Thanks to everyone who reviewed! You guys are the best. There was a question of when this story takes place, so I'll just answer that here. Spellbound takes place after Breaking Dawn. It's pretty much right after the summer of Bella and Edwards wedding, etc. (Assuming that all that happens, of course. Which it better, or angry grizzly bears are going to look tame next to what I will become.)
Anyways, on with the story! :)
Chapter Two: Ancient History
Kora
Quil found me at lunch.
I don't know how he did it. I tried to hide away in the farthest corner of the cafeteria where no one could see me. He found me anyway, and didn't even wait for a response before he grabbed my lunch tray in one hand and my arm in the other and dragged me to a table in the center of the room. Everyone could see me. They paused to stare at me as I walked by, but when they saw Quil they quickly looked away. He's pretty intimidating.
I hardly noticed Kim at first. She was overshadowed by the four huge guys sitting around her. Quil really wasn't kidding when he made that comment about his friends. But she called my name brightly as Quil set my tray down next to her and pushed me down into the chair. He then took the seat on my other side. I vaguely recognized the kid across from me from my English class, but I didn't know the kid next to him or the one on Kim's other side.
"Hi," I said timidly. Everyone smiled and greeted me, with the exception of the boy from my creative writing class. He was sitting across the table and on the far left, and he shot me a rather irritated look before turning pointedly to scowl in the opposite direction. What was his name? Jason?
"Guys, this is Kora," Quil announced. "I found her in the office this morning looking lost and confused, so I took her under my wing." He playfully draped an arm across my shoulders. "Can we keep her?"
"She's not a dog, Quil," the kid from English said, then smiled at me. "I'm Embry. We have English together." I nodded.
Thankfully, Quil's arm dropped away from my shoulders. "Aw, but look at her. She's just a pup."
"She's human, Quil," said the kid next to Embry. His tone suggested that Quil really did need reminding that I wasn't some other species. "I'm Paul." He held up one hand in greeting, but didn't smile.
"And this is Jared," Kim piped up, pointing to the guy sitting on the other side of her. He smiled over the top of her head and wound his arm around her waist. So, they're together, then… "You've already met Jake…"
Oh, yeah. Jacob. That was his name.
At the sound of Kim mentioning him, he looked up and we locked eyes again. After a few tense moments he grimaced and looked away. "Hey," he grumbled, waving his hand vaguely in my direction. I looked at Quil, who rolled his eyes.
"Don't mind him, he's got more issues than Time Magazine," he said.
Jacob whirled on him. "Shut up!" he snapped with a ferocity that made me flinch involuntarily. I noticed his fingers were gripping the edge of the table so hard his knuckles were growing pale.
"Chill out, Jake," Paul warned, patting his friend on the shoulder. "I'm supposed to be the one with temper problems." Jacob didn't answer. Instead, he stood up and stalked out of the room. A teacher moved to stop him at the door, but seemed to think better of it. "What's his problem?"
"Paul," Embry said, in the same tone that he might say "duh."
"Well, I mean, besides that. He's crazier than usual today."
"Well, that was a little insensitive, Quil," Kim scolded. I stared down at my food, not really hungry. I started picking at the Styrofoam tray to give my fingers something to do. I knew a little about what they were speaking of. Kim was in my biology two class the period before, and had offered a vague explanation for her friend's attitude even though I hadn't asked for one. I didn't really care, but she told me anyway. She'd simply said that Jacob had his heart broken recently, which wasn't much of an excuse to be rude to people. If the world worked that way, then I should be allowed to yell hateful things at every person that crosses my path. No. Being in pain doesn't mean you're above the rules of proper social conduct. At least I try to be nice. Whether I come across that way or not is another thing entirely.
"He's not the first person to get the runaround," Quil sniffed. "That doesn't mean he gets to be rude to whoever he wants." It was like he was speaking my thoughts out loud. He leaned in suddenly and sniffed my shoulder, a thoughtful look on his face. I cocked my head at him, wondering if I smelled bad or something. I remembered the look on Jacob's face when I first sat down, the way he'd wrinkled his nose. Maybe I should shower in the morning. Then again, I wasn't looking to impress anyone. "Interesting." I just kept staring at him, along with everyone else at the table. "You smell," he cast his friends a meaningful look, "sweet."
"What?" I asked.
"Quil," Jared said, his tone stern.
"Sorry." He leaned away from me and said no more. I looked down, but didn't miss the raised eyebrows he was given. There was a long silence, in which I pretended not to notice the hard looks I was getting from the rest of the guys.
"So…what do you have next, Kora?" Kim asked to break the silence.
"Gym," I answered with a shrug.
"Me and Paul have gym next too," Embry said. "We can take you there."
"Cool."
Embry exchanged a look with Quil. "So does Jake."
"Cool."
"We'll protect you," Quil promised. I shrugged. Again.
"Not much of a talker, are you?" Paul inquired.
"No," I replied. I didn't like talking when my father couldn't. My hand moved to my left shoulder absentmindedly. I couldn't feel the two crescent shaped scars through my sweater, but I knew they were there. They'd already been healed when I was found, passed out on the living room floor. I was lucky in ways my father wasn't. I'd already said my Rights on my Datemark that month, already repaid the Earth with my chosen Token. One little strand of animal hair and a single drop of blood returned to the ground every thirteenth day of the month secured my safety. My father's Datemark wasn't until the twentieth, the day after his murder. One more day, and he could have lived.
But he didn't.
I stared down at my food, considering the ice gray eyes that had stared back at me from the mirror that morning. Gray, because the color was gone. Gray, because the power was missing. Gray, because I had not said my Rights the month before. Gray, because I was incomplete.
The Brotherhood was once a widespread and powerful group of warlocks. Yes, you read that correctly. No, they didn't conjure plagues or curse families. What they did do was use the little extra spark of energy in their blood to commune with the Earth and share its power.
At a price. By linking themselves to the Earth with blood, the Brothers also gave a little bit of their own humanity away. A little piece of the original seven Brothers (all of whom were, as their chosen title suggests, biological brothers) was traded to the Earth through their blood in exchange for the power to weald the elements and gain abilities no normal human could possibly possess. In place of that piece of humanity the Brothers were given what can only be described as an alternate base in their DNA, though I'm sure that this is beyond anything science can deduce.
Each Brother took a sample from the animal of his choice, and burned it together with his own blood. In that way, they bonded themselves and their posterity to whichever animal they chose. If you ask me, they cursed themselves and every firstborn son to come after them. I was the only exception, the only firstborn ever to be female. Before me, there was never any deviation from the original setup. Of course, I suppose it was somewhat inevitable for the course to change. The bloodlines of six original Brothers dwindled and disappeared over the years, some descendants vanishing somewhat mysteriously or, in some cases, dying violently.
I was the last Brother, and the first Sister. And I was bound to, of all things, a simple house cat.
My great-great-great-however-many-greats-grandfather, Louis Wolf the first, was an indecisive man and, if you ask me, pretty damn stupid. He couldn't decide what animal he wanted to bond with until the deadline, the very night of the Ceremony. As a last resort, he plucked a single hair from his mother's Maine coon and rushed off into the woods.
According to my father, Louis Wolf the first figured that he just needed to give a little more blood than his brothers and it would create a bond to a stronger type of cat. He was hoping a leopard, or maybe a tiger. But, alas, no. He was bonded to your everyday run-of-the-mill house pet version from which he'd taken his sample. Figures.
But anyway, thus is the reason why I am cursed to say my Rights and renew my powers every thirteenth day of the month. My Datemark, the day of the month that I was born. My actual birthday was in April, but my Datemark was every month.
My lack of complying to said curse is most likely the reason behind the dark shadows under my eyes, though the night terrors I experienced routinely also added to my exhaustion.
But I just couldn't do it. Without my dad, I didn't care. I didn't care that if I went too long without my Rights I wouldn't be able to control my ability to shift. I didn't care that if I kept pushing my limits with the exhaustion I could fall to the ground writhing in pain and transform right in the middle of the cafeteria. I didn't care that I couldn't do the things I'd grown up taking advantage of.
Who cares if I can't light a candle with my fingertip or make clouds gather and rain down on just one house? Who cares if I can't tell what my cat is thinking or knock a person over with just a fleeting thought?
I don't.
And as for shifting, I'd deal with that problem when it came to me. I was too tired to worry about anything besides keeping away the flashbacks and covering up the serrated hole in my heart with so much nothingness that I couldn't feel it anymore. I could lessen it to a dull ache and take it from there.
"Helloooo, Earth to Kora! Come in Kora!" I blinked and shook my head, pulling my mind out of the past and focusing instead on Quil, who was waving his hand in my face and trying to get my attention.
"Sorry," I said. "What?"
"You gonna eat that?" he asked, pointing to the slice of pizza I hadn't touched at all. Without a word, I pushed the entire tray towards him. "Sweet!" As he gobbled it down, the bell rang shrilly through the room.
"Shall we?" Paul inquired, eyeing me with an air of consternation. I guess the whole retreating into my head thing weirded them out. I noticed he was standing and stood up myself.
"Okay." My voice was soft, as always. I used to be the loudest, most outgoing person you could ever meet. Old Kora hates New Kora. New Kora doesn't give a damn.
I followed Paul and Embry through the halls, one of them on either side of me. They were tall enough to talk over my head comfortably, so they did, which was all right with me. We walked into the gym and they marched me right up to a tall woman in sweats with a whistle around her neck and a clipboard in her hand.
"Miss B, this is Kora Wolfe," Embry said. Paul snickered. What was so damn funny about my name? "She's new this year." I automatically held out my schedule for her to examine.
Miss B looked at the sheet, then jerked her head in a quick nod. "We're just going over rules today." She motioned towards the bleachers that apparently folded into the gym wall when they weren't in use. Several groups of students were milling about on them already. Jacob was sitting all the way at the top in the farthest corner. I pretended not to notice him staring. "Just have a seat for today on the right with the rest of the juniors. Make sure you brink clothes to change into tomorrow, because we're starting on the football unit right away." I couldn't keep myself from visibly recoiling and letting out a small squeak of displeasure. Football. A picture flashed into my head; a televised game with the volume turned up all the way. Little drops of blood peppered the screen.
"You okay?" Embry asked. He was leading me away from Miss B, towards the bleachers.
"Yes," I lied.
"You don't look okay."
"I don't like sports." That was true enough.
"Oh all right." We'd reached the bottom of the bleachers, and Embry and Paul started up towards Jacob. I stayed where I was, and Embry turned to me when he realized I wasn't next to him. "You coming?"
"I think I'll stay here." Just because I didn't care what Jacob thought of me didn't mean I wanted to invoke his wrath. Besides, nice as they were, Embry and Paul were his friends, not mine. I wouldn't invade their space. I'd just create my own.
"Why?" Paul asked. Embry elbowed him in the ribs and opened his mouth to say something.
"I'm afraid of heights," I lied before he could speak.
"Oh," Embry said, surprised. Apparently, he had some other idea. Probably involving Jacob. He would have been right.
"Go," I said, waving them away, then turned and sat down on the bottom row. There was a moment of silent hesitation, then I heard them stomping away up the bleachers. I sighed heavily and leaned my head in my hands. Closing my eyes, I took deep breaths and tried to rid my mind of the terrible visions passing through it. All I could see was my father's wedding ring glistening on the finger of his severed arm at my feet.
The blood, the beautiful and deadly creature, the carnage- it all matched the descriptions of the other descendant's deaths. The Brotherhood kept a journal of events passed down through the years. I had it now, and I'd read it cover to cover multiple times in an attempt to find a way out of my curse. It held no solution, only descriptions of Ceremonies performed and Rights spoken and, towards the end, brutal and vicious deaths. At least six Brothers were known to be dead, their bodies found in their own homes, mutilated, their veins empty but not quite enough blood on the floor to coincide with the amount missing. The blood had to have gone somewhere else.
Several other Brothers simply disappeared without a trace.
My grandfather had to watch them all go, never knowing if and when he would be next. Somehow, he managed to survive all of his relations, and pass the journal and its teachings on to my father, and then it came to me.
Those descriptions, the drawings scribbled in the margins, they all matched up to what had happened to my father. The scene, burned into my retinas, seemed to slide into place right over the rough sketches and terrifying reports.
The question was, why? Why would anyone do such terrible things to such wonderful people? The Brotherhood only had one rule: Help others before thyself. They lived by that rule. They practically burned that rule right onto their foreheads. Why would someone slay beings that dedicated their lives to the greater good? Why would someone kill my father, the most incredible, loving, selfless dad and husband on the planet? Why?
And when were they coming for me?
"Are you sure you're all right?" Embry's voice interrupted my brooding. I looked up, blinking in the fluorescent lights after having my palms pressed against my closed eyes for so long. He was sitting next to me. I hadn't even heard him coming. Usually I was good at that kind of stuff.
"Yes," I replied. He looked over his shoulder and nodded. I followed his gaze. Jacob was giving him a disbelieving look. His eyes flickered momentarily to my face, and when he saw that I was looking he frowned and turned away. I looked back at Embry, who was watching me contemplatively. "Really, I'm okay. Thank you for your concern." My voice was flat, as always. I hoped he'd mistake my monotone for honesty.
He didn't. I saw the flicker of it in his eyes. He knew I was lying, but he nodded anyway. "Okay." With that, Embry stood and walked back up to his friends. I watched him go, slightly interested in the way Jacob seemed to start arguing with him as soon as he got back. Catching my eye, Jacob scowled, an expression I instinctively returned. I turned away quickly, before I started to actually feel angry towards him. I couldn't risk such a feeling. Once one got out, more would follow. I'd be torn apart.
I prayed for the day to end already.
When the period was over, Paul caught up with me as I walked into the hallway.
"Hey, Quil told me you have math with us next," he said. "I'll show you where it is."
"Thanks."
Paul was silent as we walked, which was a bit of a relief. He didn't chatter on endlessly like Quil or ask me over and over again if I was okay like Embry.
"Are you feeling well?"
Perhaps I spoke too soon.
"Yes," I replied. "I'm just tired."
"Are you sure? 'Cause I can take you down to the nurse if you want."
"I said I'm fine," I snapped. Checking myself, I looked down. "Thanks anyway," I said, somewhat apologetically.
He didn't say anything else after that.
The algebra teacher, Mr. D, seemed to be already aware of who I was and why I was there. He motioned me off to a seat in the middle of the room, next to Quil who grinned and gave me the thumbs up sign. I guess that's how Mr. D knew me. I timidly walked over to the seat, not so happy about its placement, but oh well. You can't win all the time.
Paul followed and plopped down into the empty chair on my other side, then gave me a strange look. "You do smell sweet," he said, leaning in to get a good whiff. I recoiled, but he just smiled. "But just a little. Do you have a cat?"
"Do you have Attention Deficit Disorder?" I shot back. "I mean, yes." I thought of Binx, my orange tabby named for the character in Hocus Pocus. He wandered up to me as a kitten when I was ten and, as soon as he was big enough, he started to follow me everywhere. And I mean everywhere. He was probably outside the classroom window at that very second.
Paul laughed. "You can be funny when you loosen up."
I shrugged.
"Hey Kora," Quil said. "We're all going to hang out on the beach for a while after school. Wanna come?"
"I don't think so," I declined, shaking my head.
"Aw, come on, why not?" he pleaded. For the trillionth time that day, I just shrugged. "Please? It'll be fun. Kim will be there. It was her idea to invite you. Come on." He continued whining for five straight minutes until I finally gave in.
"Fine. I'll go." But I won't have any fun. I thought of Jacob's apparent disdain for me. I wasn't looking forward to dealing with that again.
"Yeah!" Quil exclaimed, getting a look from Mr. D. Lowering his voice, he continued, "We caught ourselves a Wolfe, Paul!" He cackled.
Paul just rolled his eyes. "Shut up, Quil."
As always, I hope you enjoyed! Leave reviews if you so desire. I love those darned reviews. I huggle every review I get………
-Gina