Blessedly Bound

by Lucretia Stanhope

  “She only practiced white magic, right?”

  “As far as we know.”

  She turned back to him and in a tone harsher than she meant, said, “Well what would a stone like that be used for?”

  “Many things, each stone has different properties, it could have been used to bind something unwanted, and you handling it wouldn't be wise.”

  “Will you teach me how to…” she paused, turned around, and looked at things before she continued. “Use any of this?”

  “When the time is right. If necessary,” he said as firmly as he could. He wished she would just walk away from the room, the house, and everything even remotely connected to her family.

  Gwen closed her eyes and reminded herself she loved Lewis. She let out a deep breath and walked over to the loft. She climbed the stairs and found a small window looking toward the west with a huge window seat. It looked like a peaceful place to sit and think.

  “Anything interesting up there?” Lewis shouted up.

  “No, nothing for you to worry about. It looks like it is just a place to sit and think. You can go now.” She hoped her tone gave him a clue how she felt about his resistance to teach her.

  Lewis hated that lately he needed to push her buttons. He didn't see another option. He couldn't teach her any magic, not yet. What he needed was another night away. A night to explain to Fannie the deal they made needed an adjustment. He never foresaw her at the manor, stumbling into magic, and worse, stumbling into Sebastian whose presence tugged at her own magic. A dark smile filled his face, maybe Fannie could use voodoo to take Sebastian out of the equation. He pushed the thought away. So far, everything he did he could justify as protecting her, letting his emotions get involved would change that.

  “I won't be far if you need me,” he called up.

  “Unless I have magic questions,” she said to herself as she heard him walk out and close the door.

  She lost track of time while she sat at the window, staring out into the night, wondering about what Lewis was hiding. Why did his tension pulsed so strong, and how it connected to her family?

  When she couldn't form any clearer thoughts, she made her way downstairs to read a little in the journals before bed.

  She started getting heavy eyes as she read about Lizzy contemplating sending her mother, Winnie, away. They bound her first so someone named Fannie couldn't find her.

  Who is Fannie?

  The next paragraph woke her up as she read it over and over.

  Even if we can bind Winnie, could we begin to bind little Gwen? She is so powerful for one not even born yet. How can we mask them? They must go before it is too late. Sebastian thinks we can protect them here, but I fear Fannie would devour them both.

  Chapter Eight

  “T alk to me, you are pulsing a dangerous amount of anger.” Lewis followed Gwen to the kitchen.

  Sleeping on the revelation did not ease her anger one bit. The time actually made it grow. “Lewis, I suggest you leave me the hell alone.” She picked up her phone and dialed Sebastian. “Please call me when you can,” she said to his machine.

  Lewis knew who she called. He also knew she wouldn't hear from him anytime soon. Not until sundown. “You want to go learn things upstairs? Is that what this is about? We can go learn some new spells if it is that important to you. I can teach you how to cast a circle. Whatever you want.”

  She spun around and looked him in the eyes. “Answer me carefully Lewis. Like our relationship depended on it.”

  He nodded, feeling her energy pulling his magic. He needed to rebind her before she unraveled.

  “Can I be a powerful witch?” She waited, her eyes wide with anger.

  He sucked in a breath.

  “Yes or no only,” she added.

  His eyes closed as he said, “yes,” barely above a whisper.

  “Will you tell me why you kept that from me? Yes or no, only.”

  His eyes pleaded with her not to ask.

  She bit the edge of her mouth. “Who is Fannie?”

  At that, he started to shift as he struggled to hold his form.

  “We clearly need to talk, now,” she said, and poured herself a cup of coffee. “You can tell me these things and I will try my best to forgive your secrets. Or I can read more and learn them on my own with no such forgiveness.”

  “Gwen, please, it is dangerous knowledge that you want. I wouldn't keep things from you to be spiteful, ever, I love you. I love you more than I can express.”

  “You don't love me enough to be honest. That isn't very much at all.”

  The anguish he felt showed on his face. “Can I have time? Can you stop reading, stop asking, and stop practicing magic for just a few days? Please Gwen, it could mean your life.”

  “Do you know who killed Lizzy, or Winnie.” Her tone was demanding.

  “I do not know who killed Lizzy. Her debt was paid by her mother.”

  “I don't understand. You know who killed my mother?”

  He slowly nodded yes.

  “I, I, you need to go somewhere now. Anywhere but my space. Go outside, upstairs, I don't care where you go as long as it is away from me.”

  Lewis walked away, sensing her tension ease when he did. He needed the space too. He needed to see Fannie again. The box was opened and he would need to make new arrangements for Gwen's debt.

  Gwen knew she told him to leave, but it startled her to sense he did leave. She didn't feel him near, not upstairs, not outside. Something felt very wrong. She called Sebastian again, this time she left a clear message about what happened and why she needed to talk to him.

  The size of the house, which only recently started to feel open and airy, suddenly felt like a huge, empty cavern. The emptiness around her threatened to make her weep, so rather than sulking at home, she got ready and made her way to town to make the arrangements with Mel.

  Only a few customers from the morning rush remained when Gwen arrived at the diner. Mel rushed over to greet her as soon as she walked in.

  “Gwen! Sit, sit, what can I feed you?” Mel asked, and then hugged her. “How are you, child?”

  Gwen smiled. She imagined, with such an over-the-top friendly personality and appearance, everyone smiled at Mel. “I'm good, and you?”

  “Always good. What are you eating? Coffee?”

  “Coffee and a danish?”

  “Cheese? Raspberry and cheese?”

  Gwen let out a happy sigh. “Raspberry and cheese, please.”

  Mel vanished and returned in a flash with a danish and coffee.

  Gwen set at the bar and watched as Mel wiped things down and started getting ready for the lunch rush.

  “Mel, would you be able to cater a remembrance celebration for Lizzy?” Gwen felt the words stick a little.

  She sipped her coffee, glad Sebastian offered to arrange everything else. She felt like she might get overwhelmed just thinking about this small part. She reached out and felt the laminate counter under her hands in an effort to ground herself.

  “Would I? Don't be silly, of course I would. When are you planning it for, dear?” Mel did not stop her work while they talked.

  “Sebastian thought Thursday?”

  “Okay, do you have a rough idea on numbers, sweetie?”

  Gwen looked to her notes and told Mel the estimate Sebastian told her. “That's give or take. He thought Linda would know more and wanted to make sure we did not forget anyone.”

  “I will contact Linda. That's so like him to do this for Lizzy. You know he and William were close too.” Mel gave her a sympathetic look and brought her another danish.

  “I get the feeling everyone here is close. I love it, feels like it was home.”

  “You are home, honey. We are all glad you came back. You tell Sebastian he can count on me. Let me know if you need anything else.” She wiped a few more things and then spun around. “Are you going to drag Sebastian to the festival? We have missed him the last few years.”

  “Festival?” G
wen said, and sipped some of the hot coffee.

  “Oh, you know with everything else, well, I just assumed Kathy filled you in… no it isn't Wednesday. I bet Wednesday the girls tell you all about it. Never mind that. Listen to me. You must come to the festival and bring Sebastian. He needs to get out more. Man like that all alone…”

  Mel paused. She smiled as she watched Gwen eat and sip her coffee. “Anyway, it isn't this coming weekend or next, but the weekend after that and you have to come. Friday is a late start after arrival and set up, mostly it is just rides and a parade in the evening. Saturday is the bizarre, you wouldn't believe the fabulous odd vendors that come, followed by the auction, ask Kathy about that, darling. Sunday there is a livestock show, and when all the out-of-towners leave we have a dance, a square dance. It is a hoot.”

  “I wouldn't dream of missing it,” Gwen said, meaning it. She dug in her purse and pulled out a checkbook. “Let me leave you a deposit so you can get supplies for Thursday.”

  Mel and Gwen talked a little more about what would be needed, and then Gwen left with a full belly and happy heart.

  She looked down at her phone, wondering when Sebastian might call. He did say he had other things to do, plus there was the hundred things he agreed to do for her, between settling the estate and planning the celebration.

  When Gwen got home, the house still felt like an empty cavern. Lewis remained elusive. After making herself some soup for lunch, she walked upstairs and took the journal she read in to the loft. She reread the paragraph about her being powerful, and let her mind wonder why Lewis would want to keep that from her.

  G wen startled awake when her phone rang. She looked out the window to see darkness. She fished her phone from her pocket as she stretched her neck, rubbing the ache that sleeping sitting up caused.

  “Are you okay?” Sebastian asked, concerned from the messages she left during the day.

  With her brain still foggy, she thought back to what she said, what happened with Lewis, and started to cry. “No, no, I am not.”

  “I am coming over,” he said.

  “I'm in the loft, it's unlocked,” she said, and hung up.

  She wiped the tears from her eyes and tried to look as presentable as possible. While she felt certain Sebastian wouldn't judge her either way, she didn't want to totally fall apart. The blow of losing Lewis as a rock when she needed him most in that role, wiped her out both physically and emotionally.

  She stood up and started looking over the room below her. After a few minutes, the door opened and Sebastian walked toward her in long, graceful steps. He always seemed so together, she wondered what he must think of her. He witnessed her crumbling to pieces since the day they met.

  He felt her eyes on him and looked up, his smile warm. He could feel her sadness, feel her uncertainty, and feel that she was teetering dangerously on the edge of her magic unraveling in a very unsafe way. If that much power unleashed in a rush, it could devastate her. Lewis should have slowly worked on it with her since she was a child.

  “I'll come down,” she said, sounding stronger than she felt. “I made arrangements with Mel.”

  He watched as she climbed the stairs, and made his way to the other side of the room. “What happened?”

  Her lips pursed as she tried to say it without bursting into tears. “He lied. I've lost my rock, just when the storm seems to have started raging.”

  Sebastian closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. She needed a friend, a guide, and someone to get her through this. Everything else he felt, he quickly shoved down and took her in his arms.

  When she stopped crying she looked at him with red eyes, her lashes wet.

  He felt a mixture of sadness and admiration. “What do you need?”

  “To know. I need to know. What happened to Lizzy? Why were we, me and mom, sent away? What was she running from? Am I able to do more than Lewis taught me? Who is Fannie? What is all this stuff? Why do you scare him?”

  He took a few measured breaths. “I am going to make as much clear as I can. I promise to always be honest with you, but you know in doing so, the gulf between me and Lewis grows.”

  “Did he ask you not to tell me about those things?” she asked, looking at him puzzled.

  “I would rather we just didn't discuss Lewis. I would never want to be a reason for tension between a witch and their familiar.”

  She nodded, it made sense he would have some loyalty to his own kind, even if they didn't like each other. “Do you know who killed Lizzy?”

  “No, you asked me that already.” He took her hand and walked toward the center of the room.

  “But you do know who she was running from.”

  He helped her to sit, before sitting down beside her on the floor. “I do.”

  “What is this powder made of?” she asked, looking around them, remembering Lewis said protection of some sort.

  “It depends on what it was used for. This was mostly salt. Salt is wonderful for keeping in or out dark things.”

  She ran her fingers through the powder, feeling the crystals and trying to imagine Lizzy sitting there with them. “Did you work magic with her?”

  “Not as a rule, occasionally, yes. I blessed your room. I helped bind your mother before she left.”

  “Why did she need bound?”

  “So that Fannie couldn't follow her.”

  Gwen looked at him with sharp eyes. “Did you try to bind me? It said in the journal Lizzy didn't think I could be bound. You wanted us to stay?”

  “I did not try to bind you. As you probably read, I thought better of it.”

  Her brows furrowed. “Do you still think whatever we ran from is following me?”

  “Yes, I do, and I still think you can handle it. Easily.”

  “Wait, if you didn't bind me then it could have followed us, mom, it killed her. I gave it a way to find her?”

  “Don't,” he said, and held her hand in his. “You were not even born yet and thinking like that is not helpful right now.” His eyes filled with worry.

  She knew that if she radiated some magic trail, whatever they tried to shield them from followed her right to her mother. “Fannie, is she a voodoo lady?”

  He looked at her, seeing she needed to hear it then and with honesty. “Yes, she is a voodoo queen, and I won't kid you, she is a powerful lady.”

  “She is related to this debt? My family made some deal with her family?”

  “With her.”

  “Lizzy did?”

  “No, well before Lizzy's time. Lizzy was the first who refused to pay the debt.”

  Gwen furrowed her brows. “Good for her.”

  He smiled. “I agree. Lizzy was a strong woman, a powerful witch and had the soul of an angel. The debt was more than she was willing to pay.”

  “Sebastian, can you teach me? Would you?”

  Sebastian felt his breath catch. It seemed like there wasn't enough air in the room. Did he dare? Could he teach her in the way she needed with these underlying feelings of desire? She needed a guide and Lewis didn't want to be that, whatever the reasons, but could he? “That is a request with huge implications.”

  “I'm sorry. It was presumptuous. It seems like I have known you forever and I realize we have only just met.” She looked away.

  “No,” he said, shaking his head. “That is not why I hesitate. I worry for the bond you need with Lewis. I worry for the price you might pay for aligning with me. I would without reservation be your mentor, mi belleza, if I thought it best for you.”

  Frustration filled her features and voice. “What are the implications? Can't you just show me simple things?”

  “You are not just a simple witch and that has to be considered when teaching you anything.”

  “What is it that makes me so special? I don't feel very special.”

  “I will teach you if you decide that you can’t learn from Lewis, but I would implore you to give him a chance. There is a bond with him that I can’t have with you, one yo
u will need.”

  “The thoughts we share you mean?”

  “Yes, that, the ability to summon him and the ability to share power.”

  She looked at him like she was hearing it for the first time. “Try something simple. Show me how you took my sadness the other night.”

  He chuckled. “That is only something simple because you are so special. It is actually quite advanced.” He took her hand and placed it on his face. “Look at my eyes. See the sadness behind them?”

  “Yes,” she said, and frowned at having missed how much sadness reflected back at her.

  His tone became deep and serious. “Now this is very important. When you start to feel it, stop. I have too much sadness for you. Make it your intention to pull just a little into your fingers. I need you to stop it at your hands, do not bring it into you.”

  Gwen looked at him and nodded, even though she didn't know exactly what he meant. The more she looked and saw the sadness clouding just behind his beautiful eyes, the more she wanted to get it right. She thought about the kindness he showed her. How tender and comforting he was, and made it her intention to be the same for him.

  Suddenly she felt nauseous as a deep soul crushing sadness washed over her. Her instincts screamed at her to run away but her body felt frozen in pain. The pain in her mind stabbed like nothing she felt before.

  Her eyes filled with tears and he pulled her hand away.

  She folded into a ball and wept. Her shoulders heaved as her body fought to keep the sadness from setting in. She cried so deeply she started to hyperventilate. Sweat beaded on her forehead and she started to shake. She rolled over and started to dry-heave.

  His voice was faint in the distance but darkness encased her.

  “Look at me.” His voice grew louder.

  She felt his hand on her chin as he made her look at him. There was a flash of blue eyes. Another wave of sadness that felt like a broken heart and a deep betrayal started to fold in on her.

  Peace washed over her. The blackness lifted.

  “You took way too much. That is a danger with one so strong. We should start with something less, well, just less,” he said and took her in his arms, rocking her.