The 13th Witch Complete Trilogy (4 page)

“Jes isn’t a witch, but she wanted to be. It’s all very complicated.” He stopped at that and looked at the wall to see what time it was. “It’s getting late. We should all be getting to bed. You have had a long and hard day today. You need to rest.” He smiled slightly and got back up from the couch. “I’ll show you were you can stay tonight.” He turned to start up the stairs that were to the back of the living room. “Are you coming?”

I slowly rose from the seat and started to follow him up the stairs. They were dark and carpeted in an old looking flower pattern flowed on the walls. When I got to the top of the stairs, I saw a beautiful stained glass window of a fairy kind of character. There were four doors in the hallway that were all closed. He walked to the second one on the left of the hallway and opened the dark wood door. It creaked slightly as though it hadn’t been opened for a very long time.

“This is it. The other door goes to the bathroom. You can borrow some of Anna’s clothes for tomorrow. I think you’re about the same size as her.” He moved to the side of the doorway so that I would have to graze him when I entered the room. I walked past him trying to hold my composure.

The room was nicely decorated for where he lived. The walls were painted a cream color and there were paintings on a couple of the walls. There was a twin size bed in the middle of the room and a small dresser to the left of the bed. It was clear that it had been used for mostly storage till now. There were boxes in the corner and in the closet that had spare room marked on them in black marker. I thought that it was funny that someone that had control of magic, had boxes of old stuff in their rooms.

“I’ll check on you in the morning. Try and get some sleep.” Conner grabbed onto the doorknob and shut the door as he talked. I was alone again in a strange house. I sat on the bed and looked around. This was the first time that I had felt so alone in the world.

Four

I woke up early in the morning to find clothing in the bathroom. I couldn’t help but wonder if someone had walked though my room in the night or if they had magically appeared. That thought made me smile a bit. What a birthday yesterday had been. The only thing resembling normal is that I ended up spending the night at a strange guy’s house. I pulled the clothes on that had been left. They fit me okay, but were really not my style. She seemed to be a very dressy type of person and I was more of a T Shirt and jeans girl. At least they got the jeans right. The shirt was one of those dressy tops that button down just enough to show the girls a bit.

There was a knock at the door to the room. I took a breath and went to answer it. Conner was standing there waiting for me to get ready; his eyes seemed to be bluer than yesterday.

“Are you ready to go?” He asked kind of leaning on the doorway while he talked. He glanced down at my shirt and cracked a smile. I spun around to avoid his stare.

“Yeah, just let me grab my stuff from yesterday.” I picked up my clothes that were on the floor from yesterday.

“I see that Anna's Clothes fit you well.” He said as I finished gathering my clothes. I kind of rolled my eyes at the comment and tried to change the subject.

“Their okay, but not really my style.”

He started down the hallway with me following him and down the stairs. Anna was in the kitchen cleaning. I couldn’t see what could need to be cleaned as the whole kitchen was spotless.

“Anna, she wants to check on her parents, so we’re going to stop by their house. If you need me, you know what to do.” He bent down and picked up the crystal from last night as he finished his sentence and put it in his pocket.

“Be careful.” She said stopping what she was doing and looking concerned.

“I know” He said opening the door and motioning me out. He followed as I walked down the stairs and waited there for him. The sun was shining brightly just like the day before and I really could get a good look at the area that I was in. The trees were high and green and there was flowers that smelled so good to a person that had never lived out of town.

“So, how are we going to get into town? I don’t see a car around here.”

“Haven’t you figured anything out about me yet?” He said coyly and pulled a bottle from his pocket just as he had the night before. I kind of smiled as he motioned for me to come to him. I did as he wanted and he put his arm around my waist and threw the bottle to the ground. Again the air filled with purple smoke and you could feel the change in the air as it started to work. I, being afraid of looking, closed my eyes and there was the sting of the cold air and then nothing.

I opened my eyes and we were in front of my house. Everything seemed to look normal and untouched, but you can never really be sure. Conner let loose of me and I started towards the house. He grabbed my hand and pulled me back a little.

“You should be careful. You don’t know what you might find.” His face was twisted with worry.

“I’ll be okay.”
“Let me stay close, just in case.”

I nodded and he followed closely behind me. I walked up the sidewalk to the white house and to the door. I felt odd as I opened the door, but nothing happened.
No crazy people standing behind the door ready to jump out and get me.
I walked into the kitchen and looked toward the living room. Conner followed me in and around the corner towards the living room. I hesitated at the doorway. This didn’t feel right and I wondered what I might find. I swallowed the feeling and started into the living room. I looked at the spot where my family had been laying in my dream and saw nothing. A deep sigh of relief floated though me. I turned to Conner and shook my head.

“They’re not here.” I said

 

“Maybe they are in hiding. They knew that this day would come too.”

 

“I need to get some things. I’ll be back in a minute.”

He nodded in my direction and I started back to the kitchen and up to my room. I thought about all of the things that had happened and what could happen in the future. When I got to my room, I started grabbing some of my clothing so that I wouldn't have to borrow any more from Anna. She seemed nice enough, but her clothes were really not my style. I also snatched up my pictures. There were several that had my mom and dad in them and the one that had Jes pictured in front of the college that we had gone to. I thought about taking that one, but was unsure as to whether I wanted to remember the last night that I had seen her. I wondered what Conner had meant by telling me that she is not a witch. As far as I knew anyone could be a witch and cast spells.
That's something that I'll have to ask him.
I started back down the stairs to Conner and was still thinking about things. When I came around the bend of the kitchen to the living room I saw him standing there waiting for me. He turned and looked at me.

“Are you ready to go?” He asked looking at my old duffel bag thrown over my arm.

“I guess. I'm still worried about my mom and dad though.” I looked at the floor as I said this. I felt lost without them and I really hoped that they were alright wherever they were.

“I'm sure they are fine. Trust me; they know what they are doing.” He said this with such confidence that I couldn't help but believe him.

Five

I felt kind of empty when we got back to Conner's house. It was late in the afternoon and it felt as though it was going to start to rain soon. There was a light on in the kitchen, which made me think that Anna was there and waiting for us. When we got in the door, the smell of fresh made food overwhelmed me. It made me think of thanksgiving with my parents. Did they know about Conner and where I was or were they just as worried about me as I was about them?

“Did you get what you need from the trip?” Anna said this with a touch of bitterness in her voice. Conner gave her a dirty look and took my bag from me. He started up the stairs with it and I figured he was taking it to my room.

“I still don't know where they are.” I told her. I didn't care if she really listened to me. I just wanted to find them.

She slammed the pan that was in her hands on the counter. “You don't get it, do you? Has anyone really explained what is going on here yet?”

“Somewhat. I don't get why they would just disappear.”

“Because they will die if they stay in that house. The witches that are after you, your real parents, are deadly. They have killed a lot of people and some of them so that they can get to you. Conner has been delicate with you because we weren't sure that you could take the news, but now you have to know.”

I stared at her blankly. It felt like I'd been slapped in the face. Finally the blanks were being filled and I was getting it.

Conner reappeared from the stairs and looked at us. He could tell there was something going on that he had not anticipated. “Did I miss something?”

Anna and I both looked at him like he was an alien that had invaded the conversation that we were having. “I have to know everything. I don't care how hard it is to talk about or to believe. You have to tell me now!” I said looking back to Anna. I did need to know and before it was too late.

Conner and Anna looked at each other and then back to me. He motioned to the couch for me to sit down and listen to what they were going to tell me. “There is a lot to tell you and a lot that you really do need to know. I just had to make sure that you were really ready.” Anna said this as she moved into the room. I could tell that she was the one that really ran the house. She was maybe a couple of years older, but took care of everything that needed to be taken care of.

I sat on the couch waiting for them to start talking. Conner moved to the back of the couch and continued to stand while Anna sat in the chair across from me. “There is a lot to say. I guess we will start with your parents. Their names are Maria and Eric La strange. They were always practiced dark magic. When your mother was young, she realized that she was a witch. There was no one there to tell her what it was or why she was one so she gravitated to Eric. He comes from a long line of powerful witches that have been doing strong black magic. Maria got pulled into Eric's world and made a choice to follow what he was teaching. Make no mistake that they are very powerful and will do anything to find you.” Anna stopped and looked at Conner again. I got the idea that she wondered if she should tell me more.

“What about Jes? What was that about?” I asked wanting to keep going and getting the confusion out of the way.

“She was not a real witch. She could learn spells and create magic, but she could never really be what is classified a powerful practicing witch. There are very few real witches where magic is in the blood. Often time’s witches have gifts that help them to connect to the world around them. You will learn more about that as you learn spells and potions. The problem is that you have to learn fast, so we will have to start tomorrow.”

“What about my adoptive parents. What did they have to do with this?”

“They are witches as well. Your adoptive dad, James, is also from a long line of witches. He did keep you safe in ways that you probably didn't notice. He also had a gift as well, to read thoughts. You may already know that.” I nodded to her, because he had read my mind when he had told me about being a witch. “I know that you don't know us well, but we are going to make sure that you are safe and that you learn, at least the minimum to stay alive.” I stared at her for a minute. She was a very blunt kind of person. I figured that she would always tell me how it was without sugar coating it. That's what I needed right now. Everyone had sheltered me and kept me from knowing the truth as to what was out there my whole life. The thought of that kind of made me angry.

We ate the supper that Anna had fixed before we had sat down and she had made use talk about things. My mind was still whirling around what they had said to me. I didn't know what I should believe but I also couldn't deny the magic that I'd already seen. I picked at my food more than really eating it and wanted to just go to bed. When we had finished eating there was an awkward silence between all of us. Anna rose from her seat and started picking up the dishes. I got up as well and followed her into the kitchen.

“Let me help you with the dishes.” I said to her. “It's the least that I can do with you letting me stay and everything.” She seemed relieved that someone was going to help her with washing the dishes. I reached for the ones that were already stacked on the kitchen counter and started to fill the sink. I could let my mind wander for a bit and think more about what was going on and what I was going to have to deal with. I had thought about my future and my parents a lot over the years, but now that I know the truth, I didn't know what to think. If they were practitioners of dark magic, what did that make me?

When I finished with the dishes, Anna thanked me for helping and I started back into the front room. Conner had settled in the chair in front of the fireplace. Even if it was not burning, it still looked beautiful. He looked up at me from the chair and looked peaceful and strong sitting there with his hair slightly in his face. Anna walked out of the kitchen after I had and was starting up the stairs.

“See you in the morning, and thanks for helping with the dishes. We'll start with the basics tomorrow.” With that she was gone up the stairs and out of sight.

“I never got a chance to tell you thanks, you know, for helping me out back at Jes's place. I'm guessing that she was working with Maria and Eric.” I sat down on the couch that sat in front of him and he looked at me while I talked.

“Jes isn't that strong of a witch but her need to please those around her can make her something else.” He said it coldly and it made me wonder what the big deal was and how they had known each other.

“How did she know you?” I was afraid of the answer that I might get, but I had to ask.

“We went out a few times a couple of years ago.” He didn't look away from the empty fireplace and I was afraid to have eye contact with him after hearing that. “I think she was feeling you out to see if you were the one while you were in high school. She would have no way of knowing until your birthday.” He them made eye contact with me and I felt that flush of excitement that I had been trying to hide since I first laid eyes on him. He smiled and I knew that he had noticed.
Stupid, now what are you going to do.
I couldn't help but wonder if he had felt the same excitement in the first moments that we had met that I had. He had flirted with me and then pulled back, like he wondered if he should even be thinking it. This action left me confused when it came to Conner.