Chapter 68- Whispers In The Wind

Crossing over from Athens left Crystal with a heavy heart. The thought of her aunt trapped in those woods was filling her mind with horrors. She would go back.
Together they trekked through the forest using the trail that led to the Starlight coven. Smoke laid thick in the air and when they approached the bushes that led to her home she paused. Her home wasn’t visible over the top of the bushes, and she had a bad feeling that rolled around her stomach. Swallowing the fear, she stepped out to find her house had been reduced to nothing but ash. As far as her eye could see everything was gone.
“What do we do now?” she asked as she stared at the place in which she had grown up.
“My father will know what has happened,” she looked up into his eyes and saw the guilt written across his face.
“Crystal!” she turned to see Ruby walking over the rubble.
“We need to talk,” she said pulling her away from Levi.
“Mum is going to sacrifice you on Christmas day to coiled both worlds, she doesn’t want to go home rather make Athens and here one,” Ruby rushed out her words in a panic.
“Ruby, it’s okay. We will get through this,” she placed a hand on her sister’s shoulder and gazed into her eyes. Crystal had to step back. Ruby’s eyes were wild.
“What happened Ruby?” she waved her hand to the community.
“Things got a little out of control,” she said sheepishly.
“You did this,” Crystal lifted up the corner of her lip and scrunched her eyebrows up. Her sweet sister? There was no way.
“I am sorry Crystal. My anger it was out of control, I don’t know what happened,” Ruby bowed her head and Crystal closed her eyes. She wanted to be angry at Ruby but the look on her face stunned her fury in its tracks. She looked like a child who was lost. Maybe she was. So much had changed and Crystal was finding it hard to keep up.
“Come on. We gonna go see Seth and find out what is going on,” Crystal put her arm around Ruby who shrugged it off.
“I am sorry Crystal, but I am not safe to be around. Don’t trust her. Don’t trust our mother,”
Ruby sprinted into the forest. “Ruby wait!” Crystal yelled as she chased after her tripping and falling on a sharp rock. Inhaling a deep breath, she closed her eyes to try block the burning pain.
Levi pulled her up and grabbed her hand roughly in his.
“It’s pretty deep,” he said, and Crystal looked at a large gash that took up most of her palm.
“We after go after her,” she didn’t care about the pain she was in. Ruby needed her.
“Crystal, let her go. Give her the space she needs. She will find you when she is ready,” Crystal shook her head.
Levi transformed just his head into wolf form and licked her cut.
“Gross!” she yanked her hand away to see that the deep gash had vanished.
“A perk from being a wolf,” he winked his head back to normal.
“Come on,” he whispered guiding her away from where Ruby had run.
They walked in silence to the manor. Crystal’s thoughts were occupied with Ruby. Maybe their father’s death had affected her the most. Something had triggered the change in Ruby. She needed to find out what she could do to help her.
The black iron gates opened, and dread filled her stomach. Seth always gave her the creeps and Mary was a strange woman.
Entering the foyer, she pulled her shoulders back and held her head high. Never show weakness to the enemy. Her mind whispered to her. Was Seth an enemy? Or an old-fashioned friend? Only time would tell.
Levi knocked on a wooden door which Crystal assumed was some kind of study and Seth’s voice boomed from the other side which made her stomach flip. The door squeaked on its hinges as Levi pulled the handle down and pushed it open.
Seth dropped a book he was reading on the floor and his mouth hung open.
“How?” he asked unsure. It was a tone that didn’t suite the brooding man at all.
“She is strong father,” Levi said proudly.
“Indeed, she is,”
“Sit,” he demanded pointing to two plush black chairs that sat opposite his desk.
“Now tell me what happened,” he said as soon as their bums had hit the chairs.
“I was kidnapped by Hugo and….”
“Impossible girl. Hugo’s body was found buried under the great old oak tree. He has been dead for over a month now my people have confirmed,”
“That can’t be,” Crystal shook her head in denial. She had buried her father there.
“I am afraid so, please go on,”
“Well Hugo turned into Enchilada, and she wanted to keep me there forever, but I managed to escape and make my way to Margon’s and…”
“Ah Margon the old witch is still alive?” he smiled one that reached his eyes and danced with delight.
“Yes,” Crystal said raising her brow and the obvious respect he held for her long-lost Gran.
“I knew that old bat would divine the odds. Now I am quite certain that when you first entered Athens by opening the vortex you caused a rip in the veil that separates the two worlds. Now we cannot still enter as our exile won’t allow it. The creatures from Athens can cross over into our world,”
“We have put the humans in danger,” Crystal stated.
“I am afraid so. Athens was created for a reason. Right now, let’s not dwell on what has been done. I think we have all had enough for one day. Seth said in a tried voice.
“Come with me. I am sure that your mother would like to see you,” the knot in Crystal’s stomach grew tighter as she followed Seth down the hall. It was time to confront her mother and put away her demons. It was time for her to move on from the past.
Seth led her up the marble stairs and down another corridor. He knocked loudly on a door which flung open with aggression.
“What…. Oh my…” Jeanette’s hand shot to her mouth as she looked at Crystal with renewed hope.
“I will leave you too to it. Crystal when you have finished with your mother the kitchen staff will make you something to eat and I will have the room ready that you have already stayed in,” Crystal gave him a slight nod of her head.
She was afraid to speak in case her voice cracked. She needed to compose herself first.
Pushing past her mother she stormed into her bedroom and perched on the edge of the four-poster bed resting her hands in her lap while she twisted her fingers nervously.
“I need the truth. No more lies. The truth,” she looked up into her mother’s green eyes.
“The truth about what?” Jeanette asked with her arms folded.
“Josephine. My father and the real reason you want to open the vortex,” Jeanette’s body slightly trembled as she made her way to the window.
“The past is the past. What is done cannot be changed,” Jeanette said after a long awkward silence.
“The mistakes made in the past can divine a future,” Jeanette turned quickly.
“Where did you hear that?”
“Margon,” Crystal said matter of factly.
“Just like mother to divine all odds,”
“Mum the truth,” Crystal prompted her.
***
Staring out of the window Jeanette closed her eyes. It felt like just yesterday that her life spans out of control. The memory was still vivid in her mind.
The bare branches spiked high into the sky. There was no sign of life to be found anywhere. It was dark and she could barely see where she was going. There were only the small sounds of the rustling trees and leaves, the unusual eerie silence gave off a forbidding feeling. She didn’t know what lay ahead in the dark forest. All she knew was that the journey wasn’t going to be peaceful.
She walked blindly through the trees and overgrown bushes. Alone in a part of the forest that she didn’t know. A forest that was cursed and plagued by angry sprits. Some said inside laid the gateway to hell and those who entered would see things that weren’t real. Those who entered were made to kill themselves and became slaves to hell itself.
Jeanette didn’t believe in the nonsense. However, as she travelled alone, she couldn’t help but think of all the tales that had been spun about that same place.
Why had Josephine entered those parts? A search party of twelve men were sent to find Josephine. They never returned. Jeanette had put it down to them getting lost. Deep down she knew that wasn’t the case. They had grown up traveling through the trees and wildlife. They knew how to find their way around the land. It was second nature to them.
She heard footsteps and heavy breathing behind her she turned around to see nothing but the dark shadows of the swaying trees. Pulling her cloak tighter she picked up her pace. The breathing became louder and the footsteps stronger. Again, she glanced behind her to see nothing out of the ordinary. As her eyes returned to the narrow trail, she was following she screamed. A woman with the whitest face that was all sunken in and wrinkly stood grinning at her.
“Josephine needs your help,” she said in a friendly tone.
“You know where my sister is?” she asked the ugly old woman.
“Yes, follow me,” the woman said, and Jeanette followed a few paces behind. The woman moved with unnatural movements. Her head spun all the way around on a number of occasions to make sure she was still following which caused Jeanette’s stomach to drop as fear sprang to life.
The old woman led her to a clearing where the moon light lit up a small patch of land.
“Turn around,” the woman whispered, and Jeanette refused. Her instinct told her not to look.
“Turn around,” the woman shouted, and Jeanette did as she was asked. Mainly out of curiosity. The soldiers that were sent to find her sister hung from the trees; a rope tied around their neck. How had she not seen them as she entered the clearing? They formed a perfect circle. Her eyes caught a white dress and when they moved up the white material she gasped as her sister lay on a stone platform. She ran and placed her hand on her chest. Her heartbeat slowly. She was still alive.
“Why?” she asked the woman, but she was gone.
In her place stood a plump man with a bold head and eyes that held mischief.
“The Lady of the Forest as allowed you to live. But there is one condition. If you provide the lady of the forest an heir in the form of a boy then your sister will be freed and you shall live,”
“And if I don’t?” she asked him with fear in her voice.
“Then you both shall die, and your souls will walk this forest unable to rest,”
“I am afraid that I can’t do what the lady wishes as I have no mate,” Seth had made it clear that he would never love her. She could no longer stand the thought of being married to such a man.
“I can give you what you seek. What you truly wish. But for now, you won’t remember this encounter. I will come and find you and our deal shall commence. Wake up Jeanette,”
Jeanette had woken up on the forest floor not far from her home with no memory of how she had gotten there. A few days later he had shown up and offered her a deal of a lifetime. Her mother had warned her against the communion, but she felt obliged and eager to marry Henry. Their first daughter Opal was born a year after their marriage and Henry had flown into a rage. When their second daughter Emerald was born Henry became distant. Jeanette went on to have two more daughters before they were exiled from Athens.
As soon as they had crossed the portal the memory of that night returned. Everything she had thought she knew about Henry was a lie. She had been made to believe that she knew of the next in line for the head of the Starlight coven a shy and withdrawn man who needed a strong woman to help guide his coven.
When her memories returned, she realized she had been tricked and had married a demon. She had made a deal to give The Lady of the Forest a son. Enchilada had cursed her to only bore daughters. Any hope of saving her sister was gone.
Then Crystal was born. The stories her mother had told her since a young child of the prophecy were to prepare her for when they were exiled. Crystal was the key and her new hope of returning to Athens and lifting the curse giving The Lady of the Forest an heir to save Josephine and herself from a dark and bleak death.
***
Crystal listened to her mother’s tale without uttering a word. Afraid that she would stop, and she would never get the chance to know the truth.
“My father wasn’t a monster mother,” Crystal defended him.
“Crystal, your father wasn’t the man you thought he was,”
“No that’s not true,” shaking her head she left her mother’s room feeling defeated. Her mother had yet again painted her father to be the one who had caused the problems. Had she told her the truth or another pack of lies? She couldn’t believe it was the truth. She refused to think of her dad of anything but the doting father that he was.
Yet her mother’s words must have held some truth. She couldn’t deny that has she had seen that very place in her dream.
The lights in the corridor flicked on and off. Then the lights cut completely leaving her shredded in darkness.
She heard the strange shuffling tip tap sound and knew Teke; Teke had come once again. Sweat drenched her skin, and the thumping of her heart ached her chest. She strained her eyes to see in the darkness and scuttled backwards as they adjusted on the deathly skin of the child who was using her elbows to crawl towards her.
“Mine,” the child whispered. Moving backwards slowly she coiled with something solid.
Jumping she let out a squeak and her scream was altered by a familiar sound that made her heart hum.
“Remember the light within you is the only way to fight her,” Levi whispered. Hearing his voice gave her the strength to fight the demon child.
Crystal thought about her happy times. Times where she truly felt save and accepted. Levi’s eyes flashed in her mind with their golden flecks and his cheeky smile that melted her heart. Ruby and her sweet words warmed her chest.
“No! No!” Teke screamed as Crystal kept her eyes closed drawing on all the love, she had for those close to her. She would readily die or suffer a thousand lifetimes to keep those she loved safe. The love inside her warmed her skin and she smiled at her most precious memories.
“You can open your eyes,” Levi whispered, slowly she opened her eyes to see a pool of black goo on the floor and the lights once again lighting up the shadows.
“You did it,” he smiled at her.
“Thank you,” she whispered to him. She couldn’t have done it without him. As long as she had love in her heart then she could overcome the darkness. It was her love that pushed her to her limits and kept her fighting.