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name it, we jump off it. As long as it s high enough.
Jana thought he was joking.
 It s like flying, Mars told her. He turned on the windshield
wipers.
 Sure, Wyatt said,  just like flying. Until you land.
They didn t jump off cliffs, Jana decided. Or bridges or
waterfalls. That would be suicide.
Mars turned on to a winding, climbing two-lane road.
 Where s the ridge turnoff? he asked.
 Two and a half miles on the right. Watch the odometer,
Wyatt said.  There s a sign, but she said you wouldn t see
Wyatt said.  There s a sign, but she said you wouldn t see
it.
They d risen above the fog. Jana could see glimpses of
stars between the trees. They looked like shooting stars,
flashing on then disappearing as the mountain trees slid by
the window. Every-one came to Asheville to see the
mountains. Jana didn t like them much. There were snakes.
And spiders.
 Where are we going? she finally asked.
 To a meet and greet, Wyatt said.  With witches.
Mars didn t talk much while he was driving, Jana noticed.
He almost never looked at her.
 No way, Jana said.
 It s for Christie, Wyatt said.  You know,  Ouch, ouch ?
These witches, they re picking on her. We re going to ask
them to stop.
 Witches, real witches?
 Worse, actually, Wyatt said.  Conjure men.
He told her all about it. Up in the high hills, there were
male witches. Most were called cunning men. Cunning men
were healers and herbalists, like granny women but men.
They could remove the heat, and sometimes the scar, of a
burn by rubbing it with their hands. Cunning men could cure
a sore throat by blowing in your mouth. They could make
chickens lay eggs and cows give milk. They helped you find
lost things.
 Do they make potions? Jana said.
 Ointments mostly, Wyatt said.  There are no doctors up
here. People don t have money, anyway, or health
insurance. They go to cunning men for everything. They can
find wild honey by following a bee, and tell you where to dig
your well to hit water.
 What are they doing to Christie? Jana asked.
Mars found the turnoff to the ridge road. It was gravel.
And it was a climb. He switched the headlights to bright.
They seemed to point up at the sky as often as they did the
winding road in front of them.
 They aren t, Wyatt said.  Cunning men are good
witches. But the ones we re going to see tonight, these are
conjure men.
 They re evil, Mars said, as if it was a normal thing to call
someone.
Conjure men practice the black arts, they told Jana. They
were the witches that put curses on people. They could
make something catch fire. Or make a fire go out. People
were deathly afraid of them.
 Sometimes people need them for one thing or another,
Wyatt said.  Christie s parents went to them when she
died. Wyatt pulled himself forward with his hand on the
front seat.  For the right price, Webster, conjure men
resurrect the dead.
 At least they try, Mars said without looking at Jana. He
was leaning over the steering wheel, watching the road. It
turned every which way now.
Wyatt laughed. He dropped back sideways in the seat.
 Really? Jana asked.  Can they do that?
 No, Mars told her.
 Well, if they could & 
 They can t, Wyatt said.  They re not very good at
resurrection. But they try. Right now, they re bringing tiny
little bits of Christie back to life for just a second or so when
they cast their spells. She said it s like being pinched in
different places or pricked with a pin. And for some reason,
the conjure men are keeping at it.
 What are we going to do? Jana wanted to know.  Ask
them to stop it?
 They want resurrection. I m going to give them a sample
of the real thing. They ain t seen nothing till they get a look
at me. They might stop conjuring altogether.
 I would, Mars said.
Jana smiled despite her fear of visiting conjure men.
They probably had a house full of snakes and spiders.
 How did Christie die, anyway? she asked.
 You don t tell that on other people, Mars said.
 Your death is your last real story, Wyatt added.  It s the
one thing everybody gets to tell for themselves.
She hadn t liked Wyatt in the beginning. He was always
mean and snarly to Jana. That thing he did in the library
didn t help any. Now, she realized, there was another way
of looking at him. Wyatt had held her hand when she told
him to. And he was the one who had talked to Christie in
the hall. This errand belonged to Wyatt, not to Mars.
Mars pulled over to the side of the road and parked.
He and Wyatt got out of the car. Mars stood by Jana s
window.
 We walk from here, he said.
 Okay, Jana said.
 Wait here.
 No way! Jana didn t want to be alone.
 Please?
 They won t see me anyway.
 They re conjure men, Webster. They ll see all three of
us.
 I m coming with you, she said.  And that s all there is to
it. Jana got out of the car with her door still closed. The
Sliders had no choice.
Wyatt was already on his way. It didn t take Mars and
Jana long to catch up.
 What are you going to do when we get there?
 Shhh, Mars said.  They ll hear you.
 Really? Jana liked the idea that somebody on the
Planet could hear her, even if it was nasty old conjure men.
There was a light on.
 Keep her here, Wyatt said.  I ll go in alone.
Mars and Jana waited at the picket gate in front of the
little house in the woods. A dog howled and wouldn t stop.
The air smelled like pines. Jana looked up at the stars.
There were a million of them.
She believed stars held wishes. Stars were tiny threads
of light that reached to the earth. Like beads, dreams and
wishes slid back and forth on each thread. One of the silver
threads was tied to her, Jana thought. But which one?
Michael showed Nathan the gun that he d taken from
Marilyn Webster s bedside stand.
 What s this for? Nathan asked.
 We have to protect ourselves, Michael said.  Twenty-
five caliber semiautomatic. The clip is fully loaded.
 Do you even know how to use that thing?
 It s fairly simple, Nathan. You turn the safety off.
 Who cares? Sherry said.  We didn t do anything
wrong.
Michael stared at her. Yes they did, he thought. And
somebody had seen them doing it.
 So what are you going to do? Nathan asked.  Shoot
your phone the next time it rings?
Wyatt was satisfied.
He was laughing as he left the house.  If they weren t [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]