CHAPTER TWO
The next morning Leah woke in bed alone with a sticky note from Reid stuck to the purple lampshade next to her bed. Leah smiled and plucked the bright blue sticky note from the lamp and read it. LEFT ROUND 130 SWEET DREAMS ANGEL, he'd even drawn a crude looking heart next to her nickname.
He was such a loser, no matter how cool he claimed to be or tired to act in front of strangers he was still the same dorky nine year old who would hum songs from Hercules without realizing despite claiming he hated the movie and he only saw it half a dozen times because Leah had made him watch it. And yet, Leah mused as she tossed her legs over the side of her bed, the large shirt she'd stolen from Pogue hitting her mid thigh, I still love him.
Caleb was in the kitchen when Leah walked in, smiling and humming Lifehouse's You and Me, his bowl of Captain Crunch completely forgotten as he stared blankly at the front page of the local paper.
"Morning Caleb?" Leah's smiled dimmed slightly as she leaned on the other side of the round kitchen table, her eyebrows raised, "Everything okay?" Caleb slowly lifted his eyes to grimly look at Leah.
"Cops found a kid in the Dells last night," Caleb said as he slid the Ipswitch Post across the table.
SPENCER STUDENT FOUND DEAD Leah read the bolded headline.
"Jesus," Leah looked at her brother as she flipped to page seven, "Do we know the kid?" Caleb shook his head.
"He was a new transfer student."
"Okay, well listen this is going to sound mean but if we didn't know him what's with the face McBroody?" Caleb's fingers scrapped across his scalp.
"Someone used last night," Caleb said, "It woke me up out of a dead sleep." Leah's brows furrowed together.
"Since when can you tell when the others use?" She questioned. The boys had never before been able to tell when another was using unless they say the flash of the eyes.
Caleb shrugged. He was quite for a minute, his nails scrapped against his scalp.
"What time did Reid leave?" Caleb asked Leah. Leah, as the question processed through her brain, froze.
"You don't think-Reid didn't kill the kid." Caleb's eyes widened.
"No! Leah I didn't mean-"
"And what has the two of you up so early?" The scratchy, groggy voice of Mrs. Elaine Danvers questioned from behind Leah. Caleb looked away from his sister and Leah turned around in her chair to see their mother leaning against the frame of the archway, a glass of scotch already in her hand.
"Mother," Leah said, her voice lacking enthusiasm, "You're awake." Leah almost wanted to say something about how she suspected her mother would once again spend the day in bed in a hangover induced coma; but before she could Caleb, with a sharp look, kicked her.
"Morning mother," Caleb nodded.
"My baby boy," Elaine sighed blissfully, ignoring Leah like usual. Leah rolled her eyes as she got up from her seat and went over to the fridge and pulled out the carton of eggs and the stick of butter.
"Mother I think you're forgetting to say good morning to someone," Caleb mediated. Elaine Danvers sighed, as if saying good morning to her daughter was the last thing on her mind. Leah smiled at her brother, at least she'd always have him in her corner.
"Mother," Caleb chastised. Leah started up the stove as their mother moved from the archway to the table.
"What?" Elaine asked, taking Leah's seat, "Should I be happy to see the child who constantly disobeys me by sneaking out?"
Leah turned to her mother and glared, "It wasn't as if I went out and got knocked up I was with Caleb and the boys the whole time."
"You still deliberately disobeyed me," Elaine snapped back. Her fingers rising to rub against her temples. Caleb looked at Leah, who promptly ignored his pleading gaze in favor of glaring harshly at the burning butter, Why do they have to argue so early in the morning? The witch boy wondered.
"Yeah well if you had your way I'd never leave the manor grounds," Leah muttered.
"What's so bad about that?" Elaine questioned exasperated.
"Maybe the fact that I want a life?" Leah wanted to go to school like a normal girl and have more friends outside of her brother and the covenant, and she wanted to go to sleepovers and for once she wanted to hear her mother say the words 'I love you'.
"Oh trust me dear," Elaine said dryly, "You do not want that."
"Well I think it should be up to me to decided," Leah snapped, cracking an egg.
"Yes well thankfully I'm the adult." Elaine stood up, swaying as she did, unsteady on her feet. She turned to Caleb, "Have a wonderful my baby boy." She turned to Leah and said nothing before wandering out of the kitchen. When she was gone and neither Leah or Caleb could hear their mother's footsteps Leah let out a frustrated growl.
"You know it's the alcohol Leah," Caleb said getting up from his chair. Leah shrugged.
"Please she hated me when Dad was around."
"She doesn't hate you, you're her daughter." That didn't mean much; Leah shrugged dejectedly and flipped her eggs. Caleb set his bowl in the sink.
"Would it make you feel better if I let you come see dad with me?" He asked. Leah perked up. Caleb hated taking Leah to see their father because he hated Leah seeing their father, at age fifty, withered and ancient looking. It was horrifying.
"Really?" Caleb nodded, Leah beamed and through her arms around her brother, hugging him tightly.
"Leah," Caleb said, "Your eggs are burning."
"Shit!"
The Danvers siblings had left nearly two hours later. The pair of them racing down the road in Caleb's Escalade, Leah stretched out in the back seat and Caleb talking to Pogue about what assumed was Reid; despite Leah's protests.
"What makes you think it was Reid?" Pogue said through the phone.
"It wasn't Reid," Leah said for the millionth time.
Caleb shot her a look through the rear view mirror, "It's always him but I've never felt it when one of us has used the power before have you?"
"No. Maybe it was cause you're so close to ascending?" Pogue theorized.
Caleb shook his head, "I don't know. Maybe it was strong enough to wake me out of a dead sleep."
Leah rolled her head back against the window. "You know," she heard Pogue say through the phones speaker, "He's only using the power because he's jealous you're accenting first." Leah nodded at Pogues words, and also noted that Reid used the way he did because he liked the attention.
"I don't know-Jesus!" Leah's eyes flashed open and she screamed at the sight of the dead Spencer student sitting in the passenger seat, blue and cloudy eyed. The dead boy shook his head feverishly, his mouth opening and his lips sticking together like glue.
"Caleb!" Pogue shouted only to be drowned out by the sound of a logging trucks horn.
Leah lunged forward and grabbed her brothers shoulders. His eyes flashed a dark black seconds before they exploded into a fiery mass of car parts. Only to quickly reassemble on the other side of the truck. Long logs fell off the truck as Caleb and Leah skidded out, Pogue yelling at one of the to pick up the phone.
Leah shaking, as Caleb reached for his phone, rolled down her window and practically through half her body out of it as she vomited.
"Caleb what's going on man?"
"I-Lean and I. We just saw a darkling. It was in the form of that dead kid they found in the Dells." Leah slunk back into the car and held herself, she stared at the spot the darkling had been.
Darkling's were omens. They were sent to people by witches who intended to murder them. Leah shook as she remembered what she had read about them; they were evil pieces of magic, only those with darkened hearts- no heart, those who were truly evil -could send one.
"I saw his picture in the paper but who'd send you a darkling?"
"I have no idea but something is wrong I can feel it," Caleb gasped and nodded. "Look we got to talk to Reid tonight. Ask Leah if he's going to Nicky's."
Leah to shaken to tell Pogue that there was no need to talk to Reid cause he wouldn't send them a darkling just nodded.
"Yeah."
"Good the we'll see him then," Pogue said.
"Definitely," Caleb agreed before hanging up and putting his phone in the console. He turned to Leah.
"You alright?" Leah nodded, though it was clear to see she was still shaken.
"You?" She asked quietly. Caleb nodded, obviously lying too. They sat there for, in the car on the side of the road, just breathing for a few moments. Caleb used the napkins he kept in the drivers side door to dab at the sweat that had accumulated on his face and neck and Leah, lifting her water bottle to her lips, rinsed and spit out the window.
When Caleb started the car neither of them spoke. In fact neither of them spoke for the rest of the twenty minute journey to the town drug store.
When they pulled up Caleb looked at Leah.
"Do you want to come in or stay in the car?" He asked her.
"I'll come in," Leah said getting out of the car. Caleb tucked her under his arm, bringing her securely to his side. The almost crash still flashing in both their minds.
The pharmacist, Lenny, a balding forty something smiled at the two Danvers siblings as they walked in. They stood at the pharmacy window, looking tired. Leah was glad she had stopped shaking.
"Caleb, Leah, lovely to see you too."
"You two Lenny," Leah smiled shyly.
"I'll have your prescription ready in a few minutes."
"It's no rush," Caleb said, "We're in no rush." Lenny smiled at the two teens as they leaned against the counter.
"You know it wasn't Reid, right?" Leah whispered in Caleb's ear.
"Leah," he sighed but Leah shook her head.
"No Caleb I'm serious, it wasn't him. It couldn't have been. I know Reid better than anyone and okay so he's a show off and a jerk at times but he wouldn't send a darkling. Not when he knows what it means." Caleb pressed his lips together and sighed.
"I'm still going to ask him about it." Leah nodded.
"Just don't accuse him."
"Here you go Caleb, Leah." The pharmacist handed over a bag of pills for their father. Though all the mortal man knew it was for their family's groundskeeper.
"Hey Leah, Caleb." The pair turn around to see Kate.
"Hey Kate," Leah smiled.
"What are you up too?" Caleb wondered.
"Just stocking up outer room," she answered. She leaned in, "Did you hear about the dead kid?" Leah froze remembering the darkling. Thankfully Caleb didn't.
"Yeah," he nodded. "Yeah I did."
"Did you know him?" She wondered.
Caleb shook his head, Leah stepped out from under her brother's arm, "No, no, I didn't. He just transferred in."
"I heard he lived on Reid and Tyler's floor."
"Hey there." Caleb and Leah turned around and saw Sarah, smiling up at Caleb. Caleb shifted from foot to foot, smiling like a dork. Leah rolled her eyes when Chase, wearing heart shaped sunglasses jumped out from behind the isle next to them, shouting a lame sounding 'Boo'.
Though Leah, jumping back to into her brothers chest screamed all the same. Caleb set his hands on Leah's shoulders firmly.
"Geeze City," Chase said apologetically, taking off the glasses, "I didn't mean to actually to scare you."
"Since when are you jumpy Leah?" Kate asked.
"I just, I had a nightmare last night. Guess I'm still pretty jumpy." Sarah nodded her head in understanding. Chase stuck his hand out for Caleb.
"Hey man."
"Hey."
"Well I'm going to see if a Pogue wants to catch the new Brad Pitt flick. Who else wants to go?"
"I will," Chase said. Caleb and Sarah shared a look that made Leah want to simultaneously barf and coo.
"Leah and I have to run some errands for our mother," Caleb said.
"I already saw it," Sarah said. Katie looked at Leah.
"I'm going to stick with Caleb. You know how my mother is." Katie nodded understandingly. Though Leah turned to Sarah with a coy smile.
"Do you feel like running errands with us? More the merrier and all that." Sarah's face heated up.
"Sure."
"Cool." Leah hugged Kate tightly and turned to Chase and smiled,
"Nice seeing you again Cowboy." Leah smiled friendly. Kate's eyebrows shot up as she shared a look with Sarah. Chase smiled back.
"You two Leah, and really I'm sorry for scaring you." Leah waved him off.
"It's cool, no harm no fowl." And with that Caleb lead Leah, who trailed behind him and Sarah out of the pharmacy.
"So Sarah," Leah asked as they all buckled, in, "Are you excited to start Spencer?"
"Yeah, kind of nervous too though."
"Yeah why's that?" Caleb wondered. Sarah shrugged, as the car started and they peeled out of the tiny parking lot.
"First day jitters and all, you know?"
"Nope," Leah snorted dryly. Sarah turned around and looked at Leah questioned.
"I'm home schooled," Leah answered the implied question. Sarah turned to Caleb,
"But you're not?" Caleb nodded.
"Yeah. Our mothers just a little bit overprotective when it comes to Leah."
"A little bit?" She scoffed, "If it were up to my mother I'd be chained in the basement never to leave."
"That's an over exaggeration." Leah leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms. "She wouldn't chain you up in the basement," Caleb smiled. Both Leah and Sarah chuckled.
"Well I guess that just means I'll have to make sure I have time so we can hang out." Leah looked at Sarah doubtfully.
"Really?" No one had ever made the conspicuous decision to be her friend. The boys were her friends because of their families, sure Reid was her best friend but if it weren't for their families then Leah highly doubted he'd have even ever have looked at her. Not even Kate hung out with Leah on her own, it was more whenever Pogue and Leah were in the same room. Not that Leah blamed the dark skinned girl, she was two years older and allowed to have a life of her own.
"Course," Sarah nodded and Leah, in response, full of a warm emotion, jolted forward and hugged the back of Sarah's seat tightly. Caleb tossed his head back and laughed.
"Thank you!"
"Woah," Sarah laughed, her hands cupping Leahs. "It's no problem."
When Leah untangled herself from Sarah Caleb turned to the blonde girl. "So any clubs in mind or anything?" Sarah shook her head.
"No just grades." Caleb grinned,
"Then I guess that gives you time to see my meets."
"Matches?" Sarah echoed, "Like swimming?"
Leah stuck her head in between the two; the three of them leaving the town limits behind them.
"Yeah Caleb swims freestyle for the school team."
"Are you any good?" Sarah teased. Leah snickered.
"Does three state champions say anything?" Sarah shrugged coyly.
"Sort of." Caleb snorted while Leah leaned back and smiled. She was happy her brother had finally found a girl he liked. Especially one she liked too.
The next ten minutes was filled with aimless chatter about Sarah's life back in Boston. About how she was on the math team and how sophomore year she'd accidentally caused a goo explosion in chemistry so bad that she'd had to shave her head bald.
The three of them drove over a long stone bridge and the asphalt road turned to a muddy dirty one; the sun peaking through the trees and Sarah couldn't help but sigh.
"I wish I brought my camera, this place is so beautiful."
"That's the old Putnam barn," Leah pointed out, looking at a run down, creepy looking barn.
"What's left of it," Caleb added. "This whole place for miles around was the original Ipswitch colony."
"So what brought you to Spencer?" Caleb asked.
"A scholarship," Sarah answered.
"But why Spencer?"
"I want to go to Harvard."
"Our father was class of '81," Caleb told her with a smile.
"Yeah Caleb wants to go there, has since he was kid," Leah told Sarah with a mischievous grin.
"That's so cool," Sarah said, looking at her hands with red cheeks. "Kate told me he passed away."
"You can Kate talk about me?" Caleb asked, his eyes wide. Leah ducked her head and clapped her hands over her mouth. Her brother was such a loser, it was almost adorable.
"Well you just know, girl stuff." Leah, with a hapless shrug, and Caleb shared a look, the both of them wondering just what Kate plus girl stuff meant. Caleb sped up and took a left before slowing down outside the gate of a large colonial house. Ivy grew on most of the outside, though in the spaces it didn't it was clear that the house hadn't been painted since before the turn of the twentieth century.
"It's our families first colony house," Caleb told Sarah when she looked at oddly.
"Wait somebody lives here?" She asked. Leah nodded.
"Just our caretaker Gorman," Leah butted in as she and Caleb got out of the car. Gorman was the crotchety grandpa she never had. He was bitter and tired and always used the phrase "Back in my day," but he also always offered Leah well aimed advice and butterscotch.
A loud gunshot sounded cause Sarah to duck; Leah and Caleb held there hands up.
"Gorman!" Caleb said in an exasperated voice, used to dealing with the Danvers family caretaker shouting off blanks at him, "It's me and Leah, it's okay!" He turned to Sarah who had seemed to pale three shades whiter.
"He doesn't see that well anymore."
"Please," Leah scoffed, "Gorman has always been trigger happy. Remember when he shot Reid in the ass with a B.B. gun?"
"What?"
"Who's with you?" The voice of the old caretaker yelled from the dark doorway.
"Just a friend!" Caleb called back. "We'll be right back, okay?"
"Okay," Sarah nodded as Leah and Caleb walked past the low standing gate and up to their families old colony house.
Leah walked in first, the old house not having changed in the months since she'd last been. Caleb came in behind her and shut the creaking door. At the bottom of the staircase stood Gorman. Despite the fact he was nearing seventy five he had cared for three generation of Danvers men, all withering away sooner than the last.
"Gorman!" Leah smiled. She hugged the frail man, who surprisingly hugged her back just as tightly.
"Leah," he said.
He stepped back and looked at Caleb. "You should be more careful." He jilted his chin out at towards the door.
"I know Gorman," Caleb sighed as they all walked up the stairs to the dark room where their father sit. Gorman walked over to the window while Caleb stayed by the bed and Leah stood in the middle of the room looking at the back of their father.
He was wrinkled and nearly all his hair was gone. All that was left were a few wisps of white. He didn't bother to turn and look at either of his children, instead opting to look blanks at the unsightly fireplace in front of him.
"Is there anything else he needs?" Caleb asked Gorman.
"No."
"I'll see you next week then," Caleb said. "Come on Leah." Only as Caleb moved past her Leah stayed rooted to the spot in the middle of the floor, staring at their father. Though she had been nine when Tyler and Pogues fathers had taken him here Leah couldn't remember much about him. She knew he had been a lawyer with Reid's father, before his passing, but as she tried to recall childhood memories of the two of them she realized couldn't. All Leah could conjure up was her father sitting at the head of the long dining room table and the door of his study; the one that had always been closed to her. Caleb, of course, had been free to come and go from the room, asking their father for help with homework and words of advice but Leah couldn't ever remember being allowed past the threshold.
"Leah," Caleb hissed.
Leah turned to Caleb, "I'll call Reid to pick me up later okay?"
"What. No, Leah come on," Caleb instructed with a hand out. Leah stood two steps towards her brother but didn't take his hand.
"I want to stay here for a little while, talk to dad," she whispered.
"Leah," Caleb warned.
"Seriously Caleb please, I want to talk with him."
"It'll just make you upset," Caleb said. It was the whole reason their mother had stopped visiting; seeing their father like this broke her heart. It broke his heart.
"Then I'll be upset Caleb, I need to talk to him." Leah needed to ask him why he and her mother hated her. She needed to know what she had done. Why she and Caleb were treated so differently. She needed to know.
Caleb turned to Gorman for help, only for the older man to raise his hands up. Caleb sighed.
"I can wait for you."
"No way, as much as I like Sarah, and I do, she seems really cool and all, the two of you need some time alone." Caleb felt his cheeks redden.
"You'll call Reid?" Leah nodded.
"Swear it." Caleb thought it over.
"Fine but call me when you and Reid get to Nicky's okay." Leah stood on her tippy toes and kissed her brothers cheek.
"Thank you!" Caleb nodded at Gorman before walking out of the room. Gorman, still by the window looked at Leah.
"Is there any reason you want to talk to your father today?" Leah ran her fingers through her hair.
"I need to know why he and mother hate me Gorman." The old man's stony face crumbled.
"You should have gone with your brother." Leah pressed her lips together.
"You know then?" Gorman shook his head, his lips curling as he started off towards the door. He stopped in the door frame.
"Some questions," Gorman told her, "Shouldn't be answered." And then he two dispersed down the stairs leaving Leah and her father alone in a room that no matter how hard or how much magic was used, stilled smelled like mothballs.
Leah slowly walked over to her father and keeled at his side. Her hand covered his and he still didn't look at her.
"Dad?" Her heart thudded in her chest. He still didn't look. "Dad it's me Leah." He didn't bother to look at her then either. "Dad please, like I told Gorman, I need to know, why you and mother hate me." Nothing.
"Dad I'm begging you please. What did I do? I'm sorry." Her father shifted and he looked down at her with dark brown eyes that were devoid of light.
"Leave," he told her simply. His voice just as withered as him.
"No, not until you tell me why you hate me!" Her father didn't glare at her but his eyes hardened and his jaw set.
"Leave," he said once more.
"No! Not until you tell me! I deserve to know why you ignored me all my childhood. Why mother hates even looking at me and why I can't go to school and have a life like other children! Like Caleb!"
"You were born!" Leah, shocked at not only the answer but the fact her father had raised his voice so loudly, fell back from her knees and onto her but, her mouth open. She sat there for a moment; angry tears welled up in her eyes.
"I was born?" She repeated, the first tear trailed down her face. It was so cold compared to her burning hot face. "That's your answer? You two hate me because I was born?"
"Leave."
"No! You can't just tell me you and mother hate me because I was born and demand I leave!" Leah opened her mouth to say more only for her father's eyes to flash black and send her flying across the room. Leah let out a yelp she landed on her side. She gaped at her father from behind the curtain of hair that had fallen in front of her face.
"Leave!" This time Leah did not argue. She ran, out of the room and down the stairs, nearly knocking a worried looking Gorman over. She didn't stop running until she was yards past the old wooden gate. Her chest heaving and tears cascading down her face. Leah patted herself down, scrambling for her phone.
It was in her pants pocket. She pressed two and then the green call button. Her free hand pulled at her hair as it rang. It rang once, and then twice and then-
"Hey Angel," Reid said into the phone.
"Reid?" Leah sobbed.
"Leah?" Reid's voice had lost the wave tone and instead picked up a more panicked one. "Angel what's wrong?"
"I-I was born apparently. I-I asked-d my d-dad and-and he-" Leah cut herself off by breaking down into a fit of sobs. She wasn't sure what hurt more, her side or her heart. Leah heard the rustling of clothes and Reid's breathing get ragged.
"You're at the colony house?"
"Yeah," Leah nodded. There was a jingle of keys and a loud slamming on the other end of the phone.
"I'll be to you in twenty, alright Angel. Everything's cool."
"Oka-okay."
Seventeen minutes later Reid Garwin hadn't even bothered to fully park his father's old Chevy Maverick before jumping out of the driver's seat and sweeping a still sobbing Leah Danvers into his arms. She buried her face in the crook of his neck.
One hand was placed firmly on the small of her back while the other threaded itself through her dark brown hair.
"Angel what the hell happened?" Reid asked. Leah sniffled loudly.
"I-I asked h-h-him why he and mo-mother hate me."
"Angel," Reid said softly as he cradled her face, "They don't hate you." Leah disagreed.
"He said it was cause I was born!" Reid's face went slack as she pressed her face back against his neck. His hands hovered over her shoulders. Rage blinded in the blonde witch boy's veins.
How dare he, Reid thought glaring up at the old Danvers colony house. Leah didn't need him angry. Reid shut his eyes and counted back from ten. Leah need Reid to be more like Tyler or Caleb then anything right now.
"Hey Angel, I need you to take a deep breath and hold it okay? Can you do that?" Leah nodded and took a deep breath of air and held it, her chest quivered with unshod sobs, her cheeks puffed out and in spite of the blotchy ness of her face and her blood shot eyes Reid couldn't help but look at her puckered lips.
As her chest stilled from the sobs Reid's hands traveled from her shoulders to her hips causing Leah to visibly wince away from his touch. Reid pulled back as if he'd been scalded.
"Angel?" Leah, still holding her breath, looked at the dirt. "Angel," Reid said sterner.
"He used," Leah murmured, "Against me. When I wouldn't leave he threw me back and I landed on my side." Reid stilled as red seeped into his vision.
"I'll kill him," Reid said quietly. Leah paled. She gripped the sleeve of his sweatshirt, bracing herself against him.
"No, Reid no."
"Angel, he used against you."
"It's my fault, I should have listened to Caleb and Gorman and just left it alone."
"Where is your brother?" Reid hissed. Caleb was should have been there to protect her against their father.
"With Sarah, he offered to wait up but I felt bad. They really like each other Reid." While Reid was happy for the other Son he was still furious. Caleb should have been there.
"How bad is it?" Reid asked her, sucking a deep breath through his nose. Leah shrugged.
"It hurts but I haven't looked yet." Reid nodded and slowly lifted up the side of her shirt. Leah's whole right side was a bright, angry looking red.
"It's going to bruise pretty bad," he told her.
"Is it Doctor Garwin," Leah said softly. Reid's eyes flashed towards her and he smiled. She smiled back, abet a small, still watery smile but it was a smile all the same. Reid held his hand over the red and his eyes flashed black until the redness went away.
"Thanks Reid," she said weakly. "Really."
"Hey," The boy waved her off with a coy grin and a sparkle in his eyes, "It's not big deal. For you anyway."
"What would I do without you?" Leah mused. Reid shrugged.
"Perish?" Leah rolled her eyes as she started toward Reid's Maverick.
"Come on Doc, I'm thirsty."
"Nicky's?"
"Do you even have to ask?"