The Witch of Willow Lake - 1

Two months passed and the two had settled into the cottage with me. I couldn’t bring myself to tell them to leave, and I didn’t want them to. I didn’t want to go back to being alone. In all honesty, had they not told me they were both Vampire’s, I’d have never known and thought they were human. Just unnaturally strong, fast-moving humans that could hear things going on five miles away if they listened carefully.

We had a routine; by day, I would do whatever I fancied, going out on the hunt for berries and vegetables. By night they’d go and hunt the meat, bring it back, cook it up before I retired to bed and they went out to do whatever it was they did until sunlight.

They’d been helping me with my powers too. Emmett figured controlling my powers wasn’t much different than them controlling their thirst and bloodlust. So they’d been working with me to help keep them in check. It was working, for the most part, which I was thankful for.

We’d gone back to Willow Lake as well. In the most significant building, there was a basement where all our archives had been stored. By some miracle, they’d been untouched by the fire so we retrieved as many as we could carry so I could learn more about my powers.

The pair read up all about the coven history, while I read up on the things I could and could not do with my powers. The list of things I couldn’t do was minimal, as long as it didn’t mess with the laws of nature, it was more or less a free game.

I couldn’t bring someone back from the dead, nor could I stop someone who was about to die from dying. I couldn’t change the weather or prevent natural disasters. I couldn’t stop a tornado from rampaging through a town, or an earthquake from shaking. However, I could heal someone’s wounds, and I could form walls, domes, and fashion strong shelters from nearby materials to protect people from the elements.

Although I was also learning the rules were a little different for the pair. But as Alicia had put it, Vampires went against every law of nature as it was. States of life did not apply to them. So I was learning the rules only seemed to apply to humans, with the supernatural, the possibility was endless.

“Emmett?” I spoke softly, putting the oversized volume I’d been reading down. “I want to try something, but I don’t exactly know if it’s going to work.”

Emmett’s eyes lit up with excitement as they always did when he was venturing into new territory, “Alright, well I’m always up for an experiment, what are we doing?”

Emmett had an adventurous side, a daring side who wasn’t afraid of trying something even if it meant getting hurt, or killed. He had a strong survival instinct, a could sense danger a mile away, but he wasn’t scared. Alicia on the other hand was a little more skeptical when danger was a possibility.

“I need your wedding ring.”

Emmett raised one of his thick red eyebrows before shrugging and removing the gold band from his finger.

I took it from him carefully and encased the band in my hands. I took a deep breath, letting the energy fill me and surround me — the small red static sparking around my hands. All I had to do is will it, and it would be, that’s how the powers worked. Whatever I willed, would happen, providing it was within the laws.

I made my will known inwardly, willing the magic to do what I needed it to do. I had no idea if it would work, I was basing it all on a simple theory in the volume. Vampires didn’t follow the laws of nature either, so I had no idea if I was breaking the rules or not.

The static faded, and I opened my hands. His gold ring shone in the dim light, although it looked exactly as it did before, so all I could do was pray that it worked as I handed it back to him.

“So, what did you just do to it?” He questioned, studying the band in his fingers.

“Well, you’ll see. If it’s worked, that is. Put it back on and be ready to move quickly.” I got up off the parlor rocker and moved to one of the windows.

The windows were covered by thick pieces of fabric to block out the sunlight during the day for the pair so they were free to roam the cottage in the light.

My subtle fingers brushed over the rough fabric carefully, before taking grip of one of the corners. I checked his ring was secure on his finger and with a sharp tug, I yanked the cloth away. A burst of evening sun poured through the window and shone directly onto Emmett.

Emmett instantly recoiled as he jumped to move into the shadows of the cabin, a low growl rumbling from his throat. “What the fuck are you doing, Hallie?!”

“Did you get burned?” I sounded a little smug as I noticed there were no burn marks, nor smoke rising from his skin like there usually would be.

Emmett stopped and paused for a moment, studying his bare arms. “Wait, no. What?”

Emmett tentatively held out his arm to the rays until just his fingertips touched the light. There was no burning, no smoke, nothing, and Emmett carefully stepped his full self into the beams. It had worked.

“Holy...you’re a fucking genius, Hallie! This is brilliant!” Emmett danced around, causing me to laugh before he scooped me up in his broad arm.

“What the hell are you two doing?” Alicia groaned, stirring from her sleep.

“Babe, babe, give her your ring, seriously.” Emmett beamed widely. Alicia narrowed her eyes at him before she rolled her eyes and handed me her ring. She knew he wasn’t going to be quiet until she did as he asked. He was like a dog with a bone at times and wouldn’t let things go.

I repeated the spell, hoping it also worked for Alicia, before I handed it back with a smile, “Now, you don’t have to hide from the sunlight.”

“What?” Alicia looked at me, confused, right before Emmett tore her off the bed and threw her into the light.

Instantly Alicia recoiled and growled loudly before she realized, she wasn’t burning. “Wait. What? How?!”

“I got to test this outside.” Emmett grinned.

“Wait for a second.” I announced, “I don’t know precisely how well the spell is going to work. It might be fine in the evening sun, but not the midday sun. I don’t know if the spell will stick forever, for a month, a day. And I don’t know what would happen with prolonged exposure either. So if you’re going out there, be careful please.”

Emmett was gone before I could finish, standing outside the front door and dancing in the evening sun, laughing. “This is amazing! Alicia!”

Alicia hesitated for a moment before she joined him outside, stepping carefully and flinching as she stepped out. It took a few moments, but she was soon laughing and dancing in the sun with Emmett. Never in my seventeen years had I seen two people so happy, and it warmed my heart.

“I haven’t been out in the sun for a good one hundred and thirty years! This is so amazing, Hallie, thank you so much!” Alicia ran back inside and embraced me into her arms. “We can live again.”

“Alicia, like I said-”

“I know. You don’t know how effective they are or how long it will last. But Hallie, this is the first time we’ve been able to step out into even the smallest ray for over a hundred and thirty years.”

Emmett stepped back inside with the broadest smile I’d ever seen. “We can stick around, test them out, and then Hallie...we’re taking you to see the world.”