“Hmmm. There’s your answer, I suppose,” Harriett replied matter-of-factly.
“This is the one who sees the dead?” Isabel asked Harriett, who nodded. It was clear they had been discussing Nessa before her arrival.
“Come here, child,” Isabel told Nessa. “And sit down beside me.”
Nessa obeyed, and the older woman took her hand. Isabel closed her eyes, as if listening to the rhythm of blood pumping through Nessa’s veins. “I feel you being called, and I feel you resisting. That is the source of your pain,” she told Nessa. “There’s something you need to see, and you’re frightened.”
“What is it?” Nessa whispered.
“I don’t know, and neither do they.” Isabel gestured to Jo and Harriett. “That is why your skills are more important than any of ours. You are able to see what has been done. Without that knowledge, we don’t know who to punish—or who to protect—and the crimes against our kind go unaddressed. Now we need you to stop resisting and guide us where we need to go.”
“How do I do that?” Nessa asked.
“Accept that what you find may be worse than you ever thought possible. And believe that you possess the strength to see it.”
“But I’m not sure that I do,” Nessa confessed.
Isabel squeezed Nessa’s hand. “This is what you were made for,” she told her. “Why do you think women are designed to outlive men? Why do we keep going for thirty years after our bodies can no longer reproduce? Do you think nature meant for those years to be useless? No, of course not. Our lives our designed to have three parts. The first is education. The second, creation. And in part three, we put our experience to use and protect those who are weaker. This third stage, which you have entered, can be one of incredible power.”
“Can be?”
“There have always been those who want to deny women power. And there are also women who refuse to accept it. Some, who’ve mastered the games men play, choose to betray their own kind. These women are our most dangerous enemies. But many women are simply too frightened to see things as they really are—or to accept that the world men have made must be destroyed.”
“Destroyed?” Jo had been listening closely.
“The day is coming,” Isabel said. “When I was a girl, bad men didn’t need to hide what they did to women. Now they must keep it behind closed doors. There are more of us than ever. For every woman of my generation, there are three of you.”
“Yes, but are we really supposed to destroy the world?” Jo asked.
“Not the world—their world,” Isabel said. “The world men built to suit their needs and desires. As soon as it’s in ashes, we can build a better world to replace it.”
“That’s right,” Harriett chimed in. “And our work won’t be over until that happens.” Her head turned toward the sound of a car pulling up the drive. “That’s Celeste,” she said, rising from her seat. “Isabel, would you like me to introduce you?”
“It would be a pleasure,” Isabel said.
“I’ll see you ladies tomorrow,” Harriett told Jo and Nessa. “Get a good night’s sleep.”
Jo waited until they’d disappeared into the house, leaving her alone with Nessa. “What the hell was all of that?”
“I don’t know,” Nessa admitted. “But I think we’re gonna find out soon enough.”
The next day, the Tuesday after Labor Day, was Lucy’s first day of seventh grade. Jo dropped her off at her new middle school. The kids swarming the entrance ranged in size from munchkin to monster. Lucy fell right in between.
Lucy planted a quick kiss on her mom’s cheek. “Don’t pick me up after school,” she said. “I’ll walk home.”