p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-align: center; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Chapter One/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-align: center; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"No Roots - Alice Merton/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: left;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Did she have to pick the wettest place in the country to move to…?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The tired whisper from the backseat tugged on Molly Danvers' heart, forming a familiar ache in her chest. She hated that her little sister had waited so long to voice her dislike for their new home but she understood it; Willow refused to talk to anyone besides Molly unless it was absolutely necessary, and it had been the first time Sienna had left the girls alone./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She sighed and kept her eyes forward. Showing her pain would do nothing to help her. "It rains everywhere, Will. Forks just happens to get a little more."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Silence lingered between them for a few moments while the younger one gathered her thoughts. "It only rains a few days a year in some parts of Arizona," she offered, with little hope lingering in her tone. It disappeared when she saw Molly shake her head./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Phoenix has a huge chapter. They have sectors throughout the state. Even if we decided not to join a coven, they would still find us."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""But they aren't in Texas, Mo! Texas is pretty warm and dry."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Molly closed her eyes, forcing herself to control her breathing. She couldn't push away the guilt, not when she heard Willow's desperation. She wanted to be anywhere but Forks, and it was Molly's fault they were there. She knew it was, even though Sienna told her numerous times a day that it wasn't./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""There are too many different groups there. We would run into one eventually and it would get back to the sisters. You know Covens form alliances," Molly finally replied, pushing a few copper strands behind her ear. What she said was true; even if Texas was incredibly spacious and large, they were bound to run into another group eventually. Word travels too fast among their kind, and after what happen to their family, the girls had become a household name. There were hardly any places left where they could live freely and not worry about being found. Forks seemed to offer the privacy they needed…that Molly craved./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Though if she were being honest with herself, there wasn't a single spot in the universe where she could hide if the Sisters wanted her that desperately./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Look, Willow, I know you don't want to be here," she continued, eyeing the doors of the rundown quick-mart. From the wide panel windows off to the right, Molly could see Sienna paying for her purchases. She had a few moments before the girl clammed up again. "This will be good for us, though. Forks is a pretty small town, just like we wanted, and it's quite a distance from the nearest covens. It might be rainy, but Sienna said the people were friendly and welcoming. And look at the environment! It'll be perfect for us, surrounded by nature as we continue our practices. We can live here, ya' know? Start new, fresh, keep a low profile…we'll be safe here."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I hope so," Willow whispered, her icy blue eyes connecting with Molly's in the review mirror. They didn't break eye contact for a few moments, each girl assessing the other for some sort of sign – Willow's acceptance versus Molly's understanding. Then, as if either of them had noticed Sienna leaving the register, their gazes broke. Willow went back to staring out the window, lost in her day dreams as her fingers ran over the soft black fur of the rabbit in her lap./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Too late. Molly had lost her./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She's not completely alone, you know,/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" a small voice reminded her. Molly looked back to the other side of the backseat, right where a tortoiseshell cat lay. Her bright yellow eyes stared back, almost disapprovingly. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She has Olly. She'll be okay Molly./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Swallowing hard, Molly looked back at the building as Sienna got to the car. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She's in pain, Nala. You can literally see it in her eyes./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She could almost picture the cat shrugging with her next response./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"You all are./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Okay gang, snack time! We have Reese's and tea for the loud mouth in the front," Sienna exclaimed, tossing Molly's food into her lap with a sarcastic grin. She only rolled her eyes, which was promptly ignored by the eldest sister. "And some trail-mix and lemonade for the gremlin in the back."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Willow took the bag from Sienna without looking away from the window. No comment, no smile, no acknowledgement at all./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Sienna bit her lip and looked at Molly with curious eyes. For a fleeting second, she wondered how unnerving it was to other people when they saw the odd colored eyes the three sisters had. While they had their similarities in facial structures and height, the eyes were the only noticeable feature the girls shared. Other than that, Molly always felt like the odd one out in the family of strawberry blondes./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She shrugged and gestured for her to start the car. There was no point in Sienna trying to talk now, not when Willow was still angry that their sister dragged them out from the place they knew their whole life. Sienna, knowing this, still hesitated, glancing back once before, before turning the ignition and pulling out of the lot. Back on the highway it was; they were close enough to Forks for Molly to start paying attention to her surroundings but there was still another half hour of driving to go./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"In a way, Molly was just as anxious about their move. She wasn't nervous about it being a new place; after the accident, all she wanted to do was run far, far away from Pennsylvania, and just leave everything behind – the people, the nightmares, the memories. Any source of life that the Sisters could pick up on. She would have done anything, even run with the clothes on her back and small gym bag she kept for emergencies to get away. She /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"needed/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" to get away./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Molly couldn't leave her family, though. They were all she had left now./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Don't go there, Molly,/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Nala purred. She took heed of the familiar's warning and tried to distract herself with some chocolatey-peanut butter goodness./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"What she was nervous for, though, was the need to survive. She had been running on autopilot since the accident – going through the motions without actually living…without feeling. Molly forced herself to be strong; that was what Sienna and Willow needed right now. Sienna couldn't bear the burden all by herself, not while she was pushing off her grieving to keep them together. She had to stop her life, just to drop everything and step up for her sisters after a vague warning from their father before his untimely death. Barely out of grad school without a clue what life really offered, and already she had a family to provide for. It wasn't fair to her./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"And Willow…/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Her chest ached again. She could almost see the despair and guilt cling to the girl's skin. No one should have to live with that, especially that young./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"But Molly did. Every damn day, with their last expressions burned into the back of her eyelids, their last words clogging her ears, begging her to escape while she could… it was her burden to bear. It was her gift./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Forks was going to be their new start, Molly decided. Where she could hide herself from their old coven, where her gift would go unnoticed, where she and her family could live with peace, serenity, and freedom./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"No boundaries, no constraints; just safety./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Where they could be witches./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The house had character, to say the least./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"That was why Molly had fallen in love with it. Standing out amongst the green like a sore thumb, it's red panels and dark window frames set it apart from every neutral colored home they passed. It was one of the few old farm houses left, an ancestor to the more modernized designs everyone else seemed to gobble up. She didn't complain. They got the deal of the century on it./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"But as they pulled past their own little mail box and into the driveway, she couldn't help but feel it fit in perfectly. It was out of place, yet still perfectly normal with its luscious garden and vines that crawled up all sides. The rain gutters were creaky and the porch needed some repairs but it was enough to have a small hiding place from the rain./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"It was perfect. Her parents would have loved it./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Home sweet home, girls," Sienna murmured as she parked off to the side, right next to their mother's small sedan./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Your car now, Mo/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;", Molly reminded herself. It would take some time getting used to/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The rain had turned steady, filling the quiet evening as it hit the roof. Lucky for them, it wasn't any more than a small sprint to the front door but none of them had been dressed for the chilly rain drops. Pennsylvania was fairly dry before they left./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Grab what you need for the moment. We can come back out later to get the rest if you guys want to wait for it to let up."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"If it ever stops raining/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;", Nala grumbled. Molly resisted the urge to laugh as the cat suddenly shrank into a tiny rat. Her orange spot still glowed on top of her head, unusual for any rodent she had seen. It was one of the ways to tell her apart from the others whenever she shifted./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Tucking the rat against her neck, she pulled her hood up over her curls and slung her backpack over her shoulders. The rain didn't necessarily bother her; in fact, she loved it, with the wind whipping through her hair and the cool sting of each drop hitting her skin. She just knew that after moving everything around and settling in, she would be desperate for a shower./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Molly looked over her shoulder and gave Willow a reassuring smile. "Ready kid?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Willow rolled her eyes and nodded. She didn't need to speak to tell her what was on her mind at that moment. Being only three years older, Molly hardly had the right to call her a kid, let alone anyone else she spoke to. It didn't stop her though. If she could get away with it, she would call anyone 'kid', even if they were eighty-nine and on their deathbed. That was just her./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Hell. Nala was old enough to have seen the Great Pyramids go up and she got called the moniker sometimes./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"It was a race to see who would get to the door first. Molly was the closest but Sienna was the fastest, being the one with the longest legs and least amount of baggage. However, neither of them could beat Willow's scurry, not when the fourteen year old was determined to not get a single drop of water on her./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Molly ignored her train of thought. She was too happy to think about the real reason./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Luckily Sienna had the door opened under a minute, and the girls piled into their new home in a hurry, eager to shed their damp jackets and warm up their toes. When the lights flickered on, Molly was shocked to see just how many boxes had been shoved through the foyer and into the living room. It was a wonder they had any room to move./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Okay so it's still pretty early, which means we got enough time to start unpacking today," Sienna said as the girls relaxed on the steps. "I'm thinking we should get an early dinner, chill for a bit, and then get started."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The girls discussed their options, but despite Sienna's optimistic view on the local diner, the final vote was on pizza. Willow just wasn't ready to mingle with the locals and Molly had other things on her mind. It was a compromise though, one Molly was willing to make even though she wasn't confident in the west coast's ability to produce the cheesy goodness that was pizza./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She was wrong, thankfully. The pizza was wonderfully delicious and she inhaled a few slices too many. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Now if only their cheesesteaks were as good./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"After dinner was when the fun started. While Sienna took it upon herself to organize the kitchen, Molly grabbed her bag and waddled up the steps with Willow in tow. Luckily for them, Sienna had already sorted out the bedroom details, assigning each girl a room by how much stuff they had to fill it. Willow got the front room at the top of the stairs, an airy medium size room that got the majority of sunlight on the second floor. There was more than enough room for her to pile in her books and crystal collection./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Before Molly could come in to join her, the younger girl closed the door behind her, essentially shutting her out in every way possible. She stared at the door, baring only a piece of paper with Willow's name taped to it, and sighed. If it weren't for everything they had gone through, she would have wondered if she was entering that moody teenage phase./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I wasn't even that bad," Molly muttered as she continued her way down the hall. She took note of every labeled door she passed – bathroom, Sienna's room, hall closet – before stopping in front of the door labeled her name. Peeking inside after flipping the light switch, she barely registered the specifics. It was a quaint little space, containing a built-in bookshelf, her lovely little day bed, a desk, and a few other odds and ends./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"It was where she'd spend most of sleep and homework hours, but it wasn't the space she was most concerned about./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"After kicking off her damp socks and shoving them into the room, she continued past another closet before finding the door she needed. With a small smile dancing on her lips, she tugged her bag closer, snapped her fingers, and listened for the /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"click/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" of the lock. The doorway led to a slim passageway, dark until she closed the door. The light bulb came to life, thanks to a little charm she had suggested to Sienna in case of emergencies, and Molly proceeded up the stairs. It took a lot of control to keep herself from running, but she was too excited to see their hideaway, especially when the candles flickered to life the moment her foot hit the top step./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"It was a spacious room, perfect for where the magic would happen./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Spotting the stained-glass table in the center, she put her bag down long enough to pull the book out. Molly felt small shocks crashing over her skin, filling her with a current so strong her legs nearly buckled. It was the pull that tugged at every inch of her, down to her very core as it beckoned her with a soft whisper to come home. She had missed being close to it, having her fingers touch the fraying edges and running over the blotted words; her family's prized possession, filled with a history of spells, rituals, and lore all at the tips of her fingers./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The family grimoire, and her lifeline – the one object holding her and her sisters to this world and the next. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""It's like taking a sip of hot chocolate after being out in the snow all day," Molly murmured with a soft sigh, taking in the warmth that spread through her veins. She closed her eyes as she opened it, embracing its greeting like a breath of fresh air. "Welcome home old friend."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Downstairs, she could hear Sienna messing with the stereo system, cursing here and there when it wouldn't quite work right. After a few quick smacks, she managed to get it working, and the hypnotic beat of some dance song buzzed through the walls. The louder she turned the volume, the more the house shook to its base./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"At least your sister had the sense to buy a house with enough privacy/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;", Nala grumbled, disgruntled from the noise as she crawled out of the bag. The groggy ferret climbed up Molly's legs and torso, before draping her body across the girl's shoulders. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The moon will be up soon. You should prepare the ritual; it can't wait/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yeah, yeah, I know," Molly responded as she went around opening every window the attic had. It felt weird performing the ritual in such a bare room, void of everything the witches held dear, but Nala was right. They had waited long enough./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Once everything was ready and she had finished placing the five candles around her table, she took her place back in front of the book. For the first time in her history of practicing magic, Molly felt nervous./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I've never invoked all five at once, Nala," she whispered, her eyes squeezed shut as she gripped the table and rocked on her heels. Her body was vibrating with energy, enough to make it difficult to concentrate on any singular thought. The book knew what she wanted to do and was eager to begin, but Molly was more unprepared than she realized. "Dad was always here when I called on more than one."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Nala curled up closer, comforting her with her closeness and warmth. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"You are more than prepared,/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" the familiar countered. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Your body knows what to do, just like the book. Let go and follow./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Molly inhaled deeply and held her palm over the grimoire. The heat focused in her hand and as static filled the room, the pages flipped wildly, until it found the spell she needed. "A welcoming of the hearth," she whispered, seeing the words in her mind as she listened to its whispers. "It knows."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"You're ready, Molly. Channel your feelings and focus./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"S/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"he thought about everything that lead her to this moment – why she fell asleep crying, why she woke up screaming, why she hid the anger she had at the world for destroying the family she held close to her heart. It bubbled at her core, like molten lava so hot it melted the rest of her insides./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Now Molly./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Her eyes opened. All that was left was white./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-align: center; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"No Roots - Alice Merton/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: left;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Did she have to pick the wettest place in the country to move to…?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The tired whisper from the backseat tugged on Molly Danvers' heart, forming a familiar ache in her chest. She hated that her little sister had waited so long to voice her dislike for their new home but she understood it; Willow refused to talk to anyone besides Molly unless it was absolutely necessary, and it had been the first time Sienna had left the girls alone./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She sighed and kept her eyes forward. Showing her pain would do nothing to help her. "It rains everywhere, Will. Forks just happens to get a little more."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Silence lingered between them for a few moments while the younger one gathered her thoughts. "It only rains a few days a year in some parts of Arizona," she offered, with little hope lingering in her tone. It disappeared when she saw Molly shake her head./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Phoenix has a huge chapter. They have sectors throughout the state. Even if we decided not to join a coven, they would still find us."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""But they aren't in Texas, Mo! Texas is pretty warm and dry."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Molly closed her eyes, forcing herself to control her breathing. She couldn't push away the guilt, not when she heard Willow's desperation. She wanted to be anywhere but Forks, and it was Molly's fault they were there. She knew it was, even though Sienna told her numerous times a day that it wasn't./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""There are too many different groups there. We would run into one eventually and it would get back to the sisters. You know Covens form alliances," Molly finally replied, pushing a few copper strands behind her ear. What she said was true; even if Texas was incredibly spacious and large, they were bound to run into another group eventually. Word travels too fast among their kind, and after what happen to their family, the girls had become a household name. There were hardly any places left where they could live freely and not worry about being found. Forks seemed to offer the privacy they needed…that Molly craved./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Though if she were being honest with herself, there wasn't a single spot in the universe where she could hide if the Sisters wanted her that desperately./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Look, Willow, I know you don't want to be here," she continued, eyeing the doors of the rundown quick-mart. From the wide panel windows off to the right, Molly could see Sienna paying for her purchases. She had a few moments before the girl clammed up again. "This will be good for us, though. Forks is a pretty small town, just like we wanted, and it's quite a distance from the nearest covens. It might be rainy, but Sienna said the people were friendly and welcoming. And look at the environment! It'll be perfect for us, surrounded by nature as we continue our practices. We can live here, ya' know? Start new, fresh, keep a low profile…we'll be safe here."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I hope so," Willow whispered, her icy blue eyes connecting with Molly's in the review mirror. They didn't break eye contact for a few moments, each girl assessing the other for some sort of sign – Willow's acceptance versus Molly's understanding. Then, as if either of them had noticed Sienna leaving the register, their gazes broke. Willow went back to staring out the window, lost in her day dreams as her fingers ran over the soft black fur of the rabbit in her lap./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Too late. Molly had lost her./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She's not completely alone, you know,/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" a small voice reminded her. Molly looked back to the other side of the backseat, right where a tortoiseshell cat lay. Her bright yellow eyes stared back, almost disapprovingly. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She has Olly. She'll be okay Molly./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Swallowing hard, Molly looked back at the building as Sienna got to the car. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She's in pain, Nala. You can literally see it in her eyes./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She could almost picture the cat shrugging with her next response./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"You all are./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Okay gang, snack time! We have Reese's and tea for the loud mouth in the front," Sienna exclaimed, tossing Molly's food into her lap with a sarcastic grin. She only rolled her eyes, which was promptly ignored by the eldest sister. "And some trail-mix and lemonade for the gremlin in the back."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Willow took the bag from Sienna without looking away from the window. No comment, no smile, no acknowledgement at all./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Sienna bit her lip and looked at Molly with curious eyes. For a fleeting second, she wondered how unnerving it was to other people when they saw the odd colored eyes the three sisters had. While they had their similarities in facial structures and height, the eyes were the only noticeable feature the girls shared. Other than that, Molly always felt like the odd one out in the family of strawberry blondes./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She shrugged and gestured for her to start the car. There was no point in Sienna trying to talk now, not when Willow was still angry that their sister dragged them out from the place they knew their whole life. Sienna, knowing this, still hesitated, glancing back once before, before turning the ignition and pulling out of the lot. Back on the highway it was; they were close enough to Forks for Molly to start paying attention to her surroundings but there was still another half hour of driving to go./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"In a way, Molly was just as anxious about their move. She wasn't nervous about it being a new place; after the accident, all she wanted to do was run far, far away from Pennsylvania, and just leave everything behind – the people, the nightmares, the memories. Any source of life that the Sisters could pick up on. She would have done anything, even run with the clothes on her back and small gym bag she kept for emergencies to get away. She /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"needed/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" to get away./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Molly couldn't leave her family, though. They were all she had left now./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Don't go there, Molly,/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Nala purred. She took heed of the familiar's warning and tried to distract herself with some chocolatey-peanut butter goodness./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"What she was nervous for, though, was the need to survive. She had been running on autopilot since the accident – going through the motions without actually living…without feeling. Molly forced herself to be strong; that was what Sienna and Willow needed right now. Sienna couldn't bear the burden all by herself, not while she was pushing off her grieving to keep them together. She had to stop her life, just to drop everything and step up for her sisters after a vague warning from their father before his untimely death. Barely out of grad school without a clue what life really offered, and already she had a family to provide for. It wasn't fair to her./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"And Willow…/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Her chest ached again. She could almost see the despair and guilt cling to the girl's skin. No one should have to live with that, especially that young./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"But Molly did. Every damn day, with their last expressions burned into the back of her eyelids, their last words clogging her ears, begging her to escape while she could… it was her burden to bear. It was her gift./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Forks was going to be their new start, Molly decided. Where she could hide herself from their old coven, where her gift would go unnoticed, where she and her family could live with peace, serenity, and freedom./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"No boundaries, no constraints; just safety./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Where they could be witches./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The house had character, to say the least./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"That was why Molly had fallen in love with it. Standing out amongst the green like a sore thumb, it's red panels and dark window frames set it apart from every neutral colored home they passed. It was one of the few old farm houses left, an ancestor to the more modernized designs everyone else seemed to gobble up. She didn't complain. They got the deal of the century on it./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"But as they pulled past their own little mail box and into the driveway, she couldn't help but feel it fit in perfectly. It was out of place, yet still perfectly normal with its luscious garden and vines that crawled up all sides. The rain gutters were creaky and the porch needed some repairs but it was enough to have a small hiding place from the rain./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"It was perfect. Her parents would have loved it./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Home sweet home, girls," Sienna murmured as she parked off to the side, right next to their mother's small sedan./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Your car now, Mo/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;", Molly reminded herself. It would take some time getting used to/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The rain had turned steady, filling the quiet evening as it hit the roof. Lucky for them, it wasn't any more than a small sprint to the front door but none of them had been dressed for the chilly rain drops. Pennsylvania was fairly dry before they left./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Grab what you need for the moment. We can come back out later to get the rest if you guys want to wait for it to let up."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"If it ever stops raining/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;", Nala grumbled. Molly resisted the urge to laugh as the cat suddenly shrank into a tiny rat. Her orange spot still glowed on top of her head, unusual for any rodent she had seen. It was one of the ways to tell her apart from the others whenever she shifted./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Tucking the rat against her neck, she pulled her hood up over her curls and slung her backpack over her shoulders. The rain didn't necessarily bother her; in fact, she loved it, with the wind whipping through her hair and the cool sting of each drop hitting her skin. She just knew that after moving everything around and settling in, she would be desperate for a shower./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Molly looked over her shoulder and gave Willow a reassuring smile. "Ready kid?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Willow rolled her eyes and nodded. She didn't need to speak to tell her what was on her mind at that moment. Being only three years older, Molly hardly had the right to call her a kid, let alone anyone else she spoke to. It didn't stop her though. If she could get away with it, she would call anyone 'kid', even if they were eighty-nine and on their deathbed. That was just her./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Hell. Nala was old enough to have seen the Great Pyramids go up and she got called the moniker sometimes./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"It was a race to see who would get to the door first. Molly was the closest but Sienna was the fastest, being the one with the longest legs and least amount of baggage. However, neither of them could beat Willow's scurry, not when the fourteen year old was determined to not get a single drop of water on her./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Molly ignored her train of thought. She was too happy to think about the real reason./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Luckily Sienna had the door opened under a minute, and the girls piled into their new home in a hurry, eager to shed their damp jackets and warm up their toes. When the lights flickered on, Molly was shocked to see just how many boxes had been shoved through the foyer and into the living room. It was a wonder they had any room to move./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Okay so it's still pretty early, which means we got enough time to start unpacking today," Sienna said as the girls relaxed on the steps. "I'm thinking we should get an early dinner, chill for a bit, and then get started."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The girls discussed their options, but despite Sienna's optimistic view on the local diner, the final vote was on pizza. Willow just wasn't ready to mingle with the locals and Molly had other things on her mind. It was a compromise though, one Molly was willing to make even though she wasn't confident in the west coast's ability to produce the cheesy goodness that was pizza./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She was wrong, thankfully. The pizza was wonderfully delicious and she inhaled a few slices too many. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Now if only their cheesesteaks were as good./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"After dinner was when the fun started. While Sienna took it upon herself to organize the kitchen, Molly grabbed her bag and waddled up the steps with Willow in tow. Luckily for them, Sienna had already sorted out the bedroom details, assigning each girl a room by how much stuff they had to fill it. Willow got the front room at the top of the stairs, an airy medium size room that got the majority of sunlight on the second floor. There was more than enough room for her to pile in her books and crystal collection./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Before Molly could come in to join her, the younger girl closed the door behind her, essentially shutting her out in every way possible. She stared at the door, baring only a piece of paper with Willow's name taped to it, and sighed. If it weren't for everything they had gone through, she would have wondered if she was entering that moody teenage phase./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I wasn't even that bad," Molly muttered as she continued her way down the hall. She took note of every labeled door she passed – bathroom, Sienna's room, hall closet – before stopping in front of the door labeled her name. Peeking inside after flipping the light switch, she barely registered the specifics. It was a quaint little space, containing a built-in bookshelf, her lovely little day bed, a desk, and a few other odds and ends./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"It was where she'd spend most of sleep and homework hours, but it wasn't the space she was most concerned about./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"After kicking off her damp socks and shoving them into the room, she continued past another closet before finding the door she needed. With a small smile dancing on her lips, she tugged her bag closer, snapped her fingers, and listened for the /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"click/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" of the lock. The doorway led to a slim passageway, dark until she closed the door. The light bulb came to life, thanks to a little charm she had suggested to Sienna in case of emergencies, and Molly proceeded up the stairs. It took a lot of control to keep herself from running, but she was too excited to see their hideaway, especially when the candles flickered to life the moment her foot hit the top step./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"It was a spacious room, perfect for where the magic would happen./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Spotting the stained-glass table in the center, she put her bag down long enough to pull the book out. Molly felt small shocks crashing over her skin, filling her with a current so strong her legs nearly buckled. It was the pull that tugged at every inch of her, down to her very core as it beckoned her with a soft whisper to come home. She had missed being close to it, having her fingers touch the fraying edges and running over the blotted words; her family's prized possession, filled with a history of spells, rituals, and lore all at the tips of her fingers./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The family grimoire, and her lifeline – the one object holding her and her sisters to this world and the next. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""It's like taking a sip of hot chocolate after being out in the snow all day," Molly murmured with a soft sigh, taking in the warmth that spread through her veins. She closed her eyes as she opened it, embracing its greeting like a breath of fresh air. "Welcome home old friend."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Downstairs, she could hear Sienna messing with the stereo system, cursing here and there when it wouldn't quite work right. After a few quick smacks, she managed to get it working, and the hypnotic beat of some dance song buzzed through the walls. The louder she turned the volume, the more the house shook to its base./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"At least your sister had the sense to buy a house with enough privacy/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;", Nala grumbled, disgruntled from the noise as she crawled out of the bag. The groggy ferret climbed up Molly's legs and torso, before draping her body across the girl's shoulders. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The moon will be up soon. You should prepare the ritual; it can't wait/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yeah, yeah, I know," Molly responded as she went around opening every window the attic had. It felt weird performing the ritual in such a bare room, void of everything the witches held dear, but Nala was right. They had waited long enough./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Once everything was ready and she had finished placing the five candles around her table, she took her place back in front of the book. For the first time in her history of practicing magic, Molly felt nervous./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I've never invoked all five at once, Nala," she whispered, her eyes squeezed shut as she gripped the table and rocked on her heels. Her body was vibrating with energy, enough to make it difficult to concentrate on any singular thought. The book knew what she wanted to do and was eager to begin, but Molly was more unprepared than she realized. "Dad was always here when I called on more than one."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Nala curled up closer, comforting her with her closeness and warmth. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"You are more than prepared,/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" the familiar countered. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Your body knows what to do, just like the book. Let go and follow./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Molly inhaled deeply and held her palm over the grimoire. The heat focused in her hand and as static filled the room, the pages flipped wildly, until it found the spell she needed. "A welcoming of the hearth," she whispered, seeing the words in her mind as she listened to its whispers. "It knows."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"You're ready, Molly. Channel your feelings and focus./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"S/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"he thought about everything that lead her to this moment – why she fell asleep crying, why she woke up screaming, why she hid the anger she had at the world for destroying the family she held close to her heart. It bubbled at her core, like molten lava so hot it melted the rest of her insides./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Now Molly./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Merriweather, serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 300; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Her eyes opened. All that was left was white./span/p