"What exactly did you see, Rebecca?" Lucille asked, holding the girl's shaking hands.
Rebecca narrated what they discovered during the vision quest. She started with finding her mother after her soccer match when she was a kid, then her father on the hospital nursery, and her brother after his swimming lessons.
"I remember their names now, their faces..." Rebecca said, "but I still can't remember our address, or their workplaces, anything that'll help us find them." The frustration in her voice was distinct.
"It's okay, Rebecca... those names and faces, they're enough to begin with." Lucille told her.
"And then there was the last vision..." Kaven said and shuddered. He looked at Rebecca, seemingly wanting to tell the story for her, to make it less difficult for her, but Rebecca told it herself.
"Yes, the one where we watched me and my car got hit by a truck." She said and tried not to cry. "It was just like my earlier vision, Lucille, but this time I was outside, watching it unfold. I saw it hit my car! I saw it kill me!" Rebecca buried her face in her hands and finally let the tears fall.
***
The next morning, with all of them sitting around the breakfast table, Rebecca broke the silence by asking a question all of them seemed to be avoiding. "What do we do now?"
Each of them shared blank looks at each other. Even the wise Grandma Vai didn't have a ready answer. Instead, she asked a question back to the girl. "What did you think the Vision Quest meant to you, Rebecca?"
"I've been thinking about it all night, and I think I've been sent to those moments specifically because my identity was anchored to my family." Rebecca replied with a calmness that masked her growing anxiety well. "Does that make sense? I don't know if it was the goddess who chose them for me or not, but I know better about myself now, I know better about my family even if I still do not remember all of it."
Jili smiled at her and Rebecca genuinely felt a little better.
"Rebecca," Lucille asked, "Did you notice anything unusual in the scenes the Quest took you to? Anything...supernatural?"
"Hmm, nothing seemed different. Although maybe I was focusing too much on finding myself that I didn't catch on anything out of the ordinary." Rebecca said. "Maybe Kaven picked up on something. He has more knowledge and experience in magic. Also he was a cat and they're supposedly more keen to feel these things. Why was he a cat again?"
Jili giggled. "We couldn't send him with you because he wasn't a girl." She said and lightened up the mood in the dining room.
"Jili's right. The Padureani's magical line goes thrugh the women of the family only. As the Vision Mistress' familiar, though, Mr. Gainsboro had supplementary connection to it. Lucille deduced we could send Kaven's consciousness through the cat instead." explained Grandma Vai.
"It was weird being Mr. Gainsboro, even for a while, I'd tell you that." said Kaven. "I know I came in a few visions late, but in the ones I've been to, everything felt normal. I've sensed nothing magical or unnatural."
Grandma Vai nodded, to Kaven and then to Lucille. "Then this would rule out your theory on Rebecca."
"Yes, it seems so."
"What theory?" Rebecca asked, looking between the women.
"I was thinking maybe the Necromancer picked your spirit on purpose if you had magical inclinations prior to all this. Remember, he is always hungry for power and would act solely upon that greed. But it seems your resurrection was an honest mistake on his part. We did hear him say he'd 'pluck Lilian's soul out of heaven that time at the Vision Room." Lucille consciously left out saying what the Necromancer was doing in the vision they saw. She didn't want to bring up Masilda's death this early in the morning.
"That might also mean your family is safe, Rebecca," Grandma Vai put in, "If your parents and your brother do not have ties with powers, energies, or anything magical the Necromancer could feed on, he'd leave them alone. He'd pay them no mind."
Lucille cast a grateful glance at Grandma Vai. They needed positivity now more than ever and she always knew the words to say.
It was then Jili's turn to ask a difficult question. "So what do you want to do now, Rebecca? Do you want to start looking for your family?" Kaven shot a sharp look at his sister but Jili just shrugged.
"I don't know, Jili," was Rebecca's honest answer. "I mean, it's nice to finally remember them, but even if I do find them now, they wouldn't recognize me. How could I even begin to explain this to them? And if I really did die, just like your daughters," she paused glancing at both Grandma and Lucille, making sure she wasn't being disrespectful, "then I think my family's moving on from it, if they haven't already. And if the Necromancer really doesn't know about them, locating them at this time would compromise their safety. Me going out to search for them would compromise all of our safety. We need to fight and defeat the Necromancer first."
"Whoa, okay. Hold on a second," Lucille raised a hand to interrupt. "You are not going to fight anyone, young lady. And that goes for everyone else here at the table." She turned to Kaven. "I know you want to free your mother's soul, but it's very dangerous to go against the Necromancer. Sure, he seemed to be losing some of his powers, but we don't know exactly what he's capable of. And what we do know is he's willing to kill now. That changes everything." Lucille didn't care if she killed the mood. She didn't want more lives taken by that vile creature.
"Everyone else? You mean except you. You're going to fight him alone, is that what you're saying?" Rebecca countered, a hint of indignation in her voice.
"Yes... O-of course." Lucille answered. When she saw Rebecca shake her head, displeased, she continued. "This isn't about our personal issues anymore. I know everybody here has a bone to pick with him, but, with all honesty and humility, I'm the only one who can even try to match him. If not in power, then in experience. And I wouldn't put you all in danger." Her voice softened, as if she was pleading.
Rebecca still wouldn't have it, however. She opened her mouth to argue but Lucille cut her off quickly. "Grandma Vai and I already agreed to this."
The children turned to the Gypsy Matriarch.
"But Grandma-" Kaven started.
"No, buts Kaven. I won't lose anyone to that monster anymore." Grandma Vai slammed her palm on the table, stood up and hurriedly went to the kitchen. Lucille gave a sympathetic glance to the kids before she too, stood up and followed Grandma Vai.
It was the first time Rebecca saw Grandma Vai lose her cool like that, and by the looks Kaven and Jili gave each other, it must've been their first time, as well.
***
"I can't just let Lucille do this alone, Kaven. I just can't let her walk to severe danger like this." Rebecca said as she was mindlessly flipping through books of magic from the Paduerani's library. Kaven was sitting on the floor beside her, also going through pages after pages of his own volume of paranormal resource.
It was a few minutes after nine. Grandma Vai was in their room, singing lullabies to Jili on her bedtime. Jili was no longer a toddler and didn't need to be lulled to sleep anymore, but since the tension in the house was present the entire day, Jili wanted to spend more time with her grandmother and help her feel better.
"Don't be so pessimistic, Rebecca." the boy retorted. "But I agree, she needs our help, whether she likes it or not. I just don't know how else we can help her when we don't know the first thing to look for in these books!"
Rebecca slammed the book in her hand shut, startling Kaven a little. "Ugh. This is pointless! We're useless like this. I bet Lucille's Grimoire had more things we can use. If only she hadn't lock herself inside her room with it!" she heaved in exasperation and tightened her jaw.
Just then, a noise came from the kitchen, making the two of them jump to their feet. Discreetly, the two of them crept out of the library and down the hallway to the kitchen. The noises weren't too loud, but it confirmed someone was in the kitchen. And if it was someone other than the Gypsy residents and the the two witch guests, the intruder will have to do more than just explain its presence here.
Kaven took the lead as they neared the kitchen doorway. The Gypsy Symbol tattooed on his arm glowed faintly as he prepared himself for a possible attack. Rebecca felt scared but she was determined to find out what was making those noises. If it was something dangerous, she hoped Kaven would be strong enough to keep both of them safe.
Slowly, Kaven peered to the kitchen, hiding himself behind a column. "It's just Lucille," he sighed. "False alarm."
"What? I thought she was upstairs? What is she doing in the kitchen at his hour?"
"I don't know, making chamomile tea, perhaps." Since there was no danger, Kaven stepped forward to join Lucille in the kitchen. She appeared to be cooking something and might need some help. "We can try to talk to her about letting us help."
Before Lucille could see him though, Rebecca grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked him back behind the column. "Wait, Kaven!"
"Ugh, what the hell, Rebecca?" he raised his hands to his collar that tightened around his neck.
"Shh..." Rebecca held her forefinger against her lips. "Wait here." She peered toward the unsuspecting Lucille and her eyes then searched the tables and counter tops.
"What are you doing?" Kaven asked in a whisper.
"I'm checking if she brought the book down with her."
"Why?"
Ignoring his question, Rebecca turned back to Kaven. "She doesn't have the book! Run! Go back to the library!" She pushed him and the two of them ran back to where they came from. "Quickly! Before she sees us!"
Back at the library, Rebecca gently closed the door and told Kaven, "She probably left the book in her room upstairs. I'm going to try to summon the book here. We can have a quick look while Lucille is distracted and I hope we find something useful!"
"What? Why don't we just ask Lucille? It's her book!"
"Kaven, you know she'll never let us near that book now. She doesn't want us to help and she knows we'll still try to. I know it's for our safety, but I can't just wait around here and do nothing! This is the only way we can start helping her. Like you said, whether she likes it or not."
Rebecca's brown eyes held Kaven's for a few second before the boy relented and nodded, "You're right, I guess." He reached out to touch Rebecca in the arm and gently pulled her away from the door. "Try the summoning spell again and do it fast." He turned the knob to open the door, his eyes still fixed on her. "I'll be your look-out, in case Lucille decides to go back up."
They exchanged small smiles and when Kaven quietly slipped out the door, Rebecca closed her eyes to try to summon the Grimoire.
Hmm, how did the spell go again?
Without another thought, she felt energies forming around her hands. She instinctively raised them in front of her, palms up, and with a quick, bright flash, the Grimoire des Asters materialized in her hand for the second time.
"Whoa, okay...I haven't remembered the spell yet, but okay." she mumbled to herself in surprise. "I'm weirdly getting good at this."
She hurriedly set it down on the table and proceeded to skim the pages. She needed something about the Necromancer, or necromancy in general, anything that might shed some light into their current predicament. Page after page, she flipped and skimmed, eyes scanning over unfamiliar words and languages, going over illustrations that were sometimes beautiful, sometimes scary. But nothing . She was about halfway through the book when Kaven suddenly burst back in to the library, making Rebecca jump out of her seat.
"She's coming here!" Kaven warned, his green eyes widening in panic. "Hide the book!"
Rebecca shut it with a thud and shoved it on top of some books already on the shelves. She quickly arranged other volumes to conceal it, and hoped Lucille wouldn't notice.
"Why is she coming here!? Did she see you? If she did, why did you run back here?" She shot pointedly at Kaven. "You just lead her here!"
"I came back to warn you!" Kaven replied, wiping sweat off his forehead and straightening the creases on his shirt. "And no, I don't think she saw me. She was making a potion, I think!" he said in loud whispers.
"Alright, alright. Calm down." Rebecca said, more to herself than Kaven. "Act natural!" The two of them sat opposite of each other and grabbed the nearest books to them to make it appear like they were reading.
Gently, Lucille opened the door and stepped inside. In her hands was a tray with two tall glasses of iced tea. "Quit acting weird, you two. I know what you're up to." She said simply and smiled at Kaven and Rebecca.
"What are you talking about?" Rebecca tried to feign innocence. Her voice rose conspicuously, though. Kaven avoided eye contact and pretended to be burying his nose between pages of a book written in Latin.
"Kids, please," Lucille gently laid the tray on the table and smiled wider at Rebecca. "I'm magically connected to the book. I can feel it's presence in the shelf there, behind those other volumes." Lucille swept her hand in the Grimoire's direction and from behind the shelves, a soft purple light filtered between the spaces, confirming its location.
Rebecca and Kaven sighed. "I'm sorry, Lucille," Rebecca spoke first. "I didn't want to lie to you, but I know you wouldn't want us to be involved with this."
"We just wanted to help." Kaven finished.
Lucille put the glasses of refreshments in front of them and took a chair for herself. "I know." She also sighed and propped her elbows on the table. She clasped her hands beneath her chin and gave the two a nod. "I just want you to be safe. I don't want anyone else getting hurt. He's brought so much pain and suffering already."
An awkward silence wedged itself between the three of them. Obviously, they all wanted to talk about this but neither any one of them knew where to start the conversation. Rebecca tried to break it by saying,. "Thanks for the iced tea..." She reached for the drink and when her fingertips touched the cold, condensing glass, Kaven saw her eyeballs roll up and her body jerk stiff, as if making contact with a live wire.
"Rebecca!" He shouted! 'What's happening!?"
Lucille stood up so abruptly, her chair fell backward, "She's having a vision!" She tried to get the glass away from the girl's hand, but before she could do so, the vision was over and Rebecca was already up on her feet.
Her eyes widened in shock. Her gaze first bore through Lucille and then she looked down on the glass that was still in her hand. "Ah!" she let out a short scream and threw the glass away. The glass didn't break when it hit the library's floor rug, but its contents spilled everywhere. Her brows knit in an angry frown and her eyes shot to Lucille. "You were trying to bind my powers!?" She shouted.
"Rebecca, I-I..." Lucille stammered.
"Y-you...you laced that drink with a binding potion..." Rebecca continued. Her voice trembled as she heaved, trying to catch her breath, "...to make me...to render me powerless to help you fight the Necromancer!"
Lucille stepped forward, trying to get hold of Rebecca, but the girl took several steps away, he unblinking eyes not leaving the mother witch for even a second.
"Is this true, Lucille?" Kaven spoke, utterly bewildered.
"Yes, it is. I mixed her drink with a power-binding potion." Lucille admitted. "But I'm only trying to protect you. The Necromancer only wants your powers, your magic. If you lose it, he would have no need to pursue you. You'd be useless to him. You'd be safe!" She explained.
Rebecca finally closed her eyes and the anger in her expression left. "I know, I saw it..." her voice faltered. When she opened her eyes again, fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. "But it's the wrong call, Lucille. I'm telling you. You need our help!"
"No, Rebecca, listen. Your safety-"
"No, Lucille! You listen!" Rebecca's voice filled the entire room like a strong and as sudden as a rumble of thunder. Her lips visibly shook and she gritted her teeth to stop the shaking. "I saw you go to his lair alone! I saw him kill you!" She pointed at Lucille with such force and intensity, the mother witch felt a chill reach her." And with you dead, he came after us! He killed us too!"
Kaven and Lucille gasped at the horror the clairvoyant was telling them. "In my vision he killed us all! We were sitting ducks here, and he killed us all!"
A/N: I'm trying this ~revolutionary~ thing where I stop myself from apologizing so much but I think I really do need to apologize for the amount of time it took to release this chapter. In my defense, I didn't wait 7 months like the last time this work went on hiatus! This time, it just took me 6 months! XD
I hope you like this, and don't forget to vote, comment, and follow!
Anyway, I'm also doing this other thing where I don't promise things as much as I usually did, so I won't say when the next chapter would be out. LOL. Good luck to us all!
xoxo