by Shayla Hyde
"My grandma," I told her, softly pressing on the gas again. "a long time ago."
Ida’s house was the only other house on Raven Road. Seconds seemed to drag by for hours until finally, I noticed her dirt road driveway. It veered off to the right. I slowly turned my steering wheel, stopping at the very beginning of the long dirt road. I tried to gain my composure before carrying on.
"Are you ready for this?" Iris asked, resting her fingertips on my shoulder.
"As ready as I'll ever be," I told her, my teeth chattering softly.
"We're here for you," she muttered softly. "We're in this together." I nodded, swallowing the marble in my throat. I hesitantly accelerated the car down the driveway until I noticed a tiny wooden cabin in the woods. It was old and overgrown with vines. Stapled to many of the surrounding trees were "No Trespassing" signs, which only enhanced my anxiety. I switched off the car engine and glanced over at Iris. She was staring back at me with her fingernails in her mouth.
I heard both back doors open and glanced back at the boys. They were already standing outside of the vehicle. My door popped open a second later, and Kaden stared down at me. "You ready?"
"I- I think so," I stuttered, nervously staring at the moldy cabin. "Don't be nervous," he told me, pulling my door open the rest of the way and extending one of his hands.
I reluctantly unfastened my seatbelt and reached for him. He latched his icy fingers around my clammy hand and helped me to my feet. I stiffly took a few steps toward the cabin.
"You sure this is the right place?" Jake suddenly asked me. It was the first thing he'd said to me since the night he tried to devour me.
"It has to be," I stated firmly.
Iris climbed out of the car and stretched her arms above her head, "this place is a little sketchy," she whispered.
"Exactly what I was thinking," Jake added, leaning against the hood of my dad's car.
"You two can stay here," I told them, "it'll just be a minute."
Kaden stepped toward the cabin, and I followed closely beside him. Suddenly, we heard a high-pitched creak coming from the front porch of the cabin. I stopped in my tracks, prepared to run back to the car if necessary, but Kaden tightly grabbed my wrist and held me in my place. "It's okay," he reassured me. "Look, it's her." He nodded toward the front porch where I noticed an old woman with long white hair was peeking at us from her screen door.
"Excuse me, miss," Kaden shouted to her. "My name is Kaden, and this is Eve. We were wondering if we could talk to you. It's really important."
She didn't respond at first, only cocked her head to the side at us. Then she made a motion with her long, bony index finger, directing us to come closer. I tightened my grip on Kaden's shirt and tried my best to put on a brave face. The closer we got to Ida, the clearer her features became. She was very slender and abnormally tall despite the hunch in her back.
It wasn't until we walked up the porch steps that I noticed her eyes. Her pupils were cloudy, and she stared at us with an unknowing gaze. I immediately realized Ida was blind.
"I had a feeling you would be coming today," her shaky, raspy voice commented, "Evelyn Stanton, is it?"
Her words frightened me, but I gutsily took a step closer to her.
"That's me," I responded. "Do you know why I'm here?"
"I believe I do," she nodded. "You want to rid yourself of that little mark on your neck."
I curiously gazed into the woman's misty eyes. How does she know about my mark?
"I'm sure you have lots of questions, dear. Luckily for you, I have answers. Come," Ida told me. She slowly faced away from me and directed her own way inside. I followed close behind her with Kaden right on my heels.
Once inside the cabin, the strong smell of cinnamon filled my nostrils. I nonchalantly examined the living room we were standing in. Ida had traditional decor from her old Victorian love-seat to her antique wooden rocking chair and colonial brick fireplace. She quickly found her way to her rocking chair and carefully depressed herself into it, her knees crackling on the way down.
"Have a seat," she motioned us toward the love-seat. "This will take a moment."
Kaden and I willingly followed her command and went to the loveseat. My eyes scanned over the Old-World wooden coffee table between Ida and us. It was covered in tiny trinkets and ancient books. "I'm sure you're wondering why you were born with this mark, yes?" She reached underneath her rocking chair and pulled out one book in particular.
"Yes," I shakily responded.
"I will tell you the history of this sun-mark, but it's not pretty," she told me, her head lowered. "You are Evelyn, the daughter of Margaret and the granddaughter of my sweet friend Marsha, correct?"
"That's right," I squinted at her curiously.
“Marsha was a lovely woman, a dear friend. Did you know her mother, your great-grandmother, was my mother’s dearest friend?" Ida flipped through the pages in the book.
“Oh, I didn’t know that,” I said quietly.
"Well, it was long before your time,” she smiled down at the book in her lap. “A long time ago, Evelyn, the word of vampirism began to spread worldwide. Your great-grandmother was a very paranoid woman. One day, in the early hours of the morning, she frantically raced here to speak with my mother. She told my mother there had been a fanged man watching her through the windows of her house all
night. As worried as she’d been, it’s likely she’d been so paranoid that she imagined it all."
Ida's attention traveled to Kaden, then she refocused on the book. "My mother was very skilled, very gifted, more so than I. She had a group, a coven if you will. This coven consisted of six compelling women. They created a solution. If any vampire dared try to harm her or any of her daughters, a price would be paid. My mother designed the mark herself. She painted it using the mixed blood of each coven member in a dishpan. The spell was drawn off the spirit of the sun.
Thus, the mark began."
"Did my grandmother Marsha have the mark, too? I don't remember ever seeing it," I peered at the woman.
"She did, but the mark isn't always visible. Unlike you and your
mother, your grandmother’s mark was on her wrist. You never saw it because-"
"Because she always wore long-sleeves," I remembered. In all my childhood, I'd never seen Grandma in a short-sleeved shirt. Not even during the warmest days of the year.
Ida smiled at me, revealing yellowed, crooked teeth, "Precisely, my dear. She tried to hide it in case she was ever attacked. The vampire wouldn't see it coming."
I nodded a few times, dropping my eyes to the wooden floor below my sneakers, "I'm in danger, Ida. How can we end the mark?" "The Primevals, yes. What they did to your mother," she clicked her tongue. "Unfortunately, I can't rid you of the birthmark myself. I do however know someone who could. She's young and will one day be just as powerful as my mother was, but she's only just now discovering her powers," she explained. "She needs more practice." "How long would it take?" I questioned her. "How long until she could help me?"
"Grandma," a female's soft voice said from behind us.
I turned my attention in the direction of the voice and found a young girl standing at the opening between the living room and kitchen. She was probably close to my age, maybe a little older. She was wearing a gown, had long, black hair that reached her lower back, and sun-kissed skin. Her deep brown eyes were on me.
"There she is now," Ida told us, "That's my Jane." "I want to help," Jane told us.
She steadily walked across the living room, passing by Kaden and me. She dropped on her knees next to Ida and slid the book out of her grandmother's lap onto the floor.
"I would like to try now," Jane said, staring up at me. "If that's okay with you."
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:
Jane flipped through a book full of symbols in search of one specific page. I impatiently waited, my breath trapped inside my lips. "Here's the sun-mark spell," she pointed at a yellowed sheet in the book.
; From where Kaden and I were sitting, I could faintly see what she was pointing at. It was a dark reddish-brown circle in the center of eight straight lines. It was an exact diagram of my birthmark. Her eyes scanned over the paper, her index finger trailing over each cursive word. She flipped to the next page, then the next. Suddenly, a new expression took over her face: uncertainty.
"What is it?" I asked, involuntarily sliding from the loveseat onto my knees.
"I have found the spell that placed the mark," she explained, still flipping through the book, "but not the spell to undo it."
"What does that mean?" I interrogated, crawling a few feet closer to her.
"It means there's nothing I can do to help you," she averted her gaze from the book and frowned at me. "Not without a reversal spell."
My throat tightened, "You mean there's no other way?"
She disappointedly dropped her head and whispered, "I am sorry, but no."
My chin started to tremble uncontrollably. I'd driven all that way just to be told that I was a goner. I pressed my sweaty hands against the wooden floorboards, lowering my head in defeat.
Suddenly, I was puzzled by the sound of a cackle coming from somewhere in the room. I turned to Ida, quickly realizing she was the source of the laughter. She was rocking back and forth in her chair, a soft smile stretching her dry lips. She shook her head from side-to-side at Jane. "One thing you must remember, Jane, is that there is always a way. As a woman with your gifts, there will always be an alternative," she smiled down at her granddaughter.
"What is the alternative, grandma?" Jane asked, her dark brown eyes glistening.
"Fetch me the red book from my nightstand," Ida told her. "There is one other thing that might work, but only you can do it."
Jane quickly rose to her feet and scampered away to fetch this book. I exhaled deeply and prayed to myself that whatever Ida was thinking, whatever her new bright idea was, would work.
"Ida, if I may ask, how can you read these books if you're blind?" Kaden suddenly and casually asked her. He'd been so quiet, I'd nearly forgotten he was sitting on the loveseat behind me.
Ida smiled at the floor and slowly lifted her smoky eyes to meet his curious gaze, "When I was born, I was blind in my sight, but never in my mind. I see images in here," she tapped on her wrinkled forehead with a long fingernail. "My mother never tried to fix my vision. She knew it was a hidden gift."
"So, in your mind, you can, like, see me?" I questioned her.
She nodded slowly with a soft smirk, "As clear as day, honey." "That's incredible," I breathed, astounded by her gift.
"But your friend on the couch, I cannot see. I can only sense," she lifted her eyes to Kaden, "and that's because of what he is."
"Why has your mind blocked out vampires? I thought vampires and witches lived in harmony," Kaden curiously questioned her further. "I don't like that word. I'm not a witch, just... gifted," she sternly corrected him, "but we do live in harmony, for the most part, you know."
I squinted at her, "Why do you think you can't see them?" "I don't know, dear. Maybe my mind can only detect living souls," she cut her eyes at me. It would be nice if I could, but I choose to stay thankful I can see anything at all."
I glanced back at Kaden. His head was lowered.
Jane rushed back into the room a moment later, clutching a worn-out crimson book in her tanned arms. The book was cracked and worn with age and had black scribbles on the cover and spine. The writing was in an unfamiliar language. Jane dropped to her knees next to Ida and rested the book in Ida's lap.
"Thank you, my darling," Ida said appreciatively. "Now, let me show you something." She flipped to the only page in the book that held a bookmark and pointed at the very first sentence on that page.
"What is that?" Jane questioned her. "What language is this?"
"This, my dear, is all you need," Ida said with a smile. "It's written in Latin. With this spell, you can contact blood relatives who have passed on. All you must do is take this spell and make a small incision in your hand. Let the blood drip on this page three times. Then, you will ask for Mary Wilson, your great-grandmother. You can speak to her.
You can ask her for a reversal spell."
"Wait, what?" Jane's eyes widened. "That's a little much, don't you think? I don't know if I can do this."
"Of course you can," Ida encouraged her. "You don't know your strength, darling."
"It sounds scary," Jane lowered her head. "How do I know I'm talking to her and not another relative? And-and why is there already blood on these pages?"
"This book has been in our family for generations, and it has been used many times by your ancestors," Ida explained to her. "Your great-grandmother had an eye disease. Heterochromia. Her left eye was the lightest of all the blues, and her right eye was as black as coal. You will know her when you see her. Look here at this bookmark."
Ida pulled the bookmark out of the book, snapping it shut. Jane took the piece of paper from Ida's shaky fingertips, and I curiously peeked at it from over her shoulder. The "bookmark" was a photograph of an old woman standing on a porch. I felt myself gasp softly at the sight of the woman. The old lady had light frizzy hair and wore a white nightgown that flowed down passed her kneecaps. Her wrinkled hand was tightly grasping a thick, wooden cane. Though the photo was in black-and-white, her different eyes were distinct and coldly glaring back at me. I could feel her icy stare piercing my soul. I quickly broke my gaze from the photo.
"That is your great-grandmother," Ida told Jane with a look of dejection. "Now you will know her when you see her, and she will know you."
"She’s the one who marked me?" I pried
"Yes," she nodded a few times, a look of sadness leaking through her smile, "She was."
Jane stared up at her grandmother hesitantly and asked, "Couldn't you do the spell instead?"
Ida shook her head side-to-side. "At my age, a spell this powerful would physically drain me. I would be bedridden for weeks. You, on the other hand, have the power. You could do the spell and regain your energy by the next morning," Ida explained to her.
I nervously chewed on my bottom lip as I waited for Jane to respond. This plan sounded crazy to me but so did everything else that had been happening. I was willing to try anything, and I hoped Jane would be as willing.
Jane took a deep, shaky breath as she intently thought about it. Her eyes found mine, and she firmly nodded one quick time, "I will do it." "Thank you so much, Jane," I breathed in relief. "You're going to save lives."
She smiled softly, parting her lips to respond when Ida suddenly interrupted her.
"There is only one more issue," Ida said. "Do you know when the danger is arriving?"
"No," I nervously told her, "I only know it will be soon."
"Unless I am mistaken, I believe I know when they will strike," she admitted, "and if I am right, that will create a problem."
"What is it?" Kaden spoke up from behind me, "when?"
"This clan... The Primevals. They killed your mother on Halloween night, yes?" Ida raised her eyebrows at me.
"Yes," I said softly. My heart pounded in my chest, “Her birthday.” "And she was... I'm sorry to say, decapitated." Ida grimaced. I had a horrible mental image that I quickly blinked away, "Yes, she was."
"I believe they will be here for you on Halloween, as well. You see, they held a ritual for your mother. She was the first human they'd found baring the sun-mark. They didn't know how powerful it was or how capable she was. When they killed her, I believe they separated her head from her body in fear that it could reattach itself. Then, I'm sorry, but they burned her head, disintegrating the mark forever," Ida explained with a distasteful expression. "Since this ritual worked with your mother, I believe that's what they plan to do with you, too,
Evelyn."
"We have plenty of time then, right? Halloween is in what, two weeks?" I sighed in solace, my lips tugging at the corners. My smile slowly faded away when Ida dropped her head in disa
ppointment.
"What? We have plenty of time, right?" I repeated my question, growing concerned.
"No, honey. That's the problem, you see," Ida told me, staring up at me again. "This spell, contacting the deceased? It can only be accessed on one night of the year. The night that the dead come to visit. The night that spirits come to play."
I was confused for only a moment before it hit me in the face like a ton of bricks. "The only night you can access the spell is on Halloween," my voice quivered.
"I'm afraid so," she dropped her head again.
"How will this work, then?" I desperately questioned her, my eyes burning.
"We will have to be quicker than them, and smarter," she said. "My Jane will start preparing immediately."
CHAPTER NINETEEN:
Somehow, the drive back to Oregon was even quieter, but I didn't leave Ida Wilson's house empty-handed, like I'd feared I would. I left with valuable information and a rough draft of a plan. I wasn't sure if it would work, but I held on tightly to hope. I was grateful to Ida and Jane. They were strangers to me, yet so open and willing to save my life. People were wrong about Ida.
The second we stepped out of Ida's front door, Kaden insisted he would make the drive back to Portland. My nerves were frayed, so I didn’t object. I awkwardly wound up in the front seat next to him, while Iris and Jake sat a little too close for comfort in the back. I didn't know what had happened between them while Kaden and I were inside, and I didn't really care to find out.
We arrived in Portland earlier than expected thanks to Kaden's skillful and fast driving. Kaden pulled the car into my driveway around eight o'clock that night and shut off the engine. I could hear soft whispers coming from the back seat but couldn't make out what they were saying. I glanced over at Kaden. His face was only partially visible in the darkness, but I noticed his lips were extended in a soft grin.
I nudged him with my shoulder, squinting over at him curiously. His eyes found mine, and he scoffed quietly, his smile stretching a little wider.