Shadows in the Jungle

Chapter 1

Hazel Carter checked the lock on the door of her cottage one more time as she glanced at her phone and headed to the car. 3:25 pm. Just enough time for a crepe at Jonathan's bakery before her 7:00 flight. 

Her phone chimed as she climbed into her tan, ragtop Jeep, and she paused to read the message. It was from  Maude, the longtime coven member and retiree who would be checking in on Hazel's cats while she was gone. A guilty glance back towards the front window confirmed what Hazel had been feeling all day--the cats knew she was leaving them, and they were pissed. She typed a quick response and thank you to Maude, then placed her phone in the passenger seat before turning her attention back to the house. 

Mellessandre, the large, tan Maine Coon sat in the window, staring at her disapprovingly. With a sigh, Hazel closed her eyes and whispered the secret chant that would weave an orb of protection around her five cats and their home. She sat perfectly still as she visualized the threads of magic seeping slowly from her fingertips, melting together into a sheer fabric, which lifted effortlessly on the light breeze, fluttering to rest, draped over the steep tile roof of her cottage. 

Opening her eyes, Hazel watched Mellessandre blink slowly and deliberately in her direction, before settling in on the windowsill, paws tucked neatly beneath her. Breathing a sigh of bittersweet satisfaction, Hazel tugged the door shut on her Jeep and settled into the driver's seat. 

As she reached back for the seatbelt, she caught a glimpse of herself in the rear view mirror and sighed dramatically. What she been thinking, cutting off her waist length curls? She ran her fingers through the shoulder-length blow out and sighed again, shaking her head. Even the high priestess of a renowned coven was susceptible to bad judgement after a nasty divorce. 

Hazel turned the key in the ignition and waited as the car warmed up, massaging her temples with her fingertips. The cocktail of dark chocolate and chai tea at lunchtime was starting to wear off, and she dug in her bag for her water bottle, taking a long, cold swig before screwing the top back on and putting the car in reverse. Her headache continued to throb slightly, just behind her eyes, as she turned the car around and set off down the cobblestone drive through the woods. 

Hazel's divorce from her husband Matthew was final today, and although she knew it was for the best, the fact that a six year chapter of her life was over still made her falter. Nevermind that they had never been the best match to start with, and had grown apart even more since Hazel became high priestess of the coven and Matthew got "saved" by the local Christian church, shortly after their simple garden wedding in the park. 

Their relationship had slowly drifted into a quagmire of disagreement and disrespect as Matthew spouted bible verses and condemned Hazel's lifestyle, until it finally culminated in him trashing her altar and throwing her sacred tools out into the street in front of their downtown condominium. Hazel had filed for divorce that very morning, and moved into her great grandmother's secluded forest cottage that night.  

The cottage had been in disrepair for several years, and Hazel had originally hoped that she and Matthew might fix it up together and live there forever, raising a magical little family. Now that dream was over, dissolved into the ether like clouds into a night sky, as Hazel took on the daunting task of remodelling the house by herself, while keeping up her online business of holistic health coaching and herbalism. 

After the requisite 90 day waiting period, Hazel finally got the call from her lawyer. "You're free!" Meg had said. Hazel had just bitten her lip in amusement at the thought that a legal document could set her "free." Didn't they realize she had always been?