Please R and R

Flash backs


Chapter 9

Táth Máenma

Rylie

It felt like I was being pulled into a giant black hole, like I was being sucked through space. There was a feeling of great pressure, and then it ended as suddenly as it began. I cautiously opened my eyes to find myself sitting in a bright, green field. At first I seemed to be alone, but when I looked to my left Cal was sitting next to me. He looked over at me and nodded to me and I returned it. We turned to face each other. The movement caused a whole other reaction. Suddenly I was in a room I'd never seen before. A woman with golden eyes turned to face me with a scowl on her face. I was in Cal's memories.

There was a four year old Cal bent over a chest of books with a look of joy on his face. He had found the hidden treasure that his mother had always kept secret. If only he could find the map, and he could find his dad... The chest snapped shut, almost hitting his fingers. He turned around with a fearful, look on his face, and looked at his mother. She had a look of disgust on her face.

"Just like your father, aren't you?" she sneered. "Always snooping around things that don't concern you." He didn't understand what she was talking about, but he opened his mouth to apologize.

"Save it!" She snapped. "It's only a matter of time before you leave me."

She pushed Cal out of the room and slammed the door behind him, locking him out. He tried to open the door, but failed. He continued to pound on the door harder and harder until his fists bled. Tears streamed down his face as he slid to the floor in defeat.

"Daddy?" He said in a soft voice. "Where's my daddy?"

Memories flew by in a blur, I stayed with them for only seconds, but I somehow absorbed all of the information. Some I understood more than others.

A ten year old Cal was in his bedroom unpacking halfheartedly.

"What's the point" he said to himself, "we'll be moving soon anyway."

He made his way down stairs and into the kitchen to find Selene unpacking the kitchen boxes.

"Don't just stand there, help me." She said like he had been standing there doing nothing for hours. He rolled his eyes behind her back and started digging through one of the boxes. He was debating whether or not to ask her about the moving and why they did it so frequently. He knew he was risking making her angry, and by now he knew that making her mad was taboo. He decided he had nothing to lose, so he went ahead.

"Why do you move us so much? Sometimes it seems like you're running away from something." She froze. Cal immediately regretted asking the question, he especially regretted saying the second part. The look she gave him was so cold that I felt the chill on my skin back in the field.

"You think I'm running from something?" She gave a bark of a laugh that held no humor at all. "You need to learn your place and stop prying into other people's private lives."

"It's my life to." He challenged. He was walking on thin ice and he knew it, but he couldn't stop.

"You do what I tell you, when I tell you to do it. Are we clear?" There was poison dripping from her voice.

"No." he said boldly.

That was the first day Selene put him under a spell and it would not, by any means, be the last.

I flashed forward to a 19 years old Cal. This was more resent. It was his first day in Widows Vale and he was miserable and worn. He can only take so much of Selene controlling him. By now he's figured out what she's doing, and there's nothing he can do about it.

"You're enrolling at Widows Vale High School." She informed him. His face fell even further. Another year of high school wasn't something he wanted to do, what he wanted was to escape the hellish cage that Selene had built for him over the years.

"I need you to find out about the local population." He nodded unenthusiastically.

Later that night he felt the tendrils of another spell weaving its self around him. He closed his eyes, not even bothering to fight against them any more. A part of him welcomed the spells; at least he didn't have to think. The other part of him hated himself for it.

The first day of school was surprisingly a relief. It wasn't fun by any means, but at least he could get away from Selene. Even with the spell she had over him, he found comfort in the sound of the droning teachers. He talked to as many kids as possible asking them the well rehearsed questions of the new kid.

He first saw Morgan in the hall way. He was immediately floored by her power. The spell was tugging him towards her, forcing him to talk to her. His mind screamed in protest. He didn't want her to become his mother's next victim.

Eventually he couldn't resist the spell any longer and ended up asking Morgan to the party he was throwing that weekend.

He's been going out with Morgan for a while and he hates himself for it. She is so in love with him and he wants to break her heart to save her, but the spells are preventing him from doing that. This hurt him even more than anyone else he's ever tricked, because he has feelings for Morgan.

They're going to the movies with a big group, when his brother Hunter shows up. He's relieved, maybe Hunter will see what's happening and take him away. The spell whispers in his ear and prevents him from running and telling Hunter everything. Later that night he contemplates killing himself. Just as he's about to do it, Selene comes bursting in.

"We're connected you know. I can feel what you're thinking and I know what you plan to do, and I won't allow it. I knew you would betray me one day, I knew you would try to leave me."

"It's your fault! You made me the way I am, you pushed me away!"

Quick as lightning, she put him in a binding spell. He fell to his knees. She walked over and backhanded him across the face.

"I'll just have to pull you in a little closer." She made the spell heavier and eventually took the binding spell off. He stood up and looked at her with admiration. He was no longer the same person.

Morgan noticed the difference over the next few weeks. She started talking to Hunter and doubting Cal. The new Cal didn't like this. Part of him was full of rage and wanted to bring Morgan to his mother, and a very small part of him was constantly at work, slowly breaking the spell.

Morgan binds her tools to herself and this sends Selene into a frenzy. She's furious and demands to take Morgan as soon as possible. Cal does as he's told. The small part of him that's still fighting is subconsciously sending Morgan warnings. Maybe she can get help before it's too late. When he feels Morgan and Sky scry for him, he doesn't block it, he lets Morgan see what he's doing and hopes that she'll stay away, instead she wants to confront him, and he is forced to go.

He puts her into her car and recklessly drives across town to his house. His insides are fuming, the spell is nearly broken. He loosens the binding spell enough so Morgan can send witch messages to Hunter and Sky. He was still acting mad; because in truth he was, he was so mad at Selene he could kill her. Why not burn the whole house down?

He put Morgan into his secret room to keep her safe, and locked her in there. He was going to burn the whole house down and make sure everyone in it was dead. How dare they control him! He threw a ball of witch fire at a pile of wood and picked up the nearest piece. He strode over to the house ready to face his mother, and win this time.

Selene cut him off. She stood in front of him in all her glory. With one swoop of her hand she knocked the wood out of his hand where it went flying off in the direction of the pool house.

"You stupid, stupid boy! I've told you since you were young, you can't win!" She stared him down, hated in her eyes. She hated him. She hated that he reminded her of Daniel. She wanted to kill him. She put a binding spell on him, so powerful, that not only could he not move, he couldn't think. One of her coven members came out behind her.

"Selene!" He yelled. "There's a fire we need to leave!" She looked over to see the entire pool house up in flames. Her face fell.

"The seeker is on his way with back up, and so is the fire department!" He informed her.

"Take my son and get in the car." She ordered. The other coven members carried Cal to the car and they took off, no sign of their trail was ever found.

I pulled out of the vision and found myself back in the field. I looked over at Cal and saw a tear running from the corner of his eye. I reached up to wipe it away when I realized, that there were tears streaming from my own eyes.

"Don't feel sorry for me." He told me. I knew everything, every small detail of his life and it was a sad story, the kind that's too horrible to be real. He carried around so much. I felt like I was going to explode just getting a glimpse of it. He spent his whole life believing that he was too weak and he always was under her control. I hated her. I hated her for Hunter, I hated her for Hunter's parents, and most of all, I hated her for Cal and what she did to him, what she's still doing to him. He fears the time when she's going to return because he knows she will, she made that very clear.

He had a never ending feeling of emptiness. He longed for his father he wanted to be Hunter, at least Hunter knew he was loved. He envied Hunter, but didn't hate him, he never did. He had fantasies, when his mind was clear, that his father took him to England to live with his family. He imagined that he and Hunter grew up together and that he had a little sister. He would spend hours thinking over conversations and events. This was one of the saddest things to me. Hunter never gave him a chance.

He reached out to take my hand and I felt the strange familiar pull of the táth máenma. Only this time it was in reverse. This was a two way deal, and it was my turn.

Cal

She saw everything. Every thought and every secret I've ever kept she knows. It was one of the worst feelings of my life, I had to relive every moment of my miserable life. I was also relieved. At least now everyone knew I wasn't a lying sack of shit.

When we pulled out of the táth máenma I couldn't help but cry. I didn't want to feel sorry for myself that would only prove that I'm weak. I held it in as best I could, but one tear escaped me, betraying me. She reached up to wipe it away, and I saw that she was crying for me. I didn't want her to. I didn't want anyone to feel sorry for me. I reached out to take her hand, and I was sucked into a void and found myself in her memories.

A two year old Rylie was playing with a two year old Hunter. They looked happy together. Rylie hit Hunter over the head with her Barbie doll and Hunter started to cry which made Rylie cry. They apologized in the way that two tear olds do by sharing their toys, and all was forgiven.

I flashed forward to Liden's death. It was a few days later and it was the last day they would see each other for a long time. He was in a bed, still in shock over his brother's death. He looked up when he saw her enter the room.

"I thought you weren't allowed to be here." He told her, but he couldn't hide that he was glad to see her.

"I'm not, but I had to tell you that I'm moving." She said sadly. "I don't have a lot of time before my dad realizes where I am, but I had to see you."

"Everything's falling apart. They think I did it, they think I killed him. I can't stand losing you to." He looked miserable.

"I'll write to you." She promised. "Once a week, no matter how boring it may be."

"I'll wait for the letters once I'm in jail. You're the only one that believes me."

"No I'm not. Sky believes you."

"Rylie!" Her father was calling her. A pained look crossed her face.

"I'll write." She promised again. She leaned over, kissed his cheek, and dashed out of the room.

Later that night her father beat her for going to see him.

Rylie was 16 and beautiful. She seemed happy at school although she didn't talk much. After she left, she threw herself into her studies, hoping for a scholarship to a healing school so she could get away from her father.

Wiccians shouldn't drink, it messes with your powers and is twice as bad for a Wiccian than for regular people. Rylies dad was one of the very few Wiccian drinkers, and she paid for it. In her house, there were two refrigerators; one for food, and one for the keg. Her mother stood by and watched as her father beat her for every little thing. She was powerless. She spent half of her time trying to please him, and half of her time trying to get away.

One night she accidentally tracked mud through the house. If he wasn't home, she could have cleaned it up and no one would have ever known, but he was home and he happened to be smoking. He took her by the hair and smashed her face into the floor.

"You see that!" he screamed at her. She couldn't say anything; her mouth was full of blood. He grabbed her by the arm, and burned six places on her arms and the back of her neck with his cigarette. She passed out cold on the floor.

That was the best night of her life. She received a letter for a full scholarship to a healing school in Ireland. She packed her bags and left that night. She never looked back.

Her father died the next year; she couldn't bring herself to cry. He had it coming.

We broke apart and I looked into her eyes again and saw a fresh well of tears. Every day was a struggle for her. Her father never left her alone, and she finally broke away from him. I had so much respect for her; she was stronger than I ever hoped to be. She had every reason to give up, but she didn't, she made it through. It gave me hope.

I reached over to hug her, but before I could make any contact, we were flung back into the circle room. Everything was quiet. I opened my eyes and saw her looking at me. Her eyes were still wet, and I was surprised to find that mine were to. I reached over to hug her and she easily folded herself into my arms. We stayed like that for a while until we saw that the sun was going down. I realized then that I was exhausted. We broke apart and stood up. She almost fell over but I caught her.

"Sorry." She giggled. "I was just sitting for so long, my legs are weak." She let out a yawn and stretched her arms over her head. I caught a glimpse of one of the scars on the back of her neck. She saw me looking, and I quickly looked away embarrassed. Hunter didn't even know about her father and she didn't want him to know. I wouldn't tell her secret to anyone.

"I'm so tired." She stated. "I didn't know that would be so draining." We walked through the kitchen and into the living room. She sat on the couch that was still pulled out from this morning when I had been sleeping on it. I sat next to her.

"I need to tell Morgan what I saw. I think she'll be relieved to know that you had good intentions the whole time. You still need to talk to her."

"I know." I replied. Right now all I was interested in was sleep, Morgan could wait. I flopped the rest of the way down onto the pull out couch. She lied down next to me and put her head on my chest. I put my arms around her and pulled her closer to me. She cuddled up next to me and fell asleep almost immediately. I welcomed the sleep. It was one of my favorite things; I could never get enough of it back in the Selene days. I had a feeling that sometime in the future, I would like being awake a whole lot more than I like being asleep.