Page 174 of Evil Hearts

She was my world, and it’s now a darker place without that woman in it.

I let myself have all the feelings that I need to. Minutes pass as Linx sits at my side and purrs into the darkness of the apartment. Offering me the comfort that I need without the questions that hang open between us.

“She’s gone, Linx. Aunt Jenny died of a heart attack tonight. I was at that dumb fucking cafe working and she died. I didn’t get to see her because of how busy I’ve been at that shitty job. Now, I will never see her again. Not in this lifetime.”

A soft meow greets my words and I can almost see the distress in his eyes. He cared for her, too. She loved to give Linx extra treats and rewarded him like a king if he caught the mice that occasionally found her home and made it theirs. I think she used to go to the pet store and buy mice to release in her home for him to catch.

That would be something she would do. A smile cracks through the nightmare and I feel guilty despite everything being out of my control. The memories of her spin through my mind in awhirlwind. Every single detail about the woman that was my aunt is vivid and a brightness in the dark that I don’t currently welcome.

I want to feel the loss. I want to grieve her.

I swipe the arm of my coat across my face and brush away the tears before they can fall. Pushing from the floor, I make my way deeper into the apartment. Keys hit the table, coat shrugged from my shoulders and lands on the floor, and I strip my dress in shaky movements, leaving a trail of clothes behind me.

I enter my bedroom completely naked and slip into my bed beneath the sheets. My bed is cold and a shiver races down my spine. Tonight I will let myself lose it. Tomorrow is a new day and I won’t show my aunt Jenny the disrespect of not moving forward with my life. She would tell me I deserve to live and be among the warm bodies for as long as I can.

I didn’t know what my aunt meant back then, but now maybe it was about life and death. Once you are in the ground and the warmth has left your skin, there is no one you need to answer to except yourself. Aunt Jenny pushed me more than my mother. She is also the reason I keep trying to get my Witch’s License from the council.

That test is fucking hard to pass. It also costs an outrageous amount. I missed it this last time by one damn point. Stupid broom lore tricked me. Simply able to do magic isn’t the same as being a witch.

Being a witch means being able to affect the very atoms around you to do what you want. Free will of humans and animals can be changed with a thought by some. Others can affect the weather, or heal those that are sick. The council was put into place to make sure that those who wish harm to others are monitored and controlled.

Magic leaves traces behind and sure, you can get away with some things, but it isn’t as simple as just punishing someone.You need proof and magical signatures to convict someone to death by stake. The council enforces the rules and sends others out to gather evidence. Strict spells are in place in every city across the world to detect improper use of magic and the sales of those that wish to defy their orders. In other words, you can’t practice magic without someone knowing what you are doing.

So tell me why, I really want to destroy the entire world with my magic right this very second?

Chapter 2

It’s the dayafter my aunt’s funeral and I’m almost done packing the little I own in my apartment. My supplies are all boxed up and ready to load in my car. My clothes are in the only two suitcases I own. Other than that, the apartment owners furnished most of it.

My aunt left me her house. A house that is paid for. I’ve cried for days and still haven’t fully processed it all. Everything seems to move rapidly while I walk through life in a slow motion video recording.

Her house is in the small town of Rainseren. A magical town filled with people that know and understand the use of magic. Many have magic themselves or either they are part of the community of magical beings.

This is a place where I can feel safe. I can get my license finally and practice in the open. I can be exactly who my aunt always told me I could be. A witch with a potions shop.

First, I have to finish moving and grieve the one person who has always been there when I needed her. The one person who has been my rock. I need her and she’s gone.

A tear slips down my cheek and I wipe it away furiously. I’m tired of crying all the time, but that is how my last few days have gone. Feeling as if the world will crash around me if I don’t let it out.

I grab the first set of boxes to take down to the car. Might as well get this over with. The mindless labor keeps my mind busy while I take the elevator down and then out to my car. I repeat the process until they are all loaded. Standing in my apartment seems pointless now. There is nothing I can’t leave behind me here that I will miss.

Linx winds around my feet.

“Nothing except you, Linx.”

I bend down to pick him up and cradle him in my arms carefully. I offer him some chin scritches and then turn away from my old life.

“Let’s get out of here, Linx. We have a long drive ahead of us.”

Linx meows at me as I close the door. I take it as confirmation and head for the elevator. It’s slow to reach the bottom floor. I open my car door and climb behind the wheel, letting Linx down in the passenger seat to curl up inside his fluffy bed.

I don’t even bother looking back at the place I’ve lived for the last year of my life. It holds no memories worth keeping. No friends to say goodbye to. Not even a girlfriend has visited me there.

I’m alone and now I’m going to be a person alone in an old house that was left to me. This should be interesting. A new town, a new life, and hopefully a big change to my future. Maybe this won’t be so bad.

I stare at the house with its light brown siding and the dark roof that offsets all the lack of color to it. Stone adorns the columns along the front of the house. Steps leading to a little porch with a few old rocking chairs. Windows reflect the setting sun at me and a chill races across my skin.

My witchy senses tingle and I freeze. It feels like something is watching me. It’s weird. Almost as if there is a presence here that is hiding. Something deep in the shadows that may not have the best intentions toward me.

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