“There’s a young woman with white hair… She’s your kin?” She asked, cutting her eyes at me.
“By marriage, yes.”
“Hmmmph…. They talk about her and the white church…”
“Anything else about the First Family or Dr. Marvin Holmes?”
She shook her head and for a moment, I thought she was lying but something tells me she might be telling the truth.
“Those names mean nothing above ground. First Family, Dr. Holmes…none of that holds any weight here. Only the witches who control and govern their territories mean something. The cats only speak about the witches, and they only speak about the white church. Some of my familiars have already been to the location several times with their families. I heard talks of the Underground being broken where anybody can get in.”
I felt my body grow stiff as she went on.
“The families aren’t really worth mentioning as they’re low common witches, but they all talk and meet at that church.”
I gripped my chin trying to think of past conversations before my mind settled on Dr. Marvin T. Holmes. He attempted to tell me something that day when I paid him a visit.
“What about the church?” I finally asked. “Do they say anything about why they’re visiting or gathering around the church?”
The door opened as Trevor walked in with the biggest grin on his face. The woman stood up all smiles as she put her cigarette out.
“You found your forever familiar?” She asked.
“I think I might have. We just finished up the paperwork,” he said as he walked in.
“Ahh!” The woman beamed with a clap. “Please, do not hesitate to stop by if you have any questions… We’ll get her ready for you just before you leave Mississippi.”
We were escorted outside just as quickly as we were let in and I could see all the cats walking about the house, all scattered about until the woman gently touched the back of my arm.
“The cats say the witches are gathering at the church at night,” she whispered. Looking around, she suddenly snatched her hand in the air like she grabbed something before becoming still. “I don’t want the wind to carry my words into the ears of others…but they gather at the church at night because they are trying to figure out how to do it again.”
She smiled with all of her teeth showing. Slipped back into the house and closed the door shut with every single light goingout. I walked down the stairs and met with Trevor who was just getting off the phone when he saw the look on my face.
“The little kitten was cute, Himora. I think you’re going to like her, and I think our baby will like her too.” When Trevor noticed my expression hadn’t changed, he finally realized something was off.
“What? What did she tell you?”
“I was wrong,” I admitted. His brows jumped to his hairline before he backed up as if I grew a second head.
“The Himora Clarke? WRONG? Naaaaah…. Can’t be!” He laughed. Now that it was night with the sun out of the way, his energy seemed to be much better in comparison to the heat and sun during the day.
“I was wrong about everything,” I said. Trevor stopped smiling as he looked down at me.
“What did she say?”
My phone started to ring as I quickly reached in my back pocket to grab the hot screen. The number wasn’t familiar to me, but I decided to answer anyway on speaker.
“This is Himora Clarke speaking…”
“Ms. Clarke,” a deep voice said as Trevor immediately grabbed the phone. “This is Harvey, we met briefly at Ms. Norwood’s house that night… Do you have a moment?”
Harmless Harvey
I stared at the pocket watch in my hand, watching the gold trinket tick every second before clamping it shut. Slipping it into my pocket, I looked at the lamp post that stood at the end of the town square in Cedar Park. Everyone was out partying and walking around, enjoying the night markets just two days out before the event. Drew Collins was filled with students from allover with cars parked along the side streets. The newest part of the campus where it was originally meant for the sister school was now being used as dorms for the rival teams and their close family. Cedar Park itself was filled with shops that were closed after staying open late, the abandoned train station that was covered in creeping vines and weeds, and the railroad tracks that had the train coming every other hour was now closed.
Security and police weren’t on guard as much as they should have been, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to stand in the middle of the street looking suspicious. Looking to my right, I saw the stretched-out fields of parked cars lining the winding back roads and then looked to my left to see the town and iron gates that lined the school behind me. I could smell the water hidden within the trees and even catch a glimpse of the lake between branches that held the underground classrooms below.
Sighing, I flipped my watch back open and looked at the time with an impatient tap of my foot.
