Secrets of the Woods-- Part 4

Marina followed Dimitri out of the woods quickly. She wasn't sure what his hurry was but he kept glancing up at the sky and muttering. She looked at Quatica who kept her glaring eyes firmly on him. She knew the wolf was just doing her job, but she thought maybe she was overdoing it. The trees broke and before them stood a, rather tacky, little house. She had never seen anything like it.

"Well this is it." He said to her. She nodded and said nothing. "The gardens are over there." He said motioning to the right. "You may sit and enjoy them for however long you feel the need." He said smiling.

When she didn't respond he sighed. "Blasted spirits." He muttered under his breath. He pointed to the far field to the right. "That is the stables and the dog's sleeping quarters." He explained.

"Shall we?" He said starting up the stairs. Marina followed slowly, something was telling her to hold back but she didn't know what. He seemed nice, and he'd offered her a more comfortable, though odd looking, place to stay. What was this feeling of doubt she couldn't shake?

They proceeded inside the house and Marina flinched at the thought of what awaited her. She had no idea mortal men could live in a place that was so out of sync with nature. Once inside she gazed around at the small house.

Directly ahead was a kitchen/dining room area (or that's what he called it) and 3 doors on the walls behind it. 2 bedrooms and what he called a bathroom. Ineed inside wasn't SO bad, but there were no wall decorations or rugs to make it more homey in her opinion.

"This is it." he said walking into the kitchen area.Marina's eyes moved towards a large door to the left. She was intrigued by it.

"What's this room?" She asked innocently. He glared.

"That's MY study. No one is allowed in but me. That is my one rule. Keep out of there no matter what." Marina's eyes widened. His mood had changed quickly at the mention of that door. Naturally it piqued her curiosity.

He continued into the back and took the door to the right leading her into a good size room. It had a bookcase, a couch, a bed, and a dresser. Very plain and simple.

"This shall be your room. It overlooks the gardens if you desire to look out." He said, his warm friendly demeanor coming back.

He turned to her then and continued.

"I will be in the room next door should you need anything. I hope you will be comfortable here and please do not hesistate to ask me for anything your heart desires. I will bring you new clothes in the morning." He said glancing at the fading sun. 

"I bid you goodnight." He said quickly. She smiled at him, her sweet innocent smile...so unsuspecting of any wrong doings.

"Thank you Dimitri. I truly appreciate this. You are so kind."

He cleared his throat, muttered a goodnight, and left for his bedroom. Immediatly he pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

A strong female voice answered, slightly annoyed.

"Yes?" She demanded.

"She's here. I found her." He whispered. The woman gave a short throaty laugh.

"Good. This went easier then I thought. You have one week Dimitri." She said raspily.

"I know. The planets will align and that's when we must carry out our plan." He said strongly.

"Do not fool yourself with this one." She warned. "Charm her, seduce her, amuse her, you MUST lay claim to her as soon as you can." She snapped. "No mistakes. Your brother's did it, and now it's your turn. It was easy enough to get the little fool to digrace her family to get her here. The rest is up to YOU." She went on.

"I know mother." He snapped.

"Just to make sure there are no mistakes I'm sending a spell your way. We can't have you running off to change every night. You wont have enough time with her." She said thoughtfully. "This will bind you to this, mortal form." She said, pronoucning mortal as if it were a curse word. She then hung up and immediatly Dimitri felt her spell starting.

"It is done. Do not fail me son." His mother's voice echoed in his head.

He stood, enjoying the feeling of the night as a "mortal" would. He liked this feeling, but he knew he'd never dare tell his precious mother that. He closed his eyes, trying to figure out how he would go about doing this.....this job his mother so graciously betowed on him.

He was lucky his mother was too preoccupied to see the one image that haunted his mind....