A Girl Between (34 page)

“She’s still out, Mom.  Let’s go.”

“I don’t want to leave her.”

“Mom, you need to eat.”

“I’m just so glad that Tess didn’t die.  There were some who
froze to death in that field.”

A gentle hand smoothed back my hair.

Quiet.  They’re gone.  Opened my eyes to be stung by
brightness.  Closed them.

A light touch on my hand.  A flood of warmth, sunshine,
sweet smell of new woods.

I opened my eyes.  It was a little blurry.  I now see Miss
Cassie with her light gold haze watching over me.

“Hello, Tessie.”

“Hi”, I whispered.  “Was Auntie, Annie and Eve here?”

“Yes, and Rainy also, and your grandma.  They went to eat.”

“They OK?”

“They’re fine.  Just worried.”

“I know I’m in the hospital,” I sighed.

“Yes, dear, but you’ll be all right.”  She patted my arm and
I felt a momentary tingle of relief.

“What happened, Miss Cassie?  Last thing I remember was
being under the Spirit Tree and feeling an explosion.”

“You were electrocuted, along with everyone else under the
Spirit Tree.  Good witches can handle electrical power, but that explosion was
quite severe.  A normal being would have died, but you were merely knocked
unconscious.”

“How about Will and everyone else that was with me?”

“They were also stunned by the power of the blast, but
otherwise they are fine.”

“Are you sure that Will is OK?”

Miss Cassie smiled at me, “Yes, in fact, he’s down the
hall.  I suspect you will be able to see him later.”

“What happened to all those diaboles?  I thought they would
kill us all.”

“Most of the diaboles who were at the Spirit Tree are dead. 
They were pierced through the heart by the flying branches from the Tree of the
Living Spirits.”

“What? How did that happen?”

“You see, the tree is alive with the spirits of the
previously murdered witches.  The tremendous power of the lightning strike
combined with the spirits’ fury caused the living branches to seek out the
hearts of their enemies.  They became heat seeking missiles you might say, for
the heart is the warmest spot on the human body.”

“But, all of the diaboles did not die?  Why is that?”  I was
secretly thinking of Ian.

“Only the diaboles who were standing in the open field were
killed.  The tree could not find the hearts of those who were lying on the
ground, probably because of the coldness of the snow.  It has also become
apparent that some diaboles were suspicious and became afraid, so at the last
minute they managed to escape into the surrounding woods.

“How do you know that?”

Miss Cassie answered, “There were several trees on the
periphery of the field that had burned to the ground.  That tells us that the
heat seeking spears landed in the trees while seeking the hearts of the fleeing
diaboles.  The trees burned due to the heat of the high voltage electricity
that followed.”

“Do you know what happened to Tonya and her pals?”

She paused, as if gathering her thoughts.  “Yes, Tonya is
among the living.  She and all her friends, including Ian, are still with us.” 
I noticed that Miss Cassie made a point to look at me with raised eyebrows
while mentioning Ian’s name.  “It is because they were all lying down in the
snow during the deadly volley from the tree.  By the way, do you have any idea
why you and Tonya can communicate through mindspeak?”

“How did you know about that?”

“I just know, dear.  I think it’s important that you
understand.  You are inexorably tied to Tonya because you are responsible for
her mother’s death.”

“What are you talking about?”  I gasped.

“During the first apocalypse in the 1300s, her mother was
the unpleasant wife of the lord that you lived under.  You gave her a very
nasty disease, lockjaw I believe, through the laying of the hands.  Do you
remember that from your regression?”

“Yes, I do,” I answered thoughtfully.  “For some reason,
that life was very memorable. Are you saying that Tonya was there and that she
was one of her children? I distinctly remember them.  The lord and his wife
used to bring his children to whippings and burnings.  They were horrible
because they used to smile and laugh while commoners and the good ones
suffered.”

“I will tell you, Tess, that the cause of a mother’s death
is never forgotten.  Ever since that time, Tonya has been following you over
the centuries, from one lifetime to another, looking for payback.  I would say
that all in all, her actions have turned out badly for both of you.” 

That was all shocking news for me.  I knew Tonya hated me,
but I always thought it was because she was a diabole.  It turned out to be
more personal than that. 

“The telepathic link between you and Tonya occurs through
the common interaction between two people who share many successive lifetimes. 
That means that you may also experience telepathy with others.”

“There’s one more thing don’t I understand, Miss Cassie. Why
was it so important for the luminars to go to the Tree of the Living Spirits? 
After all, so many of them died and it was all for naught.  My friend, Mercy
died.  I saw Abe’s frozen body under ice in a pond.  I know others must have
died because they didn’t make it to the Tree.  It was all because I told them
to try and get there.”  I choked.

“Tessie, dear, don’t you know what you did?”

“No,” I exclaimed.

“You and the other luminars were the cause of that
tremendous lightning strike. Remember, you told them to increase the
electricity under the tree with the rubbing of hands.  Instinctively, you KNEW
that was necessary, and so that’s what brought the strike.  Fortunately, because
you led them to the Tree, there were enough luminars to create the power that
was absolutely essential.”

“How about all of those dead diabole bodies around the
tree?  Doesn’t that look really strange?  What do people think?”

“When the diaboles were speared with the tree, they were
burned with successive jolts of high voltage electricity.  Their bodies simply
burned to ash, which blew away in the wind.”

“Mr. Kenney said that there may have been thousands or even
tens of thousands of diaboles gathered in the area in order to initiate all the
horrible weather.  Are they still around?”

“The diaboles who were concentrated in and around Woodley,
particularly those who were involved in the battle at the Tree of the Living
Spirits, were the leaders of the evil ones.  They have been the most
destructive and the most hated of the diaboles.   When most of the leaders
perished at the tree, the rest of the diaboles simply took off.  You see, the
diabole followers felt no loyalty to the leaders.  Diaboles don’t instill
loyalty in anyone because they are totally selfish beings.  As soon as the
followers saw that things weren’t going well, they returned to their own
domains.

Tess asked, “If they didn’t feel loyalty to the diabole
leaders, why did they come in the first place?”

“Because the followers were commanded to come.  They also
knew that if the diabole leaders had won a great victory and they hadn’t been
there for support, they would eventually be held accountable.  With many of the
leaders gone, it doesn’t matter, at least for now.”

A sense of relief came over me.  “So is this battle over? 
With the worst of the diaboles gone, does that mean that the tide has turned? 
Will the good witches be able to practice their craft?  Will we be free from
their constant torment?”

Miss Cassie answered gently, “This has been a big victory,
and you will be safe, at least for now.  But you are mistaken when you say that
the diaboles are gone, for they are not gone.  The most evil have merely died
and passed on, but they will come back again, as angry and spiteful as ever. 
This fight has been going on for hundreds, if not thousands of years.  History
tends to repeat itself, especially with those who are vengeful.”

“But, what can we do to stop the cycle? Why don’t they just
want to live in peace?” I cried.

Miss Cassie looked at me with her knowing eyes.  “How do we
stop them except to defend ourselves?  They only want to exert power.  They
care nothing about living in peace.”

I stared back at Miss Cassie. “But, you are talking about a
lifetime.  It will take at least one lifetime, perhaps more, for them to come
back.”

“A lifetime is nothing in the whole scheme of things, my
dear.”

“It is enough for me,” I answered quietly.

I turned and looked outside at the lines of water running
down the window. Sunshine, the most glorious gift of all, was causing the ice
and the snow to die, drip by drip.  For now, however, I will not worry about
another lifetime.  I will only think about what I have before me today.

The present day events in the story of Tess and
A Girl
Between
take place in the state of Connecticut, one of 6 states in the New
England region of the United States.

The town of Woodley and other local references are
fictional.  Descriptions of landmarks may or may not be based on actual
locations, although if they are, those names have been altered to protect their
confidentiality so that their enjoyment will forever be the personal and
private experience of those local residents.

Many of the events described in Tess’ regressions, and their
locations, are based on real events that have taken place in past times.  The
persecution of witches throughout the ages is true and an unfortunate casualty
of history.  Many women and men who were non-conformists, independent, and
often true healers, were victims of unjust accusations and terror.  Many of
those bringing the accusations had done so in order to profit from the property
of the accused.

Mr. Kenney’s explanation of the sun’s solar activity, the
earth’s magnetic fields, and the shield these provide in protecting the earth
from cosmic radiation, is all correct.  The additional explanation of cosmic
rays acting as a catalyst in cloud formation is also based on emerging theory
that is being developed in cosmic science.

The resulting weather phenomenon described in the story is
simply an artistic license for dramatization.  However, it is noteworthy that
very similar weather circumstances were in fact experienced on October 29,
2011, known as the The Great Halloween Blizzard, a storm of record consequence
in southern New England and New York State.  By the time the storm had ended,
over 3 million people were left without power, many for 10 days or even more,
as a result of 1 foot to 20 inches of heavy snowfall at a time when most trees
still had retained their leaves, resulting in massive tree damage and downed
power lines.  Such an event had never come close to occurring so early in the
New England autumn season.  Those who blame the storm on supernatural and
paranormal causes are not limited to just a few.

The author hopes the
reader enjoyed Tess’s story.  A written review on the Amazon eBook website
would be greatly appreciated!

I am
truly grateful to everyone who read various drafts as I was writing, as well as
those who encouraged me with positive praise and constructive criticism.  Their
words enabled me to continue plugging away for the last several months.  For
that reason I thank the following people:  Alicia and Stephanie Baver, Hannah
McCluskey, Linda Hammontree, Virginia Cizman, Janet Weismantel, and Laura
Weismantel.  In addition, I would also like to express my appreciation to Laura,
Alica and Stephanie for all of the editorial work they did.  It was especially
helpful to me since I am notoriously comma challenged.  

I would
like to thank my daughter, Laura Weismantel, for helping to design the book
cover.

I would
like to thank my son, Doug Weismantel, for using his expertise to help market
the book.

I would
like to thank my Siamese cats, Tootsie and Buster, for giving me feline
inspiration.

And lastly,
I would like to offer my most profound thanks to my husband, Steve, for all of
the hours of work he put in, reading, correcting, editing, offering ideas,
reviewing, and more reviewing, and finally, reformatting the final version. 
He’s a very smart man, even if he is an engineer.