Chapter Three

Georgina watched as Eleanor stepped closer to her. The older women's eyes seemed to search her, taking in everything that happened since the last time they saw each other.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't announce yourself to me whilst I'm making a speech. Now I'm going to have to evade questions all night about my health," Eleanor stated. Her tone was soft and slightly teasing but the threat was there. She didn't want Georgina using her powers on her.

"I'm sorry," Georgina replied sincerely. "But I don't think you have appreciated me more if I turned up to your little party down stairs."

Eleanor was always surprised at Georgina's polite tone. Her English accent only added to it.

"Perhaps not. Maybe if you came earlier I might have found something for you to wear and then you could have joined us."

Georgina snorted softly and she looked at the family pictures hung up around the room. "Something tells me that the other Ipswich Elders might have something to say about fraternizing with a Pendle witch."

She looked back quick enough to see Eleanor tense at the name, only proving her theory.

"They only need the time to understand. That you're different from the stories we grew up listening to," Eleanor spoke softly.

Like Eleanor, Georgina also grew up with stories of the other families. The stories as well as her family's treatment of her filled her nightmares from an early age. She grew to fear her family and other witches. It wasn't until her mother rescued her that she learned the truth. It wasn't the other families that were evil. It was her own. And she knew the other families would shoot first before learning the truth about her. Even if she wasn't the same as them.

"But not before locking me away first," Georgina rebutted.

"They would protect you. Protect you from the people who are hunting you."

She sensed Eleanor was trying to convince her to speak with the Elders like last time. But unlike last time, she ran away before they were even made aware of her existence.

"Maybe. But that's not what I need right now. The Protection of Innocence hides me from them. They can't sense me until I turn 18. But that doesn't stop them from communicating with me through my dreams. I need help keeping them out of my head. All I want to do have my thoughts and dreams made my own."

Eleanor could see Georgina's exhaustion. Her eyes were ringed in black and she looked terribly thin. Heavy guilt weighed her down as she promised the girls mother that she would look over her. She failed the night Georgina ran away two years ago. Try as she could to find her, the girl was an expert at disappearing. The only way she was going to be found was if she wanted to be.

"You know I will do anything to help," Eleanor said softly then paused. She knew what she was going to say was either going to push her too far or bring her closer. "But you have to understand. The power doesn't lay with me. Unlike your line, the power only goes to the first-born males. I will have to ask for help-"

"Forget it," Georgina snapped as she stepped toward the open window.

"Wait!" Eleanor rushed to stop her.

Georgina not wanting the contact hesitantly took a step back. Not before she felt her eyes shift. The fire rings expanded from her iris turning her eyes black. Eleanor paused and held up her hands in defense.

"You know I speak the truth. Why did you come here if you knew I had no power to help," Eleanor asked.

Georgina shifted her weight looking like a trapped animal.

"I- I had nowhere else to go," she whispered. The black left her eyes as the truth of her situation sunk it.

"I will ask only someone I trust implicitly to help with keeping them out of your mind. But you have to consider that your time is running out. You have how many weeks till you ascend?"

Georgina paused before she replied, "Eight."

"That soon?" Eleanor whispered. She raised her eyebrows and fixed the girl with a hard look. "You have eight weeks till you gain full power and they will find you. Maybe it's time to trust someone to help."

She took a step closer, just to comfort Georgina, but the girl stepped away. It hurt her to see the fierce look in Georgina's eyes. But she understood. She's had been on her own for so long, she didn't trust anyone. Not yet anyway.

"I need to think about it," Georgina said stiffly.

"Perhaps you could stay here. I have more rooms than I know what to do with," Eleanor said softly.

"It would raise to many questions," Georgina replied quickly, not feeling comfortable with being in a house full of strangers.

"Okay. How about the boat house in town?"

"Boat house?"

Eleanor tried to hide her smile at Georgina's tone, "Yes. It's in the harbor. It has a guesthouse attached and it's very secure. I would prefer if you stayed somewhere safe."

Georgina thought about it. It would be nice not to have to sleep in her car again. Or at least try to sleep.

"But it's only temporary. Just until we figure out a way to keep them out of my head."

Eleanor nodded her head slightly but she was less than pleased. Eight weeks was not long. Even if the elders could help, it would take the other families as well. To convince them that Georgina isn't a threat, as well as try and figure a way to help her, if they decided to, is a tall order to do in two short months.

Eleanor stepped back and walked to the vanity tabled near the door. She pulled open a draw and took out a key. She smiled warmly to Georgina, who had stepped back next to the open window. Walking slowly, she held out the key. Georgina gently took the key and gave her a small smile before looking away.

"It's very easy to get to. The address is on the keyring," Eleanor simply said.

"How is your power?" Eleanor added carefully.

They both knew that Georgina's powers were different to other witches. While the Ipswich ancestors got it by normal means, her family abused the laws of The Covenant. They mutated their power, making the aging process disappear. But the consequences to their actions were far more great. It twisted their minds, making their wield of the power dangerous. While it was bad during adolescents, it went full blown after ascension. That's if they survived the process. The twelve lines of Pendle witches have all but died save but a few because of 'the madness'. The odds of surviving were not that good.

And because it was men who cursed the Pendle family lines from the beginning, the woman were spared from the madness. They still carried the limitless power without the complication of aging prematurely but their minds were free. At first it was the only good thing to come out of the whole thing. That was until the men found out about it. Whether it was the madness that drove them to it, or just plain greed, the woman of the family suffered at the hands of the men. They stole the power from their sisters and daughters, draining the very life from their bodies.

"It's building quicker than it used to. I think it's because ascension is near," Georgina frowned. She was not use to having someone to talk to about it.

"I think so too. If you have any problems with the boathouse, your powers or if you make a decision, I hope that you will come to me," Eleanor said hopefully.

Georgina fiddled with the key in her hand before she spoke. Looking up, Eleanor saw her guard fall slightly, "Thanks for this. It's been a long time since-"

But she didn't get chance to finish. A hard knock sounded at the door.

"Grandma? Are you okay?" Caleb's voice sounded from behind the door

Eleanor shot a panicked looked at the door as the handle began to move. Looking quickly at Georgina, who's expression mirrored her own, she watched the blackness shift in her eyes.

The door opened.