Beckoned Through The Dark

58 // Abigail // Cast Aside

"Are you sure this is going to work?"

"For the hundredth time, yes. If what you are saying about an evil spirit is true, then it will lead Karabelo to us," Bridgette said over the phone, almost defensive.

Honestly, I'd be lying if I said I trusted my birth mother.

She was hiding something from us, even earlier when we were with Lesego and the old lady, she didn't want to share anything about what she knew.

Even that lady was hiding something. As a matter of fact, everyone had their own agenda.

"Okay, fine. But call me when you are ready, I will meet you there soon," I said sternly.

"Sure." She hung up.

I had to lie to Ryan and tell him that I needed to return to work urgently, because the hospital was short-staffed since I took leave and now Lwandle was MIA.

After leaving Adelaide, Bridgette and I met up and she told me about the plan she had to give Lesego enough time to get back her life and figure out what's going on.

The fact that she was the one that came up with the plan bothered me to the core.

Something big was going on here.

"You put too much trust in your mother." I almost screamed when a voice came from the backseat.

I turned around to find Cecilia seated there.

"Why do you have the knack to appear without warning?" I asked.

"It concerns my daughter, doesn't it?" She said in her hollow voice.

I was yet to get used to having spirits following me around, I just hoped she didn't appear in my home when I'm with my husband.

I sighed and leaned back against the driver's seat. "She's only trying to help."

‘Help who, you or herself?’

"What are you talking about?"

Just then Lesego opened the passenger door and entered.

"Thank you for coming," she said while buckling her seatbelt.

I sighed loudly and geared the car to life. "Don't thank me yet."

We still had a long way to go, and I didn't just mean right here and now, but with everything overall.

It didn't matter where we stepped on, we were still in the dark, and that was frustrating as hell.

Bridgette and Adelaide were up to something, the fact that they knew each other raised a huge question mark.

"Tell me something," I said after a long silence, "how did you make it out of the forest and get to Clay?"

"It was a hassle, I had no idea where I was or where I was going," she said quietly, her head against the window as she looked outside. "I just remember being scared, lost, and confused. I don't... I don't remember how I found the road, but when I did, a family of four helped me out." I already knew the rest of the story; Clay had filled me in. "What happened out there?" She asked and turned to me. "Why did you help me get away, what was I even running from?"

There was still a lot of things Lesego needed to understand, and it wouldn't be easy for her to digest.

There were spirits wandering around, and I wouldn't be surprised if she came across one in the last few months.

"There was an evil spirit in that place," I said, watching her from my peripheral vision. Her reaction surprised me though, because she just let out an inaudible sigh like she was prepared for that answer.

"Her presence chills me to the core, I didn't know it was possible to feel death until I encountered her for the first time. Do you remember the first time I ended up in hospital?" I nodded. "She was there. It was as if she was sent specially to kill me," she said absentmindedly.

That's because she was! I thought, but I couldn't say it out loud.

I didn't want her to freak out, because then she would figure that Karabelo knows she's alive.

I chuckled nervously, trying to act unaffected. "What makes you say that?"

"Didn't you see what happened back there?"

“Uhm...listen," I said awkwardly, "I'm sorry about what happened with Clay.”

I saw her shift in her seat. “Can we please not talk about that right now? ¬¬”

“It was a mistake, and it was never meant to happen. I swear I don’t feel anything for Clay.”

She sighed heavily. “Abigail, please,” she pleaded weakly.

“I’m sorry.”

If there was one thing I’d come to notice about her was that she was very stubborn and had quite a temper, but at the same time she was quite reserved and kept to herself; she was the type that bottled things up and then snapped when pushed to the limit.

Honestly speaking, I never wanted to see that side of her ever, especially after she slapped me.

Besides, one bad twin was more than enough.

Bridgette had asked to meet with her at the old warehouse where we were keeping Adelaide before, her plan was to bind Karabelo within the walls of the warehouse, which meant that she would be able to walk around the warehouse, but wouldn’t be able to leave.

Lesego wasn’t happy with the trip, but at least she knew it was for the best. Her main priority now was getting back to her family and keeping Karabelo far away from them.

I was worried about her though, especially after Cecilia told her about her mother, but if I was correct, it wasn’t the first time she was hearing this story, and that alone was worrying me because she was handling everything so calmly.

As for me on the other hand I was freaking out, it was difficult for me to remain calm when I wasn’t aware of what we were dealing with. Truth be told, Karabelo was capable of anything. The stories I heard about her were just scary.

There was always bad publicity around her. One time there was a rumour that she turned a man into a snake, others say she had a snake that fed on her employees, and the one rumour that destroyed her business was that she had zombies working for her in her factory.

For anyone who has no experience or knowledge of our world, this may seem like ridiculous superstitions, but being a Sangoma and having come across strange cases, her stories were as real as daylight.

We arrived at the warehouse, but there was no sign of Bridgette whereas she said she was here already, but the place was vacant.

As if sensing my anger, my phone rang.

“Bridgette,” I said calmly, speaking through my teeth. “What’s going on here?”

“It is too dangerous for you and Lesego to be here, I have to this for your own safety,” she said.

My heart sank to my stomach, she always did this; she always excluded me in her ceremonies. As much as I wanted to put Karabelo away, the main reason why I was looking forward to this was because my calling was the only way I could truly bond with my mother; it was the one thing that tied us besides our blood and the resemblance between us.

I was hurt, but I didn’t want Lesego to be suspicious or to worry.

“Masechaba-”

“Don’t.” I sucked my teeth and shook my head as if she could see me. “Don’t call me that.”

She sighed. “I’m sorry.”

“We both know you are not,” I bit.

“I’m doing this for you and your sister.”

I scoffed. “And what exactly are you doing for us?” She remained silent. “Thought as much. I’m going to take Lesego home, but if anything goes wrong, I swear I’ll never forgive you,” I said before hanging up.

I had to take a few deep breaths before joining Lesego back in the car, I didn’t even know how to act normal around her, because I was having an internal battle; I felt like exploding.

I rolled down the window and stuck my head out to breathe easier.

“Are you okay? You look pale,” Lesego asked, and the concern in her voice shred my heart to pieces; she really didn’t understand that she was the victim in this entire story.

Her mother, Bridgette, Adelaide, Sihle, and her friends - they were all lying to her; how did I know I wasn’t also conforming to their lies.

I sighed wearily and started the car. “Yeah, everything is okay. In fact, even better. Turns out we don’t actually need to be here, Bridgette already took care of Karabelo,” I said cheerfully, hoping that she believed me.

She turned in her seat and faced in my direction. “Just like that?” I remained silent while biting on my cheek. “What happened to using me as a bait to lure her in?” She asked breathlessly.

“Bridgette figured it would be too dangerous to bring you along.”

“But then-”

“You don’t have to worry yourself, I get it you are anxious, so am I. But Bridgette is a great Sangoma, she will come through for us. For now, our only worry should be getting you home,” I reassured her even though a part of me knew, Bridgette was probably out there digging our graves.

I only hoped that I wasn’t the one handing her the spade.