"Let's not speculate," Julian said, bringing the conversation back to Victor. "Tell us more about the genealogy."
I'm trying to understand where Devin came from," Abby added. "My great-grandmother Sylvia had two daughters. One was my grandmother Arlene and the other was named Hannah, but I never knew her. I didn't think she had any children."
"Well according to hospital records Sylvia had three children. However, she birthed the first child when she was only seventeen, and her parents forced her to give the baby up for adoption. That daughter's name was Denise, and she would die during childbirth with Devin. Devin's father put her up for adoption. When Devin started to search for her biological family, she must have stumbled upon the photos of Aubrey. Obviously, she saw the physical resemblance, so she chose to call herself Blake."
"So, Devin was my second cousin?" Abby asked, incredulous. "And Sydney didn't know this? Despite her research with the Asemaa?"
"From what I can gather, the Asemaa discovered the curse and knew it affected Dafne; however, I don't think they tracked down her baby."
"Gwen thought Dafne died in the fire," Abby said suddenly. "She didn't realize that Dafne had survived."
"Why didn't they assume the curse died out with Dafne then?" Helena asked.
Abby shrugged.
"I'll contact Gwen soon and try to find out. I got the feeling they didn't have a strong grasp on the curse. The journalist Stephen seemed to know more, but now he's..."
"Dead," Sebastian said, frowning.
"The connections get even funkier," Victor continued. "Sylvia's daughter Hannah did in fact have a child. His name is Louis, and he's my father."
"I'm sorry, what?" Abby asked, wondering if he was joking.
"No way," Lydie murmured, and she looked toward Elda and Faustine as if they might return the world to sense.
Victor nodded. "I know. You can imagine my surprise when I realized the truth. My grandmother was a recluse. I only met her a few times and she died years ago. My dad didn't know her family. Apparently she suffered from a mental illness. I never probed beyond that."
"A lot of secrets in your family tree," Galla mentioned, appraising Abby and Victor. Galla was a witch from the Coven of Sorciére.
"I guess so," Abby agreed, tempted to apologize for generations of people she never knew.
"And that pretty much sums up what we know about the bloodlines. Unfortunately, information about Kanti is virtually nonexistent. However," Victor quickly added, "that only means her existence hasn't been uploaded to the Internet. Some Native American tribes are very protective of their history, and they did a much better job of sharing their stories verbally. We need only to connect with the right people to find her, I'm sure of it."
"What about your dreams, Abby?" Elda asked. "Have there been more? It's as though she wants us to know her story and though I am surely one for research, if we can get it direct from the horse's mouth, well..."
"Yes," Abby sighed, strangely reluctant to share. "I dreamed of a white man whom Kanti was delivered to by the giant. I'm sure that he raped her, and I believe that the child she gave birth to was his."
Elda shook her head sadly, and Helena closed her eyes as if warding off the images. Abby did not want to look at Lydie. She found it difficult enough to look into those haunted eyes without adding to their despair.
"Any inkling of who the man was? If she knew him?" Julian asked from a balcony high up in the books. He was sitting with his legs dangling over the edge.
"No, they're both strangers to her."
Sebastian stared at her, and she realized he was wondering why she hadn't shared the dream with him.
"I had it just now," she whispered and squeezed his hand. He smiled and lifted her palm to his lips.
"What about you, Julian? I know that you've amassed a pretty good history on this curse."
"Yes, Adora and I both," he responded grimly. "She went to Abby's aunt and collected information. She didn't take anything, only asked them for the Asemaa's interpretation of the curse."
"The Asemaa?" Bridget asked, still trying to get caught up on all that she had missed.
"Yes, they're a secret society of sorts that began researching witches in the early 1800s. They spent a lot of time focusing on the curse because they were located right in its midst," Julian explained.
"In Trager City?" Galla asked.
"Exactly."
Chapter 3
"Tell us about the room beneath the earth, Sebastian. The one with all the tubes?" Julian asked, after he finished summing up what he knew of the curse.
Sebastian stayed with Abby, not in the mood for standing in front of the fire, like he was giving a speech.
"It felt like a morgue, for lack of a better comparison," he started. "Steel floor, gurneys with black sheets and bodies..." He realized that his hands had begun to shake, and Abby took them in her own, steadying him.
"The people hanging from the walls were held by big black straps. Tubes went into their skin and electrodes into their heads. The tubes ran some kind of clear liquid out of their bodies and into this huge basin. It reminded me of those wishing wells that you drop a penny into and it circles around and around until disappearing into that little black hole."
"A coin funnel?" Helena said.
"Yes, exactly."
Sebastian noticed that Lydie had begun to squirm uncomfortably, and he offered her an understanding smile.
"The walls and the ceiling were drywalled, which seemed strange to me, but I think now they wanted to keep it sanitary."
"Because they were extracting something...," Julian said, thinking out loud.
"They were in my head," Oliver added. "The electrodes must have given them access to my mind."
"The room was gone when we went back," Julian offered, knowing that the Chicago witches likely hadn't heard about Julian and Faustine's return to the lair. "Everything was destroyed. The fire that came at us in that cavern must have traveled through all their tunnels. I'm sure they set it up that way. It killed everyone, and everything, in its path."
"Is anyone going to talk about the dead people?" Lydie suddenly asked, in a high-pitched voice that startled everyone in the room.
Oliver smoothed her hair back and hugged her.
"Yes, Lydie," Elda soothed her. "I promise we'll talk about them tonight too."
In the weeks since the experience in the lair, the witches had all carefully avoided the topic of that day. Lydie's heartbreak over Max, and all their trauma, left them wanting a bit more time.
****
"So we're all related then. It just seems unreal," Abby said later, as she and Victor sat in Lydie's dream room, sneaking a few moments alone to talk.
"But that's just it, right? We're not part of ordinary reality at all. We never were, and in truth, neither is anyone else. We just buy into the notion that magic doesn't exist. At least until we can't anymore because fire is shooting out of our ass."
Abby laughed and settled back into the beanbag chair. She watched stars darting across the ceiling and decided she liked the changes at Ula.
"Tell me something, long-lost cousin..." Victor said, looking at her seriously.
"Hmmm?"
"Why doesn't anyone else at this party seem to know about the baby you're growing?"
Abby gasped and sat up, wondering for a moment if she should lie.
She could see in Victor's face that he knew the truth; there was no point avoiding it.
"I honestly don't know," she sighed finally. "I've considered telling Sebastian a hundred times, but then the words just won't come out."
"So even Sebastian doesn't know? He is the father, right?"
"Of course," Abby snapped, but she knew why Victor asked. She had, after all, shown up in Chicago with Oliver.
"No offense intended," he countered, holding up his hands. "And no judgment."
"No, nothing like that ever happened between Oliver and me. I adore him, but Sebastian has my heart." As she spoke, she
realized how terrible it was that she had not told him about the baby. "I have to tell him tonight."
Victor nodded.
"I think so too and, what's more, I think you're keeping this secret because Kanti wants you to."
Abby pursed her lips and realized Victor knew way more than he let on. She hadn't even allowed the thought to fully penetrate her own mind.
"That's even more reason to expose the truth, Abby. She does not have your best interest at heart. I haven't figured out where she is, but she does not rest peacefully."
Almost in response to his words, a crack of thunder lit the magical sky overhead.
"I'm happy they didn't bewitch this room to rain on us," Victor laughed.
****
"Helena is calling it the Honeymoon Suite," Sebastian told Abby, leading her down a small stone corridor and across an open-air veranda that felt ice-cold in the mounting darkness. He opened a set of French doors.
The circular room held an enormous round bed piled with a white, velvety comforter and sprinkled with yellow roses. The dome ceiling was glass and revealed the night sky. Carved into the curving stone wall stood an enormous fireplace, flames dancing in its hearth. Vases of white roses decorated the mantle. Two silk robes were draped over a velvet-lined bench, one cream and the other black.
"Did she set this up tonight?" Abby asked, amazed.
"Oh, to be a witch," Sebastian teased.
Sebastian turned Abby to face him. He lifted her, carrying her to the bed, and kissed her hard on the mouth. She fell back into the feathery pillows and held out her arms. As he began to kiss her face and neck, she leaned close to his ear.
"We're having a baby," she told him. She tried to stay soft in his arms, but the moment she uttered the words, her body tensed.
He continued to kiss her and then he stopped, pulling away. He looked at her, bewildered. Slowly understanding dawned, but she saw more in his expression-fear.
"A baby?" He touched her stomach. "But how, when?"
"The night in the woods at the cabin."
He frowned and she grabbed his arms, squeezing to reassure him.
"I'm okay. The injury didn't hurt the baby or at least, didn't change the pregnancy. Don't ask me how I know. I haven't taken a test. I just know, okay?"
Sebastian nodded, looking serious, but then the hint of a smile touched his lips.
"A baby?"
He grinned and picked her up, spinning her around the room. He kissed her and then set her, gently, back on the bed.
"I don't want to tell the other witches yet. Our little secret, okay?" she asked.
"Whatever you want," he told her, still coming to terms with the news.
He pulled up her shirt and kissed her belly and then her breasts. He stripped her completely and between kisses, he marveled at her body as if seeing it for the first time.
Abby lay back on the pillows and surrendered to the pleasure of his touch. She felt as if an enormous weight had been lifted.
****
"Happy Birthday," Abby whispered, nuzzling into Sebastian's back.
He stirred and rolled toward her. Sleepy eyed, he smiled.
"How did you know it was my birthday?"
"Helena told me. Remember when we first came to Ula? She said that you and she were both Scorpios. At Sorciére, she reminded me you had a birthday coming up, so I dug through your wallet to find the date."
"Quite the little spy."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Sebastian shrugged.
"I haven't celebrated my birthday since Claire died. She used to make a big deal out of it and after her death, I just couldn't."
Abby leaned her head on his chest and sighed.
"I'm sorry, Sebastian. Sometimes I wonder why this witch stuff doesn't come with a power to take away grief."
"You have," he told her, seriously. "You've transformed my life, Abby. I should say it more, I know. I can't tell you how much knowing you and loving you has drawn me out of that darkness."
Abby scooted to the edge of the bed and reached over the side, shuffling through her backpack. She returned with a small gift, wrapped in black and silver paper.
"What's this?" He took the package and sniffed it. He shook it and held it to his ear. "Hmm, obviously not a puppy or a meatloaf."
"Or a bottle of tequila," she laughed, remembering a drunken night when they first met. "In my state, I thought booze might be inappropriate."
He chuckled and pulled Abby against him, kissing her for a long time. She pushed her hands into his silky curls and cupped his head in her hands.
"Thank you." His face turned serious. "Before I found you, I was lost."
She understood. Before Sebastian, she too had felt lost.
"You and me both," she told him, kissing his nose. "Now open your present."
He sat up and traced his finger along the edges of the box. He opened it slowly, as if savoring the experience. He took off the paper and looked at the small wooden box. On the cover of the box, a heart with the inscription A + S was burned into the wood. He lifted the lid and Abby watched his face. A wide platinum ring, set with an emerald stone, was nestled in the black velvet.
He touched the ring and smiled.
"Emerald," she told him.
"Claire's birthstone."
"Yes. I figured if we're getting married, you would need a ring too and..."
Before she could finish, he pulled her into a bone-crushing hug.
"I love it, you know that, right?" he told the top of her head.
"It's becoming apparent," she laughed.
He put the ring on.
"Have you seen my ring?" he gushed, in a high feminine voice. He held his hand out, wiggling his fingers.
****
"It scans the documents on its own and then searches for the names Kanti, Dafne, Tobias, Alva or Milda. It also searches for the word curse. It automatically stores all of those documents in this folder here." Victor pointed to the huge touch-screen computer that depicted images of a dozen folders. The label on the folder said "Important."
"Seems simple enough," Julian said, scratching his chin.
Julian, Bridget and Helena had gathered in the room that Julian had coined the vault. It used to contain a series of inventions, many created by Max, that Faustine moved to the dungeon. The vault was near the library, which made for easier investigating. The witches, mostly Victor and Kendra, had installed three state-of-the-art computers. One entire wall was a touch-screen that revealed scanned images of letters, photographs and articles taken from the boxes Abby had brought. They were calling those the Kanti Files. Abby kept the originals, but the witches at Ula and those in Chicago had copies.
Victor and th Chicago witches lived in a high-tech world. All of their projects operated through Internet based programs.
In the corner of the room, Victor had set up an elaborate scanning system.
"Is there magic involved here or just computer wizardry?" Helena asked.
"Both," Victor told them. "The magic is the self-scanning aspect. Watch."
He went to the boxes of documents and set them in a metal bin next to the scanner. He hit the "on" button and the machine whirred to life.
The papers immediately began to levitate, and one by one the scanner lifted its lid, copied the document and then released it. Victor had arranged twenty cardboard boxes on the floor. After the documents were scanned, they floated to a box and settled into the bottom. Black words then appeared on the box, as if drawn by marker. "Trager Disappearances" materialized on one of the boxes. On the second box, the coven's name "Ula" emerged.
"All the documents that show up in the Important file on the computer will also get separated into the Important box."
"I think this will be very helpful, Victor," Bridget said, watching the papers lift and sort themselves. "Thank you."
"We're in this together," he replied. "Kanti's been contacting me for years. I want to know why."
****
S
ebastian pulled his scarf up to cover his face as he walked with Elda and Faustine to the second lagoon. The wind lashed, causing the few dead leaves, still clinging to the trees, to swirl through the air around them. He glanced longingly at the mystical gardens that he knew lay further on. He thought of Abby's news from the previous night and smiled, shaking his head in disbelief, still reeling from the idea that he would be a father.
"Have a seat in the chair," Elda told him, squeezing his shoulder for encouragement.
He walked to the wooden chair, that sat on the stone slab, and settled into it. He watched the gently lapping water of the lagoon, but felt nothing. What did he want to happen? He honestly didn't know. The experience in the cavern had floored him. Shock and disbelief still clouded his thoughts when he remembered it. There had not been another moment like it since, and not for lack of trying. In secret, he had tried several times to tap into the power. Despite his attempts, nothing had happened.
Faustine and Elda watched him, their faces expressionless. He knew they didn't want him to feel any pressure to perform the magic again.
He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. He imagined lightning streaking from the sky and rocks exploding on the beach. Nothing. The wind caused the trees to groan. The dune grass blew and rubbed together in a scratchy song. He heard Faustine's heavy breath and Elda's softer and slower. He felt the steady thud of his heart and the perspiration on his hands. His feet itched in his heavy wool socks.
Finally, he opened his eyes and looked at Elda and Faustine.
"I don't feel anything strange. I don't think it's going to happen."
Faustine nodded and Elda gave him a warm, conciliatory smile.
"Sometimes that happens, even out here," Elda offered, wrapping her heavy black shawl tighter around her body.
"Go on back to the castle, dear," Faustine told her, kissing her on the forehead.
Elda smiled and gave Sebastian a pat on the arm before hurrying back to the warmth of the indoors.
Kanti Page 3
