Page 32 of Midlife Witch Unexpected

Even though I was not particularly comfortable having Branson constantly around, he seemed to be a permanent fit in the Coven and as the witches swirled around the fire pit and found their way to different seats, it became clear there was an extra chair for him.

“What was in the biscuits?” I asked yawning, stretching, and feeling better than I had in years. “Or was it the tea?”

“A little Valerian root in the tea,” Hilda said with an eye on the warm fire. “You’ll be settling in and sleeping well. We need to start working tomorrow.”

“Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait. Wait. Wait.” I was adamant. “Shouldn’t we do something tonight? Like to really make sure vampy doesn’t come back?”

“He won’t be back tonight,” Branson said. “But if he does, I’ll be here.”

“No, you won’t be,” I insisted.

“I’m going to stay the night in your parlor.” Branson was equally fixed.

“I did not authorize that,” I said firmly.

“It’s standard practice on the first night when a new High Priest or Priestess is named the Guardian stays on the premises,” Hilda said. “I don’t know what went on between the two of you…”

Heat flushed up my skin as I felt the others look toward me.

“But it’s not going to work,” Hilda continued. “Right now, he’s the only Guardian we have and we need him to do his job.”

“There’s only one reason why vampires are knocking at our door,” Trina said. “And that’s because the Dark Fae are trying to get in. And as always, they want access to the cemetery.”

“Why the cemetery?” I asked.

They all stared at me. “The truth of the cemetery is only known by The Hayes,” Hilda said.

“If you don’t know,” Trina added, “then none of us do.”

Silence stretched.

I stared at them.

None of this was my fault.

But I was going to have to be the one to deal with it.

I took a deep breath. “Well, I can look around the house but let me ask you this question: What do you think you were doing?”

“Protecting the cemetery, but that’s all we know,” Hilda said. “It’s been like that ever since I’ve been here. It transitioned from your grandfather to your aunt and now to you. That’s all we know. We live in a quiet town, and nothing’s ever really happened. But if you’re in charge, you’re going to want to make sure you know what to do when it does.”

“I thought you said if I became the High Priestess, you guys could tell me the things I’m missing,” I pointed out. “Isn’t that, right? I became the High Priestess. Now you need to protect me from the vampire and tell me what it’s all about.”

“We can only tell you what we know, and our families are here to serve yours. Our focus is to keep people out of the cemetery. In our lifetimes, no one’s ever tried to get in,” Trina explained.

“Right. But you realize I don’t even know what world I’m in,” I said.

“This place is called New Attica,” Hilda said. “It’s what you call North America, only we don’t split it into two countries like Canada and the United States. We have one country on this continent, and it’s ruled by the Demigods.”

"Demigods?" I could feel my whole body tense up.

“They aren’t overlords or anything,” Trina said with a shrug. “They just help manage the different regions. They run the Demigod Corp.; we call it the DGC.”

“Information overload.” I leaned my head back and closed my eyes.

"Don't quit before you find out the best part." Drake leaned in, smiling. "The DGC pays a stipend to every family. So, we all get the money, and with the money comes a job. Our job is to take care of you. When you look at The Estate's books, I'm sure it'll show you receive a stipend also."

“That’s why my aunt never worked,” I murmured. “So, let me get this straight. I get money every month for being part of New Attica and I don’t have to do anything.”

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