Gail’s elation at breaking the curse vanished when she saw her aunt. Closing the book she was reading, Aunt Rose stood. Her expression pinched and Gail had never seen her aunt with a frown so big. “Hey, Aunt Rose, I got some good news.”
Aunt Rose crossed her arms, giving her a down right glacial glare. “Do you now? Which good news is that? That you ignored me and broke the werewolf’s curse and now you have made yourself a threat to Ricinius or the fact that you ignored me and got emotionally entangled with the werewolf.”
“Uhm, I was going to tell you about the curse,” Gail replied. “Why are you so mad?”
Aunt Rose scoffed. “Why am I so mad? Why? Have you not been listening to me at all lately, Galiena Faye Palmer?”
Gail went upstairs to look for Joel when a strange warmth filled her. Gail paused, rubbing her arms and trying to free them from the sensation. It lasted only a second before it was gone. She shook her head, figuring it must have been one of her aunt’s protection spells. Perhaps she was reinforcing them in expectation of trouble from the coven, since she was so convinced that Ricinius would know that she broke the curse.Much to Gail’s irritation, Joel wasn’t in his room. Her irritation turned to anger when she didn’t find him anywhere in the house. Where was he? Why did he choose now of all times to be difficult to find?Gail finally found him in the yard, picking cherry tomatoes right off the bush and eating them. That, too, fueled Gail’s anger. She doubted he asked her aunt to pick those tomatoes. Extremely rude, if you as
It took Joel almost an hour to walk far enough to reach the town, but his anger still burned through him. He couldn’t believe he trusted Gail. How could he have been so blind? She was just like every other witch. He walked through a small park, looking for someone not paying attention to his phone. Joel finally found one next to an elderly man. The older man had chosen a newspaper over the phone. Joel deftly took it from the park bench. Ducking out of sight, he called Elijah.“Hey Elijah, it’s me,” Joel said once his brother cautiously answered the phone. “I need you to pick me up. I’m done with those witches.”“Sure, tell me where you are?” Once Joel told him where he was, Elijah asked, “What happened?”“She—” Joel started, then pau
Once Gail was sure her aunt slept, and she wouldn’t have to see that old bat’s face, she gathered up the duffel bag with what little clothing she had left. Her anger hadn’t cooled since her fight with Joel that afternoon. God, she was an idiot. How could she trust him? Or her aunt, for that matter? Did everyone see her as some gullible, naïve pawn that they could play with as they pleased?Gail slung the duffle up onto her shoulder and left the room. Despite her anger, she tried not to make any noise as she left the house. “Good Riddance,” she said to the dark house before getting in her car. No longer worried about making noise, Gail slammed the door.Pressing on the gas, she backed out of the driveway, spraying gravel everywhere. Gail sped out of the driveway and down the tiny road. She didn’t know where she was
Aunt Rose waited for Gail on the porch when she got back to the house. Gail turned off the car, got her duffel bag, and joined her aunt on the porch. “What happened?” She asked. As she drove back, Gail wondered how the spell got past her protections.“I don’t know,” her aunt admitted. “I thought I had the protections keyed to keep anything harmful out, whether it was a spell or a physical person or object.” Aunt Rose shook her head. “I plan to be going over all of them in the morning. I also want to say I’m sorry. I should’ve realized a spell was active on all of us.”“Perhaps it’s the subtlety of the spell,” Gail said. “Since anger isn’t overtly harmful and since we were all already tense, it didn’t need much to push us over the edge.”
When Gail fell asleep that night, she found herself trapped in the familiar nightmare. Her aunt woke her up with urgency, demanding she get up and pack her things before the werewolves came. Just like always, Gail heard the howls of wolves, their hot breath on her neck, and the shadows taking a bestial form. Gail whimpered, clutching her teddy bear. Suddenly, the room went dark. Gail couldn’t see anything. The howls and hot breath disappeared. A strange feminine voice whispered in her ear, “You must save my children.” Now standing and no longer a child, Gail looked for the owner of the voice. “Your children? Who are your children?” The voice whispered in her ear again. “Danger is closer than you think…” Gail turned around, trying to find the woman who was
“What did you do?” Gail demanded, finding her aunt in the library. Her aunt lowered the book and looked at her, confused. “Excuse me?” “You cast the spell that made us all angry. You blamed the coven, but it was you, wasn’t it?” “What?” her aunt said with a laugh. “Of course not. Why would I do such a thing?” “That’s what I would like to know,” Gail demanded, crossing her arms over her chest. Aunt Rose put down the book. “I did not cast that spell. I told you it was the coven. They were trying to divide us. Why would you think I’d ever do such a thing to you?” “You’re seriously going to sit there and lie to me right in my face?” It hurt and only made her angrier
Joel hugged his mother. He couldn’t believe this was real. She was alive. She was really alive. It hadn’t yet been a month since he’d left his pack that night, but for Joel; it felt like a lifetime. His mother hugged him back with a soft laugh. “Joel, my son. I’m so happy to see you’re alright.” She pulled away and looked him over. “You are alright, aren’t you? I heard the witches had cursed you or something.”“I am,” he replied. “They did, but another one freed me. How did you survive? I swore I saw those mad wolves take you down?”“They almost did,” his mother told him and showed him her neck. Scars from fangs and claws marred the skin. “Afterward, they had assumed I was dead and moved on. Lucas found me and brought me here to the healers.”
“You’re doing well,” Aunt Rose said as they gathered up the materials they used during practice.“Thanks. I’m starting to get a hang of this,” Gail replied, picking up a blanket and folding it. Once finished, she looked around on the ground. She felt as if she was forgetting something, but she didn’t know what.“Everything okay?”Gail looked up at her aunt. “Oh, yeah. Just… I think I forgot something.”“No, we got everything,” Aunt Rose told her, then smiled. “Besides, if you forgot, then it can’t be that important.”Gail laughed. “Right?” They went back inside when she looked back behind her, sure sh