Gabby’s POV
Strange things had been happening and I was getting confused. I was still wondering how Melody could have forgotten a memory of her getting injured in the garage. She hadn’t remembered going in there and definitely couldn’t remember what had happened to her. I still wondered what happened to her and couldn’t deny that worrying about it kept me up all night.
I was grateful that Ella was around and with me almost everyday. She was a huge support to me and I couldn’t imagine that I had gotten to know her before all these started happening.
I would have been scared and driven out of my wits if I was alone to deal with these alone. I wished Melody’s dad was here but his program wasn’t ending until the next two months, barely days before Melody’s birthday party.
I couldn’t wait to see him again and draw in his comfort. I hadn’t told him about what was going on as I didn’t want to distract me from his studies. He would only be worried and might rush home in a panic, forfeiting his degree and his promotion at work which was a guarantee if he successfully completed his degree. It was also a guarantee that he might get sacked from work if he missed his classes. The company he worked for was sponsoring his degree and wouldn’t be too happy if he messed his chance up.
I wasn’t about to cause a mess that I wasn’t going to be responsible for. Moreover, it wasn’t like anything big had happened. I promised myself that I was going to tell him when something serious happened that he needed to know about.
My phone rang and I smiled as I saw the caller ID. It was like he had known I was thinking of him and called at the exact time.
“My love.” I grinned into the phone as I held it close to my ear.
“Are you asleep already?” He asked.
“No, I was thinking of you.” I confessed.
“Me too.” He said and I smiled at his words. I could hear the sincerity in his voice.
“How are you? How is everything?” I asked.
“Fine.” He said and went to tell me about everything, the courses he was taking, his lectures and all the in-betweens that happened at college. “What about you? How are things with you and Melody?” He asked when he was done.
“We are both fine and everything is okay.” I lied. “Melody and I miss you.” I said afterwards. That wasn’t a lie.
“I miss you too. I can’t wait to come home.”
“We will see you soon.” I reminded him of his calendar like a dutiful secretary.
“You will.” He agreed. “Talk to you later, my love.” He said and ended the call.
I hadn’t put the phone down when I heard a loud scream from Melody’s room. I jumped off my bed and raced to her bedroom, grateful that it wasn’t when I was on phone with her dad that she had screamed. It would have been hard trying to explain to him what happened without lying.
I got to Melody’s room and met her thrashing on the bed, holding her duvet tight in her hands and screaming. Her screams were loud and piercing and my eyes filled with tears as I wondered the agony my daughter was in to be screaming that much.
“It’s okay, honey.” I said as I sat beside her on the bed, pulling her closer to me. “Don’t be worried. It’s only a nightmare.”
She was still thrashing about, lost in the throes of her nightmares and the scary world she was dealing with. I had pulled her closer to my chest so her screams were muffled by my skin and wasn’t as loud as they had been earlier. They weren’t more than a helpless whimper now.
She finally calmed down and opened her eyes. She blinked at the sight of me in her bedroom and I hoped that she hadn’t forgotten about the nightmare so soon. I felt like I was going to die of a heart attack if she asked me what I was doing in her room and told me she had forgotten about the nightmare.
She clung tighter to me, shaking as she buried her head deep between my breasts and I felt my heart was going to break with that effort. “Mum, I am scared.” She said, crying, her tears damping my clothes.
I nodded and patted her hair down, running my hand through it to comfort her. “It was just a nightmare. You will be fine, my dear.”
“What happened?”
She shuddered and I understood that she didn’t want to relive the memories. “I can’t explain, mum. Those things were scary and strange.”
I nodded. It was better that she couldn’t escape than she couldn’t remember. “Let’s go to my room.” I said and scooped her off the bed, heading to my room.
Ella’s POV
Gabby suggested that we have a picnic together but from her tone of voice, I suspected that the outing was not meant to be an ordinary picnic. My guts told me that she wanted to talk to me and also didn’t want to stay in her apartment. She needed an excuse to be out but didn’t want to be out by herself and had invited us to tag along with her.
My guts had never been wrong especially when it concerned her and I wondered what happened that made her feel claustrophobic.
I was going to find out anyways at the end of today so there was no need to be impatient.
I wasn’t surprised when she pulled me into a hug as she saw her. She needed it. I could see that. She looked worn out like she hadn’t slept in days and I wondered if she had.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
She shook her head and pulled me away from where the men were with the kids. We left them alone to set everything and went somewhere quiet we could talk. “I’m not okay, Ella.” She said once we were alone.
“What is the problem?” I asked.
“Melody has been having nightmares.” She said.
I wasn’t surprised. Liam had told me of the wizard he had killed the other day who was casting spells. I guessed the wizard had succeeded a bit before Liam got to him.
“Here.” I said, searching through my bag and handing over an amulet to her. I was glad that Liam had suggested that we buy magical wards and charms to aid our mission in protecting Melody. Who knew a day like this was going to come so soon?
She looked at me in a strange manner and I wondered what was going on in her mind. Eventually, she chuckled and relaxed. I breathed out a sigh of relief too.
“I forgot that you are psychic.” She said and collected the amulet she was to tie around Melody’s hand as a bracelet. It was classy enough that no one would suspect anything odd seeing it on the hand of a young girl. It was also pretty that Melody wouldn’t have a problem accepting it.
“I am.” I smiled, keeping the lie intact. “We should join the others.”
She nodded. “We should.”
“Have you told her dad yet?”
She winced. “I haven’t. I don’t want to jeopardize his future with something that might not be a big issue. I’m sure I can solve this on my own without involving him.”
I nodded even though I didn’t agree with what she said. It was a big issue and she definitely couldn’t do it on her own though I agreed that she didn’t have to involve him.
We joined the others and it was a shock when we got there. Everywhere was in disarray and the men I thought were busy arranging the picnic set weren’t doing anything. The men looked panicked and the boys mirrored their expression. I couldn’t see Melody among them and wondered where she was. I didn’t have to ask as I knew the answer already deep in my guts. It had happened again. Melody had been taken again.
I was curious to know how it had happened as we had formed a theory that they didn’t want to act when other humans were involved and there were a lot of humans here.
“What happened?” I asked.
“We were together and suddenly we couldn’t find Melody. It was as if she disappeared.” Liam explained.
I shared a look with him and knew he was thinking what I was thinking. It was them. They had cast another invisibility spell on Melody and it was possible that she was right here with us but we couldn’t see her.
I sighed. We needed more wards.
I wondered if they were going to set her free like they had the other day or if she was gone permanently.
I hoped not. I thought as I glanced at Gabby who was already shedding tears and groaning.
“Not again.” She repeated to herself. “I can’t do this again.”
“Are you going to tell her dad now?” I asked, moving closer to her.
“I should. I can’t deal with this on my own.” She said, crying.
“You shouldn’t.” I said to her. The more the humans who were involved, the more they could get hurt. “Think about his future.”
“He would be mad if something happened to Melody and I kept him in the dark.”
“Nothing will happen Melody, Gabby. We are here for you.” I assured her.
She sniffled, wiping the tears off her face. “I am grateful for your help, Ella but I can’t keep bothering you.”
I shook my head. “You are not a bother, Gabby.”
“Thank you.” She smiled at me. “Melody?”
“We will find her.” I promised her and moved to where the men were, already discussing plans on how to find Melody. The others were already looking at us, wondering why we were huddled in a group and talking in low tones while looking serious instead of having a picnic.
I wondered though how we were going to find a girl being held hostage by dark witches and covered with an invisibility spell.