Read Online Mystic Jive: Hand of Fate - Book Four by Sharon Joss - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Sharon Joss
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into our little circle. As our membership swelled, the focus of our circle began to change.
“John and Liddy were psychics, they told us—each of them gifted with the ability to communicate with the spirit world. Jonathan in particular, claimed the ability to summon certain spirits for the purpose of gaining knowledge. He was both charming persuasive, and before long, had convinced nearly everyone in the circle that the pursuit of arcane knowledge was a far nobler pursuit than messing about with weeds and seeds, as he called it. He said he could perform miracles with the power of a full and proper coven united behind him.
“It all happened so gradually, even my grandmother was convinced. He became our leader, or high priest, as he preferred we call him. It was just a name, and I went along with it like everyone else in the circle. His sister Liddy became our high priestess. The day came when John and Liddy presented each of us with a hooded black robe. That was the day I told Nate I was one of the Penfield Eight and I wanted out.
“I was pregnant with Arby, and Nate Junior was about to start kindergarten. Moving closer to Nate’s job in Picston made a lot of sense. Nate’s partner Lou owned a duplex and his tenants were moving out. It was the perfect setup for us.
“Jonathan didn’t like it one bit. At first, he tried to persuade Nate and me to move into his big house with his sister Liddy.”
“Wait,” I said. Are you talking about John and Liddy Fewkes? As in the puppet lady?”
She nodded. “Yes. Back then, they lived in a big old farmhouse in Penfield. They had more room than they needed, he said. He offered to let us live with them—rent free. He’d already persuaded my grandmother to move in with them. We’d be a big happy family. Of course Nate and I had no intention of doing that. We told him about the baby and how Nate Junior would be able to walk to kindergarten. We tried to be diplomatic.
“Liddy took a different approach. She tried to convince me that Nate was cheating on me. She even implied that he’d propositioned her. She told me he would break my heart and leave me for another woman. I’d have to raise his kids all alone. She kept at it.”
“What a horrible thing to say.”
Honey smoothed her skirt. “Of course, I didn’t believe a word of it. Lydia could be rather dramatic at times. But the pregnancy had me feeling vulnerable, and she got some of the other women in the circle to hint at the same sort of thing. I’d known some of these women a long time. I trusted them. They’d become convinced that John and Liddy were going to bring real magic into the circle, and Nate’s job with the police department made John and Liddy uneasy. John said that Nate had a negative attitude that constricted the natural flow of true power, whatever that meant. They even got my grandmother to suggest that I divorce Nate, saying that the life of my unborn child was at risk, and that the sisterhood of the coven took care of their own.
“When I didn’t back down, John reacted badly. It was crazy, but he acted as if I belonged to him. Like I was his property and that my leaving was some kind of personal betrayal. I thought he was acting like a spoilt child, but I had no idea that this was just the beginning.
“On the day we moved, Jonathan and his sister brought the rest of the coven over to our apartment in Penfield and made a big scene. Like a protest, with a bullhorn and everything. He told us he’d already cursed Lou and this was our last chance. Somehow, he’d convinced everyone in the coven to support him on this—even my grandmother!
“Nate was furious and I was embarrassed and angry—and more than a little freaked out. Nate called in the sheriff—this was before Jim Reynolds was elected. Sheriff Bland refused to come, saying that Jonathan and his supporters had a right to free speech. They weren’t breaking any laws.
“Then my ninety-three year-old grandmother, who had never
“John and Liddy were psychics, they told us—each of them gifted with the ability to communicate with the spirit world. Jonathan in particular, claimed the ability to summon certain spirits for the purpose of gaining knowledge. He was both charming persuasive, and before long, had convinced nearly everyone in the circle that the pursuit of arcane knowledge was a far nobler pursuit than messing about with weeds and seeds, as he called it. He said he could perform miracles with the power of a full and proper coven united behind him.
“It all happened so gradually, even my grandmother was convinced. He became our leader, or high priest, as he preferred we call him. It was just a name, and I went along with it like everyone else in the circle. His sister Liddy became our high priestess. The day came when John and Liddy presented each of us with a hooded black robe. That was the day I told Nate I was one of the Penfield Eight and I wanted out.
“I was pregnant with Arby, and Nate Junior was about to start kindergarten. Moving closer to Nate’s job in Picston made a lot of sense. Nate’s partner Lou owned a duplex and his tenants were moving out. It was the perfect setup for us.
“Jonathan didn’t like it one bit. At first, he tried to persuade Nate and me to move into his big house with his sister Liddy.”
“Wait,” I said. Are you talking about John and Liddy Fewkes? As in the puppet lady?”
She nodded. “Yes. Back then, they lived in a big old farmhouse in Penfield. They had more room than they needed, he said. He offered to let us live with them—rent free. He’d already persuaded my grandmother to move in with them. We’d be a big happy family. Of course Nate and I had no intention of doing that. We told him about the baby and how Nate Junior would be able to walk to kindergarten. We tried to be diplomatic.
“Liddy took a different approach. She tried to convince me that Nate was cheating on me. She even implied that he’d propositioned her. She told me he would break my heart and leave me for another woman. I’d have to raise his kids all alone. She kept at it.”
“What a horrible thing to say.”
Honey smoothed her skirt. “Of course, I didn’t believe a word of it. Lydia could be rather dramatic at times. But the pregnancy had me feeling vulnerable, and she got some of the other women in the circle to hint at the same sort of thing. I’d known some of these women a long time. I trusted them. They’d become convinced that John and Liddy were going to bring real magic into the circle, and Nate’s job with the police department made John and Liddy uneasy. John said that Nate had a negative attitude that constricted the natural flow of true power, whatever that meant. They even got my grandmother to suggest that I divorce Nate, saying that the life of my unborn child was at risk, and that the sisterhood of the coven took care of their own.
“When I didn’t back down, John reacted badly. It was crazy, but he acted as if I belonged to him. Like I was his property and that my leaving was some kind of personal betrayal. I thought he was acting like a spoilt child, but I had no idea that this was just the beginning.
“On the day we moved, Jonathan and his sister brought the rest of the coven over to our apartment in Penfield and made a big scene. Like a protest, with a bullhorn and everything. He told us he’d already cursed Lou and this was our last chance. Somehow, he’d convinced everyone in the coven to support him on this—even my grandmother!
“Nate was furious and I was embarrassed and angry—and more than a little freaked out. Nate called in the sheriff—this was before Jim Reynolds was elected. Sheriff Bland refused to come, saying that Jonathan and his supporters had a right to free speech. They weren’t breaking any laws.
“Then my ninety-three year-old grandmother, who had never
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