The Adventures of Gwendoline: The Blackwood Witch

Chapter Four: Luke Price

I couldn't believe it. The chances of running into the same mortal twice in a row was an extremely unlikely event. Most of the time, the mortals I'd hook up with would leave town the very next day because the magic could mess with their mind and it would scare them. There was something different about this mortal boy. 

"Let me help you up." He said as he extended his hand out and took mine in it. His hands had a softness to them, but you could feel certain spots where he had calluses from some sort of hard work. "Almost there, easy does it. Don't rush." He pulled me up slowly until I was back up. I felt somewhat unsteady on my feet and my head was spinning slightly, but I guess that was normal for somebody who had just died ten minutes ago. "Are you okay?" he asked again, concerned. 

"I'm quite alright, thank you. I should be going." I said. I walked out of the bar briskly. The Maryville cool air hit my face as I journeyed fast in the hopes that it would be the last time I would see that boy. 

I was half-way down the street before I could hear somebody shouting and screaming behind me. "Wait! Please wait!" I turned around to see the mortal boy running down the road chasing after me. I stopped and stared at him until he caught up to me. He was panting and out of breath. "Please, miss. Can I please just have a minute of your time?" he asked desperately. He stood up straight after catching his breath.

"Okay. You've got one minute." I smirked as I looked into his blue eyes. They were full of so much life, and you could tell he was nervous. He grinned goofily.

"My name is Luke Price. And you are?" Luke wore all black. He had a faded black denim jacket where you could see spots of wear and tear. His jeans were black with a number of quirky buckles from his knees down. He was a great deal taller than me, probably around 5'11, if not 6'0. He wore black Doc Martins on his feet, which also looked like they had been well-loved. As I scanned my view back up, something took me by surprise. His shirt had a pentagram on it - with an image of what the Coven of the Sacred Flame believed to be the Dark Lord. He almost looked like he was a long lost relative of the coven. With the paraphernalia upon his body, he sure would have fit in. 

"Gwen, Gwen Blackwell."

"What a beautiful name." he said as he took my hand a planted a single kiss on it. I felt an electric shock run all the way up my arm and felt tingles run down my spine, giving me goose bumps. Luke lifted his head and looked confused. "Have we met before?" he asked. Oh no, I thought. The compulsion might not have been as strong as it should have. If I kept in contact with him, the compulsion may break all together and he would remember me and that'd I'd spell him.

"No, I don't think so. I live out of town and don't get out much." I said quickly.

"Oh, well I am new to town. Maybe we could both explore together?"

Courting with a mortal was strictly forbidden by the coven. Uncle Blaise would have my head if I were to jeopardise our family and the possibility of us being bought out of exile after my Dark Baptism. Although, my baptism was tomorrow night and as I knew my Uncle would essentially force me to claim for the Dark whether I liked it or not, I was determined to spend the time up until my baptism doing what I actually wanted. There was a part of me that wanted to say no and compel Luke to forget me and leave town. But there was something about him I couldn't quite shake. There was something different about this Luke Price, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.  Why did he chase after me? Why was he still in town? And why didn't my spell work to the fullest extent? 

"We could go back into the bar. Or, maybe explore the forest?" Luke suggested. 

"I've got a better idea. Stay here for a second and I'll be right back." I quickly hurried back to the front of the bar. I stopped for a moment. I could just leave. It'd be easy to run away and hope that Luke would eventually leave and going into town would be safe again. Or, I could cast a cloaking spell on myself so I could see him and he couldn't see me. But there was something about Luke that enticed me so much that I wanted to see more of him. I wanted him to touch me again. I wanted him to kiss me again. 

I approached a car that was outside of the bar. It was an old chevy truck. The red paint was faded, and it was covered in rust and dirt; it obviously belonged to one of the farmers in the bar. I pulled on the handle; locked. I kept my grip on the handle and closed my eyes. "Open the lock, let it free. Open the lock, let me see." I opened my eyes. I pulled on the handle once more and the heavy door creaked open. I quickly jumped inside and started searching for some keys. As I opened the glovebox, I could see a single key sitting inside. It must have been the spare. Stealing a car was still illegal in the witch world. But it was much easier to get away with it due to spells and compulsion. I would return the farmers truck in due time, and then I would compel the town to forget it ever happened. Or I could just compel the farmer to forget the truck ever existed. I placed the key into the ignition and the truck roared to life. I could see Luke in the distance, he was still waiting. I drove down to where he was standing and gestured for him to get in. 

Luke entered the car and shut the door. "Where are we going?" he asked, confused. I turned to him and smirked.

"How do you feel about Greendale?" I asked before turning back to focus on the road. To my right, I just caught a glimpse of a sign, 'You are now leaving Maryville! Goodbye!'. 

It was time to give Luke Price one hell of a witchy time.