The Age of Temptation

A/N Hey everyone, sorry it’s been ages since I updated. I’ve had this chapter half written and sitting on my computer forever. I was rereading the story lately and decided to continue on. I hope I still have some readers out there. Make some noise and let me know.


Chapter Thirty One


Madison leaned against the cool tiles of the shower as the hot water warmed her aching body. Only now did she begin to feel as if the cold was going away. The painful biting of her blood the last hour as her body tried to reheat itself made her light headed and dizzy. She was so exhausted, she couldn’t bear facing the events of this horrific night. She needed to drop into bed and sleep the day away.

The water poured down over her head, mixing with the slow tears on her cheeks. A knot of fear in her belly held her captive.

She had been seen.

She knocked her head against the tile in punishment. How could she be so stupid? Just twenty minutes ago Pogue had held her in his arms, reassuring her that everything would be all right, that she hadn’t ruined everything. But how could he know for sure?

That guy on the beach! Oh, God.

He had surprised her, startled her as she focused on the waves of the ocean in order to bring Ben back. And when he ran away, she tried to run too. But she could no longer feel her legs. She was numb.

And she heard him yelling to his friends and she knew they’d all might come for her. Come for the witch. And she knew what happened to witches from all her visions. In her fright she had flown over the sand, glided over the dunes as the group of teens yelled and snapped pictures.

Pictures!

And the guy who had ran, he was there in the parking lot, freaking out. He ran and stumbled as she approached, crying and praying that she would not kill him. So she hid behind the square bathroom on the edge of the lot instead of continuing on to the car. Once the guy had stumbled back to his friends on the beach, she glided over to the car, opening the door as she flopped onto the seat and realized that she would not be able to drive it with no sensation in her legs.

Pogue.

She dialed him immediately, knowing he was most likely still up, testing his new powers. And within a few minutes he was there, a satisfied and amazed expression on his face at his new ability to travel so swiftly in the air, as if he had become a part of the breeze. But his smile quickly faded when he saw the expression on Madison’s face as she ducked out of sight on the front seat of Caleb’s car.
“Madi? What happened?”

“You have to drive us out of here,” she hissed urgently. “Oh God, Pogue. I can’t feel my legs. The ocean…”

The sound of a siren interrupted her and made her cry out, “Now! Please, Pogue! Drive!”

Pogue moved her over and started the car with a flash of his eyes. He had no time to look for the keys as Madison was weeping hysterically. The lights of the oncoming squad cars lit up the dark night and he couldn’t help but grin at the challenge.

“Hang on, baby.”

With a little forethought, he stuck his hand out of the window as he tore out of the parking lot, willing the license plates to fly into his hands. “Here,” he said, absently shoving them onto Madi’s lap as he glanced out the rearview mirror at the following squad cars.

Madison’s eyes opened wide as her body swayed, and it was with some difficulty that she managed to get her seatbelt on. Outlaws! They were now outlaws.

“I’m so sorry,” she cried. “What have I done?”

“Shhhh…, it’ll be fine. Shit happens.”

She looked at him in shocked, wondering how he could possibly say such a thing when they were probably on their way to prison. Her life was ruined. Her father would never forgive her. Why, oh why, did she have to be so stupid?

They were driving at breakneck speed on the coastal highway, much too fast for all the twists and turns next to the cliffs.

“Slow down!” Madi yelled. “Pogue, no! This is too fast. Oh my God!”

Pogue was heading for a sharp turn up ahead, all the yellow warning signs reflecting in the dark urging drivers to take extreme caution. Madison turned her head to look at the police cars behind them. Even they had the good sense to slow down a bit.

Pogue laughed maniacally as he stepped on the gas, and Madison shut her eyes, unwilling to see the final moment of her life as the car flew off the edge of the cliff, heading for the sharp rocks and crashing waves below.

A screaming wail filled the small space of the car at the feel of her stomach rising to her chest. Her hands squeezed the dash board of the car as tightly as her eyes were closed, waiting for impact.

But the impact never came.

Heart pounding, Madison opened her eyes. She couldn’t see a thing. It was as if she had gone blind. She began wheezing, gulping for air, as she wondered if she had died. Was death that easy? That painless?

And then she heard his voice next to her and his hand groping in the dark for hers. “It’s o.k., baby. We’re just hiding. Everything’s all right. Just keep quiet for a bit.”

“Hiding?” she hissed in the pitch dark. “How? What’s going on?”

“Shadows, Madi. I’ve cast shadows around the car. They won’t see us. They’ll think we went into the ocean.”

She listened carefully. Car doors were slamming. They were getting out of their cars, looking over the cliffs and trying to see where they had gone.

“They’ll search. We can’t stay here forever. They’ll search for days!”

She felt him lift her hand up to his lips and kiss it. “Let them. We’ll be long gone.”

And then she felt slight motion, except it didn’t feel like they were moving on wheels. “What’s happening?”

“Chitty, chitty, bang, bang,” Pogue laughed, softly.

“The car is flying?” she asked, amazed. But we can’t see a thing. “How do you know where to go?”

“I don’t. But up is usually safe bet. I’ve got to keep the shadow around us until we are a safe distance.”

Madison swallowed in fright. She heard Pogue opening the window and she felt him let go of her hand as he leaned out of it. The moon’s light filled the car, suddenly seeming too bright after such pitch darkness. She didn’t dare look down out of her window. Instead, she focused on Pogue as he leaned out of the window and guided the car quietly through the night sky, his head looking in all directions.

After around ten minutes, he looking in on her and smiled. “I found a back road to land, nice and deserted.” When he finally put the car gently down, he exclaimed, “That was awesome.”

“Awesome? Are you fucking kidding me? I’ve never been so scared in my life.”

He lost his smile, starting the car back up and driving it up the road a bit. His hand slid over to her thigh. “Are you all right? What’s up with your legs? Tell me everything. You tried to get Ben back, didn‘t you?”

She nodded miserably. “I don’t think it worked. This guy interrupted me. I was standing in the waves for… I don’t know how long. I couldn’t even feel the cold anymore. And when I tried to run away, my legs were too numb.” The tears began to fall hotly down her cheeks. “They saw me, Pogue. They saw me fly. I’m so sorry. I was so scared. I just wanted to get away.”

He grasped her hand. “Shhh… it’s o.k. It was dark. They can’t be sure what they saw.”

But she was inconsolable, so he pulled the car off the side of the road and took her in his arms. With a flash of his eyes, he dried her clothing. “How’s your legs?”

“Starting to hurt. Bad. Like a thousand needles pricking me everywhere. Do you have any powers for that?”

“You’re the healer, baby. Focus.”

She cried futilely. “I can’t. I’m too upset right now. And I probably deserve the pain for being so stupid.”

“You miss Ben. I get that. We can try again in a few more days and make sure you’re not interrupted this time. Maybe get you a wetsuit,” he grinned, a finger softly caressing her cheek as he held her.

“Now that would be a cute fashion statement,” a voice spoke from the backseat.

“Ben!” she gasped, tears of joy replacing those of despair. “Do you see him, Pogue? He’s here!”

Pogue was still holding her, so he did see him quite clearly. “Hey, man, welcome back.”

“Thanks,” the ghost replied. “Wow, you really missed me that much, Mads?”

“Of course, you idiot. I love you.” She wished she could hug him, hold him and never let go. “I’ve been worried sick about you. Chase taunted me that he had you trapped.”

“Yeah, he caught me spying. Or, I should say, the demon inside him did. Put me in some sort of weird void. There was nothing but light everywhere I looked. I tried to find a way out, but I couldn’t. Then, suddenly, I was here in this car. Freaky. You must have been thinking of me or something.”

“Yeah, you could say that.”

“You look like crap. What did you do?”

“I’ll tell you later. I’m too exhausted. Dawn is almost here and I’ve got to get back to Caleb’s before he wakes up and finds out I left.”

“We have a lot to discuss, I see. I have some juicy info on Chase as well. All of you are going to want to hear about it.”

“After I sleep about ten hours. I don’t think I can take any more drama at the moment.”

“Is he still out of the country?” Pogue asked.

Ben nodded. “Yeah. You can relax in that regard. For now, that is.”

OOOOO

Caleb turned over in bed, yawning and stretching. One glance told him that Madi had already awoken, which was quite unusual for someone who loved sleeping in. He had hoped to spend a lazy Sunday morning in bed with her.

As he left his bedroom, he noticed the door to the guest room was shut. He leaned in and knocked. “Madi?” When there was no answer, he opened the door and found that the shower was running and the witch was lounging against the tiles with her eyes closed through the glass doors.

Caleb dropped his pajama bottoms on the floor and quietly slid in behind her. She jumped, startled a bit, when his arms went around her from behind. “Morning,” he growled against her neck, kissing it. “Why didn’t you use my shower? It‘s much nicer.”

“I didn’t want to wake you,” she replied, trying to relax in his arms, but knowing she’d have to tell him the truth soon. It felt so divine to be pressed against his hot, hard body, that she wanted to forget all she had to confess.

It was then Caleb noticed all the sand on the bottom of the tub around the drain. Sand? His head turned and looked through the glass doors at Madison’s stiff, dirty clothing on the floor, with more grains of sand smattering the white marble floor.

Madison stiffened in his arms as she realized what he was noticing. “I’ve got something to tell you,” she began, lamely.

Caleb had released his arms from around her and took a step back. “You went to the shore last night,” he deduced.

Madison turned around, placing her hands on her shoulders and beaming into his eyes. “It worked, Caleb. Ben is back. I did it!”

But Caleb seemed anything but pleased. “How could you? I told you to wait until Monday.”

“I couldn’t wait. You don’t seem to understand.” That Caleb could be so unhappy at her joyful news was upsetting. Her voice sparked with displeasure. “Ben is important to me, can’t you get that? Why do you have to have your way all the time? Raina needed to talk to him to make her decision and I couldn’t let her know what had happened to him. Now, I don’t have to tell her he‘s missing and cause her more stress than she already has. And, he has important news for us too.”

Caleb stood there, his arms crossed and an angry expression on his face, leaving Madi perplexed as to why those positive points weren’t enough for him.

“Caleb?” His anger was a bit scary at this point. “Caleb, say something. I’m sorry I left without telling you, o.k. And I’m sorry I took your car and got sand all over your bathroom.”

“I don’t care about the car and the sand,” he snapped. “I care about you! What if Chase was waiting for you on the outskirts of town, just out of the range I could sense him? How am I suppose to protect you when you knowingly put your self into danger like that?”

“But Chase is still in Europe. Ben told me so. So, nothing like that was possible…”

Caleb leaned his angry face toward her. “You didn’t know that when you set off. You only found that out afterward. You risked your life carelessly when I would have gone along with you to protect you. It was stupid!”

Madison’s eyes opened wide at the word ‘stupid’, and even though she thought much the same thing, to hear Caleb say it of her felt like a stab to the heart. She quickly shut off the water and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around her body as she stepped out.

Caleb was too angry to care that he had insulted her. He, too, grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist as he followed her out. But instead of going back to his bedroom and bed, she headed for the guest bed, tossed back the covers and sat on the edge. “I’m tired, so I’m going to get some sleep. Do you think I can have some privacy?” she announced in clipped tones.

He was still angry that she had disobeyed him and put herself in danger, so time apart sounded like a good thing at the moment. “Fine,” he snapped. “But we need to talk about this later.” He turned and moved swiftly out of the door, using his powers to slam it loudly behind him.

OOOOO
Caleb was sullen as he joined his mother and Raina at the breakfast table. Both women glanced at one another in question.

“Darling? Is everything all right?” he mother pondered.

Caleb leaned back in his chair and sighed. Raina had never known Ben was captured by Chase and he didn’t feel like he should be the one to tell her. No. Madison would have to do that. “I don’t feel like talking about it.”

Evelyn nodded, suspecting that her son had gotten into a spat with Madison. She hoped it was nothing serious.

“Where’s Madi?” Raina asked, feeling a bit worried for her friend.

“Sleeping in.” It was the only explanation Caleb offered and Raina did not push for more in his current mood.

As they were finishing up their meal, the maid came into the room and announced, “Miss Evelyn, the sheriff is at the door. Shall I let him in?”

Evelyn glanced at Caleb and then stood, “No, I will take care of this.”

When Evelyn left the dining room, Raina asked, “What do think the sheriff wants?”

Caleb shrugged and stood. “Don’t worry about it. Just enjoy your breakfast. I’ll be back.”

He strode to the foyer where his mother was talking to the sheriff at the door. He wondered why she hadn’t let him in the house since she knew him very well. He was Pogue’s uncle after all.

The sheriff spotted Caleb approaching and said, “Just the person I need to see.”

“What can I do for you?” Caleb asked, now standing next to his mother.

“He said there was some sort of trouble last night and he thinks Madison was mixed up in it somehow,” Evelyn explained. “But I was just about to say that it couldn’t have been Madison as she had spent the night here last night.”

Caleb gave a nod. “That’s right. She was our guest last night.”

“This was posted on the Ipswich news blog last night,” the sheriff explained, holding a printout of an article with a photo. The headline read: Teens Claim A Witch Was Haunting The Beach Last Night. Included was a photo of a female figure with long auburn hair, seemingly floating above the sand. The facial features were not very clear, however.

Evelyn gave a small gasp as she recognized Madi’s jacket in the photo. She grabbed the printout out of the sheriff’s hand and scanned the article before looking at Caleb in concern. “Caleb? She was here all night, wasn’t she?”

Caleb ran a tired hand through his hair and frowned. “Not exactly, no. She left for a bit while I was asleep.”

“What?! Caleb, what on Earth was she thinking being so careless?”

“It’s a long story, but she thought she was doing something for a friend in need. I’m not going to explain the whole thing right now, mother. I’m still upset about it myself.”

“I knew bringing that witch here would be trouble,” the sheriff scowled. “The female witches are always trouble. Unpredictable, impulsive.”

Caleb could feel his ire rising. “And how many female witches have you known?”

“I know all the stories, Caleb. I know all the trouble they’ve caused in the past. Why do you think they were eradicated? The families have worked hard to keep the secret of your existence from the world. And then this,” he spat, smacking the paper, “comes along to threaten everything. She’s going to expose us all.”

Evelyn bristled. “Madison is here to stay, so I suggest you get use to it.”

“Look, that picture isn’t very clear and none of those townies even know Madison personally. No one will identify her,” Caleb added. “Besides, they were probably drinking and getting high. Who’s going to believe them? People will say it’s a hoax.”

“There is a description of your car on the police report,” the sheriff added pointedly.

Caleb glanced at the driveway, noticing that his car was no longer black, but pink! One of the Sons must have helped her last night and changed his the color of his car. It was a good idea, but he decided the pink had to go. “I can take care of the car within minutes. There will be no proof at all.”

But Caleb could see that the sheriff was not going to give up so easily. It wasn’t just the incident from last night, but Madison herself that bothered him. She was still a unknown to him, and therefore that made her dangerous in his eyes. Caleb stood, listening to him continue on about how dangerous is was to have Madison here, and the warlock’s irritation bubbled up more and more. He thought of how the sheriff had never spoken to his father like this. Everyone feared his father too much. Caleb, on the other hand, they felt comfortable condescending to. Caleb was a good boy, a nice boy, they thought. And it was at that moment that Caleb realized that as head of the families, he couldn’t always be nice. Sometimes, he’d have to be like his father.

“Caleb, you have to control that witch better or…”

“Or what?” Caleb finally snapped, standing straighter. He took a small step toward the sheriff, making him back up a bit. “Or what, Sheriff?”

“I…” the lawman stumbled, surprised at the young man’s sudden challenge.

“I’ll tell you what,” Caleb sneered. “You’re going to remember your place and who you are talking to. Don’t you ever presume to tell me what to do.” Caleb could feel his mother staring at him in surprise, but he did not look at her. He kept his eyes locked onto the sheriff’s. “Madison Marish is a Daughter of Ipswich and is therefore part of our community of original families, deserving of the same protection and privileges we have. You know about privileges, don’t you? How’s your daughter doing at Yale? Has your wife recovered well from her surgery? How fortunate you have all our family connections to get the best surgeons and go to the best schools. It would be a shame to see those privileges end because you have declared war against certain members of our community.”

The sheriffs face paled and his mouth opened stupidly. “Well, I didn’t mean… I mean… I…” he stumbled. He had never seen Caleb so assertive and threatening before and it had totally thrown him for a loop.

“This is what your are going to do,” Caleb continued. “You are going to go back to the station and you are going to go through the reports. You are going to change anything in the report that could possibly lead to Madison or any of us. It’s your duty to protect the families above all else.”

“But…”

“Listen to me,” Caleb cut him off. “The name Madison Marish never makes the news. Madison Marish never goes to jail, gets a record, or even a speeding ticket. I’m giving you the personal responsibility to keep her and her life anonymous and out of anyone’s radar. Do I have to tell you what will happen if you don’t?”

The sheriff stared at Caleb Danvers, seeing him as the head of the families for the first time. Seeing him as his father‘s son. “No, Caleb, you don’t. I understand,” he backed down.

OOOOO

Madison awoke to the sound of her cell phone going off. As she drowsily opened one eye to search for it on the nightstand, she noticed Ben sitting on her bed, leaning back against the pillows and frowning at her. “Hey,” she greeted. “Hang on. Pogue’s calling.”

“Hello?”

“Hey baby, how are your feeling? How’s your legs?”

“Better, I think. I’ve been sleeping.”

“It’s two in the afternoon.”

“Really? I’ve been exhausted. Anyway, Ben’s here and I need to talk to him. Can I call you back?”

“We are all on our way to Caleb’s, so I’ll see you soon. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

Madison set the phone down and rubbed her eyes. Everyone was about to descend on her and she really wasn’t up for a crowd lecturing her. And, glancing at Ben, she could tell she was in for a lecture from him as well. “Go ahead and say it. Tell me how stupid I was. Tell me how I should have waited for Caleb and Pogue to protect me. Tell me I’m an idiot, blah, blah, blah.”

“Do you think you’re being funny?” Ben replied with a scowl. “I’ve been sitting here going through your memories of the last week or so, and…”

“I wish you wouldn’t do that. My thoughts are private. And, I now realize that you have been keeping things from me as well. You knew, didn’t you? You knew Rai was preggers back in Boston before she came here. That’s why you were urging me to take her with me to Ipswich and to take care of her.”

“Yes, I did. I saw it in her energy field, her aura. I can see those things, you know. And I knew she would need protection and help.”

“And you didn’t think of telling us? Oh, wait, just like the Sons you didn’t want to burden us with such a thing while I was recovering and we were grieving.”

He nodded. “I agreed with Caleb. Everything has a time and a place. And that wasn’t the time or the place.”

“Rai needs you, you know. She’s been very conflicted about what to do.”

“I’m dead, Madi. I’m just sticking around until you two are out of danger and then I need to move on to where ever that light tunnel leads. She, and you, are both going to have to learn to make some decisions without me.”

Madi felt her throat swell and her eyes water. “Benny, please don’t talk about leaving. Not yet.”

“Look, ding dong,” he said, though affectionately, “I have a feeling I’m not going anywhere for a long while because you can’t seem to stay out of trouble. And speaking of which, you could have waited a few more days to go to the beach with Caleb. I was in a void. It was boring, but I wasn’t suffering or anything. I’d much rather know that you were safe.”

“I’m sorry, but Rai needed you. And I needed you.”

Ben shook his head. “You haven’t heard anything I said, as usual. All right, lets go find Rai and talk it out before all the others get here.”

OOOOO

A/N Finally finished this chapter. The story is always on the back of my mind and I’ll try to get it out more often. Though reviews are very encouraging for me to keep writing, so I hope you’ll send me your thoughts. Thank you.