The Witches of Harbour: Hex Duet, #1

By Sian B. Claven

Harbour is a quiet small town with a big bad secret.

Sara doesn't understand why she is running away in the cover of darkness from her hometown, or who the baby is that her mother is giving her to care for, but she trusts her mother enough to leave and not look back.

Christine knows that there may be a time that Sara is convinced to come back so she pens a letter to her explaining Harbour's well kept secret, so her daughter can understand why she and the baby are in danger.

It all started years ago...

A prequel to Hex.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sian B. Claven
• Release date: Mar 15, 2020
• ISBN: 9798215250150

Sian B. Claven

Known as the International Bestselling, Award-winning Author of horrific old-school terror titles such as Buried and the Asylum Series, Sian B. Claven brings back a nostalgic telling of creepy tales. Aiming high, this misleadingly bubbly author terrifies her fans with tales of ghosts, murderers, and demonic possessions as though handing out candy to children, all while expanding her releases from her first young adult horror in 2017 to her more recent explicit demonic occult horror in 2021. With an on the edge of your seat series, Claven enthralled her readers with her Butcher series, surprising them with a fourth and now final book in the series in 2021 as part of the Notorious Mind’s Boxset, along with Shh, which were both part of the Soul’s Day Boxset which made her an International Bestselling Author. Claven also dabbles in the Science-Fiction Space Adventure genre, having republished her Spacehiker Adventure Series – Unlikely Hero with an updated cover and storyline after receiving criticism about the book’s length. Claven looks forward to expanding this universe. Further challenging herself, Claven also tackled writing a paranormal romance series, the first of which released as part of the Possessed by Passion boxset in March 2021. The series will continue, and Claven looks forward to exploring this new world. Born in Southern Africa, Claven resides in Johannesburg, where she grew up with a vivid imagination and has been writing for as long as she can remember. When she was not immersing herself in books, she created her own worlds, both by herself and with her friends. After her sister immigrated in 2017, Claven wrote and published her first book and has been on an amazing journey ever since. Claven is an avid Harry Potter and Star Wars fan, Funko Pop Collector, 3d Puzzle builder, Diamon Art painter, and studying addict. She also has a penchant for Lego. She resides with her two best friends, their six dogs, and two cats.

Book preview

Chapter One

Present Day

Harbour was one of those towns.

It was the kind of town that most people have driven through on their way from one large city to another. It was a stopping point, somewhere quaint where you could grab a bite to eat and take some sweet photos against settings that time had forgotten.

Along the main road, you’ll see the kind of family-owned stores that have been passed down through the generations, run by the same families that established them when the town was first built.

No franchise supermarkets in Harbour. The general store is managed by an elderly couple who allow their grandchildren to work as their assistants, just so they can earn a few dollars of pocket money. A dusty book shop sits with its door open and passing it you’ll see that they long ago ran out of shelf space and piles of books sit in every available corner. The smell of browning bread and sweet pastries wafts through the air from the bakery on the corner. The main streets form a square. In the center is a green park where young children play while their parents are at work and where young couples steal kisses as they get lost in each other. The town square is a common feature in American Towns of this size, and one would usually find the only government building around is the town hall where all municipal and local governing decisions are discussed. The town could be summarized in that one square, with the inhabitants of Harbour branching out from its center and expanding every generation.

It’s too big to be considered a village and has always had its own governing electorate, usually headed by the Town Selectmen. In fact, a lot of surrounding villages have been incorporated into Harbour and get their municipal demands met by Harbour’s mayor and his loyal entourage of civil servants.

It was here that Christine had been raised in a good Christian home and where she raised her daughter, although she was reluctant to raise her in a ‘good Christian home’ like she had been.

No, Christine had spent many a night righting the wrongs that had been done to her by making sure nothing like that ever happened to Sara.

Christine felt her heart break as she realized, driving down the dark street towards her sleeping teenager, what she was about to ask of her was such an impossibly difficult task, but she knew she had to do it. It was what was best for Alexia.

Sara, she said urgently as she walked into her child’s room carrying the sleeping baby in her arms. Sara, wake up, Christine urged her.

Sara sat up sleepily and rubbed her eyes. Mama? she asked.

Here, she uttered without explanation, planting the baby in Sara’s sleepy arms before she started to rush about the room. The first thing that Christine did was take out Sara’s travel bag, the large one she had gotten her when her daughter had decided to travel to Disneyland instead of going to Miami for Spring Break. Christine shoved the purple plastic case onto the bed and swung it open, the lid landing with a soft thud on the deep blankets.

It was fall.

Colder months were ahead.

She started to throw in all of Sara’s warm clothes—except something for her to wear—her underwear, and every other clothing item that Christine could think her daughter would need for the next few weeks. Sara questioned her, slowly waking up to the realization that something was wrong and that she was holding a sleeping baby.

Christine ignored her questions and started to pack some of Sara’s prized possessions, things Christine knew that Sara wouldn’t leave the house without. She crammed the suitcase full and still managed to slide in Sara’s towel, toiletries, and bathrobe before Christine shut the lid, climbed on top of it to seal it, and zipped it up.

Place the baby on the bed, Christine instructed, and Sara gently set her down next to her, Get dressed in what I’ve put out.

Mama…

Now, Sara, Christine snapped angrily; there was no time. She didn’t know how long they would have before he came for her. It wouldn’t take him long to figure out who it was assisting Alyssia, and he would have his people hunt her down in no time. She had to get them out of here.

Sara did as she was ordered, trusting her mother explicitly, and shot out of bed, pulling on her warm clothes.

Christine went to her own bedroom and knelt by the bed. A loose floorboard creaked as she leaned her weight on it. You wouldn’t know it was loose unless someone told you or if you, yourself, hid something there. In fact, the space under that loose floorboard was rather large and as Christine pried the board up, the smell of dust and mold assaulted her senses. Her eyes teared up from the onslaught of allergies and she shook her head, sneezing a few times. She smiled as she heard Sara patiently, and softly, call bless you, Mama from the other room.

Bless her child.

She didn’t know what she was in for and what was coming, and Christine couldn’t even take the time to fully explain it. She was going to give her the bare facts, pray she believed her and leave.

Leave with the baby.

Her nineteen-year old daughter was about to become a single mother overnight, and Christine wouldn’t be there to help her. She couldn’t go with them; he would follow, and he would find them, and Sara would be punished for Christine’s decision. No, while Christine remained here, she was a threat to him, and he would leave Sara alone.

The tears were no longer from the allergies but more from the heartache of losing her only child, condemning her to a life she didn’t ask for. She brushed the tears away quickly, rubbing at her cheeks to hide any evidence of streak marks they may have left, and dug around in the cavity in the floor. She pulled out stashes of cash and once she thought she had enough, she got one of her gym bags and packed all the money into it.

Christine went back to Sara’s room and found her daughter sitting on the bed, rocking the now awake baby quietly.

She was fussing, Sara explained, looking up at Christine concerned. Mama, whose baby is this? she asked. Sara, listen to me, honey, Christine dropped the gym bag on the bed and knelt in front of her daughter, taking her face in her wrinkled hands. Darling, we don’t have much time, she is Alexia, and you must take her and go, go and do not come back.

Why, Mama? What’s happening?

Someone is going to hurt Alexia; they already have Holly and Alyssia and they will come for Alexia too. You need to protect her. If you don’t take her now, away from here, then terrible things will happen. Terrible things have happened over the years and I will be damned if this cycle continues.

Sara got teary-eyed and Christine, taking a steady, strong breath, wiped away the unshed tears and smiled, You’ll be fine. Take my car and Sara, don’t contact me, and don’t ever come back.

But Mama…

You can do this, honey, I know you can. You’re strong like your mama, and you don’t have a single bone of your coward father in you.

Sara swallowed hard; Christine realized how confused she must be. Here Christine was asking Sara to rescue a little baby, take her away, and on top of it she mentioned Sara’s father for the first time in years.

Baby, do you trust me? Christine asked, looking deeply into Sara’s green eyes, brushing her curly red hair out of the way.

Yes Mama, of course, but why can’t we go to the police…

Because he owns the police. I know it’s confusing, baby, and I wish I had time to explain everything to you, but the most important thing right now is that they are going to come for Alexia and I need you to be long gone before they do.

Who are they? Sara asked.

Better you just go. Christine stood and picked up the suitcase, setting it on its wheels. She picked up the gym bag too and led Sara out of the house. Sara carried the baby gently, pausing only to grab her handbag with her ID and wallet in it, before she followed Christine out to the car. Sara noticed a diaper bag in the car already, so she didn’t ask about supplies for the baby.

Christine took Alexia and kissed her forehead before showing Sara how to strap her safely into the car seat. Christine then pulled her daughter to her, breathing in the lavender scent of her hair before kissing her curly locks and looking at her seriously again.

Don’t contact me, never come back.

I promise, Mama, Sara said before she climbed into the driver’s seat. She pulled the seatbelt over her and buckled it in before starting the car. She put it into reverse and as she rolled out, Christine thought she heard a car coming.

It was too late.

She waited with bated breath as Sara reversed into the road and started to drive away. There was still no sign of another vehicle, so Christine thought she might be imagining things. She stood outside, watching the bright red lights of her car ebb away into the darkness, before she went to get her coat and started the long, dark walk to the town center. She knew she wouldn’t be able to stop it, but she would be damned if Alyssia went through this alone.

Having grown up in Harbour, Christine was used to the peace and quiet that was afforded by living away from the city. This quiet, as she walked…this was different. There wasn’t the sound of a bug at all, no chirping of birds or scuttling of animals across the forest floor as she walked past the tall trees. There wasn’t a sound, and there was nobody in sight.

Until there was.

She heard the footsteps behind her and quickly stopped and turned around. What she saw didn’t alarm her, but it did make her feel cold. It was a woman, dressed in a beautiful black nightgown with long flowing hair. Christine didn’t need light to see her features because she knew who it was, she had been seeing more of her over the last few weeks, but before that hadn’t seen her for some time.

Christine should have seen the signs and known what was coming from the first moment she saw Mary appear a few weeks ago. She had dismissed it, thinking there couldn’t be any reason for Mother to come back now that Christine had ironed out all their problems over the years but Mother had been the warning sign, predicting the events that were going to unfold. Christine wished she had paid attention; perhaps then they all would have escaped this ill-gotten fate that had become a town tradition.

An evil tradition.

Christine still couldn’t get his voice out of her head as he had calmly explained a child’s death as tradition, a woman’s death as tradition. How could he do that to them? After they gave him their bodies, their souls, and bore his children. He just dismissed Alyssia’s life as meaningless and God alone knew what they were going to do to her now. It made Christine tear up as she looked at Mary and said softly, I’m so sorry I didn’t protect her.

Mary just stared at Christine before walking past her and further down the road. It was an indication that Christine couldn’t escape the fate of watching Alyssia’s demise, someone she had loved since they were small children.

Christine had preferred to stay out in the woods with the outcast family of three than at home where she was beaten regularly and without reason. Her good ‘Christian’ parents wanted the demons out of their daughter, and that meant whacking her with a