New: An Ancestral Curse Novel

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Mark

                When Hope and I got back home James was already there wallowing. Hope hot me a look before she headed to the kitchen. Took the hint and headed straight into the lion’s den aka the attic. James was in bad shape worse than anything I had seen before. I mean it was worse than when Claire broke into the house to trash his and Hope’s rooms. After that incent I don’t think he slept for two weeks. This was worse however. Even though he was sleeping it showed that is wasn’t restful. There were bags under his eyes,    and his skin was paler than normal. He had lost his tan from the lack of sun exposer. He now had the sickly complexion he had when we had first met has children.

                “Knock, knock.” I said rapping on the door frame.

                “Who’s there?” he asked though I knew he didn’t really care.

“Honest,”

“Honest who?”

“Honestly we need to talk.” I stared until he met my eyes. He gestured to a blue beanie bag. It was on the edge of room and attic that Angel had created when rearranging the boxes. “There’s something we need to talk about. Look I don’t know where to start with this.”

“Just spit it out. You think I’ve lost it right?” James supplied.

“Well, yeah. Hope and I are worried dude. She asked me to talk to you. So talk.” I coaxed.

“What do you mean?” James hedged. I gave him a look.

“You know what I mean, so talk,” I didn’t want to  do this anymore then he did so I wasn’t going to let him drag it out. James sighed and rubbed his face.

“You won’t understand. Well it’s more of the situation is hard to understand.”

“Bro, I’m a Shifter, your girlfriend feeds on other’s life forces, and you’re a freaking Dysbellglida. Something I’ve never heard of by the way and your little ‘sister’ is a seventeen-year-old runaway who works at underground café! I’m pretty sure nothing in our lives is normal. So why don’t you just tell me what’s going on?” I prodded. He seemed to take in my words. I could tell the moment he decided to take because the tension in his shoulders relaxed.

“Fine, it’s kind of complicated. I never actually told how Angel became part of my family did I? Angel’s mom died when she was little, and I don’t know what happened to her biological dad, but I know he wasn’t in the picture anymore by the time her mom passed away. Her step dad was a piece of work. He was a monster, human, but a monster none the less. He used to wail on her, enough that she’d have marks for days. My mom had found her in the grocery store with a black eye once. Well after that mom started to bring her home every chance she got. Dad never knew he probably would have killed the guy if he found out. Mom would have reported it, but Angel was dead set against it. For an eight year-old she could be pretty stubborn, besides like most supernatural whoever her parents were to begin with they lived on the edge of society. Meaning no records. Supers can’t be put into the system. What would have happened when her powers showed up? Mom could tell if a person had something in them it was part of her heritage.” He stopped clearly remembering something else for a moment. After that “Anyway after I got sick Angel came by the house looking for my mom. Dad thought she was one of my friends coming for a visit. After her visit I got better, and my mom got her proof of power. Angel moved in with us after her-step dad disappeared about six months later. My parents never had legal custody of her because according to the state she didn’t really exist.”

“Then how’d she go to school?” I interrupted. If there was no proof of her then how could they enroll her into public school? It’s not like you don’t have to register to be enrolled.

“How does anyone who isn’t supposed to be here attend school? They get papers. Angel was born in here for all we know so we just made some slight adjustments to her new birth certificate and enrolled her.   After that life seemed to get better for all of us. Mom stopped worrying about her all the time. I got the little sister I’d always wanted, and dad well I’m still not sure what he got out of it. I just know he never complained. The only thing that freaked us all out was Angel had a tendency to disappear.”

“So that wasn’t something new? I was wondering why she could just pop up and you didn’t freak out.” Well at least that’s something. Though I had no clue how you could stand someone always randomly disappearing on you.

“Yeah well she had never stayed away for so long before I was worried that something might have happened this time, but nope it was just Angel being Angel. The thing that gets me is she’s never left a note. This is home for her the place she always comes back to. She never left a note, because we all knew she would come back just fine.” Now he looked at me straight in the eye, and I could see all the pain and anxiety he had been feeling for the past four months. “When my parents moved out I stayed to make sure she still had a home. It’s my job to make sure she’s safe and has someone to turn to, but that note. That note means she isn’t coming back.”

“How do you know that? Maybe she just didn’t want to worry you this time.” I argued. He shook his head.

“No, I’ve never needed a not, and I never got one. For all intents and purposes this was her home for twelve years and it was just understood she would come back. Mark the only reason she would leave a note is if she wasn’t going to return.” He said again.

“Why would she decide all of the sudden that she didn’t need to come back?” I argued. If Angel had been pulling a disappearing act on and off for the past ten years why would she suddenly decide not to come back? It didn’t make any sense to me.

“I physically don’t need her anymore.  Charmers are rare as a species, but Dysbellglidas are even rarer. The reason is that we can’t unless one of two things happen either we must be saved by a Charmer or we have to meet our soul mate. Angel’s presence is what helped me survive the change when I was ten. If it hadn’t been for her I would have lost my soul and my life in the change.” James confided to me looking up at the celling. I could tell he was recalling that day, but there was no way for me to guess what was going through his mind. “Of all the species ours is the most hated, the most accursed.   Charmer are rare thanks to their own elders stubbornness which drove them near extinction, but in recent years they have been able to recover more. My species is the opposite however. We need Charmers to survive we die as children if one cannot be found.”

“Is that why your parents took her in? So she could save you?” I wondered. That was an enormous amount of pressure to place on an eight year olds shoulders.

“It was my mom who decided to take her in. Dad didn’t realize what she was until I got better, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t have used her if he knew. I won’t lie Dysbellglida as a whole aren’t known for having high morals or being compassionate. If it will serve us best in then we will do whatever it takes.” James suddenly got to his feet. Shocking the hell out of me. “Thanks for the talk bro. Let’s see if Hope has some food for us?”

I was going to protest seeing as it didn’t seem we had actually settled anything, but then I saw the look on his face. Whatever had gone through his mind when he was explain their childhoods had helped him out. I don’t know what happened, but it had put him back together.  He looked more put together in that second then he had since Angel had walked out three months ago. We headed out of the attic together. I knew when I shut the door that James wouldn’t be back. Whatever he had been holding onto he had left in that room.