“How did she know you?” I was afraid of the answer that I might get, but I had to ask. “We went out a few times a couple of years ago.” He didn't look away from the empty fireplace and I was afraid to have eye contact with him after hearing that. “I think she was feeling you out to see if you were the one while you were in high school. She would have no way of knowing until your birthday.” He them made eye contact with me and I felt that flush of excitement that I had been trying to hide since I first laid eyes on him. He smiled and I knew that he had noticed. Stupid, now what are you going to do. I couldn't help but wonder if he had felt the same excitement in the first moments that we had met that I had. He had flirted with me and then pulled back, like he wondered if he should even be thinking it. This action left me confused when it came to Conner.
“I wondered about that. The letter said something about binding? What does that mean?” I did want to know, but I also wanted to change the subject and take my mind off of my feelings.
“Binding can mean a lot of different things. You can keep someone from you or you can suppress the abilities that they might have. It's somewhat complicated and when you do a binding spell it has to be exact or it will not work the way that you want it to.” He said this in such a matter of fact voice that I was a bit shocked.
“I get it, so that's why no one really talked about it and nothing...different ever happened with me.” There was still that wonder of what my gifts would be. If I was so powerful, then where were they and what? Conner nodded in agreement as I spoke and looked at the empty stairs. I thought maybe he was trying to tell me it was time to go to bed, but I didn't want to move from the seat that I was in. He got up from the old comfy chair and started walking towards the stairs.
“Are you coming to bed?” Conner said turning to look at me. I wanted to tell him that I'd go anywhere with a bed with him, but decided against it.
“Yeah, I guess it's time.” I said as I started to follow him.
Six
I woke up in the morning early and figured no one was up yet. There was no sound in the house that I could hear. I decided to go ahead and get ready for the day, even though I had no idea what I was going to be doing. I figured that it would be good to wear something that would be comfortable and if it got messy, oh well.
There was a knock at the door. It startled me a little, because I had thought that no one was awake. I walked over to the door and opened it to find Conner standing there waiting for me. He was wearing a blue button down shirt today that he had left open. I could see the definition of his body that had been hidden by the shirts before.
“Are you ready to start?” He asked and as he was talking as I was following his body from his stomach to his face. He was just a little taller than me and I hadn't really noticed it until now.
“Sure, I guess” I said this trying to keep my flustered voice under control. Conner turned, with a smile on his face and started walking towards the stairs to go down to the front room. I followed him down the steps and into the living room area. He kept walking on into the kitchen. They must have gotten up earlier than I thought, because the kitchen had changed a lot from yesterday. The shiny pots and pans that had been there yesterday were replaced with some beat up ones that were not used for cooking food obviously.
Conner picked up a large pan and placed it on the stove. “The first thing that you will really need to know is how to make the potion to travel with and something for protection. That's what we will work on today.” I was trying to listen as him as he started to teach me about the different herbs that needed to be used and how a potion was made. It was a lot about chemistry and I did okay with that in school, but it was a lot to learn in only one day.
We practiced traveling from the kitchen to the yard and back until I could do it without even thinking about it. The protection spell was a whole lot easier than the traveling potion and I learned that in no time. He also showed me the book that he kept his spells and things in. He told me that it was like a recipe book that things could be written in and then used later if needed.
“You’re picking things up pretty fast and that's good” Conner said to me as we started cleaning up. He had kind of a goofy smile on his face that made me smile even though I felt as tired as I did.
This kind of day continued for several more weeks until I was so sick of magic that I dreaded getting up in the morning. Conner and Anna both had taught me what had to have been years’ worth of things in this short time and it left my mind reeling and, a lot of nights, with massive headaches.
“Anna is going to be late tonight. I thought we might eat supper outside. It's still safe out there and the wards hold to the edge of the property.” He stopped working on the spell that he was teaching me for a minute and looked at me to see what I thought. I thought that he could feel that I needed a break and that I was running down. We had never really had a good chance to talk and get to know each other beyond the fact that I wanted to jump into his arms and make mad passionate love to him.
“That sounds nice.” I told him helping to get things done faster. I wondered what he had in mind for our outside supper. I really am attracted to him, but it's not a good time to be absorbed into a man.
He had already gotten everything set up in the side yard of the house. It was under a permanent roof structure, much like you would see at a park for children. There was a table in the middle with two seats. All around the roof hung party lights that illuminated the area. I thought it was a very beautiful thing to look at. It also seemed so normal.
We sat at the table together and talked about things that were going on and more about him as a person and not so much as a witch. He had been born into a family of witches. He and his sister had been home schooled by a friend of his mother’s that had taught them all the normal things that a child would learn in school as well as the spells and potions that they would need as a practicing witch. He talked about how he didn't know who his father was, but that he had been told that he was a human and that he had left after finding out that his mother was a witch. His past was somewhat normal in this way, except the witch stuff.
I also told him about me and what my life had been like up till now. He listened to me chatter about High School and friends and mundane things. I wondered if he really cared about the life that I'd left behind, but he nodded at all the right times and acted as though it was the most interesting thing that he had ever heard.
The stars had started to come out and the moon was up in the sky. It was a half-moon tonight and I wondered about it, but didn't dare ask. I figured that Conner would tell me about the moon cycles if they were important to what we were doing. Conner was starting to clean up the dishes and take them back towards the house while I was looking at the stars in the sky.
“What are you looking at?” He asked when he came back from the house.
What do you think I'm looking at... duh? “The stars. They are very pretty tonight.” He looked up at them for a minute and then back to me. “Yes they are.” I felt him looking at me as he had said that and all kinds of scenarios crossed my mind. I could jump out of the seat and right into his arms and everyone knows what would happen next, but I didn't. I stayed in my seat like I was glued in and unable to move.
“I think it's time for bed. I had to learn a lot today and think I'm ready for some sleep.” I was trying to break the awkward silence and get away from the situation before I did something that I shouldn't. I started towards the house felling him right behind me.
Conner grabbed my arm as we got close to the house and pulled me to him. I was taken off guard, and didn't fight him. I didn't really want to anyway.
He bent down to my face only inches from me. I could see the brightness of his blue eyes and fell into them. Then he did what I really have been waiting for him to, he kissed me.
It was one of those really deep kisses that made the world melt away. I was lost from what had been going on and was in only that kiss. It seemed to last forever, but w
hen he pulled his head back from me, I almost followed it.
I opened my eyes and looked at him again. It was a great time for that kiss, but I didn't want to take things further not now. My body and my head were broadcasting two different things and I could see that being repeated in the way that Connor pulled back from me and straightened himself. Neither of us knew what to say, so we just stood there for a minute looking at each other.
“We should probably go to bed.” He said looking into my eyes. I didn't know if that he meant us together, or separate.
I just smiled at him and started up the stairs. He followed closely behind. When we got to my room, I turned to him and put my hand to his chest.
“It's not a good time for me. I like you, a lot, but...” “You’re worried about your parents. I understand.” He smiled at me and touched my face in the same way that he had when he had pulled the hair from my face and walked away from me and down the hallway. I almost followed him, but didn't.
I laid down on my bed, my body still aching over that kiss. As I lay there other things started to filter into my mind. Were my mom and dad okay? Was I really a good person, a good witch? Did I really want to fall for this man that was right in front of me and looked oh so good?
This whole thing was very surreal and crazy, but here I was right smack in the middle of it and I had to make the choice to believe in what I had and what I had to do, or to ignore it and just go back to the life that I had. I ran my fingers up to the blue jewel that I had been wearing since my birthday. Was I going to be able to do it? I knew that this meant that I had to make a choice to become this all powerful witch or to just go back to normal. I didn’t know how I knew this, but I did.
My parents were still on my mind and I wondered if they were oky and where they were. I could find out. All I'd have to do is use the travel potion. I felt around in my pocket and found a couple of left over bottles from today. I could use one to get me there and one to get me back and Conner would never know that I'd left.
I took a towel from the bathroom and rolled it up into a long tube and placed it at the bottom of the door. This would keep the smell of the potion from getting out of the room. I also moved the bed to the far side of the room so that I'd have enough area to get back without wrecking any of the furniture.
My hand slid into my pocket and pulled out one of the potion bottles and I looked at it. This was the last chance to change my mind. I Shrugged it off and threw the tiny bottle on the ground closed my eyes and thought about my parents. I wanted to go to where they were and know that they were okay.
When I opened my eyes I was on the front lawn of my family home, the place that I grew up at. I looked down at the ground for a moment and thought about what I was doing. If Conner was right, then this could be a mistake.
I didn't care. My feet started to move under me towards the front door. When I got there, I turned the knob and entered. I could now feel the energy that was magic and knew that someone was there, but I couldn't see them anywhere.
“I've been waiting a long time for you to come back.” A voice came from the easy chair that sat in the corner of the room. I didn't recognize it at all. A tinge of fear went through me. “I know that you don't know me, but I have been waiting for you for almost 18 years.” The man started to rise from the chair and I could see him better now.
He was a striking man, tall and thin. His hair was a wiry black that was neatly combed to his head. He was wearing dress pants, like he had just gotten back from a hard day at the office. His shirt was just as nice and looked to be freshly ironed and a dark blue color.
“I'm your father” He said holding a hand out to me. I stepped back because everyone that I'd met had told me that he was a bad person, but I was not able to see it in the man in front of me. “I know, they told you some bad things about me, but I'm not what they say.”
I looked at the strange hand in front of me for a minute. Maybe I should just go back to Conner's. I was a little scared, but tried to hold it back.
“Where are my parents?” I said to him in the most assertive tone that I could manage. He looked at me for a minute as though I hadn't said a word. “They were here but I don't know what happened to them.” He never lost my eyes as he spoke. I couldn't help but believe him.
“What do you want?” “I want to be your father. You are special, but need to learn to let it out. No one can really teach you that but your blood.” He started towards me as he spoke. “You still have it.” He reached his hand up to my necklace and touched it softly. “I gave this to your mother when we got married. It was charmed to increase the power of anyone in our line until they were ready to make the choice for themselves.”
I stood still even though all I wanted to do was run. I wanted to give a vibe of being able to handle him and not let him intimidate me.
“Just give us a chance. If you still don't want to be a part of the family, then you can leave and do whatever you choose.” He held his hand out to me again and I stared at it. I really wanted to know where it was that I'd come from and who they were. I had no idea if I was like anyone and if I had a gift that they had. Maybe this was a way to find out.
I thought about Conner for a minute. He might wonder where I was and get worried about me, but I had to know.
“I'll give you one week, but if I don't find out what I need to know, I'm gone.” I took his hand in agreement.
Seven
The next thing that I knew, we were standing in front of an old house with dark black shutters and an old tin roof. There was a fence around the property that had tangles of tall dead grass in it. I also noticed how the look of the bluffs behind the house made it sink in and go unnoticed.
Eric, as I had been told his name was, started toward the house opening the gate in front of him. He looked back at me as he did this and gave me a face of come on then.
I shifted my eyes down and followed him through the gate and on into the house. I honestly didn't know what to think, but my need to know more was overwhelming.
When we got into the home, I saw that the floor was not carpeted and how beautiful the wood that I was walking on really was. The walls were painted a dark red and the furniture was tasteful. They defiantly had money to spend on the place that they lived in and it showed.
When I got to the living room area, I was met by a young woman rushing at me, her red hair flying about her head.
“I've been waiting to find you for such a long time.” She wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tightly. My face instantly got tangled in her frizzy locks. I was overtaken with the smell of her shampoo and ready to pull my head away from her.
She pulled away and I thought that she might have even had a small hint of a tear in her eye. “Come and sit down. We have a lot to talk about.” She pulled me over to the fancy couch and sat down with me. “I'm your mother as you probably know. My name is Marie to other people, but you can call me mom... if you want to.” Her eyes trailed down to the pendent as Eric’s had. She smiled and looked back up at me. “I thought they would get rid of it once they took you.”
I looked at her and gave a little smile. I had a million questions to ask, but was not sure where to start. “You must have a million things to ask us.” Marie said as though she had just heard me speaking in my head. “Maybe we should start from the beginning.” She settled down in the seat and looked me as if trying to see if there was any kind of reaction coming from me.
“Okay, I'm all ears.” I said looking at her intently. “You were born in this house.” She said looking up towards the balcony that hung from the second floor. “We still have the room made up for you. Of course it's not a baby room anymore. We always hoped that we would be able to find you and raise you ourselves, but Animara took that from us.” She started to sound a little bitter as she spoke.
“How did that happen? Me being taken from you?” I really wanted to know this and figured that there was no point dancing around the question.
“She was jealous o
f us, I think. She wanted to create her own coven of powerful witches. She wanted to have a coven of 13 witches that were more powerful than any others. This way they could shift magic to them and control a lot of things in the world.” She seemed to twitch a little bit as she spoke. I wondered if it scared her or if she was lying to me. It was one of the other, but I couldn't tell which one.
“So, what do you want with me?” I asked bluntly and to the point. I had learned in the last few weeks to not hold back too much. People had a habit of trying to protect me from things that I needed to know.
They looked at each other and then Eric spoke for the both of them. “We want to know our daughter. You were the only child that we ever had and we missed so much already. We want to teach you how to become the powerful witch that you are.” His dark eyes seemed blacker than before as he spoke. I felt a little uneasy, but dismissed it for nerves. “You won’t need the pendent if you choose to embrace your gift.”
“I'll take you to your room. We can finish this talk in the morning.” She got up from the couch that she was sitting on and reached for my hand. I took it with a little hesitation and she led me up the stairs to the second floor.
There was a lot of light in the hallway and the same hardwood that was on the lower floor as well. We stopped a couple of doors down the hallway at a big wood door. Marie looked at me and kind of smiled, then opened the door for me. I stepped in the room and looked around.
There was a large bed in the middle of the room and the walls were a bright gold color. The room itself was very big in size and I had to strain to see the other end of the room. There was an adjoining bathroom to the left of the room.
“I think you'll be comfortable here and we can talk more tomorrow and maybe even teach you some spells. Just out of curiosity, do you know what your gift is?”
The 13th Witch Complete Trilogy Page 4
