Katherine had once heard a rumor that the Elder werewolves had a secret portal to the human realm hidden away deep within the Forest of Wolves that could not be detected by witches. At the time she figured it was just anti-wolf propaganda that her mother spouted off, but perhaps there was truth to it? Maybe there was something Dante had left in the library Cassie spoke of. Oh Dante, Katherine internally sighed.
She downed two more cups of tea and the rest of the biscuits on the table, while Cassie stared at the moving lights on the ceiling lost in thought. Katherine didn't know what to think about the new information about Dante's death and the circumstances that lead to it. Her guilt that resonated inside of her for the last two years had turned to irritation at Marianne for letting her believe she inadvertently killed her best friend.
Katherine wanted nothing more than to march right into her family's house and give them all a piece of her mind, but she couldn't just waltz onto the estate without magic. She may as well walk into a rabid wolf den with an 'Eat Me' sign. Although, now that she thought about it, she did have a small reserve of magic she had built up for emergencies hidden in her old closet. It might just be enough to last her a week or two while she figures out how to restore her magic naturally.
Katherine rubbed her temples in frustration, without magic she couldn't even get to The Valley for her magic reserves. She pushed herself off the couch and stretched her arms up to the ceiling while standing on the tips of her boots. Thanks to Alice and Dorian her wound was fixed as if it never happened, but now she had to figure out the rest on her own. They were just kids and Katherine could not live with herself if they got more involved in her mess.
"I'll be back soon, I need some time to think," Katherine said softly to Cassie. Cassie waved her hand to Katherine to go, her eyes continued to follow the blinking lights while Katherine made her way down the stairs and out of the shop.
The wind had picked up and the crisp ocean air sliced through Katherine's clothes as she made her way around the empty brick shop buildings to get to the cobbled beach stairs at the beach entrance. The clouds in the sky had turned a dark smokey grey and Katherine could almost feel the storm in the air threatening to consume the small town.
"Wait for me!"
Katherine turned her head to see Dorian run toward her. His unzipped plaid jacket flailed behind him as he tried to catch up. She had wanted to be left alone but after seeing him for the first time in so long, spending time with him wasn't something she minded.
Dorian's fair skin was splotched red and he huffed as he caught up to the stairs that led to the desolate beach. The two walked along the shore in silence for a few minutes until Dorian finally spoke.
"I have questions," he hesitated but continued, "About the Valley."
Katherine stopped in her tracks. She knew this day would come and it would only be a matter of time before Alice and Dorian became curious about where the other half of them comes from. On one hand they were half witches and deserved to know all she knew, but on the other it was also her responsibility to protect them from all the bad parts that came with that knowledge.
"The Valley is a complicated place, I was born and raised there just like your father but I really only know what goes on in the witch side," Katherine sighed taking a seat in the sand.
Dorian took a seat next to her on the cold damp sand, they faced the ocean as the dark waves crashed against the shore with more speed and fervor than the last.
"I don't even know what that means, just tell me everything!" he shouted exasperated. Katherine was a bit taken aback at his sudden outburst. She turned to look at him and he was staring intensely at her. It was a look Katherine had never seen before in his clear blue eyes. A look of desperation, as if his eyes were pleading her to take pity on him and reveal every secret she knows about The Valley.
Katherine heavily sighed, she felt backed into a corner, she couldn't say no to him with that look on his face.
"The Valley was created, like, thousands of years ago or something, I don't think anyone truly knows how or why," She looked around the beach to make sure there still wasn't anyone around, "But when it was created, all of the creature were put there, Witches, Vampires, Werewolves, and Others."
"What are Others?" Dorian asked nonchalantly.
"Others..," She began, "Are what we in The Valley call other creatures that do not belong to the Witches, Wolves, or Vampires. They are beings born of pure magical energy produced by the power of myths and legends created by humans."
Dorian nodded his head waiting patiently for her to continue. She had only ever met one Other, but she wasn't allowed to speak to him. She hadn't been allowed to speak to any of the servants employed by her family growing up. Before she could change the subject, Dorian turned to her.
"I want to know about the coven… our coven," He reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of yellowed paper, "This is it, isn't it?"
Dorian held out the paper for Katherine to take, it felt old and brittle despite how thick the paper was and it held a mildewed smell to it. She took extra care to unfold the paper but she wish she hadn't. Upon seeing what was on the page she wanted to ball it back up and hurl it into the sea.
The hand drawn page depicted thirteen people standing in a circle with daggers in their hands surrounded by dozens of bloodied bodies. Some with daggers smiled, while others hung their head, but there was one person who stood out in particular. A fourteenth person stood in the middle of the others without a dagger. He stood with his arms outstretched at his sides, as if he was relishing his surroundings.
Katherine scrunched her face in disgust at the scene but Dorian was right, at the top of the page read 'Coven of the Eternal Garden', the oldest coven; their coven. She was done answering his questions, he was only a child and knowing too much could cost him his life.
"I don't know where you got this page, but this is exactly what I'm trying to protect you from," She felt sick to her stomach, Katherine folded the page back up and stuffed it into her pocket.
"You can't protect me forever, even if you won't tell me I'll never stop trying to learn everything I can. The Valley is the only place I can truly be myself," Dorian retorted.
"You know nothing of that world, and you will stay that way as long as I am around," scolded Katherine as she stood up from the sand. She would just have to find someone else to help her recover her magic. Dorian and Alice were much too inexperienced about witches and magic. She had to figure this out herself.
She dusted the sand from her pants and turned away from Dorian but when she stepped her foot down the sand shifted and it turned her back to face Dorian who now stood in front of her.
"We are not done with this conversation," Dorian said through gritted teeth. He had a wild glint in his eye that made Katherine's blood boil.
"How dare you speak to me in such a manner!" Katherine spat back and waved her hand to push him back with her magic. Dorian cringed waiting for his punishment but nothing happened. He opened one eye and then the other looking around the deserted beach confused.
Katherine's hand still hung in the air, a pit started to form in her stomach. Dorian and her had never fought before, and she had never raised a hand to him ever. She thanked the universe that her magic was gone, or who knows what spell would have come out in the moment. It seemed losing her magic had a silver lining, she couldn't lash out and hurt people anymore.
She knew he felt it too as she watched Dorian's bottom lip start to quiver, tears pooled in the corner of his eyes and in that moment he looked exactly as he did when he was small. He looked helpless and desperate, like a cornered animal ready to fight for its life.
He changed so much in her absence, from a boy who hardly had any power to a young man trying to find where he fits into a world that will never accept his true self. He reminded her so much of herself, Katherine couldn't help but reach out for him but as she opened her arms a shrill scream rang out somewhere on the beach.
Her hands went straight to her ears to try to muffle the piercing sound of a wailing female voice but it was as if blood curdling scream came from within her head. It vibrated her eardrums, and she felt a sharp pain in her temple. Right when Katherine thought she would pass out from the pain, the shrieking stopped and all she could hear was the sounds of the waves crashing against the shore.
Katherine saw a flash of red, as Dorian took off sprinting in the direction of the scream. She turned heel and ran after Dorian, her heavy black hiking boots weighing her down as she kicked up sand behind her. They headed for the underside of the pier where the tide was coming in fast around the rocks. Her legs burned and her feet started to ache as Katherine fought to catch up to where Dorian had stopped in front of some driftwood.
All the pain Katherine felt from running across the beach was pushed out of her mind when she saw why Dorian had taken off so fast. Standing on the beach was a teenage girl wrapped in a tattered green quilt that billowed behind her, and her bright red curly hair danced in the wind as a striking contrast to the dreary gray seascape around them.
The girl turned toward Katherine, her emerald bloodshot eyes bulged out of her head and her freckled pale face looked strained. The scene was odd enough alone but what caught Katherine's eye was the small trail of blood on the corner of the girls mouth and the body that laid lifeless on the beach.