After the Summerland (The Witches of Spring Hill Book 1)

by Patricia Proctor

  Then it hits her — Xavier probably left school shortly after she dropped him off. He has probably been up at the house all day long, while she sat home preparing for their ritual. She realizes everything that Xavier told her all weekend was a lie. Who knows what they have been doing or what they found out up on the hill? Damn those Alexanders! Having had enough, she peels out of the parking lot and turns her car toward the house on the top of the hill. Selene left the school parking lot so quickly that she didn’t even notice the Subaru Forester going in the opposite direction.

  When Selene makes it up the hill, she is not at all surprised to see Peter standing at the top of the driveway.

  “Oh good, is the whole family here?” she asks sarcastically. “What have you got there, Peter?” She asks, nodding toward the envelope Peter is holding out. “You have something of mine, don’t you?”

  “Selene, stop right there. It’s over. You need to stop all of this. I won’t let you win. It’s time to let it all go,” he says.

  “Get out of my way, old man. You can’t stop me! It’s time for the truth to come out and I want back what’s rightfully mine.”

  “I think you’re wrong about what this is,” Peter says and pulls out some papers and photographs from the envelope. “This is a request for a re-evaluation of the autopsies done on both your sister-in-law and brother. Evidence has become available that makes it clear that foul play was involved. It appears someone requested another test on their tissue and would you believe, they found the same poison in both tissues?” Selene looks appalled at Peter, wondering how he found out.

  “Now, I have kept this a secret for the kid’s sake. I have not yet submitted this report to the California PD, but I promise you, that if you try anything, I will make sure the kids know that you killed their mother and father and I will make sure that the California Police Department reopens the case… which, according to my sources, they already suspected foul play and were suspicious of you before you hightailed it out of there.”

  “How did you find out?” she asks, completely surprised with all that he knows. Before he can answer, it dawns on her that if he knows about this than both Liam and Marcus know too. There is no way they will ignore it, especially self righteous Liam.

  “Damn you!!” she screams. As she summons a spell, she remembers how powerful magic is here. She slams her energy into his chest, and without physically touching him, she knocks him to the ground. He falls, clutching the envelope and papers in one hand and his chest in the other.

  “GG!! NO!” Chloe screams. Selene turns to find Chloe and Cian standing at the side door. Cian heard everything; his face says it all. He knows that she killed his mother and father. He hears a scream from inside and knows that Brianna read his mind and knows what happened, too. Although usually not frightened of Brianna, she has seen first-hand how powerful magic is here. She looks down at Peter, back at Cian and bolts for her car.

  Chloe runs up to her great grandfather, “GG Peter! Oh God… please don’t die, please don’t die! Rowan! Call 911!!” She tries to remember a healing spell, but no matter how hard she tries to think of one, she can’t. She knows she does not have enough power or experience to reverse the damage done to her great grandfather by an older, more powerful witch.

  Rowan runs out of the house and screams and Marcus and Liam come running from the back. Before anyone can react, Selene jumps in her car and peels out of the driveway. “GG!” Chloe sobs as she holds onto her great grandfather’s hand.

  Marcus runs to his father’s side, “Pops! What happened? What did she do to you? What can we do?”

  Peter replies faintly, “I’m sorry. I kept it a secret to protect the family.”

  “What secret, Pops?” Marcus asks.

  “Everything in this envelope… you must know that she won’t stop coming after you. She has to die. It’s the only way. Find the book… the journal. I put it in the ceiling at the police station. The tile that needs replacing… you must get the book… to understand…” and with that, his grip loosens and he exhales his last breath of this lifetime.

  Silent tears pour down Chloe’s face. Even though Cian has just heard the worst possible news about his mother and father, and he overheard something that he doesn’t quite understand, he forgets it all. He wraps his arms around Chloe, pouring calming, soothing energy into her, since he knows this is her first time experiencing the death of someone she loves.

  “Oh, Cian!” she cries, “It hurts so much. Please, make it stop!” she leans into him, letting go of the pain she is holding back, and sobs into his shoulder.

  Liam is about to go after Selene when Xavier comes out from behind Rowan. “Don’t,” he says. “She wants you to follow her. Please trust me. I know you still don’t quite trust me, Liam, but you have to believe me. She knows their magic will be weaker if they are off the hill. She’s desperate. She will fight you with what she has and if she can’t do it with magic she will do it in any way she can. Even though her power is stronger here on this land, she has discovered something that makes her more powerful everywhere. Please just listen… I know what she wants — what she has always wanted. The only way to stop her is to bring her here.”

  Liam and Marcus look at Peter, Chloe, Cian, and Rowan and know that they have to trust Xavier.

  “Where are Kaiden and Brianna?” Liam asks.

  “Oh my God!” Chloe says pulling away from Cian. “They were going to get some of Brianna’s things from their house. They figured it would be a good time to do it when she was at the school waiting to pick them up. We have to get a hold of them and make sure they leave before Selene gets back to the house.”

  “She will kill them,” Xavier says. “She hates Kaiden and was planning to kill Brianna anyway. She set up the circle during the school day and was going to kidnap Brianna and Cian, in order to sacrifice them for their magic. She’ll use Kaiden in Cian’s place, without hesitation. She’s desperate now.”

  “I’ll call Brianna’s cell,” Cian says, as he quickly dials her number. “Straight to voicemail.”

  Chloe calls Kaiden’s cell and is overcome with relief when he answers on the first ring, “Kaiden, thank God. You have to get out of there now! Selene is on her way back…” Liam grabs the phone from Chloe, “Son, listen to me. You have to leave the house right now…”

  “Good, they’re not at the house,” Liam says to everyone after Kaiden replies he’s not at the house.

  “Brianna’s not with me, Dad,” Kaiden replies. “She said she needed to do something alone and she didn’t want me to stay. She told me to drive around the block and then pick her up in ten minutes.”

  “What? Why did she stay? Forget it, I can’t explain now but you have to go back and get Brianna and you both need to get back up the hill, now. Take back roads; avoid the main road in case she sees you. Do not stop anywhere… just get back home now! Keep the phone on you, and keep the line open.”

  Kaiden turns around and heads back to the Silvans hoping that Brianna was done with whatever it was she needed to do.

  As Brianna walks through the house she feels the dark energy throbbing around her. She told Kaiden she wanted to pick up more clothes, but really she wanted to pick up a book that her dad gave to her when he was dying. The book has a lock on it and Brianna has always suspected that Selene has the key. This is her one chance to search the back room Selene keeps locked.

  She didn’t want Kaiden with her because she didn’t know what she would find. Prepared to break down the door, she discovers the room open and the altar set up along with other ritual tools. She makes her way slowly into the room and the energy throbs deep in her chest. She can tell that the circle is active and a door has already been opened. She realizes that Selene was just waiting to make her offering.

  Knowing she can’t step into the circle, Brianna looks around the room for something she can use to move the altar box currently sitting in the center of the circle, to the edge where she can reach it. The key you are looking for
is in the altar box, a voice tells her. It is so clear and so familiar that her knees weaken and she almost falls to the ground. The voice was as clear to her as if her dad were standing in the room with her. She knows that his spirit is here with her now and though she can’t understand how or why, she listens for his guidance. Her dad’s voice directs her to go to the shed in the backyard and bring a plastic rake. It must be plastic, Brianna, no wood and no metal.

  Brianna walks out the back door and opens the shed, surprised to find it unlocked. She grabs the plastic rake and goes back into the room with the altar. Use the rack to move the box toward the eastern wall, Brianna, and do not cross the circle. Brianna attempts to reach the altar without crossing any part of her body over the salt. She is inches away from the box, but those inches may as well be miles. Her dad says, help is coming… you are no longer alone. “Brianna?” she hears Kaiden ask and is surprised to see him standing behind her.

  “We have to go, Brianna. Now! Your aunt is on her way back down here. Something happened and we’ve got to go now…”

  “I can’t leave without the key,” Brianna says panicking, afraid that he’ll force her to leave. She feels tears fill her eyes, “Please, Kaiden. I have to have the key that is inside that altar box, but I can’t reach it. Please help me get it and then we’ll leave, I promise.”

  Kaiden wouldn’t say no to her right now no matter what she asked. “Can I step into the circle?” he asks.

  When she shakes her head no, he grabs the plastic rake and slides the wooden box over to where they are standing. Brianna reaches for the altar box, not noticing that the line of salt never broke, simply sliding with the box, keeping the circle intact. As she grabs the box, her hands and arms start burning and blisters form immediately.

  Brianna screams and drops the box in surprise. The contents spill out, with most of the objects falling back within the circle and burning up immediately. Brianna falls to her knees, holding her arms while writhing in pain.

  “Brianna!” Kaiden yells.

  “Just get the key, please Kaiden. Just get the key!”

  On the floor, just on the outside of the circle is a small bronze key. “Is that it?” Kaiden asks. She nods her head, and slips off into unconsciousness — the pain in her arms too much to bear.

  Kaiden sticks the key in his pocket, lifts Brianna, cradling her gently so her burned arms won’t touch anything. He carefully lays her down in the back of the Forester. Hating to leave her alone for even a second, he runs back into the house and grabs her backpack sitting by the door.

  As he turns to walk out the door, he hears a man’s voice say, take care of my baby girl. Caught off guard, he hesitates before turning around. When he does he sees an orb of light bounce around the room before disappearing in front of his eyes. He runs out the door, throws the bag in the seat next to him, picks up the phone and tells his dad everything. Everything except the part about hearing the voice of Brianna’s father.

  Chapter 33

  Once they hear Kaiden and Brianna are safe and on their way back to the house, Marcus pulls Liam aside and tells him that he has to go to town. Marcus explains that he covered Peter with a blanket and the county medical examiner is on his way. Marcus’s eyes fill with tears as he realizes that he’s not sheriff anymore and this isn’t just a dead body. It’s his dad and Liam’s grandfather. “Oh, son,” Marcus says, letting the tears fall as he embraces Liam and together they mourn the loss of a great man.

  “Dad, why do you have to go to town now? We don’t know what Selene is planning and we should all stay together,” Liam insists.

  “The last thing Pops said in this lifetime is that we need to kill Selene. He also said he left some kind of journal at the police station — in the stained ceiling tile. I have to go get it, son. We need to know everything.”

  Liam nods in understanding, “Just keep your phone on and stay in touch. Call or text me as soon as you know what’s in that journal… and Dad, please… be safe. Don’t do anything reckless.”

  “I won’t, son; but we have to stop her. Whatever Selene is after, she wants it bad enough that she will kill her own niece and nephews. Think about that. This is bigger than anything we have ever dealt with before and the stakes are much higher.” He looks toward the house and sees Rowan looking out the window.

  “Get back to the kids, Liam. They’re devastated at the loss of GG Peter and they’re scared. They need you to be strong.”

  Liam looks back at Rowan and knows he won’t feel comfortable until everyone is back on this property, together.

  “Hurry back, Dad.” Liam says, as he walks toward the house.

  ∗ ∗ ∗

  After replacing the ceiling tile, Marcus sits down at Liam’s desk and flips through the pages of the journal, stopping when he finds his dad’s scratchy handwriting. His stomach twists when he reads the first journal entry made by his father. Before finishing it, he recalls a woman with two small children coming to speak to his father at the police station.

  The memory stuck because Marcus had never seen Peter anger so quickly nor had he ever before or after heard him speak to someone so rudely. The children were around five and ten years old and initially Peter welcomed them inside, but after only a few moments, he opened the door and physically pushed the woman out of the room. He threatened her and insisted that she leave town immediately. He told her to never come back or she would be thrown in jail and her children would be put in protective custody. The little girl started to cry and the woman didn’t hesitate before reaching out and slapping her, hard, across the face, making the girl cry harder.

  The last words she spoke to Peter before roughly grabbing the kids and walking out the door were, “You will live to regret this.” After the woman left, Peter wouldn’t say anything about it… other than that it was a personal matter, nothing for Marcus to concern himself with.

  Marcus thought about it occasionally over the years, but figured it was some sort of lover’s quarrel since Peter was a bit of a player back then. After reading the journal entry, Marcus realizes how wrong he was. That woman was Michael and Selene Silvan’s mother and the little girl who was slapped was Selene Silvan.

  As Marcus flips through the book he sees the most recent entry posted after Selene broke into his house. Marcus thinks about the note Selene left at Peter’s house about wanting something of hers back. He goes back to the beginning of the book and starts from the beginning with his grandfather Aldo’s journal entries.

  After skimming through most of the entries, everything becomes clear and Marcus realizes that killing Selene Silvan may just be a temporary solution.

  ∗ ∗ ∗

  Selene paces the living room. She drove home excited at the power she discovered on the land. She’s not sure whether it was the land alone or the magic from the circle she cast earlier that gave her such power, but either way she barely moved toward Peter when she felt his heart pounding in her hand. So much bravado, yet so much fear. It was as easy as thinking about stopping his heart and he fell to the ground clutching his chest. It was incredible!

  She wishes she would have grabbed the envelope with the evidence against her, but she knows that he probably has it stored on a hard drive somewhere anyway. She knows Marcus and Liam are going to come after her, and she can’t wait for them to arrive. She was furious when she discovered that someone had been in her circle and burned her spell casting tools.

  She was most disturbed that the key was missing, her last tie to her brother, Michael. She knew it was Brianna, though she had no idea how she would have known about the key to her brother’s book… unless Brianna has the book. As she paces the room, she wonders again what is in that book and decides she has to go back up now, before they have an opportunity to build their strength against her.

  She can’t wait to feel the same rush of power that she felt earlier. As she grabs her car keys, she hears a vehicle pull into the driveway. She is shocked as she watches Marcus Alexander make his way toward her fro
nt door. She smiles wickedly in delight as she may have just found her way into the Alexander house.

  Marcus checks again to make sure the amulet he found inside the journal is tucked securely under his shirt. Satisfied that Selene won’t know it’s there, he knocks on the front door. When she opens the door, the look on her face is so smug that he can’t help but look forward to the end of this conversation.

  “Selene,” he says as he steps through the doorway.

  “Marcus,” she responds, stepping aside for him.

  “I won’t beat around the bush. I know your history. I know who you are and I know what you want. But, I have to say, Selene, you’re going about it all the wrong way.”

  “And just what do you think you know, Marcus?” Selene asks. “Because however you came across your information, I’m sure your source cannot be completely trusted. Which I guess you already know since you’re here. Am I right?” she asks smirking.

  “Selene, I know you are the reincarnation of John Scott, the brother of Abigail, Isabelle, and Cora Scott. I also know that you think you have the right to the Scott property because of that.”

  “Well, I’ll give you that — it seems you do know who I am, or who I was. But do you know what happened to John Scott and how I came to know of him? Do you know what kind of life he had after your great grandfather sent him away?

  When Marcus doesn’t reply, Selene continues, “Let me enlighten you, Marcus. John Scott was just an innocent baby when your grandfather decided that having a male witch in Spring Hill would be too much of a challenge. He feared that John would become too strong and would become competition against you. God forbid someone other than an Alexander is chief of police. So rather than doing the right thing and keeping all of them together, Aldo took John to live with a woman that he read about in one of the Scott’s old journals.