Palindrome
The day after

The sun was shining too bright, and the birds made such noise I covered my head with the pillow. Why did I smell coffee? I shot up in bed, remembering the night before. Or was it a dream? It felt like a dream. My body felt…different. Transformed. I took a quick glance, there were bruises and bitemarks showing. But the biggest difference was on the inside. My mind was hazy, and all my bones felt like liquid. I heard footsteps closing in, and I looked up to meet Will`s triumphant smile. His hair was dishevelled, eyes tired and his lips were swollen- he looked gorgeous. Then my mind conjured up an image of him in his other form, how could they be the same? He noticed the change in my expression. “Are you alright?” William handed me one of the coffee-cups, muttering with an apologetic voice; “I made myself at home.” I gave a small smile, but I felt a tiny tremble in my hand as I lifted the cup to take a sip. My bedroom seemed so different with him it in, no longer the safe sanctuary I`d had since I was born. Now I felt the weight of adulthood upon me, struggling to come to terms with the man slash Beast in front of me. No longer calm, I swung my legs over the edge and stared at the floor with the mug between my hands. William sat down beside me, silent.

“What did you mean when you said you didn’t want to kill me, but your father did?” The coffee was strong, just what I needed. “My father is…” I saw him search for the right word. “Old-fashioned.” Unvoluntary, I giggled. If Will was 500 years old, then I guess you could call his father old-fashioned, all right. He slid his eyes sidewards my way with a slight smirk. “I know, understatement of the year.” He stood up and walked over to the window. Suddenly I realised he had clothes on. “Hey, where did you get those?” He`d been naked the whole time yesterday, I tried to ignore the blush creeping up when I thought about him between my legs on the altar. It was much easier to handle it when it was in the heat of the moment. Liberal or not, it was my first time, after all. He looked down at his jeans and t-shirt combo. “I had them stashed away in the forest, I went down to retrieve them before I made coffee.” Once again, I was grateful that my big backyard was completely locked in by a big hedge on each side of the house, I could only imagine Mrs Jensen`s face if she`d seen him.

“As I said earlier, my father believes witches are only good for one thing. But we have never gotten that one good thing from any witch, so I`m starting to think the great Seth had it wrong.” I closed my eyes briefly, never a straight answer. “What one good thing?” My brain sent up an image from last night, “You don`t mean sex?” Had I done something really bad? Would the community shun me? William gave his signature smirk, making me momentarily lose any thought of danger and regret. “No, I don’t mean that, although it was good. Very good.” He sat down again, facing me. “I`m not allowed to be with you. You saw Benjamin last night. Our kind does not fraternise with witches beyond…” Again, he was struggling to find the word. He rolled his eyes, “we just don’t.” William looked down and started fiddling with the blanket I used to cover myself with. “This thing between us. It`s not normal, and it scares me. I was fully intent on keeping my distance, but I saw you behind the counter when I drove by, seeing you smile and laugh to the customers. I could feel your presence from inside, my bones were tingling like hell. And…I wished it was me. I wished it was me you were laughing and smiling to. Then I heard Father mentioning you. Normally, when Father says jump, we jump. But I almost attacked him. I had to leave the room so he didn’t notice my eyes becoming purple.”

He took a deep breath, “That`s why we can`t be seen together anymore. Belinda and Benjamin have my back to some degree, but if Father, or Grand-Father finds out, we will both be in deep shit.” He dropped down on his knees, put the mug beside him, and positioned himself in front of me. I looked down at his face, already so dear to me. I wondered if I would be scared if I saw his other form in the daylight. Maybe he couldn’t turn at daytime? I had no doubt in my soul that William meant it when he said he wouldn’t hurt me.

“Knowing this, I understand if you want to kick me out. Out of your life. I will still be watching over you, no way I`ll let Father harm you.”

I was confused, he just said we couldn’t see each other, and now he asked if I wanted him in my life or not. “Are you asking me if I`m up for a secret relationship?” Not how I envisioned my first boyfriend. I cringed at the word, not suitable for William. His now blue eyes twinkled, “I guess so.” He still kept secrets from me, he had purposedly skipped a big part of the explanation of why they hated witches, and what they wanted from us. His whole family hated me, his Father wanted to kill me, and he turned into a winged Beast from time to time. On the other side, my soul screamed out for his, rejoicing when they met. His body was imprinted on mine, and the Goddess had warned me, I couldn’t say I walked into this blind. Somehow, it was meant to be. What I didn’t know, was why it was meant to be. Prophecies were never a good thing for lovers.

“William, kiss me.”

No biting this time, he started slow-with closed lips. Soft, gentle. He stopped, but only to stand up. He pushed me gently back, so I was on my back in the big bed. Placing himself on top of me, he continued his sweet torture. He kept the same slow, steady pace, my body ignited nevertheless. I wanted to wrap my legs around him, but he had me pinned down, my feeble movements didn’t bother him. I relaxed and closed my eyes, concentrating.

Invoke the power in me, set it free

Invoke the strength in me, set it free.

When I open my eyes, he will see

What I want, is what will be.

I chanted the spell three times inside and met his eyes the second I opened mine. He was spellbound, quite literally. Neither of us blinked, and with a flip of my body I was on top. As we lost eye contact, he frowned at me. “What was that?” I smiled secretly, happy that I managed to surprise him. He grabbed my arms, holding them loosely. “Did you just glamour me into doing what you wanted, witch?” As supposed to his brother using it, the word “witch” now sounded like an endearment, rather than a bad word. I pressed my naked body down, marvelling over the sensation of denim against my bare core. “Are you complaining?” I pretended to slide off his body, but he raised his upper body and grabbed my waist. “Never.” He breathed out the short word. Just as I was about to lean in to torture him the same way he`d tortured me, someone knocked hard on the door downstairs. I seldom had visitors, who could it be? It didn’t sound like Mrs Jensen.

“WILLIAM!” The voice yelled loud enough that we heard it clearly in the bedroom. It was Belinda.

“Get your stupid ass down here.”

It seemed William was contemplating to just ignore her, but the banging on the door continued. “Alright, relax. I`m coming. Calm your own skinny ass down.” He said the last sentence a bit lower, but I heard her growl, so I guessed she picked up on it. Maybe they had better hearing? I should be asking these questions, not frolicking in bed with the enemy. I pressed my lips together as I, rather reluctant, slid off his warm body and pulled on sweatpants before I turned to fix my bra. William walked silently up behind me and touched my left side with one finger. “What is this?” I pulled a singlet over my head and turned back. “It`s a tattoo.” He rolled his eyes, “That I could tell. What does the symbol mean?” I`d gotten the small tattoo three years ago. “It`s a sigil, for protection and safekeeping for my family.” William didn’t say anything, he just took a step back. I saw him blink fast three times. His voice was low when he finally answered. “It`s nice, suits you.”

I hadn`t told him about my parents, or that my brother was missing, not “on a trip”. The words burned on my tongue, but hard knocking interrupted me once again. Not one to give up, Belinda. I toddled behind him, letting William take the lead. I knew Belinda wasn’t there for me. He yanked open the door, and we were faced with one furious girl. A girl who`s 346 years old.

She pointed an angry finger towards William, “Do you have ANY idea what the fuck you have done? Father will kill you if he finds out. If you wanted a challenge, you could have found a fairy or something, not a damn witch.” William didn’t flinch, I was pondering if I should hit her with a baldness-spell. She took a step forward but stopped abruptly. Apparently, she didn’t have a hug in mind, since the protection-spell stopped her. Belinda gave me a hard look, hatred evident in her beautiful face. “Ohhh, good witch. Let`s see how tough you are if I meet you in a dark alley.” Her voice was sarcastic, and the sneer made her face contort. She moved back again, that`s when I saw Benjamin. He was leaning against a car, not the Mustang, this was a BMW. He had his arms crossed, making the muscles pop out. Benjamin smiled when he saw that I noticed him, more laidback than his sister who still looked ready to kill. William took a small step to the left, partially covering me. I switched my focus back to Belinda and met her dead in the eye. “Bring it on, you furry little thing.”

I would have been dead if the spell hadn`t been in place, now I really understood what William meant with the statement “we hate witches”. Her eyes glowed red and she balled her fists hard together. “Belinda, calm down, the neighbours can see you.” Will whispered loudly.

I hadn`t thought about Mrs Jensen, I couldn’t see her when I searched her garden with my eyes, but I had no doubt she would hide to get some good gossip. Belinda blinked and I saw her chest rise and fall when she took some deep breaths- maybe they`d picked up on some calming technics after a few centuries. Before she got to say something else, Benjamin pushed himself from the car and took two steps.

“Mother is home.”

William closed his eyes briefly and swore to himself. “Right. I`ll be with you shortly.” He looked at Belinda. “Let me say goodbye?” Her eyes blinked green, but she gave a short nod and went to stand next to Benjamin. The way they stood accentuated their similarities, although different in body and size. William turned to me and grabbed both my shoulders in a tight grip, I fixated my stare on his face.

“I need you to be careful. I have to stay away from you, especially now that mother is here, but promise me you`ll be careful, please.” His voice was pleading, almost afraid. I nodded fast, “I always am.” William sighed and shook his head. “No, you`re not. You should be afraid of me, but you got in my car without any questions, and last night…” I felt my cheeks redden as his eyes became sultry while looking at me. “Well, you know what happened last night. You sure didn’t stop to think twice then.” Now I felt a little annoyed, he too should be careful. I had shown him mere minutes ago that I had a few tricks up my sleeve. There was more where they came from, way more. “Listen, William. I can protect myself. If you regret yesterday, then that`s on you.” I saw him frown and his eyes blinked purple. “NO! I will never regret it, even if…” He didn’t finish the sentence, Benjamin and Belinda had gone back inside the car, and Belinda was honking the horn. William gave an irritated look over his shoulder. “Hannah, I… If you meet my mother or father, just don’t interact with them. Don`t speak with them or try to find out more about them. Father is old, very old. He can be pure evil, if he wants to.”

Listen to him.

The voice rang in my head, but this time I didn’t flinch.

“I will be careful. But you have to tell me more at some point. You think I don’t know you`re evading my questions?”

Once again, William took a quick look over his shoulder. His hands glided up from my shoulders to my face. The hold was firm and warm against my cheeks. He closed his eyes, and I saw his shoulders fall down an inch and William breathed in. When he opened his eyes, I saw them burn purple.

“I can feel your soul vibrate.”

He kissed me hard and pulled away fast. “I`ll get in touch, wait for me.”

My mind was in chaos as he jogged down the steps and over to the car. He went over to the driver`s side, I saw Benjamin was in the backseat and Belinda on the passenger-side. William stopped to look up at me, he met my stare without blinking, my insides melted from the intensity in them. He pulled up his sunglasses from his pocket, put them on and got in the car. The tires screeched as the deep-blue car spun out of my driveway.

Right, what now? I walked inside, not knowing what to think about the events last night, or today. William and his family were some kind of monsters. I didn’t know what kind, neither him nor the book had clarified that. I had to put the tale, legend, at the beginning of the book, where Seth and Eve is out walking and Seth is attacked by a beast, in connection with this revelation. The bite from the beast was obviously infectious, and Eve begged Michael for a cure. Which would come when the Flesh rises from the soil, whatever that means. Until then, Seth and his children are doomed to walk the earth as the thing every man fear, an abomination, a Beast. I stopped dead in the kitchen, the feel of William washing over me. Even in his beastly form, he had swept me away. I felt secure, adored, even loved, under his wings. Like William had said himself, why wasn’t I afraid? Why wasn’t I running? My soul recognised his, in a way I couldn’t explain just yet. I sat down at the table, and my mind conjured up images from last night, his hands on me, the warmth from his mouth and tongue. The look in his eyes as he watched me unravel in front of him.

Focus.

My hands were shaking, I knew I had to focus on the real issue; the fact that the Adamson family seemed to scare the life out of witches. I didn’t want to call Samuel; he would know right away I was keeping something from him. I walked into the study and found the book. Why hadn`t I told William about it? Although I knew on some level that he wouldn’t hurt me, it was another case about his family. Belinda looked ready enough to rip me in pieces. I had to find out if their theory had any substance, did the witches have the secret to their saviour? If so, what? And why hadn`t we helped them? I gave myself a mental clap on the shoulder, this was the issues I should be worrying about, not when I would see William again, not how it had felt when he entered me harshly.

A knock on the door made me jump, and I put one hand over my heart trying to still it. I turned hesitantly to the door again, unsure if I wanted to find out who it was.

“Hannah, dear. It`s me, it`s Mrs Jensen. Are you alright?” My shoulders sagged in relief; I had almost forgotten normal people existed. I walked over and opened the door to a clearly nervous Mrs Jensen. I did my best to give her a genuine smile, and to look relaxed.

“Good morning! Come in, Mrs Jensen.” I gestured to the hall and took a step to the side. The old lady looked behind me with big eyes and shook her head so fast her perm bounced. “No, no. I just saw some kids leaving here in a hurry, so I wanted to check on you.” Maybe Mrs Jensen picked up on more than I thought. I smiled, reassuringly I hoped. “That was the Adamson kids, they just wanted to show off, I`m sure. I met the girl, Belinda, the other day and invited her over. They don`t know anyone in town yet, you know.”

The sweet, old woman still looked worried; it wasn’t often I had visitors. “Well, you just be careful, you hear me? You`re still healing from your fall, you should take it slow.” I nodded solemnly and gave her a quick hug. She stilled, surprised, but then she leaned into the hug before she laughed. “Oh, don`t mind me, I just worry. And I think your parents would appreciate me looking after you.” I saw her dab away a tear quickly. “Such a shame, I miss them dearly.” I bit my lip to keep my own tears from coming. “I do too, every day. I`m sure they would thank you for your kindness to me, mom always talked very kindly of you.”

I watched as she shocked over to her own house, this was why I had to focus on the important parts. I had to protect my town and the people living in it.

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