Precious Anathema

by T. L. Manning

  “Dad, she is here. The prophecy has begun.” He squeezed me and I could feel his stifled cries in our embrace.

  “Xander, I have waited for this day my whole life, we know what we have to do to make sure this happens and we can escape this hell, right?” He saw my face, he knew that I was afraid and grabbed my shoulders tight as his gaze pierced through me. “Xander, my son this is our only chance at freedom. It is not just them that need to be released from this evil. You will do what you have to do, just play your part and everything will be ok.” I nodded and backed away from him.

  “I need to get these items to Freya, I will be back.” He didn’t speak again, just let me walk away carrying bags to the estate. She was inside; I could smell her perfume as I walked inside. I had already memorized her scent and her smile in my mind. I just needed to put the bags in the kitchen and sneak out the back when Freya saw me and smiled. She had always been so nice to my father and I, it hurt me to know what was to come. I smiled back at her and Freya walked to me with an outstretched hand, this was the part where she would no doubt introduce us with a smile on her face. I had to play my part and not let feelings get in the way, I could be cold and I would for the sake of my freedom. I knew the next time I saw her I would fight the urge to smile and let my heart warm in her presence, I just feared I was about to lose that fight.

  *

  I felt very anxious as the two of us opted to sit on the floor and not the million dollar couch. My two incredibly gorgeous aunts sat on a loveseat from the forties and they made it look ordinary. Selene, of course sat in a corner by herself in an armchair staring out the window having no interest in what was about to transpire. Just being in the same room with her was doing some major damage to my high and it pissed me off more that I let it get to me than anything else. I looked away from her, convinced myself that she wasn’t in the room and felt uplifted. We all heard the door open and an eerie familiar, yet new male voice yelled inside.

  “Freya, I am back from town so if you need me I will be on the grounds.” A woman’s voice answered him, but Eris and I still couldn’t see anyone, the parlor seemed to echo like a theatre.

  “Thank you so much my dear, I think we are ok for tonight but please come and help an old woman into the sitting room before you go and you can meet my family I told you about.” I was nervous and excited to meet the woman that held so many answers for me. As they got to the entryway of the sitting room I felt Eris grab my arm and dig her nails in. It was Xander from the store. The sexiest man I had ever met was living on the grounds of this house? That’s what he meant by ‘See you over there’. I could feel Selene trying to kill me from her seat, and as my eyes met with his, he smiled and winked at me. Carna giggled and pointed at me as they made their way into the room. I was so warm I thought I would set the room on fire, I hadn’t even noticed my stunning grandmother on his arm until she spoke to introduce him to us. The light from the sun shone so bright into the room suddenly that Carna got up from her seat to close the drapes.

  “Ladies, this is Xander he lives on the grounds with his father and is here for anything you might need.” Eris elbowed me in the gut and snickered as his smile got even bigger staring at me as my grandmother spoke. He waved at everyone and kissed my grandmothers hand before walking out of the room, in the entryway I watched every crease of his pants move as he walked, and as though he could see behind him he turned and winked at me again before walking out of the estate. Freya looked down at me and before I could enjoy the moment Selene wasted no time being the world’s most dramatic witch and growl as she crossed her arms. Freya looked at the aunts and they both just rolled their eyes and waved their hands for her to proceed. My grandmother did not look anything like a grandmother at all. Not a grey hair in her black mane, not a wrinkle, her complexion looked better than mine and she had the body of a twenty five year old. Even when she spoke I couldn’t hear an older woman. With any luck this is what I have to look forward too.

  “My dear Delilah, come here so I can see you.” I stood up and walked to her, she looked me all over almost like she was looking for something. She waved her hand for me to turn around and as she saw my right shoulder I heard her give a sigh. I turned to see her as her fingers touched me and outlined my birth mark.

  “I have always had that scar, it’s my birthmark Freya; Mom called it my beauty mark because she didn’t have a freckle on her and wanted to make me feel better about it.” Freya smiled at me and then took my hand.

  “Did she ever tell you what the mark really was Delilah?” I shook my head; no one ever said anything about it since I tried to cover it up daily. “This mark is what makes you more special than any of us in this room my dear, this is the branded mark of the one that can lift the evil from us. That is why you are beautifully different than the rest of us.” Before I could say a word, Selene slammed her hand against the chair and stormed out of the room. Freya watched her walk out and then waved her hand at the doorway and rolled her eyes. I heard Selene yell out in pain and I jumped in fear and just then she walked back in with her head down.

  “Sorry Freya.” I was stunned; did I just see that happen? Selene sat next to her mother on the couch, rubbing her ass as she sat down; I looked back at Freya who gave me a wink and a smile.

  “I am not going to overload you too much tonight, I am just so happy you are here and we are complete again my dear, Why don’t you girls go exploring through the house and pick out rooms for yourselves, just be careful we haven’t found all the traps yet.” She looked at Selene as she said that. Why would I have to worry about traps? Mouse traps maybe? Selene stood up and crossed her arms.

  “Be a shame if we lost our new prize so quickly wouldn’t it?” Freya put her hand out and Selene quickly apologized again. I could hear Eris laughing behind me. I really liked my grandmother already. I reached out to hug her and a tear fell down her cheek.

  “Delilah, I have loved you since you were conceived, and I can’t tell you how much that is but I hope that this summer you grow to love us as much.” I hugged her for so long I began to cry. This was certainly one of those moments you think only live in movies, this was one in life you never forget.

  “Race you!” Eris grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the room, Selene blew by us and went upstairs making sure to stomp on every step having her five year old tantrum. I grabbed my bag and started up the stairs, pictures lined the walls, hundreds of them. Some black and white that looked over a hundred years old and yet every photo looked the same. All the women looked like the others, I took four steps and stopped as I saw it, a photo of my Mom when she was my age, or looked my age anyway. I knew it was her because she had a special smile. I put my hand out and ran my fingers over her face; I began to cry as I touched her. I wish she could be here with me, to see how things have changed, that it wasn’t like it used to be. I felt a hand on my shoulder, it was Kali. I turned and wiped the tears away giving her my best fake smile.

  “Your mother was amazing honey; As are you and you will learn more about her this summer than you ever learned in eighteen years.” She hugged me and we walked up the stairs together, hand in hand.

  THREE

  After walking around the west hall as Kali had informed me for an hour, looking at old family photos and touching every piece of art that filled the hall I realized that I felt different, I couldn’t describe it but since I had stepped into the house, and we had all been together I felt a strange pulse of electricity running through my body, the longer I was here the stronger it was getting too. I tried to take my mind off it looking at tapestries and suits of armor everywhere I turned, I found myself beginning to daydream that I was in a real castle somewhere in history. I wondered if this feeling inside me would ever fade, I never wanted to get used to this beauty and history that surrounded me. I walked until I finally stumbled on an open door to a room; as I walked in I felt like it was a fairy tale and I would wake up before I was ready, it was unlike anything I had ever seen, a huge fireplace with l
arge etched windows beside it. A four post bed, my own bathroom, a sitting area and the world’s largest closet. My room looked out over the gardens and the walls were a beautiful green. Each bedroom I had seen seemed to have a color theme to it, and being that green is my favorite color I couldn’t pass it up. I opened my windows to let the breeze in, and walked across the room to lie on my bed, just staring at the ceiling. This was more like a dream every moment that went by. I couldn’t believe this was my life now. I heard a lawn mower start outside my window and stood up to see who was outside. I had to stop myself from falling out the window as I leaned and saw Xander, with no shirt and his tight jeans hand mowing around the flower beds. I hid as best I could behind the drapes making sure I could still peek and watched as the sweat began to beat up on his face, and run down his back like my finger suddenly craved to do, and as the sun rippled off his shoulders, I noticed that it was suddenly harder to see him past the intense light from the sun. I heard him hit a rock with the mower and I moved in time from the glare to see it coming at me. I screamed and hit the floor. The mower stopped running and then he was under my window, yelling up to me.

  “Delilah, are you ok?” How did he know it was me? “I saw you over here when I got around the roses. Talk to me Delilah please I am so sorry.” I had to stand up, he knew it was me so I couldn’t’ sneak away. I got up and waved as I blushed. He looked even better up close and sweaty. He smiled at me, and the glare came back, I could feel the heat on my skin and it felt like I was instantly burned from the sun, he noticed as well and wiped the sweat off his face again, I thought I would fall over this time for real, and found it hard to find my words.

  “I am ok Xander, I am sorry if I scared you I was just getting used to my new room.” He scratched his head and then put his hands in his pockets; honestly I wasn’t sure they would fit. He was killing me and in that moment, the way he looked at me I realized he knew it.

  “This is going to be your room?” I smiled and nodded. He pointed over the hedges and I could see a beautiful little house. “See that open window over there?” I saw it and smiled back at him, “That is my room. Maybe some night we can take a walk and I can show you the grounds of the estate.” I began to blush and he noticed right away as the glare from the sun washed his face from my sight and black dots came for a moment, I had to put my hand over my forehead as a visor to see him again, and smiled as he waved and walked back to the lawn mower. He went back to work but every few minutes he would look back up at my window. I don’t know how long I stood in place watching him, he was the most incredible man I had ever spoken to, and he liked talking to me.

  *

  Walking away from her window, I wanted to scream. What was it about this girl I had just met made me want to turn my back on everything I had trained for, and lived to see? I turned and saw her looking back at me again; as she smiled I felt the heat on my skin as if the sun itself had just kissed me, leaving the burn of her sweet face on my heart. Maybe it was all a trick, maybe Freya knows what I am supposed to do and this was her way of making it harder for me. Freya had been a mother to me in secret all my life and I loved her like my mother, all the while knowing what I must do and feeling my heart grow colder with each passing day. No woman had ever turned my head before today, no breasts ever had me twitching to touch them, no smile had ever made me want to kiss the lips that lie behind it, none before today. I needed to know more, I looked back once more to see her face and I couldn’t help but smile back, not because I had to earn her trust but because I wanted to earn it.

  *

  I heard a knock at the door and Eris stood with two cups of hot coffee, walking past me she plopped on my bed and handed me a cup.

  “I took the room across from you, it’s purple and I love it” I smiled at her and sat down beside with my cup.

  “Thank you for the coffee Eris, I really need it.” Her eyes scanned my room and then she saw him out my window and smiled at me.

  “I would have picked this room too.” She said with a smile and a wink.

  “No, I didn’t know he was outside when I picked it and certainly didn’t know he lived on this side until he told me, I swear.” She put her cup down and looked me in the eye.

  “You talked to him?” I smiled and put my cup up to my mouth hiding my smile, she quickly moved it and her eyes became intense.

  “I was watching him and he kicked up a rock which almost took me out, so yes that sparked a conversation.” She began to laugh as I realized how I must look to him, stalker girl came to mind.

  “You are so sweet Ella, he wants to do dirty things with you and you are so innocent you don’t even see it.” The truth was I wanted to do dirty things to him as well, but I had never had thoughts like that about a real person, and it made me feel uncomfortable.

  “Eris, do you think it’s weird that I picked this room and his room faces across from it?” She laughed and took my cup from me, forcing me to show her my face.

  “Ella, you may not have known his room was there, but the house does.” I looked at the walls of my room feeling suddenly claustrophobic. “Do you think it is coincidence that our rooms are across from one another with our favorite colors, and yet Selene has a room in the north end?” I shrugged my shoulders; it could be just luck, but then a wash of panic struck me when I thought, what if she was right?

  “Are you telling me that you believe the house thinks for itself?” I laughed as I said it out loud. Eris didn’t laugh as she looked me in the eye.

  “Remember my mom telling you that none of us but Freya had ever been here? And that Freya was only here for a short time as a girl?” I nodded. “First of all that is a lie, but you will understand why she lied later, it’s because of the curse and this house.” I rolled my eyes and she grabbed my hand. “The original spell was cast in this house, and as it went bad so did the grounds. The Grace women are not the only things stricken by the curse and living this hell.” I stood up to get away from her words, she was just trying to scare me now and it was pissing me off, as I opened my mouth to tell her to get out she pointed out the window to Xander. “This house has secrets hiding everywhere, and knows everything as you have seen with your room being strategically placed here. Yes, believe me or not but there are traps as well, and the scariest of all can send you into the labyrinth in the basement. That’s what the stories say anyway.” I picked up my coffee cup. This was too much; my heart skipped a beat as I heard the mower outside cut out again. Everyone knows that things like that don’t really exist, right?

  “Eris, even if there were a labyrinth in the basement this house isn’t that big and we would get out so you can stop trying to scare me ok.” Eris laughed at me.

  “Ella, The labyrinth if it is real was a spell cast to trap men by our ancestors. It is big and no man has ever escaped. I told you our family was bad Hun, I am sure that Freya will tell us everything we need to know to keep us safe, just stay on your toes and out of the basement ok?” Of course I was going to stay out of the creepy ass basement; she didn’t have to tell me twice. A loud bell rang and I jumped so bad I spilled my coffee all over my bed, Eris and I both laughed as we tried to wipe it up.

  “First night here and I am already ruining precious family heirlooms.” We walked out of the room and headed down the hall to find our way back to the parlor. Getting lost twice, we found a gorgeous study and what we could imagine was a reading room before we made our way to the correct stairwell. We all ate dinner together and it was a lavish meal with courses and people waiting on us. Carna said that Freya had hired a caterer from out of town for the special event, since no one in town would come to the house, the night was special indeed. We all told stories and laughed as we drank wine and ate the most delicious food. Selene even spoke and laughed a little, I was starting to have some faith that she would get used to me and we could be close with one another, as long as lots of wine was being poured of course. After dinner we realized we had been drinking and talking till almost ten and after anothe
r half hour of hugs and good nights I took Eris by the arm and the two of us giggled and staggered as we headed back upstairs to our personal apartments. As I opened the door a strange light lit my room and I felt warmth I hadn’t felt in here before. My fireplace had been lit and it was gorgeous. I was too drunk to question how it happened, and lay on the rug in front of my bed just watching the flames rise higher and higher. I realized that we left so quickly we hadn’t shut the windows in my room; I got up and noticed another light. Xanders bedroom window was lit up, and as I began to daydream about what he may be doing the light began to turn on and off, as if he could see me standing in the light, he was talking to me. I ran to the door and started turning my light on and off to answer him. I ran back to the window and his light went out. I closed my window and thought that might be the best good night I had ever gotten as I climbed into my giant bed that swallowed me up in feathers and as I closed my eyes the slow spin of wine eased my mind and I fell asleep to the crackling sounds from the fire.

  *

  “Good morning beautiful.” I roll over and smile before I even open my eyes; I take in the smell of fresh bacon and a man’s cologne and realize it may be the greatest combination of smells I have ever encountered in the morning. This really is the best way to wake up. I got lost in my thought and quickly opened my eyes. He was standing before me with a smile, I was still in bed and I had a man in my room, serving me coffee and bacon. Not just any man either, he was the man. I scrambled to cover myself and moved closer to my headboard before he could say another word.