Anice: The Cursed Clan

by Schroeder, Melissa

  There was the tinkling of a bell.

  “Please join us in the dining room for light refreshments,” Bellows said.

  They discovered that they had seating requirements. When they sat, the places for Anice and Brody were empty, of course.

  A well-dressed gentleman appeared, wearing a tux and looking a little uncomfortable.

  “Thank you all for coming to the fundraiser. I and Mr. McWalton believe in Scotland’s independence. We need another referendum on the issue and soon.”

  He raised a glass. “To Scotland.”

  Everyone raised their glasses, but Maggie caught her husband’s eye and shook her head. He gave her a questioning look.

  She leaned in close to whisper, “We have no idea if there is anything in the drinks. Better safe than sorry.”

  He nodded and put down his glass.

  “Now, enjoy the light dinner, along with an amazing dessert.” He stepped away and walked in their direction. Angus caught his attention, so the man stopped.

  “Hello, Gerald. This is my wife Maggie.”

  He nodded in her direction and smiled. This wasn’t a McWalton. More like an errand boy, but Angus knew him, so he must have met him in business.

  “Nice to meet you.”

  “I thought Gavin was going to be here?” Angus asked.

  Now, the nerves were back. He glanced from side to side, as if to make sure no one was watching or listening. “Gavin was called away on an urgent business matter.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yes.”

  “But you doona know what it might be?”

  Gerald shook his head. “It had something to do with the personal side of the business. You know what those big Clans are like.”

  He nodded. “Of course. We are looking forward to the auction. I’ll let you go, as I know there are a number of people wanting to talk to you.”

  He nodded. “Again, nice to meet you, Mrs. Lennon.”

  Then he was gone.

  “That’s weird.”

  “No, it’s not. I have a bad feeling about this,” Maggie said, pulling out her phone. “You think he went up there, don’t you?” he whispered, then kissed her temple. Anyone watching them would think they were just a loving couple.

  “I need to text both Anice and Phoebe.”

  He nodded. “Steal away and I will follow.”

  She gave him a kiss, then rose out of her chair, taking her purse with her. She knew he would come behind her and have her back. That little thought filled her with warmth, even as she felt another tremor of cold seep into her blood. Something was definitely wrong.

  She pulled out her phone and started to text Phoebe and Anice.

  Gavin isn’t here.

  Phoebe: What? He didn’t show up to his own fundraiser?

  Nope.

  Anice: What do you think it means?

  I worry he knows where you are headed, and we sent you into a trap. I still say that we should have figured out a way to get all three of you up to the property with magick.

  It could be done, but even with several magickal folks, it could have left them too weak for any kind of battle.

  She felt Angus step up behind her.

  “Any word?”

  She shook her head.

  Anice: Too much of a risk.

  Phoebe: True, but since he isn’t there, come back to the house. Callum and Rena agree. No reason to risk it.

  On our way now.

  “We’re leaving,” she said and started to walk toward the exit. A blast of cold air hit them, and she fell back into Angus.

  “What the bloody hell was that?”

  “Could be a ward.”

  “Those are to keep people out, right?”

  “Or to trap them, but bugger that.”

  She chanted a spell to break it and, thankfully, it crumbled. A rush of warmth surrounded them. “Let’s get out of here before the bastard realizes we broke through.”

  Angus nodded, took her hand, and hurried out of the house. As they started off to the car, a clap of thunder sounded. The ground beneath them shook, and all of the outside lights that surrounded the mansion flashed...then blinked out.

  “What the bloody hell was that?” Angus asked. The wind started to whirl around them. “Forget that. What the hell is this?”

  “Get the car,” she said, as she closed her eyes to chant.

  “If you think I’m going to leave you right now, you’re daft.”

  She opened her eyes and cupped his face. After a long moment of staring into his eyes, she said, “I canna concentrate with you here. I’m going to fight this off while you get the car. Then we can get the hell out of here.”

  “What about transporting?”

  She shook her head. “It will only drain me, and I know this is just a prelude.”

  He nodded and gave her a hard, quick kiss, then ran toward their car. She closed her eyes again and started chanting. Power surged within her as she raised her hands. Evil snapped in the air around her. She knew it wasn’t an entity. She could feel that it had been a trap of sorts, one that would keep them from leaving, still, not a particularly big threat. It didn’t mean that it could be ignored. There was definitely a darkness in it, one that she knew could fester and end up hurting others. Chanting, she lashed out at it, sparks flying in the air around her as a wall of darkness grew in intensity.

  Heat flew out at her. Maggie stumbled back but regained her footing with no problem. Even as fear chilled her blood, she stood her ground. Gritting her teeth, she fought back with her white magick, all the while, ignoring the small cuts in her flesh and Angus yelling at her.

  With one last chant to dispel the evil, she pushed back against the dark force. There was another large clap of thunder, one that shook the ground...then, the wind stopped and the energy around the mansion seemed to calm.

  Angus ran up to her. “What the bloody hell do you think you were doing?”

  Suddenly she was slammed up against his chest and he wrapped his arms around her. It was only at that point that she let the fear and panic take over. Tears burned her eyes, as she wrapped her arms around Angus.

  She pulled back and looked up at him. “Doona cry, love,” he said brushing away her tears.

  She nodded. “Thank you.”

  “For what.”

  She didn’t really know how to express the love she felt for him, how he had given a family to her and Jack, and for always being right by her side for every fight.

  “For being you.”

  He gave her another kiss, just like the one earlier. “Let’s get the hell out of here. I’ve had enough of this crap.”

  She laughed and nodded. They were on their way home when her phone buzzed.

  Anice: Are you free?

  Yes. Should be back at the house in less than half an hour. Be careful. He thought this through.

  Phoebe: Be safe and get home quickly.

  Maggie turned around and watched as the McWalton mansion grew smaller and smaller. For the first time in hours, she felt a little more at ease.

  “I hated being there.”

  He nodded. “I’ll feel better when we’re at the house.”

  She settled back in her seat and sent good thoughts to Anice, Brody, and Esme.

  * * *

  They had just arrived on McLennan land when their car died. Anice’s senses went into hyper alert as the hair on her arms stood up. Bloody hell, that definitely wasn’t good.

  “Well, that’s not a promising sign,” she said.

  “No. And I have a really bad feeling right now,” Esme said. “There’s some extremely bad magick in these parts.”

  “Do we need to worry about the owners? I can’t believe I didn’t ask about that before we left.”

  She shook her head. “We are the owners. Callum bought all the land back a while ago.”

  “So, I’m in charge,” Esme said.

  “What?” Brody asked.

  “I’m the one who will sense the magick. You need
to listen to me.”

  They sat in silence for a few seconds. Her mobile ringing jarred all of them and pulled a laugh from her.

  “It’s Phoebe,” she said clicking the speaker on. “What’s up? You’re on speaker by the way.”

  “Angus and Maggie made it back home safely.”

  “Good,” Anice said.

  “How goes it there?”

  “The car died the moment we hit our land.”

  “Well, that’s a bad sign.”

  “I said pretty much the same. Do you have anything else we need to know?”

  “Yes. I translated another passage. The Key and her protector are the most powerful of all of them. Together, they can conquer anything. Sacrifice is not truly the end, but the beginning.”

  “That’s it?” Brody asked. “Our family is annoying.”

  Normally Phoebe would laugh, but she did not. That was how tense things were at the moment.

  “Anything for me, Phoebe?” Esme asked.

  “No. I feel that you are in the blasted diary, but it isn’t letting me see it yet.”

  “Yep. I’m with you, Brody. Our family is definitely annoying.”

  “Let’s get going,” Anice said. “The longer we chat, the later it is getting.”

  “Yes. Of course. Be safe and make sure to let us know what happened; although, we will probably know before you call.”

  “Be safe, yourself.”

  She clicked off the phone.

  “What does she mean? They will probably know?” Brody asked.

  “When we retrieve a stone, it disappears and then reappears in the sword.”

  “So bloody cool,” Esme said. “Now I kind of wished I stayed there.”

  “Same plan though, we know for sure that bastard is up here,” Brody said.

  Anice drew in a deep breath, then released it slowly. “Let’s do this.”

  “Anice,” Brody said.

  “I’ll wait outside,” Esme said, slipped from the SUV to give them privacy.

  “I wanted to say that we will have a long talk when this is all over.”

  She shook her head. “There’s no reason, Brody.”

  “Yes. There is.”

  “It doesn’t matter.” When he opened his mouth to argue with her, she stopped him. “It doesn’t. Not now. All I care about is getting that amethyst. You owe me nothing.”

  His eyes turned darker. He was definitely not happy about the situation, but he nodded. She was in charge of her life from now on and she wasn’t going to have a man dictate to her what needed to be said, how they needed to go along. She had had enough of that. Now all that mattered was breaking this bloody curse.

  “All right,” he said. “Let’s go find this bloody amethyst.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Irritation slinked down Brody’s spine, but he ignored it. Mostly. He couldn’t really. They had bad things to conquer and a curse to break. And besides, he kind of deserved the rebuke. He had lied to her about who he was and then again about what he was. Just because she gave him her virginity didn’t really mean anything. Not in this day and age.

  She is not from this time.

  Oh, shut it. I need my wits about me.

  You need to shift.

  He ignored his wolf as much as he could. He was always there, right below the surface. Currently, though, his wolf was ready for a fight. The air snapped with danger. He knew he was more lethal as a wolf, but until he needed to fight, he wanted to stay on two legs.

  Anice’s mobile buzzed again.

  “A message from Phoebe. The last treasure can be found where the Key found solace.”

  She blinked and looked up at him.

  “Do you know what that means?” Brody asked.

  “I...does it mean now or back then?”

  “I would say back then,” Esme said. “This all pertains to who you were before the curse, so it would be back then. Was there a favorite place you always ended up? A place you went to when you felt you needed to either hide or have some freedom.”

  Her face lit up and she smiled, then it dissolved. “I used to wander the fields at night. Remember?”

  It was the story that she had told them on the way up there. He nodded. “Where in the fields?”

  “The bloody fields,” she said, her voice cracking. “How will we figure that out?”

  Esme stepped forward and took her free hand, urging Anice to look at her. “I need you calm. Take a deep breath. Think. Is there a specific memory, one that you can pinpoint might have been a sign?”

  Anice sighed and closed her eyes. “It was so long ago.”

  Esme gave Brody a look, then gestured with her head for him to take Anice’s hand. Anice opened her eyes briefly.

  “Give me your mobile or put it in your pocket. Hold onto Brody with two hands.”

  Anice did as she ordered and closed her eyes again. As soon as she did, Brody felt a jolt of energy rush through his system. He’d had that feeling before when he was with her, but it hadn’t been this intense. She shook, and he held on tighter.

  “Concentrate, Anice. One moment, one little thing that might have not seemed like a big thing, but you know now that it was.”

  Another jolt, heat spreading out through his body as he felt her shake even more. In the next instant, she opened her eyes.

  “I remember. It was the night of the full moon when your ancestor found me. There is a wishing well nearby. Come on.”

  She released his hands and turned to run away, but he grabbed her.

  “Be careful, love. We doona know where Gavin is.”

  She sighed and nodded. “It’s just up this path,” she said, pointing to a dirt trail that wound through a bunch of trees.

  He nodded and stepped in front of her. “Me in front and Esme behind you. All of us need to keep our wits about us.”

  He started on his way, certain she was right. Even as he thought that, he knew without a doubt there was something very, very wrong. Each step took them closer to their destiny, but he knew without a doubt, Gavin was somewhere in the area. Even if Maggie hadn’t told them, he would know. That darkness seemed to permeate the entire forest.

  Careful. We need to keep both her and you safe.

  I know.

  The wind shifted, and the stench of sulfur surrounded them.

  “I should have known that he would be playing with a demon,” Esme muttered.

  “What?” Anice asked.

  “That smell. It’s a sign of demons and anyone associated with the devil. Gavin is such a lazy ass bastard. I want him to cry when we are done with him.”

  “Esme,” he warned.

  “I know. I should keep focused, and I am, it’s just that he denies us our rights, and his ancestors killed their own blood because of their abilities. Then he bastardizes it by playing with demons.”

  A tree branch cracked above them. Fear and panic filled him as he turned to grab Anice to save her. Thankfully, she was already moving toward him, and Esme had followed her. The branch hit the ground with a thud.

  Bastard.

  “Bastard,” Esme muttered at the same time.

  “Let’s hurry. I know we need to be safe, but the sooner we are there, the faster we can see if I am right.”

  As they stepped out of the forest, a large field was there. The scent of heather fought with another odor that made his eyes water. Sulphur again.

  “This is it,” Anice said, her hushed reverence spoke to him. This was indeed the place. He didn’t doubt it. The rightness of it sunk into his bones and his wolf actually hummed.

  Brody pulled out the dagger he had brought with him. Until he had to shift, he wanted some kind of protection. As soon as they stepped into the field, a flash of lightening then thunder cracked above them. A rush of cold air hit them so hard they stumbled.

  “Take her,” Esme said.

  “Esme—”

  “No, go. I will push back on him, so you have some time.”

  He nodded and grabbed Anice’s
hand and hurried through the field. It was overgrown, making it so difficult.

  “Esme,” Anice shouted.

  “She will take care of him for us.”

  She stopped, and he had to tug on her hand. When he glanced back, he realized there was large dark cloud, at least twenty stories high in front of his cousin. The wind blew her hair around and she was moving around, power sparking off her hands as she fought Gavin and whatever black magick he had conjured.

  “Come on. She’ll be fine,” he said, tugging on her hand. At the same time, he sent a prayer to his cousin, hoping that his faith in her would hold true.

  As they ran through the fields, the air grew heavier. It was hard to gain a good breath, but they kept on. The sounds of the fight behind them tore at his heart. He didn’t know what his cousin was going through.

  They continued on until a horrible sound exploded behind them. It lanced through his soul. He almost doubled over from the pain, but he gritted his teeth and kept on. He wanted to protect his cousin, but he knew she was part of this fight. He had to let her do what was needed as he protected Anice.

  “There it is!” Anice exclaimed.

  He followed her direction and saw the well at the end of the field. They rushed forward and just as they were about fifty yards from it, something shifted in the air. Intense dread filled the atmosphere.

  They reached the wishing well and found the bucket down. He took hold of the handle and started to retrieve it as Anice looked around the area.

  “What are you doing?” he asked as he continued on his task.

  “I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t anywhere else.”

  She turned and came toward him as the bucket rose out of the well. He grabbed it. There, in the bottom of the worn wood, was a perfect amethyst.

  “Well,” she said stepping closer as he reached in and grabbed the jewel.

  Instantly, an energy seemed to explode around them. Dirt, rocks, and grass flew everywhere. He covered Anice, trying to protect her from the worst of it, all the while, he held onto the jewel. When everything settled, he stood. Gavin stood in front of them, but not the man Brody had known most of his life. Brody would bet that very little of Gavin remained.