Blessedly Bound

by Lucretia Stanhope

  In the reflection, she saw her tired eyes with dark circles. The drab brown sweater she wore clung to her at the chest and waist, making her feel frumpy. That feeling grew when she saw his beautiful face appear behind her in the reflection.

  “Beautiful,” he said, watching her in the mirror.

  She stepped away. “If Lewis gets home soon maybe he can help with the bed. You can't alone.”

  “I could, but we can finish the tour and see what happens.”

  If all familiars shared the unnatural strength Lewis did, she assumed he probably could move a bed by himself with little effort. The next room they walked into belonged to her mother. Sebastian watched as she walked around and looked at things.

  “Did you know mom well?” she asked.

  He watched her pretend to be interested in the furniture. “I did, fairly well, yes.”

  “What was she like?”

  “As sweet as Lizzy. All the women I've known in your family have beautiful souls.”

  “Why did she leave? If my family is so sweet, what were we running from?” Gwen turned to him with a look that longed for knowledge.

  “The past, sweetheart. The dark past was catching up with you. Are you sure you wouldn't rather read about it?”

  Gwen looked down. Maybe it would be best to read it, rather than hear it from a stranger. Of course, she didn't know Lizzy any better than Sebastian.

  She walked over to the wall and pulled a sheet off a painting. It depicted a beautiful wooded scene with a castle in the center. She looked closer at the details and saw all sorts of fairies and creatures in the wooded part. “This is beautiful.”

  He stepped closer to her and looked at the picture too. “Thank you. I painted that for your mother many moons ago. She always wanted her very own castle, it was the best I could do to make that wish come true.”

  She turned to him again. “You painted this? It is stunning.” She paused before asking, “Were you my mom's familiar?”

  “Yes, I did paint it, and no, I was not. I haven't had a witch to guide in a very long time.”

  She noticed his presence bristle. “I feel like I should know you. Like we already do know each other.”

  His eyes said he understood. “Peculiar, isn't it?”

  They walked to the last room on the floor. All the surfaces wore a slight layer of dust instead of sheets like the other rooms.

  When her eyes landed on the painting above the fireplace, she knew why everyone said she looked like Lizzy. The resemblance in the eyes and lips stood out even though Lizzy looked taller and thinner than Gwen. Long gray hair framed her face. Her soft and gentle eyes held Gwen's attention.

  “Did you paint this as well?” Gwen studied the details of the painting.

  “I did, I tried to capture her spirit, but there is no way to give due justice to such a beautiful, gentle soul.”

  She could tell how much he cared for Lizzy by the way he depicted her. “It's lovely. You must have loved her greatly to have painted her with such attention to detail.”

  “Perhaps you will sit for me in time.”

  Gwen tried to ignore the sensual tone in his voice. “I'm not painting material.”

  “I will show you otherwise.” He walked over and placed a hand on the large chest at the foot of the bed. “In here are the journals I mentioned.” He rubbed his fingers together.

  Gwen felt a rush of magic and heard a click as the chest unlocked. “Can you teach me that?”

  “Lewis can.”

  Gwen knelt at the chest and reached inside. She pulled out a dress. Her mind flashed to a gazebo on a lake. She saw a wedding. She couldn't make out distinct faces but she felt happiness.

  Happiness and joy.

  She opened her eyes to see Sebastian looking at her with his deep blue eyes. “I saw a gazebo.”

  He enjoyed the sensation of her magic wash over him and then dissipate before he responded. “I will take you there as well. No doubt you saw your grandfather?”

  “No, I didn't see any faces. I felt happy. They were very happy.”

  The sparkle came back to his eyes. “Oh yes. The love of a lifetime.”

  Gwen smiled at him. “Is the gazebo here?”

  “Yes, it is on your side of our lake. It will be where we have the services.”

  “We have a lake?”

  “We do.”

  Her excitement vanished and she frowned as she thought of the services. “I'm not sure I can do this. How do you say goodbye to someone you never got to say hello to? How can I even make a service for her when I didn't know her?”

  “You don't have to do it alone. You have Lewis, and now you have me. Lizzy wanted her memorial to be a celebration. If it is too hard for you, I will arrange it all. That way you can celebrate her life just as she wanted.”

  “Thank you.” She gently laid the dress back in the chest.

  “The journals are in the bottom of the chest. There may be more upstairs in the altar room as well.” When he spoke of the altar room, he smiled.

  “I meant to ask you about that. The upstairs is locked.”

  “Yes, she didn't leave it unlocked. The key will be in her nightstand.” He stood, and walked over to the nightstand. He slid opened the drawer and fished out a key.

  “Were you up for more tonight? It is getting late,” she said, not sure what hours he usually kept, or if he even needed sleep. Lewis never did.

  “You are looking a little sleepy.” He stepped closer and scanned her eyes. “Did you need to take a break and warm back up?”

  “Maybe, yes,” she said, and stepped back. She did not want to get caught in his nearness, scent, or gaze again. The magnetism between them made her wonder if witches and familiars always felt that way. She did with Lewis. That ended in awkwardness.

  Back downstairs, she made her way to the kitchen to start more coffee. When she walked out to the main room, he had already added more wood and stood by the now roaring fire.

  Sensing her, he turned and watched her hips as she walked over and sat her cup on the mantel. When she stood beside him at the fire rubbing her hands together, the scent of roses filled his area. He closed his eyes and breathed her in deeply. Just under the roses he could smell a faint hint of soap that lingered from her morning bath, coffee, and woman. He found the mixture an intoxicating cocktail. He opened his eyes and tried to ignore the pull he felt.

  “The lake was her favorite place. We shared many beautiful nights there.” He oriented the moment away from uncomfortable to casual. “Your grandfather built the gazebo and your mother fed the ducks in the summer.”

  She picked up her mug and sipped her coffee. “I would like to see it. When you are free again can you show me the lake and upstairs? I will have papers ready for you too.”

  “I am occupied tomorrow, but I can come by Saturday night at sunset.”

  The tension in her face from thinking about the memorial eased. “Perfect, thank you.”

  “Did you get to go to town yet?” he asked.

  She nodded. “A little. I stopped at the grocery and yarn shop. Kathy is sweet.”

  “Kathy is charming. In fact, everyone you meet in town will likely be charming. Do make time to eat at Mel's. She makes divine food from what I have been told.”

  “I will very soon. I'm feeling a bit better after tonight. It's been so overwhelming.”

  “I imagine so.”

  Gwen sat her coffee back down and looked toward the door. “I'm sorry Lewis is not in yet. I know he would like to meet you. It can't be often you meet another familiar. I mean, I haven't met another witch before.” She paused and looked at him with serious eyes. “Why would someone want to burn her like that?”

  “I wish I knew. She didn't make enemies. I didn't feel magic that night.”

  “Were you here?”

  His face took a solemn look and he shook his head. “Not at the house. I was at the lake, painting. By the time I saw the fire…” He stopped and drew in a deep breath. “I was here
as fast as possible.”

  “I'm sure you were. If you didn't sense magic, then you think it was a person. A regular person?”

  He looked at the fire in front of them. “It's what my instincts say.”

  “Is there anyone, anyone at all that didn't like her that you know of?”

  “She never mentioned anyone. All her stories of town were always happy. I never heard her use an unkind word about anyone.”

  They puzzled a little more over who might have wanted to hurt Lizzy before they shifted to lighter things. Gwen talked about the yarn she bought and listened as he talked about the latest painting he worked on. She started to get sleepy and they agreed to explore the rest another night.

  Sebastian left to make his way home. He felt uneasy that her familiar remained gone, considering the unsolved murder and her dark family history.

  At his house, he paced his study a little while and decided to shift and wait for Lewis. While he waited, his mind drifted to Gwen. He knew her as an unborn baby before her mother left. He knew he was fated to be a part of her life. Help her with magic. Be a mentor.

  He should not feel the type of attraction he felt toward her.

  She spoke to him in ways no woman ever did. Ways that made him understand why a familiar would give up all their magic to be a human.

  Chapter Four

  L ewis landed on the porch and instantly sensed another presence. His wings stretched and his head turned. He scanned the night and spotted the wolf sat to his right, watching him with intense blue eyes. It sat totally still as Lewis looked it over. The coat of the large wolf had a lot of brown, and gold, with dark fur close to the face and down the back.

  Strong magic emanated from the creature. He knew it was Sebastian. The legend. The familiar to many powerful witches. The familiar cherished by witches and familiars alike right up until he killed his own witch. After that, the council of witches and collective of familiars agreed to his banishment, forever. Lewis knew the story even before his assignment to Gwen. The collective expanded his knowledge of Sebastian due to his links to Lizzy. They felt he might pose a danger to Gwen or try to alter her fate. He expected to meet him sooner.

  “Sebastian,” Lewis said on the wind.

  “Lewis, I presume. We need to talk.”

  Lewis stretched his wings. He knew it would happen eventually, but after his long miserable night, a talk with Sebastian held no appeal. He shifted to a man and opened the door.

  Sebastian trotted over and shifted just inside the house.

  They both looked to Gwen who slept soundly on the couch.

  Sebastian nodded toward the stairs and walked up them with Lewis following behind.

  Once they were alone Sebastian said, “Gwen has decided on a room. Would you like to help me set up a bed for her while we talk?”

  “Quaint.” Lewis followed him to the room. He didn't like the idea that Sebastian spent the night alone with Gwen. He needed to be away, it couldn't have been put off. “I do hope you don't plan on befriending my Gwen as you did Lizzy.”

  “I leave plans to the fates.”

  “No, you don't. I know who you are.”

  Sebastian cut his eyes at Lewis and then turned his attention to moving the crib into one of the other rooms. He assumed all familiars knew of him, and probably the worst of the details about what happened. He decided not to argue that point right then. “Is there a reason you leave your witch alone in a time of need?”

  “Let's set a boundary while we are just starting out, shall we?” Lewis cocked his head and gave Sebastian a hard look. “How about you never question what I do with my witch? Let's not pretend there is not a reason you don't have a witch of your own.”

  Sebastian used the time it took to move the crib into a spare room to let the sting of those words roll off. They needed to talk about Gwen, not his past. “I understand your misgivings regarding me and my past. I have no ill will toward any witch or familiar. Regardless of what you may have been counseled to believe, I will never be a danger to either,” he said when he came back in the room.

  Lewis laughed. “I wonder the opinion your last witch would have on the truth of those words.”

  The words hung in the air, making it feel thick. Sebastian tried not to let images of his witch, Anne, enter his mind. “Those boundaries you spoke of; they should also extend to my last witch. You do realize that while I think what happened to Lizzy has no supernatural ties, there are very real threats to Gwen that do. They are supernatural, dark, and extremely dangerous to her.”

  “If you are referring to her family curse, I am aware and have it well in hand.”

  “There is no well in hand with that woman.” Sebastian dragged in the mattress.

  Lewis followed him with the box spring. “I get you were some sort of beloved something to Lizzy, and to her familiar. I do not hold you in such high esteem. To me you are just another risk to shield Gwen from.”

  “You smell of magic, dark magic,” Sebastian said bluntly, after he arranged the frame of the bed in the center of the wall. He wondered why a familiar would practice dark magic.

  “Stay out of it.” Lewis flung the box springs and mattress on the frame. “Where are the linens Jeeves?”

  Sebastian took a deep breath and walked out to the linen closet. He returned with the sheets and a comforter. “Very well Lewis. We all have our secrets to keep. Why is Gwen not trained?”

  “I would repeat, stay out of it. Did Lizzy know? Did she know what you are?”

  “Of course she did. She and I were dear friends, we held no secrets from each other.”

  Lewis wrinkled his nose. “She may have chosen to ignore what you are, but Gwen won't. Did you tell her?”

  “It didn't come up. I don't find it makes for good idle chatter.”

  “No, I don't imagine it would. You know when she realizes you are a monster she won't hold you as close as Lizzy did.”

  Sebastian paused to look at him. “Is that what worries you? Is this about what you have done? Will she think you are a monster?”

  “Don't deflect. No magic I practice will ever make me into what you are. You are the thing nightmares are made of.”

  Sebastian nodded his head, ceding to that for now. He knew he was a monster and a nightmare to some. “She is more than a seer or caster. You do realize the power she can command, don't you?”

  “Yes,” Lewis said, sounding agitated. “You need to leave that to me. You will do good to assume I know what is best for my witch.”

  “She's defenseless as a child.”

  “She is never defenseless with me.” His voice filled with a strange mix of uncertainty and pride.

  “While this may be true, you assume I am a danger to Gwen, yet I was here all night. She was defenseless. Had I been the monster you fear I am, she wouldn't be resting peacefully downstairs.”

  Lewis clenched his teeth. “I will consider it a blessing from the great mother that your monster didn't come out to eat her tonight.”

  “I consider it reckless. This room needs wood,” he said and walked out. He could feel things teetering on one of the two of them crossing lines that would end up in some sort of magical showdown. He did not want that. Gwen did not need that.

  When he crossed the main room, he paused again to watch Gwen. Even sleeping she radiated magic, restrained, untrained magic. Unleashed, he could only imagine her magnificence. His eyes lingered on her face. He wondered how much her magic affected the draw he felt to her and if Lewis struggled against it too. None of his witches commanded power like her. Witches like her were mythical.

  Once Sebastian stocked the room with wood he looked to Lewis who still held a face full of defiance. He could sense Lewis had a newness to his soul, new and vulnerable to influence. Her power and past demanded a more experienced hand. He wondered why they would pair one so reckless and new with a witch like Gwen.

  “What else?” Lewis asked.

  “I'm sorry we started this out as we did. I should have b
een less confrontational. Just as I will be here to help Gwen through this, I will also be here for you in any way you need.”

  “If I have need for you, trust times will be desperate. Stay away from me and we will be just fine.”

  “Lewis, whatever you think you need to do for Gwen, dark magic is not the answer.”

  Lewis walked out of the room. “Stay away from me and leave training Gwen to my judgment.”

  Sebastian knew he needed to leave. He could smell the dark lingering on Lewis. The familiar scent made him worry more for Gwen than before.

  W hen Sebastian arrived home, he sat in his study, watched the fire burn, and puzzled over the night. A few things unsettled him, but he wouldn't have time to consider them before the morning came. He slowly made his way to his room and closed the door. He bolted it shut before he laid down.

  L ewis stood in the main room and watched Gwen sleep. He hated that he missed her first meeting with Sebastian. He walked over and rested a hand on her forehead. There was no magic residue, good or bad. Her sleep felt peaceful, dreams sweet. He added more wood to the fire and left again.

  He wanted to stretch his wings and allow the wind to blow away the lingering dark magic.

  Chapter Five

  T wo neon signs flashed at Gwen. One sign, the larger one, read Mel's with bright white and red bulbs hung in the center. The other, a small tube twisted into the word diner, sat just to the right of the larger one. She planned her trip at brunch because she wanted a quiet moment to meet Mel, who Kathy spoke so highly of.

  She turned the truck off and tugged her coat closed before she made a dash toward the door. A lovely blast of warm air wrapped around her when she stepped inside. The smell of bacon and eggs, mixed with a hint of fresh coffee teased her senses.

  Gwen looked around as she undid the zipper on her coat.

  The inside felt bigger and more open than the outside made it appear. She found the classic white, black, and chrome look welcoming. She walked between the larger tables on the right and the booth styled seats that lined under the window on her left. Over the bar, she could see an opening that Gwen assumed looked in the kitchen. The huge black and white clock that hung on the wall in front of her read ten forty-five.