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The Family Curse (Kaelyn and Wyatt)

Wyatt had been pacing in the kitchen for at least twenty minutes now. He was quietly mumbling to himself and prepping everything he wanted to get out because he knew it was likely his only chance to convince his cousin that nothing good could come from that book. That book.. the one that nearly ruined his life. Well, in some ways it had and he was still picking up the pieces that he'd torn, burned, and was trying to put back together from the ashes. The dark grimoire had done exactly what it was meant to do; Attach itself to their family bloodline and wreak havoc on the world.

The magical artifact seemed to have a mind of its own which was terrifying to realize. The more it was used, the more power its caster gained. It had been an addiction like any other which could destroy an addict's life. Wyatt had hurt innocent people in the process and fractured relationships with the ones that meant the most to him. One of them he knew would never be repaired no matter how much he was forgiven. He couldn't forgive himself for what he'd done. It almost led to his ex's death.

The diviner couldn't let that happen to his cousin, but he was afraid it was too late. Kaelyn had gotten her hands on the grimoire when things had gotten out of control and desperation of a life and death moment made her reach for the forbidden object. Wyatt had thought Malva had secreted it away somewhere in the Archives that he and his family would never see again, but Kae had found it. How, he still didn't know.

All that was important now was getting her to see she had to relinquish it.

He felt a bit of relief wash over him when she had asked to come over that morning. After what happened at the Archives with her murderous ex, he hadn't heard from her in days. Wyatt had checked all the places he could think of where she might've gone, but even a simple locator spell wasn't working. She didn't want to be found and Wyatt assumed the worst. The book had gotten her.

So for now he continued to pace and make sure he got the speech right. There was no way he was going to let Kaelyn fall into the same destructive path that he'd been on from that cursed object if it was the last thing he ever did.

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Instar DivinerPermalink Reply by ✓ Kaelyn Brookes ~Admin~ on February 3, 2023 at 19:56

She used to be a lot better than this. To have the whole world at her feet. To keep it all together and all under control. Not to have it all break down and fall down from under her. Letting her guard down and losing control. All because of one person. Who ended up being her downfall. Kaelyn could remember it all clearly now. All of it coming back to her. Those few moments that she took it too far. All she could remember was seeing flashes of red then it felt like she was somebody else. Having no control over her body until it was too late, taking a life. In that moment she lost a part of herself. Her innocence being taken away and the darkness within taking its place. Kaelyn could remember the look on her cousin's face as he watched it all unfolded. Wyatt was the only person she cared for and trusted. Now she has let him down. Letting him see her become a monster. Somebody he wouldn’t be able to recognise or put his trust in any time soon.

After the events from the other day the Diviner made her quick exit, leaving Wyatt behind. All she could think of was needing to escape. To get as far away as possible. There was a part of her who wanted to flee, to leave the country. Start a new life once again after the last time. It was something she had thought of doing but Kaelyn knew she couldn’t do it. Now having resposbilies and others who rely on her. It was not so easy to turn her back to run away and start a new life as it used to be. Kaelyn knew she had to face up the reality of her actions. Nothing was going to be the same again. Probably she would never be the same again. Nobody is after they take a life.

The Diviner had been hiding out for the last few days. Going off the grid. Stopping any locator spells from finding her. Since Kaelyn knew that it would be one of the first things that her cousin would try to do. Yet she didn’t want to be found. Wanting to put space between herself and others. Feeling a different, darker energy surrounding her. Now she found herself standing at the front door of Wyatt’s place already knowing he was inside pacing back and forth. She was ready to face her fears to face the reality of her actions.

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Instar DivinerPermalink Reply by ✓ Wyatt Brookes on February 17, 2023 at 17:30

The proximity magic Wyatt had over his property pulsed. A wave of visible purple energy rippled over the floor, walls, and ceiling a few times to indicate someone was near. Assuming it was Kaelyn, he waved his hand in front of him to reveal a glimpse outside of the house by looking passed and through the wall as if glancing through a window to see his cousin there. Even from here he could tell she looked different. Determined, but in an 'I'll cut you down by any means necessary' way. It was reminiscent of how she appeared back at the Archives when the grimoire had latched onto her in the desperate act of survival.

Wyatt crossed the living room space and went to answer the door. His eyes glanced to the fading scars on his arm from the wild encounter only a few days ago, having to shield himself from the flying debris that spun around the room like being in the middle of a cyclone. He could still feel the bruising on his ribs from the assault, not only from their mutual enemies, but also by Kaelyn's own hand after using the grimoire.

Grimacing slightly, he opened the door and gave a thin and fleeting smile to his cousin. His eyes immediately flitted to her hands to see if she clutched the grimoire, but nothing. That also didn't mean it wasn't near or that she couldn't summon the thing to her side. Even from where she stood, Wyatt could feel the dark and familiar energy pulsing from her. Invisible to most, but apparent to him. Especially since he knew that feeling that at the time felt like a security blanket of ultimate power, but was really nothing more than a drug addicting poison that hooked its magic deep within one's veins.

"Hey, Kae. I've been worried," he said, holding his eyes with hers in some attempt at reading what was going on with her without the obvious words of exchange. "Come in. Want some coffee?" Turning, he headed towards the kitchen to make another pot of coffee. "Where've you been?"

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Instar DivinerPermalink Reply by ✓ Kaelyn Brookes ~Admin~ on March 5, 2023 at 12:51

Kaelyn had thought of backing out of meeting up with Wyatt. Pondering if it was a good idea or a bad one with all that happened. With how she let the darkness in and took over. Taking it all too far, one that she couldn’t take back. Kaelyn didn’t want to put her cousin at risk or in harm's way again. Seeing herself as a threat and a danger. Yet the Diviner knew if she wouldn’t meet Wyatt and avoid him any long he’d take matters in his own hands. That he’d go to any lengths. For it was who he was. He was protective for those he cared for.

Here she stood at the front door to her cousin's place. Still she couldn’t shake away the memories of what happened, what she did. A constant reminder lingered for her. Feeling a different surge of energy running through her. Soon as the front door was opened, Kaelyn could feel Wyatts eyes were all one her. Able to guess he was trying to see if there were any differences to her. It is more than physical, emotional. Or he was trying to see if she had the grimmiore with her. It was long gone. “Hey Wyatt” She greeted softly, quietly. Differently to how she would normally with all smiles now she felt ashamed of herself for her actions. Yet she couldn’t hide from her cousin for any longer. “Sure” Nodding her head as he offered coffee. It was their usual tradition. A coffee and a catch up yet she knew it would be a different sort of catch up than they were used to.

Where has she been? That was a big and deep question in herself, one that she didn’t want to jump right into. Spending the last few days of self pity, no self acceptance. Just herself left with her own devices and the new darkness surrounding her. “I’ve been taking time to myself” Kaelyn wasn't going to let him know where the place was laying low out. For his own safety and own protection from her. “About what happened…” She started to say already wanting to bring up the elephant in the room. Wanting to get it done and over with. “I took it too far. With the book. I knew the risks before and after opening it. And now I have to pay for it” She confessed taking the blame it was all on her. “I didn’t mean for you to get hurt, for you to be in the middle of all of it. Because of me” Her eyes were lingering on the marks and wounds on Wyatts arms some were caused by herself. Who was only trying to protect her and she ended up hurting as he was in the fire line of her powers outburst. Kaelyn felt herself racked with guilt that she’d hurt him, the one person who she cared for and now she was now hurting. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it. Any of it”

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Instar DivinerPermalink Reply by ✓ Wyatt Brookes on March 10, 2023 at 19:14

Wyatt busied himself making the coffee, but it was more robotic than anything as his attention was purely on hearing what his cousin had to say. He pulled another mug down from the cabinet and began the whole process, but made sure not to look at her so much and make it more awkward than it was already feeling. He also didn't want to scare her away. He'd done that a long time ago when they first met after he'd gone looking for her and Kaelyn was quick to make herself a ghost again. That was the last thing he wanted. She had grown since then though. Becoming leader of the coven meant responsibility and she had done well in the role. Now, he wasn't so sure she could handle the position if the grimoire was rooted in her intentions. It was something he had to sus out now that she was finally here.

He nodded in response to her saying she was taking time to herself. The thought of what she might've been doing in that time was what worried him most of all. When he was left to his own devices in the presence of that book, Wyatt had become a completely different person. He finally turned to face her with the cups in hand to pass it over the countertop to the other side where she sat on one of the barstools at the built in island. Taking a sip from his own mug, he stayed quiet until she finally decided to bring up the topic which seemed impossible to ignore any longer.

A visible weight seemed to lift from his shoulders as Kaelyn admitted to knowing it was wrong to use the grimoire even though he couldn't blame her in the end either. They were in a great deal of trouble at the time and its magic had helped them escape with their lives, but not so much her ex or the giant goon that was with him. His eyes flitted towards the scarring on his hand and arm for a moment before looking back to her. She seemed torn up about it from the outside, but Wyatt knew the tricks of the book. It could have you acting like a completely different person with hidden intentions. He wanted to believe her and because she was his blood, he gave her the benefit of the doubt.

"I know you didn't, Kae," he said quietly, taking his coffee and coming around to the other side where she sat. He pulled her into a hug for a few quiet moments before speaking again. "I'm not mad about it. I promise. The scars will fade. I'm perfectly fine." Wyatt let her go then and sat down on the barstool next to hers. "I'm glad you're alright. You saved our asses in the end. It could've been a lot worse." He nudged her knee with his. "You're smart. I know you'll be stronger than it. You've seen what it does to our family. Felt it now, even." Wyatt looked down into the mug and took a sip of the coffee as he attempted to be as nonchalant as possible with his next words. "Did you bring the grimoire back to Malva at the Archives yet?"

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Instar DivinerPermalink Reply by ✓ Kaelyn Brookes ~Admin~ on January 3, 2024 at 21:31

To run away from her problems has always been something that she’s been good at. To flee and run away at the first sign of trouble. Rather to face the truth. There’s a part of her that wouldn’t give to get on the next plane out of the city to the other side of the world. She’s done it before the last time she’d found herself in deep water. Yet now she knew it wasn’t so simple to start at new. There’s more at stake. More complex. The ancestors of the coven weren’t happy with her. The shift and change of power from her actions. Now she has to suffer the fall out. All of this was her fault. She’s the one to blame for putting them in this position. As coven leader she should have known better. That she wasn’t as strong willed as she had thought she was. Not believing in their cursed bloodline until it was too late. Giving in to its darkness and letting it in and taking its hold. As Wyatt pulled her in for a hug she didn’t know how to react, she was still scared of hurting him any more than she already has. Freezing almost at the contact of his touch from the hug.

Kaelyn never has hated herself more than she has for putting Wyatt at risk. If anything happened she would never forgive herself. Still she deeply regrets putting him at harm. To look at the cuts and bruises she still bears from her power outbursts she couldn’t help to blame herself even if he reassures her that it wasn’t her fault. “I put you in harm's way, it could have been a lot worse. I could have lost you Wyatt. I was too blinded by the demon of my past to see its darkness creeping in” One thing she was most terrified of was the thought of losing the one person she cares for. Wyatt’s been there for her. He’s never once judged her for her past. Who took her for who she is and never tried to shape her to be someone else.

“I’ve never believed in family curses until now” She admitted to him. Their bloodline was something she’s not cared much for or about. With how her parents had abandoned her soon after she was born. Not knowing what family was like or that she had any until Wyatt found her and came into her life. Now she’d do anything for him. Wyatt’s next question took her partly by surprise yet she’d expected it too for him getting right to the point. What he’d been mostly concerned aback. “No not yet…” She admitted taking a long sip of her coffee and looked away. Not wanting to look at Wyatt’s shocked and judgemental reaction that she’s still not given the grimoire to Malva to have it locked up and kept away from anyone else getting their hands on it. “I’m still trying to translate it. The text is ancient. Maybe I could find a way to nullify the dark energy from it so others can use and learn from it” It was like trying to speak to the devil to ask for a share of its power to do what she wants. Is it worth the gamble? That's what she was still asking herself .

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Instar DivinerPermalink Reply by ✓ Wyatt Brookes on February 4, 2024 at 22:29

And there it was. The answer to his question. The answer he was hoping not to hear. Wyatt held back the natural reaction he had to knowing she hadn't taken the grimoire back to the Archives. The one where he grabbed his cousin by the shoulders and shook her until sense came back. It would be pointless, he knew. The curse had found its way into another of his family members and sunk its hooks into her deeply. The sentient object that would bring destruction down on Kaelyn.

Wyatt swallowed the building lump in his throat, knowing his voice would crack or be uneven if he spoke right away. Instead, he sipped from his coffee which only aided in the nausea that was building in his stomach. He cleared his throat for added measure and reminded himself to stay as calm and dismissive about this despite the dread that raised every nerve in his body. "You know Malva and I already translated much of it and it all pointed to bad. Any magic, spell... it came with a price to the person casting it." His fingers drummed nonchalantly on the cup to keep from doing anything else that might make this worse than he knew it was going to get.

"Kae," he hesitated briefly before turning his head to find her eyes. "You saw me. Saw what it did to me. What it made me do to others." His voice was heavy and pain filled. He hated revisiting the worst time of his life and what he'd become due to the curse that controlled his every waking moment. His next words were barely a whisper. "I nearly killed two people. Two of the most important people in my life. One of them almost being you." He looked away. A quick flashback went through his mind when he had been detoxing in the Archives, cursing her and Malva to Hell for keeping him there. For not letting him get back to the book. He was like any other addict that needed a fix. Then, Kaelyn had turned her back on him when she came to bring a meal and he'd lunged. Sure, his magic had been nullified with the bracelet Malva had put on him then, but he was determined to kill Kaelyn with his bare hands. The curse that still weaved in his blood had almost made him kill his own cousin. If Malva hadn't come rushing in, he would've succeeded.

He continued trying to be as gentle as possible. "Malva knows there's nothing more that can be done." Carefully. He had to be so careful not to set her off. Set the curse off. "Malva will keep it safe for now. When and if she finds a way to keep working at it without severe consequences, she'll let us know. It's part of our legacy. Our bloodline. She's brilliant. She'll find a way. It's just too dangerous for us to do with that kind of influence on us." Wyatt lifted his gaze to read her face at his words. "The curse may never leave me. You don't want it to do the same to you."

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Instar DivinerPermalink Reply by ✓ Kaelyn Brookes ~Admin~ on April 23, 2024 at 10:13

Kaelyn knew there was no hiding or circling around it. The grimoire was the elephant in the room. That you could feel and sense the tension in the air. The redhead looked away not wanting to see the disappointment in her cousin's eyes once again. Still she was haunted by the past events of the last few weeks. It was something that she’d never forget. A reminder that she’ll have forever how she lost control. To let everything that she’s achieved over the last few years come crumbling down by a person of her past she put well behind her. Kaelyn knew she was foolish to let someone like him have power over her. Years back she swore to herself that she wouldn’t let a man control and push her about.

It was nothing that she hadn’t heard or didn’t know. She knew what the book was compatible with like when Wyatt once found out. It was no secret she was quite clued up in magic and its different languages. As soon as she found out about her ancestral magic when she was younger, Kaelyn made sure to be keyed up in all of it. Always liking to have the upperhand then how to entwine her powers for her own personal devices. “I already paid the price” She spoke slowly, cutting the silence in the air. Both of them were still avoiding eye contact. The magic running through her veins was of a different power. Still she was unsure if it was book magic or if it was that she was now a dark diviner. All of the magic that runs through her veins now feels different. Of course it would. Why wouldn’t it? She played with fire now she was paying the price.

Both her and Wyatt were alike in many ways. They were more like siblings than cousins. You wouldn’t think that they hadn’t known each other for all their lives until a few years back. It was like they’ve known each other for all their lives, that's how quickly and much they trusted each other. Wyatt had faced his own demons with the book, it was something he didn’t like to think or talk about. They swore to never bring it up or speak about it. Yet in the moment she had forgotten all about it all she could see back to that night was just all darkness and that she wasn’t in control of her body. “But I did kill somebody, that's the difference Wyatt. Now I gotta face the consequences” She didn’t want to bring Malva back into this, to help clean up her own mess. This was on her to deal with and face. Kaelyn knew that Malva had other things on her plate, the Aspect of Magic was a busy person; it was up to herself to deal with her own mess.

The word bloodline was still so foreign to her. Their surname was only just a name to her, what was given to her. She’s never felt any emotional attachment to their bloodline, where they came from. That's one thing different between her and Wyatt. He remembers their family but it was different. She was abandoned. Most of her life she spent unwanted. Unloved. That's what they all thought and felt back in the orphanage. “I got it all under control, don't worry” She reassured giving him one of her famous straight faces.

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Instar DivinerPermalink Reply by ✓ Wyatt Brookes on November 12, 2024 at 17:25

Fuck. She wasn't going to give up on the book. A muscle ticked in his jaw as he clamped down on the retort that almost slipped out. It was that or start screaming at Kaelyn in desperation. They had to get the grimoire back to the Archives and under lock and key protection from them both. Somewhere deep in that fortress with an endless number of spells they'd never be able to get through that Malva could put on it, guarded in some obscure arcane box that they'd have no hope of getting in.

He swallowed, gripping his cup tighter before taking another sip of coffee that he didn't even taste. Plan B. He hated plan B, but it was something he and Malva had decided on that was a last resort. They had to get her away from the book and since she wasn't giving the usual signs that he recognized now because of his own experience of withdrawal from being away from the grimoire, Wyatt knew she had to have it somewhere close. Likely in a pocket of time and space like he used to keep it. Some place he created, thanks to the book itself, to keep it safe but also close so he could summon it immediately to his side.

So, he ignored her reply and shifted instead. "Malva wanted to check in with us today. See how we're doing given everything." A lie. He didn't want to lie, but this was plan B. He just hoped it would go smoothly and not end with him and her coming to magical blows instead. Sure, he was older and certainly powerful, especially given all the unique artifacts and conduits he had lying around, but having to go up against her and the grimoire was not something he was keen on attempting. He had plenty of tricks up his sleeve. Some would say he was a thief, after all, however the book was raw and unchecked destructive power. Wyatt didn't know how long he could hold against it, even if she had only been in possession of it for a few days.

He downed more of the cup in a poor attempt at drowning his nerves. "I figured we could grab some food and head over to the Archives to eat there with her. Talk some coven business." Wyatt's awareness began to tingle along his skin as if he could feel the tension about to snap. "Finish up the coffee and I'll port us over?"