"You were behind it, weren't you?" I ask Katherine the next day.

Katherine slides me a glance. "Behind what?"

We are in the woods while Sacha, Ronan, and Elias are in a meeting with a few other Nephilims.

Katherine came to our private wing after they came back from school to invite me to watch a movie since the boys were busy. But I asked her if she'd mind showing me the Blackwell Estate instead. She had agreed and we both decided that it's a nice walk through the woods rather than taking a car. So now, here we are, just the two of us walking in the woods.

"Last night, Yokai showed me the meeting," I clarify. "I can't imagine he's doing it without your knowledge."

Her glossy pink lips curl up into a grin, telling me that she's very aware of it.

Her strawberry blonde hair is in a ponytail. She's dressed casually in jeans, navy blue converse, and a fitted v-neck striped t-shirt, yet she still manages to look like a classy and sophisticated heiress. "So you admit that you could use animals or some willing spirits to spy on others?"

I raise an eyebrow as I glance at her. "You knew I could. I bet you knew before we even met, so I see no point in denying it."

"Yokai told me about you," she agrees, nodding. "But you didn't tell Sacha about your special ability...or about any of your other abilities."

I've never revealed this ability to anyone and I'd been very careful not to let anyone know about it. I doubt that even Astaroth is aware of what I can do.

"In my family, you hide things like that from each other. Anything could be used against you, so you squander any knowledge or hide any advantage that you have to screw each other over," I explain. "We hold our cards close to our chests until we need to use them against each other." I shrug my shoulders as though it's not a big deal and it's totally normal as I continue, "I grew up like that, it became a habit."

Her smile disappears and she looks at me with understanding. "Psychotic and deadly family members." She nods sagely. "We all have them."

Laughter burst from my lips. "In my case, my whole family is psychotic and deadly." I am too.

Her brows come down as she stares at me. "That's...very sad...and lonely."

I look away and say, "So, why did you let me use Yokai to spy on them last night?"

I feel her gaze on me as she replies, "I wanted you to see that Sacha is totally committed to you. I have a feeling that you needed to see that."

"What's in it for you?" No one does anything if it doesn't benefit them in any way or without wanting anything in return.

Her brows furrow as though the question confuses her and caught her by surprise. Then there's a look of concentration on her face as though she's thinking it through.

"I know Sacha needs you and I want to be your friend, Danica," she says carefully. "But I have to let you know that I love the Gauthiers. If you hurt them in any way, I will hurt you back."

I nod. Fair enough. I don't know if I could fully trust the witch yet but I understand her wanting to protect her boyfriend and his family. In a strange way, I'm glad she's loyal to Sacha as well.

We keep walking in silence for a while. I find it to be very pleasant with just the sounds of our footsteps, the birds chirping, and the rustling of the leaves accompany us.

"Why are you so interested to see the Blackwell Estate?" she asks when she offers me her hand to climb over a fallen tree.

I accept her hand. "Why did you agree to show me the Blackwell Estate?"

"Why do you answer my question with another question?

"Why do you?" I return.

We give each other a challenging glare before I burst out laughing and she grins.

"I don't know why," I say with a shrug. "I'm just drawn to it."

"A lot of bad things happened there," she tells me quietly. "I've sealed the place as much as I could under the circumstances and nobody ever mentioned the dark energy there anymore."

"But it's like putting a bandaid over a deep wound," I say and she nods. "I can feel the energy. It's calling to me...but you knew that already. That's why I'm wondering why you're taking me there."

"I'm doing it out of curiosity," she replies. "Besides, I know you're the type who would do whatever you want, Danica Saint. You would totally go there by yourself if I didn't take you."

The sound of the crows cawing echo through the woods and goosebumps spread across my arms and the back of my neck. A gust of cold wind blows a few locks of my hair across my face.

My hair is in a loose braid and I'm in denim shorts with a red crop top and a pair of white Nike. Suddenly I wish I'd put something longer to cover my exposed arms and legs.

Katherine slows down and raises her face up to look at the sky.

I tilt my face up to do the same. Dark heavy clouds are rolling in like a menacing giant monster in the sky. The sound of the crows seems louder and the wind grows stronger.

We both turn to look at each other.

"We're in the Blackwell property now," she announces. "The Gauthier's protection wall doesn't cover this land."

That explains this feeling that assaults me all of a sudden. I can feel Astaroth's call. His impatience. I feel as though I'm in his clutch once again.

Katherine takes her phone out of the back pocket of her jeans. The time on it shows that it's just after five but the dark clouds covering the sun make it look like it's much later.

"Come on, it's going to rain soon," she says and we both hasten our steps.

"You must know these woods like the back of your hand," I comment, hauling myself up over a boulder after her. Katherine seems to know exactly where to go.

"I grew up here," she says, pushing back a tree branch so that I can walk past without being hit by it. "I roam this land almost every day since I was a little girl."

We walk up the hill into the clearing with tall grass, leaving the tress behind. After a while, she stops to look back toward the valley down below. The wind is whipping her ponytail around. There are hundreds of acres of land spread before us. It must have been in her family for generations.

"Come on," she says before turning back to continue our track up the hill.

The further we walk, the stronger I feel the pull of the energy.

Ahead of us, a monstrosity of a stone structure with turrets looms against the darkened sky. The Blackwell Estate is intimidating.

There is a rusted wrought iron fence separating this part of the property from the back garden. Outlines of tombstones protruding from the ground are visible beyond the fence.

Katherine unlatches the gate that makes a creaking sound when she opens it wide to let me through. Her eyes are glued to a new grave near an apple tree by the fence.

"That's where my grandmother lies," she explains when she sees me watching. The way she's staring at it makes me think that it's more than her missing her grandmother. I'm sure there's a story behind it.

The first drop of rain hits my head when we're weaving through the tombstones. They are mostly very old. Some are crumbling and moss-covered.

There is a massive scaffolding in front of the mansion. Katherine produces a key that I suspect is a skeleton key to unlock the door.

By the time we sprint inside the dark mansion, the sky has opened up in earnest.

"I asked one of the workers to leave the power on for us before they left," explains Katherine. The sound of her voice reverberates and bouncing off the walls. She flips the switch and suddenly the light bathes the cavernous hallway.

It's a massive empty space that reminds me of a museum. The floor and the steps of the staircase are made of marble and the banister is made of intricately carved wood.

"We try to preserve the original features. The progress was slow since we had to import the tiles from Italy and the wood carving had to..."

The rest of her explanation becomes background noise, drowned by whisperings and energy that call to me. My head tilts upward to the second story on its own accord and my feet carry me toward it.

I climb the staircase, vaguely conscious of Katherine following closely behind me, flipping the light switches on as we go. Our footsteps echo through the open space as though announcing our presence.

At the top of the stairs, I turn left and walk down a long dimly lit hallway until I find myself standing in front of an exquisite-looking wooden door. It is heavily carved into vines of roses with no ending or beginning. The thorns look deadly sharp as though warning you not to go near it and the rose petals look velvety soft, inviting you to touch it. I've never seen anything like it.

"Daughter of Astaroth..." someone whispers from the other side of the door and I jump back.

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Hi everyone!

Sorry, I missed posting this chapter last night.

Have a wonderful day!

XOXOXO

Nicole♥