Chapter 6 – Surprising visits
Bella pov
Arriving home later Renée and I were laughing, regaling stories about our shopping day and her new life in Florida.
"Don't you miss Phil?"
"Yes, I do but I missed you baby. When Charlie called... All I wanted to do was come here and turn every rock till we found you"
"And Phil?"
"He's missing you as well. He wanted to come with me but his team has a game next week in Seattle. Think your father will get sick of me by then?"
I threw mom a 'yeah right' look. Seriously these two will drive me crazy one day! It's obvious how much Charlie still loves her and it's easy to see that Renée loves him too. I really want they can be friends one day. An evil little thought came to me. My parents haven't even been in the same room for years without fighting and now they speak... Maybe my disappearing act has a good side too?
"You like them, don't you?"
Renee asked me when I was silent a little too long. She is childish but can be really perceptive. I nodded with a small smile.
"They're cool and they understand, you know? I'm not a freak with them"
I whispered the last part, looking down at my hands on the steering wheel. The way Jake had burst to laughing yesterday was still making me uncomfortable. If only people knew about my brand new tail... it would be so bad for Charlie.
"Bella, fuck them baby"
I swear my eyes popped out of their sockets. Renee may speak without thinking but one thing she and Charlie have in common is that they don't swear. Ever!
"Okay..."
I trailed and pulled my sunglasses off using them as a hair band. Mom's smile was really hard to miss. When I pulled at Charlie's driveway our smiles died. There was a car already parked.
"Paparazzi?"
Mom asked. I shrugged but hoped it wasn't the case. Ever since the coastguard boat brought us to the hospital in Seattle reporters were buzzing around us like bees. The story of the psycho grabbing three teenage girls only to kill them was making the rounds of the state fast. We all had left the hospital through the morgue for crying out loud! In fact our day in Port Angeles was the only calm one I had in the last week. As a measure to hold the reporters at bay till our story was forgotten Charlie and the other two sheriffs' had agreed to keep a cruiser parked in front of our houses. Where is it?
"I'll go first, put your sunglasses on"
"So much for 'fuck them'"
I mused and parked the truck before stepping out of it. For the first time enjoying its gunshot like sound as the person ringing our doorbell jumped around. He had a gun. I felt my breath quicken and took a tiny step to stand in front of mom, my eyes glued to the gun.
He raised it.
My right hand shot out.
He shouted, the gun falling out of his outstretched hand.
"It froze on me"
My eyes widened and my gaze fell to my hands. Did I do that? I stuffed them behind my back, leaning on my truck. Mom pushed me slightly behind her.
"Can I help you?"
She called out. The man, who was wearing a cop uniform, looked up from his fun and to us. He smiled.
"I'm sorry to startle you ma'am. I'm Sheriff Steve Collins with the Callam County Police Department"
"Did something happen to Charlie?"
Mom interrupted him. The man smiled and shook his head
"Not that I know of ma'am. I wanted to speak with him"
"He's at the station. Why don't you go there?"
I informed him.
"I prefer to talk to him in private Miss"
Mom and I exchanged a look.
"Would you like to come inside?"
I lead him through the front door and mom called Charlie.
No POV
Faye drove home after her shopping escapades maneuvering through the cars on the highway. She felt surprisingly lighter after her day with her new friends at the mall. With an absent smile, a real smile, not her usual sneer/smirk, she realized she thought of them as friends and that was strange in itself. Faye Chamberlain doesn't do friends she mused as she slowed at a traffic light.
But maybe she should.
She nodded at the half asleep cop at her front lawn; she got a light snore as a response, rolled her eyes and parked her car in the long driveway. She got a little weary when she saw her front door was ajar but her breathing returned to normal when she heard the voiced of her mother and two more people.
"Hello?"
She called out wanting to reassure her mother that she was there now. Ever since the boatyard fire 2.0 her mother had watched like a hawk. Maybe she had been right to though.
Only a day after the boat fire, things that were already bad took a turn for the worse.
Diana's father who had already admitted he had killed Cassie's mother and had been tricked to kill Cassie's grandmother as well had sacrificed himself by allowing his body to host a myriad of demons and then slipped into a magical catatonic, all in order to save their circle.
Diana herself had tapped into her dormant dark magic to find the power to assist her half sister, Cassie, to kill their biological father. She had been so freaked out that she skipped town immediately with her boyfriend.
The others stayed back but they weren't the same. Adam and Melissa had began seeing each other causing fights to break between Cassie, who was much in love with Adam, Faye, who was Melissa's best friend and Jake, who was Faye's boyfriend but surprisingly always took Cassie's side. Their relationship was strained at best. When Diana returned with the end of her tourist visa they had met.
Cassie and Adam wanted to explore the Dark Skull's power, Jake wanted to find more about the Blackwell children, Melissa wanted to do whatever Adam wanted, Diana who hated her Blackwell side wanted them to go back the way they all were before cassie joined them and Faye insisted they had be as prepped as possible for when and if the Blackwell kids did show up.
The irony wasn't lost on Faye. She, who used to be the mean witch now wanted peace! That was when the doorbell rang and the four Blackwell kids showed up. Even though their circle had great power, two Blackwell kids of their own and the Black Skull's power to boost theirs, they still lost. They had worked together despite their issues but they lost. Seven people lost their lives and she had barely escaped with two Blackwell kids hot on her tail. Literally. One of them had been killed by Bella's father but the last one was still alive. He was somewhere out there.
Faye shook her head to clear the memories away and walked inside the large living room. She almost sighed with annoyance when she saw the two people in the room with her mother.
"Faye, come join us dear"
the impeccably dressed Kate Meade half smiled half ordered her. Next to her sat Mr. Armstrong, Jake's grandfather, silent and unwavering. The only and only time Faye had seen he was full on conspiracy theories. Theories that had proved to be correct in the end. Her mother, that sat alone in a large armchair, looked at her with sympathy etched in her face. Knowing the request was a formality only Faye complied and sat to an armchair identical to her mother's with Raj sitting half a step between mother and daughter growling lowly at the guests who ignored him
"Hello"
Faye said in her usual lascivious tone leaning back and crossing her legs. Both members of the Elder Circle turned to look at her with cold expressions.
"Kate and I have reached an agreement"
Mr. Armstrong said clearly.
"We are going to strip of you magic Faye"
Kate Meade finished. Faye's left eyebrow raised in a perfect arch.
"You can't"
Dawn exclaimed. Both Elders quickly replied, no one realizing the water in all the vases were slowly turning to smoke
"We can and we will"
"She's the sole survivor of the Blackwell attack. You think that was a coincidence?"
Faye turned her snake like eyes to meet Kate's who flinched visibly
"Do you?"
Silence fell.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
Dawn asked her daughter but Faye kept her eyes locked on the older woman.
"You tried to kill Cassie when you sensed her dark magic and refused to even look at Diana. But the moment she returns we're under attack?"
Mr. Armstrong's beady black eyes squinted at his companion.
"Did you talk to Diana when she returned Kate?"
"Of course not"
The woman snorted.
"You will not be taking my daughter's magic Kate and that is final"
"We never should have given you yours back"
Mr. Armstrong said quietly but his words were like poison. Suddenly dawn began laughing
"You're powerless aren't you?"
The couple shifter uncomfortably.
"You used up all your magic to restore my circle's and when your grandchildren died you lost access to theirs. Now with Charles catatonic and Ethan dead the only way to restore yours is to take ours"
Dawn began laughing. Faye got the joke a second later and joined her mother in laughter.
"Please leave now"
Dawn announced her face stone calm. the moment they passed the front door chastised Faye looked at the brass doorknob and the door closed and locked itself. Dawn looked at her daughter feeling suddenly tired.
"We are moving out"
