THE SIPHONER'S CURSE
A/N: Thank you for stopping by. I decided to write a sequel to The Veiled Coven, because lets be real: we all miss Noralise. So if you enjoyed/liked my first Noralise story, I hope you will enjoy this one as well. I will try to update as much as I can, but unfortunately, as with what happened with The Veiled Coven, there has been some life changes and I do not have access to my trust writing computer as much as I would like. I hope you still continue to read despite the fact. Anyway, thank you for stopping by.
SYNOPSIS: Wedding Bells are in the air for Nora and Mary Louise. Meanwhile, a ruthless Archeologist uncovers several artifacts that grant people mystic properties, and begins to target Werewolves, Witches, Vampires, and their supporters. While facing this new threat, the team gets help by an unlikely source who comes to them with a problem.
CHAPTER ONE
THE mid afternoon sun came bearing down in all its glory on the small city of Matera in Italy. Most people had taken solace in any shade they could find, but for thirty-year-old Matthew Keen, an adventurer and free spirit at heart, this was an optimal time to explore the unique caves this city had to offer—even if sweat was dripping from every orifice of his 6-foot frame.
From a distance he could make out the caves, and his heart raced with anticipation to explore every crevice. As he drew nearer to one of the entrances, his excitement became more palpable as the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck stood up with anticipation.
Before he entered the cave he paused briefly, pulling out his cellphone and took a quick picture of the landscape, before going into his contacts and sending it to someone he named 'My Love' with a heart emoji, along with a message saying: 'wish you were here.'
He smiled briefly as he read the almost instantaneous reply: 'I wish I were there too. You'll have to tell me all about your grand adventure when you get back. Love and miss you – xo.'
He put his cellphone back into his pocket and began the trek into the cave. He had read the reviews online and in guidebooks, but nothing could beat the rush he felt when her first walked into the caves.
As he ran his hands along the cave walls, he imagined he was with his grandfather, who was an avid explorer. As a child, he would sit by his grandfather's chair and listen to his grand adventures of places he had been. When lung cancer ravaged his grandfather's body, he listened to places he would have liked to go, and these caves were one of them. He knew his grandfather was here in spirit as he took in the beauty and magnificence of this intricate cave.
As he moved deeper into the cave, he began to hear voices. Normally, this wouldn't have bothered him—after all, this was a tourist spot, but on top of the voices he heard chiseling—as if someone was intentionally destroying one of the cave's walls.
When he got closer to the sound of the voices, they got more distinct. There were definitely two other people in the cave, and both were men. The older voice was rugged and domineering, while a more slightly timid voice seemed nervous and unsure. Matthew slowed down his steps and took cover behind another wall as he listened to the conversation.
"How much longer?" The Older, more dominant voice asked.
"It's hard to say," The Timid Man answered. "This is very delicate work. If you want me to destroy the artifact, I can be done within five minutes."
There was a long silence before The Timid Man spoke again, "With all due respect, Sir."
Matthew listened carefully, wondering exactly what artifact they could be digging up, and more importantly, how they knew an artifact was even present in these cave walls. A part of him was extremely curious, but he remained hidden behind one of the cave walls.
The careful chiseling continued for a good chunk of time, and then The Older Man's voice finally exclaimed, "At last!"
Matthew carefully peered his head out to see both men smiling at their accomplishment. The Older Man's was holding a statue that had a large, ruby red crystal, attached to it that glowed in intervals, lighting up the cave in a magnificent red. Matthew couldn't believe what he was seeing as the artifact mesmerized him.
"What are we going to do now, Sir?" The Timid Man asked. He wore a huge smile on his face.
"We aren't going to do anything," The Older Man answered as he pulled out a gun and pointed it toward the Timid Man, whose expression quickly changed from happy to frightened. "I'm going to find the other pieces to this magnificent puzzle, and once I do, I will finally eradicate the problem that has been plaguing this earth for so long. No longer will there be Vampires, Werewolves, or Witches mucking about. The earth will be restored to how God intended, with humans walking it."
The Timid Man blinked. "But I am human."
"No," The Older Man said. "You are weak. This will be war, and there will be no room for people like you."
With that, the Older Man pulled the trigger, and a loud gunshot was heard going off echoing in the cave walls. Matthew gasped in horror as he watched the other man fall to the ground with a bullet in his head.
The loud gasp drew the Older Man's attention and he turned to face Matthew, pointing the gun at him. Matthew felt his heart beat fast, and he wasn't sure what was going to happen. He wished his girlfriend were here so he could tell her that he loved her one last time. He also wondered if he was going to see his grandfather and tell him about his grand adventure that ended in his untimely demise. He closed his eyes, waiting for the sound of the gun, but it never came. When he slowly opened his eyes again, the Older Man only had a sinister smile on his face. Whatever was going to happen to him defiantly wasn't going to be good.
BRIDAL magazines fell onto the kitchen table, taking Nora and Mary Louise by surprise. Sage had taken it upon herself to help her two new sisters plan an extravagant wedding. The second Mary Louise and Nora had come back into the Sanctuary and had shared the good news with their family; Sage was the first one to squeal with excitement. Everyone had taken the news very well, and they had all celebrated well into dawn. Week's later; Sage's bedroom had been converted into the official Bridal planning office, and she and Nora continued to bond over their love for Pinterest.
Jonas, who was also sitting at the kitchen table stood up, taking this as his cue to leave. While he was extremely happy for Nora and Mary Louise, details of planning a wedding bored him to tears.
Sage quickly noticed Jonas's apprehension in taking part in anything that had to do with girly stuff. But it wasn't just Jonas either. Barron and Callum were also notorious for making themselves scarce anything the words wedding and planning came out of her mouth.
"What is it with guys and not wanting to be a part of a beautiful celebration?" Sage asked while Jonas was still in earshot, which caused him to turn around. "What are you going to do when you finally want to marry someone?"
"If and when I get married," Jonas started to say. "I'll just hire you to plan the whole thing."
Nora and Mary Louise chuckled at Jonas's remark. However, both Mary Louise and Nora appreciated Sage's excitement and work she put into planning the wedding. It was as if she knew exactly what they liked and didn't, and all her suggestions had been spot on. It was also nice to have someone as excited as they were to tie the knot and spend eternity together.
"Oh hush Jonas," Nora said. "You would be so lucky to have Sage plan your wedding."
Nora watched as Jonas waved a hand in dismissal as he headed toward the living room.
Cynthia who entered the kitchen from the back door noticed the abundance of magazines on the table. "You've been busy," She said to Sage as she walked over to the table and picked up a magazine and flipped through it. A lot had changed since she and Adam got married, and each wedding picture in the magazine seemed more extravagant than the last.
Mary Louise and Nora had made it clear that they wanted something simple with just a sprinkle of extravagance. Sage had been magnificent in keeping to that theme. Sage always said that their love was like a Fairy-Tale, and even if they didn't want to go all out like other Fairy-Tale weddings, it would still be a Fairy-Tale wedding even if they got married at city hall, because their love was eternal, and that was the theme they were going for.
"There is still plenty of time to decide how we will decorate the courtyard for the Nuptials," Sage began to say. "But I just had an idea that I think you both would love."
Cynthia noticed Sage was holding something close to her chest, as if to hide it from the three of them. Nora and Mary Louise seemed interested into hearing what she had to say.
"So, I was thinking. There are certain customs people do when they get married. Like burn a joint candle together, or put sand in a vase…that kind of deal. I kind of liked the sand in the vase idea, because that lasts longer."
"And here I thought we would just be exchanging rings," Mary Louise commented. "What is this sand thing?"
"It's when the people getting married pour two different colors of sand into a vase. It blends together to signify their unity," Sage answered.
"That seems…sweet," Nora said as she looked at Mary Louise, who was contemplating the idea. "What kind of vase would we get?"
Sage continued, "Well, that's the thing. When I was looking at vases and what would be cute, I realized they weren't you. I couldn't find anything that symbolized your eternal love so I scratched the idea until I came across this." She removed the picture she was holding to show Cynthia, Mary Louise and Nora, an infinity symbol.
Sage added, "This Company makes custom made vases, uses the highest quality crystal, and this would be just big enough to fit on your dresser so you both could see it every morning. I was thinking you could use something like this to symbolize your infinite love for each other. It's the closest thing to eternity and the theme we're going for."
Mary Louise turned to face Nora, "What do you think, My Love?"
"I think it is a wonderful idea," Nora answered.
"I do too," Cynthia said. "It definitely does suit you.
Sage's smile grew wider. "I'm glad you all like it."
"We've picked the right wedding planner, that is for sure," Nora began to say. "It's just, what color sand would we use?"
Sage cleared her throat. "I was hoping you would ask that because I was racking my brain trying to figure out what colors would both suit you until I saw it in front of my face."
Cynthia, Mary Louise, and Nora all looked confused at Sage's sudden halt to her story, and it was only after a moment that they realized Sage was not looking at their faces anymore, but instead to both Nora and Mary Louise's ring fingers where Mary Louise was wearing a green diamond and Nora was wearing a blue one."
"I mean, it has to be fate that the rings match the eye colour of your beloved," Sage said. "So I was thinking Mary Louise would have a light blue sand to represent her eye colour, while wearing her green engagement ring, and Nora would have light green sand to match her eye color, while wearing her blue engagement ring."
The room went quiet for a moment before Mary Louise spoke, "I think you definitely have a gift for wedding planning, Sage. This is a fabulous idea."
Sage blushed at the compliment. "What can I say? I love love, and you two deserve every ounce of happiness."
Nora quickly got up from her seat at the table. "This wedding is going to be perfect. I want people on Pinterest to be envious of our wedding. I want them to know what an amazing wedding planner we have. I want them to cry of jealously."
"This wedding will definitely be Pin-worthy," Sage added as both Nora and her squealed with delight.
Mary Louise exchanged a glance with Cynthia, who also didn't understand the appeal of Pinterest. But both Sage and Nora were happy, and that made the both of them happy as well.