Fallon POV
The three of us take Libby's car. I sit in the back because the thought of the two of them arguing over me is too much. Ryan drives. Mother Agnes was precise about what each person would do on the trip. She wanted to make sure there was no fighting or conflict. I am sure they will find something to argue over. Maybe they need just to beat each other up daily until they get it all out of their system.
I make myself comfortable in the back seat. I think about both my mothers and then focus on the map. I lay it out on the seat beside me. It is strange to watch us move on the map. The map lights up when we move, shows where we are, and then goes blank when we stop.
"I am nervous," I say.
Ryan looks at me in the rearview mirror. "I know you are, but we are here with you," Ryan says.
We ride in silence for hours—nothing, no talking, no radio, just the three of us in our thought. I watch the map, and I am sure Bruce is listening to my mind wander. I cannot help it. I have a lot to think about today. I will receive my magic soon. Then what? Then the hard part begins, according to Mother Agnes.
I look down, and the map goes blank even though we are moving. "The map stopped," I say.
Ryan turns into a thick row of trees. "We are close to the cemetery. We will have to walk," he says.
"Is that why the map stopped?" I ask.
Bruce looks back at me. He looks at the map. "The map begins to glow again. We are on track," Bruce says.
Ryan drives through the thick trees until he cannot drive any further. "This is as far as we can drive," Ryan says.
Ryan gets out of the car and opens the back door for me. Bruce waits until I am out of the car, and then he gets out. I take the map and hold it in front of me. Bruce follows Ryan and me.
The map comes alive to guide me into the woods. It moves quickly. Ryan and I race after the map. Bruce walks behind us. He is watching and waiting. He has to have a reason for not staying right with me. I have to think that he is watching my back. Maybe this is what Mother Agnes instructed him to do. Bruce is supposed to hang back and be in the eyes in the back of my head.
The map drags Ryan and me up a hill and over a thick, abandoned fence line. I feel like I will run into an old abandoned haunted house instead of a cemetery. Just when I think I can go no further, the map shifts quickly, and there it is the Devour Cemetery.
The Devour Cemetery has to be the creepiest thing I have ever seen in my life. The map falls to my feet. I pick it up, and it turns into a treasure map. There are markings and then an X, marking the spot where my treasure is located. Here goes nothing.
Ryan follows me into the cemetery. "I will only go so far. The end of this journey is all yours. Mother Agnes instructed me not to help you with retrieving your gift. I will be close, but I cannot help," Ryan says.
I look back to see Bruce. He is behind us. I feel a little better knowing he is behind me. I hate that he is hurting, but I have to focus. I will fix Bruce and my friendship later.
I follow the map with Ryan beside me. I locate the gravestone marked and turn, then follow it to a tree with markings. When I move past the tree, the map turns red. "This is where I stop," Ryan says.
At least I know I am close. "Thank you," I say.
Ryan stands by the tree. Bruce is at the grave marker. I walk ahead alone. As I walk, I hear singing and then rain. I know I am on the right path. I see a house, great there is an old abandoned haunted house on this trip.
The singing is louder as I approach the house. The begins to come down hard on me. I stay focused. The house is where I need to go. The map is pointing to the house. I look down at the map to make sure I do not need to go around the creepy house, and the map goes blank. I guess this is the part where I am on my own completely.
I fold the map and put it in my back pocket. I take a deep breath and step onto the porch of the house. The vines move. For a moment, I think I remember this place. When I was a child, I went on a trip with my adoptive mother, and I remember the vines. Did she bring me here?
I watch the vines move for a moment. I look at the old furniture on the porch. I look to my left and to my right. This place was my birth parents' home at one point and time. My mother brought me here when I was little. I wonder why?
I touch the doorknob to open the door. The door opens when I touch it. "Welcome home, Fallon," a ghostly voice calls out to me.
I step into the house, and the door shuts behind me. I scream. I do not mean to scream, but I am startled when the door closes. I collect myself. My heart feels like it is about to jump out of my chest. I breathe in and out, calming myself.
The map is useless now. This is my time to find the amulet. I am guessing the amulet is a necklace. I walk through the house looking for a bedroom. I open the first door I come to. It is a nursery. This could have been my room. A tear slides down my cheek as I look at what could have been, but this is another thing that I do not have time for right now.
I back out and close the nursery door. I go to the next door, and it is a boy's room, I think. Do I have a brother? I have a brother, or I had a brother, but is there another brother, a real brother? I close that door and move to the next room.
I open the door to the master bedroom. This is where my amulet is. I know it. I need to find a jewelry box. I scan the room, looking for a box that my mother kept her jewelry in, and I see nothing. I reach into my back pocket and pull out the map. I need a little help here.
The map glows for a moment, points toward the bed, and then goes blank again. I walk over to the bed. I pull back the covers and look under the pillows, but nothing. I go to my knees and look under the bed. Beneath the bed, I see a dark brown and black amulet shining at me, waiting for me to take it home. There is also a set of eyeballs looking at me.
I get up. I stand by the bed and think for a moment. There is no way I can reach past it for the amulet; I have to go from behind it. I decide to flip the bed. I grab the mattress, pull it away from the bed, and place it against the wall. Now I can see what the eyeballs belong to clearly.
There is a long black snake wrapped around my amulet. I am terrified of snakes. "I need that," I say to the snake.
The snake does not move. I reach down to take the amulet, and the snake strikes in my direction. Great! I could use the ancestors right now. Think! I know it has to be spelled to protect the amulet, but it would have been here for 18 years. That is not feasible. It cannot be real. The snake is an illusion. I hope I am right.
I reach down to grab the amulet. I take it into my hand as the snake strikes. Its large teeth aim for my arms, but it passes through me. It is not real.
I run out of the house with the amulet in my hand. I run to Ryan. I leap into his arms. He holds me while I calm down. "I was so afraid," I say, sobbing into Ryan's large shoulder.
"Shh, it is okay. You are safe," Ryan says.
Ryan lets go of me. I turn to Bruce. "I got it," I call to him.
Bruce says nothing. He walks away from me. I place the amulet around my neck. "It burns!" I scream. It feels like it is cutting into my skin and killing me. No one told me it would be this painful. I want it off.
Ryan tries to remove the amulet as it burns into my skin. I scream and cry, but Ryan nor I can remove the amulet. I feel myself fall to the ground. I try to open my eyes. I feel Ryan pick me up and carry me. I can feel his panic.
"We have to get her back to Mother Agnes," Ryan says. Everything goes black.