A witch.

~ And what I really intended to say in the end remains unsaid ~ Franz Kafka

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"Delaney!" multiple voices called out at the same time.

Delaney's head whipped up and she stared at all of them, mouth agap. "You...W-what are you doing?" she questioned, but she wasn't sure if she even wanted to know.

Mrs Wade stood up from where she sat and rushed to her, "Delaney," she called in an attempt to explain but Delaney didn't let her.

"Mrs Wade you...? That's my–"

"Delaney listen to me... it's not what you're thinking. Sit down let me explain to you." Mrs Wade cut her off. She looked at all the new faces in the room and she became cautious.

"Agatha," one of the women called and Delaney was again surprised. She turned to Mrs Wade with a complicated look and asked, "You're Agatha?"

"Yes. My maiden name is Agatha." Mrs Wade answered firmly.

"Agatha, we have to finish..." Another woman with raven black hair said but Agatha raised her hand, stopping her from speaking. She sighed, then turned to Delaney, holding her hands.

"We'll just have to tell her." she said and the woman's eyes widened. Delaney observed their expressions closely and she was certain they were hiding something. She trusted Mrs Wade with everything she had and she strongly believed that the woman would never hurt her, but she didn't know what to make of whatever she walked into.

"Agatha we cannot!" The woman with the raven black hair said, her voice slightly raised in panic.

"It's okay Lydia. She'll have to know eventually, it's better she hears it first from us." Agatha said, her eyes never leaving Delaney, who waited patiently for an explanation.

"Delaney, we're trying to summon your mother because... we need her help."

"But she's dead." Delaney said, her brows furrowed.

Agatha hesitated, and Lydia stood up abruptly. She grabbed Agatha's hand and was about to say something but Agatha beat her to it. "Yes! Yes Delaney, she... she's dead. We're trying to summon her spirit." Agatha said resolutely, and Delaney's eyes moved around the room, stopping at the painting of her mother and the candles surrounding it, then to the other women in the room, then back to Agatha.

"What for?"

"Your mother was a witch. And as much as you hate to hear it Delaney, you have to know and believe it." She said, her words

hurried as if knowing Delaney would try to interrupt her.

Delaney stared at her incredulously, confusion evident in her eyes. She wanted to refute Agatha for calling her mother names but she couldn't. Even when the words were always meant as insults and always sounded like insults, this one was different. She said like she meant it was part of who she was.

"We're all witches," Lydia said, pulling Delaney's attention back to the present. "We belonged to the same coven and now that we have encountered a problem, we have no choice but to summon her."

"Can you summon a dead person? How are you going to communicate with a dead person's spirit?" she asked, half-believing part of their words and doubting most of it.

"A spirit does not die even after the body dies." Another woman said, "Besides, she is a powerful witch." she said proudly.

'Is?' Delaney wondered but she didn't dwell on it. There was a greater question pressing on her shoulders. "What kind of problem exactly are you facing?"

The room turned quiet, none of the witches uttering a word. Delaney quirked her eyebrows quizzically. "That..." Lydia started but didn't know whether to finish her words. She stared at Agatha helplessly, but the woman only stared back at her blankly.

"Is it some kind of witch secret?" Delaney asked, to the relief of the women in the room. They didn't affirm nor disagree but their silence answere her question. She decided not to push any further since it had nothing to do with her. But, "How come I knew nothing about this?" she asked curiously.

"Your mother wanted to protect you Delaney. You don't know what they do to people of our kind." Agatha said and Delaney nodded. It didn't matter now since she was gone. Whatever she wanted to protect her from couldn't be worse than what she had gone through. Lowering her gaze, Delaney opened the door and walked out quietly.

Agatha heaved a sigh of relief when she heard her footsteps fading away. Lydia put her hand on her shoulder in a comforting manner. She knew it couldn't be easy for Agatha to lie to a child she had watched grow up.

"She doesn't have to know everything." she said reassuringly and Agatha nodded in understanding. She put her wrinkled hand over hers then without turning her gaze away from the door, she said, "We cannot continue with the ritual now."

The women stared at each other and Lydia, seeing their hesitation, walked to them with steady steps. "We'll have to start all over again, now that we had some interruptions. It would not be wise to meet here again so I suggest we meet at my house."

She waited to see if they had any objections, but no one said anything. In the coven, Lydia was as much a leader as Agatha. Despite their age difference, she had all the qualities and wisdom to lead a coven of powerful witches.

"I am glad to know that even though our coven no longer exists, our sisterly bond still remains. Thank you." The women nodded, with a smile, then walked out, leaving only Agatha and Lydia in the room.

****

Delaney walked back home, with thoughts of her mother occupying her mind. The fact that her mother was a witch didn't bother her as much as she thought it would. What bothered her was how different she felt when different people said it to her. Since she was a child, there were rumours circulating in the village that her mother was a witch and they used it countless times to drive her away. But she was lucky back then to be under her father's wings.

She thought that Angela started the rumours to spite her but she was wrong all along. It was indeed true that her mother was a witch! And she had been angry the whole time, trying to protect her mother's image from being ruined by her stepmother.

Her mind was in chaos and she couldn't explain why she took the news so well. Why did she accept so fast that her mother was a witch, just because someone said so? Or was it because she trusted Mrs Wade and knew that she wouldn't lie to her about such a thing? Shaking her head, she brushed off the disturbing thoughts and decided to take a nap.

She unlocked the front door to Malcolm's house and got in. But before she could even take off her shoes, she heard an urgent knock on the door and she rushed to open it.

"You?" she couldn't hide the surprise in her eyes as she stared at the familiar face.

"Miss Delaney." He said in a subtle voice.

"How did you find this place?" she asked suspiciously.

Keir stared down at the woman before him, wondering for the umpteenth time what was so special about her that she had to be Merikh's mate. But he didn't have any complaints since it would only make his work easier.

"That is not important for now. I have some important news to deliver to you." he said, folding his hands behind his back. He was dressed in a tailored grey suit, a black coat and black, shiny leather shoes. He was always surrounded by an air of elegance, leaving Delaney curious as to what his identity might be.

"And what could that be?" she asked, stepping out of the house.

"It's about Malcolm," he said and he noticed how she became uninterested. She was about to say something to refute him but Keir saw it coming, and didn't let her.

"Malcolm is dead."