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business some other time then.”
    “Let go of me.”
    Starr leaned closer to Emily. “You ought to reconsider your stand on this. You don't want to be on the wrong side.”
    Emily tried to jerk free. She even used her legs to push away from the desk. Nothing helped.
    Starr grinned, her big teeth unnaturally white. Starr whispered, “Subsisto.”
    The witch jerked Emily forward again. This time the chair rolled out from beneath her, and she was forced to bend over the desk. She tried to twist out of the woman's iron grip, but found herself powerless. 
    Scott grabbed hold of Starr’s arm and tried to force her away. She didn’t budge. With her free hand, she made a gesture and said a quiet string of words. Scott was pulled backward against the wall by an invisible hand. He tried to move forward, but was unable.
    At some point, Wren must have entered the office because she was now at Starr's back. She looked frightened or possibly ill.
    Starr's voice was low and malicious. “I'm not going to let some redheaded bitch stand in my way. Do you understand me?”
    Emily felt paralyzed. She couldn't speak nor could she extract her hand from the woman's grip.
    The fingers of Emily's free hand closed around an earthenware vase. She doused Starr with crisp daisies and yellowed water. It did nothing to deter her. Her grip tightened, making the bones of Emily's hand crack and pop. She muttered words that sounded like nonsense through gritted teeth. Memories from a year ago, the very ones Emily struggled to forget, flooded through her mind.
     
    Flashes of neon in the darkness and Liz’s face filled her mind. Emily tried to grasp her sister's hand, but the older girl frowned and cringed away.
    Emily rested against the seat. The red-eye flight from Tucson to Oklahoma City had exhausted her. After a tearful plea, her father agreed to pick her up at the airport. The rest of the family had insisted on accompanying him.
    The soft glow of the instrument panel lit her mother’s soft features. “I'm so glad you've come home. I've missed you so much.”
     
    The images in Emily's mind flashed like a strobe light. The picture was somewhat fuzzy as if she had trouble recalling the finer details. Her family's voices drifted in and out like someone turned the volume knob on a radio up and down.
     
    Emily's father turned stern eyes up to the rearview mirror. Disapproval turned his mouth down.
    Emily clutched at the purse in her lap and bit her bottom lip. Things would never be the same as before, but now that she was home she'd be safe and surrounded by loved ones. Maybe one day they'd find it in their hearts to forgive her.
    “I'm very disappointed in you, Emilia Ann,” her father reprimanded her. “What in God's name possessed you to run off with that boy? I told you he was bad news from the start. You're just lucky you didn't end up pregnant too.”
    Her mother cut him off. “All that matters is she's safe and we have her back.” To Emily, she said, “I didn't change a thing in your room. I knew you'd come home.”
    Headlights lit the interior of the car. Liz screamed, “Dad, watch out!”
    The screech of metal and squealing tires filled the night. Screams and shattered glass exploded within the car. The car tumbled from the bridge and plummeted as if tossed by a child's careless hand.
    They fell sideways into dense trees that stopped their descent.
    Beneath the wreckage, the river sang a deadly lullaby.
    Emily regained consciousness some time later. She lay against the door – broken glass, branches and leaves all around her head. Liz lay against her, both of her legs mangled in the twisted treetops that had torn away the door on her side.  
    She could hear the frightened voices of those who had stopped to help somewhere above them. The wail of sirens drew near.
    “Mom? Dad?”
    She received no answer.
    She looked to her mother first. Her body hung limp and lifeless, suspended by the safety belt. Blood ran from a head wound.