Page 9 of Raven in Midwinter

“I think it might be Giles Corey.”

I got a scowl then. “Who the hell is Giles Corey?”

“Technically, my ancestor. He lived in Victorian England in the late eighteen hundreds.”

“Not here in Osprey?”

“No.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. He was the brother of Edmund Corey, who was the guardian of Corvus at that time.”

“How funny.”

“What do you mean?”

“I thought that in every generation of Coreys there was only one child born.”

“You did?”

He nodded.

“Well, that’s not true at all. Lots of families had lots of children. In Giles’s case, he moved to England and Edmund stayed here.”

“But you’re an only child. You have no siblings or cousins.”

“I could have cousins. My grandmother came from a large family, so if her sisters or brothers had kids, then I have distant cousins somewhere.”

“But not with Corey blood in them.”

“Oh, I see what you’re saying. No. I’m the singular Corey.”

“Okay, so back to Giles. He’s in England, his brother, Edmund, is here, and then what?”

“Well, Edmund, as I understand from reading the journals, was a Green Witch. He could make anything grow on Corvus, and did, but his craft was limited to planting, sowing, all of that. Giles, on the other hand, was a powerful witch from a very young age, and his parents hoped he would be the one to stay on Corvus.”

“But he bailed and went to England, and his brother was the guardian.”

“Yes.”

“Did Edmund do all right?”

“He wasn’t powerful enough to awaken more power in Corvus, and some of the land out toward the western woods grew haunted for a time, but my grandfather’s father was also a mage, and he restored it when he was guardian.”

“How do woods get haunted?”

“If they’re left alone, not ever walked over or through, if no one talks to the trees, touches them, or thanks the spirits who reside there, eventually, feeling abandoned, they build resentment, and dark patches are created.”

“So that’s what happened?”

“Yeah.”

“And how did your great-grandfather fix it?”

“He went there daily, and he took my great-grandmother with him, and between his magic, and the love and kindness she showed with her offerings, eventually, the light was returned there, and no part of Corvus has been haunted since.”

“Good. Okay, now back to Giles. What’d he do?”