Salem's Daughters Read Online Free Page B

And it’s not just an ordinary owl. It’s a great horned owl. He looks really hungry.”
    “Time to check my powers,” Esther said. “Fear not. Go ahead, plant a thought in that stupid bird’s head to come after us. I’ll take care of this threat.”
    Madelyn cocked her head to the side and scrunched her eyebrows. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
    Isabella stepped forward. “Too late. The deed is done.”
    The owl left its perch and glided down. The flight was graceful and silent, almost hypnotic. The cats clustered closer. The night predator’s feet came forward. Talons separated. He was almost on top of them when the raptor exploded into a hundred pieces of red gore and feathers.
    “That was amazing,” Isabella said as a shower of blasted feathers descended, slow, like a torn apart down pillow. “How do you do that?”
    “To be truthful, I’m not sure. It’s a gift I was born with. Gave my family fits when I was a child.”
    The howl of a nearby wolf followed.
    “Now I’m really scared,” Chloe said. “Forget about owls. Foxes and wolves and all sorts of predators prowl these woods.”
    “Fear not,” Rebecca said. “I’ll roast alive any wild animal we come across.”
    “Speaking of fire,” Annie said. “Can you start a small one to keep us warm?”
    Annie pushed dry branches, twigs, and leaves in a pile. Rebecca circled the kindling and timber and a small fire started. The cats closed in.
    Emily liked Rebecca’s courage and the way the others respected her. If something untoward were to happen to me, she thought, Rebecca is the obvious choice for a successor.
    “Rebecca, my second in command, you surely are. And a leader of three. Your sister Annie and Jacqueline shall be in your group.”
    Emily looked at her best friend, Rebecca. They had grown up together. She knew Rebecca could be wild and unpredictable, but she was popular and the others looked up to her. This was an easy choice.
    Rebecca bowed. “Thank you. I humbly accept.”
    The rest of the cats nodded in agreement.
    Emily continued. “Let’s see. Chloe, you’re also a leader with Amy and Helen.”
    The three cats merged to help keep each other warm.
    “Next is Scarlett. You are young and new to our clan. But I sense you are mature beyond your years. You, Angel, and Esther will band together under your leadership.”
    Emily moved on to the last three cats. “And finally, Isabella. You will be looking over Rachel and Madelyn.”
    Emily presented herself to the twelve huddling close to the fire. “I am at my wits end as to how to do this. This is bizarre, being in a cat’s body. But together, we shall fight and survive. I promise you that.”
    “And we have eight more lives ahead of us,” Rebecca said. “I think I shall truly like this.”
    Emily smiled. “As do I. This as an opportunity. Just look at us. We’re cats with nine lives, possessing incredible powers. For the life of me I cannot fathom what adventures await. But be sure we are far better off like this than to have villages of drunken fools chasing us with torches and pitchforks.”

Chapter 2              Caledonia Springs
     
    Debbie Stevens stared out her kitchen bay windows as she finished cleaning the cast iron skillets. On the table, scrambled eggs and bacon gave off a soft vapor she was sure gave testament of the loving kindness used to make Bob’s breakfast. She didn’t need to wake him. The smell of her husband’s favorite morning meal combined with the aroma of coffee was his daily alarm clock.
    Debbie was happy to perform menial tasks like making Bob his predictable and, in her opinion, mundane breakfast. Day after day. Month after month. For the first three years of their blissful marriage. Robert Jeremy Stevens was a great husband, protector, and provider.
    But he was also a calculable creature of habit. This had its good points. Planning meals was a cinch. But the drawback was getting Bob to change—like making the decision