Legacy & Spellbound by Nancy Holder Page B

sir, condone convicting more people who are probably innocent after what we’ve just seen? You think that a real witch would go to her death as lightly as the ones that you have murdered?”
    â€œBut the confessions—”
    â€œThere have only been a handful of those, and at this time how can we be sure that that Devil who just left here didn’t bewitch them into confessing just to cast suspicion from her?” Bartholomew pointed out wearily.
    That silenced them all for a moment.
    John Hathorne spoke quietly into the silence. “You all know me, and you know I don’t take our duties lightly. It seems to me that either this witch was far more powerful than her fellows, or we have condemned a great many innocent souls to death. If the latter is true, as I suspect, then God will judge us for what we have done.”
    He paused to let his words sink in. “If God is to be our judge then, let history not judge us. If this were to come to light there would be massive public unrest— upheaval, even. The authority of the law, the Church itself, could be questioned. There are many who already think we are wrong; let us not swell their ranks. We do have several confessions that shall be proof enough for most. Several have been sentenced and killed. Let us put an end then to these witch trials.”
    He waited for the murmurs to cease. “And let us erase all record of Abigail Cathers and what she did here today. Let us not speak of it, not even to each other.”
    As the dust still settled slowly along his shoulders, John commanded in a voice that shook, “Clerk, tear the pages regarding Abigail Cathers from the record. Destroy them. No one must know of the terrible things we have witnessed here.”
    Solemnly the young man did as he was told. After removing the pages he struck a match and set them on fire. He dropped them to the stone floor, and as they all watched them burn, the flame seemed to turn from hellfire red to black.
    At last the records were but ash, and John sat back with a shudder. He felt sick.
    â€œAnd what of the others we already have in custody?” Samuel asked. “If we simply release them it’s as good as admitting there was no threat.”
    â€œThen they shall be tried, but not by us,” John Richards said. “And somehow I think they’ll be found innocent.”
    Lieutenant Governor William Stoughton whispered, “Amen.”
    Jonathan Deveraux sighed heavily as he put his scrying stone away. He had not succeeded in having Abigailkilled. At the very least he had just made that task harder to accomplish since now he would have to try to find her. She certainly wouldn’t be staying anywhere near the area—not after what she had done.
    Ah, well.
Salem would return to its same sleepy roots, and life would return to normal.
    How dull.
    â€œThus it has always been,” Sasha said to Holly as they sat back from their shared vision of the past. They were in the sitting room of the safe house with Philippe, who had participated. Rose had commandeered the others to work on fixing some food for the large gathering.
    â€œDeveraux hunting down Cahors—or rather, Cathers, once your family changed its name—all over time and space.”
    Holly nodded wanly. “Six hundred years ago, Isabeau de Cahors was forced to marry Jean de Deveraux, and then she helped her family massacre the Deveraux family. There was a huge fire, and she died in it. Everyone assumed Jean died too.”
    â€œBut he didn’t,” Philippe concluded. “She had sworn to kill him, but either she failed or she spared him. And now their spirits are intertwined, and I believe they will continue to be so until she fulfills herblood vow and kills him. And the Deveraux Coven continues to hunt the Cathers witches wherever they may be found.”
    â€œâ€˜And kills him’?” Holly repeated. “But how can Isabeau kill Jean, when