12
Early the next morning, Duke stopped for gas and brought out a cocoa from the gas station for Prue, who sipped it, grimacing.
"What is this?" she asked.
"Is it too watery?" Duke questioned.
"No, it's fine. It is-different," Prue remarked. "Not like the hot chocolate I remember. Mother made it as the French did."
Duke recalled having some French hot cocoa when he was in Paris once-it was rich and buttery, almost like drinking liquified chocolate frosting. He could see why Prue would notice the difference between it and the stuff that came out of the machine at the gas station.
"Well, maybe we can make some the real way later on," Duke said, spying Nathan's Bronco coming down the road.
They'd made arrangements to leave Duke's truck there, and would go on to the North Woods in the Bronco, feeling it would be better if they all stuck together.
Prue seemed on edge, and Duke drew closer to her.
"What's on your mind, Prue?" he asked softly.
"It has been a long time since I have been there. I lived in those woods with my family," she answered quietly. "I don't suppose you ever saw a house there, did you?"
Duke remembered he'd tramped all over those woods as a kid, and again with Audrey and Nathan when they were hunting for those Wendigo girls, and he'd never seen any evidence there had been a house there once, or had even heard of one being in the area, and he shook his head no.
"I thought not," Prue said absently, and then smiled slightly at him. "But I think I remember the way."
Nate pulled into the parking lot, up next to one of the gas pumps, and he and Audrey climbed out.
"Good morning, Duke, Prue," Audrey called.
"Morning," Duke greeted.
"You two been here long?" Nathan questioned.
"Not long," Duke said, ambling over to Nathan to talk while Audrey came up to Prudence.
"How are you today?" she asked.
"I am well," Prue replied. "I was asking Duke if he'd ever heard of a house being in the North Woods, and he said no. I don't imagine you have seen it either?"
"No, I'm sorry," Audrey said. "I've never heard of a house being located in the woods there. Prue," she went on. "The reason we're all a little nervous about going there with you is-"
"I know what the wood can do," Prue told her. "Therefore, it is tantamount that we not disagree with one another while we are there. Discord is what sets off-whatever it is that resides within the woods."
"Did I-Mara-cause that?" Audrey asked, unable to help herself. Prue gave her a small smile, and shook her head.
"No," Prue said. "For that, you are blameless. The Mik'Maq believed that there is something there that is part of the land, as old as time itself. It was there before man, and I imagine it will be there long after we are all gone," she went on.
"An elemental spirit," Audrey smiled, and Prue glanced at her.
"You seem to know something of it," she remarked.
"Only because of Vince and Dave's research," Audrey confessed. "I'm surprised you didn't want them along with us."
"I have agreed to meet with Vincent and David this evening," Prue replied. "Tomorrow, I will begin working on the worst of the afflicted in Haven. I'm stronger now," she told Audrey. "And if what I am looking for is still there, it will only serve to aid me."
Audrey felt a faint foreboding at Prudence's words.
What exactly is it that she's looking for? she wondered. If it's something dangerous, I don't know if we should let her have it.
Audrey couldn't help but feel that they'd only heard one side of the story, and that was Prudence's. What if there was something to the witchcraft accusations? Nathan had told her the stories that he'd heard about her growing up.
"Prudence is a Haven legend-a story told to kids to keep them from wandering off into the woods," he'd told her this morning. "It goes, 'If you go alone into the clearing in the North Woods at midnight and call her name out loud seven times, Prudence will supposedly appear and get you," he continued. "Other versions of the story is you get to the clearing and recite the old poem about her to make her appear. They used to do a hayride through the woods, and someone dressed as a witch would leap out at the passengers as part of the show."
"You said used to," Audrey had said. "They don't do it anymore?"
Nathan was quiet a moment. "No. Last time the Troubles were here, the girl who was dressed up as Prudence just up and disappeared. They never found any trace of her. People said that was because Prudence took revenge on her, that she was angry that people were mocking what happened to her, and the hayrides stopped after that."
"Well, we might not want to tell Prue about all of that just now," Audrey had answered.
"She said last night she knew the stories they told about her," Nathan replied. He sighed. "I keep trying to imagine what it's like to have her Trouble-to have people deliberately trying to kill you, your family witnessing it, only you can't die."
Before Audrey could answer, the gas pump clicked off, and they saw Duke and Prudence coming toward them. Duke had grabbed some additional snacks and drinks, in case what Prue was looking for would take awhile to find.
They climbed back into the Bronco, and they set off for the North Woods, and the Keegan place
The sun was a bright ball in a hazy sky, the trees of the woods aflame in their fall colors. It was brisk, and Audrey sipped her coffee as Nathan parked the Bronco, and the four of them climbed out.
They saw people emerging from the house. It was Beverly Keegan-Novelli and her husband Dom. Audrey smiled when she saw them; since Beverly and Dom had gotten back together after 30 years, they'd married a few weeks later. Two years later, they were still very much in love, holding hands like teenagers.
They greeted Audrey with kisses, and shook Nathan and Duke's hands.
"So how are things?" Audrey asked.
"Wonderful," Beverly enthused. She looked at Dom, their faces beaming. "We just heard from the kids," she went on, referring to their grandchildren. "There's going to be a new family member next spring!"
"Congratulations," Audrey said.
"Our first great-grandchild," Dom put in proudly. He noticed Prudence, hovering silently in the background.
"I'm Dom Novelli," he greeted, extending his hand to her.
"Prudence," Prue replied, smiling. "Prudence-Crocker."
"I didn't know you had a sister, Mr. Crocker," Beverly puzzled.
"She was a surprise to me too," Duke said, glancing at Prudence.
"I was so sorry to hear about your wife's passing," Beverly went on. "She was a lovely girl. And very persuasive."
"That was Evi-she could charm the spots off a leopard," Duke replied. "He would have loved to have asked Beverly more about how Evi had come to get that little silver box back, but Audrey spoke again.
"So, we shouldn't be more than a few hours in the woods," she was saying. "So if you don't see or hear from us by sunset, please call Haven PD."
Beverly nodded. "Just-be careful out there. You don't want what happened to Dom to happen to you."
"What did happen, Mr. Novelli?" Prue questioned.
For answer, Dom turned his shirt sleeve up, revealing the awful scars that covered his arms.
Prudence gently touched them, and nodded.
"We will exercise the utmost caution," she said. She glanced around the farm, noting the construction taking place, the hay bales.
"Looks like you guys are getting ready to throw a party," Audrey said.
"Yes, it was Alex's idea-he wants to start the Witch of the North Woods hayride again," Dom answered.
Duke saw Prudence's face darken.
"What witch would that be?" she asked carefully.
"You know, the old-well, no, I don't guess you're from Haven, are you?" Dom replied. "Well, there's an old tale around here about a woman who was said to be a witch. Her name was Prudence, like yours. Prudence Stillwater."
"Do tell," Prue answered, her voice deadly calm.
Duke put his arm around Prue's shoulder. He could feel she was wound as tightly as a spring, rigid with anger.
"Sorry, Mr. Novelli," he half-laughed. "I'm afraid Prue's kind of taken a ribbing about her name, so that's a little bit of a sore subject."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Miss Crocker," Dom apologized. "I hope I didn't offend you."
"It is fine," Prue got out. "No offense taken, sir."
"Well, we're going to get going," Audrey said brightly. "So we'll see you after while."
"Good luck," Beverly answered, and Duke steered Prue in the direction of the woods.
Once out of earshot of the house, Prudence vented her anger.
"You are from Haven, Nathaniel, Duke," she began hotly. "Suppose you enlighten me about this old tale of the Witch of the North Woods?"
"It's just a stupid story," Duke soothed, but Prue wasn't having it.
"Do you know what it was like for me?" she asked. Her eyes glinted with tears. "I was dragged in chains to a dank prison cell before I was hauled up before a magistrate," she said. "I was pilloried for two days in the town square for the whole of Haven to come and mock me," she wept. "But that was only the beginning."
Audrey heard a faint rustling in the woods, and paled.
"Prudence-it's all right," she commiserated. "Please, we'll talk about it. Just-calm down, okay?"
Prudence shook her head. "I know what people of Haven think of me, that I was a creature of evil. But that was not my title," she raged.
This time, they all heard the crackle and rustle of something moving in the woods.
"Prue-it's okay," Duke told her. "Just calm down. Let's find what you're looking for, and get out of here. Don't be angry, it makes-whatever-angry too."
Prudence turned on her heel, stalking through the wood.
Ahead of them, they could see a clearing. Known as the Witch's Circle, it was a strangely barren spot in the middle of some fairly dense woods, and Prudence went into the middle of it, the three following a short distance behind.
Prudence moved to the outer edge, and selected a fallen branch. She spent a little time cleaning off the other limbs and twigs, leaving two that formed a sort of fork at the top of the branch.
She then removed her necklace, and draped it between the branches, forming a sort of crude divining rod.
Audrey, Duke and Nathan watched transfixed as Prue slowly began walking in a circle, whispering something in a language that they couldn't understand.
The rustling continued in the woods.
"What the hell is out there?" Nathan whispered to Duke. "Is she-making the roots react?"
"I don't know," Duke said. Aloud he called to Prudence "Um-what are you doing, Prue?"
Prudence ignored him, watching the necklace as it swung lazily in circles, and then seemed to pick up speed as she approached the outer edge of the clearing.
When she stepped on the spot the necklace indicated, it stopped swinging, and Audrey's mouth fell open.
"Here," Prudence said, patting the spot with her foot. "Bring me a spade."
Duke came forward with the shovel, and Prue made to take it from him, but he refused.
"I'll do it for you-I'm a gentleman," he grinned, and dug the spade deep into the earth.
"No, I must-" Prue began, but was interrupted as the rustling grew into a crackling sound.
"Duke, look out!" Nathan yelled, seeing the trailing roots coming for his friend.
Duke looked up. It seemed as though the woods had come alive, the writhing, twisting roots of the trees snaking their way toward him.
Prudence took the spade from him, and blocked him with her body, holding her hand out in front of her.
"Enqa'latl," she said, her voice seeming to travel throughout the woods.
Audrey, Duke and Nathan's jaws all dropped as the roots came to a grinding halt in front of Prudence, and then tentatively stretched out feelers, one touching Prue's hand.
"What the hell?" Nathan breathed.
Prudence glanced over her shoulder at the three, her eye settling on Audrey, and her gaze hardened.
"Mesnatl," she uttered, and the roots sprang forward before they could even react, twisting and tangling the three of them in their grasp, tying the three of them together.
"Prudence, stop!" Duke cried, struggling to get free, but the roots held fast.
All around them, the roots were emerging from the ground, stretching above their heads, weaving themselves through one another, forming a crude sort of cage.
The roots holding the three released, joining the others in making the cage, leaving Audrey, Duke and Nathan in the middle of it.
Nathan and Duke pulled and struggled with the roots, but they were as immovable as the trees themselves.
Nathan tried to squeeze himself through a larger hole, but the roots readjusted themselves and he barely had time to pull himself back in before they closed the hole.
"We're trapped," Audrey said. "She trapped us."
Prudence approached the cage.
"Prudence, what is this?" Nathan demanded.
She gave him a small smile.
"It seems there may have been some small grainlet of truth of William's accusation," she said.
"You really are a witch," Audrey breathed. Prudence had laid a trap for them, and they'd fallen right into it.