Chapter 6
I drove back to Woodmont like a girl possessed. I flew around the country roads and couldn’t concentrate on anything other than getting to Marianne and finding out who the hell that man was.
I crunched up onto the gravel and turned off the ignition before I jumped out of the driver’s side and ran up the steps to the house. There were no other cars there and the place looked deserted, so I could only assume that Marianne didn’t have any clients with her.
“Aunt Marianne!” I called as I stepped into the hallway.
It was cavernous in there and my voice seemed to echo on for an eternity.
“Are you here?” I called again.
The chandelier in the middle of the gallery above started to shake and I could hear footsteps coming down from one of the corridors upstairs.
“Aradia?” she called back. “What on earth is the matter?”
She hung her head out over the balcony and stared at me with surprise.
“Who is that man?” I asked her.
She looked at me blankly before an expression of realization flooded her face.
“He’s found you already?” she asked quietly.
“Who is he?” I said seriously and crossed my arms over my chest. “And who are the rest of these people? How do they know who I am?”
Marianne sighed and held up her hand to signal that she needed a moment.
She drifted around the landing and stood at the top of the stairs before she came down them silently, one by one.
“The man,” she said as she got to the bottom, “I can only assume we are talking of the same person…”
I looked at her deep in the eyes and scowled.
“Who is he?” I asked.
I held up my palms and looked at them. Her eyes flitted to them and she dropped her head and nodded.
“Lucifer,” she said calmly, “He’s the head of one of the oldest families of Valport Springs.”
“The head?” I asked confused. “But he doesn’t look old enough…?”
“His parents, grandparents, entire family…” she sucked in air as if to brace herself, “Are all dead.”
“But why?” My stomach felt as if it had hit the floor.
Marianne shook her head and sighed.
“It was a tragedy, it happened many years ago… Long before my time… Lucifer has been here for as long as I can remember… I’ve heard stories of what became of them… but no one really knows for sure.”
“But who is he?” I asked angrily. “What does he have to do with me?”
“Well,” she said, “That I’m not quite sure yet…” she trailed off and looked into the distance.
“Aunt Marianne,” I grabbed hold of her shoulders and tried to get her to focus. “This is serious… he did something to me… he… I don’t know how to explain it… it was as if he collected my soul.”
Her eyes glazed over with tears and she swallowed hard.
“Lucifer is probably the only man who would ever withstand the Black Family curse,” she said warmly, “And he’s been waiting for someone like you his whole life…” She bit the tip of her thumb.
“What do you mean?” I gripped her shoulders tightly.
“An innocent,” she whispered, “A girl of tragedy… a young soul… someone he can corrupt.”
My skin prickled.
“Corrupt me?” I said with confusion. “In what way?”
Her face flushed pink and she shook her head.
“Stay away from him Aradia,” she said, “For as long as you can…”
“But why is he so bad?” I was determined to get her to tell me the truth.
“He’s not like us,” she said as she brushed a strand of hair behind my ear. “He’s powerful… but in a different way.”
“So he isn’t a witch?” I was getting more confused by the second.
“No Darling,” she smiled, “He’s from a much darker place.”
She turned and left me. She began back up the stairs and I watched her, dumbfounded, now with more questions in my head than answers and completely confused as to why I even felt so strongly about finding them.
“Marianne,” I shouted after her, “Please…”
But she dismissed me with a wave of her hand and as she reached the top of the stairs she quickly and quietly slipped off down into one of the hallways.
I sat down on the step and looked at my palm. It was still burning hot and I felt like I could taste him. His scent was lingering with me and it seemed to have crawled underneath my skin. I didn’t know what was happening to me, or who Lucifer was, or why he was so dangerous… but what I did know was that from that moment on, he consumed every moment of my waking thoughts.
I went upstairs and lay down on my bed. It was the middle of the day and the sun was bright, but all I could feel was darkness creeping over me.
“Aradia,” his voice was inside my head and I smiled.
I didn’t care what Marianne had said… I needed to see him again… and I wasn’t going to wait…