Witch Doctors Inc: SEASON TWO (Ongoing)

Part 2.8

I can only bear to speak to one person today. I can't face the others, not even Addy. This is my curse to bear.

The ruby pendant gives a small shudder, and Bethany appears by the window, wavering in the evening light. "Lily," she gasps. "You look ill."

I laugh wryly. "I told everyone I had a headache, but I'm not sick."

"You are sick," Bethany insists. She drifts to me, placing a cold hand on my forehead. "You are sick inside."

I smile at this ghost by my bedside. With her glowing green eyes and mane of auburn hair, she's like something that belongs in a dream.

"I might have killed my mother." I can tell her because she is me. We share the same soul.

Bethany shakes her head. "You did not. You are letting your stepmother burrow into your mind."

"I felt her ghost yesterday, Beth. It's cold and broken. It can't forgive."

"Were you not the one who said ghosts are not real?" Bethany's kind smile makes the sorrow in her eyes glint.

"Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I used my magic that day without meaning to. I could have reached for the cart with my mind, trying to yank it back the way it came, and that could have caused it to crash."

"Onyx said that you showed no signs of being a witch when you were a child."

"Onyx could be wrong," I argue. "It's not like he's never wrong. It could have been a one-off. A burst of magic caused by stress."

Much like what's happening with the dark power now.

Bethany is thoughtful. "I lost control of my magic once. I hurt so many people." The sorrow in her eyes no longer glints. It's hard with pain, and it hurts to look at. "That is the day I gave my heart to Rikamu."

I squeeze her hand. "I'm sorry, Beth. I know how it feels to lose control."

"Onyx knew I could use magic. If you had been capable, Onyx would have seen the signs. We must trust him."

My smile is full of rue. "He still hasn't come to see you."

"No," Bethany says, "but he will. I know he will." She turns her face to the darkening sky.

"Do you still feel it?" I ask.

Bethany starts. "Feel what, Lily?"

"You said you felt something in the night sky. You called it Mother."

Bethany squints, then shakes her head. "I am sorry, Lily. I do not remember saying that."

Bethany's memories come and go. They're like mist; she can't grasp them for long.

"It's alright," I say. "It's probably nothing."

"Do you still think you killed your mother?"

I'm not sure now. I've calmed down a bit, and that's helped clear a pathway to logic. There's something in my childhood home, but I don't know what it is. I fled before I could sense its true nature. I need to go back and face it when I've gathered enough courage.

My father gets back from his business trip tomorrow, but there's someone else I can talk to. If I did anything that day, if I caused my mother's death, she would know. I'm going to ask Lissa where I can find my former nanny.

*

Hilda is over the moon to see me. My former nanny throws her arms around me and squeezes until I can barely breathe. "Miss Lily! I can't believe how you've grown." She steps back to get a better look at me. There's a happy twinkle in her eye.