Chapter 10

By the time Margot and Isobel turned up, I'd managed to have a shower and finally convince myself that I had removed the putrid dungeon scent from my skin. Tilda kept telling me there was nothing there, but I could still smell it.

Explaining in detail exactly what had happened the night before made me feel slightly better. The four women sat quietly as I concentrated on making sure that I told them every tiny detail of my trip into Flora's nightmare.

"What I want to know is why, out of all of us, Flora pulled you into this dungeon, and not one of us." That seemed to be the part of the story that was upsetting Isobel the most.

I did not have the time or inclination to deal with hurt feelings. "I don't know. Maybe it's because I'm family. She confirmed that I have Harstone blood in me."

"Should we say congratulations?" asked Tilda.

"Sure, congratulate me on the fact that my father is a coward who waltzes through women's beds without thinking of the ramifications of his actions. Or maybe we can congratulate me on my grandmother who didn't get what she felt was her due, so had a tantrum and ran away, leaving her thirteen-year-old sister to take on a burden she was too young to face. Or you could congratulate me on a family who turned their backs on one of their own and refused to help when you asked nicely, leaving me to be kidnapped. Lucky me."

"So, not congratulations," murmured Tilda.

"Sometimes it's better not knowing who family is," Margot said, showing a wisdom that I had not seen before.

I took in a shaky breath. "My family was my mom and I lost her. Nobody is going to be able to take her place and I'm not looking to make happy families with anybody else."

"It doesn't matter who Flora communicated with," Maude snapped. "The fact of the matter is that we have information now that we didn't have before."

"That's great," said Tilda. "But nobody has told me who this Helen Napier is. You all seem to know who Sadie is talking about, but I've lived here my whole life and I don't have a clue who she is."

Maude glanced thoughtfully at her granddaughter as if contemplating what to tell her. "Helen Napier had her magic bound, so she lives in the Glen."

Shock crossed Tilda's face. That couldn't be good.

"What is the Glen?" I interrupted.

"Remember what we said about the wards that surround Walker Bay causing paralyzing fear to those who don't have magic," Maude said.

I nodded. "It's why you're insisting that I have magic in me, even though there is nothing else in my life to indicate that is the case."

"Well, those wards have the same effect on somebody who has had their magic bound."

"So, this Helen Napier doesn't even live in Walker Bay anymore."

"Technically she does. There is a small pocket on the edge of the county which has had the wards removed. A small community has set themselves up there. They call it the Glen. They aren't able to come into the township, but they're still able to live in the area. That way they can remain close to friends and family."

"Like a village of the damned."

Maude nodded. "If you want to label it like that."

"Isn't that a little archaic to separate outcasts into their own community, away from the decent people?"

"Most of these people have committed crimes," Margot pointed out.

"I understand that, and I agree they need to be punished, but this woman committed her crime twenty years ago. Is there any opportunity at redemption?"

Maude sighed. "Now you're getting into politics. That's why we have Flora. She deals with the politics. Why don't we go about seeing whether there is a way to find out who created this curse and getting them to recant it. Then you can argue to your heart's content with Flora about the Glen."

Great, we had a plan. Sort of.

I noticed some non-verbal communication happening between the three older women. I had a feeling this was not going to be good.

"Tilda, you and Sadie will need to be the ones to talk to Helen."

My eyes swung to Maude. I did not like that idea at all. "Why?" I spluttered. I wanted to ask more but I couldn't seem to get the words out.

"The three of us were involved in the spell that bound Helen's magic," Maude said, sadly. "She won't speak to us, and she definitely won't help us."

"What makes you think she's going to talk to Tilda and me?"

"She seemed to be fond of Tilda when she was a baby and I'd take her to coven meetings," Maude replied.

"That was over twenty-five years ago." Tilda seemed as fond of this plan as I was. "I'm pretty sure I'm not as endearing as I was back then."

Maude ran a hand through her hair. I could see what this was doing to her. "I don't see any other choices," she said, desperation coloring her voice. "We'll go through some of the old books in the coven library and see if there's anything there that will help us."

It seemed the decision had been made. "Are you okay with this?" I asked Tilda who looked as surprised at the turn of events as I was.

Tilda shrugged and tried to give me a half smile. "Sure."

That sounded convincing.

Tilda pushed her chair back and stood up. "I think I have something that will help us."

"I've got a couple of questions," I said, focusing my attention back on Maude. "Do any of these people in the Glen have the ability to cast spells?"

"They have their magic bound so they can't put any spells on you," Maude said, the tone of her voice was encouraging.

"That's great to know. Are they able to hit us over the head with a big stick?"

"I guess," Maude replied, hesitation in her voice.

"Then this may not be as easy as you're telling us. Despite what you may think, people don't need magic to do damage to each other. All they need is will and a good amount of hate. Both things that I'm pretty sure this woman has in spades."

"If you have any other ideas, I would be thrilled to hear them." I knew I shouldn't be arguing with Maude. She was just as frustrated by this situation as I was.

I slumped back in my chair. "You're right. Sorry, I think the last couple of days are catching up with me."

Maude sighed heavily. "No, I'm sorry. I wish I could say that we shouldn't have done what we did, but I can't."

Great. I hadn't been expecting a massive apology, but a little light remorse wouldn't have gone astray.

"I don't know how Flora was able to pull someone into that dungeon, but I do know that it could only be you. Even though I want to, I can't bring myself to regret what we did." She put a hand over mine. "But I want you to know, when this is over, I will do everything to make things right with you. Whatever it takes." She pulled back. "If that includes turning myself into the police, I'll do it. After we've broken the curse."

I nodded sharply. It was something.

Tilda came back into the room. "These will help."

She passed over what looked like a clay disk suspended on a piece of braided leather. I held it up and squinted at the tiny writing on the disk

"What is this?"

"It's a protection amulet, designed to keep the wearer safe from harm."

She placed the amulet over her head, and I followed her lead.

"Exactly what kind of harm are we talking here? Does it protect me from spells, or does it make me invulnerable, like Superman?"

"Of course not. It just helps you protect yourself."

"That doesn't sound that impressive."

"Just trust me." Tilda pointed me to the front door before turning around to look at her grandmother. "We've got this."

I just loved her confidence. Maybe she was right. We could go into the village of the damned and ask a woman who hated everything we stood for to help us with nothing to protect us except a small clay disk. What could possibly go wrong?