2. Welcome back, dear readers, to The
Devereaux Legacy. It is getting to the point
where I am unable to do a recap in just a few
sentences. If you are a current reader, then
there is no need. If you are a new reader, I
recommend going back and reading the first
few chapters (at least back to “It’s the Bee’s
Knees”).
Before I start, I want to give all the credit to
my husband for the title pages of the last
couple of chapters, and all the future ones. I
have no talent at it, and he gets to use his
degree, something he laments not using at his
job.
So, without further ado…

3. Prologue
“Tribebohemian!” I said to the newest arrival
to Pleasantview, “You have no idea how glad
I am that you could make it here. So, my plan
is that I will be able to talk to you about all
sorts of SimSelf types of things while the rest
of them remain oblivious.
“The last time I interfered, Josh turned his
granddaughter evil to get back at me. I
thought it was a joke, but…well, I’m big
enough to admit when I’m wrong.”

4. “So anyway, you know the drill, right? I have
to make you into a Townie and then
eventually Sebastian will bump into you,
and…”
“Do you think I’m stupid?” the other woman
interrupted. I blinked back at her, startled.

5. “Well, no. I’m sorry, I just feel the need to
over explain everything. I’m really long
winded, in case you haven’t noticed…”
“Oh yeah, I DID notice. I’m a SimSelf, just
like you. I know what needs to be done, and
I know that what I am needs to be kept
secret.”

6. She continued, “And I will also assume that
who you are and WHERE you are should be
kept under wraps as well?”
I winced. “Yeah, that would be nice. I have
this unreasonable fear of being burned to
death by an angry mob, you see. And I think
Keith would be slightly irritated if he died as
well. This is just a hunch, mind you.” The
other woman nodded.
“That’s all I have to do to get Sebby? Keep
who you are and who I really am a secret?
And keep you in the loop of any weird things
that happen? I think I can do that.” She
grinned happily. “Yay! I’m so excited.”
“Remember to keep me in the loop…”
“Yeah yeah, I know. No need to repeat
yourself. Well, I’m off. Talk to you soon,” and
she left. As I watched her, I got a sinking
feeling that she was far more concerned with
getting Sebastian than with helping me…

7. Chapter One
Spring was in the air over Pleasantview. It
was most clear in the outskirts of town, where
the smog from the Pleasantview Industrial
area hadn’t reached. Children began to play
outside longer, and lovers set aside their
bickering that was brought on by winter cabin
fever.

8. Sebastian felt the spring air keenly. He was
lonely. He missed Tristen terribly, though he
no longer fell into the morose slump that he
had when his family first arrived in
Pleasantview.
It did not stop him from being aware of the
empty side of the bed, however. Or from
occasionally looking at Tristen’s portrait with
sadness. He would snap out of it quickly,
though.

9. One bright spot in his life was his new job.
He no longer wanted to be a General in the
military; particularly the Pleasantview Military,
or Conditioning Police as they liked to be
called, who was more of a bullying brute
squad than anything else. Instead, he found
peace of mind drafting blueprints for
beautiful structures that he knew would never
grace Pleasantview’s skyline.
That part kind of irritated him, actually, but he
was really in no position to complain about it.
Many of the Pleasantview citizens still
viewed his family askance, and he decided
that he didn’t need the extra grief. So he just
made sure that he kept a copy of every
blueprint with the hopes that someday
Pleasantview will be reformed.

10. The strange thing about Pleasantview Sims
was the fact that though they seemed to hate
Legacy families as a general rule, they were
also utterly fascinated by them. Sebastian
began to get bored by all the phone calls
from newspapers and television reporters
begging him for interviews.
They all wanted to know one thing: When
was he going to get married again?
Of course, he was very respectful, but kept
his stock answers vague. “Yes,” he replied
numerous times, “I would like to get married
again. I am looking for that special someone;
Someone who wears makeup and is artistic.
Zombies need not apply. Yes, I am aware
that zombies are not exactly run of the mill,
but I figured I would put that out there just in
case an apocalypse happens upon us. What?
Oh God no! I am absolutely NOT predicting
an apocalypse!”

11. These published interviews, of course,
brought on a slew of women who would
randomly walk by his house; all with the
hopes of meeting and marrying the wealthy,
and possibly influential, Sebastian. Though
they disliked Legacy families, enough money
made all feelings of animosity die down.
Eventually Sebastian resigned himself to the
fact that he had to start socializing, so he
made it a point to at least greet these women
and go on outings with them; he couldn’t
bring himself to actually date, as dates have
high expectations, whereas outings were far
more causal.

12. Of course, he didn’t go out with all of them.
Some of them reminded him too much of
Tristen, and he knew it wouldn’t be fair to a
new potential wife to have that extra ghost
between them.

13. And some women just gave him the hibbly
jibblies.

14. He didn’t only rely upon random walk bys, of
course. Very often he went into SimCity to
check out the local club scene.

15. Though one club in particular seemed to only
have men for clientele. He blushed furiously
when he realized what kind of bar it was. The
other gentlemen laughed good naturedly at
his mistake, and he ended up having a lot of
fun and making new friends, but not a new
potential wife.

16. Another outing he went on wasn’t nearly as
fun; some people took their gambling a bit
too seriously.

17. Bowling was also a lot of fun, and it was
something he was very good at. The girl he
was with seemed nice enough.

18. However, she made it clear that she was
looking for far more in the romance
department than he was willing to give. He
just didn’t feel that special connection with
her.
Pretty much what his own internal narration
came down to was this: he was exhausted.

19. Sebastian knew he was trying too hard.
Things like this should just happen, not be
forced, he thought to himself as he sat down
at the counter in the diner he decided to end
his night in. Sighing, he picked up the menu
and started looking for the least greasy item
that wouldn’t keep him up all night with
indigestion.
After he placed his order, he casually glanced
down the bar to see who else was occupying
the restaurant at that time of night. He then
did a double take.

20. She was attractive, but that wasn’t the thing
that held his attention. She seemed…
different. She had more of a presence, a
confidence in herself, that Sebastian couldn’t
quite put his finger on. The strange, almost
aura, about her made her stand out more
than any of the other women he had
socialized with.

21. Clearing his throat, he shyly grinned over at
her. “Hi, I’m Sebastian,” he said as he winced
inwardly. He wished he had a smoother pick
up line than just blurting out his name.

22. The woman at the other end of the counter
looked over at him. She blinked and gave
him a smile. “Hi, I’m Kitty. Nice to meet you,
Sebastian.”

23. Chapter Two
On the other side of town, Spring had not
fully touched. Mill and factory workers would
look, bleary eyed, out the windows of their
budget slum units and sigh at the frost that
was determined to stick on the ground. They
would then sigh in disappointment as they
drudged through another mindless day at
their jobs, silently cursing the powers that be
who changed the barely remembered
Pleasantview of old.
But not all the denizens were miserable
because of the mindless SAMENESS of
everyday life…

24. Zane idly picked at his fingers as he kicked at
some loose gravel. He knew he wasn’t
supposed to be outside, as his mother had
specifically prohibited it. Fortunately for him,
his mother was too angry at the moment to
pay attention. Instead, she was directing all
of her concentration at her spell book,
looking for ways to “make them pay.”
He sighed sadly, still remembering his
mother’s ranting and ravings directed at him.
They all came down to one thing: it was
basically his fault that they were not living at
the big house right now. It was his fault
simply because he apparently was not
appealing enough to his grandparents, and
that he was lucky that he had a mother that
did love him.
His mother was right of course. After how his
grandparents reacted, and especially his
Uncle Sebastian, it became very clear that
nobody would want him, except for his
mother.
He was very glad that he had her.

25. A voice spoken to him jerked Zane out of his
sad thoughts, a bit of panic rising. He was
not supposed to talk to anybody outside of
his house.
“Hi, I’m Tina, your next door neighbor.
What’s your name?” the voice asked.

26. Zane smiled shyly and the blonde little girl.
“Oh. My name is Zane. It’s very nice to
meet you,” he said to her politely.

27. Tina looked at him with a questioning look.
“How come I don’t see you at school? Or do
you get to go to the private school? I didn’t
think anybody was allowed to go there. Well,
at least any of us who live on this side of
town. I saw the name on your mailbox, and it
says Devereaux. Aren’t you one of those
Legacy brats?”

28. Zane looked at Tina wistfully. “Yeah, we have
the same last name, but…no. The other
Devereaux family doesn’t like us,” he sighed
heavily and continued, “and I don’t go to
school. Momma teaches me. I wish I could
go to school though,” he added the last part
softly.

29. Tina laughed. “Oh! So you’re home
schooled. That’s so neat! I wish my parents
would let me stay at home, but they think that
I will have a ‘healthier understanding of the
downtrodden times that the children of
Pleasantview are suffering’ or some baloney
like that.” The girl rolled her eyes as if she
didn’t believe the quoted statement herself,
but she was resentful about being forced to
comply to her parents’ wishes.

30. “So anyway,” Tina continued, “is that ’living
impaired’ guy that lives with you a real and
for true zombie? My parents think it is
‘awfully kind of your family to reach out and
help someone with his condition.’” Tina
made the quotation gesture when quoting
something that was obviously from her
parents.
She continued on, not letting Zane answer
her questions. “Can I come over and see
him? I’ve never seen a zombie before.” And
she began walking over to the other side of
the fence into Zane’s part of the backyard.

31. Panic rising, Zane held out his hands trying to
stop the girl. “No no no. I can’t let you come
over. I ought to go inside now, Momma
might get mad at me.” But it was no use, for
Tina had already come over to his side of the
yard.

32. Tina tilted her head and observed the wide
eyed look the strange little boy was giving
her, obviously not understanding his panic.
“Do you have to go inside because you didn’t
finish your homework?” she asked him. “I
didn’t think that home schooled kids had
homework. I hate homework, its so boring!”

33. Zane paused and looked at her. “Yes. I must
go inside and do my homework, otherwise
Momma will give me a bad…grade.”
Tina nodded sagely, understanding that bad
grades are the bane of every child’s existence.
At least her existence, and it appeared the
same was said for Zane. She shrugged and
smiled.
“Okay. Maybe some other time?” She heard
a car pull up, indicating that her parents were
home from the peaceful protest rally they had
attended. As she turned to skip down the
narrow path between the two houses, she
smiled and waved at Zane.

34. “Hey Daddy! I met the little boy next door.
That one guy really IS a zombie. Isn’t that
cool?”
Trent looked patiently down at his daughter.
“Tina dear, you know the politically correct
term is living impaired. You don’t want to
hurt that man’s feelings and make him feel
different from the rest of us, do you? Zombie
is a hurtful and negative term. You should
know better than that.”
“Okay Daddy. I’m sorry. I’ll try to
remember,” she managed to respond without
rolling her eyes.

35. Zane, for his part, smiled happily to himself.
Tina was the first child he had ever met and
she was so nice to him. Maybe if I ask
Momma nicely, she’ll let me play outside with
her. Maybe she’ll even let me go to school
with her! he thought hopefully.
His head jerked around as he heard the
backdoor open. In the doorway, he saw
Lillian glowering at him. “Boy, I have been
calling for you. How many times have I told
you to never go outside?”
Zane tried not to look guilty. “I’m sorry
Momma, I was using the bathroom. I didn’t
hear you calling. I’m sorry,” and he walked
inside cringing at his mother’s apparent ire.

36. Chapter Three
A few days had passed before Zane was able
to gather up the courage to ask for
permission to go back outside and play with
the little girl next door.
“It’s not like I do not enjoying spending time
with you, but do you think it can be allowed?”
Zane asked.

37. Remington looked at Zane, keeping his face
expressionless. He honestly felt bad for the
small boy, but there was nothing he could do
to intervene; Lillian’s magical control over
him was too overwhelming.
Remington sighed, something that he didn’t
really need to do, seeing as he was
technically dead, but it was a force of habit
left over from his living days.

38. “Zane,” he began, knowing that he was the
only person in the house who called the child
by his name, “you know I have no control over
what happens with you. You’re going to have
to ask your mother. I would, if I could. I want
you to know that.” You need a life kiddo, but I
know your mother will never let you have one,
he mentally added.
Zane nodded, trying to keep his face neutral,
but failed. “I know. But Momma loves me,
and maybe if she sees that I really want this,
she’ll give it to me…?” He couldn’t help but
sound hopeful.
Remington said nothing, and the two of them
continued their meal in silence.

39. In the front room, Lillian was pouring over
spell book, looking for the answer to her
question on how to take back what she felt
was rightfully hers. “I wish by stupid brother
had just taken the tonic instead of his wife,”
she muttered out loud to herself, “with him
dead, this would have been so much easier.”

40. And then suddenly, she saw it. There is was
written in bold red; the answer she had been
seeking. Of course, not directly, but with her
own unique (she felt) way of thinking outside
the box, she would be able to achieve what
she wanted. Excitement began to rise within
her when a voice interrupted her, breaking her
concentration.

41. “Momma?” Zane asked hesitantly, “Momma,
do you think…”
Lillian clutched the sides of the book stand
and she angrily snapped her head and glared
at her son, interrupting him. “How often
must I tell you to never interrupt me?” she
hissed at him.
Zane’s eyes went wide and he opened his
mouth, but no words came out. “I’m sorry
Momma,” he finally was able to whisper, “it…
it’s nothing important.”

42. Lillian ground down a tooth and she
attempted to put on a sweet smile. I need the
boy to be compliant if what I am planning is
to work, she thought as she gripped Zane’s
shoulders and looked him in the eye.
“Child, what is it you wanted?” she asked
sweetly, trying not to let her clenched teeth
show. “You obviously thought it was
important enough to interrupt me, so what is
it?”
Zane searched his mother’s eyes, but the
hateful look he saw in them a moment before
seemed to have vanished, almost as if he had
imagined it. He took a deep breath.
“I was wondering if maybe I could go to
school now and maybe play with the little girl
next door. She was very nice to me Momma,
and her name is Tina. She didn’t seem that
upset with me because my last name is
Devereaux. Maybe some of the other kids
will like me too? Can I please?”

43. Lillian looked skeptically at her son. “Child,
how often must I tell you that people always
lie and no one other than me is to be trusted?
Imagine how hurt you would be if you did go
to school and you found out that this Tina girl
was trying to trick you and the other students
made fun of you? Is it not better for you to
stay here, with me, where I can shelter you
from such harmful things?”
She paused and put on a horrified face,
“Unless, of course, you no longer love me
and do not wish to be here with me anymore.
Of course, I do not know what would
happen to you, seeing as none of your other
family members love you nearly as much as I
do…”she trailed off, seeing her words sink in.
Zane quickly kissed his mother. “No
Momma. I still love you. It was silly of me to
ask you. I’m sorry.”
Lillian nodded her acceptance to his apology.
“You are forgiven my son. Now, run along
upstairs while I research ways to improve our
lives. Trust me son, my way is the best.”

44. Lillian grinned evilly to herself as she went
back to her research, preparing the
incantations to her next diabolical scheme.
The Grandmaster Plan. The One That Will
Work.
She didn’t even notice the longing look Zane
gave out the front window before he left the
room; nor would she have cared if she did.
As long as the boy was obedient…

45. As for Zane, he glumly walked up the stairs to
his bedroom, trying not to let his
disappointment get the best of him.
His mother was right. She always was. He
knew that nobody would like him, let alone
love him, like his mother did. He was so glad
he had his mother to protect him from all the
people in the world who would want to hurt
him.
His chest filled with grateful love towards her.

46. Later that night when he was looking out his
window, he noticed an abandoned yellow
notebook sitting on the sidewalk. He crept
past the front room, where his mother was
still engrossed in her studying, and he went
outside to look at it.
It appeared that it was Tina’s homework.
Looking over his shoulder, convinced that the
girl next door was going to yell at him for
touching her stuff, he knelt down and opened
it.

47. Zane skimmed the instructions to the
assignment. It appeared to be a very simple
‘identify the nouns and verbs in these
paragraphs’ sort of thing. He also noticed
that Tina had started the assignment, but
gave up. All of her answers were wrong as
well.

48. Pulling out the pencil that was in the binding,
Zane quickly erased all of her answers and
settled down to do the assignment. He had
never done homework before, and he found
that it was kind of fun. With his tongue
sticking out of his mouth, he quickly finished
the assignment, and left it sitting on the
sidewalk where he found it.
He smiled. Maybe that would make Tina like
him.

49. Chapter Four
The next morning was a Saturday. Not that
the day itself actually mattered to Lillian, but it
was a random thought that crossed her mind
as she felt tugging tingle that was attempting
to pull her to an unknown destination.
Instead of fighting it, she allowed herself to be
teleported.

50. She found herself standing before a lone
witch, obviously the one who must have
summoned her. The witch barely glanced at
Lillian as she started reading out loud a litany
of things.
A list of crimes that apparently Lillian had
committed against the coven.
“Lillian Devereaux, you are hereby accused of
blatant murder, evil machinations, and
outright manipulation; all in the name of
working towards the goal of a Legacy
takeover…”

51. Lillian interrupted with a laugh.
“Really? Seeing as this is the evil coven, I
would have thought that such things were
looked fondly upon. It was the only reason
why I decided to join in the first place.”
The other witch glared at Lillian’s interruption.

52. “If you would allow me to finish,” the other
witch continued, “I was going to say that
while the regular world would find your
actions deplorable, we commend you.
“The biggest crime that you have committed,
that we at this coven take very seriously, is
the fact that you have yet to pay homage to
this coven chapter. While I understand that
you may have paid homage to the London
Bridge chapter, you haven’t here. Thus, that
makes you a rogue witch. And we do not
take kindly to rogues.
“You have had ample opportunity to do as
such, and we gave you the time. Yet nothing
ever came from you. So we are going to have
a closed trial with all the coven heads, and we
will decide your fate.”

53. And then abruptly, the witch splashed a
glassful of water upon Lillian.
Lillian sputtered and brushed the wet hair
from her eyes. “Perhaps you should be well
aware, then, that I do not melt from the touch
of water.”
The Coven Head just nodded, “We are
aware. Tradition is tradition, however. In the
past, a witch who was to be judged would
have the mark of judgment upon her, scars
from the water. Though we witches are no
longer affected by water, we still carry out the
tradition.”

54. The Coven Head continued, “Obviously
these would be things that you would know,
were you to actually participate in the coven,
as opposed to just using your powers.
“ I have seen your type before. You are
selfish. You always take but never give back.
You think that just because you have magic, it
makes you better than everyone else. Well, I
will not deny that last part, though I’m sure
the Sisters of the Light would tend to
disagree, but either way you still need to give
back to the people who made you so
powerful.
“You have not. So all the coven heads will
meet in private and decide your fate. We will
inform you what the verdict is in due time.”
And before Lillian could say anything else, the
Coven Head began waving her wand,
teleporting Lillian back to her own home.

55. When Lillian was gone, the Coven Head
walked over to her cauldron and spoke into it.
“The rogue has been informed. It is now
time for all of us to meet.”

56. Lillian clenched her fists when she arrived
back at home. Apparently time moved
differently in the coven halls than it did in the
real world, and she lost almost an entire day
of preparations. It turned out that she was
going to move faster than she would have
liked, in case the coven decided that she were
to be executed.
“Momma? Where were you? I was terribly
worried that something bad might have
happened, and then I would be all alone.”
Lillian turned and glared at Zane, but said
nothing. She stalked past her child and went
upstairs where her cauldron was.

57. Up there, she began sorting and mixing the
ingredients that was needed for her Plan That
Will Work. If she were able to accomplish
this, then her Legacy takeover would be
complete. Even the coven witches would be
able to respect her, and not execute her.
Heck, they might even openly support her.

58. Lillian could almost taste her victory as she
literally leaned over the pot and took a small
taste. She sighed in a vexed manner. She just
needed a little bit more time as her last
ingredient wasn’t quite ready.

59. Chapter Five
Lillian smirked slightly over the chessboard at
Zane, who was very obviously distracted.
She knew what was on his mind, for her
concentrations were not so deep as to not
notice what he was doing, but she had said
nothing.
It was always better to crush his spirits when
they were at their highest.
“My child, if you are not going to concentrate
on what is before you, how on earth will you
be able to run the Legacy after I am gone?”
she asked him.

60. Zane colored guiltily and moved one of his
pieces. “I’m sorry Momma. You are right
Momma, I should pay more attention to what
I am doing.”

61. But his concentration was broken again when
he heard the school bus pull up. Breaking
away from the Chess game, he ran to the
window and looked out of it, not seeing the
deepening smirk that was on Lillian’s face.

62. Both the children outside had their backs
turned to the house, so neither of them saw
Zane looking out of the window.
Tina looked at her graded paper in a
perplexed manner. Apparently she had
received a perfect score.

63. “That is so weird,” Tina said to Alexander
Goth, “the little boy next door totally did my
homework AND he got all the answers right!”
Alexander Goth held out his hands to stop
the excitement that was coming off of Tina.
In a pompous tone, far older than his age, he
said to her, “Tina, you know that is
considered cheating. You are not allowed to
cheat. If you do, I’m going to tell teacher on
you.”
Tina looked glum.

64. “Besides,” Alexander went on, “you let that
creepy Boo Radley Devereaux kid touch your
stuff and so now it’s cursed. I am inclined to
agree with my father when he says that the
Devereaux family will be nothing but trouble
and they deserve to be shunned, hated and
preferably run out of town. The WHOLE lot
of them, including the stupid, creepy spares.
That is what I think, and you should too,
because my father, Mortimer Goth, was one
of the most influential people in town before
they showed up.”

65. Zane didn’t hear Tina’s response. He curled
up on the window seat that he was standing
on and fought back tears. He wanted people
to like him, not think him creepy.
Lillian watched her son with an amused
expression. “You see son,” she said softly, “I
am the only person in the world who will ever
want you around.” She was pleased when
she saw Zane nod in miserable agreement.
There was a moment of silence when they
both heard a knock on the backdoor. Zane
looked at his mother with a bit of panic, and
he was surprised when she just raised an
eyebrow at him and told him to answer it.

66. He stepped outside when he saw it was Tina.
Before he could say anything, Tina said,
“Zane, you can’t do my homework. It’s
cheating and I don’t want Alexander Goth to
tattle on me. Thank you, it was very nice, and
you got me an A, but don’t touch my
homework anymore, okay?”
Zane looked at her sadly. “It’s because I’m
creepy, isn’t it?”
Tina looked surprised. “No, silly. It’s because
homework is boring, and I don’t know why
someone would want to do their own
homework. Why would they want to do
someone else’s?”

67. Zane smiled. “But it was easy and fun. And it
made you get a good grade, and it made you
like me, right?”
Something clicked in Tina’s mind as she
looked at him. “You actually like it?” Zane
nodded enthusiastically.
“If you want, I can still do it, but we can keep
it a secret, and then we can be friends and
then other people might like me, too,” he said
to her.

68. Tina laughed, and Zane looked hurt, thinking
that she was laughing at him. Then she
reached out and tickled him. “Okay silly. You
can keep doing my homework in secret. I
mean, if I leave it outside, I can’t do anything
to stop you from doing it, right?”
Zane nodded happily.

69. “And then we can be friends, right?” Zane
asked her. Tina threw her arms around him…

70. …and then gave him a kiss on the cheek.
“Yep. We can be secret friends. Don’t tell
anyone, or we might both get into trouble,
okay?”
Zane grinned and promised to keep the
secret.

71. So, as promised, Tina left her homework
outside on the sidewalk for Zane to
complete…

72. …and she would go to school and get the
good grades. The arrangement worked out
well for both parties involved, and Zane liked
seeing the stickers on the homework
assignments for a job well done.
And best of all, he had a secret friend.

73. Chapter Six
A month had passed before Zane began to
feel dissatisfied with the arrangement. It
wasn’t that he didn’t like making Tina happy,
but he wanted to experience school himself.
He had reasoned out in his mind that he
could easily manage to do both his and her
assignments. He crossed his arms and glared
at the wall.
“Momma, I want to go to school now. I
know I would do well.”

74. Lillian grimaced a smile. “Nobody is denying
that you would excel in your studies, my son,
however the fact still remains that nobody
would like you and your feelings would get
hurt. Did we not both agree that it would be
best for you to remain here, safely, with me?”

75. Zane stood up in front of her. “Momma, if I
am supposed to inherit the Legacy after you,
aren’t I supposed to make friends and stuff? I
mean, I’m supposed to get married someday,
right? And then I’m supposed to have kids
who will take over after me, right? How can I
do that when I can’t even go outside to meet
people?”
Lillian laughed meanly.

76. “It is statements like that, my boy, that proves
to me that you are not quite yet ready. Child,
when you have absolute control over the
power and wealth that both training from me
and inheriting the Legacy will give you, then
you have no need to be friends with anyone.
People will always fail you. However, when
the time comes for you to marry, then with a
little bit of persuasion that person will see
things my…I mean, OUR way.”

77. Lillian sat back down in her chair. “Now
child, I expect you to go to your room and
contemplate the error of your ways. You will
eventually come to terms with the fact that
nobody but me will ever like you, and you
will also fully realize that I am right in all
things. Now go. Immediately.”
Zane’s heart thumped loudly and his cheeks
flushed. He knew he shouldn’t have said
anything, because his mother was always
right. Why did he bother to argue or
question?

78. But upstairs he cried. He just wanted his
mother to be wrong, just once, especially
about other people not liking him. He
thought he was a pretty neat kid if people got
to know him. He didn’t want to force people
into liking him, like his mother thought was
necessary. Am I really that horrible? he
thought to himself.
He was afraid to answer his own question.

79. Lillian rolled her eyes at the sound of her
son’s sobbing. “Ugh. Kids these days. What
is a mother to do?” She shook her head and
sighed in an aggrieved manner.

80. Suddenly, there was a bright light filling the
room, and in the middle of the nimbus stood
the Coven Head of the Sisters of the Dark.

81. Lillian glared balefully at the woman and
poked her. “You dare enter my home
unannounced?”

82. The Coven Head looked at Lillian, appalled.
“I have come here to issue you the verdict
that we came to. You’re very life might
possibly be on the line…and you dare poke
me?”

83. Lillian realized her mistake, and tried to look
contrite, but the Coven Head didn’t believe it.
“The judgment that we came to is that you,
Lillian Devereaux, are to be hereby stripped
of all of your powers. Never again will you
wield magic of any sort, and our eyes will
forever be closed to you. I had made a
compromise on your behalf, as is my right,
but now I will not do so.
Lillian, I will now summon a Dark Servant to
rip the magic forcefully from you. I sincerely
hope that it is a painful process.”

84. Before she could begin the process, Zane ran
into the room and stepped between the two
witches.
“Please don’t hurt my Momma!” he cried,
trying to shield Lillian’s body with his own.
The Coven Head looked at him curiously.

85. “Alright child, speak. I am listening,” she said
to Zane.
“My Momma needs her magic to protect me
and help me. If my Momma loses her magic,
what will happen to me? My Momma just
made a mistake and she is sorry. Please don’t
hurt my Momma!” he said to the witch in a
beseeching tone.

86. The woman held up her hand to stop the flow
of words coming from Zane. “Alright boy
child, whose name is Zane, I will go through
with my compromise. Lillian, I will not strip
you of your magic forever. I will only
temporarily take away your powers. For you
see, the Love of a Child, is what is protecting
you.” She turned and smiled cruelly at Lillian.
“Yes. The Love of a Child. It is amazing how
important that ingredient is in all of dark
magic, is it not? As long as you have it, it will
be that very love that is keeping the power
away from you.” The woman turned back to
Zane.
“Zane, I suggest you run along upstairs while
your mother and I finish our discussion. I
promise what will be done to her will only
hurt for a moment.”

87. After Zane left the room, the Coven Head
began her incantations. Lillian wrung her
hands it what almost seem like distress.
“But I need the Love of a Child if I am to
accomplish my goals…”
“You should have thought of that before. Put
it this way, at least you might have the chance
to get your magic back. But then again, your
child loves you so very much. You made sure
of that, did you not?”

88. “Well, while it was not my original intent…”
Lillian began.

89. The Coven Head interrupted her. “From what
I understand, this is a very painful process,
stripping away magic. You might wish to save
your breath for your screams.”

90. As the Dark Servant approached Lillian, she
found herself rooted to the spot, unable to
fight back physically.
Mentally, she tried with all her might.
It didn’t matter. In the end, the Dark Servant
touched her very spirit and stripped the
magic from her soul.

91. Lillian’s face contorted in pain as she felt the
gut wrenching rip tear her apart.
But she did not scream. Not then. She
refused to give the Coven Head the
satisfaction.

92. It was only afterwards, when the other witch
left, that Lillian let out the screams from her
soul.
Her magic was gone. She was no better than
anyone else.
And that is what hurt her most of all.

93. Zane ventured back downstairs when he no
longer heard his mother’s screams. It took
him a moment to notice what was different
about his mother; it was the lack of the green
aura she’s had around her since before he
was born. He silently walked up beside her
as she sat at the chess board.
“Momma?” he whispered, fearfully.
“You have ruined me. Get out of my sight.
Now.”
“But, Momma. She said that you might get
your magic back someday. You can still
protect me until then. I promise I can help
you out and I won’t make any trouble.”
“You are an idiot child who understands
nothing. Now, go away before I show you
how truly angry I am.”
“Y-yes Momma. I’m sorry Momma. I love
you Momma…”
“GO AWAY NOW YOU USELESS,
MISERABLE CHILD!” Lillian screeched.
And Zane ran from the room, too terrified to
cry.

94. It took about an hour for Lillian to compose
herself. When she finally did, she walked up
to her spell book, hands clasped in an almost
prayer like manner, and tried to read what
was written in it.
The words swam before her, slipping and
sliding, never staying still long enough for her
to understand their meaning.

95. With an angry growl, she picked up the book
and hurled it against the wall. It was
completely useless to her now, just as she was
sure that the cauldron upstairs was as well.

96. After pacing the room for a few moments,
she settled on the window seat. There was
something that the Coven Head had said to
her that was nagging at her mind.
“Think. THINK. What was it?” she muttered
to herself. But the more she tried to think
about it, the more slippery the thought was.
She began pacing through the house,
purposefully trying to NOT think about it.

97. As she walked into Zane’s bedroom and
looked down at his sleeping form, it suddenly
clicked.
As long as SHE had the Love of a Child.
And her Plan That Will Work required the
Love of a Child.
But…it never specified who the child needed
to love. It just required the love itself.
A slow, evil smile spread across Lillian’s face
as she leaned over Zane.

98. She stroked his hair in an almost loving
manner.
“It looks, my child, that some of your wishes
are going to come true.” And she smiled
again as she heard Zane sigh contentedly in
his sleep.
***
(To be continued…)