2 Yule Be the Death of Me (20 page)

Saturday,
December 14th

Miss Octavia stared at Vivienne as if she
were rambling some arcane spell incantation. “You want to run that by me
again?” She asked with her charming tropical accent.

“Do you have any charm bags or herbs that
would be effective in repelling a banshee?”

“I didn’t realize that your unfortunate
accident at the cemetery affected your mind
.“
Miss
Octavia put her hands on hips.

“I’m serious.” Vivienne replied as they sat
at the reading table inside Mother Earth Mercantile.

“Child, if you’re serious than you have some
cuckoo problems going on up there.” Miss Octavia tapped her index finger on her
head.

Vivienne grimaced. “Look, I’m coming to you
as a trusted friend.”

Miss Octavia raised an eyebrow at her. “If
you are a friend, then you will allow me to test that.”

“Test?”

She got up from her chair and walked over to
a set of shelves were various glass bottles of liquids were neatly displayed.
She retrieved a small clear vial of prismatic cut glass and pulled off the
rubber stopper. “You will drink this.”

Vivienne stared at the vial. “What is it?”

“As I said, it is a test.” Miss Octavia
handed her the vial. “If you want my help with such a matter, I need proof.”

“Why do I suddenly feel like Alice?”
Vivienne took the vial from her. “You don’t have a white rabbit carrying a
stopwatch hopping around in the back room, do you?”

“Drink.” Miss Octavia ordered without even
cracking a smile. “Or leave my shop.”

Vivienne took a deep breath. “To
friendship.” She raised the vial and then slurped the contents.  She
wasn’t sure what she expected to taste, but whatever it was had no flavor.

Miss Octavia eyed her carefully. “How do you
feel?”

Vivienne set the vial on the table. “Fine.”

“I’m just giving it a moment to work.” Miss
Octavia replied.

“Can I ask what is it now that I’ve
imbibed?” Vivienne smiled.

Miss Octavia nodded and then a big smile
appeared on her face. “Of course, child. I had to make sure you were who you
said you were.”

“Well, what did I drink?”

“Holy water.” Miss Octavia replied as she
retrieved the vial from the table. “I couldn’t take any chances.”

“So you do believe in magic?” Vivienne felt
relief wash over her that she hadn’t sent snake venom or some other poison down
her gullet. “May I ask why you thought I wasn’t me?”

Miss Octavia returned the vial to her
collection. “While you were in the hospital, I got a surprise visit from you.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You came to see me on, let me think,
Tuesday evening I believe.” Miss Octavia sat down across from Vivienne and
rested her hands upon the crystal ball that was between them.

“I was in a coma then.” Vivienne explained.
“I didn’t wake up until Wednesday afternoon.”

“That’s what I found out, after the fact.”
Miss Octavia explained. “You see, this banshee you are worried about has some
powers she shouldn’t.”

“Obviously.”

“When you fell into that grave you must have
lost some kind of personal object. Something that would allow her to assume
your form using her dark magic.”

Vivienne thought back to that horrible
moment and gasped. “I lost a boot when they were pulling me out.”

“And that is all she needs to assume your
form.”

“Why would she want to become me?”

“She warned me that Pastor Seamus Kilpatrick
was on the warpath and wanted to get rid of me. So, she asked me to craft a
potion that she could spike Our Lady of the Lake’s annual holiday bake sale
items with that would sicken a great number of people in town. She would then
create some evidence and use Joshua to plant it ensuring that the preacher man
would be brought to swift justice.”

“That’s diabolical.” Vivienne gasped. “I
would never do such a thing.”

“Which is the point at which I became
suspicious of her identity.” Octavia continued. “I played along and thanked her
for looking out for me. I then asked if she would like some tea and she said
yes. I went into the kitchen and boiled some holy water to use for the drinks.
When I brought it out, she took a tiny sip and then she excused herself, saying
she forgot she had an order to work on back at the bakery and that she would
return for the potion on Sunday morning.”

“The holy water sickened her?” Vivienne
asked.

“It must have. She couldn’t get out of my
shop fast enough.” Miss Octavia sighed. “Dark magic is powerful, but it is
easily disrupted when you know the proper counter measures.”

“The holiday bake sale is Sunday afternoon,
so she must plan on spiking the baked goods in the morning during Sunday mass.”

“That was my guess as well. I’ll craft
something for her, but it won’t be what she thinks it is.”

Vivienne shook her head. “She knows me well.
Sunday mornings Joshua and I always sleep in late, usually past eleven.”

“So she’s able to assume your form and walk
in carrying donated baked goods without anyone thinking twice.”

“How is she going to frame Pastor
Kilpatrick?”

“I don’t know yet.” Miss Octavia
continued.  “She is drawing on some sort of dark magic source that is
nearby.” Miss Octavia continued. “Cayuga Cove is a nexus of magic activity. Do
you know what that is?”

“A nexus means a center focal point.”
Vivienne replied. “I got a pretty high score on the verbal portion of my
S.A.T.”

Miss Octavia nodded. “I’ve been to some
magical places in the world, but I’ve never felt anything like this before.
It’s practically broadcasting a signal to those who are able to hear it.”

“I believe you.” Vivienne let her guard
down. “I’ve felt it too.”

“You are a child of the Goddess. I could
tell the night I tested you in the library.”

“That was you?”

“I had my suspicions, but I couldn’t be
sure. You moved around too much for my crystal to get a good fix on your aura.”
Octavia smiled. “Finally, I just gave up and decided to leave the book out for
you to find.”

“Which I did and started me on the path
leading to Natalie.” Vivienne took a deep breath.

“I didn’t mean to scare you like that, but
I’ve never been any good at sneaking around.”

 Vivienne smiled. “You were right. I am
a witch.” She put her hands over Octavia’s. “But you can’t tell anyone about
this. No one knows, not even my mother.”

Miss Octavia smiled. “I understand. A small
town. Small minds. They are not ready for such knowledge.”

“That’s it exactly.” Vivienne nodded. “If
word got out about what I am it could destroy everything.”

“We are bound by honor never to reveal our
sisters and brothers to the ordinaries.”

“Are you part of the Elder Council?”
Vivienne asked. “Did they send you to help me?”

“No, my child. I work best alone.” Miss
Octavia revealed. “I was curious as to what I would find so near a powerful
source of magic.”

“It wasn’t always like this.” Vivienne
explained. “A few months ago, there was another witch in town who violated the
sacred oath and began to work with dark magic. Her reckless actions opened some
portals that we won’t be able to close, until the Elder Council figures out
some kind of solution.”

“There is more to the story than you know.”
Miss Octavia interrupted. “There is a history here in town, a magical history
that explains why we are drawn here to this spot.”

“I think it has to do with the refugees that
fled from the Salem colony during the witchcraft hysteria.”

“You’re on the right track.” Octavia
affirmed with a gentle squeeze of Vivienne’s hands. “The Elder Council brought
me here as a freelance witch to help them with the portal problem. I specialize
in stitching together the fabric of history through my visions and working the
tarot cards.”

“How come Nana Mary doesn’t know about you?”
Vivienne asked. “She didn’t even sense you.”

“I am able to shield my power from everyone.
That is my unique gift. The ultimate undercover witch for hire.” Miss Octavia
nodded. “Like you, I must ask that you not blow my cover. Not even your Nana
Mary can know about my true nature or my mission here in Cayuga Cove.”

“Why did you trust me?”

“Because, telling you is the only way I can
save your life.” Miss Octavia spoke softly. “I’ve seen you die several times
during my card readings.”

“I’m going to die?” Vivienne’s voice
cracked.

“The night of the full moon, I’m afraid.”
Miss Octavia explained. “The readings revealed one solitary time when you do
manage to outsmart the banshee that haunts this town. One possible path to
escape the dark fate she has planned for you.”

“What do we do?”

“We start by arming you with the very things
you asked me for when you first came in tonight. You need to set a banshee trap
and you need a way to drive her away forever. I can help you with that, but we
haven’t much time.”

Vivienne felt a sense of panic rising inside
her. “How much time?”

“She will carry out her plan when her power
is at its zenith. The full moon.”

“That’s three days from now.” Thanks to
Joshua’s lupine nature, she knew the moon phases by heart.

“I had a feeling you keep careful track of
that.” Miss Octavia smiled. “He’s a good one, your man. Very non-typical of
werewolves.”

“Yes he is.” Vivienne agreed. “But, when
he’s in wolf form he’s at a disadvantage when it comes to helping me out.”

“As I said, our foe is very intelligent.”
Octavia echoed. “We have quite a battle ahead.”

*          
*           *

Normally, on a Saturday afternoon Vivienne
would be hard at work in the kitchen of her bakery, but Stephanie insisted she
take the weekend to recover and report fresh on Monday morning. Vivienne began
to feel as if she were the part-time employee in her own shop, but then she
realized she was just lucky to have an amazing employee like Stephanie to keep
the fires burning without missing a beat.

So, she found herself with a free afternoon
thanks to the lucky combination of Joshua working a twelve hour shift while
Nora was busy hosting a clutter-free seminar at the Whispering Pines home.

As she drove back to her home with an
assortment of magical items to use in defense of Natalie’s attack, she decided
to follow up with a thank you. She pressed the telephone button on her stereo
system. “Call Samantha Charles.”

“Calling Samantha Charles.” The monotone
automated voice crackled through the speakers.

The phone rang three times before Samantha
answered cheerfully. “Vivienne Finch, am I glad to hear your voice.”

“Hi Samantha. I just wanted to thank you for
sending that gorgeous fruit basket. You really shouldn’t have.”

“It was the least I could do. How are you
feeling?”

Vivienne stopped at a traffic light and
watched a group of children carrying sleds cross the intersection toward the
school playground. “I’m back to normal, thank goodness.”

“I must say, when Kathy told me how you fell
into an old grave I was quite shocked.”

“It’s not as uncommon as you think.”
Vivienne felt a little twinge of terror, recalling the feeling as the ground
gave out beneath her. “Just my dumb luck, I suppose.”

“Well, I hope you stay out of old cemeteries
for some time.” Samantha joked.

“Oh, that’s something I plan on doing.”
Vivienne accelerated as the light turned green.

“Oh, Vivienne.” Samantha chuckled. “I miss
our chats.”

“You’re a busy executive now. Your time is
gold.”

“I miss Cayuga Cove and the quiet peace that
you all take for granted. The city is just mobbed with tourists this time of
year.” Samantha’s voice lowered. “I actually thought of taking a little holiday
getaway there and checking on the progress at the house.”

“I’ve seen the renovations crew working. They’re
really doing an amazing job.”

“Hey, that’s part the reason I wanted to
check in with you.” Samantha interrupted. “Has the
Rothwell
mansion been purchased from the town yet?”

“What?”

“I’ll take that as a no.” Samantha sounded
relived. “Good, because I didn’t want to be neighbors with that smarmy Robert
Rothwell
. He’s going to ruin the town with his gas fracking
plans.”

“Back up a second. When was he supposed to
buy the mansion?”

“Oh, quite some time ago. I saw him at a
fundraiser and he kept trying to impress me with talking about his old family
home in Cayuga Cove and how he was going to buy it back to show his father how
he was going to take their family fortune into the future with natural gas
fracking.”