Cienna's Amulet, A Christmas Romance (Raymara Barwil Romance) Read online

  Cienna finally drew her eyes away from the ring. The glow had suddenly disappeared and she was cooling down. I must be imagining things. I’ve had too much to drink. She looked at Miguel, who now had his head in his hands, his broad shoulders hunched over. She was suddenly filled with an urge to go to him and hold him close to her; he just looked so vulnerable yet strong and manly.

  Wow, I must be finally losing my mind. There’s a stranger who’s broken into my house and I’m attracted to him instead of running for help! Cienna took a deep breath, and cleared her throat. Miguel finally stood up and began to move to her, with his hands by his side and his handsome face calm.

  “Cienna, I’m not here to do you any harm...please listen to me. I just want to talk to you. Please,” he said softly with his slight Spanish accent.

  She held out her arm and lifted her palm. “You stop right there. I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but I’m leaving this room and giving you one minute to leave my house or I’m calling the police.”

  She turned and ran up the stairs into the bathroom. She bolted the door behind her and stood, shivering in front of the bathroom mirror, wondering why she felt a sick attraction to this man in such a strange situation. She looked down at the ring again and stroked it as she wondered what Damawyn would have done.

  He said he came to talk about her father. It must be genuine...he was Spanish after all, but she wanted nothing to do with the father who had abandoned her and never returned. Why was this all happening now? Damawyn would say that everyone deserves a chance to be heard.

  Cienna turned on the cold tap and splashed her face with water. She pushed her hair back off her face, looked at her sad looking reflection in the mirror. You’re being a silly little girl, Cienna Bracknell. There’s no harm in listening to what this man has to say. Once I hear him out, maybe he’ll leave me alone. She sighed, opened the door and headed down the stairs. Miguel was standing, patiently waiting for her at the bottom. He looked up and gave a tight smile.

  I finally have her attention.

  Chapter 3

  Cienna felt Miguel’s gaze burning into her back as he followed her to the kitchen. She was aware of her body like never before. Every hair on her body stood on end. She felt a slow heat radiating from inside her...she was turned on not just sexually, but she felt awake, alive and filled with adrenalin. It was as if she had awakened from the dreamlike state she had been in since Damawyn had died back in April, when along with the beauty of nature’s new life, Spring had brought the devastation of death into her life.

  “Sit there,” she said, motioning towards the kitchen table. Miguel hesitated for a moment. He was not used to taking orders from anyone, apart from Joseph. So she has some of her father’s spirit inside that exquisite body.

  “Thanks, Cienna, I really appreciate this,” he said, sitting down at the small oak table. He pushed his chair back; at six feet and one inch tall, his legs were too long to fit underneath.

  Cienna had her back turned to him as she reached into her cupboards and pulled down two mugs. “I only have hot chocolate...that’ll have to do.”

  “That’s great,” said Miguel, who was trying not to stare at Cienna’s slim, womanly figure in her red outfit as she prepared their drinks. Her waist was nipped in at the sides and despite her leggings, he could see that her legs were firm and toned.

  She turned and caught his eyes, realising with a thrill that he had been sizing her up. Her face remained impassive as she placed a steaming cup of cocoa in front of him and sat down with her own. She would not betray her weakness in front of this man, no matter how much she was finding herself drawn to him.

  “Okay, talk. Tell me what is so important that you had to break in to my house on Christmas Day,” she said, looking at him with a challenge in her eyes. “This better be good.”

  “Cienna...I don’t know how to tell you this, but I’d better get straight to the point. Your father, Joseph sent me.”

  “My father? Father? Let me tell you about…”

  “Please, let me finish,” said Miguel sharply. Cienna gasped at the sudden rise of his voice, but sat back in her seat and took a sip of her hot cocoa.

  “Your father, Joseph sent me. Cienna you are a special woman. You are descended from a magical race...” He stopped and put his index finger on his lips to stop Cienna who had opened her mouth to speak, “No, not your Spanish heritage. Cienna you are part faery. You had ancestors that were full faeries and over the centuries, they mixed with humans to create a race of beings that appear human but have the powers of the faeries.”

  Cienna had pushed her cup away as he spoke and was staring at him with a mix of pity and amazement. The poor man is gorgeous but stark, raving mad. I will have to listen to him patiently, then get him out of here.

  “Faery heritage is tied up with nature’s elements -- air, water, fire and earth. These are the four types of faery -- all need to exist together in order for the race to remain powerful. You are a fire fairy, Cienna. I am one of your kind, descended from the air faeries -- I have worked for your father for many years and he has asked me to bring you back to him.”

  Cienna bit her bottom lip and looked Miguel in the eye, wondering what sort of mental disorder he was suffering from. Whatever it was, he really seemed to believe what he was saying.

  “So let me get this straight…my father...a faery...sent for me. He suddenly wants to see me, twenty-four years after abandoning me. Oh and I’m part faery too? So what does my faery father want from me after all this time?”

  “I’m deadly serious, Cienna. You’re in grave danger and you need to go to your father -- I will take you. You see, our people are slowly losing their powers and other malevolent races are out to take over our natural habitat and destroy the aspects of nature that we protect. We need you to balance the elements of our group and restore our power. Those evil groups do not want you to return and are hunting you down as we speak. Your grandmother protected you whilst she was alive, but you are vulnerable now. I’ve been keeping watch over you since I moved here, but there is only so much I can do; you need to come with me to your father.”

  Cienna burst out laughing. “You’ve got to be kidding me; where are the hidden cameras? Is this a joke?” She looked at Miguel’s crestfallen face, his green eyes full of pain, and her laughter died down. She saw that beneath the tanned olive skin of his face, his colour had risen. Think quick; you don’t want to get him angry. He could turn violent.

  “I’m sorry, it’s just too much for me to take in right now, Miguel,” she said kindly. “I really need to think about this. Can you give me time to think about this? I’ll visit you before the New Year and let you know. Is that a deal?”

  She’s giving me the brush off...She thinks I’m crazy...How do I prove this to her? Do I walk through the walls, the same way I came in? No. That could send her over the edge. She’s so precious -- I can’t risk scaring her. I’ll have to come back in a few days and be more persuasive... Maybe next time I’ll take a cold shower first and my magnetism will work like it usually does... She turned me on so much; she must have turned my magic off.

  “It’s a deal.” He stood and looked down into her perfectly oval shaped face, fighting the urge to bend down and kiss her slightly open lips. “See you before the New Year. Thanks for the hot chocolate… Please be safe; I feel that these dark forces are near.”

  “I’m a big girl; I’ll be fine,” said Cienna, as she edged past him and headed to the front door. She had been careful not to brush against him as her body was reacting weirdly in his company. Her nipples had hardened and the warmth came back over her like when she saw him waiting at the foot of the stairs earlier.

  “Take care, Miguel and thanks for coming.” Cienna stood in her doorway, watching as he crossed the street and opened his own front door. It was now dark and the streetlights were on. She had decided to call the medical authorities about him the very next morning. He probably needed to be sectioned, for his own safety.
/>   ###

  “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas...” Cienna hummed along to the playlist of Christmas songs and carols on her mp3 player, singing the occasional line, her breath fogging in the crisp, winter night air. She had decided to take a walk into town to collect her car rather than do it on Boxing Day. Her whole Christmas Day had been disrupted by Miguel’s visits and she knew she was completely and utterly sober.

  The town seemed to be largely deserted; apart from one elderly couple walking off their Christmas dinner on her road, she hadn’t come across any cars or people on her walk. All the shops on the high road were shut, but some of the major retailers had their lights on and their bright festive displays lit up the night.

  Cornwall was a beautiful place to live and Cienna would not ever consider moving anywhere else. Big city life wasn’t for her -- she had spent six months training as a makeup artist in London and as well as missing Damawyn, she had hated the fast pace of life, the lack of greenery and the miserable, grey tinged faces of the city dwellers. She loved living near the sea with plenty of trees and green fields. She smiled, remembering Miguel’s words. She had forgotten to ask where her father, the faery was allegedly living. She felt sorry for her neighbour who looked like a normal guy...maybe more handsome than most, but a regular man. What a shame he was totally off his rocker.

  Cienna was now outside Cataluna, the Spanish restaurant where her and her best friends had eaten earlier that day. The metal shutters were down and the shops surrounding it were all dark. Cienna had parked in the small car park behind the restaurant, which was accessible only by the narrow, unlit alleyway between the restaurant and a mini mart type grocery store. She turned off the music and put the earphones in her pocket, looked around her and began walking briskly down the alley. She could just about make out the outline of her car ahead, lit dimly by Cataluna’s back security light.

  What was that? Cienna had seen a long shadow pass over her car. “Who’s there?” she called. No answer. Maybe it was a cat. Just keep going, get in the car and get the hell out of here.

  She stepped into the car park and quick as a flash a black-cloaked figure appeared in front of her, at least seven feet tall, blocking her path. Cienna shrieked and turned around to run. There was another giant, black hooded figure blocking the exit back to the alleyway. The cloak opened to reveal an extraordinary long, skeletal, pure white arm which slowly stretched out towards Cienna, who stumbled and fell to the ground, scraping her face on the rough gravel. The fall winded her and she could not make a sound.

  I’m going to die, right here and now, on Christmas Day! What is this?

  Chapter 4

  Cienna looked up and saw the gathered cloak of the first figure on the ground, where its feet should have been. Looking further up, all she could see was a hood at the top of the cloak, the material was covering the face but there was definitely something, human-shaped but taller underneath.

  “Who are you? What do you want? I don’t have any money...please...”

  Cienna heard the gravel behind her shifting; the second figure must be coming to her. She lay rigid, then suddenly jerked into a sitting position as she felt a sharp, burning sensation on her right hand as if someone had jabbed her with a red hot poker. Her right hand began to shake uncontrollably and she saw that the ring was glowing. This time there was no mistaking it.

  Her head was roughly yanked backwards; something was pulling her hair. Cienna began to struggle frantically. She had to fight; she couldn’t just let this happen to her. In her peripheral vision, she saw that the first figure was leaning forward, getting closer and closer to her. She felt the hold on her hair tighten behind her and she began to feel heat in her body, like earlier in the day, but stronger. As if she was in a sauna, turned up to a dangerous temperature.

  The first figure’s hood was now directly in front of her face. A putrid smell emitted from its folds as it reached out a hand that looked the same as that of the creature that was holding Cienna’s hair in a death grip. This hand, which was topped with long curling black nails reached around her neck, massaging it slowly, and then beginning to squeeze harder and harder as it rubbed.

  Cienna had stopped fighting; all her senses were focused on the heat that enveloped her from the inside out. Her hand with the ring spasmed and her ring finger now glowed as one with the ring. She reached with that hand and hit the hooded figure’s hand that was throttling her; then quickly reached behind her head and did the same to the hand that gripped her hair.

  There was an orange burst of light as the strangling figure burst into flame in front of Cienna’s eyes. The hand around her neck fell away and she felt the grip on her hair release. She sprang up, heat burning the air around her and saw two hooded balls of flame that hovered before her for an instant -- lighting up the whole car park -- before suddenly disappearing, plunging her into darkness once more.

  Looking down, she saw the sleeves of her jacket and the red top underneath had been completely burned away to her shoulders but her skin was intact, with no burns to be seen. The ring still glowed faintly but the heat had gone. Only the sound of her jagged breathing penetrated the stillness. She reached a hand to her face and felt the wetness of what must have been blood from her fall.

  Oh my goodness....did that just happen? Did I just burn those things? I’m going crazy. I’ve lost my mind.... All thoughts of her car completely gone, Cienna turned and began to run back down the alleyway, tears streaming down her bloodied face.

  ###

  Miguel quickly pulled on a pair of shorts and tee shirt. He couldn’t answer the door naked. It was eleven o’clock at night and he had been lying on his bed, meditating and practising his power mantras. When he heard a loud, insistent knocking coming from downstairs, he was not surprised in the slightest.

  She’s called the police on me. I’ll have to use a spell to get them off my back and it had better work this time. Maybe I shouldn’t have entered her house without permission. He pulled the door open and was horrified to see Cienna standing on the doorstep, her hands crossed in front of her, shivering, her black curls dishevelled, small cuts on her forehead and cheeks. The sleeves of her blouse appeared to have been ripped off.

  “Damn, Cienna -- what happened?” he exclaimed, putting a muscular arm around her and ushering her into the house. He could now see clearly that her face was tear-streaked and blackened with what looked like soot.

  “I was attacked... by... creatures...Miguel...” she stuttered, before breaking down into tears. He lightly placed his hand on the small of her back and led her to his living room and onto his two-seater sofa where he sat beside her, rubbing her shoulders as she cried, deep body shaking sobs.

  Cienna was feeling the emotion of all the grief from her Damawyn’s death, all the anger at her father and all the fear at what she had just experienced, and she couldn't stop the tears. Miguel was deeply moved by her sorrow and caressed her tenderly, wishing he could wipe away all her pain.

  For almost an hour, they remained on the sofa as she cried her heart out. Not a word was spoken, but within that hour Miguel was sure that Cienna had revealed the deepest, hidden places in her soul. For a strong woman like her to cry like that around anyone felt somehow intimate. Within that hour, Miguel knew he was completely in love with her; he had admired her from afar for months, but now he was willing to die for her.

  By the time she grew still, she was enclosed in Miguel's arms, her head resting on his chest. His heart beat was steady and reassuring and sitting there, they both felt at peace.

  “Thank you,” she said, her voice husky and low. “I’m so sorry I doubted you, but now I need to know more... I have so many questions that I need you to answer.”

  “Cienna, you’ve been through a lot tonight; let’s get you home and in a hot bath -- we don’t have much time, but you’ve had a shock.”

  “Don’t leave me alone! Please,” exclaimed Cienna.

  “Of course not, never. Let me grab some things. I’l
l stay with you tonight... If you agree, once you hear me out, then we’ll leave at dawn.”

  “To go where?”

  “Sennen, near Lands End. Your father is now there... At Castylly Sprig-gan, the Faery Palace at Caer Sen Senana.” These latter names were unfamiliar to Cienna, but she was now willing to follow Miguel to the ends of the Earth, if needs be…

  Chapter 5

  She’s been upstairs way too long... She’s not answering when I call her name. Surely she’s finished taking her bath after an hour... Oh no, what if the attack hurt her more than we thought? From what she told me earlier it sounded like pestriors... They could have cursed her or…

  Miguel got up, ran to the hall and up the stairs, taking two at a time. His heart was in his mouth as he approached the closed bathroom door. Opening it, he saw the steamy room was empty.

  He walked a few steps and opened the door to his right. Cienna lay on the bed, sleeping soundly. There was a tub of body moisturiser next to her right hand. She must have fallen asleep before she applied it. She was wearing a pastel pink belted bathrobe that gaped tantalisingly in the chest area revealing just a hint of the firm mounds of Cienna’s breasts. Her raven waves of hair cascaded over the side of the bed, almost touching the floor.