This Curse: (The Grace Allen Series Book 2 ) (15 page)

I stood and began pacing. “Voltaire? So he has been
around this whole time?” I looked at her. “Patrick led me to believe that
Voltaire was on some mission.” 

“Oh, I’m sure he’s around. His scent is everywhere,
believe me if he had ever left I would have known it.” She frowned, “Don’t
misunderstand me, I haven’t seen him, or anyone, really. They always dope me up
when they take me for testing.” She made little quote marks with her fingers.
“They’re afraid I’ll fight back I guess.” She shrugged and I raised my eyebrows
in question.

“I heard they took your wolf,” I said. “So you no
longer change? That can’t be useful. What other weapon could you possibly
have?” I had serious doubts that this skinny little hen had the ability to
threaten a hamster.

She pulled the blanket off of the back of my couch
and inhaled the fluffy fabric. “This smells like home.” She sighed and wrapped
it around her narrow shoulders. “I love your home, Grace.” She beamed at me.

“Thank you, now answer the question.” I watched her
closely, waiting for the answer.

“Oh, I figured you could tell.” She took her attention
off the blanket for just a moment. “Before I was bitten, I was a witch.” She
smiled and curled onto her side.

My mouth opened in surprise. Patrick never said she
was a witch. 

“I figured that devil, Lydia knew. She was pretty
quick to snatch me out of the pack. She’s a cruel one.” She yawned loudly and
snuggled deeper into the sofa. “She knew it would be ironic to abuse me.”
Another
big yawn,
“What with what I am and all.”

I watched her fall asleep and chewed my lip. Her
final words slowly worked their way into the ever-growing puzzle in my mind.
Shit! I thought as unease spun my stomach into knots. Seth was MIA and I had a
mystery woman on my couch.

Morning sun filtered through the windows baking my
face with uncomfortable heat. I opened my eyes and was instantly blinded by the
ruthless sun.
Where the heck was the light coming from?
I sat up. I was
still on the couch, apparently having fallen asleep right beside my new
roommate. Well, at least I thought she had slept right beside me. I hit the
empty spot on the couch where I assumed she had slept. The blanket was rumpled
but she was no longer there.

I stood and stretched, looking around the unusually
bright room. Well, I thought, all the curtains had been opened for one thing. A
big no, no in my mind, plus the front door was ajar.
What the hell?
I
walked outside. The cool air nipped at my skin.

“Hello?” I called. “Oh, Blondie?” My footsteps
crunched in the gravel as I stepped slowly around to the back of my house.

I rounded the corner. “Oh shit!” I yelled and ran.

“Nice day for a barbeque? Eh, Grace?” Blondie looked
like a psychotic mad woman as she smiled at me. Her feet were planted firmly in
the dirt by my stone fire pit. She held a long, thick rope in her hands; part
of it was wrapped around her wrist as she leaned back, bracing herself in order
to manage the huge dog dangling from the other end. She stared at the animal
like she was some unhinged pit master. 

“What the hell is going on here?” I panted as I
skidded to a halt beside her. “Who is that?”

She smiled. “I caught this bastard sniffing around
back here.” She pulled on the rope and adjusted her grip. I looked at her
wondering how she was managing the huge creature’s weight. Her set up was
pretty smart. She had the rope wrapped around a tree in such a way that she
didn’t really bear any of the creatures’ weight.

“It’s Cooper.” She spat in his direction. “The lowest
man on the totem pole.” Her lip curled in disgust and I held up my hands.

“Okay,” I said in confusion. “Let’s just get him
down, okay? I have a few questions.”

She sliced the rope with a butcher’s knife and the
dog fell hard, slamming into the side of the fire pit and then bounced off to
the side to roll onto the ground. I flinched; knowing it wasn’t a real dog
didn’t make the sight much easier. God they made beautiful animals. Cooper was
a silvery-grey wolf with thick white patches on his chest and legs. I shook my
head and focused on his inert form.

He began to change back into a man and my new friend
turned, “Well, this is awkward.” She folded her arms, looking irritated.

“Understatement,” I sighed and grabbed the large,
plastic tarp that kept my woodpile protected from the rain. I threw it over the
very naked and very human form of Cooper. He was slowly coming to.

“James?” he moaned, looking around. His eyes focused
on my new protector. “James, you fucking bitch!” he rolled over.

I looked at her. “Your name is
James?”
I
goggled at the pretty woman.

She shrugged. “Jamie, Jamie Alexandre.” 

“Oh, nice to formally meet you, Jamie,” I smiled.
“And as for you, Cooper is it? You better just curb the attitude or you’ll find
your pretty little naked ass strung right back up!”

Cooper stood, wrapping the cumbersome plastic around
his body. “You’re the magical chick?” his lips twisted into a smile. “I was
told to speak to the magical chick.”

“Oh, you’re a prize, aren’t you?” I laughed.
“Standing there, naked as the day you were born, and you still have the balls
to be cocky?”

“He’s a wolf, Grace. They’re all like that.” Jamie
folded her arms and glared daggers at Cooper. “Just dust him, Grace. We already
know what he’s going to say.”

Cooper was smart enough to pale slightly.

“I think I just might,” I teased.
No way was I
attacking an unarmed, naked man.
“But I’ll give him a chance to impress
me.” I shrugged and studied my cuticles. “What were you sent here to tell me,
Cooper?” Then I met his eyes and waited.

“We have your man.” He looked around, as if help was
hiding somewhere in the tumbleweeds.

I yawned dramatically. “Stating the obvious will not
help you, Coop.
Strike one
.”

“No, no! That’s not all. Um, he’s being held in the
Underground.”

That one was new to me. I looked at Jamie. “Underground?”

She had gone baby powder white and a fine sheen of
perspiration broke out over her skin. “
Oh, God Grace!”
she whispered,
her voice shaking. She took several steps backward, shaking her head
frantically her voice came out in a gasp, “He’s in…” she swallowed.  “He’s in…
Hell!”

“
HE’S WHERE?”
I screamed. Turning on Cooper, I
tried several times to speak only to manage a pitiful stutter. Then my mind
filled with the madness of anger and adrenaline. “How did he get there?” I
screeched wildly.

Cooper looked ready to bolt. “He tried to recover
your blood. He smells like it you know, your blood.” He took a step backward.
“Such an ally he could have been. Angers them to know that he’s yours now, no
longer pitching for our team.”
Another step
. “I was told to get you to
come.” Cooper was several feet away from me now, but my mind was a tumbling
mess of panicked thoughts.

“He doesn’t have a lot of time.” Cooper threw the
tarp down, “The blonde man is cruel. He likes pain.” And with that vague
statement, Cooper was running like the devil was on his heels. I watched him
go, fear blanketing me, wrapping me in a paralyzing cocoon.

Seth was in Hell?
I started to hiccup. My breath came in and out in quick gasps as I
absorbed this new information. I reached out blindly and braced myself on the
pile of wood.

“You can’t go, Grace. You’ll never make it out
again.” Her voice shook and then, looking at me, her shoulders lost some of
their tension. She let out a loud sigh and came to me. Her face still showed
fear, but she was nice enough to brush that aside and wrap me in a comforting
hug.

I pulled her closer and sighed. It had been so long
since I had a female for a friend, I had forgotten how reassuring it was.
Getting a hug from someone that wasn’t trying to seduce me for power was an
amazing comfort.

“Thanks, James,” I smiled, stepping out of her
embrace. “But, I have to go. It’s my fault he’s there. Well, at least in part
it is.”

She studied me for a moment. “You are sure?” She
watched my face. I looked her dead in the eyes and she straightened her
shoulders, “Then, I can’t let you do it alone. You took me in, no questions
asked.” She frowned. “Well, not a lot of questions asked. I can’t turn my back
on you now. Besides, I guess some of it is my fault as well. You were rescuing
me along with your blood.” She smiled at me and it was genuine.

I studied her and frowned. “You’re really in?”

“Yeah,” she nudged me, “I guess I am. Besides, you
may be a Madea, but you are about as far from a demon as you can get. You’re
going to need my help.” She smiled and hooked her arm in mine. “How are you at
stirring spells?” she asked as she led me inside the house.

***

The kitchen table was covered with Chinese takeout
boxes and every book that Jamie could think of on magic.

Nature and earth are the only forces pure enough to
combat the evils of that place. They are the only form that can go in
undetected, Grace
. Jamie’s voice was
a constant echo in my head. Ever since I argued that as a Madea, I pretty much
had all the power we would need. She had scoffed, telling me that Voltaire
would be expecting me to run in, guns blazing. Her plan was to sneak in
completely hidden behind a pair of simple glamour’s that Voltaire would never
stoop to detect.

“See?” she explained, excitedly. “I’m sure he thinks
he’s the most powerful player in the game, aside from you of course.” She
rolled her eyes. “Though he’d never admit that. He’ll be expecting some huge
show of magical force. Well, while he’s sitting around, waiting for war, we’ll
just mosey in and sneak Seth right out from under their noses.” She smiled and
shoveled more beef and broccoli into her mouth.

I sat back, too nervous to eat and just watched her
wolf down the food. We had been at this for a few hours and Jamie had managed
to devour not only her share of food, but mine as well.

“It could work,” I confessed. “But how do you propose
we get Seth out? I’m pretty sure they’ll have him locked up with all kinds of
spells. You’re strong enough to hide from the demons but can you break through
their magic?”

“Well, no, that’s when you need to use your power. If
I figure it right, they’re pretty damn sure of themselves, especially Lydia.
Ever since Voltaire brought her into the picture, things have gone from bad to
total hell.”

I sighed. “I’ve met her. She looks like she’d be a
lot sweeter than she is. I guess that’s why Lucian is so attracted to her.”

The Chinese food in her hand tumbled onto the ground
and she jumped up. “Oh, damn! I’m sorry, Grace.” Jamie ran to the sink and
grabbed a sponge.

“No worries,” I waved my hand and the mess was
instantly gone. Jamie stood with the sponge in her hand and laughed. “Oh, how
handy.”

“Yeah, handy,” I sighed. “So, are you up to testing
out a new look?”

She picked up several books and sighed. “Umm... I’ve
only been myself for a short time. As a wolf, I didn’t dare use my magic.
Patrick would have flipped if he knew.” She sighed, “If it’s alright, I just
want to go rest a while and read some of these. I don’t want to be rusty.”

“Okay.” I frowned as a strange feeling came over me
again. “Let me know when you’re ready.” I smiled weakly and then zapped away
the remnants of her Chinese feast.

I watched her go. Her arms weighed down with several
heavy spell books.
She was hiding something. I just knew it.

I sat for several minutes staring down the hallway.
It was driving me crazy. I stood and slowly walked toward her room. I had to
know. If I was trudging into Hell, I wanted to know for sure who was at my
side.

I knocked gently on the door. Several seconds past as
I heard her shuffling around the room. Then the door opened a sliver. Behind
the door, I could see a gentle glow illuminating the room. “Hey, Grace,” she
smiled too brightly. “What’s up?”

“Ok, give!” I pushed into the room. No way was I
screwing around with this chick, not in my house! “What the hell are you
hiding?” I demanded as I looked around the room. “Rusty,
huh
?” I folded
my arms and arched an eyebrow at her.

The room was filled with candles, no doubt produced
magically. A glass bowl filled with rippling water sat on the ground. It looked
like I had interrupted her attempt at communicating with someone.

“You better start explaining before I rip the
information out of your brain along with some healthy chunks of gray matter!” I
was getting pissed. I hated secrets. Especially from people who I perceived to
be good.

She sat on the bed looking miserable. “Okay, I’m not
rusty.”

“Obviously,” I drawled.

“I’m not hiding anything bad, Grace. Honest.”

“Honest?” I screeched. “Don’t use that word. You’re
hiding something, that right there isn’t honest!”