A Witch's Curse (17 page)

She wanted to tell him about how this was a lie. She was now a narc in a real coven for the first time in her life. Not the ideal way to be initiated into a group, yet that was her place in one. Then again, she did not want to spill her life to this boy, despite how she felt to the very bottom of her soul that he was trustworthy.

“
Have you ever cast spells?”

“
All the time,” she said.

“
Have you ever cast an evil one?”

She turned her head sideways to stare at him. “Getting a bit personal, aren’t we?”

“
Well, it shouldn’t be too hard to answer if you‘re innocent.”

“
No,” she said. “Well, one time I gave Gina, Jessica and Emma a pretty wicked case of the flu, but in all fairness, I think I’m paying for that through karma.”

“
I can’t blame you,” he said. “If I had any ounce of your power, I wouldn’t use it wisely. There are so many guys at our school I’d like to lay into with a real bad spell, give them a lisp for the rest of their lives. I guess all I need are my hands to do that, and not a wand. Oh, that reminds me. Do you carry a wand?”

“
I’ve seen two do that,” she said, referring to Alexis and Hemera, although Rose did not want to reveal the name of her instructor just yet. “As for myself, it’s not for me. It‘s pretty detrimental to what we‘re actually trying to do. Witchcraft should rely on the spirit, not external objects. By the way, just to save us a lot of time? Yes, you can turn someone into a frog. No, I don‘t own a cauldron or a voodoo doll or have a pet snake. Nor a spider. I also hate cats, especially lately for personal reasons I, um, can‘t disclose.”

“
What about a Ouija board?”

“
I believe in them, but their power is too much for me.”

“
Interesting,” Grady said. “You’re so much different from that local witch. Everyone always warned me about her being a hag.”

“
Lay off Ms. Harvey,” Rose said.

“
Whoa, who? I was talking about that crazy Grandma reaper lady. Gerdur.”

Rose felt the hairs on the back of her neck position themselves into fine, tall standing strands.

The name was recognizable.

Politely, she asked him to repeat who she was.

“
Gerdur.”

Grady shared how rumor had it that she would collect bugs until they died, then litter their remains on her front porch just to attract other bugs. She would catch them and repeat the process. Gerdur was purportedly living on government welfare checks.

“
Good night Grady,” Rose said, sliding off the automobile, feeling her feet land on the tough, cold cement.

“
Was it something I said? I hope you know I was kidding in asking you those questions, I never really thought you drank-”

“
I know,” she said, giving him a lively beam. “No offense taken. Yet I have a call to make. I would never cancel a date unless it was an emergency. You said that lady lives in Lake Pines?”

“
Yeah.”

“
Any clue where?”

“
No,” he said. “I’d stay away from her. Is there something you need to tell me?”

“
Some day,” she said, turning around and walking in the direction to her house.

The wandering there was one that seemed unhurried, and she thought it had something to do with how the epiphany befalling her seemed to be so devastating that it slowed time down. To make matters worse, she noticed that the street light allowing luminescence upon the boulevard was dimming dramatically, and it looked as if things could fade at any moment, causing a bit of horrible darkness to arise on the entire thoroughfare.

Once inside her house, Rose tried to look for any signs of her father being awake - a rumpled couch, the remote placed in a certain corner where it should not have been, a cigarette burned half way. There was nothing. That gave her clearance to make as much noise as she could while searching out for what she needed.

Rose grabbed the cell phone from its charger before heading upstairs. Once she was in her room she dialed Harvey’s number, knowing that her tutor would be well awake at this time of night. After the first few rings, she finally answered.

“
Oh Rose,” Alexis said. “I’m so glad it’s you. You won’t believe this. I’ve found a copy of Burgess’ The Piano Players, signed by the man himself.”

“
That’s great,” Rose said, twisting her own collar with a single finger nervously, trying to avoid hastily jumping onto the real reason she was calling. “There’s someone I want to talk to you about. Her name is Gerdur.”

There was a long pause on the other end. Rose could picture her educationalist giving a chilly look at the wall in front of her, almost dropping the receiver while staring into nothing.

“
Oh my. I haven’t heard that name in fifteen years.”

“
But you have heard it?”

“
Please, she’s a regular part of Lake Pines folk lore.”

“
She’s something more, isn’t she?”

“
Yes. She’s real. So what about her piques your interest?”

“
How well do you know her?”

“
Better than what I would have wanted,” Alexis said bitterly.

“
Do you know where she lives?”

“
Yes.”

“
I want her address.”

“
You would only get that out of me if you threatened to burn down my bookstore with lighter fluid and a flamethrower.”

“
Here’s the thing, I’ve heard her name once before a long time ago. I know my mother knew her. Listen, this could be our only chance of breaking the bad luck that’s been cast on the town. This crazy woman probably knows more about Hemera’s powers than either of us combined, because she not only knows her, but I think they had a feud. Don’t get me wrong, my mother spoke badly about everyone, but never another witch - particularly an old one. There had to be a reason, and I want to find it out.”

“
Understand something,” Alexis said, almost choking on her own words. “Gerdur is one of the most spiteful people I’ve ever encountered, let alone out of the witches I‘ve had the displeasure to meet. She’s pure evil, if rumors are true. One tells of how she lured a young man into her dwelling with the promise of food, only to torture and kill him. So I demand you to wear the bracelet, just in case. Now, about her location. Do you know where Veil beach is?”

“
Five miles west of here,” Rose said. “I went there once with Melinda when we were younger. We hoped to meet boys, and all we met were sharp rocks and crawdads instead.”

“
Yes, it’s a dreadful place. Gerdur lives there in a cabin near a dilapidated pier. It’s unmistakable, because it’s the only house visible for miles. Be careful, though. She used to be enamored with wolves. They protect her.”

“
Thank you so much, Alexis. I’ll talk to you two days from now.”

“
Oh, and Rose? Bring a bottle of whiskey with you. If you don’t she won’t even bat an eye in your direction lest it’s to ridicule.”

After they hung up, Rose went on-line to look up directions for turning out a fake identification card.

18

Veil Beach was an extensive stretch of land, and its size magnified as the evening became darker. The waves did seem larger here than any other shoreline she had ever been on. They crashed, howled, whipped, and broke themselves near where she was walking, spraying her hair with its frigid waters. Only an insane person would choose to build their private residence here.

Rose jumped across a large rock onto another one, struggling to maintain balance. Falling off and into one of the damp and deep pits would have been terrifying. Thinking of what beasts could have lived in those trenches sent a shiver through her body.

Rose continued to hike on its pebble filled trail, keeping her right hand clenched around the flashlight she was lucky enough to have brought along in case the night were to swamp the small, stone made coast.

When shining it towards particular areas merely out of curiosity, as well as to ensure that she would not step on anything harmful, she took notice of how many insects crawled out of the natural pieces of gravel, everything from spiders to strangely evolved mussels. Even in this place close to the public, there was no sign of human life for many acres. Pollution did not exist here.

A glowing bluish dusk then set in, but even this azure cape was nowhere near close to being murky in its coloring so as to camouflage the cabin in the distance. She paced towards it, cognizant of faint growls in the distance, the sort of urgent vocal rumbling within nearby shadows that no mere human, not even the greatest impersonator, could emulate.

It took a small while to notice how there was a single towering torch located a few yards away from the ramshackle cottage, which Rose was now only a dozen feet away from now. Its fire was a bit more smoldering as opposed to burning, and its sapphire traced lucent stems of smoke rose from the pyre, each one making their way to the heavens. Sighing, Rose knew that any hope of being covert was permanently not possible due to the light source.

Trying to avoid thoughts of being shot or torn to bits by whatever pack of animals were in the distance, Rose walked onto the creaky and cobweb draped porch.

Reaching a hand out, she prepared herself to knock on the door, trying her best to catch her breath. She was cold and shivering. Just an invitation inside to a warm location would make this task seem worth it. Finally banging her hand on the decrepit doorway, she took a few steps back, waiting for any kind of a response.

After knocking a few more times, the feeble mail slot, whose edges were jagged and eaten by parasites, opened. Rose could see two eyes peering at her. Both of them were different colors. One was blue and the other brown.

As soon as the niche opened, she could have sworn that the echo of a snake venomously hissing rose from behind her.

“
What do you want?”

“
My name’s Rose.”

“
That doesn’t mean anything to me.”

“
Yet. My last name is Whelan.”

“
Oh, I see. So?”

“
I know who you are, Gerdur. I wish to talk with you.”

A screeching ensued, a laughter comparable to a crow’s released scream of happiness after finding a fresh cadaver on an abandoned highway. “Little girl, if you have come to rob me, you are in dire need of godly assistance.”

“
I swear that I’m not here to steal anything,” Rose said quickly. “I would never dream of it. I want to get some information from you concerning my mother. Her witch name is Hemera.”

A long stillness, added with what Rose momentarily thought of as being hushed tension, fell between the two.

“
I knew Hemera better than my own sister,” Gerdura responded. “Still, whatever you are searching for is rendered useless by coming here. I have not spoken to her in ages. Go away, adolescent. Bother someone else. I get young loners like yourselves begging at my doorstep every year, wanting to learn the dark arts. You would never comprehend as an amateur, if you dabble at all.”

“
I also know Alexis Harvey,” she said in a last ditch effort, throwing her backpack down onto the grimy terrace and unzipping it. “I know you and her may not have always liked each other, but she shared with me something you are a great appreciator of.”

Rose held the full bottle of whiskey up to the slot, doing her best to make sure that the front label was visible.

The entry swung open.

“
Come on in child,” Gerdur said with a wide smile. “My house is yours.”

Rose was almost traumatized at how perplexingly beautiful Gerdur was. Her height left nothing to be desired, and her slim waist accentuated the expensive black velvet dress she was wearing, equipped with a classy cloth belt. Her hair was straight and darker than nightfall. Her eyes were green, and her skin as fair as any highly paid actress. Gerdur had a voice that sounded hoary and cantankerous, and yet her looks were envious.

At least, on the outside. Rose had always read about people who could change their appearance. Yet the idea of meeting such a powerful individual had never crossed her mind. She was already wondering if Gerdur’s vocal chords had also possibly transformed, if she had distorted them at all to be more menacing..

Rose made her way into the room, as equally amazed at how different its interior was. Instead of finding something like a prison, which is what she expected, there was a warm chamber with a plush beige rug. The walls were a coffee color, and two couches were situated in the main living space. An oven and a few tidily organized bookshelves sat in the corner.

As it turned out, the woman’s pipes had not altered; she was in a gorgeous skin vessel with an aged sound distinguishing the way she conversed. Rose thought about how this would take some getting used to during the course of their chat.

“
Please make yourself at home, but I would love to have that bottle.”

Rose handed the bottle over and promptly sat down at the dinner table, which was smoothly laminated. She watched Gerdur as she grabbed a couple of sifters.

“
You will join me for a drink, won’t you?”

“
I wish I could,” Rose lied. “Yet I have things I have to do tonight, if that’s okay.”

Gerdur nodded. “You may not drink now, young lady, but give it time. Before you know it, the stresses of life will catch up with you as it does us all, and you will be clinging to bottles of alcohol the way a shipwrecked sailor does an escape boat.”