counterweight would pull her free. The urge to go to him was strong. She fisted her hand to keep from reaching out.
“Leaving.” He let go of her, and the heat drained down her arm and her skin turned faded back to normal.
Valerie shook her arm, touching it to assure herself that she was unharmed.
Troy turned to go, and then stopped. With a heavy sigh, he said, “Just do yourself a favor and stay away from this cottage. Nothing good ever came from this place.”
And with that, he disappeared among the trees. Valerie rushed forward to look for him, but he had faded into the thick woods. She hugged her arm against her chest and ran back to the safety of her new home.
----
“ W hy can’t you just leave me alone?” Troy grimaced as he marched through the trees. At least he was dressed this time. One second he’s on his couch watching football in his apartment about to pour a drink, the next he’s sitting by that damned cottage. He’d hoped that by selling the property he could finally get away from the accursed place. Good thing he didn’t move out of Graniten, or he’d really have a long walk back.
He’d not been present during the house closing and a lawyer had acted on his behalf. Troy had been too scared that something would have stopped him from selling the place. Though, evidently, the magic emanating from the cottage didn’t care about legal deeds and paperwork. One trigger and the demon’s spell forced him home.
Oh, but what a lovely trigger Valerie Walsh was with her full mouth and womanly curves. Even before he touched her, he knew what she’d do to him. He’d spent his entire adulthood trying to keep the demon blood in him from simmering. For the most part, it had worked. However, the second he saw her, he knew there was no fighting destiny. This plan had been laid out the day he was born. He had no choice. Prophecies were meant to be fulfilled, and Valerie was part of his.
There was a part of him that hated selling his family’s land, but it was heavily outweighed by the part of him who just wanted to be free of it. Memories flooded him, not all bad. He’d been happy in early childhood, loved, spoiled, naive. He knew these woods—had chased his sister through them, only later to search them for her body after she’d disappeared. That’s when the happy memories faded into a stark reality. They’d never found Seri. The loss had killed his stepmother. His father, the gigantic bastard, never spoke of her.
In High School, he came to understand Seri would never be found, for there was nothing to find. That is when he’d realized the awful truth. The cottage’s magic had set its sights on him.
2
“ E very realm has its legends . This is one of ours,” Valerie read out loud. She hummed thoughtfully to herself, determined to find something that made sense of what she’d felt in the forest near the cottage. No medical database described what had happened—allergic reactions, skin conditions, temporary hallucinations. Nothing fit. For two days she’d tried to unpack, but instead ended up pulling open every door and drawer she could find. She looked behind the antique mirrors. She stepped on floorboards to see if they were loose. She burned sage and chanted some cleansing spell she’d downloaded off the internet. One website hinted at possession. She burned candles to see if the fire turned blue. Supposedly that helped identify ghosts. So far, no ghosts, no evil spirits.
Then, today, as she was loading her research books onto the bookshelf, she found her first clue. The thick leather-bound tome was clearly old, with English translation written in small print down the margins. She’d found the book wedged behind an antique bookshelf. The print was faded and the paper smelled of time and dust. It might just be a book, but it felt like a clue.
“Long ago, the only children of two very magical families were meant to marry. Their powerful union would reverse the fate of a dying world. The
“Leaving.” He let go of her, and the heat drained down her arm and her skin turned faded back to normal.
Valerie shook her arm, touching it to assure herself that she was unharmed.
Troy turned to go, and then stopped. With a heavy sigh, he said, “Just do yourself a favor and stay away from this cottage. Nothing good ever came from this place.”
And with that, he disappeared among the trees. Valerie rushed forward to look for him, but he had faded into the thick woods. She hugged her arm against her chest and ran back to the safety of her new home.
----
“ W hy can’t you just leave me alone?” Troy grimaced as he marched through the trees. At least he was dressed this time. One second he’s on his couch watching football in his apartment about to pour a drink, the next he’s sitting by that damned cottage. He’d hoped that by selling the property he could finally get away from the accursed place. Good thing he didn’t move out of Graniten, or he’d really have a long walk back.
He’d not been present during the house closing and a lawyer had acted on his behalf. Troy had been too scared that something would have stopped him from selling the place. Though, evidently, the magic emanating from the cottage didn’t care about legal deeds and paperwork. One trigger and the demon’s spell forced him home.
Oh, but what a lovely trigger Valerie Walsh was with her full mouth and womanly curves. Even before he touched her, he knew what she’d do to him. He’d spent his entire adulthood trying to keep the demon blood in him from simmering. For the most part, it had worked. However, the second he saw her, he knew there was no fighting destiny. This plan had been laid out the day he was born. He had no choice. Prophecies were meant to be fulfilled, and Valerie was part of his.
There was a part of him that hated selling his family’s land, but it was heavily outweighed by the part of him who just wanted to be free of it. Memories flooded him, not all bad. He’d been happy in early childhood, loved, spoiled, naive. He knew these woods—had chased his sister through them, only later to search them for her body after she’d disappeared. That’s when the happy memories faded into a stark reality. They’d never found Seri. The loss had killed his stepmother. His father, the gigantic bastard, never spoke of her.
In High School, he came to understand Seri would never be found, for there was nothing to find. That is when he’d realized the awful truth. The cottage’s magic had set its sights on him.
2
“ E very realm has its legends . This is one of ours,” Valerie read out loud. She hummed thoughtfully to herself, determined to find something that made sense of what she’d felt in the forest near the cottage. No medical database described what had happened—allergic reactions, skin conditions, temporary hallucinations. Nothing fit. For two days she’d tried to unpack, but instead ended up pulling open every door and drawer she could find. She looked behind the antique mirrors. She stepped on floorboards to see if they were loose. She burned sage and chanted some cleansing spell she’d downloaded off the internet. One website hinted at possession. She burned candles to see if the fire turned blue. Supposedly that helped identify ghosts. So far, no ghosts, no evil spirits.
Then, today, as she was loading her research books onto the bookshelf, she found her first clue. The thick leather-bound tome was clearly old, with English translation written in small print down the margins. She’d found the book wedged behind an antique bookshelf. The print was faded and the paper smelled of time and dust. It might just be a book, but it felt like a clue.
“Long ago, the only children of two very magical families were meant to marry. Their powerful union would reverse the fate of a dying world. The
Similar Books
