Hannah tugged on her bottom lip, considering. “I don’t understand.”
“I don’t really understand that part either,” Abigail admitted. “If there was a reason the girls were so volatile, a magical reason, I don’t know what it is. Reports of the time say Clement doted on them, spoiled them rotten, and let them do whatever they wanted as long as his crops continued to thrive.
“The girls took to acting superior, only hanging out with each other, and yet torturing each other at every turn. They were beautiful and terrible. Men called on them despite their reputations, wanted to marry them, but Clement wouldn’t allow it. Eventually, their fighting became so great he had to build a second house to keep them separated.”
“Yeah, we read that part,” Cooper said. “He wasn’t sleeping in beds with them in those houses, was he?”
Instead of denying the charge, Abigail held out her hands. “Nobody knows. That was obviously the whisper but there’s no proof. Neither of the girls ever accused him of that and they never turned up pregnant.”
“I was hoping you would say that was a ludicrous assumption,” Hannah muttered.
“I wish I could say it. Clement was not a good man. As far as I know, he never married again and was careful to keep his daughters away from any potential dates. There could be a myriad of reasons why that was necessary, but we simply don’t know.”
“That is really depressing,” Hannah muttered.
Cooper leaned forward and kissed the back of her neck to soothe her. “Do you want me to grab your butt again to make you feel better?”
Hannah darted a scandalized look toward Abigail. “He’s just kidding.”
Abigail chuckled. “I heard you in the cave a good two minutes before I saw you. I know he’s not kidding. That’s not important, though. I need to finish this story so you can get back. Once you cross the magical line, you won’t be able to see me.”
“Right.” Hannah’s heart dropped. “We need to figure out a way to fix that.”
“Hopefully, hearing the rest of this story will allow you to do that.” Abigail shot her granddaughter an encouraging smile and then continued. “Girls married at a much younger age back then. The twins were considered adults at thirteen.”
“So gross,” Hannah complained.
Abigail continued as if she hadn’t heard the muttered recrimination. “By the time they were in their twenties they were considered spinsters. That sounds ludicrous now, but it was a sign of the times then because life expectancy was much shorter. Despite that, and the fact that he was offered a lot of money for his daughters, Clement never forced them to marry.
“Life went on. The girls continued to fight. Then one day Clement died out of the blue. The locals whispered the girls were somehow responsible but that was never proven.”
“Did they really share his body for burial?” Hannah asked on a cringe.
“No.” Abigail smirked. “He was buried close to the creek and each girl threw in their preferred flower. The land was blessed and then he was put to rest. I have no idea where that part of the story came from.”
“Then what happened?”
“War.” Abigail’s demeanor turned dark. “Once Clement wasn’t there to act as a buffer, the girls went at each other hard. Each one of them wanted to claim dominion over the property. As long as they were both alive, they had to split it. That’s when the murder attempts started.
“They worked hard to try to kill each other for two years,” she continued. “There were multiple accidents on the farm, innocent people were killed, but neither of them fell victim to the other. In one instance Bettina was the one attacking. In the other, it was Amelia. Remember, it was almost as if they both had multiple personalities and would swing wildly all over the place.”
“And you don’t think there’s a magical explanation for that, right?” Hannah prodded.
“Not that I know of. I guess it’s possible but there’s no proof of it.”
Hannah nodded. “Okay, so what happened at the end? How did they both die?”
“They fought to the death. The one who was good that day finally realized that the only way to save the people of the area from their never-ending war was for both of them to die. She made the ultimate sacrifice and they died on what is now Main Street. They threw everything they had at each other. It was a collision of power so great it caused an explosion ... and fused magically to the land.”
Hannah jerked up her head, surprised. “Wait ....”
“Are you saying they weren’t drawn to the land because of the nexus?” Cooper asked, tightening his arms around Hannah.
“I’m saying they created the nexus,” Abigail replied. “Sometimes magic is so powerful that it becomes otherworldly. When Amelia and Bettina died here, everything they were fused with the land and created a power base that exists today. It’s also the reason I removed those pages from the book. I didn’t want anyone thinking that power base could be tapped. It’s too dangerous to attempt.”
“How does that play into Angel going missing, though?” Hannah asked, desperate. “How do we find her? How do we get rid of the dome?”
“I don’t know. I don’t have the answers you need. I’m sorry. All I can provide is the story.”
“And we’re grateful for it,” Cooper reassured her. “The story is important. We just need to figure out how all the pieces fit together.”
“And fast,” Hannah added. “The longer this goes on, the more worried I’m going to be. We have to end this ... and now.”
“I wish you luck.” Abigail blew her granddaughter a kiss as Hannah
