Rose

Chapter 18

After the dramatic realisation that the friend I had known for a decade and a half was actually a Vampire/Shifter hybrid I needed some time amongst nature. Willow and I found a bench in the food forest and made ourselves right at home. I sat and watched the bee's as they busied themselves between the flowers before setting back off to their hive. A bee landed on the arm of the bench, clearly exhausted from its work. I tipped a small amount of water from my bottle into the cap and placed it in front of the bee. "There you go girl," I smiled. The bee edged forward and settled herself against the cap, extending her straw-like tongue to drink up the water. She was thirsty.

"So how was your lesson yesterday?" Asked Willow, sipping on her own water.

"Really good actually." I hadn't had the chance to tell Willow anything about yesterday and now that I came to think about it there was quite a lot to tell. I started with everything Sage had taught me. When I mentioned Seer crystals her ears perked up.

"She showed you them?" I nodded. "Did you touch them?"

"No. I didn't like their vibe, something felt off." I remembered pulling my hand back.

"That's good. Being a Seer is an important position, but I wouldn't wish the side effects on anyone." Willow looked a little sad and I wasn't sure what I was missing there. I looked at her puzzled. She sighed. "My mum was a Seer." I noticed the 'was' in that statement so didn't push. I just placed my hand on her arm and squeezed gently. She shook off whatever was passing through her thoughts. "So how come you were alone in the forest yesterday? I thought Miss Sage was supposed to escort you back to our room after your lesson."

"She walked me to the restaurant," I explained. "Left me with Belladonna." I grimaced. Actually I needed to tell Willow about that conversation too. I turned on the bench to face her so she knew just how important this was and told her about my suspicions. She didn't look overly convinced. When I asked her about the possibility of my grandmother relinquishing our family's power, she became thoughtful.

"Now that..." She hesitated. "That is interesting."

"Why? She wouldn't actually do it, would she?" I asked, a sudden panic rising within me.

"Technically she couldn't alone; it would take all three of you. But if she were the only one alive then she would have to. The power of the Triple Goddess must live on so she would be forced to do a ritual where the power is transferred to another bloodline. It's always been your line that has carried the Goddess as far as I know so it's obviously never been done before. But..." She trailed off in thought.

The words 'if she were the only one alive' got stuck in my head, going around and around. "But she's not the only one alive. I'm here, and my mum is just missing, not dead. That doesn't apply then does it?" Something wasn't adding up.

"But they think they have you and your mum." Said Willow. My insides chilled. Were they going to kill Mum and Wynne? I took a deep breath. My magic was rising to the surface and I tried pushing it back down deep within my well. Last thing I wanted was to accidentally fry the food forest.

"But if they were going to kill them, wouldn't they have done that already?" That thought gave me hope. "And what about the other Witches going missing? What would that have to do with it?"

"I don't know." Willow seemed as frustrated as I did. "What am I missing?" She echoed my own thoughts.

I puffed out air in frustration. "Tell me about Ansuradon." I needed a distraction.

I topped up the water in the cap. I thought the bee was done as she looked like she was just resting now, but I gave her more anyway just in case.

"Years ago," Willow started, "Ansuradon set on a path to become more powerful. He wasn't happy with his lot in life; he decided he wanted the powers of all the species to become some kind of God."