Within the Cards (17 page)

“Trust me, Ellie. Please trust me.” I begged her. My eyes looked deep into the cold, gray eyes of the only person in the world that I loved. It was the first time, since she returned that I didn’t see the hatred or feel the glare of the razor sharp ice.

Her eyes closed once, and I knew she agreed. We began our search for words neither of us knew, but they were somewhere in this large spell bound book. The book Dee gave Ellie, and the book Anesidora told me about during our meeting in the candle lit room at the back of a store that carried the name “Anesidora’.

Chapter Fourteen

THE MAJESTIC BOOK OF SPELLS

Ellie and I spent hours looking through the book Dee gave her. We looked for a spell that would bring not just a person back from death, but also an immortal back from extinction. Why would I have thought this was going to be easy once Ellie was convinced she was my maker?

This book held many spells that were similar, but we had to be precise. My eyes kept drifting to Ellie as she read. Here, we sat propped against the headboard of my bed holding a book that could bring happiness back to me, to us. My thoughts traveled back to a time when we laid in a bed somewhere in the past just as we were now. She was beautiful. I wanted to hold her, to kiss her. She started laughing. I knew she had been listening to my thoughts.

“Are you still scared I’m going to kill you seeing I’m your maker?” She laughed again as she pushed her shoulder against mine. Her laugh was infectious.

It was gratifying hearing Ellie's laugh. She was starting to sound like the Ellie of my past. She leaned over toward me and pushed me back. I could still feel the electricity from her touch.

“Sorry, I guess I’m going to have to get use to that.” She spoke.

“You never have to apologize to me, Ellie.” I responded. She smiled then touched my face. Her touch was warm and inviting. I missed the feel of her skin.

“Daught, I don’t remember what we had together, so I don’t feel the same as you do. I will admit there is something about you that makes me want to be near you, but I don’t remember. I do want to know my past, and I do want to remember what you say we shared, but I have to find this spell and your thoughts are interrupting my search.” She again smiled at me.

Need was in her eyes, but it was a need different from mine. She needed to know her past, and I just needed her to know me. She saw the hurt in my eyes, then grabbed a pillow and hit me with it. It was a playful hit but with her strength, it would have knocked out the normal human male. I began to laugh and agreed to continue the search.

We continued throughout the night searching. Changing positions and each time, I could feel the electricity of her touch. Her thoughts confirmed she felt the same. I couldn’t help myself; I glanced at her often. She smiled knowing my thoughts were far from this majestic book. They were on her.

“Daught, I think I found it.” She said with excitement as she sat up in the middle of the bed.

“Let me see.” I pulled the book from her. She moved closer to me looking over my left shoulder. She then rested her chin on it. I took a deep breath and engulfed her scent. She knew she was driving me crazy; it was a mixture of the old and new Ellie. As hard as it was, I concentrated on the book.

The passage read:
Reliving immortality
.

While the one in need must speak these words, but only on the day when the moon is blue and at the witching hour. Keep the one you request in your thoughts, and they will appear by the last chime of the enchanted hour.

SPELL CHANT

Gather all spirits from the past,

come back to the living, I beg you last.

The one in my thoughts must shall ye bring,

back to the living and make life ring.

Come back to make your reality known,

and repair your immortality and claim your throne.

“The blue moon?” I shouted. I jumped up from the bed that Ellie and I had been sharing for most of the night. I charged toward the desk and ruffled through the drawers. I was looking for the small calendar that some students passed out during registration, but I couldn’t find it. I turned on the laptop that sat on the desk.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Googling the blue moon,” I answered. She got up and came near me. I could feel her next to me. My body went numb. I wanted this minute to freeze and remain forever.

Before I went any farther, I stopped and smiled. It had been far too long since I had been around Ellie. I had forgotten that she didn’t need a machine to tell her something like the moon phases. She was half witch. She lived by the moon and hunted by its phases. She walked to the window and looked at the stars.

“The next true blue moon will be during the winter solstice.” She smiled. I looked at the computer, but it said the blue moon would be at the end of this month.

“Your Google doesn’t know everything. The true blue moon isn’t what humans who run that machine you're looking at think. A blue moon is only when there are more than three full moons in a season. This is every rare. Have you ever heard of the phrase ‘once in a blue moon’?” She asked.

“Of course, I’ve heard of it.” I replied. She smiled and shook her head. It was nice to see a small trace of the old Ellie in her smile.

“I trust you,” I said as I rolled my eyes.

I watched her walk back to the bed and sit in the middle of it. I could tell she was extremely pleased with her knowledge. Now we had the spell, and we knew when to use it. All we had to do was wait. This would prove to be the hard part. I looked at Ellie. I didn’t think I could wait for three months. Seeing Ellie every day, being this close to her, I didn’t think I could stand not being able to touch her the way I wanted. It was hard not being able to love her the way I use too and not having her love me back the way the old Ellie had. She was reading my thoughts I knew from the look on her face what she was thinking. It was fear of not being able to be around me. Ellie wanted to be near me as much as I wanted to be near her. Part of my wish had come true, but I couldn’t bear to see her look so sad. She couldn’t say she loved me, but she wanted me to be near her.

I moved to sit in front of her on this small bed. She was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the bed. I reached to touch her face, but then I pulled my hand back. I didn't want to push much harder, because I knew Ellie didn’t know the love we once shared. I laid my hand on my leg. She reached for it and pulled it to her face. The electricity flowed from her slightly warmer skin to my cold flesh. I didn't want to move my hand, but if I didn’t I would want more. I wanted to kiss her. The feeling of her smooth skin brought goose bumps to my already chilled body. I held my hand against her face. I froze, and I couldn’t move.

“I’m sorry.” I bowed my head.

“What? You don’t know what to do next?” She teased me. I looked back at her, not knowing what to say. She started laughing. I wasn't sure if she was making fun of me, or if she genuinely didn’t think I knew what to do.

“You might need to Google it.” She said through her laughter. This made me smile. A part of me could feel the old Ellie was coming closer to the surface. However, I knew this wasn’t her. I wanted to make love to Ellie but not like this.

I knew she was starting to feel confused over my actions. I did want her, and she was the only one I wanted. I would never want this human named Trish. She could never compare to Ellie.

I leaned back to her. Her body tensed as I placed my hand on her thigh. I didn’t know if she wanted me to continue, or if I should pull away, but then she sat up putting both of her hands on my face. She pulled me close to her. I could smell the sweet air she exhaled. The aroma filled my lungs and the endorphin of my urges sent shock waves throughout my body.

“Are you sure, Ellie?” I asked.

She never spoke a word, but her eyes told me everything I needed to know. As she lay back, my body followed hers. Her fingers ran through my hair. She pulled me closer until our lips were one. The last ten decades were as if they never existed. The taste of her lips was still as sweet as the first time I tasted them. The rest of the night was eternal bliss.

Chapter Fifteen

WHAT HAVE I DONE?

Ellie was lying in the bed next to me, and she gently caressed my chest. I kissed the top of her head as she looked up at me with a smile. The look she gave me was that of the old Ellie. I wondered if making love to her had made her remember what we shared. Then I noticed the change in her smile. She got up from the bed and began to put on her clothes.

“Ellie, where are you going?” I asked.

“You don’t want me. You want the pathetic person I use to be. I had sex with you to prove to myself that you wanted me, but I was wrong. All you want is the Ellie I use to be. I’m not her.” She hissed at me.

“Ellie, I love you. The old you or the new you, I don’t care. I just want you.” I pleaded as I sat on the side of the bed.

“Listen Daught, I need some space. I’m not the Ellie you knew. This is who I am. The spell may not work, and you're looking forward to someone that may never be again. I can’t be her.” She felt hurt and angry at the same time. Her eyes were not the bright gray that I loved. They were flat and gloomy. She removed her eyes from my view. She could no longer look at me. She looked down at the floor and then at the window. I felt her hesitate. I knew she didn’t want to leave, but she was scared to stay.

“You’re wrong, Ellie. I don’t care if the spell works. Just having you here, no matter what happens, that's all I want.” I pleaded. I stood up and tried to wrap my arms around her, but she pushed me away. Ellie felt confused of what her existence was supposed to be. She wouldn’t stop getting dressed. I couldn’t stop her.

“Look deep in your heart, Daught. You will always compare me to her. I can’t promise you anything. Just give me some time.” She insisted and turned away from me. She moved toward the door, but I wasn’t fast enough to stop her before she vanished.

What had I done? How had I let this happen? Last night was perfect. I knew I wanted Ellie. I wanted her badly, but I knew we weren’t ready for last night. I should have stopped, but I was weak when it came to her. I fell on the bed and stared at the ceiling. I knew I had to find her. I pulled my clothes on and headed toward her dorm building.

It was daylight, so I couldn’t move like an immortal. There were people all around. I walked as fast as I could. My mind remained on Ellie. We were finally able to stay in the same room with each other, and now she was gone again. Holding her last night was like a dream. Had she teased me and manipulated me? Was she trying to drive me insane?

Once I was inside her building, I made my way down the hall to her dorm room, but before I could make it to her door, I heard a voice.

“Hi Daught.” I recognized this voice as Trish’s. I turned to acknowledge her and saw her expression changed when she looked my face. She knew Ellie and I had been together.

“Hello Trish, have you seen Ellie.” I asked as I looked toward the room.

“She was in her room a few minutes ago.” She looked strangely at me and asked. “Are you two seeing each other now?”

“Kind of, I guess. We’re old friends, and we’ve been hanging out. Why do you ask?” I confronted her. She looked at me with a strange glare.

“She was gone all night, and then this morning I heard her in her room. I heard sounds like things were breaking. When I knocked on her door, she told me to go away. She kinda yelled at me.” She continued. “Did you two have a fight or something?”

“Something like that, but I just need to talk to her.” I started toward the door again, but before I could get away from Trish. Her next statement made me cringe.