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"That was absolutely delicious," Vix announces to Belinda, Ambrose and Maverick as the family just finished eating dinner that Belinda put together made for them. He is trying to be on his best behaviour since he feels like he may be in the dog house for ruining Ambrose's spell earlier in the day. "Thank you Vix," Belinda replies to her brother, but she looks over at Ambrose. She recalls how she was close to teaching Ambrose a very simple spell but Vix walked in and interrupted the spell, causing Ambrose to lose interest in completing the spell itself. She knows that she has to get Ambrose back into the spell room if she wants her step daughter to continue to grow as a witch. The problem that Belinda sees is that Ambrose is very stubborn, much like her mother Agatha. She is also very insecure in her spell casting abilities; the only way to get over this is for Ambrose to practice more, Belinda believes. "So, Ambrose," Maverick says to her daughter. "I think you and Belinda should go back to practicing your spells. I know that you were very close to completing one earlier today," he says to his daughter, trying to encourage her.. "You don't know how proud I am of you for doing that." Ambrose gets a slight grin on her face. "Thank you Dad," she says back to him. "I think it was going well, I just … I'm beginning to think there will never be a good time for me to really learn how to cast a spell." "Nonsense," Belinda replies to her. "You were doing a good job. It's a shame that we were interrupted," her eyes focus in on her brother, as he walked in when she was mid-casting the relatively easy spell. "Hey, I'm sorry," Vix says putting his hands up, starting to feel awful for what he has said. "It's not my fault that she struggles putting together a fricken chant. Some witches are not naturals at casting spells. Maybe it's time we all…" "Enough!" Maverick's booming voice announces, not willing to hear Vix put Ambrose down. "You are a guest in this house Vix and as long as my daughter is here, you will show her respect." "Where is Ms. Frisky?" Belinda asks, trying to change the subject from Ambrose's spell casting abilities. "I haven't seen my kitty all day. She must be busy outside looking for mice. She's something else, I'll tell you." "I think I should head down to the pub and have a couple of beers," Vix replies as he stands up. "I won't be too late." Vix moves quickly to the door and looks back one final time before he leaves the house. Belinda waits until she hears the front door close before she looks over at Ambrose. "He didn't mean it," she says to Ambrose, trying to save face for her brother. "I think he did," she whispers back to them, clearly upset by Vix's words. "I'm not good at this spell casting thing and maybe it's time I give it up." "I won't have any of that kind of talk," Belinda says back to her, as she moves some of her red hair out of her face. "I have an idea," she says getting a grin on her face. "Down by the water, I set a rat trap. Let's go and get it, together. We can come back here … you know, there's nothing better than fresh rat eyes in the wickedly good spell!" Maverick puts his hand on his wife's shoulders, sensing how excited she is. "I know you're excited dear, but this has to be Ambrose's doing," he turns his attention to his daughter. "So, Ambrose, what do you say? Do you want to do another spell lesson?" Ambrose looks at Maverick and can see how proud of her he is. She moves her eyes over to Belinda, who still looks very excited. She starts to nod her head. "I'll give it another shot," she says back to her. "How about it, Belinda? Let's go get the rat trap?" Belinda claps her hand together and lets out a chuckle. "Fabulous!" --- Reagan slowly walks up the latter moving closer to the attic of the house. She was at home and thinking about where she could start her investigation for her thesis statement when she realized that being in the house where some of the murders have occurred could help her uncover something for her research. As soon as she located the attic, she knew that she had to go into the space to look around. She pushes hard on the attic door and it opens. She pokes her head inside the dusty space and quickly grabs the flashlight that she has in her pocket. She turns it on and sets it on the ground before she lifts herself up into the attic. She picks up the flashlight and looks around the room. She quickly sees a cord dangling from the roof. When she pulls it, an overhead light turns on lighting the entire attic. She is finally able to see the full attic space. Whoever lived in the house previously, left some boxes in the attic. She moves closer to the shelf where the boxes. The first box has a label on it that reads "Christmas decorations". The box next to it reads "Camping Supplies". She is about to open the box when she sees something on floor under the shelf. She bends down and picks up what appears to be an old photograph. She wipes off the dust off the picture and is startled by what she sees. "I think that's…" she begins to say as she moves the picture closer to her face, so she can get a better look. "My goodness, it is … it's Agatha." She looks at the picture again before she looks up, her mind suddenly racing about how and why a picture of Axel's mother, the woman who sold her and her family this very house, would be in her attic. Not only that, but the picture is very old. It is another question that she would like the answer to. Behind her, Jake Matthews watches her every move. He can see that she is holding a photograph with Agatha in it. He knows what he has to do; he has to tell Agatha what has happened. As he fades away into the air, Reagan turns around thinking she can hear something. "Whose there?" she asks, looking into an empty space. She shakes her head, when she realizes that she is alone. "I'm just imagining things." --- Mayne Island only has one pub on it; it's located just off the smallest of three marina's. Just to the left of it, there is also a small camp ground there for some people that don't want to pay the hotel fees. Inside the pub, Vix takes a drink of his beer as he sits at the bar. He knows that he puts his foot in his mouth at dinner earlier but in his mind, if Ambrose hasn't learned how to cast a spell by this point in her life, she may probably never will. Part of his resentment stems from Ambrose's mother; he has never been a fan of Agatha. "But I'm the one that gets called out because I speak my mind…" he says to himself as he takes another swig of his beer. He's often felt like the outside in the family because of his outspoken ways. Belinda has a better way of expressing herself, he thinks to himself. "Whatever, they will get over it eventually. And if not, I just won't visit for a while," he says to himself with a slight smirk, taking another swig of his beer, which finishes his pint. He orders another beer and out of the corner of his eye, he can see three men enter the bar. Immediately, his intuition goes off with the three men and it's not good. They are all wearing tight, black tank tops and black jeans. Their large muscles are bulging as they find a table and wait for the waitress to come over. One of the abilities that Vix has as a witch, is that he has very good hearing; he can hear almost anything he wants too, if he applies himself. He focuses on the bottle cap on the bar and suddenly he can hear everything that is being said that the table where the three men are sitting, as though he was sitting there himself. "We need to focus," one of the men says to the other two. "We know that there are witches on Mayne Island, all of our research has said so." "There's only so many places that they can hide on this damn island," the second hunter says to them. "We have to be proactive. If they know we are here, they will go into hiding." "We have to carry our cross bows with us at all time because as soon as we see them, I want to kill them. Those witches need to die," the third hunter says to the men, as the other two agree. "I'm not leaving without a trophy to show everyone." "We will kill the witches," the first guy says to them with a grin on his face. "If it's the last thing I do, we will kill them." Vix picks up his beer and tries to calm himself down. He knows that he has to get back to the house and warn Maverick, Belinda and Ambrose that there are hunters on the island. They have to be prepared to fight the hunters if they find them. He slowly gets up and makes his way out of the bar, hoping not to draw too much attention to himself. Once he's outside, he takes a deep breath, trying to stay calm. "I have to get home," he whispers to himself. "I have to warn them. The sooner we are prepared, the better." --- Reagan picks up her cell phone and quickly types a text message to Axel asking him to come by the house in an hour or so. She needs to ask the young man exactly what is going on with his mother; she still needs to know why there would be a picture of Agatha in the attic of this house, where the some of the murders on the island took place. Something in the pit of Reagan's stomach is telling her that something is off and she needs answers. Another part of her is excited about her thesis paper. Before Axel can come over, however, she needs to have a shower. The attic was so dusty, she just wants to crawl into the shower and feel fresh again. She slowly takes off her dress and her naked body is caressed by the moon light coming into the master bedroom. She has been sleeping in the master bedroom since her parents are not staying with her full time right now. She moves her naked body from the master bedroom into the large washroom that is attached to the room. The large shower in the washroom is enclosed by a glass wall, which allows all the natural light from the sky light into the shower. Reagan steps into the hot water and loves the feeling of it. She starts to touch her body with a bar of soap. As she lathers her body, she shuts her eyes, enjoying her shower. Jake steps into the bathroom and watches the young woman shower. He finds himself enjoying the sight of her naked body, slowly caressing herself with the soap. The water hitting her body creates a glistening glow. He moves up against the wall and feels himself growing erect by the vision of her. His hand moves down to his pants and he unzips them, finding his manhood once again. Reagan opens her eyes and quickly turns around, having the feeling that someone is watching her. This has been happening more and more frequently, where she thinks she's being watched. She doesn't see anything, however. She shakes her head. "It's just my imagination," she whispers to herself. "I'm just over thinking with everything going on with this investigation." --- "Come on, the trap is down here," Belinda says to Ambrose, as she is trying to be as quiet as she possibly can be despite her bracelets clacking together. The two left the house after dinner to see if the rat trap that Belinda set a few days earlier has caught anything. Belinda thought it would be good for Ambrose to get out after Vix put her down with her lack of ability to cast spells. Belinda knows that with a little encouragement, Ambrose will be able to cast many different spells. She just needs encouragement. Ambrose tries to stop herself from walking too quickly down the steep hill. She looks out at the water, which is lite by the large full moon in the sky. The air is still warm on this summer evening as well. She thinks that the setting is beautiful, with the calm waves crashing into the beach. "Are you sure that we won't been seen?" she asks her step mother, knowing that no one can spot them or it could give them away. Belinda reaches the bottom of the hill and looks up at Ambrose, who finally reaches her as well. Belinda puts her finger over her mouth, indicating for Ambrose to be quiet. "Do you hear that?" Belinda asks with a slight twinkle in her eye. Ambrose shakes her head no. "I don't hear anything but the waves of the ocean," she whispers back. "Exactly!" Belinda replies to her, excited about finding the rat trap. "There's no one here. We'll just go get the trap and head back to the house. There's nothing to worry about." "Okay, let's go!" Ambrose says to her, starting to get excited as well. On a small boat anchored at the end of the dock, one of the hunters puts on his night vision glasses. He turns them on and can see everything in a bright green light. He gasps a little when he sees Belinda and Ambrose moving over to the rat trap. Belinda picks it up and he can see her point to each rat, getting more giddy as she looks at each one. He pulls off his glasses and whistles; the other two hunters emerge from the lower deck of the boat. "I found them…" he says in a whisper as a wicked grin comes across his face. "I found the witches; there's two of them." --- "Where are the girls?" Vix asks Maverick, as he rushes into the house in a panic. Maverick looks up from his whiskey and arches his eyebrow. When Vix left, Maverick was under the assumption that it would be much longer before he would return. After all, he had insulted Ambrose which was frowned down upon. "They went out," Maverick replies to him. "You look like you're catching your breath. What's going on, Vix? Why the hurry?" Vix looks at him with intent. "You're not going to like this Maverick, but there are witch hunters on the island. I saw them at the pub. We have to warn the girls quickly. We have to be prepared…" Maverick stands up and looks at Vix. "Are you sure about this?" "I'm not wrong. We have to warn Belinda and Ambrose! There's three of them and they want blood - our blood." "I was afraid of this," Maverick says under his breath, knowing the whispers of hunters being on the Island is now confirmed. "We have to be ready for this." "Where are you going?" Vix asks Maverick as he starts to move upstairs. "To find a spell that Belinda will have to cast…we have to do something to get the hunters off our trail. We have to do something until the women get back." --- "I'm glad that you come by this evening," Reagan says to Axel, as he comes into the house. "I know it's late but I really needed to see you." Axel smiles at Reagan and knows that he's secretly thrilled that she asked him over. He and Agatha had an intense conversation about Axel's budding relationship with Reagan so him leaving the house was exactly what he needed to do. Getting to see Reagan, is an added bonus. "Hey, you call and I come running," he winks at her, not realizing how serious the conversation could become. "How's your evening been?" "Interesting to say the least," Reagan replies to him. "Can I get you anything?" He moves closer to and gives her a quick kiss on her lips. After the part, he smiles to her. "I think that's all I really need." She purses her lips together. "You're sweet, but that's not why I asked you to come over tonight." Axel arches his eyebrow and moves to the sofa where he sits down. "So, what's up? Clearly something is going on with you." "I started my research for my thesis," she admits to him as she moves to the sofa. "I learned that some of the murders happened in this house," she starts to explain to him. "So, I got to thinking, what if there was some information about the murders here in the house." Axel feels his heart start to race a little, nervous about what Reagan could have found in the house. He is sure that Agatha cleared the house out when they moved; there's no way she would leave any evidence in the house. "So, what did you find?" he asks her, his voice cracking a little. "This," Reagan says as she picks up the picture she found in the attic from the coffee table. "It's a picture I found in the attic. It looks like it's of your mother. Why would there be an old picture of your mother in the attic of this house?" Axel gulps and looks at the picture. There's no denying that the picture is of Agatha. What Axel notices, however, that Reagan hasn't seen yet, is that there is a caldron in the picture as well. If she saw the caldron, she could start putting all the pieces together. He knows that everything could slowly be unravelling. "I…" he stutters, trying to think of something to say but he's unable too. "I don't know." She looks at him and can tell that he is nervous about something. "I didn't think you'd know for sure," she tells him, believing that he doesn't have any idea about the picture. "But, maybe, you could ask your Mom about it and let me know? I'd love to get some of the information for my thesis paper." He looks at her and nods back to her, secretly wondering how to handle all of this. "Yea, sure, of course. I can go right now, if you'd like." She smiles back to him. "Sure, I'll wait here until you get back." --- "You won't believe how many rats we trapped!" Belinda excitedly announces as she and Ambrose enter the house and see Maverick and Vix inside, huddled closely together. Belinda puts the trap down when she sees how serious the men's faces are. "Why are you so serious? What's going on?" she asks them, sensing something is going on. Vix looks at his sister and dreads what he is about to tell her. "There's no easy way to say this but…" "There are witch hunters on the island," Maverick informs her and Ambrose, who covers her mouth in horror. "That's impossible," Belinda replies, trying to stay strong even though she's terrified. "Tell me this isn't true!" "We don't have time to dispute this claim," Maverick tells her. "We have to act and we have to act now. We have to be ready, we have to have the perfect spell to cast on them if they find us. We don't have time to waste here!" "My father is right," Ambrose says to everyone. "We have to be ready for when the hunters arrive, and we have to believe that they will." Maverick takes a sip of his whiskey and he looks over at his wife, daughter and brother in law. He knows what he wants to do but he knows that everyone, especially Belinda will not be happy with what he is about to suggest but they really don't have any other options. "What are you thinking Maverick? I can see it all over your face that you have a plan," Belinda tells her husband, as she comes up to him. "I think we should call Agatha," he reveals to her. "She casts spells better than anyone here. We need the best to fight the hunters." Belinda's eyes open in horror. "You don't trust my casting abilities? You can't be serious about this." "Now is not the time for pride to get in the way! We have to act quickly Belinda. Agatha is the best, and we need the best right now," Maverick replies to her. She turns her back on her husband and shuts her eyes. She pushes her big red hair out of her face. "Ambrose," she finally says as she exhales. "Call your mother, please." --- Axel opens the door to the house, dreading the conversation he is about to have with his mother because he knows that she will worry about Reagan uncovering the truth about the family being witches now that she has found an old picture of Agatha at the house. He hopes that he can make his mother understand that killing Reagan is not the answer; he can't lose the woman that is falling in love with. He won't lose her. He looks around the house and doesn't see his mother. He wonders where she could be as she normally doesn't go out this late at night. "Mom," he calls out into the large house. "Are you home?" "Axel?" Agatha says as she rushes down the stairs holding a bag in her hand. "I'm glad that I got to see you before I left. There isn't much time." "Left? Where are you going? What's the rush?" he asks her, having never seen her in such a rushed state. "There's no easy way to tell you this," she says, stopping and looking at him. "There are hunters on Mayne Island. I'm going to help Maverick and Ambrose fight them off. They need me to cast a spell to fend off the hunters." Axel shakes his head, worried about Ambrose's safety. He won't mention Reagan or the photograph right now; it's not the best time. He will when Agatha gets home and everyone is safe, he thinks to himself. "Do what you have to do, just be careful Mom," Axel says as he comes up and hugs her. "Don't let anything happen to you or Ambrose." Agatha smiles at the feeling of her son's arms around her. "Don't you worry my boy, everything will work out the way it's supposed too." --- Reagan yawns a little and looks at her watch. It's getting late and she's beginning to think that Axel won't be back tonight to give her the information about the picture. "Well, no harm if I wait until the morning," she whispers to herself. "I'm exhausted." She stands up and walks slowly the stairs and moves into her master bedroom. As she lays down in the bed, she finds herself falling asleep rather quickly, tired from her day's events. Jake moves into the bedroom and watches her sleep. As he watches her sleep, he recalls watching her in the shower earlier…and he finds himself getting erect all over again. He licks his lips a little and moves closer to bed, watching her sleep in the large bed alone. |
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