The Witches of Merribay (The Seaforth Chronicles) (24 page)

“Maybe they will let a whale eat her
;” Drumm said as we all turned to go.

I hugged
Great-Grandfather Edmund before he mounted the four-wheeler.

“I had no idea
—” I started to say, wiping dust from my eyes.

“Of course you didn't
. If it wasn't for you sending a message to me in the sea and telling me, your great-grandfather, the severity of the problem, I wouldn't have come. I did it for you. But you must know why this all began. Take a minute to hear me through, and then we shall get out of here, and see what we can do for Izaill.” He grinned for a moment and then cleared his throat.

I could tell he had a touch of the madness that the rest of his siblings shared
. One would never guess, though; I had always known my great-grandpa to be gentle, kind, and caring. I realized his brother was corrupt and insane, and in a way, it was funny how Izadora had turned Izaill into a rabbit.  But the rabbit stew part seemed just too disgusting.

“Ivy
, there is something you should know,” he said. “Your father and grandfather…well…they never went on a hunting trip for animals. They went in search of your aunt Cora's fiancé. He had been taken about twelve years ago. He had been taken into fairyland.”

I didn't understand what he was telling me
. This all happened because of Aunt Cora?

“Ivy, I must do something right now
, but I will explain this later. I promise.”

***

A cauldron boiled water on the stove in the kitchen of the tree house. The rooms were lit by a hundred candles, illuminating the area. Izadora hummed a tune as she sprinkled salt in the water. “Now a little thyme, a few sprigs of rosemary. Yes, that will go good with rabbit.” Turning, she wiped her hands on her apron and pulled down a frying pan from a hook on the wall.

Izaill the rabbit had a rope tied around his neck
, and he was tied to a chair leg. He squirmed and wriggled his nose, his ears laid back.

“I wond
er, is he conscious of what's going on?” I hoped the answer was no. Izaill might be the biggest jerk in the world, but this punishment was gross—and final.

“Yes
. He knows exactly what's going on,” She uttered with a giggle.

We watched Izadora as she scurried through the kitchen
, occasionally grabbing something out of a bottle that hung on the tree limbs of her living room. She continued to gleefully hum a melody, and occasionally she swayed as though attempting to dance.

“This must be a joyous occasion for you,
” I began, “but it's so final. You don't really want to stoop to his level, do you, Izadora?” I stared at a red candle as it dripped wax down upon more tiers of wax.

“
Hmmm? Did you say something, Ivy?” She continued to hum.

Sometime later
, we heard the four-wheeler rumbling nearby. The engine cut, and I assumed it was Great-Grandfather parking out by the circle path.

Drumm ran to the balcony
. Seconds later, he was talking to someone. “No, she's got him up here.”

I walked out on to the balcony to see Great
-Grandpa Edmund next to the four-wheeler. Behind him stood a familiar yet scary person.

I gripped the railing
. “Aggie?”

“In the flesh
,” she yelled up, not looking at me. The only light to see in the darkness of the night was the brilliance from the candles inside, radiating outside. I could tell she wore the white pristine dress.

“Girl
, get me Izadora. Tell her to bring Izaill to the porch you stand upon.”

This was going to be interesting, I was certain
. Walking back in toward the kitchen, I noticed the rabbit was no longer tied to the chair. I picked up speed just in time to see Izadora dangling him over the pot.

“Izadora
, stop,” I said.

“I know
. I know she's here. And I knew she'd come. But I wanted Izaill to see just how close he came to becoming stew.” She headed for the balcony. “I wanted to make him sweat.” She cackled. “And it worked. Grab the rolling pin; it's on the table.”

Relieved, I picked up the rolling pin and tagged along out to the balcony.

“Mother,” Izadora spoke.

“Izzy
. Nice to see you again,” Aggie said.

Izadora cringed when Aggie called her
“Izzy.” “Here he is. He's still whole.”

“Hold him out over the railing
,” Aggie commanded.

Izadora reluctantly held him out, lowering him down as far as possible by the scruff of his neck.

“Toss me the rolling pin, dear girl.”

It felt warm in my hand
. I held it out, giving it a bit of a toss.

Her hand swept up, and somehow, the rolling pin slowed in midair and glided into her right hand
. “Ahhh. Good to have you back, old friend,” she said to the rolling pin.

Casting it upward, she pointed it at Izaill
. With the shake of the wrist, a flash was sent forth. Whooshing out, it encircled Izaill. When Izadora released him, he floated in the air, doing loop-dee-loops. Then she snapped the rolling pin around fast, producing a whipping sound. Izaill, in human form, was standing on the ground.

“Do you have anything to say for yourself?
” Aggie asked.

“Mother
, she was going to put me into a stew,” he whined.

“You, I hear, cast the mother-maiden-crone spell upon Izzy
. That is the worst spell in existence. Well, no it's not…But just the same, that was a horrible thing to do. And she didn't just have to lie down and die every evening—you had to add your own twist to the end.” She scowled at him and then softened her expression. “I must admit it was quite a clever twist, but nonetheless brutal. More importantly, you suckered me into meeting you at the graveyard—you said you had a special surprise—and then cast me into the ground! Mind you, it was clever, but it became tedious lying there awake all of those years.”

She cleared her throat
. “I will not be around any longer to settle your disputes. You must learn to get along. You are how old? And you still fight like children. There will come a day that you, Monty, and your sisters will have to come together and fight as one. You will have a common enemy; I have seen it.” She cast a glance at Izadora, who wore no expression at all. “This will be my last sentencing, I hope.” She pointed the rolling pin at the ground before Izaill's feet. “I hereby sentence you to ten years inside a tree. You will be awake, but you will not be able to move…or talk.”

“But
, Mother—” Izaill yelled.

Before another word could escape his mouth, a full
-grown tree sprouted up from the ground where he stood, encasing him as it expanded up. Limbs shot out, sweeping by at a brisk speed. The leaves sprouted, forming to full growth.

I couldn't take my eyes from the swiftly growing tree as it swallowed Izaill like a tasty snack.

He disappeared with a scream. The ground shook and trembled as the tree reached its full height. Drumm and I jumped back as a final limb swept by us on the balcony.

When it was done, dead silence filled the night
. Not even a single breeze blew by.

“There
. That should hold him for a while.” She sighed, as though it were a job w
ell done.

Drumm and I looked at each other, horrified
. My eyes were the size of full-grown sunflower heads. His mouth hung open, and he couldn't stop blinking his eyes.

“Mother
, why did you have to put him here…by my house?” Izadora grumbled.

“I can free him if you like
. He can go back to living in a cave.” She shrugged her shoulders as if it was of no consequence to her.

“No
, it's fine. Let him sit there a while.”

“And now, I am off
to spend a few days in the sun on a beach in Thailand. I am a tad pale, aren't I? And then on to Scotland to visit an old friend of mine. I may or may not be back.” She scrunched her mouth and tossed her head from side to side. “Eh, I probably won't be back.” She put the rolling pin in her pocket; somehow it vanished to the point where I couldn't even see a bump.

Turning to GG Edmund, she said, “Monty,” putting her hands on either side of his face
. “My sweet Monty. You were always such a good boy. Would you like to go to Thailand with me?”

He grinned
. “No, Ma, I think I need to stay here and help Ivy.” He looked up my way.

She followed his gaze, as if noticing it was me for the first time
. “Land sakes, I almost forgot. You have one wish coming your way, young girl.”

I forced a smile and looked at Drumm
. He had closed his mouth, and the constant blinking had stopped. He scratched his chin. “Good luck.”

“Come down here
, child, where I can take a good look at you,” Aggie said.

I grabbed Drumm's arm
. “You are coming with me. Don't make me go down there alone.”

“What
? Your great-grandfather is down there. You'll be fine,” he said.

“Come on.
” I pulled him alongside me.

We made our way past Izadora, who looked bored
. “Be careful,” she called after us. “Mother is a bipolar witch. She can be sweet and kind one second and cut your head off the next.”

I gulped
. I think Drumm did too.

“What's that
, Izzy?” Aggie yelled up.

“Nothing
, Mother.”

Down the stairs we went, taking extra time to pat the dogs before we continued on toward Aggie
. I think we were both a little freaked out by the old woman from the grave. She gave me the heebie-jeebies. And yet this woman was my great-great-grandmother. A chill ran down the length of my spine.

I stood
before her, and she hit just about five feet tall, if she was lucky. I would have to guess that she might be four foot ten. Her sweet, pleasant face beamed at us.

“Come now
, a hug for old Aggie.”

I brought Drumm with me
; he tried to sliver away, but I held on steadfastly.

She held both arms out, encasing us into a group hug
. I had to lean way down, and Drumm was so tall that he was almost on his knees by the time he was done.

She patted our backs and kissed each of our cheeks
. She didn't smell too bad for being in the ground for God knows how long; she smelled of lingering sandalwood.

“Thank you for your help in alerting Monty of my whereabouts
. He had no idea what Izaill had done to me. I think he thought I was a goner.” She laughed with mirth. “I knew who you were when I saw you for the first time. You resemble Monty when he was a boy. And although I could never see him while I was in the ground”—she winked with her white eye, reminding me that she had the gift of sight—“I could see you sometimes. I had no doubt you'd get him to come to me.”

“But I had no idea he was Montague
,” I said.

“All the same
, he only came because of you,” Aggie said.

I looked up to Izadora and asked, “Did you know that he was my great-grandfather?”

“I knew who you were, yes, and that he was your great-grandfather. But Ian kept his whereabouts a secret from me. All this time, he was staying at the Seaforth residence. The last time I'd seen him, he had stopped by to say he was going away for good, to Arizona. I only grew suspicious when you mentioned that you had a great-grandfather living with you. I could only hope that that was him, and that he would come forth. Otherwise I may have remained as an ice figure for quite some time, thanks to Magella,” Izadora said. She had a scowl on her face, as though she wished we'd all depart so she could be by herself.

Aggie stamped her foot to get my attention
. “Let's get back to the wish.” When she had everyone's attention, she continued. “I cannot bring anyone back from the grave, I cannot take anyone’s life, and I surely cannot grant you more than one wish, so don't ask. Let's see, I cannot—”

“I know what I want
. My sister, Zinnia. She resides with the Fae now. She thinks Magella will be after her,” I rambled.

“Magella
? She's my least favorite child. Anyway, Izadora can handle Magella for you, but I cannot bring your sister back. She has gone to the Fae willingly. I cannot break her will.” She looked at me expectantly. “So, your wish will be…?”

“You cannot get her back
? Are you sure?”

“I cannot
. But you can. Search for her over the white bridge in the forest, beyond the stream. If she wishes to speak with you, they will let her come. After all, without you they would never have been able to hold their ceremony. You see, the Fae can take whomever they wish. But in order to tie themselves to a single person, to turn them into a Fae being, they must have a witness from the family. You were the witness.”