Quinn's intuition warned her that the night was still long. She threw a quick glance at Shade and Jason who stood side to side, their eyes fixed on the front door. Dravon gave her a light squeeze and she laced her fingers firmly with his. It felt nice to know that he could understand her feelings without voicing them. It was suddenly easy for her to imagine that her fears were pointless. She looked up at him. Dravon had a grim line set on his face, his mouth was set in a hard line and those beautiful sapphire eyes rested on the noisy crowd for a minute, then diverted his gaze to the door.
Quinn followed his gaze, curiosity pricking her senses. Her eyes widened when she saw her. Scarlett, fully wasted, gripping anything that she saw to maintain her balance as she walked out of the house. Her huge blue eyes were blurry, her ponytail a mess, her face puffy. The mob felt silent.
As she faltered in her steps, she held on to the nearest person : Shade Woods, the guy who probably despised her most in the world. As Scarlett embraced him for support, her arm circling his waist, Shade frowned.
"Jason, I'm not feeling so gentlemanly lately. Do you mind taking care of her?," he voiced out as he pushed Scarlett next to Jason. "The idea of her being so close to me makes me want to barf!"
"And you think I like tackling drunk girls?," Jason shot back as he held Scarlett's arm, steadying her. Quinn detected a note of dry amusement.
Ash chuckled lightly, his gaze on his twin, his arms occupied by the blondes he earlier made out with. A frightened look twisted their features. They glued to him like he was a guardian angel.
"Guys, be serious! Someone just died here!," Ash said firmly.
"Died? Who died?," Scarlett demanded incredulously.
"Luke died, bitch...because of you!," Jade snapped.
"Enough Jade!," Dravon commanded. His voice was cold. Quinn watched him as he hesitantly let go of her hand, stepped forward, his dominant aura filled the surroundings.
Lisa grabbed Jade with care as the sandy haired girl glared at Scarlett accusingly. A faint rising murmur reigned when the crowd's attention rested on evil queen bee. Quinn darted a look on the ground. Poor Luke's dead body had no value. His lifeless body rested there, his features bloodied.
The evil queen bee flared at Jade. "What the hell are you talking about?"
Jade looked at her in disbelief. "Oh, don't act innocent! Save it for your two loyal idiotic blonde friends." Her hazel gaze was mocking. "Everyone saw you arguing with him on the balcony." Scarlett's eyes widened in astonishment, then threw back her head, her hysterical laugh filling the tense atmosphere.
"Hell! I think she lost it for good this time," Jason said.
"And I thought I was wasted. How many drinks did you have, Jade Moore?," Scarlett asked vehemently.
Jade's words were stifled as Ash came next to Dravon and grinned. Dravon arched one long eyebrow at him. "What's gotten into you?"
"I've called the police. They will do the necessary." His silver grey gaze was mocking too.
"Exactly my point. We all seem to miss something important here-Luke's dead body," Dravon acknowledged.
"We can worry about what happened later Jade," Quinn persisted. Jade gave her a 'you've got to be kidding me look' and wordlessly, she shook her head in dismissal.
"What the hell happened here?," a deep voice demanded. They all bored their gaze on the sheriff, a well-built blond man with strict features, his thick mustache with its ends a bit twisted. He reminded Quinn of cowboys. The crowd dispersed to reveal the dead body of Luke, lying on the grass, a small pool of blood where his head rested.
"Daddy! Thank god you came!" Scarlett hugged her father tightly. "Jade was making false accusations that I murdered that nerd Luke."
"Relax doll. I'll take care of things." Scarlett nodded and smiled at Jade.
"Is it true, Miss Moore?"
"Absolute truth. Your daughter is solely responsible for Luke's death," Jade confirmed.
"Can anyone else confirm this, apart obviously the elites!" The crowd fell silent and the sheriff gave Jade a cunning smile.
"Since you are drunk Miss Moore and nobody else is siding with you, your words hold no value." He signalled his colleagues. "Take care of the dead body."
"Come doll, let's go."
"Yes daddy."
As they closed the plastic bag containing Luke's lifeless body, the mayor and Mr.Moore made their apparition together. Ash and Jade both frowned seeing their parents together.
Jade's dad approached her and took her in his arms. "You look pathetic girl." Before he left with his only daughter, he announced. "Party's over! Go home everyone now!"
Mrs. Williams stood still, her eyes roamed from the balcony to those who parted, still in shock about the incident. Ash rested a hand on her mother's shoulder and whispered something to her. She slowly turned to Dravon and muttered in a faint voice.
"Something needs to be done about this town, Dravon." She shook her head in tremor. "I'm the mayor just for namesake. All these sudden deaths... For centuries your ancestors has taken all the necessary measures to make Blue Haven a safe haven." She gazed at him in anticipation. "Now it's your family's turn to protect it."
Dravon's lips curled into a reassuring smile. He took her shaking hands into his. "You can count on me, Mrs.Williams. I promise you this town will be a safer place." A faint smile lightened her beautiful features. He let go of her hands and Jason took her in the house.
Dravon turned to his heels but stopped when he saw Lisa and Quinn together.
"Quinn, you wanted to know about your mother right?" She nodded in silence. "Lisa's family own an antique boutique."
"I'm aware of that."
"There's also an underground library which contains archives about families that used to live here."
"What? They never mentionned that library to me," Lisa added.
"They won't either. Apparently it hold some secrets they want hidden from you, Lisa," Dravon pointed out.
"But how do we get access to it if Lisa is unaware of it?," Quinn asked. Shade joined them.
"Simple. You two girls break in," Shade scoffed.
"Well if you really want information Quinn, nothing shall stop you from having it!," Dravon encouraged.
"We can search about your mom later, princess," Ash said as he plodded out of the house with his twin. "Mind telling us Blackwell why your magic faded?"
Dravon turned his back on them and gazed at the shimmering stars bringing some light in the clear obscure sky. Quinn felt cold suddenly, the stretching silence awkwardly disturbing. Her hair flew in all directions as her face got slapped by the cold breeze. She wondered if Dravon was manipulating the weather unintentionally. The night was unnaturally dull but terrifying. She hugged herself to stop the shivering.
"The prophecy has begun. Our lives are in danger." He slowly faced them, his expression unreadable. "Evil is feasting on innocent souls. Either we destroy it or it destroys us."
"But who are they? We don't even know how they look like? How will we defeat them like this?," Quinn asked.
"It there is a will, there's always a way," Jason quoted.
"That person was with us tonight but we failed to recognise him." He looked at the guys with determination. "I have a faint idea who could be behind this."
"But your powers are diminishing which means that ours too are fading!," Ash said in a serious tone.
"With my angelic powers fading first, it may seem impossible to defeat evil. But if Quinn finds something about her witch ancestors, we may actually have a back up plan." He glanced at her, an irresistible smile lightening his features. "After all, you're the saviour, the most important member of Infinity Coven."
"If that's the case, I will try my best to find anything to make us remain alive," she said as she flashed a reassuring smile to them.
"We all count on you, Campbell witch. Don't let us down!" Quinn felt the pressure closing in on her.
"You have to explore the hidden property of the Rhodes' family tonight. Lisa, you will be with her," Dravon urged.
"But I have to complete Jade's math homework!," Lisa frowned. "She'll need this tomorrow. You know how much she wants to have good results to pursue her dream to be a fashion designer."
"Lisa! How stoned are you? We're stepping closer to death. Blackwell can't save us! And here you are, worried about Jadey's homework," Ash scoffed. Dravon glared at him as he strolled to Quinn and cupped her striking face with his hands. "We count on you princess. I don't know how you will do a miracle without Dravon's magic and save us..." He held her worried gaze for a split minute. "But you will do everything in your must to keep us alive...or at least me alive!" He dropped his hands, shook his head in frustration but still held her gaze. "Hell Quinn, I don't want to die."
"Rest assured Williams, nobody in this town is eagerly awaiting death with open arms," Dravon scorned.
"Don't forget one thing Ash. If Dravon dies, we all die. You won't be spared!," Shade aggraved the situation more with that piece of information.
Ash run a hand in his hair, his facial expression disturbed.
"Definitely you are way too drunk to think clearly, Ash," Jason, fed up, voiced out and dragged his twin inside.
"I think we should call it a night," Shade yawned.
"Huh? You've got to be kidding me!" Lisa pulled a dramatic face and confronted Dravon. "Why can he be blessed with hours of sleep while we work our asses finding hell knows what in a rusty library?" My god, Lisa sure must be quite stoned to talk to Dravon Blackwell like this, Quinn thought. Normally, he represented a godly personality in her eyes. Dravon's sapphire blue eyes darkened in surprise.
"Don't you dare snore in your house while we do illegal things," Quinn teased at Shade. He winked at her, amused.
"Breaking in is hardly illegal if it's in the best interest of everyone," Dravon smirked. Quinn inhaled some cold air, her mind already ringing bells about how this plan sounded wrong.
"Fine then, I'll drop Lisa and we'll search for clues," she muttered, tired. Without a backward glance, she marched to her car with Lisa behind her back. The engine purred into life and Lisa gave her directions about the antique boutique. Quinn parked a safe distance away just in case someone spots them in the dark. Besides these residents never minded their own business. They silently closed the doors shut and gazed at each other uncertainly.
"Well, here we are! Are you ready for this Lisa?"
"If dad comes to know about this, he'll definitely kill me." She shrugged her shoulders. "So either way, there's a chance of death."
"Let's do it then." Quinn gave Lisa a conspiratory smile. They quickened their pace and glanced around as they stopped facing the boutique's door securely locked.
"Now what?," Lisa questionned.
"Now just like in movies, we use a barbie pin to unlock it." She took one off from her auburn hair and turned it in the heavy knob.
"Open sesame open!" After her second try, it clicked and the door creaked. She pushed it halfway open as she dashed in with a nervous Lisa following her.
Once the door shut, Quinn gazed at her surroundings in obscurity and instantly regretted her decision. Even in bright daylight, she wouldn't dare step inside. With the help on her phone's torch, she stared at the creepy objects displayed on the dirty shelves. Crystal stones, strange liquids in transparent bottles and what resembled dry herbs were scattered everywhere on these shelves. But what was more disturbing were the highest racks. Big weird looking porcelain dolls with huge eyes filled the space. Who in the world would buy these things? These dolls spooked her. Lisa just stood there, doing nothing to help her.
She padded forward like a scared cat, her steps making weird eerie sounds as the old wooden flooring threatened to split under her body weight. Just then, something struck her.
"Do you hear this Lisa?"
"Hear what?"
"When I stepped here, there's no sound. There's something hard under this square." Lisa came closer, intrigued. They got on their knees and ran their hands under that particular spot. With some luck, they lifted the wooden tile and flashed their lights, grinning. A rusty brick was placed right there.
"How will we get rid of this brick?," Lisa asked.
"Need some help girls?," a deep familiar masculine voice jolted them.
"You freak, you almost scared us," Quinn said as she used the torchlight to confirm the presence of Dravon Blackwell.
"Almost!" He grinned at her and with a snap, the brick disappeared. It was pitch black under.
"What is this?," Lisa asked again.
"I assume a tunnel," Dravon answered.
"Care for a jump girls?" Before any of them could answer, Dravon grabbed their arms and next minute they were underground. Lisa fell hard on her and they moaned in pain. Dravon snapped his fingers again and that place suddenly was dimly lit. The fire torches that hung on the walls provided enough light to take a look at that hidden library. Quinn helped Lisa rise and they strolled around in astonishment.
Massive straight row after row of shelves lined with old books, touched the roofing occupied the space. Quinn cursed and Lisa sighed deeply.
"No worry mia, just use your magic and focus on the book that will change the course of our lives," Dravon urged, a strange gleam in his blue eyes. Lisa run her hands on the wide range of books, uncertain which one to pick.
"Okay." She closed her eyes and her mind displayed a picture of Dravon. A purple smog came out from her hand and she watched as it went in the middle range. Dravon followed the purple trail and screamed. "I got it." He then appeared in front of her with a Celtic ancient book and gave her a feather kiss on her neck where her tattoo was engraved. "Thanks Quinn." She was still taken aback by his sweet gesture before she took time to notice that he was gone.
She closed her eyes again and this time focused on her birth mother. That scene where she ran in the dense woods flashed again and her purple smog guided her to the last shelf. On the highest range at the very end, an old black book moved then fell down on the dusty ground. She opened it and turned the pages, its content displaying portraits and information of Campbell witches and it's ancestors when her hand froze on a page, her eyes read the paragraphs thrice, unable to believe what she saw.
According to that book, around two hundred years ago, some Campbell witches, out of fury had vowed to take Saul Blackwell's life. He was becoming more powerful than them and they could not bear it. But during the fight, Saul Blackwell succeeded in sparing his life and killed two of the oldest witches.
Quinn turned the page in a hurry and continued reading.
The witches waited till dawn when Saul Blackwell hid inside the west wing of the mansion to heal his injuries and avenged their ancestor's deaths by eliminating two members of his family : Georgina Blackwell and Liam Blackwell.
Quinn stared at the portrait of Georgina Blackwell and a huge drop of tear rolled down her cheeks. That picture was of the lady in Dravon's dining room. That means the Campbell witches killed Dravon's parents.
Oh god, that information was too terrible to bear. That explained why Dravon maintained his distance with her. Maybe he even hated her as she was a descendant of the witches - the last witch to inherit powers from murderers. How could she possibly face Dravon after this?
Lisa found her sobbing uncontrobably and hugged her in silence.
"We have to leave this place before dawn, Quinn." She nodded, took the book with her and with the help of her magic, they put back the brick and wooden tile like it was.