Page 13 of Witch
“I don’t feel any different,” laughed Ruby, sitting on her new porch. “I feel lighter, like I’ve lost a lot of weight.”
“You have,” chuckled Matthew.
“Well, I ain’t gonna complain about that,” she smirked. “These houses are fine, Matthew. Truly fine homes for a bunch of ghosts. What if that man finds this island?”
“Well, if he does, we’ll just send a few ghosts his way. We’ve got quite a few of us now. Archie, Charity, Little Claudette, Franklin, Genevieve, Grip, Jonathon, Martha, Nathan, Eagle Feather, Tony, and Yori. That’s quite a line-up of spiritual power. Count in Teddy, Sven, and the three of us, and we’ll be just fine.”
“Can he harm us?” asked Sven. “Is there a way that a witch-hunter can harm a ghost?”
Matthew thought about it for a moment, tilting his head to the side as if listening to a higher power.
“No. There is nothing that man can do to harm us. We will make sure that he does not harm the others.”
“Matthew? Are we able to move from the property?” asked Ruby. “I mean, if worse comes to worse, we could always haunt his ass.”
Matthew laughed, Teddy nodding his head.
“Count me in!” said Teddy. “I feel amazing.”
“We can leave the property,” said Matthew, “but we must be careful about who we show ourselves to. For now, anyway, it might create more issues than we want.”
“What is this man’s problem?” asked Sven. “Witch-hunters have been in existence for centuries, but witchcraft was proven to be nothing more than the use of medicinal herbs and praying to trees and forests.”
“Careful, my big handsome Viking,” smirked Ruby. Sven laughed, shaking his head.
“I know, I know who I’m talking to, but no one of sound mind believes this any longer.”
“That’s true, for the most part,” said Irene. “Although there are witches around the world who use their skills for all sorts of good purposes. You gotta remember, when his ancestor was chasin’ witches, poor women were tortured because someone pointed a finger and said, ‘she made me get a rash,’ or ‘she ruined my crops,’ or something equally crazy. Folks back then were scared, and I hate to say it, ignorant.
“It was easier to believe a woman, probably one who was an outcast to begin with, had done something to cause their terrible luck. Men even accused women of being the reason they could no longer get erections. For many, it gave ‘em a reason to leave their wives or have them killed. If they had a lover, they could prove that the lover gave them erections, but their wives did not.”
“It’s all so disturbing,” said Sven. He looked off at the horizon, the bayou glowing with moonlight.
“She wasn’t,” said Matthew. Sven smiled at his friend, nodding. “Your wife wasn’t a witch. She was just sick, Sven. You did nothing to make her mental illness worse. She’s at peace now. Moved on completely.”
“Thank you, Matthew,” he said, gripping Ruby’s hand. She kissed his cheek.
“I love that you worried about her,” said Ruby. “I can guarantee my husband never worried for me after he left me alone with all those mouths to feed. You’re a good man, Sven. It’s why I fell in love with you.”
“Why am I not tired?” asked Teddy. “I feel like I could pull an all-nighter at the pub.”
“You can choose to be tired or rested,” said Matthew. “If you think you are tired, you can find rest. If you’re not, you can find things to be busy with. The animals always enjoy the late-night company.”
“I sure hope Gaspar visits them often,” said Irene, frowning, looking off in the distance at the island where the animals were kept.
“I don’t think you have to worry about that,” smiled Matthew. “He’s discovered his ability to hear them and speak to them. He won’t forget that.”
“Well, tomorrow will be our first full day as ghosts,” smirked Sven. “I believe I’ll get a good night’s rest.”
“Same,” said Ruby. She turned to the others as they stood. “I can think of no finer people to spend eternity with.” Irene laughed, nodding at her friend.
“Amen, Ruby. Amen.”
CHAPTER TEN
Marcus stared at the ceiling of his jail cell, his drunken cellmate snoring so loudly it was rattling the metal of the bars. He’d phoned his attorney, who gave some excuse for not being able to get him out of jail until tomorrow.
“It’s their laws,” said the man. “New Orleans still has some Napoleonic laws in place. You’ve pissed off the wrong people, Marcus.”
