Though there was something electric aboutthe way he said love, I couldn’texactly ignore the disdainful look in his eyes.
Still facing him, I began to back away. Icouldn’t even begin to describe how hard my heart hammered in mychest. My whole body shuddered from it.
He never shifted his gaze off me, hischeeks smooth and relaxed, his lips thin.
I kept backing off.
“Keep doing that,” he began.
I struck something.
“And you’ll trip over,” he finished.
I tumbled over, collecting the edge of acoffee table. I fell against the usually soft, plush carpet, myback cracking. “Ah!” I screamed.
I heard him let out a disdainful sigh.Then he shifted. The sound of his muscles creaking, of his jeansand shirt rumpling – itwas like a gun cocking by myhead.
I screamed, this time putting my wholethroat into it. I swore my lungs rattled as I gasped for air.
Though I’d collected the coffee table andit had tumbled over beside me, I now crawled over it in my haste toget the hell away. The legs of the table dug into my ribs andthighs, but I didn’t care.
God, I had to get away.
I finally freed myself from the table andpunched to my feet. Fortunately, this lounge room had anotherentry, a door which led to the kitchen. I threw myself towards itwith every ounce of energy I had.
Just when I locked the open doorway in mysights, he appeared. Don’t ask me how, but he took one slow step infront of me, blocking the doorway. He’d been behind me half asecond ago – several meters behind me. Yet in the blink of an eye,he was right there.
I didn’t have time to stop.He, however, had time to cross his arms.
I slammed into his hard, unyielding chest.He had time to catch me, but instead he snorted as I bounced rightoff that rock-solid chest and slammed into the floor.Again.
“There’s nowhere to run, love. So why don’tyou sit back down before you fall down?”
“Get the hell away from me!”I spat, turning on my foot andrunning for the other door.
Again, I didn’t make it. Becauseagain hesuddenly appeared right infront of me.
I took a staggering step back, eyesbulging wide. I hadn’t heard him sprint upbehind me, nor had I felt him brush past.Nope. He’d simply gone from being behind me to blocking my path inthe blink of an eye.
“H-how are you doing that?”
He leaned against the doorway and crossedhis arms again. He’d looked disdainful before, but now he appearedto be putting more effort into the move. “I still can’t believeyou’re Joan’s granddaughter,” he said offhand. “I can’t believe herpowers have transferred to you.”
“Just let me leave, please.”
“That would be a very bad idea. Trust me,love, you’re better off in here with me than out there on your own.Especially considering your predilection for lying.”
I blinked, kind of like I’d just beenslapped. Was that just an offhand comment, or had this Scottishhome invader been talking to my grandmother? My deadgrandmother.
Suddenly, I rememberedthe book in the attic.
I felt pale, so pale it was a surprise myface didn’t drop off from blood loss. “Wh-what happened back there?”
He tilted his head to the side, his armsstill crossed. “You mean up there?” He extended a finger andpointed to the ceiling. “In the attic? When you picked up yourfamily’s contract?”
“Family’s contract?”
“Aye. A sanctified magical documentdocumenting the details of your curse.” His brogue became thick and hard on the wordcurse.
I blinked. It wasn’t a normal move; it wasmore like my eyelids were shuddering. “Sorry? Ma-ma-magicalcontract?” I couldn’t say the word magical. It became stuck in mythroat every time I tried.
He nodded. “Aye, love – magical contract.The hard copy of the McLane curse that has existed for the past,oh, 500 odd years.”
My head felt as if it were full of fog. No,scratch that. It felt like it was full of wool, crammed right inthere until every thought ground to a stop.
Somehow, I still managed to shake myhead.
So what did he do? He nodded his headslowly. Really slowly. The kind of slow move that showed off hisstrong neck and chest.
“Curse. I guess your grandma never told youabout it. I guess you don’t know that 500 odd years ago MaryMcLane, your forbear, lied and turned from her powers,” his tone changed on that word. It became punchy, like aburst of air or a slice of a sword.
I shuddered back.
“Mary McLane refused to use her powers toread the future and lied, that she did. And in doing so, hundredsof people lost theirlives. For that, she was cursed. And that curse,” he unlocked hisarms then stretched a hand, index finger jutting towards me, “hasnow transferred to you.”
I shook my head again. It was all I coulddo.
He just nodded. “Aye. Now Joan hassuccumbed to it, you, Chi McLane, will shoulder theburden.”
“This is mad. Stupid,” I spat, “totally frigging impossible. Nowget the hell out—”
He snorted softly, reached up a hand, andscratched behind his ear. He looked thoughtfully around the roombefore crossing his arms again.
“… What are you doing?” I asked after he descended into protractedsilence.
“I’m looking for something to convince youthat this ain’t mad and this ain’t stupid.”
I didn’t have a chance to tell the creep notto bother.
Oh no.
Because a second later he shrugged,unhooked an arm, brought it up, spread his hand, andthen….
I jerked back as light spread over his fingers, down his wrist, andalong his arm. It looked like those luminous blue flamesyou get with a blow torch. The only problem was, this guy’s fingersweren’t superheated jets of flame.
“Oh god. Oh god!” I gasped as I jerked all the way back. My kneesbanged against the couch, and I unceremoniously fell on top ofit.
The guy stood there for several seconds,inspecting the flame like you might a nifty drawing you’d justdone.
When he shot his piercing gaze back to meand appeared satisfied with myreaction, he smiled, clicked
