Borrowing of Darkness Read online

CHAPTER 6

  MIA

  “Who is Mia? And why on earth did she say that you’ve fallen for a witch?” 

  “Because I have,” Ian said plainly.

  “Is that why you didn’t want us to see each other, so you could see somebody else?” Jo looked utterly betrayed. She jumped up and started gathering her Clothes.

  “Jo please sit down, I think that it’s time we finished the conversation about my past.”

  “Ian Marcellus if you think that I am going to sit here and listen to your excuses about why you were seeing some one else the one day that you were not with me then you are very much mistaken.” Jo was so angry she was shaking with rage.

  “Jo please listen to me. This is very important.”

  “Who is she Ian? Who was Mia talking about? Who means so much to you that you couldn’t wait to toss me aside?”

  “Please sit down and I’ll tell you everything,” Ian spoke gently and patiently.

  Jo sat down on the bed next to him and Ian turned toward her so he could look her square in the face. She did not look at him but stared at the ground. He reached up and gently turned her face toward him. Once again he saw a flash of something in her eyes.

   “What do you want to know first?” he asked her.

  “I want to know who Mia was talking about. Who have you fallen for?”

  Ian took a deep breath and smiled.

  “I really don’t find any of this funny Ian,” Jo’s eyes flared.

  “Jo, she was talking about you.” Ian smiled at Jo’s expression.

  “Oh please. She said you’d fallen for a witch, a witch, Ian. I think I would know if I was a witch.”

  “Not necessarily, “Ian began.

  Jo stood up. “This is ridiculous.”

  “Jo we need to figure this out together. Please sit down so I can talk to you.” Jo could see the desperation in Ian’s eyes. He pulled her down next to him, “There’s no one else…just you,” he said and then he kissed her sweetly.

  “Humph.” Was all she could get out.

  “Although I don’t trust Mia she does know quite a lot, and if she says that you’re a witch then you are most definitely a witch. It is possible to be a witch and not know it. There must have been a witch or witches somewhere in your family tree and the gene has just been lying dormant for a great number of years. Some witches never find out about their gift at all. If your family hasn’t produced a witch for decades or centuries, then it would have been forgotten about or maybe even hidden, and therefore there was no one to tell you. Usually if there is no one to tell the witch of her powers and how to use them they will lay latent until something brings them out or she dies never knowing they existed at all.”

  “What do you mean?” Jo spoke calmly now but she was still extremely skeptical.

  “From what I’ve seen and heard there has to be some dire need or even desire, something so desperate that the powers just come out. If a witch didn’t know she had them it can really be quite frightening when it happens.”

  “Okay, so how does Mia know that I am a witch and why do you believe her? I haven’t shown any signs of magical powers.”

  “Yes you have,” Jo opened her mouth to speak but Ian raised his hand to quiet her. “When I walked in last night and you were so absolutely enraged with me I saw something. I saw flames flare up in your eyes and I saw the same thing just a minute ago. Last night I thought it was just my imagination but after what Mia said I believe it.”

  “This is just a little much,” Jo looked at Ian as if she were waiting for him to tell her that he was joking.

  “I know it is,” he put his arm around her. “You know this might explain the connection between us, the reason why we’re so drawn to each other. It could have something to do with your hidden powers.”

  Jo let out a laugh, “That sounds so absurd.”

   “I know some one we can talk to about this, she may have some answers for us.” Ian stood.

   “Oh no, wait just a minute. I’m not finished. You still haven’t told about Mia, I assume she’s a vampire.”

   Ian scowled as he took a chair and placed it in front of the bed facing Jo. He really didn’t want to discuss Mia but he thought it would be better if Jo knew everything that had happened in his past, and after all, she had every right to know.

  “Yes Mia is a vampire, a very old one at that. She must be close to three hundred years old, which makes her very powerful and very resourceful. This is why I’m inclined to believe that you are indeed a witch. She must know something that we don’t.”

  “Did you know her before you became a vampire?” Jo’s eyes were wide.

  Ian nodded, “She’s the one that turned Marcus and I.”

  “What?”

  “I met Mia when I was twenty five she was as you see her now, very beautiful and I had no idea at the time what she was. I arrived home one day and noticed her standing on the porch. She told me that she had just gotten into town and that her horse was tired and thirsty, if I could tend to him. I of course did as she asked. She stayed near as I tended to her horse asking all kinds of questions about my family and the estate. She batted her eyes and played with her hair and she had me completely bewildered.

  From that day on she would meet with me every afternoon and we would spend hours and hours together. I never told any one I was seeing her, we saw each other secretly for months on end.” He paused for a second and then continued, “I was deeply in love with her as I thought she was with me. I told her that I would save up enough money to provide a good life for us and that I would always take care of her. But as it turns out I wasn’t the one she wanted. She had been seeing Joseph in secret as well, spending her afternoons with me, and her nights with him. She had only been using me for information and was just waiting for the right time to approach Joseph so that she could use her mind control to make him fall in love with her.

  Joseph had been engaged to a pretty young girl who was the daughter of a banker; they were to be married the following month. Once Mia was finished with Joseph he was lucky to remember the poor girl’s name and had of course called the entire wedding off, much to the dismay of the banker’s family and to my father’s great disappointment.

  My father was a congressman and he became very wealthy and with the wealth came great power. He was very much respected and had a lot of influence over the people here. There was a day when he became ill, he had gotten progressively worse and he wanted Joseph to take his place. And so Joseph spent his days with my father meeting important people and learning about all of my father’s dealings and he continued spending his nights with Mia.

  Mia had come to town after leaving a bloody trail behind her all over the globe. She wanted to settle here in Bromsgrove and play the part of a respectable wife of a prominent member of this town. She wanted to earn people’s respect and trust, I have no doubt she would have used her position and power to her advantage. She had planned to make a fresh start; I suppose she thought that by being married into such a respectable family no one would ever suspect her when people started to turn up missing.

  We later found out that Mia had been slowly poisoning my father in order for Joseph to take his place and thanks to Mia’s heavy hand, he passed away before she and Joseph had actually gotten married. She thought that with her charm and beauty Joseph would without a doubt fall in love with her even without her control. She never doubted herself for a minute; she believed that she was so plainly desirable that Joseph would never deny her. So she released him from her power and told him what she was and promised to give him the same everlasting life that she possessed in exchange for his loyalty.”

  Jo hadn’t realized that she was on the edge of the bed and nearly slipped off. “He didn’t!” She said breathlessly.

  “No Jo he didn’t. When he found out what Mia had done to my father he was beyond rage. He told her that he would never marry a monster like her and if she didn’t leave at that very moment he wou
ld tell the entire town what she was and what she had done. Mia was at this point just as enraged as Joseph, she could not believe how he could not have fallen for her as easily as his silly little brother had.

  “What did she do?” Jo’s anticipation was apparent.

  “She tied him to a chair in my father’s study then dragged me and Marcus into the room, when he still refused her, she bit us most savagely. She told him that we would now become the monsters that he seemed to despise so much. When he still refused to marry her she drove a poker through his heart and snapped our necks. She was long gone by the time we came to, and we haven’t seen her since.” Ian stopped and he hung his head in complete sadness.

  Jo reached out and pulled him on the bed next to her, she held his head to her chest and cradled him for a few moments. “Ian, I’m so sorry,” she whispered softly.

  “That’s all in the past now,” he straightened himself, “my only question is what is she doing here? She must want something. I need to tell Marcus.” Ian stood up composing himself. “Call Anna and tell her you won’t be in, I’m going to need you with me,” he handed her the phone. “We just have to make one stop on the way.”

  It was early spring and the sidewalks were covered with slushy puddles, the air was still cool but the sun shone down slowly warming the day. Jo shivered as they walked into the small shop of natural remedies, she wasn’t completely sure if it was because of the damp weather or because of the shop itself. It was a nice place with a very earthy feel and the smell inside was a mixture of lavender and vanilla. The jars that lined the walls were in neat rows and everything seemed to be very well organized. Jo had an electrified sensation as she stood looking around; the hairs on her arms stood up and her whole body tingled.

  There was a pretty red headed woman behind the counter; she looked to be in her mid-forties and it seemed she kept herself in good shape. She was speaking to a gentleman about a jar of some sort of ointment, all the while stealing harassed glances at Ian and Jo.

  “Why is she looking at us like that?”

  “It’s me she’s looking at like that. She doesn’t like me very much,” Ian said shrugging.

  “Why not?” Jo whispered.

  “Well to make a long story short, Lena has a niece and I didn’t find out it was her niece until it was too late, hence the dirty looks.”

  “So why are we here if she doesn’t even like you?” Jo pressed.

  “Because Lena is a witch and she is the only one that I know who can help us.”

  Jo glanced around to make sure that nobody could hear them, “She’s a witch?”

  “Yep, a really good one.”

  A booming voice sounded from across the room in harmony with the tinkling bell that signaled the front door closing. “Ian Marcellus how dare you show your face in my store!”

  Ian took Jo’s hand and approached the counter. “Lena, it’s always so nice to see you.”

  “Don’t you use that line with me! You have a lot of nerve coming in here,” Lena said as she pointed her finger at Ian.

  “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t important,” Ian gave her a meaningful look.

  “What is it? Make it quick I have work to do.”

  “Mia is here.”

  “Mia Medea?” Lena’s brilliant green eyes widened to the size of saucers.

  “Yep, the one and only.”

  Lena looked like she had only just realized that Jo was standing there, “Who’s this?”

  “Oh sorry, Lena Mayfair, meet Jo Montgomery. Jo this is Lena.”

  Jo reached out to shake Lena’s hand and as her skin came into contact with Lena’s she felt a sudden surge run through her and Lena let out a gasp.

  “You!” Lena exclaimed breath taken.

  “What about me?” Jo asked puzzled.

  Lena suddenly became very anxious, glancing around the shop. She came out from behind the counter and ushered the two of them to the door. “I cannot answer your questions right now,” she said as she glanced over her shoulder. “I will meet you at your house in one hour,” she said to Ian, “we have much to discuss.”

  Ian turned wanting an explanation, but Lena only repeated herself, “One hour.” Then she closed and locked the door behind them.

  “That was interesting,” Ian said, still staring at the door to Lena’s shop in contemplation.

  “More like rude,” Jo replied.

  “She knows something…and she knows you’re a witch.”

  “How could she?”

  “Didn’t you see her reaction when you shook her hand?”

  “Yes I did,” Jo admitted.

  “We should go and fill Marcus in before Lena comes. I want him to be prepared.” Ian took out his cell phone and called Marcus telling him to stay put.

  When Ian and Jo entered the house, Ian groaned. “Isabella you’re here too, how nice.”

  “I thought she should hear what you have to say. It sounded urgent,” Marcus responded before Isabella could reply.

  “It is. Actually I think Isabella’s input could be useful,” Ian said surprising everyone including himself.

  “Jo!” Isabella just noticed her come in behind Ian, “We’re so glad to see you.”

  “Yes we are,” said Marcus pleasantly. “Come in and sit down, we’ve been wanting a word with you.”

  “What about?” Jo asked as she took a seat on the couch. Ian came and sat next to her on the arm.

  Isabella began, “We wanted to apologize for our behavior at Patricia’s party, we were completely out of line.”

  “Yes you were,” Ian answered.

  Jo gave Ian a look. “I would like to apologize as well. I overreacted.”

  “They deserved it,” Ian stated plainly.

  Marcus began to speak but Ian cut him off, “Mia is here.”

  Jo would never have believed that it was possible for Marcus to look so angry. His body stiffened and his face looked veined. She saw his eyes bulge in disgusted anger and his lip snarled revealing his fangs.

  “Marcus please we have company,” Ian said bringing him back to his senses.

  “How do you know?” Marcus asked gritting his teeth.

  This time Jo spoke,” We’ve seen her.”

  “Then you’ve had the pleasure of meeting my aunt,” Isabella said to Jo.

  “You’re aunt?”

  “Actually my great, great, great,” Isabella was counting out on her fingers, “great, great, great…”

  “I think she gets the point,” Ian said rolling his eyes.

  Jo suddenly remembered something, “That’s why I thought it was you!” She told Isabella.

  “You thought Mia was me? But we’re so plainly different.”

  “Yes you are,” noted Jo, “but I had just woken up and everything was still fuzzy and when I looked up and saw her standing there, I thought it was you.”

  “Maybe it was just your witchy instincts,” Ian gave Jo a wink. Then seeing Marcus and Isabella exchanging glances, he added, “Mia told us that Jo is a witch.”

  “Really?” said Isabella with obvious excitement.

  “That’s one of the things we wanted to discuss with you. Lena will be joining us any minute. I’m hoping she’ll have some answers,” Ian said.

  “You spoke to Lena and you’re still in one piece? Impressive,” Marcus said bowing his head to Ian.

  “We stopped by to talk to her before we came here. She definitely knows something, she nearly threw us out of the shop.”

  “Nearly?” Jo exclaimed, “She did throw us out.”

  The doorbell rang and Ian got up to answer it. Isabella took advantage of his absence and leaned towards Jo. “We really are happy that you came Jo. I hope that you’ll spend a lot more time around here.”

  Jo smiled at her in acknowledgement. She liked both Marcus and Isabella. And even though Ian complained about the two of them she got the feeling that he was very fond of them both as well.

&nbs
p; Lena entered the room with Ian trailing behind her. She took a seat in the solitary armchair that stood between the two couches and Ian took up his seat next to Jo.

  “What do we do about Mia?” Ian asked no sooner than he had sat down.

  Lena took a deep breath and eyed each of them in turn, lingering on Jo for a few seconds longer than everyone else. Jo was starting to feel uncomfortable. She felt like this was the beginning of an interrogation and she got the feeling that she and Ian would have to explain their bizarre connection. It seemed obvious to her now that her meeting Ian, her being a witch and Mia being in town were all somehow related.

  Lena began, “I can’t tell you anything for certain, and I will have to do a bit more research before I have all of the facts, but I can tell you what I know to be true and what I believe to be true.” She paused and glanced at Jo again but this time she held her gaze. “I believe that Mia is after Jo.”

  “What!” Jo gasped, “Me? Why me? I don’t even know her.”

  “Jo I know that this is going to be very difficult for you to understand. Before you can deal with any of it you need to come to terms with the fact that you are a witch, and from what I gather, you are the witch.”

  Jo stared at her bewildered and a little frightened. Ian noticed her expression and placed his hand on her shoulder. “Lena please continue,” he said.

  “There is a book of ancient texts that speaks of a powerful witch who will come and rid this land of evil. I won’t know the exact wording until I find the proper segments; in any case I think that Jo is that witch and Mia is that evil. I also believe that Mia already knows of these writings and is either looking for answers or for a conformation to her suspicions.”

  Jo spoke her voice shaking, “How can you possibly think that it’s me?”

  “Jo I know you felt the same thing I did when we shook hands, that was the feeling of magic meeting magic. The feeling I get from you is no ordinary feeling; it is very powerful. I know this must be overwhelming for you but it will come with time.” She looked at Jo very kindly. “Before I go any further I need to know everything. It is odd enough indeed to have a vampire and a witch attracted to each other, and you obviously had no idea about your powers until very recently,” she said to Jo. “I have to know how this all came about, having all the details will help me find what I’m looking for more readily.”

  Ian and Jo took it in turns to fill the other three in on the last few months. They spoke of the magnetic pull they have to each other and the urgency to always be together. Ian told them how he tried to stay away from Jo but the impulse to see her was so overpowering and how Jo too couldn’t have taken another moment being away from Ian.

  Lena interrupted, “I need to ask a question. If the two of you had seen each other before the day in the café, then what was so special about that day? Why hadn’t you been drawn to each other before then? You need to think about exactly what you were doing at the time you felt this pull.” She looked to Ian first.

  Ian spoke hesitantly, “I was…with a friend.”

  “You don’t have any fr…” Isabella cut off mid sentence as Marcus gave her one of his looks.

  “I was getting ready to leave,” Ian continued glaring at Isabella, “when I felt this overwhelming urge to go to the café. And you all know how strange that is.”

  Lena looked at Jo, “Did you do anything out of the ordinary that day? Think hard about what you were doing at the time you felt the need to go to your shop.”

  Jo thought about what she had done that morning before heading to work, with all that had been going on she forgot all about what she was doing that day. Then the look of realization was all over her face. Could that be the key? She looked up at Lena pondering the possibility.

  “Something happened that day didn’t it?” Lena kept Jo’s gaze, “And I can bet it’s something that has much significance in all of this.”

  Jo nodded, “My divorce was finalized that morning.”

  Lena looked thoughtful and relaxed her gaze on Jo. “That explains it then doesn’t it?”

  “I’m sorry Lena but I don’t understand what my divorce has to do with any of this.”

  “Your divorce to Dean has everything to do with this. Don’t you see Jo?” She leaned closer and began to explain, “Magic works in very literal terms most times, and while you were bound to Dean in marriage you could not have a connection to Ian. But as soon as that tie was severed your pull to Ian was free to manifest itself.”

  Ian seemed to be mulling everything over quietly, “Okay,” he said, “I can understand the significance of the divorce, but why the café? Why didn’t I feel like heading to the bookstore instead?”

  Lena sat back in her chair, “I assume that Jo had planned on going straight to the café after she had finalized her divorce,” she looked to Jo for confirmation. Jo gave a slight nod and Lena continued, “You see, Jo already knew where she was going which in turn triggered your inclination to be there, and so strengthened her urgency.” She paused and shook her head very slightly, “This certainly is an odd connection you have, this strange pull to each other.”

  “Well actually there’s more,” Ian looked to Jo as if asking for permission to continue.

   “If we expect Lena to help us I think it’s best we get everything out in the open,” Jo said, looking slightly embarrassed.

  “Jo and I have more of a connection than just the pull we feel to each other; we have a sort of mental connection as well,” Ian stated.

  “How so?” Lena asked completely at attention.

  “Well Jo can relay certain feelings to me, like the night at Patricia’s party when she was talking to Marcus and Isabella. I wanted to go over and pull her away from them but I got this feeling and I knew it was coming from Jo. She didn’t want me to interrupt and I just knew it without her saying a word to me,” he again glanced at Jo quickly then continued, “and when Jo has certain thoughts I can see what’s going through her mind and I can feel certain sensations emanating from those thoughts.”

  “You can actually feel what she’s thinking?” Lena asked her eyebrows furrowed. “So lets say for instance that she thought about slapping you, you would be able to feel it.”

  “Yes,” Ian answered.

  “That’s so cool!” Isabella chimed, no doubt wishing Ian could have felt the many times she had slapped him in her own mind.

  “Wait just a second,” Marcus began, “you mean you can see and feel anything she thinks about? Anything?”

  “Well at first I could only glimpse when she thought about the two of us, together. But that sort of evolved after our first night together.”

  “Is that why you always have that stupid grin on your face?” Marcus said with a sort of disgusted look.

  “Yep,” Ian smiled widely and bent to kiss Jo on the head.

  “I would really like to see that,” Lena said. “Do you mind if we do a little experiment?”

  Lena had Ian and Marcus go into the study down the hall and told Isabella and Jo to stay where they were. “Now,” she said standing part way between the two rooms, “I’m going to put up a sound barrier so you can’t hear each other. When I do, Jo I want you to relay your thoughts to Ian and tell Isabella what it is you are relaying. Ian I want you to tell Marcus everything you are seeing.”

  Lena closed her eyes and after a minute signaled that she was ready for them to begin.

  Isabella turned to Jo, “I want you to really torture him.”

  “Oh I will, but not in the way that you mean.”

  Isabella pouted slightly as Jo closed her eyes and pictured herself walking up to Ian.

  “I’m staring at him,” she told Isabella, “now I’m slowly going to unbutton his shirt.”

  Marcus stared at his brother in the dim light of the study, “Well what’s she doing?”

  Ian closed his eyes, “She’s staring at me,” and then he smiled, “now she’s undoing my shirt.”

  “Yo
u can really see that?”

  “Yes, and now she’s sliding my shirt off of my shoulders and kissing my chest,” his smile got wider.

  “Now I’m kissing his neck,” Jo said in the other room, “and his chin and his lips.”

  “Couldn’t you at least bite him really hard or something?” Isabella said disappointed that Jo was clearly not going to hurt Ian.

  “Shhh,” Jo continued, “now I’m whispering in his ear.”

  In the study Marcus was amazed, “You can feel what she’s doing? Really?”

  Ian nodded, “Now she’s whispering in my ear.” His eyes suddenly flew open and the look on his face was unreadable.

  “What’s the matter?” Said Marcus anxiously. “What did she do?”

  “Nothing,” Ian said, his jaw tight. “I think we’re done.”

  Lena walked into the study with Jo and Isabella behind her; she took a seat, as did Marcus and Isabella. Ian stood rooted to his spot in the center of the room and Jo walked up to him and stood directly in front of him so that they were face to face.

  “Okay,” Lena said,” Ian I want you to tell us what you saw and Marcus and Isabella will see if what Jo said and what you saw are indeed identical.

  Ian began slowly with his eyes locked to Jo’s. “Fist Jo stared at me for a minute, then she unbuttoned my shirt,” as Ian spoke Jo went through the motions and unbuttoned Ian’s shirt. “Then she slid my shirt off and kissed me. First on the chest, then on the neck, then my chin, and then my mouth.” Jo went through the motions kissing each as he spoke it, she lingered on his lips for a long moment.

  “Is that what they relayed to the two of you?” Lena asked Marcus and Isabella, and they nodded in agreement then turned their attention back to Ian.

   Jo and Ian did not take their eyes off of each other. It was as if they were all alone with no one else in the room.

  Ian hesitated and reluctantly continued. He suddenly wished that he had not agreed to this little experiment. “Then,” he paused, “then she whispered in my ear.”

  “Wait a second, you actually heard her?” Lena looked amazed.

  Ian did not speak; he only nodded, still staring Jo deep in the eyes.

  “You didn’t say that you heard her,” said Marcus looking to Isabella for confirmation. Isabella shook her head to indicate that Jo had not told her what she whispered in Ian’s ear. No one spoke for a few minutes and Ian and Jo just stood lost in their own world with eyes for no one but each other.

  Isabella lost her patience and rolled her eyes in exasperation, “Well, are you going to tell us what she said?”

  “She said,” Ian began without moving so much as a muscle, and he and Jo spoke the words together, “I love you Ian Marcellus.” Still they did not move; they just stood there in the middle of the room ignoring the other three.

  “Say it again,” Ian said to Jo.

  “I love you Ian Marcellus,” Jo said still gazing in his eyes.

  Ian bent forward and kissed her, “Say it again.”

  “I love you Ian Marcellus.”

  Ian kissed her again this time picking her up off of her feet and walking with her out of the study.

  “Where are you guys going?” Isabella asked.

  Ian and Jo completely ignored her as they headed down the hall. Marcus pulled Isabella back down as she made to follow them, “Let them go,” he said softly. 

  Ian was so light on his feet that his footsteps could not be heard as he carried Jo towards the staircase, but his faint voice did make it’s way into the silence of the study as he once again spoke to the woman in his arm, “Say it again.”