Charmed To The Tenth Ch 04

The next morning, Eva felt him with her before she became aware of herself. She yawned and stretched. A happy contented sigh escaped. She heard him chuckle.

"Now wouldn't it have been better if we were waking up together?"

"Mmmm, but we are together." Eva purred. "What time is it?"

"Don't change the subject. 6:00 in the morning; God, you're a difficult woman to pin down. What is your last name, what is your phone number, when can I see you in the flesh? Tell me all that right now before something happens and the connection's lost all day, like what happened yesterday."

"First you have to tell me your name."

"Eva..." Jeff warned. He refused to be sidetracked and left at the whim of fate before he could contact her again. "Do you know how crazy I was yesterday? All I knew was that you were an emotional wreck and you broke the connection because of it. Jeff is what I go by, my name is Jesiff Andreavitz, I'm twenty nine years old and I have a sister named Kate who just turned twenty seven. I live on the water near Annapolis and if I don't get to see you soon I will self destruct. Since you have such empathy for others, I'm sure you can feel my pain and want to address it, right?"

"Well Mr. Andreavitz, my name is Eva LeMere. I have no family that I know of. I live just across the bridge in Easton. And if you want me to remember my phone number I suggest you stop kissing me there." Eva began to giggle.

"I'm not sure I can? I am thinking about you and thinking about doing things to you and then you feel them. Then I feel that you've felt them so I keep doing it because it feels so good. I don't know how to stop this. It's always been you who's stopped it."

"Didn't anyone explain things to you? A letter or someone?"

"No, well yeah, I did get a letter a few weeks ago, along with the charms. But the letter wasn't written in English and the translation leaves a lot to be desired. Ohh, yes I feel that. Keep doing it." Jeff's cock was being stroked, ever so softly. It was more like a tease, frustrating. He wanted more.

He thought about wrapping his hand around Eva's, improving her grip and felt his cock gripped. He remembered kissing her neck and how she responded, he thought it again, and felt her response. He thought about her moans as he sucked and pulled on her nipples, and heard them again as he thought it. He wanted to be inside her, he remembered the strength of his thrusts and how good it had felt, but wait, it didn't feel like this?

"Ow, ow. That hurts?"

"I'm sorry, are you alright? I'm sorry really; I don't know how this thing works? I think it—it happens. It's hard to control." Jeff kept his fists at his sides and concentrated on the words. He didn't want to blunder and hurt her again.

"I'm alright. I'm sitting up now so we won't easily fall back into that."

"Eva, I don't want to hurt you again. I have to know about, uh, more about you."

Taking a deep breath Eva began. "Look Jeff, this... isn't what I pictured... you know it's... it's not something I ever... Oh sheesh make sense here. Not what I pictured for my first time, not that I ever pictured it. Okay, but now I see I've obviously pictured it at some point, right?" She tried to bury her head under her pillow.

"Eva? Are you still there?"

"Yes." She poked her head out and spoke slowly. " I never thought it could possibly happen. I've always had to steer clear of people." She heaved out a sigh. "I can feel them," she continued; "other people, men, women. The stronger they feel the stronger I feel. It's too much. And then sometimes they feel me, like when you and I were in the elevator? I felt your attraction; that you were attracted to me. I felt everything you felt, and then somehow, you felt what I was feeling and you thought that what I was feeling was mine when really it was yours."

She sat back up in her bed and pushed her long blond hair out of her face. "Let me try that again, I know that didn't make sense."

"I think I get it. You felt me wanting you, then you felt the - um - no I don't get it."

Eva began again. "You wanted me. That feeling, wanting, longing, sexually charged, I felt that. But, and this is where it's important to see the distinction, I knew that feeling was yours; that it was coming from you. I feel whatever people around me feel, just as if the feeling originated in me. But having been subjected to this my whole life; I know instinctively when an emotion is mine or someone else's. Sometimes, people who are naturally empathetic, will then sense what I'm feeling. Kind of like ping pong, you know? Feeling starts with you, hits me and feels the same, then bounces back to you. Only you don't know that what you're sensing from me is actually a mirrored reflection of what originated in you. You think I'm feeling the same way. Get it?"

"Yes, this does make perfect sense. It explains the elevator when our eyes met."

"So, now imagine what it's like when men have a reaction to me. They think they're sensing me responding to them, but I'm not. Also, when someone is afraid, they sense my fear too, and it can cause a panic. Fear breeds on fear, same with sadness, hurt, pain, happiness and even joy. The mean kids at school thinking it was okay to tease because I was enjoying it too, they thought. It can be dangerous for me, you see? I stay away from people as much as possible. I can't make friends; I can't have dates or boyfriends, or a social life. It's all too dangerous for me."

Eva blinked and shook her head. "I can already sense your pity so knock it off."

Jeff was silent for a moment, getting his thoughts under control. Yes he felt pity, but not the way she saw it. Always alone, she was always alone.

First things first, he thought; he had to learn to think about keeping his hands to himself, and think about taking things slowly, and think about not thinking about things that would upset her. He sat straight up in his bed as their situation took on more clarity.

"Good God Eva, do you realize how difficult this is going to be for us?"

"Yes, I've lived with this my whole life. I never gave a thought to having a relationship, always assumed I was meant to be alone. I don't know why I have this gift if I'm fated to have a partner; an Other. You wouldn't happen to be an emotionally stunted, disengaged person, would you?" She quipped.

"Have you been talking to my sister? What are you doing today, when can I see you?" Jeff lazily stretched his legs out.

"Have to work at 10, I've scheduled four hours, but I need to keep that flexible. I could be done around noon or it could be an all day deal." She gave Jeff her cell number and she programmed his into her cell phone.

"We cannot go out after, or well I can't. What I do, it's emotionally loaded. I have to come home right after, especially on this one, and release everything."

"Well seeing as how your virtue's intact I know you can't be a sex surrogate. What is it that you do?"

"Maybe I should have done that instead." Eva laughed. "I'm a clinical art therapist, working primarily with children who have been abused and neglected."

"Are you kidding me? You can't be around people because of their flying emotions and yet you work with abused kids? How the hell does that work?"

"It's not easy. I have to protect myself. The sunglasses filter out a lot; other than that there isn't much I can do. But this is my gift and I have to use it to help. I come home and cleanse myself, I release what they've given me and I'm back to normal, except I'm pretty darn tired."

Jeff thought about holding her and comforting her, but felt her tense. "It's alright; this is all I will think about. Just relax and let me hold you for a little while longer."

Eva did as instructed and felt a weight let go. There was a weight? She hadn't realized. She relaxed even further and felt the tears begin. Where were they coming from? She vaguely thought.

"Jeff, it's... this isn't... What are you doing to me? Why am I crying?"

"I think, I think maybe you were wrong. You do need to have someone and maybe you always have. You and I are so different. I've never needed anyone. I've never felt a pull toward anyone or even a distinct dislike. Well, I've certainly felt things toward some people but, you know, that was just um, you know."

He thought about stroking her back and felt her response; she leaned forward and moved her hair out of the way. "Wow, even your hair responds. Does this mean if I think about grabbing a handful ..."

"Ouch. Oh no, stop it. No, no, no, no fair, no fair. Stop please I'm so ticklish, no fair." Jeff stopped long enough for Eva to ask, "No, I don't 'um you know' what you're talking about. But I'm pretty sure I don't want to, um you know."

"Omph. Okay, okay you win, don't squeeze any harder. You win. You win." Jeff panted and relaxed as the vise around his balls loosened.

"I have to get moving. I'll be at County General. I'll call you around noon and let you know how it's going. But Jeff, I have to come back here right away. Okay?"

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"Sir, Controller Smith will be briefing you this morning." The general's aid stood at attention after making the statement to his boss. He waited for the General to nod, then spoke again. "Controller Smith sir, if you're ready?"

A man in his forties stood from the table, gathering his notes, he turned to the lap top set up on a nearby desk. It was wired to a projector and pointed at a white screen. He picked up the little remote control to begin his presentation.

"In 1945, our Berlin OSS agents confiscated paperwork that spoke of the Nazi's attempts to channel the extra sensory power of several people during the war."

The General's eye brows twitched once but his face remained impassive. "Excuse me... Smith? I can read as well as write." The general indicated a folder in front of him. "Exactly why do you want me here today and exactly what is it that you want permission to do."

"Thank you, sir." Smith bowed his head slightly; gratified he wouldn't have to go through the entire history for this green light.

"We've found the progeny, the tenth generation. She fits every description found in the original curse and the transcript of the prophesy." Controller Smith quickly advanced frames until he came to a picture of a little girl with long brown hair and striking blue eyes. She had an ethereal knowing expression on her face. She appeared to be looking right into the camera; an incredibly powerful binocular camera that was being pointed in her direction from several blocks away from inside a van with tinted windows.

"And what is it that she can do?" The general whispered as he studied the photograph being displayed by the projector.

"We don't know yet."

"And do you have plans on how you're going to discover what she can do?" The general's eyes never left the child's eyes on the screen.

"Our plan is to wait until all three of them are together sir. Bring them all in and do the testing. Once that's completed we'll be able to access their combined strength." Smith replaced his remote control and stood at ease. His presentation over, his request on the table, he waited silently.

The general indicated to Smith he was finished looking at the picture. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. He would allow himself only a few minutes to decide the fate of three people who may or may not be a national security threat.

With uncanny speed, the General's mind raced through the ancient history of this family's curse; marveling again that this story was actually verifiable. The scrolls were several centuries old, found in a church vault in Turkey. He mentally reviewed what was written in the texts. They told of two brothers traveling with their wives and families.

They were nomads. The younger brother, Babür, had a wife who was very productive; they had 15 healthy children, eleven of whom were sons. The older brother, Cezmi, had a wife who ended up barren after having produced only 3 sons and a worthless daughter. There was a disagreement. The brothers parted ways. A few years later Cezmi came upon Babür in a distant town. Babür, having so many mouths to feed was not as prosperous as Cezmi.

There was trouble; Babür told his tale of sorrow to Cezmi. While carting a load of goods into the pazari to sell, Babür's horse had bucked and bolted. This caused his cart to upset. It landed on and killed a boy from a wealthy family, their only son. The grieving family called a vendetta against Babür's whole family.

Babür asked his older brother for help, but was turned away. Two more times Babür went to Cezmi to ask for help, each time his tale of woe grew in urgency and detail. Each time he was turned away.

Cezmi did not believe this tale of woe and sorrow. He thought Babür was exaggerating.

But there was. Early one morning Babür's children had been forcibly gathered and put to death in the street, while Babür and his wife were forced to watch in helpless horror.

Babür knelt in the street screaming, spitting, and beating his chest in agony. He blamed his older brother for failing to help him escape. Then Babür cursed Cezmi and his family with eternal loss, grief and desolation, to feel just what he himself was feeling. He willingly gave his soul in payment for the power to inflict this curse on his brother. He then slit his own throat. His wife picked up the blade and followed her husband and children by driving the blade into her heart.

Cezmi's wife, Melek, was pious and devout. She was pure in thought and deed. When she learned of the tragic fate of Babür's children and of the subsequent curse against her own, she ran to the temple and prayed her family be saved from this curse. She offered her soul in payment. She asked that Babür's soul be spared as well. His grief and pain had driven him mad, his moment of desolation should not overshadow all the good things he'd done in his life; she reasoned.

Her devotion to her family, her love of her God and her desire to pay for the sins of another brought favor to her request. The angels spoke to her and told her how to break the curse. Instead of her soul, they took some of her skin and left her with a scar that was shaped like several serpents dueling to be on top. The scar, located in the very center of her chest, was a mark from the angels that she had paid in full and owed no more.

The general flipped through some of the papers in his folder and stopped when he found the one that contained a photocopy of the actual scroll that bore a drawing of the scar's pattern. Next to that was a photograph of a golden charm with a similar design except the starbursting pattern had been replaced by a ruby.

Melek and Cezmi took their children and left the town. Before they made it to the next town, Cezmi suddenly died. Though the cause was unknown, Melek believed it was the curse that took him. They buried him and moved on. When they arrived at the next town Melek sold every possession and went to the jewelry maker. She showed the scar on her chest and asked that he make four golden charms that looked exactly like her scar. A few days later she went back and was happy to see that he kept his promise. The charms looked as if they had been taken directly from her chest, the patterns matched perfectly. She gave him more money and asked that he place a tiny ruby in the center of each charm.

Melek waited until her daughter fell asleep before she took her sons aside and explained all they needed to know. She told of the curse, how she asked for deliverance, and how it was granted. She told them their sister's progeny would be the one that had strong enough gifts to break the curse. She warned they had to leave her and never to make contact again, or they too would share the fate. She instructed them to always keep watch but only help if they could do so while hidden. She hugged her sons and called them her Guardians.

She gave them each a charm and showed them how it matched her scar, how she paid for this chance to heal her family. The charm would be the sign, passed down from parent to child; their responsibility wouldn't be complete until the curse was broken.

Tears streaming down her face, she watched her sons leave. When she could see them no more, she gathered her sleeping daughter and set off to beg. But where her daughter awoke, Melek was shocked to see that her eyes had changed colors. They went from the warmth of golden brown to deep pools of blue that matched the sea.

The daughter was silent as Melek explained that her brothers had gone; she just sat by her mother's side and never uttered another sound. After a while, the mother realized she somehow still knew what her daughter wanted or needed just as if she had spoken.

The mother saw the signs the angels had spoken of, in her daughter. "Ocean blue eyes that see all, mute she will stay but her thoughts you will know."

With no husband and no sons, the woman and child were suspected of being immoral. The townspeople threw stones to get them to leave. The daughter stood and looked at the people. They stopped throwing stones and went away. The mother was surprised and worried they would come back and throw more. But her daughter spoke in her head, she reassured her mother that they would be alright because she'd told the townspeople not to hurt them, and so they had stopped.

Melek was afraid for her daughter. How would the townspeople react to a child whose eyes changed color and could put words into other's mind? Melek knew this was the gift the angel had given but no one would believe her or understand this to be a gift. Melek and her daughter left the town that night and traveled for days and days. Melek became ill and knew her time was coming. They encountered a band of traveling people. Melek asked them if they would take her daughter. They refused; there was something wrong with the child, they could tell.

Melek ended her search when she encountered gypsies traveling the road. They took one look at the child and knew who she was and what gifts she had. They agreed to take the child with them when the left the next day. Melek was grateful for one last night to cuddle and hold her beautiful daughter. Melek died in her daughter's arms, before the moon had completely come out.

The general opened his folder and skimmed through the pages that had been collected over the years, beginning with the transcripts of the scrolls, then skipping to the detailed paper work supplied by Hitler's SS. Eva and Leonid Grünberg along with two of their sons had spent considerable time being tortured by the SS in an attempt to harness the power they were believed to have had. The SS ended up killing them all and never finding the remaining son or their three daughters, but not before they were able to document that Eva could read minds and her son could project thoughts. They used the two together to force a demonstration of how far reaching their power could go.

The general lifted a corner of his mouth as he pictured the scene. Stupid fucking Nazis, he thought. The woman and her son caused half the guards to begin shooting the other guards. A lowly private with either self preservation or fast thinking was able to turn his gun on the family to end the compulsion to shoot his fellow officers. So they proved it all true but only to kill what they had in the process.

The raised corner of the general's mouth morphed into a full grin. He glanced at Controller Smith and nodded. "I'd like an update in seven days and I'd like you to bring it in person. Good work, Controller Smith. Thank you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At 8:00a.m. on the dot, Mrs. Surgie rang the bell. Eva calmed her dogs and went to the door, Bingo and Ruffian right behind her. Bellyboy wasn't interested in a non-threat and non-food event at the door. Sammy was playing with his pretend friend, a sight that always brightened Eva's day.