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Chapter Twenty-Eight - Winifred Drake

The Year 1515

Pee Dee Settlement, NC

The meeting did not result in the majority of witches voting for Sorcha and Lana's execution.

The vote was unanimous.

With Henry leading the way, forcing Winifred to witness the trial, the girls were carted back to the river by the witches, many of them only following as curious spectators. When they reached the river, Winifred was horrified to learn that the girls would not be thrown into the river as the witches of Europe were. They were to be held down and drowned.

"They cannot drown if they have been turned," Henry justified. "If they have not yet turned, they would still need to be put to death to ensure they do not turn. Drowning them will accomplish this."

Lana was the first to be removed from the back of the cart, with the witches' magic rendering her hazy and unsteady as she was pulled to her feet and led to the river.

When Sorcha was then dragged towards the edge of the cart, her uncle took a moment to speak to her. Sorcha refused to look him in the eye, instead choosing to focus on Winifred, the only one of the witches who had defended her. Alone and broken with her blood pounding in her ears, the chanting of nearby witches keeping her weak and docile, she almost missed her uncle's words. Finally his voice came into focus.

"I cannot spare your friend, Sorcha, because she is a stranger to our settlement and the witches do not trust her," Henry explained. "But if you tell me which of the vampir did this to you both, then you will not have to undergo this trial. You will have a quick death by hanging, your body will be burnt, and I will even bury your ashes, but you must tell me if any other vampir are among us."

Sorcha's eyes remained on Winifred. Lana had told her of Winifred's promise to help them. As much as she hated Gabe for what he had done to Lana, she also knew that Winifred loved him. If she betrayed Winifred now, their only possible saviour was lost. So she accepted her fate and shook her head at her uncle.

Henry sighed in disappointment, gesturing for an attendant to continue taking her towards the river.

The girls were handed to four male witches who then marched them at either side into the water. When it was chest-high, Henry commanded them to stop. He proceeded to announce the purpose of the trial as Sorcha gazed at the water below, watching the reflection of the green trees opposite them bounce across the surface. She tried not to think about how Lana was feeling. Nor did she try to think about her still clinging onto the hope of Winifred's promise. Knowing that Lana would still need to feed to turn even if she did survive, Sorcha had less hope for being saved. Would Winifred really accept another of the vampir in the settlement after everything that had happened? She doubted it.

Sorcha tried to commit to memory the feeling of breathing as her uncle ended his speech. Neither of them were one of the vampir. With the time her uncle was giving them to survive underwater, they were going to die this way. She felt the two witches behind her take hold of her; one hand on each shoulder, one of each of their hands on her head. She took her final breath.

Then she was plunged underneath the water.

Winifred watched from the river bank. The girls were close enough to each other but they were already panicking, their arms aimlessly hitting the water as though it would become solid enough for them to pull themselves above the surface. Then she noticed Lana's body slacken, with only one arm still outstretched, trying to reach for Sorcha.

The spell was working.

Winifred had been able to visit Lana before her meeting with the witches at noon. The girls were kept separately from each other and she only had time to see one of them. She chose Lana, believing, out of both of them, that Lana had more need of her. Winifred was able to offer Lana a spell to breathe underwater, but in order to share the spell, Sorcha had to stop struggling long enough for Lana to take her hand.