This Curse

NINE



I floated naked above the ground glowing like a living candle. A star plucked from the heavens. The night was cool. Wolves lounged lazily on the ground below my feet, their beautiful coats shinning in the moonlight. Once in a while my toes would skim through a silky pelt as an animal moved beneath me.

I was a goddess, worshiped for my power, and desired for my body and my blood.

No glamour hid my beauty. No force kept me in place. I was free and where I knew I needed to be.

A dainty throne of gold and bone sat close to where I hovered, its masculine twin gleamed next to it. I felt his presence. Hot and powerful, he was beyond my ability to identify. He was there, I felt him, but he hid in shadow.

A chalice made of silver sat on a table in the middle of the clearing. The table was slender and towered high above everything else. In the chalice was my blood.

Mixed among the wolves were men. Their naked bodies were covered in dirt as they lay among their furrier companions. As I gazed at the ground before me, my eyes found a shape that did not belong. She was familiar, yet I didn’t know her. She was sitting close to the table. Her long blonde hair was a dirty tangled mess. Her clothing was torn, exposing her pale skin through the shredded gaps. Her eyes were on me, pleading silently and then they moved off to watch the struggling infant in her arms.

Shock and realization hit me and I searched the crowd. There, as if brought forth by my thoughts alone was the body of Seth. He was lying prone on the ground; his silvery blood flowed from several deep gashes all over his naked form. A man appeared and knelt by his side. He began slicing into Seth’s ruined back with a wicked blade. I felt my stomach lurch. The man’s body was as black and burnt as charcoal. His flesh slowly flaked and floated away like ash in the wind as he worked on Seth. The man turned, his dried eyes rolled in their sockets to focus on me. My body dropped to the ground like a rock as Lucian’s eyes stared out at me form the horror of the man’s tortured face.

I woke drenched in sweat. My fluffy quilt was twisted around my legs in impossibly tight knots. I twisted and kicked the blankets to release myself. I was a mess. The vision had come to me again, but this time I wasn’t prepared. I’ve never had a vision assault me like that. And who the hell was that woman? She had to be important. And what was with the infant?

What the hell?

Why couldn’t I just get a vision that said, “Hey, Grace, that man over there is the bad guy and over here is the good one, and this is what you need to do.” Was that too much to ask? But, I knew why. It was what I always found myself preaching. Balance. It all came down to balance and that scared the shit out of me because that meant that good didn’t always triumph over evil. Sometimes it was evil’s turn. I just hoped that this time, evil wasn’t next in line.

I wrapped myself in my fuzzy robe and pulled on a pair of long fluffy socks. My feet slipped and slid on the hardwood floor as I made my way to the kitchen. I loved the floors for this very reason. It made me feel like a kid again. Running and sliding in my socks on my way to get a big fat bowl of chocolate cereal. Back then I lived for Saturday morning cartoons. Cripes, I thought to myself as my coffee sputtered noisily out of my favorite instant coffee maker, if I knew then what I know now, maybe I would have paid better attention to those cartoons. What would Scooby Doo do?

I stirred in way too much creamer and took a sip of the strong brew. I cringed at the sweetness and smiled. No doubt, I could turn the TV on now and take a few notes. That show was as immortal as Seth.

I had overslept, no doubt thanks to the crazy vision that smacked me so lovingly upside the head. The sun had already worked its way halfway across the sky and I wasn’t even dressed yet. I made short work of getting ready. Night would soon rear its ugly head and I had no desire to face the shit-storm raging my way.

I wish I had the ability to just erase Voltaire’s existence. But he was a demon, and that meant that he was beyond my ability to control. For some reason, he has the ability to repel my magic. I don’t know how or why exactly, there are no other Madea to ask, so again I get the joy of muddling through and making mistakes.

I sat on one of my tall swivel stools in my kitchen with my cup of coffee and tried to organize my thoughts. I looked up and with a thought, I produced a clear piece of paper, it floated in midair. Only the ghostly outlines of the paper were visible. On it, I wrote in bright, white letters and in a sort of cluster.

In the center I wrote ‘my blood’ and circled it and then branching off of that word, I wrote ‘theft’ and ‘power’. Then off of the word ‘power’, I wrote down the words ‘wolves’ and ‘Voltaire’.

Further down in their own little circles, I wrote two words, ‘Friends’ and

‘Enemies’. Under friends, I wrote the name, Seth with a question mark. I was never one hundred percent sure with that man. Then under enemies, I wrote Voltaire, Patrick, and wolves.

I sat for a long time sorting items and names. Placing circles around words and then lines branching out, all over until I had what looked like an even bigger mess than I had started out with in my head. But it was organized and gave me a little more clarity.

“If you are practicing your magical abilities, I have to say I am a bit disappointed.” I jumped at the sound of Seth’s voice.

“What are you doing scaring me like that?” I screeched, clutching my chest as my heart raced frantically. I had been at it for hours and must have lost all sense of time. “I’m organizing my thoughts so that we can get a better idea of what our next move should be.” I stood and walked a slow circle around my work. It was pretty cool, actually.

Seth moved closer, his silvery eyes reflecting the thin ghostly lines of my handy work. I flipped on the kitchen light and smiled as he jerked in response to the harsh glow.

“You have done well, Sweet. I see you have lined things up in tidy little circles. Do you feel better now that your mind has been emptied?” He turned and looked a question at me.

I shrugged and sat back down. “Yes, actually, I do. I know that Voltaire is the one responsible for taking the blood and the wolves are working with him. I know that the wolves want me. For what exactly, I’m not one hundred percent sure but I know for sure that it isn’t good.”

“Oh yes, Sweet, of that you can be sure. But one thing surprises me. Lucian isn’t listed here at all? Not under friend,” he cocked his head to the side, “not under enemy. Are you so conflicted?” Seth stepped closer to my stool and I turned it so that my knees became a barrier between his body and mine.

“I’m reserving judgment, Seth. Having some wild sex does not make you a bad person. Yes, it was shocking and hard to believe. I mean let’s face it; I always pictured Lucian as a generous and sensual lover.” I leaned back, bracing my elbows on the counter behind me.

“I am going to ignore that entire sentence, Sweet.” Seth took the seat beside me and turned. “Fix your eyes, Grace. Now.”

“Huh? What?” I stammered, thrown off kilter. “What’s wrong with my eyes? And, um, you called me Grace?” I frowned at him in confusion.

“I know, now, that you must be hiding so much more from me and I am not asking for it all. I only want what you have already given. Please, they are so like my own. We are the same, Sweet. Let me see those pieces that reflect our kind.” He turned toward me. His angelic face was so sincere, almost sad.

“We're not the same, Seth.” I rested my hand on his arm as I tried to make him understand. “I changed you, yeah, but you’re really not a full Madea. There is no ‘our kind’.”

He curled his lip, “You are entirely too arrogant for one being, Grace.” He glared, “You refuse to see that you and I are more similar than you fear.”

“Wow, that was harsh.” I stepped back, annoyed. “What the hell do you want from me? I can’t run around with my Madea parts flashing all over. I’m way too alien. People will freak.” I stood and went to the refrigerator. I grabbed an apple and turned.

Seth was an inch from my face. His breath was warm when he spoke. “You have more power in your little finger than an entire city of witches and vampires put together!” he growled. “The pathetic thing, Sweet, is that you are weaker than the smallest infant because you are terrified to use it! You cripple yourself and drive me to the point of madness!”

He slammed me against the refrigerator and snarled, “You refuse to show your true self and let the opinions of mortals guide your every move. Use your magic. Numb them! Something so small, yet you cringe! Your morals are going to get you killed and possibly me as well! Not to mention the thousands of people on this miserable little planet that will be tortured if Voltaire succeeds with what ever the hell he is planning. You, Sweet, are all that stands in his way. You! Do you understand? Take a chance. Use your power. Stop hiding behind your fear, because you and I both know it is nothing but a sad excuse. I demand you open your eyes, Sweet. You are blinded by your ignorance and your arrogance.”

He grabbed the apple from my hands and walked over to where my pretty chart floated serenely. Then, with a wave of his hand, the name ‘Lucian’ appeared under the word ‘enemy’.

I stared, unable to form words.

He turned and faced me. “Things aren’t going to remain the same simply because you want them to.” He took a huge bite out of the apple and tossed it back to me as he turned and left the room.

I felt my mouth drop open as I stared at the apple. Seth ate food? How was that possible? I dropped the apple. It rolled about three inches to lay forgotten as I ran after him.