Chapter 5

As we traveled to Flora's house, I was grateful that I had already been introduced to Dr Collias. Shocking as it had been to meet a centaur, it had at least lessened the impact of what I saw when we left Maude's home. Being in the front seat of Maude's car, rather than the trunk, meant that this time I had an unimpeded view of Walker Bay, and I had to admit that nothing could have prepared me for what I saw.

Although I had been kidnapped from Georgia, it was not my home state. My upbringing could be best described as nomadic. My childhood had seen my mom moving us from one small town to another all over the country. As an adult I had continued this behavior, unable to feel at home in any one place, so I had seen a lot of towns in my life. Architecturally, this town looked no different from those that I'd seen. There was a collection of old and new buildings to show how the town had grown over the years. The people, on the other hand, looked very different. Centaurs weren't quite as rare as I thought they would be. The coloring on people included a variety of grays and greens. Heights varied widely. There was no way that I would be able to name what the majority of the creatures walking down the street even were. I could understand why the town had put up wards to prevent non-magical people from entering the township. There would have been no other way that this community would have been protected.

"You need to stop gawking," Tilda mentioned from the back seat.

"I'm not gawking," I muttered. I was totally gawking.

"You cannot let anyone know that you aren't a part of the paranormal community," Tilda insisted. "Just act like you know exactly what's going on. Never ask anyone what they are or how much magic they have."

That was going to be hard. "What if one of them decides to kill me, or eat me, or something."

If she hadn't been driving, I was sure that Maude would have dropped her head in frustration. "Walker Bay has all the same laws as the rest of the country. We also have a sheriff's department that is staffed by competent law enforcement officials."

Tilda snorted. "That wasn't what you said when Deputy Iversen pulled you over for speeding."

"Deputy Iversen has let his position go to his head. I was barely going over the limit."

"Course you were," snickered Tilda.

"So, all the laws are the same?" I asked.

Maude nodded. "We have a few extra laws that are tailored to the county and the kind of people we have here. Various items used for spells are restricted, and some cultural sensitivities are catered for, but all the main laws are based on the law of the land. If there wasn't, there would be anarchy. Murder is still murder, regardless of whether a gun is used or witchcraft."

That made sense. It also made this whole situation slightly less terrifying.

When we pulled up to the house, I was surprised. When you get told that you are visiting the house of a coven leader, there are some expectations. This house did not meet those expectations. It was a simple cottage that looked to be over seventy years old, set back from the road and surrounded by forest. I squinted my eyes and looked more carefully at the forest. The trees that surrounded the cottage seemed to be leaning towards it, as if in a protective stance. I looked over in confusion at Tilda and she nodded. I guess I was going to need to be a lot more open in my view of the world, because up until this moment I would have said that what I was seeing was absolutely impossible.

The front door opened and an almost exact replica of Margot walked out on to the porch.

I looked over at Margot with a raised eyebrow.

"My twin sister, Isobel."

"Yep, there's two of them," murmured Tilda.

This day was just getting better with every step.

"Who the hell is she?" barked Isobel.

"She's here to help," Maude replied with a soothing tone to her voice that concerned me. If Isobel was more volatile than the woman who easily discussed serial killings and organ harvesting, then I'd rather keep my distance from her.

"That still doesn't tell me who she is."

"This is Sadie Goodwin. We have reason to believe that she may be related to Flora."

"Sadie Goodwin." Isobel screwed her face up as if concentrating hard. "I don't remember that name being on the list."

"She wasn't on the list," Maude said through gritted teeth.

"Whose bright idea was it to deviate from the list? We had the list for a reason. Did you just snatch some random woman off the street?"

"That's exactly what they did." I would say that I was starting to get annoyed, but I had flown past annoyed hours ago. "Now, I've been having a really bad day. The only reason I am not screaming for the police is because I've been told there is some woman who may be related to me who needs my help."

Isobel's mouth dropped open. "You have got to be kidding me." She glared at Margot. "Have you lost your mind?"

Finally, someone who seemed to understand the gravity of the situation. "Lady, I am with you one hundred percent. Now could we please do this. I'm hurt, I'm tired and I haven't had anything to eat for I don't know how long. I just want to see this woman and hopefully we can work out the next step after that."

Isobel paused for a moment and her eyes seemed to be appraising me. I wasn't sure what she saw, but she turned around and walked back in the house.

Tilda came up behind me. "We can go in now."

"What's her deal?" I muttered as we stepped up to the porch.

"Isobel has the job of protecting Flora until she can be cured. She and Flora have always been close." Tilda sighed. "We had a plan."

"The list." Everything came back to that damn list. At some point I was hoping to get my hands on it. If I really was part of this family, I wanted to find out who else there was. After spending my entire life with my mother being my only relation, the idea that I had an entire extended family was enough to blow my mind. Not quite as much as the paranormal bloodline in the family, but close.

As we went to enter the house, Tilda put her hand on my arm. "Don't make any sudden moves towards Flora."

"Why?"

"Remember what I said about Isobel and Flora being close."

I nodded wordlessly.

"If you make a move that looks threatening to Flora, Isobel will slit your throat. Margot may sound like the scary twin but she's all talk. Isobel is the one you need to be careful around."

Okay, I was going to remember that. Although I was still a little reluctant to see Margot as being the safe twin.

We followed Isobel into a bedroom at the back of the house. There were candles flickering around the room, their glow bouncing off the walls in an otherworldly light. In the middle of the room was Flora Harstone lying on the bed. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought she was sleeping. She was bathed in a blue light that encapsulated her like a second skin. I looked down at the woman who was possibly my aunt. After years of believing my mother and I were alone in this world, it was a bit of a shock to discover I might have family. As I reached to touch her arm, a ribbon of blue light seemed to emanate from her body and wrapped itself around my hand.

"What is that?" I asked, unwilling to move.

Maude gave the first real smile I had seen. "That's proof that we were right. You are her family and you can help her."

"The blue light says that?"

Maude nodded. "The blue light means her aura recognizes you and is reaching out to you. If I had any doubts at all that you were the one we needed, that just blew them all away."

I stayed still as the ribbon of light danced up and down my arm. The sensation felt warm and I felt safe. I didn't understand why, but I felt like I had come home.

I glanced over at Maude. "I know you said she took a sleeping potion, but what did the doctor say was wrong with her exactly?"

Maude shifted uncomfortably and glanced at Margot. "We didn't call in the doctor."

"Why ever not? I had a lousy cut on the hand, and you insisted on getting a doctor for me."

"We know it was the sleeping potion," Isobel interrupted, her voice gruff and defensive. "We don't need a doctor to tell us that."

"Are you one hundred percent sure of that?" I asked. "Maybe what is wrong with her is medical and you have left her like this for the last couple of weeks. She could die and it would have absolutely nothing to do with taking an overdose. Ever thought that it could be a stroke or something like that."

For the first time the women looked uncertain. I tried another tack. "Are you one hundred percent sure that this was caused by the sleeping potion and not by some illness?"

All four women shook their heads.

"So, you're not one hundred percent sure what magic was used, but you're confident enough to assume that it isn't something medical." I paused for a moment. "Are any of you a doctor or a nurse? How about an EMT? At this stage I'd even be accepting of basic first aid."

"We'd know," insisted Isobel. "There would have been some sign if it was medical, but we found her in the morning with an empty bottle of the sleeping potion and I know it was full the night before. And then her aura snapped out and enveloped her body. That's always a sign that magic is involved."

I tried a different tack. "Okay, I concede that you would know about potions and spells better than me, but couldn't the doctor tell you what kind of physical effects whatever this is could be having on her body? For all we know, the potion could have caused brain damage." I wondered when I had become so pessimistic. I'd always thought of myself as a glass half full person. Amazing how being kidnapped could change your outlook on life.

The women paused as if considering what I was saying, so I decided to play the next of kin card. "I want the doctor called in."

Maude shook her head. "I don't know whether that is a good idea. We need to keep this as quiet as possible. Flora has kept her position on the Council because she has not shown a moment of weakness since she was thirteen years old. It's why we didn't tell anyone she was having episodes before she took the sleeping potion. If the other coven discovers what has happened to her, they'll make a move against her. We've kept this information strictly between the four of us. We can't trust anyone else."

"You don't trust the doctor you just had sewing up my hand?" I queried.

"Of course, we do, but this is different."

"How? This seems to be a medical emergency. If, as you say, the doctor is bound by the same rules as the rest of the country, he can't say anything."

"I don't like it," stated Isobel.

Of course, she didn't.

Isobel narrowed her eyes. "How do we even know that you're her family? You've never tried to contact her. And then you just turn up when she's at her weakest."

After everything I'd been through today, getting attacked for not contacting Flora was not the way to go. Even Margot winced at Isobel's comment.

"Until about an hour ago, I didn't even know that you people existed. Now I have blue lights running up and down my arm. You either accept that I'm her family or you don't. Just please make a decision because you still haven't fed me, and I just want this done so I can find something to eat."

"I'm calling Dr Collias," announced Tilda as she pulled out her phone. "If we were less worried about protecting the coven and thinking a bit more clearly, we would have done this earlier. I'll make sure he comes alone."

I looked down at Flora's face as Tilda made the call. Maybe this woman was my aunt. If she was, it was my job to keep her safe. Starting now.