He pressed a button and the CD player sprang to life. Molotov played as they headed to the train depot. Hideo tapped his fingers against the steering wheel.
She hadn’t been in Boston in a while, and it was strange to step out of North Station and into the city with its chaotic traffic and knotted web of streets. After the silence on campus, it was a cacophony of sounds that made her pull out the Discman from her backpack and put the headphones on. Music, even when a singer was screaming their head off, was easier to process than random people in the streets or the honking of horns. You could get lost in music.
She took the subway to Copley Square and bounded up the library’s stairs while Babes in Toyland blared in her ears. She foundA History of Witchcraft Loreand walked toward Bates Hall. The great reading room of the BPL resembled a Roman basilica, with a soaring, ornate ceiling and light filtering through its tall windows. Upon the dark oak tables sat green glass-shaded lamps, and patrons read their books in reverent silence. She pulled out a chair and snapped the book open.
From a glance at the table of contents, it didn’t seem to be a particularly interesting compendium, and she couldn’t quite figure out why Thomas and Virginia would both have been so keen on it. She noticed that a corner had been turned down in the book, as if to mark a page, and opened it to that section.
A quote by King James from his 1597 book,Daemonologie,appeared at the top of the page. It read:For some of them sayeth, that being transformed in the likenesse of a little beast or foule, they will come and pearce through whatsoeuer house or Church, though all ordinarie passages be closed, by whatsoeuer open, the aire may enter in at.
“Thresholds and witch marks,” she said in a low voice, her finger running down the page. “An apotropaic mark, also called a witch mark, is a symbol or pattern scratched on the walls of a building to protect it from evil spirits. The word ‘apotropaic’ comes from the Greek word for ‘averting evil.’
“The marks were usually scribed onto stone or woodwork, particularly near doorways, windows, and fireplaces. They havemany forms. In England, they often have flowerlike patterns or overlapping circles.”
She turned the page and looked at a drawing that was labeledas a medieval apotropaic mark from a church in Suffolk. It looked eerily like the sketches Virginia and Thomas had made.
“Apotropaic marks could also take the form of mazes and diagonal lines. Shapes and repeating patterns could be used to fool evil spirits. In Ireland, the burial of horse skulls under the floor may have served a similar purpose.”
Minerva looked at another illustration showing more symbols that had been carved on a fireplace lintel.
Her great-grandmother had spoken about things like this, amulets to ward off evil. Her amulets had been made of pins and the body of a bird, but the purpose was the same, to cordon off a dwelling from witches. In the vast majority of cases, her great-grandmother said, witchcraft of the malicious kind does not amount to great harm. Witches may toy with a person, sour a day or two of their life, then move on to other matters. Their magic is often slight. A few witches, the ones born on a propitious day, who descend from a lineage of powerful witches, might attack in more nefarious manners. Yet they are often opportunistic creatures—stealing a hog to get back at a neighbor who slighted them might be the most they would attempt.
But a bewitchment, that is a different tale. It is a campaign, a siege. Thus, other measures must be taken. How do you bewitch someone? Hexes come in myriad shapes. A witch could make an effigy of their enemy, stuff a bottle with nails, or simply draw a sigil on their property. That’s what Nana Alba had said, and now Minerva’s mind drifted back to the black marks she’d found on her door.
She checked outA History of Witchcraft Loreand another book on witchcraft in medieval England then stepped out of the library.
—
Hideo picked her upat the train depot at the appointed time. He played “New Music Machine” and offered her konpeito from a tin. She popped one of the candies into her mouth while he bobbed his head.
Hideo stopped in front of the Willows and whistled. “Wow. That’s a big house. These people are loaded.”
“I know,” she said as she unbuckled her seatbelt.
Noah opened the front door himself before she was able to step out of the car. He had reverted from the too-formal outfit he’d worn last time to a faded T-shirt. He waved at her as he stood by the doorway.
“Is that Noah Yates?” Hideo practically stuck half his body out of the car, trying to get a good look at him.
“Yep.”
“He’s kind of cute. Terrible haircut, though. You would think with all that cash the man would find a decent stylist. Hey, do you get invited to dinner when you come over here?”
“I’ve had tea with Mrs. Yates.”
“What do they serve with the tea? I mean, do you have caviar? You know, I went to the Master’s Tea in November, and they don’t give you proper drinks nowadays, but someone told me back in the fifties they had wine and martinis and—”
“Master’s Tea?”
“Yeah. You know, the reception they throw in Walden Hall. It’s part of a lecture series.”
“That’s not the name of it.”
“What’s it called, then?”
“I have to go,” she said as she snatched her backpack from the back seat.
“Well, do they feed you caviar or not?”
“Bye,” she said with finality.
