"Hey Dad, whatcha doing?" I asked as I spotted Dad in the living room.

Dad was pacing back and forth the entrance. Mom was imitating his actions, but in the opposite direction.

As soon as their eyes landed on me, they came towards me as fast as cheetahs. Mom hugged me, but Dad stopped in his tracks just a few inches as he realized I was to be punished for my earlier behavior this morning and late arrival at night, not be pestered.

"Where have you been all day, Tanuja? Do you realize what time it is? Just because we grant you freedom doesn't mean you get to misuse it. You-..."

He was cut off by Mom. "Oh come on now, please. She just came back. Let her rest. We can deal with it later tomorrow. She must be starving." She told Dad with pleading eyes which was her way of shutting up his lips for the time being.

"I was at the library. Then I went to Jiya's house to warn Jiya against her new boyfriend, followed by a visit to Maa's grave. So rest assured about me misusing your approved amount of freedom." His lips thinned at my mention of Maa's grave.

"As for the time, it's only half past 12. The perfect time for the likes of me to wander around outside." I finished my speech.

"What do you mean by 'the likes of you' Tanu?" Mom asked in a knowingly, nervous tone.

I wonder what more is there to the secrets they are keeping from me?

"I mean exactly what I said which you already seem to know real well, don't you Mom, Dad?" I countered with scowl.

"I have no idea what rubbish stuff you are talking about, Tanuja. Go to your room. We'll talk tomorrow." And he started to leave.

But I wasn't really in the mood to calm down, not now.

"Sorry to disappoint you Dad, but we are having an emergency family meeting right here, right now. No one's gonna leave until I have all the information I want from you both. So please cooperate." I basically ordered as a matter of fact in a bittersweet tone.

Guess the commanding voice is accompanying me a bit too much these days. Can't complain really when it comes in handy against a necromancer, two vampires and a bunch of zombies.

"You can't order us." Dad said, more like assuring himself.

"Apparently I am quite good at ordering around these days." I exclaimed with the bittersweet grin still plastered on my lips.

"Tanu, we'll talk tomorrow. Go to your room right now and sleep."

Mom came towards me watching me carefully. She took my hand and started leading me upstairs.

"I don't wanna sleep. Let me go." I protested.

But she didn't listen.

I struggled against her grip trying to rip away my hand from hers, but it all went in vain. With each step upstairs, my frustration only grew.

I turned to my Dad's retreating form headed towards his bedroom with a sigh of relief. And that was enough to shoot my anger to the peak.

He can't just leave me hanging. Father or not.

I turned around, taking long strides towards him, only to be prevented by Mom.

"Dad, stop right there. Mom. Leave. My. hand." I gritted my teeth with each syllable.

But she still didn't let go. Instead her other fist slammed on my other arm to prevent my struggles.

I felt a sudden urge to break free, like an adrenaline rush coursing through me. I felt energy shot up inside every cell of my body, making me stronger with each passing millisecond.

In an attempt to break free, I swirled my arms around, and turned my body at a 360 degree rotation, twice or maybe thrice, freeing my hands from the vice grip of my Mom.

I felt my left pocket grow hot like it was lit on fire. Coming down from my high, I touched the key inside my pocket to feel it gradually cooling down. Then I noticed that Mom wasn't beside me.

I looked around to witness Mom passed down on the floor, a couple of feet away from the kitchen door which was a great deal of distance from where she previously stood while dragging me upstairs. Dad sat beside her, nursing her back to consciousness. Thankfully she wasn't hurt gravely.

I made a run for her. "I am so sorry Mom, I didn't mean to throw you away. I just wanted to free myself, not hurt you in the process. I am sorry. I don't know when......it's complicated......I am really sorry Mom. I promise I won't ever do that again. I'll go to my room and never ask anymore questions. I need no answers, I need you." I spoke, sobbing, as I helped Dad carry Mom to her room.

I took my time nursing her left shoulder which took the hit. After feeding her dinner, I served Dad and myself, though none of us ate more than two bites.

As I was about to leave for my room, Mom stopped me, asking me to sit beside her. She kissed my forehead tenderly like the past 24 hours never happened.

I told them everything that happened at the graveyard but this time, I saw no fear in their eyes of me. The fear that I did notice was for me.

"I won't ever hurt you Mom, you know that, right?" I asked.

"I know dear. But just like a couple of hours ago, you won't always realize what you're doing. Like your Dad doesn't realize what he's doing, don't you Jayant?"  She looked at Dad.

She nodded to him in assertion to which Dad nodded back.

"I am sorry for my rudeness, Tanu. I should've told you everything earlier this morning. It's time you know. After all its about you, not me." He said.

"Whatsoever it is Dad, I promise I won't do anything that would go against the values and morals both of you have taught me till date. I will never disrespect your upbringing. I won't take any impulsive step ever again like today." I promised. "It's just all these things are confusing me."

"Let me clear up all your doubts. Just keep an open mind about this." Dad began, "As I said earlier this morning, it all started with your mother. Apekshya was a half witch from her warlock father's side who gave up his coven to marry her mother. When she was introduced to the supernatural life, her instincts took the best of her. Unlike her two brothers, she was crazy for magic and power. Being the only daughter, her parents always fulfilled her wishes to learn more witch stuff until one day she left her family to join a coven of witches who dealt in evil black magic. She grew more powerful until the day that coven was arrested and punished by the Witch council for their illegal use of black magic." Dad stopped mid-way.

He inspected me to anticipate some sort of burst again, but I was keeping an open mind as he asked me to.

He took Mom's hand in his for emotional support. Guess this is where he comes in the story.

"Apekshya escaped with the help of a good witch as she wasn't involved in the illegal deeds, only bore witness. She relocated here and started working in the same shop where I used to work part time. We started dating and eventually decided to name our relationship. That's when she told me about her past. Surprisingly, I was ready to accept her in my life even after her confession. I got a job at the travel agency and proposed to her. After marriage, she decided to be a homemaker. I respected her wishes. I did the same when she insisted on taking some sort of potions classes with a long lost friend. That proved to be the biggest mistake of my life. By the following years she kept practicing blood magic with a necromancer, to be exact, the Midnight Mistress." And there my efforts to keep a poker face washed away.

"Yes, Tanu. The so called Midnight Mistress was the necromancer your mother helped get settled in the mansion, after she killed it's previous residents. Uhm, before you misunderstand, the necromancer killed them, not your mother. Though she knew about it. She chose necromancy as it would make her powerful without any troubles as necromancy is a certified form of dark magic, her words not mine. A year later, you were born. Truly speaking you were a surprise for us, more for her than for me. But she accepted you with open arms. And then she loved you like nobody else. You were the only person she loved more than herself. But it wasn't reason enough to let go of her necromancy practices." Dad's words held a deep sense of truth that my heart acknowledged immediately.

"The biggest shock hit her when she found out you have inherited not only her witch abilities but also her necromancy. That's when she told me about her secret necromancy sessions with the Midnight Mistress. I was shattered by her confession. I tried to stop her, but she wouldn't. If not for Arti's support, I would have divorced her right away. Gradually, I came to terms with her for your sake."

Mom helped my parents reconcile. How much more greatness did she have?

"Not long after, Apekshya confessed that Midnight Mistress had found out about your powers and wants to take them for herself by killing you. Before I could protest, she knocked me out. When I woke up, I found myself in the basement, with you sleeping beside me, surrounded by a spelled forcefield. I couldn't break free until after a next couple of hours. But it was already late." He sighed.

"Apekshya left me a letter saying she would either kill the Midnight Mistress or seal her forever in that mansion, both circumstances resulting in her death. She asked me to give you the locket, which you lost 6 years ago, so that your powers wouldn't surface no matter the emotional input. I obeyed her will to keep you away from the supernatural realm and the mansion."

I remember the locket. I lost it during my first encounter with the Midnight Mistress and her creepy zombies at the mansion.

"What about this key? Why have you hidden this key under her grave?" I asked.

"Apekshya left clues for when someone capable enough of killing the Midnight Mistress would show up. As much as she had written, the key opens a lock in a place where the instrument to finish the Midnight Mistress is hidden. A sort of blessed blade." He replied.

"Do you know anything about the ritual?" I asked in the hopes of gaining some more useful information. Instead I got two hurt faces full of agony.

"The ritual takes a particular number  of human sacrifices on a full moon to be completed. I bet you already know that from the books in the library. Your mother suggested those books would be very helpful for me to find out more about the mansion and the necromancer ruling it. In the beginning, the ritual requires a child's sacrifice. An unborn child." Dad exclaimed.

As realisation dawned upon me, my anger shot up.

"That evil woman would die a thousand deaths at my hands." I stood up only to be held back by Mom.

"Listen, she chose my kid because she knew it would help her get you. Either your anger for losing a brother or my hostility towards you for being the reason of my child's death would have made you an easy bait for her. That's why we never told you. Her vampire slave compelled me to enter the mansion where she killed my unborn boy and threw me out after planting the idea in my mind that you are the reason for my misery. For a moment, I believed her. She told me you would soon become just as evil as herself. It's in your blood. But when I saw your reaction after losing your supposed brother, I was sure you had no evil streak in that cute body. I promised myself I would keep my other child safe."

She deserves all the happiness in the world. This woman lost her baby along with her only chance at being a mother just because she married my father. She sacrificed her motherhood to protect her step-child. A child who's dead mother was responsible for her misery, for the town's collective misery.

"So don't ruin my efforts by taking impulsive steps. Please." She held my hand tightly.

"I won't take any drastic steps. But I promise to avenge you Mom. I promise to respect the sacrifices both of you have made for me."

I'll avenge your death too, Maa. I'll respect your sacrifice over your wrong deeds.