The following evening, Larry slunk away from a clandestine meeting, spirits buoyed by what he’d just been told. If his informant’s words were true, they had Litha bang to rights. She’d tried this same takeover shit at her last coven, but the High Priestess had gotten wind of it in time and taken immediate action. She had stripped Litha and her co-conspirators of their roles and kicked them out of the coven.
Someone on the Witch Council must be in cahoots with Litha, though, as her record had been scrubbed ... and then embellished. Larry remembered when Litha and a few of her cohorts had applied to join Mabel’s coven several years ago. Her record appeared spotless. Plus, she came with a letter of recommendation from the Council.
Larry sighed as he loped through the darkness and considered what the investigation had turned up so far. He and Jesse had snuck into Mabel’s empty house the night before. They had ransacked the coven’s records, discovering within the faint trail of Litha’s deceit. Her coven application had not included a letter from her former High Priestess; instead, it contained one from a prominent member of the Witch Council. That was odd, but not totally unheard of. Sometimes, High Priestesses and their assistants did not get along. Too many witches in the kitchen, so to speak. Then he’d found the name of Litha’s former Familiar mentioned, along with a snippet about him remaining with her former coven when she left. That was odd, and certainly something he and Jesse could investigate. Familiars usually stayed with their magical partners wherever they went—for life.
Well after midnight, once all was quiet at the covenstead, he and Jesse had then traveled the ley line to Carlisle, in the frigid northwest of England, to see what more they could learn about Litha’s exit from her last coven. Brrrr. Fortunately, it was a quick sixty-minute trip with only one magical layover at a Crossroads near Stonehenge. They’d make it back to the covenstead before breakfast, if they didn’t freeze to death, first.
“Did he have any information?” Jesse’s murmur, soft on the frigid night air, startled Larry from his introspection. He slunk through the hedge until he reached Jesse’s hiding place, snug up against the gnarled branches of an ancient hawthorn tree. She clutched her voluminous black cloak closed, shivering in the chilly night air.
“Yep.” Larry lay down next to Jesse and snuggled close for warmth. “Litha’s former Familiar, Dean, spilled the beans, and what he told me confirms our suspicions. The High Priestess discovered Litha and her cronies were plotting to take over the coven.”
A pang clenched at Larry’s heart, but he shook off the pain of his own failure. “Dean discovered their plot and turned them in. Litha and her crew were out on their ears in less than a day. The High Priestess offered Dean a cushy job as the coven’s magical mascot, so he stayed. I get the feeling he’d have stayed on, anyway. From what I can gather, he and Litha had a rather troubled magical partnership.”
Jesse chuckled darkly. “Let me guess. He just wanted to do a good, honest magical job for the coven, while Litha wanted to remake the coven in her image through treachery and deceit.”
“Yep. You nailed it.” The pair made their way slowly back to the Carlisle Crossroads as they discussed their next steps. They now had proof of Litha’s previous evil deeds. But could they prove she was repeating them in her new coven? Niggling doubts grew in the darkness of a cold English autumn night half a world from their home in New England.
* * *
Just before dawn and weary from their journey, the pair stumbled into Jesse’s cottage before collapsing on her comfortable couch. As their eyes closed, a sharp tap sounded on the window behind the couch.
Tempted to ignore it, Larry burrowed under the soft afghan on his end of the long couch.
Tap, tap, tap. Caw. Tap, tap. “Hey guys, let me in. It’s Sid. We need to talk.”
Jesse groaned, then sat up and reached behind her head to unlock the window latch.
The glossy black raven hopped over the windowsill then flew into the room before landing expertly on a large piece of driftwood decorating the coffee table.
Sid cocked his head, his eyes bright with warning. “You guys are in so much trouble. That blabbermouth cat, Cleo, found out you two have been snooping around. She told Litha you’ve been trying to find dirt on her.”
Jesse rolled her eyes then narrowed them at Larry. “See? I told you she’d find out. Now what?”
Larry’s stomach sunk at Sid’s words. “What’s the scoop? What is she planning to do about it?”
Sid ruffled his feathers in annoyance, threads of worry in his avian eyes. “She’s called an emergency meeting of the coven and asked for a Council member to attend in case there’s a need for, ah, judgement.”
“Well, shit.” Jesse frowned, then met Larry’s worried gaze, seeking support. “But we’ve got the goods on her, right? We know what she’s been up to. She’s done it before. We have proof. Witnesses. All we need to do is get her former High Priestess and Familiar to testify—”
Sid bounced on the driftwood, his agitation clear. “Look, you guys, those of us with any sense know that Litha is bad news, and we also suspect she had a hand in Mabel’s death. But there’s more of them—idiots, that is—than there are of us. Most people just don’t want to listen. They’d prefer to ignore the warning signs and just go with the flow, especially if they think the outcome doesn’t directly affect them.”
If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
Larry’s ears drooped, and he rumbled a growl. “I hear you. But we have to try. When is the emergency meeting?”
“That’s what I’m trying to tell you. It’s already started. You both better get your butts over to the covenstead if you want to have any chance of getting a say in the proceedings.”
“What?! How can she just call a special session without informing the full coven—which, at this point, still includes us? That bitch!” Larry’s lip curled in a snarl, his sharp canines on full display.
Jesse and Larry launched themselves from the couch and ran toward the door. Sid flew over their heads, beating them to the covenstead by a feather.
* * *
Accusing eyes watched Larry and Jesse hurry into the coven meeting chamber. The room was stuffed to bursting, with every coven member and Familiar in attendance. The atmosphere buzzed with unpleasant anticipation.
Litha sat at the head of the table, a smug smile on her beautiful face and ice in her eyes. “So glad you two could make it. Better late than never, right?”
“Now wait just a minute. We came as soon as we heard about the meeting—”
A deep, masculine voice cut Jesse’s angry reply off. “Please take a seat, Jesse. Larry, you can sit next to her. We have a lot to discuss and most of it concerns you two.”
Councilman Jenkins sat to Litha’s right, his lanky form slouched in the ornately carved oak chair. While a bored expression blanketed his sharp-edged face, his brown eyes sparked with angry malice.
My chair, mused Jesse sadly. That’s my chair he’s sitting in, at Mabel’s right hand … and Litha is squatting in the chair reserved for the High Priestess. Jesse sunk into a seat at the far end of the table, as far from the evil witch as she could get.
Larry’s rumbling voice spoke into her mind. “Don’t let her see you sweat, Jess. No matter what happens, girl, don’t let any of these yahoos see you sweat.”
Jesse raised her head and met Litha’s gaze head on. “You’ve been scheming to take over this coven for years, haven’t you? We have witnesses who will testify that you tried to do the same in your previous coven and that the High Priestess kicked you out when she discovered what you were up to. This time, though, you didn’t take any chances. You killed Lady Mabel, our High Priestess, before she revealed your treachery. And now you seek to discredit me—her rightful successor—so you can take over this coven.”
Murmurs of disbelief and anger susurrated around the vast room, echoing from the high ceiling, giving the impression of thousands of voices rising in disagreement.
“Quiet!” Councilman Jenkins’ voice cut through the air. “Everyone, sit down and shut up. You, too, Jesse. Do you have any evidence here today to back up your wild allegations? Witnesses? No? I thought not.”
Larry slid a glance toward the head of the table. Litha sat, proud and straight, in the High Priestess’ chair. While she tried to hide her glee at the Councilman’s stern reprimand to Jesse, she’d couldn’t quite pull it off. What a scheming bitch.
“Jesse, the fix is in, girl. We don’t have a chance. Besides, do you really want to stay in a coven that would allow this to happen? Especially one headed by the wicked witch of Salem?” Larry mind-spoke his questions to Jesse, purposely avoiding her gaze.
Jesse’s defeated voice sounded in Larry’s mind. “No, I don’t want to stay here. Especially not now that Mabel’s gone. I thought … I don’t know. I guess I hoped that others would see through Litha, or we’d have time to gather evidence and witnesses against her. But she’s been one step ahead of us the whole way, hasn’t she? And my erstwhile Familiar, that devious cat, has been helping her the whole time.” Jesse snorted in disgust. “I’ve been so blind.”
“You and me both, Jesse. Not a lot we can do about it now, though. The only choice we have is to resign before they fire us.” Larry schooled his expression so his despair didn’t show. Never let them see you sweat.
Jesse jumped to her feet, then slammed her hand on the table, interrupting the inevitable excommunication. “I hereby renounce my membership in this coven. I quit. You win, Litha. This time. But there will be a next time, I assure you.” Jesse’s words rang out in the room, the certainty of her pronouncement a portent of judgement to come.
“I’m so done with this festival of fools. I quit, too.” Larry growled, his gleaming teeth rimmed by curled lips. “You will all get what you deserve ... and you’ll soon discover it’s not what you think.”
“Oh, knock off the dramatics, you two.” Litha’s smug command left no doubt she knew she’d won. “Besides, it’s too late for you to quit when you’ve already been cast out. We’ve already voted and you two have been found guilty of disloyalty to the coven and its members. Black marks on your record, for sure. No other coven will have you.”
Dryly, Jesse responded. “Unless I cheat and have my record expunged, like you did the last time you tried this shit. And just how did you get that letter of recommendation from the Council? Hmmm? It was signed by the good Councilman seated to your right. Sleep your way to the top, did you?”
“That’s enough!” Councilman Jenkins’ fist pounded on the table as he shouted in rage. “You will show respect in this chamber! I expect nothing less, nor does High Priestess Litha.”
“So, Jesse’s right, then. Touched a nerve, did she?” Larry’s snarky reply enraged the Councilman even further. Larry watched with interest. If the man’s face got any redder, his head would pop off and fly around the room. No point in mincing words, Larry realized. The fix was definitely in. He and Jesse would be lucky to escape with nothing more than a transfer to the magical version of traffic duty.
* * *
Councilman Jenkins’ pronouncement fell into the silence of the room like a stone. “Jesse Taylor and Larry Familiar, the Council has accepted the petition put forward by the newly appointed High Priestess of the Salem City Coven and approved by a majority of coven members to remove you from coven membership. Under Section 3.6-5, subsection b, d, and f of the Witch Council Code…”
Larry tuned out the man’s words. He’d been to this type of hearing many times before; he’d just never been the one directly affected by the Council’s pronouncements. Now he knew why the defendants always bore a look of dazed confusion. He schooled his face into impassivity and stifled a sigh, then flicked a glance at Jesse, who sat stone-faced beside him. “Jesse, keep it together. Don’t show them anything. We’ll get through this together.”
Jesse’s eyes narrowed; it was the only outward sign she heard Larry’s mind-spoken words. “Of course, we’ll get through this, you dufus. I know that. After all, I’ve attended plenty of these hearings before over the past couple centuries.” Her lips thinned. “Just never one where I was the one under judgement.”
The Councilman’s droning voice continued, a monotonous background noise to the mind-conversation of the two defendants. “And under Section 18.5-21, related charges, specifications and reassignments ....”
Larry’s ears perked and he tuned back into the Councilman’s words. It was time to find out how bad their next magical assignment would be.