TWO DAYS PRIOR
As Ginger bent the laws of nature to return home, a prick of regret burned her skin as she realized her perfect spell had given a not-so palatable result. She had willed herself to reappear in her bedroom but instead, she was outside her apartment, and no matter how hard she tried to repeat the spell to give a perfect result. It kept on failing and that told Ginger all she needed to know. As always, her mother had figured she was not at home. Ginger walked reluctantly to the front door. She could almost feel her mother's worry cloud the house. Usually, Ginger's reappearance would lead to a scalding reprimanding but Ginger had an ace up her sleeve this time. She peered into her phone screen. Half-caked blood coated most of it. Blood that had poured directly from the veins of Olamide, the suspected attribute. With good faith, I knocked. The lock snapped in seconds and a gust of wind opened the door. Yasmin was walking leisurely across the room with a glass of wine to her mouth. The bottom of her lip was tainted a fainted red like the rich crimson that filled the cup. It implied that this was not her first glass.
"Mom," Ginger half-whispered, a lump falling on her throat. "I can explain."
Yasmin sighed. Her heart was clearly heavy but she chose to finish the good wine before even attempting to speak. "I don't even want to hear your excuses this time, Ginger. I thought we came to an agreement. You promised me that you wouldn't be seeing the Crow brothers anymore. It has barely been a week and you are back to going against your word."
"Mom," Ginger shot back, fuming at the thought of her mother's gaslighting. Ginger knew her mother's fears. She would do the same if her daughter had been kidnapped at a young age merely for being a prodigy but that was years ago. Ginger was not the laid-back witch afraid of the powers that coursed through her veins. She was quite capable of taking care of herself and Yasmin needed to remember that. "I did not go to see Jason because I felt like going against my word. I left because I saw an opportunity that could aid our cause."
If Ginger thought that would make things better. She had never been more wrong. Mentioning the cause made Yasmin hiccup. She didn't want Ginger to have anything to do with the atrocity she and Lilith were about to commit. "Stay away from them and don't you involve yourself in any of this matter. I want you to be safe Ginger. If it all goes to hell. I want you to still have a home here."
The lights in the house flickered as Ginger gave the words her mother just uttered a thought. "If it all goes to hell?" She repeated. "You mean to tell me that there is a huge chance this can all backfire?" Yasmin didn't answer and that gave Ginger the go-ahead to continue her assault. "Mother, if this fails, Jason could kill you and he wouldn't be wrong for doing it. Or worse, the primrose coven could imprison you for criminal intent. I can't watch that happen to you. Do you not think it will destroy me?"
"I am aware of the many unsavory things that can transpire if we fail but I know you will be safe."
"I'm going to my room."Ginger said, wincing in spite.
"Wait," Yasmin called out when Ginger reached the small flight of stairs. "You mentioned something that would aid our cause. What is it?"
Begrudgingly, Ginger walked over and handed Yasmin her phone. As Yasmin examined the bloody phone in confusion, Ginger proceeded to speak. "I left because Jason needed me to help get his mate closure. You know, the one you suspect is the current holder of the attribute of fate. One thing led to another and I managed to get a sample of her blood for a locator spell and that blood happens to be what is covering the screen of my phone. I was hoping we could use it to decipher if she is truly the attribute of fate. That way we don't have to make unnecessary enemies. Especially with someone I see as a friend and no senseless murders."
Yasmin raised an eyebrow. "Are you certain this is her blood? I am very aware that you do not appreciate my dealings with Lilith. This is not an elaborate plan to set us back, is it?"
"Not yet. It isn't." Ginger simply replied.
She watched as Yasmin moved purposefully around the kitchen, all deft hands, and competence, her nightgown swirling around her, glossy dark braids swishing over her shoulder. Yasmin bent over a cabinet and brought forth a cauldron and other herbs. She set the cauldron over the cooker and clicked her fingers and immediately the flames below sprang obediently to life. She immediately poured a cup of snake venom, three petals of a rose flower of highly coveted mermaid bones. As the ominous smelling broth boiled and bubbled, Ginger watched her mother pick up the bloody phone. The caked-up blood was now a dark stain. Yasmin muttered a spell even Ginger couldn't pinpoint and she watched as the caked up blood seemed to freshen up. The yellowish-red stain turned bright red again and Yasmin proceeded to pour some drops of the regenerated blood into the broth. The hot liquid shrieked and all the lights in the house died. The only thing that shone light was my phone and half of the face was covered by the blood. Ginger looked back into the boiling cauldron and she watched the entire broth dry up in a matter of seconds. A wisp of smoke shot up in their faces and spread across the kitchen. It was thick. Almost blinding so by default, Ginger grabbed her phone and waved it across the room to see. The light caught something. Actually, a lot of things. Scattered across the room where the smoke had once been were faint silk threads nestled between walls, drawers, and windows. One thing about the glinting fringes that looked like spiderwebs was that they had a red glow and the entirety of the silk threads came from the cauldron. Ginger turned in her mom's direction and noticed her face was lit up with a smile. The lights returned now they both could see it very clearly. Their kitchen was riddled with crimson threads. Ginger proceeded to tear at one while asking, "Mother, what does this mean?"
"The threads of fate," Yasmin muttered. "The girl is the attribute."
But while they both had their attention glued to the latest revelation. None of them noticed the crimson liquid on Ginger's screen slowly making its way through the map before coming to a halt at the Crimson lane.