Gwyneth Stevens - Enchantress Part 9

Caleb laughed. "A mhuirnin, I don't want to leave you. I'm worried sick something will happen to you when I'm gone."

My brow furrowed. "You seemed fine with it a minute ago."

"Yeah, you'd have taken my dropping everything and staying home with yo u well."

"What's that supposed to mean?"He sighed. "Gwen, you would have thrown a fit and pushed me out the door anyways."

The more I thought about it, the more I realized he had a point. I squeezed his hand gently and smiled up at him. There was so much I'd wanted to say to him. I'd been so close to telling him that I wanted to end our relations.h.i.+p, so close to throwing what we had away. Having Caleb this close to me wreaked havoc on my senses. Part of me wanted to pull him close. Another part wanted him away. I was beyond f.u.c.ked up--they'd have to invent an entire new word for me.

"I want to stay with you but I understand you better than you think. The Enchantress is running loose and while that's important--it pales compared to you."

G.o.d, the man could make me melt in an instant. "Promise that you'll be careful. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Now you know how I feel. I lost you once already. I can't go through that again." He s.n.a.t.c.hed me up and held me close to him, rocking me gently in his arms. Guilt washed over me. I'd done the unthinkable to him. I'd betrayed him with the one person he worried the most about--Pallo. Tears tried to flow, but I choked them back. Caleb looked down at me and pulled my chin up. "Baby, don't cry. I'll be back soon and we'll get to spend time planning our wedding. I've dreamt of the moment you'd be my wife for centuries."

I hugged him tighter, afraid of letting go, afraid of keeping him. How had I gotten to this point? Where did it all go wrong? And, why couldn't I fix it? Someone would be hurt in the end. My only hope was that it would just be me. Somehow, I didn't think it would work out that way though.

Chapter 10.

I had no plans on sleeping. I waited for Caleb to leave and the guys to settle in. The sun was still up which meant that I had some time to get away. My head was jumbled mess and being in the thick of the situation wasn't helping. It was moments like this that my age really showed.

Regardless how they viewed me, I was still a woman in my twenties trying desperately to figure life out. I dressed quickly and quietly, settling on a pair of jeans and a sweater.

I tiptoed down the stairs, holding my breath out of fear that the men still remaining in the house would somehow hear me. The last thing I needed was to have three vampires barricading the door and making me go back to bed. They meant well, but they were a bit over protective at times. I reached for the front door.

"Going somewhere?" I jumped and turned to see Pallo sitting on the sofa.

"I'll be back in a little bit. I just need some air." I headed out the door. I sensed him before I saw him, and knew he was right behind me.

"Pallo, I'm fine, really."

"Did you miss what the good doctor said? He wants you to rest."

"Yes, but don't you think that I'd feel better faster if I was out in the open, breathing in the glorious air?"

Yes, I said glorious--I wasn't twirling on a mountain top singing at the top of my lungs so there was still hope.

Pallo's jaw tightened. I wasn't sure if it was out of annoyance with me, or if was trying not to laugh. Okay, so the whole "fresh air" thing wasn't working out. Onto plan B--the "mature" approach. I walked out onto the front porch and into the light.

Pallo stopped a foot or two inside the door. He couldn't follow me out and I knew it. The sun would still be up for a bit, leaving him a prisoner in the house."Gwyneth, please ... do not do this."

"I need a break from it all, Pallo. I can't think straight. I can't do this anymore ... you tell me that you love me and then reject me over and over again." Reaching up, I wiped away the tears that were threatening to fall away. "Don't you understand that I'd give up everything for you--including Caleb." My words shocked me.

"Gwyneth, you are to be his wife soon. Do not talk this way. What happened between us should not have been allowed to happen. It was a...."

I didn't let him finish. "A mistake? Yeah, I seem to make a lot of those since I met you. Coincidental don't you think?" I let out a loud laugh.

The urge to cry had been replaced with the urge to smack Pallo. "I can't do this anymore. I'm tired and this can't continue."

He sighed and put his hand on the door. "I understand but something is wrong with you and I do not want any harm to come to you. Stay home and I.

will go as soon as you are feeling better."

I turned, expecting him to add more to that. He didn't. That wasn't enough for me. It looked as though nothing Pallo was willing to offer would ever be enough. There were things I could live with and then there was that. I blew him a kiss and headed towards the black car that had been a gift from Pallo.

"Gwyneth."

Don't look back ... don't look back.

Glancing in the car's window, I saw the keys laying on the driver's seat.

It was my lucky day. I opened the door and got in.

Don't look back ... don't look....

I glanced up and Pallo looked livid. As much as I hated p.i.s.sing him off, I hated the idea of continuing with this inner turmoil more. Rolling the window down, I leaned my head out a bit. "I'll be back before dark."

I didn't wait for a response. There was nothing short of "run away withme" that I wanted to hear from him. I drove down the stone lane and checked the time. I had just under an hour to clear my head. That should just about do it. I peeled out, turned right, and headed down over the bridge.

Fifteen minutes later, I pulled up in front of Nana's house. Nana was Ken's grandmother, not mine, but I loved her as if she were my own. She was a witch and that meant she understood what I was going through.

Coming into my powers was scary and Nana had been there for me every st ep of the way.

I pulled into her single car driveway and parked. I had to laugh when I thought of all the times Ken had tried to get his grandmother to move to a condo or a residential home. She flat out refused to go. I suspected strongly that her ties to the witching world and her love for her deceased husband kept her there. I knew something Ken didn't. I knew that his grandfather still made frequent visits to the house. I knew, not because his grandmother had told me, but because I'd seen him one day while I helped her harvest herbs. He'd been the first and only ghost I'd ever seen. He'd scared the h.e.l.l out of me. Turns out, he was harmless. In fact, he was rather comical.

Ken's grandfather had sat in the living room on the day I met him and made a countless jokes about Ken being too uptight and how now that he was dead he could look in on Ken anytime he wanted. He then proceeded to tell me that he'd peeked in on Ken while we were engaged and how that was the most "excitement" he'd had in a long time. Nana had thrown a book at him--it pa.s.sed right through him.

"Are ya' gonna' sit out there on your a.r.s.e all day or are ya' comin' in?"

Glancing up, I saw Ken's grandmother standing in her doorway. Her four foot ten inch tall body barely took up half of the s.p.a.ce. I jumped out of the car and ran to her.

"Nana!"

She opened the door and I embraced her. She had a strong, uncharacteristic smell to her. I pulled back and looked in the house."Nana, what are you doing? The place smells like a cross between a skunk and licorice."

She waved her plump hand in the air. "Oh, that's just the anise hyssop I pulled out of the garden a few minutes ago. Come see."

She pulled me towards her kitchen. I walked in and found the counters covered in fresh herbs. She already had herbs, in various stages of drying hung throughout the house. I didn't see how she could possibly need more. I walked over and found the source of the smell--anise hyssop.

It was lying on the edge of the sink in a basket. She'd cut it into lengths of six inches. A few of them had sprouted tiny purple flowers. I picked one up and brought it to my nose. Saying it smelled strong didn't even cover it, saying it reeked pretty much summed it up.

"What's it for? Are you trying to ward off the entire world?"

Nana came up next to me. "It's the base for a purifyin' liquid I'm workin' on."

"You have a spell that tastes like black licorice?"

She patted my hand and summoned me to the table. "No, don't be silly, Shorty." She called everyone Shorty. "I didn't intend to get that variety, I ordered plain hyssop, but Betty showed up with this instead.

That's just as well, the other smells like a skunk."

I knew Nana's friend Betty, they both belonged to the same coven. I also knew how flaky Betty could be. I looked over at the hyssop and laughed.

Yes, bringing a flavored one seemed like a very Betty thing to do.

"Do you want some tea?"

"Yeah, sounds great. So, what exactly are you trying to cleanse?"

She ignored me and poured us both a cup of tea. I watched her grab some ground honeysuckle from her jars on the counter and toss it into my cup.

She'd been doing that since the day I met her.

"Nana, the honeysuckle isn't going to make Ken and I get back together.

He has somebody else now. We both do."She turned and smiled, her blue-gray eyes sparkling. "Here you go ... I know that the two of ya' have found others, but I do it all the same.

Besides, I kind of like that blond boy, although he has hair like a girl.

His backside is nice and well ... when I caught him out in your yard workin' with his s.h.i.+rt off ... well, Shorty, ya' don't need me to tell ya' ... he's a fine boy indeed."

I laughed, she was right. Caleb did have hair like a woman. In fact, his hair was better than most women's. And, he was a fine man indeed.

Nana's tea was always wonderful. I took a few sips and enjoyed the moment. "So, what exactly does honeysuckle do?"

"Why it makes ya' dream of your true love, of course."

I fought to keep from spitting the tea across the table, instantly thinking about my dreams of having s.e.x with Pallo. Nana gave me the "something's up, spill the beans" look, and I did. I told her about the robed men chanting around the altar. I told her about Pallo being there.

I even told her that we'd had intercourse in the dreams. That should have embarra.s.sed me, it didn't. I knew Nana too well to think she'd be judgmental. When I got to the part about Pallo having identical dreams, she stopped sipping her tea and stared hard at me.

"How ya been feelin' lately? You look a little pale?"

"Not well. I've been having stomach cramps, headaches, nausea, fever, chills. Plus, I'm gaining weight at an alarming rate. It's weird because I was told that my faerie blood prevented me from gaining too much weight. Anyway, you name it, I've got it. At first, I thought I had the flu then a doctor came out to see me and thought it was sort of a mystical infection. He gave me some magic-laced antibiotics. I don't know though."

Nana nodded. "I'll call the girls."

Chapter 11.

By the time I left Nana's every member of her coven had been alerted to the dreams that Pallo and I were having. It was very odd knowing that many women knew that I'd dreamt of having s.e.x with Pallo and he'd returned the favor.

I drove as fast as I could without going over the speed limit. It had been dark out for almost two hours already by the time I left Nana's. I'd lost track of time retelling the story to each woman on the phone. I knew Pallo was going to be p.i.s.sed. I just hoped he'd get over it quickly--I doubted it.

I'd left my purse at home and in it, my cell phone. I knew that it would be best to call home. I wanted to try to ease the tension before I got there. I'm a chicken, what can I say?

I pulled over at a gas station and got out to use the pay phone. I thought about every communicable disease known to man as I put the receiver up to my mouth and was thankful that I was immortal. Death by way of a telephone infection didn't sound fun at all. I had to make a collect call to my own house, which seemed silly, but without my purse, I had no money.

James was the one who accepted it. He spoke in a hushed tone, "Where the b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l are you?"

"I'm fine. I'm at a gas station just outside the city limits. I'll be home in like ten minutes. I just wanted to make sure Pallo knows I'm fine."

I noticed a man in a brown car pulling up. The man got out and began filling his tank. I did a polite smile as he glanced over at me.

"Pallo's been pacing at the end of the lane since the sun went down. He stood at the door like a d.a.m.n statue for an hour prior to that. I half thought the bloke was going to walk out into the d.a.m.n daylight for you.

Why the h.e.l.l did you take off?""James, I'm sorry. I needed a break, I needed to...."

Some people were raising their voices near the cas.h.i.+er and I was having a hard time hearing James. I had to stop and turn my body in towards the phone.

"Gwen, you should have waited for one of us to go with you. Pallo's been a...."

A loud bang came from behind me. A woman screamed and someone shoute d. I turned and looked. The man from the brown car was holding a gun. There was a body of a man on the ground and the gunman was aiming at the cas.h.i.+er. She was backing up slowly with tears in her eyes.

"Gwen? Gwen?" I heard James' voice through the phone.

"Oh my G.o.d!" I pulled the phone away from my ear still shocked by the events unfolding before me.

The man from the brown car turned his attention to me and then back to the cas.h.i.+er. I took a step forward. I didn't know what else to do. I wasn't sure how much damage a bullet would do to me, but I stood a h.e.l.l of a lot better chance of surviving a gunshot then a mortal. I healed fast I knew that much. I was guessing that I wouldn't be able to heal a shot to the head or heart, but I wasn't positive. The man's hand shook and if I had to take a stab, I would have said he was struggling to put the gun down.

I picked up on the faintest sound--it was a female's voice, singing in a high-pitched tone. I thought I'd been the only one to hear it, but the man looked up into the night sky, closing his eyes as he rocked back and forth to it. He looked as though he was dancing, but there was no music.

There was only the eerie sound of the woman singing.

The man's head jerked up and I watched his finger pull back on the trigger. I put my hand out and called on my power faster than I'd ever done before. I heard myself speaking, but I didn't recognize the language. My power thrust the cas.h.i.+er out of harms way, but drew the man's attention back to me. I put my other hand up and lashed enough power out at the man to send the man airborne, but not before he firedoff another shot, this one directed at me. I watched, in what seemed like slow motion, as the bullet headed towards me. Unable to move fast enough, I braced for impact. Something struck from the side, sending me flying to the ground. My head bounced off the cement and I bit down hard. Blood poured from my lips and I pulled my head up as quickly as I could.

I looked back towards the pay phone. A man dressed head to toe in black was there, bent over, with his back to me. His head came up and I saw the dyed blue hair.

"James!"

He fell forward. Screaming, I scrambled to my feet. The cas.h.i.+er was bent over the unconscious gunman. "No! You killed him! No! G.o.d, no!"

I looked at her like she'd sprouted a third eye-ball. The guy had just tried to blow her away and she was p.i.s.sed at me?