by test
Your father, Lucien, and I were promised to each other as children and when we first met, him at twenty-one, me a shy eighteen, we fell instantly in love. We waited five years to marry, after what happened with Celeste's marriage, Papa wanted me to wait until I was older to make such a big decision. Celeste was happy for me, she had moved on with her life or so it seemed.
She had a lot of social engagements, a job with an auction house and a nice human boyfriend that kept her busy. She was content, I thought.”
I was puzzling over her use of the word 'human' to describe Celeste's boyfriend, but WARLOCK’S BRIDE JENNIFER RINEHART 36
decided it must be a French thing and focused on Helene again.
I saw Helene's hands tremble where they rested in her lap and I reached over to give them a squeeze. She smiled at me, gave my hand a gentle caress then continued the story.
“I asked Celeste to be my maid of honor when I married your father, she agreed. When I told her I was pregnant, she was so happy for me. She spent a week with me after Laurent was born. She spent two weeks with me when you were born. She seemed to relish her role as Aunt and you and Laurent enjoyed her visits. I was fourteen weeks pregnant when she visited me that last time …. Helene's voice broke and I gave her a little hug and an encouraging smile. I didn't have to ask what happened with that pregnancy, I might have had a little brother or sister if not for the terrible chain of events that Celeste started that day, twenty years ago.
Helene took a deep breath and continued in a steadier voice, “I was having a hard time with that pregnancy, I was tired and sick more often. Lucien was in Vienna on business, Laurent was in school, it was the nanny's day off and I asked Celeste if she wouldn't mind watching you while I went to the doctor. Normally, I would have taken you with me. But, it was hard enough getting myself out the door, it was easier and quicker to leave you with your Auntie. I was gone for a little over an hour and when I came back, you were both gone. At first I thought you would be back any minute, I wasn't worried. There was an ice cream parlor three blocks away and a park. I thought you and Celeste might have gone out for a while. It was a beautiful September day. But after two hours went by I had a terrible feeling. I began to panic when she didn't call or come back by dinner time.
I called your father in Austria. He rushed home. By this time it was late at night. We called the police, the hospitals. We looked at the parks, toy stores, anywhere nearby that she might have taken you. We hoped to find you having a fun outing with your Tante Celeste, but we found nothing.”
Helene shook her head, like she was trying to shake off the bad memories ....
“But, none of the shopkeepers remembered seeing you. The doorman's memories of the afternoon were vague, he didn't even remember coming into work that day, clearly he’d been charmed! You’d vanished. I cried and cried, I thought my heart would break. I had to be sedated by the doctor and the next few hours passed in a haze of crying and worry. Laurent, he was so frightened he begged to go with Lucien to look for you. My poor Lucien became more and more frantic as the evening wore on and that's when we found it.” Helene stopped talking and raised a shaky hand to her forehead to push her hair back. Her face was pale and strained now.
“The safe in Lucien's office was empty, all the money, the bearer bonds, the Vallois diamonds, gone. Celeste had stolen over five million dollars from us. My jewelry box was empty and the Piet Mondrian painting, a wedding gift Papa, was missing. I knew in that instant, she planned this. No one else knew about the wall safe. I told her about the money in case there was ever an emergency. She was family, I trusted her. I thought for a while, stupidly I suppose, that Celeste had been kidnapped too. Maybe she had been as much a victim as you, but I knew in my heart that my sister had stolen you. That she hated me. That she had always hated me.”
We all sat quietly. I imagined Helene returning home to find her sister and daughter gone. How did she endure the uncertainty of not knowing what happened to her child for twenty years? Added to that misery was the knowledge that her own sister had betrayed her in such a terrifying way. I felt heartsick at all the years we had lost, time I could have spent with my family.
WARLOCK’S BRIDE JENNIFER RINEHART 37
Helene continued “Your father, he couldn't sleep, wouldn't eat, he spent all of his time, used all of his energy trying to find you. He made himself sick casting finder spell after finder spell.”
My ears perked up at that, 'finder spell?' It must be something else that didn't translate.
Maybe an Interpol version of an Amber Alert.
“His powers began to fade until he couldn't do the simplest of spells anymore. But no matter how much I begged him, he wouldn't stop. He couldn't stop. All day, every day, he thought at any moment he would find you, at any moment he would bring you home to me.”
Helene's face was drawn and tired as she stared off with a dull expression, remembering the last years she had with the man she loved.
“He never gave up. His last words to me and Laurent were to keep looking for you. He begged us not to lose hope. He knew you were out there, somewhere. He didn't think Celia would hurt you, even though she hated me, he couldn't believe she would kill you. That thought alone kept him sane. He was so afraid to die without knowing what had happened to you. He held on as long as he could, but he was so ill in the end … her voice broke and tears flowed down her cheeks as she turned to me with a brilliant smile, he would be so happy to know you were safe now my darling.”
I tried to smile at her but felt a painful lump in my throat that my father had died with such a terrible burden on his mind. What a tragedy. I felt a painful prickling of rage at Celia and the ruin she had brought to my family. I tried to be sympathetic for a woman who lost her chance to have a child at such a young age. She must have been devastated and to have her husband leave her too was a double blow.
But, there was no justification for what she had done to me and her own sister, she was a selfish, horrible woman. I couldn't believe I had lived for so long with evil so close by. Every smile, every carefully chosen present she gave me seemed tainted now. Like finding out that the beautiful diamond ring you're wearing has been made by child slaves. How could I be so blind?
“Where is she now?” I asked.
Gage looked enraged for a moment but he controlled it and answered in a terse voice,
“She was gone by the time we got to her apartment. She cleaned out her bank account and we lost her. We think she got tipped off that I was coming. She had help from someone. I'm still looking.”
Laurent gave him a nod, a wordless message letting him know that it was okay since he found me instead. I didn't want to dwell on Celia anyway, what she had done was so bad, so cruel and selfish it took my breath away.
The feeling in the room was sad and tense, everyone lost in thought. I tried to distract them by asking a question.
“What do you mean 'finder spells?' Is that some kind of police lingo for missing persons?” I said with a curious look at Helene and Laurent.
I saw Gage sit back in his chair, an enigmatic look passed between him and Laurent.
They didn't seem surprised by my question and I briefly wondered why.
Helene's face was baffled for a moment, “Magic, of course. What did you think I was talking about?” She said with a confused laugh and a graceful wave of her hand.
“Magic? My father used magic to try to find me? I don't understand. Was Lucien a magician?”
I was really confused now. Laurent and Gage had weird expressions on their faces and WARLOCK’S BRIDE JENNIFER RINEHART 38
Helene was looking even more confused and cast a worried glance at Laurent.
“Maman, I don't think Amelie knows about magic. Celeste probably didn't tell her and I sensed a muting spell when I touched her,” Laurent said with a serious face.
He glanced at my chest for the third time in as many seconds and I looked down, trying to figure out what he was looking at. I was all buttoned up and I
didn't have any drips that I could see.
“May I?” He said, leaning forward and pointing at my locket.
I nodded wondering what he wanted to see. It was just a locket, a little nicer than some I had seen, but nothing extraordinary. Celeste gave it to me a few weeks before my fourteenth birthday and asked me to always wear it. It was one of the few times she had gotten emotional about something, so I had sworn to her that I would always wear it and I did. I didn't even take it off when I showered. It was such a part of me, that most times I never though about it.
I reached behind my neck and undid the clasp and handed the locket over. Removing it made me shiver, like a cool wind was blowing over me. Gage stood up and walked nearer to look over Laurent's shoulder. The chain was coiled in his hand and the small locket, less than one inch long looked even less impressive than usual when it was held up. Small swirls showed in the gold and gathered around a small blue stone in the center. Gage whistled and shook his head with an impressed look. Laurent nodded and carefully set the locket on the coffee table.
I started to reach for it and jumped in shock when Gage and Laurent both shouted, “No!”
at me before my fingers had even touched it. I snapped my hand back and sat bolt upright in shock.
“Why not? It's my locket, I always wear it.” I said with a suspicious look at them.
“There's a muting spell on the locket. It has made a prison for your power, which explains why we were never able to track you. There was no magic to track when you wore this,” Laurent said, pointing at the little locket in front of us.
Helene was shocked and her mouth was open for a moment as she tried to take in what Laurent had just said.
She slumped back against the couch, momentarily stumped, “What a tragedy that you never knew, oh my dearest … she giggled and the giggles quickly turned into gut wrenching laughs that had her wiping tears from her eyes … you must have thought we were so crazy, talking about spells and powers! Ha ha! Your father would love that, he had a wonderful sense of humor! My Lucien, Coven Master of the Vallois family, a common magician!”
She straightened up and looked me in the eye, “My darling Amelie, you are a witch.”
I watched everyone carefully to see which one would jump up to say, 'Ha! Just a little family reunion joke.'
But they looked surprisingly calm as they waited for my reaction to Helene's startling announcement.
“A witch?” Gage nodded and Laurent smiled at me.
“You mean like Wiccans, right?” Laurent was frowning now and Helene looked
horrified.
“No, no, not that kind of witch. I mean a genetic witch. Your mother is a witch, your father is a warlock.” Gage said slowly with that look on his face I was coming to hate, it seemed to say that he thought I was too dim to understand him.
As if there was something wrong with me. It made me want to slap him or sit on his lap and stroke his … whoa! Where did that thought come from? Yikes! I was getting so distracted WARLOCK’S BRIDE JENNIFER RINEHART 39
lately.
“A witch, okay then. That's nice, and how long have you been witches and, um, er, warlocks?” I said politely.
Laurent and Helene were silent and gave me embarrassed smiles. Uh oh, did I sound condescending? I didn't mean to criticize them, so I tried again.
“You don't remember, well, okay then. One of my friends is a Mormon, she converted two years ago. I guess some people keep track of it better than others.”
I smiled to show that I was trying to be open and accepting of their alternative religion choice. But I would put my foot down if there was going to be any animal sacrifices or dancing naked under a full moon nonsense. I was a liberal woman after all, I could accept whatever religion they were into, not counting blood or nakedness, of course. Sure, no problemo.
“Anna, there is no choice in this. I am a warlock, your brother is too. Your mother is a witch, she was born a witch and will be a witch until the day she dies, so are you. Your children will be witches and warlocks as will your grandchildren and so on and so on. Do you understand what I'm saying?” Gage motioned to Helene and Laurent, they both nodded eagerly back at him and turned to me with expectant smiles.
“I am so sorry you had to find out about this today darling. This is so much to take in. I can't imagine what you must be feeling, how confusing it all is. But you must know that we want only the best for you and it is a good thing that you know about your powers now and, in time, with our help, learn to control them. Your father would be so proud of you.”
I smiled so hard my face hurt. I felt a dull pain in my chest and it took a moment for me to figure out what it was; disappointment and dismay. My family were weirdos. Not the 'we-put-ketchup-on-our-mashed-potatoes' kind of oddballs that you find in big families, but the
'earth-is-flat-and-Elvis-is-alive-kind-of-crazy weirdos. Damn, damn and double damn.
“Um, that sounds great, super duper. Do you guys practice magic on holidays or
weekends, or is it an everyday kind of thing? Do you do it together or do you have a, um, what's it called, a group meeting thingy?” I was babbling, my words running into each other in my nervousness.
“A coven?” Laurent supplied helpfully, his face grave.
I nodded and snapped my fingers, “Yes, a coven. So do you all belong to a coven?”
Gage was frowning and Helene seemed surprised.
“She thinks we're crazy, doesn't she?” Helene said quietly.
Laurent and Gage both nodded.
I quickly interjected, “No, uh uh, I don't think you're crazy. I think your religion sounds very nice, uh, spiritual and, um, uh rewarding in an interpersonal self-actualizing and earth centered kinda way. There are so many ways to worship and …” rats, I just couldn't think of anything else to say. I was rambling now and I wasn't even sure I understood half of what I just said.
I was upset that they might think I was making fun of their beliefs. I didn't want them to think I would do that. I wanted them to like me and insulting someone's religion is a bad way to start out a relationship. But it was clear to me I had already offended them if the expressions on their faces were anything to go by.
“Oh dear,” there was a wealth of emotion in her utterance and I turned to Helene hoping to explain what I meant.
Helene had turned to face me and she gripped both of my hands in hers as she quietly WARLOCK’S BRIDE JENNIFER RINEHART 40
whispered the word 'defloridim' while closing her eyes tightly. I felt embarrassed for her and tried to smile like I was really supportive of what she was doing.
She obviously thought something magical would happen and opened her eyes, smiling at me expectantly. I remembered how carefully I had memorized the magic phrases from Bedknobs and Broomsticks when I was a little girl. I was so disappointed when the words didn't make my shoes dance the way they had in the movie.
I smiled back at her thinking that it didn't matter if she thought pixies lived in her flower box and magic words made her clothes cleaner. She was my mother and she loved me. In time, I would grow to love her too. If I had to pretend she was a witch with magical powers, well, that was a small price to pay for having her in my life.
Something tickled the top of my head and with a slight shake of my curly hair, a large and perfectly formed tiger lily dropped into my lap. I felt more gentle brushes on my head and with a nervous hand I reached up and pulled a violet, two daisies and a sprig of tuberoses from my hair. I lifted the tuberose to my nose and breathed deep of it's heady, sweet fragrance. The white petals of the daisy were delicate and velvety soft and I rubbed the stamen lightly and saw a tiny smudge of goldenrod pollen stain the pad of my thumb.
I turned to look at Gage, he held a small ball of flame in his hands. With a casual gesture he threw the fireball to his other hand and gave me a devilish grin.
With a shocked inhalation of breath I saw my brother floating about four feet off the ground, he smiled at my expression, showing cha
rming dimples in each cheek that matched my own.
I stood up quickly from the couch and felt all the blood rush from my head and my legs slowly crumpled as my body began to fall closer and closer to the floor. A gray tide of unconsciousness swept over me and then I felt nothing.
* * * *
I woke up in the orange room again.
This was the second time I had woken up here with no memory of how I got here.
Frankly, I was sick of it. I sat up with a groan, I felt like I had slept on a bag of rocks and my knee was throbbing with pain.
My clothes were still on, rumpled and sleep sweaty, but at least no one had undressed me.
I had a vision of Gage, carefully removing my clothes, and I felt suddenly hot and excited.
Ridiculous. My growing crush on Gage was not only stupid, but totally inappropriate under the circumstances. He was so far out of my league it wasn't even funny. Besides, I had seen, intimately, the kind of women he preferred; blond and slim, with small breasts and hips and legs that went on forever.
I pulled my left pant leg up to examine my knee. The knee had a big purplish, red lump on it now. I must have hit the coffee table on my way down. I critically examined my leg, it wasn't ready for the catwalk, but with all my jogging it was toned and proportionate.
There wasn't anything I could do about my breasts, they were big and round and a real strain on my neck and shoulders when I tried to do any kind of high impact exercise. My hips were rounded and ended in a small waist that made finding the perfect pair of jeans, impossible.
Sadly, I would never fit into a fashionable size two, I was just happy to get rid of my love handles without giving up cheesecake.