The McCallister Curse Pt. 02

"A McCallister?" she whispered to Gabrielle.

"You are certain?"

Gabrielle simply nodded, letting the abbess absorb the shocking news.

Sara broke the silence.

"I'm sorry but why are you calling me a McCallister? Why did that succubus call me a McCallister? My name is Sara McKenzie, not McCallister."

Constance's face took on a sympathetic cast, "Oh my child, I am so sorry. So very, very sorry."

Gabrielle looked much the same, "It's part of why we had to flee Sara. You are a McCallister truly, not a McKenzie and to be a McCallister in this city is an extremely dangerous thing."

Sara was stunned, why were they saying her surname was McCallister? It should've felt unreal, to far-fetched a thing to be true, but an abbess and an angel telling her it was so was a confronting thing. They had no reason to lie to her, she wasn't even certain Gabrielle could lie, being an angel and all. But something in her very bones knew it was true. Knew they were telling her the truth. Something inside her body was telling her to claim her true bloodline. Claim the name of McCallister.

Overwhelmed by the situation, desperately, blindly, she reached out for support, trying to find Audrey's hand with her own, a lifeline to something real. Her stomach sunk when she found nothing but air. Gabrielle had moved with the speed of light, moving Audrey's chair away from Sara's own. Her friend was staring up at the platinum haired angel in astonishment, disbelief at the incredible turn of speed written across her features.

The kindly sympathetic look was still on the angel's face as she spoke to Sara, "It would be best if you didn't touch Audrey or anyone else today if you can help it. At least not until we have explained some things."

Sara's voice was trembling now, fear creeping its way to nestle within her mind, "Why?

"What is it?

"Is there something wrong with me?"

Her thoughts flashed to the morning's earlier events. The lust, the way she and Audrey had acted, her magically appearing dick.

Audrey beat her to the punch, voicing the question before Sara had even finished the thought, "It has something to do with this morning doesn't it? Something to do with what happened to us, something to do with Sara growing that yummy cock."

Audrey's hand flashed up, covering her mouth in embarrassment at the words that had unwillingly come out in front of the abbess. Constance didn't appear bothered by the description or of the revelation of Sara's penis at all.

The old nun looked at Gabrielle, "Did you want to explain it all or should I?"

The angel looked torn with indecision for a moment before conceding to her old friend, "You do it, you'll be able to explain it all better than I can. Just leave the succubus part to me."

"As you wish," Constance replied.

"Sara," the elderly abbess began, "this is going to be a long tale, all of it true to the best of our knowledge. Our own and the Church's. It will sound impossible, unbelievable at first, but I swear upon Saint Avacine, upon the Lord above, that it is all true.

"You are a McCallister, the last sole surviving member of one of the founding families of Steelhaven, both blessed and cursed. The blood that runs in your veins, the blood that saw your ancestors driven from their homes and across the seas, fleeing the church and all who saw their powers as unholy, holds incredible potential. A potential that could see you dead or holding glory beyond your wildest dreams.

"The McCallisters came here, and with four other families, the Greys, the Lancasters, the Carmines and the Griffin-Wells, they founded this city. Shaping it, nurturing it through the years into the bustling metropolis it is today."

The abbess considered Sara for a moment, she was rapt, soaking in this new history like a sponge.

"You may recognise those names, all of them are still prominent to this day and make no mistake. They rule this city, and they will not take kindly to having a McCallister among them once again."

"Because you see," the nun continued, "several hundred years ago, the McCallisters of old, your ancestors, they betrayed the others. They used their powers to corrupt, kidnap, extort and defile members of the other families. In secret they created a breeding program, a magical genetics experiment designed to make them stronger, to gain access to the powers of the other families and graft them with their own."

Constance could see the question on Sara's lips.

"I suppose I should explain that as well."

"All of those families, the Greys, the Lancasters, Carmines and Griffin-Wells, have what is known as genetic powers. The Greys are the current dominant power in the city and they, are anti-magic, 'blanks' people call them, nearly all other magic doesn't work in their presence.

"There are exceptions of course, Gabrielle here being a Divine being is immune to their power, some others are powerful enough to overpower the 'blank' space they exude, but to my knowledge none have been able to do so with the current Lord Grey."

The abbess powered on, "The Lancasters are extremely long lived, we are not certain as to how long exactly they live but the general consensus is several centuries at least.

"The current Lord Lancaster hasn't been seen in at least a dozen years now, but from what we have been able to learn, he still rules the house."

The abbess paused briefly, "It is also likely that he was a contemporary of the man that brought destruction down upon your own house.

"Any further information about your family beyond what we can tell you now is likely known by the Lancasters and they guard their secrets jealously."

Sara was speechless. Angels, demons, and now ancient families with magical powers that apparently, she had as well. Constance hadn't lied, this was unbelievable.

The abbess rolled on; invaluable information being provided for Sara's new life in this incredible new world she had found herself in.

"The Carmines can read your mind, a simple touch on the skin and your mind is an open book to them. Thoughts, feelings, memories, a Carmine can access them all, nothing will be hidden from them.

"Of course, there are exceptions again. Angels are immune and no one wants to see into a demon's thoughts. There are several of the elder races that are resistant to it as well. There are also reports that a strong enough mind can hold them out at least temporarily."

"Elder races?" Audrey butted in, the blonde had been listening intently, absorbing all this information into her own magnificent mind, but the mention of other races, potential monsters and fairy tales made real was too much for her. She had to know.

"Elves of various kinds, dwarves, though there are few left now, giants, of which there are even less, and two dragons."

The abbess snorted, "They don't like each other much, tend to keep to opposite hemispheres.

"There are others, but you are likely to never see them, they don't get along well with humans and have long ago retreated to the deep or dark places of the earth."

"There is more of course, unnatural manmade monsters that have become more than just weapons. Vampires, werewolves, ghouls, and goblins. All those dark and scary tales, all of them real, the result of man's hubris," the abbess' gentle voice was filled with disgust as she spoke of them.

Audrey's eyes were wide. This was so much more then she had ever imagined. The new world that lay beyond this moment was filled with so much more to learn.

'Fucking vampires Sara! Vampires!" she crowed, the excitement she felt at the revelation could not be contained.

Sara could only nod, why not vampires along with everything else in this crazy mess.

"Language please," Constance pleaded.

"Sorry," Audrey apologised quickly.

"Now, where was I," the abbess contemplated briefly.

"Ah yes, the Carmines, mind readers via touch as I said, they are currently ruled by Lady Rebecca Carmine. Widow, socialite, businesswoman. She is exceedingly dangerous, she has crafted her power to an unparalleled degree, capable of stripping your mind of everything in an instant.

"Only the presence of Lord Grey has kept her from dominating the entire city."

"The last of the other families is the Griffin-Wells. They are the least prominent of the four, fittingly the power that runs in their veins is that of invisibility.

"As you can imagine this makes them fantastic covert agents, another part of the Grey's rise to dominance has been their ability to expose the ghosts of Griffin-Wells and foil their missions," Constance informed Sara.

"The head of that family is Lady Griffin-Wells and again somewhat fittingly we don't know that much about her. Came to power as head of the family several years ago after her mother came out on the wrong side of a skirmish with the Greys. Does all her business and social engagements via proxies."

The old abbess paused, appearing to rearrange her thoughts, as if mentally preparing a checklist of things to explain. Sara watched Constance square herself, bracing as if she were about to do battle.

Here it comes, Sara thought, the truth of what I am, the power of the McCallisters.

"Now the McCallisters are, you are," she corrected herself.

"You are unique among the families. For one your blood carries more than its original power, from our best records, we think it carries two others.

"The original power of the McCallisters, your birthright and the one that doomed you all is known simply as 'Command', the ability to influence those around you with your mind and essentially control them, you can even reach into their dreams and manipulate them."

Sara couldn't help herself; she gasped at the revelation and could hear Audrey do the same.

"Control people?" she asked.

"That's not all I'm afraid, though that is the power that ruined your family. For ages they either controlled or policed themselves, using their power cautiously, making friends and allies, playing peacemaker on several occasions before the onset of war.

"That changed however with the arrival of Lord Ian McCallister. Ian McCallister was a brilliant man, murderous, tyrannical, and greedy, but brilliant. He masterminded a campaign of covert operations against the other families, secretly gaining access to the blood of the Carmines and the Lancasters.

"We know very little of what occurred next, only that they were eventually discovered and banished from Steelhaven, the other families uniting as one to force them out," Constance admitted.

"There is rumour and conjecture of course, but it appears that the families did their utmost to erase all evidence of what Ian created, out of fear they destroyed it, dreading the spread of its evil. From what we have been able to gleam over the years though, he succeeded. He managed to integrate the other genetic powers with the McCallisters own."

"So, you my dear," she continued, "have the powers of 3 families flowing in your veins."

Sara couldn't believe it. Being told she was the last member of a magical bloodline was one thing. A huge stupendous world-shaking thing yeah but it was still one thing. To learn that your ancestors were mad scientists who made some powerful enemies was another, and to be told that because of this you had even more magic and a target on your back. It was impossible.

Sara couldn't handle it, it was too much, today had been one crazy thing after another. She was sure she looked like a stunned mullet and when she turned to Audrey, she could see the exact same expression on her friend's gorgeous face.

"I'm afraid that's not all my dear."

Sara turned back to the abbess, her mouth agape, "There's more?"

Her voice was barely a whisper, disbelief choking her of any volume.

"I'm very sorry my child, but yes there is more," the abbess replied not unkindly.

"Simply because your ancestors were banished does not mean their villainy ended.

"No, I'm afraid to say that while Lord Ian McCallister's grand designs were discovered and somewhat thwarted, his son's vile ways were only exacerbated by the banishment forced upon him."

"While Lord McCallister meddled in genetics and magic, his son Duncan sated his baser desires. Sadism, perversion, and excess were his calling cards and he used them freely. It was he who doomed your family," she declared.

"What did he do?" Sara asked timidly, she couldn't help but wonder, what could have doomed an entire family.

"He murdered a witch," came the reply, "and so in turn she cursed him and all McCallisters until the end of time."

"Cursed?" Sara blurted, the unexpected word surprising her.

"I have the exact words in a book here somewhere," said Constance, swivelling in her chair to look at one of the many bookcases lining the walls.

A reference book wasn't needed however. Gabrielle, who had been standing and listening silently while Constance explained everything to the girls spoke up, her voice ringing clearly in the study as she intoned the words.

"I Curse you McCallister. I Curse you and all your blood!

"May the eyes of heaven be eternally blinded to your blasted fates!

"May the denizens of Hell hunt you and yours, till the very last of you is dust!

"May the dark lusts that have blinded me from truth and cost me my life be carried till the very end of time by your family heirs!

"This trinity of hatred I lay upon you and yours as the price you must pay for killing me!"

Sara sat in silence, the curses sinister words binding her tongue, constricting her throat, horror filled her body as she realised, she could feel the words reacting to something within her, an echo resonating through her from head to toe.

Audrey filled the silence for her, "Pardon the language, but what the fuck was that?"

Constance didn't bother to scold Audrey this time, she couldn't really fault the girl for her reaction. The McCallister Curse was truly a horrid thing.

"The Curse of a dying witch, possibly the most famous one in our world, the doom of generations and spreader of misery. I can't fault the witch, manipulated, and murdered, cast aside by those with power.

"I cannot say I would not have done the same."

"I do fear however, she did not think of the cost, that Ian and his son would manage to slow the curse, that in doing so they would ruin more lives than she could count. The poor girl might not have even known she was a witch at all."

Audrey was bubbling with questions now, unable to sit still in her seat. She needed to know everything if she was to help her mistress.

This stray thought of Sara as her mistress didn't go unnoticed by the blonde, but there were more pressing concerns.

"What does the curse do exactly?

"What did they do to manage it, to slow it down?

"Gabrielle if the wording is literal, how did you find Sara?

"Is there any way to get rid of the curse?"

Constance blinked at the sudden onslaught, the bombardment of questions from the stacked blonde startling the elderly abbess. Gabrielle just shook her head, she had already received a similar barrage from Audrey before, the blonde was fiendishly quick, a walking counter to the brainless blonde stereotype.

"That is a lot of questions, I should have expected it really," Constance admitted half to them and half to herself.

"Firstly, to my own and the Churches' knowledge, there is no way to remove a Curse of this magnitude and power. The witch must have truly hated the McCallisters for a curse such as this.

"Second, and again this is all pieced together from old records and reports, the curse does exactly what it claims. It imprints on every heir of the McCallister family line, the dark and vile lusts that consumed Duncan.

"In short, Sara is going to become a predator," the abbess said it quite bluntly, a statement of fact that was impossible to dispute.

"She will begin to crave it, the pleasure, the desire to dominate and subdue others for her own wants and needs. A sadistic streak will emerge, the desire to punish and hurt those she can dominate and hold in her thrall. And then when she has had her fill, then the cycle will begin again.

"She will never have enough, never fully sate her desires, always wanting, always needing more."

"And then," she said sadly, "the demons come. The pain, the sex, the simple excess of it, will draw them to her like bees to honey, forever chasing, forever hunting her like an elusive piece of prey.

"And with them comes the end, the unholy monsters will twist her further, drive her further into the darkness, the madness of the devil himself will consume her, and then when they have had their fill, have spread their misery and disease, they will end her life," the abbess could not contain herself, her calm voice and demeanour changing, righteous anger filling her frame and sharpening her words at the injustice of it all.

Sara sat in numb horror, this last revelation had broken her, a future of cruelty and depravity, promised by her own blood, promised by a curse she hadn't even known existed. She could feel Audrey's eyes on her, the sympathy, the pity her friend felt for her was palpable.

Gabrielle was beside herself, the anguish, and the dread that Sara was now feeling made her feel useless, a Divine agent of the Lord above and she was powerless to help this wonderful, magical woman before her.

She spoke to fill the dread silence, to feel purposeful, to bring hope.

"It will be ok Sara," she said soothingly, trying to calm the distraught girl, "don't give up hope, you can be strong, you can fight.

"This curse may have destroyed your family, but you are not them. You are resilient, brave, beautiful and sweet," the angel couldn't help but smile and blush faintly as she praised the petite, midnight haired woman.

"You can survive this!" Gabrielle declared forcefully.

"But how?" Sara asked, her question barely audible even within the stone-walled solemnity of the abbess' study.

Gabrielle wasn't even certain Sara had spoken at first. It was when those soft green eyes, sparkling with unshed tears latched onto her own that Gabrielle realised Sara needed her. Needed her strength, something, anything to grab onto and stay afloat amongst the sea of madness she had found herself in.

"You have me," Gabrielle told her, meeting Sara's gaze, trying to project all the hope, faith and love she carried within her to the frightened woman.

"You are the first McCallister in the history of this wretched curse to have Heaven on their side, the first to have an angel sit on their shoulder and guide them from the darkness.

'We can do it together," Gabrielle passionately declared, she needed Sara to believe, to have faith in herself and those around her. That this curse would not doom her as it had so many others.

The small grin she received from Sara in response to her heartfelt words, the young woman sniffling and upset, but no longer a despondent terrified waif, filled Gabrielle with warmth, a small portion of her divine glow breaking through to brighten the room.

"Thank you," Sara murmured, "Thank you for helping me. This is all so crazy."

"It's why I'm here Sara, my only goal is to save you from this terrible curse," Gabrielle replied, moving to reassure Sara with a soft touch of her hand.

Audrey couldn't help but feel relieved as she watched the touching scene, her mis..., Sara wouldn't be alone. She had her own angel trying to save her. But still she had questions, things she needed to know.

"Do you really think you can help Gabrielle? From what that stupid curse said, heaven is meant to be blinded to her? What does that mean?"

Gabrielle considered carefully before answering.

"I think I can partly because I already have.

"My presence seems to have a dampening effect on the curse. When we met this morning, you both had no trouble controlling your urges once I appeared. Sara's penis disappeared as well.