“The very house that we are standing in was built just over two hundred years ago. Our grand Elder, Alain Ivy, was just a young witch who wanted to gather her family in a safe environment. And I think that we would all agree she has done well.” Murmurs of agreement ran through the room. Willow ignored the noise and continued speaking, “But as some of you may know, horrible things have been happening lately. Two of our own have been found dead, while four others were brutally attacked. We, the Elders and the council, will not stand for this.
“There are many possibilities as to who and what did this. But we have not been able to figure out just what the answer is yet. And that is why I am asking you, not as your Elder but as the dear friend of one of the deceased, if you know anything about these crimes…” Willow gave a pause, scanning every face in the room, “Come forward. Do not sit back and watch as more of your brothers and sisters are killed. Do not sit aside while someone else goes free for what they did. If you saw something, or if you heard something that could help us, come forward.
“And to the person who dared to harm my family…” The Elders eyes were filled with a silent rage. She did not hide this anger, and instead she radiated with it. This anger seeped through the room, making everyone go silent. Sabrina could feel the urgency that Willow’s anger brought out in people. The air bristled with sharp, silent tension. The Elder had wanted her anger to spark something, and it most definitely had.
“To the person who killed two of my brothers, I want you to know that I will find you. And when I do, you will understand just what it means to mess with my coven.” After Willow stepped off of the stage, the room erupted into whispers. No one was quite sure what to say, and questions were flying throughout the room. They did not quiet until Brady stepped up on stage and began speaking.
“We will gladly answer your questions, but if we do this it is going to have to be in an orderly fashion, alright? No yelling out questions. Raise your hand and wait to be called on before you shout anything out."
“What is this, middle school?” A young male’s voice rang out through the auditorium. The question made Sabrina roll her eyes, and she noticed her cousin do the same from his spot at the microphone.
“Well, you’re acting like a middle-school student now so I suppose it’s fitting.” Sabrina smirked at Brady’s words. He was glaring at the young warlock who’d had the outburst. “Now, who has questions?” As she tried to listen to what was going on around her, Sabrina found her attention dwindling. Though that was not unusual. For the past week, her attention was often focused on everything but the one thing she should be focusing on. Her teachers had become worried about her, and even her mother had asked her what was wrong. Said witch was seated beside Sabrina, and was paying just about as much attention as Sabrina was. Sabrina leaned towards her mother, “Can I ask you something?”
Teresa glanced over to Sabrina and nodded once. “What is it?”
“Do you think we’ll figure out who did all of this?” At the question Teresa frowned. “Of course. The Elders will figure everything out, and all will be well.” She turned her head back to the stage. The simple answer confused Sabrina. It was too quick, to easy of an answer. She had expected the woman to say more. “You sure about that? I mean all they’ve done so far is glare at people and sit around wondering what is going on."
Teresa turned to glare back at her daughter. “Sabrina, you know better than to speak of your Elders that way.”
“I am close enough to being an Elder that I do not have to watch what I say.” Her voice was hard, and her eyes reflected the annoyance she felt boiling up. “I think more needs to be done, mother.”
“Oh really, like what? Do you actually have any ideas, little girl?”
“Actually, I think I do.” That was a lie. Kind of. The only thing she could think of was to ask around the coven for clues about what happened. Surely someone knew something.
