The Curse

by Ts McKinney

  “Morgan has him, doesn’t she?” I asked quietly. I already knew the answer. I knew she had Alastair and I knew she had him as yet another way to hurt me and Corbin.

  Corbin’s body trembled against mine as his hatred for Morgan and love for Alastair roared through his body. He took a deep breath and confirmed, “That’s my fear.” When I remained quiet, he added, “Riker has gone to be with Alastair’s mother right now. They’ll gather the remaining coven, and we’ll meet them later this evening. Don’t give up hope, Nico. We’ll find a way to bring Alastair home.”

  Corbin’s tone told me that he didn’t believe that statement any more than I did. “I know we will,” I lied. All I could think was that Alastair needed me, and I knew I had to do whatever I could to help, but I also knew I could be signing my own death sentence when it happened. I kept telling myself that if the worst happened, Corbin would be able to bring me back, like before. I wasn’t sure I’d have the strength to go through with it if I didn’t have that hope buried inside of me. While I didn’t want to die and knew it to be painful…again…the agony I felt was coming from the fear of never seeing Corbin again--never touching or holding him. But this was something that I had to do and still call myself a man.

  “Stop thinking what you’re thinking, Nico. You know I won’t let you do it,” Corbin said, his voice quiet and emotional. I love Alastair, but I won’t do anything to risk losing you. I can’t lose you.” He kissed the top of my head. “Give me some time to fix this.”

  There wasn’t any time.

  “Of course,” I answered--another lie. “What time will we meet the coven?” I pulled away and looked into his eyes. My magical powers were sketchy, at best, but I tried to use everything in my arsenal to memorize each and every beautiful detail of his face. How many years would it be before I got to see him again?

  “We’ll leave in a couple of hours. I’m nervous. I want to discuss our options as soon as possible.”

  The big lie tumbled out of my mouth. “I’m going to go upstairs and rest for a bit, then. Is that all right?” The words sounded stupid to my own ears. I could only hope Corbin trusted me enough to believe the bullshit I was shoveling at him.

  He cupped each side of my face and said, “You believe me, don’t you, Nico? You know I’ll do everything in my power, with the exception of endangering your life, to bring Alastair home to us.”

  I kissed him…like I might never get to kiss him again. “I know you will, Corbin. I know how much you love Alastair, and I’m sorry about earlier.” I turned to walk back to the house, but then turned around to look at him again. “I love you, Corbin Hargreaves. I always have and I always will.”

  “Through all eternity, my love,” he answered softly.

  My heart hung in my throat as I climbed the stairs leading to our bedroom. Our bedroom. It was strange how I’d known this house belonged to me the moment I’d first laid eyes on it. I belonged here. How fucking long would it take for me to make my way back home again? How many lives would Morgan claim before Corbin and I had another chance at happiness?

  As I stepped into the bedroom, my mind was whirling with ideas on how I could sneak away from Corbin and find Alastair. Maybe I could stay home while he visited with the coven? It wasn’t like I thought he would allow me to waltz out the front door. No, I’d make the trip into town with him and while he was distracted with coven talk, I’d slip off and make my way to Salem. Since that was where Morgan was the strongest, that’s where she would be holding Alastair captive.

  “Did you forget that I could read your mind, love?” Corbin’s voice interrupted my plans.

  I swung around to find him standing in the doorway of the bedroom, a sad frown on his beautiful face. He looked…disappointed. Worried. Sad. Angry.

  Since I’d been caught, there wasn’t much I could say to defend myself. I had forgotten about the mind reading. Standing taller, I said, “I’m pretty sure I asked that you stay out of my head; it’s rude.”

  He smiled sadly. “I guess it’s a good thing I disobeyed you, my love. I won’t risk your safety. I can’t lose you again, Nico.”

  Before I could answer or think to move, he took one step backward, taking him out of the door way, and the door slammed closed. There weren’t the ominous sounds of locks sliding into place, but I knew without a doubt that magic would ensure the door wouldn’t open. In three strides, I was standing next to the door and banging ferociously against the heavy wood. “Open the damned door, Corbin! I’m not going to let you lock me away like a helpless child while you risk your life. Open the door now!”

  The door didn’t open, but then again, I never thought it would.

  “I can’t open the door, Nico,” he said, his muffled tones coming through the door. “You’ll be safe where you are. I have spells protecting the house, so no one, especially Morgan, can get to you. The door won’t open, and if you jump out of the window, the fall would probably kill you--so keep your pretty ass safe and in this room.”

  I laid my hand on the door and immediately felt his hand through the wood, like we’d done with the mirror. “Don’t do this, Corbin. Don’t leave me here like this. I need to help. I have to help. Alastair’s my friend.” I couldn’t believe he was doing this to me. The thoughts of me trapped in this room, doing absolutely nothing to save Alastair from Morgan sickened me. She wasn’t going to take one more thing away from me. For the first time in my life, I felt like I was part of something and now that something was in danger of being ripped away from me. But not if I stopped her.

  “Stay safe, my love. I’ll be back before your birthday, and I’ll have a plan to rescue Alastair.” There was a pause before he said, “I love you, Nicholas. I love you with all my heart.”

  I felt his energy leave the door and then leave the house. He’d done it – he’d left me behind. I felt like he’d just put me in time-out. I felt…useless.

  The same useless feeling I’d felt my entire life.

  I heard my motorcycle roar to life and figured Corbin had not only stolen my heart but had just stolen my bike. The only means of escape I had available if I could figure out how to get out of the damned house without breaking my neck. When I could no longer hear the motor, and knew he was gone, really gone, I had a temper tantrum of epic proportions. My magic, which was normally piddling unless Corbin was with me, flashed and flared…well, flickered. Fire singed my fingertips and then every piece of furniture in the room.

  As I ranted and raved, cursed and cried, I felt my magic start to grow stronger. I blasted the door with everything I had…but Corbin’s spell remained intact. Nothing. Nearly an hour later, I was ready to give up.

  “Fucking, egotistical, son-of-a-bitch,” I hissed in outrage and exhaustion. The only thing I’d been able to accomplish was to give myself a throbbing headache. Oh, and I might have cried a little. I was so fucking pissed…so hurt.

  “Watch your mouth, young man!” A soft feminine voice tickled my ear. I whipped around, expecting to see that Morgan had somehow managed to break Corbin’s spell and was there to destroy me a day early, but the room was empty.

  “Fuck off, Morgan,” I said to the eerily empty room, just in case the bitch was there, lurking in the shadows the way evil did.

  “Nicholas Bailey. Cursing your beloved is one thing, but cursing your mother is another. I must say that it is not only unacceptable for a Banks or Bailey descendent, but it’s a disappointment to the woman who gave birth to you.”

  And, just like that, a sweet calmness settled over me as tears swamped my eyes. For the briefest of moments, I feared that my heart would burst with love—love for a woman I’d never really gotten to know. I thought back to the letter, to all the things she and my father had wanted for me. My eyes immediately went to the mirror that Corbin had magically repaired, and when I saw the blurry vision of a beautiful woman looking back at me, the tears slid down my cheeks. Rosalie Banks.

  “Mother,” I whispered. It wasn’t a ques
tion. I knew it was her. My heart knew.

  “Yes, my love. It’s me,” she answered. “You are so handsome, Nicholas—just like your father. We are both so proud of the man you’ve become.”

  While the vision in the mirror was blurry, I could still make out the tears streaking her face. “How are you here?” I asked. “Is father with you?”

  The image looked sad. “No, Nico. Your father was mortal so he couldn’t make the trip with me. It’s just me, and I don’t have long,” she explained. “Your birthday is tomorrow, so Morgan will be coming for you.” The image looked around the room and then returned her gaze to me. “Corbin has you in a safe place, yes?”

  “Yes,” I muttered, furious all over again for being tucked away like a helpless child. “He’s protecting me from Morgan, but that’s not what I want. I want to help. I have to be able to help in some way. I know I’m not strong like Corbin and the other members of his coven, but I have powers.” Sure, I did. I couldn’t even get myself out of a locked room.

  Her laughter danced around the room. “Yes, my dear, you have powers,” she agreed. “Those were gifted from me and trust me; your powers are strong--stronger than Morgan could have ever had nightmares about.” The image winked at me. “And, oh, how she would have had some nightmares had she known that Banks’ witchcraft flowed through your body.”

  “So it was true. You were a powerful witch?” I asked.

  “From the Easthampton coven, my son,” she answered. “I masked my heritage from Morgan once I knew of the curse. Perhaps I could have saved myself, but I wasn’t sure I could have saved your father from the curse. The spell that Morgan cast was an evil one, steeped in blood sacrifice. The most difficult to break. But I also knew, through magical guidance, that you, my son, would be the one to unlock the Bailey curse. I…I didn’t want to leave your father to face death alone.” The image looked down and back up. “I’m sorry, Nicholas. I know it sounds like I chose your father over you, but that isn’t the case. I’d seen the future and knew that it was going to be up to you to face Morgan in a final battle.”

  The image in the mirror flickered, and her face sobered as she gazed at me. “We must hurry, Nico. There isn’t much time left. It’s up to you to end this curse--only you.”

  I frowned, since I knew my own limitations. “What do you mean? I can’t even get out of this room, mother. How am I supposed to be strong enough to end the curse? To end Morgan?”

  “Because my blood recognizes the magic Corbin has given you while you’ve…well, you know.” The image of my mother’s face turned a pale pink.

  I turned a bright red.

  “What…what do I do?” I asked, still feeling like she was so incredibly wrong about my capabilities.

  The image flickered and grew weaker, causing my heart to lurch.

  “Do what is natural, Nico. Follow your heart…instead of your temper. You’re trying to harness your magic with anger, and that will never work for a Bailey – it will always be driven by love.” The image smiled…sadly. “Hate and jealousy may have started this, but love is what will end it.”

  “I…I don’t think I’m strong enough,” I answered in shame.

  “Nonsense,” she answered immediately, but the image faded even more. “There are rules to the curse, Nico. Only you can destroy Morgan—not even Corbin and his powerful coven combined. Morgan must destroy you at the exact moment of your birth. After that, all power she holds over you vanishes away. That’s when she’ll be her most vulnerable. That’s when you must act.”

  I frowned. “What? But I’d be dead by then. How can I do this, Mother?” I asked again. “I’m trapped in this room, and I can’t save myself, much less anyone else. What do you mean?”

  “You’ll know what to do, my son. When the time comes. You’ll know.” I saw her hand touch the mirror, like she was trying to reach for me.

  Then she was gone.

  I stared at the empty mirror in shock. Gone. I was still trapped in this damned room, and she was gone. It had been a great pep talk, and my heart still ached with love, but nothing had changed. I was still useless.

  I sat down on the edge of the bed and contemplated what just happened--the things that my mother said to me. The faith she had in my abilities. I was the one destined to end the curse.

  Me. Nicholas Bailey.

  With a renewed determination, I walked over to the window, jerked the curtains off the rods, and looked out the window. Corbin had been correct in his assessment that I would break my neck if I tried to jump. We were three stories off the ground. No trees were nearby so I couldn’t borrow a limb and climb safely to the ground. I checked the side of the house for overhangs or anything I could grip with my fingers, but there was no escape route available.

  I glanced at the trees again and thought about how Corbin had snapped a huge limb with his magic and then flown away on it the night Nicodemus had broken his heart. He’d made it look so damned easy. I concentrated on one of the large limbs, imagining it breaking off and flying toward me, but nothing happened.

  Love, focus on love.

  Maybe my mother was right. Maybe love did it for me and my magic, instead of anger. I had certainly been angry at Morgan when I burst through her barrier to get in the house, but I had also been consumed with love for Corbin. I focused on my mother and my father, on the loss and pain they’d surely felt when they’d realized the curse was going to end their lives. Alastair’s smiling face popped into my mind, reminding me that it was more than my life and destiny at stake. Finally, my heart warmed as I thought about Corbin, the love of my long, long life as Nicodemus. His magic had given me another chance at life…another chance to be with him. I thought of the words of an old John Denver song. “Dreams I can't remember now, hopes that I've forgotten. Faded memories. Still I love to see the sun go down. And the world goes around and around and around.” To me, whenever I listened to that song and felt depressed about not having a family or anybody to love me, to losing so much, I remembered that there was still beauty in the world. And life kept going—just kept on giving you more chances to find that beauty.

  My hatred for Morgan tried to squeak into my mind, but I shoved it out and focused only on love. My entire life had been lonely and without much life. The moment I’d stepped foot into Marblehead, that had changed. Now, my soul was consumed with love.

  I stumbled backward in complete shock when the limb I’d been concentrating on broke away from the tree, flew in my direction, and then hovered outside the closed window. I stood there, mouth gaping wide open, thinking this was like a fucking movie. Maybe a horror-comedy mix.

  Fifteen minutes later, my face was burning with humiliation and I hoped to hell there weren’t video cameras planted anywhere near Corbin’s sanctuary. Yeah, Corbin had made mounting the limb and riding it look easy, but I had first-hand knowledge of how untrue that was. I’d nearly fallen out of the window as I’d tried to climb aboard, and then I’d nearly fallen off the limb at least ten times as I’d tried to steady my ass on the wood. I could hear every witch to ever walk the earth laughing hysterically at my clumsy attempts to do what they did on that old TV show, Bewitched, and still make it look sexy.

  I did not look sexy.

  Nor did I look like I was capable of ending a century-old curse.

  I teetered and then steadied the limb. Not only that, I didn’t know how to drive this makeshift broom. Well, fuck.

  Chapter Ten

  “Nico! Nico, wake up!”

  A voice, low and husky, teased the dark corners of my mind. It sounded familiar and made me feel relieved and content. Satisfied, I snuggled my body into a ball and tried to ignore the pain screeching around in my head and the sexy voice nagging me.

  “Nico! Seriously, man, you’ve got to wake up. We don’t have long. You’ve been unconscious for over eight hours. Please, Nico. Wake up for me. I know you’re in there. Open your eyes for me.”

  The voice didn’t belong to Corbin.
I would have opened my eyes for Corbin. Gladly. Corbin was fucking beautiful. Weakly, I swatted at the hand petting my check. “Leave me alone,” I muttered as I tried to hide from whatever was on the other side of my eyelids.

  “I can’t leave you alone, Nico.” The voice answered with a hint of irritation. “Trust me, I would if I could. You shouldn’t even be here. What have you done, my sweet friend? Why, Nico? Why did you risk your life? We’re both dead now. Corbin doesn’t know, does he? Corbin would have never allowed you to come to Salem. How could you have been so careless and stupid?”

  My eyes flew open.

  He did not just call me stupid.

  I squinted and looked at the face hovering over me--Alastair. My friend Alastair. I was going to punch his pretty face for calling me stupid. Hell, I was here because of him.

  Wait. Where was I? The last I remembered, I was outside my window, trying not to fall off the limb and kill myself but having more fun that I’d ever had in my life. I’d finally gotten it to move a little and the night air had rushed past me, tickling my magic. My last thought had been of desperately wanting Corbin to be with me so he could see what I’d accomplished with my magic. I’d been grinning like a fucking fool when a lightning bolt of magic had sent my tree limb in one direction and my ass in another. My ass, unfortunately, had been careening toward the hard, hard ground when I’d lost consciousness.

  “Nico. Wake up all the way. I’m beginning to wonder if they cast a slumber spell on you. Are you hurt? Tell me what hurts.”

  Alastair’s hands started moving over my body, checking for broken bones, I guessed.