Page 33 of A Keeper of Time

“I am Mardella,” the middle woman said. She was the total opposite of the tall thin one. This woman was rounder and obviously shorter. Her hair was a tousled mess of pink curls.

“I am Melusina,” the woman on the right said. She was a redhead, like Maggie. It was hard to tell her age. They all had an ageless quality to them.

“And I am Daire,” the tall, thin one said. “We are familiar with Edna Campbell. Why did she send ye?”

Maggie cleared her throat and did her best to calm her nerves before she spoke. “Me aunt is missing. She’s been kidnapped and we can no’ find her. She thought ye could help.”

“Ye’ve spoken to her?” Melusina asked.

“I have.”

“And she did no’ tell ye where she is?”

“She doesn’t ken. Only that she’s in a house that can no’ be seen.”

“A house that can no’ be seen,” Mardella said, gazing at the other two witches.

“Hmmm…” Daire scratched her head as she thought.

“Who do we ken who could do that?” Melusina asked.

“Any one of a number of witches could do it,” Daire said.

“I ken who it is,” Maggie said.

The women seemed not to hear her as they continued chatting with each other as if they enjoyed the process of figuring this puzzle out, throwing out name after name and then dismissing them for one reason or another.

“I ken who it is,” Maggie tried again.

This time they heard her.

“Well, why did ye no’ say so,” Daire said.

“I…” she stopped herself. “It’s Evanore.”

“Evanore… Evanore… Evanore…” Mardella repeated. “Oh, aye! I ken who she is. She is Brielle’s sister. I had nae idea she was capable of such a spell.”

“Neither did I,” Melusina said, shaking her head.

“Well, imagine that,” Mardella added.

Maggie watched the three witches go off on another tangent making her feel as if she wasn’t even there. She waited as patiently as she could before losing that patience and shouting. “Hello! I’m still here.”

All three stopped abruptly and turned to look at her. They didn’t say a word, instead staring at her with unreadable expressions.

She hurried on before she lost her nerve. “Aunt Edna sent me here because she needs yer help. Her powers have been stripped from her and she can no’ escape this prison she is in. Evanore is also undoing all of the good me aunt has done over the years.”

“What do ye mean, lass?” Daire asked.

“Aunt Edna is a romantic. She loves love and has spent years uniting couples from the past and the present. Evanore is separating them.”

“And ye want us to undo all of that?” Daire asked.

“Aye.” Maggie sighed, finally they were getting somewhere.

“We can no’ undo what another witch has done,” Mardella stated.

Maggie’s brows collided as she tried to wrap her mind around this pronouncement. “What can ye do?”