27: My House – Pt. 3

A dizzying blur of red and gold rushed passed her window as she watched life in the small town go by. The air seemed crisper and she inhaled with a smile as the sounds of children playing faded behind the speed of the jeep. Somewhere in the distance a lawn mower roared to life and she found herself reminiscing of days’ past as a child when she would roll around in the fresh cut grass. A cool mist of dew splashed on her face from the ending rain and was quickly dried by the warmth of the sun. Feeling the jeep slowing, Victoria sighed as she rolled her window up.

By the time they pulled in front of the address on the notepad, Victoria was a bundle of nerves. She did her best to mask that fact but Derrick could still smell the fear on her. She had no idea what to expect of a woman she hadn’t seen in twenty years or what she should say to someone whom she contacted out of the blue. Hello I’m your granddaughter are you a witch became a grand thought in her mind but she quickly shook it off. 

Derrick drove, he insisted on it considering Victoria shook visibly as she slid behind the wheel. The jeep came to a stop in front of a sprawling two story home that featured a wrap-around porch and wonderfully manicured yard. Situated in the middle of a lot surrounded by cherry blossom trees, there were woods on two sides with a small mountain range to the back. 

Hesitantly, she climbed out of the front seat and stood by the vehicle, unsure of what to do. Derrick stood beside Victoria as she stared up at the house located just on the outskirts of Danbury Ridge. The Victorian style cottage rested in the corner of town like something off the cover of Better Homes & Gardens magazine. Yet behind its Queen Anne frills rested a home that predated the town with a story of its own to tell. Victoria found it interesting that no one else could see it but there was a warmth to the place that seemed to draw her in. Magic perhaps? Or possibly the fact that it belonged to her grandmother she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

Derrick looked over, catching her eye and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “You going in or waiting for the cover of night for a sneak attack?” Victoria gave him a breathy laugh as she pushed at his side and he took her hand and led her towards the front door. Taking a breath she closed her eyes a moment before knocking and could hear movement just on the other side of the door. The smell of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies drifted through the opened porch windows and her stomach growled alerting her to the fact that it was lunch time and she’d skipped breakfast.

The door opened by a woman with a brilliant smile plastered on her face. Her bright silver hair had glimmers of blue and sparkled when the sunlight hit it. The pale green sweater she wore hugged her frail body making her appear smaller than she actually was. The woman had her mother’s eyes, something Victoria noticed first, hazel green and warm with love. “Nana!” Victoria smiled and threw her arms around the elderly woman as she instantly recognized the face of her grandmother. 

“Victoria? My goodness girl you’ve gotten so big!” the woman spoke with a small crack in her voice as she gave her kin the biggest hug she could muster. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen you my baby girl I didn’t think you’d remember me. Come now step into the light so this old lady can get a better look,” she replied pulling Victoria’s hand and ushering her into the living room. “My you’ve really filled out! The last time I saw you, you were no bigger than a toothpick! And as much of a tomboy as you were, I just knew you’d be as flat as a board!”

“Nana!”

“What? I’m just being honest,” the old woman laughed and looked towards her door as Derrick stepped inside and shut it behind him.

“Oh Nana, sorry where are my manners? This is my friend…who…just…walked into…how did you do that?” Victoria asked in surprise as she took a step forward. “I thought you needed to be invite…”

“Derrick.”

“It’s good to see you again Loretta.” Victoria’s eyes moved in confusion from Derrick’s to her grandmother’s as both of them remained focused on one another. Hissing violently he rushed towards the older woman aiming to tackle her with his full weight.

The moment his foot moved over the threshold of the living room he was sent flying backwards into the wall. Landing with a hard crash against the front door, he sat for a moment to shake the cobwebs free. “What the hell do you think you’re doing!?” Victoria yelled and placed a protective arm in front of her grandmother.

“It’s ok Victoria dear. It was a test.”

“A what? Nana he tried to hurt…wait how do you know him? You called each other by name!”

“Me and your grams,” Derrick growled and pulled to his feet brushing himself off. “We go way back.” He smiled and slowly started towards them again. Victoria pushed him hard in the chest and he cocked his head to the side with a smirk, stepped around her and closed his arms around Loretta. “It really is great to see you!”

“You too sweetheart.” Loretta laughed and squeezed just as hard as she had Victoria and leaned up, pecking his cheek gently. “You seem to be getting bigger too!”

“I don’t know. Maybe you’re just shrinking. You know I hear that happens in the golden years.”

“Oh hush up Boy. I may be ‘golden’ but don’t think that means I’m any slower or weaker than I was in my youth!”

“Trust me Loretta, I know how much your magic still smarts,” he groaned and rubbed the small of his back.

“Ok hold up! Can someone please explain this to the confused granddaughter standing here watching this bizarre scene play out?”

“I just finished a batch of cookies, Victoria. Why don’t we go out on the porch and have a nice little sit down?” Pouring a glass of milk for herself and Victoria, Loretta moved towards a cabinet beside her refrigerator and pulled out a sealed jar from a small storage cooler. Derrick licked his lips happily as she cut open the plastic and poured a generous amount into a glass. “Did you want this warmed Derrick dear?”

“Oh no Ma’am, it’s nice chilled sometimes as well. It should complement the warm chocolate chips just fine.” Victoria grimaced and scrunched her nose at him and he laughed as he pinched her sides playfully and started around her into the kitchen. Loretta placed the items on a tray that Derrick assisted her with and started towards the porch behind the two.

“Here we go,” she smiled and served up a cookie for each of her guests as she placed one on a small dish for herself. “Now then where were we?”

“You were about to explain to me how you know Derrick and why he was able to just waltz right into your home, a home I haven’t seen in over twenty years.”

“Ah yes that’s right,” Loretta smiled and rubbed her hands over her knees joyfully as she took in Victoria’s face again. “You look just like your mother, girl; just beautiful. When you called me out of the blue I couldn’t believe my ears. It’s been so long. And all this time I’d thought you kids had forgotten about me.”

“Mom said that you two had a disagreement when I was ten and that was why we stopped coming to your house. I didn’t fully understand it and whenever I asked she said ‘when you’re older’ but even now she didn’t want to talk about it.”

“So she has no idea you’re here?” Loretta asked. Victoria shook her head no and the older woman sighed. “Well how did you find me then?”

“Victoria’s a detective and quite good at her job,” Derrick replied as he raised his glass to his lips.

“Yeah I just sorta tracked you to what I remembered was your last known residence and Derrick took it from there. I thought he was just tagging along for my sake but it turns out he knew where you were this whole time; probably why he insisted on driving!”

“See, great detective,” he looked at her from the corner of his eye avoiding the scowl she directed towards him with a smirk.

“Well now, aren’t we the persistent one?” Loretta chirped and smiled as one grew on her granddaughter’s face. “Now then how do I know Derrick? Your friend and I met in the summer of 1962. I was 22 years old and in my senior year of college, I had the whole world at my feet and was ready to take it all! Man, I was hot stuff too; you couldn’t tell me a thing! I partied every night, studied every morning and slept with…well you probably already know I had your mother when I was 16 so I’m sure you can imagine how much fun I was at parties.”

Derrick looked over and noticed the discomfort on Victoria’s face and smirked as he bit down a laugh. “Anyway, it was an all night kegger and herbal mixer that caused the two of us to cross paths. Drunk, high and stumbling towards my dorm room I came across a young man necking on some girl who looked more stoned than I was in the corner of the campus bookstore. I thought nothing of it until she cried for help. That’s when he turned towards me and I saw the blood. She wasn’t stoned and he wasn’t being affectionate. I didn’t know it at the time but he was feeding.”

“Well there I stood locked in terror as this huge guy came rushing towards me unsure of what was going on. I just knew that I was probably next on the menu. That’s when Derrick jumped down off the building landing in front of me. His dark, leather jacket was flying around his back, his long hair blew in the wind and he smiled a really debonair smile showing me his fangs and then winked. It was all overly dramatic if you ask me.”

“Hey! That was a great entrance!”

“Yeah for a cartoon superhero. The only thing that was missing was your hands on your hips, Fabio. Anyway, he turned towards the other vampire and with just a slap sent his head flying clear across the quad. I fainted immediately and the girl from what I later learned was taken to the hospital for an emergency transfusion.”

“I got Loretta back to my place because I couldn’t enter her dorm without being asked inside. When she awakened I explained everything she’d seen and funnily enough she accepted it almost instantly, like you did. It was later on that I learned she was a witch and why our destinies crossed at that particular point in time. Your grams and I have been friends ever since.”

“So you have a standing invitation to her home?”

“It’s a spell; one that directly relates to the tattoo on my neck. If you’re good maybe I’ll show you sometime,” he winked.

“Ok. Why didn’t you ever visit?” Victoria asked sincerely and dropped her eyes from her grandmother’s. “I mean didn’t you think we’d miss you?”

“Well now that’s not my fault Victoria dear. Your mother thought it was best she keep you safe.”

“Safe from what? You’re my grandmother.”

“Yes and as you’ve learned I’m also a witch. Your mother wanted no part of this life and decided it was best to separate herself and you kids from me and her future as a witch. It was very sad the day she came to say goodbye to me. I just knew I’d leave this earth before I got to see any of my grandbabies again. But you’re here now and from what I can see you’re exploring magic!”

“Thanks to Derrick. He kind of gave me a push, well more accurately he gave me a shove down a long flight of stairs through a door that led to the world of the supernatural. He wasn’t very subtle in his revelation of what he was and then decided it would help drive the point home if he took me to a vampire bar.”

“Yes, Derrick was always one for the theatrics.”

“Says the woman who was more than happy to give pointers about her generational offspring.” Victoria glanced at him and he nodded as her mental light bulb went on again. “Who do you think blessed the bracelet on your wrist?”

“NANA! This thing hurts!”

“Oh it’s only for a few seconds before it relaxes again. I wouldn’t have done anything that would cause you discomfort for too long dear. I only wanted to ensure you’re protected since learning you’d stumbled onto what you were.”

“I didn’t stumble, I was thrown! And if you knew I was getting involved why didn’t you look for me or call or…Derrick. All of this, you sent him!”

“No. I didn’t send him. He found you. It was only after he told me he’d made contact that I got involved and helped him keep you safe.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about her?”

“Now don’t blame him. I asked that he keep our friendship a secret.  To be honest I didn’t know how welcoming you’d be of the little old lady that used to push you on the tire swing as a child or what your Mom may have told you about me. So I kept my distance and trusted Derrick to keep you safe.” She took a sip of her milk and smiled into the glass as her gaze left Victoria’s briefly. The exceedingly frigid liquid caused her cheeks to pucker for a moment and she whistled as she settled the glass onto the table again. “So tell me more about you sweetheart, I want to know everything! Have there been any side effects to your magic?”

“Well I’m not sure if they’re side effects or not but I have been seeing things that shouldn’t be there and just here recently I’m having dreams that feel too real. I wake up at times with battle scars from them. And while at work I see faces of monsters or other bizarre creatures that I’ve seen in some of the books I have back home. I don’t understand it and it’s a little upsetting at times.”

Derrick studied Victoria closely as he listened to her speak. She had only told him about the wraiths she saw of two of her co-workers. She hadn’t told him that she’d seen others in her normal day-to-day. “The thing about that Victoria is they were always there. Humans are oblivious to what’s really around them because they don’t have the sight for it. But when Derrick introduced you to what you really are, your view of the world changed and now you can glimpse peeks of the other side.”

Victoria thought about Derrick and how she’d never noticed his fangs until the day he told her what he was. He turned his head slightly to find her staring at him and smiled giving her a peek into his mouth once again. “What does it mean though? Several of these creatures are horned demons or ghosts or in the case of the men I work with wraiths. I don’t know if I’m seeing them because I’m supposed to kill them or help them.”

“And most are just out to make an honest living like you or me. Seeing them is a way of protecting yourself Honey. Think of it as the Supernatural world leveling the playing field. If you were for example in the jungle with a panther on the prowl, the cat would for sure have the advantage. But on a plain out in the middle of nowhere you could see it coming and take away its element of surprise. If you were unable to see fairies and ghosts and even vampires then they would be able to torment you and you’d never know. It could be anyone.”

“But as a human, they’d never know something strange is standing beside them?”

“You’re special Victoria. Being a witch, being of our bloodline is far more powerful than you can ever imagine. You now have an advantage against anything you may encounter in the world. It’s all about gaining access to that knowledge and strengthening your magical prowess to use it at its utmost capabilities. And that’s what I am going to teach you,” Loretta smiled standing.

“And my ultimate goal as well.” Derrick reached his hand for Victoria and pulled her from her seat. She took a breath and slowly released it as she thought about what lied ahead and the major players Derrick warned her about. Her grandmother assured her that she would be able to move mountains and the thought was encouraging.

The idea of being able to save the world as a motivator caused her head to shake involuntarily and a smile grew on her lips. “Let’s get started,” she stated with enthusiasm and followed her grandmother inside the house.

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