Page 214 of Castings & Curses

“I don’t like the thought that anything or anyone has been in control of my fate my whole life. Do you?” he asked, and I could read the tone clearly. He was not happy about any of it.

I thought about it a moment and then said, “Maybe. If my fate was bringing me love, family, friends, an education and opportunity to be a part of something when I have always known I was singular, alone as a species. Then yes, I would be happy to let fate take the wheel and guide me to good things.”

I gulped and admitted, “But that is not where we are, is it? You may call to my basic nature, but you don’t want that life. This life, where you are the lord of the castle and I am your lady and a domestic tale of children and pets, laughter and holidays, friends and family travel are not part of your rogue lifestyle or agenda, even as you settle down.”

He tipped his drink and said, “Right you are.”

“So, what happens if nothing happens?” I asked. “What if I…take some of the grass or plants or whatever it is that makes me not want to consume your energy back to the dorm? What if I don’t want to live in your lonely castle haunted by ghostly servants? What if I don’t want you?”

He quirked his brow and said, “You cannot resist my dark side. It’s what you seek. It tastes the sweetest, does it not?”

“There are other people with dark magic in their aura. I can find candy to snack on just walking past the medical department. I could go feed on that energy for days, weeks even when they begin what they call finals, which is really testing on unsuspecting beings in the name of progress.” I had resisted feeding there on principle.

“It won’t be the same.” He seemed nonplussed about it all. His ego was shocking to witness. A bell chimed and he said, “Dinner is served.”

CHAPTER6

I hatedthat the meal was excellent. I mean, I needed this ghostly chef in my life. To override the silent treatment I was giving him, he simply waved a hand and a ghostly string section began playing soft music. The table was set to woo someone, but I was training my brain to hate him, resist his visual charms, his dark magic aura that I knew would taste like bitter-sweet chocolate of the finest making. Much like too much chocolate, he would probably make me sick if I indulged. The longer I was here, the more I could sense, the more I could siphon if I dared risk getting a mouthful of yuck again.

The clinking sound of his silverware being placed on the plate drew my attention. He was finishing his last bite and looking at me as he swallowed that down. It was really ashamed someone so handsome was so bitter and ugly inside. The darkness hadn’t fully consumed him, but he didn’t hide from it, wasn’t exactly ashamed of it, yet he was not so keen on my knowing that was there. It made me wonder, “Can anyone else see your dark side?”

He considered the question a moment and said, “Professor Larson knows who she hired.”

Of course. Professor Larson knows everything. Maybe she knew I would want to eat his essence and that is why she assigned me to him. Maybe she wanted me to get rid of her dark spot on the faculty roster. Made sense. The more time I spent with him, the less I liked him.

The awkward silence grew until I asked one more loaded question. “When will you open the portal back to the campus for me?”

I didn’t have that kind of magic. I had to buy a portal key if I wanted to speed up my travel or move between realms.

“Not tonight.” He pushed back as the invisible servants removed our dishes. I sat there in shock. “Come, let’s talk some more.”

It was a whisper, but words. “I don’t want to talk to you.”

“What’s that?” he asked.

“I don’t want to talk to you.” I looked him directly in his swirling eyes and said, “I want to go home.”

“You are home.” He indicated the castle.

I shook my head. “No. My home is…not here. It’s back there. It’s the dorm and my best friend, Nadia. It’s my parents and the forest I was raised in. It’s my students and the career I have chosen. You said you didn’t like the idea of fate dictating your future. Well, I didn’t mind. Until now. When you seem to think that despite telling me you are not interested in that future, we somehow are stuck carrying it out? No. I will NOT be strapped to a sinking ship. Drown on your own, Professor Roark.”

I stormed out of the castle, not realizing how dark it was. Having no clue where I was going, I did move away from the main entrance and around toward the back. I picked my way through a garden path that seemed to lead toward a cemetery. I ignored the names on the tombstones and finally found the building that likely housed the enshrined bodies of the original owners.

I swatted at cobwebs and wiped away the dust to read names. When I found hers, I knocked on the wall and said, “Hello? Are you here? I know you’re around here somewhere and I can’t wait for you to decide to find me. I need you right now.”

Nothing.

I turned and slid against the stone wall until I was seated. “Of course.”

The tomb was musty, dusty, and didn’t seem to be cared for as it should be. It made me wonder, “How long has it been for you? If you are a part of me, and my appetite is insatiable for this man, then how long has it been since you were reincarnated?”

No answer.

“That long.” I scoffed. “The pencil brought me here, didn’t it? That’s why the tea in the dream made me calmer, less likely to murder him. It’s why that grows everywhere here. I can smell it now. Did you consume your mate?”

Silence.

“That’s it, right?” I puffed out a breath. “He found you, fell in love with you, and you liked that feeling. He wasn’t a good man, though, was he? I can sense that from the castle, the collection. Lots of things that could be fed on if hungry. And you were hungry because that plant was not here when you first arrived. Probably your first existence.”

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