"Are you staying for some tea, dear?" Lily asked, looking at the clock. "I need to start preparing something to go in the oven."

Kyla looked at the time, shocked to see it was already past four o clock. She shook her head. "No, thank you, Gran. I should go home. Lots to think about and I need to ring my insurance company as well."

Lily frowned. "What for?"

"That earthquake the other night?"

Lily nodded.

"It was Azazel and Balthazar fighting. The club we were in collapsed. My car was parked outside and well, I'm sure you can imagine what a tonne of bricks does to a car."

"You tell him from me," Malcom said, rising to his feet. "He better rectify that situation real sharp before I rectify his being alive situation."

Kyla smirked. "Like he's going to believe a former General of Hell is my grandad."

"You tell him Malpass said and he'll do it, no questions asked."

"Malpass? That's such an odd name."

Malcolm chuckled. "It's quite normal compared to some of them."

Kyla laughed. "I'll let you know if your message works. I wonder if I can get an upgrade on what I had..."

"You tell him to get you whatever you want. He is capable of it. It's not like demons need money to live on earth. He can make anything happen, Marmalade. Anything."

"Noted," she said, standing up. "I'll bring my new car round when I get it."

"Where are you going?" Lily asked.

"Home?" Kyla replied, frowning.

"We still need to tell you some things before we let you loose back out there," she said, pointing at the chair. "Sit, please."

Kyla sat back down. "I'm worried. Is it something really bad?"

Lily smiled. 'No, dear. I just want you to be fully informed about some things first. You walked into this house human and you're walking out a witch. I think it's only fair you know some family history and at least have some basic control of your powers. Do you agree?"

Kyla nodded. "Of course. Maybe I could have something to eat after all?"

Lily stood up, beaming down at her granddaughter. "As if you need to ask. What would you like?"

"Well," Kyla said clearing her throat. "Seeing as we're going down the nostalgic route today, maybe a crisp sandwich?"

Malcolm let out a deep laugh. "I never thought I'd see you eating one of those again."

"They're good," Kyla said. "It's a quick easy snack when you're peckish but not fully hungry."

Lily walked over to the worktop and opened the bread bin, pulling out a fresh crusty loaf of tiger bread. She sliced off two thick pieces, lathered them in creamy butter, and then presented them on a plate to Kyla complete with a packet of cheese and onion, and a packet of salt and vinegar crisps.

Kyla's mouth filled with saliva. "This is going to be the best thing I've eaten in years."

Lily laughed as she sat back down. "So long as you're happy, dear, that's all I care about."

"You tell that fool from me," Malcolm said. "He'd better take you somewhere decent for a proper meal either before or after he gets you that car."

"I think decent to him will mean KFC, Grandad," Kyla replied, opening the packets of crisps.

"He'll know exactly what I mean when you tell him who said it."

Kyla grinned. "I'm curious how much weight your name has to it." She crushed the crisps in their packets and then tipped them out onto one of the slices of bread. "I think I'm going to really enjoy my next conversation with him."

Malcolm chuckled. "That's my girl."

Kyla put the other slice of bread on top of her mountain of crisps and pressed it down, enjoying the sound of the crunch as the crisps were squashed between the two pieces of bread. When she took her first bite, she closed her eyes and let out a groan of relief. The combination of soft fluffy bread smeared in milky butter with the crisp crunch of the crisps had Kyla floating on cloud nine.

"Oh my God," she said, still chewing. "This is the best thing ever."

Lily poured herself another glass of squash. "Good, I'm glad you like it." She took a mouthful of drink and set the glass back down. "Now, first things first." She looked down at the dog. "Your new little friend there doesn't need taking to the vets. They won't find a microchip nor a home. He is yours."

Kyla swallowed her food and then frowned. "How do you know that?"

"He's your familiar, Kyla, like a guardian spirit. Familiars always appear to their witches in times of great need. Your living memory today was that catalyst."

Kyla took another bite of her sandwich and mulled over her gran's words as she chewed. "So," she said, finishing her mouthful. "Why did he not appear when Tony was doing...you know, what he did? Why did he not appear when I had years of depression and struggling to even bear the weight of living? Why now?"

"It's not quite that simple with familiars, dear. They are summoned through the presence of magic and fear." Lily looked down at the ring on Kyla's finger. "That has certainly been a hinderance in terms of your familiar making an appearance but also the fact that you knew nothing about your powers. You have to be accepting of your place in the world and ready to start your journey as a witch before you can accept the aid that comes your way. Does that make sense?"

Kyla nodded and glanced down at the ring. "What is the deal with this thing anyway?"

A small smile tweaked at Lily's mouth. "Are you ready for a history lesson?"

"Always."

"Back in the thirteen hundreds we had an ancestor by the name of Alice Kyteler. Alice lived in Kilkenny in Ireland. There are obviously no photographs of her but what we do know of her is that she had our trademark fiery red hair and the personality to match."

"Thirteen hundreds?" Kyla asked. She slipped the ring off her finger, lifted it up to eye level, and twirled it around in front of her, studying it. "There's no way this thing can be that old."

"Just listen," Lily said. "Alice knew from a young age she had abilities that other people didn't. It didn't take her long to figure out those 'abilities' were supernatural and she could wield them at will. Not only that, they were powerful. In the small community Alice lived in, she knew that her fellow towns folk would not accept her unusual talents."

"Does this story end with her being burned at the stake?" Kyla asked, setting the ring down on the table. "Because if it does, I'd rather not hear it."

Malcolm chuckled. "No, it doesn't."

Smiling, Lily continued her story. "To protect herself, Alice crafted this ring. Everything in it she chose for a purpose—amethyst, emerald, diamond, gold, and silver—they all have a connection to purity, healing, and balancing your spirit. Alice placed a spell on it for an additional layer of comfort and from that point on, it became like a powerful blanket, an immensely powerful one at that."

Kyla stared at the two teardrop stones, wondering what stories those little gems would have. If only they could talk. "It doesn't look that old."

"It's said that wearing a ring on your middle finger promotes power, stability, and balance so bear that in mind when you wear it in the future."

"But if I wear it, I have no powers, right? I can't do any magic? Does it affect my mental shields as well?"

Lily shook her head. "It doesn't affect your mental shields. It dulls your magic down but you can still use your powers. Think of it like a fire blanket smothering an out of control blaze. The heat and the smoke is still underneath the cover, but the raging power is contained. No one else can see it anymore nor be hurt from it, does that make sense?"

"But I take the ring off and others can sense my power?"

Malcolm nodded. "Especially other witches."

"But you said earlier that all creatures shield themselves from being tracked by others, right?"

"Right. And that applies to all creatures but one, well, two if you count demons. We can sense everything, except werewolves."

"And what's that one exception apart from demons?"

Malcolm shot Lily a quick glance before returning his attention to Kyla. "An elemental witch."

Kyla took a second to put all the pieces together, double checking herself in case she'd read this whole situation wrong. "Are you saying that's what I am?"

Lily nodded. "We're ninety nine percent certain of it. Elemental witches are born from the coupling of a witch and a demon. Not just any witch either, there are distinct bloodlines that have more abilities than others. All elemental witches that have lived have only ever come from those four bloodlines."

"And ours is one of them?"

Lily nodded.

"And my dad is a demon?"

Malcolm nodded.

"So I have siblings out there somewhere? Well, half siblings."

"Potentially, Marmalade," Malcolm said. "But what age they are or where they are is another matter. They might not even share the same father as you. There are many powerful demons in Hell who can father children with witches from these bloodlines."

Kyla let out a long breath and after a few seconds she nodded, as if finally accepting her fate. "Ok, got it. I think. I'm only shielded from others by this ring. Apart from that, I may as well have a massive neon sign above me saying 'elemental witch'."

Malcolm and Lily chuckled.

"Can you tell me what happened to Alice?"

"Well," Lily said, clearing her throat. "No one really knows for sure. We know she fled Ireland in thirteen twenty-four. After that, she disappeared." Lily shrugged her shoulders. "By the year, most would expect her to be dead. I personally don't think she is."

Kyla frowned. "How could she not be dead? What made her leave Ireland?"

"The life of a powerful, elemental witch is only ever over when she's ready for it to be. Alice had a role to play all those years ago and we don't know whether she fulfilled that or not. Or if she did, maybe she's not ready to leave it be. Who knows? As for why she left, we can only guess because she was discovered somehow. Seven hundred years of history buries a lot of secrets."

Kyla picked up the remainder of her crisp sandwich and ate it, losing herself deep in thought as she finished the deliciously weird snack. Her mind raced with possibilities and filled with a million questions. Lily and Malcolm watched her, curious as to what she would say or do.

Wiping her hands on her jeans, Kyla swallowed the last of her food, took a mouthful of drink and then looked at her grandparents. "Ok, question one. How many siblings could I potentially have? Or rather, how many other witches like me will exist?"

"There are only ever four alive at any one point," Malcolm said.

"So if Alice is still alive, there are only two others?"

"Alice won't be alive like how you're thinking," Lily said. "She won't have a physical body. From that perspective, there will be three more of you alive somewhere. They could be sixty or sixteen, we don't know."

"And our purpose is for what exactly?"

Lily shrugged her shoulders. "No one knows. But once the first of that quartet has passed, the others have to die before a new quartet can come into being. On that basis, you could be looking at a good hundred years in between each living quartet of elementals."

"My ring," Kyla said, lifting it from the table. "Why did it affect you so much when I took it off?"

"My talent is being an empath," Lily replied. "Do you know what that is?"

Kyla nodded. "You're sensitive to other people's emotions."

"Yes," Lily said. "Especially witches, and especially my own blood. Everything you've endured whilst wearing that ring balled itself up inside your magick. When you took it off, it released everything like a blockage that had finally been freed. You need to remember that your emotions feed your magick as well. I felt everything all at once, like you'd hit me with a grenade. But now, now it's all normal. I'm tuned in to your energy and soaking it all in steadily, as usual."

"My last and final question for the day—when do I get to learn what my powers actually do?"

Lily and Malcolm smiled at each other before Lily turned to Kyla and replied, "Let's step outside, shall we dear?"

Kyla stood up and went to grab her ring.

"No, no, no, dear," Lily said. "Leave that where it is if you want to see the world as you should."