Page 88 of Which Witch Is Wicked?
"Just move your shit along and leave us alone, old woman." Moira gestured with her hand as if she could shoo her away like a pesky bug.
"I would, but there is a strange...man in my bedroom."
"Oh, sorry," Claire said. "Tommy was staying in there. He'll be moved out soon."
"You have a...manstaying in my bedroom." She said this like a man had never been in her bedroom before. Come to think about it, Tierra had never seen her aunt in the company of men. Only women.
"You gave it up," Moira pointed out. "It's now the newguestroom. Understand.Guest, as in you don't stay long."
Aunt Justine ignored Moira. "I must warn you, Gwen and Lucy know you lied to them yesterday. You shouldn't have done that."
"What are you talking about?" Tierra asked.
"I take it none of you caught the news this morning?" Justine held her nose high in the air. "Apparently the world is not only having a rash of the walking dead, but—aliens—have been sighted over Canadian and US airspace. As there isfootageof three humanoids on broomsticks who look a lot like you...four." She raised a finger to get her point across, but obviously didn't know which of the witches to blame. "Pockets of panic are breaking out all over the Northwest. When the video goes viral, which you know it will, witch hunters, scientists, and doomsayers will be all over this place. You will be found out."
"Guess, that invisibility spell doesn't work on radar," Aerin murmured. "We'll need to tweak it for modern day technology."
"Gwen will be back and I'm sure Lucy will be, too, both of them wanting to know why you lied and how you flew. Lucy's a powerful witch, the likes of which I've never encountered. You need to be careful with her," Justine warned.
"We don't owe Lucy or Gwen or anyone else any explanations," Aerin said. "It's none of their fucking business."
"Don't be naive. The coven is powerful, and there is a hierarchy in place with Lucy in residence." Justine's eyes narrowed as she noticed the crown and wand on the table in front of Tierra. "Oh my goddess!Youhave them? Where did you find them? The coven is talking about nothing else except the Druid magic returning to earth. Otherwise I would have been here much earlier this morning."
Tierra wished she'd hidden the items before Justine had arrived.
Justine's jade eyes nearly sparkled with the need to tell someone of her discovery.
"No, you don't." Tierra jerked to her feet, grasped the wand and laid a hand on the crown. "If you are moving back in here, your loyalties must lie with us. You tell no one.No one, about these," she stressed.
"Tierra, this is agoodthing and will benefit all the members of the coven."
"The only people I trust right now are my sisters. You asked to come home because you were frightened of the rituals the coven was preforming. I believed you. But if you feel the need to share this information, or anything else regarding us with them, leave right now and don't ever return. Those are the rules. This is not negotiable."
Justine's eyes widened and silence settled around the solarium as they waited to hear her decision. "All right. I'll agree to your terms. I won't tell a soul."
Tierra relaxed a few degrees, even though she badly wanted to gather the wand and crown and run for her room. She didn't trust Justine, and wouldn't until she'd proven herself. Going after Moira had been an act that Tierra couldn't get past, but Justine was family so she would give her the benefit of the doubt or enough rope to hang herself with. Either way, the truth would be known.
"I'll just go and help that...man inmybedroom move along," Justine said, and left the room.
"Well, I reckon, you done told her what for." Moira reached her hand into the bag of pork rinds.
Tierra couldn't take it anymore. "Give me those." She snatched the bag away from Moira and helped herself to a piece of fried pork skin. Euphoria exploded in her mouth and she shut her eyes and chewed. She was so hungry and this tasted so good. Even knowing what she ate, she wanted more.
A hush fell over the room. Tierra opened her eyes and found her sisters watching her, their mouths opened in shock.
"I don't want to hear it," Tierra said and stuffed her mouth with another handful.
"Not a peep," Moira said and shared a wide-eyed look with Claire and Aerin.
"I think we should make some coffee," Aerin said. "We need to sober up and sleep will have to wait."
"Yeah, we can sleep when we're dead." They all stared at Claire. "Hey, if we don't figure out what those things are—" she indicated the wand and crown "—why Tierra's craving pork, and what's hidden in the house, we'll probably be dead sooner rather than later."
"Don't forget the Horsemen and zombies," Moira said.
"And our mother," Tierra said. "She showed me where these were hidden. She called them my inheritance."
"Our mother?" Moira asked. "What did she say? Did she ask about the rest of us? Do we get an inheritance, too?"
