Enchant Me

by Anne Violet

  “You summoned me, remember?” he whispered huskily into my ear. He seemed to sense my confusion. “You told me you loved me and goodbye.”

  I forced my eyes open and glanced up at him, “You heard that?”

  “Loud and clear,” he rasped, I could hear the remembered worry in his voice.

  Closing my eyes again, I stroked soothingly from his chest down to his abs and back up again. “Thank you for saving my life.”

  Lifting my roaming hand and interlacing our fingers, he lifted it up to his face and breathed a kiss across the surface. “Anytime.” I heard the slight laugh in his voice at that. “Although, I am hoping you don’t plan on making this a habit.”

  “Not if I can help it,” I murmured.

  Sleep had started to carry me off when he spoke again. “Lex,” he said softly, “I saw your vision too…of the day my parents died.”

  Not much could have kept me conscious at the moment, but this was one of the things that could. “It wasn’t your fault,” I breathed, desperately hoping he truly understood and believed that. “I think you are some kind of hybrid,” a bit of a giggle escaped me as I said that; it made him sound like some kind of new car. “You seem to be part Druid and part shaman. I think the Druid part is the one that causes madness, from what I’ve read it’s a rather common Druid power. The day your powers developed, there was no circle of protection to restrain your powers. You had no idea what was happening and had no training. There was nothing you could have done.”

  He sighed and was quiet for a long time before he responded, “You don’t understand. I knew that somehow I was hurting my parents, I just couldn’t control it. You don’t know what it’s like invading someone’s mind, it feels wrong. Even with you tonight, it made me sick forcing myself into your mind.”

  “That’s alright; sometimes I don’t like being in my own mind either,” I said, trying to lighten his mood.

  Then I realized he was sharing his true thoughts with me and I shouldn’t make light of them. They deserved to be taken seriously. “I’m sorry,” I took a breath and coerced my mind to keep awake enough to address his worries. “If you hadn’t built that--dam in my mind, I would probably be dead now. So please don’t rack yourself with guilt.”

  He nuzzled the top of my head. “You’re right. Go to sleep little cat.”

  “You talking to me or Cody?” I mumbled.

  “Both,” he laughed, and I felt his hand release mine and drift away. I assumed he was petting Cody, who was somewhere near us from the sound of his thunderous purring. I decided I knew what my favorite two sounds in the world were, Christian’s voice and heartbeat… and Cody’s purring. Wait… that’s three things, but I’m sleepy and I was never any good at math.

  CHAPTER 11

  When I woke up the next morning my head hurt like hell, but nothing compared to before. Even so, it was ridiculously wonderful to wake up in Christian’s arms. I laid on my side, an arm thrown over him, one of his legs between mine. His arm was beneath my neck and wrapped around my shoulder, holding me to him. As I opened my eyes I immediately noticed Cody happily sitting on Christian’s chest, purring away madly as Christian petted him.

  “Good morning,” I breathed.

  He turned to me and kissed the top of my head. “You mean good evening.”

  I glanced at the window, but with the curtains closed it was hard to tell the time. It was still light outside, though. “What time is it?” I murmured, trying to stretch and pull him closer at the same time.

  “8.” He seemed to be laughing internally at me. I heard it in his voice. “Did you know you almost make a soft little purring sound when you sleep?’

  “I do not. You are making that up.”

  “Whatever you say, kitty,” he challenged. I playfully punched him in the abdomen which made him jerk in surprise and Cody dig in his nails just before he launched off of him. “Ouch, thanks a lot.”

  “No problem, anytime.”

  Without warning, he rolled us over until he laid on top of me, his hands coming up to cradle my head. “How are you feeling?” he murmured.

  Smiling, I looked up into his dark sympathetic eyes, felt my heart swell with love. “Fine, thanks to you,” I said softly, winding my hands around his neck and pulling him down to me. “How are you?” I asked just before I lightly caressed his lips with mine.

  As our lips touched and I felt that little jolt of connection, briefly I opened my eyes to note that he looked as surprised and startled as me. Enthralled, I watched as his eyes smoldered and then he slowly closed them again as his lips found mine. His hands moved down to my waist pulling me closer and I murmured in appreciation. We seemed to get lost in the moment at that point. The banging of the screen door in the kitchen had us springing apart to where we almost fell out of my bed. We both laid flat on our backs for a couple moments until it seemed no one was coming down the hall. Then I rolled back over to my side, wrapping my arms around his left arm, holding him while an uncomfortable thought occurred to me, “Christian, when you were in my mind, could you…read it?”

  He looked over at me and a wicked, totally untrustworthy smile developed on his handsome face. “No. Why, do you have something to hide?”

  He had purposefully looked and said it in a way that would make me doubt what the truth was. “You’re evil,” I mumbled and rolled away from him in a pretend pout, which was pretty effective since he immediately rolled over and spooned me from behind, his warmth radiating around me.

  “I can’t read your mind, your secrets are safe,” he whispered in my ear, making me shiver. “You haven’t said much about your powers,” he hinted, gently brushing my hair off my face to fall between us.

  I watched out of the corner of my eye, as his hand brushed through the scarlet strands over and over like a caress. Sighing, I pulled his arm back around my waist as I thought. “I guess I have been trying not to think about it. It changes--everything.”

  I felt him slightly tense behind me. He couldn’t seriously think I meant about him. I rolled over onto my stomach and up onto my elbows to look at him. He was gazing deep into my eyes, trying to discern what I meant.

  “You better not be trying to read my mind,” I warned.

  He laughed and stroked my back soothingly. “I told you, I can’t.” The laughter faded from his face. “Tell me what you’re worried about. What’s changed?”

  In a way I was surprised that I needed to explain. Didn’t he feel the same way? I glanced at him perplexed, only to see that same bewilderment mirrored back to me.

  “We have magic powers…In a world that for the most part doesn’t believe in it. I am psychic and possibly telekinetic. You can cause madness and control someone’s powers in their mind. I saw evil spirits! How are we supposed to go through our normal lives knowing what we know?”

  He turned over, narrowly missing Cody who had usurped that spot and pulled me on top of him, caressing my back in long comforting strokes, like I was a cat.

  “In short--we don’t have a choice. It’s part of who we are. While I may not have always liked having my--gift, I have always believed that I had it for a reason. And now I know and thank god for it. You’ll never know what it was like seeing you like that… about to die.”

  I didn’t like to think about it either. To distract him I kissed his forehead, eyes, adorable nose and then lips. But before I could linger longer I heard someone walking down the hallway, the wooden floor squeaking intermittently. I quickly rolled off of him, to stand next to the bed just as my grandmother came through the door. She smiled at both of us. Christian had obviously won her over with saving my life and all.

  “How are you both feeling?”

  Surprisingly I didn’t feel too bad at the moment. “I feel pretty good, considering-- just a little achy.” I glanced at Christian waiting for his response.

  Carefully moving his legs up and over my sleeping cat, he stood up next to me. “I’m fine. Was there any trouble calling us both in sick?”

>   I had completely forgotten that it was Monday. Sheepishly I looked over at my grandmother wondering how much she had dealt with to cover for us. “And what about mom?”

  She appeared amused by our concern. “I know the secretary at your school so that wasn’t a problem. Don’t worry about your mom either. I told her you got the stomach flu pretty bad and knew I could brew up a remedy for you. She wants you to know she hopes you feel better soon so you can come home tomorrow. And before you ask, Cody has had food and water in the kitchen, so he’s fine.”

  Moved by how much she had done to make my life easier, I walked over and gave her a huge hug. “Thanks, grandma.”

  She patted my back and pushed me towards the bathroom. “Alexis why don’t you go ahead and shower, and then you both come into the kitchen and eat.”

  Embarrassed, I briefly sniffed at myself, wondering if I smelled bad or something. I didn’t smell any gross body odors but I swore that I could still smell the scent of fear from last night coating my skin. She was right, a shower was definitely called for. The sooner I could put last night behind me, the better.

  “Charles and I would like to talk to you about what happened--and your gifts,” she called after me. I had a feeling this was the main reason she wanted to get us in the kitchen, she was dying of curiosity.

  “Alexis, there is a tincture that I made to help with your aches and pains that I want you to take, too.”

  Ugh, they usually tasted horrible. Knowing Grandma Anne, if I didn’t take it willingly she would probably sit on me and force it down my throat. I really hated taking medicine.

  After showering and putting on fresh clothes that smelled of the orange blossoms she had put in my dresser, I felt a million times better. I went to the kitchen where they were waiting. I had barely made it inside the doorway when she lifted the tincture off the counter and held it out for me along with a glass full of water. I quickly downed it, trying not to grimace, then drank almost the whole glass of water in one shot to drown out the taste. I turned to find Christian watching me amused, which in turn didn’t really amuse me.

  Ignoring him, I noticed that she had most of the lights off with only a couple candles on her small table and for our men she had pulled out two folding chairs to sit in. I smiled at the sense of atmosphere my grandmother had created. Nodding at Charles, who was already seated, I took my chair, with Christian taking the one beside me. I grinned when I realized she had made my favorite, her secret spaghetti, exact ingredients unknown--hence the secret. She wouldn’t even allow anyone in the kitchen while she was making it.

  I glanced over at Christian. “You are about to have the best spaghetti and homemade garlic bread on the planet.”

  He got a mischievous look in his eyes as he glanced at me and then at my grandmother. “You are forgetting, my grandparents are Italian, so she might have to settle for second place.”

  My chin dropped and Charles whistled under his breath at the challenge. I took a peek at my grandmother’s face to see her reaction. She had arched a brow at Christian but when he just smiled charmingly back, she laughed, completely won over and served us up. It was obscenely good. We sat in companionable silence while we ate, watching the sun’s slow descent in the sky. As we watched out the window, the solar Christmas tree lights throughout her garden flickered to life like magic. Moved by the beauty and romance of it I found my hand drifted to Christian’s, clasping his in mine. Without a word I stood up and pulled Christian with me outside the back door into her yard. I could sense his bewilderment as he followed me but I didn’t stop to explain.

  I kept walking until we were deep in the center of the garden. We couldn’t even see the house from here. There was only the soft glow of the lights intermingled in the trees and bushes; the night blooming flowers opening and releasing their sweet scent into the air. There was even a warm, soft breeze making the leaves whisper to us. Finally I turned to him and noted the patient, loving gaze he had on me.

  I had a feeling he wasn’t as moved by the ambiance as I was, but he got my fascination at least. He was really just too beautiful for words. Gratitude filled me as I looked at him. Thankful he had saved me, thankful that we had another chance, thankful that we were able to share a moment like this--together. Unable to resist the draw I felt towards him any longer, I took the one step separating us, locked my arms around his neck, and pulled his lips down to mine and just let go. I wanted him to feel how much I loved and adored him; how much he was a part of me. When he answered me back, I felt awed by the depth of his emotions for me. I could feel it in his arms as they held me, the way his hand gently cradled the back of my head, and in the way he kissed me, like I was the only girl that would ever matter to him.

  When he pulled away I blinked up at him confused and then I heard it. The loud crunch of gravel heralding the arrival of my grandmother, most likely trailed by Charles, in their rush for answers. We sat down on the bench behind us and waited for them.

  I watched as they walked up hand in hand, sitting themselves on a bench across from us. While Charles looked at us with a mixture of awe and curiosity, my grandmother had pinned us with her eyes, interlacing her fingers over her chest as if she was preparing to interrogate us, which no doubt she was.

  “So, Christian,” she started, her tone authoritative. “How long have you known what you are?”

  He glanced at me then over to her, “I didn’t really. I knew I put off some sort of energy that hurt people…” he stopped for a moment as if to catch his breath, “but I didn’t know why or how. It wasn’t until last night when I saw Alexis’s vision that I understood.” He lifted up my hand, enfolding it in both of his. “After that it was like the door opened, and all the knowledge I needed and what I had to do to help her was just there.”

  “Wait,” I said, a realization hitting me. “Is that why you were staying away from me, you thought you were inadvertently causing my headaches?”

  “Yes, but in a way I was causing them.” We all looked at him confused, “that’s one of the other things I came to understand. Why you were having them so much with me is because not only can I control the rate that you receive your powers but I can bring them out and increase them in the first place.”

  I looked at him stunned. “So even if I was younger and it wasn’t time for them to develop, you could have made them develop?”

  Christian glanced sharply at me but then realized the truth of it. “I would never do that on purpose but I guess before I wouldn’t have known how to stop it.”

  Putting my other hand on top of his, I caressed him apologetically, “I know, it is just a little un-nerving.” When I felt him relax underneath my hand, I decided it was safe to dare another question. “Do you have any other powers?” The feeling of my grandmother and Charles perking up at this idea was noticeable. He studied me for a moment before replying, “Is that not enough?”

  Laughing, I bent over and kissed his cheek. “That’s plenty.” He pulled away with a smile on his face as we both turned back to our inquisitors.

  “Do you think you would be able to share a vision or communicate like that again?” Charles asked.

  I turned to Christian, who seemed to understand more at this point than I did. He was scrutinizing me, rearranging my hair so that it fell behind me, while he thought. “I don’t think so, but it would be nice if we could.”

  “Christian does anyone in your family know about your gift?” My grandmother asked.

  “No. I think my mom’s parents were waiting till I was older before they told me but they died before they had a chance. If my mom had known, she never said anything. My dad had really strong opinions about the occult and pagan religions.”

  My grandmother nodded in understanding. Starting to feel a little tired now, my aches and pains catching up with me, I leaned my head against his shoulder. Taking pity on me, my grandmother got up, came over and gave the both of us a hug. “I guess that’s enough questions for now.”

  “Wait,” Christian sa
id, halting my grandmother and Charles. He then turned to me. “Would you like to try a little of your powers?”

  Knowing now that I shouldn’t ever feel that pain again, I brightened immediately, trying to decipher from his expression what he had in mind, “How?”

  Even in the dark I could tell his eyes had gotten darker, smokier. I could almost swear he was thinking something entirely different than what he was, but then I felt it. A slight tingling in my hands and then a new awareness in my mind that hadn’t been there a moment ago, I looked up at him, startled. “What now?”

  He looked around us and then finally pointed to a Moonflower vine creeping up a trellis a couple feet away. “See if you can pluck that flower and bring it here.”

  I looked at him skeptically, wondering if he was playing a joke on me. “Like in Star Wars, use the force?” I laughed.

  He smiled back at me. “Yeah.”

  Feeling a little foolish I raised my hand facing towards the white blossom and concentrated. Nothing happened for a couple seconds, and then abruptly the flower popped from the vine and floated over until it dropped in my hand. I stared down at it, still disbelieving. It was one thing to know you have powers, but quite another to actually see it in action. My grandmother and Charles seemed to feel the same way. Only Christian took it in stride. Then again he had possessed powers for at least the last year, so in some ways this probably wasn’t that abnormal for him. I handed the flower to my grandmother while Christian found something else.

  Raising a brow at me, he pointed toward a moth fluttering near one of the lights. “How about something a little more difficult?” Noting my hesitation, he rubbed my arm. “I don’t think you’ll hurt it. You didn’t crush the flower, did you?”

  I raised my hand towards the moth and concentrated as gently as I could. It started to try to fly away but then it was drawn towards us instead, its wings suspended in mid- flight. As soon as it was close to us I released it, letting it fly high and away from us. Uncaring that my grandmother and Charles were still watching us I threw my arms around Christian and kissed him straight on the mouth.