Striga Ch. 03

"Liar." I whispered.

I had not thought he would hear, but he had. Stepping back from me he looked as if I had just stabbed him in the heart. Without the words actually forming he mouthed out "What?" Taking a moment to collect himself, he ran a hand through his hair.

"How can you say that, Rosalia? You should know how I feel for you. Why would I risk your parents catching me in this house with you if I did not love you?" he pleaded.

"No. You may think you are sincere, but when you leave here you will meet other women. They will make you forget about me and you will not come back to me. You will have children and marry. I will just be a conquest story that you tell to your sons when they are young men. How could you, Antony? If you loved me, you would not leave. If you really loved me... " Tears stung my eyes. "...if you really loved me you would find a way."

Shaking his head, he looked away from me. He had thought the same thing. I could feel it. Making it back would only be done if it did not require a lot of time, effort, and money. How could he call that "love"?

He veered a circle around me and then stood in front of the mirror, looking at himself with a deep sigh. I saw him then look at me from the reflection. His eyes were glassy and had a hint of red. I could not tell if he was crying, or trying not to. Another thought then occurred to me.

Maybe he was faking the holding back of tears. He wanted my sympathy, yet he did not want a lot of trouble out of me. The site of a grown man trying not to cry usually stunned most women into a babbling mess. The thought tore through me like a knife.

Damn him.

Facing me, with his back to the mirror, I saw moonlight filtering in through the window and hitting its surface. It first turned blacker than night before starting to ripple and swirl like the surface of water. The spell had already begun to work even without me continuing, or giving any sort of magical prompt.

"Think what you want, Rosalia. If you cannot trust me and believe me when I give you my heart, I do not think we should see one another again. Ever." Antony said while starring me dead in the eyes.

The door had opened up behind him to the magical prison that Maria had encouraged me to make and now there was no turning back. Antony's words had thrown me over the edge. He would have done much better to just kill me and get it over with.

I lunged at him like a wild woman. I clawed at the side of his face and cried frantically.

"Rosalia!" he cried out in horror while trying to catch my wrists as my tiny fists sought erratic targets all over his body.

"Stop it Rosalia! I would not hurt you but you need to stop it right now!" he growled.

I glared at him and glanced over his shoulder at the portal billowing behind him in the frame of the oval, antique mirror. I let my hands drop to my sides in calm for a moment.

"I'm sorry, Antony." I muttered quietly.

"There was no excuse for that." He looked away from me. Antony then leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my forehead. "Good-bye, Rosalia."

"No! Antony! I said I was sorry. Please... " I blocked him from taking more than a step or two.

"It is too late. You do not even trust that I have feelings for you. You are too young to understand that I cannot just hang around here and challenge your family with no money and no other place to go. I cannot provide for you right now, love. What did I get for trying my best to explain that to you? This... " he turned his cheek and pointed accusingly to an angry red scratch below his cheek bone.

Tears streamed down my face as he once more attempted to step around me and leave. I would not allow it. Once again I blocked him, this time grabbing his shoulders and pushing him back a step or two, closer to the trap that he still failed to see.

"No. I will not let you leave me." I said between sobs.

"You cannot stop me." He said coldly.

Gritting my teeth, I gathered every ounce of strength in my small body and shoved him forcefully. He fell backwards, his hands flying out behind him while he apparently thought he would catch himself on the mirror behind him. To his surprise he fell right through it.

The surface of the mirror began to change again. It turned a smokey grey and I could faintly see him on the other side. Antony stood and pressed his hands against the surface of the glass. I heard his muffled voice from the other side.

"Rosalia! Help me!"

I glared at him with tears streaming hotly down my face. Shocked for a moment, he stared at me. It was as if someone had slapped him in the face.Antony knew.

"You... " He took a step back. "You did this." Antony's voice trembled. The glass shook a bit as he punched it.

"Devil!" I heard him scream, though half stifled by the glass. "Striga!" he yelled at me in terror and disbelief over and over. That word would stay with me with rest of my years. Repeated in my head and in my dreams with the same terror and accusing tone. The voice of my love discovering my true nature and refusing to accept it.

Suddenly the glass swirled violently before turning a pitch black. Then, just as if nothing had ever happened, I could see my own reflection again. I stood there alone and naked with the scent of my lover still lingering on my skin. I now had the task of coming to grips with the evil I had committed against the only man I would ever love. Unclenching my fist, I looked down at the three long, black strands of Antony's hair that hid partially between my fingers. According to the spell, as long as I had them, I had him.

I am so sorry for what I have done, but I will not lose him.

Lizabeth read the last line in the journal entry and sat there, starring at the page taken aback by what she had read. At last she knew why Antony was behind the mirror. She could not help but feel sorry for him, yet in some ways she could understand Rosalia's torment too. Love sometimes causes people to make drastic, and sometimes foolish mistakes.

Thoughts consumed her. Nagging questions that should have been taken care of decades ago. Why had Rosalia not freed him from the prison? Another question that entered Lizabeth's mind briefly was, if Rosalia had loved Antony so much, then why had she married her grandfather and started a family? So complicated. She knew that most of the answers were probably lost forever.

There was a sudden knock at the door, very light, but enough to jerk Lizabeth from her train of thought with a startled jump. With her heart racing in her chest she rose from the sofa and walked swiftly toward the door.

"Oh... this better be good considering I almost had a heart attack." She grumbled while unlocking the sliding chain from the door and turning the deadbolt with a "click".

Standing before her was the new neighbor from down the hall. A nervous panic washed over Lizabeth as she stood there in front of him in her pajamas. Forcing a smile she combed her fingers through her hair while pulling her robe around her with the other hand.

"Um... hello." She said nervously to the tall, dark, Keanu look a like.

"Hi there. I'm sorry to bother you... I just thought... " he looked at her cautiously "... am I interrupting something? If I am, I can always come back later... ya know?" he had the most impish grin she had ever seen. A school boy type of charm, yet there was something else. Something she couldn't quite pin down.

Lizabeth could only recognize the obvious facts at the moment. This guy was drop dead gorgeous and standing in her doorway while she looked like hell. The situation was extremely awkward and embarrassing.

"No. It's all right. I was just doing some reading and being lazy." She reassured him and crossed her arms over her chest while holding the robe closed. "I'm Lizabeth."

"Ah." He beamed at her "lazy days are nice. I was having one of those myself, which is what brought me here. Um... " he stroked his smoothly shaven chin with his thumb. "I'm Jarrod by the way." He extended his hand.

They shook hands briefly and Lizabeth looked at him, waiting.

"You were telling me what brought you here." She reminded him while cocking her head to the side. She knew she had sounded rude without meaning to and felt like kicking herself in the ass.

"Oh, yes, thank you" he chuckled "I had wanted to introduce myself and ask you, since I am new to town if you would like to maybe get some coffee sometime, or have dinner? Maybe show me around a little?" he looked down at his feet shyly.

"Well... " she thought briefly of Antony. There couldn't be any harm in just having a cup of coffee with this guy. "...sure. I don't see any harm in it."

"Great!" he blurted out happily. "Would there be any way I could use your phone? I need to call the phone company. Obviously they have forgotten about turning my phone service on. I hate to ask, but you are really the only person I have talked to since moving in."

Lizabeth turned around to look at the mess in her living room and bit her bottom lip.

"That's fine. I have to apologize for the mess in here. I've been really busy lately." What a lie.

"I'll make it brief, I promise." There was that devilish grin of his again.

Jarrod walked through the living room and stepped over a few boxes and piles of papers to get to the little table with the phone. She turned away from him and tried not to listen, but then realized it had been impossible anyway. He kept his voice so low and muttered only a few lines. Moreover, he appeared to be scoping out the living room and hallway while thinking she wasn't watching.

"That's strange." She thought to herself as she heard him hang up the phone.

The handsome stranger thanked Lizabeth and asked if the next night would be all right for coffee. Lizabeth agreed and the date was set.

Jarrod actually kissed the back of her hand and told her good night before leaving her apartment.

Closing the front door and locking it behind him, she turned to walk toward her bedroom.

"Damn... he really must be from out of town." She laughed quietly. The offering of his company had flattered her to no end. The young man was not ugly in the least. Shaking her head, Lizabeth thought of him again, getting a good mental picture of him in her mind.

"Phew... he looks too good for his own safety around me." She sighed deeply and entered her bedroom.

Right off there was something different. Something about the very air in the room felt distinctly charged with an unnatural energy. The very feeling made Lizabeth want to run out of the bedroom door and back into the safety of the living room.

Night had already fallen by now. It was probably just a case of the "woman alone" jitters, she thought. Briefly she considered running down the hall and inviting Jarrod to come back to her apartment so she wouldn't be alone, but that was silly. Time and time again she had stayed alone here with no problem. The blinds were open just a bit, and Lizabeth noticed a stream of moonlight filtering through the dim room.

It was hitting the surface of Rosalia's mirror. It was then that Lizabeth realized what felt so odd in the room. The glass had taken on the same effect as when she had passed through it the first time.

Lizabeth took off her robe and held it in front of the mirror, blocking the beam of moonlight. The glass returned to normal.

"Ah-ha!" she said happily after moving the robe and the mirror's reflective glass was once more disturbed with the silvery beam. She knew how to enter the mirror now, and why it hadn't worked the other times.

An excitement that could hardly be contained rushed over her. Throwing the robe to the floor, Lizabeth marched right up to the mirror and poked at her reflection. Her finger slipped right in. Wasting no time as the surface gave, Lizabeth stepped right in. She had been waiting for this for what seemed like an eternity.

Everything was the same. The dim room, the unsettling way the oil painting of Rosalia looked like a commissioned painting of herself. Where was Antony? Lizabeth strained her dark eyes as she searched the room.

Antony was curled up on the bed asleep. Lizabeth neared him quietly, admiring the beauty of his face and form. The ebbing light from the small fireplace kissed his skin with a soft glow. Colors and highlights caught his dark tresses, showing with the opalescence of warm reds and even a hint of indigo.

Lizabeth wanted so badly to take him into her arms. He looked so angelic and vulnerable in his state of slumber. Standing over him, Lizabeth realized his perfectly chiseled body was covered by only a white sheet. The outline of his naked body could be seen while she looked down. Lying on his side, Lizabeth could see that he had an obvious erection in his sleep. Biting down on her lip, she fought off the urge to jerk the covers off of him, flip him over on his back and straddle his enormous manhood.

A quiet gasp of pleasure escaped over her half-parted lips. This was all the woman had thought about for close to two weeks now. She wouldn't leave without touching him. Her mind was made up, and had been made up before she had ever stepped into the mirror on this night.

Kneeling down by the side of his bed, Lizabeth gently slid her index finger across his chest. Antony stirred slightly and flipped over on his back. What a sight he was. Lizabeth could feel her panties getting moist with her arousal while looking at his swollen sex standing up proudly from under the sheet. Lizabeth couldn't take it anymore. She had to at least touch it. Pressing her lips together in anticipation, Lizabeth grazed her fingernail from the massive round tip of it, down to it's base, making a slight scratching sound over the sheet. A soft noise emitted from deep within his chest. Lizabeth noticed a small stream of wetness had seeped into the cloth above his erection. She wrapped her hand lightly around his thick girth.

"Mmmmmm." It escaped before she even realized it.

Antony's sleepy eyes fluttered open and looked up at her. Part of her wanted to apologize, but the yearning between her thighs wouldn't allow it.

Lizabeth gave the sheet a tug, and to her surprise, Antony did nothing to hold onto it. It fell to the floor by the bed. His naked body rested on the bed in front of her in full view. Every curve and ripple enticed her eyes and called to her, beckoning her to come closer.

"You are so gorgeous." She said to him while her eyes drank every last inch of him. She didn't really even know if he understood, but at this point she didn't care. "I want you. I want you so bad."

Antony looked at Lizabeth for a moment and narrowed his brilliant green eyes. He then lifted his hand and took her much smaller hand into his, pulling her onto the bed. This is what she had been dreaming about. Lust that had almost drove her mad with the obsession. Seeing him on the streets, in passing cars, in her dreams, it had all led up to this moment.

Lizabeth smothered his mouth and face in kisses. His pink tongue darted out eagerly to meet her kisses. Breaking the kiss momentarily, Antony tore at her nightgown, jerking it frantically over her head. His mouth hungrily covered her nipple, drawing it into his mouth and suckling it like a starving babe. Moaning, Lizabeth grinded her hips against him, knowing he could feel how wet she was, even through the silk of her black panties. Unexpectedly, he flipped her over onto her back. Lizabeth watched in sheer ecstasy as Antony's soft kisses moved down the front of her nude body, his tongue began tracing a moist line down her stomach. With his teeth, be begun tugging at her panties, pulling at them on each side until they revealed to him the treasure that he had sought. He moved the panties down her legs the rest of the way with his hands, throwing them to the floor. His fingers began to explore her. One rubbing circles around her nub, the other finger slipping into her. Lizabeth whimpered and slid her hand down his forearm, guiding and encouraging him to go faster. She could feel herself beginning to peak but he suddenly withdrew his finger. Antony smiled up at Lizabeth saying something in his native tongue and licked his finger teasingly. He winked at her mischievously and covered her trembling body with his own.

They kissed until Lizabeth's lips felt raw. He was incredible. The feel of his muscular body against her own drove her mad. Cupping both her breasts in his hands at the same time, he balanced himself on top of her, circling his tongue around her taut nipples.

Lizabeth felt his tip of his massive erection tempting her as it brushed against her opening. She couldn't stand another moment of his teasing. Lizabeth firmly grabbed his bottom and wrapped her legs around him, rolling her hips. They both gasped in rapturous surprisal as he slid into her. Antony took hold of her hips and lifted her small body, pulling her to him with each building thrust. Lizabeth was thrown into the threshold of pleasure straightaway. Arching her back, she griped the headboard and cried out loudly. Antony growled with satisfaction. He grinded his hips in a circular motion and massaged the very back of her tunnel with his swollen girth. Lizabeth could hear her own moisture as he threaded himself in and out of her tight femininity. At this rate it wouldn't be long before pleasure took her again.

"I love you, Antony." She moaned into his ear.

His thrusts were quickened, shaking the bed under them and causing the iron headboard to bang loudly against the wall behind it.

"Oh god... yesssss... " she cried out while her body became consumed with intoxicating spasms of pleasure once more.

Antony's breathing became hoarse. Lifting her entire lower body off the bed he drove himself into her one last time. His hot seed shot into her like an arrow. Together, they experienced the closest thing to heaven that this world has to offer.

Collapsing on top of her, Antony kissed Lizabeth tenderly. Holding each other, Lizabeth talked to him about everything and nothing. Sometimes he appeared to understand her and nodded. Lizabeth couldn't be for certain if that was the case, or if he was just pretending. Hours passed and the couple fell asleep in each other's arms.

Much later, Lizabeth woke with a start. She looked toward the mirror and noticed that though it, the darkness was beginning to fade in her own room. The silvery moonlight that had once beamed through the window had disappeared and been replaced by a pale blue light. Sunrise couldn't be far off. Panic began to overwhelm her.

Lizabeth jumped up out of bed, throwing her nightgown overhead and searching for her panties. Antony sat up abruptly and looked at her as if she were insane. Locating her underwear by the bed, Lizabeth snatched them up before leaning over to kiss Antony.

"I'm sorry. I have to go now. I promise. I'll be back. I know how to get in here so it won't take me so long this time." She almost felt silly. It had been so simple the whole time. She purposely messed up his hair with a playful gesture and giggled. Lizabeth then turned her back and began to walk away. Stepping one foot through the mirror she turned and looked back at him regretfully. "I love you, Antony." She said softly and lifted the other foot to make her crossing of worlds complete.

"Love you too... " he said in his heavily accented voice as she stepped through.

While stepping into her own room one last word caught her faintly.

"...Lizabeth." Antony's voice said sweetly.

The only thing she could do was stand there looking back at the mirror, a hand cupping her mouth as she sobbed.

He knew who she was, yet he still loved her.