Unity III

Mrs. Andrews led Aria to a low couch. Ares and Garsam sat on the bed after pushing Sinbad in. Aria held her mother's hand and asked, "What happened?" Her mom was silent for a minute, as if gauging what she should or should not say. "I can't tell you much for your own safety, dear, but... I was invited here against my will. I can leave easily, but they know I won't." Aria asked in confusion, "Why?" "Because they have your father." Aria gasped, "Dad? He's here?" "No, not here. I don't know where they took him. I have to work for them to guarantee his safety. I did come close to finding him once, then they threatened me with you kids' lives." She sighed again and hugged Aria. "I have been worried sick, thinking they had taken you all too." "We're fine," Aria said, with a bit of guilt. She couldn't bring herself to tell her mom that Sue was sick. "Where have you been?" Her mom asked. Aria told her everything from their moving to Clearwater to their attack by ferals. "Did you know Clearwater was a werewolf pack? I mean, we didn't exactly see any of them in wolf form, but those monsters that attacked us... It was crazy." Mrs. Andrews seemed surprised. She was happy to leave the hustle of the city, so it never occurred to her to ensure that the new town was not close to any packs. "But then a witch helped us escape. I... tried so hard to find you and dad. I asked the witches for help, was almost killed by a fire monster, and still couldn't find the seer glasses to find you, and then we ran away from there too..." "What did you say?" Her mom interrupted with a scowl. Aria was startled. "We... ran away?" "No, no. What couldn't you find?" "The seer glasses..." "Who told you to look for it? Did you go to Everburn?" "Yes... how did you know?" Mrs. Andrews gritted her teeth. Of course, they wouldn't find it in Everburn because she had taken it away long ago. Before she cut ties with her coven, a certain someone she was trying to avoid had told her that he would find her even if he had to crawl into Everburn and get the seer glasses to locate her. So she figured she'd beat him to it. She found the glasses and took them... although they couldn't exactly be called glasses. She had brought them along when leaving the city for Clearwater, so they had been confiscated by Unity when she was captured. When she told Aria this, her daughter was dumbfounded. It was such a tragic coincidence. "So..." Aria began, "you're the witch." Mrs. Andrews understood what she was implying, she nodded. "Dad too?" Mrs. Andrews shook her head. "Did he know?" "Initially, he didn't, and I planned to keep it that way, blocking you three kids' magic was easy enough, but after the accident in your school... I came clean to him." "Oh.." Aria had imagined asking her mom this same question many times, but now that she did, she didn't feel anything much. No exhilaration, no anger at having been deceived, no nothing. "Why did you leave? I assume you had a coven, so why did you leave? Was it for dad?" Mrs. Andrews looked at the two people on her bed. Ares, although he was also listening, at least had the decency to look elsewhere. Garsam, on the other hand, was one step away from pulling a chair over to join the conversation. "Ares shield us," Aria ordered. She didn't need to repeat it twice because the love slave snapped his finger, and an opaque shield divided the room, separating Aria and her mum from them. Just in time too, as the burrito-wrapped Sinbad started to rouse. Ares whispered a spell, and he became unconscious again. On the other side, Aria waited for her mom to speak. "You probably don't know much about the history of witches; there is no time to explain it all, but just know witches and wolves have many differences that make living in peace difficult." "The last war between witches and wolves started because of a witch and ended with wolves as the victor." "We don't know much about the witch that caused the war, but she died horribly. That war was barely fifteen years ago." "I left my coven before the war; I knew tension was brewing, and I wanted no part in it. So I left. Then I had a mate, a chosen mate." At this point, she sighed. "He was my best friend; I can't say we were madly in love, but we respected each other, and we were content. When I told him I wanted him to leave the coven with me, he didn't approve. Which, to be fair, was understandable since he was the next Coven head." "I still left anyway; I met your father two years later. I didn't want anything to do with him for fear I might be exposed." She laughed fondly. "But he was as gentle as he was stubborn, and eventually, we got married. I... I told so many lies, to him and to everyone around me, just to keep that happy illusion even if it would only last for a while, then you kids came along, and I knew what happiness truly meant." At this point, she hugged Aria tightly. "Who knew it would still slip from my fingers," she finished sadly. Aria pulled herself away. "We're still here, mom; nothing will take us away from you." "You said Unity has the Seer glasses; perhaps we can use it to find dad, then you wouldn't have to stay here anymore." "No," her mom snapped, "I can't risk you getting hurt." "It's okay; those guys are pretty strong," she said, referring to Ares and Garsam. "I'm almost done here; I'll find your father and bring him back. Till then, I just need you to stay safe for me, okay?" "Yes, mom," Aria nodded. She wasn't sure what was so scary about Unity, but since her mother asked her to stay put, she would trust her. Although staying safe might be difficult. She contemplated telling her mom about Selena and the Acabi, but she dismissed it as quickly as the idea came. She couldn't add to her list of worries. Besides, they would all forget her. 'No memory, no pain.' She repeated it in her mind till she was able to draw up a smile. "I'll keep them safe, mom," she promised. Her mom pinched her nose. "And you too."