The Curse

by Ts McKinney

  I stopped talking when I looked up and saw the shocked expression on my new friend’s face. His mouth was hanging wide open and his gray eyes were swirling with a mixture of disbelief, fear, and a dash of…happiness? We stared at one another, each sizing the other up and me trying to figure out what I’d said that made him go white as Casper the Friendly Ghost.

  Finally, I asked, “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “Your…your family curse. In 1617. Did I hear you, right? And your last name is Bailey?”

  He even sounded different as he spoke barely above a whisper. That didn’t fit. Not at all. Everything I’d noticed about Alastair in our two meetings was that he didn’t do anything at a whisper.

  “Uh…yeah, Nicholas Bailey. You know that. What’s the big deal with that?”

  “Nico,” he countered, this time his voice tinged with awe.

  “That’s my nickname, yes,” I answered. Morgan and Alastair calling me by my nickname wasn’t that big of a deal. Nico was short for Nicholas. It didn’t require a rocket scientist to figure that one out.

  “Nicodemus.”

  Okay, I didn’t have an excuse for how they’d made that connection. I could come up with nothing. Had my ancestor been a town drunk? Or worse?

  “That was my ancestor’s name,” I confirmed. I decided to plow ahead with my crazy family story. From the things that’d passed between Alastair’s lips, it wasn’t like I would offend him by believing in the unbelievable. “He supposedly started my family’s curse.” Still feeling weird about the family curse thing, I quickly added, “If you believe in that kind of bullshit, of course. I don’t.”

  I soooo was beginning to believe in it.

  Alastair looked all around us, his pale eyes noting each and every person that lingered nearby. “We don’t need to talk about this here. Do you have someplace you need to be or can I show you around our small coastal village?”

  His eyes bored into me, begging me to understand that he was trying to pull me away from the crowd. From where I was sitting, there wasn’t another living soul paying us any attention. I did, however, decide to bow to Alastair’s knowledge of the area and the folks within hearing distance. “Since I’m officially unemployed, I have all the time in the world. How about you? Do you have time to give me a tour of your coastal town?”

  He grinned. “Yep, I definitely do, and I know just the place I want to show you.” He motioned toward the parking lot for the beach. “My Jeep’s in the parking lot. Wanna ride with me?”

  “I could. Or, I just bought a cool Ninja motorcycle if you don’t mind riding bitch?”

  His eyes darted toward the parking area and landed on my shiny new toy within seconds. Once he spotted it, he grabbed my upper arm and started tugging me in that direction. “I always ride bitch, Nico.” When we reached the bike, he turned and said, “But then I bet you do, too.”

  He continued to stare at me as his words sunk in. Was he implying that I was gay? And that I liked to bottom?

  Was I gay? I’d definitely been attracted to Alastair, and he wouldn’t be the first guy that turned my head. I’d never acted on my attractions, but that didn’t mean that I hadn’t wanted to. If, and that was a big ‘if’, I was gay, would I want to be on the receiving end? No, I hadn’t done it, but it seemed like a rather…tight squeeze to me. I’d never been one that got into pain.

  Finally, I shrugged and said, “Don’t roll that way, or at least I haven’t ever yet, so I wouldn’t know. You ready?”

  He slid onto the seat and patted the spot in front of him. After I mounted the metal speed machine, I expected him to wrap his arms around my waist, seeing as how he’d flirted off and on since we’d met. Instead of that, though, his hands gripped the seat.

  “Turn right when you leave the parking lot and drive up the coast. We’re going to the highest point in Marblehead. I’ll give you directions as we get closer.”

  “How far is it?” I asked as I turned the key and listened to the motor purr to life. I’d always loved motorcycles, all of them, but the Ninja was my favorite.

  “Don’t worry, Nico. It isn’t far. Marblehead’s a small area. Nothing’s very far away. Let’s go. I can’t wait to see your reaction to what I’m going to show you.”

  I frowned at his words, wondering what the fuck he meant, but pulled out of the parking lot and onto the small curvy road instead of questioning him. Within minutes, any of my doubts or worries vanished as we cruised along and I admired the beautiful scenery around me. Marblehead was amazing in May, and I could only imagine how gorgeous it would look in the Fall. As we drove, he would yell out certain landmarks, telling me what everything was as best he could over the roar of the Ninja’s motor. We cruised higher and higher in altitude until he finally motioned for me to turn off onto a dirt road, or at least what used to be a dirt road. It was evident that there hadn’t been traffic in the area in a long time. Just when I started to really worry about damaging my new bike, we broke through the canopy of trees and into a clearing. A huge gothic house, badly neglected, stood not-so-proudly in the middle of the clearing. When we were close to the structure, I cut the engine and climbed off. Alastair quickly followed.

  “Damn, I bet this place was beautiful back in the day,” I said as I soaked up all the different angles, peaks, pointed arches, and, of course, a flying buttress. The detail, although old and unmaintained, were ornamental and eye-catching. Two large gargoyles protected the entrance to the front porch. I immediately wanted the beautiful house. I wanted to buy it and restore it to its grand splendor of earlier days. Of course, I didn’t have the finances to do such a thing, but a guy could dream. “I’m in love with this house. Who owns it? Why have they let it run down so much?” I turned and looked at him. “Would you be interested in a joint venture to restore it?”

  His eyes narrowed as he pondered my words. Finally, he asked, “Fix it up and flip it?”

  The thought of selling the house made my blood run cold. No, I could never sell it. Hell, I was beginning to wonder if I’d ever be able to leave it. There was some sort of invisible tether tugging me toward the house, making my desire to possess it hit unnatural peaks that I wondered if I’d be able to control.

  “No. No, I wouldn’t want to flip it,” I answered honestly. “Forget I said that. It’s just…it’s just gorgeous. Fuck, man, it makes me sick to think that one day it will finally collapse in on itself. How could anybody let it fall into such disarray?”

  “We’ll get to that soon enough,” Alastair answered. For the second time that day, he grabbed my arm and tugged me away from the house. “Let’s see what you think about this view. If you think the house is attractive, wait until you see the view that comes with it.”

  We walked about fifty yards before I realized we were on a cliff-side, with ocean waves crashing below. I started to feel queasy and my feet felt heavy, like they were trying to convince me to stop walking. I felt dizzy and my hands started trembling. Inside my chest, my heart was racing so fast, beating so hard that it caused an ache in the spot where my heart was. While it was unseasonably cool, sweat drenched my back, chest, arms, and neck. Worse than all that, though, were the images rolling around in my brain. There were vivid images of me walking toward the cliff’s edge and…not stopping. My feet carried me right over the edge and I’d plummeted to the rocky shoreline below. I saw my mangled body sprawled on those rocks, my blood mingling with the salty ocean water.

  With every small step I took, I was assaulted with images of me plunging to my death. I could see air and then water as my body somersaulted out of control. The rocks, jagged and deadly, were coming toward me with lightning speed. Each time, right before I crashed into the rocks, I would see a man flying through the air towards me, hands reaching out for me in an effort to stop my plunge before final impact.

  He didn’t make it.

  I literally felt my body hit the rocks. I felt the bones breaking and my vital organs rupturin
g. The pain was crippling, but my last thoughts were of the beautiful man who had tried to save me. The look of horror on his face caused a wave of sadness to wash over me. How he screamed in agony when he was unable to reach me on time made me want to take him in my arms and comfort him.

  I dug my heels in and jerked my arm away from Alastair’s grip. For a fleeting moment, I wondered if he’d brought me to the middle of nowhere to kill me. I didn’t know the guy, not really. It could have been his plan all along to lure me up here, throw me over the edge, and no one would ever see me again. I hadn’t picked up that vibe from him, but then I suspected serial killers probably didn’t send out much of a vibe.

  “I’m not taking another step,” I told him. “Why did you bring me out here, Alastair? What’s going on?” Just for safety’s sake, I took a step back from him. Alastair and I were about the same size. It’d be an equal physical match…unless I completely froze up being so near the edge of the cliff.

  “Fuck, man! Are you afraid of me?” He gasped in disbelief. “If you’re who I think you are, I’d never hurt you. Hell, I’d give my life to protect you.”

  Of all the things I might have expected to come out of his mouth, those words were absolutely nowhere on the list. Who in the hell did he think I was? Nobody worth giving two cents for, much less their life. What was up with this guy?

  “That’s some strange-ass talk coming out of your mouth,” I said. “Here’s the deal, between talking to you and Morgan Goodheart, I’m about as confused as shit, and I don’t know whether I should laugh at you, feel sorry for you, try to get you some help, or, the very last option on the list, believe the hocus pocus tumbling out of both your mouths. One minute I think you’re drunk-ass crazy and the next minute you have me wondering if there isn’t some smidgen of truth to what you’re saying.” I ran my fingers through my hair in frustration and then pinched the bridge of my nose. “It’s just that I got some strange information about my family history awhile back and it’s completely knocked me off kilter. When I start adding what you’re saying into that mix, I sure the fuck don’t know what’s going on.”

  “Okay, Nico,” Alastair said. “I’m not the most diplomatic or politically correct person in the world, so I’m sure I’m going to fuck this up. I apologize ahead of time. I’m going to tell you why we’re here and then we’ll talk. I need to know what you know about your family tree, and I’ll tell you what I know. Fair enough?”

  I felt queasy again, but tried to play it off with a joke. “You never struck me as the politically correct or diplomatic type, so no worries. Okay, go ahead. Let’s hear the craziest witch tale you’ve got.”

  “Well, first of all, you’re a witch, but you shouldn’t be…or, at least, Nicodemus Bailey was all human, all mortal, all male hottie. He, from everything I’ve read, didn’t have an ounce of mystical power in him. You, on the other hand, are buzzing and sparking all out of control. One minute you’re sending nothing out and the next minute, you’re overboard with that weird vibe you’ve got going on. It isn’t anything too strong, or at least I don’t think so, but there’s definitely magic flowing in your blood.”

  I remembered what my great aunt Hephzibah told me and nodded at Alastair “I have reason to believe my mother was a witch. But I don’t have any magical powers, Alastair. Trust me on that one. I’m about as boring and down to earth as a guy can be. Hell, I probably couldn’t even perform a magic trick after taking a magic class taught by Houdini himself!”

  Frowning, Alastair said, “That’s not funny, Nico. Houdini was a charlatan. He didn’t have any magical powers but tried playing games. He made our kind look bad.”

  I felt my eyes shifting to the left and then the right, unsure of the proper way to respond to his comment. Should I apologize?

  “Forget Houdini,” he said in exasperation. He waved all around him and asked, “What do you feel when you’re here? Does this place mean anything to you at all? Do you feel something calling to your spirit?”

  I thought about lying because the minute I said something that sounded remotely like I was agreeing with him, I would officially be as crazy as he was. Yeah, I thought about lying but opted for the truth. “I was drawn to the house the moment it came into view. That energy you keep referring to? It went wild as we got closer. I’ve never wanted anything so much in my entire life. I felt…like I was home. I felt like it was mine.” I frowned. “Does that make any sense?” Answering myself before Alastair could, I said, “Hell, no, that doesn’t make sense. That was stupid to say, right?”

  “Not at all,” he answered quickly. “You being drawn to the house doesn’t surprise me at all. Your ancestor Nicodemus spent a lot of time here…in the bedroom, if you know what I mean!”

  That might have been too much information, even if it was about a relative I’d never met or even knew existed until a couple of weeks ago. I looked back at the house, and that warm feeling washed over me again. My legs automatically started wanting to walk in that direction. Something or someone was calling out to me, begging me to come closer. I stayed right where I was.

  “Are you implying that my old grandfather Bailey had him a woman tucked away in this secluded wonderland?” The words, meant in jest, left a bad taste in my mouth. It was as if I was being disrespectful to something that was beautiful and majestic.

  “No, not a woman,” Alastair answered. “His lover owned the house, but nary a woman was involved in what went on between Nicodemus and Corbin.”

  My head whipped around to look at him. “Who did you say?”

  “Corbin Hargreaves,” he answered sadly. “Corbin was the high witch of the Marblehead coven many, many years ago. He protected and took great care of his coven and made them all proud to be members of a group that was not only powerful, but good and pure, as well. When Corbin was alive, the coven in Marblehead was one of the strongest in the country.” He looked around and then whispered, “When he disappeared, the coven fell apart. Most of the families moved away, and the ones that stayed behind were and still are harassed and tormented by Morgan Goodheart on a damned regular basis. She’s a bitch of the highest calling. Unfortunately, she’s the most powerful fucking witch I’ve ever encountered or read about in this area…next to Corbin, of course.”

  My head was spinning. “So, Corbin and my ancestor were…lovers?” I looked around. “Here? This was their place?”

  “Not exactly,” he floundered. “I mean, yes, they were lovers. More than that, they were very much in love. They hadn’t moved in together, but it was going to happen. The more time Corbin spent with Nicodemus, the stronger his craft became. It often happens that way with a soul mate or a true love. With Nico at his side, there was no stopping him.”

  My eyes wandered over to the edge of the cliff, some twenty yards away from where we were standing. All the pieces of the puzzle started sliding into place—the incredible witchcraft filled puzzle that made no sense whatsoever and was totally unbelievable.

  Yet, I believed it.

  Of course, believing the magic part of what Alastair was saying also meant that I might end up having to believe the whole family curse thing…which was really bad for me.

  “Is this where Nicodemus died?” I stammered on the last word. “Is this the place where he took his own life?”

  “Yes, this is where Nicodemus committed suicide,” he answered solemnly. “It destroyed Corbin. He disappeared exactly seven days after they recovered the body of his lover. Without any trace. Eventually, he was presumed dead. Nobody ever understood why Nicodemus killed himself, or what drove him to walk off that cliff, and, as far as I’ve ever read or been told, Corbin never told another living soul why he thought his lover would have done such a thing.”

  I felt like I was shutting down. Everything that had been dropped into my lap today was just too much. I felt the need to find someplace private and have myself a good cry, which was way out of character for me. Being brought up in the system had taught me early on not t
o waste my time on tears. They accomplished nothing. The small cottage I was renting didn’t feel anything like home, but I wanted to be there. I looked at the huge Gothic structure out of the corner of my eye. No, that’s where I wanted to be.

  “I want to go inside the house, Alastair,” I declared. “Can we? Would we get into too much trouble if we broke in? I don’t know why, but I’ve got to get inside.”

  Alastair shook his head from side to side. “Sorry, Nico. It’s restricted.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I’m not really worried about the law right now, okay? I want in. You don’t have to be a part of it if you don’t want to risk getting into trouble, but don’t try to stop me. I’m going in.”

  I took one step before he grabbed me by the arm. “Fuck the law, Nico. That’s not who I’m worried about. Somebody, probably Morgan, cast a spell on the house, and no one can enter. Trust me, many have tried, and while some survived and were only injured, some didn’t. When I say you can’t go in, I seriously mean you can’t go in. I’m not going to risk something happening to you.”

  “I’m not understanding this strange obsession you have with trying to keep me safe. You realize we just met last night, right?”

  “It’s my duty to protect you because you’re connected to Corbin, and he was the high witch of my coven. If he were living, that’s what he’d expect me to do.” He winked at me. “So, I’m doing it. Please don’t make my job difficult.”

  My eyes narrowed. “When you said some people survived and some didn’t, what, exactly, did you mean?”

  “I meant just what I said, Nico. Some people were simply injured when they tried to cross the threshold. Some were incinerated. Some were blown off the front porch and flew through the air, toppling right over the cliff. Bottom line is this, we ain’t going in there.”

  I studied his words and found myself surprised that I was still contemplating going inside. For some reason that I couldn’t begin to explain or understand, it felt it was worth the risk. It wasn’t, however, worth risking Alastair’s safety. While I wanted to go home and rehash everything that I’d learned today, I still had more questions, so many things I couldn’t begin to understand.