Curse Reversed

by Rebecca Royce

  The other woman shook her head. “Keep going.”

  “He had the ink on the needles; he’d mixed it with his own blood. The whole time they held me down and chanted. Took hours. When it was over, they let me go and everyone went on like it had never happened. My mother wouldn’t speak of it again, and if I tried to bring it up, I just had pain in my head. I stopped. She was dead after that, just days later and I was lost. Those aren’t hidden memories. I legitimately don’t know where I was until I was found.”

  Kim let go of her hand. “It’s cleared. Well done.”

  Stefan put a hand on Kim’s back. “How bad is it?”

  “I’ve had worse. It was in there pretty strong. But it’s cleared. You should be able to talk about it anytime you want to.” She rose on wobbly feet. “You’re going to be exhausted. Eat something. Baby yourself if you can.”

  Stefan picked Kim up in his arms, holding her close. “Couple of hours everyone will be okay.”

  “Hey.” Eleanor looked up at them. “We never had that birthday party.”

  Stefan grinned slowly. “Thanks for remembering. As soon as this is over we’ll do a belated.”

  Kim rolled her eyes. “Or we wait for next year. Or we find another reason to party. Birthday is over.”

  Mitchell sat down on the bed next to her, a hand on her back. When the ex-Enforcers left the room, closing the door behind them, he leaned over and kissed her neck, gently. “I’m sorry.”

  “I’m… hurting but relieved.” She stroked the side of his face. “Kind of gross that I’ve basically been walking around for a decade with someone’s blood on me, right?”

  Mitchell snorted. “I think that it’s mostly ink at this point and we’ll get it off you when this is over. If you want that.”

  “In a word, yes.” She lay flat on her back. “What now?”

  “What now?” Mitchell moved on top of her, leaning down to make love to her mouth. “I tell you what? I like your other tattoos better. The pink butterfly on your inner thigh. The phoenix above your left butt cheek. The ladybug right under your belly button. I like all of them, a lot. I more than like them.”

  She kissed his chin. “Maybe when I’m not so weak you could show me how much you like them.”

  He lifted one side of his mouth. “Maybe I can show you now.”

  She groaned. “I hurt. I don’t think I can participate.”

  “Don’t participate. Just lie here and let me make you feel good, Ellie.” What did he have in mind? He scooted down, tracing her body with his finger. When he reached the elastic of her pajama pants he tugged them down gently.

  “Seriously.” She sighed. “I love the idea, but I don’t even think I can have you inside right now.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “I’ll stop, of course. You always say yes or no. But this isn’t that. I am going to make you feel good, Ellie. And I don’t need a thing from you except to close your eyes and let me.”

  Now, that was something different. “What do you have in mind?”

  He scooted all the way down. “A little bit of what we did the other night. I’ve been dreaming about it ever since. Yes?”

  She wasn’t going to say no. “Yes. But it may not work for me tonight. It may just be that I have to lie here and feel bad for a while.”

  “Well, I guess we’ll see.”

  He put his mouth on her. She gasped before she closed her eyes. Yes, she hadn’t known she wanted this tonight, but she did. Mitchell ran his hand up her leg, stopping on her knee. He squeezed her there before he traced his hand back down. The whole thing was so sensual she almost couldn’t stand it.

  Mitchell used his tongue to play with her clit until she was panting from it. She grabbed onto the bed, her hands gripping for anything to support her while her body fought the pleasure she wanted, needed. He lapped at her, moaning like he got pleasure from the act, too.

  Her body shook, and he moved his tongue, delving deep inside of her, leaving her clit as he ate her out. He’d dreamed about this? The knowledge sent her over the edge. She sighed through her orgasm. Like she was in a dream, the pain in her limbs left and a floating sensation traveled through her.

  He hadn’t lied. She hadn’t had to do anything. And he’d given her a little piece of paradise.

  Chapter 11

  Eleanor would never have imagined sitting around her grandparents’ dining room table with the crew assembled there. Mitchell sat to her left, his arm around her. On the other side, Kim was pale but upright. Her husband laced his fingers together, leaning forward on the table.

  Ava and Lawson were across, next to her grandparents. They were flanked on the other side by Trident and Sebastian who linked hands. She hadn’t known they were together romantically, but maybe she’d just missed the cues or maybe it was new. She was going to find out at another time. Ava placed a drink in front of both Eleanor and Kim.

  She said the earth said it would heal them. That seemed odd, but who was Eleanor to think anything anyone else did was weird? It mostly tasted like cinnamon and Eleanor drank it slowly.

  Her grandfather cleared his throat. “What we know about our daughter during those years is sporadic information. I wish that weren’t the case, but she left home after college and she changed. Oh, she’d pop in and out. Mostly when she needed money. But there are huge chunks of time that are missing to us.”

  Her grandmother nodded, taking her husband’s hand. “She studied ancient cultures, and we suspected she’d find a place in academia. Went off to see the places firsthand. We offered her assistance. With our spice trade business, we have envoys everywhere. But she was uninterested. At some point she mentioned that she’d fallen in with a group of mostly humans. We were… concerned.”

  Eleanor bet they had been. Hanging out with humans wasn’t something the St. Vincents did. Her grandfather picked up the story. “But sometimes young people do that for a while. She reached out to us for help one day. Said she’d fallen in with ancient witch worshipers. Participated in a ceremony and now she was in trouble. We flew her home. She must have been pregnant then but didn’t tell us. She only stayed one week before she vanished again. That was how it was after that. She’d come and go. We’d try to keep you, and she’d leave again. And then she was gone.” He looked away. “Our little girl who had laughed and laughed was gone.”

  The house with all the rules…

  It was what her mother had called this place. Sadness wafted through her. How people misunderstood each other in life. Did her mother know how they loved her? Had she cared?

  “Then you got sick and it was just like it was a result of the completely disruptive upbringing you had and something that clearly a doctor somewhere could undo. And then there was the matter of you being half-human. That had to play a role.”

  Her grandmother finally spoke again. “But now it seems this whole thing is because of your mother. Once again, I am struck with how we should never have let her go in the first place.”

  Mitchell cleared his throat. “I don’t think you did anything wrong. She was a grown woman. People can’t live in a box. They have to be allowed to do what they’re going to do. That’s called having a life. And now that we know what we already suspected, we can proceed from there. They took your daughter. We won’t let them take your granddaughter.”

  Her grandfather pointed at Mitchell. “There is money to be had for taking her. I’d be happy to make a deal with your parents. We want her to have some kind of life.”

  And just like that all of the good feelings Eleanor had fled the room. This was just super ridiculous. She started laughing, covering her mouth as Mitchell shifted next to her.

  “I’m good on money. I don’t take any from my parents, and I’m not going to take it from you. Not for Eleanor. You can’t put a price on Eleanor. Maybe you should be asking my parents for money to take on the mess that is me.”

  Eleanor held up her hand. “Let’s drop the subject of money. We need a plan.”

  Sebastian nodded.
“I think we start at that tattoo parlor. I know where it is, actually. Or where it was. It’s gone now as is the man who gave you the ink. He vanished one day. There are lots of relics in that area. We think the ancient goddesses lived there for a time.”

  “Sounds as good a plan as any.” Lawson answered. “If anyone asks, you haven’t seen your granddaughter, sir. As it is, she’s technically under arrest and locked away in a safe house. You never saw her.”

  Stefan turned to Lawson. “On the subject of not seen, I looked into what we discussed. El’s father vanished at the same time as her mother. He’s presumed dead by human authorities.”

  Coldness swept through Eleanor like she’d suddenly been encased in ice. She’d not thought about her father in this mess. He’d stopped seeing her and there had been the alcohol issue. But how much of that had been for the same reasons her mother had behaved so oddly all the years of Eleanor’s early childhood? He’d been on that altar with her mother and presumably left the group after that. They’d both taken steps to try to help her, in that way.

  He was dead? Somehow she’d always just thought of him as living in the human world having a life that simply didn’t include her.

  Not that anything changed except the end result. Still, she rubbed her arms wondering if she’d ever be warm again.

  Mitchell’s powers stroked against her, but it didn’t stop the fear that had frozen her. Just how deep did this insanity go? And all for an ancient woman who hadn’t wanted to give up her life? And her sister who wanted to stop her?

  Eleanor would never understand any of this.

  “Most of this can be seen in books and in the spelled tutorials,” Sebastian explained as they wandered through a cave, looking at etchings. Apparently, the ancient followers liked to mark the walls of this place. “We could have seen most of this in the library.”

  Mitchell side-eyed Sebastian. “You and I both know that seeing pictures of it, even spelled ones, doesn’t do it justice. You have to stand here. You have to see what they saw and feel the energy here. They illustrated this cave as part of a ritual. What is the ritual?”

  “I don’t know.” Sebastian walked over to look at the picture on the wall next to Mitchell. “There aren’t records and those who worship her aren’t forthcoming.”

  Mitchell tilted his head to the side. “You worship her sister. Surely, there must be similarities.”

  “No. If there are, we’ve never been able to decipher it. I don’t know.” He touched the drawing on the wall. “I mean, I don’t know what this is. Sun and Moon, obviously but what does it mean?”

  Mitchell made a ticking noise like he disagreed. “Who said that is the sun and the moon?”

  “It’s really the story of two sisters.” She didn’t know why she said that but it caught Mitchell’s attention.

  He turned around, slowly. “What was that?”

  Why was it confusing? “It’s really the story of two sisters.” She walked toward the wall, to study the sun and the moon where it was painted. “One bathed in sunlight, one in the moon.” Always the moon… “But not in correlation of modern ideas of right and wrong.”

  Mitchell crossed his arms over his chest. “Go on.”

  The words flew from her mouth as though she’d always known them. “They were two sides of the same powers. But in those days, witches preferred moonlight. They considered them to flow from the rays of the moon and the sun to be draining. Anestara was perfectly powerful but always jealous which hurt Distrana’s feelings. It wasn’t like she’d chosen to be the one bathed in the moon.”

  “Mitchell?” Sebastian spoke out, but Mitchell hushed him with a fast response of “quiet.”

  “They were the most powerful witches anyone had ever known. Even their families feared them, but over time Distrana earned the trust of those around her. Her sister gained more followers. For whatever reason people always respond to evil. They are drawn to it. Like a moth to a flame, right?”

  “Lawson.” Mitchell shook his head. “Not necessary, everything is fine. For now.”

  She felt like she was missing something, but she had to keep talking. Since the words had come, it was like they forced their way out of her mouth. “Eventually, it came down to a man. Doesn’t it always come down to a man?” Eleanor walked away from the sun and the moon, stopping in front of the picture of the painted rose. “That’s not paint dripping from the flower. That’s blood. Always blood. Men. Blood. Flowers. Fertility. What clichés we continue to be. Time and again.”

  “He was a boy, really. When it came down to it, the sisters had always been older. As though they were born that way. Distrana loved his innocence but Anestara wanted to change him, to make him like her. They fought. Distrana won his heart and Anestara killed him to hurt her. Then pronounced she would live forever. That someday all would know her as the goddess she proclaimed herself to be. She would rule everyone. They would bend to her. And only Distrana could stop her.”

  The stone was cold beneath Eleanor’s hand. “The ceremony happened too fast. She left her human body too quickly. I couldn’t stop her.” Something was wrong about what she’d just said. What was it? She didn’t know. She was still speaking. “I had no choice but to follow. She can’t be allowed to use her power of persuasion. No one in this day and age understands powers like that. It seems like everyone’s power base has diminished. Even the strong.”

  “My lady…”

  Eleanor blinked. Trident and Sebastian were staring at her with awe in their eyes.

  She looked back and forth. “Are you talking to me? Why are you calling me my lady?”

  Arms came around her, and she was tugged against Mitchell’s chest. “Hi, my Ellie. You’re okay.”

  “Of course I’m okay. Why wouldn’t I be okay? Did something happen?”

  Lawson was the one who answered her. “Have you ever knowingly channeled before?”

  “You mean other than when the crazy witch takes over my body that I can’t remember? No. I… I sort of knew what I was saying just now. I couldn’t control it. I didn’t know what I was saying, I just said it. I…”

  Oh, what had just happened? Mitchell turned her around in his arms. “You’re safe. You were always safe. She never really had you. Just a touch of her. And the wrong sister, too. The one they worship was inside you. The one with the symbol on your wrist.”

  The blood tattoo. “That’s never happened to me before.”

  “Hey, Ava,” Mitchell called out. “What herbs were in what you gave her this morning?”

  That was an interesting question. “Do you think whatever I drank this morning played a role in this?”

  “Maybe. Maybe not. Ava?” Mitchell questioned again.

  “I… Cinnamon. Beets. A little bit of thyme. The whole thing was in dairy. Why?” Ava walked toward them. “I listen to what the earth tells me. The earth said to make it for her. A different grouping for Kim.”

  Mitchell let go of Eleanor. “And you just do it? Whatever the earth tells you to do? No thoughts otherwise.”

  “I do try to give it some thought in terms of taste but it’s never served me wrong. People feel better. Like I always knew about what kind of soap to give out to customers. This is my magic.”

  Lawson stepped right next to Ava. “What are you trying to imply here, Mitchell? That she had some sort of agenda to hurt your girlfriend? Gave her something to make her able to channel that witch that was just talking through her?”

  “I wasn’t, actually. But interesting that you went there. More like maybe you should be concerned that your wife is being manipulated by a bunch of witches so powerful they’ve managed not to die for centuries. Maybe they are making the earth tell her something that did, in fact, hurt Ellie.”

  Lawson opened and closed his mouth. “Fuck. I think that might be possible.”

  “I wouldn’t say it if it weren’t. You’re not the only one who can see multiple angles and do just about any spell presented to him.”

  Stefan placed a
hand on Mitchell’s arm. “Frankly, you’re very different than you were in school. I’m shocked they didn’t tap you to be an Enforcer when they went after Lawson and me.”

  “They did.” Mitchell turned around, coming back to Eleanor.

  “What?” Eleanor didn’t know whose voice resonated louder in the cave, Lawson, Stefan, or Ava’s. There was utter shock bouncing off the walls. She sighed.

  Mitchell’s face hardened. “This is neither here nor there at the moment.”

  “Wait. Mitchell. What? Surely you would have told me.”

  A muscle ticked in his jaw. “No, I didn’t tell you because I knew that it would just make you feel worse about your situation at the time with no magic. So I kept it to myself, and I turned it down. Don’t feel badly for me. I always do what I want. At the time, staying with you was what I wanted. And I love my career.” His eyebrows shot up. “Speaking of which, I have to go teach.” He held out his hand to Eleanor. “Do you want to come?”

  She nodded. “I would, actually.”

  “Great. We’ll do this again. Despite any… tensions in the room I appreciate how everyone has stepped up to help Eleanor. I want you to know that I really do.”

  Eleanor wanted to sink into the floor. “I should have said that. I can never be grateful enough.”

  Kim grinned. “Are you kidding? You’re our first post Enforcer assignment. We’re going to get this fixed for you. We can put it on some resume. Helped to get evil ancient curse off client.”

  Trident nodded. “We just saw you channel our goddess. This is amazing. Sorry for your pain, but we aren’t complaining.”

  Ava sighed. “Lawson won’t rest if he thinks there’s danger he can help fix and I… I think you’re really nice Eleanor. Maybe we can be friends. When this is over.”

  Eleanor was popped out of the room before she could answer that. She landed on her feet in Mitchell’s apartment, holding her breath while the world tilted sideways for a second. Eleanor groaned. “I guess you didn’t want me to answer that?”