Black Hollow: One Man's Curse

by Jennifer Wedmore

  “Oh shit! I forgot, I’m Sarah.” She laughed at herself and Raven joined it.

  “Well Sarah, if you forgive me for running you over, I will pretend you didn’t forget who you are. Dinner would be wonderful, you can tell me all about the town!” Raven laughed and looped her arm through Sarah’s.

  They walked in the restaurant and Sarah walked up to the hostess “Table for two, it’s just me and my new friend Raven.”

  Fifteen

  Derrick walked out of the library with renewed determination in his steps, Horace hasn’t been well enough to talk often. Okay, maybe like twice in six months, but there was a chance today would be a good day. If nothing else, he could search his house and maybe find something. He was the oldest living relative, so he would have taken possession of any hand me downs from the past.

  Horace wasn’t allowed to roam free anymore, he was in room above the restaurant. Normally the sounds of the day to day activities drowned out his moans, but at night. It’s all Derrick could hear. The family held onto his house, it seemed disrespectful to do anything before he actually passed… Derrick paused in front of the Rotten Meatball. Being face to face with Horace was difficult, the family took turns tending to him. It was a constant reminder about what was coming for each of them.

  Derrick walked inside and headed towards the stairs that led to the rooms above the restaurant. Lunch time was over, and the restaurant was quiet until dinner time, Derrick was thankful it meant he didn’t have to make small talk with anyone else. He wasn’t in the right mindset for that right now. His feet felt like lead as climbed, each step weighed him down, why was this trip up the stairs so much harder? He climbed them every day. But today his destination was his uncle, the man he remembered carrying him on his shoulders. Who always had a magic trick to share and spoiled him. He wanted to remember him how he used to be, not how he was now.

  Derrick stopped outside his uncle’s door and tapped his head against it. “Come on Derrick, suck it up. Who knows, maybe ending the curse will bring him back. Maybe this is the last time you have to see him moaning and blank faced.” With that pep talk, Derrick unlocked the door and stepped inside, “Uncle Horace? Can you understand me?” Derrick’s throat tightened, the urge to cry and sob was overtaking him. Why was this so much harder today? “Uncle can you talk to me?” Derrick moved farther into the room and saw Horace laying on the bed. He stared at Derrick and for a brief moment Derrick thought he understood what he was saying. Then Horace sat up and moaned and pointed at him. “I’m sorry Uncle, I won’t disturb you, dinner will be up soon.” Derrick took a step back, but Horace moved faster and grabbed his arm. His eyes looked everywhere but at Derrick, saliva dripped out of his mouth and he moaned. Derrick gently removed his hand and stepped out of the room, shutting the door behind him. He leaned back against the closed door and slid to the floor, his shoulders shook with his sobs.

  To his right, he heard a softly stated “Hey cuz, I was bringing up his dinner. Are you okay?”

  Derrick rubbed his eyes, “I don’t know what I expected. A miraculous recovery even though we haven’t done anything yet to warrant it.” Derrick dropped his head against the door and banged it a few times.

  Stephen dropped to the floor next to him, “Every time I come up here, I hope to unlock the door and see Uncle Horace’s smiling face. Him asking what took us so long and he missed me.” Stephen wiped his eyes and set the tray down next to him. “Are we going to end this? I mean can we really end this curse?”

  “I have to think so. I can’t live each day thinking this is how it ends for us.” Derrick thought about his dad, not too much longer and he would start showing signs of the curse. He knew he couldn’t watch his dad go through that.

  “Enough of my whining, if we want this to end, I have to find a cure. Can you watch the restaurant tonight? I am going to take a look around Uncle Horace’s house. Maybe something handed down will give us information we seek.”

  Derrick climbed to his feet and held a hand out to Stephen. “No problem, I will call if I need you. Keep me posted.” Derrick pulled Stephen up and into a hug.

  “Thank you for everything.” He turned and headed back down the stairs, behind him he could hear Horace moaning as Stephen went inside. Horace lived in a small house in the area behind The Rotten Meatball, he always said he wanted to watch the family legacy. It would only take a minute to get there, Derrick walked out of the restaurant and around the back to take a shortcut to the houses across the street. Much like Horace the family took turns checking on the house. Derrick walked up the front stoop and paused at the front door. Memories assaulted him, this day was proving to be rough and almost more than he could handle. Before he could change his mind, he grabbed the key from under the mat and went inside.

  Sixteen

  Raven walked home after a wonderfully filling dinner with her new friend Sarah. A night of relaxation was just what she needed, she felt ready to tackle the two books she had waiting on her. Tomorrow she would ask how to get a hold of Seraphine, it was strange she disappeared so fast earlier. Raven approached the crossroads at the center of town and glanced down the street to make sure it was safe to cross. To her left she saw Derrick approaching, he was staring at the ground, so she didn’t think he saw her. Raven quickly crossed the road to intercept him, he still hadn’t looked up.

  “Derrick, are you okay? Did something happen?” Derricks head snapped up and Raven gasped. HIs eyes were red rimmed, and the expression on his face was one of devastation.

  “I checked on Uncle Horace, he’s not doing good today. It’s hard to face my future, but to end the night on a high note, I searched his house. The memories of a better time bombarded me every step and every room I went through.”

  Raven’s heart ached, he sounded broken. “Are you going anywhere special right now or were you just wandering around?”

  “I was coming to see you actually. I... I know you don’t know me that well, but I just needed to be around someone and you were the only person I wanted to see.”

  Raven took a couple steps closer to him and linked her arm through his. “I was just heading home, come with me? We can take the night off from researching and relax.” Derrick nodded and started walking.

  “So, where were you coming from?” Derrick’s attempt at small talk was welcome. Raven had been trying to figure out what to say but didn’t want to mention either of their families or the curse.

  “I was hungry, so I wandered around looking for something to eat. I haven’t been to the grocery store yet. I found the Fireside Grille and Sarah.” Derrick smiled.

  “They have amazing food, nothing beats a dragon's fire. It gives the food the perfect char, and dessert... hmm mmm.” Derrick patted his stomach and laughed.

  Raven was glad to see he was coming around a bit. “Have you met Sarah? She was really sweet, I think we could become great friends.”

  “I think in passing, but not formally. What floor is your apartment?” Raven opened the door to her apartment building and walked inside.

  “I am on the second floor, is it okay if we take the stairs? I don’t like elevators.” Derrick grunted, so Raven started climbing up. She realized pretty quickly this gave him a great view, she glanced over her shoulder at him. Yep, he was staring at her ass, at least he had a smile on his face.

  “This is me, come on in and make yourself comfortable. Would you like something to drink?” Raven watched as Derrick walked in and looked around. She hadn’t been here long enough to personalize the apartment, but she was partial to it.

  “I’m fine thanks.” Derrick walked up to the kitchen table where she had put the books from the library. “Have you figured anything out yet? Wait, what is the second book?”

  “Oh, I didn’t get a chance to tell you. Jessup the ghost, showed me a room in the back of the library, it was coated in dust. Like it was long forgotten, anyways I went in and this book was on the table. It was the only book in the room.” Explaining to Derrick, Raven realized
how odd the whole thing sounded.

  “A Grand History, intriguing title.” Derrick flipped it open and thumbed through a few pages. “Did you look through this yet?”

  Raven moved to stand next to Derrick “Not yet. What’s wrong?” She glanced down at the book. “Are you kidding, I told Jessup I already had one book to translate, I was kidding. I thought this one would help not need translated itself!” She stomped over to the couch and threw herself onto it. “I don’t know why I thought this would be easier, I guess because we were working together, I expected it to just fall into place.”

  Derrick walked over and sat on the couch next to her. She could feel the heat from his body against her leg and hip. “I had a very similar conversation earlier tonight with Stephen. I think having hope after all this time has given us expectations. We will end this, it will just take longer than we thought.”

  Raven turned her head to look at Derrick, he was leaning close to her. She stared into his eyes and couldn’t look away. Derrick leaned in and Raven turned her body, so she was facing him a bit more then leaned into him. “Derrick?”

  “Raven, I’m going to kiss you now.” Raven didn’t reply just closed her eyes and waited.

  Seventeen

  Derrick kissed the corner of her mouth, then lightly pressed a kiss to the other side of her mouth, before gently pressing his lips against hers. Raven moaned and opened her mouth, Derrick angled his head, so he could take the kiss deeper. After a few moments, he kissed her cheek and moved toward her ear. “You are amazing, I have wanted to do that since you walked into the library.”

  Derrick leaned back and looked at Raven, “I should probably go.” Raven nodded and stood up. Derrick reluctantly moved to stand next to her. “I’ll see you in the morning then.” Raven smiled and took his hand.

  “Yes, you will but don’t go yet.” She leaned in and kissed him, Derrick moaned and wrapped his arms around her back. After a moment he moved his hands lower and lifted her off her feet, she wrapped her legs around his waist. “Where is your bedroom Raven?”

  Raven pointed behind him “down the hall, you can’t miss it.” Then she leaned in and kissed him again.

  Derrick turned and walked by the kitchen table, only slightly bumping into it and towards the hall. There was one door, so it was easy to find her bedroom like she said. He pushed it open with his foot and walked towards the bed.

  When he felt his knee hit it, he knelt down and laid Raven down, but didn’t let her go. “Are you sure? You haven’t known me long and I don’t want to rush anything. You are special to me.”

  “Time is relative when you live as long as we do. I’ve never felt this way for anyone else. Five years, or five days, it makes no matter to me. I want this, and I want you for tonight and to see where it goes next.” Derrick climbed off the bed and pulled his shirt over his head.

  “Well love, I think we both have too many clothes on.” He reached down and pulled her boots off, “as sexy as your socks are, they are coming off too. And we’re discussing your choice in socks.” Raven laughed as he pulled them off and kissed the arches of her foot, one then the other. Only his woman would wear socks with zombies on them and not be afraid to show them to an actual zombie. Derrick ran his hands up her calves, and across her thighs. He climbed on the bed and straddled her legs, he pulled the button on her jeans, and slowly slid her zipper down. He groaned and leaned down to kiss her skin, rubbing his lips along the edge of her silky underwear. He looked up into her eyes as he kissed along her belly, “lift up”. He ran his hands along the waistband of her jeans and started to tug them down. Each inch of skin that he revealed he kissed, making his way down her stomach, her thighs and her lower legs.

  “Derrick take your pants off. I want to see you.” Derrick didn’t need to be asked twice, he quickly unbuttoned and pulled his pants off. He couldn’t tear his eyes from the beautiful woman laid out in front of him.

  He kneeled on the bed again, “sit up love.” Derrick grabbed her hand and tugged helping her into an upright position. He ran his hands up her arms and down her sides until he grasped the hem of her shirt. “It’s time to take this off.” He whipped it over her head and tossed it to the floor. “Now the bra please.” Derrick sat back on his heels and watched as she reached back and unhooked her bra. When it was loose, she held it against her chest and looked up at him. “Let me see you baby.”

  Raven smirked and dropped her bra to the floor and laid back down staring up at him with a challenge in her eye. Derrick ran his eyes over her chest, down her stomach and across her silky underwear. “You are the most perfect woman I have ever seen.”

  “You’ve looked enough big guy, it’s my turn. Lay down and put your hands against the headboard. No moving until I give you permission.” Derrick didn’t hesitate, he trusted his woman and wanted to please her. He moved to lay down beside her and watched as she got off the bed and stood looking down at him.

  With a smile that would make a Siren jealous, she slowly peeled her underwear off and climbed on the bed, so she was kneeling next to his hip. “Tsk tsk, you didn’t take your underwear off. How’s a girl going to play with all that material in the way?” Derrick lifted his hips and yanked his briefs down his legs.

  Raven threw her head back and laughed loudly. “I think that is the fastest I have ever seen anyone move.” Derrick tried not to blush, but she wanted him naked and he wanted to feel her hands on his body.

  Raven grinned at him and threw her leg over his hip. Derrick gripped the bed sheet tightly and watched her from slitted eyes. She leaned down and licked her way up his chest to his mouth. She kissed him until they were both panting and moaning. “Raven, I can’t wait much longer. You can play next time.” Derrick wrapped his arm around her waist and flipped her over. “That was as long as I could wait, I need to be inside you now.”

  ***

  The next morning Derrick woke up and looked at Raven curled into his side. Derrick watched as Raven’s eyes fluttered open. “Good morning beautiful.” Derrick suppressed a laugh as she brought her hand up to cover her mouth. “Have you been watching me sleep?”

  “Maybe, but not for long. I was waiting for you to wake up, so I could tell you, I was heading home to shower and change.” He leaned down and kissed the back of her hand that still covered her mouth.

  Raven mumbled “That was sweet of you.” Derrick got out of bed laughing. “I’ll meet you at the library, and I’ll bring coffee and breakfast. Give me an hour okay?”

  Raven nodded and watched him walk out of the room.

  Eighteen

  Raven stretched out her legs and arms, that was the most pleasant way she’d woke up in a long time. With a contented smile she got up to get in the shower and then dress. Twenty minutes later, Raven stepped out of the shower to the smell of coffee. She was a little freaked out, who was in her apartment? She threw on her robe and peeked out of the bathroom. “Um hello?”

  “Good morning you dirty witch. I saw Derrick doing the walk of shame this morning. He mentioned you might need some coffee so I brought you a cup. Now get your ass out here and spill the juicy details.”

  Raved dropped her head against the bathroom door. Apparently Alizon was comfortable just walking in her apartment. Raven laughed softly, that girl was awesome, and she couldn’t wait to find out if she was acquainted with Sarah. Raven decided coffee was more important than clothes. “Good Morning, thank you for the coffee. What brought you my way today?”

  Alizon got a puzzled look on her face. “I woke up and just knew I needed to be with you today. I ‘m not sure why yet. It’ll come to me though. Do you mind?”

  “Not at all, maybe you can help me decipher these books.” Raven got up and grabbed the book her cousin Addie sent. “This one we think might be Malachi’s journal.” Raven handed it to Alizon and watched as she inspected the front and back cover.

  Alizon set her coffee down on the end table next to her and opened the book. After a moment she looked up at Raven. “I think
you’re right, the first entry is about his work expanding his magic.”

  Raven was dumbfounded, Alizon could read the book and easily. How was that possible? “Alizon how can you read the book so easily?”

  Alizon looked at Raven, “Wait, you can’t read it? It’s written in an old language but it’s one all witches know. It’s just inherent, not something we are taught.” Alizon frowned and stared at Raven for a moment. “Maybe you lost the ability when you lost your magic?”

  “That makes as much sense as anything else at this point. Would you mind looking to see if there’s anything about the Ainsworth curse please?”

  Alizon waved her words away and dove right back into reading. Raven watched her for a few minutes, but the anxiety of waiting was driving her crazy, she decided to get dressed while she read. She walked into her bedroom and stared at the bed, last night was amazing, and this morning was starting off with a bang. Moving to Black Hollow was turning into one of the best decisions she ever made. Raven tossed her robe on the bed and started dressing, she heard Alizon talking but couldn’t make out the words. She rushed to finish dressing and walked back into the living room looking around to see who else was there.

  “Is someone here? I thought I heard you talking to someone.” Raven walked over to the couch and sat down beside Alizon again.

  “I was, I called Derrick. I found something out and wanted to share with both of you.” Alizon was distracted and went right back to reading the book. Raven was dismissed from her mind apparently. Every once in a while, she would mumble to herself.

  Raven couldn’t sit still and do nothing, so she got up to grab the book Jessup helped her find. As she neared the table where the book was waiting, she heard a knock at the door. Raven rushed over to open it. “That was fast Derrick.” Raven stepped back so he could enter and shut the door. She couldn’t resist wrapping her arms around him. “I know you just left but I missed you already.”