Page 4 of Witch Moon

Yes. Miss Saint A. He'd start with her. She might be just the person to help him wipe all this hocus-pocus nonsense out of Rowan's head once and for all.

Chapter 2

"Ihave to say, I agree with you, Mirabella. I don't think it was a dream either."

"What then?"

Mirabella sat across from her dearest friend. Gwenyth, at a round table in the back of Gwen's shop. Between them, Tarot cards lay face up, spread out in familiar patterns. The shop was housed in the lower front portion of the oversized Victorian house Gwen had inherited from her great-grandmother. She lived in the rest of it. Along with whatever stray creatures wandered in looking for a place to rest or a solid meal. Gwen could never turn away an animal in need.

The front of the shop had a large bay window that housed hunks of uncut quartz and amethyst, an assortment of candle holders and incense burners, several pieces of pyrite from the stream out back, a stack of obscure looking books, and a black cat called Circe who was usually curled up, sound asleep. Circe was the first and the favorite of all Gwen's pets. The gold, gothic lettering on the door spelledGwenyth's Chamberin a curving arch. Beneath it, in smaller block letters, was a list:

Occult Supplies

Tools of Divination

Herbs

Oils

Brews

Candles

Psychic Readings

by appointment only

The shop-and Gwenyth-fitinto this small town about as well as a square peg in a round hole. Mirabella had always been much more discreet about her beliefs. She had to be. She was a teacher at the high school, for goodness sake!

"If it wasn't a dream, Gwen, then what was it?" she asked.

Gwen drew a deep breath and flipped over another Tarot card. She was a petite woman, with honey gold hair that curled untamed to her shoulders. She wore jeans and a black sweatshirt that said "Witch and famous" on the front in orange letters. And of course, there was the ever-present pentacle on a chain around her neck.

"A warning," she said at last. "I think it was a warning. It's definitely not past life, though there are connections to one. It looks like...something in the future." She looked up from the cards, meeting Mirabella's eyes, and hers seemed worried. "Honey, have you been talking to any of your students about the Craft?"

"You think I'm insane? Of course not."

Gwen shrugged. "Well. I don't know then. You know, up until recently, Wiccans in Ezra Township have been left pretty much alone. The locals grate their teeth and roll their eyes and tolerate us. Barely. But the tide's shifting, Mirabella. It's getting dangerous out there."

Bella nodded. "I know."

"Maybe you don't."

Frowning, Mirabella said, "What do you mean?"

Gwen licked her lips nervously, and Bella could see she was debating whether to say anything more. Then she seemed to decide all at once. "I've been getting threats."

Mirabella sucked in a breath and widened her eyes. "What kinds of threats?"

Gwen got up from her seat at the table and walked past the row of pewter figurines to step behind the counter with the antique register on it. She drew a manila envelope from beneath the counter and slid it across to Mirabella. Bella opened it and took out the contents. Scraps of paper, entire sheets, some folded, some not. All basically bearing the same message. "We don't want Witches in Ezra Township. Get out while you still can." Some were more colorfully worded than others, but the gist was the same.

"How long has this been going on?" Mirabella asked.

"A couple of weeks. About as long as the spree of animal murders they've been attributing to this so-called occult group that's cropped up. The problem is, there is no occult group. I'm pretty well networked, and I'd know if there was. I haven't heard a thing. Either these nuts are from out of town or...or I don't know what to think."

"Why didn't you say something about these threats before, Gwen?"

She shrugged. "Didn't see what good it would have done." She licked her lips. "I've had an offer on the house, Bella. Mark Hayes from the real estate office is willing to give me a very good price for it."

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