Hallow's: Witch's Brew

Twenty

Duke Dumont- The Power

Cody decided we'd start with my mother. The two of us are going inside my childhood home while the rest of the team stays back to make sure nothing goes wrong. Noah wasn't lying when he said that the coven has a tech team now. What they don't have is a Violet. 

"She has a whole lot of alarms," Violet snorts. I adjust my earpiece as I climb up the tree towards my old bedroom with Cody in tow. 

"Can we get in through the windows yet?" I ask quietly. 

"Top floors?" 

"Yes," 

"Go ahead," she clears us. Using my pocket knife I flip the lock on my window and slide it open. Cody climbs in first and I follow. 

The room is empty. She did say she sent what I had left over to the cottage and I got rid of that shit the moment my new furniture arrived. The walls are still covered in my old pictures. My academic ribbons and medals adorn the pots and vases that decorate the shelves. Where my old writing desk sat, the walls are covered with recipes and lists of ingredients I used to get dye my hair, rid of my pimples, and help with cramps. The plants are still alive and well. 

The vines still decorate the shelves and ceiling. I wonder who watered them and opened the windows every morning to keep them this pretty. After everything that's happened, I can't see my mother doing it. Was it Celest or Zuri? 

I place my ear against the door and listen. Slowly, I turn the knob and open the door just enough for us to sneak through. Again, Cody goes first. The hallway is dark. I smile to myself remembering how I'd sneak out of here almost every night to walk forty minutes out to the outskirts of town to get to my bike. I'd ride it down to Hillcrest where Ben lived. Ben's stepbrother, Christian would then take us into Hellbourne. 

The two-story colonial is beautiful. My father bought it for my mother right after Celestia had been born. He'd always wanted a big family so the big house was a given. None of us ever had to share a room. The twins shared because they wanted to. 

Nothing has changed, except the house is vacant now. The only sound is coming from downstairs. I stop Cody from stepping down and point at the pillar that leads down to the dining room. The stairs creek. It's how my brothers and my sisters always got caught. Amateurs. I slip over the veranda and slide down. 

"Smooth," she whispers when she lands next to me. The kitchen light is on. I signal her to stay put as I move closer. 

My mother is sitting at the kitchen island with a teacup in her hands. She's crying. Knowing her, she's going to sit there for a while. I push off the wall and motion her to follow me to the study. We move through the family room and start down the hall to the study. I freeze when I almost trip over a body. 

"What the fuck?" Cody comes around me to make sure the person is dead. 

"Are you getting this?" I ask Violet. I can't tell who she is because her hair is covering her face.

"Clearly," she confirms. 

"Get me an I.D.," I order as I inspect the body. 

"She's dead," Cody confirms. "Not too long ago. I see no wounds," 

"Blood boiling," I whisper feeling how warm the body is. 

"What?" 

"My mother has a strong water affinity and a low fire one from her binding to my father," I whisper. My mother's phone rings in the kitchen. The two of us move away from the light when the sound comes closer. 

"Madame," she answers as she comes over to the body. "Yes, the target has been eliminated. Waiting for further instructions," there's a long pause. "Understood,"