The Possession of Anna Drake

2 - Harsh Accusations

It took two weeks for authorities to find Nidia’s body. One of Farmer McCreery’s sons called the police when he smelled something while walking through the field one day.

I continued to latch my mouth shut. Anna had sworn me to secrecy, and something told me if I mentioned to anyone I had something to do with Nidia’s death, Anna would put me in the shallow grave right next to Nidia’s.

We had police officers on every corner watching children and asking questions. They were trying to get any information on the murder. That is what hit me the hardest. It wasn’t being mentioned as an accident. It was classified as cold-blooded murder. I wasn’t cold-blooded. I wanted to tell my mother it was Anna who had told me to dump the body in the cornfield.

“Are you going to eat?” my father asked as I picked at my plate.

“I’m not hungry,” I muttered.

“You haven’t been hungry for a few weeks now. Is everything going okay?” He reached over and placed his hand over mine.

I loved my father far more than I did my mother. He was caring, emotionally there, and always knew when something was wrong. He was the only one of the two who asked how my day had been.

“If you did something you knew was wrong, but someone told you to keep quiet, what would you do?” I asked softly.

My dad sat there for a moment, thinking about my question. Then he raised his head, tapped his fingers on the table, and winked.

“Did you and Anna do something mischievous?” he asked with a giggle.

“Dad, I’m serious. I did something, and I don’t want to say anything because I don’t know what would happen if I do.” I looked away from him.

“This sounds serious,” he said as his expression changed from one of humor to parental concern. “You want to talk about it?”

For a moment, I sat there wondering if it was okay to tell him, but images of Anna kept flashing through my head. If I told my father and he told the police, I would wind up in a whole lot of trouble. She told me not to say anything, and I feared her like nothing else. I didn’t want to lose my one friend because I let my morals get the best of me.

“No. It’s nothing,” I replied as I forced a smile.

“You know you can talk to me about anything,” he said as he winked with a half-smile.

I had a feeling he knew I was lying. I could tell by the way he was looking at me. He knew I wanted to tell him something super important but backed off due to some emotional concern.

“It’s nothing, daddy.” I stood up and grabbed my plate from the table.

I heard a heavy sigh once my back was turned, and I knew he was disappointed about not getting any information out of me. I dumped my food in the trash, deposited my plate in the sink, and made my way up the stairs to my bedroom.

I was in my room for no longer than a half-hour before my father knocked on my door.

“Lizbeth, I need you to come downstairs. There is a man here to speak with you.” I could tell he was doing his best to remain calm as the cold fear ran through me.

I slowly followed my father down the stairs to the living room, where the town Sheriff was sitting on the couch having a cup of tea with my mother. They had a lovely chat, it appeared, but the look on her face when her eyes met mine was far from a doting mother.

“Lizbeth, this is Sheriff Myers. He wants to talk to you about Nidia Thompson,” my mother said. Her eyes glazed over, and her lips pressed together tightly.

I wanted to run. A large lump formed in my throat, my hands started to sweat, and the room began to spin. If nobody thought I was guilty at first, they sure did then. I had committed a horrible crime and chose to keep it to myself all because my friend told me to.

“Hello,” I choked as soon as he looked at me.

He was a nice-looking man, with chestnut brown hair and blue eyes.

“Hello, Lizbeth,” he replied calmly. “I wanted to see if you knew anything about the whereabouts of Nidia Thompson?”

I looked at my father then my mother. It was time I came clean.

“She was walking her dog in the square a few days ago,” I mentioned as calmly as I could muster. I wanted to let it all out, but at the same time, I knew little by little was probably in my best interest.

“Did you see where she went after that?” he pressed.

I wondered if he knew I was the murderer or if he was still trying to figure out who was possibly a suspect.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

I wanted him to tell me I was suspected of committing the crime, but he wouldn’t do it. It was like he was expecting me to confess.

“Anna Drake mentioned there was an accident,” he responded.

There it was.

“An accident,” I repeated as I clenched my hands together.

She had told me to say nothing, just for her to turn around and tell the Sheriff what she had seen.

“Yes, she said Nidia was hit by lightning?” the Sheriff raised his eyebrows.

“Lightning?” I asked softly.

I wouldn’t have gone that far to say she was hit by lightning; I would have said some electrical current had fallen on her or something. Evergreen Falls may be mostly Coven families, but we still weren’t out in the open when it came to the human townsfolk.

“Here’s the thing, Lizbeth. If something did happen and you and Anna decided not to tell anyone, you are both in a lot of trouble. You would be in a lot less if you would tell me what happened,” he instructed calmly.

I looked at my mother. She was narrowing her eyes at my father and shaking her head.

“Can you give us a few minutes alone with Lizbeth?” my father asked politely.

“Of course,” the Sheriff replied with a nod. “I need to make a call anyway.”

The Sherriff left the room. My mother grabbed my right arm and yanked me down on the couch.

“You better have a good reason for this,” she growled.

“You need to calm down,” my father warned her as he pointed in the direction of the Sherriff. “Is this what you wanted to talk about earlier?”

I nodded my head and looked at the ground.

“The electricity came from my fingers,” I replied softly, my lip quivering in fear.

“Wait, what?” My mother’s face changed from anger to near joy in seconds.

“It was an accident,” I promised as a single tear fell down my cheek. “Anna was making me so angry, and then Nidia’s dog barked, and it just happened so quickly. Then Anna told me we had to hide the body so I wouldn’t go to jail.”

“Are you kidding me?” my mother growled.

“I told her we needed to let you know what happened, but she refused. She said nobody would care that I killed a human with my gift.” The tears were falling freely then, and my voice cracked. It was all coming out, every last bit of what had happened.

“Donald,” my mother said. “Tell the Sherriff what happened.”

The instruction was more of a demand. She told my father to speak with the Sheriff because he could persuade the man to give me some leniency. There is something about living in a magical family that makes situations like this easier to live through.

“Of course, dear,” my father replied with a smile.

“What are we looking at here?” my mother asked as the lawyer looked down at the manilla folder on the table.

The Sherriff had arrested both Anna and me for the murder of Nidia Thompson. Our depiction of the truth was deemed fictional and crafted to hide that we have mutilated a child just like ourselves. Anna and I were kept apart not allowed to speak until after they had spoken with both of us separately. Little did they know about Anna’s telepathic ability and that she could somehow sway me still to follow her required lead in the whole mess.

“Both girls could serve up to eight years in juvenile custody. The prosecution is citing the incident as first-degree murder, but the girl's age makes that a hard pill to swallow.” The lawyer removed his glasses from his face and placed them on the table in front of him. “Mrs. Dupree, I do not know what we can do to soften the blow. I know Lizbeth would do nothing intentional to hurt another child.”

“But we cannot use premature ascension as grounds for the accident?” My mother chewed nervously on her bottom lip.

“Since Nidia was a human child, you are going to be stuck with a human judge. There is nothing I can do to take this in front of the witch’s council. The girls will have to face their day in court unless you find another way to lessen the blow.” He glanced at me and shook his head. “It’s a shame, in my opinion. With Lizbeth showing promise at such an early age, this could cause far more problems with your family legacy.”

“I should have seen the signs long before they blew up like this,” my mother whispered.

I think the two of them had forgotten I was sitting in the room with them as they spoke. My mother wanted to use my magical aptitude as a reason for the accident, but the lawyer said it would be a dumb move. Neither of them cared that Nidia was dead. All they wanted to do was keep the Dupree name in good standing.

What was the difference if I was in front of a witch’s council instead of a human court? Would there be leniency, or would I be chastised because I chose not to let anyone know I was ascending? Would it even matter? I didn’t know what was happening to me, all I knew was I didn’t feel well, and Anna was pushing me. If Nidia hadn’t been walking through the square, Anna would have been hit by the lightning. All I wanted was for things to go back to the way they were, with Nidia still alive and me not sitting in a stinky jail cell with officers shaking their heads every time they walked by.

I did not want to live my life as a murderer. It didn’t matter if it was accidental; I had committed a crime, and I should pay for what I had done in my ten-year-old opinion. If that meant spending life in prison, then so be it.

Stop thinking of stupid things like that. We are going to be okay.

Anna had been listening, of course, which made matters even worse. I wasn’t allowed to have a single thought to myself while we were in the town jail. She found me at all moments of the day. Telling me, we did nothing wrong. We hid a body we should have reported! To me, that was doing something wrong. However, it seemed nobody cared I had morals in this whole incident.

“What is going to happen?” I squeaked.

I hated how I had one conversation going on in front of me while another was inside my head. Maybe the other side was right, and I was living in a fantasy world. Who was going to believe a little girl could call upon the powers of nature and electricity to kill a young girl accidentally? They thought we had electrocuted her as if she had committed a violent crime. How sad is that?

“Well, Lizbeth,” my lawyer began as he glanced at my mother. “We are going to find a way to keep you out of prison.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong; it was Anna who told me what to do,” I cried.

Shut up!

“That’s the other thing we need to discuss. The matters of Anna Drake.” My mother’s tone changed to one of disgust at the mention of Anna’s name.

“The Drake family has already reached out to discuss the process for which things will be with Anna. Since Lizbeth is being charged as the main suspect, Anna is only being charged as an accomplice. This will come with a lesser sentence if the girls are convicted of the crime.” He went right back to ignoring me. I should have just stayed in my cell that day and let my mother handle all the talking.

Just sit there silently and let the adults discuss how they are going to get us out of this.

I squeezed my eyes closed. I had not answered her since we had been arrested. There was no reason to. She knew she had me. I was going to do anything Anna said because that was how our relationship worked. I was the daughter of the High Priestess, and she told me what to do because I lacked the backbone to tell her to leave me alone.

I don’t know what it was about Anna. We were drawn together since we could walk. My mother was not close with the Drake family, but they were treated just as any other member was because they were part of the Coven. If they came for council, their child would have the opportunity to play with me while they spoke.

Anna was always the more dominant of the two of us. She made that clear when we were two, and she pushed me down the stairs. From then on, I did whatever Anna wanted without asking so much as a question or going against her suggestions.

“What if I offer to donate a generous sum of money to the courthouse for repairs? Do you think it will be seen as a bribe?” my mother’s voice drowned out the woe-is-me feeling inside my head.

“Most likely, but if we use a little magic behind it, we just might be able to get the girls free by the time they are eighteen.” My lawyer replied.

Would a human lawyer be more on my side? Or was it essential for a warlock with a law degree to defend me? Either way, it was evident my thoughts were not important. I was ten, and I had made a mistake.

“I could go before the council to discuss a temporary hold on the girl’s gifts.” My mother suggested

“That might get us closer to a resolution.” My lawyer replied with a smile. “An ankle monitor that does two things; monitors the child and keeps her magic in place. The girls would not be able to ascend like the others, but Lizbeth has already ascended would only put her two years behind the others. I assume you have no concerns about Anna Drake.”

“None, the girls can continue their education in my home under the tutelage of an elder. They will not have any interaction with girls their age. They will report to their courses together and then be monitored at home afterward,” my mother declared.

“Then it is decided. I will write up the paperwork, speak with the council, do a little voodoo, and then we can get the girls home in time for supper.” My lawyer got up from the table, shook my mother’s hand, and left the room.

“See, Lizbeth, everything is going to work out just fine.” She grabbed my face roughly and pressed my cheeks together.

I nodded my head and waited for her to leave. I knew the moment she raised her hand, the guard outside would come in and take me back to my cell, where I would spend all my time until the lawyer was able to do as he said he would.

As promised, I was home by supper.

I have no idea what deals with the devil were made, but they latched a mechanical device to my ankle, and every inch of the electrical current shut off, as well as the disconnection from Anna’s thoughts. I felt more at ease but still confused as to the reasons for the changes.

“You will only see Anna during school hours. I would never have made the offer, but the Drake family is part of the Coven, and I do not feel right about having to deal with a witch’s court case of segregation between the two of you, especially since you were the one who committed the crime.” My mother’s eyes flared and growled. “That child is no good.”

“But as you said, I’m the one who committed the crime,” I corrected her in a weak tone. Without any magic, I was just an ordinary girl living with a mother who could control any and all weather patterns and earthly magic. I had nothing to fight back with.

“No, you accidentally hurt a young girl. It was she who convinced you to cover it up instead of coming to me. We have ways of fixing accidents when they happen.” She looked at my ankle and grumbled. I could see the sight of my affliction only angered her more.

“How?” I asked.

“We have our ways,” she mumbled.

“You told me Necromancy was outlawed.” I narrowed my eyes at her.

“Within the Coven, yes, but there are those outside who would help if paid the right fee.” She gave me a wink and left my room.

I had been home no longer than an hour, and already I felt worse for what had happened. If there had been a way to reverse the accident, then why had Anna been so quick to jump to hiding the body? Maybe she didn’t know about the ways my mother could fix things. Why did it matter? The situation was done with no way to resurrect the deceased girl. The window of fixing anything had passed the moment we loaded the little girl’s body into my red wagon.

“You okay, dear?” My father peeked his head into the room.

“No,” I replied with a bit of a whimper.

My mother's opinion was not the one I was concerned with. I didn’t want my father to think any less of me. He had always had my back, and he was not in the meetings with the Lawyer. If he had been, I had a feeling things wouldn’t have been as weird as they were, and I wouldn’t have an ankle monitor strapped tight to me.

“It’s going to be okay. Eight years will pass before you know it.” He sat down on my bed next to me.

“How did she do it?” I questioned as I leaned my head onto his shoulder.

“Your mother is a very powerful woman,” he replied with some tension in his voice.