Spellbound (Spellbringers Book 1)

by Tricia Drammeh

  “Basically,” Albert said, “the man known as Darius Franklin Stevens, is in fact Jabron Nkaribo. He was born in Nigeria on December 21st 1960. He had an older sister, Keira, and a younger brother, Palo. Palo was killed just a couple of years ago. Keira has two surviving children—Mordecai and Samuel.”

  Albert’s words seemed to echo and then fade away. He couldn’t be right. Someone gave him bad information. My father wasn’t from Nigeria. It was impossible. Wasn’t it?

  “Mordecai—wait, isn’t that the guy Bryce brought home for New Year’s?” Jace asked, leaning forward.

  “Yes,” Abe said, frowning.

  If what Albert was saying was true, I had two first-cousins I didn’t even know, one of whom had visited this very house while I was in Atlanta. Had I stayed behind, I might have been introduced to my cousin. Would Mordecai have figured out the connection? It was unlikely given the fact that I’d lived my entire life with the wrong last name. Nkaribo. My last name should have been Nkaribo. It didn’t sound right—but, yet it did.

  “Jabron attended the Watcher academy from 1977 through 1981.” Albert paused, switching from his cold reading of the facts to a more personal tone. “I trained with him. He was just a couple of years ahead of me. Do you remember him, Abe?”

  “Yes, I do,” Abe answered shortly. I was unable to determine from his tone whether or not he’d liked my father. Right now it was hard for me to like Jabron—this man I didn’t know. This man who was my father.

  Albert shuffled through his notes, finding the spot where he’d left off, and continued. “His first assignment was in the Birmingham area and he finally settled in Atlanta two years later.” He paused to give Abe a paper showing a bunch of dates. “Here’s a marriage certificate between Darius Stevens and Amelia Jane Stanford. That was actually the first legal record I found where he’d used the name Darius Stevens. A son, Jeffrey Alan, was born the following October, and then a daughter, Rachel Francine, on June 1st, six years later.”

  “And you’re certain that’s Jabron?” Abe asked.

  “Oh, yes. Look at this wedding announcement. And this driver’s license picture for Darius. If that isn’t the spitting image of Jabron…”

  Abe glanced at the photographs in Albert’s hands and nodded. “That’s Jabron. No doubt about it.”

  Albert continued. “A year or so after Darius’s wedding, several assets were transferred from Jabron’s name into Darius’s name. A few of those assets were transferred to Keira’s name right before Jabron’s death six years ago when his car spontaneously burst into flames. The authorities suspected foul play, but gave up on the investigation before they determined exactly what had happened. There was something suspicious about that, if you ask me.”

  My heart clenched in pain. My father was a liar who hid his true identity from his family. He was a Spellbringer, trained as a Watcher. I knew he’d died in a car accident, but I’d never heard anything about suspicious circumstances.

  “I’m here, Rachel.” Jace soothed my mind with his calm assurances. “We’ll get through this.”

  Albert continued, “Now, for the interesting part. Darius worked for a Demon named Re’Vel.”

  “I know him.” My words burst forth before I could think. I couldn’t hold back any longer. I should have waited until Albert was finished telling us about his investigation, but I couldn’t help myself. The moment I heard Re’Vel’s name, I couldn’t contain my secret any longer.

  “He’s had access to my mind for weeks. I thought they were just dreams, but I was wrong. Until a few nights ago when Abe mentioned Re’Vel crossing the Georgia border, I didn’t realize he was real. At first, he was like a friend. Then he began tempting me, trying to convince me to follow him. The last time I dreamed of him, he scared me. He told me I belonged to him and that ya’ll were trying to trick me.” I looked at Jace. “That’s why I put a lock on my magic. I’ve been trying to block him from my dreams, and I didn’t know how to do it without blocking you too. I was afraid he’d come for me. Truthfully, I’ve hardly slept in days.”

  Jace whispered in my mind, “You’ve been through so much, and I haven’t been there for you. I’m sorry Rachel. I should have beat down your front door when you refused to talk to me.”

  “Oh, Rachel. I wish you would have told us. You didn’t have to go through this alone,” Jerica said. I couldn’t believe they weren’t angry with me for dragging their whole family into all this trouble. Jace wasn’t upset that I’d been dreaming about another man. He still loved me. So far.

  Albert stammered for a second, trying to get his bearings before picking up the threads of his story. “The Demon Re’Vel convinced Jabron to work for him. Jabron fed him information about the inner workings of Central until the Head Examiner released Jabron from his duties pending an investigation. Jabron began using the name Darius exclusively and settled right here in Oaktree. He worked as a traveling salesman and spent a lot of time away from home.” Again, Albert paused.

  When he said ‘traveling salesman’, he’d used his fingers to form quotation marks. I hated it when people did that, especially when it was used to illustrate what a sneaky liar my father was.

  “The verifiable portion of my investigation ends here. Rumor has it Jabron had a change of heart a few years ago and tried to contact Central. He died shortly after. The people I’ve talked to believe Re’Vel had Jabron killed. The Demon couldn’t risk allowing Jabron to spill his secrets. One interesting fact I forgot to mention, was while Jabron attended the Academy, he took quite an interest in ancient curses and claiming spells.” Albert paused again, this time to open a portfolio of photographs. I recognized many of them.

  Albert extracted a couple of pages and passed them to Abe, who in turn handed them over to Jerica. “These are just a few photos of Jabron at the Academy. As you can see, the graduation photo for Jabron is nearly identical to the wedding announcement for Darius.”

  Jerica wordlessly passed the photos over to Jace and me. My father’s face stared back at me when I viewed the photographs. The graduation picture could have been my brother Jeffrey, they looked so much alike.

  “This next set of photographs, you will recognize.” Albert passed over another page. “Jerica, your translation of the tattoo, of course, was correct. I asked a Spell Master at the Academy to have a look to verify. He made a few notes on the side for your review.”

  “Claiming spell,” Jerica read aloud, “Demon Mark…can be used as a suppression spell. A tattoo, of course, would be permanent as opposed to a written or verbal spell which could be reversed.”

  Jerica offered the page to Jace and me, but I waved it away. I didn’t need to see images of the curse my brother would bear for the rest of his life.

  “That wraps it up. The rest is conjecture. I don’t think Jabron ever really had a chance to escape Re’Vel. Anything the Demon touches is corrupted by pure evil,” Albert said.

  My gaze stayed fixed on my tightly clasped hands. Tears fell silently and I watched them trickle between my fingers. I was afraid to move or look at anyone. Corrupted by pure evil—that’s what I was. Any minute, I suspected, this wonderful family would recoil from me in horror. Jace stood up and walked away. I didn’t blame him. I would have left me too.

  I was too absorbed in my own pain to hear Jace’s soft footsteps as he returned. He sat on the loveseat next to me, closer than before, and handed me a box of tissues. He put his arm around me and reached up with his other hand to wipe a tear from my cheek.

  “I love you,” Jace said out loud.

  “I love you too,” I replied using our private form of communication. I couldn’t speak at that moment. I loved Jace more than ever before and felt like an idiot for ever comparing him to Re’Vel and finding him lacking. I’d once viewed Jace as an irresponsible teenage boy. From this point forward, I saw him as a man—a man who just drew a line in the sand and declared his love for me in front of his parents and his dad’s old friend from the past.

  I sat in
a daze for the duration of the evening. Abe steered the conversation around to lighter topics, chatting with Albert about some things I didn’t pay much attention to. Before Albert left, Jerica took down the name of the Spell Master he’d worked with at the Academy. She said she had a couple of questions about the curse. Abe and Jerica thanked their old friend for his help, and before I knew it, he was out the door.

  We all breathed a sigh of relief when he was gone. I couldn’t remember a more stressful and upsetting evening. Jace sat next to me through it all, holding my hand, whispering in my mind. Abe and Jerica messed around in the kitchen for a few minutes, emerging with a tray of steaming cups of coffee.

  “You doing okay, Rachel?” Abe asked, smiling. “You’ve had a lot to take in. It’s been a shock for you, hasn’t it?”

  “I’m okay, I guess. I have a lot to think about. My whole life has been turned upside down. I don’t know what to think about my father. How could he appear to be so normal when he was so evil?” My voice shook with emotion and I prayed I wouldn’t start crying all over again. My eyes already felt puffy and a headache was setting in.

  “The word evil has been used entirely too much tonight. We don’t know what was in Jabron’s heart. Let’s not judge him, okay?” Jerica always knew what to say to make me feel better.

  “I think before it’s all said and done, we’ll find out a lot more about your father. As for tonight, I think we should focus on solutions. We need to find a way to keep Re’Vel from attacking you in your dreams,” Abe said, lifting a cup of coffee from the tray and taking a sip. “It has become apparent that the Protection spells surrounding your house are not adequate. We’ll need to use different spells to keep the Demon out.”

  “But you said Rachel’s house already had Protection spells surrounding it,” Jace said. “Why did the protection stop working? Why wasn’t it strong enough to keep Re’Vel away?”

  “Re’Vel told me in one of my dreams that he was the one responsible for providing protection. He said he put up the spells,” I said.

  “The Protection spells were meant to repel enemies. Re’Vel was not your father’s enemy at the time the spells were performed,” Abe said. “We’ll just have to put up different spells. Jerica and I can use the same spells we used when we moved into this house. It’s very simple. We can write down each spell on a piece of paper. All you have to do is bring the papers into the house and hide one in each room in a safe place. I can reinforce the spells later when your mother isn’t home.”

  Abe and Jerica discussed certain spells and their various uses before deciding on the best combination. I zoned out, barely able to stay awake, while Jerica inscribed each spell onto a separate piece of paper. They discussed the merits of hiring a Protector to accompany me when I left my house, but my head hurt too badly to stage a protest. It was a battle I would save for later.

  Jerica insisted that Abe drive me home just in case. Since my extreme exhaustion and stress made it impossible for me to control my magic, she feared Hunters would be drawn to me that night like palmetto bugs to a porch-light. I did not find this reassuring. I did, however, find it comforting that Jerica and Abe were putting forth their very best efforts to protect me. Armed with my Protection spells, I staggered out the front door and into the backseat of Abe’s car. Jace sat beside me, his arm wrapped protectively around my shoulders.

  At home, I waited until Mama went to bed, and then stashed the Protection spells in various nooks and crannies throughout the house, hoping these scraps of paper would be effective.

  When I was finished, I fell into bed, more fatigued than I’d ever been. With our link reestablished, Jace and I talked until I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. Despite the fact that I’d relaxed tremendously since my admission to allowing Re’Vel access to my dreams, there was still something pulling at the back of my mind, making it difficult for me to fully surrender myself to sleep.

  I remembered what had been bothering me as my eyes began to close. “Jace,” I whispered across our link. “I forgot to confess one thing, one very bad thing. I lied to my mother and used Persuasion on her to get her to believe me. Do you think I’m evil?”

  “You’re a good person, Rachel. I love you.” Jace’s voice was the last thing I heard before I sank into the oblivion of sleep. I slept safely, soundly, secure in the knowledge we would never be apart. Never again.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Alisa

  I woke up feeling wired. It was way too early to be up and about. Being awake at nine A.M. during summer vacation was unheard of. I couldn’t even contemplate falling back to sleep. It was the day I’d been waiting on for months. Barring any flight delays or other travel complications, I would see Bryce by nightfall. I thought I might possibly die if anything happened to extend the time I had to wait to see him. Already, I painfully counted the hours. Any delay would be heartbreaking.

  It didn’t seem real. Could I fully remember what he looked like? Was the image in my head accurate after these many months? More importantly, would I live up to his expectations? Just thinking about Bryce’s possible rejection brought on a bout of nausea. I couldn’t bear it if Bryce’s expression of happiness at seeing me faded to disappointment when he realized what he was getting.

  It wasn’t only Bryce I was worried about seeing that evening. This would be my first time seeing Rachel since her huge fight with Jace. He assured me she was fine now and harbored no ill feelings toward my friendship with him. But still, Rachel and I hadn’t spoken in a week and I felt weird about that. Maybe if she saw how happy Bryce and I were together, she wouldn’t worry that I still had feelings for her boyfriend. She should know darned well Jace didn’t have any feelings for me. He was completely in love with her and she had nothing to worry about.

  I knew I shouldn’t expect me and Bryce to be an instant couple the second I saw him, but we kind of were a couple already. At least I hoped so. He was certainly open about his feelings in his emails to me, but all that could change when we talked face to face. I felt dizzy with apprehension and riddled with self doubt.

  My parents had already left for work, so I had the house to myself. I quickly showered, dressed, and headed downstairs to bake the chocolate chip cookies I’d promised Bryce. At first, I figured baking cookies would take up at least a couple of hours including preparation and cleanup. It would be something to do to keep me occupied and help keep my mind off Bryce. The problem was, after the initial mixing of ingredients, there remained a lot of time where I did nothing at all. Once a batch was in the oven, I had to wait ten minutes for the cookies to bake.

  Waiting led to thinking. Thinking led to daydreaming. Daydreaming led to trouble. While I paced around waiting for the oven timer to shriek, my thoughts inevitably strayed to Bryce. I kept finding myself skipping down the lanes of Fantasy Land and I had to yank myself back to reality repeatedly. To distract myself, I blasted twanging country music so loud it nearly burst my ears. I sang so obnoxiously, it was a wonder I didn’t shatter windows for miles around.

  At last, the cookies were finished and the kitchen was spotless once again. I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the hallway mirror and had to double back to take a second look. The tan that I’d worked so hard on during softball season, the first in my life, had begun to fade. After sitting for two weeks in a semi-darkened room doing nothing but staring at a computer, my skin looked pale and sickly.

  Determined not to frighten Bryce when he saw me, I quickly donned my bikini and gathered the necessary supplies for a day in the sun. A tan wasn’t the only benefit of playing softball. Between training with Abe and playing ball, I’d finally lost the ten pounds that had plagued my thighs for years. My mother purchased a lime-green bikini to celebrate my weight loss. Not that I would ever wear it out in public. It would be forever confined to my backyard.

  Armed with a towel, suntan lotion, and my I-pod, I headed outside, draped my towel across my favorite lounge chair, and prepared to bake in the hot afternoon sun. I set
the alarm on my I-pod so I’d have plenty of time to take a shower before seeing Bryce. I popped the earbuds into my ears and kicked up the volume, promising myself I’d remember to turn every thirty minutes or so in order to bake evenly. My back would probably burn since it wasn’t properly basted with the recommended SPF, but it couldn’t be helped. Baking in the sun wasn’t my favorite activity, but it was better than sitting in front of my quiet computer.

  When I turned over and checked the time, I was appalled to discover I’d only been outside for about twenty minutes. After what seemed like a million years, I turned over yet again only to discover another thirty minutes had slowly passed. I flipped over on my stomach and drifted off to sleep for a while. After an hour, I woke up and felt a stinging stiffness in my back as I turned over to allow the front of me to get a shot at the sun. My face burned and it was impossible to go back to sleep. I passed the time by cranking the volume on my I-pod a little louder and singing along at random, making up my own lyrics when necessary.