"What did you do to Sarah? Tell me about it."
"What I did to her is done, and I don't have a shred of remorse."
"You're just like your father. Your mother was full of pity, and she was also very charitable. I know you've inherited her charity, but I'm sorry for the total lack of compassion you've cultivated within yourself. Today, you've become the most contradictory creature I've ever met."
"Don't be sorry, Jenna. She killed Mom, and she tried to kill me, and my son. She deserved the fate she got."
"Wouldn't a shot to the head do the trick?"
"No. Is that what you asked Dad?"
"No. I'd rather overdose."
"And he accepted?"
"Yes."
"The world won't be the same without you..." Anna said, her voice breaking.
"You shouldn't think like that. Life goes on. Fulfill my last wish and be happy. Choose the man you love most and set yourself free. Don't be a puppet in either of their hands."
Anna stared at her in surprise.
"I've heard that advice before... I think it was in a dream, but it's all so confusing..."
"They're surrounding you, Anna. Using your weakness to prevent you from organizing your thoughts. They need you to let the Bruma lie dormant inside you. Because it has woken up and wants to come out, but your conflicting thoughts overpower it. It can't act through you yet, but..."
"Speaking of which... Is Max around?" Anna interrupted her. She didn't want any more mysteries in her life. Everyone was willing to talk about the Bruma, but only in a superficial way. No one would explain to her what it really meant.
"Yes. He's here. At least he was when you arrived."
"What do you think of his relationship with Camille?"
Jenna smiled.
"I don't think it's a very harmonious relationship. Camille isn't a very resigned woman, and you don't have to be psychic to know that if she had a choice, she'd be a long way from here and Max. And if it were possible, she would have killed him by now, too. Don't hate her, Anna. She's just an object of your husband's pleasure. Maxwell doesn't see Camille as a human being, she's just food for his dark soul."
"And I, who came to believe that I was enough for him..."
"Men, Anna. Human or supernatural, they'll always want to live out their fantasies. I don't know how you still wonder."
"Do you think Max loves Camille?"
"Not even he himself would know the answer to that."
"I'm losing my husband. I can feel it..."
"Don't focus on your jealousy. Forget about it."
"I'll never forget it. And I already know what I'm going to do to save my marriage."
"I hope you don't add to the poor thing's torment."
"Don't defend her, Jenna. I don't want to be rude to you in your last moments. I didn't come here for that purpose. Camille wanted my place in Max's life. She wanted to be his wife. He didn't force her to come here with him. She got on the plane, certain that all her ambitions would be fulfilled. She's a snake."
Jenna looked at Anna in amazement.
"You fell in love with your family's murderer, and knowing that he had a wife, you hoped to have that place in his life. Camille is no different from you. She's just a girl who was enchanted by the dream that a young, virile and handsome man like Max planted in her heart."
"She wasn't sold to Max and left with no options, was she? I didn't know Suzy. As far as I was concerned, they were divorced. Camille got into bed with him, knowing that I traveled to save my children's lives! Don't compare that bitch to me!"
"Then let's change the subject."
Anna and Jenna were silent for a moment, then Anna looked at Jenna, curious.
"What did you and Dad come here for?"
"He told me he'd gotten a house, so that we could both have our privacy, and he brought me here. Then he sentenced me."
"Why didn't he tell you before?"
"Because he didn't want the children, or Max's mothers, to be sad. He thinks I'm too transparent, and it would show that something wasn't right. I understand him. I wanted to spare the grandchildren."
"You were just telling me about my lack of compassion for Sarah, but do you know that if it wasn't for her, you wouldn't be here, living in this situation?"
"Anna... I've been content with this harvest since the moment I decided to plant it. I'm going in peace. Your father was already looking for a reason to kill me, and Sarah just did him one last favor."
"Did you already love Dad when Mom was still alive?"
"In a way, yes. I loved everything that made your mother happy. And she was very much so, because of him."
"Did she trust Sarah?"
"Of course not. She always knew that there was a snake out there, ready to strike at the first opportunity."
"Did Mom know it would be her who would steal your life?"
"No. She talked to Sarah a lot, but she always confided in me that she did it to try and find out what she really wanted. Your mother had a bad feeling when she was around her, and even with my warnings, she let Sarah into her life. Sarah had some uses, Anna. Her mother didn't have a good grasp of Bruma's powers, and Sarah taught her spells that her mother had never believed possible. But Sarah didn't do it for her mother. Every time her mother used magic, Sarah absorbed all that remained, because her mother didn't yet know how to measure the intensity of her words, and Sarah took advantage of this."
"How could Mom do spells if she didn't believe in them?"
"She had a grimoire from her family with her. It was very old, but she knew how to read every word, and she passed everything on so that Sarah could explain to her the right way to say the words. All the secrets of the Mists were there. There was also a book she had gotten from her mother, Malleus Maleficarum, which she used to entertain Sarah. Little did she know that many of the enchantments in these two books were real and could be done right. Especially in the hands of witches."
"And where are these books?"
"You should look in Sarah's belongings. She kept them."