The Night Strangers - Chris Bohjalian [163]
Her girls looked more stunned than terrified, but she knew how frightened they were and she thought there was nothing she wanted more than to be able to go and comfort them. No, there was something she did want more than that: She wanted out. She wanted to take her girls and run from this greenhouse and from Bethel. She would stop by Reseda’s and get Chip and then leave northern New Hampshire forever. But two younger men she had never seen before—sons or grandsons of the herbalists, she imagined—stood on either side of her, each grasping one of her arms by the elbow.
The idea crossed her mind that Reseda and Holly were involved. Clearly they were herbalists. But had they convinced Chip that he was possessed and brought him to Reseda’s greenhouse so it would be easier to abduct the twins? Or were those two women unaware of what the rest of the group was doing right now? Emily wanted Chip—the old Chip, the man who had overcome a nearly disastrous childhood and wound up an airline pilot—back and beside her.
She could feel her heart racing; if she weren’t so determined to try to find a way to get her girls out of this greenhouse, she thought she might die. Literally, she might collapse with a heart attack. Her girls were standing on the other side of that massive cauldron, Anise’s and Sage’s hands resting like great bird claws upon their shoulders. The twins were wearing their matching winter jackets, which they really didn’t need because, despite the dampness and chill outside the greenhouse, despite the pane that was open to vent the cauldron, the heaters and the small fire were keeping the place almost toasty. But the girls were still in their pajamas, and Emily was struck by the sight of their baggy pajama pants between the bottoms of their parkas and the tops of their boots. She noticed that Garnet had tucked her pajamas into her boots, but Hallie hadn’t bothered. Anise had allowed Emily to put on a pair of blue jeans, but she was still wearing her nightshirt underneath her coat.
Finally John worked his way through the crowd until he was standing beside her, while Anise stepped forward and smiled at everyone as if she were hosting a cocktail party and wanted to welcome her guests. She pulled her robe tight around her neck, and Emily noticed that, unlike the other robes, hers had a silver clasp. She couldn’t make out the design from where she was standing, but she had a feeling it was some kind of ivy.
“Welcome,” Anise said, spreading her arms and smiling. “The earth is with you!”
“And with you!” responded the gathering.
“We merge blood with seed!” she cried, staring down at the dirt floor, enraptured.
“We merge seed with soul!” they replied.
“And soul with earth—”
“To be born anew!”
“Yes,” agreed Anise. “To be born anew.” She looked up and gazed at the gathering and shook her head in wonderment, and everyone watched her expectantly. “We did it. You did it. We have earth. We have twins. And we have … our recipe.” Valerian held open before Anise a thick book, and Emily thought it resembled the one that Anise had given Garnet, and the crowd in the greenhouse murmured their approval.
“To the earth and seeds!” John cried out in a toast, raising his goblet, and everyone drank with him. “To the twins!” he added. “Hear, hear!”
“To the twins!” the gathering