Chapter 6

“Keep your damn voice down. I have no idea how he would even know she exists. Dad made sure no one knew about her to keep her safe. I wonder how long he has been visiting her if it is him?” Alex butted in.

“Long enough for her to feel the need to protect him from us. She doesn’t want us to know that he visits her, and she doesn’t even know who he is.” I came around the corner then, having had enough of all this talk behind my back. They needed to start telling me the truth, right now.

“I need to learn what? And who the fuck is coming for me?” They all spun around in shock. Stevie pursed her lips, obviously annoyed that I had been listening in on their conversation, but I didn’t care about her feelings right now.

“Why don’t you have a seat, and we can start from the beginning and work our way up to the why and what, okay?” Chase was looking at me with pleading eyes, so I nodded and took a seat at the table next to Chase while Stevie and Alex sat on the other side.

“Okay, Ry, so you already know that we have been keeping something from you, but it wasn’t because we wanted to. It’s just that we didn’t know how to tell you. It’s not something you hear every day, and to be honest, it’s not easy to explain either, so please just let us get it all out, and then you can ask all the questions you want.” I nodded slowly.

“Okay, I guess I can do that for you.”

Stevie looked to both Alex and Chase, and they each gave her a nod. She let out a loud huff of air and then began.

“Ryan, you and I were born with…gifts, we’ll call them, for argument’s sake. I grew up knowing about mine, and how to use and channel my gift, because Dad taught me how.”

“Wait—Dad knew about this? All of this glowing hands shit?” I exclaimed, cutting my sister off.

“No interrupting, I said! But yes, Dad did know. I am just going to come out with it—we’re witches. Not like ride-around-on-broomstick witches… like cast spells kind of witches…we have powers.”

Finally stunned speechless, I sat quietly, trying to put the pieces of my odd life together with the information I’d just received. Alex eyed me warily then nudged Stevie. She sighed, then asked.

“Are you okay?”

“I don’t know what to think, or what I’m supposed to say to all this, Stevie. Alex, Chase—are you both witches?” I asked.

Alex and Chase both scoffed then pinned me with a glare.

“We are not witches. We are warlocks. Only women are called witches, Ry,” Alex responded haughtily.

I nodded and rolled my eyes at their drama. As if being accidentally called the feminine version of something was a grave insult. Chase waved me off and Stevie gave me a sheepish smile.

“So, what does all this mean for me then?” I asked the group.

“It means that you have gifts and abilities, Sissy. They can help keep you safe. I know that this must be a lot to take in, and you should have been told about this a long time ago.” My sister had an aura of sadness around her.

“Why was I never told about any of this? If Dad told you about all of this and showed you how to use these gifts” I said with air quotes.

“Why the hell was I kept in the dark?”

“Ryan, we tried to tell you…” Stevie started before I cut her off.

“Well, you didn’t try hard enough! If what you say is true, then I could have protected myself, from her and all the bad shit she did to me! Instead, you and Dad just gave up and left me with THAT FUCKING MONSTER!” I screamed.

I stood to leave when Chase tried to put his hand on my shoulder. I shrugged him off and walked to the front door. I needed some air. I couldn’t process what they were saying. Part of me couldn’t comprehend any of it, but then the other half of me knew on some level that it was true.

Whenever I was glowing, I always felt like I was a live wire. When my emotions got away from me, things would happen around me, things I couldn’t explain—like the walls would rattle or the ground would shake, and things would go from one side of the room to the other. Before I could continue with my thoughts, I heard a branch snap. I stopped dead in my tracks and realized I had walked so far into the woods that when I turned around, I couldn’t see the cabin anymore.

When I started to take a step toward the direction I came, a deep, husky voice froze me in place. Fear washed over me as I slowly turned to see who that voice belonged to.

“Hello,” he said. He was huge, with intense brown eyes that stared at me so directly I wanted to look away. His hair was disheveled, and a few strands hung over his forehead. It was a light brown. He had this whole lumberjack look going on—he even wore a red and black flannel shirt with faded blue jeans that hugged him in all the right places. I didn’t feel scared like any normal person would have.

“Umm…hi?” It sounded like more of a question than I meant it to.

“You look lost?”

“I’m not lost. I was just taking a walk.”

“Lie.”

“Excuse me?” I snapped.

“You lied. Your heart rate picked up.”

“What the fuck?” Is this fucking guy for real? How the hell could he hear my heartbeat?

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you, Miss…?”

“Umm…Ryan. My name is Ryan.”

“Well, Ryan, I did not mean to upset you, so I apologize.”

“Thanks, that’s okay. Look, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have cussed at you. It’s just been one hell of a day, and I should really be heading back. The others will be getting worried. It was nice to meet you Mr..?”

“The pleasure was all mine, Miss Ryan, I’m sure I will see you around town sometime. Best get moving, it’s getting cold.”

He turned on his heel and walked back into the woods, heading away from my temporary home. I started walking back the way I came, thinking about the strange encounter I just had, and the fact that he hadn’t answered my question about his name.

After ten minutes, I emerged from the woods to find the others sitting outside on the porch. I approached them with my head held high. Chase and Alex stood from the two chairs on the porch, while Stevie remained seated on the steps. I exhaled loudly before addressing the group.

“I’m sorry I took off. I just needed to get some fresh air and clear my head. That was a big info dump.”

“We understand,” Chase replied with a sad smile

“No, you don’t. This is hard for me to even believe, that you guys have grown up knowing all of this and being taught what you are. I have not had that luxury, and I wish I had. Stevie, I’m sorry for yelling at you. I know it wasn’t your fault. I just feel like my life could have been so different if I had known. Maybe, if I did know, I could have protected myself. I always felt like a freak. Whenever my emotions would get out of control, I would glow, and I never knew

why, but Mom hated it.”

“I wish you had known, Ryan. I wish I knew what I know now so that I could have come for you or tried to help you. I didn’t know my specific gifts back then; if I did, I could have gotten you out. I am so sorry for what you have endured throughout your life. If I could have swapped places with you, I would have! I promise you, Ryan Gene Knox, that we will teach you what you need to know, so you never feel unprotected again. We will show you how to channel and harness your power. You are stronger than you know, Ry. So much stronger.”

I looked into my sister’s eyes and saw hope. She was proud of me for making it through my childhood with our mother. She didn’t know our mother that well, but she had heard the stories I would tell her when I would sneak out to meet her.