The Memory Witch Read Free Page B

children and my sister and niece both died years ago. I have a nephew, but only female descendants can perform the craft. You probably don’t know this, but your family is from a long line of spellcasters dating back almost thousand years. They haven’t practiced since your great-grandmother passed away, but the power is still there. I’m certain you’ll have the skill to learn everything I know.”
    “So, what would my mom have to give you to pay the debt?”
    “The potent magic required for the spell means that it would have to be something of great value. Not to mention, it’s been ten years without the balance being restored. I would ask for her to give up probably her most precious thing next to you,” she murmured, “her own mind.” Stella smirked as she made the proclamation. Her advanced age was the only thing stopping me from smacking her across the face.
    My mother looked shaken, but rallied for my benefit. “I’ll do it, Quinn. You deserve so much more than I could ever give you. I want you to go to college and be happy,” she urged.
    “I doubt she’ll be able to go to college if she has to stick you in a home after I wipe your brain of any coherent thought,” Stella replied with a mirthless smile.
    “Mom, are we really going to listen to this nonsense for any longer?” My mom didn’t answer. Instead, she was gazing at Stella with a mixture of reverence and terror on her face. I don’t know if my mother had suddenly become delusional, but she seemed to actually believe Stella’s threat.
    Stella rose regally from the loveseat and walked towards me. I rose up as a way to let her know I would not back down to any challenge she decided to throw my way. “Your mother has seen my power first hand. And if you looked inside of yourself, you would see the same thing. Haven’t you ever wondered why you can’t remember?”
    “Of course I have. But there’s a logical explanation. If I had seen something so terrible, then I probably went into shock. If I underwent hypnosis or some other kind of therapy, I’d have my memory restored.” I tried to appear as confident as possible while staring her down. I tossed back my dark blond hair for good measure. Stella didn’t look impressed.
    “Why haven’t you then? I’m going to guess Bridget wasn’t too keen on the idea.” She had no problem getting into my face even though I had probably four inches on her and at least twenty-five pounds. Stella was barely five feet tall and weighed ninety pounds soaking wet. Yet, I could see her driving fear into the hearts of men three times her size.
    “No, she wasn’t,” I conceded. “Well, what’s the big secret? Why did I need my memory erased?”
    My mother stopped her weeping and gave me a sober look. “I’ll never tell you.” I felt my mouth open in shock. Before I could come up with a retort, my mother addressed Stella. “No matter what happens, she’s never to know.”
    Stella nodded. “The truth will never pass my lips.”
    “Mom…” I started.
    “No Quinn,” she cut me off firmly. “Don’t go down this road. I swear on your life that this is for the best. You can be happy. Knowing what happened when you were a kid will only ruin that.”
    Tears sprang to my eyes. “I need some air.”
    I didn’t wait for them to reply. I darted through our back door. I kept running as I headed towards the woods behind our house. I was barreling towards the woods at a sprint. Tears mingled with sweat began to blur my vision as I distanced myself from our house. The forest, normally the canvas of my nightmares, had turned less threatening than my own house.
    What was going on? Nothing made sense anymore. Not only was some stranger telling me I had to live with her for a year, but also my mom again refused to be honest about my past. By now, I prepared myself mentally for the truth. I ran all sorts of scenarios through my head over the years. Since my dad was murdered that year, one of the possibilities I