Fateful Attractions

by Lucretia Stanhope

  Maybe Fannie had been wronged by him in a way as deep as Josephine had felt.

  Since she seemed more focused on first born sacrifices, it made Gwen wonder if they could have had children? Maybe he sent her children away, or enslaved them?

  Gwen sat down and the cat curled at her feet. She used the tip of her shoe to give it a stroke. It seemed content and drifted to another nap, while she thought about what he told her.

  “Gwen,” Gregor said, walking in the room.

  She looked up, startled. It seemed to her like only a few minutes had passed. “Did you find anything?”

  He walked around so she could see the cloth he held. The look on his face said he was pleased with his offering. “This was used to wipe a small cut on Josephine.”

  “Oh, perfect. Did you see it used?” she asked, and sat straight, looking at the cloth more closely.

  He laughed. “I wiped it myself. I also did an extra jump.”

  She gave him a look that asked the question she was thinking.

  “After I heard your heartache, I wanted to answer that ‘why’ for you. It isn't pretty.”

  “Go on,” Gwen said, and took the cloth he handed her. She noticed the stain before she folded it and tucked it in her pocket.

  “Fannie had a lover, a black man, a slave like her. When she told Fredrick, she expected him to free her, allowing her to start her family, he killed the man.”

  “That's awful, but…” Gwen started, but he continued.

  “That didn't sate the rejection he felt. He kept her as a lover, abused her, and when she had a baby that was clearly not his, he had it killed, and her tortured in such a way she would never have children again.”

  “Dear god,” Gwen said, and shuddered.

  “I don't think she used her friendship with Josephine out of some bond they had. What they both had was a burning hate that fed off of each other. Nothing like two women who have been gutted of their souls by the same man. The same family. Your family. It is a deep hatred that has grown, and I can't imagine they will ever find the peace to let it rest.”

  “They will find their rest. Not peace,” Gwen said defiantly. While she didn't approve of what Fredrick had done in any way, these two women had been killing innocents and using this hurt as justification. It stopped now. They were allowing, even giving Fredrick the power to hurt women in her family again and again.

  Gregor watched her thinking. “You know that when you kill, or do whatever binding it is you have in mind for Josephine, Fannie will know? They are probably linked, bonded by blood ritually as you are.”

  “She can know, for all I care she can watch. Fannie knows where I am. If she wants to seek me out, it will save me the trouble.”

  “That is not good.” Gregor stood, and looked toward the window. “What else do you need to know, or need from the past?”

  She hesitated a minute and then looked up at him. “Can you confirm my mother died in an accident?”

  He frowned and shook his head. “What good will that do? If I confirm it was Fannie and Josephine, it only adds to a need for vengeance you are struggling to control. It won't bring her back.”

  “Can you?” Her eyes demanded an answer.

  “I can, if it is essential, give me a date. I must tell you that I was only cleared to remove things related to Fannie. Even there, I can’t change things. I can only observe what happens to your mother. To alter the past, even, in the slight way I just did by removing this cloth, has unforeseeable risks,” he said with a resigned look on his face.

  Her eyes got wide with realization. “Can you stop this from ever happening?”

  “No, altering her survival changes the fate of her path, your path, the path of everyone you ever come in contact with.”

  “I don't care. I can pay you. I can make you very comfortable.”

  He stood straighter and his tone was firm. “What good is money if we alter things in a way that is realm ending? Do you want to be responsible for the death of a whole world?”

  “No, I want to be responsible for the life of one woman. I have more to offer you than money. I have allies in high places. You can find yourself in power and wealth.”

  “If I agreed to this, even if I changed things for you, you would have moments to enjoy that change before Greta had things realigned to the will of the fates. It is our way. They are the laws of this realm, and I am not willing to change that. There is nothing you can offer me that I could not go and take for myself, if I had a corruptible nature.”

  She heard in his tone that he would not be persuaded. His mind was made up, for now at least. She gave him the date and thanked him, before leaving with the understanding she might be back soon with more questions.

  “T hat’s some story. What next then?” Shane watched Gwen pace the main room.

  She stopped walking and looked at him, glad she decided to only skim the story and leave out as much of the gruesome details as possible. “Here’s where it gets tricky. We are dealing with a witch, and that means she isn’t limited to the night, like our protection is. I’m not exactly sure what she can do, but I assume she can at least get around like me, in the shadows. That makes her hard for me to track. She won’t have to travel here, and could well be anywhere between these awful murders.”

  He stood behind the chair and ran his fingers along the cloth. “What about the professor, you think he could be any use? Bait or something?”

  “Shane, please.” Her lips pursed together and she started to pace around the couch again. “That would be cruel. She may well be more than I can handle, and then he would just be another crime scene.”

  He walked around the chair and sat down, crossing his feet together and leaning back. “Well it isn’t really so cruel. I mean, he’s next anyway, right? She’s going to take him if we are watching or not.”

  “No, maybe. Probably.” She shook her head. “We can’t just go stalk him though.”

  “He’s at risk anyway, just saying.” Shane put up his hands in surrender.

  She paced a little longer. He was right. Steven would be vulnerable all day, but so would Shane and Dillon. “If I went, I would have to glamour a new look and…”

  Shane stood back up, blocking her path and interrupting her. “You can do that? Look like whatever you want?”

  “Sure, it’s a basic use of intention. But it takes practice to hold, so you couldn’t come. He saw you already.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “Why are you staring at me? He can’t see you stalking him.”

  He cupped the side of her face in his hand, his thumb rubbing her cheek. “You can make yourself look like anything?”

  “Yes.” She watched the sparkle grow in his eyes.

  “Anything? Say, blonde, tan, taller?”

  “Shane.” Her mouth dropped and she pushed his hand away. “You wish I were blonde, tan, or taller?”

  He stepped closed. “No, no, sweetheart, that’s just pretty cool, and beats the hell out of costumes.”

  She gave him a disapproving look. “This is not the time for that kind of talk. I can’t go anyway. You and Dillon won’t be safe during the day.”

  “Dillon’s got a gun and he is in the middle of an FBI case, so he has lots of guns around him. I’ll be fine. Go stalk your witch.” He smirked at her. “When you find the witch and your monster kills her, can we talk more about the glamour thing?”

  She frowned. “Be serious. I can’t leave you here alone unprotected.”

  “I am serious. I need to go get some more supplies. I want to make you something special. It wouldn’t be much of a surprise, if you came. I will be in a city, safe. Go, find the witch.”

  She protested a few more times, but her instincts said Shane and Dillon would be safe until, or unless Steven was taken.

  She stood in front of the mirror in her bedroom and looked at herself, thinking about how intrigued Shane had been by her changing her appearance. It was hard to ignore the way his eyes sparkled. She finally convinced herself he was just
being playful. After all he had put up with, that he was still hanging around was testament to him really liking her, just the way she was.

  Her focus intensified and she imagined everything she wasn’t. Shane’s requests came to mind again; they were everything she wasn’t. In the reflection her legs lengthened, skin darkened, hair lightened. She even turned her brown eyes blue. She became the perfect twenty-something cheerleader-type.

  Her feet stayed planted as she stared at the reflection. The thought crossed her mind that Steven might be attracted to this improved version of herself, and she wondered what that would feel like to be jealous of herself, and if she should even still care.

  Shane stood behind her in the doorway and raised his eyebrows at the changes. He walked over and stood close, kissing her ear softly. “That’s awesome. You really are amazing, baby.”

  “Baby? You are going to give me a complex. I’m not the tall, blonde type.” She mocked the tone he used when they went to meet Steven.

  “You are just my type.” He parroted her response and then kissed her. It surprised him that she looked so different, but when he wrapped his arms around her she felt the same. “My magical baby. Be careful.”

  She put both of her hands on his face and looked at his sparkling green eyes. The happiness he oozed didn’t seem affected at all. “Someday I need you to teach me how to let things roll off.”

  “Won’t happen, you care too deeply about everyone.” He kissed her nose, which now had a slight upturn.

  “I’m blessed to be surrounded by people worth caring deeply for.” She kissed his lips gently, and then more deeply. “Stay in the city until night when it is safe to come back.”

  He agreed and they held each other a moment longer before she left.

  Gwen shadow walked to the alley behind the shop near the school. She didn’t want to risk appearing in front of someone on a full campus. Before making her way to the science wing, she stopped at the front office to get the necessary papers to make it appear like she was considering attending the school.

  Since it was already mid-semester, she had no good reason to ask about Steven’s schedule, and decided to just make her way to his class. A frown filled her face when she saw the room was empty. She walked in anyway and looked around.

  Not much had changed since the last time she was there. It looked like any other classroom, with a desk and podium for him, and several long tables with plastic, uncomfortable chairs for the students.

  Without giving too much thought, she walked over and sat down at the front table. She could almost hear his commanding, assured voice. That was the first thing she fell for.

  He was everything she wasn’t. She was scared and alone back then, felt lost and unsure. He knew exactly what he wanted, feared nothing, and when he told her what she needed, she inescapably agreed.

  They seemed meant for each other.

  He was her steady safe place.

  Her eyes closed and she saw an image of them talking about the future. A future where they lived together. A future he never planned on, but painted as if he could see every detail. He made her believe he wanted it as badly as she did.

  She stood up, breaking the vision. That wasn’t helpful and it wouldn’t change things. Her attention was caught by the papers on his desk. He never used to leave things out. She walked over and flipped through them, all biology class things.

  Of course, she scolded herself. What did you expect, an apology letter to you?

  When she saw his portfolio on the floor beside the desk she started to worry. He was tidy and precise. He wouldn’t forget something so important, and if he did, he would remember it as soon as he got in his car.

  He had routines.

  He was on campus, she reasoned, and must have intended to be back. Before she left she peeked in the supply closet, just to make sure he wasn’t in there, and then headed back out for his office.

  The door was shut and locked. The lights were out. She started to think he might not be there. It could well be his day off, or he could already be gone. Dead.

  Before settling on such a nasty fate, she decided to check a few more places. He never used to spend time in the teachers’ cafeteria or lounge, so she started for the courtyard, where students often hung out between classes.

  She found a bench that had a good view of the area and sat down. While she searched faces, she pretended to be reading her packet periodically.

  Once she was convinced he wasn’t there, she started for the library. It was the last place she could remember that he used to frequent. Of course, it was entirely possible, he wasn’t on campus that day and had just hurried off, leaving his things.

  Her steps fell silent on the concrete path, and she let her mind wonder again to what they shared, what it meant to her, and what it meant to him. Her attention wasn’t needed to find her way, she spent a lot of time at the library, and the way there was still on her internal autopilot.

  She was still a few buildings down when she began to sense magic in the air. Her heart started to race at what that could mean. Most probably it meant Josephine was there, with Steven. She picked up her pace with no plan in mind, other than needing to get to the source of the magic and make sure it wasn’t what she feared.

  The closer she got to the library the stronger it buzzed. It seemed to wrap around her and felt like a sludge the closer she got. There was an impending sense of doom, and her instincts screamed at her to run. Whatever it was, had a dark, evil presence, and it seemed to be probing her as she neared.

  Her eyes locked on the clear doors. She hesitated a second before she walked in the library.

  Whatever it was, it wouldn’t make a scene surely? Would it?

  Chapter Ten

  T he feeling of being wrapped in the evil made Gwen dizzy as she walked in the library. If it felt like that, just to be near it, what would she do to stop it? With each step, she felt weaker, as if it was drawing on her magic and energy. She stopped and opened her purse, looking in her compact, to make sure her mask was still holding.

  The need to ground herself grew as she felt herself struggle to hold the glamour. She ran her fingers along the spines of a few books, hoping the tactile sensation would be enough. When that didn’t work she took down a book and opened it, letting the smell comfort her. The darkness still pulled her into a spiral of despair. Thinking she needed something more intense to counter it, she ran a finger over a single page until it stung and sliced her skin.

  Back in control of herself, she trailed the buzzing, digging her nail into the small cut, when she started to feel herself slipping from reality to a darker place. The pull took her deeper into the library, toward the back right corner.

  She stood at the end of an aisle, towering shelves on both sides. Her eyes drifted toward the other end, where the darkness wrenched her toward. Steven was there, she would recognize him anywhere, even though all she saw was his back and his shaggy hair. His voice drifted on the edge of her awareness. He was lost in talking with a short, curvy redhead, of similar build to herself, when she wasn’t wearing a cheerleader disguise.

  She started to look away, but as she did, in her peripheral vision, the redhead flashed in and out. Watching more intensely, she could see it was a short older woman. Much older. The skin bore deep wrinkles and the eyes were yellowed. His short redhead was actually a gray-haired old crone.

  The evil vibration that seemed to come from it, told Gwen it was Josephine. The woman wrapped an arm around Steven, who was leaning down to her, and looked over his shoulder at Gwen. She smiled a rotted smile. Time seemed to stop and Gwen felt like she stood in clear jelly. No amount of will moved her arms or legs.

  Her eyes stayed locked on the woman, and a harsh voice filled her head. “Your heartache will match my own.”

  Gwen strained to talk, but nothing came. She tried to call up magic, but felt like all of her power was trapped inside of herself. Bound. That quickly? It seemed unreal that as powerful as she was supposed to be
, the woman bound her with just a glance.

  Laughter filled her head. The air grew dry and hot. Time seemed to stop for her, but not for them. As if watching a movie, she was a stuck observer. There was some laughter, a little more talking, and then they stepped back from each other.

  The couple started to walk away, and panic flooded over Gwen. As soon as they turned the corner and eye contact was broken, Gwen could move again. She raced after them, struggling to think of a way to stop her, but knowing she had to try. If she didn’t look at her maybe that would work, like it had with vampires to avoid entrancement. It was all she had to go on. There was no time to test any theories.

  She held the glamour as tight as she could and ran toward the magic buzz. In her panic she slammed into them, knocking all three of them to the ground. Instead of risking being entranced again, she locked eyes with Steven, who looked mortified to be on the floor.

  Her eyes left him and scanned the area when she felt the darkness leave. It was gone.

  Josephine was gone.

  She let out a soft curse and looked back to Steven, who was getting to his feet with a hand held out for her.

  After getting up and straightening her clothes, she apologized for crashing in to them.

  “I’m sorry your friend left. I do hope you will tell her I’m sorry next time you see her.” Gwen still pushed herself out as far as she could, to search for the woman, while still maintaining her appearance.

  “Of course.” He helped gather her papers. “You contemplating our great school? Miss?”

  “Yes, I was. It’s high on my list.” She flashed him what she hoped was a sweet smile. Even though the woman was gone, he was safe, and that was what mattered. A brief flash of terror struck her as she thought Josephine might just go for Dillon next. “I’m, Kate.”

  “Pleasure, Kate, I’m, professor Greenly, until you register you can call me Steven. Let me show you around.” He started walking as if the only reasonable answer was yes.

  Gwen followed, thinking she could draw out the day a little longer until whoever Dmitry sent to watch him arrived. She really hoped the witch would come back, and she could follow her. “Thank you. I’m guessing from the title, you teach here?”