Chapter 27

This was not the way things were supposed to happen.

"I don't understand," I said as I warily watched one of the women I had trusted make her way across the room. "Why would you do this?"

"We need Flora out of the way," Isobel said simply. "We need a leader who isn't so willing to bend to every whim of the Conclave."

The worst part was there was no emotion behind that statement. I would have expected hate or anger, but there was nothing.

Flora drew herself up as straight as she could, but I could still feel her weight against me. "And who did you have in mind to replace me?"

Isobel smiled. "Why, me of course, there really isn't a better candidate."

My mouth dropped open. "You cursed Flora and I'm assuming you were the one who murdered Helen Napier. How does that make you the better choice?"

Isobel waved her hand in the air. "We needed Flora out of the way, and Helen was useful but unstable. She may have caused problems later on."

"So, you decided to kill her and destroy her soul."

Isobel shrugged with a nonchalance which terrified me. "Revolutions are rarely bloodless. Anyone who says otherwise is lying."

"Is that what this is?" wheezed Flora. "A revolution?"

"Can't you see it? Witchcraft has always been about people being free to practice any way they wish, to expand their knowledge, but these days we're drowning in rules and bindings. The Conclave is destroying our culture and our heritage, for what? So, we can play nice with the other paranormals, or is there a plan to introduce us to the humans and make us more palatable for them?" She straightened, her eyes flashing. "Do you know how many books I have had to save from being destroyed on the orders of the Conclave."

"You saved them?" Flora's voice was horrified.

Isobel smiled grimly. "How do you think I became so adept at curses?"

"They were under destruction orders because they are so dangerous."

"And yet, so useful. Do you have any idea how it feels to craft a golem? To create life with your own two hands." Isobel looked down at her hands as if she could still see the clay, but then she frowned. "Although the fact that the curse broke must mean there was something wrong with it. Maybe there was a built-in time limit."

Sure, I was happy to go with that explanation.

"What you're doing is wrong," Flora said, her voice wavering. "How can you not see that? How is Margot going to cope with this? You can't tell me that she agrees with you."

I'd forgotten about Margot who, until ten minutes ago, I would have bet money was the evil twin.

For the first time I thought I saw a flash of remorse.

"Margot will understand what we're trying to do here once she has seen the vision."

"What are you going to do?" I asked as I strained to hold Flora up.

"The coven will be returning soon. They are going to find that the curse was unable to be broken and that it has expanded to claim Flora's niece."

I looked down at Flora who was listing to the side. Running was not an option.

"You won't have time," I said desperately. "The coven will be here soon. They'll know what you've done."

There was a time not too long ago when I would have been comforted by Isobel's smile. That time was long gone.

"I started preparing for this moment the day you arrived." She held out a new curse tablet and placed it on the ground in front of her. "When I discovered you were able to pull your niece into your mind, Flora, I knew the original curse needed to be strengthened, so this will serve to remove both of you." She pulled out a knife, held it above her head and started chanting.

I put my arm around Flora and slowly lowered her to the ground. "Run if you can," I whispered urgently, although I knew it would be impossible.

I turned and watched as Isobel cut her hand and a single drop fell to the tablet. In that moment of distraction, I rushed towards her, only to be stopped by a flash of light blinding me. I groaned and covered my eyes as I sank to the floor, expecting any moment to find myself back in that cell, except this time having no way out. Ten seconds passed and I didn't feel that bitter cold that had become so familiar. I looked up and blinked to clear the flashing black spots that bounced around in front of me. Isobel was slumped on the ground, blood oozing from the wound on her hand onto the curse tablet.

"What happened?" I croaked as I looked over at Flora who was in the same position I was in.

"She tried to cast a curse on a cursebreaker. It must have rebounded on her."

"You mean she..."

Flora nodded, a grim expression on her face. "She's now trapped in her body, exactly like I was."

"Why didn't it work on you this time?"

Flora smiled. "When you tried to rush her, you stepped in front of me. The curse hit you first and bounced back at her as if you were a shield. It didn't get anywhere near me."

"I could go in and break the curse," I said reluctantly. I know that a good person is supposed to be all about forgiveness but, considering the woman was planning to trap me in my own body for all eternity, I was finding it hard to be that enlightened. Nevertheless, sometimes you say things, not because you want to, but because it's expected.

Flora shook her head. "No, Isobel chose her fate the first time she ventured into using dark magic. If you break the curse, she will know what you are. She will use that information to turn you or to destroy you. Neither of those options are acceptable."

That brought us to a conversation I wasn't sure I wanted to have. "According to Isobel you're all about the rules of the Conclave." I swallowed nervously. "I'm pretty sure harboring a cursebreaker goes against all those rules."

"Family comes first," she said simply. "If you plan to stay in Walker Bay, I would suggest you becoming my apprentice. Between us, we could see how far your power goes and how much it can be controlled."

"I don't know," I said as I knelt down beside Flora and helped her up. "I'm not sure if I'm ready for this world." And I really didn't know if I was ready for the emotion that swept through me at Flora's claiming me as family.

Flora patted my cheek. "I hope you are, because I have a very bad feeling that this is not ending with Isobel. I could use some help."

"What are we going to do about her?" I asked, my gaze directed at the figure lying on the floor.

Flora sighed and I could see tears in her eyes. "For many years she was a good friend. I don't know why she took the path she did, but I can't forget those years. We will make her as comfortable as possible until we can find a way to get her out of the hell she's in without exposing you."

First of all, there was something else we needed to do. "I'm going to call the sheriff."

Flora raised an eyebrow. I recognized that stubborn look, I'd seen it in the mirror on more than one occasion. "This is coven business."

I shook my head. "Not anymore it isn't. She murdered Helen Napier and she tried to kill you. If she isn't the only rogue witch gunning for you, we're going to need as much help as we can get. This could spread and put the town at risk." I looked her directly in the eyes. "I'm not asking permission. He needs to know what happened."

I could see Flora wasn't happy with my decision, but I'd made a deal with Sheriff Tolan and I wasn't going to back out of it.

When he arrived with paramedics in tow, I could see that he wasn't any happier with the situation than Flora was. His gaze locked with Flora's as she sat in her bed. The paramedics rushed over to Isobel, firing questions at us. Flora answered their questions calmly and succinctly, completely in charge of the situation despite her weakened state.

Sheriff Tolan pulled me into the kitchen while Isobel was being worked on. "I need you to explain what happened here."

With great care I outlined the version of the night's events that Flora and I had decided was suitable for public consumption. It was as close to the truth as we could possibly get without implicating the innocent, namely me. From the look on his face I didn't think he was buying it.

"Are you sure that's everything?" he asked with skepticism in his voice.

"I'm telling you everything that I understand." That was the truth. There were so many things about tonight that were beyond my comprehension, but one thing stood out. If anyone found out the truth about how the curse had been broken, according to some ancient law that hadn't been used in three hundred years, my life was forfeit. Despite the fact that Sheriff Tolan wasn't beholden to witch law, I still wasn't sure if I trusted him with that little piece of information.

"I'm having trouble believing..."

Fortunately, the rest of that accusation was interrupted by the arrival of Maude, Tilda and Margot. My stomach clenched as I realized what Margot was about to face.

"What's happening?" gasped Maude. "Why is there an ambulance here? Did something happen to Flora?"

Sheriff Tolan raised both his hands. "Flora is fine, the curse seems to be broken." He glanced at me meaningfully. "Miss Goodwin is going to explain things to you out here." He looked over at Margot and his expression gentled. "Miss Fulton, there has been an incident with your sister. I need you to follow me and I'll take you through what happened."

Margot's hand flew to her mouth and, despite my expectation that she would demand explanations immediately, she meekly followed the sheriff into Flora's bedroom where I heard her cry out before hearing Flora's soothing murmurs.

"What happened?" demanded Maude.

I waved a hand to the chairs around the kitchen table. "Grab a seat, this could take a while." When we were all seated, I broke the news to them as gently as I could. "Isobel cast the curse."

"No," Maude said calmly. "I don't know why you think that but it's untrue."

I knew this was going to be a shock to the two women. "She admitted it. She believes the Conclave is destroying witch culture, and that Flora is a puppet of the Conclave and needs to be replaced."

Maude shook her head adamantly, her voice rising in anger. "I don't know why you're doing this but I'm not going to believe it until Isobel tells me herself."

"She won't be able to do that," I sighed. "She tried to cast another curse and it backfired. She's now in the position that she put Flora in."

As if to prove my point, the paramedics started wheeling Isobel out with Margot following, softly weeping as she was held up by Sheriff Tolan.

Maude jumped up. "I'm going with them," she insisted as she elbowed the sheriff out of the way. I didn't miss the furious look she cast at me as they walked out.

"Did Flora explain?" I asked.

Sheriff Tolan nodded. "She's not going to have an easy time of it. She doesn't seem to have had a clue what Isobel was doing."

"But Flora is okay? The curse was broken." Tilda's eyes were red, and I could see she was struggling with what was happening.

I put my hand over hers and she gripped it hard, as if trying to find an anchor. "Flora seems fine, but she is still very weak. The curse may have been broken but she is vulnerable and needs protection."

Tilda wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "You're right, I'll get onto that straight away. We need the doctor here to check her out."

She pulled out a phone and started organizing as if her heart hadn't just been broken. I had to admit that I was very impressed.

Sheriff Tolan stepped up next to me and lowered his voice. "I've got to get going now and see what I can find out from Isobel's house." He ducked his head and those pale eyes caught mine. "There are going to be numerous investigations into this. Not only my department but the Conclave is going to want to get in on this as well. By the end of this nobody is going to have any secrets."

I swallowed nervously. That sounded bad. Really, really bad.