An excerpt from

The Enchantress

All rights reserved

Chapter One

            I looked at the giant hole in the ground and stood silent.  I’m not sure there is a good word to use when you think that someone’s fallen off the deep edge—in an ‘in love’ kind of way.  Pointing it out almost seems cruel, especially when you’re who they are in love with.

I couldn’t believe I’d let Caleb talk me into this.  We’d been dating for a couple of months now.  It felt more like a lifetime, after all, this wasn’t my first go round with him.  I had been betrothed to him over two hundred years ago.  Yeah, I know, that definitely takes the prize for the world’s longest engagement. 

I stood on the edge of the missing earth and peered into the hole.  It was huge.  You could easily park at least two cars in it.  “I thought you said you were making a tiny Koi pond,” I said, looking down at Caleb.  He stood in the bottom of the hole holding a yellow-handled shovel, pitching dirt up and over his head.  I watched his muscles harden with each movement he made.  His back rippled as the sun glistened off his sweat.  This was being done strictly for my benefit and I wasn’t about to start complaining.  Although, I would have preferred to have those muscles sweaty and taut above me.  He could have dug the hole without any physical labor on his part whatsoever.

            Caleb and I are both faeries.  I don’t mean faeries in the little pixie type with wings that grant wishes way, or follow boys from Nevernever Land way—I mean faeries as in tall, or at least Caleb was tall, slender, longhaired and pale skinned. 

If Caleb had really wanted to, he could have used his magikal power to remove the soil from the ground, and be done in a matter of minutes.  No, he had insisted on taking the hard way.  He’d been digging the darn hole now for the last two weeks.  I knew that he wouldn’t dare risk someone seeing him use magik, even though we were in the middle of nowhere.  I didn’t think that a deer on the property would notice a little shift in the wind, or care, but Caleb wasn’t one to take chances.  He was conservative by nature and it suited him. 

Someone had to balance us out.

            I got the feeling that standing shoulder deep in a hole, with a shovel in his hand, made Caleb feel as though he had a purpose.  His chosen profession was bounty hunter to the supernatural.  If any sort of spook, undead, or out of the ordinary criminal was on the loose, Caleb was the man they called.  Bounty hunting is extremely dangerous, but pays well.  He loved his job and had been forced to cut his hours back to hang around and baby-sit me. 

            There had been several attempts on my life a little over two months ago.  I’d been attacked by two vicious and smelly trolls.  One of the nasty varmints managed to sink its ragged, rotted teeth into my shoulder.  Apparently, a troll’s bite is venomous, and packs a hell of punch.  It would have killed me if Caleb hadn’t shown up when he did.  I was still thinking of starting a campaign to get trolls listed as one of the world’s most deadliest creatures, but that would mean exposing humans to the reality of their existence—no thanks. 

            Caleb had been tracking the trolls into this realm.  He was curious as to why they were coming here at all.  They weren’t known for leaving their rat infested swamplands often.  When he saw them attacking me, he figured it out real quick.  They had been sent to kill me.  The acting head of Si (pronounced shee) Sorcha, had ordered my death. 

Hey, I could be as much of a pain in the butt as the next gal, but wanting me dead seemed a bit extreme.  I am biased, I know, but still. 

Turns out Sorcha had her reasons.  She wanted to kill me before her son and I could meet.  She wanted to make sure that he didn’t end up with me.  As far as Sorcha knew, I was just a reborn faerie out to trap her son in a loveless marriage. 

            Yeah, reborn, I know crazy life, huh!  It was a huge shocker for me too.  It was still a little hard for me to deal with, and I had found out about two months ago.  From what they tell me, I had once lived for over a hundred years on this earth, never looking a day over twenty, and now I was back.  The only major difference, physically speaking, was that my eyes had been violet before and now they were navy blue.  That was close to two hundred years ago.  I know this because I was starting to have more and more memories of that life coming back to me.  Not all were pleasant.

            Being hunted down by Sorcha’s henchmen threw me for a loop, I had no idea that she even existed, let alone had it in for me.  Did I forget to mention that Sorcha is Caleb’s mother? Oops! Sorcha hated me from the day I was betrothed to Caleb.  That had not happened in this lifetime, it had happened in the last.  Hating someone for close to four hundred years was a long time to hold a grudge.  I had to hand it to her, she was persistent.  I’m sure that bottling up all that hate for so many centuries was not healthy. 

            I looked down at Caleb, digging in the hole.  I couldn’t figure out how I’d been so lucky to get him.  He was a vision of beauty, his six foot four frame was well defined, he was thin, but not too thin, his long shiny-blonde hair hung to his waist.  It was smooth and straight.  I was so envious of his hair.  I had to laugh at the fact that my boyfriend had better hair than me.  Don’t get me wrong, I’d been blessed all right, but I unfortunately didn’t get to be a blonde bombshell.  Genetics dealt me long wavy hair that was black as night. 

Yeah, Caleb was beautiful, a little too beautiful.  It didn’t matter--every bit of him was man, you can trust me on that.  I know this because we had sex the first day we met.  No, I don’t normally run around having sex with strangers, but he wasn’t a stranger.  We had been together for a hundred years once, so that had to qualify for something. 

            “Are you going to be doing that all day?”  I asked, missing his touch.  He’d been consumed with getting the old farmhouse fixed up.  It was his new mission.  He was one of those people that always needed to be doing something constructive or they’d go mad.  I was the complete opposite.  I could sit for hours on a rock, observing the wonders that nature had to offer, and never once feel guilty about it. 

            Caleb glanced up at me.  Dirt was smeared on his forehead and cheek.  I snickered, and watched him wipe his dirt stained hand across his cheek, effectively blackening out the side of his face.  “I’m sorry.  I just want to get this filled with cement, before the weather gets too bad.  I’m pushing it enough as it is doing it this late in the year.  I want you to have this, Gwen.  Let me do this for you, then we can sit out here, listen to the water roll over the rocks and maybe,” he wiggled his eyebrows and gave me a half-cocked smile, “we could do a little something else out here as well.” 

            How could I argue with that?  Caleb’s forest green eyes held such love, I wanted to jump down into the hole and kiss him, but getting out would be an issue for me.  Standing at only five foot five made it hard to get in and out of there without the aid of a ladder.  He was making it seven foot deep, because the Koi needed it deep to survive the harsh winter.  I think he did it just to tease me about how short I am.

            When Caleb started to help me fix up my farmhouse, we’d bought a bunch of remodeling books and magazines.  We sat together, cuddled in our bed flipping through the pages, picking things out that we liked.  I had stopped at a picture of an attractive white home, with a large man-made water garden in front of it.  I looked at all of the magnificently colored pond lilies and large multi-colored fish.  It seemed so peaceful, so serene.  The next day I woke to find Caleb missing from the bed.  I went searching for him, and found him out behind the house, digging a hole in the ground.  He had the magazine opened to the page with the water garden. My heart melted.  He was making this for me. 

             “Well, do you at least want some lunch?”  He hadn’t eaten breakfast and it was pushing two o’clock.  I didn’t want him getting run down.  He had to work this weekend.  I hated the idea of Caleb leaving me to head off to wherever it was he went.  His job was dangerous, and I worried sick about him the entire time he was gone. 

            “Gwen, I’m fine sweetie, don’t worry about me.  I’m just about done for the day.”  He tossed more dirt over his head.  I hated this, I knew that he was doing this for me, but I wanted to see him.  I wanted to spend time with him before he had to leave. 

We’d only been ‘back’ together for two months, but already I felt attached to him.  My body ached while he was away from me.  I missed his smell—he always smelled so fresh and clean, like the morning air after a rainfall.  I had often wondered if they could bottle the smell of him and mass-produce it.  Women would dig it—I’m sure. 

The wind around us picked up, it sent dried orange and brown leaves scattering about the yard.  Caleb didn’t seem to notice, or care about the weather cooling down, he still ran around with no shirt on and a pair of jeans most of the time.  It was forever summer to him.  I often wondered if he was running a core body temperature that was twenty degree hotter than most.  He had that Californian beach-babe thing going and I couldn’t help but love it. 

            I, on the other hand, had packed my shorts away for the season and pulled out my winter clothes.  I was always cold lately.  I pulled the sleeves of my Cappuccino colored acrylic sweater down, and over my hands.  I had a white knit shirt underneath, but I was still chilly.  I coughed a little.  Great, I hoped I wasn’t getting a cold.  I hadn’t really ever had one before, but I’d seen my friends and coworkers fighting them off.  All the phlegm, hacking, and headaches, no thanks I’d pass. 

            Caleb looked up at me.  “Gwen?” 

            He was always so concerned about me.  He was convinced that his mother would never stop trying to sabotage our relationship.  I didn’t worry about that too much.  I figured my father would look out for us.  He was, after all, the King—and no Caleb and I are not related.  Sorcha, Caleb’s mother only stepped in to lead in the absence of my father.

 Under normal circumstances, Sorcha was just the head sorceress for my father.  He took her on for this duty when he saw that she had a young son.  Instantly he arranged a marriage between the two of us.  I was only days old, and he had only seen me once.  Not a good way to start out I know, but things had changed this time around, they were better.

Caleb gave me another questioning look. 

            “I’m fine.  I swallowed some dust or something, really,” I said, trying to sound as convincing as possible.  I didn’t want him to feel like he had to stay home with me.  Caleb enjoyed his job, and I didn’t want to take that from him.  Besides, James and Caradoc were coming up to stay with me for the weekend.  It would be great.  They’d turned into two of my best friends in a relatively short period of time.  They were both vampires, but that didn’t faze me a bit. 

I’d slept with their Master, Pallo, about two months ago.  Yep, same time I starting seeing Caleb.  Walking in and meeting Pallo had changed my life forever.  He had been what jogged my memory of my life before.  I had been in love with him hundreds of years ago, when he was still human.  I’d even left Caleb for him, well not for him, but for another vampire, yeah, I know, I was totally screwed up in the head.  What do you expect?  I am, after all, the daughter of the King of the Si, I’m bound to have some hang-ups. 

            The phone rang, and I headed into the house to grab it.  I ran through the kitchen door and almost knocked a can of paint over.  It seemed like Caleb was tackling a project in every room of the house.  He had taken all of the kitchen cabinet doors off and sanded them down.  He was now in the process of putting another coat of white paint on them.  I had to admit, they looked great, like they were brand new.  I just wished that he’d finish one project before moving on to the next.  

            I snatched the phone off the wall.  “Hello?”  I said, a little out of breath. 

            “Gwen?  Are you alright?” 

            “Ken!”  I was happy to hear his voice.  Ken was my boss, and my ex-fiancé.  There was a time not long ago, when the sound of his voice made me nauseous—that was when I was still operating under the assumption that he had cheated on me.  I had gotten over that, now I just missed him.  He’d been distancing himself from me.  I could hardly blame him.  Things in my life were pretty screwed up right now.  “Yeah, I’m good.  How about you?  How are you doing?” 

            “Good.  I’m doing good.  I finally got all moved into my new place.  It’s nice, I like it,” he said, his voice low.  He was keeping his emotions out of this, I could tell.  I also noticed how Ken didn’t offer to show me his new place.  I knew that his new little sweetie, Beth, had been the realtor who helped him find it.  I’d had issues with Beth from the moment he told me about her.  She was the realtor who took us house hunting when we were engaged.  How convenient for her that Ken’s apartment had been destroyed by hellhounds, and that his fiancée had left him. 

            “Sounds nice…How is Beth doing?”  I hit myself on the forehead.  Why in the world did I bring her into this?  Ken had every right to be dating other people, but it didn’t lesson the pain any. 

I pictured his athletic body wrapped around hers and it made me sick.  I could see Beth running her fingers through Ken’s dark blonde hair.  Last time I’d seen him he had finally let it grow out from the crew cut he had always worn.  It looked good on him.  I bet Beth really liked it too.

            “Beth’s fine, but that’s not what I called about,” he said, voice flat. 

            “Well, what did you call about, Ken?  It’s obvious you really don’t want to be speaking to me, so what gives?”

            “I just needed to call you and let you know, that you don’t need to come back in.” He was getting at something I was sure I wouldn’t like. 

            “I told you I’d be back in on Monday.”  I’d been his personal assistant for two years.  I was his right hand-girl.  He never did anything without my approval.  I knew that my taking personal time, and telecommuting from home had put a burden on him, but everything was still getting done. 

            “No, Gwen, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” 

            I stood there playing with the phone cord, and my stomach tightened.  “Ken, are you letting me go?” 

            “Yes,” he said, his voice void of any emotion.

            My cheeks flushed.  I wasn’t hurt.  I was pissed.  “Well, thanks for having the balls to tell me over the phone instead of in person.  I really appreciate hearing it this way.  You should have sent me a letter so you wouldn’t have had to speak to me at all.  But, I’m probably not worth the price of a stamp, so…”  I was furious with him.  I didn’t care about the job, that wasn’t it at all, and I didn’t need the money.  I’d saved enough over the last few years to get by.  I cared about how hard he was pushing me away. 

            “Gwen, don’t be…”

            I cut him off.  “What don’t be what?  Don’t be mad that someone I care about hates me, or don’t be mad that I still care about you?”  I put my hand over my mouth.  Did I really just tell him that I still cared for him? What the hell was I thinking?  I had Caleb now, and he had Beth. 

            Ken fell silent on the other end.  I didn’t really expect him to say anything, although, a just kidding, you’re not fired would have been nice.  I stood there for a second longer then hung up on him.  There wasn’t really anything left for me to offer that would be considered polite, so it was better this way. 

            If you can’t say anything nice…

            I walked over to the fridge and took out the pitcher of lemonade.  I wanted a glass of wine, but the lemonade would have to do.  I set the pitcher on the counter and grabbed two glasses down from the shelf.  As I walked back towards the freezer to get ice, the phone rang again.  I knew it was Ken calling me back.  I didn’t want to talk to him.  I’d let the machine get it.  I grabbed a handful of ice out of the icebox and dropped it into the glasses.  The plunking sound was a nice distraction from the nagging feeling of loss that threatened to consume me.

The phone had just stopped ringing when Caleb walked in the back door.  I listened to my voice greeting the caller.  It was coming from the answering machine in the hall by the front door.  When the machine beeped, I looked up at Caleb.  I wanted him to be digging out in his hole again.  I didn’t want him in here with me right this minute. 

I heard Ken’s voice on the machine.  “Gwen, don’t do this.  I’m sorry.  I’m having a hard time with everything still.  I just need some time.  You’re not fired, I’m sorry, I just thought… I don’t know what I thought, pick up please…I know you’re there, Gwen?  I still have feelings for you, too…Maybe you should take a few more weeks off…I can’t do this right now…I love you too much to watch you with someone…”  the machine beeped and stopped recording. 

            I stared up at Caleb.  He stood very still.  I’d never really got the expression about hearing a pin drop until that moment.  He looked down at me and I could see the anger on his face.  “What the hell was that about?” 

            I tried to avoid eye contact with him.  I didn’t want to hurt him, but I didn’t want to lie to him either.  “I love you,” was the best I could come up with. 

He reached out and took my hand in his.  His hand was rough from all of the manual labor he had been doing.  It didn’t matter to me that he wasn’t as smooth as he’d once been, I’d take him anyway, so long as he was with me. 

            “Gwen, don’t do this, please,” he said, his hand tightened around mine.  I looked up at his face.  The moment I saw his green eyes, I couldn’t help myself; I started to cry.

  Prior to finding out about my past, I was normal, well as normal as a faerie living among humans could get.  I didn’t have multiple men at one time.  I hadn’t even had sex for six months before I met Caleb.  Ken had been the last man I’d been with, and we’d been engaged.  Since I began to remember bits and snippets of my past I started to have uncontrollable desires, and I didn’t like the new me one bit. 

            Caleb pulled me close to him.  His body was sweaty, but still smelled wonderful.  I took a deep breath in and let his scent calm me.  I let him hold me tight against his chest.  He was warm, and lately I had been cold all the time.  I let my head rest against him, and he stroked the back of my head gently. 

            “Marry me, Gwen, marry me and this will all stop, I promise,” he said gently to me. 

            I kept my head buried in his chest.  How could he be so sure, how could he know that I wouldn’t leave him again for another man?  That’s exactly what I’d done to him my last time on this earth.  I couldn’t even think about committing to him, then destroying him like that again.  I was having a hard enough time liking myself lately, doing that to Caleb would kill me, I was sure of that. 

            “I can’t,” I said, between sobs.  His hands tightened in my hair—he was just this side of pulling it. 

Buy Link