Splendid darkness. Emilia looked out from her window, watched the wind rustle through the trees, heard the thunder of the waterfall, felt the coolness of the night. Valerie was asleep in her bed, her soft snores indicating just how deep in Dreamland she was. There was no sound from the rest of the house—Daphne and Hayden had been down for hours, Alaric had decided to sleep on the couch in the den, and Kittie and Agatha had just turned out the final light in the kitchen.
Would she meet Harvey at the ruined cottage? Her mind was torn between two decisions—the first, to stay home, to remain with her sister and her aunts in the house, safe from the darkness that drew nearer to her; the second, to steal away from the house in the night, meet her uncle, and learn more about herself and what happened to him and what he did to Kittie. Could she keep herself whole long enough to get the information from him? Was she sly enough to convince him that she had abandoned her family?
So many questions in her mind, she made a rash decision to leave the house. If she ended up at the ruined cottage or not, she had no destination in mind. She wanted to walk, and wherever her feet took her, she would accept their decision.
She pulled on her jacket and tied her boots, checking herself in the mirror. Her eyes were still rimmed with dark circles, her cheeks had yet to fill out completely, and her skin was white—she looked dead, if she had to describe it. Perhaps she was dead, perhaps the last serious episode she had experienced had actually killed her. Or, perhaps the ritual Valerie had performed had sucked her soul out instead of the darkness that had entered her.
She tiptoed down the stairs, careful to avoid the areas she knew to creak. With a gentle hand, Emilia unlocked and opened the door. She took a final look into the house and closed the door behind her. She should have said goodbye to her sister, kissed Daphne and Hayden goodnight—just in case she didn't return, for whatever reason. But instead of turning back, she locked the door with her set of keys and left the garden, her hands tucked deep in her pockets.
The forest called to her, beckoned her mind with its mysteries. The ruined cottage, the moonlight over the clearing, a shadow waiting for her. She followed the path she had taken every day for a week. The moment she left the garden, she knew what to do. She would meet Harvey Wakefield, she would listen to what he had to say.
Her first thought, as she neared the line of trees, was that everyone deserved a chance to have their side of a story heard. She had so many questions for her uncle, they swam in her head and collided with one another, mingled together in her thoughts. She stilled her mind with a deep breath and closed her eyes, centring herself. She couldn't go into the woods, into a meeting with her uncle, with her mind scattered. She would be a target, and an easy one at that.
Emilia placed a hand on one of the trees, turned around half expecting Valerie to be following her. No one appeared on the street, no one was running toward her, she was alone.
The forest creatures had silenced their music as she moved over the fallen leaves and twigs and branches, trying to keep the noise of her steps quiet. The stone cottage came into view, the moon a sliver through the canopy above the clearing. There, just beyond the fallen wall, cloaked in shadows, stood Harvey Wakefield.
'Emilia.' He said, smiling at her. He stepped forward, away from the shadows, to greet her. Emilia remained on the other side of the fallen wall, away from the man and the viscous feeling of his energy. 'I am so glad you decided to meet me here. We have so much to discuss.'
Emilia was quiet, her arms crossed over her chest. She didn't want to appear too friendly—she was there to get information, not make a new friend. Harvey laughed and shook his head.
'Please, have a seat. No need to stand on formality.' He knelt on the ground and rested his arms on the stone. Emilia sat in the grass but did not open herself to his charms. 'I assume you have questions—hopefully, I will have answers. But first, let me explain why I asked you out here tonight.
YOU ARE READING
The Witches of Marble Falls
FantasiNestled off the highway within trees, on the banks of a lake covered in fog and surrounded by mountains capped in white, rests the small town of Marble Falls. The Wakefield siblings -- Emilia and Valerie and Daphne and Harvey -- are sent to live wit...