VenCo(69)

Lucky sent off a quick text to Freya, then peeled off her black jeans and tossed them on the easy chair. She pulled a scratchy afghan off the back of the couch and unfolded it over her legs, up to her waist. “Good night.”

“What, that’s it? You’re going to sleep?” Stella came back into the living room with an armful of magazines she’d brought from home. “I thought we could make pancakes or play a game.”

“You go ahead. I’m too tired.” Lucky turned to face the back of the couch. It was musty, but she needed to close herself off for a bit, to see nothing, to feel nothing. The key to the front door, which she’d locked from the inside, was safely in her shirt pocket. Stella wasn’t doing any wandering tonight, so she was all clear to fall back asleep, and after a few minutes, she did just that.



The rest of the coven was hunkered down in Salem, sticking close together and taking turns wandering the many halls and hidden rooms for any sign of a breakin. So far, it had been quiet.

Lettie’s spells seemed to be holding, even getting stronger. By ten o’clock the next night, she was making entire wings of the house hard to see, even for the women.

“The snake woman sent them to the Ozarks,” Freya reported, checking her text messages. “They’re supposed to go see a Yard witch.”

“Yarb, not yard,” Wendy corrected.

Freya stared at the text. “Must have been an autocorrect. But what in the hell is a Yarb? Sounds made-up.”

“A Yarb witch is no joke, that’s what she is.” Meena carried a tray of snacks into the entertainment room, where they sat on the couches and floor in front of a small fire with a muted movie on the screen.

“They’re Ozarks people, mountain people, with generations of medicine and sight. Anytime magic is practiced on the regular, it gets stronger, like a muscle or a language.”

“Are those the people that use the Doctrine of Signatures and shit like that?” Freya asked.

“What’s that?” Lettie was on a break from casting, wolfing down stuffed olives and cubes of ripe cheese.

“It’s when you think God made the earth like an apothecary, and every plant and herb exists just for you, like a giant green medicine cabinet,” Freya filled her in. “Each one has a kind of signature, so that you know what it’s for. So like, a walnut looks like the human brain so it must cure headaches. And ginseng looks like a dick, so it must be good for dick stuff.”

Wendy laughed. “That is probably the most succinct and amusing explanation of the doctrine I’ve heard. You’re right, that egotistic belief of humans as the beginning and end of the story is a problem. It also led to a lot of deaths over the years, because it’s too narrow. You have to think differently to see the real signature—humans as a part, not as central.”

“Yarb witches are more complex than that. They use methods handed down through generations of trial and error. They also recognize the spirit in things, not just the science, which isn’t really all that different,” Meena explained. “If Ricky sent them to the Ozarks, maybe the spoon is there too.”

“Maybe,” Freya said, looking at her phone. “But Lucky thinks it’s another pit stop. She wants to know if we made any headway on our end. I’ll let her know we were a bit distracted being hunted . . .”

Meena held up her hand. “No, no, there’s no need to freak her out. If the Benandanti are in Massachusetts, they’re not on Lucky’s trail, so let’s just leave her in peace so she can focus on her own mission.”

“What if there’s more than one?” Freya insisted.

“There isn’t,” Meena said quickly.

“But what if we each have a tail?”

“I said, there isn’t.” Meena was irritated. She was still waiting for the Oracle to call her back and was more scared than she preferred to show. Wendy gave her a quick look, trying to catch her eye.

Seeing the others waiting and not wanting to get into the now of it all, Meena gave them some more history. “In the old days, the Benandanti would string us up themselves. Of course, the official story is that they brought those under suspicion to the ‘proper authorities’ for interrogation, but they were always overzealous. And bloodthirsty. More than half of the women they detained never met an Inquisitor.”

“So as long as we’re under attack, Lucky and Stella are safe?” Freya clarified.

“Yes. So we just keep doing what we’re doing and hope they find the spoon, and soon.”

They finished their snacks in silence, and Lettie went back to the front door to throw her spells without anyone reminding her it was time to get back to work.



Cleaning up in the kitchen, Meena jumped when Wendy slipped up behind her at the sink.

“Jesus, you scared me.” She blew out her caught breath and finished rinsing off the plates.

“What’s up with you?” Wendy asked, moving to lean against the counter, picking up a tea towel to dry the wet dishes.

“Uh, there’s a lot going on. You’re going to have to be more specific.” Meena was being evasive.

“Meena Amari Good, don’t take that tone with me,” Wendy shot back.

After a moment, Meena muttered an apology. “Sorry, babe.”

“Now please tell me why in the hell we are not telling Lucky about the hunter. Did the Oracle call back?”