This Curse: (The Grace Allen Series Book 2 ) (10 page)

I walked Seth to the door. He placed a chaste kiss on
my cheek and disappeared.

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.

The most annoying thing about running after a man is
that it makes you look desperate. Seth was at the door and it appeared he was
leaving. “Stop!” I shouted. When he turned the knob and threw the door open, I
sent a jolt of power out, it slammed into the wall beside his head, freezing
him in his tracks.

“Please?” I whispered.

“Why, Grace?” He turned. “Why should I stay? You act
as though you are infinitely more superior. No one can be the same as you. As
if I do not know my own body? Can you blame me for hiding my changes? You treat
me like a fool who must be pitied. I have been alive longer than you could
fathom. Yet, you think that in all of that time I would not notice a change
when it came? I am not what I once was, yet you treat me as if I am some sort
of idiot child.”

Overwhelmed, I threw my hands up and shouted, “What
the hell did you expect me to do?” I closed the distance between us. “Did you
ever come out and say, ‘Hey, Grace, I’m just as powerful as you?’ No, you are
all mysterious and secretive. You hid from me just as I hide from you. If you
wanted me to welcome you as a Madea, you should have told me. God. You
are
an idiot child!”

He glared at me and turned on his heel. I ran after
him again. “Why are you so pissed?” I stopped in the middle of my driveway.
“Something else is wrong, Seth. Spill it. Enough games.”

He turned. I could feel his anger pushing at me like
a wall of heat. His eyes had bled to solid silver and his teeth were long. All
the signs of a vampire losing his temper.
Lovely!

He glared at me. Growling in frustration, he threw
his hands out. “Of course I hid it from you. Of course I lied! I am
not
as powerful as a full Madea and now, I am no longer a full vampire. You figure
it out.
This
is my curse, Grace! I have not felt the sun on my face in
centuries, but my strength and abilities as a vampire were enough of a fair
trade in my mind.
But now
,” he spun in a half circle and threw his fist
in the air. I flinched as he screamed between clenched teeth, “I know not
what
I am!” I took an instinctive step back. “I have consumed gallons of your
magical blood and yet I am still a
fucking
vampire!” He fell to his
knees, his hands rose to cover his face.

He looked lost and anguished and I felt my heart
break as he let out a deafening roar. Something in me felt his pain it was a
link. I had no idea what a maker could feel for the creature they create but I
knew one thing for sure it was strong. I ran to his side, falling to my knees
beside him, I cradled his head in my arms.

“Show me your secrets, Sweet?” he whispered, turning
his alien eyes to me. “Show me what might have been?”

“I don’t think...” I began.

Seth pulled away violently. “
Why?
You enjoy my
suffering?”

I felt my eyes well.

“I want so much to change over. I can feel it, you
know. It taunts me. Please, I have to know how close I am.” He stood and held
his hand out to me. I shook my head and moved to stand across the length of the
driveway.