Salem 1993

Allison wanted to check the kiln for debris, but Max was worried that seeing the sister's smoking remains would scar Dani more than the night already had. Instead, they turned the kiln on a longer second cycle, hoping it would leave the witches in ashes and they could come back on Sunday to clean them up. By Monday, no one would know what happened in the arts wing.

Max moved towards Dani as the witches burned, Abigail had moved away from the small window and kept Dani away from the door, not want the little girl near the witches let alone let her see them burn. So the younger girl stood back from the kiln, holding Binx, petting and kissing the top of his head.

"It's done," Max announced, and when the words sank in Dani beamed.

"Really?" Dani asked quietly, just wanting to be sure.

Max ran over scooping her up and spinning her around the room, they nearly knocked over an unfired skull someone had made.

"Really," he whispered against the side of her head. He could hardly believe it himself. He finally felt like he could relax and the adrenaline seemed to disappear.

Allison and Abigail walked over to the siblings. Allison put her hands on Max's shoulders, sending butterflies swirling around his stomach. Abigail smiled at the group, glad the nightmare the Sanderson sister created was over.

"Let's go home," Allison said, looking down at Dani, and Max liked the way that sounded.

Allison grabbed Max's hand when he put Dani down and they all slipped out of the school. When they saw the iron gates they broke into a run. Dani whooped, and the sound of her celebration made their success feel real.

"Farewell, Winifred Sanderson!" Binx cried as he lept from Dani's arms to the rain-slicked streets. He ran around, looking like a dog chasing his tail.

Max grabbed Allison around the waist, picking her up and spinning her around, then gave Dani a big kiss on the cheek. Dani squealed but gave Max a kiss on the forehead in return. Abigail chased after Binx, laughing and kicking leaves. Her mother would have been embarrassed and would have scolded her if she could see her.

Leaves fell from the trees like confetti as Binx and Abigail darted down the street, leading the other three. They came across a park which they ran through, Dani showing off her cartwheels and handstands in the damp grass.

Max relaxed against the fence and looked up at Binx who was sitting on the branch of an oak tree that Abigail had sat under. "We did it, Binx," he said with a grin and a glance down at Abigail. "We stopped them."

"I've wanted to do that for three hundred years," Binx said, wistfully. Then he added, "Ever since they took Emily."

"Though I was stone, I have also longed for this day for three hundred years," Abigail said. "I regret that I was unable to help thee save Emily, and for me, it feels as though it has only just happened. I shall spend whatever time I have left making it up to thee, Thackery."

Max's smile faded at the pair's sad words. He looked at them, Binx perched on a branch and Abigail on the ground, and he could almost feel their regret. "You guys really miss her, don't you?"

Binx looked away, but Abigail's gaze remained on the cat above her. They could both see the pain and self-loathing on the cat's face.

"Man, you guys can't keep blaming yourselves for that," Max told them. "That happened so long ago."

"Do not feel you must shoulder all the blame," Abigail told Binx as she stood. "I was there too, I should have helped thee more." She reached up to the branch, offering her arms to the black cat who regarded them for a moment before leaping down into them, curling up.

"Take good care of Dani, Max," Binx said, looking at the boy. "You'll never know how precious she is until you lose her." Abigail nodded, she knew that family was important and the loss of Emily was devastating. Thackery had three hundred years to deal with it, but she'd only been human again for a few hours. The pain was still fresh for her, an open wound on her heart, as was the loss of everyone she'd ever know. To her, it had all happened at once.

Binx jumped out of Abigail's arms, looking up at her and Max before slipping into the shadows. Abigail would not leave him alone again and so she followed him. He was also the only familiar thing she had left in this née century.

"Hey, Binx! Abby!" Max called after them. They turned to look at the boy. "Where do you think you're going?" Max walked over to them. "You guys are Dennisons now. One of us."

"Come on, Binx! Come on, Abby!" Dani called from by the fountain. "Let's go home."

"Home," Binx repeated, glancing from Max to Dani to Abigail.

"Home," Abigail repeated before scooping the cat up and following Dani and Allison, who had linked arms.

Max watched them. He thought he'd hate Salem, and he had when his parents had announced the move and he'd know nothing about the town itself. "Home," he said to himself, and the word felt right. He was home.

Max ran to catch up with them and led the way home. He could tell that Dani was tired. She was repeating herself and her eyes were staying closed a little too long when she blinked. Allison and Abigail were talking about what the colonial girl was going to do now that the witches were dead.

"I am not sure," Abigail admitted. "I had not thought about it. I imagined that fighting the witches would be harder than it was. Perhaps I can turn myself into a cat, like Thackery. I do not think I would fit anywhere else, nor do I think your parents would be happy with a stranger coming to live with them."

"We have the spellbook," Allison responded. "Maybe there's something in there that can help you."

"I will not touch that book," Abigail replied immediately. "That book is thrice cursed and I shall not use any spell in it. I would rather make my own spell to turn myself into a cat, but perhaps that can wait until morning. It would be a waste to spell myself only to turn into a stone cat."

"What do you mean 'a stone cat'?" Allison asked.

"Well, I'm not sure what the limits to the spell I cast on myself are," Abigail explained. "It may be that I will turn back into stone at sunrise. In truth, I expected it to happen when the sisters died."

Thackery didn't like the idea that he might be alone again. Sure he had Max, Dani, and Allison now, but it wouldn't be the same if Abigail was taken from him again, he had just gotten her back.

"But that is a problem for sunrise," Abigail concluded.

They walked past Town Hall where music could still be heard and the singer was still entertaining.

"Getting back into the kiln tomorrow's going to be easy," Allison commented, changing the subject. "All the adults are going to be asleep till lunchtime."

Max yawned, trying to hide it in the crook of his arm. "That doesn't sound so bad."

Allison smiled and shook her head.

The Dennison house was dark when they reached it. Max unlocked the door while Dani looked at the candy bucket that had been set out on the porch.

"Aw, man," she moaned. "Only Almond Joys are left."

Abigail picked one up, curious as to what it was. Allison patted Dani's back and told her, "Don't worry; you can have whatever's leftover at my house."

"Promise?"

"Only if your brother brings you over tomorrow." Allison smiled and looked at Max.

Dani rolled her eyes. "There'd better be Twix bars if I'm covering for you two."

Abigail was paying more attention to the candy bar in her hand, which Binx was doing his best to explain. He'd explained that it was candy, just wrapped up. She tore it open and took a small bite, grimacing at the taste. She did not like the coconut.

"Mom?" Max called, leading them all inside. "Dad?" He flipped the light on. Their coats were nowhere to be found, and his mom's keys weren't on the entry table where she normally put them. His dad's Swiss Army knife was there and Max grabbed it, knowing he would be paranoid about witches for a while, if not the rest of his life.

"We got a new cat!" Dani called, pushing past Max. "We made some friends too! Mom?"

"I guess they're still partying," Max commented, looking at Allison. "Come on in." He moved out of the way, allowing Allison, Abigail, and Binx to enter the house.

They made their way up to Max's room, Dani liked to sleep there when she was anxious, though Abigail wanted to look at everything. She'd never seen a house so grand. There were so many rooms. And the lights fascinated her. Dani promised to explain it all in the morning. She only stopped to get a bowl of milk for Binx, before crawling into the bed, pulling Abigail with her.

"You're my kitty now," she said, petting Binx on the head. "You'll have milk and tuna fish every day, and you'll only hunt mice for fun."

"You're going to turn me into one of those fat, useless contented house cats," Binx commented, amused at the idea.

"You betcha," Dani giggled. "And Abby, you're my best friend. I'll convince mom and dad to let you stay if you don't want to be a cat."

"I am honored to be thy best friend," Abigail whispered, wrapping her arms around the younger girl. She wondered if her own sister would have been like Dani.

Allison watched them, chuckling. She and Max sat on a pile of pillows on the stairs to the loft. She grabbed a nearby blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders before leaning into Max. He was sure she would hear his heart beating like crazy, but she was relaxed. He slowly wrapped one arm around her, afraid to disturb her, and she pressed her cheek more firmly against his chest. He started thinking about how he was going to ask her on a date, and where they would go.

"You know Binx," Dani mumbled sleepily when the cat jumped up onto the bed, snuggling between Dani and Abigail. "I'll always take care of you. My children will take care of you, too. And their children after that and theirs after that. Forever and ever…" Her words trailed off and when Max looked over, Dani, Abigail, and Binx were all asleep.

Allison started to wake up first, her shifting woke Max from what felt like the deepest sleep ever.

"Hi," he mumbled sleepily, unable to stop the smile from spreading across his face.

She smiled sheepishly back. "Hi." She picked up the clock that was by her hip and panicked at the time displayed. "Oh my god," she gasped. "It's five o'clock. My parents are going to kill me. I should go." She lept up and grabbed her sweater. She was so grounded.

Max stretched, sleeping on the stairs was not fun. "I wish you could stay," he said.

Allison looked at him. His words made her worry, she wasn't sure what he meant exactly, but his dopey grin relaxed her.

"Hey," Max said, waking all the way up and realizing that she was worried about not only being out late but being out late with a boy. "We'll figure it out together, okay? You can say Dani got sick on sugar and I needed help. Dani will vouch for you. Plus, my parents saw us together out in public. They know we weren't – you know…"

"Maybe I'll say the girls kidnapped me as a prank," Allison suggested. It could work. Her friends had wanted her to come out with them.

Max nodded, she would know what her parents would believe. But there was a part of him that wondered if maybe she didn't want them to know about him, maybe he'd read something wrong and she was embarrassed to let people know that they knew each other. He got to his feet and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"I'll walk you back," he offered.

Allison looked at Dani, Abigail, and Binx who was still curled between them, nearly invisible in the darkness.

"Poor Binx," Allison whispered.

Max looked at them too. "Yeah, poor Binx," he agreed, thinking back to their conversation in the park, and Abigail's comments about what she might do now that the witches were dead. He knew that if she could, Abigail would join Binx in his immortality, but he couldn't imagine being separated from his family for that long. Dani had meant what she'd said, dozens of Dennison generations to come would look after the cat, or cats, but that promise was probably of little comfort to Thackery.

"We owe him a lot," Max added. They would probably be dead if it wasn't for the cat. Allison nodded. "Look," he added. "Can we find some kind of way to help him, and maybe Abby too?"

Allison thought for a moment. She wanted to help them both. The pair of them were both three hundred years out of time, both had been cursed and lost for that whole time. They deserved something good in their lives. "The book," she said. "The witches used it to put the spell on him. Maybe there's a way in here to take it off. And if there's not, Abigail can use the spell on herself. Then they'll have each other forever. Not quite the same as family, but it's better than nothing."

She dropped her sweater onto Max's desk and then sat back down on the loft steps.

"I don't know," Max said, warily. "Binx and Abby said we shouldn't open it. And Abby said she wouldn't use a spell out of it."

Allison picked up the book, which seemed to be heavier every time she picked it up, and she would have thought that was impossible before the night she'd had. "But the witches are dead," she reasoned. "What harm could they do?"

Max thought a moment, before nodding. The witches were dead, he was just worrying too much. "Well, just be careful."

"I will," Allison smirked, reaching to undo the latch. Before she opened the thick cover, she reached for Max's arm, saying, "Hold my hand."

Max was more than happy to take her hand.

She took a breath and opened the cover. The first page had a list of names that she figured were the previous owners of the book. She read Gunnilda Arden, Odelia Arden, Isolde Fizrou, Mathilda Picardy, Eve and Amice and Francis Harvey, and then Cecily Sanderisson, Emma Sanderisone, Druscilla Sanderson, Winifred Sanderson, and last, Elizabeth Sanderson.

"That's odd," Allison commented, looking at the final name on the list. She ran a finger over it.

"What is?" Max asked, peering down at the book.

"The last name on the list isn't Winifred's," she told him. She shook her head and then started flipping through the spells. Max leaned closer to rest his chin on her shoulder. "Nothing here so far," she told him, flipping the pages.

Unknown and unseen to both children, a thin beam of red light shone from the open book. It pierced the ceiling, over the treetops, and shone high into the sky. Any trained witch could see it, so from their house in the woods, Winifred's hope of eternal life was renewed, and in Max's room, the light was bright behind Abigail's eyelids, waking her from sleep.

Allison, on the other hand, was getting annoyed and impatient with the number of spells in the large book, but she kept turning the pages.

"Oh, listen to this," she said, excited to find something useful. " 'Only a circle of salt can protect thy victims from thy power.' "

They nearly missed a whisper from the bed, it was so covered by the yowl that Binx let out as he lept onto Max's lap, shoving the book closed. He sat on top of it to prevent Allison from opening it back up, hissing at them.

"We were just trying to help you and Abby," explained Allison indignantly.

Binx batted at her. "Well, don't!" he exclaimed. "Nothing good can come from this book." He turned and swatted at Max's face. "You got it?"

"The book is still dangerous, even if the sisters are gone," Abigail told the two teens. "It is a book given to witches by the Devil himself. It is meant to cause harm, even if there are good intentions behind the actions."

Binx lept off the book, curling up beside Dani again. Abigail laid back down, Dani still had a grip on her sleeve.

Max looked at Allison, giving her an apologetic look. "Maybe you should go now," he suggested.

She hesitated, she didn't really want to leave, but she nodded. "Okay," her agreement laced with disappointment. She set the book down on the loft's stairs and followed Max out of his room.

"Come on," he said. "I'll walk you home.

A/N: Not a whole lot of action but sometimes that happens. We're getting close to the end now! Only two more chapters to go!