Bracken’s hand went to his heart.“I apologize.I should have stopped you sooner.I was interested in the answer, but I should have considered the group overhearing it.Please excuse me.”
Catherine stood again.“See?There’s something wrong with him.”
I stood and went to Bracken, taking one of his hands in mine.When he turned his head to look at me, I said, “None of that’s true, you know.You’re perfect and one of the kindest men I’ve ever met.”Damn my hormones; my eyes were filling with tears.“Don’t listen to her.She doesn’t know you.”
He patted my hand.“Now, now.Don’t cry.It’s nothing I haven’t heard before.I can take it.”
“You shouldn’t have to,” I whispered.“It’s too much and has been going on for far too long.”
“You can’t believe this,” Catherine said.“She’s as evil as he is.”
The old woman cut her hand through the air.“Enough.I challenged him and he met the challenge, to my utter humiliation.”
The man at the end of the panel stood.“In the case of Bracken Corey engaging in black magic, how does the Panel rule?”
“Not guilty,” the woman closest to us said.
“Not guilty,” Lydia echoed.
“Not guilty,” the old woman added.
Catherine glared at us and said, “Guilty.”
Howe said, “And I vote not guilty.Four to one.Mr.Corey, you’ve been found not guilty of the charge of engaging in black magic.Thank you for coming today to defend yourself.”
Bracken and I returned to our seats.
“What about her?”Catherine demanded.“We’ve been hearing she’s powerless and deformed since she was a baby.She’s probably a sorcerer!”
She was losing the people sitting in the room.Most were looking away from her or shaking their heads.
“What about what we saw outside?”Catherine screeched.“She summoned orcas to her.That’s not normal.”
Lydia stood again.“You cannot throw around accusations like this with no proof.”
Catherine opened her mouth, but Mom stood, commanding the attention of the room.“If I might be allowed to speak on this?”
Howe looked at the Panel of Five and all but Catherine nodded.
“Thank you,” Mom said.“Some of you were probably here when my mother, Mary Corey, served on the Panel.Rumors started here in the Wicches’ Council about my sister Bridget and her husband Michael.For those of you who’ve been around long enough to remember those rumors, none of them were true.Some of you probably know Bridget’s daughter, Sam Quinn.”
There were a lot of shared looks and whispers at that.
“The three of them were a happy and loving little family until my sister, Abigail, who was, unbeknownst to us, a sorcerer, targeted them.If you heard rumors about Bridget, they came from Abigail, who was jealous of her much stronger sister.Michael was killed.He didn’t leave my sister.She took her little girl and ran, trying to keep them safe from Abigail.Those of you who know Sam probably know she ended up alone in San Francisco when she was seventeen.That was when Abigail had finally tracked them down and killed her own sister.”
More heated whispers.
My phone buzzed in my pocket.I checked.It was a message from Dave.Hoping, I tapped the screen.
“We didn’t learn this until quite recently,” Mom continued.“We had no idea Abigail was a sorcerer.We mourned the loss of Bridget and Samantha, hoping they’d someday return to us.What my mother knew twenty-five years ago was that ugly rumors spread throughout this group, and my sister and niece disappeared.When rumors started about myself and my daughter, my mother left this group, worried whatever had happened to Bridget and Sam would be repeated with Arwyn and me.”
An old woman, probably older than Gran, said, “But Mary was so strong.She could have kept you safe.”
Mom shook her head.“She couldn’t keep Bridget safe.”She glanced over at me and said, “My daughter is unique and my mother couldn’t take any chances.”She looked at me again and seemed to be waiting for approval.At my smile, she said, “My daughter is a Cassandra wicche.”
There were more than whispers at that news.All eyes in the room were on me, assessing me, wondering at the truth of that statement.
“My mother couldn’t take the chance.As you all know, Cassandras are very rare and never live past childhood.They are reviled and hunted by those who want their secrets to stay hidden.We protected Arwyn from the wicching world, keeping her hidden even from members of our own family.”
