That night two phone calls were made from the mansion, both to the United States, both to the same woman. The first call was made by a distressed daughter, in desperate need of some reassurance.

“Mum, he’s crazy. He has killed people. You need to get me out of here, he says he is going to introduce me to people who want to kill me.” The words poured out of her, sounding more panicky than she had intended him too.

“I know honey, that is why we never went to visit when you were little.” Her mother answered, sounding sympathetic, but also unsurprised.

“You knew, but sent me anyway? What the fuck mum! Did you want to get rid of me that badly?” Tears started pouring from Serena’s eyes. Sure, she had been a bit of a handful back home, but that couldn’t possibly warrant sending her into mortal danger!

“Honey, stop shouting.” Her mother said with an infuriating calm. “You must listen very carefully now, okay?” Serena took a deep breath, then nodded, followed by a slightly embarrassed okay whispered into the phone. “Your grandfather was a man with many enemies, some of which were extremely dangerous. His magic didn’t allow him to take these enemies head on, so he spent a great deal of time building layers upon layers of protection around the house. It is a fortress, even if it doesn’t look like it. As long as you stay on the grounds you will be safe.”

Her mother wasn’t done talking, but Serena interrupted her anyways. “That is all fine and dandy, but I’m supposed to go to this ball in two weeks, I will hardly be protected then, will I. Anyone will be able to walk up to me and kill me!” She said in a high-pitched voice.

“Honey,” her mother’s stoic voice came through the wire, “let me finish.” Serena took another deep breath.

“When your uncle came into his powers your grandfather was overjoyed. Another mage in the family! It was extraordinary. Suddenly, all his ambitions suddenly became possible. The next five years your uncle and your grandfather spent together. Mother and I barely saw them, so engrossed they were in their research and politics. We heard things, of course, disappearances, dead bodies, but none of it was linked to either of them. And they, purposefully kept us in the dark.” Her mother took a deep breath.

“When I spoke my brother again, he had changed. He used to be a sweet boy; you know? But my father didn’t train him to be sweet. Shortly after your uncle’s first criminal trial I left. I was going to have you, and since father and Steven were absorbed with their increasingly dangerous ambitions, it seemed that the only safe choice was to raise you far away from them. I never, not for a minute, thought that you would be a mage. But honey you are, and I think you will be a wonderful one.” That however did not at all explain why Serena was sitting in this house with a murderer.

“The problem is, honey, that I can’t teach you how to do magic, and I can’t protect you from people like your uncle. There are mages in the US too, your uncle can learn you how to protect you from them. No, listen.” Her mother said, before Serena could interrupt. “Your uncle can protect you from them, because he is one of them. He knows what they are capable of, how they think, how they act when they want something or feel threatened. There is no one else who can teach you that.” Serena mulled over the words as a silence fell over the conversation.

“I could enrol in the council’s apprentice programme, I heard that it is a lot safer.” She said, unable to keep a little bit of hope out of her voice. That hope died however when her mother let out a disdainful snort, which reminded Serena an awful lot of her uncle.

“No honey, that won’t do. You are a daughter of the Cairn family, joining the council’s programme was never an option. Whatever you do, don’t trust the council, they are as bad or even worse than your uncle. Honey, I understand that you are afraid, and believe you me, since you left, I’ve been in a state myself, but we have to get through this. Once your apprenticeship is done you move back state side and we put this unpleasantness behind us.”

But how long would that take? Serena wondered. A year? Five years? Ten? A shiver ran down her spine, there was no way she could spent such a long time in a place like this. Tears started flowing down her face. “He has killed people mum! And he was threatening to do it again!” She whispered, quiet despair in her voice.

“I know love, believe me, I know, but it has to be like this. Or you will never be safe.” There was pain in her mother’s voice, but also resolution. She had made up her mind and Serena knew that she wasn’t going to change it.

“Okay mum, I got to go. Apparently, breakfast is at eight o’clock.” Her voice was flat, exhausted.

“Okay love, we will talk tomorrow and every other day for as long as it takes.” Her mother sounded encouraging.

“I love you mum, bye.” Before her mother could respond Serena hung up the phone. “I am so fucked.” She whispered to nothing and nobody as she laid her head back on the very soft pillow of her comfortable bed.

The second call was made from elsewhere in the house. It was a lot shorter and less emotional than the first call, as if the callers had a strained relationship at best.

“Sister.” Steven said in a cold voice as the recipient of his call picked up the phone. “Brother.” Came an equally cold voice. “I’m disappointed sister, did you teach her anything of worth?” It remained silent for a few seconds; then, mirthless laughter came through the line.

“I taught her the only things of worth, brother. I taught her to be creative, independent, and dare I say happy. That last one she lost in just a day of being near you in that accursed house.” The scathing words were meant to hurt, but they were met by a wall of silence and indifference.

“She doesn’t belong in your world. You will see, once I’m done with her, she will never think of returning to you, only to live in squalor. I can see it in her eyes, the hunger, it is something you never understood.” He waited, but no response came. He wondered whether his words still hurt her. Maybe they had lost their power over her, much like her words meant nothing to him.

“Five years, not a day longer and she comes home for the holidays.” Before he could flatly refuse, she continued. “After she has gone to whatever party you’re making her go to.”

He thought for a second. “Agreed.” He said. The line went dead. “A pleasure as always.” He sneered at the phone, but he was pleased. Regardless what his insolent sister thought, he knew. He had seen it in his niece’s eyes, she was already in love with the house and magic excited her. He knew that excitement, he himself felt it on many occasions when performing magic. It was a pleasure unlike any other and he was an addict. His niece was the same. For a second an image flashed through his mind, a middle-aged man talking excitedly while he was levitating a chair. The memory brought an unbidden smile to his lips and made him look forwards to the coming day.