Page 51 of Bad Witch

“All will be well, Wendy.” I turned to her husband and reached inside his subconscious. There was no doubt in my mind that this male was past the point of return, but I had to be certain before I sentenced him.

I dug deeply, and as I feared, found nothing but brittle darkness and hatred. He had turned to the dark arts, to his thirst for power and greed, and he wanted nothing more than to sink deeper into those depths, no matter the cost. I searched his mind, and the horrors he longed to do, that he’d planned to do, flashed rapidly through my head. Horrors that were unspeakable and depraved. That were beyond evil.

“Tell me,” Wendy asked shakily. “What can you see?”

There was no sugarcoating this, and attempting to do so would be a grave error. This was a decision Wendy had to live with, and the truth was the only way she could move on without guilt or doubt. She needed to know just how deep the darkness had sunk its claws. “There is no stopping him, and no saving him. This violence will only escalate until you and your children are dead, but the choice is still yours. Once this is done, it cannot be undone.”

Tears streamed down her face. “Take him away. Please, before he hurts my children.”

“I can provide a potion for your little ones that will take the events of tonight away. So this night won’t cause them pain.”

“Yes,” she choked out. “Thank you.”

I helped her up and, supporting her, led her into the kitchen before moving to stand behind her.

“I’m going to heal you now, Wendy,” I said.

She nodded, sitting numbly as I raised my hands and poured my healing powers into her, boosted by the Matildas. If only I could use their strength at the clinic. If I tried, the coven would know I’d broken our rules, and I had no idea what they’d do if they found out.

The female cried out softly, then gasped as her broken bones were pushed into place and knitted back together. After I’d sought out every bruise and cut and manipulated the blood and veins, healing the damage, I moved around her chair so she could see me. “When I leave, make your children a nice hot chocolate.” I held up a small bottle. “This contains two doses. Measure it out equally and give it to them in their drinks, then put them to bed.” I set the bottle in front of her. “When they awake, tonight will be gone from their memories. You’ll need to be very careful with your injuries. Don’t lift anything heavy for a week while your bones heal fully.”

I turned, surveilling the damage to the house, then gritting my teeth, sent out another rush of power. The scrape of the overturned dresser and coffee table being returned to their rightful places echoed down the hall. The shards of glass from a broken mirror flew back into place in its frame and was returned to the wall. Dirt from a plant and its pot flew back together before coming to a rest on the side table from where it had fallen.

When everything was back to rights, I turned again to Wendy. “When your children are in bed, cleanse the house with this.” I placed a bundle of sage laced with a special ingredient in front of her. “Burn it, making sure to go to every room. I’ve removed the magical traces of what happened here, and my visit won’t be detected, but the cleansing will ensure no darkness lingers. If the witches council or anyone asks, your husband went out one night and never returned. That is all you know and all you need to say.”

She nodded.

“Now go and get your children, and by the time you return, it will be over.”

She stood, still obviously dazed, and woodenly walked out the back door. I headed back to the living room, and shut the door after me. “Time to go,” I said to the male. His eyes were filled with fury, and his dark horrible magic still swirled around him, only now it was trapped by my own.

He wanted to hurt me, I could feel that to my bones, but he’d never get the chance. Taking my door handle from my bag, I placed it against the door I’d just walked through. “Guide me home,” I whispered, then twisted the knob.

The oak door opened to a view of my cottage. I stepped onto the small wooden dock that edged one side of my moat. Another door opened and closed in the distance. It was Wendy and her children coming back into the kitchen at the other end of the house. The frozen male’s gaze sliced in their direction.

“Oh no, you won’t be seeing them again,” I said and crooked my finger. He snarled, but that was all he managed. I’d sewn his mouth shut very well. There would be no more talking for him. Suspended in the air, he floated forward until he was hovering above my dock. I closed the door after me, and removed the handle, leaving Wendy and her children to try and recover.

I turned to the incapacitated witch. “My name is Matilda. I am whispered about among those in need of rescue from darkness.” Blood slid down my cheeks from my eyes, as they always did when I was about to pass sentence. Tears of blood, not for him but for those he had hurt and for the mother’s gifts he had rejected and corrupted. “I don’t need to know your name, and I don’t care who you are. I’ve seen inside you, and I have deemed you unworthy in every possible way. I sentence you to death. There is no coming back, and no one to help you. Your power will die with you, and your family will live a long happy existence without you in it.”

He screamed behind his sewn-closed lips, the sound muffled and filled with terror.

“So it will be done,” I said. Then, with a flick of my finger, I sent him flying into the moat surrounding my cottage. His body hit the water with a loud splash, and I released the spell freezing his body, watching as he thrashed in the water. He spun my way, and he started swimming toward me, arrogant enough to think he could reach me, that he could kill me like he eventually would have his family. The arrogance of males like him knew no bounds.

Before he died, he would learn a very important lesson. When we work together—the maiden, the mother, the crone—there is nothing that we cannot accomplish.

And there is nothing that can stop the wrath we will unleash upon those who would harm us.

I crouched at the edge of the pier and whistled.

A loud splash came from the other side of the moat. The male spun in the water, right as Manny’s back rose up, arching from beneath the dark depths. Utter terror burst from the witch, and he started swimming faster, flailing in his desperation to reach me. I rose, unmoved. The end must be witnessed.

Oh yes. Feel the fear. You deserve it. You deserve it and so much more.

He was but a stroke from me when Manfred finally tugged him under. The male burst through the surface once more. Manny was playing with him. A second later my familiar exploded out of the water, his massive head and knife-sized teeth flashing. His scales shimmered in the moonlight as he chomped down on his dinner, and they quickly disappeared under the water.

“It is done,” I said.

It is done, the Matildas echoed, one after another, before they slipped away again.