Caged in Darkness (5 page)

“Excited about shopping?” I said this
sarcastically Willow disliked shopping even more than I did.

Willow rolled her eyes and rasped “Oh, of
course. I’ve been anxiously waiting for this day! Or rather the end
of it…” Izzy grabbed a rolled up napkin and threw it at Willows
face, and Willow batted it away.

“Ha ha, very funny you two! Just wait, when
we arrive at the bonfire and everyone stops to stare at our
gorgeously clothed bodies, you
will
thank me.” Willow and I
exchanged a horrified glance and burst out laughing. Izzy may want
everyone staring at her, but if they did that, it would only be in
revulsion. People attending the bonfire were not overly fond of our
little group.

“So, where are you planning on taking us for
our little field trip? The strip in Landing or the mall in
Bloomingdale?” I already knew the answer, but I also knew Izzy
would have a riot talking about our excursion, which would provide
me with time to think about more important subjects, while I nodded
absently in affirmation.

Maye wasn’t giving me a choice. Her text
said “We are going to your parents’ house this weekend”, not “I
would like to” or “Are you interested in.” She had made her text a
statement and when Maye did that, the subject was not to be argued.
I wouldn’t be given any leeway about confronting that place. For
whatever reason, Maye required me to face my childhood for the
possibility that I
might
want some of their things. I
thought that was ridiculous, but I couldn’t tell Maye that.

My heart constricted, as I remembered Maye’s
text. As their only child, my parents’ estate had been left to me
when they died. Maye, as my guardian, had been in control of that
estate all these years, and we had silently agreed that it was a
subject I did not want to talk about. However, according to her
text, she had a buyer who was interested in my parents’ home. She
knew that I would like to wash my hands of that house and accepted
the offer on my behalf. She wanted me to go with her to the house
this weekend to see if there was anything I wanted to keep before
papers were signed.

I wondered what the house would look like
now. As far as I knew, it hadn’t been touched since the night my
parents’ lives were extinguished. Would my cage be there? Would it
stand erect, surrounded by tacky wallpaper and grime coated
windows. Or had Maye have removed it already?

I wasn’t sure I could face the memories that
home carried. They would echo through the barren existence of that
house. I knew from experience a home like that bled a soul of all
happiness. I wasn’t certain I could retain that place again without
succumbing to the imprinted memories my parents had left me with.
Would the taint spread? Could I infect others with their remembered
evil?

“And I thought we could buy some tissue
paper, cover it in mud, and use it as belts to whip all the boys
into shape with.”

“Huh? What about tissue paper and whipping?”
Willow snickered softly, while Izzy stared me down with her
parental, “don’t mess with me” face. She was testing to see if I
was listening and I failed.

LIAM

My coven was congregated in an overly large
barn that my mother designated for our rituals. Ordinarily, my
afternoons were spent being home schooled in both the traditional
and witch ways. However, today as the High Priestess of the Sacred
Moon coven, my mother called a meeting.

It was rare for us to convene for reasons
other than rituals. Since, we didn’t have a ritual scheduled for
today, they were puzzled and worried. We hadn’t set up for the
amount of witches attending this gathering. I sat to the side on a
barrel of hay, which was the only type of seating available. I had
no desire to mingle with the others.

As the son of the High Priestess, I was
frequently plagued by women in the coven, who wanted to exploit my
connection to my mother. I wasn’t interested in a serious
relationship and if I showed interest in a member of the coven I
would be expected to commit. I chose to only see non-witches
because those relationships came with no strings attached. Luckily,
the human population was overrun with sexually frustrated women,
who considered me the bad boy type. I never wanted for company, and
I did not need the complications of the type of company I would
find here tonight.

My mother, Diamante climbed the stairs to
the stage at the back. She commanded their obedience without saying
or doing anything. They simply quieted at the sight of her.

“I’m glad to see you’re all here. We need to
address an issue and it cannot wait since there is limited time to
court her. The child of Irena and Devon Cross, is about to ascend.”
Diamante paused for the coven to react, and proceeded. “I know you
must be surprised, because I have kept their child a secret all
these years. However, I did not wish another coven to learn about
her existence and stake a claim on her. Unfortunately, it has come
to my attention that another has.”

The assembly of people began murmuring, a
sign that my mother’s capabilities were being doubted. As the High
Priestess, she was expected to uphold our coven’s best interest. A
witch with Cross blood in her veins could have brought an obscene
level of power to our collective.

Bored, I began inching away from the wall to
leave the room. I wasn’t interested in politics or my mother’s
plotting. I was almost entirely through the exit, when I heard my
mother say my name.

“Liam has agreed to help us fix this
issue.”

Hearing shouts that questioned how I could
possibly help; I couldn’t help wondering the same thing. I thought
back to the past few days and… nope. I did not suffer an injury
that would cause memory loss or poor judgment, and that was the
only way I could be expected to help my mother with anything. I
wondered how she expected to ensure my cooperation.

“The Cross girl is an adolescent, which
means she is likely to be guided by her hormones and nothing more.
Girls at that age don’t care about anything other than themselves
and boys. This is how we can be certain she will choose us for her
initiation. Liam will seduce her into falling in love with him, and
when she does, she won’t dare choose another coven for fear of
losing him.”

Oh, God. My blood began to rush, while a
roaring began in my ears. I saw black, as I ground my teeth and
induced a migraine. My
mother
expected me to pimp myself out
to a teenage witch, who had mostly likely been a pampered little
princess from the day she was born. The Cross family was one of the
highest lineages in the paranormal community. Famous, Rich, and
Royalty; meant that she would probably be a spoiled, opinionated
ditz, with no idea what the real world was like. I couldn’t believe
my mother expected me to seduce
that.

After the coven dissipated, my mother found
me in her suite. The floor was evidence of my continued pacing,
while waiting for her to finish with the coven.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I
asked. “Offering my help to the coven, without even speaking to me
about it?”

“What’s the matter? At least we will finally
put your womanizing talent to good use.” Diamante challenged. She
sat at her vanity and pulled her black hair down to brush, while
looking at me in the mirror.

“I only date non-witches. There is no way I
am helping you with this scheme. You want me to seduce a 16 year
old? Are you crazy?” I crossed my arms and leaned against the post
of her four poster bed.

Diamante pursed her lips. “I have understood
your rebellion. I haven’t asked for you to take responsibility, as
my son. I’ve let you do what you want, when you have wanted, but
this is enough. You will do this for me. It’s for the best of the
coven, which means it is for your own good.” She spun in her seat
to face me.

I studied her face, taking special note of
the anger in her eyes. She didn’t permit members of the coven to
question or refuse her. I was the only one who dared, and as her
only son she allowed me some leniency.

“It won’t work. I seduce, but I don’t
romance. I wouldn’t know the first thing about making a girl fall
in love with me. You should get someone else to do it.”

“I trust
you
to do it.” She stood,
and walked over to grasp my hands. “You’re my son. The others would
view it as an insult, were I to ask anyone other than you. Besides
your seduction methods tend to convince women that they are in love
with you, rather than recognizing their feelings as lust. We just
need her to believe she is in love with you, long enough for her to
take her vows.” She took my chin in a painful grip and forced me to
look at her. “You will do this, or never ask for anything from me
again.”

I couldn’t look away. I knew when I was
dealing with my mother and when I was dealing with my High
Priestess. Right now, she was not my mother and I could not refuse
my Priestess.

“Of course I will do ask you ask.” I bowed
my head in defeat, and she smiled. She was my mother again.

“Make sure you ask the cook to make you
something to eat before you leave. Too much junk food isn’t good
for you.” She turned her cheek for me to kiss.

I walked away feeling that my will had been
stolen.

Savannah

Later that afternoon, Izzy surprised me by
taking us to the strip in Landing, rather than the mall. She must
have been taking pity on us, because normally she would jump at the
chance to subject us to a day of endless shopping at the mall.

Izzy parents had gifted her with a beat up
rust colored Pontiac for her 16
^th
birthday. The air
conditioning didn’t work, but the stereo did and Izzy thought that
made the car a dream. It didn’t matter that the Pontiac had seen
more birthdays than she or that it was a gas guzzler, as long as
she could listen to music she was happy. On the other hand, Willow
and I were miserable. By the time we pulled up to the strip, we
were anxious to begin shopping if it meant relief from the heavy
metal beating away at our ears.

Izzy led us towards a store called “The
Gothic Tea Party”, which I considered an oxymoron, but made sense
once entering the store. I gazed around at the strange assortment
of clothing. The store was filled with clothes that merged designer
with classic gothic and punk. I’ve heard Izzy wax on about this
store ever since it opened six months ago, but I didn’t really
believe anything she had said.

I was surprised to find that the mirage of
apparel appealed to my inner fashionista or at least the tiny part
of me that wanted to wear beautiful dresses. It was strange that it
took gothic meeting couture to make shopping fun. Next to me,
Willow gazed around her in surprise. She met my eyes and we both
looked to see Izzy beaming at us.

Izzy was in her element as she buzzed around
the store, collecting dresses in an array of colors featuring
mostly black, burgundy, and silver. Occasionally, she would walk up
to Willow or me to hold a dress against us to see if it was
flattering. During these examinations, she would purse her lips and
nod as though having a conversation with her mental fashion
twin.

Willow and I walked around absently,
occasionally trailing our fingers against an outfit here and there.
The night before Maye had given me enough money to purchase a small
wardrobe, knowing that I rarely wanted to go shopping. Maye took
advantage of the occasion and made me promise to buy more than just
a single dress. I guess that meant I was turning Goth couture. I
wondered what Maye would think of my odd choice in clothing.

Willow paused suddenly and effectively
brought me to a stop when I nearly tripped over her.

“She’s never going to let us live this down,
you know.” Willow whispered, nodding in Izzy’s direction. “Maybe we
should at least pretend that this is torture.”

I snickered. “She’ll never buy it. Besides
if we do that, we can never come back or she would suspect.” I
shrugged. “Did your dad give you enough money to afford this
place?”

I knew that Willow’s parents didn’t have a
lot of money; a fact that she was embarrassed about with anyone
other than me.

“I think so. I’ll just make sure I pick
something that I can afford. If I have to, I’ll wear something I
already own.” When I started to offer to cover the difference,
Willow covered my mouth with her hand. “No. I do not accept
charity. Do not even think of offering what I know you were about
to offer. It’s too tempting and would just make me feel guilty
later.”

“Fine, suit yourself, but if you end up with
an outfit you hate because it was the only thing you could afford,
don’t take it out on me.” I stuck my tongue out at her before
signaling a sales lady.

A slightly irritable sales woman escorted us
to changing rooms. Izzy perched against the room across from mine
and delivered the expected exclamations of pleasure at seeing each
of us in a wide range of gothic clothing.

While in the dressing room, I examined
myself in the assorted outfits. Usually, I avoided mirrors. When I
first came to live with Maye and saw my skeleton frame, I decided
it was pointless to assess my image. When I bought my clothes, it
was usually at Goodwill, thrift stores or garage sales. Those
places did not come equipped with a dressing room.

I wore a long black skirt that hung to my
ankles and had a slit on my right leg that reached the highest
point of my thigh. The waist of the skirt ended in a V shape
beneath my naval. The top matched the skirts style perfectly. Its
sleeves hung off my shoulder like drapes that layered down my
bicep. My midriff was barred to an inch beneath my breasts.

I knew I had matured over the years but was
surprised to see a perfect hourglass figure with a strong flat
belly. My black hair hung in natural waves around my face and fell
to the middle of my back. The light brought out my natural blue
highlights. My eyes were captivating. The violet surrounding the
iris was the same, but the silver was more prominent. I was
surprised to see that my features complimented one another.