Capricorn Cursed (19 page)

“You're still pretty, but you just can't answer back,” he said. “Or bite me.” He stroked one of her breasts through the thin cotton of her blouse. “Very nice. I really think we can get to know each other now.”

He fondled both her breasts. Natasha fought against the restraints, but they held her tight. In the far corner, several ghosts huddled, watching the scene unfold. To the side was the grieving face of a man. His energy spilled into her, and she stared at him. It was William McKenzie.

His message was to his son.

Natasha couldn't say anything, so she closed her eyes. She willed the father to be gone, but when she opened her eyes, he was still there. Another face joined him. Another person who had died by her hand.

She struggled against the shackles as Bob ran his hands between her legs.

“You are my beauty, my queen. I can cure you, you know.” He stepped back proudly and went over to small table he had set up while she was sleeping.

He held out a cup of liquid. The stench from it turned her stomach.

“Don't worry. You don't have to drink it. I heard this elixir would cure any vampire. I got it at the flea market. A man was selling it.”

Natasha watched the spirits swirl over Bob. The shadows at the window flickered back and forth.

Bob approached her with the steaming brew. The foul smell made Natasha dizzy.

As Bob held the cup to pour the elixir over her head, there was a crashing from the window. The glass blew inward, and a large, clawed hand groped inside. The sound startled Bob, and much of the mixture slopped out over Natasha. She screamed as it seared through her, puffs of steam rising from her burning flesh. Droplets of it splashed into her eyes, and she squeezed them shut, the burning beginning in her left eye and rapidly blurring her vision.

Bob stared with horror as a large man-beast wriggled through the window. The creature was muscular and covered in a thick mat of blond hair. Massive, furry hands slapped the potion from Bob and sent it flying onto the floor. The spirits shrank back into the corners as the enormous beast stood in front of Bob.

“What the fuck are you?” Bob cried out, staring at the huge, gnashing jaws that dripped with drool.

The wolf-man whacked Bob into a corner with one hand and loped over to the screaming Natasha. She cried as the acid burned into her, searing her flesh from her bones. The skin on her face was melting; her hair fell out in clumps.

Bob moaned from the floor, struggling to get up as the wolf-man easily tore away the leather straps that held Natasha. As the wolf-man tried to hold her up, Bob scrambled to his feet and jumped onto the wolf-man's back.

“Don't free her. She's evil. She's a vampire.”

The wolf-man turned and tore at him with his clawed hand. The flesh on Bob's face easily ripped away, exposing his jaw and cheekbone. Bob screamed as the wolf-man tackled him to the ground. Natasha fell over, going unconscious; the last sounds she heard were Bob's screams as the beast pulled him apart.

 

 

Your friends define who you are.

 

Natasha's Recovery

 

Natasha woke in a bed in the circle room of Lucy's house. Every bone in her body ached. Her hunger was enormous, and she sat up too quickly. She lay back down dizzily and stared around her.

The women were all there. They watched her from their spots in the circle, eyes staring worriedly from under hooded robes. Candles flickered, and the smell of frankincense was strong.

Natasha saw there was a man there too. She sat up again, recognizing Jim Hawthorne. “You,” she said, pointing weakly. “You…”

She sank back down into her pillows. What was Jim Hawthorne doing there? Why was he in the circle?

She felt warmth on her chest, and, looking down, she saw the locket was back around her neck. It glowed with an unearthly hue.

Lucy stepped forward and took Natasha's hand.

“We thought we lost you,” she said, her eyes glistening with tears. “What happened?”

Strange fragments of memory returned to her. A basement. The ghosts watching. Playing the violin. Bob. The wolf-man.

She sat up again.

“Is Bob…?”

“Yes, Bob is dead. We found him, or rather, what was left of him. We took care of it. Don't worry.”

“How did you find me?”

“It doesn't matter right now. How are you feeling?” Lucy asked, stroking Natasha's hair.

“Not so good. Is my face…?”

“Your face is fine. We've been working on you for the past week. Spells and potions. Bringing you back.”

“I'm so grateful. To all of you.”

“It was Jim who was the most help,” Lucy said as she waved Jim over.

“It was? How?”

Lucy cleared her throat. “Jim is a vampire hunter.”

Natasha flinched.

Lucy laughed. “But not in a bad way, dearie, or you wouldn't be here.”

Jim stepped over to her. “I've been studying vampires my whole life. Watching how they feed and how they live. Trying to understand the science of how they work. How you work.”

“Why?”

“I don't know why. A calling, I guess. I've always been fascinated by vampires, and as a child, I thought they were just a story. But eventually, I realized they were real. To make along story short, I was able to help the ladies create a way to save you. The charts from Gwen, the spells from Lucy, pages from your diaries…”

“My diaries…” Natasha said.

“Don't worry,” Lucy said. “It was only Jim and I going through them, looking for clues on how to help you.” She leaned forward and whispered into Natasha's ear. “You are young and beautiful once more.”

Natasha grinned. “You don't hate me?”

Lucy laughed. “Of course we don't hate you. We love you, Natasha. We've all been here for you. Your secret is safe with us.”

 

* * *

 

Natasha moved into one of Lucy's big bedrooms while she recovered. The days blended together at first, a hazy blur of trying to regain her strength.

One day, as she sat reading, there was a knock at the door.

“Come in,” she said.

The door opened and Gus stepped in, clutching a bouquet of black roses. He grinned when he saw her. “You look so much better now.”

“How did you know I was here?” she asked.

“Don't worry about that. How are you feeling?”

“Much better now that you're here.”

Gus sat on the edge of her bed and took her hand.

“I'm sorry I ran off on you that day. I…I had something that needed to be taken care of.”

“That's all right.”

“I would like very much to see you again, when you're better.”

“I would like that, too,” Natasha said. She breathed in his scent deeply as they chatted about nothing. She stared at his face and his hands, yearning to touch and kiss him.

“You must rest so that you can return home,” he said, kissing her on the forehead.

“Thank you for coming to visit me,” Natasha said.

So many images played through her mind, a lifetime of pictures, of struggles, of pain. Flashes of flying fur, of blood and cages haunted her. She often thought about how she had been carried through the woods and snow in the arms of a giant beast. She had been terrified that one monster was being traded for another, yet she woke up under the care of Lucy.

She dreamed of being stronger so that she could see Gus again. She ached for him more with each passing hour.

She stared over at her beloved violin, safe in its case and relieved that the witches had found it for her. Her fingers itched to dance across the strings.

She couldn't wait until she was strong once more.

Finally, she was able to return home.

The first thing she did was go to her music room and play her violin. It was the best homecoming she could have asked for, playing her music by herself.

After she played, she decided to go for a walk. Maybe she would go over to the woods if the snow wasn't too deep along the paths. She hadn't been over there in a long time.

 

 

You may meet your soul mate.

 

The Woods

 

The woods were darker with every step away from the moonlight. Even the glow of the snow was eventually lost as Natasha crept along the path. She kept gloved hands out to catch the passing branches and picked her way carefully across icy patches.

The hum continued.

It was madness to continue this venture into the unknown, yet the noise tickled her under her skin.

At last she saw an orange glow in the distance. As she drew closer, the glow became flickering, crackling flames. A small fire spat and burned, illuminating darkness at the mouth of a cave.

The humming was coming from inside.

Natasha stood watching the fire. She waited, knowing there was something around her. She closed her eyes, and labored breathing filled her mind.
He
was waiting for her. Whoever
he
was. Masculine and strong. Calling her.

She opened her eyes again with confidence and moved forward. She passed the fire and stood before the mouth of the cave. The humming stopped, and now the breathing had moved from her mind to hot breath warming her face. She turned to run, but something large grabbed her arm with a force that spun her back. She was clamped tightly to a large, furry chest. Pinned, she was unable to struggle, and let herself be taken to wherever it was they were going to go.

His grip was strong as he loped through underground mazes. Eventually, Natasha passed out from his relentless clutching and dreamed of blackness.

When she finally woke, she stared around the room in dazed wonderment. She was still wearing her clothes as she sat up in a large four-poster bed. Dozens of electric candles lit the room. There was a bookcase filled with books, a boom box, and several large crystals. A giant poster of the solar system with various astrological markings handwritten in various colors was on one of the far walls.

There were two chairs, and a huge, hairy beast sat in one of them, staring into a crystal ball. He turned his head, and she gasped when she saw his face.

He was Gus but not Gus. Somehow, he was a wolf, a bear, a man. His features blended into each other, yet he was still striking.
Charismatic?
His eyes locked onto her own. Gus's eyes.

“You're awake.” It was a statement made in a gravelly growl.

Natasha cringed. “Gus? Why have you called me here?”

“I needed you…to see.” He stood up, and she gasped at his size. Long, dark fur hung from his already huge frame. A leather pouch dangled around his neck. His hands were paw-like claws, as were his feet. His cock dangled firmly between his legs.

“See?” Natasha said as she stared at his cock. “I see…wow.” She shook her head.

“Natasha. It's not funny,” he said as he approached her, his teeth bared in a snarl.

“Oh…” she said. “I didn't mean…I mean…I'm impressed. By all of it. Are you a werewolf?”

“What do you think?”

“How?”

Gus turned away from her and began to pace the room in a circle. “About five years ago, I was in England. I was hanging out around Stonehenge. I wasn't supposed to be, but I was. I was attacked.”

“Did you turn right away?”

His pacing quickened, his hands clenching and unclenching. “Immediately. It was ugly. But I've learned to control it.” He pointed to his crystals. “They're from around the world. I put them on my chakras. I'm able to sort of control my urges like that.”

“Really?”

“Not all the time. Only when the planets are right. See here?” He pointed to Venus. “This is a good time for me to use the crystals and try to talk to you. Over here…”He pointed to another spot on the chart. “I have to stay hidden. I'll lock myself in here for a few days.”

“No kidding.”

“It's freaky. Using astrology to socialize myself. But it's working. With the crystals and some spells.”

He turned away.

“It doesn't always work.” He paced again. Natasha noted that his cock was growing erect.

“What do you want from me?”

He stood in front of her. “I want to get to know you. But I want you to know the real me first. I thought maybe here in Hermana, someone like you would understand this werewolf business more than someone out in the real world.”

“Well, we are more open-minded here,” she said. “What do you want to do?”

“I want to touch you,” he said.

Natasha stared at the long claws. “I don't know.”

“You have clothes on.” He reached for her. “Remember how we danced on New Year's Eve?” He clicked on a CD player with a remote. A classical waltz swelled over the sound system.

“Yes, I do,” Natasha said and stepped toward him. She closed her eyes and rested her head against his fur.

As they danced, Natasha felt him shifting in her arms. He was changing. By the time the song was over, Gus was human again.

“How did you do that?” she asked.

“I didn't. You did.”

“I did?” Natasha returned to the bed and sat down. “I don't understand.”

“I don't, either. It has to do with the charts. Sometimes I'm human, sometimes I'm not.” He realized he was naked and covered his groin with his hands. “I think I'd better get dressed,” he said as he went over to a dresser. He took out a sweater and jeans. Natasha admired the way his back muscles rippled as he bent over to pull on his pants.

Once he was dressed, he stood before her again. “Not so scary now,” he said. “Or impressive.”

“Gus…is this why you didn't answer my email?”

“That and it's hard to get access to a computer at that Internet café. I don't exactly have electricity here. I'll run the generator now and then, as you heard, but that's it.” Gus sat beside her and took her hand. “What do you think? Do you want to try to be with me?”