After half a mile, the trees opened up, revealing the massive house, set back on a sprawling lawn of green. The main house contained the kitchen, common areas where we all spent time together, the classroom, and several bedrooms.
Directly behind the main house were the massive gardens, which yielded all the vegetables and fruits we consumed as well as the herbs we needed. The gardens ended at Ivanna’s stone cottage and behind that was a large lake, complete with a lake house and a few wooden boats with oars. The property went on for hundreds of acres. There were clearings here and there that we used for different purposes—celebrations and training, mostly.
As we pulled up in front of the main house, my eyes flicked over a strange car in the curved driveway. The guests from the Moss Point coven had already arrived. I gave Everett an apprehensive look, but he smiled encouragingly as I unbuckled my seatbelt. With one more deep breath, I headed toward the door with Everett. Before we ever reached it, though, Sylvia came rushing out and threw her arms around me, squealing.
“Olivia! What are you doing here?” I hugged her, smiling, and then glanced at Everett.
“Ivanna didn’t tell you I was coming today?” I asked. Sylvia’s caramel-colored eyes were wide when she pulled away from me.
“No! I can’t believe it. I’m so glad to see you,” she said. I noticed that she was wearing my silver amethyst bracelet and nearly laughed out loud. Sylvia was very much a little sister to me—even down to stealing my clothes and jewelry. Normally I would have grumbled at her, but today I didn’t care. I was too happy to be home.
Max exited the main house a second later, wrapping me in a bear hug.
“How’d it work?” He whispered in the middle of his hug.
“You’re a skilled law-breaker,” I whispered back, drawing a laugh from him.
The greeting being over with, there was nothing to do but enter the main house, and that’s what I did, with the brothers and sister of my heart flanking me. The massive front room was open and airy, containing huge windows that let in the natural light. A large arch framed the entry into the hall and led to a dining room, which was as large as the front room.
The dining room had to be large to hold the monster-sized, round dining table. When Everett and I were little, we used to pretend it was King Arthur’s table and we were his knights. I only pretended to be a knight when I felt like humoring Everett. Normally, I wanted to be Morgan le Fay, but Everett had lisped at me that Morgan le Fay was evil. I argued that she wasn’t evil—that she had been the necessary wrathful face of the lady. He never understood, so most times, I satisfied him by playing as Sir Gawaine.
The dining room was where we always met guests. The windows there were large and open as well, so that every corner of the house was bright and cheery. The familiar scent of herbs used in the kitchen and the citrus oil used for cleaning was comforting to me, even if my heart was pounding furiously.
Ivanna sat facing the doorway, so her face was the first I saw—bright, onyx eyes shining. The chair to her right—my chair—was empty. Charlotte sat at Ivanna’s left, with Perry beside her. Lillian, whom I recognized as the leader of the Moss Point coven, sat beside Perry and the two other guests filled the next two chairs.
Ivanna rose when I entered, and the others rose as well a moment later.
“Olivia,” Ivanna said. Her voice still seemed to clang even though she kept it quiet, under control. Still, I could see by the way her forehead was pinched that she was worried. I quickly made my way to her, with Max, Everett, and Sylvia taking their seats at the table. I stretched on my tiptoes to give Ivanna a kiss on the cheek. She leaned in for the formality, but her eyes were filled with some emotion I couldn’t place.
“Ivanna,” I said, knowing that she didn’t miss the bitter tone in my voice.
I kissed Perry and Charlotte now, who both murmured greetings to me, their eyes twinkling back at me.
“You’ve met Lillian,” Ivanna gestured toward the gray-haired woman with the violet eyes, who smiled now.
“Merry meet, Olivia,” she said, grasping my hands for a moment.
“Merry meet, Lillian,” I smiled at her. “It’s wonderful to see you again, and I hope your coven is well.”
“We are well, for now,” she said, a worried light in her eyes.
Ivanna spoke up again as I looked at the other two guests—a shorter, dark-haired lady and a tall male with curly brown hair.
“This is Susanna and Dray, the eldest members of Lillian’s coven,” she explained, and I grasped hands with both of them, giving them the traditional, ‘merry meet.’ After greeting, they took their seats again. I walked behind them, around the table and sat in my chair, briefly considering sitting in another spot. I would never dream of embarrassing Ivanna in front of company, though. This was neither the time nor place for my childish grudge.
“Olivia is not only my coven sister,” Ivanna said, her eyes shining with pride, “but she is my apprentice and will take my place as head of this coven when it is time for me to step down.” She looked at the guests and they smiled, nodding at me. I absent-mindedly rubbed my palms together under the table. It was traditional that each member of the coven be introduced, and I had sat through this kind of introduction dozens of times in the past. Still, my face reddened each time Ivanna spoke about me in that way.
“Each of my wise ones are amazingly talented,” her prideful eyes flicking over the rest of my family, “Charlotte’s talents are for healing. Along with her ability to speed healing time significantly, she knows all there is to know about herbs. My brother, Perry is our Hercules, with strength like none that I have ever witnessed.”
Her eyes flicked now toward Everett. “Everett,” she gestured, “has a unique talent. When he chooses to project it, others in the room are unable to focus on anything other than him. They are oblivious to any other sounds or distractions, because his face is all they see and his voice is the only sound that makes its way to their ears. It’s a very useful persuasion tool.”
Susanna smiled at Everett. “That is a very unique talent,” she said. “I would imagine it comes in handy with the girls,” she laughed. Everett blushed and Ivanna continued, amused.
“Sylvia is still learning how to control her talent, but will prove to be a very great oracle in due time. She has amazingly clear visions of the future, although at this point, she’s unable to will them to come when she chooses. They come unannounced, so it’s a surprise for us all when it happens,” Ivanna smiled at Sylvia, who glanced at me and then looked down at the table. Typically, a Wise One’s full power did not come to them until they reached the age of twenty-five, or near that age.
“Max is our chameleon, able to blend in with his surroundings to the point of seeming invisible to others around him,” Ivanna smiled again with pride at Max and then she looked back at me.
“Olivia has perhaps the most amazing talent of all,” she said, glancing at Lillian, Susanna and Dray. Lillian had heard this before, but didn’t seem to be bored as Ivanna continued.
“It seems as if she was created specifically for fighting our enemies. When in their presence, she emits a scream of sorts, which drains the life from them.”
Susanna’s eyes widened slightly as she said, “Impressive.”
Lillian lifted her hand. “It’s quite impressive, but that is not the whole of her talent.”
Susanna glanced at Lillian and then back to Ivanna, who nodded and spoke.
“That’s correct. Not only does the scream kill, but also in the same moment, binds the souls of her victims, preventing them from having the ability to wield the magick in the next life…and forever.”
Susanna and Dray both gasped, murmuring approval and amazement.
“How was this discovered?” Susanna asked of Ivanna, curious.
Glancing at me, Ivanna said, “Will you stay or would you rather visit your room for this tale?”
“I’m fine,” I answered. I immediately disassociated myself with the story I
vanna was about to tell.
Ivanna nodded at me and then spoke directly to Susanna. “We discovered her in much the same way that I learn about all of the children with talents. Olivia’s biological father was a wise one, but he and Olivia’s biological mother—not a wise one—were very religious. When Olivia was six years old, her father came into contact with a Venator. This Venator persuaded him that his talents were to be used for removing the face of sin from the earth. Of course, the Venator was speaking of us,” Ivanna made a motion with her hand, gesturing at all of us around the table. Everett grasped my hand under the table and I smiled at him.
Charlotte excused herself to visit the kitchen, but I could see the tears glittering in her eyes and knew she didn’t want to hear what was coming. Ivanna instructed Sylvia to help Charlotte with refreshments. Muttering under her breath and rolling her eyes, Sylvia reluctantly stood and followed her. That’s when Ivanna continued.
“Olivia’s father believed him and received the mark of the Venator. The very next time he picked Olivia up, she screamed—not on purpose, of course. It was entirely out of her control. The body of her father became dust on the ground. Olivia’s mother,” she took my other hand on the tabletop, “imagined that Olivia was evil and took it upon herself to try and kill the child. She stabbed Olivia—five years old then—ten times with a kitchen knife before the police arrived. A neighbor heard Olivia screaming and called. Thank the Gods, she survived the attack.”
Suzanna, Lillian and Dray were incredulous. No one else had ever heard this part of my story before. It was easy for me to remove the feeling from it by pretending Ivanna was speaking of someone else; a girl with a different name, a different life. I had those memories carefully trapped away in a part of my mind that I didn’t visit.
Ivanna continued, “Of course, the story was in the newspaper. Olivia’s mother was…detained in a place where she couldn’t hurt anyone else or herself and her father was listed as missing. Olivia was placed with the state. I visited as soon as possible and after her counseling sessions were over, I adopted her. Of course, the orphanage only knows that a woman under a different name than mine visited Olivia one day and the next, Olivia disappeared.”
“Amazing. I’m sorry the beginning of your life was so rough, Olivia, but you are a gem among wise ones,” Lillian said.
“The beginning of my life was when I came to Eagleton,” I corrected her gently, giving her a half-smile.
She nodded, an empathetic look in her eye, and then turned to Susanna and Dray.
“Ivanna is the only one of us with the courage to approach talented ones as children. Everett, Max and Sylvia also came from very rough situations, but Ivanna saved them from lives I can’t imagine. Unfortunately, when wise ones are born from parents who are not able to wield the magick, it is often harder for them,” she flicked a quick glance at Everett.
Susanna looked at Ivanna and said, “And the power?”
Ivanna nodded. “We knew about the first part of her talent, but didn’t discover her ability to bind the souls until she and I encountered two Venator in another city. It’s difficult to explain how it works, but as Olivia drains the life, she absorbs the power of the soul to wield the magick. It stays within her. While I hope she never has cause to fight another Venator, the truth is that the more she does, the more powerful she will become.”
Charlotte and Sylvia entered from the kitchen now, carrying trays of food. I refused the food, taking only a cup of tea. Amazingly, Everett polished off two sandwiches. During the meal, Lillian introduced us to Susanna and Dray formally. Susanna was an illusionist like Ivanna, and Dray had the ability of removing sight from his victims—blinding them temporarily. After eating, Sylvia and Charlotte cleared away the plates and Lillian spoke again.
“Our time is running short, so I had better get to the reason for my visit. I know you’re all aware of the attacks that took place. Two of our younger ones were the victims, if victim is the appropriate word. They weren’t hurt, and for this reason, we aren’t exactly sure who their attackers were.” Lillian paused and looked up at all of us.
“However, we have an oracle in our coven as well who has seen something which gives us much to think on. Our Margaret can call the visions at will, but she has no control over what she sees at any given time. For instance, she may call the vision upon herself once and see a coven brother or sister, and then call it again and see a delivery man somewhere that is completely unrelated to any event we’re concerned about. It also drains her energy very quickly, making us hesitant to use her power too often.” She took a breath before continuing.
“Margaret knows the Venator, though. Like you do here, we train at home to fight them, in preparation for the final battle. A vision came to her a week ago of the Venator. She said they were furiously searching…looking for something or someone.” If no one else noticed her eyes flicking toward me, I did.
“She couldn’t see the object or individual they were searching for, and could only tell us that they were extremely anxious to find it. We can’t be sure, but I believe the attackers who approached my younger ones were Venator.”
Ivanna kept her face calm, although she had visibly paled. “Venator fight to the death, Lillian. Surely if the attackers who had approached your coven members were Venator, they would have fought.”
Lillian nodded. “I also thought about that. They would have fought to the death, unless their only purpose was to search. If there was something they needed or desired more than their hatred of Wise Ones, they would be able to stop themselves from fighting.”
She sighed, and then shook her head. “Still though, we’re not sure. It was night when both attacks happened, and they happened in public places. My young ones couldn’t see if they had the marks of the Venator.”
Ivanna nodded thoughtfully. “Well, you already know that we will assist you in any way we can, even if it means fighting. But what can we do now? I feel powerless at this point.”
Lillian put her hand over Ivanna’s on the table. “I do as well. But I had to come here today to warn you. If the attackers were Venator and they were searching, it leaves me only one conclusion. They are searching for someone. A Wise One. Otherwise, I don’t see why they would have approached my young ones and left so quickly.”
Although I didn’t think it was possible, Ivanna grew even paler. She and Lillian looked at each other for a moment before Ivanna said, “And your young ones weren’t the someone the Venator were searching for, so they left them be…for the moment.”
Lillian nodded. “That is the only logical explanation I can think of,” she said.
Ivanna clasped her hands in front of her and was quiet for a few moments. I glanced at Everett, Max and Sylvia. The boys were composed, but both had their jaws tensed and I could feel the hate radiating from them. Sylvia’s face had paled as well, and her eyes betrayed a glint of fear. Finally, Ivanna drew in a deep breath.
“Well, this does give us much to think on,” she glanced at Lillian. “And you’re sure your home is safe…that they haven’t discovered where you live?”
Lillian nodded. “We are always very careful when we leave and take steps to ensure that no one can find us. However, there are always risks. Each time we leave and then return, there is that inkling of fear that someone may have followed us. That’s why we prepare, though.”
It was quiet for a few minutes as we all digested her words—both the ones about the Venator searching and the ones about the possibility of the Venator finding her home. Of course, I was sure that my family was thinking the same thing I was. What would happen if the Venator ever found our home? The thought of that was too painful for me to entertain. The thought of my family being hurt…
Then Lillian announced that she and our other guests must leave now, and after the formal goodbyes, Charlotte walked them outside. Ivanna seemed very preoccupied in thought and I knew she was still worrying over what Lillian had told her. After Charlotte had returned, Ivanna looked up at us.<
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“Olivia, you may have a few moments with your brothers and sisters before you leave. I’m sending you back with a vehicle this time. I’m sure you’ll have need of one in Staves. Charlotte will give you the keys. The rest of you can meet me back here at dinner. I have some things to attend to.”
“Wait, Ivanna,” I said shakily. Forgotten for the moment was my need for revenge. It was replaced by the fear that Lillian’s words had inspired. “I’m sorry about what happened, and I know I deserve punishment, but can’t I stay? Can’t I take a punishment here?” I searched her face pleadingly, swallowing pride the size of the state we lived in, looking for some sign that she would let me stay. She gazed at me for a long moment, and then lifted her chin.
“You have proven your usefulness to me, Olivia,” she said coldly. “Not only did you fail to get the boy, but you ignorantly disclosed details about our coven. I think we would all be safer with you in Staves.”
It was such a change in attitude from when she’d been talking to Lillian and her coven members, and it was such a difference from any way she’d ever spoken to me, that I couldn’t find my tongue to reply. I knew I stood there gaping, furious tears welling in my eyes, but I was unable to move. Ivanna then moved forward and kissed me on the cheek before leaving the room. A moment later, Everett’s hand was on my back and he was guiding me toward the front of the house.
I regained a sense of myself before we reached the front door, and I shrugged away from Everett’s grip. I took the car keys from Charlotte’s hand, glanced furiously at my family members, and then left, slamming the door behind me before they had a chance to follow me out. I knew it was a childish reaction, something I seemed to be quite good at lately, but I was heartbroken in the moment and my pride was hurt severely.
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