“Yes, I’m aware,” I replied, not really in the mood for a history lesson. There was also the dead body in the restroom that we needed to deal with, which hopefully Orwin was narrowing down the suspects. My bet was still on Knox Emeric. “Piper, all I really need to know is—”
“The power of a Lich will eventually spoil and turn rancid, just as her body does. But only when the amulet or the quality of her receptacle degrades.” Piper rested her heart-shaped face into the palm of her hand, making sure she left enough room between her and the table for Pearl. “At least, that’s what I was told during story time when I was younger. Ammeline is the only modern one in existence today, that we know of, of course. Even the word Lich means corpse in Old English.”
I’d mentioned before that I didn’t have a lot of patience.
Piper was dragging out this conversation when a simple yes or no would have sufficed.
I inhaled deeply, struggling to find some fortitude where I was pretty sure there was none. It seemed that the only way I was going to move this along in the short period of time that we had available to us was to tell my life’s story.
“Things went south for me around three months ago, and I mean very far south.”
In case you didn’t realize it, you are in Pennsylvania, Miss Lilura. I can give you directions, though.
I sat back against my chair, unable to get used to the experience of hearing Pearl. The way she said my proper name was like nails being scraped down a chalkboard.
The feeling is mutual, my dear.
Was it warm in here?
I always got a bit antsy when telling this story, but the heat definitely needed to be turned down somewhat. The police were taking their sweet time getting through the statements—not that I blamed them when there was a dead body lying on the cold tile of the women’s restroom—so I might as well get comfortable. It didn’t take me long to shed my leather jacket.
Now, where was I?
“I had been living in Seattle, teaching a psychology class to a bunch of freshman at a small community college. In all honesty, my life had been going great—a fantastic job where they’d appreciated my contribution, pretty good pay, and some wonderful friends who’d been totally ignorant of what and who I was.” If anyone could understand the importance of hiding our lineage, it was another witch. “One itsy-bitsy mistake changed all that.”
Itsy-bitsy? My dear Miss Lilura, one doesn’t merely become cursed for an itsy-bitsy mistake.
“Pearl, stop that,” Piper whispered in admonishment, though I doubted her light-hearted censure had done much. Pearl didn’t seem like the type to take orders. “Tempest is sharing her story. Don’t be so judgmental.”
That’s hard to do, my sweet Piper. Trouble appears to follow this woman wherever she goes, even here with us now.
I really, really didn’t like this familiar thing.
Don’t get me wrong.
I loved all animals, but listening to a familiar was like having a fly constantly buzzing in my ear. We obviously didn’t like one another, and Pearl wasn’t even my familiar. So, it stood to reason we didn’t even have to exchange words, and the white-haired hoity-toity princess could keep her comments to herself.
Heavens to Betsy! Why, you—
“My name is Lou,” I cleared up, not wanting to hear my given name for the next fifty years. I had good reason for that, but that story was for another time. “You really need to tell Pearl to—”
“We have a problem,” Orwin exclaimed, practically sliding into his seat after he tried to scan the other witnesses waiting to be interviewed. He pushed up his black-rimmed glasses while observing the small crowd. “Someone inside this café is blocking my ability to pick up on anyone else’s thoughts. Lou, that could only mean one thing.”
“What’s that?” Piper asked warily, holding on to Pearl a little tighter. At least the young blonde witch had good instincts. “Wait a minute. You can read my thoughts?”
Bollocks! A druid, you say?
Piper and Pearl should be scared, but not because of Orwin’s abilities.
Orwin and I had encountered many things on the road during the last three months. Some other witches and warlocks, mostly basic humans with nefarious intent, and the rare confrontation with other unusual creatures that went bump in the night.
Bottom line?
There really were vampires, werewolves, and ghouls that were better left undisturbed.
Sometimes, like right this minute, that was rather hard to do.
This could be a dog’s dinner if the situation is not handled properly, my sweet Piper.
“Piper, it means that there’s a druid nearby who is most likely the murderer of that poor woman in the restroom.” Orwin then titled his head in confusion, his focus solely on me. “A dog’s dinner? Really? And since when did you start thinking in an English accent?”
That would be me speaking, Mr. Cornelia. Pearl Pippa Allifair at your service.
Chapter Three
“I need to finish my story,” I told Orwin, wanting him to buy me a little more time. He was still staring at Pearl in horror after discovering that she’d practically considered herself royalty, while I was doing my best to scour the expressions of everyone else at the other tables to find the culprit. A druid? That wasn’t going to work out good for any of us, and we could find ourselves in a lot of trouble. “Orwin, please give me a few more minutes with Piper. Maybe that will be long enough for you to find the druid so I can somehow drop a clue to the police betraying the fact that we know he or she is the guilty party.”
Mr. Cornelia, please stop staring at me as if I were one of those green aliens you hope to discover at Area 51.
“I’m pretty sure this is among my top ten worst fears,” Orwin whispered in abstract horror. “No wonder we never conjured our familiars. You’d have ended up with a sloth, and I’d have to explain some mouse in my pocket. This kind of crazy horse pucky is going to send me straight to an asylum. Lou, tell that thing to get out of my head, or I’ll have to find a new way to skin a cat.”
As if right on cue, Orwin sneezed.
The redness on either side of his nose had begun to gradually fade, but it was now back in full color after using another paper napkin. Clearly, his allergy medicine wasn’t quite up to the task when it came to these kinds of close quarters.
I’m not a thing, Mr. Cornelia. You’re old enough to know that you should refrain from name calling your superiors.
“Go,” I directed Orwin, casting Pearl a look that told her not to say another word. I wasn’t positive, but I was relatively sure her right eyebrow lifted in disdain. “Try to find the druid. The faster we leave this place, the better for everyone here.”
Druids are spellcasters closely related to the Celtic religious followers. They’re talented fighters with magical capabilities better suited for the woodlands.
Bottom line?
They weren’t to be messed with.
A druid could drop a lone witch without breaking much of a sweat. That same druid in a forest glade could wipe out a small army with little more than mere effort.
It seems we finally agree on something, Miss Lilura.
“Fine,” Orwin finally relented, though his reluctance was obvious. “But tell her to stop. I can’t deal with that distraction right now.”
I was just grateful to have a little more time with Piper. I didn’t miss that Knox Emeric had moved closer and taken a seat just two tables away, but I could still exchange words with the petite healer without him overhearing us if I spoke in hushed tones.
Unfortunately, I just wasn’t so sure where to start.
I can help you with that, Miss Lilura. We were discussing the itsy-bitsy mistake you made in order to cause the horrible Lich queen to put a hex on you.
I’m pretty sure that Pearl misunderstood me on purpose, but there was no use in arguing with her.
I’m glad we’re getting off on the right paw.
“The hex Ammeline Letty Romilda
put on me is quite complicated,” I replied honestly, tensing as I waited for Pearl to put in her two cents. She’d even narrowed her green eyes at my admission, but thankfully, she remained silent. “I was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“What does that even mean?” Piper asked, rubbing the back of her neck when a police officer asked one of the college girls to move over to one of the far tables to speak with him. “You were in the wrong place at the wrong time? And not to get off topic, but I know those girls over there. They wouldn’t have had anything to do with something like this…”
Piper let her voice trail off, no doubt due to the return of the horrible memories of her time in the restroom trying to revive a corpse.
“It means that I simply said good morning to an elderly gentleman brushing past me with a cane in his hand,” I replied, not wanting to lose Piper’s interest just yet. I know I was coming across as cold and uncaring to what happened to the woman in the restroom, but Piper had the ability to save hundreds—if not thousands—of witches and warlocks. “Piper?”
I find it hard to believe that good manners caused the great Ammeline to curse you for all eternity. It sounds to me like you’re leaving out something of significance, Miss Lilura.
On second thought, another cup of coffee sounded pretty good. Seeing as the police were halfway through with statements and it appeared that the body was about ready to be moved by the local medical examiner, I would definitely have settled for something less than wine. Anything at this point to hold something in my hands to prevent me from pushing Pearl off of Piper’s lap.
That’s not very ladylike behavior, now is it? And in case you hadn’t noticed, I was doing my best to get my sweet Piper’s mind off the hideous nature of the crime committed right here in her place of employment.
I wasn’t sure what to say about the manner in which Pearl had tried to assist me, but it wasn’t like I could ignore the lifeline she’d tossed my way.
I don’t provide that many, Miss Lilura.
“My story goes like this—I’d stopped into a café similar to this one right before my eight o’clock class. I’d grabbed my usual double shot espresso and a slice of my favorite coffeecake, made my way out through the throng of college students looking for the same general morning pick-me-up, and had immediately begun my short walk across campus, bothering absolutely no one. It was then that I said hello to the elderly man with the cane who appeared in my path.”
“I don’t mean to follow in Pearl’s pawprints, but you obviously bothered Ammeline Letty Romilda in some major way,” Piper pointed out, relaxing a bit when the officer chose to interview the second college-aged girl. Orwin had finally made his way over to the three ladies, two of whom were still crying. The woman who’d found the victim, however, appeared somewhat shell-shocked compared to the rest. “What happened after you greeted the man with the cane?”
“I then ran into the most charming elderly woman imaginable…only in outward appearance, though. On the inside? She was rotten to the core and undead to boot. The vilest evil known to exist. It practically singed the tiny hairs on the back of my neck. She parted her thin lips and began to chant an incantation I’d never heard before in the most nasally accented tone…let’s just say it had been in that moment that I realized I was in some major trouble.”
The language had been arcane and powerful, was it not?
“Yes, it was as if the temple runes had come to life.” I’m not sure when I had begun replying to Pearl as if she were Piper, but I didn’t want to pause in my story. This recap was causing me to break out into a sweat, and I’d already shed my jacket. It wasn’t like I could take off this black turtleneck. “Some of the references I’d only ever seen in the bone rune form and had never heard spoken aloud in my life.”
Why would such a powerful Lich use that type of curse on you?
I’m pretty sure that Pearl had just given me an insult, but it wasn’t like I had the time to take exception to her taunt.
“I later came to find out that the man had been a young warlock in disguise who’d thought it would be a terrific idea to steal a certain mystical cane from the infamous Ammeline Letty Romilda. Its importance was lost on me, and as well as its capabilities.” I can still recall in detail every minute of that morning. It was burned into my memory as if it were carved in stone. “The handle on the cane had been beautifully hand-carved into something I can’t quite recall now, even with True Seeing.”
On purpose, of course. It is the cane that harbors Ammeline Letty Romilda’s power. It’s her phylactery. It is the repository of her intellect and her soul. As such, it would be considered a magical relic.
“It is?” I asked, storing that piece of information away for later use. Maybe destroying the cane could rid me of this hex. Had that been the young warlock’s goal? Had he, too, been cursed? It looked as if I needed to give Pearl credit for such a valuable history lesson. “I knew the cane was important to her, but I had no idea that it contained the magic responsible for her immortality.”
One thing you must remember before you take your leave, Miss Lilura—every witch in existence fears Ammeline. She’s our bogeyman. She is the only sorceress of her family’s coven to have ever figured out how to make herself immortal, and that alone makes her a very powerful Lich. The process has been lost for a thousand years. Not that she is alone. Contrary to popular belief, there are whispers of ancient Lich kings who are much older, hidden away from us all. That does not mean Ammeline is not all-powerful. If you must know, she is bound to her physical existence for all time through that extraordinary cane. You should not have crossed her.
“I didn’t cross her,” I emphatically denied, hating that a cat could get me this riled up. It was time that I go back to ignoring the white familiar, at least for my mental health. “Piper, I did not intentionally misread the situation. I had no idea that the warlock had stolen her cane, nor did I even realize who she was until she began to speak in the ancient tongue.”
Who was I kidding? I’d determined from Orwin’s research that Piper had come from a very loving family. She was trusting…too trusting.
Which is why she has me, Miss Lilura.
I didn’t like that I was having a private conversation where Piper could only hear half or the fact that Pearl had snagged my attention again. All of this felt wrong on every level.
“Can’t your family help you?” Piper asked, her blue eyes regarding me with concern. Her question only confirmed my belief about her naiveté when it came to blind trust. “Surely your family coven is not without its own source of power.”
Where did I begin? This conversation had gotten so far off track that I wasn’t sure how to guide it back to what was important.
Don’t get me wrong.
Family was absolutely essential, and I do come from a very revered family of witches. It’s the sole reason I have a hefty trust fund. If I were being honest, my mother and father would be absolutely mortified to discover that I’d been hexed by the one and only immortal Lich queen known to exist.
The coven that my parents served on as council was also very well-known, as it should be. We are talking about Salem, after all. But my parents were not the doting mother and father I would have wished for had I had a choice of parents.
That makes me sound very ungrateful, doesn’t it?
Now that you mention it…yes, it does.
“Don’t you have a mouse to catch or something?” I muttered, accepting that we were running out of time. We were next up in rotation to be questioned by the police and it wouldn’t be long before either Piper or myself were giving our statement. Maybe Orwin could take the bullet on the first one from our group. “Look, Piper, my parents and I aren’t exactly on speaking terms. I haven’t had any contact with my mother or father for over eight years, ever since the day I turned eighteen and left my coven. They both stated rather vehemently that I wasn’t to return once my broomstick crossed the village boundary.”
I can se
e why. Maybe your misfortune was foreseen.
I bit my tongue and told myself over and over again that I was a better person than one who argued with a cat.
And just so you know, I had actually driven from Salam, Massachusetts to Seattle, Washington in a beat-up old red Jeep Wrangler with a soft top and no regrets whatsoever. I still have my most prized possession, which was currently parked right outside the café. It was my wish that we’d be driving away from this town before midnight.
We are not having an argument, Miss Lilura. I’m simply stating facts.
I wanted so very badly to have Pearl call me Lou, but she’d only refuse…and in turn, cause me even more frustration.
“Piper, this is the bottom line. The only thing I can surmise from those precious few moments when I was standing in front of Ammeline was that she mistakenly thought I’d been some sort of accomplice in the theft of her precious cane or worse…that I’d done nothing to apprehend the culprit. Nothing I said or did on that fateful morning got her to see reason.”
“So Ammeline put a curse on you?” Piper asked, no longer looking anywhere but me. I understood her fascination, because I would have been the same way upon hearing such a story. Unfortunately, I was the pitiful subject left to deal with a dreadful hex. “And the man you are with? Is he also cursed in the same way?”
“Orwin?” I asked, not that I should have been surprised by her assumption. “Oh, no. He was just a simple bystander who observed my unfortunate circumstance. The only reason I’d recognized his true identity as a warlock was due to his instant reaction to Ammeline’s presence and the words he heard her speak. All the other human college students had walked by without giving the older woman a second glance. Orwin? Not so much.”
If the Curse Fits Page 3