For one, if I had any doubts, it is clear Sylviana was an Earth Witch. There are countless books on pretty much anything related to plants, soil, ground, everything. Just like the one I found in my bedroom. Moreover, all the books look used until the cover is starting to fall apart. I doubt any of these will be of any help to me, though, I'm no Earth Witch...
"Anything that looks changed?" I ask, realizing he probably already knows this place very well.
Liam shakes his head, looking around.
"No... It was never very orderly, to be honest. This is just the usual, from what I remember, I didn't come for the books or the decoration either, so..."
Now I feel like barbecuing this insensitive idiot. Seriously. I'm starting to get hot, so I take off his jacket and almost throw it at his face. He makes a sour expression, maybe realizing his mistake. I ignore him and go to check another corner of the room, mostly to be away from him.
I'm a bit frustrated too. I know there is something here, there has to be. Then, how come this house looks so... normal? I wasn't waiting for magic fireworks, but still. I keep searching for clues, and he starts helping out, no matter how reluctantly.
"By the way," he says, "why did you react to the name Jones, earlier?"
I was so excited to finally discover the house, I almost forgot about that. I put down the book and scratch my head.
"I apparently used it as an alias," I say. "At the university, I gave the name Jones instead of Garnett, and I was hiding which classes I went to. Classes about witches."
"From the time before the... incident?"
"Yep, from the whole part I don't remember, it looks like I used a fake name instead of... Clarissa Garnett."
"How many aliases do you have, and why?"
If only I knew! Even the name Clarissa Garnett doesn't ring a bell, and instead, I have been Mara all along. Now that new name, Jones? Is it supposed to mean Mara Jones? It doesn't make sense... It feels more like a hazard. Did I pick any name just to hide from the university? Jones is rather common, but of all places, Sylviana's house is on the territory of a werewolf family named Jones.
"Was Sylviana related to the local werewolves?"
"Not that I know of. They knew she was living here, but they weren't sure she was a witch, they never cared enough to find proof either. She was living a very quiet life until the war.
"So the... Jones’ couldn't have had any kind of tie with her?"
"Only knowing where her house was, but..."
Crap, that might be it! What if I had picked that name on purpose? Aside from that idiot Ben, most werewolves would have been able to tell me there was a werewolf territory led by the Jones family! From there, they would have guided me to the witch's house, it comes back in a circle! I can't believe I lost so much time because that idiot couldn't even react to an alias! Was he even listening back at the library? I am so going to kick his useless ass.
"Mara?" Liam calls, noticing I am lost in my thoughts for a while.
"I think I really was meant to come here," I explain, looking around once more. "I picked the name of the territory Sylviana lived in, it can't be a coincidence. I... the previous me, the me from before the incident knew something and left clues behind."
It sounds crazier as I say it. Because it would mean I knew I was going to lose my memory and left clues on purpose. It can’t be, right? I mean... so far, it did seem like I was hiding some things from the people around me. The circle under my rug. The classes I was truly attending. That fake name too.
I stand up, leaving the books there, resolute. It has to be something bigger. I look around the house. It will lead to nowhere, just looking through all these damn books one at a time. What did I miss? I keep looking around, but it's really covered in plants. Actually... literally covered. One of the walls is covered in ivy, just like outside, from floor to ceiling.
"What are you doing?" asks Liam. "That ivy was already there years ago!"
"It doesn't mean it wasn't meant to be undone later," I retort.
Who cares if I burn that ivy down anyway? If it doesn't like being burnt, it will probably regrow just like the one outside. I light my fire on the tip of my fingers, hoping I'm not about to burn down the house with us in it.
Just like before, my fire spreads through the leaves quickly. Very quickly, actually, I worry a bit as I see all of the leaves catching fire so fast. It's not like outside, where they were wet and disappearing as ashes as soon as they got burnt. A strong smell starts coming off, but my fire isn't disappearing.
"...Mara..."
"I know!" I retort, a bit annoyed to have him watch my failure.
What the heck is going on? There is definitely something going on here, because that fire stays within the ivy wall, thankfully, but still, all this smoke is not good, and my fire isn't disappearing at all, the leaves keep burning. What the hell is wrong now? I spread out my hands, and take deep breaths, trying to call back my fire. It doesn't calm down at all, and my fire doesn't respond to me. What the hell?! I made this fire, why can't I control it now? I keep trying to bring it back, but it's like it's glued to that ivy and resisting me.
I stop trying to pull it back in and look at it. The fire stays on the leaves. It doesn't burn, but it doesn't go away either. The effect was just the same as before, so why aren't they disappearing now?! If I don't do something, we aren't going to burn, but the damn smoke will be just as efficient in killing us... I try to recall what I did outside. What is different?
