Chapter. 26 Born on a blood moon

The ping of the text message cut off all thought and Diana was totally focused on reading it.

*In future trust me to handle any of the Coven members if they are being hostile towards you. Elaina was in the same class as the three of you growing up and says you were not friends. I was not there, but word spread quickly of an incident where after a rather nasty bout of bullying you, you publicly wished for all of Jessica’s hair to fall out. By the next day she was as you see her now.*

Diana cupped her mouth in shock. They can’t seriously think I did that? I never had any magic. *You were tested and you had no residual imprint of casting the hex, or any spell whatsoever, but the Robinsons never accepted that. Especially as you kept crying and saying you were sorry for days afterward. Like you were guilty, or at least felt guilty.*

“…poor kid.” Diana may think the two Robinson sisters could kiss her ass, but she didn’t wish them any real harm. “Wait they bullied me?” Diana narrowed her eyes and then looked off to one side. “I…have recalled being at school once or twice. You were there.” She nodded to Elaina who positively glowed with delight. “Frizzy hair and I think you were nice to me?”

“I surely was.” Elaina nodded. “I tried to be your friend many times…but you never let me.” She put her hand on Diana’s shoulder. “You were quite the jaded loner.”

“Still am.” Diana shrugged her shoulder free and folded her arms. “I do remember those two, now that I think about it. Two little girls with blonde hair who always mocked me for not being able to…you know.”

“Yes that sounds about right.” Anna closed her eyes with disappointment. “As you just heard, we are cousins. My father is their uncle. They have many a time tried to exert more authority within the coven than they have any right to, in my name. Company politics is a deadly affair. I had to learn quickly not to be led by the nose by those two.” Anna sighed, then looked to her side where Knox once again sat beside her. His softly glowing blue face and many white eyes were close as he leaned in to speak to her. He was smiling at her with pride and he stroked her cheek with the back of his human fingers.

“I would rip their entrails from their corpses for ever trying to led you or this coven. You are the Coven Mother. Not those two brats and their lesser spirit guardians.” He spoke sweetly to her, and Anna knew by now he was being sweet. For Knox, anyway. She smiled brighter and giggled, then returned to look at Diana’s confused face.

“So my choice of words were unfortunate.” Diana huffed.

“That’s an understatement.” Elaina giggled and polished off the last of her waffles. “I thought Jackie was going to pass out, she was holding onto the main counter so tightly.”

“Huh? How did she know we were arguing anyway?” Diana looked over and from experience, there was far too much distance for them to have been overheard from this far booth. No one was shouting so she couldn’t have heard them.

Anna chuckled and dramatically lifted her cell back up to signal to Diana that she was sending another message.

*What Jackie could see that you could not, was the swarm of spirit guardians around us getting ready for a fight. That’s why she stayed back, and why we all looked tense. When witches do battle their spirit guardians don’t become visible, but witches can feel the magic building in the air. Sense the storm coming. So she stayed back, rather than being dragged into a fight.*

Diana gulped and handed Elaina her cell back. She ran her raven braid through both hands over her left shoulder as a nervous tick.

“I’m not going to lie? Every time I think about what is before my eyes, and can’t see, I freak out on the inside. Are they always with you?”

“Our aids?” Anna smirked, keeping up the presence of this being a business conversation. “They can come and go as they please. They have to respond to being summoned, but they can also rest.” Anna tapped her chest to indicate inside her body. “Or they can go about their own business and social lives.”

“Lesser aids, like the ones Olivia and Jessica have tend to rest unless they are needed. Not ones for conversation or a good joke.” Elaina sniggered and then overtly winked to nothing by her right.

“Honestly you are such a child at times.” Yani shook her head beneath her white hood and her impassive eyes narrowed on the redhead.

“Okay, lesser aids? Erm, hang on.” Diana hovered her hand back over Elaina’s cell and looked to the redhead for permission to use it again. Elaina nodded with a grin and Diana decided it was time to post her own questions.

*1, when you say lesser aid, you mean lesser spirit guardian right? Is there a hierarchy then? Some are stronger than others?

2, can their spirit guardians hurt me? Knox held me down that time, so they can obviously interact with real people.

3, I want to know about the dark ones who tried to off me last night. I want to know the plan in how to stop them. What exactly do you want from me to do this?*

Diana hit the send button and watched Anna read it like a hawk. She didn’t bat an eye when Elaina used one finger to slide her plate of untouched waffles across the table. She had no appetite right now after the almost witch fight. She kept seeing that horrible dark hand shaped scar still gripping Jessica’s head. The pain and fear in her blue eyes. The hate that shook her body and aimed at Diana with the desire to hurt her.

Anna hummed and looked up from her empty plate with a smile.

“Yes is the answer to the first question. I can go into more detail on that in private. Your second question is technically yes, but the special delivery you’ll be getting later will stop that from happening as well. Thirdly? We can’t know exactly how to proceed until you’ve recovered your memories.”

“Why?” Diana folded her arms again. “What’s so important about the memories of a 13 year old girl?”

“You were there when it happened.” Elaina waded in and interlocked her fingers on the table. Three empty plates were stacked beside one full one. “When the first rival to our company got through our defences.” Diana’s eyes blew wide and she looked to Anna for confirmation. The blonde nodded and allowed Elaina to continue their veiled conversation. “Before 5 years ago none of our rivals had been capable or able to sneak across the boarders. Then five years ago something happened. Something changed. You and Isabella were the only witnesses to the first incursion.”

“And Mother refused to talk about it.” Anna grumbled bitterly. “No matter how much I asked or how much the senior circle of advisors tried to get that information from her, she refused to speak of that night. Regardless of what happened, you were there too.”

“It wasn’t long after that event that you were sent away.” Elaina added sadly. “You changed in those last two months. Especially the month following after your birthday.” Diana nearly gave herself whiplash as she stared at Elaina.

“Wait, I was told I was found on my birthday? November 30th?”

“What?” Anna’s Coven Mother exterior shifted out of place with shock. “Your birthday isn’t the 30th of November?”

“Diana? You were born on October the 31st. Under a blood moon. All signs that you would be…special.” Elaina seemed to be desperate to correct her. “Your birth was famous within our c-company. Everyone expected you to surpass all the previous CEO’s with power…” Diana felt so small. She almost felt like she was witnessing the moment, and not an integral part to it. “She’s had her memories changed, not just sealed.” Elaina hissed across the table in an urgent whisper at Anna. “Why? To make her harder to find?”

“If the state filed her under a different date of birth it would make it harder to find her by conventional means…”

“Wait. Stop.” Diana put both hands up and swallowed a lump in her throat. She mentally took hold of her reality and forced herself to be part of it and deal with it again. “Are you telling me that…all these years…I haven’t even known when my own birthday is?” The remorseful silence she was met with was answer enough. “…all the lies…” She sagged back into the plastic covered leather booth seat and looked up at the ceiling. “What did she do to me?”

“She?” Elaina asked.

“Mother.” Anna answered. “We are starting to be quite confident that Isabella is behind her suppression. Yet she either worked a second strategy, loop hole, or another agent entirely has made it so Diana’s memories are rather forcefully coming to the surface.”

“…isn’t that a good thing?” Elaina’s question brought Diana’s brown eyes back down from the ceiling. “If she remembers, she get’s closure and we all find out why this was done to her. We do out job to protect our turf from out rivals, and everything is rainbows and sunflowers again.”

“I’m not so sure that-”

“No she’s right.” Diana sat forward and fixed Anna with a very serious stare. “I told you I’m onboard. Peppy here is right, I want closure. I want answers. If they’re locked inside my head? I say let’s get the crow bar and get them out.”

“…” Anna turned and looked to Knox beside her.

“Why do you hesitate?” He frowned at her and cupped her cheek. “This is what you want. This is what the coven needs.” Anna gulped and her eyes mildly watered. “Do not doubt yourself Anna. Yes, she will suffer in this endeavour as we force her mind to bend, but no more so than we all shall if the dark ones gain power over the nexus. Be strong Anna. Do what you must as the Coven Mother.”

Slowly Anna smiled at her sister, but it didn’t reach her sad hazel eyes. Diana would experience true horrors if they distorted her mind to draw memories against the sealing spell and made them known to her.

“Well I think we can be more gentle with you than using a crow bar. First we will have you made safe, and then we will put a plan together about freeing your memories.”

“Yes. Good.” Diana patted the table and nodded. “When do we start?”

“Tonight.” Elaina saw the conflict in Anna’s eyes, but didn’t comment on it. “Dress warm. It’s going to be a cold night.”