Glamorous - A Grace Bishop Novel - Chapter 35
© Denise Bossarte
Eli’s self-satisfied smirk continued after Grace left the room. It
was a real pleasure battling wits with Grace, even beyond the challenge of
discussing the Glamour with her while limited by Viora’s spell. The girl had
spunk and he could not help but admire her.
He was well aware of Viora’s spell in Grace’s presence. It felt
like a thin film of oil coating his skin. The “film” stretched like an elastic
balloon each time he pushed the limits of the spell’s binding. He had a keen
awareness of how far he could push such a spell. He monitored himself to avoid
alerting Viora he was attempting to go against her command.
During his apprenticeship with Gabriella, they practiced this
sort of delicate resistance to help him survive what his family might force
upon him. There was no need to push things too far and reveal to Viora he was
able to deviate from her wishes. Her position as head of The Family might give
her enough power to set the spell, but his power and skill could minimize the
overall effects to some extent.
Eli’s thoughts returned to Grace and her resistance to him. He
had not met someone unafraid of him in a long time. None of the Paranorms
aligned with him would ever have thought to force him into a re-negotiation of
terms. It was bold of her to use the raven tattoo as leverage, even when she
was not aware of the full implications of the image!
The importance of its location and flying posture she might have
gleaned from one of the Paranorms. But no one alive today in the Paranorm
family knew the true significance of the scroll and the words it contained.
Those words which themselves were a distant memory for even Eli’s Family. A
distant memory that left him feeling disturbed when he tried probing for it.
Grace was peaking Eli’s interest in her and the activities of
her friends. Even as an outsider, she was coming to influence both the
Paranorms and The Family. He admired her and felt some affinity for her
situation.
Eli had been an outsider himself, even in his own family. He
ended up in Gabriella’s care because his “father” became tired of the constant
reminder of his wife’s affair living under his roof. His mother’s obvious
preference for him, almost an obsession in her attention and protectiveness,
added to the resentment against Eli. Especially for Viora, who was Leorna’s
youngest and most favorite child before Eli came along.
His mother’s suicide shortly after he began his apprenticeship
under Gabriella cemented the resentment Viora held of him. It made him a
permanent pariah in The Family as most held him culpable in his mother’s death.
Gabriella did not blame him as she understood how fragile Leorna was.
Eli’s presence was the one thing that gave Leorna the strength
to stand up to her husband’s enmity. Stand up to his constant demands she
reveal the name of her lover and Eli’s true father. Once she freed Eli from the
influence of her husband, Leorna had given in to her despair and killed
herself.
The only way Eli survived her death was to throw himself into
his studies. To learn everything he could about his Wiccen power hoping one day
he would get a chance to enact his revenge on the man who he believed drove his
mother to kill herself. It maddened him Viora took the opportunity from him
before he could act himself.
A flood of emotions filled him in response to the memories. To
distract himself, Eli walked to the bookshelf Grace had been examining when she
walked into the room. He reached up to the top shelf to remove an unremarkable
wooden box. Cradling it in both hands, he moved to sit behind his desk, and
place the box in front of him.
He opened the roughly carved lid, and one by one he removed nine
small objects from the box to place them on the desk next to it. He turned the
objects to position them in a line, their faces toward him.
One object to match each earring in his left ear. One object for
each of the levels of power he attained.
Objects given to him by Gabriella to celebrate and honor each
level of mastery he conquered. It being Gabriella, each was a female figure
from a different culture around the world.
He picked them up one at a time, letting the memories flow.
A carving in stone of a Paleolithic Earth Mother; the figure
solid in his hand. Earth power.
A carving in pearl of Chalchiuhtlicue, Aztec goddess of lakes,
rivers, seas, and storms; the figure cool and smooth in his hand. Water power.
A carving in volcanic rock of Pele, Hawaiian Fire Goddess of
volcanoes; the figure rough and gritty in his hand. Fire power.
A carving in opal of Shinatobe, Japanese goddess of the wind;
the figure light in his hand. Wind power.
A carving in sapphire of Ushas, Hindu goddess of Dawn; the
figure tingling his hand. Ether power.
A carving in limestone of
Isis, Egyptian goddess of magic and mother to her people; the figure warm in
his hand. Power over people.
A carving in bone of
Artio, Celtic bear goddess; the figure cracked and yellowed in his hand. Power over animals.
A carving in slate of Kalma, the Finnish goddess of death and
decay; the figure hard and sharp in his hand. Dark magic.
And finally, a carving in diamond of Eunomia, Greek goddess of
law; the figure heavy in his hand. White
magic.
One by one he held the objects, and one by one returned them to
the box. A horde of memories held in such an innocent looking container. He
placed his hands along the edges of the box, looking to return it to its place
on the bookshelf. Beneath his right index finger he felt a slight dent in the
wood.
With a delighted grin of recognition, Eli applied increasing
pressure on the dent until he heard a soft click and a small drawer popped open
under his finger. He eased the drawer open further to reveal a velvet lined
space holding a single object. He lifted the object from its hiding place and
turned it over in his hands.
A simple wood carving of a standing woman. A woman with long
dark hair. A woman with a lithe but strong body and determined features.
This was a carving he made himself during his apprenticeship,
created from his own experiences. The experiences he had when learning spells
of forecasting and premonition.
A carving depicting a woman important to his then future. A
woman and carving he forgot as the decades rolled past. A carving that looked
remarkably similar to Grace.
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