This Curse

FOURTEEN



The house was dark but I could sense that it wasn’t empty. I scanned it again with my mind. No threats. I opened the door slowly.

She was there. Her battered body was lying in a heap on the floor of my entryway. What the hell?

I knelt down. Reaching out, I nudged her. Her sharp intake of air startled me and I floundered and fell backwards onto my ass. She shot up like a puppet on strings.

“What the hell is the matter with you?” I yelled without thinking.

She snorted and threw her hand over her mouth.

She was laughing?

“Are you insane?” I asked, stumbling to my feet.

She cocked her head and started laughing again. “I can’t help it,” she started, “I always laugh when I’m nervous and you have to admit,” she let out another snort, “it was pretty funny, you falling on your butt like that.” I leveled a look at her and she straightened, holding out her hand. “Um, you must be Grace.” She stated and I waved her hand away.

“What the hell were you doing sleeping on the floor? And where is Seth?” I glanced around the room, expecting to see him appear at any moment.

“I think he fell, I’m so sorry.” She looked miserable all of a sudden.

“He fell?” I yelled. “What the hell does that mean?” I took off and ran throughout the house calling his name. When no answer came, I stopped in front of her again.

“Tell me what happened. How are you even here?” I shook her. She was so frail that I dropped my hands and pulled away quickly. I looked at her again and then felt like a total ass. I knew she had suffered for a long time and appeared to be half starved and battered. I sighed, “Look, Seth is strong as hell. I’m pretty sure he can handle a few wolves.” I tried to project confidence, but I wasn’t all that sure, that Seth was indeed all right but this woman looked horrible. “Before you start with the story, do you want to eat something? Maybe get cleaned up?”

Her relief was visible. Moisture flooded her eyes and her lip curled up in a miserable looking smile.

I cringed, “Hold on there, Blondie,” I held up my hands. “It’s okay. No one can hurt you here, you’re safe.” I took her bony hand and led her to the table as slow and gently as I could. Her hand was so delicate I was afraid that it would just disintegrate in my grip.

She sat and watched as I prepared her a few things to eat. I wasn’t sure what her stomach could handle so I kept it pretty mild; buttered eggs, oatmeal with bananas, rice pudding, toast and the rest of a roasted chicken that I had in the refrigerator from a few nights ago.

She ate almost every drop, tearing into the food with her bare hands. I was stunned as I watched her gorge. God, those bastards must have really starved her.

She finished, leaving only a small piece of toast and the bananas. She drank two cups of green tea and almost all of my milk.

“Thanks Grace. Um, Can I take a shower?” she asked sheepishly.

I stood, resolved to the fact that taking care of her came first. “Sure, let me show you to one of the guest rooms.”

She followed closely behind as I led her through the house. Once I reached the hallway, she paused. I turned, frowning. “Is something wrong?” I asked.

“No…well. It’s just that no one has treated me like a person in so long that I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop.” She pushed her tangled hair from her face and sniffed. He fingers were long and very pale. She was as tall as I was but painfully thin. She looked like the poster child for urban malnutrition.

“You are a person. I don’t care if that person has something extra or not, are we clear?” I folded my arms and shook my head. “I know you’ve suffered, but hopefully you will learn to trust me.” I moved to go then turned back to face her again. “Do you have anyone? Family, I mean?”

She looked down and shook her head. “I had a brother, but I lost him long ago. My parents died when I was born.” She looked up; a sparkle of tears lit the corner of her eye. “I have no one. Nothing.” Her shoulders slumped, as the truth seemed to hit her for the first time.

“Well,” I sighed, knowing she wasn’t a threat or a criminal. “Welcome home then.” I smiled and took her hand, “Now let’s get you to the shower. Your funk is starting to stink up the hall.” I winked at her and opened the door to my largest guestroom.

It was one of my proudest achievements. The bed, a modest queen size, was piled with fluffy white down comforters and huge square pillows filled to bursting with fluffy feathers. Midway down the bed was just a peek of the crisp white cotton sheets that wrapped invitingly around the plump mattress. A velvety throw was the only splash of color, throwing a slightly blue reflection onto the starkness of the pure white cloud it sat upon. The wood floor boasted a dark blue rug and two plump chairs. They were arranged in front of a huge bay window that looked out at the sprawling desert. A small table sat between the chairs and on top of it, I had placed a selection of books and a scented candle.

My guest sighed and stepped carefully inside. She turned to me, “I can stay in here?”

“Yep.” I smiled and gently pushed her further into the room. “The bathroom is across the room there,” I pointed to a narrow door. “Towels and a robe are inside along with all the soap you could need. New razors, toothbrush, and hairbrush are in the vanity. Take your time.” Then I turned to her, “But don’t take too much time. I need to know what happened.”

She smiled at me and I closed the door. I took several steps away from the door and was suddenly hit with an overwhelming sense of dread. My mind screamed that I was missing something.

I took a huge breath, and tried to calm my mind. Her story had better give me answers.

***

I sat and waited for a solid hour and thought about all the possible things that could have gone wrong with Seth. Well, all right, I didn’t sit. I paced, tried to contact Seth telepathically, and tried to leave my body and search, but nothing worked. Nothing!

“I’m sorry I took so long” I heard her speak behind me. “The food didn’t sit well with me and I sorta got sick before my shower.”

“What?” I snapped, and then I stopped myself. “Shit, I’m sorry.” I sighed and flopped on my couch. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. My worry over Seth’s whereabouts was making me crabby. “You got sick?” I tried to convey concern. “Are you alright now?”

“Yeah, but I was able to keep most of what I ate. Maybe next time I’ll eat a smaller amount.” She sat next to me. Her long hair was clean and shining and her cheeks looked a little pinker. She was wearing one of the outfits I had zapped into her room a dark blue Juicy tracksuit and thick socks. It was hard to dress a complete stranger so I stuck with comfort and elastic.

“You look good, how do you feel?” I asked.

“Better, but you don’t have to do that, I know you’re anxious to hear what happened. You’ve been more than patient with me.”

I let out my breath and sat back. “I can’t reach him. He’s gone. It’s like he’s been blinked out of existence.” I pulled my feet up and wrapped my arms around my knees. I felt sick. He had to be alive.

“It all happened so fast,” she began. “I was chained to the wall in the dark. Everything felt so hopeless and then I felt something.” She looked up. “I feel it now, sitting here with you.” She eyed me and for the first time, I saw a spark of fire in her eyes. “It was you, wasn’t it?”

I smiled and shrugged my shoulders. “Just go on, please.”

“Well,” she stared off as if seeing it unfold all over again, “one moment I was alone and the next, he was there. At first, he frightened me. He was so sleek and dark. Like some dangerous cat. Then he knelt next to me and I knew he wasn’t there to hurt me. I felt goodness in him. Which is crazy because I sensed vampire as well.” She looked at me, “What is he Grace?”

“Irrelevant,” I frowned and waved my hand for her to continue.

“Alright then. Anyway, he managed to free me and collect the blood that was stolen. He must have sensed that they were coming because all of a sudden he dropped the blood and grabbed me. One second I was standing in the dark and the next I was laying on the floor in your house. He must have gone back for the blood. I can only assume that Voltaire has him. He is very powerful you know. I’ve seen his powers.” She looked at her hands. “I’ve felt his power.” She looked over at me. “I’m sure he lives. Voltaire can block the power from others, and so much more.”

I stood and began pacing. “Voltaire? So he has been around this whole time?” I looked at her. “Patrick led me to believe that Voltaire was on some mission.”

“Oh, I’m sure he’s around. His scent is everywhere, believe me if he had ever left I would have known it.” She frowned, “Don’t misunderstand me, I haven’t seen him, or anyone, really. They always dope me up when they take me for testing.” She made little quote marks with her fingers. “They’re afraid I’ll fight back I guess.” She shrugged and I raised my eyebrows in question.

“I heard they took your wolf,” I said. “So you no longer change? That can’t be useful. What other weapon could you possibly have?” I had serious doubts that this skinny little hen had the ability to threaten a hamster.

She pulled the blanket off of the back of my couch and inhaled the fluffy fabric. “This smells like home.” She sighed and wrapped it around her narrow shoulders. “I love your home, Grace.” She beamed at me.

“Thank you, now answer the question.” I watched her closely, waiting for the answer.

“Oh, I figured you could tell.” She took her attention off the blanket for just a moment. “Before I was bitten, I was a witch.” She smiled and curled onto her side.

My mouth opened in surprise. Patrick never said she was a witch.

“I figured that devil, Lydia knew. She was pretty quick to snatch me out of the pack. She’s a cruel one.” She yawned loudly and snuggled deeper into the sofa. “She knew it would be ironic to abuse me.” Another big yawn, “What with what I am and all.”

I watched her fall asleep and chewed my lip. Her final words slowly worked their way into the ever-growing puzzle in my mind. Shit! I thought as unease spun my stomach into knots. Seth was MIA and I had a mystery woman on my couch.