35

                                    

                                          
                  
I needed guidance through the mire of my heritage, and for that I needed to trust somebody. 
                          
Anne would want answers too. But was that enough to ensure that she wouldn't betray me?
                          
After learning that the family had abandoned my mother to struggle through life alone, our shared genetics were hardly enough to convince me.
                          
Yet history that she thought was set in stone was being challenged. Anne's anchor had been weighed by the manuscript, and now she was set adrift just like me. If nothing else, our shared quest for answers should be enough motivation to keep us on the same side.
                          
For now.
                          
We needed to pin this down, and we needed to do it together. 
                          
"Guys, I've been holding out," I said, interrupting the anxious silence.
                          
Both sets of eyes shot to me. 
                          
"Eyes on the road," Emily quipped.
                          
"Fine, but Alice, spill it now so that I can concentrate on driving, ok?"
                          
"Something happened five years ago. Just after my mother's death, and just before Stephen came into my life."
                          
Recounting the story of the silver tree, it finally began to make some sense. Whoever left the tree on my doorstep five years ago had probably seen the manuscript. My resemblance to the original Alice Gray was uncanny. Little did they know how woefully uninformed I was about my history. 
                          
I was willing to bet that Emily and Stephen had been hired to protect the tree. Their client had wanted to keep its importance a secret from them, in case they were tempted to take it for themselves. I'd been its unintentional caretaker.
                          
And it had worked, for five years. 
                          
My move out of London, and my witch powers manifesting must have alerted whoever was after the tree to its location, and that is what kicked off all the action. 
                          
"Ok, but that doesn't explain its purpose," Emily said.
                          
"The silver tree is the coven crest, and the Tree of Life is the family emblem," Anne supplied, "I bet we can find reference to it in the grimoire."
                          
"Coven?"
                          
"Well, yes. They meet down at Hazel's. She's the leader."
                          
"Ok, why am I only just learning about them?"
                          
They both looked at me. 
                          
"Erm, Alice, you didn't even know you were a witch twenty-four hours ago," Anne said.
                          
"Yeah, yeah, ok," I ground out, heat burning my cheeks.
                          
The three of us made our way into the sanctuary of Anne's house. Emily looked apprehensive for the first time since we'd met. 
                          
How could somebody so composed and able when it came to dealing with danger and intrigue come unstuck now? 
                          
She had established a successful business, which, by its very nature, demanded that she adapt like a chameleon to continuously changing social situations. And yet, Emily was not able to interact with two women of her own age in a genuine manner.
                          
Guess being a spy didn't allow for many friends. 
                          
She stopped in the middle of the room, trying not to let her curiosity show through her lofty facade. I couldn't stop the grin from stretching out my face. 
                          
She expected us to ostracise her, as though we were the cool kids in high school and she were the geek. That must have been a new experience for somebody like Emily. Now, she was the outsider, and I was enjoying it a little too much.
                          
Payback was great, but sinking to her level wasn't going to get me anywhere. 
                          
 "Look Emily, I'd be lying if I said that I was pleased to have you here. But I do appreciate your honesty," I said, deciding to put her out of her misery, "and, with everything that has been going on around here, your mad combat skills are bound to come in handy." 
                          
A little to my own surprise, I found that I meant it.
                          
"All I have been doing this whole time is my job, it's nothing personal," Emily said defensively. 
                          
Her eyes dropped from mine as she acknowledged her lie. "No, I should never have let Stephen deceive you in that way. I knew it was wrong from the beginning. And then I became jealous of how close the two of you had become. He's my best friend." 
                          
 "Well, let's just put that away for the moment. If you're going to stay here we need to get along with one another. The best way for us to do that is to forget about the men," I said, offering Emily a friendly smile.
                          
"Amen," she grinned back.
                          
"Hey, now that you two have kissed and made up, get in here and help me put lunch together," Anne called through the half open kitchen door.
                          
"The way I see it, I've just been the badly chosen guardian of the tree," I said, nibbling on a home-made cookie. 
                          
Anne and Emily's comically sceptical expressions were practically identical.
                          
"There's a lot left unexplained by that theory - what about the manuscript," Emily spoke first, dusting the cookie crumbs from round her mouth.
                          
"Yeah, and you're saying, what? That the real owner chose Alice Gray, the most powerful descendant of the Pendle Witches by accident?" Anne added.
                          
"No, I'm saying that it's a case of mistaken identity. Yes, I may look like the original Alice Gray, but I don't have her power. My mother looked like this too, maybe it was her. The pendant was hers first. Or maybe the witch they're talking about hasn't been born yet. If Alice Gray's genes are strong enough that my mother and I bear such a strong resemblance to her, who can say how many other generations might too?"
                          
"Yeah, but it was sent to you!" Anne said.
                          
 "No. It was sent to her," I said, angling my head towards Emily.
                          
"But...,"
                          
"Look Anne, I'll admit that there's more to work out. But you guys have to see that the real point of interest is likely the tree, rather than me." 
                          
"You do have a point," Emily said with a straight face.
                          
"Although I don't think your boys would agree," Anne smirked, letting out a yelp when I kicked her under the table.
                          
"They're not my boys," I said. "we can't trust their motives."
                          
 Anne and Emily turned their sceptical looks on me again. 
                          
"Anyway," I continued hastily trying to avoid another embarrassing conversation about the men in my life. "It's just us now, and I think we should research that tree. The book with a silver tree symbol in your library Anne, that's got to be the place to start, right?"
                          
"Yeah. That's the family grimoire. But don't you think that you've wriggled out of that one, Alice. It's not often that there are three hotties to discuss, and it's not just who has the best body that we have to decide. I mean, we have a vamp, a witch and a human. Think of the pro and con lists!" 
                          
Emily stifled a laugh and looked down as I glared at Anne.

                          
Hey, hope you're enjoying Alice's story. Things are coming together, but the biggest surprise is still to come!
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