Page 178 of A Curse On Black Lake
“I forgot I took it with me to your house, so it’s there,” I tell him.
“No problem,” he says.
I drag my finger across the journals and books of my ancestors. It's calming to be in here. It feels like Grams isn’t truly gone. She’s right out front, mixing a tonic or talking to a new mom.
“What’s this?” Killian asks.
I turn around to see what he’s talking about, and he flips averyold envelope in his hands. It’s so old, it looks homemade.
“I have no idea. Where did you find that?”
“It was on the floor in the corner. Maybe the tech team bumped it or it fell out somewhere,” he says.
I hold out my hand, taking the envelope. The parchment is weathered, and thick. It smells like it was put in one of the many journals shelved. There’s nothing written on the front or back, and it’s sealed with a wax stamp.
Sliding my thumb under the fold to pop the wax off, we find a few pages folded together. I carefully pull them from the homemade envelope and set it on the table before I open the pages. If this is as old as I think it is, then the paper could disintegrate in my hands.
I press open the pages and study the beautiful handwritten scrawl. It doesn’t look like my grandma Lily’s, but then again, it’s not like I studied her handwriting. It’s not addressed to anyone either.
Killian comes behind me, placing a hand on my hip to read over my shoulder.
You were killed today. My father took you from me. I know we were meant to have a beautiful life together, to fill the home you dreamed of building us, with children. To love and grow old together as we were meant to. There will never be another. You were all there was for me.
I held you in my arms as you died. A part of me died with you. I think pieces of me will continue to perish until I cannot take it any longer, and I will finally see you again.
Our son is my reason to live now. I know it is what you would want. I will make sure he becomes a man as honorable as you, a man that you would be proud to call your son.
I’m leaving Black Lake with Jasper Jr. My family is no longer mine. I must start anew even if I’d rather come visit you every day. But rest peacefully, and be assured we will get our vengeance. The price will be paid in blood for what they did to you, to me, to our son.
I miss you. My heart cries out for you in silent agony with every breath I breathe.
All my love,
Your Cassie
Killian’s tortured expression makes my own heart ache. I feel for Cassandra, for Jasper, for Killian because even her own blood is not exempt from the plight of the curse she put on this land.
It doesn’t matter that he never knew Cassandra. No one with a heart couldn’t help but hurt for her.
“I understand why she did it, but do you think she ever thought it could hurt so many?” Killian asks.
“As much as I hate to say it, I think that’s exactly what she wanted. She wanted the people of this town to be in as much agony as she was.”
“Yeah…” he trails off.
I set the letter down and slide my arms around his waist. “Tell me,” I say into his shirt that doesn’t smell good, but I don’t care.
“I feel responsible.”
“What?” I ask him in shock. How could he think that? He didn’t say those words. He didn’t want others to die, so they shared his pain.
“She was my family.”
“Yes, she was your family fromover160 years ago. Her choices are not a reflection of you, Killian. They never have been and never will be,” I tell him.
“At least your ancestors have tried to heal people for over a century,” he mutters into my hair.
“Don’t fool yourself, cowboy. Great understanding of plants and what they can do also comes with great responsibility. You would never see it written in any of these journals, but secrets are passed down from Greer to Greer. We know how to heal, but we also know how to kill.”
