part0055

Erica sat in tall grass, beside her new little kitten, who was stalking a dragonfly, his fluffy black bum up in the air, wiggling. Erica kept at the landscape sketch she was working at, when a sudden sinking sensation swept over her. Her phone rang from her bag. She fumbled to get it, knowing something was wrong.

Vivica had texted this.

Vivica was clairvoyant and all the lives that their coven had touched remained part of the network within Vivica’s mind. She didn’t always tap in, but she would be alerted to concerns.

Erica’s heart sank, and her fingers trembled. She’d gotten her hands on Isabella Holloway’s mobile phone number, but in the year since they’d seen one another, she hadn’t used it. She hoped she would never need to.

Today was Halloween and she’d already thought about Holden and Isabella. She thought about the other lives her magic had affected, too --- which didn’t always happen on Halloween, but the day was an especially important one to her because of the impact of Holden and Isabella’s story.

She hit the button to dial Isabella’s number. It went directly to voicemail.

“Isabella, this is Erica. Do not say it. Do not! Please phone me at this number so we can discuss. It’s imperative! If you speak any of the words about that night, about his past, words about anything related to that, it will unleash the monster in him. He will go on a rampage without it being in his control. It’s the price you both have to pay to keep what you have in one another. If you break the rule, it’ll be like it was before, but it will be worse, because he may not be in his old hunting grounds where we can possibly contain him. Just telling you this much will cost me, Isabella. Not you, not Holden, me. I will pay that price to try to stop you from losing everything. Because if you do whatever you’re thinking about doing, it will cost you both everything. And more. Please. Hear this message and say nothing. Call me.”

She recited her number and ended the call and looked up the number for Holloway Farms. She dialed. Unfortunately, there was no answer.

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

Why didn’t they ever listen? There was always a price to pay, and she’d done her best to communicate how important it was that they pay this price. She wasn’t allowed to go back to reiterate, to remind without paying her own price. That was just, quite simply, how it worked.

Isabella had to have faith in her husband. He had to have faith in what they had now, in her forgiveness. They were not allowed to dwell on the past. It wasn’t healthy. It wasn’t always the rule, each spell had its own particulars, but it was deemed to be a good rule for this particular scenario. Five witches had agreed and sealed it as such.

She dusted off her skirt as she rose to her feet, her small black kitten, the newest addition to her menagerie of pets playing by her feet. He was a perfect Halloween kitty with his black fluffy self and just the tip of his tail orange, as if it had been dipped in paint.