Covenant
By: Kerri Jesmer
The alarm goes off at the usual 6:00 a.m. I'm struggling to get myself out of bed. I couldn't shut my brain off last night. I hate Thursdays. It's the day of the week we have our meetings, and everyone gets an assignment to test their loyalty to ‘The Company' for the next day. Fridays are stress-filled and frantic as I try to complete my assigned task in the designated time-frame. I sometimes wonder what I was thinking when I got into this line of work.
I need coffee, but I can't run late. I rush in and sit down beside Marty. I'd say he's the closest thing I have to a friend here. He's grinning at me like he knows something. I'm trying not to read anything into it because he's likely just trying to freak me out. Every week the task is a little more difficult, a little less acceptable to me. But we're expected to perform regardless. After all, we agreed, signed the covenant in blood. I watch Abigail Stanton enter the room like a queen and we all stand up. She waves her hand as if to dismiss us, but if we weren't on our feet, there would be hell to pay.
"Thank you all. Have a seat," she begins. "Today's tasks will be inspiring and bring us all closer together. Aren't those the best kind?" she asks. Everyone nods their assent. "Yes, well, I have a little assignment for each of you, but it will all work into the culmination of perfection," she says. Her eyes travel to each of us. Some nod, some look away. I stare back at her. I won't be intimidated. "Anita, my dear friend," she says.
"Yes, Abigail," I respond.
"I have the best task for you. Yours will require assistance so, let's see. Ah, Marty," she says, making eye contact with him. There's that grin like he knows something again. "You will help her today. Here are your assignments. Take the envelope with your name…or names on them," she says, looking at me again. The envelopes are passed and mine appears with both mine and Marty's names on it. It was either already planned out, or she cast a little magic there. "Run along. Report tomorrow at 8:00 a.m.," she says and leaves the room. I let out a long breath not realizing I'd been holding it nor for how long.
Marty and I leave together, heading toward our destination. He has the device Abigail gave him a few weeks ago without comment. Obviously, she's had this planned out for a while and he knew. We pull up in front of Hamilton House, enter and call out to Miriam. It's way easier than we are expecting. She's standing in front of us in seconds, smiling, thinking she's being released. She's wearing her best dark blue business suit, hair pinned up in a professional looking bun. I notice her nails are manicured and painted a deep red. It matches her carefully applied lipstick. I've known Miriam since we were kids living next door to each other. We both had a crush on the same boy in high school and fought a little over him until he revealed what a true jerk he was. Then we laughed at our foolishness. Now I can hardly meet her eyes. Marty is playing with her. I can see in her eyes she's beginning to realize the occasion is not what she'd hoped for. I murmur to her.
"Miriam, I'm so sorry," I say, my heart heavy with this awful deed. My hatred for Abigail grows in that instant as I watch a tear slip from one of her eyes. "Damn it, Marty. Get it over with," I growl at him.
He flips the switch, and her spirit is imprisoned in the device, pulled in like a wisp of white smoke. It's white because she's never had an evil bone in her body, never performed any dark magic in her life. She's always been the better of us. That's what made her so powerful and Abigail so vengeful. As long as she has her, Abigail will be the most powerful witch among us. My heart breaks for Miriam. This will be her end.
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