Even under Amadeus’ control, anger could be seen in Deacon’s eyes.
“Considering I got the map to the spell. I already sent some puppets out to find it. From now on I think it’s gonna be me and Alizia here calling the shots. Deke, go home, get some rest. If I need you, I’ll make you do what I need done.” Amadeus turned to Alizia. “I realize you must have some work to do with Marcus’ funeral and everything. I’ll leave you to it.”
Chapter 11
The Funeral
“You know, we don’t have to go dear. All that’s happened, there’s no guilt in that.” Aunt Rose sat in the front seat of her car next to Lilith in front of Blackward Manor. Both were dressed for a funeral.
“I know. But I...for all he’s done, he was still my father.” Lilith stared out the window at her family’s estate that for the first time in her life looked foreign.
“Okay. Well, I’m coming with you. And that’s not open to debate.” Aunt Rose smiled at Lilith who returned one of her own. Both were a little forced but necessary motivation for each other.
“Thank you Aunt Rose.”
Lilith and Aunt Rose both got out of the car. It was overcast and a little chilly that morning, unusual for Southern California. They held each other’s hands and entered Blackward Manor.
Seeing that they were both family members, Lilith and Aunt Rose had to make the usual uncomfortable small talk and exchanges of condolences and apologies with the guests. Alizia saw both of them as they saw her but the two camps avoided each other.
Lilith zoned out during the actual funeral ceremony. Kind words were said, memories shared but any part inside of her that would’ve cared was hollowed out, gone. Halfway through she got up and left. Everyone noticed but no one said anything.
How long has it been? Feels like ages ago. Lilith ran her hand along the railing up the stairs. She remembered her father reprimanding her for sliding down it as a kid. Of course, she broke him down, made him laugh getting herself out of trouble. It was hard to convince herself that he loved her near his end but back then, she had no doubt. And she loved him.
If only I never cast that damn spell. How much would be different? Red Wolf’s Folly, a fitting name. Lilith found herself in her bedroom. Everything was exactly how she left it years ago.
After her failed judgment, Lilith’s demeanor changed. Gone was the innocent, polite, relatively well behaved young woman her parents raised. She became more sullen, angry, bitter. It might’ve been her failure as a witch or simply the trials of being a teenager. Eventually she and her mother had a fight. That fight resulted in Lilith leaving and never coming back until that day for a funeral.
“It’s been a long time Lilith.” Lilith heard her mother’s voice behind her. She refused to turn around. “It’s been a long time since you’ve been back.”
“Maybe not long enough,” answered Lilith as she sat down at her desk in front of a large mirror. Behind her she could see Alizia Blackward, beautiful, dressed all in black.
Alizia put her hands on the back of Lilith’s chair. “I’m happy you came. Truly. I would’ve understood if you didn’t...but I’m happy you did.”
“What about any of this is happy?”
“I know. And I’m so sorry honey.”
“That’s it?” Lilith turned around. “You’re sorry? That’s all you have to say?”
“I...your father and I made some hard decisions. Some of them were admittedly wrong. Some were immoral. But all of them were for you and the future of our people.”
“That’s not enough! Sounds like a cop out to me. What? Every horrendous thing you guys did was for the greater good and all that nonsense? Tell me mother. Tell me exactly why this helps me, how does this help our future!?”
Alizia composed herself, did not yell back. “You’re smart. I know that, smarter than me and smarter than your father. So I have no doubt that you know about the Cold Dawn’s ultimate goal. To rid this world of the mundane.”
“Oh yeah, I know all about your genocidal aspirations.”
“What you don’t know is why. You see Lilith our family, like many other bloodlines in this coven and all over the world have always lived in fear and in hiding from those savages who know no magic, only war and industry. We’ve lived in fear because of what they’ve done to any of our kind who have shown their gifts, even if it was to help them.
Our family in particular was driven out of Europe by witch hunters. You know how you’ve never had grandparents? Did that ever strike you as strange?” asked Alizia.
“A little bit,” Lilith looked forward again at the mirror. She was seething but kept things civil.
“They were hunted down and murdered. Both mine and your father’s families. We’ve lost everything at the hands of human beings. You have no idea what that is like, being alone in this world. Being alone because everything was stolen from you, torn from you. I promised you, when you were just a baby... It’s the last thing I ever wanted was the same fate for you.”
“Well you’re doing a great job. One parent down, one to go.”
“Your father...I didn’t kill him Lilith. I would never. But...”
“You stood by and let it happen. And now you’re with Deacon Thorne, the man who killed him?”
“I’m doing what I have to to survive. I’m doing what I have to to keep him and others from hurting you. Besides you don’t have to worry about him anymore.”
“Of course I do mom! Instead of me having to worry about witch hunters or the mundane world, you’ve made me have to fear everyone. I don’t have many people left to trust. I live in hiding. I live scared that one day I’ll wake up and see the sun extinguished. All of that...all of that is because of you!”
“You don’t understand what they’re capable of. Yes a lot of them will die but they are not the same as us. These people, these savages, their time is over. It is our time honey. And when the long winter comes, I want to be safe, in a pocket dimension with you, with my daughter. Forget Deacon Thorne, the high table or Amadeus Essex. It’ll just be me and you.”
“There is no me and you mother.” Lilith got up and turned and faced Alizia Blackward. “From this moment on, you are my enemy. As sure as my dead father is going to be rotting in the ground behind this house, I am going to take you and your friends down. This new world you want to build on the skeletons of billions will never happen. Never! And if I ever see you again and I do mean ever, it’ll be to forcefully take you out. Do you understand?”
Alizia, heart broken but not surprised nodded.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a dad I need to say goodbye to.”
LILITH SAT ON THE EDGE of the pond in the Ravenswood Forest. Gwen, the kraken, her only companion. Although Gwen was a kraken, she had a mellow side to her that Lilith needed right now. After everything that had went down, Lil needed to feel comforted and for some unknown reason, she felt it here. Although she loved and was close to Aunt Rose and Sir Kain, Lilith needed a little space...if only for a while.
“I'm glad you came to visit Lilith, and I hope the tranquility of the Forest and the gentle lapping of the lake waves can calm your tortured spirit.” Gwen lolled half way in and out of the dark waters of the lake. “I have to admit though, I long for some adventure. All these peacefulness gets dull after a while.”
Lilith stretched. Her mind was full of questions and her brain raced. That is, until she came here. There was a serenity in the Forest, despite what she had learned here only a few weeks ago, deep within the depths of the lake at the Talon House.
“Yeah, I'm sure it can get boring Gwen, but right now it's just what I need.”
“Then I'm happy it helps.”
Lilith sat up straight. “It's done more than give me peace of mind Gwen. I believe I know the path I need to take.”
DON’T MISS THE NEXT book in the Lilith Blackward Cozy Witch Mystery Series:
To Hex or Not to Hex
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Catalog of Books
Lilith Blackward Cozy Witch Mystery Series
What the Hex
Hex to the No
CALAMITY CORNERS COZY Witch Mystery Series
Calm Before the Witch Storm
The Witch is in the Details
Better the Witch You Know
A Witch Axe to Grind
TRIPLET WITCH SISTERS Mystery Series
Two’s Company, Three’s a Coven
Resting Witch Face
Bewitched and Bewildered
Triple Toil and Trouble
WITCH DETECTIVE SERIES
Payback’s a Witch
Come Witch or High Water
Witch Boots on the Ground
THE WITCH SISTERS OF Stillwater
Hoodoo and Just Desserts
A Shade of Murder
That Ol’ Black Magic
A Whole Lotta Witchin Goin On
The Beast Cometh
Secrets and Sorcery
THE LUCKY DILL DELI Mystery Series
A Yuletide Wallop
Haunted Homicide
The Leprechaun’s Loot
THE SINISTER CASE SERIES
Mirror, Mirror Murder Them All
A Wicked Enchantment
A Scorching Spell
THE GRUMPY CHICKEN Irish Pub Series
A Frosty Mug of Murder
Treachery on Tap
A Highball and a Low Blow
Cursed With a Twist
A Whiskey Sour Wipeout
OLD SCHOOL DINER COZY Mysteries
Murder at Stake
Murder Well Done
A Side Order of Deception
Murder, Basted and Barbecued
Murder Ala Mode
The Candy Cane Killer
The Blue Plate Slayer
THE CURIOSITY SHOP Cozy Mysteries
The Curious Case of the Cursed Spectacles
The Curious Case of the Cursed Dice
The Curious Case of the Cursed Dagger
The Curious Case of the Cursed Looking Glass
The Curious Case of the Cursed Crucible
WITCHY WOMEN OF COVEN Grove Series
THE WITCHING ON THE Wall
A Witching Well of Magic
Witching the Night Away
Witching There’s Another Way
Witching Your Life Away
Witching You Wouldn’t Go
Witching for a Miracle
TEASEN & PLEASEN HAIR Salon Series
A Hair Raising Blowout
Wash, Rinse, Die
Holiday Hooligans
Color Me Dead
False Nails & Tall Tales
CAESAR’S CREEK SERIES
A FROZEN SCOOP OF MURDER
Death by Chocolate Sundae
Soft Serve Secrets
Ice Cream You Scream
Double Dip Dilemma
Melted Memories
Triple Dip Debacle
Whipped Wedding Woes
A Sprinkle of Tropical Trouble
A Drizzle of Deception
SWEET HOME MYSTERY Series
Creamed at the Coffee Cabana
A Caffeinated Crunch
A Frothy Fiasco
Punked by the Pumpkin
Peppermint Pandemonium
Expresso Messo
A Cuppa Cruise Conundrum
The Brewing Bride
WHISPERING PINES MYSTERY Series
A Sinister Slice of Murder
Sanctum of Shadows
Curse of the Bloodstone Arrow
Fright Night at the Haunted Inn
Hex to the No Page 9