“Mom?”
She places her hands on top of his hands.“It’s me.”
Victor’s knees buckle under him, and he drops to the ground. He grabs his mother’s glowing dress with his fists and can’t hold back the tears.“I have missed you so much.”
She smiles gently as she strokes his hair.“I know you have, but I’m here now. Stand up. Let me look at you.”
Victor stumbles as he tries to get back onto his feet. When he does, he looks deep into his mother’s eyes. She uses her fingertips and knuckles to help Victor wipe the tears off his cheeks.
“You have gotten so handsome,”she says.“I also see bits of your father in you.”
“But I inherited your damn stubbornness,”Victor snickers back.
Victor’s mother wraps her arm around his.“Come, we have much to discuss.”She turns him around and walks away from the building. They make their way back to the stream and start walking beside it.“I was hoping to keep you away from all of this.”
“What are you saying? You knew about Grandma being a witch?”Victor asks.
His mother smiles and speaks again without moving her lips.“Of course I did. I’ve known since I was five.”
“Why would you two keep all of this from me?”Victor asks. His mother just smiles and pats his arms, guiding him toward the stream.
They walk up to a set of rocks. Victor’s mother gestures to take a seat as she explains to her son about his grandmother and her decision.
“Grandma was on her way to become High Priestess. During the trials to test her powers, it concluded that she could very well be the next Grand Witch. There hasn’t been any witch or warlock to hold such an esteemed honor in a few hundred years.
“There was one more test she needed to accomplish, but it would be some time since it was to be done under a full blood moon during a blue moon month. It was going to be at least a year. But a couple of covens didn’t want a Grand Witch running things. They were stuck in their old ways of witchcraft. They hated how modern witches were becoming. So, one witch decided to challenge your grandma.”
“Do you know who the witch was?”Victor asks.
Victor’s mother shakes her head.“Sadly, I was still young, barely turned eleven. Things got very heated between your grandma and the witch. It got so bad that Grandma stopped me from continuing my lessons. I barely got to learn Air Magic. I didn’t know then, but it was for my protection. The witch succeeded in halting your grandma’s final test, and it would be a while before another blood blue moon would happen.”
Victor’s mother looks off in deep thought.“My mother began worrying, and when I turned eighteen, she told me I could no longer communicate with any of my friends. I must become mundane. She never told me why. Your uncle was not happy with the news. He wanted to storm into the witch’s coven and show them who’s who. We struggled to live a mundane lifestyle.”
Victor lets out a small laugh,“I was also told to let go of my mundane friends. What happened to Grandma?”
Victor’s mother takes a deep breath, preparing to explain what happened to his grandmother.“Well, over the years, her body started weakening. Someone created a spell tomake her sick. But no one could figure out who. Her coven even went to see the Voodoo Queen for help with answers. Even she had a difficult time. The seers and empaths of other covens couldn’t figure out who could have done this.
“When I found out I was pregnant with you, a seer sought me out and told me that in order to keep the bloodline safe, youwere to be hidden from anyone who could find you and keep you away from this life. But it came with a price.”
Victor starts to shake his head vigorously.“No. Don’t say it.”
His mother takes his hand into both of hers.“It was a sacrifice I would do again if I had to.”
Victor slides off the rock and drops to his knees. He tries to hold back his tears.“Why? Why did you do that?”Victor can’t hold back the floodgates anymore. He drops his face into his mother’s lap and sobs profusely.
Victor’s mother gently strokes his hair. She lifts his head and cups his cheek with her hand. She uses her thumbs to wipe away the tears.“It was the only way to protect you. They were killing my mother, your grandma. Your uncle became so angry that he left to find the witch who had done this by himself. He would show up from time to time, until eventually your uncle disappeared.”
“I remember bits and pieces of him as a child. Whatever happened to him?”Victor asks through the sobs.
“No one knows, not even the seers I kept in touch with,”his mother responds.“The only thing I had to worry about back then was making sure they wouldn’t come after you. I knew it would be a while before my time was up, so I had to make the most of it.”
Victor rests his forehead on his mother’s knees. She gently combs his hair with her fingertips.
He looks back up at his mother and asks,“Wasn’t there another way? Why did you have to sacrifice yourself?”
She lightly shakes her head.“It was the only way, my child. You don’t truly understand how powerful you are. It’s dangerous and wonderful. Terrifying and amazing. You could be the first Grand Warlock, and because of that, you had to be hidden from those who conjure magic. Some covens want tobring back the old ways of witchcraft. Ways that caused those of religion to fear us.”
Victor picks himself up and sits back on the rock.“What am I supposed to do?”
