A Salem Awakening

Chapter 31

Rennik was hobbled but making progress getting back to his house. The pain was of no concern to him, his only goal was to make sure Abigail was safe. He made it to the edge of the woods leading to the clearing where his home stood. Suddenly, two men ran out of the house heading into the woods. Luckily they were not entering close to where Rennik was so he darted behind a tree to hide, just in case. He looked around the side of the tree and could just barely see the two men. He thought he recognized them, but more importantly, he could see they were alone. Abigail was not with them.

As soon as they disappeared into the woods, Rennik made his move. He walked as quickly as he could, considering his wounds and makeshift cane. He made it to his house and swung open the door. Rennik was afraid of what he might find. He was fearful he might see two bodies lying dead on the floor. But upon inspection, the house was empty. He immediately noticed the missing candle and looked on the shelf for the book. It was also missing.

"Hopefully you have all three of them, Joseph," he thought to himself. "Now, where are you?"

Joseph just settled Abigail at their table, and Elizabeth Porter was making some tea. Elizabeth was an unblood, not of the bloodline at all. Joseph explained a bit of the Order to her – she needed to know because their daughter, Millie, was a Wicken – she possessed the bloodline, but they did not educate her in the Order. Elizabeth needed to know what it meant to be a member of the Order, in case Millie ever needed her protection. She was feeling immeasurable guilt over her inability to protect Millie, and she was feeling even more hatred toward Tobias for what he did.

"I need to contact your father. He won't know where you are." Joseph said. In reality, Joseph didn't know whether Rennik was in the heat of battle, or even still alive. But he needed to attempt contact.

Joseph pressed his middle three fingers from each hand to their appropriate temple on the sides of his head, closed his eyes, and thought, "Rennik – where are you? I have Abigail, we're safe at my house. Please get here as soon as your can."

Rennik immediately received the message and put his three middle fingers to his temples, barely generating enough energy to send a message back.

"Joseph, I'm happy to hear you and Abigail are safe. Thank you for protecting her. Do you also have the candle and the book?"

"Yes – and we also have the cloak," Joseph responded. "It's how we escaped. And I have many questions for you about all three of them."

Rennik smiled, "I'm sure you do. But now is not the time." His smile wiped itself away. "Joseph, I'm badly injured. I don't have the energy to make it to your house. I'm barely able to keep up this conversation. Can you use the cloak to come get me?"

"No, I can't. The cloak does not work for me. But we can send Abigail. She's the one who used the cloak and save us both."

Rennik was stunned. "But how did she... She doesn't even know what it is."

"I walked her through it. Rennik, she's quite amazing. I've never seen such natural power and ability to harness one's emotions as she possesses. I'm certain she can fetch you."

"I suppose we don't have a choice. Yes, send her but let her know..." At that point, Rennik drained the last of his energy. There was nothing left in his reserves, and the sunrise was still hours away. There was no way for him to regenerate until then. He never got the chance to remind Joseph he no longer had Samuel's embodiment. Abigail would not recognize him. Rennik slumped to the floor, weak and in great pain.

"Rennik? Rennik?" There was no response. This could only be bad news. Perhaps Rennik suffered a grave injury, or perhaps Junius found him. Whatever was going on, they needed to get to him right away.

"Abigail, put your tea down. Your father needs us. He needs you. He's back at your house and we have to get there right away. We need you to use the cloak again. You'll need to do two more trips. Do you think you can do it?"

Abigail immediately stood. "What's wrong with Father?" After just losing her mother only hours before, the prospect of also losing her father frightened her. But then her Sampson obligation took over, and she focused on the issue at hand. "Of course I can do it. Not that I know what exactly I'm doing. But if I did it once before, I can do it again."

"Great, let's go straight away. There's no time to waste." Joseph grabbed the cloak he laid across the back of a chair not three minutes prior and put it back onto Abigail's shoulders. She fastened the clasp herself and raised a side of the cloak for Mr. Porter to enter. Abigail put her arms around his body and clasped her hands together tightly, making sure her palms were completely flat against each other. She closed her eyes and thought about her mother. Abigail's inner dragon woke again, and within a few moments, a puff of smoke appeared and they were gone.

Elizabeth Porter dropped the teapot on the floor in horror and amazement. Even though she knew about the Order, she never saw its magic before. She found it interesting how comfortable Abigail appeared in her new role. Elizabeth wondered how long Abigail knew she was a witch, and she wondered how long it would be until someone accused her publicly.