The Curse of Ormshire (The Beast Within Book 2)

by S. L. Perrine

  “You cast the spell that closed the passage. Why has it not lifted?”

  “Wait.” Tabby leapt to her feet. “You cast the spell to close it? I thought it was the fairies.” She looked to Farlow, who shook his head.

  “Yes, we cast the spell to close it, but we were not alone,” Hogarth stated.

  “We did not have the power alone,” Gareth added, coming to the aid of his brother.

  “What does that mean?” I demanded.

  Ty hooked his hands within mine and turned me to face him. “We had help.”

  I looked at him questioningly.

  “From your mother.”

  The room spun, either from the incomplete link or because of the information thrusted at me. Regardless of the cause, I removed my hands from his and grabbed the back of a chair to steady myself.

  “You knew this the entire time and didn’t say anything?”

  “I wasn’t sure how you would have taken the news.” He moved towards me again, but I shifted from his reach.

  “If she helped with the spell, then why is she there and not here with us?”

  “One of us had to remain, to be sure the spell held on both sides. We were needed here to aid Tyson. She offered to stay behind,” Hogarth offered.

  Farlow stood from the seat I held onto and sat me down in his place. I looked at Ty and felt a pull from him deep inside.

  “Someone has been trying to tear it down. We witnessed that for ourselves in the woods,” Farlow said as he produced a bottle of water from the refrigerator and offered it to me. I put the water aside and sipped my coffee as he, Tabby, and Chris all described their encounter with the nebbie de ombre, and I saw the look of fear in Tabby’s eyes as she spoke. I knew without magia, she must have been terrified by the encounter.

  “The only way for the passage to be opened is if the three of us were to cast a counter spell, or…” Gareth looked to his brother as if they had been communicating internally.

  “Or what?” Chase finally looked up from the laptop he focused on. I looked to the elder men waiting for them to reply, but instead, I felt Ty’s hand rest on my shoulder from behind as he spoke.

  “Or if one of them was to die. Then the original spell would no longer exist.”

  “And you knew this? You asked her to help, and then let her stay there where he could get to her.” The heat rose in my cheeks, I felt flush, and the room spun. I quickly moved away from his touch and rested my head between my hands.

  “Renee, he has no magia and is bound to Ormshire. Your mother is safe in the Hearthstone Palace, well away from him.”

  “Okay, so how do we open the passage then?” Chase asked, even as he resumed his work on the laptop.

  “In three days’ time. Hogarth has already asked me to get word to my sister, Queen Calipee.” Farlow paced the room as he spoke. “I have told her to let Queen Karen know that the elders will begin the counter spell when the moon is at its highest in the sky in three nights.”

  “Three nights? That’s not enough time, Farlow.” My outburst had all eyes focused on me.

  Nolan entered the kitchen with his hands suspended in air as if he were surrendering himself. “What’s with all the shouting down here?”

  “Nolan, not now.” Chris pulled him down into the seat next to her.

  Farlow waved at me to get my attention. “Why is three days not enough time?”

  “Do you not realize the time difference? Three days here is only three hours at home. Won’t she need more time to prepare?”

  “The time difference isn’t quite that. It’s true it runs differently, but we aren’t really sure of the difference. Our third moon and Pylira’s third moon should match up enough for the spell to work,” he finished.

  I threw my hands up in frustration and was about to leave the room when Hogarth stopped me. “She may need more time, and so may we. The fact of the matter is we can’t afford to wait any longer.”

  “Why?” Chris asked from the corner of the room. She and Nolan had been whispering back and forth to each other. I assumed Chris was filling him in on the discussion.

  “The longer we wait, the more buio will gather here. That doesn’t just put you all in danger, but all of us!” Hogarth bellowed, and I got the distinct impression he was well aware of what his brother could do to him if he were to learn of his betrayal.

  “There is a little matter we may have forgotten to mention.” Farlow stopped pacing.

  “What’s that?” I looked between them all.

  Ty attempted to lay a hand on my shoulder again, but I stood from my seat.

  “The rest of Ourobus’ followers are here,” Ty stated.

  “I know that.”

  “What nobody had told you is his advisors are missing. We haven’t seen them in Cherry Valley at all.”

  I let that soak in for a moment.

  “It seems my father knew of parts of the curse that nobody knew.” Ty looked at Farlow.

  “Nobody outside of my family, that is.” Farlow looked to the floor.

  I knew what he was saying. There was a spy, it was true. However, we didn’t know if the spy was a luce maga, let alone a member of the royal fairy family. Knowing Ourobus’ advisors had been safeguarded against the curse was just one more disadvantage they had, and if they maintained their magia, that would be another.

  Nobody moved or even glanced at me when I asked if they knew who the spy was. I suddenly realized they were all keeping things amongst themselves as everyone in the room remained silent. I felt a pull in the very part of my soul that linked with Ty. It was almost as if he were trying to put a protective barrier around me. I pushed at it, and without much effort, was able to ignore the small presence of the link that I could feel.

  “I’ve had about enough of this.” I finally found the voice that reminded me of my father’s. “I am Princess of Pylira and the four realms, and as such, I am in charge here. You are not to keep anything more from me, regardless of what you think of my feelings. Now, I demand to hear the truth of all of this at once.”

  I thought I may have sounded more like a child having a tantrum, but I was sure I got the point across. If they were in Pylira and my parents were not there, I would be their queen. They would never have treated me that way in that instance. I couldn’t let them in any instance.

  “I believe the princess is back.” Nolan sneered from his seat.

  “How long have we known of this spy?” I asked them sternly, ignoring Nolan’s comment.

  “Since our arrival, Highness,” Gareth offered.

  “And how many luce still fight to find us?”

  “All of the Maga from the three realms,” Farlow added with a bow.

  Finally, I looked to Ty, who looked at me as if he didn’t recognize who I was.

  “Do we know if your father’s advisors have memories, magia, or both?” I did not soften my tone with him and he looked injured by it.

  “We don’t know… Renee?”

  “Don’t, Tyson. I can’t right now. You found me. I have my memories back because of you and Tabby. I was weak and pathetic before, but do not confuse those things with who I truly am. I am not Renee any longer; not a seventeen-year-old cheerleader in high school. I can’t be. I am Princess Renella Pyliro, and we have too much at stake; too much to do. We cannot afford for you all to handle me with kid gloves any longer.”

  Tabby snickered a moment at my use of her statement from the previous day. When I looked back at her, she quickly hid her amusement.

  I looked at Ty but addressed the entire group. My resolve had changed since I had first woken, unsure of where I would be. I had been content with the others taking the lead and deciding what they all should do. Now my only thought was of my parents. They were the ones to put this curse into motion, but I remembered that I had given my word to do my part; for them and for the people of Pylira.

  “Renee…”

  “Tabby?”

  “We traveled for six months or more and came upon many bu
io followers. None of which appeared to have any magia.” She hesitated for just a moment as she fidgeted with her hands. “They did seem to have memories though.”

  “Okay… Good, that’s a start.” I took a seat as soon as the room started to spin again. To think that Ankor and Fulvia were here in this world made me shudder, but to think of them with their power intact terrified her. They were Ourobus’ top advisors; extremely cunning and wickedly strong.

  I only had magia for a quick minute before the curse started. I didn’t want to think what would happen if we had to go up against them with the passage closed; with Ty and I the only ones with magia. I still needed to learn how to use mine.

  “I think the princess has had enough excitement for the moment. Maybe she’d like to freshen up,” Gareth suggested.

  “That’s a nice idea, Uncle. How about I walk you to your house? We could collect a few of your belongings to bring back,” Ty said. He put his hand on my shoulder and I bolted to the door and away from his reach.

  “That’s a good idea.”

  “Well, I’m coming too.” Tabby shouted as she followed behind.

  The walk to the little cul-de-sac was quiet, with the exception of Tabby’s growling stomach. We managed to make it down the four blocks without coming in contact with any buio. I hoped the sight of Farlow would keep them away until at least the passage was opened. Once they all had magia, maybe they had a fighting chance.

  The house looked almost foreign when we walked up the front steps. It was empty inside, just as it had been during the last year, but this time, it didn’t feel like I was home. The memories of the time spent there during my childhood had almost seemed like a dream, as if I had just walked on the set of a movie; hollow and empty.

  I recalled that my father and brother were supposed to be away. John had told me they were leaving for a fishing trip just the afternoon before. They would be gone all weekend. I was thankful that they weren’t there when I opened the door. I understood who the resident women of Cherry Valley were, but not the men and boys of the small town.

  The fae magic put the maga women there to safeguard them until the end of the curse. Women were the only ones born with magia, and in an effort to keep Ourobus from using them and their magia after he was cursed, the fairies thought it best to move them somewhere safe. Once the curse lifted, they would have their memories returned to them and go back to a safer Ormshire. Until the power they needed to defeat Ourobus would come to be, they would all remain oblivious. The men were still a question left unanswered, and as not to confuse the reality of it, I had no interest in having that questioned answered… yet.

  We pushed through the front door and I noticed a few of the pictures had changed some, and others were altogether gone. Most of the ones displayed on John’s desk were of Xander and me through the years, but Xander was no longer in them. I couldn’t stop to think what that meant for Xander. Did he exist outside of the curse? I have to find out, but my mind couldn’t wrap around it.

  I went to the room that had belonged to my parents. The bed was made, and the curtains had been pulled open so the light from outside filtered in through the windows, giving the space an eeriness to it.

  The large jewelry box on Karen’s dresser seemed to be glowing from within.

  “Renee…” Tabby snapped at me just as my hand started moving towards the box. I had forgotten she and Ty were there.

  “It’s okay. There won’t be anything here that will harm me,” I told my friend. I couldn’t imagine I needed to be cautious in a place that had been my home.

  I looked back to the box and felt a sense of warmth radiating from it and instinctively opened the lid. The hinges creaked, and even though I had expected it, I jumped at the noise. It was a pull from deep inside me that jumped, and I could tell Ty had been startled by the noise. I couldn’t help but giggle at that.

  It was there, nestled in the top of the box inside a velvet drawstring bag. It glowed a pulsated red, calling to me. I lifted the bag from the box and felt it hum. Loosening the strings of the bag, I knew it belonged to me. I pulled it out of the bag, sliding it onto my right middle finger. The pulse slowed and stopped, and the red glow of the heart stone sunk back into itself. I could feel the power of the stone sink into me. I shivered with it as the warmth of its power washed over my entire body. I was taken back to the day my father had first placed the ring on my finger for my fifth birth year. I felt as if he were there with me then, hugging me tight and whispering that all will be okay.

  “How do you feel?” Ty stood nearby. I could tell he wanted to reach out, but I couldn’t let him.

  “I feel like me again. I know I keep saying that, but this is different. This is from home.” I held up my hand. “This is the well of our power, and with it in its rightful place, I can feel myself drawing from the heart stone again.” I looked to both of them.

  “Do you think—” Tabby started, but I stopped her.

  “Yes, even with the passage closed. I can feel it…” I turned and looked at Ty. “Can’t you?”

  “I don’t feel it,” he said with a solemn look.

  “Here.” I placed both of my hands within his. I expected the dizziness with the contact as before but felt none. The wave of power coursed through my hands and into his. The wave of power flourished more than it ever had before. It flowed through my entire body and outward to his. His eyes grew a brighter blue and I knew he felt it too.

  Soon the house shook as the power between us flowed further. It burst outward, each one more powerful than the last. Tabby tried to use the dresser to balance herself as the last few bursts shook the house so hard we were all thrown a bit off balance. As the waves of power subsided, Ty and I could feel it settle back into us. The link between us was stronger than we ever imagined it could be.

  “What was that?” Ty asked as he took back his hands and shoved them into his pockets.

  “I’m not really sure, but it was incredible.” I laughed a little, looking around the room to see if anything had changed. Nothing seemed like it was even out of place, even though it felt as if we had just endured an earthquake.

  Then the quiet outside turned into a shrill scream, followed by a lot of raised voices.

  “The missing piece to the puzzle was the heart stone ring?” Tabby asked, confused.

  We ran to the living room and looked out the front windows. The yelling continued, and soon was coming from all of the homes in the cul-de-sac.

  “How would we know? They could be just reacting to the earthquake?” Tabby continued when nobody answered her.

  I ran through the length of the house to my room. Everything looked as it had before; nothing was out of place. Moving to the closet, I said a little prayer and quickly turned the handle. I’d forgotten I owned a closet for the last year. I didn’t want to go in there since the passage closed.

  As expected, there was a large pile of clothes that were randomly tossed inside, and the rest of the contents. I moved the hanging clothes to look to the back and saw only the wallpapered wall. If the curse had just ended, then the spell cast to close it was still in effect.

  “They’re two different spells; different magia. Maybe the curse lifted here only,” Ty said from behind me, understanding through their newfound connected link just what I was wondering.

  “Yeah, I was just thinking that,” I said, closing the closet door.

  “I guess that means we’re going outside.” Tabby pointed at the group of people who gathered in the middle of the circle. Every one of them had eyes fixed on my house, but nobody advanced on them.

  “What do you think?” Ty asked.

  I was contemplating hiding for a while until they left, but then heard someone outside shouting. “Is the princess home? Does anyone know if she is okay?”

  “I guess we go outside,” Ty and Tabby said in unison.

  Chapter Six

  Present Day

  The days faded—one into the next. With no sense of time, or even the ability
to see the sun set and rise, Karen had no way of knowing how long she had been there. During her first days, the knowledge that Tyson and Renella would be reunited kept her going, and with that, the fact that they would come for her. However, the time difference notwithstanding, she couldn’t have imagined that it would have been so long. Now all she could think of were the different ways things could have gone wrong. She imagined so many outcomes, but she was unable to get excited over a single one, because as the days wore on, only horrible outcomes flashed into her mind.

  Her life with Renella had been mirrored in a false reality. Karen had been away from her home and husband for far too long. It was a task she had taken on by her own request, for she had not wanted to leave the fate of her daughter to the fae queen alone. The care needed to raise her child again and again could only have been given by Karen; she was sure of it. If this was her end, she at least wanted to be sure they would live on, and they would have each other in doing so.

  Karen had to feel the loss and pain of losing her child repeatedly, but she relived the joy each time she got her back. Those memories alone had gotten her far, and she knew regardless of how long it had been, they would still come. Once they reached Pylira and learned of Karen’s disappearance, they would know who had her and who was to blame. She just had to push away all the thoughts telling her things had not gone as planned.

  Karen had nothing more to do for the remainder of her time in that cold, dark place but count on the scraps of food passed to her through her cell door to keep her strength. For when the time came, she would need it. The skirts of her dress provided an adequate padding for her to lay on, since there was no cot or bedding provided for her.

  This is no way to treat a queen, she thought to herself.

  She hardly recognized her own voice when she spoke, since she had hardly the use for it; nobody had been around for her to speak to. Even the guards came quietly and left quickly. Karen was never abused or tormented. At least she had that to be thankful for, but still she was being held captive.