Cruel Fortunes Omnibus: Volumes One to Four

by RAE STAPLETON

  “We don’t have to leave,” I said to Cullen. “These two were arguing and it was getting good.”

  “I’m too late then. C’mon, off we go lass, before they start suckin’ the wet beermats. “

  Cullen placed my jacket around my shoulders, gently rebuffing his friend’s jeers.

  He whispered in my ear as we got outside. “I thought maybe we could spend a proper night together.”

  “Oh!” I felt my cheeks flush. “That would be nice.”

  The bar was literally around the corner from his house, so the drive took all of five minutes. It felt like three the way Cullen was speeding.

  As we made it through the front door, his hands slid under my sweater. I contemplated mentioning what Bert had said about Lucille and his brother but he’d already slipped my sweater up and over my head, and his hands were busy distracting me from my thoughts. He walked me toward the living room couch and gently but firmly pushed me down onto it. I took a quick breath and shivered as he sweetly and seductively removed my tights. There wasn’t much to the back of my black, lacy bottoms and I heard him groan as he ran his hands under me and over them.

  “Do ye want me to stop?”

  “Don’t you dare,” I said, pulling him down on top of me. He reached around and unhooked my bra. No turning back now. I knew what I was in for and I was game.

  THIRTY-SEVEN

  T he sound of a floorboard creaking woke me out of a deep sleep. I studied the clock on the nightstand. Early. It took a second for the masculine carved bed, navy dark walls, and striped curtains framing the windows to make sense. Dublin. I was in Cullen’s bed. It was early enough in the morning to still be dark, and I reached across the bed, fondly remembering the night before. Sleepless nights filled with lovemaking differed greatly from sleepless nights working or partying. My eyes had not been closed for long but while my body was beyond exhausted, my mind was alert and happy.

  “Wake up, sleepy.” I rolled to face him but the other side of the bed was empty. Out of the corner of my eye, a flash of light from the bathroom caught my attention. I could just see Cullen’s backside, practically glowing in comparison to the rest of his golden muscled back. A vacation house in France would do that to you. I sighed. Wish we were back there now. Okay, so maybe I wasn’t missing home as much as I’d told Leslie, not just yet anyway.

  I eyed Cullen’s clothes haphazardly tossed into his open suitcase. It was time for me to get up and pack as well. I stood and wrapped the sheet around me, bending over in search of my missing undergarments.

  “Hey,” he said very softly. “What are you doing awake?”

  “I heard you get out of the shower,” I murmured, still half asleep.

  He let go of his towel and pulled me back into bed, playfully tickling me through the sheet.

  “I see your suitcase over there. Is it really time to go?” I put on a slight pout for dramatic effect.

  “‘Tis my love, although I tried to re-jig my schedule to no avail.” I closed my eyes and smiled, delighting in the feel of his fingertips as he ran feather light touches up and down my bare arm.

  The time had flown by.

  “What if I do this?” I said, pushing the sheet off to reveal my full nakedness.

  “I like where this is headed, Aeval.” He cupped my breasts and played just a touch too rough.

  “You called me that the other day. What does it mean?” I whispered, turning over to burrow into the warmth of his chest.

  “Aeval?” he said in his raspy, Irish lilt. “It means that you are my dark-haired goddess of love.” His breathing had slowed, and he seemed content just to hold me now.

  “I could think of worse nicknames.”

  “Well, then, you should know that lady of sexuality is her other nickname.”

  “You’re making that up.”

  “I amn’t. Aeval was a prominent goddess in Ireland, responsible for making the men of the area slaves to their wives’ sexual wishes. Most of the lads growing up had a crush on her and ye look just like her.”

  The story did sound vaguely familiar but still it was more fun to tease.

  “Nice try. I bet that line lured the ladies though, when you were young.”

  “What do you mean when I was young?” Cullen laughed.

  I grabbed the sensitive area on his side and pinched.

  “Oh, like that, is it?” he said, tickling my sides until I could only gasp for air.

  I slid my hand down his stomach, grabbing hold of him.

  “Ah, Jaysus,” he half grunted, half moaned, and rolled me over so he was on top.

  “Too bad we’ve got a plane to catch.”

  “Aye. It is a private plane though, ye sexual deviant.”

  “Hey! Might I remind you that you are talking to a lady with delicate sensibilities—”

  “Sweetheart, ye curse like a sailor and swing a mean golf club.”

  “And how would you know that?”

  “Liam rang after he dropped in on ye. He couldn’t believe ye knew so many curse words, being the fragile looking thing that ye are. He was headed to confession last I spoke to him.”

  I laughed as I remembered his face. “Hardly, but he was really surprised.”

  “I bet. Ye’d best not greet me that way the next time I visit.”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

  His arm encircled me. “It’s been nice havin’ ye here.” He kissed me quickly on the mouth. “Once this latest project gets finished, there’s a few things we need to sort out,” he said then pulled away.

  I gripped the handle of my suitcase. “Like a visitation schedule?” I whispered, teasing his lips with my tongue.

  “Aye, or something more permanent.”

  THIRTY-EIGHT

  “W

  hatchadoin?” Leslie plopped a stack of books onto the circulation desk.

  “Oh, you scared me!” I took a sip of my latte, licking the foam from my lips then sat back in my chair with a sigh. “I’m just getting ready to head out. I was going to go drop by that psychic lady’s shop to see what she could tell me about the curse.”

  “Funny you should mention that.” Leslie stepped closer. “I was just heading out myself to see about the same thing, but I’m late so let’s walk and talk.”

  “Okay,” I nodded.

  So, as per your request. I’ve been trying to track down the owners of the jewel and I came across the Heron-Allen family.” Her lips pressed together as if she chewed on a thought. “Have you heard of them? They’re collectors who purchased some of the jewels from the Palace in 1860.”

  I shook my head.

  “Well, the Delhi Sapphire was missing so they didn’t purchase it, but there was a note found with one of the diamonds on a torn piece of paper with regards to a curse.”

  “A note?” The note I’d found in Gigi’s bible, I thought to myself. The warning Cullen mentioned.

  “Sophia?”

  Leslie’s voice snapped me back.

  “Yeah?”

  “They enquired about the note because they were worried it had to do with their diamond but it didn’t. Heron-Allen was told the note belonged to the missing cursed sapphire that killed the princess in 1857.”

  ‘Sorry Les, but how is that helpful?”

  “Right well, I was looking through the book last night.”

  “The book?”

  “Yeah, the spellbook we discovered in your bag at the library. Don’t worry. I didn’t travel through time or talk to any ghosts. But I found this spell called Twisted Like Her Fate. I could read the title but the rest was written in another language. My best guess is that it’s Latin, but there was a couple of lines that looked to be something else. Anyway, the page had the bottom torn from it. Odd coincidence, don’t you think?”

  “I don’t think anything is a coincidence anymore.” I reached into my purse as we exited the library’s front door and pulled out Gigi’s bible. “Remember how Gigi kept talking about that bible passage in the hospital.”
/>   Leslie nodded.

  “Well, this was tucked in there. Check it out,” I said and handed her the loose, fragile-looking paper I’d found. Beware: This gem must not be removed. It is trebly cursed.

  “This is it! I bet if we put it in the book, we’ll see that it matches perfectly She said, pausing to pull the book from her bag. She flipped it open and pressed the note inside, it glowed for a moment and then sewed itself back together.

  “Holy shit!”

  “Right?!” Leslie closed the book, “Anyway, I had a feeling that was the case so I sent a picture to one of the professors here at the University who is an expert on curses as well as languages.”

  “Languages? Yeah, that’s where I’m headed now. Do you want to come?”

  Leslie handed the sheet back to me and I put it away.

  “Of course.”

  As we approached the pub, I stared at the familiar man smoking—briefcase in hand. He had to be in his late sixties but his eyes still sparkled, and they lit up when he saw me. He was one of my favorite professors.

  “Sophia, my dear, I didn’t know you were joining us. So nice to see you.”

  “Thank you, Bill.”

  “Congratulations on your new position with the university although we do miss you in class.”

  He held the door open as we passed by. From my seat, I had a view of a bar that stretched along the wall next to the entrance, which was perfect, since I was feeling slightly paranoid. Our drinks arrived within minutes and we ordered.

  “Cheers to adventure.” He clinked his glass against mine and then Leslie’s.

  I took a sip and the tension eased out of my shoulders.

  “So, you took a look at the paper I sent you. Did you learn anything?” Leslie asked, her head tilted to one side.

  He rotated his beer. “I did. I had to consult an expert named Remus Ceaușescu. I hope that’s okay. He’s relatively new at the university but he knows his stuff.”

  We nodded.

  “So, don’t keep us in suspense—” I clasped my hands together to keep them still.

  “Right. So just as you suspected, Leslie, it had to do with a curse.

  He opened his briefcase, removed a sheet of paper and handed it to me. “I wrote down the translation for you,” he said, handing me a piece of paper. I took the opportunity to speed-read his translation.

  Twisted Like Her Fate:

  Make them hurt. Make them feel as I do.

  Knot them together and loop them through, and leave them twisting until they rue.

  Sisters, hear me. Help me out.

  He must be punished without a doubt

  Intensify his obsession with her every breath, a never-ending cycle that ends with her death.

  And on this night when the final bell tolls, this curse shall be burned forever on her soul.

  “Wow.”

  Bill paused as the waiter set our food in front of us. “It’s quite heavy, isn’t it? The curse itself seems to revolves around reincarnation.”

  ‘So, how would one go about breaking a curse like this?”

  He gave me a funny look and then placed his hand over mine, as if sensing my nerves, gently patting it before going on. “Breaking the reincarnation cycle? There was a woman who spoke on this topic a year ago at the university. Sophia? Are you okay? You look worried.”

  “I’m fine. You were saying?”

  “Oh,” he set down his fork, pushing his plate to the side. “She was a friend of Remus and I met her then. I’ve taken the liberty of setting an appointment up. You just need to call and confirm.”

  “An appointment?”

  “Yes. If you believe in such things and you want to know how to break the curse then she’s the person to speak to.”

  Bill paused as the waiter returned to clear away our plates.

  “Oh!” Bill said, bringing my attention back to him. “There was one other thing I thought you two should know. There was a reporter who wrote about this very same topic.” He turned, regarding me sardonically. “They say she was murdered for it.”

  THIRTY-NINE

  A s I stepped from my car, I saw a bird.

  A raven, maybe, or was it a crow? It was sweeping through the sky, its dark wings spread wide—circling the house until at last it settled on the roof.

  I pulled my scarf closer to my neck and gave myself a shake.

  A bird. It was just a bird.

  The wind picked up, as if on cue, and a chill ran down my spine. Grabbing my grey, fringed bag from the passenger seat, I took one last glance around and scolded myself for being nervous.

  A thin, brittle-looking woman with sharp cheekbones and jet-black hair pulled back in a tight chignon, answered the door.

  Behind her, dark wood floors blanketed with Persian rugs and chandeliers from another era reflected impeccable, and very expensive, taste. Apparently, reincarnation experts made a good living.

  “I have an appointment,” I said, admiring the jewel toned walls. She took me through the foyer into a beautiful sitting room with huge oil paintings of ominous castles and illustrated maps. Against one wall was an overstuffed, white sofa with a leather, wingback chair nestled around an old steam trunk.

  “You’re the woman who called,” she said in a frosty voice. “Madam doesn’t usually see people at the house. Please, wait here.” Then she turned on her Gucci heels and promptly strolled out. I peeked around the room admiring the burgundy drapes that swaged from corner to corner and the antique clock that sat above the fireplace. Blue flames flickered in the hearth below. A collection of shiny crystals, on one of the bookshelves, drew my attention. I moved closer and pinched one between my fingertips, rolling it around.

  “Sophia.”

  I jumped and turned around. An older lady of about seventy stood in the doorway, frowning.

  “It’s you! You’re the psychic from the store.”

  “Madam Brun, yes. Please don’t touch my crystals, they’re personal. As a matter of fact, you should make it a rule never to touch crystals or jewels. They’re dangerous to you.” She studied me as if seeking to know how many I had touched.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “You’re the girl with the malignant spirit problem,” she said calmly as she strolled into the room. She set down a tray of tea and biscuits, as if she’d just commented on the weather.

  “Yes. I’m sorry for running out. I was a skeptic up until recently, Ms. Brun. You have a lovely home.”

  She sat down and motioned for me to do the same. “Please, have a cup of tea.”

  “Again, I’m sorry about before. I was frightened. Anyway, the reason I’m here is I found a note in my great-grandmother’s belongings warning me of a curse.”

  She opened her arms wide and hummed before opening them. “I see. Was there anything with that note?”

  I cleared my throat and reached for the tea pot. “Like what?”

  She lifted her fingertips to her temples and massaged while she spoke. “Like a gemstone.”

  “Not with it, but yes, my grandmother gave it to me.”

  “Okay, you must never touch it. Lock it away or give it to me. As long as you never touch it, you’ll be fine.”

  “And if I did already touch it?”

  She paused, pouring herself a cup of tea before slowly selecting a cookie. I took the opportunity to grab one as well. The tea tasted funny and I needed to keep my hands from shaking.

  “Then you already know of the danger you’re in.”

  I nodded.

  “Someone has become obsessed with you, warped by delusions of power.”

  “But why? Why me?”

  “Because you touched the sapphire again.”

  “Again?” Did she know of my time travel?

  “You’re stuck in a loop, dear. Bill sent you, didn’t he?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay. Listen carefully. You’ve been cursed with a cycle of endless reincarnation. First, you must understand the cycle of life itself. Spirits on the ot
her side write a life plan. We are then sent to Earth to learn and understand. When the lessons are complete, we return to the other side. However, some spirits get off course, lost and every now then, one is even cursed.”

  “What does this have to do with me?”

  “Because my dear, spirits are sent in a group to make sure we each stay on track with the lessons and goals planned. If one person gets off track, or cursed then everyone is affected. You will all continue the circle, destined to relive the same mistakes until the lesson is finally learned. I’m afraid this is your story, my dear. You are now tied to a cursed soul.”

  I almost choked on my cookie, sputtering its remains into a napkin. Her mouth curled in distaste but she went on. “Drink your tea, now.”

  I took a huge swallow and almost choked again, there were small ends of leaves in it.

  “In refusing to learn the lessons and follow the plan decided by the group prior to coming to Earth, he has damned you and the other souls tied to him. Everyone has been forced to go around and round, stuck in the same nightmare, while he attempts to gain possession of whatever it is that he is fixated on, thus always murdering you and sending both of you into the next life. I can tell you that in every life he has become more obsessed with it, believing that the sapphire alone offers him the power to time travel. He believes that if he can get his hands on the jewel, he can travel back, ensuring his place on the throne, although he failed the first time.”

  “So, how do I stop him?”

  “Well, your best chance would have been to have never touched the curse in the first place but since that’s not an option. You’ll need to stop the cycle and that means severing him from your group.”

  “But how?” I exclaimed.

  She made a derisive sound. “There should be an incantation in the book. For every spell there is usually an anti-spell. Do you still have the Grimoire?”

  I nodded as I took the last sip of my tea, noticing a pattern of leaves in the bottom of the cup. “What are these?”

  “Tea leaves.” Madam took my cup and peered into it and frowned. “I read tea leaves.” She frowned. “We’ll need to wait for Samhain. That will be the time to attempt the reverse.”