After the Summerland (The Witches of Spring Hill Book 1) (8 page)

“Experiencing a wide
range of emotions and being conscious of your actions, even when in the midst
of negative experiences, provides you with opportunities to make the right
choices, creating good karma for yourselves. Karma is like a bank that you
deposit actions into. With every good action, you are making a donation toward
a better existence, now as well as in future incarnations until your soul stops
the reincarnation cycle,” Liam adds, hoping that they aren’t throwing too much
at them all at once.

Marcus continues, “The more that you
understand about yourselves, the more you will learn to balance the good and the
bad and live a happy, healthy, unselfish existence, which will lead to a more
complete human experience than your previous incarnations. Your experiences
will allow you to learn and grow so that eventually you can stop the
reincarnation cycle and spend the rest of your days in the Summerland.”

Taking this all in,
Rowan, Chloe, and Kaiden sit quietly with their thoughts. The sounds of the
cicadas create a symphony above their heads. Liam looks at his dad and his
grandfather, urging them to continue before night falls.

Peter nods and
continues, “So, do you have
any questions before I move on to your… abilities?”

“Abilities?” Kaiden and
Rowan ask in unison. Then they both turn to Chloe who has a look of
understanding on her face.

It all fits now, Chloe
thinks. The fertile ground, the fast growing seedlings… “We’re
witches, too — just like the old women,” she blurts out excitedly. “So we have
a strong connection to the four elements: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water and
therefore, we have the power to manipulate them.”

Surprised by how much
she already knows, Peter says, “You are definitely on the right track, Chloe.
You have a stronger connection to the elements, but you also have other
supernatural abilities because of your lineage. You may be able to read people more
clearly, have deeper clarity about yourself and your own abilities, see visions
of future events, manipulate people’s minds, and even cast spells and create
magic
to change the world on your whims.”

Marcus moves toward the
altar and picks up the knife. “Each element represents a direction within the
circle. As you can see from the altar cloth, each point on the pentagram also represents
something: Spirit, Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. Within this circle, the
elements correspond with directions: Earth — North, Air — East, Fire — South,
and Water — West.

Walking toward the top
of the circle he says, “Magic manifests itself in many ways. For Chloe, it has happened
quickly and obviously it comes in the form of Earth, as we can see it in her
exquisite gardens,” he says.

Chloe smiles, grateful
for the recognition of her hard work. At the same time, she is excited that
her abilities are already manifesting.

“The tools that you see
here on the altar are only a small part of what you need in order to work in
harmony with the elements and create magic,” Marcus explains. “Spells can be
spoken; potions can be created from herbs, flowers, and all of the plants that
you see growing around the property; and many rocks, stones, and crystals can
bring forth greater energy. Everything has a deeper meaning than what you may
have thought before and by focusing your energies you can acquire the knowledge
necessary to create magic. Eventually, you will learn how to cast spells. In
the attic you will find a box of books, some of which are grimoires, that will
help you.”

“What are grimoires?”
Kaiden asks, intrigued by everything new he is learning.

Marcus smiles, glad
that Kaiden is showing interest. “Grimoires are kind of like textbooks about
magic. They will teach you everything you need to know; including how to
connect with the elements, how to cast spells and charms, how to make amulets, and
so much more. You will discover more in those books than we could ever tell
you, especially the grimoires that have magical powers embedded in them. You
will also find books about your family history and lineage to help you know
where you came from so that you can better understand who you are and your
potential.”

“Once you open a book, all
of the information within may seem ‘familiar’ to you. You will learn quickly,
especially from the grimoires. The magical powers in these books will invoke
your abilities. While reading, it may seem as if you have already acquired the
knowledge, especially that which relates to any elements already manifesting.
This land only makes your magical powers stronger. It teaches and gives you
what you need at the moment you need it,” Liam says.

“And remember,” Marcus adds,
“even if you show an affinity to a specific element now, it does not mean that
you will not connect with the other elements as well. Be open and allow the
wisdom of past generations to guide you to where your focus needs to be.”

Rowan feels goose bumps
rise on her arms as the words her grandfather is saying resonates deep within
her. Kaiden watches the flame of the candle on the altar and the longer he
looks at it the more connected he feels to the words his father, grandfather,
and great grandfather have spoken.

“Explore and attune
yourselves to all of the elements. You may be surprised at what you discover.
The more time you spend experiencing them in various environments, the more powerful
your abilities will become. Elements can be conjured in many ways, not just
outside. Be creative — use a variety of methods to experience them. Consider exploring
them together so that you not only connect to the element, but also build a
stronger connection to each other.”

“Learn from and with each
other because the stronger your bond is, the less likely it is that anything or anyone
can come in between you. And, the more time you spend together, the stronger you will become,” Liam adds, looking at each of them.

Chloe realizes that the
Silvans have got to be witches and were probably using magic at school today.
This would explain why the three of them felt strongest with each other, especially
when they were face to face with the Silvans. They were instinctively coming
together to ward off whatever spells were being cast against them.

Marcus raises his eyebrow
at Liam before continuing, “You must also be aware of black magic, as it does
exist. Although you may have good intentions, you might find yourself casting
spells that do harm or are selfish in nature. Always be aware of your
intentions when practicing so that you don’t inadvertently cause harm to
yourself or others, which will create negative karma, keeping you in the cycle
of reincarnation and out of the Summerland.”

“Are there any other
witches in the area?” Chloe asks, glancing quickly at Rowan and Kaiden, wondering
if they were thinking the same thing. It can’t be a coincidence that they are
learning that they are witches today when they had such strange experiences
with the Silvans all day at school. The Silvans’ arrival and the timing of this
meeting must have something to do with each other.

Chloe can’t help but
wonder if the strong connection she felt to Cian wasn’t just a spell that he
cast to make her feel safe and comfortable with him. She considers whether to
say anything but before she can, Kaiden pinches her arm and shakes his head
slightly.

Marcus clears his
throat observing his grandchildren’s interaction. “While there haven’t been any
other covens in this area in years, we have reason to suspect that the new family
who arrived in town this week may have some supernatural abilities. Not having
spent any time around them though, we can’t say for certain that they are
witches; however, we learned that we, you three specifically, may be targeted
because you are not part of a coven nor were you technically aware of your
abilities until this moment.”

“What do you mean by ‘targeted?’”
Kaiden asks.

“You will learn more
about the importance of what we have told you when you read the books left for
you,” Marcus says, “but for now you just need to understand that
something
on this property makes your
abilities more powerful than anywhere else, which is worth having, is it not? Now
imagine someone looking for a place where their own magic could be more
powerful — somewhere where the people who lived on the property didn’t even
know that the land was sacred. To other witches, discovering that a place like
this exists could create a kind of madness and desire to make it their own.”

“Therefore, the people
who live on the land would be targets because if other witches are aware of the
power, they would do anything to have it for themselves,” Liam finishes.

Overhead thunder
cracks, like an omen that a storm is coming to the Alexanders’, in both the
literal and figurative sense.

“For now, keep your
distance from the Silvans until we know what they are doing here. We will make
some calls to see if we can learn anything about them and will let you know
what we find out,” Liam says. “No more secrets.”

“Now that we have told
you all of this,” Marcus adds as he begins to gather everything off the altar,
“you can ask us anything and we will try our best to answer; but you must not
tell anyone, anyone at all, what you’ve learned about yourselves tonight.
Although times have changed a lot from the days of the Salem witch trials,
there are still a lot of people who would not want witches living amongst them.
Understood?”

They all nod in agreement.

Peter, Marcus, and Liam
walk over to the kids. “We love you as if you are our own and we will protect
you with our lives,” Marcus says, and just like the day they found them — they
embrace them and vow to keep them safe, always.

As the clouds darken
the horizon, Selene can’t help but think that they rolled in to mark her dark mood.
She trusted the kids, especially Xavier, to come up with something that she could
use against the Alexanders. Instead all she got was attitude from him, all because
he was pissed off that she talked to Liam Alexander before it was time.
Sometimes she thinks she has given him too much confidence and power. Cian and
Brianna acted just as annoyed and wouldn’t say much about their day; those two were
as thick as thieves, as usual.

Instead of making
dinner, she decided to make them fend for themselves — just to show them not to
cross her. From her room she can hear them talking, but rather than listen in
like she usually does, she ignores them and turns the water on in the tub. A
nice long soak is just what I need to relax, she thinks. And, they better be working on a plan
for tomorrow or I might just have to take matters into my own hands. She sinks deep
into the steaming tub, bubbles soaking away her cares until she feels the mask
of pleasantness slip off her face. Secrets are so hard to keep, she thinks, and
pretending to care about people is even harder.

Cian and Brianna are quietly
talking about Chloe and Kaiden Alexander, but occasionally they say something
completely irrelevant a little louder just so their aunt won’t really know what
they’re talking about. They know she eavesdrops on their conversations and
lately Xavier has been doing the same.

“He is actually
nice
and
normal
,” Brianna whispers, talking about Kaiden Alexander, with a
look that Cian has seen before.

Cian worries about his sister. Brianna has a tendency to fall hard and when
she does she usually ends up getting hurt. She doesn’t take the time to get to
know someone to see if he is actually worthy of her time; she just dives right
in. She has a tough exterior and so people think that she can handle anything, but
really she is as insecure as any teenage girl, only made worse by an aunt who
demoralizes her at every opportunity. Cian tries to stick up for her whenever
their aunt starts in on her, but this usually ends up causing more trouble in
the long run.

“I’m meeting Chloe at
the library this weekend,” Cian whispers.

Brianna raises her eyes
in shock. “Does Xavier know?” she asks, even though she knows the answer.

Cian shakes his head,
“And I intend to keep it that way. If I tell him, he’ll tell Aunt Selene and
then she’ll tell me what to say to pump her for information and I won’t do it.
I actually have a good feeling about the Alexanders and especially Chloe.”

“If only Xavier would
stand up to her,” Brianna says to Cian, “then we wouldn’t be in this mess with
the Alexanders.”

Xavier sits in the
kitchen listening to them talk on the other side of the wall. He won’t tell
their aunt about Cian meeting Chloe this time, but he is glad he knows. He
wishes he could go in and commiserate with them and then they could all laugh
and hang out like they used to. But, things have changed since their dad died
and as much as he hates to admit, the changes are not for the better.

Before their dad died, Xavier
challenged their aunt at every opportunity. He questioned her motives,
behaviors, and most importantly, her mental health, especially when she took
greater risks that would expose their abilities. Their dad always seemed to
rein her in, but since he’s been gone, Xavier has had to take on the role of protector
of the family. This means that in order to keep the peace he does whatever Aunt
Selene wants without challenge, or so he lets her think anyway. Now it falls to
Cian to challenge her and he only does it when she pushes too hard, like she is
doing with the Alexanders. Luckily though, Xavier has a backup plan for
everything, including what to do about the Alexanders.

Thinking about Rowan
Alexander has him wondering what it would be like to get to know her better. He
loves a girl with attitude and Rowan has it in spades. Even though she acted
like she wasn’t interested or even remotely curious about him, he caught her
watching him more than once during the day.