Jordan felt the soft velvet of the flower petals as they got to
where she felt they were alone. "Okay, when you're house caught on fire,
did any of your stuff um, survive?"
"No." He replied looking at her strangely. "Why do you ask?"
She told him she had another dream, that Aimery once again gave
her his father's athame, and it was to kill Livia. Kaine looked at her
with saucer sized eyes. She told him every little detail about her dream.
Every sick detail.
"I can't believe you can even live dreaming things like that."
Kaine looked up at the beautiful sky. "Anyway, the athame was burnt up
with everything else in my house. So the dream can't come true."
"I hope so. I really hope so." Jordan picked a flower and put
it to her nose to smell the sweet aroma.
Aimery had just come back outside, after about twenty minutes.
He sat on the ground next to Demeter who was talking with Georgia about
numerology.
"What took you so long to come back?" Demeter asked.
I was talking to someone from the coven. I almost forgot to come
back." He laughed. "So what are you two girls talking about?"
"Numerology." Georgia said holding up the green book.
"Cool, I know a lot about that." His eyes filled with a glint
of sparkles and began gabbing on about everything he knew about the subject.
Vera and Leslie were watching the three and listening to everything.
Not on purpose, but just observing. Leslie smiled and looked at Vera. "I
didn't know Aimery knew about Numerology." He shrugged. She giggled rubbing
her tummy.
"I guess there's things about our kids that'll surprise us everyday."
He smiled and then looked down to Vera's stomach. Smiling at the little
one growing inside.
"I wonder how many surprises this one's going to give us." She
said as she continued rubbing her hand over her stomach.
"We can only imagine." Leslie then put his own hand on Vera's.
Hestia came into the kitchen and saw Livia's face in the refrigerator.
She giggled and went over to the cupboard and got a bowl out.
"Hey Hestia." Livia said putting a gallon of milk on the table.
"Hey Livia, here's your bowl." She smiled an impish smile and
went over to the drawers to get a spoon.
"How did you know-- Um, never mind." She laughed. "Thank you."
Hestia handed her the spoon and got the cereal out of the bottom
cupboard. "So how are you feeling?"
"I'm doing better, but, that voice, it came to me again." Livia
blurted out. "Oops, I didn't mean to say that… I mean I didn't tell Jordan."
"It's okay, what did it say to you?" Hestia came over to her
side and put her hand on Livia's shoulder.
Livia didn't know why, and didn't really want to, but she couldn't
help but tell Hestia everything it taunted her with. Hestia was so warm
and nice, Livia just couldn't keep it from her. But she knew she could
trust Hestia.
"Wow, I can't believe Stanley. What does he want with you?"
"I guess…" A shocked look came over Livia's face. She had it.
She knew why Stanley was tempting her. "I know why. I have to tell Jordan.
I know she's gonna be mad at me for not telling her right away, but I know
why he's trying to get me. I'll be right back." She ran out of the
kitchen then a few seconds later she came back in. "Um, where's Jordan?"
"In the garden." Hestia laughed.
Livia ran out to the garden. She noticed Jordan and Kaine talking by
the flowers. She ran over there and when she got there before she could
say anything she had to catch her breath.
"Livia what's the matter?" Kaine said as he got up to help her
sit down.
"I figured it out." She said in between breaths.
"Figured out what?" They both said looking at her a little worried.
"I figured out why Stanley wants me, well, part of it anyway."
She said quietly. "He said it himself, I don't think he even realized it
either."
"What? When did Stanley say this to you?" Jordan said getting
a little anxious.
"I know I should have told you earlier, but Stanley came to me
again today. While I was in the bathroom, but that's not important right
now." Livia took a breath again.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Jordan interrupted anyway.
"Well, Kaine knows how I am, I need to figure things on my own,
and I didn't want to worry you anymore. I mean you don't need anymore stress.
But I'm glad, because I figured it out."
"Well… go on." Jordan said a little upset.
"I got upset with Stanley and I told him that he was afraid of
me because he wouldn't show himself. He told me that it wasn't that he
won't; it's that he can't. Some spell that your ancestor Janine put on
the land. That's why he wants me, he wants me to do his dirty work. He
wants to work his evil through me."
"How do you know that?" Jordan said. "It's a good guess at what
he is doing, but do you have any proof?"
"No, just my feelings. Why would I need proof? After all the
weird things, the weird voices and signs, why can't you trust my feelings?"
Livia was beginning to get upset. "You trust you're feelings, don't you?"
"Yes, I do. It's not that I don't trust your feelings, it's just
he isn't the kind of person you can trust, and this is a situation that
we can't afford to go on one way with." Jordan said trying not to sound
mean; she was just trying to be truthful. She didn't want to upset Livia.
"Well, I know that that is what he is after. He said it himself
that he can't come here. Then how is he going to kill everyone if he can't
even come here."
Kaine nodded agreeing with Livia. "Livia's on the right path
there, Jordan. In all your dreams, you never saw my dad kill everyone."
Jordan looked at the ground. "I guess I just didn't want to believe
it, but its true. I'm really gonna have to keep Jim's promise."
"Jim's promise?" Livia looked at her strangely. "What did Jim
make you promise?"
"To protect you." Jordan simply said. She then retold the horrible
dream she had last night. Though she didn't want it too, everything
was falling into place. In the beginning she wanted and yearned for everything
to fall into place quickly so she could get it done and over with, now
that it was happening she didn't want it to happen.
"Now there is one of the last pieces to the puzzle. What does
Aimery have to do with all your dreams?" Livia said.
"And my dad's athame, and your mother's baby. Why was it older
than it was?" Kaine added.
"I don't know, maybe because I don't know what a four month old
fetus looks like." Jordan suggested.
"Yeah, I guess so, but that's kinda weird." Kaine shrugged. "I
don't know how the part about my dad's athame is going to fit in, because
it was destroyed."
"Well, we're going to have to get prepared, and prepare everyone
else, because once it's night and the moon is out, that's when it's going
to happen." Jordan looked at her mom and Leslie talking, then she looked
over to Demeter, Georgia, and Aimery. "I don't know what to tell Aimery,
there's something inside me that's telling me not to tell him. I don't
know, I guess it's cause of the dreams."
"Maybe you shouldn't, if that's what you feel." Livia suggested.
"I don't know if I can do that. What if it is just because of
my dreams, and if I don't tell him, something happens to him? I could never
forgive myself. I have to tell him."
Jordan got up and went over to Cynthia and Loren and them everything
that was going on, and what Livia had thought of. They were instantly going
to call a meeting. She asked if she could help get the elders together
so they could talk and discuss before the others would join. Vera, overhearing
got up and went to get the elders of the group. They began their private
conference. Jordan explained to them what she told Cynthia and Loren.
They were all a little relieved to know that there was some information
out on figuring this riddling puzzle. Though they wished it came to them
a little earlier. Jordan agreed. They only had a few hours of safety left.
When its dark and the moon is full, all bets are going to be off.
While the elders, and the High Priest and Priestess of the coven
where discussing about what they should do, and how they were going to
explain this to their fellow coven members an idea came across Jordan's
mind. Jordan didn't really know what was going on because she didn't know
how Stanley really believed. If she could research about this cult, perverted
visions of witchcraft, or other demon worshiping cults maybe she could
figure something out.
"I'll be right back everyone. I need to look into something that
may help us." She went out of the room and ran up the stairs, skipping
a few on her way.
She ran to her computer and logged onto the Internet. Got onto
a quick search engine and looked up anything she could possibly get to
know what goes on in Stanley's mind. Even though she really didn't want
to know what goes on in there, she knew she had to find out. If she could
find out what makes his beliefs tick, she can put a stop to him.
After spending a couple hours learning everything she could possibly
know about Satanism, perverted witchcraft, and other cults that worship
any evil she was ready to go talk to her coven. Then she stumbled across
a site about an unsolved mass murder in Canada involving a group of "Satanists".
It said something about five that were never caught or found after the
murder. She didn't want to read anymore. She felt if she read anymore about
the subject her eyes would explode. She needed a brake. She book marked
the page and closed down everything and went downstairs.
It was about three in the afternoon when she looked at the old
grandfather clock at the end of the stairs. She felt her stomach as it
growled. She hadn't eaten anything all day long. She went into the kitchen
to get something to eat. Jim was in there eating a sandwich. He smiled
and kind of winked at Jordan when she came in the room. She looked at him
weirdly and laughed. She opened up the refrigerator and got the things
she needed to make herself a sandwich.
"Where've you been all day?" He asked after slugging down a glass
of milk.
"Oh, talking with the elders, my mom, Cynthia and Loren, and
looking up some things on the computer." She put away the things and took
a bite out of her sandwich.
"What were you looking up on the Internet?"
"Stuff." She said with an almost full mouth. She blushed and
swallowed. "Stuff about Satanism, cults, you know. I was trying to figure
out some things, that could maybe help."
"Oh." Jim raised an eyebrow. He didn't know if looking into that
was a good idea. There was something eerie about it. "Did you find out
what you were looking for?"
"Well, I understand Satanism a little better, and Stanley was
no Satanist. His reasoning, what he's gonna try and do tonight, it wasn't
in any Satanist thing I looked up. There was this one cult though, that
worshiped this evil spirit. I can't remember his name, but his practitioners
would do blood sacrifices to him and in return he'd give them power." She
pulled a glass from the cabinet and went back to the refrigerator for something
to drink.
"Really? That definitely sounds like what Stanley's trying to
do. And that explains why he's still sorta alive, his spirit having the
kinda power it has." He was changing his mind about Jordan looking into
the subject. This was it. She was on the answer. "Did it say anything else?"
"Actually, yeah, that the soul that the practitioner would usually
sacrifice blood something innocent. Like a baby…" Her heart stopped. At
the time she didn't even realize what it said. How could she be that thick?
It was right in front of her.
"I think we should look more up on this cult."
Jim was right. Even though she hated the thought of being in front of her computer again, looking up the subject, she knew she had to do it. They both went back upstairs to her room. She logged back onto the Internet and went back to the site where she found all the information about that specific cult.