The Witching - Death & the Maiden
The following was originally published on amazon's newest platform Kindle Vella in 2021. It is complete on that platform for you to read if you live in the USA. I am currently formatting the book for hardcover, paperback, and eBook and it will be available in all markets when complete. It has been taking me entirely too long, and I hope to take the time to dedicate toward publishing it in more formats in 2024.
For now, enjoy the first episode of The Witching as my thank you for subscribing to my site!
Copyright stuff:
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, contact jensequel.com
Holly stared at her watch one more time before looking toward the door.
“You know wishing it isn’t going to make it happen.” Aurora chastised lightly. Holly sighed and looked at her younger sister before reaching over and grasping her hand. She gave it a small squeeze before replying.
“I will never give up on her.”
“Even though she gave up on us when she met Victor?”
“That’s a bit harsh don’t you think?” Holly tried to keep her voice down and looked around the room to see if they were overheard. The viewing room was filled with people of all ages who were grouped together in small clumps, each engaged in their own quiet conversations.
“Well, she absolutely gave up on mom.” Aurora whispered, staring at the casket at the far end of the room.
Holly opened her mouth to reply yet closed it when she felt her emotions rise. Suppressing her initial retort, she tried a different tactic. “Astrid and mom have barely spoken in years. Long before Victor.”
Aurora bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling. She looked across the room at the twins who were holding hands as they greeted new mourners in what had felt like a seemingly never-ending line all day.
“What do you think will happen to them?”
“I’m sure they have other family members. And if not, then we will take care of them.” One of the twins looked across the room at them and Holly smiled at Kira.
“In our small apartment?” Aurora looked at Kira and Kayne. “It would be easier in our family home.” She saw the pain in her sister’s eyes at the mention of Windhaven Manor. It was a sore spot for all of them and had driven a rift between the sisters when Astrid had asked them to move after her engagement to Victor. Aurora regretted bringing it up and quickly added, “but yeah, we can make it work.”
Holly smiled and squeezed Aurora’s hand once more.
“Come on, we should probably say our farewells. Visiting hours are almost over and we need to get something to eat. Tomorrow will be a long day.”
Holly stood and walked slowly to the casket to say her farewells. She was minutely aware of Aurora following behind her. Her attention was on her mother who looked as though she were sleeping inside of the coffin. As part of her mind rationalized the science behind all of it, she still couldn’t shake the feeling that her mother was still there with them, watching over her family as she had tried and failed to do so often during her lifetime.
When their father had died, Rita had lost all sense of herself. Their grandmother had taken over their care while Rita tried to regain control over her life. She had taken some time to travel yet each time she returned to the manor; her depression grew. Being in the house and being reminded of her husband by seeing her daughters led to a mental breakdown. She had spent several years in an institute. It was there that she had fallen in love with Jacob Hartman. It was the typical tale of doctor/patient love affair, but Rita had been genuinely happy. Something she had not been in years.
When Rita and Jacob married, it created a rift between their mother and Grandmother. Too many years had passed when Rita had not been around, and Sophia had taken full custody of the three girls by then. Sophia had not been convinced that Rita had changed enough to maintain full custody. So it was that Astrid, Holly, and Aurora were estranged from their mother for many years.
Rita had tried maintaining communication with her children after her new marriage. As they grew older, their lives grew more complicated, especially with the introduction of the twins. When Rita’s health began to decline, she focused her energy on her youngest children, who were still in high school. This choice had never sat well with Astrid.
Kira and Kayne’s father had been killed in an accident while on a business trip overseas and had left them fatherless. And now, cancer had stripped them of their mother as well. Holly vowed to herself to do whatever she could to help her stepbrother and sister. Unbeknownst to Aurora, she had already approached legal counsel on gaining custody of them so that they didn’t have to go into foster care. Currently, there were calls out to extended family members on their father’s side while her own financial assets were under review. She had been saving her money to purchase a nursery and start her own business but, if need be, she would use the money to buy a home for the four of them instead.
“I’ll take care of them, mum,” she whispered softly. “I’ll bring us all together somehow. I swear it.”
Astrid waited in the parking lot watching the mourners come and go. Twice she had started her car and placed it in drive meaning to leave, each time putting it back in park and turning the engine off. She chastised herself for her irrational fear. It was her mother’s funeral. She had every right to be there. Yet each time she thought this, she remembered the last argument she had had with Holly. And she remembered Victor advising her that it was easier to just sever ties for now and promised reconciliation later, after the wedding.
Victor, she thought. She looked guiltily at her phone and the number of missed calls and messages. She had come today against his advisement. It was easier to forget her sisters when she was with him. He made her feel stronger, surer of herself. Without his advisement, her thoughts were fuzzy, and she lacked direction. Yet today…today she was drawn here, to this parking lot, to her mother who lie inside as though waiting for her.
She put her hand on the key once more yet stopped when she saw Holly and Aurora leave the funeral home. She was tempted to go to them yet remained frozen in the front seat, watching through the rear-view mirror until they were out of sight.
Go, her mind whispered. Go now before you lose your nerve.
And she was up and out of the car before she could change her mind, her feet taking her up the stairs, through the doorway, down the hall, and through the rooms until finally she stopped beside her mother’s casket. It was only here that her legs failed her, and her knees buckled, and she was kneeling on the prayer stand, her head resting on folded hands as she silently asked for her mother’s forgiveness. She wasn’t certain how long she knelt there. It may have been minutes or hours. When she finally felt strong enough, she lifted her head and wiped her tear-stained cheeks.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
When she finally stood and turned from the casket, she realized she wasn’t alone. Kira & Kayne stood in the doorway like silent sentinels. She blushed, opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again when words failed her. Kira spun on her heel and fled down the hall. Astrid straightened her skirt and strode boldly toward the door, trying to avert Kayne’s gaze yet simultaneously drawn to his hazel stare. His eyes had the same intensity as their mother.
When she had reached his side, she meant to offer her condolences to the stepbrother she barely knew yet was stopped when he spoke first.
“She wanted me to give this to you.” He extended his hand and Astrid realized he was holding an envelope, slightly crumpled, within his grip. “She said that you would know what to do when the time was right.”
Astrid accepted the envelope and started to reply when Kayne turned and fled down the hall to join his sister.
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