Page 43 of The Women of Wild Hill
Flora held her granddaughter’s gaze. “Do you think the world would have been a better place if we had allowed them to live?” She posed the question gently as though to cushion its impact.
“No,” Sibyl said. “But I’m not sure why it was our job to murder them.”
“Someone has to balance the scales.” Flora took Sibyl’s hand. “Our family has been chosen. It’s a great honor.”
Sibyl tried not to be distracted by the feel of her grandmother’s fingers wrapped around her own. They were cool and soft and far too light to be flesh. “Chosen to do what, exactly?”
“The Old One realized mankind might make a mess of things here on this planet. So long ago, she bestowed special gifts on a few chosen women. For millennia, those gifts have passed from mothers to daughters. Women like us exist to topple tyrants, protect the earth, balance the scales, and avenge the wronged.”
“That’s what the witches in the dungeon told Sadie.”
“That’s right,” Flora said. “The Old One has been resting, but now she’s awake once more. It is time for the rule of men to end. Natural order must be restored, and our family has been given a special role. The Old One sent Bessie to Wild Hill to watch over us. For the past century, our family has been growing stronger. The three who remain are the most powerful of our kind. You, Brigid, and Phoebe must begin the revolution.”
“Brigid?” The name didn’t ring any bells.
In a flash the serene flower child was gone. In her place was a pissed-off mom. “Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Flora said. “Your mother didn’t tell you aboutBrigid?”
“I guess not,” Sibyl replied. “Who is she?”
Flora shook her head in disbelief. “Your aunt. She uses her father’s last name, Laguerre, as a stage name.”
“Brigid Laguerre?” The shock sent Sibyl’s mind reeling. “Holy shit. That’s why I was never allowed to see her movies? The Queen of the Dark is my aunt?”
“Yes, and she’ll be here on Wild Hill soon. Your mother will be coming as well.”
“Good,” Sibyl said darkly. “I can’t wait.”
“I’m expecting you to keep the peace when they get here.”
Sibyl refused with a shake of her head. “Me? Oh,hellno. I have a bone to pick with Mommy Dearest. How dare she not tell me what I am—who I come from?”
“Speak your mind, then, and move on,” Flora advised. “The three of you have work to do. Your mother and Brigid are going to bicker like children. I need you to keep them focused on the mission.”
“What is the mission?”
“That’s for you to determine. The ancestors have provided you with the information you’ll need. You know far more than your mother or aunt. It will be your job to put the pieces together.”
“Well, I don’t know what the hell I’m supposed to do,” Sibyl told her. “I can’t smite people with lightning bolts or brew deadly poisons. The only thing I’m good at is cooking.”
“Perhaps that’s the only gift you’ll need,” Flora told her.
Sibyl found that hard to believe, but she didn’t say so. “Hey, why didn’t I get to visit your life?” she asked instead. “What happened to you?”
“You’ll find out,” Flora promised. “My death is a missing piece of the puzzle. It’s also why your mother has been so angry. I had to leave her when she was young.”
“What do you mean, you had to leave her?”
“When she was sixteen years old, I drank Lilith’s poison.”
“You killed yourself?” The news felt like a knife to the gut. Sibyl couldn’t even imagine what it must have done to her mother. “I don’t understand. Were you depressed?”
“Not at all,” Flora told her. Her eyes roamed Sibyl’s face as though she was committing every freckle to memory. “I did it so that you would exist and I would one day get to meet you.” She smiled at her granddaughter. “It was worth it.”
“I still don’t understand,” Sibyl told her.
“You will,” Flora promised. “Once all three of you are here, I will show you. For now, I’d like you to shut your eyes again.”
Sibyl did as she was told and felt herself pulled into a warm embrace. With her head against her grandmother’s chest, she felt a warmth and love like she’d never known.
