Darkness Rising: Cursed Guardians

Drop Off

What a week straight from the fiery pits this is turning out to be I thought as I walked out of my room and down the hallway towards the stairs. It was 1p.m. And I was exhausted. I’d come back last night from dragging Callista off the property after she’d lost her s**t when Draco started to negotiate terms with Sabellas Aunt I heard rumbling from people I passed. Big s**t went down while I was dealing with the red headed twit. Callista was going to cause problems I just knew it. About 20 minutes later Abigail was descending the stairs with Sabella Aunt. She introduced me to Sybil and asked if I’d like to come with her to drop Sybil off which I was more than happy to do. Sybil had the most interesting aura to her. Plus I wanted Abi to fill me in on what I missed. 

On the drive back towards the town Abi and Sybil explained Dracos announcement to the household. No wonder everyone seemed so out of it when I walked back in. It was insane when we took Callista in but 5 witches in the span of two days. That was just anarchy. Strangely neither Abi or Sybil seemed phased. Abigail has never had the same distaste for witches as Draco and Kaeleb or most everyone else. I’m not really shocked she’s so okay with this. Sybil comes off as someone who isn’t easily bothered by much of anything. As we drive Sybil explains that as soon as she and the Hunters get to the house they are going to push Sabella straight into all the magical things. Full force. She says it’s the only way to catch her up on years of neglecting her craft. I wonder how my friend is going to feel about that. From what I could tell watching her before we even met she has been avoiding magic for a very long time. 

As we come around a bend in the road Sybil asks Abi to pull over. Our home is in the middle of nowhere. We are currently idling on the side of the road in the sticks. Nothing but deep forest on either side and the remains of what look like cottages from the early days of the settlement of Salem. Sybil looks at Abi and the to me “I need you both to answer a question and answer it honestly. If you lie you’ll only be hurting all of us.” She finishes with an Erie calmness. 

“Okay” I say and Abi nods. 

“Do either of you wish any harm to come to Sabella?”

“NO!” Abi and I yell at the same moment. 

Sybil smiles. “Good. You can keep driving. You see the house in about half a mile.”

Ugh okay. “Why did you ask us that Sybil?”  

“I didn’t want to be in a car wreck if we hit the barrier.” She shrugs. 

Huh? “Um could you elaborate on that for us please?” I ask. 

“Oh yes. You see we are going to our family home. Technically it’s Sabellas home as everything is in her name. There is a warding spell around the boarder of the property. No one who wishes her harm can get past the barrier. If the person was walking it would be like walking into a wall. In a car it would be like a head on collision. You can understand why I’d like to avoid the unnecessary pain.” She finishes. Yup. Totally on board with that. “I didn’t foresee either of you wanting harm to come to her but I thought it was better to be safe then sorry. There’s the house.” I follow her pointing finger. Holy plantation. 

The house is an antebellum plantation. The biggest east I’ve ever seen with at least 3 floors and I’m willing to bet a basement. It’s stunning. Clearly magically preserved to be in such pristine condition. Abi turns to the gate at which Sybil waves a hand and it opens. So. Cool. We drive way, way, way down the drive and park in front of the car. 

“Thank you for the ride and the company. Please tell me niece to take care of herself until we arrive.” With that she got out of the car, closed the door and went inside the beautiful home. 

Abi turned the car around and we started our drive back. “That house was beyond beautiful” Abi says. “Oh yeah. I’ve never seen such a beautiful plantation home before. I can’t believe Sabella doesn’t live there! She’s never mentioned it before.” I say wondering why. The rest of the drive back was quiet. We made a little small talk about all the changes and how Draco and Kaeleb were going to handle all the magic that was going to be going on. I think Draco is coming around to Sabella. He hasn’t been a hostile towards her since the night her house got trashed. Jesus how is that only 3 days ago.Sabella always says change is good but I don't think she meant this much this fast. Like ever. Once we got home I went straight to bed. When I woke up I still felt exhausted.