Page 42 of Bewicched

“The man at the end. He called the tan wolf to him. His fangs glistened in the moonlight.”

Mom turned to Gran. “Did you see a man? I didn’t see a man, only wolves.”

Gran shook her head. “No man.”

That was concerning. “Okay, let me start at the beginning and tell you exactly what I saw. You guys let me know if what you experienced was different.”

I went back over it all with them and was glad I did. They were missing parts, but what I found more interesting were the things they heard and saw that I didn’t. It was my vision. How were they experiencing things I wasn’t?

In the first part with the child coloring, they saw a woman in the window behind the child waving into the forest. In the second part, they saw a sign reading Post Creek Roadhouse over the bar. In the section of the vision related to me, they saw multiple flaming arrows hit the side of the cannery. And in the last chapter, they didn’t see Gran. They saw a woman dead on the patio but couldn’t tell who she was. They recognized the back patio, though, and assumed that was the problem. Gran would have a visitor who died.

Mom went to Gran and held her hand.

“Remember,” I warned them, “this wasn’t like one of my normal visions. I think this is what we together as a Council need to work to stop.” I went to my grandmother and took her other hand. “Now you know to be wary of anyone suggesting you have tea together out there.” I gestured with my free hand toward the back windows. “Forewarned is forearmed and all that.”

Gran held on to us both and stood. “I need to think about this. You girls go on now.” She gripped my mom’s hand. “Are you going to see Sylvia?”

“Yes,” Mom responded. “Right now.”

Gran nodded. “Good. Give me some time. I’ll sit with her this afternoon.” She walked down the hall, looking more frail than I’d ever seen her.

“Am I dropping you off?” Mom asked.

“Nope. You’re taking me with you. I need to see Aunt Sylvia.”

19

I Was Going to Need a Nap After This

Mom and I were quiet on the drive over, both dreading what we were going to find. Sylvia was alone in her room, a large spray of flowers on the table beside her. Mom’s hand flew to her heart as she crossed the room to her sister. Taking Sylvia’s hand, Mom’s lips twitched with a healing incantation.

I wanted to wait until Mom was done and no longer holding Aunt Sylvia’s hand before I took one in mine.

A nurse walked in and seemed surprised to see us. “Well, isn’t this nice. It’s good to have visitors.” She checked Sylvia’s vitals, did a round with the pressure cuff, and made notes on the white board near the door. “You should let her hear your voices. I think it helps.”

“I thought her family would be here with her,” I said, pulling up a chair. “I mean besides us.”

“They were,” she said. “Her husband and daughters.” She looked between Mom and me. “You’re family too?”

Mom nodded. “I’m her sister and this is my daughter, her niece.”

“It was strange. I couldn’t get them to leave the room for coffee or breakfast, and then they up and left, one by one. She’s been here by herself for hours now.”

A code blue announcement came over the loudspeaker and the nurse hurried off.

“I don’t understand,” Mom began. “Why would they all leave her like this?”

The door opened and Calliope hurried in. When she saw us, she stuttered to a stop and then burst into tears, running to hug my mom.

“Auntie Sybil, it was so awful,” she moaned, a tiny trembling thing in Mom’s embrace.

“What happened?” Mom asked.

Cal sniffled, trying to stem the tide. “We don’t know. She went to her room to get ready for work. Dad stopped to say goodbye and then I heard him shout. I was in the kitchen, making us breakfast. I ran and found Dad picking her up off the floor. He put her on the bed and held a hand over her head, casting a healing spell. He tried so hard, but nothing worked.”

Sylvia’s husband was a healer and a damned good one.

“What did your dad say he felt with her?” I asked.

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