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Chapter Two
Rowan
“A witch?” I echo. I can feel my eyebrows arch so high they’re practically touching my hairline.
“Yes,” Maria says, nodding.
It’s as if someone has taken my life and spun it like the roulette wheel at a casino. My brain is the little white ball, bouncing from one section to the next.
Everything in my life is one big lie.
But yet… flashbacks of my childhood fill my mind like the snaps of my camera lens. Sybil taking me outside to look at the full moon. A big black book she’d kept on her mahogany desk, with a crystal embedded in the cover. Groups of her female friends coming over for tea at her big house up in the hills in Sonoma, swapping flowers and herbs. Walking through the sun-drenched fields while Sybil talked to animals. I had laughed as a girl, thinking it was all for show. I’d loved Sybil for her eccentricity. She’d always been the fun grown-up in the family, when everyone else was so boring.
She may not have come out and said she was a witch, but she hadn’t hidden it, either. Why hadn’t I ever realized it before?
Maria reaches out and places a hand on mine. “You look like you’re in shock.”
“I’m… I’m okay,” I say, though my voice trembles a bit. “I guess I knew all along, when I was a girl. But why did she have two homes? This one and her house in California?”
“Well, your aunt was very high-up in the witch community,” Maria says. “We have covens, and there’s also one overarching society. A group of witches that help others when the need arises. Sybil had two houses, one on the east coast, and one on the west, so she could attend to her duties.”
“A society of witches?” I cock my head to the side as my thoughts spin again. One witch is mystifying enough, but a whole society of witches?
Maria nods. “The Raven Society.”
“Raven Manor. And Raven’s Roost. I assume that’s no coincidence?” I could almost laugh. I want to laugh, want to pretend this is a practical joke.
“Correct. The Society started here in Massachusetts.” Maria waves a hand around. “This house, in fact, is the headquarters of the Raven Society.”
This keeps getting crazier by the moment. I can feel my brain stretching to keep up with the impossibility of it all. “Sybil’s house? Headquarters? So does that mean—”
“Yes, Rowan. Sybil was the leader of the Raven Society. High Priestess, as we call it.”
It’s the cherry on top of this wild conversation. My aunt was not only a witch, but there’s a whole society of witches, and she was head of it all. Also, I don’t miss Maria’s choice of pronouns. “We?”
Another nod. “Yes. I’m a member as well.”
“Attorney by day, sorceress by night.” A bubble of slightly hysterical laughter escapes my lips.
“A sorceress is different, but close enough.” Maria smiles.
My knuckles are white from gripping the arms of the chair too tightly. I shake my head. “This is all completely foreign to me.”
“I get that. I’m sorry to have to go through all this when you’re grieving your aunt.” She frowns. “And I’m afraid that’s not all.”
My heart goes still, and I suck in a breath. There’s more?
Maria hesitates before continuing. “You see, the stipulations I mentioned revolve around the house and the Raven Society.”
“Oh. Sybil wants it to be used by the Society.” I nod and my chest loosens a bit. If these witches want to use the house, that’s fine by me. I just want to get out of this place as quickly as possible. This is all far too much for me. “Of course. This was important to her, and I totally respect that. I can make sure it’s never sold and doesn’t fall into disrepair.”
“It’s more than that,” Maria says. “Since Sybil didn’t have any daughters of her own, she wants her bloodline to be represented in the Society.”
Maria pins me in a piercing gaze.
“But—you can’t mean me?” I squeak. My relief from moments before dissipates. “Surely that person would have to be a witch?”
Maria’s intense eyes remain locked on mine.
