He took my hand in a warm grip. They both relaxed at this—festivalgoers were apparently less threatening than free-range witches.
After they lifted Rafe onto the stretcher, a couple of the men in the group stepped forward to help carry it. We filed out of the clearing after them, making a procession of dark-robed figures through the woods.
3
The next day, the crisp, clear November air held just a threat of the winter to come. It brought back my best memories of growing up in Western Michigan, spending time in the woods, and it was a welcomed feeling after experiencing last night’s tragedy there. I closed my eyes to let the sweet, sharp smell of the fallen leaves block out all other sensations. The midnight ceremony was meant to kick off the weekend Fall Fun Fest. So far, the great weather and promise of good food had overshadowed the pall of a death in the woods. I was helping Diana at her vendor’s stall, which was doing a brisk business selling everything from herbs to jewelry. When I’d driven her home the night before, I’d offered to cover for her that morning, but she’d insisted she would feel better if she stayed busy. As the organizer of the Fall Fun Fest, she said she would go crazy sitting at home wondering if there was anything she should be doing. I’d learned over the years that arguing with Diana when her mind was set led nowhere.
Diana owned Moonward Magick, the busiest Wiccan supply store in the area. She had also worked from mid-August to set up the Fall Fun Fest. In past years it had been held in Grand Rapids but the organizer was getting older and had health issues. Diana had been talked into running it this year and decided to move it to Greer’s Woods outside of Crystal Haven. I wondered if this would be her first and last time organizing it. Based on the muttering and swearing that had occurred since early September, I was glad she didn’t believe in curses.
Everyone was talking about the sudden death at the ceremony. The stories I overheard in the crowd varied widely, from seizure, to heart attack, to spirit possession. The one thing they all agreed on was that Rafe and Diana had always been close, and that she had tried to save him. I saw that she was wearing her mother’s rose quartz pendant. She only wore it when she was stressed or upset, but her warm and caring manner with her customers gave no indication of her feelings.
She refused all questions about the death, and would not engage in any conversation that wasn’t directly related to her business or the festival. She was a master at putting off an emotional outburst until the appropriate time, unlike me. I was a master at putting off emotional outbursts forever. I could tell it was depleting her energy.
“What’s good around this place?” I stiffened as a familiar voice floated through the crowd.
Before I could duck behind the display board, Aunt Vi and my mom approached the table.
“Clyde, there you are!” my mom said in a tone that suggested she’d trekked the Himalayas for a week to find me.
The sisters were almost the same height, both with silver hair. Vi had hers in its familiar braid, and she wore a multicolored skirt with two cardigans and a shawl. Mom had her hair in a bun, as usual, and wore a light blue tracksuit and sneakers. This was her venturing-into-the-woods outfit.
“I knew it! I knew all that Halloween chanting and fire gazing would lead to trouble.” Vi fixed me with her fierce black eyes. I refrained from reminding her that she’d insisted on being there.
Vi, a pet psychic, and Mom, a tarot reader, had been unpleasantly surprised to learn a Wiccan ceremony would be part of this year’s Fall Fun Fest offerings. Mom held a long-standing wariness of spells and potions. Vi approached the Wiccans as an entertaining subculture, but one not to be entirely trusted.
I sliced across my neck with my hand and jerked my head in Diana’s direction.
Violet had taken a breath to begin her inquisition when she noticed my not-so-subtle maneuvers. The sisters glanced in Diana’s direction and fell silent. Violet did something gymnastic with her eyebrows but I gave up trying to figure it out. My aunt and mother truly did communicate with glances and nods, a skill I had not developed, at least not with them.
I walked away from the booth and they followed. Once out of earshot, we began rapid-fire whispering, sounding like angry geese.
“What are you two doing here?”
“We came to support Diana in her . . . endeavors.” My mother clutched her amethyst amulet for protection. “Vi told me about what happened last night.”
“It’s all anyone in town will talk about,” Vi said. “Witches in the woods, rituals, death. Hey, I heard there was good food here. Where’s the giant turkey legs?” Vi stood on her tiptoes.
“I think you have this confused with a Renaissance fair. There aren’t any turkey legs here.”
“Oh. No swords or jousting?”
I shook my head.
Violet dropped her heels and the corners of her mouth at the same time.