In Rapture (Destined) (20 page)

Or
so Malinda thought. After uttering her words to the ghost the knife soared
through the air toward her, like the talons of a predatory bird that had found
its dinner. Malinda took a deep breath and conjured a wall of wind that
jettisoned the knife back toward Maria. It landed in the wall with a twang, but
the waves of impact made it loosen its hold, then fall harmlessly to the floor.
“Is that all you have?” Malinda crossed her arms in challenge and waited to see
what the ghost would do next. A large wail left the specter’s lips and a wave
of darkness shot forth from the cavity of her mouth. It blasted across the
room, pierced her golden shield, and knocked Malinda to the ground with such
force that she lost her breath. When she looked up the ghost had disappeared.

Malinda
trembled in awe of the moment. Clearly she had underestimated the ghost. She
took a deep breath and stood up. She picked up the doll and its severed head,
then walked over to retrieve the knife from the floor. She replaced the knife
to its original spot on the desk and sat down to think. Why did a ghost choose
to say earthbound? Maria did not seem to hold an affinity for her child. Did
the specter still hold affection for Grant? Malinda really needed to figure out
what was holding her here. Until she did, one thing was clear. They were going
to need a lot more salt.

Chapter 25

The
next morning they all sat around the breakfast table. Grant was entertaining
Sophia with tales of his childhood and she was adoring every moment of his
attention. Malinda sat quietly transfixed with the moment. She felt the rise
and fall of the gentle love that hummed through her body as she took in the charming
scene before her. Grant was a great father. She wondered why she had ever
thought differently. Yes, it was true that he had ignored Sophia, but it was
not something he had done purposefully. She knew he had simply gotten caught up
in revenge for Maria’s death. She wondered if finding the perpetrator would
cure this hold that his past had over his life. She might be able to vanquish
the ghost that ran through these halls, but what good would that do if her
memory still haunted his mind?

When
Desiree came to take Sophia for her lessons Grant turned to Malinda for the
first time that morning. “Malinda?”

“Hmm?”
Malinda was still staring off into space when she heard his voice. “I’m sorry,
what?”

“I
have to go.” Grant did not want to leave her so soon after his return, but the
fact that the Lair had attacked her on his land did not settle well with him.
It meant they would and could strike at any moment. He had to get the news of
the attack to Marshal.

“Why?”

“Because
Marshal needs to know about the attack, Malinda.”

“And
if you go away from here, who will keep them from attacking again?” It was not
the fact that Malinda was worried about an attack. It was that she really did
not want him to leave again, but did not feel safe expressing those words. When
she had returned to bed last night Grant had awakened, and every inch of him
had been alive. They made love into the early hours of the morning and when the
sun finally rose over the hills she was curled up in his warm embrace. She
wished she could wake up like that every day for the rest of her life; feeling
safe, loved and protected. And while he had never mentioned any sort of love to
her, his nearness offered her a comforting balm that allowed her to hope that
someday he would.

“You
will, of course.” A sly smile covered his face, for he knew that if Malinda
wanted to argue with his last comment she would be denying her abilities to
protect her family. He had faith in her; he knew she would keep Sophia safe.

“But
Grant, you just got home and—”

“And
what? You missed my smiling face?”

Malinda
looked to the ground uncomfortably. She wished she could admit her feelings,
wished she could cast her proclamation of love to the world, but she dared not
risk it. “I do get lonely, Grant. I feel so isolated here.”

“I
promise I won’t be gone for long, Malinda.” Grant rose from the table and
walked over to where she sat. He gathered her face in his hands and gave her a
long tantalizing kiss. “And Malinda?”

“Yes,
Grant?”

“I’ll
miss you too.”

Her
heart leapt in joy at his words for a moment before she realized he had not
really said what she wanted him to say. It was nice that he would miss her. Not
all husbands actually missed their wives when they were away so it was a start,
but it was certainly not an admission of love. She looked back up into his eyes
and smiled wickedly. “I’ll keep the bed warm for you, husband.” She reached up
and untied the strip of leather that held his blond hair tightly behind his
head. She wrapped her fingers in his hair and pulled him down to a kiss that
made the air sizzle between them.

Grant
pulled away slowly, his breathing erratic. “Well, perhaps I don’t have to leave
right away.” He held his hand out to her and hauled her up from her chair. They
climbed stairs that seemed to go on forever, reaching the top in moments that
had somehow turned into an eternity. When they made their way into the bedroom
the two maids in the hallway shared a secret smile before moving swiftly away
from the door.

Grant
had departed long before Malinda could bring herself to leave their room. She
felt a peaceful stillness inside, a calmness she had never felt before. She had
spent so much time finding ways to push her feelings further inside her that it
was surprising that allowing them to the surface was not as unsettling as she
thought it would be. She remembered all the men from her village who had
attempted to win her affections to no avail. To be honest though, they had
really been boys at the time and it had been easier to push them away. There
had been no fear that she would fall desperately under love’s everlasting
embrace. It had worked for so long, almost a lifetime, but the lover that had
begun to fill her dreams had hypnotized her nights and had haunted her
throughout the day until her every waking moment was filled with thoughts of
the mysterious man. The dream lover had become a reality that was infinitely
more than she could ever have asked for or ever thought she needed. Grant was
no boy, not like the others; he was all man from the top of his sparkling blond
hair, down his well worked body, to the tips of the toes confined in his dark
leather boots. And while she felt more comfortable with her emotions than
before, Malinda knew that it would still be some time before she exclaimed her
love to Grant. He was not the kind of man that accepted love easily, especially
with his past shadowing his every movement.

Malinda
made her way to the nursery and was surprised to see that the furniture had
finally arrived. Sophia was running around the room looking at all the
wonderful things that now covered up the once empty space. Her smile lit up the
room much clearer than the sun’s rays streaming through the window and it
melted Malinda’s heart. She held out her arms and Sophia raced into them. “Well
hello there, Sophia. Do you like the nursery?”

“Mama,
look! Come here!” Sophia tugged on her arm and pulled her toward the large
dollhouse that sat in the corner. “A house!”

“So
it is!” Malinda sat with Sophia and they played with the tiny furniture and
dolls for as long as the little girl would sit still.

When
Desiree came to take Sophia down for her nap Malinda stayed within the nursery.
She wanted to sketch a scene on the large wall that faced the window. Malinda
hoped to use some of the paints to make a brightly colored wall that lit up
when the sun shone through the glass windows on the opposite wall. She drew a
unicorn lying beneath a large weeping willow. She then sketched a rainbow that
traveled from one side of the wall to the other. She was in the middle of
drawing a pot of gold when a loud crash sounded in the hallway. The walls
around her seemed to tremble and the hair on back of her neck rose with tiny
pricklings that warned her that Maria was up to no good yet again.

Malinda
walked to the doorway and glanced into the hall. Maria’s ghostly form was at
the end of the hallway and the bright white light that surrounded her flashed
every time the walls trembled. Malinda put up her shield and narrowed her gaze
at the apparition. She stepped into the hallway and gathered a ball of light in
her hands. Malinda felt the anger that boiled just beneath the surface, a hate
that had started to grow within her at the very thought of the dead woman who
roamed the halls. The thought of the hold Maria held over Grant’s heart was enough
to steam a turnip, but the very fact that this ghost would harm a defenseless
child brought flames to her eyes. Malinda launched the ball of light toward
her, knowing that it would do nothing but scare Maria away for the moment. She
really needed to find a solution to this problem soon, for the hauntings were
becoming more frequent and dangerous.

Malinda
searched the manor, hoping to find the ghost again while also hoping she had
left them forever, but she knew that Maria would not leave that easily. She
felt so ill at ease with the atmosphere that she decided to go outside to
cleanse the residue of energy from her body. She went to the small garden just
outside the back doors and took a seat on an intricately carved stone bench.
She breathed in the stillness around her, removed her shoes from her feet, and
let her toes wriggle in the grass below her. The wind swarmed around her and
surrounded her with a peace she had been unable to find moments before.

Malinda
closed her eyes and put her hands in her lap with her palms open and facing the
sky. She sent a blessing to the animals around her and thanked them for the
ways they helped enrich the land around Wickford Manor. When her prayers were
complete she let her mind still and concentrated on creating a safe place for
her to meditate without interruption. When her aura was barricaded from the
rest of the world she felt her mind ease its heavy burdens, felt her shoulders
relax in a restful slump, and made her breathing slow. She imagined the fields
of Lena where she had met the Seven Sisters, for today she was in need of their
spiritual guidance. The deeper Malinda went into her meditation the easier it
was to let her soul glide across time and space. She found herself spiraling
through the air, light mixed in dark, and dark mixed in light as her spirit
traveled to a higher plane of existence. When she thought she could take no
more her soul came slowly down to the green fields of Lena. She searched around
her hoping to find a guiding hand, but was disappointed to find no one had come
to meet her. She sat on the grass and took in the sweet smells of the flowered
fields and waited patiently.

What
should have taken mere moments seemed to take hours, for she could not still
the loud beating of her heart. She knew the problem at once. She wanted too
much and her desires were conflicted. She wanted to win Grant’s love and she
yearned to rid him of the shadows that stalked him daily. When she was able to
voice one desire, two of the sisters appeared before her. From the colors they
wore, Malinda knew that Creda and Dinah had come to assist her. Faith and
justice would serve her well if she had the courage to ask for the assistance
she needed.

“It
is good you have come.”

“Yes,
Creda. It is good that Malinda has returned. We get so few visitors these days.
It is almost as if the ways of Lena have died out from the world. Tell us,
Malinda, how may we assist you?”

“I
need help with a ghost, actually. It’s turning out to be more complicated than
I thought it would be. I followed the advice from my readings in the Library of
Ages, but these were only temporary solutions, it seems.”

Creda
and Dinah exchanged glances before Dinah replied. Her blue dress rippled in the
wind when she spoke. “Do not despair, Malinda. Help is on the way. Some that
are knowledgeable about your problem will make their way into your life. In
return, we ask that you help them ascend. Help them find Lena so that their
beautiful light can shine upon our world. It is time for Lena to grow, time for
our daughters to fight the darkness that keeps them hidden from the world; time
to adopt others into our fold, others who may not be Lena born, but have the
capacity to add greatness to our flock.”

Malinda
nodded at the sisters before responding. She wondered who they might be
referring to, for not many women contained magic outside of the magic of Lena.
She would have to keep a better eye on the world around her. “I will do my best
to teach them, your graces. If they know how to astral project, then reaching
Lena shall be easy. If they do not, then I will find a way to lead them here.
You have my word.”

The
sisters smiled at her and waved farewell before they shimmered into tiny lights
before her. Malinda was content to know that help would be finding her very soon.
Until that day arrived she would continue to ward off the spirit the best that
she could. Perhaps learning how to tolerate its existence and being able to
ignore it would serve her better than fighting it off on a day to day basis.
She would create a necklace for Sophia that would ward off any unwanted
spiritual energy. She would attach a string to a tiny salt-filled glass vial.
If the salt protected her room, perhaps carrying it around with her at all
times would keep her from being attacked. If this helped Sophia remain
untouchable and kept her safe from the ghost’s icy talons, then Malinda would
be better able to ignore the spirit entirely. It might be a small plan, but if
it worked it did not matter how small the idea was. Sometimes the best-laid plans
succeeded because one small idea inspired greatness. Malinda smiled sadly
before releasing her soul back to her body. She truly enjoyed every moment she
spent in Lena and missed it the moment she left.