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Nothing with her was ever awkward, not even that first time she knocked on my door, pissed off as hell and ready to give me a piece of her mind. I still couldn’t believe I tried to ask her to dinner despite my curse. I guess a part of me had known even then.
“I’m glad you came over that day to tell me off,” I said. “For the record, you can tell me off anytime.”
She giggled, then pulled my face closer to plant loud, smacking kisses all over my cheek. We stayed there like that for a little while longer, just enjoying each other’s company, before deciding we really had to clean up my apartment.
She climbed out of my lap and walked over to her bookshelf. “Let’s see. The perfect spell is somewhere in here.” She reached for a colorful book with the words101 Spells for the Modern Homemakeron it. It didn’t look one bit modern; the font had a retro 70’s look. “Fair’s fair. You helped me clean up my place. I’ll help you clean up yours.”
That had me grinning. Cleanup wouldn’t be so bad if my little witch was helping.
Chapter 19
Zayn
Hellsbellsncheapmotelswasayoungwitch in her mid-twenties named Helen. She had blue-gray eyes, high cheekbones, and white-blonde hair she tried to hide with bright red hair dye. A piece of it kept falling in her eyes as she spoke to us on our video call.
I took another sip of my Earl Grey tea to calm my nerves, unsure what I was about to find out about myself, but realizing it was about time I learned it.
“My mom spoke of a curse like this a few times, but I never asked her more about it.” She pushed her plastic cat-eyed frames up higher on her nose. “It wasn’t something I was interested in, because it didn’t affect me.”
As she spoke, Salt ambled across the keyboard, and Sybil scooped him up before he could step on something important and disconnect the call. I reached for him, and Sybil handed him over so she could go back to taking notes on the cutest mouse-themed notepad.
Salt was the one showing the signs of aging and worrying Sybil the most. Now that I knew what to look for, I could see it too. He was much slower than Pepper, and I could feel his ribs under his fur. Pepper, on the other hand, was a solid unit. He was what you saw when you looked up chonky in the dictionary.
“I’ll give you the quick rundown of everything I do know, though,” she said. “My grandmother met a naga. He was from a rich family, and she was poor, but they fell in love anyway, or rathershefell in love anyway. He didn’t feel the same. He used her for a bit of fun and left afterward, saying something about him being only able to find his true mate amongst his own kind. She was devastated. And really, really angry.”
I was afraid it was something like that. Granddad had sown more than a few wild oats before settling down, and I’d figured the curse had to do with scorned love.
Helen fidgeted. “Anyway, she cursed him, and they never spoke again.” She exhaled loudly. “And nine months later, my mom was born.” An image appeared on the screen over Helen’s face. “Here’s a picture of me and Mom together.”
Wow. Her mom was a female version of my dad, except with lighter skin, so her white-blonde hair wasn’t as striking a contrast. I wasn’t the only person who picked up on it. Sybil looked from me to the photo on the screen, then back to me again.
“Damn. We’re related, aren’t we?” Helen asked.
“Most likely, yes,” I agreed. What did you call your dad’s half-sister’s daughter, anyway? Your half cousin?
“Is that why you came looking for me? Is our grandad still alive?”
I shook my head. “No. He got caught as his serpent. They put him down.” At least, that was the story I had been told.
“Shit.” She combed her fingers through her hair.
“I didn’t know him; this all happened before my time.” I rubbed the back of my neck. Helen would be only the second person I told about my curse. But technically, she was family, even though I’d never met her. I launched into my story.
“...and I promised to help him break the curse,” Sybil finished when I was done.
“Wow. I didn’t know the curse was multi-generational.” Helen wrinkled her nose. “It was always just a story my mom told me to make sure I didn’t lose my heart to the first guy I fell in love with. I should have asked her more about it. I’m sorry.”
“Hey, you didn’t know.” I didn’t blame anyone but my granddad for the curse, and maybe my dad for having me, though to his credit, he’d thought that marrying a human and having a half-human kid would stump the curse. It wasn’t his fault it hadn’t.
“No, you’ve helped us a lot,” Sybil said, putting down her pen. “We now know the curse was the result of unrequited love. That narrows it down. And him using his naga as an excuse makes sense, since the curse seems to affect the naga form the most.”
“I’ve been unable to shift into it since the curse hit,” I explained. “I’m either in my human form or appear as a wild serpent. It’s like my halves have been severed. Like I’ve been broken in two.”
“Just like the pieces of Granny’s heart.” Helen was nodding now. “It makes total sense.”
“Is your grandmother still alive?” Sybil asked. “Do you think I can talk to her?”
“She’s still around, but she doesn’t want to help. I asked her about it after I saw your question on the forum, and when she heard I was meeting with you, she kept insisting I tell you to stay away from the naga in question.” Helen looked pointedly at me before returning her gaze to Sybil. “Actually, she was so adamant about it that it made me a little suspicious. If you catch my drift.”
