The Moreau Witches Trilogy
Part One
The Legacy
by Julien Gregg
Copyright © 2025 by Julien Gregg
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permission requests, contact the author by email. The link is below.
The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this production are fictitious. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred.
Four
She picked up the necklace and went to the elevator. She sought out the administrator and had a private chat with her about who had checked Giselle in. She learned that Maria was her guardian and that she had brought her to the sanitarium five years ago. That pissed her off. She felt the spell and set to breaking it. Once the spell was broken the woman sagged. She gasped in air and then let it out. She looked up at Lorette and said, “I told you I can’t keep her here. What will the family say?”
“Who are you?” Lorette asked.
“I’m Ina Moreau,” she said. “I’ve been the administrator here for twenty years. Maria brought Giselle to me and told me to keep her here. I told her I wouldn’t be party to a thing like this. She spelled me.”
“How does a witch let another spell her?” Lorette asked.
“I’m not a witch,” she said. “I was born without magic.”
“I’m sorry for you then,” Lorette said. “But we’re taking Giselle out of here.”
“Yes, take her,” she said. “The girl is catatonic like her mother but I’m telling you Maria did it with Garland’s help.”
“Garland is involved in this as well?” she asked appalled.
“It was Garland’s big idea to put her here,” said Ina.
“Garland Moreau did this with Maria?” she asked again.
“Yes, I told you it was Garland and Maria,” she said. “They spelled the girl to keep her quiet and compliant. Then they spelled me to keep her here.”
“Well she’s leaving today,” Lorette said. “I’ll tell Quinn about Garland and Maria. This is just great. Damn her.”
“Yes, damn her and him for doing this to me,” she said. “None of you in the family want anything to do with those of us that have no magic. Why did they do this to me?”
“The necklace,” she said, showing it to Ina.
“Maria brought that just yesterday and put it around the girl’s neck,” she said. “I thought she was the new Heiress.”
“It burned her neck,” Lorette informed her. “She ripped it off her neck and threw it when I broke the spells on her.”
“Spells?” she asked. “There were more than one?”
“They were layered on her,” she said.
“Well you’ve broken them so that’s one wrong righted,” said Ina. “Can you people just let me do my job in peace? Do you all want to spell me?”
“No,” Lorette said. “You can do your job. And I think it’s wrong that none of the witches in this family will have anything to do with those of you who don’t have magic. You can learn spells and rituals just like the rest of us. Magic doesn’t have to come from within.”
“That’s what Amily said,” she replied.
“Amily Moreau?” Lorette asked. “Please tell me that Amily had nothing to do with this.”
“No she did not,” she said. “She doesn’t even know that it happened. The spell wouldn’t let me tell anyone. Amily told us that we can learn spells and rituals. We can even cast those spells and participate in rituals. I told her the rest of the family wouldn’t agree to it.”
“Quinn is the new heir,” she said. “He may have something to say about this. He grew up away from he family.”
“Maybe he’ll be a blessing as the heir then,” she said.
“Well first things first,” Lorette said. “We have to get Giselle out of here.”
She went back to the second floor with Ina on her heals. She went to Quinn and Giselle who were standing in the room she’d left them in talking. She told Quinn about Garland and Maria. Then she told him about those in the family without magic and how they were treated.
“One thing at a time,” he said. “We fix this mess with Maria and Garland and then I’ll deal with the family and their prejudice. Ina I’m sorry for the way the family has treated you. I’m the heir and I say it stops now. You have every right to come to the circles and be a part of every holiday.”
“Thank you, Quinn,” she said. “Can you get her packed and out of here?”
“We’re working on it, Ina,” said Lorette.
They went to her room and found more of Lisette’s dresses in her closet. They put them in the garment bags they’d come in. Then they looked around the room. There were no mementos or items of interest. They left the room with Giselle asking them about Maria the whole way.
They left the sanitarium and headed back to Moreau Legal. Giselle looked around the lobby as they walked her to the elevator. Up they went to the top floor where all of the partners had offices. They found Garland in his office. He took one look at Giselle and put his head down.
“You have two seconds to explain yourself, Garland,” Quinn said.
“He hates us,” Giselle breathed. “He called me devil’s spawn.”
“Garland we know what you did,” Lorette said. “Don’t make it worse on you. Quinn needs to know exactly what was done.”
“Maria,” he said. “She’s the one that started all of this with her jealousy of Lisette. She never forgave her for sleeping with Bart. She called Bart the day that the babies were born. I was already there. She handed Quinn to Bart and told him she’d brokered a deal that saved the family. The hunters wanted one of the children. He could marry the hunter’s daughter and take his son to live with her. She’d already spelled Lisette to suspend delivery. I thought Quinn was the only baby.
“But as soon as Bart was away with Quinn she said to get ready and out came Giselle,” he went on. “She said she wasn’t keeping the little brat in her house. I took her to Anna and Garrison. They don’t have magic and Anna couldn’t have any children of her own. So they took Giselle in on the spot. But they called Maria when the girl started puberty. She caused the electric gadgets in the house to attack them.
“Maria had me help her spell the girl the way we’d spelled Lisette after she’d had Revanche,” he said. “We made her as catatonic as her mother and put her in he sanitarium. Of course we had to spell Ina to get her to keep her. But it was all sewed up after a few spells and a lot of talking. I never thought I’d see the girl again or you, Quinn.”
“Well you’re seeing me now,” he said and let his power touch him.
He didn’t try to kill him though. This time he looked inside him at his brain. He saw the white lace that was all over his brain. It pulsed with his pulse. He fed his power into that around and around until it covered all of the lace. Then he ripped his power out of the man’s brain and took with it the lace that covered his brain. This was a new power that he’d not known he had.
“What have you done to me?” demanded Garland. “What spell is this that won’t let me feel my magic?”
“I didn’t spell you,” Quinn said. “I took your power away. You’re just like the non magical people in the family that you hate so much.”
“You can’t do that,” he said. “That’s impossible.”
“It’s possible now,” Quinn said. “I’ve done it and I’m done with you.”
“Lorette, you can’t let him do this to me,” he said. “Make him put it back.”
“I can’t,” she said. “He’s the heir. We confirmed him.”
They left the office and the building. She drove them to her condo and there they encountered Franklin with Revanche. They looked up as they came in the door and their eyes went to Giselle. Revanche’s mouth opened.
“She looks like my mom,” he said.
“This is Giselle,” Quinn said. “She’s my twin sister.”
“Twin sister?” Franklin asked.
“Maria did this,” he said angrily. “She spelled Giselle just like she spelled my mother. Garland helped her. I’ve already dealt with Garland. I erased his magic. I made him like the non magical people in the family that he thinks are scum. Now I need to have a conversation with Maria.”
“Are you going to kill her?” Lorette asked.
“I don’t plan to kill her,” he said. “I can’t say that I won’t.”
“I understand,” she said.
“What do you mean Maria spelled Lisette?” Franklin asked.
“Garland helped her,” Quinn said. “We heard it from his own mouth. It was Maria’s revenge for Revanche.”
“It was Maria’s revenge for Bart as well,” Lorette said.
“This makes no sense,” Franklin said, sitting at the table.
“It might make no sense to you but Maria and Garland did this,” Lorette said. “Frankie I heard it from Garland’s mouth. They took Giselle to Anna and Garrison. When she started using her power they spelled her just like they’d spelled Lisette after she’d had Revanche.”
“My God,” he said.
“Then they forced Ina to take her in at the sanitarium,” she said. “She’d been there for five years. She even took the necklace and put it around her neck. Giselle was powerless to remove it though it burned her.”
“Maria did this?” he asked.
“Yes, Frankie,” said Lorette. “She’s a despicable woman.”
“And you’re going to deal with her?” Franklin asked, looking at Quinn.
“I’m going to strip her magic,” he said. “Just like I did to Garland.”
“That’s frightening,” Franklin said.
“Yes, I’d not advertise that power if I were you, Quinn,” Lorette said.
“I don’t plan to,” he said. “I didn’t even know I could do it until I did it to Garland.”
“Wow,” said Revanche. “I have a sister.”
“Yes, you do,” Quinn said. “Giselle, this is our brother Revanche, Our Aunt Lorette and Uncle Franklin.”
“Family,” she said. “Maria told me I wasn’t fit to be a part of the family.”
“Jesus wept,” Franklin said.
“I’m taking them back to Moonlight Bay today,” Lorette said. “I have to call Angelique to tell her to get a room ready for Giselle.”
She walked off with her phone and Quinn looked at Giselle. Franklin made them lunch. It was sandwiches and potato chips but they ate hungrily. Revanche kept staring at Giselle in wonder.
When they were finished eating they retrieved their bags from the rooms they’d slept in. Then they got on the road. Giselle asked many questions about Moonlight Bay. She’d never lived there in her life. Quinn assured her that the family would welcome her with open arms. Lorette backed him up on that.
They arrived in Moonlight Bay but they went to Angelique’s instead of Maria’s. They got out of the SUV and Angelique was coming out the front door as Giselle stepped down from the SUV holding the skirt of her dress up.
“Mon deux,” said Angelique, putting a hand to her chest. “She’s so like Lisette.”
“Yes she is,” Lorette said. “Where is Maria?”
“No one knows,” said Angelique, looking at Quinn. “I called the house and the maid told me she’d gotten a call and left in a hurry.”
“That call was probably from Garland,” Quinn said to Lorette. “He warned her that I was on my way to deal with her.”
“Deal with her?” Angelique asked. “Why would you need to deal with Maria?”
“Because she spelled my mother with Garland’s help,” he said. “They made her catatonic after she had Revanche. Then she took my sister away and put her with Anna and Garrison until she used her power then they spelled her just like they had spelled my mother and put her in a sanitarium run by a woman named Ina Moreau. She tells me that this family shuns people like her who have no magic. I’ll deal with that after I deal with Maria.”
“Jesus wept,” Angelique said, looking faint. “Maria did all of that?”
“She did that and more I’m sure,” said Lorette. “You know how much she hated Lisette after she got pregnant. When she found out that Bart was the father she went ballistic. That’s what started all of this. She never forgave Lisette for Bart.”
“Maria was in love with Bart,” Angelique told them.
“Well that explains that,” said Lorette. “Maria is insane.”
“From the sounds of it I have to think you’re right about that,” said Angelique. “Quinn are you going to kill her?”
It amazed him that they all sounded so okay with him killing Maria for what she’d done. He wasn’t planning to kill her. It just depended on what she did and said when he confronted her.
“I’m going to strip her magic,” Quinn said.
“That’s impossible,” said Angelique.
“It’s not anymore,” said Lorette. “He stripped Garland’s magic.”
“What?” Angelique screeched as she looked at Quinn.
“I saw the power as a lace that covered his brain,” Quinn said. “I fed my power into his brain until it covered all of he lace. Then I ripped my power back and took the lace with it. After that he was no longer a magical witch.”
“Mom deux,” she gasped, looking at Quinn like she’d never seen him before. “I wouldn’t tell people you can do that, Quinn. It would cause a panic.”
“I don’t plan to tell people anything I can do,” he said. “I’m a little upset with the family right now.”
“But this was Maria and Garland,” she said slowly.
“Yes, but I’m talking about this prejudice against members of the family who are not magical,” he said. “That should never have been allowed to happen. They are members of this family no matter who likes it or not. I’ve invited them to all of the circles and holidays. We will accept them with open arms. If you don’t like it keep it to yourself.”
“Quinn I don’t have a prejudice against members of my family who aren’t magical,” Angelique said. “I always take Christmas presents to them and I know their birthdays, when any of them have a child. I’m always around. Ask Amily.”
“I’ve only met Amily once,” he said. “But she sounds like a damned fine witch.”
“She is,” she said. “She makes trees grow. Kind of what you do without the dark side.”
“Good for her,” he said. “Can we get inside and stop putting a show on for the neighbors?”
“Yes, let’s get inside,” Angelique said waving her arm toward the house. “Giselle, I’m given you the room that connects with Quinn’s.”
“Thank you,” she said as she followed behind Quinn. She looked around the blood red entry way and frowned.
“It gets better,” Quinn assured her.
They walked into the dining room and took places around the table. Joseph and Josephine were nowhere to be found. Quinn didn’t worry about it. Right then he was only worried about making sure his twin sister was comfortable.
Mildred put plates in front of them and they ate. Giselle looked around the dining room with interest. She ate her food but she kept looking around. Quinn just watched her. He was so happy to have found her that he couldn’t see straight. He just wished he could get dealing with Maria over with.
“Pierre called for you earlier, Quinn,” said Angelique. “He was very insistent that you call him back.”
“I’ll call him after dinner,” Quinn said.
“I hate to do this but I need to get back,” said Lorette who had refused a plate. “Franklin is waiting for me.”
“Well drive safe and call me when you get there,” said Angelique.
“Will do,” she said. “Quinn, I’m on your side with this.”
“Thanks, Lorette,” Quinn said with a smile.
After dinner Quinn called Pierre and filled him in on all that had happened. Pierre congratulated him on being confirmed the heir then got quiet as he listened to the day’s events. Finally he told him to bring Giselle to meet him. Quinn asked about Charlie and was told that Charlie wanted to see him.
So they got in the car and drove over to the marina. Pierre and Charlie were sitting out on the deck in lawn chairs when they arrived. Pierre took one look at Giselle and was struck. He got up and took her into his arms. He told her he was sorry for what his mother had done and that he would love her for the rest of his life.
She patted him on the back and then looked at Charlie. He smiled at her but said nothing. He went back to looking at Quinn. There was a look in Charlie’s eyes that Quinn couldn’t figure out.
“Charlie it’s good to see you,” he said.
“It’s good to see you, too, Quinn” he said. “I got my acceptance letter to Ashdon’s culinary department.”
“That’s great,” Quinn said, smiling. “That’s what you wanted.”
“Yes it is,” he said. “But you and I have to have a conversation.”
“Okay,” Quinn said.
“In private,” Charlie said.
Quinn followed him into the boathouse and they stood in the living room. Charlie just looked at him for a long moment before he said anything. Quinn was prepared for an outburst but that’s not what he got. Instead Charlie began to pace.
“Got something to say that is hard for me,” he said. Quinn thought the worst. “It seems I’m dim about a few things. One you’re a powerful witch who could kill me if you wanted to. Two I’m hopelessly in love with you. Now Pierre told me I should talk to you about this because he’s a mind reader and read it in my mind. He said that you wouldn’t think any less of me because I’m gay and in love with you. So there it is.”
“Charlie,” Quinn said, smiling. “You’re dim about something else, too.”
“Oh yeah?” he asked.
“You’re completely dim about the fact that I fell in love with you a long time ago,” Quinn said. “I have been trying to find a way to tell you that for a long time.”
“So you love me?” he asked.
“I love you,” Quinn confirmed.
“Well then,” he said and then he stepped forward and kissed Quinn on the lips.
Quinn pulled him close and took the kiss deeper. They stood there like teenagers making out for a long moment. Then Quinn remembered that he’d left Giselle with Revanche and Pierre. He pulled back and looked into Charlie’s eyes.
“That clears that up, huh?” he said.
“Sure does,” Charlie said. “So do you think we can be lovers?”
“Aren’t we already?” Quinn asked.
“Okay then,” he said with a grin.
They went back out onto the deck. Giselle was laughing at something that Pierre was saying. He looked up at Charlie and Quinn and smiled. He knew that they were together. Thankfully he was going to remain tight lipped about it.
“Quinn, Pierre was just telling me that he will teach us magic,” said Giselle. “I’m a little scared of it if I’m honest.”
“Nothing to be scared about, Beautiful,” Pierre said, making her blush. “My but you do look like my aunt.”
“I’ve never seen a picture of my mother,” said Giselle. “Your mother took me from her when I was born.”
“She took Quinn too,” he said.
“But Quinn got to live with our father,” she said. “I didn’t.”
“But you’re going to live with Quinn now just like you should have,” Pierre said. “And you are welcome on this boat any time you want to come and see me.”
Charlie went back into the boat on his own for a few minutes. He came back with his packed bags. Quinn smiled at this and took out his phone. He called Angelique to tell her that Charlie was moving in with them and that he would be sharing Quinn’s room. She sounded delighted by this idea and promised to welcome him when they arrived.
“Okay, Quinn I will tell you that my mother called me and told me that you’re after her,” said Pierre. “She went to Los Angeles to get my sister.”
“Your sister?” Quinn asked.
“Camilla,” he said. “She goes to school in Los Angeles. Mother is taking her out of school. Don’t worry though Camilla likes her even less than I do.”
“Why would I be worried about Camilla?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” Pierre said. “Obviously Mother thinks that Camilla will be on her side.”
“Well Maria has to face me eventually,” he said. “I’ll find her if she doesn’t find me.”
“I’m aware of that,” said Pierre. “You’re going to kill my mother aren’t you?”
“Why is everyone so ready to accept that I would kill Maria?” he asked appalled. “I’m going to talk to her. She’s got a lot of explaining to do. After that I’ll just run her off.”
“You’re going to let her live after what she’s done?” Revanche asked.
“Yes,” he said. “I don’t like to kill people.”
“If ever there was a person who deserved killing,” Giselle said. She was the only one he could accept that seemed ready to accept the death of Maria at his hand.
“Okay I have to tell you something, Pierre,” Quinn said. “Don’t freak out. It isn’t something I plan to do to too many people. I stripped Garland’s magic today. I made it so that he is no longer a magical witch.”
“How did you do that?” Pierre asked.
“I let my power enter his head and I saw what looked like lace around his brain that pulsed with his heartbeat,” he said. “Then I fed my power around it and around it until it covered that lace. Then I ripped my power out of his head and took the lace with it.”
“That’s disturbing,” Pierre said. “But he deserved it after what use he’d put his power to. You plan to do this to my mother?”
“Yes,” Quinn said. “As you said after the use she’s put her power to it’s the least I can do to her.”
“I can’t say that I like this power but I understand why you want to use it on my mother,” he said. “I even encourage it.”
“I want to always be honest and open with you, Pierre,” Quinn said. “I never plan to hold anything back from you.”
“Quinn I want to talk to you about the meld mentale ritual,” Pierre said in response to that.
“What is the meld mentale ritual?” Quinn asked him.
“It transfers memories from one person to another,” he said. “It’s how I plan to get you to the advanced class.”
“You want to share your memories with me?” Quinn asked, touched.
“I do,” he said. “We can perform the spell here on the boat as we’re both water signs it will give us a boost to be near the water when we do it. What do you say?”
“I say yes,” Quinn said.
“Then we’ll work on that on a day in the near future,” he said. “Then I’ll teach you to do it so you can do it with Giselle.”
“If she’s willing,” Quinn said.
“I’m willing,” she said. “You might not be willing to share my memories though. They’re dark.”
“I’m willing,” Quinn said.
“You can’t do it the same day that you perform the ritual with me,” Pierre said. “You’ll be drained physically from the ritual. It can take all day long.”
“Well all right,” Quinn said. “I’ve got to hire a contractor and take him out to Moreau Manor in the coming days. But other than that I should be free.”
“I’ll set it up,” said Pierre. “I’m happy that you trust me this much, Quinn.”
“And I’m happy that you trust me this much, Pierre,” Quinn said.
“I’m so happy that you were returned to the family much as I am about Giselle,” he said. “I feel so completely connected to the two of you.”
“Thank you, Pierre,” Quinn said. “That means a lot to me. I came here looking for a family that would want me, and you were one of the first people I met that made me feel that way. You and Revanche. Angelique and my aunts seemed like they were assessing me to make sure that I was of the right stuff or something.
“Though I’ve since become close with our Aunt Lorette,” he went on. “I have no relationship with Josette. I’ve eaten in her home once. Maria I wouldn’t want a relationship with and Angelique is the one I live with and do not know well. She seems more interested in my power than anything else. You and Revanche were the family that I was looking for.”
“That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me, Quinn,” Pierre said. “It makes me want to do the ritual with you even more.”
“We’ll set it up,” Quinn said. “You just tell me what to do and where to be.”
“Will do,” he said. He looked at Charlie and said, “Moving out?”
“Moving in with Quinn,” Charlie said with a blush that was so deep that Quinn was worried about him for a moment.
“Good for you,” Pierre said. “I’m happy for you, Charlie.”
“Thank you Pierre,” he said with a grin.
They went back to Angelique’s house and in the front door. Josephine was coming out of the dining room as they came in the front door. She looked at them, frowned at Charlie and then took off up the stairs. Quinn didn’t know what that was about. Josephine was one strange woman.
Quinn got Charlie all unpacked and then they went down for a drink with Angelique who welcomed Charlie in her usual rambunctious way. He smiled at her which made her happy.
“So, nasty business with Maria,” she said. “Did you catch up with her? Is she back?”
“No she isn’t back,” Quinn said. “She went to Los Angeles to pick up Camilla.”
“But Camilla isn’t out of school,” Angelique said.
“I don’t know why Maria does anything that she does,” said Quinn.
“How do you know that she went to get Camilla?” Joseph asked.
“Pierre told me that she called him and told him I was after her,” Quinn said.
“Are you?” asked Joseph.
“I want to have a conversation with her and get an explanation from her about a few things,” he said. “She just has to come home. I’ll go over there to have the conversation.”
“You’re going to do that where she lives?” Angelique asked.
“If I have my way she won’t live there much longer,” Quinn said. “That is the house of the Heir or Heiress and she is neither. She’s lived there because she lived there with my grandparents but she is no longer welcome.”
“But Quinn you’re refurbishing the manor,” Angelique said. “Surely you don’t need both houses.”
“I don’t need both but what if Giselle doesn’t want to live at the manor?” Quinn asked. “What if Revanche needs a place of his own when he reaches eighteen. I can think of a few other reasons why the house needs to be vacant. Maria doesn’t need a house that large. Camilla is away at school, Pierre has a houseboat, and no one wants to live with her.”
“But she’s lived there all her life,” Angelique argued.
“Yes but look at what she’s done there,” Quinn said. “She got rid of both me and Giselle and she cast spells on our mother and my sister to make them catatonic. She may have had Garland’s help but he’s paid for his sins.”
“I had no idea you felt this way,” said Angelique. “You said you weren’t planning to kill her. Do you really have to move her out of the house she’s lived in all her life?”
“Angelique she interfered with an heiress,” he said, trying to keep he bite out of his voice. “For that she should have been banished from the family. She cast spells on the heiress and her daughter. She formed treaties with witch hunters and shipped me off with one of them. For crying out loud that very witch hunter stabbed me in the chest with a kitchen knife. All of that can be laid at the feet of Maria. Why would I allow her the very house she sought to make sure was hers alone?”
“When you put it that way,” she said, pressing a hand to her heart again. “I just thought maybe you would leave her the house. I mean you don’t live there.”
“Because she took pot shots at me and my brother and I showed her my power,” he reminded her.
“All right,” she sighed.
“She’s lucky she has Quinn to answer to,” said Giselle. “I’d kill her.”
“What is your power, Dear?” asked Angelique.
“I can manipulate and control electricity,” she said evenly.
“You would electrocute her?” Angelique said, that hand over her heart again.
“Of course I would,” Giselle said. “She was evil to me.”
“Is that any reason to kill her?” she asked.
“Did you love my mother?” Giselle asked.
“Of course I loved Lisette,” she gasped. “What kind of question is that? Lisette was my favorite cousin.”
“Then what she did to her should be enough to make you see that what Quinn is doing is right,” said Giselle.
“She’s right, Mother,” said Joseph.
“You think she should be moved out of the house?” she asked him.
“At the very least,” he said. “Quinn can kill. I still say he should kill her.”
This was definitely the strangest conversation he’d ever had before. Joseph said he should kill Maria. Giselle expressed that she would. Lorette thought he would kill her, Franklin thought he would kill her, and Pierre said he’d understand. It was maddening.
“I’m going up,” Quinn said. “This has been a very heated conversation and I’m done with it. Giselle I’ll show you to your room.”
“Thank you, Quinn,” she said and stood. Charlie stood as well.
“Good night, Quinn,” Joseph said.
“Good night,” Quinn said. The others said goodnight and then he, Charlie, Giselle, and Revanche went upstairs.
He showed Giselle to her room and hugged her good night. Then he went with Charlie into his own room and got ready for bed. He and Charlie just held each other that night. Neither of them were in the mood for anything more. Quinn was just happy to have him in his arms.
The next day Angelique gave him the journal from the attic that talked about the spells used in building the house. He would take that to Pierre. He was also cordial to Angelique but his thoughts hadn’t changed. Maria was not keeping that house.
He met with the contractor later that morning and talked with him about what it would take, what supplies he had to pay for. He assured the man that money was no object. Once he said that the contractor told him all he needed to know. They agreed on prices and he said he’d put a crew together and get to work by Monday. That made Quinn happy.
He talked to grad students about transcribing journals to be made into novels and then he was taking all of the journals out of Angelique’s attic and handing them over to three grad students who would transcribe them. Some were nearly falling apart so he warned that they’d have to be extremely careful with those. Then he left them to it.
When he tried to take the book to Pierre he was told to come to Moondance. It was in Keller Village so Quinn drove across town and into the village. There were houses in rows all over the place. He saw that several were empty and thought Maria would be fine in one of those. He’d have to talk to whoever was in charge of the place about that.
He pulled into the lot of the two story building that housed Moondance and was met by a blonde girl with pigtails when he went into the store. She was dressed in a psychedelic t-shirt and a black and white checkered skirt. She had combat boots on her feet of all things.
“Welcome to Moondance I’m Jill how can I help you today?” she asked in rapid fire speech.
“I’ve come to talk with Pierre,” he said.
“He’s in the back,” she said and pointed to the back of the store. “Go on back.”
He walked through the sea of magical items, looking at everything on the shelves as he passed. He found Pierre stocking what looked like wands. Pierre saw him and smiled. He asked him to pull up a bean bag and sit down. Quinn did so.
“That the book?” he asked as he saw the tomb in Quinn’s hands.
“It is,” Quinn said. “I marked the pages for you that deal with the spells that were used in the original build.”
“Thanks,” he said. “Just put it on top of that box.”
Quinn placed it on the box that Pierre had indicated and then sat back down. He told Pierre about the heated discussion he’d had with Angelique and the others last night and Pierre let him get it all out before he said anything.
“Finally I just went to bed,” Quinn said in closing. “This morning it was like nothing happened.”
“That’s Angelique for you,” he said. “She’s close with Maria so she’s having trouble knowing that Maria did these things.”
Quinn noticed that Pierre had taken to calling his mother by her name but instead said, “Am I wrong for wanting her out of that house?”
“No,” said Pierre. “You’re right about the house belonging to the heir or heiress. The last five have lived there. Maria has no business living in that house. I mean I know you aren’t going to live there but you have more right than she does. I mean I grew up there but Lisette was there, too.”
“Yeah,” Quinn said. “I just wanted to make sure that you weren’t going to be put out that I relocated her.”
“Quinn, I would have understood if you killed her.”
“See I don’t get that but then she isn’t my mother,” he said.
“No she’s not,” said Pierre. “I can say this because I know for a fact that she killed my father. I found it in her journal. I know a lot about what she’s done and I say you should kill her for what she’s done.”
“Well I still don’t want to kill her,” Quinn said. “I’ll strip her magic and move her out of the house but I don’t want to kill her.”
“You’re a better man than me,” Pierre said.
“Somehow I doubt that,” laughed Quinn.
“We’ll learn all about each other when we perform the meld mentale ritual,” Pierre reminded him.
“Yeah, about that,” Quinn said. “Have you picked a day?”
“Sunday,” he said. “Saturday is the day that I hold the advanced class circle. And I do the novice class on Thursdays.”
“Well then I’ll meet you at the boat on Sunday,” Quinn said.
“Don’t eat anything Saturday after midnight,” he said. “I need you empty.”
“All right,” Quinn said.
“I’ll give you something to drink when you get to the boat,” he said. “It will empty you out rather quickly. There’s a ritual bath we both have to take. I don’t have a bathtub so I’m going to my mother’s. You can take yours at Angelique’s.”
“Sounds good,” Quinn said.
“Then we’ll just be on the deck of my boat,” he said. “Bring Giselle and Revanche.”
“Will do,” said Quinn, looking at his watch. “I’ve got to get to Ashdon to pick classes for the Spring Semester.”
“All right,” Pierre said. “Thank you for bringing the book.”
“You can do more with it than I can,” laughed Quinn.
“Seeing as until Sunday you won’t know any spells or rituals I’d say that’s true,” said Pierre.
At Ashdon he was basically starting his college process over again but didn’t mind. He chose his classes with the help of an academic advisor. It was virtually painless so he was in a good mood when he left the college and headed for home.
“Quinn welcome home,” said Angelique when he came in. “Dinner is almost ready. Could you tell Giselle and Revanche to come down please?”
“Sure,” he said as he went up the stairs.
Giselle was sitting in her room looking at a magazine. He told her that dinner was almost ready and Angelique would like for her to come down. She said she would. Then he went to Revanche’s room and told him the same thing. The three of them went down together and found Charlie already in the dining room with the twins.
“There you are, Quinn,” Charlie said and Quinn did not mistake the look of desperation in his lover’s eyes.
“Yes, here I am,” he said, leaning forward to kiss Charlie’s mouth. When he stood up again he saw Josephine’s look of disgust. He ignored it. “My work for the day is done. I met with a contractor today. They’re going to get started on the house on Monday and Pierre has the book. We’re going to the boat on Sunday to perform the ritual.”
“Cool,” he said. “You know Pierre is adding me to his novice class.”
“Is that right?” Quinn asked with a smile. “You want to learn witchcraft?”
“Of course I do,” he said. “We have to be of the same religion.”
“Well we don’t have to be but it helps,” he said as he sat beside him.
“Giselle you’re looking lovely,” Charlie said when he looked over at Giselle.
“Thank you Charlie,” she said, beaming.
“Charlie was telling us about his culinary classes,” said Joseph. “It sounds interesting.”
“He’s going to learn to make all kinds of food that I’ll have to work off in the gym,” Quinn said.
“Seen any fat witches?” Josephine asked.
“Now that you mention it, no I haven’t,” he said.
“That’s because practicing magic keeps you thin,” she said. “You go to the gym to build muscle.”
She used a very angry tone with him that he didn’t understand. He asked, “Have I done something to upset you?”
“No,” she sighed. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Well I’d like to know what I did so I don’t do it again,” he said.
“But you will anyway,” she said. “Just forget it.”
“Forget what Josephine?” asked Angelique as she came into the dining room.
“Quinn just asked if he had done something to upset me,” she said. “I told him to just forget it.”
“If it’s what we talked about this morning then I suggest you get over it, Josephine,” Angelique said. “You’ll never have what you want in this.”
“What’s going on?” Quinn asked.
“She has a little crush on you,” said Joseph. “We’ve been talking to her about it today.”
“Josephine I’m flattered, really,” he said. “But I love Charlie as in I’m in love with him. I wouldn’t cheat on him and certainly not with a second cousin.”
“There, see?” said Joseph. “I told you he’d say that. Now get over it.”
“I will,” she sighed.
Just then Mildred came in with a tray of plates. She placed one in front of each of them but was only thanked for doing it by Quinn, Charlie, Revanche, and Giselle. No one commented on that though. They began to eat their food in silence.
“Did you get a lot done today?” Angelique asked Quinn.
“I found a contractor who is going to put together a crew and start on the manor on Monday,” he said. “Then I found three grad students who are going to transcribe all of the journals to turn them into novels. I met with Pierre and gave him the journal with the spells for the building of the house, I went to Ashdon paid my tuition and chose my classes for the upcoming semester, and then I came home.”
“My my,” she said. “You were busy.”
“Yes,” he said. “Tomorrow I go over the ledgers for all of the loans with Franklin. He’ll be here ate nine in the morning.”
“Oh I hated doing that,” she said.
“Well it’s the job of he heir,” he said.
“That it is” she said with a smile. “I can’t tell you how happy that I am to have all of the taken off my plate.”
“I thought you liked it, Mother,” said Josephine.
“I liked that I was helping Lisette,” she said. “I didn’t like the actual work.”
“Oh,” she said.
Quinn knew that Angelique had liked being the acting heiress just fine. Josephine had just outed her lie but he let it go. He found with Angelique he had to let a lot go. He found that to remain pleasant around her he had to let it all go.
When dinner was over Revanche and Giselle went back up to their rooms. Quinn was going to have to get Giselle some new magazines to look at. He and Charlie stayed at the table and had a drink with Angelique. Joseph left to be with Leah and Josephine went upstairs.
“Forgive her little crush, Quinn,” said Angelique. “She’s young.”
“Not much younger than I am,” he pointed out.
“Yes, but as you said you have Charlie,” she said.
“If I didn’t have Charlie it was always going to be another male,” he informed her.
“Never say never, Quinn,” she said. “Circumstances change.”
“Yes they do,” he said. “I’m well aware of that. My circumstances have really changed. I was a college student who believed the Moreau family was just me and my father. Now I have a huge family and I’m at the head of a Legacy that rivals even the richest men on Earth.”
“There you go,” she said. “Remember that.”
“I will remember that,” he said. “But you don’t go from being gay to being straight without a really good reason.”
“Who’s to say what that reason is?” Angelique countered.
“I am,” he said. “I’m the master of my own fate.”
“We’d all like the think we are the master of our own fate,” she said. “Sometimes that isn’t so.”
“Well I guess sometimes it isn’t but that doesn’t mean I have to look out for someone to make me straight,” he said.
“No, I didn’t mean that,” she said. “I’m talking about children. Don’t you want a child of your own?”
“I think that’s a discussion for me and Charlie to have in private,” he said.
“I agree,” said Charlie.
“Of course I was speaking in hypotheticals,” she said.
He had no doubt that she was not speaking hypothetically but he wasn’t about to call her out on it in her own house. Unlike Maria, Angelique had every right to be in this house. He was the guest here not her.
Instead he excused himself to go upstairs for the evening. Charlie went with him. They had a long conversation about the conversation they’d just had with Angelique. Quinn told him that the manor couldn’t be built fast enough. He agreed.
They went to bed that night and showed their love to each other. The used condom went in the trash can beside the bed. Quinn again was woken up when he thought he heard the door to his room shut. He lifted his head and looked around but did not see anything. He went back to sleep in Charlie’s arms.
The next day he was in the dining room going over ledgers for the loans. He found seventeen that were past due. He dictated a letter of intent to all seventeen. Then they went over applications for loans. There was one from Amily for a building that she wanted to buy as a meeting place. Quinn thought it was no doubt about the non magical people in the family. He approved it. Two others he denied. They wanted loans for stores that would be rivals of ones that were already open. Quinn didn’t think Moonlight Bay was big enough.
They finished their work and Quinn left to buy magazines for Giselle. He heard in the grocery store about the new heir of the Legacy of the Moreau family. People hoped he’d move them out of the bay. Someone said that they owned too much of the bay to be moved out of it. One guy said that he was happy that they had a new heir. He said that several Moreaus frequent his shop and he always found them pleasant.
Some woman said that if a Moreau ever came into her store she didn’t know it and didn’t care either way. They were people too no matter if the were witches or not. She did not believe in witches. Several others tried to convince her that witches were real and a real problem to have in town. They said that innocents could be hurt in the fights with each other. They said to remember last time.
Quinn had no idea what last time was all about. He would find out but for now he just kept his mouth shut. He used his credit card to buy the magazines and the sales girl winked at him. Then he got the hell out of there.
So they weren’t exactly a secret in town. That wasn’t shocking. What was shocking was the anti witch sentiment that he’d heard among them. Some wanted them out of the bay all together. Others were happy to have them here. It was crazy. But he would find out what last time entailed.
He went back to Angelique’s and gave Giselle the magazines. She thanked him for them and went back to looking at the one she’d been looking at when he’d come in. He went down to have a discussion with Angelique about “last time”.
“Quinn, you’re back,” Angelique said when he stepped into the living room. “Pierre just came for Charlie.”
“Yeah it’s Thursday” he said. “Novice class and circle.”
“That’s right,” she said, smiling. “I haven’t had one in novice classes in quite a while.”
“I heard something at the grocery store today,” he said.
“Why were you in a grocery store?” she asked. “We have people for that.”
“First of all those people are people too,” he said. She nodded. “What I heard was that something happened a while ago that scared the townspeople they were talking about how people got hurt.”
“They were talking about when the witch hunters were here right before you were born,” she said. “They didn’t exactly ask if you were a witch before they killed you.”
“Well that explains that,” he said. “To answer your question I went to get Giselle more magazines to look at.”
“You could have just asked Mildred or Lad,” she said.
“I don’t feel comfortable ordering your servants around that way,” he said. “You forget I never had servants growing up. Just Lilly and Kim and they were like family.”
“It’s not natural to treat the help like family,” she said. “Makes them think their just as good as you are.”
He had to let that one go because he would have torn into her if he hadn’t. He sat there staring at her like she had two heads or something before he shook his head. He finally just sighed. He was going to get nowhere with Angelique. He sought out Revanche but then remembered that he wasn’t back from school yet. So he went up and sat with Giselle while she looked at her magazines. Her silent page turning was better than listening to Angelique go on about how she was better than the servants. He couldn’t deal.
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