Confessions of a Black Witch

Fourteen

"I can't be on the run from the police!" I panicked. Kelsie took a sharp left turn, throwing me into Velvet who was tossed across the back seat. I tried sitting straight in my seat, holding onto the driver's seat headrest but Kelsie weaved through traffic erratically.

"Too late for that now!" Kelsie shouted as she took another sharp turn, this time throwing me into my door. She seemed to be enjoying herself. I, on the other hand, was one more turn closer to throwing up in the backseat.

"Slow down before you catch some unwanted attention!" Melonie shouted.

"Oh, so the entire New York police team and a hunter out for our heads isn't good enough?" Kelsie argued.

"Hunter? You mean Chad?" I asked.

"Will you two stop!" Velvet quickly quieted them. She turned to me, trying to stay in her seat much like I was. "The hunter, what did he say? Did you tell him anything?"

"No! I didn't say anything! He wanted to know where you three were!"

"Are you sure you didn't rat on us?" Melonie snapped back at me.

"That hunter isn't here because of Nevaeh, and we all know it! We just need to get as far away from here as possible until we can plan our next move!" Velvet said. Melonie looked annoyed but didn't protest anymore.

"Our next move? Where are we going? And what is going on?" The panic was obvious in my voice.

"Nevaeh, listen. We will explain everything once we get to where we are going. It's just a little place we have outside of the city. It's safe." Velvet tried to reassure me but I was having a hard time believing her. Was anywhere safe from a witch hunter? Was that really our biggest problem?

I didn't realize I had fallen asleep until Velvet was tapping me on the shoulder. "Hey," she whispered. I picked my head off the door and looked around. "You can rest inside. Come on." I pushed open the door and stepped outside the vehicle. We were surrounded by thick wood. The road seemed to have disappeared long ago when I was passed out and a narrow dirt path sat behind us. The cabin before me was small but seemed well put together. If it had a bed and food then I wasn't about to complain.

Inside, I was greeted by floral curtains and oak everything. Oak table and chairs, oak couch covered in floral print. For a second I thought we had stumbled into my grandmother's house. "There's a shower up stairs. First room on the right is the master bedroom. You're welcomed to sleep in there. It has it's own master bathroom so you'll have some privacy." Velvet gave a weak smile.

"Thanks." Kelsie and Melonie walked in behind us with what little belongings they brought.

"I'll go get some wood out back," Melonie said before going out the back door.

"Guess I'll make some food. I'm starving," Kelsie said. My stomach growled at me as she went to the little kitchen. I decided a shower would be good before bed and went upstairs to find my room. Of course when I walked in I was greeted by a floral duvet and matching curtains. I sighed and closed myself in the unfamiliar room. The shower called to me and I stripped out of my clothes before reaching the bathroom. I avoided my reflection in the mirror, refusing to look at the pitiful girl covered in dirt and dried blood. All night I tried keeping myself from looking down at my hands and I couldn't stop the tears as I reached to turn the water on. As the water rushed over me, I let out all the anger I had been holding onto since finding Gregory's body. My body slid down to the bottom of the tub but I couldn't feel it's cool surface. I was numb to everything. Once the adrenaline really wore off, it was like it left nothing behind but anger. I wanted to hit something. I wanted to beat the living s**t out of someone. I wanted to find the person responsible and kill them. Maybe even end my own pain. All I could do is cry out, my cries echoing off the walls as the walls closed in, suffocating me.

Velvet must have put out some clothes while I was still in the shower because there was a nice pair of pajamas neatly folded on the bed when I exited the bathroom. I grabbed the fabric between my fingers and stare at it. Silk. A texture that would spike excitement before. Silk was Greg's favorite. Our bed had red silk sheets and most of my lingerie as made of silk. Now, as I rubbed the soft fabric between my fingers, I felt nothing. I pull the shirt over my head and put on the bottoms and joined the girls back downstairs. "There she is," Velvet greeted me with a smile. She seemed to be in a better mood than before. Suddenly I was bombed by a cloud of m*******a smoke. "Hungry?"

"Starving." My stomach growled at me again.

"Kelsie makes a delicious chicken noodle with homemade egg noodles. Her mom is a chief."

"Was," Kelsie pipped in. "Now she spends her days chasing around young, hot and tan California men." She rolled hers eyes. The three of them were sitting on the floor around a small round table. The table was covered with a dark purple clothe that held the evil eye. On top the table were some different colored candles, mostly black, a small jar filled with some thick red liquid, a bowl of herbs and a small poppet doll. I wanted to ask but was a bit afraid to.

"Sit," Velvet patted the seat next to her. I was hesitant, but the night couldn't get any worse and my curiosity was peaked. I walked over and sat crossed legged between her and Kelsie. "Do you want to know what we are doing?" She leaned in close to me.

"I'm not sure..." I looked between the three of them.

"Of course you do. Because you are still skeptical of us. As if saving your ass from being tossed in prison for the rest of your life didn't convince you enough," Melonie said coldly. I shot her a dirty look.

"Well," Velvet continued. "We want a guilty person to confess her sins and tell the world the truth." A wicked smiled crossed her lips. The three of them stared at me silently with similar smiles.

"Me? But I haven't done anything!" My heart picked up speed.

Velvet busted out in laughter. "No, not you."

"Why? Got something to confess?" Melonie asked, amused at my reaction. Velvet flipped the doll over and pinned to it's back was the picture of Trisha I carried around in my purse. I stared down at the doll.

"You know she did it, Nevaeh. She was going to frame you. We protect our own. She will confess to what she did and your name will be cleared. You'll be able to go home and mourn in peace." Velvet's eyes dropped as she moved the poppet aside. She really seemed upset.

"But, what about you guys? You'll still be on the run from that hunter!"

"Do you know who that hunter is, Nevaeh? Did he tell you about himself?" Velvet sat back with a joint between her fingers.

"A little. I spotted his tattoo right away. He said he comes from a religious family. He didn't seem too happy that I was asking him so many questions."

"His family dates back to the very first Salem witch Trials in North America. His ancestors murdered innocent people. Their family values hasn't changed in centuries and they very much believe in their old methods of burning and drowning witches. They believe they can cleanse the world of the devils little helpers. We all deserve to die because we refuse to buy into their religious bullshit that God wants us to bow down, talk and dress a certain way. Woman belong in the kitchen making food or cleaning and popping out the man's offspring like f*****g rabbits. Those are our duties and if we do not obey then we are condemned to hell and they send us there themselves."

"If you think our friendly hunter is bad, you should meet his father," Kelsie said, taking a long hit from the joint.

"Or big brother," Melonie added. She bit her bottom lip and stared off into space.

"Melonie has a crush on the enemy." Kelsie rolled her eyes. "Because falling for another hunter is such a bright f*****g idea." Melonie's head shot up and I could have swore her eyes flashed red.

"f**k you, Kelsie!" She threw something at her and climbed to her feet to storm from the room.

"I was kidding!" Kelsie shouted after her. She shook her head and sighed. "Guess I'll see you guys in the morning." And she followed Melonie out of the room. I turned back to Velvet, who looked like a disappointed mother.

"Melonie fell in love with a hunter once upon a time. Jack was one of the hunters that was after us before our friend you met at the station came along. I had never seen her so happy. They really were in love."

"What happened?" I asked, my attention completely on her now.

"He became the enemy of his own people. Eventually they caught up. Melonie was captured and Jack saved her. They tortured and killed him in her place. Since then she hasn't been the same. She's cut off from the world. She doesn't pick up on people's energies the same anymore. It's mostly bad energies she feels. It's rare to see her outside the coven house." Velvet trailed off in thought. It made sense. Melonie never seemed happy. She had that presence about her that made you want to avoid her. She was beautiful but her physical presence was no match for the vibrations she let off.

"Is that why she doesn't like me?" Everything out of Melonie's mouth seemed threatening when she spoke to me. I wasn't sure if I had done something to offend her. It seemed to be like this from the very beginning.

"Melonie has trust issues with strangers. There was another girl...Before you. She betrayed us in the worst way. She had been working with the hunters to get information about us. She went back to them with secrets that can't get out." Velvet leaned in close to me again. "There are things in this world that aren't meant for some people. People, especially hunters, could use these things against us. They could wipe the entire world out if they really wanted to. We protect these secrets with our lives. Betraying us is betraying our ancestors who put their whole beings in us to keep these things safe. We don't just let someone in we didn't think we could trust whole heartedly."

My mind was racing. What could be so powerful that, in the wrong hands, a person could wipe out an entire world? Why did they choose me to be apart of something like this? I wasn't someone many put their trust in. Before I became a witch, I was pretty much a nobody. Why me? And what happened to the last girl that joined the coven that betrayed them so badly?

I was too afraid to ask...