Family Secrets - New Orleans Pt. 01

"Wow!" Charlotte said in awe as she pulled to a stop at the entrance of their driveway. Admiring the three story, brick plantation style mansion, lights shone upon the marble white columns that lined the wide open entrance way and held up the second floor balcony. "Seems they're more loaded than we are."

"That's not surprising," Wendy said squirming in her car seat to get a better look. "I doubt these people had to hide who they are like we had to."

"True," Kelly said from the passenger seat.

"Sammy you got to see this," Wendy said patting her son's arm trying to get him to crawl out of that distorted book he had in his hands. She knew magic was used to conceal what it contains, however, she wondered why he would do such a thing when it was only them in that car. She pondered on what it would appear to be to someone without magical powers.

"I'm not interested in such things Mom," Samuel said indifferently as he turned the page, "I'm sure I'll see more of my fair share during this stay."

"Sammy," Wendy whispered leaning into him, "put away the attitude we're here to help remember that."

"I know," Samuel said closing the tome in a loud thud. Louder then what Wendy thought the book it's size could produce. Then again, Samuel was using illusion magic to distort the image she had no idea just how thick that book truly was. "And that is why I'm going to make sure no one ever steps onto this land uninvited again," he said zipping up his bookbag. Wendy arched an eyebrow when she sensed some strange energies emanating from the bag when Samuel held it open. Since they never told him what a Hungarian hex was, he looked it up for himself. It seemed like a pretty straight forward spell, although he wasn't one for the subtle effects of the spell. It would go unnoticed by the public when the spell took hold. Insanity and magic-induce insanity were hard to distinguish between the two, so Samuel was certain no one outside the magic world would ever put the two together.

"Look it's grandpa!" Kelly cried joyfully waving her hand wildly at them as they stood on the porch. Jumping out of the passenger seat as Charlotte pulled the SUV to a stop.

"You made it!" Carson chuckled happily as he embraced his granddaughter.

"I have something important to tell the two of you," Kelly whispered as she wrapped her grandmother in their hug.

"Daddy!" Charlotte's raven hair flew wildly as she ran around the front of the car.

"Hey sugar plum," Carson said hugging his daughter tightly.

"I'm so glad you're here," Martha whispered into Charlotte's ear.

"Charlotte?!" Rick and Joan stared at their older sister in confusion.

"Yeah, that's me," Charlotte said keeping the tone of her voice light. She didn't want to add onto their troubles at least not yet, but the night was still young.

"No! There is no way you can be younger than me!" Joan said stomping her foot in false annoyance.

"What? Don't you like your older sister's new look?" Charlotte asked showing off her new youthful body. Displaying her womanly curves to her family knowing they would never get a touch of her body.

"Yes...," Rick begun to say only to have his chest slapped by his wife.

"I'm glad you came sis," Joan said as she hugged her sister, "we could use someone as powerful as you here."

"Oh, I'm not the powerful one here," Charlotte said rubbing her sister's back as the sound of the car door closing reverberated through the air.

"Then is it you?" Joan asked perplexed looking over at Kelly.

"Nope," Kelly said smiling hearing her brother's footsteps, "he's the one," she said as Samuel rounded the right rear corner of the SUV's bumper carrying Wendy in his arms.

"Here, take Mom, I need a smoke," Samuel said handing her to Kelly.

"Sammy you really need to stop smoking," Wendy said as Samuel pulled out the pack of smokes from his front pocket.

"Wendy?!" Rick and Joan screeched. Wendy only smirked at her younger siblings shocked looks.

"Hey, when I'm the only guy on a day long journey with you three...," Samuel said trailing off as his lighter failed to ignite. His eyes flickered up at the combined gasps as Samuel's magic flared to life creating a spark that arced off of the pad of his finger. Drawing in a puff, his glowing eyes cutting through the smoke as it drifted over their luminous surface as his family looked on. "What?!"

"Samuel, is that really you standing there?!" Rick asked in disbelief. When his father mentioned that they needed Samuel he just couldn't believe it. This man, this boy that he had watched grow seemed like a total stranger to him. His mind became lost as he gazed into those glowing cobalt eyes. It felt like staring into a storm, a thunderous, blustery maelstrom of pure arcane energy.

"Who else would be standing here, I'm not like you," Samuel said as smoke drifted from his lips.

"You do not speak to your uncle in such a manner!" Joan said glaring her nephew down.

"Sammy?" Wendy sternly, smirking when she heard him sigh.

"I apologize for the rudeness not the statement," Samuel said looking over at his uncle.

"That's the best you're going to get," Kelly said although she wouldn't have put it in so many words.

"Listen Samuel...," Rick began to say only to be stopped by Samuel's raised hand.

"Let's not get into that now," Samuel said turning to look at his grandparents, "want to tell me what this is all about, and why you couldn't speak over the phone?"

"I can answer that," said a flaming auburn hair woman, her thick seductive creole voice dripped with sin, "this rivalry has been going on since the days of French ownership," she said her eyes studying the man before her. Ever since she had met Rick and Joan when Ryan introduced them, she knew how weak her line was due to their mix of hoodoo magic in their bloodline. Nevertheless, even she could feel the pull of his magic, it made her hoodoo blood tingle with excitement. "We are the last of our house minus the children," she said gesturing to the eight standing behind her. "Allow me to introduce myself," her deep emerald green eyes flashed in the subtle blue light of her own magic, "I am Marie Beaudoin, I lead this family, it's a pleasure to meet another cousin."

"A pleasure I'm sure," Samuel said shaking the woman's hand, his eyes catching the flick of a tail as a shadow weaved itself in-between the stone pillars that held up the railing that wrapped around the second floor balcony. He felt his pulse quicken knowing she was near.

"Down here," Marie said drawing his gaze downward, "well this is strange I'm used to men's gazing at my breasts," she said her polished ruby nails danced along her slender neck drawing Samuel's gaze down to her heavenly firm peaks to the dark mysterious valley. "It makes me wonder what could have caught your eye," Marie said with a coy smirk.

"Which way is north?"

"That way, why?" Marie said pointing over her left a little thrown off.

"Mind if we make this a walking introduction?" Samuel asked eager to get started. He learned the painful lessons of her displeasure.

"Ah, right to business," Marie chirped happily, "I like that in a man."

"Samuel," Kelly said coming up from behind him, "what are you planning on doing?"

"What we talked about yesterday," Samuel said looking back at his sister, "protecting this place."

"Tell me what can you do when even your own family hasn't been able to stop these people?" Marie asked unsure if it was wise to stake everything on the young man before her.

"You assume I'm a normal witch like the rest of you," Samuel said with a devilish smirk.

"Samuel, tell us what you need," Carson said coming up to his grandson's side. Hoping that Samuel's tone wouldn't harm the growing trust they had cultivated over the months.

"Well...," Samuel said tilting his head to the left as he scratched his chin, "all of you," he said waving to everyone there, "and lots of salt."

"Us?! Why?" Joan asked in confusion.

"This is your home is it not?" Samuel asked with a pointed look at his aunt. Hating the fact she looked so much like his mother before her cancer took her.

"Yes, it is, but..."

"Then shouldn't the members of this house not defend it themselves?" Samuel asked arching an eyebrow.

"He's right we should," said a red haired man as he inserted himself into the conversation. "I told you Marie we should be fighting back years ago and not letting this voodoo sect flex its muscle." Samuel put the man around the age of his aunt Joan, though he wasn't as powerful as his own uncle Samuel could still feel the lingering energies that swirled within the man's body.

"That's enough Eric we've had this conversation before," Marie said pinching the bridge of her nose, "nothing will come of it if we attack these people. We don't have the power to topple them. All we would do would destroy ourselves in the process."

"That's why I'm here," Samuel said as the butt of his cigarette fell to the ground, "to save Hekatê's new cult as I was ordered to," he said grinding the cherry of the cigarette to dust.

"What do you know of Hekatê?" Joan asked unsure if she could smite her own nephew if he spoke ill of the goddess she served.

"Oh, Samuel knows quite a lot about her, probably more than we do sister," Charlotte said looking over at Samuel, "he is after all her Herald."

"That can't be!" Rick and Joan said in shock.

"I would like to hear more about what this Herald is, but first, lets see what this man can do, shall we?" Marie asked her eyes running down Samuel's body wondering just what he truly was.

"Yes," Samuel said with a nod.

"Paul," Marie said looking back at the group behind her, "take Eric and fetch all the salt we have stored." Samuel's eyes caught the brunette hair man's nod at her order before he and Eric disappeared around the corner of the house. "Please if you follow me, I'll show you the way to the north part of the property. I know you're probably use to seeing places like this with grand big yards, but here in the Quarter space is limited so while we might not have such a lush lawn like most people do. We, however, do have this grand place to call home," she said gesturing to her home as they walked passed it. Enjoying the feel of what little grass that grew on the plot as it crunched under foot. "I do hope as cousins you come to think of this place like a home away from home."

"It is a very nice place," Kelly said eyeing the renovated exterior.

"I wonder what it looks like on the inside," Wendy pondered peering through the windows as much as she could.

"Dad! Can we talk about...," Rick said his eyes glancing to the toddler in Kelly's arm.

"Yes," Marie said stopping in her tracks, "I too have been wondering on how a baby has the ability to speak. I seen some very strange things in my time, but this is something else altogether," she said spinning around on her heel.

"You may have never heard of it," Wendy said taking charge, "there's a spell that has been pass down through our family that allows one to cheat death per say."

"You didn't!" Joan gasped in horror of what her sister was telling her.

"Why didn't the two of you tell us?" Rick asked looking over at his parents.

"Because I told them not to," Wendy growled as she looked over Kelly's shoulder as she narrowed her eyes at her siblings, "it wouldn't have been necessary if you came to help me when I called. We could have broken the hex that killed me and my husband," she said darkly, her small fingers curled around her daughter's shirt. "I wouldn't have been forced to take this form if you acted like my brother and sister, I wouldn't have had to watch as my Victor withered underneath Norman's hex. No, you were more worried about people that might not exist any longer than your own blood," Wendy said feeling Samuel's hand on her back as what magic she could muster began to rise. "So tell me why should either one of you need to know I'm still alive when you wouldn't help me before?"

"And here I thought you told me to curb my attitude," Samuel said his aura pulsating enveloping his mother.

"Sam," Wendy said weakly looking over at her son, "sorry I just couldn't stop."

"She does have a point Rick," Martha said taking Wendy into her arms, "I would have thought I taught you years ago your family comes first before anything else, even your quest," she said rocking her daughter in her arms as she had done many years ago. "No offense Maria," Martha said rubbing Wendy's back as her little arms hugged her neck.

"None taken," Maria said flashing Martha a smile. Yet all Maria could think of was that aura she saw encasing Samuel. "The power he must wield," she said to herself feeling how her fingers twitched only wanting to reach out and touch that power.

"Samuel would this spell be affected if the two of us weren't in it?" Martha asked holding her daughter to her chest. No matter how Wendy might appear to be her body was still that of a child's. She knew she was the perfect one to calm her daughter down.

"No," Samuel said shaking his head, "it'll be okay Mom," he whispered as Wendy peered through her fine strands of hair. Seeing the tears reaming her green eyes he knew she was close to a meltdown.

"Okay," Wendy mouthed before burying her face into her mother's chest. Samuel caught the lustful looks in Charlotte's and Kelly's eyes as he watched as his mother and grandmother entered the mansion.

"Sorry about that it's been hard on her since Dad's death," Samuel said gesturing for her to continue.

"Ah, I can understand," Marie said wondering if they would share this spell. Now that she had seen it first hand, she wouldn't mind another go at life especially with everything she knows. "To cheat death only to see the one you love taken from you I can't imagine what she's going through. I do hope this Norman-whoever-he-is has been dealt with," she said as they rounded the northeast corner of her family home.

"Oh, that thing has been dealt with," Samuel said coldly, "he did kill my mother and my father with sights on the rest of my family, with the help of the highest members of the coven that ruled there. Their lives were forfeit the moment they started down that path," he said peering out of the corner of his eye. His glowing pupil simmered in the well of magic that flowed through him.

"So Eve, Beth, and all those little stuck up pricks are...dead?!" Joan stared at her nephew in stun disbelief.

"Yes, the coven is no more," Samuel said darkly.

"Damn!" Rick said in a hushed whisper.

"My, a man willing to defend his family. Maybe we are related after all," Marie said flashing Samuel a warm smile, "and here we are due...," she begun to say only to bite her tongue as Samuel walked towards the century old eight feet high brick wall.

"Hello Arcita," Samuel said as if greeting an old friend. Watching that multi-colored polecat staring back at him from atop of the wall.

"Mind telling me what's going on here?" Marie asked taking up a defensive posture.

"Samuel are you saying Arcita is here...right this second?" Charlotte said her heart raced knowing what the omen meant.

"Yeah, I thought the you all could see her," Samuel said looking over at them shrugging his shoulders as his aunt and sister shook their heads, "but yeah, she's right there," he said pointing to the spot where Arcita rested.

"Will someone please explain to me...."

"Arcita is Hekatê's companion animal, if she's here then it means we are on the right path," Joan said her priestess instincts kicking in and to ease Marie's rising temper.

Samuel fought himself from rolling his eyes at his aunt's display. That's not what it meant at all. Arcita's appearance could mean a great many things, more than likely it was to keep an eye on him. He knew something was brewing behind those eyes of hers as Arcita cleaned her paw.

"Sam?" Kelly called to him bringing Samuel out of his spell.

"R-right," Samuel said moving away from the wall. "So this the spot?" he asked looking down as he stood in the center of a wild strawberry patch.

"Yes, now show us why I should put my families safety in your hands," Marie said feeling her body trembling as those glowing cobalt eyes peered through the strands of his brown hair. Her pulse quickened as that devilish smirk graced his lips.

"Xurdir! Protector, duro corno xeo. Manterña o puño ou os dentes. E vixia is puntos," Samuel began to chant thrusting out his hands before him. "Heed mo ghlao! O 'Sean-Chaomhnóir. Díscail as do chodladh fada, cead a thabhairt don bhronntanas seo d'ardú a chothú!" Kelly, Charlotte, his grandfather, and everyone else shielded their eyes as Samuel's magic surged out whipping the air into a frenzy. "Mé, Samuel Goodall, a ordú duit agus ceangail tú leis an rún seo," his voice thundered, lightning arced off his body in its slow climb as Samuel pulled out his pocket knife and a Ogham protection rune. Biting his lip against the pain as he sliced open his left palm. Painting the runestone in his blood before plunging his knife into the ground. Digging out a shallow hole dropping the rune into it, covering it as Samuel rose. "De réir an fhuil seo ceangailim leat chun an talamh seo," Samuel chanted as he moved his clenched hand in a circular motion. All eyes watched in awe as Samuel's blood was absorbed into the ground the moment those red droplets struck that rich soil. "Now you four," Samuel said nodding to his aunt, sister, grandfather, and the blonde hair woman behind Marie.

"That's Magdalene," Marie said watching how Kelly rushed to his side.

"Hold still Sammy, it won't take but a moment to heal," Kelly whispered said turning Samuel's palm up right.

"You will need these," Samuel said reaching into his back right pocket pulling out index cards with the incantation on it. "Here take one and pass it to the other three," he said handing the cards to his aunt. "You will also need these," Samuel said pulling four runestones from his front pocket, "you don't have to worry about the blood only the north one was required."

"What is this language?" Magdalene asked flipping the card over looking for a translation.

"Fourth century Gaelic," Samuel said in a matter-of-fact tone as he handed out the runestones.

"Since when do you know Gaelic?!" Rick asked noting how Samuel hadn't moved from the spot he was in. Samuel only smirked at his uncle.

"I assume that this Gaelic magic is the only other magic you have other than what is in our bloodline?" Marie asked trying to gauge just how powerful the man was.

"No, I know a great many forms of magic," Samuel said watching his sister's magic knit his skin back together.

"There that should do it," Kelly said wiping away his blood with a Kleenex she carried for when Wendy had a runny nose.

"Thanks, you're so sweet to me," Samuel said teasing his sister watching how Kelly blushed hard. "The four of you will go to the other four points and chant the spell I given you and make sure you plant the rune in the ground," he said as his eyes ran over them. "You other four," Samuel said pointing at Joan, Rick and his other two cousins, "will chant this," pulling out another set of index cards from his back left pocket, "while the others are performing the spell, I gave them, you will recite this at the corners of this house," he said handing them their own incantations. "Ah right on time," Samuel said as Eric and Paul walked towards them loaded down with bags of rock salt. "I need the two of you to draw a line connecting each point to one another, a ring of salt around the house, and a line of salt to connect the ring with the points," he said his eyes flickered down as the bags thumped to the ground, "we do have enough, don't we?"

"To protect my family damn right we do," Paul grunted, "even if I have to carry it all the way from Lowe's."