Dark Realms

by Kristen Middleton

  Chapter Thirty

  Vivian stepped forward and took the wand from me. Within seconds, it began to glow in her hand. She smiled, triumphantly. “Ah… it’s a bonding wand, just like mine.”

  Kala and I glanced at each other.

  “Yes,” breathed Vivian, her blue eyes gleaming with satisfaction. “The power inside of this wand is great; I can feel it coursing through my veins.”

  “How does that feel?” I asked, wondering if I’d made a horrible mistake. Was it possible that the wand would add to her strength? Had I been misled?

  “It feels…” her eyes widened in surprise. “What…what’s happening?”

  I didn’t say anything, just watched in wonder as her hand began to glow. Unlike mine, however, it was a bright, crimson color.

  “No,” she gasped, now trying to shake the wand out of her hand. “No!”

  The red light started to spread, traveling up her arm, into her face, and from what I guessed, throughout the rest of her body.

  “What have you done?!” she bellowed. “What’s happening to me?”

  I watched her face contort in pain and anguish as the wand’s magic continued its assault and my feelings were muddled. As evil as she was, Vivian was still my mother’s twin, and watching her go through so much agony was unsettling.

  “Help me!” she screeched, falling to her knees. She reached up and began pulling at her long, red hair. “Please,” she sobbed, “someone, stop this!”

  Seeing her so helpless and frightened reminded me of my mother and my heart suddenly cried out for her. No matter how much pain she’d already caused everyone else, she was still part of my family and mom’s twin sister. There was no way I could stand by and watch her suffer this way anymore.

  There had to be another way.

  My eyes welled up with tears and I took a step forward to try and help her, when Rebecca placed a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t.”

  “But she’s dying!” I cried.

  “So is your mother,” she reminded me. “Listen.” She moved until she was blocking my view of Vivian. “There is no other way to save your mom. It’s Vivian’s fate or your mom’s. If she survives, your mother will most certainly die, and eventually, Vivian will come for all of us.”

  I turned towards Kala, who, surprisingly, looked very calm. She caught me staring and smiled grimly. “It has to be this way. For mom’s sake.”

  Letting out a ragged sigh, I nodded and wiped my tears.

  Tyler moved closer to me and put an arm around my shoulders. “Hey,” he whispered into my ear. “I think it’s over.”

  Sighing, I stepped around Rebecca and looked down at Vivian, whose eyes were now closed. I watched as the red glow receded from her skin. From the stillness of her body, it was obvious there was no life left inside of her.

  “Let’s go check on mom,” I said, wiping a few more stray tears. “Hopefully, this worked, and she’s been set free from the curse.”

  Just then, three more witches materialized in the room.

  “What have you done?” cried the blonde I’d seen in the hallway earlier. She rushed to Vivian’s side and kneeled down. “Vivian?”

  Rebecca raised her wand and whispered, “This is our cue to leave.”

  “You’re not going anywhere,” said the dark-haired witch with the bun, her wand raised threateningly.

  “She’s dead!” screeched the blonde witch, her eyes filled with rage. “Vivian’s dead!”

  “Who killed her?” asked the third witch, an older woman with grayish-black hair and a broad nose.

  “None of us,” I said, raising my chin. “It was the wand.”

  The older witch walked over to my wand, which now lay on the floor, and her face turned pale. “I know this wand. It used to be Adrianne’s. I’m surprised Vivian didn’t notice that.”

  The blonde reached for it.

  “Don’t touch it!” hollered the older witch, stepping back.

  She pulled her hand away. “Why not, Semora?”

  “It’s dangerous, Bella,” she said, her eyes wide. She pointed towards Vivian. “You see what it did to her.”

  Bella stood up and backed away from the wand. “So, it really was the wand that killed her?”

  “I told you,” I said. “Only those who aren’t out for personal gain can handle the wand. Obviously, Vivian was only out for herself.”

  Semora turned towards me. “You two,” she said, glancing at Kala as well, “are Adrianne’s daughters, aren’t you?”

  “Yes,” we both replied.

  Her lips thinned and she nodded. “Very well. I, personally, never had anything against Adrianne. In fact, your aunt probably had what was coming to her.”

  “What?!” gasped Bella. “How can you say that? She was the head of our coven!”

  Semora sighed. “Oh, come on. We were just talking about how unstable Vivian was getting.”

  “No,” she snapped. “Vivian wasn’t just our leader, she was my best friend.” She looked at me and scowled. “Wand or not, I’m going to make sure all of you pay for her death. Come on, Beldora, let’s go tell the others!”

  Beldora nodded and then both witches disappeared.

  “You’d better leave,” said Semora. “They’ll return with the others and you won’t have a chance against that many wands.” She then disappeared.

  “Grab yours,” said Rebecca, pointing towards Chloe.

  I stared at the wand in fear. “Uh, what if...”

  “What if what?”

  “I wanted Vivian to die,” I said, looking down in shame. “That means that my heart isn’t pure anymore. I guess I’m just too frightened to touch the wand now.”

  “Did you really want to destroy Vivian, or did you just want your mother safe?” asked Rebecca.

  I glanced over towards Vivian. “I guess I would have rather had nobody die, and my mother safe.”

  She touched my shoulder and smiled. “That’s what I thought. You’re still a good person, Kendra, and in my heart I know there’s nothing to worry about. Now, grab the wand. You’re going to need it.”

  I walked over to the wand and bent down. Still struggling with uncertainty and fear, I took a deep breath and picked it up.

  “It’s okay, child,” said the wand as my hand began to glow a warm yellow. “Don’t be frightened.”

  I closed my eyes and released a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Chloe.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Tyler walked over to me and grinned. “You do realize now that you’re claiming this wand as yours, you’re going to need proper training?”

  “Actually, I’m not claiming it as mine,” I said. “It’s my mother’s and I’m going to make sure that she gets it back.”

  “No, it’s yours now.”

  I gasped and turned towards the sound of her voice. “Mom?”

  She smiled and it seemed to light up the room. “Surprise,” she said, opening up her arms.

  “Mom!” gasped Kala, flinging herself at her.

  My eyes filled with tears as I rushed over and joined them. “Thank God you’re okay.”

  “I love you both, so much,” she murmured, squeezing us tightly. She kissed the tops of each of our heads. “I… I’m so relieved you’re both okay. I prayed she wouldn’t hurt you.”

  “We’re fine, but what about you? Are you really okay?” I asked, pulling away to look into her face.

  She nodded. “Yes, honey. I’m much better. I’m not exactly sure what happened, but you removed the curse.”

  “It was the wand,” said Kala as she mom released us. “Your old wand, actually. It’s what killed Vivian.”

  “Of course. I can’t believe I hadn’t thought about Isadora’s wand.” She turned towards her sister’s body and I watched as her lower lip began to tremble. She closed her eyes and then reopened them. “Believe it or not,” she said, her eyes glossy with tears, “I really loved Vivian. As much hate as she had for me, I still loved her.”

  “But why did she hate
you so much?” I asked. “And what happened between her and our father?”

  Her face paled. “She told you?”

  I nodded. “Yes, but –”

  “Sorry to interrupt, but we have to leave,” said Clarice, materializing next to mom. “Vivian’s coven is coming, and they’re not happy.”

  My mother grabbed both of our hands.

  “Meet us at Secrets,” said Rebecca. “You’ll be safe there.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  After we arrived at the shop, Bailey and Trixie were given some kind of potion to help them recover fully, Tyler went in search of food, and my mother stepped in the back warehouse to talk with Rebecca and Clarice.

  “He’s so cute,” whispered my sister, staring at Bailey as he stood up and stretched. “I wonder if he has a girlfriend?”

  I chuckled. “Probably a ton.”

  She sighed. “Yeah, I’m sure you’re right.”

  “Girls,” motioned mom from the back of the shop. “It’s time we had that talk.”

  “Do you think?” muttered Kala under her breath as we started towards the back of the store. “It would have saved us a lot of trouble if she would have given us this talk a month ago.”

  “She was just trying to protect us,” I reminded her.

  “Which almost got all of us killed.”

  “Hey, I know.”

  When we stepped into the backroom, I stopped dead in my tracks – it looked like an entirely different place.

  “What happened?” I asked Rebecca, who was sitting next to a large fireplace, drinking a cup of coffee with Clarice.

  She smiled sheepishly. “Oh, well now that we don’t have to hide our magic, I spruced up the place.”

  “I’ll say,” I said, looking around. Instead of a storage warehouse, it looked more like some kind of lodge, with two large oversized brown leather sofas, two recliners, a bearskin rug and even a stocked bar – except this one appeared to be supplied with bottles of different potions instead of booze.

  Mom motioned us towards one of the sofas. “Please, sit down.”

  Kala and I sat down and then looked at her expectantly. She’d changed into jeans and a green wool sweater, her hair now a vibrant red.

  “So that’s your normal hair color?” asked Kala.

  She nodded. “Yes. I hope you don’t mind that I’ve changed it back. It’s nice not having to hide anymore from Vivian.”

  “It’s just weird,” I said. “You look so much like Vivian.”

  “On the outside we’re identical, but on the inside, we were never similar,” she replied, her face melancholy.

  “It’s okay, mom,” I said. “You shouldn’t have to hide anymore. Besides, you look beautiful as a redhead.”

  She smiled. “Thanks. Well, I suppose I should start. Don’t mind Clarice or Rebecca,” she said, sitting down across from us in the other sofa. “I want them here, in case you have a question that I might not be able to answer.”

  I licked my lips. “Okay.”

  “Now,” she sighed and sat back against the seat cushion. “I’m sure you’re both pretty angry with me for keeping all of this from you.”

  “A little,” I said. “But, we kind of understand.”

  She nodded and smiled sadly. “I, uh, I have something else to tell you that…” her eyes filled with tears. “Something I never wanted to tell you, but I know that I must. You have the right to know.”

  I leaned forward. “What?”

  She burst out crying.

  “Oh, my God, are you okay, mom?” asked Kala, moving next to her on the sofa. She took her hand. “Maybe we should wait until you feel better?”

  She shook her head and then snapped her fingers. A box of tissues appeared. “Oh, God,” she sobbed. “I hope you’re not going to hate me for this.”

  “What is it?” I whispered, my stomach clenching in fear. Something told me that whatever she had to tell us was going to be far more substantial than anything I’d heard in the last twenty-four hours.

  She wiped her face with a tissue and let out a ragged sigh. “Okay, I’m just going to have to start from the beginning.”

  I went and sat down on the other side of her. She grabbed my hand.

  She took a deep breath. “My father murdered my mother and my sister murdered him.”

  “What?” I gasped.

  She smiled grimly. “Talk about a dysfunctional family, huh?”

  “What happened?” I asked, still in shock.

  “Well, as you’re aware of now, Vivian and I come from a long line of witches. Powerful witches. Well,” she sighed, “my father was a preacher and he had no clue of who he’d actually married. In fact, when he found out that my mother was practicing witchcraft, he went after her in a blind rage and ended up shooting her. In turn, Vivian killed him.”

  “Well, that’s not entirely surprising,” said Kala. “I’m sure she was upset knowing that he killed your mother and did it out of blind rage.”

  “Yes but the thing was, Vivian enjoyed it.”

  “After meeting her, that doesn’t surprise me one bit,” I said.

  “Mom, you never really mentioned your parents, did they love each other?” asked Kala.

  She paused. “I know that my mother loved my father and that’s why she didn’t reveal what she really was. In fact, she stopped practicing witchcraft for many years, until we moved back to Salem, where she’d lived as a young girl. You see, my father was transferred to Salem by his church, to help crucify women who were charged with performing witchcraft. How ironic, huh?”

  “So, that’s when she started practicing it herself again?” I asked.

  She nodded. “Yes, she was horrified at what my father was trying to do and started attending the ceremonies in the middle of the night. Eventually, my mother told Vivian and me about our heritage and we wanted to learn more. In fact, it was supposed to be our induction into the coven on the night they were both killed.”

  “Did your mother practice Black magic or White magic?” I asked.

  “She never really said, but I believe she practiced White.”

  “So, what happened after your parents were killed?” asked Kala.

  She smiled and turned towards Rebecca, who was listening in. “I moved in with Rebecca and her mother. They basically saved my life by taking me in.”

  Rebecca smiled warmly. “My mother loved you as if you were part of the family.”

  “What about Vivian?” I asked. “What happened to her?”

  She turned back to me and her face became grave. “Vivian left that night and I didn’t see her for seven years. She just… disappeared off the face of the Earth. But when she returned…”

  “What?” I asked.

  She looked down at her hands. “At first, Vivian seemed like her old self. She was bubbly, excited about life, and… in love.”

  “She was in love?” I asked, afraid of what she was going to say next.

  She nodded and looked up at me. “Yes, she was in love with Michael, your father.”

  “Oh, my God,” I sighed. “Did he love her?”

  “He thought he did, but then things changed.”

  “What happened?” whispered Kala.

  She closed her eyes and let out a ragged breath. “She became pregnant.”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  “What?” I gasped. “Was the baby his?”

  She stared at both of us and then her lower lip began to tremble. “Yes. They both were. Twin girls.”

  The blood rushed to my ears. “No,” I said, standing up. “I don’t want to hear any more of this.”

  Tears rolled down her cheeks. “He had the babies and Michael stood by her side, he even proposed to her but…”

  “What?” whispered Kala.

  “She never wanted the babies. She’d actually planned on giving them up and telling Michael that they’d both died during childbirth, but he’d found out beforehand and talked her into keeping them.”

  “Us, you mean?” I said.
“He talked her into keeping us.”

  She started sobbing. “Yes, honey, I’m sorry. You and Kala are Vivian’s biological daughters, but… I raised you. I did. And I’ve loved you more than that woman could have ever loved you, I swear to God!”

  Kala and I stared at each other in shock.

  Rebecca walked up behind Adrianne and put a hand on her shoulder. “Honey, do you want me to finish the story?”

  She shook her head and dabbed at her tears with a tissue. “No, I need to finish this myself.”

  “What happened?” I asked, my voice hoarse.

  “Please, sit back down,” she pleaded, patting the seat cushion beside her. “Please.”

  I sat back down and she took my hand.

  “What happened next?” asked Kala, her eyes also filled with tears.

  She took a deep breath. “Michael bought them a home and they were going to be married after the two of you were born. Well, the night she went into labor, Vivian disappeared.”

  “What?” I gasped.

  “Yes. From what I’d found out later, she’d went to a midwife and paid her a large sum of money to keep you. When she returned to Michael two days later, she claimed she’d lost the both of you in childbirth.”

  “Oh, my God,” mumbled Kala. “She paid someone to keep us? Who does that?”

  “Apparently our real biological-slash-psychotic mother,” I said dryly.

  “Anyway, Michael didn’t believe it, especially because she was so happy. In fact, at first, he thought maybe she’d just had a nervous breakdown and would eventually pull out of it and share in the sorrow of losing their children – but it never happened. She never mourned your loss, and that’s when he started drifting away from her.”

  “How did he find out that we were still alive?” I asked.

  “I told him,” she said. “After I used my magic to find you.”

  I squeezed her hand. “Thank you.”

  She smiled sadly. “Of course, baby.”

  Kala wiped the tears that were now sliding down her cheeks. “What did she say when he confronted her about us?”

  She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. “She was angry – furious at me. She tried attacking me, claiming that I was trying to ruin her life. She swore revenge and Michael finally saw the kind of hatful rage that she possessed. He was not only scared for you, but for his own life as well.”