Blood Debt - P1C1

Chapter I

--re never going to have children! You'll regret it, Lyndsey! I swear I'll make you pay!

Lyndsey wished he could've gotten the echo of her words out of his head, but it was just darn near impossible when she sounded so much like a yowling cat when she screamed. And she had practically shrieked her last words at him when he bolted out of the door. Call him a coward, but he didn't want to be anywhere near his ex-girlfriend when she was raging like a bull blinded by red at their breakup. He had tried to be gentle about it, but Maureen just happened to be one of those gals who didn't take separation well. Hell, she didn't take a lot of things well, especially when it came to not getting her way. She had been quite demanding with her requests for favors and dates and presents and more. In the beginning Lyn had been accommodating because he really liked her -- and well, she was hot. But as time went on and she showed her true colors, it became too much.

Maureen was sweet, in her own way, but just not the type for him. He couldn't keep up with that sort of crazy atmosphere. He had to get out. And get out he did. But obviously things didn't go well. No, things were just plain awful. Maybe if this had been a normal relationship with a crazy girl those sorts of words like regretting his actions wouldn't be that much of a threat. At most a girl could date someone new, bigger, tougher, and sent him after Lyndsey to knock the shit out of him for breaking her heart. Or she could plead rape in a court case if they had sex recently. But this wasn't an ordinary relationship, neither was Maureen an ordinary girl.

But it wasn't that simple. Maureen was a witch. Or at least that's what she said called herself -- Lyndsey didn't really believe her, though she did a lot of crazy stuff that made him wonder. If she really was a witch, she sure did some dark stuff -- too dark for Lyndsey to be comfortable with. She had an affinity for cursing people; she even had a small shop she ran that tailored to readings, potions, and of course curses. Lyndsey thought it was just a quirky part of her, and that she was one of those Wiccan or Pagan people who thought they could cast magic by divination. It was a quirk he originally found cute. Something that made her unique and special. Until he figured out the truth.

Slowly he started to notice Maureen was a little more than just a quirky gal. More than just a little unique. There was something truly magical about her, and on that note scary. She wasn't just a believer, she could actually do magic. She was the real deal. So like any normal human who encountered something he didn't understand, something that scared him, he turned his back.

Maureen didn't really like that, so she put him in her black list. That's right. Lyn Russo got cursed by his angry ex. Excuse him if he wasn't jumping for joy at this news. He was doing everything but jumping at this point, stricken with fear and apprehension as he scanned the streets left and right for the place he was looking for.  Knowing just the sort of attitude she had, along with the power she had in her grasp... it scared the hell out of him. He wasn't willing to sit still and risk death because of this curse.

He could hardly sleep that night and just yesterday he canceled all his appointments for the next couple days to dedicate his time to finding some way to get rid of the curse. He spent a whole day looking through directories for a witch in town, and then narrowing down which one of them was good at detecting and removing curses. It wasn't easy work; it wasn't like Witch was a clear and cut label in the directory for all to say. He had to be creative and look for people who had shops like Maureen, shops that offered protective charms and other trinkets that most people would ignore.

All his searching eventually led him to someone named Cassie who owned a shop on the other side of town. It was called Bell, Book & Candle LLC or some similarly encrypted name. Lyn didn't really care if it was even called David's Hole in the Wall Crack House so long as it got him what he needed. And right now, he needed a witch. A good, generous witch who knew how to take away curses. He didn't care if he had to empty out half his bank account to get her to fix him, so long as she did.

Finally spotting the shop just as he was passing it, Lyndsey hit the brakes and turned into the shoulder to squeeze himself into a parking space. He didn't care if he nearly caused an accident, he was in a hurry. Unbuckling his belt, he nearly threw himself out of the car, locked up with a flick of the remote, and hurried to the front door. He checked to make sure the place was still open before pushing open the door. He gave the place a quick glance, more concerned about finding the owner than whatever trinkets and doodads were hanging about. It didn't take him long to find her. Spotting her just ahead, he made his way up to her.

"Excuse me," he called to get her attention. As if he didn't already have it with the way he came barreling into her store. "I really need some help. I just got cursed by my ex-girlfriend the other day and I need someone to take it off. I went searching all over and I heard that you were the one to go to. Please, you have to help me. I don't know what she did to me, all I know she screamed something about never having children and other stuff I don't remember. Can you figure out what it is and take it all away? I don't care what it costs." He looked at her with desperate, clear, blue eyes. With his reddish hair -- appropriately associated with his surname, which meant "red" -- his eyes were a sharp contrast of color. He'd used these striking features of his to get what he wanted before, but that wasn't really a tactic he was planning on using on another witch right now. He was too panicked for that sort of play. And besides, if and when he got this curse lifted, who knew if something else wouldn't be put in its place if he struck the wrong -- or right -- cord with this witch. At this point, he was too wary of Supernats to toss his heart out to them. He had to save his own ass first.

The woman didn't seem too surprised at him, though she did raise her brows in his direction. With a bit of a nod, she murmured, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." She gave him a speculative look, canting her head as if she was considering something before she continued. "Before we do all that, you'll answer a few of my questions honestly. Provided you even have problems in the first place.” She gave a careless shrug. “She might have just... blurted things she didn’t really intend to. Heat of the moment sort of thing, maybe?”

Lyndsey gave her a pleading look. He knew Maureen wasn’t the kidding kind. She never joked about things like that. She was more than happy to share with him her victories when her curses went through. She found pride in her work, and Lyn, though he could understand the feeling, didn’t really want to think of her being that enthused about adding him to her list of victims.

Cassie waved her hand at him as if she were dismissing his pitiful look and nodded behind her at a closed door behind the counter. “Go on in. I’ll lock up and put my wards in place, just in case your girlfriend might try to attack you from afar. Besides, I hate being interrupted when I’m working.”

When Lyndsey hesitated, she rolled her eyes and gave him a little push in the right direction before making her way to the front to turn over the business sign in the window and lock up. Left on his own, he could do nothing more than follow direction. He opened the door and stepped inside.

Immediately he found himself in a room that looked like it belonged in a Hollywood studio. There was a chair in the middle of the room, and a long counter to one side of the room. On another was a large shelving cabinet that housed various bottles, each one filled with unidentifiable material in the forms of powders and liquids and stalks. There also was a bookcase lined with literature written in languages he didn’t recognize. The room even had its own washing station and cutting utensils. It almost looked like a kitchen, if only there wasn’t a sigil written in the floor that surrounded the chair. Or a really creepy feeling that made he freeze just as he took one step inside.

“Go on.” Lyn startled, not sure when Cassie had come up behind him. Looking over his shoulder, he expected something terrible, but she wore a neutral expression on her face, as if she didn’t realize how intimidating she could be standing so close like that. She wasn’t even a tall woman, maybe only coming up to Lyndsey’s nose, but that didn’t make her any less of a threat.

Clearing his throat awkwardly, he looked back at the chair and the writing on the floor for a long moment before finally stepping into the room.

Cassie brushed past him and went to the cabinet. “Take a seat. Let me just get a few things.”

As soon as she said it, Lyn felt like the chair was the second most dangerous thing in this room -- nevermind that Cassie was automatically the first. Looking at it like it was about to sprout jaws and eat his ass as soon as he tried to sit on it, he had to force himself to push away his fear and sit anyway. To his relief, the chair didn’t eat him, but almost as soon as his bottom touched the polished wood, the sigil on the floor flashed.

Swearing, Lyndsey looked around himself anxiously. He was almost certain he had walked into a trap. “What the hell just happened? This isn’t dangerous, is it?”

Cassie glanced over her shoulder, her lips curled in amusement. “Don’t worry, it’s just a protection circle. It’s there to prevent your ex from spying on you. If she can’t find you, then she can’t hit you with any curses. Well, any additional curses, anyway. Who’s to say what can be done about what’s already in place.”

Her flippant attitude didn’t reassure him at all. Lyndsey grimaced, worried now more than ever. He almost didn’t see the glass ball suddenly tossed his way. Reacting quickly, he caught it before it hit him and stared at what he then realized was crystal, not glass. Curious and wary, he looked over at Cassie.

“Hold it between your hands so that it touches both palms. I want you to tell me your story before I decide if you’re worth helping or not. Don’t lie to me, I’ll know. And let me warn you, if you actually deserve to be cursed, I’ll fry you myself. I don’t like liars, cheats, thieves, or any other scum that dirties this world.”

Giving the ball a glance, he swallowed before nodding. He wouldn’t lie to her even if he wanted to. He wanted to be curse free before he suddenly found himself six feet under. Taking a deep breath, he started. “I broke up with her about two days ago. I told her I didn't want to be with her anymore and she didn't really like it."

Knowing that wouldn’t be enough to appease Cassie, he continued, "She scares the shit out of me. For presents, she asks me for weird things like fresh animal parts or rare, expensive herbs from way the hell out in Indonesia or something. She’s not like most girls who want bracelets or flowers. She’s not even like those outdoorsy girls who might want a deer mounted on their way. No, she wants fresh parts, still floating in blood.” He shuddered.

It took him a moment to recover. “And that’s not all. She has this business, just like yours, but she doesn’t have jewelry on display like you do. She sells charms and potions and curses. People come to her asking for her to hex their lovers or cause fatal accidents for their rivals. They pay her lots of money for it. I always thought it was a hoax, but I’ve seen the evidence. I’ve read the papers. She’s shown me the articles. And she fucking smiles like she’s proud of what she does.”

He shook his head. “Look, you’ve gotta help me out. Sometimes I feel like she’s gonna chop me up and feed me to her pet man-eating plant or something. I don’t even know if she has one! Just-- help me. If I knew how she really was, I never would have dated her.”

Lyndsey hardly realized how his voice had risen as he spoke, his emotions swelling inside him. Desperation and fright clung to him like a second skin. By the time he finished talking, the pads of his fingers had turned white from how tightly he was gripping the crystal between his hands.

Cassie raised a hand. “Okay, okay.” She seemed to sense the turmoil coiled inside him. “I think I’ve heard enough. It’s not the whole truth, but it’s good enough. I won’t kill you, but from what you’ve said so far, we’re not dealing with someone harmless playing pranks. I’ll figure out what she’s done to you, and if we can fix it.”

She lowered her hand and approached Lyndsey. She stepped onto the glowing symbols without disturbing their magic and stopped in front of him. She took Lyndsey’s face in her hands. Lyndsey’s shoulders were stiff in apprehension, not sure if it was safe to have this woman touching him, but he didn’t dare move as she tilted his head back. He looked up at her as she pressed her first two fingers against his temples and muttered something under her breath.

“Don’t move. I want you to think back on some of the things she said when you two broke up.Let your mind freely flow from thought to thought. Don't try to bring to mind any one particular detail, I’m just going to do a little search for any clues.” She closed her eyes and muttered something else he didn’t recognize.

Lyn’s brows came together in confusion but he didn’t argue. Following Cassie’s example, he closed his eyes and wound his thoughts back to the day he and Maureen had broken up. They had been in her basement. He was leaning against the railing of the stairs as she wandered about, talking about what she did for her latest customer. The detail she had used had pulled his lips into a grimace, something he had been doing a lot lately.

He tried to redirect their conversation to something more pleasant like their upcoming anniversary. They had been dating for almost a whole year. Part of him wondered how he managed to last that long without going crazy. Still, he wanted to spend a normal day with her, on a normal date, maybe catch a movie and eat out at a restaurant. He wanted to be able to treat her to her favorite dessert and believe Maureen was just a weird girl, not someone who probably deserved to be put in a padded room wearing a jacket full of straps.

She ruined his illusion by saying how she wanted to go out to the lake and dig up the bones of some dead person who had died there well over fifty years ago. She said something about how that person was rumored to have been carrying an artifact that could possibly amplify her powers. She wanted to see if it was true so she could try out more powerful curses and spells.

He had enough of listening to her go on and on about her messed up magic and decided to call it quits right then and there. He asked her if they could do something more normal, but when she shut him down, he threw in the towel. He told her he couldn’t keep dating her if this was how she was going to be. They never talked about them, never made any romantic plans together. They didn’t just spend time together to talk about mundane things, or even snuggle up on the couch in her living room when he was over. Hell, the last time they had sex was well over three months ago.

How was he supposed to consider their relationship as a real one? Was he supposed to believe they even loved each other?

Turning around, Lyndsey had gone back up the stairs and made his way to the front door when Maureen had caught up with him and grabbed him by the arm. She had demanded an explanation, had demanded he take back what he said about her, but he refused. He didn’t believe there would be any merit to them sticking around, especially not when their interests were so different from each other. Maureen became angry and snapped at him about how stupid he was. She told him how ungrateful he was to her, how he didn’t know what he was doing, or who he was messing with.

Lyn had shot back at her those very same words, how he didn’t know who he was dating anymore, that he couldn’t love her because of what she did. That wasn’t the woman he had been attracted to when they met at the bar. Maureen had slapped him and screamed her vow to make him pay. He left right after that, too emotional to think about the meaning behind her words. It wasn’t until he hit a stoplight and actually thought about it that he realized the trouble he was in.

Cassie suddenly released her hold on him. She shook her hands out as if they tingled. Lyndsey shook his head likewise, a small headache pounding where Cassie had touched him. “What was that?”

Cassie ignored his question as she took a step back. “Well, she definitely cursed you. I saw what she had in that room. You got involved with the bad kind of witch.” She sighed. “She made you impotent, but that’s the least of your worries. It’s not really impotency, she just made sure you would never be able to find pleasure in another person because she wanted to... well, think Hansel and Gretel.”

Lyndsey gave the woman a mixed look of confusion and disgust. “She wanted to eat me?”

“Not her, a demon. She marked you as a sacrifice.” Cassie reached out and touched him again, her eyes narrowing as she looked him over. “You’re covered in glyphs. There are several layers of spells bound to your body. One... I’m not sure what...” She trailed off, a confused look on her face. With a shake of her head, she continued. “Anyway, there are ropes of it tying you down. I’m betting she’s planning on lifting her curse when she summons her demon and putting you under a new curse to bind you to the demon.”

Brows raised, she took the crystal from Lyndsey. “Well, good new is, I can remove the curse so you don’t become some demon’s sex slave. Bad news is, it’s really complicated. The supplies for the spell aren’t cheap.”

Lyndsey paled. “How much? I’ll pay whatever it is, if I can.” The idea of being bait for a demon didn’t comfort him at all. He could only imagine what sort of life he would have if Maureen succeeded.

Cassie didn’t answer him right away. She seemed to consider something before she turned to put the crystal back on the shelf where it belonged. “I could give you a numeric price, but... it’s really high.”

“How much?” he repeated.

“About two million.”

Lyndsey choked, his eyes widening. He didn’t have that kind of money. Not to give right away. If he could do it in installments, he could eventually pay her off, but that was still a lot to fork over just to get his curse lifted.

Cassie glanced over her shoulder. “I could wave your fee. On one condition.”

“What is it?”

“I know someone who can get the supplies for me. His services are kinda hard to come by, though. I’d rather not have to owe him anything.” She cocked a brow at him. “If you can pay his price, you don’t have to pay mine.”

Lyndsey frowned. “How is that any better than paying you?”

“He won’t ask you for two million, for one. Money doesn’t really concern him. But he might ask for other things. He’s a bit... old-fashioned like that. You might get away with a cheaper price, if he likes you. It would be better than emptying your bank savings,” she reasoned.

Brows furrowed, Lyn gave it some thought. On one hand, he would be indebted to a witch who would clean him out and make him homeless. On the other, he could keep the shirt on his back, though he wouldn’t know what he’d have to give up instead. One option didn’t really seem better than the other. The only appeal to accepting Cassie’s offer was that he wouldn’t be dirt poor at the end of this.

Hesitant, he nodded. “Okay. I’ll pay this guy, whatever he wants.”

Cassie’s lips curled. “Perfect. Then I’ll summon him. You’ll be glad you made that decision. It certainly beats emptying out your pockets, or worse -- being some demon’s fuck puppet.” She went to the phone that sat on the counter and picked up the receiver to call her hired help.

Swallowing, Lyndsey hoped he didn’t make a mistake. He wasn’t really sure if he was glad he accepted Cassie’s offer, but he had to believe it was better than being stuck with Maureen’s craws. He’d find out soon enough how true that was.