Precious Anathema (10 page)

“
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.

“
Would you come back with
me in a few days?” I hugged him tight from behind and lay my face
against his chest.

“
Always, I will always come
back with you.”

EIGHT

I made my way into the Estate with a
spring in my step and his smell on my breasts, all the while
looking to the air till I was safe inside. I ran through the
parlor, into the sitting room where I found Freya reading one of
her herb books and sat down across from her, patiently waiting as I
tapped my foot on the floor. She spoke without glancing up from her
book.

“
I can tell you have
something important to tell me young lady so I will play.” She
closed her book and then looked up at me with a grin, which quickly
changed to pale white. I froze up, she knew what I had done at the
river I just knew it. I started to open my mouth and explain that I
didn’t actually do it, that maybe it just seemed that way in her
vision when she stood up.

“
You saw her; you saw the
Lechuza didn’t you?” I was suddenly confused, she didn’t see or
didn’t care what I had been doing with Xander, but what the hell
was she talking about?

“
Her, who? And what is a
lechuza?” Freya sat down and looked out the window.

“
The lechuza is a legendary
‘bird witch’ known to prey on men at night. She has been seen for
over a hundred years. She is not just a bird witch though, she is
Cora and she has come back for you.” I didn’t understand what that
meant,
come back for me
.

“
Does she want to hurt me
or help me Freya?” She shook her head and walked to the
window.

“
Honestly I don’t know, the
only writings I have seen tell that she will return when the curse
is near its end because then she will find peace, the problem is I
don’t really know if that is what she wants. The tales say that she
was a monster to men while she was alive, just like her sister and
she might like being a monster in her afterlife as well, and you
could end that for her.” I shuttered in my seat, this
thing
that I saw was
huge and made me feel cold just to look at it, and I couldn’t
imagine it wanted to find peace.

“
We have to get everyone
together, and you have to start learning about your gifts now
before we find ourselves in a mess we can’t get out of.” She walked
out of the room and to my surprise I saw her walk into the garden,
she was talking to Israel and he quickly headed to the guest
house.