After the Summerland (The Witches of Spring Hill Book 1) (5 page)

Michael was always uncomfortable
with his mother and her magic and when Selene started practicing, it pushed him
over the edge. He met Amy, a sweet girl who wanted nothing more than to move to
California, have a big family, and live near the ocean. Michael was thrilled to
get away from his mom and sister, who by then had started practicing dark magic
and were becoming more dangerous everyday. Michael built a life for himself and
his family in California, far from his mom and sister, while Selene entrenched
herself in witchcraft.

Eleven years later, Selene
showed up in California and wanted to spend time with Michael and his family.
Shortly thereafter, the kids’ mother died and Selene moved in to help care for
her young and impressionable niece and nephews. It didn’t take long for her to
introduce witchcraft to Xavier, Cian, and Brianna, who were not only impressed
by their aunt’s amazing abilities, but were searching for something to fill the
void left by their mother. Selene was thrilled to find the seed already growing within
them, and with a little nurturing she helped mold them into three strong
witches.

She told her niece and nephews they were
moving to North Carolina because she knew of a property that would make their
abilities stronger, making them more powerful. She told them that a family already
lived there, but it was highly unlikely they knew about the strength of the land
since the head of the household was a man who only had a tenuous connection to
the craft. It was possible he was raising three full-blooded witches, but if so
they didn’t even know of their abilities, making them a perfect target for someone
looking to take over the sacred location. She withheld from them that she would
take the land at whatever the cost, even if it meant eliminating the family. She
didn’t expect it would come to that though, and imagined it would be easy to
convince them to sell, like taking candy from a baby, she thought.

Initially, Selene
thought she would approach the family and offer to purchase the house and
property outright. Coming from the wealthy lifestyle she had grown accustomed
to in California, she had the mindset that anything could be bought for the
right price. Preparing to offer substantially more than the market value, she
was deterred when she discovered that the current owner was Liam Alexander. She
learned that he was attached to the house, knew that the ground was sacred, and
above all, he was chief of police. It didn’t mean she would give up, it just
meant she had to approach it from a different angle.

Selene explained everything
to Xavier, Cian, and Brianna. They didn’t even realize they were already showing
signs of the craft when she moved in, which suited her just fine. Since that
time she had nurtured their abilities until they began to use their gifts as
freely as a craftsman uses his tools. Even in California they were considered eccentric,
and she hoped that the reputation of Californians being free spirits would make
people here simply think the same. She warned them to be nice to everyone, but
to make friends with the Alexander kids as soon as possible.

Xavier had no problem
using his abilities to get people to like him, especially since Selene encouraged
him to work more toward the dark arts. Dark magic didn’t come natural to him,
but she was happy with the progress he had made so far. She repeatedly told him
that he could get whatever he wanted from anyone, if only he used his gifts,
but because he was so transparent, she had to teach him how to use spells to
hide his magic.

Cian, on the other
hand, was an old soul who had seen too much in his many lifetimes, all of which
weighed heavy on his current incarnation. He used his magic to bring peace
wherever and whenever possible and was always the first to question Selene’s
motivation for anything. He spent so much time and energy for the good of the
world, rather than the good of the family.

Brianna, beautiful
Brianna… so easily malleable and would go along with just about anything
if she was given something sparkly — just like her late mother. Not that Brianna
wasn’t smart; in fact, just the opposite was true. She was borderline genius
and would be a force to be reckoned with, if only she had more confidence.
Selene made sure to keep her in her place by questioning every choice her niece
made and challenging all of her individual ideas.

When the door to the
Mercedes closed, Selene looked on at the three Alexander kids and was surprised
at the poise they carried. She hoped she hadn’t underestimated them. But no
matter, she was certain that by the end of the school day, Xavier would have a
plan that would set them on the path to taking over their land.

As she pulled out,
there was only the slightest trickle of fear that Xavier, Cian, and Brianna
would find out the truth about their mother and father and learn just how much
she manipulated all of them to meet her own needs. Flicking her long blonde
hair, she decides this is a worry for another day and speeds off in search of the
chief of police. May as well get to know my rival in person, she thinks.

Xavier, Cian, and
Brianna were surprisingly not in any of the same classes together. Rather than
giving them any kind of comfort by having a class with each other, their aunt
had arranged the schedule so that they would be assigned to classes with the
Alexanders.

Making the best of it, Xavier
took his seat with a great view of the back of Rowan’s head. He willed her to
turn around and look at him, but she didn’t even flinch. Either she was immune
to his magic or she was using blocking magic herself. He remembered that she
didn’t even know she was a witch, so it was more likely just her façade of
being the girl who doesn’t care, which would only make her more desirable to
teenage boys. He wasn’t an average teenage boy, but he definitely found her
desirable. If he couldn’t get her attention with magic, he would try it the old
fashioned way.

“Hey, Red. Got any
advice for a newbie?” he whispered. Without turning around she said, “Yeah,
actually I do. Earn your place, Jet.” Smirking, Xavier opened his notebook and
jotted notes that had nothing to do with history. It was clear he would have to
approach her in a different way. He wondered how his less competent siblings
were handling things.

Across the hall,
Brianna could feel the back of her head burning from the stares of the boys in
the back of the class. Unfortunately, she was seated in the only available
seat, which was right up front. She hated sitting up front because she didn’t
like having everyone behind her. She would have a hard time observing Kaiden
Alexander if she couldn’t even see him.

She hoped that he was
the one boring a hole in the back of her head, but she thought it more likely
it was Tyler somebody who pounced on her as soon as she sat down. Using all the
magic that she could muster without drawing attention to herself, she put out a
blocking spell so that Tyler would lose interest quickly. Before the spell had
time to take hold, the teacher walked in and she got up to hand him the
paperwork that the principal had given her.

“Thank you, Miss Silvan. Welcome
to American Literature. Why don’t you introduce yourself and tell us a little
about yourself while I get a desk brought in for you. The desk you were sitting
at is already taken by a student who is running a bit late.”

Brianna has always
hated the first day in a new school; and even though she has a speech prepared,
she still does not like being the center of attention. She faces the class and her
eyes automatically meet Kaiden Alexander’s. Kaiden smiles encouragingly and
Brianna explains how she is a triplet, she recently relocated from California, she’s
excited to explore the mountains and coasts of North Carolina, likes running,
reading, and blah, blah, blah. She leaves out the part about being a witch and
waits for the teacher to tell her where to sit since the desk she was sitting
at is now occupied.

Kaiden stands up and
offers her his seat until a desk can be brought in. Mr. White tells her to go
ahead and sends Kaiden to go find Mr. Martin, the janitor, to have him bring in
another desk. As she passes Kaiden in the aisle, their arms brush and the touch is
electric. They both stop and turn toward each other as if time has frozen.

“Mr. Alexander — we don’t have all day. Get moving.”

Kaiden walks out
certain that something profound has just happened to him. Although he has dated
a couple of girls casually, he has never felt something like this. Even though
he has just met her, he is more than aware of Brianna Silvan - she feels
strangely familiar to him. Once he completes his task, he heads back to class
excited for the first time to be going to Mr. White’s boring American Lit
class.

At that same moment, Cian
and Chloe are having an exhilarating conversation about
dónde
encontrar
la
biblioteca
(where to find the library) in Spanish class. As soon as Cian, “pronounced key-in,”
he explained, was introduced, Miss Espinosa instructed him to sit next to Chloe.
She would not only be his Spanish partner, but would also give him a tour of
his new school while describing everything in Spanish — that is, if Cian could
speak and understand Spanish. Cian happily agreed that, yes, he could speak and
understand Spanish fluently and was more than thrilled that he would get to
spend some one-on-one time with Chloe Alexander.

As Chloe leads the way
out of Spanish class, Cian says, “I actually speak Spanish very well, so I
don’t mind if we speak in English for this tour. That is, unless you want to.”

Chloe smiles and says,
“No, I don’t mind; I don’t need the practice either. So, what
brings you to Spring Hill?”

Cian explains that his
dad recently died and when his aunt stepped in to raise them, she chose to move
them somewhere far from California. He stops short of telling her that his aunt
wants the house and property where Chloe and her family live, though her eyes
and face are so open he feels like he could tell her anything and everything.
He also feels an immense amount of pressure in his chest and the strongest
desire to wrap his arms around her and protect her from everything bad in the
world.

Chloe reflects on what he says and apologizes for his recent loss.

“I’ve never really lost anyone close to me and can’t imagine how difficult it must have been for
you,” she says sincerely.

“Cian brushes it off
and explains that although it was unexpected, he has a strong family that makes
it possible to move on. “You never really know how strong a family is
until you lose a member of it. Everyone just bands together to
make up for the missing person. Sort of like how if one of your senses is
weakened, then one of the others get stronger to make up for the loss.”

Chloe nods and explains
that she understands the strength of a family. “My dad is pretty much raising us
alone and even though at times we are so difficult, he never waivers. He
consistently loves us no matter how intolerable my sister, Rowan, behaves,” she
says laughing. “Really, I have seen families with both parents who don’t get
along as well as we do. Being a single parent cannot be easy, especially with
three, um,” she pauses choosing her wording carefully, “unique personalities.”

“Do you ever wish your
dad would remarry?” Cian asks gently not wanting to pry, but curious.

“Not really. He is such
an amazing dad that we don’t feel the loss of a mom. Well, actually, we’ve
never had a woman in our lives so I don’t know if I’m missing out on something
or not.

“What about your aunt?
Do you like her?” Chloe asks.

“My aunt is… how do
I say this? Difficult at best… I love my aunt, I do, but she has some
issues that she needs to work out. You know how some kids put the adults in
their life on a pedestal only to be devastated when the adult does something
totally human, like make a mistake? Well, let’s just say my aunt has never been
on a pedestal. She’s got some work to do on herself, but instead of doing it, she
projects her issues onto us as an excuse to avoid working out her own stuff,” he pauses
when he realizes how much he has just told her about his aunt.

“Anyway, she and my dad
were real close when they were young, and my aunt hated that he married
my mom and moved to California. She never really liked my mom, or so we have
been told. She only started coming around again about five years ago when my
mom got sick and then when she died, my aunt moved in with us to help out.”

Checking his watch and
even though neither want their time together to end, they acknowledge that the
hour has passed and the bell is about to ring. Before they get back to class,
Cian asks, “Do you think I could see you sometime, you know, outside of
school?”

Chloe blushes, but nods
“I would like that, Cian. It’s the strangest thing because I feel like I know
you, but at the same time I don’t really know you at all — and I want to.” She
laughs, thinking of Rowan telling her she needs to stop saying exactly what she
means and, “leave some mystery, especially when it comes to boys.”

Cian cocks his head and
asks, “What’s so funny?”

Chloe explains the
advice that Rowan gave her, which she blatantly ignores. Cian nods before
saying, “Chloe, I always want you to tell me exactly what you are thinking.
Life has enough mystery without us trying to create some for ourselves.” Chloe
smiles at the thought and is grateful that someone finally understands exactly
how she feels inside.

“On Saturdays, I spend
the afternoon at the library doing,” she pauses, “research. If you want to meet
me there this weekend,” she says shyly, “I usually use a conference room near
the history center. It’s quiet on the weekend.”

Cian agrees to meet her
and can hardly wait to see what she is researching. He suspects that she is
more aware of her lineage than his aunt or anyone else knows. This is good, he
thinks to himself as he watches her grab her backpack and head toward her next
class.