Eliza slowly advances toward the cabin, looking over her shoulder. It's so quiet this far into the woods. She takes a moment to appreciate it. Stepping up onto the deck she looks behind her one last time, before nudging the door open. She takes a step inside scanning the room. It looks exactly how it did before, dusty and covered in webs. The windows half boarded up, and the smell of burnt wood lingering.
One thing is new. She walks toward the window looking down. When she crouches beside the item, she can see it's a book. Picking it up she can't even read the title because it's covered in so much dust. She inhales sharply blowing as hard as she can, sending dust into the air. It's so thick it looks like a cloud. She wipes the remaining dust off with the sleeve of her sweater. Holding into the light coming from outside, she reads the title.
'Crowe Family Grimoire: Blood Witch'
Her breathing stops. "That can't be right, cuz she is a telepathy witch. That's what Luna said. It doesn't make sense." she says to herself aloud. She gets nervous, remembering all Luna had said about blood witches.
'They are extinct.'
'The only blood witches were the salem seven'
'They are dangerous'
'They would get shunned or locked away'
She swallows a large lump that has formed in her throat. She attempts to convince herself it was all a misunderstanding. That its not meant for her. She swipes her finger over the name. A flash of light blinds her temporarily. Her head tilts back slightly. She sees a woman in a hospital bed, it flashes again, the same woman is holding a baby. The name on the baby blanket is Ruth. A bright flash visually impaired her once more. Opening her eyes she was back in the cabin.
Left speechless, Eliza hears a twig snap from outside the cabin. She quickly shoves the book into her bag alongside the two Luna lent her. Crouching beneath the window she attempts to look between the boards on the window. She catches a glimpse of who is on the other side.
"Principal Harris?" She whispers to herself, so low hoping she couldn't be heard. Suddenly a hand lands on her shoulder, making her nearly have a heart attack. She turns to see a woman. One she didn't recognize, but she knew exactly who she was. She was the hooded person. Silently, the woman pointed to the back of the cabin, tugging on Eliza's arm. Eliza quietly stood up following her through the kitchen. The woman opened the back door pointing to the woods. She said nothing but Eliza understood. She quietly stepped onto the deck before hearing the door creak. She turned around and the woman had already shut the door. As she turns to walk away she hears Harris' voice.
"There you are." She says, her voice bouncing off the trees surrounding them.
"What do you want Lillian." She hears a different voice. She assumes it's the voice of the woman that just shoved her out the back door.
"You know why I'm here." Harris says harshly. Eliza walks into the trees attempting to circle back so they can't see her. When she finds a hole through some bushes she kneels behind the bush. watching through the small hole she watches Harris walk closer to the woman. They started talking lower. She can't quite hear what is being said anymore. Harris points her finger in the womans face and the woman flinches. She always had a gut feeling about her. Harris turns abruptly, staring right at the bush Eliza is behind. She holds her breath. Harris takes a step toward the bush when the woman grabs her arm. Attempting to draw her attention back. It works, Harris continues talking to her. Giving Eliza enough time to slip away. She sprints all the way back to her house without turning back.
She runs inside, straight up the stairs and into her room. Slamming the door behind her, attempting to catch her breath. She rushes up to the window, locking it and shutting the curtains. She drops her bag onto her bed and flopping down beside it.
As she stares at the ceiling she thinks of every reason Harris would be at the cabin talking to the lady that has been stalking her. She also can't understand why the woman snuck her out the back door.
'Is Harris dangerous? Also Lillian? Really? What an old witch name.' She thinks. She jumps when her bedroom door opens.
"Sorry honey, I didn't mean to scare you. Just came to tell you dinner is ready, if you're hungry." Her mom says, with the warmest smile. Eliza smiles back.
"Thanks mom, I'm not that hungry. I'll probably come down later though." Her mom nods graciously before softly shutting her door. When they arrived in town she was so angry with her mother. Now, her mom is the only thing keeping her grounded through all this. Still being as amazing and sweet as always. Even though she was a complete dick to her about the move. She also looks at her differently, knowing she adopted her. She saved her from a life that could have been extremely tough. She has heard so many stories of kids in the system over the years. That could have been her. At this point she couldn't love her more.
The silence begins to creep it's way in, and an unexplainable pull is coming from her bag. She almost forgot about the book. From the hooded person, to Harris, to thinking about light that is her mom. It slipped her mind completely.
"Alright ancestors. I get it. I'll read it geez." She says out loud. Sliding the book out of her bag she sets it on her lap. She takes a deep breath before opening the book. The first page is blank, but as she looks at it words appear.
'Keep this book hidden'
She flips the page every name of every witch that has had this book is on it.
'Sierra Crowe'
'Ardelia Crowe'
The name Ardelia immediately catches her attention. She has Ardelia's book. The witch killer. Looking at the name above, she wonders who Sierra is. If the only coven of blood witches noted were the salem seven. Then, who is Sierra. Was she in that coven? If so Ardelia killed her own family too. Was she that driven for power that she would turn on her own flesh and blood. Eliza starts to ponder the life of this woman, when something draws her attention back to the book.
Another name is appearing.
'Ruth Crowe'
"What? Who is Ruth?" she questions aloud.
"Who?" she hears from behind her. She shuts the book, hugging it in attempts to hide the title. When she looks over her shoulder it's just her mom. "Sorry," her mom giggles. "I was just wondering if you wanted to watch a movie tonight?" Her mom asks resting her hand on the door handle. Eliza smiles and stands up, shoving the book back into her bag.
"I'd love too, let me grab a plate of food first. It smells delicious." She says, making her mom smile.
