10

The dark that pressed in when she landed on the passenger deck did not bother Hannah. Nor did the pungent smell of too many people crammed into too small a space for too long. Hannah had lived here for three months. She was used to it. Besides, the dark and the smell were nothing to be afraid of. The gnawing fear that had inhabited Hannah this entire trip came from one woman. Hannah had spent the past three months hiding in their small corner of the ship, heart hammering with fear that today would be the day the witch attacked.

Then, the worst had happened. Hannah's grandfather had gone missing, and then returned with blood on his mouth.

Now, Hannah was walking toward the thing that had done all of this, and her heart was steady. Her hands did not shake, and she felt calmer than she had since they left England.

Hannah had nothing left the witch could take from her. If there was no hope for her grandfather, then there was no hope for the witch. Hannah would make sure of it.

Dorothy sat on her bed, knitting. Such a simply, homely task seemed out-of-place for a witch. But Dorothy had fooled everyone on board into thinking she was a normal person. Even her husband knew nothing of her dark side.

Dorothy looked up to see Hannah in her doorway and smiled, a wicked grin that spread across her face like a scythe. "Well, well, Miss Chilton. I thought you wanted nothing to do with me?"

"I will give you what you want," Hannah said. "Take a walk on deck with me." Hannah turned and went back up the ladder, up to the fresh air and daylight, not bothering to see if Dorothy followed.

The witch would come. She could not resist.

o0o

Thomas stood next to the tall Hunter and watched Hannah descend into the middle deck with his heart in his mouth. He had not known this woman for very long, but somehow he already felt a strong affection for her. They had stayed up together all night, talking, while the others went about making preparations for the witch-trap. Hannah had told him about her life with her grandfather, and Thomas had explained about the Men of Letters. There was a comfortable closeness between them that made Thomas think of her as family already.

Did she think of him that way?

Wherever their relationship went from here, Thomas had resolved to offer Hannah a place in his and Anne's home. If her grandfather could not be saved, she would not have to be alone in the world.

"I should have gone with her." It felt like an eternity since Hannah had vanished below decks. Would the witch see through their plan?

"That would give away the plan," Sam said. He appeared so calm, standing with his gun ready as if he shot witches before breakfast every day.

He was a Hunter. Maybe he did.

"I know." Thomas turned his attention back to the deck and felt a rush of relief. Hannah had emerged. She looked unharmed, and Isaac came to help her up the ladder and pull her out of the line of fire.

Thomas waited, heart hammer with anticipation, but no one else emerged.

"What is wrong?"

"Just wait," Sam said, sounding completely unworried. Thomas clapped his mouth shut and waited. He didn't have much other choice. He had no pistol, no sword, and no spells to help in the fight.

A head emerged from the hatch. Sam shifted, raising his gun, but Thomas grabbed his wrist.

"No! That's not her."

Sam frowned, but lowered his weapon. The woman stepped onto the deck, greeting Hannah with a smile, and another woman emerged behind her. They kept coming, some bringing their children, until there were at least ten on deck. They blinked and stretched in the sun, like prisoners kept too long in a dark cell.

"There!" Thomas pointed as the last woman emerged. "That's Dorothy."

"Too late," Sam said with a grimace. "We can't shoot her in front of all these people."

Thomas' heart lurched at the look of dismay on Hannah's face as Sam and Anne put their weapons away.

Now what?

o0o

This was not the plan. Isaac watched the women and children climb onto the deck with a grimace. This was a Hunter's nightmare; a group of civilians wandering around in the middle of a hunt. They could get in the way. They could become collateral damage. They could misunderstand what was happening and put the Hunter on trial for murder.

Anne and Sam seemed to understand this. Isaac saw the glint of sunlight bouncing off metal as they lowered their guns. Shame. He would have liked to see these witch-killing bullets in action. He would have to get the recipe before they left.

"Oh, what a lovely day for a walk on the deck!" Mary Sutton had her face turned to the sun, and several of the other women smiled in agreement. They split off into smaller groups and began to walk the track around the outer edge of the deck.

Only the witch remained, her eyes fixed on Hannah. Isaac put his arm around the girl's shoulders and tightened his grip on the gun the Hunters form the future had lent him, loaded with his own witch-killing rounds. There was no way to kill her without the other women noticing.

Was it worth it? What damage would she do to the rest of these people if she was not stopped now?

"My, my, Hannah. You seem to have made a lot of new friends recently." Dorothy clucked her tongue like a mother hen. "And here I thought you were finally ready to see things my way. Still, this doesn't change anything. It's a simple trade. Your grandfather's life for the amulet."

"My grandfather is dead already!" Hannah gripped Isaac's hand tightly. "I know that you lied. I know there is no way to cure him."

Dorothy shrugged. "So what if there isn't? You have more friends now, and I have more curses. Will you still hold onto that silly trinket after everyone on this ship is dead? You'll never survived the New World on your own."

"You will not hurt us." Isaac pulled back his cloak so that Dorothy could see his gun. "We know how to deal with your kind."

"Do you?" Dorothy made a pushing gesture with her hand and said something in a language Isaac had never heard before. A crushing pain bloomed in his chest, and he gasped for air.

"No!" Hannah stepped free of Isaac's protective grasp and held up the amulet. "Here it is! Stop this!"

Dorothy said something else, and suddenly Isaac could breath again. He looked around, but none of the other women had been near enough to hear. They continued on their walk, although one or two gave them a concerned look. If this exchange got much louder, they would notice. Which would not be good for the witch or the hunter.

Dorothy held out her hand. "So glad that you've finally seen sense, my dear."

"Yes." There was a steely look in Hannah's eyes and she stepped forward. "Yes, I finally have." She placed the amulet in Dorothy's hands, then gripped the other woman's wrists tight, pulled her toward the edge of the deck, and shoved her overboard. Dorothy let up a loud wail that only stopped with the sickening splash as she hit the water.