A scream of denial builds in my throat, and I cover my mouth as I stumble back. My heel slams into a potted plant, making it wobble, and a few nearby party guests turn their heads. Pivoting, I run back to the front of the house, toward the driveway that will lead me to my truck, and my means of escape.
Power like I’ve never felt, even during the magic transfer from my family, sends electric currents over my skin. The rush nearly knocks me to my knees, but I stay upright and forge ahead. At this point, if I stay, everyone in that house will be dead. Macey was a smart witch, but not a powerful one. She wouldn’t be able to stop me if I focused on her.
The temptation to run back, to take what’s mine, slows my steps. But, as much as I’d love to take out Macey, I have nothing against the others, except Donovan, who’s cheating on me, which I don’t even know how to deal with. Right now, the pure hatred I feel toward Macey eclipses my confusion over Donovan.
I make it to the tall, block fence that surrounds the property.
Stopping under some trees to wait until the drive is clear of incoming and outgoing cars, I rest my back against the cold stone and stare at the stars. With the house lit up like a shopping center, the stars are muted, not like at the trailer, not like at home.
Home. That’s where I need to go; otherwise, the power running through me will be unleashed here. These people shouldn’t bear the brunt of my hatred, but I add Macey to the list of people to take down, just under the man who stole my family from me.
It doesn’t surprise me to see her at someplace like this, looking for a way to gain more without working for it. It’s why she tried to steal from my family in the first place. She must have learned enough magic to sneak her way into the real world, because she wasn’t cut out to live the coven life.
When the coast is clear, I dash through the gates and sprint to my truck.
With all the training and work I’ve done around the campsite, my strength, speed, and endurance have high marks, according to Hattie. She liked to remind me that a strong mind and body will benefit my magic, too, so I incorporated fitness into my regular daily routine, like running with a bundle of sticks that I carried back to the site or taking the harder trail to pick berries.
What would Hattie think of this situation?
Climbing into my truck, I grip the steering wheel tight. What would I give to have one more conversation with her? What would her advice be about Donovan?
Nails digging into the steering wheel, I finally release the scream I held back.
Macey fits the perfect mold of a dark witch. She takes what she wants. Now, it’s my turn to do the same.
Not paying attention to where I’m going, I just drive. Hattie and I did amazingly well at conserving our money. I never would have been frivolous with our gas before, but at this point in time, I don’t care.
My drive takes me in circles in some places and the long way in others, ever-circling closer to my destination. When the back drive to my home appears, I take the sharp turn and head toward the house without thinking it through.
After two years of neglect, weeds cover the path. More than likely, no one has used this drive since we left. The fallen tree is right where we left it, and this time, I manage to avoid it without almost crashing.
When I reach the old garage, I park alongside it, pointing the nose of the truck back toward the path for a quick escape if needed. When I came for Hattie’s magic tools, no one had been here, but better safe than sorry.
Pulling an extra string and my antique phone charger out of the glove box, I plug the phone in, then climb out of the car. My first thought is to throw the phone as far into the woods as I can or maybe run it over with the truck, but I don’t. Not yet, anyway. A part of my mind still wants to hear Donovan’s excuse for being with Macey.
After forming the protection web and reciting the spell, I cut through the woods and toward the house, using the light of the waning crescent moon to light my way. I don’t know what I want to do here, but I need this. My legacy started here, and however it ends should be here as well.
Since leaving, I haven’t had a chance to walk the entire property. Something urgent always weighed on me when I came before. This time, I’m just here for me. Nothing, not even Maggie, holds me back from being here.
The first place I head is Henry’s room. He was obsessed with all things outdoors. He loved rocks, plants, animals, anything involving nature.
I crack open the door to his room, my heart in my throat at what I might find, but it looks the same as it always did, just dustier. Books still lay scattered across his desk, and his clothes rest on his dresser, waiting to be put away.
The corner of his room holds his rock collection. Many of them are rocks he found in or around our property. Some are rocks someone picked up for him at the farmer’s market. A few are ones he picked out himself.
His collection is neatly labeled, which makes me smile. He hated handwriting class, but each of his items has the best handwriting I’ve seen, better than even my mom’s.
I pick up the box labeled All The Rocks and step to the window to use the light of the moon to see better. Inside, each rock, gem, or mineral is categorized by what it is, where he found it, what its properties are, and a note with a page number. Looking around, I find a book on rocks, and I flip to page twenty-five. There, I find a picture of a rock that looks similar to the one marked Amethyst, so this has to be the book the page numbers reference.
I pick up a few of them, curious because rocks have never been my interest. Skimming through the labels, my hand freezes on a chunk of gold.
Where did he find this? This has to be worth some money. I question if it’s real gold, but right next to it is iron pyrite, fool’s gold. When they’re side-by-side, the differences are striking, and I wonder how people could confuse the two.
Not caring at this point if one of the dark witches realizes someone’s been here, I search for a bag to use. I can’t carry the box and make the ward, and I refuse to leave Henry’s treasures here any longer.
Eventually, I find one of his old bags and shove the box of rocks and its corresponding book inside, then sling it over my shoulder.
Back outside, I take one last look around. The long shadows of the night play tricks on my eyes, making me see shadowed forms moving through the house, but I dispel the idea that the spirits of my family are stuck here. Hattie and I spoke the ritual words for each of them, but I still worry that they’ll never be at peace.
I know I won’t while the dark witches and now, Macey are still out there.
The frantic energy that brought me here drains away, leaving me with the exhaustion of a sleepless night and heavy labor. Hattie loved to warn me that using magic would drain me, but we never discussed the drain of emotions. She tried, but I shut her out.
All my fault. If I opened up, would she have done the same so I could have helped her?
Not ready to head back to the campsite, I go to my secret hiding place to calm myself. Meditation has never been my strong suit, but I’ll try. If for no other reason than I need the focus before getting back behind the wheel.
Inside my cave of briars, I slip the box of rocks from the bag and take out the gold, holding it loosely in front of me. So many hours of my meditation were spent in the cave, searching for gold. Now, I have a real sample to concentrate on.
Sitting cross-legged on the ground, I rest the gold on the dip where my calves cross. Closing my eyes, I take a few deep breaths, then focus my energy on the gold. At first, nothing happens, and frustration tempts me to throw the precious mineral.
Instead, I pick it up and cup it in my hands, sending my magic into it.
Once my magic touches the gold, my mind opens, and the gold calls to me. The hum of the connection calms me further, and I let the energy flow through and around me. I have no doubt I’ll be able to find the gold vein in that old tunnel now.
A strange male voice floats through the air, startling me awake. “This area here will be for the clubhouse and heated pool.”
I lie perfectly still and crack my eyelids. The bright magenta of Henry’s dried flowers floats across my vision as I turn my head on the hard dirt. I fell asleep in my hideout.
Turning slightly, I roll onto a hard rock and suppress a yelp. Rolling back, I slide my hands through the dirt until I find the culprit.
In my hand rests the gold nugget that finally helped me crack the code on how to find the vein in the mountain. I must have fallen asleep while meditating on it.
“What do you plan to do about the old house?” another man asks.
“We’ll have to clean the entire area. The plan is to start on the outer edge of the property and work our way in, since there’s more to clean here at the heart of the property. I’d like to see most of the trees kept on the outside, just thinned out some. The fence will go inside of that. Once those are in place, we can begin constructing the buildings,” the original man explains.
My hands tighten into fists. This man wants to take my property and put a clubhouse on it.
Oh, hell no!
“If you clear these trees out, you’ll have a nice view of the mountains. What else are you planning to put out here?” a different man asks.
“This will be a full community, but I don’t think we need to go too far into the communal living idea. I’ve seen too many of those fade away, thinking that they can be self-sustainable when, in reality, it’s just a dream,” the first man responds.
About to storm out of my hiding spot to confront the intruders, a voice I recognize freezes me in place. “What happened to the family who used to live here?”
Why is Donovan with them? Is this Donovan’s dad’s work? I knew he developed the land on the other side of the property, but I never imagined he’d expand here.
Even as mad as I am at Donovan, I can’t bring myself to confront him now. My emotions would take over, which will lead to chaos. Control will be the only thing that keeps me from burning out, so I push down the pain and betrayal, adding it to my growing reservoir.
“They’re long gone. Abandoned it when times got tough for them. I knew them when I was younger. It was a complete waste of air having them around, especially their daughter, Sabine.” I nearly choke when I hear Macey’s voice, and the hairs on the back of my arms stand on end as my magic resurfaces.
Knowing Macey might be able to sense me, I grab my string from where I dropped it on the ground and quickly built the cat’s cradle. The shaking in my hands makes me start over as I lose the shape, but I finally manage to set it in place.
“You don’t think they’ll be back?” Donovan asks, ignoring Macey’s snide comments about my family.
“No. From what I’ve been able to discover, a trust was set up to pay all the bills and taxes. It’s been in place for years with the management of it passing from lawyer to lawyer in the same firm. My plan is to work with him to turn the management of the trust over to me and my lawyers, then I’ll be free to do what I want with the property. If any family members do resurface, I’ll be more than generous with how I handle them.” I’m fairly certain that’s Donovan’s dad’s cold voice. I’ll be able to pick it out anywhere now.
The way his dad is handling this sends chills up my spine. Now, I understand why Donovan fought so hard to get away from him. At this point, I wish he stayed away at school. He might not have met Macey or be caught up in the destruction of my family home. My one saving grace is the fact that the house won’t be taken down by his wrecking crew, and Macey doesn’t have near enough magic to remove the protections.
Their voices fade as they move away from my hiding spot. With them here, I worry that the dark witches will show up again, but maybe, Macey took the wards down for them. Otherwise, all of them could be slaughtered if the dark witches think I’ve returned.
That would fix one of my problems, but my heart aches for Donovan.
How can I still be in love with someone who would cheat on me? If he truly cared for me, he should have pushed her away. That doesn’t mean I want him to die at the hands of a dark witch, though.
I wouldn’t wish that on anyone, not even Macey.
No, I have better plans for her.