Fateful Signs (Ballad of the Seer, Book Three)

Chapter 26 - The Return

The sterile white room was cold. With all of the machines bleeping and blinking, Mia was reminded of a hospital room. It was just like the time she had her appendix out. Except Mia never had her appendix removed. She wasn't even six months old yet. The memory of the hospital - the smell of pure oxygen mixed with generic disinfectant and the taste of mushy peas and lime Jell-O - belonged to Lily.

Mia clenched her fist at her side, laying her other hand flat against the cool glass of Maxwell's living coffin. She closed her eyes for a moment, hating Sebastian and Lily for filling her head with all of these thoughts that weren't hers. It made her think that Lily was right in calling her a copy. She desperately wanted to be her own person. She hoped that ridding the world of Lily would help in that pursuit. At the very least, she wouldn't be compared to the other girl anymore.

When Mia opened her eyes, she smiled at the guard, who appeared to be concerned. He hurried to her side, holding her arm to comfort her. "Are you alright?" It was amazing how effective a love spell could be. She had turned a strong-willed guardian into a simpering fool, bent on making her happy.

"I'm fine." Mia said. "Now, what were you saying?"

"Um," He looked down at the case. "He was the high warlock. The head honcho over there." He was trying to impress her, but she already knew that. It was the reason she had targeted this simpleton. It had taken weeks to find a guardian with the proper clearance to get her in here.

She nodded. "I know." She felt a fondness for the man in the box. She knew it was a true feeling - one that belonged only to her - because Lily and Sebastian both despised Maxwell.

"Wait," The adorable clueless man furrowed his brows. "I thought you said you didn't know anything about warlocks."

"Oh, right. I lied." She drew a heart on the glass around Maxwell's face. "Technically speaking, he's one of my fathers; or maybe grandfather." She still wasn't sure how she fit with the two families. Really, she didn't belong to either. And, yet, she belonged to both.

"What?"

"Don't worry your puny little mind." Mia lifted her hand and twisted. His head jerked violently to the left. There was a satisfying snap as his spine detached and his neck broke. His lifeless body fell to the floor with a thud.

"Idiot." She murmured. She couldn't believe that she had to make out with him. It was worth it, though. Since Camilla couldn't be trusted, they needed a plan B. Something to ensure the death of Lily Bishop. And who better than the man who almost succeeded once before. He had come much closer than either Camilla or the witch hunters. Even Sebastian's plans for Lily had failed miserably. Though Mia was glad of that. Otherwise, she wouldn't be here.

"Now, how do I get this damn thing open?" She stared down at the dead body at her feet, wondering if maybe she should have waited a few minutes to kill him.

"Oh, well," She shrugged. She looked for switch or a button, only to come up empty. Finally, she rolled her eyes and tapped the glass with her fingernail. A spider web of fractures shattered the glass. She splayed her fingers, using telekinesis to keep it from falling in on Maxwell.

She closed her eyes and thought back through Lily's memories. She went back to the night of Lily's homecoming dance. Her battle with the warlocks. It was an emotionally charged memory, therefore, it was easier to find. She saw the curse that Maxwell cast on Lily, which Lily turned back around on him, in probably her only badass moment ever.

Now, with the proper words in mind, she should be able to reverse the effects. At least, that was her theory, since she was part of Lily. Like a descendant. And as every good - or smart, at least - witch knows, a witch's descendants can reverse a curse they cast. Lily knew an awful lot about curses. Thanks to the wolf-boy.