The Lost Sister (19 page)

Maddie chose not to tell Cordelia about her recent nightmares, although she knew that she’d eventually have to come clean. But what if the dreams were really coming from Reed or Finn? What if her knowledge of the crime (something that would never be allowed in court, thankfully) let her know that one of the two guys she cared most about in this town was actually a killer?

Cordelia seemed oblivious of all of Maddie’s inner turmoil and was running her fingers nimbly along the ancient texts they’d uncovered.

“Ha! I knew it!” Cordelia held out the antique book triumphantly. “One of the first families in Salem, the
Endicott
family, was responsible for making the witch trial laws that sparked the witch-hunts in the sixteen hundreds. An Endicott!”

Maddie furrowed her brow. “And that helps us how?”

Cordelia looked at her half sister in exasperation. “It gives us ammunition. Knowledge is power!”

Maddie shook her head, still not understanding.

Cordelia pushed her long, tangled strands of red hair behind her shoulders, tucking stray pieces behind her ears as she began her explanation. “You see, if we can point to Kate Endicott’s family as having unjust reason to tear down Ravenswood, a place where so many wrongly accused women were tortured and buried because of these unjust ‘witchcraft’ laws, then maybe we can use it to sway popular opinion against the Endicotts. I mean, it says right here that Rebecca Nurse, one of the wrongly accused witches, had a property fight with the Endicott family. That was probably the reason she was accused of witchcraft in the first place.”

“Just because they were related to tyrants doesn’t make them guilty.” Maddie knew once the words were out of her mouth that she sounded ridiculous. The smirk on Cordelia’s face gave it away. “I mean, yes, they are awful people, and yes, Kate and her mother and all the Sisters of Misery have done hideous, terrible things to more people than any other person I know, but still…how does that keep them from getting their way?”

“Karma,” Cordelia said flatly. “They may have money and powerful people and laws on their side, but we have something even better.”

Maddie shook her head, waiting for the answer. She watched as Cordelia’s face lit up before she said knowingly, “Magic.” And then added with a wink, “And witchcraft. Real witchcraft.”

“Y
ou need to relax.” Cordelia had chosen this spot for its “magical” properties. The two girls looked like any other teenagers enjoying the rare New England sun, walking by the ocean’s shore on an unseasonably warm December day. But the difference between what Cordelia and Maddie were doing and the others who were enjoying this break in the winter chill was worlds apart. They were both wearing quartz crystal necklaces, cleansing them with the sun’s rays as well as soaking in the spectral power from the powerful stones. Cordelia instructed Maddie to wear the necklace whenever she was trying to channel her powers.

“So, seriously, how did you learn to astral project? Who taught you?”

“This amazing woman I met on my way up to Maine. She’s actually the one who gave me the car.”

“She
gave
you a car?” Maddie asked incredulously. Only Cordelia could win someone over so much that they would give her a car.

“Well, technically, I borrowed it. I’ll give it back to her as soon as I save up enough for my own.”

Maddie shook her head, stifling a laugh. In many ways, Cordelia led a charmed life. But then she had a vision of Cordelia being tied up out on Misery Island, and of what she herself had done to her own flesh and blood, and she held back any further comment. She looked at Cordelia and wondered if she felt any lingering anger or resentment for Maddie. Just then Cordelia turned and looked Maddie straight in the eye, as if she could hear her thoughts.

“We’re sisters, real sisters. Not that stupid club you’re a part of. We will always have each other’s back no matter what.”

Maddie eyed her suspiciously. Had she been able to read her thoughts? What other powers did Cordelia have? Maddie smiled and hugged Cordelia and then the two girls continued down the beach to their destination.

The rock was in Swampscott and supposedly had mystical powers—it was captured in a poem by Whittier and its proximity to the land and sea was the perfect bridge between the natural and the supernatural worlds, according to Cordelia. The ocean had properties that were not only healing, but essential to harnessing their powers. This was why Cordelia often swam in the ocean by moonlight—the rays of the moon coupled with the power of the ocean helped her draw upon her spectral visions.

They would be returning later that night for their astral projection and dream jumping missions, but Cordelia felt it was important to clear their minds and relax their bodies completely before attempting the ritual.

Maddie had just about perfected her yoga breathing that Cordelia had showed her how to do, when she noticed that the air around her felt different. The energy suddenly changed. It was like a negative charge of electricity disrupted the peaceful setting. Sitting up quickly, she knew the cause of the change.

Kate Endicott was marching toward them like a woman possessed.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Cordelia didn’t move a muscle. Maddie wasn’t sure if she was really asleep or if she had relaxed herself into a trance that not even Kate Endicott could rouse her from. Or, more likely, she was ignoring Kate. They had yet to confront each other since that night out on Misery, and Maddie wasn’t sure what would happen.

“We’re lying out on the beach. It’s the perfect winter day to lie out for a tan,” Maddie said sarcastically. “What are
you
doing, Kate?”

“Well, it’s nice to see that you’re back to try and fix things. Is your little drama-fest over? Have you come back to take responsibility for your little running away act?” Kate directed her comments to Cordelia, who continued to ignore her.

Cordelia kept her eyes closed. Maddie could feel the anger growing inside her and she was sure that Cordelia was feeling the same.

“Kate, leave her alone,” Maddie instructed.

“Well, I’m not here to reminisce about old times, that’s for sure. I just came from the police station. Trevor called me and said that the Boston officials are ready to take Cordelia’s statement now. It would be nice to get Trevor’s brother out of jail and finally take the spotlight off of our families.”

“But I thought you loved the spotlight, Kate?” Cordelia said, sitting up and glaring at Kate. “Isn’t that why you held that big party out on Misery Island? It wasn’t to celebrate the hell that you put me through, was it? If you had let me know about it earlier, I could have cleared my schedule and made an appearance as the guest of honor.”

Maddie was about to ask Cordelia how she knew about the Winter Gala, but then realized that the news of Darcy’s murder had given the event more publicity than Kate could ever have wished for.

“No, but perhaps if you were there, Darcy wouldn’t have been the one fished out of the ocean wearing your boyfriend’s jacket. By the way, I thought that you would be interested in knowing that your
mother
”—she stretched the word out and wrinkled her nose—“is now the talk of the town. People are coming from all over to see her. News is spreading all over about her. It’s turning this town into a freak show.”

Maddie was confused. “Why would they want to see my mother?” Maddie knew that people were aware that her mother’s cancer had gone into remission, but why would that pique anyone’s interest?

“Ugh, not your mother,
her
mother—the nutcase,” Kate said, visibly annoyed.

At the mention of Rebecca, Cordelia jumped to her feet. “What about my mother?”

“Oh, you didn’t know?” Kate said coyly. “Seems she’s a healer now. After Maddie’s mother’s cancer went into remission and she did her little television appearance at the fire, word spread that just being in Rebecca LeClaire’s presence is enough to heal any illness or affliction. People are coming in droves just to see her, like she’s that picture of the crying Virgin Mary or the potato chip that looks like Jesus.”

Cordelia looked at Maddie with an accusatory glare. “What’s going on? How can this be happening? People don’t honestly believe that Rebecca is a healer, do they?” Maddie looked down, guilt creeping across her face. She knew that she should have told Cordelia about this new development with Rebecca, but it was such a far-fetched notion, she didn’t want to spook Cordelia and send her running off again. Maddie just hadn’t realized how many people were privy to the information.

“How do you know this?” Cordelia demanded.

“How do you not? Don’t you watch the news or read a paper? It’s become national news, soon to be international news. And it’s royally fucking up my family’s plans to finish the Endicott Hotel.”

“How so?” Even if Rebecca had become labeled as a healer, what did that have to do with the fate of Ravenswood? Maddie wondered.

“Because Rebecca is saying that the site is filled with magic and healing properties. People are starting to treat it like it’s the freakin’ mecca.”

Cordelia was in Kate’s face in an instance. “How do you know so much about my mother?”

“Oh,” Kate said in mock innocence. “You didn’t know about your mom’s newfound fame? Pity she’s never asked for you. Guess you’re not her golden girl anymore, Cordelia. That’s what happens when you run away and destroy people’s lives.”

Maddie grabbed Cordelia as she started to lunge for Kate. Cordelia could withstand the harshest words, but she’d never allow anyone to talk to her about her family that way. If Maddie hadn’t grabbed her arm, she knew that Cordelia would have punched Kate squarely in the face—not that she didn’t deserve it, of course.

Cordelia pulled out of Maddie’s grasp and raced down the beach away from them. Maddie knew that Cordelia had been working up the courage to go visit her mother all week. But now that Kate had rubbed it in her face, Cordelia was hell-bent on proving Reed’s and Finn’s innocence down at the station and then continue on to Fairview to see Rebecca. It was time to right her wrongs. It was the only way to move forward.

“I wouldn’t get my hopes up!” Kate called after her, and then turned to Maddie to finish. “They’re only letting people in that Rebecca wants to see. My guess is that Cordelia isn’t on that list. Not anymore.”

Maddie wished that Cordelia was at her side at that moment when she did what she should have done a long time ago—slapped Kate straight across her face. Kate screamed in agony as she fell to the sand below. Maddie had even surprised herself at the force of the blow; the base of her wrist seemed to have connected with Kate’s nose, which now had blood streaming from it.

“You fucking bitch. You broke my nose! It’s bleeding, for Christ’s sake! You are so going to pay for this, you bitch!” Kate screeched.

Maddie smiled down at Kate’s blood-smeared face and said, “You were right, Kate: karma
is
a witch.”

Before going to see Rebecca, Cordelia went straight to the police station and made a statement to officially clear Finn and Reed from having anything to do with her disappearance. Now she and Maddie wouldn’t have to rely on their powers to get them out. At least the Endicotts’ influence was good for something. They didn’t want to be associated with a prisoner in any way. And luckily for Finn, he got to ride along on Reed’s coattails out the prison door.

Maddie waited for Cordelia in the police station waiting room as she gave her statement. She worried that Cordelia would be fined or sentenced to some sort of community work—or even worse, imprisoned, because of the chaos that her disappearing act had caused. But luckily, the police department was too concerned with Darcy’s death and Bronwyn’s disappearance to punish Cordelia. They weren’t really ever that concerned with Cordelia’s disappearance or reappearance. They were just happy to be able to clear Finn and Reed—especially because of the pressure being put on them by the Campbell and Endicott families—so that they could look for the real killer. Maddie was shocked at how quickly the whole thing blew over.

Maddie waited patiently with Cordelia while they released Finn and Reed. She wondered what would happen when Cordelia came face-to-face with the two most important men to her in Hawthorne. What would her reaction be? What would theirs be?

Maddie felt an uncomfortable wave of tension as the two girls sat under the flickering fluorescent lights in the waiting room at Hawthorne County Jail.

Reed was the first one to enter the room. He gave the girls a tired smile. He seemed stressed and tired and worried. Maddie realized that he must be so concerned about Bronwyn’s disappearance. He walked over to Maddie and gave her a hug and then turned to Cordelia.

“So the wandering traveler returns,” he said as he softly brushed her cheek. Maddie felt a twinge of jealousy as they held each other’s gaze.

“I’m sorry,” Cordelia said, her eyes welling with tears. “I really didn’t mean to cause all of this—”

“Hey, hey, hey,” he said, still smiling. “It’s okay. You went through more than anyone should have ever gone through. I would have taken off by now, too, if I was in your position. Everything is going to be okay.”

Just as Maddie was starting to feel like a third wheel, the look on Cordelia’s face changed suddenly. The air seemed to vibrate with electricity and Maddie was convinced that Cordelia had stopped breathing. She followed Cordelia’s line of vision and saw Finn standing there. They were staring at each other intently. Finn didn’t even look down at the paperwork he was signing and in an instant, Cordelia was at his side.

They kissed so passionately and so intensely that it seemed like the rest of the world had dropped away. It was only Cordelia and Finn. Finn and Cordelia. Nothing else seemed to matter. He grabbed on to her tightly, squeezing her into his chest as if he couldn’t pull her any closer without devouring her.

Reed let out a long low whistle. “Wow,” he said. “That’s pretty intense.”

Maddie looked at the two and wiped tears from her eyes. “That’s love.”

Reed grabbed Maddie’s hand, squeezing it and looking at her intensely.

“I’ll see you later, Maddie,” he said, his voice filled with emotion. “I—I need to go.” He turned away from her quickly, almost like he was afraid of his emotions for her surging forward to the surface. Right now, as the boyfriend of the missing girl, it wouldn’t look good if he was too affectionate with anyone. “Take care of Cordelia.”

Maddie laughed. “I don’t think I need to.”

Reed turned back and looked at the two, who were kissing through tears, whispering softly to each other, and laughing as they touched each other’s face, and Maddie detected a hint of sadness or jealousy or longing. She wasn’t quite sure. And then he turned and walked out the door into the unseasonably warm afternoon.