She's Not Dead

Chapter 2: Searching for a Way

Beauchamp house

Joanna flipped rapidly through the pages of the Grimoire, it frustrated her to no end that she hadn't found anything remotely useful. Then again, she had lived for centuries, had created this book along with her sister, she knew exactly what was written in each of the pages.

After she flipped towards the last page, she closed the book with what sounded almost like a growl. It should have not surprised her, since she hadn't been parted from the book for centuries, maybe she was hoping that if she checked it one more time, something new might have been magically added to the tome. Sometime remotely useful.

"Mom! Did you find anything?" Asked Ingrid as she came back into the room.

Joanna shook her head defeatedly, she got closer to her sister and stroked her hair, the same way her sister had when her daughter had died yet again. She had always been slightly envious of her sister. Wendy had the perfect blue eyes, the jet-black silky hair, and she was resourceful, crafty and strong. Perhaps not as skilled as Joanna, but she was powerful in every way.

Suddenly, and idea turned itself into Joanna's mind – she stood up as quickly as she could and sprinted into the kitchen.

"What's going on?" Her eldest daughter asked.

"I know a way to contact someone that is, hopefully, with Wendy." The matriarch said cryptically.

"What? Who?"

Joanna looked up trained her sight on a knife lying on top of the kitchen countertop, she eyed her daughter and the knife again, "Our sister, Elena".

She grabbed the knife and walked just as fast back into the living room, Ingrid on her mother's heels.

"What do you mean? I have another aunt?"

Joanna sighed, "You have another aunt, yes. Her name is Elena, father banished her because of her rebellion. Wendy never knew. We told her that Elena had died while practicing magic with our father." Explained the eldest Beauchamp, remorse showing its ugly head in the deep brown pools surrounded by the harsh lines of years' weight.

Tommy looked at Joanna who had a knife in her hand still, "What are you planning to do with that? How is a kitchen knife going to help us?" He asked, subconsciously holding more tightly to Wendy's cold hand. Eager to know how they could bring her back. To him, it didn't really matter if they ended up together or not, as long as she was alive.

Joanna looked at him grimly and said, "I might be able to contact Elena and-"

She was cut off by the front door of their old house slamming open and the hurried steps of her youngest daughter, "Where is she?" Freya asked desperately.

Her eyes landed on the corpse, with her eyes closed and lying unmoving on the large sofa in the middle of the room.

"No! But... she was okay! She was fine!" The young woman cried, tears immediately cascaded down her eyes, falling like waterfalls. Ingrid moved to hug her, extending her arms to her little sister who sagged into the and continued crying, expressing her grief.

Joanna chose not to focus on her daughters, but on the task at hand, Alright, I need to draw a pentagram, Elena, please let me talk to her...

With her mind in a frenzy chain of pleads to whomever was listening that Wendy was alright and that she could return. What was Joanna without her younger sister? Life without her was simply unacceptable at this point.

Joanna's mind was set. She quickly cut one of her wrists with a low hiss and used her other hand to dip her fingers into the crimson liquid, soon enough, she started drawing a pentagram on the floor. No one dared question what she was doing, this was their only hope.