Page 25 of Stalked

“Mercy?” I heard Caleb say, pulling me out of my thoughts. “Are you still with me?”

“This is a lot to take in, Caleb,” I said, “but keep going.”

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “When your mom was pregnant, she could feel the presence of an old soul inside of her, even your powers. She could even see visions of your past life when she slept. I told her about who you were, your mission, and what to name you. She was to bring you back into this world and train you to know your magic and heritage.”

He sat up straight and shifted his body toward me. “We often spoke throughout the years. I explained to your mother what your powers could do and how to prepare you for your Awakening. She’d often argue with me over the phone about you being a part of this life, but I still thought she had been teaching you, Mercy. If I had known she was keeping you in the dark and draining you of your powers, I would have stepped in and taken you from her. I didn’t protect you. I allowed her to become addicted to your magic, which eventually led to your attack,” he confessed.

He grabbed my hand again and rubbed the tops of my fingers.

I let him.

“Mercy, your powers are stronger than any witch in our coven. The level of magic you were born to have is unlike anything we have ever seen. Your mom was never meant to have that kind of power. When the Awakening happens, it will be too much for her, and it’ll kill her.”

I quickly looked up, feeling the blood drain from my face.

“You must physically take your magic from her before you turn twenty-one, or she’ll die. I believe your mom wanted you dead because it was the only way for her to keep your powers. When you go through the Awakening, she won’t be able to hold on to them anymore. They will rip her apart. If a witch kills another witch, the surviving witch will absorb the energy and magic from the other. That’s why she attacked you. If you died that night, the powers would have been absorbed into her own, and she’d be all-powerful.”

“Why doesn’t she simply give them up now if she knows it’s going to kill her? It’s not like she can get to me now that she’s behind locked doors.”

“I don’t think she realizes what will happen. Or, if she does, maybe she thinks she can get out and finish the job,” Caleb said with sorrow bright in his eyes.

I didn’t think that was possible, but if my mom was that powerful with my stolen magic, maybe she would find a way to come after me.

“This explains why she told Lily she wants me to visit her,” I said.

All this information was like a bitter pill, forcing me to wake from make-believe and face a reality that seemed too bizarre to be happening. But it was the truth, and I had to face this new part of my life, no matter how scary it all seemed. My ancestors were known witches, and I was a member of that bloodline of magic. I started the car today at the park with an energy force that came through my hands, and my body was healing at an incredible speed.

“I’m a witch.” I shuddered as the words left my mouth. I hoped that by saying them aloud, I’d begin to believe it and accept that part of me.

I still wasn’t sure what being a witch meant. I grew up without knowing about magic, and now, I was suddenly supposed to accept it. Caleb was asking for the impossible, yet he made it sound so simple.

Denying the power thrumming softly through me would also be a mistake. It felt incredible now that I knew its true nature. It was as if my body was singing to me?—shouting at me to embrace the power at the same time.

Then, there was my mother, who had been siphoning my magic since I was a kid. I was more frightened than ever that my mom could escape and come find me. Especially now that I was aware of the reasoning behind why she tried to take my life.

“Why hasn’t she used magic to get out of the hospital?” I asked.

“She can’t use them behind those walls. That place isn’t just any mental institution. This world is known to have many supernatural creatures, Mercy, especially in Salem. This is more of a facility to keeptheseenergies confined, for they would use their powers for evil. After she tried to kill you, one of our own used her connection to the legal system to get her transferred to her family’s facility. The walls conceal magic, like what I did here in your room, except the shield around your room won’t last. I can only hold it for so long because it weakens me?.” Caleb looked at me intently. “Mercy, please let me help you. You know what I’m saying is true. I can take you to Salem tomorrow and guide you through the process of taking your powers back from your mom.”

He raised his hand to my cheek, but I flinched away. He was trying to be affectionate, but I didn’t want him to touch me so intimately. I buried whatever desires I had earlier for him away. This was magic at play and some coven connection we had or once had. It wasn’treal. He may have known who I used to be, but I had no memory of him. Though our connection was clear, none of that mattered.

“Caleb?” I said, thinking about the story he had just shared.

He looked up. “Yes, Mercy.” His voice came out in a whisper.

“You mentioned meeting my parents before I was born to let them know what was coming. Did you know much about my dad? Was he … was he like me? Or did he leave because of what I would become?”

I felt a sharp pain in my chest, that aching loss I had accepted because it wasn’t like I had known my father. Yet the feeling of rejection was there. It had always been there.

“Your dad wasn’t a witch, but I saw how terrified he was when I told them about you. Your father left out of fear, Mercy. He was a coward.”

Yes, he was.

Any man who walks out on his family like thatisa coward. I was still so angry with what my father had done, and I didn’t even remember him.

“My mom told me he had left us but would never tell me why. I assumed being a father was just too hard for him, and he ran from his responsibilities.” I stood up and walked away from the bench, tightening my arms around my waist. “Do you know what happened to him?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t,” he said, climbing to his feet and walking toward me. That time I didn’t back up from him.

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