Amelia ran downstairs and out the back door. She spotted her older brother Jonathan engaged in some target practice.

"Jonathan!" she shouted at him, while holding her ears, but he seemed to be ignoring her. "Johnny! Put that thing away!"

He finally put his musket down and turned around smirking at her, while leaning on his gun. "Sister, dear," he said with a scowl. "If you don't like the sounds of ole Bessy here, then go back in the house."

"No, I won't, Jonathan Ian Gamgie," she said, waving her finger at him in an attempt to scold him. "We have a big problem."

"What is it this time, Amelia?" he asked, picking up his musket and walking closer to the woods. She made a point of following him. He only knew this, because he could hear her skirts dragging on the ground. He finally stopped and turned around, making her almost run into him. "Having a hard time keeping Ethan under your spell?"

"No," she fired at him. "And don't say that. Someone might be listening and take you seriously. I'm talking about our little house guest. She's the one who has Sophie under a spell."

"Don't be ridiculous," Jonathan said, continuing his walk into the woods. "That little demon girl is harmless."

"Harmless!" she shouted and grabbed his arm. "She claims to be from the future and babbling on about some non-existent crystals and stories of the ancients."

"So what," Jonathan said. "Mrs. Polk talks that way all the time, and no one pays her any mind."

"That old witch is crazy, and everyone knows it," Amelia said, which made Jonathan roll his eyes and shook his head. He never took half the things Amelia said seriously. "I'm talking about Sophie, our sister, and the people in town knows that she never lies."

"Get to the point," Jonathan said demandingly as he was in the process of reloading his gun.

Her expression turned into a scowl, knowing he was making light of the situation. "I'm just saying that if she goes around town talking crazy because of that girl, you know what will happen."

"No, Amelia. What?" Jonathan asked in a sarcastic tone. "Please, enlighten me." He placed the firing end of his gun on the ground and leaned on it as if it were a walking stick.

"Our whole family will be disgraced. You know how Judge Oakley is always talking about the scourge of witches, their evil practices and all. Well, if Sophie goes around telling those stories, he'll make everyone think she is one. And you know what that will mean?"

"What are they going to do?" he asked, looking annoyed with his sister.

"They could kill us all, Johnny, and even if they don't, there's no way Ethan will marry me."

"So, this is about you," he said, trying to walk away from her. "That's our Amelia, always thinking about herself."

"Me?" she shouted. "I am not. If Judge Oakley is as corrupt as Papa says, he just might come after us." She hesitated for a moment, then whispered in his ear. "He'll find out."

"What? That Pop and Sophie are Sadians. We have all known that for years. You're one too, you know. I know what you can do, Amelia. It's just too bad you can't do it to me. Go try your tricks on Ethan."

"Johnny, I'm serious," she said, pulling him down to the ground. "What if someone heard you?"

"Calm down, there's no one out here," Jonathan said. "And don't worry. No one's coming after you or anyone else in our family. I'll make sure of it."

"What are you going to do?" she asked, grabbing his arm as he tried to move away from her.

"Never mind, girl," he said, and rose to his feet. He walked off, leaving his sister there to wonder. She would have followed him, but she was scared about what he was planning to do. She walked back to the house, trying not to think about it.

To be Continued...

I really do appreciate any one who reads this. I worked for several months to write this story and did a lot of research. Historical stories are probably the most difficult, but I did have fun with this one.

Next up is conspiracies. There is a corrupt politician who runs the town. Can he be stopped before it's too late?