“We think so, yes,” Mama Lune said, but she averted her eyes, and Rowan knew she wasn’t telling her everything.
“What was it you saw that day? You saw something at the funeral that frightened you—something that made you suspect that a Greywitch was among us.”
The Greenwitch sighed. “Your sister, when her body fell, I saw that she wore a coin around her neck. This coin—I could see Grey magic trailing off it like ribbons of smoke. Death magic went into its making. Do you know what that means, child?”
Rowan’s mind flashed back to the drawing of the coin she’d found in her father’s study. She knew he was involved; he had to be, but she still didn’t see how it was possible. She shook her head, trying to focus on the witch. “Death magic? I’ve heard of it, but I can’t say that I know what it is.”
“For death magic to work, innocent people have to die. They are sacrificed—were sacrificed—in order to create the spell that made that coin,” said Mama Tetri.
“What is it, though?” Jude asked. “What is the coin?”
Mama Lune squinted her eyes, crow’s feet fanning out from their edges. “I have seen its like before. It was a long, long time ago, but it is not a thing easily forgotten. Do you know what a talisman is, child?”
Rowan nodded. “I think so. It’s a protective charm.”
“No,” the witch said, raising a finger to stop her. “It can be a protective charm, but in its essence, it is a placeholder. It is simply an object that can be used to hold the intentions of the witch who cast the spell into it.”
Mama Tetri cleared her throat. “In old times, when the Greywitches ruled their sisters, talismans were used almost exclusively to summon ancient spirits, wicked things that they could command to do their bidding.”
“I’m not sure I understand,” said Rowan. “So the talisman summons a spirit?”
“It is a doorway,” said Mama Tetri. “Each talisman is fashioned for the purpose of housing a specific spirit. It is only through the metal of the talisman—and it is always fashioned of metal—that the spirit may enter this world.”
Jude ran his hand through his hair. “So this monstrous beast that stalks our woods, someone used this talisman to call it forth?”
Mama Tetri furrowed her brow. “Not just someone. A Greywitch. A most powerful Greywitch.”
“Wait,” Jude said, shaking his head. “But this beast does not live in any talisman. It is corporeal.”
“Is it, though?” Rowan wondered aloud.
“Of course it is,” he said. “You saw it yourself.”
She shook her head. “But I’ve also seen it disappear among the trees, and we’ve both felt it move past us without seeing its shape. It’s almost as if it is of this world and not of this world at the same time.”
Mama Tetri nodded. “I think you may be right. You see, even if a spirit were made corporeal—and it would take an immensely powerful Greywitch to cast such a spell—its essence, its heart, would remain in the talisman. It is like the shell of a sea creature. It may wander forth without its shell, but it is not safe or whole unless it is in its true home, the talisman. A spirit is of no use to a witch if she cannot hold sway over it.”
“But Fiona Eira has it,” Rowan said. “She has the talisman.”
“We know,” said Mama Lune.
“But,” said Jude, “Fiona couldn’t have summoned that thing.”
“No, she couldn’t have,” Mama Tetri said.
“Then how?” Rowan asked.
The witches looked at each other, and then Mama Lune spoke. “All we can say for certain is that somewhere out there, a Greywitch is missing a very important possession, and she can’t be pleased about it. I would hazard a guess that she doesn’t know who has her talisman, and therefore she doesn’t know who has her beast. She must be searching for it, and yet we have not felt her walk our woods.”
“But,” said Rowan, trying to make sense of it all, “what about Fiona … what exactly is she?”
Mama Lune’s eyes grew wide as she spoke. “She is a bloody one, child—the hungry dead. She needs to feed or she will die a second time, the pain of which you can scarcely imagine.”
“And the beast,” Jude said. “You say it is a kind of spirit?”
Mama Tetri pursed her lips. “It is an old thing—from long ago, when the world was a wicked place.”
“And it is the coin that connects them because Fiona wears it around her neck,” said Rowan.
“It could be more than that that connects them,” said Mama Lune.
“What do you mean?” Rowan asked.
“The Greywitch must connect them both. It has to,” the witch answered.
Rowan’s mind felt alive as all the pieces of the puzzle began to click into place. And yet, there was a creeping fear, a sense of doom looming just above her, threatening to press down and crush the air from her lungs. “Do you think this Greywitch could still be in Nag’s End?” she asked.
Mama Lune furrowed her brow. “If so, she is being very quiet. We have not sensed her.”
“So … what do we do?” Rowan asked, galvanized. “There must be something we can do? Some kind of magic?”
Mama Lune scowled and put a hand on her hip. “We are not all-powerful, child. I am a Greenwitch. I make herbs and tinctures to heal. Mama Tetri is a Bluewitch. She works the water to divine. We don’t go about fighting primordial monsters.”
“But can’t you divine how to kill it?” Rowan pleaded. “Can’t you divine what to do?”
Mama Tetri pursed her lips. “I have tried, and I cannot see. The only thing we do know is that witches like us are powerless against this kind of magic.”
“But you can’t be!” cried Rowan, fear welling up in her heart. “There must be something you can do.”
Mama Lune shook her head. “We are heading west. It is time for Mama Tetri to move on, and I shall go with her.”
Rowan was shocked to hear the words, but looking at Jude, she saw that they hit him harder.
“What?” he said, stepping away from Mama Lune. “You can’t leave now.”
“There is nothing we can do,” the Greenwitch said. “Mama Tetri has delivered her message, but we cannot stay and fight. Witches are a dying clan. We need to protect our ways. We must move on.”
Jude stood stunned, his face crimson with anger.
“You’re not going to help us?” Rowan asked, her mind spinning. “You’re just going to leave us here?”
“This is not our battle. We cannot win it,” Mama Tetri said, leveling her gaze at Rowan. “But there is a faint possibility that you might be able to do so. This connection you have with Fiona. See what that brings. You are connected to her, and she is connected to the beast. And therein lies your hope. Perhaps there is some way to use this connection to your advantage.”
“You’re both crazy,” Jude spoke, fury charging his words. “You’re telling us that you won’t stay and help us, but that Rowan should risk her life?”
Mama Lune nodded. “I cannot make you understand the ways of the witches. Forgive me, child.”
Jude shook his head. “That’s all we get?”
“That’s all you get,” she said, pity in her eyes, and for a moment, Rowan felt certain that Jude was going to scream, but clenching his jaw, he turned and strode over to Rowan.
“Let’s go,” he said. “I’m sorry I brought you here.”
Mama Tetri reached out to take Rowan’s hands, but she backed away from the witch and walked out the front door with Jude.
Once outside, Rowan turned toward Jude, and he winced, pain written across his face. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I don’t know what we’re going to do.”
“It’s not your fault, Jude,” she said, upset to see him so hurt, wanting to soothe him somehow.