Forever Changed (12 page)

“
I remember. Landon, can you tell me more about your choice please?” I asked while laying my head back soaking in the hot water.

“My father gave me a
choice; he said I am the weakest out of my brothers. I have emotions and feelings that no demon should have. So, when my father came to visit Mitch to prepare him for his destiny, he told my father about you. Of course my father already knew. Mitch said you needed to be protected and kept safe from other demons, who will try to take your powers. So my father sent me.

“
He said this was my chance to live a halfway normal life. He told me that it would be my choice to stay or go back to the underworld. He also said that whatever I chose, he would not strip my powers from me. However, I do not think he really knew that you were my destiny, Elizabeth. You are the one that I know can set me free. Your father knew this too when he looked me in my eyes.”

I inhaled deeply and slowly let my breath out. “You are my mate, Landon?”
I asked looking up at him.

“No, Elizabeth I will on
ly be your mate if you choose for me to be.”

“Yes, you can choose your own destiny. Your father changed your course of destiny when he fell in love with a witch. My father has no connection with you now. However, your father is paying dearly for it as we speak. He has received a harsh punishment for his choosing to mate with a witch,” Landon said this while his eyes looked tortured.

“So, how was there a curse put on my family to begin with,” I asked him quietly.

“Back in the 1800s one of your great grandfathers, Marvin Marcus, made a deal with my father, the Dark Lord. He asked my father to keep him alive and to provide his family with a home and fortune. However, my father told him that this request came with a price. His wife would only be able to bare one child, which would be a son. He would have to push his wife to kill him and all his fortune would be passed down to the next Marcus. It turned into a vicious cycle, unfortunately. Because of this my father was to keep his soul for all of eternity. His wife would also have to pay his debt, so that she could not receive any fortune, but his son would.

“
Then your father broke the curse by having a daughter instead of a son, but he still has to pay.” Landon said sadly.

“So, my family
had a curse because one of my great grandfathers gave his soul for fortune?” I asked becoming angry.

“Yup, putting it in a nutshell,” h
e replied silently.

“Well the Dark Lord may not be aware that I have the power to bring him back then,” I said reaching for a towel.

“What do you mean?” Landon asked, curiosity shining through his black eyes.

“You said you
r father has no connection with me because my father lifted the curse off of me, right?” I watched as he shook his head yes. “Ok, then I am half witch and my father left me a letter telling me what I can do to bring him back.”

Landon, looked at me and smiled, “And my father will not know anything about
it because he cannot connect to you,” Landon finished my sentence.

“Exactly, until my father disappears from the underworld.”
I replied while wrapping a towel around me.

All the blood and dirt had been washed off in the water and because I became so angry listening to Landon talk about our family histor
y, my bloody arms were now healed, with no mark left behind.

I walked over to the sink and picked up my brush and brushed all the knots out of my hair. I pulled it back into a ponytail.

Landon walked out of the bathroom; he returned holding some clothes in his hands. He stood there for a minute lost in his own world, while I started dressing.

He looked at me and said, “How did it feel to let Lucas fall?”

The question knocked the breath out of me. I stood there staring at Landon, trying to think of what to say to him. I was not sure exactly how I felt really. At the time, I was happy and I was hoping he would resurface so I could torture him. Now, I felt bad and was a little afraid I was going to spend the rest of my life in prison.

“At the time I was scared walking with him down the path.” I continued to tell Landon everything that happened, Lucas trying to blackmail me
, by exposing my secret, that he was only half right about. I told him everything even about the storm forming above me and the wind blowing in my face. I told him how angry I felt and how excited I was to watch him squirm.

“Now, I feel guilty
, and I am sorry I was so angry that I didn’t even try to save him. My conscience is stuck on his family and how they are going to feel.” I said on the verge of tears. Landon wrapped his arms around me and held me close.

“I just don’t understand about him saying that I had showed him my secret.” I said looking up at Landon.

“Ahhhhh, I can answer that. You remember you were staring really hard at him through the glass?” Landon asked smiling.

“Yeah, I was really pissed him and his friends were being horrible.” I said defending myself and I didn’t even know why.

“Well while you were staring a hole through him, I was watching you. Your eyes turned red, Elizabeth. They turned blood red, you could have killed him where he was standing and I yelled at you because you would have given your secret away to more people than just him.” Landon said this while laughing. “The last thing I wanted was you to go psycho pissed at all the people in the mall!”

Now I felt stupid! All the signs were there of me being a demon. The red light that shined in the closet the night my father
was murdered and the red I seen shine in my father’s eyes while he was being murdered. All the signs were there, but I refused to acknowledge them. The storm is caused by my anger which therefore is part of my demon side. The healing, I am assuming has to do with both me being half witch and half demon.

I smiled at Landon and laughed, “I guess I could pass as a blond, huh, all the signs were there
, but I ignored them.”

La
ndon shook his head and laughed and asked “So now what are you going to do?”

I replied with a small hint of anger in my voice, “First, I will rest an
d tomorrow I will bring my father home and soothe my mother’s aching heart.”

Chapter 22

I woke the next morning, but this time with Landon right next to me. I was so ha
ppy he didn’t leave me. I laid there watching him sleep.

He looked peaceful and not to mention adorable
, since I had given him a makeover. I couldn’t help, but think that I was falling for him and falling hard. Who knew my first friend, ever, would be a demon; a demon with a conscience and a heart for that matter. Amazing, how strange things work out. I couldn’t help but agree with the Dark Lord, he was right, Landon was a weakling. I was thankful for this though, he had a heart like no other and he gave into my requests.

I bet
if I would ask him if I could make him over into a girl, he would let me. I wouldn’t do that to him though. He is amazing on so many different levels. I noticed this before he even had a makeover. He is my one of a kind demon that is for sure.

I couldn’t help
but put claims on him by calling him, my one of a kind demon. I smiled to myself at this thought.

Landon had woken up and was just looking at me.

“What are you smiling about?” he asked curious.

“O
h nothing, come on let’s get this day started.” I rolled out of bed and Landon followed me. I walked into the closet and Landon walked to the bathroom.

We got dressed and Landon asked me a serious question. “Are you going to go to school today? I am just wondering because everyone seen you leave with Lucas yesterday and well it would look bad if you didn’t.”

Ugh, I was more thinking along the lines of my father and not thinking about what happened to Lucas. “I guess I will have to,” I replied glumly.

             
He rode with me to school and before I opened my car door to get out, he kissed me on the cheek and quickly disappeared.

I sat there
in my car for a minute shocked. Wow, he kissed me. Of course not like someone normally kisses someone, but none the less it was my first kiss. My face was blood red and I knew then that he had feelings for me, just like I did for him.

             
I got out of the car and walked into school to get the day over with. Today was different. Kids were looking at me and smiling and actually saying hello.

             
I was confused, and then I realized it was because Lucas told them we had been dating for a while. He was after all the most popular boy in school. He saved me and I killed him. Oh well, you get what you get. He got his and I got mine. It was such a vicious cycle of KARMA!

             
A few people had asked where Lucas was at because he never showed up at school. I just told them, that I had dropped him off at home and I hadn’t seen him since. I even acted to be a little worried and complained that I hadn’t received a phone call or a text from him either. By the end of the day everybody, who was close to Lucas, was worried. I however was excited, today was the day that my father came home.

                            **** *****

             
When I got back in my car, Landon was there waiting on me and I told him how my day went.

             
“Awwww, did you make new friends Elizabeth,” he said teasing me.

             
“No you are the only friend I want and need,” I said pushing him a little.

             
“Good I like that, wouldn’t want to have to hurt someone over you.” He said in a whiny voice. I just giggled.

             
“So I have worked out a summon spell to have my dad brought back home.” I said excited.

             
“Really? Now, so what are we waiting for, let’s get home.” He said excitedly. I started my car and drove as fast as I could the ten miles to my house. Thinking about how Landon said ‘let’s get home.’ He was already putting claims on me, too!

             
We arrived safely and my mother was home, just like I wanted her to be. I actually had Landon walk in the house with me instead of disappearing.

             
It looked like my mother had just walked in the door herself. “Hi Elizabeth, who is your friend?” she asked her eyes wide with shock. Mine would be too; she knew I didn’t have any friends.

             
“Mother this is Landon, Landon this is my mother Maggie.” They shook hands said hellos and I told them I would be right back and ran upstairs.

             
“Mother, I need you to join Landon and me in the living room please.” I told her returning, while heading in that direction. The living room was huge and I started, with the help of Landon of course, moving things out of the way.

             
“Elizabeth, what in the world are you doing?” She asked standing back watching us with her hands on her hips.

             
“Mother we need to talk and we have to talk here, considering this is the biggest room on this side of the mansion.” I looked at her with pleading eyes to understand.

             
“But why do you have to move all the furniture to talk?” She said slowly.

             
She sighed and I knew she would not win this one. I sighed too because the last thing I wanted to do was get into an argument with my mother.

             
The three of us sat crossed legged on the floor and in a circle. I had placed a sheet in front of use with black candles all around it. I looked at my mother and said, “My father loved you a great deal and I know you are hurting and he is too.” My mother looked at me now with tears forming in her eyes.

             
“I need you to listen very carefully to everything that I am about to tell you, with of course, Landon’s help. Ok?” she shook her head slowly.

             
“The first thing I want to do is clear up three things. One I am half witch and half demon. Two my father is a demon…” I stopped and watched her reaction before I finished my sentence. “…..Three you are a witch.”