<Chapter Seven: Vix's Revenge

Agatha opens the door to her house and she moves inside the house. The last 24 hours have been anything but ordinary for her and her daughter, Ambrose. Ambrose had gone to visit her father, Maverick, and her step mother Belinda. Agatha, then, got a call informing her that Mayne Island had three witch hunters on the island; they had spotted Belinda and Ambrose and the family required Agatha to cast a spell to fend the hunters off. Of course, Agatha was able to cast a spell that killed the three hunters, but not before one of the hunters shot Belinda with a cross bow. The wound to Belinda's stomach killed her, but not before Belinda said goodbye to Maverick, Vix and made amends with Agatha.

For so many years, Agatha resented the woman that took her husband away from her. The affair between Belinda and Maverick changed Agatha's life forever; the fact that Belinda apologized to her before she died was something that Agatha never thought would happen. At last, Agatha can be at peace with what happened; something, she wishes that could have happened years earlier. Their relationship could have been so different.

What's also weighing on Agatha's mind, is her daughter. Ambrose has never had to endure anything like what she has gone through in the last day. She's never had to see witch hunters on the attack before; she's never had to witness the brutality that can come from hunters. The fact that there are humans out there that make it their quest to hunt witches, just to kill them like a sport, is absolutely horrific. Agatha, being there with Belinda during her final moments, was taken back to the Salem witch trials. Ambrose, however, has never seen such brutality before. Agatha worries about what this will do to her daughter.

"You were awfully quiet on the way home," Agatha finally says something to her daughter as she puts her bag down and turns to face Ambrose.

Ambrose is pale and has dark circles under her eyes. Agatha can tell that her daughter has shed her share of tears and, obviously, did not get a lot of sleep the night before. "Please talk to me, Ambrose," Agatha continues to tell her. "This is not a time for you to shut down and revert into yourself. I need you to tell me what you're thinking and feeling."

Ambrose looks at her mother with sadness in her eyes. "I'm devastated, okay?" she admits to her mother as her lower lip quivers. "Is that what you wanted to hear? Do you want to hear how much I already miss Belinda? Because I do, Mom. She was a good witch. She tried, no she did, teach me so much… It's just not fair that she died. It's not fair!"

Agatha moves closer to her daughter and pulls her into a hug. "I know, my girl," Agatha whispers as she hugs her daughter, who starts to cry a little. "I just hope you, and Axel realize that this is exactly why I've gone to such lengths to keep us a secret. If anyone finds out that we are witches, we will be hunted and I just can't let that happen. I will protect the two of you."

Ambrose exits the embrace from her mother and wipes her eye dry from a tear. "I understand now, more than I ever have before," Ambrose acknowledges to Agatha. "I never, ever thought I would see what I saw. There was so much blood…"

"I know," Agatha replies to her. "Listen, why don't you go up to bed and try to get more sleep. I know you didn't sleep well last night. I will be up shortly with some leech tea."

Ambrose knows better than to argue with her mother, and besides, she is very tired still. "Thank you, Mom," she says before she moves to her bag and picks it up before moving up the stairs to her bedroom.

Agatha finds herself close to tears. She hates that Ambrose had to witness Belinda's death; but she feels justified in her actions keeping her children safe from the evils of the world. "Okay, let me put some water in the kettle so I can make this tea," she whispers to herself, as she collects herself.

She can the front door open as she is running the water. She continues to put the kettle on the stove and turns around and sees Axel moving into the kitchen. As soon as she can see her son, Agatha can sense that something is different with her son. What it is, however, she doesn't know, but she can sense that something is going on with him.

"You're home," Axel says, as he runs his hands through his hair. "When did you guys get home?"

"A few moments ago," Agatha replies to him, studying him to see if she can pick up on the change in her son. "It was a very difficult time on Mayne Island."

"What happened?" he asks her.

Agatha lets out a long sigh and closes her eyes for a moment. "There were three witch hunters on the island. They tracked down Maverick and Belinda's house and they tried to set the house on fire, with all of us inside."

"What the fuck?" Axel asks in complete and utter shock.

"I cast a spell and they were killed but…"

"But? There's a but?"

"I'm afraid so," Agatha says, her eyes locking into her son's. "Belinda was shot by a cross bow. She died last night."

Axel shakes his head in disbelief. He isn't close to Maverick or Belinda but this is the last possible thing he wanted to have happen. He is now worried about his sister because he knows how close Ambrose was to Belinda. "Where's Ambrose? She must be crushed by this."

Agatha nods her head back to him. "She's upstairs trying to get some sleep. I'm going to take her some tea. She's a wreck. She's never experienced the brutality of humans before. Now she knows she understands why I've gone to such lengths to keep our identity a secret for so long."

Axel gulps knowing that he has to tell his mother about his relationship with Reagan. He's become her lover; he's fallen in love with her and he wants to be with her. The only problem is that she is investigating murders that have happened on the island and he knows that eventually, she will uncover the truth. He's convinced himself that if he is the one that tells her the truth first, she will accept it and be able to understand why Agatha has killed in the past. Surely, not all humans can be cold-hearted killers, could they?

"I think we need to talk," Axel says back to his mother, just as the kettle starts to whistle.

"I agree, we do," Agatha replies to him. "But first, I need to get this tea to your sister. And I need to check in on a project that I'm working on. You're not leaving anytime soon, are you?"

Axel shakes his head quickly. "No, not at all. I think this is important."

"Good," Agatha says back to him, as she pours the water into a mug. "I won't be very long."

---

Vix finds a seat on the ferry just before it's about to leave the ferry terminal on Mayne Island. He barely slept a wink the previous night because of his sister's death. He hates that Belinda was killed by the witch hunters; he would give anything to have switched places with her. What really irks him, however, is that Belinda wanted to see Agatha before she died. The last witch to speak directly to Belinda was that bitch, he thinks to himself. The woman who treated his sister like a piece of garbage.

He has replayed everything in his mind all night and he still believes that Agatha is the one responsible for his sister's death.

"She was so cruel to Belinda when she arrived," he whispers to himself. "She refused to work with her in finding the right spell to fend off the hunters. She couldn't get over the fact that Maverick loved Belinda more than her."

"And I vowed to my sister that I would make you pay Agatha," he continues to whisper to himself. "If it's the last thing I ever do, I will make you pay for what you did to her. And I know just where to start," he says to himself as he gets a sly grin on his face.

---

Reagan can't take the smile off her face as she drinks her morning coffee. The previous night was more than she had ever expected it to be. After she was awoken by some weird dream, she called Axel over and the two ended up making love for the first time. It was the most magical night of her life, she thinks to herself.

"I never thought I'd find love when I came to Pender Island," she says to herself. "But he makes me feel like no one else ever has."

She looks out the window at the ocean. It's a calm day and the tide is out right now, making the bay very muddy. She still thinks the sight is beautiful. Although, the way she's feeling right now, nothing could bring her down.

She looks over her shoulder when she hears the doorbell ring. She gets a slight grin on her face, wondering if Axel is coming back for more already. She sets her coffee mug down and moves quickly to the door. When she opens it, she's somewhat surprised to see Jake Matthews standing on the other side of the door.

"Mr. Matthews, this is a surprise," she says to him, as she observes that he is wearing the same white shirt and blue jeans that he was the last time that she saw him.

"Please call me Jake," he smiles back to her. "Do you mind if I come in?"

"Oh, uh, of course not, please," Reagan says as she lets him into the house. "What brings you by this morning?"

"I was just on a morning walk and decided it was time we got to know each other a little bit better," he says back to her, as her eye catches the ring on his left ring finger. "I'd like to know everything there is to know about my new neighbour."

Reagan arches her eyebrow and chuckles a little. "Well, I don't know where to begin…"

"From the start…" he suggests to her as he moves into the living room and sits on the sofa, making himself comfortable, as Reagan watches him and gulps at the odd stranger.

---

Agatha closes the door to Ambrose's bedroom, still feeling horrible for what her daughter is going through. She knows, however, that with time Ambrose will be okay. In some ways, this is exactly the dose of reality that her children have needed to make them realize that what she has been doing to protect them all of these years.

She looks over at her spell room and knows that she wants to check in with Jake Matthews to get an update on what, exactly, Reagan Blackmore has uncovered in her investigation into the murders on the island but she also knows that Axel wants to speak to her. She was going to check in with Jake first but she decides that she wants to talk to her son before she checks in on Reagan. After all, she doesn't really think that Reagan has uncovered very much in the last day since she has been gone. Dealing with her son can take top priority.

Agatha moves down the stairs and sees Axel sitting out on the deck with a beer in his hand. She still believes that something has changed with her son, but what, she has no idea. "There's only one way to find out," she says to herself as she moves to the patio door and opens it. Stepping out into the sun, she looks at her son, "Beautiful day."

"It really is," he says back to her. "Can I get you anything?"

"No," she shakes her no. "Let's have that conversation that we were talking about earlier. What's going on with you?"

Axel looks back at his Mom and bites his lower lip a little. He knows that when he tells his mother that he has fallen in love with Reagan that she won't be impressed; just the opposite actually. He knows Agatha hates humans because of the threat they pose, or supposed pose.

"I've been seeing a lot of Reagan Blackmore," he finally replies to her, as she looks back at him with an arched eyebrow. "Mom, I'm in love with her."

Agatha blankly stares back at him, not really sure she understands what he is telling her. "The woman whom is investigating the murders on the island, the murders I've committed, you've in love with her? Did I just hear that correctly?"

"I know this hard for you to understand Mom," he says back to her. "But Reagan, she's different. She's not like other humans. She's sweet and caring and generous, I really think that if we told her the truth, she wouldn't say anything. I think she's in love with me too."

"Your sister just saw her step mother be shot and killed by a human being Axel," Agatha sternly tells him. "And you're asking me to reveal our secret to another human because you think you're in love with her? Have you lost your mind?"

"I don't think I'm in love with Mom, I know I am. I love Reagan and I know she will accept us as who we are. She's different."

"I can't listen to any of this Axel," Agatha replies to him as she stands up. "You will not see that girl again, do I make myself clear?"

"I will see whoever I want, whenever I want," Axel says to her, standing up for himself. "You're not going to keep me from the woman I love."

"She could destroy us Axel," Agatha yells back at him. "And when I say destroy, I mean kill us. Go ask your sister what it was like seeing Belinda die. GO!"

"Reagan is not a witch hunter!" Axel protests back to her.

Agatha moves closer to him and glares into his eyes. "Let me say this to you one more time," she says in cold, stern tone. "You are not to see that girl again or so help me, I won't be responsible for my actions…"

---

Reagan uneasily blushes at Jake as he asks her to start at the beginning of her life to tell him about herself. She doesn't know why but she feels incredibly uncomfortable around her neighbour. Maybe it's the way that he looks at her, maybe it's the way he speaks; something is very off with him.

"I guess I am from Vancouver," she manages to say, even though she wishes she had a way to get rid of the creepy guy. Before she can say anything else, the doorbell rings again. She feels herself breathe a sigh of relief as she turns around and moves towards the door. "Excuse me for a moment," she says as she walks to the door and opens it. She sees a man on the other side of the door, in which she doesn't recognize the face.

"May I help you?" she asks the man.

"Are you Reagan Blackmore?" the man asks her.

Reagan nods back to him. "I am. And you are?"

"Vix," he announces to her. "Vix Lenox. I need to speak to you immediately, it can't wait. May I come in?"

Reagan arches her eyebrow to the stranger but finds herself opening the door more to him. "I'm just in the middle of something," she says as she turns around and sees the empty room. Where did Jake go? She thinks to herself, as she looks at Vix. "Never mind, how can I help you Mr. Lenox?"

"I have some information for you," Vix tells her as he looks back at her. "It's about Agatha Watkins. I think you'll be very interested in hearing what I have to tell you."

---

Agatha focuses on her caldron in her spell room as she grabs the lips of the caldron. Soon, the white smoke starts to escape the caldron and when it clears, she looks inside and she can see Jake Matthews; the bloody version that she remembers from the night that she killed him.

"I need an update and I need it know. Things are more complicated than I ever had anticipated them to be," Agatha speaks into the caldron to the reincarnation of Jake.

Jake looks back at her and nods. "Reagan is certainly a clever woman," he replies to the witch.

"Tell me what's going on?"

"She found a picture of you in the attic of the house," he reports back to her.

"Damn it," Agatha whispers to herself. "I thought I took everything out of there."

"Axel spent the night last night," Jake continues to tell her the update of what's been happening. "It was more than just a sleep over, if you catch my drift."

Agatha waves her hand in the air at him, not needing all of the details. "What else? Is there anything else that I need to know?"

"Just one more thing," he says back to her. "A man visited her today."

"A man? Who? What was his name?"

"Vix Lenox," Jake Matthew replies to her as Agatha looks up, wondering why Vix would have travelled to Pender Island to visit Reagan.

---

Axel bangs on the front door of Reagan's house. He is desperate to see her after his conversation with his mother. How could she be so cruel and demand that he never see her again? What part of the fact that he is in love with Reagan, doesn't she understand? All he knows, all he wants, is that he has to see Reagan now. Somehow, he believes, that she will make everything okay again.

He continues to bang on the door. "Reagan! It's me! I need to see you…" he yells, but no one comes to the door.

He finally looks at the door handle and turns it; the door opens as it is not locked. He moves inside the house and looks around but he doesn't see Reagan. "Reagan? It's Axel, I need to see you!"

Before he knows what is happening, Reagan appears at the top of the stairs with a suitcase in her hand. She looks at him, somewhat scared of what she sees. "What are you doing here?"

"I needed to see you; you won't believe the day I've had…" he begins to tell her before he finally sees the suitcase next to her. "Wait, where are you going?"

"I need to get home. I need to go home and see my parents," she tells him as she quickly moves down the stairs.

"Why? Where is this coming from?"

"I know, Axel," she says to him, not looking him in the eyes. "I know everything! I just have to get off this island and see my parents. I can't stay here, not now…"

"You know everything?" he asks her, confused by what is happening. There's no way that she could have learned the truth since he left her last, is there?

She nods back to him. "I can't stay here and I can't do…this," she tells him. "I have a flight on the next float plane back to Vancouver."

"Reagan…" he begins to say as she reaches the door. "What about … us?"

"There can never be an us, Axel… don't you understand that? I can't be with … a witch…" she glares back to him, as his heart breaks in his chest. "I have to go," she whispers as she feels disgusted by what she has been sucked into.

"But Reagan," he says as she leaves the house. "I love you!"

Reagan doesn't turn around to respond to Axel. He soon sees her get into her car and speed away, clearly wanting to get off Pender Island quickly. He feels himself start to breath heavily; he feels like he could be suffocating; he's never experienced such heartbreak before in his life. He turns around and picks up the coffee table and smashes it up against the wall, taking his frustrations out on the piece of furniture.

"Ahhhh!" he screams, devastated by what has just happened as he feels like his life has just gone up into flames.

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