop. We provide midwives and other tasks. Young supernatural people come here. Some are kicked out of their homes when their parents find out.”

“I see. But why show me?”

“Because you go all over. If you find someone who needs help. And…”

“And what?”

“There are far darker things that would destroy a place like this.”

“I see.”

“We can protect them well but we need allies.”

“I understand.”

“There’s also another thing you could help with. We’re sworn from harming humans.”

“What did Maxwell do?” I asked putting it all together.

“He was hitting her. Often. She found out she was pregnant and ran. She’s far away now but…”

“Say no more.”

An hour later I knocked on Maxwell’s door.

“Jasper! DId you find anything?“

“Go inside Max,” I said, rolling up my sleeves.

“What are you doing here? I brought you here to kill monsters.”

I closed the door behind me.

“That’s what I’m doing.”