My Three Cousins

Chapter Nine

The way Fitz had described it I expected the tunnel to be terrifying, but it almost seemed more like an oddly sloped hallway than anything else.  It had the same hardwood floor as the rest of the house, and someone had taken the time to paint the walls a crisp white.  I imagined that if I had the courage to turn on Aunt Maggie's closet light it would almost be a neat place, but I didn't want to take any risk and have my cousin's catch me before I was ready.  The tunnel was longer than I expected, and I walked down it slowly, trying to concentrate on keeping my footsteps light so they wouldn't hear me.  After a while I thought to press my body against the wall in the hopes that it would make me hard to see and this slowed down my pace even further.  By the time I saw a light at the end of the tunnel I knew I must be well below ground, and I felt certain the pounding of my heart was going to give me away.

I paused, wondering if I really wanted to do this and knowing that if I kept going there was no turning back for better or worse all their secrets might be out in the open but all of mine would be too.  I continued anyway until I was just behind the doorway.  I couldn't see my cousins, all I could see was the far wall of a normal looking room.  There were candles and books on shelves that didn't look all that different from the one in Ruth's bedroom.  When I stopped, I heard my cousins talking, "We can't just wait here to be attacked."  The voice was Joan's.

"What other choice do we have?  We barely got away last time."  Ruth seemed a bit panicked.

"If they'd leave, we could protect ourselves better," Joan sounded angry and I didn't need to context to know that we were the "they" in question.

"Well, we can't just kick them out," Ruth said.

"Yes, we can," Joan said back.

I started to wonder if Helen was even there, usually I heard her and Joan argue with Ruth somewhere in the middle.  As I was caught up on this thought a new voice interjected.  "Girls your concern shouldn't be where your aunt and cousins go it should be what you're going to do to protect yourselves, from the enemy and from Addison's investigation."

The voice had been familiar but when she said my name I recognized her instantly and my throat began to tighten.  I felt like I wanted to cry.  Without thinking, I started to walk toward her, and I stepped from the safety of the hallway until I was looking directly at my cousins surrounding my Aunt Maggie.

I had only barely stepped into the room when Joan came flying at me.  Her body collided with me at downward angle as if she had jumped up before she hit me, but the force felt harder than it should have been at her size.  My body crumpled under her weight and the wind was knocked hard out of me.  When I finally registered that I was laying on the hard, wooden floor I noticed a pain on the side of my head and a ringing in my ears.  At first that seemed to be all of me that was hurt, and I tried to take a deep breath in, but I ended up gasping for air.  I heard a voice through the ringing "get off her Joan," but I couldn't tell who was speaking.  It took a moment but then the weight lifted off me.  I still kept my eyes squeezed shut out of fear and tried to process the pain I now felt in my ribs and wrist and the bruised feeling along my left leg and hip.

I opened my eyes and the room felt too bright, so I immediately closed them again.  I tried to get back to my feet with my eyes closed but once I got one foot under me, I felt dizzy and fell back down.  "Addy don't try to get up," this time I recognized the gentle, weak voice as one that didn't seem to make sense: Aunt Maggie.

"Why did you do that, Joan?" Ruth sounded panicked and I quickly felt her cold hand on my arm.

It took a moment then there was another warmer, plumper hand on my other arm and a voice spoke entirely too loudly into my ringing ear, "We've got you Addy."  Then they were gently pulling me to my feet.

I knew they were trying to be gentle by how slowly they were moving but every pull still managed to hurt me.  "Get a chair," Ruth said and I heard a chair scrape across the floor.

Ruth and Helen slid me into the chair, and I tried again to open my eyes.  The room was still too bright, but I could manage to keep my eyes open for a few seconds at a time.  "What did she do to me?"  I asked in a voice that sounded groggy even to my own ears.

"Calm down," Joan sounded annoyed, "I just jumped on you, and I wouldn't even have done that if you'd ever mind your own business."  I could see now that Joan was rubbing her own side and I took a small second of pleasure in knowing her antics had hurt her too.

As the ringing in my head lessened, I started to remember why I had came into the room in the first place.  I looked around frantically for Aunt Maggie and the movement made me dizzy.  "Where is she?" I asked when I couldn't find her.

"Dealing with you took too much energy so we had to drop the magic," Joan said once again sounding annoyed with me.

In my concussed state I couldn't do anything but be blunt.  "So, you are witches?"  I wanted to get up and get away from them, but my body wouldn't let me.

"Yes," Ruth said kneeling in the front of me and looking at my wrist, "but you knew that already."

She was right I did.  "Stop touching me," I said in a panic, and I pulled my wrist away.  Ruth rose to her feet and took a few steps back.

"We don't want to hurt you, Addison," Ruth said in a tone that sounded so much like my own mother that I flinched.  "I think I can heal your arm."

"No," I panicked, "I don't want you to do any of that to me."  My heart started to race as dread set in at the idea that I couldn't get away from them even if I tried.  I chastised myself for being stupid enough to even come in the room.  In my panic I caught Joan's eye and she looked furious, "she wants to hurt me."  I hadn't meant to say it out loud and Joan's expression quickly turned to one of guilt.

"No, I'm pissed at you, and you scared me.  We really trying to avoid this."  Joan started to step toward me, but Ruth turned and gave her a look that suggested she walk away.

I didn't know what to say next, all I knew was that I needed out of this room, and I needed away from them.  "Addy give me your hand I can help you," Helen said.

"No. No. NO." I realized then I was more scared of Helen's help than I was of the pain Joan caused me.  "I know what you do," I screamed, "don't touch me."  Even as I spoke, she kept walking toward me and, in my panic, I picked the lesser of three evils, "Ruth." I cried out in a strangled voice.

My middle cousin stepped between me and her sisters, "go upstairs.  Both of you."

Helen's face fell into a look of misery.  "We have stuff to do or did you forget our lives are in danger, Ruth," Joan sounded angry again.

"And that will have to wait because you wanted to play hero.  Bring everything from the bathroom cabinet and set it just inside the door.  Then leave."  Ruth's voice sounded more assertive than I was used to, and her sisters listened.  Joan stormed off but Helen kept looking back like a puppy who had been kicked before eventually walking away.

I didn't know if I really trusted Ruth but the pain in my body told me I didn't really have a choice.