Read Suffer a Witch for Free Online Page B

He held her close for a moment. Kissing her neck, he stepped back, gave her a nod, and took her hand. They went into the living room to face the music.

Chapter Four
    Em stepped out onto Boylston Street. Turning, she pulled closed the door to the back stairs, which went to the living areas. She looked both ways down Boylston Street before setting off across the street. While she would survive being hit by a car, she didn’t have time for the hassle today. She stopped walking to let a man running with a baby stroller pass before entering the Boston Common. She’d gone only a few feet into the Common when she picked up a familiar ghost.
    “Where you going, Em?” the woman asked.
    Em put in the wireless earpiece to her phone so that no one would notice that she was talking to the air. Even though the Common was quiet this early in the morning, Em couldn’t be too careful.
    “Good morning, Ann,” Em said to Ann Hibbins, who’d been hanged for witchcraft on the Common in 1656. The wife of a wealthy merchant, no one, including Ann, was sure why she was hanged for witchcraft. She’d lingered in the Common since 1656. She was one of the first souls Em had met when she moved to Boston in 1692.
    “I saw all those witches at your house this morning,” Ann said.
    Em inwardly groaned. Ann was feeling sorry for herself this morning.
    “Why I was hanged and died?” Ann gave an angry snort. “But you witches ! You get to live on and on and on . . .”
    Em let her continue in her “on and ons” until Ann got tired of saying the words.
    “You could move on,” Em said.
    “I could move on!” Ann said. “You could have the decency to die !”
    “Many of us would love to do just that!” Em chastised Ann. “It’s not like we planned this!”
    “I know,” Ann sighed.
    Em kept walking while Ann floated along beside her. They weren’t exactly friends. They just belonged to the same club of innocent women who’d been hanged for witchcraft. Ann had the dubious honor of having been widowed by one of the magistrates who condemned witches. Em glanced at Ann.
    “Why don’t you move on?” Em asked.
    “I lost the light, Em,” Ann said.
    “‘Lost the light’?”
    “I don’t know if I can anymore,” Ann said.
    Em shot Ann a glance. Ann was smart and sly. Em wasn’t sure if Ann was trying to manipulate her. Catching Em’s look, Ann gave Em a sad shrug.
    “I’m stuck here, Em,” Ann said.
    Em snorted.
    “Why did you make that sound?” Ann asked.
    “I’m stuck here, too,” Em said.
    Ann laughed. Em kept walking. Knowing Ann would stay in the park, Em stopped at the Freedom Trail near Beacon Street.
    “Your hanging day is next week, right?” Em asked.
    “June 19 th ,” Ann said.
    “Why don’t I see if we can’t help you?” Em asked. “We’ll have a little celebration and see if we can’t send you on your way.”
    “Would everyone come?” Ann asked.
    “By everyone, you mean George and John?” Em asked.
    “Sam’s my favorite,” Ann smiled.
    “Yes,” Em said. “I can promise George, and I’ll call John and Sam. I’m sure some of the others will want to come.”
    “That would be nice,” Ann said.
    “We’ll see if we can’t help you transition,” Em said. “What if you change your mind?”
    “I won’t,” Ann said. “I’ve wanted to ask you about it for a long time. I just never got around to it.”
    Em smiled her goodbye and started walking.
    “It’s time,” Ann said. “I need to do it before . . .”
    Em spun in place.
    “Before what?” Em asked.
    Ann had disappeared. Em cursed herself for trying to help the hanged-for-witchcraft crowd. It only ever caused her grief. Em scowled and continued down Beacon Street to Joy Street. It was a little less than a mile from the Mystic Divine to the Vilna Shul. After last night, Em needed the walk to clear her head.
    Everyone thought Em was in trouble. As soon as George said that he thought they were all in trouble, everything erupted.