The Heart of Arima.

by Emma V. Leech

  “What?”

  “A love spell … Seriously?”

  “It was all I could think of! Perhaps I should have just let him kill me, that would solve everyone's problems wouldn't it? Would that have been better?” I felt tears prickle my eyelids and rubbed them away in irritation

  “No! No, luv. Oh I’m sorry, Jéhenne, like I said, I’m cranky. Look I’ll be right over, OK?”

  “OK,” I mumbled and put the phone down before bursting into tears. It wasn’t fair, Corvus was miserable, I was miserable and now even Rodney was getting the hump with me. Life sucked.

  I was just about to indulge in a good bout of self-pity when I felt the mattress move, and an arm snaked over my shoulders. I yelped in alarm and jumped off of the bed.

  “I’m really sorry, I know it’s my fault you’re crying. I wish there was something I could do to make it up to you.” Lucas got up and walked towards me as I backed myself against the bedroom wall.

  “Look, Lucas, I appreciate you’re trying to be nice but the only reason you’re being nice at all is because I’ve put a spell on you. If I hadn’t, I’d be dead and it would be your fault, so you’ll have to forgive me if you’re not my favourite person.”

  He nodded. “I know I would have killed you but you’re wrong, it’s not a spell, it’s real.”

  Oh bloody hell. I’d really done a number on him. I think I preferred it when he was lethal and obnoxious. Oh alright, maybe not, but really, this was ridiculous.

  “Lucas the sun is coming up and you obviously can’t see Corvus like this.If he got the slightest idea of how you felt…” I felt sick suddenly. “Actually I can’t think about that, so let’s just concentrate on getting you back to normal and Corvus being none the wiser, right.”

  To my horror and surprise, Lucas shook his head.

  “I don’t want to be like that again, Jéhenne. I was unhappy and lonely and … Please don’t make me be like that again.”

  “But … But you can’t be happy like this, surely? You know I love Corvus … You do know that right?”

  “Yes, of course I know that and I know I don’t stand a chance but at least I can be happy to be around you.”

  “Oh no. Not happening, you could never stop Corvus from finding out and I am so not going to keep it a secret! Believe me I'm in enough trouble.”

  I couldn’t look at him, he looked so bloody lost and miserable and I was beginning to feel guilty. I was not going to feel guilty about something else. I had enough guilt, not to mention men, to last me several lifetimes. Instead I concentrated on pulling all the clothes out of my wardrobe and laying them on the bed.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m sorry, Lucas, but Inés will probably fry you if she finds you asleep in my bed so it’s the wardrobe. I know it’s not great but it’s the best I can do.”

  “Look, make yourself comfortable … Well as comfy as you can. I’ll speak to you this evening and we’ll sort something out, OK?

  From the look on his face it clearly wasn’t OK but he kept his mouth shut so I left him to it. By the time I got downstairs Rodney had arrived and put the kettle on and was throwing some more logs on the fire. I sat in the armchair closest to the fire and let Rodney bustle about making tea. He handed me a mug and sat down in the chair opposite with his own.

  “Where is he then?”

  “Upstairs in my wardrobe.”

  Rodney snorted. “Bleedin hell, couldn’t have wished it on a nicer bloke.”

  I laughed. It was ridiculous, and Rodney’s opinion of Lucas was just the same as mine. He was a menace and Corvus should have gotten rid of him when he had the chance.

  “So then, a love spell?”

  I nodded and sipped at the tea.

  “Any ideas how to break it?”

  “No, but I read it in one of Inés’ books, so there must be a reversal spell.”

  “You got the book then?”

  “Um, no, I can’t remember which one it was in. I was kind of flicking through books looking for something else and I came across it

  He put down his mug and rolled his eyes at me. “Right then, no time like the present, let’s go and find this bloody spell.”

  Chapter 20

  We’d spent an unsuccessful morning rifling through Inés’ spell books but still hadn’t found the one I needed.

  “Are you sure you can’t remember what it looked like?” asked Rodney for the fiftieth time.

  “No! It was old and dusty but other than that I wasn’t paying attention.”

  “Well that narrows it down,” he muttered. I was about to give him a snarky reply when I heard the front door scrape open. Shit, Inés was back. Suddenly she was standing in the doorway looking down at us both on our knees in her herb room, surrounded by piles of books.

  “Jéhenne, why can I smell vampire?”

  Bugger. I’d forgotten about her bloody super senses. I decided to attack first before she could pursue it further. “Why don’t you tell me why you’ve got a dangerous elvish plant growing in the woods out there first?”

  “Comment?” She looked puzzled.

  “You didn’t know?”

  “Non, Jéhenne, of course not. I would have warned you.”

  I sighed, well that was something. “Great, so it was probably a gift from Aradia. Inés, give the bloody book back before one of us gets killed will you! I nearly died last night, with some help from Lucas.” Her eyebrows rose in surprise and I rubbed my eyes wearily. “I did the only thing I could think of and zapped him with a love spell. He saved me but now Lucas is following me round like a-- Like a-- Well like a vampire with a bloody love spell on them.Not only that but he’s convinced it isn’t a spell at all but that he really loves me! So anyway he’s asleep in my wardrobe because I didn’t know what else to do with him.” I finished and crossed my arms, glaring at her, daring her to find fault. To my surprise she didn’t, which immediately rang alarm bells.

  “Alors, Jéhenne, it sounds as though you did everything you could,” she said, with a soothing tone that I was totally unused to hearing from her. “Don’t worry about Lucas; I’ll take care of that for you. I can reverse the spell.”

  I looked at Rodney who was staring at Inés like he’d never seen her before. I wasn’t sure I had either. She turned and walked back into the kitchen. I got up and followed her to find she was busily unpacking shopping and making a fresh pot of coffee.

  “Who are you and what have you done with Inés?” I demanded, only half joking.

  She laughed but didn’t look at me, instead she made a great show of cleaning down the kitchen table which was already spotless.

  “Whatever do you mean, Cherie?”

  “You’re hiding something, what is it?”

  “Quelle absurdité! I'm doing nothing of the sort.” She washed the cloth out under tap but still wouldn’t look at me. I knew she was up to something but I also knew I’d never get her to tell me. She looked guilty as hell though.

  “Fine, don’t tell me but I know you, Inés. You know something and sooner or later I’ll find out what!”

  She shrugged and rolled her eyes, disappearing into her bedroom and I went back into the herb room where Rodney had stacked all the books into a pile.

  “What was that about?”

  I shrugged. “No idea.”

  “She’s up to something,” he hissed. Rodney had known my gran longer than I had and he was well aware of what she was capable. “Wouldn’t trust ‘er far as I could throw ‘er.”

  I nodded in agreement. “I know, but she won’t tell me. Still, at least she can sort the spell out.”

  I slumped down in the chair beside the work bench; my sleepless night was catching up on me. Just to make my morning complete the door in the kitchen scraped open and I heard Corin speaking to Inés before the door opened and shut again.

  Rodney scowled. “What the bleedin’ ‘ell is he doin’ ‘ere?”

  “He’s training me, remember?”

  He grunt
ed. “Is that what you’re callin’it?” I was shocked by the harsh tone of his voice.

  “Rodney!”

  He got to his feet but didn’t look at me. “Right well, Inés will sort your spell out for yer, so I’m off.”

  “Rodney, don’t be like that …please.”

  “Oh, come on, luv. It’s bleedin’ obvious what’s goin’ on wiv him hangin’ about. It really don’t take much workin’ out. Does he know what he’s gettin’ into though? You know Corvus will kill him. Does he?”

  “Does he what?” The voice came from the doorway and I jumped as I saw Corin standing there. To my horror Rodney stepped forward and jabbed him in the chest.

  “Bleedin’ ‘ell, mate, you’re gonna get yerself killed, don’t be a bloody fool ... Just stay away from her.”

  Corin raised one elegant eyebrow. “I am here to train Jéhenne at her brother’s request but as to anything more than that ... As I understand it Corvus has ended the affaire and Jéhenne is a free agent.”

  “Yeah but he’s only ended it because of you and the bloody ...”

  “Rodney!” I yelled, glaring at him furiously.

  He turned to look at me wide eyed. “Shit! You mean to say you’re practically signin’ his death warrant and you haven’t even told him ... Shit!”

  Corin looked from Rodney to me and frowned. “What the devil is going on?”

  “Nothing,” I said, staring at Rodney and daring him to open his bloody mouth. He held up his hands.

  “Don’t ask me. I don’t know bleedin’ anything and that’s the way I think I’ll keep it. See yer, Jéhenne.” He stomped out through the kitchen with me running behind him.

  “Rodney, please ... Don’t go.”

  He stopped in the doorway and shook his head. “Luv, I don’t know what yer goin’ through and I know you wouldn’t hurt anyone on purpose but if you don’t sort somethin’ out, and fast, there’s gonna be a lot of trouble round ‘ere.”

  I looked up at him and swallowed down a lump that had appeared in my throat. He sighed and leaned forward, and kissed me on the cheek. “Take care, luv,” he said softly. I watched from the door as he got in his car and drove away, and I turned to find Corin watching me.

  “Would you like to tell me what that was about?”

  I shook my head, biting my lip.

  He stepped forward and I backed away. “What did he mean? Corvus ended it with you because of me?”

  “Please don’t, Corin,” I whispered as he walked closer.

  “Don’t what? Jéhenne, it would appear your vampire believes there is something between us and bearing in mind that Rodney thinks I’m likely to die for it I would say I have a right to know.”

  “No, you’re safe ...for now. He--he doesn’t know it’s you, not yet.”

  I went to step away but he was too fast and caught hold of me. He drew me into his arms and I looked into his eyes with my heart pounding.

  “What do you mean, it’s me, are you saying you have feelings for me?”

  “No!” I pushed him away but he held me fast in his arms.

  “Then what, Jéhenne, what made Corvus break from the woman he so obviously loves? What is it he believes we have done ... Or will do?”

  “Let me go.” I wriggled, trying to get away from his hold.

  “No.” He backed me against the kitchen cupboards and I tried to push him away, my hands flat on his chest but his arms held me like a vice.

  “Tell me,what is there between us?”

  “I ... I ...” His expression was intent, his eyes fixed on mine and I really wished he would just look away because ...I couldn’t. Suddenly my wish was granted but instead I found his mouth on mine and my knees decided to do a really good impression of jelly. I gasped and shoved him harder but it made no difference, his lips left mine and went to my neck, working their way up to my earlobe and I felt the magic rise under my skin. “You have such a beautiful neck; so delicate and white, I can’t get close to you without wanting to kiss it.”

  I tried to think of some scathing retort about making me sound like a frigging goose but my brain had shut down.

  “Speak to me, Jéhenne.” His breath was warm against my neck and shivers ran down my spine.

  “I will!” I squeaked. “I ... I promise just ... Just give me a little time and ... And stop doing that!”

  His head came up and the golden eyes fixed on mine. “How much time?”

  “Friday! Come back Friday night and I’ll tell you everything, just give me a break until then, OK?” I said, desperation making me grasp at straws. That gave me a few more days to be sure, though what more proof I needed, I didn’t know.

  He sighed. “You promise to explain everything?”

  I nodded frantically and he let me go. I held onto the worktop as the magic subsided abruptly and made me feel giddy.

  “Very well. You have until Friday evening and then, my dear, I want some answers.”

  “Yes. I promise.”

  He inclined his head. “As you wish. But now…let us get to work.”

  Several hours later I fell into the kitchen, cold, dirty and exhausted. Corin had kept his word and been all business. There had been no flirtation and he didn’t use any and every excuse to get close to me as he usually did. The effort seemed to put him in a bad mood however and he’d been worse than Cain.

  I was bloody knackered.

  I slumped at the kitchen table with a groan and put my head in my hands. I couldn’t do this. I felt like I was in the middle of a vast maze with no map and every turn I took was a dead end. No matter what I did, someone got hurt. If I chose Corvus, the baby wouldn’t exist, and there was something terribly important about that child. If I chose the child, Corvus would be heartbroken as would I, and Corin would never be able to set foot in this realm again if he wanted to live, and no matter which I chose, he was still coming for me.

  I jumped as a thud on the table reverberated through my skull and looked up to see Inés had put a massive and ancient looking book down in front of me.

  “Aradia’s book of shadows?” I guessed and she nodded, looking gloomy. “You’ve got to give it back, Inés, before one of us gets killed.

  “Oui, oui!” she said, sitting down opposite me and scowling at the book. “I know, I know ... It’s just ...so much knowledge, Jéhenne. I’ve had it over a year and I’ve barely scratched the surface.”

  “How did you get hold of it in the first place?”

  She smoothed her hands over the thick velum of its cover lovingly and sighed. “I was visiting an acquaintance in Italy. Aradia had placed the book in his hands for safe keeping, he was curator of a supernatural library over there you see.” She saw me raise my eyebrows and shrugged. “Every country has them, so our knowledge doesn’t get lost when people die; saves a lot of fighting too.”

  My eyebrows rose further. “Yeah, I can see that.”

  She pouted. “Alors, this one wasn’t on the borrow list and he’d told me he hadn’t seen or heard from her in over three centuries. I figured I could borrow it for a few years and take it back and no one would be any wiser. He certainly wasn’t making any use of it, the fool. How was I to know she was going to come back so soon?”

  “Um, maybe because shit like this happens on a daily basis in this family?” I snapped. “I don’t believe you sometimes, really I don’t.”

  I jumped in my seat as there was a knock at the door and turned to see Claudette smiling at me through the glass. She gave me a little wave and I rushed to let her in while Inés removed the book.

  “Bonjour.” She kissed me on both cheeks and I ushered her into the warmth of the kitchen. Her face was flushed from the cold.

  “Did you walk here?” I asked as there was no car.

  “Oui, Jean-Pierre is going to pick me up in a bit. I needed some fresh air so I thought I’d stop by. Is that OK?”

  “Of course, it’s good to see you.”

  She grinned and took off her gloves, and began unwinding her scarf. “Y
ou are coming to the party on Friday aren’t you?” she demanded and frowned as my face fell. Shit, Friday night was the night ...

  “Err ...”

  “You promised, Jéhenne! You didn’t come to last one either after you said you would.”

  “OK, yes, I’ll come.” Thinking about it, it might be for the best, maybe if I got really, really drunk I would have the courage to tell Corin and ... And ...

  “Thank goodness. I couldn’t bear it if Jade was the prettiest girl there, she’s getting on my last nerve.”

  I snorted. “Have you seen me?” I gestured to my outfit which was covered in mud, my hair was scraped back off my face and I was still sweating though, hopefully, my face was no longer a deep scarlet.

  She rolled her eyes. “Well I figured you might dress up a little, it’s true. What have you been doing? You look like you’ve been wrestling with a pig.”