Hearts Cursed, page 9
She paused. Was that really her news to tell? Not really. “Don’t you want me to?”
His gaze heated once more as it raked over her from head to toe and back again. “Oh yes. I really want to. I want to see you in the flesh. I want to feel your skin under mine, not just reach for it and have you disappear. I want you here with me.”
“I want that too.”
“Good. Because I can’t get you out of my thoughts. I don’t think I even want to.”
She couldn’t get him out of her thoughts either. Although, she really wanted to. After this lust was slaked, she’d be able to. “Well?”
“Well what?”
“Where are you?”
“I’m—“
“Ilia? Ilia? Are you okay? Ilia?”
The words thundered around her, covering his answer, and before she could figure out what was happening, she was whisked away. “No!” she screamed.
She came back to herself with a thud and a horrible sense that she’d just wasted her one and only chance to get the information they needed. “No, no, no!” She slammed her hands back on the picture of Triptolemus, running her fingers over his face. “Take me back! Take me back! I’m not finished. I’m not finished!”
“Ilia!”
“She’s hysterical.”
“She’s still lost in the vision.”
Bas, Tamuel and Korinna stood around her. They must have pulled her out of the vision. But they didn’t understand. She had to get back. To him. She had to find out where he was. Then she had to jump his bones. She hadn’t got to jump his bones.
Her skin felt like a live-wire was attached. Her nerves jumping. Heat flashed through her. Power sparked on her fingertips, in her chest. She began to fall again.
“Look at her chest! It’s glowing.”
“The gem. It must be Clodia doing this.”
“No. Wrong colour. This is something else. We need to make her let go of that book.”
Hands grabbed her arms, others wound around her waist. They pulled at her.
Her grip on the book began to slip, fingers raking across the page, across that incredibly handsome face. She scrabbled to hold on, getting her clawed fingers around the edge of the book.
“Ilia, you’ve got to let go.”
“No! No. Don’t make me stop. I almost had it. Don’t make me stop!”
“Ilia. It’s taking your life’s energy. It’s affecting Dawn.”
Those words. They got through.
Her grip slipped.
The arms around her, holding her shoulders, her waist, pulled and they lurched back.
And he was truly gone. “No, no, no! I didn’t find him! I didn’t find him!” Tears tumbled down her face.
“Find who?” Tamuel asked, his voice close to her ear – he was holding her up.
“By the Heavens. Look at that!” Korinna exclaimed.
“What?” Bas asked from Ilia’s other side. He was holding her too?
“It’s my father.”
“Words are appearing.”
They were?
She looked down and sure enough, words appeared across the bottom of the picture that had taken her into the vision with Triptolemus.
“Find me at Snowy Hills Christmas Tree Farm, Tasmania.”
“Does that mean what I think it means?” Korinna asked, her voice wobbling.
“Ilia?”
She blinked, staring at the words. “Y-yes. I saw him. He was about to tell me where he was when you pulled me out. I don’t know how, but he managed to tell me even though you ripped me away.”
“We had to, Ilia. The book was killing you. And Dawn. It sucks on your soul’s energy to power the visions it gifts. That’s why it’s locked away and has a warning attached for anyone who wants to use it.”
Did it? She hadn’t seen any warning.
“Why did you bring it out here and use it without one of us with you?” Tamuel asked.
“I didn’t. It just appeared. Like those other texts appeared.”
“It what?” Korinna looked at Tamuel and Bas, her eyes wide. “That’s not possible.”
Bas shook his head slowly. “No, it’s not. The only way a book can get out of the Black Magic and Dangerous Books section is if someone takes it out.”
“Or lets it out,” Tamuel said ominously. “We never got to the bottom of who let the book out Korinna and I battled before Easter.”
“We’ve been a bit busy,” Korinna said. “Besides, its release helped us to find the solution to how we could blend our magic together and let Ilia out of the HBG, so it felt like the intent behind that was positive. And I have to say, this feels the same. If that book hadn’t been let out for Ilia to use, we’d never have discovered where to find my father.”
“You don’t think it could be a trap?”
Korinna took Tamuel’s hand. “This is the best lead we’ve had. We have to follow it.”
“True,” Bas said. “But you need to be careful. Whoever put this information before us like this is playing a dangerous game. Ilia and Dawn could have been seriously hurt – or killed – if we hadn’t found her before it went too far.” He turned to her. “Ilia, are you okay?”
She opened her mouth to answer, but her legs suddenly gave out. Thankfully Bas caught her. “I think I need to sit down,” she said weakly.
“Here.” He picked her up and walked to the couch where he lowered her gently so she was lying down.
It should have been a relief, but her head ached and her breathing was a little too slow and hard.
“Oh Gods. Ilia. What can we do?” Tamuel asked as Korinna knelt beside her and took her hand.
“Nothing. I’ll take care of her,” Bas said. “You and Korinna need to check out the address in the book, Tam.”
“Are you sure?” Korinna asked, her voice wavering with worry and excitement as her hands clenched on Ilia’s. “Jules might need help with Dawn, and you with Ilia. Checking to see if my father’s at that address can wait.”
“No, it can’t,” Tamuel said grimly. “You’re having more intense nightmares every night, Rinna. You know the darkness is drawing near. We need to find Triptolemus sooner rather than later.
“But … Ilia. Dawn. How can we go when they’re like this?”
“Because Tam is right,” Ilia managed to say, removing her hands from Korinna’s grip and patting her arm. “I’ll be fine.”
Bas nodded. “We’ll be able to handle this. They both should recover quickly now Ilia is no longer in contact with the book.”
“Really?” Korinna’s gaze bored into her, her eyes filled with hope and worry.
“Really. You need to go. Now.” How could saying so few words sap her of all energy? But she held herself together because Korinna wouldn’t go otherwise.
“See. They’ll both be fine.” Bas raised his brow at Ilia and he smiled, grateful, before his gaze went to Tam. “But just be careful, my son. Okay?”
“Of course. We don’t know if that message is from Triptolemus or from something else entirely.”
“We’ll be careful,” Korinna promised as she got to her feet and took Tamuel’s hand.
Portal magic prickled the air in front of the couch but Ilia didn’t see them step through because blackness surrounded her and she passed out.
Chapter
Eleven
Trip slammed out of the vision as fast as he was sucked into it. He fell back on his couch with a thump. Breath exploded out of him.
“Shit!” He grasped at his chest, fingers clenching on his t-shirt as he struggled to breathe. His cock pressed hard against his shorts, still at attention despite his inability to catch his breath.
And in his mind, her face as clear as day.
Ilia.
He knew her name now!
Ilia.
It suited her, the name like sunlight shining from beyond a mountain, lighting the sky.
He smiled sappily, sinking softly into the couch, his hand going to his crotch and …
“Shit-crap-fuck!” He leaped to his feet, shoving his hands behind him. It had almost happened again. What in all the Hells was wrong with him? He’d never acted like this. Ever. And the fact Daphne had caught him masturbating last week and yet he was still at it like some horny teenager …
Something else was manipulating him. He was certain of it.
But why?
He stared around his lounge room as if to find the answers there. When nothing came, he blew out a long breath, raking his hands through his hair.
Was this happening because they were meant to be together? That might explain the outrageous lust and also the deeper feeling that he knew her somehow. Was this the Fates’ way of making up for the crappy hand he’d been dealt? Maybe. Although, she didn’t seem too keen on that idea when he’d tried to bring it up. All she’d seemed to want was his body … and for some strange reason, his address.
‘We’ve been looking for you.’ Those were her words. Who was the mysterious ‘we’ and why did they want to find him?
A crawling sensation prickled over his skin. Maybe he shouldn’t have shouted his address out to her when she abruptly flew up and away from him.
Had she heard him?
Was she coming to find him? Would she just appear, like the best, most sexy Christmas gift he’d ever seen? Or would she be with the ‘we’?
The front doorbell rang, making him jump.
He sucked in a breath. Could that be …?
He stumbled to the door as if in a dream. The doorbell peeled again just as he got there. He smiled. She was just as impatient to see him as he was to see her. He pulled the door open with such force it was a miracle it didn’t tear off its hinges. “Thank the Gods you heard me. I—”
He stared at the handsome couple who stood on his front veranda. A man and a woman. He didn’t really notice anything about the man because his attention was drawn to the woman. Not Ilia, but equally as mesmerising in a very different way. She stared at him with eyes that were the exact same colour as his. He’d never seen eyes that colour, other than when he looked in the mirror. “What …? Who are you?”
“Triptolemus?”
That name … Ilia had called him that. And like it had then, it made him feel a little sick as a bell clanged through his head over and over in time to the syllables. He winced and pressed his palm against his forehead where pain throbbed along with the clanging.
“Oh my Goddess, it’s you! I can’t believe we’ve finally found you!”
Found him? Were they Ilia’s ‘we’? And why wasn’t she here with them? She was supposed to be here too. He felt it deep in his soul. “This … isn’t … right,” he managed to say around the pounding in his head.
“Triptolemus? Are you alright? Triptolemus?”
Hells. The pain in his head got worse every time the woman said his name. “I’m not Triptolem … Triptol … Tripto—” The pain threatened to fell him when he tried to say the name, so he stopped and said, “My name’s Trip. Trip O’Dem.” The name had been the only thing left to him when he’d woken all those years ago – that and the bags of gold – and as he said it, the pain slipped away.
“Trip.” Her lips wobbled. “I like it.”
He frowned. What did it matter if she liked his name? And yet, it did. And why was there something so familiar about her? The familiarity wasn’t just in the fact they shared the same colour eyes. It was something else he couldn’t put his finger on, yet he was certain he’d never seen her before in this life.
He cleared his throat. “Who are you?”
The woman’s hand went to her throat. “Do you not recognise me? They say I look like my mother.”
He stared at her, his chest tightening.
Her mother? Had he known her mother? Maybe that’s why she looked familiar. For a glimmering moment, a wisp of memory of a face very like hers shimmered in his mind’s-eye before a stabbing pain sent it spiralling away.
Biting back another wince, he said, “I … I’ve never seen you before. And I have no idea who your mother is.”
“Oh, I …” She swallowed hard, her upset obvious.
His chest ached. He wanted to touch her face, to tell her everything would be okay.
But she was a stranger. A stranger who might know Ilia.
For some reason though, he couldn’t come out and just ask. Her name seemed locked in his throat. Instead, he asked, “Who are you?”
“I’m Korinna Soteira. This is my mat— My husband, Tamuel Stevens.”
He shook his head. The names held an echo, like something long forgotten, but he was certain he’d never heard them before. “Doesn’t ring a bell. Why do you think I’m supposed to know you?” The longer this conversation went on, the more he was coming to think they had nothing to do with Ilia. Because if they did, wouldn’t they mention her?
“I … I suppose it was foolish to hope you would.” The woman blinked rapidly, her gaze flickering to the man she’d identified as Tamuel. He didn’t say anything, just took her hand in his, holding it tight, and for a moment, Trip could have sworn that his dark eyes glowed violet as he met Korinna’s gaze.
Power pulsed from both of them.
These people were not human. At least, not fully. He took a step back, panic a tight grip in his chest. Something inside him told him to run, that he could never let himself be caught by anyone else with magic.
Except, he hadn’t felt that with Ilia. And she most definitely had magic.
This must be proof that these people had nothing to do with her.
He took a step back, reaching for the door. “I don’t know what your business is here, but I want you to go.”
The woman stepped forward, hands clasped together, eyes beseeching. “Please, don’t. I’ve come a long way to meet you. There’s things … things I have to say. Things you need to know.”
“I need to know nothing from you.”
He went to close the door, but the man – Tamuel – waved his hand and the door sprang out of Trip’s hand to slam back against the wall. “Please. Triptolemus. You need to listen.”
Anger welled inside him, burning away the panic and fear that their presence brought, and the pain the sound of that name evinced. He gripped the door and yanked it from its position against the wall. It wasn’t easy to move, but he gritted his jaw and pulled until he slammed it in their faces.
The last thing he saw was the surprised expression on the man’s face and tears in the woman’s eyes.
Arms and legs trembling, he leaned back against the door.
“Well, that didn’t go well,” he heard the man say through the door.
“It’s him. She found him. I can’t believe it’s really him.”
“It is wonderful, my heart, but I don’t think he was lying when he didn’t seem to remember anything about you at all.”
“I know. I have to admit that I thought if he just saw me it would break the spell.”
“I hoped that too but … did you see the fear in his eyes? That doesn’t bode well for making him listen to us.”
“It must have something to do with the spell Demeter put on him to take his memories and keep him safe.”
At the sound of that name – Demeter – Trip’s legs gave way and he slid to the floor, the room swaying and swirling around him. Even so, the couple’s conversation came through the door loud and clear, piercing the fog in his mind.
“But how am I to get through to him? I need him to listen. I need him to teach me about my birthright and to explain exactly why he did what he did.”
“Maybe Ilia can help. She’s the one who’s been seeing him.”
Ilia! They did know Ilia. They were her ‘we’!
He tried to move, but his limbs were just too sluggish and his head too full of pain as their words swirled around him.
“Yes. But … if she comes, it means everyone has to come and they’ll have to come by plane then drive because Dawn gets too sick going through the portal. And how can I ask Jules to leave right now with all her Christmas plans in place?”
“I don’t think we have a choice. He obviously still has some of his power – did you see how he moved the door despite me holding it with my power? Not to mention what helped us to find him. Ilia’s dreams then that vision and now the book!”
“And what about the thing Ilia says he did with his blood? Growing the plants in that field. Do you think his blood is what drew her in some way, because of what we did at Easter with my blood and yours, mixing them with the power of the ring and the power of Oestra?”
“I don’t know. It’s possible.”
“But what does it mean?”
“I can’t answer that. What I am concerned about is if the media gets wind of the miracle Garden of Eden growing in his paddock, they’ll have a field day. It might even get so big an issue it could draw Zeus and the other Gods’ attention – and we don’t want any of them turning this way before we’ve discovered how to get his memories back.”
“I’m sure there’s things we can do to stop that from happening.”
“True. You should try using your powers with your ring. If he grew all that from his blood, I’m sure yours mixed with the gem can help undo it all so it doesn’t seem so … miraculous.”
Trip held his breath as their words punched through his spinning thoughts. Could they take care of that problem for him? Perhaps he should go out, talk to them, ask for the help they seemed so ready to give. Especially given they did know Ilia. Were talking about bringing her down here.
Ilia.
Every time they said her name, it pushed aside the pain and confusion, the sound of it a burst of brightness in his mind like the most perfect of blooms, carrying her perfumed scent along with it, like night-blooming jasmine and roses as they were warmed by the sun’s rays at dawn.
Ilia.
“She is the one. The one who will save you. You must get her here. You must drink of her blood.”
The thought jagged in his mind, stopping him from spinning back into the wet-daydream again. He tried once more to get up, but his limbs were like jelly and he slid back to the floor.
The voices outside grasped his attention.
“… using your powers isn’t what’s worrying you, is it?” Tamuel was saying.
