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Chapter 26: Unending Questions

"Something worked right," Deborah had said. "Something, because Uncle Chase is alive. I wouldn't say happy, he hasn't been happy since Aunt Hannah died. But you did something right. You just missed something. . ."

What had they missed? Since she had no idea what they would try, she had no idea what they would miss. And how had they saved Chase from being looped in the curse? Her first reaction was that he didn't love Hannah. But she quickly dismissed it. She knew, she had felt, his love for her, and her daughter confirmed it. So how did that happen? She had hoped being a Son would save them from their fate, but she ruled that out since Reid died.

So many more questions and no more answers, she thought frustrated. She poured another cup of tea from the pot. She was confident Reid wouldn't find her here unless one of her sisters ratted on her. It was the old Putram estate that everyone—including the Ipswich historical society—had forgotten about. So, she decided to use the rest of the Winter break to put some distance between her and Reid, and to figure out what they could possibly miss on the curse. She knew the others were working on it as well.

She pulled out her notes on the prophecies. She hadn't looked at them since that night long ago with Reid when she confessed to him the fate of the Danvers. She didn't know why she never picked them back up. Maybe she wasn't meant to until now.

She looked at the largest grouping of prophecies. She had whittled them down, crossing out the ones that had already come to pass, were not destined to come to pass during her lifetime, or had absolutely no concern for their present situation. Then she categorized them as best she could. Mainly because she noticed one prophecy in particular continually popped up. The wording was always slightly different, but the meaning was clear.

Two wholes to rectify the rift.

What one has torn and broken shall be made anew by two.

Two bloodlines are necessary to renew the bonds.

Her personal favorite in this repetitive prophecy was: Only when two complete covens shall rejoin their houses shall old scores be settled, old wounds healed, time passed on, goodbyes finally settled, and old scores wiped clean. Nice, clean, straightforward if a little repetitive. If only all prophecies were that easy, she sighed.

So, this was the time, she thought. She had once told Reid that maybe Fate was ready for them to make amends, and it seemed she was right. Two complete covens were needed to break the curse. Well, they HAD to find Chase and complete the male Coven.

She glanced at the quick hand written note that circled another prophecy. She didn't remember reading it, but it was her hand writing. Old wounds, left to fester, shall have to be overcome to achieve the greater unity. Old adversary is needed to bring closure to all, the prophecy said. She smiled when she saw she had written CHASE!! : ) all in caps next to that prophecy with a smilie face. She took another sip of tea, when suddenly another prophecy caught her eye. One she hadn't read before.

Birth and death, the judgment of all, shall happen on the same earth.

That one puzzled her. She hated puzzles. She reached for her cell phone as she finished writing her notes and was about to call Violet when Faith popped in crying. "Fae? What on earth happened?" Abigail asked quickly. She shut the book, unknowingly closing it before reaching a vital prophecy on the next page.

"I do the right thing and he hates me for it!" Faith yelled. "It wasn't mine to tell! I keep telling him that, that it was not my secret to disclose, and he doesn't listen."

"Tyler?" Abigail asked. "He's the reasonable one, he will listen. About what?"

"Reid!" Faith yelled. "He is furious with me because I didn't tell him his best friend is going to die. I told him I didn't want Reid to die, none of us do! But he is mad that I didn't tell him, that I always just said 'Garwin Solidarity' whenever he asked."

"Faith, I'm sorry," Abigail said hugging her. "It is my fault."

"Hell no. We will blame this on Reid. HE should have told Tyler."

"Tyler will come to see that and be mad at him, not you. I'm sure, he is the reasonable one after all."

"Abby, you saw it yourself that it doesn't work out with me and Tyler," Faith cried. Abby simply held her while she sobbed. "This is why I didn't want anyone," she hiccupped. "I was always so damn careful, you know that. Damn him!"

"Shh," Abigail whispered. "We will figure it out. How good are you at puzzles?"

"Our family doesn't have a good track record," Faith said making Abigail laugh. "And Tyler is the reasonable one. He is damn reasonable when he is arguing with you," she huffed. "It is so infuriating!" She threw the nearest object she could grab—an old vase—against the wall. She broke down crying again.

"We can turn him into a jackass," Abby volunteered.

"With really long ears?" Faith asked. Abby nodded as she stroked her hair. "I am staying with you until the semester begins. If I see any of the Sons, I can't be held accountable for my actions." Since Abigail knew they needed all of them, and most likely not in a vegetative state, she agreed.

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She gave a sigh of frustration when Reid popped into her car suddenly. It was the first week of classes for the new semester. "Tell Tyler that just because I need you all alive doesn't necessarily mean I need you all human," she said coldly.

"Not even a hello? I know what you are doing, Abby."

"Really?" she drawled.

"Why the hell does everyone think I need protection?" Reid demanded. "It's my damn life. Damn, Paul said it was tough, but having to fight all of you constantly on this is ridiculous. Did you do this with Paul?"

"We still do," Abby glared at him as she drove. "How do you think Violet feels? Guilty as hell," Abigail said before Reid could respond. "She curses herself everyday for bringing this on him. Her mother felt the exact same way, as did Hannah's mother and my mother. Do you know what it feels like to curse someone you care for to die? This is the only way I know how to protect you, Reid."

"I never asked for your protection," he simmered. "I chose this, Abigail. You told me what was going on, what would happen. I made that choice."

"You're 18 now, Reid. It's too young to write off the rest of your life," she said sadly. "Believe me, I know."

"Damn it. Alright. First of all, William?" he asked making her gape at him. "I guess I could get use to that. Second of all, Tyler was an ass, I know. Believe me, I have already ripped into him about that, and he was pissed at me too over all of this. But we will be fine. We will all be fine," he promised. "I am picking you up tomorrow at 6," he said with finality as he got out and grabbed the bags of groceries in the back seat. She just sat there befuddled. She was torn between laughing, crying, and beating him senseless. She leaned her head against the steering wheel and took a deep breath to steady herself. The knock on the window startled her. "So, is Reid still officially part of the family?" Hannah teased. Abigail stuck her tongue out at her as Hannah laughed and headed inside.

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Not as long, but full of some goodies and clues : ) Special thanks to my beta, WeasleyXisXmyXking for reading and sending this back in a day! Not only do you read everything I write (which is a lot, it seems) but you even reviewed this story! You are the best!

Last chapter tied for the most reviews for any single chapter! Yay! Special thanks to ReidsGirl (It is going to get much more intense before it is all over.) evilangel (Caleb didn't kill Reid-- sorry for the confusion! I meant the original danvers guy killed the original danver's woman's husband. But the vision was sad-- a future without Reid :( MischiefLover (Ah, Thanks! I am so glad people are liking Reid!) tayloralexandra (Ah, thanks hon! Reid has his moments . . . actually, I give him a lot of moments, lol. He has the most screentime of any of the sons.) Evilbunnyofdeath (More bad before any potential good . . .) heartbreakerginny (Thanks! I am so amazed how popular this story is with everyone!) a.sam (Ah, no worries, it will be explained in a few chapters . . . there are more hints in this chapter, though : ) anangelwithnoname (Thank you!!) rukie (Hopefully the wait wasn't to bad!) susangel (Thank you! Abigail's daughter pretty much told them what they know, so no new information from her, just more questions than answers right now.)