Chapter 3: The Book

Anise attempts to discover the solution to turning everyone back into humans.

Breakfast was absolutely delicious. The french toast was incredibly sweet and went well with the saltiness of the crispy bacon. It made me wonder how long Zamuel spent practicing cooking. It seemed like he made a wide variety of breakfast items for everyone to cater toward their dietary needs.

My plate was taken care of for me after I was finished eating. I really wanted to at least help with dishes but I was sent to go start searching for those notes. With my coffee cup in one hand and crystal pendulum in the other, I began my search. I closed my eyes and focused my energy on the pendulum, fueling it up so it could guide me through the room. "Did my grandmother leave anything behind for me to read?"

The crystal began to glow and swing around in small circles, signaling that my grandmother did indeed leave something behind. "Are the notes hidden within the Witch Room?"

Once again, it glowed and swung in a circle. I began to walk to the Witch Room but Beofur stepped out in front of me. "Hey, Anise! Can I help you look for the notes? I am excellent at finding stuff if I do say so myself and we may find them faster if we work together. Please?"

Beo really reminded me of a dog than a wolf. His tail was wagging back and forth and his eyes sparkled as I considered letting him join me in the investigation. I couldn't say no to the facial expression he was giving me. I sighed. "Fine. Just please try not to make a mess. The room is already in dire need of organization."

His tail wagged even harder and he grinned. "Of course! I promise to not make a mess."

We headed to the room, my pendulum swinging like crazy as we got closer to our destination. I opened the door to the room and looked among all of the shelves and papers I would have to go through. Beo now had an optimistic expression that actually gave me some courage that we'll find what we're looking for.

I set my coffee cup down on the table that was in the middle of the room. The pendulum stopped swinging and was ready for my next question. "Are the notes in one of the bookshelves?"

The pendulum swung in circles after a couple of seconds. I began to walk around the room, carefully watching the pendulum as we passed the shelves. It wasn't until I approached the biggest bookshelf in the room when the crystal began glowing bright and swung in a large, reassuring circle.

I jumped slightly as Beo placed his hands on my shoulders from behind. I looked to my left and found his head right next to mine. His attention was trained on the crystal. "Woah! That's so cool! How does it know this stuff?"

"It uses some of my energy to communicate. It can only answer yes or no questions and give directions like this. Circles mean yes and straight lines mean no. The glow tells me how strong the answer is on a scale from least likely to most likely. Based on the glow and motion right now the notes are most definitely hidden somewhere on this bookcase." I explained.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get to searching!" He enthusiastically began to take books off of the shelf and flip through them. As he flipped through them his smile turned into a small frown. "I can't read any of this. It's all in another language."

I took a glimpse at the book he was going through. "It's Irish Gaelic. I don't know how many books are written like this but hopefully there isn't a lot. How about you look at books that are written in English while I look through the Irish Gaelic ones."

His grin returned. "Great idea! I'll set aside any books that you can read while I'll have my own English pile."

I sat down on the table and began to flip through pages, scanning and translating words that may lead to an answer. Beofur took time opening books briefly before putting them on the table, English in one pile and Irish Gaelic in another. Towers of books were balanced on the table for each of us to start sifting through.

I was going to need some more coffee for this.

"Most of these just look like spells, recipes, and other magical instructions and history. It's honestly making my head hurt a little. There's so much information written in these. How did your grandmother manage to write it all down?" Beo sighed.

I shrugged and picked up another book. "Grandfather mostly took care of the mansion while grandmother had a lot more time to write and study. Some of these may be written by past generations from the Devane family too."

"Oh." He simply said. A few seconds went by before he put his book down and asked another question. "What does Devane mean?"

"Devane comes from the original Gaelic form 'O Daimhin' which comes from the word 'damh' which means 'an ox' or 'a stag'. My great great great grandmother had a twin sister but they both fought a lot and decided to split up the family. Generations born under my great great great grandmother are known as Stag Witches. Anyone born under her sister is known as Ox Witches." I said as I continued to go through books.

"But that doesn't make sense." Beo complained. "Everyone is still family because they were born under the Devane name, right? Doesn't everyone have the same kind of powers?"

I set my book down to focus more on his question. "My grandmother ended up having more magical abilities than her twin and because of that she was going to inherit this house, the land and many other things. Her twin sister was very upset and went to find her own land where she can raise her children by her own rules. However, that part of the family is weaker when it comes to witchcraft. They are related but by behavior and ability they are practically disowned."

He still didn't seem satisfied with my answer but he nodded regardless. "Okay. So I'm guessing that you are part of the Stag Witches?"

"Correct."

"Do you know anyone that is an Ox Witch?" He inquired.

I shook my head. "I don't. And I hope I never come to meet one because we're supposed to be enemies. If a witch kills another witch then the one who committed the crime may inherit the dead one's powers. Ox Witches have been known to try to hunt down Stag Witches for more power in hopes that they can become the bigger house. It's like a family war."

"All of that sounds really complicated. Is that why the official name of this mansion is called The Stag House?" He tried to connect the dots.

"Yes." I stated, trying to get back to work as soon as possible.

Beofur returned to going through books, finally done asking questions about my family history. Hours passed by and we still couldn't find anything. I didn't even realize that it was time for lunch until my stomach grumbled, snapping me out of my focus. I looked at the antique clock that hung on the wall. It was one o'clock.

"Beo, do yo-" I stopped speaking when my eyes landed on a werewolf that was fast asleep. I didn't realize that he fell asleep because I was so focused on reading. It seemed like he ended up going through a majority of his pile before passing out though.

I got up from the table, stretching my back and legs in the process, and headed over to where Beo was sitting. His brown ears that poked out his hair twitched. As they moved and his shaggy locks shifted ever so slightly I had the urge to pet him.

His hair looks so fluffy and the fur on his ears looked so soft. I was really curious to find out just how soft it was. So, I quietly hovered my hand over his head, making sure that he wouldn't wake up. I waited for a second before moving my hand closer and closer to his ears.

Gently, I began to stroke his ears and some parts of his hair, marveled over how so incredibly soft it felt. It was so silky and fluffy! I was so wrapped up in petting him that I didn't even notice that his tail was wagging and he was wide awake.

Beo grabbed my arm suddenly, stopping me from petting him. However, he didn't seem angry. In fact, he seemed very gleeful. "Why are you petting me?"

I blushed and tried to retract my hand, but he still gripped my wrist. "I-I just thought it looked so soft and pet-able and I really wanted to know what it felt like! Plus, you have been working so hard for a long time so I thought that this was kind of like a reward."

Dogs loved being praised, right? Beofur resemble more like a dog than a wolf so he would be okay with this, right?

Beo pulled me down and with his other hand began to pat my head. "You worked really hard too. You deserve to be pat as well."

My face grew red as he gave me his own praise. It was embarrassing but it also felt kind of nice. I felt like my energy was being restored. Beo just kept petting my hair while I stood frozen. It took me a couple of seconds to finally stand up straight and move back to my station. "I should head back to work now. There are still several more books to look through."

He flashed a his toothy grin. "No problem! I'll go see if Zam has any lunch ready for us. I'm starving!"

I breathed out a sigh in relief as he left the room. My cheeks cooled down a bit and my attention began to center back on reading. One book after the other, I flipped through them. Still, nothing. I groaned in frustration and smacked my head on the table. Right as I did so, there was a clink sound from underneath the wooden table.

Sitting on the floor underneath the table was a brass key with antlers as the box. I picked it up and dusted it off using my jeans. This key had to be hiding some secret.

I examined the rest of my books and Beo's books for any keyhole that would match my discovery. The books had nothing for me so I stood in front of the bookshelf and shuffled extra papers around for a secret keyhole or lever of anything really.

Finally, behind a mason jar filled with black ink was a little hole for my key. I grew excited and twisted the key into the hole. There was a click and a portion of the wall behind the bookcase opened up like a safe. Inside the little nook was a golden journal with an intricate design of a stag on the cover. I unbuckled the buckled that was holding it closed and read through some of the pages.

I recognized the handwriting to belong to my grandmother. It seemed like it contained personal notes and letters to herself and other people in our family. Most of it was written in Gaelic but there were special pages written in English.

While I turned the pages, I recognized some names pop up. Both of my moms were mentioned, my grandfather and even the monsters living in this house were in here. I sat down find anything addressed to me.

My heart quickened as I approached the last few pages. On the last page I finally found my name written at the top. She wrote an entire letter to me in Irish Gaelic.

Dear Ani,

I hope the move was smooth and you didn't have to clean up after us too much. There were so many things I have left for you to study and read that you may enjoy. It should help you master your witchcraft. There are several empty journals left behind for you as well so you can start your own grimoires and books.

Now, I'm guessing that you have already met your roommates. I'm sorry that I didn't mention them before. I honestly didn't think that they would be living in the house for as long as they did. I tried so hard to find them all a working spell or potion that could return their humanity before I passed away that didn't require anyone's assistance. Unfortunately, that's not how things worked out.

I did find an answer but it involved you. I discovered that the only way any of them can become human again was to earn the love of a Devane witch, specifically a Stag Witch. How old school! Love is the only way they can return back to normal and have the curses lifted. You are the only one that can help them now. Try not to get too overwhelmed. I know you can be shy at times and I'm sure having several (attractive) monsters isn't going to help you get over your shyness but please try your hardest to help them.

And remember, even if you fall in love with only one don't feel guilty or bad for the others. You must listen to your heart. I have taught them that lesson before I passed away. I hope that it stuck with them and they'll understand.

Good luck! I love you!

Love,

Grandmother Rosemary Devane

I settled the book down in my lap and pinched my cheek. My breathing grew more rapid as I realized that this wasn't a dream given how much pain I felt from the pinch. I was flabbergasted.

Oh my gods!

Did my grandmother make me a bachelorette?