CHARLES TOWN FEBRUARY 16 1739 R ise up Aunt Winnie’s whisper was low and insistent Jem tried to cover his head with the worn rice sacks he used as blankets The night was shivery and the root cellar smelled of damp Bright lamplight shone in his eyes Boy looks sickly a woman said You sure he ain’t got the fever Jem came awake at the sound of the unfamiliar voice He was dimly aware that it must be very late for the stone Aunt Winnie had warmed for his bed was cold against his feet Needs some fresh air and greens is all Aunt Winnie said The lantern clanked as she set it on a barrel You told me he was thirteen Don’t look half that You backing out Too late for that But I should’ve looked at the boy before I bargained with you old woman This runt ain’t good for nothing Can’t even get himself up The pallet was yanked out from under Jem and he landed hard on the dirt floor Quick now Aunt Winnie pulled him to his feet He squinted at the dark-skinned woman standing next to her With a long neck sticking out of her cloak and a black wrap around
KRISTA RUSSELL her head the woman reminded him of a buzzard Her bony claws clutched at his pallet This here’s Phaedra Aunt Winnie said to Jem You’re going with her Going where His voice was a squeak What was she talking about Jem shook his head but couldn’t clear the confusion Are you coming he asked Jem didn’t like the look of the stranger He wouldn’t go anywhere with her unless Aunt Winnie came too Aunt Winnie spit into the darkness Never mind where I’ll be along later She grasped his chin Her fingers were warm and smelled of sassafras and pokeberry sharp but also soothing like Aunt Winnie herself Even in the shadowy light he could make out the dark red stain around her nails Promise me you’ll do as she says Jem glanced back at the younger woman Something glinted like cold steel in the opening of her cloak a silver medallion You must give me your vow Aunt Winnie raised his chin so she was looking deep into his eyes He stared back at her his resolve evaporating like morning mist over the Cooper River It was impossible to deny Aunt Winnie Though not his blood she was the closest thing to family he’d ever known She was also Charles Town’s most powerful conjure woman And Jem knew better than to resist the forces of conjuration I promise he whispered 2
Chapter One Spanish Florida October 13 1739 The fort was eerily quiet Shadows hung like phantoms in the dark reaches of the yard Most of the militia had gone to the Castillo de San Marco the large fortress in St Augustine A small group sat around the fire Big Sunday who’d been one of the first to escape to Florida had taken his usual place at the center of the gathering His half-Indian son Domingo had come from his village toting a string of fish he’d speared in the harbor Tell a tale about Brother Rabbit Jem said thinking of the story Aunt Winnie had told him the night he left Charles Town He’d puzzled over its meaning all the long months he’d been in Spanish Florida Which one Big Sunday asked He stoked the fire with a long stick releasing a swirl of fiery embers into the moon lit sky The one where he tricks Fox into leading him out of the Great Dismal Jem shivered at the images the swamp’s name
