Precious Anathema

by T. L. Manning

  *

  Walking into the estate I felt a glow about me I had never had before, I felt beautiful and confident for the first time in my eighteen years, I was becoming the woman I wanted to be and I knew what I had to do. I heard feet shuffling from the sitting room and Eris almost screamed when she ran into the parlor and saw my face.

  “Yay, you got laid!” I tried to laugh but started to choke as she grabbed me and started jumping up and down. I pushed her away and caught my breath.

  “No Eris, I didn’t get laid!” Her eyes were wide in disbelief.

  “Don’t lie to me young lady, women have that glow for one reason, and that comes from the big O.” I had never had the bog O so I certainly didn’t know what she was talking about, but I couldn’t imagine that it felt better than I did at this moment so she was probably right about my glow, just not why I had it.

  “I am not lying, we talked and kissed and that’s it I swear.” She grabbed my arms and looked me in the eye with a very solemn face.

  “Delilah, I have to ask you something and it’s very serious, have you ever had your toes curl from sex?” I started to walk off and she grabbed my arm. “I am serious, have you?” I turned around, not that it was any of her business but I knew she wouldn’t leave me alone until I answered her.

  “No Eris, I haven’t. I told you on the way here I have not had very much experience with sex and I use the term experience loosely at that, I don’t think three minutes would make any woman’s toes curl.” She let go of my arm but her face went from sorry to excited.

  “That is something I think Xander will have to change for you honey, if he can make you glow like this from a kiss I can’t wait to see you after he worships you.” She winked and walked away as I heard laughter from the stairs. I looked up and of course Selene was leaning over the railing and heard everything. I rolled my eyes at her and couldn’t hold it in.

  “I am starting to think you are a cockroach, every time I turn around your there, and then you scatter as quickly as you came.” Without missing a beat she stopped laughing and looked me in the eye.

  “At least I can say I came, maybe I should pay Xander a visit so he can spend some time with a real woman before he has to babysit you again.” I walked up the stairs and passed her without a look, but she wouldn’t stop. “I wonder if he gets paid extra to be a nanny for Gram.” She started walking down the stairs when I heard her yell out in pain, looking over the railing I saw Freya in the parlor. She had heard everything and now Selene had to deal with her. I went to my room and shut the door, the sun was setting and from my window I could see that Xander had put lights under my window so I could see the garden at night. I collapsed in a chair when I noticed a large book on my bed; a little hesitant I stood up and went to the bed. The book looked very old and fragile but I sat down and opened it up. It was a journal, it was Emma’s journal and it was in my room. This was going to be a long night and I wished I had a coffee maker in my room as I began reading. It told the story from her side, all of it. The heat the love the passion that she shared with Jim, the hatred she knew her mother had toward her. Being treated more like a slave than a daughter and even the death of her mother. Before I knew it I looked out my window and the sun was coming up, I had been up reading all night and still hadn’t gotten to the part I needed to know about, no one was telling me what I had to do to break this curse, and as the sun came through my window I drifted off to sleep. I dreamed of walking through the most beautiful garden with Xander, amazing hedges everywhere the eye could see, they rose higher and higher as we walked until I couldn’t see over them, it was a beautiful rose smelling maze of hedges. Xander and I walked hand in hand, smiling and stealing kisses I had never felt so happy, and then I lost the feeling of his touch and his image started to fade from my mind as the sky became darker around me, and the hedges seemed to grow even taller and as I walked they almost seemed to move, to confuse me. I turned around to get out of the garden but a wall was behind me where I had just walked, I saw an opening and began running. The sky was almost black and I had to use my hands to feel for openings in the maze. I screamed for Xander but only heard a woman’s laughter and men screaming for help, I ran to help them but the sounds got farther and farther from me the faster I ran, the sounds of men screaming rang through my ears as I ran, scared and lost I fell on the ground. The hedges began to close around me, I was so tired I just lay on the ground crying, begging for help. I felt the branches around my feet and hands, climbing like vines up my arms and legs. I tried to struggle free and they tightened around me up to my waist and then my ribs, I panicked and tried to get up again, they tightened again and I felt a stab of pain shoot through my body as I heard a cracking noise. They were breaking my ribs, I screamed out as I felt them creep up my neck. Everything went black as I tried to yell out but no sound left my mouth.

  “Help me someone please!” I awoke with Eris and Carna standing over me in my room. I was on the floor and had a horrible pain in my chest. I had fallen out of bed during my dream. Carna reached down to help me to my feet.

  “Honey, you have been in here screaming for five minutes are you ok?” As she touched my hand to help me on my feet she let go sending me back onto my ass, eyes wide and a look of terror on her face. “Delilah, you saw it didn’t you?” She backed up, looking scared.

  “What did I see Carna, I had a hell of a nightmare but what does that have to do with anything?” A voice I recognized came from the hall said it all, and I felt faint as Freya came into the room.

  “It wasn’t a dream Ella; it was the first clue to where you need to go for the cure.”

  SEVEN

  The Cure, they made it sound like cough medicine only this medicine could kill me and apparently from my dream that was its intention. I sat in my room alone all morning, thinking about my nightmare, thinking about my decision. I had sent everyone away once I realized what Freya was telling me and hadn’t spoken or seen anyone since. I wanted to sneak out my window and walk back to Nebraska where I was an average, awkward girl. I wanted to crawl in my bed and forget about everything, but my fear of sleeping wouldn’t let that happen again for some time. I heard a knock at my door and a note slid underneath, I picked it up and it simply said

  ‘Can we come in sweets? –Aunts’

  I opened the door and walked back to my bed where I plopped and hugged my pillow. They both walked in without a word. Kali had a beautiful cup of coffee for me and Carna had a muffin and a smile as they sat at the foot of my bed. Kali took a deep breath and just started telling me about the cure.

  “We have decided we are not going to let you suffer anymore, you need to know what the cure is, where it is and what is expected of you Hun. Freya thinks we need to give you more time but this curse is clearly messing with you already, and that means it knows you are here to kill it Ella so the more you know the better it will be for everyone, even if you decide not to do it.” I heard a lawn mower out my window and couldn’t help my head from turning, seeing him outside my window made me smile and my Aunts saw me light up at the sight of him which changed the subject immediately.

  “Ella, I know that we are a little different than your mom in many ways, but Xander is an amazing young man from a very loving and loyal family, if we were you we would have jumped on that already, and yes we know you haven’t and we know why.” I blushed as Carna took my hand. “You know we aren’t trying to embarrass you right? We have always talked to our girls this way because of the curse; we always had to be open with them. You are a grown woman and you are an amazing one at that honey, you deserve to let your guard down and have some fun.” Carna winked at me as she looked out the window and started fanning herself, Kali laughed and pushed her off the bed, and it was just what I needed to relax a little. Laughter was the cure all for me, and my aunts already knew that it seemed. Carna crawled back up to the bed and we calmed down as she shoved Kali and sat back down.

  “Ella, do you want the truth?” I nodded, I did but I didn’
t at the same time. Eventually I had to know so I took a breath and let Carna talk.

  “The truth is that the reason no one has told you what you have to do is because we don’t actually know everything. We know that it’s a series of three tasks, and that only the person who is supposed to accomplish the tasks will know when and where.” Three tasks, I thought I just needed to wiggle my nose or something and it would be done, this was getting more and more overwhelming every second. “We know that the first task has to do with the release of tortured souls honey, before you run away just listen. Cora turned so dark that she would lure men home and she would seduce them and then cast them away when she was done with them, only she didn’t send them home. She sent them to a chamber of sorts that couldn’t be escaped, it is sealed it with magic and to this day no one has ever escaped it. Freya thinks it is hidden somewhere in the basement but no one knows because none of us have ever opened the door in fear.” Kali shivered as Carna spoke.

  “I remember when we were kids Freya would tell us stories about the basement of this house, it scared us so much that we told the girls to keep them in line.” They both laughed again, and I pictured my Mom. They must have been a great threesome when they were younger. I smiled at the thought of my Mom laughing with them, and then my thoughts went right back to the words, “Chamber, hidden, sealed.” They must have seen the panic strike because they both put their arms out to me and squeezed my hands.

  “Delilah, only you can make this decision and it’s not one you need to make today so we think you need a day off from this place. Get dressed, go outside and seduce that gorgeous young man for us.” They winked and kissed my head as they walked out of my room. I flopped back onto my pillow and stared out the window, what if the dream was real and the chamber was a maze that I couldn’t escape? I knew that I was in for a lot of training if I was going to get through this and decided not to think about it for the next few hours. I threw on the cutest little outfit I owned and snuck out the west wing so no one would see me before he did. I closed the door in the music room and snuck into the garden wanting to surprise him, but I couldn’t find the lawn mower and he seemed to have vanished, I turned around to head back to the house when I turned right into him, he was so close I should have felt his breath on my neck. I jumped and screamed as he grabbed my arms and laughed.

  “Ella, you have to be the jumpiest witch I have ever met honey.” I put my hand to my chest and then laughed, trying to talk at the same time.

  “I will have to remember that sneaking up on you turns into an epic fail on my part.” He took my hand and we started walking to the large garden shed.

  “Freya asked me to go to the river and get some fiddleheads for lunch, would you like to go with me?” He opened the shed door and I was in love, the biggest four wheeler I had ever seen sat before me and I almost giggled as we walked inside. I watched him grab garden gloves, sheers and a basket so I figured we were not going to get small animals down there.

  “What are fiddleheads?” Sounded like a type of fish to me, but he wasn’t getting any fishing equipment.

  “They are a fern that grows wild here in Maine, they are delicious when they are fried up and put in salads or you can eat them with vinegar.” He stopped talking and put a blanket on the back of the quad before looking back at me. “You have never heard of fiddleheads before?” I shook my head, still staring at the blanket. “Girl I have a lot to teach you about being in New England.” He fired up the quad and without overthinking it I jumped on the back, holding him tight and feeling free.” Feeling the wind on my face, the smell of the most amazing man I had ever known making me feel warm and naughty and feeling his hand hold mine as I clutched his chest flying through the woods, alone and high on this moment I buried my nose in his back and just took in the minute. The trees, the birds, the smell of life, the giant black bear, no not a bear it is a huge human like bird watching me from a tree.

  “What the hell?” I screamed and let go of Xander as he hit the brakes and I fell off the quad. I looked up at the tree and it was gone, biggest damn bird I had ever seen, Had almost a human head and hands that came out of its wing. I jumped up off the ground in a panic.

  “Ella what’s wrong? You are scaring me.” He looked up in the sky trying to find what had me so afraid but it was gone now. I know it was watching me, I saw its eyes staring into me. I shook my head and gave Xander an embarrassing smile. I didn’t want him to know what I had seen; I had to ask Freya about it first.

  “Just my imagination running away with me again I think.” I brushed off my legs and got back on the quad before he could offer to take me back to the estate. I wanted this time with him and no man eating bird from hell was going to ruin my day, even if it had already ruined the sexy vibe I was trying to throw out. Falling on your ass will do that. I couldn’t take my eyes off the tree line as we headed back on the trail, watching and waiting to see those eyes glaring at me like I was nothing more that easy prey.

  *

  The moment I saw her look to the sky I knew that Cora was here, she was the last piece of the puzzle which meant that whether I liked it or not everything was in place, and soon enough Delilah would know what it was like in Hell. Not today though, not with me. I squeezed her hand as we made our way to the river bank, I had not told my father that I was not going through with it yet. He would banish me and I was ok with that, I wouldn’t hurt her and I won’t let anyone else hurt her either, not him, not Cora, not the Curse. I just had to find the alternative and it looked more and more like I would have to confess to Freya and ask for her help to save Delilah.

  *

  We pulled up next to the river and I began to relax, it was open and crystal clear. Nothing was going to get me here, not without being seen anyway. Xander climbed off the quad and put his hand out for me; I shook my head and threw my leg over the side like a ballet dancer.

  “Here I thought you might fall again.” He winked at me and I jumped off the quad while giving him my best smart ass smile.

  “So what are we looking for down here anyway?” I heard a zipper behind me and froze; no way was he going to make a move like this already. I crossed my arms not turning around, here I thought he was a gentleman, and all this was today was to get in my pants, and not even in a slow and seductive manner. What a pig! I turned just as I saw the most beautiful ass hit the water without a sound, perfect dive, perfect ass; oh I was in so much trouble. His head came out of the water, and the sun reflected off his skin like diamonds, each muscle defined by light and then he smiled at me as his hands moved his hair from his face.

  “Come in Ella, the water is great.” I rolled my eyes and pointed at the pile of clothes on the ground. “You can keep your clothes on honey, I just can’t swim in my boots and jeans, I would sink but you will dry before we go back.” I lowered my hand feeling bad that I had assumed he had other intentions. I took off my sneakers and socks and stood up, watching him swim around, paying me no attention at all. That was not going to fly, I unbuttoned my shorts and quickly pulled them off, my tank came next and he was still swimming. I quickly got into the water without him noticing that I was half naked. I had to admit feeling a little upset that he hadn’t even tried to peak, he heard me swimming towards him and turned around with that beautiful smile of his.

  “I wanted to give you some privacy in case you decided to join me, isn’t the water great?” He reached out and put his arm around my bare waist, pulling me close to him. Our bare skin touching in the water, I wrapped my legs around him to keep him close and remembered that he was naked as I felt something move over my underwear. I must have blushed because he lost his smile and looked very serious.

  “Ella, I want you to know that I have no intention of ever trying to trick you or push you into having sex with me, I am here and not going anywhere forever. We have our whole lives and this curse to thank for that.” My insides became warm and tingly and I moved in for the most passionate kiss of my life. Squeezing his body with my legs I let
the water from the river cool my warm spots, felt his lips trace my face, neck and breasts before finding my lips again. We stayed in the water for an hour, never moved from that spot; just let the water run over us and our lips find every imaginable place we could kiss. I had never felt so comfortable or beautiful near a man before, let alone a naked god of a man. He made me feel safe and worshiped in his arms, I had no doubt I was in love, and as the sun burned our skin I knew he had figured it out too. We finally made our way to the bank of the river and as I got out he reached up and pinched my butt with a giggle, I jumped and fell backward into him.

  “You really are jumpy aren’t you?” We laughed and then I made my way to the ridge with a little boost, I tried not to turn around as I was putting my shorts on over my wet underwear but I had to sneak a peek, he was more incredible than I imagined, and even though my mind had made a mental picture from being so close in the water, it had nothing on the real thing. He was solid and every part of him made my heart race. One part in particular made me gasp as I turned around to hide my face. That was not going to fit, I just knew it as my cheeks got hot and my legs tingled from thinking of how slow and gentle he would have to be.

  “Are you ready for getting your hands dirty Hun?” He startled me as I turned around to see him completely dressed and holding a small bag. He led me to a spot with ferns and showed me what we were looking for. We picked them till the bag was full, laughing and teasing each other with looks and winks, it was perfect and I almost wished that he had taken me down here to lure me into having sex with him, because I would. Yes I would. I had nearly forgotten about the giant, bear bird thing when I heard a loud shriek from the sky above us. Sure enough I saw the wing before it vanished behind the trees, in a panic I threw everything on the quad and told Xander I had forgot something and we had to get back now. He didn’t ask any questions, I wondered how he hadn’t heard the scream but we just packed up and headed out.