I walked back over to the sofa and instinctively picked up my coffee, which had grown cold. “Okay, so which one of you can do that? That’s neat.”
“Your father. He’s why you transported the day of the ritual. He was being Mr. Protective-Father, not wanting to see his baby girl kiss a guy.”
“Yeah, I would have stopped it, but your mother stopped me. So, I moved you so I didn’t have to look.” He crossed his arms.
“Well, I am eighteen. You can’t really stop me,” I said before I thought it out.
Gwen laughed at the look on Silas’s face. He looked as if he had just eaten a sour candy, which made me laugh.
“So, what else did you two do while you were over there?” I asked, wondering about a few odd occurrences.
“Your father tried communicating with you through radio waves,” Gwen said, and I got the strange feeling like she had inherited her father’s gift. I wondered briefly what it would have been like growing up with a mother who always knew what I was thinking about.
“Yeah, but I could only get static,” Silas interrupted my thoughts.
My recollection of the static in the car speakers came to mind again. “Ah ha!” I yelled.
“What? What happened?” Chad, just arriving at the top of the stairs, jumped around looking for anything that might have caused me unease.
“Nothing, just catching up with the rents about their voodoo magic while on the other side.” I smirked.
“E, don’t do that. You scared the crap outta me,” Chad chastised me, and Silas gave an approving nod, which made Gwen laugh again.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The wind shifted the metal contraption into a frenzy of vibrations. That did not sit well with Sabina. She grabbed the controls of the aircraft from the pilot and kept it on a steady course. When it settled down onto flat land again, she contemplated letting herself fall to her knees in thanks. However, she thought better of it and exited the helicopter as gracefully as possible. After a quick word with her pilot, she set off to find the nearest trail down the mountainside.
“But Miss! You have no gear!” the pilot wailed behind her as the rotor ceased its whining.
She kept her back to him and answered with a sneer. “I won’t be needing any.” She stepped hard onto the rough terrain of rock and scattered bits of grass. Her heavy black combat boots clanked as she went. Considering the summer heat, she left her cloak in the seat for her return.
The pilot withdrew a pack of Camels from his chest pocket and climbed down from his chair on the opposite side of the metal beast. “Well, when you fall, let me know. I’ll call for a rescue unit.” He cackled at her as he lit his cigarette and walked to the edge of the large rock. He pulled his tattered cap from his head and beat it against his knee before replacing it.
Sabina said nothing. She curled her lip at his words and carried on. She hadn’t been given coordinates to the location of the Council’s village. What she did have was a small leather-bound book in her hand. The terrain had been drawn to near perfection. The entry spoke of the mountain and a large crevice in the side, which would allow for a quick journey into the entrance of the village. It was caused by a cave-in. One in which Seraphina had caused when she was attempting to flee the village with the Immortal Book.
The book, she thought to herself. Why on earth had she returned it to the Council? She must have been out of her mind. Then again, she was but a child. Sabina laughed at the thought.
She was careful with her steps as she went. The loose rocks moved as each step unsettled the ground around her. The area was not used as means of travel to and from the village any longer. She had chosen her path based on that fact alone. Who would have suspected anyone coming from that direction?
When she reached the area of rocky terrain that was said to have a path, Sabina thrusted both of her hands in her hair. She squeezed it at the roots as she feigned off a feral scream. The path to the village below had been filled. But how?
“They have witches down there. They must.” She didn’t recall that part of her grandmother’s stories. Nor was it written anywhere within the pages of her journal. Unless...
She stood, tapping her foot against the rock. The small loose pieces were moving with the beats and then began to roll towards the repaired mountainside. The dirt traveled still when the rocks stopped against new stone. She could hear it falling like water as it flowed through the smallest of spaces. She moved closer, then bent down onto her knees so she could place her eyes level to the ground. The new rock formation was off-color. She studied it for a moment before placing her hand on it.
“Those fools,” she said as she pushed her fingers into the new ground, bringing it back in her hand. A chunk of it was missing. What appeared to be solid rock was nothing more than camouflage, to hide the whereabouts of the village from aircrafts flying above. It was, in fact, nothing more than clay. She stood and placed her foot into the topmost layer. Her foot sank heavy into earth. Not by enough that meant she would be able to move it from her path. She would have to intervene.
She dug the tips of her nails into the hardened clay, and watched on as the black web moved from where she sat, over to the five-inch gap. That gap continued on for as wide as the mountain was. However, it would go downward several feet and then widen, allowing for the tunnel hidden below. She crawled on hands and knees over to where the rocks no longer touched. She was sure to steer clear of the changing clay. At the split in the rock, she peered downward. The black substance traveled through the clay, changing it from cool gray stone to the black of ink. She could sit a few more minutes and bask in the sun as her magic did its job. Had she gone the long way, it would have taken weeks. She would have had to travel by foot to the top of a neighboring mountain and go through the winding tunnels within. Then at the base, the tunnel would have opened into a maze leading in different directions. It was designed to keep people out, make them lose their way, and eventually find themselves back at the opening. The long path beneath Mount Antero would take a week in itself to walk down. She knew there was one other way in, but hadn’t been given that information. She honestly wouldn’t know where to look. No, she would wait a few minutes longer till the clay was soft enough that she could trek her way through it. If she was lucky, it would muffle her footsteps as she went.
When the clay began to drop into the open fissure, Sabina moved down the side of the mountain. It was a formation, at one time, of stairs. “It must have come in handy until planes started flying around out here.” She marveled at the footholds.
The ground below became visible after about an hour of counting steps. Before she knew it, she was on the ground, trying to come up with a plan on how to find what she was after. She looked to the right of the stairs. There was nothing but the expanse of rock as far as the eye could see. To the left was a wide opening. She could hear the splashing of water and barking of dogs. Children played in the streets on bikes and ran around in the front of the buildings.
The sun shone through to cover the village in its light, though Sabina did not know how. The center of the village was there, situated in a horseshoe around the entrance and a large water fountain. She kept herself hidden behind the fallen rocks, alongside the opening, and watched the movements some more. At first, the village looked like she thought it would, until she saw two teenage boys walking with their eyes glued to a smartphone. On further inspection, she noticed a toddler driving a child-sized jeep around in circles, while his sister yelled for him to give it back. She scolded herself for thinking the ways of the outside world couldn’t have touched that place. Oh, how she was wrong.
Looking around more, she noticed a few things she would not see very often in the human world. Preternaturals guarded the perimeter. She could tell what they were by looking at their eyes. Each animal had eyes that glowed red. The fountain in the middle of the village served as the center of the little community’s power. She could see the small stone, held in the hand of the cherub statue, that spit wa
ter from its mouth and into the tub below.
She slipped into the confines of the village and behind the large library to the right. She knew that would have been the most logical place to hide the book, but guessed it would be elsewhere.
When she spotted the house across the square with the red door, she jumped. “That’s it! But will it be owned by the same people?” she wondered out loud. She watched the house. The windows of the first floor and the second were blacked out. The daylight wouldn’t allow for her to see if anyone was inside. She walked around the library to where it met the next building. From that vantage point, she couldn’t get a clear view either. She would have to get closer.
A ball rolled past her feet and she looked out to the child that was moving towards her to retrieve it. She ducked behind the library and waited for him to run back to the other kids. When she came back around the corner, a low growl from behind her made a chill travel up her spine.
She stood erect, out of her crouch, and spun on her heel. Sabina found herself face to face with the snout of a mountain lion. It snorted, making her short spiky hair flap across her brow. She laughed at it, and the lion advanced on her, causing her to take several steps backwards.
When it stopped, she looked around, noticing she had been taken to the fountain at the center of everything. Several feral growls came from all around her and the children ran to their homes across the way. She was smug as she smiled in the face of her adversaries.
“I am Sabina. Sabina Crawford.” She turned around and around to see the preternaturals that pressed in on her. The lion pinned her to the statue with a massive paw that seemed to grow larger. A single woman stepped out of that red door.
“A Crawford, you say?” The woman beckoned from her stoop. “What business do you have here? No Crawford has marred this town in a very long time.” The woman glared at Sabina.
“The Crawford name should be welcomed here. Call off your hounds,” Sabina snapped.
A man appeared behind her, seemingly from nowhere. “A Crawford is welcomed here. You, child, are not she,” he said, looking down on her.
“Child?” she asked vehemently. The man looked to be in his mid-twenties. His face hadn’t even started to sprout hair.
“Yes,” he boomed at her. “Child. For that is what you are.” He tossed his dark hair from his eyes and squared his shoulders as he spoke.
“Who are you to call me child? I was a master of witchcraft before you were an itch in your daddy’s pants. Now, I demand you remove these beasts from me at once. I wish to address the Council.” She spat.
The man looked at her with contempt, studying her features. Silently, he mulled over what it was she was after and why she felt she deserved to be there. Then without warning, he grabbed her by the throat and raised her from her feet.
“You are addressing the Council.” He laughed at her, stepped away from the fountain, and placed her down in the middle of the pack of animals snarling at her.
“What-” She was cut off as one by one, the animals before her changed.
The bears and lions; wolves and tigers all changed before her eyes. The man laughed some more. “You are definitely not the Crawford we would welcome here. I’d say you need to leave,” the man spoke and turned from her to walk away.
“Wait,” she said almost desperately. “I’ve waited for this for years. You knew my grandmother, Seraphina.”
The man spun back around, and the woman moved next to him. “We know your grandmother, but simply because she is your relation does not mean we will help you with anything,” the woman spoke.
“Wait. Know? How could you know her? She’s been dead for years.” She looked from the woman and back to the man.
“It does not matter,” the man said, dismissing her. “What you seek is no longer here.” He stepped behind the woman who towered over Sabina.
She cowered in front of the woman. She let those people get the better of her but realized it at the last moment. Sabina squared herself against the woman and raised her black nails to her face, threatening to pierce the tip of her nose. The man had his back to them but spun around at the gasps from the other men and women who stood around them; those who had been animals.
Sabina started pushing forward toward the red door. The woman stepped backward with each advance. “How do you know I’m not the Crawford that should be allowed here? Or what I am looking for?”
The woman continued to walk but stammered as she answered. “Because. Only one thing was left behind.” She moved from in front of Sabina, and she let her.
Sabina ran for the house and jumped over the railing to land on the porch. She used her index finger to scrape at the wood chipping from the railing, then scored the wood's length. The pitch from her nail embedded into the wood, causing a reaction she’d not yet seen. With one line drawn, the railing beneath her touch turned black and then to ash.
“Ha.” She surprised herself. “It seems my inherited gifts are improving,” she said to the crowd, who all took a step back. Her head sprang up to look at them all. “I want the book. Just give it to me and I will leave.”
“Those gifts are not inherited. Those gifts are a curse,” the woman spoke sharply.
The man at her side hushed her and stepped forward. “We told you. It’s no longer here. You may look anywhere you’d like, but you won’t find it. She has already-”
“Christopher!” the woman cut him off. She looked up at Sabina as she started to take slow deliberate steps down to where they stood. “We told you. It’s gone already. It was already taken.”
“Hm.” Sabina looked around. “Well, my visit cannot have been for nothing.” She stepped closer to them and the others shifted back into their animal form.
By the time Sabina reached the helicopter, she was livid. Pain originating in her chest began to throb with each step she took. She hopped into the seat and threw her arms into the cloak she left behind. The driver didn’t look back at her. He just started the engine as soon as she slammed her door shut. With her headgear on, she could hear the pilots wheezing cough.
“What did you do? Smoke three packs while I was gone?” she asked sarcastically into the mic.
“Well, it took you bloody all day. I had nothing better to do.” He scratched his head through his cap. “Where to now?” he asked, followed by another bout of hacking.
“Oh, I don’t know. Just take me back to Cincinnati. In the meantime, I’ll think about it.”
Thinking is what she did. She couldn’t have heard them right. They definitely said they know her grandmother. How, when Seraphina was long gone? She died when she was still a small child. Then, she had to wonder. What happened to the book? Who had taken it?
She rode in silence, other than the roar of the machine and her wandering thoughts. She picked at the dirt she’d collected behind her nails. They were the same bright red she had painted them earlier that week. Her powers were manifesting. That was something she could revel in.
However, if she were correct in her thoughts, Elyse somehow, with the help of those interfering bunch of witches, had already managed to get her hands on the Immortal Book. That couldn’t be right, though. She only had the Book of Shadows. She also had the ring, something Sabina cursed herself for leaving behind when her father threw her from their family home. No, she couldn’t have the book. Not yet. Truly, only one person ever knew about that book, and she was dead.
She grabbed the leather journal beside her and flipped through the pages once more.
The red door was my saving grace. Mildred would know where to put the book. She would keep it safe, there in the village of the Council. She would use the spell inside to make the new members of the Council immortal, so they may hold true the values of the magical community.
No more would a witch be shamed or put to death. No more would they be hunted by those vile creatures. The humans would no longer tell us how we should live. We would not hide any longer.
This place. The village. Him. They would
all do right by magic. They would keep all the secrets of our world but allow us to use our gifts to protect. Not to harm.
Sabina traced the words in the journal. “What was she thinking? To give it all over to them? And for what? What will they keep safe now? Nothing!” She laughed out loud, making the pilot steal a glance in her direction. He jerked the controls, and the machine lunged through the air.
“Watch what you’re doing, you fool.” Her nails tapped the back of his seat as he yelled an audible apology, turning black with each rap. “Don’t be sorry. Just don’t mess up.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
A few days went by, but I still felt like a stranger around my parents. My mind was settling over the vast amounts of information being driven into it, like driving a stake through a vampire’s heart. Vampires? Were those things real too? No. I decided I was thinking too far outside the box.
My parents tried to explain further regarding the house Seraphina owned. A house I owned. Funny thing was that I still didn’t know where it was. I would soon, since they had said we needed to travel there next. I was meant to go there; to learn about everything that happened back in the 1890’s. Then I would learn of what was hidden on that property; hidden away from anyone who would use it for their own personal gain. Namely Sabina. If she got to whatever was hidden there, she could become unstoppable. At least, that’s what it sounded like to me.
I had spent the day holed up on the second floor. Too much explaining, and learning was wearing me out. I snuck in a nap while everyone downstairs fawned over my parents more. With the number of people in the small house, it was no wonder it didn’t burst open at the seams. My grandfather, I noticed, kept his distance from everyone. I didn’t want to ask why, since it was apparent I was doing the same.
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