Chapter 40

At midnight, all 10 members of the circle convened downstairs for the séance with an Ouija board in the center, four long-stemmed candles lit on the floor. It was set on a black cloth that had a pentagram etched in it. Mark was the one who would be commanding the board with Brooklynn beside him and Mickie on the other side, just in case. All would join hands, and nobody could break the circle, literally, or this would be all for naught. All cell phone and devices were shut off, including the lights, where only the candlelight was the only light in the room. Mark would not join hands due to being the one that controlled the Ouija board. He instructed everyone to relax their minds and channel their energy into this, already feeling their powers linking together while he sat in the middle with the Ouija board. If this worked, they would not only be able to talk to Julia, but summon her in ghost form as well.

Contrary to what television shows portrayed, it wasn't as easy as they made it seem. Mark had to focus because, with this much power linking up, it wasn't just Julia they were going to attract. They were going to pull in anything that picked them up tonight. A sterling silver mirror and a bowl of water sat alongside the board and he took a deep breath. Time to call up corners, elements, and all that fun stuff before looking through the spectral mess for Julia.

"Do not break the circle, no matter what comes through." He ordered sternly because if they didn't open and close properly, things wouldn't go back where they belonged.

An evil laughter came through about 10 minutes into the séance, making their eyes all open, but their hands never broke once. "Oh, Brooklynn…" The entity hissed out, the dark energy seeping into the room and it was a spirit, of sorts, cloaked in black. "Doing this is futile, I have already won. I hold all the cards and I'm one step closer to fulfilling my duty…to my father." Nobody could see his face.

"Father? What are you talking about? Who are you?"

"Well, as they say in this day and age, that's for me to know and you to find out." Another wicked laughter made a wind start swirling around them.

Mickie was on the verge of vomiting and Glenn's head was throbbing painfully from the dark energies.

"DON'T BREAK THE CIRCLE!"

Suddenly, a blinding white light came into the circle and the dark entity evaporated before their very eyes. "THAT IS ENOUGH!" It was Julia, cloaked in white like an angel with soft golden-brown eyes and a tight smile.

"J-Julia?" That dark energy had made her chest tighten as Brooklynn looked up at her twin, who was hovering over Mark's head currently and she backed up to where he could see her as well.

"Yes Brooklynn, it's me. And yes, I have been visiting you in your dreams to send you warnings. I have been watching over you, all of you, and I don't blame you for questioning the dreams. Given how our gift is, it's to be expected."

"So, everything you told me about the darkness and Claira…"

Julia shut her eyes, nodding almost solemnly. "I am afraid so, sister. Claira is the key to everything, just as I said. There is a terrible darkness coming for you and your family. If it's unleashed on the world, it will destroy everything and everyone you love and care about."

"But what IS this darkness?"

"I was able to pinpoint who it is, but not directly. All I can tell you is…this darkness wants to open the portal you sent Nemesis into. You see, before Nemesis was sent away, he had a child. A boy. I don't know the whereabouts or location of his offspring, but I can tell you he is the one who killed Bastet. He is the one that just came through this séance and spoke to you. And he is the one who wants to use Claira to open that dimension and free Nemesis."

Glenn really did love Julia's aura because his head no longer felt like it would split in two.

"Wait a minute, that doesn't make sense. Nemesis was a spirit; how can a spirit impregnate someone?"

"Because he wasn't a spirit, Glenn. Nemesis was something much darker and could give the illusion of being a spirit, but in reality, he wasn't."

"What was he then?" Trish couldn't believe what they were hearing, brown eyes wide.

"A Demon. Demons can manipulate people and possess them, take vessels as their own. Nemesis wanted to ensure he survived even after being defeated and shoved in that dimension, so he possessed a man's body, had sex and, since it was himself, he was able to create an offspring."

"Oh my god…" Nemesis had a child in this world and they were after… "Do you know if Claira goes to school with this boy?"

"Unfortunately, I do not, Brooklynn. I've tried, but he has a block or a protective spell on him that prevents me or any supernatural being from sensing him. He could be walking around amongst you in Dallas or anywhere for that matter and you would never know." Julia turned to Randy, who looked extremely troubled and smiled tightly. "Randy, the man you brushed up against in St. Louis was the man Nemesis possessed and used to impregnate his now ex-wife. After it happened, she divorced him and disappeared. Something is telling me she also has a protective spell over her or she's simply being controlled by this boy."

"So, what does this have to do with Claira? How is she the key to opening the dimension Mickie and Mark sent him in?"

"Her virginity is the key, along with the magic in her blood. Virgin blood is sacred, and the boy has to be a virgin as well in order for it to work. Once engaged, a spell is said, and the dimension will open, but she has to use her powers as well. She has to be WILLING to open this dimension with the boy or it won't work."

"But…you said he can't be detected or sensed, so it could be anyone at this point…" It would be like finding a needle in a haystack. "Can you at least narrow this down a bit and tell us how old he is?"

"He is exactly one year older than Claira, to the date. That's when we felt a…shift in the plane spirits dwell once they cross over into the light. July 13th…they have the same birthday, just one year apart."

"Yo, anyone can forge a birthday though." John pointed out. "Think about it, the same birthday with a Calaway…that would be suspicious even to someone NOT supernatural. Can't go on it, he more than likely had his mother lie about the day he was born."

"Is there anything else, Julia? Anything you can tell us? Has Claira been in contact with this boy?"

"That I cannot say because he can't be sensed or detected."

"Fuckin' great, so how're we supposed to find him if the fuckin' afterlife can't?"

"He will come for Claira. That's why I told you to protect her, keep her safe. Trust your instincts, trust yourself and your GUT, Brooklynn. If you feel something isn't right with someone she's associating with at school, look into it. DON'T take any chances." Julia turned to Mark, a softer smile crossing her face and lowered herself to be eye-level with him. "I want you to know that Bastet is being well taken care of. She wanted me to pass on a message to you." Touching his forehead, it glowed green for a few seconds and then was over, with Julia hovering over him again. "I can feel this coming to an end and they're pulling me back. I will be in touch again with Brooklynn if I find out any new information. In the meantime, watch yourselves, especially Claira and tell my niece it's okay. She doesn't have to be like us, but she is rare and so is her power."

"I will. I swear, we'll keep her safe and protect her. Nemesis will NOT be released unless it's over my dead body." Meyers blood still flowed through Brooklynn, the determination boiling in her amber eyes.

"Let us hope it does not come to that sister. Until we meet again." Julia vanished in a whirlwind that blew the candles out, the blinding light gone.

"Any of you say a fuckin' word to Claira," Mark paused after he had closed the circle. "And I will send you straight to hell." This wasn't something for Mickie to blurt out or lecture on; this was something her parents did AFTER Claira had calmed down and ONLY if they could be calm about it and not panic her.

"Seth," Randy said after a moment. "Seth."

"We've checked him."

"And Julia just said he can cloak himself, protect himself, from our magics. Single Mom, right? A year older, and the only boy around Claira." And he had charmed the hell out of Trish and Steve, and Brooklynn to an extent.

Who the Hell knew? Mark was putting a chastity belt on his daughter though.

"I learned my lesson and won't intervene with your daughter, Mark."

Mickie truly felt terrible for this family because it seemed as though they couldn't catch a break. Granted, 17 years had been a hell of a break, but now they were once again dealing with the threat of Nemesis. Virgin blood and magic…Claira didn't want to have sex until she graduated from school and, to her knowledge, Seth was perfectly normal. However, Claira's attitude had changed a bit ever since meeting Seth and she had chalked it up to her being a teenager. All teens had some kind of attitude and influence for it.

"This is my fault. My blood…it really is a curse."

Her blood ran through Claira's veins, Meyers blood, even if her last name was Calaway. It was STILL Meyers blood combined with Calaway and, therefore, had to be used in the spell that would open that dimension. Not just any blood either…her VIRGIN blood.

"Brooklynn, you're not a curse…" Trish wrapped an arm around her friend, trying to comfort her and felt her heart break at the tears sliding down Brooklynn's cheeks. "We're going to figure this out. We're going to find this boy and stop him before any other damage happens before he can get to Claira."

"If he hasn't already."

Mark didn't have time to comfort his wife or do an every few decade consolation about how her blood wasn't a curse, she wasn't a magnet for trouble, all that. He'd leave it to the women. "John."

"Yep." John got up and followed Mark out of the basement, his hand twitching. He had wanted to write so bad during that session and now – now it was gone.

"Sit by Claira's door, see if anything comes up." He was going to project and have a look around that way. A lot easier to spot anything that shouldn't be.

"What a prick."

"Christ, he's acting like…"

"Undertaker…" Mickie's eyes narrowed down at Brooklynn, whose head snapped up when she said that name. "Unless that IS the Undertaker…"

"Oh god no, please no…"

"It's not." Brooklynn didn't know if she was lying or not, but once again, the overwhelming urge to protect Undertaker surged through her. "And he's not a prick, he's worried about our daughter and putting her first. I'm just sulking in my own misery and he has more important things to do."

"MOTHER FUCKER!"

Brooklynn and the rest of the women hightailed it upstairs as fast as they could, wondering what just happened.

"He's gone! Brooklynn, Seth is gone and so is Claira."

"WHAT?!" NOW it was time to go into full panic mode as she pulled her cell phone out and called her daughter, only to be sent straight to voicemail. "FUCK!"

Before any more panicking could happen, Mark waved a hand. He used magic, but he didn't USE magic, not often. This felt foreign and familiar. He watched as everyone, but John froze. "Keep writing."

Nodding, John kept scrawling, hoping David and Melina forgave him when his hand went off the paper and up onto the wall, black ink appearing beneath his very sore, burning hand.

Mark was going to have to actually say the words 'You were right' to Randy Orton of all people, maybe. Unless it was just kids in love running off… given the knowledge they had just learned, he wasn't pushing aside the doubt.

"FUCK!" John roared, dropping the pen finally and reeled backward, just as Mark unfroze everyone. MINE MINE MINE MINE SHE'S MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE CLAIRA MINE CLAIRA CLAIRA CLAIRA MINE all over those walls. "Shit…"

Brooklynn didn't waste a second and flew out of the house, smacking right into Claira herself. "Claira?!"

"Mom…" Claira was in tears, wrapping her arms around her mother's waist and buried her face in her chest. "He left. Seth left and said he'd find his own way home. He left me a note…and I went out to try to stop him…"

Everyone rushed out after Brooklynn and she held her daughter close, rubbing her back soothingly. It wasn't Seth, not if he wasn't in the house at the time of John writing. Who the hell wanted to hurt their daughter and use her to bring Nemesis back then?

"It's okay, Claira, it's okay." She was a lot calmer than she should've been, refusing to panic Claira and kissed the top of her head.

Claira pulled back, wiping her tears away and was lifted by her father next, who held her tightly against him.

"I need to sit down." All this stress was not good for the baby, so thankfully, Mickie had put a spell on Melina to prevent any harm, stress included.

"I think we all need to sit down." David suggested, guiding his wife inside the house, along with everyone else and gave the Calaway's a minute alone.

"Don't you ever fucking do that again!" Running off, no note, no nothing, his heart had never beat so fast from fear. Not much scared him, except when it came to his family, his daughter. "No idea where he went?"

"No…"

Mark groaned, looking at Brooklynn. "I'm going to go find him, darlin', we can't leave him out there alone in D.C." Seth was someone's son too. He was going to need David; the man knew this place.

"Come on sweetheart, let's go inside and get something warm to drink. Then, we'll watch a movie or something until Daddy comes back with Seth."

If Mark could find the boy, who was still under suspicion. Even if he wasn't in the house, Julia made it clear this boy could cloak and shield himself from all magical beings. That meant, if it was Seth, he would go undetected because of magic. Nodding, Claira knew better than to argue with her parents right now and walked back into the house with her mother, wanting a cup of tea. Mickie was already on it, figuring this could be her way of apologizing to the teen and carried the tray up to the room Brooklynn and Claira were holed up in.

"Knock, knock." She smiled, walking in and set the tray on the bed, seeing Brooklynn cradling Claira against her. "Listen Claira, about what I said earlier, it was out of line and I'm sorry. I should never have intervened with another child with their mother and I shouldn't have used magic in front of your boyfriend." She wondered if Seth really was the boy Julia had referred to in the séance.

"Thank you, Mickie. She appreciates it." Brooklynn murmured when Claira just nodded and remained silent.

The Witch left and Claira immediately sat up, wiping her tears away, grabbing a cup of tea to hopefully calm her nerves.

Mark, before leaving, had asked Randy to hit the pavement with them. He knew he was asking quite a bit, given the potential overload, but Randy would be able to brush fingers against people. If they had seen Seth, it would show him. How far could a teenager, who had never been in D.C. really get? Either Seth was potentially evil and he needed to be squashed, or he was just a lost kid, who had a mother at home and she had no idea her baby was lost in the nation's capital. Either way, this was bad.