The max porter box set, p.56
The Max Porter Box Set, page 56
Grandma Mobley groaned as she jutted her chin toward Lena. Two of the coven hastened forward to be at the old woman’s side. Lena, on the other hand, appeared to shrink under that dark gaze.
Max said, “Looks like Grandma Mobley wants you to get to the point.”
“I suppose,” Lena said, “the sooner I get this over with, the sooner you’ll be out of our lives. Pay attention. I will not be repeating the details.”
“You have our full attention.”
Drummond said, “Not mine. I’m keeping my focus on the rest of the coven. It’d be just like witches to get you wrapped up in a tale while the others cast some curse on you. Don’t worry, though, I’ve got you both covered.”
While Max did not think the coven would do such a thing at this time, not when Grandma Mobley made it clear she wanted the truth outed, he still appreciated having Drummond to keep an eye on the bigger picture. It put Max at ease — well, at less tension than when he had entered the house.
Lena sipped her coffee as she gathered her thoughts, and then set it on the table with a soft clink. “Just like Grandma Mobley, your Mother Hope has remained alive a long time. Longer than is natural. The number of witches who have successfully achieved that level of control over magic can be counted on one hand. Their successes were done by different means, but the result is similar.”
Max kept silent, but he wanted to point out that Mother Hope’s condition far exceeded that of Grandma Mobley. Although, he wondered if there might be bricks or other objects out there with Mother Hope’s spirit locked away.
“It should not be surprising, then,” Lena went on, “that these two formidable women would come into contact with each other. The first time occurred in 1907. Mother Hope had been traveling throughout the South, and she had taken up lodging in Old Salem. By this point in time, Grandma Mobley had begun assembling more and more powerful witches to work with her. She had a network of information gatherers —”
Drummond said, “She means spies.”
“— and they told her of Mother Hope. Grandma Mobley had heard stories about the powerful witch Hope and thought this woman — every bit as brave and smart and audacious as herself — would be the perfect addition. In fact, had Mother Hope joined Grandma Mobley, in all likelihood they would have easily destroyed the Hull family and taken control of North Carolina magic. But that is not what happened. Mother Hope had already begun to reject the true spirit within her. It would still be some years before the Magi were officially formed, but she had begun to walk that road.” She took another swig of her special coffee. “When Grandma Mobley invited the young Hope to dinner and presented her ideas, particularly focusing on removing the Hulls from power, Mother Hope declined politely. But by all accounts we have, and by Grandma Mobley’s own recollection, the two witches knew right away that they would forever be enemies. Neither said it directly, but they knew.
“Now, in itself, that is not a surprising matter. Witches often act like owners of competing businesses. Everyone wants to stake out their territory and as long as they don’t feel that another is encroaching on them, all is well. But, of course, somebody is always taking a piece of what you think belongs to you. When you live as long as these two women have, the opportunity to foul each other’s territory, by intent or mistake, is compounded.
“Over the next several decades, they tried to avoid each other. Then over the decades after, they went out of their way to harm each other. Grandma Mobley sought a quiet gain in power through better and better witchcraft in the coven as well as seeking out ways to rid herself of the Hulls. No matter how much sense it made that she and Mother Hope should work together against the Hulls, Mother Hope would not have it. In her eyes, Grandma Mobley was an evil witch and deserved nothing.
“Mother Hope likes to paint herself as a martyr of witches, a holier-than-thou type that would never misuse the power she acquired. But one look at her behavior since the destruction of the Hull family proves how corrupt she is.”
Max said, “I think I’m getting a very clear picture. Grandma Mobley and all of you, her beloved coven, you all have done a remarkable job staying hidden. The Hulls must have known about you, but either they were always distracted by bigger problems or they underestimated how strong you all had become.”
“We may have used some magic to nudge them one way or another at times.”
“I’ll bet. And though you all despise Mother Hope and the Magi, you figured she would only be setting herself up for a fall by taking on Hull. So, you sat back and let her attract all the attention. Except things changed.”
Sandra faced Max as the truth dawned over her. “We came into the picture.”
“That’s right. We moved to Winston-Salem and started causing ripples throughout the entire community. Nobody, not even the Hulls, could have predicted how our actions would alter things. And certainly none of the Mobley Coven could believe that with our interference somehow Mother Hope would be part of taking down the Hulls. But that’s exactly what happened.”
Lena said, “I’m glad you see how complicit you are in creating the current situation.”
“Not that you object.”
“You really do understand now, don’t you?”
Drummond crossed his arms. “Well, I don’t.”
Max could not hide his amazement. So much that had happened in Winston-Salem during the last few years all traced back to their arrival in the city. As his wife had wisely said — like ripples.
“You had been waiting for many years,” Max said. “Grandma Mobley even longer. But despite all that time being patient, you never could really plan ahead because you never knew what or who would destroy the Hulls. You had no idea what shape the world would take afterwards. Mother Hope being at the center of it must have been one of your worst-case scenarios. Especially because she moved fast to consolidate her power. Much faster than you.”
“We had to fix our vulnerability first.”
A short laugh erupted from Max’s chest. “Oh, wow. You really were unprepared. You had to get those bricks before anybody else found out. And then Mother Hope started to move in on you. She had dealt with all the other challenges to her authority, and now it was down to you. Big dog versus big dog.”
Sandra’s mouth dropped open. “You’re saying all of this was just a power grab?”
“It’s more than power,” Lena said, rising in her chair. “It’s controlling the use of magic in the area to make sure that we are all protected. That’s what Mother Hope will never see and what the Hulls abused.”
“Protected? Aren’t you the most powerful coven?”
“To take control of the area means to protect all the witches. To govern them so that we never suffer from an actual witch hunt. These days, the public is generally skeptical that we have any real power, and that’s part of the job — keeping it that way. Because if they ever knew the truth, all the old fears would resurface like a hurricane. Vigilantes would appear overnight. Witches would be dragged from their homes and hung like in Salem or burned at the stake like in Europe. Many innocent women would fall to that fate as well. Homes would be split apart, and children would be ostracized. There would be chaos unleashed, and neither side would benefit. That is why we want to see that Mother Hope and the Magi do not gain full control.”
Max’s brow drew down. “Part of this still doesn’t click together. Not anything about you or the coven. The problem that I’m having is with Mother Hope.”
“Isn’t she always the problem?” Drummond said.
“I’m not sure why she hasn’t destroyed you all yet.”
The entire coven stared at Max.
“If you think about it,” he continued, “she had all the cards going into this. She obviously found out about the bricks, she set up the Goodman hunters to hide her involvement and any possible retaliation, and then she systematically started killing you. Our involvement caused some problems — that’s why Leon Moore attempted to bully me off the case — but I don’t see how we turned the tide. They have a brick, and they’ve been watching you. So why didn’t they kidnap one of you and destroy the brick? Why this drawn out way of handling things? Heck, why didn’t she organize three dozen men and lay siege to this house?”
Nobody spoke as Max’s words settled in the air.
“It’s Leon Moore,” Sandra said, jumping to her feet. “We’ve been thinking about him all wrong.”
“What are you talking about?”
Sandra weaved around Max’s knees, the coffee table, and one of the witches until she stood directly in front of Grandma Mobley. “You and Mother Hope know all about each other. That’s what you’ve had Lena telling us. So that means you know about the curse she put on my husband.”
Max’s hope skyrocketed only to be blown to pieces when Lena said, “We can’t break that curse. Nobody can.”
Over her shoulder, Sandra said, “I will. Someday. For now, I only need the help from your coven, so you can help yourselves.”
“Hon?” Max said, pulling on her sleeve like a child. “What’s going on?”
“It’s Leon. The reason the Magi have handled this so poorly and in such a weird way — with the Goodman hunters and all of that — it’s because of Leon.”
Max’s whole body tingled as he saw what she meant. “They don’t know. Mother Hope and the Magi — they aren’t part of this. Leon is acting on his own.”
She grabbed his hand. “We’re going to get him.” Back to Grandma Mobley. “May I have your help?”
The old woman closed her eyes as she gave a slight nod. Lena said, “You have your answer. We will help you. What can we do?”
“We need to make an amulet. And then I’ll need some help casting a spell.”
“Certainly. How many of our witches do you need for the spell?”
Sandra paused as she thought through her idea. “All of them.”
Chapter 29
DRIVING UP MAIN STREET IN HIGH POINT looked like driving up Main Street in most small towns in the United States. Certainly not much different from Thomasville except no railroad tracks and no giant chair. But one block over, Max came upon the bus terminal — bright curving metal forming a large arching overhang over the roadway led to more modern architecture for the main part of the terminal. Max parked in a nearby lot.
Two buses idled beneath the overhang while passengers mulled about waiting for the departure call. Sunlight bounced through tinted skylights bathing the grounds in an unnatural green. Seemed fitting enough to Max — nothing natural was about to happen.
The night before, after Sandra shared her revelation regarding Leon Moore, the witches of the Mobley Coven got to work on the amulet. Sandra laid out her plan and received a shaky but affirmative nod from Grandma Mobley. Max caught a flicker of pride that crossed Sandra’s face.
Lena, however, did not share the old woman’s confidence. “You’re welcome to use our library, but the kind of spell you want to cast is not something I’ve ever heard about.”
“I have,” Sandra said. “My husband is an expert at research and I’ve learned a lot from him. Over the last few years, I’ve studied and researched witchcraft in depth. I know this is possible. And since the Mobley Coven, the Coven of the Carolinas, is the most powerful coven around, surely your library will have the books we need. After all, it was Grandma Mobley who cast an incredibly rare and difficult spell so long ago that caused most of your current problems. Who else around here would amass books equally rare?”
“There’s always a difference between what you read and what you can actually accomplish.”
“That’s why I have your entire coven to help.”
Over the remainder of the night, Max assisted Sandra and Lena in the library — a section of the basement that had been finished off, lined with bookshelves, and filled with old volumes of ancient lore, spells, and history. Max loved it. He hated the reason behind it and he hated what he knew would be coming once the sun rose, but while the night continued, he immersed in the textures and aromas of the old books — many of them handwritten.
Drummond opted for sentry duty. Claiming he wanted to be ready should Leon Moore decide to strike first, he circled the house hour after hour. Max suspected the old ghost simply didn’t want to spend that much time stuck near a witch coven.
Lena found the first entry they needed and Max located a later version of the spell that included several refinements. Sandra discovered the second entry required. However, none of them could figure out how to synthesize the two together. Then Grandma Mobley sent young Jessica down with a small, leatherbound book.
The way Lena held it — with reverence and shock — quieted the already silent room. “This is Grandma Mobley’s personal journal. I’ve never held it before. It contains all the spells she developed in private. She told me that these were natural conclusions but nothing she dared to share for fear of what witches might do with it.” Lena locked eyes with Sandra. “She wrote it with her own blood.”
Max left the two women to put the spells together. That stepped beyond research and into the practical side of witchcraft. He would be no help there.
When dawn arrived, the time to call Leon had come. He did not have to say much. “I think we need to talk about the Goodman Witch Hunters.”
That got Leon’s attention. When he suggested the bus terminal, Max knew Sandra’s conclusions were on target. The only reason to meet at the High Point bus terminal was to meet without Mother Hope or the Magi knowing about it. After all, if the Magi were involved, Leon would have wanted to meet on home turf — the O’Henry Hotel in Greensboro.
An hour later and Max walked beneath the bus terminal overhang with an amulet under his shirt and bouncing against his chest. Leon Moore sat at a bench amongst the bus travelers. He wore a tan jacket and brown pants and had a folded newspaper under his arm like an old timer people-watching to whittle away the day.
Drummond appeared at Max’s side. “The ladies are getting ready,” he said. “You should see your wife. She’s like a General ordering the ranks in that house. You’d never know Lena or Grandma Mobley ever had any command at all.”
Speaking out of the side of his mouth, Max said, “Keep the updates coming. You’re the key to all of this.” He meant it, too. Since Max and Sandra could both communicate with Drummond, he became the conduit between Max in High Point and Sandra in Winston-Salem. Without the ghost being able to use the Other to travel fast between locations, the plan would never have worked. For that matter, Sandra would never have come up with such a crazy idea. The closer Max walked toward Leon, the crazier the idea felt.
“Don’t worry,” Drummond said. “Everybody’s working hard to see you through this safely.”
Max’s stomach churned. He willed his hands to his sides. He didn’t want to involuntarily reach up and touch the amulet under his shirt. Giving that away would ruin everything.
Leon spotted him, offered a friendly wave, and scooted over to make room on the bench. “Always good to see you.”
“I doubt that,” Max said as he sat.
“Let’s not be antagonistic about this. We’ve been on the same side often enough. This is a confusing, muddled part of the world we inhabit. I mean look at me — a few years ago, I was a broken old man shuffling through a library job they wanted to kick me out of. And I had only a few good years of eyesight left.” Leon tapped Max with the newspaper. “And here’s a secret you didn’t know — I had cancer. Yup. The big C. Pretty much thought I’d be dead by now. Then along comes you and the Hulls and then, of course, Mother Hope and the Magi. Well, that changed everything for me.”
As Leon rambled, Max scanned the area as best as he could from his position. There were about twenty people standing around. A few smoked cigarettes while others read books. A mother crouched before her daughter making some silly joke the girl laughed at. Drummond drifted around the waiting area, making a more thorough check.
“You worked for the Magi long before I showed up,” Max said.
“Not really. It’s true I was associated with them, but it wasn’t until you came along and shook everybody up that the opportunities came to me. It wasn’t until then that Mother Hope saw my value. And of course, she healed me.”
“Made you younger, too.”
“It’s a tradeoff. If I wasn’t going to die, I might not have agreed.”
“Deals with witches can be like that. You’ve got to be careful.”
“With most witches, that’s true. But with Mother Hope — well, she has a vision for our future that is beautiful. A world where witches don’t have to deny who they are, don’t have to fear being abused, don’t have to live in the shadows. That’s all she’s after.”
“The curse she put on me begs to differ. Remember this curse? If I piss her off enough, she can turn it on and I fall into a coma. My ghost gets trapped, tethered to my body, unable to move on but unable to return to the living. Doesn’t seem like a beautiful vision of peace and harmony to me.”
Leon crossed his legs. “I know you don’t see what I see. That’s okay. You’ll just have to trust me on this one. I promise you — one day, once the peace she seeks is created, she’ll free you of that curse.”
Drummond appeared in front of Max. “I’ve looked around here. There’s a ton of suspicious people but we’re at a bus terminal. Suspicious people are not uncommon. Are you good for a few minutes? I want to check with Sandra to see how much longer until the spell is ready.”
Max covered his mouth with his fist and coughed once. They had opted for standard and simple signals — one cough for yes, two for no. Drummond flicked the brim of his hat and disappeared.
“Even if I were to believe you,” Max said to Leon, “there is still a gaping hole in the whole thing.”
Leon laughed. “Just one? Look here, I’m no Spring chicken. I completely understand the difference between an ideal and reality. But it’s important to embrace the ideal so that you can do everything in your power to make it reality. You think socialists and communists and capitalists and any other -ists are happy with the world as it is? They all strive for an ideal that will never come to be. You know why?”
