"It was the reason I left the Coven. Karma's grandmother was in power then, and what a nut she was. She believed that young girls should be sacrificed to increase the power in the house—that their magic would flow into the Harrow House. The girl’s name was Monica and she was imprisoned to die in the attic of the Coven House, never to see the light of day." Cecelia sighed. "I left the Coven the next day. I could not be in a house that would approve of such actions."
"Then why is Poppy safe?" Lucy asked.
"Because, after Monica died, the Coven disbanded, until you see what we have of the Coven before you." She motioned at Orlando, Karma, Alicia and Lucia. "There is no large Coven now, no evil struggling for power. Poppy is free to roam and do her quest at her will. While inside the house, she is not subject to the house’s spirits that may do her harm."
"My grandmother was not evil," Karma said.
"What would you call imprisoning a child?" Cecelia spat.
"Enough!" David said. "We're getting off track here." He turned and addressed Karma, Orlando and Alicia. "You three lied and covered your tracks when the smartest thing to do would have been to tell the truth from the beginning. Our friend, Poppy, is lost inside a house, and she does not know what she is. I know this is all pre-ordained, and all that, but since you guys let her go into this without any help, I suggest you find a way to get her out. I'm going outside."
"David, wait!" Orlando said.
"I don't want to look at you," David said to him. He wouldn't look Orlando in the eyes. "You have lied to me from the moment we met. I need to some fresh air." David, choking back tears, turned away from him and ran back upstairs. He could not bear to face the man who broke his heart, could not even be in the same room with Orlando right now. His heart was too sore. He ran outside, the front door banging behind him.
Orlando looked after his lover for a moment and went after him. Those that were left in the room were silent until Lucia spoke.
"I still don't understand how I fit into all this," she said. She explained to Karma how she had gotten the bone Buddha with her name carved into it in large black letters. She pulled it out of her pocket. "Alicia and Orlando got one like this too," she said.
Karma looked as if she had been slapped. She turned to Alicia. "How could you not tell me?"
"I thought it had to do with Orlando and me watching over Poppy. I figured that Lucia was another member of the Coven."
"Never assume, don't you know that?" she stood and looked at David. "It looks like David will get his wish."
"What do you mean?" Lucia asked.
"The house knew where this would be coming all along." She said this more to herself than to the others. "It looks as if you will be going on your own journey very soon," Karma said.
* * * * *
Outside, David sucked back a cigarette, relishing its taste, its smoke. He let it fill his lungs with smoke, warmth, fire. He felt he would never be warm again. He heard Orlando behind him.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I should have told you from the start what I was, that I was a Coven Witch. I should have been straight up with you, but I had kept this secret for years. Alicia has kept her secret since Poppy was born," he said. "I couldn't imagine that."
"Are you as old as she is, then?" David asked.
"I have never lied to you about anything aside from Coven business. I have been Honest with you about my profession, my life. Just not about this."
"Yeah, not this," David said. "Don't think this is a little deal, because it's not. If you had shown Poppy what she is, we might not be in this mess." He took a breath. "More importantly, you kept this from me, lied when I asked you questions about magic and about what happened on Valentine's Day. Lied to me when I asked you that day if you were magic. This isn't just a lie, Orlando; you kept a part of your life secret from me and I don't know if I can forgive that." He looked at Orlando then and the sight of the pain in David's eyes was like a punch in the gut. "I will be staying at my mother’s for the next few days. I need some space. I understand why you did what you did. I just need to decide if I can forgive you."
David took one last look at Orlando and headed upstairs to pack a bag and call his mother. Orlando watched him go up the stairs, wondering if his heart would ever stop hurting. He wondered whether David would ever come back to him, or whether David was lost to him forever.
Chapter Nineteen
Mother and Son
Honey groaned when she heard the alarm clock and hit it hard with her fist. Whoever it was that had made alarm clocks, she would like to find him and shoot him; she figured only a man could create something so hated by everyone. She could hear sounds of life moving below her and she smiled to herself. She loved the feeling of a full house and it was delightful to have her son living with her for a bit, even if it was under difficult circumstances. He had been living with her and Jose for a few days now. He wouldn't speak about what was bothering him, but she knew that it had something to do with Orlando. She would find out what the bee in his bonnet was today.
Honey got out of bed and stretched, put on her robe and headed downstairs. She loved their new apartment; it was less space to take care of, yet it was spacious enough for her and Jose and the twins. David was sleeping in the spare bedroom on the third floor of their apartment. It was actually the attic, but it had been done up as a studio bedroom. David said it suited his needs fine. Jose was already in the kitchen, feeding the twins their bottles. Honey knew that she should have fed them by the breast, but she was a slightly vain woman and couldn't bear the thought of anyone but her husband attaching themselves to her nipples. Besides, if she could avoid saggy boobs for another few years, she was a happy woman.
She smiled to herself when she came into the kitchen and Jose already had a cup of tea poured and steeped for her. She inhaled deeply. Tea always calmed her, didn't matter if it was caffeinated or herbal, it still had the same wonderful mind-numbing effect on her. Tea soothed her, made her relax. She needed that with twins to look after.
Jose smiled when she came in and kissed her head. "Sleep well, dear?"
She kissed him back. "Yes, I did, thank you. I had the weirdest dream, though."
"Of what?"
"Oh, some myth about a prophecy, I can't really remember. I wonder what it meant though."
"Who knows with dreams?" Jose said. "Experts say that it is all the things we have seen during the day that we try to make sense of during the night time."
"I don't think it's that," she said. "It was an odd dream, full of light and talk of myths and prophecies. Never had one like it before." Honey shook her head. "I'm making too much of it, really, ever since. . .Valentine's Day, I haven't been myself. The children have helped though." She kissed Jose. "You have helped tremendously."
Jose kissed her back. "The world is full of odd things. We have our choice of whether or not to accept the odd and unusual, or staying ignorant and ignoring it. We're choosing to admit that the supernatural exists. I think that's pretty big of us, don't you?" He kissed her on the top of her forehead and began making pancakes for breakfast.
"Did you notice the marks on the children?" Honey asked.
"What marks?" Jose replied.
Honey went to Eileen, who was happily sucking on a bottle while resting in Jose's right arm. He put her down in her chair, bottle finished, so that Honey could lift up her pant leg. She did the same with Kieran and showed Jose the marks. She placed them both in their rockers and put them on the floor so that she could rock them both with her feet. Jose was quiet for a moment. When he spoke, his voice was light. "They might just be birthmarks, dear," he said. He rubbed his thumb over one. It was a pentagram, black as a tattoo.
"Those don't look like any birthmark I've ever seen," Honey said. "Vanessa has never seen the like either."
"You showed Vanessa?" Jose asked. "Why did you do that?"
"You were at your golf game, there was no one here. I have no one to talk to during the day, you don't mind do you?"
&n
bsp; "Of course not. I'm glad that you and her have been able to become friends."
"I'm really worried about those birthmarks, Jose."
"Then what do you suggest we do?"
"I'm going to talk to David," she said. "It's the only thing I can think of. He might know what's going on."
"Talk to me about what?"
Jose and Honey looked up to see David coming into the kitchen. Her son looked terrible; there were circles under his eyes and his face looked forlorn. He looked as if someone had kicked him when he was down, which is exactly what had happened.
"We need to know what's going on," Honey said simply. "You've been here almost a week and we don't even know what you've run away from."
David regarded his parents and went and poured himself a cup of coffee. "Are you sure you want to know what's going on?"
"Of course we do," Jose said. "We love you David. If you're hurting or are in trouble, we would like to help."
"Alright, but this could take a while." By the time David was finished relating events of the previous week, it was past noon. The kitchen was silent when David finished speaking.
"So what's happening now?" Honey asked. Her face was ashen. "Poor Poppy, I only hope that she will be alright. I told you that house was evil."
"Lucia, Orlando and Alicia are going into the house tomorrow. We've already wasted almost a whole week," David said.
"What?!" Jose was shocked. "Whatever for?"
"Karma feels that those Buddhas that came out of the house were for a reason. She believes that that means that Orlando, Alicia and Lucia have to make a journey inside the house to find her. We've waited almost a week since Poppy disappeared. We have to send them inside soon."
"But you said that Poppy had a quest to finish. What if she hasn't finished?" Honey asked.
"That's just it. Lucia, Orlando and Alicia are going to go in to make sure that she does. They hope they can still find her. She could be anywhere by now."
"Let's hope that you find her," Jose said. "Now, I believe your mother has something to show you."
Honey showed David the birthmarks on the twins. He shook his head. "I don't know anything about birthmarks or the like. Karma will be busy making sure that Orlando, Lucia and Alicia are alright. I could ask Chip, he studied mythology in high school."
"It wouldn't hurt to talk to Poppy's mother, Lucy," Honey suggested. "You said she had studied mythology.
David's cell pHone rang. He moved into the dining room and answered it. "Hello?" he said.
"David, it's Karma."
"Hey, we were just talking about you."
"All good I hope. Listen, we've had a problem."
"What would that be?"
"Lucia doesn't want to go into the house."
"What?"
"She doesn't want to go in, even though she received a Buddha, she won't listen to reason. It's been preordained, it is her destiny."
"She doesn't have to if she doesn't want to. Nothing is preordained. Magic isn't logical and won't listen to reason; I'm sure you know that already."
"But what about the bone, David? She was given one."
"But you can't force her to go into the house if she doesn't want to. She's afraid. Why don't you go?" he asked.
There was silence on the other end. "Me?" she said, unbelieving.
"Why not you?"
"Because I'm head of the Coven."
"I'm sure Naomi and Cecelia will hold down the fort while you're gone."
"I'm surprised you're even talking to me after what happened."
"If I want my friend back, I don't have a choice, do I?" he said viciously.
"I deserved that," She said.
"Yeah, you did. You and Orlando and Alicia were playing us like pawns. I think it's only fitting that you three are the ones to get her out."
"There is some perverse logic in that," she said. "Done. I'll tell Lucia the good news. She really was very scared."
"As well you should be. You're going to be messing with a house older than any of us and full of magic. I'd be very afraid." He cleared his throat. "Do you know anything about prophecies concerning birthmarks?"
Karma thought for a moment. "Nope, but I know Lucia does. She ordered a few books through Strange and Unusual. Alicia mentioned it to me. You should go see her."
"That's quite the coincidence. Lucia and Lucy knowing about mythology," David said.
"There is no such thing as coincidences, David. There is only chance. Everyone is meeting at the house tomorrow night to send Alicia, Orlando off. And now me, I guess," she said. "Could you be there? Bring your parents," she said. "It would mean a lot to Orlando."
"I'll be there." David said. "It would mean a lot to me too."
Chapter Twenty
Bed Sheets and Glass
Chip had begun to see changes in Roz. Not anything he could really put a finger on, but there were differences. Her hair was lacklustre, faded to a dull brittle red. Her eyes had lost their shine and she seemed far away. She was a different person. He figured that her being pregnant would have changed things, would have made things slightly better. But it didn't help. She was lodged securely in her depression and he wasn't able to pull her out of it. Chip had taken a leave of absence from Calliway publishing. They would be sending the books in the slush pile to their home so that he could continue to work, but from home instead of an office. He needed to be with Roz right now. He was thankful that his work understood that.
Honey called periodically to check on Roz, as did David and Jose, but nothing could drag Roz out of her frump. He had tried calling everyone, but there was no answer at anyone's home. They all seemed to be busy and he and Roz seemed to be left out to fend for themselves. He wished he had someone to talk to about all this. Sighing to himself, he got Roz's lunch ready and took it into the bedroom. What he saw when he opened the door shocked him, which he thought was impossible after all that he had been through. Roz was on the bed, thrashing around on top of the sheets, completely naked and sweating buckets. Loud guttural sounds were coming from her mouth that he had never heard before. Not sure what to do, he put the tray down and sat on the edge of the bed. He shook her slightly, hoping to wake her.
"Roz?" he said. "Roz Honey, wake up, you're having a nightmare."
At the sound of his voice, Roz stopped thrashing. She opened her eyes and blinked at him. "What's going on?" she said. She stretched and sat up. "Why am I naked?" she asked.
"You were having a nightmare." At her blank look, Chip explained. "I brought you a tray of food for lunch and found you on the bed, naked, thrashing about. It looked as if you were having a nightmare." He touched a finger to her brow and showed it to her. It was wet. "See, you were sweating buckets. Are you alright?"
Roz smiled to herself. "I'm fine," she said. "I was dreaming, but I don't know what about." She put a hand on her stomach.
"I've been feeling better, better than ever. I'm going to be a mother." She stood up and went to her wardrobe and pulled out a short, flowered dress. She turned to see Chip looking at her strangely. "Stop looking at me like that!" she said. "I'm fine, really."
Chip nodded and watched his wife get dressed for the first time in months. Despite her assurances that she was alright, Chip could not shake the feeling that there was something very wrong with his wife.
* * * * *
Daphne McGowan was happy to be out of prison. The Boss had paid bail and she was now a free woman. It felt good to be out of the jail cell; she had been surrounded by four walls for far too long. A week was a long time to wait. She knew why The Boss had kept her there that long; she was being punished. She was wary of seeing The Boss tonight, but she had been summoned and there was little she could do but go. She needed to get paid. There was a cute pair of high heels that she had seen and she was flat broke. The money would be welcome. Daphne let herself into The Boss’ house and went down to the back office. The Boss was waiting for her. "Mistress." Daphne said, curtsying slightly.
"You know
the rules, Daphne," The Boss said. "When we are alone, you are to call me by my name. It is only when you are away from me that you must keep my identity secret."
"Yes, Mistress, sorry Mistress."
The woman smiled, holding Daphne's chin in her left hand. "Some habits are hard to break, I see?" She smiled, running a red finger nail down Daphne's face. There was no happiness in that smile and the nail left a line of blood along Daphne's jaw line. "That is alright, I don't mind if you call me Mistress. I rather like the sound of it, don't you?" She walked to the chaise lounge that was in the corner of the office, beside the small oak desk that housed her computer.
Mistress preferred the chaise lounge to a couch, it was much more personal, she thought. "Do you have any idea why you are here?" she asked.
"Because I failed you, Mistress."
"Yes, not once, but twice. You failed me twice, Daphne."
"How did I fail twice?"
"By letting that girl walk out on you. She is the first Shape Shifter in a thousand years, she can take any form she wants, smoke, air, any thought is her whim. I wanted to house that power," Mistress said.
"I told you what happened at the gallery, Mistress, I didn't want to hold her against her will, and she would have suspected if I had done that."
"I understand, but it still does not excuse you being arrested by the police while you were supposed to be watching the house. I can't afford this to come back to me," she said.
"I was smoking and the cop thought I was smoking pot. They had to test my urine and make sure there were no drugs in my system."
"Did they discover what you are?"
"No."
"Good." Mistress smiled to herself. With a movement that was more graceful than quick, Mistress took a gun out of the pocket of her blazer and shot Daphne squarely in the chest.
The shot rang loud in the small office, light glinting off the metal of the gun, the glass of the window. Daphne still stood, a shocked look on her face, a dry cough coming from her mouth. Blood oozed from the wound in her chest even as she began to change.
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