Bound (The Curse Trilogy Book 2)

by Nicole Marsh

  “I think we should keep the toad. We can buy an aquarium to commemorate your first success,” my mom interjects excitedly.

  My dad and I exchange a glance. “Mom, I don’t think we need a toad in the house-“ I start.

  At the same time my dad begins, “Jacob wouldn’t want to take care of a toad, Dear-“.

  We both stop mid-sentence and look at each other. Our gray eyes connect and we begin chuckling.

  Throwing her hands in the air, my mom relents, “Fine. We can release him in the wild. But don’t come to me disappointed when you wish you’d kept your first toad!”

  “I don’t think I’ll regret not keeping an amphibian as a trophy, Mom. Besides, I bottled a second vial of the potion. So, if I ever become nostalgic, I can relive the experience.” I raise the vial of pale-yellow liquid to show her.

  “Oh, we should put that somewhere really special!” my mom exclaims. “Where can we put this, so we can show guests?” My mom turns to my dad, looking for guidance on what to do with my first potion.

  He looks at me with a quirked brown and I give a quick shake of my head. I’ve always had a special bond with my parents, but I’ve more like my dad than I am my mom.

  In a gentle tone, my dad suggests, “Why don’t we keep it safe on a shelf down here, so it’s ready for Mira to use if she decides to relive her first potion? That way it doesn’t accidentally get lost, or broken.”

  “Oh, okay. That’s actually a really good idea.” My mom agrees. She picks up the vial and then strides across the room. She makes a small space on a shelf between some knick-knacks and gently places my potion in the cleared area. “Here we go.” She says happily.

  “Thanks mom,” I reply with a small smile. “And thanks for coming down here ready to defend me. I think I’m going to go upstairs and call Sylvia.”

  My parents both nod and I head towards the still open door to share the news with my bestie.

  I shut the door to my room and immediately dial Sylvia’s number. The phone rings until it hits voicemail. “Hi, you’ve reached Sylvia A. Leave a message and I’ll get back to you ASAP” blares through the speaker of my phone.

  I decide to leave a quick message. “Hey Syl, its Mira. I have some exciting news, call me back!”

  Hanging up the phone, I throw myself backwards onto my bed. Well that was a bit anticlimactic and pretty disappointing. After she witnessed my previous failure and the meltdown that followed, I was super hyped to tell Sylvia the good news.

  I stare at the ceiling for two minutes before I decide to text Leif. He would be proud of my accomplishment; well I guess it’s actually “our” accomplishment. Without his help, I may have never made a successful potion.

  I write out a few messages. Rereading then deleting each one until I finally settle on: I did it!!

  His response is almost immediate: I knew you could! What did you brew?

  I smile and type back: A toad summoner!!

  The three dots appear on my phone, signifying that Leif is typing a response. They stay on my screen for a moment before disappearing. I keep my phone in my hand for another couple minutes, watching the screen, and waiting for him to reply. At the five-minute mark, I drop my phone to the bed next to me with a sigh. I try to minimize my disappointed our conversation has been cut short. I guess he’s busy and will respond later.

  My gaze drifts back towards the ceiling as my thoughts wander. I’m not sure how long I spend in my head before a light tap on my bedroom door startles me from my thoughts. Bolting upright, I get a bit woozy, but spot Leif leaning against my doorjamb with a smirk. I’m starting to think the arrogant smile is his natural facial expression.

  “Hello, Mira Love,” he says in a confident tone, after a few beats of staring each other down.

  Gathering my wits and fighting my lightheadedness, I finally respond, “Hi, Leif Golden.”

  He lets out a deep chuckle. “I was thinking maybe you’d like to go out for lunch to celebrate. My treat, of course.”

  “Oh,” I say, startled. Looking down at myself and noticing my grubby jeans I reply, “Yeah, sure. Let me just change really quick.”

  I get up from the bed and head to my wardrobe. A pair of clean shorts immediately catches my eye. I grab them from the shelf, hoping the weather stays warm. When I turn around, Leif is still leaning against the door watching me. I frown and make a shooing motion with both hands. Leif just quirks a brow at the movement, instead of leaving, like I silently told him to.

  With a huff, I stride over to the door and push him into the hall. Before I close it fully, I call out, “Just go wait downstairs in the entryway or something.”

  Leif chuckles again, but I can hear his footsteps start down the hall and towards the stairs. I quickly change into my shorts and slide on a pair of sandals. Checking myself in the mirror, I tighten the ribbon in my hair, then descend the steps to meet up with Leif.

  He’s not waiting in the foyer like I expected, but I can see a flash of his hair just down the hall. Quietly, I creep in that direction, hoping for the chance to observe him for a second. As I near, I hear him speaking and realize he’s heard my approach.

  “You get you looks from your mother, eh.” Leif comments without turning to face me.

  I stop walking on my tiptoes and move towards Leif’s tall, lanky form and the wall of pictures he’s looking at. He’s standing in front of a photo of a younger version of myself. I’m holding one of my paintings, a parent on either side, with an arm wrapped around me. They both tower over my short frame. My mother, with her heart shaped face, and blonde hair like my own, is closer to my height, but much curvier. My dad is almost a foot taller than her with short, combed brown hair and twinkling, almond-shaped, gray eyes.

  The image is from my first gallery show and seeing the photo puts a smile on my face as I recall the memory behind it. My parents submitted my painting, the one I’m holding in the picture, without my knowledge. When the submission was accepted, my mom tore through the house and into my room to show me the letter, jumping up and down with her excitement over my accomplishment.

  “Yeah,” I finally respond quietly. “I think I look more like my mom, but act more like my dad.”

  While I talk, Leif’s eyes shift to my face. The expression on his face changes to something I don’t recognize as he continues to watch me. When I’m done speaking, he lets silence linger. He seems to be mulling something over, but when he opens his mouth to speak, he simply says, “Well, why don’t we go grab something to eat?”

  I nod. “Yeah, let’s go.”

  10

  The Gift

  Mirabella

  We pull up to the chrome and glass Diner, and I take a second to admire the sleek exterior. With a smile, I open my door and wait for Leif to round the car. We head through the entry and as I approach the hostess stand, I feel like a bit of a regular. “A table for two, please.”

  The girl leads us to a table in the corner and plops down two menus before striding away. I covertly watch Leif from under my lashes, wondering what he thinks of the shimmery tabletops and slightly sticky menus. He sticks his tongue out while he moves to pick up his menu and I realize he must notice me watching.

  Picking up my own menu with a giggle, I look it over quickly. As I set it back on the table, Cindy appears. She pulls a pen from behind her ear and flips to a clean page of her order book. “What can I get you, sweetie?” she asks me.

  “One burger with bacon and avocado. Medium, please.”

  Cindy nods her head and turns to Leif. I see a flash of brown in my peripherals and I turn towards the front, interested to see what caught my eye. Time seems to slow and a ringing begins in my ears as Kaylee, Greg, and their crew walk in through the front door.

  I sink further into the booth, hoping to keep out of sight. Simultaneously, I start a chant in my head, “seat them across the Diner. Seat them across the Diner. Seat them across the Diner.”

  Unfortunately, the higher powers that be were not listening to
my pleading words. From my crouched position, I timidly watch as the hostess gathers menus and leads the group of eight closer and closer to my table with Leif.

  The hostess stops at the table directly behind me. I can tell the second that Kaylee spots Leif. Her face turns as white as a sheet, like she’s seen a ghost. The hostess is about to plop the menus onto the table, but Kaylee’s arm shoots out. She intercepts half of the menus, throwing the other half to the floor in her haste.

  “Not this one,” she says, angrily. She tears her eyes away from Leif to glare at the hostess. “Over there,” she demands, pointing across the room.

  When the group is finally seated in the furthest corner, I breathe out a sigh of relief and sit upright again. Leif clears his throat in a suspicious way. Moving my eyes to his face, I see he’s struggling to conceal a smile. I watch as he attempts to straighten his lips several times, before successfully pulling them into a flat line. “So, a toad summoner?” he questions, when he gets his mouth to cooperate.

  “Yes!” I exclaim breaking into a grin. “On my first try. Thank you for helping me… I don’t even feel like I did anything differently, but it worked perfectly.”

  “I knew you could do it,” Leif replies with an answering grin. He reaches behind his back and pulls out a wrapped gift bag. One I hadn’t noticed prior to now. Before I have a chance to question where it came from, Leif says, “I brought you a small gift.”

  Fighting the urge to squeal excitedly and snatch the bag like I want to, I compose myself and slowly reach across the table to take the bag. With practiced patience, I slowly pull out three pieces of gift paper before I finally reach the contents of the bag.

  Nestled inside are three leather bound books. I pull them out, one at a time. The first one is a dusky green color with the outline of a leaf on the front. I run my hand over the front admiring the buttery-soft feeling of the cover. I place the book on the table in front of me before reaching back into the bag. The next book is a muted blue with the outline of a small pile of dust on the cover. I repeat the gesture with my hand, feeling the cover before placing it atop the first book on the table. Placing my hand in the bag one more time, I remove the third book. This text is a dry red color with a vial on the front. Once all three of them are on the table, I place the bag on the bench next to me and look to Leif expectantly.

  His brown eyes connect with mine before sliding to the pile of books. He runs a hand lightly over the cover of the top book, mimicking my movements from earlier. “Each of these explains magical ingredients and the importance of the families they belong to. The first one tells about plants and which families of plants produce which types of magic. The second explains other natural sources of magic, such as dust and soil. The third discusses magical gases and liquids. As part of your written witches exams, you’ll need to be able to identify the main magical families. These books will help us study for that, but I also wanted you to have your own copy for reference. If you can’t find a particular ingredient, it’s possible to substitute for another ingredient in the same magical family. Eventually I’d like to go over all of this in-depth, but we’ll start with the materials on the test first. Of course.”

  “Oh, wow,” I exclaim softly. Pulling a book off the top of the stack, I run my hand over the cover once more before flipping to a page at random. A bold header tops the page that reads “Tiger’s Breath”. Below the header is a sketched image of a vial with a swirling orange liquid. The page goes on to explain where the gas is found, the magical family it’s from, and its various properties.

  After skimming the text, my eyes meet Leif’s muddy brown gaze again. “This is so great, thank you.”

  Leif smiles and gives a dip of his head. “I was thinking we could schedule your exams for two weeks from now. What do you think?”

  Upon registering his words, my previous elation over his thoughtful gift immediately turns to dread. My hands become clammy and I clasp them in my lap to ignore the small tremor. “I just,” I begin, my voice squeaking from my sudden nerves. I clear my throat and try again, “I just finished my first successful potion on my own. You don’t think its too soon? What happens if I fail?”

  Leif looks at me with a warm expression, “First of all Mira Love, you need to have more confidence. Remember that text I showed you about your family?” I nod my head, even though he doesn’t appear to be waiting for a response. “You’re a legacy. Being a powerful witch is in your blood. You CAN do this. You just need to pick up a few tricks of the trade first, so to speak. But that’s why I’m here. Together, we can do anything. I promise you that.”

  I let the confidence in his voice and words seep into my bones. I am a legacy. I can do this. It’s in my blood. The reassurances from both Leif and myself help to uncoil the nerves low in my belly and the sweat on my palms starts to dissipate. “Okay then. If you think two weeks is all the time we need to practice, I trust you.” I reply, suddenly thankful that he went over my head to cut my hours at work.

  Leif opens his mouth to reply, but he’s cut off by Cindy. “Two bacon and avocado burgers, one medium and one well done?”

  I begin to smile when I realize we ordered the same thing. My parents do that all the time, and I’ve always given them crap for not ordering two separate menu items and splitting them with each other. A throat clearing interrupts my thoughts and I realize Cindy is waiting for the table to be cleared before she can put down our plates. After a brief shuffle, I place the tissue paper and books back into the gift bag from Leif. Cindy distributes the burgers and heads back to help her other tables.

  As I’m lifting my juicy burger to my mouth, ready to take a bite, Leif finally finishes his thought from earlier. “After we eat, we should probably get to studying. We’re going to be spending a lot of time together, Mira Love.”

  With my mouth full, I nod in response. When I finish chewing my bite, I ask Leif a question that’s been on my mind since my talk with Marc. “How much do you know about the curse on the witches and the shifters?”

  Leif places his burger back down on his plate and wipes his fingers on a napkin politely draped across his lap. Clearing his throat, he replies, “From what I’ve heard, it all started with a spring.”

  “A spring?” I ask, taken aback.

  Leif nods, rather vigorously. “Yes. The shifters found a spring they believed contained magical properties. They thought that it could heal their sick and extend their lives.”

  My eyes widen at his words. This is unlike the other two stories that I’ve heard regarding the curse. Already engrossed, I make the universal motion for “please continue”, then pick up my burger for another bite.

  “The witches heard of the spring, and asked the wolves for permission to use it. The shifters laughed the coven off that asked, saying it was for shifters only. They said the witches could make their own magic water if they needed it so badly. One day, out of spite, a younger witch in the coven saw a trio of wolves headed to the spring. One of the shifters was extremely ill and she used the distracting to follow behind them undetected. She hid and waited until they left, then attempted a very difficult curse on her own.”

  “She tried to curse the wolves.” I interject, predicting where the story is headed.

  “No,” Leif denies, to my surprise. “She attempted to steal the magic from the spring and bottle it for her own use. She saw the wolves use the spring and was jealous of their resource.”

  “What happened next?” I ask, completely enthralled.

  Leif sighs, “The spell was executed poorly and something went terribly wrong. Somehow the spring dried up, shifters were cursed to follow the call of their wolf, and witches were stripped of all of their magic except for potions. Some witches say it was a punishment from the forces of the earth, some say it was the cost of the curse, others just say it was the result of a magical backfire.” Leif shrugs and picks up his burger.

  I sit there, no longer hungry, thinking over his words. How is it that there are so many versions of
the curse? And how am I supposed to find a cure and help Vlad if no one actually knows what happened?

  Another question pops into my mind while I continue to mull over Leif’s tale. “Was this spring in Florence?”

  Shaking his head, Leif talks around a mouthful of food. “Somewhere in Canada.”

  Later, I fall face down onto my bed at almost midnight, exhausted. Leif wasn’t kidding about studying or spending a lot of time together. After the Diner, he helped me to create flashcards for the basic plants, dusts, gases, and liquids used in potion brewing. Once the flash cards were finished, he spent hours quizzing and correcting until the only thoughts left in my brain were ones about magical ingredients.

  My phone buzzes in my pocket, waking me from my hazy, almost sleep that started as soon as my eyes were shut. I use my left hand to pull my phone out of my pocket, then prop myself up on both elbows to see who’s texting me so late at night. Sylvia’s name is a notification on my screen, but so is Leif’s.

  I click open Leif’s text first: Sleep Well, Mira Love. I’ll be over tomorrow for another practice session. Will bring coffee.

  I type out a quick agreeance and thank you before clicking over to Sylvia. Her message is three separate messages about different topics: O M G. Who do you think left the note? Are you avoiding Leif now?

  And your first potion on your own????? My little Mira is all grown up!

  Also, sorry today was so crazy. School was a mess then family drama, I had like NO time all day. Can I come over tomorrow to catch up?

  Whenever Sylvia texts me, I can hear her tone in my head through the message. These oscillate between skeptical, to ecstatic, to annoyed, then back to her normal, calmer tone. I message her back quickly: It was a crazy day. I have a lot to tell you… can you come over early? Leif and I are going to study more for the written exam!