Sarah's Inheritance

by Katherine Kim

  “You could just paint. I mean really make the place yours now?” Doc suggested. “A little primer, a fresh coat of some pretty color, and there you are!”

  “You know, I’ve always liked photos of sunny kitchens with bright yellow walls.” Sarah agreed. “I could maybe learn how to make some new curtains, too, since the old ones got shredded. God that jerk!”

  “There you go! That’s the spirit, my dear!” Doc settled her purse over her shoulder and turned towards the door. “You’re welcome to stay over again if you need to. I’ll drop by on my way back from the Apothecary and check in with you.” And with that, she was off.

  “Does that woman ever stand still for five minutes?” Sarah watched Doc’s retreating back through the front (also now curtainless) window.

  “I don’t think so.” Sebastian shook his head. “Not that I’ve noticed, at least. Do you want to go hit up a paint store? I think that might be the only way to really get rid of that. We could get some primer or whatever they suggest and you could look at paint chips. Maybe grab some dinner, too.”

  “Why Sebastian. Are you asking me out to dinner?” Sarah laughed when his ears started to turn pink. “I think that’s—” she was cut off by the sound of her cell phone ringing.

  “Hello?” Sarah answered without looking at the screen, still smiling at Sebastian.

  “Sarah Rose Richards, what in the hell is happening out there?” Elaine’s voice screeched from the phone. All the cheerful teasing drained out of Sarah as the diatribe continued. “I just got a phone call from the police asking about your grandmother’s so-called friends and acquaintances, as if I would know anything about that woman’s life.”

  “Hi, Mom. I’m fine, thank you. There was a vandal that broke into the house yesterday.” Sarah felt the old, familiar throbbing start in her temples and slumped backward to lean on the freshly scrubbed kitchen counter. “The police are investigating it, that’s all.”

  “Don’t you take that tone with me, young lady. I told you it was dangerous out there. Some thug broke in to that woman’s house, and you mouth off at me like that when I show concern?” Elaine was in fine form today. Sarah glanced an apology up at Sebastian, who was frowning back. Kai wandered into the room and raised an eyebrow at her. She just shook her head as her mother’s voice beat against her eardrum in a steady stream of judgement and disapproval. Finally there was a pause and Sarah jumped in.

  “It’s fine, Mom. Mostly just some broken stuff that I was probably going to get rid of anyway. The dishes can be replaced and I’m going to double check my list in case any of Gran’s jewelry is missing. I have to go now, though. The guys are here helping and we need to run to get some paint. I’m fine, I promise. Love you. Bye!” She thumbed the ‘end call’ button and slumped over further, rubbing ineffectively at her temples. The guys stood in the room, letting silence fall for a long moment. Sarah was sure that they didn’t know what to say after that brilliant display of maternal concern.

  “Sounds like maybe a place with drinks for dinner?” Kai suggested, giving Sebastian a thump on the shoulder. “I’m going to go check in with everyone and see if there’s been any progress. Call if you need me.” He shot a reassuring smile at Sarah as he grabbed his jacket and left.

  “Your mom always like that?” Sebastian asked. His voice was carefully neutral but his arms were crossed over his chest as he leaned on the sturdy dining table, and his eyes were narrowed and hot. Sarah squeezed her own eyes shut for a moment then shrugged, deliberately releasing the tension that had built up in her shoulders.

  “She does get pretty intense when life isn’t going exactly the way she would prefer,” Sarah admitted. “She would really rather that I sell this house and everything in it, return to New York, and look for another job like the one I just left. In the respectable office of a company with a good reputation. Well, until I marry a nice, respectable man that she’s selected for me and I can go volunteer on board of some respectable charities.” She clenched her hands into fists for a moment to keep herself from ranting. It was an old argument at this point, and Sebastian didn’t need to get dragged into it. Taking it out on him wouldn’t be fair.

  “Which you don’t seem very interested in doing.” Sebastian didn’t move, still tense and angry looking. “Have you told her that?”

  “She’s just trying to look out for me, that’s all. She’s right, anyway. It is dangerous out here, apparently. And that’s before adding in monsters made out of hate and people invading my dreams to scare me! Mom just wants me to stay safe, and here maybe isn’t the best place to do that. What does it matter, anyway?” The last thing she wanted to do was argue with Sebastian on top of having to deal with her mother’s controlling tendencies. She’d only just managed to escape them when she left the east coast. Had it really only been a couple of weeks? It felt like a lifetime.

  “It matters if it makes you miserable!” Sebastian broke into her thoughts. “Everyone’s been trying to cheer you up and help you calm down all day. You were finally starting to relax and enjoy yourself a bit after all this, and then all that work went down the drain the second you picked up that damn phone.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m talking about the fact that you were smiling and teasing me ten minutes ago.” He finally uncrossed his arms now to swipe his hand through his hair. She could see that his ears were turning pink again. “Then you answered the phone and your mother laid into you— which I still can’t believe happened at all I might add— and now you’re hunched over and tense and you look miserable. How can that possibly be what a mother wants for her daughter?”

  Sarah looked up and felt for a moment like she was looking at him from a very long distance— miles and miles of space sat for a few seconds in the three or four feet between them. It made her feel dizzy and slightly ill, and she shook her head to clear the odd feeling. She stumbled forward with the whooshing sensation of extreme speed and found herself half on the floor and half in Sebastian’s lap.

  “Woah.”

  “Jesus Christ, are you okay?” Sebastian looked white as a sheet.

  “I think so?” Sarah sat up. “That was really weird.”

  “What the hell just happened?” He kept his hand on her back, as if not sure she could keep herself upright. She wasn’t sure he was wrong.

  “I’m not really sure. It felt like I was moving really fast, then I was down here. I feel totally fine now.” She looked up at him.

  “We’re going to the Apothecary. With everything going on, this is a question for Doc.”

  Sarah was ushered into the back workroom of the Apothecary once again, and was settled into a chair with a back this time, rather than perching on a stool. Sebastian hovered near her elbow and went over the whole event.

  “And you were just talking?” Doc asked.

  “We were arguing, to be honest. Not like, really angry with each other or anything, but you know. Squabbling I guess.” Sarah admitted. “I was annoyed with my mother and, well…”

  “And she just toppled over. Like she was pushed or something.” Sebastian added.

  “First it felt like I was looking at Sebastian from miles away even though he was right there.” Sarah frowned at Doc, who looked very concerned at this statement. “Then I was moving really fast and stopped really suddenly. I didn’t even know I was falling till I looked up at him and realized that I was on the floor.”

  “Sebastian, I need you to think back very carefully. Did you notice anything unusual just before she collapsed? Any energies or disturbances?”

  Sebastian closed his eyes and drew his brows together for a few minutes, then finally shook his head. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I would have noticed really. Not unless it was really obvious. I was pretty angry.” He looked sheepishly down and Sarah. “I’m really sorry. It’s none of my business.”

  “It’s okay, Sebastian. I was mostly just in a bad mood from talking to my mother.” Sarah reached out and took his hand. “You
were both trying to look out for me, in your own totally different sort of ways.”

  Sebastian ducked his head again, but he didn’t let go of her hand. Doc just sat there watching the exchange with a small smile.

  “I’m glad that you two have reconciled from whatever it was you were arguing over and as heartwarming as this is, I must bring this back to what we were discussing,” Doc said with an apologetic shrug. “Because it sounds to me rather like another attempted attack.”

  “But you said that magic attacks would only work if I was dreaming?” Sarah asked.

  “No, I said getting into your mind like that would only work in a dream,” Doc said. “There are any number of possibilities for magical attacks that don’t involve mental communication like that. I don’t mean to frighten you, but there are some people with powers out there that are not as respectable as we are.”

  “She’s right. There are monsters like the wights, but there are also plenty of spirits that aren’t so interested in just living their life like anyone else.” Sebastian pointed out.

  “And there really are wicked witches out there. And warlocks and what have you that are more interested in making a buck or gathering power, or any of those stereotypical sorts of traits. After all, spirit or human, we’re all just people, beset by all the angels and demons that entails.” Doc sighed. “The fact that they got into your dream, and then attacked in a different manner during the day so soon after does give us a few clues. They’re probably a human, rather than a spirit of any sort. Spirits often have just a few particular skills that they can use unless they’re very powerful.”

  “Like my foxfire. Though I’m only a quarter spirit so that’s about all I have. Mom can do a bit more.” Sebastian said.

  “Exactly. So we’re either looking at a human with magic or several spirits working together. I’d bet more heavily on the human, though. Something about the feeling of the spell I helped break up last night made me think warlock, to be frank with you.” Doc wrinkled her nose. “Their spells always feel a bit greasy to me. Oily, if you will, much like their personalities often are.”

  “What do you mean?” Sarah looked confused. “Aren’t they just guy witches?” Doc looked scandalized for a moment then shook her head emphatically.

  “Good lord, no.” She said. “Witches are women who have a genetic predisposition to the manipulation of magic power. Warlocks are people who steal their power from somewhere else. It’s a little like being born with red hair. Some people have a head full of vividly bright red hair, and some people just have a few red highlights that shine in the sun, and some get their hair color from a box. Witches are the people that have naturally red hair if you’ll allow me to carry the metaphor all the way out. Warlocks are the people who dye their hair red.”

  “How do you steal magic?” Sarah felt a sudden chill and shivered even as she asked the question. Doc scowled.

  “There are a number of ways, not all of them very pleasant. The worst of them are called necromancers, and I’m sure you can fire out why that could be. Most warlocks, fortunately, do not resort to murder or worse. They find a key line or a place of power and manage to pry some of that away from the source to keep for themselves. Sometimes they’re granted a bit of power by someone else— a very strong witch perhaps, or a spirit. Though that’s not very common anymore. Warlocks tend to be dangerous because they also tend to be selfish and have no moral compass to speak of.”

  “Don’t worry, though. We are not going to let you just fend for yourself. Whoever is doing this to you has a reason for it, and we’ll find out why they’re after you. That will give us a pretty good idea of who it is, and how to stop them.” Sebastian said. He squeezed her hand in his. “I know Kai will feel the same way when he finds out.”

  “And you have me on your side as well. And Jennifer,” Doc added. “You’re not alone in this, and that’s a fact. That said, it is well past time to teach you a few basics so that you can defend yourself somewhat.”

  Sarah looked at Doc’s intent expression, then up at Sebastian’s determined one and huffed out her breath.

  “Okay then, Doc. Teach me how to be a witch.”

  Sixteen

  Sarah stepped back and tipped her head to the side, studying the patches of color on the wall. Four different shades of yellow now splashed across the white primer, sunshine pouring into the room from all the open windows. A slight breeze wafted through bringing with it the smell of the garden waking up. Jennifer’s son’s had come by over the weekend and turned over the vegetable beds for her, and Ellie offered to swing by after she turned in her paper on Tuesday— which was finally done— to chat about what to plant.

  There hadn’t been any further attacks. Not even the wights had been seen since Sarah’s odd collapse, and it had been several days of glorious peace and quiet. Even at night things had been pleasant, with no monsters in the dark and finally getting to go out to dinner with Sebastian. And a movie too! Look at me dating like a real grown up! Sarah giggled to herself. She was actually dating someone! Not just one or two heavily orchestrated meals together that had been arranged and approved, but actually going out and enjoying herself with a guy she actually liked! The very idea had her giggling again.

  Her dreams had been peaceful as well. The few that she remembered were normal things, walking with Mr. Young around the Village, or having a dinner party for everyone at the council meeting and laughing with them all over wine. She was beginning to feel almost at home again, and so had to make a decision on the paint. She’d lived with it for two days now, like this, and unless she wanted to live with a splotchy-undecided wall treatment, she needed to make a choice.

  “I like the Lemon Curd, but I think I’ll go with the Summer Wish. It’ll be less obnoxious as it comes into the living room area. I can get some super bright yellow dish towels if I get a major craving for the brightness.” She said out loud.

  “Beige is best. It will be easier for the new owners to paint over when they move in.” The voice made Sarah jump before whirling to face the door. She had left it open to draw the lovely breeze though the house, so hadn’t heard it open to admit her mother. Elaine Richards stood in the door, her strawberry blonde hair held perfectly in place, swooped into a knot at the back of her head. She wore jeans as a concession to travel, but they were dark wash, designer jeans that looked impeccable with the blouse and jacket, and wouldn’t have felt wildly out of place in a boardroom.

  “Mom? What are you doing here?” Sarah asked once she got her breath back. It felt wrong for Elaine to be standing in the casual living room.

  “I am here to make the arrangements for the sale and your return, since you obviously can’t take care of this on your own. It has been three weeks and all you have to show for yourself is a home invasion and some vandalism.” Elaine said in a crisp tone. “I don’t know what you’ve been doing, but clearly you need me to take over for you. Give me the phone number for the lawyer and I will make the arrangements. We will be on our flight home first thing tomorrow morning.” Her gaze roamed the room, from the front of the house, all the way through the open kitchen to the back door, then back around to her daughter, cataloguing everything and clearly finding nothing of much value in the space. She stepped further into the house, careful not to touch anything while examining some of the trinkets more closely.

  “What?” Sarah’s eyes went wide and she shook her head to clear it from the impact of her mother’s personality. “No, Mom. I’m not selling the house, and I’m not coming back to New York. At least not right now.”

  Elaine’s gaze rested on Sarah and took in the bare feet, the rolled up cuffs on her jeans, and the flannel shirt thrown over a t-shirt that had a smudge of yellow paint on it. Her disapproval was written in every line of her body, but she simply raised an eyebrow at her daughter.

  “I will not have you mucking about out here, looking so scruffy and defying reason. Your grandmother was a lunatic, and she was a danger to herself and to those around he
r. I do not know how she raised your father to be as fine a man as he was, and for that she had my appreciation. However, that does not mean that you should lower yourself to wallow in her madness. It is clear that she made herself enemies, with all the ridiculous fantasy nonsense that she spouted. I shudder to think what could have happened if you had been here when that thug broke in to deface the property.” To her credit Elaine did shudder briefly before her rigid composure reasserted itself. “I will not have you stay here where people like that can break in and hurt you.”

  “Mom, I’m fine. And I have made a lot of friends in the area that are looking out for me. I’m fine!” Sarah argued.

  “Sarah Elizabeth Richards. This is not how I raised you to behave,” Elaine said quietly. “You will not raise your voice to me that way.”

  “No, ma’am.” Sarah hung her head and tried to think of some way to get her mother to leave without taking her along, because Sarah knew from long experience that Elaine was not to be crossed. Especially not by her daughter. “I—“

  “Sarah! You pick a paint color yet? We’re just heading over to—“ Sebastian’s head poked in the door, his voice dying away when he caught sight of Elaine. “Oh, I didn’t know you had company, I’m sorry.”

  “Um. Sebastian Russell, this is my mother, Elaine Richards. Mom, this is my friend Sebastian.”

  “Wow, an honor to meet you, Mrs. Richards! It’s been a real pleasure getting to meet Sarah. She’s pretty amazing, you must be so proud,” Sebastian held his hand out and Elaine took it with only as much of her fingers as was strictly necessary. Sarah could see the effort it was taking for him to stay cheerfully polite, but she was sure that Elaine only saw his shaggy hair and hands that he obviously worked with. They weren’t the hands of an office-bound executive or lawyer.