Chapter Forty: Warning Bells

“I just don’t understand why Mark would take interest in Judy?” Aiden asked with his frustration lacing his tone. They were currently all seated in the parlor of Bates’ house. Bates had offered to give her a lift after school when she told him they needed to talk.

“I don’t think it’s like that.” Lorraine nodded at Bates’ words, “I think he’s using her for something.”

“How could Judy be of any use to him? At best she’s a barbie, at worst she’s vain.” Lorraine glared at Aiden’s words, and he let out a sigh but seemed unapologetic. He shook his head, “Anyway, we need to find Mark.”

“I think I might be able to help you with that.” They heard John’s voice as he entered the parlor with hesitant steps.

“We didn’t want to intrude at first, but if we decided if we can help in any way, then we should.” Sally, who stood behind him, moved next to him as she offered them help. “John’s a warlock, and he told me he can do this spell that can tell him where someone is.” John nodded from next to her in agreement. They had been discussing that topic for a while, and Sally insisted that he should help in any way he could.

“I would just need The Jonas grimoire.” he said hesitantly, “I’ve studied the theoretical side of magic; it was what intrigued me. But I’m not very good at practicing it.” He rubbed the back of his neck shyly, and Lorraine couldn’t help the small smile that came over her face at how adorable he looked.

Bates hummed in agreement, “That sounds like a good plan, maybe we can even find Victoria.” He walked away and grabbed the grimoire from his study, then gave it to John.

The warlock opened the grimoire, “Usually locator spells are fairly simple and found at the very beginning of grimoires.” His eyes drifted towards Lorraine, holding a certain look in them. “The most difficult, tricky spells are in the middle and at the further back.” She nodded her head, and she got where he was getting at. He was trying to teach her parts of what he knew. He stopped turning the pages, finding what he wanted. After a few seconds of reading he looked at Aiden, “I need your blood.” When Aiden raised a confused eyebrow, “In order to locate someone, you must have something of theirs, the longer it stayed with them the better. It holds part of their essence, their soul if you will.” He turned to Lorraine again, “There’s another way, which is finding a blood relative. Sharing a family bond can be quite strong.” He then turned to Aiden, “It might take me a few trials, but I’m sure I’ll be able to do it.”

“I thought you said it’s a simple spell.” Lorraine commented with furrowed eyebrows.

“But I also said I didn’t really practice all that much.” John retorted and she nodded her head. John casted his eyes down and hesitantly suggested, “Uhm… I think you should maybe check the Vancsura grimoire.” He looked up, holding Lorraine’s gaze, “I think you should prepare for what’s to come.” She nodded her head with a small smile. While she appreciated his help, there was a small part of her that still found her new reality hard to accept. But she agreed nonetheless, giving Bates a look he nodded his head and went back to his study to get her the grimoire.

While waiting for Bates, she wondered where Cedric was. He didn’t show his face anywhere and no one spoke of him. “Do you guys know where Cedric is?” None of them gave her a reply, but she noticed how Aiden clenched his jaw and a scowl formed on his face. She decided to ignore his reaction and the glare he directed at her.

After Aiden had given him a vial of his blood, John went to the study with Sally to try and do the spell. Bates came back with the grimoire and handed it to Lorraine. “It might not be the worst idea.” Lorraine nodded and sat on the couch with the grimoire in her lab. Both Aiden and Bates were looking from over her shoulders as she opened it slowly. The first page had only a few lines in the middle and Lorraine started reading it out loud. *“This is a legacy of our line, a curse disguised as a blessing. Here lies great power; it can only be wielded by our strongest. Tread carefully my dear, don’t make the mistakes your predecessors made. ”*

“This looks kind of foreboding.” Lorraine mumbled under her breath, then turned her eyes up to look at Bates, “What does it mean? What kind of mistakes did my predecessors make?” Bates only shook his head, and his lips formed a thin line. The expression on his face told Lorraine that whatever he was about to say wouldn’t be good.

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Suzan was pacing her living room back and forth. The sense of dread wouldn’t leave her body; the fear coursed with uncontrollable flow through her veins. The smallest sound from outside her house shook her to the core. Her hair was a mess, her eyes were red from the lack of sleep, and her body ached in strange places.

She was in the hospital going through her day like she normally would, when suddenly she felt a splitting headache. It felt like a thousand knives were stabbing through the bones of her skull and onto her brain. She was with Steven McMillian in the operating room when it happened. Her vision was becoming blurry and the only thing she managed to do was excuse herself before her hastily departure. She found Lucy Anderson and told her she needed to leave.

However, the headache, if it can be called that, wasn’t the end of her suffering. Her heart started beating faster while driving, and she began having those thoughts that someone was following her. Once she was inside her house, she went in and locked the door. She couldn’t understand what was happening, and the only thought that consumed her mind was that she was in danger.

The knock on her door had her pacing come to a halt. She stared at the door with wide eyes when she heard another knock, louder and more forceful than the one before it. She walked with measured and careful steps, she opened the door only a little and stood behind it. She clutched the wooden door in a death grip as she looked at her visitor. The familiar blonde man was standing in front of her with knitted eyebrows. “Steven, what are you doing here?”

“I came to check on you.” He was puzzled and highly concerned about her. “You left the surgery in a hurry, and when I asked about you they told me you left. What’s wrong?” He tried to take a step closer, but the way she stiffened more, made his eyes widened.

“I’m fine”. She said tightly and tried to close the door in his face hurriedly, but he stopped her holding the door with his hand.

He tried to sneak a look behind her, “Is Lorraine here?” He was hoping she was, Suzan looked like she needed someone to take care of her, *“Something is wrong with her.” *

She gritted her teeth, “No, she is not. Please leave”. She shut the door with a loud bang, locking it.

Steven McMillian stood on the porch with a worried expression overcoming his face. In the short time he had come to know Suzan, she had been nothing but sweet, polite, and even a little on the cheerful side. It was her personality that had attracted them to her, perhaps more than a college or even a friend should. Therefore, the sudden change in her behavior worried him.