Paul, Beatriz, and Tyler left to go have that talk with their grandpa. There was a coffee shop on main street. The twins' grandfather liked the scones there. So that was where they gathered. Paul was waiting at the table with Beatriz. The bell above the door rang and in walked Tyler with his grandpa. They all sat down together.
Paul had no desire to be here for this. The conversation he was about to be a part of seemed like a family thing. He was overthinking every move he made. He didn't know what to do with his hand.
"Hey pop pop, you remember Paul." Beatriz said.
"Oh yes. Yes, the football player. Your mom is in The Historical Society.” he replied.
"Hello sir, next to see you again." Paul awkwardly said.
Pop pop definitely knew they were up to something. “Okay you've lured me away from the house. What do you need to know?”
Tyler paused for a little. He didn't know how to start. "I know dad doesn't like when you tell us family stuff but we have some questions."
Paul jumped in. "We know a little about your ancestors. But you were wondering why Tyler has powers."
Pop pop smiled and laughed. "It worked?!"
"What worked?" the twins said simultaneously.
“I modified the binding spell to hold off your powers until you were an adult. Your dad watched you around puberty to make sure I properly bound you."
"What! Why me? Why now?" Tyler asked.
Pop pop looked at Beatriz. "Because of her. You needed power to protect your sister. She's not supposed to be here. Someone or something broke an ancient curse to make sure she existed. I don't know about you guys but that worries me. Plus we should have never agreed to it in the first place. It wasn't magic that attracted the supernatural world. It's the town itself.”
"The town? Is it cursed land or something?" Paul asked.
"The town is the center of magically leylines. Which is a perfect place for a magical vault. There are tombs in some underground tunnels of the town that are supposed to hold something powerful. Magic like that attracts the supernatural world. The Benoits knew it and the Everalds knew it.” the old man replied.
"Why did they leave then?" questioned Beatriz.
"Stubbornness I guess. The town wouldn't listen to reason. Especially when the Winters family came. They were so riled up with fear and the Everalds wouldn't back down. So they were exiled." their grandpa explained.
“So they just left and abandoned the town?" Beatriz questioned.
"Don’t worry dear, they had a plan. Blood magic. They used it to seal part of the tunnel to the rest of the world." Pop pop said.
The group thanked him for his time and Tyler took him home. The picture became clear. They have already been in the tunnels so now they just have to search it thoroughly.
The trio went back to Zane's house to share their information. As they walked in the house they heard faint screaming. At first Paul felt bad for the man, then he remembered what he had done.
The next thought he had was about Quinn. He couldn't think of anything he could do or say to fix this. Time was probably best. So he went to the study and he found Aiden and Mr. Everald going through research
“Hey, is there anything good in those books?” Paul jokingly asked.
Aiden looked up, “Yeah apparently one of Mr. E's ancestors were trying to find a doorway into the afterlife.”
“Did he find it?” Paul asked.
“He did not.”
“Well what did you find out?” Mr. Everald asked.
“Tyler's grandfather modified the spell to hold off his powers until adulthood because someone broke the no girls curse. The town attracts supernaturals. There is a tomb in the tunnels that holds something powerful but is sealed by blood magic.” Paul answered.
Aiden joked. “Oh that's it?” He followed up with a suggestion. “So we should assume the powerful thing in the tomb is what this is all about.”
Paul continued, “You know it seems like every version of the history I hear or read we get more information. If there was a way to see what really happened that would be cool.”
“Is there a magic-like time seeing spell? Is that a thing?” Aiden would ask.
“Thalia would probably know but her and Noah are kind of in the middle of something.” Mr. Everald replied.
An hour would go by, Noah finally came upstairs. There was blood on his shirt and some even on his face. For the first time Paul realized how dangerous the people around him are. It made him uncomfortable. If Paul did something they didn't like, would he be tortured next?
“We cracked him,” Noah gloated.
Thalia walked in, wiping her bloody hands on a towel. “Some lady paid him big bucks to turn a kid in town. He didn't ask why and didn't even care to learn anything about who paid him.”
“And now he is sleeping with the fishies, figuratively speaking. He's just dead in the cell. But you get my point.” Noah added.
The wheels started turning in Paul's brain. He didn't know why but he had a gut feeling. “We didn't identify the witch that helped Tivy. My money is on those two ladies being the same.”
All Zane’s face showed was confusion. “What do you mean witch?”
Thalia jumped in to explain. “Yeah we just figured the magic used at the town fair needed some juice behind it. The priest wasn't magic. And no way those vampires could swing a spell like that. There's another person out there who is a witch.”
Mr. Everald spoke up. “We need to find the witch who is causing all our problems.”