Chapter Thirteen
I stared blankly at Jade. “Someone is at the townhouse?”
She let out a loud yowl and pawed at my leg. I held up my hands, trying to placate her.
“Easy! Just…calm down for a second, okay?”
I held a hand to my forehead, my mind racing. There had been an intruder that night shortly after I moved in. Could it be the same person?
“Do you have any idea who it could be?”
Faith’s voice sounded faint with horror. I looked up to see her cheeks draining of color.
“No. But it’s happened before.”
I chewed my lip, trying desperately to figure out what to do. I really didn’t want to go back to the house with just a cat for help, but who knew what the intruder would do if I took too long? My mind flashed back to the first intrusion, to the fact that the trespasser had gone into the basement.
“The door!”
Faith’s expression turned from horror to confusion at my outburst.
“I just remembered the door in the basement,” I explained. “It’s old-fashioned with just a bar thing across it, and it’s got some kind of magical barrier over it. I can’t get inside. The intruder must be after something in that room!”
I looked at Faith sharply when she didn’t say anything. “Do you know what’s in there?”
She shrugged. “A long time ago it was used for coven meetings, but with everything that went down with Chandra, we stopped using it.”
My heart rate sped up. “Was there anything important in there?”
“I don’t know, Sage. It’s been quite a while since I was in Celeste’s house.”
I gave a frustrated groan. “Then, come with me! I need help getting in there, and you’re way better than me at spells.”
Faith turned away, crossing her arms tightly over her torso. “I can’t.”
I stared incredulously at her. “What do you think is going to happen if you go back into town?”
She turned back to me, her expression hard. “I know exactly what will happen. I’m not willing to try it out.”
“Guess I have to do everything on my own,” I grumbled.
Turning on my heel, I flew through the front door, Jade following closely behind.
“She says she worries about me, but when push comes to shove, she can’t be bothered to look out for me or have my back.”
She’ll be killed if she goes into town, Sage.
I took a deep breath, fighting back tears. I knew it wasn’t fair to be mad at Faith for looking out for herself. She’d lost her sister and who knew how many other family members to Chandra’s cruelty.
But at that moment, I felt completely alone. Faith was the only family member I had left besides Tim, and she’d abandoned me to deal with whatever was going on in the house alone.
I briefly toyed with the idea of calling the police but dismissed it quickly. I’d seen their “work” and wanted no part of it.
The house stood quiet and dark. Before going inside, I circled to the back of the house to try the cellar doors. They stood wide open. Turning on my phone flashlight, I peered down inside and saw the wrench I’d used as a temporary lock lying on the cement floor below.
“So they were trying to get into the basement,” I murmured.
Looks that way.
Jade padded over and sat at my heels. Her presence made me feel a little less nervous, but not much. I climbed slowly into the basement. I could tell immediately that the protection around the house had been removed. Cursing under my breath, I made my way to the creepy, wooden door and held out my hand.
The barrier was still there, but it felt different. Touching it again, I closed my eyes and tried to identify the change. Before, I’d felt a sort of jolt when I touched it. It had scared me at first because I didn’t know then that I was a witch.
Now, I realized that the jolt had been recognition. Grandma must have set the original spell on the door, and something deep inside me instinctively knew it was her magic. I didn’t recognize whoever had cast this new spell, however.
With a sigh, I let my hand drop. I trooped over to the cellar doors and climbed out, shutting one and then the other while I climbed back inside. Looking back over at the white door, I rubbed my chin.
“I’ve got to get inside that room, Jade. Whoever keeps breaking in wants something in there. It could be information about my family, or some kind of powerful tool they used or something.”
Jade curled around my ankles, then meowed. It’s a strong barrier.
“Yeah, it is, but this person can evaporate my protection spells like they’re nothing. I’ve got to get better at magic and bust in there because we’re not safe.”
The sheer weight of it all threatened to bury me. I’d felt better after being able to produce a protective barrier around the house, but it must have been weak for someone to get through it so easily. I felt tears rising and desperately tried to push them down, to no avail.
I felt like an idiot crying in front of Jade, but she didn’t say anything, choosing instead to sit quietly by my side.
After several minutes, I dried my tears with my sleeve and forced myself to push away the panic. I had to get inside. I needed spells that could get rid of magical barriers.
