Enchanted Secrets (17 page)

“What?” I gasped. “Was the baby his?”

She stared at both of us and then her lower lip began to tremble. “Yes. They both were. Twin girls.”

The blood rushed to my ears. “No,” I said, standing up. “I don’t want to hear any
more of this.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks. “
He had the babies and Michael stood by her side, he even proposed to her but…”

“What?” whispered Kala.

“She never wanted the babies. She’d actually planned on giving them up and telling Michael that they’d both died during childbirth, but he’d found out beforehand and talked her into keeping them.”

“Us, you mean?” I said
. “He talked her into keeping us.”

She started sobbing.
“Yes, honey, I’m sorry. You and Kala are Vivian’s biological daughters, but…
I
raised you.
I
did. And I’ve loved you more than that woman could have ever loved you, I swear to God!”

Kala and I stared at each other in shock.

Rebecca walked up behind Adrianne and put a hand on her shoulder. “Honey, do you want me to finish the story?”

She shook her head and dabbed at her tears with a tissue. “No, I need to finish this myself.”

“What happened?” I asked, my voice hoarse.

“Please, sit
back down,” she pleaded, patting the seat cushion beside her. “Please.”

I sat
back down and she took my hand.

“What happened next?” asked
Kala, her eyes also filled with tears.

She took a deep breath. “Michael bought them a home and they were goin
g to be married after the two of you were born. Well, the night she went into labor, Vivian disappeared.”

“What?” I gasped.

“Yes. From what I’d found out later, she’d went to a midwife and paid her a large sum of money to keep you. When she returned to Michael two days later, she claimed she’d lost the both of you in childbirth.”

“Oh
, my God,” mumbled Kala. “She paid someone to keep us? Who does that?”

“
Apparently our real biological-slash-psychotic mother,” I said dryly. 

“
Anyway, Michael didn’t believe it, especially because she was so happy. In fact, at first, he thought maybe she’d just had a nervous breakdown and would eventually pull out of it and share in the sorrow of losing their children – but it never happened. She never mourned your loss, and that’s when he started drifting away from her.”

“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 a
nyone 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 mean
t 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