We drive in silence for nearly a half hour. Darkness has descended on us, but the headlights and array of Christmas lights cast a magickal aura across the landscape as we traverse it.
“I was going to take you ice skating,” Wade whispers, tilting his head as he stares out at the road ahead of us.
“What?” I ask.
“There’s a really beautiful outdoor ice-skating rink. It’s got Christmas trees and twinkle lights… I wanted to take you to it,” he says, shaking his head.
“Oh,” I say. My eyelashes flutter as I process this information.
“I love you, Autumn. With everything that’s happened, I don’t want us to lose sight of that,” he says, a hint of sadness lingering between his words.
“I’m not…” I start, but bite back my words.
I haven’t lost sight of it… Have I?
“We deserve to be happy. Even just a little bit. You know?” Wade continues.
Tears well under my eyelids and I nod. “Yeah.”
“We’re not going to be safe until we put all of this behind us. The Moirai will keep coming. They’ll taint anything good until there’s nothing left of us,” he says, clenching his jaw. “I won’t let that happen.”
“I agree.”
Wade sighs, pausing for a moment. “I won’t be going back to Windhaven Academy in January. Now that I’ve been permanently expelled, I don’t have the funds—or a magickal reason to be there.”
My heart is suddenly very heavy, and I stare out of the passenger-side window.
It’s all because of me.
“If you don’t go, I won’t either,” I say, pressing my lips tight.
“Don’t be ridiculous. That’s not why I was telling you.”
“Think about it, Wade. You said it yourself. The Moirai aren’t going to stop. I can’t just go back to school and act like I’m not being hunted. That we’re not being hunted. We need to end this. Find a way to break the curse. I can’t do that at Windhaven Academy,” I say, snorting to myself. “I highly doubt they have a class on curse-breaking or circumventing fate.”
Silence settles in the vehicle as he gives my words some thought. After a few minutes he finally says, “Maybe you’re right.”
“I know I’m right,” I say, sitting up straighter and paying more attention to the scenery. “Are you taking us to Mistwood?”
“After what just happened, Windhaven’s too far. I thought we could crash here for the night. Besides, it will give you some time to talk to your mom,” Wade says, turning toward the city.
“She’s not going to want to talk about it. I could barely get her to say two words on the phone.”
“Then at least you can sit with her and be in her presence,” Wade says. “Don’t ever take that for granted.”
Guilt coils in my stomach, and I know he’s right. I wish like hell that I had spent more time with my dad when he was alive. Now, it’s too late.
It takes less than ten minutes before we’re pulling into my mom’s driveway. Despite having grown up here, it feels strange now, showing up unannounced.
We don’t even get the chance to open our car doors before Mom’s outside, wrapping her sweater around her as she stands on the front porch.
“Hi, Mom,” I say, walking up the stairs and wrapping my arms around her.
“Hey, sweetie,” she says, pulling me in tight.
It’s been a month since I last visited in person, and every time, I wonder why it takes so long to come back home. Her embraces are one of the only things on this planet that have the power to calm my nerves.
“Hi, Wade,” Mom says, flicking her wrist and inviting him in on the action.
He steps forward, stretching his arms out wide to incorporate us both into his hug. For the longest moment, we just stand there, breathing in the cool air and clinging to each other.
“Come on, ladies. As much as I love you both, I don’t want us to freeze to death out here,” Wade says, chuckling softly and trying to keep things light.
Mom and I nod as he reaches around, opening the door for us.
Once we’re inside, Mom casts me a sideways glance, nodding toward the kitchen. We follow her.
“What are the two of you doing here? Did I know you were supposed to be here?” Mom asks, her hazel eyes switching between the two of us.
Wade shakes his head. “No, we were in Cambridge and—“ he stops, shooting me a glance that will instantly put my Mom’s Spidey senses up.
As if on cue, she quirks an eyebrow and turns to me. “Autumn?”
I stare at her for a moment, trying to look casual. “It’s nothing. We just thought we’d stop by and say hello.”
She narrows her eyes, clearly not buying it.
I fiddle with the bottom of my coat, trying to avoid looking either of them in the eye.
“Autumn found a red thread today,” Wade blurts out.
My head whips around to him. “Traitor,” I say.
Wade’s silver eyes are empathetic as he reaches for me. “After everything, she deserves to know.”
Mom’s eyes are wide as she glances between us. “Thank you, Wade. I’m glad Autumn has someone like you in her life. Since she clearly doesn’t want to include me in it.”
“Mom,” I groan. “That’s not it at all.”
“No, no. I get it. I didn’t want any of this for you. Right? So how could I possibly understand what’s going on now?” she spits, her eyes flashing. “Is that it?”
“Of course not,” I say, shaking my head. “I didn’t want to worry you.”
She actually snorts out loud. “That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard you say.”
“Mom, I don’t want to fight. Please,” I say, dropping my shoulders in defeat. “This is hard enough without—”
“Ladies,” Wade interjects, holding his arms out between us. “You need each other now, more than ever. Andrea, Autumn might not have been the one to say it, but I know she wanted to. She wants you in her life—her real life. Not just the superficial stuff. She wants to be able to lean on you with this shit. We have some heavy things coming at us and she just needs…”
“Her mom,” she whispers. Blinking back tears, Mom sighs and walks over to me. “I’m sorry, sweetie. It’s just… I wanted to keep you safe and the only way to do that was to keep you from all of this. I know its allure, trust me. But I can’t help it. I still wish you’d never opened that damn packet.”
“Mom, the Windhaven Academy had nothing to do with this. I am who I am. It’s in my blood. Acceptance to the school only shone the light on it,” I say, shrugging. “Ignoring it wouldn’t have kept the Moirai from me. It would have only kept me in the dark.”
“Wouldn’t that have been better?” she asks, grabbing hold of my hands. Her eyes plead with me, begging me to understand.
Shaking my head, I drop my gaze to our hands. “No, it wouldn’t.”
“How can you say that?” she asks as tears slide down her cheeks. “This life—it killed your father and so many others. Now, it’s trying to claim you, too.”
“And dying in ignorance would be a waste,” I whisper, fighting back my own tears. “I need to stop them, Mom.”
“You can’t stop them. Your dad tried,” she sobs, clutching my hands tighter. “He spent his life trying to protect you.”
“I know that now,” I say, shooting my blurry gaze to Wade.
His chin tips upward as he tilts his head to the side and rubs my shoulder.
“But now it’s my time to protect myself,” I say, dropping her hands and wrapping my arms around her neck. “I just need your love and support.”
“Sweet girl, you’ve always had that,” she says, brushing her hand over the back of my head.
Closing my eyes, I lean into her body, wishing I could stay in that protective cocoon forever. But deep down, I know the world isn’t so kind. Bad things are still coming for us.
The question is, how soon?
Chapter 3
Phone Calls & Ex
ploration
Being around Mom turned out to be just the thing I needed to feel more centered, but unfortunately, the feeling didn’t last long. By the time we were on the way back to Windhaven, all the anxiety that was pressing on us before we left welcomed me back with open arms.
In fact, the pressure was almost worse. Before we left, things were at least calm. There were no signs, no strings…
But now?
Our education is on hiatus and we’ve officially been put on notice by the Moirai.
Terrific.
“I think we should check out more of the books in your dad’s study. I was researching the other day and it turns out, he really had quite the collection of obscure texts. Maybe there’s something useful in there on helping us stop the Moirai?” Wade says, pulling out a large knife to dice the onion in front of him.
I close the refrigerator and toss him the tomato in my hand. He catches it with ease and smirks.
“I guess I’m not overly surprised after reading my dad’s journal. He was working hard to stop the Moirai. If anyone has the intel we need, it would have been him.” I pause, my forehead creasing as I think about all the time lost. There is so much I should have asked him.
“Hey, hey…” he says, setting down the knife and walking over to me. “I know that look.”
Before I think of anything else to say, his arms wrap around me. I set my cheek against his shoulder, leaning into him. Sandalwood and soap are the smells of home now, and I inhale them deeply, letting them wash away my worry.
Suddenly, the phone on the kitchen counter rings, echoing through the room like an alarm. We jump apart, but I shake off the surprise to walk over to the cordless.
I don’t even look at the caller ID.
“Hello?”
“Is Mrs. Blackwood available?” a woman on the other end asks.
“This is Ms. Blackwood,” I say, not feeling the need to correct her any more than that.
There’s silence for a moment, then shuffling of some papers. I scrunch my face and shoot Wade a sideways glance.
“Who is it?” he mouths.
I shrug in response.
Finally, the woman clears her throat. “Ah, yes. Ms. Blackwood. Is your mother there?”
“No, my mother doesn’t live here. What can I do for you?” I say, rolling my eyes.
“This is the law office of Harper, Lance, and Scott. We’re finalizing the last will and testament of Lyle James Blackwood and wish to schedule a reading of the will next Monday,” the woman on the other end declares.
“Oh, I see,” I say, clearing my throat.
“We would like to come out to Blackwood Manor, if this works for your family. Should I call Mrs. Blackwood to make arrangements?” she asks.
I clutch the phone to my ear but swap it to the other side. “That won’t be necessary. I’m the one who lives at Blackwood Manor.”
“It’s imperative Mrs. Andrea Blackwood be in attendance,” the woman says.
“Okay, I’ll see what I can do,” I say, narrowing my gaze as I try to figure out why she’s so adamant about my mother.
There’s another pause. “Excellent. What time shall we put you down?”
“How about one p.m.? My mom lives in Mistwood Point, so it will take her some time to get here,” I say.
“That’ll do. We have you down. Someone from our firm will be out there at one p.m. on Monday, Ms. Blackwood. Have a nice evening.”
The woman hangs up before I can say anything. I pull the phone back, staring at the keys.
“Who was that?” Wade asks, standing beside the diced vegetables with a look of concern.
I screw up my face, setting the phone back on the cradle. “It was the law firm handling my dad’s estate. They want to do the reading of the will next Monday.”
Wade takes a step toward me. “That’s good, isn’t it? I mean, it’s taken a while to prove his death and get things in order.”
“Yeah, it’s good, I guess,” I nod. “At least, it will be when it’s over.”
Wade’s eyebrows knit together. “What’s wrong then?”
I pause, thinking back to the conversation. “She was really pushy about my mom. She wants me to make sure she’s here.”
“Why is that so weird?”
“Because they’ve been divorced for more than a decade?” I say, leaning against the counter. “I mean, is it normal to want your ex at the reading of your will?”
“Well, he did share something pretty important with her,” Wade says, raising his eyebrows knowingly and pointing at me.
“Yeah, I know. I guess I didn’t expect to have to bring her here. She’s not going to like it,” I say.
“Do you think he left something in the will for her?” Wade asks.
I shrug. “Probably? Why else would she be so pushy about it?”
Wade chuckles, taking the last few steps to me. He kisses my cheek and says, “Good point. We can call your mom in a little bit and let her know. It’ll all be fine.”
Exhaling slowly, I tip my head. I seriously hope he’s right.
“I have to admit it’s kinda weird, though. It’s like the roles are totally reversed from when my grandpa died,” Wade says, returning to his chopping.
“Yeah, it does have a weird déjà vu vibe, doesn’t it?” I say, nodding and walking over to the pantry to grab spaghetti noodles. “Let’s hope things don’t go as sideways as they did after your grandpa died.”
“On the upside, his bones are already interred in the catacombs. I think it’s pretty safe to say you won’t find him in the middle of the yard as a revenant,” Wade says, stirring in the tomato sauce.
“Good point,” I nod, handing him the package of noodles.
After dinner, we sit in relative silence. My brain keeps dragging me back to the will, the reading, and telling my mom that she needs to be here. I know if I don’t get that call over with, my stomach will be in knots all night.
Wade studies me, his light eyes taking in my every move.
“What’s got you frowning?” he finally asks.
Pressing my lips into a thin line, I shake my head. “I need to call my mom. I just don’t know what to say.”
“How about, ‘Hi, mom. I got a call from the lawyer and they want to do the will reading next Monday. Any chance you can be there?’” he says nonchalantly.
“Easy for you to say. You didn’t grow up with her,” I mutter.
“Come on. She’s not that bad,” Wade says, chuckling. He stands up, reaching for my plate and placing it on top of his own. “Call her. I’ll get the dishes done and then we can hang out. Trust me, it’s not going to be as bad as you’re making it out in your head.”
“But I really should help,” I say, moving to stand up.
Wade sets the dishes down and puts his hands on my shoulders before I can get up. “Stop trying to postpone the inevitable. I’m not that bad at doing dishes. Yeesh.”
I fall back into my seat, and my gaze travels to my cell phone resting face down in the middle of the table.
“But…” I begin.
Wade leaves the room and yells, “Call her.”
Blowing out a puff of air, I reach for the phone and flip it over. Staring at the screen, it takes me another couple of minutes to build up the courage to call her over this. Any other time, for any other thing, and it would be no problem. But this is a double whammy — dealing with death and under supernatural circumstances.
I press Mom’s number before I have time to talk myself out of the call. The phone rings and as it cycles into the third ring, relief washes over me.
It’s abruptly cut off as the ringing stops and Mom says, “Hey, sweetie. What a nice surprise. Everything okay?”
My eyebrows scrunch in and I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Hi, Mom. Uhm, yeah, everything’s great.”
“Uh-oh. I know that tone. What’s up, young lady?” Mom says, obviously using her own superpowers, also known as motherhood, on me.
I clear my throat. “
Well, I uh…” Taking a deep breath, I try to remember what Wade’s version sounded like. “I got a call from the attorney handling Dad’s stuff. He, uh… evidently, he needs you to be here for the will reading on Monday.”
There’s a long pause on the other end and I pull the phone back to see if we got disconnected. The timer is still continuing to log the duration of the call.
“Mom?”
“I can’t make it,” she finally says.
“Why?”
“I don’t want anything to do with that place. I know—” She sighs heavily. “I know it’s your home now, and I suppose it should be now that… But I don’t have the fondest of memories there.”
“But Mom—”
“Enough, Autumn. I’m sure that if the attorneys want to get ahold of me, they’ll find a way. Now, what about Christmas? Do you and Wade have plans yet?” she asks, adeptly changing the subject.
“No, not yet,” I say, getting up and staring out into the darkness beyond the dining room window. The moonlight sparkles across the snow, lighting the landscape in its silvery glow.
“Well, how about the two of you come here for a few nights. We can spend Christmas Eve and day together.”
“Okay, I’ll see what Wade thinks,” I say, nodding absently.
“Good. Let me know what you two decide, so I can put a plan together,” Mom says. “Love you, Autumn.”
“Love you, too, Mom.”
“Talk to you later, sweetie.”
“Okay, bye, Mom.” I end the call, dropping the phone to my side.
I hope she’s right about the lawyers because I’m pretty sure they don’t want to just see me. Shaking my head, I turn and walk into the kitchen.
Wade is finishing up the dishes as I walk into the room, and he turns to face me. “See, nothing to it. On both accounts,” he beams. “So, what did she say?”
I shake my head. “She said…no.”
“No?” He quirks an eyebrow at me and scoffs as if I’m lying.
“Dead serious. She even changed the subject and asked about Christmas,” I say, setting my phone on the counter.
“Gee, you weren’t kidding. She really doesn’t want to deal with this place.”
Cursed Legacy: The Windhaven Witches Series Page 2
