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"Where are we going?" I asked my mother.

Liana was behind me, and Aurelia followed behind her. I frowned at her, but her face was impassive. A bubble of frustration boiled in my stomach; I was sick of living like this.

"Would someone please tell me what's going on?!" I yelled, coming to a standstill.

My mother turned around and faced me. She took hold of my wrist, gripping her thin fingers tightly around it. I tried to yank my wrist out of her iron grip, but she held on too tightly.

"Patience, Ivana," she said, simply. And let go. She started walking again, so I followed her, ignoring the burning anger inside me. We walked through the front door, down the porch stairs, and around the back of the house.

"Aurelia, do you have the key?" she asked, holding out her hand. Aurelia took a big, rusted key out of her pocket and handed it to Mother. She knelt down by the side of the house and shoved the key into the wall.

"What are you -"

"Hush," Aurelia interrupted, her voice soft.

I noticed, engraved into the side of the house, there was a faint line, in the shape of a large square. It was easily missed if you didn't know it was there. I'd never seen it before, and I used to play around the house when I was younger. She turned the key in the small keyhole, and the door swung open, creaking slightly. My mother gave the key back to Aurelia, and she hunched over so she could walk through the door. I followed her reluctantly. The door opened up into a narrow corridor, pitch black so I couldn't see anything. I prayed that there were no spiders or this would be the end of Ivana Cain. I shivered. I had a severe case of arachnophobia.

We carried on walking for about two more minutes, until the corridor started lightening slightly, and I noticed dim lanterns on the walls. The corridor stopped rapidly and turned into a steep, stone staircase. We descended; the air was becoming gradually colder. At the end of the staircase, there was a large room, illuminated by candles on the floor, spread around the room in a perfect circle. The room was empty, apart from a table in the middle of the circle, with a large book lying on top of it. The whole thing was ominous; the room, the atmosphere, and the expressions on both Aurelia and my mother's faces.

"What the hell is this?" Liana asked from behind me.

"Ivana, Liana. There is so much we have to tell you."

"Well you better get started because this is creepy as hell," Liana muttered.

She was right.

There was something about the way the candles were set out that made the whole scene look dire and sinister. I had an uneasy feeling in the deepest pit of my stomach. My heartbeat gradually quickened.

"Ivana," my mother said. I looked at her. "Go and open the book to the seventy-second page."

"What do you -"

"Do as you're told," Aurelia said.

I swallowed and walked over to the book, stepping over the candles. I opened the book and flicked through the pages, not really taking noticing of the content of those pages. When I reached page 72, I frowned.

The Salem Witch Trials, it read in capital letters at the top of the page.

"So you dragged Liana and I down here for a history lesson? I learnt about the witch trials in school, I don't need to learn about them again," I said.

"And what did they teach you at school?" Mother asked me.

"Seriously?"

"Tell me," she said, her voice firm.

"They taught us that there were these trials held, really long ago. I can't remember the date. But loads of women were accused of witchcraft and were hanged in public executions around Salem. But my history teacher said it was just a hoax. They weren't actually accused of witchcraft, but they were just hanged because they were simply women."

"Wrong."

I frowned at her. "Excuse me?"

"That's a lie," my mother said. "A complete and utter lie. The witch trials are legitimate, and they actually happened. Over the years, the truth has faded to an urban legend. Because who wants to live in a town where witches once lived? People said they were just merely stories, and they didn't really happen. Witches are meant to be a myth. Fake. But they're not. Over 100 witches were slaughtered during these witch trials, and this is the truth. The trials are no urban legend."

"And how would you know this?" I asked her. The hair on the back of my neck lifted up.

"Your great great great great grandmother was executed in the witch trials. Georgina Cain. She was hanged in the forest down the road."

My heart hammered in my chest, my ears. "My grandmother was a w...witch?" I whispered.

"Yes," she said, looking at both Liana and I, flames flickering in her dark eyes. "And so are you."

---

A/N

Ahaha, I'm sorry for that cliffhanger guys ;) I'm also sorry for the really short chapter but I felt like I haven't been updating enough and I needed to update ASAP.

Remember to vote and comment if you enjoyed this chapter! I really appreciate feedback (:

Olivia J. Clarke

(Gif: Ivana Cain ~ Nina Dobrev)

© Olivia Clarke 2016

Salem