The Silent One: Cursed Daughter (Book 1)

My Weakness

(Tate’s POV)

I leaned up against the door, wondering how she was reacting to all of this news. All of a sudden, I heard my grandma calling for me. I walked down the hall, and through the living room, then into the kitchen. Her back was turned against me.

“You called for me?” I asked.

I must have startled her. It caused her to nearly jump out of her skin. She turned around to face me.

“Don’t sneak up on me like that!” She said as she touched her chest.

She glared at me from across the room. I chuckled nervously, since even I am sometimes scared of my grandmother. After all, I grew up hearing all her stories. They weren’t always fairy tales and happy endings. Some were brutal and even gruesome.

“Well, you called for me,” I said as I walked over to her. 

She was leaning up against the sink washing dishes. Well, more like using magic to clean the kitchen. My grandmother hated cleaning. She always thought it was a waste of her time. As for my mother, she used obsessive cleaning as a coping mechanism after my father left.

“Yes, I wanted to talk to you before we hit the road,” she began to say. “If things take an ugly turn, we will leave.”

I was surprised by her words. She was the last person I’d ever think of running away from something like this. I know it’s been a while since she’s lived that lifestyle, but her magic is as strong as ever. I can feel it vibrating within her body. Something only witches and warlocks can sense.

“No, we are not leaving her or Anna,” I argued while leaning on the counter.

“If we can’t help ourselves, we won’t be able to save those two girls,” my grandmother said while twirling her finger in circles.

I couldn’t believe she was saying these things. The once all-mighty Slayer is talking as if she no longer possesses her fighting skills. Even my mother used to tell me stories of how she watched my grandmother and grandfather train. My grandmother taught my mother everything that she knew, even if she didn’t use her powers anymore.

“Gram, I can’t leave her! I made a promise, and I never break a promise,” I said. 

She gave me an angry look. Her sour face showed her stubbornness.

“I can’t lose you too, Tate. You are my only grandchild, and the last of our bloodline,” she said while closing her eyes.

“I’m not my grandfather!” I said loudly.

She stops twirling her finger, causing all the floating dishes to crash onto the floor.

“I’m your boss, and I’m the adult. You will listen to me,” my grandmother said as she pounded her fist on the counter. 

For being a few centuries old, she is pretty damn strong. The counter is slightly indented where her fist connected with it.

“I have no choice but to stay and help her. You can leave if-“ I said before she cut me off. 

“How don’t you have a choice? You only knew the girl for a few days,” she said. 

I was hesitant to tell her at first, but decided she needed to know. She might not like what she hears, but it’s the truth. Nothing can change it.

“Well, if you must know. She is my mate,” I said as I rubbed the back of my neck. 

She gasped and touched her hand to her mouth. I could see despair and anguish in her eyes. She was disappointed to hear the news. I still didn’t know how Alice felt about it either.

“What? Are you sure?” she asked.

I nodded my head slowly, and she shook her own head in disbelief. She turned away from me, mumbling under her breath. Whatever she was saying, it certainly wasn’t pleasant.

“This isn’t okay, Tate,” she said. 
I narrowed my eyes at her.

“She is dangerous, Tate. She could kill you if she stays a banshee,” she said.

“Banshees are known to kill their mates. It’s part of their curse.”

“I know that, but I’m not afraid. I wouldn’t hurt her, and I know she would never hurt me either,” I pleaded.

No matter how hard I tried to convince her of the goodness within Alice, she could not be swayed.

“If you think love is enough to overcome the curse, I pity the fool you are,” she said.

“We will find a way,” I assured her.

“I forbid you. We will help her get her friend back, but after that you will never see or speak to her again,” she said calmly before turning around to face me.

I became very angry. My fingertips began to spark with electricity. 

“Why are you so against this?” I asked her as I crossed my arms across my chest. 

I forced my energy to subside, as I tried to contain my powers. She was the last person I’d want to face in a fight.

“Because I know a lot more about banshees than you do, Tate. There’s so much you don’t know. So much that you couldn’t possibly begin to understand,” she said.

“Then explain it to me!” I said harshly.

“Look at how you are acting. She has corrupted you!” She said. 

“No, she hasn’t! Can’t you give her a chance?” I asked through gritted teeth.

“I’m already giving her a chance by helping her find that other girl. Can’t you see that we are risking everything?” she asked. “After this you are to cut all ties with her.”

She kneels down to pick up the broken glass.

“So is she,” I said while kneeling down to help her.

“Listen, you know that her kind is different from ours. They can’t mix, it just won’t work that way,” she said while tossing a few large pieces of glass into the trash.

I then remembered what she had said about Alice earlier.

“You said she wasn’t a pure banshee. That she is something else under the mask of the curse. Right?” I asked while making eye contact with her. “Why judge her without knowing the truth?”

“That doesn’t make her any less dangerous, Tate. She is still a banshee, and she can still kill anyone with her screams,” she said as she shook her head.

“Why? Why are you so against this?” I asked furiously.

“I’ve had a run-in with a banshee before. It didn’t work out too well for me,” she blurted out.

“Yes, but that was your experience,” I said.

“No, you don’t understand. A banshee attack is the reason you never got to meet your grandfather,” she said while closing her eyes.

“Of all the stories you’ve told me, you never told me about this before,” I said.

“Well, I am now. It’s just a painful thing to talk about,” she said while picking up the last of the glass.

I followed her to the table. She sat in the seat opposite me. I watch as she pours herself a glass of Chardonnay. She drinks the entire glass, and wipes her lips with her fingers.

“He was my guide, my love, and my teacher. He helped me train to be the Slayer,” she began to explain. “We met shortly after his family moved to our town. I fell in love with him, and he fell in love with me.”

I listened to her talk about the first time they met. It was during a ritual of harvesting the power of the phasing moon. My grandmother and her three friends, Cora, Lilly, and Helena, were dancing naked around a campfire under the star-speckled sky with the moon at its fullest. 

Everything is silent, except for the faint noises of woodland creatures, and the sounds of innocent laughter. They danced to the sounds of nature. It was a peaceful night.

Until the hunters came. They had been tracking a pack of werewolves that had been traveling through the town. At the time my grandmother and her friends knew nothing about the invasion of the wolves. Though they should’ve feared the hunters more.