by Apryl Baker
“That’s not what I meant, Melinda Rose, and you know it.”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I told him, working hard to try and put some kind of barrier back up between us.
“Rose, don’t make a big deal out of a joke…”
“It is a big deal, and if you don’t know why, then you can just get your ass gone!” He looked shocked at my outburst, and I stormed up the steps and slammed the door behind me. I was fine with him being shocked and pissed if it kept him away for a couple days while I sorted through everything.
“Meli?”
I looked up to see Gran frowning at me from the living room. I grimaced. She had to have heard me slam the door. She looked to be in full Inquisition mode. Great. Just great.
“Hey, Gran. I’m not late, am I?”
“No, you’re not late, dear,” she said. “You look a little shell shocked, though.”
I sighed. “I guess maybe I am. What do you think of Xavier?”
Her eyebrows shot up. I’d never asked her about a boy before. I’d told her about my boyfriends, but had never asked her for any kind of advice. “Did he do something to upset you?”
“Yes…no…oh hell, I don’t know.”
“Language,” she clucked and then motioned me to the kitchen. I took off my coat and followed her. She had her teapot out, heating milk. I could drink a gallon of her hot cocoa and die happily. I went to the fridge and pulled out last night’s leftovers to heat up. I may have eaten lunch, but not dinner, and I was starved. Dad always told me eventually my eating habits would catch up with my metabolism, but until then, I was going to eat what I wanted, when I wanted.
“Another boy came by today looking for you.” Gran handed me a paper towel to put over my plate of spaghetti before I popped it into the microwave. “Very handsome young man.”
“Who was it?” I asked and grabbed the milk out of the fridge.
“I believe he said his name was Sebastian.”
Sebastian was here? My eyes went a little wide. Gran had pictures of me in my Goth look. If he saw those, he’d know exactly who I was. Damn Xavier for keeping me out all day. “Sebastian came by?” I asked, trying not to sound nervous. “Did he come in?”
“Well, no,” Gran said. “He came by, and I told him you were out for the day. He said he’d be by in the morning to talk to you. You’ve become quite popular with the boys, Melinda Rose.”
Ohhh, Inquisition Gran kicked into high gear.
“Not really, Gran,” I said, grabbed my food out of the microwave and sat down. “Sebastian is just a friend from school. He’s not someone I’d ever date.”
“Why not?” she demanded. “He’s extremely handsome.”
I laughed at her outraged expression. “He’s too gorgeous for his own good, Gran. I’d end up with a rap sheet from all the assault and battery necessary to deal with other girls ogling him. What’s worse is he knows his effect on women. He’d enjoy it.”
She laughed. “He is a pretty one, that boy. I could understand the need to defend your property with him. I might run low on bail money for you within the first week.”
I grinned at her speculative look. Only my grandmother could say that with a straight face.
“Now, about Xavier. Why are you so upset?”
“Gran, how long before you knew how you felt about Grandpa?” I asked. Grandpa had passed away when I was about ten, but I remembered how much my grandparents loved each other.
“I knew I liked him the first day I met him.” A slow smile spread across her face as she settled down across from me at the table. “Did I ever tell you how we met?”
“Nope, I don’t think so.”
“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Gran said, grimacing. “My parents and I lived in a rural area in Missouri at the time. My mother asked if I could walk into town and pick up a few things at the store for her. It was only a short walk, so I agreed. I was about halfway there when the sky darkened and then unleashed a torrential downpour. I was soaked in less than ten seconds. Your grandfather came along in his brand new 1954 Mercury Monterey Coupe. It was all shiny and new. I remember seeing this red monstrosity barreling down on top of me, and before I could move out of the way, it splashed mud all over my new dress.”
I gasped, and my mouth formed a tiny O.
“To make matters worse, he didn’t even stop, just kept right on driving.”
“Grandpa did not!” I gasped, outraged for Gran.
She chuckled. “Oh, he did. When I reached town, I saw the car parked at the drugstore soda shop. Your Grandpa was leaning against it talking to Betty Milner, a pretty little thing. I was beyond angry at this point, marched over, and told him off. He just gaped at me. I told Betty I wished her luck with an inconsiderate jerk. She stared at me, aghast, never having seen me lose my temper before.”
I could just imagine Gran, soaking wet, covered in mud, screaming at Grandpa like a lunatic in the street. A giggle burst out, and Gran smiled at me, barely suppressing giggles herself.
“I picked up my mother’s things, ignoring all the stares from everyone, and proceeded to walk home. Your grandfather pulled alongside me as I was walking and offered me a ride home. I refused. He parked his car, and walked all the way home with me, apologizing the entire time. Now, your grandfather was quite the catch back in the day, and he knew it, much as you describe your friend, Sebastian. I admit I was a little flattered he actually walked home with me instead of just driving away when I refused his offer of a ride.”
My grandparents were both lookers in the day. I’d seen the pictures. Gran’s always reminded me of those old classic movie stars from the early forties. She was gorgeous, and Grandpa was no slouch either. He probably could give Sebastian a run for his money today with his dark good looks. So, my Gramps had been a player. I just shook my head and giggled some more.
“So that is how your grandfather and I met. He spent the next several weeks trying to woo me.”
“Woo you?” I laughed at the old-fashioned term.
“Yes, woo me, young lady. Or court me, if you will. My family, of course, was thrilled. He came from a very prominent family of witches. Which only made me more determined to ignore him.”
“And knowing Grandpa, that made him more determined to woo you,” I said, barely suppressing a laugh.
“Yes, he set out on a quest to win me.” Her expression turned wistful. “I miss him very much.”
“So do I,” I said. My grandfather was awesome, and even though he’d been gone for several years, I still missed him terribly.
“Talk to me about your young man,” Grandma said, pouring herself another cup of hot chocolate.
“I’ve never met anyone like him,” I said softly. “He makes me feel things, things that confuse me, and sometimes he makes me so mad, I want to hurt him.”
“Well, what do the Elements tell you about him?”
I pushed my plate away and let my head fall onto the table. Gran sighed. “That bad, huh?”
“I don’t know what to do, Gran,” I whispered.
“I think it’s pretty simple, sweetie,” Gran told me. “The Elements are never wrong about these things.”
“Did they speak to you about Grandpa?” I asked.
“Yes, the first time I kissed him. That’s when I knew he and I were meant for each other, but I made him chase me anyway.”
Damn, damn, damn. How was I supposed to condemn his soul now?
“You realize your young man isn’t quite human, don’t you, Melinda?”
My head snapped up. How could she know that? “What do you mean?”
“It’s not a bad thing,” she hurried to assure me. “Many of our kind have married non-humans before. I just thought you should be aware.”
“Do you know what he is?” I asked, wary.
“No, but I’m sure he’ll tell you when he’s ready,” she said. “Don’t be afraid, Melinda. That boy cares very deeply for you, and that’s all I could ever ask for. I’d even go so far a
s to say he loves you.”
I frowned. I wanted to say he didn’t know me well enough to love me, but that wasn’t true. He’d known me my entire life. Plus witches were more in tune with themselves, and it didn’t take us months or years to figure out we loved someone. Love could happen in an instant for a witch. Xavier kept saying he had faith in me. Did he say that because he knew me? Or because he loved me?
“You’re overthinking things, Meli,” Gran said. “You always do. Just relax and trust in the Elements. They will not steer you wrong. If they blessed him, then he is who you are meant to be with.”
Xavier had accused me of overthinking things too. Maybe I was. Either way, I wasn’t up to dealing with any of it right now. I just wanted to go to bed.
“I’m going to my room, Gran. My head’s hurting, so I think I’m just going to get some sleep.”
“Things will be better in the morning,” she said as I leaned down to kiss her cheek. “They always are.”
I hoped so.
Chapter Nineteen
~ CJ ~
I realized sleep wasn’t something I’d be getting anytime soon when I walked down the hall toward my room. I could hear raised voices, and I sighed. Gran’s walls were thin, and hearing CJ and whoever argue all night was not something I wanted to deal with. Guests or not, they were going to be quiet. I knocked forcefully on her door. Jeff opened it, surprised to see me. I could say the same. I’d expected her and Ethan, but Jeff? Nope. Threw me for a second.
“Hey,” he smiled, his cerulean blue eyes lighting up. “You okay? I was worried. You didn’t return any of my texts.”
“Sorry, my phone was out of commission for a while.” I peeked over his shoulder and saw Ethan lounging on the bed. So maybe my first thoughts were wrong. “Um, I just stopped by to see if you guys could keep it down. My room is right next door, and I’d like to sleep sometime tonight.”
Cassie stopped pacing and turned to look at me, her face flaming up. I quirked an eyebrow. I didn’t think she realized I could hear them. Ethan laughed and grabbed her as she passed the bed, pulling her down. She buried her face in his shirt. Jeff looked pained, but he didn’t say anything.
“Why don’t you come in, Melinda?” Ethan suggested. “Your grandmother said you are very adept with witchcraft, much more than either Jeff or I. You might be able to help.”
“Help?” I asked, curious. What in the world would a Coven Mistress need my help with?
“We’re trying to figure some stuff out,” Jeff told me. “CJ’s sister left her a warning about something coming, and we’re trying to figure it out.”
“Sure,” I said. “Let me change, and I’ll be back in a few minutes.” I needed out of these clothes, which felt a little grimy after everything I’d done outside today. Jeff nodded, and I went to my room. I grabbed a pair of flannel pajamas and then went to the bathroom to clean up. Once I was done, I wandered on back down to CJ and Ethan’s room.
CJ answered the door this time and stepped aside so I could come in. Both Ethan and Jeff had vacated the room. If my curiosity hadn’t been eating away at me, I’d have just gone back to my room. I didn’t do girlfriend/boyfriend drama.
“Do you like Jeff?” CJ burst out as soon as she closed the door.
Both my eyebrows met my hairline. “What do you care? You’re dating Ethan.”
CJ started to pace again. “I am, but…”
“But you enjoy stringing Jeff along?” I asked softly, the anger plain in my voice.
“What? No!” She stopped pacing and stared at me, horrified.
“Then what, CJ?” I asked. “If you want Ethan, then end things with Jeff. If you want Jeff, get rid of Ethan. It’s that simple. Jeff doesn’t deserve the misery you’re putting him through.”
“It’s not that simple,” she sighed and fell down on the bed. “I wish to the Fates it was that simple.”
“Seems pretty cut and dry to me,” I said, my tone as sarcastic as I could make it.
“You don’t know a damn thing about it,” CJ said, her own tone sharp.
“Jeff told me all about it,” I refuted.
She groaned. “You don’t understand. I love Jeff, but…”
“You love Ethan more,” I finished for her. “But you can’t bear to give Jeff up either?”
“I don’t know!” she yelled. “I’ve known Jeff my entire life, and I’ve only known Ethan for a couple of months. How am I supposed to trust what I feel for him? It’s too soon. Everything in me tells me it’s too soon to feel like this, but when he died, I died a little inside too…”
“Wait, he died?” I interrupted.
“I thought Jeff told you what happened?” CJ asked, sitting up on the bed.
“The gist of it, yeah. Your Coven tried to kill you to fulfill some age old vengeance curse.”
“It was the curse of the thirteenth daughter,” CJ said wearily. “Back in Salem during the Witch Trials, members of our Coven betrayed other members to protect themselves. One of those who died put a curse on the people of New Salem. The Curse of the Thirteenth Daughter – she would be the vessel of their vengeance. Only glitch? She had to die to unleash fury upon the descendants of the betrayers. The old Coven Mistress, who died as well, cast her own curse. She split the soul of the thirteenth daughter into two people. It ended up being me and my best friend. We both had to die in order for it to work. Ethan knew the only way to break the curse was to substitute his blood for mine. He jumped in front of me when the old Coven Master went to stab me. It killed him and broke the curse.”
“How did that break the curse?” I asked.
“The ritual had started, and there were only two ways to end it. Our blood fulfilled the curse, or the whole thing got ruined if another’s was substituted. Ethan’s blood tainted the whole thing. It wasn’t what the gods were promised, and they refused to fulfill their end of the bargain. Didn’t stop all the destruction it caused me, though.”
My eyes were wide by the time she finished her explanation. She’d been through a lot, but that still didn’t explain everything. “Jeff said he took a bullet for you?”
CJ groaned. “Yeah. The day of the ritual, I didn’t know who I could trust. I found my sister’s Book of Shadows, and it explained everything about the curse, including Ethan.”
“Wait, what do you mean, including Ethan?”
“Ethan is from the past,” CJ explained. “The Coven Mistress who died was my ancestor, Sara Bishop. Ethan was betrothed to her. He died trying to save her, and essentially became part of the curse. His desire for vengeance bled into the curse, and it gave him eternal life so he could make sure it was fulfilled. Then he met me and couldn’t go through with it, but he couldn’t let Mr. Martin know he’d changed his mind. Ethan pretended to still want me dead. I even believed him, so did Jeff, who tried to rescue me, but got shot in the process. He didn’t know Ethan had a plan. None of us did.”
“So Ethan died?” I prompted when CJ stopped talking. I could see how hard this was for her. Jeff said her best friend had tried to kill her too. She’d felt betrayed on all sides. I could understand how difficult talking about that kind of betrayal could be.
“The ritual took place on Samhain, the night when the veil between the living and the dead is at its weakest. My sister gave Ethan back his life. She’d found out the Coven planned to kill either me or Kay and had tried to warn us, but the Coven killed her first. Specifically Kay’s dad and my mother.”
Damn. Her own mother? Jeff had told me that earlier, but I didn’t even know what to say.
“I guess you could say it was a miracle he came back,” CJ continued. “Emily convinced ‘The Powers That Be,’ for lack of a better term, to let him come back. He sacrificed himself to save me, and that earned him a second chance. He came back for me, when he could have spent eternity with Sara, the woman he’d loved for forever.”
“Wow, that’s like the most romantic thing ever,” I said, a little awed at the thought of someone dying for me and then coming ba
ck because they couldn’t bear the thought of living without me. Ethan must really love her.
“I know, right?” she laughed, but it wasn’t a happy sound. “I shouldn’t even question my feelings, but my head knows it’s too soon to feel like this, that feelings this deep can’t just develop overnight.”
I frowned. Well, yeah, they could, especially for us. She should know this. “CJ, what are you talking about? Of course you can feel like that overnight. You’re a witch.”
She stared at me like I’d lost my mind. “You grew up in a Coven, and you don’t know this?”
She sighed heavily. “I did not grow up in the Coven. My parents, my sister, and all my friends were part of the Coven, but I never believed in any of it. I thought it was all just a bunch of nonsense. I had no idea magic was real until I started looking into my sister’s death.”
OMG. She really had no idea? This girl sitting in front of me was probably the most powerful witch I’d ever met, and she had no idea? I sat/fell down on the floor and just gaped at her. How was this even possible? How could her parents, witches themselves, let her be so ignorant of her own heritage, her power?
“Okay,” I said at last. “I’ll explain it for you. Witches are more in tune with nature, with the Elements, than humans. We know things instinctively, recognize things faster than the average human. Like love. We’re hardwired that way. When we fall in love, it’s usually within a matter of days, sometimes hours, because our instincts latch onto what the Elements are telling us. If you love Ethan, no matter how many days or weeks it’s been, it’s true. You can trust it. Trust in your magic to tell you the truth.”
“That’s just it!” she all but yelled. “I never wanted this, any of it. I hate magic! I don’t want any part of it. It destroyed my family, took my sister away from me. How am I supposed to trust it when I feel like that?”
“CJ, it wasn’t the magic that did it,” I said softly. “It was people. They used magic to do it, but you can’t blame the magic for the evil in people. Magic can’t make you evil.”
“That’s not completely true,” she countered. “My dad told me that if you use dark magic, then it will eat away at you, it will make you a dark witch, turn you into the evil you’re talking about.”