Ana Awakens: A YA Paranormal Murder Mystery Novel (The Clermont Coven Trilogy Book 1) Read online

  Ana Awakens

  The Clermont Coven Trilogy

  Alina Banks

  Copyright © 2020 by Alina Banks

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  * * *

  Cover design by Deranged Doctor Design www.derangeddoctordesign.com

  I would like to thank my friends and family for encouraging me to try something a little different.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Afterword

  Also by Alina Banks

  Chapter One

  I gazed out the window at the passing houses. Houses I didn’t recognize. Everything about Clermont was new. Mom and Dad were born here, but neither of them had spoken much about when and why they left. I never asked. For as long as I could remember, we had moved every couple of years. Mom had never been able to put down roots anywhere. At least, that's what she said. More than once, I’d asked her if we could stay in one place permanently, and there was always this flash of fear in her eyes. I didn’t understand the fear, but there was something different about this move.

  We were moving for Dad and my grandmother. She needed someone to be there to look after her, so Dad had made the decision to move back to the town he’d left behind, to be there for her. He was her only child.

  I was her only grandchild, and I’d never met her. There had been times in the past when we’d tried to connect, only for something to get in the way. At times, I couldn’t help but think it was because she didn’t want to meet me. At other times, it seemed possible it was purely bad luck. Something just always seemed to come up. Of course, when I was younger, there had been tears. I’d get my hopes up that the time would finally come when I could meet my only living grandparent, and when it didn’t happen, I broke down. As I got older, it was easier to hold back those emotions. We talked on the phone, but that wasn’t the same, and the one thing I was grateful for was the fact that I was going to finally meet her.

  Leaving places so often meant I’d never really had a chance to make good friends or any friends at all. I wasn’t good at talking to people. Mom said it was something I’d inherited from Dad. She was probably right, and that was the reason he’d always worked from home, but then, it also made sense that he worked from home due to the number of times we’d moved. I knew, back before I was old enough to remember, that there had been a point when they’d moved three times in three years, and they’d had to rely on Dad’s income to keep them going, at least, until Mom managed to find a new job. Fortunately for her, nurses were always in demand all across the country, and it didn’t seem to matter to the hospitals that hired her how often she moved.

  After what felt like hours, we pulled onto a long driveway, and the van that had been following behind us did the same. Like always, Mom and Dad had hired movers to help us get from one place to the next. It wasn’t as though we didn’t have enough stuff to make it worth the money they spent. Unlike the two of them, I’d never really been all that interested in owning things. Not when it seemed like all we did was move. I did have furniture, and no matter how pointless I told myself it was, I couldn’t help hoping I’d finally be able to stay in one place for long enough to have a chance of making some real friends. The thought of staying here long enough for that to happen was something I’d normally have laughed at, but this was their hometown. It was somewhere they’d come back to, and I was certain Dad was going to stay until my grandmother died, however long that took.

  Stepping out of the car, I peered up at the house. It looked like it had been empty for a long time.

  I glanced over at Mom.

  “A very long time ago, this was my family home.” she said. “When we made the decision to move back to this town, it seemed logical to move back into my childhood home.” She sighed. “I don’t know that I want to be here, because the place is going to be full of memories, but it makes too much sense not to.”

  Dad wrapped an arm around Mom’s shoulders. “We’re going to be able to deal with that.” He kissed the top of her head. “I know this isn’t easy for you, but this is where I need to be, for Mom. She’s been alone for so long.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “There’s nothing to apologize for.” They gave each other a look, and there was something about it that made me wonder what it was they’d been through in the past. It seemed like they’d always kept so many secrets from me. “Mom was perfectly fine until recently.”

  “Being here…” Mom shook her head and studied me. “Losing my family in that accident changed something for me. Until that happened, I thought I was going to live here for the rest of my life, but then they were gone, and being here without them…” She leaned on Dad. “Had it not been for your dad, I don’t know if I’d have been able to push myself through the grief. Not being here was part of the reason I couldn’t put down roots, because this was home, but then it wasn’t. I don’t quite know how to put it into words, to be honest. I just know this is going to be weird.”

  Once my furniture was all in place, I decided to explore the house. Mom and Dad had more unpacking to do, while I’d managed to get almost everything I owned into one suitcase. When I was younger, it had been my job to pack my toys. At one point, I had so many that I had to use several boxes. Eventually, I decided I was never going to do it again, and I gave most of my toys to charity. Maybe that had been part of the reason Mom had asked me to do it in the first place. I didn’t think it was, because she’d been so heartbroken when I told her. I didn’t understand it at the time, but the more I thought about it after that, the more obvious it became that it was because she felt guilty. She felt like she was the reason for my choice. Only she wasn’t. Even then, I understood what moving meant, and I wasn’t going to let it affect my life more than it already had.

  There were three floors, most of which were full of dust because of how long it had been left empty. Mom hadn’t wanted to live in the house, but she hadn't been willing to rent it out, which made sense. It was her family's home. As I looked into the rooms on the third floor, I wondered how they’d been used back when there had been a family in the house. I thought about what it must have been like for Mom to lose her parents and her sister at the same time. I couldn’t imagine losing Mom and Dad. The two of them were the only constants I had in my life. Without them, everything would be different, but it wasn’t entirely the same with Mom. I knew Mom and Dad were childhood sweethearts. He’d been there through everything, so that must have had an effect on him too.

  Footsteps came up from behind me. I gla
nced back to see Dad there.

  “You okay, Ana?”

  I shrugged. “As okay as I can be.”

  “Hopefully this will be the last time we move. I don’t want to keep going from one place to the next either, but your mom…” Dad sighed. “Everything changed for her when she lost her family, and I can understand that. I…losing them affected me too, because they’d been a big part of my life, and when she said she had to leave, I said I was going to join her. I couldn’t imagine staying here without her, but I’m not going to say it’s been easy. She’s broken in some ways, and I don’t think that’s ever going to change. Being here might help, or it might do the opposite.”

  I picked Mom’s old room, though I would definitely be redecorating. Everything looked faded and antiquated, like I was walking into the past. On top of that, Mom and I were very different people, and it showed in our basic tastes. I had much more in common with Dad. Not only did he and I enjoy the same foods, colors, and books, but when I looked in the mirror, I saw his features. We even had the same eye color.

  I always felt I was plainer than Mom. Not that it mattered. We probably wouldn’t be here long enough for me to even think about having a boyfriend, anyway.

  Sighing, I raked a hand through my hair and stared out the window.

  * * *

  The house sat on the outskirts of the town. Mom said we were pretty far away from the school, so she’d have to give me a lift before heading off for her first day working at the local hospital. They’d given her a job when they learned she was moving home, which I guessed was because people knew her around here. Apparently, my maternal grandparents had been relatively well known, and when they died, almost everyone in town turned up for their funeral. I’d chosen not to ask too many questions, as I’d got the feeling, again, that it was something neither of my parents really wanted to be talking about. There was this look they gave each other, which told me they’d be more likely to tell me a lie than they were the truth. I couldn’t entirely understand why, but they had to have their reasons.

  “How are you?”

  Mom had always had the ability to be able to sneak up on me.

  I turned to look at her. “Still ninja, Mom.” I gave her a smile, hoping it looked at least relatively natural. “Is this somewhere we’re actually going to be staying?”

  Sighing, Mom stepped over to sit on my bed. “Yes, we are. As much as I don’t really want to be here, this is where we need to be. Your grandmother needs help, and it makes sense that it’s your dad who looks after her. She’s been so understanding of my choices, even though I know she was disappointed not to be able to get to know her only granddaughter. Now you have that chance, finally. Part of me wishes we moved back here sooner.”

  I studied her expression for a moment. “The rest of you would rather be far away, wouldn’t it?”

  “I can’t dispute that.” Mom shrugged. “Being here, especially in this house, isn’t easy. Whenever I’m in a room, I’m flooded with memories, and that was the reason I couldn’t bring myself to stay here. Your dad…I know he wanted to stay, because…” She shook her head. “He thought it would be better for me to stay, in order to come to terms with what happened, but I couldn’t, and he accepted that as best he could. Leaving wasn’t easy for him. I know he missed the town, his friends, and his mom, but he stayed with me because he loved me.”

  Like before, I got the impression that she wasn’t telling me the whole truth, but I didn’t ask questions. Instead, I stepped over to sit next to her, on my bed, and put my hand on hers. “If you need anything, you know where I am.”

  “Darling, it’s not your job to look after me.” Mom slipped her hand out from under mine and wrapped her arms around me, pulling me gently against her. “I love you for offering, but your dad was probably right. This was something I should have dealt with by myself in the past, rather than running away from everything. Running away was easier back then. I was young. Now that I’m older, I need to learn how to come to terms with things, rather than trying to pretend nothing happened.” She shook her head. “If anything like that ever happens to you, promise me you won’t run away. It’s going to affect your entire life if you don’t deal with the problem early on.”

  Nodding, I rested my head on Mom’s shoulder. “Do you think things are going to work out?”

  “All I can do for now is hope they will, because this is where your dad wants to be. He hates traveling from place to place, even if he doesn’t say anything, because he doesn’t want me feeling bad, as he understands why I made the decision I did. He disagreed, we talked it through, and he decided to join me so I wouldn’t be alone.” Mom shook her head. “I used to dream about what his life would have been like if it wasn’t for me. He would have married someone from this town, and they would have had children. I always knew I was going to end up coming back, no matter how little I wanted to, so I dreamt of the two of us meeting again, about what it would be like to meet his children, and those are dreams I used to wake up sobbing from. Mostly through guilt. The life he had in my dreams seemed so much better than the life he wound up with.”

  “Lilah, I don’t regret the choices I made, and I’ve told you that before.” Dad stood in the doorway. “I’ve loved every moment of being with you. I am glad we’re home, but I’d happily leave if you felt that was the right choice for you.”

  Chapter Two

  “Clermont High was somewhere I was always happy.” Mom looked out the window at the building where there were already a large number of people gathering. I tried my best to seem normal. Part of me wanted to run from the experience I knew I was going to have. Only that made me think of Mom’s words from the night before: running wasn’t going to do me any good. What I needed to do was go through the change and work to build myself another new life. Maybe, for once, it would be easier, but I doubted it.

  “I hope it will be somewhere you can be happy too.” She gave me a kiss on the cheek. “I…after a good night’s sleep, I feel better about being here. I’m pretty certain things are going to work out. Nothing about this is going to be easy, but, as Dad always said, nothing worth doing ever is.”

  “You’ve never said much about your parents before.”

  “Talking about them has never been easy, because they’re gone. They were such a big part of my life, and losing them…it changed everything for me. One day, maybe soon, I’ll take you to their graves, so you can see them. Back when I was first pregnant with you, I missed them more than I can put into words. I always believed Mom and Dad would be there, to be grandparents to you, and that my sister would be there to be your aunt. Without them around I…everything was different than I planned. I guess, more often than not, that’s an inevitability.”

  “Seems like.” I looked at Clermont High. “I hate the thought of starting at another school, Mom.”

  “At the very least, we’re going to be here for the next couple of years, and then it’ll be up to you what happens next, because you’ll be an adult.” Mom pressed a kiss to my cheek. “If you decide you want to stay, and your father and I decide to move again, then I’m happy to give you the house here.”

  I blinked and looked at Mom. “Give me the house?”

  “If we leave again, I highly doubt I’m going to ever want to come back. Being here now is hard, and if we leave…well, there’s no doubt in my mind it will be for a good reason, and coming back will make no sense to me. If you’re here…” Mom shrugged. “Being here is going to change things for both of us, Ana. You’re special.”

  “How am I special, Mom?”

  For a few seconds, Mom was silent, and then she opened her mouth, but the bell rang. “You don’t want to be late for your first day. We’ll talk about this in the next few days. We’re both going to be busy for a while.”

  “Good morning, Miss Price.” The principal stood, stepped around the desk, and held his hand out to me. I took the offered hand before quickly wishing that I hadn’t. His hand was sweaty, but I hid how nasty i
t was with a smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  “Thank you, Principal Woods.” I ran my tongue over my bottom lip, knowing my nerves were showing, but that was to be expected at a new school. “I’m looking forward to making a place for myself here.”

  “Pleased to hear it.” He gestured for me to follow him. “Normally, I don’t permit transfers, but I was asked by Miss Cane to make an exception for you, due to your family. It’s been a long time since the Conways have called Clermont home.”

  As I walked behind him, I stared at his back, wondering exactly who my grandparents had been. “Technically, I’m a Price.”

  Laughing, he glanced over his shoulder at me. “I know a Conway when I see one, Miss Price.” He shook his head. “I know there are a lot of people who are very glad Delilah came home, finally. Her decision to leave Clermont for good wasn’t a surprise, exactly, but it did have an effect.”

  Obviously, people in Clermont knew a lot more about my mom than I did, which was something I hadn’t been entirely prepared for. “A lot of people?”

  “I was here, back when the accident happened. Almost everyone you’re going to meet in the time you’re here was around.” The principal sighed. “It was a difficult time back then. A lot of strange things were happening, and I remember my parents telling me I’d be safer if I didn’t go out at night. So, to please them, I stayed home, and I think it was the right thing to do.” He shrugged. “Thanks to them, I’m here now, when others…well, that’s not really a conversation to be having right now, is it? This is your first day here, and bringing up old memories…well, it’s not going to be doing you any good.”