Amelia and the Secret of Stoney Manor (Amelia Series Book 1)

by Michelle Bradshaw

  “I’m sorry, Luna. I didn’t mean anything toward you. You have always been there for me. I …”

  “It’s not that,” she said, interrupting me. “I have been in love like that,” she paused before taking a breath, “His name was Dougal. He belonged to your father’s family, but mainly hung around with your uncle,” she explained with a snarl. “I really loved him, but it was a love unreturned. One night, I confessed my love to him, and he laughed in my face. ‘Why are you telling me such things?’ he asked me. ‘Don’t you know that I love power more than I do you?’ ” She frowned. “I was ignorant at the time and I begged him, ‘Why can’t you love both?’ ‘You stupid female,’ he proclaimed as he laughed in my face again. ‘I have gotten all I need from you. There are greater things coming than a feline like you could ever give me,’ and he walked away.” She took a breath. “I never saw him again until that dreadful day … the day he betrayed this family.” She growled a low growl. “It’s my fault, Amelia … my fault. I let my guard down and we were betrayed." She hissed as if still mad at herself. “I swore I would never be that naive again. I will never let another man get to me the way Dougal did.”

  “What bad thing happened?” I asked, trying to understand better.

  “I don’t have it within me to tell you today,” she said, looking out the window, watching Grandmother passing by it, headed for the front of the house.

  “Will you at least tell me what happened to him? I hope he got what was coming to him,” I responded.

  “All I will say is that he is still alive today, if you can call it that,” she spat.

  “Well, did he …”

  “Amelia,” she spoke as calm as she could. “Please, no more today. Besides, I can sense your grandmother at the front door.” She ran out of the room to greet her.

  “Oh, she can sense people,” I exclaimed.

  “Only your family, Amelia,” she yelled from down the hall as she raced for the front door.

  CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

  AMELIA

  HIS BLOOD IS ON MY PAWS

  “Oh, hello, Luna,” said Grandmother as I heard the door open then close. “Where is Amelia?”

  “Here I am,” I announced as I walked down to the front of the house to greet her.

  “My apologies. It took longer than I assumed it would. They were very welcoming, but needed some reassurance that they would be protected if they remained loyal to us.”

  “What do you mean loyal? I believed you were just going to see if they would fight with us.”

  Grandmother and Luna spoke nothing, but just looked at each other. “I think it is about time you opened your last birthday gift, Amelia.”

  “Okay,” I said, confused as usual.

  “There might be ‘other’ things you also need to discuss,” Luna suggested.

  “What things?” asked Grandmother.

  “Boy things,” responded Luna.

  “Luna!” I exclaimed embarrassed.

  “Well, you need to,” she advised.

  “Oh my,” remarked Grandmother. “Let us go to the sitting room and have a chat, then you can open your present.”

  “All right,” I grumbled, not too thrilled with the idea of having that personal of a conversation with my grandmother. “I’ll get you later,” I hissed at Luna.

  “Well, you need to know, Amelia. It might help you understand Matthew better.”

  “Come on, Amelia,” called Grandmother, as I hesitantly followed her into the sitting room and closed the door.

  An hour later, I knew more than I ever wanted to know about the birds and the bees, as my grandmother called it. I guess I did understand more why Matthew felt the way he did. Not that it still wasn’t on my mind of what it would be like, but I didn’t want it to change the relationship yet.

  The doors flew open and a wrapped gift sailed through the air. “My apologies, Amelia. I used my magic tonight because I am so tired.” I shrugged my shoulders. I had been aching to use my magic like that. Maybe this was her way of letting me start using it more. “This in no way should encourage you to use your magic for everything you do,” she instructed as if reading my mind.

  Well, that stinks, I thought. “When are we going to train again?” I asked.

  “Not tonight, Amelia. I am far too tired to do it. It takes a lot of energy to establish the protection spell over the Manor.”

  “I figured you already had done that,” I said.

  “It wore off,” she claimed nonchalantly.

  “Does that mean we’re not safe?” I asked alarmed.

  “No, no, do not fret child. There is one that stays on the house and property all the time that I have to refresh every now and then. It is much stronger than the one I did before your training. That one specifically made an effort to hide or jumble up your magical DNA. It only works for as long as the training period since that is what it is for. It acts like a magical buffer for new witches and warlocks. It was created back in the time of the great burnings so that young witches could train and be able to protect themselves without fear of being detected. The one that stays on the house and property only hides the DNA from small magic. That is why I said we do not do big spells or large quantities of small ones.” I was starting to understand why we were the way we were, but I still wanted to do magic. Maybe she is just being a worry wart, I sulked.

  “Anyway,” she continued breaking me from my thoughts. “Open your gift,” she urged as she snapped her fingers, causing the present to sail into my lap. I quickly tore into the paper.

  I wonder what it is, I pondered. A spell book maybe? As I finished opening the paper, I was disappointed to find that it was an ordinary looking book, with nothing glamorous to it at all. “Thank you, Grandmother,” I mumbled.

  “Oh, I knew you would like it. It has been passed down for generations.”

  Who would pass this old thing down? I wondered.

  “Would you like to go through it together?” she asked. As I flipped through the first few pages, I saw a good many family trees posted in it. After that was page upon page of uninteresting words. “

  Aunt Elizabeth married Uncle Marcus and they had this many children, and their children married someone who had this many children together, and so on and so forth.

  I normally loved to read, but this book did not look appealing at all. “Since we aren’t training tonight, would you mind if I went on to bed?” I asked, not really tired, but not wanting to deal with the book right now.

  “Okay,” she said, a little disappointed. “I think you will like that book,” she said, perking up.

  I doubt it, I thought. “Yes, Grandmother. Thank you,” I acknowledged. “Good night” and went off to my room.

  “It’s not fair,” I sulked as I threw the book onto my nightstand, rustling the pages.

  “What isn’t fair?” asked Luna, sauntering into the room.

  “It’s not fair that I’m a witch and I can’t even use magic.”

  “It’s for your own protection, Amelia,” she said soothingly.

  “What, because of the stupid Darkness? I’d show him what’s what,” I mocked as I hollered, “Proteccion!” and put my hands in front of me, moving them apart as I did in training, as a shield began to form in front of me.

  “Stop that!!” snapped Luna diving of the ground at me, causing me to lose concentration as the shield vanished. “Don’t you think the Darkness has greater magic then any ordinary protection spell, Amelia?” she added, catching her breath.

  “I don’t think it’s ordinary,” I muttered.

  “Amelia, do you want to be the reason your family is found? It’s not a good feeling. Believe me, I know.”

  “What?” I asked, calming down as she got my attention.

  “I don’t like to talk about it, but it’s my fault your grandfather died. His blood is on my hands, er paws I should say. Do you want your grandmother’s on yours?”

  “What do you mean?” I asked, not knowing what else to say.

>   “Amelia, Dougal used my love for him against me. When the Darkness rose to power, all of your family went into hiding, as well as any ally we had on our side. They were dangerous times, even more so than now, because he was free at the time and not trapped where he is today. Anyway, it was my job to protect this family, as always, and to keep the secret of their whereabouts.” She paused as memories seemed to flash across her mind. “I should have known, Amelia. I shouldn’t have trusted him, but I was naive and in love.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked again.

  She took a breath. “Dougal had disappeared for a while when the Darkness rose to power, but then out of the blue, he came back into my life. I was young and I missed him, so I was delighted to see him back. Boy was I wrong. He only spent enough time with me to get the location of the family. I was naive enough to give it to him, thinking he would help protect them as I did because he loved me,” she explained sarcastically.

  “So, that’s when he said all those hateful things to you?” I probed.

  “Yes, and once again he vanished. Soon after that, there was an attack on our home. Your grandfather told us to run, but your grandmother wouldn’t leave him behind. He defensively charmed her with a sleeping spell so your father could carry her away with your mother. I was torn … go with them, or protect your grandfather, since my job involved protecting the whole family. I chose to stay behind, hiding in the bushes. I saw the Darkness blast your grandfather with a spell. He fell to the ground, but didn’t die.

  “The Darkness told him ‘Give me what is rightfully mine, old man.’

  “Your grandfather boldly said, ‘No!’

  “I dove out of the bushes to help him, and that’s when Dougal came running from behind the Darkness, pinning me to the ground.

  “ ‘Stupid feline,’ he hissed ‘Watch what becomes of those that oppose my master.’

  “I looked on in horror as the Darkness lifted your grandfather into the air with his magic and drained him of all the magic within him. It is truly a fate worse than death, Amelia,” she said. “Every inch of your body writhes in pain, and it feels like you are on fire as your entire existence is sucked from you. A witch would beg for death rather than having that done. That’s why many have turned to him out of fear.”

  She paused again. “Then he just dropped him on the ground, lifeless, as he walked away saying, ‘Come, Dougal.’

  “Dougal let me go and said, ‘Remember this feline,’ as he ran to catch up with the Darkness. I waited until I was sure they were gone and ran to your grandfather, but there was nothing I could do.”

  “At least you tried to help him,” I affirmed, trying to comfort her.

  “I lay there, watching his body twitch and spasm in pain because of my stupidity, Amelia!” she screamed. “It’s my fault, Amelia!” she shouted, meowing loudly as if crying. I had never seen her act this way before, but I hoped it might help to get it all out. “It’s my fault … my fault … my fault,” she confessed in between meows as she buried her head in her paws. I didn’t really know what to say, so I scooped her up in my arms and hugged her as hard as I could without hurting her.

  She meowed for what seemed like the longest time before, “He would not want you to feel this way, Luna,” proclaimed Grandmother, walking into the room.

  “How do you know?” she whispered.

  “Because I was still asleep due to his defensive charm, and right before he died, when he became unconscious, he came to me in one of our dreams and told me how much he loved me, Diana, and you, Luna. He told me to make sure to tell you he did not blame you at all. He knew how manipulative the Darkness can be and how he uses those we love against us, and for you not to blame yourself,” she divulged, wiping away a tear. “I do not know why I never told you that. I guess I assumed you knew he alerted us that he was about to die because we came back to bury him. I do not know, maybe I did not really understand how much it affected you until tonight. You could have ran, but you did not and in his last minutes of life, you were there for him. I can never thank you enough. He was not alone when he died. He had someone that loved him with him. That is all anyone could ask for,” she explained as the tears came more steadily as she wiped them. “I am sorry, Luna. Can you ever forgive me for not telling you that? I cannot even begin to fathom what it was like to watch him die and to have to live with the guilt of blaming yourself … well … I cannot even imagine.”

  Luna dove from my arms and into Grandmother’s. Both whispering, “I am sorry. Please forgive me,” and both responded, “Of course I do. I love you.” There wasn’t a dry eye in the room, and for the longest time we all just sat on my bed, crying and holding each other, until Grandmother spoke, “We have shed our tears. We shall shed no more. Ernest would have wanted it that way,” she said referring to my grandfather. “Let us all go to bed. Tomorrow starts a new day, Luna,” she said as she kissed us both on the forehead. Luna nodded her head in agreement, and with that Grandmother walked out of the room.

  “Wow,” was all I could say.

  “I haven’t felt this free in the longest time,” confessed Luna as she nuzzled my hand.

  “I’m glad,” I responded and with that we both went to sleep.

  CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

  MATILDA

  GOODBYE MY LOVE

  “Matilda, Matilda, are you there?” called a familiar voice.

  “Yes, yes, I am here. What is wrong?”

  “I just wanted to say goodbye, my love,” he explained.

  “Goodbye?” I asked, as I begin to weep realizing the only way we could be having this conversation. “Do not leave me. I need you. I love you,” I pleaded.

  “I am sure you will miss me, but do not mourn for me. Know that I died protecting the very thing I held dear to my heart, my family.” The tears fell like rain as his words begin to sink in.

  “I need you,” I sobbed.

  “No, my sweet Matilda. You are stronger than you know you are, as is my precious Diana. She has found a good man in Randolph. I am truly happy they are together.” He gasped as if in pain. “Please, tell Luna I don’t blame her,” he begged in between gasps. “My time on this earth is nearly over, but know that I loved you, my darling, until the very end.”

  I ran to him, not caring what happened to the connection. “I love you too, Ernest,” I proclaimed as I kissed him one last time before everything went black, and I could no longer feel his arms around me.

  Gasping for air, I woke up as sweat ran down my brow and I began to cry uncontrollably. I have not thought about the last moments with my husband before he died in quite some time. Luna talking to Amelia about it stirred up some old memories that have been forever embedded in my brain. I looked at the clock on my nightstand. “4:30 am. Too early to get up just yet,” I said. “I need my rest if I am to venture into the forest again today, and Amelia still needs her training.” I took a breath, “Ernest, I need you to help me back to sleep, all right?” I laid my head down and tried to close my eyes, but sleep would not come to me as I tossed and turned in bed.

  Morning eventually came, as the songbirds began to wake. Tap tap tap. Tap tap tap. “What in the world is that?” I wondered, getting out of bed to find the mysterious noise. “No, it could not be,” I whispered, rushing to my closet and thrusting open the door to come face to face with the mirror I had locked away to protect Amelia. It began to shake and glow as it had done so many nights before.

  “Mother, Mother, help me, Mother,” she urged.

  “Diana, Diana,” I panicked, pressing my finger to it as a thousand ripples like that of water ran from my fingertip before bringing into view my sweet Diana. “Diana! Diana!” I repeated, hitting the glass with the palm of my hand.

  “Why don’t you remove the enchantment from the mirror, Mother? Why won’t you save me? Don’t you love me?”

  “Oh child, you know I do love you, but I cannot do that. Your father is the only one who could and he is not, well … you know.”

  “You co
uld if you did some of his magic,” she suggested.

  “What? No, I will not,” I said.

  “I guess you don’t love me enough to free me,” she frowned.

  “Diana, this is not like you. Has he hurt you? What is wrong with your eyes?” And just like that, she disappeared as an evil and sinister laugh erupted. I began to beat the mirror as hard as I could with my fists. “Give me back my daughter!” I shouted. “Give her back to me!! If you hurt her, I will kill you.”

  “You know what he wants,” said a man’s voice.

  I gasped, “No, he cannot have Amelia!” I shouted. “That’s the deal, your daughter for her daughter,” he said as he erupted into a sinister laugh again and all went black.

  “No. No. No. You give me back my daughter!!! Give me back my …” I shouted, pounding the mirror as hard as I could before sliding to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably again. “I will get you back,” I whispered. “With everything in me, I will get you back, Diana.” I got up off the floor and ran my hand across the mirror. With all my might, I pulled the big mirror out of the closet and put it in the corner of the room, in case she contacted me again. “Amelia should be safe as long as I lock my bedroom door,” I said aloud to put my mind at ease about moving the mirror and climbed back into bed to try and go back to sleep.