Post by StoryGirl83 on Apr 27, 2011 20:48:18 GMT -5
Chapter Thirteen – Cupids
, Diana and Cacoethes
A warm breeze blew through the palm trees as people in shorts and t-shirts walked along the beach in the distance. The air sparkled as red and white hearts formed and surrounded two figures slowly forming. As they faded away, Cilly twisted the ring on finger. “So far so good.”
“What is that ring?” Chris asked, as he looked around.
“A gift from my dad,” she informed him. “Cupid’s channel their powers through their rings.”
“But you aren’t . . .”
“I want to be,” she informed him. “Sure I can see the good a witch can do as well, but I have talent for matchmaking and Dad has encouraged me to use it.” She wiggled the ring again. “I wasn’t supposed to wear it until I was really ready for it, because it gives me access to powers that are otherwise dormant within me.” She gulped as several people approached them. “Are you willing to do what it takes?”
“Are you?” Chris returned.
“I put on the ring,” she reminded him. “That means so much more than you realize.”
The group reached them and a woman stepped forward from the crowd. “You are not allowed here.”
“I have the right to be here,” Cilly informed them.
“I am Diana,” the woman informed them. “Who are you that you believe you should be allowed in here.”
“I am Pricilla Venus Hart,” Cilly informed them, ignoring Chris look of surprise at the last name. “I am a cupid, though I admit to being in training still.”
“Cupids have no need to train,” Diana informed her. “And he most certainly isn’t a cupid. I can smell the witch in him.”
Chris tried very hard to keep annoyance out of his voice as he asked, “Can you also smell the elder in me?”
“We care nothing for elders here,” a man informed him. “The elders have no sway over the cupid.”
“Perhaps not,” Chris conceded, “but that isn’t what I heard.”
“You may not invade our paradise,” Diana protested.
“We have no intention of invading,” Cilly replied. “We are here about the cupid, Cooper Hart.”
“Who was sent by the elders,” Chris reminded them. “How is that if they have no sway here?”
“I will deal with them, Cacoethes,” a voice said from behind them.
Chris and Cilly turned around and looked at him. A dark haired man with a slightly rounded face and a friendly smile stood there. “Diana, you make Drazi’s work much easier sometimes. These are not here to bother your vacation spot. I will talk to them and clear everything up.”
Cilly looked at Chris. He just shrugged. He had no idea who this man was. He watched amazed as the “welcome” party slowly walked away. The cupid watched until they were some distance away. He turned his smile on Cilly. “You are Phoebe’s daughter. I must say I wondered if she would ever allow herself to truly love.”
“You know my mother,” Cilly asked surprised.
“I met your mother, both of your mothers really, many years ago when I was chased by Drazi, the demon of hate,” the cupid told them.
“You know both our mothers,” Chris repeated interested.
The cupid nodded. “At the time your mother was dating a young man named Dan Gordan,” he told them. “She was conflicted with feelings for your father, but it was forbidden and she did have feelings for Dan. Phoebe didn’t have a steady relationship at the time, which is why Drazi wasn’t able to get to her when he broke up Piper’s relationship with Dan and Prue’s with Jack.”
Chris and Cilly looked at each other. “Who’s Dan?” Cilly whispered to Chris.
“I have no idea,” Chris admitted, “but I’m going to see if I can find out the next time I visit with my mom.”
“I know who you are,” the cupid informed them, “but I do not know why you are here.”
“My parents are missing,” Cilly informed him. “They were supposed to come here back in February, but they were only supposed to be gone a month. It’s been two and a half.”
The cupid nodded. “I see.”
“We’ve been trying to find them, but we’ve found nothing and we were hoping to check where they stayed here. How can we do that, if they won’t let us in?”
The cupid was silent. “I remember hearing that Coop was bringing his noncupid wife here on a vacation, but they never showed. I was disappointed, because I would have liked to have seen your mother again. I enjoyed her company.”
“They never made it?” Cilly asked stunned.
The cupid shook his head. “There were those who didn’t want Coop bringing Phoebe here, but for the most part the cupids where excited to see Coop’s wife. No cupid has ever married before and very few have ever had children before.”
“You mean there are more like us?” Cilly asked surprised.
“Not recently,” the cupid informed her, “but on occasion, yes. It is not specifically forbidden in the way whitelighters involved with their charges is,” he said looking at Chris. “Neither is it allowed and it has always been understood that if any cupid did wish to marry, their powers would be forfeit. And some have chosen that path, but never has a cupid kept his powers when gaining a wife.”
“Then, why did my father?” Cilly asked.
“Because the elders interfered,” the cupid informed them. “And unlike what Cacoethes tried to tell you, they do have some authority to do that. They are not, strictly speaking, over us, but they can interfere as long as they don’t do it often.”
Chris scowled. “They have too much power.”
“This was not an issue until a couple of years before your parents’ marriage,” he informed Cilly. When they showed interest in that comment, he added, “That is an issue I am not permitted to discuss.”
“But why?” Chris wanted to know.
The cupid shook his head. “Those are answers you will have to learn without me.”
“Did you hear anything when my parents didn’t show?” Cilly asked concerned more about her parents then about issue with the elders.
The cupid was silent as he considered this. “I did. As I said, most were excited, but among those who weren’t I got an impression of something stronger than relief.”
“Like what?” she asked softly.
“Satisfaction.”
“Someone did something to hurt my parents?” Cilly stared at him with worry in her eyes.
“Not that anyone will admit.”
“Aren’t cupids about love?”
He nodded. “Some of them have been at this a very long time and no longer go out themselves. They forget about why we do this.”
“Maybe they need to retire,” Cilly suggested. She paused and asked, “Is that possible?”
The cupid laughed. “Since some do just that to marry, I should think that was obvious, but yes, it is. Usually those who need to retire aren’t willing to admit it.”
“Have you any idea what kept my parents from arriving?” Cilly pressed, again.
“Specifically, no,” he admitted. “But I know Coop made contact before leaving. And I know it takes only seconds to arrive here. Something happened in those seconds.”
Cilly sighed. “If I pressed, would you let me in to look around?”
He nodded. “You found what you want here, though.” He picked up her right hand touched his finder to her ring. He said nothing and dropped her hand. “You’ll find what you need. I’ve experienced what your family can do. You will find what you need.”
Cilly smiled and turned to Chris. “What do you think?”
“You’re the empath.”
She nodded. “Let’s go home. It’s not much, but it’s more than we had before.”
Chris nodded. “Since I can’t orb out of here, some help, please.”
With one last look at the cupid Cilly hugged her cousin and made them disappear in red and white hearts.
The cupid smiled as he watched. “It looks like the future is in good hands.”