Chapter Two

Moments after Zelda had left, Lucinda walked out of Sabrina's closet. She had changed out of her robe and gown and into a simple, long sleeved black mini dress and stilettos. She had let her hair down and her curls were now pinned back and away from her face. She had a suitcase in one hand, a cigarette in the other. The resemblance between Lucinda and Zelda was even clearer now. It was easy to see that Luci never let go of what her mother taught her.

"Is it safe?" Luci whispered. Sabrina nodded. "Good. Now tell me, what are we up against?"

Sabrina began to explain the dark forces that had been thrown at them when suddenly they heard a crash come from downstairs. The two young witches rushed out of the bedroom and down the stairs to see where the noise had come from.

They heard glass shatter and a growl coming from the kitchen. Lucinda and Sabrina burst into the kitchen and were faced with a Wendigo.

The beast immediately charged at the pair and Lucinda teleported them outside to the yard.

"We need to get it out here with us before it finds anyone else in the house." Lucinda explained.

She pulled a small knife from her garter and sliced her palm, hoping the smell of blood would attract the beast toward them.

"What do we do when it comes back?" Sabrina asked. "Is there a banishing spell or-"

"Just old fashioned defense magic." Lucinda replied as she saw the creature coming back toward them. "Give it all you got."

Sabrina and Lucinda began throwing every defense spell they had, anything to wear it down. The Wendigo was too strong though. The two of them were enough to keep it at bay but they would need help to fully kill it.

It wasn't long before the other Spellmans were running out to the yard. At the sound of their footsteps the beast turned and Lucinda took advantage of the moment. She pulled her silver dagger out once more and pounced on its back, stabbing it in the shoulders before one final swipe across its throat. The Wendigo screeched in pain as it tried to throw Luci off its back, turning back and forth.

The other three Spellmans were still throwing spells at the beast and, in turn, at Lucinda.

"Stop!" Sabrina commanded, realizing that her cousin was now receiving every blow aimed at the Wendigo. "You have to stop!!!"

Ambrose and the aunts halted their attacks and the beast fell forward. As it hit the ground Lucinda rolled off its back and onto the lawn, grimacing in pain as she did her best to keep from screaming. Sabrina rushed to her side and the other Spellmans followed suit.

"Who else is here?" Ambrose asked, unable to recognize her face in the dark.

They approached Sabrina, who was cradling Lucinda's head in her lap. She tried to wipe some of the mud and grass from Luci's face.

"Lucinda?" Zelda gasped.

"Hello, Mother." Luci smirked weakly between labored breaths.

Before anymore explanation could be given, Luci's eyes began to close and her body went limp.

The family carried Lucinda inside and Hilda began searching for the proper remedies for the injuries she had sustained. Ambrose went to dispose of the monster's corpse while Sabrina stayed with Luci, cleaning her face and hands with a damp cloth. Aunt Zelda, Sabrina noticed, was nowhere in sight.

Zelda was on the back patio, smoking a cigarette, desperately trying to keep it together. Her daughter had left Greendale decades ago without so much as a goodbye and suddenly she shows up in the middle of the night fighting a monster with Sabrina? For a moment she wondered how this could have happened but soon remembered her exchange with Sabrina in the library. Of course that girl went looking for other Spellmans to call on instead of just finding another spell to use.

She had no idea how she was going to explain herself to Sabrina or what she would say to her daughter when she woke up. If she woke up.

No, Zelda refused to think like that. Of course Lucinda would wake up. Hilda would find a remedy and she'd be right as rain by morning.

"So the prodigal daughter returned." Ambrose sighed, wiping his hands off on his pants as he sat next to his aunt.

"It appears so." Zelda replied, taking another puff from her cigarette.

"Do you want to talk about it? You must be feeling a lot of emotions right now."

Zelda gave a stern look at her nephew who responded with a chuckle.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." He (half) joked.

"I don't know how to feel about this." Zelda admitted. "After she left I spent years praying that the Dark Lord would send her back to me; that she would get bored with this desire to explore the mortal world. Then a couple of decades go by and I finally accepted that she had left for good. And now, here she is."

"Isn't that the important part? She's here now." The warlock pointed out. "Maybe this is your chance to patch things up, especially given that awful fight you two had before she left."

Zelda didn't want to think about that night. It had replayed in her head hundreds of times, each time she wished she could change it.

"Let's see what Hilda's brewed up for her." Zelda suggested, changing the subject as she blinked back the tears in her eyes.

The pair went inside and Ambrose went to the kitchen to see if Hilda needed assistance. Zelda went to the living room to find Sabrina keeping watch over Lucinda with Salem in her lap.

"I told you to find a different spell." Zelda reminded her niece.

"Why didn't you ever say anything about Lucinda?" Sabrina redirected the conversation. She wasn't going to let Aunt Zelda avoid the question.

Zelda sighed, too emotionally drained to spar with Sabrina.

"It's complicated." Zelda answered. "We can all talk about it in the morning but, for now, you need to go back to bed. You've obviously had an eventful night."

Sabrina hesitated to get up, her arms crossed defiantly. Zelda raised a warning eyebrow and Sabrina relented.

"Fine." She agreed begrudgingly. "But tomorrow I want to know everything."

After the youngest Spellman went upstairs, Zelda walked over to where her daughter laid on the sofa. She gently raised her head and took a seat, carefully resting Lucinda's head back down in her lap. Zelda ran her hand over her daughter's hair and gently caressed her cheek.

Maybe Ambrose was right. Maybe it didn't really matter why she had come back. All Zelda knew was that she was grateful to have her daughter back, even if only for a little while.