Chapter 4
"Oh, thank God!" I hear Ethan say as he runs towards us while I pull the hearse into the drive.
"What?" I ask.
"I heard the Song and thought maybe something had happened to you."
"No, we're fine." But we weren't. I couldn't stop thinking about it. I thought Ethan and I had escaped the curse forever, but it looked as though forever was sooner than we thought.
Ethan pulls me into a hug and I hug him back, tears streaming down my face.
"Hey," he says, "Don't cry, L. We'll figure this out. Macon's got everyone coming over, there's a meeting in tunnels this evening."
I nod, gulping back some more tears as I unbuckle Eve from her baby seat. I have dressed her in the cutest dress and shoes and she couldn't look more adorable.
"I won't let anything happen to you." I say, kissing her forehead lightly.
Two hours later I am seated around a big table in Macon's study. I stifle a laugh when I see Link and Ridley's hands joined together under the table. My advice must've worked.
"Good for you!" I mouth to Link, who smirks back. I look around and see that everyone is there, except for Aunt Del, Uncle Barclay, Reece and Rebecca. I think I remember Macon saying that they were going to visit some distant relative somewhere and weren't taking Ridley, much to her annoyance.
"Ok, everyone." The room goes quiet as Macon begins to talk. "I'm sure you all know why we are here, correct?" Everyone nods.
I speak up. "So did everyone hear the song?"
"I didn't." It's Mitchell. He only learnt that my family are casters three years ago when he found me lying on Ethan's ceiling in the middle of the night. And believe me, that is a scenario you never want to be in! He seemed to take it pretty well, all things considered. I think it explained a lot of things that didn't seem quite right. We still haven't told him that Ethan died though, or that his dead wife, Lila, used to be passionately in love with the man he was sitting next to. We all agreed that would be a bit much for him.
"Interesting." Macon ponders on that for a moment. "I presume you know what a Shadowing Song is?" he asks.
Ethan's dad shakes his head.
"Ethan care to explain?" says Macon.
"A Shadowing Song is a song sent by someone in the otherworld. When Lena was turning sixteen and seventeen and when John was turning eighteen, mum sent them to me and Lena as a warning. They were never wrong."
"I think I understand. What did this one say?"
"First moon, first year,
The time has come that you all fear,
The girl has strength that will be shown,
The end will come in the stone." Liv recites from memory.
"Does it mean Eve?"
We all nod and everyone looks solemn except for my daughter who gurgles away cheerfully. The room shines and glitters and a rainbow is cast over the table though we are underground. It has become apparent that Eve is a Natural like me and possibly a Wayward too. She is able to change the room to match her emotions, and can already control the weather. It's useful when she's about to cry because it begins to pour down with rain.
I hope she has some Mortal in her, though; I'd like to be able to send her to a normal, American school. When she was born Macon threatened to send her to live with Aunt Del, like everyone in my family does. You aren't allowed to raise your own children in my world, in case they go dark and you find it too hard to let go, but I refused. There was no way they were taking Eve away from me. I think Macon as now relieved I hadn't sent her away, I have to look after her and protect her from the dangers coming her way.