Dark Realms (43 page)

“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.”

“She tried hurting the both
of you?” squeaked Kala. “As in,
kill
?”

She grabbed Kala’s hand and nodded. “Tried,
but she never succeeded. In fact, that was the very same night that
Michael and I rescued the both of you. We left Salem for good and
never looked back.”

“Is that when you realized you loved each
other?” I asked.

She shook her head. “No, honey. At that time
we both loved you and were not romantically involved. Michael asked
me to help him escape with you two girls that night, and I did,
without question. Eventually, over time, we fell in love and
decided that I’d raise you as my own. We eventually got married and
you pretty much know the rest.”

“How come you never had any of your own
children?” asked Kala.

“What do you mean? I had
you girls,” she smiled. “You’re all I’ve ever wanted. As far as I’m
concerned, you
are
my children. I… hope you feel the same way.”

Kala and I both snuggled up to her at the
same moment, like we did when we were really young.

“You’re our mother,” I whispered, resting my
head on her shoulder. “Nothing else matters.”

She loved us and had risked her life to
protect us. As far as I was concerned, she was not only our mother,
but our guardian angel.

“Yes,” said Kala. “We love you so much, mom.
Don’t ever doubt it.”

“Thank you,” she answered, her voice thick.
“You don’t know how much that means to me.”

We sat there silently for a while and then
Clarice cleared her throat. “I hate to interrupt, but it’s getting
really late and I’m sure everyone’s exhausted. I think we need to
decide what’s going to happen next.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, sitting up.

The older woman scratched her head. “Well,
now that Vivian’s coven knows where you live, it’s not safe going
back to your house. You’re going to need a new place to live.”

Mom nodded. “She’s right.”

“You could stay with us in Vail,” said
Rebecca.

“That might work,” said Clarice. “For
now.”

“I couldn’t burden you,” replied mom.
“You’ve already done so much for us.”

“Oh, it’s not a bother. You’re my friend and
I’ve missed you so much,” replied Rebecca.

Clarice sighed. “Actually,
you are going to need each other.” She looked at Rebecca. “Frankly,
you’re in just as much danger as Adrianne, so right now you
should
stick together.”
She tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Speaking of which, I think it
might be time to get in touch with some of the members of
my
old coven.”

“That might be a good idea,” replied mom,
standing up. “We could use all the help we can get.”

“I agree,” said Rebecca. “We may have
started a real war by killing Vivian and should be prepared for
anything. Once they find Mark, which I’m quite certain they
probably already have, he’s going to want revenge, as will her
coven.”

Mark, I’d forgotten all about him.

“Oh, my God,” gasped Kala. “I almost kissed
my brother!”

“Half-brother,” I reminded her.

“Who cares, it’s still pretty gross,” she
answered with a grimace.

“What I don’t understand is why she kept
Mark, but didn’t want us?” I said.

“I’ve been wondering that myself,” said mom.
“He’s obviously around your age and she would have had to have
gotten pregnant soon after you were born.”

“Mark isn’t her real son,” stated Clarice.
“I found this out tonight from Semora, although I’m surprised I
hadn’t known about it myself.”

I stared at her in shock. “What?”

“Not only that, Mark is going to be a very
powerful warlock, once he hones his skills. In fact, he’s Isadora’s
son.”

I gasped. “You’re serious?”

She nodded. “Oh, Yes. Vivian knew that and
after his real mother died, she decided to raise him as her
own.”

“How did she die?” asked Kala.

“Isadora was ultimately
killed by
her
sister. She was cursed, actually.” Her lips twisted into a
secretive smile. “Care to guess who her sister was?”

“I have no clue,” answered mom.

“Your mother, Lisbeth. She was Isadora’s
sister.”

“What?! But, how can that be? Mother never
mentioned anything about having a sister,” said mom.

“She was hiding from Isadora the same way
you were hiding from Vivian. From what I learned, they had a
falling out and Lisbeth placed a curse on Isadora.”

“What kind of curse?” I asked.

“Should Isadora ever try harming another
person using her magic, she’d perish. Well, after Isadora gave
birth to Mark, Vivian apparently showed up at her doorstep in a
pickle and asked her to help destroy you, Adrianne. She wanted
revenge for stealing Michael. Obviously, Isadora tried and it
became her demise.”

“Oh, my goodness,” whispered mother. “How
come you never told me any of this before, Clarice?”

“That’s because my mother never told me
anything about it. I only found out about you from my own mother’s
diary, ten years ago. She was obviously very frightened of her
younger sisters.”

“Clarice, your mother was Isadora and
Lisbeth’s older sister?” asked Kala. “I’m so confused.”

Clarice nodded. “Yes, there was actually
four sisters all together. My mother was the oldest, then Isadora,
Lisbeth, and Margaritte, who was the youngest. Nobody knows what
happened to Margaritte.”

“So, um, did you get Chloe from your
mother?” I asked Adrianne.

Her eyebrows shot up. “Who’s Chloe?”

“The wand you’ve given me,” I said.

Adrianne smiled. “That’s right, Chloe talks
to you. Our connection wasn’t as strong as yours. No, I didn’t get
Chloe from my mother.”

“I gave it to her,” said Clarice. “I knew
that she wouldn’t have a chance against Vivian, without it. Chloe
belonged to my mother.”

“Did anyone grab Vivian’s wand?” asked
Kala.

“No,” I said. “And it’s probably a good
thing because if it’s a bonding wand, then it could destroy anyone
not meant to use it.”

“That is very true,” said Clarice.
“Unfortunately, I’m sure Mark will eventually retrieve it, making
him even more powerful.”

“I think we should get moving soon,” said
Rebecca. “Something tells me we don’t have much time. That they
might be coming for us pretty quickly. I’m sure Mark is aware of
this shop.”

Kala and I stood up.

“What about Bailey and Trixie?” asked Kala.
“Are they coming with?”

“No,” replied Clarice. “They’re needed here
in Bayport. They can keep an eye on things for us and communicate
with the other witches in town.”

“There are other witches in Bayport?” asked
Kala.

“Adele,” I said. “Megan’s mom. She’s a
witch, isn’t she?”

My mother nodded. “Yes. I haven’t spoken to
her in years, but she is.”

“Can we trust her?” asked Kala.

“The truth is, it’s hard to find a witch you
can trust. If it were up to me, however, I’d probably trust Adele,”
said Clarice.

We walked into the main store, where Tyler
sat with Bailey and Trixie.

“We’re leaving,” said Rebecca.

Tyler, who was eating pizza, sighed. “Can’t
we wait until we finish the food? I picked up four of these
bad-boys and they won’t be good reheated.”

“No, we should leave now,” said Clarice,
looking troubled. “I’m quite certain that…”

Before she could finish, there was a flash
of light and the room was filled with witches.

“You!” snarled Mark, stumbling towards me.
“Did you think you could get away with it? Killing my mother?”

I stared at him in horror. “No, I didn’t… it
was the wand!”

My mother stepped in front of me and pointed
at Mark. “Vivian’s death was her own doing. Her greed and the
darkness in her heart caused her fate.”

Mark stared at Adrianne. “So, you’re the
sister, the one she wanted destroyed.”

She raised her chin. “I’m her sister,
yes.”

He smiled evilly. “Well, then, I think it’s
only right that if you shared everything, including a birthday,
that you share the same day of your death, as well.”

Before anyone could react, he grabbed her
hand and placed the wand into it.

Vivian’s wand.

My mother’s hand began to glow a bright
red.

***************************************************

End of book one

book two – Enchanted Objects

Available February 15, 2014

The Coin Collector

By Kristen Middleton

“A child should be kept closest to the
heart. Do not squander what is innocent to gratify that which is
wicked.”

Chapter One

“Did you see that, Trent?” whispered my
younger brother, Ben, as we stared into the darkness towards the
old house across the street. “The weird light coming from his
hands?”

We were kneeling in Brent’s bedroom with the
binoculars, trying to get a better glimpse of the short, stocky man
who’d just walked out of his garage for the fifth time. Now he was
pacing back and forth, talking to himself and looking agitated.

“No,” I sighed. “And frankly, I’m really
getting sick of spying on the neighbor, Ben. This is
ridiculous.”

His eyes narrowed. “You don’t believe me, do
you?”

I snorted. “What? That he’s some kind of
goblin or boogieman?”

“Yes! I saw him disappear and then reappear
a few minutes later. He had a black pot, too. I swear to God, there
was a stack of bright gold coins inside.”

I groaned – nine year old boys and their
wild imaginations. “Okay, Ben, that’s enough.” I stood up and
walked over to the light switch. “You were obviously dreaming.”

“Wait,” he whispered loudly as he stared
through the binoculars again. “Oh, my God, Trent. He did it
again!”

I rushed over to the window. “What?”

“He vanished into thin air. He’s gone.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, he’s probably in
the garage.”

“Why are the lights off then? Who walks
around their garage in total darkness?”

Deciding to humor him, I grabbed the
binoculars and waited. Even though I didn’t believe in Leprechauns,
I had to admit that the neighbor across the street certainly looked
like the kind in picture books, especially with his red beard,
bulbous nose, and short, stubby legs. He also wore a lot of
green.

“See anything?” asked Ben.

“No.”

“Just keep watching,” he said.

Ten minutes later, out of patience and
feeling foolish, I stood back up and stretched my legs. “This is
ridiculous. I don’t have time for this. In fact, I have a lot of
homework that’s due tomorrow. You’re on your own, bud.”

He turned back towards the window. “Fine,
but if something happens and he comes for me…”

“Ben,
nobody
is coming for you.”

The sound of the bedroom door creaking open
made us both jump.

“What’s going on in here?” asked our mother,
Mira, flicking on the lights.

Releasing my breath, I pointed to Ben, who
looked like he’d just pissed his pants. “He thinks the neighbor
across the street is some kind of Leprechaun or something.”

She raised her eyebrows. “A Leprechaun? Mr.
O’Darby?”

“Yeah, mom!” he said, rushing to her side.
“I saw him disappear into thin air and his hands, they were
glowing!”

“Oh, Ben,” she smiled,
putting an arm around him. “You’re letting your imagination run
wild,
again
. You
know there are no such things as Leprechauns.”

He pushed the dark hair out of his eyes.
“But…”

She groaned and shook his
shoulders, playfully. “No buts. It’s getting late and,” she
wrinkled her nose, “you could use a shower.
And
there will be no more television
before bedtime either, young man. Obviously some of the crap on
television is warping your young, impressionable mind.”

“Fine. I’ll take a shower but I still think
that guy is hiding something.”