The Necromancer's Daughter

|| nine ||

She called on for Lucille to come closer and asked her to check if she recognized the symbol, if it meant anything at all. Lucille didn't have to think too long, "It's the Sign of the Gypsies."

"Gypsies? You mean, those who travel with the carnival to tell fortunes?" Rebecca asked.

Lucille shook her head but did not berate Rebecca. "I can't blame you for stereotyping them into what society have made them into. Most people think of us witches as broom-riding, pointed hat-wearing hags; and gypsies have suffered the same treatment."

Rebecca gave her a blank look, absolutely lost with what Lucille was saying, so she explained. "Gypsies are somewhat similar to us witches, in the sense that they can do some magic, too. Though common to the world, it isn't unusual for some of them to have supernatural abilities which mostly revolve around healing and divination. Their eyes are especially powerful so that's how they became known as fortune tellers. Their magic is considered a sister tradition to our Craft."

"Also like us, their people were sought after and exploited by mortals who didn't understand why they were different, why they were special. If our history was darkest during the Salem Witch Trials, theirs were a largely undocumented cultural genocide. They were cast out of their lands, forced to emigrate to foreign countries to escape persecution. That's why they're always travelling around. They no longer have their homes, neither did they have anywhere to go to."

Rebecca stroked Mr. Gainsboro's back while she listened. It was a sad story, and she couldn't even start to imagine the horrors the Gypsies had to go through as a culture. "But they survived, right?" She tried to find a silver lining. "I mean, if this cat is here now, and it's owners are indeed gypsies who put their magical sign on its collar, then that means they've survived. At least some of them did."

Lucille nodded, a little surprised with Rebecca's optimism. An aspect she shared with the real Lilian.

"Could it be possible that my vision came from these Gypsies?" Rebecca asked.

"I don't know, maybe. I know they are quite adept with clairvoyance and precognition but I've only heard of them receiving and interpreting visions, not sending them for others to decipher. It is possible, I'll give you that. But I don't really see why or how gypsies would have any connection with our current situation." Lucille continued walking around, looking for clues.

Suddenly, the tranquil silence inside the rundown cottage was broken by a voice outside. "Mr. Gainsboro! Where are you, you dingy cat?"

Rebecca and Lucille shared a nervous glance. They had their consilio charms on so they should be invisible. Rebecca put the cat down and quietly shooed him away but Mr. Gainsboro kept sweeping his body around Rebecca's ankles.

"Mr. Gainsboro!" The voice was coming closer, and Rebecca tried her hardest not to make a sound. The wooden steps creaked one by one, the person outside was coming in.

"Of all the places to run into, you stupid ca-" A young man appeared by the doorway, where he stopped, and stared squarely at Lucille. "Who are you? And what are you doing here?" The young man asked. Apparently, Lucille's consilio charm didn't work. Rebecca swallowed nervously. He didn't look Rebecca's way so it was still possible that only Lucille's charm backfired.

"I-I was just looking around when your cat suddenly came in." Lucille quickly crouched down to pick Mr. Gainsboro up and walked slowly towards the stranger. "Um, is he yours?" Lucille hoped she didn't come off as suspicious. "I got lost, maybe you can show me back to the highway?" Lucille continued with her alibi. She was trying to come up with a plan to get this man off of their hair without using magic.

The man reluctantly took the cat from Lucille and eyed her keenly. "I can take you back to the highway." He said, sternly. Then, in both Rebecca and Lucille's surprise, his gaze locked in with Rebecca's and nodded to her direction. "What about you? Where are you going?"

The two women exchanged looks. "Y-you can see me?" Rebecca muttered.

"Yes." The young man answered. "Why? Shouldn't I?"

Lucille quickly stepped back and assumed a defensive stance in front of Rebecca. "No. No you shouldn't." She raised her hands in front of her with palms facing outward, ready to fire a blast if needed.

"Well I can see you clearly." Said the young man. He pulled up his left sleeve and revealed a tattoo on his wrist. It was the same insignia on the cat's tag, the Sign of the Gypsies. "And I am not afraid of you."  He laid two fingers over the tattoo and it glowed faintly, signaling an awakening of magic.

Before any of them could make a move, though, a girl who looked like she was about nine or ten, came crashing in and knocked the young man from behind.

"Oof- Kaven!" She blurted, "I think we have a problem. We need to go now!"

"Jili! What are you doing here? Why did you follow me?" The young man, Kaven, said angrily to the girl. "You're not supposed to be here."

"No time to explain! We need to-" The girl turned and saw Lucille and Rebecca. In her eyes, Rebecca had a halo of some sort glowing around her head. "Oh." She exclaimed. "You found her."

"What?"

"Kaven, you found her." Her eyes stared straight at Rebecca.

"No, it's not her. It couldn't be her!" Kaven said, confused. He took Jili's arm and pulled, "You still shouldn't be here! It's not safe!"

"Well I'm here now, brother." The girl shook her head and remembered why she came running in, "And speaking of 'not safe', we need to get out of here. Ghouls are swarming up outside." She said.

"What!?" Lucille and Kaven said at the same time.

"I guess they were looking for you, too." The girl tilted her head, regarding Rebecca.

Lucille and Rebecca shared a knowing look. It wasn't just because Kaven and Jili were gypsies, the consilio charm had failed indeed. And now The Necromancer knew where Rebecca was.

Before the four of them could even grasp the gravity of the situation, the floor exploded and a swarm of ghouls, lost spirits altered by The Necromancer to do his bidding, erupted from the floorboards. Rebecca shrieked at such a frightful sight. They filled the space with darkness and pulled Rebecca away from Lucille. 

"No! Lucille, help!" She screamed again. She could no longer see a thing, but she didn't need her eyes to tell her they were doomed.