Cienna's Amulet, A Christmas Romance (Raymara Barwil Romance) (2 page)

Here was Cienna, as a girl smiling at the camera as she sat on a garden swing… Here was Cienna as a teen, her curly hair cut short, standing on a beach, holding hands with her grandmother who was holding an old-fashioned parasol. They both wore matching red sundresses and huge smiles… Here was Cienna in her early twenties, staring directly at the camera, a close-up face shot. Her grey eyes seemed to look right at him. He traced his finger over the delicate angles of her face; he lingered over her full red lips, with that perfect Cupid’s bow and fought the urge to kiss the picture.

I must be losing my mind...maybe I’m homesick...

Miguel replaced the album on the pine coffee table where he had found it and sat down on a wicker chair near the window. He closed his eyes and thought over what he was going to say.

There was a noise in the hallway, a key in the front door. It was time. He sat up straight in his seat and looked towards the open door of the living room. He began chanting, imperceptibly, under his breath. “Be open, calm, be open, calm...enchanted woman, you will listen...you will be open and calm...”

###

Cienna closed the door behind her, removed her leather jacket and hung it up with a sigh.

It’s so warm in here…but I didn’t leave the heating on. Why is it so hot?

She walked to the thermostat at the end of the hall. It was on zero, as she had left it. The open living room door to her left caught her eye. She always made a point of closing all doors before she went out. Taking a deep breath, she walked in -- and saw Miguel sitting in her reading chair near the window. He stayed in his chair and looked at her with that intense expression from this morning.

Cienna held on to the door, her eyes widening with horror: “What the hell are you doing in my house? How did you get in?” she shouted. She felt strangely calm; she should have been scared but she was furious.

Miguel continued to mutter under his breath and stared right into her eyes. He raised his hand and beckoned her to him.

Cienna stepped forward on impulse, then froze as she realised what she was doing. Her stubbornness kicked in and she clenched her fists, not knowing what to do next.

Why did I almost go to this madman? I should scream for help, but I just don’t feel scared. Why is he just sitting there like that?

“Bloody answer me you maniac! Did you break into my house? What do you want from me?” she shouted, louder than before, standing in place as if rooted to the spot. 

I’ll be damned if I go over to him.

As she shouted, she felt her right hand heating up; her ring was emitting heat, not painful but enough to make her suddenly unclench her fist and look down at her hand. For a moment, she forgot about Miguel as she touched the stone on her ring; it seemed to be glowing from within like one of those glow in the dark toys she had loved as a child.

Miguel stopped chanting and watched as confusion spread over Cienna’s face. He wanted to get out of the chair, but he couldn’t. He had tried everything to make her stop shouting and come to him, but it hadn’t worked. The more she had shouted, the more sexy she had appeared to him and he was astounded to feel his manhood harden. His magnetic mantra had failed him for the first time, he was able to draw anyone to him with those words, but somehow it seemed Cienna was resistant. Instead, it was him who had wanted to go to her and take her in his arms...

Cienna finally drew her eyes away from the ring. The glow had suddenly disappeared and she was cooling down. I must be imagining things. I’ve had too much to drink. She looked at Miguel, who now had his head in his hands, his broad shoulders hunched over. She was suddenly filled with an urge to go to him and hold him close to her; he just looked so vulnerable yet strong and manly.

Wow, I must be finally losing my mind. There’s a stranger who’s broken into my house and I’m attracted to him instead of running for help! Cienna took a deep breath, and cleared her throat. Miguel finally stood up and began to move to her, with his hands by his side and his handsome face calm.

“Cienna, I’m not here to do you any harm...please listen to me. I just want to talk to you. Please,” he said softly with his slight Spanish accent.

She held out her arm and lifted her palm. “You stop right there. I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but I’m leaving this room and giving you one minute to leave my house or I’m calling the police.”

She turned and ran up the stairs into the bathroom. She bolted the door behind her and stood, shivering in front of the bathroom mirror, wondering why she felt a sick attraction to this man in such a strange situation. She looked down at the ring again and stroked it as she wondered what Damawyn would have done.

He said he came to talk about her father. It must be genuine...he was Spanish after all, but she wanted nothing to do with the father who had abandoned her and never returned. Why was this all happening now? Damawyn would say that everyone deserves a chance to be heard.

Cienna turned on the cold tap and splashed her face with water. She pushed her hair back off her face, looked at her sad looking reflection in the mirror. You’re being a silly little girl, Cienna Bracknell. There’s no harm in listening to what this man has to say. Once I hear him out, maybe he’ll leave me alone. She sighed, opened the door and headed down the stairs. Miguel was standing, patiently waiting for her at the bottom. He looked up and gave a tight smile.

I finally have her attention.

Chapter 3

Cienna felt Miguel’s gaze burning into her back as he followed her to the kitchen. She was aware of her body like never before. Every hair on her body stood on end. She felt a slow heat radiating from inside her...she was turned on not just sexually, but she felt awake, alive and filled with adrenalin. It was as if she had awakened from the dreamlike state she had been in since Damawyn had died back in April, when along with the beauty of nature’s new life, Spring had brought the devastation of death into her life.

“Sit there,” she said, motioning towards the kitchen table. Miguel hesitated for a moment. He was not used to taking orders from anyone, apart from Joseph. So she has some of her father’s spirit inside that exquisite body.

“Thanks, Cienna, I really appreciate this,” he said, sitting down at the small oak table.  He pushed his chair back; at six feet and one inch tall, his legs were too long to fit underneath.

Cienna had her back turned to him as she reached into her cupboards and pulled down two mugs. “I only have hot chocolate...that’ll have to do.”

“That’s great,” said Miguel, who was trying not to stare at Cienna’s slim, womanly figure in her red outfit as she prepared their drinks. Her waist was nipped in at the sides and despite her leggings, he could see that her legs were firm and toned.

She turned and caught his eyes,
realising with a thrill that he had been sizing her up. Her face remained impassive as she placed a steaming cup of cocoa in front of him and sat down with her own. She would not betray her weakness in front of this man, no matter how much she was finding herself drawn to him.

“Okay, talk. Tell me what is so important that you had to break in to my house on Christmas Day,” she said, looking at him with a challenge in her eyes. “This better be good.”

“Cienna...I don’t know how to tell you this, but I’d better get straight to the point. Your father, Joseph sent me.”

“My father? Father? Let me tell you about…”

“Please, let me finish,” said Miguel sharply. Cienna gasped at the sudden rise of his voice, but sat back in her seat and took a sip of her hot cocoa.

“Your father, Joseph sent me.  Cienna you are a special woman. You are descended from a magical race...” He stopped and put his index finger on his lips to stop Cienna who had opened her mouth to speak, “No, not your Spanish heritage. Cienna you are part faery. You had ancestors that were full faeries and over the centuries, they mixed with humans to create a race of beings that appear human but have the powers of the faeries.”

Cienna had pushed her cup away as he spoke and was staring at him with a mix of pity and amazement. The poor man is gorgeous but stark, raving mad. I will have to listen to him patiently, then get him out of here.

“Faery heritage is tied up with nature’s elements -- air, water, fire and earth. These are the four types of faery -- all need to exist together in order for the race to remain powerful. You are a fire fairy, Cienna. I am one of your kind, descended from the air faeries -- I have worked for your father for many years and he has asked me to bring you back to him.”

Cienna bit her bottom lip and looked Miguel in the eye, wondering what sort of mental disorder he was suffering from. Whatever it was, he really seemed to believe what he was saying.

“So let me get this straight…my father...a faery...sent for me. He suddenly wants to see me, twenty-four years after abandoning me. Oh and I’m part faery too? So what does my faery father want from me after all this time?”

“I’m deadly serious, Cienna. You’re in grave danger and you need to go to your father -- I will take you. You see, our people are slowly losing their powers and other malevolent races are out to take over our natural habitat and destroy the aspects of nature that we protect. We need you to balance the elements of our group and restore our power. Those evil groups do not want you to return and are hunting you down as we speak. Your grandmother protected you whilst she was alive, but you are vulnerable now. I’ve been keeping watch over you since I moved here, but there is only so much I can do; you need to come with me to your father.”

Cienna burst out laughing. “You’ve got to be kidding me; where are the hidden cameras? Is this a joke?” She looked at Miguel’s crestfallen face, his green eyes full of pain, and her laughter died down. She saw that beneath the tanned olive skin of his face, his
colour had risen. Think quick; you don’t want to get him angry. He could turn violent.

“I’m sorry, it’s just too much for me to take in right now, Miguel,” she said kindly. “I really need to think about this. Can you give me time to think about this? I’ll visit you before the New Year and let you know. Is that a deal?”

She’s giving me the brush off...She thinks I’m crazy...How do I prove this to her? Do I walk through the walls, the same way I came in? No. That could send her over the edge. She’s so precious -- I can’t risk scaring her. I’ll have to come back in a few days and be more persuasive... Maybe next time I’ll take a cold shower first and my magnetism will work like it usually does... She turned me on so much; she must have turned my magic off.

“It’s a deal.” He stood and looked down into her perfectly oval shaped face, fighting the urge to bend down and kiss her slightly open lips.  “See you before the New Year. Thanks for the hot chocolate… Please be safe; I feel that these dark forces are near.”

“I’m a big girl; I’ll be fine,” said Cienna, as she edged past him and headed to the front door. She had been careful not to brush against him as her body was reacting weirdly in his company. Her nipples had hardened and the warmth came back over her like when she saw him waiting at the foot of the stairs earlier.

“Take care, Miguel and thanks for coming.” Cienna stood in her doorway, watching as he crossed the street and opened his own front door. It was now dark and the streetlights were on. She had decided to call the medical authorities about him the very next morning. He probably needed to be sectioned, for his own safety.

###

“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas...” Cienna hummed along to the playlist of Christmas songs and carols on her mp3 player, singing the occasional line, her breath fogging in the crisp, winter night air.  She had decided to take a walk into town to collect her car rather than do it on Boxing Day. Her whole Christmas Day had been disrupted by Miguel’s visits and she knew she was completely and utterly sober.

The town seemed to be largely deserted; apart from one elderly couple walking off their Christmas dinner on her road, she hadn’t come across any cars or people on her walk. All the shops on the high road were shut, but some of the major retailers had their lights on and their bright festive displays lit up the night.

Cornwall was a beautiful place to live and Cienna would not ever consider moving anywhere else. Big city life wasn’t for her -- she had spent six months training as a makeup artist in London and as well as missing Damawyn, she had hated the fast pace of life, the lack of greenery and the miserable, grey tinged faces of the city dwellers. She loved living near the sea with plenty of trees and green fields. She smiled, remembering Miguel’s words. She had forgotten to ask where her father, the faery was allegedly living. She felt sorry for her
neighbour who looked like a normal guy...maybe more handsome than most, but a regular man. What a shame he was totally off his rocker.