Chapter 5

The ride home took about half an hour. Liza and I sat in the car in tense silence, Liza probably contemplating on what we should do next. I already knew the answer to that though.

We were going to get the hell out of town.

As she pulled into the driveway of our little two-story house, I quickly jumped out of the car before she even managed to park properly.

I wasted no time.

I quickly entered the house, slamming the door open in my hastiness and leaving it open as I ran up the stairs and turned left down the hallway, running straight into my bedroom.

My body was on auto control as my mind scrambled for thoughts. I went straight to my closet. I took out a black duffel bag and hugged a bunch of my clothes, hooking the hangers off the rail and dumping everything inside the bag, both hangers and clothes. I scrambled for the drawers as I opened them and took out my undergarments, throwing them in the bag as well. This drill was so etched into my mind that there weren't even many clothes for me to pack. I've already been preparing myself for this.

I was so caught up in my anxiety to run that I didn't notice when Liza entered my room until she spoke.

"What are you doing?"

I jumped in surprise and turned around to face her. She stood leaning against the doorframe leading into my room, her shoulder length, black inky hair pushed back as if she had run her hands through them a lot before coming up to see me. Her bright hazel eyes stared at me in confusion.

I turned back to dumping all my stuff into the bag, talking over my shoulder, "hurry up and go pack your stuff. We're leaving."

My voice left no room for discussion. This was probably the first time Liza have ever seen me so authoritative.

A scuff of disbelief was heard from behind me, "what do you mean by pack? We're not leaving."

I turned to her sharply and hissed, "Like hell we're not. You trying to get us killed!?"

Liza threw up her hands in frustration, "We already got away! Why in the world would a wolf of all creatures waste time tracking us down to kill us? Let's just go to the cops and let them handle this."

I rolled my eyes. My temper was flaring even brighter as she refused to see my point of view. Knowing the things that I knew; she's supposed to be freaking alarmed as well! I was so preoccupied with running away that I forgot the part where Liza didn't know anything about the things I knew.

"And what are we going to tell the cops, huh? That we broke the law and entered forbidden grounds? That we saw the garden and found a fucking wolf breaking out of the statue?" I scuffed, "yeah that's the fastest way of getting ourselves checked into a mental hospital."

Liza scowled and ran a hand through her hair, pacing the length of my bedroom, "I don't fucking know okay!? But I'm not leaving for God's sake, we just moved here. I'm finally getting my life in order, and you want me to just up and leave just because we saw a wolf in the forest!? It's ridiculous! Besides... I love my job so I'm not leaving." she turned to me with cold eyes filled with resolve.

Ugh! I placed a hand to my forehead and massaged it, trying to calm myself down. I wanted to scream my lungs out in frustration. I knew this look all too well. Liza decided and there was nothing I could say that would change her mind. But...

A heavy sigh released from my lips, "Liza.... you don't know..."

Liza rolled her eyes at me, "I don't know a lot of things Ez! and that's because you're so closed off that you won't even talk to your own sister! We've been together for years and I still don't know what happened to you or why you turned into the timid shell that runs from everything she deems a threat!"

I avoided her gaze and pursed my lips, my mind refusing to take me down that path. Refusing to think on why I acted the way I did.

"Why are you so afraid Ez!? Why are you running?" Liza continued, desperation and sadness seeping into her voice.

I lifted my gaze to hers and stared blankly, refusing to let her see the turmoil raging inside me. This wasn't her burden to bear. This wasn't even a part of her world to begin with. I'd never drag her into my dark prison of a world.

"We're leaving Liza. It's for your own good."

Liza scuffed and crossed her arms, "What am I, five? If you want to leave, I'm not stopping you but I'm not going anywhere."

"If that's what you want then fine. You stay, I'll go."

Liza's arms unconsciously dropped back to her sides as she stared at me in disbelief, "you're serious?"

I turned my back on her and continued packing my bags, refusing to say another word, ignoring the slight throbbing in my chest as I heard my bedroom door close shut.

My shoulders slouched in exhaustion, and I found myself sliding down and unto the floor, my back resting on the bed behind me. I covered my face with my hands and tried to control my breathing, trying to calm myself down.

I thought back to the day the Franchild household took me in. The day I walked into their home and found a mischievous Liza hiding behind a corner, waiting to jump out at me. Little did she know that I had already sensed her from the moment our parents opened the door. As soon as she jumped out to tackle me, I had stepped aside and let her fall with an oomph, clutching my bag to my chest and eyeing her cautiously. I honestly thought that she was going to cry but no, not Liza. She got right back up and grinned at me with those bright eyes.

"You win this time, but I'll keep trying sis!"

That little girl accepted me as her sister without any thought. She had no problem sharing her parents' attention with me, she had no problem brushing around my rough edges to make me like her, she was determined to open me up and after an entire year, she finally succeeded.

I sighed again and clasped my hands together, closing my eyes and allowing myself to fall back into the deep recesses of my mind. I dug deep into my mind until I found an exact replica of myself staring back at me. Short nappy hair pulled up into a small bun, deep brown eyes, and a light brown complexion. My eyes were swirling with a deep-rooted sadness that appeared many years ago, drowning me in sorrow up to this day, drowning me in secrets.

I reached out and grabbed a hold of my hand, clutching it firmly once I felt the solid touch. Then I yanked myself. I tugged at her until I could feel us breaking apart and distancing. One second, I was leaning against the bed with my eyes closed and then the next second, I was floating in front of myself, a mere spirit hovering over my physical body.

There was no time for me to waste. I had to check the barrier I placed around our house for any damage. I quickly slipped through the white walls of the house and appeared outside, staring up at the pulsing purple wall that towered high up as far as the eyes could see. It was beautiful and frightening all at the same time.

I placed my hands against it and winced slightly as my finger was pricked with what felt like a needle. Crimson red dripped from my finger and unto the barrier, thickening the already thinning wall.

A sigh of relief escaped my lips as the barrier was fortified.

A wave of dizziness washed over me, signalling my time was almost up. I closed my eyes and gave myself back up to my body that called out to me desperately.

A sharp gasp escaped my lips as my eyes snapped open and I found myself leaning against the bed again. My breathing was heavy as I sucked in as much oxygen as I could. That took a lot out of me. My chest throbbed uncomfortably as I tried to catch my breath. A soul couldn't live long without its physical body. I'm lucky enough to even be able to last that long.

I glanced at my closed bedroom door and reluctantly pushed myself up, dragging my exhausted body across the floor and locking the door once I reached it.

I turned to my closet next and dug through my pile of clothing that laid on the floor, taking up the old dirty, shredded bag that stored all my personal secrets.

I zipped the bag open and reached a hand inside to pull out the bright purple crystal. It was a ball about the size of my palm. Every witch born was appointed one at the moment of their birth.

I clutched the crystal to my chest and chanted,

"Spirits on the other side

hear my cursed cry

Guide me to what I seek

Reveal the danger that comes for me."

I stared intently at the crystal, waiting anxiously for the face of that wolf to reveal itself. A cloud of darkness blanketed the crystal, and I squinted my eyes to look pass it, but it was futile. There was no wolf, just a blank canvas.

Undecided.

I sighed in frustration and shook the crystal.

"Spirits I call to thee

The ones that guide my family

Show me the path I'm destined to take

Show me what might be my future mistake."

The crystal glowed brightly, fading from its natural purple to depict a picture of me driving my car pass the welcome sign that's at the border of Sylia.

I scowled in annoyance, "why the hell can't I leave this place you bastards?"

A slight pain sliced through my hand where the crystal was grasped. I yelped and almost dropped the crystal, rolling my eyes once I realized what happened.

"I didn't mean it." I muttered.

I placed the crystal back into my bag and zipped it back up, placing it on the floor and throwing the pile of clothing over it to cover it up.

I guessed I was staying for a little while longer. I just hoped those damned guardians were right.

I stood up and planned to go and unpack my stuff but found myself tensing up in dread as I sensed something predatory slip pass my barrier.

An image of the wolf from the forest flashed across my eyes and I felt my face dropping in horror.

How the heck did it get pass my barrier!?