The Trouble With Spells

  “There’s nothing we can do about this right now. Hopefully someone will notice that we’re missing,” I said, and I popped up on my toes to give him a peck on the lips. “Until then, just try to think of this as our honeymoon in a different location while we try to come up with a new plan.”

  I forced myself to smile at him, in an attempt to cheer him up and relieve some of his stress.

  He pulled me into his embrace, wrapping his arms tightly around my waist now, smiling slightly down at me.

  “My sweet Portia, ever the optimist, aren’t you? You’re literally having the vacation from hell, yet all you concentrate on is the honeymoon part.” He looked at me with wonder and amazement in his eyes.

  “I’ve actually been greatly enjoying my honeymoon, thank you,” I replied, sliding my hands up over his shoulders toward his neck. “This is a little bump in our plans, but we’ll figure it out somehow. At least we’re still together.”

  “Yes. That is a plus,” he agreed, and his gaze flitted over my features, suddenly sparking to life with a fire I instantly recognized. “So what do you think we can do to fill the hours while we’re stuck in this place?”

  “I have no idea,” I replied with a smile, and he bent to kiss me.

  Our fear at the situation we were in tangled up in heated our exchange quickly. He kissed me hard and passionately before he scooped me up and carried me over to the bed, gently depositing me on its surface. He lay down next to me and leaned over me, just as we heard the lock scrape in the door.

  Both of us sat up abruptly.

  The metal door opened, and Fiona stepped into the room.

  “I thought the two of you might enjoy a little company now that Vance is awake,” she said, and she smiled with her hands folded primly in front of her.

  The door opened a little bit wider, and Douglas appeared, thrusting a woman into the room in front of him.

  She stumbled, a couple of feet into the space, before she caught herself, standing to push her hair back away from her face.

  Vance was off the bed in an instant.

  “Mom?” he asked, though he appeared a little leery as he took a step toward her.

  Krista Mangum’s eyes moved to his, and a thousand expressions washed over her face as she looked at him.

  “Vance?” she whispered, and her hand feathered up to her throat, tears springing into her eyes.

  She reached him in two strides, grabbing him up into her arms, kissing his face, laughing and hugging him.

  Vance grabbed her hard to him, wrapping his arms around her, and he buried his face in her soft curly hair.

  I felt my hand tremble, and I covered my own mouth, watching the two of them together, my own eyes beginning to water at the sight before me.

  When they pulled apart, tears were streaming down both of their faces.

  “Vance, I just wanted to prove to you that life here isn’t all that bad,” Fiona said with a smile, and she stepped back through the door. “Enjoy your reunion.”

  “She’s wrong,” Krista said after the door closed behind Fiona, her eyes never leaving Vance’s face. “Life here is horrible. Don’t ever let her make you think otherwise.” She paused to reach out and touch his face again, as if she were afraid he wasn’t real. “Now how did you end up here? Right in the very place I tried all these years to keep you from?”

  “It’s a long story,” Vance began, turning back toward me, pulling Krista in my direction. “Before we begin, I want to introduce you to someone, Mom. This is my wife, Portia.”

  Krista turned to look at me with widened eyes.

  “Your wife?” she exclaimed, looking back and forth between the two of us with a shocked expression. “Aren’t the two of you a little young for that?”

  Vance laughed with a slightly nervous sound.

  “It’s all part of the long story,” he said, and he smiled reassuringly at me. “But rest assured, Mom, it isn’t something I did lightly, and I truly love her with all my heart.”

  “Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Portia.” Krista smiled and stepped forward to give me a somewhat awkward hug. “Forgive me for being a bit overwhelmed. I can’t believe this handsome young man in front of me is my long-lost son, let alone that he’s married.”

  “I’m very happy to meet you,” I said when she pulled away. “Vance has missed you in his life so much.”

  “Why don’t we sit over here?” Vance suggested, gesturing to the small spot on the opposite wall of the room.

  The three of us moved together to sit at the small dining table.

  “So tell me what has happened since I last saw you,” Krista said to Vance, her eyes drinking in every detail of his face, like she was drowning with joy just looking at him.

  Vance launched into his life story, while I occasionally added things here and there, bringing things up to the present.

  “Wow,” Krista said, slumping a little in her chair. “You’ve certainly been through a lot, son,” she added before turning to look at me. “Portia, thank you so much for all that you’ve done for him.”

  “It was my pleasure. No problem at all,” I responded, casting my gaze toward Vance. “I love him.”

  Vance reached over to pat my leg affectionately, leaving his hand there, before turning back to his mom.

  “Your turn,” he said with an encouraging smile, prodding his mom to tell her side of the past.

  Krista gave a big sigh before she began.

  “Well, long story short, Damien caught up with me soon after I’d given you to Marsha. He was very angry with me, threatening to kill me if I didn’t tell him where you were. He even tortured me with his powers to try and get it out of me. I kept my mouth shut, though. By the time he was able to force me to speak, it didn’t matter anymore. I had no idea where you and Marsha had gone. That had been part of the deal to protect you. He kept me prisoner for a long time before he finally ended up bringing me here. I’ve been here ever since.”

  “How did you survive being here this long and not have them not do an exchange on you?” I asked, amazed that she appeared to be unharmed.

  Krista gave a short laugh.

  “That’s where the story starts getting kind of sick,” she replied with a small shake of her head.

  “What do you mean?” Vance asked.

  “I happened to have something they wanted. You see, I’m a descendant from the sacred line of white witches.”

  “What’s a white witch?” I asked, curious since I had never heard the term used before.

  She continued on. “A long time ago, many centuries in fact, there was a coven that called themselves white witches. They practiced only the purest forms of magic, fine tuning and improving on spells until they were completely perfect, without flaw. These witches were good in every way possible. They were, in fact, the beginning of healer witches. Witches today cannot be healers unless the blood of a white witch flows through them.”

  Vance turned to look at me as his eyes widened.

  “That means Portia is a white witch,” he said.

  “Yes. And apparently the power runs through her very strongly if she was able to heal you in the middle of a demon conversion,” Krista agreed. “That is unheard of.”

  “But my dad and grandma aren’t healer witches. Doesn’t the same blood run through them?” I asked, thinking this didn’t make sense.

  “They would be carriers, yes. But the power doesn’t manifest in every single witch that carries the blood. The power of a white witch can skip several generations at a time. That’s why it’s so rare to find someone with the gift. I could also be the reason you seem to have more control over your powers than an early novice should,” Krista explained.

  “So continue on with your story,” Vance said, totally interested in what she was saying.

  “The Cummings family has stumbled on an ancient prophecy called The Awakening. It’s a special thing that happens every few centuries. A ritual is performed, and the witch or warlock in the circle who cont
ains the highest purity of blood from the white witch ancestry is gifted with this amazing force of power. Douglas and Fiona found out about this power and decided they wanted this magic for themselves.

  “They searched for someone with a strong strain of the white witch blood and found me. Then they sent Damien for me. I had no idea that he was evil. He wooed me and courted me, winning my heart almost instantly.”

  I cringed inside at the thought. I couldn’t imagine anyone loving Damien Cummings. The nightmare moment of the kiss he had given me suddenly rose unbidden into my mind, and I found myself reaching up to wipe my mouth with the back of my hand, trying to remove the feeling with it.

  “He married me with the specific intent of having a child,” she continued, and she looked specifically at Vance. “You. Douglas and Fiona wanted to mix their blood with that of a white witch. Damien was to turn you over to them so they could drink your blood, thus mingling your powers with theirs.”

  I closed my eyes, feeling very nauseous all of a sudden.

  “Why didn’t they just drink your blood?” Vance asked. “Wouldn’t it have been more pure coming straight from you?”

  “It has to be mingled with their own blood in order for their bodies to accept it properly. The Awakening won’t bind to blood cells which have only been drunk from another. It’s the DNA it bonds to,” she explained before she moved on. “Damien got greedy, however, and decided he wanted the power for himself. He never handed you over to his parents. He made sure that you stayed hidden from them. Then I found out that he was drinking your blood, and I ran with you, upsetting everyone’s plans.

  “After your dad found me and brought me back here, they were all determined to produce another heir. Damien came to visit me often, but thankfully it seems as if I am unable to conceive again, though they’ve always held out hope that I would.”

  I really was going to be sick now, thinking of Krista and what she must have gone through at Damien’s hands.

  “So now they want Vance because they can drink his blood to gain this power?” I asked.

  To my surprise she shook her head.

  “No. Now that I’ve heard your story, I believe they have a different plan for you,” she said.

  “Which is what exactly?” Vance asked, leaning forward.

  “Think, son,” she replied, and her eyes locked with his. “You have the white witch blood running through your veins, and Portia has it stronger than anyone has seen in a great while.”

  She let the words sink in for a few seconds, and I suddenly saw Vance’s face blanch completely white.

  “No!” he said loudly, and he stood abruptly, knocking his chair over behind him. “No!”

  “What is it?” I asked, afraid because of his reaction.

  He looked at me, and I could see the dead fright in his eyes.

  “They want us to have a baby,” he replied.

  Chapter 11

  “What?” I said reaching out for the table, the room suddenly starting to reel in front of me.

  Vance knelt in front of me, grabbing me by the arms, shaking me slightly with the force of his grip.

  “Don’t you get it?” he replied, looking into my eyes. “Combining my blood with yours will make the white witch blood even stronger than mine. The awakening goes to the white witch with the purest blood. That would be our child.”

  “No,” I said, shaking my head. My hand went protectively over my stomach.

  He noticed my reaction and reached in, placing his hand over mine where it rested maternally.

  “You realize that there’s a chance you could be pregnant already, right?” he added, searching my eyes frantically. “Unless you’ve been doing something to prevent it from happening that I’m not aware of, that is.”

  “I haven’t,” I replied, and the tears began to slowly roll down my face. “There wasn’t time. We didn’t know we were going to get married when we did. I didn’t think about it.” I felt stupid.

  He stood then and turned away from me, running both of his hands through his hair before clenching it into fistfuls.

  “And stupid me, I had to jump right in there, not even giving a thought about any real protection. I mean I’ve been trying to be careful but …,” his voice trailed off, and he ran his hands down over his face. “How could I be so childish? Arrrgh! It all makes sense now! They were feeding me the stupid champagne to bring up the demon lust. Just a little bit at a time. Not enough to turn me where I’d hurt you, but just enough to drive me insane with desire.”

  “They’ll keep doing it, too,” Krista added, and he turned to look at her. “I can guarantee you they’ll put it in your food and drink. That’s why they have you in this cell together. They want to manipulate you into being with her.”

  Vance started rubbing at his temples as if he were suffering from a horrible headache.

  “As if they had to manipulate me! I haven’t been able to keep my hands off her, even without the bloodlust,” he said, and he looked sadly at me. I knew the conclusion he had come to in that very moment. “We have to stop. We can’t be intimate at all, just in case you aren’t pregnant now. Hopefully it hasn’t happened, but we have to find out.”

  I nodded my head in understanding, even though my heart was breaking at the thought of not being able to be with him in that way.

  He came over and knelt in front of me, laying his head in my lap, and he wrapped his arms around my waist.

  “I’m so sorry, Portia!” he said, and I could feel the angst coming from him envelope me, too. “I’m so sorry!”

  I reached down to run my fingers gently through his hair as he lay there, trying to think of a way to calm him.

  “It isn’t your fault,” I responded softly, though my voice was shaking. “We just need to try and find a way out of this situation.”

  He lifted his head then and looked over at Krista.

  “Mom, is there anything you can think of? Some way we can combine the strength of all three of our powers?” he pleaded. “We have to escape this awful place! Together!”

  A sad look passed over her face as she shook her head.

  “I can’t help you. I don’t have any powers anymore Vance,” she spoke, her voice laced with regret.

  “What?” he asked with a surprised look.

  “Damien performed a demon kiss on me,” she said, casting her eyes downward. “It was his way of punishing me for not telling him where you were.”

  Vance left me and was at her side in an instant.

  “Oh, Mom … I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize.” He gave her a hug. I could see his despair over her situation in the very way he held his body.

  “It’s fine,” she said, and she hugged him back. “I have learned to cope with my humanness.”

  We all sat in silence then for several long minutes, contemplating the place we now found ourselves in.

  “You can use your powers to cleanse the food,” I said thinking out loud, grasping at anything I could think of to help.

  “Yes, and I will,” he replied with a short nod of his head.

  “They’ll catch on eventually,” I added.

  “I know,” he agreed, and he turned to capture my gaze.

  “When they find out you aren’t sleeping with her, they’ll try everything in their power to force your hand,” Krista warned him.

  Vance nodded his head, and he continued to look at me. I could feel the emotions churning inside him. He was extremely upset.

  “We have to figure out a way to escape. It’s our only option. Once they get what they want from us, we’re dead, unless they decide to turn us,” he said frankly, not hiding from the truth.

  “I don’t know how we could possibly do it without help from the outside,” Krista replied with a defeated sigh. “I’ll keep thinking on things. Hopefully they’ll let us visit together again. I’m no threat to them in my current state.”

  “Where are they keeping you?” Vance asked then.

  “I actually have a small but comfo
rtable apartment at the end of the hall. They rarely let me out, but it’s cozy enough to be a home of sorts,” she replied.

  There was a scraping sound at the door once more, and the lock slid aside, the door swinging open.

  Colin appeared, with a well-tailored maid carrying a tray. The maid looked up when she passed us.

  It was Darcy!

  Vance was instantly on his feet grabbing her around the neck with one of his strong hands.

  “I should have killed you when I had the chance!” he growled at her ferociously. “You led us into this trap!”

  Darcy just smiled at him.

  “Unless you want another needle in your neck, Mr. Vance, I suggest you let me go,” she said, and she nodded over at Colin.

  Colin was advancing toward Vance with a large syringe.

  I hurriedly stepped between the two men.

  “Let her go, Vance,” I said softly, and with much frustration he finally did what I asked.

  “Enjoy your dinner,” Darcy said with a grin and danced back out the door as if she didn’t have a care in the world.

  “Mrs. Cummings, it’s time to go now,” Colin said formally to Krista.

  “You can call me Ms. Mangum now, Colin,” Krista said, correcting him, and she stood to follow. “I keep telling you I’ll never be a Cummings again.”

  She turned and threw her arms around her son one more time, pulling him tightly toward her.

  “Keep the faith,” she whispered into his ear as they parted, turning to follow Colin out.

  After the door was closed, Vance turned back to me, coming to wrap me in his embrace.

  “I won’t let them hurt you,” he whispered into my hair, his voice full of a strained emotion. “Ever.”

  “You won’t let them hurt us,” I amended while I held him. “You and I are in this together, and if there is a baby, I need to know that all of us are going to get out of here unharmed.”

  “I agree,” he said before bending to kiss me passionately.

  I kissed him back, just savoring the feel of him, pulling him even closer. After a minute, though, he stepped away from me.

  “This is going to be very difficult for me,” he said, dropping his hands back to his sides.