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Suddenly, it felt invasive and wrong to look into someone’s family history without their knowledge. But I didn’t have a choice. I had to find out if Isabelle was lying about her heritage and whether she was the key to breaking this curse or not.
“Well, good luck. I set you up on computer five again. Holler if you need anything.” Keelyn lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “Not really, but you know what I mean.”
I giggled and walked to the bank of computers, once again taking my preferred seat. With a few strokes of the keys, I typed in Genevieve Pike’s name and started to read. A slew of random articles popped up, which I quickly weeded through. Then I focused my search on the New England territories since that was where Isabelle had settled, and based on the way she talked about growing up in the area, it was worth a shot. Twenty minutes later, and after expanding my search to include Pike Metaphysical, I found an obituary mentioning Genevieve and all seven of her children. They had, in fact, originated from Maine, with all but Genevieve and Isabelle moving away after their father died eleven years ago.
Once I had the father’s name, I was able to trace back with a little more ease, finally landing on a genealogy page that confirmed Isabelle’s words. The Pikes weren’t related to Agitha as far as I could tell, and that put a quick end to my research today.
Returning home, I stomped into the house, startling Jenks with the smack of the door. “Sorry, baby. I’m just so… frustrated.” I flopped down onto the couch, my thermos of tea almost empty.
With my familiar curled up in my lap, I let my mind wander. I didn’t know what to do, but if I was being honest with myself, I wasn’t ready to face Roarke just yet, and I wasn’t sure I ever would be. Whether it was his true intention to turn me and my magic dark, I still wasn’t sure. But if I fell asleep now, I’d have to tell him about the curse, Isabelle, and that I was choosing to walk away. My chest heaved, exhaustion settling deep in my bones. Obviously, I couldn’t stay awake forever, but perhaps if I cast my spell again to walk in the dreamscape alone, I could rest while avoiding that confrontation a little while longer.
Retrieving the smudge stick and the chunk of blue lace agate from my altar, I recreated my spell, focusing on a new destination.
Goddess of night, hear my plea. Shroud me from the one who sees. Let me walk within my dreams, shielded and alone. So mote it be.
I woke to a strange silence, but as a familiar warmth settled around me, I knew my spell had worked. With the Weaver’s magic, I was still powerful here, and when I opened my eyes and found myself lying in my own garden with Mama by my side, I knew this was exactly where I needed to be.
