Spiritbound (12 page)

He weighed that up, stroking his chin as he stared at the window. ‘Thanks, I think.’

‘She is going to be impressed with those leathers.’

‘Really?’

‘I was.’

He picked up a pillow and tossed it.

Grace quickly shut the door, and giggled while she rested against it. With a sigh, she headed to the bathroom. There was a spring in her step and she did her best to keep her excitement down. There was no commitment. He enjoyed her as much as she did him, but he was determined not to settle down. All she could do was enjoy it while it lasted and try not to think about future heartbreak.

***

Her mother was bleary-eyed when she fronted at the table. Declan was making the coffee and her mother had not acknowledged him yet.
Bad sign
, Grace thought. Declan thumped over in his big bikie boots and placed a cup before her. ‘Good morning, Elvira. I understand you like milk and two sugars in your coffee.’

Her mother lifted her gaze and looked him up and down. ‘My, my, Declan Mallory. You have grown into a big lad.’ She winked at him and then picked up her cup.

Grace nearly dropped the frying pan she was holding as she was transferring crispy bacon to a plate. Her mother had meant that double entendre. Damn her. She would spill the beans that she knew about their encounter in the Blue Mountains. As Grace scraped the bacon onto the platter, she realised that it was silly. Both her mother and Elena would have heard everything, so they didn’t even have to use their imaginations.

Elena came out of her room, draped in a Japanese blue and white
yukata
and yawned loudly. ‘Morning. Hi Declan.’ She yawned again. ‘I’m glad you two had a good time.’

Grace blushed. ‘I’m sorry if I woke you.’

Elvira put her cup down, leaned back in her chair and barked out a laugh. ‘Woke me? Damnation, girl. How could anyone sleep through that? It wasn’t just the noise—the emotions, the emanations coming from that room probably alerted every member of the folk in a five-kilometre radius.’

Declan’s face paled. ‘I didn’t realise.’

‘I’m sure you didn’t. If you wanted to keep your little affair secret, then you’ve failed. Every tongue from here to Newcastle will be talking of it. It’s not often you get fireworks like that with a joining, but it was a marvellous thing to behold.’

‘Joining?’ Declan sank into a seat. ‘We weren’t joining.’

Elvira spiked some bacon and slid it onto her plate. ‘If you say so, Declan.’

‘I do say so. Grace understands.’

‘Does she? Excellent then. But convincing your parents that there’s nothing “special” between you will take some doing, believe me.’ Her mother looked up and eyed both of their shocked faces. ‘Okay. So I’m exaggerating. I’m a little grumpy from having my sleep disturbed.’

Grace sat down at the table, blowing hair out of her mouth and sending her fringe fluttering. That was a relief. She surveyed the table before her. With all that activity, she was very hungry and breakfast conversation, while not quite as she’d planned and rather embarrassing, was stimulating her appetite. If her mother had more to dish out, she’d rather take it on a full stomach.

‘Pass the sauce, would you, Elena?’

Elena was pouring maple syrup over her pancake stack. ‘Here you go. Did you do any caramelised bananas?’

‘No, we’re out. I made raspberry coulis.’ She passed it over.

‘Okay then.’ Elena cut into her stack and closed her eyes in delight.

Grace rapidly dissected her food, shovelling it in without bothering to talk much. Her hunger was a beast that needed feeding urgently. Declan took a while to relax after the first bit of conversation with her mother, but then after sipping his coffee, his plate began to fill. He stuck in. ‘This is good,’ he said around a mouthful of bacon.

‘Thanks.’

Grace speared another pancake. She was almost full. Her mother got up for more coffee, so Grace handed up her cup. She needed extra fortification. Elena engaged Declan in conversation. She asked about his teaching and the adult classes he had planned. ‘I wish I had talent enough to train. It sounds like fun.’

‘Don’t let that stop you, Ellie. Training of any kind is good.’

‘Maybe, but I’m doing some craft classes at the local technical college. I have finally decided what I want to do with my life.’

Elvira’s eyebrows rose as she sat down. ‘That’s good, dear. What is that exactly?’

‘I like making things with my hands so I’m going to improve my skills and then set up a stall to sell things.’

Elvira was nodding. ‘You could use your talent, too. Imbue them with health and happiness charms. I’m sure you’ll be able to get permission to sell them to humans.’

Elena beamed. ‘Then you approve?’ She clapped her hands. ‘That’s wonderful, thank you. I thought you might be disappointed in me.’

Elvira waved her hand. ‘Don’t be ridiculous. I want you to be happy and fulfilled. If I’ve commented on your life, it was for that reason.’

Elena beamed at Grace and Declan. Grace could sense her happiness from where she sat. They had always been attuned.

The conversation lulled. Grace had to ask the question because she had a feeling that Declan would not bring it up himself. It was her family business. ‘Mother, can you tell me about Uncle Elroy?’

Elena’s head shot up. ‘We have an Uncle Elroy?’

Elvira’s gaze slid to Declan, instinctively knowing where Grace had heard the story. Elvira fiddled with her cutlery, not meeting Grace and Elena’s gazes. She coughed once, then again, as if clearing her throat.

‘It was a long time ago. I thought he would be forgotten by most.’ She flicked her gaze at Declan. ‘But I suppose never by some families.’

Grace’s food was heavy in her gut. Declan reached over and covered her fist in his hand. She hadn’t realised that she had been tense. It was bad, though. Her mother’s vibrations were very low. This was going to be hard for her.

‘He was younger than me, a half-brother, actually. And he was strange since birth. No one really understood why. Gifted and warped, he was.’ Her gaze passed over Grace and centred on Declan.

‘He liked to take life. Any life. It started with animals at first. Birds. Dogs. Cats. Then it was other children.’

Grace sucked in a breath. Her uncle had been a monster. ‘Children?’

Elvira nodded. ‘Yes. We didn’t know about it at first. The bodies turned up and we were stumped. Mace Denton, Mallory’s cousin, was only young when he went missing. The whole coven went looking for him. Pris and I found them under the Harbour Bridge, late at night. We didn’t like going there. All that iron and concrete interfered with the natural rhythms of the goddess. But that’s where Mace’s cries had drawn us. Elroy had tortured him, like he had the pets and the wildlife that were unfortunate enough to come into his path. He stood there in the shadows, just waiting, as if nothing terrible had happened.

‘We called the coven. Elroy didn’t even blink, didn’t raise an eyebrow. It was as if the taking of life meant nothing to him. He was ten years old.’

‘What happened to him, Aunt?’ Elena asked in a hushed voice, tears glistening in her eyes.

‘They sentenced him to death. It was unanimous.’

‘But he was only a child himself,’ Declan said.

Elvira squared up to him, shifting in her chair. ‘You think that, do you? There was a lot of debate before and after. Was he an old, evil soul inhabiting a child’s body? Was he just a warped soul never to be shaped into a useful member of the coven? We’ll never know.’

‘He’s dead, then?’ Grace asked. Her gut churned. It was all too much to process. Declan had known and hadn’t said. His parents had known and had told him. His own uncle had been murdered as a child by her blood kin. How shocking.

‘Yes, he’s dead. But not executed. He killed himself.’ Elvira closed her eyes. ‘We were gathered in the great hall in Parramatta for the formal judgement. Elroy came along as if it were any other outing. He was called forth to receive judgement. When he took his place, he ripped his own…oh goddess…I can’t.’

Elena rubbed Elvira’s shoulder. ‘You don’t have to if it distresses you.’

Elvira patted her hand and straightened her shoulders. ‘I have to tell it now. Once a tale begins it must unravel to the end.’ She cradled her head in her hand and took a deep, calming breath. Then she took a sip of coffee before lifting her head to continue the story. ‘He used magic like a blade, split himself from nose to navel. There was so much blood. I vomited. So did many others. They performed the rituals to punish him in death as in life and then burned the remains. There, it is done. It is said. The monster killed himself.’

Grace sobbed into napkin. ‘That’s so horrible.’

‘My mother said her brother was also killed.’

Elvira nodded. ‘Yes, Saul. A lovely boy, so bright. Your mother never recovered from the shock. She found him, but there was nothing she could do. He died in her arms.’

Elvira’s eyes clouded over with memories. None appeared to be good. How could Grace not have known this? They must have hidden it from her on purpose.

Grace trembled. Her mind spun down dark paths. It was as if her life was crumbling around her. Her uncle had killed two of Declan’s family. How could he even sit in this room? It made so much sense now, why his parents had always been distant, that distance turning into hatred after she’d resurrected Fel. They feared the monster.

That monster was she. If Declan’s parents thought that, then he must also think she was a monster. The recollection of his face when she’d raised Fel loomed large in her mind. The fear; the horror. Now that he knew what her uncle had done he’d be like them, hating her, thinking her a monster. Already he probably did.

Declan drew her head down to his shoulder, offering comfort. Grace couldn’t rest there. She pulled back. Panic seized her. Her heart raced, her mind span. ‘You knew about this?’ Her voice was an accusatory hiss. ‘You came here and slept with me, knowing this?’ How could he? There must have been a good reason. He needed to get laid, wanted comfort and didn’t want details getting in the way of that. How could he have done that, been intimate with her, then to tell her about her monstrous uncle?

‘Now, Grace, wait a minute. Not the whole story. Just the part my parents told me. Their version.’

Grace sneered, her fists balled up hard. ‘In what context?’ Her voice was ranging high, but she was too angry and hurt to care. ‘Don’t worry, I can guess. They want to you to stay away from the taint, the dark magic-wielding evil witch.’

‘Come on, Grace. Don’t be like that.’

‘You knew Elroy murdered children, didn’t you? Before your raised the subject?’

Declan lowered his gaze to the table-top. His uneaten bacon was congealed.

‘Tell the truth. You knew he was a monster?’

He nodded, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed. ‘Perhaps I shouldn’t have said anything.’ He sought support from Elena and Elvira.

‘So you were discussing me with your family. I’m a monster to them, too, aren’t I?

His face paled and he kept his face neutral, but that expression spoke loudly. ‘Grace—’

‘It’s true!’ Hysteria had possession of her. How could he have mentioned it to her after their magical love-making? Couldn’t he have waited for another time? What kind of bastard did that? He’d meant to hurt her.

Her gaze shifted to her mother. ‘It’s true, isn’t it?’ Her voice sliced into her mother. ‘The coven think I’m another monster, don’t they? When I raised Fel, it sent up warning flags. Beware, the Denholm clan has produced another monster. Beware.’ Grace waggled her fingers.

Her mother kept her features very calm. Grace took that for a yes. ‘Goddess, why didn’t you tell me? All this time I thought I was atoning for my own misdeeds. Now, I find that there is a whole raft of other deeds, other evil deeds that I have to atone for. That I didn’t even know about.’

‘Grace, stop that. Stop that right now.’ Her mother stood up, thumping the table.

‘No, I won’t stop. You should have told me.’

Elvira’s gazed flicked to Declan. ‘Don’t do this now, Grace.’

Elena started crying, holding her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide with fright.

‘You should have warned me.’ Grace’s voice now was a low hiss. ‘How could I prepare? Battle something I didn’t know existed?’

Grace was on her feet, her tears streaming down her face. Declan got out of her mother’s way as she came around the table to Grace. The slap sent Grace’s head to one side. ‘Control yourself,’ her mother said in a steady voice. ‘You are not a monster. But you are being ridiculous.’

Grace ground her teeth and glared at her mother. ‘How can you say that?’

‘I know you, Grace.’

Her eyes passed over Declan’s concerned face. It was so unfair.

‘They think I’m a monster.’ She threw her hand out, gesturing in the direction of Balmain.

‘You have no control over other people’s opinions. Elroy’s legacy affects us all. There are so few warlocks now. Don’t you understand?’

‘No, I don’t. How can I understand when I’m ignorant of the facts, facts other people know? Declan knows.’ She caught a sob in her hand, shaking her head.

Declan put his hand on her back, stroked her. She shook him off. ‘Don’t touch me. Aren’t you worried that you’ll be tainted by a monster?’

Declan was quick to respond in anger. ‘That’s not fair. I only just heard about it last night. Don’t judge me for what other people think. I’m not like that.’

She faced him, looked him up and down. ‘You’re just like them.’ Anger she’d never experienced before overwhelmed her. It frightened her. She was a monster. The story of Elroy had let it out, had torn off the bandages holding the bad Grace in. ‘Get out. Just get out and leave me alone.’

Her jaw clenched, and she fisted both hands by her side.

Declan paled and fell back a step. ‘You don’t mean that.’ His gaze travelled all over her face. ‘Don’t do this. Please.’

‘I do mean it. Just go. I never want to see you again. Take your superior battle mage demeanour and your upright family heritage and get out.’ She spoke imperiously to Elvira. ‘Mother, make him go.’

Elvira straightened her shoulders and looked down her nose, putting on her most displeased expression. Grace usually feared it but she was beyond that now. ‘I’ll do no such thing. You’re being ridiculous.’