by Savannah Mae
“We’re doing fine. Thanks for your concern,” I answered. No way was I going to divulge my family’s problems. I still had no idea what was happening. There was no way I could say anything with any authority.
I followed her into the museum. It always made me laugh when I thought about the fact that this small building housed a museum. It didn’t resemble any of the museums you’d see in cities. There were local wares hanging on the walls and aligning shelves, but nothing interested me. Maybe if I hadn’t seen the item everywhere I looked, it’d be much more interesting.
“Mrs. Sauer, I just want to say thank you for agreeing to speak to me,” I said.
“Oh, don’t be silly. I’m happy to do it. I’m glad you’ve finally taken an interest, and I’m especially glad to have you back in town. I suspect your parents are thrilled too,” Mrs. Sauer said as she motioned for me to take a seat at a long, conference table.
“Well, I found something. Ben did. Ben Silva. Do you remember him?” I asked, beginning to regret that I’d contacted her. What if I was panicking for nothing?
She looked at me like I’d insulted her. “Of course, I remember Ben. He’s the only Benjamin in town.”
Yeah, I knew that. Excuse me, but I am kind of freaking out here.
“Sorry. Well, he found some pictures in this book and I had a few questions about them,” I said, forgetting to hand her the book.
“Can I see them? What book is that?” Mrs. Sauer asked.
“Oh, sorry. It’s an old book my parents had in the house. It’s a book about-” I started.
Mrs. Sauer grabbed the book out of my hand. “Where did you get this?”
I blinked. “I told you. He got it from my parents’ house.”
“Do you realize what this is?” she asked, touching the book with the tips of her fingers as if it was fragile.
Isn’t that why I came here to find out?
“No. I assume it’s a book about the history of the area,” I said.
She gave me the same look she’d given me just a few moments ago. “This is a rare book. In fact, I think there are only two known copies of this book.”
“Is it valuable?”
She answered in a serious tone, “It very well could be, but not for the reason you may be thinking.”
My palms started to sweat. What was it with everyone in town? It’s like I left town and they all lost their minds.
“What are you saying?” I asked.
She opened the book, examining the pages.
I reached out to show her the page I’d marked. “Here’s what I wanted to show you.”
She moved my hands away. “I think we should wear gloves. I’ll be right back.” She walked out of the room, telling me not to touch the book until she came back.
I didn’t listen. When her footsteps faded into the distance, I flipped the book to the page I’d marked and looked at the photos again, shivering at the sight of them.
“Is this for real?” I whispered. “It can’t be. It must be a figment of my imagination. Maybe all the smog and pollution in Chicago did something to my brain cells and caused hallucinations.”
“I told you not to touch it,” Mrs. Sauer scolded me. “The last thing you want to do is mess with something you know nothing about. By the looks of those dog-eared pages, I’d say you really have no idea what you have there.”
I hung my head, removing my hands from the book. “Sorry, but what is it? Why is it so special?”
She blinked wildly. “Dear, this is only one of the most coveted books ever printed in Jinx Cove history.”
I opened my eyes wide to prevent myself from rolling them at her, but in my mind, I couldn’t stop rolling my eyes. So much so, I worried my eyes would pop out of my head.
“What makes it so special? I think it’s been sitting on a shelf in my parents’ living room my whole life. I never ever saw either of them pick it up to read.” Now, I really regretted asking Mrs. Sauer to meet with me. Apparently, the whole town got sucked into crazy juice and there was no hope of them coming out anytime soon.
She leaned closer to me. “This is the book. The Jinx family is this town. Do you realize what kind of power that family carries?”
At this point, I wasn’t sure what I knew about anything or anyone. I was just trying to get from point A to point B without tripping over my own feet and so far, I was failing miserably.
I didn’t mean to be rude, but I was way past my boiling point. She was going to have to tell me something or I was packing up the book and running as far as my little feet would let me run.
“Please, stop with this already. What are you talking about?” I asked.
In a hushed tone, she said, “This is the Jinx family’s book of secrets. This holds all their secrets. All of them. This is their history. Every story. Every photo. Everything.”
“Their family history?” I wanted to be sure I’d understood her right.
“More than that! This is their entire story. It’s how this town came to be. Without them, none of us would have a home and-” She paused, her eyes moistening.
“And, what?” I asked.
“And you wouldn’t be here,” she said, looking me directly in the eyes.
What did that mean?
She flipped the book open to the page I’d marked.
I looked at the images that had prompted me to come here to begin with.
“You wanted to know about the people in the photographs, didn’t you?” she asked.
“Yes,” I admitted after a moment. “They’re members of the Jinx family?”
She nodded slowly, looking as if she had something more to say, but not offering anything.
“What is it? What do you know about them?” I asked, feeling strongly like I couldn’t leave without knowing who the people in the images were.
I could feel eyes on my back. I turned, expecting to see one of the museum employees, but instead I found Zephyr standing with a grin on his face.
“Oh, excuse me. I didn’t know the room was occupied,” he said, feigning innocence, but I had the feeling he knew I was here long before he arrived.
Mrs. Sauer stood up, smoothing the wrinkles out of her skirt. “No problem at all. How nice to see you, Mr. Willis! How long has it been?” Her cheeks flushed.
Great. She likes him.
“It’s been far too long.” To me, he smiled and offered his hand. “And, how are you doing, Melanie? Where is your friend? What was his name again?” He smiled coyly.
Is this man trying to intimidate me? Why?
“Do you mean Sheriff Boss?” I asked, offering my best smile. No way was I going to let him intimidate me.
“Oh, I remember now. His name is Brian something, isn’t it?” Zephyr mirrored my strained smile.
I locked eyes with him.
If he wanted a challenge, I was game for it. All of this was his fault to begin with. My parents wouldn’t be in the situation they were in if it wasn’t for him. They wouldn’t have to worry about where they were going to live. They’d have their house. I wouldn’t have any stupid vultures following me around. The sheriff wouldn’t have had to get involved. And, I never would have gone to seek advice from Miss Maita and the Jinx sisters.
“How do you live with yourself?” I asked through gritted teeth, every emotion spilling from my words.
He put his hand to his chest, as if he was surprised by my reaction. “What are you talking about? What did I do?”
My hands began to shake. I wanted to choke the life out of him right then and there, but thankfully I didn’t. The chances of me surviving a stint in prison were slim to none. I was weak. I didn’t like small spaces, I’d never survive a riot, and didn’t have the foggiest idea how to make a shank or a shiv or any of the other things one needed to survive hard time.
“Are you lost in Lalaland, Miss Abney? You seem to be somewhere else? Are you daydreaming perhaps?” Zephyr snickered as if he knew some deep, dark secret of mine.
Cold chills ran up a
nd down my spine. Something was very wrong. I could feel it.
Instinctively, I retreated away from him.
“Don’t be afraid. I’m not going to hurt you.” I heard him say.
“I’m not afraid of you,” I answered, my breath hitching as I realized he was in the middle of a conversation with Mrs. Sauer and couldn’t have possibly been speaking aloud to me.
Both Mrs. Sauer and Zephyr turned to face me, seemingly perplexed by my sudden outburst.
“Is everything okay?” Mrs. Sauer asked, concern written all over her face.
I swallowed hard, noticing a sneer on Zephyr’s face. In my mind, he whispered, “Yes, is everything alright, dear Miss Abney?”
“How are you doing that?” I asked.
Mrs. Sauer looked from me to him and back at me again, confusion in her eyes. “I don’t understand. What are you talking about?”
The sneer on Zephyr’s face grew into a large, sinister grin. “I’d stop talking if I were you. She’ll think you’ve lost your mind.” He laughed an ominous laugh, brimming with malice.
I braced myself up against the conference table. “I will not stop talking. I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, but I’m not afraid of you.” I turned to walk out, but my feet would not move. I was locked in place, my body cold as ice.
Mrs. Sauer was beside herself with worry, reaching to take my arm. A shock went through my veins, escaping through my pores. She pulled her hand from me almost as soon as her hand contacted my skin.
“You’re so cold. Are you feeling ill?” she asked.
As if on cue, Zephyr moved toward me, offering his assistance. There was nothing I could do to keep him at bay. As his hand touched my arm, I felt my body jolt and jerk, disturbing visions swam through my head. My feet remained locked in place.
He was inside my head, whispering, “Calm down, Melanie. You’re making a spectacle of yourself. You wouldn’t want anyone to think you’ve lost your mind, would you?”
I glared at him, willing him to leave me alone and undo whatever it was he’d done to me.
His firm hands, turned me to face the table as Mrs. Sauer helped him lower me back into my seat. I could feel nothing but jolts of electricity running through me, yet there was no pain, no noise beyond the words in my head.
“This doesn’t have to be difficult. Stop poking around in other people’s affairs and let things proceed as planned,” Zephyr’s spoke inside my head, taunting me with warning after warning.
Soon images followed. There were my parents, sitting with their heads down, shoulders quaking as if they’d been crying. Then, there was an image of the woman, the one from the photos I’d come here to ask about. She too was crying. I didn’t understand. I was compelled to help her, but there was no way that I could.
Zephyr removed his hands from my arms and my body went limp. My head fell hard onto the table in front of me.
Mrs. Sauer gasped and immediately went into action, lifting my head, checking for injuries. “Look at me, Melanie. Can you hear me?” She implored Zephyr to call emergency services. “Call 9-1-1. Something is terribly wrong.”
“Call my parents, please,” I whimpered.
Zephyr muttered under his breath.
Emergency services consisted of local volunteers and a small rescue service, stationed downtown, only a few short blocks from the museum. They rushed into the museum within five minutes of the call for help.
“I think she’s had a seizure,” Mrs. Sauer offered.
The volunteers, both of whom I’d known my entire life, looked at me with eyes wide. I could only imagine what I looked like to them.
As they went about the task of checking vitals and asking the requisite questions, I watched Zephyr quietly slither out of the room the same way he’d entered it.
“Are you taking any medications? Any vitamins?” West, the eldest of the two volunteers, asked me.
I shook my head. “No, none. I don’t have seizures.”
Mrs. Sauer spoke a mile a minute. “She was fine. We were talking about some photos she found in a book. Oh, the book!”
I cringed, my head pounding. “They don’t care about the book. It doesn’t matter.”
West was checking my pulse. “Then, what was it? What happened? Do you know where you are?”
I was never one who was quick to anger, but this was an emergency and not the kind they’d ever be able to understand. I had people who could get in my head. That had never happened before. So, excuse me if I was a little on edge these days, but I had some real concerns about my safety and my sanity or lack thereof.
“Who is the president of the United States?” West asked.
I sat back in my seat. “Are you kidding me right now? I know who the president is. I just got dizzy. I’m fine. I forgot to eat today.” That was a total lie; I ate all the time, but I needed a quick excuse to make them go away.
They weren’t listening to me. They continued their examination, asking me all the questions one asks when someone has had a break with reality. I took psychology courses. I knew they were checking my mental health.
Go away, I thought. Pack up your gear and get out.
Without hesitation, as soon as I willed them away, they packed their gear without uttering another word. No poking. No prodding. They simply packed up and walked out, leaving Mrs. Sauer astonished and me feeling like I’d just witnessed a miracle.
“Where are you going?” Mrs. Sauer asked.
Sit down, Mrs. Sauer, I thought. Let’s forget this ever happened.
Mrs. Sauer jerked forward, shaking her head as if to clear her thoughts. Clapping her hands, she said, “Now, about the photos, those are pictures of the Jinx daughters. The original ones who came to live here soon after the town was founded. They were witches. Rumor had it, the raven-haired girl went missing after befriending them.”
I didn’t know whether I was more stunned by the new information or by the fact that I’d somehow been able to make people do what I wanted them to do. That had never happened before in my life. Why now?
Chapter Thirteen
“Well, why were they called then? I can’t imagine Mrs. Sauer would call 9-1-1 without a reason. Tell me, what happened.” My father’s tone was more serious than I’d ever heard. “Melanie, you can’t ignore your health. I know you feel like what happened is your fault. It isn’t. We made a bad decision. It happens. Your mother and I are fine. We will deal with this.”
I didn’t like the idea of lying to my father, but I couldn’t tell him what I’d been grappling with over the last few days. He wouldn’t understand. No one could possibly understand all the strange happenings. How could they? I didn’t even understand what was going on in my life. One moment, I’m a regular girl, feeling guilty about having to return home with my tail between my legs and the next I’m wrapped up in some kooky scheme to spy on a man who might be a magician and I have a group of witches doing more than getting in my head. Let’s not forget to mention the vultures! I have a bunch of vultures hovering over me always. Why?
“Dad, I’m sorry, but it really wasn’t that bad. I’m fine. I feel fine,” I explained.
My mother walked into the room with a warm compress for my head. “No, you’re not fine. My understanding is you blacked out. Honey, that’s not normal. We really should have you see the doctor. I’m sure they won’t find anything, but it’s still better to be safe than sorry.”
She pressed the warm towel to my head, the water dripping down my face.
“This isn’t necessary. Really, I’m feeling fine. I swear,” I said, backing away from the dripping towel and anxious to be left alone so I could figure out what happened. I knew enough to know nothing about it was normal. It sure as pie didn’t feel normal. It didn’t sound normal. That man was speaking in my head. He took over my thoughts.
“If you don’t want our help, whose help will you accept?” my father asked in an exasperated voice.
“Dad, it’s not that I don’t appreciate what you’
re doing or anything you’ve ever done for me. I just don’t feel it’s necessary to get all worked up over an insulin drop,” I explained.
My mother sucked what remained of the air in the room up in with her gasp. “Insulin drop? Honey, do you have a diagnosis we don’t know about? What do you mean by insulin drop?” The panic was very evident in her voice. Obviously, I’d said the wrong thing. Well, it wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened in my life.
“I’m not diabetic. Sorry. I’m confused.” I sighed. “I’m not sure what I’m talking about. Can I have a few minutes to think, please?”
My parents exchanged knowing glances.
“Sure. Take all the time you need,” my father said through clenched teeth as he walked out of the living room.
I followed him with my eyes, feeling like the worst daughter in the world for withholding information from him.
Still concerned about me, my mother put her hand on my back. “Please, tell me what’s going on? I can’t stand to think about you not doing well.”
“Really, mom. I’m fine. It was just a silly fluke. Mrs. Sauer panicked. You can’t blame her. I probably would have done the same thing if I were in her shoes,” I said, trying to reassure her. The last thing I wanted was for her to worry any more than she already has. I could do this on my own. If not, I’m sure Ben would be more than willing to jump in and help me figure things out. He practically lived for this kind of stuff. The mystery surrounding the Jinx family always intrigued him.
My mother had a distant look in her eyes. She hadn’t been listening to me.
“Mom?” I asked.
Shaking her head again, she answered, “I’ll be back. Stay with your father. It will make him feel better.” With that, she rushed out the door to her car.
Where is she going?
I watched as she pulled out of the driveway, noticing the vultures perched on the wires, waiting to strike at any moment. The question was, who was their chosen target?