Page 20 of The Women of Wild Hill
“I saw her do it,” Brigid told her sister. “She was all by herself.”
The news left Phoebe stunned. “Youwhat?”
“I had a vision,” Brigid admitted. “I saw her open a bottle and drink the liquid inside. The bottle rolled into the ocean. That’s why no one found it.”
“No,” Phoebe insisted. “Either you missed something or you’re lying. We both know Mom wouldn’t be dead if you had listened to me and killed Calum when you had the chance.”
Brigid froze. She couldn’t even feel herself breathing. She hadn’t thought her sister capable of such a low blow. “How can you say that?”
“You wouldn’t listen because you’ve always been jealous. You hate that the Old One made you the evil sister.”
Evilwasn’t a word they’d been allowed to use growing up. It was a slap in the face. Her sister was quickly approaching the point of no return. It was up to Brigid to pull her back.
“I couldn’t kill Calum,” she said softly. “You know that’s not how my gift works. I only kill those the Old One has chosen to die.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about the vision?” The volume of Phoebe’s voice was building. “I could have done something.”
“No.” Brigid shook her head. “You couldn’t have.”
“You don’t know that!” Phoebe shouted.
And she was right, Brigid realized. She didn’t know that. If she hadn’t gone back to sleep that morning. If she and her sister had hopped on a train. Or called the police. Maybe Phoebe could have stopped their mother’s suicide. The thought ripped her open.
“I’m sorry. I was sure it was just a dream.” Brigid pleaded for her sister’s understanding. “Mom was one of The Three. I never thought something could happen to her.”
“Except she wasn’t one of The Three,” Phoebe spat.
Brigid fell silent until the question on her mind forced its way through her lips. “What do you mean?”
“When I was eleven, Bessie revealed that my daughter will be The Third. I told Mom. She knew the truth.”
The two of them had kept a secret from her. “And you guys didn’t tell me?”
“Of course not! You were always so needy. We didn’t want to give you another thing to complain about. But now you know. I’ll have a daughter someday. And you won’t. The Duncan line passes through me.”
Brigid couldn’t have cared less. What hurt was knowing her sister was trying to injure her. Her anger flared up to fight the cold creep of sorrow. “So you went ahead and left Mom alone on Wild Hill even though you knew she wasn’t safe?”
“It’s not my fault!” Phoebe shouted, though she was no longer so sure. “Why did the Old One let it happen? Why didn’t Bessie protect her!”
THOSE WERE QUESTIONS BRIGID COULDN’Tbegin to answer. All she knew for sure was that she’d just been betrayed by everyone she had ever trusted. The Old One, Bessie, her mother and sister. There was only one person left who hadn’t forsaken her.
“I’m going to California with my dad,” she told Phoebe. “You can have Wild Hill. I’m never coming back here again.”
“I don’t want it, either!” Phoebe shouted as her sister walked away.
FOR THREE DECADES, WILD HILLremained in their possession, but its doors were locked and its gates closed. Over all those years, Wild Hill had only a single visitor.
The Trespasser
Five years after the girls left, a young man slipped over the wall in the dead of night. He snuck into the caretaker’s house and walked through all the rooms. He didn’t take anything. He didn’t rifle through drawers. I doubt he knew what he was after. Then he found it.
He stood on Flora’s grave with his hands shoved into his pockets and studied the name etched into the stone. I hadn’t spoken to a man in almost four hundred years. As a rule, I avoided them. But one should allow for exceptions to every rule. So I made the decision to greet him.
The Three
The Power of Three
It’s always three, isn’t it? Three Furies, three Fates, three Graces. Three Gray Sisters. Three faces of the goddess. Three Gorgons. Three golden apples. Three Little Pigs.
