"What's the matter?" she whispered, her voice shaking.
I looked at her, my mouth dry with fright.
"You scared?"
"Aren't you?" This close to the house, I could smell wood smoke from the chimney, mingling with the strange fragrances of herbs and incense and underneath them, the unpleasant scent of worse things, decay and mold and rot and death.
"You want to save Jason, don't you?" Stepping ahead of me, Wanda tiptoed up the sagging steps and pushed the door open with a trembling hand. "Come on, Laura, we ain't got much time," she whispered.
Hesitating on the threshold, I could feel the warmth of the fire burning low on the hearth, but the flickering shadows and strange smells, the very atmosphere of the room, suggested that Maude was hiding somewhere, ready to pounce upon us. Behind us a gust of wind struck our shoulders, shaking the cabin and rattling the windows, breathing new life into the flames, almost propelling us into the cabin. Cautiously we crept to the fireplace, aware of the stuffed owl on the mantel regarding us with glassy eyes.
"Which stone did she pull out?" Wanda knelt at the hearth, examining the pattern of the stones.
"This one, I think." As I reached for the stone, something above my head moved suddenly and I sprang back, finding myself staring into the eyes of Maude's crow.
Like an explosion of darkness, Soot flew at me, his wings beating against the sides of my head. Fending him off with my hands, I ducked aside and Soot flew past me, cawing loudly. Too late, I saw that we'd left
the door open, permitting him to fly out into the storm.
"He'll go to Maude!" I began pulling frantically at stones, trying to find the box before Maude came back. "Help me, Wanda!"
Wanda crouched next to me, her fingers scrabbling at the stones, poking, prying, pulling. "This one feels loose," she panted. "Help me with it!"
As I grabbed the stone, I heard someone on the steps. Terrified, I whirled around and saw Maude, the crow perched on her shoulder.
"So!" Maude rushed toward us, her dark clothes fluttering around her like a crow's feathers, her face twisted with rage. Before I could do more than stand up, she seized me, her nails biting into my arm as she shook me. "What are you doing here?"
"Maude!" Twyla rushed into the room, pale and wet. "Let them go!"
Maude stared at Twyla without relaxing her grip on either one of us. "What are they to you? Did you come here with this in mind, Twyla? Wasn't one betrayal enough?"
Twyla stepped closer to Maude, tiny and thin and brave, her eyes black with anger. "You know how I feel about you and your spells. Let these girls go now and forget about the past."
"You are still the ignorant young fool you used to be, Twyla Dawkins!" Maude's voice rose and she herself seemed to grow taller, to swell with rage till her shadow blackened the ceiling. "If I could I would strip you of all the knowledge I gave you. I would send you out into the night as helpless as a newborn kitten, blind and deaf, too feeble to survive the storm. I would curse you and loose the hounds of the Master against you!"
Maude sank down, but her grip on Wanda and me never slackened. "But I'm not what I was and you know it." Her voice was low now, almost a whisper, but so full of malice that I shivered.
"Let the girls go, Maude." Twyla's voice was calm. She stood still, unmoved by Maude's fury.
Maude shook her head and pulled me closer to her. "Perhaps I'll let one go." She smiled at Wanda. "But not this one, not Margaret Randall's granddaughter. She is mine now, mine, and she will stay with me. Won't you, my dear?" Thrusting her face close to mine, she whispered, "You liked me well enough when you wanted my help, didn't you, Laura Adams? And you can't say I didn't grant your wish, can you?"
I tried to turn my head away, but Maude released Wanda and gripped my chin, forcing me to look at her. This close, Maude's face was pocked with pores, dark hairs sprouted above her lip and lined her nostrils, deep furrows creased her cheeks and forehead, and hundreds of tiny lines crisscrossed the skin around her eyes. The fingers gripping my chin were cold and rough, and her nails gouged my skin. Tears filled my eyes, blurring her face, and my knees felt too weak to support me.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Wanda run to Twyla's side and cower there. Embracing Wanda, Twyla stared coldly at Maude. "Let Laura go too, Maude."
"She is mine, I tell you, mine!" Maude's voice rose again and she shook me roughly. "Look at me, girl, look at me! Do you doubt my power over you?"
As I stared at her, terrified, Maude seemed to tower above me, a creature of malice dressed in black, full of power and hatred, and I felt totally helpless. There â was nothing I could do against her. She was right. I
was hers, hers. If she hadn't been holding me so tightly, I would have fallen to the floor.
"You're wasting your time, Maude Blackthorne." Twyla stared calmly at the old woman. "Look at her neck. She has the amulet's protection. As long as she's wearing that, you cannot harm her."
Maude drew in her breath sharply as she looked at the little pouch hanging on its red ribbon. Gripping me even tighter, she turned to Twyla. "Take that one with you." She pointed at Wanda. "But give this one to me. You owe me something in return for all I've taught you." Maude's voice was wheedling now, but she still held me tightly.
Twyla shook her head. "Let her go, Maude."
Maude stared hard at Twyla and Twyla stared back, neither blinking nor looking away. While they stared at each other, I saw Wanda slip away and return to the hearth. Taking advantage of Twyla's and Maude's silent battle, she struggled to loosen the stone. As I watched, I saw her pull the stone noiselessly up and reach into the hole.
When she removed the small metal box, Soot cawed loudly, but no one paid any attention to him. The eyes of the two women seemed locked together and the tension between them silenced every sound.
With one arm upraised to protect herself against Soot, who was beating her head with his wings, Wanda ran back to Twyla's side, hiding the box behind her.
At that moment, Twyla shouted something in a strange language, a curse, an order, something harsh and terrible to hear, and Maude, momentarily startled, loosened her grip on me. Breathless with fear, I ran to Twyla's side.
"Go!" Twyla shouted to me and Wanda. "Meet me
where I told you to!" With her arms outstretched she began chanting, never taking her eyes from Maude, and Maude seemed to freeze, unable to follow me.
"Traitor!" she screamed at Twyla. "To use against me what I myself taught you!"
Without looking back, Wanda and I ran from the cabin. Heedless of the branches slapping us and tangling in our hair, we dashed through the woods, ducking, dodging, tripping, hearts pounding, lungs bursting. Finally we reached the grove and ran to Twyla's car. Clinging to each other, shivering with fear and cold, we stared up the path, hoping to see Twyla come running toward us. The rain had almost stopped and the thunder had died away to a distant rumble.
"Here she comes!" Wanda grabbed my arm and pointed as Twyla ran out of the woods. Although I expected to see Maude pursuing her, she was alone. There was no sign of the old woman.
"Give me the things," Twyla gasped.
Wanda thrust the box into Twyla's outstretched hand, as if it were burning her.
"Stand back," Twyla said.
As she broke the threads that were sealing the box shut, I recognized them for what they were: strands of my own hair. Shuddering, I remembered the times Maude had stroked my hair, running her fingers through it till it had hurt. She had been pulling out strands of it to use in the spell.
Removing a box of matches from her pocket, Twyla ignited the contents of the box. A tall flame rose, illuminating Twyla's face with blue light. She drew a circle in the earth, set the box down within it, and seized our hands. Chanting, she led us around the circle, using words in a language I'd never heard.
The flame rose, taller and taller, bathing us all in blue light. Looking into its depths, I thought I could see all the things Maude had predicted for us quivering there. Then, as quickly as it had flared up, the flame shrank and went out, leaving the three of us standing, hand in hand, in ordinary darkness.
For the first time that night, Twyla smiled. Giving our hands a quick squeeze, she released us. "I think it will be all right now," she said softly.
Throwing my arms around her, I burst into tears and Twyla held me, letting me cry, stroking my hair, murmuring comforting sounds, until her voice and the wind in the trees blended together like a lullabye and I relaxed.
"Come." Twyla lifted my face and kissed my cheeks and wiped my nose with a handkerchief. "It's all right now, Laura, it's all right. The spell is broken."
"But it was all my fault." I felt tears fill my eyes again.
Twyla shook her head. "Maude took advantage of your unhappiness, Laura. It was natural for you to want your parents to stay married, to want to go home, to want your life to stay the same. You didn't know Maude's price, you didn't know her terms. You mustn't blame yourself for wanting your parents to love each other." Twyla hugged me. "Wanting love isn't wicked, Laura, but sometimes it can lead to wickedness."
Putting her arm around my shoulders, Twyla led us to the car. "Come on, let's get you two home before we all catch pneumonia."
"But what about Maude?" Wanda asked as we drove up the road. "What happened to her?"
Twyla shook her head. "You don't need to worry about Maude any more. Forget her."
"Did lightning strike her house and burn her up?" Wanda grinned at me, obviously relishing the idea.
Twyla smiled. "No, nothing that dramatic happened, Wanda." She paused a moment to push her damp hair out of her eyes. "Let's just say that Maude has been more or less defused. I really don't want to talk about it. You'll understand the next time you see her, Wanda."
Wanda and I looked at each other, trying to understand what Twyla meant. I remembered that Maude had wanted to strip Twyla of her powers but hadn't the strength to do it. Had Twyla possessed that sort of strength? Mystified, I pressed a little closer to her side, grateful for her protection.
By the time we got to Wanda's house, I was exhausted. With a boost from Twyla, the two of us climbed through Wanda's window. Waving good-bye, we watched Twyla slip away down the hillside, without even rousing the dogs, and drive off into the darkness.
"You sure look a sight," Wanda said, staring at me in the soft glow from Charlene's little lamp.
"I couldn't look any worse than you do." As quietly as possible, we tiptoed into the bathroom, cleaned up as best we could, and crept back to bed.
Although Wanda fell asleep almost at once, I lay awake for a long time, worrying about Jason and my parents and Aunt Grace. I was almost afraid for morning to come. Suppose I went home and found everything exactly the same?
The morning sun woke me, but I lay still for a few minutes, waiting for Wanda to show some signs of life. As soon as she stirred, I bent over her and whispered, "Are you awake?"
Wanda screwed up her face and shook her head. "Uh uh, not yet. It's too early to wake up."
"I've got to go home, I've got to see if everything's all right." I got out of bed and groped around the floor for my clothes. My T-shirt was still damp and my shorts were crusty with mud, but I pulled them on anyway.
"My lord, you look like you tangled with a bobcat in a pigpen," Wanda said. "You got scratches all over you. What's your aunt going to think?"
"Maybe she won't notice."
"Maybe. If she's got her eyes closed, that is." Wanda got out of bed and pulled on a pair of overalls and a T-shirt. "Come on, let's get something to eat. I feel half-starved from not eating anything last night. Don't you?"
I shrugged. "I'll probably feel hungrier after I know Jason's better."
Out in the kitchen, Annabelle was having a cup of
coffee and singing along with the radio. "Well, that storm really cleared the air, didn't it? It's just beautiful this morning, the best-looking day I seen in a long time." She smiled out the window at the blue sky as if she'd polished it herself. "Even the birds sound happier," she added.
"What's for breakfast? I'm half dead from starvation." Wanda sat down at the table and looked at Annabelle.
"Well, there's coffee, fresh made, and cereal and toast." Annabelle looked at us, noticing our appearance for the first time. "You all look awful. How'd you get all scratched up like that? Did you go out in that storm last night?"
"Well, just a little. We couldn't sleep, Annabelle." Wanda grinned at her grandmother and took the bowl of cereal she offered her. "Bananas on top! You just think of everything."
Annabelle smiled. "Well, don't go out in no more storms like that. You could've been struck by lightning and then what would I have told Grace Randall?"
When I'd eaten enough breakfast to satisfy Annabelle, I got up to go home.
"I'll walk with you," Wanda said, leaving Annabelle happily washing dishes and singing a sad song about a no-good boy who ran away from home and broke his mother's heart.
Outside the air was fresh and clean, just as Annabelle had said, and we walked together down the road, talking about Maude and wondering what Twyla had done to her. When we got to the edge of the grove, we paused and looked at each other, then peered ahead of us into the shade.
"I don't see her," Wanda whispered. "But I hear a crow."
"So do I. What should we do? The only other way to my house is down by the creek and we'd still have to pass the path to her house."
"We could hold hands and run through." Wanda put a finger in her mouth and chewed at her nail.
"Okay. I'll get my aunt or somebody to drive you home, so you won't have to come back by yourself." I reached out for her hand and we ran down the hill and into the grove.
The road was muddy and cool from the rain and the air smelled of wet moss, damp bark, and moist earth. Bursting out again into the sunshine, I took a deep breath and laughed. "Not a sign of her!"
"Maybe she's dead, like in
The Wizard of Oz.
Twyla just melted her away."