Free Witches by Kathryn Meyer Griffith

chair.
    “I’ll get the coffee,” she said.
    After she turned on the gas under the skillet she’d used for her own breakfast, she poured him a cup, and set it down in front of him. He raised it to his lips with a sigh.
    “Amanda, I meant to come over sooner.” His eyes met hers over the rim of his cup through the steam. “I just wasn’t sure if you wanted company yet.”
    Right after Jake had died, Ernie had been the first one there to console her. When she’d wanted to be alone, he’d respected her wishes and had stayed away.
    “It’s okay, Ernie,” Amanda reassured him. “My self-imposed seclusion is over. I’m better. Not so self-destructive anymore. It’s been hard.” She turned away for a moment, then walked to the stove and began breaking eggs over the heated skillet, determined not to let the tears win out. They didn’t.
    Amadeus was scrutinizing her from a dark corner, an encouraging cat smile on his furry face. He wasn’t mad after all.
    “You do look better than the last time I saw you, Amanda,” Ernie remarked from across the room. “You’re a strong woman. I always told Jake he was a lucky man.”
    “Not as lucky as I was to have him,” she replied softly. “He was a once in a lifetime.”
    Ernie inclined his head. “He loved you more than I’ve ever seen a man love a woman. You remember that, never forget it. That kind of love never dies,” he said with kindness.
    She regarded Ernie over her shoulder as the eggs spat in the pan, surprised he’d say such a thing; too touched to respond.
    Fresh tears welled up in her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she muttered, wiping them away.
    “No need to apologize, I understand.” His voice was sincere.
    “There’ll never be another Jake for me. Ever.”
    “No, there won’t. Yet love comes in all shapes and sizes, Amanda, so don’t fool yourself into thinking that you’ll never love again. You might.”
    “Ernie,” she shook her head, “do you know you’re a romantic through and through?”
    “Ha, so you finally noticed that, did you?” He looked over at her with teasing eyes.
    “Yeah, I noticed it a long time ago.”
    “How about another cup of that great coffee?” He held his cup out in front of him with a pathetic begging expression on his face that reminded her of the old Ernie.
    After he’d gotten his coffee, he casually commented, “Isolated like you’ve been, I imagine you haven’t heard about the Satanic cult activity around here lately? That is, what the police think is cult activity. Nowadays you never know if it’s just some nutso killing and trying to blame it on devil worshippers.”
    Amanda tensed. “I have heard some things. Mabel told me about it. She’s scared.” She’d finished the eggs, loaded his plate, and set it down in front of him. He dug into it as she sat down across from him.
    “She has a right to be. They’ve killed six people now.
    “They’ve discovered messages smeared in the victims’ blood near the bodies, promising more sacrifices. Warnings. I overheard Chief Garren at the donut shop this morning saying that one of the messages mentions that they’re followers of a powerful witch. Witchcraft. It’s gruesome. How can people do that to other people?” He shook his head, his fork poised halfway to his plate. “How can they live with themselves?” He rasped under his breath.
    “There are evil people in the world, Ernie. More evil than you can imagine,” was all she said.
    Amadeus was hissing beneath the table, putting his two cents in.
    “Well, it’s got the townspeople pretty spooked. There’s going to be a town meeting about it Tuesday night. See if there’s any way we can help the authorities find this human filth and deal with them. As well as protect ourselves.”
    “A cult like this won’t be easy to find.” Amanda’s eyes were distant. “They know how to hide their tracks.” She was uneasy. She’d always had a reputation in town for being a strange recluse. Some people