Precious Anathema

by T. L. Manning

  “Xander, how in the hell did you get in here?” I must have snapped from my embarrassment because he backed up a little. I sat up higher, making sure to keep the covers pulled up. “I get lost around here and I know where my room is.” He smiled a little smaller and set the plate and cup of coffee down on my side table.

  “Delilah, I have had free reign of this house since I was born, I know every way in and out of here, Freya thought you may like breakfast in bed and since I am paid to do whatever she asks I thought it was a win and obviously I was mistaken, so if it’s a problem take it up with her, but you’re welcome.” He turned to walk out of the room and I felt terrible, I had to do something quick.

  “No, Xander please wait. I was startled that’s all, I never meant to offend you, in all honesty I have just never had a guy in my room before and I felt embarrassed that’s all. Thank you so much for this, I love it.” He smiled and winked at me as his eyes traced the outline of my body through the blankets before shutting the door behind him. I covered my face with the blanket and wanted to hide all day.

  *

  “That could have gone better Xander, next time remember to knock.” Talking to myself had become an art I had perfected over the years of being alone in this prison. As I walked down the hall I could hear a door slam behind me, sure it was Eris wanting all the dirt I smiled and put my hands in my pockets. In all my research I had not been able to find any writings about Delilah that didn’t have anything to do with the curse. Nothing was written about the fact that she was not like the others in her heart. She was a good person and the more I saw her and spoke to her the more I wanted to know her, I had chores to do and fantasizing about the one person I was supposed to hurt wasn’t helping my concentration. There had to be a loophole in the prophecy and I had to find it before it was too late and I was forced to make a choice. I looked back at her door and took a deep breath, there was no one I could trust with this. My father would die if he knew that I was questioning my destiny, and Freya would surely condemn us to hell if I told her our secret. I was a man without a country and had fallen for the enemy.

  *

  I heard a door slam in the hall and then my own burst open, there stood Eris, a grin as wide as all New England as she ran and leaped onto the bed with me.

  “Oh my gosh Ella, I just saw Xander leave your room, I want all the details!” I laughed and pointed at the serving tray beside my bed. She looked confused. “You had fun with food?” I laughed again and threw my pillow at her.

  “No, he brought me breakfast, and I was so embarrassed I think I offended him and he left. How is that for details?” I pulled the covers back over my head and tried to hide, but she wouldn’t hear of it. Pulling the covers off my face and shoving her finger into my nose she clearly had my attention.

  “Look little miss new witch, you have no idea how powerful and unique you are and I think it’s time we teach you so get your pouting ass out of this bed and meet me downstairs, and I am not asking either.” I groaned as I slid my face under my pillow, but it didn’t stop her from scolding me more. “Unless you want some of what Selene got last night from Freya you will be downstairs in ten minutes too.” She giggled and ran out of my room as quickly as she came in. I dragged my pouting ass out of bed and snuck a piece of bacon as I grabbed my coffee cup and walked to my closet. I had an entire wardrobe inside already and thought I would at least take a look; to my surprise all the clothes were really nice. I grabbed a tank top and a pair of jean shorts, gathered up my mop of hair and actually made a pretty cute messy bun before stepping out into the hallway. I took the long way around to see what hidden treasures were left to find in this end of the house. A smaller staircase led me down to a wing I hadn’t been in yet, and I found myself standing inside the most beautiful music room I had ever seen. Windows were everywhere letting all the natural light of the morning shine in on the grand piano in the center of the room. Mom had always wanted to get me a piano; we could never seem to save the money for one. The car was always breaking down or a toilet was busting. I laughed to myself as I thought of Mom’s face every time she had to tell me we needed the savings for something else, like I would be angry at her. I walked to the middle of the room and put my hand on the piano, it glistened in the sunlight and I set my coffee on the floor before sitting on the bench. I took a deep breath and started to play, the beauty filled the room like I was in an auditorium. I closed my eyes and lost myself in the music. I never heard anyone walk in but after about ten minutes I stopped and heard clapping, slow, sarcastic clapping. I opened my eyes and there stood Selene resting her shoulder on a pillar. Her glare was cold like ice, even her eyes seemed a shade lighter as she shook her head and started to walk towards me.

  “So you are a musician too? Tell me Delilah, is there anything you can’t do or does being perfect just come naturally because I don’t have any plans of becoming second fiddle to some frizzy haired, tomboy!” I stood up to confront her; this was my chance to show this bitch she couldn’t mess with me anymore. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes for a moment to gain some composure, but as I opened them I saw she had turned and walked away as silent as she had walked in. I picked up my coffee and took one last look at the piano to say goodbye.

  “I will be back.” I smiled and walked into another long hallway. Peeking into doorways I found two different libraries, one was full of every book known to man on Herbs, and the other had an impeccable collection of natural healing remedies and medicines, libraries devoted to specific interests? I now had a goal to find the one for music, as I walked farther I found a smaller kitchen and a large study before coming out into the main sitting room. I hadn’t remembered seeing a hallway in this room last night, it seemed very strange. I walked to the couch and something cold on my back made me turn around. When I did I lost my breath, no hall, no study, no library, just the wall. I jumped back and ran out of the room as fast as I could, accidentally taking out Carna as I slid into the parlor.

  “Ella, honey what is wrong with you. You look like you just saw a ghost or something.” I stood up and helped Carna on her feet.

  “Carna, I just found a hall with a beautiful music room and libraries and, I just came out in the sitting room, only once I was in the sitting room the hall seemed to, I mean it kind of, I just I don’t know.” Carna laughed and put an arm around me.

  “Ella honey that is mild compared to some of the things this house can do, I wish we had talked to you about this last night so it wouldn’t have scared you so bad, come on Freya wants all of us to have a meeting in the dining room.” We walked arm in arm and I was still shaking and trying to look behind me as we made our way into the room. Everyone was sitting around the table, including Selene, which reminded me I still needed to have words with her, but later. Right now I needed to find out what the hell just happened.

  FOUR

  Five people talking at once, each one trying to talk over one another and none of it seemed to want to sink in. Filling me in from magic, to curses and torture, how we each have special gifts from generations of magic, and hauntings. I felt like I was in some crazy teen paranormal movie, I just sat with my jaw open until I finally couldn’t handle all of them talking over one another and snapped.

  “Stop it! All you are doing is making me want to take the first bus back to Nebraska, today! Someone needs to tell me what all of this is and only one person please.” Freya put her hand up to hush everyone and leaned over the table to get a closer look at me as she smiled.

  “Ella my dear, why don’t you start by asking me some questions and I will answer them, after that I will fill in the rest.” I took a deep breath and asked the first question that came to mind.

  “Why in the hell did an entire hallway disappear after I walked through it this morning?” Freya smiled again and a chill ran down my spine.

  “Ella, when I was a young girl I came to live here with my mother and older sister. We didn’t stay very long after that same thing happened to my mother. My sis
ter and I had seen it every day that we were here but my mother wouldn’t listen to us.” Freya began to fidget with a napkin, looking at the table as she paused, I saw that neither of my Aunts would look up from the table either giving me concern that I was hearing a story of fiction as she began to speak again. “The day she got lost in the south end was the last night we stayed here, and not just because she got lost. To my mother it meant that all the stories about the estate and the grounds from the curse were true, and if that were the case she felt we were not safe from what haunts the walls.” Freya picked her face up and looked at my Aunts before continuing. “I can tell you that this house is just as cursed as all of us are, the grounds, the flower beds and even the trees can play tricks on you, tricks that no witchcraft can seem to fight. That’s part of our punishment, our curse but we will teach you and soon it will seem as normal to you as a tricky toilet.” Eris laughed and Selene rolled her eyes obviously not impressed. I just stared at my grandmother, was she serious? She read my mind it seemed, without missing a beat she lowered her head to look me in the eye.

  “I am dead serious young lady, and you are going to have to learn very quickly if you intend to accept your fate here in the Grace family.” Selene laughed and Freya shot her a dirty look making her jump in her chair, which led me to my next question.

  “Freya, do I have special gifts? And what are all of yours?” I was looking at everyone around the table for answers to this one. Freya smiled at me again, but it wasn’t a comforting one.

  “Ella, we have no idea what your gifts are honey, but we know that unlike any of us you are potentially the most powerful Grace in over a hundred years, we just need to tap into that side of you and find out for sure and then understand what that means.” Just like I had said she was no comfort to me at all. “Eris has a few gifts; she can make people, forget things or put ideas in their heads that make them think they were doing something else which have come in handy a few times over the years, but it has a time limit. She has only five minutes after the event to make it work, you see Ella; we all have gifts and all of them come with limitations. She can also talk to animals and is pretty handy in the kitchen.” Eris giggled and Freya pointed to Selene. “Selene here has a few gifts of her own, She can actually reverse time itself ten minutes if Eris misses her window or isn’t around. She can mimic the behavior, mannerisms and even the voice of those around her; she is also famous for altering her appearance at will to get her way.” Selene shook her head as she looked at the table, I decided not to ask and looked back at Freya. “I think your aunts can tell you what is special about them, and maybe you can figure out how certain gifts can be passed down.” I took a sip of my coffee as Carna waved her arm at Kali to start.

  “Ella, I can see an hour into the future, but only if it is something that affects my personal life. I once saw Selene get hit on the playground at school during Jr. High and raced over in time to pull her away. The reason I could get to her before it happened is because I can project myself into the situation as well. It has its limits as well and I haven’t mastered it yet, but that’s me Hun.” I smiled and looked at Carna; I already knew one of her gifts.

  “Ella, as you know I can read minds as we talked about before but I can also heal illness or injury and I am at times a walking crystal ball when the need arises, that’s how we knew where to find you.” Carna put her head down, almost showing shame as she continued talking. “I saw your mother when she got really sick but as much as we tried to heal her she just kept blocking us out.” I dropped my cup and hundreds of pieces of ceramic flew across the dining room floor under my feet, I felt like I couldn’t breathe. They knew mom was sick, they tried to help her, maybe save her life and she wouldn’t let them? My mother could be here with me today and she chose to die in spite of their help? Carna gasped at the sound of her own confession, Freya stood up ushering everyone away. No one spoke as they left the room and Freya sat next to me as tears of anger and selfishness ran down my face. I looked up at my Grandmother and tried to speak but my tears turned into sobs as she put her arms around me, just holding me and rocking with a special hum like my mom used to do, guess I knew where she learned that move from now. After some time went by, not really sure if it was ten minutes or two hours before I really stopped crying I looked up at Freya and wiped the snot from my face. She was smiling at me, and I tried to give her one back but it came out more like a forced burp, she laughed and handed me another napkin.

  “Delilah, I think I just discovered one of your gifts.” I wiped my face and sat up straight filled with curiosity and terror. “The moment you began to cry it started to rain outside.” I looked out the window, I saw the dark clouds parting and the patio doors were streaked where rain had been hitting them. I looked back at Freya more confused than ever, she smiled and brushed my hair from my face. “It has been raining since you started crying and only stopped just now when you picked up your head and tried to smile at me honey.” I felt like I couldn’t breathe, everything around me began to close in and then Freya took my hand in hers. “I think you can control the elements around you which is a huge gift, now we just need to find out what besides crying can make it happen and what your limits are.” I looked at the rainbow that had started to form outside the window and looked back at Freya in disbelief. That could have just been a coincidence I thought, at that very moment I watched her shake her head at me.

  “Not a coincidence dear trust me.” I had just found out one of her gifts too, and made a mental note to watch what I think around her, all of this was so hard to take in and it wasn’t even lunch time yet. She took my hand and stood up at the table. “Come with me Dear, I think I need to tell you a few things.” I stood up and we made our way out to the garden behind the dining room, the sun was shining down on us and I smiled as the rays hit my face and filled me with feelings of warmth and hope. We sat down in front of a small bridge over a stream in the wet grass and Freya took a deep breath as she held my hand tighter.

  “I want you to know why your mother left and why she wanted nothing to do with us, not the whole story just yet honey, but if you want to hear some of it

  I would love to tell you about her.” Of course I wanted to know, this was all so scary and strange to me but I knew in my heart that if I knew the truth it would help one way or another. As I smiled and squeezed her hand something caught my eye, a gorgeous young caretaker had come into the garden and as our eyes met I was suddenly feeling the heat of the sun with such intensity I fanned my face and Freya began laughing. “No doubt now honey, you can certainly bend the elements, and apparently it has everything to do with your mood and your heart.” She winked at me and I put my head down, feeling a little embarrassed and a bit like a badass at the same time. I watched as Freya’s arm waved at Xander and then he quickly walked away from us. She was more powerful than I could begin to imagine. The wave of her hand sent people away, put people in pain, and even shut some up. I had a lot to learn if I planned to survive this summer with her I could clearly see.

  “Delilah, what I need to tell you is very important. More important than any bonding you and I could do right now, because after you hear what I am going to tell you I think you may want to leave, and I don’t want to make it harder on either of us, do you understand what I mean?” I nodded and felt a knot in my gut tighten.

  “I understand Freya, but I want to know.” She squeezed my hand again and looked up at the sky before taking a breath and telling me the story of the curse.

  *

  “It all started a little different than your mother may have told you. My Great Grandmother times three, Cordelia, was a hard woman, a natural born witch with great powers that lived here on the grounds with her sister Cora who was also a witch and her best friend, but sadly no one, not even Cora could bring her the happiness she desired. Her dreams of having a husband and a family of her own became an obsession, one that she tried to manipulate with magic. She met a man from out of town and things were great for a while
, until she found out she was pregnant, he left her and went back to live with his wife which threw her over the edge. When my Great Grandmother times two, Emma was born in the early 1870’s she learned very young to stay out of her mother’s way and not ask a lot of questions, She had Cora to help raise her, and nurture her until she was about fifteen and discovered that she was also a natural witch. Her mother was furious, hated everything about her, blaming Emma for her love leaving her and did not encourage her to learn of her gifts. One night when Emma was seventeen they had a huge fight over a boy she was seen with and in a rage she threw her hands in the air screaming for Cordelia to just trust her and love her, only when she opened her eyes she saw that her mother lay dead on the floor. There was no sign of a struggle and it was easy for her to say it was natural, but Emma never forgave herself and lived with the guilt of first ruining her mother’s life and then ending it. She learned everything she could from her mother’s books and journals and by nineteen with Cora’s help she had mastered her craft, her gifts and her love life, or so she thought. She met Jim while at a farmers market buying chickens and they hit it off. They were so in love and she finally knew what real happiness was, until a woman came to town looking for Jim and with her was a child, Jim’s child. The people in town told her where she could find him, what they failed to mention was that he was engaged and his fiancé was pregnant. She showed up at the door and Emma answered with a smile. Within five minutes both women were furious at Jim for deceiving them. Emma was heartbroken that he could walk out on his wife and child like he did, and then realized he would have done the same to her. She kicked him out and suffered a deep depression, closing everyone including Cora out of her life. She knew that after what happened to her mother and now being pregnant and hurt herself she never wanted to do to her child what her mother had done to her, so she created a spell. A spell so powerful that it would stay strong for years to come, to make sure that no man would ever come between her and the love for her child, to make sure that her child would never have to suffer the way she did.” Freya stopped talking and looked me in the eye to make sure I was listening. “This is the most important part honey, half the spell was a love spell and a third was for banishing and some more for binding, and those are the major ingredients we know of, what happened was that in her pregnant condition and deep sadness, casting this spell was with the worst of feelings but the best of intentions and the universe screamed no in a big way that night. She cast the spell and fell asleep; when she woke in the morning she had gone from a beautiful fair skinned redhead to a black haired, blue eyed, cursed goddess. Every Grace woman that has been born since has looked the same and suffered the same curse; the Prophecies say that a child would be born to look like no mother before her since the beginning. When your mother got pregnant she had a dream of a beautiful red haired little girl running through the house and she got scared, she told me and I was so happy that we could finally be rid of this evil, but she wouldn’t hear of it. Said that her daughter would never know the hurt and pain of being a Grace the way she did, and no matter what I said she wouldn’t listen to me. She let me see you once after you were born and then took you away.” I squeezed Freya’s hand once more and smiled.