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and continued down to Em’s floor.
    “How are you, Em?” Margaret asked.
    “I’m okay,” Em said.
    “Any darkness today?” Margaret asked. She squinted as she scanned Em’s physical and spirit bodies.
    “Not that I can tell,” Em said.
    Margaret had been in her late seventies when she was hanged in Salem Village all those years ago. In modern life, Margaret looked like she was a fit woman in her mid-forties. She worked as an economic forecaster for the state of Massachusetts.
    “See anything?” Em asked.
    “Not a thing,” Margaret said. “You’re such a radiant light. I’m sure you’d just block out any darkness.”
    Em smiled. Margaret’s words were always in inverse relation to her forecasts. If Margaret saw a negative outcome, she’d always say something incredibly kind and nice. Margaret must have seen something that she didn’t like in Em.
    “Yes?” Em asked.
    Margaret blushed.
    “It’s okay,” Em said. “We can talk about it at dinner.”
    Em trotted down the two flights of stairs to her apartment, and Margaret followed. Em opened the door to her apartment and felt the wave of warm friendship and noise of talking voices. Margaret slipped in behind her. Rather than going straight into her living room, she slipped into the bathroom for a quick shower and inspection of the new windows. She had just stepped into the shower when the door opened.
    “Hello?” Em asked.
    “Just brought you some clothes,” Sarah Wildes said.
    “Thanks, Sarah,” Em said. “Are you . . .?”
    Sarah Wildes’ face appeared around the shower curtain.
    “I’m sniffing around,” Sarah Wildes said. “I hate the subterfuge, but Margaret asked me to check and . . .”
    “And?”
    “Finish your shower!” Sarah Wildes smiled at Em and left.
    “Witches,” Em said under her breath.
    She made quick work of her shower and got dressed. She brushed out her long hair before opening the bathroom door. Giles Corey was standing on the other side of it.
    “You’ve brought this on yourself,” Giles said.
    Em rolled her eyes and tried to move past him. Angry, he grabbed her by the arms.
    “You should have listened to me,” Giles said.
    Em shook her head. He yelped and let go. There was an odd rumbling in the apartment, and everyone stopped talking. Now furious, Giles took a step toward her.
    “How dare you?” Giles asked. “You’ve brought this upon all of us.”
    “You have no more idea of what’s going on than I do,” Em said. “Don’t pretend you do.”
    “I know who’s at the root of it,” Giles said.
    “Who?” Em asked.
    Their energies pressed against each other’s in the tight hallway. Angry, Em refused to give him any ground.
    “Giles?” Sam asked from behind them in the hallway.
    “What?” Giles asked.
    Giles tried to overpower Em. She kept him off her. She was at least twice his strength, which infuriated him even more. She could have easily overpowered him, but she refused to do to him what he’d always wanted to do to her.
    “You remember what happened the last time you went after Em?” Sam asked.
    Giles didn’t let up his press upon Em.
    “Why don’t you come out of there, and we’ll talk about it?” Sam asked again.
    “She’s the root of all of this!” Giles said.
    “Come out of there so we can talk,” Sam encouraged. “She’s not your problem alone. We all want to talk to Em. You can have your say then. If you’re right, we’ll back you. You know that.”
    Exhausted, Giles let go of his press with a sigh. He shot Em an angry look but was clearly relieved to have a way out. Giles spun around and stormed away from her. Sam touched Em’s arm to make sure she was all right. She nodded. Sam followed Giles into the living room. For a moment, Em stood in the hallway to catch her spiritual breath.
    When she looked up, George was standing in the hallway. As if to say that she couldn’t help it, she shrugged. He smiled. He held his arm out, and she tucked herself into him.