Violet Blood

by Sophia Stafford

  “I thought I had filled all that out in the paperwork when Jaycen started school?”

  Benedict shook his head. “That part of the form should have been filled in, however Jaycen’s was left empty.”

  “Oh, I could have sworn I filled it all in. How silly of me.” Her mother’s musical laughter filled the room as she perched against a stack of boxes. Brushing the administrative error off with a sweet smile, just like she always did.

  Jaycen stood with the tray of broken china and headed off to discard it in the kitchen. She re-entered the room just as Benedict asked, “So, what is his name?”

  “Rory Smith,” her mother answered simply. “He was the love of my life. He left but he’s coming back. One day.”

  “Where is he from?”

  “He used to say he was a citizen of the world. He travelled a lot, always had.”

  Jaycen knew all of this, she knew everything her mother knew about her father. Which wasn’t a lot. When she had been growing up, her parents’ love story sounded beautiful and magical—now that she was grown it sounded a lot like a fling, a very short-lived fling.

  “Did you meet him when you were studying at Yale?”

  The question was like a slap to Jaycen’s face. Yale? Her mother hadn’t been to Yale. Did she stop off there to get a coffee on her way to Europe?

  “Yale?” Her mother looked just as confused as Jaycen felt.

  “Yes.” Benedict reached out, and Zena handed him a folder. “You majored in English Literature, you dropped out when you became pregnant.” He looked directly at her mother, really watching her as he spoke.

  Slap number two.

  “Don’t you remember any of this?”

  Jaycen was frozen, surely this couldn’t be real? Surely Benedict had got it all wrong? She looked over at Thornton as he sipped his tea, his eyes bouncing between her mother and Benedict. He looked uncomfortable and confused.

  Her mother rubbed her temples, squeezing her eyes shut. “I have a headache.”

  “I need you to really think, really try to remember, where did you and Rory meet? How did you meet?” Benedict pressed, the tea in his hand completely forgotten. His friend Zena was now fully standing, her hands at her sides, and a look in her eyes that shouted that she was ready for anything. What did they think her mother was about to do?

  “Maybe, we should take a break?” She rubbed her mother’s arm, trying to be soothing. Judging by the pained look on her mother’s face, she wasn’t doing a great job.

  “Jaycen, step back,” said Zena, who hadn’t spoken a word to Jaycen before, her eyes not leaving Benedict and her mother.

  “We met in Europe, and we fell in love. He left, but he’ll be back soon,” her mother said again, her body still tense and her fingers still digging into her temples.

  “Benedict, are you seeing this?” Zena asked. Jaycen was looking everywhere and she couldn’t see anything. What was happening?

  “See what?” Thornton finally spoke, the tea cup still in his hand. It would have been funny if the circumstances hadn’t been so intense.

  “Who are your parents? What are their names?” Benedict carried on questioning her mother, putting the tea cup on a box and taking one very imposing step forward.

  “Mom, are you okay? Maybe you should take a seat and maybe Benedict should back the hell up and give you some space.”

  “Jaycen, move away from your mother, now.” Benedict’s order was so intense, his body so solid, that normally Jaycen would have moved. But right then all that intense energy was directed at her mother, so she wasn’t moving an inch.

  “Answer me, Lindsey,” Benedict demanded again. “Who are your parents and what are their names?”

  “Samantha and Jonathan Reece,” her mother answered instantly, her head shooting up and her eyes clashing with Benedict’s.

  “Zena, go, now.”

  Zena had at some point during Benedict’s grilling moved to the other side of her mother. Jaycen screeched when Zena jumped out of what appeared to be nowhere and grabbed her mother’s head.

  “What the hell? Get off her!” Jaycen yanked her mother’s arm, trying to pull her away from Zena’s iron grip. She was a lot stronger than she looked.

  “Jaycen, I said step back,” Benedict shouted, grabbing her arm and trying to pull her free, but she refused to let go of her mother who Zena still had in a headlock.

  “Benedict, let go, you’re going to hurt her.” Thornton finally put his drink down and stood up, trying to pry Benedict’s hand from Jaycen’s arm.

  They were all tugging on each other, none of them able to move at all.

  “Put her to sleep, Zena, now!”

  “Don’t you dare do anything to my mother.”

  “We need to stop yelling,” Thornton shouted over all of them.

  Zena mumbled a few words and her mother dropped to her knees, her body shaking.

  “What are you doing to her? Stop it!” Jaycen screamed, lifting her hand, and sending Zena flying backwards. The only thing that stopped her from hitting the wall was her own magic.

  “Zena, stand down,” Benedict ordered, letting go of Jaycen, and holding his hands towards Zena, who wasn’t listening to him at all. Zena, still frozen in mid-air, lifted her own hand, sending a wave of energy at Jaycen. It all happened so fast Jaycen didn’t have chance to move her mother out of the way. The magic hit her mother on her shoulder, knocking her to the ground, and carried on until it reached Jaycen. It hit her like a train, and she had no idea how she wasn’t on her ass. But it was as if her body absorbed the power. The new energy that wasn’t her own now flowed in her veins until it numbed into a small buzz.

  Now, Benedict was in between them. “Both of you stop, now. Do you hear me?”

  Zena lowered herself to the ground. “That sure is some power.”

  “No one touch my mother! Do you hear me?” Jaycen shot back. “You were scaring her, and you were hurting her.”

  “I’m sorry about that, dear.” Zena’s face softened, her eyes lowering to Jaycen’s mother who was still on the floor. “But your mother is under a spell. A very powerful spell.”

  Jaycen’s mouth fell open as she looked to Benedict for confirmation.

  “She’s right, Jaycen. We thought that it was a possibility, before. Now we know for sure.”

  “How? How do you know for sure? She’s probably hurt, confused.” She looked down at her mother as she rocked back and forth.

  “He’s left now but he’s coming back. We’re going to be a family. Me, him, and our little boy.” Her mother was curled into a ball on the floor, her eyes wide and rocking slightly from side to side.

  “Oh crap.” Jaycen dropped to her knees. “Mom, it’s fine, you’re okay. I promise, and I can explain all of this, it’s because...”

  A hand squeezed her shoulder. “Jaycen, I don’t think she can hear you.” Thornton crouched down beside her. Her mother continued rocking on the floor in front of her.

  “He’s gone now, but he’ll be back. We are all going to live together, me, him, and our little boy. Happy family, we’re going to be a happy family.”

  “She’s not okay.” Looking down at her mother on the ground, her eyes open but unable to see her, Jaycen had never been more afraid. “The magic, it’s done something to her.” Her voice was now frantic as she grabbed her mother’s hands. “Mom, look at me. Can you hear me? Benedict, help her! Please, help her.”

  Thornton wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her back so her mother was out of reach.

  She twisted in his hold. “No, let go of me. She needs me, she could be in pain.”

  Zena now stepped forward, kneeling on the ground beside her mother’s rocking body as she mumbled random phrases over and over again.

  Zena ran her hands through her mother’s hair, whispering something Jaycen couldn’t quite hear, until her mother’s frantic rocking stopped, and she fell asleep.

  “She’s okay now,” Zena said, still running her hands over her moth
er’s head. “But the spell is still here.”

  Jaycen broke free of Thornton’s arm, crawling so she was next to her mother again. “So, when she wakes up she’s still going to be like this? When will your spell wear off?”

  Now, Zena looked up at her, her face sympathetic. “She will be fine when she wakes up. But it’s not my spell that still lingers honey. This spell has been here long before I came along.”

  How was that even possible?

  “But she doesn’t know about magic?” It came out as more of a question than she meant it to be.

  “Doesn’t mean she wasn’t under its influence,” Benedict said simply.

  “A powerful spell too, created by a very powerful witch or warlock.” Zena stood and grabbed a brown folder from the side.

  “We could reverse it; it’s complicated but doable,” Benedict suggested.

  “I know the spell, but Benedict, we don’t know how long she’s been under. It could be years. For a spell to last that long? It’s imbedded in her, woven its way into her DNA. It could be too powerful for just the two of us. We should take her to the Cure, or at least back to my place. We need more power.”

  Benedict shook his head. “The Cure can’t find out about this, not yet anyway. They already suspect Jaycen, we can’t add any more fuel to that fire.”

  Now, Jaycen lifted her head. “I don’t care what they say about me. If it’s the safest place for my mom I want to go.”

  “I’m not sure it is the safest place for her, but I promise, Jaycen, no harm will come to your mother. We’ll stop the spell if it becomes too much, okay?”

  She nodded, “Will we be able to tell who would put a spell on my mother? And why?” How had she not known about it? How hadn’t she seen it? What kind of daughter didn’t notice something like that?

  “If the spell works right, then, yes. But from the looks of it, your father cast it,” Zena said, and that was the third slap in the face of the night. She handed Jaycen the folder. “You might want to read this.”

  “What is it?”

  “Who your mother really is.”

  Chapter 26

  Her mother was still passed out, but Benedict had placed her on her bed, trying to keep her as comfortable as possible.

  “This should be sufficient for the spell, and we’ll have all of our answers in a few minutes,” Benedict said, moving a pillow under her mother’s head.

  “You’re lucky I brought all of my things, this won’t be easy, Benedict,” Zena shouted from the bathroom, washing her hands, and preparing for the spell.

  Jaycen was pacing the small, crowded room. They were about to perform a spell on her mother, a spell that would look into her memories, and Jaycen wasn’t sure how she felt about this.

  “Zena said that spells like this normally take a few weeks to prepare. I can’t help but feel like we’re rushing this as it’s only been an hour.”

  “The spell is simple enough.” Zena walked out of the bathroom and straight towards Jaycen. “Hold out your hand.”

  She complied and regretted it immediately when Zena sliced her palm with a blade.

  “Oh my…” She clenched it. “What is it with you people and cutting hands? This hand hadn’t even healed from its last lashing.”

  Zena laughed. “I just need a drop of blood. While I’m performing the spell on your mother your blood will be broken down. It’ll tell us which house you’re from.” Zena walked back over to the nightstand. Jaycen clenched her hand to stop the bleeding, watching Zena mix her blood in a small plastic pot.

  “So, in a minute, I’m going to find out who my family is?” Could it really be that easy?

  “Sure will, but we shouldn’t need it. Your mother’s memories should tell us everything we need to know.” Zena smiled and rolled up her sleeves.

  “Jaycen, you may want to go outside for this. I think Thornton is downstairs,” Benedict suggested, shrugging off his jacket.

  She smiled sweetly. “There is no way in hell that I am leaving this room right now.” She grabbed her mother’s hand, just in case he needed a visual.

  “Well, there is no way in hell I’m doing the spell with you here,” he shot back, the seriousness in his eyes showing that he was telling the truth.

  She dropped her mom’s hand. “Fine, I’ll wait downstairs. But shout for me as soon as you’re done. Okay?”

  Zena was lighting a candle, but she smiled and nodded. “Of course, my dear. Try not to worry, okay?”

  That was easier said than done. Jaycen watched them both closely as she left the room. What if her mom woke up and she wasn’t there? What if she panicked and tried to lash out? She walked down the stairs, halting a few steps from the bottom as Thornton smiled up at her, still standing in the middle of her mother’s crowded living room, his hands casually in his trouser pockets. Looking casual and cool as hell. “You look worried.”

  “Benedict and Zena are doing the spell now.” She walked down the last few steps, the small room feeling so much smaller with just the two of them in it.

  “Yeah, I guessed that.”

  “God, I hope she’s going to be okay,” Jaycen stressed, folding her arms over her chest. Leaving them in silence, an awkward silence. “I thought we’d got past this part? The awkward part.” She said the words before she could register what they were, she should have said anything but that.

  Thornton still didn’t say anything, instead he looked away, pressing his lips together.

  “I take it you’re still trying to figure stuff out in your head?” she said emotionlessly.

  “Something like that,” Thornton said, twisting the ring on his finger. “I don’t want to forget the kiss, I’m glad it happened. I’ve wanted it to happen since the first time I saw you, the feeling just got stronger and stronger ever since then.”

  Well, damn, she had not expected that. “Oh, okay.” She smiled a little, something kind of like hope starting to build in her.

  “But it can’t happen again.”

  Now, that felt like a punch to her stomach.

  “What? Why?”

  “Because it was wrong. I am trusted to look out for you, Benedict trusted me to look out for you. I betrayed that trust, it was wrong and should never have happened. But I’m glad that it did.”

  His face was a hard mask, completely unreadable as he looked around the room, as he looked anywhere but at her.

  “Please, stop making it sound like you’re in your thirties and I’m twelve. I’m seventeen, very nearly eighteen, and you are what? Nineteen?” she guessed, unable to control her anger. If he didn’t want anything to come from that kiss why hadn’t he just left it? Why did he have to tell her that he was glad that they kissed?

  “I’m twenty, but it’s not about the age. It’s about what is expected of me, and I…” He stopped, his jaw flexing as he rubbed it. “I put it all in jeopardy for a pair of pretty eyes and a kiss.”

  She was too angry to take that as a compliment. “So, that’s all I am, huh? A pair of pretty eyes? Nice.”

  His mask cracked, with his frustration leaking out. “No, and that’s the issue. You’re more than that, so much more. But that’s the problem. I know I can’t get close to you, and it doesn’t matter how much I want to. That kiss was everything, but it has to end there.”

  Jaycen dropped her head, rubbing her temples again, this time harder. “What are you talking about? You’re not my teacher, I really doubt that Benedict gives two craps if we’re dating. Why are you making this into something it’s not? You like me, I like you. Surely, that should just be it.”

  “Because I have responsibilities, there are a lot of people depending on me. That means I can’t have any distractions, no matter how much I want it. I’m sorry.”

  She felt like her insides were being torn apart. Why did this hurt so much? It wasn’t like they had been dating, they’d only had one kiss for heaven’s sake. But it hurt, badly. Jaycen took a step back, folding her arms over her chest. “Fine, we won’t mention it ag
ain.”

  Now, Thornton looked panicked. “That’s not what I want.”

  “Then, what do you want? Do you even know?” she shot back, unable to hold it in anymore. “You just ended anything between us before it really started, but what? You still want to talk about it? How does that make any sense? Why did we need to have this whole conversation if the outcome was just going to be ‘let’s forget it ever happened!’ What was the point? If whatever we had ends here, then let’s end it. No back and forth, no more mixed signals. That’s it, done,” she finished, panting, and needing to get away from him.

  “Jaycen, I….”

  She held up her hand, stopping him midsentence. “I’m fine, honestly. It’s okay.” She stepped back, about to turn and walk out when Thornton grabbed her arm, pulling her back to face him.

  “What? I didn’t want this, I’m trying…”

  They both jumped at a loud bang that came from up the stairs. They stood completely still, waiting for another sound.

  “Benedict, stop her,” Zena shouted so loudly they could hear every word perfectly.

  Jaycen and Thornton turned simultaneously, taking the stairs two at time until they reached the bedroom, then stopped at what they saw.

  Zena was on the floor, her face scrunched up in pain. Her mother was sitting up but floating high above the bed, with Benedict trying to pull her down.

  “Finish the spell, Zena,” Benedict ordered, stepping onto the bed so he was eye level with her mother.

  “Mom.” Jaycen ran into the room and onto the bed, looking directly into her mother’s open eyes.

  “Can you see me, mom? Are you okay?”

  “Jaycen, get out of here now, it isn’t safe,” Benedict ordered, his eyes wide. “Thornton, get her out of here.”

  Jaycen didn’t budge. “Mom, talk to me. Are you okay?”

  Her mother’s head twitched a little in her direction, her eyes shifting just slightly. But it was enough for Jaycen.

  “She can hear me. What have you done to her? Why can’t she talk?” she demanded, reaching for her mother’s hand.

  “The spell isn’t complete yet,” Thornton said, now standing next to her. “Let’s wait downstairs.”