The Necromancer's Daughter

|| eight ||

Lucille glanced at the map sitting on the passenger seat of her car. She asked Rebecca to sit in the front earlier, but it reminded her too much of the car accident in her first vision. "It's not very far from here." Lucille told the girl. " But I'm not sure if the crystal pointed us to the starting point in your vision, or at the cottage at the end of it. You did say you chased the cat for a while, didn't you?"

"Yeah." Rebecca replied."If the crystal pointed at the place where the cat first appeared, let's just be prepared to trek a bit. I'm not sure how long it was to the cottage."

Lucille nodded and, before stepping out of the car, she reminded Rebecca to keep her Consilio necklace on at all times. It's a handmade necklace made with various crystals Lucille hexed to cloak Rebecca from The Necromancer's Evil Eye. She also wore one of her own, but she made sure Rebecca's necklace was double the magic. She also gave Rebecca pocketfuls of protection potions and one or two stun potions just in case. They can never be too complacent.

The Lodelei Nature Reserve was a thick wooded area protected by their local government's ecological sector. Some parts of it had trails and outposts for trekkers, campers and wildlife enthusiasts. Other parts were privately owned but still monitored by the community to keep the Reserve ecologically stable. Rebecca figured the cottage she saw was one of the privately owned ones and so they had to be very careful in going there, not only from the supernatural things that might be there, but also from the law, because they were basically trespassing. Rebecca treaded quietly behind Lucille as the older woman used the map and a compass to navigate their way to where the crystal pointed.

Walking through the thick, healthy foliage, Rebecca couldn't help but take wonder in how alive her surroundings were. Aside from all the green things growing around her, from the grass beneath her foot to the trees above her head, birds and insects sang their tunes of life carried by the cool and fresh wind. Rebecca doesn't remember her previous life, nor does she recall any of her time being dead, but at that moment, surrounded by small wonders of nature, she felt glad to be alive.

"Lucille," Rebecca said while the two of them walked in the shade of the trees. "I don't know if this is the right time to ask you but I can't help but think about it."

Lucille's walking slowed but she did not stop. She raised her eyes from the map and turned to Rebecca. The girl didn't know if she should continue. "What is it?" Lucille told asked, pursing her lips together to say that it was okay to ask her anything.

Rebecca's eyes flitted for a second before she spoke "How did...how did Lilian die?" Rebecca regretted her question the moment she said it. She wondered what it was like to be in Lucille's shoes now. How awkward was it to find your daughter alive and well and then find out she's not really your daughter? And now, the girl who occupied her body is asking this question. At the very least, she didn't want to upset Lucille.

To Rebecca's surprise (and relief) Lucille did not change her mood. Instead, she smiled at Rebecca and raised her head to inhale fresh air. "She had leukemia." Wistfully, she stared ahead while she told Lilian's story. "We tried to do everything we can, with science, with magic, but she wasn't meant to live long. She was meant to live only for a while."

Rebecca let the sounds of the woods come between them before endearingly saying, "I'm sorry for your loss."

"Don't be, my dear. That was a long time ago, and I've accepted it...somehow. I miss her terribly, but that's life. I've moved on." Lucille lightly patted Rebecca's shoulder.

"But having me here now, in Lilian's likeness, it must not be easy for you."

"It's not. I can't lie to you and say this whole situation we've got ourselves into isn't making me long for her even more. But your question in itself just proves even more that my daughter is really gone." Lucille said calmly, and taking cue from Rebecca's expression, she explained. "My Lilian wouldn't ask questions that blunt and direct. She's used to beating around the bush, that kid. She'd skirt around an issue for as long as she can than just going at it directly."

"Oh, I'm sorry I'm such a blabber mouth." Rebecca raised her hand and slapped her forehead, embarrassed.

"You don't have to be sorry, Rebecca. Be yourself. I miss Lilian a lot but I would never ask you to be her, I'd never do that. That's not fair." Lucille held both of Rebecca's shoulders and beamed at her a most reassuring and motherly smile. It's warmth reached Rebecca's heart and melted her fears and anxieties. "I don't know why you came to me, or why you're in Lilian's body now, but I want to help you fix your life, your memories, whatever else The Necromancer has messed up with. It doesn't matter if Lilian doesn't come back to me now. She's peacefully resting somewhere now. At least I hope she does."

A shadow of sadness draped over Lucille's eyes as she pulled Rebecca in a tight embrace. The girl let her and even held her back, sharing some of her pain and sorrow.

When the pulled away, Rebecca's caught something from the corner of her eye.

"We're here." She said to Lucille.

Breaking off from their embrace, Lucille kept holding on to one of Rebecca's arm as she turned around to see what the girl saw. It was the trees Rebecca described in her vision. One of each tree branched out to the other into a cross dead center of the footpath. "So this is the starting point." She said and Rebecca nodded..

Rebecca inhaled and willed her senses to stay alert for what she was about to do next. She gave a decisive look to Lucille, "I don't think we should wait for the cat."

Lucille just nodded and they both went sprinting past the 'X' mark, hoping against hope that they weren't too late to save the boy.

A/N: Yay! An update, finally! Haha! Took me 7 months between this and the previous chapter so for that I profusely apologize. There's more chapters on the way so make sure you add this book to your library to be promptly notified when those come out! :)

And don't forget to vote and comment what you think about this chapter. Thanks again for reading!  :*