The Curse

by Ts McKinney

  “It means he was casting a spell. A strong spell. Only the strongest magic causes fire to fly.” He stroked his chin.

  “Well, it sure the hell didn’t work, because I splattered. Nico, out.”

  His eyes rose up to meet mine as he said, “You don’t know what spell he was casting, so there’s no way of knowing whether it was successful, or not.” He grabbed his plate, tossed it into the trash, and said, “Let’s go. Hurry up. Shake your pretty ass, Nico. We’ve got things to do.”

  I looked at my food sadly. There were still a few bites left. As I tried to decide if I needed to make him wait while I finished shoving every delicious morsel into my mouth, he took the choice away from me when he snatched up my plate and tossed it. I tried not to growl as I stood up and followed him to the parking lot. “You better be glad I’m not a practicing witch because I would have turned you into a toad for that shit. I was going to eat that!”

  He snorted. “You’re only a non-practicing witch because you don’t know what the hell you’re doing or how to control your magic. I feel pretty safe around you right now,” he mocked. “Let’s take my Jeep this time. I know where the graves are and it would be easier to drive you there than trying to yell every twist and turn into your ear from the back of your bike.”

  He climbed into a brand-new, cherry-red Jeep that was totally tricked out. I found myself bitten hard by the jealous bug. As soon as I climbed in, he shot out of the parking lot, going much faster than the signs posted all around allowed. I held on and enjoyed the ride.

  Five minutes later, we were out of the Jeep and he was striding across the ancient cemetery with determined steps. I followed without saying a word. The moment he’d pulled onto hallowed ground, my body had started doing strange things. The energy was off the charts, and my chest ached. Still new to what was happening to me, I wasn’t sure if it was because of the surrounding death and decay or if it had something to do with me closer and closer to Nico and Corbin’s graves. Of course, Nico wasn’t really there, but it was powerful all the same.

  After we’d walked for what seemed like forever, we came upon a black iron gate that looked to enclose a fairly large family plot. He unlatched the gate with a twist of his finger, like Morgan had used to knock me on my ass yesterday, but then raised his hand to tell me to stop walking. “There’s a protective spell that keeps everyone out except for members of the coven. Give me a second to see if I can grant entrance for you, okay?”

  I don’t know how I knew, but I knew I was welcome inside the coven plot. I’d guess it was my mysterious connection to Nico, Corbin’s lover. “I don’t think that will be necessary, Stair. Let me try without undoing the spell.”

  He giggled. “You’re going to get the shock of a lifetime, Nico. It’s a rather strong deterrent devised to keep people out of our…”

  He stopped talking when I walked through without feeling even the slightest twinge. I turned and smiled at him. “Told you I was welcome.”

  “Smartass,” he accused as he entered the area and locked the gate behind us. He smacked me on the ass as he walked by and said, “Follow me.”

  The tightness in my chest grew as we traveled deeper into the coven’s hallowed plot. By the time we reached a raised spot in the center, I could barely catch a breath. I wasn’t sure if it was excitement or fear. Looking around, I noticed that the tombstones were arranged in the shape of a pentagram, with Corbin and Nico’s stones being in the center. I couldn’t help but notice that there weren’t a lot of graves when one considered how old the hallowed plot was. “Why so few?” I asked quietly. Whispering felt more respectful.

  Alastair dropped to his knees in front of Corbin’s stone and bowed his head. I could see his lips moving but couldn’t understand the words. I remained quiet as he paid his respects to the man that had once been the high witch to his coven. After a few moments, he stood back up and turned to me. His eyes were damp with unshed tears. “Your energy is buzzing all over the place, Nico. You feel more powerful than ever before. I don’t know how, but you’re going to be the witch that gets revenge against Morgan for killing our high witch.”

  Frowning, I asked, “I thought he just disappeared after losing Nico?”

  “Yes, but he must be dead, or he would have returned to us. Corbin was destroyed when he lost Nico, destroyed to the point that his powers were nearly dormant while he mourned. I’m not certain Corbin would have ever recovered from losing his love, but I do know that he would not have committed suicide and left his coven defenseless against Morgan’s power. It would have broken his heart to have to keep living, but he would have done it for his coven. No, he disappeared because of something Morgan did to him. That bitch killed him while he was weak and hid the body from us.”

  I didn’t know what to say or if I should try to say anything to comfort Stair. I wished I could say that I would, indeed, find a way to avenge Corbin’s death but I damned well knew Morgan would wipe the floor with me. Hell, she was coming for me soon and there wouldn’t be a damned thing I could do to stop her.

  “A high witch can live for hundreds and hundreds of years, maybe more. She took all that away from him.” He looked around the cozy resting place for his coven. “After Corbin died, most of our coven opted to leave the area instead of doing battle with Morgan. She didn’t intend for any powerful witches to be left in the Marblehead coven.”

  I studied his sad expression and tried to imagine how much hate and damage Morgan had inflicted on the people he loved. A thought dawned on me. “You said you were twenty-two years old,” I remarked. “Why am I getting the feeling that you’ve been dishonest with me about your age?”

  He chuckled. “Well, I hardly could have told a complete stranger that I was several hundred years old, now could I?”

  Was he being serious right now? He was hundreds of years old? I’d thought he was a high schooler when we’d first met. He’d made me feel like a dirty old man!

  “Are you being serious?” I asked. “Because you look twenty-two years old, not hundreds and change.”

  “Ha!” He barked out. “I looked that age because that was how old I was when the aging process slowed down to almost nonexistent.” He grinned. “Now, stop looking at me like I’m a creepy old man. I’m still quite young for our coven.”

  “Young…rriigghhtt. You keep telling yourself that, old man,” I teased. Finally, I moved toward the graves. I’d put it off as long as I could. I wasn’t sure what I was hoping to find…or feel. All I knew was that my dream lover had gently pushed me in the direction of the graveyard. Now it was time to find out what Corbin has been trying to tell me.

  Alastair watched me, a strange expression on his face. “What are you planning on doing?” he asked.

  “Don’t know. I just know I’m supposed to be here. There’s something here for me to find,” I answered. Without knowing what else to do, I knelt down next to Nico’s headstone and slowly reached up to touch it. The second my hand made contact, a vision flashed inside my head. I saw the old casket, lined with torn and dirty satin that had long since fallen victim to the assault of time and vermin.

  The vision immediately assaulted me. I saw Corbin coming to the cemetery to grieve over the body of his lover and falling down on top of the grave, completely overwhelmed with heartbreak. I heard his sobs. I saw Morgan gliding up behind him in the darkness and making passes over his body, her lips moving and muttering incantations. His body quivered and then simply vanished into thin air. I saw her smile secretly to herself. It was Morgan who had done this to Corbin—whatever it was. She had made him disappear. But to where?

  “What is it, Nicholas?” Alastair demanded as he dropped to his knees next to me, helping to keep my body from falling completely to the ground by placing his chest against my back. “What’s wrong?”

  Part of me would like to tell him that I saw Morgan make Corbin disappear and that his high witch might still be alive somewhere. The other part, the one that seemed to be c
ontrolled or at least influenced by Corbin, told me not to reveal the truth to him yet. I knew what I needed to do, where I needed to go, and I also knew Alastair would never allow me to do it alone.

  This was something I needed to do alone.

  “It’s just emotional for me. Nothing to worry about.”

  “Oh. I thought you saw something about Corbin. His body has never been found, and it would be nice to lay him to rest at last.”

  I heard his deep sigh. There was no doubting it in my mind, Alastair hero-worshipped Corbin Hargreaves, but was there more to it than that? Had they known each other… in the biblical sense? Jealousy coursed through my body and I felt a spark on the tip of my finger.

  Alastair jerked back. “You made magic!” He cried. “I saw it! Did you see the flame on the tip of your finger? What were you doing? Were you trying to cast? I didn’t think you knew how,” he exclaimed excitedly. “You need to be careful with that shit, Nico. If you don’t know what you’re doing, it can be dangerous. As teenagers, we all received training on how to control our powers. You haven’t had that.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “Fuck, we’ve got to get you some training. What were you trying to cast?” he asked as we both stood back up.

  “I wasn’t casting anything,” I answered. “I think I was just emotional.” Yeah, make that jealous. “This wasn’t easy, I think I need to go home and get some rest.” I looked at him and asked, “Maybe we could meet up again tomorrow?”

  Disappointment flashed over his features. “Oh, okay,” he answered. “Yeah, I guess that did drain your energy. I’ve never known another witch that had that particular power. You’ve really got to meet the rest of the coven. Are you sure you don’t feel like it tonight?”

  Oh, I couldn’t tonight. I had someplace to be. Alastair couldn’t know that, though. “Maybe tomorrow?” I offered. “I really am tired.”

  He unlocked the gate, and we walked out. I expected my heart to do something weird when I left the graves, but I felt nothing. I was worried about that until I realized it was because I realized neither Corbin nor Nico were really there. Nico was here inside me, and Corbin was at that house, waiting for me to find him. I just knew it.

  I watched, with admiration, as Alastair twirled his finger and locked the gate with a magic that would keep intruders out. As we walked back to his Jeep, I asked, “What are your powers, Stair? You said witches have different ones. What do you excel at?” I had no idea how to word that question, so I did the best I could.

  “Eh,” he muttered in obvious disgust. “Nothing exciting like levitating objects so I can fly, or making fire fly from my fingertips while I’m casting spells,” he whined playfully. As we climbed into the Jeep, he said, “If I concentrate really hard, I can freeze people for a grand total of about three seconds. I’m actually hit and miss on that one. Sometimes I can make it happen, but most of the times, I fail. I’m fairly good at love spells, although I don’t have a significant other. Oh, and I craft a mean magic wand.”

  He acted like his powers were nothing, but they sounded cool as shit to me. “Have you not had any luck getting a love spell to work on somebody you’re interested in, or have you not found the right person to try it on?” I asked as we pulled back out onto the busy road.

  He blushed. Oh my. Alastair had a crush. I wanted to know more and intended to pry it out of him…just another time.

  “You’re blushing like a schoolgirl,” I quipped. “I’m kinda brain dead right now, but you might as well get ready to tell me who it is tomorrow. You can’t keep a secret like that between friends. Can I meet him? Soon?”

  “He doesn’t like me, and I won’t stoop to using a love spell to change his mind. Hell, I don’t even know why I like him. He’s an arrogant ass.” His blush deepened. “Just forget I said anything. You can’t meet him, anyway. He’s one of the witches who had to move away because Morgan felt threatened by his power. Just left without saying he was sorry…or even goodbye.” He pulled back into the parking lot where my Ninja waited for me. “It isn’t ever going to happen, so there’s no point in talking about it.” After he whipped in right next to my ride, he turned and said, “Get some rest, Nico. You’ve got to meet the coven tomorrow. I’m sure you haven’t forgotten, but we’ve only got a short time till your birthday to figure out a way to kick Morgan’s ass…before she kicks yours.”

  I noticed that he was calling me by my ancestor’s name. I didn’t think he even realized it.

  “Shit, yeah, I forgot about that,” I answered sarcastically. “I’ll meet the coven tomorrow. I promise. That was just too damned hard on me, man. I need to sleep away the rest of the day and night. I’ll call you in the morning.”

  “Okay, rest well,” he answered. I felt like shit for lying to him, but I told myself it was necessary.

  “Hey, should I get Spellman to come by your place and cast a protective spell on your cottage?” He asked. “Morgan hasn’t ventured into this territory since she ran off most of the coven, but you can never be too careful. Let me get him to drop by this afternoon. We won’t even disturb you.”

  Shit. Shit. Shit. If they dropped by, Alastair would know I’d lied to him.

  “Hmm, I don’t know, Stair. I don’t even know this Spellman guy. Let me meet him first, okay?” Yeah, I felt like a lying sack of shit that somebody just dug out of the kitty litter.

  “All right, but no later than tomorrow. I don’t like leaving you unprotected. I’ll call him tonight and line it up for tomorrow. He’s a nice guy, but a total science nerd. All he does is write spells and mix potions. He never wants to leave his lab.”

  I laughed, glad that he was going to drop it for today. “Sounds interesting. We’ll talk in the morning. Thanks for taking me today.”

  “Yeah…” He stopped then and stared into my eyes. “You’re Nico, aren’t you?” he said intently. “The reincarnation spell was Corbin’s. He said he would bring you back to him.” Sadness covered his face. “We thought it was just his grief talking. It’s so wrong that you’re here, and he’s gone. It makes his story even more heartbreaking.”

  “How well did you know Corbin?”

  His eyes flashed. “I knew him well. He was our high witch. I admired him to the point I looked like a puppy dog following its master around. When I think back, it’s embarrassing, but there was nothing romantic between us if that’s what you’re thinking.”

  Frowning, I asked, “How did you not recognize me as Nico right away? Morgan recognized me the minute she saw me.”

  “I’d been away at the training academy when Corbin met Nico.” He smiled wickedly. “Nico was a Salem boy. Leave it to Corbin to throw caution to the wind and fall in love with a human from Salem. Every male witch in our coven and other surrounding covens were vying for Corbin’s attention, but he went and fell in love with Nico.” He looked at me oddly. “With you.”

  “You say Salem boy like that was the dregs of society,” I teased.

  “It was. Especially to the Marblehead coven. The thought of bedding down with a Salem boy should have made Corbin’s toes curl, and not in a good way. They were all religious nuts. Bigots in my opinion—not wanting to allow for any customs or religions other than their own. On top of the Salem shit, Nicodemus was a preacher’s son.” He laughed. “Yeah, preacher’s sons and witches usually aren’t compatible.”

  I wrinkled my nose at the thought of Nicodemus’ father being an old fire and brimstone preacher. Gross. Just gross. Preachers were hard enough on homosexuality these days. I couldn’t imagine how much pressure Nicodemus faced hundreds of years ago. “Hell, I might not even be compatible with Nicodemus. I was ready to defend his Salem boy status, but I’m not sure about preacher’s son.” I waggled my eyebrows. “Of course, the children of preachers are usually the most out of control.”

  Alastair snorted. “Yeah, that goes without saying in the case of Nicodemus. Not only was he—you—sleeping with a male high witch, but he’d obviously gotten a girl
knocked up, too.” He shrugged when I frowned at him. “Your ancestors had to come from somewhere, dude. Sorry. Nicodemus was unfaithful to Corbin.”

  That comment didn’t settle well with my heart. I frowned as something tugged at my memory, something that caused a wave of sadness to wash over me. Struggling to come up with a defense, I said, “Maybe his parents had other children after Nico died? Another son could be the answer to my ancestors.” No, that wasn’t right. Morgan had told me that Nicodemus had gotten a woman pregnant. Fuck, he had cheated on Corbin.

  I had cheated on Corbin.

  “Nope,” he answered with an exaggerated popping of his lips. “They’d had Nico late in life so were probably too old to conceive another child. Morgan, however, wasn’t willing to take any risks and had them killed shortly after Nico committed suicide.”

  “She’s a real peach, isn’t she?” I commented dryly.

  “Yeah, she’s a peach all right. She’s also the woman that’s coming for you. We’ve got to come up with something to protect you. Fast.”

  That was exactly what I was about to do.

  “Trust me, I know. We’ll start on it tomorrow. I promise.” Hell, no. I was starting on it as soon as Alastair left me. I had a feeling my only hope lay at the top of that cliff…where it had all started.

  Chapter Six

  The emotions racing through my blood as I raced toward Corbin’s old house were a mix of excitement, fear, and trepidation, all causing a cocktail of nervous energy to flow inside me. Actually, I suspected it was flowing outside of me, as well. If Alastair were here, he’d say I was buzzing.

  Hell, to the fuck, yeah. I was buzzing.

  I had no idea what, if anything, I was going to find once I reached the clifftop, but I felt like I’d been waiting on it my entire life. When I pulled the Ninja off the road and onto the overgrown driveway, I suspected every resident of Marblehead could hear my heart thumping.