Page 2 of A Time of Witches

Relief.

After four years of cancer eating away at her mother, after her meanness curdled into cruelty, after Lilith’s self-confidence had been whittled to nothing, Mama had finally died.

That’s when the strange happenings began.

Frustration crowded Lilith’s thoughts and the clouds swelled overhead, blotting out the sun.

As soon as the life sighed out of Mama, something snapped inside Lilith, a cracking dam that sent a current of energy roaring through her veins, amplifying everything in nature. Suddenly animals followed her in adoration, plants stretched toward her as she passed, and the earth’s pulse thrummed in an ever-present lyrical tune just for her.

Lilith pulled in another breath, forcing her clenched muscles to loosen. The clouds overhead broke apart.

The rest of the world had become amplified as well. The sun imbued her with vigor, and the moon gave her strength. The breeze whispered in her ear, guiding her in a way she could understand, but couldn’t explain.

That had been three months ago.

The same time the nightmares had started.

A shiver squeezed down Lilith’s spine despite the muggy heat. Her gaze wandered to the honeysuckle, the hardy wooden vines coiled tightly around the fence sending tendrils threading through the garden, lush with healthy green leaves and bristling with brilliant red flowers. It hadn’t always looked that way.

Her heartbeat spiked.

A thrill. A jab of curiosity.

A needling of fear.

All this weirdness creeped her out. Nature stalked her, injecting itself into her every thought, every breath.

Why couldn’t she just have her quiet life back and be boringly normal again?

The rattling of her phone on the painted boards next to her drew her attention.

A text showed on the screen from Essie: Amara’s already up. Did I ever sleep in before motherhood?

Lilith snorted and tapped back a reply. You’ve always been too much of a go-getter to sleep in.

Essie: What a waste. I want those mornings back.

A smile pulled at Lilith’s lips. Her best friend could never not be a go-getter. She’d even tried to get the elementary school to have a student counsel when they were in second grade, launching a one-person campaign that had been vastly ignored by the administration and their fellow students alike.

Lilith’s fingers flew over her phone screen: Coming to story hour?

Essie: We wouldn’t miss it!

Lilith’s job at Shelver’s Books was a great opportunity to see Essie and Amara regularly despite their packed schedule. Lilith set her phone aside and the smile melted from her face.

A soft breeze swept behind her. A distinct nudge toward the honeysuckle.

With a sigh, she pushed to standing and strode over dew-damp grass that prickled against her feet. Memories of the dream flooded back, a reminder of how the splintered wood stabbed against her soles.

The heady fragrance of the honeysuckle mingled with the redolent notes of smoke. The vines quivered as she approached.

As though excited she was near.

But that was ridiculous, right?

Just like the plant itself, being so unnaturally wild and healthy.

The honeysuckle had been a nub of a thing for almost two decades, since Mama hacked it down to the roots when Lilith was a girl. When Lilith had claimed the plant had stretched itself toward her.