Chapter 26 The Vision

(Hope POV)

I screeched to a halt in front of the mansion. Alexander was impressed I could handle myself behind a sports car. He said he'll get to ordering my cherry red Ferrari.

I escorted my mom and dad to their new home. It was right beside the west wing of the mansion. It was a beautiful, two-story town home. Next to theirs was Aunt Cecilia's. My dad complained he was hungry. We forgot to have lunch!

"I'll give Angela's a call and get some food delivered. Their apple pie is really good," I tell them while I took my phone out from my bag.

"I heard they serve the best burgers in the village. I want the biggest burger they got." My Dad sits down on the sofa, props his feet up and turns on the TV.

I order the food and also get something for Alexander, Oliver, David, Amanda, Howard, Diane and Aunt Cecilia. Elle said the food should get here in 30 minutes.

I mind link Oliver to watch out for the food and to tell me once it has been delivered.

I ask my mom if I have clothes and shoes in their new house. I was dirty from the flood water and I wanted to take a shower, but I was lazy to head back to the mansion.

"Of course, dear. We even set up a room for you. Maybe this can be a room for our grandchild when she or he comes to visit." She leads me to the spare room and I almost cry. It had my old bed and my old dresser!

"You can shower and change here. If you want or need to, you can spend the night any time you want."

"Thanks Mom."

I shower. I change into a pair of jeans and a smocked floral top and pair it with a pair of sandals.

I go next door and look for Aunt Cecilia. I ring the door bell, no answer. I peer through her windows. Where can she be?

I was about to leave when the door opens and Aunt Cecilia comes out. She looks around then grabs me and pulls me inside.

"A black shadow hovers around the grounds, Hope," she said. I look at her with a puzzled look on my face.

"What do you mean, Aunt Cecilia? I haven't noticed anything."

"Animals can sense evil. When birds suddenly flee a tree or fish are found dead in a pond or a bear is provoked, that means someone or something dark is somewhere. I saw all the birds from the Magnolia tree fly away when I went to the hut to get more of my things. Then I saw it from a distance like it was staring at me. And poof it was gone."

"You saw what staring at you from distance?" I ask.

"A shadow," she replied. "This means, one... the protection runes aren't strong enough. Two...someone here is feeding someone with information. And three... The witch is knowledgeable and strong. She has been well trained. There is only one place that teaches dark magic. I am familiar with that place." She walks to an old chest beside her couch, opens it and takes out a couple of books. "I need to start training you Hope. Here, take these and read." She gives me two small books. "One book is about protection charms, incantations and runes while the other book is about invisibility."

"Which one should I start with first?" I raise the two books in my hand for her to choose. She points at the thicker book.

"Start with the protection charms and runes tonight. Tomorrow, our first task will be to place this territory under lock and key from anyone and anything that may want to enter. Except for the birds of course." She smiles. "If you can start on invisibility, your first task is to make yourself invisible for an hour."

"Uhm, Alexander won't like me being invisible for an hour even if I'm just in our room." I scan the books eagerly. I didn't know spells like these existed.

"Well, do it when he's working so he won't notice. You can mind link with him if need be," my aunt suggests. "By the way, I have started our herb garden. I got the seeds from Oliver."

"Oh shoot! The stuff you had me buy. It's at the mansion. I'll have someone bring it over," I tell her.

Oliver suddenly mind links me. "Luna, the food is here."

"Thank you Oliver. Please give Amanda, Diane, Alexander and Howard their food please. Of course, take yours and David's." I mind link him back.

"Aunt Cecilia, come. Let's eat. I had food delivered." I tug on her arm.

"Wait, put your books in here." She gives me a small satchel and I put the books inside it. She closes her eyes and says an incantation. I see a light flicker for a second then it disappears. "The satchel is invisible to everyone else. The spell should last until the next cycle of the moon."

"You can make things invisible for that long?" I ask, surprised.

"Yes. The stronger the Priestess, the stronger the magic and longer if need be. To make the invisible visible can be tricky though. When you have mastered invisibility, we will proceed to making the invisible visible. If the invisibility spell is made by dark magic, we will need a potion which can only be made during a full moon."

"Should I set up a laboratory, Aunt Cecilia?"

"Conjuring room. I think Diane has one."

"She does?" I didn't know that.

"Yes, now let's go eat. I'm starving." She opens the door and we both exit her house.

We went to my parent's house to find they were already eating.

"Oh wow Hope! You're right. This apple pie is amazing." My Dad was smacking his lips. "It makes me go fuzzy inside."

"Cecilia, come let's eat." My mom gives her a plate with a huge burger, fries and a slice of apple pie. My aunt takes a fork and samples the pie. The expression on her face was total bliss.

"When you go to the village, I would like to go with you. Please." My aunt purring from the apple pie. "I'm going to buy a whole pie."

"Sure. We can go tomorrow." My mom says.

They start chatting and I excuse myself to head back to the mansion. My mom gave me a slice of apple pie to bring to my room. After everything that's happened today, I think I needed to take a nap.

I mind link Alexander that I'm going to take a nap in our room. He answers it'll be good if I rest. He would like to accompany me , however something has come up and he needs to fix it. I lazily climb the staircase, enter our room and lie down on our bed. In a matter of minutes, I fall asleep.

---

I see myself entering a house. First thing I see is a beautiful middle aged woman sitting on the sofa. I walk up to her and see her eyes were closed, but hear her breathing. Obviously, she was asleep. I look around the house and see a man seated at the dinner table with a pen in his hand. He looked familiar somehow. I walk up to him to see if I could ask him what was going on. I was shocked to see him sleeping too. I go around the house to find if there were anyone else who could help me, unfortunately they were all asleep too.

The door to the house suddenly opens and I see Derrick Lancaster calling out to his mother and father. A woman in a black robe floats to him. I walk to stand beside Derrick so I could get a better view of the woman.

"Derrick darling. How are you? I must confess I've missed you all these years. You look really good. Enough to eat. How about one last romp... You know for old times' sake." She laughs, an ear piercing laugh. I put my hands over my ears. The sound hurt my head.

She was about Derrick and Alexander's age. Everything was black on her and around her except for her hair. Her hair was white and lifeless. When she smiled, she showed a row of discolored teeth. Derrick and her apparently had an affair in the past. Maybe she was one of those she-wolves Derrick played around with until he found the new flavor of the month.

Derrick looked at her in disgust. "Have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately, Leia? You look and smell like rubbish."

"Awww...You don't like what you see? Well, how about this?" She flicks her long black nails and turns into a woman I don't know. A pretty brunette who had a sexy outfit on. "No? Not to your liking? How about her?" She flicks her hands again and she turns into... I gasp. ME! She looked like me except for the eyes. She didn't have my eyes.

Derrick laughs. "You've seen Alexander's new Luna. You must be envious she's prettier and well respected. Even your own sister likes her better." He shakes his head and sniffs her. "You may look like her, but you still smell like rubbish." He laughs at his own joke.

She slowly changes back to herself. Anger in her dark eyes.

"Silence!" She raises her hand like she's squeezing his throat. I glance at Derrick who had begun to choke.

She pulls down her arm, apparently releasing her hold on Derrick and he magically stops choking. He bends down trying to catch his breath. "You bitch!" He spat out.

"Your bitch, Derrick." Derrick looked at her with eyes as wide as saucers. She laughs. "Awww. Don't look so shocked darling. You and I were made for each other. Now, let's play truth or dare, darling. Do begrudge me this little whim. For old times' sake." She smiles at him,yet her smile didn't quite reach her eyes.

Derrick paused, thinking, not willing to give in. Eventually, he relunctantly answered, "Dare."

"I dare you to chose someone, who is sleeping in this beautiful mansion of yours, to die."

"You wouldn't..."

"Choose, Derrick. Before I lose my patience."

Derrick looks around. He sees the two people I saw earlier. There are four other people in the house who were also asleep that he didn't know of. He struggles with his answer.

"Tick, tock, Derrick. Your answer?" She moves her finger and he yells in pain.

With a snarl, he answers, "My Beta."

She screams in frustration. "Very well then." She lifts her hands, twisting them like she was twisting an invisible piece of rope. We all hear a man scream in the kitchen then suddenly a loud thud. The woman laughs again, obviously pleased by the turn of events.

"Derrick, I will make life very difficult for you," she says while moving her index finger from side to side.

"It's your turn." Derrick counters.

"It is? Let's take a rain check, shall we? People are starting to wake up. Ta-ta, Derrick." She turns into a black cloud and poof, she was gone.

I suddenly wake up. Alexander was shaking me and screaming my name. "Oh my Goddess, Hope. You were screaming in your sleep. This awful sound. Everyone could hear you."

I sat up and saw my Mom, my Dad, Aunt Cecilia, Amanda, Diane, Oliver and David all staring at me with fear on their faces.

"I had a bad dream. I was at this mansion. It had a red door with stained glass on the sides. The house was very vintage. It had so many antiques. I saw Derrick, I'm guessing his mom and his dad, his beta, this woman named Leia and some other people I don't know. Everyone in the house was asleep except Derrick and Leia."

"Leia?!" Alexander said, surprised. Amanda let out a little scream and Diane looked up in the sky and started praying to the Goddess.

"Yeah, Leia. Leia seemed she had a score to settle with Derrick. She was nasty. Everything was black around her. She even could change into me."

Everyone gasped. "What else did you dream about?" Alexander asked.

"I think she killed Derrick's Beta. I wasn't able to see what happened in the kitchen."

Alexander pulled out his phone from his pocket, went to the balcony and started to call someone.

Aunt Cecilia came to me and sat on the bed. "How did she kill him? Do you remember her hand movement?"

"She twisted her hands and pulled like she was pulling on an invisible rope. She said something foreign, then I heard a man screaming in pain and after that a thud. Then she turned into this black cloud and disappeared."

Alexander comes back inside our room, waving his phone at us. "I just talked to Lancaster. His Beta is dead. And Hope you're right, Leia's back."