by Lexi Witcher
He’d given me a practicum in chemistry on Monday and Tuesday and then announced Wednesday that our sessions were over. I’d turned in my comparative paper on Monday and taken a final in geometry and history with Ms. Pritz yesterday, ending our tutoring as well. Everything had wrapped up nice and neat as the thirty days ended. Ms. Pritz had even been misty eyed as she left for the last time.
“Is Leopold even here?”
“I’m sure he is somewhere. He ate breakfast an hour ago, cleaned up, asked me to bring you the juice, and disappeared. He’s been so secretive lately, but I’m sure the stress of the day is getting to him.” She looked up from her notepad and stuck the pencil behind her ear. “He has only one chance to save you and if it doesn’t go perfectly, then we’ll lose you forever.”
She sat down on the edge of the bed and sighed. “I haven’t wanted to mention this, but I’m worried too. At first I felt everything would be right with Leopold on our side, but now that the day is here, I’m conflicted. Everything seemed to change after that cat got into the house and wrecked my studio.”
I reached for her hand and squeezed it. “But the cat is gone. So is the Grimoire. The cat leapt into the fireplace with the book. Didn’t Leopold tell you?”
“No. When did this happen?”
“The other Sunday while you were at church. He was doing a spell to reveal who the owner of the Grimoire was and the black cat came out of nowhere and jumped, knocking the book into the flames and it followed too. There was a horrible puff of black smoke left in its wake.
“You came home from church telling us how Anson hadn’t been there, yet you’d seen him riding his bike toward town. I thought from that moment that perhaps Anson is the black cat. What if he’s a shape shifter? And the Grimoire belongs to him, but somehow it got taken to that used bookstore by mistake.”
Grandma’s eyes enlarged and she bit her lower lip as a grin spread across her face before she began to laugh. She shook her head, got up and crossed the room.
“For a moment I thought you were serious. Shape shifting into a cat? Anson Parker. I’ve never heard such.”
She didn’t believe me. She thought I was being funny. But the problem was I was dead serious.
I set the empty juice glass on the bedside table and went into the bathroom to get a shower. What I really needed was a full body massage. I turned the water on hot and let it run until steam started billowing into the room before I stepped in. I looked down at my chest as the water splashed against me almost certain that wearing a bra every day was causing my breasts to grow. Or at least they were taking shape.
“Good. If I die I won’t go flat chested,” I said and began to laugh at myself. I lathered up and rinsed myself off, standing under the spray a few extra minutes before I shut the water off and got out.
When I came out of the bathroom with the towel wrapped around me, I found that Grandma had laid out an outfit for me to wear. It wasn’t what I’d had in mind for today, but it was new and one I had not worn yet.
Dressed and ready to leave the house, I headed downstairs, planning to slip to the back of the house and knock on Leopold’s bedroom door. I’d only knock and if he did not answer then I’d leave it at that. But Grandma was waiting with her coat on and she ushered me to her car.
We both had hair appointments at the salon, and then we each had a manicure and a pedicure with the nail technician. I chose to go with a French manicure since I had not ventured into wearing nail polish yet. And as an added touch the nail technician suggested I try nail bling on a few of my nails to dress them up for the special occasion. Walking out of the salon I was pleased and felt I was making progress, taking teeny tiny baby steps into the fashion world.
The drive home —er to Grandma’s—took longer than normal it seemed because I was getting quite excited about the party tonight. Also, I couldn’t wait to put on my dress and descend the stairs on Leopold’s arm.
“You’re awfully quiet over there,” Grandma said, breaking the silence. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. Tonight is a big event for me. I feel like I’m going to the prom or something.”
“I’m sure it will be similar and you don’t have to worry about whether you’ll be crowned prom queen because you’ll be the center of attention because it’s your party.”
The center of attention. Was I ready to be that? I’d always faded into the background at school, letting Callie and Lisa shine. But since I’d been at Grandma’s I’d began to stand out, to be my own person. This would clearly be something neither of my friends would expect and they might not accept easily. What if they thought this party, my dress, and even Leopold was my way of showing them up? As far as I knew, neither of them had a boyfriend yet so they wouldn’t be coming tonight with a date.
Stop it! You can’t worry about what they think.
It was easy for that little voice in my head to say that. It was another for me not to spend a fraction of time thinking about upsetting them. But tonight wasn’t about hurting them. It was about celebrating my birthday in a way that I’d never forget for the rest of my life.
Grandma turned into the driveway and I saw Leopold’s car pull to a stop up ahead of us. He was back. A smile broke out on my face that resonated throughout my body and I released the seat belt before the car even stopped.
“Calm down, Dodie.” Grandma winked at me. “Show a little restraint.”
I took a deep breath and tried to do as she instructed, but I had so many questions about tonight to ask him. I still didn’t know what he had planned that would save me from the curse. Surely he could tell me now that there had not been a sign of a watcher or even Anson all week.
Getting out of the car, I walked around to go talk to him, but stopped short when I saw there was a man getting out of his car on the passenger side. I looked at Grandma, but she looked pleasantly surprised.
“Oscar?”
The man smiled. He had the same dimple in his left cheek as Leopold’s. Was this his father?
“Cherie! By saints, it is you. And you haven’t changed. Still as ravishing as I recall.”
“You were always the charmer. What are you doing here?”
“I’ve come to assist my son, Leopold.”
“Your son?” Grandma looked from one to the other. “Yes, I can see the resemblance now. I should have made the connection when I first met him. Well, come into the house and tell me what you’ve been up to all these years. You obviously married.”
Oscar offered her his arm and they walked toward the house together. I waited for Leopold to close the gap between us before I spoke.
“Did you have any idea they knew one another?”
He shook his head. “He never mentioned it. Even after I told him what I was doing.”
“I wonder when they first met?”
He ignored my question, kissing me on the cheek instead. “You look lovely.”
I smiled at him. “Thank you.”
“Are you ready for tonight?”
“Yeah. How about you?”
He began walking and I joined him. “I’m ready. I need to prep you if you have time to spare me?”
I swallowed. “Prep me?”
He nodded, opening the front door for us to enter. “I need to begin the ritual that will protect you from the curse.”
“Oh. Okay. Tell me what I need to do.”
He closed the front door and took off his coat, hanging it in the closet. He helped me remove mine. “You’ll need to come to my room.”
“B—but Grandma said I couldn’t go there. Not after—”
“Don’t worry. Dad’s explaining it to her. They’ll be with us,” he said. “Have you eaten yet?”
I shook my head. “I had my glass of juice this morning and a muffin at the salon, but I’m supposed to have a late lunch with my parents when they get here.”
“Good. We don’t need to do this on a full stomach or bladder, so if you need to stop in the bathroom do so. Once we start the process I
can’t stop.”
“Okay.”
I followed him down the hallway and ducked into the bathroom, afraid not to after that warning. I didn’t want to jeopardize it by needing to go. I washed my hands and dried them, but my palms were all sweaty. I felt a little panicky and was having difficulty breathing.
“Just calm down, Dodie. There’s nothing to panic about,” I told myself, but it didn’t do any good. My stomach was all jumbled up in knots.
I swallowed and took as deep a breath as I could before opening the door, feeling lightheaded as I walked into his room. A thin black drape hung at the bay window blocking out light, and the cushion from the window seat had been removed. In its place were blazing, creamy candles that smelled of vanilla in all different sizes from pillars to votive candles. Leopold was busy lighting more candles around the room. A clear bowl of salt sat on one bedside table and another bowl was filled with water on the other.
“Go ahead and lie down on the bed.”
I hesitated. “I don’t want to mess up my hair. I just had it professionally styled for the party tonight.”
“Your hair will be fine,” Oscar said coming into the room with Grandma. He waved his hand toward me. “I have preserved it. You’ll find that spell works better than hairspray. Go on, lie down in the center.”
I did as I was instructed, getting comfortable on the bed.
“Uncross your ankles,” Leopold ordered.
“I want you to relax, Dodie. This will not hurt you,” Oscar said, standing over me. He held a wooden chest that he placed on the bedside table next to the water. Lifting the lid he removed several items while he talked.
“I’m sorry I could not have met you before today, but I’ve been traveling around the world, collecting elements and data that I believe will benefit you and my son greatly. Now, close your eyes and let your mind go blank if you can. Try to think of nothing. Focus on the black that you see when you close your eyes.”
His voice was very soothing and I found the graying around his temples attractive. I wondered exactly how old he was and when he had first met my grandmother. Was it before she married my grandfather? Had they once been involved? The thought of the two of them kissing or possibly something more had me eager do as he requested.
I closed my eyes and took a deep, calming breath and let my mind go as blank as I could manage. Focusing on the back of my eyelids worked, but then the mattress dipped as someone sat down, bringing me back to reality, but I forced myself not to open my eyes. Fingers reached out and touched my hand, moving my arm until it was lying out to my side with the palm of my hand facing upward. On the other side, my other arm was positioned in the same manner. Something cool and smooth was laid in both of my palms. Then a smooth object with a similar coolness was used to trace a semi-circle from one temple to the other across my forehead.
Oscar and Leopold began speaking in soft tones, but the words did not make sense to me. And yet there was stillness about the room, a peace that overcame me, and my body went limp.
The doorbell rang and I jerked, feeling my eyelids flutter.
“It’s okay,” Leopold said, running the object across my forehead again. “Focus on the darkness, relax, know that you are safe, even in the dark. Nothing can touch you unless you want it to. You are in control, Dodie. Be at peace with your power.”
“I’m sorry. That’s the caterer. I have to go meet with her. Continue please,” I heard Grandma whisper before the door to the room opened and closed.
“There is nothing to be afraid of in the dark, Dodie. You are safe.” Leopold closed my fingers around what I had first thought was cool and smooth, but it was a little rough and jagged. “Can you see the stone?”
It was the strangest thing, but I did. I saw a pale green stone with what looked like white crystals around it. “Yes.”
“And what about this?” Oscar asked, closing my fingers around the stone in my left hand. “Can you see it?”
This one wasn’t smooth or cool after all. It was rough and rigid, but long. The texture of it felt like wood. Not a stone at all. A twig? Maybe a broken limb? From a tree, a very far away tree.
“Is it wood?”
“Very good.”
The next thing I felt was something wet being rubbed across my lips, then the same wetness was traced from my forehead, down the bridge of my nose, across my lips to the end of my chin.
Again there was chanting as Oscar’s and Leopold’s voices melded together, but the clarity I’d seen only a moment ago was gone. In its place, a smoky haze shrouded around me. I was in the woods, wearing my dress, running as fast as I could in the strappy silver heels, careful not to trip or fall. I couldn’t see what was chasing me, but I knew I was in danger. I wanted to open my eyes. I wanted to sit up and dispel the thoughts running through my head, but I couldn’t. The darkness was reaching its inky fingers toward me trying to overtake me, but Leopold had said the darkness wouldn’t harm me. That I had the power. I was in control and I was safe, yet I couldn’t stop running. My heart raced within my chest and I began to cry for help, but no sound came forth from my lungs. They burned instead. And then in the distance I saw a lone figure, but I was too far away to know if it was good or evil.
My body began to tremble and I felt my spine twisting and bending as I floated upward over the trees. A mauve-colored fog hovered along the tree tops, but I moved like I was in a trance over the haze, skipping and hopping in a dancelike fashion from one tree top to the other. Then I was falling, falling fast toward the ground and suddenly I was face to face with the lone figure at the end of the trees, a figure that was pure evil and I cowered, shielding myself with my arms to keep it from looking upon me.
“Dodie. Dodie.”
I heard Leopold call to me. The lone figure of evil was gone and I was in the mist again, but I couldn’t see him. I couldn’t find him in the darkness.
“Something’s wrong. It didn’t work.”
“Give her time, Leopold. Everyone adjusts differently to spells.”
A bright light pierced through the darkness and I jerked upright off the bed, gasping for breath.
“Dodie,” Leopold pulled me into his arms and held me. I coughed as the face I’d seen in the darkness flitted through my mind one last time as I pushed it away.
I was trembling and unsure what had happened. Why did I keep seeing myself running through the woods wearing my blue dress? It didn’t make sense.
“Are you okay?” Oscar asked.
I nodded, still unable to speak.
He patted my arm. “I think you need to lie down for a while. We’ll leave you alone. Come on, Leopold. We need to tell Cherie it’s done.”
I curled up on my side and noticed I held a natural stone in one hand and a piece of wood in the other. I laid them on the bedside table beside the bowl of salt. My eyelids felt heavy and my eyes stung. I closed them for a few minutes, still unsure that what had just happened helped me break the curse.
What seemed like a few moments later, I rolled over feeling warm and opened my eyes to find an afghan spread over me. Leopold was lying on the other side of the bed watching me. He looked worried, but smiled.
“Did I fall asleep?”
“Yes.”
“Wh—what time is it?” I started to sit up, but found I was still drained from earlier, so I laid still. “My parents are supposed to be here at two.”
“Don’t worry. You have time.”
“Can you explain what earlier was about? I know you said it was to prep me for tonight and breaking the curse, but I don’t understand—”
He sat up and crossed his legs. “I’ll try to help you understand, but first, can you tell me what happened before you began gasping for breath?”
“I was running in the woods. Something or someone was chasing me and the darkness was closing in on me, then everything went black. I was floating above the trees and then I was falling back to the ground. I could hear you, but I couldn’t see you. I couldn’t see anything and t
hen it became light again and that is when I began gasping for breath.”
He grinned and that adorable dimple showed again. “Then it did work. I was afraid it hadn’t.”
“If you are a powerful warlock, then why do you doubt yourself?”
He shrugged. “I guess because I’m without a coven. I was disowned and if I fail, I can have my powers stripped. Breaking this curse is not only a big deal for you, Dodie. It’s for me as well.”
I slowly pushed myself up to a sitting position, feeling stronger as the minutes pass. “Do you need the coven to take you back?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“A warlock is like a bastard, Dodie. No one wants to be a bastard.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
By the time my parents arrived I was sitting in the living room, still wrapped in the afghan, sipping tea with Grandma. Oscar and Leopold had gone for a walk. I had a feeling they had really gone to sniff out Anson.
“Are you okay, honey?” Grandma asked before going to answer the door. “You look a little pale.”
“I’ll be fine. I’ll take a nap after I spend some time with Mom and Dad.”
“If you’re sure.”
“I am.”
However, I couldn’t pretend like everything was fine once my mom saw me. “Are you coming down with something?” she asked, placing her hand on my forehead. “Robert, come here and see what you think. My hands might be a little cold, but I believe she is running a fever.”
Dad placed his hand to my forehead and gave me a concerned look. “I think you need to go upstairs and get into bed.”
“But what about lunch? I’ve been waiting for you to get here. I’m starved.”
“I’ll bring you a tray up,” Mom said. “Now go on up and change into a night gown and crawl into bed. It won’t hurt for you to rest before your big night.”
I sighed, but couldn’t resist complaining a little. “So much for getting my hair professionally styled.”
“It looks nice, but don’t worry. I think we will be able to fluff it out.”
