Chapter 12
In Twin Falls, Idaho, around 6:00 P.M., Trubel and Alysa were stepping up to the front door of Katherine's two-story house. Trubel was carrying a nice size aquarium that was containing three western toads while Alysa was carrying the four-ounce bottle that was containing the concoction that she brewed.
As Alysa was ringing the doorbell, Trubel's phone chimed once that indicated that she received a text; however, since Trubel's hands were full, she ignored her phone.
Within a short time, Katherine (a forty-eight year-old women who stood 5' 8") opened the door. Katherine's rings, her bracelet, her necklace and her earrings were each crafted by her, and the gemstones used enhanced or amplified Katherine's magic.
"Katherine, hi," Alysa began once the door was fully open. She gestured towards Trubel as she continued, "Meet Trubel. Trubel meet Katherine Weller."
In an English accent and in an apathetic manner, Katherine said, "It's nice to meet you, Trubel."
"It's nice to meet you, Katherine," Trubel replied.
"Come in," Katherine continued, also in an apathetic manner while backing up to make room.
"Are you okay, Katherine?" Alysa questioned as she and Trubel entered the house.
"No," Katherine replied. She then continued somewhat loudly, "Lucy is on her way here with her belongings to move back home and Marcus is throwing a hissy fit because she's moving back home."
"Oh my God," Alysa quickly uttered. "Did something happen between her and Theo?"
"You can say that," Katherine began. "While you and I were talking earlier, Lucy had received a romantic rendezvous text message from Theo; however, the text was never meant for Lucy. It was meant for some woman named Pricilla Young."
"I know Pricilla," Alysa replied. "She went to high school with me and Lucy."
"Is she Wesen?" Katherine quickly asked.
"She is; she's a Kitsune," Alysa replied.
"Is Kitsune a type of Wesen that could influence Theo to cheat on Lucy?" Katherine asked.
"They're not; they don't possess a Wesen ability to influence others," Alysa replied. "Although, Pricilla always had the hots for Theo. She even joined the gym that Theo works at. In fact, I understand that she has lost a quite a bit of weight and is turning quite a few heads; although, I hadn't seen her since she joined the gym, so I'm just going by what I was told. Anyway, I hate to say this, but the only influence that Pricilla has used to turn Theo's head to look at her was her natural charm, wits and flirtiness."
"Lucy and Theo had been dating for years, and during that time, I always thought that Theo was a loyal boyfriend," Katherine replied, as if to herself. "Anyway, Trubel, I understand that you're a Grimm."
"I am," Trubel replied as she continued to hold the aquarium.
"My relatives and I keep journals," Katherine began. "And my ancestors began keeping journals in the tenth century, and what gets wrote down is what we strongly believe that the generations after us need to know or need to be warned about."
"Okay," Trubel replied as if she didn't know what else to say.
After the slight interruption, Katherine continued to say, "I thoroughly read the journals that were handed down to me, so I know that several of my ancestors had crossed path with a Grimm over the generations, and during all those encounters, three of my ancestors were discovered as being a witch or a warlock. Of course each of the three Grimms mistakenly took each of my ancestors for being a Hexenbiest or a Zauberbiest, but when they learned the truth, they didn't care. They simply saw my ancestors as a Hexenbiest or a Zauberbiest who couldn't woge and attempted to kill them anyway, and I say attempted, because it was the Grimm who was killed in the end."
"Katherine, I came here for your help; not to attempt to kill you," Trubel replied. "Also, if this helps to know this, two of my closest friends are Hexenbiests."
"You are friends with two Hexenbiests?" Katherine curiously questioned.
"I am," Trubel replied. "And if you want proof…"
"I don't need proof," Katherine quickly replied. "I can tell most of the time when someone is being honest with me, and I sense that you're being honest. Also, I must say that you are nothing like the Grimms my ancestors have encountered."
"Trubel is nothing like the Grimms I've been warned about," Alysa added.
Trubel slightly chuckled before saying, "This isn't the first time I've been told that I'm not like the traditional Grimms, and I was mentored as a Grimm by Detective Nick Burthardt of the Porland, Oregon Police Department. He's also a Grimm."
"A Grimm as a police detective?" Katherine rhetorically questioned. "How does that work?"
"Nick doesn't go after law abiding Wesen," Trubel repeated herself from earlier for Katherine to hear. "As long as a Wesen is peaceful and is obeying the law, Nick leaves them alone, and I adopted that policy as well. Now as for Wesen who commit crimes, Nick will arrest them and have the courts decide their fate; however, if arresting an unruly Wesen would do more harm than good or would expose the Wesen community then and only then will Nick approach the situation as a Grimm and not as a cop."
"I'm impressed by you and Nick," Katherine replied. "However, what is Nick's opinion on Hexenbiests or Zauberbiests or even on Kehrseite witches and warlocks?"
Trubel amusingly grinned before saying, "Nick's wife is a reformed Hexenbiest, and one of Nick's superiors in the police department is a half-blooded Zauberbiest. As for as Kehrseite witches and warlocks, I would say that as long as you are not breaking the law, then Nick would view you as any other law abiding citizen."
"Let's back up to Nick's wife is a Hexenbiest," Katherine requested.
"Okay, what about it?" Trubel questioned.
"Well, as a rule, Hexenbiests and Grimms are bitter enemies," Katherine pointed out. "So I'm curious as to how a Grimm and a Hexenbiest had managed not to kill one another and fall in love."
"That's actually a long story," Trubel replied.
"Can you give me the cliff-note version?" Katherine questioned.
"Actually the cliff-note version of that story is somewhat lengthy as well," Trubel replied.
"I would still like to hear it," Katherine replied. "So let's go to my garden out back and you can tell me it while I finish brewing the mask-paste potion—the potion that will change the looks of your toads."
"Okay, sure," Trubel replied before following Katherine and Alysa through the house and into the kitchen.
Marcus was eating dinner (fried chicken, mash potatoes and corn) at the table and watching a baseball game from a small TV when they entered. Trubel was introduced to Marcus in passing before she followed Katherine and Alysa out through the back door.
The forty-five-foot wide by forty-foot long backyard was fenced off with a tall privacy fence and foliage. A structure that was two-thirds greenhouse and one-third shed with a smoke stack took up the entire width and the back half of the yard. The greenhouse was on the left side and the shed was on the right side.
The entrance to the structure was a straight walk from the backdoor of the house and it entered on the right side of the greenhouse. The path that cut through the greenhouse before entering the shed was about eight of Trubel's steps.
Trubel followed Katherine and Alysa into the greenhouse and then into the shed.
The floor to the shed was concrete, and in the center of the floor was a stone fire-pit that was twenty-four inches in diameter and twenty inches tall. A spider looking iron grate sat over the pit. Red hot charcoals were beneath the iron grate and on top of the grate was a two-gallon cauldron. The contents in the cauldron looked like red oatmeal and although it was steaming, it wasn't boiling.
A small table on wheels sat near the fire pit and on the table was a ladle and a nine-inch cube wire cage attached to a light chain. Next to the table on the floor was a bucket of mineral water.
Along the far wall from the entrance was a wall-to-wall workbench with four closed doors beneath the counter. On top of the bench were four small aquariums each filled with something different (crickets, lady bugs, spiders and beetles), two measuring scales, ten empty bowls, two mortars each with a pestle, twenty empty flasks of five different sizes, twenty empty specimen jars of five different sizes, two burners that each worked with a candle, two knifes, two cutting boards, and a microscope.
Gardening tools were hanging on the left wall and directly in front of the left wall was a large barrel of mineral water.
A supply shelf sat along the right wall and it was filled with twenty-four full flasks with cork lids, twenty full specimen jars with cork lids and eight small wooden boxes with lids
Ten of the specimen jars each held a powder of a different color and the remaining ten full specimen jars held sand, dirt and slush of some kind. The twenty-four full flasks each held a colorful liquid of some kind, and the color ranged from black, which looked like ink, to clear.
After Katherine entered the shed, she told Trubel, "There's room on the workbench for your aquarium."
Trubel nodded before walking over to the workbench and placing the aquarium of toads in front of the aquarium of crickets.
Alysa placed the brewed concoction on the workbench as well.
Katherine grabbed the ladle and began stirring what was in the cauldron before Trubel and Alysa could face her again.
"Okay, the mask-paste still have about fifteen minutes of boiling time and ten minutes of cooling down time to do before it's ready," Katherine told Trubel.
"How exactly will the mask-paste work?" Trubel questioned.
"Well, right before you got here, I added the ingredients and cast the incantation that will turn the appearance of your toads into Asiatic toads. Oh, and I'm glad that you brought three of them and not just one."
"Why's that?" Trubel asked.
"Because I was upset with Marcus when I began brewing my mask-paste potion and I think I might have miss-measured one of the ingredients," Katherine replied. "I will know for sure if the first toad I test it on explodes or implodes."
"Lovely," Trubel sarcastically replied.
"Anyway, as I said I had already cast the incantation, so once the mask-paste finishes brewing and has cooled down for at least ten minutes, I'll then take one of your toads, place it in the wire cage and submerge your toad within the mask-paste for about two seconds. This will completely cover the toad in the mask-paste; however, the change to the toad won't happen until I submerge it in the bucket of mineral water. So after the first toad touches the mineral water, it's going to do one of three things—change as it should, explode or implode. Although, if the mask-paste is just slightly mixed wrong then the toad will explode or implode once I pull it out of the water."
"Will you have to start over from scratch if the first toad explodes or implodes?" Trubel asked.
"I won't need to begin again from scratch, but I will have to add the appropriate ingredients to what I have already mixed. And I will know which ingredient or ingredients to add and how much of the ingredients to add if the toad explodes or implodes in the water or after I pull it out of the water. Anyway, since we have about twenty-five minutes before this mask-paste is done, tell me about how a Grimm and a Hexenbiest had managed not to kill one another and fall in love."
"Okay, um," Trubel began while thinking about how to shorten her story. "Okay, well, first I should tell you that when Nick became a Grimm, he was thirty years old and dating a woman name Juliette."
"That was a bit late in life for Nick to become a Grimm, isn't it" Katherine questioned as she stirred the contents to the cauldron.
"I'm not sure," Trubel replied with a shrug. "I do know though that not all potential Grimms become Grimms."
"When did you become a Grimm?" Alysa asked.
"I was five weeks away from turning sixteen and living in a foster home when I first saw someone woge," Trubel replied. "In fact, from the day I saw my first Wesen to the day I met Nick, my life felt like one endless nightmare. Oh, and I was twenty years old when I met Nick, so it is safe to say that I was absolutely clueless about being a Grimm and the Wesen community during my first four years as a Grimm. Anyway, getting back to the story of Nick and Adalind; Adalind is Nick's wife…"
Trubel had been told about Nick's first two and a half years as a Grimm in detail, so she began her story with Marie Kessler (Nick's aunt, his foster mother and a Grimm) coming to Portland with unpleasant news about her rapidly deteriorating health.
As Trubel told her story, she shared everything that was relevant between Nick and Adalind becoming a couple, which included telling them about Juliette, Eve, Sean, Diana, Monroe, Rosalee, Hank, the royals, the resistance, Nick's mom, Nick's son and the rise of Black Claw.
Katherine had shared that she was a veterinarian when Trubel mentioned that Juliette was a veterinarian before becoming a Hexenbiest.
Trubel was getting to the part when Sean had won his candidacy for mayor of Portland when Katherine held up a finger as if to say something or to ask a question.
"Am I confusing you with what I'm saying?" Trubel asked. "Did I leave too much out for you to follow?"
"No-no, I'm following your story quite well," Katherine replied. "And obviously there is much more to the story, but the mask-paste is ready."
"Right," Trubel replied. "I'll go get one of the toads."
"Oh, and with what you have already told me, I can now see how Nick and Adalind had become a couple," Katherine added as she grabbed the wire cage from the table.
As Trubel was grabbing one of the toads from the aquarium, everyone heard the greenhouse door as it was opening.
As the three looked towards the greenhouse, a woman's voice called out, "Mom."
"In the shed, Lucy," Katherine replied. "Are you just getting here?"
"Actually I have been here long enough to put my things in the spare bedroom and listen to Marcus's grievance of me moving in," Lucy replied as she was joining the others.
"Marcus shouldn't have mentioned anything to you about that," Katherine replied.
"Marcus shouldn't do a lot of things that he does," Lucy replied.
"Lucy," Katherine uttered in a warning tone.
Lucy made a surrendering gesture while saying, "Okay, okay, I'll shut up and you can continue to live in ignorant bliss."
"Lucy," Katherine uttered in a stern tone.
Lucy continued to make her surrendering gesture while saying, "I'm shutting up."
"And for your information, dear daughter, I'm not ignorant to Marcus's shortcomings; however, he is the only man I've found outside a witch's coven that will accept me for who and what I am," Katherine replied.
"True," Lucy replied. "Stupid curse."
"Curse? What curse?" Trubel quickly asked as she held the toad in her hands.
"Eighteen years ago, Henry Swanigan—the leader of the Lunar Owl Coven from back then—had cursed me to be completely honest about myself with whoever I become romantically involved with," Katherine replied. "Luckily for me, the two men I dated before Marcus thought I was just extremely eccentric and not actually a witch."
"Is the Lunar Owl Coven something that I should be concern about?" Trubel asked.
"No," Katherine replied. "The coven isn't made up of Wesen. So as long as you don't go poking your nose in coven's business, the coven members will leave you alone."
"If they are putting curses on people, then I think I should poke my nose in their business," Trubel replied.
"They don't go around putting curses on people," Katherine quickly told Trubel. "They only put a curse on me because I'm a nomad witch…"
"A nomad witch?" Trubel questioned.
"A nomad witch is any witch who doesn't have bloodline ties to any of the six supreme covens," Katherine explained.
"And the members to these six supreme covens are all Kehrseites?" Trubel quickly asked.
"Correct," Katherine replied.
"Out of curiosity, Katherine, what are the names to the six supreme covens?" Trubel asked.
Katherine pursed her lips for a moment before saying, "They are known as the Lunar Owl Coven, the Earth Spirit Coven, the Lunar Sister Coven, the Moon Siren Coven, the Moon Crest Coven and the Black Wolf Coven. The members to the Lunar Sister Coven are all women over the age of seventeen. And of course there are lesser covens, and I am a member to one of them known as the Phoenix Coven. The members to the Phoenix Coven and to the other lesser covens as an individual or as a group are no threat to the six supreme covens, so even though I'm part of a coven, I'm still considered a nomad witch. Anyway, eighteen years ago, I was invited to join the Lunar Owl Coven and I refused that invitation. So the curse that was placed on me was meant to force me into joining their coven."
"What about your daughter?" Trubel quickly asked. "Is Lucy a member of the Lunar Owl Coven or is being pressured to join?"
"Lucy's dad—before he and our twin sons were killed in a hurricane nineteen years ago—was a Legacy member of the Earth Spirit Coven," Katherine began. "And in case you are wondering, Legacy members are children to active members of the coven, but have not officially joined the coven themselves. Anyway, Lucy's paternal bloodline prevents her from being cursed by what I'm cursed with. So Lucy cannot be influenced with a curse for her to join the Lunar Owl Coven"
"Although, over the past few weeks, Kyle Swanigan has been attempting to strong-arm me into joining the coven," Lucy informed.
"He has?" Katherine rhetorically questioned. "Why haven't you told me about that before now?"
"Because I can handle Kyle myself," Lucy replied. "Besides, it doesn't matter if Earth Spirit Coven is located in Maine and I'm in Twin Falls; I'm a member of the Earth Spirit Coven."
"Sweetie, the Earth Spirit Coven is located in London, England," Katherine replied.
"Actually, the Earth Spirit Coven has members in both London, England and in Bangor, Maine," Katherine replied.
Katherine chuckled without humor before saying, "You and Theo went to Maine last October for a week and while you were there, you joined the coven."
"As Aunt Fiona told me, I was already a member; I just made it official," Lucy replied.
"Oh, and your dad's second oldest sister was there," Katherine replied.
"She's the leader and founder of the coven in Bangor, Maine," Lucy replied.
"Of course she is," Katherine sarcastically replied. "Did your fearless coven leader go over the fine print with you before you became an active coven member?"
"I know I'll have to return to Maine and/or travel to London for important ceremonial events if that is what you mean," Lucy replied.
"Yes, that is certainly one of your obligations as an active coven member," Katherine replied. "But had she told you the most important obligation?"
"Like what?" Lucy questioned.
"As an official member, you are bound in servitude to the leader of the coven for life," Katherine replied. "In fact, Fiona could call you this very moment and order you to do something that would go against your personal morals and you will do it without hesitation; not because you want to do it, but because you will be magically compelled to follow your leader's direct orders no matter what."
Lucy shot Katherine a disturbed look before questioning, "Say what?"
"You heard me correctly," Katherine replied. "And since you look surprised by that tidbit of information, I'm going to assumed that your aunt had left that part out."
"Okay, yes, she never mentioned that I would be magically compelled to follow her orders; however, I was told that I might be asked to do things that would go against my principles," Lucy replied.
"Well, manipulation and sugar coating were Fiona's two finer attributes," Katherine replied. "Anyway, does Theo or anyone else know that you are an active member of the Earth Spirit Coven?"
"No; just you three know," Lucy replied before gesturing towards Trubel. "Although, I guess I shouldn't have mentioned being a member of the coven in front of her."
"Your secret about being part of a coven is safe with me," Trubel replied.
"I hope so," Lucy replied.
"And for your sake, Lucy, you should not tell anymore people… ever," Katherine replied. "Because if the word gets back to Morgan Swanigan (the current leader of the Lunar Owl Coven) that you are an active member to the Earth Spirit Coven he could either have you killed or, if you are lucky, demand that you leave Twin Falls and its surrounding cities."
"Why would he do either?" Lucy questioned.
"Lunar Owl Coven and the Earth Spirit Coven are two of the six most powerful covens on Earth and all six are territorial," Katherine began. "And we live in the Lunar Owl Coven's territory. The only reason I'm able to live in Twin Falls is because I'm a nomad witch."
"I would hate to see you move away, Lucy, but for your safety, perhaps you should consider leaving Twin Falls," Alysa suggested.
"The Swanigans know me for most of my life, and as far as they know, I hadn't joined the Earth Spirit Coven." Lucy continued to say as she looked at Trubel. "So I'm safe as long as no one else finds out. And so I'm not trusting a perfect stranger with my secret, who are you?"
"My actual name is Theresa Rubel, but everyone who knows me calls me Trubel," she began before indicating to the toad in her hands. "Your mom is helping me out with something."
"Oh, and we should get on with it," Katherine replied before opening the small cage.
"You're about to change the toad's looks into something else," Lucy verbally noted. "What's going on?"
"Here are today's cliff-notes," Alysa began as Trubel dropped the toad into the small cage. "Trubel is a Grimm, but she's cool. She only goes after Wesen who cause mischief and mayhem. In fact, the arsonist that is plaguing our city is in fact a Damonfeuer, and Trubel came here to stop him. Anyway, we believe that the guilty Damonfeuer works for Dwight Lyndall and Trubel wants to shut Dwight down as well."
"Dwight is a powerful and an influential man in Twin Falls," Lucy pointed out as Katherine dunked the toad into the mask-paste. "Trubel, he might be a Ziegevolk, but you're not going to be able to kill him and expect not to get arrested for murder."
"I'm not going to kill him," Trubel replied before Katherine pulled the toad from the mask-paste. "I'm going to neutralize him."
"What do you mean by neutralize him?" Lucy questioned as Katherine dunked the toad into the mineral water.
Trubel was about to explain when the first toad imploded within the water.
"As I feared," Katherine announced. "I miss-measured one of the ingredients."
"That's an easy fix," Lucy replied. "And want does changing the looks of a toad have to do with neutralizing Dwight? I'm assuming the toad factors into your plans to neutralize Dwight, anyway."
"It does," Trubel replied as Katherine grabbed the ingredients she needed to modify the mask-paste potion.
As Katherine began adding to the potion, Trubel told Lucy why Ziegevolks ate toads and other amphibians and then told her the plan.
By the time Lucy was caught up with what was happening, Katherine was ready to dunk the next toad in the potion.
Trubel took one of the remaining two toads from the aquarium and when she faced Katherine, Lucy told her, "Don't use that toad. That toad is sickly and dying and will be dead in less than two hours."
"How do you know?" Trubel asked while glancing down at the toad.
"Yes, how do you know that?" Katherine demanded to know as she held the cage. The cage door was open.
"Aunt Fiona wants a necromancer in her coven, so she attempted to compose the incantation that would turn one of us into a necromancer," Lucy began. "She then gave me the honors to become the necromancer; although, her incantation didn't work as she hoped."
"Lucy, what did that incantation do to you?" Katherine demanded to know.
"Nothing bad, Mom," Lucy assured her. "I'm not able to summon spirits as Aunt Fiona wanted for me, but I can turn on and off the ability to see and hear spirits. Also I can sense when a person or a creature, like a toad, is about to die from natural causes."
"Did that incantation do anything else to you?" Katherine quickly asked.
"No," Lucy simply replied.
"Okay," Katherine replied in an accepting tone before moving the cage closer to Trubel. "Trubel, go ahead and drop the toad you have in the cage. I think the potion is correctly mixed now, but just in case, we'll test it on the sickly toad first to make sure."
"Okay," Trubel replied as she went to drop the toad in the cage.
Katherine dunked the toad into the mask-paste potion and then into the mineral water. Almost immediately the western toad transmogrified itself to an Asiatic toad.
When Katherine pulled the toad from the mineral water and the toad didn't explode or implode, she replied, "Excellent. Now let's do the final toad."
Trubel nodded before stepping over to the last toad and taking it out of the aquarium.
Katherine handed the dying toad to Alysa before Trubel had the chance to drop the third toad into the small cage.
Alysa walked over to the aquarium and placed the dying toad inside.
Katherine dunked the third toad into the mask-paste potion and then into the mineral water. As with the second toad, the third toad transmogrified itself to an Asiatic toad.
Alysa immediately injected the third toad with the concoction that she brewed.
"Okay, this toad is all set for me to hand deliver it to Dwight," Alysa replied. "Although, I would like something other than my hands to carrying it in."
"Hold on," Katherine urged. "I have boxes under the counter."
Katherine opened the far left door below the counter and pulled out an unfolded twelve-inch cube box. After folding it into a box and hooking its bottom so it wouldn't open, Alysa dropped the toad into it.
As Alysa was taking the box from Katherine, Trubel told Alysa, "Okay, we should get going. The faster that we can get this done the better."
"I'm coming too," Lucy announced.
"Lucy…?" Katherine was only able to get out.
Lucy interjected with, "Mom, Dwight knows that Alysa is my best friend and I would never allow her to go to My Corner of Hell without me."
Alysa made a body gesture as if to say, "She's right."
Katherine sighed before saying, "Be careful… all of you, be careful."
"We will," Lucy and Alysa replied.
Trubel gave an appreciative nod.
Before anyone could turn towards the exit to leave, Katherine informed, "Oh, um, if you get your hands on another toad or a frog, and you would like to transform it as well, the mask-paste potion in the cauldron will remain good for the next six hours before it goes stale."
"Good to know," Trubel replied before everyone turned towards the exit to leave.
"Trubel, what are you driving?" Lucy asked.
"I ride a motorcycle, but it's currently parked out front of Alysa's apartment," Trubel replied. "I rode here with her."
"Okay, we're taking my vehicle," Lucy announced.
Alysa chuckled before saying, "I'm fine with taking your vehicle."
After leaving the greenhouse, Trubel, Alysa and Lucy left the yard through a side gate as Katherine entered the kitchen from the backdoor. Marcus was done eating, but was still watching the baseball game.
"How much longer will Alysa and that troubled woman be here?" Marcus asked.
"She's not troubled, her nickname is Trubel," Katherine corrected. "And the two, along with Lucy, left out through the side gate. So most likely the three will be gone for a while."
"Excellent," Marcus replied with a devious grin. "Unless there's a big come back in the last two innings, the Cardinals won this game. So how about you and I go into the bedroom before they come back."
Katherine grinned before saying, "I'm all for that, but give me about ten minutes. I need to make a phone call."
"Who are you calling?" Marcus asked as Katherine was walking towards the hallway.
"Fiona Green," Katherine replied while walking away. "Michael's sister."
Without verbally responding, Marcus shot Katherine a curious look.
Katherine's purse was in her and Marcus's bedroom, and once Katherine reached her purse, she took out her phone, selected a London phone number that was labeled Maggie from it and dialed it.
In an English accent, Maggie answered with, "Katherine, surely you know how late it is here in London."
"I do, and I'm sorry if I woke you, Maggie, but I need Fiona's phone number," Katherine replied.
"You didn't wake me… this time," Maggie replied. "Fiona, Bryant, Clifford, Gilford and I have been out celebrating our success of us becoming the five co-leaders of the largest known coven on Earth. We have large groups of coven members in five locations on Earth."
"Yes, well, my business with Fiona was to discuss one of those coven members, but after hearing your big news, my business now includes all five of you. Are your four siblings in the room with you? And are you in a private location where we can talk freely?"
"Yes to both questions, and you are now on speaker phone," Maggie replied. "So say what you need to say."
Katherine took a breath before saying, "Less than an hour ago, I learned that Lucy is an active member of the Earth Spirit Coven with Fiona as her leader…"
"Katherine, I know what your general opinion is on covens larger than fourteen members, and if you are calling for me to release Lucy from the coven, you are wasting your time," Fiona quickly told her.
"I'm not going to lie to you, Fiona," Katherine replied. "I would love it if you would release her from being a part of your coven, but I knew before calling that it would be a waste of my time asking for that."
"Then why are you calling, Katherine?" Fiona questioned.
"To remind you and your siblings that Lucy is your niece," Katherine quickly replied. "She is not cannon fodder, nor is she your guinea pig to test newly composed incantations on. She's Michael's daughter. His only surviving child."
"Katherine, I understand why you are reminding us that Lucy is our niece and we would never ask Lucy to do anything that we ourselves wouldn't do," Fiona replied.
"Asking her to do things isn't the issue," Katherine quickly replied. "Lucy is now magically bound in servitude to you and to your future successors for life. So the issue I have is that Lucy no longer has Free-Will to say no to anything you ask her to do."
"Earth Spirit Coven has always been ruled by my blood relatives, so my successor will be one of my kids—Lucy's cousin," Fiona replied. "And Lucy is well loved by us all. We have no ill will for Lucy just because you and Michael became a couple thirty years ago, followed quickly by Michael's outright refusal to join the coven."
"Back up," Katherine quickly demanded. "Let's be clear that Michael and I had met fifteen minutes after Michael had ditched the ceremony that would have made him an active coven member."
"Yes, Katherine, we all know in which order the events played out," Fiona replied in a tedious tone. "You don't have to keep reminding us. However, I would like to point out that if he hadn't met you, I truly believe that our parents could have persuaded Michael to return and complete the ceremony. Regardless, Lucy is a beloved member of our family and she will be treated as such."
"Okay; good," Katherine replied in an accepting tone.
"Is there anything else that you would like to discuss with us, Katherine?" Fiona questioned.
"No," Katherine replied. "Everything I needed to say has been said. So goodnight."
"Goodnight," Fiona, Maggie, Bryant, Clifford and Gilford all replied in an uneven chorus before the call was ended.
Katherine put her phone away and left the bedroom.
To be continued.