Salem Falls

Evelyn had never worried about the days when she would someday have to take responsibility of the Lunar Circle. They seemed far off and almost mythical, in a strange way, the same mythical way all children look at their parents. To an extent, they are invincible. To an extent, they are the strongest people in the world. To an extent, they are always right. But in every child’s life, there comes a time when the realization hits that their parents aren’t untouchable.

And that was the realization Evelyn Connors had that day in the woods when she ran from Louis, praying to never see him again.

Everything about their relationship in a time like that was foolish. Humans were dying left and right, dark magic saturating them to the core. Louis had been attacked, and though she was able to save him, he was still at risk. It was only a matter of time until this dark mage took aim at the members of Lunar Circle, and Evelyn had a feeling her family would be the first to go. And being in love with a human boy was not helping the situation at all.

Evelyn realized something that afternoon – that the time was coming that she was going to have to learn how to lead her people, just like Zayn. And she feared that it may come sooner than she would hope.

“I don’t know what to do, Ella,” Cornelius Connors murmured from the kitchen as Evelyn slipped through the door, eyes sore from crying all the way home from the forest, her heart aching and demanding she change her mind. She held her breath at the sound of his voice, not wanting to be heard. She needed to know everything.

“There’s nothing we can do, darling,” Ella hummed softly in response. “There’s no proof of who is at fault. If we confront them as a whole, an all out war could start. We can’t afford to put any more lives at risk.”

Evelyn gulped down the knot in her throat, edging her way to the sofa where she once resuscitated Niall back to life. She sat in silence, listening closely to her parents, trying her hardest to discern their plan of action.

“Things were much simpler when Yaser was alive,” Cornelius mused in a strained voice. “Zayn is too young to have so much responsibility on his shoulders. Perhaps he let it go to his head.”

Ella sighed audibly. “I don’t believe that Zayn is capable of that caliber of dark magic,” she commented. “Maybe it would just be best to talk to him, Cornelius. He’s the leader now, whether you believe he’s ready for it or not. He needs to do something and maybe you can guide him in the right direction.”

Cornelius scoffed. “A teenage member of the Sixth Circle listening to me? That’s rich. Why would he take advice from me? We’re tree huggers, Ella. For all we know, he’s behind this in the first place. I’m afraid there’s no talking to him.”

“Perhaps you’re right, darling.”

Evelyn pinched the space between her eyes, waiting to hear more from her parents but finding nothing more to work from. Silence fell over the entirety of the Connors household, the silence of a doom looming in the distance that none of them could outrun, that none of them had an answer to. So silently, Evelyn rose and went to her room to think of something she could possibly do.

The posters of human movies and shelves of human novels that lined her walls seemed trivial to her when she entered then. Even the sounds of Elvis Costello in her speaker system seemed distant, though she once loved them so dearly – once, they cleared her head; now, they seemed like a lost part of a world she didn’t know. A world that Louis was a part of.

Evelyn heaved a sob. Louis.

She had to leave him. She had to make a separation between them, for the safety of them both. He was only at risk with her around, he was only destined to death with her by his side. The trees had a funny way of working, and this time, they didn’t work in her favor. There was a forest fire blazing and it was time for Evelyn to put it out. She had her powers, now. She had her confidence.

After she formulated a plan, which felt like ages afterward, she took off to Zayn’s house on the other side of town, entirely unbeknownst to her parents. They couldn’t know that she was trying to help them. They would only stop her, they would only get in the way. Evelyn needed to do what she could, and the only way she could do it was alone. Until she met with Zayn, that was. At least, hopefully. If all went well.

“Evelyn,” he greeted blankly when he answered his front door, raising his eyebrows in a bit of surprise. He tried to keep his face as stately as possible, but Evelyn knew better – he was still the same idiot who ran around with her cousin, torturing baby animals and laughing about it later. Or at least, she thought. Until she looked into his eyes and saw they had a more serious quality to them now, like he’d been through more than she could ever understand. And it hit her then – he had. He had been through what she would someday have to go through. He’d had to grown up, and it was clear even in his face that he had.

“Can I come in?” she asked, and though Zayn hesitated at first, he allowed her to walk through the door.

The first thing she saw was Maggie Snow, sitting on a couch through the foyer in the living room. Evelyn’s heart clutched in her chest. The sheriff’s daughter was in the house of the leader of the Sixth Circle, the one who was rumored to be killing people all over town?

“What is she doing here?” she growled defensively before she could even realize the words were formulating in her lips.

Zayn’s gaze darkened even further. “None of your concern.”

“It is a bit of my concern when humans have been found dead from dark magic every day and she happens to be Sheriff Snow’s daughter,” she responded pointedly, finding she had more strength inside her than she originally thought. Zayn opened his mouth to speak but instead, Maggie entered the foyer.

“Zayn, is everything alright?” she asked before her eyes landed on Evelyn and a smile came to her lips. The girls had gone to school for a while together and had been acquaintances – of course she would smile. But she had gone on dates with Louis – so why would she smile? Her expression fell upon examining Evelyn’s more, a gasp escaping her lips.

“Not you too,” she murmured in disbelief before turning back to Zayn. “How many mages are there in this town?”

Evelyn’s mind reeled. “She knows?”

Zayn pursed his lips before speaking again. “Maggie, just give us a minute to speak, okay? I’ll be right back.”

Maggie gave the both of them an exasperated look before giving up and leaving. But not before she crossed the room to kiss Zayn on the cheek. Evelyn couldn’t stop herself from gaping at the sight. Zayn Malik, leader of the Sixth Circle, was involved with a human? That almost all but eliminated the thought that he could be behind the murders, though Evelyn doubted it was him from the start – for whatever reason, she trusted Harry when he told her it wasn’t.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” Zayn asked sarcastically, though there was a hint of honest curiosity and longing in his voice. Like he’d been waiting for her, but didn’t want her to know.

“No one else was making a move, so I thought I would,” Evelyn responded back in the most confident voice she could muster. “I’m here to ask for an alliance.”

Zayn raised his eyebrows. “I’m sorry?”

“I know you’re not behind what’s happening here,” she clarified, folding her arms across her chest. “Harry told me. And judging by the looks of your situation here,” she nodded to the room where Maggie now sat in wait, “you have something invested in these killings. I have a feeling that you know I do as well.”

Zayn gave her a stiff nod. News travelled fast in the magical community when Siren Chaveaux was flapping her mouth about it.

“A stalemate isn’t helping anyone,” Evelyn sighed, thinking of her father – though brilliant, unwilling to even try to work with Zayn towards the ultimate goal. “A stalemate is ending up with more dead bodies on our hands. On your hands, Zayn.

“What do you suggest we do about it?”

“We need to work together to get to the bottom of this, Zayn,” she insisted, hoping she could reason with him. “We’re stronger together, your clan and mine. We want peace and I think you do too.”

Zayn said nothing. She couldn’t read his face – it was a mixture of too many emotions for her to decipher. It was everything all at once: fear, confusion, pride, loyalty, hatred and hope. She was afraid she wasn’t going to be able to crack his code, to break through to work with reason.

“Think about it, Zayn. And when the time comes, don’t be afraid to call.”

With that, she stepped out his door, shutting it behind her. At least she tried. And more than anything, she hoped that he would listen to her when it mattered.