Page 23 of Witch's Spark

“We need to go to the old abandoned mill,” he told her. She frowned as she tried to process it.

“That’s where the hunters are?”

“Apparently.” He shrugged.

Faye swung her legs around and jumped to her feet the moment her feet hit the floor. “We should get going then.”

Chapter Sixteen

The mill loomed above them, making Faye shiver. It was even more decrepit than she remembered. Maybe some young witches had used the area for some sparring. It certainly looked like there were some burn marks on the walls. She couldn’t really talk, those of them who had powers had done the same when they were children, though they’d been more careful not to leave marks. People were probably a little bit more dismissive of anomalies now.

She slipped her left hand into Reese’s, and her right into Penny’s, loving having her mates on each side, there was a complete feeling about it that was unbelievably right to her. She guessed it was because their bonds were sealed now.

“I don’t like this place anymore,” she muttered.

“Me neither,” Reese returned.

“It is a little creepy,” Penny said, and they both turned to her. “Though I can see why you guys liked it.”

“Didn’t you have anything like this as a child?” Faye asked.

“I don’t really remember my childhood. Even after I was five, there don’t seem to be many more memories. I’m not sure where they even went. Maybe it’s just part of the banshee curse? Not knowing who you are.” Her voice cracked at the end, and if they hadn’t been about to walk into what they thought was a prison, Faye would have pulled her into her arms and offered her the comfort she clearly desperately needed.

“I’m sorry,” Reese said.

“Don’t be. It was bad luck is all. It’s not even the banshee that cursed me’s fault. How were they to know I was in the vicinity? It’s not like we can control when we scream.”

“Can’t you?” Faye frowned.

“Well, I guess we can, but not the warning screams. They just come when there’s something to warn about.”

“What was yesterday’s about? Do you know?” Faye was glad Reese had asked, she was wondering the same thing.

“This, I assume.” Penny waved her free hand in the direction of the mill in front of them. “It’s leaving me feeling very uneasy.”

“Is that normal?”

“I have no idea. I haven’t spent a lot of time exploring my powers. I’ve never really wanted to. Everyone seems to alienate us regardless of what we do. I never wanted to make that worse, so didn’t try to work anything out.”

“But now you want to?” Faye asked, squeezing the other woman’s hand gently.

“I think so. I’m not sure. I already feel a little more at ease with them than I did before. Which is something, I guess.” She shrugged, but her expression was open, and Faye knew she was telling the truth. She was just glad that Penny felt at ease enough to talk to them about it.

“Whenever you’re ready, we’re here,” Reese said as Faye nodded in agreement.

“Thank you, guys. But that’s not helping us get into the mill.”

“True, but I don’t really want to go in there,” Faye admitted quietly.

“No, me neither, but I guess we’re going to have to,” Penny added, before dropping Faye’s hand and making her way towards the broken doorway. Not wanting to leave her to face whatever was in there alone, Faye hurried to follow, with Reese close behind. At least they were in this together.

The inside of the mill was even worse than the outside, and it smelled of damp and mildew. Never a great combination. Even less so when there were allegedly prisoners in here. Faye couldn’t imagine this was a nice place to be trapped, no matter by who.

They crept through the hallways, following their instincts on where to go. She still wasn’t sure about this. How were they actually going to tell if they were going in the right direction? Though she should be thankful she had Reese’s in built sense of direction, and Penny’s warning system. Even so, her magic was crackling beneath her skin, ready to be used at any moment. It was an odd feeling. She’d never felt it like this before. Her powers had always been tending towards the weak side, with just some intricate capabilities that made it seem like she had more than she really did. For which she was grateful, really. It made the issue much easier to hide.

“Wait,” Penny whispered, holding out her arm in order to stop them going any further. They came to a halt, and Penny strained her ears, trying to her whatever it was that’d tipped Penny off. Unfortunately, she heard nothing, though that was maybe because she was using some of her other senses to avoid the things they didn’t want to be near.

“What is it?” Reese whispered.

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