Auria fixed her gaze on Hayden's eyes intently. Focusing on his last words.
"Someone did this to you?" she asked, her tone came out with an edge. She was feeling ansy now.
Hayden shifted on the bar stool and put his face in his hands. His voice sounded muffled now.
"Yes. It's a long story and this is hardly an appropriate venue to tell it."
"Then let's go somewhere else." she was shocked by her own straight forward attitude. But she was defiant about this. She needed to know.
10 minutes later they were walking along the river in Copeland park. Auria's leather jacket just barely brushing Hayden's bare arms as he told the long story.
It had been a mistake. The spell for which the glamour was supposed to be connected to was cast wrong. It wasn't supposed to be a glamour at all, but a reformation spell. A spell in which your form was changed to anything you wanted.
Hayden had desired to become human. The girl he loved was human and was the only one he'd ever told his secret to. The truth of what he was. Impatient to be with her he had a warlock try to change him. To something he was never supposed to be. When the spell went wrong, he was glazed over with a permanent glamour that started to tear away at his supernatural senses once time sped on.
"And the girl, what happened to her? If you don't mind me asking?" Auria asked cautiously.
She thought she saw Hayden's eyes dim and his faced looked morose but he hid it well.
"When I told Veronica what happened she didn't even seem concerned. She had other plans. It was her suggestion that really ended everything."
"And what was her suggestion?" Auria's feet trailed gracefully along the path and she took in the river and everything Hayden said.
"That I turn her. She said it would be simpler than the alterative. If she were like me, we'd be safe. Nothing could touch us or prevent us from being together. But it was a selfish thing to want, Auria. To take away her human life just so I could have her forever. I would have been fine with being human. Ordinary. Normal, unable to read everyone's thoughts or run at the speed of light. But since my plan didn't workout so well it seemed that her's was the only way to ensure our life together. So I did it. I changed her and for a while it was almost nice.
But almost strange. We didn't have to speak to each other anymore. We could use the telepathy. We didn't have to do normal things that I was so used to doing because of her. We weren't in that world anymore. It was a totally different and completely out of balance world. With her as one of us, she seemed less thrilled to just be with me, she always wanted more. She became power hungry and started to change before my eyes. It was horrifying to see such a wonderful girl become so sucked into that spiral of insanity. It broke my heart. She wasn't Veronica anymore.
And it was most certainly not about us anymore either. She ended up dead, if that's what we do. Die. I'm not exactly sure what...happens when our kind is killed." he finished almost dead panned
"She was killed?"
"She was threatened many times for her behavior. She fed ravenously and made no attempt to cover her own tracks. You can't get away with that kind of thing. The Coven near us at the time had taken mild interest in her acts and they were ones to end them. They couldn't have us exposed. She was a liability. And so she was silenced." Hayden surmised. His eyes glancing at Auria.
Her face was set deep with concern and sadness for him.
"Sorry, I didn't say the story was enlightening." He apologized briefly.
"No, I'm sorry. That must have been awful for you. To go through that."
"It's not something you forget. And as for the glamour. It's just stayed. They say the one who cast it is the only one able to remove it. I was never able to track him down."
"That's not true." Auria became defensive. She knew this. Another thing about glamours was that there was always a way out. Vic would know, and he was the one who taught her. "There is always a way to remove them."
"Don't you think I would have done it by now? Auria, I have tried everything. No one and nothing has come close." He said as if that were that. She needed to argue this. She knew she was correct.
"Maybe you haven't tried the right people. You went to warlocks and witches right? People who have an affinity for magic?"
"Yes. Since they were the ones who cast it in the first place." Hayden raised a single brow at her. Not understanding what she was getting at.
"Well there is your problem. Vic always says that they're only good for casting their affinities. Not undoing them, because no one ever taught them how. So it's next to impossible for them to have to reverse their own magic. It just isn't done. That goes against everything!" Auria's voice escalated to an even louder tone as she grew more passionate with her words.
Hayden's lips pulled up at the corners the slightest bit. He liked seeing Auria so immersed in what she believed in.
"Well then can you take me to this Vic? He seems to know what he's talking about." He laughed. But a part of him yearned to be closer to getting this sorted out.
Auria froze. Her eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms across her chest.
"No. Never. He can't know I've found you or... that I mistook you for a human. Even with your glamour. He'd have to have known how very close we got and..." she trailed off. What was this weird tingly feeling? Was she...nervous?
Her mind flashed back to last night. Their heated kissing. She suddenly felt a little exposed. She took a step away from him. Hayden made her feel a little unhinged.
"And what?" he urged her on. Oblivious to her new-found embarrassment
"And no. Vic is...well he just can't be informed of you just yet alright? He wouldn't be happy. He's taught me everything I know and I owe him my life. I cannot upset him like this." she said defiantly. Chin out. She uncrossed her limbs and fell back into step with Hayden.
"Then where does this leave us? Er, me." he corrected quickly. His eyes flashing to her face then to the ground.
"I'll do it myself." she concluded. Well why the hell not? She knew enough. This would be simple.
"Okay...and yor sure you know how?" He didn't seem convinced that she could do it without harm coming to either one of them.
Auria's defensive side rose it's hackles.
"Are you saying you don't trust me to do it?"
"Well, we just met. Kind of." He smiled impishly.
"Fine. Find someone else who was trained in Brazil half their life! Since you seem to trust a complete stranger more than me!" she turned on her Steve Madden heels and was about to make a dramatic exit when he grabbed her hand. Pulling her back before her reflexes could kick in.
"Auria, I do trust you. And you basically are a complete stranger. But you seem to know what your doing." Hayden said persuasively. he pulled her back and she turned to look at him. Her face was just inches away from his. She thought about how easy it would be to just lean in and–
Woah! Stop it. She told her subconscious.
She shook her head trying to clear it.
"I do know what I'm doing. So just let me help you." she said, her voice nearing a shaky tone.
"Okay. I put myself willingly into your hands." he laughed.
"I'm serious!" she pulled her hand out of his grasp.
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. I really do trust you though, alright?"
"Okay. I need some space for this though." she looked around. Copeland park was pretty much deserted. All she needed was a few trees to obscure viewing and they'd be golden.
"I know a place." he took her hand once again and led her toward another path. There was a small break in the trees that leaded into a small area of open grass.
Perfect.
They walked into the small area. Auria watched Hayden, the way he eased into a stride and then as he stopped and took in the tiny meadow. His golden hair was lit up by the rays of sun. even with that glamour fogging things up he still was abnormally handsome.
She scolded herself once again for letting her mind wander and addressed Hayden.
"Stand about five feet from me." she ordered, shuffling back. "Now, I want you to clear your mind. Imagine a blank slate. Feel the emptiness." it was much easier to reverse a spell with a clear mind. Nothing to get in your way.
Hayden did as told. Closing his eyes, he imagined a clear, blank, clean mind. He took a deep breath and waited for the next instructions.
His body was a live wire. He was finally ridding himself of the glamour! It had been such an imprisonment. He would finally be free of it's destruction!
"Okay. Keep that mental picture in your head." Here goes. Auria locked her arms to her sides and planted her feet firmly on the ground. She began imagining root from her feet delving into the earth. Becoming one with her magic. She could feel her fingertips zinging with power.
She then recited the spell Viceroy taught her:
A covering shield of limits gone wrong
lift this curse and thy glamour be gone!
Her words wafted through the air as she pointed her fingers in Hayden's direction. The power surged through her.
She had to get closer.
She walked towards Hayden. Her breath taut and heavy. This is it. Almost there.
His eyes remained closed and his mind like an open book to her. Clear and willing.
Just a couple more steps...
She walked right up to him until she could feel his breath, and the energy radiating off his body.
She pressed both hands to his chest and just like that a near electric shock shot through the both of them.
The shock so powerful it knocked them right over. Auria's finger's cooled as she landed on top of Hayden who had fallen in a pile of leaves. Her energy calming as the magic faded from her.
She quicky pulled away from Hayden after realizing she'd landed on him. She bit her lip and was grateful she couldn't blush. Or she would've been beet red.
She glanced at him and almost gasped.
He was beautiful.
The glamour had masked his true flawless skin, his shining eyes, and his shine flecked golden-bronze hair.
His blue eyes gazed at her now with appreciation.
"Auria." He whispered. His voice now as musical and perfect as her own. "You did it."
This chapter is a lil short but I hope you enjoyed it! Please review! I love reading your insight on the story. How is everyone's summer btw?
