Malediction

20 - The Curse

Sitting on the left hand recliner was a body. He was relaxed, facing the window as we approached cautiously.

"William" Daphne politely began, stepping in front of his view "You have some visitors"

The second we joined Daphne's side, a pair of ice blue cold eyes darted in our direction.
He had wrinkles lining his forehead from years of frowning. His hair was grey, thick and neatly trimmed. I could see a slight resemblance between Danny and he, but when our eyes briefly met, I knew the personality between them would be of complete opposite.

It hadn't taken long for William to figure out who Danny was, after a few moments of scrutiny staring, his gaze widened in surprise.

"Danny" William's gruff voice recognised as he carefully stood, his back hunched, his bones almost creaking

At this point, Daphne had turned and disappeared back in the direction of the kitchen where I had noticed her preparing food.

"It's good to see you grandad" Danny spoke, holding a hand out, receiving a forceful shake in response

"You too son" William narrowed his eyes on his flesh and blood "And who is this?" His eyes only briefly roamed over me, which is what I had expected

"This is Emilia, she's a.. " Danny paused "She's a friend"

He broke the rules, instantly heightening my confusion.

"It's nice to meet you William" I told him, his left hand surprisingly reaching out for mine

Instinctively, I pulled out my left hand to shake his, my brace coming into full view

Instantly, Williams eyes were down on my injured hand that he now held. His furry eyebrows met in the middle, his lips pursed when he looked back to his grandson.

"What are you doing here?" William asked half curious, half annoyed he'd been discovered as he released my hand

"We wanted to talk with you" Danny started slowly, William sitting back down with slight struggle

I watched William's face carefully as he roughly gestured for us to sit alongside him.
We did as instructed, Danny beside his grandfather, me beside him on the three seater.

"I should have imagined someone would come looking for me eventually" William sighed, staring ahead with crossed eyebrows "But you've unfortunately wasted your time if you're here for the reason I assume you are" His gaze turned on us, on specifically, me

Danny and I were caught off guard, our fears becoming a reality

"You're a beautiful girl" William scrutinised me, his eyes somewhat frightening "You should get out of this before it's more than your hand that becomes victim to our.. misfortune"

My heart had skipped more than one beat, my palms sweating and my breathing hitched. He was blaming Danny for my hand, he was making assumptions before he even understood the truth.

"This was an accident" I blurted out "It wasn't his fault"

His wrinkled pale lips lifted, crooked "Denial, I hope you don't have it too boy" His eyes spun on Danny

"It isn't like that, besides, we're here to talk about how this happened, how we can stop it" Danny shook his head, remaining surprisingly calm, as always

William leaned back, his smile menacing "This can't be stopped"

"There has to be a way" I urged "This woman, the one who did this, who is she?"