Hagnatha belched as she challenged the inner circle of the Green Witch Coven, "How dare you interrogate me."
"Listen up, crone." Margerie St. Croix sneered the word.
The sister-witch's silver pigtails swung as she spat her words at the chicken footed hag, "You spent quite a bit of time alone with Dandy Darkly as you tried, and failed, to get that cursed wedding ring off his finger, so don't act like these questions aren't relevant to the discussion."
"There is no discussion! My role as Fifth Voice for your silly sorority is simple, hear the cat-fight of the month, vote yay or nay and return to my cave."
Margerie started to respond but Snowdeth, the leader of the Green Witch Coven, bid her silence. She then addressed Hagnatha, "We worked together to remove the Halloween wedding ring. You were by my side when Dandy Darkly said he had travelled here from an alternate reality, a new world.. I know you heard it, as did I."
Hagnatha begrudgingly affirmed, "Sure. I heard him. But those were ramblings of a mad man. He was under the influence of the ring. And he never said it was a new world."
Snowdeth persisted, "Nonetheless. I know you are familiar with the Titubian Prophecies?"
Hagnatha stalked in a circle, gradually facing all four of the witches who surrounded her, "None of you talk trash about Tituba. She was a magnificent crone, second only to Baba Yaga. Don't you dare disparage her prophecies!"
"We would never. While my predecessor, in her role as mother-witch, maintained a more traditionally limited interaction between the Green Witches and crones, I do recognize the peculiar relationship implicit in our kind as a whole. As such, I have tremendous respect for the insight your ... darker path may offer."
Margerie rolled her eyes, "Why don't you girls French kiss? Take it to second base. The rest of us have a sorcerer to kill."
The mother-witch shot her a stern look and continued, "The sixty fifth prophecy of Tituba refers to a witch extinction."
Hagnatha recited from memory, "And the covens of light shall breathe their last breath. And the dark crones shall have their ravens wings torn. Ne'er again shall the moon sisters conjure for from a new world the scourge shall strike."
The crone continued, "It's certainly terrifying stuff, but this prophecy has already happened. Tituba herself was executed towards the end of the American witch-hunts. One hundred thousand witches were burned, crucified and squashed to death. You really think there's something worse yet to come?"
"I sure do." Margerie St. Croix jabbed her finger in the air, "We must be proactive. Come on! Even if we're wrong, what's the harm in ridding the Greenwitch Village of a dark sorcerer such as Dandy Darkly?"
Hagnatha didn't look at Margerie as she replied, "Not everything dark is evil. Take dark chocolate, for example."
The daughter-witch, Lakshmi Patel, raised her hand, "Ms. Hagnatha, if I may?"
"Well... Aren't you a sweet thing? Go for it, precious."
"Yes. Well. Our divinations proved beyond doubt that Mister Darkly's destiny is tightly woven into both your's and The Green Witch Coven's. Beyond that, there is no proof his path coincides with our's for the better or for the worse. His execution could create the very scourge we fear."
Hagnatha jumped on the young witch's words, "So smart. I like you. The Fifth Voice votes nay to the assassination of Dandy Darkly. He is not an immanent threat. I recommend you worrywitches gather more info. I'm out of here. My dinner has probably bled all over my cave looking for somewhere to escape. Good evening, ladies."
Margerie mumbled a profanity as the disfigured crone slapped her clawed hands together. The Fifth Voice vanished, leaving a mass of swamp roaches in her wake. The insects scurried to the edges of the summoning circle where they sizzled and popped like fire crackers.
The Four Voices of the Green Witch Coven stood alone at the summoning pedestal to determine their next steps in dealing with the foppish exorcist known as Dandy Darkly.
Margerie St. Croix continued to mutter profanities.
