The Necromancer's Daughter

|| eight ||

It was mid afternoon. The skies were clear, the sun was shining bright, and the air was cool and breezy. A picture perfect day to go on a stroll outside, take a short hike or just lounge around and find peace of mind. Something Rebecca didn't have right now.

Sitting on the back of Lucille's car, Rebecca absentmindedly picked on her cuticles in anxiety. It had been two days since she'd been resurrected, and while The Necromancer hadn't been heard from since they left him in the magical explosion in that swamp, there was no reason to wait for him to make his move. He was weak, as Lucille had explained to Rebecca. Resurrecting long dead people wasn't an easy task, even for a necromancer of his standing. But he wouldn't let this weakness stop him from getting Rebecca back. He went to great lengths to bring her back to life, he'd do greater damage to claim her back..

"Are you sure it's okay to go there now?" Rebecca asked. "I mean, we still don't know anything. What if it was him who sent that vision and we're walking right into his trap?" She chewed on her lower lip, unable to contain her paranoia.

"That's not possible, he doesn't have that power." Lucille answered, glancing at Rebecca on the rearview mirror. "Besides, we were the ones who asked for The Titan Goddess' help. She's given us the scrying crystal, and she's given you that vision for a reason. Whatever that is, going there is the only way to find out."

Rebecca sighed a heavy breath and looked out into the fields rolling by outside. She was terrified. Not just of The Necromancer, but also of what they might find in the middle of the forest. She replayed the vision in her mind, trying to cross analyze it for the thousandth time.

A grey cat was purring, running circles between her feet. And then it nudged her to walk between two trees whose branches crossed and formed an 'X' blocking the path. She followed the cat through it, and like Alice chasing the white rabbit, she sought after the quick feline. Faster and faster, it went, stopping momentarily to make sure she's following. At the end of the vision, there wasn't a rabbit hole to fall into, but instead a cottage. A beautiful little hut with a front porch lined with flowers and wisterias. There was something wrong with the picture, though, because on one of the stoops lay a boy about Rebecca's age, whose clothes were soaked in what appeared to be his own blood.

"Rebecca," Lucille's voice broke through Rebecca's thoughts. "Are you alright there in the back?"

"Yeah. I'm just...thinking." She replied.

"I know you're scared." Lucille said in a soft tone. "So am I. But there are more questions now and that vision of yours is the only lead we got towards possible answers."

"I'm just..." Rebecca hesitated. She knew she could trust Lucille but she was still hesitant to open up to her completely. She saved her from The Necromancer, true, but that was because she thought she was Lilian. What will happen if she turns out to be one of the bad guys? And she wondered what will happen to her if the real Lilian comes back? Her own paranoia was getting to her nerves. "I'm just afraid of seeing the boy in that state again. I can't stand the sight of blood." That wasn't a total lie, but it wasn't the whole truth either.

"Maybe you won't. Maybe that's why you were sent that vision, to help prevent it." Lucille smiled and it helped lighten Rebecca's mood even a tiny bit. "Don't worry, if anything happens, I'll be there to protect you." She assured her.

It wasn't long before they arrived at the edges of The Lodelei Nature Reserve. Lucille pulled over and parked parallel to the Reserve's perimeter fence. After Rebecca's vision, she told Lucille she recognized neither the woods she saw, nor did she see any telling signs as to where her vision's settings were. In response, Lucille taught Rebecca how to scry, her first magical lesson. It was easy, and Rebecca noticed how skillful and patient Lucille was as a mentor of The Craft. She tied a string around the scrying crystal and hovered it in small circles above a map of their city. After a while, the crystal dropped on its own and lodged itself squarely at one point in the middle of the woods.