“I am here now though, and I want to help if I can.” Freya smiled and shook her head.
“You think you want to help honey, but if it were that easy do you think your mother would have hidden you away for eighteen years?” I felt a little sick to my stomach, was I supposed to be a sacrifice?
“I don’t understand Freya, what is so bad about helping?” She looked at my hair, then my eyes, then my smile.
“You are the key to unlocking the curse, and only you Delilah, there may never be a Grace woman born like you for another hundred years, if we can’t break this curse you will have children that look just like the rest of us and it will be too late.” It was my turn to look at the sky, I saw a heart shaped cloud and knew it was a sign; I looked at Freya and smiled again.
“I will do it, how hard can it be right? I mean we already have the key just show me to the door.” She laughed and gave me a big hug.
“You really are a unique young woman and I couldn’t be happier that you are my granddaughter, but that’s enough ranting for one day. We will talk more about this after you have a few more days to process it all, for now go find Xander and enjoy the rest of the day.” I kissed Freya on the cheek and skipped across the small bridge trying to forget all the wrong I had just been told, I made it through the garden without ever glancing ahead, just thinking about what it could mean to be the key. I didn’t want to let anyone down but the onset of nausea spoke otherwise of my gut feeling, I tried to ignore it but found myself looking for answers I didn’t have. I was the key, I was the only key and it explained to me why mom wanted to protect me and also why Selene hated me so much, got to take the good with the bad I thought. I made it past a row of perfect hedges and found Xander planting a small tree, he was bent over on his knees, sweaty and he took my breath away. I watched him for a moment thinking I was being very sneaky, and then jumped five feet at the sound of his voice.
“You can stop staring at me and help if you like Delilah.” I must have been four shades of red by the time I knelt beside him, I snapped out of it quickly though wondering if crying made it rain, and getting turned on by him made the sun hotter, what would being embarrassed do?
*
The heat was suddenly intense on my back; I knew she was close before I even smelt her as the wind carried her scent to me. The day had been better today since I found an old journal of my great grandfathers; he talked about the ‘chosen’ one as if she were an alien of sorts. Pages devoted to her coming, how she would be pure of heart and pure in her magic even with evil sorcerer blood in her veins. He wrote that he feared her coming in his time because he would not be able to hurt the child, it made me feel better to see these words written. He may not have met her, but he knew more about her than he realized. I closed my eyes as the sun baked my skin, I knew what it meant and even she couldn’t hide that it was as natural to feel this way for me as I did for her. I took a deep breath to calm my heartbeat, my want that was quickly becoming a need for her as I spoke.
FIVE
“You know what Ella; I don’t want to do this right now. Want to take a ride into town with me and help pick out some flowers for the garden under your window?” I looked up at his perfect smile and couldn’t help myself from giggling, I was acting like a crushing teenager and it was starting to piss me off.
“I need to tell Freya, but I would love too.” He looked past my shoulder and waved his arm. I turned to see Freya standing on the bridge looking at us, she waved and walked away.
“It’s all set Hun, come on.” He jumped up and brushed the top soil from his legs, his hands were all over himself and I wanted to be his… Snap out of it Delilah! I shook my head and stood up. We walked to the guest house so he could change his boots; it was beautiful and quite large for a guest house. I saw a man in the garage and figured that was Xander’s Dad, he saw me looking and took my hand to introduce me.
“Dad, hey Dad this is Delilah the girl I told you about.” A man no older than forty five at most turned and looked me in the eye. He was very handsome and built, I couldn’t help but stare as he smiled and I saw that same smile I see in Xander. His eyes wouldn’t look away from my hair as he held out his hand to me.
“It is very nice to meet you Delilah, my name is Israel.” I shook his hand and blushed as his eyes never left my hair.
“Yes, I know it’s a mop. I hate it.” As I put my hands on top of my head and tried to smooth out the frizz.
“No, it’s beautiful I have just never seen a Grace as unique as you are my dear and our family has taken care of the estate for many generations so I have seen my share of them.” Xander coughed and apparently that was a cue, Israel said goodbye and we walked to Xanders truck, the whole way feeling his father’s eyes on me. Why was I such a marvel to everyone around here, even to Xander? Selene was the beauty, not me and yet when he looked at me his eyes twinkled and his dimples popped. We walked to the passenger side of his old Dodge, jacked up and freshly painted antique red. He winked as he knelt down to help me in. I laughed as his knee hit the ground.
“I think I manage you know.” He shook his head and stood up.
“Have it your way Ella.” I grabbed the handrail and started to pull myself up, even with my long legs I couldn’t seem to get my footing right to hop in, after three tries I turned to look at him with defeat on my face. He was smirking at me as he knelt back down to help me in. I smiled back at him as I got in the truck, it was immaculate, and no man had a truck this nice that I had ever seen. It smelled of his cologne and deodorant mixed with sawdust and a campfire, no going back now I was ‘had’ in the best way.
“I don’t go out much unless it’s for errands so please don’t think I am this anal because my truck is so clean.” I giggled to myself and he fired it up, I felt like I was ten feet tall as we made our way out of the drive. He took me on the tourist rout first. We hit all the major hang outs, all three of them and then he took me to the most beautiful place I had ever been. The local lighthouse, sat on the edge of the world at the top of a rock cliff. The salt air and sea breeze took my breath away; it was as free as I had ever felt as we stood on the edge of the cliff. I didn’t speak for nearly ten minutes and then our eyes met and he smiled, he knew that I was taking in every moment of this place and he took my hand in his never speaking as we looked out to sea. We made our way to a picnic table and sat among the tourists with cameras who couldn’t speak English very well.
“You know I have been coming here since I was very little and it still takes my breath away Ella, I am a little jealous as I look at your face being here for the first time. I wish I could have that feeling again.” I squeezed his hand and closed my eyes, taking in every sound, and every smell around me.
“This is amazing Xander, thank you so much for bringing me here.” I opened my eyes and he was smiling back at me.
“Freya told me that she was going to tell you some of the heavier information today and I just wanted to take your mind off some of the stress, I am glad it’s helping.” I thanked him, and then thought about what he had just said. She told him, but how much did he know?
“Xander, do you know what we are?” He laughed and then let go of my hand.
“Delilah, I know more about who you are than you do and it doesn’t scare me.” Scare him, why would I scare him?
“No I mean more than just being a witch. Do you know what I am?” He leaned over the table and took a breath.
“Yes Delilah I know what you are, the question is do you really know what and who you are yet?” Did he know what I had to do, or why my mother was so afraid for me?
“Xander, if you know something please tell me I can’t take the waiting anymore.” He sat upright and then leaned back over the table.
“Ella, you want real honesty?” I nodded. “The truth is that Freya thought you would take it all better coming from me, so she put the nugget in your head and then sent you off with me.” I let go of his hands and sat up, my smile washed away.
“Let
me get this straight, you didn’t bring me here to be nice or sweet. You took me out today as a job for my grandmother, are you on the fucking clock Xander?” His eyes grew wide and his hands flew up.
“No, no Ella I swear it to you, she just asked me if I would tell you the rest so it didn’t seem like she was lecturing you. I want to be here with you, I could have done it in the garden or the sitting room in the estate, but I wanted to take you out and spend time with you. I am not on the clock when I am with you ever.” I was so angry I didn’t really listen to him, just got up and started walking back to the truck with him hot on my heels begging me to stop. I talked over him as I walked.
“Here I thought you were different, that it didn’t matter to you that I was a Grace in this town when all a long you were just doing your job.” I felt a tear well up, I was so hurt by him, by Freya, by all of it. I felt a drop of rain hit my shoulder and as the first tear rolled down my cheek the sky got dark and he rain started to come down in buckets. I never turned around to see his face, but he yelled to me over the rain and I stopped cold.
“Stop crying right now Delilah Grace, stop it I am fighting these feelings I have for you and it’s not my job, stop crying!” How did he know I had started crying? I turned and he was right in front of me, soaked and standing still. As people ran by us to get to their cars we just stood in the rain looking at each other. “Delilah, I know everything about you. I know that you are crying without looking at you. I know when you are happy because the sun warms me whenever I am near you, I know when you are mad at me because it makes me nauseas and I know what you need to do to break the curse too.” I just started to cry harder and he wrapped his arms around me in a warm and safe embrace.
“Xander I’m scared, I don’t know what to do.” He squeezed me and then kissed the top of my head, the tears I had been crying dried up and I felt the heat from the sun on my back.
“Close your eyes for me.” My heart began to race as I did what I was told. His lips touched my earlobe as he began to whisper. “I am going to kiss you now, and I am going to take your breath away, but don’t be scared Honey I will catch you when you fall.” I felt his lips touch mine and I tingled from my head to my toes as our kiss sent waves through my body. He pulled away just a little and looked me in the eye with the heat from the sun almost burning my skin. “See Delilah, I know you feel the same way about me without hearing your words.” I smiled and wrapped my arms back around him in the sun. We made our way back to the picnic table without speaking, and as we sat I looked around us. The tourists had all scrambled to their cars, and we were alone, actually alone with the trees and the ocean below us, I smiled and took Xanders hand as he started telling me the rest of the story.
“Freya told you about Jim right?” I nodded and started to feel a little nervous, how could he know so much about the family history? “The little boy that came to the door that day was my great grandfather times two or three, Jim and his wife were thieves and they stole many things from the estate before they left town and left the little boy in the middle of the night. No one knows if he was even their son to begin with or if he was something else they had stolen. Emma wouldn’t turn him away, a scared ten year old boy when she found him but she was so cold and angry at Jim she wouldn’t allow him in the house either, she had the guest house built that summer and put him to work. Our family has lived here ever since, and the reason I know so much about your gifts and the gifts of the family is because it’s not just the Grace family that has been cursed. He was in the guest house the night that Emma cast the spell. Our family has suffered this curse along with the Grace family for over a hundred years. Our Curse is not being able to keep love, every woman that has borne a child, always a male child at that has died shortly after, and we also grow old slowly just like you all do.” I was floored, how could he even look at me after what my family has done to him and his mother? I let go of his hand and sat back straight with a fear growing inside me. I heard thunder and Xander jumped.
“Delilah, calm down sweetie I am not afraid of you please don’t be afraid of me. Your powers are growing at a rapid pace since you have been at the estate and you could easily put us into early hurricane season.” He laughed and took my hand again. I took a deep breath and looked at the sky above us. No more clouds in sight, no thunder, no rain. I was causing all of this and I was afraid, not from him, not the curse, not the estate, only from myself.
SIX
“Xander, why does your family stay here if you know what could happen, what has happened over the years. I would think you should hate us.” Xander ran his thumb over my hand and looked into my eyes.
“It is just as important to my family to rid the world of this curse as it is to yours honey, and we stay because we are all in this together. Even Emma had no idea she was creating a curse when she cast the spell. We stay because in a sense we are all lost and together we are not alone I guess.” I listened to his words, spoken slow and calm and wanted to scream at him in a fit of irrationality. I took a breath and looked out to the ocean before opening my mouth.
“Do you have any idea how weird that sounds to someone for the first time?” He shrugged and nodded.
“I can understand how it would seem strange, but until the curse is broken where else would we go? Always wondering, forever suffering in the hope that it had been lifted, just makes more sense for us to be around and know.” I let go of his hand realizing that all of this information was being jammed down my throat for one reason today, because I was the Grace that could lift the curse, and that’s what he really wanted, not me.
“So, you are not here with me today because it’s your job or because my Grandmother made you, but can you tell me that you are not here because you are trying to convince me to go through with whatever it is I have to do to break this freaking curse so you can run far away from here and never see me again?” He ran his hands through his hair and pulled hard as he made a deep noise and stood up, obviously pissed off.
“Delilah, you are either going to trust me or not, that is up to you but I am here because I want to be here with you. I have no doubt that you will do what you think is best whether I am involved or not so take your trust issues somewhere else and stop trying to shove me under a guilt driven bus!” He walked away and left me sitting alone, I guess he should have since he was right. I just wanted to be angry and unfortunately he was an easy target right now, I had never been able to deal with feeling angry very well and this was turning into a perfect example of that.
*
I walked away from her to hide the guilt on my face, I still didn’t know what to do and feared I had just lied to her. I knew that I had to lock the curse away, and that once it was inside her that meant one thing. If I didn’t do it we were doomed in hell and the curse would never truly be lifted. I couldn’t hide my feelings though, and the more time I spent with her I felt them growing in my heart. I wanted to protect her, save her, make her scream my name at night and yet I was supposed to do the unthinkable. I couldn’t let her see me fighting myself like this or she would know, as her powers were growing I wasn’t sure that she wouldn’t touch me soon and know anyway. I had to make my choice, and I had to seal our fates with it.
*
I got up and ran behind him, I didn’t wait for him to stop or turn around I just started talking.
“Xander, I have only had my Mom my whole life. I have never had to trust like this before, and I have never had this much anger inside me that she left me. I don’t know why I want to lash out and I am sorry, I’ve just had my mother die and found out that I have over a hundred years of angry, downright bitchy and untrustworthy witches in my family line. I am freaking out inside and I don’t know what to do with it all.” He stopped walking but didn’t turn around as he spoke.
“I know exactly what you can do with all of it Delilah.” He was quiet for a moment and then turned around and grabbed me at my waist, pulling me so close to him that our bodies were in a hot make out session be
fore his lips even met mine. My whole body relaxed in his embrace and I felt the heat on my skin from the sun again, mixed with a new sensation that shot down my legs and made my toes tingle. He was everything that scared me, everything that made my heart race and my feet want to run away and he was just what I needed.
Precious Anathema Page 6
