Young Witch (Book #1, Young Witch Series)

Chapter 9

"Too many Tanza. I warned you last time to avoid caring for them. They all die eventually." Lorena whispered, "You've seen it before."

"So have you. You insist on plaguing me when you could just go on to the other world. You said it was always pulling you." Tanza snapped back, "Just follow the pull and leave me. Was cursing me not enough?"

"You know I can't." She snapped back, "I'm bound to you as long as the curse holds. And, I only appear when you're close to breaking it, which you also know."

"It would be nice if you would tell me how to break it." Tanza pointed out, "All you ever do when you visit is tell me I'm close, then leave."

"Do you want me to do that now?" She asked sweetly, batting her eye lashes. "I could."

"No, I'll hear what you've come to say." He replied, weary, "Is there anything new?"

"Not really, just the same thing I've told you before. But I will give you the speech if you want?" She smiled at him again.

"Why not?" He asked, "Not as if I can go anywhere."

"You know you can't get close to them Tanza, they all leave in the end. They even become scared of you. What can you even do with this one? She's a girl. She'll never take over the family title. You'll be stuck here watching her marry someone, and moving off to enjoy her new life, while you're stuck here, waiting to be put to use, just like a good servant. You were always a good servant," She mused, "You were always there. Mark never went anywhere without you, I suppose that's why he had you painted with him in that portrait he loved so much. I often wondered if he had to choose, would he have chosen you, over me and our children? I'll never know."

"I think that's the most you've ever said to me at once." Tanza said in surprise, "And that includes when you were alive."

"I'll give you this bit of advice for free," she chuckled, "This is the closest you've ever been to breaking the spell. I'd hate for you to mess it up."

"Then tell me how!" He yelled, "Tell me so we can both end this!"

"I can't." She said simply, "I've forgotten, or at least my ghost has. Maybe it died with me, and has gone over. I am but a memory of the living me, and I didn't want to ever tell you. But please, find a way out of this, I want to cross over. After four hundred years, I have grown tired of this state, and this place."

"What happens when the curse breaks?" Tanza asked, curious, "To you and to me?"

"I will cross over. You," she mused, "You will return to your original state, with your life span intact. I have no idea how much you will remember, but you will be human again, and young. I believe you were only twenty-four when I cursed you?"

"Yes."

"Then you will be twenty-four again, and live as many years as you would have, if I had not done this to you." She waved her hand at him, "I'm sorry about all of this, truly."

"Why are you sorry?" he asked, surprised.

"I never meant for it to drag on this long." She admitted, "I had hoped it would be broken before I passed. I never dreamed my ghost would be bound to you, as you are bound to this place, and my family."

"I think that's your punishment for cursing me." He said, with a small hissing laugh.

"It probably is." She admitted, "And it's time for me to leave you again." Lorena leant forward and cupped his face in both of her hands, "Please get us out of this." She kissed both of his cheeks lightly and faded away in front of him.