Arriana's Return

Arriana's Return - Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Carrying Arriana into the house Marc began shouting for everyone. "Mary? Scott?"

"What is...Arriana!" Mary screamed.

"What happened? Is she okay?" Scott asked, rushing to his daughter's side.

"She's fine. She just passed out from using her magic. She used too much too fast. The spell she countered was a powerful one," he told them.

Deacon stared in astonishment, "How did she do that? She doesn't even have the wand yet!"

"I don't know, Deacon. I think she's more powerful than any of us gave her credit for." Marc replied looking at the sleeping girl.

"Which curse was it?" Deacon asked.

"The forbidden curse."

"No!" Deacon said surprised.

Not many witches or wizards were able to counter the murderers' curse. Only a few had power enough to encounter it and not die.

"Yes."

"Who?" Deacon asked excitedly.

"Theresa," Marc said sadly.

"How did you not recognize her?" Deacon asked.

He was bewildered that Marc did not recognize his old flame.

"She changed her appearance. I should have known. She has been under our noses for years since we've been here in fact," Marc said angrily.

"Who was she disguised as?" Deacon asked the stressed-out man.

"Ms. Monegan," Marc replied.

"What? Are you serious? Addi had told me she thought something was up with her before she went to practice," he told Marc.

"She saved my life."

Everyone was quietly contemplating their new fates while Arriana lay on the couch. Deacon had left to get Zoe and their parents. Marc decided everyone had to leave immediately. He was rushing around James's house getting things ready. He grabbed a large duffle bag out of the hall closet and threw in first aid products, other necessities and things for them to eat. Stopping in the kitchen, he stood at the table for a minute. Looking up he stared into the faces of her family. He still had not told them the decision. He knew they would not be happy having to leave their homes but they had no choice. If they remained behind Theresa would surely kill them.

"All of you pack some things, small bags with the bare essentials. We leave in an hour." He firmly told them.

"Wait. What?" Danni asked baffled.

"We're not going," John stated plainly.

"Oh yes, you are. All of you are," Marc shot back at the defiant man.

"No. We're not. We have lives here. Jobs," John yelled back.

Marc stared in disbelief at the man. "So Arriana doesn't have a life? She doesn't have plans for her future?"

"Yes, but she's not from here. We can't go. We're not from there. How will we live? Survive?" John asked seeming adamant that he was not going anywhere.

"Like anyone else. Take it one day at a time," Marc said, getting in the small man's face.

"What if we don't want to go?" John questioned his voice waving a bit as he tried to stand his ground against the intimidating Marc.

"That's fine but do you want to die?" He asked bluntly.

"Nobody is going to die," John said cynically.